And luckily, Nicky was helpful. Actually, he usually is. Freaking weirdo golden child really must've been a case of switched at birth, because he's far too helpful and agreeable to be a Harris. Anyways. He piped up and says Craig Horner is a fairly decent match for Cole. Happy hunting.

I figure I may as well put what I know and can get from her.

DeeDee's first relationship ended in frustrated embarrassment when the guy broke up with her because she wouldn't sleep with him. Being only barely 14 at the time, it seemed very reasonable to her to not want to fuck anyone yet, but the guy was a couple years older and not so understanding. In the wake of the breakup, she got closer to her sometimes friend from school named Cole. They'd gone to school together since kindergarten and tended to get seated next to each other, since his last name was Sharpton and hers is Shaw. They got along generally very well, but never quite on the let's hang out after school level. Post-breakup, she started doing what she now does after every breakup: Wanting to distance herself from everyone she was already close to. And in the process, because they had three classes together, one of the people she got close to was Cole.

From there, I think it was gradual, but she did end up falling pretty hard from him. They got to be best friends first, with her growing less and less close to her usual friends, and closer and closer to him. I think her family liked him, because he was a rare good influence she actually wanted to be around. He was clean, sober, from a good home, a nice but far from spineless guy, and he was into all of the same sorts of things she was into without being stupid and reckless like she is. He was the one that talked her into seriously picking up a guitar and trying out her voice, even starting up a band with her. She maintains they totally fucking sucked, but it was fun. He made her genuinely happy, and made her feel totally at ease in her own skin.

They actually got together on Valentine's Day, and he easily wins the Romantic/Cheesy prize, and explains why everyone tends to fall short by DeeDee's romantic standards. Their high school did the candygram thing, and Cole decided to take it to the next step. He stole a bag of candygrams meant for a bunch of people and crashed her class to serenade her, ask her out for a Valentine's date, and leave the bag of candy for her. He spent the afternoon in detention, but he picked her up that night with flowers and treated her to dinner at her favorite place, followed by a show. From there, she was pretty much entirely smitten. He fell perfectly into best friend and boyfriend territory, was her first, and might well have been her last, if his family hadn't moved. They were together all the way through the summer and into October, when his father's job transferred him to Seattle. I think they mutually agreed to break up, because they knew there was no way two 15 year olds were going to make a long distance relationship work.

Understandably, she was far beyond devestated. She'd lost her bandmate, best friend, and lover all in one shot. She half-heartedly tried to stay in contact with him, but talking to him hurt more than not hearing from him at all, so eventually she quit answering or returning his calls and blocked his emails and IMs. Her next relationship was a pretty obviously bad one she clearly jumped into out of rebound desperation, and for a while, she got even more reckless than usual, with the lowest point being the skating accident that nearly left her unable to walk.

I think she would actually be overjoyed to see Cole again. He was someone that was extremely special to her, and that she never quite recovered from losing and has gone into every relationship hoping to find a substitute for. Isaac came very close, until it came out he'd been cheating on her for five of the six months they'd been together. There are times she does still think about Cole and wonders what happened to him and how his life turned out. If she saw him on the street, she'd undoubtedly greet him with a hug. But she's not much of an internet person. She doesn't have a facebook or myspace or twitter account, and she thinks the whole tracking down people you haven't seen in years online thing reeks of a pathetic inability to get over the past. So odds of her reconnecting with him are very minimal. She also has a quiet disinterest in finding him again, because there's a definite part of her that would not be able to handle finding out he's in some kind of happy and committed relationship. In theory, she does want him to be happy. She wants for his life to have turned out to be everything he wanted it to be. But there's a distinct difference between the abstract concept, and having to see that he's entirely moved on and maybe even forgotten about her. Thus, he remains just another emotional scar and bittersweet memory of the past.

DeeDee is not coming home for Christmas. She's not a Christmas person in general. It's a holiday that she always kind of wishes she could just skip over, even if it means sacrificing presents. I couldn't pinpoint just why she doesn't dig it. I just know she doesn't. Though this year, she at least has her reasons. Namely, that she's been quietly pretty severely depressed, and the last thing she wants to see is her younger brother and younger sister all lovey with their significant others, and the holiday get together where she'll have to see Logan all over Sloane, and everyone all paired off and celebrating and being happy, when all she really wants to do is curl up somewhere and be left alone.

I think I've mentioned it before, but DeeDee is a closet romantic. She desperately wants to find that someone that she loves, and that loves her back. He doesn't have to be a perfect gentleman, he doesn't have to be some prettyboy. She just really desperately wants to find that one person she connects with on every level, that can be a friend, a lover, a protector, and a partner in crime. And each time she falls for someone, she sincerely believes she's found The One. So every time it doesn't work out, she takes it a little worse than the last time, because jesus, how many times can she be so stupid and so massively misread the whole situation? It breaks her down and leaves her just that little bit more worse off than before.

She's opted to stay behind in Hawaii for Christmas because she doesn't trust herself to not be depressed and spiteful to everyone around her. She knows she tends to lash out at anyone stupid enough to pass through her line of fire, and she doesn't want the guilt of being mean to someone that doesn't deserve it piling on top of her already very low feeling. She knows Mom is going to be upset with her, and that Dad won't be overly thrilled about it either, but she just can't bring herself to care. She wants to be left alone. So she's turning her phone off, not touching the computer, and going to just spend the day surfing, riding her bike around the island, or doing anything that keeps her otherwise occupied and hopefully too focused and then worn out to be upset or lonely.

...Sadly enough, that's always the overwhelming vibe I get from her. She's constantly Lonely. The intensity of it tends to vary, but the feeling always lingers there in some sense. I always feel like she comes across so angsty in posts and writing, which irks me, because she's not. She's loud, she's stubborn, she's impulsive, and she tends to always want to turn everything into a joke. She's just also not overly loud for me when she's doing well, because she has no reason to be. She's out living her life, getting new scrapes and scars and stories and hospital bills. So I never have a whole lot of cause to write about her when she's doing well, unless she's gained some new unsightly injury, and even those I don't ever see or hear about enough to make note of them all. But the emotional hurt does ring loud and clear. And the emotional hurt always goes back to the simple fact that she is extremely Lonely, and has never figured out how to cope with it. Her answer is usually to get high, or to do something extremely reckless and dangerous to get an adrenaline rush that reminds her of how sweet life can be. The high part has been dropped since she started crashing with Cliff again, since she knows he doesn't particularly like that. And the company of her brother has also kept her somewhat in line on the beyond dangerous stunts count. How well she'll stay in line once she doesn't have to consider the despairing look he'll give her if she comes limping home with half her skin hanging off is highly questionable.

I always find it particularly amusing to watch all of them around Christmas time, mainly because most of mine do seem to actually love the holiday. Which is ironic, given my own personal apathy/dislike of it. The Verona holiday tour got amended to basically be a string of holiday shows at various clubs mostly in California. They've been playing one every night since last Friday, going as far north as Santa Cruz and down into San Diego, though I know tonight they're in Vegas. It's all been pretty smallish clubs, too. Like a House of Blues would qualify as a big venue by the standard size places they've booked. Gabe is actually enjoying it, because it feels like when they got started, and they're seeing a lot of old familiar faces. There's also the bonus of being able to go back to their home most nights, which cuts down on his irritability and discomfort. Their last show of the year is going to actually be at Axis on Tuesday night.

Mandy and Emilie have really turned into total bffs at this point, with her pretty much right on level with Jeanae. Which reminds me that I should probably do a post just on Emilie, since she is definitely sticking around. ...Actually, I'll just include that here.



Emilie Nouvelle
D.O.B.: February 11th
Age: 21 years
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown, loose curls falling past her shoulders
Complexion: Medium
Height: 5'7"
Status: Single
Occupation: None

So it's already known that Emilie ended up here after a fight with her ex-boyfriend while on the way to a vacation in Hawaii. Short version? She basically decided she liked it here and hasn't felt motivated to leave. Mandy loves having another girl around the house, Vinnie has no issues with the hot girl that tends to cook and make sure they're well fed, and she's perfectly comfortable crashing on the couch, so she hasn't been high on motivation to leave. She did apply at a few universities in the area and is half-heartedly looking for a job while also looking into what citizenship would take. I'm not sure what her parents did, but I do know they both died a little over a year ago, and being an only child, she inherited everything and promptly sold it all off and moved in with her then-boyfriend in an apartment in Paris. So part of her lack of interest in returning is due to the fact that she has no actual home there. ...I get the vibe it was actually a legitimately abusive relationship. They had only been together a short amount of time before her parents passed away, and it was a grief impulse that made her decide to live with him. From there, it went like most abusive relationships do, with him slowly alienating her from all of her friends and her life outside of him. It was mostly all emotional, up until the blatantly physical display on their trip when she finally snapped and said enough was enough. Basically, she feels like she has just as little of a life left for her in Paris as she does in LA, so why not just stay in LA and start over? She is fully fluent in English, though her accent is pretty heavy. So far, she's completely avoided any sort of dating and has just been going through a sort of recovery and reestablishing phase. She spends most of her time with either Gabe or Mandy, when she's not out doing her own thing. Personality-wise, she does reminds me a lot of Mandy. Outspoken, heart on her sleeve, playful, teasing, and sweet. Definitely more impulsive, but not in a reckless sort of way.

Anyways, now that that's out of the way. Mandy and Emilie have gotten to be incredibly close friends at this point, and have set up a big Christmas party at the house on Wednesday night. They're cooking a full meal for the entire extended band family, music, presents, drinks, the whole deal. They're even making sure to do plenty of vegan dishes for the odd people that freak over animal products.

Gabe, of course, loves the holiday even more than usual, what with having a little princess of his own to spoil. And he is very definitely intending to spoil her. Their living room will be fairly filled with presents for Leah, as well as his usual over-spoiling of Jake and Gina. And he's even sucking up his personal hatred of the cold and snow to take the family on a trip over the weekend so Leah can see and enjoy the snow. He's not super-thrilled about this particular vacation, but he does know it's something that will make Gina and Leah happy, so he can deal with it.

Steve is still definitely Sick. I think he may actually have pneumonia, not the flu. His cough is still sounding rough and he's been pretty exhausted. Actually staying in bed and just trying to sleep it off. I don't think he's contagious, and he's certainly not hospital-level sick, but he is very definitely Sick. He's not much for being taken care of, but he has resigned himself to letting Jessi give him a hand, since he really is too exhausted and weakened to do a whole lot for himself. His disposition has been less pleasant than usual, since he really hates feeling dependent on anyone, but he keeps the crankiness in check, because he knows Jessi is just trying to get him better. Mostly, he's just staying in bed or on the couch with his dog.

DeeDee is still in Hawaii and showing no real interest in coming back. It's sad seeing her so broken down again after getting to see her back up at her normal happy level. She really fully believes that she's just cursed in love. No matter what approach she takes, it just always turns out wrong for her. And the sting is just that much stronger after seeing her kid brother find someone so easily and get settled in so young. She's quietly pretty jealous of Mikey right now, so she's kept her distance to avoid being unintentionally spiteful to him or Lucy. But she's doing better staying with Cliff out in Hawaii. She's been helping out with the surf classes and office work, earning her keep since she got there.

Oh, and in poking, I've found out that the house that Gabe, Gina, and Jake have been having built is getting very near completion. Target move-in will be probably in late January now, which I'd imagine they're all pretty excited for.

All taken from TFLN:

(931): Dipping my christmas cookies in Kaluha. Santa would be proud.
Mandy

(732): Just rolled a joint with wrapping paper.. and you say I have no christmas spirit
DeeDee

(917): I was giving him a blow job in the kitchen, but it was uncomfortable. So I took the oven mitts and used them as knee pads.
(917): Don't tell me i'm not fucking resourceful.
Desiree

(904): the bouncer kept askin you for id just to see how long it would take you to find your pants
Re: Mikey

(713): on the last problem of the exam i just drew a picture of a cat and left
Brett

(330): just had dinner with my dad's new gf and her daughter.. had to drink a beer to get through it.. she's 19 she has on a disney watch and snowflake earrings
Anton

(719): Found a barbie with nipples. Life is complete.
Gabe or Brett

(609): Imagine if we didn't have a dick. We would be so much more productive.
Gabe and Brett

(631): You know that annoying kid in my psych class? Accidentally hit him in the face with a door today. Perfect end to the semester.
Tara

(973): We got so high we spray painted his girlfriend's UGG boots. She's CRYING. It's hysterical.
DeeDee or Colt

(805): Every time I type "should" my phone autocorrects to "shouldn't". Even my phone knows my ideas are terrible.
DeeDee

(850): Fuck the gym. I just shaved m'cooch and my pants now fit looser.... Dont judge me.
Desiree

(713): He threw a goldfish cracker into my toilet and then proceeded to laugh for 32 minutes. I timed it.
DeeDee re:Tay

(304): Getting 10 cents back for every can is really just encouraging alcoholism.
Brett

(201): As soon as I saw the video camera and red light on, I started rolling my eyes when he would put it in me and telling him maybe his dick was too small cause I didn't feel anything...trust me that tape is going nowhere
Alissa

(610): Oh I'll be okay, it's only a Christmas party so the worst that could happen is I end up playing madden naked again.
Mikey

(602): So I've come to the conclusion that I would cry if I had an ugly baby.
Angie

(708): Blow job with a beer in the shower, I just created the ultimate day spa for dudes.
Joel

(651): I found a beer bottle on top of the urinal, peed in it and put it back... if anyone gets drunk enough to fall for it they deserve it.
Gabe

(607): I have your camera. You have 35 naked pictures of me. You're welcome.
Mandy

(740): She keeps The Day After Pill in her bra... there is a God.
Micah

(213): How the hell am I supposed to know what lotion to get her? They should have a dressing booth where I could go test how good it is for jerking off, then I'd know.
Brett

(419): It's not called being bisexual its called making out with anyone that has a mouth.
Gabe

(817): He ate me out and then left in a hurry and shouted "Sorry to dine and dash" as he left my house
Mandy & Gabe

(217): Piggyback rides are my preferred mode of transportation.
Jake

(310): I realized that the internet ruins the joy of a father passing down Playboys to his son.
Gabe or Brett

(586): I walked into his room and he was eskimo kissing his weed..
DeeDee re:Tay

(609): So theres a slight possibility I may not graduate according to planned because I was out getting laid instead of studying. And I'm okay with that.
Brett

Alissa Richards
Age: 26 years
D.O.B.: May 19th
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blonde, usually curled, hits around the shoulderblades
Height: 5'7"
Complexion: Tanned
Status: Seeing Chester
Occupation: Waitress til she can land something better

Alissa is Joel's older and estranged sister. They don't speak to each other, and they don't speak of each other. And that's all there really is to say about that, though really, between the accent, the last name, and the looks, it'd be pretty easy to see they were related if you looked for two seconds.

Alissa does not particularly like her job. It's a job that pays her bills, and thus she tolerates it. The pay is shit, but the tips are good, and it's at least not stripping. She went to school to study business and advertising, but after graduating, had an impossible time finding work. She finally landed a job with an ad company, but when her much older boss started hitting on her, she quit. By which I mean she was actually fired after she ripped into him about what a disgusting and sexist asshole he was, and how he was lucky his wife hadn't left him and taken everything he owns and his shriveled and sagging balls with her. So the waitressing gig is just a hopefully temporary pitstop until she can find work in the field she's actually qualified for.

She isn't... exactly a man hater, but she is cynical about men. She spent the first slightly more than half of her life with very bad examples of males, and tends to see them as guilty until proven otherwise. Then again, she describes her own gender as being largely comprised of airheaded bimbos, so it's possible she just doesn't like most people. Kind of at the total other end of Joel's very generally laid back and relaxed personality, Alissa is bitchy, cynical, and blunt. The sort of bitchface look in the example icon is a good show of her standard expression when she's not having to wear the plastic chipper waitress smile to earn tips.

Will write more as I learn more.

Verona is going out on tour again over the course of two weeks that line up with Leah's winter break. Anton has been mildly cranky over securing venues that work so that they can be home for Christmas so Gabe will actually agree to go, but so far, it seems to have been managed. Gabe still doesn't seem exactly excited about the whole thing, but he's willing to try. I think Anton has also been mildly cranky since he's hit another bad patch of insomnia and his medication is yet again not doing a damn thing to help. This has manifested in him having a pretty short temper with everyone around him.

Steve and his band are now back from tour. I think they barely managed to break even on everything, but he still seems to have loved it. As did Vinnie. Now, how much everyone loved being crammed in a van with a non-showering Steve and his dog is debatable, and Sherry assures me was nothing short of Really Gross, but the music aspect was at least solid.

Emilie is still crashing with Mandy, and seems to have no real interest in going home. She's debating even applying for a work or student visa, if not outright citizenship. Apparently, home doesn't hold a whole lot for her currently. Her parents both passed away around a year ago, and she's just been living off of inheritance and life insurance money since. She and Mandy have gotten to be really good friends, she spends a fair amount of time with Gabe, and has also been making friends of her own. I keep picking up that she may actually be legitimately afraid of her ex, which is why she's avoiding going home. She's hidden while she lives with Mandy, so she feels safe. She and Mandy spent the day after the day after Thanksgiving completely decorating the house, so the boys came home to a full department store style display, only even more overdone. The day after Thanksgiving was, of course, spent shopping.

DeeDee has been handling her most recent breakup with a surprising level of calmness and maturity. I think this largely has everyone wondering when the explosion is going to happen, especially since she has to work with the guy, but so far, she's just been very mellow and indifferent about it all. I have a strong suspicion this actually stems from her being pretty heartbroken and depressed. She's developed a quiet mindset that she's just not ever going to win in the love department. Which is sad, because she is a quiet romantic. She wants what her parents have, and when she falls, she falls very wholeheartedly. It just seems to consistantly not work out. She crashes with Tay most nights, usually falling asleep against him while she plays videogames.

After much poking from every angle, I have figured out that Mandy would eventually forgive and patch things up with Gabe. While she can hold a wicked grudge, it would also be really difficult to maintain, just because of the circumstances. And seeing Jeanae manage to forgive him would also help, as would constant nudging and pestering from Adina. It would take time, but eventually they would be able to be legitimate friends again.

Because their intense level of involvement in gay rights protesting would probably be lessened, thus eliminating Jake's court case issues, I don't see them losing their deal, which means their original four album/five years contract would hold. Odds are they would be optioned by a major after their initial success, releasing their first album on the smaller "indie" FBR label, then transitioning to Island or Universal, as all bands that get big on that label do. Probably run a career course similar to like what Paramore has, but once the contract was up, I know Gabe would want out. He would want to focus on staying home with Gina and Leah, and on providing Leah with a stable environment. However, I can see Anton and Mandy both wanting to stick with it and keep going.

Even if the band decided to hang it up, I think Mandy would continue on with a solo project. She loves music, and couldn't just walk away from it. Gabe, I can see going through online classes to work on his credentials, and then finishing out school after the contract was up so that he could get his teaching license. I'm still not sure yet what age group he would choose to work with, but I think he'd probably go with junior high or high school, just because his appearance would make it a bit tough for him to be taken seriously as a grade school teacher. It kinda goes without saying, but he'd work in the music department. An amusing side note: After Gina told him she liked his curls just that second day they were together, he was almost never seen again with straight hair. The length would vary, anywhere between Adrian Grenier short and nearly shoulder length, depending on his laziness levels with upkeep, but it was pretty much always left curly after that.

Just because we are playing with AU, I like the idea of toying with Adina surviving. Obviously, she would have spent a long time sick and recovering, so it would've hardly been pleasant, but she would have made it. Besides, if anyone could manage to try to find some kind of laugh out of something so horrific, it's her. Don't tell me you can't see her deciding, after initially mourning the loss of her hair, to just get dozens of ridiculous wigs to match outfits and whims. I think it would also really prompt Mandy to make cancer and anti-smoking laws her pet causes, aside from her main pet cause of children's rights.

I think Anton would still eventually create the label, and I do see him starting it up with Jake. Jake is always the first second opinion he seeks when it comes to music, and the only one who really bet his whole life on music like Anton did. He never says it, but that bond does kinda mean a lot to Anton. Sherry would work with them as a promoter, probably unofficially as an assistant producer and mixer, and actually, I can see her taking up a radio DJ job. Getting paid to run her mouth about life and music? It's kinda a perfect position for her. Probably moreso like an XM or Sirius podcast sort of deal than like a KROQ DJ, but still.

On the kids count, I do think Gabe would want to start his family earlier. If they were settling down and financially stable already, he would see no reason to keep waiting. He wouldn't pressure Gina or anything, but he would put the idea out there. Mandy would probably want to start one around the same time as in canon. I certainly couldn't see her being ready any earlier. Same for Joel. Sherry, I see more as an accidental mommy, as they were older, probably with her closer to or just on the other side of 30. More of a "Oh shit. ...Ok. We can handle this, right? Right. Ok." kind of deal. Anton and Danni, probably the same deal as in canon, becoming accidental adoptive parents when Zac turned up on their doorstep.

Optimist, without the drama to lead to their breakup, would likely hold together. I can see them following a very similar career path as NFG. Mostly very popular in their specific genre, getting a very brief spotlight just long enough to really establish a wider reaching fanbase, then slipping back to the more under the radar, just known and loved in their genre and scene again. Greg would want to have Christina travel with them, though if she decided that wasn't for her, he'd still find a way to make things work. And Steve would love being able to reach and preach to an even wider crowd. And I can't really see them giving it up. Those boys love the music entirely too much to just walk away from it without a damn good reason. Though there are some other changes, namely that I doubt Eliza would ever come into the picture. With Steve out with the band the summer that he would've spent volunteering at the camp where he met her, he never would've made friends, thus meaning he'd never be able to introduce her to Mateo. Though I can easily see him, Mark, and Mateo all getting an apartment together. Greg would want to get a place with Christina. He tends to need that peace and distance more than I think the rest do, and he would want to get Christina out of her father's house.

Aaaand... Now it's well past two in the morning. Maybe I should sleep.

Steve has really changed immensely since when he and Jessi first met. As a kid, he really was an incredibly angry person. Not outwardly so, most of the time anyways. His temper could be easily provoked with the right words and topics, but his anger was mostly contained, at least with his friends. Authority figures, not so much. Ana is the closest to an authority figure that he was any brand of respectful towards, and it was because she was always patching him up so he wouldn't have to go to the hospital when he'd mangle himself and genuinely mommying him, which was something he very desperately wanted.

Steve's own mother... I think she had a lot of good intentions, but she was a woman overwhelmed. She had to work full-time, her husband worked full-time and wouldn't help with the house, so when she'd get home she also had the house and Steve to take care of, her husband was an alcoholic who then started cheating on her and left her with the bare minimum the state would let him get away with, and at that same time, Steve snapped and became the definition of a rebellious kid and then rebellious teenager and she had to take on a second job to support the two of them, and ended up turning to alcoholism herself. In short, she was too personally overwhelmed to find any way to be there for Steve, and all the stress left her with a short fuse that initially resulted in her always going off on him, which he'd respond to by running away to stay with friends for however long they'd allow him to. After a while, she quit even snapping at him and just developed a quiet indifference. Which hurt even more than the yelling, because at least with the yelling, she was still acknowledging him. Now it was like he didn't even exist.

As far as a father figure goes, he didn't have one. His dad was barely there when his parents were married, and when they divorced and he got a place with his new pregnant girlfriend, Steve just wasn't welcome. Initially, I know his stepmother felt bad for Steve and would push his father to invite him over. And then he'd get there and be a total monster, and she quickly decided she didn't want the rude little shit around, and she certainly didn't want him influencing her son, so Steve was pretty much banned from his father's house.

He learned quickly to not trust regular conventions and rules about people who supposedly "have to" love you and be there for you. To this day, I'd keep the list of people he genuinely trusts limited to Jessi, Chris, and Mark. Everyone else, he loves them, but if they suddenly slammed the door in his face and told him he wasn't welcome anymore, he'd carry on and write them off. In a sense, he views all of his relationships in life as something temporarily passing. He'll enjoy them while they last, probably mourn them for a bit when they're gone, but he'll pick up and carry on just fine. The only ones that would really damage him to lose would be Jessi, Chris, and Mark. And it was easy to see just when Mark was too busy with school and basketball to really be around. He started getting a bit more reckless again, taking bigger and dumber risk, not watching out for himself as much. He didn't go back to as extreme as he was as a kid, mainly because he knew he'd lose Jessi too if he got too stupid, but it did pull one of the sense wires a little lose on him.

I'd peg Jessi easily as the biggest factor that saved him from permanently being a reckless and angry person. Jessi looked out for him, and let him know she knew he was capable of being better than just this stupid angry kid he kept acting like. She called him on his stupidity and would get genuinely angry with him, which he knew was because she genuinely cared about him. She got him into working with animals and the homeless, and from there he branched out and found his own interests and causes that gave him a healthy outlet for his anger, and more than that, showed him there's a much bigger world out there with much bigger problems. I think Chris was also a fairly big influence on him. He looks up to Chris as both a friend and a big brother. I know it genuinely scared him when he saw Chris drinking again, but rather than get flat-out angry like Jessi did, Steve decided the better route was to show Chris that there were still people, or at least one person, that loved him and needed him around, so he couldn't go putting his life at risk like that. Him hugging Chris like that was a pretty big gesture from him at that time. For a long time, Steve was more of the if you hug me first, I'll hug back type than the type who would just hug someone else.

While his attitude change was largely a very slow and gradual change, I know that fight was one of the more notable turning points. The doctor had initially told him he might not be able to use his right hand again. He does have use of it now, though he is still a learned lefty, just because his right hand isn't as reliable and can be a little shaky and uncoordinated. But it was a big wake-up call for him that helped him realize he had to get his anger under control and not let himself be provoked so easily, because odds are high it won't end well for him. Why would he want to waste his life and energy on pointless battles that amount to nothing except a giant pissing contest, whenhe could be using that same energy to help others and put something positive back into the world? There's too much anger and hatred and negativity as it is, and he didn't want to help further that cycle. He wanted to combat it and take it down, and you can't fight hate with hate. It was a slow change, and he backslid plenty of times, but it's easy enough to look at the person he is today and know he's not still that same pointlessly angry and destructive kid. He works hard to give his life and the world around him meaning.