(WARNING: Blood, gory descriptions and swearing)

<-Brandon's POV->

The pain that pierced my throat was near unbearable at this point. It hurt so much, more than my fathers strikes back home. I never thought that would be possible, but she... She made it so difficult now. I knew she didn't care, and she made that blatantly clear in her words. Lucina made it hurt, and she didn't even realize it.

I gagged again over the toilet, feeling vomit, blood and tulips burn my throat. Tears fell with them, both from pain and the realization. I felt like passing out, but forced myself to remain lucid. I'm not that fucking weak. I'm not just gonna go down like that. I felt like I was dying, which I probably was, but I didn't care. For now, I just gotta act like I don't want to die. I mean, unless I want Lucina to beat the ever living shit out of me again.

"What the hell is taking you so long?!" The turquoise haired wolf girl yelled through the door. "You've been in there for an hour!"

"N-nothing!" I managed to choke out, blinking to try and get rid of the closing black on my vision.

"Well, hurry the fuck up! We all use that bathroom!" Lucina growled, and I heard her turn, adding on, "Fuckin' loser..."

I coughed and threw up into the toilet again, choking on the flowers that tore at my throat and made it raw. No one must know about this. Not Leo, the one guy that has medical experience in this house. Not even Maxie, who owned the house, or Jasper, the only person that cared. And especially not Lucina. She can never know. Never.

---

<-Lucina's POV->

"Ugh, he's so stupid..." I grumble, walking to the kitchen. I needed something to eat.

Leo was there when I walked in. The red-head wolf blinked as he saw me. "Is he still in there?" he asked quizzically, looking worried.

"Yeah, he's still in there! Who does he think he is? He's practically living in there now!" I snapped, receiving an awkward side glance from the pyromaniac.

"Well, maybe something is wrong. I mean, he's puking way more than normal," he reasoned, suspicion in his voice. "I think he's sick or something. He looks more tired, and doesn't like being around anyone."

I stared at him for a second. He did have a point. I mean, I don't give a shit about the jerk, but if he's sick, we could get sick too. I hate being sick, so I will drag his ass to the doctor if I have to. "Ok, so how are we gonna find out?" This gained a surprised look from Leo.

"You... Want to help him?" He asked, eyes wide.

His tone and question sparked my anger. "Well, yeah! If he's sick, we could get sick, too!" I spat, and Leo regained his composure nervously.

"R-right. Whatever it is, I don't think anyone wants to have it. We should check on him," he suggested, and I nodded in agreement.

I would never, ever admit it, but I do care a little for Brandon. Sure, he's a jerk sometimes, but at least he has a reason. Not like my dumb ass excuse of my mom leaving me and Jasper at the homeless shelter. He was actually hurt. And those scars made him the way he was, and the person he was. I couldn't just ask him to stop because it was what I wanted. He needed our help. I wanted to give him that help, but I knew he wouldn't want it. Sometimes I think he just... wants to be alone.

So, I don't act like I want to help him. He would never accept it anyway.

---

"Brandon! Open the door!" I snapped, and I heard Brandon jump and hit his head on something in the bathroom, groaning in pain afterward.

"What the hell do you want..." the bat boy hissed, though it came out as more of a gargled moan.

"I brought Leo. We're here to check up on you, moron. You're sick and everyone knows it," I replied, crossing my arms.

He took a second to reply. "I-I'm not sick..."

I was not in the mood to take his bullshit. "You aren't fooling anyone. Now open the goddamn door before Leo kicks it down," I threatened, and the sound of him shuffling to his feet and flushing the toilet afterward.

The door swung open, and I was shocked by his appearance. He was trying to hide it, wiping it off his face frantically, but the red flash of blood was unmistakable. He looked exhausted as well, more than a bat normally should. The bags under his eyes and pale color of his skin was a unmistakable sign he was ill. But his tone stood stronger than the rest of him. "Fine, you can check on me."

I could tell that Leo was about as shaken by the other's appearance as I was based on his voice. "A-ah... Well, alright, lets check in here, in case you need to puke again," he reasoned, and Brandon shrugged with no objections.

He sat on the toilet as Leo grabbed a medical kit from the bathroom cabinet. I tapped my foot impatiently, leaning on the wall opposite to Brandon. The first thing I noticed was that he wouldn't look at me. He stared at the floor, like something really interesting was going on with it. I looked just to check. It wasn't anything interesting whatsoever. So I decided to strike up a conversation the way I normally do. "Ey, dipshit, what makes you think you can hog the bathroom."

He flinched at my words, like it hurt to hear them. I mean, Jasper always flinches when I insult him, but Brandon always managed to come up with some snippy retort. Now he just shrugged, unable to reply in words.

Something defiantly was wrong if he didn't bother to open his big mouth to insult me back. It was a thing we had between us, like a silent agreement never to like each other. But that didn't mean I couldn't be concerned about him.

"I asked you a question. I wan't a better answer than that," I growled, and Leo glared at me, telling me to stop.

Eventually, after several insults from me, warnings from Leo, and Brandon's consistent silence, nothing seemed to be wrong with him, other than lack of sleep and little eating. That was normal, but the way he was acting still put me off. Why would he act this way if there wasn't some bigger reason for it?

"Nothing is really wrong... All that seems to be the problem is that your throat is raw, for some reason," Leo said, confusion in his voice. "The puking probably caused that, but I don't know why you're throwing up that much."

"That's cuz he's hiding something," I piped up, catching both Leo and Brandon's attention.

It took a second, but I got something out of Brandon. "W-what could I possibly be hiding? It's like Leo said, I-" I cut him off before he could finish.

"Because I know you, moron! You don't act like this! You act like a smart ass all the time! Now, you don't even try to defend yourself! What is wrong!?" I snapped, and Brandon visibly flinched.

Leo stepped between us before it could escalate. "Lucina, that's enough! I checked him, he seems fine," the red haired wolf growled.

Of course, neither of us were prepared for when the brunette keeled over.

He held his hands over his mouth, blood dripping down onto the floor. His body shook as he coughed, and I saw tears falling from his eyes, wide with pain. I was too shocked to move, but Leo immediately helped to move the young mafia to the now open toilet. Before I knew it, I was being pushed out of the bathroom and the door slammed behind me. It clicked, signifying the door was now locked. I turned around, my anger kindled by fear of what was happening to Brandon. I brought my fist down on the bathroom door, shouting profanities and demanding to be let in.

All my words were met with was Brandon's never ending cries and groans of pain.

(Word count: 1385)

(A/N: Ya wanna part two??? Idk I might make one even if you don't want it but yeah. Hope you enjoyed the angst I supplied.)