Notes: Same old I own nothing, reveiws are great, enjoy!

Everyone seemed to think of the blacks causing all the trouble in this city, the hustlers, pimps, gangstas'. No one ever thought much about the white boys that came downtown into the police station. The worst they would do is hold up a liquor store or brake into a car maybe beat their wife. Petty stuff like that was all they were capable of, no one thought much about them.

They could be something more of a problem though at times and much scarier. The white man held the power over this whole country, but in Detroit the black man ruled over the white man with a sort of bitter resentment at times. To be white in this part of town you had to be something tougher, something a little more unpredictable and crazier to make a hustler want to have a step away from you in the other direction.

The Mercer brother's seemed to master this art, they had to or they would be sitting ducks were they lived. Bobby was the oldest and the scariest out of all four of them, very quick to pull a gun and quicker to stare back into the eye of anyone no matter who they were. When the youngest joined the family, he was pretty much a bundle of nerves but was hardened by the storms of his life.

Bobby taught Jack almost everything he knew, or as much as he could seeing he was always in and out of jail. Jack still appeared to be nothing more then a push over of a white boy who dressed funny and listened to loud music. You soon learned though he could hold a gun, and didn't hold much remorse or empathy. Maybe that's what gave him the edge, no one ever showed him mercy; empathy is taught you see.

Jack was eighteen this year, an adult that could be tried as an adult and go to adult jail. This birthday thrilled most any cop that had busted him in the past, their fingers itching to throw hand cuffs on the boy that all these years spit in their faces, stomped on there shins to escape being arrested, broke their car windows when he was high with his friends just for the hell of it. Yeh, every cop watched him now just waiting for him to fuck up, which wouldn't take long.

His friends were as much trouble as he was on the streets; they were punks and junkies nothing more. They traveled like a gang but had no use for organized crime or making a name amongst the others on the street. They just wanted to ruin everything for no apparent reason, lots of time motivated by drugs they were on.

Jack had tagged along with these people since he was fifteen, but only recently had his life style began to take a visible toll on him. The coloring around his eyes was forever dark, and his body was a very skinny 150 pounds for someone who was six feet tall. Maybe he could hide his weight loss if he didn't wear his pants and shirts so tight. He was always in a daze that was hard to pick up on seeing as he was quiet a lot.

His brothers saw the change but it bothered Bobby the most watching his youngest brother waist away. Now and then Bobby would try to talk to him but Jack had the ability to put up a wall that no one could get threw if he truly wanted that.

"Jackie…hold on a minute." Bobby said one afternoon as his brother passed him by; he took hold of jack by his uper arm his whole hand going around the skinny limb. Jack turned his head looking at Bobby waiting to see what he had to say but for a moment Bobby forgot and just looked at his brother.

He wore tight black jeans Bobby knew they were the ones with the rip in the ass, because he'd always poke the hole with one of mom's knitting needles saying how much Jack loved it. Some stupid punk band t-shirt with a homemade silk screen on the chest that was washing off and fraying at the ends falling apart with a white long underwear shirt underneath it.

"Look at you." Was all Bobby could say, Jack gave him a dirty look pulling his arm away.

"Fuck yourself Bobby." Jack hissed walking off expecting the conversation to lead into the 'you're a huge fag look how you dress.' deal

"Hey! You fucking little stink! Get back over here!" Bobby shouted grabbing hold of Jack by his studded belt yanking him back.

"Look at me? Get the fuck out of here with your crap Bobby I don't want to hear it today!" Jack shouted back over Bobby's ranting as he shoved Bobbt against the wall.

Bobby shoved him back and they began to throw punches at each other tumbling in the hallway.

"You two knock it off!" Jerry shouted over them stepping into the hallway, tired of his things falling off the shelves in his bedroom from them knocking around the whole house.

"Bobby! Bobby stop it he can't breathe! The winds knocked out him!" Jerry dragged his baby brother out of the knot of fist and kicks he and Bobby made on the floor. Jack was pulled away gasping for air none the less he managed to throw one last kick at Bobby's head.

"Lay off him! Let him get his breath!" Jerry snapped at his big brother, warning him to stay where he was.

It took a moment to get air back into his lungs the whole while his eyes were wide and he was making a whimper in the back of his throat as he held onto his chest. Bobby watched him act like this reminding him of a time when one of Jack's ugly friends ran across town to find Bobby to pick Jack up. He had taken something and whatever it was, was bad Bobby found him curled up in the corner at some sketchy apartment doing that same having trouble breathing face, his body shaking. Bobby hated that day it was terrifying.

When Bobby came out of his little flashback Jerry was shutting Jack's bedroom door saying something to Jack who was inside as he did so.

"Jerry, don't act like you don't see what's happening to him." Bobby said in a softer voice to keep away from listening ears.

Their mother was at the store but Bobby didn't want Jack to hear.

"I know man, shit we all know…mom can't get threw to him though… he's at his wits ends I think." Jerry said as he jester for Bobby to come talk in his bedroom with him, Bobby shut Jerry's door behind them making a face as he did so.

"From what?" He stupidly asked, Jerry gave him a look saying it was a stupid question.

"You know all that shit that goes on in that kids head, you can just watch the gears turning as he stares out into space." Jerry said as if it was obvious,

Bobby sighed thinking about when they were little, how Jack would just come to him if he were upset. He would never say what upset him but he just wanted to be around someone he felt safe with. He did it once in a great while now days but not like before, and it wasn't because Jack had less worries.

"I just…I just watch him move around this house with this dead look on his face now…I watch him pick his food and not eat any of it…I watch his ugly friends on the streets doing junk-"

"He can't keep up this lifestyle for much longer Bobby, he's coming to his breaking point." Jerry said, it was meant to make Bobby feel better but it only made the both of them feel worse.