"I swear I'm going to lose it at this rate, Orion. What the hell am I supposed to do at this point?" Thomas knocked his head into the metal lockers with a clang as a few of the students passing by turned in mild interest, quickly going on with their lives as the taller boy sighed at his side. It was the middle of the day, lunch had started and the week had barely begun. And from Orion's point of view, his new friend was seriously struggling.

"I have two ideas."

"I have this weird feeling that neither will be good."

"And here I thought you were dumb. But you're very right."

Thomas lifted his head up from the lockers to look at the tatted up boy. Rolling his eyes as the bell rang, neither of them making a single move to go to the cafeteria. Since they weren't really in the mood. "Whatever, let's hear it."

"Okay. From all your complaining, I've gathered a few things. He doesn't like to let things go. He is as hardheaded as you are, and he has a new temper to him. Right?" He counted on his fingers, wiggling them around in the blonds face as he moped.

"Yeah."

"Well, then I see only two, fairly bad solutions. One, break up with Jamie-"

"No." Thomas cut fast and without hesitation.

"Alright, more or less exactly what I had expected. And the second, more doable option. Let him get his anger out."

Tom finally peeled himself off of the lockers with a confused look. Orion shrugged.

"Like, let him kick my shit in? No thanks."

"I didn't say just be a punching bag, but it might work, he looks like a big dork but I'm sure it'll let off some steam." The halls quickly emptied as everyone went along with their business. Thomas was just about to open his mouth again to reply with something, but he lost his train of thought as a voice cut through the settling quiet.

"Tommy! It's been a minute baby-" Jamie made his head turn as he wrapped his arms around him, surprising them both at how he seemed to just pop up out of nowhere. Or really just how little they were paying attention to everything, which made more sense since it was hard to not notice Jamie in any situation.

"Yeah, it has been-" He cut himself off as he leaned into a kiss. Orion watching with mild interest himself until they broke apart.

"Aw, so cute. Does this mean I'm third wheeling now?" He asked as Thomas pulled him close to his chest.

"Depends, wanna join?" Jamie teased as Thomas seemed to grow a bit flustered.

"Actually-" Orion was about to answer when he looked up from the pair, his eyes barely catching onto a figure hurrying down the hall away from them. And as it took a glance back, he accidentally caught the glare of Will himself.

"Wait, wait, I think Will's mad."

Jamie froze for a second at the mention of the boy's name, what had happened that day in the gym flashing before his eyes as Thomas whipped his head around to catch him just around the corner. 

That stupid fucking kiss.... God he hated what that boy did...

"Aren't you listening to anything I say? He's always mad now..." Thomas muttered as he held on tightly to Jamie, which didn't last for long.

"Whatever, maybe try to talk to him now that he's alone, we've got some time before lunch is over. Here, Jamie, let's go grab something to eat. We'll find you when we're done-" Orion wheeled around, both hands on Jamie's shoulders as he lead him forward so that Thomas had no choice but to do as he said.

"Hey no-" Jamie was about to raise hell in protest, but he only earned a small tsk in response.

"C'mon I'll make Grayson buy it-" He hurried him forward as Thomas simply stood their wheeling. He huffed. Turning back to where he last saw his brother, and heading down there.

It took him a bit of half running before he finally caught up to him, watchin his brother fume as he hurried down the hall a familiar sight at this point. "Hey-" His voice must not have rung a bell at first, because he still looked up to see who it was, his dark eyes hardening as he stopped in his place. 

"What?" Will said quietly, his muscles tense and nails digging into his palm. At least today he was trying to act civil.

"Can we please just sort things out for a minute? This isn't good for either of us man honestly, nor is it fair to Jamie, or Victor."

"I don't see the problem-"

"Because you fucking broke your glasses yesterday, dumbass." Thomas put his hands over his face in exasperation. "Please dude I'm begging you."

Will threw a hand through his curls, his eyes drifting between his stepbrother, and the rest of the empty hall he can totally jog down to avoid this entire conversation. But he kept himself in place as Thomas grew closer, he could feel the frustration and irritation simply radiating off of him in waves, and even though it still makes him furious to just look at his brother's face, he got toe-to-toe.

"I don't have anything to say... Tom..."

"There's the problem, you do, you just don't want to tell me for some fucked up reason... What's so bad about me dating Jamie, Will? Why can't you just let it go?"

"Tom, stop it..."

"Stop brushing me off, you have not given a single shit about anything that's been going on. And that's not like you at all! My stupid nerd of a brother doesn't act like this, he never has before, and I have no idea how to fix it! What the hell is that?" He watched Will scowl as he felt his temper rise. 

"What is it with you, Will? Why can't you let it go? You've never been able to, but I can't give you Jamie back and fix it you maniac-"

"I said STOP-" Will pushed at Thomas chest, turning on his heel abruptly as the blond stumbled back. Both equally heated at this point.

"YOU KNOW, YOU CAN LET GO OF THINGS  NOW WILL, NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN LIKE WITH LUKE ANYMORE!" He yelled without thinking. A sudden stillness falling over both of them as Thomas realized what he said. His throat drying up as he watched Will start to shake.

How old was Will when the accident happened? Maybe only 6, when Lucas was 3. He had just started living with Thomas and his mother really, just after the nastiest divorce two kids could ever get stuck between. From what everyone could tell the boy's mother had always been unstable, but it was definently her meeting his father that blew whatever was wrong out of proportions.

She had custody of both boys at first, but Bill was ruthless, he fought endlessly to get Will back into his cookie cutter, and was just about to do the same for Lucas when things simply got worse. Will never talks about it. His father said that he blocked them both out of his mind soon after it happened, pretended life was normal after that, there wasn't a time when he had any brother besides Tom, or any mother figure besides Gwen. 

But Tom remembers pretty well what happened. 

It wasn't something a kid should see, not him, not his brother, a custody weekend with their mom is where the boys left to, and Bill had taken Tom along to keep them both company when they where picked up. No one answered the door when they first knocked. And Thomas was yelling all around to Will so that he could show him the dinosaurs he had left in the car. Bill opened the door himself after a while, not actually expecting it to open, but it did. The entire house a complete mess. Furniture strewn about everywhere, the happy decorations strewn about, and Thomas was immediately hurried back to the car. 

But he was never one for listening.

He followed after his stepdad as quietly as he could, scared out of his mind, but excited to figure out what had happened, maybe it was Will and Lucas who made the huge mess-

Only it wasn't, because he found them first while Bill roamed the house cautiously, Thomas hear the sniffles, the crying, the hiccupping of tears, muffled and panicked. Will was hiding behind the couch, his face pink, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he rocked Lucas back and forth in his small little arms. Luke looked like he was asleep, as far as he knew, but there was a nasty cut on his forehead that was staining the front of Will's shirt.

"T-Tommy.... I let g-go..."

Will seemed to just remember it clear as day. 

"Look Will, t-that's not what I meant to say-" Thomas strode forward, hasty with the apologies. Putting a hand on Will's shoulder to try and turn him around. "I just mean that-" 

He hit him with everything he had in that first punch, Will's cheeks had gone completely red, his face of full fury as Thomas fell back. Stunned and in more pain than he expected as his younger brother towered over him, pulling him back up from his shirt just as the bell rang, landing another punch as students suddenly emptied out of their classes and the cafeteria, not yet knowing what exactly was going on. 

"Will!" Thomas called out as he fought through the rocking pain in his jaw to block his sailing hand before it tried to really break his bruised and already bleeding nose. Now this caught people's attention. Throwing his weight forward they rolled as they continued to struggle against each other. Pushing and hitting as Thomas yelled at the other boy to knock it off already.  A crowd beginning to form as the chanting quickly begun. Not everyday there was a school fight like this. 

Nina's face went pale as she was pushed towards the front, watching them both fight mercilessly as she tried to think of what to do, she had to find someone to stop them, they looked like they where going to kill each other at this rate-

She dashed through the crowd, pushing and shoving to find Kurt, or Grayson, or anyone who might be able to pull those two away from each other as she listened to kids cheer after every landed hit. 

Will's head slammed into the ground as Thomas straddled him, landing his fist to the boys mouth as it bust, blood coating his hand and now giving them both matching bloody faces. But Will wouldn't stop struggling, and quickly did the roughhousing fun that everyone thought was going on seemed all the more serious when Thomas landed another terrible punch that made the younger gasp for breath.

"Is this what you needed?" Thomas grit through clenched teeth. Will spitting in his face the blood that was pooling in his mouth thanks to his newly broken lip, which quickly made the other boy recoil.

But in trying to wipe it away did he make another mistake, Will kicking him back, away from him, as he pushed himself up to stand. Wincing, but doing so without problem. Standing over Thomas as he groaned, not even bothering to stand at this point as he glared up at him. 

"I needed you to not come back. But you did anyways." 

He threw his foot forward into Thomas' stomach, winding him as nearly everyone collectively gasped, someone yelled for a teacher, a few kids thought to run off instead of get involved. Other students worriedly looked between each other, not sure if it should be them to break up whatever this was.

William knelt down, brushing his hair out of his face as he looked down at Thomas with nothing in his eyes besides contempt and fire. 

"Will-" He punched him again, and again, every hit hard and without much restraint as he continued mercilessly, and it didn't take but the third or fourth hit to make Thomas completely lose consciousness. He has no idea when he was being dragged away as the tears streamed down his cheeks, or why he was still fighting against whoever held him tightly in their grip. But suddenly his vision grew clearer, and Jamie was there, face red and fuming as he slapped Will across his bruised cheek. Screaming about something the boy couldn't hear in this state, before running back over to where Thomas was sprawled out, other people crowded around him as Jamie pulled him into his lap. Gently rocking him as Will just completely broke.

•

-parabellums
mg-honeybee
Decembra1998
SqoobySnaqs
teethmeat
makingmeblush

aHHHH for some reason I'm not 100% on how well I did this but heyyyyyyyy