Since Papa needs to take Damien to soccer, and Mama is sleeping on her day off, I have to watch the store with Dantae. Originally, it was just supposed to be him alone, since our cousins are back upstate for the weekend. After Mama and Papa saw his face today, they didn't trust him (and honestly, I don't blame them in the slightest). However, that means I had to get up for the morning shift as well, and I'm exhausted.

It's quiet, which is nice. Only a few people have been in it out over the last few hours. Since I look better than Dantae (which isn't abnormal), I've been manning the till, staring at Murph. He glares back, almost daring me to pet him, which I would never. That cat has the Devil inside him, just like both of my brothers.

Every few minutes, I get a glance at Dantae. He's wearing a stained old t-shirt and has a bandage over his right hand, covering his bruised knuckles. Every other part of him has healed except the black eye, but those are hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. He keeps turning off the lights in the back, and I keep turning them back on.

Which means, he has to keep coming back to the front.

"Don't fall asleep at the register," Dantae elbows me, trying to take control of the till.

I bump him with my hip to the side. "Absolutely not. Go clean something before Papa comes back."

"It's your turn," he tells me, grabbing me by the shoulders and moving me to the side.

Finally, I relent, but I don't walk away. There is a break in customers, meaning it is just him and I in the store. Since Dantae has never let me yell at him (he always pulls some look that I give into), I take a few steps back and face away. "I'm only here because of you, so it's your turn."

"Why are you being such a dick?" he rolls his eyes.

Now I can't help it. I spin around, grab a dishtowel off the counter, wind it up, and slap him with it. He turns and tries to rip the cloth out of my hands.

"Give it back," I shout, ripping at the cloth.

He lets go, and I tumble into the counter, only barely catching myself. My hand stings, but I straighten myself up, untangling a strand of hair from my hoops.

"What, are you going to do? Cat fight me?" He asks, a laugh between his lips.

"Why don't you treat me like an equal?" I demand, chucking the towel against the ground. "You are being a total jerk after I ran around to look for you."

Dantae grumbles something under his breath. When I reach for his hand, he pulls away.

"Say that louder, asshat," I mutter, but my heart's not in it. This is why I didn't want to look at him.

"You're just a kid, Dar," he corrects me, looking up. I expected to see tears in his eyes, but instead I see red cheeks and a furrowed brow. "You aren't my equal. I didn't ask for your help."

There is no use in arguing with him. Even though he has his hands tucked inside his apron, I know that they are hidden fists. He would never hit me, but he would punch a wall and do some damage. Dantae doesn't like to be cooped up and interrogated.

But I didn't like last night either. Sometimes, we don't always like what happens to us. "You're right, you didn't ask for my help. Liz Allen did."

"Fuck you."

"I went chasing around town for your drunk ass all night," I counter, taking a step closer to him, this time he backs up and faces away.

"I said fuck you."

"And, I saw you confronting some gangbanger who would've taken you down in a heartbeat. He had a gun in his pocket, for Christ sake. We're lucky Spider-man got rid of them and that he didn't glue you to the ground with his web-shit!" I know I'm shouting, which will probably turn away any customers who might come close to the door, but I don't actually care. "Fuck, Dantae, I almost saw you get shot."

When he turns around to face me, I see tears welling in his eyes. I feel them in mine too.

"I almost..." I cut myself off and bite my bottom lip to prevent myself from sobbing. "I almost saw you get shot."

Dantae moves across the room and wraps me up in a hug. He's massive, a full foot taller than me, so I bury my face in his chest. His arms pull me in around my head, bringing me closer and closer to him. I can feel my tears staining his white t-shirt. He sniffs above me, wiping a tear out of his eye.

The bell rings in the doorway, and we pull apart. I go back to the register, wiping the last few tears out of my eyes.

I'm greeting by Peter Parker, and his blank face. He seems to go even paler at the sight of me. A stammer begins to spread across his lips, as he fiddles with the collar of his shirt. "Ummm... hey Darcy."

"Is that the gay kid?" Dantae calls from over his shoulder. His eyes are hidden by his glasses, but his smirk is available.

"Would you shut up?" I call back behind me, before turning back to Peter. When he looks at me, his eyes flicker across my face. He thinks I look like shit. Great. Just the confidence boost I needed. "Sorry about my brother. He's a bit of trouble."

Dantae step behind me. He rests an elbow on my head and stares Peter down. I try to swipe him off of me, but he maintains his posture. "Why are you here?"

"This, this is a store, right?" Peter jokes, but he swallows quickly and looks down on the ground.

Finally, I stomp on my brother's foot. He winces behind me, finally removing his arm from my head. "Dantae was just going to do inventory, weren't you?" I glare at him, waiting for him to round the corner.

"No I wasn't," he mocks confusion. When I don't let go of my stare, he puts his arms up in defence and rounds the corner.

With my lazy brother finally out of sight, I lean forward slightly. "Seriously, I'm sorry about him. He's kind of the worse."

Peter nods. I wait for him to order something, but there is a question waiting to burst from his lips that I can't quite catch. It's right there, dangling in front of me and I-

Shit. I totally forgot about the dinner we have planned.

"I... I don't think that I'll be able to study tomorrow," I tell him. There isn't much more of an explanation I can offer without scaring the kid. No doubt he noticed Dantae's bruised knuckles hanging over my head, but I'd still rather keep a few things from him.

I don't want to change the way he looks at me. As if I am bad news. As if I am someone who he shouldn't be around.

"Right," Peter casts a glance over my shoulder.

My brother is back, with a box filled with bread. He slams it down on the counter behind us and begins to stalk the shelves. Every movement of his is jagged, and he grabs each bag with a tight fist.

"Yeah," I look back around to Peter, who pets Murph. I don't know how he manages to keep the cat calm. Maybe Peter too, has a little bit of the devil inside him. I exhale the loudest sigh I can muster. "Anyway."

"Right," Peter repeats himself. He is so robotic that I wonder if he is buffering. When he pulls away from the cat, he offers me the faintest of smiles. "I'll see you on Monday?"

When I nod, Peter smiles. The doorbell clangs behind him as he leaves.

Finally, I put my hands on my hips and spin around. Dantae continues to stock the shelves as if he is completely oblivious to my presence. "Could you be any more annoying?"

He stops to turn and look at me. With a grin pressed between his cheeks, he speaks, "I mean, I'm not even trying."