A STORY BY THE BRAT
     
The Boys of East Harbor: Michael
Chapter 23: A New Year
     
   

(b/b, anal)

DISCLAIMER: This work of fiction contains explicit material intended for adults over 18. If you are under 18 or are offended by non-traditional sex, or sex between minors, do not continue. If reading this type of material is illegal in your location, proceed at your own risk. This work is the sole property of the author and may not be reposted or reproduce without the author's written permission. This is a work of fiction. If any characters resemble the living or dead, or events are similar to actual events, it is purely coincidental.

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2018

With school being out until Monday, the boys slept in. Since Christmas it had been a whirlwind of activity and travel, Lars was happy to allow the boys their rest. He even left Zach in bed while he showered and made a pot of coffee. Ready for the day and his morning beverage in hand, Lars headed to his office to start his day.

It was 7:30 am and Lars' first appointment of the day was typically at nine. He liked to spend the first hour or so of each day, once the boys headed to school, doing research, completing paperwork, and getting in the right mindset for his patients. Although he had patients coming in this week since he was off the previous week, it was still going to be a light work load with school out and families yet to return from vacation. He really welcomed the income he drew from his research grants. Those grants allowed him to maintain a practice but never having to worry about maintaining a full patient schedule. It was perfect for him as a single parent and it indulged his interest in research.

He opened his laptop to find two Post-It ® notes stuck to the monitor. The green note read:

Love you dad!

-Michael

The pink note was inscribed:

You're the best! Love, Lukas

Lars smiled and wondered when the boys snuck into his office and did this. He hit the power button and moved the notes to a special place where he could look at them throughout the day. Reaching for a coaster for his coffee mug, he found the envelope Megan left with the packet. He set his coffee on the coaster and picked up the envelope. The tip of the flap sealed the its content securely inside. Lars contemplated opening the seal to read the message before giving it to the boy. He tried to justify to himself that reading the note would prepare him for Michael's reaction. Movement by the door roused Lars from his thoughts.

"Hi, Cuddlebug," greeted Lars to the sleepy boy. Michael, dressed in colorfully striped boxer briefs and a wife beater, shuffled over to his new father and crawled up on the man's lap.

"Morning," mumbled the boy as he got comfortable and leaned into the man's chest. As expected, two arms wrapped around his body and he received a kiss on the crown of his head. His body relaxed and dropped off to sleep.

Holding Michael steady, Lars swiveled his chair so he could reach his laptop. With one hand, he tapped out his password and navigated to his scheduling tool. He had nine and ten o'clock appointments then a two-hour break for lunch. 'Nice way to ease back into things,' thought Lars. He checked his email and let Michael sleep until his leg began to fall asleep.

Rubbing Michael's leg, he woke the boy. "Michael... Michael, wake up buddy," coaxed Lars. Michael stirred, twisting his body and hugging the warm body next to his.

"Michael, I have a note for you from your mother."

Michael sat up and groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Huh?"

"Here." Lars reached for the envelope and handed it to Michael who was surprisingly awake having been asleep seconds ago.

Michael took the envelope and recognized his mother's handwriting. He flipped it over, back and forth, trying to decide if he should open it or not. He looked to Lars for guidance.

"Go ahead. She left it for you with that packet of papers."

Michael carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the card. A smile drew across his face. The card was homemade. Megan had gotten her water colors out and painted a picture of the band with Michael on guitar and singing, Simon on bass, and Lukas playing the drum kit, arms raised high as he thumped out the beats. Michael relaxed into Lars and held the card up for his new dad to see.

"Mom's an artist just like Matthew," explained Michael. "See?"

Lars squeezed the boy. "Yes, she was really good. What does the cards say?"

Michael opened the card and read it out loud.

Dear Michael,

I can't tell you how much I love you. The words simply don't exist. You are an amazing child and it is the greatest pleasure in life to be your mother.

Seeing you since I've been back from my time away, you remind me of a phoenix. The events you've survived essential burned your life to the ground. Yet somehow, you've risen from those ashes better and brighter than ever. Each day you shine, each day you live your authentic life, you defeat the evil in the world. With each victory you honor yourself, and me, and Matthew. Keeping winning each and every day.

Congratulations on your new adventure and thank you for including me. It will be hard work, but I will enjoy being with you and working together to make this a success. That's all I've ever wanted for you. For you to be happy and to achieve all the success you could ever dream.

I know you miss Matthew. I miss him too. We'll be together again as a family, the three of us. I promise. I was going to keep this a secret, but I can't. The first day we're allowed to contact Matthew is the first of January. I thought we'd surprise him by going to visit. What do you think?

I love you, Michael. Today and always!

Your Mother

Upon finishing the letter, Michael hopped off Lars' lap and tore out of the office. Lars didn't know what to make of that. But he trusted that if the boy needed him, he would be back.

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"Michael, stop it," groaned Matthew.

"It's important!" insisted Michael, shaking his big brother.

"Sleeping is important," argued Matthew.

"It's from mom!"

"What?" Matthew shot straight up in bed and Michael shoved the card in his face.

Matthew took the and read it, then read it again. Michael saw the emotions in his brother's eyes and hugged the teen. "I told you. I told you didn't I," urged Michael. "I told you mom didn't forget about you. She missed you so much. She missed you as much as I did."

Matthew cried quietly as his little brother gently rocked him. The teen had tried to be strong since arriving in East Harbor. He'd been there for his little brother, but he had yet to really grieve himself. His mother's words broke the dam.

When Matthew regained his composure, Michael continued.

"We have to do this for mom. You have to help me," he explained as if it made perfect sense.

"Help with what?" asked Matthew.

"Mom isn't here to help, but you are. Com'on and get dressed." Michael hopped off the bed and started throwing Matthew's clothes to him so he could dress quickly. As their other housemates had learned, you can't argue with the boy when he's determined. Matthew eased himself to the edge of the bed and started dressing.

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By Lars' first appointment of the day, Michael and Matthew had gone outside and Simon and Lukas had headed over to the Novak residence. They wanted to say "bye" to Carol before she left for the week to work out of the New York office. To give Lars and his patients the appropriate privacy, the boys have always hung out at Simon's during his appointment times.

"I'm going back to sleep," said Lukas. He was exhausted from the emotional roller coaster of the last couple weeks. Plus, he hadn't been sleeping well. Now that they were home and had the day off before the next lacrosse practice, Lukas planned to take full advantage of it.

Simon had other plans. He waited for Lukas to get comfortable the snuggled up against his boyfriend, pressing his boner against the boy's ass. "We've got the house to ourselves," whispered Simon.

The ass in front of Simon wiggled until his rigid phallus was wedged between its buns like a large bratwurst. The sensation sent a thrill up Lukas' spine and his pink pucker all a twitter. "So," he replied with a long drawn out "o", "what are you waiting for?"

The raven-haired bass player caught the bottom of Lukas' shirt with his thumb and slid the garment up as his fingers danced across the blonde's skin. Lukas raised his arms and helped Simon remove the unnecessary piece of clothing. He rolled onto his back and watched Simon take in his beauty.

"You are so beautiful," he said as he admired Lukas' body. The extra band practice, lacrosse, and working out at the rec center was changing the teen's body. He was no longer the skinny, young boy Simon fell in love with. His body was evolving into that of an athlete. Though still slim and lanky, Lukas' muscles were solid and defined now that he'd shed what little baby fat he had. Simon ran his fingers across Lukas' abs feeling the crease between each set of the six-pack. His touch caused Lukas' nipples to erect so those became Simon's next destination. With is palm flat on his lover's chest, he massaged Lukas' developing pecs. The strong, firm muscles gave little ground. Simon's thumb found Lukas right nipple and toyed with it. The bass player knew exactly what that did to Lukas and he thumbed it as he would the strings of his guitar. Then his hand moved up higher and retrieved the wedding band caught in Lukas' jugular notch.

"I can't wait to put this ring on your finger, but part of me doesn't care if we ever get married," declared Simon as he watched the ring twist and turn between his fingers. Lukas gave him a puzzled, worried look. His heart skipped a beat and the feeling he had when he saw Chloe kiss Simon on the cheek. Simon noticed Lukas' reaction and explained. "I don't think marrying you will change anything between us. You are everything to me and I am yours completely. Our wedding will be a great celebration, but in my heart, we already are."

Lukas reached for Simon as Simon lowered his head. Their lips met. Lukas pulled Simon's shirt up and over the teen's head. Skin to skin, they resumed their passionate kiss.

Lost in their kissing, the boys rolled back and forth using every inch of Simon's mattress. Somehow, in all that activity, shorts, sweatpants, boxers and briefs ended on the floor at the foot of the bed while the boy's tongues battled, and hands explored bare skin.

Grabbing Lukas by the shoulders, Simon pinned his other half, his better half, to the bed. In one quick motion, his mouth was on Lukas' left pec before the blonde knew what was happening.

"EEEK!" squeaked Lukas when Simon's teeth nipped at his sensitive nipple. Lukas grabbed two handfuls of black hair and held the head in place. Simon could feel Lukas' body vibrate each time his tongue or teeth scrapped across the tip of the nipple he suckled.

Unwilling to wait any longer, Simon carefully reached his right hand down, by passing Lukas' leaky, pink, five-inches of maturing boy mean and delicately ran his finger across the center of Lukas' universe.

"Ohhhhhhh," moaned Lukas as his body shuddered and his hips bucked forward slinging a string of precum across his torso and against Simon's side.

With more force, Simon pressed his fingers against Lukas' opening and rubbed in circles around the outside then up and down across the hole. As if setting a song on repeat, Simon treated Lukas to this act over and over. With each cycle, Lukas could feel his pucker relax and open in anticipation for what he wanted more than anything. He released Simon's head with his right hand and reached to the night stand. The draw opened and his hand fumbled around trying to find the lube, but Simon's mouth and fingers made it hard to focus. Finally, he extracted the bottle from the other contents in the draw.

"Here," panted Lukas, tapping Simon on the shoulder with the cool bottle.

Simon released his hold on Lukas' nipple and rose to his knees. He took the bottle from Lukas and repositioned the reclined teen, so he was now between Lukas' legs. Simon, still on his knees, warmed up some lube and applied it to Lukas' open and ready hold. The blonde pulled his knees back to give Simon' better access.

After lubing himself, Simon spread his knees to lower his hips a bit. Reaching under Lukas' knees and latching on the boy's upper legs, he pulled Lukas to him, raising the boy's hips to align pole with hole. Using one hand to achieve perfect alignment, Simon teased Lukas's hole with soft thrusts that stretched his hole lighting the fire of the anticipation of Simon's penetration, but then the teen would back off leaving only his fat head pressed against Lukas twitching, begging hole. The agony of the teasing had Lukas grasping the sheets with two fists, his head flopping from side to side. But no matter how agonizing it became, he tried valiantly to not move his hips in fear of breaking the alignment of Simon's cock.

Lukas' groans of anguish grew louder, and his cock now exuded a constant stream of precum. It has been over a week since the last time the boys made love and they were both ready to pop. Before it was too late, Simon slow slid his full length into Lukas' raised hips.

Resting on his shoulders, Lukas released the sheets with his right hand and reached up to grab his dick. Untouched up to this point, Lukas wrapped his fist around his love stick and frantically worked to bring himself to an orgasm. The touch of his hand to his cock caused Lukas' ass to contract around Simon's large sausage. Seeing Lukas' condition, Simon began to rabbit fuck Lukas in hopes of reaching his own climax with his young partner.

Lukas opened his eyes to see his athletic boyfriend's muscles flex under the older boy's frenzied attack. Simon's eyes were closed, his head thrown back in pleasure. However, tip of his pink tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth betrayed him, revealing the level of concentration it too for Simon to hold off his orgasm.

The blonde's heels dug into Simon's back and his entire body went stiff moments before his ass clamped down on Simon's cock.

"Fuuuuuck!" screamed Lukas as he spewed a massive load that splattered on his chest and face.

Each of Lukas' spasms escalated Simon's pleasure until he too leapt from the cliff, unloading his pent-up load deep in the recesses of Lukas' being. A loud grunt and shudder let Lukas know Simon had joined him in the ultimate gratification.

The boy's maintained their positions as them came down from their high, breathing like they'd just run the 100-meter dash. Eventually, Lukas' hips slipped breaking the boy's connection. They grabbed opposite ends of the top sheet and cleaned themselves up. Lukas threw the sheet on the floor while Simon crawled to the end of the bed and retrieved the blanket.

Lukas pulled the blanket up and snuggled into the pillow. "Okay, now I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay," said Simon. Instead of being tired, the romp had energized Simon. He'd propped up some pillows on his bed and got comfortable. He planned to catch up on some shows. As much as he hated to admit it, his guilty pleasure was the TV show Riverdale. He popped his ear buds in and cuddled Lukas under his right arm before he hit play.

Lukas drifted off to sleep but woke up sensing something was wrong. Simon's heart rate was too fast, his body too hot and his movements too frantic. "What's wrong?" asked a sleepy Lukas.

In Simon's mind, it wasn't what's wrong, it was what's right. He made it to episode two of the latest season. Jughead needed legal advice from the Snake Charmer, Penny Peabody. He entered the tattoo parlor and that's the last Simon remembered of the show. The spark in his soul ignited and burned hotter than ever. With a few taps, he'd opened his Google app and fed his curiosity. When Lukas woke, Simon knew only one thing, the blonde boy he held in his arm was the person he wanted to share his new discovery.

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Lars finished his second appointment and walked the child and her mother to the door. Returning to his office he found texts from the boys.

Lukas: Morning dad! What we doin for lunch?

Michael: Would you come to the Majestic after your 11:00 today? Please?

Lars peered outside looked up and down the street. He didn't see this morning's protection and assumed the agent followed Michael when he left the house. He'd told the boys they should make sure the agent always saw them when they were changing locations and if the agents needed to turn their vehicle around they should hang out and wait. He didn't want to take any changes, but he also knew that he needed to let the boys keep a schedule as close to normal as possible. However, if the boys were going to split up, that posed a whole different problem and the local and federal authorities didn't like that at all.

Lars first made a phone call and rescheduled his 1:00 to 3:00 so he'd have more time at lunch and have back-to-back appointments in the afternoon. Then he sent a text message to Lukas asking everyone over at the Novak's to join him for a walk to the Mallway. They'd get lunch at the Café.

Lars: Be there in a bit with the boys. Lunch at the Café? Matthew with you?

Michael replied with a Bitmoji of him giving a thumbs up and then a second that said "yep".

"Good morning," greeted Zach. Freshly showered and backpack over his shoulder, Zach was ready to head out to get some studying out of the way.

"Where are you heading?" asked Lars. He got up and greeted his lover with a kiss.

"I was going to head down to school and get some work in on my research proposal.

"You haven't even started school yet," teased Lars, impressed with Zach's initiative. The Schultz' said that when Zach put his mind to something, he's dedicated and driven. This was Lars' first glimpse and he was proud of his partner.

"I know, but I'm excited and want to get started."

"I'll tell you what. Since you don't have your student ID yet, you won't be able to get into the online journals, but you can use my account. Come with us to see what Michael's up to and have lunch, then I'll get you set up so you can access all the research you need from here.

"That sounds like an offer I can't refuse." Zach set down his backpack and gave Lars a better good morning kiss.

Pop Tarts, a tasty breakfast, but they didn't hold the boys over. When Lukas got the text from Lars, he and Simon dropped what they were doing and headed next door.

"Whoa!" commanded Lars looking over Zach's shoulder. His order stopped the boys dead in their tracks. "Looks like you've been working hard. Take a moment to make yourselves presentable and then we'll go see what Michael's up to." The teens washed up and grabbed fresh shirts from Lukas' room and the quartet headed to the Mallway.

----------------------     

The drive to East Harbor was easy and he found parking spot on Maple right by the Mallway.

"That was convenient," Alvin Kahale said to no one but himself. It had been a relatively short drive from Los Angeles, but it had been a long road. It was a tough life growing up in Hawaii. Yeah, everyone says that. His mother worked housekeeping in various hotels in Kahului. Being a smaller resort area, none of the hotels hired full-time staff, leaving his mother to work for two resorts at a time to get full-time hours without benefits. His father worked at the Puunene Plantation until it closed in 2016. It was the only job his father had ever known. Now that the last sugar plantation had closed, his father was forced to change careers. Though money was tight, and his parent struggled to make ends meet, it was a loving environment. To do his part, Alvin worked hard in school and earned a scholarship to USC to study architecture.

His parents were so proud when he won the school's award for the most promising graduating architecture student. After graduating in June, he took a job at a local architecture firm while he finished his California licensure exams. He was surprised when he received a proposal to a project that mixed historical preservation with modern architectural elements. It was a well-thought out project that required a licensed architect to carry it across the finish line.

The project lead requested the young architect specifically. Impressed by his online portfolio and his award-winning senior project, Alvin was offered the project. He was thrilled. The project offered all the elements that inspired him to enter the field and it had fallen right into his lap. However, the senior partners in his firm decided to pass on the project.

Alvin felt defeated. He took the project files home and held off on writing the rejection letter. For many of his peers, having families that can help support them early in their careers, taking risks isn't risky. Alvin didn't really consider it a risk if you have a financial safety net behind you. He didn't have a safety net.

Now, here he was standing in front of this historic theater hoping that his risk would pay off. He quit his job to accept this project in hopes of starting his own architecture business.

The façade of the old building was in surprisingly good condition. He hoped the rest of the building was in as good a shape. He entered and found the place a buzz. In the past, someone had removed all the seating from the lower level of the theater and leveled the floor out creating a wide-open space with the original stage at the far end and the balcony, with its original seating, overhead. Shipments were being delivered and arranged in the theater. Lighting, studio equipment, seating, tables, and a variety of other items were being sorted into specific locations.

"Can I help you?" asked William Calloway, the long-time custodian at the Majestic.

"I'm the architect," offered Alvin, shaking hands with Mr. Calloway.

"Ah, yes," said Mr. Calloway, "Michael is right over that way." The man pointed towards an older gentleman surrounded by a younger adult man and four boys.

"Thank you," said Alvin. He nervously made his way to Lars and the gang.

Extending his hand to Lars, he introduced himself. "Hi, Mr. Grant, I'm Alvin Kahale." The giggles from the youngest boy were unsettling for the young professional. 'What? Is my fly open?' he wondered.

"It's nice to meet you Alvin, but I'm not Mr. Grant. This is Michael Grant," said Lars introducing the architect to his benefactor.

Alvin put on a big smile. "It's nice to meet you... um... Michael." He shook hands with an 11-year-old boy. The small hands that held the young architect's future. Though he was polite and upbeat, Alvin was thinking, 'Oh shit. I am so fucking screwed.'

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The U-Haul rented in Portland needed to be returned and Michael talked Zach into helping him and his brothers. Brining the truck down to the theater, the boys unloaded an entire truckload of musical instruments and equipment before returning to Simon's house to bring all of the instruments and equipment the boys already possessed. This kept the boys busy into the evening, but the work didn't bother them. Their excitement over the new space and the more than tripling of their instrument count gave them the energy to work late into the evening.

Meanwhile, before Lars headed back for his afternoon appointments, he sat down with Mrs. King to get a different viewpoint of Michael's project.

"Hi Jeanette," greeted Lars, peeking his head into the doorway of a makeshift office.

"Hi Lars, come on in," welcomed Jeanette King, Jordan's mother. She moved some papers off the table where she was seated.

"I thought you could use this." She looked up and Lars offered her a coffee he'd brought over from the Café.

"Oh my gosh! Thank you!" She took the coffee and Lars joined her at the table with his own. He set some sugar packets and creamer in the middle of the table.

As they prepared their beverages, Lars wanted to get down to business, but Janette beat him to the punch.

"I'm glad you came back. This has been really awkward for me and I wanted to make sure we were of the same mind when it came to this project. It's just that, with you leaving town, I felt like I needed to carry on with the plan without interfering in your family's life. Your mission to Oregon was more important than what I was doing back here. But now that your back, well, we need to talk."

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable with this project. I don't mean to. As a matter of fact, I really don't understand what's going on. Today Michael has gone on and on about how this is to honor his mother but every time I tried to get details from him he got distracted and started directing things round the building. Can you bring me up to speed?"

Jeanette laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised you didn't know. Part of this project is a present for you."

"For me?"

"Yes. Don't be so surprised. That boy loves you dearly." Jeanette shuffled through the papers and found a small blueprint of the building. "Michael's online class at Pasadena City College required each student to put together a business plan. Michael's been fascinated by this theater since he moved to East Harbor and it became the focus his project. I was his 'real world' business mentor and soon found out that I was part of his plan. In his business plan, I would be the business manager, Megan the property manager and Michael would be the visionary and marketing department. I thought it was a fun idea and enjoyed mentoring Michael. But when he came back with the business proposal for me to review, I was blown away. He'd even applied for and was awarded historic preservation grants with the contingency the project moved forward. When Megan came back to town, we sat down and decide to support Michael's idea and we put things into motion. It all hinged on getting this building and we didn't think it would happen. The seller had been asking a really steep price and had not been willing to negotiate. But Megan decided to take a shot anyway. She worked on a low-ball, cash offer and submitted the business plan, Michael's drawings, and a letter from Michael to the seller. In the letter Michael explained why this project was important to him and apparently it worked. The seller was so impressed, he accepted the offer and extended Michael a line of credit at the prime rate."

"But now that Megan is gone, I feel like I need your support, or approval to keep going. After all, this is Michael's money and you are now his guardian."

Jeanette went over the buildings redesign and functions once the restoration and renovations were complete.

The sale was for the building, the entire west side of the Mallway, not just the theater. Of the five storefronts in addition to the theater, only two had tenants. With the building up for sale, businesses weren't willing to sign a lease without knowing who the long-term landlord would be. The two tenants were Pappy's Pizza on the end by the high school and East Harbor Floral Design two doors down from the pizza parlor.

Between the pizza shop and the florist, Michael wanted to find a vendor to cater to individuals working out at the community center. Being city property, they didn't feel it was right for the community center to be in business. Michael wanted to find someone to open a business, or open one himself, that would cater to that crowd. Protein drinks, smoothies, supplements, equipment -- a boutique that had whatever people needed for their health and fitness.

On the other side of the florist, next to the theater, Michael had a team gutting that space. Jeanette would only tell Lars that it was for Michael to share what that space was for.

The storefront on the other side of the theater faced Maple Street, just like the Café across the Mallway. It was a larger space and Michael was mulling over ideas on what to put into that space to serve as a place for kids. With the high school and middle school right there, he figured he had a captive audience and would be looking for a business that would meet their needs.

"As for the theater itself," continued Janette, "there are two office spaces off the lobby. The one we are in and a mirror image on the other side, both with windows out to the Mallway. This one will become the headquarters of Singles Mingles and allow me to help manage the theater from on site. Michael's idea is that the theater becomes the permanent home of my events and I think that is a fantastic idea. The other office he offered to Alvin, the architect. If Alvin chooses, once the project is over, Michael hopes he will continue to run his architecture business from East Harbor."

"The historical preservation grant will cover the restoration of the façade, lobby, balcony, and the walls and ceiling in the theater. It the plans are to restore the wall around the stage, but from there back the building will be modernized. The stage lighting and all electrical work will be updated from spotlights and effects lighting to the overheads on the stage and a new digital lighting board is being installed in the projection room. But backstage is where the real work is being done. Since the backstage area will no longer need to function for theatrical performances, it's being repurposed. This is the new Majestic Music Studio. Since the space is three stories high, Michael designed the space so there are stacked practice rooms or either side of the open floor plan -- nine rooms on each side. The wall facing the back of the building will have two recording studios stacked one on top of the other. One will be rented out and the other the boys will use for themselves as their practice room and studio. The business model includes having a vetted roster of music teachers of all different instruments. Some will teach all their students here, others will swing by East Harbor to see their local students. The teachers simply rent the practice rooms and musicians can rent the rooms too. The studio essentially becomes a music school within walking distance for students afterschool. After talking to the music teachers around town, we found there was a lot of support for this. Parents will be more comfortable with their children taking lessons in a public studio where the rooms have glass walls instead of their children going to the instructor's private home. And frankly, the instructors are more comfortable with this too."

"Will this generate a profit?" asked Lars. "This seems like a huge investment."

"In short, yes," answered Janette. "But I would love for Carol to look at my numbers. I've tapped into the line of credit offered to Michael instead of spending his cash on hand. At those interest rates, it's practically free money. If we can fill the retail spaces, the rent alone will cover the building expenses -- pay off the loan, taxes, insurance, and utilities. Rental of the studio and practice rooms will be profit."

"That's a lot to ask of you. Is this something you want?"

"Actually, yes. I've been looking for something to do -- either expand my business or take on other responsibilities. Jordan will be in high school next year and I want to focus more on my career. I think this is the right challenge at the right time for me."

Lars noticed the time. "Oh shit, I've got to get to my afternoon appointments. I'll give Carol a call to loop her in on this. We can't have too many eyes watching out for Michael's investment. Oh, that was weird... it's like we're all working for him. I'll talk to you later." With that, Lars was out the door. He had a lot to think about on his brisk walk home.

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Lewis and Christian were on pins and needles. They stared at their parents and waited their decision.

Christian spent the night after their New Year's reunion and they'd stayed up late catching up, playing video games, watching movies, and simply enjoying each other's company. Before going to sleep, they concocted a plan to make sure they wouldn't be separated again. Now they just needed the buy-in by their parental units.

The three adults sat emotionless as they enjoyed the expressions of hope and anticipation on their sons' faces. Anna finally broke the silence.

"Well boys, I don't think Kristoffer and I can make our decision until we know how George feels about this. That's a lot to ask of your father Lewis."

"I know. Dad, we'll do whatever it takes. I'll do extra chores. I'm getting better grades -- you'll see when grade cards come out. Please dad?"

"Even if I say 'yes' Christian, I don't think it's fair to your parents to change their plans like that. They probably aren't even prepared for something like this." Anna and Kristoffer nodded in agreement as they drew out the boys' agony.

Kristoffer jumped in. "George is right. This completely changes all of our plans. Can we even do that Anna?" She shrugged her shoulders and gave the boys a bewildered look. Her acting was wonderful. What the boys didn't know is that George had called Anna and Kristoffer on their way home with the same idea the boys proposed. When Lewis and Christian said they had something to ask and made a very detailed proposal and included a lengthy list of benefits, they, as all good parents would, couldn't help but make the boys sweat a little.

"George," said Kristoffer, "I think you should go ahead and tell them.

"Well, boys. We already discussed this exact situation last night. Since this is a good time for Christian to transition to a new school and having him out of the house while his parent look for a new place and prepare to move, we decided it would be a good idea for Christian to stay with us until his family moves to East Harbor."

"Are you serious?" asked Lewis. He and Christian were prepared to beg and grovel. They had no idea it would be this easy.

"Yes," said Christian's parents.

Christian did a double fist pump then hopped up to hug and thank his parents. Lewis leapt from his seat and shouted "yes" before hugging his dad.

George hugged Lewis back. "I love you, buddy."

"I love you too, dad."

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SATURDAY, JANUARY 6, 2018

"Here, here!" shouted Michael. Michael ran diagonally from the goal to the left wing then used his body to block Lukas from interfering with the pass from Gavin. Lukas lunged to intercept the pass and missed. Receiving the pass, Michael saw Gavin make a cut to the goal. He spun to his right, Michael wrapped a pass around behind Lukas, bouncing it under Simon's stick. With a flick of the wrist, Gavin received the pass and shot it through the five-hole of the fake goalie guarding the net.

"Ugh!" exclaimed an exasperated Lukas.

"This is fun!" offered Gavin, high-fiving Michael.

It was Saturday morning and the boys were hanging out at the Majestic before the day's lacrosse practice. There was a 5k run that morning starting and ending at the high school. The boys decided it best to hold practice after the event. That gave them time to take advantage of their make shift indoor practice facility. In actuality, what the boys had done was move their backyard next into the theater so they could mess around when they weren't on stage practicing. As they got closer to school coming back into session, the boys were returning to their daily routine. Their new routine had them hanging out at the theater to practice instead of Simon's family room.

By Saturday, the boys were settled into their new digs and loving it. The stage provided plenty of room for them to have all of their instruments out and accessible, including the instruments brought back from Oregon. Now they had multiples of everything and more. They grabbed some old stage furniture and brought a TV from home to set up a game console off stage and for some seating. This, all in addition to the lacrosse goal and backstop they set up.

Michael called out to Matthew who was up on the stage practicing on his guitar.

"Yo, Matthew! Come down and warm up with us. It's almost time to head to the field."

Matthew set down his guitar and grabbed his stick and gloves. It was times like this that he felt out of place. When Gavin was around, he was the fifth wheel -- the odd man out. He didn't resent Gavin, or any of the other boys. He just didn't want to feel like they were including him because he was Michael's brother. When they were practicing as a band or lacrosse, the boys knew how each other worked and they functioned like a well-oiled machine. Now that they wanted Matthew to join them, they had to catch him up because he didn't know how to play lacrosse and he didn't all the songs they did. Matthew felt inadequate and that was new to him.

Besides, he was the oldest of the boys. He should be leading them, not them teaching him everything. Matthew tried to get his mind in a more positive spot. Lars told him that after beating yourself up for so long it becomes a hard habit to break. His new dad had explained that once Matthew accepted that he wasn't to blame for all that had happened, he may find other things to beat himself up over.

He hopped off the stage and joined his brothers passing the ball around. The boys assumed Matthew's athletic prowess gave him confidence that they didn't have so they never felt they needed to comment on his ability to pick up lacrosse so quickly. The field game was still strange to him but handling the ball with the stick seemed to come natural to him. Years of football, basketball and baseball developed his keen eye-hand coordination.

After getting Matthew warmed up, the boys headed to the field to prepare for the rest of the players to arrive. Since the start of the New Year, they'd had very good turnout. Plus, with the coaxing of Lukas and Scott, the rest of the lunch table gang started showing up too. They had varying reasons for joining the group. Scott and Jordan had played lacrosse in the past and thought it might be fun to at least practice with the rest of the guys. Jordan was still skeptical about actually trying out for the team. Will simply succumbed to peer pressure when he learned he'd be the only one not handing out with the team. Trajan was a much easier sell since his boyfriend would be there. Derek talked his big brother, Robert, into allowing him to participate since he was essentially the same age as Michael. Robert recognized how much Derek had matured and didn't think his little brother would be a distraction for the team.

Today, even Lewis had committed to making an appearance. He'd claimed to have been busy during the week with family commitments and helping a friend. True to his word, Lewis was one of the first to arrive and with Christian in tow. Neither boy had experience on a lacrosse team, but both enjoyed playing lacrosse in gym class, even if Lewis would never have admitted that before.

Lewis was floating on air. He enthusiastically introduced Christian to everyone they ran into as he made his way to the boys. "Hey guys! Remember I told you about my best friend Christian? This is Christian! He's moving to East Harbor and starts school on Monday. Christian, this is..."

"Wait, let me guess," said Christian with a huge smile. "You must be Michael." He extended his hand to the smallest of the gang. Seeing the family resemblance, he shook hands with oldest boy next. "Nice to meet you Matthew."

Of the three boys left, one was blonde. "Let me see," said Christian, contemplating all the Lewis told him about his friends. "That would make you, Lukas and you would be Simon." He shook each boy's hand.

"And you saved the best for last," said Gavin, drawing a moan from the other boys.

"Nice to meet you Gavin," said Christian. He was drawn to the cocky boy's sense of humor.

"What's in the bag, Lewis?" asked Lukas, curious about the huge sports bag.

"Dad bought me some goalie pads." Lewis set the bag down and opened it to show his friends. It was clear Lewis was proud of his new gear. "Being the goalie was fun in gym class. I thought I'd try out to play goalie for the team."

"Cool," said Lukas. "We need more goalies." He threw and arm over Lewis shoulder and both boys finally felt the ice had melted and Lewis was fully accepted by Lukas. With Lukas' endorsement, Lewis was on his way to mending fences with the classmates he'd pushed away or tortured over the years.

----------------------     


MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 2018

"Michael. Christian. Come see me," asked Mrs. Harmon at the end of first period. "The rest of you are dismissed. Have a great day and don't forget to read the chapter on the start of World War I."

Christian wondered what he'd done to incur the wrath of his teacher. First class of his first day in a new school and his teacher is holding him after class. For a boy that had never been in trouble, the butterflies were unbearable. On the other hand, Mrs. Harmon and Michael commonly held mini pow wows after class so this was a common occurrence.

"Hi, boys," greeted Mrs. Harmon. "I'm glad to see you two getting along so well."

"Yeah," agreed Michael. "Lewis brought Christian to lacrosse practice. We met over the weekend."

"Well that explains a lot." She'd watched Michael take Christian around and introduce him to all the students as his friend. It was like watching Michael pay it forward after Lukas taking the younger boy under his wing on Michael's first day.

"The reason I called you both up here is you two are the only students in this period registered for the honors track. As part of the honors track is a major year-end project that students are to work in small groups to complete. Since there are only two of you, I'd like you to work together. Here is the syllabus for the assignment. Read over this and let's discuss later this week."

The boys were handed a ten-page packet. Christian felt a bit of dread and anxiety over the teacher's expectations for the large, complex project. Michael was thrilled by the new academic challenge.

As they headed out the door, Michael spoke up, "Do you want to get together tonight to go over this project?"

"Yeah, that would be cool," answered Christian. "But I'll have to ask Lewis' dad to see if you can come over. My parents are worried about me going to other kids' houses until they meet them."

"Sounds like a plan," said Michael. "If you can't we can Facetime or something. See you at lunch."

----------------------     

Simon waited for Luke to grab his lunch from his locker. While he hung out at the entrance to the cafeteria, Simon used his phone to research the topic of his new history project. At the end of fourth period, Mr. Rowe had each student draw a piece of paper with a topic. Each student was to create a presentation and display on their topic and it would be presented at a World History night, sort of like a Science Fair for History. His topic was the Khmer Empire and Angkor Wat. He had no idea what those were and nervously tapped his iPhone screen to find out.

"Mr. Novak, just the person I was looking for."

The booming voice startled Simon. He jumped and looked up to find the hulking figure of the JV Basketball Coach, Mr. Julius Johnson, approaching. The coach's huge smile lit up the hallway.

"Hey! What's up, Mr. J?" said Simon as they exchanged the palm slap, backhand slip, fist bump, finger snap and point handshake Mr. J taught all of the students. It was his trademark greeting with the kids."Not much, not much, but I do have favor to ask."

"What's that?"

"The halftime entertainment we'd lined up for next Friday's game cancelled on us. The school suggested the pep band play like they usually do but Coach Williamson and I thought you boys should play. It's only 15 minutes so we figured you have time for three songs. What do you think?"

"That sounds cool. I'll have to ask the guys and get permission, but I think they'll agree."

"And we have a budget. It's not much, but we'll pay you what we'd planned to pay the group that cancelled."

"Awesome! Thanks, Mr. J." Simon was excited to get another paying gig and couldn't wait to share the news.

----------------------     


FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2018

"Here ya go." Zach handed Lars a cup of mint herbal tea before he joined his man in bed. Lars smirked as he sipped the tea. Zach had brought so much to his life in such a short period, but he still wasn't convinced that having herbal tea instead of coffee for bed was one of them. Friday evenings were usually down time for the men. It had been a habit for each of them to just put everything aside and relax at least one night a week when they could. Tonight, they planned to just spend the evening in. It was a "Netflix and Chill" night in the true sense of the phrase. For the time being, however, they hit Pause. Lounging in flannel pants, socks and t-shirts, the men enjoyed their evening beverage and quietly read and waited.

Detective Parker and Gavin had been over earlier in the evening and Michael had taken Gavin to his room so the boys could say their good byes privately. Though the plan was for Brian to go to Connecticut over the holiday weekend and send for the family later, Gavin insisted he needed to go with his dad and start school as soon as possible. Brian was puzzled by this until he conferred with Lars. Though Lars wouldn't divulge anything personal, he helped Brian agree that Gavin's transition to his new school sooner rather than later would be best for everyone. Gavin returned by himself and the Parkers said their final goodbye before they left for the East Coast on an early morning flight.

Lars and Zach suspected this evening would fall in line with a pattern they'd noticed. Michael would have something on his mind, and he'd disappear to his room. Then, before bed, he would reemerge and want to talk. The men were spot on. At a quarter to eight, Michael appeared at their bedroom door.

"Come on in Cuddlebug," greeted Lars.

Michael hurried into the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. He crawled between Lars and Zach and plopped down. Lars wrapped the boy in his right arm and pulled him close. Michael enjoyed the closeness when they had their conversations and was happy that Zach was there to join in even if the younger man mainly listened. Lars placed the article he was reading next to his tea and gave Michael a kiss on the head. Now he waited for Michael to begin.

Michael turned his back to Lars and laid his head on his new dad's shoulder. Now that Lars' arm draped over Michael's shoulder and across his chest, it was easier for the boy to hold. He placed his feet on Zach's leg and wiggled his toes. The younger man rubbed Michael's feet and gave him a warm, comforting smile.

The boy's body relaxed as he played with the hair on Lars' arm and formulated his question.

"Why don't I feel sadder?"

Lars knew what Michael meant, but to help the boys process his feelings he wanted him to put it into his own words. "What do you mean, Cuddlebug?"

Michael liked his nickname, especially since it was similar to Lukas'. He cuddled more tightly into his dad and squeezed the arm he held. "I'm really sad that Gavin is moving away, but I'm not broken up about it. Shouldn't I be crying and like feel really bad? I mean, he was my boyfriend and I love him, but... I don't know. I just don't feel like that."

"Remember when I asked you a question but told you not to answer it until I told you when?"

"Yes."

"What was the question?"

"You asked me if I thought Gavin and I loved each other the way Lukas and Simon love each other."

"That's right. I know you've thought about it. How would you answer that question?"

"No, I don't think we were in love like Lukas and Simon."

"Would you say your relationship with Gavin was more like your relationship with Matthew, or with Lukas?"

Michael noodled on that question for a bit. He knew the answer but tried to figure out what Lars was getting at by asking it.

"Does this have something to do with 'hero worship'?"

"Why would you think that?" asked Lars. He made eye contact with Zach and smiled. Zach knew all the ideas Lars had planted and watched as Lars helped the boy piece them all together. The younger man also loved to watch the looks on Michael's face has he worked his way through the thought exercises.

"Well, you used that term when we talked about how I loved Matthew in ways other than him just being my brother. And we talked about how I loved Gavin like a big brother before I loved him as a boyfriend. So, I think I might have hero worshipped him like I did Matthew and loved him the way I love Matthew, not the way I love Lukas or Lukas and Simon are in love."

"Mmmhmmm," agreed Lars. "And what do you think happened when Matthew came?"

"I had my big bro back..." Michael started to explain then the realization hit him. "Oh."

"Oh, what?"

"Gavin was kinda like a replacement for Matthew and when Matthew came, I didn't need Gavin as much anymore. That's why I miss him as a friend, but not miss, miss him like really bad."

"Ah," said Lars as if Michael had enlightened him on the subject. "I see."

Michael giggled. "You had the figured out all along, didn't you?"

"Maybe..."

"I love you, dad," Michael turned around and wrapped his arms around Lars' chest.

"I love you too," returned Lars, full of emotion.

With his face still nestled in the crook of Lars' neck, Michael asked, "Do you and Zach love each other like Lukas and Simon?"

Lars looked over at Zach. When their eyes met, Zach simply raised an eyebrow with a questioning look. Holding Zach's eye contact, Lars answered his youngest boy. "Yes, Michael. Yes, we do."

Michael yawned and sighed, "Good." With the heavy load off his mind, sleep overtook the boy.

Zach chuckled to himself. "He's asleep, isn't he?"

Lars gently caressed the boy's back as he slumbered. "Yeah, I think he's out for the night and I don't have the heart to carry him to another room to put him to bed."

"Either do I," admitted Zach. "I guess this is what I've signed up for," he added with a laugh.

"Well," offered Lars, "it's one of the best parts of parenting. Enjoy it while it lasts. It goes by so fast and this one's the only one not a teenager already."

"I don't mind, really. We can still Netflix. We'll just have to put off Chilling." Zach scooted over and reached his left arm around Lars and Michael while working the remote with his right.

While the Netflix app loaded, Zach turned to Lars. "You are the most amazing man -- as a father and as a professional. I love you more each and every day. Thank you for being in my life."

The men strained to share a kiss as Michael enjoyed the start to the best night's sleep he'd had in weeks.

----------------------     


THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018

"Where's Michael?" ask Lukas. "Did you tell him we're heading to theater to practice?"

"Yeah," said Matthew, "but he's in his room again. I'll go get him."

Since the New Year began, the boys settled into their new routine. On weekdays, they hit the gym before school. Showering at the rec center, the boys went to school and between school and dinner, got their friends together to practice lacrosse and played their instruments. After dinner, homework and more music if they had time, or they hung out and played video games.

Weekends were more of the same, with the middle and high school lacrosse players meeting up to practice, the boys spending time learning new songs and perfecting the ones they'd learned, they also had downtime to read, watch TV, and hang out together, with friends, or even just have some alone time.

Lars and Carol were pleased with how things were going with the boys. Matthew fit in with the family, and the band, and Michael had talked Matthew into learning lacrosse, so they could both be at the lacrosse practices. That became something very special for both boys. They'd never played the same sport, let alone play a sport together.

Once things settled down after the start of the New Year, the boys moved Michael's things from his old house at 697 Maple to his new bedroom at the Novak residence. He used his new bedroom room more like his playroom at the old house. This is where he hung his posters, kept his clothes, and had his toys, sports equipment, and his music and gaming system. Though he still slept with either Simon and Lukas, or with Matthew, his bedroom had become a sanctuary where he would go for some alone time. Since moving into this room, he'd been ordering additional Lego sets online adding to his already large collection. The expanded collection allowed Michael to experiment with building large, intricate, and very creative buildings. Building with his Legos kept his hands busy while his mind was busy on other things.

Most of the items in the house down Maple Street were newly purchased after the move so they didn't hold any sentimental value for either boy. After thinking about what their mother would have wanted and how to honor her, they donated her clothes to an organization to help disadvantaged women prepare for job interviews. The furniture and other items were sold in an estate sale on Everything but the House that ended the previous weekend. Once the house was emptied, a work crew came in to paint, clean and make a few updates to prepare the house for showing. Michael had met Megan's co-workers at the funeral. They offered to help him sell the house without commission as a way to help the boys. Though the house wasn't ready to show, they already floated the property to some clients to generate interest.

Lars and Zach were doing great. Zach moving in turned out to be a great decision for both men. Zach thrived in his Psychology classes at UC San Diego and San Diego State. Though the commute wasn't that long, on days when Zach had to be on campus, he drove to campus in the morning and spent the day on campus studying, interacting with his professors, and making friends.

To really make things feel like a family, at least once a week, Earl, Dorothy, and Zach's little brother Scott came over for dinner (it was a little much for everyone to fit into the Schultz house for dinner). The more Earl and Dorothy saw the way Lars, Zach and the boys functioned as a family, the happier they were with their son's relationship and his bright future.

Despite the fears of Coach Lange, the varsity lacrosse coach, about losing his star player and how the loss would affect the commitment of the other players, it seemed that his worries were needless. With Gavin in Connecticut, Simon, Lukas and Michael took on larger and larger roles as team leaders. With Lewis and the lunch gang also coming to the lacrosse practices (though they debated about actually trying out for the team) their presence, along with Matthew's, bolstered the boys' influence over the team. Their influence spanned the upper classmen who bought the skill development aspect of the practices as well as Coach Lange's tutelage. The upper classmen appreciated the boys stepping in to fill Gavin's shoes, so they didn't have to take on any responsibility or leadership in setting practices up and keeping the players motivated to attend. This did not go unnoticed by the East Harbor coaches.

Despite everything, Lars, Lukas and Matthew all noticed Michael's desire to spend time alone. Returning to school after the holidays, Michael and Matthew were greeted by their classmates with open arms. Michael, vowing to be himself and allowing himself to express his emotions when and how he saw fit, had taken to hugging and kissing his friends on the cheek at school. He seemed to have more and more friends that wanted to sit close by in class or hang out at lunch. He thrived on these friendships and the love flowed both ways. But in the evenings and weekends, Michael found time to retreat to his bedroom down the hall from Simon's and shut himself in.

Lars, nor the boys, could quite figure out what was going on with Michael. The boy wasn't revealing much in his conversations with Lars, but the man was certainly keeping a close eye on his youngest.

"Michael?" called Matthew before knocking on the door.

"Come in," invited Michael over the sound of his stereo playing one of his latest favorites -- Imagine Dragons' album "Evolve". Matthew wondered how long it would be before the band would be playing all of the songs on that album.

"Damn," said Matthew in astonishment. "That's really cool."

Michael had been putting his new Lego pieces to good use. He'd built a home with working cabinets and interior doors, stair cases, and even bathrooms. He was worked to get every detail he could into the home. Though Matthew could see how the rooms flowed and the building would function nicely as a home, Michael built the home to take advantage of different conservation principles he'd looked up. He had a desk lamp set up as the sun so he could look at shadows and shade for lighting and heat transfer. Open "glass" walls were designed to let light in during winter, but large eaves kept the sun out during the summer. Skylights providing lighting in the darker recesses of the house without the need for direct sunlight that would increase the temperature of the house and increase the need for air conditioning during the summer. The home had a unique design that was modern, yet engaging and appealing.

After Michael explained his construction, Matthew said, "We're ready to practice."

"Sorry," said Michael, "I lost track of the time." He turned off the lights and music and followed his brother down to join Lukas and Simon. When they four boys met in the garage and hopped on their new bikes and headed to the theater once their security detail was ready to follow.

Lukas still found it eerie walking into the dark, empty theater, even if they did belong there. Each evening, until they started playing, he had goosebumps and expected to see a ghost around every corner. The boys rolled their bikes through the new rear entrance and waited for the Michael to turn the lights on. Bruised shins and stubbed toes proved to be all the evidence they needed to conclude this was the safest way to begin practice. With all the construction during the day, the boys soon learned that stacks of building materials and piles of debris move daily and pose a formidable foe in the dark.

With a loud "chunk", the breaker sent power to the new practice rooms and recording studios. The crew made great progress applying the drywall to the exterior of the different rooms. Without these light gray panels, the backstage area was simply a skeleton of silver beams and electrical wires reaching to the ceiling high above. The drywall applied a skin to the skeleton bringing Michael's vision to life.

"Whoa..." was the consensus reaction of the boys. Their heads turned left and right as they stumbled their way to the stage to practice.

"So which songs are we going to do tomorrow night?" asked Simon. They been practicing a number of songs but hadn't pinned down a playlist for the halftime show.

Lukas played a riff on his drumkit and offered his input. "Well, whatever else we decide to play, I think we should have one that Matthew sings."

Matthew turned to Lukas and looked at the blonde like he'd lost his fucking mind. "What?!" He'd only just begun to warm up to singing during rehearsal. He never considered singing during a show.

"Dude, you're really good. Everyone at school would love to hear you sing," added Simon.

"No fucking way! I'm scared to even go on stage with you guys let alone sing."

Michael walked over to Matthew and gave him a huge hug before putting on his puppy dog eyes. "Would you do it for me? Please?"

"That's not fair," complained Matthew.

"I knew you'd do it," said Michael as he headed over to pick out the right guitar. "If we start with 'Moves Like Jagger' then I think we should follow that up with 'Live Like Animals' for Matthew to sing since it has the same dance feel."

Matthew knew he'd been had and now he had 24 hours to fight his nerves before their performance. Not only would he sing one song, he would be playing guitar on three other songs since the boys also accepted an invitation to play "Seven Nation Army" and "We Will Rock You" during the pregame. The ballgame the follow night against the Grizzlies of Mission Hills High School in San Marcos would definitely be memorable.

   
         
   

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