"Ready?"

"I think so."

"Sheesh, Dash. I'm not a virgin, okay? You can have your way with me."

Dash blushed at Oli's words. He was sitting in between Oli's legs on the boy's bed and they were both naked except for their socks that they didn't even bother taking off. Their dicks were painfully hard and Dash's only throbbed in anticipation as it neared Oli's butt.

"I'm waiting, Dashi," Oli teased and smiled coyly.

"Shut up, Oli."

"Hurry up then."

Dash gulped and pulled Oli's waist toward his crotch. He leaned over a bit and when he finally felt his dick brush against Oli's hole, he couldn't stop his breath from hitching.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Shut...up."

Oli leaned forward and brought Dash's lips to his. The kiss would probably relieve Dash's nervousness. He moved his hips lower and Dash's dick suddenly felt wet around his butthole.

"Push, Dashi."

Dash nodded and pushed himself inside of Oli.

Oli pushed back with equal force and he soon felt that burning sensation inside of him. His arms wrapped around Dash's neck and the kiss became more forceful and desperate. When they finally broke apart for some air, he stared decisively at Dash's clouded eyes.

"Move."

Dash nodded and started thrusting himself into Oli. It was painfully slow at first, his own member adjusting to the new surroundings. It felt hot and Oli's moans were sending shivers up his spine. His head hung low over Oli's and his curls brushed on the boy's cheeks. He started panting as he gained momentum.

"F-faaster, Dashi."

Dash moved faster and he could feel the bed rocking along with their bodies. He knew what he was looking for. It was that sweet spot inside of Oli that wasn't different from his own. He had been hit there more times than he could count in the past. This wasn't new, but being on top of another boy surely felt different than being bottom for so long.

"Daaashiiii!" Oli moaned.

Oh how long has he waited to hear that sweet sound? Dash dreamed of hearing Oli's moans from under him with their bare skin rubbing on each other, sweat mingling and lips finding no more words to utter.

Oli spread his legs and pulled Dash into another kiss. Their hurried thrusts kept on coming and their tongues kept on rolling on top of each other. Breathing became difficult, but that didn't bother them the least.

"Almost there," Oli told him, but from how it sounded, it was more like, `Owmst seyr.'

Dash kept on hitting that one spot and when he felt his gut tighten, his dick throb and his whole body drown on top of Oli, he broke the kiss and let out the longest breath he ever had. Short breaths came afterwards as Oli's inside felt sticky and wet. He could also feel the same stickiness on his gut as he pressed his body on Oli's.

"That was easy," Oli whispered. "Good job, Dashi."

"Shut up."

He smiled like an idiot. Oli kissed his temple and held his butt lovingly. That was the best feeling ever, he immediately decided.

"Should I teach Mattie how to..."

"No fucking," Dash reminded. "He's too young for that."

"Okay. What do you think he's doing with Kei right now?"

"Stuff."

"Yeah." Oli smiled. "Stuff."

~*~*~*~

Two days after thrusting their dicks into each other, Oli and Dash found themselves sharing Mattie's bed with the little boy.

It was dark all around. Way too dark in Mattie's bedroom. Those little cranes he got on his birthday no longer littered his bed, but now hung on strings pinned to the ceiling. Whenever a breeze passed through the window of his room, the origami birds would danced and startedstart hitting each other with their wings, their tails or their pointed beaks. They seemed like floating on air, tied to varying lengths of strings.

On this dark evening, not a single soul threatened to disturb the three boys snuggled under a blanket with a flashlight in the 10-year-old's grip. From under the large sheet, darkness could not overcome the light that made the white blanket look like a luminous jellyfish from the deepest part of the ocean.

"What's that?" Mattie asked, pointing to a scribble on paper.

"That's an elephant," Oli told him. Then, pointing to the other scribbles, he said, "A bat, a mouse, an eagle and a snake."

"Only the snake looks like a snake," Dash noted. "Who the hell draws a stick elephant?"

Oli stuck his tongue at Dash, his own childish way of saying `mind your own business, mister'. Oli brought his notebook with him so they could scan through his drawings and badly written prose. It was that same notebook in which he drew a hyphen for a poem's title.

"It's not like you could draw better," Oli said.

"I bet you I can."

"Prove it."

Oli held Dash's strict gaze long enough before Dash finally crawled out from under the blanket to retrieve a pencil and start doodling on Oli's notebook. Mattie let the beam of light dance on top of the notebook as he shifted from one angle to another in hopes of deciphering his big brother's drawing.

"What the hell is that?" Oli asked, unsure and amused.

"It looks like my pecker," Mattie said which made Oli and Dash stare at him. "What? I'm just saying."

"It's a monkey dancing on his butt," Dash mumbled.

No wonder it looked like Mattie's pecker. The monkey's butt looked like snug balls under the curved body of the animal. If it weren't for the arms, legs, tail and head that Dash added, it would've been the perfect portrait of his little brother's boner.

"Shit. That's ugly," Oli said. "You can't draw better than me, Dash."

"Shut up."

Dash flipped through the pages and settled on one that had the perfect sketch of what looked like a monster truck with blazing nose and shades filled in with the rough end of a pencil. The monstrous vehicle was smiling like a madman and its large wheels were on fire.

"Cool," Dash and Mattie said.

"Yeah," Oli whispered, "not mine, though."

"Huh?"

"Tony's."

"Are you serious?" Dash asked, clearly doubting the skill that Anthony had.

"Totally. He was born an artist with a brush pointing upward in his little hand."

"He was holding his pecker," Mattie said.

"Damn right he was." Oli smiled.

A few more pages here and there before they finally had all their attention on Oli's poem with a hyphen right above the first line. A dash, of course. For a boy named Dash.

"You wrote this?" Dash asked.

"It's about you," Oli answered.

"About me..."

"Measuring a boy?" Mattie questioned, looking curiously at Oli. "Like how big he is?"

"Big. Yeah. Not just here." Oli gestured toward his crotch. "But also here."

Oli's hand settled on his chest, right where the heart kept its quiet role of giving and keeping life even when dealt with the most outrageous and painful of circumstances. This little guy, a boy's heart in this case, felt every tension, sent every pulse, directed each blush and shade of anger, filled peckers of all sizes and shapes, do other amazing things and could never dare to stop as long as something or someone kept its barely noticeable beating.

"Right here," Mattie mumbled, mimicking Oli's actions.

"That's right, Mattie," Oli said, still keeping his hands over his left chest. "I wanted to measure Dash when I first met him in our class. Measure him right here. There was just something...I didn't know for sure, but there was something `bout him."

"You just had a crush on me," Dash teased. "A simple crush, Oli."

"No, it wasn't. I'm not sure, but...it was like you were keeping everyone away from you. Maybe I was just too stubborn to notice that, I dunno."

"Stubborn," Dash whispered. "Like how you always were and still are."

"Yep!" Oli smiled sweetly. He sat closer to Dash and placed his hand on the boy's chest. "It was right here, Dash. Right here where I finally measured you."

"You could be a poet," Dash told him, holding Oli's indigo eyes.

"Measure love, measure it," Oli recited. "Inch by inch, bit by bit."

Dash smiled, glanced down the notebook and recounted the second line.

"But with what do you measure?"

"Not with a ruler, I'm sure!" Mattie joined in.

They all giggled as the lines of Oli's poem about a certain dash were spoken by them. They took turns after every rhyme and their hearts felt light as they did so. After the brief prose ended, Dash still kept his eyes on each line. Oli was looking adoringly at him. Mattie, with the flashlight still in his hand, noticed Oli's heart at work. There was that tiny blush on the boy's cheeks after all.

"Oli?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"Can I listen to your heart?"

Oli nodded and Mattie moved to sit in front of the older boy with their knees brushing against each other. Mattie set the flashlight on the bed and leaned into Oli's waiting embrace. He placed his right ear on top of Oli's left chest and listened. That beating sound. Life's own music. And if that was true, everyone's a musician deep inside.

"Cool," Mattie whispered.

Oli pulled him closer and he loved the scent of Mattie's hair. It smelled like some tropical fruit and Oli could remember the first time he got a whiff of it.

"I really like you, Oli. You're cool," Mattie had said to him that time.

"Are you counting?" Oli asked.

"Mm-hmm." Mattie nodded on his chest. "15 ups and downs."

"15 reasons to keep on living and it doesn't stop there," Oli whispered and he rubbed Mattie's back.

"They all speak `bout love," Mattie mumbled as he looked up at Oli. "Right?"

"Maybe, but there's also fear, anger and lots of other things."

"Fear is love for safety," Mattie began. "...and comfort. Anger is love for...uhm..."

"Fights? Name-calling? Bailing out on kids?" Dash continued on Mattie's behalf and he was completely aware of how he sounded.

"My mom would've said dignity. I guess," Oli said, ignoring Dash's remark. "I mean, someone probably hurt us first before we get angry or whatever.

"I guess so," Dash responded.

"What do you think Mattie?"

"I think...," Mattie paused and kept on listening. "The heart speaks for itself. It says different things from what we actually say."

Oli smiled and pushed Mattie gently from his chest before looking deep into the little boy's admiring eyes. Deep brown eyes that hinted of different emotions all at once. Beautiful deep brown eyes, Oli was sure of that.

"You're special, Mattie," Oli whispered.

"How so?"

"You know lots of things," Oli said, glancing briefly toward Dash. "Lots of things that we don't even understand."

"Dashu taught me those things."

"I did?" Dash asked.

"Mm-hmm," Mattie nodded. "I...I heard it from you."

"You what?"

"I love it when you hug me, Dashu," Mattie said. "When you're sleeping, I love resting my head on your chest."

Dash contemplated on what his little brother told him. He remembered those times when he woke up in the middle of the night with Mattie's head resting on his chest, snuggling close to him and breathing in and out as slowly as possible. He would hold Mattie closer and shiver from the little boy's affectionate embrace. His own breathing would hitch and that only encouraged him to be Mattie's protector. He would kiss the boy on his curls and breathe in the sweet scent of Mattie. He lovedloveloved holding his brother that way. Mattie was just so soft and light in his arms.

"You're everything I could ask for," Dash told Mattie as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Everything."

Mattie smiled sweetly at his brother. However, he felt something stab him deep inside. He knew that he betrayed Dash with what he has done. Oli, too. He had betrayed the two boys' trust in him. He only hoped that his big brothers would understand what he had done. It was for their own safety after all.

"Dashu," Mattie whispered, releasing himself from Oli's embrace. "Can we...uhm..."

Dash smiled understandingly and said, "If you want to."

Mattie giggled and moved to his big brother's lap. During the last week, he gained the guidance of another mentor when it came to teaching him how to feel good. It wasn't an easy task at first, but Dash did promise to be there for him and to answer all his questions.

"We're brothers," Dash murmured. "...but I won't mind."

Mattie nodded and began taking his shirt off before pushing his shorts and white briefs off his legs. He sat naked in front of his big brother and his pecker began to get hard as he waited for Dash to do his part.

Dash sighed and took his clothes off. He lifted Mattie toward his chest and lay on the bed. His dick was still soft, but as Mattie unintentionally brushed his little hard on against his, it immediately sprang to life.

"Thanks, Dashu."

"Anything for you."

Oli giggled and rid himself of his clothes. He lay beside Mattie and Dash with the notebook right above his head.

"You writing something?" Dash asked.

"Yep," Oli answered as he summoned every word in his vocabulary. "Another shitty poem."

Dash and Mattie watched Oli's hand go over every line and waited patiently for the boy to finish the prose he was making. The first line was done with only one stroke of the eraser. The next lines followed, but the title was still lacking.

Once on the cheek, twice on the lips
One soft bite, chaste and quick
Three going four, five going six
Going down south on a trail of nips
`Round the navel, a tickle on your innie
Hands on your waist, breath on your tummy
Now at ten, losing every count
Hearing your lips make every sound
Measure love, I think I can
Counting kisses way past ten
In between your hips, it all gets heavy
But kisses...

"...can't be one too many," Mattie mumbled as he saw Oli pause at what seemed to be the last line. "Right?"

"Can't be one too many," Dash repeated. "Yeah, sounds right."

So Oli wrote that in and finished the short prose. His awful handwriting made quite a mess with the words he wrote, but it didn't bother him that much. As far as he was concerned, he was finally close to measuring love by counting the kisses he gave Dash and Mattie, and as well as the ones he got in return.

He put the notebook down on the bed and held the flashlight to his face. He felt silly all of a sudden. He faced the two brothers to his side and lowered his voice to some grumbling sound.

"Watch out, Mattie," he growled. "I'm the Bogeyman and I'm gonna get you."

Mattie giggled and hugged his brother closer while unintentionally rubbing his pecker on Dash's. It sent a wonderful feeling through him. Dash, on the other hand, stifled his moan as best as he could. He groaned and gave Oli a stern look.

"Maaaattie," Oli hummed as he moved closer to the two boys.

"No, please!"

Dash kept his hushed moans and tried ignoring the shivers coming from the tip of his dick. Mattie was doing an incredible job of grinding on top of him. The little boy may not be aware of that, but Dash started worrying when his hips grinded back. It was involuntary, he told himself.

"Come here, Mattie," Oli continued as he sat up, put the flashlight back down and reached for Mattie's sides.

Mattie yelped as he was pried from Dash's arms and wrestled by Oli. He kicked out, hitting Dash in the process, and laughed uncontrollably as Oli tickled his sides. Instead of getting annoyed, Dash sat up and held Mattie's legs. Oli moved back, loomed over the little boy's head and soon, Mattie was lying on the bed with his limbs spread out like and eagle. His laughter died down and was replaced by giggles and panting.

"Gotcha, Mattie," Oli whispered as he held down Mattie's arms.

"Mm-hmm!" Mattie nodded.

He looked down and saw his brother's amused expression. He also saw his own pecker which was still very much alive.

"You're the biggest little boy I've seen," Oli said which got him a weird look from Dash. "I mean, you're the only little boy I've seen."

Mattie giggled and looked up at Oli.

"What are you gonna do to me?" Mattie asked quietly.

"We're gonna eat you alive, Mattie. All of you."

"Yeah," Dash agreed. "I'll just hold you down and Oli...I mean, the Bogeyman will eat you up."

"Please, don't."

"Ssshh," Oli sounded. "It'll be quick and you won't feel a thing."

Mattie tried pulling his limbs free from the two boys' grip, but it was useless. Instead, he closed his eyes and pretended to be afraid as Oli descended on him

He felt Oli's lips brush on the tip of his nose and move to his tight pressed lips. He smiled as he was being eaten alive. Oli's tongue touched his and his whole body relaxed to the sweet taste of the older boy. None of them bothered with the upside-down kiss between him and Oli.

"You're being naughty," Oli told him.

He nodded helplessly. What surprised him next was a hand on his pecker. It wasn't Dash's. He could still feel his big brother holding down his legs. Oli's hand pulled his member and he didn't dare push the older boy off him with his free arm.

"Oli," Dash mumbled. "That's...that's enough."

Both Oli and Mattie looked at Dash who was sporting a shy blush on his cheeks. They could see Dash's erection and the boy looked sort of uncomfortable with their display.

"Dashu?"

"I can't do it, Mattie," Dash said and released Mattie's legs. "I can't...watch you like this."

"But Dash," Oli said, "you said it's okay for us to do this, didn't you?"

"I know."

Deep inside, Dash really didn't want to do anything to his little brother. It felt wrong and watching Oli do it to Mattie felt even more wrong. It was like letting Mattie be fondled while he just sat there and feebly watching the whole scene unfold. It was like being thrown back into foster care as the other boys held him down and one or two jacked him off and squirted their load on his bare chest. He didn't want Mattie to live through that. He trusted Oli, but he couldn't get the images off his mind.

"I'm sorry, Mattie," he finally said.

"S'okay!" Mattie told him as he sat back up and faced his brother. "I'll just..."

Mattie didn't get to finish his sentence as he was quickly pulled toward Dash and his lips was once again sealed tight by a kiss. His eyes shot wide open which was the exact opposite of Dash's firmly closed eyes. It was a rather hard kiss he was sharing with his brother. Their chests were pressed onto each other and Dash's embrace seemed unsteady. He felt his brother's hand going down his back before settling right above his butt. The hug loosened, but his lips were still in a secure lock with Dash's.

Finally, he felt Dash breathe on his cheeks and the kiss was over. Dash opened his clouded eyes and stared lovingly at him. He could only smile as Dash brushed his curls before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I'm sorry," Dash repeated. "I'll try to understand next time, okay?"

He nodded and allowed himself to be pulled down on his big brother's chest once more. Oli lay next to them and as he eyed the older boy, he saw the shy blush on Oli's cheeks.

"That was hot, Dash," Oli said. "Really hot."

"Shut up."

Mattie sighed and listened to Dash's heartbeat. It was that same sound that taught lots of things. That same sound which lulled him to sleep when he woke up from a nightmare. It immediately became his favourite sound of all.

"Night, Dashu," he whispered, "night, Oli."

"Don't let the Bogeyman get you," Oli told him and he giggled.

"Let him try," Dash said. "I'm here to stop him."

Oli stuck his tongue out at Dash and snuggled closer to the two boys. Even with all their peckers left unattended, they still drifted off to sleep under the blanket with the flashlight beaming at their tangled legs and bare bottoms.

~*~*~*~

The next day, Oli's little gang prepared to bust James out of Juvie. They went over their checklist and while they were discussing some last minute changes, the little spy among them was hoping that not one of them will get hurt. He dreaded the fact that the last minute changes to the plan included changing the whole thing and coming up with a very different one from the previous.

"Why change all of it?" Oli asked. "And without my approval?"

"You're friends with Brian," a boy told him. "We can't risk him knowing any changes till the last minute."

"What? Why?"

"We don't trust him. He was a part of James' original group. It's that simple."

"With all due respect, Oli," another kid, who was the largest among all of them, said, "we can't risk anything going wrong just `coz of some spy among us. Brian may be that spy."

"What the fuck are you saying?" Brian yelled. "You think I'm still with James? I didn't beat you up when I was with his group and I already told you that I didn't like beating anyone up. He's an asshole and I'm not with him anymore."

"It doesn't change anything `bout you, Bri," one girl said. "If you really want to prove that you're not with him anymore, just stay back and let us handle this thing."

"Guys!" Oli immediately interrupted when he saw Brian readying himself to pounce on his accusers. "Brian's with us. I'm sure of that. He'll be on my group and if it makes it easier on all of us, I'll keep an eye on him."

"Oli..."

"I trust you, Brian," Oli told him. "You helped us find Dash and fought James with us. You're coming with me, okay?"

Brian nodded and the others stopped pointing fingers at him. The new plan was discussed and reviewed a few times before they were finally sure that everyone got it and the different groups knew what their job was.

Distraction, Rescue, Logistics and Evac. Those were the teams that they came up with. One person on Distraction, six on Rescue, three on Logistics and four on Evac. The youngest and most innocent looking girl made up the first team, Oli and his trusted right-hand men were on the second, their strategist led the third, and the biggest guy led the fourth.

"Got it, all of you?" their strategist said.

He was a boy from the fifth grade who rarely ever said anything to anyone. Today, however, his mental capabilities were all they got.

"Get in there, get a fire going, find a pass card if you have to and take James as hostage," summarized one girl. "Are we all set?"

They all nodded and prepared for the planned infiltration. They would all pretend to be visiting James while Distraction slipped past the staff and start a fire that would set off the fire alarm, open all the doors and cause a commotion. Rescue would take James as their hostage and while everything is a mess, they'd all slip out of the facility. Logistics was in charge of initiating their backup plan if something went wrong. Evac would take James with them and make a harmless escape. The next phase of their plan was where their sweet revenge would take place.

It was a pretty simple plan. No casualties should be involved. The staff would overlook them as they make for the exit. James would go with them since they would offer him freedom.

"Knife?"

"Check," Gabe said and held out his brother's knife. Apparently, he knew that there would be changes to their plan.

"How come Gabe is prepared with a knife?" Oli asked.

"We told him this morning. We needed the knife anyway," the fifth grader said.

"Don't be too hasty to use it, okay?"

Gabe nodded.

Soon, they were off to the facility and each one of them felt pretty thrilled and afraid. What if their plan would fail? What if they get caught? They'd all end up in there, too. That's for sure.

As they made it through the entrance, they were led to see James who sat behind a large glass in a different room. There were six of them looking expectantly at James. Oli, Dash, Anthony, Gabe, Brian and Mattie sat anxiously as they waited for the signal. The fire alarm.

"You of all people came to see me," James sneered. "What do you want?"

"How'd you end up in here, James?" Oli asked.

"None of your fuckin business."

James looked a whole lot older than before. He lost some weight and the look on his face contradicted how he sounded. He looked tired and defeated, unlike with how he sounded harsh and contemptuous.

Mattie, who sat beside Dash, waited patiently and kept his fingers crossed. He didn't like where this was headed. He disapproved of exacting revenge on James. He didn't want Oli and Dash to get hurt ever again. And as he made that decision when the original plan was first revealed to them, he only hoped that his own little plan would work. He felt unsure, though. Changes have been made.

Minutes passed and finally, the fire alarm sounded. James looked around, thrilled at the prospect of making an escape with all the commotion going on. He was planning his own escape for some time now, too. Kids were shouting and being led back to their wings. As he was led back to his own wing, he looked back at Oli who mouthed `Get out, James.' He nodded and kicked the one guy leading him in the sheen before taking the pass card from the guy. He made a run for it, through halls and doors that were left open.

Oli and the other boys with him followed the hallways that were mapped out when they studied the whole building's layout. They were told to head for the exit, but they didn't listen. Instead, when they turned around the corner, they met James who was making for the exit as well.

"Hn," James scoffed and a wry smile formed around his lips. "You planned all this, didn't you?"

"Come with us, James," Brian said. "We'll get you out of here."

"Fuck off, Brian. Do you think I'd listen to any of you?"

"It's us or the staff."

James shrugged and ran straight toward them, his eyes trained on Oli. Dash put himself between the two boys, but it was Gabe who immediately placed himself in front of all of them and pointed a knife toward James.

"One more step and you're dead," he said.

James smiled, looked up to the corner and saw a camera spying on them. He took a step back and stood bravely in front of Gabe.

"What happens if we get out of here?" he asked.

"You're free. You'll leave us alone and we'll do the same to you," Gabe said.

"How can I trust any of you faggots?"

"C'mon, James. We're all you've got right now."

Voices came from way down the hallway. It was the staff who were after them. There were other voices, too. Perhaps it was those other kids making a run for it as well. At that instant, James turned around and held his hands to the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder with his eyes still leering at Oli.

"You want to take me hostage, don't you? Go on. I don't bite."

Anthony and Brian held his arms to his sides while Gabe walked behind him with the knife still pointing dangerously to his back. They made use of the stolen pass card and as they got to what was probably the last door, they all stopped. The door won't open.

"Open up or he'll bleed to death," Gabe shouted as he eyed the camera up above.

"It's no use. They won't budge," Dash said.

"What about plan B?" James asked.

"The vents, Oli," Brian remembered.

Oli scanned the room and searched for the nearest vent shaft. As soon as he spotted one, the last door opened and probably like in the movies where an alien visitor exits his spaceship on a foggy night, Oli's eyes widened at the person looking disapprovingly at him.

~*~*~*~

A day before the planned bust out at Juvie, the little spy among Oli's gang confided to the one person he knew who could help him. He chose to speak with Alex, Oli's father about the boys' plan. After they went home from school and dropped by Oli's house, Mattie spotted Alex alone in the garage with another car trouble.

"Mattie," Alex greeted and smiled at the little boy. He wiped the sweat from his brow and set down his wrench. "Is something wrong, buddy?"

"Oli and Dashu are in trouble."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble? You all went home together, right?"

"They're planning something," Mattie said as he stood his ground by the door. "They want revenge on James, the big kid who stabbed Gabe at the playground."

"Revenge," Alex almost hummed. "That's not a wise thing to do. How long have they been planning this?"

"For a while now. They want to get James out of Juvie tomorrow. The plan is to...,"

"Come here, Mattie," Alex interrupted.

Mattie walked toward him and as he looked up into Alex's steel grey eyes, he felt small and uncertain. The man towered over him and his authority seemed to put some extra weight on Mattie's shoulders.

"Tell you what," Alex began. "You tell me everything you know and I'll put a stop to it tomorrow. No one will get hurt, okay? I doubt those boys will listen to me if I talk them out of it tonight, but they'll definitely listen when they find me at Juvie waiting for them."

Mattie nodded as Alex placed a hand on his shoulder. He confided everything he knew about the plan. Every single detail of their plan. However, he didn't know about any changes that would happen when the day of the bust out finally arrived.

"You're the bravest 10 year old I know, Mattie," Alex told him. "I'm glad you're here to watch Oli's and Dash's backs."

Mattie smiled and he felt relieved that Alex was here to help him.

~*~*~*~

As the final door opened, Oli and his team stared nervously at Alex who had two of the facility's staff behind him, standing a few feet from them. He was expecting a whole different scene to play out. Mattie told him of a different plan. He wasn't expecting that the kids would be crazy enough to get a fire started at the laundry room and have a knife pointed at someone. He looked disapprovingly at his son.

"Oliver. What's this all about?" he calmly asked.

"Dad," Oli paused. "How'd you know we'd be here?"

"I have connections, son. You thought I wouldn't know about all this? You're smarter than this, Oliver."

"I can explain, dad..."

"Put the knife down," Alex told Gabe. "I'm disappointed in all of you."

Gabe slowly pointed the knife to the ground. The voices coming from the hallway behind them got louder and as one boy ran around the corner, their attention shifted and what happened next took them by surprise.

James pulled his arms free from Anthony's and Brian's grips and bumped them hard to the ground. He turned around swiftly and broke Gabe's wrist, stole his knife and ran toward Oli. He gave a quick and mocking glance to Dash. Oli, who still had his body turned toward Alex, reacted way too late.

Alex ran toward his son, but James was a whole lot swifter. The boy who stole their attention earlier ran past them, but was caught by the two guys behind Alex. Mattie watched in horror as Dash launched himself toward James, hoping to push the larger boy to the side.

When Oli finally turned around, James' leering eyes were only inches away from him. The larger boy landed with so much force against him that he almost fell back had it not been for James holding him up. James smiled scornfully and spat at his face before being pulled away from him by Alex. James' arms were held tightly behind him, but that didn't matter right now. He was far more interested in the red stain that trailed a thin line to the collar of Oli's shirt.

"Die, faggot," he mocked.

"Hold him!" Alex shouted and the other guy who stood behind him a while ago led James away after taking the knife from the boy

Alex rushed to Oli's side as the boy fell on his knees. Dash was holding Oli's arms as the boy's head fell helplessly on his shoulder

"Oli!" Dash shouted. "Stay with me! Please!"

Oli's eyes blurred. The pain shot through him. His flesh felt hot with blood. Breathing became hard. He could vaguely hear Dash's cries and his dad's echoing voice. The last thing he saw was Dash crying as he was carried by hid dad.

~*~*~*~

Mattie nodded, but his eyes looked sad.

Who would've thought that a six-year-old boy's wish would be put on hold for some time? It wasn't until Oli moved away that Dash knew what his wish would be. For years and on each of his birthdays, his wish never changed. When he turned 12, it was still the same old wish.

I want my best friend back, he kept on praying.

Now only a few months shy of 13, Dash wanted to fast forward the events and get another wish for himself. It may not be the same wish anymore. However, it was still about Oli.

He sat beside Oli's bed with Mattie right next to him. The other boys were sent home and their punishments were discussed. Even the possibility of being held in Juvie wasn't out of the question just yet. They did some dangerous things back there and while they thought that there would be no casualties, Oli was still far from being safe.

"Dashu," Mattie whispered as he looked toward his brother. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Dash said.

"But...but..."

"But what, Mattie?" Dash sounded angry. His eyes changed colours once more, from what Mattie could tell. "What is it?"

"I...I told Oli's dad about everything."

"You what?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt, Dashu. Oli, too. I wanted his dad to stop you and..."

"So he was waiting for us there `coz you told him everything? He wasn't s'posed to be there, Mattie! We would've escaped through the vents and dealt with James once and for all! Oli wouldn't be here! What the fuck did you do?"

It was pretty unreasonable for Dash to put the blame partly on Mattie. However, his mind was clouded with anger and he wanted so much to put a knife into James' throat. Mattie was collateral damage, if that made sense somehow.

"Oli wouldn't be here...," Dash repeated.

Mattie stared nervously at Dash who looked away from him. He tightened his grip on his shorts and held back his tears. It was all his fault, he thought. If he hadn't told Alex anything, they would've escaped Juvie. Perhaps, it was Alex who disabled the last door from opening. Maybe, it was Alex who told the staff in the control room to stop them in their tracks.

If he had been brave enough to go along with the planned revenge, none of this would've happened. Oli wouldn't be fighting for his life.

He hopped off the chair and ran out of the room and his big brother didn't even stop him.

`Make a wish, Dashi,' Dash kept hearing Oli's young voice inside his head. `...a wish.'

That's when Dash remembered his own wish still pending. Mattie had given him one wish from the 1000 cranes he made. He would've wanted to have his mom with them again, but his best friend clearly needed that wish.

"Please, Oli," Dash begged and he held Oli's hand. "Come back to me. Please."

The machine monitoring Oli's heartbeat kept its sound. The oxygen pump kept hissing. And Dash kept his eyes closed and wished as hard as he could.

Outside the room, Mattie was met with his dad's embrace. He sobbed on Kenneth's shoulder and let himself be carried by strong arms. Dash hated him for sure. Oli was in critical condition because of him.

"It's not your fault, buddy."

"It is, dad!" he yelled on Kenneth's shirt. "Oli's dying `coz of me."

"He'll make it. I know he will. He's a stubborn boy."

Mattie was still not convinced. He kept on crying on his father's chest and he doubted that anyone can take the blame away from him.

Meanwhile, Anthony escaped from his house and met up with Gabe and Brian. They all decided to confront their strategist and ask him some questions. They can't go to the hospital just yet, knowing that they'd be sent back home and grounded for life.

They met the fifth grader at some playground with other kids that Brian immediately recognized. They marched toward the boy and Brian's anger can't be held back for much longer.

"What kind of fucking plan was that?" he shouted as he grabbed the boy's collar.

The boy smiled innocently and asked, "What do you mean?"

"It was a fucking setup, you bastard!"

"Brian!" Anthony shouted as he tore Brian away from the boy. "We're here to ask questions."

"I know all of you," Gabe said as he scanned the two boys in front of him, besides the fifth grader.

"They're James' boys," Brian hissed. "All of them."

"Who? Me?" the fifth grader asked, still feigning innocence.

"The fuck you are."

The boy chuckled and all innocence left him.

"You don't recognize me, do you Brian?"

"I know your friends back there," Brian said as he eyed the two boys behind their strategist. "You're all part of James' group."

"Surprise, Bri," one of the other boys said. "Sweet revenge, eh?"

"Fuck you."

"I'm James' new recruit," the fifth grader said. "I think I passed the initiation, don't you?"

Brian let go of his fist and punched the boy who stumbled back and was caught by the two boys behind him.

"You want a fight?" one of James' boys asked.

"I'll kill you," Gabe growled.

"Oli's dead," the fifth grader taunted. "D-E-A-D. Dead."

And another fist was directed toward the boy, but was caught by his friend. Gabe's functioning wrist was twisted and he grunted in pain before getting kicked in the gut.

"Take back what you said!" Anthony yelled as he successfully landed a hit on the fifth grader's nose.

"He's dead," the boy said, wiping the blood off his nose.

It was soon a 3-on-3, with Gabe barely managing to dodge and land a hit with his broken wrists. He tried kicking off his attacker, but he kept getting pushed to the ground as a series of punches landed on his gut. He kept thinking of Oli and what the boy must be going through. This kind of pain was nowhere near death. He brought his head up and hit the boy, who was on top of him, quiet hard. He felt dizzy, but he easily brought the boy down as he now sat on the boy's gut and started throwing punches. His wrists were killing him, but he kept on going.

Anthony was doing better than Gabe. He wrestled the boy on the ground as they tried tearing each other's throats. He kneed the bigger boy on the gut before punching the lights out of him. He looked toward Brian who was wrestling the slightly smaller fifth grader. Looks were far deceiving though. Brian could hardly get the boy off him. However, as he looked toward Gabe, he knew that Brian could handle himself for a little while longer.

Gabe was easily turner over and a fist nearly landed on his jaw. He held his hands up and blocked it. He tried pushing the boy off him, but it was useless. When he felt certain that another fist was headed straight for his right eye, Anthony immediately pulled the boy up and pushed him hard to the ground. He kicked the boy's side and left him lying there in pain as he headed toward where Brian was attempting to push the fifth grader off him.

"You take your hands off him!" he shouted and pulled the boy up, gripping hard around his neck. "You take back what you said!"

"O-oliver's," the boy choked. "Dead."

"Tony! No!"

Before anyone could stop him, he hit his head hard on the boy's and had him stumbling weakly to the ground. There was a thin line of blood that dripped down his forehead. Gabe stood beside him and Brian made sure to hold the fifth grader down.

"I thought you were going to break his neck," Gabe said.

"I'm not a murderer."

"You stay out of our lives," Brian told the boy. "You hear me?"

The boy spat on his face and smiled mockingly. Another fist landed on the side of his face, but it didn't knock him out completely.

"Oliver's gonna stay out of your lives for good."

And the lights finally went out from his eyes.

~*~*~*~

Mattie went home with his dad as the little boy still felt guilty for what happened. When he got to his room, his puffy eyes felt wet once again as he looked up at the birds that hung from his ceiling. He shook his head and wiped the tears from his eyes. The look of sadness on his face was quickly replaced with determination. He rummaged his school bag for some papers and started folding another set of cranes. He didn't plan on stopping as long as Oli was still lying unconscious. One crane, two cranes and before long, he had 10 cranes on the floor. They were badly misshaped, but that didn't matter. A wish will still be a wish, he thought.

`I'm a rhino!' he kept hearing Oli's voice in his head.

`A unicorn!' his own voice echoed.

The crane he was folding almost had one of its wings torn apart as a tear fell on it. He wiped his eyes once more and started on his 15th origami bird. He still had a long way to go.

`You're really naughty, y'know that?'

He had been disobedient, that's for sure. He should've just kept his mouth shut in the first place. He should've let the plan be carried out without involving Oli's dad.

I know what I'll wish for, he thought to himself.

He thought back to the wish he made on his birthday. It was a stupid wish. However, he knew that he wanted it so badly that he forgot he couldn't get closer than an inch from Oli.

He had wished for Oli's love. The same kind of love that his big brother got from the boy. It may have been selfish, but it was just one wish. One wish that he wasted.

"Oli," he whimpered and stopped folding his next crane. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have...wished for it."

Perhaps, he thought, because of his own selfishness, Oli was being taken away from both him and Dash. He didn't deserve the same kind of love that Oli has for Dash. Oli wasn't his to begin with.

"I know what I'll wish for, Oli."

Despite being far from finishing his 1000th crane, Mattie kept mumbling the wish he would make.

Dashu and you, he thought, only the two of you.

There were only two sides to love, he believed. Oli was on one side, Dash was on the other. His two big brothers were facing each other while he stood and watched by the side-line. They would still love him, but not exactly how they loved each other.

You're my brother, Dash had told him. We're not s'posed to do that.

That was when he first kissed Dash on the lips. It was only brotherly love between them. Dash was far more capable of loving at a higher level than just that.

He set down his 19th crane and stopped folding. He just sat there, his knees drawn to his chest and his head resting on his arms. His quiet sobs kept him whimpering as he repeated his new wish inside his head.

Only Dashu and you.

Downstairs, Kenneth was preparing a simple dinner for him and his son. He heard Mattie's bedroom door slam shut earlier so he thought that the little boy would probably skip dinner. He turned off the microwave and went to the fridge for a bottle of beer.

"When are you going to tell them?" his lawyer had asked him earlier.

"Not yet," he answered. "They're going through a lot now."

"We're going to lose the case, Mr Briz, Your brother's guilty for his own crimes, but you still can't secure your acquittal. To tell you the truth, I fear you'd be going back..."

"No," he had said. "I'm not going back in there. My kids need me outside."

"You're still on parole, but I doubt that will help in any way. When the jury finds you guilty and not your brother, your kids will have no one else to look after them."

"I'll find a way."

"I can arrange for a group home or..."

"I said, I'll find a way. If I end up back in prison, I'll make sure Dash and Mattie won't have to live through hell again."

"My colleague can file for adoption. I'll tell him about it. That's the best thing we can come up with for now."

"They're losing Oliver. They're losing everything all at once. I'm not going to be one of their losses."

Frank nodded and left Kenneth to think on his own. The arraignment found reasonable cause to pursue a case against Dan. However, the charge of murder against him for killing Kenneth's wife seemed to have no part in the next hearings.

"Lara...," Kenneth mumbled as he started drowning his beer.

"Dad?"

Kenneth looked toward the corner where Mattie stood. The boy's eyes were red and puffy. Perhaps, his own eyes were also red and looked very tired.

"What is it, son?"

"Dashu hates me."

"He doesn't hate you Mattie."

Mattie's eyes were downcast, his shoulders dropped and his feet shuffled uncomfortably. Kenneth felt sorry for the boy. There was just so much guilt written on his face.

"What...," Mattie mumbled, "What did you do when uncle started hating you?"

Kenneth thought back to his teenage years, back when Dan told him that he was gay and he shunned his brother aside.

"I didn't know that he hated me," he admitted. "I guess we haven't talked about that."

"What do you mean?" Mattie asked as he looked up to his dad.

"We just never talked after he told me he was gay. But it was me who avoided him. I left for college and that was it."

"What if Dashu..."

Kenneth walked toward his son and crouched in front of the boy, held his shoulders firmly and stared deeply into Mattie's eyes. Lara's eyes.

"I'll talk to your brother, okay? He doesn't hate you and I'm sure that he's just trying to cope with what happened."

"Will Oli die?"

"No, Mattie. No one will die. You hear me?"

Mattie nodded weakly and rested his head on his dad's shoulder. Kenneth carried him to the dining table and held him like a little child surrendering to sleep.

"I'm not your son, am I?"

Kenneth's arms tightened around Mattie. The little boy stared expectantly at him. This time, it wasn't his wife's eyes that he saw that held so much pain and doubt. Danny's eyes.

"You are my son."

"I know how to read, dad," Mattie said. "I've seen the DNA results before you burned them."

"That's not true..."

"It is!" Mattie argued. "But...but, I don't mind if I'm not your real son. You're still my real dad."

Kenneth pulled the boy closer to his chest. Mattie sniffled and began closing his eyes.

You'll always be my son, Kenneth thought. This is the least I can do for Danny.

And he did love Mattie as his own.

~*~*~*~

Dash stayed at the hospital beside Oli's bed. His dad came in once, but didn't stay for too long. Kenneth only brought him a blanket and a pillow which he didn't even bother to put around him and rest his head on. He needed to stay awake and make sure that Oli's heart was still beating.

"Not one too many, Oli?" he mumbled. "How the fuck can it be one too many?"

Oli didn't respond of course. So Dash leaned over him, brushed his sun-kissed hair and placed a light kiss on his nose.

"That was our first kiss," he said. "I've lost count already, but..."

He traced his hand on Oli's cheek and stopped at the corner of Oli's lips.

"It can never be one too many. I can't even have enough of it."

Oli lay unconsciously. His neck was stitched up, the artery inside it fixed and he received a blood transfusion earlier. The boy aspirated blood from the stab wound, but he was still hanging onto life. As luck would have it, he didn't die immediately from asphyxiation.

"Dash, sweetheart," Dianne started as she entered the room and put the blanket over Dash's shoulders. "You should get some rest. I'll keep an eye on Oliver."

Dash shook his head gently and was resolute to stay awake for the rest of the afternoon and even throughout the evening.

"How much do you love him, dear?"

"More than anyone else," he mumbled.

"He says the same thing about you."

"He's not gonna die, is he?"

"No. He's just resting for now. I'm sure you'll see him wake up in the morning."

"How...how bad is it?"

"It's just a stab wound, dear," Dianne answered as she sat on Oli's bed while placing her hand on Dash's. "The doctors fixed him up."

Dash nodded meekly and kept on listening to Oli's heart rate monitor.

"I'm sorry I got him into this mess," Dash whispered.

"What are you saying?"

"If I hadn't wished so hard to meet him again, he wouldn't be here right now."

"And he wouldn't be as happy as he is with you," Dianne reasoned. "He would still be living a lie, dear."

"But..."

"No, Dash. I'm glad he met you again and he feels the same way. You're still his best friend and now..."

"What?" Dash asked, looking back into Dianne's loving gaze.

"You made each other better. You're not only his best friend anymore. Am I right?"

Dash blushed, shifted his gaze back to Oli and nodded once again. Not only his best friend anymore, he thought. Oli was definitely so much more than just that.

Just then, Oli's heart rate sped up and Dash almost cried out in joy. However, fear replaced his anticipation once Oli began shivering and shaking uncontrollably.

"What...what's happening?"

Dianne immediately went to get help and when she got back to Oli's side with two nurses in tow, she saw Dash's eyes cloud with tears once more. Oli's heart rate was spiking up and down erratically.

"What's happening to him?" Dash yelled.

"Dash, sweetheart," Dianne consoled and was about to lead him away from the bed when Dash pried himself from her arms.

"NO! I want to know what's happening!"

"He's having a seizure," one of the nurses said.

Oli's heart rate started slowing down after several more seconds, but the fear in Dash's eyes was still there. The nurses were doing lots of things simultaneously, none of which he paid attention to.

"Prepare for resuscitation."