Mikey watched Jon carefully the whole day for changes in his behavior. The rash, thoughtless brother he'd known for all his life was beginning to smile more often, and think about things instead of just doing them. For the first time, he hadn't argued with their mom all day, and actually complimented her on her clothes once, sounding the tiniest bit envious.
Later that night, once Jon seemed to be making a conscious effort to walk normally, trying to keep a new bounce out of his step. At dinner, he complained loudly about having meatloaf, which he usually ate without comment, though Mikey didn't know whether he liked it or not. Jon sat back in his chair with his arms crossed, eying the meatloaf as if it was glaring back at him, until their mom said something.
"Jon, if you don't want to eat, then you're not getting anything else. I am tired of this behavior out of you." Zoe snickered behind her hands as he blushed and started eating, taking tiny bites and glaring at her between bites. After more entertainment, dinner ended with Jon's plate being even fuller than Mikey's.
Mikey noticed Jon sneaking a teddy bear into his room as they all went to bed, one of Zoe's old toys, and a quick check half an hour later revealed that Jon was snuggling up with it as he slept. Satisfied that his wish was working so far, Mikey went to sleep, eagerly awaiting the next day and the hopefully more drastic changes it would bring.
