"It's gonna take some time to realign, but if you look inside I'm sure you'll find over your shoulder you know that I told you I'll always be picking you up when you're down, so just turn around."

"Yeah, take that, you big monkey!" Josh exclaimed. His eyes were glued to the television screen and his fingers moved speedily across the game controller. He was jabbing at buttons and shoving the joystick in all different directions as he continued to loudly insult the cartoon characters. The hyper teen was practically bouncing on the edge of his seat.

Drake was, like in most things, the exact opposite of Josh. He was laying sideways in the recliner, relaxing with his feet dangling over one arm and his back pressed against the other. He occasionally glanced to check Josh's progress in his game since there was nothing better to do. In between doing this, he took bites of his super sugary cereal. The bowl rested in his lap.

"Ha!" the gamer exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I won! What did I tell you?! You can't defeat The Joshy!" He looked over at his step-brother as if he had been talking to him the entire time he'd been playing. He did this a lot actually. He was so video game-obsessed that he would completely forget about everyone and everything else and focus only on the little thirty-two inch pixelated world in front of him, but in between each level, he would rejoin everyone in reality and converse with them as if he'd never even left.

Drake gave him a slight nod to acknowledge him, but for the most part, he pretty much ignored his goofy celebration. His attention was on the last bite of his cereal. He used his spoon to fish around for the tiny o-shaped pieces and scooped up the leftover few.

Seeing that Drake really didn't care about how great he was at video games, Josh sat back down. His sugar-fiend step-sibling huffed after swallowing his last bite. His stomach was so full that he was too lazy to reach all the way towards the coffee table, so he just set the bowl on the floor. It was still half-filled with milk, Josh noticed. Something very few people knew about his popular older brother was that he was lactose intolerant. He even had to take supplements for it before eating a dairy-included meal. Drake kept that on the down-low as if having stomach issues was uncool and would ruin his reputation somehow. Maybe it would. High school's cruel. Josh knew this from experience. He watched his roommate rest his hand on his stomach, probably already regretting his snack choice.

"Why do you eat cereal if you know it's gonna give you stomach cramps?" He's asked this before. He's asked this just about every time Drake's eaten something that he probably shouldn't have. The answer was always the same, but it still didn't make sense to him.

"Because I love cereal," he said, then he added, "and it's fend-for-yourself night."

Walter had a business dinner to go to with his boss and his boss' wife right after work and Audrey had to meet him there. Josh faintly remembered his step-mother coming downstairs in a frazzled rush, complaining about being late and saying something about Megan before hurrying out the door. He really hadn't been paying much attention because of his video game.

A lot of times when both were going to be away for dinner, Audrey would make something beforehand or order a pizza. Today, she'd been running so behind that she didn't have the time to cook. After checking her wallet, she saw that she had no cash on her for a pizza and she didn't trust Drake with her debit card after a previous incident. Therefore, it was fend-for-yourself night. Drake could've waited for his step-brother to cook something nice, but when Josh was playing video games, he could go for hours and not even feel hungry. Therefore, the lactose intolerant teen's impatience led him to make something quick and easy. It'll probably come back to bite him in the butt later.

Josh popped his aching fingers, then picked up the game controller again. He moved on to the next level and was just waiting on the loading screen when all the lights flickered. He had a mini panic attack then — not because of them almost losing power and forcing them to be left home alone in the dark, but because he forgot to save his progress to the memory card and feared having to restart from his last save point, which was over an hour ago. Luckily, the lights stopped flickering and his game was just fine. The second the level started, he pressed pause and clicked save. As he waited, he realized that it was storming outside and that's what had caused the power surge. Somehow, he hadn't noticed this before, even with all the thunder.

"Wow, it's pouring pretty hard," he said, then he glanced at his brother to see if he'd just taken notice of the storm now, too. Because of Drake's indifferent facial expression, he couldn't really tell. It was hard to get a read on him sometimes. He felt like the boy seemed a little bit distant and thought that maybe something was up. After all, it didn't make sense for Mr. Cool to be sitting at home with his dork of a step-brother on a Saturday night rather than out on a date with some hot girl whose name he wouldn't even remember tomorrow. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm," he answered, his dinner making him so tired that he didn't even want to open his mouth. He probably shouldn't have poured himself so much cereal, especially after eating a late afternoon snack earlier.

"You sure?"

Finally, Drake met his eyes. "I'm fine, Josh. Press play."

Josh did. Again, he got super into the game — so much so that he didn't realize Drake wasn't paying too much attention. The older of the two straightened in his seat, then started to stand, but when he put his feet on the ground, he accidentally knocked over his bowl and milk went everywhere.

"Damn it," he groaned. He hated the feeling of wet socks.

"Language," Josh reminded. Somehow, he managed to hear the young man's swear despite not even noticing the spilled milk or any of his other surroundings.

Drake removed his socks, then went into the kitchen to fetch the roll of paper towels. Usually, he could convince Josh to take care of his messes, but he knew his step-brother was too focused on his video game to be pulled away. Even when Drake came back with the paper towels, he took no notice. He pulled a few off, then soaked up some of the milk. This was going to take a lot of paper towels. The spill stretched out from where he was and covered the floor a few feet away and even got under his chair and the end table next to the couch. He moved his dripping socks out of the way and piled all the drenched, balled-up napkins in his cereal bowl.

When he made it to the end of the trail, he tore off one last towel and wiped up the little dribbles. As he did this, he noticed an umbrella leaning against the arm of the couch. Suddenly, he recalled his mom telling them just before rushing out the door that one of them needed to pick up Megan.

"Josh," he said, but he got no reply. "Josh?"

"Hmm..."

"Are you gonna get Megan?"

Silence.

Irritated, he spoke louder. "Josh?!"

"Gimme a second..."

Drake rolled his eyes. It was hopeless. After cleaning up the mess and putting everything away, he grabbed the umbrella and slipped on his jacket and shoes, then headed outside. It was pitch dark and the only light came from the flashes of distant heat lightning and the street lamps. It was kind of spooky in a way, being out here by himself, but he didn't mind. He could use the peace and quiet after having been cooped up in the house all day with Josh screaming at the tv from sunup to sundown. All he could hear was the patter of the raindrops hitting the ground and it was quite calming.

The temperature was a bit chilly, so he paused to zip up his jacket, then he made his way across the driveway and started down the sidewalk. Although it was cold, there wasn't much wind and he was grateful for that because that would've rendered his umbrella useless.

Eddie's house was on the same road as theirs, but it was a good ten-minute walk. He was hoping to make it in five and get back home before the storm got much closer. He was ready to throw on some pajamas, crawl into bed and call it a night. This would be the first Saturday night since as far back as he could remember where he would be in bed before midnight. Actually, it would be the first Saturday he'd even be home before midnight. This was definitely unusual and he assumed that Josh suspected something was up because of this.

After about four and a half minutes of speed-walking, Drake made it to the bend, which was roughly considered the halfway marker between Eddie's house and the Parker-Nichols home. He rounded the curve and, when the road straightened out again, he saw a silhouetted figure not too far up ahead. Even before she stepped underneath a streetlight, he could immediately tell by the small frame that it was his little sister. She was stomping down the sidewalk, which was another giveaway that it was her. He was used to seeing her stomp around with anger. He always managed to make her mad somehow, even without meaning to. Perhaps, that's why she loved playing pranks on him so much. That was her payback.

Drake glanced at the time on his phone and saw that it was getting close to ten, which was Eddie's bedtime. Despite that, his parents would never have made Megan walk home alone in the pouring rain this late at night. They were probably out and Eddie's older sister was babysitting. She was so annoying. Drake knew this because he had dated her for a very short amount of time. She talked non-stop about herself and never let him get a word in. He knew he was a little bit conceited, too, sometimes, but he'd never gone on a date and hogged the entire conversation before. Plus, she had a horrible taste in music. He tried to break up with her, but he never got the chance to speak up, so on their fourth date, he ghosted. He didn't call, didn't text — nothing. He just didn't show up. She got the hint after that and now she hated his guts. Looking back on it, maybe it wasn't the best way to handle the situation, but listening to her speak was like nails on a chalkboard to him. Anyway, she definitely had to be babysitting tonight because it didn't surprise Drake that she sent Megan home in the rain like this. This wasn't the first time she had taken her anger towards him out on his little sister.

He jogged the rest of the way to meet her and held the umbrella over her head. Now that he was closer, he could see just how furious she was and he knew he'd probably be making up for it later via some horrible prank involving hot sauce or mousetraps or something else incredibly painful.

"You're late," she said, her voice shaking with rage. She wasn't yelling, but she was no-nonsense and it reminded him of the voice their mother used on him when he got in trouble.

"I'm sorry," he said.

The fact that he was apologizing without being forced to by Mrs. Nichols surprised her, but she didn't let up. "I'm a little girl. You were just gonna let me walk home alone this late at night? What if some creep would've grabbed me? Would you even have cared?"

Honestly, he hadn't really thought of that. Well, he did when he saw her walking alone in the dark, but up until that point, the possibility hadn't crossed his mind at all. Now he felt extremely guilty. He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't get the chance.

"Whatever. Let's just go home."

She started walking without him, leaving him standing there like an idiot. After a moment, he quickly caught up to her and held the umbrella over her head again.

"I'm sorry," he tried again. "I wasn't thinking."

"You're just saying that because you know I'm gonna tell Mom and she's gonna ground you. Josh would've remembered to pick me up on time," she threw in his face, comparing him to his sibling like everyone so often did.

This angered him quite a bit, so he responded with, "Actually, I couldn't even convince him to stop playing his video games and come get you, which is why I'm here. Sorry, but your favorite brother couldn't be bothered either."

"Great. I guess no one cares about me then."

These words took Drake by surprise and he immediately felt horrible for being so mean. Obviously, Megan was going through something and he suspected that it had all started with Eddie. He was Megan's best friend since...since they were in diapers practically. They bickered from time to time like close friends do, but it was never serious and Drake had never seen her leave his house so upset.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

She ignored him.

"Did Eddie say something to you?"

"Like you care," she spat. When he grabbed her arm to stop her, she spun around and glared at him, outraged.

"I do care," he said a bit more aggressively than he meant to.

For some reason, the two siblings could never seem to have a normal conversation without it ending in a fight. Maybe it had to do with their age difference or their personality differences or something along those lines. It seemed like they only ever argued with one another. No wonder she was claiming that he didn't care if someone kidnapped her or not.

"Let me go," she demanded, shaking her arm out of his grip. "Don't ever grab me like that."

She continued walking as thunder clapped in the distance. The storm was moving closer and the rain came even harder. Drake stepped in a puddle and kicked up some water, which got in his shoe, making his clean pair of socks wet. He hated wet socks. He looked over at his younger sister to see if she was having just as miserable of a time as he was. Now that the rain came down so aggressively, the umbrella wasn't doing much good at protecting her. He unzipped his jacket and removed it, then held it out to her.

"Here."

"I don't want it," she replied coldly without missing a beat.

"You're gonna get sick."

He got no response. He could tell that she was freezing and the falling droplets weren't helping anything, but she was mad at him and she was stubborn, so she'd rather die of hypothermia than admit that she needed something from him.

"I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. I had no right. Toxic masculinity. I'm sorry."

For a moment, she kept on going like she didn't hear him, but then she took the jacket out of his hand. Still annoyed with him, she mumbled, "Don't worry. You're probably the least masculine guy I know," then she slipped on the outerwear and put the hood over her head.

"Yeah, you're probably right."

She could tell by the sound of his voice that her words had hurt and she felt bad even though she didn't want to. The fact that she felt sympathy for him right now aggravated her, so she spoke a bit harsher than she meant to. "What is wrong with you?"

"I don't know. A lot, I guess."

It wasn't often that Drake wasn't happy. At least, it wasn't often that he didn't portray himself as happy. No one could be that carefree. Sometimes, it had to be an act. Today was clearly one of those days.

"No, I mean what's wrong with you? Like, what's the matter?"

"Oh. Nothing." It hadn't been long since he'd passed on his jacket, but he was already drenched from head to toe like he'd taken a quick dip in a pool. He wrapped an arm around his torso for warmth, but he could only do one because he was holding the umbrella. The walk back seemed to be taking much longer than it had taken him to get there, but Megan's legs were shorter, so he had to move at her pace.

The conversation went stale again and it really bothered Drake. He wanted to be able to have a normal conversation with his sister. He wanted to be able to talk about music and movies and school and friends and normal life without it being weird. Josh was the only one he could really do that with and that was great. It was. He just wanted to be able to connect with the rest of his family. He didn't even speak to his own mother — not about anything of substance. And Walter? The fact that they knew each others' names was an anomaly. He knew he could only blame himself. He came off as independent and self-centered. He acted like he really didn't need anyone because he never wanted to need anyone, but in doing so, he'd pushed everyone away. Really, relying on others, family especially, wasn't something that his peers perceived as cool. Without his coolness, what is he? That's what he's always asked himself. Now it was the opposite. What has his popularity gained for him? Loneliness. Isolation. That's what. He had no real connection to his own family and it was his own fault.

He knew he had to do something about it if he wanted to make a change, but it would be so weird and he wasn't prepared to deal with all that. Would he ever be, though? The longer he lets things go on this way, the harder it'll be to ever fix things. He had to work on things and he could start by being a little honest. Maybe his honesty would even inspire Megan to open up about whatever was bugging her and they could have some kind of moment or connection...or...something. Something real.

He opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped himself. It seemed like so long ago since they had spoken that he felt like it was too late to answer his sister's question. The one time someone finally asked him how he was, albeit callously, and he'd blown it.

No. He wasn't going to let that stop him. He was tired of feeling like a stranger in his own home. It felt more like he lived in a hotel. He didn't know anything about the people he was living with and they didn't know anything about him. Something had to change.

"Dad called," he blurted before he could stop himself.

"What'd he say?"

"The usual: that I need to grow up and get serious, drop the 'silly rock and roll dream' and focus on school. He said I should try to be more like you."

"That would be nice. I definitely would've preferred a sister."

It was when he gave no reply — no reciprocated insult or moody, sarcastic come-back — that she realized maybe he had been trying to be genuine with her. As he clutched the umbrella handle, she noticed his fingers trembling and she didn't think that the cold and rainy weather was the only cause. Drake seemed nervous.

His heart was hurting, but he couldn't give up. This was new territory for the both of them and Megan wasn't used to him expressing vulnerability. Maybe he could get more out of her if he made her the topic of conversation.

"Yeah, sisters are pretty cool," the boy agreed, subtly complimenting her without being too weird or cheesy...he hoped. "I'm sure it'd be much easier to talk to another girl about things. It's nice when you have someone who really seems to understand you, like how I have Josh." That wasn't completely truthful. Sure, he could talk to Josh about most anything, just not what he wanted to talk about now. His step-brother was a great listener and he had sufficient advice, but sometimes, things just require a more feminine touch. "But if you...if you ever, you know...needed to talk...I know I'm probably the last person you'd choose, which is okay. I just..." He felt like he was rambling and stuttering and she probably thought he was stupid. "...I am here...you know? I know I can be a jerk sometimes—"

"Sometimes?" she interrupted. "You mean, like, all the time?"

He was quiet for a moment. He wasn't purposely trying to be a jerk most times, but maybe his fear of showing his emotions left him looking dispassionate and selfish. "Yeah... Sorry..."

This was the fourth apology she had heard come out of his mouth in the last few minutes alone. This was more than he'd ever said to her in his entire life without being forced to by their parents. Something was definitely wrong with him and she felt guilty about shooting him down when he'd first tried to open up. She hadn't just shot him down. She'd completely stomped all over his heart. Her conscience was telling her that she needed to make up for this and the only way she thought she could do this without apologizing herself was by giving him what he'd asked for.

"I just got mad earlier at Eddie's house is all," she said.

"Because his sister made you walk home in the rain?"

"What? No, she told me to stay and she'd drive me home in their parents' car when they got back, but Eddie got on my nerves and I didn't want to be there anymore and I got tired of waiting around to be picked up."

"Did he say something mean?"

"Not really, I guess." She expected him to prod, which would annoy her and thus give her a reason to stop saying all these private things about herself, but he didn't push. "I don't know. It's kinda complicated."

She was only nine and usually when she said, "It's complicated," she would get laughed at and patronized by those who were older, like Josh or Walter or her mother even. They'd always say, "What could possibly be so complicated? You're nine." She expected this same reaction from Drake, but that's not what he said.

"Yeah, I get that."

She couldn't exactly explain what was happening inside of her, but it was nice. She felt respected and treated like an equal even though her brother was nearly seven years older and a foot taller than she was.

"I was in this complicated relationship once," he said.

"Once?" the girl joked and she saw him crack a little smile. The tension was breaking.

"Maybe twice," he joked back. "So," he started before realizing that maybe this was something too personal for him to ask, "is it that kind of complicated? Or like...regular complicated?" He was asking whether or not his little sister had started dating boys and he wasn't sure he was ready for the answer.

"I don't know. Like...it's just complicated."

"I feel you." He let it go because he felt like he and Megan were finally getting along and beginning to build something solid. He didn't want to ruin it by moving too fast and prying into her private life.

She'd never realized before now that she'd never really had a relationship with her brother and, now that he'd made the first move in trying to create one, she wasn't willing to let it crumble. "I told him I like him," she blurted before she could convince herself to shut down.

Drake's facial expression was stoic, but on the inside, he was freaking out. He'd never thought about his little sister dating and having a relationship and kissing before, but now that the thought was in his head, he was hit with a plethora of emotions ranging from anger to worry. All he could think about was himself and how he went through girls faster than Josh went through video games. He never really treated any of his dates with respect. He never blatantly disrespected them either. He just saw them more as...something to do to cure boredom. He didn't want boys to think of Megan that way. She wasn't just some pair of lips to satisfy a craving. She was special.

He didn't let these thoughts out, though, and he actually managed to brush them off pretty quickly. Although she was only ten, he'd started young, too, so he understood what she was going through. He knew it was normal to develop these kinds of feelings and he knew that she hated being looked down upon because of her age, so he spoke to her as an equal.

"What did he say?"

It had taken him so long to speak that Megan had regretted her words. When she heard his voice, though, she heard no judgement or dissatisfaction, so she opened back up.

"He said 'ew' and then he ran out of the room."

He noticed bitterness and embarrassment in her words and he remembered what she'd said earlier about no one liking her. "Megs—"

"Megan," she interrupted.

"Megan," Drake respectfully corrected, "at your age—"

She was already ready to hate whatever he had to say because she knew he was about to call her a kid and kid problems were never taken seriously. However, her brother didn't say anything like this at all.

"—girls mature much faster than boys. Girls start getting curious about make-up and marriage and boys are still seeing who can flick their boogers the furthest and laughing at the word 'poop'. Eddie probably still believes in cooties. That's just his mentality and it has nothing to do with you. Any guy would be lucky to have you. You're beautiful. You're smart. You're funny. You can be kind. I've seen it once or twice."

His joke made her smile and his words made her feel better.

"Just give him a couple more years. Boys are so slow and we're so stupid. Eddie'll catch up eventually."

"Thanks," she said, not only grateful for his advice, but also for the compliments. She really needed them right now because her best friend's 'ew' had made her self-esteem plummet.

"Anytime," he replied. It felt nice to be of some help. Lately, he's been feeling like he only ever messed things up.

As they came up on the house, they saw their mother's car in the driveway. Drake immediately looked over at Megan and saw her soaked and shivering inside his jacket. He was definitely going to get an earful tonight. As if his Saturday couldn't get any worse.

When they got inside, Audrey was standing next to the dining room table. She had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows pointed with anger as she gave Josh her strict parent face. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, clueless and afraid. When they heard the door open, both of their heads turned in that direction and they saw the brother and sister enter.

"Drake Parker!" Mrs. Nichols immediately started before the boy even had the chance to close the door. "Come here right this instant!"

He trudged forwards sluggishly, which was different than his usual arrogant approach to potential punishment, Megan noticed.

"I ask you boys to do one thing — one thing! — and you can't even do it! Look at your sister! She's dripping wet! What, were you too lazy to go get her until you knew I'd be on my way home?!"

Neither teen spoke. Josh had absolutely no idea what was going on. He had no recollection of being asked to do anything.

"Apologize to your sister and get upstairs! Both of you!"

"But!" Josh started, motioning towards the television. "I—"

"Now!"

He groaned like a whiny child, turned off his console, then stood. "Sorry," he said to his step-sister before he started towards the stairs.

"Sorry," Drake said gloomily before following him.

She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but when the oldest sibling apologized yet again, bringing the total to five, Megan felt an uneasiness in her gut. She could sense during the walk home that something had been off about him and she hadn't even bothered to ask — not genuinely. He'd done the hard work by swallowing his pride and expressing, although silently, that he wanted a relationship with her and Drake had even given her good advice and cheered her up. What had she done for him? He was clearly hoping to talk to her about something and she never even gave him the chance.

"Wait," she said and suddenly, all eyes were on her. "It's not their fault."

The only person who looked more surprised than Drake was Josh. Josh was lucky he was being dragged into this by default.

"Drake came to get me before the storm started, but I wouldn't leave with him because..." She scanned the room for help and her eyes landed on her step-brother's gaming console. "—because I was playing this new game with Eddie."

Just like the boys, Audrey was in disbelief as well. Megan was usually doing everything she could to get her older brothers in trouble. Their mother couldn't recall a single time she'd taken the blame for something, especially when it concerned them. Because of this, Audrey didn't believe her story at all. She knew she was just lying for them and she was proven correct when her oldest son spoke up.

"You don't have to cover for us," said Drake. "I forgot about picking her up and was way late getting there," he admitted.

Josh looked at him incredulously. For once in their life, Megan was taking the blame and Drake had to go and ruin it! When did he get a conscience?!

Now this story, Audrey believed, but why would Megan say otherwise? She was trying to keep them from getting in trouble. That was for sure, but what was her reasoning behind this? Maybe something had happened during their walk home. Maybe they'd actually...bonded. This was the only explanation that she could come up with. She was witnessing a miracle. If she forced punishment on them, she could ruin whatever it was that they had started. Drake and Megan hardly spoke to each other, much less got along. Maybe she could let things slide just this once. She sighed.

"Next time I tell you boys to do something, I expect you to do it. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Josh, and his brother repeated him.

"Megan, go on upstairs, hun, and change into something dry. You, too, Drake. Josh, you can grab a towel and clean up this floor."

Josh didn't understand why he had to do it when he hadn't even been responsible for the mess, but he didn't voice these thoughts. He was used to getting stuck with these kinds of jobs anyway. He was just glad that he wasn't grounded and getting his video games taken away.

Audrey slipped out of her uncomfortable black shoes and stretched out her toes as she reached up to unclasp her hoop earring. Before everyone dispersed to follow her orders, she asked, "Megan, did you eat dinner at Eddie's?"

"No."

"Did you boys eat?"

Josh answered no for them.

Their mother moved on to the next earring. "How about I put a pizza in the oven?"

"Ooh! Yes, please!" her step-son said.

"I'm good with that," Megan agreed.

"Drake?" the woman said.

"I'm good. I'm not hungry."

This was rather unusual. Drake was always hungry. Between him and Josh, it was hard to keep groceries in the house. She did recall him eating cereal or something right before she rushed out the door earlier, so that had probably filled him up.

Mrs. Nichols went into the kitchen to preheat the oven, then she headed upstairs to change into something more comfortable. Walter got home not long after and he and his wife headed to bed. Since it was Saturday night, the rest of them could stay up as late as they wanted. Josh, of course, was back at his video games and both his siblings were in their own rooms. If he had to guess, Megan was probably scheming and plotting her next evil prank and Drake was most likely chatting it up with some girl or playing his guitar. That's all the boy's brain capacity was able to hold: girls and music. His brother was a simple guy, really, which could be kind of frustrating when Josh had bigger, more realistic problems than which hot twin he should pick to take on a date or whether he should play "Wonderwall" or "Blackbird" at his gigs. It must be nice to have the entire world bowing at your feet like Drake did. Except their English teacher Mrs. Hayfer. She saw past his charm and popularity. She was the only person in Josh's life who actually preferred him over his much cooler, more attractive older brother and he greatly appreciated this, although Josh didn't think Drake deserved the hate their teacher gave him. Josh wasn't nearly as liked as his roommate, but no one blatantly hated him either, like Mrs. Hayfer hated Drake. Sometimes he wondered what that was like, but then he'd remember who his step-brother was and he realized he probably couldn't care less.

It was probably close to midnight when Megan stopped watching PewDiePie videos on YouTube. She removed her earbuds and grabbed her empty pizza plate and soda can, then headed downstairs. She noticed Josh still freaking out over his video game, although quietly because it was late. The girl rolled her eyes and made her way into the kitchen, where she trashed the empty can and placed her dish into the sink. Afterwards, she began pouring herself a glass of milk and, as she did this, her mind started wandering to her walk home earlier.

She'd been extremely ticked at her brothers for not picking her up when they were supposed to and even more angry with Eddie for being such a dumb boy, but things had turned around before she made it home. It was nice to be able to chat with Drake and get advice from him. Although they lived in the same house, she somehow found herself missing him and his company. It was as if she hadn't known before what she was missing out on. She'd always been content with her lack of connection to her brother and it had seemed normal up until tonight.

The sound the milk made as she poured it changed and she looked down to see that her glass was overflowing and her white drink was spreading out along the counter and dripping down the cabinets. She quickly cleaned up her mess, then leaned over to sip some of the milk until it was at a level in which she wouldn't spill it upon picking it up. She wiped off her glass, then at the last second, she decided to pour a second cup. This time, it went more smoothly. She moved over to the dishwasher and opened the cabinet that hung above it to retrieve two packages of Little Debbie chocolate cakes. She held the plastic between her teeth, then picked up the glasses and carefully made her way upstairs.

It wasn't often that she went to the boys' room — not unless she was setting up some prank or stealing the batteries out of their tv remote so that she could put them into her own or doing whatever she could think of to annoy them. Never had she come bearing gifts — a peace offering — but never had Drake engaged her in an actual conversation either, so there was a first time for everything.

She had to set the cups on the floor in order to get the door open. "You asleep?" she asked.

"Kinda," he said, mimicking tiredness. He was awake, but he wasn't in much of a talking mood, so he wasn't really up for company.

Unsurprisingly, Megan barged right in anyway. She put the packs back in her mouth and picked up the drinks again, then closed the door with her foot before turning back to him. The room was dark save for the soft neon blue glow from a crescent moon light that hung above Josh's nightstand. Drake must've turned it on as an alternative to the constant flickering lights from the television.

With appreciation for that little light and the fact that Josh was such a neat-freak, Megan made it safely to her brother's loft. She set the cups and cakes down, then ascended the ladder. "Move over."

Drake pushed himself up into a sitting position and scooted back so that Megan could sit at the foot of his mattress. "What's up?" he asked with confusion.

"I poured you some milk." She picked up both cups and held one out to him.

"Megan," he started. His voice expressed a lack of energy, but not like a physical fatigue kind of tiredness. Rather, he sounded emotionally exhausted. "I'm really not in the mood for one of your prank—"

"Just shut up and drink it."

Normally, he would give at least a little bit of resistance, but maybe he felt like, after leaving her to walk home alone at night and in the rain, the least he could do was entertain her cruel sense of humor. He tilted the glass over his mouth slightly. The second the liquid touched his lips, he spit it back into the cup. "What the f—?! What is that?!"

"It's milk," she said flatly and, thanks to the electronic moon's blue glow, he could see the dead stare she was giving him.

He licked some of the residing milk from his lips and, sure enough, he found that she was telling the truth. "Oh..." He looked down at his cup, still suspicious. "What, is it, like, loaded with laxatives or something?"

"I was just trying to be a little nice, but you know what?" She uncrossed her legs and started to scoot towards the ladder. "Never mind."

Maybe she didn't really have the right to be mad after all of the mean jokes she'd played on him, but she was. This was new territory for her, too. She commended Drake on being able to swallow his pride and show his vulnerable side earlier because, now that it was her turn, she was realizing just how much humility it took. She wasn't as conceited as her older brother, but Megan was far from humble.

"Wait," Drake said suddenly, stopping her before she grabbed hold of the ladder. "It's — that's really — it was..." He stuttered over his words, which was so unlike him. "...Thanks." To prove his appreciation, he swallowed down some of the milk.

Megan moved back to her place on the mattress and picked up her own drink. "I even used that nasty lactose intolerant milk you're supposed to drink because someone used up all the regular milk."

He didn't mention the ginormous bowl of cereal he'd eaten hours before. "It is pretty bad, isn't it?"

"Now I understand why it always sits in the back of the fridge until it spoils," the girl said. Things seemed to be off to an adequate, albeit slightly rocky, start. "Oh, and I brought snacks." She picked up the Little Debbies and tossed him one, then ripped hers open and took a bite.

"You slobbered all over it," he complained and Megan frowned.

"Fine." Her voice expressed a bit of an attitude, but it was such a normalcy when talking to Drake that it was a hard switch to just flip off. "I'll eat both." She reached for the cake, but the young man pulled his hand back.

"Well, I mean, I'll eat it." He tore open the plastic, wiped his saliva-coated hand off with his comforter, then pulled out the treat and took a bite. He hadn't been all that hungry earlier, but he always had room for sweets. Chocolate and milk made such a good combination. "Thanks," he said. "And thanks for trying to take the heat for me earlier."

"Mom looked pretty shook."

"Not as shook as Josh, though." When he heard his sister laugh, he let out a chuckle, too. "You really got me off the hook, though, for real. Saved me from being grounded for another weekend," he said, then quieter, "Not that I was really planning on going out anyway, but..." He shrugged as he looked down at the half-eaten dessert in his hand. The tone of their conversation was now melancholic. "I'm just tired of people being disappointed in me."

Megan wasn't sure how to respond to that. Her older brother was never this transparent with her and, honestly, she sometimes forgot that he had real feelings. He never seemed bothered by anything, but now she was beginning to wonder if it had all been an act. She wasn't sure where this sudden vulnerability was coming from, but it seemed to have all started because of the phone call he'd had with their father.

"You know what Dad said's not true, right?" she said and Drake seemed taken aback by the mention of him. "You're really good at what you do and I have no doubt that you're gonna make it."

"You might be the only one."

"Hey, Mom believes in you, too," she encouraged, "and so do Josh and Walter. You're the one who's convinced yourself otherwise. You let Dad's words get to you."

"How can I not?"

"I don't."

"He only ever says good things about you, though," the young man replied, his voice hinting at long-hidden jealousy.

"Yeah, but I still ignore it," she said with a shrug. "I really couldn't care less what he thinks. When he cheated on Mom, he cheated on all of us. He's the last person who has the right to judge anything about us."

"I didn't know you felt this way about him." It was kind of unfair that his sister thought so negatively of their father, yet she seemed to get all the love while Drake received only criticism.

"He's a liar who toyed with all of our emotions as if we meant nothing to him. You're not angry?"

"Not really," he said. He was so used to hiding his true feelings that it slipped out before he could stop it, but he corrected himself. "I mean, I was...for a while...then I guess I got used to seeing him every other day, then every few days, then every weekend, then every so often. I guess I've just forgiven him."

"Gross."

"He's our dad."

"He's a cheater," Megan spat, "and if I find out that you ever cheat and treat a girl like the way he treated Mom, I'll make your life miserable."

"Don't you already do that?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, those are just little baby pranks," said Megan. "I've got plenty of ideas that are way worse. I've just been saving them in case you really get on my nerves."

"Noted," Drake said as he lifted his eyebrows and hung his head.

Their conversation faded out for a while as they finished up their late-night snacks. The oldest finished first. He crinkled up the wrapper and drank a few more swallows of the milk, but he couldn't finish it. He hated the taste. He set them both aside, then pulled one of his knees up to his chest and started messing with the loose string on the bottom hem of his pajama pants. The silence was awkward and he knew she felt it, too. He was desperate to fill the space, but he didn't quite know what to say.

Finally, he decided on, "Why do you do it?"

"What?" Despite not knowing what they were talking about, she already felt nervous and she didn't think she'd like what he was going to say next.

"Like, all the pranking and stuff. Did — like, did I make you mad somehow?"

"No, it's not that at all," she said.

"If I did something that hurt your feelings, you can tell me."

"You didn't," Megan assured. "I just... I don't know. Maybe it's because our ages are so far apart or something. I just feel like we never really hung out. I guess I was..."

"Seeking attention?"

"When I play pranks on you, it's the only time our paths really cross."

Drake was still fiddling with the little string. The lack of eye contact made it just a little bit easier to open up. Quietly, he replied, "I wish it wasn't."

"Me, too."

"Then maybe," he started, "we could...maybe like...do something together. Like, go to the Premier or to the water park or something. Just the two of us." He never got nervous when hitting on girls, but for some reason, asking his sister for a sibling bonding day left him fearing rejection. Luckily, he received good news.

"I'd like that," she said, then, to tone back the seriousness a bit, she added, "but I'm not sure what Josh will do when he finds out about us going to Splash Mountain without him."

"He'll get over it," her brother said. "Josh and I do stuff without you all the time and it's not fair. We owe you."

"Well, I'm glad you finally see how messed up that always was."

"Yeah, we're total jerks. I'm sorry."

There it was again. Another apology, and it gave Megan the feeling that Drake still had some things on his chest that he was dying to unload.

"Okay, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"Spill."

"Nothing's wrong," he said. He knew that she wasn't buying it, so he met her eyes to further sell himself. However, he crumbled under the pressure of her knowing gaze. "I guess I've just been a little stressed about some things."

"Like what?"

He said nothing — only shook his head. Because his back was to the neon light, Megan couldn't see his face well, but she swore she could see his fingers trembling ever so slightly as he twirled the loose string around them.

"Drake?" she prodded, her voice filled with genuine concern.

He hesitated, then sighed — a sign of defeat. "I was at this party the other night. Mom said I couldn't go and I should've listened, but I did anyway. Chaz was there. You know, dad's neighbor's son."

"Ugh," Megan said with disgust.

"Yeah. The last time we were at a party together, he got this girl super wasted and then he led her upstairs and..." On second thought, maybe this conversation wasn't quite age appropriate. "I mean..." He sighed, but this time, it seemed like it was because he couldn't finish his story. Despite all the prodding it had taken just to get him to this point, he clearly was relieved to be able to tell the truth to someone, but now he was backtracking. "Never mind."

"It's okay," she said, rolling her eyes. "I know what sex is. Remember when Mom forced you to babysit when Janie was sleeping over and you borrowed a bunch of Friday The 13th movies from Trevor to keep us occupied while you two went to a party down the street?"

He'd left the two young girls home alone at night with tons of sugar and plenty of R-rated horror films. Wow, brother of the year, Drake. This memory only added to the guilt he felt about leaving Megan to walk home by herself in the rain earlier tonight. However, he continued with his story, picking back up where he'd left off.

"Getting a girl drunk just so she'll fool around with you is pretty disgusting," he said, "and last night, I saw Chaz doing this same thing to another girl. She was totally gone, so before he could get her upstairs...I called him out...in front of everybody. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do—"

"It definitely was," Megan disagreed. She didn't want to interrupt him now that she got him to open up, but she needed him to know that he'd done the right thing so that he wouldn't hesitate to do it again if ever he was in a similar situation.

"Well, he was pissed. He started to get in my face and he was pushing me a little, but these guys agreed with me and stood up for me and Chaz threw a tantrum and went to the backyard," said Drake. "I guess he talked to Dad or he talked to his dad and his dad talked to Dad. He told him that I snuck out to go to this party and that I was...drinking and smoking weed."

This wouldn't be the first time he's gotten in trouble for something like this. Last time had resulted in him being on restriction for two whole months. Actually, he'd just served his last day of restriction yesterday, but his punishment never really stopped him from sneaking out while he was grounded anyway.

"Were you?" his little sister asked.

Naturally, his first instinct was to deny, deny, deny, but he didn't want to keep lying anymore. "...Yeah," he confessed.

"So that's why Dad called today? To yell at you about that?"

"Well, that...and Chaz told him he saw me making out with a guy at the party."

One thing about their father was that he was extremely homophobic. Anyone even remotely close to him knew that.

Megan's eyebrows scrunched up. "And Dad just believed him?"

"Well...yeah."

It was a little late, but it finally hit her. "Because it did happen."

"...Yeah..." he admitted. "But I was drunk and high and..." He trailed off there.

This was definitely more than what she'd bargained for when she'd arrived with cookies and milk, but Megan was just glad that her brother was confiding in her.

"Surely he understood that," she said. "You're with a new girl practically every other day. I'm sure he knows you're not gay."

His silence was somehow louder than any of the rest of his words up until this point had been. She was a little slow, but she was fitting the pieces together sure enough.

"...Unless you are..."

It was practically a whisper when he shakily said, "What if I am?"

At that moment, a car was driving by outside and its headlights shined through the window. For a split second, Megan could finally see his face and the first thing that caught her attention was the way that his eyes sparkled. The light was gone just as fast as it had appeared, so she only got a glimpse, but she was pretty sure that she had seen a teardrop on his cheek.

"Would everyone hate me?" he asked softly, his voice saturated with vulnerability.

"I think Dad would be mad and some people might be confused," she said and she didn't get to finish before she heard him let out a quivering exhale because that clearly wasn't the answer he was hoping for. "What other people think isn't important, though. It's your life. You're the one who has to live it. You have to do what makes you happy."

It was then that she heard him sniffle and she still couldn't see well in the dark, but she saw his silhouette move like he was wiping his eyes. However, once he broke, he couldn't stop himself. He rested his forehead against his knees and wrapped his arm around himself to hide there as he steadily cried. Megan's heart went out to him. She knew he cared deeply about his father and, unlike her, he was desperate for his approval. She got on her knees and moved closer to her brother, then she wrapped her arms around him. Her kindness seemed to elicit even more tears from him. She squeezed him tighter and was surprised when he hugged back. The girl could feel his hands trembling with nervousness as he held her. She could tell just how terrified he was of being shunned and she hated that her brother even feared that at all.

"You know I love you no matter what," Megan said. "It may not seem like it, but I'll always have your back. Always."

He wiped his eyes and sniffled. It took him a while to gather his composure enough to speak, but when he could, he said, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

He wiped his nose and got snot on his hand. Snot and tears were everywhere. "Ugh, I'm such a mess."

"So what else is new?" Megan joked and she actually got a chuckle out of him. She spotted a box of tissues by his bed and she grabbed it, then pulled out a few and passed them his way.

"Thanks."

He wiped off his hands first, then he accepted more of the tissue paper so that he could blow his nose. He was beginning to feel embarrassed now that his little episode was over and Megan could see this. She needed to get more out of him before he closed himself off again.

"So what exactly did Dad say when he called — besides the stuff about focusing on his idea of a realistic future?"

"He said—" His voice cracked and it sounded like he had just hit puberty all over again. He cleared his throat, then sniffled, but his nose was stopped up. "He yelled a lot. He was so angry. He disowned me — said I'd better take a time out to think it over and call him back tomorrow with a changed mind if I still wanted to be his son." The waterworks were starting up all over again, but he felt comfort when his younger sister rubbed his arm as she listened. He grabbed another tissue and blew his nose again before continuing. "He's coming over tomorrow. He's gonna tell Mom. He's gonna make a scene. He's just gonna scream at me." He wiped his nose again. "I just don't want everyone to find out that way. I don't want them to disown me, too."

"Hey, no, that won't happen. Mom would never do that. Look at me." She still couldn't see him, but because the neon glow was on her, he saw her face and he believed her when she swore, "Mom would never do that. Ever."

Drake sounded lost when he asked, "What do I do?"

"You stand up and you show him that you're proud of who you are," Megan said. "We both will. I've got your back."

Her support was making him even more emotional. As he wept some more, his sister pondered if he'd ever given off any sort of sign before revealing that he felt this way about boys. She couldn't recall any, but maybe she just never paid close enough attention. Drake seemed like the last person who would be hiding a secret such as this, especially with his revolving door of girls, but maybe all that was just him overcompensating. Maybe that was his way of proving to everyone that he wasn't gay...or maybe that was how he tried to prove it to himself.

Drake blew his nose and sighed shakily. "I have to tell them," he said. "I have to tell them before he does." He wiped his eyes and sniffled. "What do you think they'll think of me after they know?"

"Worst case scenario, they'll be a little shocked and confused," said Megan, "but I don't think they'll care whether you're gay or straight or whatever. They love you, Drake — not your sexual preferences. This doesn't change who you are. To us, you're still gonna be the same caring, kind-hearted, slightly annoying Drake you've always been."

He couldn't help but laugh through his tears. She seemed to know all the right things to say and the best part about it was that he could tell she was being sincere.

"You don't think this will change things?" he asked.

"Well, it might," she said, then she explained before he could worry about her answer. "I might be more inclined to come hang out with you now that I know we can talk about boys together, but I'd consider that a positive change." Again, her words made him smile.

"I'm not sure we'll have much in common. I'm into guys who are much older than who you're into."

She shrugged. "I'm into older guys."

"You better not!"

His reaction made her laugh. "You scared I'll take all the cute ones?"

Drake rolled his eyes.

"And who was this guy at the party?" Megan remembered to ask. "Were you just having fun or is it something more serious?"

"Well..."

Even in such dim lighting, his sister could see his smile. He was trying hard not to grin like an idiot, so he managed to contain it to only one side of his mouth, but that only made it look all the more mischievous. He lowered his gaze.

"Drake Parker! Are you blushing?!" she teased.

"Shut up." He decided to face it head on, so he lifted his head. He still couldn't quite get himself to meet her eyes, so he looked upwards, kind of like an incomplete eye roll, to express annoyance despite the fact that he was relieved to finally be able to talk about him. "It's not...serious serious, but...I like him." Admitting that out loud was like a huge weight lifted and he could even feel his muscles relax.

"What's his name?"

"Nic."

"Well, when can I meet this Nic?"

Again, the melancholic tone took over. "Uh...I don't know. Probably never."

She could tell by his sadness that he wasn't keeping her from meeting him because he wanted to. "What happened?"

"He's kinda mad at me."

Her brows furrowed. "Why?"

"When Chaz walked in on us kissing at the party, I panicked because I knew he'd tell Dad. I begged him not to say anything, but he was already planning his revenge after I'd called him out earlier for taking advantage of drunk girls. After he left, I was really scared. Nic tried to comfort me, but I blew up on him. I blamed him and said a lot of mean things."

"Maybe you can apologize," she said, mirroring his sadness.

"Maybe. I don't know." He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal although it clearly was. "He's been pushing me to come out for a while now and I wouldn't. He's been really patient with me and I just threw everything back on him. When we got caught, I denied my feelings for him right in front of him and I put him down in hopes that Chaz would believe that he meant nothing to me, then after he left, I told Nic that I had made a mistake being with him. I could tell I really hurt his feelings. He said he never wanted to see me again and he called me a coward, which I guess I am, and then he left. I had a fifty-fifty chance to pick the right one to chase after and I blew it. I ran after Chaz. I thought maybe I could convince him that Nic had come on to me or persuade him not to tell Dad or something, but I never found him." Drake sighed with regret. "Now I have no dad and no boyfriend."

Now it was beginning to set in that, come tomorrow, he might not have a mom or step-brother or step-father either. He lowered his eyes again and Megan knew what he was thinking.

"It's gonna be fine," she assured. "No one here's gonna judge you."

His voice came out quietly. "Can you be there with me when I tell them?"

"Of course, Drake."

"Thanks. You being here and talking me through this has really helped," he said and, when she leaned forwards for a hug, he hugged her back. "I appreciate you more than you could ever know."

"I know we fight a lot," said Megan. "Just know that I'm always here for you. Always."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I've been trying to venture out a little from my normal writing topics and I figured this fandom needed more cute Drake/Megan stories. Let me know what you thought by leaving a review.

To my Sorry, Charlie readers: I'm sorry, it's coming! Bear with me.

Anyway, again, thanks for reading. Let me know if you'd want to see more cute one-shots like this. Love you. CCC ya!