Ambushed at the Premiere

Drake pulled to a stop once realizing they were not here to see a movie.

Helen, Mindy, Cat, Craig and Eric stood waiting for them in a tight group. He turned to glance at Josh accusingly, but had been accosted by Helen was lead to a chair. He was pushed into it, and he faced an on slate of to sympathetic faces.

"Sorry Drake." Josh told him, not meeting his brothers eyes.

"Look Drake." Mindy began softly "We all have noticed you've fallen into a sort of funk over the last week and a half…"

"We're worried about you." Cat told him folding her arms over her chest. "You won't even talk to me anymore!"

"Your usually always here, buzzing around with some girl or another, or talking to Josh, I haven't seen you here in a while." Helen told him, glancing at Josh.

"Yeah, well I've been tired." Drake muttered refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"Drake." Craig said with a worried sigh. "Josh called us and when he mentioned you, the first thing anyone though was 'Drake's ok now right?' you've been so distant."

"Normally I can't walk down the hall without seeing you, but I wouldn't even know you were at school if I didn't have classes with you. It's like you've vanished." Eric admitted.

"So we're all here because we're worried about you." Helen told him, squatting down to try and make eye contact. In truth the older woman had always been very fond of her employee's brother because he had such a spark and personality about him. That spark and that personality had been extinguished in the past few weeks.

"What's wrong?" Cat asked quietly. "Your not the same boy I met at school."

Helen finally was able to catch Drake's eyes. Instead of the shame or fear she expected to see there, she found a blazing anger. A anger that made her sit back a little on her heals, and look worriedly at the group of kids behind her.

Mindy noticed the tremors going through Drake's arms and met Helen's worried glance with one of her own. She nudged Josh looking questioningly at him. This might have been a very big mistake. If he felt like they were attacking him, he might pull further away.

"Drake?" Mindy questioned quietly. "Are you ok?"

"I can't believe you." Drake's voice was rough and the tremors increased. He kept his head down, but the warning tone was evident.

"Drake?" Josh asked uneasily.

"This is what you did? This is how you tired and make it better?" Drake's voice was low and angry. Craig and Eric exchanged worried looks, and Cat looked at him in surprise.

"What?" Cat asked.

"This was suppose to help? Ambushing me telling me how rotten it is to make you all worry?"

"Whoa, wait no Drake, that's not what this was suppose to be.." Mindy started in alarm.

"What was it suppose to be then?" Drake demanded, his head coming up, and his eyes blazing with fury.

"I didn't know what else to do!" Josh defended. "I thought maybe if you heard from other people who care it would help!"

Drake's laugh started off slow until it reached a fever pitch of hysteria. He shot out of his chair and out of the premiere before anyone could stop him. Leaving his friends shell shocked in his wake.

"That…could have gone better." Josh finally said breaking the silence.