"Hey, Dougie, you ever gonna come off that thing?"

Dougie looked up from his new Nintendo D.S, smiling somewhat absently before returning to Mario. The games console had been one of the gifts he'd received from Danny, and quite frankly, Harry was sick of the relentless attention he'd been giving it.

"Dougie!" He said, louder. Dougie didn't look up on time. "Dougie, for crap's sake! Put that thing away, you're supposed to be rehearsing for the performance tonight!" Harry snapped. Dougie looked up, hurt. Danny snorted, his gaze fixed on the football match on T.V; Harry turned on him, instead.

"You should be, too." Harry said darkly. Danny looked up at the taller man from where he was sprawled across the sofa.

"Oh, sorry, dad." Danny smirked.

"Grow up!"

"If growing up means turning in to you, I'd rather stay down here, thanks all the same." A muffled giggle escaped Dougie's lips, and Harry turned red with anger.

"Jesus, no wonder your dad left!" The words were regretted the minute they left his lips; Danny's ears went red and he stood up, looking up at Harry with a murderous look on his face.

"Why don't you take that fucking stuck up attitude of yours and stick it up your gay ass with those drumsticks?" Danny retorted.

"Daniel!" Tom said, shocked- he'd just walked in. "Don't you dare talk to people like that!"

"But he said-"

"Nothing he said can provoke that kind of language." Tom cut him off sternly.

"But-" Danny started, Harry smirking.

"No!" Tom snapped.

"Tom?" Dougie mumbled, looking uncomfortable. Tom looked at him. "Harry... um, he said..." he trailed off and stared back at his DS, cheeks burning. Tom frowned; it wasn't like Dougie to sneak on Harry. Maybe Harry had said something mean?

"What did he say?"

"He said... stuff about Danny's, um, dad leaving." Dougie was pink too now; Tom looked at Harry, anger burning in his eyes.

"Right. That is the final straw."

Dougie, Danny and Harry looked on, wide eyed, as Tom launched in to a rant.

"I am sick and tired of you two! And I know Dougie is too! Why can't you just get along? Why can't you sort it out, or even beat the shit out of each other and get it over with, like men? Do you have to keep getting at each other and hitting on personal remarks like that? Seriously, I swear to God I am so close to locking you in a room until you get over it! Or, better yet, just leaving you until you sort it out!"

"But Harry-"

"Danny!" Tom yelled, rounding on him. "Can you stop acting like everything's his fault? It's both of you! Now are you going to grow up and sort this out, or- Danny? Danny! Come back here!"

Danny was walking away. Tom reached out and grabbed his arm, but Danny just pulled away.

"Daniel Jones!" Tom said, in his warning voice. Dougie's eyes, already huge, increased. Last time he'd heard that voice, he'd ended up grounded for a month because he'd stolen a CD from the corner shop.

But Danny, oblivious, carried on storming out. He took the stairs two at a time.

"Act your age for once!" Harry called.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I HATE YOU!" Danny's voice screamed down, and a door slammed. Complete silence took over the household. Tom turned to Dougie, and saw him crying.

"Dougie?" His anger at the two drained, and he sat next to Dougie. "What's wrong?"

"I- I don't know." He mumbled.

"He's scared." Harry said in an inferior voice. Tom glared at him, and he elaborated. "Because shouting would have been what he heard from his parents before his dad went and shagged some other bird-"

Tom punched him.

Reeling back, Harry stared at Tom in shock, flinching back from the fire in Tom's eyes.

"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Tom spat, then turned back to Dougie. "Dougs, mate, if you want to go up to my room I'll follow you up in a minute and we can play Harry Potter on the Play station."

Dougie nodded, and scrambled up, thankful to get out of the limelight. Tom turned to Harry, who was reluctant to meet his gaze.

"You know, Harry, I was talking to Danny a few months back." Tom said smoothly. "This was the last time we discussed why you two don't get along."

He sat down on the sofa, kicking his feet up on the table and watching Harry intently.

"Now, I don't pretend to know every little detail. But when we were speaking, Danny decided he didn't want to talk about you anymore. Naturally, I persisted."

"Naturally," Harry muttered darkly, as Tom picked up the television remote and switched channels to Friends.

"Danny got angry then, like he does. You've seen him in his tempers. He got that," Tom watched Harry as he spoke, "From his father."

Harry tried not to let emotion show, but his eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

"All I managed to translate from his screaming were the words, 'He acts like he knows about my dad when he doesn't.'"

Harry stared at Monica and Rachel on the TV, trying to wish himself out of the situation.

"What exactly did you say to him, Harry? All those months ago? Why does he hate you so much?"

Harry sighed deeply, and slumped on to the chair he was standing in front of- previously engaged by Dougie, who, thanks to him, was now upstairs, probably still crying.

Why did he always hurt people?

But Harry knew that this was probably his last chance to fix what he said to Danny. And he needed to tell Tom what he said, even if it meant some serious yelling or fighting.

"I told him," He started, then stopped. "I didn't know that it had affected him so much- you know, when his father..."

"Hit him?" Tom supplied flatly. Harry visibly flinched as he imagined Danny as Tom had found him two months after they met- shattered, bruised and hollow.

"Yeah," Tom carried on, blankly, "Why on Earth would being abused affect him?"

Harry dropped his head in his hands.

"I said... that... that maybe his..." Harry sighed loudly and snapped his head up to look at Tom.

"I told him that maybe if his dad hadn't hit him so hard, he wouldn't be such an idiot."

Harry didn't see that punch coming, either, but he voted he deserved it as he lay on the floor behind the now tipped over chair, bleeding quite severely.

"You deserved that." Tom said, his voice still emotionless.

"I know." Harry agreed, leaning over and spitting out blood on the coffee table.

"Did he punch you when you said it?"

"Yeah. Then he kicked me in the shin- would've been the balls, I moved out the way- and called me a stuck up, twisted, selfish dick head."

"Good for him."

"Then he started crying and ran away."

"Of course he did." Tom nodded, watching Harry slowly get up.

"You realise I'm not gonna help you fix this, right?" Tom said. Harry looked at him.

"What?"

"You have to fix this one yourself. You're going to have to make it up to him."

"But-"

"No buts. It's your own fault, you clear up the mess." Tom sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Harry, you're one of my three best mates, but you really are an asshole- you know that, right?"

Harry nodded, and Tom walked out of the room, to go and play with Dougie.

"Oh, and Dougie, too. You made him cry."

"I know." Harry called back. Tom disappeared up the stairs, and Harry watched him, hating that he was right, hating Danny for being so rightfully hurt, and hating himself for being such an idiot.