Sam studied the ceiling of their room, concentrating on any foreign sounds that would indicate Jerry coming out. Except for the low buzz of the fan and the occasional engine of a passing car, all was quiet. Jessie had pulled out the chair from under the desk and sat on it, by the door, ready to sprint off and tackle Jerry.

"How long has it been?" she suddenly asked.

Sam checked his watch. "Twenty five minutes."

Jessie hummed and continued to lean on the chair's back legs. "How long do you think they need?"

"My guess? All night."

Jessie smirked, but her expression fell into a frown. Sam returned to watching the ceiling. He felt a pleasant buzz after the party. With the hangover and sickness gone, the burden felt a little lighter for the first time in what felt like years. It's only been a week. It felt like forever.

The door to the other room opened. Before Sam could make a move, Jessie jumped to her feet.

"I got this," she whispered and sneaked out.

Sam got off the bed and took her spot on the chair, listening carefully, ready to step in in case she needed help. He could barely make out her and Jerry talking, so he waited for her to come back, for the door to the other room to open and close again, or to hear footsteps heading down the stairs. Nothing, just talking.

Sam frowned. What could Jerry and Jessie be talking about at this time of night? Then the talking stopped. He stood, ready to let Jessie back in, but she didn't come back. No sound of footsteps either. Just silence.

What the? He opened the door as silently as possible and peeked out into the hall. For a second, his heart stopped, but then he felt like laughing at himself.

Jerry hadn't come out of the room. He'd sent Jimmy out to do his dirty work. Except he'd been thwarted by Jessie and they were now up against a wall, kissing, Jimmy holding her off the floor, her hands under his t-shirt.

"Jimmy, what on earth are you doing?" Jerry shrieked.

Sam jumped. So did Jimmy and Jessie as they immediately broke apart, Jimmy spitting out a lock of orange curls.

"Get your hands off her this instance!" Jerry raged on. "What have I told you about public places?"

"Oh, for god's sake, Jerry," Jimmy growled. "This was a perfectly deserted hallway until you decided to show up."

"Yes, perfectly deserted!" Jerry screeched, waving his arms towards Sam.

"Hey, keep me out of this. I don't mind that they kiss."

"Kiss? They weren't kissing! They were-"

"What?" Jessie asked innocently. "What exactly were we doing, Jerry?"

"You were feeling each other up!"

"We're not having this conversation in front of Jessie," Jimmy snapped.

For once, surprisingly, Jerry actually listened. He clamped his mouth shut and only pointed towards the door to their room.

"Or what?" Jimmy asked.

"Or I'm really blowing my top and having this conversation in front of Jessie," Jerry answered between gritted teeth.

Jessie just giggled. Jimmy looked down at her and loosened up a bit.

"Okay, fine." And he leaned down to give Jessie one more kiss.

"Jimmy, are you doing this just to patronize me?" Jerry yelled.

Jimmy ignored him, let Jessie go, and headed for his room. With a happy grin on her face, Jessie walked past Sam and into their room. Once the door closed behind him, Sam turned on Jerry.

"Why are you being so uptight? They were only kissing."

"No, they weren't. You saw where his hands were. But it's not them I'm worried about," Jerry mumbled, heading down the stairs.

Jerry seriously wanted to do this? Sam rushed down after him and only managed to catch up because his brother stopped in the threshold of the house. Sam looked outside, but couldn't see anyone or anything. It was also quiet except for the breeze whispering through the trees.

"I'm not sure I want to see what's out there," Jerry muttered. "You go first!"

"What? I'm not going first!"

"We have to go out there. Kyle likes you more so he's less likely to break your spine or any part of you for that matter," Jerry said, pushing Sam out.

"We don't have to go out there."

"Yes, we do, because they're out in the open."

Sam mumbled unpleased, but started off on the path to the pool. Jerry actually had a point this time. There didn't seem to be anyone around, and Sam honestly hoped that his brother had had the foresight to go to a hotel or something.

"Oh, no! I knew something wasn't right," Jerry said, desperately.

Sam looked back at him. What the heck was he talking about? Jerry was actually pointing at something. Sam squinted and noticed Kay's sandals on the floor, next to a nearby beach chair. Something else was on the chair, something that looked an awful lot like Kyle's t-shirt. An uncomfortable knot lodged itself in Sam's throat. He really didn't want to see this.

"Oh, why did I let this happen?" Jerry said, clutching his head in his hands. "I knew it was coming. I knew it and I ignored it when I could've-"

"Keep it down, will you?" Kyle said, annoyed.

Sam jumped. He and Jerry both glanced towards the other end of the pool. Kyle sat on the highest step, Kay sleeping in his lap, her head lolling on his shoulder. Both of them wet.

The despair slipped off Jerry's face with the speed of light to be replaced by a rather scary focus. He charged at Kyle, his hand reached out.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kyle asked, trying to pull out of his reach, and almost falling over in the pool.

Jerry checked the buttons of his jeans and pulled away, satisfied that they were buttoned up.

"Seriously, Jerry?" Kyle asked, nudging him away. "Even if something would've happened, I would've buttoned my jeans."

"But nothing happened," Jerry said joyfully.

Kyle squinted at him as though trying to decide whether to screw with him or not, but finally sighed in defeat. "No, nothing happened."

"Then let's go to bed!" Jerry practically skipped back around the wall.

Sam just stared, wondering how Jerry could buy into Kyle's story so easily. Not that Sam didn't believe him, but there was a humongous gap between nothing and everything. Kyle tightened his hold on Kay and stood, cradling her in his arms. For a moment, he hesitated, but then stepped out of the pool and followed Jerry towards their house.

"So..." Sam started, falling into step with him. "Nothing really happened?"

Kyle threw him a sideway glance, his face an unreadable mask. "Why? What do you think happened?"

Sam bit his lip. He had no idea, but he could practically sense something was different. So he went with the only possibility he could voice out loud without instantly bursting into flames. "Heavy make out session?"

Kyle looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then grinned. "Yeah, let's call it that." And with that, he sprinted up the stairs.

Sam watched him go, wondering if it had been the truth. Not that it was any of his business, but he liked to think that Kyle would be honest with him even if he asked the rudest thing possible. Though he somehow had the suspicion that Kyle would answer just to make him feel uncomfortable for asking.

An unexpected wave of nostalgia hit Sam as he stayed in the threshold, watching the full moon. They were leaving, and though he'd done nothing but complain, he was a little sorry to go. Because Jessie was right. India was more heat, more questionable food, more danger. Danger... He thought of Tom again, of going off to finish what his twin never could, and suddenly the night was cruel, the real moon mocking him because his moon was gone.

"I miss you so much," he whispered into the wind.

How could he miss someone this bad after just a couple of months of knowing them? He clutched his chest as pain wracked his body with more force than it had in days. Because he really did miss Christine. And as much as he'd tried to downplay it, the anger at her had vanished, and he'd started doubting his decision. Sure, they didn't get along most of the time, but when they did, it was heaven. Her voice, her laugh, the way she would look at him, her eyes filled with mischief and adoration.

But without Tom, he couldn't function properly. At least not yet. He was tired all the time, didn't get excited by anything and he couldn't stop thinking about it. About death, about life, about love and about everything that turned his miserable world.

Don't go there.

Tom had warned him and Sam would listen. Because he would find a way to get over it, to move on and live his life. Death was the easy way out and he'd never been one to choose anything simple. So he'd fight.

And like an approval, his head cleared for the briefest second and the pain was gone. It only came crashing down on him the following second, giving him a headache that made him wince, but Sam got the message. Wherever he was, Tom was encouraging him. And he'd take it and do the right thing. So what if he felt confused, out of orbit, like a falling star? He'd be the brightest falling star the world had ever seen.

🌟🌟🌟

I must confess this chapter was more for fun than any relevant plot point, but if you're here, it's because you love the characters and this is a treat.

Back to more serious stuff next chapter. Hope you enjoyed the break.

Any and all thoughts are appreciated.