When life started to level out, and being low became the norm to the extent that Pound started to feel the comfort of familiarity, something shook that foundation and dragged him to a new low. First his affair with Venus, then the accidental hookup with his sister, and then the degradation of their relationship to something less than friends. And now, after all that, he was here. Rock bottom.

Between him and Pumpkin, their parents had interrogated the full story from them. There was no hiding the secret, not after the fight and the outburst, and as he'd feared, their family had been pulled apart. The usual lustrous glow of their home had dimmed, and their conversations were sombre and resigned. Upon hearing what had happened at the Nightmare Night party, Carrot had forbidden either of his children from attending any events, and had, as an extra measure, decided to empty the entire house of alcohol. Pound had had to sacrifice a crate of beer, but the rest of his stash had remained undiscovered and untouched.

"You need to sort yourself out," his dad had said, looking haggard and weary as he carried the beer away. "You aren't just unpleasant when you drink, you're thoroughly irresponsible, and it's going to be the death of us." That had been the last time they'd spoken properly in five days, and he'd barely left his room in all that time. Even helping in the kitchen had been a strain, so he'd only been asked to help during the rush hours. The rest of the time, he spent in his room, talking to Reflection.

As far as he could tell, Pumpkin was in the same position as him. On the odd occasions he'd passed by her room, he'd sometimes hear her crying. Once, she'd exited the bathroom as he'd approached, and she froze, looking like she was about to say something, but just wiped her puffy eyes and strode past him. He didn't stop her.

In the evenings, his parents argued. It hadn't started that way; it'd initially been urgent conversation whenever no one else was around, and he'd sometimes stumble across them mid-flow. They'd always stop when he walked in the room, and it was too awkward to stick around to hopefully prevent anything escalating. After the first couple of days, the rows had started, and even his presence didn't halt it. He shouldn't have been able to feel any more crushed, but somehow, seeing them rant and howl at each other, the most energy he'd seen from either of them that month, their faces filled with more colour than they had in years, that hit him harder.

"I never should've got out of bed," Pound murmured, finishing the last of the bottle of cider. It was a reserve from Sweet Apple Acres, and he'd been saving it for a special occasion. He didn't see any off those coming any time soon, so he'd downed it. It had tasted good, but he hadn't enjoyed it. Not the way he should've. "Nightmare Night, I mean. I should've just slept in all day, and let everything happen without me."

"That's...not untrue," Reflection answered, his tone less sure than normal. Pound didn't know why, but his confidant was less assuring recently. The last few days had seen a dramatic decrease in how well he set the young man's mind at ease. He never said anything wrong and he always took Pound's side, but he didn't have that confidence, that charisma that Pound had liked so much.

"Any words of wisdom?" the teen asked, moving over to the floorboard behind his cabinet. He lost sight of his friend for the time he was there, and it wasn't until he returned, bottle of port in hand, that Reflection spoke.

"Not really," he answered, noncommittally. "Life sucks, I guess."

"Yeah," Pound sighed, sitting down again. Reflection joined him, sitting opposite, leaning against an identical bed. "It does. You'd think it wouldn't, that something would go right, but just everything seems to suck. My first crush, my friendships, my relationship with my family, my mental health - no offence Reflection, you're great - and even fatherhood." He grimaced at the thought. "Everything is just so screwed up. Life couldn't throw me a bone?"

"You haven't had a bad life," Reflection noted. "You've got a loving family-"

"Who's turning against one another and falling ill," Pound cut in.

"-some great friends-"

"With whom I can't talk honestly or else they'll abandon me."

"-a pretty good social life-"

"That I can't access any more."

"-a stable job-"

"That I can't perform any more because I'm a wreck."

"-and you live in a great part of the country."

"In a close-knit community that's starting to notice I'm acting strange."

Reflection frowned. "Not everything's good, but you did have a good life. You never had to complain back then. You had everything you wanted; freedom, opportunity, a loving family, friends, all that good stuff."

"Yeah, had," Pound retorted, getting ready to open the bottle. He stopped when he noticed Reflection looking at him with a dour gaze. "What?" There was a long pause, and the other man sighed.

"Can I be real with you? I'm gonna be real with you." He sat up straighter, and leaned forward a little, resting his hands together. Pound had never seen him look so sincere. "You've got plenty of things going wrong in your life right now. You've got Venus, your parents, your sister, your friends, your work, your social life. What's the common link there?"

"Uh...they're all...they're all happening to me?" Pound chanced. Reflection wobbled a flat hand, indicating sort of.

"Reframe it."

"Um...they're all my life?"

"Exactly. It's all to do with you. You're the common link here."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's start with a simple example," Reflection suggested, holding up a bottle of port. "What have you been doing for the last couple of months, aside from drinking and avoiding your family?" He waited for an answer, but Pound didn't have one. "And why have you been doing that?"

"Because I felt bad."

"And did drinking make you feel better?"

"Yes."

"Did it?"

Pound went to answer, but found himself stopping. He cast his mind back, thinking about the repetitive cycle he'd gone through, the dreary drag that his life had become, with the sole consolation being more drink at the end of the day. "It...it helped me through the day, but it didn't solve the problem. It just covered it."

"Yeah. It just distracted you. You became reliant on it, and others noticed. Your dad wasn't happy with you, was he? It didn't help your relationship with him, and it certainly didn't fix any problems with your sister. It didn't help you avoid ruining your morning coffee every day for the last six months, or help you think clearly."

"I guess not."

"And have you thought about that? Have you blamed alcohol for your problems?"

"Well, no," Pound answered. "Why would I?"

"It's a problem. But you're not blaming it. You're blaming everything else that's wrong in your life, but not that. Why? Because it brings you temporary comfort?" Reflection set his bottle of port down by his side. "Just like how you didn't blame yourself for anything else that you enjoyed, even if what you enjoyed was harmful or bad. You didn't blame yourself for sleeping with Venus, or going out partying and getting so drunk you didn't even realised you'd hooked up with your sister. You didn't blame yourself for neglecting to use protection and getting her pregnant. You haven't blamed yourself for any of that."

"That's different," the teenager protested. "Most of that was fine, and it just turned out poorly, and it was someone else's fault besides."

"Oh, sure," Reflection scoffed. Pound frowned at the tone. "Venus forced you to sleep with her, huh? She raped you, did she?" He waited for the rhetorical question to sink in, then continued. "And I guess she forced you into alcohol dependency as a coping mechanism for the shitty things you did together? Or that she forced you to take Pumpkin to bed, or to find any random girl? That was her fault, was it?"

"Kind of," Pound answered, but his belief in his own innocence was starting to fade. "She made me feel that way...she manipulated me..."

"And you knew she was doing that," Reflection countered. "You knew, but you persisted, because it was easier than doing the right thing. You fell into drink because it was a convenient escape from the guilt. You didn't even stop to think about who it might be under that costume, or who you'd spent the night with. What if it'd been someone else? What if it'd been a random girl who you'd never seen again? Would've you have stopped to wonder? Would you have tried to find out and help raise a child you created? Or would you have dumped that responsibility entirely onto her and happily gone about your life, partying and drinking and hooking up with people because someone else made you feel sad?"

The teen stared at the floor, the words sinking into him as sharp as daggers. It hurt, but it made him feel more awake than he'd felt in weeks. It was like he was starting to wake from a dream, or coming up from anesthesia.

"You didn't stop to think what would happen if something went wrong, or even if what you were doing was bad," Reflection carried on, unabated. "And even on the odd occasions you did, you dismissed it and comforted yourself like you were some sort of victim. You lived a perfectly happy life without any consequences, and you took it all for granted because you were lucky and had a smooth run right up until now, and when it all starts to come crashing down, all you can do is drown in pity because you think life has been so cruel and so unfair. Guess what? Life is a bank. You take out a loan to stay afloat, you have to pay it back in. You've taken out one hell of a loan, Pound Cake. And right now, the sharks are knocking on your door."

"What the hell do I do?" Pound whispered to himself, distress washing over him. In spite of how quiet his voice was, Reflection answered him.

"You take some responsibility. You pay back what you owe. You make amends. You fix this mess, because no one is going to fix it for you, and they shouldn't have to."

"But what about everyone else?" he questioned, looking up to address the other man. "Sure, Venus didn't force me to drink, or...or do the other things I did, but I didn't force her to cheat on Brick! Who's gonna make her pay what she owes? She's gotten away with far more than I have!"

"Let's take this one at a time," Reflection halted him, holding up his hand. "One, you don't wait for everyone else to get their just desserts before you start rectifying your own actions. That's pushing the blame. Two, you choose to not get involved in their schemes and ploys, and you don't have to worry about fixing anything you help them do. Three, you can't control other people action's and decisions, only your own. You choose how to react to people. Choose to be better. And four, that's for you to decide, but remember this; life finds a way. No one put you in this position. It all just fell into place. The same happens for everyone else."

"Right," Pound agreed, breathing out a sigh. It felt like he was releasing something heavy inside him. "Yeah, okay. I can do this. I need to fix what I've done. I can do that." He paused, and frowned. "How the fuck can I do that?" Reflection laughed at his confusion, and the teen glared.

"Methodically," he answered. "You owe Pumpkin, you owe your parents, and you owe Brick. I think there's a way to solve two of those in one fell swoop."

"How?"

Across from him, Reflection picked up the bottle of port and lifted it up. "Remember what your dad said? And remember how Brick spotted you beers on Nightmare Night?"

"Yeah..." Pound answered, glancing at the port in his hand. "Yeah. I do." He turned his eyes to the cabinet, visualising the floorboard behind it. "All of it?"

"All of it."

"Yeah, I can do that." The teen swept back his hair and checked his watch for the time; 22:37. He had time to make the delivery. "Where do you reckon he'll be?"

"Where do you think?" Reflection answered, a grin crossing his face. The other man groaned.

"Can you stop being so cryptic?"

"Hey, that's my job. I have to be poetic about it. Besides, you're thinking exactly the same thing as me. If I know it, you know it too."

"You reckon he's there?"

"I'd say so. Everyone was invited, even you." His grin turned a little nervous, but Reflection persisted in his smile anyway. "If you want to go back to how things were, you've got to go back to where the problems started."

It hadn't taken long for Pound to fit the drinks into a plastic bag, pull on a winter coat, and slip out of his bedroom window. What had taken him a little while was figuring out how to climb safely down the side of Sugarcube Corner. He thought about jumping down, but even a bottle of hard cider in, he didn't feel like taking the risk, especially not if he wanted the bottles to remain in tact. Luckily for him, the building was designed in such a way that he could find footholds and ease himself down, carefully inching closer to the ground. After five minutes, he glanced down, figured he was close enough, and leaped. It was a textbook success, which was a good start. In spite of himself, he grinned, feeling the excitement and adrenaline course through him. It was an adventure, at least.

He reached Pipsqueak's house just before eleven o'clock, the flash of lights and the music inside keeping him company as he knocked at the door and waited. A few minutes later, the host opened the door, welcoming Pound inside and asking him a few polite passing questions. Pound gave some standard responses, wished Pip all the best for the new year, and began his search for the person he'd come here to find.

It only took five minutes to scout out the house, and it was when he was passing through the kitchen that Brick came in from the garden, stubbing out the remains of a cigarette into an ashtray. Pound noticed him first and waved, catching the broad man's attention.

"Hey, bro!" Brick greeted, grinning and pulling his smaller friend into a crushing hug. "I haven't seen you in weeks, what's been up with that?"

"Yeah, I know, right?" Pound answered, massaging his ribs and wincing once he was free from the grip. "I've been dealing with a few issues."

"Well, now that's done, you can party," the large lad answered with a grin. "There's still some beers in the fridge."

"Not tonight," Pound told him, shaking his head. Brick looked at him in surprise. "I just stopped by to give you this." He held up the plastic bag, passing it to Brick, who glanced inside. Seeing the bottles, he whistled, and looked back to Pound.

"For me?" he asked, smiling when the smaller teen nodded in affirmation. "You aren't gonna drink any of these? These are some high quality drinks. I don't want to take all of them off your hands."

"New Year's resolution. I'm giving up drink."

"Completely?"

"Maybe not completely, but I'm definitely cutting a lot of it out my life. It's been bad for my health, and I don't like how it influenced me, so it's the smartest thing to do, I think."

"Is that why I haven't seen you in a few weeks?"

"In part, yeah."

"Sorry to hear, my man. Hope you're on the mend." He looked into the bag again, spying out some particularly tasty looking liquors. "This is really good of you, bro. You're awesome." He held out a hand for Pound to slap, which he did. "You're an awesome friend."

"No, I'm not," Pound lamented, partly restraining his sigh. Brick quirked an eyebrow, and the brown haired teen pressed on. "I haven't been a good friend lately, but I'm going to be. That's the start of it." He nodded to the bag. "I'm gonna try being a better person in a lot of ways. Do me a favour and slam back a beer for me at midnight, yeah?"

"Anything for you, my man."

"Happy New Year, Brick."

"Happy New Year, bro."

They shared a quick hug and a pat on the back, and Pound turned to head back through the partygoers, heading for the stairs. He had one more thing to do before he left, and he was sure he'd find it upstairs. On the first landing, he glanced to one of the doors and knocked, testing to see if there was anyone inside, and, hearing no response, opened it up. The bathroom was empty, and he slipped inside, shutting it behind him.

Fifteen seconds later, he heard a knock, and called out to tell them the bathroom was occupied. Nevertheless, the door opened, and Pound turned to find himself face-to-face with Venus Trap. The svelte woman smiled in a way that was all too saccharine and closed the door behind her.

"Oh, sorry," she spoke up, her tone sickeningly innocent. "I didn't realise there was someone else in here."

"Didn't you?" Pound asked, tugging his belt tight. "I must've been too quiet when I answered the knock."

"I forgive you." She walked a little closer as he flushed the toilet, her eyes running up and down his body. "Say, isn't this the same bathroom I found you in before? The one from Nightmare Night?"

"Looks like it."

"Wow," she cooed. "What a coincidence. The next time we run into each other, it's in the same place as before. The same place we had so much fun."

"As I recall, you had your fun, then left me to tend to myself."

"Did I?" she asked, pouting. "I can't remember. It was so long ago, and I haven't seen you in all that time. Little old me forgets, sometimes. But I'm sure that if I did do anything so careless, I can more than make it up to you now." She bit her lip and lidded her eyes. "How about a quickie?" she whispered, stepping closer. "Wasn't that what you wanted?"

"I thought you said you didn't remember?"

She shrugged and smiled at him, leaving her answer as nonverbal. Pound hummed at that.

"Well, you haven't blown me in quite a while-"

"Such language, Pound Cake," she gasped, placing a hand on her chest in faux-shock. "Such vulgar words."

"Maybe I've had a stressful week. Maybe I miss the times you used to suck me off behind the school, or when we fucked on the sofa while your parents were away on that ski trip."

"Oh? Getting some ideas?"

"For a bathroom?" he snorted. "Nah. How about you bend over, let me show you a good time, babe."

"I don't just bend over, Pound. I require some love first."

"You'll get your love," he assured her. "I know what you like. We do it enough, after all." She purred at that, loud enough to fill the room.

"You're such a naughty one."

"You're one to talk. Your boyfriend's downstairs right now, and you're in here with me. It's New Year's Eve, and you're getting ready to cheat on your boyfriend with his best friend in a bathroom at a house party."

"Harmless fun."

"Harmless for who?"

She quirked an eyebrow at that, and he smirked. She dismissed his comment, and ran a hand down his chest.

"So, what do you plan to do first, Pound Cake?"

"I would say something new, but we've done a lot. I don't think we've done anal, though. Pretty much the only thing."

"That can be next time." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pressing her body to his, and closed the gap between their faces. Their lips drew near.

"No, it can't."

She balked as he pulled back, shoving her away from their embrace. She was at a loss for words as he picked his phone up from atop the cistern.

"Hey!" she complained at last, scowling at him. "What are you doing?"

"Rejecting you," he answered, simply. "You and me, we're done. We're never hooking up again. You thought you could be clever, you thought you could have every guy you wanted without devoting yourself to any of them, and you didn't care how much you hurt them. You thought you could lure me in, worm your way into my heart, and keep me on a leash simply because I was an awestruck kid when you started. It worked, and for the last couple of years, I've been at your beck and call. I've helped you cheat on Brick Wall because I was too weak to stand up to you and tell you no. But now I've found the courage to actually do it, and more than that, I'm not letting you hurt him ever again."

The shock on her face was a novelty, and it was almost delicious. It was perhaps the sweetest thing he'd ever seen, and certainly the most sincere. As his speech wore on, however, her countenance morphed back into its familiar, sickly confidence, and when he finished, she was smirking again.

"You're an idiot," she told him, smugly. "You haven't achieved anything. You're not getting any more of me-"

"That's the idea, dumbass."

"Um, I'm talking," she told him, a drop of venom hissing in the last word. Collecting herself, she continued. "You're never going to have fun with me ever again, Pound Cake, and you don't exactly have girls falling at your feet. Me? I have guys lining up to date me, or tend to my every need. I can get what I want whenever I want, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." She smiled mockingly at him. "I'm sorry to ruin your power fantasy, sweetheart, but I'm the cute girl next door everyone loves, and you're some semi-popular kid from a bakery. No one will ever believe you if you say I've been cheating on Brick for the entire time we've been together, and if you try?" There was a flash of something very sinister in her expression. "I can always say you forced yourself on me. It's a party, and I've been drinking. Maybe I'm suggestible. Maybe you got aggressive when I tried to say no." She glowered at him. "You have nothing on me. You are nothing without me."

"Done?" The question seemed to catch her off-guard, and she blinked in confusion. "Cool. Anyway, I imagine that was a contingency plan you've had stored up for a while, or maybe you're just such a sociopath that you can come up with evil shit like that on the fly. Doesn't really matter, because you might be a strategist when it comes to using other people as pawns, but I'm playing 4D chess right here, and I'm about to knock your little Schrodinger's faithful girlfriend/cheating whore plan right out of the park."

"What the fuck are you on about?"

"Wikipedia it," Pound answered, shrugging. "It's funny if you get it. What I'm trying to say is that you're right about a couple of things; I don't have girls just falling at my feet, and you can lie to anyone about anything. However, I'm not stupid. I'm many things, but not stupid. You're not the only one who can manipulate people, Venus. I've known you for more than two years, and I've grown used to your tricks. I know what you do, how you play. I knew you'd threaten me. I knew that I could never convince people to believe me over whatever sob story you'd cook up. I also know that Brick can survive without you, because he's a great guy and there are plenty of girls who would be lucky to have him. You don't deserve him, and he definitely deserves better than you. He can survive without you, but can you survive without him? What about if everyone knows what you're like behind closed doors?"

"But they don't," Venus sighed, apparently frustrated with his lack of understanding on that point. "You said it yourself. No one would believe you, and there's no one here except me and you. Even if you run outside now and tell the entire house, I'll deny it. I'll tell Brick you tried to force yourself on me, and you'll lose him as a friend and earn the everlasting contempt of the entire town."

"So you're saying that, right now, at Pipsqueak's house party on New Year's Eve, you'd actively lie to your boyfriend, Brick Wall, about me forcing myself on you, when in actuality, you were the one who tried to sleep with me? And you couldn't stand rejection, because no one you've ever cheated on him with has ever said no?"

"You think I can't? Or that I won't." She leaned in close, and Pound smiled.

"I think you won't." He held up his phone, and she glanced at the screen.

Recording: 00:09:13

Her face went pale, and in the time it took her to decide on a course of action, Pound had saved the recording and slipped it into his pocket.

"You try to wrestle the phone from me, I'll knock you to the ground," he growled at her, and she swallowed. "I swear to the Two Sisters you will not stop seeing stars for a week."

"You bastard," she hissed. "You total bastard."

"Yeah, keep talking dirty to me, babe," he taunted, reaching for the door handle. "I wonder what Brick will have to say about this?"

"NO!" She grabbed his leg. "Please, you can't show this to anyone! Please!" Her lip started to wobble, and her eyes moistened. "Please, don't show anyone! I'll do anything! You said you wanted to try anal? We could try it here, right now!" He yanked his leg away from her, feeling, for the first time in his life, genuinely repulsed by her.

"You'll do anything?" he asked, and she nodded, tears starting to fall down her cheeks, gorging ugly crevices through her makeup. "You're going to stop cheating. Not just on Brick, but on anyone. If any guy or girl ever approaches you again, you're going to reject them politely and without any obscurity. You're going to stop sleeping around." She nodded again, frantically jerking her head up and down.

I could destroy her, he realised. A less conscientious man would. After everything she'd done, it was only fair, right? He could demand anything from her, and she'd have to give it. Money, food, nudes. His mind wandered back to her offer of anal, and he briefly imagined just what faces she'd make.

Then he blinked, and the desire was gone. He felt the shame rush in to fill the void where his vindictiveness had started to take hold. What the fuck? he asked himself. He wasn't a less conscientious man, thank the Sisters. He forced the thoughts to the back of his mind, hoping to never visit them again.

"I'll be making sure you're faithful to him," Pound warned her. "Do that, and I'll never let anyone know what happened. But if you start to stray even for half a second..." He left the threat unfinished, and opened the bathroom door. Walking outside onto the landing, he felt one final strand of vindictiveness take hold of him. "I'm sorry, but ten bits for a blowie just isn't worth it," he called back over his shoulder, loud enough for anyone on the same floor to hear him. A few heads turned. "Not when your mum offers the three-hole-special for the same price." Grinning to himself, he headed down the stairs again to a burst of laughter, his business entirely concluded.

Fifteen minutes until the new year. Pound spread his knees out. Normally, he'd have a bottle in his hand and be surrounded by his friends. Maybe it was better this way. Did he really deserve any more? At least it was a beautiful night, as cold as it was. The chill made him feel more awake, and he liked that. It was feeling something good, something real. He felt a lot better than he had in weeks. Not perfect, but better. And maybe better was alright for now. A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step. He looked up at the inky canopy above, speckled with the bright white dots of stars and the glaring light of the moon, and let out a deep breath. The wisps floated upwards to disperse, a dissipating cloud among the cloudless night. It was peaceful.

"Hey."

The voice brought a different chill to him, one which cut straight through his jacket and bit at him directly. He let out a few breaths, no longer at peace.

"Hey," he replied eventually, glancing at the figure to his side. "I didn't expect to see you out here tonight. Or to see you tonight at all."

"I figured I'd play the nosy sister and follow you," she informed him, taking a seat beside him. The snow crunched beneath her as she sat down.

"How did you know I was going out?"

"You're not a master of parkour," she answered, chuckling. There was a slight restraint to her voice, and he wondered how long ago it had been since she'd cried. "I saw you bumbling your way down the side of the house, and I gave it a go myself, figured it'd be easier than you made it look."

"Was it?"

"Really easy."

"Figures." They shared a short chuckle together, and then spent a couple more seconds in silence.

"I followed you to Pipsqueak's party. I thought you were going to just party the night away, that you'd fully lost control, so I followed you in to try and drag you out." She paused, and glanced sideways at him. "I heard what you said to Brick. About giving up drinking, trying to be a better person. I saw Venus follow you to the bathroom, and I don't know what you said to her, but it clearly worked." She snorted. "And three-hole-special?"

"Did you like it?" he asked, feeling a smile tug at his cheek.

"I was laughing my ass off," she told him. He looked at her fully, and she was actually smiling. Her eyes were red, but she was genuinely smiling. "And, you know, the whole you standing up to her thing? That was brave of you. I don't know what you did, but I assume you got closure?"

"Recorded her trying to seduce me and got her to admit that she was willing to cheat on anyone and everyone and that she'd lie to protect that lifestyle," Pound summarised. Pumpkin looked impressed.

"Can I hear?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I made a promise," he told her. "I wouldn't share it with anyone if she stayed on the straight and narrow. No more hurting Brick, and I don't hurt her."

"Man of principle all of a sudden?"

"New Year's resolution."

She snorted, amused. It didn't sound condescending, but approving. Another silence followed, this one longer.

"That's everyone sorted, then."

"Yeah." He closed his eyes, and sighed. "No. Not everyone." Opening his eyes, he turned his body to face her, fully. "Not us." He shifted in place waiting for her to say something, but she didn't. He bit his tongue, feeling a dread building up inside him again. "I don't want it to go like last time, so...well, I won't ask you to not yell at me or tell me I'm an asshole, but I'm going to keep it civil. If you can do the same, I'd really like that." She nodded, and he glanced up at the sky again, searching for words.

"I was an asshole," he began, opening with the broadest statement. "I had everything I wanted in life and more, and I didn't appreciate it. Not really. I took it all for granted, and I acted like a spoiled brat. I thought that because I acted as mum and dad told me, that I didn't have to do anything more, or think for myself. I thought that if I said thank you and please and complimented people and was generally nice, then that was enough for me to be a good person. I didn't stop to think that maybe I should think for myself about whether something was bad or not. I didn't stop to question if I could have too much of a good thing. As far as I saw it, drinking was good, partying was good, spending all night out with friends was good, so I should just keep doing that. I didn't think about what would happen if I got too drunk and became rowdy and unlikable, or if I stayed out late and worried mum and dad, or if I partied my health and reputation away. And the same was true about sex. I never stopped to think that I could be ruining someone else's relationship, or their life." He glanced at his sister's belly, feeling a twinge of sickness and guilt.

"I didn't stop to consider anyone else, and that cost me greatly. And then, when it all went wrong, I blamed everyone and everything else. It wasn't my fault I was a dishonest and disloyal friend, because the girl was to blame. It wasn't my fault I was being an asshole, it was the alcohol to blame. It wasn't my fault I...I..." He gulped. "...I got someone pregnant, it was her fault for going along with it." He looked into Pumpkin's eyes. "All of it was my fault. Every single thing. Every bit of it." His hands closed around hers, and she didn't pull away. "I am so, so sorry. I don't know if we can ever go back to how we were, or if we're just gonna have to live with this forever, but...I need you to know I'm not the same asshole who put you through all this shit. I know I fucked up, and I'm going to spend every day making up for that."

The young man didn't expect he hug, but he appreciated it anyway, wrapping his arms around her in turn, their heads pressed together softly. All the strain, the guilt, the mess that had infected him more strongly than the worst cold, started to melt away. The simple contact, the acceptance of his remorse, it started to heal him, and he had to fight hard to pull back tears.

"My turn," she murmured into his ear, pulling back to face him again. "Okay, so...good speech. Mayor Mare would be proud." They laughed together at that. "And thank you. To hear you say that, to feel like I have someone I can love and trust back in my life...it's the most important thing I could ever...You don't even know-"

"Take your time," Pound encouraged her, rubbing her shoulder tenderly. She nodded and paused, gathering her thoughts.

"I was an asshole too," she explained. "When you told me I was putting all the blame on you, I exploded. I said some really unfair things, because, while you shouldn't have done what you did, I wasn't innocent. I went along with it. And you were right; I was looking for attention. I did want guys to flirt with me and make me feel special. I jumped at the opportunity to sleep with the first guy to give me compliments, and because of that, I put myself in this position. More than that, I cut you out of my life. I thought back on what you said, about nineteen years thrown away because of that, and...it hurt. It hurt because you hit the nail on the head. You're my best friend, and I could never live without you, but because I was putting all the blame on you, I couldn't stand to look at you. But when I look back, I was being so unreasonable. I was being just as selfish a bitch as you were a stupid asshole. When I saw what you did tonight, what you said, how much you were willing to do...I realised I needed to do the same. I needed to own up to my faults. You gave me the courage to do that. Thank you."

They hugged again. How couldn't they? It felt right to just embrace and share their warmth and love. Together, they could weather any howling storm or frosty night.

"Pound?"

"Yeah, Red?" He froze. "S-sorry, I-"

"Red's fine," she said, pulling back. "We should go back to how things were. You were right about that too. We can't change the past, sure, and we'll always have done what we did, but..."

"But we can choose how to act about it going forwards?" he guessed. She nodded.

"You're still my brother, and I'm still your sis. Even if we did fuck up - really really badly - we fucked up together."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Love you, Red."

"Love you too." She bit her lip. "But, about what I was going to say..." She took a deep breath. "About the...baby..." She took another deep breath, and her eyes started to tear up. "I'm scared. I'm so so scared, Pound. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't know how I'm going to do this on my own, and-"

"Hey, hey!" he cut in, wrapping her up in tight, comforting embrace again. "You are not going to do this alone! You're never going to have to do this alone!" She sniffled and partly buried her head in his chest.

"But mum and dad-"

"Love you," he assured her. "It's just as weird for them as it is for us, but they still love you. They love us both. They're never going to abandon you. Nor am I." He stroked her hair softly. "I'm here to help you, Pumpkin. You're my sister. I'm not gonna abandon you, nor the baby. Not my baby. It's my responsibility, and I'm not running. Not any more."

"Th-thank you." She pulled him tighter, and they held each other close. The seconds passed by, and her breathing returned to normal. Once more, the peace settled over them.

BANG!

The explosion shattered the night, and a flash of red illuminated the ground around them. The twins looked up, spotting the fireworks racing and whizzing into the sky, streaks of orange before they burst into blazing colours. Pound smiled, his hand continuing to stroke Pumpkin's bushy hair.

"Happy New Year, Red," he spoke up, hearing the faint clanging of the clocktower bell in the distance, covered by the cacophony of the fireworks.

"Happy New Year, Pound," she answered him, sitting up. "Do you think we should head back before mum and dad notice we're gone?"

"A bit late for that," he laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Let's stay and enjoy the show." She cuddled up to him, resting her head on his shoulder as the light show continued. It took a good two minutes before it wound down. They stayed still for a little while after that.

"Do you honestly think mum and dad will really come around?" Pumpkin asked, turning to look at Pound once again.

"I do," he answered immediately. "A week ago, it looked like we'd never be back to how we were. What makes you think mum and dad are any different? We're gonna pull this family back together." He slid his hand down to her stomach, smiling softly. "All this family." She returned his smile, and rested her hand atop his.

"Yeah," she agreed, breathing in the cold winter air. "We will." She looked up at the moon, gleaming down benevolently like a watchful protector. Everything seemed peaceful in the still of the early morning.

"We will."

Author's Note

Fun fact; I finished this chapter and half of chapter two in one day, and wrote the finishing lines about five minutes before I had to head for work. Sorry if it looks a little rushed or there are mistakes. I'll fix them later.