Chapter Text
BANG
Jeffrey Woods jolted awake in his bottom bunk, opening his eyes to see his mother standing above him, her hand on the bedside table, palm down, which is what she had used to make the loud noise. He heard his older brother Liu stirring in the bunk above him.
"Mom. What?" Jeff asked, his voice deep and raspy from sleep.
Margaret Woods scowled. "You slept through your alarm again, Jeff. The both of you!" She looked up at where Jeff knew Liu was.
"Sorry, Mom," Liu said, his sleepy voice a stark contrast to his little brother's, a softer and higher pitched tone. The sound was just high pitched enough to grate slightly on Jeff's barely awake nerves.
"Liu, shut up." Jeff muttered, rolling onto his back before sitting up, swinging his legs off his bed. He was about to stand up when Liu let his legs fall in front of Jeff's face. Liu looked at Jeff, upside down, and grinned.
"You shut up!" He shot back.
"Both of you, shut up!" Mrs. Woods scolded, shoving two orange pill bottles into Jeff's hands. "Jeff, take your morning meds, dear. You both have to get to school! The bus is coming in ten minutes, and if you miss it, you're going to be walking to school!"
She walked away, closing the bedroom door behind her. Jeff sighed, pulled a single pill out of each bottle and looking at them, dismayed. He hated taking pills; hated it with all his being. He hated how they felt going down his throat, and he hated how fuzzy they made his mind feel. He felt like a dumbed down human being, and on his worse days, like a walking corpse. It was no wonder he was failing most of his classes. He was only scraping by because of the kindness in Liu's heart, shown by helping him.
Jeff felt his bed sink down to his right, and felt Liu's hand on his back, a reassuring touch. He looked into his brother's bright, emerald green eyes with his own icy, sky blue ones. His black hair fell in front of his face, obscuring his view slightly.
Liu pushed the black locks out of Jeff's face and tucked them behind his ear. "Come on, Jeff. You know you have to take them. Mom always knows if you don't."
"I don't know how she knows."
Liu shook his head. "Me either. But she does. She'll be angry at you if you don't, and she'll tell Dad, and he'll ground you."
Jeff pulled in a deep breath, held it as he leaned over, his elbows on his knees, then let it all out in a rush. His fingers twisted in his long hair, and he wanted to pull it so badly, but didn't want to have a bald spot like his father.
"I hate how it makes me feel, Liu! Nothing feels real when I take them! It all feels like I'm in a dream world, and I hate it."
Liu pulled his brother into a hug. Jeff tucked his face into the hollow of Liu's collarbone, listening to his brother's heartbeat, feeling himself calm down despite himself.
"You're gonna be okay, Jeff. Just take those for now, and maybe they'll take you off of them soon. The doctors didn't give a specific end date, and you've been showing improvement, at least from what I've seen, and you show me a whole lot more than you ever do Mom and Dad."
Jeff nodded. "That's true." He grabbed for his glass of water and quickly downed the antipsychotics before he could think any more about it. He sat completely still for about a minute, knowing what was about to come. Sure enough, the familiar haze descended upon his mind, making his thoughts less clear, and his movements feeling slow to him. It almost felt like he was high, which he had DEFINITELY never experienced, if his parents ever asked.
He sighed, and looked over at Liu, whose face held a gentle smile. He leaned back against his brother for a moment longer, before they both jumped as their mother banged on the bedroom door, scaring them into getting ready.
"You're gonna be okay, Jeff," Liu said as he pulled his jeans up.
Jeff pulled his black skull t-shirt over his head and looked at Liu. "WE'RE gonna be okay, Liu. Get it right."
Liu laughed. "Alright. WE'RE gonna be okay."
Jeff smiled. "That's better."