The Friend She Needed
is a The Ghost and Molly McGee Fanfic written by RySenkari on Archive of Our Own.
Andrea's bullying causes Molly's craft fair to be a bust, and Darryl is out to give his sister's bully a piece of his mind. Unfortunately, while doing so, a gang of kidnappers show up to abduct Andrea for ransom, and they take Darryl too. Now, the two unlikely partners in captivity will need to lean on each other in order to survive, forcing them to learn things about both each other and themselves that they never thought they would.
The Friend She Needed contains examples of:
- Adults Are Useless: The Davenports tried to help Andrea but because they are Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense they use only their standard method: sue the thieves. The thieves were completely unimpressed and decided to send Davenports a message: Andrea's ring finger. The only useful adult is Scratch, a ghost.
- Aesop Amnesia: Defied by Molly, who doesn't want Darryl to do anything to Andrea but talk because she's wanting to be a better person and don't want to repeat the Do-Gooder incident.
- Age-Appropriate Angst: When confronted with the possibility that the kidnappers will kill him and he'll never see his family again, Darryl starts crying. Similarly Andrea is brought to tears when despite her best efforts, escape is cut off and she has to let the kidnappers mutilate her without protests so they won't hurt Darryl.
- Beware the Silly Ones: The muggers act like a funny careless guys… but it doesn't stops them to be a very competent kidnappers and they don't hesitate to hurt children whatever gender they are.
- Big Brother Instinct: Inverted with Darryl who tried to intercede for his sister.
- Molly saved her brother (and Andrea) when she found out that they're kidnapped. Scratch had similar motivations for helping (along with not wanting Molly to get hurt during the rescue).
- Big Damn Heroes: Scratch and Molly appeared Just in Time before Andrea lost her finger.
- Blatant Lies: Andrea tried to convince Darryl that Davenport's has planned Andrea's fashion show for weeks and if he were one of her Fandreas, he would know that. Darryl tells her that he's one of them and it appeared only this morning. Then Andrea said it's because it's fresh sale. Darryl groaned in frustration, not buying a single word.
- Molly told Darryl that she isn't angry at Andrea and the fact that Andrea's fashion show appeared so suddenly and was announced just that morning is just a coincidence. Darryl didn't buy it.
- Bound and Gagged: Andrea and Darryl spend most of the story this way, with wrists and ankles bound with duct tape and socks and duct tape used to gag them.
- Canon Foreigner: The three kidnappers were created personally for this story.
- Character Development: Andrea realizes that she's been awful to Molly for absolutely no reason and decides to start treating her with the same kindness Molly always showed her.
- Darryl realises that his pranks are mean and tries to become better.
- Chekhov's Gun: Andrea's phone. She manages to hide it from the kidnappers and it's later used to call help (Molly and Scratch).
- Molly confiscated Darryl's phones before he go to give a piece of mind to Andrea. Molly and Scratch found Darryl and Molly by using apps on former's phone.
- Comically Small Bribe: Darryl tried to bribe kidnappers (who wanted fifty million dollars from Davenports) with ten dollars. They were unimpressed.
- Contrived Coincidence: Averted. Andrea's fashion show is a revenge to Molly and Darryl and Molly perfectly aware of this.
- Cool Big Sis: Darryl ends up realizing that for all her goofiness, Molly is this trope since she never complains about his presence, even enjoying spending time with him, and always has his back and keeps his best interests in mind.
- Damsel out of Distress: Darryl and Andrea managed to call Molly to help them (and, unbeknown to Andrea, Scratch, the ghost).
- Darker and Edgier: Kidnappers, attempts at mutilation and killing, etc.
- Demoted to Extra: Molly and Scratch are secondary characters in this story who appear only at the beginning and the end of story (Scratch appeared only after two thirds of the story had passed).
- Defiant Captive: Darryl and Andrea didn't cow: they resisted kidnappers and tried to escape all the time they were in captivity.
- Didn't See That Coming: Darryl, Molly and Scratch weren't in the original plan and only because of that the kidnappers failed.
- Didn't Think This Through: Darryl tried to scare Andrea that he's hacking into Fandreas and make her look bad but Andrea tells that she'd just call her dad and he'd hire the best cybersecurity team money can buy before he get his phone back from Molly. Darryl even quoted this trope word for word in his thoughts.
- Dirty Coward / Miles Gloriosus: The kidnappers were completely fearless against two kids they previously Bound and Gagged but the second Scratch came and showed himself they acted even more pathetic than Andrea in her first meeting with Scratch: they screamed even higher than her and lose consciousness at the spot.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Darryl and Andrea becomes friends after they were kidnapped. Molly also gets this trope because Andrea, wanting to pay both her and Darryl back for their help, personally sponsors a redo of her failed craft fair after publicly thanking her and Darryl for her rescue.
- Everyone Has Standards: As much as Darryl hated Andrea, he didn't want her to get hurt and vice versa.
- Andrea wouldn't wish something like being kidnapped and Bound and Gagged on anyone, even before her Character Development.
- Eviler than Thou: The kidnappers quickly show Andrea that they're worse than her.
- Evil Is Petty: The entire story kickstarted because Andrea ruined Molly's craft fair as a revenge for Molly's refusal to take one of Andrea's craft commissions earlier that week.
- Faux Affably Evil: The kidnappers are very cheerful and polite. They're polite even when they decide to cut Andrea's finger off and kill Darryl.
- Fingore: The kidnappers decided to send Andrea's severed finger to her parents when the Davenports told the kidnappers that they'd sue them. Fortunately, Scratch and Molly arrived just in time to save Andrea and Darryl.
- First Friend: Darryl and Molly becomes Andrea's first true friends. Even more: True Companions.
- Flipping the Bird: Darryl tried to do it to Andrea but failed because he was Bound and Gagged.
- Hate Sink: The kidnappers, who have absolutely no problem kidnapping Andrea for ransom, blatantly telling Darryl the only reason they haven't killed him yet is because they haven't decided what they'd do with his corpse and repeatedly manhandling both kids.
- He Knows Too Much: Darryl was kidnapped with Andrea because he is a witness.
- Heel Realisation:
- Andrea realised that she is a bad person and becomes a better person.
- Darryl realized that his pranks and Comedic Sociopathy is bad and it was only funny to him and felt bad for it and wanted to apologise to Molly for that. He also gets a better person at the end.
- Hidden Depths:
- Molly can make clothes and very good too!
- Andrea has a Hidden Heart of Gold and actually jealous to Darryl and Molly because they're even more free than her.
- Scratch again shows that he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and it's revealed that he knows some medicine terms.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Andrea proves that she has one when she comforts Darryl when he starts crying at the thought of never seeing his family again, agrees to cooperate with the kidnappers' demands if they'll let Darryl go with her when the ransom gets paid and publicly thanks both McGee siblings for their parts in her rescue, even sponsoring Molly's redone craft fair.
- Hypocrite: The kidnappers criticize Andrea for thinking that she's better than everyone else and for her It's All About Me mindset. They're even worse in that regard and have no room to talk.
- Hypocritical Heartwarming: Scratch is the only one who can scare Andrea and give her PTSD.
- Irony: Andrea and Darryl were Bound and Gagged with Davenport's branded socks and tape. Kidnappers even mocks Andrea Davenport, singing her commercial “If their whining gets you all out of sorts, gag those brats with Davenport's!”
- It's All About Me: Andrea Davenport. As the story goes, she realizes that it isn't about her, takes responsibility for her actions and worries for others.
- It's All My Fault: Darryl and Andrea feel bad for each other thinking the kidnapping happened because of them.
- Jerkass: All three kidnappers are massive ones. They insult Andrea and Darryl just for the sake of it and even after Andrea promises to cooperate with them for Darryl's sake, they still plan to go through with lopping off her finger.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Scratch and even Molly herself agreed with Darryl that Andrea needed to be taken down a peg.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Every moment the kidnappers acting kindly is either Pragmatic Villainy or to be even more jerks to Darryl and Andrea.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Scratch and Darryl are this. Andrea revealed to have a Hidden Heart of Gold and becomes a Lovable Alpha Bitch at the end of the story.
- Knight of Cerebus: The kidnappers fully intend to get money from the Davenports no matter what and only don't murder Darryl after he shows himself to be more trouble than he's worth to keep around because Andrea agrees to cooperate with whatever they tell her...and then go on with their plans to send her cut off finger to her father anyway.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Andrea transforms into one after the kidnapping episode.
- Lower-Deck Fic: The main focus of this story is Andrea and Darryl. Molly and Scratch were Demoted to Extra and other characters didn't appear at all.
- Minimalist Cast: The only main characters are Molly, Scratch, Darryl and Andrea. Well, and three muggers of course.
- Moral Myopia: Subverted with Darryl who realized that his Comedic Sociopathy was funny only for him after he was Bound and Gagged.
- Mundanger: A rich girl getting kidnapped for ransom and an accidental bystander of said kidnapping being manhandled and nearly killed or mutilated by the kidnappers is a very realistic scenario.
- Never My Fault: Andrea blamed others (especially Molly) for all of the times she was humiliated (she even thinks Molly has something to do with her and Darryl's kidnapping and that it's all a part of her plan). She soon realises that the kidnapping is real and, as the story goes, that all her misadventures is all her and only her fault.
- Darryl puts all fault on Andrea for their kidnapping. He soon realizes he's as guilty as she is.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Andrea's parents treat the kidnappers' demands like a business rivalry and threaten to sue. The unimpressed kidnappers decide to show them the true nature of the situation via Finger in the Mail.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Molly's reputation would be destroyed and Molly and Darryl wouldn't be friend with Andrea if not for kidnappers. Plus, Scratch scared a few more people at their expense as bonus.
- No Name Given: The muggers don't even get addressed by name and remain just muggers.
- Noodle Incident: Darryl once taped Molly to a chair a couple years before the story, and it took her almost a hour to get out, though she hadn't been tied up nearly as tightly as he was Bound and Gagged at the moment.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The only reason the kidnappers didn't kill Darryl immediately is because they didn't expect him in their plan and because of that they didn't think up a place to hide his body, also they thinks he can be useful and because killing him is too messy. Also every time they tried to politely ask the kids to cooperate is to get money easier and faster.
- Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Andrea's parents, who think the best way to deal with a ransom demand from people who clearly have no issue manhandling their daughter is to threaten to sue them.
- Ruder and Cruder: Author doesn't have any problem using swearing, Flipping the Bird, etc.
- Ship Tease: Darryl develops a Puppy Love style crush on Andrea over the course of the story while Andrea herself has a mild crush on Molly. Plus, it's hinted that she also has a mild crush on Darryl too.
- Darryl also reveals that Molly likes Libby.
- Smarter Than They Look: The kidnappers acts like funny careless guys… but managed to put a very good scheme and prepare for practically everything.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Andrea becomes better and calls Molly and Darryl her friends.
- Tempting Fate: When Molly confiscated Darryl's phone he consoled himself with the thought that he has a spare one. Molly demands Darryl to give his spare phone immediately after that.
- True Companions: Darryl, Molly and Andrea becomes this to each other at the end of story.
- Villain Has a Point: One mugger complained that Andrea has It's All About Me mindset. This is the only thing Darryl agreed with him. This is doubles as Hypocrite Has a Point.
- Villains Never Lie: Kidnappers are completely blatant tell Andrea and Darryl what they think about them and what they want to do with them.
- The Unfettered: Kidnappers do everything to get money. For example, they decided to sent Andrea's severed finger as a message and wanted to suffocate Darryl.
- Would Hit a Girl: The kidnappers have no issue manhandling Andrea and fully intended to cut off her finger.
- Would Hurt a Child: The kidnappers have no issue with threatening and manhandling both Andrea and Darryl and make it abundantly clear that the only reason they didn't initially just shoot Darryl and be done with him is because they needed to figure out what they'd do with the body and once he proves more trouble than he's worth, only Andrea's pleading stays their guns.
