Every rose has its thorn
Every Rose has its thorn.
Just like every night has its dawn
Every cowboy sings a sad sad song.
Every Rose has its thorn
"I'm sorry honey! But you gave them pacific rules and they deliberately disobeyed them." (I'm not sure if I've ever given Zack's father a name…so its John…please correct me if I already have.) John was trying desperately to remain calm. "They're nothing but a bunch of delinquents, and they never were any thing more," John replied quietly.
"He's right." Both John and Janie looked up, toward the kitchen's entrance -- and there Justin O'Connor was -- leaning against the door frame with an empty glass in his hand -- his arms crossed. "The moment we walked in you closed your eyes, Mrs. Mooneyham. We're not complicated people. You guys judged us, sure. But you judged us correctly. I am a delinquent, I've been arrested 47 times within the last five years. I've been busted for pot, drugs, alcohol. I've been expelled and never really was all that attached to education. But while you, Mr. Mooneyham was too busy judging you evidently never bothered to realize we're trying. I don't do pot, I haven't had an ounce of alcohol since I've stepped foot in here…and Sara stole my cigarettes and hid them. Me and Sara hasn't been doing anything at night. And that tid bit in the classroom was not deliberate."
"Uh…We're in the middle of a discussion," John began, gesturing from Janie to himself.
"Oh, I know," Justin replied casually. "I just came for a glass of water…well Sara sent me for a glass of water…" He lifted up his glass. "Just thought I'd pull out my thoughts on the table for you folks."
Justin opened his mouth -- apparently to say something more but he was cut short. Freddy had rushed into the kitchen, stumbling into Justin rather roughly. He breezed past him without so much as a word of apology and headed for the sink, a dirty hand covering a patch on his forehead, just above the right eye.
"Hey, young man," John began angrily at Freddy. Freddy hurriedly turned on the faucet. "Did you not see this man standing here?" He gestured toward Justin -- but Freddy didn't look back as he wiped a hand over his forehead and sank the hand underneath the water. "Do you have no manners?"
"Oh dear, Freddy?" Janie stepped forward. "What happened dear?" She put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, and attempted to get him to show her his rather deep cut.
"Sorry," Freddy mumbled. "The sink upstairs broke again."
"Oh yeah -- that was my bad," Justin broadcasted loudly. John turned around to eye him wildly. "You know what? I think Sara can just drink some bath water. I'll be…out there…" He hurriedly set his g lass down on a table and hustled out the room.
"How did you cut yourself, Freddy?" Janie asked concernedly, rubbing Freddy's back soothingly.
"Skateboarding," Freddy answered casually. "I was skateboarding here. Hit this huge rock and totally thrashed my board."
"Well where's your helmet, Freddy? Where are your pads, boy?" John asked loudly. There was no concern in his voice, just mockery. Freddy glared at his bloody hand -- John reminded him so much of Josh it made him sick.
"Helmet? Pads?" Freddy repeated. He gave short, forced chuckle. "What are those?" John glared at Freddy's back. "But don't worry, bout me, Mrs. Mooneyham, it's no trouble. I've thrashed my boards millions of times before."
"Oh honey." Janie rubbed his back again. "Well if you need any help, just tell me, I'll be glad to help you with your cut.
Freddy gave her his classic fake, yet thankful grin. "Alright. Thanks Mrs. Mooneyham." He picked up the cloth Janie was offering him gratefully and pressed it gently to his forehead. Freddy hurried out of the room before either one of them could say/complain anything else.
"What happened?" Zack asked sternly as soon as Freddy entered his room. "What the hell did he do to you this time?"
Freddy shrugged passively as he dropped down onto Zack's bed gently. "It's nothing Zack…Just Ch---"
"What?" Zack snapped loudly, already knowing what Freddy was about to request. "How can I? You're living with that mad man! And you won't do anything about it! I thought you were supposed to be the punk. Weren't you supposed to be the bad boy? Don't you want to kick his ass?!!!!!"
Freddy snapped his head toward Zack, glaring hard at him. "Of course I want to kick his ass! But that's just not how it goes. I can't. So just step off!"
Zack was quiet for a while. "We're just trying to help, Freddy…"
"Help?" Freddy repeated hollowly. "Yelling at me isn't exactly helping. If you're trying to help so much then why isn't anyone doing a damn thing about it? You told Dewey, didn't you? Why hasn't he done a fucking thing? Some help."
"You told us not to…" Zack muttered defensively.
"I know that Zack. Were you born yesterday? Josh has the entire town eating out of his goddamn hand. Even if somebody told, they'd never take it seriously. Even from adults -- all they'd do is take a look at Dewey and dismiss us. So why try?" Freddy looked away quickly from the glare Zack was giving him.
"You're right." Both Freddy and Zack looked up, toward the door. "It's a personal fight." Sara let herself in without any invitation. "The cops won't do nothing bout it anyways, we've all seen the shows, they don't make shit like that up for no reason."
"What are you talking about?" Freddy demanded, glaring hard at Sara. When had anyone told her?
"Don't you get pissy with me now," Sara snapped, dropping down into the chair in front of Zack's computer. "You make it sort of obvious, Freddy. The problem with the adults here is that they're so self centered -- they can't tell what's happening right beneath their own upturned noses…A series of unfortunate events…no wonder where he got that whole deal. He must've went to Horace Green." Sara chuckled at her own joke. "Gee this would make a great movie. It'd hit big at the box office. But only if you take care of Josh, yourself."
"This isn't a movie, Sara!" Freddy began loudly.
"Oh but it is!" Sara argued. "It's the same movie -- over and over again. The abused rebel - the king for an abusive father. It's kind of cliché and I'm just a tad surprise for some one of Josh's status to try it -- but it so Hollywood. Therefore -- the only thing left for us kiddies to do is…finish the film. How else would it end?"
"That's easy for you to say," Freddy mumbled angrily.
"No it's not," Sara murmured lightly. "Movies have every single ending anybody…have ever thought of…Including murder, Freddy. This ain't no fairy tale. People die, and you just might. Your mom's in danger too -- if a man can harm an innocent child, no matter how annoying that child just so happens to be -- he can commit the greatest crime of all time -- I mean he already has -- in a way. So why not just kick it up a notch further -- and kill a few people? What do you think he's gonna do when he realizes you've let his little secret go for a little walking?"
Freddy was quiet for a few minutes before realizing that Sara was actually expecting an answer. "He'd want to start over," he murmured.
"Exactly. Very good," Sara replied cheerfully, despite their situation. "And how the hell do you think your mom's gonna react if he kills you? Which means he'd have to dispose of her as well. Because the information that you hold -- no matter how useless it is -- it can cost him his whole existence if you go to the correct people. However the correct people do not exist -- Josh just doesn't realize that yet. He's a little…" She circled her right ear for a second. "…Out there. So now it's up to us to put him where he belongs. Now…can you guess how we're gonna do that?"
"Oh no!" Freddy exclaimed sarcastically. "Please do tell me!"
Sara didn't bother to give him an annoyed look. It was fairly difficult to annoy someone like Sara. "Alright," she replied seriously. "We're gonna video tape your house."
"What?" Freddy asked, all sarcasm absent now. "That's the lamest idea I've ever heard!"
"Do you have a better one?!" Sara demanded, rising to her feet.
There was a pause of silence. "Of course I have!" Freddy shouted loudly -- his voice fully of confidence. "…I just haven't thought of it yet…" he added, much more quietly now.
"Oh come on!" Sara shouted loudly -- starting to sound an awfully like Freddy. "Look -- all we do…alright -- correction…all YOU do is set up the cameras in the general direction that the beatings occur in. I have this like super genius for a brother --"
"Did he graduate?" Freddy interrupted arrogantly.
"No. He didn't graduate," Sara snapped. "But school only limit your education. You can learn everything the school has to teach online. And for a cheaper price. ANYWAYS. He can break apart and rebuild computers. I've seen some of his 'inventions' and I can almost swear that he'll be able to build a small enough camera. It'd only take a mere three days…" Freddy gave her a weird look. "Just give the fucking thought a thought…alright?!!!"
Freddy held up his hands defensively. "Okay…Okay…Down Killer…geez…"
"Do you guys ever miss the band?" Sara asked distractedly.
Freddy arched an eyebrow. "Why?" Zack asked quietly.
"Well you see, Zachary. You got a phone call yesterday. And you weren't exactly here…so…I answered…out of the goodness of my heart. It was this old guy…Dewey? He's the one that told me bout your condition, Freddy -- I'm not psychic. But he also told me about the condition of the band. We talked for quite a bit…it really freaked me out. Weird guy. But he believes that without the two…like leading members of the band -- not only will the band crash…but so will that weird old guy." Sara nodded her head in agreement with all of her statements. "He's also the one that gave me that camera idea. He also said we should kidnap the creep…but that one was just a little too…oh I don't know…cliché."
"I'm not rejoining the band," Freddy sated immediately after Sara had finished her speech.
"What?" Sara asked breathlessly. "Why the hell not?"
"He booted me, Sara," Freddy answered seriously. "He kicked me out -- and so now that he comes back begging -- there ain't no fucking way I'm rejoining that damn band."
"Zack," Sara began, shifting her view from Freddy to Zack. "Don't you miss it? Rocking out with your friends…having friends…the concerts, the music -- the respect? Don't you miss the band? Don't you want to rejoin?"
Now Freddy and Sara were staring hard at Zack. He wasn't quite sure how to respond. "…Well yeah…I guess…its sorta been like a constant in my life since…what…5th grade. Now all there is is this large hollowness within me, and I haven't quite been able to fill it yet."
"What?" Freddy asked. "How come you never told me you felt like this?"
"You never asked," Zack answered passively.
"Of course I never asked, you big girl, why would I?" Freddy shot back.
"So you both will rejoin the band then?" Sara asked, acting like a talk show host -- somebody like that Phil guy. The kind of guy that watches people work out their own problems -- but then claims the victory for himself.
"Guess I have to," Freddy sighed heavily. He acted as though he wished not to -- but deep down he was really relieved and thankful that Zack finally confessed -- he seriously was missing the band himself.
"No," Zack stated firmly. "You don't have to."
"You never HAD to quit the band in the first place," Freddy shot back.
"But he did," Sara stated knowingly. "Friendship holds all knowledge, my dear boys. If you prove to that friend of yours that you will still rejoice in something he cannot have -- then you show that friend just how unloyal you really are. You know you wouldn't hang out with Zack if he stuck with the band. And now you will rejoin the band because you know you can rejoice in something that you know Zack WANTS to rejoice in. Besides, we both know you want it as well, so you might as well just drop the act."
"Rejoining the band will really defy Josh, will it not? So you can not only get what you want but you can always give Josh what he does not want," Zack added solemnly.
"So then the bands back on, right?" Freddy asked, all of a sudden feeling a whole lot better.
--Thanks for the new reviews. I'm so sorry some of the characters actually seem a little out of character. It's awful, and I appreciate you guys ignoring it enough to read and review. It means billions to me. I also noticed that this wasn't much of a school of rock fanfic…because…it didn't have the band. It was stupid. So now -- Dewey's gonna appear more. And we'll just have to wait and see how they handle josh. --
-- This took a little longer than it should have. I spent the night with…SARA…wow…lol. But it was great. She watched a few episodes of 21 jump street. And I knew she'd like it…and she did. It was good fun. But now I'm back. So now I'm updating. --
Please…y'know…REVIEW the goddamn story!!!! Give me feedback! The reviews I have received are much appreciated however. They're lots and lots more than I actually had expected…but every story has this bit…so…had to stick to tradition…heheh…
MSN messenger -- -- just im me whenever if any of yall wanna chat. I won't mind -- I swear it.