It was a miracle that Todd made it to school on time. After his little bully encounter from this morning and stopping to talk to Devi, he was left to limp the rest of the way there. His backpack was halfway unzipped, but luckily all of its contents hadn't spilled out. Ms. Bitters gave him a nasty look as he took his seat, probably because he walked in right as she was talking. However, she resumed her rant as he tried to make himself comfortable. He went digging through his bag, praying to God that none of those kids had taken his homework. Sure, they left his books, pencils, and notebooks. Hell, they even left the folder with all of his other homework, but they took his first period worksheet. Lovely.

Pepito took his seat behind his best friend and watched as he put his head in his hands. He knew that Todd had been getting harassed more than usual for a little while now, but it pissed him off to watch him be so helpless. He went out of his way to protect his amigo, but he just couldn't always be there. He had a life of his own and responsibilities as the Anti-Christ that he had to attend to. He couldn't swing by and walk him to school or go home with him to drop him off – he just didn't have the means to do so. The only thing he could do was protect him while they were at school and try and convince him that he needed to learn to defend himself.

But Todd was always defensive when it came to something like that. He didn't want to learn how to fight, or pretend to be tough when he wasn't, or even just try and have a little more confidence. All he did was tell Pepito that everything would be fine and that the bullying would stop when he got older. What his friend didn't know was that adults are assholes too, and they do bullying on a whole different level.

"Psst! Todd."

Todd turned around and looked at a very concerned Pepito. He looked over the bruises and scrapes and shook his head. Why did this have to happen? The one person that he knew to be a good human being was the biggest target for everyone. Even though life wasn't fair, this was just cruel and unusual, even in Pepito's eyes.

"Did you get jumped again?"

"Yeah, but it could have been worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember me telling you about Devi? She saw me getting bullied and used her car to scare everyone off."

He had to be joking. Yeah, Todd talked her up and made her seem like this really nice person, but Pepito knew better. He asked his father about her not too long ago and he practically coughed up her entire file. She was five foot nine inches, one hundred and twenty pounds, likes Terry Gilliam movies, ghost stories, and reading. She hates shitty dates, overly-religious people, and being attacked with sharp objects. Her file then went on to disclose information about things she's done and the way she's been living her life. She seemed to be a rather normal child, entered a "Goth" stage when she was about fifteen, has been on countless bad dates, etc. She likes to paint and create things without conforming to the stereotypical norm, blah, blah, blah…

It started to get interesting a few years back, though. When Pepito found out that she had been holing herself up in her apartment, living life with a paranoid and bad attitude, and that she now had one of the shittiest views on humanity and the world in general, he knew she wasn't a "nice lady." And whether Todd didn't know any of this or he was too naïve to believe it, well, it wasn't surprising. Now was a good a time as ever to tell him the truth. Someone had to have sympathy and compassion for the kid.

"I don't mean to sound too negative here, but are you sure she wasn't trying to run you over as well?"

"No, of course not! She wouldn't do something like that."

Sighing, he knew it was time to spill the beans.

"I think you should know the truth about her."

"What do you mean?"

"Being the Son of Satan, I have access to my father's files on people. He gave me her file a couple days ago and I think you should know-"

"Todd! Pepito! If you two have something to say, say it to the class! Or better yet, don't say anything at all!"

Having their conversation cut short, Pepito opted to finish at lunch time. If he couldn't convince Todd what a wreck this woman was by the end of the day, he would have no choice but to steal the file and give it him. Even though it was against the rules, it was the only option he felt he had.

And even though the school day was now halfway over, along with lunch, Pepito was still outraged that Todd wouldn't believe him.

"Are you stupid or something?! This girl hates people, detests the world outside of her apartment, and carries ridiculous amounts of mace with her wherever she goes! She's not nice!"

"You don't understand, Pepito. I think Devi acts the way she does because of Nny."

"Your homicidal recluse of a neighbor? He's been gone for years!"

"I know, but before he left, he tried to kill her!I don't know what happened, or what went wrong, but I think it messed with her head. She might seem kind of bitter, but she's still a nice person."

Becoming extremely frustrated, Pepito slammed his fists on the table and hissed. His stupid, naïve, ridiculous, innocent, too-kind-for-his-own-good best friend was being unreasonable! This Devi woman didn't like him, she wasn't being nice to him, and she certainly didn't give a rats-ass about him! If anything, she was just trying to tolerate him. The whole thing was ludicrous.

But he didn't seem to have a leg to stand on anymore, so Pepito just dropped it. He would get in big trouble later, but he was left with no choice but to steal her file and force Todd to open his eyes. If that didn't work, then there was nothing he could do.

But as the school day came to an end, Todd scurried to his locker to drop off and pick up his things. He was hoping that if he could limp fast enough, he would beat the potential bullies and get a nice head start home. Pepito came with him, doing what little he could to protect him. He would be safe until they got outside and he was out of sight. This was the result of living in two opposite directions from each other.

So they said their goodbyes and parted ways, Pepito constantly looking back. His paranoia was kicking in to overdrive just like it did every day after school. But seeing that there was nothing he could do, he rounded the corner and was gone.

But surprisingly, nobody followed Todd on his way home. People kept a distance and held their own conversations. No one was plotting their next attack, there was no gossip about him being a pussy or a wimp, and no one was laughing at his expense. It was odd, unusual, different, weird, strange, and everything in between, but he wasn't complaining. In fact, he was able to relax for once and take his time getting back home. Aside from Pepito trying to convince him that Devi was a bad person, he had one other thing on his mind today: Shmee. He needed to get him back.

But as for how to do that, he still wasn't sure. If he tried to brave the basement again, he was afraid that instead of finding Shmee, he'd find something worse. He was afraid that there were more than corpses in there. But then he started thinking about the possibility that if it wasn't just dead bodies, what if something had gotten Shmee? What if he wasn't there anymore? What if bugs had laid eggs inside of him and chewed on him? What if he had been torn apart?!

The thoughts terrified Todd so much that he picked up the pace and started fast-limping his way home. He had to get there, find a flashlight, a doctor's mask or something to cover his nose and mouth, and he had to suck it up and go back in. If Shmee was still in there and alive, he needed to get him out. He couldn't go without Shmee forever. He wasn't ready to let go or stand on his own yet. The thought of not having his first ever friend made his heart feel heavy.

So today he didn't get to be a coward – today he was a scaredy-cat playing brave.

"A/N: This is the first opportunity I've had in awhile to write in general. Now that I'm back in school, I've been getting slammed with homework. On top of that, I've been working till late almost every night. So I'm pleased to be able to bring you this update, even if it is just another small stepping stone. Just so you know, I'm aware that the comics spelled it "Skool," but for the purposes of correct spelling, I will spell it normally unless using it in a character dialogue. Also, those facts I got about Devi (her height, weight, likes, dislikes, etc.), I got all of that information straight from the Director's Cut. So, no, I didn't just make it up. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review."