RP:]] St Luke's Reform School For Young Gentlemen

"Don't you start the whole hypocritical speech with me, he is too young! The times have changed, kids have to be more careful now, things where different when we were younger."

I stand up and walk over to Matt before I start pacing on the living room floor.

"But she's not a friend Matt. With friends you don't have to worry that they are likely to dump you, with friends you don't have to worry that you need to bone them quick enough. She's his girlfriend. That's different. Girls are spiteful Matt, she's not doing him any favours," I tell him, ending the discussion as far as I am concerned.

"If you keep hating on her, Chris is going to hate you. You know that right?" I point out, "Teenagers rebel. Chris will get angry that you can't accept his girl and we all know what happens when he gets angry, don't we?"

I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. I'm just trying to help Chris and Becky out here. Zacky's not doing us any favours. He's just making me feel like the bad guy for approving of this relationship.

"He's going to have to grow up sometime, Zee. It's not fair that you're more lenient with Courtney about these things than you are with him."

"Well, excuse me for worrying about him!" I yell at Matt as I turn back to face him.

I don't actually know why I am getting so angry with him now. I know he's right, I don't want him to be right, but I don't want me to be right either. I just want everything to go back to the way it was again.

"And I am not more lenient with Courtney Matt, she is just more grown up. Girls mature faster than boys. Besides, you are more lenient with Chris than Courtney. So don't start asking like the perfect fucking parent to me," I say to him before making my way back over to the living room door.

"I'm going, before I say something that you will hold against me," I say to him before making my way out of the living room without even giving him the time to answer me.

"That is SO not fair, Zacky!" I scream after him, "You know I can't move!"

There's no way I could get up to storm after him now. I can barely get up to go to the bathroom. I also refuse to yell through the house because I don't want Chris to know we're talking about him.

Instead I just sink further back into the sofa and rub at my head. We've been arguing way too much since the kids became teenagers. We barely get any alone time anymore. I think we need to get away.

I furrow my brow as I watch Dad speeding away in his car, down towards the town if I am correct. I sigh and shake my head, I could hear them fighting from upstairs with my music on. I just hope that everything's OK.

I get up from my chair near the window and make my way out of the room, past Chris's room [which seems to have the music on a little bit too loud to be normal] and down the stairs.

"Dad? Are you OK in there?" I ask as I walk down the last few stairs and into the living room, "I saw Dad Z speed off. Are you two... fighting again?"

I say as I poke my head around the door, I don't really want to get yelled at for getting too involved so I just hide behind the door really.

I see Courtney's head appearing, looking all innocent - something I know better than to believe. I nod and smile.

"We're fine, Court. Just had a little disagreement." I explain, "It's nothing to worry about."

I didn't realize Zee had actually stormed out of the house. Now I'm getting a little worried. Why would he leave over something as insignificant as this? It's not as if it had turned into a full on screaming battle. Is there something he's not telling me?

"How was school anyway? I've not seen you all night."

"Yeah, it was OK. Chris isn't gonna get in trouble for smashing up the lockers. But I think Jordan might be out on the kill for him so I'm gonna look out for him a little more now," I tell my Dad as I walk into the living room.

I walk over to where he is sitting, satisfied that he isn't going to bite my head off for getting involved with Dad business. So I guess it won't hurt to ask.

"But, your sure, I mean, you guys have being fighting a lot recently, it's not because of me or Chris, is it?" I ask him as I take a seat on the pillow and blanket sofa with my Dad.

"Well you make sure you do. I don't want to have to visit my son in jail." I say, sadly.

How the hell are you supposed to answer a question like that? It technically is about them but I think there's something more deep rooted than that. Besides, I can't really tell her that it's about her and her brother, it'll just upset her.

"No, honey, it's just... your Dad Z's under a lot of stress at the moment. I'm out of action for another few weeks, so he's having to deal with a lot of work by himself." I explain, "And it's just getting to him. It'll be okay when I'm back at work, you'll see."

I look at him with the same look that I inherited from Dad Z, the look that says, "tell me or I'm going to tickle it out of you," even though I wouldn't dare tickle my Dad M in his state, it can still put the fear of God into you.

"I don't believe you Dad," I say sadly before moving a little closer to him and snuggling myself up to his side.

Over the last couple of weeks, me and my Dad have gotten pretty close. I'm not sure why, but I just have.

"Please tell me what's really going on," I ask, "you know how much I hate not knowing things."

"You shouldn't be worrying yourself with this, Court. You've got enough going on with school and boyfriends and... there's no way I'm going to get out of this, is there?" I ask, when I see she's not going to stop with the look.

I sigh heavily, I am a terrible person for dumping this on my daughter.

"Your Dad's worred about Chris and Becky. He doesn't like her, thinks she's only after one thing, she'll end up hurting him." I explain, "I think she's a lovely girl and that it's doing Chris good but he's not so sure."

I'm not sharing my other suspicions with her. She doesn't need to know that I think Zacky's hiding something from me. It'll just worry her and she doesn't need that on her mind.

"Yeah, I kinda guessed that Dad didn't like her, well, he was fine when she was just my friend. But, you two shouldn't by fighting over that really," I say.

That didn't really shock me as much to why they were fighting, but I am still kind of shocked to why they are actually fighting because of something that in my opinion is quite small and not that much of a big deal. Sure, Dad M hasn't liked one of my boyfriends before, Dad Z's being fine with him and they haven't fought then.

"Becky did tell me that she's always being a little scared of Dad Z anyway, I mean, she said she didn't like calling him by his first name, but she doesn't mind calling you by your first name. Maybe I should talk to Dad when he comes back home or something," I am sort of thinking out loud now, but I normally have to solve everything myself at the moment.

"I don't know if that'd be such a great idea, Court." I say, half smiling, "I mean, he's pretty touchy on the subject anyway. I don't wantyou two to fall out over this."

I squeeze her shoulder.

"It's probably nothing. I mean, like I said this current situation has got to be stressful for him." I say, "Working all day then looking after all of us when he gets in. He's probably just tired."

He hasn't been sleeping well recently at all. I've been on the couch most of the time because it's still difficult for me to move. He's been down here in the chair holding my hand or upstairs alone. Even then I've heard him pacing late at night.

"It's going to be fine, Court. We've been together for 25 years, nothing's going to tear us apart now."

I hope.

"Maybe in a few days then?" I suggest.

"I just don't want Becky too feel uncomfortable here. I mean, it's funny when I make Chris uncomfortable, but when a parents makes the guest feel uncomfortable, that's just not cool."

And I seriously hope that he's right. I mean, I never ever thought of what it would be like if my Dad's weren't together. It's even sometimes strange to see Dad Z go off to work without Dad M at times.

I knew I shouldn't have come down here.

Nothing can come between us, right? I mean, 25 years. He's never seemed unhappy. He's always been treated like a prince, he's... I'm getting myself worried now. Our relationship is fine.

"It's not. I'll make sure he knows this in future." I say, not even sure what I'm agreeing to now.

I'm too worred about the state of my relationship. Where is he going now? Who's he going to see? What's happening to us?

Damn you Courtney.

"I'm sure you will Dad," I say as I look up at him and smile weakly.

We are both as bad as each other now. I know we are both worrying about Dad Z now, I can tell by the look on his face. I sigh and look around the sofa.

"Should we watch some crappy TV to forget out this?" I ask him, related "this" to basically whatever is on either of our minds.

I find the remote before looking up at Dad M again to get an answer for my question.

I look down, smiling, "Yeah, that sounds good to me. Your choice, I only know how to find three channels, all of which show talkshows. Do you really want to watch Jerry Springer?"

I've become somewhat addicted since I've been off work. I've been falling asleep with it on, imagining my family and friends on there. It's normally Brian and Jacoby's which is the most interesting. Something tells me it'd be completely different if I drifted off with it now.

"There's only so many times you can watch pimps and prostitutes arguing over transsexuals."

I turn on the TV with the remote, noticing it's right in the middle of the talk show channels, the channels that I never, ever want to visit.

"Well, what about anything but Jerry Springer?" I ask before laughing a little before just going to the main channels and flicking through.

"Maybe we can find some cheesy Disney film or something," I say as I continue to flick through the channels.

"That sounds good to me." I say, smiling despite the whirlwind going on inside my head now.

Goddamnit, I really need to find out what's going on with me and Zacky. I'm getting myself all shook up, all frightened and...

"I think I need some more of my painkillers." I say.

I only had a couple about an hour ago but just thinking about all this is giving me a hell of a headache.

"Oh, OK then, you pick something to watch and I'll go and get them for you," I say to my Dad as I pass him the remote.

I smile as I stand to my feet and make my way out of the living room and into the kitchen to get my Dad's painkillers.

I hope I haven't made Dad worry now, that's really the last thing that I want and I know that that is the last thing that he needs right now.

I flip through the channels looking for anything remotely interesting that I can find. It's all cheesy made for TV movies about dancing kids or magic clocks. I settle on something which looks like it has some chance of a decent storyline and try to focus on it.

I'm sure there's nothing wrong with my relationship. He proposed to me a few weeks ago, why would he do that if there was something going wrong? He'd have avoided tying himself to me in any way he could. He's just stressed out. He'll come back home tonight and he;ll be perfectly fine and apologetic and everything will be back to normal.

Right?

I grab the bottle of painkillers from the side of the table, filling up a glass of water along side it and making my way out of the kitchen, both things in hand.

I walk back into the living room, a smile on my face despite the fact I am still not so happy about all of this. I'm worrying and that's never a good sign.

"Here you go Dad," I say with the same smile on my face as I pass him the water and box of painkillers.

"Thanks sweetie." I say, smiling at her.

I pull the blister packet from the box and pop a few of the pills out, a few too many but I don't care. I want to shut up the little voice in my head and we have no pot in the house, so this will have to do.

I dry swallow the pills before remembering the water next to me. I glug it down and smile at Courtney again, hoping she didn't see how many I took.

[[Shall we do something else now? Not sure what thooooooough.]]

[[Might be an idea. Erm, switch to our other couple? Or find out where Zacky's gone? Perhaps even do a big jump?]]

[[Hmmm, maybe a big jump? Some Becky/Chris, just because it's AWW-worthy.]]

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