Brandon Danber

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Brandon Danber is a ficitional character in the Dreams to Reality continuity who has appeared in the web series and novel series as a major character in both continuities. He is the youngest son of Craig and Lily Danber and younger brother of Noah Danber. In the web series, he is in the seventh grade at Eagle Creek Junior High School.

Character History

In the web series (2000-2004)

On a late spring day at Eagle Creek Junior High School, Brandon waited in the school's gymnasium for his physical education class to start with his friends, Mark Shane and Ashley Chamberlain. Mark asked him who he was taking to the upcoming school dance, and Brandon told him that Lisa Walker had asked him, but that he had planned on taking Danielle Grayson, a new student to the school, who moved to the area the month before (April 2000 in this continuity). However, Danielle had wanted to ask Michael Bennett to the dance instead. Mark told him that Michael has a crush on Rachel McCarey, and Ashley said that it might be a good thing Danielle turned him down, so he wouldn't then become involved in their love triangle. Brandon agreed with Ashley, citing the messy situation that Jarrid Harlen, Nicole Halloway, Josh Poncek, and Melinda Flint are currently in. Brandon would then assume that Mark and Ashley were attending the school dance together, as the two have recently become nearly inseparable. Ashley told him that she and Mark had simply realized that they are definitely right for one another. The physical education class would soon move outside to the baseball field near the school. Brandon was on the opposing team as Mark (who was the pitcher) and Ashley (the shortstop). Near the end of class, the physical education teacher, Mr. Long, announces that Brandon would be the final batter of the game because they needed to head back inside. On Mark's second pitch to Brandon, Brandon hit the ball directly back at Mark, striking Mark squarely in the chest, causing Mark to fall to the ground and hit his head off the ground, knocking him unconscious. While Ashley and the rest of the class rushed to Mark's side, Brandon blamed himself for the incident. Mr. Long told Ashley not to move Mark before telling Brandon to run back into the school office and inform them of what is going in and to call for an ambulance. Mr. Long assures Brandon that this is not his fault, but an upset Brandon said he would remain in the office for the remainder of the class time before heading inside. Brandon rushed into the school office calling for someone to call 911, but the school's secretary, Nancy Cline, simply told him that an ambulance was already on the way, assuming he was referring to Nicole Halloway being pushed down the stairs. This was shocking news to Brandon, who then informs her about Mark Shane's accident on the baseball field and his role in causing it. Nancy would then call 911 to ask for another ambulance while Brandon sees Melinda inside the principal's office and asks her what she did and why he gets the impression that it has something to do with Nicole Halloway falling down the stairs. Melinda tells him that Nicole made her angry and they had a fight during science class, and after Mrs. Jackson sent them to the principal's office, she confronted Nicole at the top of the stairs, during which she ended up pushing Nicole down the stairs. Brandon was stunned to find out that Melinda is capable of such a thing and wanted to know what the two of them had been fighting about. Melinda said they had been fighting about Josh and Melinda's presumption that Nicole is trying to win Jarrid back while remaining in her relationship with Josh. Brandon lectured Melinda that Josh was the one who ended their relationship, so Melinda should not be trying to get into his life when he wants nothing to do with her, but Melinda blames Nicole's machinations on why Josh broke up with her. Brandon reminded her of Melinda's role in Jarrid and Nicole's relationship coming to an end, which led directly to Josh breaking up with Melinda, and pointed out that her behavior is very self-destructive. Melinda responded that Nicole is lucky she hadn't done something like this sooner, just in time for Rose Manning to return to the office and hear her say that. Rose ordered Melinda into the office and slammed the door behind them, while Brandon turned back to Nancy to ask if he should remain in the office in case Rose wants to speak with him about what happened to Mark outside and his role in it. Nancy referred to Rose's voice yelling at Melinda from inside the principal's office when she claimed that she would likely take quite some time with Melinda, so he could go to class in the meantime, and if Rose wanted to speak to him, she can call him up to the office later. Brandon wodnered if the police would ask him questions about what happened as well, and Nancy said that since the incident did happen on school property, he may need to give a statement, but would very likely not face any charges. Brandon felt extremely guilty that he was responsible for putting one of his best friends in the hospital, even if it was an accident. Nancy consoled Brandon, telling him not to worry about it and granted him permission to go back outside and see what is going on, figuring that the ambulances should already be on the scene. Brandon then headed back downstairs to the stairway where Nicole was just wheeled out to an ambulance on a stretcher, where he informed Jack Brock, Jarrid Harlen, Mandy Marin, and Lisa Walker about his confrontation with Melinda in the office, confirming their own speculation that Melinda was responsible for Nicole falling down the stairs. Jarrid didn't want to believe that Melinda would do this, but Brandon simply said that he must not know Melinda then, and said that she has gone completely over the deep end, and thought it was lucky that Rose was "trying to bring her down a couple of pegs right now." He would then reveal what happened to Mark outside. Jack asked if Mark would be okay, and Brandon said that while he felt awful for putting Mark in the hospital, but that he should be fine, but that when Mark got home, he'll stop beating himself over it. Lisa gave Brandon a small, sympathetic hug before Brandon would then head back outside to get an update about Mark. Brandon walked up to Ashley, Josh, and Danielle outside just as Ashley was asking if Melinda was the one who pushed Nicole down the stairs, having just been told what Josh and Danielle knew about Nicole's fall down the stairs. Brandon revealed that Melinda had indeed pushed Nicole down the stairs and was very proud of herself for it. Josh asked Brandon if he was sure, adding that Melinda might have been desperate, but he didn't want to think she would do something this crazy. Brandon assured Josh that he talked to Melinda in the office, and that she was happy with herself for doing that to Nicole. Danielle proposed the unsettling thought that if Melinda did this to Nicole on purpose, nothing is stopping her from trying to do something to her at the hospital, and Ashley wondered if Melinda could be capable of killing Nicole. Josh made it his business to find out and left the group to go inside to confront Melinda, while Brandon, Ashley, and Danielle continued their own speculation on the subject. Ashley asked Brandon, who knows Melinda better than her or Danielle because he is Melinda's next-door neighbor, whether he thinks Melinda could do something crazy to Nicole. Brandon replied that when Nicole first went out with Josh, Melinda made it her quest to destroy Nicole's life, and that if they thought it was bad when Melinda told Jarrid that Nicole slept with Josh, it's only going to get worse unless something changes. Brandon, Ashley, and Danielle would soon head back into the building, failing to notice a man wearing a skull mask, who was previously seen to be armed with a large, metallic, sharpened fish hook, standing along the side of the school building, who is watching the three re-enter the building. (DtRW #1)

At the end of the school day, Brandon was in a somber mood when Ashley approached him at his locker to ask him what was wrong. He was still upset with himself for being the one who hit the baseball that struck Mark in the chest and caused him to be hospitalized as a result. Ashley would reiterate to Brandon that what happened was not his fault. Brandon's mood was also being affected by his earlier conversation with Melinda about what she did to Nicole. While Brandon and Ashley were discussing what happened between Melinda and Nicole earlier, Danielle called out to them from down the hallway and asked them if they'd heard any more about Mark or Nicole. Ashley replied that she and Brandon were going to the hospital as soon as they could get there to check on them. Danielle would then ask if they'd seen Josh since he left them outside, but Brandon and Ashley hadn't, but hoped he wasn't going to do anything stupid to Melinda in retaliation. Changing the subject, Danielle would reveal that David Richards told her that Michael has a crush on her, which came as a surprise to Brandon. Danielle explained that Michael had apparently told David that he liked someone new to the school with brown hair and brown eyes. Ashley thought that it must be Danielle, and Brandon asked her if she'd talked to Michael yet. Danielle replied that she hadn't yet, but that she had gone to Michael's locker after David told her what Michael had said, but he'd already left for the day. Ashley suggested that Michael would likely be going to the hospital, assuming someone had told him about Mark and Nicole by then. Danielle remembered that Michael and Nicole are close friends and figured that Michael would surely go to the hospital to check on her. Danielle rushed off to find Michael, while Brandon hoped that David was right about this for Danielle's sake, because if David was wrong, she was going to have "a seriously tough time of it." Ashley agreed, hoping Danielle wasn't setting herself up for some major heartbreak later. Later, Brandon and Ashley waited inside a waiting room at Portage General Memorial Hospital in Ravenna, where Ashley paced back and forth impatiently waiting for an update about Mark. Dr. Steve Galan would soon approach the two of them and ask them if they were Mark Shane's friends. Ashley confirmed that they were, and Dr. Galan introduced himself to them as the doctor who examined Mark. He explainede that Mark suffered a contusion to two ribs, but would be released from the hospital that day, though would need to take it easy for a few days. Brandon asked why Mark lost consciousness when he fell, and Dr. Galan explained that when the baseball hit Mark, the wind was knocked out of him, and when he fell down, he also hit his head on the ground with just enough force to knock him unconscious. Ashley would then ask if Mark had also suffered a concussion, but Dr. Gaan assured her that he just has a bumb on the back of his head, though warned that Mark would need to come back to run some tests if he were to start developing headaches afterward. Brandon and Ashley were relieved to hear that Mark would make a full recovery and asked if they could see him. Dr. Galan agreed and escorted them to Mark's room, where Mark was sitting up on his bed. Ashley quickly gave mark a hug, and Brandon immediately began apologizing to Mark, who didn't even want to hear the apologies because it wasn't Brandon's fault, but a freak accident. Dr. Galan would assure Brandon that these things just happen sometimes, and that it's what keeps him employed. Brandon would agree to finally stop beating himself up about this, and Mark told Brandon that in a couple of days when he felt better, he'd help Brandon "by kicking your butt." Brandon laughed and agreed to let him, saying he owes him one. Mark would then ask who else had been injured at school, citing the presence of a second ambulance at the school. Ashley told him about Melinda pushing Nicole down a flight of stairs and that Nicole was the one being taken out of the school at the same time. Mark asked if Nicole was all right, but Brandon and Ashley didn't know because they hadn't seen Josh, Danielle, or anyone else who might know more yet. Mark would ask Dr. Galan when he could get out of there, and Dr. Galan replied that as soon as his parents got there to sign some papers, he'd be free to go. After reminding Mark to take it easy for a few days, Dr. Galan left the room. Brandon and Mark would then tease Ashley with the prospect of Mark being assigned a beautiful private nurse to help him heal for a few weeks. While this conversation continued, Brandon peeked out the door in time to watch Danielle run by the room in tears. Brandon excused himself and quickly rushed out of the room, telling Mark and Ashley he'd explain later. Brandon would follow Danielle into an empty hospital room, where Danielle was sobbing uncontrollably. Brandon called attention to himself, and while Danielle quickly composed herself, she was clearly still very upset about something. Brandon asked her what was wrong, and Danielle would tell him that Rachel had just told her that Michael asked her to the dance and that she accepted, and that Michael liked Rachel, not her. Danielle began to cry again, and Brandon was quick to give Danielle a supportive hug and tell her that everything would be okay. (DtRW #2)

Relationships

In the web series

Danielle Grayson

Brandon's first choice to the end-of-the-school year dance in 2000 was Danielle Grayson, who moved to the area a month prior to the start of the series. However, she had developed a crush on Michael Bennett and was hoping that he would ask her to the dance, and declined Brandon's invitation. Brandon would later learn that Michael had a crush on Rachel McCarey and realized that Danielle was about to get involved in a love triangle. He still maintained a friendly relationship with her in spite of the rejection, however. Danielle would soon become under the impression that Michael actually had a crush on her, only to be devastated when she learned that Michael had asked Rachel to the dance. Brandon found Danielle sobbing when she learned about this, and was quick to give her a supportive hug and tell her everything would be all right. (DtR #1-2)

Lisa Walker

Upon Danielle Grayson's rejection of Brandon's invitation to the upcoming school dance, Lisa Walker would ask him to take her to the dance. Brandon agreed to go with Lisa to the dance. Lisa would later give Brandon a sympathetic hug after Brandon told her about his role in Mark's hospitilization following an accident during a baseball game in physical education class because Brandon was feeling extremely guilty about what happened. (DtR #1)

Background & Trivia

• Brandon was originally intended to become involved in a love triangle with Mark and Ashley, but he would end up becoming involved with Lisa. Another early draft of Brandon's character had him becoming much more with Danielle during the time in which Michael was dating Rachel McCarey, also before Lisa would become his girlfriend.
• Brandon was initially one of the characters that might have potentially gained superpowers similar to the ones Michael acquired, but it never ended up happening in the web series and there are currently no plans to give the character superpowers in the novel series.

Quotes

(after learning from Melinda that she pushed Nicole down the stairs):

• Brandon: "Have you completely lost your mind?"
• Melinda: "No. I'm as sane as ever."
• Brandon (thinking): "That's not saying much." (DtRW #1)