Doctrine of Danny Ch 19

Ghoulish Fright

“Ah, there you are Daniel! So good of you to join us… Morgan, this is my heir, Daniel. Daniel, this Morgan Manson. She’s the daughter of a very well known fashion designer and Buckingham Manson, who happens to be the head of a large computer company and a dear friend of mine.” I rolled my eyes at Vlad’s introduction, noticing how he subtly ‘forgot’ to tell the girl my last name. Well, as subtle as Vlad could be at any rate… (insert flying mallets.)

I’m still trying to get used to the fact that Vlad has friends… I told myself dryly. Still, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t take my anger out on a girl I didn’t even know. I mean, just because she was rich didn’t make her a snob, right?

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Daniel.” Morgan said with a very proper curtsy. “I’ve heard so much about you, and have been looking forward to meeting you for weeks.”

…Weeks?

“Yeah, nice to meet you too, Morgan.” I responded awkwardly. Somebody shoot me… “But please, call me Danny. Danny Fenton.” Vlad scowled at me over Morgan’s shoulder. Score! Phantom-1 Plasmius- Nada!

“As you wish, Danny.” Morgan said with a smile, hooking her arm around mine. I cringed slightly at the word ‘wish,’ hoping that Desiree wasn’t within earshot. Knowing her, she could find away to twist that into something that’d give me nightmares for a month… “Now then, could I implore you for a tour of this lovely home Mr. Masters has been gracious enough to invite me into?”

“Uh, I guess…” I replied, a little uncomfortable. Not to mention creeped out at hearing someone my own age use such weird words… Sad thing was, Tuck’d probably be falling all over himself for her accent alone.

“Excellent!” Morgan said giddily, dragging me away.

“You children have fun!” Vlad called after us, making me cringe. I was getting the sinking suspicion that Morgan was everything I hated all wrapped up into one girl. Cold, arrogant, greedy, power-hungry, two-faced, manipulative and deceitful.

Or basically Vlad in girl form…

“Now then, where should we start our little tour, Hmm?” Morgan asked, her grip on my arm tightening as she flashed me a secretive smile. “The bedrooms, perhaps?”

Okay, time to put some distance between me and this girl.

“Actually—!”

“There you are!” Morgan gasped in surprised when she was suddenly pushed away as Liz threw an arm around my shoulder, winking at me playfully. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you, Danny!”

“You have?” I asked my sister, puzzled.

“Dani told us you needed our help.” Jazz whispered back. Well that just earned my cousin the best birthday present I could get her…

“Thanks for telling me that there was a female genetic copy of you walking around, by the way.” Liz hissed into my other ear before switching over to a louder tone. “Jeeze, did Vlad make this place big enough? How much room does a lonely single man in his forties need, anyways?” Blinking, I tried to process all of this at once, still a little confused. Even with that, though, I still had to grin at Liz’s comment…

“The size of a house has nothing to do with practicality.” Morgan huffed, narrowing her eyes at Liz. “It’s about grandiosity. A large home depicts a grand social standing. Nothing you’d know about, I’m sure…”

“Bite me, Princess.” Liz shot back at once, rolling her eyes. She shot me a dry look before she continued, in a dry tone that was just loud enough for Morgan to hear. “Where’d Vlad find this wannabe Prima Donna, anyways?”

“Ex¾cuse me?” Morgan drew herself up, clearly offended. “And just who do you think you are to insult me, pray tell?” Liz snorted slightly at that, grinning at me.

“Wow…” She drawled out. “And here I thought my grandma was the last living person to still use phrases like ‘pray tell…’”

“I’m Jazz Fenton.” My sister broke in before Morgan could respond to that. “Danny’s my little brother. And this is my best friend Liz. She’s visiting for Thanksgiving break, just like rest of us.”

“Charming.” Morgan said, making a face.

“Why thank you!” Liz said sweetly. “I was just thinking the same thing about you!”

“I wasn’t being serious.” Morgan sighed, sounding annoyed.

“And you thought I was?”

“Liz!” Jazz glowered darkly at her friend, with her ‘don’t make me lose my temper,’ look. “What have I told you about being nice?”

“Are we talking about with people I just met and decided I didn’t like, or people I decided I didn’t like a long time ago?” Liz asked, sounding genuinely perplexed. Jazz clenched her jaw for a second before she answered her friend.

“Both.” She said shortly. I hid a grin, knowing that Liz was going to get yelled at for that later.

“Think nothing of it.” Morgan said dismissively, waving her hand in a careless fashion. “The opinions of the heathen American middle class means nothing to me.” I cringed a little as Jazz’s look became even more pronounced, this time directed at Morgan.

Not good. I thought, not really all that sympathetic. Jazz could scold her friends and family all she wanted, but the second someone else got rude with them, even if it was over the same things she’d always get on us about, the gloves were off.

“Is that a fact?” Jazz asked evenly, crossing her arms and glowering down at Morgan with that look she had that made you feel three inches tall. Sure enough, Morgan faltered slightly, fidgeting under the expression.

“I value the educated opinions of those who can afford enough out of life to make themselves well rounded in the ways of the world.” The girl defended herself weakly. “Middle class Americans tend to favor their violent movies and other tacky forms of meaningless entertainment over more refined ways to occupy their time.”

“That may be true in some cases, but not all.” Jazz said, her voice as cold as Death itself (And trust me, I’d know.) “I’ll have you know that Liz is in the top three percent of our school, and is being offered full ride scholarships to attend the Paris University of Fashion and Design, not to mention graduating from Wendy with honors in Art, English, Music and Science!” Blinking, I shot Liz a questioning look to find her blushing vividly, not meeting anyone’s eyes.

“She would bring that up…” the brunette grumbled to herself, looking a little irritated.

“You should have brought it up yourself, Liz.” I said, trying not to sound too accusing. Was being kept in the loop really all that much to ask for?

“It’s no big deal!” Liz said defensively. “I’m not even sure if I’m going, anyways.” I stared at Liz.

“You’re not sure if you’re going to go to a college you’ve been dreaming of being in since before you and my sister met?” I said slowly, trying to comprehend this. “You’ve been talking about going to Paris to study fashion for years! And they’re giving you a full ride, Liz!”

“Yeah, well it’s not as important to me as I thought it was, okay?” Liz  sounded a little more irritable now, so I let the subject drop even though I still didn’t get it.

Girls…

“In that case, I apologize to Elizabeth for my presumptions against her.” Morgan said stiffly, not sounding all that sorry. Her eyes flashing angrily, Liz stepped forward.

“My name is Lizella.” She growled out to Morgan, looking more dangerous then I’d ever seen her. “Call me Elizabeth again and it’ll be the last mistake you will ever make.” I wince, sharing a nervous look with Jazz.

We both knew Liz had a problem with being called Elizabeth that went a lot further then just making sure people got her name right, but neither of us knew what the problem was. It was a touchy subject with Liz so we never asked, but we’d always kinda wondered about it…

“I would hope someone of your esteemed caliber was above petty temper tantrums and threats, Lizella.” Morgan said mockingly, glaring up at Liz. Sighing, I figured now would be a good time to step in, before Liz got arrested for attempted homicide (Jazz wouldn’t let her go through with it, but Morgan seemed like the type to press charges anyways…)

“Anyways, we’d better get going.” I broke in, stepping between Morgan and Liz before Liz could make good on the threat burning in her eyes. “I promised Vlad that I’d show Morgan around before dinner.”

“And since when did you go out of your way to keep promises you’ve made to Vlad?” Liz scoffed, giving me a pointed look. Her words brought back unwanted memories of burning, evil red eyes, and one of the last promises I’d ever made to my parents…

“I keep all my promises, Liz.” I said, a little more seriously then I’d intended. Liz’s eyebrow kicked up questioningly, but Jazz just got a strange, searching look on her face.

I never talked about what I’d been through in the future with anybody, not even Tucker. It wasn’t a trust issue, it’s just… seeing that I was really capable of being that kind of monster really scared me. I still have nightmares about him, and sometimes I’ve even been afraid of looking into the mirror because I’m terrified it’ll be his face looking back at me.

The face of a heartless murderer.

Still, even though I’d never told her, Jazz seems to know what’s going on better then anyone else. She doesn’t bug me about it, though, even if she really wants to. That’s what’s cool about Jazz, she always seems to know when I really need to talk about something with her, and when I just want to keep it to myself.

…You’re not gonna tell her I said that, right?

“How very sweet of you, Danny!” Morgan exclaimed, looping her arms around mine. Then, with a little less vigor, she returned to addressing Liz and Jazz. “So nice talking to you two, I’m looking forward to seeing you more throughout our vacation together.”

“Hey, no worries.” Liz said with an evil-looking smile. “I’ll help Danny give you that tour. Jazz, why don’t you go tell Sam to get ready for dinner or something?”

“Me?” Jazz said, alarmed. Then she got suspicious. “Why me?”

“Because Danny and I are helping Morgan here get settled in!” Liz said self-righteously. I sighed, knowing that Liz really just wanted an excuse to get Jazz out of the room long enough to scar Morgan for life. Still…

“Please, Jazz?” I asked my sister wearily. “I’m busy and Liz has issues with knocking, and I want to spare Sam that kind of embarrassment.” Jazz looking like she was about to protest for a second before a weird look crossed her face.

“…On second thought, I do need to talk to Sam about a couple of things!” Jazz said hastily, with a nervous looking smile.

“Thanks.” I said with a weak grin. “And make sure he comes down for dinner, okay? I’m gonna go crazy if the only guys there are me and Vlad…” Jazz giggle slightly at that for some reason.

“I’ll be sure to tell him that.” Jazz said mysteriously, ducking away before I could ask what she meant by that.

I repeat; Girls…

---

“Isn’t this so romantic, Danny? I just love a good, cultured meal like this! More escargot?” I cringed slightly as Morgan offered me the snail, apparently not noticing that I’d been feeding them to the Venus Flytrap Vlad kept on the table behind me.

“No thanks, Morgan.” I said with a weak smile, glaring at the smirk on Vlad’s face. Creep…

“You know Danny, I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes like yours! They’ve got to be your best feature! Not that you have a single feature that isn’t to die for.” I blushed slightly as Morgan edged eve closer to me, more uncomfortable then I’d ever been in my entire life.

It hadn’t taken me long to learn that Morgan was… clingy. Not to mention that she’d flirt blatantly any chance she was given. In a lot of ways she was worse then Megan.

Though if Vlad ever stuck me in the same room with those two at the same time, I’d probably kill myself before the night was done.

Sighing, I looked across from me, where Sam and Liz seemed to be talking about something I couldn’t hear. I felt a little bad for the subject of their conversation, though, when Liz flashed Sam a very evil looking grin…

“So Morgan!” Vlad broke in, smiling at my (cringe) date. “You’re enjoying America so far, yes?”

“Oh, it’s wonderful, Mr. Masters!” Morgan beamed back at him. “And so friendly! I feel like I’ve lived here my entire life!” Well, apparently someone’s forgotten their little conversation with Liz… “Thank you again for inviting me to this special holiday meal!”

“My pleasure, dear girl…” Vlad responded airily “After all it’s the least I can do for your family after your horrible tragedy…” I faltered a little at that, blinking at Vlad.

Wait… What?

“Tragedy?” Morgan repeated, apparently just as confused as me.

“Your cousin’s still missing, is she not?” Vlad explained in a tone that was way too innocent for my liking. Morgan made a face for a second as Sam paled across from me, but I was to busy wondering what Vlad had done to the poor girl to notice. I knew he wasn’t above kidnapping, after all…

“Oh, right…” Morgan said unenthusiastically. “Samantha… Yes, the whole family’s dreadfully worried about her.” Samantha? Wow, there was a coincidence…

Too much of a coincidence. I told myself, scowling suspiciously at Vlad. Just what was he trying to pull now…?

“Has there been any luck finding her?” Vlad asked Morgan, ignoring my glaring. That was just like the creep…

“Not yet.” Morgan responded. “But we’re all hoping for good news to come soon.” I roll my eyes a little. So she said, but her tone told a different story…

“Wait, there’s a Manson who’s missing?” Liz asked, sounding surprised as she looked between Morgan and Vlad.

“Why yes, of course.” Vlad said, faking a surprised tone. “You didn’t know? Young Mathew’s sister has been missing for months now…”

…Well that was news…

“Matt’s sister’s missing?” Liz jerked in surprise, dropping her fork. “He never said a word to me about it!” Oooh, he was in for it big as soon as Liz got him on the phone…

“Really now?” Vlad asked, his tone never changing as my sympathy towards Matt waned so I could pay attention to the conversation again. “That’s strange… I thought Mathew was close to young Samantha…” And how would he know that?

“They are close.” Liz said defensively. “I mean, Sam’s gotta be the only person in his whole family he actually likes.” Liz paused for a second here, glancing at Sam. “Well, I guess that’s not totally true. He seems to like—”

BANG! I jumped as Liz yelped in pain, barely restraining myself from going intangible on instinct. That would have been just a little awkward…

“You kicked me!” Liz accused, glaring at my sister.

“Sorry!” Jazz chirped. “I was uncrossing my legs…”

She doesn’t sound sorry… I frowned, knowing that tone all to well. Jazz always used that tone when she helped cover for me when my secret was in danger. But that most definitely wasn’t the case this time… What the heck’s going on here?

“So, Mr. Masters!” Sam interrupted my thoughts in a nervous tone. “You… erm… like… football?” I rolled my eyes, playing with my soup a little before taking a sip. I figured that was more then a little obvious…

“Yes, yes I do.” Vlad said, sounding amused. “Do you know anything about football?”

“Actually, no.” Sam said, his smile becoming a little more forced. “Think you can explain it to me a little? I’d love to learn…” I sputtered at that, barely stopping myself from giving Sam a soup bath, ignoring the way Morgan immediately fell all over me with her napkin.

WHAT? Wasn’t this the same guy who had to be tied up and dragged to a football stadium? Just what the heck is going on here?

“Of course!” Vlad said happily, eager to talk about his favorite sport. “…right after dinner.” Sam’s jaw dropped as Vlad turned back to Morgan. “At any rate, if there’s anything I can do to help find your dear cousin…”

“It’s fine, Mr. Masters.” Morgan said stiffly, apparently tired with the subject. “There’s no need to trouble yourself, my aunt and uncle have everything under control.”

“Well, could I at least have a picture of her of something to show around the party, just to have everyone keep an eye out for her?” Since when did Vlad care so much about a missing kid…?

“I’m sorry, Mr. Masters.” Morgan said in a curt tone, with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m afraid I don’t carry pictures of my cousin.”

“Matt’s gotta couple.” Liz frowned thoughtfully, more eager to help. “Wait, now that I think about it, Sam looks exactly like—”

BANG!

“Will you stop kicking me!”

“Sorry, recrossing my legs.” I raised an eyebrow at Jazz.

Note to self; Ask Matt to see a picture of his sister…

“Jeeze Jazz, what’s your prob…” I frowned when Liz trailed off, looking between Jazz and Sam with a weird look on her face.

“Problems?” Vlad asked knowingly.

“Of course not, Mr. Masters!” Jazz squeaked out in protest, faking a smile for our guardian until Liz yanked her and Sam out of their seats.

“You and you!” She snapped, dragging them out of the dining room. “We need to talk. Now.”

There was a long lapse of silence after the door slammed after them, before Morgan finally spoke up.

“Well, that was rude of them.” She huffed, snuggling closer to me. “Leaving the table without asking to be excused…”

“You’ll have to forgive her, Miss Manson.” Vlad said elegantly. “Not everyone has had the privilege of a well-mannered upbringing such as yourself.” I scowled a little there.

“Manners are only important if the person means what they say.” I said loudly, drawing Vlad’s attention to me. “If you don’t follow through, no one’s ever gonna trust your word.”

“Ah, too true, my boy…” Vlad said with a smirk. I scowled at him, letting my eyes turn green. Vlad only chuckled in response, raising an eyebrow at me in a taunting way.

He knew I wouldn’t do anything in front of Morgan, but then neither would he. We’d have to settle this later, when everyone else was out of the way… Then I could find out what he was really up to, asking all those questions about that girl.

Before I could wonder about this any more, Vlad stood up, straightening his suit.

“Now then, if you two will excuse me, I have a few things I need to take care of right now.” Vlad said smoothly, making his way to the kitchen. He paused at the door to shoot me a villainous-looking smirk. “Have fun!” I frowned after him as he entered the kitchen, confused.

Have fun? I repeated in my head, an eyebrow kicking up. What the heck did he mean by--? That’s when Morgan slipped her arms around my shoulders into a loose hug.

“Finally!” She exclaimed, snuggling close. “I thought we’d never be alone!”

…Awww, Crud…! Laughing nervously, I pushed Morgan’s arms away.

“Yeah, about that…” I said awkwardly. “Look, Morgan… I’m really flattered and all, but…”

“Think nothing of it, Danny!” Morgan cut in, beaming at me. “After all, my father was right about us being a smart match…”

“--See the thing is… wait… what?” Smart match? What the heck was she talking about…?

“Mr. Masters hasn’t told you?” Morgan said, sounding surprised. “My father and Mr. Masters have been negotiating a contract for joining their companies. One of the terms my father put in was our engagement to solidify the company’s merger.”

“…WHAT?”</i>