Dear Daniel Fenton

…

Slight AU

Sam Manson is a loner, but she refuses to admit she's lonely. Danny Fenton is lonely, but has to be a loner to keep his loved ones safe. Tucker Foley is a geek who just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

This fic is loosely inspired by the song If I Could Tell Her from the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack. In this story, Danny, Sam, and Tucker are not friends (yet) as of the start of their senior year at Casper High. Danny's accident still happened when he was just fourteen, and he's been the town superhero/public enemy number one since then. Jazz knows Danny's secret, but he doesn't' know that she knows. Most cannon things from the series have happened, but not all of them, and all of them that did happened without Sam and Tucker (which obviously eliminates episodes like Beauty Marked and King Tuck). You'll see. Maybe they'll happen here.

This first chapter is a long one, as I'm setting up the story.

Reviews welcome! I hope to update every weekend, but who knows? Life is messy and full of surprises.

I don't own Danny Phantom or Dear Evan Hansen.

…

Chapter One

Dawn of the Last First Day

…

"Good morning, sunshine! And how to we greet the new day?"

Sam groaned, wishing her bed would suddenly come alive and swallow her whole. Then she could sleep forever and avoid going toschool. She could also avoid the harsh stream of light that flooded her room, and the two smiling silhouettes that woke her. Squinting against the blinding sun, Sam sat up and scooted away from her mother who had sat on the edge of her king-sized bed.

"How about by closing the damn curtains?" The goth mumbled, blinking as her eyes adjusted.

Her father shook his head, "Now, Sammy, don't curse. We greet the day with smile and an attitude of gratitude!"

Sam thanked her lucky stars that she was nearly eighteen, a mere year away from legally being able to get out of her parents' house. Today was the start of her senior year at Casper High, which was no doubt the reason for this perky wake-up call. It was a rare instance that her parents would come into her room uninvited—so, really, they never came in—and they were a stark contrast to the gothic decorum.

Her mother, who was dressed head to toe in pink tones and pearls, was smiling at her brightly, but Sam could see the frantic wrinkles around her eyes. "Samantha, sweetie? I was thinking that maybe we could spice up the wardrobe today!" It was then that the goth noticed the box in her mother's hands; Chanel. Fancy. "It is your senior year, Sammy-kins."

"And nothing says, hey, world, look at me, like floral print!" Her dad gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, his blonde hair perfectly styled and his patterned blue sweater proving his point.

Sam sighed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with clenched fists. She could feel yesterday's eyeliner smearing across her face, but she didn't care. Maybe she wouldn't even wash her face today. That would show her parents.

"This is a one-of-a-kind piece, Sammy. It hasn't even hit the runways yet!" Peeking open one eye, Sam watched in disgust as her mother pulled the pink monstrosity out of its box. There were a lot of frills. A lot. "The other girls would be blown away!"

"And the boys would be falling all over you!" Her dad added with a clap of his hands, the sun glittering off of his watch. That watch cost more than her Vespa, Sam knew.

Cursing under her breath, Sam threw back the covers and walked away from her parents and to her desk, where she dug around until she found what she was looking for. "I'll wear it if I can make a few alterations," Sam shook the can of black spray paint enthusiastically as she skipped back towards her parents.

Both parents leapt to their feet, her mother clutching the dress to her chest protectively. "Samantha, don't you dare!"

But Sam was quick. The hiss of the paint drowned out the older woman's shriek, and Sam smiled at the stark black stripe that appeared across the bodice of the pink dress. "There. Now, if I can just rip those sleeves off…"

Her mother looked like she would burst into tears as she ran from the room, her heals clacking loudly against the floor as she went.

"Pamela, wait!" Jeremy reached a hand out to his wife but caught only the ruined dress as she left it behind. Clenching his fists, he turned towards his daughter, "I don't know why we even bother." Before Sam could react, he was chasing after her mother, dropping the pink and black pile of frills at Sam's feet.

Sam blinked, shocked at her father's outburst, but shook it off as her goth indifference settled in. She didn't know why they bothered, either. Let them hate her. They didn't really love her, she knew. They wanted a daughter that was just like them, and Sam just…wasn't. She never would be. With a cry of frustration, Sam picked up the dress and tossed it into the trash. As soon as she had that diploma in her hands, she was out of Amity Park and out of this house for good.

…

"Danny, are you awake? You don't want to be late!"

Danny gasped at the sound of his sister's voice, rolling out of bed and onto the floor with a loud oof! He struggled against the cocoon of covers before phasing quickly out of them, rising to his feet and breathing heavily. It took him a few breaths to gather himself, to realize that Jazz wasn't actually in his room and didn't actually see him use his ghost powers. He stared at his clock, trying to make sense of it, and the aches of last night's battle settled in. Ouch, he rubbed the back of his stiff neck, damn you, Skulker.

7:50 a.m. He was going to be late.

"Oh, crud," Danny dove into his closet, digging through the slew of clothes piled on the floor. "And on the first day, too." He found some torn-up jeans, a blue plaid button-up that he threw on over the wrinkled NASA shirt he slept in, and managed to get his shoes on the correct feet as he tripped down the stairs.

Amused, his sister regarded his graceless descent with an eyebrow raised. "Do you need a lift, Danny?" She was sitting on the couch, coffee steaming in one hand and an open book in the other. Ectophycology read the front cover.

"No thanks, Jazz." Heading for the kitchen, Danny made a mess of the cupboards until he found a Poptart that was quickly shoved into his mouth. He called out as he the chewed pastry, with crumbs spewing everywhere, "Too much traffic. I'm just gonna book it on foot." Well, Danny thought, not really. I'm gonna book it on air.

"Danny!" He froze on his way towards to front door, turning to face his parents ascending from the basement. "I can't believe you haven't left yet!" His mother's tone was scolding, but she was smiling at him.

"You don't want to be late for your first day of your last year of high school!" His father swept him up in a crushing hug, which made Danny choke out a bit of his breakfast. "Fentons are never late!"

"Jack, you've been late to every event in your entire life."

"Nonsense, Maddie! I just run on Fentontime! You're never late when you're running on Fentontime!" Setting his son down, Jack scooted over to his wife to show her his watch. The face of the watch was, of course, his own face, grinning. "It also detects how long a ghost has been within a one-hundred-foot radius!"

Danny tensed, beginning to inch towards the door, his eyes stuck on his father's watch. It was already eight o'clock. Also, he didn't want to be around when the ghost-detection part started.

"There has been a ghost within the Fentontime radius for…five hours. Thank you for using Fentontime!"

Maddie gasped, "There's been a ghost in the house for five hours? Jack, quick, to the lab!"

"Right behind you, baby cakes! We'll find that spook and rip him apart for daring to trespass in Fenton Works!"

Five hours sounded about right. Didn't he finally dump Skulker back into the Ghost Zone around three this morning? Danny left the kitchen as his parents did, shaking his head as he reached the front door, noticing Jazz standing there with a backpack in her hands. He took it from her with a smile, "Thanks, Jazz."

"Anytime, little brother." She ruffled his already-messy hair, and opened the door for him. "Be careful on your way to school. Wouldn't want anybody to see you fl—running. Running late!" Jazz blushed, shoving Danny outside with a strained laugh. "Because that would be embarrassing! Running late on your first day of senior year! Anyways, love you, good luck, bye!" And she slammed the door.

With one eyebrow raised, Danny went down the front steps and looked both ways—all clear—before diving into the ally beside his house. Out of habit, he whispered under his breath, "I'm going ghost!"

He was used to the bright rings of light that would burst into existence when he transformed, but it still amazed him. It didn't hurt, but it was a shock to his system to suddenly, well, not have a system. His heart froze mid-beat in his chest, his blood stopped pumping, and Danny knew he didn't have to breathe. The ally around him dropped in temperature; frost crept up the side of his brick house and the puddles beneath him froze solid. Lifting into the air with ease, Danny took off, invisibly, into the air, feeling wide awake as he headed off to his last first day of school.

…

"C! A! S, P, E! R you gonna cheer with me? CASPER! CASPER! Gooo, Casper!"

Tucker took a moment to admire the ladies cheering in the front lawn of the school, sighing dreamily as they waved their red and white pom-poms at all the students walking by. There were balloons and banners, all in the school colors, decorating every available surface and spilling out of classroom windows. The biggest banner, hung right above the front doors, read WELCOME BACK, STUDENTS!

Hopping out of his jeep—his baby, his sweet baby—Tucker walked with his hands in his pockets towards that banner, feeling optimistic about the day. Sure, he wasn't popular. Sure, his only friends were Mikey and Nathan, the presidents of the Casper High Mathletics Club. And, sure, he hadn't been on a date since that time Valerie Grey got dumped by Kwan Weston-Wang right before the junior prom. But this was a whole new year! His last chance at an enjoyable, normal high school experience! No more Dungeons and Dragons competitions! No more dateless nights spent playing Doom with strangers on the internet! No more—

CRASH!

Tucker jumped at the sound, his eyes darting to the dumpster on the side of the building where the crash seemed to come from. He tensed, hoping to not become another ghost attack victim, and was about to make a run for it when a figure appeared from behind the trash can.

"Ow," The kid—a classmate Tucker recognized from years of being in the same classes, not to mention his infamous parents—was rubbing the back of his neck with a grimace on his face. "Stupid, piece of shit Ectopus…" Danny Fenton's blue eyes came up to meet Tucker', and he froze. "Uh…Hi."

Tucker blinked, looking from the disheveled boy to the trashcan and back. Ecto…what? "Uh…Hey." Something growled from inside the big green bin, and both teens took a step away. "Oh, man. Is there something in there?"

Danny reached into his backpack, searching for something frantically, "Nah, there's nothing…in…here." He looked up, seeming to not find what he was looking for. "Aw, crud."

A glowing green monster burst from the dumpster, screeching as the temperature around the lawn dropped. It looked like an octopus, but had an almost human face, with bright red eyes and sharp fangs that dripped glowing goo from its mouth. Goosebumps rose on his skin, and Tucker took a step back with a whimper, noticing how Danny took a step forward, towards the ghost.

"Dude, we gotta get outta here!" Tucker reached to grab his classmate's arm, to pull him away, but he must've been farther away than he thought, because he grabbed nothing but air. Someone screamed behind him, and Tucker turned, watching with wide eyes as the rest of the students noticed the ghost and erupted into panic. When he looked back at towards ghost, Tucker saw that Danny had vanished. Probably ran away. Which, Tucker thought, I should probably do right about now.

He made a break for it, fear bubbling up his throat as the ghost's gaze followed him, screeching violently as it waved its tentacles after the techno geek. With a yelp, Tucker ducked away from a blast of energy, and directly into someone on the sidewalk.

"AH!" Tucker ended up with his legs tangled with the stranger's, and his hands on either side of their face. When he opened his eyes, which he had squeezed shut in fear, he was met with purple irises and lots of dark eyeliner.

"Get off me!" The girl yelled, pushing them both off the pavement clumsily. They sat there, panting, before another blast landed inches away from their feet. "Come on!" She sprang into action, grabbing his hand and pulling him up with her. They ran, following after the other students who were fleeing the scene.

Tucker let her tug him along, and he looked back, screaming (higher pitched than he'd care to admit) at the sight of the beast gaining on them. The girl led them to the front of the building, but as she reached for the door, another ghostly blast melted the handles, scorching her hand in the process.

"Shit," She hissed, letting go of Tucker to cradle her burnt hand. With wide eyes she watched as the ghost approached them, Tucker whimpering beside her, when suddenly the creature was pulled away from them and sent flying into the parking lot. Car alarms went off, smoke rose from crushed vehicles, and a new figure was flying in front of them.

"I bet you think you're so special, pal, escaping from the thermos like that," Phantom's voice echoed. It was otherworldly, not unlike the other ghost's screeches, but his voice didn't sound deadly, it sounded bored. Tucker gaped up at the hero, as in awe as ever at the sight of the white-haired hero. He shook his head, holding his arm out in front of the girl behind him as if the geek could offer any protection. In the back of his mind, he knew that the school was watching this all unfold, and he wanted to be remember as brave.

Phantom lowered himself so that he was standing on the sidewalk in front of the school and tossed his thermos between his hands playfully. "But you're not special," He continued talking to the specter as it rose from the parking lot, its eye burning a dangerous red. "I just dropped the thermos. My bad. Won't happen again." He aimed and fired, a bright white light devouring the ghost before sucking it into the container with one last shriek. The ghost boy put the lid on the thermos unceremoniously before turning to the only two teens outside the building.

Tucker looked at the ghost, to the girl, to the still-burning WELCOME BACK sign above their heads, and then back to Phantom. He'd seen the hero before—who hadn't? He'd been seen fighting ghosts almost every single day for the last four years—but never quite the close, and Tucker tensed as the ghost boy flew even closer. Tucker took a step back, which he told himself was to protect the girl and not because he was freaked out by the way the air became almost frigid at Phantom's presence.

"Are you two alright?" The hero asked in his ghostly echo, bright green eyes shining with concern.

Tucker opened his mouth, but only a quiet "Uhhhhh…" came out. Phantom smirked.

The girl behind him rolled her eyes and moved around Tucker, "My hands." She held them up, and both Tucker and Phantom gasped at the sight of them. Ectoplasm was staining her palms and her studded bracelets, and bloodied blisters were forming beneath the goop on her skin. "It burnt my hands."

"Oh, my God, we've got to call an ambulance, you're gonna die, holy freaking shit…!" Tucker dug his hands into his pockets, multiple devices falling out onto the steps.

The girl rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop the gasp when Phantom appeared very close to her, glowing eyes narrowed at her palms as his hands hovered above them. Her teeth almost began to chatter, but she clenched her jaw.

"May I?" The ghost asked, and his spectacular eyes rose to meet hers. She nodded wordlessly, and Phantom gently set his hands on top of hers, sending a shiver up her arms and through her whole body. She shook, but only for a moment because then the shiver was gone, and so was the ghost boy.

Tucker, ready to dial 911 on his cell, stared at the girl's hands, which were now glistening with tiny droplets of cool ice, soothing her burns and washing away the ectoplasm. The two teens looked at each other, before the sound of an approaching siren broke the tension. Four white vans were racing towards the school, followed by two police cars, and Tucker could hear a chopper in the distance.

Danny breathed a sigh of relief as he changed back into a human, triple checking that the thermos was closed securely in his backpack before he snuck out of the broom closet he was hiding in. He followed the sound of excited voices to the front of the school, where students had been watching the attack unfold. He bumped into someone purposely, "Watch it, Fenton!" so he would have an alibi.

They had just opened the doors, which was the cause for all the excitement. Mr. Lancer was leading two students inside, shooing away the Guys in White, "We no longer require your services, Agents. These students, I'm sure, are anxious to begin their studies. Feel free to patrol the campus, but I will not have you suits disrupting my classes. The ghosts did that enough."

The Agent in question was expressionless, but nodded before speaking quietly into his headset and leading the other men back outside. Danny ran a hand through his hair, letting out the breath he didn't realize he was holding as the men went back to their vans. They'd soon realize that Phantom was long gone, and leave. He hoped.

The bell rang, starting all of the students in the hallway before everyone began to scurry to their classes. As he looked back at the two students being led to the nurses office, he noticed that the girl was hiding her hands inside her sleeves, and the boy was looking right back at him.