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It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Chef PeePee to be startled by sounds of shouting through the walls. Whether they were Juniors, or Bowsers. He'd just rub his eyes, and get back to cleaning or something. They weren't normally urgent matters. Most of the time it was just Junior being fussy.

But today was different.

Junior's cries sounded more terrified than anything, while Bowser's sounded more wrathful. Chef PeePee didn't mind it too much to intervene yet, though he was starting to get worried.

He tried to brush it off, he tried not to worry too much, but it was one string of words from Junior that made Fernando Strongbottom sprint up the stairs at full speed.

"PLEASE DAD! NOT THE FACE! I'M SORRY!"

The chef ran into the room the noises were coming from, aka Junior's room. The fear he gained from the view of the scene shot right up his spine.

His own father beating his son in the head with one of his shoes. And not normal beatings either, Chef PeePee saw Bowser revving up his swing before bringing down the hammer on his son's noggin.

"BOWSER!" The chef shouted, startling Bowser and causing him to turn his head towards the chef. "What the HELL are you doing to Junior?!?! You're going to give him brain damage! What's wrong with you?!?!"

Bowser took a moment to soak in his words before clenching the shoe in his head and storming over to him.

Chef PeePee backed up. He wanted to run, he wanted to scream.

But the only thing he could do was stand there and take the hard smack of the shoe across his face while Junior's terrified eyes watched.

"YOU DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE TO ME IN MY OWN HOME, SLAVE!" Bowser yelled, as the chef fell to the floor, clutching his cheek. Bowser stood over him, and kicked him hard in the stomach. The chef let out a cry of pain.

"Dad stop! Please!" Junior cried out, tears of fear falling from his eyes. Even more than before anyways.

It seemed as if Bowser's neck went 180 degrees the way his face snapped to Junior. "STAY OUT OF THIS, BRAT! I'LL DO WHATEVER I WANT TO WHOEVER I WANT!!"

He then picked up Chef PeePee by the collar with a single arm, before slamming him against a nearby wall.

"Bowser, please..." Chef PeePee choked out, a few tears rolling down his face onto his uniform. Bowser pressed him harder against the wall, and brought his mouth close to the chef's ear.

"If you EVER say ANYTHING like that to me again, I will TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB, AND FEED YOUR CORPSE TO JEFFY'S DOG." Bowser then threw him to the ground, and walked to his room to watch Charleyyy like nothing happened.

Junior dizzily trudged over to Chef PeePee and sat him up against the wall. He then sat next to him, and leaned against his shoulder. "He got mad because I said I felt too tired for school today. I couldn't sleep that well." Junior told him, staring at his feet.

Chef PeePee sighed. "Well, you still have to go. Come on, I'll drive you. The bus is probably long gone by now." He pressed his hand against the wall, trying to balance himself so he could stand. His stomach hurt like hell, he felt like he was going to vomit, and he felt his face swelling up. He's been slapped and even beaten by Bowser before, but nothing like this had happened in a while.

Junior stood with the Chef. "My dad said I don't have to go anymore. Not until my face heals."

The chef hadn't gotten a good look at the kid's face until then. He thought his bruises were bad, but looking at Junior made him have second thoughts.

The boy had bruises all over his head, and his arms. Hell, some of the ones on his arms were probably not even from today. Along with that, his nose was bleeding, and his left eye was starting to swell. Chef PeePee never felt more sorry for anyone, let alone it being Junior.

He thought to himself, how come only he ever heard the yelling? How come he ever worried about Junior, besides Junior's friends of course. Marvin, Rose, Woody, or Shrek ever heard anything. Not even Jeffy checked.

He noticed Junior always wearing some sort of Jacket to school. Was this the reason why? Chef PeePee could've sworn he'd never seen any major bruises when Junior had only his short-sleeved shirt. Then again, Bowser would have him distracted in the kitchen a lot.

"Come on Junior, let's go get you cleaned up." Chef PeePee said, taking Junior to the bathroom.

He wet a paper towel, and wiped the blood from Junior's nose, and dirt and grime from the shoe Bowser used to beat Junior.

"Are you hungry at all, Junior?" The Chef asked once he was done cleaning him up. Junior nodded. "Go put on some clean clothes and... I'll take and get you a happy meal or something." He said, wincing at the boy's nose-blood-stained white T-shirt.

Surprisingly instead of jumping up and down at the thought of McDonalds, Junior gave the Chef an "Okay," and walked to his room.

As Junior changed, Chef PeePee got the car started. He wasn't too worried about Bowser finding out, since he knew Charleyyy was still going to be on for another few hours. Charleyyy was the only thing that kept Bowser sane, and was also probably the only thing he truly loved.

It was heartbreaking to Chef PeePee that a man could love a show more than his own son. Though, it kept him away from Junior, which was both a good and bad thing. It made it so that Junior was unsupervised most of the time, which forced Chef PeePee to watch him all day. But Junior's injuries would've been worse if not for it being Charleyyy time, Chef PeePee's too. They were both somewhat thankful for the TV show, even if it's humor wasn't really their style.

After a few minutes, Junior made it out to the car. He decided to sit in the backseat, or more so lay down. He looked utterly exhausted. He had threw on a pair of sweatpants, another white t-shirt, and of course, a jacket.

"Chef PeePee..." He groaned once they started their drive to McDonald's.

"Yes, Junior?" The chef answered.

"My head hurts. I feel kinda dizzy." He said, rubbing his head, particularly a mark on his forehead.

"I know Junior. Just stay laid down. I'll get you an aspirin when we get home." Chef PeePee told him. He knew he would need one too, Bowser's kick to the gut still hurt. He hoped nothing was broken. Not like he could get help, he was too poor for that.

The chef finally made it to McDonald's after a while. He had to pay the $3.12 out of his own pocket, since Junior didn't get the money from his dad, and definitely wasn't planning to. Chef PeePee didn't mind though, he knew Junior had been through a lot that morning, he sure had too.

Once the two got home, and Chef PeePee woke up Junior who had fallen asleep in the back seat, they both made their way upstairs. The chef got him and Junior an aspirin, an extra one for Junior, then they both laid on their bunk beds to take a nap.

Junior decided to check his phone before falling asleep. It was filled with messages from Joseph, Cody, and even a few from Jeffy, asking him where he was and why he wasn't at school. He texted them all and lied he was sick. He didn't want them to call someone and his dad get mad and recreate what happened this morning, but worse. Cody and Joseph responded with their condolences, while Jeffy responded with "You lucky fucker. Class blows ass tdy, I'm about to throw my fuckin desk 💀." Junior replied with a "You should tbh, that'd be funny. Have Joseph record it if you do 👍" before turning his phone off and lying his head on his pillow.

Meanwhile, Chef PeePee laid there still, not having a screen to distract him. His stomach still hurt, but he felt the medicine starting to take effect. He let out a quiet sigh of relief as the pain numbed.

"Hey Chef PeePee, my head hurts less now. What about you?" Junior asked, leaning over the railing on the top bunk, checking if his bunkmate was awake.

"Yeah, nothing hurts too bad now." The chef answered, blankly staring at the mattress above him.

"Does... does my dad ever do stuff like that to you?" Junior stuttered, nervous to ask the Chef that question.

The chef took a moment to choose his words. "Well... kind of. Not with shoes, but just his hands."

"Oh... well, sometimes he uses a stick with me." Junior mentioned. "But that's only if I'm outside."

"Have you told anyone?"

"No... I don't want my dad to get mad." Junior answered, almost like an apology. Chef PeePee found that relatable, in a sense. It's not like he could tell the police, most of them had no idea what they were doing, and Brooklyn T Guy, the most competent cop in Chef PeePee's opinion which isn't saying much, is on vacation. He didn't know how the other ones would handle him snitching on Bowser about the abuse he and Junior received, especially since Bowser is a good liar when he needs to be.

Chef PeePee ended up falling asleep before Junior, and when he woke up, he found Junior sleeping right beside him, clutching a small stuffed animal from the dollar store he had gotten for his birthday. He noticed tears at the boy's eyes as he held the toy for dear life.

Fernando has known for a long time that he needed to get out of this place. But now he realized 2 more things.

It needed to be soon,

And,

He needed to find a way to take Junior with him and away from this hellhole.