So, mostly doing this in an attempt to break down the wall of writer's block and procrastination, in the hopes that I'll find motivation for my other stories. Also, because I just finished Gravity Falls and I'm FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW I NEED AN OUTLET THAT ISN'T MASS EFFECT BECAUSE THAT'S WORSE

Plus, there's not enough GOOD Danny Phantom and Gravity Falls fanfics out there right now. So I intend to change that. Somewhat. With my single, measly 800-plus word fic. Yeah. Sounds like a plan.

Anyways, idea inspired by Vitaliciouscreations and her fic, "This Page of Secrets." Really liked the idea of Danny pretty much growing up with Stan, and the idea seized me and ran off into the sunset like an anime panty thief. So here we are.

Specters and Swindlers

By D3athrav3n92

They met at a prison.

Thankfully, it wasn't a maximum security or intense correctional prison, and Stanley Filman Pines wasn't arrested for anything more severe than pickpocketing and fraud. So, Stan spent most of his time in 1976 fighting off fellow inmates, staring at his cell bars, and talking with his "roommate."

Said roommate was strange, in Stan's honest opinion. Shaggy black hair, blue, blue eyes, and skinny frame. At first, Stan thought that his fellow inmate would be a complete pushover. But surprisingly, there were muscles underneath that wiry frame, and spades and spades of determination that went hand-in-hand with overwhelming cheerfulness and kindness.

The young man looked barely eighteen, and was a nice guy, despite being in a correctional facility. How he wound up in a prison facility, Stan had no idea. The guy was amazingly tight-lipped about the whole thing, and he seemed to truly enjoy prison life. Or rather, Stan's experience of prison life.

"Hey, Stan!" Shaggy, pitch black hair and piercing blue eyes peered down over the edge of the bunk, eyes curling in amusement, and Stan scowled back up at his "roommate." "Cafeteria's serving Stew Surprise, wanna find out what the mystery meat is?'

"No," Stan said shortly. More of a tanned face and dimpled smile appeared over the edge of the bunk, and his roommate grinned.

"Come on! You only have like three days left in this place anyways, why not have a little fun before you go?" his roommate wheedled.

"Why are you here?" Stan demanded, sitting upright and the face reared back, the smile disappearing completely. "Was it theft? Assault? Vandalism? Decided to bring back underground donkey fights?"

Blue eyes widened. "Those existed?"

Stan coughed and slouched a little. "Just an example, kid."

The "kid" pouted. "C'mon, man, I'm in prison! Definitely not a kid."

"Yeah, yeah," Stan sighed dismissively, and he leaned back against his hard pillow. "I'm being serious, kid."

The playfulness vanished from that tanned face, and in an amazing feat of ability, the teen flipped off the top bunk and settled down next to Stan.

He was silent for a moment, and to Stan, it seemed unnerving to see the kid so serious and suddenly…much older.

"Because I had nowhere else to go," he sighed, and Stan swallowed.

Memories of a dark street, a duffel bag, a door slamming shut, and a glimpse of a guilty, yet angry face in the upstairs window flashed through Stan's mind, and Stan exhaled loudly.

"Yeah," he muttered. He scratched at the stubble on his chin and slung a sympathetic arm across the teen's shoulder. "I understand the feeling."

They sat in silence for a long moment, before Stan cleared his throat.

"Listen, kid," he said awkwardly. "If you're not here for something too terrible, maybe I can, y'know, bail you out. Once I scrounge up the money. Because you're too nice to be stuck in here."

The teen was silent for a long moment, before he burst out laughing. Immediately, Stan reared up, offended. "I was just tryin' to be nice, kid, but if you're going to be like that, then -!"

"No, no, no, I'm not laughing at you!" the teen chuckled, flashing a bright grin at his companion. "I'm not here because I have to be!"

Stan stared at him. "…What?"

The teen fiddled his thumbs, and tilted his head, his black hair flopping with the motion. "When I said I have nowhere to go, I literally mean, I don't have anywhere to go. I mostly just picked this place because it seemed interesting. Because you seemed interesting."

Stan spluttered, completely flabbergasted. "I-interesting? P-picked this –" He cut himself off, before he sprang to his feet and roared, "Look, this isn't some sort of – vacation home – I mean – WHAT?!"

The teen laughed again at Stan's reaction, and said cheerily, "I've never been arrested – wait, no, scratch that." He paused and scrunched up his face in thought. "Wait, does that time with the Guys in White count?" he muttered, half-under his breath, half-not. "Well, either way, I was mostly just screwing around right now, and suddenly – well," he amended with a laugh, "I met you. You're really entertaining, y'know?"

Stan gawked at his roommate. "I'm what?"

The teen laughed again, and drummed his fingers against the metal bed frame. "You're in here because you swindled people, you have like, five fake aliases, and I watched you talk a guy into giving you the rest of his toothpaste and convince him that it was "healthier for him!" You're one of the most interesting guys I've met in the past fifty years!"

That threw Stan for a loop. "W-what -?"

The black-haired, blue-eyed teen simply grinned at him, stood, and to Stan's utmost shock, began to float off the ground.

"Danny Fenton, or Danny Phantom," the teen said, and Stan watched, astounded, as a white ring appeared around his middle, and spread across his body. Orange prison slacks turned into a sleek, black suit, with "DP" emblazoned across the front in bold, white letters. Blue eyes turned into glowing green, and dark, shaggy hair turned into snowy, fluffy white.

"Dimension-hopper and half-ghost, at your service!"

So, I'm going to be trying something new. Short updates, more like a vignette series that will be updated sporadically. Not abandoning other stories, in case people were wondering.

Anyways, leave me some feedback or whatever, and let me know what you think! Also, if you're interested in other stuff that I've written, check out the link attached to the bottom of my Author's Bio. It'll be a fun read, I swear.

Posted and Updated: 08/30/2016, 9:34 PM