98A/N: I know it's late but Happy New Year to anyone who's reading this! I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you ^_^
Chapter 27
Mrs. Murphy raised her eyebrows at me. "You're absolutely sure of this? Sure that.." she lowered her voice. "Sure that you want to report this?"
I remembered my dad's words, to do what I needed to do to get over what happened to me. I remembered telling Joe everything later on in the car, and him cupping my face in his hands, kissing me softly, and murmuring, "Your dad's right, love. Just keep this in mind when you decide- if you choose to walk away, will you regret it?" I remembered my answer.
And I nodded.
"Look, I understand that you're doing the right thing here, but you could be ostracized for this. I would hate to see you suffering, Mr. Kennedy."
I snorted. "I've already suffered, Mrs. Murphy. This isn't going to change anything."
The vice principal inclined her head. "All right, I'll push for this to be dealt with immediately. And I will make an example out of these boys."
"All right. Thanks a lot, Mrs. Murphy." I was about to walk out of her office, when she said, "Wait."
I stopped and turned around to face her. In a move that surprised me, she actually got up from behind her desk and walked till she stood right in front of me. "I know exactly who these boys are, Mr. Kennedy. Is this their punishment?"
I kept my expression blank. "I have no idea what you're talking about, ma'am."
Mrs. Murphy silently watched me with a sardonic tilt to her lips. I was pretty sure she was repressing a smirk. Huh. Teachers seem to know a lot more than we think.
"Well, if that's all, thank you for coming in, Mr. Kennedy. I'll let you know what happens once I've forwarded the case."
Once again, I thanked her, before finally leaving the office.
\.../
Three days later, Evan, David and Brad were expelled from school. The police was informed about the drugs and the minor, and the case went to trial in the *JDR Court. The bastards were charged with 'contributing to the delinquency of a minor' and were going to juvie for 12 months.
When Dad found out, he literally threw a party. I'm not even kidding. He invited all of his friends, who drank a shitload of beer, occasionally cheered for some player of some sport, and were generally loud and raucous (but fun).
He also invited Mom's friends, who all kissed me on the cheek and cooed over how grown up I looked.
And he invited Joe, thankfully. Once I was done greeting everyone, we went to a dark corner that was out of everyone's sight and spent the entire party making out. And I loved every second of it.
The court's decision had me over the fucking moon. That didn't last, though. As soon as I stepped into school, that was over.
Having lost some vital members, the football team had to withdraw from the new season, which pissed off the entire school. They thought I was a nerd and a loser for tattling to the teachers like a little kid.
I was now the most hated guy in school, and the newest social pariah.
Well, at least until Ben stepped in. And Eric, and Maria and her best friend Lyndsey, and Helena and Charlie and Marcus and Devon and well, a whole lot of people who were done with the bullies, the homophobia and who had already decided to boycott the games after seeing my hospital picture.
"We're with you," they all told me, and they stuck with me, everyday, until the anger simmered down and I faded back into obscurity.
So all's well that ends well, right?
Except it wasn't over yet.
A/N: oh my god this story only has a few chapters left and I'm kinda sad. I'll miss this.
* Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (JDR). JDR deals with many types of cases dealing with family matters or juveniles. Given that Contributing to the Delinquency inherently involves a juvenile, it falls within JDR jurisdiction.