Julia stared down at her English final exam grade in her hands. '89.... Can't believe I managed that, after spending all my time getting supplies for you, baby.' Julia thought, running a hand tentatively across her large stomach.

She'd reached her due date two days ago; looks like Jules' baby was a late bloomer. Julia smiled weakly at the thought as she waddled her way down the staircase to the entrance of the school. She herself had been a late baby too; four weeks overdue. The F-Dynasty beyblader could still recall her mom telling her how when she finally was born, she came out silent as a lamb and so still they thought she'd been a still birth.

Julia also remembered her mother saying how much she wanted to hear her daughter cry...

Julia wondered briefly what the sound of her own baby's cries would be like.

Was she having a boy?

A girl?

Maybe twins???

As the time passed by Julia found herself mesmerized by the possibilities. Maybe it would be a girl with dark brown hair, like her mom, and be in Love with math; Julia's worst subject.

Maybe a handsome young man as timid and shy as her own younger brother.

As said; the possibilities were endless. Julia often found herself lying awake at night, feeling her round stomach desperately for the kick of her little miracle inside.

Miracle.

Now and again, Julia tried to pinpoint the exact moment everything changed.

This baby wasn't thought of as a miracle at first, hell no... Julia was scared, scared and alone, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't know who to talk to, how to get help. Her thoughts were constantly plagued by the ridicule she'd receive, how people would look down on her and how her life would never be the same.

How she'd 'ruined it', as adults liked to put it.

Then, why now, when she cradled her baby bump in her arms she felt her life had never been more complete?

Julia sighed as she stepped out of the school and slowly made her way across the campus. Yes, her back and her legs, definitely her vagina, had or would suffer. But it was worth it.

Julia had almost made it to her car, when she felt something warm suddenly drench her jeans and a small stab of pain low in her belly.


"What!?" Max nearly yelled, causing almost everyone in the audience to look at him weirdly and murmur shushes at him. Tate grit his teeth and held his cell phone closer to his ear, trying to decrease the distraction as much as he could.

Xavier's auditorium was packed; it was Ian's big day. Many people, some more than others, were so wrapped up in the show of knowledge and wit before them that they hardly noticed Max climb out of his seat and make his way through the crowded rows of chairs until he'd found the theatre door and exited as quickly and silently as he could.

Julia was having her baby.

She'd called him, screaming and wailing on her cell phone from the hospital about how nervous and excited she was all at the same time and how she just wanted Max to be there with she and her brother as they waited the remaining few hours for the big moment.

Max had promised Julia, as her closest friend, to never let her down, and he told her that he would be there for her.

So as soon as Max wheeled his way through the hallowed halls of the academy, he shot out the door like lightning and hailed the nearest cab.

'Julia, here I come!'


Mariam cocked an eyebrow at the sight of her ex fleeing the auditorium, but it also just brought a huge pang of guilt as she watched his back disappear behind the swinging door with a low thud.

Returning her attention to the stage, where Ian stood proudly and full of pride she exchanged a look with Tala. Just, a look...

A special look. Getting up from his seat as well, Tala handed Kevin the familiar video camera and watched the green haired boy place in a new tape, ready and rolling, while Tala made his way backstage unnoticed; a certain tape clenched in his hand.

..Well he thought he'd been unnoticed. But the observant eyes of one Jonathon McGreggor followed him cautiously as he side-stepped sound equipment and tried to tuck the videotape ever more elusively into his jacket. Narrowing his eyes, Johnny looked back up at Ian on stage at his podium, 5 other competitors arranged in a semi-circle. The announcer looked down at his cue cards before looking back up at the students.

"Name the golfer who has been awarded 'PGA Player Of The Year' an astounding nine times."

There was barely time to switch gazes from the host to the contestants before Ian had slammed his hand down on his buzzer.

"Tiger Woods."

"That is correct!"

The crowd erupted into cheers. Johnny looked over at his 'friends' once again. Mariam was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, but Kevin was whispering to Micheal with an excited look in his eyes.

Johnny didn't like that look. Straining his ears over the rest of the questions and clapping, Johnny struggled to pick out Kevin and Micheal's whispered words.

"..Wonder how much trouble we'd be in if we got caught?" Kevin muttered with a smirk, flicking his gaze up at Ian who looked truly happy. (Maybe it was because every time someone got a point, Sally Ragan would be the one to change the scorecards on the front of their podiums.)

"Dunno! Mannnnnnn, that little fag is gonna get what's comin' to him!" Micheal enthused back. "Tala should be puttin' it up about now..."

Johnny's heart dropped.

Ian. They were going to do something to Ian.

But, before Johnny could get out of his chair fast enough-


Ian beamed at his fellow students as they clapped for him. Sally was smiling so brightly every time he got a correct answer.

Man was he on today!

So far he'd wracked up 28 points compared to the other schools' 13, 22, 7 and 1.

Just four more questions to go.. Four more, and he would win! Ian had did it! Looks like all the studying he did payed off.

But, that wasn't even the best part. It was feeling like he mattered, for nearly the first time after the Demolition Boys disbanded. For the first time since he'd opened up and shown the world the real him.

They were proud of him.

Ian barely had to think as he spat out the answers to the last three questions.

'Name the 6 Kingdoms of living organisms.'
'Protista, Fungi, Bacteria, Archaea, Animalia and Plantae!'
'What is the measure of a surface's reflection ability in regards to the planet?'
'Albedo!'
'How many solutions can be drawn from the equations of two parallel lines?'
'0.'

"Now for the final question. Ian, if you can get this question correct you are our new Scholastic Decathlon champion!"

Ian bit down hard on his lip to keep the tension from getting to him.

Someone backstage injected a video tape into the television show's video input system.

"Ian; Name the sport children aged seven to seventeen partake in that has it's own world championship and consists of teams made up of one to seven people?"

His hand met the buzzer instantly.

"BEYBLADE!"

The auditorium roared as Sally jumped up and down happily and gave Ian the final point. No one in the gym that day would forget the look on Ian's face on the jumbo projected screenplay behind the competitors.

No one would forget it as everything was ripped away either.

In a flash, the image of Ian taking his trophy from Sally Ragan's hands disappeared.

The image of him masturbating to the Decathlon pamphlet reared it's disturbing, embarrassing head.

Jaws dropped as Ian turned and gasped loudly, his golden trophy slipping from his hands and clattering to the floor noisily. The silence in the room was deafening; before a loud chorus of laughter and hoots of disgust filled it instead.

Ian looked out at the people around him. '...Why?'

With a clench of his teeth, Ian ran from the auditorium, leaving the room with the macabre sound of his moans and hand.


Tala laughed so hard he nearly fell to his knees backstage. Kevin thought he was dying. Micheal fell out of his seat. Mariam buried her head in her shoulder and tried to hide the snickers sneaking out of her lips.

Johnny felt a little of his heart break, before he stumbled his way out of the bleachers and ran after Ian.


Max pulled up outside the hospital, leaving the cab parked on the lot of the coffee joint just across the street. Getting out quickly, he slammed his door shut and made a dart across the road for the parking lot through the traffic, nearly getting mowed down twice but making it.

Too bad he didn't get to the doors.

A hand grabbed his shirt roughly, and pulled Max back with such force that it took the blonde right off his feet and sent him sailing to the rough pavement below. Max howled in pain, before pushing himself up to his elbows and looking at the owner of the malicious intent.

A tall blonde stared down at him, pure hatred shining in his eyes.

"So you think you can fuck around with my girlfriend huh?"

"W-What!?" Max exclaimed, pushing himself up off the rough asphalt and facing the man. "I don't know what you're talkin' about dude!"

"YEAH FUCKIN' RIGHT YOU DON'T!"

Before Max could react, Nathan's punch landed him in the jaw with a vicious crack and with the impact made the blonde BladeBreaker slam into the side of the hospital concrete wall.

Max gagged, spitting out drops of blood and tried to raise his hands to protect his head as he saw Nathan come at him again.


"Did you fucking see that!? Did you fucking see the twerp's face!?" Micheal hooted as he stepped into the washroom of the auditorium floor and high-fived Ian with a wide grin.

"That was the most motley, outrageous, HILARIOUS thing I have ever done in my life." Tala smirked, closing the door behind he, Kevin and Micheal as the three laughed their way into a fit. "The Headmaster's trippin' balls."

Ian, inside the last stall, covered his head with his hands and just prayed that they didn't see his feet. He knew it was them.. Or well, they had something to do it. How could he be so fucking stupid!? Getting up in front of everyone like that.. He might as well have had a suicide wish.

...

Ian grit his teeth as tears stung his eyes and cascaded down his red cheeks.

Outside the stall, Kevin suddenly grasped Tala's shoulder and put a finger to his lips; then pointed at the pair of shaking feet faintly visible from under the door of the last bathroom stall.

Tala's smirk curved into an even more cruel grin as he winked at the duo beside him. Upping the volume of his voice just so, he began to 'continue' their conversation.

"You know.... None of this would've been possible if it weren't for Johnny."

Nodding slowly, then smirking as he caught on Micheal nodded quickly.

"Yeah yeah! I mean, Johnny was the one who gave us his key so we could get into he and Ian's room and hide the camera!"

Lies. It was unbelievable.

But it was enough.

Ian clenched his fists, as he heard the three banter and then walk out of the bathroom.


Johnny paused, hands on his knees, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Where the hell had Ian gotten to?! He'd looked everywhere... From up ahead, he suddenly heard familiar voices. Narrowing his eyes and feeling his blood boil, Johnny dashed at them.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FUCKING DID THAT!" The Majestic screamed, grabbing Tala by the shoulder and all but throwing the redhead into the side of his own locker. "That was the cruelest thing I've ever seen!"

Tala just growled and pushed Johnny back quickly.

"You got no friggin' proof that we did anything McGreggor! Now MIND YOUR OWN DAMN BUSINESS!..."

But not even Tala could help the smirk that fought it's way onto his lips again as he remembered the tall tale he'd spun with Micheal and Kevin in the washroom. As they paraded down the hall away from Johnny in search of Mariam, Tala only hoped that both McGreggor and Ian got just what was coming their way.


Nathan spat at Max as he walked away from the quivering, shuddering heap of a boy he'd left in the darkness of the hospital alley. Blood smeared the wall behind the blonde mess of a teen and some was on the ground too, but most drenched Max's torn and tattered clothing.

That would teach him; most certainly.

Nathan got into his car then, casting a dirty look at the stoic walls of the hospital and cursing Julia's name to hell before climbing back into his car and driving away.


Julia nearly screamed as she felt the very first urge to push, looking around desperately for Raul's hand to grab onto.

Where was Max? He was supposed to be there too, and-

Oh GOD, it hurt!


Ian returned to school about an hour later. His jacket was pulled tightly around him.

The 'excitement' over the game show was still a hot topic, and he couldn't meet a single gaze he passed in the hallway once returning from home during dinner time. He needed to pick something up.

As he walked quietly down the halls, people stared and whispered; people laughed and joked.

'Funny as hell...'
'It was mean, but it was pretty right on too!'
'Poor kid...'
'Oh lighten up!'

Ian tried to block the voices out of his head as he pushed open the massive doors of the cafeteria.

He would be in there.

Looking around, Ian spotted Johnny stand up just as soon as he entered the cafeteria and start straight for him.

"Hello Johnny. Enjoy the show?"

"Ian! I've been looking everywhere for you man! I'm SO sorry for what they did!" Johnny said, soon being followed by Kai, Mariah, Ray and a few others who wanted to apologize for the shameful display earlier.

"You're not sorry."

Johnny blinked, then cocked an eyebrow.

"..Yeah dude, I am! No one should EVER have to deal with that."

"Yet I do almost every day. And all of you think it's funny, huh?" Ian said. He began to sidestep, looking around Johnny at everyone behind him and around the group.

Other heads in the cafeteria looked up, watching the confrontation, eyeing the conflict before them. No one said a word.

"N-No Ian, NOBODY thinks it was funny!" Johnny said again.

Kai grit his teeth. Was it just him, or was the air getting thicker?

"That's a lie. I know you too well, Johnny." Ian moved a hand into his jacket, keeping it there.

"..Ian man, what are you talking about...?" Johnny said slowly, feeling Darcy's eyes burn nervously into his back with fear. "I felt like beating Tala's ass for setting that up." Ian just 'Hm' ed and looked around the café. Tala, Mariam, Kevin and Micheal weren't there.

"You know what I'm talking about Johnny."


Julia screamed again, doctors trying to shush her. Raul gripped his sister's hand tightly, holding on for dear life as he listened to the doctor's instructions and tried his best to calm his frantic family member's state.

"Hang on Julia..."


"Ian.. You don't honestly think I had somethin' to do with this do you!?" Johnny exclaimed, extending his arms in plea. "I swear to God I wouldn't-"

"SHUT UP!" Everyone gasped as Ian withdrew his hand. Cocked and ready to shoot, Ian held a sleek back handgun.

Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. The air felt suffocating to everyone in that cafeteria suddenly, and everyone wished desperately at the same time that it was a bad dream.

Johnny's scared eyes widened unbelievably and Darcy uttered a scared gasp, fisting her hands in the back of Johnny's shirt.

Frankie dropped her lunch tray to the floor, covering her mouth instead.
King nearly choked.
Kai froze solid.
Mariah clung to Ray like never before.
Robert's pencil cracked in his hand.
Bryan's mouth slowly drifted open.

Tyson muttered, "No......"


"PUSH HARDER JULIA!" Raul said loudly, Julia's yelps and whimpers of pain nearly louder than his ecstatic voice.

"I'M TRYING!"

"Just a little more Julia! Keep pushing, just a little more...!"


"No goin' back now."

Johnny pushed Darcy away from him and to the floor for her safety before darting left, hoping he could clear everyone and lead the psychotic break of his ex-friend after him.

"Not ever again, Johnny."

Ian fired a shot, and Johnny fell to the cold, hard floor after a half-step more of running.

The whole school could only scream.


"YOU DID IT! Congratulations Julia, a darling baby boy!" The nurse grinned, holding up the little miracle within arms reach of Julia's shaking hands.

Taking her baby, Julia felt tears flow hotter down her cheeks as she stared down at the fruit of her pain. Stared down at her happy future.


Another shot rang out in the cafeteria; more screams as blood hit the ceiling.


Jemma: Anyone crying? Anyone screaming? SB did her fair share of both while writing this chapter. It doesn't get much darker than that. The end is coming soon. Review, please.