Brothers
13
Ages
Hiro: 13
Tadashi: 18
Tadashi's POV
"What happened?" I ask Aunt Cass. "I don't know. He's just looked depressed since he came home. If he'll tell anyone what happened, it's you Tadashi. Please help him." she says pleadingly. "Don't worry Aunt Cass. I'll make sure he's okay." I promise, heading upstairs to see what's got my bros boxers in a knot.
I barge in to see Hiro sadly tossing a magnetic piece up at the ceiling and catching it. "Alright little bro, what happened?" I ask.
"Life."
"One worded responses? Really Hiro. I thought we got passed that when you were four." I say. Hiro shrugs at me. "I guess I'm just too immature." He says bitterly. Something tells me his words held a double meaning. "What did they say?" I ask knowingly.
"Who?" he asks, playing dumb. I roll my eyes. "Don't play stupid bone head. The kid who made fun of you. What happened? Are you being bullied?" I ask seriously. He shakes his head. "Chill Tadashi. It's nothing. I'll get over it." He says, going back to throwing his little magnetic. I frown.
Grabbing the magnetic away from him, I cross my arms. "You can have this back when you tell me what's wrong." I say firmly. He sighs and blows a piece of hair out of his face to glare at me.
"I was humiliated in front of the entire school is what happened." He says, agitated. I feel myself get angry. "Who? Who was it? Let me teach them a lesson real quick." I say, flexing my muscles. "You can't." he says solemnly. "Why not?" I demand. "Because it was a girl!" he yells, cheeks burning red now. He refused to meet my gaze after that declaration.
"Hiro. Talk to me." I beg. He talks, but doesn't face me. "Penelope. Penelope Reese. Beautiful blonde hair and deep blue eyes. Cheerleader, gorgeous, heartless, cruel, and a bitch." Hiro says, going from a dreamlike expression to one of pure anger. I stay silent, not wanting to interrupt his raging self. Hiro can get pretty angry when he wants to be.
"It started about three weeks ago. I obviously had the hots for her. We had a project in science and we could choose our partners. I should've known she never would have picked me for liking me, but I was stupid. I obviously said yes and we started working together. While we were working one day, she looked me dead in the eyes and I froze. It was so intense. Then, she said she liked me for a while now, but thought I didn't feel the same because I was smarter than her. I was so blinded, I believed her. We 'went out' for two weeks." He said, putting it in quotation marks.
I had a sickening feeling that I knew where this story was going.
"So, anyways, she gave a note to one of her friends, Chloe, to give to me. Or so I thought. Turns out the note was a sick joke played on me by Chloe and Penelope herself." He said sourly, apparently reliving the scenario in his head. My bro's cheeks were a bright red. He was clearly embarrassed and really didn't want to talk about it.
"Keep going Hiro. Talking about it will make you feel better. Remember, I'm not here to judge you. I promise." I say, crossing my heart. He takes a breath and nods, trying to calm himself down. His cheeks turn to a more normal color now.
"The note said, 'meet me in the back of the school ASAP –Penelope' and so I did what it said. I went to the back of the school and she was there, in her cheer leading outfit. She looked really pretty and I told her so. She giggled and pulled me closer to her and I blushed. I didn't know if she was going to kiss me or what. So I waited and she started leaning in. I was too and as soon as I closed my eyes, she pushed me into the wall and started laughing hysterically. I was obviously confused as to why she was laughing at me and I looked at her for an explanation. She pointed to the left of us and I saw a hoard of her girlfriends with their phones out, snapping pictures and videos of the entire scene. I didn't know what to do, god Tadashi, I was BEYOND embarrassed. I sunk to the floor and didn't look at anyone, especially Penelope. How could I? She made such a fool out of me. Right when I thought it was over and they were going to leave, Penelope whispers in my ear "Why would I ever be interested in a nerd like you? I only 'dated' you because my ex bet me that I couldn't make an A on this science project. That's where you came in. I played you along. You're such a nerd for thinking that I'd like you. I mean, what girl would want you? You're a loser." She spat all that into my ear and took her leave. Tadashi, you can't even understand how embarrassed I am. I'm never going back to school again." he says, burying his face in his arms.
"Whoa Hiro. Let's not be irrational here. Take a deep breath. Calm yourself." I say soothingly. He picks his head up and does as I say, though I noticed his face was a fresh sanguine. This was just him telling the story. I can't begin to imagine what it must've been like to actually have been there in that situation.
"Say whatever wise wisdom you want Tadashi. But nothing you say will make me go to school EVER again." he says stubbornly. "So you want to be a 13 year old high school dropout?" I ask sarcastically. He looks at me expressionless.
"Of course not. After that happened, I asked to be tested out of 11th grade and they agreed. I took the test and aced it. Then I asked to be tested out of 12th grade and they were shocked, but they agreed again. I got a 100 on it and they let me graduate privately on my request. Here's my diploma." He says, tossing me a piece of crumbled paper that he pulls out from under his bed. I widen my eyes. "Unbelievable." I say, looking over the paper.
I clench my fists and glare angrily at nothing in particular. How DARE that girl make Hiro feel this worthless? The kid just GRAUATED and he doesn't even seem to care. I wanna knock some sense into this chick, but I know I can't hit a girl, no matter what she did. It's unethical. Hiro seems concerned at my current state because he comments on it.
"Tadashi? I'm sorry okay. I promise not to graduate without permission again." he offers meekly. Despite the hot atmosphere in my head, I laugh at his comment, causing him to smile. "Okay bonehead, let's get back at this Penelope." I say, a plan already in my head.
"Uh, Tadashi, we can't hit girls." Hiro reminds me. "I know I know, but we can always find other ways to get payback." I say suggestively. Hiro looks me up and down.
"Tadashi? Devious? And talking about revenge? You okay bro?" he asks me. I blush slightly and cross my arms, something I always did to make myself seem superior to him. "Whatever, you in or what?" I ask. Hiro nods. "Absolutely." He says eagerly. "Then let's go." I say, heading outside.
I noticed Hiro wasn't following me. "Hiro?" I call. "Tadashi, I can't. I j-just can't show my face in front of them anymore. Especially Penelope." He says, ashamed. "C'mon Hiro. You're going to have to face this sooner or later." I say. "I pick later." Hiro says. "Come on Hiro." I say, trying to egg him out of the room.
"Dashi please! You don't understand. They're all just going to laugh and make fun of Me." he says, pleading me not to make him leave. I'm about to keep convincing him when I see true fear in his eyes. I hold back my lecture and sigh. Poor kid. He had to pull the puppy face for this. It must be serious.
"Alright. I won't make you." I say after a while. Hiro's face significantly brightens up and I smile at that.
"But I'm not going to sit here and not make things right. I'm giving that Penelope a taste of her own medicine." I say, rushing out the door before Hiro can process my sentence.
Hiro's POV
Did Tadashi seriously just leave me here all alone? In my time of need? To confront Penelope? I can't believe it and I most definitely can't just sit here and not do anything about it. I get off of my bed and wash my face, in a sad attempt to wash away the embarrassment. It didn't really work, but I felt a tad bit better that Tadashi knew. The feeling faded instantly when I remembered that Tadashi was gonna do something stupid and probably get himself into trouble. The guy didn't know the first thing about revenge. In fact, he would rarely ever hurt a fly, so he must've been pretty miffed.
I grab my favorite hoodie and cover my face with it, hoping not to be identified, and head to school yard, where the cheer leaders practiced. I see Tadashi talking to one of the cheer leaders, Zoey. She nods at whatever Tadashi's saying, mesmerized by him. Then she points at Penelope and winks at him. I groan in disgust. Why are girls so much into older guys anyways?
I see Tadashi approach Penelope with a less than happy expression. She notices Tadashi's presence and smiles brightly, holding her hand out for him to shake, which he rejects.
I don't know what compelled me to, but I rushed to stop him. "Tadashi NO!" I yell. He looks at me and I'm grateful that he realizes that I'm trying to hide who I am.
"What are you doing?" he asks me. "Don't Tadashi. It's not worth it." I say. He looks at me in disbelief. Penelope looks at me and swishes her ponytail around. "Hiro? Hiro Hamada? Is that you? Don't try to hide." She says snottily.
I reluctantly take the hoodie off of my face and look at her, intimidated. She rolls her eyes at me. "God Hiro, let it go. I was never interested in you and I never will be, so beat it." She says rudely. I gulp and step back, unable to retaliate; but that doesn't stop Tadashi.
"I wanna know. What or who gave you the right to speak to my brother like that." He demands. I mentally face palm myself. Tadashi's just making it worse.
"Wow Hiro. You actually told your brother to fight this battle for you? I knew you were wimpy, but this is just pathetic." She says, putting a pompom to her cheek.
"Shut up Penelope. Just because you're nowhere near pretty enough to get a decent guy, doesn't mean you're allowed to torment my brother like that." Tadashi says warningly. Penelope clearly feels like she's got the upper hand because of how she retaliates. I just fall back, wishing deeply that I had the ability to make myself disappear.
Normal POV
Penelope stood her ground. "Okay Hamada. Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're older than Me." she says. Tadashi glares at her. "I don't care if you're afraid of me or not. You owe my brother a major apology." He demands, causing Hiro to feel even more embarrassed. "Make me." she says challengingly. Tadashi smirks. "Alright then." He says, indicating that he accepted the challenge. By now, a crowd of jocks, cheer leaders, track kids, swimmers, and even nerds had assembled toward the commotion, waiting to see what would happen.
"What are you going to do? Read all the numbers of pi until I die of boredom?" she asks tauntingly. Tadashi shakes his head, an amused look taking over his face.
"Tell me Penelope, how old are you?" he asks calmly.
"Fourteen, though I don't care about our age difference. I won't be scared or tormented by a nerd Hamada."
"Fourteen. How many boyfriends have you had?"
"Okay, why are you all up in my personal life?"
"You said to make you quit disrespecting my brother. This is how I'm doing it."
"That information is irrelevant." She said with an eye roll.
"Sounds like someone's afraid to admit it. Ashamed?"
"Psh, as if. I've had 12. Big whoop. Happy?"
"I see. And you're how old again?"
"14." She said, annoyed at repeating it.
"Tell me Penelope, are you currently in a relationship?"
"I honestly don't understand where this is going, but yeah." Penelope responded, looking and sounding bored.
"What's his name?"
"Todd."
"Senior?"
"Yes."
Tadashi smiled, Penelope still looked thoroughly confused and irritated.
"Is Bobby your ex?"
"Yes."
"One last question." Tadashi said, looking satisfied. Hiro looked like he was going to hurl.
"No. I have a question for you hot shot. Why does any of this matter?"
"You'll see. Now, I heard from a very reliable source that you're no longer a virgin. In fact, you cheated on Bobby while you both were together and now, you claim to be dating Todd, but that same source confirmed that you are secretly with Bobby as well."
Penelope's eyes widened. The entire crowd around them "Ooooooooohed." The blonde cheerleader glared harshly at Tadashi.
"You had no right to invade my personal life like that!" she hissed. Tadashi shrugged. "YOU had no right to disrespect and hurt my brother like you did, but you didn't give a crap. My behavior is entirely justifiable. All the kids looked at Penelope in disbelief.
"You were the one who uploaded that video of Hamada's bro? That's low Penelope." One bystander said.
"Really Penelope? You must be an only child. Thinking the world revolves around you. News flash, no one likes you." Another added.
"Penelope? You CHEATED on me?!" Bobby asked, furious. He stomped over to where Tadashi and Penelope were standing, Hiro hidden behind Tadashi.
Penelope looked like she shrunk three inches. Fear etched clearly on her face. "B-Bobby, it was like a year ago. Let it go." She said nervously. Bobby looked even angrier at her pathetic sentence. "You're such a whore. And a bitch. How do you even look at yourself?" he asked, walking away, leaving Penelope's mouth wide open in shock. As if things couldn't get much worse for the blonde, Todd came into the scene.
"Penelope. This is just pathetic. How many times do I have to tell you you're not my girlfriend? I never liked you and I never will. Just because I don't feel anything for you doesn't mean you can go leading poor innocent people like Hiro on like that. I let you down easy. Too bad stupid freshman have to go and create drama all the time." He said, shaking his head and fleeing the scene once more.
Penelope began crying, but no one cared enough to comfort her. She clearly deserved it. Tadashi met her gaze. She looked broken.
"Listen Penelope, I am one to give second chances. If you simply apologized to Hiro instead of acting like you own the world and can freely torment people, then I wouldn't have publicly embarrassed you like that. Too bad you didn't. You're just too self-centered. It finally just came back to you though. I think you have something to say to my brother, don't you?" Tadashi asked.
Penelope sniffled. "Hiro, I'm so sorry. I really and truly am. If I knew this is what it felt like…I just… I'm so sorry Hiro. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I'd be eternally grateful if you found I in your heart to forgive me someday. I can't even express how sorry I am. That was a major bitchy thing to do. You're so lucky to have a brother like Tadashi who cared enough to do all this for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got issues to sort out." She said, taking her leave.
Hiro piped out from behind Tadashi and shuffled his feet nervously.
"Uh, hey Tadashi listen, I uh, really appreciate that. So uh, you know- "It's okay Hiro. I know how hard it is for you to say thank you." Tadashi says teasingly. Hiro nudged Tadashi in the shoulder.
They began to walk home together. "Hey Tadashi, how did you know all that stuff about Penelope?" he asked, confused. "Well, let's just say Todd and I go way back." Tadashi said with a smile. Hiro looked around nervously before looking up at Tadashi with a determined look.
"Thank you Tadashi. So much. I can't believe you did that for me. Actually I can, but that doesn't change the fact that it was awesome. I know I don't mention or show it enough, but I really appreciate you Tadashi. You're the best big brother/father figure a guy could probably have." He said quickly. Tadashi rose an eyebrow.
"Hey, maybe you should get led on by girls more often. I don't mind these speeches." Tadashi said playfully. Hiro rolled his eyes, but smiled.
"Thanks again Tadashi." He said appreciatively. Tadashi ruffled Hiro's hair, causing the younger Hamada to pull back. "Anytime little bro. always and forever." He promised, grabbing Hiro's hand. Hiro obliged to this action and they walked back to the café, smiling.
Done and done. Don't forget to leave a review. Mention anything I could've done better. I wanted to know if anyone thought that I changed the characters' personalities too much for the worse. Anything you think I should change or make better, please let me know. And of course as always, positive comments make my day, so review away!
Girl you wouldn't expect