Dared chapter 3: Hard feelings
Joe's POV
"What did the Commissioner have to say last night?" Wyatt asked as soon as he laid eyes on Joe the next morning. "You look like somebody has stolen your favourite teddy bear."
"Worse." Joe muttered in answer. "Dad doesn't believe me, and Mom thinks Ball might just have to get used to teaching us. To top it all off Danny is part of the investigation into the Daredevils now."
"That doesn't sound like your Dad." Cindy commented softly, slipping her hand into his and giving it a squeeze.
"I heard him loud and clear last night. Going on and on about how it's the wrong way to handle it, but then he can't even bother listening to our side of the story."
"What did you tell him?"
"That the school is looking at the wrong culprit. And that Ball is a bully."
"That's the truth."
"Yeah. Yet he didn't believe me." Joe answered softly, letting the hurt he felt shine through. "He even dared accuse all of us of being involved. I had to lie right to his face."
"I'm sorry Joe, that sucks." Logan said sympathetically.
"What did your parents say?" Joe asked, already having an idea, but wanting to hear it anyway.
"JJ and Nate were sympathetic enough but told med to keep out of it." Cindy answered.
"Mom and Dad weren't even home last night. They would most likely laugh at any accusations made against me and then sue whoever made them. " Will explained shortly, and Joe couldn't help but wonder for a moment who really had it worse. Will's parents were some of the richest in the area and Will lived in a nice big house, but it was mostly empty of love. Both his Mom and Dad worked a lot and when they didn't, they had business dinners to attend. Will hadn't told them much, but it had only taken a few visits to notice how lonely he was in a house like that. Not to mention all the times his parents were away on business trips. Joe had found himself wondering a few times if the Daredevils were Will's way of trying to get his parents attention. Especially since nothing seemed to be able to slow him down.
"Dad gave a lecture on respecting teachers, but honestly he seemed more worried about how Ball is treating us." Logan told them.
"I'm suspended and grounded on that." Callum gave them a grin. "It wouldn't even cross their mind that I would be involved. Not even little sis has been suspicious."
"Thankfully. Otherwise, you would be a lead suspect." Joe pointed out. "Might still be if Danny hears about your run in with Mr. Ball."
"Luckily we started before that. If not, it would have seemed like too much of a coincidence." Callum agreed.
"Mom and Dad barely said ten words about it. They told me to stay out of it and keep away from Mr. Ball. I think they contacted the school board."
"So Dad is the only one who is overreacting." Joe summed it up with a sigh.
"He is a cop." Wyatt pointed out carefully.
"So is JJ but he kept his head." Joe argued.
"You aren't going to do something stupid because of it, are you?" Callum asked, shooting him a knowing look.
"Up it an ante, maybe. But I wouldn't call that stupid, more like revenge."
"What are you planning?"
-Dared-
Cindy caught up with him after their last class of the day.
"I know this with your Dad is hard, but think about Will and the alternative. You wouldn't want that either."
"I know, I was just thinking that." Joe admitted.
"I mean at least your Dad cares one iota about you and what you do."
"Maybe a little too much. I can't believe he accused us like that."
"But he is right Joe." The pair had made it out of the school building and stopped off to the side of the school yard. "It is us. So why are you getting so upset about it?" Cindy asked.
"I just do."
"Joe."
"Because I can't stand lying to him." He admitted defeated.
"Then you have to make a choice. Either you stop coming with us and have a clean conscious or you keep coming and realize that you can't be angry at your Dad for being right."
"I won't stop. I can't leave you guys to do it alone."
"Then you have to think long and hard about how you want that talk with your Dad to go that we both know is coming."
"Can I do so at your place? I need some peace and quiet that I can't get at home."
"Of course. Come on."
-Dared-
"Do you have a moment, Joe?" Joe groaned inwardly but nodded nevertheless. He had spent the whole afternoon at Cindy's and even eaten dinner with her family in hopes of not having to talk to his Dad, but no such luck.
"Sure." He replied evenly.
"I wanted to make sure that you felt like I listened to you yesterday and not just jumped to conclusions." His Dad started, eyeing him knowingly. Joe didn't comment, instead he stared stubbornly straight ahead. "So if there is anything you want me to know that you didn't get to say yesterday, now is your chance to do so."
"I think everything that needed to be said got said." Joe replied stubbornly.
"Joe…" His Dad admonished quietly. And dammit, he wasn't immune to that tone of voice, or the disappointment laced within it.
"You said your piece and I said mine, what more is there to talk about?" He asked with a sigh. "We don't agree on the best course of action or who should be charged, so I would rather not talk about it anymore."
"Is that really how we are going to solve this?" Frank asked.
"I'm not likely to change my mind and neither are you."
"Has that ever hindered us from talking it through in the past?"
"I guess not. But I've seldom felt this strongly about something."
"Are you sure there isn't something more that I should know about?"
"Are you accusing me of something?" Joe countered, ignoring the fact that his Dad had sounded more concerned than anything.
"No. I'm just asking, son."
"I told you yesterday how he treats his students, that is all there is to it. It's torture for us students to even be in the same room as him, but nobody seems to believe us. Least of all you."
"I can see why you would see it that way."
"But you really do care and yada yada but you are the commissioner and can't back us up like normal parents would, I know." Joe sassed.
"I do and even if I weren't the commissioner, I still would consider it the wrong approach." Frank answered calmly. "Now it seems to me that you aren't ready to listen, so why don't you stay up here for tonight and think about it."
"Are you really grounding me to my room?!"
"It's just for tonight."
"So I get grounded for no reason?!"
"No. I simply think it might be best for you to spend some time thinking about why I can't back that kind of behaviour up."
"Sure. Whatever." Joe flopped down on his bed and turned his back towards his Dad. He felt childish for doing so, but he knew when to give up, and this was one of those moments.
"I'll be up to say goodnight."
"Don't bother."
"I love you, kiddo, try to remember that"
"Would it at least have been different if it had been me he bullied?" Joe asked before his Dad could close the door behind him.
"Did he?"
"Does it matter?" Joe countered.
"It does."
"So if it was me you would back us up."
"I would still think that pranking him for revenge was the wrong thing to do. But if it was you I would have requested to have a conversation with him and the principal."
"So you wouldn't. Good to know."
"I think that whatever I say right now you are going to twist to fit your view of me as the enemy, so I think it's best if I say nothing at all." With those words his Dad closed the door and headed downstairs, leaving Joe alone to think.
-Dared-
"He is going to be livid." Will laughed at the sight of the desk chair. Joe grinned back at him proud of his work. He had just finished spraying down the chair with insulation and it now looked like a very yellow and crunchy cloud. Wyatt on the other hand had been busy putting zip ties around Mr. Ball's laptop while Callum was taping an airhorn to the wall next to the door and Logan balanced on Will's shoulders, taped all the office supplies they could find to the ceiling.
"That's the point. Cindy you have the nicest handwriting, want to do the honours?" Joe threw her the permanent marker he had pocketed earlier that day.
"Sure, but keep an eye on the hallway for me, would you? Last time was way too close."
"We'll be fine." Joe assured her and gave her hand a squeeze as he passed her, but went to stand by the door none the less. "Security shouldn't be here for another half an hour." Still Joe took his position by the door, keeping it ajar so he could hear any approaching footsteps in time.
"It's just down here." Joe suddenly heard Jamie's voice. Shit.
"Hide." Joe whispered to the rest who scrambled to do so.
"Isn't Mr. Ball's classroom down this way too?" Joe could hear Danny ask.
"Yeah, it's the second last one down the hall and to the right."
"Grab your books. I'm going to take a quick look."
"We need a plan." Joe ducked under the teacher's desk next to Wyatt. "It's Danny."
"What if we catch him by surprise?"
"That or the window." Callum pointed out.
"I don't want to hear another lecture about damaging school property. I'll tackle Danny to throw him off balance for long enough if he does come in here." Joe said with finality.
"It's your choice."
"I don't have anything at stake here, maybe I should tackle him." Will proposed.
"Thanks, but I know him better. He won't shoot us, so whatever you do, keep running." As expected, the group of friends could hear the door slightly squeak when it opened fully.
"Police! Come on out!"
"Fat chance." Joe mumbled quietly. They could hear Danny approaching the desk slowly but methodically. As soon as he rounded the corner, Joe caught him of guard and lunged towards him, tackling him to the ground while the rest sprinted out. He made to follow them, but Danny kicked his feet out, causing him to fall instead. Joe winced as his fell on his shoulder, but didn't let it stop him from trying to get away.
"Don't move." Danny grumbled, but Joe was faster to get to his feet and got a few seconds head start. Danny was a fast runner, but Joe was a part of the track team and faster. He could hear Danny behind him, but a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that he was a good six feet behind him. A low whistle drew his attention to the door and his friends who stood there, holding the doors open for him so he wouldn't lose precious time. Will even stood ready with a stick to barricade the doors with temporarily. Joe cursed his friends for their foolishness at the same time as he was touched at the gesture. "Don't you dare!" Danny shouted from somewhere behind him, but Joe just ran faster, straight out the doors. He turned in time to see his Will secure the stick just as Danny reached the door and started banging on it.
-Dared-
"I heard that the Daredevils struck again." His Dad started the conversation of at the dinner table later the same evening.
"They've got some guts." Erin said surprised. "With the police getting involved and the stakes getting higher I really thought they would back off."
"What did they do this time?" Henry asked. Him and his wife had also been invited over for dinner.
"A lot of things." Danny grumbled.
"I saw the state of the room. It wasn't pretty." Jamie grimaced.
"Did they break anything?" Erin asked.
"Not this time, no, but I'm not so sure the damage they did to the whiteboard and chair can be undone." Danny explained.
"Has it made a difference in the classroom?" Henry asked curiously. "I mean, I get what the kids are trying to do, but has it led anywhere?"
"No." Joe answered, looking down at the table instead of at anybody. "Ball is still a bully. But at least a few parents who weren't busy lecturing their kids, made complaints to the school board and reached out to the principal."
"What is it like sitting in a classroom with this guy?" Henry continued questioning, ignoring the snide remark.
"He is downright mean, but makes sure to never leave any evidence of it." Jamie explained. "It' mostly name calling and humiliation."
"Has he done anything towards you?"
"No. He knows that I'm a Reagan so he has treaded carefully. But that doesn't stop him from doing it to my friends." Jamie answered.
"I don't have him." Erin told him.
"What about you, Joe?"
"As Jamie said, he knows I'm a Reagan." Joe replied shortly. He had already made his feelings known and it had led him nowhere
"Good. Any leads Danny?"
"Well, it's six kids. They aren't exactly ordinary; they have to know at least somewhat what they are doing and I bet they have encountered law enforcement before. My gun didn't scare them the least. And whoever the kid that tackled me was, is a fast runner. Probably as fast as Joe." Danny said with a look towards him.
"I'm not exactly the only fast kid around Danny." Joe rolled his eyes for emphasis.
"I'm just saying."
"Well maybe you shouldn't."
"Where were you when it happened?"
"I've been at Cindy's the whole afternoon."
"Can anybody verify that?"
"Cindy."
"Anybody else, smart guy?"
"No. JJ was at her little brother's basketball game and her other brother had to run to the store around half past three. So why don't you just go ahead and arrest me?! Oh, that's right. You don't have any evidence."
"That's enough." His Dad's voice boomed. "I don't want any accusations at this table."
"One was a female, I'm sure of it." Danny gave Joe a look that spoke volumes.
"Daniel. Listen to your father." Henry scolded.
"Yes Pops." Danny answered respectfully. "Sorry Dad."
"Let's continue eating before the food gets cold."
-Dared-
