A/N: I'm stringing everyone along, but, don't worry. I'm in for the ride too. C;

"Stop Rodrick!"

Greg tried to protest, but Rodrick had a very firm grip on him and fighting would do nothing but get them in trouble. So he went unheard as he reluctantly climbed the stairs behind his brother, who Greg still hadn't decided was evil or not. It was so hard to tell. Why did Rodrick have to be so complicated? One minute he was laughing and being an idiot, and the next he was all serious and moody. And why did these extremes only seem to occur in Greg's presence?

At the top of the stairs, Rodrick released Greg's arm and dropped onto his bed with a heavy flop. "Damn I'm beat, and it's only 9 o'clock!"

From the top of the stairs Greg glared pointedly at his older brother. "Idiot! What are you doing? Scaring me?" He really wanted to know. First Rodrick had been avoiding him, and now he was teasing – or just being mean.

"Woah, calm down little bro," Rodrick said, sitting up a bit and giving a curiously amused look in Greg's direction. "When did I scare you?"

Greg's hands clenched into fists. This was unbelievable! Rodrick had denied knowing what he was talking about with the bruise, and now he was still playing dumb even after scaring him again? Something inside the younger boy snapped; his mouth cracked open and the next words came from somewhere deep inside the furious ball in the pit of his stomach. "You – you know what I'm talking about! With the bruise last night, and dragging me in here just now! What did I do? Why are you being such a jerk!"

It seemed to be Rodrick's turn to snap, because Greg had only just finished speaking when his brother stood up and crossed his arms. Looking into the familiar eyes, Greg could see that Rodrick was pissed. "Are you seriously still on about that bruise? Look, nerd, you never think things through. If Mom would've asked you where you got your bruise and if you'd said mosh pit, I would be grounded for being a bad influence. You don't understand how much you get away with! If you weren't such a squealer, I'd spend more time with you!"

The words hurt. Greg felt powerless as they washed over him. He wasn't a bad brother, was he? Sure, there were times that he'd screamed "Mooooom!", but it wasn't that often. Right? Rodrick seemed to think Greg was a nuisance to be around, but it still didn't justify the bruise.

"B-because of you, I have to hide it! I don't want to tell her you did it to me!"

"And I'm surprised you've lasted this long. That's why I'm hanging with you tonight; it's a reward for not telling on me."

Greg noticed Rodrick's eyes look pointedly off in the middle distance as he admitted what was going on. Was this true?

"So, this was like a test?" Greg asked, somehow still hesitant about the whole thing. Despite himself, the younger brother could feel his tense body relaxing – somehow appreciating the lack of danger in the atmosphere. "What about just now when you dragged me up the stairs?"

"I didn't know you were that scared, I just thought you were being stubborn. Don't pee your pants."

Somehow, it was good enough for Greg, and he wandered over to his brother's swirling chair and sat himself down. "I thought I did something wrong," Greg mumbled out loud.

"Stupid, I told you this morning that you didn't," Rodrick said, now looking irritated about the whole conversation.

There was a small silence as Greg spun in the chair and absorbed everything in the attic room gratefully. It seemed like it had been a long time since he'd seen these posters, and the bookshelves of CD's. Everything was so cool up here. The young Heffley brother had pushed the entire incident with Rodrick to the back of his mind. If it was a test, and he'd passed, then it was a cause for celebration!

"Why don't we do something? It's still early, Mom will let us."

But Rodrick looked as beat as he said he felt earlier, now that Greg got a good look at him in the lighted room. The wild brother shook his head casually, letting a few pieces of his hair fall into his eyes. "Not happening tonight. Maybe if you continue to keep your mouth shut, we will."

Greg could feel his heart fall in his chest. They'd just made up, and Greg was still being let down. It sucked. "Well, what if the bruise goes away and Mom never finds out. What do I get?" Now that he knew he was entitled to some reward, Greg wanted to know exactly what he could look forward to. He didn't want to have to watch Rodrick leave the house day after day and feel that crushing disappointment. The younger brother would definitely get a promise out of Rodrick tonight.

Rodrick flashed a grin, and Greg was convinced that before, in the hallway, it had definitely been the darkness that had made his brother seem so evil – because right now Rodrick looked happy. "Don't get too far ahead of yourself. I give you another day before you buckle."

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Greg stubbornly tried to fix his face into a sour stare. "Let's bet on it," he suggested while Rodrick kicked his shoes off and dive-bombed back onto his bed. There was another small silence as the older boy stared at his roof, clearly contemplating Greg's words.

"I'm down with that," Rodrick finally said, and Greg's heart skipped excitedly. "If – sorry, when – you squeal, you will be my slave for a week. You'll do all my chores, and you will do whatever I say, no questions asked."

Greg hesitated. It would suck if he became Rodrick's slave. Distantly, the younger boy remembered the last time he had lost a bet to Rodrick with slave rules – he had been forced to do all kinds of things he hated. He remembered Rodrick telling him to lick his socks and that being the final straw before he really had shouted for their Mother and ended the whole thing.

But Greg was going to work hard and continue hiding the bruise, even if that meant he was going to look like a fool in front of Holly again. There was a good chance Greg could pull through with the whole thing, and the possibility of winning the bet already seemed in his favour. An idea struck him, making everything way too tempting to back out now.

"Fine, if she never finds out, then you'll be my slave for a week."

The words came out as confidently as Greg felt at the moment, which was probably why Rodrick was now looking curiously at him, one brow raised.

"Shake on it then," Rodrick said, extending his hand towards Greg. Even though Rodrick looked a little intimidating, it was probably in Greg's imagination. There was nothing to lose; he was going to win this – and then he was going to force Rodrick to spend time with him for a whole week! His hand slid into Rodrick's easily, and he didn't even wince as the older brother tightened his grip and gave a firm shake. "Deal."

"Deal," Greg said.

A/N: Who do you want to win? Let me know in your review!

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