Chapter Text
The door softly creaked open, with the small figure of a little boy emerging from the threshold.
His green eyes were downcast, very different from the cold stare of his father's. And yet the shade was the exact same emerald green.
He began looking through the window at the view outside. Mmm. Midnight was much prettier than he thought.
He looked back at his "room"- more like a very large store room, with some shelves taken out, of course. Somehow, it could fit a twelve-year-old boy, a little mattress on a wooden box, and one tiny chair- with space to spare.
It was small. But he liked it.
He went back inside.
He lay down on his bed, hugging his plushie. Pikachu had seen him cry so many times.
"Andy." said a voice from outside the door. "It's Ash."
The doors swung open.
"Y-yeah?" he stammered, looking up at his older brother’s eyes.
A light, cherry blossom pink.
Just like his mother's.
"We have to talk. Come here, boy." commanded Ashton.
Was he angry?
"A-Ash? What's wrong?"
He noticed the sad look on his brother's face. Andy stepped outside from his little cave.
"Are you mad at me?" asked Andy.
"Hmph. Yeah."
"Why?"
"You're being shitty to me again..." whined Ashton.
"Wh-what did I do?" asked Andy. "Fo-For how long?"
"Um. What you always do?"
"But...what did I do?"
"Don't you get it, Andy?! Every time you get a new bestie, I turn invisible! EVERY TIME!"
Andy's emerald eyes were glued rather firmly to the floor. It’s alright, he thought. He was used to his brother's loudness.
That did not mean a lack of trepidation.
"But he w-was just someone I fo-found from school...he…he's into Pokémon like I-I am!"
He realised. By walking home with Alan and losing himself in conversation, he'd completely forgotten about Ashton. Damnit, he should've planned it beforehand...
"So, you're saying he's better than me?" asked Ashton.
"But-but he's my friend...and I-I still...uh, talk to you, Ash..." was the weak little reply.
"You're really lucky I love you, Andy, even if you're such a terrible little brother!" cried the other boy.
Andy backed away, cowering. He didn't like seeing Ashton like this at all. He could try to fight back. But Ashton was older. Bigger. Stronger, too. Andy would be kicked right to the curb if he even tried.
The boy's eyes filled with tears as his brother grabbed him and shoved him against the wall.
Andy tried to scream in pain, but was thwarted by a hand clapped right over his mouth.
"Shh. You're going to bother Mom and Dad…"
"Just...just please don't hurt me, Ash..."
"No, no. I won't. But you just have to do just one thing, okay?" said Ashton, holding the boy's chin.
"Wh-what is it?"
"Stop talking to that boy."
"But-"
"Stop talking to that boy, Andy. Or else."
Andy thought.
"Okay." he mumbled.
"There we are!"
"I'm sorry, Ash..." said Andy, putting his hands up to his brother's, trying to pull them off.
"Tsk. It's alright." dismissed Ashton.
Andy was a little surprised- and uncomfortable, at the hug that followed next.
"As long as you're my best friend." continued Ashton.
Unbeknownst to the brothers, they were being watched.
Two girls, seemingly exact replicas of each other- save only for their eyes, watched from the sidelines.
Ashton fixed his eyes on them, shooting a fierce glare. "Bitches." he growled under his breath. He released Andy from his embrace.
The first girl's eyes narrowed, her expression darkening. The second seemed to shrink right into the doorway.
Ashton made a lunge at them. One of the girls gave a terrified yelp.
"Anya, Anya, cowering Anya." mocked Ashton. "Always such a scaredy-cat." His smug form seemed to slink away from his brother.
"With a monster like you around, that's not a surprise!" snarled the girl with the chartreuse eyes.
"Um, I was speaking to Anya Green." scoffed Ashton.
Anya opened her eyes. A rich plum pink, like her grandfather's. She moved closer to her sister, scared.
"Why can't you just mind your own business? Both of you!" said Ashton.
"Oh, really? Why don't you mind yours first?!" screamed the same girl.
"Whose business am I intruding on, may I ask?"
"Well, duh! Look what you just did to Andy!"
"Who else do I have?! He's the only one in this house that gives a shit about me!"
"You harass everyone around him!"
"Because they're the ones taking him away from me!"
"I-...Are you- I can't even- Is-is THIS what Andy gets for showing you a little bit of love?!"
Her pale eyes were filled with fire now. Anya was still clinging to her.
"Shut your whore mouth, Amanda." snarled Ashton.
"Ash-Ashton! Don-" stammered the other girl, her deep pink eyes fixed on Andy. If only she could get him away from Ash somehow...
"A-A-A-Ashton! I-I-I'm such a big cry-baby I-I can't even t-talk right!" said Ashton, mimicking Anya's voice.
Anya's face fell into a small frown.
Amanda gave her a nudge.
"But-but what about Andy's stutter?" asked Anya.
"He doesn't as much. Plus, it sounds cute on him." said Ashton, a smile on his face. He fidgeted with the sleeves of his black, long-sleeved shirt.
Andy sat motionless on the floor, looking down.
"C'mon, Andy. Let's go. They're being ridiculous again." said Ashton, grabbing his brother’s hand.
"Sigh..."
"I mean. It IS the middle of the night. You might be just a little cranky, Mandy." he continued.
Mom and Dad were in their room. As usual. The girls retreated to the couch, begrudgingly.
"Andy." said Anya.
Andy didn't even look at her.
"I'm taking him with me. Don't you two try anything funny." warned Ashton. "Come on, Andy. Let's take a break from them."
Amanda tugged on Anya's hand. "Let's go, Yan. It's no use."
Anya watched the brothers turn the pitch-dark corner, watching with sad little plum-coloured eyes.
"It's no use anymore." said Amanda. "Come on."
Anya lay on the couch on her back.
She tried to sleep.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't stop worrying.
He chose me. He chooses me any day over you. He chose me, that's what Ashton always said.
He had a point. Andy was basically at Ashton's beck and call. He never said no to him.
A thought flashed across Anya's mind. What if Andy was just as rotten as him?
No, no, that couldn't be. Knowing Andy, the boy would cry at the thought.
Or would he?
Were those two brothers doomed to be together, no matter what either of the girls did to stop them?
Was Andy going to end up just like Ashton, with proper conditioning? Would he fall into the same race of horrible people, like their parents were?
She turned towards her right.
"Mandy?"
Amanda stirred. "Yeah?" she answered from the floor.
"Do you still think Andy's....worth saving?"
"Of course he is. I'm not gonna have Ashton drive him cuckoo."
"Is he worth saving though?" said Anya, dryly.
Amanda paused.
"Look, imagine being a twelve-year-old boy bossed around by someone a good two years older than you. You've been threatened and scared to hell and back. The kid just doesn't wanna get hit. Simple."
Anya nodded. "You have a point...but...what if he's...like...too far gone already? Like, already insane?"
"Yan, relax. Andy's twelve years old. Ever since Ashton got clingy, we've been protecting that boy. But Andy still loves him, for whatever fucking reason."
"What if he's already cuckoo? Just be-better at hiding it?"
"Probably. Probably half-cuckoo."
"W-what do you mean by that...?"
"It's the middle of the night, Yan. I don't know what I'm saying." said Amanda, quite plainly.
"Li-like anyone ever does."
A laugh was shared between the girls.
"But think about this. What if we were to just leave Andy all alone with Ashton?"
Anya thought.
"Uh, nope, definitely won't fuck him up!" said Anya.
"Definitely."
"See what's happening here? If we just sit back and watch Ashton fuck him up, we'd be all sad about how we didn't even try to save him, even though we were, like, right there. We could've done something. That shit would drive us right to our graves."
"That's...poetic."
"Hell yeah. I'm the next Edgar Allen Poe." laughed Amanda.
"Mandy?" asked Anya.
"Hm?"
"I-I've got an idea."