Clawd, Deuce, and Heath walked down the steps of the catacombs while carrying a petrified Gil as he was unable to move and speak.
"I never thought I'd ever have to petrify Gil in my life." Deuce mused with a frown.
"Up until now, he hasn't done anything to deserve it." Clawd said.
"Right. I don't know if this is appropriate to say, but I'm just glad it's not me that's petrified." Heath said.
'Cause I never have to do that to you, Heath, at least not anymore." Deuce told him, chuckling.
When the boys finally made it to the catacombs itself, they set Gil down on the floor and slumped down tiredly.
"Should we wait here until it wears off?" Clawd asked.
"Yeah. It'll only take an hour anyway." Deuce said.
Clawd and Heath both nodded; them and Deuce looked at Gil be incapacitated and in a state of immobility.
"I wonder what he's thinking." Heath said.
"Well, I'm sure he's thinking all kinds of stuff. He's most certainly mad at Jake and Lagoona." Clawd said.
"And me for turning him into stone. Man, I hate that I had to do that to him. He was our bro." Deuce said shamefully.
"Nah, you did what you had to do, Deuce. He was acting insane, you only prevented him from doing anything worse." Heath told him.
"Heath's right, dude. Gil basically turned into what Toralei used to be: a bully." Clawd said.
"At least Toralei's nice to us now, it's a blessing. But Gil's a whole different story." Deuce said.
"I can't believe he actually had the audacity to punch Jake! Lagoona was right to break up with him!" Heath exclaimed.
"She sure was! Now that she's single, do you think she'll try to find another boyfriend?" Clawd asked.
"Clawd, let's not focus on that right now, okay? It's not important." Deuce told him.
"What is important is setting Gil's head straight and making sure he doesn't cause anymore chaos to us and our friends." Heath added.
Clawd, Deuce, and Heath continued looking at Gil, contemplating what to say to him when the stone wore off.
Jake went to the nurse while he had his hand on his bruised cheek; his friends stayed behind and expressed their worry for him and their anger towards Gil.
When Jake entered the nurse's office, she looked at him and tilted her head, wondering what happened to him.
"What happened?" the nurse asked.
"Gil punched me in the face." Jake said bleakly.
The nurse gasped in shock. "Oh my ghoul! Are you okay?! Let me see!"
Jake uncovered his cheek to reveal the bruise; it was purple and a little swollen.
"You look swollen. I'll give you an ice pack." the nurse said.
Jake nodded as he watched the nurse open her drawer.
"I think Gil has anger problems, don't you?"
"Yeah, he does, and I don't usually comment on those sorts of things." the nurse said.
At that moment, the nurse grabbed an ice pack and gave it to Jake.
"Thank you so much." Jake said, externally grateful. He pressed the ice pack against his cheek firmly.
"You're welcome. You know, Jake, I'm worried about you. You got attacked by werecats, then your bladder acts up, and now you get punched." the nurse mused.
"Well, I'm still the same guy I've always been. Can I ask you something, though?" Jake asked.
"Of course!" the nurse said welcomingly.
"Have you ever had another student make visits to your office as much as I have?" Jake asked.
The nurse thought about it. "Um, maybe once or twice, but I don't recall. Why?"
"I was just wondering, that's all. You sure do have a lot of patience." Jake said with a grin.
"Being patient is part of my job, Jake. I have to be in order to take care of the people here." the nurse told him, also grinning.
"You do such an amazing job. You're very sweet and I can't thank you enough for making sure I'm healthy." Jake said.
"Aw, Jake, it's my pleasure! I'm not just gonna let you get hurt. I'm here for a reason." the nurse said. She was rather flattered by his sentiment.
Jake smiled knowingly. "Thanks a lot. I'm gonna go, my friends are probably worried sick about me."
"Okay, I'll see you around!" the nurse said with a bright smile.
"Bye!" Jake said, and left.
"Bye!" the nurse said, waving. She then leaned back and sighed. "Please let that boy be okay."
After Jake made it back to Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Abbey, Robecca, Operetta, Spectra, Rochelle, Venus, Iris, Howleen, Skelita, Jinafire, Twyla, Toralei, Purrsephone, Meowlody, Jackson, Manny, Slo Mo, and Hoodude, they all leaped off their feet when they saw him.
"The nurse gave me another ice pack to help the swelling of my cheek go down." Jake said.
"Thank ghoul! Are you alright, though?" Frankie asked.
"I guess." Jake said unassumingly while sitting down, as did his friends.
"When Gil punched you, I couldn't believe what I was seeing." Draculaura mused.
"It was only a matter of time before Deuce turned him into stone." Clawdeen added.
"He did the right thing. You should be proud of him, Cleo." Lagoona told her.
"I am! I definitely am." Cleo said proudly.
Ghoulia chimed in by speaking zombie and wondering what the gang was going to do about Gil.
"I say let's have Clawd, Deuce, and Heath handle him in catacombs for now." Abbey said.
"I hope Bloodgood knows about this 'cause there's no way she'd let this go unscathed!" Robecca said angrily.
"She expelled Gil for good." Operetta clarified.
"That's what he gets for messing with our best friend like that!" Spectra exclaimed, slamming her fist against her other hand in fury.
"If he is expelled, then what is he still doing here?" Rochelle asked.
"Maybe Bloodgood still wants him in detention after school." Venus guessed.
"Makes sense. He has to serve his punishments somehow." Iris said.
Manny chimed in. "I oughta give Gil a piece of mind for what he did to Jake and Lagoona!"
"Don't do that, Manny. You'll only get in trouble." Jackson told him warily.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Manny said, putting his head down.
The gang continued chatting until the end of lunch, in which they went inside the building and headed to their fifth period classes.
When an hour passed, the stone on Gil started to wear off; he rubbed his forehead and saw Clawd, Deuce, and Heath staring at him angrily.
"Why did you petrify me, Deuce?!" Gil asked him, demanding answers.
"Because I had to! You were gonna beat up Jake for dying out loud!" Deuce responded.
Gil stood up, moved closer to Deuce, and told him, "Never do that to me again!"
"I won't if you take the time to actually act like a friend. Has that thought ever entered your mind?" Deuce asked.
"Why should I act like a friend when nobody's acting like one around me, huh?" Gil asked.
It was Clawd's turn to talk. "You are being incredibly inconsiderate to Jake, Gil!"
"Let me guess: he's having more heath issues." Gil said derisively.
"You got that right! This morning he was going to the bathroom every five minutes and drinking a lot of water!" Heath said.
"You haven't even asked him ONCE how he's doing or if he's okay! You were too busy caught up in your own resentment!" Deuce added.
Gil made a face in the sense that he was kind of understanding what was being told to him.
"Not only that, but you've even hurt your own girlfriend! How could you do that to her?" Clawd asked.
"I've known Lagoona for six years. She's only known Jake for, like, what? A month? The two aren't even comparable." Gil said.
"Don't even go there, Gil. Lagoona was your ghoul and now she isn't anymore, thanks to your own shortcomings." Heath told him.
"I hate to say it, but you've been nothing but a bully." Deuce said.
Gil's eyes widened, shocked. "Are you saying I'm like Toralei?"
"Yeah, pretty much, I mean, she's not a bully anymore but still." Clawd said.
Gil was finally starting to realize the consequences of his actions; he had hurt both Jake and Lagoona, two people he cared about but was acting like he didn't care about them the past week.
"Congratulations, Gil, you played yourself by getting expelled. How do you feel about that?" Heath asked him.
"I...I feel awful! Lagoona broke up with me, and I haven't bothered to take her or Jake's feelings into consideration! I've been so jealous that I couldn't tell right from wrong!" Gil exclaimed, feeling guilt and remorse.
Clawd, Deuce, and Heath nodded intently.
"What have I done?" Gil asked urgently.
"You've done enough." Deuce responded with his arms crossed.
Gil nodded as he and the other guys left the catacombs accordingly.
Jake, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, and Slo Mo walked to Dramarama and took their seats. Much to their relief, Gil was removed due to his behavior, and Mr. Where was more than happy enforcing it.
Mr. Where stood in front of his students. "Good afternoon, everyone!"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Where!" the students greeted back.
"As you know, Gil has been removed from this class because of his recent behavior, but that's not the point. Today, we will be studying performances from various plays I picked out. Any questions?" Mr. Where asked.
The class shook their heads no in unison. Then, Jake's name was called through the intercom by Headmistress Bloodgood:
"Jake, may I speak with you in my office, please?"
Jake and his friends wondered what the headmistress wanted with him, probably wanted to know how he was doing.
"Jake, you may head to Headmistress Bloodgood's office. The rest of you, let's get started!" Mr. Where said.
At that moment, Jake left Dramarama and walked to Headmistress Bloodgood's office; he entered once he found out the door was open.
"Have a seat, please." Bloodgood commanded gently.
Jake pulled up a chair and sat down. He didn't know what was going to be talked about.
"So, Jake, you're probably wondering why I called you here." Bloodgood told him.
"Why did you?" Jake asked.
"I just wanted to have a conversation with you." Bloodgood said with a smile.
"Oh...okay then." Jake said, a little stumped.
Headmistress Bloodgood cleared her throat. "How are you doing? Your friends told me about you going to bathroom every five minutes earlier this morning. Are you feeling okay?"
"Well, um, I am now. I haven't needed to go in a couple hours." Jake replied.
"That's good. I'm deeply sorry you're going through that, I really am. No one should ever have to deal with that." Bloodgood said sullenly.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Jake said with a light grin.
Headmistress Bloodgood was remorseful. "I feel bad because I haven't bothered to check on you or ask you how you were doing, and I should have. I was too busy dealing with Gil."
"It's okay, Headmistress Bloodgood. You don't have to feel bad, you did the best you could." Jake reassured.
"Still, I want to be there for you! I care about you, Jake, and you're one of my best students!" Bloodgood exclaimed.
"You're the principal of Monster High, there's only so much you can do. I hope you don't mind me saying that." Jake said.
"You're fine. I just wish I got more involved, that's all. Sometimes my job gets the best of me, which is no excuse." Bloodgood said, bleak.
"You are involved. This conversation we're having shows that you're worried about me and you want me to be okay, and I deeply appreciate that." Jake said with a smile.
Headmistress Bloodgood smiled as well. "Well, if you're okay, then that's what counts."
"I'm sorry that you feel like you're not getting involved. I'll try my best to let you know and keep you updated on how I'm doing." Jake said.
"Thank you very much, Jake! And remember, if you're ever in trouble or feel like you need somebody to talk to, you can always come to me. I'll be here." Bloodgood reassured.
Jake smiled as he and Headmistress Bloodgood shared a quick hug before he left her office and walked back to Mr. Where's class.
(1 hour later)
After Dramarama ended, the school day was over; Jake, Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, and Slo Mo headed out and walked down the hallway together.
"What did Bloodgood wanna talk to you about, Jake?" Frankie asked him.
"She just wanted know how I was doing, and she also felt bad because she felt like she wasn't getting involved in my situation, which I don't think was true at all. She seemed very involved to me." Jake responded.
"She was. We made sure to let her know about everything that's happened with Gil, and she did not take that stuff lightly." Draculaura said.
"Who would? He was acting like a crazy person." Clawdeen said.
"I'm sure glad I broke up with the bloke. I don't have to deal with his nonsense anymore." Lagoona added, still feeling bitter about it.
Cleo chimed in. "Forgive me for asking this, Lagoona, but do you think you'll ever get back together with him?"
"Not anytime soon. If he cleans up his act and gathers up the courage to apologize, then maybe, but as of right now, no." Lagoona said.
Ghoulia spoke zombie to tell Lagoona that was the best way to go about it.
"I agree. It's better to be safe than sorry." Jackson said.
Lagoona smiled. "Thanks, guys."
Slo Mo looked at Ghoulia and grunted to her, asking if the two of them were still good; Ghoulia grunted back to assure that they were.
As the gang walked pass Mr. Hack's class, Jake stopped and looked at Gil for a moment before continuing on his way.
That guy's got it as good as it gets.
After saying bye to Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Cleo, Ghoulia, Jackson, and Slo Mo, Jake and Frankie got in the car and drove off.
Jake still had his ice pack pressed against his cheek; at the same time, he was silently crying, and it didn't take long for Frankie to notice.
"You okay?" Frankie asked, concerned.
All Jake did was shake his head no while tears rolled down his face.
"Jake, I hate seeing you cry!" Frankie exclaimed, beginning to cry herself.
Jake was trying to hold it together, but it got more and more difficult to do so; Frankie placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
XXXXXXX
As soon as Jake and Frankie got home, Jake ran straight to his room before Viktor and Viveka could even greet him. The Steins exchanged shocked glances, not knowing what to do.
Jake entered his room and shut the door, then sat on his bed and bawled his eyes out. He felt so overwhelmed and helpless that he couldn't see straight.
