*Alright, sorry for the delay, I'm a very busy person who has a nice job that hates me. Anyway, I have another chapter for those of you who are reading it, and I hope you're liking it, even though I haven't really gotten much feedback on it at all. I at least hope people are reading it! Anyway, here it is for you, typed and ready to roll!*

Still Standing

The Second Publishing

Matt watched the clock as its lazy hands worked their way around the circumference, feeling like seconds were actually beginning to stop and move backward. He'd been in the same class for what seemed like an eternity. Matt glanced down at his half filled sheet of paper, noticing he had stopped writing mid-sentence. He smirked and started doodling on the clean portion of the paper, drawing whatever came to his mind. At first it was a pair of eyes staring back at him, but then the drawing intensified as Matt drew a sweet cherub face with wavy hair and a dazzling smile. He got so into his artwork, he didn't notice his science teacher had stopped lecture and was standing over him, a sour look on his portly face.

"Mr. Ishida." He stated, clearing his throat and startling Matt out of his daydream. Matt looked up slowly at his teacher, his hand grazing the drawing very lightly. The teacher snorted with annoyance and walked back to the front of the room.

"Since science doesn't seem to keep your interest as much as art, I have no choice but to issue a detention to you. Maybe this will keep your interest from here on out." He said, writing out a detention slip and handing it to the front of Matt's row, who passed it back to the angry blonde. Matt snatched the paper from the boy in front of him as the class snickered softly. The bell sounded, and the class erupted from their seats, charging out of the room as fast as humanly possible. Matt got up slowly, gathering his things and stalking out of the room after glaring at his teacher.

'Could this day BE any worse? I've been made fun of, my locker doesn't work, I'm trapped in some freak school with a bunch of snot-nosed brats, I have to dress like a nerd, and now I have detention. Someone up there must not like me. . . ' Matt thought to himself, looking up toward the sky as he thought the final part. He hit his locker, and it opened, finally something went right for the teen. He stuffed his things into the small space, taking out a book and heading toward the gym where detentions were served.

"Welcome, Mr. Ishida, I heard you got into trouble. And on your first day too! Tsk tsk. Take a seat there behind Shawnn." A small teacher with a frail appearance ordered, pointing to a boy in the back of the gym. Matt obliged and opened his book, fuming as he read to himself. Suddenly the book was taken from his hands, and Matt looked up to see the same little teacher, shaking her finger and pointing to the detention rules on the wall.

"No books, mister. Look straight ahead and no talking." She said, walking away with the book and leaving Matt with a scowl on his handsome face.

An hour later, the bell rang to dismiss the detention students, and Matt grabbed his book before walking out of the gym and toward his home. He entered the apartment and found TK and Kari busily working on their homework, helping each other with the answers. Kari smiled up at Matt, who forced a smile back at her. He went to his room and shut the door loudly, making Kari jump.

"He's an. . . .interesting person, TK." Kari whispered, trying to keep Matt from hearing her. TK nodded, looking up from his books with a pained expression.

"He's angry. I want to help him, but he won't let me near him long enough for me to try and help him." TK replied, his blue eyes becoming sad. Kari put her hand on TK's and smiled warmly, her rusty eyes looking into TK's softly.

"You can do it. Don't give up. He needs a brother, now more than ever. Keep trying." Kari reassured, making TK smile as he leaned in and gently kissed her lips. The couple turned back to their studies, finishing as Ms. Takaishi walked in from work. Kari gathered her things and left after saying hello to TK's mother. Ms. Takaishi looked around and spotted Matt's backpack thrown onto a nearby chair.

"Where's your brother?" she asked TK, who pointed to Matt's room. Ms. Takaishi knocked gently, and Matt came to the door, his uniform discarded and replaced by a black shirt and black pants.

"Have you finished your homework Matt?" Ms. Takaishi asked. Matt rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"No I just got home an hour ago, and I decided I would get to it after dinner." Matt responded, his eyes still cold and unfeeling.

"You shouls have been home at three. Where were you between three and four?" Ms. Takaishi asked, fearing Matt had gotten himself into something. Matt stormed past his mother and turned around, his eyes accusing.

"You wanna know? I was in detention! I got in trouble on my first damn day of school! Does that make you happy?!" Matt yelled. TK jumped, startled. He wasn't used to hearing anyone in his home yelling. Ms. Takaishi frowned and crossed her arms.

"You will not swear in this home. I won't permit it. Now I want you to go to your room and do your homework until I have dinner ready. We'll talk about the detention later." Ms. Takaishi stated firmly. Matt glared at her with ice cold blue daggers.

"Gee MOM, I'm sorry I'm not as good as TK over there. I'm sorry I can't BE everything you obviously want. Unlike you two, my life has SUCKED! You don't even know me, or know anything about me anymore, so why don't you just stop trying? I'm not a good kid, not someone who does sports and gets all A's. I'm Matt ISHIDA, and I am a screw up. So why don't you just drop it and leave me the fuck alone?!" Matt screamed, turning and walking quickly out the door, slamming it behind him. Ms. Takaishi moved toward the door, but stopped, falling to her knees as she began to cry. TK jumped up from the table and hugged her tightly. Outside a cold rain fell over the city.

Matt walked alone in the rain, letting the coldness of the water wash off the heat of the fight he'd just had. The words he had spat out at his mother rang in his head like the sound of a bell. Over and over again, Matt's words stung his mind as he walked, now dripping wet, water dripping off his limp hair onto his nose.

'. . . .my life has SUCKED!. . . . .I'm Matt ISHIDA, and I'm a screw up. . . . . leave me the fuck alone!' Matt's thoughts plagued him as he walked on through the city, oblivious to the stares he received from people walking under umbrellas all around him. By that time the rain was falling in torrents, making it difficult to see. Not very many people were out in the cold rainy weather, but Matt continued, becoming numb to the cold.

"Why can't I just be happy? Why am I so mad at her? She only left me when I was six goddamn years old. No big deal. She only came back into my life after nine years of abuse." Matt said to himself, climbing a fire escape and standing alone on the roof of a tall building. He stared out at the city around him, at the hard rain that was pelting everything around him. Lightning struck in several places, their forks reaching down from the heavens and briefly touching something on the ground below. Matt listened to the loud claps of thunder that followed the lightning and felt his anger welling up inside him. He remembered his mother's words from so long ago, and it felt like someone was stabbing him slowly, twisting the blade as it entered his flesh.

'Matt, my sweet baby, never forget how much I love you and your brother. I would give up everything just to have you. I love you dearly.'

'. . . .I won't mama. . . .' Matt remembered that moment, it was etched into his head. That was the last night he had actually spent with his mother. After that night he and TK were taken to their grandmother's until the divorce was final. From that day forward, his mother and TK weren't part of the family anymore, and Matt was left in the care of his father.

"WHAT DID I EVER DO TO DESERVE ANY OF THIS?!" Matt screamed out into the dark skies. His cries were drowned out by a loud thunder clap. He screamed out into the weather, throwing his arms out before him as if looking for something to pick him up and take him away. Tears fell from his eyes and mixed with the water on his soaked face as the rain poured down on him. Sobbing and shaking with cold, Matt fell to his knees and pointed his face toward the heavens, allowing the water to fall on him still. He collapsed onto the puddle covered rooftop and sobbed more, finally allowing himself to drift to sleep in the rain as it poured on his sopping wet body. The door to the rooftop opened a couple hours later, and a figure in a rain suit appeared, tending to the small garden that was atop the roof. The mystery person gasped in shock when they found Matt crumpled on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

"Oh. . . oh my gosh. . . . " they whispered.

*Okay, that's enough for now! If you are reading this and are enjoying it, please send me a review so I can write more. If you hate it, review me, I don't care too much about flames. As long as you have good justice to. In any event, please send me something! Thanks!*