Pacific Coast Academy: 10 Year Reunion

Chapter 16: Search Party, Friends and Make-Ups

"Little John!" the gang called out. There was no answer. "Where do you think he went?" Michael asked.

"I have no clue," Zoey said.

"What's the last thing you said to him?" Lola asked.

"Well, me and Chase—"

"You mean you," Chase corrected.

"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I was telling him that I was gonna have a baby and he just flipped out. Then he ran out the door. Chase and I left. Then I came back to see if he was there and okay. He wasn't there."

"He must really be upset," Jason said.

"Really?" Michael said sarcastically.

"We don't have time for this," Dana said. "Let's stop talking and go find the kid."

They all went separate ways to look for him.

Little John was going up on the roof. When he got there, Breana just happened to be there. "Ms. Barret?" She turned around. "Little John. What are you doing here?"

"Getting away from my mom and… Chase," he rolled his eyes. "What about you?"

"Well, Michael and I had a big fight," she shrugged her shoulders. "Really big one." He walked over and sat next to her. "So what's with you, Zoey and Chase?"

"My mom and Chase are having a baby. I'm upset. I wanna go live with my dad, but she won't let me."

"So you're running away?"

"Kinda."

John came on the roof. "Junior. Breana. What are you doing here?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Talking about the problems in our lives," Little John answered his father. "You got one?"

"Yeah."

"Then welcome to the club," they said in unison.

Michael cupped his mouth and shouted. "Little John!" He looked around, sighing.

"Daddy," his daughter looked up at her father. "Where's Momma?"

"Yeah," his eldest son added. "Where is Ma?"

He looked down at them and scratched his head. "Um… she's out and about."

"How come she's not looking with us?" the youngest son asked.

"She is," Michael lied. "She's just doing it by herself. It's better that way. We can find him faster."

"Daddy, I can tell you're lying."

"Just keeping looking," he patted Chris' head.

They ran. He sighed once more.

"Little John!" Dana and Logan called.

"This kid sure knows how to hide," Logan crossed his arms.

"I knew he was weird," Lana shook her head.

"Shut up," Dugan pushed his sister.

"You shut up!" she pushed him back.

Dana put her hands on her kids' shoulders "Hey, stop, this is not the time."

Lana shook her head then seen Mike. "I'm going with Mike," she smiled. She started running towards him "Michael!"

He looked behind him then took off running. "Dad! Help me!"

"I feel bad for him," Dugan continued to look for his friend.

"He's not anywhere to be found," Chase breathed, resting his hands on his knees.

"He's around here somewhere," Zoey reassured him. "He has to be."

"The campus is bigger than I remember."

"This is all my fault," she covered her face.

"No, it's not. He was gonna find out one way or another. He ran away because of me. I'm the one he's mad at."

John sat next to his son and looked at him and his friend. "Why are you two up here?"

"Ms. Barret was up here first," Little John pointed. "Then I came."

"You know everybody is looking for you."

"Give 'em something to worry about," he shrugged

"I think you should go down there."

"I don't to. I'm mad."

"Why?"

"Mom's having a baby," he grimaced. The elder John was silent. He put his hand on his son's back, pulling him closer, rubbing his shoulder. "I wanted to come and live with you, but she won't let me."

"You need to stay at your mom's."

"You don't want me to live with you?" he looked to his father.

"That's not it. We have a great arrangement already. We see talk to each other everyday. Hang out on the weekends. We spend time together. If you live with me, it'll get complicated. You know I work a lot. You know the result of that." His son nodded "Don't be mad. You're gonna be a big brother. You should be happy."

"Should I?"

"Yeah. You get to teach the new baby new things. You'd be the boss."

He smiled a little then shook his head frowning. "But what if I don't wanna be a big brother?"

"I'm a big brother," he kissed his head. "It's not that bad."

He let out a breath and pressed his face in his father's side. "Okay. I'll be cool with it. Since I don't have much choice."

John chuckled and ruffled Little John's hair. "Now let's tackle your problem," he smiled at Breana, putting his arm around her shoulders.

Michael turned the corner and walked into Vanessa. Once realzing who it was, he sighed.

"Hi, Michael," she smiled.

"Vanessa, what are you doing out this time of night?"

"Just taking a stroll. You?"

"Looking for one of my friend's kid. Well, bye." He walked past her, but she grabbed his arm. "Please, Vanessa. I'm tired. I'm sleepy and I'm trying to look form my wife at the same time. Just… leave me alone."

"Michael, let me help you."

"No, just let me do this by myself." He gently took his arm and walked away.

Jake and Nicole met up with Dana and Logan. "You found him yet?" she asked Dana.

"Nope."

Jake looked at Dana. His heart started beating fast. He couldn't speak.

"Jake, what's up with you, man?" Logan asked.

His eyes rolled in the back of his head and he fell out.

"Jake!" Nicole screamed.

Logan sighed. He picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Now that we got everything settled," John looked between his friend and kid, "let's go." They all stood up, ready to get off the roof.

"Dad, you didn't tell what your problem was," Little John stopping.

He opened his mouth to speak then shook his head.. "I figured it out already."

They shrugged it off and got off the roof. They rounded the building and saw Zoey and Chase. "John!" she screamed. She grabbed Little John in a tight hug. Then she hugged Breana and John. "Thank you so much for finding him." They looked at each other. "Guys, I found him!" The gang all ran where they were. "Don't scare us like that again," she said to Little John

"Sorry. I won't do it again. I promise." She hugged him again. "Mom, can I talk to Chase for a minute?"

Surprised, Chase looked at everybody then at the junior John. "Me?" he pointed.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"O-okay." They walked off.

Michael and Breana made eye contact quickly. "Um… Mike, Justine, Chris. I have to talk to your mom for a minute. Give us a minute."

"Okay," Justine said. She took Chris's hand. Mike followed.

"See you tomorrow, sweetie," Lana waved. Mike ignored her. "She is so freaky," he said.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Chased asked his future stepson.

"I just wanna say… I'm sorry I was mad with you. You were just trying to be my friend. You're a cool guy."

"Thanks, L.J.," he smiled. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Only you can call me that." They both smiled. "So we're friends?" he stuck his hand out.

Little John laughed and gave him a hug.

Michael put his hands in his pocket. "So where were you the whole time?"

"On the roof."

"I thought about that," he snapped his fingers. "Listen, you know I'm really sorry. I didn't really mean it."

"I know."

"I thought about what you said. I was just acting crazy. I knew you didn't have feelings for Morris. I was little jealous."

"A little?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. I was jealous a lot. If you still had feelings for Morris, you would've had doubts about us. So I'm sorry."

"I thought about what you said too. I shouldn't be wearing his ring. I should've thought of your feelings. I'm gonna take off the ring. So I'm sorry too."

He smiled and took her hand. "So what are you gonna do with the ring?"

"What do you wanna do with it?" He took the ring off her finger and put it on the ground. Then he stepped on it. He picked it up. "It's cheap." They chuckled. He pulled her into a hug then he kissed her cheek.

"So did you tell the kids about the baby yet?"

"Yeah."

"What was their reaction?"

"Very, very excited." He smiled. "For the record, that whole thing with Lola—it was just physical."

"Okay, Michael. Don't worry about it."

"Good," he sighed.