z

Name:
Monte Grey

Age:
17

Name: Anthony DiNozzo
Age: 28

It had all started this morning. As he had come down for breakfast this morning he had found his father on the floor, stabbed multiple times in the back. His first impulse was to run. Seeing something like that tended to terrify most people and as a teenager, it scared Monte even more. He just kept running, not even bothering to think first. He had taken his car and just fled. Soon enough he was out of state and zgot a hotel. He laid on the bed, trying to calm down, to get his mind to at least try to process what was happening. He shook his head and looked to see what he was even wearing. He was clad in just boxers and a black wife beater. He went out to his car which was parked right outside the hotel room and got extra clothes seeing as how he had extras always in his car. He took time to shower, and while he was in the warm water, he heard a knock on the door. Part of him wondered if maybe he should go see who it was. The other part wondered if maybe the person who had killed his father had come after him as well. He decided he'd just stay in the shower and not worry about going to even see who it was. He heard the door open annoys blood nearly froze. He immediately shut off the water and pulled a towel around his thin waist. He grabbed the first thing he saw....a hairdryer. It wasn't really a good weapon at all, and he knew he was screwed. "Monte Grey?" Someone, a woman, called his name. "NCIS. Come out where we can see you." Monte set down the hair dryer and peaked out to see who was calling him. The woman, a dark skinned lady with a heavy accent, took his arm, clipping his hands behind his back with handcuffs. He was so confused. "Um, what's going on? Why are you arresting me?" He asked, looking dazed since he still hadn't quite gotten back his composure from this mornings sight of his father dead. She frowned at him. "We have enough evidence to arrest you for the murder of Edward Grey, your father." She explained and Monte shook his head. "N-No! I didn't kill anyone!" He choked out. He was so confused and dazed, not to mention scared senseless. He held back the urge to cry, the terror of this all was screwing with his emotions. "B-But..I'm still naked.." He said, that was all he really could think about at the moment. He was practically nude in front of these people and his towel was about to fall of his waist at this point. She unhand-cuffed him just long enough for him to get dressed and then put the metal bracelets back on his arms.

After a long drive Monte found himself at a large building he guessed was for this 'NCIS' as they called themselves. He still hadn't figured put what that meant yet. He wondered what kind of evidence was against him. He hadn't touched his dad's body or anything around it..he'd just run away. He was taken to a room that had a table and once the handcuffs were removed he was told to sit and that someone would come to interrogate him soon. He sat there, staring at a wall, not really knowing what to do. An hour passed and he just laid his head down, thinking about all of the trouble he was in. He'd never gotten along with his dad, but he sure as heck didn't kill him. Just because he didn't really get along with him didn't mean he hated him. After all, he was the only family Monte had left in this cruel world. He sighed, wondering if someone was going to come and get this over with already. He was getting tired and he really just wanted this all to be over. "Is someone going to come in here sometime today or are you all sitting back there eating donuts?" He yelled, wondering if they could hear him. He was so annoyed. "You know! When I'm finally proved innocent I'm so going to bring up charged for abuse! This is just crazy! Either tell me what evidence you have or I'm leaving!" He screamed. The door opened and a man with silver hair stepped in. He slammed a folder on the table and Monte jumped a little. "Was that really called for?" Monte snapped. The man looked at him coldly. "you killed your father." He said and pulled out a picture of his dead parent. Monte growled. "You've got your facts all screwed up. I did no such thing." He argued. The silver haired man looked at him for a moment. "That's an interesting hair color you have. I'll bet it'll even match the samples we found on the victim's body." Monte rolled his eyes. "Um, duh! He was my dad! It's not like I didn't hug him and get close to him." The man frowned. "Explain your finger prints on the knife that killed him." He said and Monte laughed. "The hell they were! I've never been finger printed before so I know there's no way for you to know that. Try again." The guy seemed frustrated. "Then will you willingly allow me to take your fingerprints?" Monte shrugged. "Go for it." the man left him.

Gibbs walked down to find his agents sitting at there desk. He was rather frustrated with that kind, Monte, and he didn't feel like dealing with him anymore today. "Dinozzo, fingerprint the boy in interrogation room one." he demanded, not waiting for a response. He expected the agent to do exactly as he was told.z

Ever since Anthony DiNozzo turned 21, he's been spending a lot of time out drinking with some of his college buddies. He's been out every weekend whenever he had the time off and each and every time, he ended up regretting it. Even though he knew that he had to be into work rather early the next morning. More often than not, he came in with a major hangover. He found out after quite a long time, that a good way to get rid of said hangover was to mix hot sauce with water.

As of now, Tony was at his desk, resting his head on his hand as he dumped hot sauce in a glass of water. His head was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to lay his head down on his desk and just take a nap. But he knew that wasn't going to be an option. Especially not with Gibbs appearing out of nowhere all the time like a ninja and hitting him on the back of the head. He sat up quickly when he heard the sound of his boss' voice, wincing slightly as the noise increased his headache. "Right away boss." he said. He finished dumping in his hot sauce and chugging down the water, trying hard not to choke as he headed down to the interrogation room with a finger-printing kit.

He entered the room and took a seat across from the kid inside. "Alright. I'm guessing you know why I'm hear, so let's get this over with." he said, putting the kit in front of Monte. He hoped this would be over with quickly. His headache was starting to fade, but it wasn't completely gone yet. It wouldn't be gone completely for another hour or so, at the earliest.

Monte crossed his arms and looked at the man. "Wow. You people are the most unprofessional I've ever seen in my life. Forst you arrest me butt ass naked..then I'm brought here and wait hours to talk to an old fart, and best of all, the loser who's fingerprinting me is hungover from drinking way to much to be normal." He laughed. "I can't believe how stupid you navy cops are. He put his tiny little fingers into the ink, pressing his finger down onto the paper. "You know, if you weren't a loser who drank all the time and most likely sleeps with evey woman he sees, you'd be kind of cute." Hs said, knowing he'd most likely get in trouble for talking to this cop that way. It wasn't like he cared though. The only reason he was acting like this was to keep strong and not cry. He'd just lost his father, been accused of murder, and now was having his fingerprints taken. He was screwed emotionally. Anyone with any kind of intelligence could tell he was hurting, but cops were insensitive. He only expected them not to notice he was stressed out and feeling depressed. At this point he didn't even care what happened. If he got convicted of murder? Well, that was life. If he was proved innocent? Well, he'd have to find a new home, make a living, and attend highschool all at the same time. Either way there was no way out of this painful situation. His dad was dead and he was going to suffer.

Tony frowned and narrowed his eyes. How dare this kid talk to him like that! He resisted the urge to growl in annoyance as he clenched his fists tightly. "You really shouldn't talk about things you don't know anything about." he said, leaning back. Who did this kid thing he was, calling Tony a loser? He was far from it! He had plenty of friends to hand out with, a date whenever he wanted it, and a great job. He considered his life to be going great so far and it was only going to get better as he got older. He crossed his arms and forced himself to relax some, knowing that if he didn't, he'd end up doing something he'd regret. "Don't call me cute either." It was weird hearing a guy call him that. He was used to women saying that he was cute, or handsome, sometimes he was referred to as hot. He thrived on the compliments, and they made him feel good and more confident, which helps him out when he's faced with a situation that requires concentration.

Monte snapped, standing up from his chair and glaring at Tony. "You want to know something?! Before you come in here and tell me not to talk about things I 'know nothing about' why don't you people do the same!? Last time I checked, I'm not a murderer, but your stupid grey haired asshole man comes in and tells me I murdered my father! Do you even know what it's like to walk in and see your daddy laying on the kitchen floor, stabbed and bleeding all over the floor? Do you know what's it's like to wonder if you're going to be next? NO! You have no idea and no one in this damn building knows. You all are so quick to accuse and never really do real work to find the real culprit." He sank to his knees, unable to hold it in any longer. He burrows his head in his hands, crawled up in the feetle position and wailed. He'd reached his limit and another man walked in. This one wore a bow tie and had glasses. With him was the silver haired man. The bow tie man frowned and made him stand up, walking him to another room with metal beds and lockers. He guessed it was an autopsy room.

Gibbs knew the kid's out burst was all of his fault. He'd treated him like an adult instead of what he was. A frightened teenager. "He's seventeen Dinozzo. Watch how you talk to him next time." He said, pushing the blame onto Dinozzo. "Ducky thinks he's innocent. I think he is too." He walked out, leaving Dinozzo.

Ducky finally got Monte to calm down and sleep on one of the tables in the room. He was worried for the mental health as well as the physical health of this child. Gibbs had told him Tony would be taking care of the boy for a week or two, maybe more depending on how long it took to find the killer. Basically Tony was protection. Monte would be living in Tony's place. Ducky knew that would ruin any dates for Dinozzo and even more it meant he couldn't drink. He called the agent on his cell and told him his assignment and also told him to come get Monte before he left work.

Tony frowned at Monte's outburst. That was... unexpected. He thought over what he said, not exactly sure what he had said to cause that, but even if he did, he wouldn't take it back. If someone gets an attitude with him, there was a 100% chance that he was going to get an attitude right back. He clenched his fists tightly, his annoyance flaring again. This kid really did know nothing if he actually thought that they weren't doing any work to find the killer. He really shouldn't assume something when all Tony was doing was what he was told. After all, it kind of is his job to follow orders.

He was relieved when Gibbs and Ducky came in to get the kid. He was close to punching the kid in the jaw. He took a few deep breaths to get rid of his anger before standing and heading back up to his desk. Now that Monte was out of the way, maybe he can actually get some real work done.... And by that, he means finish getting rid of his hangover before getting started on his work. He relaxed back in his seat as he took another drink of his hot sauce/water mix, relieved when his headache went away. Tony frowned when his phone rang. He answered and his frown grew. Why in the world was he watching the kid out of all the agents in the building. Surely there was someone else who was more suited for the job than he was. But of course he couldn't complain. When he was told to do something, he knew he had to do it. But he didn't understand why. Didn't Gibbs just scold him on how he treated the kid and now he was sticking him with him? That didn't make any sense, at all.

Monte was still sleeping when Abby entered the autopsy room. At first she'd coma in talking pretty loudly, but she saw the boy sleeping and her voice dropped to a whisper. "Sleeping beauty over there is not your killer. They weren't his finger prints on the gun." She said, and Ducky looked relived. He hadn't wanted the young man to be a killer. It just didn't seem to fit him. Abby walked away from Ducky, knowing she should go and tell Gibbs. Monte looked at Dr.Mallard now. "So, I'm not a killer huh? That's nice to know." He murmured groggily. The doctor smiled. "No my boy, you're not."

Abby walked up to see Gibbs and tell him as well that Monte wasn't the one who cimitted the crime. she saw he wasn't up there, so she'd tell Tony and Ziva instead. "Hey, guys, so I ran the fingerprints you gave me and they came back negative. Your little emo kid is innocent." She smiled. "O my god! Tony, he is sooo cute! Don't you think so? Ducky told me he was flirting with you during interrogation." She seemed pleased that some boy was flirting with her coworker. "He turns 18 tomorrow you know. You should throw him a little mini party if he feels up to it." Abby suddenly had an idea. "wait! We can throw him one here tomorrow! Just bring him back to NCIS!" Gibbs walked in about the time she said that. "No, he needs to stay with Tony and try not to draw any attention to himself. I think someone may be after him. We looked in hos room and it was torn apart. Even more than a teenagers normal room. The posters were half ripped off, the bed was turned over...some was either looking for him or something he had.."

Monte slowly walked to the elevator, still groggy. Gibbs had told them to come up and than Tony would be taking him home with him right now. Monte walked behind Ducky into the room where all of the agents were. Ziva looked at him oddly, never having seen a person with that color hair before. Abby was thrilled, simply fawning over the sleepy guy. He had eyeliner running down his face from crying so much and his eyes were all red and swollen. Abby got the eyeliner off with a little wipe she had. "There, now don't cry." She said, smiling at him. "You know, Tony's going to keep you really safe. He'll even cuddle with you if you get scared." Monte frowned. "I don't want to put in my life in the hands of an alcoholic if you don't mind." He said and Abby gasped. "Have you been drinking Tony?" she demanded. "He still had a hangover this morning." Monte muttered.

Tony frowned as he listened to Abby talk. There was absolutely no way he was going to throw Monte a party. That kid was a brat and he wasn't going to go out of his way to be nice to him. Since he apparently didn't get a choice on why he was supposed to be protecting him, that was all he was going to do. He will remain professional and not punch the guy... No matter how much he might want to later. His frown grew though when Monte came up and he heard what he said. "Okay. First off, I'm not an alcoholic. I just had a few drinks with some friends from college who I haven't seen in six months. Secondly, if this brat's going to act like this the whole time, I really think it'd be best if he was assigned to someone else to watch him." he said, aiming the last part of his words towards Gibbs, hoping that he'd be able to get out of this.

((Sorry it's so short...))

"Ok, getting drunk off you ass is NOT a few drinks! Secondly, I am NOT a brat! Stop being an ass." Abby frowned and Gibbs looked at Tony with a look that spoke for itself. Tony wouldn't be getting out of this so easily. "Sure, I'll assign him to Ziva, but since you obviously can't tale care of one child, maybe you should just give me your badge and your gun." He said, basically saying of Dinozzo didn't tale this job and do it right he'd be fired. Gibbs was annoyed that Tony was to immature to deal with a simple seventeen year old boy. Even more, it was annoying that he couldn't deal with a seventeen year ok'd GAY boy.

Gibbs knew that Tony wouldn't give up his job just because he didn't wasn't to play babysitter, so he threw a credit card at Tony. "Buy him clothes and toiletries. We can't disturb anything that's in his house because it's evidence." He said calmly. "Go to the mall. He should be able go get anything he wants there."

Tony growled quietly. As far as he could tell, this kid was a brat. He hasn't done anything other than complain since he got here and seems determined to make everyone who's trying to help him angry. He as succeeding so far. And he wasn't 'drunk off his ass'. He just had a small hangover. That didn't make him an alcholic. And he couldn't believe was just letting this kid treat him like that! How can he not see it? He growled again, standing up. It looked like he wasn't getting out of babysitting this kid. He wasn't going to be held responsible though if something ends up happening to him. "Alright. Whatever. Let's just go." He said, clearly annoyed.

Monte crossed his arms, his lips stuck out in a slight pout. He looked adorable to Abby and Ziva. Abby wondered how ling it would be before the kid finally got Tony so pissed off he couldn't take it anymore. Monte stormed down to follow Tony to his car, slipping into the passenger seat and staring out the window. He wouldn't say anything and just make an escape from this jerk later tonight. He needed to get away from this guy who made him honestly feel even worse than he already felt. He just wanted his dad and that wasn't ever going to happen again because hos dad was dead. He wondered if he could have stopped his dad's killer if he'd been there. Then again, maybe he'd have been killed too. It would've been better for him to have died than his father though and he tried to hide his tears, just looking out the window.

Tony stormed out to his car, his annoyance showing clearly on his face. He still didn't understand why he was the one watching this kid. Why would Gibbs do this to him when they clearly wern't getting along. He was sure that there was someone else more suited for the job, but he knew he wasn't going to complain. He started his car and drove in silence to the mall. He parked, making a mental note to keep a close eye on Monte. He was nearly 100% sure that the kid was going to try to run from at some point and Tony knew he'd be in big trouble if that happened. "Let's get this over with." He said, getting out of the car.

Monte went into bed, bath, and beyand first, grabing a toothbrush and tooth paste. He then scurried to bath and body works, getting vanilla scented soap and perfume plus a chopstick. He got deodorant at hollister and all of his clothes and shoes from hot topic including pajamas, socks, and the cutest, girliest panties he could find. He want much for boys undies and so girls beeped with invader zim all over them would do. The last thing he bought was at an antique store, a knife and a sharpener. He claimed it was for self defense.

At the register, the man whispered something to Monte. Something that made his blood freeze. "You either end your life tonight, or this agent and anyone else who gets near you is going to die. He nodded very slowly as he took in what that meant. The man had been sure not to let Tony hear. He eyes the knife he'd just bought. It wasn't going to be easy, but for the sale of others he was going to have to die by his own hand. He carried his bags to Dinozzo's car, not asking the man to help. He was afraid at the moment as he thought of differant ways to die while being watched by a cop. He had to do it though. He held the knife in his pocket. He'd do it whenever they got back to Tony's place.

After setting his stuff up near the couch, were he guessed he'd be sleeping, Monte then went to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower." He lied and shut the door, locking it. He flipped out the blade of the rather large knife he'd bought and tears slipped down his face. He didn't want to die, not yet. He'd never even been able to have a real family.. he held it up above his stomach and then plunged it in. He shrieked as the pain gripped him, making him see black. He sunk to the floor and held the wound, blood seeping from in between his fingers. He didn't know it, but he'd hit an area that wasn't as deadly as other areas and dying was going to be a slow, gruesome process. He could be saved at this point it taken to a hospital, but even if Dinozzo demanded, he wasn't unlocking the door, and he didn't think the man would bust down the door in his own place.

At the store, Tony looked around idly, completely bored. He hated going shopping. He let Monte go off and get whatever it was that he wanted. He kept half his attention on the kid and the other half on the people that he saw. He was keeping any eye out for anyone who seemed suspicious. No one really seemed to stand out, so he was glad for that. He frowned slightly though when he saw Monte get a knife... Looks like he was going to have to keep an eye on him. After all, he didn't want him doing something stupid. That would end up getting Gibbs mad at him.

The drive back to his place as quiet, and for that he was glad. He was still incredibly annoyed with the kid and didn't want to talk to talk to him. He nodded idly, taking a seat on the couch. He frowned though as he thought that he saw the knife go in there with him. His suspicions were confirmed when Monte cried out and he jumped up. He ran to the bathroom and tried the door. He growled when he saw it was locked and kicked the door down. He pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance, his annoyance for Monte growing because of this stupid stunt.

Monte shook his head when he saw Tony go for his cell phone. "Don't.." He cried. "He'll kill you...please! Font do this! If I live, people are going to start dying." He didn't want to be the cause of many people's deaths. That wasn't something he could live with. He may not really know Tony, but he didn't want the man to die because of him. "I'm sorry if your boss gets mad...but I couldn't let that crazy man kill you all. He said if I die it's all...over.." He gasped, trying to talk correctly with the knife wound. "He's insane...he's gonna...kill you...put down the phone Tony..besides..you hate me, just let me go away..then you won't have to deal with me anymore. That's what you wanted anyway right? You wanted me gone, and soon enough I'll be out of your life forever..." He tried to smile, but it came out as a pained grimace. "I-I'm sorry for..being rude to y-you.." he whispered. He was so afraid and wanted someone to fox it all, but he knew it was to late for that. He could hear the ambulance in the dostance, coming closer. "Don't! Tony, I swear to god! If you care about anyone at your work you'll let me die!" He yelled before passing out.

Tony frowned as he listned to Monte speak. Did the kid honestly think he was just going to just stand there and let him die just because he didn't like him. That was not the way Tony was and he hoped he'd never actually stand by and let someone innocent die. And the part about them dying? He didn't believe that. Everyone at NCIS was a fighter and wouldn't allo anyone to get the drop on them. No random guy was going to get away with this. Tony was now determined to find this guy for making Monte do this. He heard knocking on his door and let the paramedic in and led them to the unconcious boy before heading to the hospital in the ambulance. He wasn't going to let Monte be alone for even a moment. Not while this psycho was out there.

When Monte woke up, he heard a faint beeping sound. He opened his eyes and looked to see a woman, wearing a white uniform. "Hello." She said with a big smile. "I see you're finally awake. That's good. An agent from NCIS has been trying to come and visit you, we had to get some guards to keep him out of the room." She smiled again. "He seems really worried. Is he your brother?" Monte shook his head slowly. "No, he's my bodyguard. And he hates me. The only reason he wants in is so he can watch me and his boss won't get mad at him." Monte frowned. It was so sad that he had no one now. He was alone in this world and he really wished he had just died last night. Then a lot of lives would've been saved. He sighed and laid his head back down while the nurse went to tell Tony he could come in now.

Even though Tony would never admit it, he was worried about Monte. The doctors had said that he was expected to make a full recovery. That was the good news. There was still the fact that there was a psycho out there that more than likely wanted to kill the kid. And because of that fact, he hasn't left the hospital yet. Whenever someone tried to get him to leave, he'd just whip out his badge saying he was there for work and they'd leave him alone. He was annoyed by the guards that were placed outside Monte's room, but he figured it was probably for the best. He flashed the nurse a smile when she said he can go in and he took a seat by the kid's bed. "How're you feeling?"

Monte had been thinking about how he'd just become an old man. He was eighteen years old now, practically all grown up. It also meant he could try to get Tony to notice him. After all, if he was eighteen, Tony could do anything he wanted woth him right? He shook his head. That was a stupid thought because, well, Tony just saw him as a burden anyway. He heard someone enter the room and he glanced at Tony. "I'm fine, but you might want to call your boss and at least warm the other agents that someone is now officially trying to kill them. No one there is safe until either I die or the crazy man who killed my father." He sighed.

"Tony...I didn't tell everything I knew when I was in interrogation. There's a reason my dad died and there's a reason that I'm going to die." He didn't even expect to live more than a few hours to be honest. "My father was working for a lab a few years ago. This lab was producing a disease that should have died a long time ago, can you imagine what it's called Tony? You suffered from it yourself because someone crazy got there hands on it. It was the 'black death' otherwise know as bubonic plague. My father knew how to create a strain of this sickness that was incurable and could spread like wild fire. He refused to tell anyone other than the woman he worked for and...me... The thing is, he never told his boss how to make it just that he could make it. You see, there are two groups of people who want me. One group wants me dead so the secret dies with me...they'll even kill people around me just so I'll feel horrible and do it myself. They killed my father. The other group are terrioist. The offered me huge sums of money for the secret, but I refused to give it to them." Monte pulled off his hospital gown in one fluid motion, showing Tony dark scars that lined his back. "This is what they did to me for not selling them the secret that could kill all of America." He said, remembering in his own mind how bad it had hurt, how they'd ripped the flesh from his body, burned his back with pikers and cigarettes. His father had saved him from that particular hell hole. he pulled the gown back on. "See Tony, that's why I HAVE to die. Those people were right. This isn't a secret that needs to live on." He laid back down on the bed, tired and still slightly pained from stabbing himself.

"I already called my boss to let him know." Tony said, leaning back in his seat. That was one of the first things he did once he knew that Monte was going to be okay. He still was kind of worried that something might happen to the kid while he was here in the hospital, so he knew he was going to have to keep a close eye on things until this guy was caught. Tony frowned though when he heard what Monte said next. How did he know about him suffering from the plague. That wasn't exactly common knowledge except for a few people inside the NCIS building. Even the doctor that treated him wasn't supposed to say anything about it to anyone. He listened quietly until the other was done talking before sighing. "Sorry kid. I'm not going to let you die or kill yourself." He said, standing up and pulling out his phone. "We will catch this guy before he can do anything else." With that, he headed out to call Gibbs and let him know what he just learned.

Monte wondered why Tony wanted so badly to save his life. "You're so nice." He said, a smile crossing his face. He wasn't exactly sure what else to say really, he just wanted to go to sleep right now. He was exhausted just from speaking. The nurse came in to say the wound had not been to deep and it was in a less fatal area, so Tony could check him out of here as soon as he wanted. "Will I be staying at your place tonight?" He asked, trying not to sound to hopeful. "I really don't want to stay with any of the other agents. I don't know them and I trust you." He said, wondering if Tony understood that Monte was trying to flirt with him. He'd had a crush on the agent since he'd first met him, but now that he had saved his life, his crush was a mild obsession. "Maybe...I could sleep in the bed..with you...?" He was blushing. "I promise I won't hog the covers and I'll stay on my side of the bed."

Tony couldn't help but raise an eyebrow lightly. He was nice now? Whatever happened to being an alcoholic ass? He shrugged it off, deciding to just pass the compliment off from blood loss. He settled back in his seat and shrugged. "Sure. You can stay with me if you don't want to stay here." He said. After all, it was still his job to protect him. He frowned lightly though. "There won't be a need to share a bed though. I have a guest room that you'll be staying in." He honestly wasn't sure if he was comfortable with sharing a bed with a kid exactly. He wasn't sure if that was completely true though. It might not be so bad to share a bed... No. He can't. That might get him in trouble with Gibbs.

"Please...?" He asked, trying not to sound so desperate. "I'm...scared...I don't want to be alone all night." It was only half of the truth, but the full truth might make Tony kick him out. He wanted to date Tony, to be his..it was creepy, but that was how he felt. He just wasn't sure how exactly to make his move on the older man when he probably saw Monte as a silly child. In fact, he may be a silly child, but he couldn't help that. This was supposed to be the person protecting him, but he wanted so much more than that. "You know...you're..Nevermind.." He just shut up and turned so he was laying on his side which proved painful. He just couldn't look at Tony right now, he was nervous and his stomach was full of butterflies.