He's Back For Josh

Summary: Josh's uncle comes home for a visit and methodically tears his nephew's life apart.

Recap: Josh's uncle visits, and wants something from him. But Josh is unwilling to give anything to his uncle; William abused Josh when he was younger, and now Josh is terrified of him. What will happen to Josh? Will he be able to overcome his nightmares and flashbacks? And what is William planning now?

Disclaimer: If I directed the show…I'd have more brotherly bonding moments!!!

Chapter 12 – Entrapment

That night:

Ever since the confrontation with his uncle, Josh had become increasingly paranoid. He even checked the lock on the bathroom three times before finally taking a body numbing cold shower.

He tried to shake himself free of the nightmares, but just couldn't. So instead, he had tried staying awake the night before, chatting with Eric about the new Game Sphere Xcalibre game that was coming out. But that didn't work—he just couldn't shake off knowing that his menacing uncle was sleeping—or doing something more sinister—just doors down the hall. He lay back in his swiveling chair that night, and gulped down Mr. Fizz straight from the two liter bottle, letting the bubbles burn his throat and keep him awake. But his eyelids stubbornly refused to stay up, and kept drooping heavily.

Josh had caught himself almost fall asleep twice, both times hitting his knees painfully on the table as he jerked awake. He felt as though he had doused himself in a cold bath. But the third time, he stumbled over to the bed, collapsing on top of the covers trying to straighten out the thoughts banging around in his head uncoordinatedly. And hours later, he awoke, gasping to another nightmare. He had soaked his comforters with sweat, so he tossed them to the ground and stared at the ceiling, determinedly thinking of constellations, Mindy, pranking his sister, talking to Drake, thinking up excuses as to why he was late to work…A bit later, he dozed off in a light sleep, grumbling about Drake taking the last of his Grammy's apple pie.

-.-

After his shower the next morning, Josh had glanced briefly at the mirror. He couldn't help but glower at the image in the mirror—his hair was unruly as always, but what really caught his attention were his eyes. Dark rimmed eyes stared back at him tiredly seeming sunken into his pale face; he hadn't been all too hungry for the past few days—especially since William had came. He'd picked at his food at dinner due to his uncle's ominous presence, and thankfully skipped lunch. Although his stomach grumbled unpleasantly, he knew he couldn't eat for he would just toss it back up. Josh tore his face away from the mirror and rushed off to work, resolving to try and eat something healthy that day.

-.-

That afternoon:

The doorbell rang. William knew that Josh had rushed off to work that morning, much to his dismay. He wouldn't be back yet, would he? William cracked open the door. A young woman with waves of ebony hair and sparkling green eyes stood outside in a denim miniskirt and a jacket over a tank top. She plucked at her purse.

William stared, puzzled at her presence at the door. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Drake's girlfriend, Susan!" She smiled nervously at him. "Um, can you please tell him I'm here?"

"Hi! I'm Josh's uncle, William," William said as he ushered her inside. "So you're Susan? Drake's said so many nice things about you." She blushed. He called out to Drake, who responded by asserting he'd be ready in a few minutes.

"How long have you two been going out?" he asked amiably, sitting on the sofa diagonally from her. She didn't know why, but she just found Josh's uncle disconcerting. It wasn't that he was staring at her in a perverted manner, but it was something else that she couldn't place a finger on; he seemed almost too polite. She shifted uneasily on the sofa.

"Well, just about a week or so," she replied, absentmindedly picking at an unruly thread from her purse.

"Oh. I haven't really gotten to know Drake that well yet, and I wanted to buy him a present," he began, already forming another plan in his mind. This would prove to be interesting. There was truly nothing like messing up his young nephew's life.

"Oh that's so nice of you!" she exclaimed. Maybe Josh's uncle wasn't so bad, she thought, trying to suppress that undercurrent of anxious feeling. "I'd help you, but I don't really know much about him yet—"

"Well, I'm sure Josh does—but I never see him around because he's always at that theater…What's it called?" William feigned ignorance to gain a response from Drake's girlfriend. He sat back almost leisurely, enjoying Susan's unsettled response.

"The Premiere," she replied. "Hey! Drake and I are going there tonight. Would you like for me to ask Josh a few things?" she suggested. This wasn't so bad, she thought.

"Oh, that would be wonderful," he stated, leaning forward. "But could you not tell Josh what this is all about? I'd like this to be a surprise, and Josh sometimes blabs on without thinking. Oh, and here's my number, just call me to tell me what you find out." He scribbled his cell phone on a scrap of paper and handed it to her. Susan eyed the paper uncertainly, but pocketed it.

"Of course," she agreed, pretending to zip her mouth. She shrugged away the uncomfortable feeling, and was about to engage in some small talk when Drake raced down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" He smiled as he asked her. She melted when she saw his adorable dark eyes and sweet smile. She didn't know how she had missed him during the school year—he was so gorgeous.

"Of course," Drake led Susan outside. "Bye!" he called out, slamming the front door shut.

Inside, William sat, thinking about his new pawn. She would definitely play a role in this game, he thought. He just had to use her the right way. She seemed so eager to help him; he could definitely use that to his advantage. He smirked—he imagined the ways the sweet young girl could wreak havoc between the two brothers.

-.-

Drake narrowed his eyes at the scene. He couldn't suppress the pang of jealousy he felt when he saw his girlfriend and Josh chatting about who knows what. He had always been insecure about his girlfriends around some of his friends, but it was strange that Josh was the reason this time. Drake couldn't help but glance over when he heard his girlfriend burst out laughing. She delicately covered her mouth with her fingers, and the bracelet he'd given her sparkled in the light.

He had met Susan through Mindy. At first, he was a bit suspicious. It seemed as though Mindy and Josh were working together to hook him up with Susan; Chelsey had dumped him after a month—he had really liked Chelsey—for that rat-faced two-timer Kwan Ko. First he stole his song from him and sung it at the talent show at Belleview, and now two years later, he stole Drake's girlfriend. Drake wouldn't describe himself as withdrawn and irritable—well, maybe a little (it wasn't for nothing Josh had yelled at him a week later, and had ordered him to come to the Premiere to meet other girls).

In the beginning, he had refused to socialize with one of The Creature's companions, but soon, he found that Susan was just as sweet as she was intelligent. This time, he felt an odd sort of connection with Susan—one of the really good kind.

But today, who knew what she was playing at? She had kept eying Josh while Drake and she sat at their table talking. Every time he asked her a question, she'd just nod uninterestedly. Then she'd jerk back to attention and apologize.

Drake's eyebrows furrowed. What was Josh playing at? Why was he talking to his girlfriend? She'd barely said anything to him since they arrived at the Premiere, and now she was listening to every word Josh said. Even when they sat at their table, he had scooted his chair directly across from her so her vision wouldn't stray away from him. But she had scooted her chair over, and when Drake had craned his head around to see the object of her fascination, he only saw his brother.

Obviously there was something going on between the two of them, if the odd furtive looks Josh was giving Drake were any indication. He'd have to have a talk with his brother about it, he thought as he angrily turned around in a huff. When Susan came back, he tried not to let his frustration show, but he was irritable; he suggested they go home.

When he got home, he slammed the door hard.

"Hey Drake! What's wrong?" William asked from the sofa, feigning concern.

"Josh," Drake muttered and stormed upstairs.

William merely smirked maliciously, and continued watching TV. He couldn't wait until later tonight.

-.-

Susan was trying to find Josh in the normal hustle and bustle of the movie theater. There, she caught sight of him at the candy counter. Now all she'd have to do was wait until he wasn't busy, and ask him a few questions. She tried to pay attention to Drake, who she knew was probably getting a bit annoyed. But he could wait. There. The counter was empty for the moment. She stood suddenly, forgetting she was sitting with Drake for a moment although she was trying to figure out how she'd talk to Josh about Drake.

"Um, Susan?" Drake looked up at her, clearly puzzled.

"Yea, just hold on a sec. I ran out of Rootbeer," she grabbed her half- full cup and walked over to the counter.

"Hey Josh…"

-.-

She'd been standing there for just ten minutes, but she thought she found out what she needed to know. Drake loved music. He breathed music; he could play the guitar and piano and he could sing—this she knew. He had his own band. He was currently recording music that he'd have to give to Spin City Records in a few days—which could prove to be another big break. Drake was extremely social—that she also already knew. He lived for music—he even had an autographed sleek red guitar that Josh had given him from one of the guitar players from Zero Gravity.

"But you should have seen the look on his face!" Josh was clutching his side, laughing so hard he could barely talk.

"Hey Josh?" Susan interrupted when she saw Drake glowering at the other end of the room. He was bouncing his legs—and she knew he only did that when he was agitated. "I think I should go back."

"Oh, um alright. See you later." Josh returned to try and fix the corn dog machine, again.

Susan walked back to the table, confused as to why Drake was so irritable.

"Do you mind if we just go home, I'm kinda tired…" he got up as she reached him. She tried not to let the quietness in the car perturb her, but it did. She glanced over at Drake's profile—which at this moment seemed a bit tense. His eyebrows curved downwards slightly, and he was staring at the road as if he was driving on a dangerous sloping terrain in a hurricane.

"Drake?" she asked softly as another car's headlights brought his face into clear view. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired," he said again. He dropped her off to her house minutes later, and drove off after he'd seen her enter her house safely.

She hung her jacket on the hook, puzzled about what upset Drake so much. He seemed alright when they'd watched the movie together. He'd cuddled her, and held her when the horror scenes frightened her, and kissed her during the boring parts. As she was thinking, she noticed a piece of paper fall out of her pocket. She unfolded it, and remembered that it was William's phone number. She bit her lip, considering if she should call Drake to see if everything was really alright, but decided that they could talk tomorrow. Right now, she would call William and tell him about Drake's love for music, and then take a hot bubble bath.

-.-

Josh quietly closed the door when he arrived home—Helen had needed help closing up because two of his co-workers had gone on vacation. He flipped the switch next to the kitchen door, a bit unnerved by the dark. Normally he would just creep upstairs, but he felt the need to be able to see fully. A shiver passed over him as he quickly took off his shoes and vest, and almost bolted upstairs to his room. All he wanted to do was to sleep, he thought as he turned the knob to the door. He was thankful he hadn't run into his uncle. He quickly opened the door.

"Josh," a voice came from somewhere behind him. Before he could register who had called out his name, Josh whirled around, panicked. Drake was standing by the couch with his arms crossed.

"Oh, it's just you," he stated, sagging in relief. He walked over to his bed, leaving the door slightly ajar and forgotten, and sat down tiredly on his bed.

"We need to talk Josh," Drake stated as he walked over to Josh's bed. He stared down at Josh.

"Yeah, sure. What's up?" Josh looked up worriedly, confusion clouding his eyes; his brother sounded unusually serious.

"It's about Susan." When Josh stared back at him confusedly, he elucidated. "What were you guys talking about?"

"Oh." Realization dawned in Josh's eyes as he chuckled slightly. "Why?"

Drake couldn't possibly think that Susan and I…Could he?

Josh learned that he was thinking that, in fact, when he furrowed his eyebrows angrily and hissed, "Josh, I'm serious. Dude, what were you doing back there?"

"Drake, we were just talking, that's all. Trust me, man. I'd never do that to you." Up until now, Josh still hadn't realized how sensitive he was about his girlfriends. He mentally scolded himself—of course! He had just been dumped, and was obviously going to be jealous. Drake just wasn't thinking right at the moment.

"Seriously?"

Josh could tell Drake still couldn't believe him.

"Seriously. We were just talking about you, in fact. She just wanted to know more about you, your likes and dislikes." Josh shrugged noncommittally.

"Oh." Drake smiled sheepishly. "Sorry man, I don't know—"

"It's alright." Josh rolled his eyes. Typical Drake. Then he remembered something. "Hey! You guys are finished with that CD, right?" Josh suddenly stood and started pacing before his bed. "Man!" He smacked his head, and then rubbed it. "Ow…I can't believe I forgot to remind you that I have to mail it in tomorrow! Oh, man, what are we going to do, I—"

Drake suddenly stood in front of him, causing Josh to almost trip over him. "Dude, relax! I finished it, and put it on top of the counter. I can remember things, Josh!" He sarcastically quipped, but smiled.

"Oh, ok good. I'll just drop it off before work…So, what do you like about Susan?" Josh smiled, and then ducked as Drake threw a pillow at him.

-.-

"Hey, Will, watcha doing?"

William suddenly whirled, mirroring Josh's panicked actions from only moments ago.

"Oh, hey Walter, what's up?" He leaned casually on the wall next to Josh's bedroom, trying not to show his disappointment. He had followed Josh into his bedroom, hoping to hear the fight that would—but instead, they were having a pillow fight. Disgusting.But that only meant that he would have to raise his plan a notch. And he had heard about the CD from both Susan and the boys. Yes, he rubbed his hands together in delight, now this combined with his other plan would cleave the boys apart.

"Well, I just heard the boys arguing and thought it best to check on them," he replied innocently, fiddling with his hands.

"Yea, well, they fight—but they get over it. Come on! Let's try some of that new guacamole. Race ya to the kitchen!"

William watched as Walter ran off childishly, and scoffed. He'd see in the next few days if the boys could truly overcome what he had in store for them. He'd already talked to the girl and set the first plan into action. The rest he would do tomorrow.

As he walked near the kitchen counter, he surreptitiously slid the envelope with CD into his pocket. Tonight he was going to have some fun.