Chapter Three-Hundred and Forty

Allison helped Brian get John inside, taking most of John's weight between them as his weakened body struggled to even draw breath. "John… are, are you using again?" She asked, terrified of the answer. He hadn't had a seizure in over ten months, so it was odd that he was having one now.

John coughed as they let him lay on the sofa in the living room. "No." He curled on his side, turning his back to them as shame overtook him.

Andy stepped into the room with a soaking wet Phoebe wrapped in a towel. "Justin feels awful." He stepped closer to the sofa, stopping when he saw that John had shut the entire world out. "He can't hear me, can he?"

Claire shook her head, popping a tape into the VCR player and covering John with a blanket. "No. The seizure took a lot out of him."

Justin hovered in the doorway, watching as the Breakfast Club turned down the lights and let the movie play. "How long has he had those?" He asked, jumping when a snore escaped John.

Claire brushed John's hair back from his face, noticing that the scab on his nose was starting to heal into a thin line of scar-tissue. "He hasn't had one in a long time… but he used to have at least one a day after he was drugged."

"Drugged?"

Allison nodded. "He went after Amelia when she was kidnapped from the carnival… and the people drugged him with meth so that they could get a ransom for her."

Brian swallowed, remembering the feeling of glass pressed to his throat. "He almost died…"

Andy offered a pillow to Claire, smiling as she tucked it under John's head and curled up next to him. "The peak was what did it… that's what killed him for two minutes. It's a miracle he's even alive now."

Clarissa burst through the door to the clubhouse, sprinting up to John's bedroom where she could hear him plucking at his guitar strings. "What happened?" She asked, taking his face in her hands and searching him for signs of physical harm. "What triggered it?"

John shook his head. "I'm just tired… I haven't slept very well lately." He swatted her hands away as she started to lift his t-shirt thinking of the newest tattoo he'd gotten when they were in Florida. "Stop."

She sighed, taking a seat on the bed and studying him with a mother's intent. She knew that he might take longer to break than most teens did, but she also knew, that John couldn't hide something from her when she watched him this way. Eventually, all children would come clean under their mother's gaze. "What triggered it?" She asked again, cocking an eyebrow at him.

He dropped his gaze, taking a deep breath before he spoke. "I turned into Jacob for a minute today… I almost decked my older brother…"

She nodded, reaching a hand toward him only to freeze when he jerked away from her. "Well, from what I understood, you were protecting Phoebe from what your mind saw as a threat to your family."

"Justin is my family."

She raised a hand, cutting him off. "But, your mind has several chemical imbalances. Meaning, that you tend to see things as a threat when they aren't." She pulled something out of her purse. "Look at this chart." She handed it to him, pointing to an image of drawn up test tubes with different colored liquids in them. "Now, this is what a healthy brain would have to control those things. But, your brain… is a little different, these chemicals that control your memories, happiness, and fears, are all out of sorts."

"So, I'm broken…" He slowly let himself lean into her side, unknowingly seeking out comfort in her touch.

She shook her head, kissing his hair as she held him. "No, you're not 'broken.' You're just a little different." She pointed to another set of test tubes. "And so am I. My brain isn't quite right either. My dopamine and serotonin levels are a little out of it too." She smiled as his eyes scanned over the charts, each word and image going into his mind like are into his lungs. "We're all a little weird."

He nodded, nestling into her as his body started to wind down. "Thanks." He whispered, letting her pull him close as his record player played the Beatles album that Carl had bought him.