• "This is boring, Jack. You wanna go see if Lucas wants to hang out with us? He always makes things more fun!"
    Jack sighed. It was always about his older brother, even with his best friend. Now, Jack was well aware that Marie had held a flame for Luke ever since they'd become friends, but why was it that every girl he'd ever liked always swooned over his brother? They had the same green eyes, the same black hair, the same build, the same scent on their skin, the same profile, and the same personality: Jack's personality maybe even a bit better . Hell, Jack even wore the hand-me-down clothes that girls had always complimented Luke on. But somehow, Luke seemed to possess something extra. Something in his blood. Yet, Jack had no clue how that was possible, since they were brothers with the same stuff pumping through them. Jack just didn't know.
    "Fine, lets go," Jack said, finally giving in as Marie tugged him up from the spot where they'd been playing Go Fish and watching Spongebob. He had to admit, if any other kids in the eighth grade had seen what they were doing on a Friday night, they would neve hear the end of it. Marie pulled him down the hall to the door of Luke's room, decorated with caution tape, street signs he'd stolen, and stickers from various skate companies. Jack would be in possession of this door and everything behind it next year when Luke went off to college, and maybe then he would have what girls loved about his brother. He looked to Marie, who had taken off her glasses, a necessity for her to see but when it came to Luke, it was all about looking good. she pulled her long strawberry blonde hair from the hair tie that held it in a ponytail at the back of her neck, then used the hair tie to make her loose T-shirt come tight, accentuating the curves she already obviously had to a point where there was absolutely no question if she had a nice figure or not. Marie rolled up her shorts so they were unbelievably short, then mussed her hair up so it hung along her one eye and over her shoulders, the way most girls his brother dated did.
    "How do i look?" Marie asked, standing in the way that she would when she walked into Luke's room, with one hip popped out and her hand restin on that hip.
    Jack resisted the urge to say 'Beautiful' and instead said " FIne, lets go."
    Marie didn't bother to knock, since Luke probably wouldn't hear it over the System of a Down CD that was blaring from his stereo system. They walked into the room, Marie first of course.
    " Hey, Lucas. I was just ondering if you'd wan-" Marie stopped and backed out of the room, and headed toward Jack's room.
    " Hey Luke, why'd she-" Jack said, stopping as well.
    Jack couldn't believe his eyes. His brother was sitting on his floor, with a peice of rubber tubing wripped aroud his forearm, veins pulsing outward, and a syringe stuck into the largest pulsing one. his eyes glazed over. Jack finally knew why Marie had run away. It had to be hard to see your dream man shoot up heroin.
    Jack walked down the hall to his room, where Marie sat crumpled in the corner of his bed , her hair matted to her face, which was hot and red with tears. Jack crawled over to the spot where she sat sobbing, and pulled him to her. she climbed onto his lap and he wrapped his arms around her tight, her head falling to his shoulder, soaking his shirt with her tears . Jack didn't mind. She sobbed in his ear, making it hot with her breath, but he didn't let go. He held her there in his lap, until she fell asleep, which then he settle d into a more relaxed position, laying on his bed with pillows under his head, Marie's head laying on his chest as he smoothed her hair away from her face. He didn't know what was going to happen with Maria now, but there was one thing he did know: what was in his brother that wasn't in him.