Ghost in Gotham

Chapter 30: A Very Formal Party

Danny's POV

"Danny?" I heard Ember call from afar. Crap, I thought. I quickly said to the computer, "Deactivate Code: C1053." In a manner of seconds, the wiring sound was heard again and the small portal was hidden once more.

"Y-yeah Ember?" I stuttered slightly from nervousness. I didn't want her to know about the portal just yet.

I made my way back to the living room, seeing a groggy Ember in the kitchen and the fridge wide open.

"You ran out of milk, Babypop." She pointed out. I could see an already poured bowl of Cocoa Puffs. I let an internal sigh, thankful that she didn't know what happened. My heart was pounding, but I tried to calm it the best I could.

On the side, I saw that Spooky still laid to rest on top of the chair. She had a habit of sleeping a lot. She could stay awake an entire day but when she decided to close her eyes, she'd be out like a light for hours.

"Then let's go to the grocery store, there was nearby, right?" I tried to play it cool, but I think my little voice crack at the end gave me away. I was sure she'd realize I was hiding something, but then she laughed out loud.

After laughing, she replied with a smile, "Sorry, 'Twixt, it's just... that voice crack." Ember continued to laugh. I was so thankful that Ember was sleepy, if she was actually competent, she'd know something was up. But, currently, her sleepy mind was in control.

"Okay, how 'bout we freshen up a little, you could borrow some of my clothes, and we head out? By the way, sorry I don't got any girl clothes, my clothes work right?" I asked, making a mental shopping list in my head. I actually wanted to buy some more cereal and maybe be some beef to be able to cook an actual dinner instead of macaroni or cup noodles. I would think Ember would like that, one last good meal before I tell her about the portal...

So we freshened up, I took a shower and so did she. She ended up wearing my blue-and-white-striped shirt, one that I outgrew and was the smallest thing in my closet, and my plaid jacket. She wore her own leggings and regular boots. I just wore a normal red T-shirt and jeans. Sooner or later, I had told the house to start up the defense and were walking our way to the grocery store. It wasn't too far, maybe five or eight minutes ago. I really needed to invest in a bike though, I had more than enough money.

"You know, I never asked about any of the Zone's ghosts," I brought up suddenly, just wanting to start a conversation. The only other sounds were the constant honking of horns and businessmen complaining loudly on their Bluetooth headset. I really just wanted something pleasant. "How are they? Is GW or Dora still doin' alright?"

"Yeah, the dork's still working on that mystery novel. Remember when we helped him come up with his pen name?" She laughed at the end. She was talking about Ghost Writer, aka GW. I laughed as well. He ended using the name Candide Montag, a name combination of his two favorite characters from two different books; Candide and Fahrenheit 451. But the name suggestions we gave him were amazing.

"Remember when you recommended Hugh Jass and he actually wrote it down on the chalkboard!"I let out a slight chuckle, and so did she. No matter how smart GW was, he always fell for it. The thing was, he took everything a little too serious, so he was gullible in a sense.

"Oh, and when you got him to actually consider Moe Ron?" Again, we laughed together.

That was our conversation all the way to the grocery store. Just reminiscing our time in the Ghost Zone. After a load of conversing, we were at the store.

"What's the game plan? I get the milk and a few snacks and you get everything else? Yeah? Okay, let's go!" Em just rambled on and then walked into the store. She didn't bother to let me utter a single word, but that was Ember. She already had an entire plan.

I started to stroll down the meat aisle. It was no Walmart or Publix, it was more like... an Aldi's. I was deciding in my head whether to actually get beef or maybe just fish.

"Danny?" A familiar voice called out for me. I made a quick turn to the left, spotting a familiar black-haired friend.

"Hey, Dick! Wasn't expecting you here." I spoke out my surprise. It was always a surprise when you meet old friends in a grocery store. Besides, last time I saw him, he looked terrified, which was yesterday. Now he looked as good as gold and as happy as a clam. He was wearing a navy blue jacket that covered his unruly hair and blue sunglasses, which was weird considering we were inside.

"Sorry about how I was yesterday," he gave a light chuckle, "I mean, I was pretty spooked when the Joker cam all of a sudden." There was this weird difference with the tone he was using like he was forcing himself to use it. I waved it away, thinking that I was just over thinking everything.

"It's fine!" I grinned, "If I wasn't caught up in adrenaline to save Aster, I would be scared to death." I twisted my words around slightly. I would still not be too scared even if Aster wasn't in mortal danger, I was a superhero for goodness sake! Keyword: was.

"Actually, it's lucky that I caught you here! I wanted to make up for the terrible party yesterday and invite you to this one." He handed me a fancy envelope with my name in cursive in the back. I was surprised by the invitation, it looked like it was something that Dora would give me when I was invited to her birthday party, and that was literally lined with silver.

"You don't need to invite me to a party, you weren't even the one who invited me!" I was honestly shocked by the invitation. Aster was the person who invited me.

He smiled at me, but I didn't notice how odd it looked since I was too shocked to pay attention. "It's honestly alright, the party was planned way before and it's nice to invite new friends, right?" He punched my arm playfully. It was weird though, I considered us good acquaintances, not really friends. But he did go out of his way to get this really special invite so how could I say no?

"Thanks! What's it even for? What's even the dress code?" I asked. I was mostly asking for the dress code because I one time wore very formal clothes to a little girl's birthday party and it was honestly embarrassing.

"Just a little celebration to congratulate my caretaker planned, he just made a huge success. As for dress code, let's just say it's a very formal party. Anything else you can just call the number on the invite." He explained. I nodded to the words, wanting t to soak up all the information.

"Dick? That you?" A black-, used to be flaming blue, haired called. Obviously, it was Ember. "What're you doing here, man?" I smiled at Em's antics. She was swinging a basket filled with milk, Skittles, cereal, and Smarties around carelessly.

He looked down at the floor for a second and muttered a little. It sounded like, Forgot 'bout fur? I was confused with what I heard, What fur? Is he secretly some sort of male Cruella De Vil? I shake the ridiculous thought out of my mind. It sounded really weird but he sprang up from facing the floor and looked at Ember with a smile.

"Hey, Emily! I was just inviting Danny over here to my ga-party." I widened my eyes at Dick's answer. One thought circled my mind, Oh no oh no oh no! If Em knows. there's a party then-

"Another party! Oh boy, can I come?" She asked enthusiastically. I cringed, there was no way that I would be able to kick her into the Zone with her knowing a party's going on.

"Wel... I mean-" Dick tried saying, but Ember jolted up suddenly as if she just thought of something.

She turned to me, "We need to get my guitar!" She basically shouted. I saw a few people giving as stares. I shush her a little, which caused her to blush a little.

"Sorry, Dick," I apologized, "I'll think about it!" I said to him as Ember started to pull (as she usually did) and blabbering on about her guitar. I was eventually going to tell her that we need groceries, but I knew her well enough that she just needed to ramble on until she wears herself out and I tell her an orderly plan on what to do.

There was something weird going on with Dick, I noticed it slightly. There wasn't as much... flare in his voice. It sounded so rehearsed. It was the type of tone most of my ghostly enemies had when I was first learning about their side after the... problems I was having. I didn't want to think too much of it.