"Nightshade Fever" by Cerberuswaltz

A/N: Second part of the update, this chapter might be re-worked the most, or it might not. Then after this I'm going to start working on the 3rd chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 2, "Under the Weather"

Sora had swallowed hard, then walked down stairs, shutting his door behind himself. He started to walk down stairs, where he saw Roxas saying good-bye to his friends. He quickly ran down to the kitchen in hopes to avoid his brother. After all, what was he supposed to say? He had no idea how to deal with this. What would their father say? Their mother? His friends? He could only think of his father who would use the terms 'queer' and 'faggot', of which Sora knew weren't good terms.

The more he thought about it the more he panicked, unsure of even which way to go. Roxas, now sitting at the table, was explaining to his mother about the Fall Fair. The Fall Fair was a local tradition, a big carnival and a movie out in the park. Roxas, a star student, was on the comment, the twelfth member. Sora scratched the back of his head, scared to approach the table until his father walked into the room and sat down. His mother turned and smiled, seeing Sora standing in the hall.

"Did you need something, dear?" she asked, but he shook his head 'no', giving a nervous smile. "Okay, then, go ahead and sit down so I can serve dinner."

Sora slowly walked to the table and sat down across from his brother, whom continued to talk about the festival. "This year we're planning on a big surprise, like a stunt or something, but we're not sure what we're going to do yet, or if I'm really on the committee at all even." Roxas explained. His father stared at Roxas and laughed. "You got to be joking? Waste more money on this thing? It's ridiculous. Why should my tax dollars and the councils time go into this pathetic even which has little meaning?" their father said.

Roxas, already knowing his father just replied, "Well, it does have significance, dad. It's for the founding of our town and the triumphant tale of love over all."

Maybe the last bit could have been left out. Yeah, probably.

Their father just grunted and looked at Sora. "So how's training son? You gonna make sure you're on the team again this year, right?"

Sora smiled and nodded. "Well, in track nothing big, but we've got a baseball practice coming, so I'm going to try to rest and exercise a bit more." Sora said as his mother served him a pork chop and some mashed potatoes. His father beamed and patted Sora on the back. "That's my boy!"

Roxas, though far smarter than Sora, and possibly everyone in his school had a lot; good friends, a perfect record, a strong bond with his family from their constant praises, but one thing he always lacked and wanted was affection from his father. He was still second to Sora, even with his good grades and how well-mannered he was, how many people telling their father, Blake, he was extremely lucky to have Roxas as a son, the mere fact Roxas played none, nor had any interest in sports distanced himself from his father.

And of course no matter how many bad grades Sora got, the occasional fist fights, his bad manners, his father looked at Sora with pride because he played sports his whole life, from junior soft ball to foot ball in junior high, and now track and baseball. Roxas was jealous of Sora, of course, but never said a thing. He had to take it in stride

Now, when their mother sat down the conversation turned to the father's day at work. He started complaining about one of his co-workers, Benjamin, when his father grunted, "And to make things worse the guy acts like some queer. To think Mr. Jones would hire him. Can't work, can't think. Probably takin' to much penis in his ass, the freak."

Sora's eyes widened and he looked at Roxas, suddenly choking a bit on his mashed potatoes. His father usually made crude remarks, yes, but now Sora realized it. Roxas was looking down into his plate now, his face somewhat hidden, poking at his pork chop. Sora looked to both his parents to see if they noticed, of which they apparently didn't as his father continued to rant and his mother listening, her face expressionless. Sora just turned red and quickly ate his food, grabbing his glass of milk and running up stairs.

"What's with him?" his father asked. "Well, he did say he was going to try and get more rest? she replied, his father grinning ear to ear. "Smart kid." he laughed again, then begin to eat his food.

Roxas finished quickly, too, and gave a slight bow. "May I be excused?" he asked. His mother nodded with a smile, and when Roxas left his father watched him. "Why the hell does he ask that every night? He acts like we care if he eats here or not."

"He's just very polite, dear. Roxas is a very kind gentlemen." their mother, Mary replied. Blake just snorted and crossed his arms. "Well he needs to stop. Makes him too much of a gentlemen. Might as well be a pansy."

His mother gave a stern look while Blake took a chug from his beer. Meanwhile, upstairs, Sora had pulled out his cell phone and closed his door, dialing Kairi's number. After a few rings she picked up. "Hello?" she asked. "Hey," Sora replied, trying to sound happy, "What's up?"

"Oh, hi Sora!" she said, the enthusiasm in her voice high. "You're not busy, are you?" Sora asked, and Kairi said no. "Are you alright, Sora? You sound kind of down." Kairi asked. Sora winced a little, but knew Kairi cared, and he could tell her anything. "Kairi, I found out something really, really bad. I don't know what to do."

"Well, what is it, Sora? You know you can tell me." Kairi assured him. "I know," Sora replied slowly. He took a deep breath, and tried to think of how he would say it. Gay sounded so strange coming out of his mouth. "Well, it's about-" he started, but got up quickly and looked into the hallway, making sure Roxas' door was closed and his parents still down stairs, "my brother. You know?"

Kairi listened carefully. "Okay, Sora, go on." she said. Sora felt sick in his stomach, trying to push the words out. 'My brother likes guys? My brother isn't like everyone? He's rather be with a guy, then a girl?' he thought. No, no, and no. "He… he got a bad grade and isn't telling anyone." Sora suddenly blurted out. He could tell Kairi was expecting something else. He wanted to take it back, to explain, but he was already shaking. 'Why should I feel bad? I'm not gay!' Sora thought. "That's… all?" Kairi asked, trying to push the rest out of him.

His body and mouth refused, though, and he just said, "Yeah, isn't it … something? Roxas lying to my parents and all, you know." Sora stammered a bit before straightening himself out.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I'm sure he had a good reason." Kairi explained. Sora just sighed and looked at the ceiling. "I guess," he said. There was a moment of silence before he talked again, knowing Kairi knew he wasn't telling the whole truth. "I'm not feeling too well. I think my mom's cooking was raw or something. I'll talk to you tomorrow, babe." Sora finally said with a sigh, scratching his head.

"Oh, okay. Good night, Sora. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Kairi said, obviously even more confused. She hung up, leaving Sora to listen to the beeping of the phone.

-END

A/N: This new Open Office is pretty neat! I'm having fun with it. Hopefully it makes it easier to read my stories, too!