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“Danny had finally felt like he had gotten a handle on being half ghost. He had realized that his ghost half had started changing getting stronger. But the stronger his ghost half was the more ectoplasm he needed. Whenever he went to the ghost zone the air was rich enough that he would leave feeling completely energized, giving him enough of a boost to last for a few days. But when he wasn’t visiting the zone as often, he needed to give himself a boost in another way.
He was lucky that his parents were often so bad at keeping their samples out of the fridge that they had used for food, even if the ectoplasm was actually toxic to humans. But it made things a lot easier for Danny to get what he needed without anyone noticing, knowing that likely the town would freak out if they caught Phantom snacking on a blob ghost even if that was what his instincts would prefer.
He made due with stealing some of the ectoplasmic samples and add them to his own meals. When eating his parents food, it was often contaminated enough to give him the boost he was looking for, with the risk of it coming alive while being eaten. But when he ate the school lunch he’d normally mix something in to give him what he needed, or packed his own in one of the non-functional Fenton Thermoses. The Thermos did a good job of stopping any of the ectoplasm leaking out, or setting off any of the ghost detectors.
“Hey Fenturd give that here” Dash said cornering Danny on his way to lunch.
Danny’s heart sank as he felt a familiar jolt of annoyance. “What do you want Dash?”
“I don’t have time to stand in the lunch line today, and I see that you’ve brought your lunch.” Dash said grabbing Danny’s Thermos out of his hand.
Danny’s eyes widened “You shouldn’t eat that,” he said realizing that it would be bad if Dash ate his ectoplasm infused lunch.
“I don’t take orders from you Fenturd” Dash said unscrewing the lid of the thermos taking a gulp of its contents. Danny’s heart raced as he watched knowing the consequences of what just happened.
Dash’s expression contorted into one caught between pain and disgust, as he dropped the thermos clutching his stomach “What the fuck did you put in this?” Dash groaned.
Danny cringed slightly “A lot of my parents food is contaminated, I tried to warn you, it’s not safe if you aren’t used to it.” he said trying to explain as Dash suddenly fell to the floor convulsing as bright green ectoplasm leaked out of his nose.
Danny looked around to see if anyone else was around to see what was happening counting how long the seizure lasted, watching as it slowly came to an end.
Dash stayed on the floor looking up at him blearily “What.. happened?” he asked
Danny pulled out a tissue “Uh you might want to clean up a bit, you’ve got ectoplasm down your face. And well, you ate some of my parents cooking” he said awkwardly “Some people can have pretty dramatic reactions.”
Dash looked at him eyes wide “Your parents made that?” he asked sounding aghast.
Danny laughed “Yeah well I told you you probably wouldn’t want to eat it. I didn’t think you’d react that badly, considering how many times you’ve been close to some of the ghosts, normally that helps protect people a bit, from the ectoplasm.”
“So I basically just ate ghost goo?” Dash asked eyes widening.
Danny nodded “Yeah pretty much” he replied sheepishly. “Listen you can’t tell anyone about this.”
“What think I’m just not going to tell people that you bring ghost goo in your lunch?” Dash huffed.
Danny cringed “Dash please, I know it’s a lot to ask, but if people found out about this it could cause a lot of problems for both of us?”
“And why should I care about your problems Fenturd” Dash asked.
Danny’s shoulders slumped, before looking thoughtful. “Well one of the reasons I can eat this without getting sick, is that I live on top of the portal to the Ghost Zone, you know where all the ghosts come from, including Phantom.” he said figuring that he could appeal to Dash’s interest in Phantom.
Dash glared at him “And why should I care about that. “
Danny smiled “Because if you tell people about what’s in my lunch, people are going to start asking a lot more questions, and it’s going to be a lot harder for Phantom to come around as often.”
Dash stared at Danny, processing the implications of what he just heard. "So you're saying if I spill the beans about your lunch, it could mess up Phantom's gig?"
Danny nodded earnestly. "Exactly. And I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want that, considering how much you love chasing him around and being the hero."
Dash scratched his chin, a calculating expression crossing his face. "Huh... You might have a point there, Fenton.”
Danny smiled “See, so it’s in both of our best interests. We avoid the question about why you were stealing my lunch, I don’t have to answer a bunch of uncomfortable questions, and Phantom still has an easy way in and out of the zone.”
“Fine but you owe me big time for this. And don’t think I won’t remember it.” Dash said looking conflicted.
"Deal," Danny said, extending his hand. Dash hesitated for a moment before shaking it firmly.
"Alright then, but this doesn't mean we're suddenly best buddies or anything," Dash said, his tough guy facade back in place.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Danny replied with a smirk.