Apple Senorita: yay, another review! Thank you very much Kinau, and Cinder Fox!

You'll soon see about the pictures, what they were of with come to light soon!

I hope

Disclaimer: this is another chapter with song lyrics. There won't be many, but when there are, I will put a new disclaimer up. And, in this chapter, I don't own the song.

I was sat in the middle of my room, surrounded by the pictures. I had taken them all down from the wall, and piled them around me.

And now I had noticed a CD case, with a CD inside, lying in the middle of the room.

I sat there, staring at it, not daring to listen to it.

It hadn't been there when I had left that morning, so I assumed it was a 'present' from my lovely cousin.

Eventually, I put it on.

As soon as it began to play I launched for the plug and snapped it out of the wall.

Panting, I relaxed, letting the plug fall to the floor.

That was even worse than those photographs.

I couldn't stand to hear their voices.

Not again.

I was too traumatized from the pictures as it was.

"Kai! Kai come and help me with the shopping,"
She could hear the sounds of Kai coming downstairs.

It was Saturday. Max was at his guitar lesson, so it was just Judy and Kai in. As Kai began to empty the bags of shopping, Judy glanced over her shoulder and asked, as innocently as she could.

"Did you say that Ray boy got into a fight?"
"Yes," Kai said, simply, opening the fridge to put in some ham.
"Oh, who with?"
"I don't know," Kai said, stiffening. Of course, he knew who with. But he wasn't about to mention that.

"Oh, OK," Judy said, eyeing Kai since the boy had his back to her. She wanted to know why Kai had been acting so ticked off since Rei had been brought in with his head bleeding. Maybe it was because they were friends and he was angry but…Judy sensed something else.

"How are you feeling today Kai?"
"Fine,"
"Good. Are you going to go and pick Maxy up or shall I go?"
"I'll go,"
Judy sighed. Why couldn't she have a conversation with the boy that was not one-sided? He only spoke about ten words a day maximum!
"Well, you'd better think about going soon. Can you take the dog, we haven't given him a walk today,"
"No!"

Judy startled.

"Kai, what is with you and the dog? Why do you hate him?"

"Because that dog hates me! Haven't you seen it! It goes for me every time we're alone together!"
"Oh don't be silly. Pirate is a lovely little dog, he wouldn't hurt anyone. Now stop fussing Kai and get ready, or you'll keep Max waiting,"

Kai stalked off.

There was no point in arguing over Judy or Max about the dog.

Pirate, had been Kai's arch nemesis in the Tate home, ever since he had arrived two years ago. He swore that that 'lovely little dog' was more intelligent than it looked, and knew when it was just him and Kai in the house. Last time that had happened, Kai had had to lock himself in the bathroom as Pirate tried to tear down the door to get at him.

And of course, when Judy or Max got home, he'd roll on his back and let them tickle his tummy and nudge them and licked them.

Kai hated that animal.

I was glad it was Saturday the day after the fight, the CD and the photos. I needed a rest.

But my Mum was being her usual active self, and wanted me to take our neighbour's dog for a walk.

"Mum, no!"
"Oh please Rei! Just around the block!"

She managed to wrangle an 'OK, fine!' out of me eventually. I was too tired to argue. And I thought the fresh air would do my head some good, and the neighbour's dog wasn't half as bad as some of the dogs I have had to walk for payment in my life.

Those dogs were the reason I prefer cats.

I walked passed the park, my neighbour's dog dragging me along the sandy ground past the swings and roundabout. Some people were playing basketball.

Unfortunately, two of them were Johnny and Tala.

I stopped pulling on Sniffler's lead and let him take me quickly past them. From behind, I could hear them swinging open the gate into the basketball park, and following me.

They hounded me all the way down the street, passed the large houses on the outskirts of town. They yelled, swore, threw stones that only just missed. Some that didn't.

I didn't have the strength to fight them, I just wanted to get home and curl up under the bed.

They stayed with me like shadows as I looped the block, nearly taking in half the town at the same time as I tried to take detours, hoping to shake them off

I was just turning into a backstreet, when someone running ran headlong into me. My grip snapped away from the dog's lead and I hit the floor with an 'oof'.

Behind me, I could Tala and Johnny laughing.

Idiots.

I cracked open my eyes, ready to garrotte the person who had run into me. So I yelped with surprise when I saw Kai half lying on top of me.

"Kai?"

He recognised me too. Rolling off me, I saw that he had his wrist wrapped around a lead like I had done, and a cocker spaniel on the end, watching us.

"Damn dog!" he yelled at it, wrenching the lead from around his wrist.

I staggered up, snatching at Sniffler's lead as he began to slink away.

"Oh no you don't," I snapped.

Tala and Johnny had tears of laughter in their eyes.

If only I had a killer hyena or something on the end of this lead, instead of a dopey Labrador with fleas.

Kai swore at Tala and Johnny and eventually they tripped off, still laughing.

He turned to me, the anger from both the dog and his ex-best friends burning in his eyes.

"Sorry," I said, automatically.

I really need to get a spine, it was him that ran into me.

He grabbed hold of his own dog's lead and said, seeming to calm down, "Sorry I ran into you,"
I patted his dog on the head. It wagged it's tail, it's little tongue lolled out and it nuzzled my hand.

Kai scoffed.

"What?"
"Nothing," he mumbled, folding his arms across his chest moodily.

"Where are you heading?" I asked.

"I'm picking Max up from his guitar lesson. It's just along the road,"
"Mind if I come?"
"No,"

He began to walk off, so I had to trot to keep up with him.

"Does Max play the guitar?"
"No, the flute," Kai snapped, "Of course he plays the guitar, why else would he be at a guitar lesson?"

I raised my eyebrows. Geez, the guy was moody! This was probably the first conversation I had had with him ever since I became acquainted with him, and he's being like this.

It was a stupid question though, I suppose.

"Do you play the guitar?" I asked, determined not to let the guy psyche me out of a conversation.

"Yes,"
"Do you have lessons?"
"Yes,"
I rolled my eyes.

That guy was not Mr Conversationalist.

We stopped outside a large house covered in ivy.

Max was standing on the front steps whistling, a guitar case in his hand.

"Hey!" he cried, grinning from ear to ear.

How someone like Max could live in a house with someone like Kai, was a mystery to me.

He ran down the steps to meet us.

"Hey Ray, didn't expect you to be here,"
"I met Kai when I was walking this thing," I said, jerking a thumb to Sniffler as he tried to scare Kai's dog.

We walked back home, talking amiably along the way. I told Max about being hounded by Johnny and Tala. He shook his head.

"Those lot are a complete bunch of idiots sometimes,"
I nodded.

I still hadn't told them that I was related to Lee. I suppose I didn't want to remind myself that I had something to do with that idiot, but it must look odd that Lee has is so bent on making my life a living hell.

I reached my house door, when an idea struck me.

"Hey, you don't know of anyone who wants a guitar, do you? I'm selling mine and I've had no luck so far,"
"You play the guitar?"

"Used to," I said, trying not to wince.

First the pictures, then the CD, then the guitar.

The old 'burying the memories' thing is really not working.

"Well, I'm sure our guitar teacher would want a spare. I'll ask him at our next lesson,"

'Our guitar teacher…our next lesson' I thought, as I waved goodbye to the pair and they set off with Pirate dragging Kai along.

By 'our', did he mean him and Kai? If he did, then why hadn't gone this time?

I shrugged it off. I was probably trying to find the littlest of things to feel mysterious about because I was bored.

It was probably nothing.

"Kai!"

"What!"
"You smashed my desk!"
"I did not!"
"It's in half! You kicked it in half! What the hell did you think you were doing!"
"You know I have no idea what I do!"
"I am so sick of that excuse! You've broken my desk in half Kai!"
"I'm sorry!"
"You're not!"
"Stop whining!"
"I am not whining!"
Max stormed into Kai's room, furious. He found his older brother sitting on the floor nursing his ankle.

"Was that from kicking at my desk?"
Kai ignored him, keeping his eyes down on his ankle, rubbing to try and rid the pain. He felt guilty about wrecking something of Max's again.

But as he said, he couldn't help it.

"Kai?"
"What?"
"Was it?"
"Yes," he grumbled, letting his ankle go.

"I'm sorry Max," he said, looking up.

Max sat down in front of him.

"I know you are,"
There was a silence. Eventually, tired, and pretty much forgiving Kai, Max leant against his older brother and yawned.

"Do we have to go to school tomorrow? Mum won't find out,"
"She will,"

Judy had been called out on an emergency at the hospital, and said she wouldn't be back until the following afternoon. So Kai was in charge from Sunday through to Monday afternoon.
"But I'm so tired. Can't we just have the day off?"
"I'm already in enough trouble for truanting as it is,"
They stayed quiet for a while, and Max began to doze off, until Kai spoke.
"Max?"
"Hmmm?"
"You do realise that I really don't want to mess up your stuff, don't you?"
"Yeah, sure I do. It's just a little hard to accept when your desk has been split in half. Don't worry about it. It's a good excuse to get a new one,"
Kai smiled.

He could at least rely on Maxy to be forgiving of him, and to be there for him. Everyone else who had promised, had broken their pledge long ago. Not only that, but they had turned on him as well.

He thought about Tala and Bryan and the rest of his ex-friends. How they used to be so supportive of him when he was down, when things went wrong, and how he himself returned the favour.

Now, they wouldn't even look at him civilly.

He had feared that Max would leave him too, turn his back on him.

But the younger boy had stuck with him, been the brother that he had always promised to be. Kai looped an arm around Max as he felt him slump against him, deep in sleep.

He felt he didn't deserve Max's brotherly love. But it was the fact that it was there that kept him going.

I always felt I never deserved Lee's friendship, when I realised I had lost it. I kicked myself for not being a stronger friend, a stronger relative.

As soon as I arrived in America and found Lee turning his back on me, I knew I didn't deserve his friendship anyway.

I don't know how.

I just came to that conclusion, and it's stuck with me. I don't deserve his friendship anymore, and I'm too tired in the mind nowadays to figure out why, I've just let the theory take over me.

And now, sitting in my room with my memories tucked in their box in my wardrobe, I have come up with another theory too, that's left me hollow:

It's better to know that someone's love is there, even though you feel you don't deserve it; than think you don't deserve someone's love, and have to face the fact that it isn't even there anyway.

Aw, a bit of brotherly bonding there! And also a bit of angst. Soon, I'm going to have to put in some more violence!

Next chapter will be more violent, I think.

Anyway, please review, and tell me what you think, because I'm not sure about this chapter at all, it seems a little pointless!

I'll start working on the next one to make up for it!

TTFN