He was used to those looks from her. She was quite aware her class didn't interest him at all. And it wasn't the text, it was her. She would constantly chastise him for making faces when she would read passages from the most dull of literature selections. Jon wasn't some dumb jock or class clown (though his funny mocking faces got a lot of laughs). Oh no, if anything, he read more than the average teenager. He actually enjoyed reading; his parents had imposed a love of books on him as a child. His father would take them to the library often. His father wasn't the Tolstoy reading type; he more enjoyed sports biographies and such. His mother would read anything she could get her hands on, and Ben inherited that from her.

Speaking of his mother, he looked up to see a flash of a gray cardigan and curly brown hair bounce past his classroom door. He jumped up suddenly, the class staring at him.

Jon cleared his throat and looked sheepishly at the teacher. "Um, I...I have to pee."

Mrs. Evans frowned as the class laughed. "Of course you do. Instead of you announcing your bathroom breaks, Mr. Halpert, just come up and discreetly get the hall pass from now on."

He nodded as he marched up front, yanking up the pass and skidding into the hall way. His mom hadn't moved far, so his long legs were a blessing as he ran up beside her.

"Mom?"

She turned suddenly, shock in her voice. "Jon?! What are you doing here?"

"Um...I kind of go to school here." He said more as a question, his eyebrow arched as he watched her nervously pull at her sweater sleeves. She looked a bit flushed and Jon knew immediately she wasn't sure she should be here either.

"Oh, I know that. I just meant..." She looked away quickly. He looked so much like Jim, and he figured she felt as if she was explaining something to his father, something she knew she should not be doing. She shook it off.  "Wait, why aren't you in class?"

Deflection. A tactic his parents often use. Jon ran a hand through his dark hair. "I saw you and I- hey, why are you here? Did something happen?"

She shook her head and adjusted her purse strap. "I'm here to see Roy-Coach Anderson about Ben."

Jon nodded slowly. He knew his mother. She wasn't very big on confrontation, so he knew this encounter was somewhat nerve racking to her. That, and the fact she probably did it on impulse, hence her edginess. "Does...Dad know you're here?"

His mother's cheeks flushed a bit more, but she countered that with a stiff chin up and steady eyes. "Should he?"

"Mom...it's just that...Dad's planning to come talk to this guy. It's some sort of macho thing. It's obvious there's some bad blood because of you and-"

"Even more reason for me to step in. Ben doesn't deserve this because of me. And I'm not going to sit by and let your father be involved in Roy's pissing contest. And again...why aren't you in class?"

Pam adjusted her pocketbook, silently chastising herself for snapping at Jon.  "I'm sorry ‘bout that... I'm just...I don't need your Dad to always handle things."

Jon nodded quietly as his mom reached up and ruffled his hair. She said his hair reminded her of his dad's. "So you think you'll get in trouble if you bathroom break includes you showing your mom where the gym is?"

Jon shook his head and they began moving towards the gym. Part of him didn't care if he got in trouble; he didn't want to leave his mom alone with this guy. They walked down the hall in silence, past the lockers before she spoke again. "So, did you vote for this guy Randy Stevenson? He has a lot of homecoming posters up. It's actually a ridiculous amount of glitter glue he used."

"He probably snorts the stuff too. And no, I didn't vote. I'm not into that kind of thing."

"Oh, I forgot, you're rebelling against the ‘man'..."

He smiled at her. His mom could be just as much of a corn ball as his dad. And also horrible at trying to not talk about why she really decided to come today. "If I ran, it would be a dictatorship. I would be the last voted homecoming king under military rule."

"You would rule the homecoming game with an iron fist?"

"There would be no mercy, Mom. I would get DJ to be my enforcer, he would enlist Kurt and his spud gun. It wouldn't be pretty."

"You'd make a good homecoming king."

"Not my bag, mom. I'm a no frills kind of guy. I'm not into combing my hair unless absolutely necessary. Like for weddings...or funerals."

They approached the door to the gym and Jon paused, his hand gripping the door handle. He looked at her, her face morose. He could tell she dreaded this, but she wanted to do this for Ben and to keep their Dad from getting back into it with this idiot.  "What are you going to say to this guy?"

She breathed in and focused ahead. "Simple, this has nothing to do with Ben. Whatever happened in the past should stay there."

Jon nodded. "What did he do, Mom? Was he bad to you? I can see it on your face."

She gave him a small smile over his concern. "He was my first love, but I'm glad he wasn't my last. I hurt him, I really did, but I won't let you guys deal with his bullshit... Sorry for cursing."

With that, she walked in, and the sounds of basketballs pounding the gym floor hit Jon's ears. He watched his mother approach the Coach. The man looked genuinely surprised to see her, his hands dropped by his side, and his mouth slacked as Pam hesitantly walked forward. They spoke, but Jon couldn't hear, he just saw the coach nodding and then his mother followed him to the offices. Jon looked back down the hall towards his class, and snorted. Mrs. Evans would just have to give him detention. 

He pushed the door forward and walked slowly behind them. The bell was ringing and class was over now. He watched as they turned a corner into the locker corridor and he stealthily followed. Coach had left his door open, and Jon took a deep breath, stepping close to the door frame, cautious not to be seen.

"Damn, Pam. You...you look good."

"Thanks...Roy listen..."

"It's really good to see you. It's been years."

"Yeah it has."

"My mom actually asked about you a few weeks back. Asked if I knew how you were doing. I told her, we hadn't spoken in so long. I did tell her I met your son...Brian, is it?"

Jon could hear his mother say bitterly. "Ben. Ben Halpert."

Jon smiled to himself. His mother threw that dig in on purpose. That's right, it's Halpert, idiot. She would never have had kids by you, Jon thought. He wondered why his mom was ever with such an asshole to begin with, it didn't seem like her. He seemed stifling, obnoxious, rude, and worst of all, blotchy.

There was a pause, as if Roy knew exactly why his mom stated Ben's last name. "Yea, um... I can't say our first impression was a good one. He sorta has a chip on his shoulder."

"Ben? Ben might be a lot of things but he doesn't walk around angry. Is that what really happened, Roy? Because Ben came home with a different version."

Another pause. "Well...Pammy. I guess we have a lot to talk about."

"It's Pam, Roy. Don't go there."

There was a beat before Jon felt someone tug at him. He jerked around to see Ben glaring at him.

"What are you-?"

"Shhhhhh!" Jon pushed him away from the door and back out into the gym.

Ben looked at him confused. "What's wrong with-?"

"Shhhhh!"

"Stop that!" Ben replied.

"Mom's in there with Red Blotch as we speak," he hissed. "Now are you gonna be quiet so we can eavesdrop?"

Ben paused, and dipped his head, and the boys tipped toed back to the door, perking up their ears.

Roy's deep voice echoed off the lockers. "So what... your boy comes home, sells the crying act, and you guys eat it up as a revenge plot by me? I don't have time to take out twenty years of aggression on some teenaged boy."

"So, why did you specifically call him out? You forget I've known you most of my life, I know how you work. Did you go after him because of what happened? Because I'm telling you now, that's not right Roy."

"Are you kidding me? This is some bull, Pam. Seriously. You claim to know me so well. You really think this is about your kid?"

"What is it about then, Roy?"

"Okay, yeah...Part of me was a bit surprised to see him. He looks a lot like you, but I can see the attitude is all Halpert's. I didn't like his attitude at all."

"Maybe he had one because you started in on him."

"I don't run that kind of program, Pammy. I mean, it was a bit off putting to see this kid who looks like you but acts like Halpert. I mean, sure sometimes, I think of what could have been but, it doesn't matter does it. You made your choice."

The boys leaned in to hear their mother's response when a gruff grunt behind them made them whip around to reveal their father.

Jim stood there tall, his hands in his suit pockets as he watched his boys stand up straight, with guilty looks. He mockingly whispered, "Hello, Scooby and Shaggy. What caper are you investigating today?"

Jon nodded his head back at the door, murmuring, "Mom's in there."

He saw his father's eyes widen for a second in surprise but he recovered quickly as he sucked in his bottom lip. "Um...okay. Wasn't expecting that. Wow. So yeah... don't you two have class?"

The boys shrugged as Jim walked past them and into the frame of the door. Jon and Ben didn't move as they watched their father stand in the door way, feigning confusion. "Oh...here's the office. Oh....hey Pam."

"Jesus Christ. Jim Halpert. Put ‘er there," Roy's fake voice came through.

Jon guessed his mom was a bit embarrassed that she had come without their dad. She was suddenly very quiet. They listened as their father sat down, his voice steady. "So...we're here about Ben."

"I was just telling Pammy here, he was a good kid," Roy's comment almost made Ben snort.

"Sure you were," Their dad's voice oozed with sarcasm. "So what's the problem?"

"I had a little run in with Ben at practice. Ben was a bit disrespectful. Didn't want to play by the rules."

"Ah," Jim said. "Well, what if I told you we talked to him about it, and he promised to never do it again?"

"Well, he did it in front of the whole team. We can't have that affecting how they play, now can we?"

Ben wanted to go in there and wallop the red blotched bastard. That's not how it went down and he knew it.

"I see, well, does it affect the whole team, honestly? Were they not able to practice because of Ben? I'm not sure what happened but-"

"You calling me a liar? You son didn't want to do warm ups and then he acted like a little snot and refused to fall in line."

The boys could tell their father didn't like his children being called names. This guy obviously rubbed their dad the wrong way and long before Ben's incident. Jon briefly wondered just how awful he had been to their mom, since she never really gave an answer.

Jim let out a tense chortle. "Okay...I'm trying to be civil here, it's obviously not working. So..."

"Are you? Are you really?" Roy laughed bitterly.

"Roy!" Pam hissed.

Jim took a deep breath. "No one's accusing you of anything. Ben's the best point guard this season, check his stats. He's also MVP for the State Championships last year's JV. Not one blemish on his record."

Roy snorted, "I've seen his stats. They're okay enough. I'm running a different kind of program here. I don't think because he's this, jock or whatever, he gets to be difficult."

Jon imaged his father's jaw line tensing as he stated, "I think you're making this personal and it doesn't have to be."

"Whoa, those are strong words, there," Roy objected.

"I know. That's why I chose them," Jim said curtly. They had seen their father become upset only one time when their mom's brother Paul made a smart comment about mom once.

"Ha," Roy gave a smug sneer. "Still cracking jokes after all these years. I see where Ben gets it."

"Well between that and his basketball skills, he gets that from me. The rest, he gets from his mother. That's kind of a great combination, I would say."

The tension filled the air and the boys strained harder to hear. They could practically feel the vibes coming from their father's words, and though he said them as if they were to be humorous, they were cutting Roy like a knife. Jim's underlying meaning was clear. These were his kids, with Pam, and Roy could back the hell up.

Jim didn't care what crap Roy was spewing. "He's got excellent grades, as does his brother. Both are known for being well rounded boys and now...suddenly, we have you telling us we're dealing with a juvenile delinquent?"

"Maybe it's the hormones? My stepdaughter sure has them" Roy sarcastically spit out, and Ben nearly choked as he said it. He still tasted her cigarette tasting breath as Roy continued ranting.

 "Who knows? All I know is that I resent the fact you're trying to make it seem like I'm doing this as some payback for you poaching my girlfriend twenty years ago."

"Is that what this is about? Because I never said why I thought you went after him, did I Roy? And by the way, she was your fiancée. And it doesn't really matter. I didn't poach anyone, she chose to leave you and it was like, a whole year before we even-"

"Look here Hal-"

"No, Roy," Pam interrupted firmly, and Jon's eyes widened in admiration as he heard her talk. He knew his mother's tone well. She was getting pissed. "Listen, whatever attitude Ben may or may not have had, I know my son. He's not going to cop one unless you started with him. Jim and I stand together on that. And if you don't let Ben back on team, I promise you I will take it to whomever I have to-"

"-Whomever, as in an object, as in the School Board-" Jim interjected, matter-of-factly.

"-Correct," she said unflinchingly. "You know this is unfair, Roy."

Jim slapped his hands on his knees, and sighed deeply. "You know what Pam? I think we should go. Practice is on Monday, right? Coach?"

There was a pause before a gruff, "Yeah. See him Monday."

Jon and Ben stood back, staring, pride in their eyes over their parents standing up for Ben. They heard chairs scoot back and the boys scrambled out towards the gymnasium.

"Why are we running?" Jon asked as they skidded onto the basketball court.

"I don't know, stop, I'm tired!" Ben yelped, leaning over, wheezing.

They heard someone clearing their throat behind them. "Well at least they don't run track, Pam."

Both boys turned embarrassed towards their parents.

Jim smirked, crossing his lanky arms. "So I gather you guys heard everything from your clandestine positions by the door?"

"Pretty much, "Ben said. "I was waiting for you to punch him or something."

"Or a nice kick to the shin," Jon replied, grinning.

Jim shook his head. "Not all things need to end violently. There's blood, and if Dwight's there, some pepper spray or ninja throwing stars. And sneaking around, listening at doors isn't a great idea either. But you already knew that. And wait, why aren't either of you in class?"

Jon and Ben looked each other and down at their shoes.

"Ben, you want this right? Because I mean, doesn't matter what happened in there, if you don't want to play, I get it okay. We're proud of you guys not matter what. Both of you, we're all in this together okay?"

Pam balked. "Wow, that felt like an after school special sort of thing to say!"

"I want to, Dad," Ben said smiling. It made him happy to see his parents were going balls to the wall for him. Plus his Dad was right, his stats were fucking incredible.

Pam nodded. "Right. So...would you think badly of us if we sprang you guys and went to an early dinner?"

Both boys shook their heads anxiously.

Jim smiled and messed up Ben's hair as the quad walked out the gym, not seeing a forlorn Roy watching. "We'll meet you in the front office. One last big hooray before Ben starts obsessing about his calorie intake again."