A/N: I was just looking over the last chapter, and boy was there a lot of mistakes! Not spelling, I mean phrasing and just a bunch of stuff that could've been replaced with something better! Hopefully, this chapter will be a lot better written and hopefully longer since I now have Microsoft Word again! Just so everyone knows, there are only two chapters left, so that's why this chapter might seem a bit rushed!

To my reviewers: I'm now going to start putting all responses to reviews in my profile

Disclaimer: If I got paid for reviewing then I'd be rich. But obviously, you don't get paid for reviewing; therefore I am not rich and couldn't possibly own Drake & Josh.

Final Fight - chapter eight

Josh Nichols was one confused teen. He wasn't the type to get easily confused often, but when you have a brother like Drake Parker then your whole world is turned upside down. And to Josh, that was unsettling.

He didn't know what was wrong with Drake as of late. First his brother wouldn't answer his questions, then he finds him about to cut himself, and now he cries at night! Josh didn't know if he should ask his parents to help his brother, because he didn't know if that would make things worse.

Stuffing chips in his mouth, Josh quickly picked the controller to his Playstation back up. He was so close to finally finishing the level when…the phone rang. At first Josh was just going to ignore it, I mean what's more important? Answering the phone or completing a level you've been trying to finish for months?

Answering the phone won.

Angrily throwing the controller down, he stomped off towards the kitchen and yanked the phone off its holder.

"Hello?" Josh asked in a forced voice, trying to not sound upset.

"Josh! This is mom. Megan came down with something, and so I'm taking her to the doctors today. I'm just calling to let you know that we're coming back home sometime next week. Don't forget to tell your father!" Audrey said on the other line.

"'Kay, mom. Love you," And Josh hung up.

As he was walking back towards the couch, Walter walked in carrying a paper bag. He froze when he saw Josh.

"Hey, dad. Out job-hunting again?" Josh asked, turning towards the TV.

"Uh-huh," Walter replied, heading towards the kitchen.

"So what did ya' get?"

Walter peeked his head out the door dividing the kitchen from the living room. "What?"

"What's in the bag?"

"Oooh! That? Just some…milk. We're always needing milk, so I just stopped by the store and got some…"

"So find any jobs?" Josh continued.

"No, my resume is never good enough for anyone," Walter said, walking out of the kitchen to sit beside his son. "I'm going to end up being one of those people who work for the rest of their lives at the grocery store bagging."

Josh looked at his dad and smiled. "Don't worry, Dad, you'll find the perfect job soon! I'm sure of it! Oh, by the way, mom called and said she'd be home next week sometime," He said. With a quick glance, he saw that it was already two.

"Well, gotta go to work. See ya' at dinner!" Walter nodded his head, and waved his son off.

When he was absolutely sure Josh had left, Walter walked back into the kitchen. Grabbing the paper bag he had hidden at the bottom of a cabinet, he pulled out the wine bottle. Throwing the bag into the trash, he walked back out into the living room and made himself comfortable on the couch. He tore of the clear wrapping, and took the top off, relaxing fully once the beautiful fragrance had filled the air around him.

Walter picked up his glass on the table, and poured the liquid into it. Then an idea struck him. Why not mix two liquors together?

Excited, Walter jumped off the couch and rushed back into the kitchen. Running his hands over the top of each cabinet, he finally found what he was looking for; a small bottle that had not yet been opened. Walter knew it was quite old, but he would try mixing them anyway.

He poured the Jack Daniels into the already half-filled cup. Then he took a small sip.

The taste was strong, but the feeling was extraordinary. The two put together had a bitter-vinegary taste, but the relief it gave was immediate apposed to just drinking one type of liquor.

Feeling like he was on cloud nine, Walter poured the rest of the Jack Daniels out, and planned on buying a new bottle soon. He knew he should start keeping the liquids cold, so Walter decided he would try hiding them in the fridge out in the garage. Walking back out of the kitchen and sitting back down, Walter began sipping his drink, trying not to drink too fast.

The front door opened causing Walter to gulp half the glass down.

Drake had just been dropped off back home by Alec, and was happy to see no cars in the garage. But as he walked through the door, he jerked back when he saw Walter on the couch. Glass in hand.

Not sure whether to run upstairs or run out the door, Drake just stood there eyes wide. Deep down he hated how when he was around Walter, his emotions were always on his sleeve. He wasn't a very emotional kind of guy.

Walter just stared at his stepson, waiting for him to make the first move. But nothing happened. Making up his mind, Walter stood up and walked into the kitchen. This surprised Drake. What, no yelling? No glaring? Confused, Drake walked upstairs with a bag in his hands.

When he finally got to his room, he sat down on the bedroom couch and took out his new cd out of the bag. It was the Beatles '1962-1966' record, the one he had been saving up to buy for weeks.

Drake hadn't just bought that cd because he wanted it…but because it had been Zachary's favorite album. Drake remembered how his brother had played it 24/7 the first week he had gotten it. That's how Drake became a fan of the Beatles; by his brother playing their record every single day for seven days straight. Boy, did Zack love that record. His favorite song had been 'Nowhere Man' and soon it had become six-year-old Drakes, too.

Drake glanced at the calendar and visibly cringed. Yeah, he had already known what today was…but to see it right there only made it the more harder. Today was Zachary Parker's death day. Unlike a birthday, you don't celebrate on a death day, you mourn.

Grabbing the second cd in the two-disc case, he put it in his cd player and pressed play. Scanning the names on the case looking for Nowhere Man, he finally found it and clicked forward until he got to number seven. He sat down on the couch and let the words of the song wash over him, along with memories of his life with his late brother.

For five long years, almost every night Zachary would sneak his little brother food while their dad was passed out on the couch. Sure, he had gotten caught quite a few times, and got a good thrashing for it, too. But Zachary would do anything for his brother, that's what made thinking about the past so hard for Drake. He had had a brother who loved him so much. Who loved him so much, that he would give his life for Drake.

Drake remembered how the kids at preschool all the way till first grade use to laugh about how small he was. They didn't understand that it was because he was malnourished. They would say he looked like a two year old instead of a five year old, and that had hurt Drake so much. He had never been in control over what his father fed him, and his brother had already done the most he could do. Finally, Zack had heard enough about how the kids teased Drake, and went to the school and sat them all down. Drake had been sick that day, so he never found out what his brother had told those kids, he just knew they never bothered him again. Drake remembered constantly hugging his older brother after that, he was so thankful.

A year later, exactly a week before his death, Audrey bought Zachary the Beatles cd for his birthday. Zack had been so happy, because it had all of his favorite songs on both discs! For that entire week he played the songs until it drove everyone in the house crazy, but secretly Drake loved every minute of it. He was so ecstatic to see his brother happy, because if anyone deserved to be happy, it was Zachary. But then seven days later, on a Monday, Zachary's life came to an end.

Drake closed his eyes trying to keep the memory of that night away, tears slipped from his clenched eyes. Slowly, he was able to compose himself, and quickly brushed away the tears. He stood up and turned the cd player off. His brother had never much liked 'Michelle' so neither did Drake.

Deep down he knew his brother would never want him still crying over his death, but Drake couldn't help it. How can you not cry over a death you caused? Shaking his head, he stopped this line of thought.

He climbed the ladder to his bed, and threw himself on top of the old mattress. Burying his face into the pillow he began to softy cry, mourning for his lost brother.

'I'm so sorry, Zack.'

000000000000000000

"Mr. Nichols, I'm afraid if you don't pay the bill for your mortgage then we're going to get the government involved-" But Walter didn't wait around to hear the rest of what the woman had to say, because he angrily slammed the phone back on it's hook and stomped off to the kitchen. Grabbing his glass from the sink, he poured himself a glass of Bush Chablis, very angry with himself because he had foolishly poured out his Jack Daniels, therefore he couldn't have the mix that kept him calm and collective.

'Who were they to tell him he had to pay eight hundred dollars every month just to keep a house? The nerve of people!' Walter fumed, as he sat back down on the couch. A noise behind him made him shoot off the couch, glaring at whoever was brave enough to disturb him at the moment.

It was Drake.

"What do you want?" Walter hissed. Drake shrugged and sat down on the opposite end of the couch.

"I just want to um…ask you a question," Drake said simply, but inside his fear was growing.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

"Why do you do it?" asked Drake.

"Do what exactly?" Walter said, sitting down in a chair.

"Drink." Was Drake's straightforward response.

Suddenly Walter was very fidgety, and the glaze that had covered his eyes since he started drinking all those weeks ago seemed to fade a bit. "Oh well um…"

"You alcoholics never have an answer for that question," Drake said, "My father was an alcoholic, too. Mom's probably already told you that. But what I bet she never told you was that he killed my brother, that's because she never knew."

The glaze faded a bit more.

"My father killed him, he's a murderer because of that vile drink in your hand. Are you gonna become a murderer, too?"

"How…how DARE you even say such a thing!" The glaze was settled right back over Walter's eyes again. Drake sighed in hopelessness. He was sure he would have gotten through to Walter.

"How DARE you, you insolent brat!" Now Walter was up off his chair, eyes red with fury.

Drake scooted back further into the couch. 'Oh crap! And here I thought I was gonna help!'

"How dare me! You're the one who's drinking! You're the one who's gonna ruin your families life as soon as they find out! So yeah! How dare me try to HELP YOU when I should be trying to get RID OF YOU!" And that's when it began.

It all happened so fast! Walter threw his glass across the room, and Drake jerked when he heard it shatter into a million pieces as it hit the wall. The next moment Walter was on top of him, trying to land as many blows as possible. Trying to get rid of all his anger. That's right, Drake was now labeled Walter's punching bag, but not for long.

What happened next only increased Walter's rage. As he raised his fist and was about to land another blow, a fist hit him in the face and quite hard. Just the intensity shocked him, as he stumbled off of Drake and onto the floor.

Suddenly Drake felt stronger, suddenly he felt like he could be in control instead of his stepfather. Anger filled his eyes as he jumped at Walter, tackling him to the ground. Gathering his own strength, Walter kicked Drake off of him and was pleased to hear a crack. Raw pain seared through Drake, to the point that he couldn't breathe.

Trying to ignore the pain, Drake stood up with his fists clenched. Walter sneered as he Drake came at him. Grabbing him by surprise, Walter lifted him into the air and threw him fiercely to the floor.

Drake gasped as the back of his head came in contact with the wooden floor, and stars danced around his vision. The pain was unbelievable, and Drake could feel the headache getting more painful by the minute. Walter took advantage of Drake's pain and kicked him as hard as he could in the leg. Drake yelped in pain, biting his lip to keep from screaming. It was at that moment Walter jumped back on top of Drake, making sure he sat on the leg that he had just kicked.

"Ge'off of me! Get. Off. YOU-" But something made Drake stop, something evil that flashed through Walter's eyes.

"Get off you say?" The man smirked, bending down to whisper into the teen's ear, but before he had the chance to say anything Drake brought his good leg up to his chest and push Walter off of him, with strength he never knew he possessed.

Somehow managing to stand up, Drake leaned on the dining table for support, holding his side.

"Why are you doing this? To get rid of your anger? I thought that was what your booze was for! That's what gym is for!" He yelled at Walter, trying to stall so he could at least take a breather before he was forced to fight his stepfather again.

"No! That's not why I'm doing this, you idiot child! I have no control WHATSOEVER of any friggin' thing anymore! …Aside from you…" For Drake, his breather was now officially over. Walter grabbed the vase that sat on the coffee table and threw it at Drake, narrowly missing the young teen's head.

"I will NOT let you control me! You don't scare me anymore!" At that, Drake let out a yell as he ran towards Walter anger getting the best of him. The man easily sidestepped, which sent Drake crashing into the wall.

"You actually think I can't control you?" Walter asked, walking beside Drake and swiftly backhanded him.

Tired from the inside out, Drake slumped against the wall, breathing hard. Walter picked Drake up by his shirt and dragged him towards the other side of the room. Dumping him on the floor, Walter sat beside the teen who he was suppose to call son, and brushed the bangs away from Drake's eyes in fake affection.

Walter then began to speak in a soft whisper, "I'm sorry to have to do this, but all you cause me is anger. So today you are going to die," He raised his fist once more preparing to land the final blow…when a hand closes around his fist.

"Not on my watch," Josh snapped.