Surf Club - Angelo's
"Are you sure there's going to be enough trainers down there without me?" Tyler double checks as he walks into Angelo's with Heath, who went to get him.
"Yeah, there's no boot camp this afternoon, so they'll be fine." Heath says. "Plus Brax shut the restaurant up for this, so you go with it even if it's short staffed down there."
"Okay." Tyler nods as they sit at the table with everyone else.
"Now we're all here, we need to talk about all of this tension that seems to have arisen since two more brothers came to live with us." Brax says.
"It's not been since that but if you want to say that to avoid the real thing, go ahead." Kyle says, deciding not to add more as Brax glares at him to shut up.
"Whether there are four or six of us, we're still a family. That includes the girls." Brax says.
"Even me?" Emily asks, an awkward silence following until Ricky kicked Brax under the table.
"Even you." Brax says, forcing a smile.
"Very meaningful." Kyle says, raising an eyebrow at his brother.
"We'll come to that later on." Brax says. "Now if anyone has a problem with the triplets, say so now."
"I do." Casey says, the three of them looking over at him. "Ever since they turned up, everything is about them. Firstly, could Kyle have been any more pathetic when Emily cheated on him? And could Lucas be anymore of a suck up, because let's be on, we bullied people like that in school, but somehow it's okay for one to live with us? And then there's Tyler, so full of himself that he has to act like one of the managers in the gym and start bossing the actual managers around." He says, taking them all by shock that he was saying it. "Oh and I nearly forgot how Kyle was the one who was asked to Brax and Ricky's wedding when we all know it was out of pity."
"You're the one being pathetic." Heath says. "I don't see the problem with Kyle being there for Brax and Ricky, it's what they wanted and you should be happy for them."
"It used to just be me and Brax, now everyone else seems to be getting involved. Why aren't you angry about being left out of their wedding?" Casey huffs.
"Just stop, Casey, us eloping was fake so we could cheer Kyle up." Brax snaps, everyone looking at him and Ricky instead.
"Seriously?" Kyle asks, frowning slightly.
"Yes, and we're sorry that we didn't tell you, we just wanted you to be happy and couldn't think of anything else." Ricky says.
"I did think the whole thing was weird." Kyle mutters.
"You're not mad?" Brax asks, wondering why Kyle wasn't shouting at them for lying to him.
"No, you had good intentions behind it, and it did help." Kyle says, then glances at Ricky's ring. "Did you buy the ring just for a fake wedding?" He asks, now finding that part a bit strange.
"We're engaged." Ricky smiles. "Brax proposed to me the night we told you about the fake wedding."
"Well I guess more congrats are in order then." Heath smirks, not having taken his brother as the marrying type.
"Well thank you, Heath, even though I know that face means you're joking." Ricky says.
"Nah, good on you both. Just never though Braxie here was the proposing or marrying type of guy." Heath says.
"I've grown up, like you boys need to start doing." Brax says. "Now let's get back to the reason we're all here."
"Can I just say that I'm not keen on going back home to Cairns, so I want to stay here. But we are willing to leave if things are going to be made tough for us." Tyler says.
"Do you always talk on behalf of Lucas, and now Kyle?" Brax glares, knowing Tyler should know better than that after the rules were made clear about them making their own decisions.
"On this occasion, yes." Kyle says, Brax glancing at him. "I'm getting so tired of it happening all over again, and if we have to leave just so we can be triplets without it causing arguments, then it's going to happen."
"Why didn't you tell us you had already spoken about this with each other?" Heath asks, letting on that he was hurt more than he would have liked.
"Because I should have known about Lucas and Tyler since birth, but that didn't happen. Now they're here and I feel like we can't do anything without digs and comments being made." Kyle says. "It doesn't mean I'm any less grateful that you gave me a great family, but there's two more of us now. They should be given a chance in this family as well, by all of you."
"You've made me feel really welcome when I stayed here, but I have noticed things have started changing and I don't like it." Lucas adds. "At times I feel like it would be better if I was to leave, so you can go back to being the four of you. I didn't want to make anyone feel put out with me being here."
"And I know I can't say much being the newbie full of attitude, but I thought if I could let go of that, be the younger brother for once, I could start realising how stupid I was being the first time we met." Tyler says, wanting to be honest like they were told to be. "Mum made me feel more welcome when I went back, but she also made me homeless when she found out about you guys. That's looking a lot more appealing than what I've had here. And I don't want to sound ungrateful, you gave me a job and a chance to stay with my triplets, I thought this is where we could have our family… We've been belittled and made worthless just because certain people don't feel like they've got the attention they crave from you anymore."
"What did you just say?" Casey glares, shooting out of his seat.
"You're not the only brother Brax and Heath has, so stop acting like an unappreciative brat." Tyler glares back, both of them standing off against each other.
"Brax!" Ricky moans, wanting him to stop it.
"I'm not getting in between fights anymore, it doesn't make them learn." Brax says, ready to intervene if it got violent. "Let them fight it out."
"Tyler, come on, don't go back there." Lucas says, and his older triplet knew what he meant, but was too wound up.
"And you thought I was the aggressive one." Kyle mutters to Heath.
"Come on Kylie, you're just a sook." Heath smirks.
"Call me that again and I won't be." Kyle shakes his head as he looks back at his two brothers. "Tyler, don't get wound up by him. I've fought with him before and it doesn't get you anywhere."
"Well it wouldn't because you're a coward." Casey shoots Kyle's way, getting a hard shove from Tyler.
"Don't you dare talk to him like that." Tyler warns. "If you've got a problem with us being here, you take out on me, not them!"
"I do have a problem with it. How can you walk into this family and expect everything to fall into place for you? You're just the half brother, start acting like one instead of taking the job that my full brother gave to me." Casey hisses.
"That's enough!" Brax shouts as he pulls Tyler back. "Stop this Casey or you'll be the one to leave, not the triplets." He firmly says.
"Are you joking with me?" Casey scoffs. "You're taking their side?"
"When they've done nothing wrong to you, yeah I am." Brax says. "Having a different mum does not make them any less of a brother than you are and I don't care what it takes to get that into your head."
"I agree with that, so if you've got a problem, don't expect us to side with you." Heath says. "You're not being fair on them and we're not going to side with you just because you've known us longer. There's six of us now, either you learn to live with it, or you take yourself out of this family."
"I will not leave a family I was born into." Casey shakes his head.
"They were born into this family as well. They may not have been here since birth, but they are blood and I will not turn them away because you won't grow up." Brax says. "Heath changed his ways for this family, you can as well. Now sit down and appreciate the people sitting around you, because they are the ones who would stick by you no matter what." He says, Casey reluctantly sitting down after a long silence.
"Don't you have something to say, Casey?" Heath says, staring at him. "I'll give you a huge hint if you need it. It's an apology for three clones."
"We're not clones." Kyle mutters.
"You kind of are." Emily smiles at him.
"Fine, I'm sorry." Casey says, getting a thankful look from Brax.