ALRIGHT EVERYONE! PAY ATTENTION! *claps loudly* I SAID PAY ATTENTION! *everyone pays attention* Guess what? *everyone stares with wonder* My fic is EXACTLY six months old to the DAY! Let's sing Happy Half-Birthday to it! *everyone joins in song* HAPPY HALF-BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY HALF-BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY HALF-BIRTHDAY TO CHESLEA'S-FIC-SHATTERED-GLASS! HAPPY HALF- BIRTHDAY TOOO YYYOOOUUU!!

I'm done now...Last night I did the Madrigal Dinner thing...four...hours...is a long time. But I had fun with my accent. ^_^ I'm just glad it's all over...dang, I sure have a lot to say this time. o.O I won't go into detail about the night because I'm sure you all don't really care. ^_^

Okay, I know some of the effect is lost when I say 'darn' instead of well...yeah, anyway. I know it isn't the same but I don't swear. If you want more of an effect, just pretend they are cursing up a storm. I don't really care. I just wanted to say that that was why they sound goofy saying 'darn' and stuff like that. ^_^

KShyne99- Thank you; you don't know how much all that meant to me. I was so worried I might over-do it. Heh. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story, even if you feel bad for Charlie. Hey, *I* feel bad for Charlie. And yep, forty chapters. This story that started out as jotting down an idea in the summer has turned into a forty-some-odd chapter thing...I'm amazed. Lol. Thank you so much for your feedback; it really lifted me up and encouraged me to work on the next chapter. ^_^

Banskiesbabe99- I'm so glad you are enjoying it so much! I really am. ^_^ I just wuv you all so much! *wipes away tears of joy*

Liz- Yes, poor wittle Charlie...*huggles Charlie* He does need lots and lots of loving hugs...we can provide that. ^_^ Aw, I feel all special. ^_^ Wow, only three chapters left? Whee for Liz! I'm proud! Dang, I remember when you started it to introduce the original story we wrote...lol...I totally forgot about our original story! ^_^ You need to start the Charlie and Connie one! Now! I demand you! ^_^ And thanks! ^_^ I always love your reviews! ^_^

Adriana- Wow, I getta be the first? *eyes water* I feel SOOOO special! Aww...I'm sorry Adriana! Don't feel left out! I will do my best to make this a long response! I still love you! Did I mention now I feel really sad? Lol...I am glad you are enjoying it. I'm sad you cried, but glad I managed to make you cry. (Does that make any sense at all?). Lol...Okay, I'm glad that I managed to write it, errr...never mind. I'm confusing myself. ^_^ New subject. Ugh...my stomach hurts. Not that you care or anything. Lol...I just thought I'd throw that out there...Lol...^_^ Anyway...I want you to update again! I will cry if you don't! *breaks down into sobs for effect*...*sniff* anyway...it's cold...brr...*shivers* If it's freakin' gonna be cold, it might as well snow...but NOOO! No, Texas doesn't GET snow...often...At least not enough to count! Grr...brr...cold...yeah. Lalala...I love Joshua Jackson (Charlie)...heehee...I'm bordering on obsessive-stalker myself. ^_^ Did you know that I have 210 pictures of Joshua Jackson alone? Not even including group pics? Can you say obsessed? ^_^ Yeah...I can...lol...I can't help it...They can NOT put those pictures on the internet and not expect me to harbor them all greedily in 'My Pictures'...they just can't. It would be wrong. So I just decided to save them all for...safekeeping in case the internet ever went down. ^_^ THEN they would thank me...*shifty eyes*...anyway...is this long enough? Do you feel loved, Adriana? I hope so, because I still wuv you! *hugs*

Sophie- Ah, it's okay Sophie. ^_^ I forgive you. Kate has been M.I.A. too...lol...you people are abandoning me! Lol...just kidding. ^_^ Lol, I'm glad you found my inspiration humorous. ^_^ It is kinda funny when ay think about it. ^_^ And yes, your lackage (Oo, Chelsea made up a word!) of updating has hurdled me into a deep depression. Lol...^_^ I come home everyday and mourn, wishing and hoping and thinking...and...praying? Ehehe, that's a song. ^_^ Hee hee...Lol...umm...anyway...where was I...oh yes, I always come home and hope for an update but ALAS NO! My wishes are in vain...for the update has yet to happen. *breaks down into sobs*...and that goes for Kate too! *snaps out of it* Anyway. Your welcome (about the explaining thing). It's no prob. ^_^ I guess I never really made it very clear. Lol. I can never decide what I'm doing with the characters until I sit down and write whatever comes to mind. Lol... ^_^ I'm bad that way...me and organization don't mesh well. I'm glad you're lovin' the angst. There is much more to come...much MUCH more to come. ^_^ This may NEVER end at this rate...lol. It can be the Neverending Story, like 3...or wherever they stopped. Lol. Can't remember. Been too long. Lol, ah, don't sorry Soph. I go out on tangents all the time. ^_^ *pats Sophie's head* Lol, yes. Evanescence is the essence (OH! That's cool...lol...) of depressing songs. Lol. And don't worry; Charlie will rebel someday. Lol. Whenever I deem the time necessary. Everything happens for a reason. ^_^ Oh, Chelsea sounds so philosophical! (Oo, big word!) Yes, slamming one's fist into the wall does not sound to brilliant. Lol. Sophie has done it before? Ouchies...silly Sophie! You shouldn't do that. ^_^ Aw, thanks! I'm glad you think I'm good at the sad stuff. That makes me all warm and fuzzy inside! (despite the uber-cold weather...okay, it's probably not cold to you, but I'm FREEZING! ^_^)

Chronicles Bailey- *nods* Yes, poor baby...thanks for reviewing!

Kate- That's alright. I forgive you. ^_^ Meh, sleep is SO over-rated. ^_^ Aw? On paper? That prehistoric thing people used to write on in the olden- days? How depressing is that...*grins* I'm sorry about my lack of help on the name-picking thing. ^_^ Oh yes...you just EVEN know. ^_^ Whee for the Christian Private School...lol...but it was sad because I was like in the first grade and I couldn't read because my Kindergarten year I wasn't at a private school and no one bothered to teach little Chelsea to read...lol...it was ever-so-sad...everybody could read except me! Lol. But I'm a quick learner. ^_^ Anyway. Hello 'Social-Charlie'! *watches as 'Abused-Charlie' gets chucked by 'Happy-Charlie'* Hmm...that won't last long...but as for now....yes! Charlie has friends! Heh, my dad watches '24' all the time! ^_^ He gets mad whenever I switch the channel over to something else. ^_^ So I just come back into my room and get on the comp. ^_^ Hee hee...Oh, yep. There goes 'Social-Charlie' out the window again, only to be re-replaced (Heh, I made up a word) with 'Abused-Charlie' again. Noticing a pattern here? Heh, Social-Charlie...Abused-Charlie...Happy- Charlie...it sounds kinda like some line of Barbies. ^_^ Heh...okay...no more of that...that's way too insulting to Charlie. ^_^ Oh, that would be WAY to obvious. ^_^ Remember, Charlie is slightly lacking in the common sense arena...but we love him nonetheless. ^_^

Sloane Miette- ^_^ Yes, Jesse's cool. He should have stayed for D3. ^_^ You like my character's personalities? How sweet of you! ^_^ I'm glad you're liking the story. ^_^

Joshrox116- Aw, thanksies for reviewing, Katie! ^_^ I love you bunches and I missed you. *eyes water for effect* See? See these tears? *wipes them away* but now I'm happy because you're back. ^_^ I'm glad you like the story! ^_~

Disclaimer- Nope, I still don't own the Mighty Ducks. Shocking, isn't it?

-Chapter 25-

Charlie woke up with a throbbing headache. He hurt all over and found it hard to distinguish where one pain ended and the other began. Moving seemed like an unreachable task.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw his bloodied hand in front of his face. It had small shards of wood still sticking out and it looked pretty gross. His entire hand was covered in dry blood and he could feel the hard areas on the carpet where the blood had dried.

The boy blinked his eyes a few times and felt his neck blaze with pain whenever he moved it. His ribs STILL hurt and his back wasn't feeling any better.

Ignoring the pain, He slowly rose to his feet. He had blood on his face, hand, and anywhere his hand had touched since he punched a hole through his closet door.

He looked at the closet door. There was a jagged hole and dried blood smeared slightly around it. Several large chunks of wood lay at his feet.

Charlie opened the closet door and pulled out a long-sleeve green shirt and jeans along with boxers and socks from his drawers. He opened his door and checked for his father. There his father was, passed out down the hall. It seemed once he had grown tired of banging on an unresponsive door he drowned his frustration with one of those cursed glass bottles.

Charlie stumbled towards the bathroom as quietly as he could. He didn't think he could handle any father-son interaction that morning before school.

After taking a shower and washing off the dried blood from the night before, he changed quickly into his clothes, ignoring any pain that was brought along with the process.

He towel-dried his hair and looked at himself in the mirror. His face was still slightly puffy, his eyes were slightly swollen; he had the bruise from his mother's funeral fading on one eye and his cheek and lip were a fading pink from the slap the other night. A bruise was forming slightly around that too. His lip had a cut and the side of his neck was a mixture of pink, purple and blue. He knew if he were to remove his shirt he would have bruises from being knocked on the ground several times and two symmetrical bruises on his upper arms from where his father continuously grabbed him. He had some gashes on his head too but his hair covered them up.

He shifted his gaze back to his hand. Even with the blood gone it looked pretty bad. He tried not to wince as he pulled the larger splinters out of the tender skin. Soon enough all the wood was gone but it had started bleeding again.

Charlie turned the cold water on in the sink and ran his hand under the fluid. He saw the red blood turn pink as it mixed with the water and swirled down the drain.

After a minute or so he turned it back off and applied pressure on it with a towel. He looked inside several cabinets before finding what he wanted.

He stood up on his toes to open the cabinet above the sink, blocking out the pain in his ribs. He pulled out the tan bandage wrap and sat it on the counter. He threw the towel to the side and began wrapping the cloth-like bandage over his hand. Blood had already started seeping through again but he didn't care. For once in his life he was relieved he didn't have practice that day.

Once he was satisfied, he gave himself once last glance in the mirror. He ran his hand through his unruly hair and let out a sigh. He only hoped no one would ask. He could always say the evil preppy neighborhood kids jumped him...they would probably go along with it too. It would make them look good.

He decided that's what he would say if, by any chance, somebody asked.

Not that he truly believed anyone would.

He quickly brushed his teeth and timidly stepped out of the bathroom.

His father was no longer in the hall. That could be a good thing or a bad thing. It was all in how you looked at it.

It was good because that way he couldn't wake up and cause a snag in Charlie's morning.

It was bad because that meant he was ALREADY awake and would most likely cause a snag in Charlie's morning.

On second thought, it was a lose-lose situation.

He slowly crept back into his room and put on his shoes. He wasn't in the mood to roller blade that morning. He knew walking would be slower yet less painful. There was less movement involved.

Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he winced in pain. He only hoped his 'battle wounds' would heal soon. Otherwise how could he play hockey? Hockey was all about violence.

Charlie turned his CD player off. He hadn't realized he had left it on overnight. He let his hand linger on the CD player as he forced thoughts of the night before out of his mind.

He then retracted his hand and quickly snuck out his door. He quietly went down the stairs and was three feet from the front door when he heard his father's voice boom from behind him.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" he slurred. It seemed instead of drinking his normal morning coffee, Charlie's father had decided to finish off another bottle of beer to ease his hangover.

Strange logic.

"To...school?" Charlie said back quietly. The boy didn't want to set him off.

"DARN STRAIGHT YOU ARE! But that isn't the point. Why didn't you answer you door last night? I spent nearly ALL NIGHT banging on that God-forsaken door of yours and you could blast that dang RACKET all night! Do you know how hard it is to sleep with all that junk you play?" George asked, slamming one of his empty beer bottles against the wall, making it shatter mere inches from Charlie's face.

Charlie jumped, eyes wide as he heard the deafening crash of the bottle against the wall and the glass shards flying to the ground.

He froze, afraid that if he moved the bottle would hit him. Charlie wasn't sure if his father was doing it scare him or if the man's drunken stupor gave him bad aim.

Either way, Charlie was glad it was the wall and not his face.

His father held the broken bottle up around Charlie's head and began screaming again.

"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" the man said, waving the broken bottle around slightly as he wobbled.

Charlie reached for the door to turn around. He saw the bottle moving quickly towards his throat and he ducked. The bottle's sharp edge dug into his forehead, easily slitting the soft skin. Charlie let out a blood- curdling scream, clutching his bleeding forehead, blood soaking into the cloth on his hand and coloring his pale skin a vibrant red.

Before he could see if his father even knew what he had done, Charlie bolted out the door. He didn't care if his father was sorry of if he was even conscious enough to know what had happened. All Charlie knew was he had to get as far away from that place as possible.

He ran until he saw the school building peak over the horizon. Charlie didn't know what he was going to do about the large, bleeding, and HARDLY inconspicuous gash across his forehead but he kept running.

The teen stopped at a nearby convenient store and bolted to the bathroom. He didn't care if he would be late for school. Some things held priority.

He saw how large the gash really was. It trailed from the left side of his forehead to his right temple.

He ripped a large wad of paper towels of the sink and wet them, gently probing at the tender area. He could feel tears stinging at his eyes at the searing pain. After gaining confidence, he began swabbing the blood away, biting his lip whenever the pain became unbearable. He could feel a steady stream of wayward tears building up in his eyes.

There was NO WAY anyone could miss this cut...

He pinched the sides of the gash together, blood flowing out as a result.

He continued to bite back tears as he continued wiping blood away. His paper towels were now soaked with blood and no longer any help.

Charlie wet a few more and finished up the task.

"There...that wasn't so hard." He said quietly to himself, his breath uneven. He had washed the blood off his face and hands but the bandage around his hand was soaked with blood as well.

He unraveled the bandaged hand and washed it off again as well, deciding he would just have to go without the bandage.

Once he made himself as presentable as humanly possible, he timidly stepped out of the bathroom. Several people were blatantly staring him and at the door, wondering why he had dashed in there in such a hurry.

He just attempted a smile and gave them unenthusiastic waves as he ran out the door again, pumping his legs as fast as he could. He was already late. He knew he would never make it on time but he still wanted to get there as soon as possible. The less people staring at him, the better.

Soon enough he was walking through the halls of his school. Class had started 15 minutes prior to his arrival and Charlie was too exhausted to run anymore. His head was throbbing again. His whole body ached and he hoped he could make it through the day...

Only to go back home?

In that case, he hoped he DIDN'T make it through the day...

~~~*~~~

His teachers had all nearly had heart attacks when he had stumbled into the classroom.

So much for being inconspicuous...

Charlie was now heading to lunch and trying to get the conversation with one of his teachers out of his mind.

~*~ Flashback ~*~

Charlie opened the door and tried to creep to his seat unnoticed.

"Charlie? Charlie? What happened?" the teacher said, nearly hyperventilating at the site of Charlie's marred form.

"Nothing." He said, trying to ignore the stares he was getting.

The teacher just shook her head and motioned for the door. "No, not nothing. Come here, we're going to have a talk." She said in a semi-gentle tone. "Class," she barked, her voice reclaiming its usual evil edge, "don't you DARE misbehave."

Charlie reluctantly followed the woman out of the classroom, trying to shrug off the stares boring into the back of his head.

Once the teacher shut the door behind him she turned to face the boy.

"Now tell me...what happened?" She repeated, her voice concerned.

"Nothing." He said again.

"Charlie, tell me the truth. This," she said, motioning to the gash on his forehead and then the other various bruises on his face and neck, "is not nothing."

He froze, momentarily forgetting the lie he had invented before even leaving the house. He panicked. Suddenly, it came back to him. "Some kids jumped me on the way to school." He said, reciting the lie.

"Who?" she asked, buying his lie.

"I don't know who they are." He replied as convincingly as he could.

Luckily it was convincingly enough.

"Okay, would you like someone to walk home with you?" she asked.

He shook his head no. "No, it's okay. I'll be fine."

She gave him an uncertain look, eyeing the large gash again. "How did you manage to clean it all up?"

"I stopped by a gas station convenient store on my way to school and cleaned it up in the bathroom." He said, telling the truth for the first time throughout the whole conversation.

She nodded. "Just be careful." She said, leading him back in the classroom.

~*~ End Flashback ~*~

She had almost found him out. He had nearly blanked out and forgotten what to say. Charlie was just relieved it had come as quick as it had left.

He walked past the JV hockey team's table with his head bowed and eyes glued to the floor. He wished they weren't so ignorant the day before so he would at least have somewhere to sit.

Charlie chose a seat at a table full of strangers and did what he had done before.

Stared in lonely silence.