From: formaldehyde	Date: December 15th, 2010 12:22 am (UTC)		(Link)

There was a small window of time after dinner that usually allowed Ben to practice his cello in peace, without any interruptions from his family.

He was less than thrilled to be back home, sharing a roof with the three of them was pretty low down on his list of priorities. It was just so... uncomfortable. He was sure his siblings agreed.

So when he heard Erica's voice in the hallway, he did the one thing he felt he could do. ...He pretended he didn't hear her, and kept playing his cello.

	From: littleredd	Date: December 15th, 2010 06:58 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Brian looked up from his Playstation portable, which was easier to haul back and forth from school than his playstation three. He stared at the door for a long moment, wondering why his mother would ever get the idea that he needed to help with this. It wasn't that he wouldn't, Brian was fairly willing to help where he could, it was just that...things always ended up more complicated with him.

Putting the device down, Brian took a deep breath before standing and moving to the door. He'd already been around to see his doctor since coming home, and they'd been working on going through a door and shutting it, without having to do it three times. He needed to keep doing it, the doctor said, not just in sessions but everyday.

It was the only way to get over the compulsion.

So he opened the door to his bedroom slowly, and pushed it open as he stepped across the threshold and looked over at Erica. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic... kept running through his head as he took a step to the side and moved to close the door.

He could do this. He could close that door just one time and walk away. Hopefully.

	From: hardluckwoman	Date: December 18th, 2010 12:51 am (UTC)		(Link)

When Brian emerged from his room, Erica immediately felt like that was step one down. Once he was out, she could surely convince him to lend her a hand, he was the easy one. From Ben's room however, there wasn't even the slightest stop in the sound of music. Somehow, she knew she should have expected this.

Moving nimbly past Brian, Erica headed for Ben's door, stopping in front of it. She lifted her hand, fist pounding on it twice in rapid succession. "I know you're not deaf!"

	From: formaldehyde	Date: December 20th, 2010 11:17 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Ben sighed, dropping his arms to the side and staring at his door. The last thing he really wanted to do was talk to Erica. Brian was... well, he was less of an irritation, but dealing with him meant constantly trying to placate his neuroses. Ben just didn't have the patience.

Was their mother that dumb or just cruel?

"I have better things to do with my time," He said blandly from behind his door. Still, he stood up-- just in case Erica tried to break in.

	From: littleredd	Date: December 21st, 2010 03:07 am (UTC)		(Link)

Brian watched them, frowning a bit. Knowing Ben this could take a while, and Brian couldn't help but fidget a little.

"He doesn't have to help," he offered quietly, unsure if it was because of him or Ben's usual surliness that kept him in his room. "I can do it."

Though, he thought as he turned, he didn't really know where the bulbs and lights were kept. At least there were gloves in the kitchen he could use to while cleaning everything, and they would need to be cleaned before going on the tree. No telling how much dust was caked on them, or spiders. Spiders could have taken up residents in them, and then roaches- oh Merlin, roaches had probably crawled all over them! They could be carrying untold germs and bacteria that was waiting to attack the first person to touch them.

"Just need some disinfectant..." He said, mostly to himself as he turned and started for the kitchen. He was certain he'd seen bleach in the cabinets under the sink.

	From: hardluckwoman	Date: December 26th, 2010 03:47 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"He doesn't have to, but he should help, it's the principle!" Erica replied to Brian, before returning her attention to Ben's door. She glared at it fiercely, perhaps half measuring her chances of being able to get through it. If he would just stop being so stubborn, all of this would be loads easier already. Why make a bad situation worse by being an arsehole?

When Brian mentioned the disinfectant, his sister showed no signs of even hearing him as he headed off. Instead, she hit the door twice more. "Better things to do than make your mother smile on Christmas? That's awfully rude!"

	From: formaldehyde	Date: December 26th, 2010 03:59 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Ben huffed, cracking open the door and glaring at his sister. "She seems to be smiling just fine without me."

He watched Brian walk down the hall. "You might want to supervise him," He said condescendingly to Erica, more than Brian. "He'll probably try to bleach the entire tree."

	From: littleredd	Date: December 29th, 2010 12:46 am (UTC)		(Link)

Brian wasn't listening anymore as he found a pair of latex gloves that his mother left for him in the kitchen. Carefully he slipped them on before moving to the cabinets and opening them slowly.

"It is here...somewhere." He murmured to himself, lifting them up and peeking under the carefully sorted objects until he found the large bottle of bleach. Pulling it out he paused again, before frowning and looking about the tidy room. "I need a bucket."

	From: hardluckwoman	Date: December 29th, 2010 02:24 am (UTC)		(Link)

Erica huffed and glared right back through her side of the crack in the door. "Why should I have to do it all myself? You have responsibility to this family just as much as I do!" she protested.

She could vaguely hear Brian in the kitchen, and she knew Ben was right. If she didn't get down there to see what he was doing soon, he'd end up dunking every single ornament into his bucket. Which included all of those damn KISS ornaments she had gone searching high and low for.

"Just come, okay? Why is everything a fight with you?"