"Brother, Brother, Brother
no matter who's right and who is wrong
Just want you to know my love's still strong
I wrote you a prayer with this song"

Liam was tense. The new song Charlie had written made him feel weird. And being tense, the voice isn't any better so he wasn't surprised when Charlie made him stop. He was just glad it was only practise.

"Liam, you ok? It’s a pretty simple key; you shouldn't have trouble with it. I designed it to your voice." He walked up to Liam, singing the chords at Liam's level, slightly higher than his own. He placed his hand on Liam's stomach, trailing it up to his throat. "Start in your belly, feel the warmth there, feel the lyrics.
No matter who's right and who is wrong..." he sang clearly, keeping his hand on Liam's warm stomach.

"Yeah... Yeah I know. And I'm fine." Liam sighed. He looked around. It didn't help much that Patrick and Sinjin were staring at him, like he was the most stupid guy ever. "Just..." He turned his voice into a whisper. "Why's that text? That lyric makes me... I don't know."

Charlie tilted his head in confusion. "What about them? They're just words from a dream I had." He untilted his head, turning to the band again. "Patrick! Check the symbol, I think it's loose." He turned back to Liam. "What, you don't like them? I thought you wanted something meaningful."

"Don't put words into my mouth, Charlie! Actually, I like them, but... I'm not sure I can sing them. Why... How about sing 'em together, huh?" Liam was scared by the lyric; It was like Charlie wanted to complain and at the same time help. It was really scaring.

Charlie cocked his head again. "Together? Well, I guess we could try that... we don’t do that much though, do we? I'll do it, I mean, if you want to try it." He stepped up next to Liam clearing his throat. "Shall we try again?"

"Yeah, let's try again." He turned around towards the other guys. "Sin, Pat, you're ready?" He felt much better with Charlie at his side, knowing he wasn't alone to sing those lines. And anyways, those lines would have been weird to be sung (only) by Liam.

Patrick started up with the drums, followed quickly by Sinjin and Charlie, before Liam went to the mike to sing, Charlie at the mike next to him. "Brother, brother..." Charlie wouldn't lie. There was a hidden message here. But he wasn't trying to teach Liam, he knew it wouldn’t work. So all he could do was sing.

It was much easier to sing that new song with Charlie. He even felt quite brilliant after some time and gave his very best. He wanted Charlie to be proud as he was proud of him. In the end Liam sang the chorus quite soulful - he himself didn't know he was capable of that - looking at Charlie from the corners of his eyes. Afterwards he turned to his brother he smiled. "So?" was all he said - or rather asked.

Charlie took a deep breath, meeting his brother's eyes. "Not bad." Was all he said, turning away from Liam to check Sinjin's fingering. He was actually quite impressed, but he'd never let on. He could act cool too.

Liam sighed. Fine, so Charlie was acting cool. Charlie never seemed interested when Liam did well or even awesome, he just cared when he was bad, mad lots of mistakes or what ever. It was just annoying. "Just want you to know my love's still strong" Liam mumbled "Yeah, I can see that." He rolled his eyes.

Charlie walked over to Sinjin, coming around behind him, using it as an excuse to wrap his arms around the man, placing his fingers on the bass. "Third key, fifth key, and then second key." He whispered, playing the chords on the guitar attached to the other man. He placed a small kiss on the man’s neck before moving on. "Otherwise it was good." He went back to the front of the setup. "Something's not right. Sinjin, play with me, just the last couple lines. Something doesn't sound right." He wasn't ignoring Liam; he didn't exactly want to deal with his suspicious scrutiny right away.

Liam picked up his bottle of water and downed half of it before turning to the others. "You gonna take long? If so I'll go for a fag." He indicated. "Or would you even want me to stay?" To be honest, he would have loved practise to be over so he could ask Charlie about that lyric, but they had just done the first song for today, so it would still take some time.

Charlie turned to Liam. "What's wrong Liam? Want to call for a break? No need for there to be fights over anything." He signalled '5' to Patrick and Sinjin, taking Liam's elbow and leading him out of the room. He started unstrapping his guitar, raising his eyebrows to Liam, waiting for him to talk

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's just in perfect order." Liam said and got out a cigarette. "You are like you are; and I am like I am. So everything's okay, right?" He looked at Charlie, while lighting the fag. "Fine. There's something you want to tell me?" He added after Charlie hadn't replied yet.

Charlie smiled wryly. "You're afraid of the song." He walked down the hallway, setting down his guitar when he got to his room. He sat on the bed, bouncing slightly. Lately, he loved this bed. Many happy memories. Many happy memories concerning a certain band member. He smiled again. "You’re afraid of the song!"

Liam followed Charlie into his room. He was glad he was gone from that house by now, but he miss to be near his brother. And he was curious if Charlie ever brought his birds up here. He knew he would never been able to, but maybe "Mum's baby" was?
"Yeah, maybe I am afraid of the song." Lam said, pacing Charlie's room. "So maybe you could tell if there is something I really should be afraid of?"

Charlie lay on the bed, head in a pillow. Through it, he said loudly, "What part are you afraid of? The chorus? Or everything? I'm not so willing to change what I've written, but if you need me to..." he refused to lift his head. He knew his eyes sometimes gave away a lot of his emotions, and he was amusing himself now, he didn't want to stop the teasing. Plus the pillow smelled like Sinjin.

Liam stopped in front of the window. He looked outside, rather than at Charlie. "I don't want you to change anything. See, actually, I really like the song. All I want is... please, Charlie, explain yourself. What is it you want to tell me by it?"

Charlie looked up finally. Liam, it seemed, wasn't as dumb as brothers usually were. "You got that message? Wow, Liam, I'm impressed. I mean, I guess it wasn't cleverly hidden or anything..." He sat up, walking over to Liam, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What do you think it means?"

Liam continued staring out of the window. He was looking out onto the garden, focusing their old swing. "I'm not sure what it means, I think... Charlie, I don't think I would be able to change. But, would you believe me, that I love you?" He asked. "As a brother!" He added quickly.

Charlie laughed, pushing Liam playfully. "Of course I know that ye wanker! We're brothers. Of course we love each other, I love you too. It’s who we are." He hugged him carefully.

Liam pulled Charlie closer. Although there wasn't much said he felt better now. "Let's go back. Five minutes might be over already." Liam laughed. He let Charlie go first but followed closely. "By the way Charlie boy, thanks for that scary song." He said with a smile.

Charlie laughed. "It’s not scary! You just have no taste in music! That’s why I don't let you write songs." He smiled cheekily, leading his brother into the other room again. "You're sounding a lot better these days Liam. Your voice is getting to be decent." He then ran ahead, afraid he was going to be beaten, grabbing his guitar as he ran.

It took Liam some seconds to recognise what happened, but since he had no problem to catch up with Charlie. As he reached him he pulled him into a headlock. "You're the meanest brother I have." He laughed.

"If you had a single brain in your head, you'd realize I'm the only brother you have! And I think you'd be very upset if you were to break me!" Charlie knew that if Liam wanted to, he could simply pick Charlie up and throw him. He just hoped that thought never entered his older brother’s mind.

Liam lifted Charlie up and tickled his struggling brother. He took care that Charlie's guitar didn't fall down and carried his brother back into their practise room.
"K guys, let's go on, we've still got work to do." He smirked at the band mates. But still, he didn't let go off Charlie.

Charlie squawked quite unhappily as he was lifted. "And how am I supposed to play like this you raging pile of fucked up molecules? Let me down!" He would just wriggle like normal, but with his guitar on, he really, really didn't want to drop it. Looking around wildly, he found his band mates. "PATRICK! SIN! SAVE ME!"

Liam laughed. "Maybe I should keep you until you stop insulting, little one. But since we need you..." He let Charlie back on the floor but still held him tight as his brother struggled to go away. "Ha, how about a pretty please, huh?"

Charlie glared at his brother. This was humiliating. He wasn't nearly strong enough to get away, and Liam knew it. But he wouldn't give in. He wasn't like that. "No." He said sternly, with a hint of play, beginning to struggle again. He would go out with a fight

Liam knew if the guitar wasn't Charlie would be able to get free quickly. He would be able to defend himself more. It wasn't fair to keep the guitar, but they couldn't let it drop either. "Rebellious bastard." he chuckled as Charlie hit his shin - whether intentionally or not didn't matter.

Charlie growled. "Don't you know it?" He bowed his head and knocked Liam in the chest, wincing as he heard the strings of his guitar scrape against Liam’s arm, making a faint metallic ring. But his brother’s arms stayed tight, and he knew he wouldn't get out of this easily. He was too small.

Liam tried to ignore Patrick and Sinjin telling him to let go off Charlie and go on practising. This was just fun. And Charlie and Liam needed some brotherly fights every now and then. It was like keeping them who they were and stay well grounded.

Charlie roughed around, trying to get away, always careful of the guitar. But when he slipped a leg behind Liam, he wasn't prepared for Liam to step back, causing them both to fall. Charlie gasped as the guitar fell, and he almost broke into tears when the bridge snapped. oh. shit.

Liam let go off Charlie in a shock when then guitar broke. He didn't want that to happen at all. Holy Bloody Shit. His heart sank. Charlie'd hate him for fucking forever. Liam was prepared for this becoming a fight. A real fight. Nonetheless, he reached out for Charlie's shoulder, squeezing, trying to make him understand he didn't want that to happen.

Charlie just stared at his broken guitar. It was broken. It could be fixed, but that cost money he didn't have. He felt his insides sink. He closed his eyes, pulling it to him, and ran his hands over the now loose strings, listening as no sound came from it. He turned to Liam, and he wanted to be angry, but his heart seemed to break with the instrument, and he couldn't manage it. Instead, he just held onto Liam.

Liam held Charlie tight, but gentle this time. "I'll get you a new one!" He promised, rocking Charlie slightly back and forth. Patrick and Sinjin cam near looking shocked between the guitar, Charlie, and Liam. "Think we're done for today, guys, sorry." He wished he knew if they knew that Liam had meant no harm, that they hadn't been fighting for real.

Charlie still couldn't say anything. He let Liam hold him, breathing slowly. His guitar. His original guitar. It had cost him 150 quid that he had saved for months for. To get it repaired could cost almost 80. He didn't have that kind of money, nor did Liam. It could be weeks before he would be able to play again. Shit. "Liam, shit."

Liam knew he couldn't afford to buy Charlie a new one nor could he pay reparation right away. But he needed to do something! It was his fault. He owed Charlie the guitar. Maybe at least he could lend Charlie his own cheap guitar, the one he got to be taught by Charlie. He knew it wasn't the same at all. It never would be, but it was the least he could do until he would get the money. "I'm so sorry Charlie. It's all my fault! I'll..." He still had his job by which he financed his apartment, maybe... "I will work longer; I'll get you the money. I'm so sorry!"

Charlie sat down, picking up the broken pieces of his guitar's neck and bridge, piling them in a corner. He would save those. He'd save the whole guitar. Then when he got the money he'd repair it. He knew that sounded stupid, but it was all he could do. He loved that guitar. He'd even named it. It was a part of him. He ignored Liam's pleas. It wouldn't be the same if he didn't take care of it himself. Though it would be nice to not worry about saving for weeks and months.

Liam watched Charlie. Charlie was a proud person. Liam was aware of that and he didn't know if Charlie'd even listened to him, about the money. Maybe Charlie wouldn't ever accept it. "Charlie... I'll... I'll go get you mine, just so you have one to play on, 'kay? I'll, erm, try to be back soon. Can you... Will you be okay so far? God Charlie, please, say something. I'm so sorry."

Charlie stood up, facing his brother. He shook his head to clear it. "yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. You don't need to get me yours... We just, we just wont practice today. Ok? Yeah." He took his broken guitar and went back into his room, setting it carefully on his bed.

After Charlie had left the room Liam still stood for some time just facing the door. He didn't know what to do. Finally, he sat down on the floor, his head buried in his hands. Why on earth wasn't he able to do a single thing right? Just for once? Why did he always make mistakes no matter what he did? Liam just sat there, trying to think, but his mind was just blank.

Charlie lay down on his bed, letting the pieces fall from his hand onto the cover. Today was just not his day, at all. He was most unhappy about this, but he felt he had a right to be. He knew Liam blamed himself, but it wasn't really his fault. Charlie had been the one that tried to trip him. He had let it fall. He buried his head into the pillow, feeling careless.

After quite a while - Liam didn't know how much time had passed - he got up determined to leave. Go to his apartment and leave Charlie alone. He had done enough damage today, it would really be better to shut himself away from the rest of the world for a while. He was thinking of just leaving without one more word, but when he passed Charlie's room he couldn't help but poked his head into it. "Charlie, I'll be gone." he said in a low voice.

Charlie looked up sleepily (for he'd definitely just slept for a good 20 minutes or so) and looked for his brother. "O, your going? Why?" He rested his head down on its side, looking confused. Was he acting like a baby to be fretting so much about a simple guitar?

Liam side and went a little bit further into the room. "Because I think it's better. I can't do more damage when I'm on my own." He felt a bit torn, now that he was in there. But maybe it was better to go anyways before mum would learn he broke Charlie's guitar.

Charlie motioned wildly for Liam to come closer with one arm, flapping it back and forth. "It’s not your fault Li. It just happened. Sometimes things just happen. And everything happens for a reason. It’s just the way things are. Don't feel guilty" There was Charlie's wise side again, the side that came out of nowhere most of the time, and only made sense when people were desperate.

If Liam wasn't scared enough today by Charlie's lyrics he definitely was now. Charlie's wise side had always scared him; it made him sound decades older than he was. But in a moment like this it was good Charlie wanted him to come nearer, it made him quite more comfortable. "But if I hadn't started to fight," Liam began.

Charlie shook his head a bit. "So what? The fight was kinda my fault anyways. I was teasing you. So whatever." He moved over so that Liam could sit. He picked up the pieces of the guitar and put them onto his nightstand. He just wanted Liam to stop doubting himself.

Liam sat down next to Charlie but he couldn't keep his eyes from the pieces. "But I attacked you although you had the guitar in your hand. I shouldn't have done that. I ruined practise today! I ruined it twice in fact. And I'm just... I'm unable to do anything right."

Charlie patted Liam awkwardly. "We all have off days Liam. Do you really want me to get mad at you? Is this really worth all that?"

"I'd never want you to get mad at me; I just always think you will get mad. You're worth a much better brother."

"God doesn't make people with anger I don't think. He makes them with fire." Charlie put his head back down, ready to sleep again. "Wanna nap with me? I'm really knackered."

Liam felt a bit beat-up too, so he shyly said: "If you don't mind." But since Charlie had asked, he knew he wouldn't mind. He lay down next to his brother and waited for sleep to wash over him.

Charlie put an arm around his brother, nestling close to him and his warmth. "Mmm" he murmured, smiling. His insides still ached for the loss of his guitar, but he would figure that out later. Right now he was just tired, and wanted to rest. So he simply blocked out the world, letting notes and lyrics come to him in his sleep.