World War Roscoe

This story has been prompted by H20xspelboundfanx, Maria and RoscoesareAmazing. Their prompts were - Being part of a family so large, doesn't come without it's fights, and sometimes they can be pretty explosive.

I hope you guys all enjoy.

Living under the same roof as your whole family is never an easy thing to contend with, this being especially true for a family the size of the Roscoe.

Arguments broke out daily between everyone, ranging from the pettiness of who used all the hot water to the more severe, that threatened to break the otherwise fantastic relationship that people knew the family to have, like when the five brothers were deciding what Robbie's fate would be when he robbed the local shop at gunpoint.

And sometimes the seemingly petty arguments grew and grew into screaming matches between the whole family, with no-one actually knowing the original cause of what they were fighting over, all they knew was that they were right, and who ever had sided against them was in the wrong.

These arguments could last for days at a time and made the whole home a war site with catastrophic consequences to everyone who tried to break up the fight.

Despite how detrimental it seemed to be to leave the brothers to sort out their own troubles, it really was the best cause of action sometimes, something both Sandy and Lindsey had learnt over the years. If they stayed out of it, then the problems would either disappear or sort themselves out, if they tried to get involved and set up peace talks, the whole thing was made even worse.

Left to sort it out on their own, the five brothers would eventually fix what was wrong themselves, rebuilding their bonds and only strengthening them, though there were a handful of occasions where this didn't happen and the final events were truly awful and unforgettable.

One example of this happening was a few months after the Roscoes had comfortably settled in to Hollyoaks Village, it was also one of the biggest and most catastrophic fight the five brothers had ever fought through.

Not surprisingly, it was Robbie and Jason who started off this particular spat. Whilst the twins did have a good relationship and got on like a house on fire most days, it could also get somewhat... Explosive between the pair, resulting in bickerings and sarky comments at each other, which is where it normally ended, this time however, it only continued to grow.

It started off simply enough, with Jason relentlessly searching through his room for some needed chemistry notes on the day of a big test, whilst Robbie's own belongings were crowding every free space there was in their shared room and a bit more, making the young Roscoe's search that bit harder.

He'd been looking for close to twenty minutes when Robbie entered the room, shocked to see his room in an even worse state than it had been when he'd left it only minutes ago for his shower. "What the hell Jase?" He cried, tripping over an errant game controller as tried to gain further access.

"Oh don't give me that Rob. This is all your fault you know," Jason snapped, his voice slightly muffled as he was halfway under the bed, his legs the only thing of him that was actually visible.

"Oh I'm sorry, I don't remember trashing our room, oh wait, that was you," Robbie replied back hotly, staring in distaste at the mess that was lain out in front of him. Jason grumbled, but pulled himself out from the small space he'd crammed himself into, his usually immaculate hair completely ruffled and sticking up at all angles and cheeks flushed a shocking shade of scarlet.

"I've had to make this mess to find my bloody chemistry notes! I have a test today and can't find a thing in here because your stupid stuff is taking up all the room."

"Last time I checked, you didn't make a bigger mess to find something you pillock."

"I have to make this mess if I want any hope of actually finding what I need. There's so much crap here that you have to physically go through every single thing with a fine tooth comb if you want to find what you need."

"Oh get a grip Jase," Robbie snapped, not in the mood to be shouted at by his brother.

He'd had a bad enough week as it was and he wasn't in the mood for this day to start off in a similar manner. Just yesterday he'd been punished with a week's worth of lunchtime detentions because the old bat who took sociology had been in a pissy for the whole lesson, and hadn't taken kindly to him making some very true (though not very nice), comments on her poor teaching style.

He'd also fallen out with Finn, when the younger boy dobbed him for a particularly... creative piece of graffiti that both boys had painted on the bike shed. The last thing he needed on a new day, was to have Jason shouting the odds at him too, and unfortunately for his twin, it didn't take a lot for Robbie to snap.

"It's a few bloody scraps of paper, it ain't going to kill you!"

"Just because you don't care about school, doesn't mean that we all don't have higher aspirations," Jason snapped snidely, rising to the bait as Robbie knew he would. Jason was still sore about his twin sending the pictures of Holly that she had sent him, around the whole school.

Although they'd shared a few brief words since then, there had been no chance for either brother to actually have it out about what had happened, and good day or not, there was still an awkward atmosphere around the two, ready to break and light the spark that would start the completely catastrophic and devastating fire between them.

But with Jason stressed out and Robbie already geared up for a fight, it took no time at all before the pair were screaming the odds at each other and for that spark to be caught.

"Woah, what the hell is going on here?" Joe demanded, pushing the door open brutally, having to practically pull their youngest brothers away from each other with the help of Freddie, before their shouting match turned physical.

"Nothing," Robbie grumbled, straightening his hoodie up, though his glare directed straight at Jason didn't cool in the slightest.

"Jase?" Freddie asked, hoping that the calmer twin would at least shed some light on the current situation. When no-one answered, he rolled his eyes at the twin's stubbornness, but knew he or Joe wouldn't be able to leave until they had gotten some sort of answer and had tried to sort it out, not with the way that both Robbie and Jason were glaring at one another, still gearing up for a fight.

"We ain't leaving till someone spills." Jason sighed, knowing there was little else he could do but talk, and went to open his mouth to try and explain the situation as best as he could, though before he could say anything, Robbie had already beaten him to the punch.

"Look it ain't my fault if Jason's more dramatic than a pre-pubescent girl, but this really ain't about anything."

"Give me a break," Jason muttered, his glare only heating as Robbie shot him a cocky smirk. "I haven't done anything, but it ain't my fault if Robbie makes this place a bloody pig sty so I can't find anything here. More importantly my chemistry notes."

"That's what you're arguing about?" Freddie asked, cocking an eyebrow at the lack of... Excitement of the argument.

"Thank you," Robbie muttered under his breath, not shrinking away as the glare that Jason sent his way only intensified.

"We wouldn't have to argue if Robbie didn't leave all his crap lying about!" Jason protested, even more infuriated by Freddie and Joe's responses, or rather lack of. He knew it was a stupid thing to fight about, but he was slowly getting more annoyed about Robbie's lack of care for absolutely anyone or anything. "I have a test in just a few hours and I'm sorry for wanting to actually get good results."

"Well is this test important?" Freddie asked after a moments silence. He could see how close Jason was getting to properly wound up and was not feeling in any sort of mood to break up fights between the two youngest Roscoe brothers. Not at this time in the morning anyway

"Well it's being used for tracking so-"

"In others words that's a big fat no," Robbie interrupted, rolling his eyes as he spoke.

"Actually they're being used for part of our references for our Uni statements, which means it's pretty damn important. Just because you don't want to go to uni doesn't mean I don't, though with your grades..."

"What, so you're saying I'm not good enough to go to uni?" Robbie asked, taking a step towards Jason, though his twin was not intimidated by the action that would have shaken many other of their peers.

"He didn't mean it like that Rob," Joe said before Jason could respond to the jibe with something that Robbie would only take badly. "Look why don't you both calm down cause this is going to get messy otherwise. Robbie you can start cleaning up this mess, Jase just use what notes you have and try and borrow someone else's when you get to school."

"Hey he made this mess so why am I cleaning it up?" Robbie asked, practically enraged that once more he was demoted to the bottom rungs, whilst Jason could do as he pleased. "Is it cause I've got no chance of going to uni, so no point in me even doing any revision. Get me started at the manual labour at a young age, I'll be broken in by the time I leave school."

"I didn't mean it like that," Joe sighed, trying to keep his voice calm to not irritate Robbie further.

"Well that's pretty much what it sounded like," Freddie said, sticking up for Robbie, because like his younger brother, he was also itching for a fight, though unlike Robbie, it was with one specific person.

Joe had been grating on Freddie for the last few days, though it was anything but intentional. In the build up to the wedding, his relationship with the junior doctor seemed to be the only thing that Joe could talk about.

Freddie had thought he would have been okay with it all, thought he would have been able to grit his teeth and paint on a smile, but he was finding it harder with each passing day. It wasn't his brother's fault in the slightest, but Freddie didn't half want to hit him nowadays.

So if he had any chance at a fight, he was going to damn well take it.

"Oh don't be so ridiculous Fred," Joe sighed, seeing the triumphant look in Robbie's eyes and knowing that the upcoming argument was only going to be explosive if it continued in the same manner that it was doing now.

"Oh so now I'm ridiculous. Seems like we're both inferior Rob."

"No-ones saying that, but why should I be the one to clear this crap up when Robbie was the one who made the mess." Jason said through gritted teeth, though he was met with a swift response by Robbie.

"That's bull, you were the-"

"Well I wouldn't have to if you just-"

"You know what Jase, why don't you just shut your mouth-" all too soon, the bedroom was filled with the sounds of the twins shouting themselves hoarse, neither willing to let the other win, not even bothering to hear what they even had to say, just determined to match the noise that the other was making.

"Well I'm not doing anything," Freddie shrugged, when Joe shot him a look, clearly asking for help with trying to separate their brothers, lest they did something really stupid. "Thought I were too ridiculous for that."

"Are we going to do this now? Seriously?" Joe groaned, his own short temper getting dangerously close to snapping. Like Freddie he was stressed about the wedding, though it was for widely different reasons to his brother.

The caterers had had to cancel after fire damage in their kitchens and it was proving extremely difficult to find another company who would be able to do it at such short notice. That and a few problems with Lindsey's dress (though he wasn't allowed to know what), meant that Joe was simultaneously wishing for the 'best' day of his life to be already over and done with, but also hoping it wouldn't ever come, so he wouldn't have to deal with this stress anymore.

Joe had never been someone who could balance his anger and annoyance easily, it often spilling over when he got too stressed out and he could feel this happening as Freddie continued to push him harder and harder.

"I don't see any better time than now," Freddie shrugged, though even he winced as Robbie and Jason's shouting got louder.

"You ain't stupid Freds, but you're sure acting like it now. Look they both need to get to school and soon. Can we just split them up and try and get them to calm down?" Freddie bristled slightly at the command, though he nodded and went to try and separate the twins, eventually succeeding with the help of Joe, but this fact seemed to only deepen his frown.

Once the twins were in separate rooms, it luckily didn't take long for them to calm down. Joe and Freddie respectively let them leave the house, hoping that there would be no more fights between the pair when they had arrived at the school and were once more forced together.

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Ever since earlier that day with the twins, Freddie had been off with Joe, never making eye contact for longer than necessary and practically ignoring him in the garage as they, along with Ziggy worked on some of the newest cars that had been brought in.

"What is it Fred?" Joe asked, curiosity spilling over when he felt his younger brother's eyes on him, though when he lifted his head, Freddie was determinedly staring at the engine he was working on like he had always been doing so.

"Didn't say anything did I?" Freddie said casually, shrugging his shoulders, though the tense way he was holding himself showed Joe that he wasn't as relaxed or clueless as he was pretending.

"You didn't have to bruv, but you've been acting funny round me all morning and I want to know why."

"There's nothing to say," Freddie said, smiling at Joe, though his stony tone indicated that he was quickly growing irritated by his brother's questioning.

"Yeah, sorry if I don't believe that for a second," Joe replied easily, ignoring the wary glances that Ziggy was shooting both men.

"Just leave it Joe. It doesn't even matter."

"Well it matters to me. If there's something concerning you, I want to know about it, to help you."

"And that's just it!" Freddie exploded, moving away from the car he was working on so he didn't cause it further damage in his annoyance. "You act like you're the big man, that you know best. How bout, instead of telling everyone what to do all the time, you try and do it yourself. You're our older brother, you ain't got any power over us. You're not Dad, so stop bloody trying."

"Is that what you think I do? That I boss you all about."

"Just a little bit yeah," Freddie said, feeling slightly relieved at finally saying what was on his mind, though he could tell that it was all going to get ugly between the two eldest brothers, and soon.

"Do you think that Zig?" Joe asked, turning to his other brother, hoping that Freddie was only being over-dramatic and he wasn't actually being seen as wrongly taking their father's place.

When Alan Roscoe had died it had been awful for the three brothers. They were all still children and couldn't even comprehend a life without their father, but even then, at the tender age of ten years old, Joe Roscoe had promised himself that he would look out for all his brothers.

He had never set out to replace his father though, in his mind, that task was practically impossible, but for his brother to now insinuate that that was what he was doing, well it hurt more than he thought it ever would.

"Don't get me involved mate," Ziggy said, not looking away from the small Ford he was now inspecting in great detail.

"Ziggy," Joe said, his tone giving no room for leeway.

"All right, all right. You have been a bit... controlling at the moment, but you're just stressed bout the wedding. It don't matter or nothing." That was all Joe needed to hear though and he turned away from his brothers, annoyed that they couldn't see he was just trying to help them out as best as he could.

He wasn't trying to annoy them, but they all got themselves into so many messes, well it was only natural that he found himself taking almost a parental role within the brotherly dynamics.

"Yeah I get it, cheers Zig."

"I didn't mean it like it was a bad thing," Ziggy protested, eyes widening. When Joe's posture didn't relax he began to stiffen, the temper that so many people didn't know even existed, flaring up."You know what, I don't know why I even bother half the time. No matter what I say, it's never good enough. Not for you, not for Ruby. Might as well just keep my gob shut."

"Good, we may actually be able to get some work done then." Joe snapped, rolling his eyes when Ziggy flushed, too annoyed to apologise for his earlier words. Instead he sighed and marched out of the garage, only praying that things would die down between all the other brothers.

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Joe's wish didn't come true and within only a couple of days, the Roscoe household had turned into a dangerous warzone, with two very clear sides. Freddie, Ziggy and Robbie had all stuck with one another, convinced they were the ones that had been done wrong by, whilst Joe and Jason were now as thick as thieves.

The school had already called Sandy up once, concerned about the twin's behaviour in not only classes, but every other moment of the school day. Every lesson they were in together, were a hellish fifty minutes for their other classmates, full of the pair's bickerings and jibes and lunch wasn't a lot better, hell they had almost caused a food fight of epic proportions just that very day.

The garage was probably even worse, with Joe having to be in constant company with Freddie and with being ignored everytime he asked for a tool or their general insolence around the garage, it was safe to say that Joe was now spending as much time as he could out of the garage, hoping that the fight would calm down eventually, though too stubborn to be the one to end it all himself by apologising.

After all, he hadn't done anything wrong. Joe's stubbornness could be also be seen as pure idiocy. After learning that her fiancé was fighting with all but one of his brothers, Lindsey had had a very stern word with Joe to sort it all out, not wanting anything to go wrong on their big day which was getting closer and closer.

And maybe it would have been best for Joe to take the first step, to be man enough to apologise even if he didn't think it was right, because it may have stopped what happened next, only two days later.

In pattern to the beginning of that week, the five brothers were still arguing, though it seemed to be only getting worse with each passing day. In fact, it was becoming practically impossible for all five Roscoe's to sit around the kitchen table without at least one dig from one brother to the next.

Sandy had quickly grown sick of their 'childish' behaviour at yet another dinner and had left with Lindsey in tow, demanding that her sons sort out their problems before they returned, a threat so large, any grown man would be left trembling.

"Well I ain't apologising," Robbie said stubbornly, once the front door had slammed shut, getting to his feet and making his way straight to his bedroom, ignoring the new waves of arguments that broke out between his brothers.

"You can't just leave," Jason called, jogging up the stairs after his brother, glaring heavily when Robbie turned around to face him.

"I think you'll find I can and I am. I ain't staying round this circus anymore, especially if the only thing that's going to happen, is you and Joe having a go."

"We're not having a go at you Robbie. But you're being impossible and you're not even listening-"

"I'm not listening because I've heard it all before. From Mum, every single teacher I've ever had and now you. Everyone always says the same crap, that if I worked hard, I could almost be just as good as you. Well stuff it, I don't care anymore. Because you've been placed on a bloody pedestal and I can't do anything right under this roof."

"Oh my God, why are you being so dramatic. No-one thinks that, it's just you, trying to find a problem in everything!" "You know what Jase, I'm absolutely sick of your-" As he spoke, Robbie had slowly been moving forward till he was toe to toe with his twin, staring him straight in the eye.

He didn't know what had exactly happened next, if he had moved to take another step forward or if he had moved his arms forward in such a manner that Jason thought Robbie would push him, but before he knew it, Robbie was watching his twin tumbling down the stairs.

"Jason!" he cried, before the other boy had even stopped falling, running down the stairs and being met by his other three brothers. They all had shocked looks on their faces, no-one saying a word as Jason groaned slightly and moved, practically whimpering as he tried to sit up.

"Steady now J," Ziggy soothed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder as Joe did the same, both helping their youngest brother into the living room, whilst Freddie ran to the kitchen for an ice pack. "You okay?" Robbie asked a few minutes later when Jason had been settled on the sofa, still worried for his twin.

"I'm fine Rob, honestly. It were just me being clumsy as usual, no-ones fault," Jason said, shooting a smile to Robbie and in that moment, Robbie knew it was all going to be okay, that at least he and his twin had made up, though it seemed to be the same story for his older brothers too, as he looked to the other side of the room to see them all joking with one another.

"Who would have though me decking it down the stairs would be the thing to bring us together," Jason said, chuckling weakly at the absurdity of the whole situation, the other Roscoe's soon joining in too, unable to stop themselves, glad that for now, there was no fighting between any of them. Though how long would it last?

So I hope you all enjoyed it :) I personally think this is one of my weakest chapters and you wouldn't believe the trouble it's given me, so I apologise to the prompters for that, but I hope you guys still liked it.

Next chapter – Jason gets into an accident but Darren is there to help when no-one else is – prompted by H20xspelboundfanx