Chapter 1

I'll stand by you
Take me in, into your darkest hour
And I'll never desert you
I'll stand by you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you
Won't let nobody hurt you
I'll stand by you

The chorus of the song brought the classic romantic ballad to a close when a hand groggily reached over to turn off the alarm clock before a shrill and loud New York DJ started off his day. The room was now filled with silence as sunlight flooded into the room, as he finally rolled over in bed, kicking the sheets off. The silence was broken by a loud yawn as he tried to focus his blurry eyes on the alarm clock, his thick black mustache wiggling as he finally registered that it was 7:03 in the morning now after he had laid here for a few more precious moments of sleep.

The blankets tumbled to the floor as this overweight man finally rolled out of bed, pushing himself up to a sitting position with great effort with another yawn punctuating the still morning air in his room, while his short little body raised his arms into the air for emphasis. Finally, rising out of bed, he stumbled towards the bathroom attached to his bedroom, still half-asleep as he grabbed a towel, turning on the hot water as slowly steam filled the room. A few minutes later, he was fully awake after an invigorating shower as he changed for the day.

Dry and ready for the day, running a hand through his messy brown hair, as he reached into his closet pullling out a long-sleeved red shirt, followed by a pair of blue denim overalls. Next, he put on white work gloves as he wiggled his fingers, smiling as the ensemble was almost completed by a pair of brown shoes which he slid into a moment later.

Something was still missing as he emerged into the bathroom, eyes flickering around the bedroom for a few minutes, then his eyes finally lighting with recognition as he plucked his hat from the floor. Suddenly, his messy brown hair disappeared underneath the red hat, with a white circle in the middle and in the center of that, a large red letter "M."

Finally and fully awake, Mario Mario descended the stairs towards the kitchen. Rubbing his portly belly eagerly, Mario's large nose wiggled eagerly as the smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air. Grinning, Mario entered the kitchen to find his brother there cooking up breakfast for them and wasn't surprised in the least. Out of the two, Luigi Mario had always been the more responsible of the two and unlike Mario, was an early riser.

Standing over the stove, clad in attire similar to Mario's, differing only in the color of the work shirt and hat, which were both green and instead of an M of course, was a large green "L", stood his brother, Luigi who shouted without turning, "Breakfast is almost done, Mario. Can you get the drinks?"

Mario laughed, his belly shaking with laughter as he grinned, "Sure, bro. Good morning to you too." as Mario headed to the refrigerator, pulled out the orange juice and then two glasses, as two glasses of orange juice were filled and placed at their respective places.

"Sorry, Mario." Luigi said, flashing a smile as he placed a plate of bacon and eggs on the table for each of them, "It's just that we're in a bit of a hurry. We might be late."

Slipping bacon into his mouth and wolfing down eggs as Mario settled into his chair, consuming the breakfast in moments as he washed it all down with orange juice, "You're not blaming me, are ya?".

"Of course not." Luigi responded with what looked suspciously like a smirk as Luigi finished at a slightly slower pace as finally, the dishes were set in the sink, "But, now it's time to hurry or we're going to miss the bus."

Waiting a few beats beforeLuigi added, "Again."

Mario reached over, giving his brother a playful punch in the arm, "You love rubbing that in, don't ya?" as Mario rose up, throwing on a red coat as he grabbed a paper bag, clutching his lunch in his hands that Luigi had made.

Giving another grin as Luigi laughed, "Of course not." Mario watched as Luigi put on a similar green coat, holding his lunch in his hands as he laughed, opening the door as the cold breeze hit them, shivering slightly as they both shrugged it off, heading towards the bus stop.

Suddenly, they both spun around, almost slipping on the icy ground as they dashed back into the house, frantically unlocking the door as Luigi snatched up their bookbags from next to the door and Mario picked up his bookbag, while also making a quick detour to the kitchen. Amid his brother's protests, he emerged with a Cherry Pop Tart.

With the snow starting to fall around them, backpacks slung over their shoulders, the two of them made their way down the street again. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw a flash of yellow passing by them as they rushed to catch the bus for another day for the Mario Brothers at Brooklyn High School.