Hi everyone! I decided to do a small summary of the two story lines, hopefully making it easier for you to keep up.
So the main story that is narrated in this normal print is where the other Tony exists. He didn't even exist in the flashbacks since he is new to the school. The main story is where Tony first gets in trouble by switching places with the other Tony and then confronting him about it. Tony mostly did it because he doesn't have that many options when it comes to friends. In the main story Tony's French teacher doesn't like him so she is on the other Tony's side and constantly tries to get Tony in trouble for one thing or another. When the detention goes badly and Tony gets the blame he decides to run out of desperation. This is also where Tony feels that he has been nothing but trouble lately and that leads to him thinking he deserves to be bullied by the other Tony. Around this time Luke, Tony's long time best friend gets involved. Tony is scared that Tim will get hurt so he decides to leave a few things out of his confession. When Gibbs and Steve find out they decide that Tony should start writing a daily update to them about what's going on. Uncle Steve also drops in on Tony's classes and keeps a constant eye on Tony in school until he hopefully can catch the Other Tony in action, or if nothing else, prevent things from getting worse.
And then there is the flashback story which is set when Steve first became principal. Tony was okay with it until he realised that his Uncle's rules would mean the end of his little pranking game in school. That lead Tony to start pranking his Uncle and eventually getting caught. Steve isn't happy of course and when Tony refuses to give him answers he reads Tony's file, the one he promised not to read unless Tony gave him a reason to. Reading the file makes Steve feel like Tony used his trust in him to continue with the pranking game. Seeing the file also makes Steve call Gibbs. The official punishment was two weeks of detention including Saturday detention. The punishment at home is that he is grounded until he earns back trust from both his Uncle and Dad. He also has weekly updates from his teachers of how things are going that he has to discuss with his Uncle every Friday. Now Tony feels that he is treated unfairly by his Uncle so he decides to start ignoring him as revenge, not only at home but at school as well.
Hope that cleared it up a bit!
-The Other Tony-
Tony tiredly dropped his bag onto the floor before following its path and sitting down on the floor as well. His back and shoulders hurt more than he was willing to admit even to himself. It was three days ago he had been handed the combination to his new locker just outside the Principal's office, but Tony hadn't even opened it once. Determined to see his Uncle as little as possible Tony had been carrying around all of his books and supplies which resulted in a soaring back pain.
"Are you okay?" Tim asked, coming into the room.
"I'm fine Tim." Tony answered tiredly. The whole ignoring his Uncle/Principal thing was making him jumpy and constantly keeping him on his toes which led to Tony being tired. To top it off he was sleeping badly.
"You sure?"
"Yeah kid."
"Is something up in here?"
"Dad?!" Both boys jumped at the unexpected voice of their father and Tim hugged him tightly while Tony lingered back a bit.
"I'm sensing that only one of you has missed me."
"Sorry Dad, I'm happy you're home." Tony said giving his Dad a small smile and a hug as well.
"That's better. Tim, your Uncle could use some help with dinner." Tim took the hint and hurried downstairs while Tony sat down on his bed, grimacing slightly when his Dad sat down next to him, gently cupping his chin.
"Are you okay?"
"It's nothing Dad." Tony tried.
"Uhuh. Truth or Ducky." Tony groaned, the last thing he wanted was a lecture from Ducky on his sleeping habits.
"I just slept bad Dad."
"Something on your mind kiddo?"
"I'm fine Dad, I'll just go to bed a bit earlier tonight."
"Anthony."
"Dad, it's one night."
"Are you sure it's nothing?"
"I'm fine Dad."
"Okay, but you are going to bed as soon as your homework is done, I want you to have an early night. I'll check in on you in an hour."
-Flashback ending-
"Seems like this is the only place I can seem to catch you alone." Tony eyed Tony Rizzo in the mirror while he washed his hands. As long as the other Tony was by himself, Tony knew he'd be fine.
"Do you want something?!"
"How about revenge for putting me in detention?!"
"Do you really think that's the answer?"
"It is for me, but first, so I know nobody else is in here…" The other Tony pushed him onto the floor before he dropped down and checked under the doors for any sign of other people. Tony grimaced as he hit his head and shoulder hard against the tile. Seemingly satisfied that they were alone the other Tony grabbed him and hoisted him onto his feet before lifting him against the wall. At that point Tony's heart started beating a little faster, he was no longer sure he'd get out of this unscathed, in fact he was pretty sure the plan had gone wrong somewhere.
"Did you really think this was over?! You squealed on me you rat, it's the only explanation I can find to the current situation."
"I wouldn't trust everything I hear." Tony answered calmly.
"Oh you think my sources are the problem?!" the other Tony laughed. "No, you are. You, the golden boy of this academy."
"I'm hardly a golden boy."
"Oh I heard about your past, but still, easy target if you ask me. You'd do anything to keep your friends since they are the only few people who want you around."
"You don't know what you are talking about."
"You just wait and see, one more week and everyone will have forgotten about you, even your trusty little soldier Lucas."
"How are you planning to do that?"
"You'll see, with that he punched Tony in the face, before kicking him hard in the knee."
"Let go!" Tony roared, bringing his knee up to meet the other Tony's stomach, causing the other boy to let go of him.
"Oh, you are really asking for it now…" The other Tony said circling around him like if he was prey.
"How is you beating me up going to change anything?" Tony asked.
"A few more punches and then I'll scratch and bang myself up a bit and claim self-defence, I'm sure I can get our beloved French teacher to believe me and with no security cameras in here and your history as a prankster I'll just say I caught you planning a prank."
"I'm not so sure that's going to work."
"Oh, and why not?" The other Tony laughed and took a swing at him, causing Tony to have to duck.
"Because we aren't alone." Tony said.
"You wish."
"I'm not kidding."
"Liar." The other Tony roared and jumped on him.
"That's enough!" Luke jumped out of the stall he had been hiding in and hauled Tony Rizzo off Tony, in his turn trying to pin the other Tony against the wall, but was stopped by his best friend.
"Let him go and let's get out of here. This isn't your fight Luke."
"After what he did to you and threatened to do to Tim?! He'll be happy if all I give him is a broken nose."
"Luke. This isn't the way, come on." With one last disgusted look, Luke let go with a hard shove and grabbed his phone from the stall he had been hiding in. The other Tony suddenly realising he had been caught on tape, jumped towards Luke, trying to snatch the phone from him. Tony seeing it, was about to head for his best friend when Luke threw the phone towards him and yelled "Catch!". Tony Rizzo made a move for Tony, but Luke grabbed his leg, causing the other Tony to fall to the ground once more. Swearing he launched himself at Luke once more and Tony looked between the phone and his best friend, before opening the door and yelling out into the hallway:
"Somebody get a teacher!" Tony then turned back around and deserted the phone on the counter before launching himself at the other Tony and effectively rolling him of off Luke.
"That wasn't smart golden boy!" The other Tony punched him hard in the stomach before trying to attack his face. Tony rammed his full body weigh against the other Tony's right arm to get him to lose his balance. The other Tony that had been standing on all fours over him got caught off guard and Luke quickly helped Tony onto his feet, the two of them sharing a quick look as the other Tony too got onto his feet and started towards them.
"We are two against one Rizzo, it's over." Luke declared.
"Oh, you think I can't do more than this?! No phone, no proof and the little Gibbs is still out there." In that exact moment Tim came bursting through the door, having recognized his brother's voice and sent Jamie to get Uncle Steve while he sprinted towards his brother. Tony seeing the evil look on the other Tony's face quickly jumped towards his brother and slammed him hard into the ground, causing his brother to miss the other Tony's attack by a few inches. Tony Rizzo slammed into the wall instead and Luke lost no time putting his body weight to good use as he tried to keep the other Tony down. It was that scene that Uncle Steve was met with as he too came bursting through the door with two other teachers only a minute later. Luke and Tony Rizzo were struggling against each other coming closer and closer to where Tony had deserted Luke's phone, while Tony was scanning Tim for injuries. Luke may have been his best friend, but his brother had to come first and since his little brother had been unprepared to hit the floor he hadn't exactly hit it softly.
"Freeze!" His Uncle's voice was powerful and Tony did so, even though he knew the command wasn't for him. From the corner of his eye he saw his best friend being lifted off Tony Rizzo by Mr. Jamison and Mr. Smith taking a good hold of the other Tony. Tony himself was lifted to his feet by his Uncle who handed him off to Mr. Jamison while he helped Tim to his feet. "Let's go." Uncle Steve growled and started leading them out of the bathroom when Luke suddenly found his voice.
"I need my phone Mr. Jamison."
"Your phone, Mr. Andrews is the least of your concerns right now." Uncle Steve said sternly, turning in the doorway.
"Please, Principal Hayes. It contains evidence vital for the investigation." Luke pleaded.
"Investigation, Lucas?!" Uncle Steve said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes sir." Luke answered, meeting Uncle Steve's gaze steadily.
"Three seconds."
"Yes sir." Mr. Jamison let go of Luke who quickly grabbed his phone and then got back to Mr. Jamison who took a steady grip of his arm. As soon as Luke was back in Mr. Jamison's grip Uncle Steve marched out of the restroom, quickly followed by the rest of the group.
-Flashback-
It was Friday and Tony hadn't spoken to his Uncle more than a word or two for days. He wasn't keen on the mandatory Friday meeting, but he knew he didn't have a choice so he knocked twice before silently entering his Uncle's office and sitting down on one of the chairs.
"Since you aren't up for small talk I'll cut this short and just tell you what I've found out. All your teacher reports are good, a few teachers though have raised concerns about you not being your usual self. No one said it's something negative, they've just simply noticed you not being your usual happy self." Tony felt his Uncle's searching gaze on him, but just shrugged his shoulders as a reply. "No comment?!"
"No." from the corner of his eyes he saw his Uncle move around the desk and then kneel down in front of him with worried eyes, lifting his chin with a finger, so he was forced to meet his eyes.
"You are really starting to worry us kid. If you are angry at me, so be, but don't do this to yourself." Tony didn't respond at first, just flinched slightly once he took in the full sight of his Uncle. Uncle Steve looked as if he had aged several years the past week and Tony had never seen him so worried before, or tired for that matter.
"Sorry." Tony muttered before he could stop himself.
"Kiddo, this isn't the way and you know it. You have until Sunday to snap out of this before I involve your Dad."
"That's not fair!" Tony protested.
"Hey! Watch your tone! When it comes to your well-being I'm not going to take any chances."
"I'm perfectly fine!"
"Not looking that way kid. How much have you slept the last few days? Not to mention that I've seen you massage your temples more than a few times the last few days."
"How could you have seen me I haven't…" Tony trailed off realising he was about to tell on himself.
"You haven't what?! Been to your locker at all the past few days?! Yeah, I've noticed."
"Don't you have anything better to do than spy on me the whole time?!"
"Not when you are risking your health!"
"It's my problem anyway, not yours! Besides Dad's already checking up on me and he is all I need!" Tony saw the words hit his Uncle and he bit his lip trying to turn away his gaze but was stopped by a strong grip around his chin, forcing him to meet his Uncle's hurt eyes.
"No, you don't get to look away. If you are going to say things like that to me you'll have to live with how hard I take them." When Tony didn't respond Uncle Steve let go of his chin and stated: "I'll take you home kid. Mike's babysitting you for the afternoon and you have Saturday detention tomorrow." Tony just nodded and silently followed his Uncle out of the office.
-Flashback ending-
"Lucas, I want to hear your side of the story first, seeing as you are the most neutral part in the room right now." Luke was indeed seated between the two Tonys, something Tony figured was a deliberate move from his Uncle's side.
"That's not fair! You are taking their side! Neutral my ass! They both beat me up!" Tony Rizzo protested.
"There is nothing unfair here Mr. Rizzo, you'll get your turn after Lucas, if you can keep quiet that long that is. If not, you'll have to wait outside. I was simply asking Lucas to start off the story from HIS point of view. Besides, that kind of language is unacceptable in this school, understood?!"
"Yes sir." The other Tony gritted out through clenched teeth.
"Good. That was your one and only warning. Go ahead Lucas." Tony suddenly realised that his Uncle had picked Luke to go first for Luke's inability to lie to him. They all knew that Luke had huge respect for both his Dad and Uncle Steve, making him the perfect person to give his Uncle the story.
"I was thinking about Tony's problem with Rizzo here, this morning, when it suddenly struck me. He wouldn't do anything in front of you, sir, or one of the teachers. Nor would he if I was with Tony so he would most likely make the most of the one and only time he could corner Tony alone."
"What do you mean by making the most of it?"
"He is no stranger to harassing and framing Tony, he even threatened to go after his little brother. Who knows what could happen in a secluded spot. I couldn't let that happen, sir, so I talked Tony into tricking Anthony Rizzo here to end this once and for all."
"Did you go into the bathroom with the intent of causing Mr. Rizzo harm?"
"No sir. The plan was simple, make Anthony Rizzo believe he and Tony were alone and record whatever happened until we had enough evidence against him."
"How did that work in reality?"
"I snuck into the bathroom in the middle of a group of freshmen, making sure Anthony Rizzo didn't see anything. Once they all were out of there I hid in one of the stalls and Tony entered. Only moments later Anthony Rizzo entered as well and the rest is on my phone here." Luke reached into his pocket but as he tried to give the phone to Uncle Steve the other Tony all of the sudden slammed his body into Luke's causing the phone to drop to the floor. The other Tony dropped to the floor pretending to pick it up but Tony watched with horror as the other boy tried to remove the sim-card.
"Hey! Stop that! Luke, he is taking it!"
"Freeze. All of you!" Uncle Steve roared as Tony dropped to the floor next to his best friend and worst enemy.
"But…"
"I said freeze, Anthony Gibbs. And as for you, young man." He continued looking at the other Tony. "I believe you have something to hand over and it better all be there." The other Tony didn't answer, just handed over the phone changing his whole expression effortlessly.
"I didn't mean anything, I just…"
"You'll get to explain later, but right now I want to watch the recording without any disruptions. Sim card or phone?"
"The sim card, sir" Looking from Luke's smashed phone to his own Uncle Steve sighed and moved the sim-card to his own phone. "Code."
"1-2-3-4" Uncle Steve nodded his thanks his eyes not leaving the screen for the next ten minutes as he repeatedly watched the scene.
"What happens when this ends Lucas?"
"I dragged Anthony Rizzo off Tony and tried to pin him against the wall, but Tony stopped me. He told me to grab my phone and head out of there with him. Anthony Rizzo must have realised he'd been caught because he jumped me and tried to snatch the phone so I threw it to Tony. Then Anthony Rizzo tried to grab Tony, but I grabbed his leg causing him to fall to the ground. While I fought Rizzo I heard Tony scream for help and then the next thing I know Tony managed to roll him off of me. We fought for a while before managing to get him off us. Then we tried to talk him down when Tim appeared. Tony launched himself on Tim causing them both to fall to the ground in the last second, because Rizzo here had clearly seen his chance and tried to jump Tim. Then you came through the door."
"That it?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay then, Anthony Rizzo, your turn, what happened?"
-Flashback-
"Hi Tony." Uncle Steve greeted Tony quietly on Sunday afternoon.
"Hi." Tony answered, eyeing his Uncle hesitantly. After their Friday meeting Tony was more than ever caught between being angry at his Uncle and feeling guilty for all the resent harsh words and actions. Contrary to his belief his Uncle hadn't showed up yesterday at his Saturday detention, instead choosing to leave Tony with the janitor.
"Hi little brother." His Dad greeted Steve with a tight hug.
"Hi Leroy."
"How much have you slept Steven?"
"I'm fine Leroy, stop worrying."
"You never left me the reports from Tony's teachers, something I should know about that's keeping you awake?"
"The reports were good. Your troublemaker is behaving himself in class."
"And during recess?!" His Dad asked knowingly and Tony watched his Uncle anxiously. Uncle Steve had promised to bring Tony's recent behaviour to his Dad's notice unless he snapped out of it before Sunday, but Tony wasn't sure what would happen, not anymore.
"Haven't seen him even once." Uncle Steve answered shortly.
"Didn't you say you moved his locker?!"
"Yeah, Monday. I never seem to catch him though." At that time Tim ran down the stairs and Tony felt a pang of hurt as he saw his Uncle envelop his younger brother in a warm hug. The hurt just moments later though turned into anger as he once again realised how unfair the situation was. As the group moved to the dining room Tony hurriedly sat down across from his Dad, leaving Tim to sit across from their Uncle. Uncle Steve didn't try to engage him in the conversation at the dinner table even once and Tony knowing his Dad started to notice it, threw in his own five cents every now and then, hoping to even it out. The fact that he didn't have his normal appetite was harder to hide.
"Are you okay Tony?" His Dad questioned quietly, when Tony kept on moving the food around his plate, having forced down as much as he possibly could.
"I'm fine, Dad."
"Are you sure kiddo?"
"Yeah, must have eaten too much for breakfast." Tony said flashing his Dad his famous megawatt smile. His Dad levelled him with a look, but didn't comment on it further, just stood up announcing he'd be back in a minute. As soon as his Dad was gone Tony turned towards his Uncle with blazing eyes.
"You told me you wouldn't tell him if I snapped out of it."
"From what I can see you haven't." His Uncle replied calmly, but with a hint of sternness in it.
"I have too. I'm not endangering myself in any way." Tony replied stubbornly.
"You didn't eat your dinner."
"I'm not hungry."
"And why is that Anthony?!" Tony just narrowed his eyes before changing the course of the conversation:
"Shouldn't be surprised, another promise you didn't keep."
"Anthony."
"Forget it." Tony rose and started clearing the table. Halfway to the kitchen he turned around: "You tell him anything and I'll never forgive you." Walking into the kitchen Tony as soon as he was out of sight put down the plates and buried his heads in his hands. Now afterwards he wasn't sure he had meant the words, but he would have to live with them. He wasn't about to give his Uncle the satisfaction of being a hypocrite, no matter the cost.