Luke wasn't sure what made his family so toxic. It could be because his parents hated each other. Or it could be that they were always working, and the last time Luke even saw them was in July, and it was November. It could be because Luke and his brothers, Jack and Ben, also hated each other beyond fathomable reason. Perhaps it was his fault. Perhaps it was everyone's fault.

Luke remembered as a child, sitting in his room drawing idly in his sketchbook, while his brothers filled the entire house with noise and yelling from bringing all their friends over. They would burst into Luke's room and mess with him-- steal his glasses, hold his pens over his head, take his sketchbook and hide it somewhere in the house. His parents weren't home to scold them. They would come home late that night, around two in the morning from either work or out drinking, not even bother to peek into their rooms to see if their kids were alright.

Luke grew used to it, but he and his brothers grew up and developed very different personalities. Jack went to law school, determined to become successful enough to where his name would be up in lights. Ben became a college professor, wanting to be able to have short work hours so he won't be cooped up at work like his parents were. Luke was still in high school. And the three of them fought like a war was between them. Maybe there was.

Luke skipped school for the next week after they met Calum on the train. Which wasn't unusual, but it brought lots of angry phone calls from Michael and disappointed emails from his teachers. Luke didn't respond to any of them. Instead, he stared blankly at the television screen with a blanket over his legs, eating popcorn and ignoring the buzzing of his phone.

At three o'clock, Luke's front door opened. It was Michael. Behind him was Ashton.

"Damn you, Luke Hemmings," Michael said, in way of a greeting. Luke gave him a pleasant smile. Michael dropped his backpack on the floor and pushed Luke's head up until he had room to sit down. "Aren't you ever going to go to school?"

"School means shit," Luke said.

"School means careers," Michael answered. Ashton awkwardly stood at the end of the couch until Luke lifted his feet so he could sit down. Crammed in between his two friends, Luke let out a long sigh.

"Whatever." He fumbled for the television remote and turned it off, the screen going blank. He looked instead at the pile of papers and the journals spread over the coffee table. Michael followed his gaze.

"Jesus, Luke," he said. "You're doing some serious Sherlock work over here."

Luke shut his eyes and threw an arm over his forehead. "I'm not getting very far."

Michael picked up the files, turning to the list of suspects. He grabbed a pen and scratched out one of the names. "Well, Mr. Elsberry is off the list, if that helps. They interrogated him yesterday. He claimed that he was out hiking and Calum being there at the same time was just a coincidence. They used a lie detector test to make sure he was telling the truth."

"He was," added Ashton. Luke stared at the ceiling.

"I think it might be Wesley. I call bullshit on him being all friendly with Calum," said Luke. He sat up and looked at Michael's disbelieving face. "I'm serious. Calum walks up, never been there before to buy drugs. He takes them, leaves without paying, weeks go by without him handing over the cash. What would you think if you were Wesley?"

Michael's jaw tightened. "I don't know, Luke."

Luke furrowed his eyebrows at the red-haired boy. He was silent for a moment. Then, "You don't still like him, do you?"

"I went to jail because of him, you asshole," Michael said coldly. "Of course not."

Luke couldn't easily forget the time when Michael told him he had been to jail for possession of drugs in his car. He got sent to jail and was bailed out about a month later, and Michael never gave up Wesley's name no matter how much he was interrogated. However, Michael had a grudge against Wesley ever since.

Luke sat up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean anything by it. But put yourself in Wesley's shoes. What would you think?"

Ashton spoke up when Michael didn't. "That Calum was trying to get me caught."

"Exactly!" Luke pointed at Ashton and then looked at Michael. "Don't you see? Calum would be the perfect person for a spy. Take some drugs, bring it to the police, rat Wesley out. That was Wesley's motive."

Michael rolled his eyes. "He wouldn't fucking kill Calum just because he thought he might be ratted out."

"And sent to jail?" Luke said. Michael opened his mouth as if to say something more, but then he shut it. He remained silent.

Luke grabbed the suspect list and took the pen from Michael's hand. He drew a star by Wesley Davis' name, and then threw both the list and the pen back on the coffee table. He buried his head in his hands and took a deep breath.

"Where's the new Calum, anyways?" he asked. His voice was muffled by his palms. He felt Michael lay back on the pillows.

"Saw him at school. He kept giving me weird looks," Michael said. Luke rubbed his eyes.

"Not surprised, I guess."

Michael's mouth twisted. "It's just weird. You know? He looks so much like him. But it's not him."

"We probably should just forget about it," Luke advised. Michael's green eyes stared at the coffee table sadly, the papers strewn across its surface.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to," he said softly. Luke had to strain to hear him say the words.

Ashton turned the television back on. His bruises were almost completely gone now, and his hoodie had been abandoned. He wore a white t-shirt, hanging off his thin shoulders loosely. His curly hair fell in his dark eyes. His eyebrows were pulled together.

The three of them sat there like that for a while. Luke stared at his journal, with all of his scribbled notes, Ashton stared at the television, and Michael stared at his hands. An awkward space was left between Luke and Ashton's bodies. Luke turned to stare at that instead.

Then, a sharp knock at the door sounded throughout the room. They all looked at it. Michael was the one who stood up to answer it.

Luke's blood ran cold. In the doorway stood two very familiar bodies, tall and angular and blonde, identical blue eyes staring into Luke's house. Their old house.

Luke stood up so quickly his head spun. He gathered himself as he walked past Michael to stand in front of his two brothers. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he said pleasantly.

Jack held up his phone. On it, the screen displayed a series of emails from his school's principal. "Your lack of attendance needs to be discussed."

"It looks to me like it already has," remarked Luke, squinting at the screen.

Jack pushed his way into the house uninvited. Luke took a deep breath but kept his expression steady. Ben followed closely on Jack's heels.

Jack spun suddenly, and Luke nearly ran into him. "I'm tired of having to talk to the school on your behalf, Luke. You haven't gone to school in a week. And before that, you didn't go for nearly a month. Your mailbox is full of missed assignments. What the hell is up with you?"

"I'm being your typical rebellious teenager, Jack," said Luke sourly. "Is that such a crime?"

"Mum and Dad wouldn't be happy to hear about you slacking off. They pay for your tuition. They work their asses off so we can have a good education."

"Oh, like you care about me or our parents," Luke said icily. Jack's blue eyes narrowed. "You both got the hell out of here as fast as you could. Don't act innocent."

Ben laughed then, without humor. "Are you even sorry for not going to your classes, Luke?"

Luke shrugged. "Regret is a pointless emotion."

Jack looked furious. He pressed a finger to Luke's chest. "You've always been too arrogant for your own good, little brother. Go to your damn classes. Stop wasting our parent's money, and mine. Do you know how many times I've had to call just to convince the school not to expel you?"

"Sorry to be such a bother," Luke said dryly. "Believe me, I won't mind if you sit back and let me deal with my own problems."

Luke saw Michael stuff all of the case files back into its folder, sliding it out of view carefully. Ashton had turned his face from the Hemmings' argument, staring dejectedly at the television, although the bloodless color of his knuckles said that he was still listening.

"You're an asshole, Luke," said Ben suddenly. "A real fucking asshole."

"Two against one, I see," Luke said to his brothers. "Of course, it's always been that way, hasn't it? Tell me, Jack. You're a lawyer now, right? How many people have you screwed over in the past month? Ten? Fifteen? I bet you lost count along the way."

Luke felt Jack's fist before he saw it. He reeled back against the wall, his head slamming against the corner, but he struck Jack's side before Jack's arm was even back at his side. Ben kicked at Luke's side but Luke dodged it before he could strike, lashing out against Jack's ribs as he did.

He heard Ashton disappear into one of the bedrooms. Michael, who had witnessed their fights too many times to count, started grabbing Ben's collar to drag him away.

Jack grabbed Luke in a headlock. Luke twisted Jack's arm and the older one yelped in pain. He could hear Ben and Michael arguing with each other a few feet away.

A frame fell from the wall and broke on the ground, sending glass spiraling by their feet. Luke slipped and it dug into his hands. He knocked Jack off his feet with his leg, sending him crashing down beside him. Jack swore, pushing away glass shards, but the pain cleared Luke's mind as though it were a solace.

He lunged onto Jack. He felt Ben grabbing at his shirt, but he slammed his fist against Jack's jaw. Jack pushed Luke off and struck his boot into Luke's ribcage. Luke felt blood in his mouth. It coated his hands. He wasn't sure which was his and which was Jack's. The thick substance covered Jack's hands as well.

Michael gripped Luke's shirt and dragged him away from Jack. Luke's shoes slid on the glass. He heard Michael yelling at both of them, his green eyes narrowed, hands bloodied. Ben had a split lip, red trickling down his chin. They all three glared at each other over Michael's head.

Jack wiped his hands on his suit. "Attend your damn classes, Luke Hemmings." He stalked to the front door, Ben close on his heels. The slam of the front door behind him shook the walls. Luke's heartbeat was loud in his ears. His entire body shook with anger.

Glass crumbled under Michael's feet as he grabbed a washcloth from the kitchen. He cleaned off his hands, and then he took Luke's hands in his and wiped them off as well. Luke couldn't bring himself to move just yet.

Ashton emerged from the bedroom. He was expressionless as he took in the chaos of the living room. He shoulders slumped dangerously. He looked on the verge of retreating back to the room he just walked out of.

Michael continued getting blood off Luke's hands. He dumped the dishrag on the coffee table and grabbed a broom from the kitchen, beginning to sweep the glass off the floor and into a corner. He didn't say a word.

Then, suddenly, the front door opened. Michael was on it in a flash.

He said, "If you don't stay the hell away from L--"

Then he stopped. He hesitated, then said, in an entirely different tone, "Calum."

The dark-skinned boy blinked from the doorway. He looked at Michael's bloody hands. Then he looked at Luke's bloody hands. Then he gazed down at the glass scattered across the floorboards.

"I can come back another time," he said carefully. Michael discarded his work on the glass and leaned the broom against the wall.

"Actually, you came at a fairly good time. Five minutes earlier, and your hands would probably be bloody, too."

Calum seemed to get the wrong idea from this. He widened his eyes.

"Just got in a fight, Calum. Come in, it's fine. Nobody is going to kill you," Luke said. His last sentence twisted in his mind and the room went silent.

Calum waited a few seconds before answering. "Right." He stepped inside, slowly shutting the door behind him. The tension in the air grew a little, and Michael collapsed on the couch. Calum held his backpack awkwardly in his hands.

"Um." Calum cleared his throat. "Look. I just wanted to apologize if I made you guys think I was your friend. Your-- dead-- friend. I know it must be hard for you to see my face and think of him. And-- yeah. I don't know. I'm sorry, I guess."

Luke moved then. He took Calum's backpack and sat it down in one of the chairs, offering a smile. "No need to apologize, Calum. We were just-- in a daze. We know you aren't him. We know."

Calum nodded. "Okay. Good."

"You can still hang out with us, though. Even though you're not him or whatever," Michael said from the couch. He met Luke's eyes. "You seem like a pretty chill guy."

Calum widened his eyes. "Oh. Um, thank you."

Michael moved over and they both sat on the couch. Calum pulled out his phone and squinted at the screen, while Luke studied Calum's face. It was all so familiar, yet everything about this boy was a stranger.

Ashton sat down in one of the chairs and watched Calum from underneath his eyelashes. His expression was complicated.

"Can I look at the files?" Calum asked suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him. "Of your friend?"

Michael slowly took the folder from beneath the coffee table. "Why?"

Calum lifted his chin. "Because," he said, "I want to help you find out who killed him. No one deserves to die without closure. It's not fair."

They all stared at him for a minute. Then Michael slowly grinned and dropped the folder into Calum's lap. "I think I might like you, stranger."

Calum smiled. He opened the folder, and together, four heads crowded around the files. Trying to determine who shot the bullet that buried itself in Calum's leg.

---
A/N: you guys. SPIDERMAN. who has seen it???

no spoilers lol but its so good. I'm in LOVE I saw it last night.

who is your favorite character so far???

I think mine is ashton but not sure yet lol I havent decided

thanks for reading! hope you enjoyed. please vote and comment and tell me what you thought!! love you to the moon

bye