Ok, I was a little upset by the ending of That was Then, This is Now. I didn't like Mark getting' arrested, and I believe that if Bryan asked him to, Mark woulda quit sellin' drugs…

I anxiously awaited the arrival of my friend. My brother. Soon enough, Mark came strolling in, a grin on his face.

"Hey, guess–" As soon as he saw my frown, he stopped. "Hey… What's wrong, Bryan?"

I held the tube of pills out towards him. He gave me a helpless look. He looked almost…afraid. Mark, the golden lion. Mark, the only guy I know who can get away with everything.

I managed to choke out one word. I was stunned, and I didn't feel too good to begin with. "W—Why?"

Mark sighed, "I don't take it, in case you're wondering. I'm happy 'nough. I didn't want to, but with my police record, nobody'd hire me." He looked close to tears, but he didn't stop talking. "I didn't want to have to live off of you and your mom… I wanted to be able to carry my own weight, and help bring in money."

He rubbed my arm, or I think he did, seeing as I was dazed by shock. He took the tube from my hands and looked at it. "M&M…" I mumbled, suddenly not caring about Cathy. I felt bad for M&M, seeing as he was a smart kid, with a big future. Cathy and Mark have been silently fighting for my company, and I've been choosing Cathy. When Mark has been my best friend and brother all along.

"I didn't give M&M anything. Only 18 and older. He musta gotten it from someone else." Mark said, looking at me with such a bewildered expression, as if he didn't know about M&M. "You…" He gulped nervously. "You ain't gonna tell? Right?"

I didn't really know what to do. I trusted Mark, so if he said he didn't sell M&M any drugs, then he didn't do it. But Mark still gave drugs to other hippies, where M&M still had access to them. I hesitated before giving him a weak grin. "I ain't gonna tell… Just, stop selling it."

Mark grinned thankfully, pulling me into a hug. We haven't hugged much, no matter how close we were. Guys just didn't hug other guys often. "Thanks, Bryan. I know I messed up."

I stifled a laugh. I wanted to say, "You think!?" But I ended up saying, "We've all messed up. I can get you a job at the supermarket if you want."

Mark nodded, clapping me on the back. "I'll go get rid of these." He left the room, and I followed curiously. He went to the bathroom, and emptied the pills into the toilet. Then he flushed them down, watching his troubles disappear with the water. He sighed, relieved that he wasn't in trouble, and that everything was over.

I smiled, "Good job, Mark. How 'bout we go get a Coke and drive around?"

"Sure, I'm game." He responded, his gold eyes widening in a mix of surprise and excitement. I understood, though. We haven't hung out in a while. Mostly because I've been with Cathy. I loved Cathy, but if she hated my brother, then I wasn't sure if our relationship would work.

As we walked out to our (Charlie's) car, I knew two things. One, that things'll never be the same. Two, that I'll never let my brother go. Not over my dead body.

There we go. The new ending. It was a one shot, but I'll continue if you wanna. ;) Well, Mark stays alive and outta jail, but what now? O.O