Aftermath: Part 2

If there was one good thing about being confined to a bed was that it gave Johnny a lot of time to think. He thought about everything in his life up until this point and wondered what his next move would be. He supposed that near death experiences tended to do that to people. As far as Craig was considered, Johnny was extremely conflicted. He knew that he should not have listened to him when challenged by Holt, but he knew that Craig had shown up to help him despite not even attending the games that night. The whole issue surrounding the gun further complicated things and it seemed like everyone had an opinion on Craig's actions that night.

"Yo, Captain! How's that paper cut?"

Everyone on the team had shown up over the past few days, so Johnny was not surprised to see Drake and Ellie walking into his room. He was actually happy to see them, any form of human company was greatly appreciated. He spent most of the day alone with Houndoom who was acting more like a security guard instead of a companion.

"Well, I'm not dead," Johnny answered Drake. "So there's that…"

"You'll never guess who we ran into…" Ellie told him.

Two more people entered the room and Johnny's eyes widened. He didn't recognize the black-haired boy, but he instantly knew who his companion was. Austin Bradsher, the top trainer at Celadon Trainer's School, was standing before him. The trainers at Celadon were a whole different breed than the Cerulean ones and the fact that one of their best had stepped into Saffron City was a major deal.

"Heard Cerulean decided to act like asses yet again," Austin stated before shaking Johnny's hand. "We have a major problem with those psychos from Fuchsia City, so I can definitely understand where you're coming from, Hawkins."

"Thanks for coming, Bradsher," Johnny replied. "I appreciate it."

Johnny thought that he should play it cool and address Austin just like he would anyone else. He couldn't sound too excited to see such a powerful trainer or he would look lame.

"No problem," Austin said. "We heard that the Kanto School Board is thinking about banning Saffron from the games for the rest of the year. One of your teammates has been trying to get people to rally against the proposal. She's been sending out petitions and asking the other trainer schools in Kanto for support. It caught fire and my dad said that I could have more influence if I showed up personally."

"It was Elyse McKinley," Johnny stated without a second guess. "Wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Austin answered. "How did you know?"

"It's in her blood to do all that stuff," Johnny told him. "That's really all you need to know."

Austin glanced at the black-haired guy who had come along with him. Johnny noted that he had not said a single word and even Ellie and Drake gave no indication that they even knew who he was. Johnny made it a goal to memorize every important trainer on all the teams that they faced, but he was drawing a blank on Austin's associate.

"This is Jeremy," Austin introduced the stranger. "He's a…cousin of mine visiting us for a while."

Johnny shook hands with Jeremy, but did not really question him any further. Whoever he was, it did not really matter much when someone like Austin Bradsher was in the room.

"Anyway, we better be going," Austin said. "Gotta get things ready for the meeting. Hopefully we can keep you guys from being barred. That way, you'll have a chance at making it to the championship and facing off against us."

"Try to convince them as best you can," Johnny remarked. "Because if we stay, Celadon's reign is over. We're coming for the crown, Bradsher."

Austin grinned at the three Saffron trainers before walking out of the door with Jeremy. Johnny sighed in relief once he could no longer hear their departing footsteps. He had managed to keep calm in a conversation with Austin Bradsher and not act like a fanboy. Drake was clearly more outwardly excited about the possibility of facing Celadon and did not care to hide his enthusiasm while Ellie was more reserved.

"Man, what I would do to take on Austin Bradsher in battle," Drake remarked.

"That's a good attitude to have," Johnny told him. "But you have a long way to go before you can take on someone like Austin Bradsher."

"That's what you think," Drake said quickly.

"Anyway," Ellie spoke up. "We came to see if you were okay and clearly you're doing just fine. Come on, Drake, let's get to the poké mart before it gets too late. Kadabra will get pissed if he doesn't get to pick out his spoon."

"Later, Captain," Drake said before following Ellie out the door, leaving Johnny alone with Houndoom once more.

It did not take long before Johnny found himself getting restless. The one thing he hated more than anything was being bored and being confined to his bedroom was driving him insane. He knew that he should have been angrier at Craig, but it was not as if Johnny had been forced to fight Holt. More importantly, Craig had been the main person that had brought some sort of excitement to his life. Because of this, Johnny had spent most of his time thinking about everything in his life. It was the only thing he could do.

"Johnny...?"

Jennifer walked into the room and greeted him with a kiss before taking a seat at the end of the bed. From the look on her face, Johnny could tell that something was bothering her. He imagined that the current situation had not been a walk in the park for her either. Johnny had never been the best at comforting others, but he had to try.

"Mom says I should be moving around pretty good in a few days," he told her with a smile. "Maybe we can go to the mall and I'll buy you everything you want. How does that sound?"

"Listen, Johnny," Jennifer said with a sigh. "A few of the Cerulean kids contacted us. Guy was one of them."

"Probably bragging about what they did," Johnny said harshly.

"No…" Jennifer continued. "There's a rumor going around that Sid Moriarty and his goons are going to drive up to Cerulean City and retaliate against them for stabbing Craig's best friend. They're all terrified! Guy begged me to talk to you."

"And…what do you want me to do about it?" Johnny questioned. "Cerulean wrecked the game and almost killed me and now they want sympathy. I don't give a shit if Moriarty burns that city to the ground!"

"First," Jennifer countered. "One person stabbed you and he's in jail. And second, listen to yourself. You don't care if he burns that city to the ground? You sound just like Craig. In fact, I bet he was the one who told Moriarty in the first place."

"You're going to accuse Craig over a rumor?" Johnny remarked. "I'm pretty sure Sid Moriarty has more important things to worry about. Besides, as badly as Craig screwed things up, he at least had my back."

"He was the reason you were stabbed in the first place," Jennifer shot back. "You said so yourself. Craig made it clear what type of path he wanted to take in life a long time ago and now he's actually going through with it. You know how I feel about violence, but I've overlooked a lot of things he's done because of you…but I can't do it anymore."

"What are you saying?" Johnny asked curiously.

"When I heard what happened to you, I broke down. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep or do anything until I knew you would pull through. I don't want to put myself in that position if you're going to be involved with someone who goes off looking for trouble. I…I…think…"

"What are you saying?" Johnny repeated. "Spit it out, Jen."

"Listen," Jennifer said with a sigh. "I don't want you associating with Craig anymore…or…"

"Or what…?"

"Or we're over…" Jennifer said clearly. "I love you, but I can't do this anymore. It's time to make a choice, Johnny. Either me or Craig."

Johnny did not know which emotion he was currently experiencing the strongest. He was sad that Jennifer had been effected so much by all that was going on, irritated that the actions of other people had interfered with every aspect of his life, and angry that Jennifer was giving him an ultimatum right on the spot.

"So I get stabbed and you threaten to dump me?" Johnny said quietly. "You want to end it just like that after two years?"

"I don't want to," Jennifer told him. "But I'm not going to be with you if you want to go running around with a criminal."

"Well that 'criminal' never once made me choose who not to hang out with even if he didn't like them," Johnny snapped. "Actually, forget about him because that's not the main issue. I can't believe you really came to me with all of this. I'm confined to a bed after a near death experience and you come in here like it's all my fault! They stabbed me! Guess what, Jen, Cerulean can get destroyed by a volcano tomorrow and I'll dance on the ashes! And I'm not going to let you tell me what to do, I don't care who you are."

"You know what…" Jennifer started, tears welling up in her eyes. "I think I've overlooked a lot of things when it comes to you too. I'm trying to help you, but you're taking this as a personal attack. The truth is that you are a spoiled, arrogant, ungrateful, piece of work. You don't appreciate your mom for everything she does for you and you don't really appreciate anyone else for putting up with your crap. You're just not as bad as Craig. That's it. And now that the bar is set so low 'not as bad as Craig' isn't cutting it at this point. I thought Amelie could reach out to you, but I guess I was wrong. Call me when you decide to care about anyone besides yourself."

"We were getting stale anyway…" Johnny said coldly.

He instantly regretted what he said. Jennifer made her way towards the door and Johnny knew that he should stop her and apologize. However, he was past the point of reason and was reacting more out of hurt than anything else. Even when she turned back to look at him, all he could do was angrily shift his gaze.

"I'll tell Laila to give you all the stuff I've borrowed from you over the years…" Jennifer said quietly, obviously trying and failing to hold back tears.

"Keep it…" Johnny said without turning his head to face her.

Elyse had spent the last two weeks trying to convince the Kanto School Board not to go through with banning Saffron from the battling games for the year. She had hundreds of signatures on the petition, had sent flyers out to every educational facility in Kanto, and had even gather as many witnesses as she could to properly explain what had happened at the game. The meeting with the superintendent was being held in the auditorium and students from all over Kanto had shown up to support Saffron.

"Elyse, check it out," Loki told her. "That guy? Is that who I think it is?"

Elyse looked up from where she and Loki were sitting to see the one and only Austin Bradsher entering the auditorium. He and his companion were immediately the center of attention. Elyse knew of his skills as a trainer, but his father's connections were even more noteworthy.

"Let's hope everything goes right," Elyse said. "I think-"

"One sec, Elyse!" Loki interrupted as he stood up. "Really gotta go to the bathroom!"

Loki darted off and Elyse figured she should take the opportunity to make sure that everything was running smoothly. She walked out of the auditorium and was surprised by how many people were also in the hallway. Mr. Slowking noticed Elyse and quickly made his way over to her.

"Impressive turn out, Elyse," he told her kindly.

"Thank you," she replied. "I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Ah, here comes the superintendent now…"

Dr. Hutton was a short and compact woman with gray hair that framed her face and rosy pink cheeks. Elyse thought that she looked a lot like someone's kindly grandmother. She was joined by a tall and lanky man with a pointed chin and a thinning hairline. He had an irritated expression on his face and it was clear that he did not want to be there. The pair stopped by Elyse and Mr. Slowking.

"You must be Elyse!" Dr. Hutton greeted with a warm smile. "You look as pretty as your sister."

"Thank you, Dr. Hutton," Elyse replied. "I really appreciate you coming all the way to Saffron to hear our case. I hope that-"

"Just hope that your argument is convincing enough, girl," Dr. Hutton's companion snapped. "You should be lucky that we're even taken the time to hear you out when we should have abolished these pointless battle games for all the schools in Kanto."

Elyse was caught off guard by the man's rudeness and did not know exactly how to respond. Amelie was better at communicating effectively with people who disagreed with her while Elyse would prefer to just ignore them. Fortunately, Mr. Slowking was there to speak up.

"Mr. Barclay, I do think you are overreacting. Elyse is one of my brightest students and has excelled in both academics and athletics. Please treat her with more respect."

"Respect is earned," Mr. Barclay shot back. "Obviously if Miss McKinley here is learning from a Pokémon then it might be difficult for her to grasp that concept…"

The look on Mr. Slowking's face was almost too much for Elyse to bear. She gave Mr. Barclay a dark glare before Dr. Hutton intervened. She led Mr. Barclay into the auditorium, defusing the situation. For the first time Elyse was at a loss of words in front of her teacher. She realized that to many people, it did not matter that Mr. Slowking was a great teacher because in their minds he was 'just' a Pokémon. She had overheard a few comments about him here and there, but she paid it no mind. What made it worse for her was the fact that discrimination of this manner had been mentioned by Amelie before and now Elyse was seeing it up close. Another student had called out to Mr. Slowking and he hurried to assist him, bringing Elyse back to reality.

"Elyse! Guess what?! Guess what?! Guess what?! You're never going to believe this!"

Nadine rushed up to her, but Elyse did not see Lilly with her. She wondered what she was getting into since the two of them had not really hung out much lately.

"What is it?" Elyse asked Nadine.

"Get this," Nadine said. "Johnny Hawkins and Jennifer Klein broke up! All the girls are saying that Johnny's on market and they've deleted all their pictures of each other on Pokégram. I mean they've been dating for like two years! That's practically marriage!"

While it was not the right time or place for such news, Elyse had to admit to herself that she was a bit intrigued. Things were changing and it was clear to her that everyone needed to adapt if they were going to be able to deal with it all. She did not care for the gossip itself, but rather the effect it would have on her sister's friends. Before Nadine had time to spill out more details, they were joined by Lilly.

"Nice of you to finally show up," Nadine said to which Lilly rolled her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"None of your business," she replied.

"Still hanging out with Craig huh?" Nadine deduced quickly. "How are you going to hang out with that jerk and then turn around and show up here?"

"We went with a couple of other people to watch a battle," Lilly said. "That's all. Just because he did something stupid doesn't mean I can't understand his reasons for doing what he did. Should I be like Amelie and-"

"And what?" Elyse interrupted sharply.

She knew that she should have stopped the argument between her two friends before it even began. There were more important things to focus on, but the moment that Lilly mentioned Amelie, Elyse lost a bit of her composure.

"Am I supposed to be afraid of you, Elyse?" Lilly questioned.

"Not at all," Elyse countered. "Finish what you have to say."

"Okay," Lilly said and took a step towards Elyse. "Just because someone doesn't agree with your sister's way of seeing things doesn't make them wrong. And honestly, who really cares about some trash from Cerulean?"

"Are you listening to yourself?" Elyse said. "You sound just like Craig."

"Whatever," Lilly scoffed. "I showed up here to support you, but I'm clearly not welcomed. I'm out of here…"

She started off and Elyse made a move to stop her, but Nadine intervened.

"Screw her," she told Elyse. "You, me, and Loki can-"

"Loki…" Elyse said. "What happened to him? He told me he was going to the bathroom and I haven't seen him since."

"Probably food poisoning," Nadine suggested. "I've told that boy to stop eating everything that he can get his hands on."

"I'm going to go see if he's alright," Elyse told her. "Can you go in and make sure everything's ready to go?"

Nadine nodded before making her way into the auditorium. Elyse went to search for Loki, the first place obviously being the boys' bathroom. She knocked on the door despite the fact that her first instinct was to just barge in there and see what was going on.

"Dude, go away!" she heard Loki's voice from the other side of the door.

"Loki, it's me," Elyse replied.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he peered out of the door. "You have a really manly knock…"

Elyse could see that his face was in some sort of pain even though he tried not to show it. She wondered if Nadine was right about food poisoning.

"I came to see if you were okay," Elyse stated. "We're about to start."

"I can't do it…" Loki grunted in pain.

"Loki, what's wrong with you?" Elyse asked much more worriedly this time.

"Okay…this is going to sound gross…" Loki started. "But for the last couple of days, I've been having a tough time in the bathroom. Only number one though, so it's not super gross."

Elyse looked at him in confusion for a moment, not fazed by the so-called 'grossness' of what Loki was saying. However, when she started connecting the dots, Elyse's eyes suddenly widened like saucers.

"Loki…when was the last time you were with a girl?"

"What does that have to do with…?" Loki stopped himself and his eyes widened even larger than Elyse's. "I caught something from that dirty Cerulean cheerleader at the battle game! Oh man, Elyse, what am I gonna do? If anyone finds out about this, my rep is gone. Everyone's going to think I'm disgusting! No girl is going to want to date me and the guys would never let me live this down!"

"Loki, calm down," Elyse told him. "None of that is going to happen because I'm taking you to the clinic right now."

"But what about getting them to revoke the suspension?" Loki asked. "Elyse, my rep isn't worth that much."

"No, but your health is," Elyse said. "I'll text Amelie and tell her to take control of things. Now, come on…"

Amelie felt bad that Elyse had to leave before her big moment, but was glad that she decided that looking out for her friend was more important. Elyse hadn't told her what exactly was going on with Loki, just that she had to escort him to see a doctor.

Regardless, the burden of getting Saffron reinstated in the battle games had now been placed on her shoulders. Amelie knew that she could not let the school down. Not only had the players been affected, but the Pokémon, cheerleaders, and fans had all suffered from the actions of a few individuals.

The past several weeks had not been easy for Amelie. The fallout from Johnny's stabbing had not been anything that she expected. After shooting at the retreating car, Craig had fled the scene. He was later questioned by the police, but since no one had been hit by any of the bullets and he had obviously gotten rid of the gun, Craig had not been charged with anything. Amelie knew that he would immediately turn his anger to her for giving information to the authorities. However, instead of the usual taunting, Craig just angrily glared at her whenever they were in the same vicinity. She found that even scarier than anything else. Between dealing with that, helping Elyse set up the conference, and consoling Jennifer over her break up, Amelie was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.

"Amelie, you're on in one minute," Lyndon whispered to her before exiting the stage.

There were five podiums on the stage. One for herself, Dr. Hutton, Mr. Barclay, Principal Chaubs, and Austin Bradsher respectively. Amelie looked into the audience and was impressed by the turnout She knew that she could not let her sister down regardless of how she was feeling.

"Good afternoon everyone," Amelie began, adjusting her microphone. "I want to thank you all for taking the time to come here. My name is Amelie McKinley and I'm here to speak on behalf of my sister, Elyse. Before we begin, I'd first like to introduce the other people joining me on stage. We have superintendent Dr. Hutton, Kanto educational representative Mr. Barclay, Saffron Trainer School's Principal Chaubs, and Austin Bradsher, Celadon Trainer's School battler and heir to the Bradsher estate."

"Thank you, Amelie," Principal Chaubs said before turning to the crowd. "As you are all aware, an incident occurred during the Saffron-Cerulean battle game a few weeks ago. While Saffron battler Johnny Hawkins faced off against Cerulean's Guy Wullinger, he was attacked from behind by several students from Cerulean. This led to a brawl between Saffron and Cerulean students-"

"In which one student, Johnny Hawkins himself, was stabbed by a student from Cerulean," Mr. Barclay interjected.

"With all due respect," Austin Bradsher spoke up. "I don't see what this has to do with Saffron being banned. From what we know, they were attacked first. You said it yourself, Johnny was stabbed by a student from Cerulean. It appears to me that Cerulean is the aggressor in this situation. Saffron shouldn't be punished for defending themselves."

"He does have a point, Mr. Barclay," Dr. Hutton said. "It would be entirely unfair to punish Saffron with the same severity as the Cerulean school."

"But you admit that they should still be punished?" Mr. Barclay questioned. "It doesn't matter who started it, both schools are guilty of inciting violence. Let's not forget that this isn't the first time that we've had to deal with this rivalry."

"Rivalries exist between schools all over Kanto, Mr. Barclay," Austin countered. "In fact, my father has launched countless complaints against Fuchsia Trainer's School for the way they act during Celadon-Fuchsia battle games. And Fuchsia is much more dangerous than Cerulean City. If you're not going to do anything about them, then frankly both of these schools should be let off the hook."

Amelie stepped off her podium and walked to the front of the stage. She reached for a poké ball and tossed it in the air. Amelie's Leafeon, Darren, emerged and jumped into her arms. If there was any Pokémon that could calm the mood, it was him.

"Listen everyone," Amelie told the crowd. "I do not condone anything that Cerulean or Saffron did that night. Violence is not something that I encourage and I think people need to learn how to handle their differences peacefully. What I think is important to take from this is that Pokémon are what helps us all come together. We're all different and we all have our issues, but we do have one thing that unites us. Through Pokémon we've all grown closer to one another. Putting our friends above all else is what we do here at S.T.S. It's like a second nature to us. In fact, the reason that my sister isn't here in the first place is because she's helping a friend right now. And we learned all this through extracurricular activities like battling where we got to know each other and each other's Pokémon. In the end, I believe the positives outweigh the negatives and Saffron should be reinstated in the battle games."

Amelie had not been expecting any applause and was pleasantly surprised when she received a standing ovation. Austin and Dr. Hutton clapped alongside the crowd while Principal Chaubs looked on indifferently and Mr. Barclay was clearly annoyed. She knew he was about to find a way to upset her mood and the moment the applause stopped, he spoke again.

"While that was a very…nice speech," Mr. Barclay remarked. "We can't let the school get off with no repercussions even if we reinstated you. It would give other schools the idea that they too can start trouble and not be held accountable."

"Hold me accountable then…"

The crowd was stunned to see Johnny Hawkins himself in the auditorium. Amelie knew that he still had a little while before he fully recovered and was just as surprised as everyone else to see Tyler helping Johnny towards the stage. Lyndon handed him a microphone and Johnny briefly glanced at Amelie before taking a deep breath and facing the crowd.

"For the few of you who don't know," he started. "My name is Johnny Hawkins, captain of Saffron's intermediate battling team. I was the guy who was stabbed…but I was the guy who instigated things in the first place. I behaved in a completely unsportsmanlike manner and karma made sure I paid for my mistake. The brawl only broke out because the students from this school were defending me. I take full responsibility for what happened."

Amelie wondered what made Johnny come to this decision. While he did not help matters with his constant antagonizing of Cerulean that night, Johnny had no control on the actions of the Cerulean students. Dr. Hutton, Mr. Barclay, and Principal Chaubs talked amongst themselves for a moment before they apparently came to their decision.

"Johnny," Dr. Hutton told him. "First and most importantly, I wanted to commend you for having the courage to put your school before yourself. I see what Amelie said rings true."

"We've come to a decision," Principal Chaubs added. "Saffron Trainer's School will be allowed to continue the battle games. However, Johnny will not be allowed to play on the battle team for the remainder of the school year."

"This conference is over," Mr. Barclay declared.

There were a few cheers as people began filing out of the auditorium. Saffron Trainer's School had been reinstated in the regional battle games which satisfied most people. Johnny was visibly upset, but did not protest the decision.

"Listen, Johnny," Amelie tried to talk to him.

"Not now, Amelie," Johnny sighed. "Please."

She did not press the issue. Johnny was already in enough pain and the last thing that Amelie wanted to do was unintentionally make him feel worse. Still, she was curious about what led to Johnny deciding to sacrifice one of the things he enjoyed the most in the world.

"Hey, McKinley," Austin said as he walked up to her. "You did a good job. Your sister was definitely right when she said that there's something important with you Saffron guys."

"Thanks for all the support," Amelie replied.

"Any time," Austin said, hopping off the stage and walking over to his companion. "Jeremy, let's get back to Celadon. I borrowed Anya's car without asking and she's left a ton of harsh words in my texts."

With everyone leaving, Amelie figured that she should check on Elyse and see if everything was okay with Loki. Darren had fallen asleep in her arms by this point and she cuddled the Leafeon before she exited the auditorium. Lyndon had already started home, but the students that remained in the hallways congratulated Amelie for her speech.

"Heard you gave a good speech, McKinley. If there's one thing you're good at, it's running your big mouth…"

It was inevitable that she would have to deal with Craig at some point. However, Amelie was so exhausted that she just glared right at him when he finished muscling himself through the crowd. She assumed that he came to interrogate her about what she said during the conference.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble?" Amelie muttered as she recalled her Pokémon to its ball.

"Oh, like you've caused me?" Craig shot back. "I had the cops on my back for days and half the school thinks I'm some type of lunatic thanks to you."

"If they think you're a lunatic then that's on you," Amelie told him. "Your name didn't even come up in the conference. You should consider yourself lucky for that. I mean, what made you even think to do what you did?"

"I was thinking that I was going to kill the people who could have killed my friend," Craig defended. "Just like I would've done if they had stabbed Xander, Nat, or Felicity. And just like I would've done if they would've stabbed you."

"I don't think I need people committing crimes on my behalf, Craig."

"Stop being such a baby about this. We walk around with creatures that breathe fire, cause hurricanes, and make earthquakes. And you're worried about a stupid gun?"

"Most Pokémon aren't going to kill someone even if their trainer orders them too. There are other ways of solving problems that don't involve resorting to violence every single time."

Craig shook his head and by now, the crowd had started to gather around the ensuing argument.

"Those Cerulean guys only understand violence. You're naïve and if it wasn't for me, you probably would have gotten yourself killed by now."

"Excuse me?" Amelie snapped.

"You heard me. Why don't we take a trip down memory lane since you seem to have amnesia? Do you remember five years ago during your first stupid protest where you chained yourself to that tree? Remember how I sent my Pokémon to chase off those assholes who were trying to disrupt it. Or how about two years ago, I saved your ass from those bikers on Cycling Road? Or maybe we should talk about six months ago when I drove you all the way to Fuchsia City for your peace rally and stayed to make sure you didn't get attacked by the psychos that live in that city. That's more than what Tyler West has ever done for you."

"Is that what this is about?" Amelie questioned, angered that Craig had the audacity to bring another person into the argument.

"I'm just saying. I used 'violence' all those times to make sure you, Lyndon and all your Pokémon were alright. Look, McKinley, it's cute that you want everyone to get along, but this is the real world. After you're done with your little peace rallies and your stupid protests, you go home with your well-off family where everything is all rainbows and sunshine. You don't really care about any of those problems. You just want to make yourself feel good."

"How dare you?!" Amelie shouted. "You of all people telling me that I don't care!"

The crowd went dead silent. Amelie McKinley wasn't the type to be easily angered and this level of rage from her had never been seen by anyone before. Craig had crossed the line by questioning her ethics in this fashion.

"You don't," Craig said. "And neither does Lyndon, Tyler, Johnny, Felicity, or the others. You're all spoiled little shits, but unlike you, at least the others don't try to act holier-than-thou!"

"So you think it's okay to live life the way you do? Bullying people, fighting, stealing, and breaking every law underneath the sun? I know you've had it rough, but that's no excuse from the way you've been acting!"

"You don't know a damn thing about me!" Craig yelled. "So don't act like you do! You have no idea! If you were in my position, then you'd be just like me."

"No, I wouldn't," Amelie argued. "Because no matter what circumstances we're born in, we all make our own choices. And I'd never any of the things you've done no matter who I was born to."

"Easy for you to say that."

"At any moment you could've stopped the bullying, stopped the fighting, stopped the stealing. You've chosen to do all these things and what makes it worse, it's as if you don't care about your life!"

"I don't!" Craig asserted. "No one else does, so why should I?! Fuck off with your self-righteous crap."

He turned to leave and if this were any other situation, Amelie would have let him go. That was not the case this time around. She quickly grabbed his arm to stop him from going any further and Craig looked at her as if she had completely lost her mind.

"I'm. Not. Done. Talking." Amelie told him in a tone that he had never heard from her before. "You are surrounded by friends who put up with your attitude and terrible behavior every single day. Friends that you honestly don't deserve especially if you don't think they care about your life. You think I don't care? We're all watching you go down this path and ruin your life. No matter what though, I haven't given up on you even if you've given up on yourself…"

With that, Amelie turned to leave. She was drained and the first thing she was going to do when she got home was crawl in bed and go to sleep. As she left campus and began walking down the sidewalk, Amelie tried her hardest to block everything that didn't have to do with getting some much needed rest out of her mind. It was only when her phone went off when she was a block away from her house that Amelie even snapped back to reality. It was a message from Elyse.

– Hey, sis. Thanks SO much for filling in for me. I heard about what happened. Couldn't have done it without your help. Love you always! –

Amelie smiled. Despite everything that had happened, that one message single-handedly shifted her mood. She had to take the good with the bad after all. The only way to deal with the aftermath of what had transpired was to keep pushing on.

A/N: So, I probably should apologize for the massive hiatus. I've been pretty busy, but I'm still at it! Pretty intense chapter with a lot of stuff happening. I'll just let the chapter speak for itself.

The P.O.V. characters for this chapter were: Johnny Hawkins, Elyse McKinley, and Amelie McKinley.

As always, come to the forums to discuss this and other stories or to discuss anything you'd like really.

Until next time!