(Don't) Say My Name - Chapter 11 - The Definition of Insanity

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After that disaster of a morning assembly in the local high school, Amity Park's most favourable mayor couldn't give less fucks about idle pleasantries if he tried.

Vlad nearly throws himself out of the car, not even bothering to wait for Ian to shut off the engine. He books it straight to his private chambers, a complete wreck. The suit jacket is tossed onto the floor at the same time the room door slams and shudders shut in its hinges. He claws at his buttons, mindlessly undressing as he paces. Just as he passes the floor length mirror by the wardrobe, he catches a sight that slows his movements:

His hair is a disaster from all the times he clawed his fingers through it in the car. His tie is askew and partially undone, unable to continue after the memory of slender, chilled fingers tugging at it spring forward, unbidden and dangerously inviting. The blotchy mess that is his skin, redness of angry humiliation and paleness of fearful shame (and a hundred other emotions he won't acknowledge) sprawl along his neck and crawl well below the half-opened shirt collar – as if it can't decide between being bleached or blushing. His eyes are unnaturally, glossy and wide, eyebrows sitting high on his forehead and his lips a deep scarlet from impatient chewing on the ride home – a bad habit he rarely allows himself to indulge in.

A man debauched stares back at him from the reflection - and he hasn't even touched Daniel yet.

That unwanted thought startles him, and he angrily turns from the mirror before stalking to the whiskey decanter on his dresser. As he goes, he phases his clothing off, too disgusted to even be in the soiled garments a single second longer.

He slams back a hastily poured, heavy-handed shot, feeling the burn and wishing it would punish him more than it does. He decides to pour a healthier amount into the cup and takes it with him into the bathroom to enjoy a much-needed soak in the tub.

The clothes are fine where they are, Julia will find them in a moment.

He pauses, the mess in his trousers will surely raise some questions, even if the housekeeper is wise enough to keep them to herself. Vlad cringes at the hypothetical thoughts she may think and the discussion they had just a couple hours ago.

He leans out the bathroom door and shoots a solitary ecto-beam at the heap on the floor. They burn up into a pile of ash and smoke instantly. 'There, she can have a break from laundry and just vacuum instead.'

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Later that evening…

"Hey Ice-Boy," Sam waves an empty glass in front of Danny's face, "Fix this problem!"

Danny rolls his eyes at her, and then immediately wishes he hadn't. His stomach reels back with dizziness and he takes a moment to collect himself before dutifully making a few ice cubes in his palm.

"My powers aren't a party-trick Sam. You need to –" he pauses to hiccup "-to respect me."

"Respect this!" Tucker calls from the couch before letting out a rather impressive burp. The two refilling drinks at Sam's basement bar laugh at him for the unnecessary contribution.

Sam grins and watches Danny finish making their drinks. "So, when are you gonna talk to Vlaaaad~?"

Danny pauses, looks up at her with a frown, "Why do you think I want to talk to that – hiccup! - that asshole?" He sets the vodka bottle down a little too aggressively.

"Pfft, 'cause obviously! He was basically begging for a second chance today."

Danny smirks, "Heh! He did beg actually. He begged me for 'mercy.'" He giggles as the other two stare at him, mouths gaping.

"Okay actually though, when did he say that? 'Cause I don't remember that. Do you remember that Tuck?"

"I don't remember that!"

"Yeah, we don't remember that Danny."

"He covered it with a cough or something." He taps his ear, "Super hearing? Hello? Did - hiccup! – did you guys already forget that? You're both bad friends." He sighs dramatically.

Tucker sticks his tongue out while Sam flips him the bird. Danny passes each their respective drinks and takes up his spot on the couch.

"Oh yeah, before I forget again … here." Tucker pulls something out from his pocket and tosses it at Danny's chest. The toss wasn't bad, considering how poorly Tucker takes to alcohol. Danny swipes to grab it a full two seconds too late, feeling the device bump against his sternum and land in his lap. Amazing, battle-hardened reflexes don't mix well with drink apparently.

"It's the footage from the morning assembly." Tucker explains, watching Danny inspect the SD card curiously. "I haven't uploaded it or anything yet, I figured I'd give you th-the honours." He smiles smugly, leaning back in his chair. "Obviously I'll tw-tweak the volume a bit so Sam and I can pick up what you two talked about…" He considers, "also raise the thermo readings to actually see you but that can wait until after the initial viewing."

Sam pats the counter enthusiastically, "Ooooh, I wanna hear Vlad begging! Maybe make it a ringtone…"

Danny stares at the memory card, suddenly reminded of all the little things he said and did to Vlad to 'get him back.' Is he really ready to share that with his friends? Some of that stuff … well they already tease him enough as it is.

'I wasn't supposed to go so … off the script… they're gonna tear me a new one when they see this…'

Danny pockets the card instead, "Maaaaaybe another night." He quickly takes a sip of his drink, dodging outraged questioning but unwilling to share just yet.

Sam sighs, "Well whatever you did, for Vlad to lose his cool like that… it must've been pretty awesome!"

Danny forces a grin in response, feeling too buzzed to fix the awkward silence.

"So what, that's it?" Tucker suddenly blurts, "So you're even, you got him back or whatever, obviously pretty good for you to be human again and not losing your shit like last night." He nods pointedly at his friend, "But is it over? You gonna go back to being enemies now?"

That thought upsets Danny more than anything else. 'Is it over?' He didn't stop to think about it yet. Vlad DID betray him in probably one of the worst ways ever, and then lead him on with the truce. He took advantage of Danny's forgiving nature. Then on top of that he willingly chooses to continue to forcibly arouse him? What's his deal? Is he maybe happy enough with the spell that he doesn't mind getting close to Danny like that? In that case, does he maybe not mind Danny's reactions?

Is he… interested in Danny?

Well he's obviously a little curious, if the teen is supposed to trust what Freakshow and Ember said the night before. According to them, Vlad developed a bit of a crush for his enemy… ex-enemy? No – wait – they're enemies again now, right? He kinda did attack the man's weakness in front of an audience… with a very real chance for criminal charges… Shit… Vlad will hate him for that… why did he do that?

"I gotta talk to him!" Danny blurts, standing suddenly, pitching sideways and immediately falling into Tucker's lap. His friend had enough wherewithal to hold onto his glass, although it did spill a good majority of its contents on the plush carpet. "I gotta fix this! Shit! He wanted – literally begged – a chance – and mercy! - to talk – shit, and I – fuck man, let me go!"

Tucker clamps his arms down harder on his friend, Sam watching with amusement as Danny rambles half the things off in his head at the same time, panicked thoughts stumbling over each other to get out fast enough.

"No?" Tucker half-laughs.

The ghost-boy struggles harder in Tucker's grip (the fact that he forgot for even a moment that he could just become intangible shows how wasted he really was), before deflating, "Why nooot?" he whines.

"'Cause you're drunk, bud."

"I mean… I might be a bit over the legal limit…"

"Dude, you're not even legal!"

Sam bursts out laughing, not even able to handle the two dorks on her couch. They both stare at her blankly before joining in too. Danny curls himself up into his friend's lap and lets out a deep breath. "I need to fix this though. Let's go tomorrow? I don't wanna be enemies! I didn't mean -hiccup!- that. I didn't mean it! I just wanted to get back at him a bit and –"

"Danny, shh shh it's okay!" Sam cuts in before he gets himself worked up again, "You go tomorrow. It's the weekend, we'll cover for you. Say you're ss-staying with me. Tuck and I can go to the mall or something."

"Wait, why aren't you coming with me?!" Danny sits up so quickly he nearly knocks Tucker's glasses off his face.

He readjusts them and stares pointedly at Danny, "Uhh, because if we wanted to see you two make out, we'd have gone with you tonight?"

Sam snorts and ducks an apologetic smile behind her drink straw. Danny looks between them, blinking, mouth open, "That's – that's not what I – I don't think he'd – especially not now – that wasn't the point!" He flusters, reddening with each word.

His friends make noises of amused disagreement and he thinks about it and giggles, would that have really happened? No way! Vlad's pissed at me, obviously, he would never – would I even want that?

Tucker rolls his eyes and laughs at him, "Cheer up buddy, you'll see him tomorrow. Then you can kick his ass for this whole spell business."

"Unless he's too busy staring at it!" Sam crows, laughing and raising her drink in cheers.

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The following morning Danny lounges in his bed, idly twirling the SD card around his fingers. After easily laughing off Tucker's loud arguments of "Friends don't let friends fly drunk!" Danny found he was more than capable of sneaking into his death trap of a house and falling right into bed, no questions asked. It helps that his parents are slightly guilty their equipment keeps going off on him, blaming his prolonged exposure to ectoplasm. 'I mean, close enough.' He thinks wryly.

Tucker and Sam are both still passed out in her basement, probably drooling away. They don't bounce back quite like he does. And if Danny is feeling sluggish and clumsy, then they will be very grouchy upon wakening.

He smirks as he turns onto his side, placing the SD card on the bedside table to stare at. How bad could the footage be? Surely hiding it from his friends is a bit cowardly. They were there, just missing some rather telling details. He has to own up to his crazy revenge plan at some point. He can't hide it from Vlad, the poor guy had to live it after all.

And possibly ruin his human life in the process. Damn, Danny might have been too harsh. What if Vlad got caught? "I'm such an idiot." He mumbles to himself.

So he's not good at revenge. Sue him. He's the Good Guy in all this. He was betrayed. He has every right to be angry with his nemesis… ex-nemesis?

But he's not. Not anymore, anyway, He's too conflicted. If Vlad actually regrets the whole thing and it was all a giant misunderstanding, then maybe Danny could forgive him for yet another plan spinning wildly out of control. Maybe.

He turns away from the little incriminating device, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. What would he do if Vlad regrets everything and wants to go back to being enemies? It's not like they fought all that much these past couple years but now that he knows Vlad wanted to secretly train and prep him all along? Would he be able to ignore that?

He groans and hauls himself out of bed, pointedly not looking at the memory card. He plops himself down in front of his computer and checks the time. It's almost 09:30, his friends won't be awake for a little while yet.

It's Saturday morning, he's home alone, he's a healthy young man, he's got all weekend ahead of himself, and he's thinking what any other guy would be thinking in this situation.

'How do I know if my arch nemesis actually regrets his ultimate betrayal of my trust or if he just regrets getting caught for paying criminals to fuck with my head?'

Right, typical teenage shit.

What he wouldn't give for some plain-Jane high school drama for once in his life.

Danny shakes his head and types "Vlad Masters" into the search engine, looking for anything new or condemning being said about the man.

Nothing.

He looks for any new companies opening or other obvious power moves.

Nothing.

The only new thing in Vlad's life seems to be the unveiling of some anti-ghost fencing. Danny snorts, wondering if they're designed to keep the creator out himself too.

The quiet buzzing text from Tucker demanding greasy breakfast sandwiches and coffee finally puts an end to the research and just as well, he was coming up empty-handed anyway.

Just before leaving his room, Danny scoops up the memory card and sticks it in the wall with his other ghost-related paraphernalia. It's a hidden cache he discovered in the dead-space between drywall studs back when he was younger and has been storing notebooks and ghostly pictures with his friends ever since. It's perfect for hiding this kind of stuff from his parents.

The insistent rude text from Sam asking if he got Tucker's message has him rolling his eyes and quickly transforming. "Fenton Taxi Service on its way" he sends back.

.

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"How about you fuck off and suck on a celery stick or something?"

"Orrr how about you just open your mind a little and try anything at all that isn't a meat product, you disgusting, carnivorous cliché."

"It's what my food eats, so why would I eat it? That's like eating the grains the chicken eats, or the hay the cow eats. Just… no? Also, me? Cliché? Look at you."

Sam groans, lowering her vegetarian breakfast sandwich. "You are impossible. Stop arguing, my head is pounding."

"Then leave me the fuck alone, witch. I will not eat your nasty ass grass clippings, especially hungover."

"Maybe if you were to eat my – "

The senseless argument that has lasted literal years was mercifully cut short when the two caught sight of Danny's ghost sense. It seeped from under his elbow, since his face is pressed against the tucked arm-pillow he stuck it in after hearing his two best friends go off yet again.

This is why friends should only hang out with friends who eat the same food groups. This conversation is so old Danny has it memorized. The only difference it has seen in the past years has been the steady upgrade in colourful language used to insult one another.

"Don't wanna." He mumbles into his arms. His hangover is nothing compared to the other two's but flying definitely didn't make things better for Danny's sluggish limbs. He feels like a zombie.

"Uhhh, maybe you do?" Tucker asks pointedly, sparking his tired friend to follow his gaze out the window.

Vlad. Of freaking course.

"Can it be like anyone else? I'm too tired to deal with him."

He says that, but he watches as the man halts in his tracks on the sidewalk, readjusting the newspaper under his arm and sipping the fancy to-go coffee in his hand. He made it look so easy, eyes darting this way and that over the rim of his cup, looking for the source of his own ghost sense. So smooth and undetectable. Danny is a goddamn mess every time his own sense goes off in public (when he's not incredibly hungover).

When their eyes lock, Danny's heart slams in his chest. Vlad's eyes widen in what appears to be panic before narrowing. Then he turns on his heel and continues down the sidewalk, face a dark scowl. Danny lets out a deep breath and slumps forward onto the table once more.

"Damn, you guys are dramatic."

"Shut up, Tucker."

"He's right, Danny. Just go talk to him and quit dancing around each other. Everyone knows you're gonna go apologize. And we all know he doesn't deserve it." She sips her coffee, "Tucker and I will be the muscle, as per usual."

"If that's the case then Danny is only relying on me for literal muscles."

"Excuse me? Because I'm a woman?"

"Pffft, how do you expect to have muscles and strength when you eat plants and seeds all day? You're thin, you'll never intimidate anyone like that."

There's a slight scuffle and Danny lifts his head to witness Sam craning Tucker's hand behind his head, elbow bent at a bad angle and lips right close to his ear. "You wanna talk more about intimidation, Meat Sweats, or are ya gonna be a good boy, drink your coffee and shut the fuck up?"

The agreeable whimpers she gets in return renew Danny's faith in which friend is his number one for proper backup. Each have their strong points, but Sam is just plain scarier.

"Go talk to him Danny. You said you wanted to 'fix things.'"

He ignores the total casual way she talks as she manhandles Tucker into a headlock. "I'm tired today. And besides, it seems like he doesn't want to talk to me anyway." He tries not to pout, he really does.

"Duh. Put yourself in his shoes. How do you think you'd react if you were him?"

Oh. Fair enough.

"Fine." He sighs, "But you're both coming with me."

They squawk and argue but soon enough Danny has them both invisible and floating alongside him down the hallways of City Hall itself. "You guys need to remember to behave," Danny whispers, "I want answers, but this is not an interrogation. Got it?"

His friends nod silently at him and he quietly phases pass the secretary and into the main office's doorway.

Vlad looks up just as his three 'favourite' teens materialize in the middle of his office. He seems uncharacteristically nonplussed and returns his attention to his paperwork with a small "tsk."

Danny sees how the grip on his pen tightens and doesn't continue writing further, just hovers over the paper in fake concentration.

"I have nothing to say to you three."

"Well that's too bad," Sam steps forward quickly, "because we have questions for you."

"Loads of them." Seconds Tucker, stepping beside her and glaring at the man.

Danny huffs, watching as they immediately begin the interrogation that he specifically requested against. He folds his arms and leans against the doorframe, willing to let them take the lead while he controls his conflicting emotions.

"First off, what the fuck?" Sam throws her hands out wide, attempting to gesture at the entire shitty situation. "Like, where do I even start with this one, Vlad?" She pauses, "I'm not gonna excite you if I call you that, right?"

Vlad presses his lips into a firm line and clears his throat, "No." He answers simply, "The spell only targets… Mr. Fenton." He quickly sweeps his gaze to Danny in the doorway before quickly looking away again.

"'K, but why?" Tuckers crosses his arms and tilts his head. "Why does this spell even exist?"

Vlad drops the act of finishing writing whatever he was writing before they interrupted him. He sets the pen down and leans back in his chair, sighing heavily. "I've been wondering that myself lately."

"And what are we supposed to do with that?"

"Patience, Mr. Foley." He grits out, "Originally the spell was to earn trust and companionship from D- our subject." He stumbles over Danny's name before reverting to clinical detachment. "The request was for him to feel affection every time I uttered his name. That is all." Vlad closes his eyes and tilts his head back. "They knew damn well what I meant." He frowns.

"You do realize you just said, 'earn trust and companionship,' right?" Sam smirks, "Don't you find that word choice a bit ironic?"

Vlad sits up and levels a hard stare at the girl, "I will not sit here and be lectured by a teenaged brat on language," He hisses out, "I cannot very well approach you three without being attacked or shut out before the conversation has even begun. My reputation and past proceed me."

"Well who ruined that, hmm?" Tucker shakes his head, "Why not just talk to us, like a normal fucking person would, hmm? Try?"

Sam frowns, genuinely curious, "So you ruined your rep with us, its not impossible to fix things normally. But why the big rush and order up a spell?"

Vlad cringes and looks away, "I've never been very patient, you all are well aware of that."

"But what's happening now that's made you so impatient for change-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Masters?"

The intercom on the desk cuts off Sam's question and with obvious relief Vlad hurriedly pushes a button to give his secretary the go-ahead.

"Miss Hemlin has arrived for her 11:00 appointment."

Vlad visibly pales and snaps his gaze to the trio in front of him, "Please leave." He pleads.

Sam snorts and Tucker looks to his halfa friend, "Danny?"

Danny finally rises from his spot on the wall and steps forward.

"Mr. Masters?" The voice queries urgently.

Danny stares Vlad down as he takes his place between his two best friends. "I want more answers." He transforms back to human.

"Yes of course! Whatever you want. Just leave." Vlad seems frozen within Danny's gaze, hand hovering over the intercom button. 'Why is he human? He needs to be in ghost form to fly…'

"Mr. Masters? Can I send her in? She's quite adamant." The woman on the intercom sounds distressed but doing her best to be polite.

Danny grabs a wrist of each friend and turns them invisible. "We will wait for her to leave."

"No! That's not -"

"Mr. Masters, she's coming in!" The receptionist all but shouts into the intercom, clearly losing her composure.

"Argh!" Vlad growls. He's lost complete control over the situation in seconds. He straightens his tie and quickly pushes his paperwork into a drawer in his desk. His eyes scan the room warily, no doubt searching for a hint as to where his adversary is hiding.

"We will be quiet." A quiet, disembodied voice whispers.

"That is not the point!" He growls lowly to the air.

The woman that bursts through the door strides with confidence and purpose. Her white kitten heels click over the polished floor as she all but sings her greetings, "Mr. Masterrrrrs! How wonderful to see you!"

Vlad stands and plasters on a quick, winning smile before taking her hand in a firm handshake. "Ah, yes good morning Mrs. Hemlin, please come in." It's obvious he wishes he could tell her to go take a hike.

"You look as handsome as ever, darling. Is that a new tie?" She takes a seat across from him, demurely crossing her ankles in her white pencil skirt and lowering her oversized bag to the side of the chair.

Vlad blinks dumbly down at his run-of-the-mill dark blue Windsor-knotted tie. Very standard. It took some effort to locate a standard tie this morning. The last red bolo was kind of... disintegrated and he felt a little unsettled about putting another one on this morning. Something about the feeling of slim, chilly fingers tugging at it... The memory had him spiraling and destroying every last bolo in a red-eyed fit.

"Yes, it's a bit more traditional..."

"It's classy and dashing and brings out your eyes, if I might be so bold."

"You're nothing if not bold Mrs. Hemlin." He mutters.

"Its Miss." She insists, fluttering her eyelashes.

Danny can literally feel Sam roll her eyes.

Vlad clears his throat and leans away from her sickly, sweet smile. "Right, well. Is there any way at all I could reschedule this appointment? I'm a tad busy at the moment and -"

"Mr. Masters." She cuts him off politely yet firmly, "You have rescheduled this appointment already and honestly I'm a little miffed. If you want things to actually happen this year then I have some points that must be addressed now."

Vlad dips his head in acquiesce and grinds his teeth together in displeasure, "Of course, my apologies Miss Hemlin. Please proceed." His shoulders imperceptibly droop in defeat.

She nods and smiles warmly, dipping a manicured hand into her bag and pulling an accordion file-folder from its depths. The papers she pulls from it are all pristine and organized in neat print. Danny can't make out what the labels are, but he can tell they're all meticulously hand-written.

She places them in front of Vlad and leans forward, sky blue blouse showing cleavage in a tantalizing display for the man across from her. If only he were paying attention. Vlad looks through the sheets and nods, "These are very well drawn up Miss Hemlin. You've already written the statements and greetings... And a full week before the deadline I set for you. Exceptional work."

She preens under his praise, smiling and pushing a stray lock of vibrant red hair behind her ear. "Anything involving you becomes my top priority, Mr. Masters." She purrs. She doesn't notice his jaw clench and continues on. "I've even taken the liberty of attaching your new logo and company name, I just don't understand why you chose to remain anonymous. This is a wonderful thing you're doing, surely it would look good for the public? It might even win you a few more votes!"

Vlad hums, looking over the papers. His eyes dart to the corner couch where he suspects Danny and his friends to be hiding – if the unusual dip in the leather is any clue to go by. "Its not meant to be widely known, it's just something nice to do. I was thinking I'd try something new."

"You're always doing nice things. This isn't exactly new. Why not let the public know how much you cherish education and let them thank you properly? The only part that's new here is hiding behind a fake logo and name. Don't you want these lucky kids to know who's putting them through school?"

'What?' Danny's mouth drops open in surprise. He feels both his friends' grips loosen (probably from shock too) and grips them harder. Can't lose the connection or they'll suddenly be visible.

A deep sigh. "Well the cat's out of the bag now anyway…" Vlad mutters quietly before raising his voice, hardening the tone, "But I still want to remain anonymous. Can you handle that, Miss Hemlin?"

She positively beams, "Of course I can handle it! You hired me for a reason Mr. Masters. I'm sure it was for my ...skills." She winks coyly at him.

"It was indeed. Now you mentioned points needing to be addressed. Let's get to those now."

Danny can hear the faint noise of Tucker hiding a snort behind his free hand. Vlad's eyes flick over briefly but return just as quickly to the woman across from him. Danny notices the slight twitch in his lips.

"Of course, of course. You must be such a very busy man. In demand all the time."

Danny rolls his eyes. Can this woman not read a room?

She pulls a notepad from her bag and leans forward, "Alright, I need from you requirements and repercussions. Let's start with the requirements. What do these kids need to have regarding grades, athletics, extracurriculars, homelife, etcetera in order to be accepted by your scholarship? Every different one has a different type of kid they cater to. What type of kid do you want to cater to?"

Vlad leans back, drumming his fingers. "Is there only one type allowed? Can I not cater to as many as I want? What if I want all of them?"

Sam squeezes Danny's hand again, harder and Danny understands the sentiment. 'What the actual hell is going on here?'

Deborah laughs, "A family man too? You really are the whole package Mr. Masters! But seriously, you can't cater to everyone. If you want to create multiple scholarships, then we can look at that. But you need to have a certain criteria for the student to meet. You can't put everyone through school, that's quite costly and not to mention a political nightmare."

"Why not?"

"Well, when would you pull out? What if they change majors? What if they never quit school? You may be well off but this is unheard of. Also do you ignore last years' kids? And next years'? You would have to answer a lot of questions."

Vlad hums, "You raise many valid points. Alright, so I cannot be too broad. We will open multiple scholarships but perhaps not too many."

He thinks about it "There are some kids who work every day to pay for their schooling, supplies, food, whatever else. Maybe the parent can't afford it, maybe the parent creates a toxic environment or there isn't even a parent around at all. I want a scholarship dedicated to working students. With proof that they are working more often than not during the school year. They will be granted full-ride scholarships as a reward for their efforts and a chance to relax."

"That is so beautiful. Why is that the first place your mind went to?"

"Experience. I was a child who had to work twice as hard to afford my schooling. My father made an honest effort, but it was tough to keep a home and growing teenager and a savings account all at once. I don't want anyone set back because of things they can't control."

"This will be quite the lucky individual!"

"Individuals. I want it for ten kids."

Deborah squawks in a rather unladylike fashion, "Vlad! you can't take on ten kids like that and other scholarships too."

"Why not? I can do whatever I want." He leans back, self-satisfied in his answer.

Danny huffs a very quiet laugh through his nose and grins, unable to hide the small noise since both hands are occupied keeping his friends invisible. Vlad doesn't look over but he smirks at the barely perceptible sound.

"With all due respect, that's just too much. We are back to what I was saying before. Take on two kids."

"Six."

"Three."

A grunt "... Fine, three."

Deborah smiles at him, "So sweet." She makes a note, "Alright three full-ride scholarships for working individuals. Now we need repercussions. How about staying above a certain grade point average? Or dropping a class?"

"A passing grade is fine and they can keep the scholarship. I don't mind if they drop classes, some workloads need adjusting. If they drop everything though then I want to hear about it." He pauses and sits up straight, "I want a point of contact so I may email them or call them - their choice - and try and talk them out of giving up. I will decide personally if the scholarship stops or is on pause until they return to studies."

"… That is a little unusual Mr. Masters. Most people don't get so personal with their awardees."

Vlad lifts an eyebrow at her and says in an icy tone, "Well I am an unusual person, Miss Hemlin."

She backs off completely and makes another note. "Understood. Alright, that is the working student award. Now for another?"

The meeting continues on, Vlad choosing to award the top students in each class type, haggling over the number of students without going overboard. The final product is 10 scholarships will be awarded and each will be by grade and recommendation of a teacher. The recommendation point is so that it isn't offered to just top marks but also most passionate or most deserving – not everyone is good at test-taking after all.

Repercussions for below passing grades or dropping all classes are personal contact from Vlad himself (under his disguised title). Scholarships are awarded along with final report cards and are all full-ride programs. It took a lot of debate, but Miss Hemlin finally backed down as Vlad refused to give any form of half-assed scholarship.

Finally the meeting ends and Miss Hemlin promises to keep in touch. "You know Vlad, I am always one phone call away. Anytime of day." She leans forward again, presenting her assets and smiling widely. "I'd love to meet with you in a more private setting, if you'll have me."

Vlad frowns and snaps at her, "This is a private setting, Miss Hemlin. Or it better be. I wish to remain anonymous and you aren't to ruin that."

She eases back a bit and pouts. "Of course, of course. Perhaps you'd like to grab a coffee with me before the next appointment you have?" She tries again, twirling an escaped curl.

"I have a perfectly good coffee pot in the break room, I don't go for coffee."

She gestures to his takeaway cup from earlier and frowns. "Why are you so cold to me, Mr. Masters? Are you maybe seeing someone secretly that no one knows about?" She laughs, expecting her question to be rhetorical. The media has been after his bachelor status for years.

He latches onto the excuse. "Yes, that's it! I didn't want to say anything to hurt your feelings but..." he trails off as Danny accidentally drops the invisibility with shock while Sam beside him snorts before slapping a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widen but are still crinkled with mirth. Tucker stares at them, suddenly realizing they're visible.

Vlad locks eyes with Danny, ..."I'm suddenly seeing someone." He raises an eyebrow at the teens before turning back to his company with put-on cheerfulness. The teens wink out of sight again.

Deborah turns her head to look at what caught his attention, but seeing nothing, turns back to Vlad and makes a great fuss of apologizing for assuming.

Danny jolts at the pinch in his side and harshly chills his grip on Tucker in retaliation.

"My apologies, I had no idea." She smiles politely, scooping up the paperwork and notes and gently packing them in her bag. "If that is all the points you have for me then I will head back to my office. I'll send you an email when the final touches have been made so you can approve them for printing. Good day to you, Mr. Masters." She hurriedly flees the office.

The room is silent for a long, heavy moment.

"Are you three still here?" he finally asks the room.

He groans when he sees them become visible again. The two remain seated, patting Danny before lounging back and waiting. His move. They don't seem interested in the interrogation any more since both became confused with Vlad's motives.

Danny is too. He steps forward and rubs his hands together with put-upon enthusiasm. "So!"

Vlad groans and reaches for his coffee cup, taking a deep gulp like it'll solve all of his current problems. He grimaces, it's gone cold.

"She seems nice." Danny barely holds back a grin at Vlad's expression.

"Do not start."

Danny laughs at the man's expense, watching him grumble into his take-away cup. "Alright… Scholarships? Really?"

Vlad's face pinches like he ate a particularly sour lemon, whole. "You weren't meant to hear any of that. Why are you here eavesdropping anyway?"

"You know I came here for answers."

Vlad sighs rather aggressively, hanging his head and patting his hands on the top of his wide desk. All the usual signs of distress and discomfort are unusual coming from him, but Danny is unyielding, stance firm and waiting.

"It was supposed to make you feel friendliness, nothing more. I swear it! Just the desire to be pleasant and kind." He exhales and studies his fingernails, "Just enough to get you to lower your guard with me."

Danny tilts his head, "Then what?"

Vlad pauses, "Do we have to do this right now?"

"Answer the question, Vlad." Danny steps forward, attention fixed on the man and his miniscule flinch, "Then. What?"

Vlad holds his hands up in surrender, "Fine! Fine! Just don't - don't do that, again. Please." At the agreeable nod from the teen, he drops his hands again and proceeds quietly, "I was going to try and take your ghost-half away again."

At the outraged sputtering from all three, Vlad cuts in quickly, "I know, I know. I'm well aware of Dan and that whole fiasco. I was going to try another method." He turns his chair to the side and leans back, trying to appear nonchalant and not fooling anyone. "But that was only Plan B, really."

"Oh, only Plan B!" Sam bites out sarcastically, "Attempting to rip out half of someone's identity, especially after already seeing how this utter catastrophe went down in another timeline…" Sam shakes her head, too flabbergasted to continue.

"Isn't the definition of 'insanity' the act of doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?" Tucker pipes up, frowning from the couch.

"I would like to get this over with at a decent time today," Vlad sends a withering glare at the two, "Please reign in your guard dogs Daniel."

Danny feels the spell prickle his forehead and narrows his flashing eyes, "Don't say my name, Vlad." His icy words are mirrored by the sudden drop in temperature.

The man bristles as the use of the spell begins twisting his insides into tight knots and looks up to the teen's face. He lifts an eyebrow, then quickly frowns and averts his gaze. "I will not be humiliated once more Mr. Fenton. So if that is what you're here for then you may turn-"

Danny shakes his head, "No, no, c'mon, wait. I'm trying to be civil here. Just don't be a dick for like, 10 minutes, okay?"

Vlad grunts as his ears heat, feeling completely at the mercy of a teenager once again, "How do I get you to leave?"

Danny pushes out a humourless laugh, taking in the hunched shoulders and desperate eyes of the man across from him, "Tell me what Plan A was, then maybe we'll go."

"Well, it was…" Vlad falters, looking at Anywhere Else and feeling his shame threaten to swallow him up. 'This is ridiculous, just spit it out and get on with your life. He won't kill you, obviously. Maybe you can move somewhere warm for a couple years, somewhere with beaches and lots of fruity drinks and no teenagers with ice affinities.'

He puts on a brave face, mind set and finally speaks, "Plan A was to have you work with me. Have you let down your guard enough to look past my … previous plans and plots and join me in my work?" He cringes at the embarrassing words before barrelling on, "You're a smart young man, I could use that - besides obviously the ghost powers - you have a natural skill with people that took me years to develop. And I cheated some-most-alright a lot of the time."

He drums his fingers along the desktop nervously. Might as well get it all out there now. "And I wasn't lying about us sticking together, I wasn't lying about anything else, as a matter of fact." He looks at his hands, resting atop the desk and imagines the countless times he's raised them against this boy. He clenches them into fists, "I can't imagine never seeing you again." Maybe he'd come looking for Vlad on whatever island he's chosen to relax at (read: hide) in a couple years' time, after this whole mess blows over and becomes just an unfortunate memory. They could commiserate over mojitos and mai tais.

Danny shifts, bringing Vlad's distracted attention back into focus.

He turns to look at his two friends on the couch, wide eyes imploring them for their help. Sam and Tucker are just as wide-eyed and nonverbal as he is.

"Right, um," Danny clears his throat, "You've given us a lot to think about. I need… I need to process all of this."

He settles a glare at the man across from him, pointing aggressively for good measure, "This doesn't mean you're off the hook yet, Fruitloop." He wonders briefly if Vlad will try to cut town for a bit – it would be so typical of him. "I expect to see you at my house for dinner next week as per usual. Don't try to skip out of that for any reason, I will find you, and I will make full use of this spell to humiliate you. I don't care who is around. Understand?" He is very impressed with himself, especially when he sees Vlad blanche and sputter very obvious "Of course"s and "I would never"s. Mhm. Figures.

As Vlad visibly sags like a forgotten birthday balloon, Danny strides back to the couch, transforming on the way. "I'll see you next week."

"Yes, yes, I understand." He mutters, not looking as he waves his hand dismissively. He feels the room warm slightly and instinctually knows the trio has finally gone. "What a mess." He groans.