He fell to the floor as soon as the vomit had cleared his mouth. Wheezing, he heard Masako call Gene a prat and lead him away.

Oliver wanted to shout after his brother, but he could not find the words.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Sophie, Masako's friend.

"Here." She offered him a tissue.

Oliver took it with a murmur of thanks and wiped his mouth. He forced himself into a sitting position and put his head between his knees.

"Apologies for Gene's behaviour," Oliver muttered.

"There's no need to apologise."

Oliver did not bother to correct her.

"I'm going to get you some water, okay?"

He nodded as Sophie left. Oliver forced himself to concentrate on his breathing. He spotted some of his own vomit on the carpet and sneered at the smell. He coughed and moaned in pain as his chest spasmed.

"Is it true?"

Oliver closed his eyes. That was the last voice he wanted to hear.

"Is what true?"

"Do you… Do you like me?"

The quivering in Mai's voice made Oliver feel sick again.

"That's what Gene said, isn't it?"

Releasing the venom he felt in his voice did nothing to make Oliver feel any better.

"But you said you didn't want anything to happen?"

"Because what Gene said was just that," Oliver spat.

"Huh?"

"It's just what he said. There is no truth behind it. Now if you don't mind, I've just been punched in the stomach and I have puke on my floor. Please leave."

Oliver, out of the corner of his eye, saw Mai flinch at his words. She grabbed his door handle and pulled the door shut as she left. He heard sobs and was only slightly surprised to find they were not his own.

The sobs quietened and Oliver guessed that Mai had left for her own room. He pushed his head back and stared at the ceiling. Quiet anger simmered in his stomach. But with every spasm of his diaphragm it threatened to boil over.

And to make everything one hundred times better, Masako burst in.

"Wow, so everything really has fallen to shit, huh?" she said, not expecting an answer. "Sophie left, by the way, here's your water. The whole thing freaked her out a little."

Oliver looked at the glass of water she had placed on the floor but did not move towards it.

"So Mai is balling her eyes out. She likes you, you know? Or she did, I don't know how she'll feel after that little stunt though."

"I don't care."

"Of course you don't," Masako muttered. "Just like Gene doesn't care that you're hurt and it's all his fault."

Oliver growled at the mention of his brother.

"Good aim on the vomit by the way, he totally deserved that."

Oliver rolled his eyes.

"I want to know something. If I fix everything, which I think I'm going to have to do," Masako said. "Are you going to accept Gene's apology?"

"No."

Masako rolled her eyes.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want anything to do with him."

"Because he told Mai that you liked her? Which, for the record, we all knew. Well, all of us apart from Mai."

"He said that—"

"He lied to upset you. You know that right?"

"I don't care. Go away."

"Fine."

When Oliver next looked up, Masako had gone and Oliver regretted telling her to leave. He wanted her to stay so he could shout at her too. Pain in his chest flared at the thought of Gene's words.

"...Well at least she actually likes me..."

He blinked away tears. Oliver reached for his phone and subconsciously unlocked it. He looked down to see his mother's contact details. His thumb hovered over the call icon.

"...I'm the reason they adopted us…"

He wiped his eyes.

"...Not you..."

He pressed the icon. He listened to it ring with an empty feeling in his chest. Luella picked up after a few rings.

"Noll? What do you want? I'm just trying to—

"Mum, do you have a minute?"

That one word had a profound affect over Luella.

"Of course I do, one moment. Martin, dear, can you just watch the bolognaise?" Oliver heard some bustling. "Noll, I'm here, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"I… Why did you adopt me?"

"What's brought this up? We adopted you both because we cared about you!"

"No, why did you adopt me?"

"Because I wanted to help you. I could see you needed someone to watch over you and I thought that we, Martin and I, could do it."

"Do you like me?" Oliver asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course I do, I love you Noll. Why are you asking this? Have you had a fight with Gene?"

"No."

"Oliver, I am your mother, I know when you're lying."

"He said that he was the only reason you adopted me too."

Oliver could almost hear his mother pursing her lips.

"That was wrong of him. What brought it up?" Luella asked.

"I pushed him."

"You pushed him?"

"He told everyone a secret I had. So I told everyone a secret of his. So he yelled at me. So I pushed him. And then he said you didn't like me. So I punched him. And he punched me back and I threw up on him. Masako dragged him away after that."

"Well at least someone in that household has some sense." Luella sighed. "Noll, you shouldn't have resorted to violence."

"I know. But the words wouldn't come out. It all built up and…"

"It's okay. I understand. Can I ask one more question?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did Gene tell your secret?"

"He… He thought he was helping. But he wasn't. He's just made everything awkward."

Luella sighed again.

"Just remember he was trying to help. I'll have a word with him."

"Don't. I don't want him to think I'm tale-telling on him."

"Don't worry, Noll. Everything will be okay."

"I'm sorry for bothering you," Oliver mumbled.

"This really has got to you, hasn't it? Here you are apologising! You have nothing to apologise for. You said he punched you, are you hurt?"

"I'll be okay…"

"If you say so, get some rest okay?"

"Okay. Love you, Mum."

"I love you too, Noll."

Oliver hung up. He wiped away tears and pulled himself onto his bed. He pushed his socks off his feet and grabbed his weighted blanket.

He wanted to sleep. Sleep and wake up and find that none of this had ever happened. He would have to get up early in the morning so he could avoid everyone. Masako was likely fed up with him. Mai would cry. And Gene…?

Oliver did not know what to expect from him. Why had he done it? Oliver could not understand it. It was not like Mai had been torturing the information out of him.

If only Marcus had not insisted on talking to him so much while he showed him from the house. 'Talking to' was generous. 'Talking at' might have been a better term. But if he had been quicker, Oliver might have interrupted Gene and Mai's conversation in time.

Marcus had boasted the entire way to the door about something Oliver cared nothing for. Sports maybe. His hearing only switched back on when he had heard Mai's name.

"She likes me, you know," Marcus had said.

"What?"

"Mai, she's really into me. So I think you should back off of her."

Oliver had blinked stupidly at that point.

"I think you're mistaken."

Marcus had grabbed Oliver's collar and stepped closer.

"You should back off of my girl," he had growled. "Or you'll have me to answer to."

And with that, he had pushed Oliver away and walked off.

Unsure how to react to the entire ordeal, Oliver had returned to the kitchen to find Gene spilling his secrets. Threatened, betrayed and assaulted in one evening.

Oliver rolled over to his other side.

Mai's face popped into his mind's eye and he swallowed hard. He could see her flinch at his words. He could hear hear sobs echoing in his mind. The only consolation he could think of was that if she hated him — which he suspected she might now — that she would stay away from him. Hopefully she would get onto the year abroad programme and he would just get over her.

She was just a girl.

How hard could it be? He knew loads of other girls. Masako. His mother. Madoka. That friend of Masako's…

Oliver frowned. Not sure what his addled brain was trying to convince himself of. Those other girls weren't the same as Mai.

They didn't have her laugh. They didn't ask questions in that innocent voice she had. They weren't cute in the same way Mai was…

"Feelings are stupid. I hate them."

Finally, his thoughts turned to his brother. He knew that Gene had been trying to help. He also knew that Gene sometimes struggled with social interactions too. Not quite in the same way as Oliver did. But…

Oliver wondered if Gene was crying right now. He did not know if he wanted Gene to be upset.

Emotions sucked.

And with that, Oliver turned over and tried to sleep.

Author's note: That bit where Oliver called Luella "mum" breaks my heart okay?!