Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

*TW: racial slur against Asians used; depiction of brief suicidal thoughts*

"Wear a helmet!" Chrissy heard a boy yell, running up the drop-off road. She froze up and glanced there, thinking that was meant for her. She sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't. It was for the skater he bolted past. Ever since that...vision in the bathroom, she was more on edge, more alert than she needed to be.

Regardless, she took a deep breath and walked towards the school...heading to the forest for her drug deal.

"So, you've been living with Eddie Munson and his uncle ever since your dad kicked you out?" Ms. Kelley reiterated, sympathetic. She had a notepad in front of her and a pen in her hand.

Billy nodded and answered, "Yeah."

"And how are they? How is the trailer park?"

He thought about it for a bit, then shrugged. "The park's a piece of shit, but there's good people there. Eddie and Wayne've been good. Most of the time though, it's just me and Eddie."

She smiled, writing that down. "You two became friends?"

His smile was small. "You can say that."

"I can tell from the way he made you laugh in the hallway." He chuckled.

"Yeah, he's not the annoying freak I thought he was."

"That's good. At least you do have somebody outside of Max to lean on for your troubles." He sighed, but nodded. She then frowned, furrowing her brows. "It's a shame your therapist didn't work out for you."

He shrugged again, his smile dropping. "Well, he was a jackass my dad assigned, so..."

"And how was he a..." She paused to put up air-quotes. "'Jackass'?" He became surprised that she swore, but she grinned and stated, "I can be informal with my students." He grinned.

"Okay, well..." His grin fell like his smile, thinking about that piece of shit. "He was way more intrusive than he needed to be, askin' me shit that had nothing to do with my problems." She nodded, sympathetic once again. "And whenever we do talk about my problems, he talks about them like..." He snapped his fingers. "What's the word? Like I'm lesser than him for my problems."

"Like he's patronizing you?"

He nodded, pointing at her. "Yeah, that." He sighed deeply, leaning back on his chair. "I mean, yeah, the shit I've done before was awful, but I wasn't havin' it the way he was talking to me about them." She nodded again. "And his advice sucked ass since they were so vague and he refused to explain them deeper."

"I see." She wrote some more things down. "Although I'm just a high school counselor, I can refer you to some of my colleagues if you want."

Grateful, he smiled once more. "I'd like that, thanks."

"Then..." She flipped over a page, writing down the therapists' names and numbers.

So far, so good. Billy managed to talk about himself to her without feeling the need to exclude shit. She wasn't even judging, just listening...

Almost like his mother would.

He gulped, looking down as he wrapped his finger around the cord of the headphones. His mother...the kind, beautiful woman he couldn't be in contact with anymore. He couldn't find out where she was now if he tried, even though he wasn't in the control of his pigshit father anymore. How would she feel if...she saw him then, under the hand of his father? Now that he thought about it...

"You think I'm a good person, Ms. Kelley?" he asked, his voice heavy.

She looked up at him from her notepad. "Huh?"

He met her gaze. "Do you think I'm a good person?" He pointed at her. "And don't ask me that question back. I just..." He shifted his torso around a little, now closing his hand around the cord. "I just wanna know."

Solemn, she kept her gaze as she set down her pen and laced her hands together again. "If I'm being honest, I thought you weren't going to be."

He was confused. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

"Your behavior and ego, the way you carried yourself, how you treated others...I could tell all of that was an act, a mask for something else." He gulped. "But I could also tell it wasn't something that you could easily get out of, especially with the people you surrounded yourself with." He nodded slowly. "You were being rewarded for that behavior by them, which led you down that dark path you came to regret." Shit, she was good, better than he thought. "But in our first and second session, you've shown a sort of...vulnerability when I tried to talk to you about your family. If my memory serves me right, your body language and even your tone of voice exposed that, even if you didn't mean to do it."

He knew exactly what she was talking about. The first time, it was mandatory and he snapped when she tried to "pry" into his family life. Then right after that night he cancelled his date and Max threatened him with that goddamn baseball bat, he thought to visit Ms. Kelley to seek some sort of...solace, even if that failed too. He hummed an affirmation. "So you thought I was a good person?"

Her smile matched her expression. "A good person who fell victim to the lifestyle he was forced into."

"Even though I started fights and acted like a piece of shit?"

"You didn't a way out, a way for you to drop your act, Billy."

She was right, but he was still not convinced. "Even though I called you a chink quack bitch the first time we met?"

Her expression soured, but she nodded. "To be honest, you weren't the only student that used that kind of language with me."

His grip on the cord became tighter. "Even though I hated Max so much and treated her like cowshit?"

"With your behavior and your family situation, that seemed to be the only way for you to cope." She shook her head. "It wasn't healthy or a good thing at all, but you've managed to mend your relationship with her after the fire, right?"

He nodded, but didn't meet her eye, just stared at the cord. "Right."

"And speaking of that fire..." Her smile came back, her expression assuring as she leaned forward. "That was a brave, selfless thing you did, Billy. Even if you couldn't save everyone, you still tried your best and saved those survivors, even if you became injured in the process." His grip was even more tight, almost like it could break the cord. He knew he couldn't tell her the truth behind that. He couldn't. "If you were truly a bad person, if you still wanted to keep that act you've lived with..." She shook her head again. "You wouldn't have done that. You would've saved yourself."

He guessed she had a point. There had always been a part of Billy that wanted to come out and do what was right, to be who he wanted to be. He wanted to be a hero, to pay back Mike, who reminded him of the better times with his mother. It was part of why he threw himself before him and had that monster's tendril drill into his back. But then...

"You're right, but..." He gulped, hearing his voice waver. He took a deep breath, the curly-haired woman becoming concerned as she waited patiently for him to finish. "There was...there was this...this woman, I wanted to save." Flashes of Stacey appeared in his mind - her smiles, flowing black curls, pretty green eyes, glowing skin. "But I couldn't save her...I...I lost my legs saving someone else." He shook his head, gesturing to his legs as that memory popped into his mind. Ms. Kelley nodded in understanding.

"In..." His vision got blurry before he wiped the tears threatening to spill. "Instead of me saving her...she...she..." He couldn't bring himself to finish, his throat swelling. He suppressed a sob, remembering exactly how she saved him: shooting it, pushing its main tendril back as best she could...getting staked by it, right in front of him. He felt the same guilt and anguish he did then, covering his mouth with his hand and suppressing more sobs and sniffles.

Even more sympathetic than before, Ms. Kelley assured him softly, "It's okay, you don't need to say anymore."

"I-I feel like..." he continued, his voice tight in despair. "I feel like I...killed her." A flash of her dead body dropping right in front of him and him screaming came through his mind. "I feel like I killed...everyone." He remembered all the people he brought to the Mind Flayer to possess...every single of them. Men, women, children. He didn't make the decision to do all that horrific shit. The Mind Flayer did by using his body, Heather's and Stacey's too. That strong, relentless possession held him back every time he tried to resist. It either made him a spectator at best or mentally unconscious at worst. Regardless though... "I got myself caught and I...I..."

"Billy, Billy..." She stood up from her desk and got in front of him, bending down and holding his shoulders. He finally opened his eyes to see her compassionate expression...it nearly mirrored his mother's. "It's okay. It was out of your control, there was nothing else you could do." He gulped, sniffling and wiping his face. She gave him a box of tissues, in which he accepted and used. She also moved the garbage can next to him for the tissues. A part of him hated that he was breaking down like this, that he couldn't keep his shit together in front of a stranger. He had to be a man...

But no. Another part of him, the part that's been more dominant ever since that night on the 4th of July, was glad he could do this. This was why he wanted to visit her. Ms. Kelley was a good woman and she didn't judge him for being like this. In fact, he hadn't this much help since...shit, when he last saw his mother?

She seated herself back at her desk, saying somberly, "It seems like you're also struggling with trauma related to that fire, especially having survivor's guilt." He didn't say anything to that, but he knew she was right again. She picked up her pen. "Do you have nightmares?"

Billy nodded slowly, sniffling and wiping his remaining tears with a tissue. "Every goddamn day."

She nodded once again, writing that down. "Headaches?"

He sighed, wiping his runny nose with a clean part of the paper. "Sometimes. I've been getting more lately." He threw the tissue into the can.

She wrote that down too. "Nosebleeds?"

"A few days ago..."

Another nod, another scribble. "And...if I'm going too far with this question, let me know, but..." He stared at her with his pink eyes. Somber, she finally asked, "Have you ever thought of taking that woman's place...or anybody else's who passed away from that incident?"

Oh, he had. A lot.

He didn't answer, however, since he didn't want to admit that. Ms. Kelley was a great person, but...he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Too far?" she asked. He nodded again. "I'm sorry."

"It's...alright," he replied, sniffling and grabbing a tissue to wipe his nose again. As he threw that in the garbage, he asked, "Well, what should I do?" She became thoughtful for a moment, him slowly getting out of his sobbing and crying in that time. His breathing was getting less labored too.

Finally, she looked him in the eye and said, "From what you have told me, you're on the road of finding yourself again and trying to make things right after doing so much wrong. Everything you've been through, what you're still going through, it's a lot for anyone. But you've managed to find a way out nonetheless, even if it took a long time to find." She smiled once more, leaning forward again. "That's a great thing, since others could still be in a harmful cycle and never find a way out. So never lose sight of it. No matter what happens, no matter the cause, you make sure you're still on that road." He nodded, understanding that.

"You must also build up your self-esteem and self-worth, since it seems to me like you don't think you're a good person." He looked down at the cord again, frowning. "Or that you can be a good person."

"And how the hell do I do that?" He finally began unwrapping the cord around his finger, albeit slowly.

Her smile became soft, her hands unlacing to spread out. "I know it's cliché to say, but start small by enjoying the things you love doing. Perform small affirmations to get in a better mood. Any time you feel anything negative about yourself, try to reword those thoughts in the most neutral but accepting way you can. You can write them down, if that can help you and give you reminders. You can also have Max, Eddie, and Wayne, who can be yourself around and can affirm your positive qualities." She pointed a finger up. "And speaking of that, you can also build up your support system outside of them."

"Support system?"

"A network of people to give you support whenever you need it. Get out there more, talk to more people, find those you can truly call your friends, that would be there for you, no matter what. You can even try with their friends, if you wish." He nodded again. "After all of that, you can finally challenge those negative views of yourself, become strong enough to brave through any negative perception from others and yourself, become the person you've always wanted to be, free to live his own life." He nodded again.

"Sounds a lot easier said than done."

"It does. And it has to be consistent." Her expression became reassuring. "But once you've gotten the hang of it, you'll stay on that road and live the best life you can."

He pursed his lips. "What if I...fall back into old habits?"

"Well, do you catch yourself acting on your old habits?"

Billy didn't answer for a moment, memories of the last several months appearing in his mind. Then he finally admitted, "...a few times."

She looked proud, which made him relax a little. "Then you have nothing to worry about. Your father is out of your life now, so your support system can call that out as well. And it's okay if you fall back into old habits even once. Nobody's recovery is perfect. Just start again and you'll be able to get back on track." That seemed to make sense. The fact that he was able to realize he'd done some screwed up shit...it felt empowering, now that he took the time to think about it. So yeah, he'll do that.

He smiled, shifting himself around again. "Alright. Thank you, Ms. Kelley. So much."

She smiled back. "You're welcome, Billy. There's only so much I can do as a high school counselor, so..." She paused to rip a page from her notepad, then the next. She handed the second page to him. "You can check out my colleagues to help you further. I'll give them my notes to help them understand you better and make the session comfortable." She gestured to the first page. "It's going to be a journey and a half and it's not going to be easy, but I promise you, once you put in the effort, it will all be worth it."

Damn, this woman was way too nice. But again, he appreciated the help, so he nodded once more. "Alright, I'll call them." He folded up the page and put it in a pocket of his pants. Then he wheeled himself back. "Thank you...again, for seeing me and listening to me."

"It's not a problem, Billy," she replied, her tone genuine. She stood up and went to the door. "It was good to see you again and finally have a comfortable session."

He chuckled, going to the door. "Yeah, finally."

"I wish you luck in everything."

He glanced at her gratefully, replying, "I'll need it. Thanks."

"Of course. And Billy?" He kept her gaze. "Can you also tell Max that she can come see me too, whenever she wants to?"

He pursed his lips. "You're noticing too, huh?" She nodded. "I will."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Have a good day."

"You too." With that, he finally got out of the office and she shut the door.

He released a deep breath, like weight was lifted off his shoulders. Well, another part of the weight, but it was better than none. It actually felt like he made more progress. There was also all those things Ms. Kelley said to him he had to keep close to heart. It made him feel worse for treating her badly in the past, but at least she forgave him and saw the better of him.

One day...hopefully one day, he'd see the better of him too.

"Billy," a familiar voice called out as he reached the end of a hallway. He glanced back, seeing Jason walk up. He had his varsity jacket on and his sports bag slung over his shoulder. He looked a bit red, probably from the practice he and the team had. Billy was confused. His former underling finally got in front of him and awkwardly raised a hand in greeting. "Hey."

"Hey," he greeted back just as awkwardly. "I thought you were at the gym."

"We just finished practice drills. Thought I'd come find you."

Now the older guy was curious and concerned. "Why?"

"Can we talk somewhere else?" Billy just shrugged. "Here, let me push you." He moved around to grab his handles.

"I can push myself." The younger guy was surprised, but nodded, backing away. They both then departed to...wherever they were going to.

Having a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham, the Queen of Hawkins High, was already surreal to Eddie. Opening up to the school's "freak" was already the bravest thing Chrissy's ever done. But what really blew their minds though, was the fact that they actually got along with each other. He made her laugh with that stake to the heart. Then he told her about the middle school talent show and she remembered him and his band! God, that made his day! She even remembered that he played guitar and was happy to hear that he still did.

"You should come see us sometime," he suggested, still moving around. "We play at Hideaway every Tuesday."

Her eyes widened. "That's still open?"

"Reopened long time ago." He stopped and crossed his arms. "We even get a crowd, which consists of five..." He paused for dramatic effect. He was looking up before looking back at her. "Drunks." She giggled at that. "And a former king too."

She became curious, tilting her head to her left. "King?"

"Yup, used to rule this place last year." He backed away.

She thought about the metaphor, then came to a conclusion. "Billy Hargrove?"

He grinned, nodding. "Yup." He popped the "p" to emphasize the affirmation.

"Huh..." She had always heard music like Corroded Coffin's whenever he pulled up to school last year, but she never expected him to go to their shows. "If Billy likes your music, it must be good."

He was wrong about before - that made his day. He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. "Not just good, great." She kept her smile, being sure that it was. She did (weirdly) like the song they played in the talent show. "Hideaway's not the Garden or anything, but it's good to start somewhere, right?" He turned and lightly punched a tree a few times.

Neither of them expected the deal to go like this...to talk to each other like this. They both felt their most genuine selves with each other, something Chrissy hadn't done in...ever, really. Eddie "The Freak" Munson was a cool guy and she got to smile and laugh without any cue to do so. Now that she thought of that...

"You're not who I'd thought you'd be like."

"So, is there any reason why the freak was pushing you around?" Jason asked, the two in the men's bathroom. That was the first thing he said when they got here.

Billy scoffed, baffled. "It's nice to see ya too, Jason. I'm doin' great," he replied with complete sarcasm. The younger man sighed, looking away for a moment with his hands on his hips.

"Sorry...I'm just worried about you."

He raised his brows. "Worried? You don't gotta worry about shit. Munson only gave me a ride."

Jason blinked, his expression now appalled. "You...you let the freak give you a ride? You?"

Billy shrugged. "We live in the same neighborhood, so..."

His eyes grew large. "In Forest Hills?"

He smiled ironically. "Life's just a bitch like that, y'know?"

Jason sighed. "Sorry to hear that, man. You deserve better."

"Eh, it's not too bad. It ain't Cali, but at least I got a roof over my head."

"The mayor should've paid you more. I can talk to my dad, who can talk to him, and-"

"Whoa, whoa." He held his hands up to stop him. "No need, man. I'll get out eventually. It's not like I'm in hell or anything." Now his protégé's expression was dubious and concerned. He paced back and forth in front of him. Billy could already tell this wasn't going to end well. "Ya got something to say, Jason, say it."

He huffed and shrugged. "It's just that you...you seem different."

"Whaddaya mean, Carver? Spit it out." He gestured him to do so.

He stared right at him while pacing, his hands still on his hips. "You hated Munson, even more than Harrington. Almost got into fights with him whenever he gave us shit." Billy raised a brow and crossed his arms.

"Yeah. He was an ass."

Jason nodded. "You even wrecked his van so that he'd leave us the hell alone."

He took a seething deep breath. "'Cause he wouldn't get the point."

"Exactly. And now, two years later, you seem comfortable with riding with him and letting him push you around."

"Jason-"

"Only to get to the counselor's office?"

Now Billy was getting mad. "Ya think I came here only to see the counselor?"

"Billy, you've graduated. You can go see a therapist or-"

"Well, my therapist was a piece of shit, so I had to make due." His voice got sharper.

"You hated going to Ms. Kelley, said she was useless-"

"Then I found out she wasn't, so I went to her!" Jason stepped back, his expression stone-cold. Billy leaned forward towards him. "If you're tryin' to say that I've changed-" His brows rose as another ironic smile slipped across his face. "Yeah, I did." It fell. "I ain't the same captain you looked up to, Jason. That...that fire..." He looked away, shaking his head. "It changed everything, okay?"

The younger man gulped and looked down, leaning against a sink. "I'm just worried 'bout you. You're my hero, man, and I'd hate to see you sink down to..."

Billy glared daggers at him. "Sink down? Sink down to?" Jason opened his mouth to speak, but nothing other than sputters came out. He raised his voice. "To what, Jason?"

He placed a hand on his head. "To a freak."

Billy scoffed once more. "A freak?" He wheeled closer to him. "Just 'cause Eddie's driven me here? I-"

"'Eddie'?" Shit, he didn't mean to let that slip. "You're close. No wonder you're getting soft-"

Without a second thought, Billy reached up and grabbed his collar, pulling him down to his level. He stared directly into his eyes, resembling daggers. "I'm anything but soft, Carver," he whispered to him venomously. His former underling gulped. "The hell I'd tell ya? That fire changed...everything." He tried to get out of his grip, but Billy managed to keep him in his position, now gripping his shoulder to keep him there. Like in his junior year, Jason stayed still. "Just 'cause I changed..." He shook his head. "...don't mean I got soft. Ya got that?" The younger man gulped again, not answering. "Ya got that?!" He shut his eyes, feeling like the lost boy he picked up in '84.

He slowly nodded and answered, "Yes...sir." Billy pushed him away, his back hitting the sink. Then he realized what he did.

He stared at Jason, seeing him take a deep breath. "Damn." His blue eyes looked at his, a grin cracking on his face. "Guess you still haven't lost what made you the King."

Shit, that didn't take long.

Billy clenched his jaw, then Jason straightened himself up. "And in a wheelchair too," he added. The older guy suppressed an amused chuckle, though a smirk broke through. "That's why my team's gonna win the championship for you."

"Oh yeah?" he replied, his voice low.

He nodded with a grin. "Just watch us, man. That's why you really came here, right?"

His hero slowly nodded. "Right."

He then got to the door and opened it up for him. "Come to the gym. The guys'll love to see you."

Well, he had nothing better to do here until the game, not to mention Eddie and his own nerdy game prep. So, he just nodded and wheeled himself out of the bathroom, Jason following after.

Mr. Serrano handed the students of Spanish I their graded tests. He was complementing the ones behind Mike. Then he set his test in front of the boy.

Another F.

"I'm disappointed, 'Miguel'," he said gravely, the boy glancing up at him glumly. "See me after class." He went back to handing the other students their papers. He sighed, looking down at the ugly red letter. Why couldn't he just get better...?

Finally, school was out. A semi-relieved Mike carried his diorama as he went outside, heading to Argyle's van. Suddenly, he tripped on something and dropped his project, the students around exclaiming and laughing. His relief dropped like a dime, hearing a familiar laughter right next to him. He looked up and saw Jake and his friends, laughing along with the crowd. "Oooops!" the guy interjected, pulling his foot away. "Sorry, man!" His sarcastic tone showed that he wasn't. He bent down to him. "What's gonna happen to Squirrelly the Squirrel now?" They continued laughing as they walked away. All the sadness, frustration, and anger from earlier began to boil up in him again.

He only stood up to a kneel before Jake kicked the diorama to his girlfriend, who proceeded to step on it. She gasped dramatically, shouting, "Whoops!" She kicked it back, then Chad stepped on it, even moved his foot to ruin it more. He faked a shocked expression, looking straight at the aghast boy. Mike's emotions grew stronger, his shaking hands clenching into fists. He...he worked so hard on that...he poured all of his heart and soul into making it, to honor his Pop...and these guys...

Will got outside just in time to see this. He felt cold the second he saw the scene. A few of the growing crowd was laughing with the bullies too. He saw Mike and that seething look on his face...his eyes began to well up as he briskly walked to him, before he did something bad.

"Find something from your life, something that angers you...a lot," Nancy's voice echoed in the Mike's head. Nancy...he hadn't thought of her for a long time. "Channel it." He was doing so, using this situation as a motivator. He began to strain himself, trying to harness what had been lost last year. "Dig deeper, Mike." Deeper...ever since he started attending, Jake and his friends had called him names, teased him, hurt him in small ways...

When he felt ready, he got on his feet, yelling, "Jake!" The guy stopped walking and turned to him, his group doing the same. He began to storm to them.

"No, Mike, no..." Will muttered, almost there.

But Mike stopped at the middle of the campus, shot his clawed hand out, and screamed from the top of his lungs. Will froze.

Nothing happened at that moment...nobody moved at that moment...

Jake wasn't thrown at that moment.

Mike couldn't believe this. He stared at his hand with wide eyes. He followed those instructions after all this time, and yet...

"Holy shit!" the brunette exclaimed.

"What the hell was that?!" his blonde friend asked in the same amused shock.

Then Jake then howled in laughter, his friends and some of the spectators doing the same. Mike looked around with large eyes, feeling small...ashamed. "What, you thought you could scare me with that stare and scream?!" the popular boy asked as he continued to laugh, clapping his hands together.

His shame began to encapsulate him, lowering his hand and looking straight at the ground. The laughter was a harsh cacophony, adding to his humiliation. His eyes began to well up, his mouth slightly quivering. Will saw his foster brother's expression. He looked like he was going to cry, which reminded him of elementary school - Lucas went through this, Jane multiple times...

Even he had more than once.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Mrs. Gracey yelled, going through the crowd. She then spotted the victim, looking like he was preventing a breakdown. "Michael?!" He looked at her, his breath shaky. When she got next to him, she patted his arm and looked down at the destroyed diorama, appalled. "Did someone do this to your project?" He gulped, trying to relax himself. His eyes shot to Jake for only a few seconds, contemplating on telling her the truth.

"I tripped," he lied instead, looking back at her. "On accident."

And yet despite this, she caught his glance at the popular boy. Serious, she walked away from him and stated to Jake, "Jacob Jamison, you're coming with me."

The crowd cooed while he looked baffled. "What?! Why?!"

She grabbed his arm and dragged him with her. "Right now."

"But I didn't do anything!" He looked at Mike pleadingly. "Tell her, Mikey! Tell her the truth!" He only stood there and watched the teacher pull him away. It didn't take too long for the crowd to depart after. There were some glares from Jake's friends, but they walked away as well. The freckled boy knelt down to his destroyed work, pulling one half close to him.

Will swore under his breath, shaking his head and calling out, "Mike. Mike!" He finally got next to him and crouched down, getting the other half of it. He almost wanted to cry himself at the destruction. "Mike..." He saw him carry the destroyed cabin, trying to put the wall back together. He instead let it sit on the cabin's floor as he gathered more pieces. The auburn-haired boy helped him, trying to cheer him up. "I-it's not terrible, we can fix it." Mike wasn't convinced, especially when he held the broken Hopper piece. "W-we'll fix it together, I promise." His voice was cracking, but it was genuine. And it wasn't like Mike didn't appreciate his help once again, but...

He shut his eyes, holding back his tears as he nearly crushed the Hopper piece in his hand.

Stopping here, unfortunately. How was this chapter? Any typos or mistakes I might've missed?

There's quite a bit to unpack, especially with Billy's counseling session with Ms. Kelley. I hope I wrote that scene well. It's really heavy, but I'm happy I'm writing more of Billy's vulnerability in this fanfic. It's a character trait that would've definitely been expanded upon if he lived in canon. He's had several months of progress we won't be able to see, but he's still on the road to recovery and becoming a better person. Can't wait to show you guys more of his arc!

Too bad Jason's Jason, just as Billy's underling from the past. I thought, why not? According the Hawkins High Yearbook that came out a few years ago, he was captain of the basketball team, so I decided to make that canon here and made Jason his underling. This will certainly be an interesting development!

Unrelated, poor Mike...at least he tried to take the advice from his estranged sister after all this time.

Keep supporting this fanfic (not to sound pushy or anything, but reviews motivate me more than any follow/favorite/view counts) and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!