"I've got to say, I never thought you'd do it!" His father laughed on the couch. He was beaming with pride for his son. His mother, on the other hand, seemed to be locked in debate, sitting on the couch with her arms crossed. Amelia was nowhere to be seen. "I don't know how to feel about this. It's definitely better than attacking people, but come on, Viktor. You can't just go around kissing people, either." The woman appeared annoyed at worst.

Viktor shrugged, still smiling. "I've known her my whole life. You've known I've been into her. What's the big deal?" He asked. His mother scoffed. "The big deal is that you can't be going to her house when nobody else is home and doing who-knows-what with her! You're my son. I love Evelyn, she's always been an amazing friend for Amelia, and a decent buddy for you, but you can't just do whatever you want with her at any time. I know how teenage girls think." Her arms folded, annoyance riddling her face.

That only excited Viktor, though he didn't want to admit it. He was so used to people saying that they knew how boys his age thought. If girls thought the same stuff, wouldn't that just be mutually beneficial?

"Mom, you're going to make him want to see her even more." Amelia leaned over the edge of the couch. Viktor stared bug-eyed at her, jaw dropping. "You're up and walking around? Really?" He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Thanks to mom, really. Helped me get a grip on reality, I guess." Amelia sipped at her chamomile tea. Her breath sent fog rising out of the mug. "Someone had to remind me that I could still live without... his presence." She stepped around the couch, sitting beside her mother. The woman wrapped an arm around her daughter, and kissed the top of her head.

She then looked at her son, left brow shooting up. "Viktor, don't you dare go too far with that girl. I'm disappointed about that kiss. Good for you for shooting your shot, but anything more, and I'll take you back out of this world. She's in a state where it would be very easy to take advantage of her. You better not take it any further." Viktor shuffled uneasily, chuckling as he did. It made him uncomfortable to speak about it now, but at least he was communicating with the family, right?

"Let's be honest, son." The woman steepled her hands, learning closer to her boy. They locked eyes to Viktor's dismay. "If you really love her? You wouldn't do anything brash anyway. You wouldn't do that to someone you love. You wouldn't want someone to do it to Amelia. Do you understand?" Her tone was stern, but not harsh. It sounded more like a warning. He nodded, appreciating the words without realizing he was. It dimmed down his excitement, exponentially really, but he could acknowledge her words were true.

"Hey, are you good enough to go on a walk with me?" He perked up, holding a hand toward his sister. He'd missed her severely, especially after what had happened to their brother. "Hm? Uh... I guess I should try. Just don't want to push it." Amelia shook the blanket off her shoulders, sipped the last of her tea, set the mug down, and stood to follow her brother's footsteps.

They walked for a little while, discussing school and when she'd finally return. Perhaps by next week? Maybe sooner, or later. It was in the air. "Speaking of school, I heard you got suspended a little while back. What for?" Amelia threaded her fingers through her silky black hair.

It must've been washed recently. Her cheeks had filled out again, and the darkness under her eyes had disappeared as they no longer sunk into her skull. Her skin wasn't a sickly, pallid tone, but rather the dainty, fair skin he'd known it for his whole life. She was teeming with life.

Right, the question. "Oh. I beat the snot out of Justin." He kicked at the concrete under their feet. He wouldn't deny that sweet victory against that jerk. He'd protected his best friend by doing so. "Really? Why'd you do that?" His sister seemed surprised, for some reason. "I mean, I'm going to bet it was for Bean.

"Oh, that poor dude. He's going to freak out when he finds out what you did." Her head shook, but she was smiling. "Yes it was for... he was right there, he already knows. That was ages ago!" Viktor tossed his hand in the air, disbelieving. Of course the other male knew of his triumph over his main bully.

"What? Not that, dork." Amelia's hand waved in a pish-posh manner. This confused her brother even more, his nose wrinkling in distaste. He felt there was something he wasn't understanding, maybe even something obvious. That made him feel stupid, and that was obviously a big no-no. "If not that, then what are you talking abo-"

"The fact that you kissed Evie. Duh. Come on dude, are you blind?" The girl squeezed her nose, utterly disbelieving. There was no way her brother could be this oblivious to the love triangle he was undeniably trapped in.

Then again, Evelyn had been blind to his over-the-top affections for years. It had actually taken Amelia getting out of the picture altogether before her friend even noticed her brother's feelings toward her, he was just fortunate she reciprocated them! Amelia had missed a ton in her little... break from life. Maybe the two had bonded in their times of need and that had really propelled their relationship. The events they must've gone through together without her presence probably acted as catalysts for their love lives. She couldn't say she'd expect the same result if Camilo hadn't died and Mr. Lewis hadn't been taken away.

Her brother's muddled expression still showed he didn't understand. Just when Viktor opened his mouth to ask what she meant, she held a hand to his face to shut him up. "I'll walk home. I suggest you just go tell him, and prepare yourself for some backlash. I'll tell mom and dad where you went." She explained, hand falling and finding its way to her tiny pockets. "Uh... he's literally tried setting me up with her before, so whatever. But yeah, I'm totally gonna go tell him now." Viktor started backing away from his sister, just to watch her changing expression and be sure she actually headed home.

Once he saw his sister disappear through the front door, he bolted down the street. In hindsight, it would've been a better decision just to grab the keys and get in Camilo's rinky-dink truck. Bean lived two miles away. That was why he was allowed to stay overnight at the boy's house right after Camilo... wow, that was actually quite a while ago, now. A few months, right? Was it three, or four? He hoped Mr. Lewis, or Dr. Demise, according to the press, was suffering miserably in whatever psych ward they'd placed him in.

Pumping his arms, lifting his knees, and ignoring his heaving breaths, he ran. With each step boosting him forward, it only took half an hour to make it to Bean's house. Obviously he didn't run the entire way, he wasn't insane. He had run a good portion of it, though, and had to lean against the door when he arrived. He rested on the wooden door, not hearing the footsteps approaching. His breaths were heavy, and uncontrolled, sweat dripping in large beads from his forehead.

Suddenly, the door opened, and he fell back on a lanky body. Both boys yelped, and Bean groaned in pain when he thudded against the floor. "Ow... V-Vik? You look... in a hurry." The redhead stared wide-eyed at the sweaty male. "Oh my! Are you boys okay?" His mother asked, holding her stubby hands over her mouth. "Good morning, Ms. O'Connor. I just want to talk to Bean. It's private. Guy stuff. Uh, actually lovie-dovie crap, so girl stuff? But guy stuff."

Viktor wasn't the best at explaining, but both of the other two suddenly appeared extremely excited. "Okay. I'll wait in the car, Bean. You have three minutes." The woman disappeared out the door, beaming radiantly. She certainly never expected the boy to come around, she only told her son that to make him feel better!

Once the woman vanished, Viktor used the door to stand, brushing the filth from the floor off his pants. Fortunately, he'd had a cushioned fall. Bean, dizzified, stood with the assistance of the handy-dandy wall. He smiled like an idiot, which was only accentuated by his large teeth. "S-so what was that you were saying?" Placing both hands on his friend's strong arm, he moved closer, and started leaning in like he wanted a kiss or something.

"WHOA- no homo, dude!" Viktor ducked out of the way, shooting away from the other male. Bean looked, well, shocked. "What?" He blinked rapidly, face sizzling with heat. "I came over to tell you I kissed Evelyn, goodness. How can you misinterpr-" Viktor stopped himself, feeling like a jerk and an idiot for not seeing it sooner. Only a nitwit wouldn't have noticed it. That denial had really been hitting home for a while, he supposed. "Oh... you thought I was... talking about... you're into... oh my goodness." Viktor's jaw fell open. What in the world was he supposed to say?

If it had been anyone else, he probably would've laughed, cupped his hands, and announced 'GAAAY' for the humor of the school around him and the embarrassment of whoever tried to make a move. But this was Bean! He'd been his best friend for years, through every highest high and lowest low of life.

He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, though it was a struggle. "Bean, I didn't know yo- why would you help me get with Evelyn if y- Why didn't you just tell me tha- oh my gosh." He gripped his jaw, trying to make sense of it. He always thought that Bean was just an affectionate kid because he was a desperate-for-a-friend only child with no dad and a working mom. He'd never even imagined... it had never crossed his mind, not for a fleeting moment! How could it? They were friends. Wasn't that strict enough on its own for a relationship? "Good grief, man. I'm sorry. You already know I'm not-"

"Forget it. It's fine. You should probably go home. I'm going out with mom." Bean's voice was strained. It was obvious he was struggling to contain himself. He was never that good at it. Looking at him, it was probably due to a major lack in testosterone. "No, we need to like, talk about this, don't we? It's going to be kind of awkward if we don't, dude."

"Viktor! Get OUT!" Bean threw open the door, bony hand pointing toward the road. Obviously, he was embarrassed, humiliated in fact. Viktor sighed, defeated. He scuttled out of the building, waiting on the sidewalk. He heard the front door slam, then the car door. He watched the car back out of the driveway, but the only thing he saw was the back of his friend's head, the orange flames of a dying fire, disappearing around the corner.

Then an even worse realization smacked him in the face. Evelyn and Bean had been there together, glaring at one another that one time. Maybe she wasn't genuine with her feelings toward him at all. Perhaps the only reason she'd flirted that one time was because she wanted to make Bean jealous. Girls did stuff like that all the time, he even heard girls at school talk about it, out in the open. That was how common it was!

His knees buckled under his weight, and he dropped with a rattling thud on the concrete. His body tried shuddering the pain away, but it didn't work. "I can't tell who's taking advantage of who anymore. Are both of us? Neither of us?" He muttered under his breath. He didn't want to be the string wrapped around a woman's finger until she found a superior thread and cut him loose. Surely he'd had to speak with her about that.

Mr. Lewis had raised her better than that, he knew. That man really used to be a great dad, and an awesome, fun neighbor. When they were little, he'd set up a water slide in the front yard, and everyone had been invited. All four of the kids loved it, slipping across plastic with the grass under their bellies, even with the unfortunate rock here and there. He'd even hosted some cookouts throughout the years. The last one must've been... six or seven months ago?

The point was, Viktor knew the man had raised his daughter better than that. If all his wickedness really was the secret double-life of a villain, then there was no way Evelyn would fall into it, right? He was sick, she was, uh, healthy? "Stable. That's the word." He calmed himself with assurance. She must've been thinking clearly, right? She was totally into him.

Then another recurring thought popped into his head. That 'why' question, again. Why did Camilo have to die? When Mr. Lewis had all those cookouts and those wonderful memories, which now he wished never existed, he behaved in such a manner that would express his affection for every kid there. He and Camilo had just as much fun as he and Evelyn.

The question shifted. The real answer to why his brother had died was just because Mr. Lewis was sick in the head. New question? Why Camilo himself? Not to be morbid, but why not Viktor? Or Amelia? Or one of their parents? If he was going to target this household, why shoot for the twenty year-old with his whole life ahead of him, instead of say, either teenager with their whole lives ahead of them? It didn't make sense.

(On one hand, YAY EVELYN AND VIKTOR!! On the hand, POOR BEAN! That was really tough. ANYway, the love triangle is finally KABLOOMED! Bean and Viktor shall stay friends forever nonetheless! Be blessed in your comings and goings, guys!)