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:

If you think I own anything, go to the nearest psychiatrist. Please. As a service to all humanity.

Note to Readers:

I'm sooooo motivated on writing this story! YAY! It's really fun. Anyway, this chapter is probably going to shock you. Well… the first part anyway. It's certainly not as "shocking" as the 'Dead Laughter' chapter, but it's still like: "WHAT! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?" And when I let "Heart of a Wizard" (aka Brittney) read the preview to this chapter, she says she cried. ROFL, I didn't think it was THAT emotional, but if you say so, Britt, okay! Here it comes – chapter eighteen; "Unexpected Blow", in mah story! Read and review please! And thank you guys for all the nice reviews already! --grin-- I'll have another chapter up soon, so hope you like this one! 7,412 words!

Story: "Party in a Box"

Chapter: "Unexpected Blow"; Eighteen

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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Suddenly Josh's cell phone was ringing again. He bit his lip to keep from growling in annoyance—his brother had called him twice already from his class at school just to talk about how boring it was there, and now he dared to call back again? Sighing and shaking his head, Josh let it ring six more times, wondering if his brother would EVER hang up on his own. But yet, it continued to chime in his pocket and he was finally forced to answer it when movie goers began to stare hear it and started staring at him in confusion, at the ring tone. As he looked down, he grabbed it out of his pocket, pushing "talk", muttering an annoyed and embarrassed: "WHAT?" through clenched teeth.

"Jooosh?" Drake voice chuckled over the phone in his usual, happy boy-ish manner.

"Yes." his highly aggravated brother hissed.

"What up?" came the giddy reply.

"You, apparently." Josh answered, rolling his eyes.

"What's you're problem, dude?" Drake frowned, raising an eyebrow and grinning in to the cell phone as he sat in a plastic chair, waiting for his teacher to return from where ever she had gone.

"Well, I dunno, maybe my problem is that you've CALLED ME OVER AND OVER UNTIL PEOPLE ARE STARING AT ME!" Josh whispered lethally in to the telephone.

"What—a guy can't call his own brother on the phone when he wants to talk to him?"

"In your case, I have to say… no!" Josh said in a flat tone: "Anyway, why are you calling me? You're supposed to be taking that test, are you not!"

"Ugh. Dude, my teacher's not here. Don't ask me why, but she left me alone in this room and she hasn't come back." Drake shrugged, rolling his eyes.

"Who blames her? She probably couldn't take another minute of tryin' to do the impossible—teaching you!" Josh muttered.

"Well, it's been like ten minutes. And I'm hungry. Why don'tcha go by Blimpie and pick me up a double cheese – bacon melt, 'kay?" Drake said.

"DRAKE, I'm at WORK! I can't just go over to Blimpie and grab you a 'melt'! There are people that I have to help and serve! It's called a 'job'! Go getcha' own sandwich!" the brother exclaimed loud enough for Helen to appear from behind a corner and say a very harsh: "HUSH, BOY!"

"Whatever, Josh. I'm so out of here though. I'm gonn'a go pick up some stuff at the mall."

"Such as what?" Josh sighed, feeling all the sudden very parental.

"Such as… stuff!"

"Thank you oh so much." Josh moaned roughly, then continuing: "Why don't you get us some groceries instead? I mean, we have like nothing in the refrigerator to eat until tomorrow night."

"Sure! What should I buy?" the voice replied in to his ear.

"I don't know! What do you eat?" the other brother shrugged.

"Chocolate chips, Chips Aweigh cookies, slim Joe's, candy corn, nacho cheeser teasers, Smarties, Oreos, those fake onion rings thingies, barbeque--" Drake began to name off just a few of his favorites, but was interrupted by Josh: "NEVERMIND! I'll buy the food, later."

"Weeeell, I better go ahead and split this place 'fore teach' gets back. Bye, bye Mister 'Nichols'!" And with this sentence, Drake cut off the cell, leaving no time enough even for Josh to reply at all. With an annoyed face, Josh snapped the cell phone shut and went toward Helen's incessant voice which was yelling loudly for him. But before he could reach the yelling woman, somebody reached out and caught his arm, making him swerve to see who it was.

"Oh my gosh! James-- from the wreck! Hey, man, how are you?-!" Josh exclaimed, grabbing the slightly older man in a quick, friendly hug. "Josh! I'm great! How are you?" James replied with the same, kind smile as he had given to Josh the terrible day of the car accident, almost four and a half weeks ago. "I'm awesome! I'm actually a little sleepy, but that's all! You see, me and Drake are taking care of our little eleven year old sis while the parents are away for a funeral in Nevada." the teen nodded, with a grin. "Oh, yes! I saw her when your dad came the day of the wreck. So you say Drake and you are baby sitting? I guess he's well then!" James said, leaning against the counter of the snack bar. "Yeah! He's doing so well! The pain apparently is all gone from his ribs and everything and he's his usual… junky, lazy self." Josh added, with a tired chuckle. "Well, gosh it's great to have run in to you here! I haven't eaten today and I just popped in here to watch a movie and get a little bit of lunch. Would you mind very much sitting with me at my table and filling me in on all that's happened with you guys since I last saw you?" Josh smiled and then suddenly stopped, when Helen called his name. "Look, just take off that vest for a minute and sit with me and she'll never guess you even work here." James laughed, understanding the relationship between the boss and employee. Josh laughed too and took the man's food order, handing his the food and then after removing his vest, he came from behind the circular counter and sat with his slightly new friend.

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Drake had barely made it through the long school hall and out to his convertible with out running in to his teacher, but when he did, he jumped behind the wheel and sped off as fast as he could from the school, toward the house. He had decided to wait until later to go to the mall and just enjoy the empty house, now. That way he'd have even more time by himself as long as Josh didn't decide to come along with Megs.

It was only minutes before he hurriedly pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door, popping inside and slamming it behind him with a victorious "WAHOO!" and a slight sense of freedom and happiness for the first time in about three or four days. And it felt so good to be finally alone, by himself in the house and able to do anything he wanted.

To celebrate, he took a running slide to the kitchen and threw open the refrigerator in search of something special. Grabbing the large two liter bottle of Dr. Fizz and striding to the TV in the next room, he turned it on and plugged in the game sphere. He poured himself an over-sized glass of the bubbling soft drink and reached over to flip on the CD player, which he had rigged a while ago to play through the TV's speakers. He turned the volume up to an ear-shattering 'ten' and sang along loudly with the cd of his band as he gulped down a slug of soda and grabbed up the video game controller.

Drake was really having a great time with his loud cd, loud video game, and sizzling drink, but suddenly everything came to a screeching halt when the corded telephone in the kitchen began to ring mercilessly. "Uggggh!" he moaned, throwing down his game sphere controller and hopping off of the couch, slowly stalking to where the phone jangled on the wall.

Grabbing it up off of the hook, he said a loud: "Huh?" in to the speaker, trying to speak more forcefully than his ear-shattering music. "Dwake! Oh, poowr guy!" Lyn's voice cracked over the line. "…What! I can't hear ya!" "I said--" "Hold on, I'LL BE RIGHT BACK. I GOTTA TURN DOWN THIS MUSIC." he said, still not knowing who it was, as he set down the phone and ran off out of the kitchen.

Lyn heard the overpowering music suddenly come to a stop and then after a moment, heard the teen age boy pick the instrument back up and speak: "Now, who is this, again?" "Oh, Dwake, it's Wyn. I'm cawling becawse I had to… I have to teww you something awfuwl." the girl's lispy voice replied with a deeply sincere, tearful tone to it. "…I don't know how to stawt it's so bawd!" "Wait... How bad?" he said slowly, glancing despondently over at his cd player and Dr. Fizz, hardly wanting those happy things to be spoiled by some sort of terrible news. "Oh gowsh, Dwake…" the girl stopped because as it sounded, she had become teary-eyed. "What is it?" the sixteen year old asked, becoming more curious all the time. "It's about Aniwta!" the girl cried in a deep voice. "--What about her? What's happened to her?" he murmured, frowning and gripping the edge of the counter in sudden worry. "Nothing has happened to her, really… I mean, she's not hurt or anything… but she's--she's changed so much! Oh, Drake, how can she do that to you?" the girl replied in apparent misery. "Do… what?" he quipped, feeling his heart race and his chest tighten.

"She's… she's been cheating on you." the slow and dreadful words formed themselves in his mind and he realized what they meant. "You mean, my… my Anita is dating somebody else?" he asked, feeling his heart sink almost a whole mile. "Oh, Dwake, I don't want to hurt you by telling you this. I can't believe it's true, either, but I saw it with my own eyes. I… I towt Anita was a towtal for steawing you, but I atweast towt that she'd stick with you! I mean, I didn't even evew imagine that anyone would thiwnk about dowble deawing you." the girl answered. "Then… she is dating somebody else?" Drake mumbled, almost incoherent with sadness and shrinking in his soul.

"Well… that's the wowst pawt. I don't think she's dawting him, but… but she was definatwy…" "Definitely what?" he asked, wondering what on earth she was going to say to add to make this crisis any worse. "I don't think I can teww you!" she said, in a highly demurring and angst - filled voice. "Seriously, Lyn, I want to know it all. I have to, now. Tell me what you saw, and… and tell me who this guy was." Drake said, almost dazedly feeling his way to the kitchen stool and sitting down before his knees melted under him. "Evewyting?" she asked, softly. "Everything." came the sure answer.

"I… was at the Pwemiewe, seeing a movie with Kelly Schafer," she began, making Drake wince at the name. This had been a previous girlfriend that he had barely been able to get rid of. She had had a problem with giggling all the time, and to make it worse, her Mother had turned out to be Drake's highly rude teacher which he loathed. With a quick thought of how glad he was to be rid of her, he shook himself slightly awake and spoke in to the phone: "Go on." "Well, we where watching the movie, and we were going to go in to the movie postew gawwewy hall-- you know, where they have postews of all the movies they've shown in the wast year?" "Yes." "So we went in side kind of qwietwy, and it was a wittle dawk. So we were walking down the wong hawl and then we heard somebody talking weawwy softwy. After a second, I weawized Niwta's voice, so I peeked awound the corner and saw hew. But she… she wasn't awone." "I'm okay… tell me the rest." Drake said, in a low voice.

"She was with…" the girl paused for a moment and then continued in a truthfully upset voice: "She was with Josh, Dwake." "…What?" the boy said, barely believing what she had just said, and standing up in shock, as he wondered if this girl was talking sense. "I'm so sowwy." she murmured, apparently feeling for the broken heart of the teenager. "What--what were they doing?" he managed to gasp, with his eyes glazing over in deep hurt. "Pwease… don't ask that." she pleaded quietly. "No, tell me. I know too much not to know what he was doing with her." "He was… they were definitely not just tawking like fwiends. He was kissing her and hugging her-- and Dwake, I would have towd them to stop, but… but I couldn't. I didn't even want to tell you. I'm… sowwy. I know she woved you." the girl seemed quiet and understanding for once. "No she didn't, Lyn. But don't worry about me… it wasn't you're fault. I've got to go think about this." With nothing else said but those words that were trussed up with shock, he hung up the phone and barely realized that he had walked up the stairs, when he reached his room.

He walked over to his bed and climbed the ladder in a deeply stunned fashion. As he sat down near the pillow and gazed off in to the ceiling for a minute, he noticed that he hardly even knew how to react to this blow. He looked wearily over at his night table and stopped moving completely for a moment. His heart wilted at the sight of this tiny object and he felt his whole body tingle with heart break as he bent over to lift it delicately up within his fingers. It was a small wire bracelet that Anita had left laying on the couch earlier, that day. He had found it as he and his brother had turned off the lights and picked up their trash and then he had put it there, beside his bed.

"Why did you have to leave me, Nita? You were the only one for me. Ever. But yet you left me in the time I most needed you! Was it because of me? Did I act too aloof? Perhaps I should have guarded my heart even more! Then possibly it wouldn't hurt so bad loosing you… to him." Immediately after thinking this, a desperate pain race up through his stomach and across his heart, making him wince in pain and drop to the bed. Perhaps the pain was just psychological, but he still knew it was his heart splitting for her.

"How could you do this Josh? I thought you loved me! I thought you cared about if I made it out alright and away from him with a mended heart, not a broken one! Were they all lies? Was it all one huge lie when you hugged me? When you comforted me from my tears, was it all just pretending?" This wrenching deliberation made him moan out a shivery breath and he couldn't help but murmur as hot tears filled his eyes again: "I thought you cared about me, Josh…"

It was Anita that had been his path toward healing peace. Josh had been a path too, at times, but now Drake was seeing lies in everything his step brother had ever tried to comfort him with. "Oh, Josh… why did you have to turn out like him? I can't stand it… I can't take it." Drake whispered grievingly in to his pillow as his eyes grew wet with full blown tears. Now all his support was gone. He had found solace in the beautiful teenage girl, but she didn't admire him anymore. Meghan was, well… Meghan and very obviously could care less about what he felt. And now… Josh had become a familiar monster. He had cared so little for his own brother that he had taken his only love for himself and disregarded everything that their brotherhood had meant for the past two and a half years.

"What will I do? I can't date anyone else. I don't want anyone else but her. I can't believe what's she done to me… yet I love her so much. I've just got to stop it-- I can't let her in to my heart. It already hurts and I've never even told her how I feel yet. But I won't tell her, now. I would only be making a useless fool out of myself for the third time in my life. So now I won't let any more emotions show, because when I get a feeling about somebody-- Josh or Anita-- I just keep getting hurt. Well no more, I can't take it." Drake thought these things and then slowly sat up, looking out of the window at the head of his bed. With a deep, hasty breath inward, he wiped his tears from his face and turned to jump down from the ladder, returning downstairs to get a sip of his drink and hopefully stop the burning in his throat long enough so that he could sort out his feelings.

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Drake had been laying on the couch, trying to figure out what he was gong to do. After all, Josh would eventually come home from work and he'd have to plan what he was going to say, if anything, to him, and how he was going to act. He felt so bitter that he hardly even wanted to see Josh again for a long period, but all at the same time, he felt as if he wanted to yell on and on and make Josh see how terrible he was. But it was all such a bother, and he was so mentally tired. "Should I tell him I know? Or should I just stay away from him? Surely he'll notice something's the matter with me, so perhaps he'll realize how wrong he was and apologize. But I don't even want him to apologize! I don't even ever want to talk to him again!"

He had begun to tire and he laid his head against the back cushion of the couch, wearily. A soft fragrance drifted to him and he jerked back from the pillow, then realizing what it was. It was the scent of Anita's perfume. She had slept here for a while, early this morning and now the sofa smelled like her cologne. The very thought of her caused yet another wave of ache to pass over his frail heart as his eyes brimmed with tears, and he felt his body weaken and he bent feebly, his face pressing in to the soft cushion. He muttered a pathetic murmur of torment, when he breathed in a sweet breath of the aroma.

He lay there, almost completely depleted, for maybe ten or fifteen minutes. He was very sleepy and was only half awake, for a long time, but then suddenly his eyes snapped open and his heart skipped a beat. A sound rattled across the room and a rapid breeze of cold air blew across his back, causing his to shiver deeply. He was afraid to turn and look for a moment, but as soon as he did, all he saw was something red flying toward his face and a voice that said: "Hiya, brotha!" Drake reached up and pulled the movie theater uniform of a vest from over his head. Placing it beside him, he brought his knees up to his chest and hunched over, in the corner of the couch, not being able to say anything but a barely heard: "Hi…"

Josh grinned and said: "Scottie and Trevor decided to drive me home so I didn't have to bother you. So, what up? Did'ya pick up some girls at the mall?" "I… didn't go to the mall." Drake murmured, vaguely, as he looked away and stood up in a slightly dejected manner. "Oh, ya didn't?" Josh said, beginning to walk toward the couch, but his sleeve caught on the table and something dropped to the floor, covering his arm in a wet substance. Looking over, he saw the empty glass of Dr. Fizz laying on the floor and a half full tub of popcorn sitting on the coffee table: "…No, I see that you… didn't go to the mall."

Drake stood, staring at the floor for a minute and then Josh spoke: "I would have said hello to Anita for you, but she didn't come by the theater today." The other boys eyes widened and he lifted his head, gathering his brows deeply together as he stared his brother in the eyes from across the room.

"You… you liar! Why do you have to lie too? On top of everything you've done to me, now you tell me that you haven't even seen Anita today? I've never heard anything so disgusting, Josh Nichols. The very thought of you with her, turns my stomach. How could you do that?"

Drake let out a swift, deeply disturbed and heated breath and then turned from the boy who had broken his heart. With out another word, he raced across the floor and up the stairs, in to his room. He was glad to escape his brother's presence and felt that if he had to speak one more word to him, he'd either break down or do something extreme.

He just sat on his bed on his knees, staring listlessly out of his window as he tried to figure out what to do. He waited for a few minutes, as his heart raced and he expected Josh to poop through the door any moment, pretending to ask what was 'wrong'. But ten minutes went by with out even the slightest sound. Drake stirred from his state of hazy thoughts when he suddenly hear a rumble from something in the garage. He listened in confusion for a second and then gathered enough strength to climb from atop his tall bed and jump down to the carpeted floor, hurrying over to the other window, and looking out.

Within only an instant, his face was crowded with an even more unbelieving and shocked face than before. As he gazed out of the window, down toward the garage, he saw his own car slide from within the open garage door and when he looked hard enough, he saw Josh inside. Drake felt hurt fill his spirit and he turned slowly from the window as the red vehicle pulled from the drive way and headed down the road.

"He just… he just left me alone. Even after I was obviously so very upset? But he didn't even care enough to ask me if I was okay! At least that would have been a bit of comfort! Instead he just took off in my car, with out asking me if he could, after he already wrecked his own car with me in it!"

Drake was highly upset because all of the sudden he seemed to be uncovering all of these hidden truths about his formerly pretty much 'good' brother, whom he had trusted with so much. He felt a breath emerge painfully from his lungs and he pressed a palm to his forehead, sweeping it under his soft bangs and covering his sizzling eyes. "Why is this happening?" the over wrought teenager murmured in an extremely fatigued whisper as he leaned against the cold metal tubing ladder on his bed and closed his eyes for a few minutes.

He knew when he opened his eyes again that he needed to get out of this dratted house and go out-- somewhere were he could think for a few hours before making any moves. He knew he had to confront Josh about the entire matter very soon, and that the discussion was rather immanent, but he simply had to get out of this house to think for a while. Looking with a fleeting glance out the window and toward the empty garage, Drake bit his lip. No car. He hurried downstairs and to the kitchen, where the silent telephone hung on the wall, with the intention of calling somebody to pick him up and take him somewhere.

He grabbed it up and decided to call Trevor. Though the thought of riding in the same car that Josh had ridden in earlier made him cringe, he dialed the number quickly and leaned against the smooth wall, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

All of a sudden Drake's spine shuddered and a chill rushed through him, recognizing the voice.

"W--who is this?" he asked in to the phone, with confusion, even though he already knew who it indeed, was.

"Drake! Hi, sweetie! How are you?" the femininely delicate voice hushed through his ears, making him close his eyes once again in unbelief and yet heaven at the same time.

"…Anita? I--I'm sort of, um-- almost okay…" he stuttered in to the receiver, hardly believing that he had dialed the number that he had imprinted in to his mind.

"I wasn't ever going to put myself through the temptation of her voice again! But it… it is so very innocent and beautiful. How could she have done anything with Josh?"

"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" she giggled.

"What?" he mumbled, shaking his head and snapping out of his thoughts, as he gripped the phone and tried to clear his mind enough to speak properly.

"I said what's 'I'm sort of uuuum almost okay' mean!" she repeated, laughing a single chuckle and then quietly waiting for an answer.

What Drake replied with next was something he hadn't even expected to come from his own lips, much less had she, when he said them:

"Anita, why did you make out with my own brother? I thought we two had an understanding… I mean, I thought you and me kind of were going to go together for--"

"What did you just say?" she exclaimed in an extremely low voice.

"You know what I said." he replied, biting his lip and looking down with a frown.

"No, I really don't! I thought you said something about me making out with Josh!" she laughed, with a hollow and slightly condescending voice.

"I did. But please don't lie to me any more. It's all already hurt me so bad. I can maybe understand if you didn't want to go exactly steady with me and wanted to be able to date other people, but you cold have at least told me something. Or he could have! …Didn't either of you ever consider what I would feel like when I found out you and he were meeting in secret so I wouldn't know about you and him?" Drake replied, the words forming themselves almost with out his even thinking about them.

"Drake--what are you talking about?-!" she almost shouted in to the phone in a shaky voice.

"Anita, I don't think this is getting either of us anywhere and--"

"Drake Parker, I demand to know what on God's green earth you're referring to!" she exclaimed, sounding as if she was about to crack.

"You betrayed me and made out with my brother this afternoon at the premiere. Lyn told me about it in detail--and she knows what she's talking about." Drake replied, feeling another burst of throbbing explode in his chest.

"What the--Lyn?-! HOW I HATE THAT GIRL! You don't BELIEVE her do you?" the teen age girl nearly shouted over the phone.

"Look, Anita, I can't talk to you about this right now." he replied in a shivering voice.

"No way! I will talk about this right now! I will not hang up until you tell me what the heck this crap is all about!"

"No, Nita…"

"Yes Nita! I am going to find out--"

"Please, don't start this." he pleaded, knowing he would more than likely break down with another word of such harshness from her.

"Drake Parker I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT--"

Drake couldn't handle anymore and he knew it. Slowly he pulled the phone from his ear and breathed in a deep breath as he stopped listening and gradually managed to set it down on the hook, finally hanging up. He waited a long time it seemed, before he picked it back up and slowly dialed Trevor, making sure it was the correct number this time.

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With a distinct click on the other end of the line, Anita's face quickly went from slightly enraged to a amazed and slightly scared look, as her eyes opened wide when the dial tone began to sound. She listened to the long, deep tone for a minute and then she put down the phone, in stunned wonder. She had been sitting on her couch through out the first part of the conversation, and had stood up when she became upset. Now she clumsily flopped back down on to the couch, in a sudden rush of tears.

A thousand thoughts where screeching through her head at the same time in an unbelievable speed.

"I… I just got hung up on by Drake!" her mind whirled. "What did I do?" she murmured verbally, through her tremendously stinging, large tears. "Made out with Josh?-! Oh, Dear God, why must that girl be here? Now that he believes her lies, he'll probably end up turning to her for 'comfort'! But he can't hate me for something I never did! I wouldn't make out with his brother in a million years!" she continued to think. "Drake," she whispered, grabbing up a tiny picture of him that she'd cut out of the year book, off of her side table and looking closely at the image, though the sobs, managing to murmur the things she wished she could tell him face to face, so badly: "Baby, I never meant to hurt you… I just-- just love you so much that I can't stand you to think anything bad of me! But, I guess I've made it all even worse now, haven't I? Why must this keep happening to us? All of these lies keep getting in our way and we can't get back to each other for more than a few weeks. Drake, sweetheart… I love you so much! I don't want you're heart to hurt so bad."

With that, she drew a finger down the side of the picture and felt a big tear splash down from her eye on to her arm as she tried to find a way to get back in to his trust and put a complete end to these terrible lies.

But suddenly she froze as an important thought struck her--

Josh!

"Oh, no! Drake thinks that he and I were-- so he'll try and blame Josh too! I have to warn him! If I don't, Josh might really say something he doesn't mean and then Drake will be so hurt!" With a unexpected burst of strength, she jumped up from the couch and started across the long room. Drying her tears and wearing an tremendously seriously look on her face, she grabbed up her coat and threw it on, hurrying out the door with her keys, toward her car. She knew she had to reach Josh before Drake had it out with him. Even if she had to have it out with him by herself.

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Josh himself was rather puzzled as he drove down the road. He had wanted to go see what was the matter with Drake, upstairs, because after all, he had acted very upset and introverted. But he had had to hurry and take some things to Meghan at Charlise's house. Charlise's parents had been kind enough to offer that Meghan stay the night at their house when they learned that the boys had gone with out much sleep last night and that their parents were away. Josh had run upstairs after Drake's outburst, and gotten some clothes and toothpaste, etc. from Meghan's room and realized he had to have them to her in only about fifteen minutes, so he had decided to hold off on questioning Drake until he returned from his venture. And anyway, perhaps if something was bothering his brother, he'd have time to cool off before Josh talked to him about it.

He was on his way back from the little girl's friend's house and he had started to ponder the possible reason Drake could be feeling so down. But the real reason, he would have never imagined in a million tries.

But what he was even more confused when he pulled up in the driveway to find Anita's car parked in the open garage and the girl standing outside the front door, shivering from head to toe. But of course, it wasn't because of cold, in San Diego, although it was September, but it was of weak angst and anticipation.

"Nita! Why are you here out in the chilly air? Won't Drake let you in?" Josh exclaimed, running up quickly to her. "I-- don't know! I knocked over and over and over and even shouted to him inside, but there's no answer. "What's the matter?" Josh replied, instantly noticing the glistening cheeks of the girl, wet with tears. "He called me earlier and we fought-- he heard a rumor about you and me and he believes it solidly! I tried to talk with him about it over the phone, but when I became a bit too excited, he hung up and now he won't open the door. Josh, I'm… I'm scared that maybe he's done something to--" Josh's eyes grew as big as saucers and he ripped the keys tremblingly from his pocket and plunged them in to the key hole. Even though he had a very clumsy hand at the moment, it only took them maybe ten seconds to get the door unlocked and then it flew open before them.

Both teens walked in, slowly, almost afraid of what they'd find when they began looking for him. They called out his name frantically and rushed all about the cold, dank house, searching for him. But he was no where to be found.

"Josh-- what will we do? He's not here! Where is he?-!" she spoke in a hushed voice, feeling fear rip through her body and goose bumps form themselves on the back of her neck. "I don't know! Maybe he went somewhere with Trevor or Scottie-- the car wasn't here, so it's most likely he called them." Josh said, and the two raced to the kitchen telephone.

Josh picked it up and began to dial the well known number of their friends. "Who else would he might have gotten to pick him up other than them?" he asked the girl who stood, biting her finger nails nervously. "Maybe… maybe Lyn." she barely heard her own worried voice say.

They both waited in silence for someone to pick up the phone at Trevor's house, but no one did. "Nita, they don't answer. They must have gotten him and taken him somewhere he wanted to go. I… I hope so anyway." the boy said, after another quietness.

"So, who was this person that started this rumor about… you and me? And what exactly was the rumor-- if you don't mind my asking?" he continued on, now understanding why Drake was dissing him so terribly earlier. "Come on in to the living room and I'll tell you all I know about." she sighed, motioning to the swinging door.

After they both had entered the room and sat down across from each other, Anita began to relay the message that Drake had told her over the phone. Josh's face held an unbelieving, shocked and slightly embarrassed face the entire time and he finally exclaimed: "But that's not even logical! I was at the premiere, but I was having lunch with my friend James all afternoon! What a crazy, preposterous story! Why would you and I ever-- I mean, I know very well that you're Drake's girl!" "Well… I don't even know if I am anymore. I don't know if he'll ever trust me again. But I guess this is my punishment for believing that rumor about him and that other girl, last year." she answered slowly, in a deeply sadden voice. "Aww, Anita, once we find some way to prove it, he'll believe you. I won't rest until all this business is cleared up." Josh sighed, patting her shoulder and shaking his head: "But I don't understand why he believed it so easily! There's absolutely no truth to it all! How could he put trust in something so insane?" "I really don't know. I wish I could make him believe the truth though. I also wish that stupid Lyn didn't have such an in for me. She should have known that he was my boyfriend, I mean, I was with him everyday after the wreck almost!" the girl exclaimed in a semi irritated voice.

"I'm worried about Drake. I mean, what if he's so bitter that he won't listen to anything we try to explain to him? And also, taking off from here with out telling anybody or leaving a note is not like him at all." Josh said after a while. "I know. I'm majorly worried. When I was talking to him on the phone he seemed like right on the verge of the break point. He sounded all choked up and tired and… gosh, I hope he'll just listen for five seconds to us."

Josh explained to her how he had told Meghan that he'd be there with her clothes and bathing suit at a certain time so she could swim in Charlise's heated indoor pool and stay over the night, so he had to hurry back with them and when Drake had walked so coldly and quickly off to his room, he hadn't had a chance to check on him. Anita bit her lip and then nodded: "That probably mad him even more angry. Oh, boy, this is going to be terrible." Josh looked slightly upset himself: "I certainly didn't mean to hurt his feelings by not checking on him. I meant to when I came back home, but as you see, he wasn't here. I hope he's not too miffed!" "Don't worry about it Josh. It might take him a while, but I think eventually he'll see that us doing such a terrible thing as that would be quite outrageous." she said with a little crumb of worry falling off her burden, perhaps.

All of the sudden, the phone in the kitchen began to ring. "Oh!" Anita exclaimed, jumping up with Josh: "That might be him! Maybe he'll listen to me, now." With a nod as a reply from the boy beside her, she and he both took of quickly across the room, in to the kitchen and hurried to answer the jangling telephone.

"Drake?" the girl asked, quickly, answering the call.

"Wh--what?-! Aniwta! Um, what arew you doing thewe?" a high pitched voiced exclaimed in to the teen age girl's ear, loud enough for Josh to hear everything. His eyes became slightly more open and he whistled in a low tone: "Oh, boy… the mental patient returns for the kill."

"…I came over because Drake told me the exact thing you had told him. I can't believe that you caught us… I mean, I thought that we would have been able to keep it a secret." Anita replied in to the receiver, narrowing her eyes and smirking with only evil in her amused mind. Josh chuckled and listened carefully for Lyn's reply.

"I--what? What… did you sawy?" she said, almost sounding stunned.

"You know, once you saw us making out, you should have really stopped watching and kept quiet. It was none of your business. I just found Josh so attractive and I was going to break up with Drake tonight. So now you've really messed up the whole thing." the pleased teen girl replied, acting at her best for Lyn.

"…Oh. I'm--I'm sowwy! I didn't mean to do twat! I um, I-- I have to go! Bye!" the girl stuttered slowly, then finally hanging up.

Anita and Josh began to laugh very hard, even through their worry and she exclaimed; "DID YOU HEAR HER? She sounded so disturbed and confused!" "What a ditz. HA, that was so great. I needed something to make me laugh and that hit the spot." he shook his head, his laughter calming down a little bit. "Oh, that was fun, but I'm afraid it doesn't take away from the fact that Drake's going to be furious at us. And he'll never listen to anything." she said, letting one last, weak chuckle escape from her lips before sighing.

They had both begun to walk back through the doorway of the kitchen, in to the foyer area and back to their chairs to discuss the matter further, but they only managed to get to the edge of the rug, before stopping dead in their tracks. They heard the door behind them open and a burst of cold air hit their backs, as it was heard shutting loudly again. Both Anita and Josh knew that it was Drake, but they still felt a frightened fear shiver through them as they slowly turned around to look.

The familiar frame of the teen age boy was seen at the door, but he hadn't seen them yet on account of the fact that he was leaning his head down to take the keys out of the door knob. Nita watched him in anticipation as he struggled to pull out his keys, and his soft brunette hair waved over his eyes as he bent down. Finally the metal lock loosened and he pulled the object from the door, pulling the key ring in to his pocket and stepping forward, looking up as he pushed the door closed.

His eyes widened and he stopped walking slowly as he saw them, standing there, beside each other, only about five or ten feet from him. The door behind him shut loudly with a gust of wind from outside and caused Anita to jump as both she and Josh had locked gazes with the teen boy who was standing by himself, looking back and forth to each of them: "Anita… what are you doing here?" His voice was less emotional, but still brisk and cold, and his eyes showed the sheen of more a hurt little boy then those of a sixteen year old.

"Drake, it's not what you think—I just came to try and figure out with Josh how we could exp—" Anita had begun to speak, after a moment of watching Drake's highly suspicious face, but then he stopped her: "Listen, I don't want to talk about it. …You guys have already hurt me more than enough." With a deeply wounded look at his step brother, he paused for a minute and frowned, shrugging out of his jacket and letting it fall to the floor as he walked past them, to the stairs and up them to the solace of his room, hoping neither of them would follow.