Chapter Text
Jon drove his jeep down what he hoped was the right turning for the campsite. The total lack of signage wasn't giving him the best first impression, but he'd promised himself he'd keep an open mind. Just try and enjoy this experience for… whatever it would be.
The path was long and bumpy, with a few tight bends to maneuver around, but eventually he pulled up beside a low gate with a huge handmade sign hanging over the side.
It read: ‘Welcome Space Explorers! :)’
Okay… that's kinda lame.
There was even an amateur attempt to draw a cartoon astronaut and a few planets and stars. But hey, what did he expect? Jon knew this wasn't the most prestigious astronomy camp in America. It was just... the one he could afford on his salary at Britt and Dunns. And a bit of help from Mom & Dad.
He'd never even heard of it until a few months ago. In fact, he hadn't been that interested in astronomy at all until earlier this year. Thank Coach Gaines for that. It was ironic really. Jon had only joined up in an effort to make amends to Coach Gaines for the football season being cancelled. It had been as much of a surprise to him as anyone else when he realised he actually liked it.
Guess it made sense though. He was technically half alien, even if his family tended to forget that most of the time. Half his ancestry was linked to distant stars. Of course he'd end up curious about the mysteries of the universe.
With a quick check to make sure his break was firmly on, Jon jumped down from the jeep and headed over to the gate. The bolt lock was surprisingly stiff with rust, but he managed to wiggle it free, swinging the gate open and securing it on a nearby post.
The murmur of excited voices drifted towards him from the field beyond. It sounded like a small crowd, just out of sight. His fellow 'space explorers' no doubt.
Despite himself, Jon felt a little surge of excitement. He was eager to have some actual fun this weekend! It had been a pretty miserable year with his Mom's cancer. He and his brother had dealt with things in their own ways, none of it easy.
But she was in remission now. Things were finally starting to look up. And as hard as it was to leave his family behind for the weekend, he needed some space to just... be himself.
Whoever that was now…
Still, it was nerve wracking. Back in Metropolis meeting new people hadn't phased him at all, but these days, he wasn't half as socially confident.
What if he didn't get along with his bunk mate? Or anyone else at camp for that matter? What if he ended up being the lonely weirdo kid awkwardly standing at the edges of the crowd?
God, he sounded just like his brother…
The chilling thought propelled him on. Jon made quick work of driving the jeep into the field and securing the gate behind him. He parked up next to a row of cars and followed the murmured voices over a small hill.
Okay, yeah, it had taken a while for the guys on the football team to warm up to him in Smallville. That didn't mean he'd completely forgotten how to make friends, did it?
He would be fine.
There had to be at least one person at camp he'd have something in common with.
Danny lingered at the back of the small crowd. He glanced at the device in his hand for the millionth time since arriving.
Surprise surprise, no change.
He sighed. Patience had never been his strong suit. But he couldn't do anything until he had more information to go on, and the only way he was going to get that was to blend in with the rest of the crowd.
Jazz had dropped him off, thankfully. He didn't give a damn what the other kids thought of him, but it would have been pretty hard to fly under the radar if his parents had dropped him off in the Fenton mobile. The thing was covered in extremely unsubtle ghost detecting equipment that would have gone haywire the minute they arrived at this place.
May as well have rocked up with a sign that read: ‘Warning, ghosts beware.’
And there was definitely a ghost here at the campsite. When Tucker figured out how to modify the fenton finder so it had a wider search radius, they'd discovered a whole bunch of ghostly activity outside of Amity Park.
Best news ever! (Not)
Things had been bad enough when he'd just had his home town to worry about. Now he had to deal with ghosts all over the world?
It was kinda hard to put the genie back in the bottle now though, and ghosts weren't usually hanging around outside of the ghost zone for altruistic reasons.
Wherever they were, people usually got hurt.
So when Sam confirmed the location of this blip was at the site of a yearly astronomy camp, he'd had no choice but to sign up.
Danny sighed, glancing around at the other kids' excited faces. There was a time he might have even done this for fun. As embarrassing as it sounded, he'd wanted to be an astronaut before he'd, well... died. He'd been fascinated by anything to do with space. Loved staring up at the stars in awe.
He kinda missed that version of himself. Innocent. Naive, maybe. That Danny had dreams for the future.
But him…
Well… he’d seen a possible future of his, hadn't he? And It was a living hell.
All he cared about now was making sure that never came true.
A message notification pinged on Danny's phone and he dug it out of his back pocket. It was Sam, wishing him good luck, telling him to be careful.
Thanks Mom, he replied.
Sarcasm was his friend's love language. He knew she'd appreciate it.
Of course he was going to try to be careful. Didn't always feel like something in his control though. Sam & Tuck had offered to come with him, but he'd refused. He'd been doing that a lot lately, trying to avoid involving them in his ghostly activities as much as he could.
Ever since their little tumble through time, he'd been understandably cautious. He'd seen a world without them in it, seen the guilt and regret that had driven him into darkness. Failing to protect his friends had had repercussions he would never have imagined, even in his worst nightmares.
It made him realise how reckless it had been, letting them put themselves in harm's way all the time. He needed to stop relying on other people. They didn't have powers. They couldn't protect themselves. Hunting down ghosts was his responsibility, not theirs.
Besides, if he couldn't take down one simple ghost on his own, wasn't that kind of pathetic?
A bustle of movement caught Danny's attention, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked up to see a kid about his age strolling nervously towards the group, giving an awkward wave as the more friendly members greeted him.
Danny felt himself shudder as a strange sensation moved through him, kind of like static electricity.
Weird. Was it coming from this kid?
Something definitely felt... off about him. Danny couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't in a 'setting off my ghost senses' kind of way, it was just... a vibe.
Gah, he hated that word! Sam used it way too much. What did it even mean?
He tried to shake off the feeling. Maybe it was nothing. The kid looked completely normal, after all. Short dark hair. A bit taller than Danny, but walking with his shoulders slumped so it was harder to tell. His blue eyes matched the casual blue hoodie his hands were self consciously shoved into.
Absolutely nothing unusual on the surface.
So why was Danny's heart suddenly thumping so hard?
The kid met his gaze, looking faintly surprised at whatever expression Danny's face had twisted into.
Dammit, not exactly subtle.
He tried to recover, casually nodding his head in greeting and then returning his attention to his phone, hoping he just looked bored.
But his hand was trembling. His skin prickled with heat.
What the hell?
Who - or what - was this guy?
And why was he having such a weird effect on him?
Jon's gaze lingered on the boy who'd been scowling at him only seconds before. He had his face buried in his phone now, acting as though nothing was amiss; but Jon couldn't shake the tension he'd felt from that stare.
Was there something up with his face?
He resisted the urge to check his reflection in his phone's camera. It couldn't be anything like that, or the other kids would have reacted too. And the rest of them seemed totally normal, greeting him with handshakes and smiles.
So what was this other kid's problem?
God, Jon had been here less than a minute and already gotten on someone's bad side.
Great.
"Well hello there my happy campers!"
A bright, enthusiastic voice bellowed across the field, causing the whole group to turn like a pack of meerkats. Striding towards them was a bizarre looking trio.
A middle aged woman with a tight blonde ponytail led the way. She wore bright red lipstick and an unflattering summer dress, accentuated by even more unflattering sneakers.
On either side of her were two older men, both looking like they'd come to camp in halloween costumes. One was decked out like Doc Brown from Back to the Future - he wore a white lab coat, with a utility belt around his middle. Protective goggles sat nestled on top of unruly tufts of grey hair.
The other guy looked like he was auditioning for baywatch. A tight t-shirt stretched over bodybuilder biceps and his shorts were so short they barely touched his calves.
But the weirdest part?
They all wore matching smiles. Great big toothy grins that seemed to stretch further than should be humanly possible.
It was kind of… creepy.
"Welcome to Camp Nightscape everyone!" The blonde woman said as the trio came to a stop. "My name is Summer, and I'm your Camp Leader this weekend! This is Doctor Sweets who will be sharing his expert knowledge of astronomy and Mr Kelvin here will be making sure everyone at camp is safe and sound. I hope you are all as excited to be here as we are to have you!"
She rubbed her hands together, waiting expectantly for a reaction. Jon glanced around at the other kids' faces, grateful to see it wasn't just him feeling awkward. After a few seconds, they nodded and murmured their agreement.
Apparently that wasn't enough.
"Oh come on, we can do better than that!" Summer shrieked. "I said, are you excited to be here?"
Her manic gaze caused a few more self-conscious glances back and forth, before the group finally managed a more enthusiastic cheer.
"That's more like it!" Summer said, clapping in delight. "Now, you will have had your itineraries by email, so you'll know we are going to be meeting by the campfire at 8pm. But we need to get you settled into your cabins for the weekend first, don't we?"
She paused again, as though waiting for another cheer. Thankfully she let the silence go this time, glancing down at the clipboard in her hand.
"So let's see, do we have Benjamin Morris? You have the great pleasure of bunking with... Joseph Kinnerman."
Jon waited patiently as she called out each person's name, each time handing them keys and waving them on towards the camp with next level enthusiasm. One by one, the rest of the campers headed off, until there was only one kid left.
Jon couldn't believe his luck.
Guess who?
That's right… the scowler.
And he looked just as thrilled about it as Jon felt.
Danny's ghost sense kicked in the minute the three camp staff approached. He just about managed to conceal the wisp of cold air that escaped his lips, keeping low at the back of the crowd.
So yeah, the blip on his screen was definitely one of them.
But... which one?
They all seemed kinda odd. Extremely odd, actually. The guy in the lab coat's eyes were bugging out so hard Danny thought they might pop right out of his head. And the bodybuilder on the other side was standing so stiffly it seemed totally plausible he wasn't used to having a human body at all.
The camp leader though…
There was definitely something creepy about her.
The way her whole face contorted as she continued to plaster on that thick, lipstick covered smile. It looked like smiling itself was causing her immense pain.
Still, creepy didn't always equal ghost, did it?
He had to be sure.
Danny had been analysing the trio so thoroughly, he hadn't even realised the group had dwindled to just two remaining members.
Him... and the kid with the weird 'vibes'.
"Jonathan Kent," Summer declared with unwarranted enthusiasm. "You have the great honour of bunking with the lovely Danny Nightingale here. Now isn’t that a pretty name?"
Pretty? Danny squirmed in embarrassment. Maybe he should have picked a different alias, but whatever. He knew he couldn’t show up as Danny Fenton. Too many ghosts knew his family by name now, they'd have known something was up.
Jon nodded awkwardly towards him as they took a few steps closer, reaching out to accept their matching sets of keys.
"Just head on down to the last cabin over there by the lake. It's a little further away from the main camp, so you boys will have to make sure you look after each other, okay?" Summer directed. "You never know what might go bump in the night down there!"
She laughed and something sinister flashed behind her eyes. A hint of sadistic mischief. But was it ghostly mischief, or was she just one of those sad ladies who got off on winding people up?
"Thanks," Danny's new bunk mate said politely, then gestured towards the camp. "Um. Shall we...?"
Danny nodded reluctantly. "Uh, yeah, sure."
They shuffled down the hill in silence, staring at the campsite ahead. Danny hoped he just looked like he was taking in the layout of the place, not actively avoiding eye contact with his new bunkmate.
The site included one big building, tucked away beside a small patch of woodland. There was a campfire in the centre of a large clearing, nestled at the bottom of the hill, with several logs around it. Scattered about the field were several humble sized cabins, just big enough for two teenagers to share.
Danny didn't like the idea of sharing such a cramped space with this kid. Even now, out in the open, standing several feet apart, his skin was tingling. The static electricity buzz just refused to fade.
God this was awkward.
Danny cleared his throat, hoping saying something might distract him from the persistent sensation.
"So, you been here before?" he asked.
Jon looked a little startled at the question, like he'd been lost in thought himself. "Oh uh, no. Seems like it could be cool though," he said. "How about you?'
"First time too. Not really sure what to make of it," Danny said hesitantly. "Did they seem kinda..."
"Over the top?" Jon offered.
"Well that was more polite than I would have put it but… yeah."
Jon laughed, and Danny was surprised to find himself smiling at the sound.
They followed the wooden signposts to their cabin. It was completely out of sight, tucked away from the rest of the camp, with an impressive lakeside view. The sun glistened water and clear blue sky would have almost made Danny feel like their coming last had been a win after all - but the state of the cabin itself said otherwise.
They both stared blankly at it for a moment, then glanced around as though Summer might jump out of the bushes and declare this a weird prank.
But no… this really seemed to be their home for the weekend.
"It's… seen better days," Jon said.
"Yeah. Two hundred years ago maybe," Danny scoffed.
The wooden ‘building’ looked like it was giving the leaning tower of Pisa a run for its money.
After an awkward dance of keys and arms, Danny gestured for Jon to unlock the door and it fell open, crashing back against the wall so hard the cabin shook. Danny flinched, waiting for the whole thing to collapse.
Unfortunately, it stayed put.
They stepped inside tentatively. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, so low they were touching the top bunk of the very rickety set of bunk beds. At least they'd been told to bring their own sleeping bags. No way Danny would have slept on those stained, dust covered sheets.
"Uh... I guess we're roughing it this weekend then?" Jon said.
Danny snorted.
"I'm gonna take the bottom bunk," he said quickly, slinging his backpack down before Jon could protest.
He wouldn't usually care, but if he was going to sneak out and investigate later without Jon waking up, it seemed like the more sensible choice.
"Sure," Jon said, shoving his own bag onto the other mattress.
Their eyes stayed locked for a few awkward seconds. Danny felt that static electricity dial up even higher. Any more and he was sure his hair would stand on end.
Thankfully, Jon's ringtone broke the silence.
"Um, it's my brother. Sorry, he's kinda anxious, I should take this."
Danny shrugged. "Whatever."
Feigned indifference was the only defense he had right now. He had no idea what the kid was doing to him, but he had to find some way of overcoming it.
Jon ducked out of the cabin and Danny's body immediately relaxed. That felt oddly validating, reassuring him it wasn't just in his head. Whatever weird energy he was feeling, it left the room when his bunkmate did.
Of course, that didn't explain what it was…
Danny reached into his backpack and laid his sleeping bag out over the musty bed. He sank down on top of it, staring at the disgusting floral pattern of the mattress above, giving himself a moment to process his new situation.
There were a lot of unanswered questions already. Some he'd come in with already. Now he'd picked up several new ones.
All he knew for certain, was that this was going to be a seriously weird weekend.