7 Kids On a Couch

Under Pressure, Over It

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"So, yeah school's been pretty crazy. Lots of tests and stuff." Joey sat in the living room with his siblings, talking to James about what he's been up to. James had forced all the Jones siblings to hang out since Ryan supposedly 'couldn't make dinner' that night.

"Wow, Joey," Ryan gave Joey a smile laced with sarcastic awe, "very good. Somehow you managed to tell fifteen whole lies in the three-minute conversation." She clapped mockingly.

Joey opened his mouth to speak but was at a loss for words, not expecting her outburst. "First of all," Morgan spoke for her clearly flustered brother," Joey's allowed to lie if he wants. And second, Joey lied more times than fifteen. If you're gonna be a bitch at least be a correct bitch." Morgan smiled sweetly at Ryan.

"Morg," Joey almost sounded like a tired parent.

"Sorry," she gave Joey an apologetic wave and went back to drawing.

"Morgan is right Rye," James sounded exactly like a tired parent, "about the lying part, the bitch part was mean," he pointed a disciplinary finger at Morgan, "but who cares if Joey lies. You lie all the time."

"Yeah but Joey's damn near pathological." Ryan defended herself, clearly getting upset.

"No, I looked it up. I'm not a pathological liar because a path-"

"See Joey if you had to look it up, that means you definitely lie too much." Ryan, much like she always did, believed that she was right and everyone else was wrong no matter the fact it was three to one.

"You have bad habits too Rye," James rubbed his temples, fearing that his happy sibling time was turning into something less happy.

"And I've been trying," Joey said more positively.

Ryan rolled her eyes, "not trying hard enough."

"At least he's," Morgan paused to take a calming breath, trying not to get worked up by Ryan, "at least he's trying. What are you trying to better about yourself?"

"Well, I'm here aren't I?" Ryan and Morgan held tense eye contact.

"Yeah, you're here, being a" James shot her a look, "jerk. At least Joey can have a conversation without lying, I don't think you can go a sentence without being an assho- a jerk."

"Wanna bet?" The eye contact held strong.

"Ryan we are not doing a fucking bet right now, this was supposed to be family time," James said annoyed by Ryan's competitive nature.

"No, we should make a bet. We should all do it, it'll be like family bonding." Ryan gave James a smirk that she knew would let her get away with nearly anything.

James looked at Joey with a look in his eyes that was almost asking his permission to do this. Joey just shrugged and shook his head, smiling at the absurdity of this situation. Morgan looked at him too, though it was clear to James' observant eye that they were secretly talking to each other, coding, as they called it. "Fine," Morgan said after a short eye contact with Joey.

"I think secret sibling speak should be banned, it seems like cheating," Ryan shot Morgan an irritated look.

"That's a good name for it," Morgan smiled tauntingly, "calling it code was getting kinda lame." Morgan knew that Ryan hated it when she and Joey did their code to each other because she didn't like to be left out, luckily Ryan wasn't very observant so she barely noticed.

"So if I can't lie and Ryan can't be mean, what about you two?" Joey knew his sisters well enough to know when the subject needed to be changed.

"Morgan can't be negative about anything, not herself, or the past, nothing." Ryan stared Morgan down with a smile, challenging her.