Once I did go back to the tower, things seemed to go better than what I had feared.

A lot of questions were asked by both Yakko and Dot; mainly "Why, why lie?" and "What exactly happened, here?" I avoided them all perfectly and stubbornly claimed that I didn't lie. On my way back home, I had made up another genius cover-up for everything:

"I was there when The Mime told `er that… then I told her what he said, too. I'm sorry. I shouldn' `ave… I didn' mean to hurt `er, I just knew she didn't hear him, so I thought, maybe if she knew, she'd avoid him or beat him up…."

Neither of my siblings believed me one bit; Dot pretty much knew the entire story without me having to say it, so she remained silent. Yakko decided to play along:

"And you told her I call her offensive names becauuuuseeee….?"

"Because you did, when you first saw `er! So I don't believe you when you DO call her pretty. That's why." I frowned at him, then trust my head "Why do you even care, anyway?"

I could tell Yakko didn't buy one word I said, and found disappointment in his eyes, which made me feel worse than any event that had occurred ever since my meeting with the Copycat. My big brother, role model, the one who raised me… now felt disgusted since I just couldn't bring myself to say the truth.

Why couldn't I? I dunno…. I kept hurting people, everyone around me, and the truth wasn't all that bad… but I couldn't. I guess, when you create a lie, you cherish it, keep it, feed it to make it grow… and you never, ever give it up, unless it's 100% necessary.

I sneaked a look at Dot, wondering if she would rat me out; all I found her glance was disapproval and pity. Apparently, none of this made sense to her and she felt disgusted to even be a part of it. As far as I could tell, my little sister wanted out of this situation, out of the conversation, but she couldn't leave. We're the Warners, we stick together trough everything, all three of us….

"…what's gotten into you, Wakko?" my brother no longer seemed mad, now he was just…saddened? Taken aback? "You've never lied to me before… talk to me, buddy, what's going on? Help me out here! A girl beat me to a blue pulp over something I never said or did, and we still can't figure out what the truth is! What's the problem? What's bothering you so much?"

I bent my head down in shame, not managing to handle Yakko's accusing gaze any further. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke up, in a somewhat helpless voice:

"Good. I believe you. Because I know that both my siblings are wonderful, humane and beautiful. Because I know I raised people, actual human beings, not liars…."

That stung so deep, I can't put it in words… I wanted the ground to shrink below me and swallow me whole. Gulping lightly, I forced myself to look at him –but he had turned his back on me, heading for the kitchen:

"Steak and mash for tonight, sibs. Come help me, Wak, you can handle the potatoes…"

After he left the room, I sunk down on the sofa, my face growing, if possible, paler and longer… it was all to do good, I kept telling myself, while Dot scoot near me and pat my shoulder lightly:

"Why don't you just tell them both and leave them be?"

….it was words like these, advises, that made me want to keep on lying.

"He doesn't love 'er! He'll hurt 'er and-"

"Is it really more important than letting down your own brother, the person who raised you?" Dot spoke up quietly, while I felt a huge lump in my throat. Betrayal… I betrayed my own brother? But I just wanted what was good… I didn't want him to turn into one of the bad guys…. I didn't want to feel disappointed in HIM, because I needed to believe that he was the greatest, I need an idol…

If he broke Paula's heart, how would I ever look up to him again?

But…if I truly thought he was the best, why didn't I trust him?

This was all wrong and messed up, but the way I saw it, it wasn't a crime to stop something terrible from happening. They would be terrible together and I knew… so I'd keep going, and my brother….

I just hope you forgive me, if you're reading this, Yakko.

I didn't answer Dot, just followed Yakko in the kitchen, and shortly after, she came along, too. We prepared our dinner and went on as if nothing had happened, talking about random, silly things, enjoying our well made food… but as I took bite after bite, I kept wondering…

Paula was still there, in her car… or was she still in the grass, thinking about my brother? Either way, what was she having for dinner tonight? A pack of chips or a cold sandwich, left over from this morning?

Sadness filled my being… I had no clue what to do. I couldn't feel guilty over having a nice warm meal and yet, it just stopped tasting good, once I pictured her all alone in that car, feeding on cold crumbs… eventually, the food lost all taste at all and became a reflex, I was shoving it in my mouth, chewing, swallowing, and it felt like nothing.

And I love food. It's my favorite thing in the world! Looking at Yakko and Dot laughing, the lump in my throat just got bigger and I stood up, taking my plate with me:

"…I'll be right back, I just need to do somethin'"

"What's wrong? You don't like your dinner?" Yakko asked, while Dot fought back a laugh:

"Wakko, not liking his dinner? Gee, they said it would happen… that Hell'd freeze over… you just never know when it's gonna strike so you can pack an extra sweater…"

"It's fine!" I grumbled and walked away, but they both stopped me:

"What're you doing?"

"Sweetie, what's wrong?"

"I…I don't wanna eat this! So I wanna… give it to some beggar or homeless person, so they will!" I insisted, while they shared a confused look:

"…is it that bad?" Yakko pondered, while Dot rushed over to me and whispered in my ear:

"You don't have to do this. You don't have to punish yourself. Just tell the truth, everyone will forgive you and things will be ok!"

This time, she was wrong, but I didn't wanna explain… I didn't wanna tell them both that Paula lived in her car and I couldn't do a single thing about it.

"….I wanna eat something else, I'll just have a hot dog instead. See ya." I muttered, then exit the tower, leaving them both puzzled and I think I overheard Yakko saying:

"But it was the best meat in the market! Just because he said a few lies he's gonna starve himself now? Not gonna happen, not on my watch…."

"I'm not sure what's going on with our brother…" Dot spoke up, taking a bite of her own potatoes "He's always been… a little weird, but now…"

"He's never, ever acted this way. I mean, everyone lies, but why would he? I don't get it, sister sibling, I really don't…I give up, but if Paula comes at me with a knife next time, I'm moving all three of us to Argentina…"

"…I hear the weather's nice over there, though."

I ignored the rest of the conversation and went down the stairs, carefully adjusting the plate of food on my right hand. Walking over to the parking lot as fast as I could, so the food wouldn't get cold, I saw the car –it WAS covered in mud, trash and dirty grass- but that didn't stop me from recognizing it, it had those cracks at the top. Approaching, I knocked on the front window carefully and took a peek… Paula was inside, lying flat on her back, with an open notebook in her hands a bunch of markers shattered around… she was drawing something, more like scribbling, playing with the colors… was it a rainbow, or some galaxy, or just a world of fireflies, I couldn't tell… but when she heard my knocking, she instantly dropped on the car bottom, expecting some foe.

"Paula! It's me!" I called out, still holding the plates steadily "…are ya mad at me?"

I heard a deep sigh of relief, as Copycat opened the backseat car door and let me in, then locked it, as I entered:

"Hey kiddo…" she greeted me, a little too nice, considering she probably also thought I was a liar. Or maybe she believed me… Paula was always so naïve… or wanted to, since she didn't want her best friend to be a liar…

It's for a good cause, I kept telling myself. They'd both thank me, just you wait a few months… with that in mind, I managed to give her my usual friendly smile:

"…whacha doin'?" I asked, looking at her sketchbook; the pale girl shrugged:

"Killing time and scribbling. I was trying to see what I could do with every color… how they'd all look randomly splattered around…well, I'm no artist…" I glanced at the painting, it looked like a huge explosion in the sky… like fireworks… she blushed a bit and shoved the notebook away:

"So, what's up?"

"I brought you some dinner… it's prolly a little cold by now, but…" I handed the plate to her "I didn' touch it much! I promise, and-"

"Wakko! No, how could you!" Paula seemed shocked by the mere thought "I can't accept this!"

"But Pau-"

"You're not gonna starve yourself on my sake and I have plenty to eat, so… no." she threw her head back stubbornly and her lips twisted lightly. I placed the plate in her lap and poked her shoulder:

"I have plenty to eat in the tower, too! Please, just take it…"

"I can't, this isn't fair! And it's humiliating, too… I know you're being so very kind, but, I can't take the food from your mouth-"

"How `bout we share it, then?" I decided to compromise "In equal halves. And next time, you'll treat me to something! I just wanted you to eat somethin' nice, I would've invited you to dinner, but…-"

"Lemme guess, Yakko hates me, right?" Copycat claimed ironically, before sighing deeply "I don't know what's going on, little man, but I'm afraid you'll end up regretting… whatever you're doing…"

No I wasn't! Stop making sense, everyone!

"….I just wanna have dinner with you, us two. I should've gotten more food…" I pondered, then an idea struck me "After, we can just go out and buy more! That's ok, right? We'll both chip in and-"

Paula cut the steak in two pieces, then separated the mashed potatoes and the side salad, after, she handed me the knife:

"I only have one fork, but I can give you a spoon for the salad…"

"That's ok! I can eat without a fork, I usually do, anyway." I grinned and she just chuckled, then turned more music on. More rock, and we had our dinner, though I made sure she ate a lot more than I did:

"Was it good? I helped with the salad." I stuck my chest out proudly, while Paula laughed even harder:

"Best meal I ever had… thank you, Wakko… but I'm gonna have to repay you now, buddy, so, you're taking a piece of my belongings and that's that…"

I thought for a moment, then shoved a pack of chips in her lap, encouraging her to eat more. She was rather skinny at that moment:

"….I want that drawing."

"Huh?"

"That thing with the markers. I want it. Can I have it?" I questioned, while Copycat lift up her notebook and looked at me questionably:

"You mean the one I was just dribbling, before you came over?"

"Yep, that one. I want it." I claimed, while Paula shrugged, tore the notebook page from it's core and handed it to me with no seeming regret:

"No clue why….but ok. You can have it. Want the markers, too?"

"I like it." I said simply and that was that. Folding it carefully, I slipped it under my hat and turned to her "Hey, wanna-"

Just then, her cell-phone rang and she raised a finger to silence me, then picked up:

"Hello? Oh, hey!... Yeah, I'm free, but… uhm… I'm gonna need time… look, let's leave it for tomorrow night, ok? That good with you? Awesome. Tomorrow night it is, then. Bye." Paula hung up, after which looked over to me "I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"Who was that?" I asked, though I already knew the answer

"Just someone asking if I wanted to go bowling; but I hardly can, right now, I'd need to make myself look decent…so, what'd you want to do?"

Gritting my teeth slightly, I tried to hide my annoyance; he was good, he was really, really smart. Instead of turning spiteful this time, however, I smiled brightly:

"…wanna go for nachos, then walk around by the bridge and talk about wrestling?"

"…..you hate wrestling."

"But you don't!"

Eventually, we did get nachos; we did walk around the town until very late, then went back in her car and talked about anything that came to mind. She went fast asleep around midnight and all I could do was stare in pure gloat; her face was clear, smiling and calm, her belly was slightly bulged now, from all the food –she was full and happy, cuddling with her sheets and covers. I decided that maybe it was time I head back to my own home, before Yakko and Dot went crazy with worry (which they were by now, believe me), but as I stared at the little picture she gave me, I found myself trying to figure out what exactly it could be. Was it a rainbow? Or a very colorful bridge? Maybe a giant spaghetti monster, or a laser, or some alien ship, or…

I didn't notice my own eyes growing heavy and I myself becoming very tired. Hiding the picture once more, I crumbled at the side of the backseat, mumbling something of the sort:

"Hey, Paula?"

"….mhmmphhh…"

"I'm sorry…."

I had no clue what I was saying, and I was sure she didn't even hear me, but I reached out and touched her hand –ice cold- then trembled, stuttering:

"Can I touch you?...Why're you so cold?..."

She clutched my hand and the rest is pretty much darkness. I fell asleep right there, with thoughts of why her skin was so cold, why was she so pale, why so alone, why so scared, why can't I help…

I woke up early in the morning, way before her, noticed I had crumbled myself in her lap, as she lay completely still, sleeping like a baby. Not wanting to wake her up, I pondered on how to leave the car, since I was sure it was locked, and-

-….oh no.

NOW Yakko was gonna kill me, and rightfully so.

I was out all night and my siblings had probably gone sick with worry. I had to go back, immediately, and explain everything; but how to get out, what to do now, I had no choice…

"Paul? Wake up, unlock the doors, I gotta get h-"

Copycat didn't move an inch, well, she turned around and muttered something in her dream, but a loud thud was heard from behind and, despite her claims that she had fixed and sealed it well, the baggage trunk opened once more.

"Knew you'd be here." Yakko peeked inside, huffed lightly and shook his head at the entire scene "Why didn't you tell me she had no place to stay…?"

"I don' wanna wake `er up! Can't we talk outside?"

We both crawled out of her car and shut the trunk once more; Yakko placed a couple of rocks on top of it, just in case, then turned to me:

"You had me worried sick! You couldn't at least call?"

"….you made me mad." I told him, and at that point, he slapped both hands over his face:

"You're a lot alike, you and Paula. I keep making you mad, without even doing anything! You know Dot hasn't slept all night, worrying over you?"

"….I'm sorry." I admitted, and I truly was "I am…I shoulda called… I lost track of time and…-"

"I hope you're getting better at spelling, since I have a few nice words for you to learn. "Grounded" and "chores". And you apologize to your sister immediately, the second we go back home!" the eldest of us went on, and I grumbled in annoyance, though I knew I deserved it:

"I wanted to help out a friend! Whaddaya mean grounded?"

"No video games for two weeks, and you're not leaving the tower after dark, not without me. Also, I'm seeing into the future here… I see our bedroom clean and spotless, kitchen too, and getting a lot of help with cooking…" Yakko grabbed me by the hand and walked me home, in a mix of frustration and relief. I kept muttering things he chose not to hear, but I accepted it all the same. I knew I wasn't right; I could imagine how worried I'd get if one of them just disappeared for the night without a call, or even any sign of where they were.

Coming home, Dot threw herself on me, hugged me tight, and then punched me over the neck about getting her worried. I did as promised, apologized a gazillion times, then went over to start off some of my punishment; Yakko demanded I cleaned the bedroom and put my things in order.

As the morning sun glowed over our humble home, hitting every corner and revealing every little crack, piece of dust or all imperfections, really –we had, once more, regained ourselves and began our day, as we always do. Yakko telling everyone what to do, Dot being our princess and teasing herself, but listening to her oldest sibling and being helpful whenever she could; and me, well, as unlikely it may seem, I was also obedient, and cleaning… and had grown mad for all the chores and grounding, so now, I once more stopped regretting I was trying to make Yakko and Paula fight.

Sneaking out a few of the pictures from yesterday, I taped them all over the bedroom wall, right next to Yakko's closet, mostly the few I had of Paula and that Tatyana lady. The ones with myself and her I didn't honestly need, so I shoved them in a random drawer, then went off to scrub Dot's vanity mirror on the other side.

Very mad and tired, since my brother had me doing errands all day, I scrubbed and I scrubbed, huffing and puffing, but awaiting the moment of sweet revenge. Taking a little break, I pulled out Paula's drawing from beneath my hat and looked at it again, making me smile; I was pondering on where to place it, when I heard a voice from behind me:

"What're you doing, sib?"

Casually slipping the piece of paper back under my hat, I returned to scrubbing the mirror and replied casually:

"What ya told me, cleanin', remember? Grounded? Chores? Maybe I can't spell `em alright, but I AM doin' `em."

I heard a snicker and turned around, Yakko was looking at the pictures I planted; he shift his gaze at me with a sly smile:

"So, you're into photography, I see? Say, some would rather buy an album for such….ahhhh, precious memories, but, I guess…growing up boy and all…"

"I just liked them, I like Paula, so I see no harm in having her around. Do they bother you?" I questioned, while the smartmouth shrugged:

"Not at all; they look very pretty. Especially the wolf-lady, but I'm guessing you got dibs on her, hm?"

"….nah, not my type, plus, y'know…she's taken." I kept scrubbing the mirror with such force, my hand was turning red even beneath my glove

"Oh? Do tell…?" Yakko encouraged

"She's with Paula; Paula doesn't like guys, Yakko." I finally said, trying very hard to hide the huge smirk from my own face "But it's ok! I'm sure you'll find someone very nice, very soon…."

"Really, that's Paula's girlfriend? What's her name, bro?"

"Tatyana." I felt proud, it all seemed to be going so well…

Yakko looked at the pictures and gave out a laugh:

"How cute, indeed, they make such a beautiful couple…though Paula looks like she's about to kill her, I guess it's just her type of look."

I shrugged and decided to ignore him. Did I win? Was it over?

"…soooo…." My brother walked over to me, taking the wet rag from my hand and sitting himself down on Dot's pink chair "Paula's a lesbian and she's dating that girl?"

"Yep." I popped my mouth, crossing my arms, almost challenging. Where was he going with this, now?

"That's great! I couldn't be happier for them. Then I'm sure, ahhhh…. Tatyana was it? –would be more than happy to join us tonight." My brother smirked lightly and rest his head on his left hand "I know Paula would love having some company and they seem oh so close in those photos…."

…..apparently, not over, not by a long-shot. Why couldn't he just let it go and believe my lies, just one time?

"…..tonight?" I blurted out, while my brother kept eying me with glee:

"What, your buddy didn't tell you? We're all going bowling tonight…you, me, Dot, Paula… and I'll go and tell her to invite her girlfriend, too…-" as he was about to jump on his feet, I stopped him, clutching the rag from his hand, trying to seem threatening:

"Y-you can't!"

"Oh, and why not? Don't tell me they're dating in secret? They can just say they're close friends, then."

"T-tatyana is very…has awful eye-sight problems…she can't come bowling, the lighting in there would just destroy them, she'd be in so much pain…" I started stuttering, while Yakko's smirk grew wider:

"Then I guess we'll hang out somewhere else. Maybe during the day, I'm sure she can go out SOMEWHERE, even with that terrible sight of hers…"

"Uhm… well, Paula's sleeping now, so-"

"Oh, but now you got me so worried! Her poor girlfriend, I have to know what her condition is, or else I won't be able to make it trough the day!" he noted theatrically, while I finally gave in, waved that rag around and jumped in front of him:

"You always have to win, doncha?"

"Let's cut the baloney here, Wakko, leave it. You went trough all that trouble, had Paula take photos with some girl she probably barely knows, just so-"

"She IS a lesbian!" I insisted, not sure why I kept, since there was no point. Yakko gave me a blank look, then stretched his arms:

"Uh-huh… that's for me to figure out, eventually, but that chick on the picture is NOT Paula's girlfriend. Maybe she is a lesbian, but she's not with Paula and I do hope if that is the case, that if you manage to stalk her for snaps again, you'll bring me back nice pictures with her actual girlfriend. That'd be swell, really, wall-worthy. Now, all of this aside… I know what you're doing."

"You think you know everything…" I pouted, looking away, dropping the piece of cloth on the floor. Yakko walked around the room, and gazed at the pictures once more:

"Well, not everything. But you don't have to be a brain-surgeon to figure out you don't want me and Paula dating; but, newsflash, little brother…turning us against each other, a-not doing anyone any good and b-not working, at all. So far, all you managed to do was lower her self-esteem and give me a blue eye. If that's your goal, I applaud you, but I hardly think you'd waste so many time with all these lies and blackmail, just to get me beaten up by a heartbroken girl."

"Heartbroken?"

"You keep saying you want her to feel beautiful, then turn around and claim I call her things I wouldn't tell ANYONE, unless they hurt me or had it coming. How do you think she feels? She trusts you and you're making her feel like she's not good enough for… what, the big superstar that is me? Anyone has the right to be with anyone they want! I don't get it, bro, but Paula's gonna figure it out… if she wants to, that is, but I think she doesn't… and she'll be hurt." Yakko went on, still looking at the pictures "She DOES have such pretty lips though, I never noticed, guess the lip-ring kinda-"

"You're the one who's gonna hurt `er! I don't believe a word you say, you don' like her, you're just trying to woe her to prove you can!" I lashed out on him "And that's not gonna happen, cause she's not like those beautiful brunettes, or breath-taking blondes, or ravishing redheads that'll just slap you, call you a jerk and get a date the very next day… she'll spend nights crying, do you know how hard it is to have her in your lap, in tears, doubting herself, hating herself, trying to just convince her that she's beautiful and normal, trying to hug her and being scared she'll run away, scream at you that you're lying or just convulse because you gave her one tiny friendly embrace?"

Yakko stood silent for a moment, afterwards shook his head slowly:

"No, but maybe I wanna know what that's like… maybe you're not the only person who wants to hold her, tell her she has no reasons to be scared and make her feel pretty. Maybe I do, bro? Ever considered that? You think I'm so evil I'd crush some poor girl just to prove a point?"

"….you're just Yakko. You just gotta have your way!" I took a deep breath, not sure what else to say. I never thought he was evil…I still don't, and never would…but I didn't believe him even then, maybe I should've, who knows? In the end, only Yakko can know what he feels, right? So why is everyone blaming me, I'm not in his head!

"…I have to protect her. You're not getting her and you're not hurting her. She'll always feel unworthy around you, not good enough, let it go, leave `er be! She'll think you're pitying her, or mocking her, she'll cry all the time, just stop it, stop-"

"Know what I think? I can change all that. I can make all those things you just described about her woosh away; I can make her feel like the queen of the world… but you don't want that. You wanna be the only one she runs to, doncha, the only person, the one who's closest to her… you just feel that if I dated her, she'll forget all about you, so you're scared…." His face somewhat saddened at that, but he looked angry, too

"What'd you just say to me?" I yelled, but he placed a hand on my shoulder:

"I hope I'm wrong and you don't feel this way, because you shouldn't. If you do, I'm very sorry, but… no one would replace you, you're her favorite person, you're her best friend. No matter what I became to her, Hell, I'd marry her –you'll never, ever be anything but number one to her. If I'm fine with being somewhere in the line of people she could care about, let's say, ahhhhh….second, third, tenth, whatever…then you be a friend and instead of sabotaging her chance of having someone in her life, help me out."

I glared at him, clutched my fists and roughly brushed away from him, half-hissing:

"Liar. And you're never gonna do this, she'll never fall for you and you won't win, not this game!"

Yakko sighed, then chuckled a little:

"I guess we'll see. Now, take those stupid pictures off the wall, that wolf lady is weird, I don't like face, her nose is just too pointy…" he left the room, giving out a deep sigh, while I, filled with anger, just threw myself on the nearest chair in the room and frowned, for a good five minutes, trying to think over everything we said to each other…

"What's this, now?" I heard him at the doorway and perked up; he was holding Paula's scribble paper. I wasn't sure what was about to happen next, would he throw it away? Should I say "please" and explain it means much? That it's special?

….how weird is it to have a brother.

I didn't have to say one word, Yakko just walked over to me and handed me the picture:

"She's really nice to draw you something, huh? Interesting… that girl sure likes colors…"

I blinked at him, but staring at his eyes, I found the same old caring look he always gave me, ever since I could remember anything. I nod my head, adding:

"….not sure what it is, but… I just wanted it, so…"

"Look, let's put this whole who dates who aside and…help the girl out. She's living in a car and has, probably, very little belongings with her, why don't we-"

"I'll go get her stuff from her old apartment, I promised `er!" I jumped on my feet immediately, while Yakko nod his head:

"Good lad! I'll make a few calls and see if I can find her somewhere to stay. You should've told me, I know how to talk people into doing anything…"

"That I know." I frowned, looking at the squeaky clean pink mirror. I adjusted my hat and stared him down "…so am I still grounded?"

"….maybe not, if you're on your best behavior tonight." My brother teased, and with that, finally left the room. I stuck my tongue after him and resumed to my chair, to frown and pout as much as I wanted.

After a little bit, I left the house, taking Dot with me, who wanted to help out with some of the stuff. As we snuck inside Martin's apartment, slowly, we gathered everything from Paula's room, and several objects we assumed were hers (if not, sorry, Martin… well I never liked ya anyway, but we never steal, just note us and we'd give anything of yours back) into a whole ton of boxes several well-build toons helped us carry in our tower (thanks Arnold from TTA! Freakazoid also!) ; while we were sweating and moving things around (it pretty much took all day), I messaged Paula and told her that the tower was empty and she can go there, shower, get cleaned up and prettied up all she wanted, since I figured the moving would take a huge while. Once we were finally done, parted ways with our friends and finally got back in the tower, me and Dot threw ourselves on the couch and leaned on each other, exhausted:

"….thanks, Dot. If you weren't so cute, they would've nevah agreed to help us out!"

"I know…" Dot claimed, trying to catch her breath "Boy, was it hot out there… I need a bath…"

"Me too; I'd use a shower…"

"You bathe?" my sister exclaimed with surprise, while I just threw her a dirty look:

"I'm too tired to even try and counter that!" actually, nothing countering came to mind, I guess the heat really did get to me.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

That shook us both up; Dot immediately forgot about her sweat problems, while I instantly remembered…

…oh no, oh crap.

"Someone's here! Hurry, call the police!" Dot rushed to the phone, but I stopped her:

"No, don't, it's ok!"

"Wakko, a stranger's in our house, didn't you hear th-"

I just rushed for the bathroom, gesturing her to follow me and found exactly what I expected.

"Get out of here, get out of here now!" it was Paula, I hadn't taken in consideration when Yakko would come home. Again, another mistake….I'm starting to think I can't do anything right.

Ughhhh!

"Heyyy, I'm not gonna be a bother, I'm just brushing my teeth, you go on ahead…" Yakko waved it off casually, eying himself in the mirror, while Paula was trying to cover herself up with… something. So far, all she had was her hands and a small pink carpet Dot placed near her tub, thinking it was "cute"… unfortunately, Paula was in the shower, not the bath-tub…

"GET THE FUCK OUT!"

"But I'm not gonna look, I promise! Gentleman's word!" Yakko tried very hard not to laugh, as he crossed a finger over his heart, actually looking away. That didn't seem to comfort Paula much, if at all:

"I can't shower with you here?"

"Whaaat, I told ya, I won't look!" he covered his eyes with a mocking smile, while she, in a fit of desperation, threw a shampoo bottle at his head; somehow, he dodged it:

"You're so ungrateful; I'm not even looking…"

"How do you expect me to shower with you… over there…?" Copycat questioned, trying to crouch somehow and hide herself; Yakko shook his head at her:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… now why be embarrassed? Niceeee bod, sister…" apparently, he broke his promise about not looking, since hysterical screaming was heard:

"GET THE FUCK OUT OR I'LL PUMMEL YOU!"

"Welllll exqueezeeee me… this is my bathroom, by all means, you're always welcome to use it, but… I can be here whenever I want to be." He smirked, crossing his arms "You're gonna pummel me? I'd love that, just come over here and give me your best shot, loving the little rug you're sporting, Snow…."

"OUT! OUT! WAKKO!"

"What, are you upset I didn't offer to join? I thought we should get to know each other first-" I finally managed to grab him by the elbow and push him outside, closing the door shut behind me. After screaming a thousand "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" at Paula's direction, I made a face at my brother, who was twitching in two in a fit of laughter:

"This is too good! Now I really wish there was room in this tower, mornings would just be hilarious!"

"How could you!" I scolded him, which was odd, since it's usually the other way around "Why'd you embarrass 'er like that?"

"Oh come on, Wakko, live a little! I didn't mean to! Had no clue she'd be there, I walked in and just joked around a bit, that's all." Yakko wiped a tear from his eye, trying to catch his breath. Dot stared at us both and muttered quietly to herself:

"….why was I cursed with not just one, but TWO male siblings?..."

"You didn't hear the water running?" I was sure he was lying, but it's debatable, since he answered:

"No, the drier was on and it made too much noise; I just went inside to brush my teeth and clean my face, you know, gotta look sharp for my "friend date". " it did make sense, but I still kept frowning:

"You coulda just said "sorry" and left."

"Would you do that if you were in my place?" he questioned and I had to think for a moment. I guess it depends on a lot of things, like who the person was… but even after consider the most beautiful women in the world, I just said:

"Yes!"

"Oh you lie." Yakko smirked, while Dot concluded:

"We REALLY should buy a shower curtain."

I agreed, then carefully knocked on the door, almost afraid to ask:

"Are you alright, Paula?"

"He still there?" was the response I got, and Yakko made sure he was acknowledged:

"Don't worry, Snow, I didn't turn into a pumpkin yet, I'm all yours for tonight!"

"GET HIM AWAY BEFORE I RIP MY HAIR OFF!"

"…aw don't do that, it's not the hair's fault. Come rip mine." My brother kept teasing, while Dot coughed for a bit:

"Her clothes are in the drier and she can't come out with you two standing out here."

I immediately blushed, snatched my brother by the arm and dragged him to the living room, hissing accusations in his ear along the way. He chose to ignore them, or maybe agreed with them –but before we were far from sight, he gave one final instruction to Dot:

"You take care of my Snow Princess, make her pretty now, Dot, we don't want people accusing me of not knowing how to take care of my girls, now do we?"

I sat him down on the couch, again feeling awkward; he was usually the parental one, I was the one being scolded at –opposite day? Did someone forget to tell me? Well being a parent truly stinks and I hope that if I do become one, I'll have daughters.

"Stop callin' 'er your girl, and stop embarassin' `er!" I said sternly, feeling very weird. I wanted so much to be the little brother again; unfortunately, luck wasn't on my side, not recently, anyway…

"It's called "teasing", similar to flirting. You have a lot to learn about girls, middle sibling." Yakko informed me, seeming very proud of himself

"How'd you feel if someone walked in on ya naked?" I insisted, but knew the answer before it even left his mouth:

"I'd ask them to join, well… depends on how cute they are, but regardless, that'd probably be the first thing I'd say. That, or "pass the soap, please, oh and I can't quite reach my back". "

"I told ya, she's shy and insecure!"

"Exactly; now that we had such an awkward moment, she's gonna be so mad about it, she won't ever be shy around me, again… at least, tonight she won't. We'll bicker, we'll smart-mouth, but she won't tremble and she'll hold her head up high." Yakko explained simply "Since now that she feels like this was her weakest moment, she'll do everything to prove to me what a strong person she is tonight, when we go bowling…"

"…if she goes with ya, after that…" knowing her, she'd lock herself in her car and never leave, but my brother assured me:

"She will, trust me."

That'd be a miracle…I guess he was just too much of an optimist.

"…if she does, she'll beat ya up, y'know…" I warned, since that was also a possibility

"Nope, if she tries to even touch me…" he smirked once more "Let's just say, I'll turn the other cheek and react to her aggression with hostility… she won't dare to lay one finger on me, since she'll faint if I lay one on HER."

That was true…but I wasn't gonna tell him that. If anything, I wished he'd stop being so cocky and such a smartass for a change.

"….you can't know that, and you don't have proof that she'd go for you." I said for probably the millionth time, while Yakko just shrugged:

"Hey, it never hurts to try and win a girl over. Worst case scenario, she blows me off for good, I have nothing to lose, neither does she."

So we stood there, waiting for the aftershock and hoping Dot had calmed Paula down. In the meantime, I felt a feeling of dread and wished that the Burbank bowling alley was never created.