(Jack's POV)
I nudged Kara with my elbow. "Sooo... Who is this?" I said, glancing to red apron guy, who still hadn't seemed to have noticed he was wearing an apron. I saw the guy's face go as red as his apron (I still can't get over the fact that he's wearing an apron, sorry) and Kara looked a little flustered too. "This is Mikey. Frank's friend." Mikey looked a little disappointed at being referred to only as 'Frank's friend'. Apron. Y'know, if you say apron enough it doesn't sound like a word anymore.

I realized I had zoned out for a second and popped back into reality, sticking my hand out for Mikey. "Jack. Perkins. Jack Perkins. Also known as Captain Fantastic." Kara's eyes could've burned a hole through me. "You realize no one actually calls you Captain Fantastic, right?" I ignored her and turned back to Mikey. "So, does Jack stand for anything?" he said, trying to make things less awkward. "Pfft. Yeah, it stands for Leonard. And I suppose Mikey stands for something?" He looked at me like I was dumb. "Uhh. Michael." I shrugged. "Oh, yeah."
Michael ran his fingers through his hair and tossed his head back. "Aghh Gee is going to kill meeeeee~"

---

(Gerard's POV)
"Michael James Way! How am I going to explain this to mom?!" I said, clutching his face and looking at the damage. "And more importantly, why didn't you tell me some asshole was picking on you?" Mikey shoved my hand away and looked at me. "I could've handled it myself! I don't need you fighting all my battles for me." I looked him dead in the eye. "Well, you didn't handle it very well, didja now? Kara got knocked out, you got beat up, and Kara's neighbor has to go to court!" He stood up and pushed past me, running to his room like a baby.

I turned around to see Kara sitting there uncomfortably and Jack whistling a tune to himself. She hit him and he snapped back into reality. "So... are you the one that broke the kid's hand?" I said, nodding to Jack. He flashed a winning smile, nodded, and said, "Yep. That would be me." I looked at the cat whiskers drawn on his face. "Umm, are you going to have that when we go to court tomorrow?" He looked down and twiddled his thumbs. "Well, I don't know. I wish I could. Wait, maybe they would let me plead insanity!" He had a look of realization on his face and I started to wonder if he really was insane. "You didn't draw those with marker, did you?" Maybe he was breathing in fumes. He shook his head innocently. "Nope, just eyeliner."

Hm. This kid had to be on drugs or something. "Are you high?" He shook his head again. "Nope never done drugs in my-- Oh, wait. There was that one time when your brother made 'special brownies' and wouldn't tell me what made them special." he said, turning to Kara. Kara looked at me. "Believe it or not, he acts normal when he's high." Maybe he should get high before we go to court tomorrow. I shook my head and laughed. That was a stupid idea. We'd be fine. Right? Right?

---

(Mikey's POV)
"What's your strategy?" I asked Jack as we entered the Our Lady of Sorrows courtroom. He looked at me like he didn't understand the question, "Strategy?" I returned the look. "Y'know. How you get the jury to take your side...?" He smiled, "Oh. Simple. Tell the truth." I dried my sweaty hands on the pants of my suit. Damn it, I was still a little sick from the other day. Kara, Gerard, and I sat in the crowd as Jack made his way to the front and sat all by himself, without an attorney. He didn't look worried in the least, though.

"Okay, Mr. Perkins, Mr. Adams. Allow me to read the statement the school security has written for us. It says, and I quote exactly, 'When I arrived to the back of the school, all I saw was Mr. Perkins punching Mr. Adams to the floor and I later found out that Mr. Adams had broken his hand, likely the handiwork of Mr. Perkins. I tackled Mr. Perkins to the ground shortly after he knocked Mr. Adams unconscious and Mr. Perkins displayed a disturbing degree of entertainment at the scenario.'" The judge pushed his glasses up and straightened his papers. "Mr. Perkins, would you like to explain the situation? Perhaps bring some witnesses to the stand?" Jack stood up straight and had a serious look on his face. "Yes, Your Honour. I would like to call Michael Way to the stand at this time."

I stood up, knowing this would come sooner or later. I meekly made my way to the stand and tried not to slouch. For some reason "The Take Over, The Breaks Over" by Fall Out Boy kept playing in my head. Since Jack didn't have an attorney, he stood up himself to ask me questions. "Mr. Way, can you recount the entire situation, up to the point where you lost consciousness?" I nodded, "Yes. I had walked to school with Ms. Blue and was going to my locker on the other side of the school when Dere- I mean, Mr. Adams approached me. Now, in order to tell the complete truth, I must swear. Is that allowed?" Jack nodded. "Yes, so long as it's necessary to recount the story." I wiped my hands on my pants again. "He was behind me and he yanked the hood of my jacket back before slamming me against the wall and holding me by the throat." I saw some of the softer looking jurors wince while others just stared blankly, waiting for the rest of the story. "I struggled for breath but yelled, 'Let the fuck go, Derek!' Mr. Adams must've been having a particularly bad day because he didn't laugh at my expense, he immediately retaliated with, 'I'll let go if I want to, faggot. Where is your asshole brother today?'" I saw Gee getting angry and Derek getting nervous. "Then I remember getting very short of breath, coughing quite a bit for I had been getting over a virus I had the day previous, and clawing at Mr. Adams' fingers."

With every sentence Gerard got angrier. I swallowed. "And then he-- He um--" Jack cut me off. "Mr. Way, I know you must be uncomfortable, but please try to tell the complete story." I nodded. "Then I said 'What does it matter? It's not like you could take either of us in a fight.'" I saw a short break in Gerard's fury and a hint of pride. "And then he laughed and said, 'Someone's found their voice today.' Then he looked behind him and said something along the lines of, 'Is it because of that blondie?' talking about Ms. Blue, of course, and, 'Hey, she's pretty hot, I think I'll take her for myself.'" I tried not to blush and I saw Derek getting antsy in his seat. He hadn't expected us to tell the truth. What a dumbass. "And then he ran after her after pushing me to the floor and scraping my hands. I was lightheaded and not as fast as him, but I ran after him anyway. He-- um-- spun her around and-- groped-- inappropriate places..." I had to continue, though I felt the gaze of the jurors burning into me. "And so I turned him around and punched him in the face. He sank to the floor and I asked if Ms. Blue was okay before he stood up behind me and said, 'Now I'm really pissed, you little fucking faggot.'" I took a shaky breath. "And then- and then- he- he pushed me to the floor and--" I wiped my hands on my pants once more. "Kara tried to get him to stop but he threw her back and pinned me to the ground, punching me until I blacked out. The last thing I heard was you screaming, 'Hey, fucktard!' and pushing him off of me." Jack looked pleased. "Okay, Mr. Way. You may return to your seat." I thanked him and almost ran back to my seat next to Gerard, who rubbed my back and tried to calm me down.

"Shh, dude. The jurors love you, man. I could see it." Kara grabbed my clammy hand and gave it a squeeze before whispering "Thank you." The judge looked flabbergasted before clearing his throat and using the gavel. "Alright, let's have a lunch break."

Notes

Ahhh so addicting to write. Poor Mikey is all flustered and who knew Jack could actually be like a pro lawyer if he wanted to?