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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.