BROTHERS, THAT'S WHO WE ARE

Chapter One: Wade

"WADE! TIME TO get up!" Mom calls from downstairs.
I groan. Ugh. Why? Why me? Why do I have to be in school when Peter doesn't? Oh yeah, maybe it's because he graduated! It sucks being the youngest.
"WADE! UP NOW!" Mom cries.
"Ok! Ok! I'm up, Mom! I'm up! Sheesh!" I say, finally sitting up in my Avengers bed.
I groggily stand up and rub my eyes, yawning. I hate Monday's. Don't we all? I walk over to my window and sleepily open the blinds. What do ya know? It's raining. What a surprise.
I walk over to my messy bed and make it. Mom would've wanted me to anyways. I grab my clothes off my chair and went to the bathroom and got changed. I grab my book bag, which is already packed from the night before, and head downstairs.
Mom's by the stove, cooking breakfast, humming a song from Billy Elliot. I smile when I see Mom. He has an interview today so that's why he's wearing a dress. My father, Harrison Osterfield, arrives and kisses Mom's lips, making Mom giggle.
"Hey, baby~," Uncle Harrison says, as he hugs Mom from behind and kisses Mom's neck.
Mom rolls his eyes and laughs. "Hey, Hazza. You're happy."
"Well, what can I say? I had a good nap," Uncle Harrison, now my father, says.
Mom turns and hands him his plate. Uncle Harrison grins and gladly takes it. Mom sees me and smiles and says, "Ah! Wade! You're up! Here's your breakfast, baby."
I grab the plate and smiled at my beautiful mother. I watch him as he straightens up the living room. His curly brown bangs swept to the side, brown chocolate eyes sparkling. God, he was beautiful. Mom was everything!
After straightening the living room, Mom walks over to Uncle Harrison and I. He bends down and pecks my forehead. I smile a bit. He walks over to Uncle Harrison and kisses his lips.
"I have an interview today," Mom says to both Uncle Harrison and I.
"Ok, babe," Uncle Harrison says as he kisses Mom's lips again. "Be careful."
Mom walks over to the coat rack and grabs his coat and umbrella. He grabs his bag and his car keys.
"Bye, Mom! Be careful! Love you!" I call.
Mom turns and smiles. "Love you too, Wade. If Peter and or Matt comes over today, tell them I'm at work and an interview."
I nod and so does Uncle Harrison. Mom smiles at us and he walks out. Uncle Harrison sips his coffee which Mom made him. I rest my chin under my palm as I pick at my food. It's been quite lately around the house. Dad's dead, my real father, my brother's gone. He moved in with his boyfriend, Matt Murdock. I hardly see Peter anymore. He's been spending more time with Matt now that they've been dating. Ugh. Why did Mom have to let Peter date him?! Just to make Peter happy?
"Wade?" Uncle Harrison says, snapping me out of my daze. "You okay? You've been...I don't know...off."
I shrug and don't respond, staring at my food and picking at it.
"Come on, kid," Uncle Harrison says. "You can tell me!"
I continue picking at my breakfast, not responding to my new father, who recently got married to my mother.
"Wade? What's wrong?" Uncle Harrison inquires.
"It's..." I let out a shaky breath. "I miss him..."
"Who...?"
"Peter...I miss him...I miss Dad...I want my life to be normal again..." I say, my voice a whisper.
Uncle Harrison sighs heavily and lifts my chin up to meet his eyes.
"Your father is still with you, Wade. Dead or alive. He's still with you. In your heart," Uncle Harrison points at my heart.
I gulp and swallowed my tears.
"Why won't Peter come back?" I say, my voice cracking.
Uncle Harrison sighs. "He's...it's complicated Wade. But Peter...he's eighteen. He's a legal adult. He-"
"I want my brother!" I snap. "I want to know why he's spending more time with that guy...who is DAREDEVIL! And my brother is DATING him!"
"That's excatly why," Uncle Harrison says. "Because Peter loves him. It's his choice, Wade. He can make his own decisions. I know it's hard. He'll visit us like he promised!"
"You don't understand, Dad!" I'm crying now. "Peter and I are inseparable! We're very close! I just...I just want to protect him...after everything he's been with Advent. I just...I wish Peter didn't choose him over me..."
"Oh Wade-"
I stand up and grab my bag and coat. I opened the front door and storm out of the house, slamming the door shut on accident. I didn't mean to shut it that hard.
As I walk toward the school, I kept my head down. I bumped into people here and there, mumbling apologizes. My hood is over my head and my hands are in my pockets of my hoodie, my book bag on my back. My lips pursed together in a straight line. Images of my mother fills my mind. Images of Peter fills my mind.
What happened? What happened to my family? It's like...I don't know...it's like my family is slowly drifting apart. It was strong once but now it's weak.
My phone buzzed. I pull it out from my hoodie's pocket. It my uncle. Uncle Sam. Mom's other younger twin.
I smile a bit and pressed call under the caller ID and answer it as I continue walking.
"Hey, Uncle Sam!" I say.
"Hey kid! How're you feeling?" Uncle Sam asks.
I shrug even though he can't see.
"Okay, I guess..." I mumble.
"That's good. Um...listen, I'm going to pick you up from school today. Your mother's working late. The interview he had is going to take him a bit longer than he anticipated. But I should pick you up around 3:30 ish," Uncle Sam informs me.
I nod. "Okay."
"You sure you're okay, Wade? You've been off lately. Ever since Peter left the house."
"I'm fine, Uncle Sam. Really," I assure him.
Uncle Sam sighs. "I know you miss him, Wade. I do too. But he's not gone forever!"
I smile softly. "I know. It's just...I don't know. It's hard on Mom. I remember Mom crying when Peter told him he was moving out and dating with Matt."
"That's because he was happy! He's proud of your brother, Wade! And you should be too! I know I am! I know your Grandma and Grandpa are! I know Harrison's happy for Peter. I know Harry is, Paddy too. Everyone's happy for your brother, Wade. You should be too."
"I guess..." I mumble.
"That's my boy," Uncle Sam says. "Welp. I gotta go. I love you, Wade."
I smile and say, "I love you too, Uncle Sam."
We hung up. I put my phone back in my pocket. I finally reach the school ten minutes later. The front doors are open and students pile through. I smile when I see my best friend, Chris, walking toward the building. I run up to him and jump on his back, laughing. It's the first time I've laughed in what seemed like years.
"ACK!" Chris yelps. "What?! Wade!"
I laugh. "Hahaha! Hey, Chris!"
"Hey, Wade," Chris replies.
He gives me a piggy-back ride until we enter the school. I hop down from his back once we enter. He wraps his arms around me and we walk toward our lockers.
"How're you doing?" Chris asks me.
"I'm fine," I lie.
"That's good."
I look at the clock that's on the wall behind us. It only read 8:35 am. I grab my books from my locker and walk toward class.
Ugh. This was going to be a long day.