WEDNESDAY, JULY 29

Alejandro couldn't wait any longer. He hit the call button and waited. To his surprise, the call was answered almost immediately.

"What's up Alejandro?" greeted Christian on Facetime.

"Oh! Did I call...? I thought I was calling Michael."

"You did," said the blond. Christian was holding the phone up with one hand and running a towel through his hair with the other. "We were just wrapping up our morning shower." Christian stuck his head in the bathroom. "Alejandro's on the phone for you."

"Yes! I'll be out in a sec."

"I'd ask how your interview at Eton went yesterday, but I'll wait until Michael's out here, so you don't have to repeat yourself. Everything else going well?" Christian crawled up on his bed and plopped down on his stomach.

"Yeah, bro. You taking care of my boy for me?" asked Alejandro.

"You know it. Couldn't love him more."

"Good. I'm glad you two found each other."

Suddenly, the phone bounced wildly showing Christian, the ceiling, the wall, the bedspread, then back again. Christian's laughing was enough for Alejandro to figure out Michael had joined them. Knowing Michael, it was probably with a flying leap onto the bed.

"Let me see!" giggled Michael.

When the angle of the phone was adjusted and the camera focused, Alejandro could see both faces. He could also see between their heads.

Alejandro giggled. "You're both naked!"

Christian adjusted the angle of the camera so Alejandro couldn't see anything more than their faces and the ceiling.

"Awww, come on! I liked that view."

Michael grabbed the phone from Christian. "I think you'll like this view even better." He turned the volume up on his phone. "We've got to get ready." The phone was placed on Christian's desk facing the room. Alejandro had front row seats to see both boys as they finished their morning routine.

"Whoa!" said Alejandro.

"Yeah," said Michael, "that's what everyone says the first time they see Christian naked. Just remember, he's mine!" Both boys laughed. Michael went to his underwear drawer. "How did the interview at Eton go yesterday?"

"Great! The school is really cool and I think I would really like all the different classes we have to take. But I don't know if I'm going to get in."

"Why?" asked Christian, pulling on a pair of shorts over his boxer briefs.

"Apparently there's a group of parents, faculty, and administrators that think because of my past I should be disqualified from being admitted."

Michael asked rhetorically, "What the fuck?"

"I know, right?"

"You sound disappointed," stated Michael. "Do you want to go to Eton?"

"I don't know," groaned Alejandro. It was as if he didn't admit he wanted to go, then he wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't get admitted.

Michael decided not to push it. "So where else are you going to interview?"

"I'm going to be interviewing at Le Rosey in Switzerland and then when I get back to States, I'm interviewing at Pacific Ridge School."

"Pacific Ridge?" questioned Michael. "Isn't that close to here?"

"YES!" said Alejandro excitedly. "There are two great things about Pacific Ridge. First, it's only about 3 miles from your house. Second, it's the only school I'm interviewing for that isn't a boarding school. That means Jacob and I can live anywhere, including East Harbor!"

"OMG!! Really! That would be so cool!" Michael, momentarily forgetting about getting ready for the day, jumped around the room. When he settled down, he walked over to the phone so he was face to face with Alejandro. "I hope you get into both Eton and Pacific Ridge, that way you can choose the one you want."

"Thanks." Alejandro appreciated his friendship with Michael more than he could ever express.

Michael got closer to the phone and asked, "So what about you and Jacob?"

Alejandro blushed. He looked around to make sure doors were closed and what he was about to say would not be heard by ears it wasn't meant for. "I spent the night with him again before my interview at Eton."

Michael wiggled his eyebrows.

"I was really nervous, and he wanted to comfort me."

"Naked?"

Alejandro blushed again.

"Be careful," warned Michael.

Alejandro nodded. He hadn't kept any secrets about his relationship with his cousin Carlos or Jacob. To his disappointment, his nights spend with either was limited to hands only. He hoped that would change soon.

Christian approached from behind Michael. "Hey, we need to get going to grab breakfast before heading to the theater."

Michael turned his head and gave Christian a kiss. "Sorry dude, we gotta head out. You watching the live stream tonight?"

"Doubt it," replied Alejandro, "it starts at one in the morning here. We'll see though. But you're posting a recording, right?"

"Yep," confirmed Michael. "I'll talk to you again soon. Can't wait to see you bro! Miss you!"

When the boys ended their call, Michael packed his clothes for the evening's show and headed downstairs where Anna had made French toast for breakfast.

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"Hi Derek," greeted Frances. "Jack said he would wait for you under the shade tree at the park. He just left a couple of minutes ago."

"Thank you, Mrs. Vance." Derek bounded down the steps and raced on his bicycle to the little neighborhood park where they had a favorite shade tree to escape the heat. He caught up. Ahead, he saw Jack drop his bike to the ground and pull out his mobile phone before taking a seat under the tree.

Jack: Cant make it up there today
Jack: Going to festival

Waiting for a reply, Jack was startled when Derek rode up. Jack jumped and slipped the phone under his leg.

"Hey! You got your phone back," said Derek, joining his boyfriend.

"Uh...yeah..." was all Jack could get out.

Derek caught on. "You snuck your phone?" It wasn't like Jack to sneak behind his parents' back.

Jack pulled the phone from under his leg. He woke the phone to see "ok" as a response to his text before putting the phone in the leg pocket of his cargo shorts. "It's not like I can't get text messages. They go to my laptop too. So, what does it matter if I'm using my phone or not? Besides, I think they forgot about the phone and it's hard for you and me to talk unless I'm at home."

It sounded sketchy to Derek, but he was happy that Jack had his phone. If Jack had had it yesterday, they wouldn't have ridden around forever trying to find each other. "Did you bring your student ID?" he asked.

Jack nodded and patted his pocket.

"Good," said Derek. "We should get to the theater. Sebbie, Mochi, Rodrigo, and Sean are meeting us there so we can get our tickets for the show. They're going to start giving those out in..." he checked his phone, "about 15 minutes."

Jack got up and the pair headed to meet their friends so they could wait in line to get tickets then enjoy the festival until showtime.

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Alex, Jaden, and Isaac sat on the edge of the water fountain and waited for Josh's mom to drop him off. They arranged for her to stop along Maple Street in front of the middle school, so the boys would see Josh immediately.

Pam Evans was punctual as always. She didn't have much time; she was taking her lunch break from UCSD Health Cancer Services to bring her son to hang out with his friends.

Josh leaned over and kissed his mom's cheek. "Thanks mom!" He opened the door and was gone before she had a chance to lay out some ground rules. But the quiet was a fair tradeoff. Josh had chatted incessantly since he had gotten in the car. Alex and the other boys waved, and Pam waved back before pulling away from the curb to return to work.

Josh ran up to join his friends "Let's get our tickets!"

They exchanged hugs and Alex added a kiss. "We already have wristbands," explained Alex pulling out a fourth wristband. While securing it to Josh's wrist, he explained, "Since we're hanging out with the Yard Goats, Mrs. Novak gave us wristbands just like the baseball teams."

Josh was excited. Even for the boys who'd seen their friends perform, this was different. They were going to see a band that they listen to on the radio and had seen on TV.

"What time will the bus get here?" asked Isaac.

Jaden checked. "They should be here any minute. Let's go wait for them to arrive. I can't wait for you to meet my cousin Grant."

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"Thanks Mrs. Greenfield," said Gregory following Sam out of the car. "My mom will pick us up and we'll drop Sam off at home."

"You boys be good," admonished Sam's mother. But Sam and Gregory had been two peas in a pod for years and she had no concerns about their behavior at the festival and concert. It was a different matter if the boys thought they had some privacy.

They watched her drive off before Sam asked the question he'd been dying to ask since they picked up Gregory. "Did anyone say anything to you about last night?"

Gregory answered, "No. I wish they would, though. I know it's coming."

"I think it was your dad last night," said Sam.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because if it was your mom, she probably would have screamed or something when she looked in on you, or she would have at least said something to you today."

"You're right about that," laughed Gregory. "I'm not sure what she would have been more shocked to see, me naked and wanking on my bed, or your winking butthole full screen on my phone."

"What?" said Sam in horror. He stopped walking and faced Gregory. "Your phone was facing the door?"

"Uhhh...yeah, I guess." The two boys stared at each other as they mulled over the consequences.

Sam stepped closer to Gregory and quietly asked, "Do you think your dad peeked in and closed the door, or do you think he watched?"

----------------------     

The boys played through their sets, working with Keith, Asa, Stone, and Jess to get things just right for concert goers and the live cast of the show.

"Guys," called out Keith, "your show is running a little over two hours. I know you wanted to add a bunch of additional songs to the show, but I'd recommend cutting the show back to 90 minutes. That's more than enough. You're going to have a bunch of school kids here and 90 minutes is probably the extent to what they can watch, and the same will go for much of the audience watching online.

The boys put their heads together and came back to Keith with a new set list.

"I'm starving," stated Simon. The other band members agreed, and the Majestic Productions squad stated they needed nourishment too.

"Let's go to the food trucks!" said Michael. "It sounds like there is some really good food out there."

"Whoa!" Asa put a stop to that discussion. "You'll need to send runners out to get food. I don't think it is a good idea for you guys to be out in public this afternoon. You might not make it back in time to get ready for the show.

After some discussion, the Majestic Productions team went out to buy enough food to feed an army. The boys retreated to their chill area above the recording studios to wait for the food.

Having filled their tummies, the boys changed into their outfits for the show and headed back out on stage one last time to make sure everything was in place.

----------------------     

Derek and his posse had a blast playing the midway games and snacking on all the tasty treats from the different food trucks. Wanting to get final snacks before the show, they split up to hit their favorite food trucks.

Derek and Sean headed to get another taco (or two) before the show. Rodrigo and Mochi went to get loaded French fries. Sebbie wanted another gourmet donut and Jack wanted more ice cream. They agreed to meet in front of Big Daddy's once they got their food.

Jack headed to the ice cream truck. The line wasn't terribly long but it allowed him to focus on the list of flavors while he decided which to try this time. When Jack ordered, he went to hand the lady his money, but an arm reached over him and paid. Jack looked up and found Johann standing behind him. When the lady set Jack's ice cream on the counter, Johann picked it up and with a hand on Jack's back, he guided the boy to a quieter location. Handing Jack his ice cream, Johann asked, "Who are your friends?"

Between bites, Jack explained the posse and its members.

"That little blonde...Derek? You two look really close."

Jack didn't want Johann to know, but it seemed the cat was out of the bag. "He's my boyfriend."

That piqued Johann's attention. "You better hurry back to your friends."

"Thanks, Johann," said Jack before jogging back to his friends.

Johann wandered around taking in the sights. It had been an eventful first few days in East Harbor. Disappointed that the concert was sold out, he'd hoped he would get a glimpse of the band members at the festival. Either he missed them, or they hadn't made an appearance. He was glad that his Internet was to be installed on Friday. Then he could get the ball rolling.

----------------------     

Lukas and Michael watched from off stage as excitement filled the air of the Majestic Theater. The band's music videos were projected onto the back wall of the stage. Audience members sang and danced to the music while they waited for others to arrive.

It was exciting to see so many of the audience members wearing At the Majestic gear. But what really entertained the brothers was the look on the faces of the baseball teams as they filed into the space in front of the stage. It was clear most of the boys had never been to a rock concert before and reading the faces of their adult chaperones, this was much more than they expected from the SoCal BaseBrawl's materials. Then again, in February, At the Majestic was a group of East Harbor boys with a band that was going to entertain the tournament's teams. Now they were a hot, up-and-coming band with a hit single. That change in perspective made this feel like a "real concert" instead of just entertainment for the festival.

"Is that them?" asked Lukas. Michael squinted following Lukas' finger. "Stage left, right up against the stage."

"Yep," confirmed Michael seeing the boys wearing red and black and hanging out with Jaden and Alex, "that's them." He made a mental note. What they couldn't see were the boys down stage right. Hidden from view by the open curtains, the band couldn't see all of the BaseBrawl teams.

About ten minutes later, they were joined by Simon. Zach and Matthew were off stage left, waiting to take their places. The boys were ready. It seemed like forever for the video to end. As the lights dimmed, the fervor of the audience grew. Their classmates were crammed into the theater's balcony, making a crazy amount of noise.

Stepping out on the stage, Michael knew that the audience was in for a treat. Since the last time they played the Majestic, they'd grown as performers. Plus, they changed up the show just a bit. The recorded intro played over the shouting of the audience, "Welcome to the Majestic!" The crowd erupted.

With the lights still down, Michael broke immediately into the opening guitar riff of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. In time with Lukas' thundering drum fill, a series of bright lights flashed on stage. When Matthew and Simon joined in, the stage lights came up fully with the band members jumping and thrashing around on the stage, playing their instruments as hard as they could to contrast with the mellow sounds as Michael took to the mic. Asa had set the lighting so during the rocking chorus, the lights would flash to amp up the audience. During the more mellow verses, the lights had a kaleidoscope effect on the stage paired with colored spots reflecting off a giant mirror ball hanging in the center of the auditorium.

When the song ended, Lukas when right into "Superstition" with Matthew and Simon joining right in on the second time though the drum fill. Michael dropped off his guitar and danced around the stage giving high-fives to the boys along the front of the stage. The band looped the intro until Michael was ready.

"We're back East Harbor!"

The crowd cheered but a comment from off to the right caught Michael's attention. He gazed over and immediately recognized the white baseball caps with the burgundy bills and the Viking ship embroidered across the front. 'It can't be,' he thought. But looking at the faces, he recognized some of the bullies that had made his life hell back in Forest Grove.

One of those boys recognized him too and pointed. "Hey! That's Michael Grant!"

Another boy hiding behind the others shouted, "Faggot!"

Michael tried to ignore them while he waited for the crowd to quiet before he continued. "And welcome to all our fans globally joining us via our Live Webcast. So, things are a bit different since the last time we played here at home." The crowd laughed and cheered. "You know what I mean. It's been real. But there's no place we love to perform more than here at the Majestic Theater before our friends and fans." He let the crowd go for a bit then started talking again. "We've got a special show for you tonight. And for all our friends visiting SoCal," he motioned to the baseball teams down front, "we've got something special for you, too." Michael turned to let his brothers know it was time to begin and then he turned back to the audience dancing and singing the lyrics. Zach joined in on the synthesizer to emulate the horn section on the song.

For the next 40 minutes the band blazed through a series of originals and a few covers sung by Simon and Matthew, ending with two more songs sung by Michael. That's when the band broke out into their hit song, "Lost and Found". Michael's face beamed as the audience sang along to the song he wrote. The song meant so much to him and it seemed to strike a chord with so many other people.

When Michael invited Christian onto the stage, Christian approached and Michael took his hand. Bringing the mic to his face, he said, "Ã... leve pÃ¥ luft og kjærlighet." Literally, in Norwegian it meant "living on air and love." What it really meant was that he was so in love with Christian it was all he could think about. No one else in the theater understood what Michael said, but it didn't matter. The person it was intended for understood it perfectly.

But the meaning was apparent enough for one of the Forest Grove players to shout, "We were right! He is a faggot!" The crowd quickly turned on the young boys from Oregon. Some of the band's defenders, both from the balcony and those who purchased tickets started shouting at the heckler and his friends.

Christian was shocked and visibly upset by the heckler. Michael remembered what he did back in Mesa and tried it again. He held his hands up over his head making a heart shape and simply spoke, "Love is love." The crowd cheered causing the haters to cower and cringe.

Michael soaked in the audience's applause while his brothers prepared for the next song. As they did on tour and in their other shows, he serenaded Christian by singing Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud".

The audience was silent as Michael built to the chorus. He lifted his head and faced Christian to sing to his soulmate. When the song ended, Michael and Christian held each other as the audience showered them with love and appreciation. Michael looked up and they kissed before Christian waved and walked off stage.

When the audience quieted, Michael moved the evening along. "There's one thing I'm really excited about tonight. We've been wanting to meet this person for a long time but didn't say anything once we found out he'd be here tonight. Please welcome to the stage our superfan, all the way from Mayfield, Washington, Mason Johnson."

Michael pointed right at the Mayfield Yard Goat player who looked shocked to hear his name uttered by one of the band members. Up until this moment, he thought the few comments the band members had made on his posts were by their social media team or just random notes of encouragement. His teammates seemed to be much more excited for Mason than he was for himself. Without any help from the little blond himself, the other Mayfield players managed to get Mason to the stairs where Scott Schultz was stationed, motioning for Mason to come that way. Mason finally came to his senses and followed Scott, climbing the steps then turning left and out onto the stage. In his shorts, red team polo shirt, and Yard Goat ball cap, Mason shyly waved to the applauding audience and to Zach and Matthew as he passed. When he reached center stage Lukas and Michael were there to greet him with a hug. Then Michael leaned in to speak into Mason's ear. "Do you want to sing a song with us?"

Mason's eyes grew cartoonishly large. He answered Michael with a nod.

"We love your video singing 'Imagine' with our recording. You sing lead and we'll sing harmony and accompany. Do you think you can do this?"

There was a pregnant pause and Michael noticed Mason take a huge breath and exhale. Then the blond head nodded in the affirmative. Michael led Mason to his mic for them to share and Lukas sat on his beat box he'd use instead of bongs.

"Would you guys like to hear Mason sing?" asked Michael. The crowd clapped and shouted encouragement to the nervous boy. Though Mason was a year older than Michael, he was a few inches shorter.

They stepped over to the piano where Michael gave Mason the first note so he could find the key and do a brief vocal warmup. He gave Michael a quick nod that he was ready and walked back to the mic. Lukas counted off and the boys started the song. Michael played piano with Zach on synthesizer to add strings to support Zach on cello.

When Mason joined in, with the lyrics John Lennon made so famous, the band heard the audience gasp. Unlike his pure, youthful vocals his friends were familiar with when Mason sang in public, Mason sang the song with passion and his own personal style that he reserved for his bedroom recordings. The others from Mayfield never heard Mason's "private" vocal sessions. The sessions when he sang along with his favorite songs. It was different from the way his voice teacher taught him to sing church songs or the Star-Spangled Banner. This was full of interpretation and meaning.

At first Mason was nervous. Soon he found his voice and his confidence. The music seemed to transform the little baseball player into a giant with a microphone.

It seemed like the audience held their breath until the song ended. Mason's vocals with the piano and Zach on his cello filled the auditorium. When the final vocals were sung, the audience burst out in applause and cheers.

Michael hopped up and ran over to give Mason a huge hug before the boy even had a chance to step back from the microphone. Michael released Mason and leaned into the microphone. "Let's hear it again for Mason Johnson!" He stepped back and directed the applause to Mason. Giving Mason another huge hug, Michael said, "You're awesome! Stay on stage with us. We're going to play 'We Don't Believe What's On TV' and you can help us with the audience participation."

Mason had seen the band play that song a number of times in their videos and agreed to hang out and help. "Okay," agreed Mason. "Can my friend play trumpet with us?"

"Does he know the song?" asked Michael.

"Yeah, I've heard him talk about it. He even has his trumpet with him." Mason ran down stage. "Calvin! Come up here!"

Calvin didn't waste any time. He hurried up onto the stage where Michael and Mason clued him in to what was going on. Michael wasn't worried because Matthew would play along just in case. Calvin wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. He quickly opened his trumpet case and got his instrument ready while Mason and Matthew primed the audience to shout "yeah, yeah, yeah" on cue. Simon was already warming up on his double bass. Michael switched to his uke and Lukas climbed back behind his drum kit.

As soon as Matthew felt the crowd was ready, he gave Lukas the cue and the drummer set the tempo with the snare intro before Michael jumped in on the uke. He counted to three as Matthew had primed the concert goers and everyone screamed, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" Simon joined in to fill out the musical accompaniment.

During the first verse, Mason felt a bit out of place. Calvin was stage left sharing a microphone with Matthew. Michael was center stage and Simon on the right. They all had their parts, but there were no more crowd participation parts or backup vocals until after the chorus. Mason bopped around the stage taking in the experience of being in front of a rock audience and on stage with a band. Mason began to understand the passion that burned within Aiden and the others when it came to playing baseball.

Mason made his way over to where Matthew and Calvin were when the chorus started. He sang the chorus at the top of his lungs without a mic while Calvin played the trumpet. Matthew played too, but let Calvin take the lead once he was comfortable that the boy knew what he was doing. When the chorus ended, Mason helped cue the audience for their participation.

During the second verse, both Calvin and Mason walked down stage to give their Yard Goat teammates hand slaps. They made sure to include Jaden, Isaac, Alex, and Josh. Seeing boys from the next team over with their hands up, they continued down the stage high-fiving other boys at the show. When it was time for the chorus again, Calvin had rejoined Matthew and Mason joined Michael center stage. The chorus is repeated and the second time through Mason and the other band members not playing trumpet joined in the singing. Mason waved his hands conducting the audience as Michael played his uke and they shared the mic.

"We Don't Believe What's On TV" concludes with rounds of the band singing "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" and the crowd responding with "yeah, yeah, yeah". It was fun and lively, so much so that Calvin and Mason locked elbows and dosey-doed as they sang along with the band.

The song ended with one last loud "yeah, yeah, yeah" and the crowd celebrated. For the band, it was the last song before their intermission. Michael gave Calvin a bro hug and thanked him before the trumpeter went to put his instrument back in its case. Michael then gave Mason one more big bear hug. "How did you like performing for over 100,000 people?"

"What?" asked Mason, uncertain if he heard Michael correctly.

Facing his new friend, Michael clarified. "The last we checked before coming on stage, we had over 100,000 viewers worldwide streaming the concert."

"Really?! OMG!" was all Mason could think to say. He was glad he didn't know that beforehand.

The rest of the band joined Michael in thanking and congratulating Mason and Calvin before they returned to their teammates.

During the intermission, a video of them playing the mash up of "High Hopes" and "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" on stage with Panic! at the Disco in London. The video ended and the lights came back up on stage with the boys ready to play. Michael said, "You guys having fun tonight?" He waited for the crowd's reaction and removed the mic from the stand. "Something went down at our show in Mesa and we played a song that we'd been working on and it seems appropriate that we play it tonight. I want to dedicate this song to my old classmates from Forest Grove, Oregon."

The boys started playing "Never Take It" by Twenty One Pilots. Michael made a point to wag his finger in the direction of the Forest Grove baseball team without directly calling them out. The rest of the audience got the joke and joined in singing and wagging their fingers. For Michael, it was cathartic. In a way, he had gotten to tell off some of the boys who made his life hell back in Oregon and it felt good.

Before continuing with the rest of their standard show, the band support Michael in a new mash up of "Migraine"/"Car Radio"/"Heavydirtysoul" by Twenty One Pilots. He reasoned other boys his age also dealt with the demons in their head, and he wanted to reach out to them while exercising his own demons. With the Forest Grove team here, the performance meant even more to Michael.

With "Migraine", he headed stage right rapping the lyrics while the band accompanied. Crossing back to the left side of the stage, he began the second verse.

Let it be said what the headache represents
It's me defending in a suspense
It's me suspended in a defenseless
Test being tested by a ruthless examiner
That's represented best by my depressing thoughts

As he articulated the rhymes in this verse, he made eye contact with an athletic blond standing next to the stage. He was wearing a Yard Goats polo so he must have been one of Mason's teammates. During the first set, the boy had looked disinterested in the band, or at least their music. But now he stared intently at Michael like he was hanging on every word. Michael knew he'd found a kindred spirit. He'd found someone else who understood.

The band went right into "Car Radio". A song about a how music can be a distraction from the voices in your head. When someone steals your "Car Radio", you're left with silence that is filled by the voices and thoughts you were trying to drown out.

When Michael got to his favorite part of the song, he made his way to stage left and sang it to the blond boy again.

I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear

Before the third song started, Michael took off his shirt and tossed it aside. He picked up the mic in time to walk to the front of the stage and slap hands with the baseball players holding their hands out.

He reached the Yard Goats and slapped Mason's hand. Next was the blond he'd connected with earlier. He took the boys hand in his and held it as he rapped the lyrics:

This is not rap, this is not hip-hop
Just another attempt to make the voices stop

The boy squeezed his hand in understanding before Michael released and made his way to his Steinway. Using the bench as a step stool, he scaled to the top of the piano in time to face the audience and sing the pre-chorus.

Gangsters don't cry
Therefore, therefore I'm
Mr. Misty-eyed, therefore I'm

Then the audience joined in as Michael poured his heart into the chorus. Michael looked over at the Mayfield boy to make sure he was understanding how personal this song was for him.

Can you save, can you save my
Can you save my heavy dirty soul?
Can you save, can you save my
Can you save my heavy dirty soul?
For me, for me, uh
Can you save my heavy dirty soul?
For me, for me, uh
Can you save my heavy dirty soul?

By the end of the song, everyone in the audience was singing the chorus. Every single person.

The boys followed Michael's songs up with three At the Majestic originals sung my Matthew, then Simon singing "Body Talks" with the music video projected onto the rear wall of the stage ending with Simon and Lukas kissing. This time there wasn't a negative reaction from any audience members.

For the encore, Lukas got to take the mic for "Feel It Still", Michael was back on the Steinway with "Cruel to be Kind", and Simon sang "Kick Start My Heart". They slipped in one exta song to commemorate a few past performances. Michael sang the "Everlong" arrangement they performed the last night in London starting off with him solo on guitar before the rest of the band joined in on the pre-chorus.

Simon took the mic before the music started for their final song. "Thank you! You guys have been a great audience tonight. We hope everyone streaming had a great time too! Just like every show, we want to let our fans know we care about you, and you should care about each other. It doesn't matter if you are biologically related because you choose who is your blood. It can be your brother, your friend, or your teammate, it's your love and commitment to one another that makes you strong enough to face the world."

The boys left the stage with everyone singing and swaying together.

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"I can't believe there was an open table," said Riley Jenkins. They expected the Maple Street Café to be humming after the show. Luckily for them, most of the concert goers were visiting the food trucks. They came straight to the Café and managed to get a table before the restaurant filled up.

"That's because you distance runners think slow and steady always wins the race," teased Jamar Brown. "You need to hang with us speedsters more often."

Xavier Washburn, Jamar's teammate on East Harbor's 4x100 relay team laughed at his friend's joke.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." groaned Oliver. Craig just rolled his eyes at yet another "sprinters versus distance runners" joke.

The five boys settled into their booth and opened their menus.

"Man," said Craig, "after that show, I'm starving." The others agreed.

A small voice broke in. "Excuse me." The five teens peered over their menus to see who was there.

"Jack," called Derek chasing after his boyfriend, "don't bother them."

"I was just wondering if Connor and Cooper are here too?"

"Sorry, Jack," said Craig. "Those horn... the dynamic duo didn't come to the concert tonight. Mom took them to the movies." Craig was pleased he hadn't inadvertently said something to make their straight teammates ask questions.

"Oh. Okay," stated Jack. But even after learning the answer to his question, the boy seemed to shuffle closer to Craig.

Craig and Oliver exchanged glances. They suspected the twins had been blabbing to their "boyfriend". Craig worried Jack was trying to flirt. If that was the case, the other guys might pick up on it, so Craig needed to put an end to it immediately.

"Hi Derek," greeted Craig. "Jack, I'll tell the twins we saw you and to give you a call. See you later. Bye."

When Jack didn't get the hint, Derek took his hand and dragged him away.

"What was that about?" asked Jamar.

"Just my brothers' weird little friend," replied Craig attempting to deflect and change the subject.

"Speaking of the 'terrible two'..." asked Xavier. "How did you guys manage to get out of bringing them to the festival today?"

Oliver answered, "We're careful about when we choose to ask to do things by ourselves. That way when we ask, Craig's mom almost always agrees."

"Are you ready to order?" asked Vera, their waitress. The boys ordered an assortment of burgers, fries, shakes and sodas.

"So, you guys ready for cross-country season?" asked Jamar.

"I am," answered Riley.

"We are too," replied Oliver.

"Yeah," agreed Craig. "We're running our best times ever right now."

Riley then asked, "Have you started running with SoCal Elite XC yet?"

"Yeah, this is our first week." Then Craig admitted, "It's pretty intense."

"It is really intense," agreed Oliver, "but it's so nice to be around people who don't care about us being gay. We can just focus on being the best runners we can be."

"Well," teased Jama, "if you get caught banging in the locker room, I can't guarantee anything." All five burst out laughing.

"Either way," said Riley bringing everyone back to the topic at hand, "I'm excited about the upcoming cross-country season. Our best runners are back, and we have two excellent additions to the team. I smell a district championship in our future."

Xavier cracked himself up, "I hope it smells better than our locker room!"

----------------------     

The boys quickly wiped the sweat from their brow and ran up the steps to their rec area to grab drinks.

"Com'on!" called out Michael heading for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" asked Matthew.

"I'm gonna go hang out with Mason and I want to meet Jaden's cousin. I wanna catch'em before they leave. Are you guys coming?"

"I'm in," said Lukas. "You coming, Simon?"

Simon had a bottle of Gatorade tipped up so he didn't answer, but he followed his brothers.

"I'll be down in a sec," said Matthew. He didn't see a need to hurry. He figured the baseball teams would be a while trying to get out of the auditorium since they were up against the stage.

Grabbing a candy bar from their snack cabinet, he devoured it hoping it would hold him over until he could get dinner. He finished his Gatorade before heading down to join his brothers. Descending the steps to the auditorium floor, he saw his brothers in animated conversation with the Yard Goats players. He took a moment to spy his target then headed in that direction. "Excuse me. Coach Sanders? I'm Matthew Meijer."

Larry turned and shook Matthew's hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Matthew. And I'm certain the boys would like to thank you for sending the tournament invitation."

"Yeah, well, I've wanted to meet you for a long time, and this seemed like a good way to do that," admitted Matthew. "I've always had a lot of respect for you and the Mayfield baseball program. You seemed like the type of man I wanted for a da...coach. Especially when I was living in Mossyrock."

Larry put his hand on Matthew's shoulder. The boy's verbal stumble had not gone unnoticed. It struck a chord with Larry knowing the boy's family history. "Thank you. Now please tell me you are playing baseball again," asked Larry noting the baseball jersey Matthew was wearing.

Matthew smiled. "I am. I play for the San Diego Force 18 and under team. I know you have your son and the team to deal with, but I would love it if you could make it to my game tomorrow afternoon. We're playing at three just up the road from the BaseBrawl at Mission Hills High School."

The boy's eagerness for Larry to see him play made Larry feel honored. He was also curious to see if Matthew still had that spark he remembered. "I'll see what I can do."

"I'd also like to introduce you to my dad before you leave for Mayfield. His partner, Zach is in the band. They are both child psychologists. Is your husband going to be coming?"

"Yes, Phil will be here Friday and I'd be honored to meet your father." Meeting other gay couples wasn't something he and Phil and a chance to do living in Mayfield, so this seemed like a great opportunity.

"Oh, yeah! You know who else wants to meet you? Lukas and Simon. Hold on."

Larry watched as Matthew retrieved his brothers, the two that didn't look like his siblings, and brought them back to meet him.

"Coach, these are two of my brothers, Lukas Meijer and Simon Novak."

"Nice to meet you boys," said Larry, shaking hands with the boys. "You guys sure put on a mean concert."

"Thanks," said the boys.

When they didn't say anything else, Larry asked, "Why did you want to meet me?"

"It's kind of a long story," said Lukas. "We went with Matthew back to Mossyrock to retrieve his things after the...uh..."

"I know what you're trying to say," said Larry.

Unconsciously, Lukas took Simon's hand in his. "Well, we went through Mayfield, and I saw a boy taking pictures of the train with his two dads watching. It was the first time I ever thought about me and Simon having kids. You guys looked so happy together. I was just wondering how you got Aiden?"

Larry laughed, "I think we both have a lot of questions. Let me ask you this. How did your dad have you?"

"He used a surrogate. I've never met my mother. She's back in Denmark," explained Lukas. He noticed Scott joining them. "Oh hey, Scott. Coach, this is Scott Schultz, Zach's younger brother."

"Nice to meet you, Scott." Larry shook Scott's hand. "So, one more question, are you two brothers or boyfriends?"

The four teens laughed. Matthew decided to answer this question. "Michael and I are biological brothers. Lars, Lukas' father, and Carol, Simon's mother, adopted me and Michael. So, technically, Simon and Lukas are the only two of us that aren't brothers, they're boyfriends."

"Well," said Larry, "the best families are the ones you make. To answer your question, Lukas, Aiden is Phil's nephew. We adopted him when he was nine."

Lukas put his arm around Simon and rested his head against the taller boy's shoulder. "I can't wait until we can start our family."

The comment made Scott's stomach drop. It wasn't news, he'd known all along that Simon and Lukas were planning to marry and have a family. But he'd never really heard them talk about it to someone else. Hearing it, he realized two things. First, how important their planned future was to Lukas, especially having kids and being a family. Second, he wasn't part of that plan.

Something that seemed so simple suddenly felt complicated and even wrong. He was flooded with conflicting thoughts and emotions he didn't understand. If Matthew hadn't put an arm around his shoulders, he would have left to find someplace quiet to think.

----------------------     

Derek: At your house Where are u
Michael: Maple St Cafe
Derek: ok

"Who are you texting?" asked Carol.

"Derek. He's looking for us," answered Michael before taking a bite of his dinner. Because no one was certain when they'd be home from the show, Lars and Carol met them at the theater and they walked over to the Café for dinner. It was a good thing, because after chatting with their new friends, they didn't get to the diner until well after the concert was over.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," said Carol. "What were the final numbers for the streaming?"

Christian piped up. "I don't remember the exact numbers, but we topped out at almost 150,000 people simultaneously, but we had about a quarter of a million unique users see part of the live stream."

Lars allowed everyone at the table "ooh" and "ahh" about the viewership, but then put an end to that conversation. "Alright, no more business talk, tonight. This is a family dinner. Let's enjoy being together."

But being together wasn't really in the cards tonight. Though the entire family was present, they had a lot on their minds. Lukas and Simon were still riding high from their conversation with Larry. Michael and Christian were excited to see their new friends from Mayfield the next day. Matthew was thinking about Larry coming to his game in the afternoon before remembering he was to sing the national anthem before the BaseBrawl. Scott was feeling lost since his understanding of how he fit in the family had taken a topsy-turvy.

"Dad?" asked Matthew. "Are you going to make it to my game tomorrow?"

Lars was surprised. It was typically him and Carol trying to keep track of Matthew's games so they could attend, not Matthew asking for them to be there.

"I certainly will be," said Lars. "Don't want to miss out on the rare opportunities that you are playing so close to home."

Matthew smiled. "Will you make it too, Zach?"

"Sure thing," he answered. "All my appointments are in the morning."

"Good," stated Matthew, "I have someone I want you to meet tomorrow. But, if he can't make it to my game, he'll be at the BaseBrawl when I sing the national anthem."

"Dr. Meijer! Dr. Meijer!" Derek skidded to a stop next to Lars.

Normally Lars wouldn't permit such an interruption, but the look of concern on Derek's face caused Lars to allow it to pass.

"Take a deep breath Derek. Take a deep breath."

"It's Jack. He's been acting weird."

"What do you mean, Derek?"

"I don't know. He's sneaking behind his parents' backs. He's taken off and not telling anyone where he's going, not even me. And...and..." Derek looked around to see who was listening to what he was saying. Then he leaned in close to whisper so only Dr. Meijer and Zach could hear. "I think he's been flirting with older boys. And I don't mean at the sleepover, but like, all the time, everywhere."

All this concerned Lars deeply. He knew Kellen and Frances were attending their therapy but hadn't seemed to be making much progress. Additionally, it also meant that they had not been able to provide him with answers to his questions about how things were going around the home. His only insights came from Derek and he had no reason to not believe the boy. Lars wasn't surprised that the lack of guidance at home would give Jack opportunities to stray from his normal behavior, but it sounded like things were worse than he suspected.

"Derek, you are such a good friend to Jack. Thank you for telling me. Keep being Jack's friend and let me know if you see other things that concern you."

"Thank you, Dr. Mejier." Derek was so relieved; he spontaneously gave Lars a hug.

Lars patted his back. "It's going to be getting dark soon. You better head home."

"I will." Derek turned and disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared.

----------------------     

Craig and Oliver hit the sack early since they were to meet their running club early in the morning. They'd just fallen to sleep when they were awakened by the bouncing of their bed as someone was crawling up.

Raising his head off his pillow, he saw a lump under the covers moving up from the foot of the bed. "Seriously, Connor?"

The twin moved between the teens and popped his head out from under the covers. "How did you know it was me?"

Apparently, the twins hadn't figured out that Connor was becoming the more forward and daring of the two. Craig wasn't going to let them know that. "Because Cooper is hiding around the corner."

"What?" whined Cooper coming around the corner. "You didn't even see me." He joined his brothers on the bed.

Oliver turned on the light next to the bed. "What do you two want?"

They answered in unison. "Sex!"

"Ssshhhhhh! Keep it down. Mom and dad are out on the deck." He pointed to the French doors from the bedroom that led out to the deck only a dozen or so feet from the fire pit. "That's not going to happen tonight. Turn the light off so mom and dad don't come looking to see what's going on and find the naked boner brothers hanging out in here."

This wasn't the most opportune time for Craig and Oliver to have this conversation with the twins, but the teens had talked about the twins exploring their sexuality and what they should do about it. At first, they thought it was cute or funny and ignored it. After the Fourth of July, Craig's opinion that this was a phase started to turn. Instead of leaving the twins to learn on their own, the older boys committed themselves to being the mentors they wished they'd had so they didn't have to learn everything off the Internet.

"Look," said Craig with a serious tone, "we thought you were just having fun and copying us, but if you're getting involved with boys who are gay and calling them your boyfriends, then I think we need to talk. We don't want you joking around when others are serious and you accidentally hurting someone's feelings."

Craig took a quick look in the ambient light coming from outside and it appeared the twins were taking him seriously. The naked boys had drooped back to their normal state (or was erect their normal state these days).

"Why do you guys think you're gay?" asked Oliver.

Connor got up on his knees and said, "'Cause I like sticking it in and doing it like this." He pretended he was holding someone by the hips and was pounding his little floppy wiener in a hole.

"When you are the person that sticks it in, that means you are being the 'top'." The twins nodded in understanding before Oliver continued. "The person that has it stuck in them is called the 'bottom'."

Craig chimed in. "You know, Connor, you can do that with a girl too."

"But I don't know any girls who will let me top them," stated Connor.

"To do it use the work 'fuck' or 'make love to'. Top and bottom are the role you take, not the action," explained Craig.

"How do I get a girl to let me fuck her?" asked Connor.

"That's not for our conversation tonight," said Craig with an eyeroll. "Cooper, why do you think you are gay?"

Cooper scooted closer and whispered, "I liked it when you squirted in my butt."

Craig pulled Cooper in for a cuddle. "So, you like to be the bottom?"

Cooper shyly nodded.

Oliver laughed quietly. "Looks like we each have a protégé."

----------------------     

Michael entered Christian's bedroom and felt his mother's presence. "Hi mom," greeted Michael. "Love you!" He tossed his bag next to Christian's dresser before dropping onto the bed. Christian followed crawling up next to Michael.

"This has been a day," said Christian, stifling a yawn.

"I know."

"How are you feeling about running into those guys from Forest Grove?" asked Christian. The heckling had shaken Christian. He was certain it had impacted Michael as well.

"Those assholes?" Michael turned his head and looked at Christian. "Fuck'em."

Christian hadn't expected that and guffawed. "Did they always act so boldly?"

"Yeah," said Michael. "The coaches and even some of the teachers would egg them on so they knew they wouldn't get in trouble for doing it. But here, they're outnumbered. Even if their coaches and chaperones allow them to act like that, I don't think the people around here will put up with that shit."

"I wonder how they'll live it down after we put it on social media," said Christian with an evil smile.

"We'll have to make sure the local Portland TV stations get wind of it too."

"How did you like meeting Mason and his friends?"

Michael smiled. "I really like them."

"What was it with you and, that one kid, Aiden?"

"I don't know. He seems to get it...get me. During some of the songs tonight, there was a look on his face like he felt like I was singing directly to him. Plus," Michael added, "he's super cute."

"So was his boyfriend. What was his name?"

"Nolan," stated Michael.

"Didn't it seem like a lot of their baseball team is gay?" asked Christian.

"Could be. There were several couples. But some could just be having fun and enjoying themselves. Kinda like Scott."

"True, but isn't Mayfield a lot smaller than East Harbor? I mean, statistically speaking, that's a lot of gay boys."

Michael laughed and agreed. "Tomorrow is going to be another baseball day."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I want to see the Yard Goats play and Matthew's got a game tomorrow afternoon too."

"Well," said Christian getting up from the bed, "I think we need to get ready for bed since we're planning to go to the gym in the morning and we have lacrosse."

Michael checked his pit. "And I need a shower."

Christian helped Michael to his feet. "Need any help washing your back?"

"I think I need more help than that."

----------------------     

Alex: I hope u had fun 2day
Josh: I had a blast I really like your friends
Alex: Even Grant?
Josh: Especially Grant
Alex: That's great
Josh: I'm sorry for being stupid
Alex: Thx for making today one of the best days of my life
Josh: Really? Alex: I've got my friends from back home
Alex: I've got my EH friends
Alex: And I got u
Josh: And I got u
Josh: Mom's here, c u 2morrow
Alex: Tomorrow bye

----------------------     

Pam sat down on the loveseat next to Josh. He finished texting Josh then switched from resting his head on the armrest to his mother's lap. "You've been a little quiet since you came back from the festival. Did you not like Alex's friends?"

"No, I've just been thinking."

She brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He rolled over onto his back to look up at his mother's face. His legs hung over the arm of the love seat with plenty of room for him to kick and not knock over any furniture. "What's on your mind?"

"How great Alex is."

Pam laughed. That wasn't the first time she'd heard Josh mention how great he thought Alex was. "What is it this time?"

"I was kind of an asshole about him seeing Grant again. It was so stupid. Alex had every right to be mad at me. Even when Jaden told me what an idiot I was being, Alex was patient and didn't even raise his voice at me. Not once."

His mother calmly rubbed his chest and listened.

"Then today, I got to meet Grant and his boyfriend and the rest of the guys I've heard Alex talk about. Mom, I don't know why I ever doubted Alex. Grant is awesome, but when we were all together, Alex was with me, and Grant was with Lance."

"It sounds like you are finally feeling like you and Alex are a couple, not just two friends that hang out together."

Josh's eyes lit up. "Yeah, that's it!"

"Josh," said his mother, "relationships are hard, and you have two big challenges on top of that. First, there is a lot of extra pressure on gay relationships, especially from the people around you. Second, middle school relationships are difficult. As you know, middle school can be difficult socially. Plus, once school starts, you and Alex won't be able to see each other as much as you are over the summer. You have school and the things that will go with that, and Alex has his school, his friends, and everything that goes with that."

He contemplated what his mom was laying down. She was right. He'd grown accustomed to being with Alex almost every day. Going back to school would be hard. But he finally had no doubts about Alex and where they stood with each other.

"Thanks mom," said Alex.

"What's that for?" she asked.

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.

"I'll get it." Josh hopped up and hustled to the front door.

"Check the peep hole before you open the door," she reminded.

Josh stood on his toes and closed his left eye. Pam heard him gasp and stumble backwards. There was another pounding on the door.

Pam saw Josh's reaction and her blood turned cold. "Josh," said Pam with trepidation. "Who is it?"

He turned to his mother with a look of terror. "It's dad!"