I'm Just Being Me (Nick)

[Nathan Darwin]

Who'd have thought that a girl would tip Nathan over the edge so easily? A girl. One. How? Simply by not having any interest in him when he had actually started falling for her. The lies, the fake smiles, all of it was just a joke to her and for once, it was Nate who got hurt. Maybe it had been her plan all along, make him fall so she could hurt him the way that he hurt other girls. It made sense, though why she felt the need to do it was beyond him. It wasn't like she had been friends with any of the girls that he ever screwed. At least, as far as he knew. It didn't matter. She was just one girl, he could have so many more, why dwell on just one?

That thought was what landed him in the club, sitting at the bar and hitting on a girl that clearly wasn't interested. She kept giving him non-committal nods and shrugs at everything he said and yet, he persisted. He may have been a teensy bit drunk and that could have been why he was acting the way that he was. He could thank the guy a few seats down for the alcohol. Luckily he seemed to blend in with the crowd because the bartender didn't even card him. It could also have been the fact that the place was packed and Nathan was keeping off the radar as far as the bouncers and bartenders went. He didn't want to get kicked out for being a minor, besides, he wasn't drinking anymore. Or, at least he took a short break in order to hit on the girl beside him.

Nathan was living it up. Nearly seventeen and he was making the most of it. Willow who? Yeah...right. He leaned towards the blonde beside him real close (it was a wonder he hadn't fallen off his stool) and smiled, "How 'bout we get outta here? You game, babe?" The look on her face said it all...a big fat, no. He was losing his touch, or he just should never flirt and drink at the same time.

[Nicholas Darwin]

Nick was out with his buddies, having quite the nice time. Life had granted him the sexiest roomate to ever walk this earth (Corny much?) and she just happened to be his girlfriend too. He couldn't be happier, and everything seemed to work out just perfectly. And really, he was quite proud of himself for the huge change he had made the past weeks. He used to be such a manwhore, hitting on everything with a pair of legs and boobs. Well, as long as they were attractive anyways. And now? Now he was in a serious relationship and they had even moved in together. The best part of it all was that he didn't miss his old life at all, and he hadn't had a single doubt about it all. Ah, life was really, really great right now.

Well, at least for the oldest Darwin brother things seemed to look bright. Which Nick was more or less unaware of. At least until he saw someone similar of his baby brother sitting at the bar. ''What the hell?'', he muttered to himself. That couldn't be right? Why was his SEVENTEEN year old brother sitting here at a place like this, clearly intoxicated and hitting on someone way out of his league? Wait. Wasn't Nate in a relationship with that one chick? Man, he was so confused.

Walking closer to the bar, he let out a sigh as he realized that yes, it was no one other than Nathan himself, making a huge fool out of himself. First of all, hadn't he learned ANYTHING? Second, he needed to take a hint, because duh, she was clearly not interested. Aaaand a little bit too old for him. Nick shook his head before making his way over to the boy and the poor lady next to him. He tapped his younger brother on the shoulder and smiled at the girl. ''I hope I'm not interupting anything, but I'd like to speak to my brother.'' Clearly, he wasn't.

Pulling the younger boy by the collar he dragged him off the stool and crossed his arms over his chest. ''Dude. What the fuck?''

[Nathan Darwin]

Ohey look it was Nick his bro-...fucking cockblock!

What the absolute fuck? Wasn't his brother supposed to be cool? After all, Nick taught him half the stuff he knew! Clearly not the half that mattered though, the drunk half. Nathan couldn't believe that his brother was doing this. Nick, c'mon give him a break! He needed a piece of that ass because he wasn't getting any anywhere else!

Nate tried ignoring his brother and instead kept his attention on the girl next to him. She looked pissed, he realized the more he looked at her. Like she was going to punch him in the face and not regret it in the slightest. But hey, at least the alcohol would numb the pain...a little. Ah who was he kidding, she was going to fuck his shit up, and not in the way he wanted. Dammit. He was totally blaming this whole thing on Nick. His brother just haaad to ruin the moment. It was a great moment too!

"Man I could say the same thing to you, bro. What the hell was that back there? I thought you were cool," He was standing, or trying to, in front of his brother, looking up at him. He couldn't wait until he was as tall as Nick. Then he wouldn't be able to tower over Nate the way he was now. Fucking cocksucker. Nathan was irritated. Why did this happen to him? Why wasn't he allowed to get some action? It had been soooo longggg. The last time was with Penny....

...wait.

Why didn't he just bang her again to begin with?...Nah that was too easy.

[Nicholas Darwin]

Nick looked at his brother and sighed. The poor idiot couldn't even stand up straight. Man, to think that he was related to this pussy... Impossible to believe? Yep, to him too. ''You mean, apart from saving you from getting your ass kicked by a girl?'' That would surely not have been cool. Well, Nick would probably enjoy watching and then use it against his brother for all eternity. Damn, he shoulda just let her have a go. Because really, it woulda been hysterical. But then Kadence woulda gotten mad, and that was never a good thing. Especially not for Nick.

''Seriously though, what the fuck is your problem? Weren't you dating that....'' Ugh, what was her name again? Something that sounded like kilo..... Whatever. ''Pillow or whatever the hell her -- or his name was?'' If there was anything that wasn't cool, it was a horny and drunk Darwin. He had been there himself. Well, he had never been this desperate....then again, he always got meat when he needed it. Drunk or not. Hehe. He had more sex appeal than his brother. Not a shocker there.

''Hold on, I'm going to call Kadi and tell her to expect guests.'', he said with a sigh and held Nate's upper arm firmly, just in case the moron decided to run away like the pussy he was. Man, out of all the people he could ever have been related to, his mother had to press out this dickshit? God. Couldn't he gotten like a puppy or something instead? Woulda been a lot more productive. It would have been prettier to look at too.

[Nathan Darwin]

"I can handle myself thank you very much. Unless you're doubting your teaching skills 'cause you're the one that taught me how to deal with this kind of stuff," Nathan said as he swayed a little. Yup, he was totally wasted, he wouldn't remember a thing in the morning, and more than likely it'd hurt like hell. "I don't need you to save my ass, I can handle anything on my own," He powered through that sentence, all of it running together in one giant slur. It was amazing how he was even keeping up this conversation, or well as much as he was. It was only a matter of time before he passed the fuck out though, he knew it as well as Nick did. Who cared though? He'd end up somewhere one way or another.

Nick's little joke, or whatever you wanted to call it had a harsh effect on Nathan. Why did it have to hurt so damn much? "Who fucking cares?" He did. As much as he was forcing back the pain and confusion he felt, he cared and it killed him. This was why he never got close to anybody. Right here. This feeling. And what the hell did Nick care anyway? Nate was seventeen, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He wasn't looking for a life partner, not now and maybe not ever. Marriage was over-rated anyway. If that's what his brother wanted, fine, but Nathan didn't have to turn out just like his brother. Despite what everyone seemed to want from him.

Nathan yanked and struggled against his brother's grip, only to find that it was pretty pointless unless he wanted to have circulation cut off. Shit, Kadence? She was going to see right through him if he ended up there and was conscious. Girls knew stuff that guys were oblivious to. Fuckkkk. "Tell her I said hi and that I can't wait to steal her away from you. Face it bro, she's only with you to get to me." Because that was so likely right? Twenty-one year old and a seventeen year old. Hey, age was but a number right?

[Nicholas Darwin]

''If you had listened to anything I've ever taught you, you'd already be in bed with that chick.'', he said with a shrug, his patience growing thinner by the second. Seriously, what the fuck was wrong with this idiot? Something bad musta happened, because Nathan wasn't usually this much of a dick. Sure, Nick wasn't exactly making it better, but hey, he was completely oblivious to Nate's situation. ''Oh yeah?'', he asked finally. ''Then please explain why that girl you were hitting on looked everything but pleased.'' Nick really needed to get his brother somewhere he could sleep it off. Clearly, talking about whatever was bothering him in this condition was pointless.

Then it clicked. Just by the way his brother reacted, Nick could easily see what was wrong. His baby brother was suffering from a broken heart. Well, shit. ''Hey, man, you wanna talk?'', he then asked, his expression a little softer. Sure, Nick wasn't exactly the master of broken hearts, but he could always offer some advice here and there. After all, Nate was only seventeen and he had his entire life figuring out about love and lasting relationships. It had taken Nick quite the time too, and the topic wasn't totally unfamiliar for him. ''You ok?''

Nick didn't really care if Nate didn't want to go or stay, he didn't really have much of a choice. There was no way Nick was leaving Nate alone in a bar, drunk out of his own mind hitting on people who clearly didn't apprechiate it, and with a broken heart to top it all. No, Nate had absolutely no choice in the matter. ''Well, it's either that or you gotta talk to me about whatever is bothering you. Pick your evil.'' As much as Nick wanted to give his overly-arrogant brother a good beating for that comment, he'd wave it away. This wasn't the time to create more drama. At all. Clearly, Nate had enough on his mind as it was.

Nick pulled his brother to a free booth, a little away from all the people and all the fuss. He forced his brother down in the seat and sat down next to him. He made sure his brother couldn't escape and leaned back. He then ordered some water for his baby bro and turned to face him.

[Nathan Darwin]

"How do you know that I wasn't taking her to the bathroom when you showed up fuck face?" Oh no, he was no helping his situation at all. It wouldn't have surprised him if Nick ended up beating the shit out of him for his attitude. He was drunk, that was the excuse he was going with. Who cared if it was a miserable excuse, he couldn't come up with a better one at the moment, so he was just going with that. Ugh, why did Nick have to show up all the time? He couldn't just let things happen, he had to butt into everything like the asshat he was. It really bothered Nathan sometimes, though he often tried hard to look past it. God only knew what would come out of his mouth if he kept thinking it though. "You know what, I don't have to tell you shit. You're not mom and you're not dad. So stop treating me like your god-damn problem."

The change in expression barely got noticed by Nathan in his current state. He felt like he was being patronized and it only made him more and more pissed off. "Stop being such a fucking vagina, I don't need to talk about anything. I'm fucking great," Clearly. Had Nathan been sober he probably would have willingly talked to his brother about what was going on, but right now he was just pissed at everything. He was an angry drunk for sure. Everything was a personal attack on him the way he saw it and it was starting to add up. It was a wonder he hadn't gotten into a fight before Nick showed up.

"Fuck you," Nate said in response to his brother. He wasn't talking about anything and he'd suffer through one night at his brother's place. After all, he'd probably be asleep for most of the time that he was there. And maybe talking to Kadence would help, once he was sobered up at least. Nathan was so stressed out about this whole situation and he just hated it. Why couldn't he just forget her the way she was forgetting him?

He allowed himself to be pushed into the booth and he sat there, grumpy as all get out and ignoring Nick as best as he could. He even had his arms folded across his chest like he was a little kid pouting. It'd have been cuter if he wasn't seventeen years old and being such a bitch. Ugh.

[Nicholas Darwin]

Well, that was a stupid question. Silly, little Darwin. ''Because she was about this-'', he put his thumb and index fingers together in front of the younger boy's face. ''Close to kicking your ass. She looked like a angry lioness with PMS. That's how I know.'' Silly. ''Oh, and yeah, she totally had the hots for me. Y'know, because I'm better looking and all.'' God, he was such a dick. Well, hey, at least it rhymed with his name, and Nate would probably have had just as much fun if the positions had been switched. Nathan would probably thank Nick one day for always watching his back. And he hadn't been around as much as he should have, that much was obvious. He felt bad about it, because even if he teased his baby bro a lot, he really did love him. ''No, but I am your big brother.'', he said with a sigh. ''And that makes you my problem whether you like it or not.'' Period.

Seriously, Nate had to stop jerking around and stop acting like a five year old who didn't get ice cream. This was getting rather annoying, and really, if it hadn't been for the fact that Nick knew something was up, he'd already given the poor boy a black eye. And then probably ended up being beat up by his girlfriend. Oh joy, what a wonderful life. ''Oh yeah, I bet you'd feel so much better if I left you at the bar and stopped caring. Why don't you stop acting like such a prideful brat and face facts. Something's up, and you're going to tell me one way or another.'' Yeah, he knew he was a little too harsh on the younger boy, but really, he was losing his patience here, and he wasn't the most supportive person in the world. Especially when he usually had quite the insulting and rude relationship with his brother enough as it was. Nick really needed to learn to take things more seriously.

''For the love of...'' Nope. He wasn't even going to bother.

Nathan pulled up his phone with a roll of his eyes and dialed Kadi's number. He put the phone to his ears and never let his eyes leave the younger brother. ''Hi babe.'', he said once she finally replied. and rubbed the back of his neck. ''We have a situation here. Nate's managed to get himself wasted and he's throwing a fit. Are you free to come pick us up?'' As the waitress came with the glass of water, Nick handed it to Nathan with a strict nod. ''Drink.''

[Nathan Darwin]

"Why'd you have to come over? Are you intent on making me your shadow for the rest of my life? Because if so, I can't wait until I'm eighteen so I can get out of Pilot Ridge and away from you!" Nathan was drunk, delusional...he didn't know what he was saying. Hopefully Nick would realize that he wasn't talking clearly, that he was being an idiot and should just pass out already. He didn't want to be Nick's problem. He wanted to be Nick's brother, the one that could stand by his brother and be noticed as someone other than Little Darwin. He wasn't Nick. They were close, but they weren't the same person! All everyone did was refer to him as Mini Nick, or Darwin's little bro. No one ever paid attention to him outside of what he shared in common with his older brother, what did Nick expect? For him to be happy about it all? He tried so hard, but sometimes, he couldn't fake it anymore.

Nathan glared up at his brother, "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. I may be drunk, but I didn't fucking stutter." Yeah, Nate was pretty much asking to get his ask kicked. He was being a spiteful little douchebag and if he remembered any of this in the morning, he was going to be facing more than just a broken heart. His conscience was going to eat him alive for this. Everything he said may have had some truth behind it, but he never expected to put it so harshly because he always figured he could talk to Nick about these things calmly. Too bad he decided on saying it while he was wasted.

When Nick pulled out his phone, Nathan looked away and tapped his fingers against the table. He tried his best to ignore what his brother was saying, but it still irked him the way that he was constantly treated like a child. When he was ordered to drink, Nate folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. Nope, he was sick of being told what to do. He just wanted to be a reckless teenager for crying out loud.

[Nicholas Darwin]

Nate's next words had a lot of affect on his older brother. Not once had it crossed Nick's mind that his younger brother felt like he was nothing but a shadow of him. He didn't see him that way. Surely, he joked about it every now and then and he could easily see that they were very similar. But no, even he knew they were two completely different people with two completely different minds. He didn't say anything. What could he say? He just took it all in without as much as a word. Was that really how his brother felt about him? Was he really that much of a crappy big brother? Sure, he could see the alcohol affecting his words, but didn't people usually tell the truth when they were drunk?

Nick just sat there with narrowed eyes and kept his mouth shut. And no, he wasn't going to kick his brother's ass. He wasn't mad at him for what he said. If anything, he was sad. He was sad about the way his brother felt about him. This wasn't right. Brothers weren't supposed to hate or dislike each other like this. At least not in Nick's eyes. Why hadn't Nate told him about how he felt? Okay, he could understand why. Nate probably thought he'd make fun of him, like he always did. Man. He really was a horrible brother...

Nick shut the phone and stood up. He didn't look at Nate, and he didn't really say much about the water. If he didn't want to drink it, so be it. ''Kadi will be here in a few minutes.'', he said silently and walked towards the door. If he didn't want to follow, Kadi could go back in and get in. She'd probably have better luck with him at this rate anyways.

Man, what a shitty situation.