Summary:

Typical Drake & Josh storyline. Drake and Josh plan to go to a concert where a famous singer will be, but get sidetracked when a mysterious box addressed to Walter shows up and Meghan's pranks take over. Drake also must deal with an annoying girl (who says everything with a "w") from his class, that also shows signs she has a crush on him. When he & Josh go to the concert, something terrible happens.

Disclaimer:

Not ownin' nothin' cept the clothes on my back. –shriek-- Don't hurt me scary government people! 0o

Note to Readers:

I know, short chapter, but it's very emotional and angsty so hopefully you'll be satisfied with 1,720 somethin' words.

Story: "Party in a Box"

Chapter: "Poison In Your Dreams "; Eight

Written By: Ginger

Extras:
Italics in "quotation marks" symbolize thoughts of Drake's.

Italic Bold paragraphs are flashbacks.

Italic, Bold, and Underlined "he"s refer to the mysterious man.

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Drake's eyelids blinked open with a surprised shudder in his heart. His cellphone on the beside table was ringing so loudly that he had to plug his ear to reach over and answer it. "Mental note—turn down ring tone" He spoke aloud to himself as he pressed the button to answer the phone and make the erratic ringing cease.

"Ugh… H'llo?" he murmured his blurry words.

There was only silence.

"Hello?" Drake repeat, thinking the caller must not have heard him the first time.

With another pause, suddenly the line went dead and an eerie dial tone emanated from the tiny cell speaker.

Something in Drake's stomach knotted within an instant and his eyes glazed over in a stare as he deftly hung up and pulled up the caller id listing. Barely able to pull his eyes back into focus, he looked over at the tiny LCD screen and felt a sickening shudder pass through his entire body. He snapped it shut and closed his eyes tightly, clutching it as a wave of pain and fear flowed down through his chest simultaneously.

"Oh no… God, why is this happening to me? Why can't the past just stay the past? Why must it ever be brought up again? What if he tries to hurt me? Or worse, what if he tries to hurt Anita? I can't let that happen! Nothing can happen to her because of me. I'll just have to tell her." Suddenly an image flashed through his mind like lightning, but seemed as real to him as the pain in his ribs.

"I've got to get away… I've got to get away…" that was all the thirteen year old boy was thinking as he had thrown a suitcase over his shoulder and crept down the a flight of metal, outdoor stairs. Everything had gotten worse. He had been staying at his best friend Trevor's house, but little did he know that he would take him. He had left the boy alone for almost years it seemed. He hardly even knew him anymore. Drake had gone with him only because he didn't want to hear the louder screams than usual. And anyway, though he was tall for thirteen, he was still over-powering when he began to yell. When he towered over Drake, Drake could only think over and over: "What right have you to do this to me? You aren't even my family! You haven't bothered me in so long—why must you bother me and my mother now?" But now he didn't even care if that dreaded man even died. It would have been easy for Drake to shout things at this man that would normally make him blush in shame to hear anyone say. It would have even pleased the boy to have this man disappear completely from the universe. Why couldn't it be that way? Why did he choose them to abuse so horribly? Why?

Why. That was always the question even from the beginning.

Drake shook his head and sighed out of complete depression. Looking toward the window, he saw that it was pitch black past the curtains. He tried to clear his mind of the vicious circle of thoughts that made him spin and leaned over, turning on the walkie-talkie.

"…Hey, Josh? Somebody?"

"What is it?" Meghan sighed, sounding annoyed.

"I wann'a talk to Josh." Drake replied.

"Ugh… why?" Meghan moaned.

"Get Josh!"
"Fiiiine." She growled.

After a second, Drake heard from the open door to his room, Meghan get up and run out of the room, screaming: "JOSH, get your butt off of the couch and come talk to Drake on the walkie-talkie!" There was a moment of silence and then he heard a mutter of an: "Aww man, Oprah was on…"

"Hello?"

"Hi, Josh. Is that all you do—watch Oprah?"

"Is that all you do—berate me for watchin' Oprah!"

"Sorry, sorry. Will you come upstairs for a little while? I'm getting lonely and I… I need to talk about something." Drake asked.

"Well, okay, Drake. I'll be up there in like… 30 seconds."

Drake laughed: "It takes you thirty seconds to get up the stairs!"

Josh growled into the speaker: "Don't mock me." And then the walkie-talkie went silent.

Drake could hear Josh's feet pounding slowly at the steps and finally he appeared in the doorway, walking down into the room. "See?" Josh gasped, breathing shallowly: "I made it up faster than 30 seconds." Drake laughed and said: "Yeah, I know." Josh glared sitting down on the couch and looking over it, at his brother. "…So, what is it?" "Wh-what?" Drake muttered, caught slightly off-guard. "I said what is it? Why did you call me all the way up here?" Josh asked again, with a raised eye brow.

Drake began to speak but his fast heart-beat made him stop for a moment. Thoughts began to race through him mind. "What if Josh doesn't believe me? Or what if he does believe me but hates me for it? What if he blames me with it—what if he thinks it was my fault? I wasn't my fault! But will he think that?" "I… I um…" his mind was spinning so hard that he barely even knew he was speaking: "I can't…"

"He'll despise you. You know he will! Why shouldn't he? And then you'll be all alone. Alone. You don't want that again. Don't, Drake. Don't tell anyone. Don't."

"Drake?" Josh's frightened voice suddenly cut through his blurred thoughts: "Drake, what's the matter?"

"…What?" Drake asked in a weak voice, shaking himself out of his daze and looking up at his brother, who wore a thoroughly worried and confused gaze as he stared at Drake. "You were—Drake, what's wrong? There's something that you're not telling me." Drake closed his mouth and turned his head from his brother, obdurately and refused to speak. "It's about that guy from the wreck isn't it?" Josh asked. Drake sucked in a painful breath and remained silent. "Answer me!" Josh pleaded. "…No." Drake murmured bluntly, tearing burning in his eyes, waiting for him to release them. "Drake, don't be stupid!"

Drake reared back as if Josh had slapped him: "I'm not being stupid!" his brother's comment had hurt him very badly and landed a hard blow to his pride, though it had only been dealt out to try and take Drake's misery away; "I can't tell you! I thought I could but I can't! If you asked until next year I couldn't tell you! So hit me, ignore me, do whatever but I can't tell you! And I won't tell you!" Josh winced inside and bit his lip. "Look, Drake…" he had begun to say something, but stopped when Drake burst into tears and fell limply across his mattress. This sight deeply disturbed Josh and made his stomach wrench into a tight knot. His brow bent immediately in painful sympathy and his eyes filled too, with hot tears of compassion. "Oh gosh, Drake…" he managed as he also burst into full-blown sobbing: "I'm sorry." "I can't take it anymore… I don't know what to do. Help me, Josh." Drake declared through his weeping. Josh's heart wilted despondently at these beseeching words and he let out a teary gasp, reaching out and taking his brother into a deep hug.

Drake's flaccid body shuddered and shivered with almost bottomless sobs as he cried on Josh's shoulder. This hug was more than just a hug to Drake. Josh hugged Drake all the time but it was more a brotherly "happy" hug. But this hug was saying something. It was saying: "I'm here for you, Drake. I'm here to always help you. I'm your brother and I love you." These warm thoughts vibrated in his tired heart and made him see a tiny flicker of hope. "Thank God for you, Josh." he murmured as the hug came to an end.

This brought a tiny smile to Drake's brother's face as he wiped tears from his face and looked on at Drake: "No. Thank God for you. Without you I wouldn't know the meaning of having a brother. And having you as a brother." Drake tried to smile for a moment but then lost his will to do so, remembering his terrible problem. "Josh… please, don't ask me about this. I'll tell you someday… I'll tell you soon. But right now I have to figure out a lot of things first. But please, just be there for me. A sort of… "shoulder to cry on", if you will." He said slowly. Josh looked down for a second with a serious look on his face and then looked back up: "Okay, brother. You can trust me to be there. I swear." Drake nodded with a satisfied look of slight peace: "Thanks, Josh. I'm glad you understand."

Josh patted his brother's shoulder and got up to walk to the door. Turning quickly around, he winked and said: "If you need something, I'm down there okay? That's what that walkie-talkie is for." Drake nodded once again and smiled as Josh walked a step out the door and closed it behind him.