This is about a week or two after Max.
JOY IS DIVORCING WILLIAM!
But, um, the next chapter or two may be fillers, I haven't decided yet. I've got a couple pre-written, but I don't want to move too quickly.
And I have a poll up again- PLEASE VOTE!
Joy was fidgeting because she was nervous. Crystal was fidgeting because she was bored. Nico was fidgeting because he was ADHD. Alvie wasn't fidgeting because he was reading.
Of course he was bloody reading, Crystal thought, crossing her legs and jiggling her foot, looking round for something to do. The stupid court meeting wasn't for another half an hour. Everyone else was on their way or sitting in the rows behind them. Not even William had shown up yet, but his lawyer was there.
Crystal had no idea why a court case was needed for a divorce. Why couldn't they just sign a bit of paper that said 'I no longer love (insert name here). They're an asshole'? That would be so much easier.
But no, that wasn't to be. They had to sit in this incredibly dull and formal setting, bored out of their minds and waiting impatiently for William to roll his fat ass out of bed to come and divorce his wife so he can go back to whatever skanky ho he had under his thumb this time.
"Oh, what?" Crystal looked at her boyfriend. He was pulling a face at the book. "That's not fair."
"What's the matter?"
"Somebody's ripped the last page out." He grumbled, showing her the library book. "Now I won't know what happens."
"Make your own ending." Crystal smiled. "If it sounds like a happy ending, finish it with 'I had a wife/husband, kids, nice home, nice car, nice dog… then the nuke fell from the sky and wiped everything out. The end'."
"You're mean."
"I know." He sighed and looked back at the book. "You should sue the library."
"Ooh, no. No more court cases after this." Nico butted in. "This place is quieter than a bloody morgue."
"And you would know that because…?"
"I see dead people." He told her oh-so-seriously, his eyes hardening into a deadly, sinister look.
Then he smiled and he was stupid old Nico again. "Seriously though, they talk to me. Like 'it was the butler! Blame the butler!'"
"How many of them had butlers?"
"Two."
"Really?" He nodded. "That's pretty cool." Crystal smiled. "Did you tell the police?"
"What? Tell the cops that I talk to murder victims, find out who the killer is, but with no proof? I'd be carted off to the loony bin pronto."
"It's amazing you're not there now." Nico made a face at her. Crystal returned it cheekily and they would have dissolved into a playful cussing war, but Joy nudged Nico, nodding in the direction of the judge's box.
The judge had arrived, increasing Joy's anxiety.
Then William strolled in. Crystal and Nico glared at William as he passed and Crystal swore Alvie was going to throw the ruined book at him. Unfortunately, Alvie didn't. Crystal had seen him throw and the guy could not miss, (she suspected some telekinetic powers in use during those).
In another ten minutes, they were all seated and ready for the case to begin, Joy's lawyer next to her. The judge was Judge Stevenson, a stern faced man in his fifties. Crystal waved at him, trying to lighten his mood, but she only got a universal, monotonous nod of greeting in return.
William's lawyer was first to argue his client's point. Joy's lawyer, Lacy, didn't agree with this, holding her pen tightly in both hands and looking ready to snap it.
The rival lawyer wittered on about how William was the victim here. His wife had been unfaithful from the start- Joy glared at her husband at this point- and that one of his wife's lovers had been aggressive to William, leaving him with not only physical injuries, but mental ones as well. Nico scoffed, catching the lawyer's attention.
"That's him." William muttered.
"That's mature. That's him. That's the one that stole my lunch money. Boo hoo." Nico reclined in his chair, his arms folded. Crystal snickered into her hands. Alvie nudged her, trying not to smile himself. William glowered. Nico saluted cheekily.
"And you are?" The judge asked.
"Nico di Angelo. Local psycho."
"You're not helping." Joy mumbled.
"Sorry."
"You admit mental instability?"
"It's an inside joke, don't worry." William's lawyer cleared his throat and called Nico to the witness box. Nico glanced at Joy- you so owe me later. He had to say the truth pledge, but he fidgeted quite a bit in the chair, never having realised how uncomfortable they were.
"Did you ever attack Mr. Murphy?"
"Yes." Nico replied honestly, not a care in the world.
"Why?"
"'Cos he hit Joy."
"Did you see him hit her?"
"I've seen him threaten her and I've seen the bruises."
"Do you have any evidence of the bruises?"
"I did."
"You did?"
"Mm… I gave them to Joy's lawyer. After that, I don't know."
"Were you one of Mrs. Murphy's lovers?"
"Nope. She never had any. She was stuck with Captain Asshole. He was the one who cheated." William jumped to his feet, yelling his objection. Alvie stood up, surprising his family, and stated his objection, staring at the judge and ignoring William's murderous glare.
"Who are you?" The judge asked.
"Alvie. Jackson." He added quickly.
"And how are you involved?" Crystal stood up.
"I'm his girlfriend and Nico is his dad's cousin." The judge just nodded and motioned for Crystal to sit down. Crystal squeezed Alvie's hand reassuringly and sat.
"Mr. Jackson, you proved objection to Mr. Murphy's. Why?"
"Um… I… I've got this…"
"Sixth sense intuition." Crystal hissed.
"I've got this, uh, sixth sense intuition thing and it bothered… it bothered me that… um…"
"Take your time, Mr. Jackson." The judge said kindly. Alvie nodded his thanks, swallowing nervously.
"It bothered me that… that William always worked late. He… he has this great job… it paid well and… like, mega money, so… so I didn't get why he would work late." Alvie glanced over his shoulder. His parents smiled reassuringly at him before he glanced at Leo. His uncle grinned mischievously and held up a disc in a blank CD case. "My… my uncle, he… he's a bit of a computer whizz and, um…"
"Did he get proof?" Alvie nodded hesitantly, chewing his lip. Leo passed the DVD forward and Alvie handed it to William's lawyer who then passed it on to the judge. Leo had labelled the DVD 'CCTV proof of William being an ass', which lightened Crystal's mood.
Alvie sat down and Judge Stevenson scanned through the DVD. The contents were clipped, with the dates in, spanning over the course of six months. William was either with his secretary, a customer, a colleague or taking a female friend out in his car.
Outraged, William's lawyer turned to Nico again.
"Have you or have you not been dating Mrs. Murphy for the past eight months?"
"Uh, yeah, give or take a few days."
"When did you meet?"
"Um… when we were thirteen, fourteen." The lawyer frowned. "We go way back."
"Did you have a romantic history with Mrs. Murphy?" Nico nodded, glancing at Joy and Crystal, smiling. "Did you fall out and call quits to the relationship?"
"No."
"Did you know my client at that time?"
"Thankfully not."
"What happened then?"
"In a nutshell, she was pregnant, didn't tell me, went loopy and vanished." Joy glared at him. Nico waved casually.
"And the child?" Nico pointed at Crystal. "Do you have DNA evidence?" The lawyer quizzed.
"No."
"Could she be William's?"
"Oh gods, no!" Crystal protested. Alvie bit his lip to stop himself from smiling. "Mom got with Jerk-face when I was two-ish."
"Did you know about your father?"
"Not at that point, no."
"What did your mother tell you?"
"That he'd run away." The lawyer looked smug. "Only 'cos she was trying to make sure I didn't get hurt!" Crystal argued, clenching her fists. She so wanted to smack the smug smirk off his face. Alvie instantly calmed her by placing his hand on hers, easing her hand out of a fist.
"Can I talk yet?" Joy's lawyer asked, sounding bored. Judge Stevenson nodded and waved William's lawyer away. Nico was allowed to return to his seat while Joy's lawyer called William to the witness box. "We have evidence of unfaithfulness towards your wife and domestic abuse." She handed Judge Stevenson a file containing the photos of Joy's bruises. "Yet you denied both accusations."
"You heard the brat. His uncle's a computer whizz. That stuff is all fake, made up."
"Oh yeah, 'cos I totally sit there making-"
"Valdez!" Louisa warned. Leo fell silent, looking William over with a look of pure loathing.
"Do you have evidence of your wife's alleged infidelity?" William hesitated, which was enough of an answer for the lawyer. "Not only did you threaten and abuse your wife, but also your stepdaughter's boyfriend."
"No I didn't. Besides, she's pregnant. That's got to mean something." Joy looked stunned and a flicker of fear passed through her eyes.
"How far along are you?" Her lawyer asked kindly.
"About two months."
"And when did you… reunite with Mr. di Angelo?"
"Um… five or six months ago."
"Is the child his?"
"Yes." Joy glanced at William. "We haven't done anything… for a nearly a year…" Crystal covered her ears and rested her head on the desk. Joy smiled sheepishly. "And, uh, William left a couple of weeks before me and Nico got together again and we had called it off, but I'm hoping it'll be official today." Her lawyer nodded and looked back at William.
"Do you agree to this?" William glowered.
"Yes." He grumbled.
"No more questions."
William's lawyer jumped to his feet.
"I call Alvie Jackson to the stand." Alvie visibly blanched, his eyes widening. Behind him, his father muttered a curse.
Crystal took his hand and smiled reassuringly.
"It'll be OK. You already stood up once. You can do it again." He nodded and shakily got to his feet, stumbling haltingly over to the stand.
"Sixth sense intuition? Really?" Alvie nodded numbly, chewing his lip. "I find that hard to believe, Mr. Jackson. Do you have any proof?"
"I-"
"Could you prove it upon request?"
"Um…"
"Do-?"
"Let him talk!" Percy protested. Stevenson simply regarded Percy for a few seconds, recognising similarities between him and Alvie.
"Yes, I agree. Let him talk."
They gave Alvie a minute, but he was obviously terrified, his fingers digging into the arms of the chair.
"He has no proof. He's a liar working with them against my client. It's all lies." William's lawyer turned to go back to his seat when Alvie finally spoke up.
"You're all lies." The lawyer whirled round, angered. "You're the one that gives false evidence to help your clients. You charge them more than you should. You've blackmailed some of the Jury and some judges." The lawyer was horrified, stammering and stuttering.
"Is this true?"
"No!"
"Liar." Alvie declared. His new opponent opened his mouth to argue, but Alvie cut across. Crystal saw the glint of white eyes from where she sat. "If you want something more believable, you're only a lawyer to fight your dad, who was arrested for an attempted bank robbery, holding people hostage and manslaughter of three people over eight years." William's lawyer paled and he hung his head.
The judge called a recess. The tension left Alvie's body and he slouched in his seat. His eyes gradually went back to their normal colour. Crystal jumped up and hurried to talk him down from the stand, hugging him fiercely and laughing.
"You're brilliant!" She beamed. "Well and truly brilliant!" Alvie smiled bashfully.
The court case lasted another two hours, which was two hours too long as far as Crystal was concerned. Another recess was announced and they were gone for half an hour before being called back for the 'results'.
Not only had the divorce been granted, but William and his lawyer were having charges pressed against them. William was being charged for domestic abuse and abuse of a minor while the lawyer was stuck with a charge of defiling court laws, blackmail and for conning clients out of their money.
Crystal was happy enough to join her mother in a victory dance once they were outside and they all went on a celebratory meal out, courtesy of Nico.
"Ooh, are we getting Happy Meals?"
"Will you drop that?"
"I've heard it's Mythomagic toys."
"Shut up."
"I feel like I'm missing something." Crystal said, standing between the cousins and staring at them curiously.
"I swear I've told you." Nico mumbled. Crystal shrugged and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Fine- I summon the dead with Happy Meals and if it's Mythomagic, I keep the toys."
"Yes!" Percy grinned, punching the air victoriously. "Nico admitted it! Did you hear that?" He demanded happily, grabbing Annabeth by the shoulders. "Nico admitted it."
"Yes, I think the whole of New York knows by now." Annabeth wiggled free from her husband's grip and shot him a half-hearted glare. "Calm down, Seaweed Brain."
"No."
"See, I get told of for being hyper." Tobias sulked.
"Well, that's 'cos it's you." Max retorted quietly. He still didn't feel a hundred percent, but he wanted to tag along to the court case instead of sulking at home with nothing to do. His parents wanted him up and running completely before sending him back to school or to resume his demigod training. Alvie had returned his axes and it was a comfort to hold them, but he wasn't allowed to throw them or be left alone with them.
"Oh, shush." Tobias folded his arms.
"Want a Happy Meal?" Percy bribed. Tobias hummed indecisively, a sarcastic gleam appearing in his eyes. Nico scowled at them both, trying not to smile.
"You two can starve." He told them, turning and walking off to his car.
"I call shotgun!" Crystal exclaimed, running off.
"No, that's my chair!" Joy hurried after her. Percy laughed.
"Ha, good luck, cuz." He punched Nico's arm playfully.
"Yeah, you can starve." Nico followed the mother and daughter, muttering to himself. Percy watched him go, before looking at his wife.
"Food." He said.
"Food." Tobias repeated eagerly.
"Fine." Annabeth sighed, smiling. "Percy, you're driving."
Alvie fell in step alongside his mother, his mind whirling from the good news. "Alvie?" His mother put her warm hand on his shoulder, catching his notice. "That was fantastic, in there. I didn't know you could read minds so easily."
"Um… I've… I've only done that… three times… I think."
"Really?" She looked impressed. "That's actually really handy though. Think about it- say if you or we got into another fight, you could try and figure out the enemy's plan and we can come up with something to counter it."
"You think so?" Annabeth smiled.
"I know so." She messed his hair. "Just practise, OK?" Alvie nodded obediently.
And that's it. Most of this chapter was from a while ago and I decided to put it up. I hope it's OK and don't forget to vote!