A/N: This is my first Danny Phantom fanfic. I fully support the Danny/Sam pairing so expect to read about it in this story! This is set at Halloween, just a comical, spooky tale I was inspired to write. Enjoy and please review...no flames!
Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or any of the show's original characters. I do own this story and any characters not seen on the series. So please don't plagiarize or sue me.
Restless Teen Halloween
Chapter One: A Scorned Heart
Ravens flew overhead, amongst a sky of blue that gradually faded into pale orange. Trees adorned with red, orange, brown, and yellow autumn leaves stood on the grounds of Casper High. In the teacher's parking lot one fashionably late substitute stumbled out of her early nineties model car and scrambled up the steps, trying not to drop her brown fold-over case on the way in.
Sighing she shoved open one of the double doors with her back and staggered into the hall. Holding an index card up to her face she muttered as her glasses slid down from over her bangs, "Now let's see...the classroom should be just down this hall and to the...left? No that's not right."
Meanwhile, inside the English class...
"Hey cut it out!" a black haired, blue-eyed boy exclaimed from his seat on the front row.
The blond jock behind him just snickered, preparing to launch another spitball at the 'geek'. "C'mon Fenton, I'm the star quarterback for the Casper High Ravens," Dash sneered, "You should feel honored. It's not just any loser who gets to help me practice my aim."
"What an egotistical creep," Sam muttered from her seat next to Danny.
"Sam's right Danny," Tucker gave his friend a pat on the back from his seat on the opposite side, "We just have to keep telling ourselves that eventually Dash is gonna get a bogus football scholarship to some fancy far away college, and we'll be free to live out the rest of our lives sans the spitballs."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better Tuck," Danny groaned, wiping another offending saliva wad from his hair.
"Way to go and lift his spirits." Sam snapped at Tucker.
"Speaking of spirits..." Danny murmured after getting hit for about the twelfth time in the past three minutes.
Sam's lavender eyes widened, "Danny no! You know you're not supposed to use your powers for-"
"All right!" Tucker cheered, "Time for some ghostly payback!"
"I'm going ghost!" Danny announced, just before transforming into a white haired, glowing green-eyed halfa. Quickly turning invisible he zipped around to Dash's seat in the back row.
"Hehe...this'll get that loser good." Dash chuckled. Looking up he was disappointed (and a bit confused) to find that Danny had vanished. "Hn, well no biggie, I can still nail his dorky friend."
Danny followed Dash's gaze and gasped, "Oh no! Tucker!"
With an irritated growl he bent the straw back towards Dash just as he let loose a breath. The spitball shot out, hitting the bewildered jock right in the face. "YUCK!!"
"Ew," Paullina cringed, scooting her desk away, "That's disgusting!"
"And the 'phantom menace' strikes again," Sam sighed turning back around in her seat.
"Yeah, isn't it cool?" Tucker asked oblivious to her sarcasm.
Danny had just made it back to his seat and switched back to normal mode when the door swung open revealing a tall slender lady with orange hair and slanted glasses. She almost looked like an older, disorganized version of Jazz (Danny's big sister).
With a groan the woman walked over to the desk, dropped her belongings on top, and slumped down into the wheeled wooden chair. "Sorry class," she panted, "I was called at the last minute to fill-in for your regular English teacher."
The class blinked, surprised by the teacher's odd entrance.
"Oh um..." the teacher forced herself into a standing position, grabbed a piece of broken chalk, and turned to the board, "My name is Ms. Haley Marlette."
The students just continued to stare and blink.
"Uh, any questions?" Ms. Marlette inquired, shoving her glasses back up on top of her head.
Tucker's hand immediately shot up.
"Yes..." she took a moment to glance down at the seating chart laid out on the desk, "...Tucker?"
"How old are you?"
"Tucker!" Danny and Sam hissed.
"What?" Tucker shrugged, "She just doesn't seem old enough to be a teacher. It's a compliment!"
Smiling Ms. Marlette sighed, "That's all right, I get that all the time. Actually Tucker I'm just over twenty-eight. This is my second year subbing."
Sam's hand shot up next, "So why be a substitute when you could be a full time teacher?"
"Well...Sam...I like to travel and meet students from different schools." Ms. Marlette answered with another quick glance at the seating chart.
Dash was next to be called on, "So since you're a last minute sub and all does this mean we don't have to do any real work?"
"I'm sorry...Dash...but your regular teacher did leave a lesson plan behind before leaving early." Ms. Marlette answered, holding a sheet of paper up for all to see. "It says here that you were all supposed to practice public speaking today."
The class let out a collective groan of disappointment.
Sliding her glasses back down on her face Ms. Marlette read the note aloud,
"Dear Substitute,
Today in class we are scheduled to begin our section on public speaking. Each student is to write a five paragraph essay about a political issue of their choice. They must then present their paper to the class in the form of a speech. Students will be timed, and graded upon posture, grammar, and audience appeal. They must each turn in a completed final draft of their speech before the end of class."
"Oh great," Danny slapped a hand to his forehead, "another boring essay."
"Yeah," Tucker griped, "and it's on political issues too."
"Finally!" Sam exclaimed, "A chance to incorporate my strong individualistic views on our environmentally unsound government policies and score an 'A' in the process!"
"Freak," Paullina mumbled from the back.
Ms. Marlette studied the dismayed faces of her students before staring back down at the lesson plan, "Hm..."
There was a collective gasp from the class as she wadded up the piece of paper then casually tossed it sideways into the wastebasket.
"Can she do that?" a random student asked.
"That lesson plan really didn't sound like much fun huh?" Ms. Marlette asked, "Hey, it's almost Halloween right? I saw a poster on the wall on my way in advertising your big Halloween Dance tonight. What say we wrap up the last English class of the week by practicing our public speaking skills—through telling ghost stories?!"
"COOL!" Tucker exclaimed causing the class to eye him. "Hey," he shrugged, "it's better than writing an essay."
"G-ghost stories?" Danny gulped.
"Yeah Fenton," Dash laughed, "Why don't you go first?! Your parents are supposed to be the big-shot ghost hunters!"
"Really?" Ms. Marlette asked hopefully, "That's wonderful Danny! You must have lots of spooky tales to share!"
"Um..." he sweated nervously, "...I dunno, I mean...well the thing is...."
"Danny can't share any stories because all his parents' cases are strictly confidential!" Sam blurted out.
"Oh," Ms. Marlette sighed, "all right then. Do we have any volunteers to go first?"
The room fell so quiet one could almost hear crickets chirping in the background.
Frowning Ms. Marlette hopped up on the desk and pulled a leather-bound book from her fold-over case. "Looks like I'll have to go first then."
Crossing her legs and smoothing out her charcoal gray skirt she propped the book on her knee and opened it to its bookmarked page. "I don't suppose any of you have read this book before?" she asked.
Several heads shook in the negative.
"This is a book about local legends and mysteries. One story is about the accidental deaths of two students right here at Casper High."
That seemed to grab everyone's attention.
Clearing her throat Ms. Marlette began the tale.
"Twenty-one years ago, on the day of the Halloween Dance, there was an accidental explosion in the old science lab. Everyone made it out safely, except for two students who were too busy bickering at the time, oblivious to their dangerous surroundings.
...Flashback...
The double doors to the science lab of Casper High flew open revealing an angry teenage girl with perfectly brushed out orange hair and fire dancing in her cerulean eyes.
"Vincent J. Skye!" she screeched, pointing an accusing finger at a russet haired, mahogany-eyed boy standing at one of the lab tables.
The expression on the startled guy's face was enough to let the whole room know he was in deep trouble. "K-Kate sweetie," he stammered, "w-what's wrong?"
"Don't you 'K-Kate sweetie' me you two-timing scumbag!" she yelled quickly advancing on him. "I know all about Monique from French Club! You told me she was just tutoring you! Well I saw you two at the drive-in last night! The only French that tramp's been teaching you is kissing!!"
Gulping the brown haired teen realized he'd been caught red-handed. "N-Now listen Kate, it wasn't what it looked like!"
"Save it!" she snapped, "We're through Jet! And I mean it this time!"
Vincent (who went by his middle name 'Jet') appeared offended, "Y-you're DUMPING me?!"
"That's right loser." Kate smirked. "Looks like you'll be going to the Halloween Dance tonight WITHOUT a date!"
"So much for dumping her at the big dance." Jet's lab partnered whispered...a little too loudly.
Kate's eyes widened, "W-What?! You were going to dump ME?! At the dance, in front of everyone!!"
"All right class now simmer down!" the teacher instructed upon walking in to find out what the noise was about. "Class is starting so please return to your stations. Miss Ritzfield I suggest you get back to your class."
Kate chose to ignore him, feeling outraged at her boyfriend's betrayal. "You're such a jerk Jet! You chase after every pretty face you see!"
"As if you weren't shallow," Jet chided, "All you care about is wealth and popularity. Admit it Kate, you're just as vain and snobbish as I am."
"How dare you call me a snob!" she yelled.
"Miss Ritzfield!" the teacher shouted.
"CONCEITED CREEP!"
"LOUD-MOUTH DRAMA QUEEN!"
"TAKE THAT BACK SKIRT CHASER!"
"MAKE ME GOLD DIGGER!"
The argument was getting more heated by the second. The teacher stormed forward, intent on sending them both to the principal where'd they likely get detention until next fall. Jet's lab partner noticed and tried to back away. Unfortunately he failed to notice his shoe was untied (of all the luck) so he tripped backwards, falling against the counter and knocking a wide assortment of chemicals onto the floor.
"Oops." he winced as the puddles around him started to fizz and change color.
The teacher froze in his tracks. "Mr. Hooper, get away from that mess! Those are highly unstable chemicals!! They should NEVER be mixed!!"
Yelping the student leapt to his feet and rushed towards the door.
"Quickly class," the teacher instructed as the puddles started to glow and sizzle, "move in an orderly fashion to the nearest exit!"
"IT'S GONNA BLOW!!!" a student screamed causing the entire class to panic and run around in a desperate attempt to get out.
Less than a minute later everyone was outside; the fire alarm was going off and most everyone had been safely evacuated from the building. Well...all but two.
"How could you do this to me Jet?!"
"I was sick of hearing you whine and yap about clothes!"
"Well at least I didn't check out every guy who walked by!"
"No you were too busy asking those ditzy friends of yours where they bought their new shoes!!"
"You're such a womanizer!"
"We can't all be money grubbers Kate!"
"You were going to embarrass me in front of the whole school!"
"So?! You humiliated me in front of the whole class!"
"And another thing-" Kate paused, "-do you hear that?"
Jet listened, "The fire alarm!"
Simultaneously both teens spun around and spotted the bubbling chemical spill by the counter.
Outside there was an eerie hush before the windows of the science lab were lit with a blinding light, then shattered, raining glass down on the crowd of students and teachers.
Everyone screamed, many ran to a safer distance, some hit the ground with their hands covering their heads, but when the explosion was over everyone escaped with minor to no injuries.
...End Flashback...
Everyone except, Jet Skye and Kate Ritzfield. And it is said that their arguing spirits revisit the old science lab of Casper High every year, on the night of the Halloween Dance. Two bickering self-centered teens, never to know peace until they've known forgiveness."
The class sat in awe as Ms. Marlette closed the book and shoved it back into her case. "Well then, how was that for a public speaking lesson?"
"Wow," Tucker remarked, "what a harsh way to go."
"Yeah," Sam agreed, "guess it just proves that shallowness is fated to meet with an ugly yet just end."
"So according to that book there's gonna be two dead kids roaming around the old science lab tonight during the dance?" Dash inquired skeptically. "Hn, who'd ever believe that junk?"
"For someone who's seen more than his fair share of paranormal phenomenon he sure isn't very open-minded." Sam grunted.
Two teen ghosts haunting the old science lab tonight at the dance huh? Danny pondered quietly in his seat; This might be a job for Danny Phantom!
Amanda/Artiste: There you have it, the first chapter of my first ever Danny Phantom fanfic! I hope you liked it, review and let me know! Next Chapter: During lunch Danny makes plans with Sam and Tucker to scope out the old science lab during the dance. But when Danny's parents decide to do a little paranormal investigating of their own will Danny and Jazz suffer utter humiliation?