Being Different

Nothing Short of Ordinary

A/N: Daddy Darius is mighty worried for his son, so guess what...he's at Damien's school teaching martial arts courses, while keeping a steady eye on his son and on Randy Crum! Well, that doesn't sit too well with Damien but at least, the young man understands the situation with the revelation of Randy's father doing more than just dabbling into very serious affairs...

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I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, signalling the start of a new day. I climbed out of bed in my shorts and opened the balcony doors. I inhaled deeply the crisp morning air and the scent of pancakes wafted upwards, assaulting my nose and alerting my tummy. Alma had outdone herself yet again by preparing a delicious breakfast.

But before I could even step out of my room to dash downstairs for a first helping of the sumptuous meal, my father spotted me and headed my way, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey kiddo, how are you feeling?" He beamed. My father was extraordinarily chipper this morning. I wondered why.

"Umm...okay I guess! What's up? You seem super happy this morning? Did something wonderful happen?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at my dad's sudden springy mood.

"No...nothing much...except I start teaching those defense classes at your school today!" He smiled.

"Oh..." I responded uneasily, which made my dad scowl.

"What do you mean by 'oh'? I'm rather excited about it!" He rubbed his hands together, clearly relishing the fact that he would be lurking around both me and Randy Crum.

"Dad, I am nearly a grown man. Are you just being so cautious now that we know Randy's background? I'm not some kid who doesn't know what he's getting into, you know. I can handle it" I spouted, feeling pretty confident.

"Damien, you're my son and I'll be damned if any harm comes to you...especially with that boy. If it makes you feel better, I promise to keep my distance. Happy now?" He sighed.

"Thanks dad!" I cheered, hugging my father before we both raced down to the kitchen.

I know dad was only watching out for me, now that we knew about Randy's dad and the man's sordid life, but I was pretty sure Randy knew nothing about it. Call it a gut feeling, but I believed that Randy was innocent in all of this, but my father was being cautious I guess.

Darius POV

I couldn't help but worry for Damien. He is my only kid, and especially after what those men did, I just couldn't risk it. My precious son, my legacy...what dad wouldn't worry for their own kid...and with all the horrible incidents happening at high schools these days. I was livid.

I knew for a fact that there wasn't a mean bone in my son's body. No matter how he took to all the self-defense training I had personally given him, apart from the training the 'Sifus' (who were all masters of their own martial arts craft) had also given, I couldn't help but wonder whether Damien would have the guts to stand up for himself when the time came.

I know I shouldn't be thinking about this, but Damien didn't go through the school of hard knocks like I did, having a Navy Seal for a dad. My father would nearly beat it into me whenever he came from field training or special ops. I resented it at the time but I began to understand why my dad did what he did...to toughen me up, and it worked, otherwise I wouldn't be in this business.

I often feared what any parent feared the most...that their kid would die before they did. That some lunatic kid out there would and could gun down my boy or any other kid for that matter. Heck, that kid could even be one similar to Randy Crum.

The coach had given me the lowdown on Randy's behaviour towards his fellow teammates and I was disturbed by what he told me. Randy had a vicious temper, that if not checked could result in physical abuse for the one he directed his resentment towards. I then understood why the coach gave my boy the rising opportunity to be captain of the football team, simply because of that boy's retched temper and his blatant harassment of a teammate who failed to perform on the field during a game.

I was also pleased to know that Damien did hold his own on the field despite Randy's efforts to thwart him, and that my son had won the respect of his teammates, including, surprisingly enough, the respect of Randy Crum, which peaked my curiosity about the boy even further.

Imagine my shock and horror knowing that the two boys almost did more than just flirt in the changing rooms near the pool area, plus the fact that they hadn't really known each other well enough yet to get to that stage. Yet, they nearly did...and it scared the hell out of me. Two teenage boys with raging hormones, not being able to get a grip on their emotions...What was I, a parent supposed to do?

So, I did some checking and my fears were realized when Randy's father came up trumps as the lead suspect in an ongoing investigation. So much for a clean slate, his old man practically had a rap sheet that touched on all kinds of scams, some very horrendous ones. I tried hard not to freak out, so I asked my operatives to grab the boy to find out what he knew.

It turned out that the kid really had no clue as to what the nature of his father's real business was, so the kid was clean, but that was not enough to deter me from making sure my boy was safe. I didn't trust this Randy Crum...not...one...bit!

I took Damien to school on the bike again, earning strange looks from his teachers and fellow classmates. I couldn't care less. In fact, such attention only made me wary of the others, those who were not our operatives but civilians.

Our organization is good at screening civilians for suitable posts where operatives' children go to school, whether these civilians are involved in local businesses nearby or as actual teaching professionals on campus. We even screen the kids themselves, although discreetly. Weapons are not allowed on campus and all students are thoroughly searched before entering the high security area before the actual school itself as a precaution.

Hence the majority of our schools, though private are the most secure in the United States or anywhere in the world for that matter, even though it may cost a small fortune for a kid to go there, and with good reason. Every time I hear of a shooting in public schools, my heart goes out to the victims and their parents and teachers and I am thankful that I am a member of a very unique organization who takes safety and security seriously.

As I watch my handsome, teenage son go about his day with his classmates, I wonder how long I could keep this façade up of just pretending to be an ordinary parent among the others when my duties had gone beyond that and more. The desire in me to protect and serve had increased a thousand-fold due to the presence of my son, and nothing was going to get in the way of that, not even one Randy Crum...