Abortive [uh-bawr-tiv]

adjective

failing to succeed; unsuccessful: an abortive rebellion; an abortive scheme.

Bree mindlessly picked at the food in front of her, not actually putting the fork in her mouth, but instead picking up the mash potatoes that sat on her lunch tray and allowing them to drip back down.

"Aren't you a little old to be playing with your food?" Chase asked mockingly watching his sister continuously swirl the white substance. She looked up at him making an undignified face but not bothering to respond to him.

"Aren't you a little old to be this short?" Adam asked Chase not being able to resist making a joke about his brother's height.

"Ha. Ha." Chase laughed sarcastically rolling his eyes. "I haven't heard that one before." Adam shrugged and went back to his food.

The three then fell into silence, Adam scarfing down food at a speed that even made Bree dizzy, Bree moving her food from one side of her tray to the other and Chase staring at his two siblings while cautiously eating his lunch.

Chase zeroed in on Bree, noticing how her eyes looked like a dull brown instead of their normal cheerful color and how her cheeks where sunken in, giving her a sickly look. She was paler than usual and her mouth seemed to be pressed into a permeant frown.

"Bree," Chase started, trying to find the words he was looking for. "Why aren't you eating?" He asked, deciding on the direct method.

"What are you my mother?" Bree asked harshly, glaring at Chase.

"No, I'm your brother which is why I am concerned by your behavior." Chase retorted, not even fazed by Bree's hostility.

"I'm not hungry." She told him, dropping her fork onto the blue tray and folding her arms in front of her chest.

"What is up with you lately?" Chase asked incredulously as he took in his sister's tone. "You're always snippy and short with Adam and I, you never want to do anything with us anymore and when we do do something together you practically never say anything and barely look at us! You're whole pre-Madonna routine is getting old Bree." He snaps at her and she fixes him with a cold glare.

"Fine, if it's getting so 'old' to hang out with me then I'm just going to leave." Bree told him, clearly fuming with anger. She stood up, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and picking up her lunch tray. She walked to the trashcan dumping the untouched meal into it and placing the tray on the self. Sparring no glance towards her brothers she stormed out of the cafeteria.

Leo approached the table cautiously carrying his own lunch as he watched Bree walk away from the table. "What's with her?" he asked, his voice a mix of concern and confusion.

"Oh, Chase called her a pre-Madonna and she got mad." Adam filled Leo in, not even looking up from his lunch.

"She's acting weird! I'm just worried about her!" Chase defended himself as Leo sighed and sat down next to Chase.

"Chase, my dear dear friend, you never ever confront a woman when she's acting weird. That's how you get in trouble. She'll get over it, trust me." Leo advised Chase, speaking as though he held the wisdom of the entire world in his head.

"That's just it, I did ignore it! I ignored it for weeks and it still hasn't gotten any better, I think there's something wrong with Bree." Chase confessed, his words laced with concern.

"I think I would know if there was something wrong with my little sister." Adam told Chase cockily finally fully invested in the conversation. His comments earned him looks of 'Oh really?' from both his brothers. "Okay fine, you're probably right." Adam gave in after a moment's pause.

"Well I think one of us should go talk to her." Chase suggested and then immediately both his and Leo's eyes fixed on Adam.

"Why me?" Adam asked disbelievingly.

"Because she's mad at me and Leo's . . . Leo." Chase explained easily.

"Normally I'd be offended by that but since it's working for me right now I'll go ahead and go with it." Leo shrugged and then he looked expectantly at Adam.

"Ugh. Fine. But when she yells at me I'm going to blame you two." Adam agreed and pushed himself away from the table, exiting the lunchroom as well.

He walked into the hallway looking for his sister but found no sign of her. He shuffled around for a little longer, about to give up when he heard a muffled sound of crying coming from the near-by janitors closet. He cautiously walked to the door and opened it, revealing the crumpled form of Bree sobbing in a curled up ball.

Adam's usually goofy demeanor slid right off his face as he knelt down in front of his baby sister. "Bree?" He asked softly, gently placing his hand on Bree's shoulder. The girl shied away from his touch, reverting even more into her ball.

"Go away Adam." A muffled command came from the girl but Adam didn't budge. He gently pried the girls arms away from her face so he could see her. When he did it was like he was seeing her for the first time in months.

The girl in front of him was nothing like the Bree he knew. She was thin, way too thin to be healthy and her skin had lost all its color. Guilt racked his body as he folded his sister into his arms, only tightening his grip when she struggled to get out of it. He stroked her hair whispering soothing words as he rocked them back and forth. How could he not have noticed? His little sister was withering away and he had no idea.

Her cries and struggles had died down as she finally calmed down. When Adam decided she was calm enough he pulled away, only slightly, so he could talk to her.

"What's going on Bree?" He asked and there was no accusation in his voice.

"Nothing." She replied stubbornly wiping her nose on the back of her hand trying to regain her composure.

"Don't lie to me Bree. Why do you look so sick? And why are you so sad?" He asked, his voice filled with worry.

Bree's lower lip quivered and her tears threatened to return. "I hate me!" She finally blurted out after a moment of hesitation. She pressed herself to Adam's chest, as if she was trying to make herself disappear and continued to blubber out words. "I hate myself! I can't look at myself in the mirror anymore because all I see is some fat loser! I can't stand being around anyone because all I can't think about is how much I don't deserve to be around them. I'm stupid! I'm not smart like Chase! And I'm not strong like you! I'm weak! I shouldn't let my feeling come in the way of missions but I do! I'm just . . . I'm just useless." She finishes, seeming to have tired herself out.

Adam sat in shock of everything he had just heard. He didn't know how to respond to any of it. Chase was the one who was good with words, not him. He was just the brute strength behind the trio. He sat there dumb-founded for a minute before finally shifted himself to move. He pried Bree off of his chest. "Bree, you're not useless. You're the speed behind the team. We're hustle and bustle remember? So what if you're not as smart as Chase? Who is? The boy's a computer practically. I bet Chase can't run all the way around the world in ten seconds. And all my strengthen is good for is breaking things and believe me after a while breaking things gets old. You keep our team together. No way that's useless. We'd be nothing without you Bree." Adam told her, sincerity in every word. He hugged his little sister so tightly he was surprised she didn't break in half. "I love you Breezy." He whispered.

"I love you too."

AN: I hope you all enjoyed that one-shot! If you have any suggestions for future one-shots let me know! The next letter is B, so tell me what B should stand for! Thanks for reading and please review!

~ Grace