Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or its characters. I only own Regan and the other OCs.

Chapter 2

Regan's stomach clenched as she stepped into Casper High's main hallway. It was her first day of school, and she was terrified.

A whole new school meant a whole new layout of rooms to memorize. It also meant figuring out new teachers, and the worst part of all…new students to deal with.

Regan had never been the new student before, so she wasn't sure what to expect as she walked slowly down the hallway, clutching her new schedule in her hand and searching for her homeroom. Eyes followed her, and kids hid whispers behind their hands.

"Yikes," she whispered to herself, ducking inside her homeroom and sitting down in the first empty seat she came across. Hiding her face in her notebook, she wished desperately that she was back in Iowa, where she hadn't had friends, but at least people didn't treat her like an animal in a zoo.

…

Regan's morning classes weren't so bad, but then the moment that she had been dreading all morning arrived: Lunch.

For several minutes, she hung around her locker, trying to delay going to the cafeteria as much as possible.

"Hey," an accented voice called from behind her, and Regan slammed her locker door shut in surprise, whirling around to face a girl with long, black hair. "I'm Paulina. You're new here, aren't you?"

Regan had the sudden urge to glance around before answering – what if this girl wasn't really talking to her? But she brushed the thought aside and said quietly, "Uh, yeah."

"Want to come sit with us?" Paulina asked, and Regan felt a twinge of jealously at her cool Spanish accent.

Her first reaction was to refuse the offer – she had planned on sitting by herself, where she didn't have to worry about talking to anyone. But the word "sure" had left her mouth before she could stop it, and she found herself following Paulina down the hallway.

"So I don't think I caught your name," the raven-haired girl said casually.

"Um, uh, Regan," the flustered girl replied, shaking her head with disbelief at all of this. Were new kids really so popular at this school?

During lunch, Regan learned several things: That Paulina certainly wasn't unpopular – she sat with a giant group of people – and that she and her group of friends were actually the opposite…they were the most popular kids in school.

This confused Regan completely. It wasn't like they needed another friend, as it seemed like everyone in school wanted to be friends with them. But they didn't seem to be faking their friendship. All through lunch, they asked her questions about her family and Iowa. It seemed like they were genuinely interested in her.

Regan left school that day in high spirits, much more confident that life in Amity Park wouldn't be so bad.

…

For the next few weeks, everything progressed nicely. Regan sat with the popular kids every day, and began to be known and envied by the rest of the school. She walked to lunch with Paulina every day as well, and the girl was always perfectly friendly and cheerful.

Regan was aware that her friends weren't so nice to most of the other students – she had witnessed multiple pranks and teases – but as long as they were accepting of her, what did she care what they did to everyone else? It wasn't her problem, and she certainly wasn't going to interfere. This was the first time that she had actually had friends.

Then, one day, almost two weeks after moving to Amity Park, Regan entered the cafeteria alone. For the first time, Paulina hadn't been waiting at Regan's locker, and none of the other popular kids were in sight.

Once in the room, she turned to the A-list table, ready for another fun lunch. But everything was different.

Usually, she and Paulina sat down together near the middle of the bench. And Paulina was there, all right – but every seat at the table was taken. There was no room.

"Um, excuse me," Regan said calmly, figuring that they would make room when they saw her. No one moved or spoke, or even acknowledged that she had spoken. "Guys, can you make some room?" she asked again, her voice shaking slightly.

This time, she got a reaction. "Did you hear something?" Star, one of the other popular girls, asked the rest of the table. "I think I heard something."

"I heard it too," Paulina agreed. "It was, like, a buzzing sound."

"Yeah, it sounded like a fly," Dash, the best jock at Casper High, agreed. "Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away."

Shaking her head in confusion, Regan spoke louder. "Guys, did you hear me? There's no room at the table."

"Ugh, there it is again!" Paulina complained with a sigh. "That fly is so annoying."

Giggling, Star replied, "Throw some milk on it. Maybe that'll make it go away."

"Good idea," Dash said, picking up his milk carton. Before Regan could react, he jerked his arm, and chocolate milk splashed all over her.

On pure instinct, Regan began to scream, clapping her hands over her mouth as milk dripped from her hair and clothes. Tears brimmed in her eyes, clouding her vision, though she could see just enough to make out the nasty grins on the faces of the people who she thought were her friends.

This scene had drawn the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Feeling dozens of eyes on her, Regan turned on her heel and ran from the room, managing to make it into the girls' bathroom before bursting into tears.

Author's Note: Thanks for several great reviews, along with favorites and followers, on chapter one! I'm glad to see that people are enjoying this story so far. I know this update is very quick, but that's only because I already had all of chapter two written before I posted chapter one. Hopefully the wait for chapter three won't be long either! Please keep letting me know what you think of Regan and the rest of the story. I really enjoy getting feedback on my work!