Aden's Fall

[baconbit]

Why didn't your next to chapters appear this weekend.

[Baby Jake]

“Chapter Twenty-Five, The Day That Changed Everything (Part I: Collateral Damage)”


“…what pictures?” I asked.

My heart sunk in my chest. Surely, he couldn’t have meant… the pictures from the 4th of July, a few months ago. No way – Brian wouldn’t be that mad, or stupid, right?

“Those pictures from when we slept in the club house, from the 4th” Brian began.

Oh yeah, he definitely meant those pictures.

“Brian, what about them?” I asked.

“I have a few of Seth from that night. I want to take one and hang it up or something” Brian said, before laughing.

“How funny would that be?” Brian said.

My eyes were wide with shock.

“Brian” I replied.

“You can’t do that – that is so not cool dude” I said with the utmost sincerity.

“Chill Aden” Brian said, suddenly cutting me off.

“Chill? CHILL?” I said.

“Yeah, chill! I’m going to cut off his face – it’s just gonna scare Seth a bit, that’s all” Brian said, as if that was supposed to calm me down or make me agree with his plan.

“…BRIAN” I yelled into the phone.

“What!?” Brian replied.

“YOU… CAN’T do that!” I yelled into the phone.

My veins were filled with fire, and I had goose bumps. Brian could NOT REALLY be serious about this!

“Yeah I can man! And I’m going to, okay? And you said –“

“I don’t care what I said! This is above and beyond funny or cool – Brian, you could seriously ruin Seth with this” I said.

I was panicking, and I couldn’t help it.

“…relax, Aden – I said, I’m going to take his face out of the picture. No one will know its Seth, okay? Only Seth himself – it’s just to scare him. He’s played around too long – and believe me Aden, he’s said too many mean things for me to just… SIT here, and let him do this!” Brian defended.

I shook my head, and began rubbing my face. My skin was tight and I was finding it harder and harder to breathe.

“…Brian, a lot of those pictures have pictures of ME, too! Okay? DON’T do it” I pleaded.

“Oh my God Aden, how many times do I need to tell you –“

“Just… shut up, Brian!” I replied.

“I’m hanging up now. I am not helping you do this” I finished…

That was it – I was not having a part in this. As a matter of fact, I was going to immediately warn Seth of this.

Seth was not exactly a friend of mine anymore. But he did nothing to deserve such a low move – NOTHING. This was something I had to stop.

“ADEN” I heard Brian yell into the phone, but I didn’t respond.

I hung the phone up, and threw it onto my bed. A few seconds passed, and then the phone began to ring – but I refused to answer it.

A few more minutes passed… and I just stood there, in the middle of my dimly lit room… and felt everything build up inside me. I felt anger and frustration just peak inside of me… and I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“NnnnnnnAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! WHAT THE HELLLL!?” I suddenly SCREAMED at the top of my lungs!

Next thing I realized, I walked up to the wall, and punched it as HARD as I could! I felt nothing, and fortunately for me, the wall didn’t break.

After a moment or two longer of rage, I grabbed my hair and just held my head.

This was all too much… all at once, to handle. Brian’s little charade and his stupidity… how could he sink this low?

I could not and would not let Brian humiliate Seth like this… it was something I couldn’t live with. For a moment, I thought about immediately calling Seth on the phone and warning him… but it was pretty late. I didn’t want to keep him up all night as angry as I was.

No, I would warn him tomorrow on the bus.

Maybe I could tell a teacher or warn someone, and hope they’d intervene and stop Brian? That seemed too elementary.

This was a dire situation indeed, and I needed to think of a plan.

---

I was desperate and tireless for a long while after that. I spent a while pacing back and forth in my room alone… just thinking about any way I could peacefully intervene, without causing an episode.

Brian really got under my skin with this. My hands were shaky, my skin felt tight, and my vision was bright and awkward. Everything seemed incredibly crisp and vivid. My heart was throbbing hard and fast…

It was hard to concentrate under these conditions… almost impossible, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

Fatigue from being up so long and fear were making my mind run wild and think stupid thoughts. I had no other option but to lay down and get some sleep – and that’s exactly what I did.

At first, it was difficult to get sleep. My mind was racing so much that I found myself tossing and turning for a little while before my fatigue inevitably put me out.

The next morning, though… there was no wasting time on my part. In the blink of an eye, I found myself being greeted by dim morning sunlight and my mom knocking on the door to wake me. I immediately jumped out of bed, and ran downstairs to breakfast.

I sat at the kitchen table, speechless, lost in thought as I quickly ate my food. My mind was somewhere else, and my mom took notice.

“Aden, how late were you up last night?” I heard her ask.

“You look like you got no sleep” she finished, chuckling a bit.

I smirked a bit, though it was kind of forced.

“I’m… fine. Just… got a lot of stuff to do in school today” I part-lied.

She nodded. I watched as she peaked out the window, and look through the blinds. It was real dark blue outside – a strange off-shade of navy or cerulean.

“Oof… it’s horrible outside” she said, leaving the kitchen.

Only a few moments later, I heard the TV turn on and the morning news blasting so that we both could hear it from the living room.

“It’s rain, rain, rain – all day long today folks!” I heard the weatherman say.

“We’re going to see rain probably for the next few days, possible thunderstorms” he continued.

I just ate my cereal… I didn’t really care for the weather. I overheard more numbers, about how the temperature was going to decline and get chillier and chillier throughout the week.

“Thank you Julie – Now back to local coverage, it has been almost six months since the tragic and mysterious disappearance of two local boys. Thirteen year old Jared –“

Suddenly the sound died.

“Well, guess it’s gonna be raining for a while. All week” I heard her say.

I just shrugged, and finished my food…

---

The sunny, cheerful, warm weekend had passed, and this morning was bitter cold, gloomy, and rainy. It seemed almost cliché, how such a dire situation was accompanied with such ugly weather.

Wind was gusting, hitting my face like an ice cold smack in the face, and rain was pouring down onto me which only added insult to injury. The rain, though, was at least not a downpour – just a moderate nuisance. Everything was covered in a navy blue tint, and the sky looked more like a gray ceiling. It was all very claustrophobic.

Despite all of the terrible weather, I was unfazed. To most, this weather would probably be the highlight of their morning – the one big thing that they had to worry about. To me though… it simply added to the electrifying tension I had built up in me. I was filled with anxiety and determination, and I walked to my bus stop like I was on a mission.

And I suppose you could say I was. I was on a mission for someone I kind of hated, against a close friend. It was odd – but Brian simply was going too far, and Seth was oblivious to it.

The problem here was that I actually COULD see believe Brian would actually do something this stupid… that’s what kind of scared me the most. Not to mention that I was in some of those pictures, and I sure as hell didn’t want them being distributed around like propaganda.

I simply gritted my teeth, and hurried my way to the bus stop… where I found him, and all of the other, mostly younger, kids at the bus stop.

“Seth!” I kind of yelled because of the noise from the rain and passing cars.

Seth looked over at me, with a confused and even somewhat defensive expression, and he didn’t say anything.

“Seth, I have something I need to tell you” I finished.

I felt kind of short of breath. None of the other kids at the stop paid any attention to me, as I tried to get Seth to listen.

“…about what?” Seth asked.

“Brian –” I started.

“Save it” he finished, cutting me off. He sighed, looked away, and twisted his hat to the side a bit, as if gaining his composure.

Suddenly, the unmistakable sound of the bus’s diesel engine came rumbling up beside us, and Seth immediately got on. I quickly followed, even cutting off one or two other kids to get closer to Seth.

He hastily walked ahead of me, obviously trying to get away from me.

“SETH!” I yelled, over the loud sound of other kids talking.

He ignored me.

Shifted past kids and through the narrow aisle, Seth suddenly sat down next to some random kid – the first available seat.

“Hey! This isn’t your seat!” the kid, a young looking middle schooler, yelled.

“Do something about it!” Seth boldly replied.

The kid looked at him, and just looked out the window, away from him – obviously freaked out by Seth’s challenge.

I didn’t care that he didn’t sit with me, so I simply stood next to Seth, consequently blocking off everyone behind me trying to get to the back of the bus.

“Seth, listen to me!” I desperately said.

He looked up at me with an extraordinarily annoyed expression, though he said nothing.

“Get the hell out of the way man!” I heard, and suddenly I was pushed hard.

I stumbled forward, away from Seth. I managed to catch myself and not fall on my face, though I had to fall into a random seat to keep my composure. It wasn’t too far from Seth, but I was sitting in a seat I normally didn’t. Looking over, I saw some random kid that I didn’t know.

“Idiot” I heard from some random jock-sounding kid.

“I know right?” I replied, trying my best to laugh off that I was just shoved onto my ass.

I sighed, and look over.

“Yo man… can’t sit here” I heard the kid next to me say.

I looked around – my heart was racing. I needed to tell Seth as soon as possible, and I didn’t have any of his classes (and I didn’t know where any of his were). This was my one big chance to warn him! This seat I was in was close enough to talk to Seth, even if he didn’t want to hear me.

I thought fast… and I did my best to imitate Seth. After all… this kid next to me wasn’t exactly big, either!

“Do somethin’ about it!” I yelled at the kid.

It was… really weird. I did my best to be intimidating. My voice was kind of whiny… and my face probably looked pretty silly. I wasn’t the most thuggish person in the world.

…but it didn’t exactly work.

The kid looked at me, started laughing, and then shoved my hard out of the seat by my face. I was a ragdoll today, it seemed.

I couldn’t give up, though. I was stuck sitting in the back of the bus by now, unfortunately. I was far from Seth and couldn’t get his attention anymore. I didn’t dare try to start an episode or get up from my seat once the bus started moving. The last thing I wanted to do was annoy every person on the bus more than I already had.

---

It was the longest bus ride to school of my life. I did my best to contain myself… and I was doing an alright job doing so. I didn’t actually need Seth to help me… but he should know about this. He’d be able to do something about it better than just I would.

There was also a part of me that wanted Seth to know how nice I was being. It was maybe a bit selfish… but I feel I deserved some credit.

Inevitably, the bus came to its destination, and every last one of us ran out of the bus and into the school – mostly to avoid getting wet from the pouring rain. I, however, was running to catch up with Seth before he disappeared.

“Seth! Wait, I NEED to tell you something! It’s important!” I yelled.

At first he was hard to spot in the dense crowd of students entering the school – but his hat, backpack, and most obvious, his now hasty walk, was impossible to miss.

“SETH!” I yelled again. I was yelling as loud as I could.

Of course, with all of the kids around me being loud, it wasn’t out of place. I simply sounded like an excited friend, not a desperate one. That same roar of kids’ voices, young and older, was drowning out my calls. More likely though, I was positive Seth was simply ignoring me.

I didn’t need to waste my breath anymore, and so – I charged up behind him as he turned down one of the halls. I bumped into one or two kids, who mostly ignored me or told me to settle down. I couldn’t settle down though, my heart was racing way too fast… way too intense.

The second I got within arm’s reach of Seth’s backpack, I grabbed hold of it, and held Seth back.

“Seth!” I yelled, tugging him back.

It was at that very moment, in an instant – the unexpected happened. Seth, quickly spun himself around – and grabbed my shirt, and slammed my back hard against a locker.

“ADEN!” he SCREAMED!

“LEAVE ME ALONE. YOU ARE ANNOYING!” he screamed at me.

“I DO NOT LIKE YOU. GO THE HELL AWAY” he finished.

Holding onto my shoulders, he pulled me an inch or two away from the lockers, only to slam me back onto them. I personally was way too shocked to react – I couldn’t move because this happened too fast.

“S-Seth, get off me!” I yelled.

“No Aden, you listen to me!” he yelled at me.

I stared at him, in shock as he kept me pinned against the lockers with both of his hands against my shoulders.

“Leave me alone! You are SO GOD DAMN annoying to me lately, I can’t even explain it! I’ve been hiding it for too long, I can’t handle it anymore! Stop talking to me, I don’t want to be your friend anymore! Okay?! I don’t want to hear about YOU or BRIAN or DANIEL, okay? Go have your little sleepovers, and do whatever gay shit you want, just KEEP MY NAME OUT YOUR MOUTH” Seth yelled at me.

I stared at him blankly, as all the words registered in my head.

“…w-what?” I replied.

He looked at me dead in the eye, and sighed.

“Look Aden, I’m sorry… I just… don’t think we should be friends anymore, okay?” he said to me. It sounded a bit better than how he’d say it to Brian… but this was unexpected.

We looked at each other, eye-to-eye, and there was a moment here as he pressed me against the lockers that I finally felt some emotion.

“But… why, Seth? What did I ever do to you?” I asked.

He shook his head, and it looked like he was thinking for a moment.

“I… just… don’t think it’s a good idea” he said.

There wasn’t any anger in his voice anymore… which meant he was saying it sincerely. It was as if the truth was finally coming out. I stared at him, and gritted my teeth, chuckling once out of disbelief.

…but as fast as it happened, that was as fast as it ended, too. Before I knew what happened, he was already walking away from me – and one or two jocks were giggling at me as I had obviously just gotten manhandled.

Time slowed down at that point, from the aftershock. As older high schoolers simply giggled at me and walked past, I felt myself dazed and like I was blushing… Seth might as well as punched me in the face with the amount of rage he showed. And sure, I knew I was annoying Seth… but to hear it actually being said was quite a thing to hear.

I was now wondering if this was about the fact that I mentioned Brian, or not. Maybe Seth just really didn’t like me anymore. This was exactly the behavior he had shown Brian, and now me… and it did kind of hurt.

Slack-jawed, I looked over at Seth’s back. I felt anger and hurt boil inside me for a moment.

I took a breath in – just one angry breath.

“You remember that party, Seth? On the 4th of July?” I started. I yelled it as loud as I could, but with a calm yet disturbed tone.

I tried my best to be as obvious to him, but not blatant to everyone else – by speaking cryptically. Of course the 4th of July wasn’t a party.

I saw him stop in his tracks.

“If you lost those pictures I hear Brian can help you out. He was thinking about bringing them in today” I yelled.

Of course Seth didn’t call me. It happened by coincidence – but I had to sound like it was some drinking party or something so all of the other students would just keep walking. Sure, I could yell out about diapers, and exactly what Seth did that night. But I chose not to… at least… I was trying hard not to.

Seth spun around immediately, and faced me. He had a strange, confused, and mostly shocked face… one of sheer disbelief.

“What are you talking about?” he asked.

I shrugged.

“I don’t know man. I gotta go though… I don’t want to get too annoying” I finished.

There was a ball of rage inside me… it was so hot, it felt as if I was going to burst into flames right there in that hallway. I looked Seth dead in the eye at that moment, and he looked back at me with a very sincere and confused face.

“No, Aden, what are you talking about?” he asked, walking close to me.

Now magically Seth wasn’t so annoyed by my mere presence, but after the way he was acting toward me… I didn’t give a damn.

“Well, Seth… I WAS trying to just let you know about that. Figured you’d like to know. I don’t want to be annoying to you anymore… so… Seth, you can just go to hell for all I care” I said, beginning to turn away.

“Aden, wait!” he yelled.

Suddenly, it was he who sounded a tad bit scared and desperate, and it was I who was doing the ignoring. How the tables have turned.

I felt him grab my shoulder, and try to spin me to face him.

“Get the hell away from me!” I said to him under my breath, gritting my teeth.

Unlike Seth though, I had self-restraint and didn’t need to push or shove him to prove my sincerity.

“What are you saying, though? Aden, what are you telling me?” I heard him ask.

“SETH! Quit chatting with your friend and get in here now, or I’m marking you late!” we both heard a teacher yell – but neither of us acknowledged them.

We just stared at each other.

“Don’t talk to me anymore” I said, looking at him dead in the eye.

Seth didn’t respond.

I walked away from him after that, and proceeded down the hall. The world seemed to move a bit slower as the hurt settled in, and as the emotion took its toll. Seth called my name a few times, but he didn’t follow – he couldn’t, not with the teacher calling his name from down the hall.

I simply roamed down the hall, away from him, and began venturing towards my next class. Seth and I were finished, forever.

To some, Seth’s comments may have seemed acceptable, or not even all that hurtful. But the fact of the matter is, I personally got sick and tired of the way he was treating everyone. I never did anything to Seth – I only tried being his friend. Whatever his problem was… I didn’t care. I didn’t need to know anymore… not with this.

Seth’s well-being, now, was no longer my concern. My concern now was my own.

Brian, wherever he was in this giant school, had who-knows how many pictures that possibly had me in them too. I could possibly be collateral damage in Brian’s little prank here, and I was not willing to let that happen.

I walked down the hallway, in the opposite direction of Seth, in what felt like slow motion. Everything seemed to look different… the colors were a bit brighter, maybe. The shimmering, empty hallway was almost painful to look down.

Emotionally, I felt different; distant. As I took those steps down the hallway, which stretched so, so far… I felt all of my emotions build inside of me. My anger from Seth humiliating me, and just the way he was now in general… sadness, from him confirming that he really didn’t want to be my friend anymore at all. My feelings were hurt, and every step I took toward my classroom, I felt something inside of me sinking, somehow.

I swallowed hard… my fingers felt buzzy. It felt all completely natural, though… completely normal for my feelings being hurt. I needed a moment to think, though.

I approached my classroom, and stared in the window. The kids were already sitting in their desks, and I was a few minutes late. I thought long and hard about the decision I was about to make. Would it be a good idea to go in? I shook my head… No, this was too important.

I took in a deep breath, and walked away from the door – away from the class.

What was I going to do about Brian? I didn’t know where the kid was, or what he was planning, exactly. I just knew one thing: I had to find Brian now, and it was up to me.

I could care less about Seth anymore – I was doing this for myself, now.

[Baby Jake]

“Chapter Twenty-Five, The Day That Changed Everything (Part II: Panic Attack)”


My heart was racing as I skipped my first class, ever.

At first, I didn’t really know what to do. Nervous, I checked over my shoulder often. I tried my best to seem inconspicuous, but somehow I figured I was doing a bad job. I did just act natural, the best I could anyway.

I didn’t even know what I was really going to do. How could I find Brian in this massive high school? That was a question I couldn’t really answer. I suppose the only thing I could do was peak into class rooms, and hope to see Brian. Then, whenever the period ended, I could confront him and tell him how stupid of an idea this was.

That was all I could do now… the adrenaline was gushing in my veins so hard – it made me think strange things. It was like I was acting on impulse, and not by logic. Panicked thoughts were bouncing around in my head, and each action had little reason behind them.

Sure, I could go to a teacher… but I didn’t want to be a snitch. I wanted to take care of this on my own… though, going to an administrator was definitely last on my list.

The thing with telling any kind of teacher or administrator was that if I told them, then Brian’s parents would probably get called. Of course the pictures of us in diapers would be given to his parents, and once they saw that, who knows what would happen? This I absolutely did not want.

For the next several minutes I found myself bouncing from door to door – looking in through the window on each and quickly scanning the faces of students, careful not to get seen by a teacher.

But it wasn’t working.

Each class I looked in, Brian or Daniel was nowhere to be found, and with each disappointment, I began to move faster, and sloppier.

I wandered the massive school for what felt like forever. A few floors, and countless classrooms – he could’ve been anywhere.

---

It felt like forever that I was wandering the school’s halls. It was a giant gleaming linoleum-floored maze. However, even though Brian was nowhere to be found as I peaked in random classroom windows, I must admit, it did help me learn my way around the school. I guess that was the optimistic thing to think.

I wasn’t alone in the hallways, either. Every once in a while I’d see a kid walking, either late to class, skipping class like me, or going to the bathroom – I couldn’t tell. Occasionally there’d be a teacher or someone who looked important, who stared at me suspiciously, but didn’t question me.

Maybe I was doing a good job carrying myself.

I had it all figured out, really. I’d just say I was going to the bathroom – problem solved. Or maybe that I was going to my locker to get a book I so stupidly forgot to bring to class. I could even say I was going to the nurse. Or, if I wanted to be honest, I could say I was looking for help – which was kind of true.

I grew exhausted though. As I climbed up one of the flights of stairs, I found myself short of breath, and becoming less and less motivated for this manhunt. I weakly opened the doors out of the stairs, and found myself at the end of yet another brightly lit hallway.

I shook my head… my drive was low… I was giving up my search, as I realized how silly this was… and how I probably had just gotten myself into more trouble now that I had skipped class for nothing.

I was at the very end of the hall, and next to me on the wall was a huge window overlooking a large-sized football field off in the distance. Of course, there was no one playing football today – not with the rain that was now pouring buckets over everything.

The rain had increased over time, I noted. Rather than it getting brighter like it normally would, from the sun rising, it actually seemed like it got a bit darker and bleaker outside thanks to the dense rain clouds overhead.

I sighed… this was hopeless.

Here I was, tired and out of breath from power walking through the entire school, up and down flights of stairs, searching aimlessly… now stuck to realize I just wasted time and have no possible way of finding Brian. To catch my breath, I just sat at that window and watched the rain fall.

The rain was actually quite relaxing… almost too relaxing – because the next thing I knew…

“Um, excuse me” I heard.

My heart sunk in my chest, and I spun around.

“Y-Yes?” I asked.

Now standing only a few feet away from me was a tall, older, authoritative woman. Brown hair, glasses, and dark dress clothes, holding a bag filled with documents. And, most importantly, an ID tag clipped to her blouse that read:

“Mrs. Nuberick: Autumn Valley High Assistant Director”

As I read the “Assistant Director” part in her badge, my mouth DROPPED.

“Ohhhhh shiiiiii-!” I began to think.

“What are you doing here?” she asked me.

She had a confused expression, as if she was unsure if she should be concerned or not. Granted, it’s a legitimate question. Why exactly would a student be standing alone at the end of a hallway, staring off into space?

“I um…” I began to say.

My brain was suddenly frazzled. It was as if my whole head short circuited and stopped working – I had nothing to say as an excuse. I tried to spit some stuff out…

“I was going to the bathroom” I explained.

Her eyebrows got closer, suspiciously.

“Going to the bathroom?” she said.

It was a losing battle, and I knew it. But I continued on… who knows, maybe there’d be a chance I could sneak out of this!

“Y-Yeah!” I responded.

She shook her head.

“Looked like you were staring out the window, to me…” she responded.

I shrugged.

“I um… I took a break! J-Just for a second” I responded.

She shook her head some more, and stared at me with incriminating eyes.

“We don’t take breaks, you need to be in a class room, or if you’re going to the bathroom, straight to your bathroom. Do you have a pass?” she asked.

I was stumped. I must’ve looked like a deer in the headlights, because…

“…I’m guessing you don’t, from that expression. Come with me, please. What’s your name?” she asked.

She suddenly got real close, and gently grabbed my arm.

“B-But my teacher didn’t give me one!” I responded.

I didn’t dare resist, so we proceeded to walk down the stairs.

“Is that so? And just who is your teacher? What’s the room number?” she asked, as she guided me down the stairs.

I was panicking… oh man… I was for sure going to be in a world of trouble for this…

“I um… I don’t remember her name, I’m new here!” I replied – which was pretty truthful.

“Okay then, well, we’ll get to the bottom of this when we get back to my office young man. Give me your student ID” she replied.

As we descended the stairs… I didn’t even respond. I had absolutely nothing for this one… I was caught red-handed. She wasn’t stupid, she was, of ALL PEOPLE, the assistant director of the school. She knew the game.

So, I sighed, and reluctantly dug in my pocket, and handed her my student ID card (all it had was our name and ID number, probably for looking up schedule information). Glancing over it, she nodded.

“Okay… Aden, just follow me” she said.

As I went farther and farther down the stairs, my chest started burning more and more intensely… my eyes even felt dry… I felt like I was going to cry!

Maybe if I just told the truth, it’d help a little.

“L-Look” I said, stopping.

She consequently stopped, too.

“What?” she asked.

“I um… I wasn’t really going to the bathroom” I confessed.

The smiled…

“I know” she responded, before grabbing my arm again.

“B-But, I was looking for someone. I think maybe you should know about this” I said, in a low, sincere tone.

---

That’s right.

I explained to her everything, once we had gotten back to her office. I didn’t dare mention anything about diapers though – just that I heard that Brian had some nasty stuff that he was going to use to try to embarrass another student. She questioned the extremity of this blackmail material that I suspected Brian to have – but I assured her it was very serious.

I was nervous because now everything was about to happen. As I sat there, Brian was being called out of class, and I was voluntarily awaiting him in the assistant director’s office. I only assumed she was going to search his backpack (I explained the blackmail material was probably a printed photo – maybe even something edited on the computer). When Brian came strolling into that office door that was only inches from me, I knew he’d be mad.

But I didn’t really care… no, not after this. Brian had gone too far… he had put me through too much this day. This little “prank”, if he wanted to call it that, just very well got me in trouble for skipping class. Not to mention it made me go insane with anxiety.

In her office, we discussed it all, and she eventually instructed me to go back to class. Before I went though, I of course got a decent scolding about the seriousness of skipping class… but I was told my punishment for that would be simple detention unless caught doing it again.

I made it back to my second period class on time (it had become second period right as I was walking out of her office) – and it was in my classes where I spent the rest of the day.

For a while, it was kind of relieving, to be honest. I could sit down at my desk and know that I no longer needed to worry about it at all. I could just let Mrs. Nuberick take care of this situation, right? It was no longer my problem.

But then I thought of something scary… something that actually made me very unnerved. What if she did actually find pictures of us in diapers, on Brian? What would she do with those pictures? What would Brian’s punishment be?

There suddenly was fire in my veins, again. This could be big – when the assistant director found pictures of us in diapers… it was going to blow up. Surely, Brian’s parents would be involved for what Brian was trying to do. Brian’s parents were good people, but they didn’t play around with breaking rules (I could remember that from when we all got grounded for almost a month, for sneaking out that one night, on the 4th of July).

His parents would probably call my mom… and… Seth’s, too!

Oh man… this could be bad… what did I just do!?

Over the course of several hours, from class to class, I was lost in a train of thought. My mind was filled with a lot of scary thoughts, after that realization. This could be bad… but I told myself that nothing major was going to happen. Brian deserved to get in trouble for this mess.

Still, I found myself getting more and more nervous.

Sitting in Math class, I felt like a wreck. I was unusually withdrawn… but no one seemed to notice. The teacher rambled on about numbers, theories, and symbols – while I was busy being hypnotized by the still-falling rain out the window.

I was sitting in the back, which was different… I normally sit up front. Today though… right at this moment, I was busy with thinking about the result of Mrs. Nuberick and Brian.

I probably wouldn’t know… I wasn’t entitled to know the result of the “investigation”, I guess you could call it. Though I knew Brian sure as hell would have something to say about it, next period during lunch. I didn’t care anymore though. He went too far this time.

Eventually, of course, the class ended, and I was left in the hallway, wandering aimlessly down toward the cafeteria. I was nervous because I knew Brian was going to be upset that I told on him… but I didn’t care. Not anymore.

---

Walking into the cafeteria, I did my best to maintain as much composure as I could. I didn’t want to seem sheepish… no, I wanted to appear like I knew exactly what I was doing, and held no regrets. I had to look and act tough.

I tried my best, as I walked through the cafeteria. Looking down, I saw “Seth’s table”. Emily and Oscar sat together, Seth and Nichole sat together, and now… I sat with Sarah.

“Hey Aden” I heard her say as I sat down.

“Hey babe” I replied.

I glanced up briefly up at Seth, who simply was looking at me with his eyes despite his head being pointed toward Nichole. I ignored it… it looked like he was trying to be unwelcoming or intimidating or something. I didn’t care.

I felt Sarah put her hand on my lap.

I couldn’t help but feel a little awkward though… after that conversation she and I had the other last night. I did my best to get past it, and simply give my attention to Sarah, and everyone else.

I quickly smiled at Sarah, before saying hi to Oscar and Emily.

Yeah… I just had to act like I didn’t care at all. It was a charade, a bit… I was still kind of concerned about what was going to happen with Brian and Mrs. Nuberick.

“How’re you feeling Aden?” Sarah asked me.

I knew what she was getting at…

“I’m… alright. How about you?” I asked her.

She giggled… and looked away from me.

“I’m good” she replied.

The way she looked away from me… it felt rather unconvincing. But I figured she was just saying things casually. I seriously doubted there was any problem between us.

“What about you two over there?” I asked.

Oscar and Emily were both pretty quiet. They both kind of shrugged… far from being lovey-dovey.

“Eh I’m alright bro” Oscar assured, shrugging.

Emily was quiet, with an indifferent expression on her face. She was staring off into space, kind of. But she smirked at me and shrugged too.

That’s when I looked over at Seth, who was especially quiet. He was contemplating something… something really hard. He didn’t look happy at all…

But that’s when it happened. The one thing that could’ve made a tense situation explode…

Seth, who was staring off into space, glanced over to the cafeteria entrance with his eyes. Then, he turned his whole head, and his eyes narrowed.

“Aden” he said.

It was eerie, the way it worked. He somehow knew I was staring at him the whole time without ever looking at me.

“Is Brian really going to do what I think he’s going to?” he asked.

I looked over at what he was looking at: Brian, obliviously walking toward the cafeteria. He was still in the hallway outside it, but he was on his way in.

My heart fluttered, as I saw Seth’s cold expression, filled with rage. This was not a joke… he was going to stop Brian.

“No Seth, don’t worry about it” I replied, trying to sound like there was nothing to worry about.

He stared at me.

His face was so tense… the expression was beyond words. His teeth were grinding together a bit, toward the back of his jaw. His eyes narrowed, looking back at Brian.

He shook his head.

Obviously not buying it, he stood up from his seat… and slowly, seemingly casually, began making his way toward Brian.

“Oh shit” I thought.

Things were about to explode. Seth was about to fight Brian – and that was not going to be a losing fight for him.

“Seth, no!” I said.

Jumping up from the seat, I instantly started running toward Seth.

“Yo, what’s up?” I heard Oscar say.

I paid no attention, and walked along side of Seth, from the opposite side of the row of tables separating us.

“Seth, calm down!” I yelled.

He paid no attention, ignoring me.

“CALM DOWN!” I yelled.

Still no response.

“I TOOK CARE OF IT SETH, DON’T!” I yelled.

Right there, just like that… Seth came to a stop.

He turned his head to me, and clenched his fists… and I realized right then that I had just made a bad, bad mistake… confirming to Seth that Brian had intended to do something bad.

Just like that, Seth made a slightly faster walk right toward Brian. There was no stopping this.

I tried running to cut Seth off – but suddenly was cut off by some students standing in the aisle.

“Move guys!” I insisted.

But of course, they ignored me. I tried getting around them, but there was no use.

“BRIAN!” I yelled.

I couldn’t stop Seth, even if I were to get to him! I had no other option but to yell and try to warn Brian before he got punched in the face.

Looking out, I saw Brian looking over at me, and, oblivious to Seth stampeding toward him, he snarled at me.

“ADEN!” Brian yelled, gritting his teeth right at me.

“COME HERE!” he yelled, as he began walking toward me.

Right at that moment, the kids in front of me moved, clearing my path. I made a mad dash, running full speed toward Brian.

“BRIAN, RUN!” I screamed.

But Brian didn’t care. He was too angry at me for squealing on him with the administration. He continued walking toward me, with his fists clenched, not seeing Seth coming toward him from the side, with HIS fists clenched.

It was no use. I wasn’t to be able to get to Brian quickly enough, and he wasn’t going to get what I was trying to tell him in time. I watched, as I ran toward Brian, only to see Seth blindside Brian.

Seth came from Brian’s left side, hitting him one time right in the jaw. Brian’s whole head shook to the left from the sudden hit, turning his whole body with his head. Seth kept going though – he pushed Brian’s back hard, causing Brian to fall straight down onto the tile floor.

By the time I got close enough, Seth was already on top of Brian, cocking his arm back, ready for one hard, brutal hit. I did the only thing I could, and dove forward, tackling Seth off of Brian.

“Get the hell off me Aden!” Seth yelled, as I did my best to stay on top of Seth.

I didn’t want to hit him, but I wanted to keep him down.

“No Seth, calm down!” I replied.

“Whose side are you on, Aden?” I heard him yell, struggling. I stayed on top of him, trying my best to hold his flailing arms down.

“I’m not on one!” I yelled.

“You’re about to be!” I heard him say.

I looked down at him.

“What?” I asked.

Suddenly, out of nowhere… a hit from my right side right in my face stunned me, knocking me off of Seth.

“AGH!” I yelled, shutting both my eyes, feeling my shoulder slam into the hard tile floor.

My left shoulder felt like it was on fire – it painfully burned, since the top part of it smashed right into the floor. Wincing in pain, I gritted my teeth, and turned onto my back. What the hell just happened?

“Agh… Shit!” I said, opening my eyes.

But it wasn’t time to relax. When I opened my eyes, I saw Brian standing there, cracking his knuckles, and beginning to run right toward me.

“You little snitch! You like to tell on people, Aden?!” he yelled.

“Fuck you, Brian!” I yelled.

He ran toward me, taking only a few steps to get where he basically hit me to. But I was furious now too, the little brat punched me in the face!

I saw him coming at me, and as if things went into slow motion, I could focus to see what was coming at me. I was lying on my back, and I couldn’t get up to defend myself. I had no choice but to use my legs.

I built up some rage, and right when he was in range, I kicked as hard as I could in his direction, and ended up hitting him hard in the right leg. I mean I put ALL of my energy into this one solid kick, putting my heel out first and everything. He definitely felt that.

“Aghh!” he yelled, instantly dropping to the ground, falling flat on his face.

I stared at Brian, who didn’t immediately stand back up.

I kicked myself away from Brian, and stood up quickly, waiting any second for him to get back up. But he didn’t… no, Brian didn’t get back up. Suddenly, I felt the anger inside of me… melt away. My tense jaw, gritting my teeth – slowly turned to a more limp one, as I realized I may have just hurt Brian with that kick.

“Get up, Brian!” I heard.

It was Seth.

Seth walked over top of Brian, and grabbed his shirt, and began to pick him back up.

“Seth, no! I think he’s hurt!” I called out.

Of course, he didn’t listen.

“Arghh!” Brian yelled, as Seth forced him to stand back up on his own two feet.

Brian now wasn’t looking very angry… he looked like he was in a lot of pain, wincing and holding his thigh.

“SETH! STOP!” I yelled.

Seth looked at him, snarling evilly… but he didn’t dare hit him again. The sight of Brian with a possibly broken leg stopped Seth even in his blind rage.

Short of breath, I watched as Seth looked at Brian the same way I just did. His rage turned to remorse before my very eyes.

“Oh my God!” I heard.

“Is that kid alright?” I heard from another.

Looking around, I realized just where we were, and what we did. The whole cafeteria was staring at us, and a bit of a circle had formed as they ran over to see it. It all happened so quick that people just now were realizing what had happened.

“Yo bro, holy SHIT!” I heard.

It was Oscar, busting his way through a growing wall of people.

“What the hell was this all about?” he said.

Looking over, I saw Sarah and Emily on the wall both with huge, surprised eyes.

I shook my head.

“Oscar, get these kids out of here” I said.

Oscar shrugged.

“What?” he said.

“Get them out of here!” I repeated.

“Uh… alright. YO WHAT THE HELL YOU KIDS LOOKING AT GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE MAN THERE AIN’T NOTHIN TO SEE HERE!” Oscar yelled at the top of his lungs, pushing some of the kids away from us, pushing the mob of growing kids back.

“Are you okay Brian?” I asked.

Brian though, just shook his head. He wasn’t crying but his drive to fight was crushed.

“Shut up Aden. Just shut up” he said.

He looked like he was enduring a lot of pain… but not excruciating pain – like the wind had gotten knocked out of him.

“Brian? BRIAN!” I heard, and my already pounding heart dropped. I knew that voice.

I turned around, and standing, busting through the wall of kids, was none other than Daniel himself, looking at his injured brother.

“BRIAN! WHAT HAPPENED!?” Daniel shouted, running up to Brian.

“Oh no” I thought.

Daniel ran up to Brian, and grabbed him, and suddenly Brian gave me an evil, cold, glare.

“Brian, what happened? Who hit you?” Daniel asked.

I took a step back, and my heart started throbbing harder and harder. This was about to be it for me, and I knew it.

Brian didn’t say, and simply stared at me.

…and then…

“Aden did” he said.

The whole crowd suddenly erupted.

“Ohhhh!” they all chanted.

Daniel looked over at me, and squinted his eyes in confusion.

“Aden? You hit Brian?” Daniel said, walking toward me.

“I-It was an accident!” I said.

“Aden!” Daniel said, walking faster and faster toward me.

“D-Daniel, listen to me!” I said, basically pleading for him to stop and listen to what happened.

I saw the large, older brother of Brian walk straight toward me with a fist clenched and a facial expression of sheer disbelief and anger.

But he didn’t listen.

“What do you mean it was an accident? Look at his face! You punch him in the face, Aden? What’s this about? Why’s he holding his leg? Huh?” Daniel said, pushing me back a bit.

“It’s not like that!” I said.

“FUCK HIM UP!” I heard some kid scream.

“WHATS GOING ON HERE!?” we heard.

Everyone spun their heads, and there standing in the doorway were a few teachers.

“BREAK IT UP, BREAK IT UP!” they screamed, moving toward me and Daniel.

I looked back one time at Daniel, to say one last thing.

But what I saw was not his face. No, rather, I saw five knuckles soaring at my face.

“AGH!” I yelled, as Daniel’s hard punch hit me right upside the head.

It was a stunning hit… everything slowed down, it seemed. The hit knocked me back… and as I flew back, I lost my balance. Falling backward, I looked around with my eyes… everyone was just staring at me.

I felt… so strange. My face burned… and everything was in slow motion… and cloudy… and so bright. Even the rain, which I could barely see out the windows on the far end of the cafeteria, seemed so vivid.

Suddenly, I felt my butt hit the tile floor… and my back… and my head.

Looking up, toward the ceiling, I felt emotionless. What was this feeling?

“This can’t be good” I thought.

I simply watched as suddenly I saw everyone run over and look down at me. Random faces… all staring at me…

…as suddenly, their faces faded to black.

[Baby Jake]

Originally Posted by baconbit

Why didn't your next to chapters appear this weekend.

I'm sorry for the late post. Due to problems, I had to take an extra week to get this update ready.

To be honest, the story was actually incomplete when I started posting chapters. I was working on THIS update, back when I started posting chapters. I figured I'd be able to finish it off in time and there'd be no late posts.

Clearly, I was wrong! Too many things have kept me from writing.

So, next week's post - the final post - may be delayed. I'm going to try to finish it up as quick as I can. The above update was finished literally 10 minutes ago, so I'm sure there are plenty of things needing revision.

[Laram]

This... Can't Be Good...

[dprdinky]

Very good chapters!

[Baby Jake]

“Chapter Twenty-Six, Fall Outro”


“Aden! Can you hear me? Aden, wake up!” I heard an older man say.

“Someone call 9-11” another, a woman, said.

“He’s out cold. Don’t move him” the same older man said.

“Who hit him?” the woman asked.

“Danny Namble, for starting a fight with his brother Brian. That’s what one kid said” another voice said.

“Aghh…” I said, moaning.

I heard someone gasp!

“He’s waking up!” she said.

I was, it’s true. I moaned again, and went to roll over. Opening my eyes, I looked around.

“Don’t move, Aden. Stay where you are” the older man said to me.

I looked up at him, with hazing, blurry, disoriented vision. I felt so… so light, and strange – like I was floating. My face was burning, and I felt so dizzy, even though I was lying still.

“Look at me Aden” the older man said.

I could tell he was a teacher. He was a bald man, with a grey beard and large square glasses. He looked like a doctor, actually.

“W-Who are you?” I said sloppily.

“My name is Mr. Benson – I’m a health teacher. The nurse is coming but I need you to focus. Aden, how many fingers am I holding up” he said, then sticking his hand in my face.

He curled his fingers accordingly to make the sign “3” with his hand.

“Three” I replied.

“What happened?” I asked.

I could barely remember anything that happened…

“You were in a fight, and you get hit in the face. What day is it?” he asked me.

“Um… ugh…” I said.

Things seemed so unclear…

“Uh… Monday” I finished.

“Date, Aden” Mr. Benson said.

“I don’t know man!” I replied.

“What’s the month?” he asked.

“It’s… ugh… October...” I replied.

“Who’s the president?” he asked.

“Would you stop asking me all these damn questions!?” I suddenly burst out, holding my head.

He looked at me remorsefully, before putting his hand out to help me up.

“Stand up very slowly” he instructed.

I reached out, and grabbed his hand. Together, we both got me up on me own two feet.

My balance was so terrible… I struggled to keep upright. Mr. Benson needed to help keep me up… I felt so sick… so dizzy… so weak.

As we walked out of the cafeteria, I looked around and noticed it was empty, except for me and a few teachers. With his guidance, we made our way through the hallways and toward the nurse’s office.

“Ughhh… how… how long was I out?” I asked.

“A few minutes” he said.

“Wow… a few minutes…” I thought.

As we walked down the hallway, I could spot a few kids in the classrooms staring at me, pointing. It happened in most classrooms I passed by… I was suddenly a celebrity.

“Okay Aden, just around this corner” the teacher said.

My head… it was pounding harder and harder with each step I took. As I woke up more, the pain grew worse. My whole head felt like it was in a giant vice, and it was squeezing it from both sides.

Before I knew it though, I was guided to a door that read ‘Nurse’s Office’, in bright, exciting letters. It didn’t help make me feel any better. Mr. Benson opened the door, and guided me inside.

“Hello Aden!” a sudden annoyingly cheerful voice said to me.

I looked over, breathing heavily… my head hurt so bad… it was pounding. Everything around me… it was spinning out of control.

“I need to sit d-down” I said.

“Yes, sit – thank you Mr. Benson” the nurse said.

I looked around, and sat down in the first chair I saw – a comfortable office chair with a cushioned seat and wooden arms. I tilted my head on my shoulder and closed my eyes.

“Naghhh… ahhh… what happened? Why do I have such a bad headache?” I asked.

It wasn’t unbearable. It’s not like I was having an aneurism, but it was surely intense enough to take notice. It was like a really bad migraine, complete with all the nausea, sensitivity, and discomfort that came with one.

“Take care, Aden” Mr. Benson said, before shutting the door.

The nurse stood up, and grabbed a small flashlight.

“Look straight ahead for me” the nurse instructed.

I did the best I could, looking right in front of me, while she shone the flashlight into my eyes, examining whatever it was she was looking for.

Her office was tiny. I was in a small room with only two or three chairs, her desk, and two windows right in front of me (which, if it wasn’t for the rainstorm outside, would’ve been unbearable to look toward). It was a quaint little office, complete with the usual drawers, scales, bottles, and random tools of examination that usually came with any nurse’s station.

“What happened?” I asked.

For the life of me, I couldn’t remember what happened…

She pulled the flashlight away from me, and looked at me.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” she asked.

I shrugged.

“I… ugh… waking up… on the floor in the cafeteria… and being in some kind of… fight” I said.

“Good” she said.

“Can you remember who it was that hit you? Or why you got in the fight?” she asked me, looking at my other eye.

I thought real hard… I could see flashes of events. I remembered up to a point… but I was so disoriented. I remembered a lot more than I was letting on – I knew who I was and I remembered plenty about what was going on today. But I kept drawing a blank… I knew I was in a fight… and obviously Brian, Seth, and I think Daniel were involved. The whole fight was a blur.

Last I remembered, I was tackling Seth off of Brian. Everything after that was just… flashes, and probably false memories.

“I… I don’t remember much about the fight…” I said.

“What about why you were involved?” she asked.

I knew what was going on here. Even with a pounding migraine, I knew this wasn’t just a question regarding my mental health.

I quickly lied, and shook my head no.

“No” I replied.

“Okay” she finished.

She pulled away, and walked over to her desk.

I simply sat there… she asked me more questions and was writing notes down on a notepad… and several minutes passed. The entire time, I simply laid there with my head against the back of the chair, breathing heavily… feeling sick.

As my sense began to come back to me though, over the course of the next few minutes… some sensible things to ask came to mind, though.

“Hey” I said, through pants.

“Yeah, Aden?” she asked.

“…I… really don’t feel good” I said.

She made a remorseful face.

“I’m sorry Aden… I know you don’t” she replied.

“W-What’s wrong with me… what happened…” I asked.

She looked at me, and cleared her throat.

“Well Aden, that’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’m sorry – let me explain everything to you. I wanted to make sure you were okay first. You’re in good shape despite how you’re probably feeling” she assured.

I chuckled weakly.

“Y-Yeah? How’s that?” I asked.

This was definitely surprising news. I felt like death.

“You got hit pretty hard in the fight, which caused you to fall. People said you hit your head off the floor pretty hard, too. Two hard impacts to the head like that… I’d say you’ve got a pretty good concussion, Aden” she explained.

I nodded, blinking. My eyes blinked out of sync, I noticed. One, then the next.

“A concussion, huh? So this is what one of those feels like…” I said, being sarcastic – trying to be good natured.

She only seemed slightly amused.

“Aden, these can be very serious – especially because you hit your head twice; once in the front, once in the back – real hard. It’s not good for the brain. I’ve already contacted your mother, and an ambulance is on the way. At the hospital… they’re gonna do some tests… they’re not going to hurt. But they need to make sure you aren’t seriously injured” the nurse explained to me.

I looked at her… it was obviously for the best. I didn’t care about going to the hospital – they didn’t scare me. But I couldn’t even begin to think about how my mom must’ve been feeling, hearing about what was going on.

She must’ve been so scared.

I didn’t say anything much more at this point… there wasn’t anything to say. I simply looked forward, and watched the rain fall out the window.

My head hurt, and my face burned. My shoulder was sore, and I felt overall god-awful. I was tired, disoriented, in pain, nauseous, and confused… I just wanted to go home.

But it was at that moment, suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in” the nurse said.

Swinging open the door and waltzing on in was none other than Mrs. Nuberick, the assistant director herself.

“Aden!” she said.

“Eh… hi” I replied.

“Oh great, what’s this gonna be about?” I wondered.

“Are you okay?!” she asked.

She seemed astonished!

“I’m alright” I said, halfheartedly.

She looked at me, unconvinced.

“What was this about? Was it about what we talked about, earlier today?” she asked.

I hesitantly nodded.

“Aden, you don’t need to feel afraid to tell me anything. I already know why Daniel hit you, and I know Seth was the one who threw the first punch to start the whole thing. What I want to know is if you have any idea why Seth hit Brian. Two students, you included, are potentially injured so I’m taking this very seriously” she explained.

“Look… Brian was mad because I told you what I did. But I don’t remember much about the fight right now anyway” I explained.

She looked at me and shook her head.

“Okay” she replied.

“If you saw the stuff Brian had, I think you’d understand why Seth was so upset” I admitted.

She looked at me and tilted her head up, contemplating.

“Ohhh… so it was Seth who Brian was going to try to embarrass” she said.

I looked up at her, realizing I had left Seth’s name out earlier… on purpose.

“What do you mean? Didn’t you see the pictures?” I asked.

How didn’t she know about Seth’s involvement, yet? The pictures were clear as day!

“Aden… there were no pictures” Mrs. Nuberick bluntly explained.

I looked up at her with a shocked look. I didn’t believe it.

“What?” I asked.

“Aden, Brian had nothing in his backpack, locker, or pockets. Someone’s lying… and it’s either you, or Brian – but that is beyond me. What I care about now is if you’re hurt or not” she explained.

“…wait… so… Brian… he had nothing?” I asked.

“No, Aden. Nothing” she finished.

I stared at her, slack-jawed.

“No, that can’t be. Mrs. Nuberick, he had to have had it on him somewhere” I insisted.

But she shook her head.

“I’m sorry Aden, but I think he lied, if you’re not. I would’ve thought you were lying about everything to try to get out of trouble for skipping class, but this fight kind of changed my mind about that. I have to go talk to the other kids to get their side of things. But I just thought you should know that” she admitted.

And just like that… she turned around and walked away… shutting the door behind her.

How did Brian have nothing on him? How did he not have any pictures? He said he did… he wanted me to help him, and everything! What sense did this make?

I thought about it… despite my head pounding, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Why would he lie about bringing the pictures to school to embarrass Brian?

---

My mom arrived before the ambulance, and of course, she came with me to the hospital. And of course, I did end up being diagnosed with a concussion - a pretty mild one, at that. The doctor admitted it wasn’t nearly the worst one he’d ever seen, but it was still advised that I take two or three days off of school, and spend my time resting as much as I could.

The doctor insisted absolutely no sports, no more fighting, no riding my bike – anything that could involve me hitting my head again, and told me to come back in a week. That was perfectly fine to me.

Of course, I did follow the instructions… and then some. I took three days off school… and even decided to take the rest of the week off. I figured it was nothing I couldn’t make up. I had a medical excuse, anyway. What were they going to do about it?

The truth about it was that I felt humiliated about everything… I told my mom I was feeling sick still. I was pretty sure she knew I was lying… but she let it slide. All I did during the week off was lay in bed, watch TV, and go on the computer. I didn’t even talk to anyone on the phone.

I didn’t want to talk to or see anyone after that day. It changed… everything, really. Seth and I were no longer friends, according to me. Not after what he said, and did in the last few times I saw him. I was completely done with dealing with his crap.

And Brian… I think it was pretty obvious that we weren’t going to be talking much anymore – not after he revealed his true feelings, and tried pulling such a stunt like that. Because I didn’t talk to anyone, not even Sarah, during those few days, I wasn’t sure how bad I hurt Brian’s leg.

I didn’t like the kid at the moment, but I surely didn’t want him hurt. Of course, if he wasn’t hurt, if I didn’t break his leg – then he deserved it.

I wasn’t sure how Sarah, Emily, and Oscar felt about the whole situation. This wasn’t about them though. This was something that was going to happen, so this was kind of none of their business, but I knew they’d be interested. It was humiliating to know that my girlfriend watched me get knocked out in a single punch though. Not exactly the manliest thing, right? I felt pathetic.

The only person that I felt like I needed to talk to about this situation, ironically, was Daniel. He didn’t punch me because he was against me, he punched me because he was defending his brother. If I had a younger sibling and someone hit them, I probably would’ve reacted the same way.

That weekend though, I knew I had to get out and say something to someone. There was no one I could trust though. My whole world felt like it came to a screeching halt with the things that happened that day. I felt pathetic because I got nothing accomplished except getting a concussion and having my friends hate me.

On Sunday, I found myself lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of raindrops outside. It was raining yet again… it felt like it was raining forever. I sighed a glum sigh. I didn’t feel right the last few days. Everything felt so… claustrophobic. Like I was trapped inside myself, stuck thinking the same sad, pessimistic thoughts. I felt… so empty… so drained, and exhausted.

I felt overwhelmed at the amount of things that had happened to me in the last few weeks, so I summarized it for myself.

I now hated Seth because of what he did, as well as Brian. I got punched in the face and humiliated by Daniel, in front of the whole school, including my girlfriend. I felt pretty embarrassed about that. I still didn’t know how bad I hurt Brian, or what the whole explanation was behind why he’d lie about bringing pictures to school. My mom was worried about me. My girlfriend probably thought I was a loser. Oh, and I got scathing reviews on my story that I wrote… it seemed like no one really gave a damn about me in any fashion, huh?

I felt like I was falling… and I guess, in a way, I did. I went from such an upbeat kid, confused about his friends… to lying in this bed, lonely, hurt, and sad. I wondered… how did this happen? What did I do wrong?

Suddenly, though… my train of thought was broken by the shocking sound of my phone ringing. Someone was calling me? No, it was probably for my mom. I got up and checked it anyway…

“Hello?” I asked, kind of sighing into it.

“Um… hi… Aden?” I heard.

It was a girl… and of course, not just any girl… but Sarah!

“Y-Yeah! Hey, Sarah, what’s up?” I asked, clearing my throat.

My voice had a kind of lightness to it, and I didn’t want to sound as depressed as I probably did.

“What’s up?” she asked.

I looked around at my dimly sunlit room.

“Uh…” I said, sighing again.

“Not much” I finished, sitting down on my bed.

“Why haven’t you been in school?” she asked me.

She didn’t sound too concerned… she even half-chuckled at the end of her sentence.

“I uh… I dunno. Just… had stuff I needed to take care of” I said.

That was a lie. I had nothing to do.

“Everyone’s been talking about it, you know” she said.

“…about what?” I asked.

“The fight, duh!” she said.

That certainly didn’t make me feel any better.

“Well… okay… um… what have they been saying?” I asked.

“Just… you know… talking about it. They wanted to know if you were dead or not because you haven’t been to school in so long. What was that all about, anyway?” she asked.

“W-What, the fight? It wasn’t… you know, anything special. It just kind of happened. We were mad at each other, that’s all” I explained, trying not to give the details.

“For what?” Sarah asked.

“Just stupid crap” I replied, dancing around the subject.

“Oh… kay?” Sarah replied.

She was obviously let down by the fact that I wouldn’t divulge the exact details. I couldn’t even think of a good lie, either.

“Yeah… I’ll be in school tomorrow… okay?” I said.

“Okay Aden” she replied.

There was silence… I lacked anything to say, at all.

“…Aden, are you alright?” Sarah asked.

I shrugged, even though I knew she couldn’t see me.

“Yeah, I’m fine Sarah” I finished.

“Alright…” she said.

There was more silence…

“Hey – Sarah” I said, suddenly coming up with something to ask.

“Have you seen Brian?” I asked.

“Brian Namble? Yeah he’s been in school. Why, what’s up?” she asked.

“How’s his leg?” I asked.

“His leg? They’re both fine. I mean… the day after the fight he was limping a bit I noticed, but he’s fine” she confirmed.

“Oh… okay, thanks. I just wanted to know… you know, if he was alright and all” I finished.

“…uh huh… well… okay, Aden. I’m gonna get off here, alright?” Sarah replied.

“Okay Sarah” I finished.

We said our goodbyes, and hung up the phone. Once again, I was left in my room, isolated, and alone. For this moment, that was okay.

I thought about Brian and Daniel some more… and shook my head… this wasn’t over. I picked up the phone, and reluctantly dialed a certain phone number. I needed answers, before going into school tomorrow.

“Hello?” I heard. It was Daniel.

Something though… kept me from saying anything…

“Hello?” I heard Daniel say again.

I listened… there was a chill going up my spine… like this was a mistake calling him.

“Hello!?” I heard Daniel say one more time.

…finally, he hung up the phone. I did, too.

I didn’t need to talk to Daniel or Brian. There was no point… nothing would be resolved by now. No… Brian and Daniel… they wouldn’t give me answers about anything. Did I really need answers?

Brian’s lie about bringing pictures of Seth in diapers… I didn’t need to know. I didn’t care when I really put things into perspective.

I put my phone on the charger, and looked around my room.

Brian, Daniel, and Seth were out of the picture, from here on out. I didn’t care for them… they aren’t the people they used to be. Or maybe… they aren’t the people I thought they were – that I was led to believe. But I did have new friends to make in school. I did have Sarah, and Emily, and Oscar.

That’s it! I just needed new friends. And who knew where my relationship with Sarah would lead? Maybe… just maybe… if our relationship got strong enough… I could reveal my TB side to her… and we could play around with that. Oh that’d be nice.

This was, of course, not how I expected things to go. I figured… maybe if I helped my friends, things would be all good again… and that’d be the end of things. But I realized now that’s simply not how things happened.

There was more though. This was not the end… I knew in my heart that things would continue. But somehow I knew things would be different from here on out. I had come full circle, really. I’m now that same kid I was when I met Brian, Daniel, and Seth – shy, new, and in search of friends.

Of course… I missed the easier days, only a few months ago. Things being easier… simpler… more innocent, I guess. The days of us doing dares, and sleeping over Brian’s house. The days of things being new, and exciting – in a more colorful, happier way. But I was alone again. It was like all that was behind me, and here I was, full circle at the beginning.


This story – my story was not over. It will go on. It will continue.


Of course, I didn’t know what it’d lead to. I didn’t know where my story here was going to go… but I knew for sure things were not finished.

“Wait” I thought.

I walked over to my computer chair, turned on my monitor, and opened up Word. I thought about everything – not just the last few weeks or days, but the last few months. I thought about what I had been through… I thought about the diapers, and I thought about the way Brian and the whole crew used to be before all of this happened.

“That’s it” I thought.

I had a bright idea for a story… a brilliant idea, and concept.

I had… a revelation.

[Laram]

...Excellent... Is There Gonna Be More? :P

[Baby Jake]

Originally Posted by Laram5

...Excellent... Is There Gonna Be More? :P

Not for this story.

But yes, there will be more Aden. One more story actually. I have yet to get started on it, but I know basically from start-to-finish everything that is going to happen in it. So hopefully I'll get Part IV done in less than a year.

A lot of people are aware of course that this was supposed to be the last Aden story. I always hyped Aden up as a trilogy, and that this would finally be it. And I intended to do that. But when I came up with the concept, I had so much material and so many good ideas, it wouldn't fit into one story. I actually had enough material for two - which worked out perfectly, because now I can pace things out better (rather than put 20 chapters into 10), have four seasons rather than just 3, and just... all kinds of things. So I split it in half. Which made it easier for me, and better for you (considering I was only halfway done with the story I had planned... which ended up being THIS story in its entirety).

So yes, Aden IV will come eventually. I'll probably get to work on the final story (and it will be the last - and will close off and answer every fan question I have heard over the years) soon, but who knows when the first updates for that will be out.

I have plans for other short stories that I'll probably release. But we'll see.

Hopefully by knowing just about everything thats going to happen in this story, and how to write it, I'll have cut a third of the time off the development of Aden IV.

[dprdinky]

You definitely do not disappoint anyone with your story Jake. Wonderful!