You've got my attention - Danny Phantom X Reader

Concerning files

You'd curled up on the floor of Vlad's lab as a peaceful silence rang through the room. The only sound being that of the ghost portal whirring as Vlad left it open for whatever reason.

You've been trying to catch your breath from the training you just endured. You kept your eyes closed and arms crossed as you steadied your breathing. The sounds of the hot knife burning things into place being barely present. You'd glance once or twice at the clock, a small nervousness in your chest.

You hadn't gone to school that day. You hadn't even gone home. And while Vlad didn't care to question why you'd rather be with the guy who killed you than with family and friends, you couldn't help but feel the bitter taste in your mouth as you sat through this moral dilemma. Right now, all you could really think about was avoiding your dad. If you go to Danny's, there was a possibility of him being there. And lately... Sam and Tucker have been staying close by in case something happened. Which means- you couldn't go to Sam or Tuckers while you avoided your dad.

So... that left Vlad.

You peaked your eyes open and glanced up at him. His concentration being kept on the watch as he fixed it for you. You didn't really like Vlad - he was untrustworthy. For all you knew, he could be re-programing the watch to send you back in time. You shook your head and closed your eyes again. While he may be helpful with training, he's nothing more than that. He's not my friend, he's not even an acquaintance. He's just someone you'd use to help get yourself stronger.

His motives for helping you are still unclear. I mean... maybe the training is just a cover up to suck information about Danny out of you. Or... the training sessions is a reason to beat you up without your complaint. You bit your lip a little. I'm not sure exactly. He may have told me why he relates to me; but, that isn't a real reason to help me.

The way Danny described him was nothing short of inconsiderate and horrible. At least... he was supposed to be horrible. The emotional confliction bubbled up again as you began to tap your foot on the floor anxiously.

"Are you alright?" Vlad spoke up, pausing what he was doing.

You opened your eyes, your nervous tendencies quickly coming to a halt, "Uh- yeah yeah! I'm... I'm alright..." You stuttered out, your eyes immediately falling off him when the words slipped from your mouth; it sounding incredibly unconvincing.

You heard the hot knife click off as he fiddled with the watch for a moment and walked over, "I think I've finally worked it out." He said, handing it to you. You gave him a small thank you as you put it on your wrist, flicking through the settings to make sure nothing had changed. "I have a few ideas you might benefit off of if you'd like to hear them?" He offered.

"Yeah sure." You said, a small smile tugging at your lips. You pushed yourself up off the ground and followed him over to his computer. You were glad he hadn't pushed further. If he did, you didn't really want to tell him you were conflicted about if he wanted to kill you again... it was impolite...

He opened a few files and organised them a little before introducing them, "First off... I could quickly program your house as a coordinate setting; just so you wouldn't have to rely on me all the time." He stated, taking a small glance at you.

"You'd- program it for me?" You asked, raising a brow skeptically. He gave you a small nod before opening another file. "Uh-! It's alright... I don't mind doing that myself." You quickly spoke up. You didn't really want to give him exact coordinates of your house.

"Alright." He quickly dismissed, pulling up another file, "A few other adjustments like- quick scans and logging information would be quite useful." He paused, glancing over your watch again, "It'll take me some time but I'll get it done."

You gave him a small smile, "Sounds good to me Plasmius."

He let out a small grumble, "Again, I'd appreciate it if you'd call me Vlad." He replied, his eyes focused back on his computer as he opened some sort of software you've never heard of.

"I don't think we're quite there yet, Plasmius." You said again, poking fun at the nickname he chose for himself. He let out another grumble as he filtered through files before opening one up, ignoring your small giggles.

He shooed you away, "Shouldn't you be going home by now?" He asked, his eyes glued to the screen.

You let out a loud sigh, quickly sitting in his office chair and rolling away before he could use it, "I would... but I don't wanna." You said, leaning back in the chair.

He rolled his eyes, deciding that standing would be better than fighting you for the chair, "Well, 'I don't wanna' babysit." He spoke mocking your tone.

"Hm." You dismissed, your focus now down to your PDA as you glanced over your missed messages. You giggled at the barrage of messages from Sam. Her basically pleading to not leave you alone with Tucker and Danny. Her slow decent into madness as she realised you weren't coming. You sent her a small apology, saying you were busy with a few issues and promised to make it up to her by taking her to lunch. Tucker just sent a photo of Sam's madness with a smile after it – 'god I love tormenting her', being written under the image. The messages from Danny ranged normal at first, but slowly drew out more worried as more time passed. You sent him an apology as well – and confirmed everything was alright.

Immediately, he responded,
Ghost boy: I'm glad you're alright.
Ghost boy: You're not ghost hunting again, right?
You giggled, leaning into the chair slightly.
You: Nono, I promise. I'm leaving it aaaall up to you
Ghost boy: Somehow, I don't believe that
You: Mm... that sounds like a you problem
Ghost boy: Ha.Ha.
There was a short pause, his typing disappearing and reappearing for a moment before he finally sent his reply.
Ghost boy: That movie we mentioned...
Ghost boy: You still wanna go with me? Tonight maybe?
You giggled again, biting back your smile as your heart fluttered.
You: Sure. What time?
Ghost boy: 6ish?
You: Sounds like a deal
You: See you then, Ghost boy.

You finally let your smile go as you spun the chair away from Vlad, quickly glancing at the time on your PDA before shutting it off; 4:45 was written. While you were avoiding your dad, you'd have to dress your wounds properly and change into something a little nicer before going out, "Hey uh... you don't have to baby sit me if you don't want. I don't mind going home now." You said, rolling closer to him.

He glanced down at you, "Now that I've started you'd like to leave? Are you trying to make this difficult?" He spoke, a hint of pettiness in his tone.

"Nono. I just got plans." You smiled, finally getting up and giving the chair back to him. He didn't sit in it however, instead, he just raised a brow. "With- with my dad I've got plans." You lied, somehow, lying was harder when Vlad's eyes were on you.

He chuckled darkly before pushing his things aside, "Alrigh- "
A ghost quickly jumped through his portal, immediately crashing into Vlad with a smile, "Plasmius!" He exclaimed, quickly wrapping him in a hug. A ghost you've never seen before. You took a small step back, an expression of shock falling onto your features.

Vlad's quickly phased off him in discomfort, his expression growing annoyed quickly, "For the last time...! I will not be your friend!" He growled, throwing the ghost back into the ghost zone before slamming the portal off.

You chuckled, "That's why you keep your ghost portals closed, Plasmius."

He grumbled, the doorbell being the next interruption, "What now?" He turned towards the lab door before quickly stopping, "Don't move." He commanded, closing the door behind him and de-transforming from Plasmius.

You smiled, a small scoff leaving your lips as you quietly followed him up. Like you'd listen. Who does he think he is? Your dad? Tiptoeing up the stairs, you poked your head around the corner to see him open his outside doors, his hands once again falling behind his back. You raised a brow, shuffling a little more to see who was there. Jasmine Fenton, "Jazz?" You mumbled confused, glancing between the two of them confused. Vlad looked about as confused as you while she talked to him. There's no way she's also-... Vlad's not...? Your confusion grew as she brought some bags in, Vlad leading her away from the lab and out of view. You bit your lip, your breathing becoming slightly heavier.

You quickly scurried back down the stairs and shut the lab door behind you. She's not... I don't... Your eyes locked onto Vlad's computer, pausing for a moment before making your way over. You glanced over his desktop before opening it. He hadn't been off it long enough for you to be locked out or any password protection, so it was quick and easy to log into. You looked at the program he was running, and it was obviously just the coding for the new programs he mentioned. You minused the tab, quickly opening his files. Shuffling through them, you found one with your name on it. You tried to open it, but it resulted in a password lock. Who password locks their files? You shuffled through them again, but nothing with Jazz came up. The only ones that had real names were you, Danny, and Danny's mother. All of which, were password protected. At least this meant Jasmine was an unexpected guest and not... not like you. You glanced around his desk, looking for anything that resembled a password. Nothing came up.

Ugh... what would his password be?
You thought for a moment...
Maddie Masters?
You typed it into your file, it resulting as incorrect. Then Danny's – also incorrect. Lastly, you tried Maddie's. It opened. You smiled to yourself, as you scanned through it. It was a basic synopsis. Her daily routine and schedule, the recent devices her and her husband made, and vague other details. Nothing very important. You grumbled as you glanced over your locked file. For now... you'd have to expect it to be nothing but general information like Danny's mothers.

Although that thought didn't easy your worries. Why would the file be protected if it wasn't important? You attempted a few other last ditch effort passwords before you could hear him walking back down the stairs. Quickly closing the files, you re-opened his coding tab and turned off the screen like it previously had been. Then you jumped into the chair and nonchalantly opened your PDA, pretending to text as if nothing had happened.

The lab door opened, him glancing around before eyes settled on you, "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Who was at the door?" You asked, hoping to catch him in a lie.

"Jasmine Fenton. She came here after getting into a fight with Daniel." He explained, closing the door behind him. You blinked once or twice confused, he didn't lie... hm.

You cleared your throat, pushing yourself out of the chair, "Don't do anything weird 'fruit loop'. You spoke, this time, tossing out Danny's nickname for him.

"Do not call me that!" He exclaimed, his arms crossed over his chest defensively.

You giggled, "Alright alright... Just don't do anything weird - or I'm coming for you." You threatened; one he didn't seem fazed by. He only raised a brow, unimpressed at your attempt. You narrowed your eyes, mirroring his crossed arms and stared at each other for a moment in silence.

Vlad sighed, "You have my word."

"Great!" You smiled, taking a few steps closer towards him, "Now, take me home!"

He scoffed, "What am I? Your servant?"

"Might as well be!" You snickered, patting his back harshly.

He only grumbled, transforming into Plasmius before lightly touching your shoulder. This time, he gave no warning to the nauseating feeling of his teleportation. You were already braced for it, as you held onto Vlad a little, your feet finally touching the ground again. The two of you quickly let go, taking a step back, "Thanks." You smiled, glancing around. Again, you were close by Danny's place. Presumably, it was because he truly had no idea where you lived.

He gave you a slight nod before teleporting away again.

You glanced down at your watch, 5:06 being displayed. You pursed your lips together and picked up the pace, quickly making your way home.

***

You fixed your hair in the mirror, giving yourself a small smile satisfied with your appearance. You didn't 'dress up'; you just put a little extra effort into what you were wearing. You glanced back down at your watch, I got time... You made your way downstairs, glancing around the house cautiously. Your dad didn't seem to be home. You held your breath as you slipped on your shoes, only to pause as someone cleared his throat from the kitchen. Your body tensed up slightly as you glanced back. Your dad's arms were crossed, a stern expression resting on his face as he gestured to the chair in front of him.

You let out a sigh, making your way over to the chair, "What's uh... what's up dad?" You mumbled, taking a seat, and glancing up at him.

"Can we talk about what happened?" He asked, his frown deepening at your obvious deflection of the topic.

You picked at your fingers a little, "What do you want me to say?" You paused, your eyes falling off him, "I just- I don't wanna move. I like it here. I like my friends." You stated bluntly, deciding the faster this conversation happened, the faster you could leave.

"And I understand that but... don't you think it's dangerous here?" He asked, his eyes wearily tracing over you.

You shook your head, "I don't think so... Phantom usually deals with ghosts." You mumbled.

Your dad let out a dry laugh, "Phantom..." He repeated, letting it sit in his mind for a moment, "Kid, you know all ghosts are ba-"
"No. They're not." You interrupted, glancing up at him, "I don't know what Danny's parents have told you but- not all ghosts are bad."

He scoffed, "And how would you know?"

"Because." You spoke up, "I do the whole... interview thing." You said, your expression turning more serious. You've talked to ghosts... not all were bad. Danny wasn't bad. You weren't bad. And neither was clockwork. Technus... varied sometimes but- but you had to believe they weren't all bad. They had different sides, different ideals. They weren't static... they could change and vary based off their personal opinions, "They're not bad." You repeated. He kept his eyes locked onto yours. His expression being unreadable as he tried to read yours as well. "Look dad... how about...! How about I let you meet a good ghost. One who I trust wholeheartedly who I'm friends with." You smiled, a small bit of hope hidden behind your tone.

He kept his eyes on you skeptically, a tense atmosphere hanging in the room as you awaited his answer. Finally, a small sigh left his lips, his guard finally falling, "Fine. I trust you." He said, returning your nervous smile, "You're friends with ghosts?" He quickly added, clearing his throat.

You laughed a little, "Yes... he's helped me out of a lot of bad situations." You smiled, pushing yourself up and off the chair.

"And where do you think you're going?" He questioned, only now glancing you up and down.

"Uh... Danny invited me out." You said, giving him a reassuring look, "We're going to the movies if that's alright?"

"Ah. Daniel yes. Alright, as long as you call me if you need a ride later." He explained, getting up and turning to the fridge, shuffling around a little, "Should I make dinner for you?" He asked, looking back.

You glanced down at your watch, 5:56, "UH! Yeah. Yes, please make dinner, I gotta go though!" you said quickly turning towards the door and pulling it open, "I'll be back soon dad!" you called out before closing the door behind you.

Finally. The date you planned.



Alright guys! I am STRUGGLIN' with keeping pace. There's so much I have to address, so I'm sorry if it feels slow overall but the chapters feel slightly rushed. I'm just really bad at pacing.
But thanks so much for reading and being patient :] I appreciate all of you so much.