"Okay, that's time!" Megan exhaled, slowing her jogging into a walk and eventually stopping. She and Sun had decided to go for an evening jog to ease their nerves for tomorrow, since it was the due date for the pair routines they've been working on for a month.She glanced down at her phone to check how many laps she had done, smiling when finding out she had done eight. Her lucky number, cool. She heard panting behind her, causing her to turn around and lay her eyes on a sweaty panting Sun. He was holding his knees, wheezing as he glared up at Megan.

"One of these days..." He growled, holding up a finger "I swear I'll overtake you."

Megan smirked as she stretched her arms over her head "Sure, whatever kid. Though I seriously doubt it from how you are now."

He scoffed as he straightened himself, peeling his sweaty fringe from his forehead "Please... I am in... perfect shape..."

"Uh-huh."

"It's true! And what do you mean by kid? I'm not that much younger than you!"

Megan shrugged and tossed him her water bottle, which despite him insisting that he was fine he gulped down in seconds "Maybe so but you'll always be my baby brother~"

He grumbled at her tone and walked past her, not without bumping her shoulder of course. She snorted and caught up to him, ruffling his hair before glancing down at the time. 8:30... Meh, she had a couple minutes to spare.

"So how's that routine with your boyfriend going~?" She asked teasingly. His face reddened.

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just a classmate!"

Megan hummed as she wiggled her eyebrows, causing him to just turn his head away completely from embarrassment.

"But to answer your question, it's going good. Ein and I are pretty happy with what we've done, and he's pretty confident that it'll get high marks."

"What about you?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I'm a little nervous, to be honest... We've been working so hard to get this right, and Ein's been so patient with me... I just don't want to let him down by messing up the routine."

"You won't."

"How do you--"

"Sun." Megan stopped and grabbed the boy's shoulder, pulling him back to face her "I've seen you dance; you're amazing at it. I'm sure Ein knows that, too. He's confident in the routine because he's confident in how you guys work as a team. And besides, everyone makes mistakes, and as long as you don't let it stop you from giving it your all, I'm certain Ein will be extremely proud of you. And so will I."

Sun blinked for a moment, before letting a small smile grace his lips "You really think so?"

Megan nodded "I know so, Sun."

All tension seemed to leave his body at that moment. His smile grew and he engulfed Megan in a tight embrace "Thank you, Megan... that's exactly what I needed to hear right now..."

She smiled gently, lightly patting him on the back. He let go, giving her one last grin before checking his watch.

"Oh dang, I better get moving..." He said sheepishly "My mom wanted me back by 9."

"Then you better get moving." Megan placed a hand on her hip and held the other out to the younger male "See you tomorrow?"

He took her hand "For sure!"

The two performed their own secret handshake before bidding each other farewell, heading down different directions on the sidewalk. Megan sighed and once again stuck in her earbuds, humming along to Cash Cash's I like it loud. The journey to her apartment wasn't too far from where she was, about five minutes on foot.

Overall, today had been a pretty good day.

---

"I'm home!" Megan called cheerfully, closing the door behind her and welcoming the warm embrace of her home. She pulled out her earphones and stretched, only to frown from not getting a reply from her brother "Luke?"

Still nothing. Curious, she made her way through the apartment and to the bedrooms. She stood in front of her brother's door and knocked, waiting for an answer. When there was none, she started to get paranoid.

I know I really shouldn't enter without permission... he might be working...

...

Ah, fuck it!

She slammed the door open and stomped inside "Luke I-- huh?"

Luke was inside, but he wasn't working like Megan suspected. However, her nerves were not eased by his presence. Mostly because he was sitting hunched over on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. You know, the position people are in when they are troubled.

"Luke?" She mumbled, quietly walking towards the man with eyes filled with concern "Are you okay."

He didn't answer. He didn't even move. Megan placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and called out to him again, only to receive the same treatment. Her eyebrows furrowed further. Biting her lip, she scanned the area around them only to have her eyes land on a piece of A4 paper on the bed next to Luke. Curious she picked it up, realising it was a letter from their mother, and began to read it.

Her irises shrunk in horror.

My dearest children

I wish that me writing to you is for a more positive reason. But unfortunately that is not the case today. I recently lost my job, as the place I was working at was sued and was forced to close down. I am having a lot of trouble finding a new job, so this means I'm living on my last paycheck. After I'm out of that, I don't know what to do. I'll figure something out. I won't be able to send you any money for a while, please forgive me for that. Please take care of each other, and I'm sorry for not being the mother you deserve.

I love all three of you very much.

~ Mom

"Mom..." Megan whispered, tears prickling in her eyes as the letter crumpled in her hands. Her mother, the woman who had given her unconditional love no matter what, was having her life crumble apart right in front of her eyes. And even then, the only thing she worried about was not being able to take care of her children. Megan collapsed on the bed next to her brother, the impact causing him to look up at her. He noticed her staring down at the letter with a look of distraught, her hands trembling slightly as she held back her tears. She hated crying; she thought it made her weak. Luke reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, which of course got her to look up at him. His eyes were pained and puffy, his cheeks tear stained and pink, which was a look Megan had never seen on her brother before.

She unconsciously let a tear slip down her cheek and drop onto the letter she held in her lap. Then another. And another. Until she was full on sobbing in front of Luke. He gasped and pulled her close to him, cradling her trembling body in his arms as he whispered quiet words of empty reassurance. She held onto him tightly, not used to all this emotion. She was crying for the first time in years, from what she could remember anyway. And even though Luke was also feeling lost, he held her. He was strong for her, even though he didn't feel it.

He gave her comfort, even though he wasn't able to get comfort himself.

"I'm sorry..." She murmured into his chest when she was finally done, which felt like hours "I know this is hard for you, too..."

"Hey, it's okay..." He whispered into her hair "Are you alright?"

"No... I'm not. Mom's jobless in Canada, with only a scrap of money that can only take her so far." Megan held onto her brother tighter "I'm scared, Luke."

"I am, too..." She felt him run his fingers through her hair "But we can get through this. If I can just get a longer shift at work, then--"

"Not a chance."

"What?"

Megan pulled away and held the man's shoulders "You already work so hard for us, Luke. And deny it all you want, but I can tell how much it exhausts you. I'm not going to let you overwork yourself."

Luke frowned "But mom needs the money."

"Then I'll get a job."

"No." His voice took a serious tone "Megan we've been over this, a job could get in the way of college."

"I don't care." She argued, standing up from the bed "My family's wellbeing is more important to me than my future. And besides, you can only do so much on your own. It's time I pay my share. And maybe eventually... we can bring mom home."

"Megan--"

"Don't try to talk me out of this." She pointed a finger at him "I'm going to start job hunting, and I'm going to help mom get back on her feet."

Luke sighed "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

"No." She took his hands in hers, her face softening as she let out a breath "You and mom have taken care of me for years, Luke. I owe this to her, and I owe it to you..."

---

"You look... nice."

Megan growled and slammed the car door shut, strapping herself in and glaring at the back of Gladion's head "Good morning to you too, Frenchfry."

Lillie, who was sitting in the front passenger seat quietly squeaked "What's with the hostility? Did you not sleep well last night?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"Job hunting."

Gladion frowned and glanced at her through the interior mirror "Why? More importantly, why so late at night?"

Megan shrugged, leaning against the window "Felt like it."

He sighed "Megan."

She glared at him again "Why do you care? If I want to job hunt at night, I'll job hunt at night. Get off my back, Aether!"

The car fell silent. Both Aethers were staring at Megan with their mouths wide open. She just snapped at Gladion out of nowhere, and she used his last name with such hostility. Honestly, it hurt him a little.

Megan sighed and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms "Whatever, just drive."

Gladion was silent, but obeyed and reversed out of the driveway. He wondered why Megan acted that way, especially since she seemed so happy yesterday. Was it something he did? From what he could remember, he didn't do anything that could've upset her. He gripped the steering wheel, trying to focus on the road and not the painful pang in his chest. He would just have to ask her later, hopefully when she was in a better mood.

He parked on the sidewalk close to Avory's apartment complex, but not too close. He didn't want to risk Megan seeing Laura; especially with the chance of it putting her in an even worse mood. A minute later Avory came out and joined Megan in the back, flashing her a quick smile only to lose it at her resting bitch face. He wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so when Lillie shook her head.

They were in for a long day.

---

"That was awesome, guys!" Lillie said cheerfully, clapping as Gladion and Avory finished showing their routine. She turned to Megan "Weren't they great, Megan?"

The girl, who was leaning against the mirrors rolled her eyes "Yea, I enjoyed the part when they looked like two roosters flapping about. Oh wait, that was all of it."

"Megan!"

"What? I'm just saying."

Gladion and Avory exchanged glances before frowning at Megan. This definitely wasn't her tiredness talking; both had seen her at her worst when it came to insomnia, so she was definitely troubled. In fact, she was treating Gladion the same way as when they hated one another.

Avory coughed and smiled nervously "Anyway, we still have about an hour before class, do you guys wanna head to the cafeteria and get some snacks?"

Lillie agreed, and Gladion did too after some convincing. Megan however shot down the offer without thinking twice "Yeah no. I'm gonna head to the library down the road, away from human interaction."

"Are you--"

"Sure? Quite." She scoffed and headed out the door, out of sight. But definitely not out of mind.

"I'm really worried about her..." Lillie muttered sadly "She only really acts this way if something big's bothering her..."

Gladion nodded "I'm worried, too..."

He was more than worried. He was upset that the girl didn't tell him what was wrong. Of course, she wasn't obligated to tell him about her problems. But he thought they were close enough to tell each other what was bothering them.

One thing was for certain, though. He was going to find out why she was so riled up.

(Happy Pride Month, y'all!)