Pretty much- this entire chapter is in Rocky's point of view. Trigger warning- suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and depression. Enjoy.

"100.1."

Austin's eyes light up. "Fucking finally. Can I get out of this house now? My temperature's low-grade, and I've got serious cabin fever."

I laugh. "Yeah. You can come to Sonic Boom with me. I'd like to have a little "talk" with Ally and Trish. And Aus, I think Dez misses you. Maybe you could talk to him?"

"He has to apologize- and mean it- first," Austin mutters. "Even though he's done the least- his actions have still hurt me."

"Alright. Guys, I'll take Austin to Sonic Boom. Rydel, make sure Ratliff does his homework. And Riker- don't fall asleep and forget you have work in one hour."

Riker scowls. "It was one time!"

"And it was the only time," I shoot back. "Get your ass to that job of yours. It's in a bookstore- should be heaven for you."

"And homework pisses me the fuck off," Ratliff grumbles. I shoot him a look, and he shuts his mouth with a click, sighing.

"But I don't get much reading time," Riker whines. "Too many damn customers."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Rydel says sarcastically. "I didn't know stores had customers."

"I swear to god, I have five-year olds for siblings," I sigh, facepalming. "Austin is the normal one, and then there's you three goons."

"You know you love us!"

"Don't make me change my mind."

"Alright, stick close to me. You're not gonna talk- this is about Ally and me. She needs to get her head on fucking straight."

"You can say it," Austin replies. "She's being a bitch."

"Idiot." I ruffle his hair lovingly, kissing the top of his head, as we walk into Sonic Boom. I see Ally turn around, and her eyes widen at the sight of us. I assume it's our position. Austin is giggling. My arm is wrapped around his shoulders, and he's pressed himself into my side. She watched me ruffle his hair and kiss his head as well, so there must be a million questions running through her mind.

"Here," I say, pulling a few bills from my wallet. "If you need something for your guitar."

He hesitates, but I give him a reassuring smile- which prods him to take the money. He leans up to kiss my cheek as a thank you, and wanders off. I watch him disappear into a corner of the store, before straightening, and walking over to Ally.

"Can I talk to you?"

Ally nods. "What about?"

"In private," I mutter. "If Trish and Dez could join us, however- that'd be great."

Ally nods again. "Gimme a minute." She turns and walks over to her friends, saying something and shaking her head. Their voices float over, not that I can understand much. Finally, I see Trish nod, and Ally leads the two of them toward me.

"Same practice room?"

I nod, and follow her up the stairs.

Once we're all seated, Ally turns to me. "What is it? And why isn't Austin here?"

"It's not necessary for him to be. He doesn't need to deal with this right now. He's going back to school on Monday- he needs to prepare himself for that," I reply, meeting her gaze briefly.

"Prepare? For what?" Trish mutters. "It's not like it's his first time in the damn place."

I sigh. "Yes, but he's been through a lot in the past week. If you knew, you'd agree with me. And it's not like school is the safest goddamn place on Earth. My brothers don't feel safe at all there. High school is the epitome of judgment and insensitivity."

"Your brothers?" Ally asks curiously. "Ratliff is the only one that goes to our school, if I'm not mistaken."

"And Austin," I mutter. "I'm his legal guardian- as of yesterday."

"WHAT?!"

I exhale a deep breath. All three of them are staring at me in full-blown shock- and I know I'm gonna have to tell this story multiple times. Why not get the first time over with? "I don't know if you paid any attention to Austin's home situation- but his parents have been emotionally abusing him for years. He couldn't take it- he's had panic attacks, emotional breakdowns, and periods of time where he cannot breathe - and his parents are the cause of his sickness. He's thoroughly exhausted- to the point of collapse. That weakened his immune system, allowing viruses to enter. I was able to prove to a judge yesterday- that his parents are unfit guardians, and took custody away from them. He's my little brother now- legally."

"Oh my god…" Ally whispers.

"And you didn't think it was important to talk to us about it?" Trish asks, her eyes blazing with anger.

"I didn't know that I had to discuss my life decisions with two fifteen-year olds. Ones that have contributed to my brother's suicidal thoughts/actions, if I may add." I turn to Dez, softening my gaze. "Go ahead and talk to Austin. He says he'll most likely talk to you. Just don't bring up any of this shit, yeah?"

Dez nods. "Thank you." He rises to his feet, and strolls out of the room, leaving me with two angered, disbelieving teenagers.

"Why does he get to go? He did something wrong, too," Ally asks, annoyance lacing her tone.

I roll my eyes. "Because he isn't the reason Austin almost killed himself. Dez has hurt him- yes. But not nearly as much as the two of you."

"You keep talking about how Austin's been through so much. What, exactly, is it?" Ally's question leaves me sighing. There's no way I'm going to tell them what's going on- Austin's life isn't meant to be shared.

"Well- he's scarred from the trial- his father blatantly said that he wouldn't care if Austin committed suicide- that he was too much of a disappointment- among countless other things. He isn't ready to face either of you- and there's no way in hell that's happening. You saw him laugh, as we entered. That was seriously the first time I've ever heard him laugh, since we met him. His laugh is beautiful, but he hasn't felt happiness in so long."

Ally opens her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "The real reason I'm here- is to say something out straight, to you both. You cannot keep jumping over the fence with this. Either you try to be friends with Austin, or you forego the entire thing. Either way, he has us, and we will not let him go anytime soon. If you want to be friends- you need to earn his trust back. He's terrified of you guys. You can't say you're sorry, and then expect him to apologize for what he did. I don't give a damn whether you want to be his friends or not. In his eyes, he lost you guys the second you turned the cold shoulder on him. But you need to pick a side, and stick with it."

"Rocky!"

All three of us immediately look to the door- where my little brother stands, frantic and pale. He's breathing heavily, tears staining his cheeks, and I know something's wrong. I open my arms, and he throws himself into them, burying his face in my chest.

"Shhh, lil' bro. What happened?"

"Dez," he chokes out, before more sobs catch in his throat. My eyes widen- why did I let Dez talk to him? Who knows what he could've said/done?

Ally and Trish glance at each other, then at us. "Is he okay?"

I can feel Austin tense at their voices, so I just nod to them, and hug him tightly, kissing his head repeatedly. "You're alright. Home?"

"Yeah," he whispers hoarsely, his voice full of tears.

"Alright," I reply, standing and cradling him to my chest. "We'll finish this later. I need to take care of him."

"What happened, Aus?"

Austin's still pressed into my chest- only we're home, and lying on my bed. He's finally calmed down enough to be coherent.

"Dez…" Austin whispers. "He told me that he's the reason I started getting bullied. He told everyone what I did to Ally, and the fact that I'm depressed- which he equated to me being ungrateful for everything I have. He said he couldn't be friends with me in good conscience, without telling me all of this…"

"Oh my god, Aus…" I want to fucking kill Dez right now. How come Austin can't get a fucking break? He deserves one- and no one seems to care what he feels. I'm fucking praying that we don't lose him- that he doesn't try to kill himself, because I don't think I could live with it. We've all grown to love him so much, and if he committed suicide- at least two, if not all four of us- would follow suit.

"I don't want to fucking deal with this pain anymore, Rocky. I want to fucking die- to slit my wrists, overdose, or get hit by a fucking car. I want to die in the most painful way possible, because everyone seems to think that's what I deserve."

Aw, poor Austin can't get a break, can he? Well- let's just say that I'm not letting him off easy yet- something else happens to him in the next chapter :) If you want to read it faster- go ahead and leave me a shitload of reviews! They're pure motivation. Thank you all!