***I tried to make a realistically unrealistic court trial here. A lot of this stuff happens in court, but a lot of it doesn't. You'll know it when you see it LOL

There won't be a jury. The way the pleading works here is different than usual. Etcetera, etcetera, blah, blah, BLAH-

Also, I decided to not have a trial, per se, for Nya. She pleads guilty, so I limited the other parties (beside hers) to a prosecutor and a judge. I'll try to explain things as I go.

You know, just don't expect it to reflect a real-life trial. There we go. That's all that needs to be said.

Also, I don't own Shia LeBeouf.

And you shouldn't read the bolded part in this fic if you're triggered by sexual abuse/rape.***

***(Nya's POV)***

"You're going to do great." Jay reaches down and squeezes my fingers as I walk into the courthouse, escorted by two police officers due to the gathering outside.

Yep, today's the day – my court date. My attorney and I have decided to plead guilty to the charges of petty theft and drug abuse posed against me. The charges of evading arrest were dropped as soon as evidence against Sanders began piling up – apparently, he had expressly written to certain colleagues of his how to deal with me if I returned to Ignacia. His plan to frame me or Cole for the other's murder was a spur of the moment decision when Cole refused to help him keep me quiet.

The second-degree robbery charges I faced have also been dropped. Cole gave me bank records that showed him withdrawing a sum sufficient for the running price of Dark Matter right before the robbery. He's also here to testify for me today – I requested that the judge allow me to plead guilty in a private setting with multiple witnesses at hand.

Cole knows who dealt him the Dark Matter, as well, but that guy is in prison from Sanders's drug busts a few years back. As Cole has told me, the police chief struck a deal with him to cover up his part in the armed robbery for two reasons. For one, the chief's daughter had taken a liking to Cole, and the chief thought he could use that to his advantage. That leads to the second reason the police chief pushed all Cole's charges on me: In exchange for the chief keeping Cole's secrets, Cole was supposed to help Sanders take down multiple drug sellers throughout Ignacia. The chief became anti-drugs after what he went through with his son.

His now-deceased son who raped me when I was alone and unable to help myself.

My attorney thinks this hearing and subsequent sentencing should go comparably well for me, but very badly for Cole.

"It's okay, Nya." Jay smiles down at me sympathetically. "At least all those charges of you allegedly leading an armed robbery were dropped. You were only held in jail for two days before they let you out on bail."

I nod. "Staying with you and Kai has been much better than jail, I assure you." It's been a little over two weeks since that fateful day I met Jay, and let's just say jail is not a place I wanted to heal from what happened that night at the cabin. It was much better once I could go home – yes, to the very house my parents used to live in and Kai now lives in. As soon as I got out of jail, Jay came and stayed a night at our place in celebration. It was really just a time for the two of us to have a therapy chat when Kai finally went to bed. We both had a lot of healing to do from Sanders' wicked plans.

And Jay has spent the past two days with me here. He got his shifts covered at the coffee shop and skipped class to come support me. It's touching.

We're not dating. Oh my gosh, I have enough in my life to worry about right now – Sanders's upcoming sentencing, getting to know Kai again, going to the grocery store without stares and questions and reporters, and my own hearing, for crying out loud. Romance needs to wait.

Oh, yeah, about Sanders – he hasn't had his sentencing yet, but he pled guilty on his attorney's suggestion to multiple charges of murder, coercion, hiding evidence...the list goes on and on. He'll most likely be sentenced to several consecutive life sentences in prison.

But back to what I was saying, I've come to depend on Jay more quickly than I'd like to admit the past two weeks. Yes, he's flawed. He lied to his parents, pulled me into those lies, and tried to force me to accept his love. Those things are all wrong.

They don't display the real Jay, either. The real Jay likes warm hugs and sunshiney days and cotton candy and nerd movies. He texts his parents every evening to wish them goodnight, collects clocks just to please his mom, and invents stupid stuff that will never actually be of any use. Yesterday, while Kai was at work, he showed me how to make a singing blender. I'm not even kidding.

He also steals my French fries whenever we get takeout, but I can mostly forgive him for that.

And he seems to like me pretty well, which I'm not complaining about.

Kai clears his throat from behind us. "Metal detectors?"

I look up to see a security guard watching us expectantly. I try not to blush, placing my car keys and a few other metal trinkets in a plastic basket before walking past the giant scanners. I enter without issue.

After Kai, Jay, and my attorney Gail Gossip follow suit, I get my belongings back. I then turn to spot an exhausted-looking Cole nearby. He smiles at me vaguely and approaches.

"I'll show you the way to your room," he says, his voice dull. "Homer's waiting outside, as is Nya's senior-year English teacher and the one witness from our parties back in the day who was willing to testify."

I sadden at his pained expression. Yeah, I'm not Cole's biggest fan, but he's really trying to do what's right for me here. Cole's going to face the consequences for his actions, though, and I heard his wife was considering divorce about a week ago. I'm not sure anymore.

Regardless, he'll spend at least the next ten years in prison. In the end, the past will always come back to bite us, I guess.

We follow him to my courtroom, and I swallow hard when I see the witnesses who have gathered at the door to testify in my favor. These people don't know me all that well, but they've still decided to come here and support me.

So I muster my strength and raise my head high, injecting confidence into my stride. I walk right into the open doors of the courtroom, unconcerned with the extravagant marble décor and the rows of ugly folding chairs.

It's time to face my past and deal with the consequences so I can have a brighter future.

When my eyes land on the judge, though, my bravery quakes. She's the one who'll be deciding my fate today.

"I believe in you," Jay whispers down into my ear. "Just – "

"Don't say it," I interrupt.

"Just do – "

"Nope. Not helping."

"Just do it!" He grins cheekily, planting a kiss on my cheek. "I'll be rooting for you the whole time. Let's do this."

"Nya Smith?" the judge addresses me.

I nod shakily. "I'm her."

The prosecutor (from the city) at a desk near the front hands off several pages to a secretary, who then delivers the papers to the judge.

She scans them, then muses, "You've already submitted a list of witnesses. Are they all present?"

"Yes, your honor." I clear my throat, as there seems to be something stuck in it.

She indicates several seats in the front row. "Please have them sit here. Anyone not identifying as a witness must seat themselves in the guest area."

"That's me." With one last reassuring smile, Jay brushes his fingers over my hand and goes to sit toward the back.

As everyone else – Kai, Cole, and the others – take their seats in their assigned row, the judge looks up at me through her spectacles. "Please approach the stand."

"Of course, your honor." I do as she says, swallowing hard. This is terrifying.

"Court is in session," she declares. "Miss Nya Smith, you submitted in writing that you wanted to plead guilty, but due to the nature of this case, the city of Ignacia has allowed the court to handle this differently than usual." She eyes me again. "Please affirm whether you intend to plead guilty or not guilty."

"G-guilty," I swallow, speaking into the microphone. It makes a weird feedback noise, and I stand back a little.

"Very well. I'm prepared to read the charges posed against you." She reads her paper, her voice monotone. "The charges include petty theft of a watch worth $400 and several known uses of marijuana and cocaine. You also have been charged with two occasions of accessory to theft. During a second-degree robbery, you were under the influence of Dark Matter. Is that right?"

I take a deep breath. "Yes, your honor." Most of my charges of theft can't be proven, and I honestly don't remember most people I stole from. The family friend I stole jewelry from has agreed to keep the offense quiet in exchange for me paying them back.

She scans the paper once more. "Miss Smith, do you have anything to say to me or any witnesses you wish to call upon before I make a decision in your matter?"

"Yes, your honor." I clear my throat. "I...would like to point out extenuating circumstances regarding each of these events."

"You may." She continues to look down at her paper, not giving me the benefit of a reaction.

"Thank you, your honor." I inhale deeply. "I-I was seventeen years old when – when both my parents died in a fatal car accident." Memories flash through my mind, but I force them back. "It was a dark time in my life, and I was put into the custody of my older brother Kai Smith. I have my parents' obituaries and Kai's former proof of guardianship with me." I hand the documents off to the secretary, who offers them to the prosecutor for review.

The judge glances at the prosecutor. "Prosecution?"

After a moment of reviewing them, he hands them back to the secretary. "No objection to those materials, your honor."

The secretary transports the materials from the prosecutor to the judge.

She places them to the side. "Thank you, Miss Smith. Do you have anything further to continue with?"

Oh, you'd better bet I'm not done yet. "Yes, your honor. After the death of my parents, as I mentioned, I was in a very dark place. That's...about the time I started dating Cole Brookstone. I have with me his written testimony attesting to this, as well as other factors. He's also one of my witnesses, should you want to question him further." I pass off his written testimony to the secretary. Once it's approved by the secretary, the judge bids me to continue again.

I shoot Cole a look to apologize. This story isn't going to paint him in a very good light.

He gives me a tired smile, urging me to go on.

I clear my throat. "After I'd dated Cole Brookstone for two months, he began introducing me to the world of crime. I would drive a getaway car for him while he stole different items. He now has informed those he recalls having stolen from, and charges have been pressed. I was only charged as an accessory to theft in two cases because the prosecuting attorney found little evidence to point to me in any of the other charges suggested against me. I do confess to multiple other occasions of accessory to theft." Not that Cole and I remember everyone we stole from – there are some people who will never receive compensation for what was stolen from them because they have no proof against us and we have no recollection of stealing from them.

"Can you testify to this, prosecution?" the judge asks.

"I can," he replies. "Miss Smith is only charged with two occasions of accessory to theft, since there's no evidence to point to the other crimes she plausibly did while under the influence of drugs."

My attorney made a plea deal with the prosecuting attorney earlier, and he agreed not to cite me for anything more than two crimes of accessory to theft if I pled guilty.

"Understood," the judge continues, eyeing me. "Continue."

"One night, Cole took me to a party. They had edibles there, and...I ate one. It says more about that in Cole's testimony." I release a shaky breath, darting my gaze to Kai. This is the first time he's heard my story in full.

"I went to these parties once every few weeks at first. I liked the pleasant and carefree feeling edibles gave me, so Cole started taking me to parties more, and...a month and a half after I had edibles the first time, Cole offered me marijuana laced with cocaine. I took it." I mess with the corner of my crumpled speech paper. "Again, Cole is here to testify to that, and his written testimony agrees.

"I spiraled downhill from there. I would oftentimes stay weekends with Cole, not telling Kai where I was because I knew he wouldn't approve. Kai's written testimony agrees." I hand the document up.

"I would get high every weekend," I go on, my words quickening. "I was becoming an addict. I wanted to do drugs more, but I couldn't during the school year because Kai was around. I had to come down off my high and hide any evidence that I'd been using at Cole's before I could go back to him. So essentially, I was just a rebellious schoolgirl with dropping grades during the week. On the weekends, I would drive the getaway car for Cole and do drugs. My English teacher for my senior year of high school is here to testify to this." I pass off her written testimony to the secretary again, then wait for its approval before continuing.

"One night, at a party..." My voice breaks, so I start over. "One night, at a party I was attending with Cole, Cole got really drunk. I was late that night – it was a Friday, and Kai was lecturing me about spending every weekend out. He suspected I wasn't 'staying with friends', which was the lie I used on him every time I left on the weekends. His testimony agrees with this.

"Anyway, I was late that night, and when I came, Cole was so drunk he was sick. I found him throwing up in the restroom. I thought I needed a high, though – I was incredibly upset from my talk with Kai – and I stuck around the party, waiting for someone to offer me something. They didn't. Without Cole, I didn't have access to drugs." I feel my fingers shake, so I stuff my hands in the pockets of my slacks.

"No one gave me anything that night – not upon my request. No one even offered me edibles. All I was able to get was a beer. I was eighteen at that time, so it wasn't illegal." Drinking alcohol at a house party in Ignacia is legal at the age of eighteen.

"I set my drink down for just a moment to check on Cole. I took good precautions and had a 'friend' of mine hold it since I didn't want anyone messing with it. Unfortunately, this 'friend' was already high and unable to focus. When I went to check on Cole, something was slipped in my drink – GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy. It's...a date rape drug." I blush hard, forcing my breathing to remain even and staring down hard at my paper.

I need to tell my story. Jay knows bits and pieces, and Cole knows the truth, but it's time for everything to come out. It could make a big difference in my sentencing, and the world needs to know that I'm a survivor.

"When I came back from checking on Cole," I force out, "I retrieved my drink from my friend. It only took a few sips and a few minutes to be feeling good. I thought it was weird, but I assumed it was just a buzz from the beer, so I didn't suspect anything. I was stupid." I release a strangled breath.

"I began to feel numb after a little while, and then weak. It was like I couldn't form words – I couldn't walk. My legs buckled, and someone nearby helped me sit down." I shake my head against recollections of clear-gray eyes with wicked intent. "That turned out to be the police chief's deceased son, Grant Sanders. I didn't know who he was.

"He offered to take me to the hospital since I wasn't even able to speak anymore. I gave something that passed for an agreement because my mind was muddled from the drugs." I hunch my shoulders, trying to make myself as small as possible and focusing on blocking out the memories.

After the silence has gone on far too long, I continue, "He didn't take me to the hospital. He took me to...his family's cabin." My mouth dry, my gaze drifts to Kai. He sits there frozen, watching me with a haunted expression on his face.

***Trigger warning***

I sigh. "Grant brought me inside. I was conscious the entire time, even though I didn't really understand what was happening until after it was much too late. He – he brought me – brought me through the hallway, to the right, and through winding rows of rooms. And then...then he pushed open a door on the left side of the hall. It opened to a darkened room. When he flipped on the lights, I saw it was...a bedroom."

Jay shuffles in the back of the room, and the uncomfortable witness row turns their attention to him. Kai, however, snaps out of his daze and clenches his fists. He starts to say something, but Cole grabs his arm, eyeing him seriously.

I try to focus on the story at hand and not my brother's anger or the way I know Jay is looking at me sympathetically from the back row. I can't take sympathy right now. I'll never finish my story that way.

"It's not hard to figure out the rest," I whisper into the microphone, feeling hot tears dribble down my cheeks and reveal my insecurity. "Grant forced me out of my jeans and laid me down in the bed. I couldn't fight back because the drugs he slipped me had paralyzed me. And he forced himself on me. He...raped me. I was helpless.

"He used me and abused me like that for hours before I regained my strength. He even went so far as to photograph me like that for his own personal use." I clench my teeth at the sickness of it all. It's disgusting what some people think is acceptable.

***Trigger warning over***

"He had a drug crash," I say, wanting to skip over the bad parts. "He passed out and was dead asleep. And eventually, I regained enough strength that I could run. That's what I did. I got my clothes off the floor, snuck away from him, and ran out the side door for the nearest house. It was the home of Homer and Margie Smiddy I ran to that morning." I indicate my witness. "Margie is deceased now, but Homer gave his written testimony asserting this fact." I hand the page to the secretary.

Once the judge tells me to continue, I look back up from my papers, feeling surer of myself as I finish my story. "When I came to Homer and Margie's, I didn't tell them what had happened. I didn't say anything to Homer, in fact. But I did say a few things to Margie – I told her that a guy clearly on drugs had forced me into his car and tried to take me somewhere I didn't want to go. I also told her that I had escaped and run for the nearest sign of civilization. She suspected more had happened. She actually wrote about her concerns in her journal." I hand the book off to the secretary, wondering when these people are going to ask for my evidence all at once.

"They drove me into town and dropped me off at Kai's," I go on. "I never called the police. I never knew who was at fault, and" – I swallow against shame for how stupid I was – "quite frankly, I was afraid to know who would do something like that. I did tell Cole a few days later, and he can testify to that. That's also written in his statement.

"From then on, I never went to parties. I took what drugs Cole had with him when I went to stay at his house on the weekends. He understood that I was messed up. I wanted more drugs and more distractions. We needed money, so that meant more stealing." I shake my head. "Once a week, we'd go to different houses and steal different items valued a few hundred dollars at a time. Cole usually stole while I drove the getaway car, even though I'm what incited him to get more money. He promised me we'd move someplace far away from here as soon as I graduated. And thus, his plan for the bank robbery came about." I sigh.

"He messed up. He knew I wouldn't agree to such a large-scale operation, but he knew it was hurting me to stay in Ignacia. So Cole slipped me DM the day of the robbery – Dark Matter. He openly testified to this in his written account. I also have with me records from his checking account at the time. He withdrew just over the going price for Dark Matter from his account the day before the bank robbery." I hand the bank statement off. "I don't need to show this to you, since the police have already accepted that I was on Dark Matter at the time of the bank robbery. The charges of second-degree robbery have been dropped because I unknowingly took a powerful, character-changing drug. However, I thought I'd demonstrate the end of my story to you." I look up at the ceiling.

"So that's how it ended for me. I haven't done drugs since that day with the Dark Matter. The day after the robbery, when I went to visit Cole, he told me he was breaking up with me. I figured out he was going with the police chief's daughter all of a sudden, so I confronted the chief by speaking with him at his home. He threatened me into running away. His threats against me in writing have been deemed sufficient evidence of my innocence in evading arrest. I haven't done drugs since I ran, and I've been drug-tested and IQ-tested and everything-tested recently. The police have testified to this already. Additionally, I haven't stolen a thing since I ran away. There are no new charges against me in that regard." I run my fingers through my hair. "And that's all I have to say, your honor. I'd like to request that witness Cole Brookstone take the stand next."

"He may." She scans the documents in front of her.

I seat myself next to my attorney across from the row of witness chairs. It's several seats in front of Jay, since he's not allowed to interact with me right now.

I watch as, one by one, the four people who agreed to testify for me agree with my account. They all add in special details of their stories – I realize Kai and Cole blame themselves a lot more than they should for my wrongdoings – and finally, there's nothing more we can say.

The judge pulls off her glasses and rubs the bridge of her nose.

"Would the defendant please stand?" she finally says.

"If I can," I mumble, shakily rising and crossing to the microphone.

She looks down at the notes she's taken throughout her decision-making process. "Nya Smith, I find you guilty of the offense of multiple illegal possessions and uses of marijuana and cocaine, as well as petty theft for the stealing of a watch worth four hundred dollars. You were also proven an accessory to theft twice. I've heard your explanation, and I've considered your circumstances, particularly the death of your parents, age as a minor at the time, and eventual rape. You have no criminal record before this time. I understand that many of your previous charges in armed robbery and murder have been dropped, and I also understand that the two charges of accessory to theft are probably due to drug abuse. Therefore, I sentence you to 180 days in jail, plus $1,000 recompense."

I breathe out a sigh. Six months in jail? That isn't as bad as a year, I guess. And $1,000 is nothing compared to what Cole will be paying.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "I'll visit you in jail," Jay says softly.

Oh, gosh. Why does he sound so sad? It makes me upset.

"I know you will," I reply, my throat closing up. "Honestly, things could be much worse."

"They could. At least I know you'll be able to take care of yourself," he winks, the expression somehow solemn. "You saved my life, right?"

I shake my head, feeling tears gather in my eyes as I raise my hand to grasp his on my shoulder. "You're something else."

***I've revised this several times, so let me know if anything's confusing <3***