Taylor was still on his pillow when Bryce was pulling on his pants. The prospect of taking a bus across town wasn't exciting to him but he had to open the cafe with Tara in less than an hour. Striding across the floor, Bryce fussed his hair with his palms before finding his reflection in the mirror. After adjusting the top button, he pulled down on the bottom of his shirt in a futile attempt to get rid of the wrinkles. Bryce turned quietly, walked out of the room and down the hallway; he would've awoken Taylor but it was made very obvious, the night before, how he felt about Brett. Bryce hooked his shoes onto his fingers so he could gently tip-toe down the hallway and then the stairs. The floorboards beneath him creaked as if to summon the other housemates to his position. Upon reaching the ground level, Bryce turned left to go into kitchen. Feeling like a burden was something that he struggled with. It was something that came to him even now as he reached into his left pocket. Bryce extracted his wallet as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen.

"Hey," Blake said, looking up from his newspaper

Drawing out the 's' and covering his heart, Bryce shouted, "SSSSHIT!"

Blake was laughing as quietly as he could as he put his finger to his lips, "Ssshhh, My brother is still sleeping"

"I'm sorry," Bryce said chuckling, "I wasn't expecting anyone to be up this early."

"It's somewhat of a habit for me because of work"

Bryce walked over and sat on a stool, putting on his shoes, "What do you do for work?"

"Oh," he said, standing and moving over to the coffeemaker, "I'm a judge for juvenile court"

Bryce stared blank faced at Blake, as if he just announced he was the Governor or a Senator with just as much nonchalance, "You're not very old to be a judge. Color me intimidated."

"Oh, well, I entered university as a junior because of community college," Blake admonished, pouring coffee into a newly retrieved glass, "I got accepted into an accelerated Master's program at twenty and was done by twenty-two."

Bryce felt his ears burning red, though he wasn't sure if it was jealousy or if he was upset at himself for not having the same drive. Bryce finished tying his shoes as Blake gave him the coffee cup he was preparing.

"Thank you," said Bryce, pushing the cup away with his palm, "But I must get going, I have to get to work"

"Well, that's ok," Blake said, motioning for the keys on the counter, "Here, I'll drive you"

Bryce shook his head, "You don't have to do that."

Blake put up his hand, "No, I insist."

"What about Taylor? He's still sleeping."

"That's alright, Let him sleep."

Bryce could tell that Blake wasn't going to take 'no' as an answer and the blood had begun to flow back to his ears with irritation. The only person he ever needed was his father and now that he wasn't around, he didn't need anyone else. Bryce sat there a moment staring at Blake, as if deciphering a hidden agenda but couldn't find one. The hesitation in his heart outweighed his brains ability to make him feel guilty for passing up his offer.

"Fine," Bryce lamented, "But I insist you take this for gas"

Blake smiled as he saw Bryce take a ten out of his wallet. Bryce could see Blake was reluctant to take it, which only made him place his hand further across the marble island.

"Let's go, then," Blake surrendered, "after you."

Blake and Bryce left the kitchen, went down the hall and out the front door.

* * *

Blake was unsure what to make of the man sitting next to him. Blake laughed in his own mind. 'Man', he thought, 'he looks like a child'. Bryce had been distant since they met. It wasn't that it was odd, for this stranger to not trust him... But why? Was it because Blake hadn't earned his trust, despite the attacks? Was it the attacks themselves? Or maybe there was something else going on with him that he wasn't saying. Lord knows him and Brett were going through enough; Blake had all but moved back home since his mother was gone. The thought of Brett by himself still bothered him for a reason he hadn't quite put his finger on. And where had his mother been this entire time? Without a call or any indicator that she was O.K.?

"You'll want to make a left up here," Bryce said.

"Oh," Blake said, Bryce's voice snapping him back to reality, "Right, where are we going exactly?"

"The Corkscrew," he replied, "It's off of West Carmel"

A flash went through Blake's brain. It had been driving him nuts, where he had seen this kid before. Brett had brought it up too, they knew he looked familiar, "You work at the Cafe?"

"Yes, you know it?"

"I think you just served me and my brother a little while ago," Blake said, "My brother was kind of hitting on you."

Bryce looked over at Blake, despite Blake not being able to look back, "Wait, are you sure?"

Blake nodded his head, "Yeah, you ducked out halfway out. Did something come up?"

A noticeable pause seemed to fill the car. Blake wasn't sure if he was going to get the real answer but he was sure that he wouldn't like it. The pause was becoming uncouth and as they came to a red light Blake decided to steer it in a different direction to save the rest of the car ride.

"How long have you been working there?"

"A little over two years now," Bryce said, "God... I've been there forever."

"Well," Blake responded, reaching at straws for a reasonable answer, "Continuity is good, you know?"

"Said the judge, what are you? Like, twenty-three?", the despondence in his voice felt like a punch to the gut.

"I'm twenty-four," Blake said defensively. The light turned green and the car seemed to all but jet out of its lane. Blake's foot had seemed to put a ton of weight onto the gas on its own accord, "I hardly see what that has to do with anything."

"You wouldn't," vitriol was pouring from Bryce's mouth and Blake couldn't figure out why.

Eyeing a large open area of curb, Blake jerked the steering wheel to the right. Maneuvering the car close to the curb, Blake turned the car off and shifted in his seat to face Bryce, "What the hell is your problem? My brother and I go out on a limb for you and then you act like this?"

"Don't talk to me like you know me, you don't know anything about me"

"What are you talking about?"

Bryce quickly unfastened his belt, unlocked the car and opened the door.

The blinding speed at which Bryce exited the car left Blake in a daze, "Hey, where the hell are you going?"

Blake opened his door and tried to step out, only to be impeded by his seatbelt. 

"God damn IT," he yelled, unbuckling his seatbelt. Once again he stepped out onto the street, then walked in front of his vehicle and over to the sidewalk, "I'm talking to you."

Blake was trying to close the noticeable gap that had formed, Bryce shouted back to him, "I don't give a damn, what you're doing, leave me alone."

Blake was close enough to reach out for Bryce's shoulder, "Hey," he said, grabbing his arm.

Bryce turned, lifting his arm while turning to face Blake, "I said, leave me alone."

The next thing Blake knew he was on the ground a sizeable distance away from Bryce. As he sat up, he noticed the look of horror that seemed to crawl across Bryce's face. Blake could barely discern what happened as he saw the young man turn and run down the street. Blake felt compelled to chase after him but knew there wasn't a lot he could now. Calmly, he got up and brushed himself off. All he could do now is get home and let Taylor know that something was up.

* * *

Brett was fiddling with the leftover coffee. The pajama pants he was wearing hung low on his hips, the morning air felt cool on his chest. Despite getting a full nights sleep last night, he still felt exhausted. The course of events was, needless to say, taxing both emotionally and physically. Blake had made a point of bringing up the old vision he had on purpose. Predicting what happened last night scared them both. It was likely that Blake was more worried because he wasn't used to not having things under control. But the last week had really changed that. It wasn't a bad thing to have Blake around more; it was easier to see him this way. Brett had forgotten how nice it was to have his brother in the house.

Brett took his cup of coffee and went back to the stairs, he could hear the water running in the bathroom. Tiptoeing up the stairs, Brett rounded the corner and peeked in on Taylor, who was brushing his teeth. Brett took notice of his back, it was bruised but very muscular. Taylor bent down to spit, when he noticed Brett in the reflection of the mirror. Brett turned and placed his back on the wall, praying he hadn't been spotted. 

Taylor opened the door, still brushing his teeth, and walked out into the hallway, "Do you spy on everyone you know, or just the people you hardly know?"

A smile crept across Brett's face, "Sorry, I, uhm," Brett looked to his right, down, then back up to Taylor again, "Coffee?"

Taylor merely pointed to the fact he was brushing his teeth before turning around to go back into the bathroom. The door was left open so Brett took it and ran with it, "So, what are you up to today?"

Taylor spit and put the toothbrush in his pocket. Brett hadn't noticed he was already dressed, as he pulled his shirt out of his jeans and threw it over his body, "Well, I gotta get home and get some homework done for class and my best friend is worried sick about me after I texted her last night, so I'll probably head over to her house."

"Well, come downstairs first and get some food, I'm not sure where my brother is but he should be home soon. He'll take you"

"Nah," Taylor said, "I really should get going, it's already ten-thirty"

Brett lamented, "Really? Not even a tiny little orange or glass of milk?"

Taylor smiled and shook his head, walking past Brett. The kitchen had bright sunbeams crawling over the floor with the morning light. Brett went and grabbed an orange from the fridges bottom shelf and tossed it to Taylor on the other side of the marble island. Taylor looked down at his fruit and began to peel as Brett leaned back and placed his palms on the counter, making his torso stretch tight with muscles. When Taylor looked up, he caught himself staring and so had Brett.

"Do you stare at everyone you know," Brett said with a flirtatious step in his voice, "or just shirtless guys that have saved your butt?"

Taylor looked back down at his fruit, as if he hadn't been sold out by his carelessness. Brett stared at his strong jawline, it was growing in stubble fairly evenly, unlike his, which seemed to grow as sparse as dandelions in a field. Yet another thing he envied about his brother, Blake. Blake could grow in facial hair smoothly and evenly. Brett always felt as if he was cursed to looking fifteen his whole life. Brett turned to the sink behind him and put his coffee cup in it; the water shot out stronger than he had anticipated and it sprayed water on his chest and face after rebounding off the bottom, when he quickly fumbled for the sink lever. Burying his head into his own shoulder to get the water off his face, he made a silent prayer that Taylor hadn't seen him. Brett turned to face him and found himself within inches of Taylor's body.

"I was going to put this in the trash," Taylor said, holding the leftover rinds

"Oh, right," Brett said, circling Taylor so that they switched spots. Taylor opened the cupboard beneath the sink and tossed the rinds in a bin below it.

"How did you know that it was down there?", Brett inquired

"I figured if it wasn't out in the open," Taylor replied, turning to face Brett, merely a pace seperating them, "that most families put it under the sink."

"Clever," said Brett, feeling lightheaded from the flutter his heart was experiencing.

"I know," the smile on Taylor's face was a strange mix of innocence and devious. Brett couldn't quite put his finger on what made him so dashing, but it was like a million pieces came together to make his form perfect, "How can I repay you for this hospitality?"

"You don't have to do that, any decent person would've done it"

"Yeah, but, You were the one that did it," Taylor said, leaning towards Brett, "And I'm really lucky for that,"

Brett could feel Taylor's breath, his heart was doing some sort of movement in his chest that almost made him queasy, "Funny to think you're the lucky one,"

Taylor placed his hand on Brett's chest and traced his fingers down to his stomach. Brett moved his hand behind Taylor's head, feeling his coarse hair. Brett lifted his chin in unison with Taylor when the door slammed. Brett closed his eyes and laughed as he placed his forehead on Taylor's.

"Brett?", came a voice from the front room.

Blake rounded the corner, barely noticing what was going on, "Whoa! Oh god, Sorry." he exclaimed making what seemed like a blockade with his hands between him and Brett.

"It's fine," Brett said, stepping away from Taylor, "we weren't doing anything anyways. Sup?"

"I actually wanted to talk to Taylor"

Taylor cocked an eyebrow, "Me? Is something wrong? Did I overstay my welcome?"

"No, i's nothing like that," Blake said calmly, as he often did when he was processing something, "I think something's up with Bryce."

"What? Like what?"

"Bryce got upset with me when I was driving him to work, so much that he got out of the car,"

"No way," Brett interjected, "maybe he's still shaken from last night"

"I took that into consideration," Blake responded, "But he attacked me too"

Taylor looked concerned, "...What?"

Blake nodded, "Knocked me flat on my ass, I wouldn't have believed it myself."

After a brief pause Taylor spoke, "Please, don't press charges on him, he's just going through some stuff right now,"

"Like what?" Brett asked.

"...ok, but don't tell him I told you this, his Father passed away last week."

Brett covered his mouth in shock, Blake furrowed his brow in contemplation. Brett hated that sometimes, only because he couldn't collect himself like that. It was comforting most times, but for some particular reason it was irritating today.

"Will you take me to his work? I should be with him right now"

"Of course," Blake said, "You ready?"

Taylor nodded and turned to Brett, "Here's my number," he said, pulling a pen off the counter, "I expect you to use it"

Brett looked down at his hand, upon which Taylor was now jotting his phone number. After finishing the last digit, Taylor left with Blake and they started to walk down the main hallway to the porch. Brett watched them go down the stairs and get into Blake's car. As it sped off his mind wantered over to Bryce, unsure of what was to happen next. Turning to go back inside, his foot hit something on the ground. It was the newspaper, which he bent over to grab. As he stood, a flood of light filled his head.

A young girl was running down an alley way. It was dark and she was being chased by a figure . As they reached the end of the alley, she turned around.

"You don't have to do this," she said, with fear quivering her voice, "We can both just let this go and go home."

The figure laughed and proceeded to walk towards the girl. The girl, with her blonde hair flying now in the wind, raised her hands , palm out towards the figure, from which water seemed to appear endlessly. The figure raised it's hands, palms facing towards the sky. The water redirected itself to the girl, surrounding her.... drowning her.... slowly the life being choked out of her...

Brett's eyes snapped open and he gasped for air, as if he had been the one that was drowning. When he came to his sense, he ran upstairs to get dressed. This is where having Blake around would be handy, to have a calm collected person to help him sort out whatever it is that's happening with him. As he stormed into his room, he ransacked his dressers and closet. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he had to do something about it.

The sight of it would've made anyone else laugh; clothes hanging off his body in weird angles, a belt that was flipped halfway through it's clasp, a sock hanging off his heel and his shirt buttoned improperly. Brett stopped to look in the mirror and collected himself by fixing all the loose ends of his outfit. Practically tripping himself, he bolted down the stairs into the kitchen to the key rack, where he got a pair of keys that had obviously been collecting dust. The only place there were alleys was downtown, he'd start there and text his brother on the way.