Friday, before school

"A lawsuit? That's your idea?" Mat was looking unimpressed by my idea or maybe he was just focused on the road. Mat was driving me to school after I missed the bus because I was up late reading about different kinds of lawyers and lawsuits. There was more than one kind, but I hoped adults knew that. 

"Yeah, I looked it up. People have sued schools before because of bullying!" It was called "duty of care" or something. Whatever it was, our school has done a shitty job of it. 

"You need proof and money for a lawyer." Mat said. We were getting close to the school now. 

"I have proof, Mat! The pictures! I have two years of pictures! Plus, the parents have money, I just have to send the pictures to them and they can do all the lawyer stuff." Parents get angry about this kind of stuff. I was sure some of them would want to sue the school.

"You kept the pictures? Dude, that's sick and not in the good way." Mat tried to look at me but had to turn back to the road quickly. I could see his face, though. He wasn't really surprised.

"Uh, yeah. Mat, I got some great material in there. I wasn't going to just delete it all." Maybe I would after this. I didn't feel bad about them, some of those kids had it coming, but they would remind me of Marcus.

"Do you really think any lawyers will take this? It's just bullying. Even if the school is negligent, it didn't mean any lawyers will think it's worth their time." Mat was still doubtful. 

"Mat, it's not just bullying. He's getting worse. He didn't do it in front of everyone yesterday, he forced Vic into the bathroom. He sexually assaulted him, Mat, he basically said he's going to rape him next time." I said. 

Mat froze for a second, then slammed on the breaks, barely stopping before he hit the car in front of us. "Seriously?" 

"I'll show you the video." I said. We passed the rest of the ride quietly, Mat kept his music off. When we parked, I showed him the video. 

"Dude, that's fucked." He was taking it seriously now. 

"I know. Even if nobody else does anything, Vic's parents have to." I was sure they couldn't just ignore this. 

He was quiet for a moment. "How are you going to get it to them?" 

"I'll email it. To them and all the others. I've already got it figured out. We have computer nerds at this school, right? Ones who help with the school computers? I just need to find out who they are. They can give me a list of email addresses and I can email the proof to the parents." I'd also need to convince the computer nerds, but maybe one of my nerds could help with that. 

"Ask Jeremy, he has friends in the IT club." Mat said. 

"He does?" That made this easier.

"Yeah, he talks about them sometimes. You'd know that if you paid attention to him." He was right. I tried to listen when Calvin talked. Martin, too, usually, but I haven't exactly paid attention to Jeremy. He just didn't talk about anything cool.

"I also need to look at our yearbooks. Do you have them?" I didn't remember most of the kids' names, but I could compare pictures. 

"Yeah, I got them. They're also in the library. We can go there at lunch." How did he know they're there? 

"You want me to go into the library?" I was assaulted with visions of nasal voiced nerds with buck teeth and thick framed glasses. 

"One visit won't hurt you." Mat assured me. 

Calvin tapped the window before I could respond. Mat unlocked the door and let him in. 

"Hiya guys! You aren't at the tree." As usual, he was too perky this early in the morning. 

"Do you ever go in the library, Calvin?" I asked. 

"Um, yeah? Sometimes?" He was confused. 

I looked to Mat. "See? It only takes a little."

Mat hit me. Calvin looked concerned. "What takes a little?"

"You're a big nerd, Calvin." I patted his knee. "But you're our nerd so we forgive you." 

"Ignore him, Calvin. Kyle's a dumbass who can't read books without pictures." Mat said. 

Calvin was grinning. "Do you want me to read something to you, Kyle?"

"Not today, we're only getting picture books from the library." Mat told him. Calvin was trying to figure out what he meant. 

"We're going to look at year books." I explained. 

"Oh, cool! I wanna come too! I'm going to look for you guys in last year's yearbook!" I didn't want him in on this, but I couldn't tell him no.

"Fine, you can come too." I said. 

Later, in the cafeteria, I learned Calvin had shared our plans with the others, Jeremy asked about it as soon as he sat down. "Calvin said you wanna look at old yearbooks." 

I guess everyone's going. I remembered what Mat said about him at Verity Field. "Yup, we're looking for certain people. Maybe you can help me with that, I have a special job for you." Maybe this would feel like being picked first.

"I can do it! What is it?" The weasel boy sounded more eager than I expected.

"The school has to have info about everyone here, right? Including ways to contact parents if anything happens?" He was nodding. "And you're friends with the IT club. That means you're perfect for convincing them to pull some names and email addresses for me." Am I being too obvious?

He looked unsure for a moment, but nodded. "I'll do it, but it'll be easier if you come with me."

"Sure, after we find the right kids in the yearbook." I didn't really want to meet the computer nerds, but I'd do it if it makes convincing them easier. Plus, spending time with Jeremy means I won't have to feel bad about manipulating him. 

"Who are we looking for?" Brandon asked. 

You want to help, too? Crap. I didn't want everyone in on this. I waited for a couple kids to walk past. Marcus would kill me if he found out. "Marcus's victims. I need their names, then the IT club can give me their parents' info, and then I send them proof of Marcus bullying them and they do something about it."

Brandon looked doubtful. "You think they're going to do something about last year's bullying?" 

"Some of them will. They have to. He's getting worse. He started stripping kids in the halls last year and he did worse to Vic yesterday. That's sex assault, Brandon, and the school never does anything about it." This has to work. It HAS to. 

He was thinking about it now, they all were. The nerds looked shocked. "You said you have proof?" 

Dammit. I didn't want him to think to hard about that. I nodded. Don't make me explain. 

We ate quickly and went to the library, we had forty-five minutes to find what we needed. The library was quiet, but not silent like I expected. Students chattered over their books as they studied or whatever it was nerds usually do in here. We had to look around for the yearbooks, there were forty-two years worth of them starting when the school first opened. 

"You got pictures, right?" Brandon asked. Maybe it doesn't take a genius to figure it out, but I was hoping he wouldn't catch on. Something must have shown on my face, he looked... sympathetic? "That's the work he makes you do. He's a sick fuck for that." I didn't care what most people thought, but I didn't want to correct Brandon. Just let him think I'm a victim, too. 

I looked at the nerds to see if they bought it, they did. I felt a little guilty about misleading them all, but I couldn't let them find out. Mat knew the truth, but he played along. 

"I'll text screenshots of their faces so you guys can help." I said to them all. We got to work. 

I was lucky they volunteered to help, it was a bigger task than I expected. There were twenty-one victims and six of us searching through four yearbooks, but there were almost five hundred freshmen and sophomores to go through in each year. It would have taken all day for me and Mat to do by ourselves.

We were interrupted a few times whenever one of the nerds found one of our old photos. It started with Martin excitedly showing us a picture of Brandon from two years ago. He was really fit, even as a freshman, but his picture didn't show that. He was smaller and thinner and the big, genuine smile on his face said he was just happy to be there. His smile now was smaller and a little sad. 

Calvin commented on how happy he looked and asked if something special happened that day. Brandon told him he always looked like that back then. 

They showed us a picture of me next. I always liked getting my picture taken. My smile was fake in that picture, the same fake smile I give almost everyone at this damn school. Martin and Calvin thought I looked good, though, and Jeremy asked if I helped the school take the yearbook photos. I hadn't that year, but I did as a sophomore.

Mat's photo was last in that book. He wasn't as enthusiastic as Brandon, but his smile was still warm and welcoming, the same Mat he has always been. Brandon told him as much. 

We were able to find most of the victims before the nerds interrupted our work again with more recent photos of us. Brandon in his wheelchair but still cheerful and confident despite the accident, me with the same fake smile on an older face, and Mat, still looking friendly but also more confident. I was annoyed that they kept interrupting us, but I didn't say anything, they were a big help in finding everyone.

We finally finished with just three minutes left of lunch. I had my list of names and attached them to the photos in my phone. "Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you." It was true, but I was surprised to actually feel gratitude instead of just faking it like normal.

"That's what friends are for." Calvin said. 

"Somebody has to do something about Marcus." Jeremy said. 

Brandon nodded. "I didn't know how many there were. The teachers should have stopped him two years ago."

"They don't care. They ignore it because it doesn't affect them, just like everyone else." Does that include me? Am I doing this for me or for Vic? 

Mat patted my back, I was sure he could hear the irony in what I said. "If this doesn't work, maybe we can ask my mom for advice." Don't say that, it has to work. I don't want her to know.

Martin and Calvin continued turning the pages in one of the yearbooks, Jeremy tried to join them but I interrupted him. "When does the IT club meet?" 

"After school." He frowned. "I might miss the bus if I take you to them. Can you drive me home, Mat?"

"Yeah Dude, no problem. I gotta drive Kyle, too." Mat said. You do? Where? 

"Oh! You guys were voted most popular last year!" Calvin cringed as he got several shushes from the librarians and even the other students in there. He was holding a yearbook on the awards page showing Mat and me in the top ten most popular list.

That was such a stupid award. All the yearbook awards were, but that one was the worst. "Don't pay attention to that shit,  those awards don't mean anything." I said.

Mat shoved me. "Don't listen to him, he's just butthurt because I got two places higher than him." 

I rolled my eyes and started getting my things. "Being popular is just a show. Nobody actually cares about anyone on that list." 

The rest of the day passed too slowly, I couldn't even enjoy the locker room after swimming class. I saw Marcus a few times and stayed out of his way. Vic, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. The minutes leading to the final bell seemed to last forever and then came waiting with Mat for Jeremy next to the cafeteria.

Mat passed his phone to me to show a picture of a grill. "Mom sent this. My dad just bought it. You remember the last time he got a grill. What do you say we celebrate our win early?" My stomach was in knots, I couldn't think about food. Mat put an arm around my shoulders. "Come on, Bro, think how sad my dad will be if you and your parents don't come. I'm inviting everyone. Think about Calvin, he'll be sleeping over, he's gonna feel so lonely sleeping without you to cuddle up next to." 

I can't pass up a chance to cuddle with Calvin. "Fine, I'll text my dad about it."

He patted my shoulder. "Good." 

Jeremy showed up a little later with a bounce in his step and a smile on his face. "Are you ready?" 

"Yup. Let's see what your friends can get for me." I said. We followed him to what was probably the IT guy's office. I had never been, but I knew it existed. 

Jeremy strutted into IT room and stood taller than I had seen him do before. Confidence looked good on him. He called out. "Heyoo!" 

He was answered with a small chorus of "Jeremy!" from five guys and one girl.

I looked to Mat who shrugged. "Guess they like him." He said. 

"Look who I brought!" Jeremy said, pointing at us. The nerds greeted us by name. Jeremy must have told them about us. 

"We signed the petition for you, Kyle." The hefty looking oldest nerd said.

What petition? "Cool. I hope it works."  it won't, whatever it's about. The teachers don't care about some petition. 

"Yeah, maybe they'll finally expell Marcus." Fat chance. You can't seriously believe they'll expell him over a petition. He must have misunderstood the look on my face. "Yeah, nobody cares when it's one of us getting hurt, but now the whole school's talking about how you saved Martin." He sounded almost as bitter as me.

I doubt that. Maybe some people are pretending to care. "It's just a fad, everyone will forget about it next week." 

"No way! There were so many names on the petition when I signed it." One of the younger ones said. 

I shook my head, this would get us nowhere. "Listen, I need a favor."

"Yeah! We're trying to do something about him, too!" Jeremy piped in. Don't spread it around, Jeremy! Marcus will find out! It only takes one person who can't keep their mouth shut.

I gave the big nerd my phone. "I need to know who these kids' parents are and how to email them." 

He looked through the list on my screen. "I know some of these guys. Marcus basically stripped them in front of everybody." Dammit, Jeremy, he wasn't supposed to make the connection. "I think he gets off on it. I'm surprised you remember them, I didn't think anybody cared enough to."

Cared. Right. "Can you get me their info?"

"Too easy." He was already working on the computer and a second nerd worked on another one. They were getting the details faster than I thought they would.

I looked at Mat, he seemed impressed. Jeremy had his head down. What's wrong now?

"Gottem!" The big nerd said after only a few minutes. He held out two papers. "Some of them don't go here anymore, but eighteen's not bad."

"Thanks man, I owe ya. Don't tell anyone about this, I don't want Marcus finding out." I wouldn't have to say that if Jeremy didn't tell him it what we were doing. 

"We won't say a word." The younger nerd assured me. 

"Don't tell anyone we shared this with you. We could get into a lot of trouble if the teachers find out." The big nerd said.

We left to get to Mat's car, Jeremy was too quiet, not as happy as earlier. "Thanks, Jeremy. I couldn't have done it without you."  It probably wasn't true, but maybe it would make him feel better. 

He didn't look up. "Yes you could, I barely did anything." He kicked a rock.

"Yes you did, Man! You smoothed the way! I would have been way too uncomfortable talking to them if you weren't there." That was kind of true. 

"Really?" He sounded incredulous.

"Yeah, and they wouldn't have done it just for me." They'd probably rat me out to the teachers just for asking. 

"What? Of course they'd help you." Jeremy insisted. 

I pulled him into a side hug. "Nah, Man. Yeah, I did the talking, but they only helped because I'm friends with you. I saw how they looked at you, you're like, king of the computer club."That seemed to cheer him up. 

"So what do we do next?" He asked. 

"We're going to a library to use their computers." Mat was texting as he said this. What? I looked at him. "You can't use your own computer for this, the cops can track that shit. You gotta use a public computer." He was probably right. 

"Can I come?" Jeremy asked.

"Hell yeah you can come, Bro! And you should come to my place after! My dad's breaking in a new grill." Mat said. 

"You said only one visit to the library." I said. 

My phone beeped then, a message from Mat. "I knew you could be nice when you wanted to. Good job cheering him up." I looked up at Mat, he was grinning. "No, I said one visit wouldn't hurt you. It's the second one that'll corrupt you."

"Awesome! I'll ask my dad." Jeremy said. What? Oh, the grill. He was on his phone. 

"Invite him. Your mom, too. My dad's going to cook tons of food." Mat was on his phone again as he got into his car. My phone beeped after I got in, he had sent a group text.

I was frowning as the doors closed. "A petition, he said. As if the teachers are going to change anything over a petition." 

"I dunno, Man, there's a lot of signatures on that thing." Mat said. 

"You knew about it? I asked. 

"Yep, I even signed it." He said.

"Yeah? Cool. That means there's one single person on there that actually cares about this." I said. 

Jeremy piped in. "I signed it and I care."

I looked at him. "You knew about it, too?" 

"Yeah, Katy told us about it yesterday at lunch. We all signed it. It was before you got there." He was sounding defensive.

"Ok, I know you care too. All five of you. But that doesn't mean everyone does. Nobody else has any reason to. Trust me, I know what people here are like." You can't count on anyone you don't know. This place will beat the optimism out of you, too.

"Well I think they do care." He was being stubborn and I didn't want to hurt his feelings any more by arguing.

The library was in a part of town I had never been to before. The building itself was a gleaming structure of white stone and reflective windows, it looked more like someone's art project than a library. A college aged couple on their way out walked passed us as we went up the stairs to the entrance, they were holding a couple of movies. Movies at the library? 

"My mom used to bring me here when she needed some resources for a case. It's not just books, they have tons of movies and TV shows you can't stream, too." Mat explained. 

"Do they have manga?" Jeremy asked. What's manga?

Mat held the door open for us. "I dunno what that is, Dude. Maybe? Ask her." He was pointing to a woman at a desk, she wasn't super old like the librarian at school. I guess librarians aren't all grandmas with nothing better to do.

We were allowed to check in with our school IDs and looked for some computers. There were several set up with dividers like private work stations, it was perfect for what I needed. 

"Do you want help? I can email some pictures for you." Jeremy offered. 

I shook my head. "Nah. I got it. Go find your mangas."

He walked off, Mat followed speaking quietly. I spent the next half an hour creating a new email address and sending my pictures. I started with Vic first, he was the most recent and the worst. The email was sent to both of his parents with the proof of both incidents and a message telling them that Marcus had been bullying kids for years and the teachers never did anything. 

The second email was for the parents of a little eighth grader, Marcus's other victim this year. The pictures showed him stripping the boy to his tighty whities in the middle of the hall with a similar message about the teachers doing nothing about Marcus. 

It took almost an hour to send everything. Each email had a similar message and, when I felt the pictures weren't concerning enough, I included others to drive home how bad Marcus was. Some of the pictures still turned me on, but seeing Marcus in them made me uncomfortable.

Mat and Jeremy would sometimes ask if I needed anything. I told them no, but Mat gave me a soda and some chips anyways. I pushed my chair back when I was done, Mat and Jeremy were looking at some comic book, Jeremy was explaining something nerdy. 

"You finished, Bro?" Mat asked when he noticed me looking at them.

"Yeah, I'm done. Now we wait." It has to work. The school can't just ignore the parents. 

Jeremy was holding a book out to me. "I picked this for you. I thought you might like it." He said. I took it, it was a travel guide or something. It was about scenic places around the world to take pictures. I preferred photographing people over landscape, but he didn't know that.

"Thanks, Jer." I meant it. It was a little thing, but he tried. It warmed me a little. "What did you get?" 

He held up a little stack of comics. "They have some really cool manga here. This one's called Part Time Hero, and this one's called My Roommate's a Slime, and this one's Bloodzerker!"

I refrained from calling him a nerd. He's one of my nerds. Mat tested my restraint by showing me his own copy of Part Time Hero, he liked like he wanted to laugh. "It's actually good but you have to read it backwards."

We went to the librarian's desk to check out. Mat and I got ours no problem, but she put one of Jeremy's to the side. "You need a parent's permission to get this one."

"Oh." Jeremy looked disappointed. 

"Can I borrow it for him?" I asked.

She frowned at me. "No, it has to be a parent." Sorry Jeremy, I tried. 

"Man, that sucks. I really wanted Bloodzerker." Jeremy said as we left. 

"Just get your mom and dad to borrow it for you." Mat suggested. 

"They said I'm not allowed to read that one until I'm sixteen." He said. 

"Jeremy, you little rule breaker. I'm telling your mom as soon as I meet her." I teased.

"Noo! You can't do that to me!" He was laughing and tried pushing me, he knew I wasn't serious. 

"Is everyone coming to your place?" I asked Mat as we got in his car.

"Yeah, we got a full house tonight. Are we going to your place to get your stuff?" Mat was asking Jeremy.

"Nah, my mom and dad will bring my PJs and toothbrush over so I'm good." Jeremy said. 

Mat introduced Jeremy to his parents when we got to his place. Mrs. Olsen was shaping meat patties and already had a pile of them. 

"Do you need help, Mom?" Mat asked. 

"No, you boys can go hang out until your other friends get here." She almost never said yes, I was sure Mat only offered to make her feel good. 

Jeremy was eyeing the patties. "There's no way we can eat all that."

"This isn't even half of it, Jim also bought brats and steaks." She was rolling her eyes as she said this but her voice told me she didn't mind. 

Jeremy's eyes somehow got wider. "What are you going to do with the leftovers?"

"Freeze it, donate it, send it home with your parents. We'll be eating this for weeks." We all would if she had her way. I could remember the last time Mr. Olsen bought a grill, I was eating burgers and hot dogs for two weeks before my mom got tired of it and threw the rest out. 

Jeremy was still wondering about the food once we were in Mat's room. "He can't cook all of that in just one day, can he?" 

"Dude, he's got, like, three grills and all night to do it." Mat said. 

Jeremy looked like he wanted to ask more, I shushed him. "No questions, the man REALLY likes grilling, just sit back and enjoy."

We read our books, I started by flipping through the pages to see what it had to offer. There was a part about the soda mountains that Mat wanted to take me to and I was struck again by the beauty of it and its strangely colored trees. The book talked about autumn being the best time to go, the weather, and different landmarks to photograph. 

My parents came early, bringing my toothbrush, clean clothes, and some beers for the adults. Brandon came next with his parents and little brother, Dalton. 

Brandon sat down hard on Mat's bed. "There, happy? I'm sitting!" He was glaring at Dalton. Dalton looked to us like he wanted help. I shook my head, I didn't want Brandon yelling at me. 

"We'll take care of him, Dalton. Go relax. I got orange sodas downstairs." Mat said. 

"Do you want me to bring you one?" Dalton asked Brandon. 

Brandon growled. "Go away." Dalton left and Brandon fell back and groaned loudly. "He won't even let me walk up the damn stairs with without hovering around like I'm going to fall. Jeremy, say something funny to make me feel better."

"Oh, uh, um." Jeremy was failing hard. 

"Thanks Jeremy, I knew I could count on you." Brandon was being sarcastic but grinned at him a moment later to let him know he was joking. 

Mat held up his comic. "Have you heard Part Time Hero?" 

Brandon looked at it. "Manga? That's the thing with tentacles, right?"

"No, it's not the same as hentai!" Jeremy yelled. 

"But you know what he's talking about." I said. I had heard that word before, but I wouldn't let him know that. 

"Yeah, but-" Jeremy started. 

"I don't wanna know about your freaky tentacle kink." Brandon interrupted. 

"No! I don't like that stuff!" Jeremy insisted. 

Mat was laughing, Jeremy was trying to defend himself, his body shifting in embarrassment. 

I patted his head. "Don't worry, Jeremy, I'm sure you only like normal cartoon porn." 

"Yeah-wait, no! I don't do that either!" He yelled. 

Mat and Brandon laughed harder at him. Jeremy was cute when he was embarrassed. Not as cute as Calvin, but he still turned me on. I pulled him into a hug so I could feel his skinny body. "We don't care what you look at."

"Yeah, even if you are spreading it to Mat." Brandon said. 

"You're lucky Kyle's holding me back or I'd go get your brother." Jeremy growled. 

"My leg may be fucked but I can still use it to kick your ass if you try." Brandon said. 

"Go Jeremy, run! Go hide behind Dalton." I squeezed him tighter as he tried to wriggle out.

Mat's door opened, Calvin and Martin walked in on us. Jeremy yelled. "Guys, help!" 

"Help him, he's trapped!" I said while still holding on. 

They dropped their bags and pulled on his legs to get him away from me, Mat and Brandon laughed behind me. Together, they were able to pull him free.

"Your dad told us to get you. He's turning on the grills." Calvin told Mat. 

Mat stretched and got off the back of his couch. "I guess we gotta go say hi. Do you need help getting up, Brandon? I know it's hard to do by yourself because you're so broken." Brandon groaned and flipped him off. "Oh no, he's so hurt he can't even talk. We'll have to carry him down, Kyle."

Mat made to pick him up, but Brandon shoved him off and stood. He stumbled a little when he did, but got his balance. "Don't give my parents any ideas, they might actually do that." 

Our families were already hanging out in the backyard. Mat and Calvin's moms were talking and drinking wine, my mom was moving towards them. My dad had one of the grills, along with Mat's dad and another raccoon I guessed must be Martin's dad.

I poured some root beer into a couple of plastic cups and looked for Calvin, he had gone to our moms. 

"No, it's mostly white collar here. A welcome change from Sante Val." Calvin's mom's, Mrs. Keller, was saying. I handed Calvin his drink, he smiled and stepped closer to me.

Mrs. Olsen was nodding to what Mrs. Keller was saying. "I can't imagine what you had to deal with back there." 

Does Calvin really want to listen to this stuff? I tuned out the conversation and wished Calvin would come a little closer, I wanted to feel his warmth against me. I snapped back into focus when I heard my name. 

"It's nice to finally meet another of Kyle's friends." My mom said. I guess I never invited him over. I should change that. 

"Hi Mrs. Wilson." Calvin sounded cheerful. 

"Kyle's been a great influence on him. I just knew it would be a good idea to put him in a gym class. He's been a lot more confident lately." Mrs. Keller said. Why do moms talk like that?

"Moooom." Calvin whined. Mrs. Keller looked like she was trying not to laugh. She did that on purpose. 

I wrapped an arm around Calvin and pulled him in. "Swimming's also helping him grow a little muscle. You can't really see it yet, but it's there." I told them. 

He pushed his way out and gave a little embarrassed laugh that made me want to pull him back. "Just a little."

"I'm glad they have a little group to play sports with." Mrs. Olsen lowered her voice. "Brandon needed something to convince his parents to let him go out." 

"As long as they make sure not to push him too hard." My mom was looking at me as she said this. 

"Is he the wolverine over there?" Mrs. Keller asked. 

Calvin nodded. "Yup. He said he needs to go out with us. He says his leg won't get better if he just rots on the couch, but his parents won't listen."

"And what does his doctor say?" My mom asked. 

Calvin looked to me as if I had the answer. I shrugged. His mom spoke up. "A little activity could be good, depending on how injured he is."

The conversation went on to cop injuries and I had nothing to add. Some of the food was ready, I made my way to the grills and was happy to see Calvin decided to follow. I put a steak on a plate, Calvin grabbed a burger, Mat was visiting with our dads. Brandon was sitting at one of the outdoor tables with nothing in front of him so I grabbed a burger and chips for him. 

We passed Dalton on the way, he looked at the extra plate. "Maybe he'll be nicer to you." He was clearly down. 

"What's wrong?" Calvin asked. 

"You can catch up." I told him and left while Dalton talked about Brandon snapping at him. 

Brandon glowered when I set his food in front of him. "Did he put you up to this?" 

"Let me guess, little bro wants to do stuff for you and you bite his head off?" I asked. 

He snarled and turned away. "I can get my own damn food. I don't need anyone to bring it to me." 

"Obviously. Even with your leg fucked you were still scoring the most points last week. Maybe I just saw you didn't have any food yet. If you don't want it, I'll take it to Jeremy." I said. 

He snatched the burger off his plate, holding it too tightly as if he thought I'd try to wrestle it out of his hand. Grease ran down his arm. He took a bite and his expression softened. 

"You really don't want Jeremy having that burger." I said. Calvin came and sat next to me.

Brandon spoke around his mouthful of food. "My dad told me I had to sit down. He said I've been standing too long. Fucking bullshit, I'm not even doing anything." Calvin looked towards the adults when Brandon swore. Aww, he's worried about his mom hearing. 

"Dalton looked like he was about to cry." Calvin said. 

"Dalton needs to mind his own business and stop acting like I need help with everything." Brandon growled. 

Calvin looked like he wanted to say something else. I patted his arm and shook my head. "You won't have to worry about that after they leave tonight." Just let him be angry, I don't want him yelling at you too.

"Yeah. Maybe Mat will let me stay the whole weekend, then I won't have to listen to them at all." He stuffed several chips in his mouth.

Calvin finished his food while Brandon and I talked. "I wanna hotdog now. And a steak. And more chips. Do you want anything, Kyle?" 

I hadn't finished yet, but I could tell I would want more. "Burger and orange soda. Barbecue chips, too." Calvin looked at Brandon for a second but left without offering to get him anything.

Brandon watched him leave. "I guess I deserve that." 

I shrugged. "I wouldn't offer either. What happened? You were fine earlier." 

Brandon folded his arms on the table in front of himself and laid his head down. "It doesn't stop. I'd be fine if it was just my parents, I could just wait until they're at work to do stuff, but Stephanie came back from university for me."

"Will she go back later?" I asked. 

"Probably, but she shouldn't have come back in the first place. She shouldn't have to put her life on hold for me." He said. 

"Doesn't she want to be a nurse or something? Maybe she just wants you to be her test dummy." I said. 

He glared. "Dalton's even worse. He just hangs around all the time and tries to do everything for me."

"You did the same thing to him when he got a broken arm that one time." Mat showed up with Calvin, they were carrying trays with a lot of food and two bottles of soda.

"Yeah, but that was my fault and he was only, like, eight back then." He grabbed a hotdog off the tray took a big bite. 

"Little dude looks up to you. I think he just wants to return the favor." Mat said. 

Brandon groaned. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

A projector was brought out so a movie could be played on the side of the house while the dads grilled. I helped set out the lawn chairs, Brandon tried to help but was quickly told to sit down by his parents. Calvin took the seat next to mine. Some superhero movie was played, I had seen it before, the action was cool but I spent more time watching Calvin and thinking about holding his hand or having him sit on my lap. 

After the movie, our parents started leaving. Calvin's mom, first, after saying goodbye to him and even to my mom. Brandon's parents and brother, telling him to call if he needed anything. Dalton was looking at the floor instead of Brandon. Jeremy's parents with an older brother I didn't know he had. My parents were still there when we retired to Mat's room, my dad wanted to finish the job. 

Jeremy was leaning back on Mat's couch with his hands over his stomach. "I've never eaten so much in my life!" 

"You better be full after all that, I think you ate more than me and Brandon combined." Mat said. 

Jeremy groaned in response. "I'll be full for a week." 

"Then I guess you won't need any pancakes in the morning." Mat was grabbing controllers and turning on his TV as he said this. 

Jeremy's head snapped up. "No, I'll have some pancakes." 

"You gotta workout and use that up if you don't wanna get fat." Brandon told him.

Mat handed out the remotes and was already getting the game started. "Mario Kart time."

"Man, you know I suck at this." I said. 

"You suck at everything. Don't worry, I'll put the AI on easy so you don't get last every time." Mat said. 

Calvin sat next to me, his body against mine. "If you ask nice, maybe I'll let you beat me a couple times." We were picking our characters.

"Don't just let him win, he has to earn it." Brandon said. 

The game was getting started, the timer was counting down. "I don't need you to let me win, I know exactly how to beat you."

"How-" I didn't let him finish. The race started and I pulled him down, laying across my lap, and blocked him in with my arms. This stalled me a little, but completely kept him from moving. "That's not fair!" The others were laughing, Martin leaned on him to add more weight. He struggled to turn toward the screen, but eventually managed to see well enough to start. 

Calvin actually managed to catch up to me several times, causing me to have to cheat more by covering his eyes or pressing buttons on his controller. "Why do you make me do this, Cal? Just stay in last and I'll stop!" He kept struggling, but I managed to beat him, getting eleventh out of twelve. "What happened, Calvin? I thought you were good at this!" 

Calvin got off me, still laughing. "You jerk. Just for that, I'm going to make you lose every round!"

"He'll do that all by himself, you don't have to do anything." Mat told him. Harsh.

We played a few more rounds before switching to Brawl Stars and then Mech Warriors. That one was only two players at a time, Mat and Jeremy went first. Martin and Calvin left to brush their teeth,  Brandon started digging in Mat's closet, I watched the game until something soft hit me in the back of the head. 

"You're wearing that tonight." Brandon said. I held it out, it was a gray pair of pajama bottoms. 

I rolled my eyes but put them on. Brandon changed into his sweatpants, giving me a good look at his black boxerbriefs. A nice bulge and a toned ass, no way he's really sitting all day. He pulled his sweatpants up, took off his shirt, and caught me watching. 

"What? You already know I do it." Don't pretend you're surprised.

He put his leg back like he was trying to hide it. "The scars really don't put you off?"

This again? Seriously? "I told you already, you look amazing. Stop worrying about what your leg looks like."

He relaxed a little, came over, and put a hand on my chest. "You know, you're not bad, yourself."

"Ugh, get a room." Mat complained. 

"We already got a room and something else." I nodded to his bed. 

Mat mimed throwing up. "Oh hell no! I sleep on that thing."

Brandon joined in. "So you're gonna join us?" He was smiling now, his anger from earlier was gone. 

"You wish. I'm not giving all this to just anybody." Mat gave his controller to Brandon and started changing. Jeremy offered me his, but I turned it down and looked through the book he picked out for me earlier. Calvin and Martin came back, their muzzle still damp from brushing their teeth. So sloppy. Do you want me to dry that for you, Calvin?

Mat yawned. "I gotta go brush, too."

"You're wearing jammies tonight?" Calvin asked. 

I shrugged. "Brandon insisted."

Brandon didn't take his eyes off the game. "I know him. He'd try to talk everyone out of their pants and you guys are too shy for that."  He was right, I had wanted to get everyone in their underwear tonight. He didn't need to say it, though.

"I'm not shy." Martin insisted.

Calvin's tail twitched a couple times. "He doesn't... well... I guess..." He looked at me. "I don't mind. I have to get used to it anyways." He said, firmly.

They took their PJs out of their bags and started changing right there as if to prove him wrong. That definitely wasn't what Brandon was trying for, but I couldn't have done it better myself. 

I was peeking past my book, they were both wearing red underwear. Calvin in vertical striped red boxers and Martin in bright red boxerbriefs with blue trim. Try covered up with their pajama bottoms too quickly. Martin's mint green PJs were still too big, but he tied the drawstring tightly to avoid sagging. Calvin's PJs were a gray plaid pattern. Both of them stayed shirtless. 

Calvin sat next to me on the floor and looked into the book I was reading, his shoulder pushed against mine. "What's this?" 

"Jeremy picked it for me at the library. It's about scenic places around the world." A lot of these places really were beautiful. Maybe I should take Mat up on the hiking trip. 

Calvin snorted a laugh. "Mat was right, you do only look at picture books." 

I put my book aside and pulled him into a headlock. I'm getting to touch him more. I can't believe I used to worry about hugging him. I let him go after a little struggle. "Keep that up and I won't help you with your homework anymore." 

"Yes you will. You're too nice to let me fail." You really are coming out of your shell. You wouldn't have said that just a few weeks ago. 

I listened to him chatter about his games for a while, I tried to pay attention, tried to care for him. It was getting easier, not because I cared about the games, but because I wanted to connect with him. 

Mat returned, Calvin dragged me to the console to play Mech Warriors with him, Jeremy left to the bathroom and came back in a cute pair of spaceship pajama bottoms and a white tank top shirt.

After my turn brushing my teeth, I came back to see Calvin and Martin talking to Jeremy while Mat and Brandon played the game. Jeremy was looking uncomfortable. 

"It's just your shirt, none of us are wearing one." Martin was saying. 

Jeremy shook his head. "No, I don't want to." 

"Just because we did it doesn't mean he has to." Calvin said. 

"Yeah, but he's never going to get used to it if he doesn't. I'm just trying to help him." Martin insisted. That's basically what I was telling Calvin.

I stepped in. "Jeremy isn't in a PE class. Calvin had to learn because he is and you said you want to be, but he doesn't have to get used to changing in front of people." What? Now I'm helping someone keep his clothes on. Martin looked frustrated, but he didn't argue. Calvin stood close to me. Jeremy's tail was curled in front of him. You still have your clothes on, you shouldn't be looking like that. 

"Thanks. I... I just don't like being shirtless in front of people." He said. 

I shrugged. "I don't know why, I bet you're cute under there." He covered himself a little more but didn't seem upset by the comment. "Did you tell Calvin about your comic yet? The one that totally doesn't have tentacles? I bet he'd be into it." Maybe that would help him relax. 

It worked, he was laughing. "It's not hentai! It's called Part Time Hero and it's-"

I stopped listening, Calvin would be way more into this than me. Brandon was talking quietly to Martin. Mat left to get blankets and pillows, so I followed him. 

"I'm letting Brandon sleep on my bed tonight. You can have the couch." Mat told me.

"How are you going to break that to him? He might punch you if you tell him to sleep on anything softer than a pile of rocks." He' finally relaxed. We don't need to put him on edge again.

"I'll just call his mom and she'll tell him to do it. Maybe she'll send Dalton over to make sure." He was joking.

"Great idea, Dude, if you want him to never talk to you again. It'll be better to just pick him up and throw him on it." I suggested. 

"Oh yeah, he liked being picked up earlier. Nah, I already told him. He's cool with it." He stacked bedding on my arms. 

Back in his room, Brandon was already laying on the bed. Jeremy was still showing his comic to Calvin and Martin had come back to look at it, too. Mat threw one of the pillows at Brandon who caught it easily. 

"Jeremy! Pillow!" Jeremy looked up just in time to get a pillow to the face. The other two looked up and had better luck catching theirs.

"I wansn't ready. Do it again." Jeremy threw his back and hit me with it instead. The three of them were laughing, I threw the stack of blankets at them and then threw the pillow while they were distracted, hitting Jeremy in the face again. 

"What happened? I thought you were ready for it this time." I teased. He didn't have a good response ready.

Putting blankets down didn't take long with everyone helping and sleeping was easier than I expected. Marcus was still a problem, but that felt like a distant one after a day with all the guys. Martin and Calvin slept close together near the couch, I could pick out which of the soft breaths belonged to Calvin. Listening to him didn't compare to having him in my arms, but it would be enough for the night.