And hello everyone, I am SO sorry about how long it took me to update this. School has been seriously giving me an extremly hard time, and I couldn't update very fast. But I finally found the time, and here it is!

I retired that night into the welcoming covers of my bed, only to discover that the room was all but quiet. Zack lay in the bed beside mine, subconsciously groaning in obvious pain from his sickness. The sound of creaking from his constant tossing echoed in my ears, and I buried my head under my pillow in an effort to find peace. Upon discovering none, I decided trying to sleep in the noise was impossible, and flicked the switch on the small lamp sitting on our oak nightstand.

The light spread through the room, and I stretched out a hand searching for the book I kept handy next to my bed. That's when I caught a glimpse of Zack. His face was shaded scarlet, and sweat pasted his sandy hair to the side of his head. I watched him turn once again, gently lifting a hand as if to wipe something from his face, and then let it fall.

Something very strange happened at that second. I felt something in my heart stir. It was almost a feeling like…pity.

Of course it wasn't pity. This was Zack. My brother…who had so rudely insulted and ignored me since the beginning of high school.

But this felt an awful lot like pity.

The type of pity you feel for someone you care about. It was more then just lightly given pity. I felt bad for him. Like I would feel bad for Griffin or Carly if something happened to them. After all, they were my friends. (It still seemed odd using that way of thinking) My brother on the other hand wasn't. He was nothing like a friend. He was the enemy. And yet…I felt bad.

Maybe he had really been serious a few hours before. Just maybe my brother really did care in the slightest bit, and was just trying to survive high school. That was what I had been trying to do in the years as well. And I can admit, I hadn't been such a great brother either. Was there maybe the slightest chance that we could regain what we had lost during the transition to high school.

But did I want to make peace? Did I care?

I gave up denying it. I did care.

Just maybe if I said something…

"Zack" I whispered softly, not sure if he were asleep or just trying to.

He twitched slightly, and I noticed his glistening eyelids squint harder together.

"Hey" I stated, not sure if he had heard me. There was no way he could be sleeping.

"What?" A raspy voice hissed. I stepped back, but remained near the bed. Zack's eyes slowly opened, the raised to look at me.

"I was just like, um, thinking." There I went again, proving my stupidity to my brother. "Like, did you mean what you said before?" That wasn't what I had meant to say. What had I meant to say?

"Uh Mmm" Zack let his eyelids shut again, and didn't reply.

What did Uh Mmm mean?

"Zack…" my voice trailed off, and I changed my mind about saying something. It had been stupid to get up anyway. "Night Zack" I whispered finally.

"Night" came a soft voice. I felt the corners of my mouth turning up involuntarily. This time, I didn't stop the smile from forming over my face as I sat on my bed with my book in my hands.

We hadn't bid goodnight to each other for years.

I snuggled deeper into the soft bedding, refusing to acknowledge the coming of day.

"Cody get up" a voice seemed to be floating in the air. It lingered near my ear, and I twitched, burrowing into my pillow and squeezing my eyes shut. I parted my lips, softly groaning those oh so cliché three words.

"Five more minutes"

"Cody" Mom said sternly.

In a trance, I stuck my legs out from under me, letting my bare feet touch the soft carpet. Eyes half open and half closed, I tramped towards the bathroom to prepare for the day.

Memories from the previous night floated around me, and I smiled slightly. Though my body was tired and groggy, my mind was fresh and full of ideas. Today was Friday. The first Friday since I had met Griffin and Carly. And this day held promise for something more then sitting and crying my eyes out.

Maybe

I ran a comb through my blonde hair quickly as a finishing touch to my outfit, a quite nice brown and white polo shirt with faded blue jeans, and then left the bathroom to the kitchen. I was surprised to see Zack sitting at the table, or rather laying on it.

"Morning Zack" I said cheerfully.

Zack looked up from where his head lay on the table, raised an eyebrow, and then snickered with a lopsided grin. "Whatever" he screeched. I could detect a sort of mocking tone in his voice.

I glared at him and shook my head. Same old Zack.

It had been nice while it lasted.

I spent my classes doodling pictures on scrap papers while the teachers explained their lessons for the hundredth time to the rest of the class. I was loosing interest in high school, and longing for more of a challenge. AP and honors classes were still dull and redundant to me. Freshman year, while the rest of the class was creeping through Romeo and Juliet; I was completing Hamlet and Julius Caesar. This year, while everyone complained about Spanish I, I was flying through Spanish III. This year, while everyone one else dragged through Geometry and Algebra II, I was passing Calculus with a 98. Basically, I was bored. It was too easy for me.

So as you can imagine, lunch was a relief to me. Sitting with Griffin, and sometimes Ben, was probably the most interesting thing that happened all day to me.

"So you're like, making straight A's?" Ben looked at me in amazement.

"Yeah" I agreed sheepishly, hoping to get off of the subject of school. I didn't want to sound braggy, and defiantly not nerdy.

"Dude, I like made A B C D! If we had like, five classes, I could have pulled of an F."

"I'm sure you could Ben" Griffin shook his head, speaking for the first time since we had sat. I don't think he was enjoying talking about school either, because he quickly changed the subject.

"So Cody, are you coming today?" he smiled.

"Coming where?" I turned the

"To my house! I have some stuff you need to see."

This took me as surprise. I couldn't help myself smiling widely, and nodding agreement in an eager geeky sort of way.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed.

Luckily, Griffin didn't find my reaction amusing, and also began to smile widely. "Great! So, like, when do you wanna come?"

"Sometime after school…it doesn't matter. What time is best for you?" I still had to remember manners.

"If its ok, just ride home with me and Carly. Then we can take you home or whatever."

"Yeah, that'll be cool," I attempted a deeper voice in an effort to sound, "chill." Griffin just laughed.

"Funny man," he simpered smoothly. I blushed a bit, but for some reason, the embarrassment wasn't such a big deal to me. Maybe it was a part of having friends.

"Aw come on Carly! Just admit it!" Griffin snickered

"I think he likes you too," I peeped up. Carly just shook her head, doing her best to hold back a huge grin sneaking up the sides of her face.

"We're here!" she announced, obviously eager to change the subject of her crush on Ben.

The brick house looked small, but that gave it a cozy appearance. It seemed to be a small work of art itself, harboring a quite appropriate family. The outside was guarded by a rainbow of flowers and plants, and left a small pathway to the doorstep. I followed Griffin and Carly cautiously, keeping my eyes on the ground. Carly inserted a small golden key into the lock, and then pushed the wooden door open, revealing a wooden floored room.

My insides were turning, and I swallowed deeply, and stepped into the house.