Tristan's High School Life - 37. Chapter 37

A side of Tristan no one has seen comes out....  

Tristan's POV

I knew that I had to do something to help my brother before things got worse. Knowing what he was capable of meant things could go south fairly quickly. Xander and Nick had finished talking and were waiting for me to come back to the apartment.

"Hey guys," I said, entering my living room.
"Hey Tris, thanks for giving us space to talk," Xander said
"We had a lot of ground to cover, and I am so glad to see my friend again," Nicky said
"I'm glad you guys reconnected. I have something I'd like some advice on," I said
"Sure," Xander said, and Nicky nodded in agreement.
"My brother Hunter is being bullied because of his short stature," I said
"I had a feeling that it was a sore spot for him. Given what he did to Dom," Xander said
"What did he do to Dom?" Nicky asked

I explained my family to Nicky, and he seemed in awe.

"That is so cool," Nicky gushed.
"It has its moment's," I said
"Is that how you guys got to Annapolis?" Nicky asked
"Yes," Xander said. "It was an awesome experience."
"Maybe one day you guys can visit me in California," Nicky said
"Not unless you move," Xander said. "Being near my old house may trigger me."
"I saw that it been for sale for a while," Nicky said
"My grandparents and Rory have been trying to sell it, but since it was all over the news, no one wants to live there," Xander said solemnly. "Rory is in contact with a builder to either tear it down and rebuild, sell the lot and let the new owner do what they want, or completely remodel the house."
"So back to Hunter, should I do something?" I asked
"As his older brother, you are obligated," Xander said
"I know Parker would do something," Nicky said
"I just know TJ and Jackson are going to flip out," I said.
"Well, they should pay better attention," Xander said

I formulated a plan and knew I had to put it into action quickly. The following day between classes with Gavin, I did surveillance at Hunter's school. I quickly determined that the other septuplets were letting this occur and not doing a darn thing, which alone angered me. I was mentally forming a plan and needed to teach everyone a lesson. I knew who the main instigators are and was developing a plan. Kelsey and Derrick were the two from outside the family leading the assault.

The following week I put my plan into action and decided to start while they were in class. Derrick and Kelsey were the first targets, and they began having terrible gas, which caused the teacher to open all the windows. No one would admit who was driving the stench, but I made sure you could tell. Katie was busying working on paper when her pen exploded, getting ink everywhere, and she shot Hunter a look, which angered me further. When she stood up to confront Hunter, she tripped multiple times and kept shooting Hunter dirty looks. Mattie and Jamie tried to help her, but I caused them to wet themselves when they stood. Hunter was looking around the room, and he froze when he got to where I was standing and had a massive smile on his face, and I wondered if he could see me. TJ brought the three of them a change of clothes and told them to be careful. He happened to be holding a bottle of water which suddenly sprang a leak getting him wet. He looked at Hunter and then stomped off.

Phase two was during Physical Education and was going to be fun. Due to the rain last night, it was wet outside, and somehow the gym had a leak and flooded. They were outdoors while the gym was dried, and since the school wasn't in the city, it had space for them to be outdoors. The teacher had the class run laps, and Hunter just walked while the other ran. Kelsey and Derrick neared a huge mud puddle; they both suddenly slipped and fell face-first into the mud. Katie, Jamie, and Mattie tried to help them up but dropped in too. No one could stand, and the teacher was losing her temper. The muddy children were sent in to clean up and had their parents called down, and I knew I had to stick around.

I listened to the Principal drone on while talking to all the parents. TJ was annoyed as he got called out of a budget meeting. Jackson was mentally blaming Hunter as this seemed up his ally. That was my last straw, and I made all the chairs for the parent's collapse, dropping each of them onto the floor, and Jackson let down slower as I didn't want to hurt him too badly. Falling to the floor made the parents even angrier, so I decided to give one more parting shot and triggered the fire sprinklers. There was pure pandemonium with everyone trying to leave the building and not get soaked. That didn't work out too well, and everyone got drenched, and I let out a hearty laugh and went home.

Later that evening, I heard TJ and Jackson lecturing Hunter and asking him to apologize for his actions at school. I had heard enough and interrupted the meeting.

"Hunter, you apologize right now; I can't believe you," TJ shouted
"I didn't do it, Dad," Hunter sobbed
"Getting even with Kelsey? Hunter?" Jackson piled on
"You two are dumber than a box of rocks," I said. "It was me."
"You?" Everyone said collectively
"Are you deaf too?" I snidely remarked. "You guys talk about how we are such a great family, but it must only occur inside these walls. Over the last couple of days, I witnessed Derrick and Kelsey torment Hunter, and these three and the other just let it happen. I told you two Hunter had a bully problem, and you ignored it, so I had to do something."
"It wasn't right," TJ said
"So letting it continue was?" I said harshly. "It was only a matter of time before Hunter did something he should've, and you guys all would have been to blame. It broke my heart to watch him go through the day all alone and being picked on. What if it was you, TJ, or you Jackson?"

I watched the emotions pass over everyone's face.
"As for you three," I said, addressing Mattie, Jamie, and Katie. "Shame on you for putting popularity over family. One of the significant values of the Shepard Center is to stop bullying, and I can tell that value means jack shit to you."
"That's enough preaching," Grandpa Jack said, stepping into the room. "When you mentioned bullying the other day, I had a feeling something was going on, but since Hunter hadn't said anything, I had no way to look into it. I do, however, agree that Hunter has become seriously withdrawn over the last few weeks and flies off the handle at a moment's notice. The other night Grandpa Tracy and I had a long talk about the bullying we faced in school for being gay, and we decided we had to step in and help. It also seems that we have to do more than that. If what Tristan is saying is true, we have a lot to work on as a family."
"Thank you, Grandpa," Hunter said, running towards Jack in tears.
The others were speechless, and I could tell we were hitting home with them.
"I know what Tristan did was not right, nor was it appropriate. As adults and parents, we must listen to what the children tell us." Grandpa Tracy said from the doorway. "As Tristan said, this could have gone very wrong, and I'm not sure I would have like that outcome."
"Over the next couple of days, this family has some soul searching to do," Grandpa Jack said. "Starting with TJ and Jackson."

I didn't see Xander that night as he had a doctor's appointment in the morning, so he was home. I felt someone else get into bed with me and cuddle up, and I knew it was Hunter getting into the bed. I pretended to be asleep, but I heard what he said.

"Thank you, big brother, for being there for me. I love you so much," he said and then kissed my forehead.