"Blood On The Ground" – Part 11
Summary and additional notes in part 1.
Author's Note: FYI, there's some harsh language towards the end.
Rating: M (for violence, language, and dark themes)
Disclaimer: Do NOT own Degrassi!
11-
Neither wanted to feel doom or gloom, but the tension was thick this morning as Drew and Adam sat at the kitchen table with their mother.
"The Milligans are fighting his expulsion. The school board hearing about it is going to be held this afternoon," Audra told her sons.
Adam nodded. He had suspected as much.
"Do you think there's chance that it might be overturned?" Drew asked. He was a little nervous at that prospect. And the thought of not seeing Owen's ugly mug every day made him incredibly happy.
"Not if I can help it," Audra stated. Her voice was full of conviction. "We have a lot of evidence to back up the school's decision."
"Great!" Adam said in a cheery voice. It sounded like they had all their bases covered, so why was the atmosphere so tense and foreboding?
Audra turned towards her son with a serious expression. "Adam, I need you to do something for me."
He looked at her curiously. He felt a nervous bubble in his stomach as he waited for her to continue.
"When you are outside this house and outside of school, I need you to stick to Drew at all times," she told him.
Adam let out a deep breath. "Mom, I'm sixteen," he asserted.
"I know that, and I know you can fight your own battles," her voice faltered as she struggled not to cry. "I need you to do this for me," she insisted.
"Okay," Adam said softly. He didn't want her to worry about him, but clearly she did.
"Good," she said. She lightly brushed a few strands of hair away from his face. "I don't want to lose you."
Adam eyes began to fill with tears. "You won't. Nothing is going to happen to me," he assured her.
She wrapped her arms around both of her boys. All three Torres stayed huddled together for a long moment.
-oOo-
"I love you," Adam told her in between kisses. He pulled her tighter and brought his lips back to hers again.
"I love you too," Fiona said when they came up for air. Adam grinned broadly before leaning in for another kiss.
They were at Fiona's locker in between classes. It was Wednesday morning. It was hard to believe that in a week and a half she would be an official high school graduate. Adam was going to miss sneaking kisses throughout the day.
"Ahem."
Adam frowned at the interruption. "Do you mind?" he said annoyed. He kept his eyes on Fiona. She had sense enough to actually look to see who came up to them.
"Clare?" she said.
Adam turned around.
Clare gave them a small wave. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow Adam."
Adam chuckled. "What's this about? Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Fiona."
Clare bit her lip. "Fine. Then will both of you follow me to the media lab?"
She walked slightly ahead of the couple, in hopes of avoiding inquiries. She'd rather show them then tell them. When they got to the lab Adam and Fiona were surprised to see Drew, Eli, and Alli there. They all wore grim expressions.
Fiona glanced at her boyfriend. He shrugged but didn't let go of her hand as he rounded up a couple of yoga balls for them to sit on.
"Spill," Fiona commanded once they were situated.
Their friends shared a look.
"Have any of you been on Twitter last night?" Alli started out delicately. Adam, Drew, and Fiona shook their heads.
"Owen has been rage tweeting. He's not happy he was kicked out," Eli informed them.
"That's lovely. What does this have to do with us?" Drew asked.
"Well, the hearing is today, right?" Clare questioned.
Adam and Drew nodded.
"I think we have additional evidence against Owen," Clare told them.
Adam sighed. "What did he say?"
Eli paused. He didn't want to repeat Owen's tweets, but he didn't want Adam to read them either. There was something menacing about directly reading his words. "Clare?"
She looked at him for a moment before handing him the printouts.
Eli turned to Adam. "He deleted a bunch of what he said, but Clare and I took screenshots last night. This morning we printed them out."
Adam nodded. Fiona sent him a worried look and he squeezed her hand. "Alright, go."
"I won't go down the whole list, but I'll read the choice highlights," Eli informed them.
He cleared his throat before reading.
'Fuck Degrassi. It's full of faggots anyway'
'I'm glad I was expelled. Now my hands aren't tied'
'That tranny bitch should sleep with one eye open'
'I go my own way. Not drinking the kool aid about that freak!'"
Eli paused. "This one was directed to Drew, 'Not scare of u dude. Your sister has bigger balls than u. Ha!' This one was directed to Adam, 'I know the truth about u. Soon everyone else will too!'"
Adam frowned at the last one. "What the hell does that mean?" he said annoyed.
Eli shrugged. "I don't know. Sounds like he was on something. Most of them don't make sense."
"I'm going to kick his ass," Drew said quietly. None of the threats made had been lost on him.
Adam looked at his lap. Now he knew why Clare didn't want Fiona to come along. He wished she hadn't heard all of that.
"What the hell is his problem? Why does he have so much hatred for Adam?" his girlfriend wondered aloud.
"Because he's a punk ass bitch who is clearly jealous of him," Eli swiftly answered.
Drew grinned in approval. "You stole the words out of my mouth," he laughed. He turned to Fiona with a more serious expression. "Don't worry, he's not going to win."
Fiona closed her eyes. The school board hearing didn't matter much to her. She was worried about what was going to happen after that.
.
tbc
A/N: Next up is the hearing… Will post it this evening.