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The school bus flew down the street, the back of it practically jumping up and down from each bump that was hit. Despite this, Junior was still able to have a conversation with Cody. Cody was recapping everything he had told Junior at lunch, while Junior listened alertly.

"And you should always address the judge as 'your honor.'" Cody finished.

"That's a lot to remember... but I'll try my hardest..." Junior said sheepishly. "I'm so scared, I-I know I should keep being positive, but... The thought of losing is in the back of my mind and it wont leave."

Cody nodded. "Just try to distract yourself. We're going to get through this, I know we can. You wanna play Fortnite or something once we get home?"

"Sure, that'll get my mind off it for at least a little while." Junior agreed.

"Oh fuck yeah, I'm joining too! I don't give a rats ass what my piece-of-shit daddy says!" Jeffy said, using so many swears that I can't put this doc on my school laptop or I'll get flagged by the system and suspended or something.

The bus then stopped at Junior and Jeffy's house. The two waved goodbye to Cody and got off the bus. Junior, ignoring his father's 'friendly' greeting, went straight to his room. He got his Nintendo swi- I mean Pintrendao Flipper from his nightstand and booted up Fortnite when he received a text from Cody.

Cody messaged you: Hey, I got to help my mom out with some chores, I'll be on in 20.

Junior messaged back a thumbs up before setting his phone down. He sat down on the bottom bunk and let himself fall backwards onto the mattress. 20 minutes was a pretty long time, even longer when you don't have much to distract you. Jeffy was most likely trying to find his console, or finesse it from his dad.

He went through the rest of the games on his flipper, but nothing interested him. Jeffy hadn't texted him either, so he stuck to doom scrolling and checking every single app on his phone like 3 times. After that got stale, he just laid there in silence.

If you were quiet enough, you could hear what nearly everyone in the house was doing. You could hear the shuffling of Tony and Mr Pig upstairs, the flushing of Shrek's bathroom, Woody's shrimpo calls from outside, Black Yoshi playing Call of Duty, Marvin watching The upstairs TV, and Bowser watching the one downstairs.

Even the sheer thought of Bowser gave Junior a weird feeling in his chest. He wanted this whole court case to be over already, and to have Bowser locked up and Chef PeePee back home. He'd wished for this so many times already, it felt stale in his mind. He didn't care, maybe if he hoped enough it would happen? No, that's stupid.

Junior had no idea what he was going to do if Bowser won. He knew Jeffy would help him out, but what if Bowser kicks him and Marvin out? Or moves away and takes Junior with him to some secluded country house where not even the passing cars can hear him scream. He didn't want that, that couldn't happen. But what could he do? Run away again? The cops would find him in an instant, and if they didn't, they would eventually. It'd be even harder without Chef PeePee's guidance.

Junior's mind spiraled, jumping from Bowser to the trial to Chef PeePee to running away and then looping. Over and over and over. He leaned against the wall and held his head in his hands, eyes wide, contemplating everything. It felt like he was in one of those spinning carnival rides, except it was the opposite of fun.

His breathing quickened. He felt like that previous Monday, even before his dad got out of the car. Nowhere was safe for him, and he needed to get out of here. But he couldn't. Or could he?

He felt his sight dimming, but luckily, a knock at his window both snapped him out of his thoughts and scared the soul out of him. He whipped his head around to his window, and there he saw Joseph waving at him.

The boy signaled for Junior to open the window, so the ginger got up and did so. Joseph squeezed through the tiny gap then stood in the room and dusted himself off. "Hey dude, got a charger?"

"Joseph!" Junior exclaimed, overjoyed and very surprised. "Where were you?! You've missed so much!"

"I was still in Brent. I never got a ride back to Titoville, so I had to walk." Joseph explained. "I heard about some of the things that happened on the news. About a week before the trial, huh?"

"It's tomorrow."

Joseph's eyes nearly popped out of his head and his jaw dropped. "WHAT?! He got arrested on Monday!"

"I know! It's so soon, it's overwhelming. Jeffy, Cody, and I have been trying to get a bunch of people on board to help Chef PeePee, but so far we only have 7 people who don't even know much about him..." Junior rambled.

"Damn, I'm sorry dude. We still got this though, right? We'll power through." Joseph said, patting Junior on the shoulder to comfort the boy.

"I'm starting to have my doubts..." Junior Said quietly, sitting on the bottom bunk.

Joseph sat next to him. "What do you mean?"

Junior sighed, and looked down at his feet. "It's just... I'm trying to stay positive and hopeful, but there's so much against me. It's hard to keep a smile when everything's trying to flip it upside-down."

Joseph nodded as the ginger spoke. He understood what he was going through. Hell, if that'd been his mom in Chef PeePee's place, he'd be in shambles. "I get it, dude."

"My dad has already hinted at something bad happening after he wins, and once he does win..." Junior's breathing got even quicker. "I gotta get out of here! Even if Chef PeePee wins or doesn't, I can't be here until it's safe!"

Junior stood, but nearly stumbled back down onto the bed. Joseph kept him stable as he panicked. "Junior, please, breathe!" He begged, turning the ginger's face towards his. "I know this is very scary for you, and nobody expects you to keep a positive outlook on things during this time, but running away won't solve all of your problems. Sometimes, you have to power through and face them head-on, no matter how scary it is."

"B-but I can't! How would I even face this head-on?!" Junior questioned erratically.

"Stand your ground. Show your bitch dad that you aren't scared of him! Even if you are, you can't let him know that. Don't let him push you around for his own amusement." Joseph told the boy. "You only have to deal with him alone tonight. I'll be at court tomorrow with you, and I'm pretty sure that Cody and Jeffy and whoever else will be too."

Junior stayed quiet, and focused on slowing his heart rate down. Joseph was right, running away couldn't solve everything. It was weird to hear advice like that coming from him though... Junior didn't question it, he was just glad to have support from someone.

Once it felt like his heart wasn't trying to bust out of his chest, he sat back down. "You're right, if I run away again it'll probably just make things worse for me, and Chef PeePee too." Junior said. "Thanks Joseph."

"Anytime, dude. Now, you wanna do something fun to get your mind off this court thing?" Joseph asked, smiling along with Junior.

Junior opened his mouth to respond, but his door opening interrupted him. The man at the door was none other than his father, who's eyes snapped to Joseph once he realized his son wasn't alone. "Hey! How did you get into my house?!" Joseph's eyes went wide, and he stuttered out something Bowser didn't understand. "You need to leave! Junior should know he's not allowed to have friends over at this time." Bowser narrowed his eyes at Junior, who shrank back slightly.

Joseph noticed how scared Junior was, and knew he had to take his own advice. "Yeah right. I'm not gonna leave my friend under your wrath." He sassed back, his voice shaking slightly. He crossed his arms to emphasize his statement.

Bowser looked even more angry. "Excuse me, young man, but I don't think you heard me. Get out!" He pointed out the door while exclaiming to Joseph.

It was Junior's turn to take the advice. "Why can't he stay? It's not like I'm trying to convince him or anything, it's way too late for that. I get you want me alone to scare me or something, but I know Joseph, and Jeffy, aren't going to let that happen."

Bowser laughed, letting go of his 'Father of the Year' act and starting to get serious. "You think this little twig and Marvin's special-ed son are gonna do anything to stop me? No wonder your grades are horrible, you're an idiot." He continued to laugh while the two boys kept their glare.

"Not as stupid as you are thinking the court will believe your lies." Joseph said. "I could come up with a better excuse, and execute it 10 times better than you are right now."

Bowser frowned. "You know, I have pretty much every cop in town on my side. I could use one of my 'stupid excuses' to not only get you arrested for trespassing, but also for shattering that cop car's windshield with that rock." He then smirked. "So, you better leave within the next minute or else I'll have my friend Simmons here real soon."

Joseph looked at Junior, and Junior looked back. The green-hatted boy didn't know that Bowser knew about the sling-shot thing, though he should've expected it. Junior sighed, and averted his eyes away from Joseph's. "I think you should go for now. I don't want you getting arrested too."

Joseph sighed as well. "Alright dude. I'll see you tomorrow. Call me if anything happens." He stood up, dabbed up Junior, and snuck a glare at Bowser while walking out. Bowser watched him walk down the stairs, then looked back at his son.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone. That little scrawny kid isn't gonna do shit during court, and even with all the misfits you've gathered, I'm still gonna win." Bowser bragged.

"Well... Don't be too cocky. Once everything comes crashing down on you you'll be in a really bad mental place. I wouldn't wish that on my 'dear father.'" Junior mocked. Bowser rolled his eyes, before shutting Junior's door. Junior let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and sat in silence. Well, until his phone rang. It was Cody telling him to hop on Fortnite.