One-shot.

Alternate chapter 2 for 'Half Of'

Enjoy. oxo

Pickled Onions

The sun had set when Darren's shift had ended. The little people had been fed, Evra was cleaning his pet snake for the show, and Mr. Crepsley had been talking to Mr. Tall over tea when he had left the grounds the Cirque was stopped at, dressed in normal attire.

The young half vampire traveled the unfamiliar grounds of Amity Park with only a jar of picked onions on hand, feet eventually leading him to an actual park.

There were unoccupied benches all around. Darren was surprised by how abandoned the park seemed, his sensitive hearing not picking up a single heartbeat. Only running water and the whistling wind kept the place from being completely quiet.

'They must really take the whole haunted thing seriously,' Darren thought, chuckling slightly as he wandered around. It was a nice night too, though he was glad he lacked company.

Or so he thought, until he spotted something white and black sitting against the fountain. Radioactive green eyes were trained on the moon, a thoughtful expression on the face of the teenager.

'Snow white hair and glowing green eyes,' Darren recalled, slightly stunned. This was the ghost boy that seemed a popular topic of Amity? The ghost didn't look that much older than him, six years was pushing it. What was his name again? Phantom?

Darren shook his head, heading in the direction of the fountain. The white-haired boy didn't acknowledge him until he spoke up.

"Mind if I sit here?"

Green eyes snapped away from the sky to meet Darren's, Phantom sputtering a, "I d-don't mind."

Darren sat next to him without thought. He was very aware of the lack of heartbeat coming off of the boy next to him, only a soft humming being picked up by Darren's ears.

Neither spoke up for the longest amount of time as he unscrewed the jar and plopped an onion in his mouth. He was trying not to freak out that he was in the presence of someone truly dead, his thoughts considering the fact too late.

"So," The ghost boy spoke up, clearly nervous. "Come here often?" An attempt at breaking the ice.

"I'm from out of town," Darren admitted truthfully.

"Oh." A sign of relief followed, Phantom taking a moment to grin to himself. Darren was unaware of his status, or so the teenager thought.

They both looked to the sky, sighing. "So why are you here?" Darren asked idly, trying to keep the conversation going.

Phantom's eyebrows came together in thought, before he answered, "Just thinking."

"You chose a great place to think," Darren nodded with approval, cracking a smile. "It's nice and quiet."

Phantom chuckled, before his expression changed, an eyebrow raised. "So what are you doing out here alone, kid?"

"Just thinking," Darren repeated Phantom's words. "Or well, that was the original plan."

They both laughed, tension dying as they continued talking about mundane things. At one point, Phantom even asked to try one of Darren's picked onions, surprising Darren when the ghost was both able to eat it and enjoyed it. 'At least I'm not the only one with a strange sense of taste.'

They must have been talking for a good hour, laughing every so often at some silly tale or memory being told, before Phantom let out a small gasp and blue mist escaped his mouth. His eyes narrowed, Darren puzzled by his new friend's behavior.

"I've got to go," Phantom stood up, frowning. "Maybe I'll see you later, um-"

"Darren, Darren Shan." Darren was almost sad that his friend was going. 'It wouldn't end like Sam either,' he thought bitterly, remembering the first boy he had drank blood from, after the wolf man had fatally wounded his friend. Even now, a small part of Sam resided within him. 'Because ghosts are already dead.'

"Danny Phantom." Phantom gave his name with a nod, before smirking. "Don't freak out."

Darren had to admit, he hadn't been able to stop his jaw from dropping as Danny took to the air, ghostly tail trailing behind him as the halfa took off in some direction at a speed that might give Crepsley a run for his money.

He looked up to the sky again, before he heard footsteps. Crepsley had come to retrieve his apprentice.

AN: Before anyone complains to me, Danny would totally like pickled onions if he tried them. Have you SEEN some of the things he's eaten in the show? Especially some of those shakes he had his butler whip up... They must be 100x better than ghost hot dogs that try to eat you back.