Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the movie "Four brothers". I do however own future OC's.

High School rules

Chapter 1

"But Ma, I didn't do nothin', I swear" The sixteen year-old said, putting his hands in the air.

"You and I both know that that isn't true, Jack Mercer. And watch that tone" The graying woman shot back. "So how about you tell me the truth, and I'll sign that little note that's somewhere in your pocket?"

Jack crossed his arms and didn't say anything. He figured that if he kept denying it, maybe she would give up. If she didn't sign the note, it'd cost him 4 more weeks in detention, but that was worth it.

"Ah, Ma, let him.. A couple of weeks in detention do the little fairy good, toughen him up a bit." Bobby said from the chair in the corner.

"You keep out of this, Bobby. I let you come back into this house, no questions asked. But that doesn't mean that the questions won't come. Fairly soon, if you keep this up. And besides, that Jack isn't as tough as you doesn't mean he's innocent. I remember you had your fair part of detention, claiming not to have done anything."

"Damn history, always comes back to bite you in the ass" Bobby muttered under his breath.

Jack chuckled. It was good having Bobby back, even if it meant getting called "fairy" on a daily basis. And besides, anything that could keep his mothers "undivided attention" away from him, was welcome.

With Angel in the military, and Jerry back to community college for his third year, Jack had been alone for the last couple of months. And god knows that growing up in Detroit means doing stuff you don't want your parents to see. But hiding them had been hard, being alone and all. This situation just proved that.

"And now back to you. Don't think you're going to get away this easily. But for now, I'll let it be. Dinner isn't going to cook itself. We'll talk at the dinnertable, don't you worry about that!" Evelyn Mercer assured her son.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Ma" Jack sighed, turning around and walking up the stairs.

"Thanks for the help, Bobby. Next time you feel like helping me, go and paint the house. Okay?" Evelyn looked at her oldest son. She tried to look stern, but at the same time she knew that this was Bobby, and he wouldn't change.

"Sure thing, Ma. I'll make sure I never do it again.. Painting the house, I'll leave that to Jack.. He loves coloring." Bobby grinned.

"When are you going to get over that?" Evelyn asked

"The day it ain't working anymore" Bobby said. "Now I'll go see what our sweetheart is up to"

"Stupid ass school. Ain't gonna give me a break. Fuck, didn't do nothin' wrong.. Nothin' bad anyhow. Like they ain't using it themselves.." Jack was lying on his bed, talking to himself and throwing a ball against the wall.

"Look at you, all crushed. Did Ma hurt your feelings, precious?" Bobby came in.

"Shut up, asshole" Jack threw the ball at Bobby's head.

Bobby caught the ball with one hand, and put it in the pocket of his hoodie.

"So, you gonna tell me what's up?" He sat down on the bed, and looked at Jack.

"No.. It's none of your business what I do." Jack retorted.

"It is if you want me to fake Ma's autograph for you." The older guy raised his eyebrows. He knew that if anything would work, this was it.

Jack didn't respond, going over the idea in his head. It would solve his problem, but wouldn't it create a new one?

"Well, fairy, what's it gonna be? Ya gonna tell me, or Ma?" Bobby looked at his brother questioning. He was tapping his foot on the floor, not comfortable with his brother's silence.

"Does it matter? Ma will yell, you will hit me.. I'm fucked whatever I do. Story of my life" Jack stated, still not sure what he was going to do.

"It can't be that bad. You said you didn't do nothin' wrong, right?" Bobby said, a bit worried.

"That ain't what you'll think. Hell, that ain't what the world thinks" Jack looked at the pillow he was now holding.

"It can't be that bad. Fairy, you know I love you, no matter how bad you screw up. Do you need me to let some guys know my opinion?" Bobby put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"No, this time it was all me. I fucked up, as usual." Jack sounded down.

"Fairy, you're worrying me here. Spit it out, or I'll see no other way than to pull it out of you by force. And that ain't pleasant, lemme tell you." Bobby got up, quasi-threatening his brother.

"Okay, I got caught smoking during third period today. No big deal, but school is making it a fucking big-ass thing." Jack finally cracked.

"Watch your language. Ma'll get pissed at me if she hears you talk like that. 'Bobby, you're a bad influence on your brother.. I know you're tough and grown-up, but mind your language in his presence. I can still make him a respectable citizen.'" Bobby imitated their mother. "Like you're not as fucked up as the rest of us.."

Jack laughed at this. He could almost hear Evelyn say it to Bobby. He still was her baby, and she always tried to protect him against the harsh reality of Detroit. And that included his language.

"But back to you, what do you mean smoking. Do you mean you smoked, or that you 'smoked'?" Bobby air-quoted the last word.

"I was doing both.. I swear. I wouldn't skip just for a joint, Bobby. I ain't like that anymore" Jack looked at Bobby, his eyes big with just a glimpse of fear in them.

"Cracker Jack, ya said you quite the drugs. Whatcha do during lunch? Snore, shoot up?" Bobby nearly shouted angrily.

Bobby stood up from the bed, and started pacing the room. He looked at his brother, who was still sitting on the bed, rocking back and forth. Sometimes Bobby forgot that Jack still wasn't fixed, he was still a bit like the broken little boy that Evelyn took in over 6 years ago.

"Hey, stop that." Bobby said to Jack, referring to the rocking. "Ya makin' me dizzy, little fairy"

Bobby put his hand on the shoulder of the younger boy. Jack immediately cringed, the touch subconsciously scaring him.

"Hey, stop that. No one gonna hit you or hurt you, ya know that. Snap out of it, Jack" Bobby hugged his brother. "Now tell me, what else are you doing? Coke, horse, E?"

"No, Bobby. I ain't like that anymore, I told you. And I never did horse, why would I start now?" Jack finally stopped rocking back and forth and looked at Bobby.

"Why'cha start blazin' up again? You know where it took you last time. And I ain't feeling like holding your hand, wiping your forehead and tucking you in for weeks at a time again. It's not just you that's gonna go trough rehab, ya know." Bobby told him.

"Life sucked, school sucked, I needed to take the edge off." Jack shrugged.

"Life sucked.. Guess what, it's gonna keep sucking until you die. Learn to handle it without drugs. Now give me what you have left"

When Jack didn't move, Bobby took it upon himself to look for the rest of the weed. He threw the contents of Jack's backpack on the floor and searched through them until he found what he was looking for.

"Jesus, you bought quite the bag. Thought life would suck again tomorrow?" Bobby said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

He walked over to the bathroom and Jack could hear the toilet flush. When he came back in, the little bag was empty.

"So, that's done. Let's go and get some fucking food. You lost weight again." Bobby ended the conversation.

Jack just looked at him, angry, and walked down. But deep down he knew Bobby had been right.

A/N: This is my first Four Brothers-fic. Not my first fic though.. I don't want to turn in to one of those writers that say they only update if they get an amount of reviews, but there is no use in continuing this for me if no one reads it. So, no reviews does equal no updates in this case. But 1 review will make me continue, so it's really not about the reviews! Although I can always use some con-crit, and love to hear what you think about my story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!