Bully: Twin Edition

by DrakeAdamsTDK

Drake and Alyx are twins. They've always and only had each other. When they were dropped off by their latest adoptive family at Bullworth Academy, Drake wasn't surprised. This school is hell, but they aren't the only ones suffering. Rated M for language, mostly.

Author's Note: Thought I'd try this out. Started reading Bully fanfic while watching The Suite Life, and it gave me the idea. Let me know if you like it. Also, I know some of this is a little altered. Deal with it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bully or any related media. It is the sole property of Rockstar Games. I do, however, own all characters unfamiliar to the game. If you use them without my permission, or giving credit where credit is due, I'll sic Russell on you. Enjoy the story.

This is Our School

Here we go again. On our own. Because all we'll ever have is each other. I turned to my brother, his appearance a near perfect reflection of my own. Black hair half-covering his ears, neck and hanging into his electric blue eyes. Attractive face, strobg and rugged features. Slightly tanned skin, tall and powerfully muscled frame. Beneath his clothes were dozens of scars from a hard-fought life. He wore faded jeans and old sneakers, a white t-shirt and a grey hoodie left unzipped. He noticed, turning to look at me. The silver, gothic ankh around his neck shone as the light from outside the car windows bounced off it. The ragged scar going down the right half of his lips and chin became visible, drawing a slight smile from me. Our eyes locked, twin-telepathy kicked in.

'I told you this would happen!' I angrily thought.

'You say that every time, with every family,' He thought back.

'That's because I'm always right. I mean, look at where we are now! We're being dropped off at some boarding school far away from our "family" and we won't even see them for a year!'

'I still think you're wrong. They're only doing what must be done.'

'Yeah, sure.'

"...So just bear with it. We'll call and write whenever we can. Here we are, Bullworth Academy," Miranda said as the car stopped before a giant, wrought iron gate. It was set in a stone wall that appeared to wrap around the entire school, a gargoyle sat at either side of the creepy gate.

I opened the door, jumping out of the car without a word to them. After a short pause, my clone soon followed, stretching as we turned back to see the car drive off.

"On our own. Just like always."

My deep voice was the only sound in the quiet autumn setting of this New England school.

"You must be the Adams boys!" A voice said from behind.

I tensed, having a bad history with voices behind me. I turned, seeing a secretary straight out of a time machine. Her short brown hair was curled back up at its ends, her shirt was dull and grey and she wore a conservative black miniskirt. Pearls adorned her ears and neck and she already seemed like someone I'd hate.

"Welcome to Bullworth Academy. Please find your way to the principal's office. I don't have time to show you brats," she said, turning on her heel and walking through the gates as they opened on their own.

"She seems nice," I muttered sarcastically as I walked through the gate after her.

"Oh come on, give this place a chance," my brother said, following close behind.

Just ahead, a short kid with a buzz cut was in a fight with three other kids. Looks like he's new here too, considering his brown jacket and jeans. He was actually holding his own, but I hate it when people gang up on others.

"Looks like we've got our first fight here already, brother," I said, cracking my knuckles.

"Must we do this?" He asked, knowing the answer.

"I take right, you go left."

Without waiting for him, I lunged forward, tackling one of the students to the ground. Before he could react, I landed several blows directly to his skull, bloodying his nose and blackening both eyes. I threw another hard punch into his stomach to be sure he'd stay down as I got up, seeing the other two already handled.

"Thanks for the assist," the kid said, brushing himself off.

"It was no big deal. See you around, I guess," I said, turning to the main building and walking off.

"You didn't have to be so crude," my brother said, catching up.

"That wasn't crude. I was just blunt, and straightforward. Come on, to the principal."

#~#~#

Arriving at the main office, I saw the same secretary as earlier.

'Didn't have time to lead us where you were going? Bitch.'

Surpressing my inner voice, I walked up to her desk, seeing the gold plaque labeled "Carol Danvers".

"Alright then, Danvers, where's this principal?" I asked, leaning on the oaken desk.

"Right back throught the hallway," she said, pointing behind her. Her look was easy to read. She wants to throttle me already.

We walked into the room, sitting in the two chairs before the large desk. The room was a typical principal office. Scratch that, it was like a super villian hideout. Dark and forboding, taxidermy on the walls and furniture. Bookcases on the walls, filled with military tomes like The Art of War, and historical recounts of wars and the like. This guy is already seeming ridiculous.

Then in came the man himself. If he were an animal, he'd be a vulture, or a buzzard. Something wrinkled and ugly, with a penchant for hanging around the festering dead. In that situation, it was us. He sat behind his desk, wrinkled and angry face, stern eyes staring at us pass his long, hooked nose. He ran a hand through the greying sides of his brown hair, the other reaching for a file. Everything about this guy just screamed villain. And his name tops it off. On a gold plaque at the edge of his desk, Dr. Crabblesnitch was etched.

"You two must be Drake and Alyxander Adams. I've been expecting you. Let's take a look at your records, shall we?" He said, flipping open the file. "Vandalism. Excessive violence. Disrespecting staff and authority. Bad language, not all in English. Theft. Use if drugs and alcohol on campus. The list goes on. Quite impressive, you two. But I will fix whatever problems you have. Even if they are more...personal than others," he said, standing and pacing the room, looking my brother in the eye on that last part.

My fists clenched at my sides. I grit my teeth, keeping my mouth shut by a pure miracle.

'So that's a problem, huh!? I'll show you a fucking problem!'

I gripped my chair tight, the old wood creaking.

"But do you know why I waste my time with fixing children like you?" He boomed. "Because it is my calling! Now go to your dorms, change into your uniforms. And take these with you," he said, sitting back down and handing us our schedules. "And remember, you have a clean nose, so keep it clean, or I'll clean it for you."

"That sounds disgusting and creepy. Get a new metaphor, buzzard," I said, leaving the room.

'Off to such a great start. Can't wait to see the dorms.'

#~#~#

'Wow this dorm is shit! Looks like the janitors gave up on keeping this place clean about a decade ago. The paint even looked lead-based. And it's way overpopulated. Not sure how long I'll be able to take this.'

"Things just get better and better huh? Come on, this looks like the only free room," I said, heading to the room immediately to the right of the hall we came in through.

I threw my bag on the one bed in the room, as did my brother.

"Who gets the bed?" He asked.

"No idea. Play five finger fillet for it?" I asked, pulling out my balisong and flipping it open.

"Always with the knife games. How about target practice? I don't want a new hole in my hand."

"Sure, did you bring the board?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling it from his bag and setting it up against the wall on top of a file cabinet for the time being.

"I go first," I said, throwing the blade and hitting the bull's eye dead center.

I walked over to the board, seeing it went straight through to the wall. I pulled it free, then saw a quick blur as Alyx threw his knife and hit exactly where I did.

"Crazy bastard, could have taken my nose off," I joked.

"So how about we up the distance? Say, the entire hallway?"

"Sure," I said, grabbing the board and bringing it out to the hall. Portraits at both ends of the hall, perfect, I can use their nails. I took one down, tossing it aside and replaced it with the board. "You go first this time!" I called down the hall to him.

The blade flew down the 50 ft hall like a jet and hit the board slightly to the left of the center. I headed down the hall and threw my blade. We headed to the board, seeing both knives had gone through the board again, and mine was still dead center.

"Alright, you get the bed," he said with a laugh.

"Should've known, you can never beat your brother," I teased, pulling the knives free and flipping them shut.

"So I get to sleep on the floor. Just like old times," he said, walking back into the room.

I followed him, seeing him pulling our things from the bags.

"You gonna be fine on the floor?"

"What difference does it make? Not like I'll be bring home any dates," he said, throwing some blankets on the floor.

"Are you still hung up on that?"

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know! The way that bastard looked at me-!"

"Calm down. He's just some asshole. He can never change who you are."

He threw the bags off the bed, nearly putting holes in he wall.

"But it's not who I am! According to those religious assholes, at least."

He sat on the bed, burying his face in his hands. I sat next to him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I don't give a shit what those hate mongers say. You're my brother. You're you. Even I'm not like you. You're one of a kind, so take pride in it. If they don't like it, then fuck 'em."

"After hearing that so many times, it doesn't work so well anymore."

"Then how about this, no matter what they say or what you become, I will always stand by you. I'll never turn on you, you're my flesh and blood. My only family. Even if they all take up pitch forks and torches, I'll be here for you."

He was silent for a moment, then wiped his eyes.

"Okay, that was better," he said, laughing weakly.

"We're brothers. We stick together. I think we've both proven our loyalty to each other. And to 'Twin Magic'. Otherwise, you wouldn't have my scar," I said, rubbing he scar that ran down my lips to my chin.

His hand rubbed his own scar.

"That was really stupid of me," he said, finally giving a genuine chuckle.

"Yeah, it was. But it's just so fun to pull Twin Magic on people. Stupid it was, but it had to be done."

"You're an idiot," he said, shoving me a bit.

"We have the same mind, so you're calling yourself an idiot."

"Didn't you just say we were different?"

"Not totally different. We're still similar."

"Again I must say, you're an idiot."

"Oh what a touching scene of brotherly love!" A voice from the doorway said.

I looked up to see a kid a bit shorter than me with close-cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a nasty scar over his right eye. This guy seemed off.

"Hi, I'm Gary! Nice to meet you!" He said, sounding fake while offering his hand.

I reluctantly took it. His grip was rather weak. I don't like this guy.

"Drake."

"I'm Alyx," my brother said, shaking his hand and having the same reaction.

'This guy seems like he'll be a problem,' I thought to Alyx.

'Yeah, I don't trust him. Should we kick him out?'

'Why not? We could handle it if he wants to be an enemy.'

"Yes, it was nice meeting you, now leave. We have unpacking to do," I said, pushing him out the door.

"Always so crude."

"Shut up," I said, throwing a pillow at him. "Come on, gotta get dressed. Have a host of worthless classes to attend."

"We aren't going to actually wear the uniforms, are we?"

"Of course! Kind of. We're just wearing the shirt. Keeping the rest the same."

"Good, I hate slacks," he said, throwing the rest of the uniform away.

He took off his jacket and his shirt, tossing them on the bed.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" He asked, unfolding the white dress shirt.

"Be caught shirtless by you? When you're shirtless too? Yeah right."

"Ass," he said, buttoning his shirt and rolling up the sleeves.

I tossed my shirt and jacket aside, revealing the multitude of scars on my body. Some were old and faded. Others were still pink and fresh, only a few weeks old. That included the one on my face. I felt the cold metal of my silver cross fall onto my flesh. I held it for a second, one of the only things differing in our appearances. The sight of it brought back some good times...and one particular bad time. Letting it fall again, I put on the dressy shirt and pulled it through the neck, then threw on my jacket over it.

"Let's get going."

#~#~#

Our schedules were completely different, not a single class the same. Makes it easier to do a little Twin Magic when Alyx isn't doing too good with something. Don't get me wrong, he's a smart little fucker, but I'm a literal genius. He'll be fine for now though, unless they start advanced college-level lessons, he'll be fine.

He had to go to shop, so no worries about being outsmarted there. I had math, my oldest enemy. The teacher didn't help. Hattrick was a quite heavyset black man, probably somewhere in his forties. His attitude was tyrannical and his class was just as bad. That didn't stop me from acing everything he threw at me. Even when he went to the crazy shit, like quantum physics and astro physics.

The bell rang, finally releasing me from this hell.

"Mr. Adams, a moment please," Hattrick called.

I stopped, halfway out the door, turning on my heel to face the man. He stood just under my height, forced to look up and try to still be threatening.

"I don't believe you were being honest. I believe you have been cheating, and deserve punishment," he said. There's that asshole attitude.

"I wasn't cheating. It's not possible. Just give me any problem and I'll solve it now. But I'd prefer you not, I hate this class. Not just because you're teaching it, but because I just really, really hate math."

"Mr. Adams-"

"Sorry, but I have class, so I need to get going," I said, leaving.

Might pay for that latter. Don't really care though. After two and a half hours of that, I'd take another gunshot over talking to that man. Plus I'm hungry and it's break for the next hour and a half. I headed for the cafeteria below the main office, behind the staircases.

'It's a freaking mad house in here. Just animals everywhere.'

The students were all seperated with similarly dressed and acting kids. When one different from the group came by, they were harassed or beaten.

'God this place is awful. There are actually cliques here. I've been to some really shit schools, but at least the students saw each other, more or less, equally.'

Near the back was a group of mismatched kids that didn't quite fit any of the cliques. Having nowhere else to sit, I went to their table. I sat without a word, not caring if they didn't like it.

"Hey, you're that kid that..." one of the kids from the table behind me said, hen shut his mouth.

I turned to see a redhead boy with two black eyes and a broken nose that wasn't set quite right.

"The kid that kicked your ass? Yes, I am. You gonna try to redeem yourself?" I asked, taking a bite from my apple.

"Maybe I will!" He said, getting up.

I beamed him between the eyes with the apple, sending him to the floor.

"Looks like you won't have a redemption," I said, tossing a banana peel behind me.

Angry steps came from behind me, then a loud thud.

"Holy shit, it actually worked," I said, turning back around to see he had actually tripped on the peel.

"You little shit! I'll teach you!" He said, getting up and throwing a punch.

I dodged, easily, then delivered a blow to his stomach. He fell to the ground again, wheezing. I turned back to the table and finished my lunch.

"Thanks, you gave me something to talk about," a redheaded girl across the table said. Is that his sister? "And you're pretty good looking. I'm Christy."

"And I'm leaving," I said, dumping my tray on the idiot at my feet. "Someone clean up the trash."

I left, not wanting to waste the rest of my break.

"Always so crude."

I smiled, turning to see my brother.

"Where have you been? All these other monkeys are so boring."

"Oh I don't know about that. This Vance guy I met in shop class seemed like a nice guy."

"See? Things are gonna be fine. Let's just try to keep our last three years of school as normal as we can."

"Like we can pull off normal," he joked.

"Good point. We still have an hour until class, so what are we gonna do?"

"Go get a drink behind the bleachers?"

"I got just the drink. Let's head out."

#~#~#

I took another drink from my bottle.

"Is there anything better than a scotch that's thrice your own age?" I asked rhetorically.

"Maybe a scotch four times our age," Alyx suggested.

"I'll have to look into it," I said with a chuckle and and took another drink.

At the other end of the bleachers was another figure. Slim, tall, bottle in hand. He came towards us, the more obscured part of the bleachers. He stopped when he saw us.

"Uh...hello, students. Fine day, isn't it?" He said awkwardly.

"Yes, quite a fine day," Alyx said, going with it.

"I don't believe we've met. I'm the English teacher, Mr. Galloway," he said, extending his hand.

"Alyx."

"Drake."

I could smell the alcohol on his breath, but his grip was firm.

'This guy might not be so bad.'

'A teacher that isn't an ass? I can't believe it.'

"Listen...uh, you won't tell Dr. Crabblesnitch about this, would you?" He asked.

"We won't say anything if you don't," I said, shaking my nearly empty bottle.

"Good good. You don't mind if I drink here?"

"We were about to leave anyway. Have a nice drink, sir," I said, finishing the scotch and heading out from the bleachers.

I was about to throw my bottle in the trashcan, then got distracted by the cheerleaders. All of looked to be from different cliques, but kind of coexisted in their amalgam organization.

'Maybe this school isn't a total hell hole.'

One of the cheerleaders, seemingly the head cheerleader, verbally attacked the mousy one.

'Spoke too soon. They're all rabid animals.'

I turned away, feeling mildly disgusted. I walked up the steps off the field, seeing one of the scrawny, nerdy kids being bullied by the big black jock. I threw the bottle, hitting him in the head. He turned around, pissed.

"Who the fuck threw that!?"

"Me. Now how about you fight someone your own size."

I stepped up to him, an inch taller. He stared into my eyes, trying to cause some fear.

'Not a chance, kid. Once you've seen the eyes of a man that will kill me if given the chance, no other eyes can scare you.'

"Back off now, and you won't get hurt," I said.

My voice was calm, but the threat was evident. The slightest glimmer of fear flashed through his eyes.

"Let's do this!" He said, throwing a punch for my stomach.

I caught his wrist, stopping his fist. In the next instant, I landed a punch to his chest, and another to his nose. I hooked my foot around his ankle and tripped him. He fell to the ground and I kicked him hard in the ribs.

"You okay?" I asked the nerd.

"Yeah...I'm fine," he said nervously. "Hey, watch out!"

I turned around, the black jock was on his feet again, swinging a bat.

'Where the fuck did he get a bat!? This is a football field!'

I ducked, the bat swished over my head. He swung it in a downward arc at my face. I dodged again. He swung the bat, I blocked with my arm, feeling the wood creak against my cracking bone and torn flesh. I grabbed the handle with my good hand, yanking it from his hands. Tightening my grip, I smashed it into his knee, putting him oit of commission. I threw the bat away.

"And that's why you have to pick on the weak. Because at heart, you're a weakling too. And when someone stronger than the entire team, like me, comes along, you end up groveling on the ground like a worm."

I turned away heading for the nurse.

#~#~#

'Just great. Have to waste the last of my break in the infirmary.'

I looked at my arm, covered in bandages.

"Hey, what happened to you?" The guy in the bed over asked.

Rather pale skin, white hair, violet eyes. Can't imagine a guy like him getting along with anyone around here.

"Got in a fight with a jock. He swung a bat, I blocked, then swung it at him."

"Looks like your arm didn't make a very good shield," he said, a slight British accent tinging his voice.

"It worked well enough. I won the fight. What are you here for?"

"Just regular scrapes and bruises. Had a couple fights this morning too."

"I could've guessed that. Doesn't look like you have many friends."

"Well actually, I don't have any."

"Yeah, I'm kinda in the same boat. Only have my brother."

"He didn't help in the fight?"

"No, he was having some scotch under the bleachers. And he knows I can handle myself. I trust him and he trusts me."

"Sounds like you two are close."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. We've been orphaned since we were babies, never got along with other kids, so we've just relied on each other."

I hopped off the bed and stretched my wounded arm.

"Looks like you've recovered a bit. See you around?"

"Yeah, maybe. Oh, I'm Drake by the way," I said, offering my hand.

"Sebastian."

I shook it, not a bad grip. This guy seems like one if the only people worth knowing here.

"Sebastian? You planning on being a butler?" I joked.

"Ha ha, never heard that one before," he said sarcastically. "No, I was planning on doing special effects, like monster makeups and CGI explosions, that kind of thing."

"Sounds pretty cool. You any good?"

"Well I haven't gotten much of a chance to test myself. Can't afford the programs or the materials. But I do pretty well with Photoshop, so I might have a shot."

The bell rang, signaling the end ofthe break.

"Well I've got class. See you around, Seb."

#~#~#

'Next up, English. Not so bad. Wait, didn't that Galloway say he taught this class?'

My question was answered as I entered the room. There he sat behind his desk, looking more hungover than before.

"Alright, just finish the worksheet and that'll be it for the day," he said, rubbing his temples.

'I think I might like this class.'

I sat close to the back, getting to work on the paper. It wasn't really hard at all. Guess it's rather difficult to come up with something complex when your head is pounding. I finished it in under 5 minutes, taking it to him.

"Oh...Drake, right? Good to see you again. You're finished?" He asked as I approached.

"Yeah. Good to see you again too, Mr. Galloway," I said, handing him the sheet.

"This is good. Better than good. It's perfect. I'll have to remember to make your sheets a little more difficult. Wouldn't want to waste your potential."

"I guess you're right. Anything else?"

"Oh no, I was serious. That was all. You can go now if you want."

"Wow, that's great. But let me ask you something," I said, lowering my voice. "Would you mind if you gave me some of your scotch? I ran out at the football field."

"It would be unethical of me to give alcohol to a minor. However, if you manage to find the bottles I have stashed around school, I guess you could keep them."

"Any hints?"

"Just take this. I was going to get either you or brother, or maybe Jimmy, to take care of them before I was caught anyway."

"Don't worry, you're secret remains safe with me," I said, taking the slip of paper and heading out the door.

'First is the second-floor girl's bathroom. Why is it stashed there?'

I headed up, creeping in silently. Someone was throwing up in the stall.

'I really hope that it isn't in there.'

I checked the stall to the far right first, getting lucky on the first try as I found a bottle behind the toilet. As I pulled it out, I dropped it.

"Fuck," I automatically said, then clasped my hand over my mouth.

'Did she hear?'

The stall door opened and I heard her run out. Shit. I picked up the bottle and quickly ran to the opposite side of the school, seeing one of the teachers heading for the bathroom.

'Well that was easy.'

I put the bottle in my bag and pulled out he paper slip.

'Next, the cafeteria.'

I headed down the stairs to the cafeteria. A quick glance was all I needed to see that it wasn't in the area where we actually eat. Must be in the kitchen. As the "cook" turned to pay attention to the horrid stew, I slipped in and went for the backroom. One of the boxes was open. I checked it, finding a 40.

'Great. Just one to go.'

"Hey, what the hell are you doing back here!?" She yelled.

'Time to go.'

I ran out of the backroom, vaulting over the serving area. I was gone before she had a chance to breath.

'And that leaves one more. In the trophy case.'

I went up the stairs to the trophy case, sitting to the right if the main office. I'm gonna have to break it.

"I'm telling you that drunk hid liquor in the school! I smell alcohol!" Hattrick's evil voice said.

"Alright, Hattrick, show me this supposed alcohol," Crabblesnitch said.

'Shit, gotta make this quick. I really hope this glass isn't thick.'

I threw a punch with my wounded arm incase it was, shattering the glass with ease. Blood dripped as I snatched a flask from inside a trophy and ran.

'Got some scotch. Guess that's an up.'

I looked at the cuts adorning my already heavily scarred hand.

'But I also may have gotten some new scars. Alyx won't like that.'

"Russell heard you hurt his friend. Russell smash!"

Turning to the strange statement, I saw a gorilla charging me. No wait, that's a guy. But he's freaking huge! I jumped to the side, avoiding the attack. He stood up, turning around. He had to be nearly a foot taller than me, over 7 feet. His body was thick with muscle, and an oafish look covered his face.

"Russell smash you now!"

He charged again. I delivered a spin kick to his head, barely stopping him.

"Ow. You hurt Russell," he said, holding his busted ear.

Before he could attempt another attack, I threw a punch into his stomach, feeling the hard muscle immediately contract. I threw another, and another. They seemed to have little affect on the freak. I hit him with a kidney shot, then roundhouse to the chest that sent him tumbling.

"You hurt Russell. Why can't I crush you?"

"Because I have a mind to use in a fight. You, my friend, do not. Now what is this about?"

"You hurt Russell's friend. Russell need get back at you."

"Or you could leave me alone. If he has a problem with me, tell him to fight me like a man."

"Okay, Russell will tell him."

'Damn this guy is stupid. Maybe he really is an ape.'

He walked away, heading back to whoever I have to deal with now. Not giving a fuck, I headed back to my dorm room. With the gates to Bullworth Town closed, there isn't much to do. Plus I have to stash the scotch.

#~#~#

Hiding the scotch under the floorboards, I finished setting up the room.

"Hey, you. There any extra beds around here?" I asked the first kid that came by.

He was thin and scrawny. Rather unattractive. A nerd for sure.

"No, their all being used," he said, voice trembling.

"Dammit," I said, letting him go.

"Hey, it's you."

The voice came from the kid with the buzz cut, the one I helped earlier.

"Oh, hi. Didn't get your ass kicked today, did you?"

"Please, like they could."

"Well, you ever need some backup, just call me."

"Sure."

He headed to the room at the other side of the hall that leads to the doors.

'Well I still need to find a bed. Maybe I could steal one from the girls. They're bound to have a surplus. I mean, the dorm is like 3x the size it needs to be. There's only like10 girls here.'

Deciding that was a bad idea, I flopped onto the couch in the rec room. I flipped the tv on, getting only static.

"Well I guess I'm going outside."

I got up and went out the door, hoping anything would happen to give me something to do.

'Let's see what my dear brother is up to.'

#~#~#

In the bleachers, watching Alyx run laps with the football team. He was keeping ahead of the pack, being the quick bastard he is. I took a draw from my cigarette, letting the smoke out in a slow cloud.

"That's a nasty habit."

A familiar, pale kid sat next to me.

"Like I care. Do I really look like I'm worth saving?"

He looked me up and down, a little more closely than he had to.

"Yeah, I think so. So give it to me, I'm the one without a love life."

"You think I have one?"

"Well it is the first day, but I can't imagine you haven't been hit on yet."

"Well you got me there. Had that redhead Christy say I look good."

"She's pretty. You don't like her?"

"Seems too fake. I don't want to have to pretend around people, especially not my girlfriend."

"Makes sense. You ever have one before, a girlfriend I mean."

"Yeah, one."

"What was she like?"

"The best person I ever met. The only person other than my brother that I've trusted with my life."

"Damn. Sounds like she was pretty important to you. What happened?"

I sat in silence for a moment, the pain resurfacing.

"Life. Life happened. Mine has always been shit, it was only a matter of time before it was shit again. I just wish..."

I trailed off as hot tears started rolling down my cheeks. My hand touched them, feeling the wetness.

'Great. I'm crying. This is fucking perfect.'

"Sorry. I can't really know what you're feeling, but my life hasn't been perfect either. Probably too soon to get into, so suffice it to say you should chose your words and actions carefully. Otherwise, you could regret them your entire life."

"I guess your right. You know, you're a good guy, Seb."

"And you aren't so bad yourself, Drake."

We kicked back and talked a bit more. Before it got too late, Sebastian went back to the dorm. At the end of the day, tryouts were over. I think. I don't know football, sue me.

"Hey, brother, nice job out there!" I said as he walked up.

"I could have been better."

"It was literally your first game. You did great. Come on, I got us something a littke special to drink. It was pure coincidence, but remember our talk about scotch?"

"You found one four times our age?"

"Roughly. A little more, actually. Made during the Prohibition."

"Sounds like something to try."

"I'd say so. Let's go try it."

#~#~#

"This is actually pretty good. A little crude, but good," Alyx said, taking another drink.

"You're big brother sure has some connections, huh?"

"Definitely. Alright, it's getting kinda late. We should probably get to sleep."

"True. Don't want to be too tired. Not with all the jackasses that constantly want to fight."

Alyx lied down on the makeshift bed on the floor, trying to get comfortable.

"Hey, why don't you take the real bed tonight?"

"We played for it. You won."

"Yeah, but I didn't work my ass off at tryouts. Take the bed, I'll be fine on the floor. Not like it's the first time."

"Alright," he said, getting up and taking the bed.

I lied on the blankets and pillows on the floor, staring up at the dark ceiling.

'I remember when we were young, living on the streets after running away from another family. We'd find a dry spot and huddle together to stay warm. Alyx would always got scared, so I'd show him the constellations, tell stories about the stars I had picked up in the short times we spent with each family. It was peaceful. Those times weren't the easiest, but they're still some of the best memories I have.'

"Alyx, you still awake?"

"Yeah."

"I know I was pretty pessimistic when we got here, but I'm going to make this time different. We'll finally have a real life. I swear it."

"I'm sure we will, brother. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."