"Thanks again for letting me stay, Grey." Amyas says and I wave him off.

Amyas is staying with me for the weekend, and I understand the decision. It's not exactly a difficult one to make. 

Whilst Amyas is more than welcome at Everett and Ledger's place, and loves to stay, our eldest brother also seems to enjoy an...enthusiastic love life. Between Everett being our elder brother and Ledger being Amyas' best friend, it's uncomfortable to say the least.

And with my rehearsals, shows and religious coffee schedule, I'm hardly ever around to bother him. Of all my brothers, Amyas is the one I'm closest to, and the pleasure I have in his quiet company is more than I can express. If anything, I'm incredibly pleased by his impromptu visit.

"Don't mention it." I say.

Amyas happily swings the paper bag in his hand, full of paints and brushes that I know he'll be itching to break in. We have been shopping all morning, catching up and enjoying the peace of seeing each other without the rest of our siblings present.

"Oh, can we go in? I'm dying for a drink." He says suddenly and I glance up, my lips pursing as I catch sight of my local Starbucks. I glance at my watch, noting that it's just gone 12pm.

I would rather not, especially when Blue is almost certainly going to be on shift, but the idea of explaining my reluctance to my brother also doesn't bode well.

"We're just about to have lunch." I reason and he nods.

"You don't have any teas in though. I checked this morning." He says and I curse quietly under my breath. I knew I had forgotten something.

"Oh, sure." I say tensely.

Amyas walks over, tugging the door open enthusiastically. I smile at him, following somewhat reluctantly as he stares at the menu. The place is practically empty at this time, only young mums and the retired milling around before the lunch rush.

Rex glances over from the till, smiling when he recognises me and I wave, relief swimming through me.

"Who's that?" Amyas asks.

"Rex. He works here." I say simply and Amyas nods.

I approach the counter with a happy smile, Amyas trailing behind me.

"Hi Rex!" I say happily and he grins.

"Hey Sam, this a new friend of yours?" He asks and I glance at Amyas. He's looking between the two of us with an odd expression and I smile.

"Oh, no this is..."

"Rex, you're on break." Blue's voice interrupts and I feel my expression drop visibly.

Oh no.

Rex glances at his brother with a hint of irritation and meets cold, argumentative eyes. I've never understood how these two are related. He sighs in resignation and shoots an apologetic smile my way, shrugging off his apron.

I wave as he goes, rolling my lips between my teeth. Dread pools in my stomach when I find Blue's critical gaze scanning my brother. There's something about it that I don't like, not when it's my brother on the receiving end. I angle my body in front of him and Blue scowls at me.

"Do you know what you want, Ams?" I ask and he nods. It'll be a tea of some variety...black, or maybe a herbal one.

"Can I get a chai?" He asks and I nod, smiling at his predictability.

My smile becomes a little more forceful when it's aimed at Blue and I hope against hope that it instructs him to behave himself.

"Hey, Blue." I say quietly.

He glances at Amyas by my side once more, his eyes flickering between the two of us.

"What can I get you?" He asks, his voice strained and I exhale appreciatively.

"Can I get my usual, and a chai tea for him, please." I say, gesturing to my brother.

Blue continues to look between us suspiciously, tapping in the order.

"Why are they calling you Sam?" Amyas whispers, none too discreetly and I blush.

"£6.85 altogether." Blue mutters.

I lift my card but Amyas beats me to it, pressing his card against the reader.

"Ams..." I protest but he waves it off, smiling at me.

"Think of it as a thank you for last night. And tonight as well." He says, grinning and I roll my eyes.

"You don't have to thank me." I mumble bashfully. The spare room does nothing but gather dust, so really, it's no trouble at all.

Blue slams a cupboard and I jump, turning to look at him curiously.

"Move." He demands and I nod, blushing as I usher my brother to the end of the counter.

Amyas is frowning but I simply shrug it off. His eyes are following me with unanswered questions and I sigh.

"I'll explain later." I murmur.

When Ali brings our drinks over, I dive towards them, snatching them before anything else can go wrong. Unfortunately, the universe isn't on my side.

"Hang on, I just want to get a stirrer." Amyas says and I groan internally.

"I can get it!" I offer, but he's is already by my side.

"What's with you? You're so jumpy." Amyas comments, grabbing a little wooden stirrer.

I sigh, massaging my temples.

"It's nothing...I just..."

"What are you still doing here?" Blue's voice asks, harsh and as cut-throat as ever as he moves towards us. I smile tensely, Amyas' eyes wide and incredulous.

"We were just going." I mumble.

"Excellent decision, consider not coming back next time." He suggests casually, a fake smile crawling onto his lips.

"Will do!" I chirp, tugging Amyas with me.

My cheeks are burning as we escape the store and I want more than anything to ignore the entire interaction. Amyas, however, doesn't get the memo.

"What the hell was that?" He demands, big brother mode having been activated and I groan, running a hand through my hair.

Amyas is the least protective of me, and he's very respectful of my independence and boundaries, but this was seemingly a step too far even for him. I suppose I should thank my lucky stars that it's him with me and not Everett. A shudder crawls down my spine at the very thought of Everett witnessing my daily coffee order.

"It's nothing."

"That's not nothing! Does he speak to you like that all the time?" He quizzes and I bite my lip.

How to tell him that, in the grand scheme of things, that was actually quite polite for Blue? Easy, I don't.

"No, no, I'm sure he was just having a bad day." I say quickly. Bad year more like, but who am I to judge?

Amyas doesn't buy it though and I curse how well my brother knows me.

"You're lying. That's verbal abuse, Grey." Amyas says, his voice appalled and I sigh, shaking my head.

"It's hardly abuse. He just doesn't like me very much." I say.

"How?!" He demands, as though the very idea is unthinkable. I smile.

"Look, it really doesn't matter. So one guy doesn't like me, it's not the end of the world." I reason. Amyas doesn't look like he's buying it.

"You're not going back there." Amyas demands and I huff, rolling my eyes.

I don't know why the idea of never going back sits like a stone in my stomach, and I'm sure not going to start questioning it now.

"Of course I'm going back." I argue.

"When Everett finds out, he won't let you go back." Amyas reasons and I groan, deflating rapidly.

Everything goes through Everett in our family, it always has, and this is one thing I really don't need him knowing. He protects us like we're his children most of the time, a trait he no doubt inherited from our time in foster care. But it's something he can't seem to shake, and I'm not too proud to beg.

"Please don't tell Everett. He'll flip, and I'm fine. I can handle it, and he really doesn't need any more stress right now." I plead.

Not with his recent move, new job and juggling looking out for Luka and the twins, who all seem hell-bent on giving him grey hair before he's thirty.

This seems to work, although Amyas doesn't look happy about it in the slightest. He's never been very good at keeping things from Everett, even when we were small. They were a team, he was Everett's right hand man and consequently they share a different sort of bond. But Amyas is also very level headed, so I stand a chance.

"Please." I urge and eventually he nods.

"You'll keep me in the loop, let me know if it gets worse?" He says, his one condition and I nod enthusiastically.

"Yep!" I chirp.

Amyas' shoulders deflate and I grin, knowing defeat when I see it.

"Why do you want to keep going back if they treat you like that?" He asks, looking beyond bewildered.

"Everyone else is really nice. They're my friends, Blue just has some...issues." I say, shrugging my shoulders.

I neglect to mention that those 'issues' are entirely centred around me and my existence in his life.

"Friends, huh? Is that why they call you 'Sam'?" He asks and I sigh, blushing.

I'd forgotten about that.

"That's a long story." I mutter, clearly embarrassed, but this doesn't deter Amyas in the slightest.

"If you want me to keep my lips sealed, I'm going to need to hear it." He decides and I squint at him.

The sun shining on his golden hair makes him look like he's wearing a halo, his chocolate brown eyes huge and soft, perfectly concealing his heart of pure evil.

"I hate you." I mutter.

Amyas merely laughs.

"Better start talking."

_

Happy Sunday- I hope you enjoy this installment of CC :)