A/N-Okay, so this is my first Indy fic...hopefully I'll do it some justice. I've been wanting to write a story for Indy for a while now but I could never think of anything that would work...until I saw the new one. After seeing KotCS, I decided I would write one for Mutt...and thus we come to this wonderful story. I hope you all enjoy it and please leave me some feedback so I know how I'm doing.

Dislcimaer-I own nothing! I may love Indy and all, but I sadly do not own him...same with everyone you may recognize.

Along the Way

Chapter 1

1955

A groan filled the room as a body rolled over to the side, a thump following as he body fell to the floor. The sheets revealed a 17 year old as the boy sat up, looking around his bedroom. Rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes, the teenager stood up and took a step forward, only to fall flat on his face.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he rolled on to his back, holding his forehead.

"Watch your language!" the voice of his mother sounded from outside his room.

Rolling his eyes, the teenager stood back up (after untangling himself from his sheets) and got ready for the day. Within a few minutes, he walked into the kitchen and sat at the table as he began eating his breakfast (he was too tired to register what his mother had cooked for him).

"You'll be late for school," she said as she watched her son take his time eating, ignoring her. "Henry..."

"Mom," he looked up from his plate to look at her. "I told you don't call me that...it's Mutt. And no, I'm not going to school...I told you I was dropping it."

"Like hell you are, Henry. You're going to finish your breakfast and get your ass to school."

"Just watch me,"

With the smirk his mother hated so much on his face, Henry 'Mutt' Williams stood up from the table and made his way to the front door. He shrugged on his leather jacket and opened the door, ignoring his mother's calls. It wasn't until he reached the street that he turned around and waved to his mother.

"See later, Marion!" he smiled, knowing he was in trouble.

Mutt shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way down the street, not having any place in mind to go to. His fingers brushed against the few dollar bills he had, ensuring something to eat for lunch. He smiled to a few people as he ran his comb through his dark hair, making sure to not mess it up.

He turned a corner and decided to head into town, not sure what he would do there but anywhere was better than where he was at the moment. It wasn't that he didn't want to get an education, it was just that school wasn't his thing. Mutt could learn more from experience than he could from a book, although no one seemed to understand his logic on learning. Especially his mother.

The teenager knew he was disrespectful towards her at times, but they didn't have a very close relationship anymore. They had started falling out once he turned 15, when he had told her he didn't plan on finishing school. Ever since then, Mutt butted heads with his mother every chance he got. From school to the people he hung around to the way he dressed, all they did was argue. And it wasn't like he had a father to talk to, his father had been shot down over seas...all he had was one of his mother's old friends, even then it wasn't the same.

"I could go see Ox..." Mutt muttered as he kicked at stone. "No. That'd be the first place Mom would go look."

Heaving a sigh, the teenager sat down at a table outside a small café. After ordering a coffee, Mutt looked at the passing crowd of people; most of them giving him a look of disapproval. All he did was give them a fake smile, letting out a chuckle here and there whenever they're expressions worsened.

"Here's your drink, sir."

Mutt thanked the waiter as he took his cup from the waiter, taking a drink from it. He sat in silence, enjoying his coffee, as he thought about what his plans for the day. His dark eyes focused on the table, only looking up when a few shadows fell over him.

"Hey Mutt," the voice of Ben Mazzic reached his ears as he sat across from him, their other two friends standing behind him. "How come you ain't at school?"

"I told you...I was outta that place by this week."

"Aw...little Henry's growing up." Steve laughed at Riley's comment, causing Mutt to roll his eyes; he hated living on the same street with the Lancaster brothers.

"I can't believe your mom let you do that," Steve added after his laughter died out.

"She didn't, but she ain't the boss of me. I'm my own person...I'll do what I want, when I want. And there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it." Mutt puffed out his chest, grinning.

"Alright, kid...let's go do something exciting." Ben stated as he whacked Mutt's shoulder.

"Would you stop calling me that?" he complained as he followed the three down the street.

"What? You are the youngest, Mutt."

"By a week...Jesus." he sighed as he combed his hair again, not even realizing he was doing it anymore. "What are we gonna do? Because obviously I'm too young to decide that..."

"Shut up!" Riley put his arm around his friend's shoulders and pulled his close. "You know something, Mutt...you take way too much care of your hair. I don't even comb it every five minutes."

"I don't do that..." he was cut off as Riley ruffled his hair before running ahead of the other two. "That's it! You're going down, Riley!"

Mutt pushed passed the other two and chased Riley down the street, laughing as his friend ran into people. Luckily, Mutt was quick on his feet maneuvered his way through the crowd of people with ease. He could hear Ben and Steve running after him as Riley began slowing down, none of them could run as long as Mutt could.

"Hey!" Riley yelped as the 17 year old tackled him to the sidewalk, causing everyone to walk around them. "What are you gonna do, Mutt?"

He just laughed and messed up Riley's perfect blonde hair, Ben and Steve soon joining in the laughter as they stood over them. Riley's protest only caused Mutt to torment him more until he found himself flat on his back, Riley kneeling next to him with a smirk on his face.

"Don't. Touch. The. Hair." He laughed as he stood up, helping Mutt to his feet.

"Then don't touch mine," he replied as he combed it back, hoping he could fix it.

"C'mon you two, let's go." Ben rolled his eyes before walking away, the rest following.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

"Here you go, Mutt. Found you a new hat," Steve yelled as he held up a tan hat, waving it around until Mutt snatched it.

"How do I look?" he asked as he placed it on his head, facing his friends.

Ben just swiped it off his head and shoved it into the teenager's chest, giving him a knowing look. Mutt glanced around him before shoving it inside his jacket, the four of them leaving the store after that. Once they left the area of the store, Mutt pulled out the hat and put it back on his head.

"You never did answer my question," he pointed out as he made his way between Riley and Ben.

"You really want us to answer that?" Ben raised an eyebrow as they made their way towards Mutt's street.

"Not really." He answered, looking up at the night sky. "Mom's gonna kill me when I get home."

"What happened to I'm my own person...I'll do what I want, when I want. And there's not a damn thing anyone can do about it?" Steve asked as he ran into someone. "Hey! Watch it!"

Mutt just rolled his eyes and changed the subject, focused on how he was going to get into the house without his mother catching him. The whole way back, he didn't really pay attention to what his friends were saying but they wouldn't have known that. Within 15 minutes, Mutt was walking towards the front door; hoping that the door was unlocked. He gripped the doorknob and turned, sighing in relief when the door opened.

Waving goodbye to the other three, the 17 year old entered the house and expected to see his mother standing in the hall waiting to yell at him. But there was no sign of her. Mutt took off his hat and looked into the living room from around the corner. She wasn't there either.

"Must be sleeping," he whispered as he made his to the kitchen.

Tossing his hat on to the counter, the teenager opened the fridge and rummaged for something to snack on. When he found nothing, he kept looking as if something would materialize in front of him.

"Where have you been, Mutt?"

"Shit!" he jumped at the sound of her voice, mumbling an apology when she glared at him. "I was with the guys, Mom. Relax...I didn't get into any trouble. This time."

"You were suppose to be at school," she said, standing on the other side of the counter.

"I told you I wasn't going, Mom. I'm not cut out for that...all those rules and blah blah blah! And besides, those other kids ain't as half as smart as me." He explained, shutting the fridge door.

"You were suppose to be home over an hour ago, Henry."

"My name isn't Henry, Mom. It's Mutt." He looked at her, knowing this was just adding on to the reasons for her to be mad at him. "I'm going to bed. Night."

He grabbed the hat and made his way out of the kitchen, making a point to ignore her calls. Once he reached his room and slammed the door behind him, Mutt put his hat on the bedside table, throwing his jacket to the floor and kicking off his boots. Letting out a sigh, he flopped on to his bed and looked up at the ceiling as a million thoughts ran through his head. Silence filled the room, only to be broken by the sound of his mother opening the creaky door.

"Henry..." she said softly, sighing when he didn't answer her. "Mutt."

He propped himself up on his elbows to look at her, not saying anything.

"I worry about you, that's the only reason why I act the way I do." She explained, walking into his room.

"Mom..." he sighed as she sat on the foot of his bed.

"There are just some qualities in you that get you into so much trouble, and the fact that you want to go and be rebel doesn't help that worry."

"Nothing's going to happen to me, Mom." Mutt moved to sit next to her, looking at the floor. "It's not like I'm gonna run off and get myself into danger. I promise."

He looked up at her, wanting to show her he meant it. It was true that there were times when he couldn't stand her and thought about leaving. It was also true that everything he did, he did because she objected to it. But the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her. He didn't want to be one of those people who stopped talking to their parents for 20 years.

"I just don't want to lose you like I lost your father," she pulled him into a hug, placing a kiss on the side of his head.

"You won't." he whispered, hugging her back.

He may not have had the best relationship with his mother, but Mutt loved her and would do anything to make her happy. After a few more seconds, he was left alone again to get some sleep. The teenager let out a sigh as he laid back down, thinking a million different things again. It only took a few minutes for him to begin to feel tired, and shortly after that he was fast asleep.

So I'm sorry if the first chapter isn't very exciting, but I needed to establish everything. And in case you guys are wondering, no...Mutt is not going to rush off on some adventure...it sorta finds him. And another thing, this story is the first in a series of three...so hopefully you guys will like this one enough for that to happen.

Reviews are welcomed...and so is constructive critism.

S.M.Hoffman