Yeah yeah I know it's been a while.

Disclaimer: We do not own Jessie.

Chapter 9: Repay the Debt

Luke has definitely screwed up big time.

And he has the throbbing in his eye and right hand to prove it.

Principal Baker definitely isn't a happy camper either. Not with the way he stares dangerous daggers at Luke, as if wishing for the 16 year old to explode into a million pieces and never to return to the school. He has been sitting behind his very nicely crafted mahogany desk for at least two minutes straight, staring at Luke like a wolf stares at prey.

Yup, Baker is most definitely angry. And Luke is about to be in for the punishment of his life.

Luke wants to speak up, but the glare Principal Baker gives him makes him keep his mouth glued shut. He's afraid that by uttering the smallest of syllables will cause Baker to turn into the mightiest of dragons and breathe fire everywhere.

So, Luke sits silently while placing a bag of ice on his left eye.

"Mr. Ross," Baker finally ends his silent streak and speaks to Luke with frustration dripping from his voice, "I believe I have been very patient when it comes to you and your misdemeanors, pranks, disorderly conduct, and complete disregard for school regulations. I have spoken with your parents and guardian. I have given countless detentions and pleaded with the school board against expelling you because you and your family have been so kind and generous to this school, and I see so much potential in you." His hands land on the desk, making a sound that causes Luke to jump. "But now you're assaulting other students?! You're fighting students as if this is some boxing ring and not a school?!" Luke shrinks in his seat, not liking the angry yet disappointed look his principal is giving him. "This kind of behavior is unacceptable and inexcusable! It is completely outrageous! What do you have to say for yourself?"

What does he have to say for himself? What can he say for himself? Nothing. Luke threw the first punch. Luke started the brawl. No matter what he said, he would still be in the wrong in the eyes of the principal.

Would it be fair? Hell no. Evan has been getting away with bullying students and beating them up ever since Luke can remember. His actions get overlooked every single time because of how valuable he is to the basketball team, and how much his parents have donated to the school. He gets to walk around like a vicious lion scaring the innocent and never face the consequences for it.

So yeah, it really isn't fair.

Luke sits silently. He can't meet the eyes of his principal he impatiently and irately waits for a reply from Luke. "Nothing? You have no explanation for yourself?" Baker has had to deal with difficult teenagers for quite a few years now. He's dealt with disagreements between students, and irrational and unexplainable behavior from students. It's a 50/50 with whether students have an excuse for behavior or not, but no matter what, the students who make excuses when they get in trouble always make excuses, while the students who sit silently and challenge authority are consistent in that matter. The weird thing about this scenario is that Luke Ross always has some explanation for his antics, whether they be legitimate or half-assed. Seeing the teen sit there with nothing to say is throwing Principal Baker off guard since this is not normal for the young Ross boy.

Luke finally looks up into his Principals eyes and for the first time, Principal Baker sees Lukes heart that he has reluctantly displayed on his sleeve. He sees the anger boiling deep on the inside, like a kettle of boiling water. He sees the anguish stored closer to the front, threatening to leak out in large salty puddles. He sees guilt buried somewhere in between, followed by sorrow and fear. And somewhere on top of all that, he sees the spirit of a damaged soul that has seen too much, and been through too much in a short period of time.

It's all there. Every emotion Luke has felt ever since he found his brother bleeding out on his bathroom floor. Ever thought, every fear, everything. He feels the need to cry his eyes out until he's numb, but he does his best to hold it together.

Principal Baker softens his hardened demeanor enough in order to try and get words out of the young boy. "Luke, please tell me why you fought Mr. Carter?"

Luke looks away. He takes an interest in his bloody knuckles. Principal Baker won't understand why he did what he did. Nobody would understand. But the longer he sits there playing mute, the worse it would be for Luke.

"I," Luke rasps, taking in a breath to remove the lump in his throat, "I did it f-for Ravi."

"For... Ravi?" Principal Baker does his best to keep his tone neutral as he sits back with confusions written on his eyebrows.

"He…" the lump is making it hard for Luke to form the words, but he can't find the energy to swallow it down. "He used to bully Ravi," Lukes breath shakes as the hot tears form in his eyes, "a lot.

"Evan…, I…, he," Luke is finding it increasingly difficult to create coherent words as his voice trembles, "he said something." A tear rolls down his cheek, but he doesn't wipe it. "Something about Ravi…"

Principal Baker sits forward with concern. "What did he say?" Of course, he already knew what happened to Ravi Ross, and was supposed to meet with him today, but the principal hadn't arrived to the campus until later into the school day, preventing him from meeting with the younger boy.

Luke feels the anger, but at the same time feels the misery as the tears fall. "H-h-he," the stutter occurs because of his inability to breathe properly, "he said t-that Ravi should have died." His voice cracks on the last word and he fits back the sobs, each one coming out like a cross between a hiccup and a pant. His face feels wet, but he's unable to bring his hand to wipe away the tears. "I g-got angry because Ravi, h-he tried…" He can't finish. He can't speak. He can't breathe because the red hot rage is gone and it left behind heartache and grief.

Principal Baker sighs, his hardened demeanor completely fading away. His intentions had initially been filled with anger, but after seeing the broken boy and hearing his side of the story, any hatred he might have felt melted away. "Luke I understand what you're going through, and I am aware that this is a hard time for your family, but there are better ways to deal with a bully without using violence."

No. Luke shakes his head. "N-no you don't understand…" but he can't say anymore because speaking suddenly exhausts him. He's heard that line countless times, but it has done nothing to help Ravi when he needed it the most.

For the first time in his career, Principal Baker found himself at a loss for words. "You know what?" Luke peers at him through watery eyes. "Why don't you, uhh, wait outside while I figure this out and get in contact with a guardian." Luke nods and trudges out the door.

The principal lets out the loudest breath. Being a principal, he has had to put up with some heavy things in regard to the students. But suicide attempts are a whole different level. Of course, he has done the required trainings to prepare himself for an event like this. He knows the course of action that should be taken with the students and families. And he also knows that a situation like this could have unpredictable outcomes. And a student lashing out at another student is what Baker sees as unpredictable.

What is he to do when the circumstances are as complex with this one?

He rubs his hands over his faces, then through his hair. He can basically feel the balding occurring due to the massive amount of stress.

He shakes his head. He isn't going to falter and fold under pressure. He is going to do exactly what his many years of experience has trained him to do.

But first, he makes a phone call.

It didn't take long for Ravi, Emma, and Zuri to arrive at their building after school. The Manhattan traffic is relatively light today, and the car ride seemed shorter as Zuri and Emma engaged Ravi in a discussion about his day and the highlights of it. Even though there were no highlights, the sisters seemed happy to hear about the day Ravi had at school, and this reaction gave him a joyous feeling inside.

The first thing (first person rather) they see when they enter the lobby is Tony, seeming happy as always with the epaulettes he's so proud of. His face seems to light up even more upon the site of the Ross siblings. "Hey look! It's my favorite family!" He beams.

Emma and Zuri chuckle while Ravi gives a small and short smile. "Hey Tony." Emma says as they make their way towards the elevator.

Tony's expression changes slightly as his eyes fall upon Ravi who clutches his left arm close to his chest, something he's inadvertently been doing all day. The light in his eyes is replaced with pity and empathy for all but a second before they regain the joy they had before. It's a miniscule change but Ravi sees it as it crosses Tony's face.

Tony doesn't know what to say, or if he should be saying anything to the younger teen. Everything that he comes up with in his mind just does not sound right or feels offensive, and the last thing he wants to do is offend the vulnerable boy. And the last thing he wants to do is not acknowledge him too.

He was there the night it all went down. It was a rather slow night that night, and on slow nights Tony liked to binge-watch some of his favorite shows, as long as his boss wasn't in the vicinity. That night he chose Prison Break. He was just getting into the episode he was watching when he heard the sirens coming close. At first he ignored it, figuring it was meant to go somewhere else in the city, but he reluctantly paused the show and looked towards the door when the ambulance stopped in front of the building, flashing red and blue around the vacant lobby. Concern rose in him as the paramedics rushed out of the truck with a gurney and other medical tools that Tony couldn't put a name to. Tony barely remembers asking them where they were going but remembers hearing the words "penthouse" among the chaos. It made Tony's blood run cold in fear of what happened to the Ross family, in fear of something happening to Jessie. The paramedics disappeared through the elevator doors and Tony watched as the little indicator above the elevator dinged on PH for penthouse. He used the intercom to communicate with the penthouse, letting the inhabitants know that medical help was headed to their floor. He didn't receive a response.

Somewhere between two to five minutes (or maybe longer) later, the elevator began to descend back down to the lobby. Tony watched as the indicator went from PH all the way down 40 floors to Lobby. Tony held his breath when he heard the ding, praying that the person who was hurt wasn't Jessie (even though he hoped nobody was hurt). As the doors opened, Tony was able to make out a head full of red hair standing next to the paramedics with concern laced across her face. He was relieved for only a second until he made out the raven hair and brown skin of the boy who was strapped to the gurney.

Ravi?

The boy was lying unconsciously on the gurney. He looked pale and limp, which said a lot since he naturally has a darker complexion. But what really drew Tony's attention was the way his left arm had been wrapped and bandaged, and how blood seeped through the fabric like it was simply toilet paper. What drew his attention was the worried and stressed look on Jessie's face as she hurried after him. What drew his attention was the way Emma and Zuri held onto Luke and supported him as he sobbed, basically dragging him behind the gurney. He looked broken and ready to collapse into a heap on the floor. But Emma and Zuri who also had tear streaked faces, dragged him along.

Tony knows he's not the brightest crayon in the box. He's always been pretty slow and it's never bothered him. But for the first time, he was sharp enough to put two and two together.

Tony nearly jumped over the front desk as the family hurried out the front door and into the ambulance. Tony called out for Jessie but received no response seeing with what she was dealing with. He wasn't even sure what he would have told her anyway. Maybe he would have tried to help in someway.

In reality, he knew nothing he did would help.

Tony hasn't seen Ravi since that night. The day after that when Jessie, Emma, and Zuri came home from the hospital to shower and such, Tony approached Jessie instantly, showering her with questions and words of sympathy. She answered most of them, informing him that Ravi underwent a blood transfusion and that he would be alright. He woke up before they left and they were overwhelmingly grateful that he was found before anything worse happened. Tony didn't push her to answer any more questions and allowed the ladies to go to their apartment in piece. He wasn't working the day Ravi returned from the hospital, nor was he present when the kids went to school this morning.

Tony is flabbergasted seeing Ravi up and moving as if he wasn't knocking on deaths door recently. But he does his best to not let it show and greets Ravi with the most neutral thing he can think of. "Hey Ravi. How's it going?"

Ravi doesn't really meet Tony's eyes as he visibly struggles to find the right way to answer Tony's question. He looks uncomfortable and awkward and starts to stutter when Tony realizes his mistake.

How do you think it's going you idiot? The kid tried to kill himself!

Tony mentally face palms himself as he tries to fix his mistake. "Uh, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I did but, uhh, not in the same way you would ask anyone else. What a dumb question to ask but we all know I'm not the smartest cookie heh." He nervously laughs as he rambles.

Ravi cuts him off with a wave of his hand. "Tony it's okay."

"No but I—"

"Seriously," Ravi cuts him off before he can stick his foot further in his mouth, "it's fine. Don't worry about it." The elevator opens just then and the three siblings step inside before Tony has a chance to respond. He watches as the door shuts and the elevator shoots up to the penthouse, dinging once it reaches the floor.

Tony sighs and let's his head fall back. He really needs to work on his social queues.

Luke's vision continues to blur as he sits and waits outside of Principal Bakers room. The hot red anger he was feeling before has dissipated, leaving him feeling exhausted. He closes his eyes, squeezing out the final few tears left behind, and takes deep breaths to stop himself from shaking.

He had just been in his first fist fight. He's never fought anyone before, not physically anyway. It's not his style. He likes playing pranks, getting people to laugh (or getting on their nerves), and seeing the veins pop out on his principals neck. Never did he physically hurt anyone. He's never liked the idea of physical abuse, and his always been in favor of the notion that putting your hands on someone else is not okay. Sure he used to mess with Ravi all the time, but he never purposefully tried to physically hurt the other boy.

And yet he had no problem causing pain to Evan Carter.

Of course he kind of blacked out when he started to attack Carter. Not blacked out enough for him to forget what happened, but enough for anger to be in control of his actions. But it's been maybe half an hour or more since the event happened, and he's had yet to feel guilty about it. There is not one ounce of him that feels sorry for the way he pummeled Evan and to be completely honest, he would do it again if he had to.

It scares Luke to think like this. Violence has never been his thing, and he'd much rather defuse a fight than start it. But the cocky look on Evans face, and the way he mocked Ravi with so much malice made Luke feel something he's never felt before.

Luke really shouldn't feel guilty anyway. The bully got what he deserved. He's tortured Ravi countless times without remorse. He wanted Ravi to die, much rather preferring the absence of the boy than having to see him. Luke could never allow someone who said those kinds of things about Ravi walk away scott free.

He takes a minute to examine at the bruised knuckles on his right hand. He's punched things before. Walls, doors, punching bags, lockers, tables. Never has he done so much damage that his knuckles became bruised and bloody. He's not even sure the blood on them are his to be honest. He passes a finger along his knuckles, the pain there but tolerable. His hand feels sore though. He removes the bag of ice from his eye and applies it to his hand, but instantly regrets it as the throbbing on the right side of his head worsens.

At least I'm not in Carters positions, he thinks to himself as he puts the ice bag on his eye again.

It suddenly occurs to him the amount of damage he actually did to Evan Carter. He was able to get a good look at him through his tunnel vision and could see the immense amounts of bleeding and swelling that had already started. His eye had already swollen shut, and black and purple bruises danced around his face in various spots. Blood was leaking from a cut on his lip, and he was also spitting out blood coming from his mouth. Luke would've done more had he not been stopped.

On the other hand, it's a good thing he was stopped. He's already in enough trouble for the damage he did and would probably get expelled. Who knows how much more trouble he would get in for doing worse damage to the basketball player?

Luke jolts out of his deep train of thought when he hears the final bell of the day ring, signaling the end of the school day. A panic starts in him. He's supposed to meet Ravi outside of his class like he's done all day. He's supposed to accompany him to his locker, and meet Emma and Zuri so they can go home. They probably don't know that he's in the principal's office. Well, maybe they do know since gossip spreads quick in this school.

Luke sighs as he slouches further in the seat. Ravi has probably already heard of the fight and is probably disappointed in Lukes behavior. He can practically hear the Indian boy scolding him for entertaining violence. Violence is never the answer Luke, Ravi would say in his 'disappointed parent' voice. Luke chuckles at the thought and winces when it causes his headache to jolt like a jackhammer.

Luke hears the clicking of heels against the hardwood floor. He doesn't have to look up to know who it is, and what they're here for. "I know, I know," he mumbles, keeping his eyes trained on his shoes. "I'm grounded for life."

"Oh that seems kind of mild, don't you think?" Jessie makes her way over to the chair next to Luke and sits. "Maybe a few more life times will suffice."

Luke sits up straighter and turns to look at Jessie, his eye mostly covered by the ice. "I thought Mom would be coming here."

"She stayed home so she could take Ravi to his therapy session." When Christina first answered the phone and heard Principal Bakers voice, the way the blood drained from her face was alarming. She had been in a stressed frenzy since she came back, bussing around like an overactive bee. You can tell how much the past events have effected her, and caused her to become more uptight and anxious. She looked just about ready to pass out when the Principal told her about Luke's fight, so Jessie took it upon herself to go to the school while she deal with Ravi's therapy session.

Christina was ready to cry with relief, but ultimately kept it together.

Jessie takes a hold of Luke's wrist and slowly pulls it away from his face to get a better look at the bruising. She cringes at the sight of the ugly purple and red bruising around Luke's eye, and the slight swelling that has developed. It's not the worst bruise she's ever seen, but it's still pretty freaking ugly.

"How bad is it?" Luke's voice is barely above a whisper, but it's loud enough for her to hear.

She twists her lips as she thinks about it. "Pretty terrible but you'll survive." Luke's eyes quickly become downturned, but Jessie was still able to see the pain and angst in them. The same pain and angst he's been caring for over a week now. She wants to stay upset with him for fighting, but she can't. He's had a lot happen to him over the past week. She knows Luke well enough to know that he would pull something like this without an explanation.

"Luke why did you do it?" Jessie softly pushes his arm back to his eye. "Why did you beat up that kid?"

Luke runs a hand through his messy hair with nerves. He feels embarrassed having to retell the details to Jessie. He's embarrassed knowing he did them. But Jessie will find out anyway so it's better for her to hear it from him. "He was saying some stuff about Ravi." That's all he manages to get out without choking up.

"Stuff like what?" Jessie can see his discomfort, but ultimately wants him to open up. Keeping everything bottled in will only cause more outburst like fighting. She wants him to open up about what he's feeling, and understand that he's not alone.

Luke bites his trembling lip. He thought he was done crying, but obviously not as his eyes begin to water. He hates thinking about it, the mere idea pulling his heart in different directions. "He said that Ravi should have died…"

And suddenly, Jessie understands.

Jessie wraps her arm around his shoulder and pulls him closer to her. Luke processed to silently sob into her should as she rubs soothing circles into his arm.

"I get it," she says into his hair. He sniffles a few times, but she knows he's listening. "You're upset because of what Ravi's been through and what it's lead to. You feel protective of him because you don't want it to happen again." She tilts his chin upwards so he can look at her. For a second, Jessie doesn't see a 16 year-old anymore. She sees the 11 year-old little boy with huge eyes and a face full of freckles. "But you can't attack everyone who says something awful about him. Ravi wouldn't want that and you know that." She wipes away a tear. "There are other ways to deal with people who say things like that, but none of them include violence."

"I know." Luke sniffles as his sits up. Jessie squeezes his shoulder as he speaks. "But I just think it's so unfair." Jessie looks at him confused. "I mean, he goes around bullying and tormenting people all the time and never gets in trouble. But the minute I do something about it, I get sent to the Principals office."

Jessie blinks. "Luke you destroyed his face." She's not totally understanding where he's coming from, or what he's hinting at.

He nods. "Yeah I know. But what I mean is, I wish he would take responsibility for how much he's bullied Ravi, and everyone else here." He thinks about this for a second, letting that thought ponder in his head. "I wish there was a way for everyone who made fun of Ravi to repay for what they did to him, and how they made him feel." Luke knows for a fact that nobody has come out to Ravi and apologized to him, nor has anyone fessed up about their involvement in his torture. The roam the halls freely, while Ravi has to deal with demons day in and day out.

It's complete shit to be honest.

Jessie has similar thoughts on this. She's pretty sure the school has not done much of anything to put a stop to the bullying going around the school. She's pretty sure they're not involved in the slightest. "You know what Luke? You're right."

The door to Principal Bakers office opens before Luke can reply. Both him and Jessie turn to look at the man you needs some serious meditation or tea or something to relax. Jessie stands quickly to greet him, and the two are ushered into his office.

Luke retakes the seat he had before and Jessie sits beside him. Principal Baker sits in his chair with an oomph, causing his suit to ruffle up a bit. He straightens it out before he speaks. "Ms. Prescott, you understand why I called you in today correct?"

Jessie nods. "Yes I am aware there was an altercation between Luke and another student."

Baker grunts as he flips through the file on his table. "An 'altercation' is too kind of a way to put it. Mr. Ross caused great damage to Mr. Carter, and disrupted the student body. And from my understanding, he's the one who through the first punch."

Both Principal Baker and Jessie turn to Luke, who nods in confirmation.

"Right," Baker continues, "now, we have a very low tolerance policy when it comes to violence and fighting on school property. And although it seems Mr. Ross was provoked, he still engaged in physical violence which is against school rules and violates the hand book." Baker folds his hands on his desk. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to suspend you Luke."

Luke closes eyes his and sucks in a breath. He expected that. It's no surprise to him that his punishment would be suspension. He opens his eyes and nods in understandment.

"One week suspension starting tomorrow, and two weeks detention." Baker finalizes, writing a few things in a file. "That's the standard punishment for a misdemeanor like this, and that is what I have decided to administrate."

"Yes, I completely understand Principal Baker." Jessie replies with her weird ting voice. Luke raises an eyebrow at her change in tone, but immediately knows that somethings about to go down. "I don't appreciate Luke partaking in violence either, and I can assure you that it won't happen again." Baker seems pleased with this response, but by the glint in Jessie's eye, Luke knows that she's getting ready to finesse him.

"Now, what punishment is the other boy receiving?" Jessie asks simply.

Baker is taken aback by the question. "Excuse me?"

"He provoked Luke, correct?" Jessie could see how uncomfortable she was starting to make him, even though it was barely there. "Which means he was saying or doing things that would cause him to lash out, correct?"

Baker clears his throat. "Well, yes. However—"

"And from my understanding, this other boy was purposely saying things about Ravi, Lukes brother. Thinks he knew would get a certain reaction out of Luke." Jessie sounds so nonchalant about the whole thing. It scares Luke but at the same time amazes him. "Does he receive consequences for the things he said, or for bullying Ravi?"

Baker laughs nervously. "Well, you see—"

Jessie leans forward, not finished with him. "I'm sure you know this already, but I think it's best to remind you since the school doesn't seem like the school cares. Ravi tried to commit suicide." She emphasizes the last syllable on 'suicide'. "He slight his arm open and tried to bleed out on his bathroom floor. And why? Because he was fed up with the treatment he's been receiving from the students at this school. He was fed up with being a target for the other students to bully, so fed up that he tried to take his own life and this school has not done a damn thing about it." Jessie doesn't necessarily like using profanity around authoritative figures, but she's furious and can't seem to care. "Every student out there who made Ravi's life hell continues to walk around without repercussion, completely unaware of the damage they've done to Ravi, and that just is not okay."

Principal Baker's mouth hangs agape.

Jessie takes a deep breath before she completely spirals. "I understand that what Luke did is not okay, but for a student to say that Ravi should have died, and for you as a principal to deem it as provoking is beyond me. And if you think for a second that this family is going to sit by after all we've been through because of boy's like 'Mr. Carter' then Principal you have one hell of a storm coming your way."

Mic drop.

Jessie is nearly panting when she finishes, feeling like she just threw a 200 pound dumbbell over her head. Principal Baker looks completely shocked, not seeing any of this coming. Luke tries his best to fight off the grin that's creeping onto his face, but it's hard to do when Jessie figuratively mopped the floor with Baker. He looks completely at a loss for words, with no idea how to respond or how to deal with what she said.

Jessie stand up, and Luke follows suit. "Luke will be back in school in a week."

And the two walk out of the room as if walking away from an explosion.

Reviews are lovely!

-Bye Felicia