-THE AWFUL TRUTH.
Tim fell to the ground, with his face covered by bruises, and most of his clothing in tears. He lifted his face to see a guy wearing the most ridiculous outfit he had ever seen. It consisted in a one piece red disguise, with yellow boxers over it, red and yellow sneakers, and a yellow big heart symbol in the chest, with red big "CH" letters on it. The guy was also using a red hood with two antennae on it. When he moved closer to Timmy, his face became visible, revealing to be Chuckie Finster.
"Didn't count with my cleverness, Timmy! Or maybe you didn't expect me to hit so hard, right? Well, guess what; I can do it even harder if you try to hurt my Angie again." Chuck said in a solemn yet scary tone. A moment later, Angelica, wearing the same boxing outfit she used on Tim's previous nightmare, walked next to Chuckie, and kissed him on his cheek before directing to Timmy, while placing one gloved hand over Chuck's shoulder, and the other on her hip.
"So, you see, McNulty, I have my own hero to protect me. He is a geek and a scaredy cat, and yet he is strong enough to make you cry." Angelica said in a mocking tone. Tim started crying because of the memory.
"TIMMY MCNULTY FEARS A GIRL AND A GEEK!" Angelica and Chuckie chorused, laughing at him. Then, lots of people appeared around Tim, laughing at him as well, and chanting He fears a girl and a geek one time after another. Tim covered his ears, but still heard them clearly.
Tim woke up, gasping. It had been another nightmare; the last of a series that started about three weeks ago. Just like the ones he had with Angelica kicking his ass, now he had many with Chuck doing it, also in different outfits; superhero, boxer, knight, samurai, and so, and, worst of all, the last week they always appeared together, taking turns to beat him. In this particular dream, Angelica started the fight, moping the ring with his humanity, and then, Chuckie appeared on scene, with his silly superhero's outfit, and started beating him with a mallet, while the ring disappeared and was replaced by an alley.
Tim sighed, and walked out from his room. It was almost three o' clock at the afternoon, but he still felt sleepy because of the nightmares. Luckily, the school year was almost over; just five more weeks, and he would be able to relax, and maybe finally have a good night of rest. He was so scared of Chuckie's warning, he decided to forget about his revenge, and relief the stress by beating some dorks at school. He smiled at the idea of finally being able to scare someone again. Since his cast and bandages were gone, he would have no problem doing it, and the remaining scars on his face should make him even scarier.
Tim sat on his living room's largest couch to wait for his brothers to come home from school. During these weeks, his siblings made the same thing the McNulties always did when one of them got sick and needed to do some school work and not losing classes; bully some nerds to make them do it for the sick boy. Timmy used this trick to get most of his homework done, and only made it himself when he needed to study for a quiz the next day. He told his brothers about the guys who were more suitable for the job, so they could do the bullying for him.
After a while, Tim's brothers arrived. He immediately got an odd feeling, since they all had worried expressions.
"Hey, what's wrong? The principal had grown another head, or something?" Tim asked them. Tracy, the youngest one, was the one that broke the silence.
"No, but something just as weird happened. We went with those guys you asked us to make them do your homework, but, instead of being afraid, they laughed at us, and said they no longer feared you. And, when we tried to be more aggressive, they laughed even harder, and said that they don't cared if we beat them, because the whole school was about to face us next time we try menacing someone again." Tracy said, with a puzzled expression. Tim's jaw fell; it couldn't be true... unless they knew about the fight.
"Anyone said why they no longer fear me?" Tim asked, worried.
"No. And we got some weird looks from another guys all day." Tyler said, scratching his head.
"Maybe, because you were beaten in a fight twice on the last two months, they think you're no longer dangerous. And, since you are the big brother, and our leader, they stopped fearing us as well." Tony deducted. Tim was hoping it was just that.
"But that wasn't his fault! I mean, he was outnumbered, and fighting bigger guys. Any fool can understand that's the only reason Tim lost." Tucker pointed to Tony. Tim gulped slightly, trying to fight his nerves when hearing about his own lie.
"Well, I guess we must settle that at Monday, when I go back to the school. Everyone will see I'm still as tough as usual." Tim told his brothers. For the first time in many months, Tim had to do his own homework for the weekend.
Tim and his brothers arrived earlier than usual that Monday. It was Timmy's comeback, and was important to make everyone realize that he was still in charge. However, the moment Tim appeared at the door, even if he made some students gasp, it was mainly because of the little scars he still had, and a moment later, one boy started laughing at him. Tim and his brothers decided to charge against him, but were cut by the general laughter of all the students at the corridor. Tim was living his nightmare.
During the whole day, Tim caused similar reactions. The dorks, geeks, goths, and about every guy he usually bullied were now laughing at him. Worst of all, he couldn't hit them, because he knew that to solve the problem, needed to fight it from the source, and discover if there was another reason for this lack of respect besides the one Tony deducted.
At lunch, the McNulties sat at their usual table, eating the lunch they had to buy with their own money for the first time on the whole year. They well all there, except Tyler, who was late for some reason.
"Man, this stinks!" Tyler said.
"I know, but egg salad is supposed to smell this way." Tucker replied while having a spoon of said meal.
"I'm not talking about the stupid food, idiot! I mean, how people are treating us! I know that the year is almost done, but, if we don't solve this, we'll still be treated this way when we come back in September!" Tyler snapped. The whole table got silent.
"I have an idea. Why don't you fight some guy from the football team? A big and strong one, in front of the whole school. That should prove you are still menacing." Tucker pointed to Tim.
Tim rubbed his chin; that sounded like a good plan, but, truth be said, he was a little scared about having another fight. Losing one against Chuck Finster was a major blow to his confidence, and wasn't sure if he could be able to defeat a stronger guy.
"Don't be silly, Tucker! Timmy just recovered from that beating, remember? He isn't in conditions of fighting a strong opponent right now." Tony said to his younger brother. Tim sighed in relief, thanking silently for his brother's fast thinking, and then cleared his throat.
"Look, what we must do is enforcing our general image, not just mine. After all, next year I'll be a senior, and we have to be sure all of you will be feared as well before I leave for college. Tucker's idea isn't that bad, but I think one of you should do the fighting." Tim pointed. His brothers looked at each other; unlike Timmy, who could fight without any help once in a while, they were used to fight as a team, so the idea of going against someone strong with no help at all wasn't appealing to them.
At that moment, Tracy dashed into the cafeteria, holding a computer disc. He sat in a hurry next to Tucker and Tyler, panting.
"Hey, cool down, Speedy Gonzales! Where's the fire?" Tucker said to his brother. Tracy motioned his siblings to move their heads to the center of the table to talk to them in secret.
"I overheard these two guys in the computers' room, talking about you, Tim, and a video that's circulating around the school. Apparently, whatever is in this CD I could snatch from them, is the reason nobody respects us anymore." Tracy whispered. Tim paled; what was he talking about? There were no witnesses both times he got beaten!
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's see that video!" Tyler said to his brothers. All of them, but Tim, nodded. The McNulties left the cafeteria as discretely as possible, and went to the computers' room.
Tracy wasn't just the youngest McNulty, but the one with the best grades, and he knew more about computers than any of them, so he was the one sitting at the keyboard, while his brothers overlooked the screen from behind him. The first thing that appeared on the video was a black image, and then, in white letters, the phrase "The Fall of McNulty", covering half of the screen.
"Man, who made this video? Martin Customoris?" Tucker said, laughing slightly, but nobody seemed to care about his comment, so he decided to concentrate at the screen as well.
"Hey, that guy isn't Finster?" Tony pointed. The video had started, showing Tim arguing with Chuckie on the street. Tim gulped, and started sweating.
"Yes. Hey, look at the date! It was the day you were beaten, Timmy! Why you didn't tell us you saw Chuck then?" Tyler asked his brother, getting no response.
"I'll increase the volume." Tracy said, and soon everyone was hearing the argument between Timmy and the geek. His siblings became surprised when they heard Chuckie's demanding apologies from Tim, and even more when he replied, and Chuckie hit him.
"Finster punched you?" Tony, shocked, asked his old brother, who now was even paler. Then, they all saw the moment Tim grabbed Chuckie, and yanked him into the alley. The camera made some out of focus' takes, and, a moment later, showed Timmy beating Chuckie.
"Ha, ha! Look at that loser! Well done, Timmy! Timmy?" Tucker said to his brother, but got a puzzled look when noticed his expression.
"Oh, my..." Tracy said, stunned. The video was showing Chuckie fighting back.
All the McNulties became silent while watching the images, and wide opened their eyes, and their jaws fell, when Chuckie started getting advantage. Then, when Chuck went berzerker on Tim, they gasped, watching how their brother became a human punching bag. Tim said no word during the whole scene, watching the video with a full terror expression; he couldn't deny how much he feared Chuckie now, and watching how he acted like a wild animal over him made Tim shake like a leaf in the wind.
When Chuckie stopped hitting Tim on the video, Tracy got a fast look at the timer, and gulped. The real fight lasted about two minutes, but Chuckie's beating on Tim did it for almost four! When they heard Chuck menacing Tim, the McNulties got totally pale, and gasped again when the Finster boy threw Tim inside the dumpster. Then, the camera moved out of focus again, obviously because the one filming wanted to be undiscovered, and, then, there was a cut on the tape.
A moment later, the tape showed the dumpster, wide open, and a long take of Tim's beaten body. All the McNulties watched the scene with a hint of fear on their eyes, especially Timmy. Besides the fact he looked as bad as if a rabid Bull-Mastiff had used him like his chewing toy, Tim realized that someone took advantage of his unconscious state to tape him, and this person left him there!
This last take lasted about one minute, showing in detail Tim's injuries. Then, the video ended showing a black screen and the message "We no longer need to fear him." The McNulties stayed there in silence, first watching the screen, and then at Timmy.
"What is that boy taking? Steroids for lions?" Tyler broke the silence, both furious and surprised.
"Oh, man, I can't believe he did that to you! He is...he is...by God's sake, he is Finster! The greatest coward that had ever walked on the face of the Earth!" Tucker snapped, having feelings similar to his twin's. Tim said nothing, just lowered his head while rubbing his arms.
"We have to show this video to the police! That geek is going to rot in jail!" Tracy said while taking the CD out from the computer. Tony shook his head.
"Are you insane? Tim was the one who started the fight by menacing and insulting Finster and his family! He would be the one rotting in jail!" Tony exclaimed. Then, he turned to talk to his older brother.
"Tim, Finster mentioned something about you not hurting Angelica again. This has something to do with that date you had with her, right?" Tony asked. Tim sighed, still looking down.
"There were no giant guys hitting me that time... it was Angelica." Tim confessed in a monotonous voice. His brothers gasped, and, a moment later, Tim revealed the real story behind his injuries. Once he finished, Tony, who was the only one of his brothers that could stand up against Tim once in a while, snapped at him.
"Tim, you are an idiot! Angelica knows us, and her parents are big business people! If she opens her mouth, you'll be on a legal problem the size of Chicago! And now, it's even more important to never let a cop watch this video, or the investigation would lead to that assault you tried to play on her!" Tony exclaimed in a hurry. Tim nodded, totally pale; that was what scared him the most.
"Don't you think I already know that? I had feared that since Angelica sent me to the hospital! But I think she doesn't want to affect her image as well; otherwise, I would be behind bars right now." Tim said, both angry and nervous. Tony sighed in relief.
"That's fine, but, if anyone shows this video to the Police, that would be enough to start a legal process. And, if I heard right, many students have a copy." Tracy pointed, concerned.
"Okay. First of all, we have to discover who taped Timmy and his fight with that… animal." Tucker said, still a little shaken because of the images.
"Yes. Let's think… who in the school has hard feelings against Tim?" Tyler asked while rubbing his chin. His brothers gave him a weird look. Tyler sighed.
"Okay, that was a silly question. Now… who in the school has hard feelings against Tim, AND usually carries a video camera, so he or she could have taped the fight?" Tyler corrected himself.
"Whoever he or she was, is someone who knows about edition. Most of this video was took with the camera's zoom... obviously, he or she kept a distance to be undiscovered. However, the video still has a lot of the original audio, something this guy had to enhance." Tracy commented. Tim started pondering about that, and then, his eyes brightened.
"Tracy… those guys who were talking about the video… the ones you stole it from… do you know their names?" Tim asked his brother. Tracy rubbed his chin.
"Well…one of them is a dork called Steven… and the other…I remember now! He is that nerd you bully once in a while, Oliver Johnson." Tracy told Tim. At that moment, Tim got a really furious look.
"Oliver… that slug… HE IS ON THE AUDIOVISUAL CLUB! He carries a #)/&#!°+ camera almost all the time!" Tim roared, scaring his siblings. Then, he dashed out of the room, with a murderous look on his eyes. His brothers ran behind him a moment later.
Oliver was the perfect image of a geek. He had a short black out-of-fashion hairdo, big glasses, braces, skinny body, and was a perfect target for bullies. However, this time, he was the happiest guy at the school. He was receiving something he usually lacked, admiration and respect, and not just from other geeks and nerds, but from almost the whole school. Of course, one particular group wasn't that happy with him. The most pissed member of that gang appeared in the same corridor Oliver now was leaving some books at his locker.
"JOHNSON, YOU IDIOT!" Tim yelled at him while pinning the guy against the lockers. Oliver got surprised, but, instead of panicking, as he usually did every time Tim menaced him, the geek smiled.
"Tim, how are you? Hadn't seen you in ages! Nice scars, they go with your personality." Oliver said to his bully in a mocking tone. This pissed Tim even more.
"You are the one who taped me, right? Come on, admit it, so I can #&)+ tear you in pieces!" Tim snapped at him while tightening his grip. His brothers appeared behind him a moment later, also with menacing looks. However, Oliver still wasn't intimidated.
"Oh, so you finally saw a copy of my video! I was sure it was one of you who grabbed it from my backpack. You can conserve it if you want; I made like a hundred copies, and sold them in 10 dollars each. The best material I ever had taped." Oliver said, keeping his smile. The McNulties were now cracking their knuckles, ready to beat the geek all together. Oliver changed his expression to a grin.
"Don't waste your energy, folks. I no longer fear the McNulties, and the same goes for the rest of the school. Once they saw a geek beating the crap out of Tim here, he immediately lost his menacing element. If that Finster guy was brave enough to stand against you, and win, then we'll be brave too, and not let you to bully us again." Oliver directed to all the McNulties, and then to Tim's face. He was ready to kill this guy.
"He is right, McNulty. Let him go." Tim and his friends turned to see who was talking to them, and gasped. Behind them, George Smith, the football team's captain, was giving them a nasty look… alongside the rest of the team, and almost twenty more students. Tim dropped Oliver, and faced George.
"Stay out of this, Smith! I'm giving this fool a lesson, and if you get in my way…!" Tim was cut by the growling of the whole football team, and the angry glares of all the other students. Tim gulped, and backed up to move next to his brothers, who were gulping as well. Oliver moved next to George, smiling and crossing his arms.
"You see, Tim, we all owe something to Oliver here. His video showed us your true nature. You are nothing but a coward, McNulty, and we should have realized that a long time ago. That Finster guy made the right thing when he beat you, because he was protecting his family and that Angelica girl, so we're following his example, and start protecting ourselves. You are not going to hurt neither Oliver nor any other person again, or the whole school will give you and your brothers a lesson. And don't worry, we'll keep the whole video stuff as a "secret-everybody-knows" stuff, because we don't want to cause any problem to Finster and his family… but, mess with anyone, and we'll tell the police and the school's authorities about everything you had done to us, besides showing the video as well." George informed the McNulties, and then he and Oliver retired, while all the other guys at the corridor started throwing paper balls, banana peals, and rotten eggs and tomatoes (that they had prepared over the weekend for this moment) against Tim and his brothers. Tim was shocked; in one day, his whole reputation was destroyed, and now he was the one scared of his classmates.
(AN: Coming up, the conclusion)