Disclaimer: I do not own Drake and Josh. All rights go to the creators of the show.

Angie shifted, adjusting the tan pencil skirt she was wearing, not used to wearing something so constricting; she hated pencil skirts. But she had to look the part of a professional school counselor so she begrudgingly switched her normal shorts and tank tops for a more professional attire, pencil skirt and all. Rick had been right about the interview, she had been offered the job on the spot, or rather, Rachel Fox as her ID now stated had gotten the job. All of her references had checked out as well. She didn't know exactly how he had managed to pull something like this off but Angie wasn't about to question the twisted mind of Rick Parker. Most of the work she was expected to do was mundane and a waste of time in her opinion. She shuffled paperwork around a desk and talked to random students who were sent to the counselor's office, pretended like she was listening and actually cared about what they were saying then wrote them a pass and sent them on their way.

She had only been at Belle View High for three days, but already she had memorized Drake Parker's class schedule. It was one of the first things she had done when she got the job and it only took her a matter of seconds to look up his file in the school's computer system. She had complete access to all his grades, his medical charts from the school nurse and his disciplinary record. As far as she could tell, Drake was a popular kid that was completely full of himself, he didn't put in any effort into his schoolwork and had received detention numerous times, though mainly from one teacher named Linda Hayfer.

She had only seen the boy twice, Rick had never showed her a picture of him but when she looked up his file and saw his picture and especially when she saw him in person in the cafeteria, there was no denying Drake was Rick Parker's son. He had the same color hair as Rick and similar facial features that could only be passed down from father to son. He even walked similar to Rick.

Angie had wanted to call Drake into her office the first day she had started working at the school but Rick had warned her against it. It would be too suspicious. They had to be patient.

"If you play your part well, you'll know when the right time will be." Rick had told her the morning before she left for her first day.

"I know you won't disappoint me Ang. Besides, you're one of the best actresses I know." He had said with a smirk, Angie had rolled her eyes at him but she agreed to keep up her part of the deal.

She looked up from her computer at the sound of someone knocking on her door.

"Come in." She answered, hoping she didn't sound too bored.

"Sorry to bother you Ms. Fox, but there's a girl who was found smoking, Mr. Lanford wants you to speak with her."

"Of course Whitney, you can send her in now." Whitney Graham was Mr. Lanford's, the school's principal secretary. Angie thought she must take some form of happy pills in the morning because she always seemed to be smiling and despite how busy she must be, she always appeared as if she had all the free time in the world. Angie couldn't stand her. She sighed, drumming her fingers on the desk as she waited for the fighting teenagers to enter her office, she glanced at the calendar pinned on the wall and mentally counted the days until she could stop playing school counselor and this whole business would be done and over with.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Drake folded his arms across his chest as he once again found himself sitting across Dr. Evans desk. Dr. Evans had of course been told about his interview with Child Protective Services and as a result the minute group had ended a nurse had told him that Dr. Evans wanted to see him.

"I know it wasn't easy for you, but I'm really proud of you Drake." Dr. Evans said calmly, Drake rolled his eyes. It was the same line everyone had said to him since the interview, so far he wasn't feeling very proud or like he had accomplished anything great. He was just tired.

"How's songwriting going? You mentioned last week that you were having trouble writing new lyrics." Dr. Evans asked changing the subject seeing as Drake wasn't in a sharing mood and talking about music always seemed to get him to talk a little or at least calm him down some. Drake groaned.

"Still no luck, every time I start to write something new, the lyrics just suck." Drake muttered.

"What do you think is causing your writer's block?" Dr. Evans asked leaning back in his chair. Drake shrugged.

"I don't know." Drake replied honestly. It wasn't like he had never had writer's block before, it just usually never lasted this long.

"Well, maybe if you figured out what's causing your block, you'll be able to come out with your next big hit." Dr. Evans offered smiling.

"Maybe." Drake answered while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Trouble sleeping?" Dr. Evans asked as Drake covered his mouth to hide the yawn.

"No more than usual."

Dr. Evans folded his hands on his desk, thinking for a moment while studying Drake.

"If you want Drake I could speak to your parents about possibly prescribing a mild sedative. Nothing too strong though, just something to help you sleep at night. It's important that you get enough rest." Dr. Evans spoke slowly.

"I don't need any crazy pills." Drake said flatly, frowning at the doctor. Therapy was one thing, but being medicated while going to therapy was a completely different story.

"As I said Drake, they wouldn't be antidepressants or antipsychotics which is what I'm assuming you are referring to as 'crazy pills,' it would be a mild sedative. Just a small pill you would take an hour or so before you went to bed that would help you relax and help you sleep." Dr. Evans explained. Drake shook his head firmly.

"No." He said without hesitation, his voice never wavering once.

"Okay, if that's what you want, I won't force you. It was merely a suggestion. But, you do need to get more sleep." Dr. Evans said, ending the discussion.

"Good." Drake muttered back as he began tapping his foot on the floor anxious to leave the stuffy office. Getting the hint, Dr. Evans glanced at the clock; they only had about fifteen minutes left anyways.

"Go on, you can leave early." Dr. Evans said with a small grin. Drake didn't need to be told twice. He was up and out of the office before Dr. Evans had a chance to stand up from behind his desk.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The next day, Drake found himself bored, as usual at school. It was still lunchtime, but he had eaten half of a cheeseburger before leaving his group of friends and was now wandering the hallways trying to figure out what to do until lunch ended. He still found that if he spent too much time with his popular friends, he ended up aggravated and bored. He wasn't sure why since he used to be able to spend hours on end on the weekends with these people doing absolutely nothing but messing around and getting into trouble.

"Yo Parker, we need to talk."

Drake whirled around and found himself face-to-face with Jake from his band. He tried not to groan out loud. Jake was still pissed at him for not having finished lyrics yet.

"What?" Drake said through gritted teeth.

"I don't know what your deal's been these past few weeks, but I've had enough. We haven't booked a gig in almost two months, you're not even writing new lyrics and I'm sick of waiting around for you to get your shit together. I'm sorry Drake, I'm out." Jake spoke quietly, but his voice held an edge to it.

"Excuse me?" Drake spat, not having the patience for this conversation.

"Don't play stupid with me. Look, my girlfriend knows a guy who's looking for a new bass player, I'm meeting with him this afternoon after school." Jake explained, Drake snorted.

"Good luck with that. Joining some no-name band that no one's ever heard of. If you think that's going to book gigs you're a bigger ass than I thought." Drake said coldly before turning his back on Jake and started to walk back up the hall. Jake was the last thing he felt like dealing with.

"Hey! Where the hell do you think you're going?" Jake yelled as Drake continued walking away from him. Drake laughed.

Jake ran up behind him, he reached out and grabbed Drake's shoulder from behind. Drake gasped at his touch and acted on instinct. Before he could even process what he was doing, he grabbed Jake's wrist off his shoulder and forcefully twisted it, forcing Jake's wrist to face palm up. Jake's eyes went wide with pain and shock. He winced as he tried to pry his wrist out of Drake's hand.

"Let go of me Parker!" Jake cried. Drake just glared at him, his expression unreadable.

"Don't-ever-touch-me-again." Drake deadpanned, his voice deep and threatening, it didn't sound like him at all. Jake finally was able to get his wrist free, he hesitated for about a half second before bringing his right arm back up, swinging to punch Drake across the face. Drake caught his arm mid-punch and quickly brought Jake's arm across his back, twisting his elbowso he wouldn't be able to get free.

"I said, don't touch me." Drake hissed. Jake cried out in pain and struggled against Drake's grip on his arm.

"What the hell Drake? Let me go!" Jake screamed.

"Don't touch me! Do you understand? Don't fucking touch me ever again!" Drake yelled, Jake squirmed, still trying to get his arm out of Drake's grasp.

"Drake! Stop it!" A voice screamed down the hall.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him. Someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him away from Jake. Suddenly, Drake gasped and looked at Jake who was now rubbing his shoulder and staring at Drake with utmost loathing. He hadn't fully realized what he was doing. He remembered Jake grabbing his shoulder and he had just… reacted, he didn't even remember grabbing and twisting Jake's arm behind him. His body seemed to have had a mind of it's own and had acted simply on impulse and emotion. His mind had gone kind of numb afterwards. Feeling sick, Drake backed against the rows of lockers and stared at his right hand mystified. What had he done?

"Mr. Parker, would you like to explain to me why you were physically harassing this student?"

Drake looked up and almost groaned out loud. Mrs. Hayfer was standing in front of him with her arms crossed in front of her and tapping her foot at him impatiently, waiting for an answer. She may have been a little nicer to him lately, but she certainly wasn't going to let fighting on school grounds go by unpunished.

"I..I don't…I didn't…" Drake mumbled, feeling dizzy. He flinched and rubbed his forehead.

"Mrs. Hayfer please, he's just…upset." Josh piped up.

He was the one who had screamed at Drake to stop. Josh had finished his lunch and was heading to his locker to get his books for his next class when he had heard someone yell from the next hall. Surprised, he walked around the corner to see what the commotion was. Nothing could have prepared him to see his brother pinning Jake's arm across his back. Josh also knew that he would never forget the look on Drake's face. His face had been void of any real expression, but his eyes held a ferocity that Josh had never seen before in his life.

"No matter, I'm sure Mr. Lanford will love to hear about this. Drake, follow me, Josh, please take Jake to the nurse." Mrs. Hayfer ordered at Drake's continued silence. Josh glanced at Drake's pale face and haunted expression.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked quietly. Drake just shook his head, not sure what to say.

"Now Mr. Parker!" Mrs. Hayfer snapped when Drake remained leaning against the lockers. He took a deep breath then reluctantly followed Mrs. Hayfer to the principal's office. Josh hesitated wanting to follow him but knew Mrs. Hayfer wouldn't let him.

"I don't need to go to the nurse." Jake muttered beside Josh, still rubbing his sore arm.

"Your brother's a freaking nutcase." Jake scowled walking with Josh. Josh glared at him.

"You don't understand what you're talking about." Josh said quietly. It was Jake's turn to glare at Josh.

"Last time I checked he was the one coming after me." Jake growled angrily.

"I know I get that. But Drake is…uh going through a hard time. He's just not…quite himself today." Josh tried to explain.

"You can say that again." Jake snapped back. Josh sighed, and then jumped as the bell rang signaling the end of lunch. He wanted to go to the principal's office to help explain to Mr. Lanford that Drake was just going through a hard time, but knew he would get in trouble himself for being out of class without a pass. He sighed again; he would just get a pass from his next teacher.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

"Sit." Mrs. Hayfer ordered Drake as they entered the front office and she went to explain to Mr. Lanford what had happened. Drake sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. His hands were still shaking and his head was starting to throb painfully. What the hell had happened to him out there? Drake got angry every now and then at people at school but he never really had gotten into a fight, not seriously anyways.

Everything was hitting him like white flashes in his memory. The shock of Jake's hand on his shoulder…a rushing sound in his ears…warm hands pulling him off of Jake. He vaguely had registered Jake's cries of pain, but it was as if his brain had temporarily left his body. It scared him that he couldn't even remember making the decision to grab Jake's arm…he just had. It was if when Jake had grabbed him something inside of him had snapped and his body forgot to think.

"Drake Parker." A deep voice called. Drake opened his eyes to see Mr. Lanford motioning for him to come into his office.

"So Drake, tell me what this fight was all about. According to Mrs. Hayfer, you grabbed Jake Hernandez completely unprovoked." Drake had spent enough time sitting across from Mr. Lanford's desk to know that he didn't make judgments until he had heard both sides of the story.

"It wasn't unprovoked, he grabbed me first. We were arguing about our band. He was pissed off at me and quit, so I walked away." Drake explained, not looking up at the principal, instead he continued to stare at his hands.

Mr. Lanford sighed. "Drake, I don't think I need to remind you that fighting on school grounds is prohibited and can result in immediate suspension."

"I know." Drake said, not even trying to fight against the punishment. Mr. Lanford stared at Drake, debating what he was going to do next. He knew that Drake was going to an outpatient program at County Hospital since he had signed off on the slip giving him permission to leave school early.

"Look, Drake I know that things at home are a little difficult for you right now but I can't excuse you fighting. Now, I'll have to hear Jake's side of the story, but for now I want you to talk with our school's guidance counselor."

"Excuse me?" Drake practically moaned out load. He had had enough of therapists trying to get inside of his head.

"It's that or you're suspended for two days." Mr. Lanford grabbed a notepad and scribbled a pass for Drake excusing him from class.

"Wait in the front office for Ms. Fox, she's our new guidance counselor." Drake tapped his heel, hesitating. He didn't really want to be suspended but at the same time he didn't know if he could handle another shrink session. Cursing under his breath, he snatched the pass from Mr. Lanford.

"Good choice." Mr. Lanford stated as Drake stomped back into the front office where he was momentarily surprised to see Josh sitting in one of the waiting chairs biting his nails. Drake sighed. This day was just getting better and better.

"Well, this is a first, Josh Nichols ditching class. Alert the presses. Or, don't tell me… you actually got sent to the principal's office." Drake said with a smirk dropping into the chair next to Josh who grinned and held up a signed hall pass. Drake laughed.

"What are you doing here?" Drake asked.

"I was going to try and talk Mr. Lanford into not suspending you but it doesn't look like he did." Josh answered pointing to the pass in Drake's hand.

"No, he didn't, well not yet at least."

"So you're not in trouble?" Josh asked astounded. Bell View had a zero tolerance policy for fighting and he knew it was strictly enforced. Drake shrugged.

"Not sure, he has to talk to Jake first." Drake answered.

"So, now you're ditching class by hiding out in the front office?" Josh asked confused.

"I wish." Drake said quietly. "No, Lanford is making me talk to the school head wacko."

"Well, that's not too bad if that's your punishment. You got off easy." Josh said. Drake glared at him.

"Speak for yourself." Drake said, his voice colder then he meant it to be. They settled into a semi-awkward silence that Josh eventually broke.

"What happened Drake?" Josh asked quietly. Drake didn't dare look up at Josh, he kept his gaze focused on the ground and shifted in his chair.

"I'm not sure." Drake answered honestly.

"Well Jake must have done something to piss you off. You're not exactly the type to jump into a fight." Josh said a little nervously not wanting to upset Drake.

"He quit the band." Drake said solemnly.

"Okay…" Josh said slowly. It made sense that Drake would be mad at Jake for quitting the band but not enough for Drake to grab him like he did, he waited patiently for Drake to continue.

"I don't know after that." Drake said just above a whisper. "Jake grabbed my shoulder when I started walking away and then…I don't know." Drake rubbed his forehead, feeling dizzy and a little lightheaded. He looked up suddenly as a thin woman with bleached blonde hair and brown eyes walked up to him.

"Hello Drake, my name is Ms. Fox, Mr. Lanford thought it would be a good idea if we talked for a little bit." The woman said introducing herself and extending a hand toward Drake.

Angie had to concentrate on not smiling too much. She had been trying to think of a non-conspicuous way to get Drake into her office to start building some trust when one just landed in her lap. Drake had been in a fight and instead of suspending him; Mr. Lanford had ordered him to talk to her. It was like opening a present on Christmas Day.

"Yeah." Drake muttered. He stood up slowly, Josh stood ready just in case Drake was unsteady on his feet. Angie stared at Josh and tried to keep her voice even, he would just get in the way.

"I suggest you head back to class, unless you need to talk to Mr. Lanford." She said flatly then turned back and led Drake into her office. Drake nodded at Josh and he reluctantly walked out into the hallway back to class.

"So Drake, tell me what happened with um…Jake Hernandez." Angie asked once Drake had settled down in the chair across from her in her office. She glanced down at the student file that Whitney had given her.

"Like I told Mr. Lanford, we're in a band together, or well were. He got mad at me and quit, I walked away and he grabbed me." Drake said through gritted teeth. He was getting tired of explaining himself.

"So, you grabbed him back in retaliation?" Angie asked slowly, studying the teenage boy in front of her.

"No." Drake huffed crossing his arms over his chest.

"No? There were several people that saw you grab his arm behind his back." Angie countered. She hoped she sounded enough like a real counselor to fool Drake.

"I didn't say I didn't grab him. I said I didn't grab him to get back at him…It was just self defense." Drake answered, easily avoiding going into the details he didn't want to face.

"I see." Angie said, trying to think of what a real counselor would say next.

"Look Drake, sometimes when you're angry lashing out at the nearest person seems like the best solution at the time but it's not really dealing with the problem."

"There is no problem." Drake replied hotly.

"Well, tell that to Mr. Hernandez. We just want to make sure this type of thing doesn't happen again." Angie said saying the first thing that came to her head.

"If I promise to never get into a fight at school again can I go?" Drake said giving Angie his million-dollar grin that always seemed to get him out of trouble. It still amazed her how much he looked like Rick. She sighed, and told Drake what Rick had instructed her to.

"I think the only way we can ensure this type of behavior doesn't occur again Drake is if we spend a little more time together. So, from now on until I think you don't need it we'll be talking once a week. Just to check in how things are going." Angie said calmly."

"You got to be kidding me?" Drake said flabbergasted at the punishment.

"I'm afraid not Drake. It won't be for a long time, just a few minutes after school once a week to check in." Angie repeated.

"And if I say no?" Drake asked coldly.

"We're doing this to keep from being suspended, you should be thankful instead of having an attitude about it." Angie retorted. She didn't mean to lose her temper with him but she was getting annoyed with Drake's attitude.

"Fine, then suspend me, because I'm not going to do it." Drake said firmly before standing up and stepped towards the door.

"Mr. Lanford will have the final say in that." Angie said simply as Drake paused at the door.

"I bet he will." Drake snapped. He walked into the hallway, fuming. Once again the people around him were trying to control him. If there was one thing he was sure of it was he was not going to put up with therapy at school. Not in the mood for class he made his way to the bathroom. He threw his backpack onto the floor in one of the stalls and slammed his fist into the door. It was just one thing after another lately and he had had just about enough.

Drake coughed as he felt his chest tighten and constrict.

Not now. Drake moaned leaning heavily against the side of the bathroom stall. He coughed again and pressed his hand against his chest, willing himself to calm down. It had been weeks since he had cut himself. It wasn't like there hadn't been times when he had wanted to hurt himself. It was because of Megan. He didn't want to disappoint her. There was something about the way she had made him promise not to hurt himself again that actually made him want to keep his promise, despite how hard it was for him to do so.

But as he slowly struggled against the pain in his chest and his breathing hitched in his throat, Drake felt he didn't have a choice but to give in. He dug around in his backpack frantically searching for a blade and nearly screamed out loud when he found nothing. Josh or his parents must have finally gone through his backpack. Desperate he searched for something, anything that he could use when he noticed the staples on one of the worksheets that a teacher had handed out last week. Drake had crumpled it and thrown it into his backpack. Quickly he grabbed the worksheet and with slightly shaky hands fumbled with getting the staples out of the paper. When he managed to get one free he hastily dragged the small staple across the inside of his left arm just below the elbow. The cut was small and shallow and barely even bled.

"Damn it!" Drake cried as he tried to use the small staple again to make a better cut. Instead he lost his grip and dropped it onto the cool tile. Drake punched the wall of the bathroom stall again frustrated. Coughing, he dug into his pocket and grabbed his phone doing the only other thing he could think of. He quickly scrolled down his contacts list and found Josh's number before hitting the send key. The phone rang for a second then went dead. Two seconds later his phone lit up signaling an incoming call.

"Drake, where are you? What's wrong?" Josh's frightened voice echoed in the small stall.

"I'm sorry, I didn't keep my promise. Please…I need…" Drake gasped into the phone as he coughed again.

"Where are you?" Josh repeated as he frantically paced the hall. He always kept his phone on vibrate in class and he nearly jumped out of his seat when he felt his phone vibrating as his History teacher began his lecture. No one ever called him during class. Curious, he carefully pulled his phone out of his pocket to avoid his teacher seeing and glanced down at the Caller ID. Drake was calling him. He hit the end button to stop the call and quickly got up asking for a bathroom pass. Once out in the hallway he called Drake back.

"I'm in the bathroom across from study hall." Drake answered.

"Stay there." Josh said, already jogging down the hallway. Two minutes later he burst into the guy's bathroom. The first thing he heard was Drake's breathy coughs, he ran to the last stall where the coughs were coming from.

"Drake, let me in." Josh said as he tried to force the locked door open. There was the soft sound of shuffling feet and Josh heard the lock slide back. Pushing the door open he saw Drake slumped on the toilet leaning against the stall breathing heavily.

"Breathe, you're okay. Take a deep breath." Josh coaxed gently rushing to his brother's side. He tried not to notice the thin cut on Drake's arm. It had been a while since Drake had last hurt himself, Josh couldn't think of what could have set him off so suddenly. He had seemed okay when he had left him at the office, a little shaken, but okay. Josh glanced down at his watch; it had only been about 20 minutes since then.

"I'm sorry." Drake mumbled into his hands.

"It's okay, just relax." Josh said as Drake coughed again. The pair settled into an easy silence as Drake's heavy breathing slowly evened out and became normal.

"What happened?" Josh asked for the second time that day a few minutes later once he was sure Drake had fully calmed down.

"I just couldn't deal with another shrink. I got pissed and walked out." Drake answered.

"You walked out? Drake, do you realize that could have gotten you suspended?" Josh asked appalled.

"I know, but I couldn't deal with her. She wanted to meet with me once a week. I'm not putting up with that on top of the outpatient program." Drake tried to make Josh see his side of it. Josh wasn't unsympathetic. He felt bad for Drake and put in his position he couldn't say he wouldn't have done the same thing.

"Ditching class isn't going to help your case either." Josh said matter-of-factly. Drake rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Probably not." Drake sighed. He stood up and grabbed his backpack.

"Did you…I mean your arm doesn't look…I mean…" Josh tried to ask Drake as lightly as he could.

"It's not as bad as it seems." Drake said trying to brush off the small cut with the staple. He doubted it would even leave a scar it was so shallow. Josh sighed; there was nothing he could do about that now.

"Come on, let's get back to class." Josh said slowly. They had made their way to the sinks, Drake nodded but stayed leaning against the sink.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked a little uncertain, it seemed like a dumb question considering what had just happened.

"I can't remember making the decision to grab Jake, Josh. I just…did. Just like…like he would." Drake breathed, his voice hoarse as he stared down at his hands again.

"He?" Josh asked perplexed. It only took Josh a minute to figure out what Drake was trying to say. He went hot and cold all over as he put together Drake's meaning.

"Don't you ever think that way Drake. Not for one damn minute, do you understand? You are nothing like him; do you hear me? This is his fault, not yours." Josh said loud and clear forcing Drake to look up at him.

"But I hurt him for no reason. All he did really was grab my shoulder. I could have just shrugged him off but I didn't. I mean he wasn't attacking me or anything." Drake blurted. Josh shook his head.

"That was just basic human instinct kicking in. I guess it would make sense to react that way after…after everything that has happened." Josh said as gently as he could, he didn't want to offend Drake who merely shrugged.

"Maybe." Drake said after a few seconds, thinking it over.

"Definitely." Josh corrected. "And for the record you didn't hurt Jake, not really anyways. Worst-case scenario, his arm will be a little sore if that for the rest of the day. By the time school gets out he won't even feel it. And like I said that's the worst-case scenario. He's fine, he didn't even go to the nurse, just stomped off to class all pissed off, but you didn't hurt him." Josh said hoping that bit of news would help Drake feel better and judging from the small nod Drake gave him it had.

"Come on, Mr. Daniels is going to think I have serious bladder issues if I don't get back to class soon, and you should make an appearance too." Josh said giving Drake a small grin. Drake nodded slowly and picked up his backpack which he had dropped on the floor and followed Josh out of the bathroom. Neither one of them said a word as they entered their History class. Josh took his seat and Drake handed Mr. Daniels the pass Mr. Lanford had given him then slid into the empty seat next to Josh.

He made it through the rest of History class and about 10 minutes of his Algebra class before he was called back to the principal's office. When the message was given to his teacher Drake continued to sit in his seat and desperately wished that his math teacher would ignore it and let him remain in class. Groaning inwardly Drake made his way to the principal's office for the second time that day where Mr. Lanford's secretary wasted no time ushering him into his office. Drake bit his tongue and it took all his will power not to turn around and run out of the office. Sitting across from Mr. Lanford was his mother.

"Drake, please have a seat." Mr. Lanford said calmly. Audrey didn't say anything but she looked upset.

"I know you are probably surprised that we called your mom but it's school policy to notify parents when students are caught fighting. Your mother said she wasn't busy and volunteered to come down so we can sort this mess out." Mr. Lanford spoke calmly but with authority.

"Great." Drake muttered bitterly. He slouched in his chair not looking up at his mom once.

"Now, while you were in class Drake I spoke with Mr. Hernandez to get his side of the story. And while I can't say that either side is completely innocent or guilty I am disappointed in your behavior Drake. I know you are usually much better behaved then this which is why I was prepared to give you a pass so to speak, but from what Ms. Fox has told me you left her office without being dismissed after telling her you wouldn't meet with her." Mr. Lanford folded his hands on top of some papers on his desk while he spoke but he stared right at Drake, making him feel guilty. Drake called it the "principal glare," and figured it was something Mr. Lanford had perfected after years of practice on students.

"I made my opinion clear to her yes." Drake answered honestly. Audrey glanced at Mr. Lanford who cleared his throat before continuing.

"As I was saying Drake, I was prepared to give you a warning this time, but seeing as you have disregarded Ms. Fox's help and I checked with Mr. Daniels who said you didn't come back to class once you left. You forget that the time is written on hall passes, which shows that once you left Ms. Fox's office you waited almost 20 minutes before going back to class."

"I went to the bathroom." Drake said simply.

"Uh huh. Well, that bathroom trip cost you two weeks of detention. In addition, you will still have to meet with Ms. Fox once a week." Drake gritted his teeth.

"Can't I just take the detention?" Drake practically begged. The less time he spent with shrinks the better."

"Mr. Lanford and I both agree it could help you having someone at school to talk to." Audrey said.

"I don't need help at school, I'm fine. Besides, Jake was the one who started this, does he have to see Ms. Fox too?" Drake said his voice rising in annoyance.

"Jake is also receiving a punishment, yes Drake." Mr. Lanford said simply.

"Meaning he's not being forced to see Ms. Fox once a week." Drake said bitterly, picking up on Mr. Lanford's body language.

"Drake, I'm doing everything in my power to keep you from being suspended, but your acting as if you don't even care. Do you realize what a suspension will do to your permanent record? I don't know what your future plans may be but if you plan on going to college, any college you apply to will have access to that information."

"I don't care about that!" Drake snapped at the principal. Mr. Lanford drummed his fingers on top of the pile of papers, debating what to do with the boy in front of him. It wasn't as if he didn't feel bad for Drake, but what it came down to was Drake had broken the rules and therefore had to face the consequences for his behavior. He couldn't relent on his punishment. He straightened up in his chair making his decision.

"I won't change my mind on this Drake. I have given you several chances now to take a lesser punishment. As I said earlier, I know that you normally behave better then you did today, however seeing as how you keep resisting against any leniency I have tried to offer I have no choice but to send you home for the rest of the day. Given that you will be missing less than half a day of school it won't count as an official suspension, but an official reprimand resulting in disciplinary action, so in that sense you are lucky because official reprimands go on file on our personal school records but it won't be on your official record or transcript." Mr. Lanford spoke quickly but thoroughly.

Drake knew that what the principal said was right; he was lucky. Even after everything he still wasn't technically suspended, more like just being sent home from school early, something he had no problem doing.

"What about meeting with Ms. Fox and two weeks of detention?" Drake asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Both unchanged. The only thing that has changed is sending you home for the rest of the day. I didn't want to make you leave school but I'm sorry Drake, you didn't give me a choice. I can only be lenient for so long. Ms. Fox was also rather upset by your behavior today." Again Drake was surprised to see that Mr. Lanford did look genuinely sorry about making Drake leave school early. Drake nodded, it didn't matter what he said; he would be forced to see Ms. Fox whether he liked it or not.

"You'll start your detention tomorrow afternoon. Come to the office once school lets out. As for meeting with Ms. Fox I've already checked with her and she is available to start meeting with you on Friday." Mr. Lanford explained. Drake sunk back into the chair defeated.

"Fine, can I go now?" Drake snapped, tired of being chastised. Mr. Lanford hesitated only for a brief second before nodding.

"Yes, I'll see you tomorrow Drake, you can count on it." Mr. Lanford said as a farewell. Drake rolled his eyes and stood up and made his way to the door in two quick strides. Audrey shook hands with Mr. Lanford before hurrying to catch up to Drake who had already made his way to the hallway and was walking towards the school's front doors.

He was surprised that his mom didn't question him or say a word to him for that matter as they walked to the car and for the first half of the car ride home. Drake didn't mind, he had another headache and the last thing he felt like doing was talking to his mom about why he had gotten into a fight with Jake earlier.

"You're not mad?" Drake finally asked when they were about 3 blocks away from their house. Audrey sighed and bit her lip nervously, unsure of what to say. Her relationship with Drake had been so strained and tense since he had come home from the hospital that she was afraid to say anything that would upset him further.

"I'm not mad no. I'm worried about you Drake that's all." Audrey said simply and glanced briefly at her son, who rolled his eyes.

"Right." Drake muttered as he leaned his head back against the passenger seat.

"Drake…you know you can talk to me right? I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to…but if you do want to, I'm always here for you." Audrey finished awkwardly. Walter had briefly discussed with Dr. Evans the tension between Audrey and Drake and had asked him for advice on how to fix the situation since he knew how much it was tearing up Audrey. Dr. Evans had told him that it was normal considering everything Drake was going through and all she could do was to keep communication open and let Drake know that if he chose to, he could come to her anytime he wanted. Audrey had been debating on how to even bring up the subject with Drake and now seemed like a good time as any.

"Uh huh." Was all Drake answered back, still looking out the window. Audrey nodded slowly; it was a start. At least he wasn't yelling at her anymore, maybe things were slowly getting better.

Hey Everyone,

I hope not everyone out there has given up on this story. I know I completely and utterly fail because it has been like 9 months since I've updated! But, after catching an episode of Drake & Josh on TV the other day I was inspired to finish this chapter, which I started writing months ago! I know my updates are spotty and inconsistent but I do plan on finishing this story and already have an idea of how I want to end this story. To everyone out there that has stuck with me this long, you guys are AMAZING! I don't know how else to thank you except by saying, hang in there and I promise this story WILL continue and I will finish it.

As always, reviews are always greatly appreciated, they mean so much to me, you guys have no idea!

Thanks as always,

FantasyForever1989