Free The Only Brother by Caias Ward

say.
    ‘It’s OK, the boy’s tougher than he looks. Andrew, you should tell them how you popped your dad today. Have to run and finish setting something up.’
    And there I was, dropped in the middle of things, just talking about stuff. And people listened, with a small crowd just getting in on things. Other people jumped in, from one of Trevor’s mates at work, talking about how he and his brother went through a plate glass window in a fight, to Teresa showing off the scar she got in a pretty nasty rugby game.
    People listened to what I said, and they cracked on me too. But I didn’t get mad at the make-up cracks or the getting a ‘real man’s job’ cracks. I either let it slide or threw back at them that they were just upset because I was prettier than their girlfriends. Everyone laughed, everyone drank, everyone had fun. I just mingled,talking to and listening to everyone, taking a little time to tease Emma a bit, and watch Trevor move an impromptu wrestling match out to the yard…
    And I fitted right in.
    Part of that was just relaxing, and part of it was not caring what people thought. I wouldn’t see most of these people ever again, so what did anything matter? Besides, despite years of thinking otherwise, most people weren’t actively trying to mess with my day. They couldn’t know the stuff I was going through in my life, just like I didn’t know the stuff going on in theirs.
    And as for the Hayden Smiths of the world who wanted to get a rise out of me, or the people just trying to cause trouble? Well, you’ll always run into those people, and you can either flip out over it or do your best to not let it bother you. Chances are you won’t be around those people for the rest of your life. For one thing, once school wraps up, Hayden’s going to be adistant memory. I mean, there will always be people like him, but there are far more people like Trevor and Emma and Sara in the world. If I come across a Hayden, I’ll just cross the street.
    And people kept handing me beers. I was pretty good about holding my drink and I kept an eye on what I drank, but it’s one of the downsides of just fitting, I discovered, that people keep handing you drinks. I took my time with them, and ate stuff to slow down the alcohol, but I could feel the buzz running through me. I avoided the urge to drunk-text Sara, even though I wanted her to know I was having a good time; she could call and I’d tell her all about it during the week.
    ‘You!’ Trevor grabbed me and pulled me away from his boss, who was looking to make a new logo for the auto shop and picking my brains.
    ‘What?’ I slurred, as Trevor pushed me up the stairs.
    ‘Got a surprise for you, like,’ Trevor laughed.
    ‘I’m not big on surprises,’ I said.
    ‘You’ll like this one,’ Trevor assured me. ‘I arranged it special. Consider it me making up for the bruise.’
    We kept on going upstairs, to the top floor that Trevor had blocked off with a few chairs. He’d scrawled a note – OFF LIMITS OR I’LL STOMP YOU – it said, and taped it to a chair. We stopped at his dad’s bedroom, where Trevor had put my laptop so it wouldn’t get smashed by accident.
    ‘Gotta make sure we’re still good on beer,’ Trevor said. He turned the knob of the door and shoved me inside.
    Trevor’s dad’s room was a shrine to Newcastle, from autographed pictures going back to the seventies, to a piece of St James’ Park in a shadow box. Caroline stood in front of the glass box, staring at it curiously.
    ‘Some guys are more serious about football than others,’ I mumbled.
    Caroline jumped, not having realised I was there. I tried not to laugh, but she giggled first.
    ‘I got a call from Trevor out of the blue today,’ she said. ‘I don’t know how he got my number. Told me to show up without “that yob Hayden and his fools” because you wanted to talk to me.’
    I’m going to kill Trevor, I thought. Or thank him. I don’t know which yet.
    ‘He got it off