The next day, which happened to be a Friday afternoon, Terlin and I figured out why Jake had been so bummed out the night before.

We were in my room, doing homework. One of the advantages of having Terlin in my head was that I was getting schoolwork done a lot more quickly, and actually absorbing it better than I would have on my own. For example, a reading assignment that would have taken an hour before I'd been infested would now take twenty minutes. Maybe. And, it wasn't like we were skimming over it. I comprehended everything at least twice as well as I would have had I spent an hour on it by myself. And that was the hard part. Writing papers were a breeze. After my first few weeks of what felt like a reduced homework load, I'd told Terlin (and I was only half kidding) that the Yeerks could recruit a lot more students if they just told them that Yeerks would do their homework for them in way less time.

Anyway, we were about halfway through a math assignment when Jake knocked on the door. We hadn't shut it before, just kept it half closed to avoid Mom barging in to put away laundry or something, without knocking first. Or Dad interrupting about something-even though, as a doctor, he never got home before 5:00, and often later.

So, I heard a knock, and called, "Come in," without really thinking about it. We finished up the math problem within seconds, and looked up.

Jake was standing there, looking a little better than he had the night before, but still kind of dejected.

"Hey, Midget," I greeted, turning around in my seat.

"Hi, Tom," he said, looking around the room, maybe in an effort to avoid looking at me.

"You okay?" I asked. I gestured towards a chair opposite my desk. "Wanna sit down?"

He shook his head, then nodded. Took a deep breath, then sat down.

"Everything okay?" I asked again. Then, I added, "Something you want to talk about? I could..." I nodded at the doors. "If it's private and you don't want Mom and Dad to know."

"It's not that...it's..." Jake looked away from me, then said something unintelligible.

"Um, I didn't quite get that," I told him.

He looked at the floor.

"Tom, I didn't make the team."

Oh. Ohhh.

Being a good big brother, I got up from my chair and gave him a hug, literally pulling him up from his chair as I did so. Normally, we're not too much of a touchy-feely family, but figuring that Jake must have been devastated by this news, I figured this would be welcome.

"I'm sorry, Midget."

He squeezed me back, tightly. "Thanks, Tom." Breaking apart from me, he added, "You're not, you know, upset?"

I knew what he meant. Even back then, things had been competitive back when I had first tried out for the team, but everyone said I had a gift, and I had been the best one there. Not to brag, or anything. It had just been a fact. I had a gift, I set the standard. Jake wasn't as good, it was true. I guessed there was only room for one star in my family. Or, maybe, he hadn't practiced enough beforehand. Whatever the reason, he hadn't made it, and it must have felt like what could have been a family legacy was officially over before it had begun.

"Not at you. More like, bummed for you," I told him, carefully. "I know what it meant for you, making the team. But, hey, Midget, this isn't the end if you're still intent on playing. I mean, okay, yeah, it's the end for this season at this school. Still, we can practice, if you want, and maybe next year, things will be different. If the coach is still there-and there's no reason why he wouldn't be-he'll see how hard you've worked. How much you've improved. Besides, the real improvement happens once you're on the team. Practicing every day, listening to what he has to say, and playing the games. There's only so much you can do on your own. Not that you shouldn't do anything on your own. But...look, try not beat yourself up about it, okay?"

He nodded, and seemed relieved, but there was still something in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

I couldn't figure out what it was, unless Terlin was right and not making the team was only part of the problem. If he did have a crush on the girl he'd brought to the barbecue last night.

"Thanks, Tom," he answered, simply. "That means a lot, coming from you."

I tousled his hair. "That's what big brothers are for."

He turned towards the door, then hesitated.

"Anything else you want to talk about?" I queried.

He looked at my desk. "You're doing homework."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Exactly. It's a Friday afternoon, and I'm doing homework. Clearly, I'm bored out of my mind." At his smile, I added, "Besides, I don't have a ton left. Anyway, you come first. What else is on your mind, Jake?" At his hesitation, I figured I might as well bring it up. Heck, it wasn't like he'd be super mad at me for mentioning that he'd brought a girl from his school. Probably. "Is it a girl?"

Now, he looked confused. "Huh?"

"That cute black girl you brought with you last night," I explained, patiently. "You like her?"

"Ohh," Jake answered, shaking his head a little. "Naw. I mean, Cassie's cool, but I don't know her that well. Rachel had invited her. We're not-you know. Together or anything."

"Do you want to be?" I prodded, trying not to grin.

Jake shook his head. "Like I said, I barely even know her. I definitely don't like her like her."

Hmm. Looking at his face, I could tell that he wasn't lying. Or, if he wasn't being completely honest with me, he sure wasn't aware of it. I'd had crushes before The Sharing, and gone out on some dates with girls from my school. And while it hadn't personally ever happened to me that there was a girl who had just been a friend who suddenly became more, it certainly wasn't unheard of.

Although, maybe not as much as the latest movies implied.

So, whatever else was nagging at Jake, it wasn't Cassie. Okay. If he wasn't ready to talk, I wasn't going to be the one to try to force him. I just figured that I would try to be open for him, to whatever he was going through.

Anyway, for all I knew, it could have just been teen angst.

He was a teenager, after all.

(So are you,) Terlin pointed out, amusement evident in his voice.

(Yeah, but I'm fifteen, and I'll be sixteen soon enough,) I told him. (I have two more years of experience with that. Besides, everyone knows it's the beginning teen years that are the worst.)

To be honest, I wasn't entirely positive this was true. Thirteen and fourteen hadn't exactly been as easy as my pre-teen years, but this year had certainly gotten more difficult. Partly because of the whole alien invasion thing-not that Jake had to worry about that, thank God. It seemed like a lot of childhood had been about wanting to be older, have more independence. But, with independence, we got more homework, teenage hormones, and more responsibilities from parents and teachers. Sometimes, I wished I could go back to elementary school, where the most homework you got was a half an hour during the week only, tests were not graded, and your biggest problem was if there was going to be a bully that year-and whether or not he'd pick on you. Not that any of them tried with me-Dad had taught me and Jake self defense early on. If someone hit us, we were allowed-even expected-to hit back. Just enough to show them that we weren't going to be their victims.

The one time this one kid, Marty Hayes, tried something with me, he realized soon enough that he was in over his head. And had a black eye for a week to remember it. He stopped picking on kids completely after that, for the school year.

I wondered if Jake was having problems with the kids in his school.

"Jake," I asked, carefully, "is anyone picking on you?"

He shook his head. "Well, not me, but you know the other kid who was at the barbecue?"

I nodded, remembering the dark haired one, who looked downright uncomfortable and out of place. At least, in the beginning. He seemed to be enjoying himself, at least a little, by the end.

"Yeah. He being bullied?"

Jake nodded. "First time I met him, he had his head down a toilet."

Terlin flinched mentally at that. I guess, it was too close to the guards shoving people's heads into the Yeerk Pool.

As for me, well, it took a concerted effort for me not to swear. Hitting a kid was one thing, but doing that? And I wasn't naive enough to think it had just been one kid.

"Ouch," I managed. Then, "And, I'm guessing it wasn't the first time for him."

Jake shook his head. "No, but it was the last, though. Well, as far as I know. Tobias is..."

"The kind of kid that bullies look for," I finished. "Right?"

"Pretty much."

"And those jerks, they didn't do anything to you?" I prodded.

Jake shook his head again, managing a grin. "Even if they might have, otherwise. You're kind of famous, Tom. And they're not going to mess with your kid brother. Even if he didn't make the team."

I reached out and put an arm around his shoulder. "Always next year, Midget."

"Yeah. Well, look, Marco's coming over soon, so..."

"Tell him I said hi," I told him. "And, hey, no hard feelings about the cult reference. You know, with The Sharing."

Jake managed a grin. "Will do. See you later."

After he left, I returned to my math homework, but couldn't concentrate, even with Terlin's helpful prodding.

(Okay, so if it's not a girl and it's not completely the team, what's with him?) I asked my Yeerk. (Any ideas?)

Terlin did a mental head shake. Not that Yeerks have heads, exactly, but he sent me the image of a generic human head shaking. Which would have been disconcerting a few weeks ago, except I had mostly gotten used to these mental images from my Yeerk as one of his forms of nonverbal communication.

(Your memories show that he greatly looks up to you,) he told me. (Perhaps, it is entirely not making the team, but he doesn't want to disappoint you further?)

(I'm not disappointed in him,) I pointed out, which was true. (And he gets that, now.)

(Perhaps, he's disappointed in himself?) Terlin suggested. (Even though he realizes you don't think he's at fault.)

(Maybe,) I allowed.

Neither of us were convinced. It felt like there was something going on, something bigger than that. I felt like we had lost something, some part of our friendship. Most brothers went through rough patches, I knew. Maybe, that was all this was. I just hoped that, over time, we would get our footing back.

As it turned out, it was nearly a year and a half later before we could be entirely open with each other once more.

A/N:

Turns out I had this chapter written for months and never got around to posting it. I suppose that's what happens when I work on multiple fics at once!

The next chapter will probably take place around book 6. There just isn't a ton of Tom-worthy material in the earlier ones, what with him being voluntary and all. Likewise, since Jake doesn't know that he's voluntary, he's still fighting to free his older brother.

Terlin will remain Tom's Yeerk throughout the series, which means that Jake will still end up being infested by Temrash, but it will play differently. How differently? You'll see when the book 31 version comes out.