Hey folks. No, the last chapter wasn't the final chapter. The one after this is! Sorry I made it sound so final-ish. I didn't mean to. But at least this chapter comes as a bit of a surprise, right?

No? Well, alright then.

Read On!

Three weeks of being stuck in the house was starting to drive TJ a little bit crazy. He liked the pampering and the sleeping until he felt like getting out of bed, but one could only be stuck in any one place before contracting a severe case of cabin fever. But it was hard to argue against it with the doctor's orders including no heavy lifting or over-exertion, rest, and generally to listen to his body when it was telling him to relax.

The visitors helped ward off the cabin fever as they were is only contact with the outside world, though he soon found himself missing school (school of all things). The trial and the three month coma meant that he was severally behind and would have to repeat a grade. He understood, and ultimately decided to not go back to school at all in favor of getting his GED.

But he still wanted to get out of the house. And today is the day.

Currently, he was in Zack's room, sitting on the floor and drawing on the chalkboard wall with his brother next to him. This after one of many nights where Zack would come into his room in the middle to the night 'to make sure he was still there and asked to sleep in the same blamed it on everything that had happened. It was slowly becoming less frequent, and TJ decided to let it runs its course. His parents agreed

"TJ what are you drawin'?" Zack asked him.

"I'm drawing a picture of everybody," TJ said. "See? There's you, mom, dad, JoJo, Spinelli, and the rest of them." Their mother voice calling out for Zack was heard. "It's time to go take your medicine, Zack. And it's time for me to go."

"Do you have to?" Zack asked.

"Yes, but I'll be back soon enough. You'll barely notice," TJ assured him. He walked with Zack downstairs and watched him walk into the kitchen where their mother was waiting for him. Grabbing his set of keys, he walked out the door after telling his parents he was leaving. The walk was paced, but he wanted to get to his destination quick. He wanted to get to Prickly's house before his phone was ringing from his mother's frantic calls to make sure he was okay.

When he approached the house, he saw a moving truck parked on the sidewalk with movers bringing furniture out of the house and putting it in the truck. For a moment, TJ wondered if he was moving, but didn't believe it right away. If he was, then he was sure that he would've visited him in the hospital before leaving.

He sped up his pace to reach the front door. He move out of the way just in time before a large armoire was carried out of the house. Behind the movers, a woman in who appeared to be in her early fifties stepped outside. Her hair was messy, and her clothes, though formal, was just the same. She sniffled into a tissue and when she noticed TJ, tried to straighten her appearance.

"Hello," She said between sniffled. "What can I do for you, young man?"

"Yeah, um, is Prickly here?" He asked.

"Oh, Peter. My brother, he's not with us anymore." TJ felt like a ton of bricks landed on his chest. That can't be right. She had to be lying. The last time he saw him, he looked relatively healthy for his age. He had plenty of years left! "May I ask what your name is?"

"TJ Detweiler, ma'am."

"Detweiler," She repeated. "During the reading of the will, he mentioned you. He left you something. You'll have to go downtown to get it. I'll go inside and write down the address, for you."

Out of shock, TJ sat on the stairs of the porch. He sat on the edge to stay out of the mover's way. He had wondered why the former principal hadn't visited him in the hospital. He brushed it off as nothing. Besides, he was planning on coming over his house whenever he could, but now it was too late.

The woman eventually came back out with a piece of paper with the address as well as an envelope. After saying thank you, TJ headed back home.

After reading the letter, TJ had to lay down on his bed. The entirety of the letter was ol Petey wishing him well in life, hoping that he would get things together and go on to find happiness, and that getting to know him was one of the things he appreciated the most. By the end of reading it, it would be a lie if he didn't say he was in tears.

TJ guessed that his former principal left him something in his will that he would have to go and retrieve, but what? The guy already left him a car. What else could he give him?

Money, apparently. Not a lot, just enough for say, college? TJ guessed that was what it was for, given how he couldn't even touch it unless he was in college, and then he would get a small allowance every month.

If only the guy was here to say thank you too.

It was about 2 in the morning when a beep from his phone woke TJ up. He was already having trouble falling and staying asleep, so he was about ready to give up on that battle anyways. Carefully turning to not wake Zack, he picked up his phone and looked to see who text him.

It was JoJo asking if he could come and see him. Why it couldn't wait until the morning, he didn't know. But sleep wasn't going to happen, so it wouldn't hurt to go and see what he wanted, right? With a few tap of the keys, he sent a message letting JoJo where to meet him.

It only took a few minutes for him to get there. JoJo was already standing there, waiting.

"Hey," TJ said as he approached JoJo. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," JoJo said. "How you feeling?"

"Great, for a guy that got shot in the chest," He said. "Why'd you want to see me?"

". . .You remember when I kissed you?"

"Oh, yeah. That hasn't been on my mind, though. What with recent events," said TJ. "But I remember. What was with that?"

"I dunno how I feel, honestly. I know there's something there. But I'm not sure," said JoJo. He shrugged. "Probably shouldn't have done that when you're still with that girl."

"It's fine. Me and Ashley aren't even together anymore," he said.

"So what about you? You feel anything?"

". . .I'd be lying if I said no," TJ said. "It's nothing big, but it's there, after thinking about it, like you said."

There was an awkward silence between them. Being in the middle of the night with not a soul around or a car on the road made it seem like they were even more alone.

"I could go for a soda. Any places around here open 24-hours?" JoJo asked.

"Yeah, there's one place. About ten minutes from here," TJ said. "You willing to walk that far?"

"Yeah. I actually wan a soda that bad," JoJo said.

The store was overly bright. The empty isle made it easy just to pick out a few things and head right back out. The cap on a bottle of orange soda snapped from its seal as JoJo twisted it open and took a drink.

"So what do we do now?" JoJo asked. TJ shrugged.

"Do we go out, or something?" He asked. "I don't mind, if that's what you wanna do."

"I guess, but I kinda like it how it is now, too. All casual like."

"Then we don't have to make it anything fancy. We could just 'be'."

"Yeah, I think I'd like that," said JoJo. "What ae you planning on doing after you get your GED?"

"College, probably. Dunno what for though. I'll probably end up at veterinary school, 'cause of Duracell," He said. "What about you?"

"Community college. Maybe I'll learn a trade or something, I'm not sure either," said JoJo. "You got a better plan than me."

The two of them yawned.

"It's late. Do you mind me going back home? I think I need my rest."

"Right. Alright. I'm not gonna hold you up. I'll see you later, Freckles.."