Danny's POV

Life was one of the scariest things Danny had ever faced. Sure, death used to scare him, but now that he knew he was immune, life was the far more vicious monster he had to worry about. He faced it everyday, convincing himself that soon the rough punches it hit him with would begin to sting less and less.

After talking to Vlad, the pain was already beginning to dull. Of course, Danny still thought he was a fruit loop, but at least he was a fruit loop with a heart.

The first person who crossed Danny's mind on his way home was Tucker. Tucker had helped him, bandaging the wounds from the missiles and giving him a place to stay that first night after the incident. He hadn't even given his best friend a word of notice before leaving. The guilt plagued his mind, and Danny vowed to never hurt him again.

Mr. Lancer had looked at Danny with so much compassion that day in class. Whatever he was thinking had happened, He knew enough not to stop Danny on his way out. Danny was glad he hadn't stopped him, as if he had, Danny may have let something slip without thinking about it.

His dad was the one who had held Jazz down from protecting him, Danny realized, must not have hated him either. He was simply trying to protect Jazz, which Danny should've appreciated, as it was something he did every day.

Paulina had seen him and decided, for some reason, not to bother him. She tried to hide it, but it was obvious that she'd seen him. For some reason, she found the will not to completely fangirl over him. Something about the kindness she treated him with made him suspicious. Danny would have to keep an eye on her, and make sure that he didn't let anything slip.

And then there was Valerie. Everything about that encounter made his head spin. He knew he was foolish to transform in front of her, but he was off his game. The blood loss had been making him dizzy, and his instincts took over before he could stop himself. She looked so shocked. She asked what he'd done with Danny, as if it wasn't him standing in front of her. He should've known that she was just confused. Of course she was confused. Danny had just dropped a bomb on her. What he should've been paying attention to was the sympathy in her voice when she tried to help him.

His parents knew. They knew. Danny was terrified and relieved at the same time, his mind swirling with possibilities. His mother had looked at him and cried. Before, he thought she was scared and disappointed in him, but now he realized that those tears were those of guilt. She felt bad for what she'd done, Danny realized.

Suddenly, Danny's mind drifted to Sam. She must hate me, he told himself. What I did and said to her was awful. All she had tried to do was help, and Danny thanked her by pushing her away. She'd been his best friend longer than anyone - even Tucker. She had helped him bandage his fists, a secret that even Tucker was unaware of, as he only hurt himself when he was in his ghost form, and the white hazmat gloves were perfect for hiding bandages. She was amazing, and somehow managed to stand next to Danny through everything that happened. He couldn't even begin to imagine what he would do without her. He knew that he would do whatever he had to to make things better between the two of them.

Dash had actually, for once in Danny's high school career, treated him with compassion. He'd shared his dreams of becoming a doctor with him, but the second things became too real, Danny ran away. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Dash's comments. They almost sounded like an apology, which confused Danny to no end. Sure, he knew that Dash had emotions, but he never would've imagined that he could've been as kind as he had been for a few moments. He definitely needed to figure out how he was going to deal with that whole situation. And then there was Jazz to worry about, too.

Jazz. The only parent Danny ever needed. She had her mind set on protecting him, refusing to let him get hurt. The more he thought about her, the more he could hear her screams. He was going to go talk to her at her hotel, he really was, but the moment he saw her screaming in that hotel bed with blood all over her hands, he couldn't bring himself to talk to her. He couldn't bare to put her through any more pain. He knew that expecting his teenage sister to be his parent wasn't fair to her, but he didn't have a choice before. Now, for the first time, he did.

All of these thoughts spiraled in Danny's head while he instinctively flew to his destination. He knew what he needed to do. Sure, he wasn't going to die or age, but despite the fact that his life had been turned upside down, he still had to make things right. The people around Danny cared about him. He knew that he had to sort everything out before he could even begin to sort through this being immortal stuff.

Finally, the large, brick-shaped hotel came into view. Danny took a deep breath, phasing through the ceiling and into Jazz's bedroom. She was still lying on the bed, her hands continuing to shake.

This is where I start to make things better, Danny told himself, building up confidence until he finally floated down next to her, grabbing her hand and in turn, causing her to look directly into his eyes just in time to watch a single green tear roll down his face.

GUESS WHO'S REALLY HAPPY WITH THIS. [hint, it's me]

its finally over! I worked really hard on this story - I poured my heart and soul into it - and the outcome was so much better that I could've imagined.

Thank each and every one of you who read, reviewed,, followed, or favorited this story. All of the encouragement I got gave me that push to keep going with this story, thank you all so, so much.

Special thanks to FanficFan920, who messaged me with a great idea for a sequel, which I will be starting on soon. I'll post an author note chapter when I upload the first chapter of the sequel, so stay tuned for now!

As for new stories I've already started working on, I have two more Danny Phantom fan fictions I'm planning on publishing soon. One is a one-shot, the other is a short-story. Brief summaries are below! vvv

First Impressions (one shot) ~ Danny was only 13 when he first saw her. She was popular, beautiful, smart, and treated everyone like something from the bottom of her shoe. In other words, Danny was prepared to hate her. But after a brief encounter with Paulina away from everyone else, Danny couldn't keep himself from thinking about her.

Join the Club (short story) ~ It all started with two members of the football team that everyone claimed were straighter than an arrow. Little did they know that their unexpected relationship would send many of Casper High's students into a frenzy, trying desperately to determine what they actually felt. When certain students begin questioning their sexuality and gender identities, the result causes the entire school to change for the better.

Again, thanks for everything, guys!

~Ashtyn