(Do not own Hardy Boys)

The Hardy Boys

(Heartless)

Sequel: A Friend in Need

Chapter 2

Frank pulled into a school parking spot. He glanced over at Joe, who was just staring complacently out of the window. He was unusually quite. Suddenly filled with concern, Frank put his hand on Joe's shoulder.

"Joe, Are you alright ?"

Joe, still staring out the window. responded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Joe, Talk to me."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Frank argued, "Joe, this is me you're talking to. I know when something is bothering you. Please tell me... what's wrong?"

Joe turned to Frank.

"Why are we here?" he said in one breath, "We should be working on getting Tony out of Heartless."

"Well, Joe, in a way we are."

"What do you mean?"

"Joe, remember Tony isn't the only one being targeted by Heartless," Frank explained as he looked around at the students going into the school, "Heartless has Recruiters out there searching for new recruits. Bayport High would be a perfect place for Heartless to hit. Like the Gray Man said, they prey on the weak and the most vulnerable. Teens who are loners or are in broken homes, falling into the wrong crowd. Girls as wells as boys are welcome. However, teenage boys are their main target."

"Well that narrows it down a bit," Joe said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "It's a pretty big school, Frank. What are we suppose to do? Go around and ask every student if they're loners or have broken homes."

"No, we will just keep our eyes and ears open," said Frank. He excused his little brother's sarcastic tone, knowing he was tired and stressed out.

"We can ask our friends to help, too."

"Whatever you say, big brother," Joe grumbled as he got out of the van and walked away.

Frank just shook his head. "I won't lose you, little brother," he whispered under his breath.

Joe, are you going to be alright?" Frank asked, walking Joe to his locker. He saw the tension in his little brother's eyes.

"Frank, for the last time, I'm fine!" Joe snapped, slamming his locker door so loudly that everyone around them jump.

"Just leave me alone!" He shouted again. Then he stormed off before Frank had time to reply.

Frank let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his brown hair. "I won't lose you, little brother," he vowed to himself.

Suddenly, eighteen-year-old Callie Shaw walked up beside her boyfriend, who was still quite lost in his thoughts.

"Frank? Are you alright?"

Frank felt Callie's hand slide into his.

"He's scaring me Callie," Frank replied, furrowing his eyebrows together in worry.

"Who?"

"Joe."

"Let me guess, does it have to do with Tony?"

"Yeah. Joe is taking this ordeal with Tony pretty hard..." Frank's voice trailed off. Callie squeezed his hand, letting him vent. "He blames himself for what happened to Tony. Just like the night Iola died. Joe still blames himself for her death. I keep having flashbacks from the night Joe almost..."

Frank swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing. "If I have to fight Joe again to keep him alive," He turned to Callie, "I will."

"But it's not going to happen again," Frank went on, his chilling words running down Callie's spine, "If Joe dies, a part of me will die too. I can't lose my little brother."

Joe sat down on the bottom step of the stairwell before heading to Mr. Haley's English class. The bell had rung and classes were already in session. He was already ten minutes late for class, but he didn't care. He was alone, and needed time to cool off and think. He hated going off on Frank like that. Joe knew his big brother was just worried about him.

"It's happening all over again," Joe though, "Just like Iola. Now, Tony is in the middle of fighting for his life. Who will be next? My parents, Chet, Biff, or Phil? Callie or Vanessa? I care about Vanessa very much. We've been dating for only two years, I just don't know what I would do if anything happen to her. Why can't they just come after me instead of going after the people closest to me?"

Joe sighed very deeply and heavily.

"Then there's Frank, my big brother and best friend. The one person who means more to me then anything."

Joe knew he would rather die than to let anything happen to Frank.

"There is only one thing to do: distance myself from everyone. No one will ever get hurt because of me ever again..."

Joe jumped when a firm hand gripped his shoulder.

"Hey Hardy."

He looked up to see a tall, stocky, eighteen-year-old Kurtis Shepherd standing next to him. Besides him was Jackson Fontain, about the same age but with a more athletic built. These two were always picking on someone. Joe felt like today was his turn.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kurtis said, pretending to care, "Did I scare you? Aren't you friends with Prito?"

"Why do you want to know?" Joe asked, narrowing his eye. He was not sure where this was going.

"We just want to know if it's true. That Prito is in the loony bin, because he tried to kill himself."

"Tony just lost his mother," Joe said, feeling his temper starting to rise, "He left town for some personal time with his family."

"Well, I hear Prito has a kid," Jackson said, turning to Kurtis with a wild grin on his face. They both looked at each other, laughing. "He always had such a way with women. I'm surprised he had to go all the way to Italy to get one pregnant. "

"You think it's funny," Joe shot back, feeling the need to defend his friend, "Leave him alone. Tony hasn't done anything to you."

"We don't like your friend," Jackson said in matter-of-fact tone, "If Prito knows whats good for him, he'll stay gone for good."

"Or better yet," Kurtis said, lowering his voice and giving Joe an evil look, "Prito should do us all a favor and kill himself."

Joe's face turned pale, then brick-red. He felt pressure building up inside of him. He knew he was about to explode; he just couldn't help himself.

"Shut your mouth," Joe hissed, "Before I shut it for you."

"Go ahead, Hardy," Kurtis taunted, looking absolutely delighted at his outburst, "If you think you're man enough. We don't like you either."

That was all Joe could take. He stood up, nose to nose, with Kurtis. Kurtis shoved Joe hard on the chest, sending him into Jackson.

Jackson pinned Joe's arms behind his back. Kurtis punched Joe hard in the pit of his stomach. Joe fell to the floor, gasping out of pain. Before he could make a move, Kurtis and Jackson kicked Joe repeatedly in the stomach. Joe felt something hit him on the back of his head, then everything went black.

To be continue...Please review. Thank you. I'll try to up date soon