"Everytime I start to believe, Something's raped and taken from me... from me. Life's got to always be messing with me. Can't they chill and let me be free? Can't I take away all this pain. I try to every night, all in vain... in vain. Sometimes I cannot take this place. Sometimes it's my life I can't taste. Sometimes I cannot feel my face.You'll never see me fall from grace"- Korn "Freak On A Leash"


"Attention all students, the awards ceremony starts in five minutes, please proceed to the auditorium"


Principal Wexler's boomed over the intercom system. Lines of students began to file down the hallway, escorted by their homeroom teachers. Students lingered by the doorway and met their friends in the aisles, quickly filling up the seats. Kyle stood in a line that was slowly filing in.

"Well Richardson..." he heard a voice say behind him.

"Damien" Kyle said "morning" he said before turning back.

"Just wanted to come and wish you luck" Damien said to him.

"Wow...that's uncharacteristically decent of you" Kyle said to him.

"You'll need it" Damien said pushing past him and walking into the auditorium. Kyle rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

Natalie pulled Neilson behind her as she held his hand.

"I'm tired" he whined as they took their seats.

"Come on it won't be that bad" she said to him as they sat down on the wooden chairs.

"I hate mandatory assemblies" he grumbled.

Bradley made his way into the auditorium and spotted Neilson and Natalie, he then walked towards their row and sat down next to Neilson.

"See, Bradley's awake" Natalie said to Neilson.

"Barely" Bradley said to her as he yawned.

"Well maybe if you guys didn't stay up until three am playing The Beatles rock band..." Natalie said to them.

"Don't start" Bradley said to her.

Harry walked into the auditorium, his camera hanging from his neck, he stepped towards Mr. Carson, the student advisor that was in charge of the school newspaper.

"Great Harry, I want you to start here, make your way towards the middle and meet up with Cecily in the back".

"Yes sir" Harry said to him.

"And coach wants a lot of shots of the MVP award".

"Got it" Harry said to him removing the lens cap from his camera and focusing in on different groups of students.

"You guys will have plenty of time to catch up on your beauty sleep in study hall" Natalie said to both Neilson and Bradley.

"It can't come soon enough" Neilson said letting his head fall on to her shoulder.

"think you guys can stay awake long enough to show Kyle some support?" she asked.

They looked at each other confusedly before turning to Natalie.

"What?" she asked.

"Why are we supporting Kyle?" Neilson asked her.

"You're kidding me right?" Natalie asked him as he turned to look at Bradley who shrugged

"Can I get a vowel here?" Bradley asked her

"The awards ceremony is today?" she said to them as they exchanged looks of confusion before turning back to her. "Coach Reinhart's giving out the football MVP award? Kyle, your friend who lives with you is on the football team? He's nominated?" she asked them as they continued to look at her puzzled.

"How do you know this?" Neilson asked.

"How do you not know this? There are literally signs everywhere" she said to them.

"Really?" Neilson asked as they continued to look at her confused.

"Please stop looking at me like that" she said to them.

"You see any signs?" Neilson asked.

"I didn't see any signs, where are these signs?" Bradley asked as they looked around the auditorium.

"Hey guys, smile" Harry said coming up to them, camera in hand, Natalie smiled as the flash went off.

"That really necessary?" Neilson asked him annoyed.

"Harry I saved you seat" Natalie said to him.

"Oh thanks, but I'm on newspaper duty" he said holding up his camera.

"Hey" Kyle said as he approached them all.

"Hey there he is, our future MVP, smile" Harry said Kyle smiled and the flash went off. Harry snapped another picture of them the flash going off yet again.

"Harry you take another picture of me and you're going to be eating that camera for lunch" Bradley said to him.

"Alright I'm going" Harry said before turning back to snap a quick picture, Bradley lunged at him as Harry scurried away.

"I see some people aren't quite awake yet" Kyle said sitting next to Bradley.

"Kyle, I'm so happy for you, I really hope you win this award...we all do" she said looking at Bradley and Neilson as they groaned and mumbled under their breath.

"Thanks Nat, but you know I'm not the only one nominated I probably won't get it afterall" he said to her.

"Don't think that Kyle you're an amazing football player, you're the best one on the team".

"I'm sorry when did you start the Kyle Richardson fan club?" Neilson asked her.

"I'm doing that being supportive thing we talked about" she said to him.

"Hey guys" Adam said rushing into the auditorium and taking a seat next to Kyle.

"Where've you been?" Neilson asked.

"I uh...I had to take care of something...you know..."he said clearing his throat.

"You were out smoking, we can smell it on you" Bradley said to him.

"I thought you quit?" Natalie asked.

"I did Bradley's full of it" Adam said to her. "Don't give me that look Kyle Michael" Adam said to him.

"Not saying anything" Kyle said to him.

Mr. Wexler appeared on stage and tapped the microphone on the podium.He cleared his throat loudly before speaking.

"Good morning students as you know today is the annual awards ceremony, I want to take a moment to congratulate each and every one of you who is nominated today and wish you the best of luck" Neilson rolled his eyes and hung his head back.

"Alright Wexie lets hurry this up" Bradley muttered.

"Now we will begin with the academic awards" Mr. Wexler said smiling."Then we will move on to the arts and finally athletics, so let's begin" Mr. Wexler said into the microphone.

Harry snapped picture after picture as he sat just offstage, moving around the auditorium to get different views of the assembly. Kids lined up on stage as they all received an award for their outstanding academic achievements.

"And now lets welcome to the stage, Coach Reinhart to start off the athletic awards part of the ceremony" the principal said as the coach stepped up on stage. Neilson had fallen asleep in his chair, his head slumped on to Bradley's shoulder, Bradley's head was slumped ontop of Neilson's as he had also fell asleep

Natalie looked over, shaking her head in disbelief, she quickly took her phone from her purse and snapped a picture. Kyle looked over and rolled his eyes before he and Natalie nudged them both awake.

"What happened?" Neilson asked groggily and looking around.

"This thing isn't over yet?!" Bradley asked irritated.

"Thank you Mr. Wexler" he said into the microphone. "Congratulations to the recipients of the academic awards, you've all studied and worked very hard and you should very proud of yourselves, lets give them a round of applause" he said as everyone began to clap. "Now, I'm very happy to say that our sports teams have had an excellent season, everyone from the football team to the cheerleaders to the tennis team, you guys are doing a great job" everyone began clapping again as the principal set the award on the podium. "Now, it is my esteemed pleasure to present this award to one of our football players".

"So who else is up for this big fancy schmancy award?" Adam asked as they all looked at Kyle.

"Oh well...you know...one of the other guys on the team" he said to them.

"No kidding, who?" Adam asked.

"Does it matter?" Kyle asked nervously.

"Wow talk about avoiding" Adam said to him.

"I'm not avoiding" Kyle said to him.

"Oooooooh, I get it" Bradley said to him "It's Damien".

"So what if it is?" Kyle asked Kyle said reluctantly as they groaned "What?" he asked. "Look I know he's a prick but he's a good football player" Kyle said to them.

"You are way too damn nice" Bradley said.

"I hope he loses" Adam said.

"Imagine the look on his face if he does" Neilson said laughing.

"Oh I can't wait" Adam said joyfully.

"Really don't understand how this feud between you guys and Damien got started" Natalie said to them.

"He's a dick" Bradley said to her "Always has been too, even in kindergarten".

Damien sat with the other football players, he looked back at Kyle and smiled smugly at him.

"See what I'm talking about? Dick" Bradley said to Natalie as they saw Damien glancing back at them.

"Oh now I really hope you win just wipe that stupid smug smarmy look off his big douche face" Adam said to him.

"The boys have worked really hard this season and I'm really proud of the work they've put into the game". "Alright the player of the year MVP award goes to..."the coach said opening the envelope, he smiled and leaned down to the microphone "Kyle Richardson" he said happily, everyone stood and clapped for Kyle.Adam patted Kyle on the back as he got up.

"Congratulations" Natalie said hugging him as he walked towards the stage.

The other football players began snickering at Damien's expression.

"What are you laughing at?!" he growled at them as they turned away from him. Kyle came down the aisle, bumping into Damien "You really do get everything don't you?" Damien asked him.

"Damien I..." Kyle said as he stormed from the auditorium.

"Check it out" Neilson said to Bradley as he snickered at Damien's angry face.

"Dude, Adam was right...this is hilarious" Bradley said to Neilson as they laughed.

Kyle stepped up onstage, shook coach Reinhart's hand and took the award from him. Damien felt a tightness in his chest as he barged into the locker room, he paced around quickly, his fingers running through his hair digging into his scalp. He huffed and puffed as he skitted around anxiously when everything inexplicably turned black.

"I'd like to say a few words" Damien's father, Derek said as their family butler presented him with drink. "I am very happy to announce that Damien here is nominated for the Hilridge High School football team's prestigious MVP award" Derek said proudly.

"We're so proud of you sweetie" his mother, Daphne said to him, a wine glass in her hand.

"Proud doesn't even begin to cover it, nothing makes me happier than to see you following in your brother's footsteps" Derek said to him. Damien's smile faltered as his father began to brag about his brother's accomplishments. "After all it was not so long ago that you were receiving the MVP award, remember Darren?"

"Course" Darren said "Congratulations little brother" Darren said.

"To my son Damien, the future MVP of Hilridge High School" Derek said proudly, his glass still raised.

"To Damien" his mother Daphne said raising her wine glass.

"To Damien" everyone echoed.

"So, let"s hear from the man of the hour" Derek said.

"Damien, is there anything you'd like to say?" Daphne asked him as she stood by Derek's side.

"Well uh...thanks dad for the...words of encouragement" Damien said "But unfortunately nothing's official yet, I'm just nominated at the moment, Coach Reinhart ultimately makes the final decision and we won't find out who the winner is until the assembly" Damien said to them.

"Nonsense, besides I think coach will appreciate the large donation I plan on giving to the school's athletic program" Derek said. Damien nodded "Cheers" he said raising his glass.

Damien sat on the floor, slumped up against the lockers, his knuckles were bloodied and scraped up. a giant indentation in the locker's surface above him, he took a long slow drink from a glass bottle, clinching his eyes shut as it went down his throat.

"And we're back in 5...4...3...2.." a teleprompter said as the guys sat on a set in a television studio.

"Welcome back everyone, sitting here with me is the best selling boybands of all time, with over 130 million albums sold world wide, ladies and gentlemen, AJ, Brian, Howie and Nick, the Backstreet Boys" she said to the camera.

"Guys good morning and welcome, so good to see you all again, you look great" she said.

"Thank you"

"As do you" AJ and Howie said to her.

"Making me blush" she said as they laughed.

"Thanks for having us" AJ said.

"Thank you for coming, okay now first thing's first, obviously something is missing here, where's Kevin?" she asked.

"Bathroom" Nick said as she laughed.

"Yeah he's been in there for almost three years now" Brian said as she laughed.

"No uh, after the Never Gone tour he sat us all down and told us he was feeling burnt out and he wasn't feeling inspired and just needed a break" AJ said to her.

"So there was no big blow up? no fight?"

"No" Howie said.

"No, we understood and told him you know that if the time was right for him whenever he wants to come back he's welcome, the door's always open for him" AJ said to her.

"And how does it feel just being four now?"

"Weird" Howie said.

"Does it feel weird?"

"A little you know there's...obviously feels like something's missing but..." Howie said.

"Yeah, so let's talk about music, now this is your first album without him, did it feel weird not having him in the studio recording with you?".

"Definitely" Howie said

"I bet"

"Not having that fifth voice kind of screwed us up a bit but I think we're getting back on track" AJ said to her.

"And you guys are wrapping up the Unbreakable tour correct?"

"Yep, we should be done with the tour in a couple of months" AJ said.

"And what comes after this? new album hopefully?" she asked.

"Yep, new album, we're in the process of recording right now" AJ said.

"Yeah we're going to take some time off, work on the new album, get some rest, cool down a bit, spend time with our families" Howie said to her.

"I'm glad you brought up family because I've been doing some research and I was surprised to find out that you're all actually parents".

"yep" Brian said

"we are" Howie said.

"Yes, each of us have a teenage son" AJ said

"My goodness, you all do not look old enough to have teenagers"

"We're not" Brian said as she laughed.

"Now who's is who?" she asked "Mine is Adam, Neilson, Bradley J. , Harrison" AJ said pointing to them all.

"That makes it easy to remember doesn't it?" she asked

"That's why we did it that way" Brian said as she laughed.

"Our fans actually call them the Jr. BSB" Howie said to her.

"Bet they love that" she said.

"Oh they absolutely hate it" AJ said.

"You think they're watching right now?" she asked.

"They better not be, they're supposed to be in school" Brian said as she laughed.

"And then there's Kevin's son, Kyle, he still lives with us, so we're kind of keeping an eye on him while his dad's away, plus his mom's still here in LA" AJ said to her.

"Aww that's great, okay well when we come back we'll have more with the Backstreet Boys, don't go away" she said as they went to commercial.


~*~


"Here you go" Vicki said bending down to a little girl with a lollipop.

"Thank you Dr. McAdams" she said to her

"You're welcome, have a good day and I'll see you soon okay?" Vicki asked.

"Okay"

"Thank you doctor, bye"

"Take care" Vicki said as the little girl and her mother got on to the elevator.

Vicki sighed as she stood against the nurse's desk and flipped a clipboard open.

"Slow day?" Marian asked as she arranged flowers in a vase.

"Kind of but you know what? a slow day is always a good day" Vicki said to her, Marian chuckled.

She then checked her watch "And I missed the guys' interview" she said writing on the clipboard.

"Didn't know you were a fan" Marian chuckled.

"Having a baby with one of them helps" she said as they laughed.


~*~


A flashbulb went off as Harry took pictures of Kyle with the principal and the football coach.

�Congratulations Kyle�

�Thanks Mr. Wexler�.

�Now if you'll excuse me I have to get back to my office�.

�Kyle, I got a reporter from the local newspaper coming in about an hour, think you can stop by office?� the coach asked him.

�Oh yeah sure� Kyle said to him. The flash of the camera kept going off as Harry continued to snap pictures.

�Alright...okay...Harry stop it...Harry!� he yelled at him.

"Okay" Harry said pulling a small notepad from his pocket "So Kyle, how does it feel to win this year's MVP award? Especially beating your arch nemesis Damien Winchester?" Harry asked.

"My arch nemesis? what am I a super hero?" Kyle asked him

"Got a better word for him?" Harry asked him "So come on, let's hear it".

"Going to have to get back to you on this one, I got to get to class" Kyle said opening his locker.

"Okay but make sure to find me before seventh period, that's when we go to press" Harry said to him �Hey Kyle?� he asked.

�What?� Kyle asked as Harry snapped another picture.

Bradley and Neilson laughed as they huddled over Neilson's desk, Natalie came into the room, looking at them curiously.

"What's so funny?" she asked leaning over the desk "Neilson" she said annoyed.

"What?" he asked as a sketch pad lied in his lap "It's for my art class" he said to her.

"Really, your assignment was to draw the devil in a letterman's jacket?" she asked looking at the drawing.

"Hey who ever said Satan never played football?" he said to her, she rolled her eyes at them and sat back in her seat.

"I know you guys are not this vindictive" she said to them.

"Aw would you look at her? she cares about Damien's feelings" Bradley said, she smiled and rolled her eyes at him.

"That's my girl" Neilson said kissing her cheek.

"Incoming" Natalie said to them "put that away!" she said to him as she saw Damien approach the room.

They tried to contain their laughter as he walked past them.

"Something funny Littrell?" Damien asked bitterly.

"no" Bradley said trying not to laugh, Damien then glared at Neilson.

"Sorry" Neilson said giggling, Damien then took his seat trying to ignore their snickering.

"Bradley Littrell!" Natalie said leaning over and hitting Bradley's arm.

"Ow! what?" he asked laughing.

"Neilson Carter!" she said hitting Neilson as well.

"what'd we do?" he asked laughing.

Neilson held up the drawing and shoved it in Bradley's face "boo!" Neilson said as they laughed.

Kyle then came into the room, he looked down at the sketch book.

"Neilson, come on" he said irritated.

"You people have no taste" Neilson said closing his sketch book and putting it in his backpack.

"Damien look I'm glad you're here" Kyle said to him.

"I'm in this class where else would I be?" Damien asked bitterly.

"Look Damien I know how much that award means to you okay...but I didn't intentionally take it from you, you had to know only one of us was going to win and it just happened to be me...it's not like I did it on purpose" Kyle said to him.

"What are you getting at Richardson?" Damien asked him.

"I'm just trying to say...no hard feelings okay?" Kyle asked "truce?" he asked holding his hand out.

"Spare me your sympathy Richardson it's pathetic" Damien said to him.

"It's not sympathy I'm just being honest" Kyle said to him. "We have been at odds with each other for years now, can we please just be done with it and try to be somewhat civil with each other?" Kyle asked.

Damien grinned at him "Go to hell Kyle" he said as he got up, Natalie exchanged looks with Bradley and Neilson as Damien suddenly stood up and stormed out of the classroom.

"Ouch" Bradley said as soon as Damien was out of sight.

"Yeah I knew was going to happen" Kyle said sitting in his desk.

"Kyle that was really mature of you to do" Natalie said to him.

"Seriously do you want to date him or what?" Neilson asked her.

"So...um...what...what the hell was that?" Bradley asked him.

"Look I know you guys aren't fond of Damien, I don't exactly want to be bff's with him either but I was hoping we could finally call a truce or something".

"A truce?" Neilson asked "With Satan?" he asked.

"He's not Satan" Kyle said to them

"Almost" Neilson said

"Yeah his name's Damien" Bradley said as Kyle turned around in his seat to look at him.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Kyle asked.

"Damien? The Omen?" Bradley asked him "Scary movie? little kid is possessed by Satan?" he asked.

"Technically he's the son of Satan" Neilson said to him

"Same thing" Bradley said to him, Kyle looked at both of them.

"...Are you actually saying these words right now?" he asked.

"Scary isn't it?" Natalie asked him.

The door to the school's roof opened, Damien stepped out taking yet another gulp from the glass bottle, he sat down near a smoke stack. The wind blew his hair back as he finished off the bottle.

The front door of Damien�s house opened and he came inside, a bag slung over his shoulder.

�Welcome home master Damien� the family butler said to him

�Reginald� he said

�Your mother and father request your presence in the family room, immediately� Reginald said to him.

Damien followed him to the family room, his mother sat in a chair as his father stood by the fireplace, a glass sitting on the mantle.

�Hey� he said going inside, Reginald closing the door behind him �What�s going on?� he asked, Daphne looked between them cautiously �Well uh�� she standing up and facing him �I don�t know if you saw or not but, your father and I managed to make it to your game tonight� she said.

�Oh� Damien said.

�Daphne, can you give us a minute?� Derek asked.

�Derek��

�Sweetheart, please?� he said.

�Guess I might as well get ready for bed, Reginald, run my bath please� she said as she left the room.

�Yes mam� he heard Reginald reply as the door closed.

�So you saw the game� Damien said.

"Believe me I wish I hadn't" Derek said coldly �You know while I was watching you tonight I kept thinking to myself what Darren would�ve done if he had been playing� Derek said, Damien rolled his eyes.

�Here we go� Damien murmured to himself.

�Something you want to say son?� Derek asked angrily.

�Can we please just have one conversation where you DON�T compare me to Darren?� Damien asked irritated.

�Oh, I�m sorry, but you�re right, you�re nothing like Darren� Darren is an accomplished athlete and you...well�I�m not exactly sure what you are� Derek said coldly as Damien glared at him with tears in his eyes.
�I�ve hired a personal trainer� Derek said.

�What?� Damien asked.

�You will practice every day after school, and on the weekends you will get up at 6 am and train until you become at least half of what your brother is�starting tomorrow, so I suggest you get some sleep� Derek said to him.

"Are you kidding me?" Damien asked angrily.

"See anyone laughing?" Derek asked "You'll thank me for this some day" Derek said to him. Damien then stormed out of the room.

He stood up and walked over to the ledge. Once the bottle was empty he threw it over the edge and watched it fall before smashing into pieces.

Kyle walked down the hallway, stopping at his locker He opened his locker when he felt his pocket vibrate, he reached in and pulled out his phone. He looked at the screen to see a text message from his mom.

"How was the assembly?" it read.

Kellie stood in her office, a giant stack of files stood on her desk, she pulled her glasses down from her forehead onto her nose. Her phone sat next to the pile of folders, it lit up and began to chime.

"Alright I guess...got to get to lunch, talk to you about it later" the message from Kyle read.

"I love you" she wrote back to him when there was a knock at the door.

"Come in" she said as the door opened.

"Hey" Melissa said appearing in the doorway with a white plastic bag. "Brought you some lunch" she said setting the bag down on Kellie's desk.

"Oh thank you so much" Kellie said setting the file down and putting her glasses on top of it. "Didn't think I was going to get to eat today" she said opening a styrofoam box and grabbing a fork wrapped in plastic.

"Did you watch the guys this morning?" Melissa asked as she poured dressing onto her salad.

"No, I've been buried in paper work thanks to this new case we're working on, I'm lucky I've had a minute to breathe" Kellie said as her phone once again lit up.

"Love you too" the message from Kyle read.

He walked further down the hallway, pushing the cafeteria doors open and stepping inside. The cafeteria filled with students, the lines to get food were stretched across the room, Neilson sat at his table, his sketch pad still relaxing in his lap, Natalie came in and set her bag on the table.

“Neilson” she sighed.

“What? I told you this for my art class!" he said to her as he colored in the picture.

“Oh please, more like for the personal collection of Neilson Carter" she said to him.

"I like that" he said to her.

Adam sat down next to Neilson and glanced at his sketch pad "Nice" he said to him "Life like too" Adam said as he began to eat his lunch.

"See? Adam likes it!" Neilson said gesturing towards him.

"There are so many ways to point out what's wrong with that statement" Natalie said to him, Adam smiled sarcastically at her. "Come on let's go get lunch" she said as she took his hand and lead him to the lunch line.

“Hey there you are” Harry said to Kyle as he ran up to him in the lunch line “I still need a statement” he said holding a pen and pad in his hand “So come on, let’s hear it”.

“Can I tell you later?” Kyle asked.

"It is later! Come on I told you I needed this by seventh period, we're going to press soon" Harry said to him.

"God Harry it's a high school newspaper not the New York Times" Kyle said to him.

"I still have a deadline, so come on just make something up" Harry said to him.

Damien stumbled through the cafeteria doors. He wobbled, making his way towards the lunch line.

“Damien?” Kyle asked.

“What’s wrong with him?” Harry asked.

Kyle stepped out of the line and approached Damien “Damien, hey, you alright?” Kyle asked.

“Hey! Look who’s here!” Damien yelled out grabbing everyone’s attention “Look everyone! Hilridge High School's golden boy, Kyle Richardson, come on give it up for the guy” he said clapping.

“What are you doing?” Kyle asked.

“What? Nothing just helping congratulate the MVP, the quarterback, the star, the apple of coach's eye" Damien said angrily.

The cafeteria fell silent as they watched the spectacle before them.

“What's with him?” Natalie asked Neilson.

"Are you seeing this?" Adam asked Bradley as Bradley sat down at the table.

"Kind of hard to miss" Bradley said to him "He's wasted off his ass" Bradley said.

"Shh...I want to see what happens" Adam said to him.

"Are you drunk?" Harry asked.

"Okay Damien, I don't know what's going on with you but I think we should get out of here and talk..." Kyle said putting his hand on Damien's shoulder.

"Don't touch me" Damien said grabbing Kyle's wrist and squeezing it tightly and glaring at Kyle menacingly, Kyle looked at him with fear as a wicked grin crossed Damien's face.

Kyle freed himself from Damien's grip as they stared each other down “Okay look I know you’re upset alright, I get it” Kyle said to him.

“Aww…you do? Well thank you so much!” Damien said “Hear that everyone? Mr. Perfect 'gets it' " Damien said.

“Okay you need to stop this” Kyle said trying to remain calm.

“Oh and why’s that?” Damien asked.

“What is this about? What do you want?" Kyle asked.

Damien laughed at him "You even have to ask?" Damien asked.

"You got to be kidding me" Kyle said in disbelief "This is about the award?" Kyle asked.

"Ding ding we have a winner!" Damien said.

"Okay" Natalie said going to Kyle's side, she stood between him and Damien "Damien look I know that you’re really upset right now, losing something is never easy but you can’t blame Kyle” she said. “Why don’t you go talk to coach Reinhart? Maybe he can shed some light on this” she said to him.

Damien smiled at her “Aw Nat, so you got Richardson in your bed too huh?” he asked.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“It’s funny, I always thought if you were screw around behind Carter’s back it’d be with his BFF Bradley” Damien said.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

"Oh come on Nat, you can tell us, you and Littrell over there have gone at it behind Carter's back at sometime or another right?” Damien asked.

Everyone began to stare at her and whisper to each other as she looked around the room.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked, tears filling her eyes.

"Damien, stop" Kyle said angrily.

"Back off of her now!" Neilson said coming to her side.

"Oh come on, don't you want to know if your girlfriend banged you best friend behind your back?" Damien asked
"Littrell? comments?"

Bradley glared at him angrily "You better shut your mouth right now before I come over there and shut it for you" Bradley said angrily as he stood up from the table made his way towards Damien.

“He’s baiting you, don’t give him what he wants” Adam said stepping in front of Bradley.

"Oh, right sorry, did McLean get lucky too?" Damien asked her.

"…Okay this dick is toast" Adam said standing up.

"What happened to not giving him what he wants?" Bradley asked.

"Oh fuck that I’m going to kill him" Adam said.

"Oh and here's an interesting concept, what about Harry? Huh? You do the dweeb too?" he asked her.

"Hey shut up!" Harry said to him, Damien then turned to look at him, glaring at him as Harry moved behind Kyle to shield himself.

“It’s a simple question, or maybe...Bradley J. and Neilson did you at the same time?" Natalie looked at him in shock, the cafeteria reacting as well.

She glared at him angrily as she drew her hand back and smacked him hard across the face.

"You bitch" he said grabbing her arm, grasping it tightly, she looked at him in fright.

"Hey! Let her go! Now!" Kyle yelled at him.

Natalie then ran from the cafeteria in tears "Nat" Bradley said as he ran after her.

“Oh there he goes, her knight in shining armor...so Neilson uh...I guess if you don't mind your buddies taking her for a ride you won't mind if I do it too..." Damien said as Neilson lunged at him, Kyle held him back.

“Neilson, don’t!” Kyle said to him “He’s not worth it alright, just stop" Kyle said “go find Nat, see if she’s okay.”

"You kick his ass or I will" Neilson said to Kyle before running off.

"Alright I want to know once and for all what the hell is your problem with me?" Kyle asked him.

"Well what is it?!” Kyle asked once more, Damien stayed silent, glaring at him through blood shot eyes. “Just what I thought, you are nothing but a self-entitled, arrogant son of a bitch!” Kyle yelled at him.

"If you don't shut your mouth in the next five seconds..." Damien said getting in Kyle's face.

"What? What are you going to do?!" Kyle asked.

"You don't want to know" Damien said to him.

"Try it and see what happens!" Kyle said as coach Reinhart stormed in, followed by Mr. Wexler.

"Break it up!" he yelled at them "What is going on?!" he yelled at them "Richardson cool off, and you!" he said to Damien "I want you in my office in ten seconds" Mr. Wexler said to Damien angrily.

"Just watch yourself Richardson, you will pay for this...I'll make sure of it" Damien said in a sinister voice.

Mr. Wexler yanked on his arm "Now!" he yelled.

"Don't touch me!" he growled as he left the cafeteria.

"You alright?" Adam asked as he and Harry came to his side.

"That sounded like a threat you need to tell someone" Harry said to him.

"Not like nobody heard him" Kyle said to him "Don't worry Harry he's not going to do anything, just a bluff" Kyle said to him.

"You don't know that, you saw him he's all drunk and angry, who's to say he won't fully go off the deep end?" Harry asked.

"I'll be fine Harry" Kyle said to him.

"Can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with Harry" Adam said.

"Well you don't have to worry alright? I can handle Damien; just trust me everything will be fine."

"...Can I get your statement now?" Harry asked as Kyle and Adam turned to look at him in disbelief "What? You said not to worry about it!" Harry said to them. Kyle walked away and Adam turned to look at Harry once more before shaking his head "I have a deadline!" Harry said following Adam to their lunch table.


"Are you still out there?!" Natalie asked from the girls' bathroom as Bradley leaned up against the wall.

"No I left…want to come out now?" he said.

"Nice try" she said back to him.

"Hey, where's Nat?" Neilson asked appearing next to him.

"In there she doesn't want to come out" he said sitting on the floor by the lockers.

“What happened to your hand?" Neilson asked noticing Bradley's knuckles were scraped up.

"I ran into a locker...a couple times" he said.

“Trust me I was just about ready to do that to Damien’s face” Neilson said to him.

“Why didn’t you?” Bradley asked.

“Kyle wouldn’t let me, come on help me get Nat out here would you?" he asked "Nat?" Neilson asked.

"I don't want to talk to anyone!" she said from the bathroom.

"We're coming in" Neilson said to her.

"What are you doing? You guys can't be in here" she said to them.

"Come on everything's going to be alright" Neilson said soothingly as he held her tightly "It’s okay, it'll be alright" he said trying to soothe her.

Kyle came out of the cafeteria, he took a deep breath and leaned up against the lockers, his pocket once again began to ring, he pulled it out "What?!" he asked irritated.

"Whoa, Hey" Kevin said to him.

"Oh...hey dad, what's up?" Kyle asked.

"You okay?” he Kevin asked.

"Not particularly” Kyle said bitterly.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, Kyle sighed once more “Nothing, I’ll be alright, I can handle it” Kyle said. “This is a surprise, you don’t really call me during school” Kyle said.

“Yeah…well your mom called last night and said you might be getting some award at school today, just wanted to check in and see how everything went” Kevin said.

"Yeah...I don't want to talk about that right now" Kyle said angrily.

"Kyle, obviously you’re not fine, so why don’t you just tell me what the problem is” Kevin said, he saw the bathroom door open and Bradley, Neilson and Natalie file out.

“Yeah dad can we talk about it later? I got to go” Kyle said.

“Course, call me later alright? Hey, listen, I love you” Kevin said.

"Yeah, love you too, bye" Kyle said hanging up.

"Nat" he said jogging towards her "Hey, I'm so sorry he did that to you in there" he said hugging her.

"It's not your fault" she said to him "I appreciate you for sticking up for me".

"That was no problem" she said managing a small smile.

"You okay?" he asked

"Yeah I'll be alright, thanks" she said

"Good" he said to her

"So what happened to Satan's spawn?" Bradley asked

"Wexler has him" Kyle said to him.

"Hello again Mrs. Winchester this is Principal Wexler I have your son Damien in my office and I'm calling you to let you know that he will be coming home early today followed by a week's suspension, if you have any questions please call my office, thank you" he said hanging up the phone.

"She didn't answer did she?" Damien asked.

"No, she didn't" Mr. Wexler said turning his chair around.

"Ah good old Daphne, when you need her, she's nowhere to be found".

The door to Principal Wexler's office opened "Come in coach" the principal said waving the coach in.

"Oh here we go" Damien groaned

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked Damien angrily "What has gotten into you?".

"Whiskey, you should try it sometime" Damien said to him.

"Damien, we have a serious problem here."

"No, you're the one who has the problem, I'm perfectly fine" Damien said putting his feet up on Mr. Wexler's desk.

He angrily shoved them back to the floor

"Skipping class, going up to the roof, drinking and on school property no less, becoming intoxicated not to mention that little stunt you pulled the cafeteria" Mr. Wexler said angrily. "Totally humiliating Natalie Cappel and threatening Kyle Richardson".

"Oh no no that" Damien said "Not perfect little sweet innocent Kyle" Damien said to him."Quick someone call in the feds!" he said "Nat's not so innocent either okay, that little whore bitch slapped me".

"Watch the language in my office!" Mr. Wexler yelled at him.

"Damien this is unacceptable, as a member of this school's football team I expect obedience on and off the field your behavior today has put your position as a team member in jeopardy".

"oh no" Damien said faking disappointment, rolling his eyes. "You know what screw you both okay? Screw the team, I don't need any of you" Damien said standing up "I'll hand in my jersey after my suspension's up" he said flinging the door open and storming out.

He got into his car and peeled out of the school parking lot, leaving tire tracks behind him. Kyle stared out of a window, watching Damien's car speed down the street. He sat parked outside, staring at himself in the rearview mirror.


“Mom” Damien said as he entered the kitchen

“I hope you’re in the mood for dessert” she said “I made my famous berry cobbler, I know it’s your favorite” she said.

“Yeah, mom look about this whole MVP thing…” Damien said.

“Oh Damien, I cannot tell you how happy you’ve made your father, ever since you told him the news he has been beaming with pride” she said.

“Mom, is dad really serious about this whole donation thing?” he asked.

“Well of course he is” Daphne said.

“It’s a little much don’t you think? I mean I don’t think you can just buy something like this” Damien said to her.

“Well honey, all your father wants is for you to be happy and if there’s any way he can contribute then he’ll do it” she said.

“Right” he said leaving the kitchen.

“Yeah okay, great” Derek said as he sat in his office “I’ll see you on the green this Saturday, okay talk to you then, bye” he said hanging up his phone.

"Hey dad?" Damien asked coming into his office.

"Ah just in time” Derek said to him “I just got off the phone with the president of the school board and they’ve accepted my donation to the football team” Derek said gladly.

“You really didn’t have to do that” Damien said.

“Nonsense, besides Tom and I go way back” he said “If that doesn’t get you that award I don’t know what will” he said. “Now didn’t I tell you all that extra training and practices would help?"

“Yeah” Damien said nodding and taking a seat in a large green leather chair.

"Damien...I know that we've had our differences...most fathers and sons do but...I'm proud of you son" Derek said putting a hand on his shoulder.

Damien looked up him "Wow...thanks" he said in shock.

"Now listen, I will be out of town that day, which I want you to call me right after you win, I'll fly home that night, we'll have a big celebratory dinner" Derek said sitting at his desk. "You know I feel bad for the kid who’s going to miss out on this opportunity? What’s his name? I’ll make sure he wins next year” he said picking up the phone.

“Dad, come on put the phone down” Damien said.

“Something wrong son?” he asked “Yes! This is all too much!” Damien said “I want to win this award because coach thinks I’m the best not because you let the school superintendent win at golf” Damien said. “I want to win because for once I want people to acknowledge me, not Darren and not Kyle!” he said.

“Who’s Kyle?” Derek asked.

“Kyle Richardson” Damien said in disdain.

“The dark haired boy, the one who’s father is in that band” Derek said.

“Yeah that’s him” Damien groaned.

“Hmm” Derek said.

“Hmm?” Damien asked.

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised, I’ve seen him play he’s a good athlete” Derek said. “I’d say you’ve got some stiff competition on your hands” Derek said.

“Yeah well…isn’t what this whole shoving money down the superintendent’s throat is about?” Damien asked.

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to win this just based on merit and not money?” Derek asked "Don't screw this up Damien" Derek said to him.

He blew into the house, walking into the foyer and making his way to his father's den. He pressed a few buttons on a stereo, turning the volume knob all the way up, filling the whole house with a loud angry metal sound. He picked up a small statue and used it to break the glass of his father's well stocked liquor cabinet. He grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels, taking a generous gulp letting it's horrible taste run down his throat. He carried the bottle by it's neck, walking to the large fireplace, picking up the poker.

He made his way upstairs, opening the doors to his father's office, he stepped in. He looked around, the fireplace poker still tightly clamped in his hand, he made his way towards a wall of glass cabinets that held all of his brother's sports achievements. He took another drink before spying the empty space on a shelf next to an award of his brother's, his father's voice echoing in his head. "Don't screw this up Damien" He set the liquor bottle down on the desk, taking a step back and swinging the fireplace poker into the cabinet.

The glass shattered, the awards falling down, he drove the poker through the shelves smashing them all. He then delivered another blow to the other cabinets, glass crunched under his feet. Waving the poker all around the room, breaking anything he could, his rage erupted. A trophy sailed through the patio doors as Damien launched it into the air, he smashed a picture frame with his fist blood ran down his hand and dripped into the perfectly white carpet.

He threw several more of his awards around the room in a fit of rage. Glass lied all over the floor, remnants of broke trophies and awards, a silver medal blew in the breeze as it rested on the broken glass of a patio door. He then took his letterman's jacket out to the patio, pouring the liquor over it and setting it ablaze.

He took a deep breath, poker still in hand and hopped up onto Derek's desk, taking another large swig. He looked around the room at the broke remnants and shattered remains, kicking things out of the way.

"What? what are you going to do?" Kyle asked "You don't want to know" "Try it and see what happens!"

He eyed a classic painting hanging on the wall behind his father's desk. He pulled it back from the wall, revealing a safe behind it, enclosed in the wall. He flipped the combination lock around and opened the safe, he looked back at his team picture lying flat on the desk. As blood ran down the picture of the whole football team his eyes landed on one specific person, Kyle. "You'll pay for this Richardson" he said sinisterly as a cruel, vindictive smile began to cross his face.

He then began to beat the picture with the poker leaving it a broken bloody mess. He left the picture and safe hanging open, the picture still lying on the floor. The front door slammed shut and his tires squealed loudly as he peeled out of the driveway.

"Alright thanks again Jerry, I'll see you again soon" the coach said to the man as he and his photographer left the coach's office.

"Good seeing you again coach, Kyle, congratulations son" he said shaking both of their hands.

"Thanks a lot" Kyle said to him.

"Hang on Kyle I'll get you a note" he said going into his desk.

"Look coach about what happened at lunch with Damien..." Kyle said.

"Don't worry about it Kyle, Damien has already been dealt with".

"What do you mean?" Kyle asked.

"I had no choice I had to kick him off the team"

"I was afraid of that" Kyle said as the coach handed him a slip

"Thanks" he said leaving the office.

"That's a good one" Cecily said as she sat next to Harry at a computer.

"Here what about this?" he asked moving a few pictures around the paper layout.

"Perfect, Mr. Carson? I think we got a design for the front page" she said as Mr. Carson came to their side.

"Love it" he said to them "Excellent job guys" he said to them "Harry you want to get started on the pictures? Cecily can you come and help me over here?" he asked them.

"Yeah sure" Cecily said getting up from her seat as Harry then went into the darkroom with his camera.

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, Oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord

The clock mounted on to the wall in the school hallway ticked by slowly Adam tapped his pen repeatedly on his history book as one of his classmates recited a report, his eyes too drifted upwards towards the classroom wall where the clock hung. He groaned and rested his head on the desk.

"Now who can tell me what the Raven represents?" Mrs. Larsen asked the class where Bradley and Natalie sat right in front. "Nobody? Come on guys we've been on this for a week now" she said turning her back to the class and facing the board.

Bradley held up a notebook towards Natalie where he drew a doodle of their teacher, Natalie smiled and tried not to laugh out loud at it, he smiled along with her. Mrs. Larsen turned around to the front and glared at them.

"Mr. Littrell, Miss Cappel, I'm glad you find Edgar Allan Poe so amusing" she said annoyed.

"Sorry" Bradley said to her still giggling.

"Sorry Mrs. Larsen" Natalie said to her, trying to hide her laughter.

"Well as long as I have your attention, you can answer this...Mr. Littrell what do you think the raven represents in this story?" she asked Bradley, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't think it represents anything...maybe the dude just liked birds" Bradley said, the whole class snickered.

"Uh huh..." she said "Thank you for that... but in the mean time, I suggest you write this all down, you never know it could be on the next test" she said before once again facing the chalk board.

They smiled at each other as her back faced them once again he looked up at the clock as well. Neilson sat in another classroom, his eyes also rolling upwards towards the clock as he tapped his pen on his notebook.

The bell rang and the halls began to flood with people as they traveled to their next class, Bradley and Natalie laughed as they left the room.

"Maybe the dude just liked birds?" Natalie asked him

"The guy's last name was Poe...he married his cousin anything's possible" Bradley said to her.

"Hey I'll meet you guys in the library, I got to meet my girlfriends in the bathroom first" she said to him.

"Great lets go" he said as she pulled him back.

"Not you!" she said laughing.

"Hey, you feeling alright now?" he asked her

"Yeah I'll be okay, thanks" Bradley smiled as they hugged.

Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin,
I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies

Kyle sat in his next class, his head in his hands, staring forlornely at the floor "You'll pay for this Richardson, you'll see" Damien's words echoing in his head as Adam rushed into the room

"Good I'm not late" he said sitting in the desk next to Kyle's.

"Hey" Kyle murmured sadly.

"What's with you?" Adam asked opening his book.

"Nothing" Kyle sighed "I think I'm getting a migraine" he said rubbing his temples.

"I heard Damien was suspended" Adam said to him.

"Not only that, coach kicked him off the team" Kyle said sadly.

"Huh...good" Adam said.

"Adam, come on" Kyle said.

"Dude, he humiliated Nat in front of the whole school, not that she's one of my favorite people but that's harsh even for Damien and then he threatens you" Adam said to him.

"This is all my fault" Kyle said sadly.

"Oh it is not...would you stop being such a martyr?" Adam said to him "if Damien wants to send himself into a downward spiral that's his problem not yours "look you just achieved something people in this school would kill for, you should be proud of yourself".

"That was a really bad choice of words" Kyle said to him.

Bradley walked down the hallway, coming to a stop at Neilson’s locker where he stood.

“Hey” he said.

“Oh hey” Neilson said to him.

"Where's Nat?" Neilson asked as they walked towards the library.

"Oh she was meeting her friends in the bathroom said she'll meet us in the library when she's done" Bradley said to him.

"Was she okay in your last class?" Neilson asked.

"Yeah she'll be alright" Bradley said to him.

“I swear to god, the next time I see Damien’s face I’m going to put my fist in it” Neilson said angrily as he looked in his locker.

“Ooh okay, calm down there Hulk” Bradley said to him “What are you doing?” Bradley asked.

“I think I lost my phone, I can’t find it anywhere” Neilson said, Bradley reached into the back pockets of Neilson’s jeans.

“Hey!” Neilson said.

“Nope not there” Bradley said smacking his butt.

“You really need to quit touching my ass” Neilson said laughing.

“I’m sorry…it’s just…really squishy, I like it” Bradley said as Neilson laughed.

“You are so messed up” he said.

“It’s probably in your backpack” Bradley said.

“No, I already looked, here hold this" Neilson said handing him a stack of books "And this" he said handing him another small stack of books "And that" he said adding his sketchbook to the pile.

"You got Jimmy Hoffa in there too?" Bradley asked him.

Damien sat parked in his car in the school parking lot, his eyes burning with rage reflected in the rear view mirror, he reached into the glove compartment before getting out and slamming the door.

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord

"Come on like you said Damien's not going to do anything he was blowing off steam" Adam said to him.

"Yeah I guess" Kyle said sitting up Kyle looked at him and leaned in closer, Adam looked at him curiously.

"What are you doing?" Adam asked.

"You were smoking again" Kyle said to him

"...Hey!...I didn't say you could smell me!" Adam said to him Kyle gave him a disapproving look "Stop looking at me like that! You're not my dad!" Adam said to him.

Harry began pouring chemicals into a small canister and then check his watch and the clock on the wall.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry
How could I ever forget,
It's the first time, the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up,
No you don't fool me
The hurt doesn't show
But the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you and me

The doors at the end of the hall opened and Damien appeared, he began to stroll towards them.

"Oh what the hell is this" Bradley said.

"What?" Neilson asked, still looking in his locker.

"Psycho boy is back" Bradley whispered to him, Neilson turned to look.

"I thought they suspended his ass?" he asked.

"They did".

“I should really go over there and knock his ass out” Neilson said.

“Yeah later, come on, my arms are going numb here” Bradley said to him.

A wicked smile began to cross Damien’s face as he made his way closer, Bradley was about to turn back to Neilson when he saw the gun firmly clamped in Damien's hand, the metal reflecting in the hallway lights.

"God where is it?" Neilson asked himself as he continued to stack books onto the pile in Bradley’s arms.

"You know what? It doesn't matter we'll come back for it later come on" Bradley said slamming the door shut locker door shut, the stack of books still juggled in his arm, he then grabbed ahold of Neilson's wrist and tried to pull him along.

"I got to find my phone!" Neilson said to him.

“Think about it, do you really need it?” Bradley asked “It’s study hall, I’m going to be there, Nat’s going to be there…you’ll be fine" Bradley said insistently.

"What's with you?" Neilson asked, noticing Bradley's nervousness.

"He has a gun" Bradley said quietly, darting his eyes towards Damien. Neilson looked at Damien coming towards them, his sinister smile growing wider as he got closer to them "Just stay cool, and back away slowly alright?" Bradley asked.

"Yeah..." Neilson said to him.

"It'll take me two seconds I promise" Neilson said to him as he turned back to his locker.

"Forget about your phone! Okay it's not important" Bradley said to him.

"No, come on its right here..." Neilson argued.

"Neilson..." Bradley said nervously, turning his head back and forth between Neilson and Damien still stalking towards them. He could feel the fear creeping up into his veins when Bradley saw him raise the gun into the air "No!" Bradley yelled as he covered Neilson, pitching all the books and papers in his arms into the air, he and Neilson fell to the floor as the shot fired.


And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
But I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
But I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord
But I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord.

Papers floated in the air, the gunshot echoed throughout the hallway, books landed face down on the floor, their pages flying through the air before falling with a thud. The shot grabbed the attention of the students in nearby classrooms. Harry looked up from his pictures and looked around confused following the noise, he then shrugged and went back to his work. Kyle and Adam, along with the rest of their class turned their heads towards the classroom door, their teacher looked as well, looking out of the small window into the hallway.

"What the hell was that?" Kyle asked Adam as their class began to whisper to each other.

"Sounded like a gunshot" Adam said to him.

Natalie looked around confused as she heard the shot, holding a tube of lip gloss in her hand, Damien trampled over the discarded books and pieces of paper that lye on the floor. She pushed the bathroom door open, slightly peeking out into the hallway. The sound of footsteps became louder, she quickly hid herself from view. As his footsteps became more distant, Neilson opened his eyes and looked around.

"He gone?" Bradley asked sitting up.

"Yeah I think so" Neilson said sitting up "He's lost his damn mind" Neilson said standing up from the floor.

"You okay?" Bradley asked standing up from the floor.

"Yeah I think I'm alright" Neilson said patting himself down, looking himself over "How about you?" he asked.

"I think I'm okay" Bradley said, Neilson quickly glanced at him, turning back to get a better look his face fell in horror.

"What?" Bradley asked before looking down where the light blue pattern of his shirt began to turn red, blood quickly absorbing through the fabric.

The coach sat at his desk when the door to his office suddenly flew open and there stood Damien.

"Damien Winchester just what in the hell..." the coach said before a shot rang out, the coach fell to the floor, gasping for air.

Everyone in the classroom reacted once more to the sound of the gun being fired.

"Alright that was another one" Kyle said.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Adam asked.

"Oh god" Neilson said to himself cautiously moving towards Bradley.

Bradley touched the bloody spot on his shirt that was quickly spreading wider, he looked at Neilson with a mixture of shock and confusion.

"I didn't...I didn't even feel that" Bradley said looking at his fingertips that were now red "How did I not feel that?" he asked Neilson.

"I think you're in shock, okay let's just..." Neilson said as Bradley's dazed state gave in and he fell forward into Neilson, Neilson caught him and held on to him. “Whoa hey!” Neilson said as he carefully sat Bradley down on the floor, leaning him up against the lockers.

Natalie ran around the corner she rushed over to them "Are you guys alright? I just saw Damien and..." she said."Oh my god, Bradley what happened to you?" she asked crouching down on the floor next to him.

"He's been shot" Neilson said to her.

"How?!" she asked.

"Damien shot him, that psycho has a gun" he said to her Damien marched up the hallway when a teacher spotted him.

"Mr. Winchester, hall pass" the teacher said to him before Damien took another shot, leaving the teacher writhing in pain on the floor, he stepped over them and trampled on.

"Everyone stay right where you are I'm going to see if I can find out what's going on, get down under your desks, now and do not open this door" their teacher said as she left the room. Everyone crouched under their desks, and whispered about what was going on in the hallways.

"You'll pay for this Richardson, you'll see" Damien's words echoing once again in Kyle's mind as fear began to creep into him as he kept his eye on the classroom door.

"You guys need to get out right now, don't worry about me okay? just go" Bradley said to them.

"Are you crazy? we're not going to just leave you" Natalie said to him.

"I'll be fine, just save yourselves, alright go, now!".

"Stop alright? we're not leaving you!" Neilson said to him.

"I'm fine okay?, I'll be alright" Bradley said to them.

"You're bleeding!" Natalie said to him.

"I got plenty of blood!" Bradley said to her.

"Are you crazy?" Neilson asked.

"We got to get him somewhere safe" Natalie said to Neilson.

"Somewhere safe, we got to get him out of here!" Neilson said to her.

"If Damien sees us trying to escape he'll kill us all" Natalie said to him "Come on, girls' bathroom, let's go" she said to him wrapping Bradley's arm around her neck and helping him down the hallway.


~*~


Kyle and Adam's teacher, Miss Hawthorne ran down the hallway, hearing groaning noises and followed them, finding coach Reinhart on the floor in his office.

"Oh god, coach?" she asked. He lied there gasping for air as he bled heavily from his gunshot wound. "It's okay coach I'm going to get some help alright?" she asked running from his office. She frantically ran into the main office “Someone call an ambulance and the police department” she said to the secretary.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“There’s someone in the building with a gun, Coach Reinhart’s been shot” she said before the secretary quickly dialed 911.

“Mr. Burns?!” the secretary asked in a panic as he hobbled into the office, he then collapsed on the floor.

“Call…call the police…get help!” he groaned in agony.

“They’re on their way” Miss Hawthorne said crouching down to his level. “Greg, Greg! It's Tess Hawthorne!" she yelled at him "Can you tell me who did this to you?" she asked.

"Win...Winchester" he managed to choke out "Da... Dami..." he said before passing out cold.

"Gregory! Greg!" she said trying to wake him up.

"Yes I am the secretary at Hilridge High School, I believe there is a student in the building with a gun, our football coach and one of our teachers has been shot..." she said in a calm tone on the phone, trying not to go into a panic.

"Where's Mr. Wexler?" Miss Hawthorne asked.

"Lunch with his wife" his secretary said holding her hand over the receiver.

"What is going on here?" Principal Wexler said running into the main office.

"Coach Reinhart and Mr. Burns were shot, Mr. Burns said it was a student" Miss Hawthorne said as he knelt down besides Mr. Burns.

"Who?!" Principal Wexler asked.

"All he said was Winchester, could that be Damien Winchester?" she asked.

"Oh no" he said "Alright get everyone out of the building now! Evacuate immediately!" Principal Wexler shouted


~*~


Natalie and Neilson got Bradley into the girls' bathroom, his arms draped around their necks as they struggled to keep him on his feet. They shut the door behind them and locked it, Neilson dragged over a heavy metal trash can, sliding it under the door handle.

They sat Bradley on the floor, leaning him against the wall.

"No lay him down" Natalie said to Neilson, Neilson pulled his backpack off and propped up Bradley's head.

"Bradley, you okay? how do you feel?" Natalie asked.

"...Really?" he asked her.

"Just humor me here" she said to him annoyed.

"Oh you know, bullet in my shoulder same old same old" Bradley said to her.

"There's too much blood" Neilson said "Quick grab the toilet paper and the paper towels" he said to her.

She frantically pulled all the rolls of toilet paper and the paper towels over to Bradley's side, as Neilson carefully pulled Bradley's shirt from him.

"What are you doing?" Bradley asked him.

"I got to keep pressure on it" Neilson said.

"Oh come on this is my favorite shirt!" Bradley said to him.

"You have a bullet in your shoulder, don't worry about your shirt" Neilson said to him.

"Here" Natalie said tearing her cardigan sweater off placing it over Bradley's shirt "Bradley this is going to hurt a little" she said to him, Neilson pressed down on the gunshot wound.

"Ahh!" Bradley screamed in pain “God damn it Neilson!” Bradley growled at him.

“Bradley I know it’s going to hurt but we have to do this or else you’re going to bleed to death!” Natalie said. He clenched his teeth together tightly, choking back pained sobs.

"Get your phone and call for help" Neilson said to her.

"My phone, I don't have my phone!" she said to him.

"You always have your phone!" Neilson said to her.

"Miss Davis confiscated it from me in third period, what about you? Where's yours?".

“I don’t know” he said.

“What do you mean you don't know ?!” she asked.

“That's why we were in the hallway in the first place! I thought maybe I put it in my locker" he said to her.

"Oh my god..." she groaned "Okay, what about him? where's his?" she asked.

"Dude, do you have your cell phone on you?" Neilson asked Bradley.

"Its...it's in my backpack" he said breathing through the searing pain in his shoulder.

Natalie quickly opened the flap to his shoulder bag and looked through it “Barely enough battery power” she said pulling it out “Don’t you ever charge this thing?” she asked.

“Nat!” Neilson said.

“Right sorry” she said trying to dial when the screen went black “it just went dead, we're trapped" she said "We can't go out there, what do we do?" she asked.

"Look the only thing we can do right now is keep him calm and awake and try to stop the bleeding somehow" Neilson said to her.

~*~


There was a knock at the door of the publication office, Mr. Carson opened the door and stuck his head out to talk to the secretary who quickly scurried away.

"Alright everyone we need to get out of the building now".

"What's going on?" someone asked him.

"There's an emergency we need to evacuate the building immediately, come on, stay behind me" he said as they all followed him.

Harry still stood under the soft glow of the lights in the darkroom as he looked over his pictures as chaos erupted around him.

Glass flew into the air, Damien pointing the gun at a small window that looked into Kyle and Adam's classroom, everyone inside screamed in fear, huddling to the floor and crouching into corners. He reached his arm in, pulling the door handle and opening the door, he kicked it open and stepped in, seeing everyone standing in the back huddled in fear. Damien rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt anyone" he said to them "I just came for one thing" he said looking down at the floor, spying Kyle's back to him. "Kyle...come out come out wherever you are" Damien said in a taunting voice.

His blood ran cold, he closed his eyes and reluctantly peered at Damien over the desk.

“Kyle” Damien said in a sing-song voice his gun drawn out in front of him.

Kyle looked at Adam, who looked at him fearfully and shook his head in a negative gesture.

"I said get up Richardson! now!" Damien yelled putting his finger on the trigger.

Kyle scrambled to his feet and stood up from the floor “Damien…what are you doing?” Kyle asked.

“Congratulating the MVP, what else?” Damien asked.

"Damien...just take it easy alright? Now I know you're angry but...you're taking this way too far...just put the gun down okay? we can settle this without violence" Kyle said raising his hands in the air.

"Oh shut up!" Damien yelled at him "Just do what I say and no one will get hurt, got it?" Damien said opening the door.

"Fine" Kyle said nodding.

"Come on" he said nodding towards the door "We're going for a walk" Kyle stood still, looking down at Adam on the floor, Kyle began to move towards the door.

"Kyle don't do this" Adam said to him.

"Adam..." Kyle said to him.

"Oh I'm sorry McLean, did you want to join us?" Damien asked.

"No!" Kyle said to Damien “No you don't need Adam, just me" Kyle said to him "Adam just be quiet and get back under the desk" Kyle said to him.

“Oh come on Kyle, the more the merrier right? Let’s go” Damien said nodding towards Adam, Kyle looked at him with fear in his eyes, shaking his head trying to warn him away. “I said move! Now!” Damien barked "Have a nice day everyone" Damien said as he pushed them from the room before slamming the door shut behind him.


~*~


The guys sat in another green room as women moved around them, applying a light layer of makeup.

“Bad news guys” Jen said coming into the room “Interview’s been cancelled” she said.

“Thought you said you had bad news?” AJ asked.

“What happened?” Howie asked her.

"The station is turning over any and all airtime for a breaking news story, There's been a shooting at a high school here in LA” she said.

They shared glances of concern “What high school?” Brian asked.

“Didn’t say, details are still being leaked in" she said as she looked at their faces “Oh don’t worry I’m sure it’s not the boys’ school” she said trying to appease them.“Besides if anything was wrong I’m sure they’d call you…wouldn’t they?” she asked.


~*~


Bradley's face twisted in pain, he groaned in agony.

"I know, I know I'm so sorry" Natalie said to him.

"We have to give him something for the pain" Neilson said to her "What do you have in your purse?" he asked “You always have stuff in there."

"Yeah I have Midol" she said to him.

"Give it to him!" Neilson said.

"I'm not giving him Midol for a gunshot wound!" she yelled at him.

"Well we need to do something! We have got to get him out of here" Neilson said to Natalie.

"What can we do? Damien is out there with a gun, all we can do is wait for the cops" she said.

"We can't wait Nat, he'll bleed out!" Neilson yelled at her.

"We won't let that happen!" she said angrily.

"Ugh you guys" Bradley groaned "Come on, I'm trying to die over here" he said.

"Stop it alright, you're not going to die!" Neilson said to him.

"Could be worst you know" Bradley said to him.

"I don't see how that's possible" Neilson said.

"It could've hit you" Bradley said as Neilson looked at him.


~*~


The sound of sirens filled the air, police cars came speeding towards the school coming to an abrupt halt, their lights flashing brightly. Police cars whizzed past Sasha's shop, sirens blaring and lights flashing, she stood in the doorway looking outside as people stood on the streets to watch.

"What is going on out there I haven't seen so many police cars in one day" Sasha said to her assistant.

"Starbucks having a donut sale or something?" Calista asked, Sasha laughed. "Well I'm going to pick up some lunch, want anything?"

"Just the usual" Sasha said to her.

"Chicken Caesar salad dressing on the side" Calista said.

"That'll do" Sasha said to her.

"I'll be right back" Calista said grabbing her purse and leaving the store.

The cars reached the school, swarming around it as news vans pulled up right behind them.


~*~


“What do we got?” Vicki asked putting a pair of gloves on, the paramedics wheeling coach Reinhart into the emergency room entrance.

“Male mid 50’s, Gunshot wound to the right chest, no sign of internal injury” he said as they wheeled him into a cubicle and hooked him up to the proper equipment.

“Vitals?” she asked taking her stethoscope from around her neck.

“Blood pressure is one twenty over eighty-nine, pulse is spiking”.

Coach Reinhart lied on the gurney as Vicki checked him out.

“Don't worry you're going to be just fine” she said to him as she removed the gauze that covered his gunshot wound. “Can you tell me what happened?” she asked as they removed the oxygen mask.

“I was in my office...the door flew open...” he tried to say as the hospital staff hooked him up to the necessary equipment “And there he was with a gun” he said before passing out.

"Get an OR on standby" she said to a nurse.

"Yes doctor" he said to her.


~*~


"What the hell were you thinking?" Kyle asked in a harsh whisper, Damien forcing both him and Adam down the hallway.

"I wasn't going to let you go alone" Adam said to him.

"I'm sorry is this a private conversation or can anyone join in?" Damien asked them.

"Both of you shut up and just keep moving" he said to them.

A crowd began to surround the school, people, reporters, cops, everyone stopping to observe the madness that was unfolding before their eyes.

"Sir, I need you to step back" a uniformed officer said to Mr. Wexler pushing him behind a police barricade.

"I Just want to make sure everyone's gotten out safely" he said to the officer.

"Sir don't worry we're doing everything we can" the officer said.

"Excuse me? Can I help you?" a man asked coming towards Mr. Wexler.

"Yes hi, I'm George Wexler, I'm the principal here" he said.

"Captain Charles Swan" he said extending his hand for Mr. Wexler to shake. "I've got the building surrounded, I've got people on the roof, we should be able to clear this up in no time, do you know who the shooter is or could be?" he asked.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure but…I suspect it’s a student named Damien Winchester, I suspended him earlier this afternoon".

"Is he considered dangerous?" Captain Swan asked pulling out a small pad and pen.

"At most Damien is considered cocky, arrogant and entitled...I never thought him to be potentially violent until earlier today" Mr. Wexler said to Captain Swan.

"How so?" Captain Swan asked.

"Damien had an altercation with another student in the cafeteria" Principal Wexler said.

"Was there any violence involved?"

"No just an empty threat.”

"He threatened the student?"

"Yes."

"Okay who is this student that was threatened?"

"Kyle Richardson" Mr. Wexler said to him.

"I need to talk to Kyle Richardson as soon as possible, do you know where I can find him?"

"Not in this mess" Mr. Wexler said to him.

“okay in here, go” Damien said pushing Adam and Kyle into an empty classroom.

"Damien..." Kyle said.

"Shut up! Both of you! No one talks in here but me got it?!" he yelled at them.

"Fine" Kyle said to him.

"Okay" Adam said.


~*~


Kellie laughed as she and Melissa sat in her office.

"Kel" a man said coming into her office.

"Hey Toby" she said to him.

“Sorry to interrupt but you got to see this" he said to her.

"See what?" she asked.

"There's been a shooting" he said as she and Melissa left her office they followed him from the room and into the break room where her colleagues sat around the TV watching intently.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"There's a shooting at a high school" a woman said to her.

“Kel" Melissa said to her "That's Hilridge" Melissa said as an aerial shot of the school appeared on the TV.

"Are you sure?" Kellie asked.

"Positive" she said to her as they ran from the break room and back to her office.


~*~

The guys hung out in the green room of the television studio, waiting for their car to arrive.

Brian pressed his phone to his ear “Hey it’s Bradley, leave a message, later” Bradley’s voice said on his voicemail “Straight to voicemail” he said.

"Neilson's not picking up either" Nick said tapping on his phone screen.

"Neither is Harry" he said "Are we overreacting here?" he asked “I think we just need to relax alright? The boys are fine, they go to a good school, stuff like this doesn’t happen there, remember?” he asked.

AJ wandered from the dressing room, seeing a group of people congregated around the monitors, he stood in back and watched with them. "So, what's going on?" he asked a guy.

"School shooting" the guy said not even glancing at him, different shots of the school flashed on the screen, he looked at them closely, making his way through the group to get closer to the TV.

~*~

"Anything?" Kellie asked Melissa as they paced Kellie's office with their cellphones tightly pressed to their ears.

"Nothing, you?" Melissa asked.

"He's not picking up" Kellie said.

"Well well, we're certainly popular today" Damien said as Kyle and Adam's phones continued to ring Damien reached his hand out and snapped his fingers "Hand 'em over" he said to him as Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out "Now!" Damien barked as Kyle reluctantly handed it to him. "You too McLean" Damien said to Adam, holding his hand out, he looked at Kyle. "Now! Come on I don't have all day here!" Damien said to him as he pulled it from his pocket and looked at it "It's either the phone or Kyle, take your pick" Damien said shoving the gun's barrel into Kyle's chest, Adam immediately handed it to Damien. “Well what do we have here 'mom' your mommy calls you during school?” Damien asked. He pushed on the screen and answered the call “Well hello, the lovely Miss Mitchell, how are you?” he asked.

“Who's this?” she asked nervously.

“Damien Winchester, I'm surprised you didn't recognize my voice”

“Where's Kyle?" she asked

“Well Kyle's a bit busy at the moment, but uh I'll have him call you, bye now” he said hanging up “Too bad you won't get to though” Damien said throwing the phone to the ground and pointing his gun at it and firing.

"What happened?" Melissa asked her "Who answered Kyle's phone?" Melissa asked "Kel, who was it?" Melissa asked her "Damien Winchester" she said fearfully.

"Damien Winchester? Damien Winchester...why does that sound familiar?" Melissa asked.

“Oh come on Miss you know who he is, he's been picking on the boys for years, blonde kid? His father is Derek Winchester? Kyle plays football with him" Kellie said to her.

"Oh yeah, okay now I know who you mean" Melissa said to her. "Well wait do you really think he's capable of doing something like this?" Melissa asked.

"I think he's an arrogant entitled rich kid with an axe to grind against my son and I think given the chance he would hurt him" Kellie said putting her ear back to her phone "Kev, we have a problem" she said on the phone.

AJ felt his pocket vibrate, walking through the group of people again "Miss hey, what's up?" he asked answering.

“Oh thank god you answered…didn’t you guys have an interview this afternoon?” she asked.

“Cancelled, they’re covering this school shooting thing…what’s up?” he asked.

“The shooting…it’s at Hilridge” she said.

He glanced back at the TV, looking at the school from above once again "I think Adam might be in trouble" she said.

Kevin walked into the airport's lounge and sat at the bar, his phone still at his ear, he looked up at the plasma TV suspended above the bar “Can you turn that up?” he asked the bartender “Sure” he said taking the small remote and turning up the volume.

"And now let’s turn to Marissa Stevens who is now outside the school where the shooting is taking place, Marissa?” "Thanks John, I'm here outside of Hilridge High School, which is in a small sheltered county of Los Angeles not far from the city, the silence of the upscale wealthy neighborhood has been broken when a gunman entered the building, a teacher and a football coach have been shot, the identity of the gunman has not been revealed, it is rumored to be a student here at the school, more details to come, stay tuned"

"Are you sure it was Damien?" he asked.

"Yes Kevin he told me himself" Kellie said to him irritated.

"Okay listen to me, try to stay calm, I'm going to see if I can get any more information" he said.

"I'm going down there" she said.

"No, do not go anywhere near that school Kel" he said to her.

"I'm telling you, that little prick has done something to our son and I am not going to sit here and wait, I'm going down there, I'll call you if I hear anything" she said hanging up.

"Kel...Kellie!" he yelled hanging his phone up.



~*~


"Principal Wexler?! Principal Wexler!" a woman yelled running towards him "We have a problem" she said.

"Mrs. Geary don't worry everything is going to be just fine."

"No three of my students never showed up for study hall."

"We have a bigger problem than students ditching study hall" he said to her.

"Natalie Cappel, Neilson Carter and Bradley Littrell are missing!" she yelled at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Natalie, Neilson and Bradley are in my study hall group, they never showed up.

"Excuse me? Ma’am I'm Charles Swan, I'm the police captain can you tell me what's going on?" he asked Mrs. Geary.

"I run the library, I had a group of students scheduled for study hall today, three of them never showed up, Mr. Wexler what are we going to do?!" she asked hysterically.


~*~


AJ fell over his feet trying to reach the green room, frantically running down a hallway. "Excuse me, sorry emergency" he said knocking people out of the way. "Come on pick up pick up" he said to himself, his phone pressed tightly against his face.

"Hey, it's Adam, leave a message" his voice said on the outgoing message.

"Adam John!" he said to himself when he felt his hand vibrate "Hello?" he asked, still running to the green room.

"It's me" Kevin said to him "Did you hear about what's going on at the school?"

"I'm at a TV station it would be pretty hard not to" AJ said, still huffing "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm stuck at the airport I've been trying to get an earlier flight, have you heard from any of the boys yet?"

"No, I've been trying to get ahold of Adam, he's not answering, Miss tried him earlier and she couldn't get him either" AJ said. "I got to go, I have to let the others know what's going on" he said.

"Call me if anything happens"

"I will, I'll talk to you soon" Kevin said hanging up.


~*~


“Mm hmm okay so the fabric samples will be here tomorrow, okay great well thanks a lot, okay bye” Christina said hanging up the phone in her office when her phone began ringing. "Hey" she said answering "What's up?" she asked.

“Chris we have a major problem” Kellie said when there was a knock at her office door.

“Chris you’ve got to see this” Anna said coming into the office and turning on her TV.

“What’s wrong?” Christina asked.

“It’s the boys” Kellie said.


"Details and information about today's shooting are still pouring in, so far the number of victims is unknown, we will try to bring everyone as much information as possible, sources say the gunman is a student at the high school where the shooting is taking place".

"There is a shooting at the boys’ school" Kellie said.

"Oh my god" Christina said watching the TV.

“I'm going over there" Kellie said.

“I’ll meet you there in ten minutes" Christina said as they hung up, she quickly scrolled through her contact list and pushed on Harry's number. His phone began to vibrate as it sat in his bag, he still stood in the dark room dipping more pictures in and out of chemicals as he developed them.

“Hey its Harry, not available right now, so leave a message bye" his voice said as it went to voice mail.

“Harry it’s your mother you call me as soon as you get this” Christina said frantically before grabbing her jacket "Anna, I got to go, take over for me" she yelled to her assistant.

"What's going on?" Anna asked as Christina ran from her office.


~*~


Captain Swan wrote something down on a small notepad as he talked to Mrs. Geary.

"Captain" Mr. Wexler said approaching him "There's something you need to know" he said.

"Mr. Wexler don't worry we're going to find these kids."

"No that's what I need to talk to you about...Kyle Richardson, Neilson Carter and Bradley Littrell aren't your typical high school students...they're special" Mr. Wexler said.

"Special as in...?" Captain Swan asked.

"As in celebrity parents special."

"You're telling me these kids have famous parents? And now they're missing?" Captain Swan asked.

"Mr. Wexler!" Miss Hawthorne yelled “We have a situation, we have a very very bad situation” she said frantically.

“So I’ve noticed” he said “Tess, we’re in the middle of a crisis here how can things get any worst?”

“Damien Winchester is the shooter…and he’s taken Adam McLean and Kyle Richardson hostage” she said.

“Excuse me, miss?” Captain Swan asked “Charles Swan police captain, can you tell me what’s going on?” he asked her.

"When I got back to my classroom all my students were gone, I just found a couple of them and took them over to the elementary school, they told me they saw Damien enter my classroom with a gun, he then forced Kyle and Adam from the room”.

"Great...now we have a hostage situation on our hands" Captain Swan said to himself "Call in the swats" he said to a uniformed officer.

"Yes sir."

“Now miss…”

“Hawthorne, Tess Hawthorne” she said.

“Hawthorne, can you tell me who the students Damien took hostage were?"

"Kyle Richardson and Adam McLean."

"Richardson...didn't you just say this kid had celebrity parents?" he asked Mr. Wexler.

"Parent" Miss Hawthorne said correcting him "So does Adam McLean" she said to him.

"Wonderful I got 4 celebrity kids, two are hostages and two are missing" Captain Swan grumbled. "What kind of famous person sends their kid to a public high school anyways?!” he asked.


~*~


They sat on a couch in the green room, Howie checked his watch and sat down on the arm of the couch. Brian chewed on his fingernails, Nick’s eyes were fixated on his phone screen, his fingers quickly scrolling up and down.

“Okay I can’t take this anymore, I have to know what’s going on” Brian said picking up his phone.

“I thought we agreed there’s nothing to be worried about?” Howie said.

“We don’t know that” Brian said “All they said that it was some high school here in LA, last time I checked the boys went to a high school here in LA” he said.

“That doesn’t mean anything, you know how many schools there are in LA?” Howie said.

“Oh no?” Nick asked “Here it is ‘Shots fired at Hilridge High School, gunman at large inside building’" he read.

“Oh god” Brian said.

“Last time I checked Twitter was not a credible news source!” Howie said.

“It’s a local news bulletin Howard!” Nick said.

AJ burst into the green room, panting and huffing "We...we...we have...a problem" he said trying to catch his breath “Miss just called me…the boys are in trouble” he said as they looked at each other nervously.

"How is he?" Neilson asked.

“I think he may be going into shock or something, he’s cold and clammy, he’s pale, his pulse is racing and his breathing is erratic” Natalie said running a paper towel under the cold water and placing it on Bradley's forehead.

"Unbelievable, he's still bleeding" Neilson said as he paced araound the bathroom.

Natalie pulled Neilson’s backpack over, propping up Bradley’s legs.

"We got to find a way out of here" Neilson said looking around.

"I told you we can't leave it's not safe!" Natalie said to him.

"Well we got to do something Nat!" he yelled at her "Oh my god" he said.

"What?" she asked.

"I can't believe I'm such a moron, the windows" Neilson said to her.

"They're sealed shut" Natalie said to him.

"What?!" Neilson asked.

"People were crawling through them to ditch school, they sealed them shut so it wouldn't happen" she said to him.

"That's a fire hazard!" Neilson said to her.

"Yeah well apparently Wexler would rather have you burn to death than miss class" she said to him "What can we do? The windows don't open, Damien is out there running around with a gun, shooting anything he sees, all we can do is wait."

Neilson began searching through the supply closet, tossing everything out.

"What are you looking for?" Natalie asked.

"Something heavy enough to break that window" he said.

"Neilson there's nothing in there but tampons and toilet paper" she said to him.

"Wrong" he said wielding a heavy wrench.

"Be careful alright?" Natalie said to him.

Neilson struck the window with the wrench, it cracked slightly as he began hitting it harder, the glass splintering with every blow.

~*~

"Hey, it's Bradley, leave a message, later" his voice said on the outgoing message.

“Still straight to voice mail” Brian said “That kid never charges his damn phone!” he said irritated.

"Look, my son goes to that school, I have not heard from him yet, is there anything you can tell me?" Nick asked the person on the other end. "Carter" he said on the phone "Neilson...N-e-I-l-s-o-n" he said to the person on the phone. "About five-eleven, blonde hair, blue-green eyes...I didn't see what he had on when he left this morning" he said.

"We need to get over to that school" AJ said standing up.

"I’m going to the hospital, maybe Bradley is there with Vicki, either way I got to get to her before she sees this on the news” Brian said.

"Well if Bradley's at the hospital chances are Neilson's with him, I'm going with you" Nick said.

"Okay that settles it, you guys go to the hospital we'll go down to the school, we'll call if we find anything out" Brian said.

"Got it, let's go" AJ said as they left the room, splitting in different directions.


~*~


"Sash! Sash!" Calista said running back into the store.

"You okay? What happened?" Sasha asked.

"You are not going to believe this she said "I went to get the food right? I was standing in line and I heard everyone talking about what's going on with all the police cars, there's a shooting over at Hilridge High School" Calista said.

Sasha looked at her nervously "What?" she asked “What are you talking about? A shooting?” she asked.

“Yeah some kid walked into the school with a gun and shot two people” Calista said “Oh my god” she gasped “I am so sorry, I completely forgot, Neilson goes to that school doesn’t he?” she asked.

Sasha reached for her phone when the desk phone began to ring “Sasha Miller Designs" she said answering the phone.

"Sash it's me, have you heard from Neilson?" Nick asked as he sat in the backseat of a car.

“I was just about to call him, oh my god, you think he’s okay?” she asked.

“Calm down alright? I’m sure he’s fine” he said “Brian and and I are heading over to the hospital” he said.

“I’ll meet you there” she said hanging up “Take over for me” she said to Calista.

“You got it, call me and let me know what’s going on!” she said as Sasha left the store.


~*~


"Okay so, I hate to interrupt this lovely staring contest but...you want to tell us what you plan on doing?" Adam asked Damien.

"If you didn't want to be here you should've kept your mouth shut McLean" Damien said, keeping his eyes locked on Kyle.

“You had a gun on me, you didn’t really give me much of a choice” Adam said to Damien.

“You know Adam I don't think I really have to tell you this but it's generally not a good idea to piss off the guy with the gun" Kyle said to him.

“Oh what even more than you already have?” Adam asked.

“So this is what it’s come to huh?” Kyle asked Damien.

“Guess so” Damien said drawing the gun, putting his finger on the trigger.

“Oh please, any idiot can see that's what this is about Damien didn't get what he wanted so now he's throwing a tantrum" Adam said to him. for the first time in your life you didn't get your way so now you're throwing a full blown hissy fit and no one's giving into you and it's pissing you off" Adam said to him. "And instead of acting like a HUMAN and accepting your loss with dignity and moving on with your life you've gone off the deep end because god forbid Damien Winchester doesn't get what he wants" Adam said to him.

"Adam stop" Kyle said to him.

"Well you won't say it so I will" Adam said to him.

"Just shut it" Kyle said to him.

"So he brings the gun to school and fires off a couple blank shots in the halls, just admit it that thing isn’t loaded, you're not actually going to shoot anyone" Adam said to him.

"Oh really? Well your buddy Bradley J. might disagree with you on that one" Damien said smiling at him and taking a seat in the teacher's chair behind the desk.

“What are you talking about? What did you do to Bradley?!” Kyle asked.

“Let’s just Littrell finally learned to keep his mouth shut” Damien said propping his feet up on the desk, Adam turned to look at Kyle in disbelief, Kyle looked at Damien in horror.


~*~


The emergency room entrance doors swooshed open.

“Vicki” Brian said as he saw her come out of a cubicle and discard her rubber gloves.

"Hey I can't talk right now" she said to him. "Something's happened and the ER is on standby" she said writing on a clipboard. “What are you even doing here? I thought you had another interview this afternoon?” she asked.

"Yeah they cancelled on us, look we have a problem, it’s Bradley” he said.

“What happened is he okay?” she asked.

“I don’t know” he said.

“What do you mean you don't know?” she asked.

“There was a shooting at the school today, I’ve been calling and calling but his phone is just going straight to voicemail” he said.

“Oh my god, oh my god” she said frantically.

“I was hoping maybe he was here with you” he said to her.

“Of course he’s not here with me!” she said.

“Don’t panic alright!” he said.

“Don’t panic? Don’t panic?! Where is our son?!” she asked.


~*~


"Nat" Bradley groaned before opening his eyes.

"Bradley, hey, it’s me, you're going to be alright okay? Just stay with us" Natalie said holding his hand and stroking his hair.

"I wish my parents were here" he said groggily.

“I know, I know, don’t worry you’ll see them soon okay?” she asked.

“Nat, if I don’t make it out of here, I need you to tell them something for me” he said looking up at her.

"Bradley come on, don't talk like that, you're going to be okay" she said.

“Nat, please” Bradley said.

“Okay” she said “Okay fine, what do you want me to tell them?” she asked.

“How much I love them" Bradley said , his voice squeaking. "My mom...how amazing she is, how she is the best mom on the planet…I mean she could’ve taken the easy way out and put me up for adoption or even had an abortion but she didn’t, I just can’t tell you how much admire her for putting her life on hold just to raise me” he said.

“My dad...even though I’m kind of a bastard to him he always was my hero and he still is” he said “When I was little and he would be on tour and stuff, he’d still find the time to call me every single day.” “When he would come home, he would be so exhausted but it didn’t seem to matter he always made time to spend time with me.” “Even if it was just hanging out and watching cartoons with me or teaching me how to ride my bike or play basketball…he’s a great dad, even if I don’t tell him all the time” Bradley said looking up at Natalie.

Natalie's eyes filled with tears "Don't worry...you'll get to tell them okay? You just need to hang in there a little bit longer" she said to him.

"Take care of him for me" Bradley said to her.

"What?" she asked.

"Take care of Neilson for me" he said to her “Most guys you know, they always seem to hate their best friend's girlfriends...I’m glad that didn’t happen with us, you’re like a sister to me…I love you Nat.” She smiled at him as tears began to fall down her face “You're good for him and I know how much you love each other" Bradley said to her "Promise me" he said to her, she nodded.

"I'll do my best" she said, he smiled up at her before closing his eyes once again and taking a deep breath, his face twisting in pain.


~*~


“You shot Bradley? You SHOT him you son of a bitch?!” Kyle raged at Damien.

"Hey, it's his own damn fault for wanting to play superman" Damien said.

"What are you talking about?" Kyle asked.

"Oh come on Kyle...who else would Bradley jump in front of a bullet for?" Damien asked.

"Neilson" Adam said.

"Very good" Damien said to him.

"You shot at Neilson?" Kyle asked.

"I didn't have a specific target in mind I just pointed the gun and... bang!" Damien said to him.

"Where is he?" Kyle asked.

"How should I know?" Damien asked "Carter and that little bitch girlfriend of his probably dragged him off somewhere to nurse him back to health". "Don't worry though he's in good company, he'll have something in common with Coach Reinhart and Mr. Burns" Damien said smirking at him.

"You shot coach...oh my god" Kyle said in disbelief putting his hands on his head.

"See what I told you? he's lost it" Adam said to him.

"On the contrary I'm quite aware of my surroundings, but thanks for the psychoanalysis" Damien said to him.

"You just SHOT three people no SANE person does that Damien!” Kyle yelled at him

"They can if they're driven to it" Damien said "And what happened today gave me the push I needed" he said to Kyle.


~*~

"Chris!" Kellie yelled as she ran into the crowd.

"Kel" Christina said as they hugged.

"Anything?" she asked.

"Nothing, I've been looking all over the place, there are hundreds of kids around and none of them are mine" she said to her.

Kellie looked around and spotted the police "Stay here I'm going to talk to the cops" she said wading through the hordes of people.

“Okay good news everyone the pictures...are finished” Harry said coming out from the dark room. “Hello?” he asked looking around, he picked up his phone from his bag and listened to his mom's message before calling her back.

Christina stood outside among the crowd of people looking around as her pocket began to vibrate “Harry?” she asked.

“Mom?” he asked her.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“I'm in the newspaper office” he said.

“You're still in the school?!” she asked.

“Yes, what's going on?” he asked.

“Honey you need to get out of there right now” she said.

“Why?” he asked.

"There is someone in there with a gun no one knows who it is or where he is just get out here now, run as fast as you can I'm right outside I'll be looking for you” she said.

“Okay I'll be right out” he said grabbing his bag and running out of the room.

"Captain" an officer said approaching Captain Swan "Swats are on their way, dispatch just got a call from a Daphne Winchester reporting a breaking and entering, apparently someone really did a number on her house"

"Get over there see if the two are related"

"Yes sir".

"Excuse me? Officers? Hi, I need your help..." Kellie said running towards the police barricade.

"Ma’am I'm sorry but you need to stay back" an officer said to her.

"No please my son..."

"All students have been bussed to the elementary school if your son is a student here there's a good chance he's there" the officer said to her.

A car came to a stop behind the mob, the door open, Howie and AJ jumped out.

"There's too many kids here where do we start?" AJ asked as they looked around at the crowd.

"Christina? Christina!" Howie yelled.

"Kel! Kellie Mitchell!" AJ yelled as they separated.

“I was just about to call you” Christina said hugging Howie.

“Where's Harry?” he asked looking around at the mob.

"I just talking to him he was in the publication room; he didn't know anything was happening" she said to him.

"Is he alright?" he asked.

“He's fine he was in the darkroom” she said to him "He's on his way out now."

"What about the others?" he asked.


~*~


"Neilson" Bradley groaned.

"Neilson" Natalie said.

"What?" he asked, wrench still clamped in his hand.

"He's asking for you" Natalie said, she stood up and he knelt down next to Bradley.

"Hey" he said softly "You okay? How do you feel?" he asked.

"I think this is it" Bradley groaned as he turned his head to look at him.

"Stop talking like that" Neilson said to him “This isn't you okay? You don't give up, the Bradley J. I know doesn't give up".

"What makes you so sure?" Bradley asked him.

"Because...this is you...Bradley Littrell, you're a badass" Neilson said to him, Bradley managed a weak smile.

"He's right" Natalie said nodding.

"You think I'm a badass?" Bradley asked him.

"Yeah...and so do you" Neilson said to him.

"I feel like I should tell you this just in case"

"You shouldn't talk alright? You need to save your strength" Neilson said to him.

"Just listen to me, please?" Bradley asked grabbing ahold of his wrist, leaving a bloody handprint on his arm.

"Okay...Okay fine...What do you want to tell me?" Neilson asked.

"I know I never say this a lot...If ever" Bradley said turning his head towards him "You’re my best friend, you always have been and you always will be” Bradley said “You are probably one of if not the most important person in my life…I love you” Bradley said to him as tears began fill the corners of his eyes. "Just remember that okay?" he asked.

Neilson looked at him sadly, feeling his eyes well up before looking over at Natalie who had tears in her eyes "Yeah...I know" Neilson said nodding sadly. Bradley raised his arm and held his hand out, Neilson took his hand and held it tightly in his. Bradley closed his eyes and took a deep breath before grimacing in pain.


~*~


“Kellie!" AJ yelled running to her side.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just now, he and Chris are walking around looking for Harry...what's going on?" he asked.

“I don’t know, nobody will tell me anything” she said.

“Did you talk to the cops?” he asked.

“Barely, every time I try they just tell me to stand back” she said. “Kyle is in trouble I know he is” she said.

“Don’t worry alright I’ll find out what’s going on” he said “Hey!” he said whistling to an officer “Yeah, you, come here” he said.

"Folks I'm sorry but you need to stay back" he said to them.

“Yeah we’ll stand back as soon as we get some information alright?”

"Don't worry our team is going in as soon as we get the all clear."

"You can't wait that long!" he said to him.

"Sir I'm sorry but it's police protocol, just to make sure there are no explosives on the scene".

“You need to listen to me alright, my son goes to this school and I think my son is in physical danger” Kellie said to him.

“I’m sorry ma’m what’s your son’s name?” he asked.

“Kyle Richardson” she said “Here” she said handing him her phone, showing him a picture of Kyle “I called him earlier and someone else answered his phone and I think they might hurt him” she said.

He handed her phone back to her “Excuse me” he said, he walked up to Captain Swan, she watched them converse, he looked at her and walked towards her.

“You said your son is Kyle Richardson?” he asked her.

“Yeah, like I said, I called him earlier and someone answered his phone and I think he might be in danger” she said.

“Do you know who it was that answered his phone?”

“Yeah this kid he goes to school with, Damien Winchester, he’s been bullying my son for years” she said.

He looked back at the officer “Miss..."

"Mitchell, Kellie Mitchell" she said.

"Miss Mitchell...I’m afraid your son’s been taken hostage by Damien Winchester.”

“What?! What are you talking about hostage?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, like my officer said, as soon as we get the all clear we’re moving in” he said.

“You don’t understand, Damien will hurt him if he hasn’t already” she said.

“We’re going to make sure that will not happen, he’s not alone either, it seems Winchester has taken another hostage” Captain Swan said taking out his notepad “Adam McLean, do you know him?” he asked, she turned to look at AJ him, his face had gone blank.

“Yeah he’s uh…he’s my son” he said.

“Miss Mitchell, Mr. McLean I promise we’re going to do everything to get your boys out safely, just trust us” Captain Swan said. “Jenkins!” he yelled, the officer came to his side swats here yet?"

"Still on their way" he said.

"Where's Collins?" he asked.

"Went to check on this Daphne Winchester to see if there's any relation to the shooter" he said.


~*~


Police walked around the Winchester house, inspecting the aftermath of Damien's rage filled tantrum.

"Any idea who would do this?" a detective asked Damien's mother, Daphne.

"No, of course not, we have a very secure system, the alarm would've been tripped" she said to him.

"Excuse me?" the officer asked coming into the house "Sorry to interrupt, are you Daphne Winchester?" he asked.

"Yes...is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"Ma’am are you related to a Damien Winchester?"

"Yes of course that's my son...what's happened is Damien hurt?" she asked.

"Ma’am I'm afraid your son might be involved in the shooting at Hilridge High School."

"What? Involved how?" she asked.

"Witnesses say he's the gunman."

"What? That's preposterous!" she said to him.

"We talked to the principal he said Damien had been suspended."

"Suspended?" she asked.

"Principal said he left a message for you."

"I didn't get any..." she said hurrying into the living room and pressing the button on the answering machine.

“Hello again Mrs. Winchester this is Principal Wexler I have your son Damien in my office and I'm calling you to let you know that he will be coming home early today followed by a week's suspension, if you have any questions please call my office, thank you” the machine then beeped.

"Mrs. Winchester...do you know where your son is now?" he asked.

"No of course not, he's supposed to be in school!" she said.

"Okay Mrs. Winchester I want you to come down to the station with me until we get some answers" he said, she nodded absently and grabbed her purse, the police lead her from the house.


~*~


"I thought you said Harry was coming out?" Howie asked Christina as they looked around the mob scene.

"He is! I told him I would be right here" she said as they looked around "He should've been out here by now!" Christina said as they continued searching the crowd for Harry.

"He's probably lost with all these people here; I'll look over here" Howie said.

"I'll take this side" she said going into the crowd "Harry? Harry!" she yelled as she pushed past people.

Harry quickly emptied his locker and ran down the hallway and opened the door to the stairwell, he ran down the steps and opened another door that opened to the previous floor.

"Alright thanks, yeah I'll let you know if I hear anything" Nick said hanging up the phone.

"Nat's mom?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, she hasn't seen or heard from Nat" Nick said.

"This isn't right, what the hell is going on over at that school?" Brian asked, Nick felt his phone buzz.

"Neilson?" Brian asked.

"No, text from Howie, Harry's okay" Nick said.

"Well that's great for Harry, but what about the others?" Brian asked.

Vicki paced around with her phone in her hand "Something is wrong Sash, I can feel it" Vicki said to Sasha.

"This is crazy, I've called Neilson how many times now, I've called Nat apparently she doesn't answer her phone either" Sasha said irritated. "I've called the house, I called over to the elementary school, all of the boys are still unaccounted for" she said.

"Excuse me? Are you Dr. McAdams?" Mrs. Geary asked approaching Vicki.

"Uh yeah, that's me, can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Gloria Geary, I run the library at Hilridge High School" she said.

"Oh right" Vicki said "Hi, can you tell me if you've seen my son at all today? Bradley Littrell?" she asked.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Bradley was scheduled for study hall in the library today and he never showed up" Mrs. Geary said to her.

Vicki looked at Sasha "Was Neilson Carter supposed to be there too?" Sasha asked "It's okay, I'm his mother."

"Oh...oh yes of course, I'm so sorry, but yes, both Bradley and Neilson failed to show up for study hall" she said.

"Okay uh...what about Natalie Cappel? Neilson's girlfriend? was she there?" Sasha asked.

"No none of them!" Mrs. Geary said "Oh I'm so sorry" she said sadly.

"No it's okay, we appreciate you telling us" Vicki said.

"Yes, thank you" Sasha said.

"How...how are Mr. Burns and Coach Reinhart?" Mrs. Geary asked.

"Oh uh, I'm not completely sure but if you ask someone at the nurses' station I'm sure they'll tell you" Vicki said.

"Thank you dear" Mrs. Geary said walking away.

"I knew something was wrong" Vicki said.

"We have a problem" Sasha said to Nick.

"What now?" he asked.

"Bradley, Neilson and Natalie are missing, they were supposed to show up for study hall and they never did" she said to him.

"Well that doesn't mean anything, they've ditched study hall before" Brian said.

"No if they did ditch they would've came here or went home as soon as they heard about this" Vicki said to him.

"No one's home I already checked" Nick said defeated.

"Exactly” Sasha said.

"Where could they be?" Brian asked.

Vicki spotted Melissa sitting in the waiting area, her face paled and bleak "Miss... hey, you alright?" Vicki asked getting her attention.

"AJ called me" Melissa said.

"Okay..." Vicki said as they all approached the waiting area and took seats "Adam and Kyle are being held hostage by Damien Winchester" she said in disbelief,

Both Brian and Nick groaned in aggravation "Oh god not that kid" Brian said.

"Who's Damien Winchester?" Sasha asked.

"Some little prick the boys go to school with" Nick said to her.

"He and Kyle are on the football team together, his dad's some big-time business man which apparently gives him license to act like a jackass...he's been picking on the boys for years" Brian said.

"Winchester...as in Derek Winchester?" Vicki asked.

"Yeah that's his dad" Brian said.

"You know him?" Sasha asked.

"He's on the hospital board he donates thousands of dollars to the hospital every year" Vicki said.

"What happened?" Sasha asked.

"Damien came and took Kyle and Adam from their classroom and now he's holding them hostage" Melissa said.

"Oh my god" Sasha said "Are they okay?"

"They don't know they're waiting on the swat team but they haven't heard any gunshots" Melissa said to them.


~*~


"We have to do something" Adam whispered to Kyle.

"Like what? He has a gun!" Kyle said to him.

"I don't know! You're the football player, tackle his ass or something!" Adam said to him.

"Are you insane?!" Kyle asked him in a harsh whisper.

"What are we having social hour over here?" Damien asked them as he fired more shots towards the ceiling, causing the lights to spew out sparks.

Kyle pushed Adam down as they huddled together and hid behind one of the lab stations.

“Stay down!” Kyle said to him as he stood up “You want to do this Damien? Let’s do it” Kyle said "You made your point okay? You're pissed off and you have every right to be, you deserved that award just as much as I did maybe even more than I did" Kyle said to him. “You want to the MVP award? It's yours take it, I don't care, it’s in my locker alright? Just go get it, it’s yours" Kyle said. “it’s not worth it, just let this whole nightmare be over” Kyle pleaded to him.

"This isn't just about the award this is about everything else you've taken from me!" Damien yelled at him, Kyle looked at him confusedly.

“I haven’t taken anything from you!” Kyle said to him.

“Oh yeah? What about quarterback?” Damien asked "Everything I ever wanted, everything that was supposed to be mine, you took from me!” Damien screamed at him.

Adam quietly peeked over the table and spotted a glass beaker, keeping his eye on Damien. Kyle stood up against the table, while shielded by his back, Adam pushed the beaker towards him. Kyle’s eyes shifted as he felt the beaker against him.

“And everyone just loves you so much, friend to everyone, straight-A student…it makes me sick” Damien said, tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

Kyle reached behind him grasped the beaker in his hand, Damien came closer, the barrel of the gun mere inches away from Kyle’s chest. Adam grabbed a pair of goggles from underneath the lab station.

“Damien I’m…I’m sorry” Kyle said “I didn’t mean to…I didn’t realize this stuff was so important to you” Kyle said, the beaker still tight in his hand.

Adam then threw the goggles against the wall, grabbing Damien’s attention, Kyle smashed the beaker over Damien’s head and grabbed the gun, Damien still held on tight. Harry opened the door to another floor, he could hear voices coming from the science lab, he quietly crept towards the door as the voices were getting louder and more familiar. Kyle punched Damien in the face, his nose began to gush blood as Damien kneed him in the groin, struggling over the gun.

Harry slowly opened the door “Kyle?” he asked.

“Harry” Adam said, Kyle and Damien still fighting over the gun, the metal glistened in the light when there was a deafening bang.

Natalie and Neilson looked around as the gun shot echoed throughout the school.

"What was that?" he asked, wrench still in hand.

"It was another gunshot" she said to him as he began to bang harder on the glass with the wrench.

Natalie knelt down beside Bradley, she looked around and saw something lying on the floor of one of the stalls. She stood up and opened the stall door, she saw a brick laying there by the toilet, she quickly picked it up.

"Neilson" she said "Use this" she said handing him the brick.

"Where'd this come from?" he asked.

"They use it to prop the door open we must've kicked it aside when we were blocking the door" she said.

"Stand back" he said to her Neilson heaved the brick towards the window, it broke through "Got it" he said knocking the excess glass away with the wrench.

Harry dropped his bag and looked down, a giant blood stain began absorbing through his sweater vest.

“Harry” Adam said rushing to his side, Harry's knees buckled and he began to collapse.

“H…he shot…he shot me” he said in shock. Adam held onto Harry as he sunk to the floor, Adam grabbed his bag and propped Harry’s head up.

“2 down...3 to go" Damien said wickedly as he smiled at Kyle.

Kyle looked down at Harry who was bleeding profusely, mixed with the thought of Bradley also being shot and all the years of torment and taunting raced through his brain as he heard Damien's evil cackling.

Kyle sunk his teeth into Damien's hand that held the gun so tightly, he bit down hard, Damien screamed and the gun fell free. Kyle then grabbed it and turned it on Damien.

"What are you going to kill me?" Damien asked, still cowering on the floor.

“You think I won’t?” Kyle asked “Why shouldn’t? after everything you’ve put me through? After the hell you’ve inflicted on everyone today?” “tell me why shouldn’t I end your sorry life right now?!” Kyle asked angrily.

"You don't have it in you" Damien said taunting him.

"Try me" Kyle said to him angrily “You shot Harry, you shot Bradley, you’ve been torturing us for years, that’s all the motivation I need” Kyle said to him. “But you know what? As much as I would love to blow your head off, it wouldn't make me any better than you are, besides you'll get yours, when you're in prison and are being passed around like the bitch that you are" Kyle said to Damien "One can only hope" he said before clocking Damien cold over the head with the gun's handle.

"You sure about this?" Neilson asked.

"It's the only way to get Bradley help" she said to him

"Okay, come on" he said lacing his fingers together, she put her foot in his hands and he carefully lifted her up to the window.

She slid through placing her hands on the ground behind her and scooting herself up. "Tell Bradley to hold on, I'm going to get help" she said before getting up and running.

"Bradley, don't worry help is on its way alright?" Neilson said going back to Bradley's side, he stayed silent. "Bradley...Bradley J." he said trying to wake him up "No, come on, Bradley wake up...Bradley!" he said "Bradley, Bradley, come on, Bradley J." Neilson said lightly smacking his face.

"Excuse me? I need help!" Natalie screamed as she ran into the crowd pushing past people and running towards the ambulances that sat parked. She ran into an EMT "Please, please help me my friend's been shot and he's been bleeding for a while now and he keeps going in and out of consciousness..." she rambled on.

"Calm down, calm down...what is your friend's name?"

"Bradley Littrell, my boyfriend and I have been taking care of him ever since he was shot...you need to get in there!" she said to them.

"Okay okay, stay here, let them take care of you, are you hurt?"

"No! I'm fine you just need to help Bradley okay hurry!" she cried.

"Don't worry your friend's going to be just fine, where is he?" he asked.

"I'll take you to him" Natalie said to him.

"Let's go!" he said to his crew.

Adam then hastily ripped off his shirt putting it over Harry’s wound and pressing down, Harry screamed out in anguish, Kyle fell to his side.

“Give me your shirt” Adam said, Kyle quickly pulled it over his head.

“Where was he hit?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know, I can’t tell, it’s either his chest or his stomach” Adam said "Harry! Harry wake up!" Adam yelled as Harry’s eyes closed.

“Harry come on wake up” Kyle said.

"He's bleeding way too much, you need to go get help!". Kyle looked over at Damien lying lifeless on the floor
"Don’t worry about him, he’s out cold! Go! Now!” Adam said, Kyle quickly got to his feet and ran from the room.

"Neilson!" Natalie said appearing at the window once more.

"What happened I thought you were going to get the paramedics?" he asked.

"I did!" she said crawling back through, the medical team carefully crawling through behind her.

"Right here" he said as they moved in.

"How long has he been bleeding?" they asked.

"I don't know like an hour or something?" Neilson said to them.

"He's been going in and out of consciousness the whole time" Natalie said to them.

They pulled Bradley from the floor and placed him on the gurney "Where was he hit?" they asked.

"Left shoulder" Neilson said as they cut his shirt open.

"We have a GSW, possible internal injuries, Caucasian male, seventeen years of age, name Bradley Littrell, transporting him to Hilridge General" they said on their radio.

"Can we ride with him?" Neilson asked.

"Are your family?" they asked.

"I am" Neilson said to him.

"We can only allow one person" he said.

"Alright, let's be careful here" the paramedic said as they lifted Bradley up through the window, they then carried him to the waiting ambulance.

"Watch your head" they said helping Natalie and Neilson through the window as well.

"Go" Natalie said to him "I'll meet you at the hospital" she said as they quickly kissed.

Kyle flew the school’s front entrance, looking around at the crowds.

“Help! Someone! I need help!” he yelled.

"Kel" AJ said nodding his head, she turned to see Kyle wandering aimlessly.

"Someone help! I need help!" he yelled.

"Kyle! Kyle! Honey!" Kellie yelled, he spotted her and ran towards her.

"Mom" he said engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh baby" she said cradling his head "Oh my god, are you okay? Are you sure?" she asked.

"Harry was shot" he said to her.

Neilson sat in the back of the ambulance, Bradley's eyes fluttered open and he looked around. "Hey" Neilson said putting a reassuring hand on his wrist "Hey I'm right here okay? We're on our way to the hospital you're going to be fine" Neilson said softly.

Bradley's eyes then closed once more "He's going to be okay right?" Neilson asked the paramedic.

"We won't know until we get him to the hospital" he said.

"Here, right here" Kyle said leading another medical team to the classroom I'm going to need you to step back” one of the EMT's said to Adam.

“He's going to be okay right?” Adam asked.

“We'll take good care of him” they said as Adam stepped back, blood still staining his hands.

“Where was he hit?” the paramedic asked.

“I don’t know, his chest or his stomach, there was too much blood to tell” Adam said.

“He’s been bleeding for a few minutes now, he just lost consciousness” Kyle said to him.

"Kyle Richardson and Adam McLean?" Captain Swan asked coming into the room, holstering his gun.

"Yeah, that's us" Kyle said to him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"We're fine, Harry was the only one who was shot" Adam said to him they watched as they wheeled Harry from the room on the stretcher.


~*~


Whispers began to run through the hospital, Vicki still paced around the waiting area, her phone in her hand. The elevator doors opened, a man in a white coat emerged and approached Vicki.

"Dr. McAdams" he said to her.

"I know Jerry, I know I have patients I'm sorry but I have a bit of a family emergency here" she said to him.

"I know" he said "One of our ambulances was waiting outside your son's school in case of casualties, they're on their way here now."

"Okay well you're going to need to find someone else to consult, I'm having a maternal meltdown right now" she said.

"Vicki...I'm sorry to have to tell you this..." he said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"What's going on?" Brian asked coming to her side.

"Mr. Littrell I'm afraid I have some bad news...your son has been shot" he said, they looked at him fearfully, turning to share looks of worry.

"We've looked everywhere, can't find him anywhere" Howie said as he and Christina met up with AJ and Kellie, Kellie looked at Christina sadly.

"Kel, what's wrong?" Christina asked "Have you heard something?" she asked.

"Chris...there's not easy way to tell you this" she said to her "Harry's been shot"

"Wh... what? What are you talking about?" she asked "No...no, Kel...Harry's fine, I just talked to him he was fine..."

"Kyle came out to find the paramedics" AJ said to Howie "Kel got his attention and he told us that Harry was shot" Howie’s face went blank as he looked around bewildered "Now we don't know how serious it is or what exactly happened" AJ said, seeing the paramedics wheeling out a gurney, holding up an IV bag.

Christina ran towards them "Harry, Harry honey" she said looking down at him "Are you okay?"

"Please we need everyone to stay back" they said holding them back.

"It's okay we're his parents" Howie said to him.

"What happened? Where was he hit?" Christina asked.

"Your son surprised the gunman, he was hit in the lower chest area, we got to get him to the hospital asap, I can allow one of you to ride along" he said as they loaded Harry into the back.

They looked at each other "You go...I'll meet you there okay? Don't worry everything's going to be okay" Howie said as Christina climbed into the back of the ambulance.

“Apparently one of our paramedics were accosted by a young girl, she said she was a friend of your son’s” Jerry said to Brian & Vicki.

“Natalie” Vicki said.

"She lead them to a broken window of one of the school bathrooms" he said.

"He was in the bathroom the whole time?" Vicki asked, Brian put his hands on her shoulders, his head falling against hers.

"They were able to get Bradley out and he's on his way here now" Jerry said.

“Do you know where was he hit or how bad it is?” Brian asked.

“I’m not sure, I DO know there's a boy riding with him in the ambulance" Jerry said.

"Neilson" Brian said.

"At least he's not alone" Vicki said to him.

"I'm very sorry Vicki...the ambulance is on it’s way I’m sure he’ll be here in no time” Jerry said.

"I'm going down to the emergency room" Vicki said.

"I'm coming with you" Brian said following her.


~*~


"Damien Winchester, you are under arrest, you have the right to remain silent..." they said reading him his rights, staring down Kyle as the police pulled his arms around to his back.

"I guess you win again" he said as the police took Damien from the room.

"Miss Mitchell, Mr. McLean, your boys are just fine" Captain Swan said to them "I'm going to need to ask them some questions but after that you can take them home."

"Thank you" AJ said to him.

"Yes thank you" Kellie said to him.

Kellie's phone began to light up in her hand "Hey, where are you?" she asked.

"I'm on the plane, I'll be there in an hour" Kevin said to her "Is Kyle okay?" he asked frantically.

"Yes, Kyle's fine, he's talking to the police".

"So what happened? How did this all start?" he asked.

"It's a long story, I'll explain it to you as soon as you get here" she said to him.

The ambulance sped to a halt just outside the emergency room doors, they pulled Bradley from the back, popping the wheels from the gurney and wheeled him inside Neilson followed closely behind.

"I'm sorry you have to stay here" a nurse said to him.

"But..." Neilson said "I'll let you know what's going on" they said running into the cubicle.

The elevator dinged and they dodged off, rushing towards the triage area "Neilson" Vicki said "What happened? Where is he?" she asked.

"They just took him in there" Neilson said to her.

"What happened?" Brian asked.

"I don't...we were in the hall and...all of a sudden Damien was there and...he got shot" Neilson said rambling on. "Nat and I we dragged him into the bathroom and we tried to stop the bleeding but there was too much blood..."

Brian nodded "No it’s okay, you did good” he said “Your parents are on up on the 5th floor, they're worried about you alright so get up there" he said, Neilson nodded.

"Bradley" Vicki said bursting into the cubicle "Bradley" she said sadly "Honey, it's me, can you hear me?" she asked smoothing his hair away from his forehead.

"Bradley J." Brian said running in "Hey buddy you're going to be just fine; you hear me?".

"Dr. McAdams I'm sorry but I need you to step out..."

"I am not going anywhere" she said to the nurse.

"Sir, please? we need room to work" the nurse said to Brian.

"I'll be right outside, Bradley I'm right here okay?" he said leaving the cubicle.


~*~


"I don't know, I haven't heard from her, oh my god I hope she's okay" Natalie's mom, Jodi said as she talked on the phone.

Natalie then opened the front door to her house and went inside "Mom?!" she yelled.

"Oh god here she is, I'll talk to you later" Jodi said hanging up and flinging the phone across the room. "My god" she said engulfing Natalie in a hug "Where have you been? do you know how worried I was?!" she asked. "Is that blood?" she asked.

"Mom...Bradley was shot" Natalie said to her, she then pulled Natalie back into her and pressed her head to her chest.


~*~

“Okay that’s it, I’m tired of waiting, I’m going over to that school” Sasha said.

“Sash…” Nick said.

“No, Nick, something is wrong, we should’ve heard from Neilson by now” she said.

“Mom, dad” Neilson said appearing.

"Oh my god, Neilson" she said running towards him and covering him. "Oh god, are you alright?" she asked putting her hands on his cheeks and hugging him tightly.

“You have any idea how worried we were? Where have you been?” Nick asked hugging him.

“You don’t wanna know” Neilson said to him.

"You're covered in blood what happened to you?" Sasha said to Neilson as she looked him over.

"It's not mine" he said to her “Bradley was shot” he said.

“Oh no” Nick sighed.

“What?” Sasha said.

“Yeah” Neilson said.

"Oh honey…come on let's go clean you up" she said wrapping her arm around his shoulders and leading him away.


~*~


A police officer lead Kyle and Adam into the cafeteria.

"Hello boys, I'm detective Stone, this is detective Manning, we just want to take your statements" he said to them "Kyle you want to come with me?" Dean asked.

"Adam, you and I will talk right here" Sam said as they sat at a table.

"I was in class when we heard the first couple shots" Kyle said to Dean "My teacher told everyone to get down on the floor, I was under my desk when Damien came in".

"He had the gun in his hand and told Kyle to get up, then he told Kyle to go with him and that's when I stood up" Adam said to Sam.

"Adam didn't want me to go alone, so he got Damien to take him too...we walked down the hallway and he pushed us into a classroom". "Our phones started ringing I guess it was my mom trying to call me" Adam said
"He made us hand the phones over, he threatened to kill Kyle if I didn't hand mine over, that's when Kyle's mom called and Damien answered it".

"My mom called and Damien picked it up, after he was finished he threw both of our phones to the floor and shot them “He told us about Bradley being shot and coach and Mr. Burns” Kyle said.

“He was basically just bragging by that point” Adam said. “I told Kyle we needed to do something you know, we needed to get out of there.”

“That’s when he shot out the lights” Kyle said “I pushed Adam behind the lab station and told him to stay down.”

“I saw the beaker just sitting there on the table so I pushed it closer to Kyle” Adam said.

“He just started screaming at me and blaming me basically for everything that’s wrong with his life” Kyle said “That’s when I felt the beaker at my back so I reached back to grab it” he said.

“He didn’t see you do this?” Dean asked.

“No, he was too busy whining” Kyle said.

“I looked under the table and found a pair of goggles, Kyle had the beaker in his hand at that point so I threw the goggles against the wall” Adam said.

"I tackled him, we fought over the gun and that's when the door opened and Harry was standing there and the gun went off” Kyle said.

"I saw Harry come in and heard the gun go off, next thing I know Harry’s bleeding and was on the verge of collapse” Adam said.

"Hey" AJ said on his phone "No, I'm still at the school, the police want to talk to Adam about what happened" he said.

"Is he okay?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah don't worry he's fine" he said to her.

"Thank god...I've got some more bad news...Bradley was shot" Melissa said.

"What? How?" AJ asked.

"I don't know all the details yet, Neilson came in with him I haven't gotten to talk to Sash or Nick and Vicki and Bri are waiting for Bradley to get out of surgery" she said to him.

"Damien was standing there laughing basically, Kyle snapped and took him down".

"I jumped on him, I was able to grab the gun and I knocked him out" Kyle said to Dean.

"Okay...well Kyle, that's all the questions I have for you, thanks a lot" Kyle nodded sadly and stood up from the table.

"I got to go, I'll talk to you soon" she said hanging up when she saw Christina come in behind a gurney. "Chris?" She asked "Oh my god, Harry" she said "What happened?" Melissa asked.

"He was on his way out when he thought he thought he heard Kyle yelling and he surprised Damien, so Damien shot him" she said bursting into tears.

"Oh..." Melissa said grabbing her close and holding her.

"Mom" Kyle said to Kellie, hugging her tightly.

"Hey dad" Adam said hugging AJ.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kellie asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine I just want to get out of here" Kyle said to her.

"Come on, your mom's waiting for us at the hospital" AJ said to Adam as they all walked down the hallway.


~*~


Daphne paced around the police station "Can I get you something Mrs. Winchester?" an officer asked her.

"Can you please just tell me if my son is involved in this or not?" she asked.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I don't have any information right now, but don't worry the captain is on his way maybe he can tell you what you want to know" an officer said to her.

"Okay, thank you" she said She sat in a chair when her purse started to ring "Oh" she said reaching in and pulling her cellphone out "Derek, thank god" she sighed.

"Daphne, what's the problem?" he asked.

“Oh Derek, everything is just…chaos” she said.

“Daphne I am in the middle of a very important business meeting, just tell me what’s going on and how much it’s going to cost to make it go away” he said irritated.

“I think someone broke into our house when I got home this afternoon everything was tarnished it was like someone went on a rampage" she said to him.

“Did you call the police?” he asked.

“Of course! While they were looking around, another police officer came to the house and told me that Damien was involved in some shooting at his school."

"What?!" he asked.

“Derek, you need to come home, I need you” she said.

"I'll call Darren and have him stay with you until I get back, hopefully I can get back by tonight, I'll call you later."

"Okay" she said hanging up.

She looked out into the lobby to see the doors open and officers escort someone in, she ran from the office and came face to face with Damien.

"Mom" he said to her

"Oh my god" she said tearfully, the police pulling him along.

"Mom I'm innocent I swear!" he yelled out.

She sobbed as they pulled him into a room, slamming the door shut behind them.


~*~


"Mom" Adam said running to Melissa, she held her arms open.

"Are you okay?" she asked tearfully.

"Yeah I'm fine" he said as she hugged him tightly.

"Thank god" she said putting her hands on his face "Why are you...blood...why is there blood?" she asked.

"After Harry was shot I tried to stop the bleeding" he said to her.

"Are you going to tell me how all of this happened? Like why he took you?" she asked.

"Miss, he just got done telling all of it to the police, let's give him a break" he said to her.

"How's Harry?" he asked.

"He's in surgery right now" Melissa said.

"Bradley?" he asked.

Brian & Vicki sat in the waiting room, Vicki paced around “I feel like we should’ve heard something by now” she said.

“Hey” Brian said standing up “This is Bradley we’re talking about remember? He’s strong, he’s a fighter” he said “Just like his mom” he said to her, they smiled at each other as he pulled her into a hug.

A doctor still clad in his surgical scrubs came towards them “Dr. McAdams, Mr. Littrell” he said to them.

“George, please tell me, is Bradley alright?” Vicki asked.

“As you both know Bradley lost a substantial amount of blood” he said “It turns out the bullet nicked an artery, but aside from that no major damage was done, however his blood pressure dropped during surgery but we were able to get it back up” he said. “We were able to remove the bullet with minimal trauma” he said to them.

“So he’s going okay?” Brian asked.

“He’s going to be just fine” he said, Vicki took a deep breath.

“Oh thank god” she said.

“He’s in recovery right now, the nurse will let you know once they get him to a room” he said.

“Thank you George” Vicki said to the doctor.

“No problem” George said nodding before walking away.

“Oh my god” she said hugging Brian, he held her tightly.

“He’s going to be okay” she said.

“He’s going to be fine” Brian said as she hugged him once more, a memory from their teenage romance flashed in his mind as he took a deep inhale of her hair.

“I’ve got to call my mom and let her know what’s going on” she said as they parted, he gazed at her as she walked away.

"Excuse me? Can I help you Ms..." Captain Swan asked Daphne as he returned to his office.

"Winchester...Daphne Winchester...that was my son" she said tearfully.

He nodded "Why don't we have a seat" he said directing her towards a chair, he shut the door behind him and turned his chair to face her.

"This just...this does not sound like my son...why would he do something like this?" she asked tearfully, wiping her tears away with a handkerchief.

"We won't know until we talk to him" he said to her.

"How many people were hurt?" she asked.

"Four...a teacher, football coach and two of his classmates...he was also holding two other students at gunpoint".

“Oh god” she sighed.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked.

"No...no, thank you, my oldest son should be here soon."

"Okay."

"Can I see him?" she asked.

"Sure" he said to her, he leads her towards the interrogation room.

“Mom" Damien said when she came in.

"Oh honey" she said hugging him.

"Are you okay?" she asked "What happened? What made you do such a thing?" she asked.

“Mom I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn't mean to” Damien whimpered as he cried into her shoulder.

"I'm going to call Garrett, don't answer any questions until he gets here...your father is on his way home" she said.

"Oh god no, you called dad?!” he asked frightened.

"I had to" she said.

"Mom, no, please...He's going to kill me, he’s going to hate me even more" Damien said to her.

"Mrs. Winchester?" an officer asked opening the door "Your son Darren is here."

"Thank you" she said, the officer nodded and shut the door.

"Like I said do not say a word until Garrett gets here" she said.

"Okay" he said to her, she turned to leave.

"Stay strong alright?" she asked, he nodded sadly "I love you" she said.

"I love you too" he said to her.

"I'll be right back" she said to him leaving the room, she shut the door behind her, crumbling into sobs.

"Mom" Darren said coming to her side and holding her closely.


~*~


Neilson stood by the windows, watching ambulances circle around the parking lot, their sirens blaring.

"I got to get my phone!" Neilson said to him.

“Think about it, do you really need it?” Bradley asked “It’s study hall, I’m going to be there, Nat’s going to be there…you’ll be fine" Bradley said insistently.

"What's with you?" Neilson asked, noticing Bradley's nervousness.

"He has a gun" Bradley said quietly, darting his eyes towards Damien. .

"It'll take me two seconds I promise" Neilson said to him as he turned back to his locker

"Forget about your phone! Okay it's not important" Bradley said to him.

"No, come on its right here..." Neilson argued

"Neilson..." Bradley said nervously "No!" Bradley yelled as he covered Neilson, pitching all the books and papers in his arms into the air, he and Neilson fell to the floor as the shot fired.

“Could be worst you know" Bradley said to him.

"I don't see how that's possible" Neilson said.

"It could've hit you" Bradley said as Neilson looked at him.


“Hey” Nick said softly, approaching him, putting his hand on his shoulder “You alright?” he asked.

“I’ve been better” Neilson said to him “Bradley out of surgery yet?” he asked.

“Your mom just went to check” he said as they sat down.

“I lost my phone” Neilson said "that's why I didn't answer when you guys called."

“Oh…well I’m sure you’ll find it, if not we’ll just get you a new one” Nick said.

“That’s why we were in the hallway” Neilson said “I thought maybe I had put it in my locker” he said. “Bradley was helping me look for it” he said sadly “He was the one who saw Damien first…he saw the gun in his hand and tried to get me to leave” Neilson said. “But I wouldn’t go…not without that god damn phone” Neilson said angrily.

“Hey, I don’t want to hear you blame yourself alright? This is not your fault” Nick said to Neilson.

“Hey” Sasha said coming into the waiting room “Bradley’s out of surgery, everything went fine” she said.

“They get the bullet?” Neilson asked.

“They got it” she said when he went to stand up “He’s still in recovery, it’ll be a while before they get him into a room” she said, he sat back down.

"He pushed me out of the way" Neilson said.

“What?” Sasha asked.

"We were in the bathroom, Bradley said to me that everything could've been a lot worst than what it was...I know what he meant now" Neilson said "He pushed me out of the way" he said to her. "I saw Damien raise the gun and Bradley pushed us down to the floor...he pushed me out of the way" Neilson said.

“Wow” Sasha said “Well uh…I can’t say I’m surprised” she said.

“Yeah that seems exactly like something Bradley would do” Nick said.

“I guess” Neilson said.

“You don’t think so?” Sasha asked.

"Well come on, I mean I know people talk about taking a bullet for someone but you don't actually see it happen" Neilson said to her.

"Neilson, Bradley loves you...you have to know he would do anything to protect you” Sasha said to him.

“Yeah, I know” he said smiling.


~*~


Bradley’s eyes slowly opened, his eyelids still heavy with exhaustion from the anesthetic, the monitors were beeping loudly as he looked around trying to recognize his surroundings. He heard the door opened and turned his head.

“Bradley? Hey you awake?” Brian asked coming into the room.

“Hey dad” he said groggily.

Brian came to his side “Oh thank god” he said leaning in to kiss his head softly. He pulled a chair over to the bedside and sat down, holding his hand tightly. “You alright? How do you feel?” he asked.

“Tired” Bradley said.

“Yeah you will be” Brian said.

“I can’t feel my arm” Bradley said in a groggy voice.

“I don’t really think you would want to right now” Brian said.

“Did they get it?” Bradley asked.

“Yeah don’t worry, they found the bullet, they got it out, you’re going to be just fine” Brian said pushing his hair from his face, He pulled his gown back to reveal a large bandage covering his shoulder and upper arm.

"Where’s mom?” Bradley asked.

“She’s on the phone with your grandma, she’ll be in soon” Brian said “You don’t know how scared we were” he said.

“Not as scared as I was probably” Bradley said smiling “I kept hoping you would come and take me out of there” Bradley said.

“Trust me, if I had any idea where you were I would have” Brian said to him.

"Dad, I don't know if you knew this or not but, getting shot really hurts" Bradley said.

Brian smiled "Yeah so I've heard".

The door opened and Vicki came in "Bradley?" she asked.

"Hey mom" he said to her, she rushed to his side.

“Oh baby” she said leaning into him to give him a hug “I'm so glad you're okay" she said kissing his forehead. “Do you need anything, can I get you anything? Are you in any pain?” she asked, he smiled.

"No I’m good” he said to her.

“I’m so happy you’re awake, I was so scared I’d lost you” she said caressing his cheek.

“Well, if I’m being honest…I didn’t think I’d get to see you guys again either" he said “I really thought I wouldn’t make it out alive and I’d die before I got to tell you guys how much I love you” Bradley said to them.

“Oh honey” Vicki said “We love you more than you know, it’s over, everything's going to be okay, you’re going to be fine" she said to him.

“Your mom’s right” he said smiling at Vicki, she smiled back at him.

Kyle stood outside of Harry's hospital room, looking into the small window, seeing him lying in bed peacefully. Kyle could feel his emotions about to explode, he backed away from the window and stood up against the wall. He crumbled to the floor in tears, sobbing openly.

"You think you're feeling alright enough to tell us what happened?" Brian asked.

“I guess” Bradley said trying to push himself up.

“Careful” Brian said.

“Don’t push yourself” Vicki said.

“I was on my way to study hall in the library” Bradley said.

“I saw Neilson in the hallway standing by his locker” he said groggily. He cleared his throat “He was looking for his cellphone, I guess he lost it or something so he wanted me to hold everything while he looked for it” Bradley said clearing his throat once more.

Vicki filled a cup with water and handed it to him “Here drink this” she said to him.

He took the cup from her and took a sip "I saw Damien come in at the end of the hallway, I saw the gun in his hand, it reflected off the hallway lights, I tried to get Neilson to leave and that's when he pulled the trigger" Bradley said grimacing in pain "I pushed Neilson down to the floor and when we got up he saw that I was bleeding, he and Nat dragged me into the girls’ bathroom" he said to them. "They stayed there with me the whole time" he said to them "Neilson broke out one of the windows and then Nat crawled through and ran for help" he said to them. "I don't think I've ever been that scared in my life...I really didn't think I would make it...Neilson and Nat saved me" he said to them.

There was a knock at the door, Vicki stood up and opened it.

“Hey” Neilson said coming into the room "How you feeling?" he asked.

"I'll live...I'm a badass remember?" Bradley asked winking.

“Neilson I’m glad you’re here, Bradley just told us what happened and we can't tell you how grateful we are" Vicki said to him.

“Yeah you did a good job, you should be proud of yourself” Brian said.

"We'll be back later" Vicki said as they left the room.

Neilson stood there in silence, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Where’s Nat?” Bradley asked.

“Uh at home” Neilson said “Her mom’s a little paranoid about her leaving the house right now” he said.

“I don’t blame her” Bradley said.

“She said she’ll be here to see you tomorrow” Neilson said.

“That’s fine” Bradley said shrugging "You okay?" Bradley asked.

Neilson smiled "You're the one who was shot and you're worried about me" he said.

"I can tell when you're all...you know...in a mood" Bradley said to him.

"I’m just thinking about what you said to me in the bathroom how that everything could've been worst if I were the one who was shot" Neilson said.

"Yeah?" Bradley asked.

"You pushed me out of the way" Neilson said to him.

"Yeah...? what are you getting at here?" Bradley asked "you're surprised your best friend would take a bullet for you?"

"Well yeah...I mean no... I mean...people say it but they don't actually do it" Neilson said to him.

"Dude come on, I mean you'd do the same thing for me...and then I would take care of you the same way you took care of me" Bradley said to him.

"I get the next one okay?" Neilson asked.

"I really hope there’s no next time" Bradley said to him.

“After all...I am the most important person in your life…” Neilson said smirking at him, Bradley rolled his eyes.

"See? This is why I don’t tell you things" he said.

"You love me and you know it" Neilson said playfully poking him.

Bradley grabbed his wrist "Keep poking me and I won't love you that much" he said letting his arm go. "You're my best friend, course I love you" Bradley said to him.

"Yeah... I love you too" Neilson said to him.


~*~


The ER doors swished open, Kevin came in looking around for a familiar face.

"Kev" AJ said coming towards him "You made it" he said as they hugged.

"Finally" Kevin said "Where's Kyle?" he asked.

"He's checking in on Harry, come on I'll take you to him".

Kyle still sat curled up on the floor outside Harry's room, his knees drawn up to his chest, weeping. They came around the corner and found him on the floor.

"Kyle" Kevin said, Kyle looked over to see his dad standing there.

"Dad" he whimpered running towards him and latching onto him, sobbing into his shoulder.

"It's okay...it's okay...you're alright" Kevin said trying to soothe him.

Kellie held Kyle closely, cradling his head against her chest, running her fingers through his hair, tears still fell down his cheeks, he sniffled.

"Here" Kevin said handing him a cup of water, Kellie let go of him and he took a drink.

“Damien was right…this is all my fault” Kyle said.

“What are you talking about? Did you tell Damien to do this?" Kevin asked.

"No" Kyle said.

"Did you give him the gun?" Kevin asked.

"No but..." Kyle said.

"No buts! This is not your fault" Kevin said.

"Yes it is..." Kyle whimpered.

"No! Kyle Michael...you look at me" Kevin said holding Kyle's head up, looking into his watery eyes "This is not your fault" he said. "No... no... unless you put the idea in Damien's head or gave him the gun this is not your fault” he said.

“Tell that to Harry” Kyle said “Or Bradley J. for that matter” he said "Damien wouldn't have even done this if it weren't for me" he said sadly.


~*~


Neilson stood in front of a soda machine, slipping quarters into the change slot.

“Hey” Adam said approaching him.

“Hey” Neilson said "Where've you been? Where’s your shirt?" he asked as the machine dropped the soda down into the opening.

"Oh, funny story, you’re gonna love this, Kyle and I were taken hostage by Damien" he said to them "And then when he got bored with that, he shot Harry" Adam said to him.

"What?!" Neilson asked.

“Oh yeah” Adam said “Fun stuff!” he said “Anyways while Damien was bitching and moaning about his sad life, he told us about Bradley, how is he?” Adam asked.

“He’ll be okay, he just woke up” Neilson said.

Adam nodded “Where’s Nat?” he asked looking around.

“Home, her mom’s all freaked out” Neilson said “God, he shot Harry too?” he asked.

“Yeah, not just him but Mr. Burns and coach Reinhart were hit too” Adam said.

“Harry alright?” Neilson asked.

"Yeah he'll be fine" Adam said.

"Is Kyle okay?" Neilson asked.

"Yeah...just a little shook up, he and Damien got into a fight over the gun…what about you, you alright?" Adam asked.

“Oh yeah…basically had to watch my best friend almost bleed to death, that’s always fun, what happened to Damien?" Neilson asked.

"Cops took him away, he’s in jail as we speak ” Adam said.

“Too bad we don’t have any inside connections so we could make him someone’s bitch” Neilson said.

“Exactly what I was thinking” Adam said.


~*~


Brian sat in a large, over-sized chair by Bradley’s bedside, Bradley was sound asleep, the door opened and Vicki came in.

“Hey” she said quietly.

“Hey” he said.

“Well I am officially off the clock so I am free to hover” she said going to Bradley’s side.

“The nurse just gave him his pain medication I think he’s out for the night” he said.

“I think so” Vicki said softly kissing Bradley’s forehead and stroking his cheek.

"So...this has been an exciting day for all of us huh?" he asked.

"Hasn't been the best" Vicki said standing by the chair.

“You know I can stay here with him tonight, you can head home and get some sleep” he said to her.

“No, no I cannot go home, I’m just going to stay awake worrying about him” she said.

“Well as long as you’re staying…you mind keeping me company?” he asked holding his hand out to her, she smiled, accepting his hand as he pulled her down, she curled up next to him.


~*~


Harry lay in his bed sleeping peacefully, the monitors beeping loudly, the door opened and Kyle stepped in. Harry turned his head, peering up at Kyle.

"Uncle Kev?" he asked.

"Kyle" he said to him.

"Oh hey" he said "Where am I?" he asked.

"Hospital...how do you feel?"

"Not good...what happened?" he asked.

"You don't remember?" Kyle asked.

"I remember being at school...and my mom called, I remember running down the steps and I could hear someone yelling...it was you."

"Yeah it probably was...Harry you were shot" Kyle said to him, Harry looked up at him confused.

"What? Seriously?" he asked.

"Yeah...by Damien" Kyle said.

"What?" he asked.

"Damien shot you."

"I knew he didn't like me but did he really have to shoot me?" Harry asked "Wait a minute...this doesn't make any sense...why were you there?" he asked.

"I was a hostage" he said.

"Hostage?"

"Yeah...Adam got himself there too because he didn't want me alone with Damien" Harry looked around the room befuddled "This is all just..." he said.

"I know" Kyle said to him "You weren't the only one who was shot either."

"Who else?"

"Coach...Mr. Burns...Bradley J."

"What?! he shot Bradley?" he asked "Is he okay?"

"Yeah he's fine, Nat and Neilson took care of him the whole time."

"I don't get this how did this happen?"

"It's my fault" Kyle said to him.

"How is it your fault?"

"He did all of this because of me...I took something from him that was obviously very important to him and... he snapped" Kyle said.

"Hardly your fault...Damien was always a bit unhinged...besides you saw him today at lunch he was out of his mind."

"Still, do you think any of this would've happened it if weren't for me?" Kyle asked "Think about it, if Jared or Gavin won do you really think Damien would've lost it like he did?" Kyle asked.

"I don't know...but you shouldn't be blaming yourself."

"I'm not so sure about that" he said.


~*~


"You're not going to believe this" Kellie said hanging up her cell phone "that was the DA, Damien's lawyered up, they're going for an insanity defense" she said to Kevin.

"So what does that mean?" he asked.

"It means they're going to have a competency hearing to see if he's fit to stand trial and if they find any reason he’s mentally incompetent he won’t be convicted” she said “And if he is and pleads not guilty we’ll have to go to trial” she said.

"That means putting Kyle up on the stand making him relive this whole nightmare" Kevin said.

"Kyle, Nat, the other boys they would all have to testify not to mention all of the other witnesses and the other victims" she said to him.

"Can he really do this?" he asked.

"Unfortunately he can” Kellie said to him “Ian is going to try his hardest to keep this out of court but that this point, it might just happen" Kellie said to him.

"This just keeps getting better" Kevin said.

"Excuse me" someone said coming into the waiting room.

"Yes?" Kellie asked seeing a man enter the room with a briefcase “Garrett” she said.

“Kellie Mitchell, good to see you again” Garrett said.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m here on behalf of my client, Damien Winchester” he said.

“You’re representing Damien?” Kellie asked.

“Damien’s father has been a close friend and loyal client of mine for many years” he said.

“Sorry about that Garrett” Derek said entering the room
“ah, you must be Kyle's parents, Derek Winchester, Damien’s father" he said extending his hand, Kevin shook it reluctantly.

“We were hoping to speak with Howard Dorough and Brian Littrell?" he asked, they looked at each other.

“Well I’m afraid that’s not possible” Kevin said “They’re with their boys right now I won’t have you disturbing them” he said “So you'll have to deal with me" he said.

“Mr. Richardson with all due respect…our business here really just involves Mr. Dorough and Mr. Littrell.”

“Well with all due respect to you Mr. Winchester and your attorney here as I told you before they’re not available to speak with you” Kevin said irritated “They’re right where they’re supposed to be, at their boys’ bedsides, they were shot… and your son Mr. Winchester, is the one who shot them so you can understand why I’m not going to pull them away for this” he said sternly.

“I second that” Kellie said.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were acting on their behalf” Garrett said to her.

“You didn’t really ask did you?” Kellie asked.

“Alright…Mr. Winchester was hoping to reach an agreement with the victims and their families” Garrett said.

"And that would be?" Kevin asked.

"Look obviously my son is a very disturbed boy, he's sick, he does not belong in prison, he belongs in a facility where they can help him heal" Derek said to him.

Kyle stood in the doorway listening “What’s going on?” he asked.

“It’s okay sweetie, I’ve got this” Kellie said to him.

"Mr. Winchester" Kyle said.

"Hello Kyle” he said “Good to see you again” he said.

“Yeah wish I could say the same” Kyle said looking at him suspiciously “What are you doing here?” Kyle asked.

“That was my question” Kellie said.

“Well like I was telling your parents here, I'm prepared to make a very generous offer for the sake of my son's health" he said to them "My son has severe psychological problems and he needs professional medical help...he's not going to get that in jail". "And I'm sure Kyle can agree that he wouldn't want to feel responsible should anything happen to Damien in jail" Kyle looked at him incredulously.

“Garrett would you please explain to your client that suggesting is classified as bribery and extortion...which last time I checked were both illegal" Kellie said to him.

“Nice try Kellie but I’m not representing Mr. Winchester, just his son” Garrett said to her.

"Do you really understand the magnitude of what has happened today?" Kevin asked him.

"What happened today is a great tragedy, I can't speak for my son but he knows what he's done was wrong and he is ready to atone for it...but incarceration isn't the answer" Derek said.

"The hell it's not" Kyle said to him "He threatened to kill me, he held me at gunpoint, he shot two of my friends, he almost hit a third and he took Adam hostage!” Kyle said.

“I think you should leave” Kevin said “Now” he said “Or do I have to get security?” he asked.

“That’s not necessary, let’s go” Garrett said to Derek.

"Ian? hey it's Kellie Mitchell, listen I just had a very interesting encounter with Derek Winchester..." she said on the phone.

Damien lied on a small cot inside of a jail cell.

"Winchester" one of the guards said to him "You got a visitor" he said opening the cell door.

Kyle sat in the dingy room, sitting in a hard metal chair, a fluorescent light buzzing above him, the door across from him opened and Damien shuffled inside, the chains attached to his feet rattling against the floor. Damien chuckled to himself, he sat down across from Kyle, the guard securing his cuffs to the table.

“You know you’re about the last person I expected to see” Damien said to him “So what do I owe the pleasure?” Damien asked.

“Enjoying lock up?” Kyle asked.

“Oh yes, so much fun” Damien said “As you can plainly see” Damien said to him.

“Well they say orange is the new black…it’s a good color on you” Kyle said to him.

“The fabric’s a little to be desired” Damien said to him.

“Yeah well I’d get used to the polyester if were you”
Kyle said grinning wickedly at him.

“See something you like?” Damien asked tauntingly.

“Sorry…I’m just…trying to burn the image of you in handcuffs shackled to a table into my brain” Kyle said.

“Didn’t know you were into that sort of thing” Damien said “Obviously I need to talk to the guards about approved visitors” he said "How about you save us both a lot of time and just tell me why you’re here and what you want?” Damien asked.

“Oh just seeing you here like this is enough for me” Kyle said to him.

“Aw…that’s not very nice Kyle…I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’m kinda having a tough time right now” Damien said.

“You’re having a tough time?!” Kyle asked “what about Bradley J.? or Harry for that matter?!” he asked.

Damien rolled his eyes “oh what about them? They’re alive, aren’t they?” Damien asked.

"No thanks to you” Kyle said irritated.

“Oh please” Damien moaned.

“I saw it on the news, they’re home from the hospital, they’re fine” he said irritated.

“Barely!” Kyle said.

“Contrary to what you may think of me, I’m not heartless…I’m glad they’re going to be okay” Damien said.

“Only because it saves you from a double murder charge and a life sentence” Kyle said.

“So cynical” Damien said “You are right though, I’ll be damned if I end up on death row because of those two” Damien said.

“Why did you do this? Just tell me, why? Oh and the truth would be greatly appreciated” Kyle said to him.

Damien chuckled “Here's the thing Kyle, I don't have to like everyone...and that just kills you doesn't it?" Damien asked. "That somewhere in this vast universe there could exist a single entity that holds just a tiny bit of contempt for you and your idiot friends".

“Your hatred for me is not just about football okay, you've been picking on me long before that even happened, it started way back in kindergarten".

“Oh my god not the jungle gym thing again, don't you ever get tired of bringing that up?!" Damien groaned in aggravation.

“Who knows maybe if we knew back then just how twisted you would turn out maybe someone could’ve helped you” Kyle said to him. "You will pay for what you did, you deserve to have your ass passed around that jail like Halloween candy" Kyle said to him. "See you in court" he said leaving.

"Can't wait" Damien said smiling as Kyle turned to leave the room.


~*~


Kevin straightened up Kyle's jacket, Kyle took a deep breath "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah...I'm just nervous that's all" Kyle said to him as he fixed his tie.

"You have nothing to be nervous about, just get up there and tell the truth" Kevin said.

"Yeah I know" Kyle said to him.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm going to be up there with Ian the whole time" Kellie said to him.

He looked over to see Damien enter the courtroom with his parents, camera flashes and people shouting radiated from outside. Damien and his parents passed by Kyle, Damien grinning wickedly as they went into the courtroom.

“Well good morning everyone” Garrett said to Kellie as he stopped in front of them, a briefcase in his hand.

“Garrett” Kellie sighed “I would say it’s good to see but…it never is” she said.

“Ooh ouch, well tell your buddy Ian good luck in there, he’ll need it” Garrett said walking away.

“Man that guy is a dick” Kyle said.

“Most lawyers are” Kevin said, Kellie shot him a glare.

“I said MOST” he said to her.

"Come on" she said, they went into the courtroom.


Bradley pulled at the knot in his tie, loosening it.

"Honey, come on" Vicki said fixing it for him.

"Sorry I just hate these things, nothing good ever happens when I have to wear a tie" Bradley said to her. his arm was in a sling, his jacket draped over one shoulder while his other arm was safely inside the sleeve.

Neilson, standing by Bradley’s side, looked over and saw Damien enter the courtroom "Oh here we go” he said.

"What?" Bradley asked, he nodded towards Damien.

"Well well look who's here" he said stopping in front of Bradley "Good to see you up and about Littrell" Damien said to Bradley, he glared daggers at him “How’s the arm?” he asked.

Bradley scoffed and shook his head “You really are a magnificent bastard” he said.

“Hey, Carter major props to this guy huh? Pushing you out of the way like that? now that's what I call a best friend” Damien said as Neilson glared at him.

“So Damien how was lock up? Meet any new friends?” Neilson asked.

"Yeah I'd be careful if I were you Damien, you know what they do to pretty boys in prison" Bradley said to him.

Heels clicked on the courtroom floor as Natalie came into the room, she cautiously approached Neilson "Hey" she said to him.

"Hey" he said to her as they quickly kissed each other.

"Hey Nat, good to see you again" Damien said to her.

"Don't talk to me" she said to him.

"I don't think we've seen each other since you bitch slapped me in the cafeteria" Damien said to her.

"You know what, after humiliating me in front of the whole school and almost killing Bradley you're lucky I don't kick your ass!" she said angrily.

"Ooh!" Damien said chuckling "Geeze Littrell, you going to let a girl fight your battles for you?"

"Well...because of you I only have one arm so...yeah” Bradley said “I wouldn't underestimate her, she's pretty scrappy" Bradley said to him "I'd keep the heels on though, they might come in handy" he said.

"Damien" his lawyer said directing him to the table.

"Jail isn't good enough for him" Neilson said to Bradley.

"Tell me about it, hell would be better" Bradley said to him.

Harry slowly made his way into the courtroom, his parents by his side as he took baby steps.

“Hey, you alright?” Kyle asked him.

“I think so, just as long as I don’t make any sudden movements” he said.

“Adam” Kyle said nodding to him, he got up and they helped Harry into a seat.

"How you doing Harry?" Natalie asked as he sat down slowly.

"Still in a lot of pain" he said grimacing.

"Yeah me too...talking to Satan over there only made it worst" Bradley said.

"Shouldn't he be strapped to a dolly with a mask on his face?" Adam asked Kyle.

Damien waved at them all innocently.

"Are you allowed to flip someone off in a courtroom?" Adam asked Kyle.

"No" Kyle said to him.

"Damn it" Adam said to himself.

A man in a suit came into the courtroom "Ian, hey" Kellie said to him.

"Hey Kel, hey guys" he said to the boys "You guys ready?" he asked.

"I think so" Kyle said to him.

"All rise, the honorable Judge Buchanan presiding" the bailiff said as the judge came into the courtroom and took a seat in his podium.

"You may be seated” he said as they all sat back down in their seats.

“Good morning everyone, let’s start by hearing opening statements, DA Deckler, you may proceed” he said.

“Thank you, your honor” Ian said standing up from the table “Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the jury” he said “I want to thank you all for being here today…I think we all can recall the feeling of disappointment after a loss” Ian said.“We all know the feeling, that excitement of a win, the hopefulness that comes along with it and then the crushing blow of defeat when it doesn’t happen” Ian said. “It’s disheartening yes, but eventually you move on and forget about it…Damien Winchester did just the opposite” Ian said. “On March 24, 2009 Damien lost the coveted MVP Sports Award of his high school and instead of taking his loss with dignity and acting like a mature human being he lashed out” Ian said. “The term sore loser is an understatement in this case…he thought the only way to get through it was with violence and it almost cost 4 people…2 educators and 2 exceptional young men their lives” Ian said. “Not to mention the emotional trauma he caused a community, Damien was acting out of selfishness and greed and you’ll see today just why he needs to pay for his crime, thank you” Ian said sitting down.

“Mr. Benson” Judge Buchanan said nodding towards Garrett.

Garrett stood up from the table and buttoned his jacket “Thank you, your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how many of you remember high school?” he asked. “My memories are a little fuzzy as well, while some of us remember the fun things…the dances, the football games, parties, friends…we forget the bad…I think we can all agree that times have changed since our own high school experiences, but one thing that hasn’t…the pressure” he said. “The pressure from our friends, our teachers and especially our families” he said “Damien Winchester was acting out of the fear of not getting his father’s approval and cracked under the severe pressure and impossible standards set by his father” Garrett said. “The pressure to be the best was too much for him, prison is not the answer…Damien needs help and hopefully you will all see to it that he gets it, thank you” Garrett said sitting down.

“Oh geeze” Adam groaned, rolling his eyes, Kyle nudged him in the arm and shushed him.

"Mr. Benson please call your first witness"

"Your honor I call Kyle Richardson to the stand" Garrett said.

"Do you swear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?" the bailiff asked, Kyle holding his right hand in the air and his left on a thick black bible.

"I do" he said.

"You may be seated" the judge said Kyle, Garrett, Damien's lawyer, got up from the table and buttoned his jacket.

"Kyle, how long have you known my client?" he asked.

"Eleven years" Kyle said to him.

"How would you describe your relationship with Damien?" Garrett asked pacing back and forth in front of Kyle.

"He tried to kill me I think that says it all" Kyle said to him.

"So...less than favorable you would say?" Garrett asked leaning against the witness box.

"If you want to put it that way, sure" Kyle said to him.

"Kyle describe to me what occurred on the morning of the shooting" Garrett said to him.

"There was a mandatory assembly at school, it was the annual awards ceremony" Kyle said to him.

"What awards were being presented during assembly?" Garrett asked.

"Uh...there were some academic awards and the MVP award"

"The coveted MVP award has been a part of the Hilridge High School football team ever since the school opened in 1945" he said to the court, walking across the room to the jury "Kyle, who was nominated for this award?"

"Damien and myself" Kyle said.

"And what are the qualifications for this award?" Garrett asked.

"Uh...sportsmanship, playing ability...stuff like that" Kyle said.

"And you won?" Garrett asked passing by Kyle once more.

"I did" Kyle said "Damien obviously did not take it very well" Kyle said.

"How do you mean?" Garrett asked.

"As I was approaching the stage he pushed past me and stormed out of the auditorium" Kyle said.

“What happened after the assembly was over?” Garrett asked standing in front of the table Damien sat at.

“Damien and I are in first period together so, to make things less awkward between us, I offered up a truce” Kyle said.

“A truce?” Garrett asked surprised.

“Yes, I just wanted all the bad blood between us to be over” Kyle said.

“And what was his response?” Garrett asked, his hands pushed inside his pants pockets.

“He stormed out, I didn’t see him again until lunch when he showed up to the cafeteria drunk” Kyle said.

“Yes, now during your confrontation with Damien in the cafeteria did you not tell him he was a ‘self-entitled, arrogant son of a bitch’?” Garrett asked.

“Objection” Ian called out.

“Overruled, you may answer the question” Judge Buchanan bellowed.

“Yeah…I did” Kyle said.

“There a reason or did you just feel like rubbing salt in the wound?” Garrett asked.

“Objection!” Ian called once again.

“Sustained” Judge Buchanan said.

“You say in your statement that Damien threatened you correct?” Garrett asked.

“Yes” Kyle said “He did” he said.

“What exactly did he say?” Garrett asked approaching the witness box.

“He said ‘Just watch yourself, you’ll pay for this’” Kyle said.

“Okay…there was no threat of violence or bodily harm correct?” Garrett asked.

“No…” Kyle said.

“That statement could have mean any number of things” Garrett said.

“Objection your honor…is there a point to this line of questioning?” Ian asked.

“Sustained, move on counselor” Judge Buchanan said looking over his glasses at Garrett.

“That’s all your honor” Garrett said sitting down.

“Mr. Deckler?” Judge Buchanan asked, motioning for him to take the floor.

“Kyle, what happened later that day? After the scene in the cafeteria, when you heard the first gunshots?” Ian asked approaching the witness box.

“I was in my math class, Adam’s in the class with me and we heard this loud bang, we didn’t know what it was” Kyle said “we heard a few more and Adam identified them as being gun shots” Kyle said. “Our teacher told us to get under the desks while she went to see what happened” he said.

“What happened when Damien came into the room?” Ian asked.

“He yelled at me to get up, so I stood up and he told me I was going with him” Kyle said.

“Was he pointing the gun at you at this point?” Ian asked.

“Yes” Kyle said.

“Did you go with him?” Ian asked.

“Yeah and then Adam got up and volunteered to go with me” Kyle said.

“Kyle, tell me what happened in that classroom” Ian asked.

“Damien and I stared each other down for a few minutes, then he told me about shooting coach Reinhart and Mr. Burns and Bradley J.” Kyle said.

“Bradley Littrell?” Ian asked.

“Yes” Kyle said.

“Did he have any remorse?” Ian asked.

“No, he was bragging about it, he seemed proud” Kyle said.

“What happened next?” Ian asked.

“He shot out the lights in the classroom, I pushed Adam down to the floor and we huddled behind one of the lab stations” Kyle said. “I told Adam to stay down while I confronted Damien” Kyle said.

“Damien have anything to say at this point?” Ian asked.

“Objection your honor” Garrett said.

“I’ll allow it” Judge Buchanan said.

“He was just going on and on about everything that I had taken from him” Kyle said.

“What have you taken from him exactly?” Ian asked.

“Nothing or at least I thought so” Kyle said “I felt a glass beaker the was on the table behind me so I grabbed it, I was able to smash it over his head when Adam distracted him” Kyle said. “we fought over the gun and then I saw Harry come into the room” Kyle said.

“Harry Dorough?” Ian asked.

“Yes” Kyle said “The gun then went off and I saw Harry had been hit” Kyle said recounting his terrifying ordeal.

“How was Damien at this point?” Ian asked leaning against the witness box.

“He thought it was amusing” Kyle said glaring at Damien who looked at him with such hatred. “I was able to take him down and get the gun away from him at which point I knocked him out” Kyle said “Then I ran for help, got the paramedics and Damien was taken away” Kyle said.

“Thank you Kyle, no further questions” Ian said returning to his seat.

“Redirect your honor?” Garrett asked standing up.

“Kyle, before you knocked my client over the head with the gun do you remember what you told him?” Garrett asked.

“Uh…” Kyle stammered nervously.

“Defense evidence A and I quote: “As much as I would love to blow your head off, it wouldn't make me any better than you are, besides you'll get yours, when you're in prison and are being passed around like the bitch that you are, One can only hope’” Garrett read “Kyle, did you say this?” he asked.

“Well yeah but…” Kyle said nervously.

“So you wished bodily hard upon my client?” Garrett asked.

“He had just shot two of my friends” Kyle said “Not to mention he had been picking on us and bullying us for years I was angry” Kyle said.

“That wasn’t the only time you said something of that nature” Garrett said "Kyle your name was listed on the sign in sheet and the Hilridge PD."

"Yeah...I went to see Damien" Kyle said.

"So...if you guys don't get along as you say...why go see him?" Garrett asked.

"I just wanted answers that's all" Kyle said to him.

"Answers to what?" Garrett asked.

"Why he did what he did” Kyle said.

"Did you not tell my client that he quote 'deserved to have his ass passed around jail like Halloween candy'?" Garrett asked. Kyle closed his eyes "We're waiting" Garrett said to him.

"Yeah, I said that” Kyle said, defeated.

“Well no offense Kyle but this all makes you seem like the bully…doesn’t it?” Garrett asked.

“Your honor” Ian said.

“That’s enough counselor, you may step down” Judge Buchanan said to Kyle.

“Mr. Deckler call your next witness” Judge Buchanan said to Ian.

“The people call Bradley J. Littrell to the stand” Ian said as Bradley approached the witness box.

"Do you swear the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god?" the bailiff asked.

“I do” Bradley said sitting down.

"Bradley J. in your words can you tell us what happened to you?" Ian asked.

“I was on my way to study hall in the library, I saw Neilson in the hall by his locker” Bradley said.

"Neilson Carter?" Ian asked.

"The one and only" Bradley said.

“Continue, please” Ian said to him.

“Neilson thought he lost his cell phone so he pulled all of his books out of his locker to look for it, so he handed it all to me to hold” Bradley said. That's when I saw Damien come in at the end of the hallway". "I saw the gun in his hand, the metal reflected off of the lights in the hall, I tried to get Neilson to leave but he wouldn't go until he found his phone, Damien raised the gun in the air and fired, I pushed Neilson down to the floor and when we got up I saw that I had been hit" Bradley said.

“What happened after you were shot?" Ian asked.

"Neilson and Natalie pulled me into the girls' bathroom" he said "They were afraid Damien would spot us trying to escape and kill us" he said to him.

"How long were you in there?" Ian asked.

"I don't know, felt like forever...I didn't think I would make it out in time" Bradley said.

"Thank you Bradley, that's all your honor” Ian said sitting down.

“Your witness Mr. Benson” Judge Buchanan said to Garrett.

“Bradley what happened earlier that day? Before you were shot?” Garrett asked approaching the witness stand.

“Uh…nothing, I went to the assembly, all my classes like usual” Bradley said.

“You don’t remember laughing at my client after he lost to your friend Kyle?” Garrett asked.

“No, well yeah, I remember that…” Bradley said.

“And then you and Neilson Carter were involved in drawing a rather scathing caricature of my client" Garrett said.

"That wasn’t…that for Neilson's art class” Bradley said in defense.

“Also, if you and Mr. Carter were going to study-hall, why did he need his cell phone?” Garrett asked.

“That was my question” Bradley said.

“Bradley is it true that sometimes, not always you and Mr. Carter usually skip study hall?" Garrett asked leaning in close to him.

"Sometimes..." Bradley said to him "What does that have to do with anything?" Bradley asked.

"I could ask the same question" Ian said.

"Mr. Deckler, please voice your complaint in the form of an objection, Mr. Littrell watch your tone" the judge said to Bradley.

"Yeah, fine we ditch study hall from time to time" Bradley said rolling his eyes "Who hasn't?" he asked.

"Objection your honor, relevance? School attendance is not an issue here" Ian said to the judge.

"Did you ever think that maybe if you and Mr. Carter were in class where you were supposed to be you would be just fine right now?" Garrett asked.

"Objection your honor" Ian said to the judge.

“No further questions” Garrett said retreating back to his seat.

"Thank you Mr. Littrell, you may step down" the judge said to Bradley.


~*~


"Now Adam, you said that Damien came into the room where you and Kyle Richardson were during class...why did you get yourself sent with Kyle?" Garrett asked.

"Because, I didn't want him to go alone, I knew Damien would kill him if he did" Adam said as he sat on the stand.

"What makes you so sure?" Garrett asked.

"Because, I heard him say so myself earlier that day" Adam replied.

"Oh really? I believe all Damien said was ‘You’ll pay for this’ what exactly make you think he meant murder?” Garrett asked.

“Um…he came to school later with a gun…and shoved the barrel into Kyle’s chest, now I’m not exactly Einstein but…” Adam said.

“Alright, that’s enough” Garrett asked.

“You asked” Adam said to him, Ian began to snicker quietly to himself.

“You were witness to Harry Dorough’s shooting correct?” Garrett asked.

“Yes” Adam said.

“Now while Kyle was holding my client at gunpoint, what exactly you say to him?” Garrett asked.

“Oh you mean after Damien had spent the better portion of the day holding me at gunpoint?” Adam asked.

“Your honor” Garrett said to Judge Buchanan irritated.

“Mr. McLean answer the question and watch your tone” Judge Buchanan said to Adam.

“I don’t remember okay? I was too busy making sure Harry didn’t bleed to death” Adam said.

“You instructed Kyle to and I quote: ‘Blow his head off, end his miserable life’ is that not what you said?” he asked.

“I may have said something like that yes, I was angry okay he just shot one of my friends right in front of me, not to mention the guy’s been a complete jerk to us for years” Adam said “So yeah, I may have said something to that effect” he said.

“No further questions, your witness” Garrett said to Ian as he took his seat.

“Adam, after Harry had been shot, what did Damien do?” Ian asked.

“Started laughing, blew on the barrel of the gun and said ‘2 down, 3 to go’” Adam said.

“Objection your honor” Garrett said.

“Overruled” Judge Buchanan said to him.

“Do you think given the chance, Damien would’ve killed all of you?” Ian asked.

“Objection!” Garrett bellowed.

“sustained, Mr. Deckler you know better” Judge Buchanan said to Ian.

“Sorry your honor, no further questions” Ian said.