All they ever do is stare at each other and laugh all the time, there aren't enough jokes in the world to explain all that annoying laughter. He thought to himself. Blake wasn't really some resentful, selfish brother; he just had a short fuse. He kept me at a distance, he kept everybody at a distance or moreover everyone else backed away if fear.  I don't get it, when did it stop being me, the one he called out to. Marcus and I had been spending more time together over the past few weeks. We were talking more, we walked home together, some nights we did our homework together at the diner,Blake came too, sometimes. But he never sat with us. I always knew Marcus would want to take the next step on his own, I just didn't think it would be so soon. Blake thought to himself as Marcus and I walked home together. I could feel him drifting away, not needing me by his side as I needed him. I'm not bitter just...alone. His internal monolog tearing him apart. Marcus and Blake were codependent, but the codependency was one sided. Blake was the one of the two that shut the rest of the world out only in need of that one person and for as long as he could remember Marcus mimicked that behavior. Marcus was the one of the two who was very easy going, it didn't make a difference who he was around so he opted to stay by his brothers side. For 17 they were inseparable but suddenly it was like he was slipping away. Blake was happy that Marcus found someone who made him happy, that he could lean on somebody else for a change. The only problem was that person was me. Truth be told, Blake had always had a thing for me, he just went about expressing it all wrong. I could see right through him at times and I had known for a while, he however was to dence to notice that all those I timed I reached out in middle school, they were really failed attempts at letting him know the feeling was mutual. I eventually gave up on that as he grew more distante and when they left for boarding school I had almost completely forgotten. They had popped back up just as quickly as they had disappeared. When I first saw Blake it wasnt that day in school when both him and Marcus caught me in the hall. I had seen Blake at the diner two days before. I walked in and there he was, in my booth. Without hesitation I approached him and I had a bone to pick. “Excuse me, I know you've been gone for a while but this is my booth.” I said playfully as he redirected his attention off the menu and onto me. “Well i guess you'll have to live without it for a while, goodbye.” He said as if he couldn't give a care in the world looking back at the menu. I took that as a subtle hint to sit down and join him. “So how long have you been back?” I asked as I planted myself across from him. He looked up at me as if I was a foreighn object speaking another language. “Please sit and join me.”He said snarkily. “I Don't mind if I do.” I said as I took the menu out of his hand and set it beside me. “But seriously, are you back for good?” “I was looking at that!” He said pointing at the menu. “Oh please it hasn't changed in 15 years, your orders are still the same. Burger no tomato extra fries.”I said as I rolled my eyes. He looked a little surprised for a moment before his expression faded back to his naturally angry looking face. “What do you want.” “How about lunch.” I said cheerfully as I picked up the menu and started looking through it. “I thought you said it hasn't changed in 15 years, last I checked you came here twice a week. Meaning you don't need the menu.” He said as he made eye contact and looked away nonchalantly.``You remembered that?” I was a little shocked considering I never noticed he even knew I was alive half the time. “Yeah you used to drag me here when we were kids, or at least you tried to. I was really annoyed you just couldn't take a hint.``''Yeah I was a persistent child.” I laughed at that for a minute, when I shifted my attention back to him I noticed he was staring at me and it almost looked like he was smiling too. It was more than his cocky smirk but not a full smile he let out a small laugh as he looked away.``What?” I was very intrigued as to what had triggered this new unseen emotion known as not rage in Blake. “Nothing its just still there.”  “What still where?” I asked looking at him for an explanation.He put hush chin in his palm, resting her elbow on the table shifting his focus around the room.” It's still there, that sparkle you get in your eyes when you smile.” Still refusing to make eye contact he mumbled something else underhis breath that I couldn't make out, but something told me about the way his composure shifted that I wasn't supposed to hear that last part, at least not yet anyways. “Wow look at you being civil.” I said jokingly as I gently nudged his leg under the table with my own.