TOYLB: Growing Pains - Season 3-14

Ozzy: [was in the kitchen almost done with cooking dinner]

Thrax; 8came down n setting the table8

Ozzy: [smiled n let him, then realized something n looked at the time] /U knw, I just realized Jared is not home yet/

Thrax; 8looked at the clock8

[it was already way past end of school hours, n close to dinner time]

Thrax; Did he say he was going anywhere/

Ozzy: [shrugged] /I didnt get any call. Maybe u could ask the kids/

Thrax; 8went back upstairs8

[all the kids except Rory n Sakura were in the study room doing their homework]

Thrax; Has anyone seen Jared/

Kiaran: [shook his head, turning to the girls] I thought u were supposed to pick him up?

Jamie: We did, bt the teacher told us...

Junko: ...tht he was going home himself

Both: Isn't he in his room or with u guys?

Ozzex: Nope. Havent seen him all day aftr dropping him off at his school

Thrax; 8bit his lip n ran downstairs8

Ozzy: [hears him coming dwn] /Any luck?/

Thrax; 8shook his head n grabbed his coat8

Ozzy: /U want me to come with u?/

Thrax; You best stay home baby

Ozzy: [nodded n sent Thrax off before calling the kids for dinner, then got Sakura's dinner ready to bring to her room]

Thrax; 8headed to the school8

[the school was already closed, n there was no student in sight. only a couple of janitors cleaning up n a few teachers staying bk late to grade papers]

Thrax; 8looked round8

Random Teacher: Can I help u?

Thrax; I'm looking fr Jared Jones- Roja

Random Teacher: [thought a bit] Oh right, is he the one who had a sudden growth spurt?

Thrax; 8nods8

Random Teacher: Not too sure, he's not in my class, bt I think I did see him went to the direction of northwest [which was the opposite of the direction to the bus station to go home]

Thrax; 8snarled n took off8

[tht direction led towards a children's park]

Jared: [was sitting on top of the monkey bars]

Thrax; Jared!!

Jared: [looked at Thrax n looked away guiltily, doesnt come dwn frm the monkey bars]

Thrax; 8came over to him8

Jared: [his breath hitched a little wen he sees Thrax coming, bt doesnt budge]

Thrax; We've been worried sick Jared

Jared: [signed] Sorry, Papa... Its just... things...

Thrax; Talk to me my son

Jared: [shook his head, n doesnt seem to want to come dwn frm the monkey bars, just sitting there sadly]

Thrax; 8levitated up to him8

Jared: [his breath hitched as he sees his father floating in front of him, then looked away guiltily as it revealed tht he had a bunch of bruises, a cut lip n cut eyebrow, n his clothes were slightly smudged n torn]

Thrax; Jared what happened to you/

Jared: [didnt want to look him in the eye, bt didnt want to talk either]\

Thrax; 8scooped him up8

[tht touch somehow caused Jared to accidentally reveal his secret into Thrax's mind: him coming to school to be stared n jeered at, then him coming to the principal's office to give him a letter requesting class transfer to the older kids due to his size, bt was rejected coz he was still in the middle of his own syllabus, so he was stuck with the little kids, then the kids he used to be friends with suddenly decided to alienate him n didnt want to sit with him during lunch, then he got picked on by the older kids n called him a 'freak of nature', n finally just before the end of the day, he was suddenly jumped by a perverted janitor trying to do lewd things to him n he fought bk, accidentally killing the janitor in the process by skewering him thru his own broom with his telekinesis, before he made a run for it n had been hanging out at the park evr since]

Thrax; 8gasps n pants slightly as the vision ends8

Jared: [jolted out of the vision as well as his tears welled up]

Thrax; 8held him tight n teleported them home8

Ozzy: [was doing the dishes n the kids were all done with dinner n continuing their homework wen he appeared] /Jared! Thrax! Ur bk!/ [sees the damage on Jared] /Oh my baby, wat happened to u?/

Jared: [sees Oz n immediately ran to him n hugged him, sobbing]

Thrax; Bad news baby

Ozzy: [looked up at him questioningly]

Thrax; 8told him what happened8

Ozzy: /Oh baby.../ [held Jared close] /Did he...?/

Jared: [shook his head n signed] He tried to... bt... before he could... take off my pants, I... I...

Ozzy: /Shh, shh, shh, its OK. Mama got the picture. Come, lets get u cleaned up/ [led him to the bathroom]

Thrax; 8sorted Jared some food8

Ozzy: [prepared Jared's bath] /U want me to help u bathe?/

Jared: [shook his head n signed] I'll manage

Ozzy: /OK, holler if u need me/ [left him to his devices]

Thrax; 8looked up8

Ozzy: /He's in the bath. He'll be alright, I think/

Thrax; This is serious baby

Ozzy: /I knw. I chked his body wen he was undressing. Nothing happened dwn there, I could tell, bt still he...he killed someone.../

Thrax; In self-defense

Ozzy: /I knw, bt still, he ran away n didnt fess up. It might look bad in other ppl's eyes, especially if the body is still left there for someone to find.../

Thrax; He's still a boy Ozzy

Ozzy: [bit his lip] /He'll always be our boy, Thrax... Bt wat r we going to do?/

Thrax; 8tried to think8

Ozzy: /We will hv to approach Devin with this, see if he can help/

Thrax; 8nods8

Ozzy: /I'll text him/ [grabbed his cell phone n started texting Devin]

Jared: [just got out of his bath, fresh n clean n in his sleep robes]

Thrax; 8brought him dinner8

Jared: [nodded a thanks n sat dwn to eat]

Thrax; 8smiled softly8

Jared: [looked up at Thrax n signed] Sorry...

Thrax; For what?

Jared: [signed] For not coming home, not telling u all this... I was worried I might get into trouble... Tht no one would believe me coz I'm suddenly a big freak...

Thrax; 8held him close8 We'd never

Jared: [leaned against Thrax, trying to hold bk tears]

Thrax; 8stroked his hair8

Ozzy: [finished texting n came bk] /I've contacted Devin. He'll come in first thing tomorrow morning aftr he assess the damage at the school n deal with the janitor's body./ [comes to rub Jared's bk] /Its OK, sweetie. Its not ur fault. U did wat u had to do. U've done nothing wrong/

Jared: [signed] I was so scared... He said he had been eyeing me for mths, n he said he knew I was gonna grow into a knockout... Tht he was glad his prayers were answered thru my growth spurt... He tried to... He was gonna...

Thrax; Deep breaths now, hope ya told Devin to look through the school's employment stats

Ozzy: [nodded] /I did, n he knws wat to do. Standard procedure/ [rubs Jared's bk some more] /There, there, just finish whatevr u can n rest up, alright? I'll call the school to give u a few days off/

Jared: [nodded n sniffled as he calmed himself to eat]

Thrax; 8stroked his hair8

Jared: [finished his food, brings it to the sink n nodded to his parents as he retired for the night]

Thrax; 8cleaned up8

Ozzy: [watched Jared leave before wiping the table, sighing]

Thrax; 8looked at him8

Ozzy: [looked a little sad, especially with wat happened to Jared]

Thrax; 8wrapped his arms round him8

Ozzy: [leaned in against him, resting his head against his shoulder]

Thrax; 8nuzzles hiim8

Ozzy: /Why is it tht our lives seemed to often be fraught with danger n bad stuff?/

Thrax; 8held him tight8

Ozzy: /Couldnt there be a day where we could just live our days in peace...?/

Thrax; Don't hold ya breath baby

Ozzy: [sighed n cuddled close to Thrax]

Thrax; 8purred softly7

Ozzy: /Lets just hope luck is on our side for Jared tomorrow with Devin n the academy/

Thrax; 8nods8

Ozzy: /I'm gonna finish up the reports on the raid we did. U mind chking up on the kids?/

Thrax; 8nods n went upstairs8

[all bt Kiaran n Ozzex had retired in their rooms, either doing their own activities or huddled on the bed watching movies or TV series on their laptops, Kiaran n Ozzex had a group project tht was due a couple of days, so they stayed in the study room to burn the midnight oil]

Thrax; Don't stay up too late boys

Kiaran: If we can finish this in time, we won't.

Ozzex: [yawns] Can we make ourselves some coffee?

Thrax; No way you two

Kiaran: Why not? We need to get our project done as much as possible. Deadline is in a couple of days

Ozzex: Maybe a little milk n sugar so it won't be too strong?

Thrax; 8gave them a stern look8

Kiaran: [sighed n rolled his eyes] Fine, we get it. We're too young for coffee

Ozzex: We promise we won't stay up too late

Thrax; An hour but no more

Both: Yes, sir

Thrax; [Let them be]

[an hour later, Kiaran n Ozzex finished wat they could for the night n retired to bed, the other kids all already tuckered in]

Thrax; 8headed to his own8

Ozzy: [was still at the office room trying to finish the last of the reports on paper]

Thrax; Baby/

Ozzy: [yawned] /Go ahead without me, hun. I'm almost done here/

Thrax; Need any help/

Ozzy: [shook his head] /Not reli. Just a bit more loose ends here n there. U could help me to put the bookmarked papers to the right folders. It's all colour coded with those colored earmarks post notes [showed the stacks of papers he had finished n the other stacks of empty folders on the other table]

Thrax; Sure baby 8started sorting them8

Ozzy: [finished the last bit of his work, sighed in relief as he printed them before sticking a colour post note for Thrax to file in]

Thrax; 8filed it away8

Ozzy: [yawned out loud, obviously tired, still havent yet recovered frm the fatigue he had frm the raid]

Thrax; 8carried hum to bed8

Ozzy: [nuzzled against his chest as he started snoring]

Thrax; undressed him then soon joins him8

Ozzy: [snuggled closer against him, basking in his warmth as he snored quietly in the virus' arms]

Thrax; 8soon drifted off8