𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙄𝙣.

Australia's Heart.

After their date, West had to head home so he could take Paul to the hospital for a check up. He dropped Killian off at his house, then drove to his own place.

Killian was in his room now. He was unpacking the night bag that West had given to him that morning so he could carry the leftover snacks.
Sparrow passed by Killian's open door, and saw all the snacks laid out on the bed, so he entered the room and headed straight for the chocolate bars. He snatched a milky bar off the bed, then made himself comfortable on Killian's study desk.

"How was your date?" He asked as he shoved a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

Killian suspiciously narrowed his eyes at his little brother. Sparrow always had a prank up his sleeve, so he didn't trust him, or like him very much. He would die a thousand deaths for him, but he still didn't like him. "It was good, thank you."

"Yeah? Did you guys do the secks?"

"Excuse me?" Killian gasped. "Please, get out of my room."

"It's just a question." He shrugged.

"Sparrow, I will literally rip your head off."

"Fine, fine. I like my head attached to my body, anyways." He snatched five more milky bars before running out of the room.
Killian scowled at the door, then inched towards it so he could close it. He wasn't in the mood for another aggravating conversation with his little brother. He was about to grab the handle when he heard somebody come up the stairs, he stuck his head into the hallway, then swallowed nervously when he saw who it was.

"Hey, uh... Your mom let me in."

"H-Harper," Killian stuttered as he stepped into the hallway. He had not been expecting him, especially after going weeks without seeing, or talking to him. "What are you... doing here?"

Harper gave Killian's room a once-over, he hadn't been in it in a very long time. He did a double take when he saw all the junk on the bed. "What's all this?" He asked.

"Just some... leftover snacks from a date."

"Oh, sounds fun."

Killian gave him a forced smile, then nodded.

"Uh, anyway. This came in the mail today."

Harper handed Killian a paper bag with a package inside.
He took the package out, and smiled - really smiled, when he realized what it was.

"I completely forgot about these."

Inside the package was his prom outfit; a Mario costume.
Harper and Killian had planned to go to prom as The Mario Bros, it was something that they had been planning since Junior year. Harper was going to be Luigi, since he was the tallest.

"Yeah, well, I-- I figured since we weren't going to prom together anymore, that you'd want yours."

Killian felt his chest constrict, this was one thing that he had been looking forward to. He couldn't believe that he'd forgotten all about it. He felt like a bad friend, granted, they weren't really friends anymore, but Harper was someone that he was sure, he'd never stop loving. "Are you sure you don't wanna keep it?"

"No." Harper responded curtly. "I mean, it's alright."

"Right."

"So are you going? To prom?"

"Oh, I don't know." Killian shrugged as he slipped one hand into his pants pocket. "Not really feeling it."

"Why don't you ask Weston... to go with you?"

"We haven't really discussed prom."

"You should ask him. I bet he'd love to go with you."

Killian shifted one foot to the other and averted his eyes. Going with West wouldn't be such a bad idea, but deep down, he still wanted to go with Harper.

"Anyway, I guess I'll see you around." He turned away then started walking in the direction of the stairs.

Killian watched as his best friend walked away. It felt as if he was leaving with a piece of his heart. He suddenly couldn't remember why he had ended their friendship in the first place. "Harper."

"Yeah?"

I miss you.

"T-Thank you." He said instead.

Harper wanted to ask what Killian was thanking him for, but being in that house was already weighing down on him, so he just nodded, and went about his way.
--------------

"Hey, Kill... I can't talk right now. I'll call you back later."

"You two seem to be getting close."

"Yeah." West agreed as he stuffed his phone back into his pocket. "He's a good friend."

"Friend, huh?"

"Uncle Dennis, please. I'm not here to discuss my love life-- My life. With you."

After his dad's hospital visit, West drove to town to meet with Dennis. He didn't know what the meeting was about, or why his Uncle couldn't just come to their house, instead.

Dennis bobbed his head, "Right." He grabbed the nearest menu, then glanced over at a scowling West. "What would you like to eat? You can order anything you like."

"I'd like a cold glass of what the fuck am I doing here." He snapped.

"I don't think that's on the menu--"

"Uncle Dennis."

"Sorry." Dennis said with a roll of his eyes. His nephew couldn't take a joke. Or tell one, for that matter. It made sense that they weren't related. "I need your help."

"I have to say, you're one of the very few people on this Earth that I dislike... actually, it's just you. So why should I help you?"

"Because I know you're the only one who'd be willing to help."

"I wouldn't say willing."

Dennis laid his palms flat on the table before taking a deep breath. "I've pissed off a lot of people in this town, I can't exactly go knocking on their doors, they'll for sure kick me to the curb. You're the only one who sees the good in people, the only one who truly believes that people can change. You've got a heart as big as Australia."

West grimaced. He wasn't used to the words coming out of his Uncle's mouth. He was usually telling him how much he hated him, or reminding him how he was not blood related to Paul.
"That simile is a bit unrealistic."

Dennis exhaled. Had Weston always been this snarky?

"I know, I'm a horrible person, but, I'm trying... to change my ways. You're the only one who can help me."

West scoffed, "What am I? A psychologist?"

"I wouldn't put it past you."

"What do you want?"

"There's an open mic night at Don's on Wednesday. I need to get a slot."

"It's an open mic. Everyone gets a slot."

"Yeah, about that..." Dennis faltered as he scratched his beard, "There was a slight problem. Don basically kicked me out before I could ask."

"Why would he do that?"

"I may or may not have arrested him in the past." He mumbled.

West covered his face with both hands and released a prolonged groan. Dennis was just as cruel as he thought him to be. "You know, I can't help you with that. You're gonna have to apologize to him."

"I tried!"

"There's a big difference between apologizing because you're genuinely sorry, and apologizing just because you want something from a person. That's manipulative behavior, Uncle Dennis."

"How do I become un-manipulative?"

"Oh, boy." West sighed. This was going to be a long day.
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