I'm back. I've been thinking about random stuff… Sorry. Urghh… I really need to keep track of when I did so and so and etc.

The verdict was announced and he didn't remember what happened next.

When he woke up, he was staring into the faces of his mom and dad, and then saw their hazy shapes getting pushed away by his new mom and dad.

"Omigosh Hunter! Are you alright? It's all over; your real mommy and daddy are here," his mom sobbed as she hugged him tightly. His new dad looked at him with worry, but Hunter's eyes were focused solely on his old parents. He tried to reach out, and he could hear them screaming something as the guards pulled them away. His arm fell limply to his side and he watched them until they disappeared behind heavy doors.

He saw them a few more times. Chats on the internet that turned text-centric when his new parents were home.

No letters, no phone calls-just the internet.

Hunter, how are you?

Fine. When can I see you again? In person.

Don't know. Your parents put a restraining order on us.

How?

They recorded our last meeting.

Oh.

How's school?

It sucks. Too many rich jerks. Not enough nice people.

Oh.

I want to see you.

The sound of footsteps echoed on the stairs. He quickly closed the chat, switched to another site and pretended to blankly surf the web. His dad silently walked past his room and he swallowed hard. When his dad finally went downstairs again after what seemed like an hour, he clutched painfully at his chest, as his heart fluttered nauseously.

He gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to smash his laptop. He didn't feel like talking to his parents anymore. He shut the laptop and flopped onto his bed. It was so soft that even his thin frame could leave an impression on it. He wouldn't mind if the mattress simply folded in on itself and ate him. Anything better than this whole situation. There was something off about the way that he was treated. They spoke sweetly to him and smiled emptily while they bought him lots of things while grumbling under their breath at the same time. He couldn't quite grasp what they were thinking. He was being locked out of the loop. A year into his captivity, he got a lucky break. He realized that his parents had late night chats when they thought he was asleep.

Balancing on the spiral railing of the stairs, he moved his way horizontally, avoiding the squeaky wooden floorboards. The metal rail never even once budged or hummed with a reverberation when struck. It was solid and heavy. Quietly, he eased himself to the floor, feet just tapping the floor.

"Having a kid is more expensive than I thought," his dad spoke softly.

"I'm so glad we have the money that man left him, but it's running out. Investments aren't doing so good, and we still have to pay that tuition. Dammit, I hate keeping up appearances. Thank god we were being careful, using the inheritance first before our own money or else we would have been broke."

His mom's voice seethed at the mention of her father.

"Where'd he and my mother have all that stashed away when I needed to go to college? It was never about academics, only that stupid training for his stupid fantasy. At least mother was more understanding, but he would just never give up!"

"Calm down. He's not here anymore. We still have Hunter anyway. It doesn't seem like your dad gave him any weird ideas."

"I know, I know. It was a good idea to use the inheritance, but it doesn't feel right."

"Don't worry about it, the stock is going up; we'll have that money back in no time. Maybe even enough extra to pay him through college and graduate school."

"Yes. We owe him at least that much. I just wish that he could've met his grandmother as well. She always dealt with her husband with a smile, and she would tell me stories about the Inner World before I went to bed. Nothing crazy like that man. Just stories. She pretended that she grew up in the Inner World, you know?"

"I remember you telling me that a few years ago. Why bring it up again?"

"Ah, it must be Hunter. We made a mistake, didn't we? Leaving him behind like that."

"I don't know what to do with him. He hates us."

"As parents, we're not very good. Either way, I don't ever want him speaking to those other two ever again."

"I still think that's a bit extreme."

"No, do you remember the last time we met? It was a disaster! All that screaming and yelling right in front of Hunter! They didn't even care he was there and just escalated the whole situation," his mother said bitterly, "those people didn't care about him! Only the money; buttering him up, trying to adopt him for the money-!"

"Honey, you're drawing to conclusions."

Hunter had heard enough. More information, more questions, barely any answers. He was so… confused. Silently, he slipped back to his room. He plugged the door slat with a jacket and turned on the lamp. His grandmother's headband glittered underneath the warm light. Out of boredom and an ensuing anxiety attack, he picked it up and began absentmindedly rubbing at the gems with a thumb. After some time, he began blankly staring at the ceiling. What was he going to do? He felt stuck. Yes, that was the word. Stuck.

He did wonder what kind of person his grandmother was. Gramps hardly said a thing about her. She was kind and pretty and strong. That was all he knew.

It's gonna to be alright. Try your best to go along with life, but fight what you have to.

His eyes widened and he began looking all about. Maybe he was just imagining things. He stared back down at the headband and smiled weakly. He actually kind of hoped he wasn't.

-0-0-0-

A strangled noise escaped from his throat as his parents caught him in the middle of a video chat. They were supposed to be gone for at least another hour or so. Slowly, his twisted his head around to look at them. He needed to see them to acknowledge that what had happened wasn't some twisted delusion. This was literally the worst possible scenario. He smiled uneasily at them with a hint of wildness, and faced the screen again.

"Bye," he muttered, with a small wave. The two of them nodded from beyond the screen, right as it was slammed shut right in front of him. He could hear the crack of snapping plastic and glass from the impact.

His internet usage was heavily restricted after that.

Yo. This is done. Dude, if I take too long to update, send in those complaints. They motivate me and remind me that this is a thing.