A.N.

Hey guys! I come back to you now one year older! I also just realized that this chapter, which I wrote right after my birthday, is also coincidently my new age. What are the odds?

I also come back with another apology for the long wait. But perfection can't be rushed ;-)

No, I'm kidding. This story is DEFINTELY not perfect. But I try my best to write a good story for you guys, and I also try to write relatively long chapters. More content = more time, for me at least. I put a lot of work into this story, and I hope you like it. I'm going to keep this A.N. brief, but I have a bit more to say at the bottom. Enjoy!

Dillon POV

That batch of cookies. I swear to God the next time I see that jackhole I'm gonna beat the crap out of him. He and his group of over-privileged brats think they can just talk to me like that and get away with it. No freaking way. When I get my hands on Preston…"

"Dillon? You there?" Josh said breaking me out of my vengeful train of thought.

"Sorry man, I just zoned out."

"Yeah… that's cool. A lot happened in the last three hours. I'm just glad you're awake. You actually woke up pretty early. The doctors said you might be unconscious anywhere from and hour to a day. Preston beat you up pretty good."

"Shut-up" I seethed. "Still a sore subject, no pun intended."

Josh chuckled. "Yeah. I wasn't gonna say anything, but now that you mention it, you look like crap."

"Thanks. Nice to know you're always there to boost my self-esteem." I remarked facetiously

"No problem. But really, I'm glad you're okay. Seriously, that Preston guy looked like he had some serious self-defense classes. Although since his father was rumored to have been assassinated, I can't blame his family for that. Also, you kinda did have it coming. You were acting like a total prick" he grinned

"I was not. The spoiled jerk should have kept his mouth shut" I grumbled.

"Look who's talking. You should take your own advice man. Besides," his voice took on a more serious note, "if Preston hadn't beaten you up, I'm pretty sure his buddies would've. Seriously. You could totally see the way Grant moved his body into a slight fightingstance, or how Bex subtly leaned forward on the balls of her feet, or even how Zach tensed up, totally ready to step in." I noticed how he spit out Zach's name, his voice seething with jealousy.

"Either they all took a really good self-defense class, or we're missing something." He frowned.

"Jeez dude. You're really observant."

"Well yeah. I guess that's why I first noticed-"

He stopped abruptly. Cammie That witch had ruined my best friend. I hated her, and wished Josh would jus move on. She wasn't even that special. I really couldn't understand why he was so caught up on her.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter" I said dismissively, trying to change the subject with a exaggerated eye roll. My mom used to tell me that one day they'd get stuck that way if I kept it up. I promptly-you guessed it- rolled my eyes at her. Not that it would stop me anyway.

"I just want to get out of this stupid hospital and get some revenge."

"I think you should give it a rest Dillon. I'm saying this as your best friend, but

maybe if you didn't always offend people, or act like a brat yourself, they wouldn't have to beat you up. Not," he added, "that you couldn't hold your own."

"Hell yeah I could."

"I know."

"Josh?" I said suddenly turning serious

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to thank you. For, you know, putting up with my crap and missing the date with Deedee for me."

"No problem man. Besides I was feeling awkward anyway with Cam there."

"Still not over her huh."

He just sighed.

"Anyway," he said changing the subject, "Steph is outside waiting for you. She's very upset."

"Yeah I feel bad for being such a jerk in front of her. She didn't have to stay. She'll probably break up with me after this."

"But she did stay. So I think you're okay."

"Well, that's good. One thing I hopefully did not screw up."

He looked at me sympathetically. But it was true. I've basically screwed everything up in my life. When I was 8 I got my first dog. I forgot to lock the gate, and he ran out and got hit by a truck. This was followed by a series of pets that I just couldn't seem to keep alive for more than a month. When I was 11 my parents saved up to buy me a phone for my birthday. They had finally decided I was responsible enough to have one. I was so excited and couldn't wait to use it. So I did and went on a ride on my also brand new bike. I was on said phone, when I was almost run over by a car. I swerved out of the way ad my phone fell out of my pocket. And was crushed by the car. I ruined my bike too. At 13 they lengthened my curfew and let me go to my first party. I came home drunk at 6:30 in the morning. It took a while to regain their trust. That was around the time I started failing in school .I just couldn't take anything seriously. My Dad had lost his job and my increasing demands caused a huge strain on my family. My parents started fighting. Oblivious, I became a truant, and threw everything my parents gave me down the drain. My mom would always defend my rebellious behavior. The fighting got worse, and it spread to other issues besides my mom's constant defense of my actions. Finally my dad had enough. He just…left. Yeah, it wasn't me in the end, but I certainly made it worse and started it. This I know for a fact and nothing anyone can say will convince me otherwise. My mom loves me, but I still really, really miss my dad. Meanwhile, mom was struggling with her job and I had to get one too. I still have it. We're better off now, but I'm still barely passing school. Anyway, when I was 16 my mom surprise me and bought me a car. It wasn't much: an old beat up truck. But it was a car and probably took her years to save up for. A week later, I was drunk and drove it into a ditch. The memory of her sobbing still plagues me. When she finally let go and started to forgive me, I didn't get better. No. I got worse. I became increasingly less agreeable and distant and was rude and ignored her. I pushed all my friends away. I had no one. I got into some bad stuff. I had to go to rehab for 2 months. When I came back I tried extra hard to be a better person. But it's not exactly easy. My mom is always so worried about me, and that adds to her stress. My dad stopped writing. It was like he fell off the face of the Earth. Every year I still wait for a card from him on birthday. Nothing.

But I keep all this bottled up inside, telling everyone I'm fine and that I'm not that old Dillon. I don't know who I'm trying to convince: them or myself. Because I can't help but be rude to others. Keeping all my emotions locked up causes me to come of defensive. And when I get defensive I get snarky and rude. It's my natural response. That's why I act the way I do. I'm not saying that these events are solely responsible for my actions. But they do contribute. Because a part of me will always be hurt, stressed, and lonely. And so that part of me wants to make myself feel better by tearing others apart.

Just then the doctor walked in, once again pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Hello Dillon. Nice to see you are awake and doing well. Hello to you as well Josh. How's your father?"

"Um, he's good" Josh fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Wonderful!" she said, a little too enthusiastically. She seemed to be about 30 years old, with dark brown hair, olive skin, and brown eyes. She was tall too (and kinda hot. Okay. She was totally smokin'.)

"Oh!" She said suddenly. "I haven't introduced myself to you yet Dillon. My name is Dr. Moreau . (Anyone understand that reference? Hint:It's a book by a very famous science-fiction author. Review if you do!) I'm relatively new here in Roseville, and started about a month ago, so you may not have known of me yet."

"It's nice to meet you." I mumbled politely.
I leaned over to Josh and whispered in his ear.

"You ever seen her before?"

He shook his head quickly. "No. But she knows about my Dad, so maybe they've met. I don't really pay attention to that thing."

Josh really did not want to take over the family business. I sympathized, though I had never been in his particular position. Anyway, he didn't really like talking about the business and felt uncomfortable when his father was talking about work due to his lack of interest. His father, so far, hadn't picked up on Josh's opposition to his planned out future for his son. In fact he had started bringing up the topic more and more often, Josh's disinterest becoming increasingly more apparent as did his impatience with the situation. I could tell that he really wanted to tell his dad the truth (as I think he should and have told him to do on more than one occasion.) But whenever I bring it up he says, and I quote, " I just can't Every time I think I'm really going to do it, he turns to me with that bright spark of pride and excitement in his eye as he says to me " I'm so proud of you Josh. You'll do our business proud one day." And I just can't go through with it. I don't want to crush him."

I must've zoned out during my little monologue because Josh was staring at me funny. I quickly snapped out of it.

"Alright Dillon. I'm going to do a quick check to see how you're doing."

I sat like a model child while she did the routine check.

"Well, it seems to me that you're almost as good as new! I always say there's nothing a good nap can't fix. Well, almost nothing." She laughed airily.

"Anyway, you have a minor concussion, a bruised rib, as well as many other bruises covering your body. My, it must have been quite the skirmish young man." She eyed me warily,

"Eh, it was nothing. At least my nose isn't broken. Don't want to mess up this beautiful face."

Josh interrupted with a snort. "Yes, and I also see it certainly hasn't damaged your arrogance in the least bit.

I rolled my eyes again

"We've tended the rib and your concussion, as well as doing a final analysis of your injuries. We discussed your test results and determined that there's nothing that we can do for you here that you couldn't accomplish at home. As long as a parent or friend does these things," she handed Josh a list, "every day, you should recover quickly. You will be discharged in 15 minutes. I will send two nurses to accompany you out, as you will be in a wheelchair.

"Aww man! Do I have to go in the chair?"

"It's just a precaution Dillon. You do still have as concussion young man."

"Yes ma'am" I reluctantly replied.

"Excellent. I'll send the nurses out in a few minutes. It was nice meeting you Dillon!"

"You too Doctor." I mumbled politely.

She then turned and walked out of the room.

"I'm glad you're getting out so early. That's great!

"No kidding! My mom's probably so pissed. Hey, where's Steph?"

"Oh, I told her to go on and meet up with everyone else instead and go bowling. But she may also have gone right home. She said she might. I'm not sure. "

"Oh okay. Wait…shit look! She left her hoodie."

"Oh I'll just drop it off tomorrow."

I thought about it. It was a good idea, but I had something else in mind.

"Or…" I started deviously, "we could use it as an excuse to get revenge."

"No. Nononono. I've had it with your stupid revenge. You're just going to get yourself into more trouble than you're in."

"Come ON. I'll go tell my mom that Steph went back to go bowling, which she may have so it's not a lie, and I want to drop off her hoodie and assure her I'm okay. They will freak! I'll grab Cam and the little one, Liz, and lead them out. You can then pretend to rescue darling Cam. Come on! I know you're totally still pinning for her. Don't you want to see the look on Zach's face when you come back in as her knight of shining armor? If you throw in a little thank-God-your-okay-I-don't-know-what-would've-done crap and a romantic kiss, she'll swoon. Girls love romance. Their suckers for that kinda stuff."

I just had to mention Zach's name and kissing Cammie and I had him."

"It's a sucky plan Dillon" he said shaking his head. "But I'm in. Just as long as it doesn't involve you trying to beat everyone up, and getting beat up yourself. "

"No promises. Besides. We've established I could take them"

"Yeah like you did the first time." Josh said under his breath.

I was about to say something equally nasty, but then the two nurses came in, both men, surprisingly. They were also in really god shape; big and buff with a no nonsense attitude.

"Are you ready?" the one gruffly asked me. The other silently helped me into the wheelchair. "Your mother is here and just signed you out."

"Oh great, thanks" I grinned half sarcastic.

As I was wheeled out into the lobby I saw my mom.

"OH DILLON! MY BABY! ARE YOU OKAY HONEY!" she yelled so loud the whole hospital could practically hear her.

"Yeah mom" I muttered, embarrassed. "I'm fine. Actually I wanted ask you something. Stephanie left her hoodie and she was really worried about me and so I though I'd reassure her I was okay and return her jacket too."

"No. Dillon can't Josh do it?"

"MOM…she's going to want to see me! Please. It will take 10 minutes tops. Nothing will happen to me. In and out."

"FINE, fine. But I'm going to drive. If Josh would like to accompany you, that's fine. You're injured for God's sakes, I can't believe I'm letting you do this…"

"I think I'll come with you," said Josh respectfully, "to make sure Dillon can walk around alright."

"See mom? Relax. Josh is with me."

My mom loved Josh. She thought he was the smartest, most practical and responsible kid ever. Sometimes I swear she loved him more than me…

"Okay. But I want you in and out of there. If I find out that you injure yourself more so help me God I will…"

"Mom!"

"Okay ,okay. Let's go before I change my mind. And when we get home we have much to discuss young man!"

I rolled my eyes as Josh wheeled me out to his car accompanied by the scary looking nurses. And my even scarier looking mother.

"You ready to get some payback" I whispered, grinning devilishly

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes."

"Wonderful. Let Operation Revenge on the Brats commence!"

"I don't remember ever agreeing on that name." mumbled Josh.

"ORB for short!" I said ignoring him.

Josh just laughed and wheeled me to my mom's car.

"We'll help you out of your chair now if you don't mind." One dude said

"Uh well I actually DO mind. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Dillon! Manners!"

"Either way we're doing it. It was just a formality." Bodybuilder #1 said.

"Oh… well then sure, I guess." I said, feeling slightly embarrassed and ticked off.

"Wonderful."

My mom opened the drivers seat and Josh and I hopped (well, Josh did. I was assisted clumsily) into the back.

Mom lectured me for the entire drive to the bowling alley.

I could NOT wait for the ride to be over.

After an agonizing 10 minutes we arrived and I got out of that car as fast as I could, being crippled and all.

I waved to my mom as we went around to the back of the building.

"You ready for this. God I still can't believe I'm doing this."

"Hell yeah. I can't wait to hear those arrogant cowards scream like girls!" I said as I turned to open the door.

I expected a reluctant grumble in response but surprisingly got none.

I turned back around. Josh wasn't there.

"Uh… Josh? Did you already leave to start the plan? Dude I never officially commenced the operation? Josh-"

I was cut of by a hand over my mouth and a voice whispering menacingly in my ear "And you never will…"

Then everything went black.

A.N.

11 pages of content! Now I think that THIS chapter is the longest I've written! Well I once again got carried away... I wrote this sporadically over the past few weeks and the last time I checked it was only 8 pages! I guess I wrote a LOT more when finishing up/editing yesterday! I hope it made up for my absence.

SHOUTOUTS!

Ones I forgot last chapter:

Crazy-for-Goode

GallagherGirls13BYE

Captain Hook the Ninja

Ones for THIS CHAPPIE (or I guess technically last chapter cause that's when they reviewed… okay never mind):

hannahslye

Captain Hook the Ninja

Nicolegallivan

mahiGirl

THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH ME!

Special thanks to: GallagherGirls13BYE for being the first one to correctly guess the song. I named Tina impersonator (hereafter referred to as Colleen) Thanks to all of you who also reviewed with the song.

Moving on…

I'm really sorry, but I'm going to stop doing my special shoutouts for each chapter. It's getting really hard to remember everyone who gave me each idea (even though I do have it all written down.) I might do one every now and then, like I did today, but for now, they won't be a regular occurrence. Like everything in this story. I'm so sorry that I forgot review shoutouts last chapter. I was so preoccupied with getting the chapter out, I totally forgot. Being off FF for 40 days can do that to a person. But I AM planning on continuing those.

I you guys read the last chapter, I wrote a review outline. If you missed it, go look. It's just a few suggestions so I can organize better!

That's all! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! I'd appreciate any feedback from you at all!

Love ya,

Courtney