Present
Callie and Vanessa were crying openly, as were Chet and Biff. Tony's eyes were suspiciously bright, and Phil lifted his glasses to rub his eyes.
"I remember I got my stuff, and the three of us camped out the rest of that week in Joe's room," Biff said.
"He got a lot better after that, but a part of him still felt responsible," Chet told his audience.
A thoughtful silence filled the air for several moments. Unnoticed, Fenton and Laura crept up to the group. Fenton cleared his throat.
"Thank you all for being here," he said. His expression was weary. "It's good to know the boys have such good friends."
"How's Joe?" Vanessa asked.
"The doctor said he's resting comfortably, but he still hasn't woken up," Laura said. "Frank wanted some time with him."
"Don't worry," Tony said. "He'll pull through just fine. Joe's a fighter."
Biff snorted, despite himself. "And how. In fact, that's one of the reasons I became friends with him."
"What, because he can fight?" Callie asked.
Biff shook his head. "No, because he won't back down from one. Or be bullied."
"How did you guys meet, anyway?" Phil asked.
Biff thought for a moment. "It was . . . God, it was over ten years ago. I was seven, so Joe was six. Even though we only lived a couple houses apart, we never really played together."
"Wait," Tony broke in. "I think some of this is coming back to me. Does this have to do with Kevin Dawson?"
Realization flickered across Chet's face at Biff's nod.
"Yep," Biff replied. "Phil, you and Callie went to a different school, so you probably never heard of him. Long story short, Kevin was a fifth grader, and the biggest bully you ever saw. He picked on a lot of kids, but he had favorites. Joe was one of them."
"What about Frank?" Callie asked. "I can't believe he never tried to protect Joe."
"Well, Kevin tried to take them both on, but he learned pretty quick that you don't mess with them as a team," Biff stated. "Frank knew, I think, that Kevin still harassed Joe, and did his best to look out for him. But, well, he couldn't be there all the time . . ."
