"Why is he avoiding me?" Liesel asked, sitting across from Allison at lunch in school a few days later, "He always sits with us." She said as Allison turned around, looking over at Scott with his friends, sitting as far away as possible.
"Did you guys have a fight?" Allison turned back to Liesel who just shook her head.
"If we did I missed it." Liesel said, "I don't know why he's not talking to me." She sighed.
"You don't think it's anything to do with your dad, still?" Allison asked as Liesel just shook her head.
"We talked about it." Liesel said, "He's ok with it. As far as we were concerned, it was nothing to do with us." She shrugged, "That's what he said anyway."
"Go ask him why he's avoiding you." Allison suggested.
"What? With all his friends around him? No thanks." Liesel laughed, "Maybe I got too clingy. I mean… I text him every night." She said.
"Yeah, and he would text you back." Allison pointed out, "It's all a bit sudden and strange if you ask me." She said, "What's the next class you're in with him?" She asked.
"Biology. I sit right next to him." Liesel sighed, "I'm in that straight after lunch."
"Then talk to him." Allison said, "Harper still not at school?" She asked, turning to where Harper normally sat at lunch with her so called friends.
"No. I think my mom and dad are giving her a week. After that she's just gonna have to face it." Liesel said, "I told her she could sit with us at lunch, I don't want her near those little brats." Liesel looked over to Harper's former friends.
"I don't know how they can sit there and pretend nothing has happened." Allison shook her head as Liesel nodded.
"They'll get what's coming to them." Liesel said just as the bell rang, her eyes rolling back as she realised she had to go face Scott in her next class. She may have been scared, but she wanted answers. She wanted to know why he had all of a sudden cut her off, and was pretending she didn't exist.
"You want more whipped cream?" Punk asked, sitting down a mug of hot chocolate on a coaster on the coffee table in front of where Harper sat on the couch, blanket wrapped around her as she watched the TV.
"No, that's fine." Harper said as she looked at the overflowing hot chocolate, smiling a little as she realised how much she needed it, "When is mom home?" She asked, picking up the mug as Punk sat down beside her on the couch.
"Not long." Punk said, "She's just gone out to the store." He told her as Harper nodded, turning back to the TV, putting her hot chocolate down after taking a sip, "School tomorrow?" He asked her as she turned to him.
"Mom said I could take the week off." She said, her stomach turning at the thought of facing school.
"I know. But… I just don't want you to avoid your problems. Sitting at home wrapped in a blanket isn't going to be helping much. All those girls are at school, probably pretending nothing has happened and doing what they do. You have to show them that what they done, you weren't phased by it, because you can stand up tall and be the better person." He said.
"I am phased by it." She said, "Didn't you see them?" She said.
"Yeah." Punk looked down, "Wish I didn't." He admitted, "You have Jay and Liesel in school. It's not like you're completely alone." He said.
"Jay's friends are all idiots. And I highly doubt sitting with my big sister at lunch is gonna look strong." She said, "Just give me the week. I'll go back next week." She said.
"Ok." Punk nodded, "What are you watching?" He asked, turning his attention to the TV.
"Catfish." Harper said as Punk just shook his head.
"What's that?" He said curiously as Harper laughed.
"Well it's about people who date or talk to people online, they'll use fake profile pictures and pretend they're someone else, and then they meet who they've been really talking to." She said, "It's really freaky."
"Sounds really boring." Punk admitted.
"It's not." Harper said, "You'll get addicted to it."
"To a TV show? I don't think so." Punk laughed as Harper just smiled.
"Ok, class. I want you to the partner up for this experiment with the person sitting beside you."
Liesel turned to Scott who just nodded politely to her, focusing his attention on the experiment, pretending the air wasn't as awkward as it really was.
"Why aren't you talking to me?" Liesel asked quietly as Scott reached for the bottle of dilute acid, squirting it into the beaker as she grabbed it from him, "Don't ignore me." She spat.
"I'm not ignoring you." He said.
"Then what are you doing? Because you aren't acknowledging me exactly." She said.
"I just think we should stop talking as much. Focus more on school. You're so smart and I seen you got a C on the geometry test." He said, "I don't want to be distracting you." He said as she screwed her eyes up.
"I got a C because I didn't study for it, Scott. Not because I'd been talking to you."
"Yeah, you didn't study because you were talking to me." He said.
"But I like when we talk." She said with a sigh.
"So do I. But I think we should just slow it down. In fact, we should just put everything at a pause." He shook his head.
"I don't know what it is you aren't telling me, but whatever it is, I deserve to know." She said.
"There's nothing to tell." He said, "Really."
"Really?" Liesel said as Scott just nodded.
"C'mon you two. Get a move on." The teacher walked by their bench, "You haven't even started."
They both looked back to the experiment, "C'mon, let's just get this done." Scott said as Liesel sighed, watching him pour the other liquids into the beaker.
"Keep stirring it." AJ ordered as Punk stood at the cooker, stirring the dinner whilst she put away the rest of the shopping.
"But my back is sore-"
"Your back is sore?" She turned to him as he smiled like a child.
"Sorry." He apologised, "It's Harper's fault, I sat on the couch all day."
"And that's made your back sore?" AJ asked him as he nodded.
"Yeah, believe it or not." He said as Jay trailed into the kitchen from school, dumping his bag down and heading for the fridge.
"Yes, you went to the store." He said with satisfaction, feeling his mother lightly push him back and shut the fridge.
"You wait until your dinner." She told him as he raised his eyebrows.
"I'm not five." Jay laughed, going to open the fridge back up as AJ pushed his hand away again.
"No, I am fed up of going all the way to the store, buying food in, spending a ton of money, and it all being gone the next day." She said loudly as Punk chuckled, "I'm talking to you too." She spat, poking his stomach, "You aren't getting any younger or thinner." She said as Punk frowned.
"Jay, don't listen to her. She's at the six month mark. Crazy time." Punk nodded.
"Do not use that word." AJ spat, "From now on, no one goes in the fridge and just takes out things to eat. You want a snack? Have a banana, have a yoghurt or have a chocolate bar. Don't go into the fridge, open a pack of bacon and start cooking that because you're hungry." She said, "Understand?" She looked at Jay.
"Oh my God, fine." Jay shook his head, "Where are the banana's?" He asked.
"I didn't get any." AJ turned around to finish unpacking as Jay shook his head.
"The don't tell me to eat them if you don't buy them." He said as Punk stood, unimpressed by this unnecessary conversation.
"You know what… fine, eat your bacon." She opened the fridge up, taking out the pack of bacon and handing it to Jay forcefully as he laughed.
"Sweet." Jay smiled, taking out a frying pan and frying up the bacon as Punk watched, shaking his head as he watched the teen dangle the bacon over his mouth, swallowing it whole whilst he cooked more.
"Why are you so skinny?" Punk shook his head.
"Because I am." Jay said, "Jealous?"
"No, actually." Punk smiled as Jay poked his belly, "Can people stop poking me in the stomach?" He said as AJ laughed.
"I am not letting you leave until you give me an answer as to why you aren't gonna talk to me anymore." Liesel said, catching up with Scott as he was just about to get in his car. She'd already missed the school bus and was hoping he was willing to just talk to her. She wasn't stupid. She could see he was lying about not wanting to talk because of school and their grades.
"C'mon Liesel just drop it." Scott shook his head.
"No, I won't. Tell me the real reason and then I'll leave you alone." She said as he sighed with frustration.
"Fine. Get in." He gave in, watching as she jumped into the passengers side of the car. He didn't not want to tell her because he was being awkward. He just didn't want to make things any worse for her regarding her father's past. This would possibly set her back to being completely angry with him.
"I can't promise you that you won't like what I'm about to tell you." Scott said as he pulled away from the school.
"I can handle it." Liesel said as he nodded, driving along the road a little until he pulled into a side road, into an abandoned car park to stop the engine and concentrate on what he was gonna say.
"You know my mom died when I was just a baby?" He said as she shook her head. She didn't know that. She didn't actually know what happened to his mom, but of course now she did.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Liesel shook her head.
"It's ok. I… I don't get upset about it because I remember nothing about her. Like… completely nothing." He said, "My dad always told me she died in a car accident, when I was two months old. I never… I never doubted it." He said, "Until a few nights ago, he told me how she really died."
"Please… please don't tell me it has anything to do with my dad?" Liesel said, her hands beginning to shake and her heart beginning to race.
"You know how I said I thought my dad was just like yours?" He asked her as she nodded, "Well, turns out he was. He was part of this group called The Union. My mom's brother, Jason, he was head of the group, sort of like that… that Jack guy." Scott said, "Your dad and another guy, I can't remember the name of the other guy, but he came to the warehouse they met in and they blew it up. Had it been an hour earlier, my dad would have been there too." Scott said, "But my mom was there, and my uncle." Scott said as Liesel ran her hand through her hair.
"That's how she died?" Liesel asked.
"Yeah." Scott nodded, "There were kids in the building. There were other women. And your dad… your dad just blew it up, Liesel." Scott said as Liesel sat back in the passengers chair, placing her hand over her forehead, not believing it. Here she was, thinking it couldn't get any worse than what she already knew and had learned to forgive her father for. But this was just outrageous.
"I didn't want to tell you because I know how much you love your dad. I thought it'd be better if you just didn't know. But… maybe it's better you know." He said, watching a tear roll down Liesel's cheek, sighing as he reached over and wiped it, shuffling over the best he could, pulling her over as she hugged into him, her tears rolling fast as she sobbed quietly.
"Dennis Brooks." A man echoed the room as he walked down to the centre of the warehouse, walking down to meet Dennis and Punk, the leader of the pack, Jason.
"Jason." Dennis smiled.
"And if it isn't the man himself." Jason folded his arms, "Phil Brooks."
"Jason, I'm aware of your whereabouts last night." Dennis said, "We're not here for trouble we just want to know why. I mean… there's no bad blood between us, is there? We work on different sides of the town, we have different customers, we work a different way. We don't have to have beef." Dennis said calmly.
"Just sending a little message, Dennis." Jason smiled.
"And who to?" Dennis asked.
"C'mon Dennis, we all know your little brother brought you down here because he was worried his club and his boys were in danger." Jason said, "I sent a clear message to him when I tore up his club. And you all carried on like it was nothing. I guess that hurt my feelings a bit."
"Who was the message for?" Punk asked.
"You." Jason smiled, "Well strictly speaking it was for Jack. I knew you and your sister were there, and I wanted to get my message across." Jason smiled.
"Next time just come talk to me if you have a problem. Yeah?" Punk said.
"Oh, I will." Jason smiled, "Don't you worry."
"So what is the meaning of all of this?" Dennis asked.
"You know there's never a real meaning when it comes to men like us." Jason laughed, "I gotta say, your group, your guys, very impressive, in fact, I haven't seen such a group worthy of competition before." Jason said, "Young Phil here… very talented." Jason eyed Punk up and down, "Good with his hands, wise, clever, good head on your shoulders, has a way with the … ladies." Jason smiled as Punk looked across at him.
"Well I've learned from the best." Punk spat.
"So… whose the pretty little Spanish girl you've been getting into?" Jason smiled.
"She's none of your business." Punk shook his head, curling his hands into fists at either side of his body.
"She will be if you lot don't get my damn point." Jason spat, "I want your lot off the town. No more Invictus. No more Brooks and company." He shook his head.
"Or what?" Dennis shook his head.
"Or else I will tear down everything in your world." Jason spat.
"There isn't some agreement we can come to?" Dennis asked.
"I don't think there is. No." Jason shook his head, "You both have ten seconds to get out of here." He said as Dennis nodded, putting his hands up and turning his back as Punk followed, leaving the warehouse and getting back intot heir care.
"What the hell was that? What exactly was your big plan there?" Punk shook his head whilst turning to Dennis in the car as he turned on the engine.
"All eyes were on us." Dennis smiled, doing a three point turn on the road and getting back on route to Invcictus, "Joe and the guys sneaked round the back and put explosives in the building. They'll all be dust in about ten seconds." Dennis laughed as Punk's eyes widened.
"You're serious?" Punk asked as Dennis nodded with a smile.
"Deadly. No pun intended." Dennis said, "Put it there, my boy." He put his hand out as Punk slapped it with a smile. They may have been bad, but they were good.
A/N: Uh oh. Things are piecing together and coming back to bite Punk in the ass. Will Liesel be able to forgive him this time? How is Harper doing? Baby number four will be coming soon, but will Punk be there to witness it? And who makes a return? Coming soon. Review and let me know what you think.