"I'm not sure I can do this, Al." James sighed and fisted his hands in his hair. His thoughts were racing and he had a sudden tidal wave of guilt going through him. "This is going to hurt her way more than anything else would."
"So?" Allen asked, yawning and eyeing his brother questioningly. "What's the big deal?"
The blond sent his brother a death glare, which unfortunately, had no effect. "What do you mean 'what's the big deal?' Despite what you and everyone else in this family seems to think, I actually do care about her. How am I supposed to go through with this?"
Allen rolled his eyes, propping his sunglasses higher up on his head when they started slipping. "God, now I know what you meant when you said you thought you were getting in too deep. You're going soft, bro."
"I am not going soft." James snapped, his eyes narrowing. "I'm just thinking about someone other than myself for a change."
"Is there a difference? Come on, bro, just admit it, you've gone soft. When was the last time you cut your hair?"
James' annoyance spiked yet again. "What does my hair have to do this? Besides, I like it long."
"I'll bet." Allen smirked, mostly teasing. Truthfully, he was only trying to get a reaction out of his brother and get him to stop obsessing over this one girl. "Long girly hair's the badge of a sissy, ain't it? I won't judge if you don't want to be a real man."
"What makes you a real man, tofu-burger?" James asked coldly, his attention momentarily drawn to his brother in the worst of ways. "Is it the way you pick fights with guys twice your size? I bet it feels real manly getting your teeth knocked loose every week."
"Oh, yeah, you don't like fighting, do ya?" Allen snapped. He may have been teasing before, but now he was done. "You're just a big flower picking coward."
"I'd rather be a coward than a bully." James hissed, crossing his arms. "Rather that than someone who needs to tear others down to just make himself feel… well big."
"Did you just call me short?"
"Well, I didn't call you fun sized, did I?"
Allen was shaking and looked to be trying very hard to restrain himself. "Let's go. Right now. You and me- I'll make you swallow your bloody teeth-"
"Boys!"
Both men jumped at the thunderous voice and stared at Oliver in shock as he boldly stepped between them. His usually happy, yet slightly demented expression was gone, replaced by one of absolute fury. "Enough of this! What in the world is wrong with you two? Allen F. Jones, are you really picking another fight? Have you missed jail so much that you want to go again?" He bellowed, and Allen cowered against the wrath of his normally quiet, peppy father. "And James Williams-" Oliver whirled to face James, who backed up so fast he bumped into a table. "I cannot believe the cruel words I heard come out of your mouth! The two of you ought to be ashamed! Why are you acting this way? Can the two of you really not get along for thirty lousy minutes?" Oliver glared hard at the two men, both of whom currently resembled cornered rabbits, peering at him meekly. He turned and walked back up the stairs, muttering to himself the entire journey. He sat down next to Francois on the couch, swallowing uncomfortably. He didn't usually have to yell at the boys, so when he did, it made his throat sore extremely quickly. "If one or both of them has to go to the hospital again, you're taking them." He told Francois, who simply grunted in reply. Shouts and thuds drifted up from the basement a few minutes later, but both adults tried to ignore the obvious signs of their sons fighting. There came a particularly loud thud and suddenly, footsteps pounded up the stairs, followed close behind by faster, rushed ones.
The door burst open, revealing James with blood running down his chin. He stormed towards the front door, Allen following at his heels, holding a hand over what appeared to be a black eye. "I'm telling you, man, just-" The door slammed in his face and he scowled, turning and going up to his room. Oliver sighed. "Just a normal day." Francois ignored them all and continued reading his book.
Time skip
"How did you get your nose broken again?" Maddy asked, gently wiping away some blood with a damp washcloth.
James flinched anyway, despite how gentle she was being, his face was sensitive. "Allen and I got in a fight."
Her expression didn't change but her eyes shone with a new light, something he couldn't identify. "Seriously?" She sounded like a disapproving mother. She wiped away the last of the blood and carefully grabbed his nose. "Ready?"
He nodded and she quickly pulled, his nose snapping back into place. He jerked away from her, shielding the upper half of his face with a hand. "Ow.." She smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry." He waved a hand at her, hoping it conveyed to her that it wasn't her fault. "What were you and Allen fighting about anyway?" James turned back to her, but refused to look at her. "Allen called me a sissy. He thinks I'm going soft or something."
She snorted, trying to cover the laugh by coughing. She failed miserably, finally breaking down into a fit of giggles. James watched her, an unamused expression aimed at her. "I'm glad you find my brothers insults and my misery amusing."
"I'm sorry." She said, between breaths. The giggling continued. "I just- He thinks you've gone soft?" She erupted into a new wave of laughter. James rolled his eyes and sighed, his eyes narrowing at her in annoyance. After a few minutes, she cleared her throat and looked back at him, but he could tell she was struggling not to laugh again. He rolled his eyes yet again and raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you done?" She nodded, though she looked like she was struggling not to smile. The corners of her mouth kept twitching. He got up and went to the shelves on the wall, surveying her movie collection. He pulled a case off the shelf and held it up, sending her a questioning look. "You like The Walking Dead?"
She nodded, jumping up and coming to stand next to him. "Mhm. Brittany never really got into any zombie shows because she didn't really like them, but I think they're interesting."
He raised an eyebrow at her again, his expression skeptical. "You enjoy watching people getting torn apart and devoured while they're still alive by flesh eating monsters?"
She rolled her eyes, as if he'd just said both the stupidest and most offensive thing in the world. "Actually, Walking Dead focuses more on the people and what they'd be like in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse, not the zombies."
"Then what's the point? If I'm watching a zombie show, I want there to be zombies."
She tapped her temple. "Psychologist, remember? I enjoy watching people fall apart. Besides, there are zombies in the show, they're just not made out to be unstoppable and dumb, like most zombie shows. I mean, they are depicted as slow idiotic creatures, but honestly, if the zombie apocalypse were to actually happen, I'd be more worried about the people. Competition for resources leads to disaster."
"True." He mused, putting the case back in its place on the shelf before looking at the other choices. X-men, Deadpool, Suicide Squad, Batman? "You're a fan of comics?"
She blushed, but nodded. "I don't like to talk about it. I've never gotten good responses from people about it, so I try not to bring it up."
"Ah." He moved down the shelf again, stopping at three movies that seemed out of place. "Romeo and Juliet? Phantom of the Opera? Titanic? Seriously?"
"Shut up. I like a few girlier movies, okay?"
He chuckled, plucked a case out of the line and moved away from the movie shelf. He sat down and turned the DVD player on, carefully avoiding her questioning stare. "There." He leaned back, smiling despite himself. "What did you do? Did you mess up my DVD player?" He scoffed at her. "No. I turned it on and put a movie in." She sat in the papasan chair at the other end of the couch. "Which one did you pick?"
He shrugged, feigning indifference. As the theme for Phantom of the Opera started, he smirked as she stared at him in shock. He sent her an innocent look. "What? From what I've heard, you do your own little 'reviews' on movies when you're watching them. I'm interested to hear a few."
She rolled her eyes, despite the fact that she was slightly freaked out that he knew that. The last person to comment on that habit of hers had been Brittany twenty years ago. "Well, aren't you just the perfect stalker?" She muttered, ignoring his snicker. He started the movie and it wasn't long before her oldest annoyance with the movie reared up. "What does she even see in Raoul? The phantom's not a bad guy, he's just... a bit obsessive."
"Christine and Raoul have known each other since they were kids."
"So? I met and got to know Brittany at a fairly young age. That doesn't mean I ever wanted to marry her."
James frowned. "I don't think that's quite the same scenario."
She rolled her eyes. "No, I know it's not, I'm just saying."
"What, you never wanted to marry any of the guys you knew as a kid?"
She scoffed. "No, they were all jerks."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Why are any people the way they are?"
"Maybe they liked you. Didn't your parents ever tell you that boys pick on girls they like?"
"I've never believed that."
"Interesting." He mumbled, paying attention to the movie again. About two thirds of the way through the movie, they were both struggling to engage in it anymore. "I forgot how long this movie is."
"I think I've actually sat down and watched it the whole way through once." She agreed, rubbing her eyes. "Honestly, I don't really like Christine or Raoul." She got up and walked out of the room, coming back a few minutes later with a glass of water. James checked the time and cringed. "I'd better get home before Allen freaks out and thinks I bled out or something." He got up and she followed him to the door. "See ya, beauty." She rolled her eyes. "Good night, James." He drove home, enjoying the night air and the silence. When he walked into the house however, he was immediately bombarded with accusing stares. "Where have you been?" Oliver asked. James shrugged. "Out."
"Out seducing the love of your life?" Allen asked, holding an ice pack to his eye. Seems like that should've healed by now.
The blond rolled his eyes. "She's not the love of my life. And no, I wasn't trying to seduce her. We just watched a movie. Good night." He turned and walked up the stairs before anymore comments could be made. His phone beeped and he pulled it out. You left your jacket here.
He sighed and flopped onto his bed. I'll come by and pick it up tomorrow.
silverfang493: I feel like a stalker, asking you all these questions about what movies/books/tv shows you like, but it's really just so I can portray your character correctly. Sorry.