The funeral was depressing, as funerals tend to be, and reflected none of the dead's personality. There were no posters of long-dead rock and rollers, and the only colour in the room was the stained glass windows, covered in glass renditions of another dead man.

Jacob sighs and shoves his earbuds in his ears. This is what his brother will be remembered as. Nothing but a slip of paper handed out to mourners or a eulogy in the paper. His personality will be forgotten. The song that he had been listening to on repeat starts again.

"Brother why'd you have to go........"

"Fuck," he mumbles and pulls his earbuds back out.

"How you holding up?"

Jacob looks around and into the face of his best friend, Karma.

"How are you holding up?" Karma whispers.

"I fucking hate when people ask me that."

"I know."

"Stop trying to piss me off then."

"Nah."

The mourners were beginning to trickle out of the chapel, like a line of sombre beetles. No one approaches their little group. They must sense that Jacob would not be happy to see them at this point in time.

"Dude," The whispers continue.

"Shut up." Jacob says, "I don't really wanna talk right now."

"So what, you're just going to sit and mope like a fucking emo?"

"That's the plan."

Karma takes a step back, his brown eyes flashing black. "No."

"What do you mean, No?!"

"It means that you have to man the fuck up."

"My brother is dead!" Jacob is now yelling, the rest of the people within the stained glass walls pretending that raised voices don't exist. "I don't want to man the fuck up, I just want you to leave me the fuck alone."

Karma takes another step back. "No," he says again, "No."

Jacob looks at Karma, "What do you mean no?" he yells, "No, my brother is not dead? No, I can't be cut up about it? NO?"

At this point, people are no longer even attempting to pretend that they are not listening in. Every eye in the room is fixed on them, including Jacob's parents.

"Can we continue this somewhere else?" Karma goes back to whispering, "Anywhere else?"

"No."

"Jacob-"

"I said no."

Jacobs parents are now attempting to edge their way over to the two boys without attracting any attention. Their fake smiles are looking strained and their hands are shaking. Karma sees them and sighs.

"Fine." He turns and walks off, leaving Jacob on his own, and leaving Jacob's parents looking as happy as they can under the situation.

Jacob nods at his parents and places his earbuds back into his ears. The song fills his ears again.

"And once they're gone, you'll never get that back."