Some of this story I imagine at this stage is going to be slightly AU. At the moment though, we're pre movie. Jack is 16, which I guess makes Bobby around about 25? I'm not sure what their exact ages are supposed to be in the movie. I've rated it for drug use and language. There's not going to be any slash, just to clear that up early on.
But yeah, to do the usual spiel, I don't own Four Brothers or any of the characters in this chapter except Jasper, hope you enjoy and please review.
Jack stared giddily down at the small brown paper package that had been tossed towards him, barely able to accept in his mind that it wasn't just a product of his distressed imagination. He knew what was in it and he was sure that the grin on his face had to be at least three miles wide.
"I can't believe you actually got it. I thought you said Dan wasn't gonna supply to you anymore cause he was shit mad at you," he said, falling to his knees onto the hard floorboards and feverishly trying to get the package open.
"I know, man. He just started letting me buy off him again like that. I don't know what I did, Jackie Boy, but we're set for at least… I don't know, I'd say maybe…," Jasper cocked his head at the package as he knelt down beside Jack before breaking into a huge smile, "… A good few hours at least."
"Hey, a great few hours, man," Jack corrected. He laughed in disbelief as he finally got through the paper and was left with a small plastic bag filled with fine nondescript powder. His eyes had never beheld a more welcome sight. It had been close to two days since his last hit and he'd say he had become a little tiny bit more than unglued in that time. Of course, anyone else who had seen the way he had been pacing Jasper's apartment, pausing only to scream out in frustration into his hands, until a just a short minute ago would have said he had been a reckless, high strung, jittery, nervous basket case at best.
He liked his portraiture better.
"I get first taste, dude," Jasper pushed Jack's hands away from the bag.
"Yeah, you always do," Jack sighed sullenly, flopping back against the beaten up couch behind them.
"That's because I'm the one that risks my ass out there buying this shit!" Jasper pointed out in exasperation before ducking his head to the table in front of them.
"Do you even understand how fucking dead I would be if any of my brothers found out that I was out on the streets buying junk? And you know that they would-"
"Yeah, I do know already, Jack. You've told me," Jasper reminded him, barely lifting his head at all.
"Yeah, but I still don't think you really get it. I would be dead. Gone. Buried. No more. No longer living-"
Both boys jumped at sudden violent knocking at the door.
"Who the fuck is it?!" Jasper screamed, severely beyond displeased at being interrupted.
"It's fucking Bobby, you jackass!" the response was just as irate.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Jack spat as he made a quick grab for the bag.
"Hey, what are you trying?" Jasper yelped, reaching to snatch it back. Jack ignored him, frantically looking around him for a split second before shoving the plastic bag in between a couple of his school books and zipping his duffel shut.
"You in there, Jack?" The knocking continued, just as hard and just as loud.
Jack hurriedly brushed away the thin film of powder covering portions of the table with his sleeve.
"Hey! I was gonna use that!" Jasper shouted angrily. Jack looked up at him with a glare.
"Wipe your nose, you moron." Jasper hesitated for just a second before obliging his friend.
"Open the door, Jack!" Bobby was growing more impatient at a much faster rate than any other vaguely normal person, hardly a shock to Jack who raked both of his hands roughly through his hair as he took one last look around him for any incriminating evidence.
"Jack-!"
"I'm coming, Bobby! Relax!"
Taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm his raising heart, Jack started towards the door, which was now starting to rattle in it's hinges with the onslaught it was receiving on the other side. He slowly unlatched the lock and after pausing for a moment, turned the handle.
"What took you so long, Jackie?" Bobby asked with a deceivingly pleasant smile on his face as he leaned casually against the door frame, cracking his gum. Not giving Jack a chance to respond, he pushed past him into the apartment. Jack sighed, banging his head into the wall before following after him.
"H-hi, Bobby," Jasper stood up, nervously shoving his hands into his pockets and hunching his shoulders.
"Hey, Jasper," Bobby muttered disinterestedly, more set on visually ransacking the rundown apartment than making small talk with his brother's suspect friend. He smirked at the sheer extent of the seediness Jasper's home oozed; it was almost too cliché for him to handle. There were numerous boards missing from the floor and the ones that had stuck it out were rotting beyond repair. Four or more layers of decaying paint showed on the bare walls that were decorated with just a couple of fist sized holes. The couch looked like it had just as many things living in it as it smelt like had died on it. He half expected the rug beneath his feet to get up and crawl away as soon as he stepped off. The table was short a leg and was propped up by what should have been an embarrassingly tall pile of porn magazines though Jasper had apparently decided that his extensive collection was worthy of being displayed. He did also notice, however, that it's relatively dust free surface stood out from pretty much everything else in the room.
"What are you doing here, Bobby?"
Jack's voice impeded his silent inquiry.
"You go to school today, Jack?" Bobby asked, his eyes daring Jack to lie to him.
Jack swallowed and worked his jaw before answering, "Sure."
"You just forgot to answer in roll call or something then?" There was no misplacing the steadily growing menace in Bobby's voice.
Jack's eyes fell to his shoes. He was standing in much the same position as Jasper now, his chin almost touching his chest and his hands thrust deeply into the pockets of his hoodie. He could only shrug in response. Bobby let him stir under his harsh scrutiny for a few seconds longer before motioning back towards the door.
"Let's go home, Jack."
"Me and Jasper need to exchange notes for class," Jack lied quickly, his mind on the drugs in his bag.
"You can do it tomorrow when you go to school," Bobby replied impatiently, raising his voice above Jack's.
"But-"
"I said let's go," Bobby barked. Jack scowled at him before snatching up his bag and starting towards the door.
Jasper followed and grabbed his arm, "But when are you going to give me-", he shut his mouth upon catching Jack's fierce look before speaking again, "…The notes. When are you gonna give me those notes?"
Jack looked back at Bobby to see if they had raised any suspicion in him than he possessed already. His older brother just stared back at him, telling nothing with his gaze. Jack turned his attention back to Jasper, "Just like Bobby said, I'll give it to you tomorrow at school."
"First thing?"
Jack silently cursed his friend before replying through gritted teeth, "Yes. First thing."
"Are you boys gonna tie this bittersweet goodbye up anytime soon?" Bobby once again voiced his desire to leave, "Or should I just pull up a chair now?"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Jas," Jack said with blatant finality he hoped Jasper would notice. He could've collapsed in relief when Jasper didn't say anything else as he walked out the door.
"Always good to see you, Jasper," Bobby nodded as he followed. He paused to gesture back inside, "And I, uh, really like what you've done with the place."
"Man, I haven't touched anything since I got here," Jasper shook his head.
"You're not kidding," Bobby chuckled as he walked down the hall away from the bewildered boy.
XxXXxX
Jack stubbornly had stared out of the window the entire ride home so far. It didn't matter that it was all the same buildings, corners and houses that he had seen since he was a kid. He didn't want Bobby to see the desperation in his eyes.
He still hadn't had that hit.
Every so often, his eyes would skip down to the duffel in his lap. He was almost able to see right through it to the inside. To the plastic bag that contained, as much as it pained him to acknowledge it, what was gradually becoming his world.
"Would you quit that already?" Bobby muttered, motioning at Jack's leg which jumped up and down incessantly. Jack glanced at Bobby without making eye contact before heeding to his request only to start again less than a whole minute later without noticing. This time Bobby said nothing. He regarded Jack out of the corner of his eye for what had to have been the hundredth time. His brother seemed incredibly on edge, more so than he had ever seen him before. He was constantly moving, whether he was squirming in his seat, biting down on his nails or, annoyingly, bouncing his knee. He hadn't seen Jack's eyes much for most of the drive but if he could've, he had no doubt that they would've been darting around guiltily, unable to hold his gaze for all that long. These were all things that he recognized, just not in his youngest brother, which made it all the harder for him to determine what was really up with Jack. Half of him wanted to just go for it and scream at Jack to wake up to what he was doing to himself and quit whatever he was smoking… or snorting… or, god forbid, injecting. The other half was still in stubborn denial, wanting to pursue every other possible or impossible reason for his brother's off behavior before coming to the heart wrenching conclusion that he was hooked on drugs.
"That was our house," Jack pointed out quietly.
"Shit," Bobby cursed, pulling a crude u-turn and finally arriving home.
XxXXxX
"Oh, good. You boys are home in time for dinner," Evelyn called out as she heard the front door open. She quickly wiped her hands on a towel and went to see her sons. She arrived at the entry just in time to catch a glimpse of Jack's feet at the top of the stairs and to hear him stomp above their heads before his door slammed shut. She looked at Bobby with raised brows.
"I said we would be," Bobby shrugged as he took off his coat.
"Hi, Jack," Angel called after Jack pointlessly. He looked away from the TV briefly, "He's friendly today." When he looked back at the screen, he cursed at Jerry who had taken advantage of the distraction and either severely injured or killed his character in whatever game they had been playing.
Evelyn clicked her tongue in dislike of Angel's use of language before clapping her hands together, "Dinner. Someone get Jackie."
The three brothers looked at eachother as Evelyn headed for the kitchen.
"Don't look at me. I've had enough of that kid for one day," Bobby told them, only half joking.
"I'll go," Angel volunteered finally.
XxXXxX
Jack paced his room, occasionally rubbing at his face with his hands. His bag sat ominously on his bed, still unopened. When he stopped to stare at it, he could almost feel it staring back, challenging and taunting. He habitually reached out for it but then caught himself midair. He didn't think he had the balls to use in his own home. In Evelyn's home. He glanced at the door. No lock. Evelyn's rules. Even if there had been, Jerry had always had a gift for locks. It would've been useless. Still…
He looked back at the bag, his craving starting to overrule his common sense. For the second time he reached out for the bag. This time he didn't stop. The zipper was half open when there was quiet knocking on his door.
"Dinner, Jack," Angel announced from the hallway.
Jack quickly rezipped his bag and shoved it under the bed. "I'm coming," he muttered. Angel smiled at him and ruffled his hair as he opened the door and emerged outside.
"Knock it off, Angel," he growled, pushing away his hand.
Angel's smile turned to an expression of mock apology, "Oh, I'm sorry, Jackie. Am I bothering you?" He laughed as he reached out and messed up his hair again.
"I said knock it off, Angel!" Jack jerked away angrily, starting down the stairs.
Angel paused in the hallway for a moment, staring after his brother before shaking his head and trailing after him.
"Yeah, Jackie's real friendly today," he mumbled under his breath.
XxXXxX
"Are you okay, Jackie?"
Jack looked up from his full plate to Evelyn's concerned face. He looked around the table to see that his brothers were all staring back at him expectantly. Apparently they had been after his attention for some time now. He let a confused frown crease his brow as he remained silent.
"Ma was just askin' you how school was today, Jackie," Bobby offered from across the table. Jack held his gaze for a moment, waiting to see if he was going to tell her that he had ditched school or not. Bobby just stared back at him, taking another bite of food.
"School was good," Jack looked back down at his plate, pushing the food around with his fork.
"Well… that's good, sweetheart," Evelyn accepted the response with quiet suspicion.
"Yeah," Jack agreed, noticing that everyone had finished their dinner but him. With a sigh he looked back up at Evelyn, motioning at his plate, "Sorry, Ma. I ate after school."
Evelyn regarded him for a second or two, smiling that soft, gentle smile of hers before nodding as she picked up her plate and his.
Bobby rose from his chair, "Don't worry about that, Ma." He took the plates off her and started clearing the rest. He glanced at Jack, "Me and Jack'll clean up."
Jack shot him a look, "Actually, uh, I have something on tonigh-"
"School night," Evelyn cut him off simply as she walked out of the room. Jack's shoulders slumped.
"Thanks, boys," Jerry grinned as he and Angel both stood up from the table. They raced eachother back to the TV and their game.
Jack sat for a little while longer as Bobby cleared around him.
"You gonna help me out or what?" Bobby asked finally. Jack glared up at him before pushing his chair out, letting it grate loudly on the floor. He made just as much noise as he roughly stacked plates on top of eachother and dumped them in the sink.
"You chip one of those plates and Ma'll be pretty mad," Bobby told him as he emptied scraps into the bin.
"What's you problem, Bobby?" Jack dropped another plate into the sink, very nearly shattering it.
"I should ask you the same thing," Bobby replied gruffly.
"You've been on my back constantly for so long now that I can't even remember what it feels like to be able to do anything without you screaming at me about it, that's my problem!" Jack shouted angrily, wringing violently at the dish towel he had in his hands.
"Look who's yelling," Bobby smirked back at him, infuriatingly calm, "You know, I wouldn't even be on your back if you didn't give me good reason to be."
"What reason, Bobby?!" Jack turned away from the sink to face him with a fierce scowl, "Tell me what I did that's got you breathing down my neck every fucking second of every f-"
"You doing drugs, Jackie?" Bobby asked quietly.
Jack's voice died in his throat. The brothers stared at eachother for a long moment before Jack threw the towel onto the ground and started towards the stairs. "Fuck this," he muttered under his breath before he was caught painfully by the arm. He bit back a yelp.
"Don't walk away from me, you little shit," Bobby growled as he kept his firm hold.
Jack stared at him for a stunned moment before yanking his arm away from his grasp, "Let go!"
Bobby let him leave. He stared after his brother until he heard Jack's bedroom door slam upstairs. He let out a wordless shout of rage as he gave into the urge to punch the fridge.