Trials&Chats

"Today's the day, Pumpkin."

I groaned as I sat up. I felt sunlight on my face, and I heard birds chirping outside our window, but I had yet to gain my eyesight. I made out a blurry shape at the foot of my bed, and as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, I found it was my twin brother, fixing his outfit and grinning at himself in the full-length mirror.

"Uh…what? Why are you even awake right now?" I stole a look at the clock. "It's barely nine in the morning..."

He turned his grin on me and replied,

"Because normal people are awake at this time." I stretched and felt my joints creaking and popping as I stood up.

"Oh, normal's overrated," I waved my hand, dismissing him. I rummaged through my clothes, and pulled out a random sweater with a retro band decorating the front. "So what are you so happy about?" I asked, pulling out a medium-length dress and throwing it over my head.

He was still looking in the mirror as I looked over and finally satisfied with his appearance, turned to me with excitement practically oozing from him.

"I have finally come up with a foolproof plan to get this girl to go out with me! Ta-da!" he proclaimed, pulling out a thick, folded piece of paper from his inner pocket.

I glanced over his shoulder as he unfolded the long checklist, and read the first thing I saw:

‘#1: Say 'Hi' to Candy’

I raised an eyebrow, my mouth pulled to a frown.

"Another list, Pound? Don't you remember what happened the last time you did this?"

He waved off my concern, re-folding his list up and returning it to his pocket,

"I remember but that was because one of the bullies took it from me and got it wet in the rain, but that won't be an issue today! It's the weekend and I heard they weren't going on the field trip, and since they won't be around to bother me, everything will go according to plan!"

"But just using a list worked so well last time..." I said in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, but what if I just got really, really lucky? What if that doesn't happen again?"

I rolled my eyes but not wanting to be mean, I said,

"Look. I know you're a very ‘sweet’-kind of guy, and you've liked this girl for like, ever, but you really should just be yourself and not rely on a piece of paper. Besides, Luck can only go so far."

He looked almost stricken at what I said. Maybe I went to far.

"But…but…"

Not wanting to make the atmosphere even more tense, I quickly changed the subject.

"Hey! Remember when we practiced talking to her with me, and you ended up doing just fine without having to improvise? And the time we ate the entire plate of cookies without Pinkie Pie noticing, and lying about Gummy doing it so to get out of trouble?"

He felt uncomfortable about it, averting his eyes from me.

"Well…I guess…but..."

I shifted my eyes to one side and put my hand on his shoulder, bringing his gaze back to my optimistic smile.

"See? Just talk to her like normal, and you'll be A-OK!"

He hesitated to give it to me at first. But he seemed to have had a change of thought.

"You really think it'll work?"

I nodded, then held out my hand. I slowly retrieved his list again, looking at it uneasily before handing to me.

"Well, Candy's suppose to be getting at the bus place soon."

His eyes darted to the clock.

"So I guess I should get on it," He said.

I smiled and said,

"Go get 'em, Tiger!"

He returned the smile, now looking more sure of himself and just as pumped as before.

"Thanks, Pumpkin."

When he ran downstairs, I promptly tore the paper in half, the thickness of it making it a bit difficult. I'm glad he's got someone to love. I just wish he had more confidence in himself. I made my way down to the bathroom. I showered and got dressed by half past ten o'clock—I had never been a early riser, unlike my brother—and walked back to our room, dumping my pajamas on the bed and searching for an accessory; hairband, or a hair tie? I was feeling different today, so I decided to go with the hairband. Feeling refreshed and ready for the day, I bounded down the creaky stairs one at a time.

"Hey, Gum!" I greeted my Alligator when I reached the bottom, stooping down to pet his head.

He moved his head while I was petting him, and I giggled while he did so. Well, it's not really my pet but Pinkie left him here for me to take care of while she was on a fieldtrip. I ran into the kitchen and made myself a bowl of cereal and a second bowl of milk for Gummy. Bending down to put it in front of his bowl, I explained,

"Pound’s finally gonna do it today. He’s gonna actually confess to Candy. I just hope he can pull it off… oh wait, he’s gonna get her!" I began eating my cereal, waving hi to mom and dad whenever they passed. Mom, who was in a hurry to prepare for that bakery sale, paid me no attention when she was in the kitchen. Dad was busy making a delivery to Filthy Rich for Diamond Tiara’s birthday, so he didn’t have time to talk to me, but I really didn’t mind. I had nearly finished my breakfast when Pound trudged in, with his hands in his pockets and his posture slumped down like those ‘cool’ kids you see at school.

"Hey Pound! What's up with your neck? Did you do it? Did you finally confess to her?", I  asked trying to cheer him up.

"Oh, hey sis. I'm, uh…I'm great! I was just going upstairs…” he gave a half-hearted laugh, and when I turned around and saw he was feeling a little down. I didn't know what was going, but instead of leaving him alone, I decided to speak up and asked,

"Hey! You wanna go and eat some cake with ice cream? We can finally do that little game we've been talking about,” I added, trying harder to cheer him up.

He shook his head and replied,

"Nah, Maybe later... I think I'll just take a walk."

He walked toward the front door, and I bounced along behind him.

"Oh, okay! In that case, where do you wanna go? Are we eating here, or that one bakery store we saw coming from school, or- Wait! How about that place where we-! Oh wait, I already said that. Just  where—"

"Uh, Pumpkin?" he cut in gently. I immediately stopped shouting and listened, my head turning towards his direction. "I just want to be by myself this time. I've, uh…I've got a lot to think about, and well…" He trailed off and I could feel my once expressive face turn into a sad face.

"Oh, Alright. Sorry…"

He put a hand on my arm and put on a faint smile.

"Hey, hey. There's no need to apologize. Listen, when I come back, we'll go to that bakery you’ve been talking about and look for that arcade place, alright?" He gave a small smile, trying to cheer me up. I hated seeing him upset, but I didn't want to intrude on him. Despite the hurt that I was feeling from him pushing me away, I couldn't help him with his problem. I understood why but still... I mustered my courage and gave him a heart-filled smile.

"Okay. I'll be waiting."

Opening the door, he was quickly off, and gone again. He reached halfway through the front yard when I call out,

"Wait!" Glancing over his shoulder, he saw me running up to him, and he turned to face me. "I almost forgot to ask but...! How did your rendezvous with Candy go?" I asked, curious about his day.

Hesitating for only a second, he gave a quick response, saying,

"Oh, you know. Same thing, different day."

Before I could ask what he meant by that, he kept walking toward the park, and I could only watch his retreating figure. And then, I couldn't see him anymore. I returned to the porch and sat on the front step, legs on the stoop and resting on the stair.

"I wonder what's wrong?", I asked aloud, to nobody in particular.

Normally, he wouldn't mind having me tag along on his walks out to the sidewalk; 'town' as he usually would say. But here he was, telling me he didn't want me around... Well, maybe he didn't mean it that way, it wasn't like he was mad at me or anything…but he would have been a bit more firm than this, for sure.

"Hey, Gummy," I questioned him, who only kept licking his own eyes, "you think Pound seem a little, I dunno… down… what's that word again? Just what is that word? Uh…well, he seemed really preoccupied with something, right? It can't just be me, right?"

Not receiving the answer I didn't expect to get in the first place, I twirled a piece of my hair that was slowly beginning to tangle up in the humidity. I felt grief gnawing at my heart for my twin; was he okay? If something was bothering him, it was my job to make it better, right? Not to stand idly by and let him suffer, right...?

I let go of the strand of hair I was unwillingly chewing on, and without realizing it, I felt myself drawing my legs close to me. No… I’m overthinking it.

"Na, I bet he's just trying to stay awake! He probably stayed up playing video games last night and must’ve been really tired, am I right?" I beamed, and I said to myself in response. "That has to be it! I'm starting to sound just like him, worrying over nothing, deluding over the small things. So, what should I do now?" After having an argument with him, I would go and grabbed Gummy's cheeks and smooshed them together, "I've got it! Let's go Gummy! You'd help me, right?" He would normally cheer up, and I smiled as I jumped up, "Alrighty, c'mon then! We can help him!"

Gummy followed me into the house. I closed the door as I entered, which was beginning to take on an ominous air instead of inviting. The sky was slowly turning a deep orange as the orb of heat reached the tops of the trees, all the lights were shining in my face. I sat in dad's large reclining chair, Gummy sitting on my lap and watching t.v.

"Power Ponies?", I asked, smiling proudly at the screen. It was my favorite show on t.v, covered sporadically with action and comedy.

Some of the sunlight caught on these and reflected onto the wall beside me, spots of light dancing with the sound effects and the punches on the screen.

"I made it on time for this show," I rubbed my cheek against him, then sat up quickly, "Oh, crud!"

Hearing heavy footfalls in the hallway coming closer to the doorway, I looked up in time to see my dad coming in from the hallway.

"Hey, Pumpkin," he greeted gruffly, taking off his apron, hat, and tie. "Where's Pound?" he asked, looking around and rubbing his eyes from how tired he is.

"Hey Dad. He went out for a walk, but he should be back soon. We're gonna go look for him if he doesn’t return, okay?", I exclaimed, covering for Pound.

He set his his hat on the hook against the wall, and began removing his jacket, grabbing a hanger out of the closet.

"Well, hopefully he gets back quick. I've got to make—wait, did we make more sweets?", he asked, feeling a little clueless. "Why did Pound leave?"

"Oh, Dad, you’re so goofy at forgetting things," I chuckled, returning my attention to the televised program, Power Ponies.

He scratched his head as he tried to wrap his mind around the thought of Pound going for a walk of all things, then shrugged and began to get washed up, but not before saying,

"Just be careful when you go looking for him, okay?"

"We'll be fine. Don't worry."

He smiled and walked upstairs. Sometime had passed he came back from the field trip. I heard the front door open and close; Pound had walked into the room shortly after. I was excited and slightly relieved at his return, nearly bouncing out of the seat.

"There you are! You were gone awhile, I was wondering if you were ever coming back but then I thought—" I stop mid-sentence when I looked at her knee."Hey casanova, what happened?!" I gaped at him as my eyes roving over his state.

He had various scratches, large and small, covering his arms and legs and was sporting a cut on his right knee that was bleeding rather heavily. His clothes were covered with dirt, and leaves were all over his hair.

"Huh?", he asked almost clueless.

I got up, disturbing Gummy, and reached up to pluck a large maple leaf out of his head near his ear.

"Whaddya mean, 'huh'? You're bleeding!", I gestured.

Looking down at himself, he noticed his knee. "Oh..." he said simply, "I didn't see that."

I only blinked when he said that. I felt his hand falling limply to my side. Was this really him? Was this the same Pound who panicked at a time like anything, who would do anything he could, trying to find a way to fix it?

"Uh…Pound? Are you okay? Seriously, what happened to you?"

He just sighed, sounding a little irritated.

"I'm fine. I'm gonna go upstairs and clean up." Tugging his jacket sleeve, he turned and went upstairs—but not before I noticed this strange look he had in his gray eyes.

Now I knew something was really wrong. I couldn't ignore this even if he could. The gnawing feeling in my heart came back, stronger this time. I had ignored it before but not this time. Instead, something inside my head racked around my brain. What was up with him? I knew that he knew he could talk to me about anything, and that meant anything, which could be something as good as him getting some kind of reward or something, or something that made him terribly worried such as messing up the delivery our parents were gonna make. Why wouldn't he talk to me now?

Was it because he was afraid what he was gonna say to me? Was it because he thought I was gonna laugh at him for what happened on his walk? Or because he was just feeling a little tense today? I shook my head; while he was easy to get riled up, he never stayed angry at me for long. But the uneasy feeling didn't leave. If anything, it intensified as I realized I couldn't figure out why he basically ignored me when he walked inside. This whole feeling of being left in the dark was very new to me, and I didn't like it one bit. I bit my lip and slowly, I decided that I should go up the stairs, one by one. As a little kid when I was growing up, I always respected his space just as much as he respected mine. This time, he sounded like he wanted to be left alone, and I really wanted to give him time and let him cool down.

But I also really wanted to know what was making him so… tense-like. I didn't just want to know, I wanted to know so that so that I could bring him back to his awkward and happy, albeit sometimes-annoying, self. I heard biting at the bottom of the stairs, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Gummy with the dolly he had when we were toddlers. It was on the bottom step. It gave me an idea.

"I'll be right back, Gummy. I've got an idea.", I raised an extended arm and got up before running the rest of the way upstairs.

To my surprise, when I reached to our room, I found our bedroom closed. It had become an unspoken rule between us to always leave the door open, for several reasons: it was closed on me; if mom or dad called for us downstairs, we needed to be able to hear them; and leaving the door open meant we were open with each other, and was waiting for the other if they needed it. But as I came up to the door, I stared at the door in front of me along with the knob with my hand but didn't move, waiting to open it. I could hardly breathe when I twisted the doorknob.

What was I going to say to him? I wasn't very experienced with the whole… ‘talk’ stuff. He was always the one cheering me up. True, I usually calmed him down during one of his tantrums, but those were typically over silly, trivial things, or at least that’s how mom and dad put it. I could tell this, whatever it was, was so unlike him. I glanced out the window, seeing it was now dark outside. Noticing the shape in the window, I shivered and reverted my eyes back to the wood in front of thing I knew was that I couldn't just sit there and stand for him looking so… sad. Taking a deep breath to prepare myself, I finally turned the knob at the same time as I gave a little knock that alerted him to turn his head around.

"Pound?"

Not hearing an invitation inside, I poked my head in and immediately my eyes zeroed in on him, lying sprawled out on his bed, getting ready to fall off the end. I called out again, and he made no movement at his name. I took his lack of responsiveness as an invitation to move closer. I slowly made my way over to him and noticed that, despite what he had told me in the living room, he had made no effort to clean up his injuries; his scratches looked red and messy, the blood on his knee beginning to go dark as it dried. From this angle, I could see he had a smaller cut on his forehead. I saw that he had made an effort to clear his locks of the stray leaves and twigs, and his clothes had significantly less dirt on them.

"Pound? Hey…"

"Hey."

I hadn't expected an answer this time, and almost jumped when he gave me a weak reply but I managed to kept my composed.

"What's wrong? And don't you tell me 'butters'. I can see that you’re being bothered about something." I sat down beside him.

He was silent when I sat down next to him. The minutes stretched out, but I forced myself to sit still and wait patiently. After what seemed like an eternity, he sat up and spoke.

"Alright, fine. Yeah, I'm feeling feeling a little depressed… and I don't know why! Well, whenever you’re having a fit, I do know why, but I have to talk to you, you know what I mean?" He let this all out in a rush, eyes glued to the floor, then glanced back at me.

I had a serious face as I went over what he said in my mind whenever something was wrong, trying to figure out just what he was saying. Eventually, I shook my head and said,

"I’m your sister. Just talk to me."

He looked back down and let out a sigh.

Okay… so, I did what you said this morning. I walked up to Candy and I just started talking to her, y'know, to warm myself up." I nodded, showing him that I understood and that he could continue. "And at first, I felt so happy and overjoyed, because I had no idea what was gonna happen next. But it actually worked! We told jokes, talked, and all that stuff. So I thought to myself, 'Pumpkin was right! Well, butters, go for it!' and I asked her if she wanted to go out this weekend…"

It was at that moment he stopped and took a deep breath. I waited for him to go on, but he didn't. I felt my heart start to sink as I realized what he was referring to. The gnawing in my heart grew bigger, and it seemed to have spread to my mouth. I decided to speak up, knowing the answer.

"Oh… she said no, huh?"

He nodded sadly, his face set in a depressed look. He looked back at me and said,

"She said I was too rowdy."

I felt a crushing guilt squeeze my heart as I hugged him

"Oh, Pound… I'm so sorry," I manage to choked out, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at the level of sincerity in her voice, and how I croaked.

"What for? I mean, unless you’re just taking pity, then… just leave me be."

I blinked, trying to keep him from getting up. It took me a full minute to clear my mind.

"I'm sorry. I mean, I feel like this is all my fault, and I feel awful."

He cocked an eyebrow, with this strange look across his face and in his eyes.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

I was shocked at his statement. Is he trying to play dumb or something?

"I'm the one who told you to go for it and to be yourself. What if I hadn't told you to get rid of your paper? Maybe then you could've gotten her to say yes," my hand slid off his shoulder, landing with a soft thump on the bed between us. I started to feel guilty when most of the tears in my eyes, but blinked them away quickly and held back the sadness I felt inside my heart. I was here to make him feel better, not cry in front of him. "I guess…I guess you must’ve ran out of luck when you spoke to her. It’s just like me to mess up your plans, huh?", I mumbled, staring at the window outside his room.

He gazed at me for a minute. He took a deep breath when I looked at him, then he said,

"Yeah, a little. But, you’re my sister, and you’re worth more to me than Candy. Really— I don't need any help. Don't worry, I thought all of this through on my walk.", he gave a deep sigh, and then more deafening silence.

I was still fixated on trying to solve this problem, but I could feel the tangible pain radiating off of him, and it hurt so, so much that it was beginning to unfold on me.

"I should've known that she would say no. Maybe I already did. I mean, she's so caught up in herself and is so cool and she's pretty popular, and I'm just some other dummy who spends too much time relying on my own sister." I stole a glance and he wasn’t looking at me. He was now staring outside at the starry sky through our bedroom window. "She deserves someone better, anyway," he said with disappointment in his voice.

My eyes widened at what he just said aloud. What? How could he think like that? I quickly took hold of his hand, squeezing it gently but with an intensity that burned through me.

"Hey, now! Don't say that! You’re amazing!" His head snapped back around at my raised voice. Realizing how loud I was, I lowered my voice. I felt the words tumble out of me. "Pound Cake, you are possibly the greatest brother I know! Sure, you're pretty rough at time and haven't even begun to wrap your mind around the small things—"

"Gee, how kind of you," he muttered under his breath.

"—but you're also brilliant and know how to get out of trouble that I couldn't even wrap my mind around how you tricked Pinkie Pie, and you're really creative and can figure out how to clean stuff without mom and dad noticing, and you know how to make me feel happy all the time, and…" I stopped abruptly, and we just stared at each other in silence, his eyes wide and I was feeling bold. I couldn’t believe what I just did, this was easier than I thought! I actually helped him with his problem. Don't just sit there, say something, anything to make him feel better.

"So…yeah.  I was at a loss for words after seeing you come home, but you’re special, and you will find a girl that likes you for who you are,", I smiled widely, feeling that I’ve finally got through to him.

He finally cracked a smile—a small one, but a genuine smile nonetheless—and squeezed my hand back.

"Thanks, sis. But," his smile slid off his face as quickly as it came, and mine soon followed into more of his thought, "why couldn’t she have given me a chance? I would’ve made her happy if she had let me do so. Just why?"

I understood what he was trying to say. It was something that he needed to hear, so I said,

"Well, sourball, Nothing ever goes according to plan, but soon you'll get over it 'cause I will always be there for you. With me, you will never be hurt again!" I shouted, jumping to my feet and hugging and tacking him.

He laughed and rejoined our hands when I flopped back down, causing us to bounce a little.

"Um…no offense, sis, but you do know I'm not the only one with problems, right?" I gave him a skeptical look as he hastily continued, "all I'm saying is, you're pretty good at handling yourself. How do you do it?"

I sat there in silence, letting the question hang in the air. I swung my legs in contemplation, before bringing them up and folding them beneath me on the bed.

"Hmm… while I'm not proud to admit this, getting a boyfriend of my own, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes, I get pretty down when things go bad, and then I'll go get some ice cream. But then I think, 'Hey you! Yeah, you, with the weird hair!'" He rolled his eyes at what I said, but I ignored it and continued. "'Don't worry about it, you're gonna find yourself an awesome boy someday and have the best romantic day ever! Besides, you have your twin brother to look after to. So stay happy for him.’ Plus, I have mom, dad and more importantly... you to make me feel better. Especially you," I added as an afterthought, rubbing his knuckles with my thumb.

"Huh? Why me especially?"

"You always find a way to fix me up. If I have a problem when something goes wrong, you're there to help. You have a solution for me. Whenever I'm upset or crying, you always cheer me up. You always know what to say and do everything with me. Speaking of," I pulled my hand away and jumped off of his bed, running over to the bathroom. I rummaged around the cabinets, looking for anything to help make Pound feel better. When I looked under the lower cabinet, I found a First aid kit. I pulled it out and brought it over to my brother, opening it and taking out the bandages, disinfectant, and the bandaids. I soon got to work, tending to his wounds in concentration. I heard a chuckle come out of him, and he winced as I suddenly dabbed the disinfectant on his scraped knee. "You always make me feel better, now it's my turn to do the same," I said to him as the wound bubbled up, causing him to flinch and hiss through his teeth, "what in the world happened to you?"

He let out a breath he was holding as I finished up cleaning it. I began wrapping his knee securely with bandage wrap, then he said,

"Uhm…well, when I was on my walk thinking about what I did wrong with Candy, I told you I was thinking pretty hard about the whole Candy thing, and you know how I get when I'm really thinking about something."

I nodded as I stood up and removed his jacket, setting it down on the table next to his journal, and began tending to the small gash on his forehead—not deep, thankfully, but still needed cleaning.

"I do, Poundie. Now hold still."

He frowned at the name, but carried on as if I hadn't said anything,

"So I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going. Next thing I knew, I'm rolling down the band- Ow! Go easy with that stuff!"

"Oh, hush you, I'm all done." I dropped the disinfectant into the kit with the bandage before pulling out the pin to hold it in place.

My expression was grimaced, and my mood was infectious because soon he was smiling as I wrapped his head. He fell down; his heart was broken, and now I have to heal him. I figured that one day—we would need each other, and there would be us when we need each other the most. But I would always be here to help him if anything bad happened, and I knew I could keep going, no problem. It would take awhile, but I knew he would be glad for me to help. I was just happy to see my brother looking like he was feeling better, handed him a few band-aids to put on his arms while I put them on his legs.

"Here, let's finish up. Then we can have cake with ice cream!"

He visibly cringed as he complied.

"A dinner celebration? Does that mean that Mom and Dad are coming? Because I don't think I can put up with that tonight."

I finished with a band-aid to his elbow and smacked his shoulder, producing a small 'ow' from him.

"No, you silly goose! It'll just be you and me."

He then relaxed, soon finishing himself as I stood and stepped back.

"Good. We can play games while they’re out!"

"And we can eat whatever we want!"

"And play ‘house’ too while we’re at it!" I turned to grab my nightgown off the bed, getting ready to change while he had already removed his shirt and shoes. "Alright, ready," he announced.

I shook my head, "Someday for your birthday-

"You mean our Birthday."

"Right. Our Birthday, I'm getting you actual pajamas."

He made his way to the door before glancing behind him.

"Hey, Pumpkin? Thanks."

I smiled, giving him a thumbs up.

"Anytime, Poundie!

As he went into his drawer, I spoke once more.

“Hey Pound?", I asked, stretching my arms out.

"Yeah, Pumpkin?", he answered, walking back to help me get ready.

After we finished with the bandages, we played 'hide ‘n seek', then I challenged him to a race after I changed.

"You are so on!" he grinned, throwing open the door and racing down to the bathroom.

"Hey! No door closing!"

After sometime had passed, we were huddled together, wrapped in a blanket on my bed in darkness. The only light came from a flashlight that I was currently using to shine on my face, creating a puppet effect.

"And then, the man slowly opened the door, there was a hiss in the air," I whispered loudly, exaggerating the noise while Pound did his best to hold in a snicker. "He looked around the dark room. 'Is anyone there?' He called out. There was no answer, except for a sound in the darkness surrounding him. He turned to leave, when all of a sudden... He was attacked by a alligator man!", I shouted, thrusting Gummy into his face.

"Aaah!", he yelped, falling backward.

I began laughing,

"I can't believe you didn't see that coming!" and  I doubled over in laughter, my forehead nearly touching the mattress while Gummy walked forward, waving his tongue around as he did so, and jumped off the bed, settling in his normal place for the night.

Pound, while seeming slightly annoyed at first with me for causing him jump and basically give him a heart attack, began to laugh with me.

"Pfft, good one sis." He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Wrapping the blanket tighter on his side, he scooted lower to make himself more comfortable. After I could catch my breath and shut off the flashlight, I shifted so I was laying down; we were pretty much snuggling at this point. "What time is it?"

I looked at Rainbow clock.

"Twelve thirty.", I replied.

He yawned again, as if to prove a point.

"I'm getting tired…", I yawned as well, "And now you are too. Let's go to sleep so we can go on that cake with ice cream and then beat you at the arcade tomorrow."

I grinned lazily at him.

"And I'll win."

He remarked by saying,

"The day you win is the day that pigs fly, sis."

He then shifted so that he had one arm outstretched beneath my head, and my answer was to settle my head on the crook of his shoulder. After a while, I heard him snore, signifying he was asleep. Looking up, I noticed he had a faint smile on his lips and looked pretty peaceful. I smiled at my handiwork on his head, and his smile, before wriggling into a comfortable place. The last thing I felt before drifting to sleep was pride at being able to fix my brother for once.

"Love you, Poundie. And no matter what comes your way, no matter who will hurt us, I will be there for you. You will always be my brother, for better or worse. Don't you ever forget it…”