My Brothers Love

A/N: You know, if I hadn't gotten all these reviews you'd all still have to wait until Friday, but since you all been really nice and reviewed I'll be nice to you and post the second chapter ^.^ And Midnight Rose, Zuri came from babynames.com I wanted something differnt, so I was just scanning names, and I saw Zuri and went "hmm... that is differnt..." It's also the name of one of the lemurs on Disney's Dinosaurs XD And Marrakech if you don't stop harassing me I'll stop talking to you :P Not really cause you're the only one who'll give me really good ideas for both the story and when it involves Tom. No, I won't ask him to sleep with another guy so I can take notes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I cursed at myself as I screwed up my locker combination for the fourth time in a row. Damnit, I hadn’t gotten any sleep. I was both worried and hoping that my brother was going to walk through my bedroom door and continue what he had started in the hall. But he never did, one of the main reasons probably being I had locked my door.

“Fuck!” I shouted and kicked my locker at the same time as I messed the combo up again for the fifth time. Damn my brother for distracting me! And damn me for letting him do it! It was wrong, so completely wrong. So completely and totally wrong, so why did I want more? Why I did I hope to bump into him in the halls and at lunch.

I banged my head into the locker. Not hard, but hard enough to make noise and get the people walking in the locker bay’s attention. I felt something wet around my eyes. Damnit, now I was crying! I really hated my brother for confusing the hell out of me.

“Hey Z. Mike said you kicked your locker.” I heard the familiar voice of my best friend, Brook, behind me.

Mike was my so called “boyfriend”. He was probably stalking me again. I quickly wiped my eyes before lifting my head off the cold metal locker and facing my friend.

“Oh my god! Have you been crying?” she asked looking at me strangely.

I snorted, “no. I’m just frustrated. The damned thing won’t open.” I kicked the locker again.

I was about ready to kick it again but Brook shoved me out of the way, and put my combo in and opened it on the first try. Damn her for being so smart, too. I seem to be in a damning mood lately.

She moved out of the way, gesturing with her hand towards the open locker. I mumbled to myself as kneeled down and began tossing the books I didn’t need inside, while pulling out the ones I did need.

“Hey, you guys need a ride?”

I jumped up and stared at Alex. He was leaning against the row of lockers in his tall, sexy way. He even had a sexy crooked smile. I was suddenly seeing the reason why girls fawned over him, I was seeing more then my brother.

“Sure-” Brook began.

“No!” I said cutting her off. They both looked at me. Think girl, think! “Brook and I were going to take the bus to her place. We have a project.”

“We were? What project?” She gave me a confused look.

“Then I guess you’ll be walking, little sis, you missed the bus.” Alex motion with his head towards the main doors. I stood on my tippy toes to stare over the several rows of lockers; sure enough there was no yellow glare from the busses.

“Damnit!” I muttered to myself.

“You got a long walk a head of you.” Alex pushed himself off the lockers and began to walk passed us.

“Fine! We’ll meet you at your car.”

He gave me a triumphant smile before leaving us completely. I knelt back in front of my locker, muttering incoherent words.

“What project?” Brook asked again.

“There isn’t one... I just don’t want to go home,” I stated shutting my locker, books I needed in hand.

Brook gave me another confused look. I wasn’t about to tell her what had happened yesterday between my brother and me, she wouldn’t understand.

I turned and headed for the main doors, Brook keeping pace with me. “Why don’t you want to go home?”

I thought for a moment, “my mom and I got into a fight last night.”

“You suck at lying.”

“I know.”

“So what happened?” she asked again. “Is it between you and your brother? You seemed kind of tense while he was there.”

“Yeah, it’s him,” I answered her question.

“What happened?”

Damnit. “We... got into an argument.”

“That can’t be all.”

We exited the doors and stepped into the unusually warm spring air.

“Can we just drop the subject? I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.”

“All right, but don’t think it won’t come back.”

“Yes, I know. You pry until you’re happy.”

“Damn straight.”

I shook my head then stared at the ground as we made our way towards the senior parking lot. I thought back to only a few minutes ago when my brother was leaning against the lockers. His tall form and charming looks were what attracted most of the girls he had dated. His charming looks weren’t supposed to attract me.

But they did, I admitted as I looked up, seeing my brother leaning against his blue Camaro talking to one of his friends. He was laughing as they talked. I stopped; surely he wouldn’t tell his friend how easy it was to get his own sister to succumb to his will. Oh god, what if he had made a bet with them about it and won.

Brook stopped in front of me and waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped back to reality. No, I knew my brother and no matter what I did to him, he would never do something so cruel to me.

I started walking again and Brook frowned at me. She knew there was more then I was telling her. I would have damned her for knowing me too well, but without her I’d be more lost then I already was.

We approached my brother and his friend, suddenly in a playful mood, I handed Brook my things before approaching my brother at a quick pace. I kicked my leg up and pretended like I was going to give a high sideways kick like I used to when we were younger. I didn’t expect him to grab hold of my foot.

“Now that’s not nice,” he said giving me a playful smirk.

“Am I ever?” I asked giving him an innocent smile.

“Well you certainly weren’t last night,”

I furrowed my brows, wondering what he meant and if he was going to let go of my leg.

“What happened?” asked Ben, Alex’s friend who was standing there with an amused look on his face.

I looked at my brother, wondering what he was going to say. “Well, this little snot here, started saying stuff about me being unpopular and rude and what not. And then she decided to take the remote to watch the women’s channel while I was watching the Bulls.”

“That’s not nice,” Ben said, pointing the statement towards me.

“And when I tried to get the remote back, she punched me in the gut. I promised to get her back, which is why she doesn’t want to go home today.”

I was silent, finally managing to get my leg from his grip. That was what happened... minus me stealing the remote and punching him. Instead, it had me running up the stairs to hide from him and him pinning me against the wall and...

“Hey Brook, I’m not taking you home,” Alex said.

Both Brook and I were taken aback.

“What?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re all going back to our place,” Alex suddenly wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me against him. “Our parents are gone for the night, so you guys can work on your project peacefully. Ben and I’ll play a game downstairs while you two work.”

Ben was coming over? Our parents were gone for the night? Damnit, why don’t people tell me anything! I pushed myself away from Alex. “Fine, but you two better keep it down.”

I couldn’t let it show that I was more or less afraid to go home. But with both Brook and Ben there, chances of Alex trying anything towards me was slim. I looked up at Alex and he was giving me another one of his triumphant smiles. I was beginning to despise that smile as much as I did his evil one.

Without another word from anyone, the four of us climbed into the small car. Brook and I were in the back seat. I had my feet on the back of Alex’s chair, mainly because I knew it annoyed him, but it also made it easier to write on the piece of paper I had on my lap.

“If they ask, the project is for world history and we’re still on the research part.” I wrote on the paper before handing it over to Brook.

She looked at it, held out her hand to which I place the pen in. She then handed me the paper back with her pretty writing on it that said “what project?”

“There’s just a project, ok?! And don’t leave my side.” I handed the paper back.

This time she handed it back to me with two words on it, “you’re weird.”

By the time we were done passing the paper back and forth, Alex was pulling the car into our driveway. I stared up at the house, waiting for Alex to get out so that I could. Once he and Ben were out of the car, they made their way to the front door without moving the seats up for Brook and me.

“Jackasses!” I yelled at them as they entered the door.

“Okay, seriously, what’s going on?” Brook asked.

“Alex told you,” I said reaching on the side of the front seat for the leaver.

“And I don’t believe either of you. You seem too tense for just a minor threat.”

I tried to think, straining for the handle. “I just need to think things out. You know life changes. Things happen you can’t control.”

She gave me the oddest look I think she had ever given me. I finally managed to get the seat up, and I quickly climbed out of car. Once she was out of the car too, we made our way towards the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours late Brook and I were sitting in my bedroom. Brook was on the computer reading some Harry Potter fan story, and I was lying on my stomach on my bed doing my homework.

“God, how did I ever get into algebra? I can barely even do math.”

“You just need to put your mind to your work and stop thinking about other things. You obviously passed the test to get into the class, meaning you can do the class.”

I snorted then threw my pencil into the fold of the book. “Sure I can. I’m going to get a drink.”

“Need a body guard?” she asked with a smile.

“Naw, last time we went down they were too into their game to even notice we were there.”

“All right, just holler if they try anything.”

“Will do,” I said sliding off my bed and making my way to the door. I yawned slightly as I entered the hall. Hopefully I was going to sleep better tonight. I trotted down the stairs and through the hard floor foyer. I glanced into the family room where Alex and Ben were still staring at the TV clicking on PlayStation controllers like mindless drones.

Once in the kitchen I opened the fridge door and looked around for something to drink. We had soda, milk, and tea. I tapped my nails against the metal door; I didn’t want any of them. I wanted kool-aid.

“Hey Zuri.”

I jumped around and look at Ben. He walked up to me and reached into the fridge grabbing a can of soda. He moved back away and I shut the fridge.

“Hi...” I said watching him. Instead of going back to the living room, he sat on one of the bar stools that were around the kitchen island. I ignored him as I moved to the cabinets looking for the kool-aid mixes.

“Got plans for this weekend?” he asked.

I stopped searching. The weekend was two days away, and I never had plans for the weekend. “No, why?”

I found the kool-aid.

“Well, I was wondering if you’d wanna go out Saturday.”

I stopped again, trying to translate what he had just said. Me and Ben... on a date? Sure I had crushed on the guy since Alex first introduced me to him three years ago, but I never thought of anything coming from it. I tried to look busy digging more into my brain then in the cabinets for a pitcher.

“Doing what?” I set the pitcher on the island and tossed the packet of kool-aid beside it, making my way to the counter for the sugar.

“I don’t know, how does dinner and a movie sound?”

I poured sugar into the pitcher, more then I intended, but I didn’t care. I was now confused by a second man in twenty-four hours. The first one made me feel things I’d never felt before, while the second just confused the hell out of me.

“Like as in a date?” I emptied the packet of kool-aid into the pitcher.

“Yeah, like as in a date.”

“What’s your girlfriend gonna think?” I moved towards the sink pitcher in hand.

“We broke up.”

“Oh...” I filled the pitcher with water then moved back towards the island. I took a large spoon and began to mix the sugar, kool-aid, and water together.

Ben was watching me. I didn’t like him just sitting there watching me and not talking.

“What you two talking about?”

I jumped as Alex spoke entering the room.

“Talking,” Ben said.

“About...?”

“Food. I’m hungry,” this came from me. Both of them looked at me and I tried to think of something else to say. “I want fried chicken.”

“You got money?” Alex asked.

I tried to think of how much money was in my piggy bank, “yeah.”

“Fine we’ll go get you chicken. Brook want some?”

“Probably, she loves chicken as much as me. I'll go get my money.”

I got away from the two as fast as I could, taking the stairs two at a time. I entered my bedroom, Brook was still staring at the computer screen.

“What too you so long?” she asked not looking away.

“Them. You want chicken?”

“Sure. What they do?”

“Ben asked me out.”

This time Brook looked away from the computer. She had a shocked face with a frown, which was an odd combination. “Why?”

I shrugged, “who knows.” I pulled the bottom off my dog piggy back and began to pull out the bills. “Want anything with the chicken?”

“We can make something here.”

I nodded, “I’ll be back in a bit.”

She turned back to the computer and I left my room again. I walked past Alex’s room and found his door open. I looked in, and found him standing in front of his dresser, looking for a shirt. I stared at him, not thinking of him as my brother. Even from his back you could tell that he worked out and kept his body trim. I drank in his form in front of me, almost wanting him to turn so that I could see his front. Sure I had seen it many times, but I was seeing him in a new light. That’s when I remember he was my brother and I wasn’t supposed to be seeing him in that kind of light.

I stepped into his room. “Here’s the money,” I said holding out my hand with the money.

Alex turned and looked at me. Damn him for being so hot that I was speechless. He moved towards me and I took an involuntary step backwards. He took hold of my wrist and pulled me fully into his room shutting the door.

“You’re not going out with Ben.”

I arched a brow, “since when do you have a say in my personal life. That kiss last night meant nothing, changes nothing, and isn’t going to happen again.”

This time he arched a brow. “Meant nothing and isn’t going to happen again?”

“Damn straight.”

Without a warning he pulled me into his arms and kissed me again. At first I struggled against his embrace as he held me tight against his bare chest. Finally I gave in, giving myself wholly too him and cursing at myself for doing so.

When finally he let me go, he gave me that evil smile. “Isn’t going to happen again?”

“Damn you!” I said hitting him in the chest. “We’re not supposed to be doing this! Brothers and sisters don’t kiss!”

“Then we’ll have to agree to disagree.”

I gave a frustrated groan, threw my hands in the air and left his room, slamming the door behind me. I went into the bathroom and locked the door, now I really needed to think things out.