Note: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfic. The Nut Job and The Nut Job 2 and its characters, with the exception of my OC, belongs to Universal Pictures, Redrover, and Global Entertainment. Please support the official release of The Nut Job 3 and it series.

Oakton City was still as beautiful as ever as many people walked by, cars going on, and everything went on okay. The year was 2014 as the city was busier than usual.

But out on the streets of Oakton, a car was seen driven, and inside of that car, is a boy wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, brown pants, yellow neon headphones on his head, red-and-white shoes, has black hair and brown eyes. He was busy playing Uncharted 2 on his PS Vita. His name was Todd Lloyd, now a thirteen year old boy in Middle School. Apparently, after his father's death, he began to change and started to turn into a trouble kid, from being sent to detention to suspension. Just today, he had a fight with a kid for teasing and taking away his PSP, which caused Todd to punch him in the mouth.

After the fight, Todd was sent home and in suspension. His mother came over to the school, talked with the principal, and took her son back home.

Alexa was now in her early 30s, having brown hair in a ponytail that reached to her neck, wearing a cyan colored t-shirt, blue jeans, and wore black slip-on shoes. She has been taking care of Todd for a long time ever since her husband, Ben, past away. She was heartbroken but kept her husband's words to keep moving on. However, she has some...trouble with her son, Todd, as he kept getting into trouble, which she understood why.

"Todd?" She called for him, but gave no response. "Todd." She called again, but no luck. Todd was so focus on his game that he didn't hear her, causing her to sigh. As soon as they stopped at a red stop light, she turned to her son with a stern look. "Todd!"

"What mom?" Todd exclaimed, still looking at his PS Vita. "I told you, he deserved it!"

"But that doesn't mean it was okay to HIT that boy!" Alexa said angrily. "Violence isn't the answer to every problem." Todd just ignored her and focused on his game, which Alexa noticed. "Are you listening to me?"

"If I let him push me around, it'll only get worse." Todd replied, pausing his game and looking away from his mom in a huff.

Alexa sighed and said "You're right. You should stand up for yourself…" Soon, the light turned green as she started driving. "But you need to find a way to do that without getting suspended!"

"But he took my PS Vita away from me! You gave me this for my birthday seven years ago!" Todd exclaimed both angrily and sadly. "You should be mad at him too!"

"And what he did was wrong, but...but you...you don't just go punching every person who makes you mad." Alexa said, both sternly and sad before making a smirk at him. "Especially not someone who's three grades above you." She then chuckled a bit. "That kid practically SHAVES."

"Wha-?!" Todd was speechless at what his mother said as he glared at her. "I could've taken him!"

"Don't get cocky, kid." Alexa said, shaking her head, smiling at him. "I'm thinking...from the look of things, he took YOU." Todd then turned off his game and put it back into his backpack. She then stopped at another red light as she turned to her son with a sad look. "This can't keep happening, Todd. I know I haven't been at home as much lately, but that's all the more reason I need you to step up and take some responsibility."

"I know." Todd replied, gazing at the window with a sad look.

"Then you know tomorrow you're apologizing to that boy." Alexa said, raising a brow at her son. "And I mean a real apology. No...smart aleck stuff."

"Okay, fine, but this is SO unfair!" Todd complained.

"News flash kiddo: life's not always fair." Alexa said, chuckling a bit before saying "You know, sometimes you remind me of him…" Todd then looked away sadly, knowing what his mother meant. His father died from cancer, which made Todd heartbroken. Since then, he wasn't the same. Alexa noticed Todd's sad look as she sighed and felt bad for bringing that up.

"Todd, I understand why you're always like this, I miss him too." Alexa said as Todd looked at her. "But he'll always be inside of here." She pointed at his chest, which made Todd shook his head.

"I don't want him in my heart, I want him with us." Todd said, darkening his face. Soon, Alexa pulled into the driveway, finally arriving to their home. Once so, she turned to her boy with a soft smile.

"Hey, don't worry. Your father didn't want you to mourn about his death, he wants you to keep going. Be a wonderful man like he was." Alexa assured, causing Todd to smile softly. "And please promise me you'll apologize to the boy tomorrow?" His mother begged.

Todd looked at her for awhile before sighing. "Okay mom, I promise."

"Good, now come on. I'm making your favorite tonight." Alexa said, smirking at him. Todd got out of the car and took out his PS Vita from his bag, continuing play his Uncharted 2 game. Alexa watched her child entered the house with a sad sigh. She wished that she can find something that might make her son happy. Unless...

A Week Later
Soon, a week has past since the fight, and Todd apologized to the kid. Though, Todd was still in trouble by his mother, much to his chagrin. Soon after, Fall Break began to begin, meaning that no school for an entire week.

Soon later, Todd is seen in his room, playing Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves on his Playstation 2 while laying on his bed, still having his headphones on his ears. Todd has a liking towards Thieving characters like Sly Cooper, Nathan Drake from the Uncharted Series, and many more. Not just games, but other thieving characters from TV Shows, Movies, Comics, and other stuff. He admires every single thieving characters, and thinks of them as the only friends.

"Todd!" Todd's door room opened, revealing Alexa with a smile on her face. Todd was focused on the game, so he gave no response. Alexa shook her head with a sigh as she walked over, took the headphones off, gaining his attention.

"Hey!" Todd exclaimed in annoyance.

"Todd, can I at least have your attention?" Alexa asked, furrowing her brows in anger. Todd sighed and said "Alright, I'm all ears, what is it?"

Alexa smiled happily and replied "Well you see, I was busy packing up for a very special Fall Break vacation were planning to go."

"What?" Todd asked in confusion.

"We're going to Oakton City, Todd." Alexa said happily. "I thought that maybe some fresh air might help us clear our heads for a while, and we can spend so much time there. We can go sightseeing, grab some souvenirs, go see and enjoy some attractions and other fun things. It'll be amazing, what do you say Todd?" Alexa asked.

Todd sighed and shook his head. "Mom, I rather not. Besides, I rather stay home and play my games all week." Todd replied as he put his headphones back on and continuing play his Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time game.

"Come on, Todd!" Alexa took off his headphones, annoying Todd. "Trust me, this might cheer you up and make you have a fun time. Trust me, please…" Alexa pleaded. Todd looked at her for a while before sighing.

"Alright fine…" Todd replied before saying "But must it be Oakton City? Why can't we go somewhere fun like California, or maybe...I don't know...an amusement park?"

Alexa sighed sadly as she said "Sorry Todd, but I don't have enough to go anywhere except Oakton, besides, we barely go there anymore since...ever."

"I-I see…" Todd said, sighing.

"But anyway..." Alexa chuckled. "We'll have fun. Trust me." Alexa assured. "Now come on, we're gonna leave in about an hour, so pack up everything you might need." Alexa kissed her son on the cheek and left the room to go pack up. When she left, Todd noticed the game case for his Sly Cooper game as he picked it up and sighed sadly.

"If this vacation doesn't make me feel better for last week, then I'm out of here…" Todd said, laying on his bed and looking at the ceiling. "If only there was someone out there who was like you, Sly…" Todd said, looking at the cover box. "You know, we can play together, have awesome adventures, and...maybe someone I can look up to..."

"Oh well, I guess I better go pack up..." With a sigh, Todd got up from his bed and went to go pack his things. He had a feeling this vacation would just be another boring thing in his life.

Later
A car is seen driving through the city, and parking into the driveway of the Oakton City's Hotel. As soon as the car parked to a good spot, Todd and his mother came out of the car and saw how big it was.

"Wow, it sure is a big hotel, huh Todd?" Alexa asked, admiring the size of the hotel.

"Yeah, sure mom…" Todd replied in a bored and tired way, which Alexa noticed.

Soon, they took their bags out of the car and headed inside of the hotel, meeting up with the desk clerk.

"Ahh, good afternoon. How can I help you?" He asked them.

"Hi, I was wondering if there's a room for me and my son?" Alexa asked politely. The desk clerk nodded and began typing his computer, checking to see what rooms are available for them.

"Hmm, it seems there's one on the third floor, 3D." The desk clerk replied with a smile, handing her their room key.

"Okay, thank you. Come on Todd…" Alexa said, but Todd sighed and muttered "Sure" as they headed towards their hotel room. Once they finally arrived to their room, they entered and found out that it was consist of two separate beds with white sheets, all soft and comfy. Todd walked over and chose the bed on the left while his mother chose the bed on the right.

"These beds are nice and soft, I could sleep like a baby here." Alexa said, feeling both happy and relaxed as she noticed the window. She walked towards it and look through the window, seeing the city buildings. She opened the window and smelled the fresh air, sighing "You know, maybe we should go and enjoy a tour around Oakton City, Todd….Todd?" Alexa turned around to see her son sitting on the bed, thinking about something, which Alexa knew what it was.

"Todd, come on! You should admire the scenery." Alexa said sternly.

"Yeah…" Todd replied, looking away from her. Alexa sighed sadly as she sat next to him and hugged him, trying to cheer him up.

"Todd, I understand why you're sad, but you need to smile and enjoy your time here in Oakton. I mean, we always come here to enjoy our time back at the park we like to visit, remember?" Alexa said, remembering the times they had before Todd's father past away.

"Yeah, I did…" Todd said, darkening his face. Alexa sighed sadly and tried to think of something that might cheer him up.

She then thought for a while until something caught her eye from the window. She walked towards the window and saw a restaurant across the other side of the street was a chinese restaurant called "Yummi Chinese Kitchen". She then realized that they left this morning and didn't have a decent meal, which gave her an idea.

"Hey Todd, feeling hungry?" Alexa asked, turning to his son. Todd soon turned to his mother, pausing his game.

"Well...I haven't eaten anything for a while, so sure, I guess." Todd replied with a nod and soft smile. Alexa chuckled a bit as she hear her boy's stomach rumble as she said "Okay good, because I was thinking that maybe some Chinese food might cheer you up. It was always your favorite." Todd got off his bed, put on his red-and-white shoes and followed after his mother with a soft smile on his face, still having his headphones on.

"Yeah, I guess. So you know a good chinese place we could eat?" Todd asked curiously.

"You'll see." Alexa replied with a soft smile as she closed the door and headed towards the restaurant she saw. She thought that maybe she and her son could spend some more time and try to bond. How wrong she would be...

To Be Continued