In Color. {l.r.h.}

him

Brothers are ridiculously annoying.

Especially when your house has three bedrooms and six rowdy people all clambered inside, and you're Luke Hemmings: man on a mission. When Grandpa Ted moved in with them, Luke was immediately thrust into a cluttered room with his two older brothers. He coped. That's it.

Luke had his face buried into his laptop screen, attempting to ignore the muffled shouts of siblings through his headphones.

"Aye, Jack, I'm open."

A football smacked the side of his face, causing him to do a startled little hop to the left. He looked up with a growl. "Benjamin Hemmings, you have the catching skills of a three year old." He pointed a finger at the oldest brother, causing the younger to double over with laughter. That is, until Luke continued with, "And Jack, you have the maturity of one."

Jack rolled his eyes with a scoff. "What's eating you, oh golden child?"

"You guys are constantly distracting me."

Ben pursed his lips. "Yeah, well you're constantly drunk, and we don't say anything."

"Yeah. And what are you trying to do anyway?"

Luke tiredly ran his fingers through his hair. He blushed slightly. "The wifi's out again and I'm trying to beat my high score on the dinosaur game," he mumbled.

"Oh God, you need a hobby."

"Or at least get out of the house once a year."

Luke punched Jack's shoulder. He made sure it was light enough that his brother knew he was joking or else he would wind up with a busted lip (and not just from the piercing).

"I do go out. I'm in a band."

Ben chuckled. "I forgot we had a big hotshot rockstar in our room. My bad."

Luke smiled weakly. "No. I'm not a rockstar."

"Trust me, we know."

Luke looked down, shutting his laptop. "Look, guys, I need girl advice."

Jack's face softened as he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Aw, Lu. We knew this day would come. If you're feeling like this gender isn't for you, then you--"

Luke ripped his hand away. "What? No. I want advice about how to talk to girls, not become one. You guys..."

His brothers were practically rolling on the floor with laughter.

"I hate you guys. I'm going out."

Ben wiped a tear, attempting to regain his composure. "You can't, it's past your bedtime."

"Curfew."

"Mum'll kill you."

"Ground me. That's the worst she can do without facing legal penalties." He grabbed his jacket and lifted the window. "Adios."

Ben grabbed his wrist. "Come back before 2. Bring me back food and I won't snitch."

•-•-•-•

Someone could've mugged the blonde boy sprawled out on the same park bench he'd been on eight hours earlier. He almost wished he'd been mugged.

He always did that. Put himself in a vulnerable spot. He ached for something, anything to happen to create a stir inside him like he used to feel. It was like his entire life was spent waiting for excitement to come find him.

This was the day their tour with One Direction would've ended, but that shouldn't matter to him. He'd already gotten rid of that chance. This was his life, not that.

It was an odd phenomenon really. It was as if he wasn't really alive, just sort of floating stagnantly while others around him lived.

Falling in love with girls at the park wasn't helping his case.

He stood to his feet after checking the clock on his phone and seeing 1:46 AM stare back at him, beginning his slow pace home. At least his dad would be up in about four hours for work; then he wouldn't feel so alone. Luke hated nights. But the only way to reach morning was to fight his way through the dark.