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Chapter 17

"Lucas, you never told us last night," Liz said the next morning. "How was the Winter Formal?"

I rolled my eyes, and I was glad she was watching TV so she couldn't see me. "It wasn't worth my money," I replied.

"I'm sorry about that," Liz said with a sad sigh. "Well, it's all about the experience. You should take a shower and get ready, Lucas. We're going to go out with Ben and Jack today."

Just great, I thought. I had no ecstasy for seeing my older brothers. I just hoped that my sister-in-law and my niece didn't come as well. If that were to happen, I'd just become a babysitter. It wasn't the baby, because I really loved her. But my brothers would make her my responsibility, and then Liz would use the baby to get me to interact with the rest of the group.

I got out of the shower and got dressed like I always do. I put my lip ring back on, feeling a bit normal with the jewelry around my lip. I put gel on my hair to make a quiff; I really liked my hairstyle last night, and I figured I could wear it like that from now on. I tied the laces of my black Chuck Taylor's, and then I threw on my My Chemical Romance shirt. I looked in the mirror, and then I felt a bit nostalgic. Calum always pestered me and asked if he could have this shirt. I shook my head and wiped away any oncoming tears. I put my Fall Out Boy sweatshirt over my head, and I walked out of my bedroom.

"Baby Lucas!" I heard Jack call out. I internally groaned, and I braced myself for impact.

Ben and Jack ran to me and tackled me to the ground. They called it a "brotherly group hug," but I always knew they just needed an excuse to push me around. After bringing me down and giving me painful noogies, Ben and Jack got up from the floor. They then went to greet their parents, not bothering to help me up.

I had a slight scowl on my face as I got up from the floor. I dusted off my skinny jeans and my sweatshirt, cursing Ben and Jack in my head. I finished dusting myself off, and I looked up. There was no sign of my brothers' wives and no sign on any niece of mine. This day just got a little bit better.

"We're thinking of going out and acting like tourists," Liz said with a slight smile. "So get in the car, all of you."

I let out a huff and trotted towards the car. Liz wanted to act like tourists, but truth is we practically were. Sure, we lived here, but we hardly ever went out to the tourist attractions. We were practically tourists on our own.

I ended up sitting in Liz's van squeezed in between Ben and Jack, much to my disappointment. I had my headphones in my ears, trying not to listen to any conversations. I looked down at my lap the entire time, hopefully giving the hint that I was in no mood to talk.

"Watcha listening to, Baby Lucas?" Ben asked from my left. I pretended not to hear.

Jack suddenly grabbed my iPod, and I let out a slight gasp of distress.

"Give that back," I said softly. I tried not to show my anger, because I really was. Besides Liz reminding me constantly, I knew for a fact that I acted up when I was angry. I became really violent, and I wasn't afraid to hit people when I was upset. I didn't want to make Jack a victim of my abuse, as much as I hated him, but I also didn't want Liz to punish me.

"He's listening to Panic! At the Disco," Jack said slowly, reading from my iPod screen. "Aren't they that one emo band? And why the hell do they have an exclamation point in their name?"

"They're not emo!" I cried. I knew I had no reason to cry over a band, but I felt the tears prickling my eyes. It was probably the fact that I hated being bullied by Jack and Ben. They were a huge reason for my tears.

"They're totally emo," Ben said. That's what I hated most about Ben and Jack. They're brothers, so naturally, they would fight with each other. The worst part of it all was that they worked together to make me feel like shit.