Look at the title of this chapter, isn't it original.

Also how in the world would I even write out Athena's emotion hearing powers. Frick that power.

Chapter 9 - Turnabout

The detention center's visitation time was nearing its end, but not before Phoenix was able to meet up with his client.

"Thank you again, Phoenix. For becoming my lawyer," John said from the other side of the large window. The man began to fiddle with the neck of the mic before him before Phoenix stopped him.

"Please don't do that, John. It'll be harder for me to hear you." John flinched at the realization of his inconvenience, lowering his hand to rest besides the microphone instead. "It's no big, really," Phoenix continued. "I mean, I know for sure you didn't do it. And I'm pretty sure I have enough evidence to suffice for your acquittal."

"So that means we're not going to plead for self defence? I mean, Phoenix...I wasn't thinking straight, there was only adrenaline in my veins, I was seeing red. Maybe I did kill him, it all happened so fast and-"

"You didn't," Phoenix said, gritting his teeth. There was no room for doubt now.

"Okay, okay," John said, startled at the serious look on his attorney's face.

"Now, John. did you hear anything interesting? I know you said that it all happened fast, but I need to know if there was any noise, any clue that could pinpoint to the real killer. Anything would be helpful at this point," Phoenix said, resting his folded hands underneath his chin.

John scratched the back of his head as he thought back to the event. "I did...hear something," he said slowly. "I think it was the moment of his death. It was a sickening...crunch. Like..as if his brains were sloshed around, you know?"

A chill ran down Phoenix's spine at the description as he shuddered slightly.

"Thank you for that riveting detail," the blue man said, lifting his crossed hands rest, pressing against his lips.

John before him shrugged, "That's all there really is. It was really dark too, Phoenix. No one could see anything. Blood got on me, but I tried washing that off. My turtleneck is still wet."

I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a lot more to worry about than a wet shirt later on.

"Motive? Why that is simple Mr. Wright," Payne chuckled. "The motive for murder was you."

"M-me?" Phoenix exclaimed. Downright he was shocked. Being accused of murder, he was used to, but being the reason why someone was killed? That's a whole new playing field he never imagined he would venture.

"Why yes, Mr. Wright. Several witnesses say that during the course of the reunion, you and Mr. Dover got into a bit of a disagreement. Fortunately, despite his violent advances, you never got physical with him. Or else it might have ended up with you in the defendant's chair instead. However, the defendant did, and both the victim and defendant got into a fist fight. That is, until the defendant got hold of the murder weapon."

"Objection!" Apollo interjected. "According to witnesses, Mr. Dover was on top of Mr. Doe during the duration of the fight. In such close quarters, there is no room for movement of such a bulky weapon such as the sledgehammer."

"Objection! You seem to have forgotten that the lights had went out during that time. The defendant could have easily used that time to get out from under the victim, grab the weapon, and successfully kill him with one well aimed strike."

"Objection! As you say, Mr. Payne. It was dark. Not even the victim or the defendant could see what was going on. How do you suppose that Mr. Doe could see where a sledgehammer is hidden at a middle school reunion party, grab it, trace his steps back to where the victim is, and know where a vital area to strike would be and do so, all under ten seconds?" Apollo questioned.

"It's simply a fight or flight mechanic installed in every human being. Unfortunately for the victim, Mr. Down, the defendant chose to fight."

"Another thing, Mr. Payne," Phoenix smoothly transitioned all of the eyes in the courtroom onto him. "Care to explain this for us?" Phoenix showed the picture of the crime scene. With a white border to detail where the body is, one could clearly see the blood streak that was leading away from it...

"Agh!" Winston exclaimed.

"Would someone explain to the...jury what the defence and prosecution is all excited about?"

"Of course, Your Honor," Phoenix nodded. "This blood streak, could only have happened, if something was dragged away from underneath the body. Meaning, that Ben Dover was in fact struck before someone or something was dragged away from his corpse."

"And what is this someone or something that was underneath the victim?"

"It was none other that the defendant himself, Your Honor. John Doe was evidently pinned down during the time of the murder. Making it impossible for him to even strike the victim, much less doing so from behind."

Hook. Line. And sinker.

"It looks like that proves that matter. I can see clearly now that the defendant was not the murderer. But now it would be safe to assume that someone else at the party was the murderer!" the judge exclaimed, obviously giddy that he had solved the by himself.

"You're absolutely right, Your Honor. That is why...the defense hereby suspect Eileen Dover, wife of the victim, to be the true killer!" Phoenix declared triumphantly. The gallery erupted into chaos. Even the judge had to take a few seconds to regain his composure before silencing the noisy crowd. John was just bewildered at his seat. He was glad that Phoenix was defending him, but pushing the blame on a woman, and Eileen at that? But the look on the two lawyer's faces, but Phoenix and the Apollo guy were full of sheer confidence.

Eileen was soon escorted to the witness stand, with puffy eyes and a red nose.

"Now, Mrs. Dover. Do you know why you are being accused for the murder of your husband?" Apollo said.

"Because it's convenient for you?" she inquired.

"Precisely! I mean, what? No! N-no! It's because we have the evidence!" Apollo recovered from the slight blunder, which his cheeks reddening.

"Now, what evidence will that be?" Payne smugly confronted.

"That would be up to Mrs. Dover to decide, does she want the defense to reveal the evidence first, or does she want to testify first," Phoenix said, surprising everyone in the court.

"But Mr. Wright, we have indisputable evidence!"

"Hush, Apollo, just trust me on this," Phoenix said quietly, silencing his employee.
"I'll testify," Eileen said.

"This is out of conduct, but I suppose that if the witness wants to testify first, I see now problem." With a hit of his gavel, Eileen began her testimony.

"I love Ben dearly. Or should it now be loved. We were together since middle school, and he was always with me. Even Mr. Wright is a witness to how long we've been in a relationship. When we got out of college, Ben proposed to me in front of my family. I couldn't say no after he went through all the trouble, now can I? I would never hurt my Ben. After all, he's such a caring husband and father. He's so attentive, too!"

"Gotcha!" Apollo shouted, finger pointing like it was nobody's business, "Can you explain, Mrs. Dover, why for the entirety of your testimony that you didn't touch your scarf until a certain statement? Particularly the one about your husband being an attentive father and husband?" The woman at the witness stand froze up. She began to stroke her scarf more frequently, trying to think of a way out of her predicament. She looked down at the neckwear and began to fiddle with the scarf's tassels. Everyone in the gallery began to crane their necks, hoping to be able to hear any words the woman had to offer. If she was actually speaking at all that is, or if she was simply mumbling under her breath. Unfortunately, Eileen Dover was silent for the long duration instead, playing with the ends of her scarf.

"If you please, Mrs. Dover," Phoenix interrupted, "Would you kindly take off your scarf if it is too distracting. We would like to continue with-"

"No!" the woman's sudden outburst rang through the silent gallery. Even the judge was taken aback, almost dropping his gavel. "I mean...I mean..Yes..of course, Mr. Wright."

With evidently shaky hands, the widow began to unravel her scarf. Soon the gallery was filled with whispers and hushes. Although Phoenix had a hunch, his eyes still widened. Apollo stared in shock. Athena had to cover her mouth. Gaspen Payne on the other side of the court began to sweat bullets. The judge was left speechless. On the sides of Eileen's neck were bruises. Finger shaped bruises.

The judge's gavel silenced the whole room.

"So, Mrs. Dover," the judge said slowly. "You lied to the court, saying that he was a caring and attentive male figure in your family to both you and your children when he was actually an abusive one. Now even without evidence from the defense, that alone is enough to provide motive for the murder."

"No, please!" Eileen Dover screamed. My Pan, my Pandora. She'll be all alone if her mother is in jail. I may be a frail woman, but I'm not stupid! I know the consequences of killing a person. I didn't do it!"

"Mrs. Dover, if I may," Phoenix interrupted. "Why is it then, that this receipt, which has the same perfume as you did on the day of the murder, have both your name and the object of murder printed on it?"

"Objection!" Payne desperately exclaimed. "Coincidence! Pure coincidence, I assure you. Mrs. Dover was perhaps going to renovate her home or something. Right, Mrs. Dover?"

To the much surprise of the defense and the relief of the prosecution, she nodded.

"I bought the equipment to help fix a wall in my parent's backyard tool shack. You can call them if you want, the sledgehammer is still at the house, I assure you! I promise."

A fifteen minute recess was called and a phone call to the homephone of the Down's residence later, it was all confirmed.

"That's too much of a convenient coincidence!" Athena said. Too convenient! Too convenient! Widget agreed.

"We'll just have to go with it and see what we get from here," muttered Phoenix grimly.

"You mean like winging it?" Apollo asked.
"Exactly like winging it."

"I tried running away, I really did. In the dead of the night I took Pan and a packed suitcase and ran. But a few weeks later he found us. We were states away but he managed to track us down. It was the first time he hit Pan too. Ben then said that if I ever tried to do anything like that again, he was going to do more than hit her.

"Ben said if I called the police, he'll say I was crazy and delusional. He was going to blame me for everything! He was going to say that I hit Pan, and inflicted the bruises on myself just to pin the blame on him," Eileen broke down, sobbing into her hands. "But I'm not crazy! So, yes, I do confess being no longer loving him. But I did not kill him! Why would I risk getting caught if it meant going to jail and leaving my daughter behind?"

The gallery exploded with whispers and chaos. The judge had to slam his gavel many times to silence the spectators.

"Why have you not filed for divorce...if you weren't happy, Mrs. Dover?" the judge asked softly.

"Please, Your Honor. Ben could lie over and over about that. I take a lot of medication to deal with him daily, so he could easily twist my words by saying I abuse them. An unstable woman like me would never be able to win custody over Pandora."

"Yes, there has been history of Eileen being...difficult at times," Phoenix said, stroking his chin. "But it's been years since then, there is always a possibility that you have matured by now, Mrs. Dover."

"I do too, but I think...Ben's influence over me for the last two decades have prevented others to thinks so. I mean, even my family believes him over me, just because I threw a few tantrums in junior high. They think that he was doing me a favor...by staying with me. They said that I was incorrigible and that Ben would help set me straight...if only they knew..."

The judge shook his head, commenting on the tragedy the lady had to go through.

"Mrs. Dover, is that really true?" Phoenix inquired.

"What are you saying, Phoe-Mr. Wright?"

"Are you positive, Mrs Dover, that no one knew about this domestic abuse your husband had but both you and your daughter alone?"

"Y-yes, I am positive! No one, not my mother, not my father, not even my brother Neil! Well, I assume Neil doesn't know...or care for that matter..."

"And why is that, Mrs. Dover?" This time, it was Apollo Justice that interjected.

"How should I say this...but, Neil and I haven't been on speaking terms. Not since he was a child anyways. We were born thirteen years apart, so we had no common ground to get to know each other. I was already in college when he started kindergarten, after all! Soon, like all children do, lose their memories of those they meet when they were younger, and so Neil soon forgot about his older sister."

"I'm afraid I don't believe you are telling us the whole truth, Mrs. Dover," Apollo said, finger massaging his forehead.

"What do you mean?" the side of her lip twitched.

"Well, if it's any indication, but when you talked about Neil forgetting his older sister, you look to the side and start to fidget, particularly tugging at your scarf. A nervous tick is hard to prevent, and you were even able to do it again despite me pointing it out before."

"Okay, okay!" she flustered. Phoenix swore she started muttering about his creepy eye power, but Apollo didn't say anything about it, so he let it slide. "...I do admit that I contact Neil frequently. But it's impossible for him to be involved!" Eileen confessed.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Dover?"

"I send him...emails. He replies rarely, but Neil...Neil is apathetic to human nature."

"Please clarify your last statement, Mrs. Dover," Apollo said, slamming his fists on the bench.

"He's a recluse. He lives in our parents' basement. He's not a NEET if that's what you're thinking, as he does have a job. It's just he doesn't leave the house. Ever. Not since he graduated high school. He was a quiet child and that trait continued into adulthood. He rarely shows emotions, and nothing makes him happier than to be left alone so he can tinker with his robots and electronics. Neil's really good with technology, so all of his at home jobs are in the same field. He helps with the bills and he doesn't cause trouble for our parents. And that's his alibi. He never leaves the house," Eileen concluded.

"How can you be so sure that he didn't leave his room on the night of the murder?" Apollo asked.

"Objection!" Gaspen Payne wailed. This caught Phoenix and Apollo slightly off guard, they had almost forgotten he was there! "The defence is pestering the witness with trivialities not relating to the case."

"Well," the judge said, stroking his beard, "Is this relevant to the case, Mr. Justice?"

"It is very important to the case, Your Honor," Apollo assured the judge, nodding.

"Objection overruled." Payne visibly flinched. "But if your line of questioning does not yield results soon, Mr. Justice, I will have to penalize you."

"Understood, Your Honor," the red attorney nodded.

"That was such a close one, wasn't it Apollo," Athena mused as they were in the cab. With lack of evidence, they were able to pronlounge the verdict. But this meant investigating. Good thing is they have just the right lead.

"Don't talk to me right now," Apollo breathed. This was irritating. Stressful. Irritating and stressful.

"So..." Athena squinted at the license before her. "Mr. Jerry Tran! Have you ever drove three lawyers before?"

"Lawyers, yes. Three with such vibrant colors as you three? No way. I feel like I'm driving the primary colors or something." Jerry's demeanor tugged something in Phoenix's brain. It was all...deja vu. "Oh man, but let me tell you, there was this one female lawyer. She was a beauty, and had a brilliant sense of humor. It has to be almost ten years now, but she was with this greenhorn that had a stick up his-"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" Phoenix shouted. The driver almost swerved out of control.

"Jesus, buddy! You want me to drive you into an accident or something?" Jerry clicked his tongue.

"Sorry. Sorry. It was just...I think I was that greenhorn," Phoenix smiled sheepishly.

"Huh." Silence. "You look more like a bluehorn." The cab erupted in laughter. Even Apollo chuckled a bit, hiding his smile behind his hand. It was such a stupid joke, he couldn't help but laugh.

"How's the lady, by the way?"

"...Oh. She. Uh, she's passed away," Phoenix explained. Tension started to rise in the vehicle.

"Guess that explains why I never got that date," Jerry solemnly said.

"I'm sorry."

"Nah, buddy. I should be apologizing to you. You had to deal with it when it happened. It's happened. It's done. There's nothing we can do about it. We can only move forward now," Jerry was more quiet now. The tension never broke for the rest of the ride to their destination.

"Thank you again, Jerry. We didn't give you one last time, but here's our office's number. Call whenever you need us," Phoenix said. He handed him their business card and Jerry gave him a nod.

"...Phoenix Wright," Jerry contemplated as he held the card in his hand, "You're alright. And now that I took a drive down memory lane, you weren't that bad years ago either."

"You're the only one that ever laughed at my joke."

"Bah, what do they know about humor?"

"Bye, Jerry."

"Bye...Chief," Jerry gave a painful smile before driving away. Phoenix gave his driver a wave before turning his back to the street. He had a suspect to interrogate.

"So, guess it's up for me and you to have some Q and A time with Neil, right, Boss?" Athena confidently said, smacking her fist into her other hand.

"Neil is very shy around women, unless they're family," Mrs. Down replied.

"Oh," Athena said with obvious disappointment.

"So it looks like it's up to me and Mr. Wright. Oh, Athena, that's too bad," Apollo stated. There was a smile smile tugging at his lips that didn't escape from Athena's notice.

"Hey, I heard that" she declared, eyebrows scrunching downwards.

"Whatever do you mean?" Apollo feigned innocence.

"Enough, you two. Apollo, come with me. Athena, keep the Downs company."

The basement was very homely. Much more so than one would expect for a basement dweller's home of operations that is. Surprisingly, there was a weight bench tucked with miscellaneous other fitness equipment in the corner. Even the section of the wall was mirrored. From the distance of the door to the corner, Phoenix could see that there was at least 200 lbs at the ready and couldn't help but whistle at amazement.

In the middle of the room was less cleanly, with various gears and circuitry strewn on top of a table and around its legs. It would be wise not to mess with the parts...at least not too much. There was even a funny looking pair of goggles. Wonder if it's x-ray? Phoenix amused himself, smirking slightly.

There was a young man sat in front of his computer, tapping away. Even from where he was, Phoenix could hear the music blaring from the man's headphones. Even a cough couldn't avert his attention.

"Excuse me, Mr. Down?" Apollo questioned. The young attorney was a little bit too loud as always, but for once his voice was welcomed, and it did the trick. Neil jumped slightly, taking off his headphones and stared at the two strangers at his door.

"U-um, hello," Neil muttered under his breath. With a single press of a button, he turned his monitor screen off as he approached the attorneys. Even though he was wearing a long sleeved shirt, Phoenix would still see the bulging muscles from underneath the fabric. He absentmindedly touched at his own muscles. They were great and all, but they were slightly smaller than Neil's. Wait, they weren't here to compare body builds.

"I'm Phoenix Wright," he said while reaching his hand out. Neil wiped his on his shirt before taking Phoenix's.

"And I'm Apollo Justice," the other attorney said. Neil too took his hand.

"Neil Down, but I think you already know that," the man said, pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"We're-"Apollo started.

"The lawyers for my brother-in-law's killer? Yeah, I know," Neil cut him off. "...Sorry."

"That is alright, Mr. Down. We understand what you are feeling," Phoenix assured him stroking his chin.

"But do you really?" Neil muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Apollo countered.

"Oh, nothing," the interrogee said, lowering his voice even more.

It's DeLite all over again, Phoenix thought bitterly. Sighing, Phoenix Wright mentally prepared himself for yet another probably tedious questioning and maybe not so much answering session.

"Do you know the suspicion has been moved to your sister, Neil?" The younger brother visibly flinched at those words.

"T-that's impossible. Eileen would never hurt that guy," Neil practically whispered under his breath.

"'That guy'? It sounds like you were not on the best of terms with Mr. Dover," Apollo questioned. Neil shrugged.

"The guy is thirteen years older than me, rude to me whenever he was around and he married my sister when I was like eight. She hasn't been around much since, you expect me to be all friendly with a guy I don't meet often?"

"Well, we were wondering if you have any ideas to who else could have done it?"

"...You're suspecting me, aren't you?" Neil said, crossing his arms. "Think what you like, you can even search my room up and down, you're not going to find nothing. Just tell me when you're done so I can go back to work."

There was little fruition that came up in his room. Other than a pair of gardening gloves, the weird goggles, and at least 200 lbs currently sitting on that bench press bar, everything else was mechanical and engineering stuff.

Apollo could see the roll of Neil's eyes as they excused themselves.

"Hey guys, find anything interesting?" Athena greeted them as they came up from the basement.

"Agh, my eyes!" Apollo said as soon as he stepped out from the darkness. It was a lot more dim in Neil's room than he thought it would be.

"Well, I was out in the back with the Down's when I heard something interesting."

"What is it, Athena?" Phoenix asked the ginger female.

"The sledgehammer is missing," Athena whispered harshly. Well, damn.

"So you really do believe that I did it," Neil muttered quietly after his testimony was cross-examined.

"You do know that if you lie to us, Mr. Down, that your sister will be convicted of murder?" Apollo reasoned.

"Then how did I do it?"

"Excuse me?" the red attorney questioned.

"Explain to the court. To everybody here," he raised his arms to the side, arms upward. "How me, someone who hasn't left his home for five years, killed a man that was nothing to me."

"Well, that is fairly severe Mr. Doe. Saying that your brother-in-law meant nothing to you." the judge said.

"Your Honor, you know how traditions are. In-laws clash with each other, it's a given," Neil smirked.

"Love," Phoenix said.

"Excuse me?" the brother questioned.

"Love. You loved your sister. That's why you killed her husband. To free her from his abusive grasp."

Neil started to laugh. He laughed until his sides hurt. "I asked for an explanation of how I would be going around to commit the murder, Mr. Wright. Not a fairy tale reason to why I would go off the deep end." Neil's whole...aura had now changed. He seemed more confident. More difficult to extract information out of. Damn.

"I'll say this one more time, Mr. Down. If you do not confess, your sister will be convicted for murder."

Neil's lips twitched. "Well, too bad, Mr. Wright. Because I don't love Eileen in the least bit. She's nothing to me."

"Now, is that the full truth, Mr. Down? Do you really not love your sister?"

"I don't."

Much to his surprise, the magatama in his pocket glowed. Woah there. One Psyche-Lock appeared. Too easy.

"I believe you are lying," Phoenix said simply.

"Hah, this is the court of law. I swore on the bible, only idiots would lie up here."

"And yet here you are, up on the witness stand, lying your heart out."

"I'm not lying. I don't love my sister. I haven't had a conversation with her in fourteen years!"

"There you go again. Lying," Apollo smirked.
"W-what do you mean?" Neil growled in his throat.

"Mrs. Dover has told me that she emails you. And that you reply. Rarely, she emphasized. But none the less, you reply. Now, I'm not expert on social interactions, but I assume that sending email to one another counts as conversing, does it not?" Phoenix said with a giant smug on his face. The lock broke. Perfect.

"Okay, yeah. I do. I love her like a sister. I don't remember it well, but she took care of me a lot when I was younger. She was kind, gentle. But that's it. She's a distant memory. I talk to her for the sake of talking to my sister. It's more of a chore, really."

"You're being difficult, Mr. Down," Apollo said.

"That's because I didn't kill anybody!" Neil shouted. Although it wasn't particularly ear deafening or anything, Athena had to cover her ears to block out the noise. That was all Phoenix needed to know to understand what was really going on.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Down? Unrelated to this case?" Phoenix asked.

"You may not!" Mr. Payne shouted.

"Your Honor, it is too simply calm the witness down, as you can see he is pretty wound up," Phoenix explained himself, to which the judge simply nodded to allow permission. "Do you garden at all, Mr. Down?" he asked sweetly.

"No, why would I? I'd have to go outside," the witness shrugged.

"Do you own any gloves?"

"Yeah, some safety gloves to protect my fingers from static shock."

"Did you know what was on the pole of the sledgehammer at the scene of the crime, Mr. Down? Dirt. And did you know what was in your room the day after? Gardening gloves, with clear evidence of dirt still at the fingertips and palms!"

"Those-those are obviously my safety gloves. Yeah, you've mistaken oils on my gloves as dirt from a garden!" Neil smirked at the defense bench.

"But these gloves are awfully bulky, to the point where using them to when you program and wire fine circuitry is too much or a hassle. Wouldn't you agree, Mr. Down?"

"Then those are my mother's. She visits me from time to time. She must have left them there the last time she visited."

"Why do you keep lying to the court, Mr. Down, it's obvious that it was you!" Apollo slammed the desk with both of his fists.

"But these goggles are yours, are they not?" Phoenix continued calmly, pulling up a picture of said goggles.

"Yeah, I made them. So what?"

"Are they done?"

"No errors whatsoever."

"What exactly do they do, Mr. Down?"

"...X-ray."

"Can it see through paper?"

"Yeah."

"Clothing?"

Neil smiled at the small bit of perversion that the older lawyer had just showed, "Of course."

"So you wouldn't mind demonstrating them for us," Apollo said, taking the box that was by the bench and gently putting it on the flat surface. Carefully, Apollo removed the goggles that were inside.

"You went through my stuff!" Neil exclaimed.

"Wrong, your parents went through your stuff. The police asked for them and they complied. Such nice folks they were."

"This is stupid," Neil said, arms crossed. If people could see his expression right now, they would see an angrily furrowed brow.

"You were the one that designed them," Apollo quipped.

"Oh shut up, short stuff," Neil replied. The antennae on top of Apollo's head twitched at the use of the taboo terminology. He wasn't that short. Was he?

"Turn them on if you please, Mr. Down," ordered Phoenix. Rolling his eyes, Neil turned the goggles on.

"Now, if you can please tell me, how many fingers I am holding up, and which ones they are," Phoenix said, holding a piece of paper in front of his other hand. The shielding hand had both its pointer and pinky finger held up. Only a person with X-ray could see it.

"I give up," Neil said, smirking. "You win. These aren't X-ray goggles. They're night vision ones. This was fun. While it lasted at least."

"Oh, Neil. Why did you have to do that for me?" Eileen said, crying and hugging her younger brother at the same time. Neil, who was now cuffed, had difficulty extracting himself from his sister. Even he had to breath, after all.

"He was hurting you, Eileen. And he was starting to hurt Pan, too."

"You've read my emails!" Eileen squealed.

"Of course I have, I always do," he smiled.

"Oh sweetie, you're only twenty two. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be released early for good behavior."

"You're not so bad afterall, now aren't you, Neil," Athena said.

Neil started to form inchoherent sentences before Eileen plucked him away after apologizing for Neil's inability to deal with the opposite gender. The gang had a small laugh.

"Congrats are your acquittal," Phoenix said, shaking John's hand.

"Thank you for defending me," John retorted. The attorney was about to leave when John stopped him. "Oh yeah, and Phoenix?"

"Yes, John?"

"It's like twenty years too late now, but I had a massive crush on you in middle school. Just thought you should know," and then he left just like that. Apollo and Athena were shocked to the core, not daring to comment of move even a muscle.

"Aw man, Eileen owes me 20 bucks," Larry commented.

"Woah, Larry, I didn't even know you were coming to watch...Wait a minute you knew-"

"Hell yeah I knew. I think he fell for you the day you kicked him out of his seat in Mrs. Lee's class to sit next to me."

"I didn't kick him out of his chair...We traded seats," Phoenix muttered.

"The guy didn't even have his keister fully on the seat yet and you came up to him and flirted your way into his seat," Larry explained, stroking his beard all-knowingly.

"I did not flirt with him."

"And then you started to flirt with me!"

"I did not start to flirt with you."