Chapter Four
The boys finished their pizza and put their plates in the sink. Dash looked at the clock. 10:13 PM. It had been just around three hours since he'd made it to Kwan's house with Danny in tow. He was about to walk back to Danny's room when Kwan reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Relax, man. I know you're worried, but Danny's going to be alright. You should go take a shower and try to unwind a bit." Kwan gave his friend a quick once over glance. "And put on some clean clothes." Dash had almost forgotten that he was still a mess. He let out a sigh. He knew his friend was right. As usual. He did have to take care of himself, even if he didn't want to. And Kwan would always be there to make sure that he did just that.
"Shouldn't he be awake by now though? Are you sure he's not in a coma or something?" Kwan shook his head. "He's not in a coma, and I did give him a low-dose of morphine... So he's probably going to be out for at least a few more hours. If it makes you feel better, I'll sit in there by him whilst you're gone." Dash nodded. "Thanks man." He knew Danny was in good hands with Kwan. And it's not like he had to leave to get any clothes or shower supplies. Kwan's house was basically his second home, and vise-versa. Both boys had clothes and personal products at the other's house at all times.
"Alright. I'll make it quick." Kwan smiled and walked back to Danny's room and left Dash to go shower. Dash stopped by Kwan's room to grab a change of clothes and then by the linen closet for a towel. He closed the bathroom door behind himself and turned the hot water on and all of the way up. He waited until there was a nice cloud of steam hovering over-head before he stepped in. A sigh of relief slipped past Dash's lips as the near scalding water poured down over his shoulders.
His blonde hair clung to his face as he leaned forward to rest his head and hands against the wall. His mind wandered off as it had many times that evening. Back to the events from earlier. What would have happened if Dash hadn't of been there? Would Danny still be lying in the park? Would he have been okay? Had this happened before? Did Dash actually save his life? Those thoughts and many others danced around inside of Dash's head. But one thought in-particular stood out to him. He had seriously been worried about Danny. Phantom or Fenton, Dash had been worried about the boy.
That thought was a tangent to another thought. Dash liked Danny. Phantom or Fenton. He liked him. And he liked him a lot. Dash became curious about his sexuality shortly after he had started in middle school and puberty began to kick in. All of the other guys were talking about girls. Which ones they liked, which ones they didn't like, whom thought whom was cute... Dash of course played along. He had to. He was popular. A star athlete. Fitting in was his way of surviving. But he never had those thoughts. He didn't notice the girls in those ways. Sure, he thought some of them were pretty, beautiful even, but even back then he understood that there was a difference between appreciation, admiration, and attraction.
His curiosities were solidified in the spring of his seventh grade year. He was thirteen and on the baseball team. One day after practice he and the other guys were back in the locker room, changing clothes and showering, and that's when it happened. They had group showers. They were large square rooms with a big drain on the floor in the middle and two heads and sets of nobs along each of the three walls that weren't attached to the doorway. So six people could shower at once. He was walking towards one of the rooms and was about to step in when he noticed one of his teammates. Like, really noticed him.
The boy was standing opposite Dash, on the far wall across from the entry. He had his back turned so that he was facing the wall. His arms were stretched out in front of him with his hands resting on the tiles and that position made the boy's back arch in a way that left his ass perked out and on display. He way smaller than Dash, slender in build, but still well toned. His hair was a sandy blonde, several shades darker than Dash's, a lot longer and more unruly as well. His skin was sun-kissed bronze in color. Beads of water were trickling down his back. Dash felt like something was caught in his throat as he tried to swallow, hard. His eyes were fixated on the boy, they locked onto one of the water droplets and followed it as it trailed from the nape of the his neck, down his spine, all of the way to the small of his fellow teammate's back before it dipped down and seemed to disappear over the subtle curves.
Dash caught himself and realized he'd been staring. He felt a pang in his stomach and an ache in his groin. He quickly stepped into the shower, picked a space as far away from the other boy as possible, and turned the water on cold in hopes of killing his arousal before anyone noticed.
After that day, he knew without a doubt that he was gay. It all made sense to him then. That following summer before they began eighth grade he finally gained the courage to tell Kwan. He was his best friend and he hated the thought of keeping a secret from him. To his relief, Kwan was fine with it. He didn't even seem to be that surprised. And he agreed that he would never tell anyone unless Dash wanted him to.
Dash's thoughts rounded back to Danny. When Phantom first appeared in Amity, Dash was awe struck. His town had a real life super hero. And not only was he a role model, protector, and really great fighter, he was also drop-dead gorgeous, mysterious, and more alluring than anything or anyone Dash had ever laid eyes on before. There was something about him that instantly grabbed at Dash and lured him in but he had never been able to quite put his finger on what it was. And then there was Fenton. Danny and his family moved to Amity the same summer that Dash had come out to Kwan... Only a few months before Phantom started coming around... Oh for fuck sake, could he be anymore dense? How had he not have put all of the pieces together before?
When school started up that fall, Dash became some-what of a bully. He hadn't always been that way, but looking back on it now, he's pretty sure he started picking on people as a way to further hide his secret and defend his reputation. Dash didn't know Danny very well, or know him at all at that point, but he did find him to be rather cute, and he was quickly realizing that he had a type. Slender built boys with messy hair seemed to always catch Dash's attention. Danny was the new kid. He seemed pretty shy and timid, a bit clumsy too. Dash briefly considered trying to befriend the boy, but driven by his insecurities and fears, he decided against it. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea. And then once Danny had made friends with... Tucker and Sam, Dash became a bit jealous. That's when the bullying really began. Over time, it went from occasional teasing and name calling, to full-on harassing the kid and beating his ass on a weekly basis.
Dash sighed and threw his head back, letting the hot water stream down his face. He was a real jerk. He'd made people miserable for the past few years all because he was so caught-up and worried about what everyone would really think about him. If he had to be mean and belittle others just to keep friends.. then were those people really friends worth having in the first place? The bulk of his 'friendships' were lies or were based on shallow standards and materialistic aspects.
{What's going to happen when Danny does wake up? Obviously he's going to be really confused, probably in a lot of pain too, and scared, hell, I'd be scared. I was scared. I am scared. I'm probably the last person on earth that he's going to want to see. And what's he going to think about me knowing his secret? Shit. Do I even tell him I know? ... Or do I just pretend that I found him passed out, as Fenton ... but then he'll ask what I was even doing there, or why the hell I didn't take him to see actual doctors like a normal person would. He'd probably think I was being a dick on purpose or trying to make him hurt even more or that I was the one whom beat him up in the first place.}
Dash groaned. The water had gone cold some time ago but he was buried too deep within his own head to notice. He begrudgingly shut the nobs off and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed his towel and dried off before getting dressed. He gathered the clothes he'd been wearing and his jacket as well. He was about to toss it into the heap with the other clothes in his arm when he noticed that there were a few red smears along the white embellishments and sleeves. Blood. Danny's blood. Blood that had been spilled all because Danny had been fighting to protect the town. Dash lightly traced his fingers over the stains and found himself growing angry.
{No more. No more being a fucking coward, or an asshole, or a bully. This kid risks his life daily and never asks for anything in return. He could have told everyone he was Phantom and became instantly popular and loved and treated like a hero, but he hasn't. He has lived a double-life for god knows how long just so he can protect everyone and keep people safe. And then there's guys like me who no doubt have made his normal life a living hell. I've been no better than the ghost scum he was fighting today. No more. I'm done. Even if he doesn't forgive me or want to speak to me ever again. I definitely wouldn't blame him. But I'll be damned if I sit back and let anyone harass him again. As Phantom or Fenton. And if people want to judge me for that or whatever, that's their problem, not mine.}
*End Chapter Four*
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Phantom Fate
Fanfiction"... After all of these years that I thought you were a coward, a weakling, a wimp, just another nameless loser whom was too afraid to stand up for himself ... I was wrong. So very wrong." A work of fan-fiction based on the animated cartoon series:...
