Warnette Short Stories

Brother Bickering

Warner's POV

I was practicing my cross punch in the training area when I heard a loud ding from the elevator. I turned around, expecting to see Juliette waltzing out of the elevator, but instead, I saw James. He was carrying a small note and walked towards me, slowly. I know he's still afraid of me on some level because of what Adam has most definitely told him about me, but he is still my little brother.
"Hi, Warner!" He chirps. "Juliette wanted me to give this to you."
He handed me the letter which was graced with her flourishing handwriting. It read:

Aaron,
I'm really sorry, but I will be a little late for training today. There has been an incident in Sector 32, and Kenji is trying to help me sort it out.
Love,
Juliette

Well, that's quite disappointing. I was looking forward to seeing her.
I fold the letter and tuck it into my shorts pocket.
"Thank you, James," I respond with a little smile.
"What ya' doing?"
"Practicing."
"Practicing what?"
"My cross punch."
"What's that?"
I bite my lip to keep from laughing. I swear this kid always has a million questions on his mind. It's one of the things I love about him.
"Why don't I show you."

I show him how you pull back your arm and drive the energy through your elbow as you punch diagonally. The speedbag bounces backward, hard. I turn around to see his eyes filled with both terror and... fascination?
"Can I try? Please, please, pleeease?"
I think for a second and then decide, why not?
"Sure."
James ran giddily towards the punching bag and takes a wide stance. He bends at the knees and angles his body slightly to the side. He must have been watching Juliette and I practice together because his positioning is perfect.
"Good! Now drive your arm back at the shoulder and-"
The bag goes flying backward as James misses it and slams it with his shoulder instead. He falls to my feet and whimpers. I sigh.
"You were off to a great start. You just can't forget to focus on your aim," I say, leaning down to help him up. However, before I can grab his hand, I hear a loud voice yell from the other side of the room, "DON'T TOUCH HIM!!!"
Adam is speeding towards me, his face twisted in 50 shades of anger.
He grabs James' wrist and pulls him behind his back. I honestly don't understand his rage towards me for everything. Whatever happened to the best man won?
"Hey, buddy, why don't you go into the locker room and see if I left my jacket in there, ok?"
James nods his head quickly and disappears behind the locker room door.
"What the hell did you do to my brother," Adam demands.
I can practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.
I pull the cuffs down on my sleeves, something I tend to do when I'm about to prove a point.
"First of all, he's our brother. I'm aware that is something you will never quite accept, but James seems very content with that fact. Second, I was teaching him self-defense, something I presume you have never thought about educating him on. James needs to be able to protect himself if he wants to make it in this world."
A vein in his forehead twitches and he clenches his jaw and for some unfathomable reason, it makes me smile.
"I don't know what you think "teaching" is, but my brother sprawled across the floor is not it," he yells.
"If you have somehow come to the conclusion that I pushed James to the ground then you are seriously deluded. He did that all by himself. Now, if you hadn't sent him on a wild goose chase for a jacket then we could have worked on his technique so that won't happen again-"
"Don't come near my brother," Adam says in a low voice. "Ever."
I lean in and say in a deathly whisper. "James can make his own choices and you know, in the end, he'll make the right decision," I cross my arms, "Just like Juliette."

I know that provoking him is not the best idea, but it's so much fun I can't deny myself the pleasure.

Something shifts in his eyes. I can feel his emotions change from anger to pure hatred. He takes a step forward and swings his fist back as hard as he can. I almost want to laugh at his mediocrity. Stepping before you punch is basically a death sentence. I grab his forearm and yank so far down that he falls flat on his stomach.
"My, my, my. You need training more than James does," I say while taking off my jacket. I place my arms in front of my face, a shield if you will, and wait for Adam to get his pathetic body off the ground. He lunges towards me, grabbing at my shoulder and pulling me down with him. He gets on top of me and prepares to punch, but I knee him hard in the stomach. He grunts slightly and punches me hard in the face. When he goes for a second, I grab his arm and pull him over my side. I'm the one on top now. I can't control myself. When I look at Adam's face, the only thing I can see is the person who told Juliette to drop dead. The person who kicked her out when she was alone and desperate. This man hurt her in so many ways. It makes me want to hurt him, in so many ways.

I punch him in the nose. I keep hitting until I hear a satisfying crack sound.
"Ahhh! You son of a-"
Adam manages to get his elbow free and hits me in the neck.
I'm on the floor.
He's on top of me.
I can't lose this fight.
I hear the elevator ding.
"Adam?! What the hell-"
Focus.
Focus.
I concentrate all my energy on Juliett's voice and...
I fling Adam so hard that he goes flying into the rock wall, his head bumping against the boards.

Juliette is in front of me.
She's so beautiful. Her hair is a cascading waterfall and her eyes are an ocean.
"Aaron! You're bleeding!" She says frantically.
I wipe the blood from my lip and push myself up from the ground.
"I'm all right, love," I respond, cupping her face in my hands. "I'm all right."
She smiles warmly at me and I feel my body ignite. But then, she turns to Adam, and I can feel pure disgust build up in her.
"What did you do?" she asks, her voice dripping with venom. "What the hell did you do?!"
Adam is leaning against the rock wall still, holding his bleeding nose.
"You're "boyfriend" attacked my brother!"
I roll my eyes so far back in my head that I can see the inside of my eyelids.
"In more regards than one that is just simply not true."
"Adam," Juliette says sternly, "We've spoken about this. Aaron just wants to get to know James-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT NAME!"
Adam is off the floor now and is just inches away from Juliett's face. Out of respect for Juliette, I won't interfere, yet.
"His name is Warner. You do not need to be on a first-name basis with a murderer. He," Adam points an accusatory finger at me, "does not deserve your love. I do."
It takes everything in my power not to laugh.
"I have been nothing but good to you. I've never kidnapped you. Never exploited you. He's made you weak Juliette, can't you see? He's made you weak!"
She lunges forward and pins Adam against the wall. This should be fun.
"No Adam," she says, fuming. "I was weak with you. You made me believe I was incapable of anything great. Aaron not only thought I could do great things," she looks back at me, "he expected it. I chose him because he loves all of me. Not just the parts he can control."
She drops him and grabs my hand. I pull her into my arms and kiss her passionately, locking eyes with Adam the entire time.