Author's Note:
In this fic, Nick is 14, Kevin is 19, and Joe is 17. And for the sake of the story, their father is, nor ever was, a minister.
This is definitely one of my worst fics, but I thought I'd post it anyway so I can receive constructive criticism to improve my writing.
I am aware of grammar mistakes; English is not my first language, so please make whatever comments you want on anything except grammar or spelling. Thanks for reading!
"Well, look who it is," Kevin mocked as a tired-looking Nick hauled himself into the car. "How nice of you to finally join us."
"Shut up," Nick muttered, flopping into the backseat and dragging his backpack in after him, closing the door feebly.
"Thanks for making us wait for four hours," Kevin snorted sarcastically, "Joe even fell asleep waiting for you." he nodded to the middle Jonas brother, who was snoring in the passenger seat, mouth hanging open slightly.
"Sorry," Nick said, not sounding the least bit apologetic.
"Watch your attitude," Kevin warned his 14 year old brother, "I'm the one with the driver's license here, so if you take this long to get out of school again, I'm not going to pick you up. School let out at two o'clock, it's past six now."
"Whatever. Can we just go now?"
"Okay, okay," Kevin laughed, turning the key in the ignition. The car groaned and complained, making a terrible fuss complete with a cloud full of exhaust. "Damn car," he grumbled.
When the car finally agreed to move and took the three brothers home, an unusual sight greeted them at the driveway.
"Dad's never home this early," Kevin commented, noticing their father's care already in the driveway. He parked and shook Joe awake.
"Huh?" Joe's eyes shot open and he looked around frantically.
"We're home, dumbass."
"Oh." Joe smiled cheerfully and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Three car doors slammed shut as the boys got out of the car.
"Why's dad home so early?" Joe asked, nodding towards their father's car.
"Maybe he's sick," Kevin suggested, as Nick stayed silent. "Or maybe…"
They entered the house cautiously.
"We're home," Joe piped timidly. The house was dark except for one light in the kitchen.
"DAMMIT, DENISE!" The three boys froze as an all-too-familiar voice boomed from the kitchen. "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY DRINKS?"
"Shit," Kevin muttered. Their usually gentle father was on yet another binge. Half a year ago, their father had been laid off from his well -paying office job. Since then, their father had been working later doing odd jobs, and also occasionally returning home drunk, raving, and roaring.
"You two, get upstairs right now," Kevin instructed quickly, assuming the role of the oldest brother. "Joe, make sure Frankie's fine. Stay quiet, and don't do anything to upset Dad."
The younger boys nodded and hurried up the stairs as Kevin bravely made his way into the kitchen.
"Hi, Dad," he said casually.
Paul glared at his eldest son with squinting, red eyes. His face was flushed crimson, and he held an empty glass in his hand. "Get the fuck out of my house," he growled.
"Paul!" Their mother was shocked. "Don't speak like that to your son!"
"I CAN SPEAK TO THIS LITTLE SHIT HOWEVER I WANT!" Paul bellowed, pounding his glass on the table. "GET ME ANOTHER DRINK!"
Denise obeyed, afraid what her husband would do if she didn't comply. She opened the fridge and withdrew a can of cold beer, passing it to him.
"Mom!" Kevin was shocked. "You can't encourage his behavior!"
"Go upstairs, Kevin," Denise said in a low voice. "Do not come downstairs. Make sure you and your brothers finish your homework, take showers, and go straight to bed."
Kevin watched in horror as Paul drained the can of beer in seconds.
"Go, Kevin!" Denise gave her son a shove before wordlessly picking up the empty can and dropping it in the trash.
Kevin walked slowly up the stairs and entered Joe's room. Nick and Joe were both sitting on the floor, Joe trying to help Nick with his math homework.
"You multiply the numerators, er, I mean, denominators… no, you divide them. Wait, hold on, actually you multiply them. Now take the x value and…" he looked up. "Hi, Kevin."
Kevin nodded back with a sigh. "Mom says to finish your homework, take showers, and go to sleep."
Nick got up and headed to the shower, leaving Joe and Kevin alone in the room.
"Kev, what's twelve squared?"
"A hundred forty-four, stupid."
"Sorry," Joe said, scribbling down a few numbers on the sheet of lined paper. "My brain hurts right now."
Kevin managed a chuckle.
"Pass me Nick's backpack," Joe said, ripping a hole in the paper. "He has this eraser that works really well."
"Uh, okay." Kevin tossed the backpack over to Joe, who immediately unzipped it and began rooting through its contents, tossing out papers, notebooks, and pens in search of the amazing eraser. Suddenly, Joe froze, looking into the backpack, his eyes wide and mouth agape.
Kevin looked up.
"Shit," Joe whispered, still staring into the backpack in horror. "Shit, shit, shit."
"What's wrong?" Kevin asked, furrowing his brow.
"Fuck, Kevin, look at this," Joe whispered, pulling a plastic bag out of the bottom of Nick's backpack and passing it to his older brother. Kevin snatched the bag and opened it. His eyes widened at its contents.
"What the hell is this?" he said, taking three syringes out of the bag.
"I think it's drugs," Joe said, beginning to panic.
"Shit, Joe, calm down," Kevin urged, sensing his brother's distress.
But Joe scrambled to his feet, ignoring Kevin's words as he charged to the bathroom. He burst through the door to find Nick standing there in his boxer shorts. Nick quickly snatched up his shirt to cover himself with.
"Nick, are you taking drugs?"
"What?" Nick's looked away. "I don't take drugs. You know that."
"I found needles in your backpack," Joe accused, breathing hard.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Joe's seized Nick's arm, trying to get a good look at it.
"Ow! Let me go, Joe!" Nick squealed, struggling and thrashing wildly.
Kevin entered the bathroom, came up behind Nick, and held him in a vice grip so the younger boy couldn't move.
"Let me go!" Nick screamed frantically, trying desperately to twist away.
Joe pulled Nick's arm out and saw several tiny little marks on his forearm. "Fuck," Joe whispered, running his fingers over the marks.
With a burst of strength, Nick managed to wrench away from his brothers.
"You've been injecting?" Kevin asked, shocked.
"No!" Nick insisted. "I swear!"
"Then what are these?" Kevin held up the bag of syringes.
Nick backed into the wall. "I don't know," he said hoarsely, his whole body shaking. "I've n…never seen th…those before in my whole…whole life."
Joe snapped. "Stop lying!" he screamed, stepping forward and striking Nick hard across the face. "I saw your scars! I saw your needles! You've been taking drugs!"
"No, I haven't!" Nick protested, starting to cry.
"You have! You have! You have!" Joe screeched, slapping Nick over and over again.
"Stop it!" Kevin grabbed Joe and pulled him away. "Joe, calm down. Nick, tell us what's been going on."
Nick's face was red from Joe's hits and streaked with tears. "I didn't do anything!"
"You've got to tell us the truth, Nick, you have to," Kevin pleaded.
The sound of shattering glass echoed from downstairs, followed by a stream of obscenities from their father's mouth.
"Tell us!" Joe demanded, his voice high-pitched and frantic.
"I told you, I'm –"
Nick was cut off as the bathroom door burst open. Paul stormed in, breathing heavily. "What the hell is going on in here?" he yelled, his voice harsh and demanding.
"Nothing," Kevin said simply, letting go of Joe. "We were going to brush our teeth."
"Shut up," Paul growled, "And get out."
Nick quickly picked up his clothes and followed his brothers out into the hall. He tried to edge away and run into another room, but Joe grabbed him. "Not so fast."
Nick gulped as Joe dragged him into his room, Kevin coming in after them and closing the door. Joe shoved Nick roughly onto the floor.
"Explain." he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Nick.
Nick emitted a strangled sob.
"EXPLAIN, DAMMIT!" Joe was about to launch into another slapping fit, but Kevin restrained him.
"I…I don't know!" Nick choked out, tears still flowing down his cheeks. "The kids at school… they make fun of me, they call me a faggot. They told me to meet them after school, they gave me the needles, they told me to use them… I didn't know what else to do, I was scared!"
"You're so fucking stupid," Joe snarled, but Kevin silenced him.
"Nick, how long has this been going on?"
"Three months," he admitted, clearly ashamed.
"What's in the needles?" Kevin asked, his voice dead serious.
"Um… nov…nova…nova-something."
"Novocain?"
"Yeah." Nick nodded, sniffling. "Novocain."
"Shit, Nick," Joe breathed, his anger replaced with grief. "That stuff is dangerous! You could have died!" a tear rolled down his cheek.
"I know!" Nick cried pathetically. "I was scared, I –"
"Nick, you are so fucking stupid sometimes," Joe sniffed, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, trying to hide the fact that he was crying. "Especially with Dad getting drunk all the time! Why do you have to be so dumb?"
"I…I'm sorry," Nick sobbed, burying his head into his hands.
"It's okay, Nick," Kevin said comfortingly, wrapping his arm around Nick's shoulder.
"It's not okay!" Joe said loudly. "He's taking DRUGS, for Christ's sake!"
"Joe," Kevin said sternly, "Nick made a mistake. Are you going to forgive him?"
Joe hesitated, but sighed. "Yes."
"Atta boy," Kevin said, cracking a smile and pulling his brothers in for a group hug.
And from that moment on, the three boys knew that no matter how rocky the road ahead was, or no matter what troubles they would face, they would always be there for each other.
Author's Note:
I'm sorry the end was so cheesy. I was trying to finish as fast as I could before I had to leave for work. Maybe one day I'll re-write this and make a better ending. Thank you for reading, and please review!