Now, on the average, I don’t have dreams. My hits the pillow and – WHAM! – I’m out like a light. I usually have sleepless nights. The only dream I’ve ever had was the falling one that everyone has had. 

However, I had a dream last night. In the beginning, it was the most random dream, consisting of drooping sunflowers, a watch with a broken strap, a pen without ink, and a purple sky with a pink moon that illuminated a gravelly path. Then, abruptly, that flow of pictures merged into a scene with Nick Carter. 

To sum it up, he was telling me, earnestly, how he had loved me since grade school, but hadn’t wanted to approach me because of Brent. 

“It’s this guy code,” he was saying. “You don’t go out with your best friend’s sister. It’s a rule.” 

Well, that explained his disinterest, I thought dreamily as I smiled up at him. I smiled at his blue eyes. I smiled at the pink moon. He smiled at me. His pretended disinterest, I corrected as he bent his head, moving his face closer towards my upturned face. 

As it is with all halfway decent dreams, I woke up, mainly because Brent had turned on the stereo downstairs in the living room, and I could feel the bass and drums reverberating through my body. 

I stomped down the stairs to find my inconsiderate asshole of a brother.

“I was having the best sleep of my life and you had to wake me up,” I growled once I found him.  “Have you gone deaf?  Other people do live in this house you know,” I ranted, extremely bitter at my rude awakening. 

Ignoring the fact I was more than a little pissed off Brent shrugged indifferently at my plight, which only set me off that much more.

“You could apologize for being a jerk,” I demanded.

He rolled his eyes.  “Sorry.”

An apology obviously not meant of course.

Glaring, I took purposeful strides over to the stereo, and reached over to turn down the music.  “Do you mind?” 

Brent turned it back up to an inhumane level.  “Yeah, I do.  I’m listening to takes.” 

“It doesn’t have to be that loud.”  I turned it back down. 

“Yeah, it does,” he bit back, immediately turning the music back up. 

“Asshole.”

“Bitch.”

Oh, that was it. 

I raised a condescending eyebrow, “Don’t make me get mom Brent,” I threatened, tilting my head in indication that I was just waiting for him to make me follow through. 

My brother glowered.  And we were at a stand-off.

Until…

I stomped down the hallway.  “MOM!”

Brent came charging after me.  “Oh hell no!  I didn’t do anything!”

We shoved each other, as we made our way over to the kitchen, bickering as only a brother and sister could.

“Mom, Brent woke me up with his music, and he won’t turn it down even though I asked politely!”

“Mom, Lana barged into the living room, acting like she owns the house!”

We both looked at my mother expectantly.  She sighed.  “Okay, what’s going on?”

Brent and I pointed at each other.

“I was trying to get some sleep!”

“She’s ruining rehearsal!”

“You’re not even rehearsing!”

“Not my fault you stayed out all night with AJ!”

“What in the hell does that have to do with anything?  And how would you know anyhow?  What were you doing spying on me?”

“I was not spying on you!”

“Then how would you know what time I came home, stupid?”

“Kids,” my mom interjected.  But it was a lost cause.  Brent and I were on a rampage.  Accusing each other, poking, heck- jabbing each other mercilessly, each trying to get our point across. 

“You’re the one who broke curfew!”

“Kids,” my mother tried again.

“I’m 21!  I don’t have a curfew!”

“Lana!  Brent!”

We both instantly turned at the insane level of pitch my mother’s voice had hit, to find that she had had enough. 

“Brent, go downstairs in the basement.  You can play the music as loud as you want down there,” she ordered.

My brother’s mouth dropped open, and I smugly crossed my arms.  Unfortunately, it was short-lived.

“And Lana, get out of your pajamas.  Brent’s right, you shouldn’t still be sleeping.”

Now, my brother was the one smirking.

“Are we done here?”  My mom chastised.

Brent blew out a breath of frustration.  I frowned. 

“Well?” My mother prompted.

We both conceded.

“Yes,” we grumbled in unison.

“Good.  Now get out of my kitchen.”

The two of us marched our way out mutely, but as soon as we were out of my mother’s watchful eye I shoved my older brother.

“Fuck, Lana!”

“You deserved that.”

My brother narrowed his eyes at me.  “And you know you wouldn’t be bitchin’ if you came home at a decent hour last night, and actually got some sleep.”

“And like I said before, how would you know Brent?” 

“Nick dropped me off late, and we noticed that you still weren’t home Lana.”

Nick?  Nick noticed?  I blanked for a moment at that factoid.  Then backed up at the expression on my brother’s face.  I was supposed to be winning an argument.   

“You were spying!”  I accused. 

“Lana, I worry about you okay.”

I looked at my brother pointedly at that piece of weak rationale.  Can we say, yeah right? 

“I do!”  Brent contested when it was obvious I was not buying that for one second.  **“It’s one thing for you to have boobs and a brain...and well to not be six anymore, but to date my friends?  I mean frankly -- I'm an asshole...and so are my friends...so just--no.”

I shook my head in disbelief that I was even in this discussion to begin with.  “Don’t you think I’m able to form my own opinions?”

Brent gave me a skeptical look.

“How about realizing I’m old enough to know right from wrong and just trusting me?” 

My brother’s skeptical look didn’t fade. Someone remind me…Why was I even attempting to discuss this again?  Oh that’s right... AJ and his ideas! 

“Okay, how about being cool about it now, and when and if my heart gets trampled on, I’ll give you permission to kick ass?”  I retorted, patience wearing thin.  The phrase was seeped in sarcasm, dripping with whatever undertones.  Only a moron would think I was serious. 

“Deal.” 

And, only my brother would think I was negotiating.

I resisted the urge to shove Brent again, just to knock some sense into him because of that one.  And despite the evil grin he was now sporting at the idea of it, I managed to refrain from following through only by default- aka AJ.

And thus…

Brother?  Check.