Part 14
"Aaron are you sure that you have to come along", Malcolm Montgomery asked his brother as they walked across the Dalton parking lot. "I mean Lilly and I can handle it."
"Mal you know just as well as I do that Ley-Ley opens up easier to me than to you because I'm not his father", Aaron said calmly.
"But I'm his father."
"Exactly, but I know teenagers Mal. They don't like to turn to their parents for help. Ley-Ley is the same. I'll talk to him while you talk to his principal and to the Kims. What was the name of that principal again?"
Lilly Montgomery opened her purse and took out a letter and read through it.
"It says here his name is Arthur Watermaine", she said and Malcolm and Aaron stared at her.
"What?" they yelled at the same time and she looked at them.
"Boys your identical twin-link is starting to show", she teased.
Yes Aaron and Malcolm were identical twins. They didn't know who was the oldest; they had never wanted to know so that they couldn't play the "this-or-that-minute-older-than-you-card" on each other. They were so identical it had confused Lilly so much in the beginning of her relationship with Malcolm so Aaron took pity on her and started to never gel his hair or put any other products in it. He didn't have to. His hair stood up by its own will at times.
He was always dressed in designers' clothes and was the twin that played instruments and sang. Malcolm was always dressed in suits and had his hair neatly done and even had a small mustache. He was the twin that had always been into sports and reading science books and such. Malcolm was a doctor and Aaron was a music teacher at Westerville High. Malcolm grabbed hold of Lilly's arms.
"Lilly was his name Arthur Watermaine", he asked sternly.
"Yes", Lilly said feeling a bit worried. "Why do you ask?"
The brothers looked at each other and Aaron's eyes narrowed.
"I smell a dog being buried here Mal", he said.
"I know Ron", Malcolm said. "You don't think it's the same guy… do you?"
"Mal there can't be two people with that name", Aaron said sounding miserable. "You don't think he's still… evil do you?"
"I… I don't know."
"What are you talking about", Lilly asked worriedly. "Who is Arthur Watermaine?"
"Well he is clearly the new principal here", Aaron said and his sister-in-law and brother glared at him. He sighed. "But he is also the guy that sexually harassed me and at times Mal because he thought Mal was me."
"What?" Lilly shrieked.
"He's insane", Malcolm explained. "He tried to force himself onto Ron lots of times… me too when he thought I was Ron."
"And he's at this school?" Lilly looked horrified. "Malcolm! Wes looks like the two of you!"
Aaron paled and Malcolm's eyes turned stormy.
"If he's hurt my son", Malcolm Montgomery growled. "I will kill him myself!"
"Kill who", a voice asked and they turned around and saw and Asian man and Asian woman.
"Mr. Kim", Aaron asked carefully.
"Yes", Mr. Kim said. "And you are?"
"I'm Aaron Montgomery", Aaron said and held out his hand. "We spoke over the phone."
"Ah yes… Wesley's uncle was it", Mr. Kim asked and shook the offered hand. "Are we going to get to the bottom of this?"
"We are already close", Malcolm said and told Mr. Kim what they had just learnt and when he mentioned the former rape-attempts Mrs. Kim gasped and grabbed her husband by the arm.
"Meilin", she said. "Liam… he… he said…"
"I know…" Meilin told her. "He and Chris both."
"You got another son", Lilly asked.
"Yes", Mrs. Kim said. "Both of them… they've… they've been trying to tell us something about Watermaine but when we asked what it was they just shut us out."
Aaron bit his lip and looked at his family.
"Do you think Wes' change has something to do with this as well", he asked.
"I hope not", Malcolm said. "But… You told us Meilin that Liam started to hang out with my son, looking like him and such and word has gotten to us that Wes has gone and I quote: 'mega-über-super-goth-punk-emo'. Wes is not… like that usually. I don't know what has happened but it must've been something bad."
"Wasn't your son mixed up in the whole abuse-thing that got the last principal fired and arrested", Mrs. Kim asked.
"Yes", Lilly said and sniffled. "That boy gets too involved."
Aaron was about to point out that he takes after his parents when suddenly three men ran towards the school, one holding a ladder and another holding an iron-pipe… and the last one a first aid kit, while talking on the phone, calling an ambulance. Aaron had a bad feeling and he ran after them, the other parents following. The three men didn't seem to see them but soon they stopped.
"Boys what's happening!" the one with the pipe yelled.
Aaron saw more than a dozen of boys standing by a broken window. Aaron recognized some of them. He noticed they were all crowding around the window, except for three who were sitting on the ground, caring for a boy that had gotten his clothes torn open on his torso… and that was crying.
"CHRIS!" Mrs. Kim shouted and the crying boy looked up.
"Mom! Dad!" He cried and ran to them and they pulled him into a hug. The other boys seemed to see the group of grownups then.
"What's going on here", Malcolm demanded to know, just as the man with the ladder moved towards the window.
"Mr. Montgomery!" a boy exclaimed and hurried towards them. The Montgomerys recognized him at once. It was Nick Sullivan, one of Wes' friends in the Warblers.
"Nick", Lilly said when he reached them. "What is going on?"
"Wes tackled Watermaine out through the window!" Nick said looking horrified and worried.
"WHAT?" Aaron and Malcolm yelled and pushed their way towards the window and looked outside. They couldn't see their boy, but they saw Watermaine… looking up at the wall. Aaron and Malcolm followed his gaze. But then… they saw their son/nephew fall from a window up there… no not fall… being pushed. Malcolm felt his heart stuck in his throat as he saw his son fall and disappear from view. They were on the third floor… Wes would never survive that!
"NO!" the twins screamed. What happened do you wonder? Should I tell or not… okay okay I'll tell… no need to glare at me like that.
The Warblers had been on the third floor of four when Chris had rammed Wes and Wes later tackled Watermaine. The tackle sent both of them out the window but to their luck there was a roof just below the window. A flat roof and the two of them landed on it. Watermaine on his back and Wes on top of the principal, the principal also had his bullwhip with him. Wes got the wind knocked out him and therefore it was easy for Watermaine to just push him off. Watermaine got up slowly.
"Wes!" someone shouted from above, they'd fallen a floor down.
"Get up!" someone else shouted. Watermaine didn't know who it was, he was bad with names and had no idea how his students sounded. The only voice he could directly pinpoint among his students was the student lying in front of him. Watermaine smirked and raised his bullwhip.
"Behind you!" a third voice yelled in panic.
"NO!" a fourth voice shouted and Watermaine knew that voice. It was the voice of the boy he had been about to fuck the living daylights out of. He couldn't help it. The little Asian was too cute. He swung the whip but then stared in shock. The boy in front of him had held his arm up and the whip twirled around it. The boy grabbed hold of it.
"Let's see how tough you are with that thing when I don't have to let you use it", Wes yelled and got up on his feet and pulled. Watermaine did the same. They circled each other, the whip was tense between them. Watermaine growled and pulled with all force he could muster and Wes came towards him and Watermaine hit at his face with his free hand. But Wes dove underneath his arm and got up behind him, kicked him over the back and Watermaine fell to the ground… err roof.
The boys above cheered and as Watermaine got up slowly he saw his whip being flung over his head and off of the roof. As he turned he saw students and teachers in the windows behind Wes. He saw Nurse Jackie stare at them before running off. Watermaine growled and looked at Wes who stood smirking at him.
"Okay you little shrimp", Watermaine growled and cracked his neck, took off his jacket and then cracked his knuckles. "Show me what you got. But I'm warning you. I am a boxer."
Wes snorted at him.
"And I'm a martial arts champion and also younger and much more agile than you, you sicko!" he yelled and Watermaine saw the true hate and anger in the boy's eyes. It made him look so much like Aaron and his brother Malcolm. Even though they were twins it was Aaron that had always pulled at Watermaine's heartstrings. Watermaine snorted.
"Yeah but kid I got more range and weight on my side", he said. "And I promise you that if I don't kill you I will nearly paralyze you and then fuck you so hard your friends up there will feel it… and then I'll go for that other Asian boy."
"No!" Wes yelled and attacked. His kicks and hits… and jump-kicks were too fast for Watermaine to react to. The boy was right… he was younger and more agile… and faster. But he was angry and anger made you do rash things. If Watermaine could just tick him off… he could take him.
"You move fast for a shrimp", Watermaine growled.
"And you move slower than a snail", Wes spat back.
"I'm gonna kill you Montgomery and then I will go after every single student at this school!"
"You can try but we won't let you!" Wes yelled and made a fake kick. He started the kick and Watermaine put his arms up to protect his chest and face, but Wes stopped and since Watermaine left his stomach and lower regions vulnerable that's where he aimed. Watermaine yelped when Wes' strong kick hit him in the stomach.
"Yes!" someone shouted.
"Go Wes!"
"Take that bastard!"
"Get him Montgomery!"
"For Dalton!"
"For music!"
"For us!" That last was called from above and all those words seem to give Wes new energy because he attacked and each blow landed perfectly. Watermaine gasped and yelped as soon as he was hit or kicked. He was losing his temper… he had to even the odds… and he knew just how to do it. He dodged a kick and jumped back. He dug around in his inner pocket and got hold of something. When Wes was about to kick again Watermaine threw the item at him.
"Ah!" Wes exclaimed and pressed a hand to his arm and then stared at the ground a bit behind him. A knife was lying there.
"Watch out Wes!" someone yelled. Joseph he thought. Wes threw himself to the side and rolled onto his feet. Watermaine had the knife again and was smirking.
"Next time I'll cut your face Montgomery", he said. "And can you go on for much longer? You are panting and I know you had a tough match at Carmel… and I haven't counted your vicious attack in the dojo, the rape, the abuse with the cat o' nine tails and other beat ups into the mix yet."
"I'm just fine!" Wes spat but Watermaine could see that he was tired… and Wes knew it too. His body hadn't gotten time to regain its strength these past few days and not even before that… not since the beating he took from the Lacrosse team. He had moved too much… had worked too much and taken too many hits for his body to be able to rest properly. He threw himself to the side as Watermaine came at him, waving the knife around like crazy.
'I got to get off of this roof before he kills me', Wes thought as he rolled to his feet near the edge. But the ground below was just bushes and he had no idea what was hiding underneath them. He would probably hurt himself and Watermaine would come after him and kill him. The whole fight Wes hadn't been thinking of kicking Watermaine's ass. He had been searching for an escape. The windows couldn't be opened… some safety thing so he couldn't go through them. And he could feel the cuts from the window he went through burn and the pain from his ribs… crashing onto Watermaine. He had to get off of the roof. He knew it… and the Warblers knew it. He dared to look up at them and saw them search for ways to get to him.
"Wes!" Jeff shrieked in terror and he turned and saw Watermaine and the knife coming at him. He bowed forward and the arm sailed past above him… but his view was blocked by a knee. He yelped in pain as Watermaine's knee connected with his face. Watermaine then grabbed him by his hair and put the knife at his throat.
"Any last words Montgomery", he growled. Wes clawed at the hand holding his hair and glared at Watermaine. "I will even let you say them."
"I'm not gonna say anything", Wes spat.
"Oh?"
"I'm gonna sing so you get it!"
"Oh really?"
Wes glared at him and sang:
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I
Defying gravity
With you and I
Defying gravity
They'll never bring us down!
Wes' plan worked. Watermaine was taken aback by Wes just singing like this was a Disney movie or something and that was what Wes had been counting on. He brought his leg up… between Waetrmaine's the man yelped and dropped the knife. Wes pushed him away and rolled back, hitting the wall. He rubbed his head and got up.
"Wesley!" he heard someone shout above him and he looked up. A window was open and below it hung a thick wall of ivy. The only problem… there was at least 6 meters to the ivy from the roof.
"Sweet, sweet Pavarotti give me wings", Wes mumbled and prayed that his long jump legs would kick in. His personal record was around 6 meters. He ran at the edge and jumped. He smashed against the wall, but got a grip on the ivy and held on for dear life. He heard cursing and turned and saw Watermaine getting up gingerly. Wes decided not to waste any time so he scrambled up the ivy towards the window. When he reached the windowsill Watermaine was on his feet, Wes looked down on him and sighed. He then looked up and paled. Mr. Moore stood there and the man was pale.
"Give me your hands", Mr. Moore said. "Trust me."
Wes bit his lip and looked down on Watermaine. He was looking up at Wes, probably thinking if it was worth jumping to the ivy and get them both down.
"Wes please", Mr. Moore said. "I want to help."
Wes reached up and took Mr. Moore's offered hand. The man held on to him and then took Wes' other hand. Wes struggled to get up. But… when he was halfway up the windowsill Mr. Moore leaned in close.
"I'm so sorry", he whispered into Wes' ear and Wes' eyes widened in terror and the next thing he knew… Moore pushed him back and Wes fell.
"NO!" he heard someone scream as he fell and the next thing he knew he heard cracking noises as hit something.
Kurt, Thad, David and Blaine had run out of the school as soon as they saw Watermaine pull a knife and they only had one thought in mind… find things to throw at the man to help Wes. They had seen the grownups rush towards the window with a ladder and they all thought it was stupid. But when they rounded the last corner they heard a scream and saw their friend fall from a window above. He fell out of sight as he crashed down among the bushes.
But… there was something odd going on here. They all heard a splash… not a thud… a splash. Thad and Kurt were the fastest sprinters and they ran at the bushes and realized something… they were fake! They were made of plastic and something else they had no idea about what. Came to think of it… they'd never seen the bushes here before. Kurt ignored it and he and Thad pushed their way past them aaaaand plummeted down into ice cold water that was so deep they went under all the way. They kicked off at the bottom and got up sputtering.
"What the hell?" Kurt shrieked then they heard a chuckle and pushed past the bushes and saw Wes lying in the water… tangled in fake bushes. He was bleeding from his temple and had cuts everywhere… and his shoulder seemed to be dislocated. But he was smiling tiredly.
"I forgot the old pond that is the last of the old moat that was covered up in 1912", he said. "And that the art and garden club wanted to hide from the gardeners so they wouldn't fill it up with dirt. Thank you Ms. Nolan!"
"WES!" Kurt screamed overjoyed and he and Thad threw their arms around him.
"Guys!" David called from the shore and the trio started to fight their way back through the fake bushes… after untangling Wes from them. Then began the hard work of getting Wes out of the water… when he only had his legs to use. The knife wound was aching too bad and his other arm was dislocated.
Suddenly they heard splashes and two male police officers appeared from out of the blue and helped them. They heard screams from above as the police wrestled down Watermaine. Who was yelling curses, threats and insults at Wes, at Chris, at the cops, at Liam, at Coach Parker, the staff, the students, Dalton, Wes' dad and uncle and at Mr. Moore because he couldn't even kill a boy correctly. Wes' eyes darkened and he looked up at the window and saw Mr. Moore look at him with big horrified eyes. Wes narrowed his eyes at the man and soon Moore was pulled away from the window and punched by Nurse Jackie. Wes started to chuckle as he was led towards an ambulance. Then he sang:
So if you care to find me
Look to the western sky!
As someone told me lately:
"Ev'ryone deserves the chance to fly!"
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who'd ground me
Take a message back from me
Tell them how I am
Defying gravity
I'm flying high
Defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!
Bring me down!
Woah!
Kurt started to laugh and hugged his friend close while the cops just stared at him. They shook their heads and after a bit, Wes started to stumble as he walked. One of the cops shrugged and just picked him up and carried him. David, Blaine, Kurt and Thad started to snicker and Wes pointed at their faces.
"Not. A. Word", he growled dangerously. "I mean it!"
They stopped snickering and Wes smirked satisfied and was soon loaded into an ambulance and as the doors shut he lost consciousness… damn what a day it had been.
TBC