A/N 3,410 words! Yay! Sorry for the long wait, it took a while to write this with lot of writers block along the way. I give my brother credit for parts of the chapter. He has been helping me out with certain details. Enjoy!

CS,DC Chapter 4:

Previously in Chapter 3:

The sound of the door opening cut through my thoughts. I looked up into the hazel eyes of my archenemy...

Chapter 4:
Frank Bickle. The bully of the school. Yes, his last name is Bickle. The entire school found out last year due to an announcement from the main office. Everyone laughed at him for days until he beat up some kid that he had never even bothered to notice before.

Anyway, back to reality. Frank was staring if I was something foreign. At first, I was confused about this. Then I took my phone out to see why. I had dried tear tracks running down my cheeks. When I turned back to Frank with a panicked look on my face, he laughed so loud, it caught the attention of the other kids that were loitering the hallway.

"Look Frank, I'm not in the mood right now, can it wait till later? You know, when I can kick your butt," I sighed, agitated, not able to summon the energy to be cocky like usual. Once out of the closet, I shoved past him. I walked away as fast as I could. I knew that even if I wanted to avoid Frank, he wouldn't want to leave me alone. This put me on my guard. Guess it was the right thing to do, because when I had only taken about 12 steps down the hall and was near the end of the hallway, a fist came whizzing past my shoulder. Sticking out my hand to catch the accelerating fist, I turned around so I was facing my current opponent.

"You probably shouldn't have done that," came my signature catch phrase, without the cockiness, once I turned to look him in the eye. The thought if dighting Frank seemed appealing for a minute, until the thought of the detentions that I would be given as punishment sunk in.

I threw Frank's fist out of my hand and started to quickly walk down the hallway to my next class, which was conveniently on the way past the cafeteria. Making it to the cafeteria, I sneaked a look in. There was no one there. Walking quietly in, I went to the fruit basket and picked up the apple that was placed on the top. Then running out of the cafeteria to my next class, I made it right before the bell rang.

"One more time, Mr. Brewer, and you've got detention," Mr. Davenport, my tech teacher, scolded.

"Yes, sir, it won't happen again, I promise," I muttered and continued to my seat which was, conveniently, in the back of the room.

?/!.$/&,!:)&/&:?.$.&:!

The rest of the day went by with minimal problems. Frank would say stuff to me and he eventually realized that I wasn't gonna retaliate when I ignored him.

Walking out of the schools front doors, I saw my friends waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, dude, where were you during lunch? And you missed music," Eddie asked concernedly.

"I...had to sort out some things," I reluctantly said, twirling my fingers in my shirt nervously.

"Okay," Milton said, though I could tell that none of them believed me.
Kim, always the hero, broke the awkwardness and said, "so, who's ready to go home?"

We all agreed and started to walk home together. Pretty soon it was only me and Kim. We walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence.
When we got to my house, Kim and I said goodbye and she continued to her house, which was only a few blocks from mine.

Walking in the house after staring at the door for what felt like hours but was actually minutes, I quickly ran up the stairs to my room. The atmosphere in the house had been tense since the revelation and I refused to get sucked into it.

A FEW WEEKS LATER

It was a Saturday and I was sitting on my bed listening to music and playing Subway Surfers on my iPhone 5. Suddenly, I got a text from Kim. It said:

Last minute practice. Come quick. Rudy's being serious today.

Quickly packing up my duffel bag, I ran down the stairs and out the door, screaming, "going to karate practice, see you guys later," on the way.

Making it to the dojo in record time, I looked at the time and realized that, despite running as fast as I could, it had still taken me 15 minutes to get there. Sighing heavily, I continued to walk through the courtyard to the dojo.
Finally making it to the doors, I hesitated. If I opened them and went in, I risked the chance of getting yelled at, which I had heard enough of in the past weeks. If I stayed outside, I was only going to be interrogated by Rudy the next time I saw him.

Coming to a decision, I cracked open the door slowly, watching to see if anybody noticed me. No one did. With the doors completely open, I had no choice but to venture the rest of the way in.

Rudy turned around when he heard me drop my bag on the bench. "Jack, where have you been, practice started a half hour ago!" Rudy continued to reprimand me and his voice continually got louder.

The yelling and loud voices had made me back away. I was used to getting yelled at, but I had never expected my sensei to be the one to initiate those kind of actions. I notices that Rudy started to wave his hands around. Whenever they came near me, I would flinch away. Rudy didn't seem to notice, but my friends did. They watched in fear and concern as I slowly backed myself into a corner. Rudy seemed to be in his own world.

After a few minutes, Rudy had stopped yelling and started to become aware of what was happening around him. It took a few minutes until the scene in front of him seemed to sink in. When it had, his look of confusion had turned into a look of horror. Rudy went to move his hand up to his mouth and I somehow managed to cringe and flinch at the same time. Realizing what reactions his quick hand motions were causing, he suddenly went very tense.
When he moved again, he kneeled down and slowly crawled over to the corner where I was curled in on myself.

"Hey, Jack, i'm really sorry, can you forgive me? I didn't know that yelling would make you react like that. Please, please forgive me. I didn't know. I'm so so sorry," Rudy kept pleading with me, begging me to forgive him. I had to, I mean, it's not like he knew I would react like that. He had done the same thing to me a few months before and I had just apologized and got ready for practice. But, things had changed since then.

My parents had become more distant. They yelled more. And one time my mom had 'accidentally', quotes because I still haven't figured out if she had meant it or not, hit me. She hasn't done anything since then, so i'm assuming she was clear minded when the action was committed. My dad never found out about the little 'incident', and he has never laid a hand on me in anger. Don't get me wrong, he still yells at me a lot, but he's never assaulted me.

I knew that I had to forgive Rudy or he would never forgive himself. Either way he wouldn't, but it would be easier to convince him that it really wasn't his fault if I forgave him.

"It's okay, Rudy. You didn't know. And truthfully, i'm sort of glad that it happened," this last part earned me some strange looks from my friends, especially Kim and Jerry. I could understand their confusion. I had been telling them practically every detail of my complicated life these past few weeks. But I hadn't told them about the incident with my mom. At that moment, Tip-Tip came out of Rudy's office. The tabby cat walked up to me and sat on my lap. I absentmindedly pet her and continued on with my explanation.

"A few months ago something happened. And if this hadn't happened, I never would have told you guys. My mom she...she...," I stammered, "she hit me and I still don't know if she meant it or not. She's pretty much been avoiding me since then. I still don't know what I did. My parents have been yelling a lot more, too. That's why I flipped out like that, Rudy. I'm used to my parents yelling, I guess I just never expected you to be the one who would yell at me like that or about something like lateness. Lately, I don't know what's gonna set my parents off. Any little thing I do that they see as wrong, I get yelled at. When you started to yell at me, it really surprised me and I didn't know how to react. I guess everything just came back to me and I let my instincts take over. Can we get back to practice now that you know the basics?" I asked, eager to get away from the topic of my hectic home life.
"Yeah, we can, and i'm really sorry. I know you forgive me, but I still feel guilty about it," Rudy rambled. To shut him up, I pulled him into a hug. He finally stopped talking and put his arms around me. I lent into him, soaking up the comfort that seemed almost foreign, as I hadn't had a hug like this from my parents in years. When we separated, I looked over to Kim and Jerry.

They were whispering to each other in the corner. Both of them gave me a meaningful look filled with...was that... hurt? And curiosity. I nodded to them and asked Rudy if I could use his office to talk with Jerry and Kim.

IN RUDY'S OFFICE
I plopped down on Rudy's couch while my two best friends sat on his desk. I closed my eyes, threw my head back, and sighed. I knew the interrogation was about to begin. 3...2...1...

"Why didn't you tell us Jack, we could have helped you!" and many more comments similar to the first were aimed at me.

"Okay, okay," I shouted and both of them shut up. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry about me more than you usually do. And how could you have helped me?! It had already happened, there's nothing you can do to change what happened," all of this was said sharply and angrily. The tone of my voice made them reel back in shock.

"Okay, sorry, I guess we just got so used to helping you sort out issues that it's become habit. But still, why didn't you tell us?" Kim said, hanging her head, and looked up at me with gentle pushing in her eyes. She really wanted me to tell her.

"Okay, i'll tell you guys. Well, it was last week, Thursday, and my mom wanted me to get Thomas for something. So, I went up to get him. He was playing on his XBox and when I told him that mom wanted him, he said he would be there in a minute. I said okay and went back downstairs to tell her that he was coming. When I got down there without Thomas, she started to yell at me. This wasn't anything new. It was all both of my parents had been doing since they told me. What surprised me was when she threw her hand up and slapped me. I flinched and backed away, and by the time I was over the shock of what had just happened, she was sitting on the couch watching her TV show like nothing had happened. I was gonna call one of you, but after thinking about it, I realized that you probably didn't want to be bothered about stuff like that. And don't lecture me, I wasn't thinking straight and by the time I was, it was like a forgotten memory. So I didn't mean not to tell you guys,"I muttered the last part.

"Okay," Jerry said and both of them seemed to accept what I had just said.
We walked out of Rudy's office together and went to change into our Gi's. practice continued, and for once he dojo was completely quiet.

After practice, I went to my locker and slowly took everything I needed out of it. Kim and the gang noticed how slow I was packing and they walked up to me.

"Dude, what's wrong? You never pack this slow. Are you anxious about going home?" Eddie asked, his hand resting lightly on my shoulder.
"Maybe. I guess. I don't know," I snapped out the last part. Everyone backed away slightly except for Kim and Jerry. I guess I had never bothered to notice before, but they were my rocks during this confusing time. Both offered me support and comfort. And a shoulder to cry on when I didn't know what to say and the only way for me to let out my pent up emotions was to sob into either of them. I moved to the bench and put my head into my hands. I sighed before continuing. "Yeah, I am nervous to go home. My parents want me to make a decision and the choice could affect me for a long time," I took a deep breath before continuing, both Jerry's and Kim's hand on my shoulder showing their unwavering support, giving me the confidence to continue with what I was saying, "my parents want me to decide who I want to live with. And my dad bought and apartment about a mile away from the current house, so no matter who I pick, I don't have to move," came my quiet explanation.

"What's the big deal about that? Whoever you choose, you don't have to move. You still get to see both of them," Milton said stupidly. (A/N: Milton can be stupid sometime with what he says. Just imagine him doing it now like he did in Meet the McKrupnicks) Eddie looked at him with slight anger in his eyes and Kim looked ready to torture him slowly then break him in half. And finally, Jerry looked ready to flip him to he ground hard then pummel him into unconsciousness. Milton just looked plain oblivious.

Caught off guard by what he said, and gauging everyones reaction, I had, without knowing, pushed my self into the corner in between the lockers and buried my head in my knees. Suddenly, I started sobbing uncontrollably. I heard someone lightly kneeling sown on the side of me. When the mystery person started to talk to me quietly, I recognized the voice as Kim's.

Jerry's P.O.V. (Not gonna happen much more)

When Milton asked his stupid, oh so stupid question, Kim and I watched Jack carefully and slowly shuffle himself into the corner. We looked at each other, concern reflecting in both our eyes.

We started a silent conversation. Jack didn't need to hear this, even if he was distracted for the moment. After sometime, it was decided that Kim would go to calm Jack down, as I was all out pissed that Milton had even thought to ask that, and I knew how to answer it, not Kim.

As Kim went over to Jack, we all turned to watch. The other guys were surprised at what was going on. Jack was supposed to be the fearless leader if he dojo, the one who got us through it all and was always confident. One thing they didn't know, and never needed to figure out, as I assume that if I were to ever spill it, Jack would karate chop me into the ground, no matter how fragile his mental state and emotions, was all of the breakdowns Jack had had the last few weeks. Me and Kim always helped him. We weren't gonna leave him sitting there while he broke down crying in front if us.
We all watched Kim kneel down beside Jack and start talking to him soothingly while caressing his palm with her thumb. If there was anything we had learned in the past few weeks that Jack didn't tell us himself, it was that petting his hair is one of the ways to calm him down. Another thing that calmed him down just as quick, was rubbing circles on his hand, back, and rubbing up and down his arms.

The guys watched amazed as Jack calmed down in a matter of minutes. He looked up shyly at Kim, not noticing us staring at him. Good. Kim just smiled lightly at him. Great. Now that Jack is calmed down, I can confront Milton. I hadn't wanted to while Jack was panicking cause I didn't want to startle him more than he already was. Now to Milton. This is gonna be fun.

"Milton do you not realize how stupid it was for you to ask that question? What if it was you in that situation? What if you had to choose between your parents, knowing that whatever choice you make is gonna hurt the other parent, regardless," I snapped angrily at Milton. He stared at me in awe. Apparently, they didn't know I could be even remotely smart or feisty, like Kim usually is. But, I had gone through almost the same thing when I was younger. My dad had walked out on me and my mom. I hadn't had a choice then. If I had chosen, I would have picked my mom, but it hurt not being included on the final decision at all, just watching him walk out the door and not look back.

When Milton looked thoroughly told off, I had a sense of satisfaction, despite just telling off my friend. I turned to the corner where I knew Jack and Kim were. Jack had calmed down, but Kim was still rubbing his arm soothingly.
"Hey, buddy, you okay?" I asked. I wanted to know before I said anything so I knew if I had to watch what I said, even though I knew that I had to do that anyway.

Jack's P.O.V.
I heard Jerry asking me if I was okay, but I was too tired, physically and emotionally, to answer. Good thing Kim answered for me.

Jerry's P.O.V.
"Yea. He's fine. The conversation just took a toll on him. He's tired, but once he gets some rest he'll be fine. Why don't you walk him home with me. Carry his bag for him," she said, somewhat demandingly on the last part. But, I would do anything for Jack, so I went to the bench, picked up his bag and went back to the corner. Kim hoisted Jack up so she could support him while they walked. As they got to the doors, I turned around to wave bye to the guys. I saw them quickly turn their heads away and try to make their faces blank. This proved that they had been watching the events and their outcome. I didn't plan on telling Jack, but if they mentioned anything about this to him, I would have no problem beating them senseless.

Back to Jack's P.O.V.
The walk home was uneventful. I was leaning on Kim a lot, but she didn't seem to mind. When we got to my house, I took my bag from Jerry and walked up the steps. Opening the door, I was greeted by the sight of my parents sitting on the couch as far away from each other as possible. I was still shocked that they managed to be in the same room together. I ran up the stairs to my room and threw the door open, then slowly closed it.
Some time later I must have fallen asleep cause when I woke up, it was dark outside. I put my head back on my pillow and fell asleep again.

The next morning, before I had even gotten out of bed, my parents were in my room.

"Son, we need to know if you have made your decision yet," my dad said with such seriousness that I had no clue what to do next, never mind say.