*sings* I call her Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolli Lolli Lolli...

Annaleah: she looked worried. She didn't like fights, not one bit. But...Hunter did have it coming for him. Cricket caressed her hand and they met eyes. He had very large eyes that could be read like a book. Every thought could be seen through them, unless he was lying. Right now they were saying 'It'll be okay.'

Cricket: he looked at the door. "You go ahead. Personally, I like t' wait 'til they're off guard."

(that's okay I'm slow too)

Zachery's smile turned into a somewhat sad one as he said, "That's exactly what I'm doing."
Honestly, he didn't want to hurt his brother, but his anger could get the better of him. He sighed, and squeezed Stephanie's hand.
He looked over at her, and smiled, "Hey, if I can't sleep in my own house, am I welcome at yours?" She grabbed her notepad and wrote in that neat handwriting of hers, Any time. He smiled, and then glanced over at Annaleah and Cricket, and started to apologize, but stopped himself. Why should he apologize for what his brother had done?

Cricket: He read the brief thought on Zachary's face and chuckled. " 'tis 'kay. I'm used to his type. They don' know when t' stop," he said, and then wondered if that applied to him as well.

Annaleah: she glanced down to her burger and fries. They'd gone cold. She sighed, wondering how such a fun night had gone bad.

Zachery smiled, and laughed softly, "You're definately right about that." He agreed, his voice as soft as his laughter was. Stephanie knew what Hunter had done was bugging Zachery, so she scooted over a little bit towards him, and squeezed his hand once again. He felt better knowing she was there.

(hmm what now? )

Annaleah: she sighed. All this rivalry. Why couldn't everyone just get along, or at least tolerate each other? She looked at Cricket, who looked thoughtful. She knew that look. "What are you plotting?" she asked.

Cricket: "Nothing major yet," he said.

Annaleah: "Please promise me you won't do anything stupid," she said softly.

Cricket: "I would, 'cept you've also made me promise not to lie." His lips curled into a mischievous grin.

Annaleah couldn't help but smile, and pecked him on the cheek.

(Hmm......maybe I could have Ronnie show up...but that might be out of character if he introduces himself 'cause he's a loner, mostly. He'll probably be out at the park if you'd like to go there or something.)

Stephanie gave Zachery a look that read, You're not going to do anything rash, are you? He laughed, "I'm not going to. Trust me." He placed his right hand over his heart, and gave her a smile. Guilt kidney-punched him, and slapped him across the face a couple times because he hated that he was lying to her. If he didn't, she'd just worry about him, and she didn't need to worry her pretty little head over anything if he could help it.

(sounds good to me)

Annaleah: "Hmm."

Cricket looked at her curiously.

Annaleah: "Does anyone want to go someplace else? My half-ton burger is cold, anyway."

Cricket: "Sounds good t' me, friend. Anyone else?"

Stephanie nodded in agreement as Zachery said, "Yeah, I'd love too. Hm." He thought for a moment, "I know this might sound a little kiddish, but we could go to the local park." He suggested, unsure.

Annaleah smiled. "I love the park! Let's go," and then added with a grin, "And you're never too old for the swingset."

Cricket: He laughed. "Aye."

(My goodness, how many times are you gonna change your avatar )

Both Stephanie and Zachery smiled. He got up so Stephanie could get out, and paid for their bill. They stood hand in hand as Zachery asked with a grin, "You guys ready?"
(Lol. I think I'll just stick with this one for a while.)

Cricket: He slid out of the seat and Annaleah followed. He looked at her mischievously.

Annaleah: "Oh bother--"

Cricket threw his arms around her in a hug and spun her around, leaving her spinning. She squealed and giggled, dizzy.

Annaleah: She laughed. "What was that for?"

Cricket: "Can you blame me? I 'adn't given you a good 'ug today, I 'ave debts t' pay." He took her hand and they followed to the door, both grinning.

Stephanie couldn't help but smile even more. Zachery lead them all to the park, and then towards the swingset. A young boy sat in one of the swings, looking rather glum. Zachery's eyes turned soft, and concerned because he knew who it was. Ronnie. He let go of Stephanie's hand, and walked in front of his younger brother and crouched down.
"Hey, Ronnie. What's wrong?" He asked in a gentle voice.
Ronnie looked up at him, the area around his blue eyes red and puffy, he obviously had been crying. "N-Nothing." The boy answered nervously, averting his gaze. "C'mon, tell me." Zachery urged tenderly. "There's nothing to tell." The boy countered, hoping his older brother would stop asking him what was wrong.

Cricket and Annaleah saw the boy, met eyes, and silently agreed to stay back for a little while. They would let Zachary handle this until further notice. Annaleah looked at the boy with a sympathetic smile.

Ronnie looked over at Annaleah, and flashed her a forced, barely even considered a smile, but at least he was trying.
Zachery sighed, "There's obviously something wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have been crying."
"I wasn't crying, I got somethin' in my eye." The boy denied stubbornly.
Zachery met eyes with his brother, and pursed his lips, "There's no use lying to me."
The boy mumbled, his outer shell crumbling, "Some kids called me names and things."
Zachery studied his brother's face, and saw a bruise on the side of his face. "Ronnie...did they hit you?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"...Yeah..."
Stephanie came from behind Zachery, and placed a hand on his shoulder as she bent down, and flashed Ronnie a warm smile, hoping that would cheer him up a little. He smiled nervously back, but his smile didn't last on his face long. "You know their names?" Zachery asked. "No..."
Zachery sighed, that didn't really help in punishing whoever hurt his little brother.

Cricket: He timidly stepped forward. "There's no shame in crying, kid..." he said, but then was silenced by Annaleah, who continued to watch silently. This was Zachary's little brother.

Zachery agreed with Cricket, "Crying doesn't mean you're weak, it means that you're brave enough to express your emotions."
Ronnie finally broke down, and cried into his brother's shoulder. Zachery closed his eyes, and hugged his brother tightly. Stephanie took a step back, even though she knew Ronnie for a while, he probably wouldn't be comfortable with her hugging him. She really wanted to though, because she never had any siblings, and she felt like Ronnie was her little brother too.
Ronnie calmed down after a moment, and pulled away from his brother, his cheeks heated up a little bit as he said, "Thanks."
Zachery flashed him a warm smile as he ruffled his brother's hair, "That's what family's for." Ronnie smiled shyly, and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Annaleah: she smiled softly, and looked at Cricket to say, see?

Cricket: He smiled at Annaleah, then Ronnie.

Ronnie blinked his eyes a couple times before remembering that there were other people here too. He smiled shyly, and half-waved at Annaleah, and Cricket. "Hi." He almost mumbled. Zachery smiled, and sat in the swing next to his brother. Stephanie smiled as well, and took the swing to the left of Zachery. She glanced around, this was actually a pretty big swingset. Enough seats for 10 people.

Annaleah: She grinned at Ronnie. "Hello!" she said, and then took Cricket's hand. "C'mon," she said, and lead him to the swings next Ronnie.

Stephanie began to swing casually, taking her sweet time. Zachery grinned over at her and thought of how he could mess with her a little. Ronnie smiled shyly at Annaleah and Cricket before swinging as high as he could go without risk of hurting himself if he fell.

Annaleah: she grasped Cricket's hand as she rocked back and forth. She looked at Ronnie, swinging like a pendalum (sp? XD). "I'm Annaleah, this is Cricket," she said, just loud enough for him to hear.

Ronnie smiled shyly once again, because he really wasn't used to talking to people. He slowed down a little so he wouldn't have to shout, "I'm Ronnie." Zachery reached over and grabbed Stephanie's hand. She looked at him confused for a second before relaxing.

Cricket: he stuck his head out so he could see Ronnie around Annaleah. "Nice t' meet you," he said.