=== Be Rose Lalonde

I pull my phone out of my pocket, inwardly sighing as I read the caller ID. Looking up at the clock, I do some calculations. It's almost 12:30… I make a quick decision and hold the phone to my ear.

"You have seven and a half minutes, darling brother. Make it quick."

There's a pause, assumingly as the middleman translates for him, then Dave's voice crackles through my phone speaker. "Hey, sis. Nice to talk to you, too."

"I'm assuming you had a legitimate reason to call me." There's a slightly alarming amount of concern behind his normal nonchalant tone, and it worries me. "Your time is rapidly running out."

"Did you honestly not know Egbert was suicidal, or do you just keep on neglecting to tell me shit?"

I forgot how much I like talking to Dave sometimes.

"I suspected it. What happened?" You almost have to be blunt in talking to him; the passive-aggressive gambit doesn't work here.

There's a slightly longer pause than normal from the other end of the line. "Tried to kill himself over the weekend. Why the hell didn't you tell me or Harley?"

"You couldn't have changed anything," I reply absent-mindedly. "How bad?"

"Forearms are bandaged pretty damn well, miscellaneous on his upper arms. We could've done something, Lalonde, and you know it."

"No, he suppresses negative emotions. They only come out in extreme breakdowns. If you tried to pry when he wasn't ready, he would've pushed you away." I think for half a second. "Serious attempt, then. He's still alive and playing it off, though?" Dave and I generally have conversations like this. Two topics being thrown back and forth every paragraph. It's hell for translators, and makes our conversations a bit longer than is necessary.

"He's Egbert, he buries everything behind a giggle and a shitty cover story. So you just let him fucking try to kill himself?" Dave's getting mad at me now. I need to take a step back and explain my reasonings, direct his anger at John's state of mind away from me.

You don't get mad at a psychology major and expect to stay that way for long.

I sigh. "I gave him all the applicable resources, talked to him, and tried to tell him to talk to his queerplatonic partner," I reply, still rather unwilling to use the troll term "moirail." It's not accepted in most of my classes, so I use the human term "queerplatonic partner," which is our equivalent. I've done endless papers on this idea. There's also no ASL sign for it, but translators can generally spell it out pretty easily. "That's the thing with John. I could do an entire semester's worth of final papers on that boy. How he hasn't already gone clinically insane, I honestly don't know."

"He tried to kill himself, I'd say he's pretty goddamn insane." I can hear Dave's sharp intake of breath, then a quiet hiss as he lets it out. "At least we wouldn't be so confused if we already knew he was suicidal. His dad and little sis are going to come back and completely flip their shit."

"I highly doubt Casey will do anything even moderately similar, Dave," I reprimand him gently. "She's four. You did more not knowing than you would've if you'd known. Did he break down when you pushed at him?"

"Yeah, kid cried on me before school started this morning." He still sounds moderately concerned, at least as far as visible emotions go with him. "I could seriously flip my shit when I was four, I bet the kid could too."

"Casey is being raised by Mr. Egbert, not Bro Strider." Honestly, I don't think there's legal documentation of Bro's first name. It could legitimately be "Bro" for all I know. "Don't show overly sympathetic pity to John, whatever you do. Don't put him down or tell him he was terrible for this either, but pity will put us considerably back."

"Wasn't planning on it, sis. I know Egbert too well for that. Bro could teach the kid to be a total badass, and Dad Egbert could teach her to mind her manners."

"Something tells me your father would certainly not-"

"Not my dad." Suddenly his voice is cold and hard as ice, interrupting both me and the translator, or at least that's what I assume.

I allow myself a slight smile. "There's a reason you're my step-brother and not my step-uncle."

"Rose, we've been over this." First names rather than last; he means business. "He's my big brother, not my dad."

"You're really sticking to that?"

"It's worked for seventeen years, I'm sure as hell not changing it now." His voice is as close to snarling as I've heard Dave in years. "Back the fuck off, Rose. I'm not arguing with you about my damn brother."

"Actually, it seems like that's what you're doing right now." Once you get him going, he'll keep going until you at least slow down. In the name of sibling rivalry and a bit of fun, I don't feel like backing down whatsoever.

I can literally hear the silent anger on the other end. After a second, he replies, "Don't pull this bullshit on me. We were talking about Egbert."

"You're right, we were." I smile sweetly into the phone. "You changed the subject. You with your insecurities about your brother-father."

"Fuck you, Lalonde, just make sure Egbert doesn't die."

"I'll do my best." I hang up on him before he has the chance to reply. It's petty and childish, but I really do like having the last word in a conversation.

Walking off to the next class, slight heels clicking on the tile floor, I smooth my knee-length black skirt and check my top to be sure it's still presentable. Being only seventeen, I try my hardest to present well, and the black half-vest is my old standby, thrown over the light lavender dress shirt that brings out the purple in my eyes. I've learned that this outfit makes me look older, not quite so young and naive. I get treated as a scholar rather than a high school student.

I spot Kanaya talking with another colleague and walk to go sit next to her. This is quite an up-and-coming university; every class is joint taught by a troll and a human, and troll-human friendships are encouraged. Kanaya is going for a counseling major, so we do have a class together, which provides a chance for us to work side-by-side.

"Hello, Kanaya," I say absent-mindedly, slipping into the chair to the right of her. "How are you today?"

"Oh, hello, Rose." She has a good voice for counseling, firm but melodic, enunciating words clearly but with the slightest ring of humor and sass in the back of her throat. "I am quite well, and yourself?"

"As well as ever," I reply. "Some disconcerting news about John, but I'll survive. As will he, quite probably."

"Probably?" Kanaya furrows her eyebrows slightly. "Is something wrong?"

I shrug. "Somewhat. I am near positive it will sort itself out."

She doesn't look all too relieved, but nods. "If I can be of any assistance, I would be more than delighted to provide it."

"I know, Kanaya." I smile slightly over at her, noting with amusement the distinct jade blush that plays across her cheeks as I do so. People think they can hide a crush from me. Really. My brother is the only one who can even try to do that, and even he usually fails. Kanaya doesn't even stand a chance.

And yet I'm not going to say anything.

If she honestly wants me, she'll have to come get me.

The teachers walk in, and all of us settle down. Well. Another day of mind-numbingly boring start-of-the-semester university. Learning all the same things I learned last semester before we can finally move on.

Just have to last the day.