MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018

The morning was busy for Janette and Alvin. Things were moving full speed down at the Majestic and today was more hectic than usual. After learning of the events of Sunday afternoon Janette moved the interviews of the sound engineering candidate to Monday evening thinking the boys would have school and lacrosse but those were cancelled. She also arranged for SERVPRO to come first thing in the morning for hazardous waste cleanup. In other words, to clean up the mess Michael and the SWAT team made of Yanni and his two men. What she was unable to do was postpone the installation of the memorial, the furniture and equipment for the boy's loft, the final day of the construction and paint crews, and delivery of the remaining pianos for the practice rooms and each recording studio.

The delivery companies and work crews couldn't accommodate Janette's request to move their dates. The businesses didn't want to miss out on continued work for Majestic Enterprises -- especially the upcoming renovations to other parts of the Mallway. Thinking they would please their new client, each vendor chose to arrive early so they could complete the work ahead of schedule.

Alvin arrived at the theater first and called Janette. Trucks were parked everywhere waiting for someone to let them in. When Janette arrived, Alvin had taken charge and coordinated efforts around the SERVPRO team. There were a lot of questions for Alvin and Janette to field, mostly about the crime scene tape that had to be removed before anyone entered the building.

With things under control, Janette settled into her office to find an explosion of email. Since the business was just getting up and running, she'd never bothered checking her work email over the weekend. Looking through the email, there were many messages about the events of Sunday, but half were alerts from Vivid Seats. When she decided to go with Vivid Seats for ticket sales, she posted an event to test the system. The grand opening concert for the Majestic wasn't until April 6th and they hadn't promoted the show yet. But the show sold nearly 300 tickets over the weekend. She called Vivid Seats to see if there was some error, but they said there was no mistake.

Using the site's tools, she was able to pull up a report that mapped ticket sales by zip code. Expecting to see sales concentrated around East Harbor, she was surprised there were no sales for East Harbor's 92073 zip code. Scrolling the map, sales seemed to be concentrated in the 92037 and 92115 zip codes then evenly dispersed around San Diego. She was happy for the boys that tickets were starting to sell, but she was puzzled about how people were learning about the show.

If she'd had the time to dig around on the Internet a while, she might have discovered the low-key media buzz that was generating sales.

Around the UC San Diego campus, students and locals who attended Saturday's show at the Brick by Brick shared their excitement about a new band that opened for OFF!. Additionally, in a radio interview Keith Morris, the headlining band's lead singer, talked about At the Majestic as an up-and-coming band that listeners needed to keep their eyes out for.

Down around the SDSU campus, Asa and Keith's project was gaining attention. Clips of their video shoots were shown in class and shared around campus. They even debuted the first full music video to fellow students before sending it to the boys Sunday evening to release on their social media. But perhaps the biggest promotion of the band were Asa and Keith's discussions of video ideas around campus. Whether it was hitting up the sororities to find dancers or talks with the marching band and cheerleaders, word got around about the band. The hype around the band and the viewing of the videos convinced fellow students that the boys were legit and sparked a growing interest among the student body.

After ALT949's live radio interview with Keith Morris, the station got a steady stream of calls looking for information about the band. The promotions manager set up links from the station's web site to the boys' social media, the Majestic's website, and to Vivid Seats to buy tickets to their show.

Janette also found an email from ALT949 asking about having the band on "LIVE on Air", a weekly show where featured artists are interviewed and play live. The show aired Saturdays at 6:00 pm and they had an opening on March 31st -- the week before the grand opening show. She sent a message back to tentatively schedule the appearance and she would confirm by the end of the day.

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A black Mercedes SUV pulled up in front of the Meijer residence. Before it stopped, the passenger door flew open and a teen boy flew up the walkway and burst through the front door.

"Is Michael okay?"

"Good morning, Trey," greeted Lars. He held his arms open and the panicking boy ran to his friend's father.

"We heard what happened on the news this morning. I called Michael and he didn't answer his phone, so I had Jacob drive me down."

"It's okay, Trey. Michael is fine. As a matter of fact, I think you'll find the he is better than fine now that all of that is over."

Lars felt the boy relax. "Good."

"Who's Jacob? He can come in."

"He's my bodyguard. I'll get him." Alejandro went to the door to waved Jacob in, but the man had already stationed himself on the front porch. "Come in and wait for me here. Dr. Meijer and Zach are my friends. You'll like them.

Jacob betrayed his position and smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. That's one of the reasons he was assigned to Alejandro. After being Carlos' bodyguard for the last 10 years, the family knew how good Jacob was working with the boys in the family. The other reason was simple. Carlos didn't trust anyone else to guard his little cousin. He personally asked Jacob if he would take on this new assignment as a favor to the older Diaz boy.

After introductions were made, Lars told Alejandro the boys spent the night next door. The boy raced to see his friends and, of course, Lars offered Jacob a cup of coffee.

Handing the cup to Jacob who thanked Lars revealing his British heritage. "I'm sorry, I just assumed. Would you care for some tea?"

Jacob laughed, "Ah, no thank you. I've been in the States long enough I've come to like coffee just fine. Just don't tell my parents." They all got a big laugh out of that.

"I heard so much about you on the trip down here. You made quite an impression on Alejandro."

"Who?" asked Zach. His brain hadn't kicked in yet. The grad student's brain was still trying to figure out why Trey came in the front door instead of coming from the bedrooms. Clearly, he hadn't had enough coffee to recover from an evening of he and Lars having the house to themselves.

"Oh, I mean Trey. He has decided to go by his birth name, Alejandro Matéo Diaz, III. He so graciously informed me that he intends to allow his close friends to still call him Trey. I think he specifically means his friends here in East Harbor," explained Jacob.

"Well Jacob," said Lars raising his cup of coffee to the man, "please take special care of that boy. He's really important to all of us."

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Sam woke first and felt like a new man...er, boy. Michael couldn't have been more right. Saying "I am gay" out loud changed Sam's view of the world... and of life. He didn't feel like he had to hide anymore. Being himself and being completely accepted by his closest friends gave him the confidence to step up and fully be himself. Despite how much Matthew's talk Friday night gave him the courage to take those first steps and Dr. Meijer's talk with both him and Gregory helped him venture into coming out to his best friend and being okay with sex and sexuality, Sam attributed his new attitude, his new self, to the incredible boy beside him. The bad ass that got revenge on the men that hurt him. The sexy, naked tween his equally naked body pressed up against.

Not making the same mistake he made the morning before, he pulled the boy tighter and gently woke the younger boy with kisses on his neck. Between kisses he smelled Michael's hair and thought about the sex they had only hours ago.

Soon, Michael began to wake. He enjoyed the feeling of Sam's body against his back. Turning his head, he got to see the twinkle in Sam's eyes. It was as far as he could reach without turning over. Hoping Sam would get the hint, Michael puckered up. Sam leaned over and gave his friend a peck on the cheeks.

"Good morning," greeted Sam, followed by a smile that lit up the room.

Michael had never seen the boy smile as brightly. Not even after scoring on the lacrosse field. Then he felt Sam's hand travel south. The slow wandering fingers found a very erect cock when they reached their destination. Feeling Michael's excitement brought Sam to the same condition. The boys lay there, Sam gently humping Michael's firm, athletic ass and playing with the boy's drippy cock. Michael also enjoyed the attention Sam's lips and tongue gave to his neck and ear. The seventh-grader remembered his lessons well.

Things in the bed started off hot and the temperature continued to climb. The covers were kicked to the end of the bed as the two middle schoolers became more active. Michael turned to face Sam, but the blonde crawled on top, pinning the willing boy on his back.

*beep* *beep* *beep*

"Nooooo..." groaned Sam. He reached over and turned his alarm off. His parents would be by to pick him up in an hour. "I don't want to go home."

"You mean you don't want to stop sexing," giggled Michael.

Sam laughed too. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Well, unless you want your mom to know what you've been up to, you better take a shower."

Sam smelled under his arms.

"No, dork!" Michael laughed harder and hit Sam with a pillow. "You smell like cum and ass."

Sam was mortified at the thought of his mother smelling sex on him. He quickly got up to head to the bathroom. At the door he turned. "You can join me, if you want."

Michael saw the twinkle in Sam's eyes again. He hopped up and followed the nearly four-inch pointer directing his way.

Under the spray, the boys went at each other again, kissing and pawing at each other. The only difference was, they had soap on their hands under the pretense they were washing each other. Knowing time was short, Sam dropped to his knees to do some cleaning with his tongue.

Michael staggered back into the corner of the tub -- the walls supporting him while Sam worked on his boner and balls. His quiet moans and Sam's slurping were masked by the cascading water of the shower.

Alejandro, suspecting Michael was still asleep, wanted to surprise the boy. He opened the bedroom door carefully and heard the shower running. 'Even better,' he thought. 'I'll scare him in the shower.'

He crept quietly into the bathroom and prepared himself for the scare. A deep breath and Alejandro whipped open the shower curtain and yelled, "RAH!" The two boys shrieked in surprise.

"Oh!" Alejandro was just as surprised as the two naked boys in the shower. "Uh, Sam, um, hi." He gave a little wave at his former classmate.

Sam and Michael looked at each other and immediately agreed to an unspoken plan. The boys leapt from the tub and took their revenge.

"No!" yelled Alejandro before he started to laugh hysterically. He might have been able to fight off two typical seventh graders like Sam, but he was no match for Michael's strength. The two naked boys had their friend in the shower with them.

The roar of laughter from Michael's room woke the other boys. Matthew decided to get up and see what Lars and Zach were doing for breakfast. Simon and Lukas weren't of the same mind.

"What the hell?" groaned Lukas. Being closer to Michael's room, he and Simon had more difficulty getting a good night's sleep than Matthew.

"After a night at 'Michael's Accelerated Sex School for Gay Boys', how do they have the energy to go at it again?" Then Simon realized what he just said. "Oh my gawd, I sounded like dad!" Lukas and Simon cracked up of their own accord until Lukas turned things a bit more serious.

"Well, whatever. It's not like they have a bad idea," whispered the blonde eighth-grader. His hand drifting southward to find Simon's morning wood.

"I never said it was a bad idea," corrected Simon, reaching down to find Lukas' comparably hard cock. The boys kissed and the rest of the world melted away.

Alejandro's wet garments hung over the shower curtain rod as the three naked boys continued their fun.

Sam was on his knees sucking Alejandro and Michael stood behind him playing with the bi-boy's butt. Michael knew Sam needed to get going so he was trying to help things along.

"So, I guess Sam has come out?" asked Alejandro. He hadn't been gone 48 hours and he'd missed so much.

Sam nodded, but didn't stop. Michael also answered for him, "Yeah, Sam is in the process of coming out."

Alejandro congratulated his friend. "I'm happy for you Sam. This sure is a great way to come out!" He was referring to Sam giving him a blow job. Alejandro ran his fingers through Sam's wet locks.

Michael was wedged in between Alejandro and the wall. The 11-year-old, with his two most recent pupils, wiggled his finger into Alejandro's butt hole while his mouth worked on the boy's neck and his right hand tortured the boy's nipples.

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Christian was right on time and wasn't surprised Michael was still in bed. His little friend still wasn't keen on working on the workbook, but they agreed they would do the workbook first, then head to the theater to work on their video.

Climbing the stairs of the Novak home, he heard noises come from up ahead. Listening carefully, he realized they were coming from Simon's bedroom. He paused, not understanding what he was hearing. He could hear a repetitive slapping noise over the shower in Michael's bedroom. He stepped closer to the door trying to figure out what the noise was.

"Oh gawd. That feels so good," groaned Lukas. "Harder." The slapping noise got louder.

When Christian realized the boys must be having sex, he blushed a million shades of red and hurried through the open door to Michael's room. He set his backpack down on the work table and snuck into the bathroom to scare Michael again. The last time, at the theater, he'd gotten the boy good!

He readied himself then threw open the curtain. A shriek of surprise rattled through the house. The three boys in the shower looked to see who screamed. Christian was mortified to have intruded on more naked boys having sex.

Alejandro, too far past the point of no return, shuddered through his orgasm. Sam, embarrassed to be caught sucking cock and now, swallowing a load, turned red, but refused to miss a drop of his new favorite treat. Michael was the only one to have the courtesy to apologize to Christian, though it was his bathroom and it should probably be Christian apologizing for intruding.

"I'll wait downstairs," informed the bespectacled teen turning to make a hasty retreat.

"Just wait in the bedroom, Christian," called Michael. "We're finishing up."

Christian did as asked. He took a seat with his back to the bathroom and quickly got his laptop out. As soon as he had his email open, the three came barreling out of the bathroom without a stitch of clothing.

"I better throw my clothes in the dryer," said Alejandro, hurrying back to grab his clothes before heading into the hallway, fully naked.

"You better run them through the spin cycle in the washer first or they'll never dry." Michael followed to show Alejandro how to do that leaving Sam and Christian in the room together.

Sam quickly dressed. His parents would be there soon. "Uh, Christian?"

Christian didn't dare look away from his laptop. "Yeah?"

"Could you, um, maybe not say anything to anyone? At least not until I get a chance to come out on my own or something?"

"Don't worry. I don't gossip or ever tell anyone else's business."

Sam was relieved. "I didn't think you would. That's why everyone likes you so much." He didn't add in how everyone thought Christian was super cute too, including himself.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," offered Christian. "I was trying to play a prank on Michael. I didn't know you and Trey were here."

"Alejandro," corrected Alejandro entering the room. "I'm going to start going by my birth name, but you can still call me Trey if you want."

"Was that one of the things you said you wanted to wait and tell me in person?" asked Michael. The two remaining naked boys seemed to be oblivious to that fact and it made Christian terribly uncomfortable.

"Yep. Alejandro Matéo Diaz the third. That's where Trey came from. Get it?" Alejandro beamed with pride for his real name and family.

"I like it!" said Michael, then he practiced rolling his "r". "Alejandrrrro." Alejandro smiled. He liked how Michael said his name and everything else about his friend -- his best friend.

Sam's ringtone sounded. "Damn, my parents are here. See you at school tomorrow!" He gave Alejandro a hug. "Hope to see you again soon, Alejandro. Get my number from Michael!" He rushed down the stairs and out to his parents waiting car.

"Hi mom. Hi dad," greeted Sam.

"Hi dear," greeted Mrs. Greenfield. Sam's parents were older when they had the surprise, and joy, of finally getting pregnant. Most of his friend's parents were in the mid- to late-thirties or early-forties. Sam's parents were nearly 60 and it always seemed his parents, especially his mother, were more conservative than other parents. But it could also be they were just more protective of Sam because they tried so long to have a child and Sam has been their precious little miracle.

"Can we stop and get breakfast? I'm starving," asked Sam as he buckled himself into his seat.

"Didn't Dr. Meijer feed you?" She was leery of allowing Sam to spend the night away from home a third night in a row and if Dr. Meijer isn't going to take care of the boys who spend the night at his home, then Sam wouldn't be spending the night there again.

"All of the boys spent the night next door at Simon's and I, uh, overslept and didn't make it to breakfast before you came."

Mrs. Greenfield didn't like the sound of that, but her husband consoled her and tried to help her see Sam's side of things. They started to go through the McDonald's drive thru but Sam asked if they could eat in.

Sam got hot cakes and a breakfast burrito with some orange juice and his parents got coffee. They sat quietly while Sam gathered his courage. He was scared of his mother's reaction and he hoped being in public would prevent her from blowing her top.

"I'm gay," stated Sam. He said it like it was the most normal thing in the world then took another bite of his breakfast. He hoped that if he didn't make a big deal about it, his parents wouldn't either. Part of him also hoped they would miss what he said, but he'd be able to say he told them even if they didn't know it.

"What do you mean, honey?" asked Sam's mother.

'Really?' thought Sam. In his excitement over the weekend and his new-found confidence, he clarified for his mother. "You know, gay, like, I like guys, and I want to have a boyfriend."

"Harold?" Gladys Greenfield was taken aback by the frankness of her precious little boy.

Harold looked at his panic-stricken wife then to his beautiful boy. "Son, did you look inside your heart and this is how the love in you is guiding you?"

"Yes, father."

"I'm proud of you son. It took a lot of courage for you to come out to us. Come here and give me a hug."

Sam leapt from his chair and nearly landed in Harold's lap without touching the floor. "I love you, dad."

"I love you too, Sam. More than you could ever imagine." Harold nuzzled Sam's hair. He wasn't ready for his son to grow up but was proud at how easy Sam had made being his parent.

"Sam, are you sure you're gay?" asked Gladys, hoping this was all a prank or something. It wouldn't be the first time Harold and Sam played a prank on her, but this was far more serious than switching the sugar and salt.

"Yes, mother. I'm totally into boys, not girls."

Gladys sighed. She knew Sam had his father's support and it was time for her to get on board too. "Well, I love you too, Samuel. I love you just the way you are. But none of that kissing and other stuff with boys. Not yet, anyway."

"But mom," whined Sam. "I like kissing boys."

Gladys about choked on her coffee. This was too much information and the visions flashing through her mind of Sam kissing other boys was something she wasn't prepared for. "Well, then..." she looked for a way to recover from her shock, "none of that other stuff, then."

"Mom," said Sam, "it's not like they'll get me pregnant."

Gladys about had a heart attack. Her face flushed and her hands shook as she tried to take another drink of her coffee.

Harold intervened. "Samuel Levi Greenfield." When his father used his full name, which was rarely, he knew it meant business.

But this morning Sam was on a roll. "But I'm not even still a vir..." Harold's hand clamped over Sam's mouth.

"Son, you and I need to have a conversation about oversharing with your mother." He stood Sam back up on his feet and led the boy to the patio area for a quick father/son talk.

----------------------     

While Sam went to McDonald's, Michael and Alejandro dressed and prepared for the day.

"So, what brought you down here today?" asked Michael. The boy slipped on a pair of underwear realizing how uncomfortable Christian was with all the nudity. He tossed a pair of boxers for Alejandro to put on.

"I was gonna call you to see if you had time to hang out today, but when I went to breakfast this morning abuela told me about what happened yesterday. I called and your phone went straight to voicemail, so I had Jacob drive me down."

"Oh shit," Michael found his dead phone and plugged it in to charge. "I guess I forgot to plug it in."

"You never forget to plug that in... unless you're busy," teased Alejandro with all sorts of innuendo implied.

"Shuddup," grinned Michael.

"How did your abuela hear about what happened yesterday?" asked Michael.

"Dude, really?" Alejandro pulled out his phone and showed Michael the results of his Google search. "Every national news outlet is carrying the story."

Michael took the phone and swiped to see the headlines. He took a seat at the table next to Christian who looked over his shoulder. "Oh shit! Okay, I'll have to talk to dad about this. So, who's Jacob?"

"My bodyguard," answered Alejandro.

"Trey Thomas has a bodyguard?" joked Michael. All three boys laughed.

"Not exactly," explained Alejandro. "I really am going by my birth name now and as a Diaz, having a bodyguard in certain parts of the world is important. Here in the states, he's less of a bodyguard and more of the adult that follows me around so I can do things kids can't do, like drive. But I wanted to come down and talk to you -- texting back and forth just isn't the same. Facetime is fun, but it's not like I'm that far away. So I decided to come down."

"Cool," smiled Michael. "Christian came down and we were going to work on some video stuff today."

"And your workbook," reminded Christian.

"Oh yeah," joked Michael, acting as if it was something out of the blue.

"Has he been doing his work?" asked Alejandro.

"Every day, whether he wants to or not," answered Christian.

"You guys do know I'm right here in the room," pointed out Michael, a bit irritated that two of his best friends were talking about him like two parents discussing the behavior of their child.

Alejandro looked at Michael and teased the boy with baby-talk, "Well yes we do. Michael's been such a good... *oaff*." The Spanish boy was cut off mid-sentence when Michael tackled him back onto the bed. Giggling and wrestling ensued when Alejandro called for reinforcements to overtake the muscular little gymnast.

"Don't just sit there, Christian," called the brown-eyed teen. "Help me!"

Michael felt the bed sag under the weight of another body then another pair of hands attacked. The young boy squealed, "This isn't fair."

The older boys, in unison, laughed, "We know!"

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After Alejandro and Christian led Michael through part of the workbook and the clothes in the dryer were finished, they decided to head next door to see what everyone else was doing.

The boys burst in to find a house packed with people. Michael's brothers were having breakfast with Janette King, Carol Novak and Federal Agent Brian Parker. Lars and Zach moved to the front room to talk with Jacob.

"Oh, wow!" exclaimed Michael. The gathering at the Meijer house was a surprise. Then he saw Brian and Carol. "Mom! Dad!" He hurried over to give them each a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"I knew you were coming," Michael stated in reference to Brian's appearance, "but I didn't know you were coming home."

"Yes, I got home last night, sweetie." Carol loved it when the boy smiled at her that way. "But, I'm sorry to say that I didn't get much sleep last night or this morning. Things were a bit noisy upstairs."

Michael turned bright red. "Sorry."

All the boys in the room laughed at Michael's embarrassment. Lars laughed because Michael was giving Carol a taste of what he'd been dealing with the last couple years with Simon and Lukas.

Those who hadn't heard the story of the events at the Majestic were filled in with Michael's dramatic storytelling. Brian confirmed the details of Michael's story. Before Michael and Christian could leave for the theater, there was one matter that needed to be discussed.

Jannette opened the topic. "So, Michael, I bet you found a lot of messages on your phone when you turned it on this morning."

"Yeah. I haven't looked at them yet, but Tr... Alejandro showed me that all of this made the headlines today."

Brian filled Michael in. "That's right. The department held a press conference to announce the take down of the international syndicate that Yanni led. I didn't know they were doing that, or I would have warned you all. But our director's position is a political appointment and this case is a coup for everyone in charge."

"Michael," Janette continued, "I think it was pretty easy for the media to trace back to you as the 'juvenile' in the news reports. From social media, they've been contacting the band's media contact -- me. How about you, Lars?"

"No, mine has been mainly parents and friends of the boys and family. Everyone in town knew it was Michael and since his phone was off," he gave a funny look to Michael who giggled, "they called me instead."

"Whichever way we choose, we need to address the media in some way and, because this is about you, Michael, we wanted you to be part of the conversation."

Michael nodded and sat quietly for a moment. Then he spoke. "I want to do a press conference."

"You want what?" asked Brian.

"I want to have a press conference. You know, get all the reporters together, say what I have to say, answer some questions and be done with it... Unless Ellen or Oprah want to interview me. I think it would be cool to meet them."

There was robust discussion, but no one could really see any cons with this idea, other than it was a lot to put on the shoulders of such a young boy. In the end, they decided that Michael, with Brian, would speak to the press and Brian would step in at any time to end the event.

Janette got on the horn to round up anyone who wanted to attend the press conference. Jacob accompanied Alejandro, Christian and Michael to the theater. While the boys straightened up the video room after Sam had moved things to create the barricade, Alejandro talked about the things he'd been waiting to tell Michael face-to-face.

"Christian's cool, I don't mind him hearing all this." Christian smiled at the acceptance of Alejandro. "Just know I'm not trying to brag, I just need someone to talk to about it and Michael's my best friend."

"No, that's cool. I get it," said Christian in his laid-back natural way.

It was true, Alejandro didn't show off or brag, it was simply a 13-year-old boy talking to his friends about the life changing events happening in his life and hoping they can help him put it into perspective.

He showed them his credit card, they'd met Jacob, heard about the houses the family owns around the world, access to private jets, a chef, his cousin teaching him how to surf, he shared with Christian the photo he sent to Michael of him and Carlos skinny dipping in their pool, and then he talked about the coming school year.

"I have private tutors starting today... well, tomorrow, to get me caught up in everything before the school year. I'm supposed to go visit some private boarding schools to attend. It's like, cool and everything. There are a few in the US, some in the UK, and other places in Europe. Grandmother splits her time between Spain and London, Carlos will be in New York, and I don't know what to do. I just found my family, and I don't want to go to school and be away from everyone I know. That would suck."

Alejandro continued trying to find the right way to express what he was feeling. "I mean, the whole point in finding my real family was to be with them if I couldn't be here in East Harbor with you guys. Well, I found them, but going off to boarding school seems to be exactly like what I didn't want to have happen -- to be alone."

Michael and Christian nodded their heads. They understood exactly what Alejandro was trying to say.

"Well, there are other options," Michael suggested. Alejandro looked hopefully at his young friend. So far, Michael's plans have been pretty damn good.

"First, you could get home school with your tutors. Then you could live anywhere you want. Also, who says you have to go to a boarding school. One of the best private high school in the state, Pacific Ridge School, is only a few miles from here. If you have a trust fund, and your family is going to allow you to choose where you go to school away from home, why not go to school here. You could go to East Harbor or Pacific Ridge and live here in town with all your friends."

"You always make me feel better about things." Alejandro walked over and gave Michael a hug that was eagerly returned.

"Either way, you'll have your phone, your tablet, and your laptop, so you can Facetime, Zoom, text, or whatever you want. We'll always be here to talk. And on breaks, you can take one of your fancy private jets and come visit."

"Yeah, you're right." Alejandro released Michael from the hug.

"But..." Michael gave a dramatic pause, "If you are trying to find out who Alejandro Matéo Diaz the third is, and to live up to the family name, can you do that here? Especially some place where everyone knows Trey, not Alejandro."

"Ugh. Now you're making my head hurt."

"Well, we can change the subject. I have something to show you," said Christian. His MacBook was plugged into a large monitor and he turned it for the other boys to see. "Asa and Keith sent us their first finished video to post on our sites. The download just finished."

Christian opened the video and hit play.

The video opened with traffic cam and security footage of the crowds and traffic surrounding the Hollywood Recreation Center. The volume of the traffic noises and the crowd hooting and hollering increases as the camera pans to a band set up on the grassy outfield. The date "January 27, 2018" appears on the screen and fades out. The scene fades in to Michael, Alejandro and two hustlers standing along Santa Monica Boulevard when an SUV pulls up. The boys approach, then the two older hustlers walk away discouraged. Finally, the door opens and Michael gets in leaving Alejandro standing there looking concerned. The opening of "Hash Pipe" starts playing. After the first four bars the video cuts to the band playing the song. The over exposed lighting on the brightly colored instruments and green grass with the black curtain of night behind the band was a brilliant idea. The video cuts between different camera angles and different band members and cuts to some B roll of Santa Monica Boulevard, other hustlers on the streets, the crowd watching the performance, police cars flashing lights and police wrangling the crowd. The camera angles and edits made the crowd look even bigger than it really was. When the song ended, the video cut back to the crowd and faded to black.

"Wow!" exclaimed Christian. He knew this should look professional but after seeing the final product it was still hard to believe. "How did you get those guys to... Alejandro was one of the... Were you... Oh!" Christian realized what Alejandro had been doing in Hollywood when he was a runaway and Michael found him. "I won't say anything to anyone. I promise."

"In all honesty," interjected Michael in Alejandro's defense, "we found him before he did anything like that. So, he was acting, just like I was." There was silence as the boys let everything settle in.

"Before you post the video, can you add something to it? Can we have it up and live before the press conference?"

"What do you want to do?" asked Christian.

"At the end of the video when it fades to black, put, proceeds from this video will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children."

"No problemo," replied Christian.

"And can you render the song to an audio file to put on Apple Music?"

"Yes I can," answered Christian, already hard at work.

"What can I help with?" asked Alejandro.

"We are going to make a video for social media," said Michael. He set up Christian's camera in the middle of a ring light and one of the band's condenser mics. After some adjustments to lights and sound, Alejandro and Michael got to work. After multiple takes, bloopers, giggle fits, and all, they finally got a take that didn't need to be edited -- Christian had plenty to do already. Michael downloaded it from the camera and uploaded the video to their social media accounts.

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[The transcript of the video plastered across all of the band's social media accounts.]

Michael: What's up everybody? This is Michael from the band At the Majestic, here at the Majestic Theater in East Harbor, Cali with my bestie Alejandro Matéo Diaz.

Alejandro: Yo wassup! Make sure you like and subscribe to this channel to stay up to date with everything the band has coming out. And make sure you share this with your friends. It's gonna be crazy!

Michael: That's right, tonight, at 5pm Pacific Time, we are dropping our first professionally recorded music video! Hop over to the Apple Music store to download the video, the song, or both. Yes, you'll be able to see them right here on our YouTube, Instagram and Facebook accounts, but we are encouraging you to buy the song or video.

Alejandro: Yeah, Michael and I star in the video to shed light the problem of youth homelessness and the things some kids have to do to survive.

Michael: It's a real problem. Proceeds from the downloads of the video and song will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to help protect ourselves, our classmates, and our friends all around the world.

Alejandro: Don't forget to watch the news tonight. Our boy Michael here is going to hold a press conference. If you don't see it in your area, we'll be having it broadcast on YouTube Livestream and posted later tonight.

Michael: Again, the video and song drop, and the YouTube Livestream, are at 5:00 PM Pacific Time. That's like 8:00 pm if you are on the East Coast. Don't miss it!

Michael and Alejandro: Peace!

----------------------     

"You don't have to do this, Michael," said Carol as she fussed over his hair. Michael was busy getting his bow tie straight.

"I know I don't have to, that's why I want to do it."

Having been through the tween years with Lukas and Simon, Carol still hadn't figured out tween-boy logic. But Michael was determined and there were worse things a tween boy could be determined to do. Luckily, none of her boys had gotten into any of those things as far as she knew.

"It's time son," said Lars. He picked the boy up and stood him on a chair. "I love you. Please don't feel like you need to do this for anyone. This press conference is for you, and you alone. If you change your mind at any time, you can simply walk away from the podium."

Michael nodded. The look on his face was one of focus and determination. Lars had seen that look many times before and was looking forward to hearing what his son had to say to the media.

"Com'on Michael," said Brian, waving the boy over. The agent stood beside the boy as they walked around the wall to the music studio where the press conference was being held. The podium was set up on a platform behind the reception counter facing the studio's entrance. Television crews and reporters from all over the Southern California area, representing their local station and their national affiliate, were waiting for his appearance. Off to his left stood his family, Alejandro and Jacob. Christian had to be home for supper and left after getting the videos and song posted. To the right stood the local FBI and law enforcement agents including Sandra Kowalczyk. Michael waved to Sandra, happy to see her.

Without introduction, Michael stood on a short riser behind the podium. He adjusted the microphone lower before he began to speak. He set his notes in front of him.

"Hello. My name is Michael Meijer. I was a victim of Yanni Oikonomou's child sex trafficking syndicate and I am happy to say that because of my friends from the FBI, the men and women working for Yanni will not be hurting any more children."

"This syndicate was insidious. They gathered information to blackmail my father to get to me and my brother. My father is now in prison. They followed me when I moved to East Harbor from Oregon and kidnapped me and my friend. We fought them and the kidnappers died in a car accident, and my friend and I escaped. As revenge, Yanni sent a gunman who murdered my mother and was caught trying to kill my new family. To try to destroy me, his people arranged to have pornographic images of my abuse scattered around my school for other students to find."

"While all of this was happening, the FBI was dismantling Yanni's global team, saving children and confiscating evidence."

"Then, yesterday, Yanni came back to get the one that got away. Me. I had not only gotten away, but my father had been instrumental in his losses."

Michael went on to relay the story of his adventure the day before and the attention of the press hung on every word. They planned the press conference in this venue so Michael could point out where he crossed via the ceiling trusses, where he spearfished one henchman and where he riddled the other with nails.

"I'm here talking to you because this is it. It's over. The syndicate is done and so is that chapter in my life. I don't want to be the kid that survived the abuse. I don't want to be the kid that killed the bad guys. If you must frame me in some way, tell everyone that I'm just a kid trying to make a difference in the world."

"My vision is the East Harbor Mallway will become a cultural center for adults and children to express themselves in an environment that is physically and emotionally safe. Though our grand opening is April 6th, we are meeting with instructors later this week to begin offering music lessons here in Majestic Studios. Behind me are two professional recording studios. After this press conference, we'll be interviewing a recording engineer to staff the studios and so we can begin recording artists for major labels as well as Majestic Studios' own recording label that will be artist focused."

"Also, at the beginning of this conference, our band, my brothers and mine, At the Majestic, dropped our first single and music video on Apple Music. I don't want to speak for anyone else, but my proceeds from the purchase and download of the video or song will be donated to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If you don't want to purchase the video or song, we also have a GoFundMe page to raise money that we'll add to the funds raised through Apple Music sales."

Michael took questions which he considered fluff and pointless until one reporter informed him of something he wasn't aware of.

"Michael, I'm Candice Johnson from National News Network. In speaking with the family of one of the men you killed yesterday, they say they plan to file a wrongful death suit against you saying you killed the men in vengeance and not self-defense."

Brian attempted to take the mic but Michael held his ground. "You know what I say to that? Bring it on. I recognized each of those men. They participated in my abuse. The original videos of my abuse have been recovered -- the videos BEFORE the faces of the men were blurred out. If they want to come after me, then I will counter with a civil suit of my own seeking damages for the abuse inflicted on me and I'll have the video evidence to back it up."

After that, there were no more questions.

"Thank you all for coming. If you'd like to interview us, me and my brothers, about the band, our music, or our other projects, please contact Janette King. This press conference is the one and only time I'll speak about what happened and I thank you for being here to listen. Please respect my request and not ask for further interviews on this subject... Unless you're Oprah or Ellen." Michael raised his fingers to his ear like he was talking on the phone and mouthed "call me" to the cameras. That brought a laugh from everyone in the room.

When Michael stepped from the podium, someone began clapping. He wasn't sure who it was, but reporters and cameramen joined in giving the brave boy a standing ovation. Michael smiled and gave a half wave before leaving the room.

Brian was the first to congratulate him on a job well done. "Remember the night you met me and Abby? You told us that you weren't good with words so you sang a song. Well, you just proved that to be completely wrong. That was the most articulate press conference I've ever witnessed. You were marvelous."

Michael didn't know how to respond to Brian's praise. But he did know how to respond when Brian gave him a huge hug. He hugged the man back tightly.

"I've got to get home tonight. Please know that Abby and I love you so much. And Gavin misses you."

Another hug was exchanged before they parted ways and Michael met up with his family. For Michael, the press conference brought some closure to those events in his life and he was ready to move on. The question became, would the rest of the world be willing to go along with that.

----------------------     

Janette had conducted the phone interview and passed the resume onto Carol and Lars. It wasn't that they knew more about the music business than Janette, it was just the new recording engineer would be working closely with the boys without additional adult supervision and she wanted the parents to be comfortable with the hire. Carol, Lars, Janette and Zach were present to conduct the first in-person interview of 'AJ' as he preferred to go by.

The thirty-something man had a shaved head and goatee. He was pleasant and very articulate about how he wanted to promote and manage the recording studios to generate a positive flow of revenue. This was important because the salary structure presented was a combination of a base salary, a percentage of revenue generated by the renting of the studios, and 100% of any recording, engineering, or producing services he provided to the talent renting the studios.

The most excitement he showed was when he walked into the control room of Studio 1 on the first floor. He was comfortable with the equipment and setup, explaining it all to the four adults interviewing him.

As for AJ, he wasn't overly thrilled with the idea of working with another kid band (supporting At the Majestic was part of his base salary). He'd been there and done that and found so many of the kid artists to be ego driven little brats with parents that were even worse. But this opportunity had so many upsides, he was willing to come down for an interview and work with the boys to see how things went.

He'd worked at recording studios and run his photography business on the side, but unless you were connected and got into the big studios, the music business was like shooting craps. He'd worked for a string of studios that were either more focused on partying with the artists than actually getting any work finished, or the owners were more focused on the art than running a profitable business. Despite the responsibility to work with kids again, this job was everything he could want. It was by far the most professional operation he'd had an opportunity to work for.

"Well, AJ, I think it is time you met and worked with the boys. Their equipment is upstairs in Studio 2. Go ahead and head up there and we'll get them."

The boys were on stage messing around and talking about the press conference. But mostly, they were watching their social media as Michael and Alejandro's video and the press conference began to trend as well as the song and video on YouTube and Apple Music.

Watching some of the news reports popping up online, they introduced Michael as a member of the band At the Majestic, getting the band's name out there and generating interest in their social media.

Christian, being the savvy marketing and social media kid he was, took it upon himself to promote the GoFundMe for anyone who wanted to contribute to the band's donation to the NCMEC.

The chatter among the boys and Alejandro was electric. When the adults came to get them, they all tried to talk at once about everything.

"Hold on," called Lars. "We can talk about this later. You guys don't have much time before you need to be home and in bed. You have school tomorrow. But first, you need to meet AJ and try out your studio for the first time."

"But first, I need everyone to come with me up to the studio," said Michael.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna get home," announced Alejandro. He walked over to Michael. "I love you, bro."

"Love you too," replied Michael, returning Alejandro's hug. The Diaz boy told each of the other boys he loved them too and shared a hug before heading out of the theater with Jacob.

Michael led the way up to the entrance of Studio 2 where a sheet was hanging over the outer wall next to the entrance. The door to the control room was open and AJ watched with interest.

"This is a really special moment. Our first time in a recording studio. I know for each of us it has a different meaning, but for us as brothers, and as a band, this is a big moment. But there's one very important person that made this possible who isn't here with us to celebrate. So, I did this."

Michael pulled the sheet down and revealed the wall art behind. It was a collage of pre-school and kindergarten aged Lukas and Simon learning their instruments. The common character in each photo was Simon's father, Stephen Novak. The words inscribed on the wall read "The Stephen Novak Memorial Studios In Loving Memory".

Simon walked up to the wall and reached out to touch one of the life-sized images of his father. The most stoic of all the boys broke into tears. First Michael, then Carol and Lukas, and soon after Matthew, Lars and Zach all joined a group hug with Simon in the middle.

AJ witnessed the touching moment. Wiping a tear from his own eye, the thought, 'Maybe these kids will be different.'

----------------------     

The boys had come with some prepared questions and liked what they heard, especially the part where AJ said he was willing to teach the boys everything he knew so they could run their own recording if he wasn't available.

After interviewing AJ in the control room, they entered the studio for the first time. Their designated instruments had been brought up, but the drum kit needed adjusting, and the mics were the wrong height so the boys went about getting things in the right places.

"So, what's on the agenda for tonight?" asked AJ from the control room.

Michael pulled out his iPad. Asa had sent a production schedule and highlighted the songs they'd need recorded before upcoming video shoots. First up, "Semi-Automatic" by Twenty-One Pilots. Zach was in the studio with the boys while Janette, Carol and Lars sat in the control room to observe.

'That's an interesting choice,' thought AJ. He turned on the mic to speak to the boys. "Why don't you run through it to warm up?"

The boys nodded. He could see they were getting into their zones for playing music. It was a far departure from their mindsets earlier. He'd arrived early for his interview and watched the press conference and knew the boys needed to play to shift their minds to their music instead of all the other distractions of the day.

Janette, Lars and Carol were in the dark -- none recognized the song by title, though Janette would recognize it as music that had blasted from Jordan's room. They listened as the boys played through the song. Simon's bass ran through a bass synthesizer making it sound more like a keyboard synthesizer than guitar. Lukas was on drums, of course, while Matthew and Zach manned digital keyboards and samplers. Michael positioned himself next to the piano and prepared to provide vocals.

The piece didn't sound anything like what the boys played before, and it was the first time they heard Michael rap, but the lyrics were perfect for the moment.

At one point in the song Michael rapped:

The horrors of the night melt away,
Under the warm glow of survival of the day,
Then we move on,
My shadow grows taller along with my fears,
And my frame shrinks smaller as night grows near.

Then the song switched back to singing:

When the sun is coming windowsills,
And the silver lining rides the hills,
I will be saved for one whole day,
Until the sun makes the hills it's grave.

Janette couldn't stay for the entire session, but Lars and Carol did. They were enthralled by the process. AJ worked well with the boys, able to get exactly what he wanted from them and the boys took his direction willingly.

It was getting late when they finished and the boys, especially Michael, were getting tired. AJ brought the boys into the control room and played a rough mix of the best takes.

The boys were thrilled with the sound and couldn't wait to lay down some more tracks. Zach took them home while Lars and Carol finished their conversations with AJ.

"Well, you told us your concern about working with kids again. What do you think?"

AJ didn't say it, but he'd be willing to take less pay to ensure he got this job. He chose to play it cool. "I'm really impressed by the boys. I'd love to work with them if you'd allow me to."

They finalized the financial side of the deal and asked AJ to return the next day to finish employment paperwork and pick up a set of keys.

----------------------     

Matthew sat on his bed sketching in his art pad listening to some music. He shifted his hips to adjust his boxers, the only garment he was wearing, when Simon wandered into his room. The older boy removed this ear buds and asked, "What's up?"

Simon sat next to Matthew, back against the headboard. His boxers also rode up as his body slid down the bed. "That's why I hate wearing boxers," said Simon, with Matthew's full agreement.

"Are you okay?" asked Matthew.

The raven-haired teen wasn't okay, but he wasn't sure he could explain it. He needed someone to talk to, but at that moment, Lukas wasn't the right person. He wished Lukas was the right person, but at that moment, Lukas was caught up in the excitement from the weekend and was hanging out with Michael. Simon didn't want to interrupt them with his sadness, and he didn't want to talk to the adults. By default, Matthew was his only option.

Just a couple months ago, back around Christmas, there had been tension between the two oldest boys. Matthew was over protective of his little brother and Simon wasn't sure how he felt about having the title of the oldest taken from him, especially by a boy he didn't really know. Since then they'd made their peace and shared the responsibility to look after and protect Lukas and Michael. Tonight, however, Simon needed a big brother and hoped Matthew would accept that role.

Matthew waited for Simon to answer his question. He knew the answer to his question was "no", but he hoped Simon would put that into context. Matthew watched as tears welled up in Simon's eyes. Matthew put his phone and sketch implements away and moved closer to Simon. He pulled Simon into a hug and let his brother cry. The significance of this moment wasn't lost on Matthew. He felt he and Simon had a very different relationship as brothers than they each had with Lukas and Michael. Not strained, they were very supportive of each other, but they weren't close.

The two teens spent the remainder of their evening talking about the loss they felt from losing a parent to an untimely death and how they wished Megan and Stephen could see their successes and meet their current love interest. The boys bared their souls to each other in a way they hadn't opened up to anyone else, solidifying their bond as brothers.

In the other room, the mood with the other two was completely different. They were hyped about the press conference, the recording session, and the other events over the weekend. It was two young middle school boys with too much energy.

"Dude," choked out Lukas between laughs, "when you mouthed 'call me' to Ellen and Oprah, I about lost it."

Michael laughed too, "Things got too tense and serious. People needed to laugh."

Lukas lay still and panted to catch his breath before he spoke again. "You know, you are going to be pretty popular at school tomorrow."

"I'm sure there will be plenty of people wanting to cut me down because they think I'm too full of myself."

Lukas rose to his elbow. "Yeah, and those are the people that made that judgement because they heard you had a press conference. Anyone that watched it would think differently."

"Maybe," conceded Michael, but he wasn't sure about that. There were still plenty of kids that just wanted to find a reason to tear down someone else.

"Well, I do know one thing for sure."

Michael raised to his elbow facing Lukas. "What's that?"

"That you are going to have guys and girls throwing themselves at you."

"Ewwwwww!" Michael crinkled his nose before laughing at Lukas' comment. The younger boy hoped the girls had enough sense not to bother, but Lukas reminded him that girls like trying to turn gay boys straight.

"Anyway, I have a feeling there will be more boys enrolling in your school for gay boys," stated Lukas.

"What?" asked Michael.

"Aren't you the one who's been teaching all the local gay boys about sex? You popped Derek, Alejandro, and Sam's cherries and for Alejandro and Sam, they were both novices before you taught them. Hell, in a way, you could throw Lewis into that mix," teased Lukas. Michael blushed -- he never thought about any of that before. "Besides," continued Lukas, "it sounded like you and Sam had a wild time last night."

Michael gave Lukas a coy look, then slipped his hand down to grope the front of Lukas' sexy briefs. He found exactly what he expected, a rigid, ready pole. "Well, I haven't popped Alejandro's cherry, yet, and I don't think you minded hearing our wild time either."

"Mind? I wish I could have seen you and Sam go at it. He's a cutie," added Lukas, thrusting his erection into Michael's hand. "From what Simon and I heard, that was quite the coming out party." Michael giggled at the joke but didn't let it distract him from manipulating Lukas' hard dick.

"Yeah, I think Sam has been hiding it and now that he's admitted it to himself, he's anxious to come out. I just hope he slows down to think about what he's doing." Michael grabbed the waist band of Lukas' underwear and stripped the blonde naked.

"What do you have in... oooooh..." Lukas knew exactly what Michael wanted when the younger boy took a mouthful of teen cock into his gullet. He more fully understood Michael's desire when the 11-year-old twisted around and presented his tented pink and gray striped boxer briefs before Lukas face.

Lukas worked the briefs off Michael's legs then attacked the fat rod. The older boy loved Michael's scents -- scents that reminded Lukas of his first sexual experiences with Simon and their friends when they were tweeners. The smells and experiences that helped him understand who he was.

The connection the boys had from the first day they met was evident. Any onlooker would have thought they were long lost lovers instead of brothers who saw each other every day. However, the boys rarely had one-on-one time together like this. When they did, it was two boys that knew how to have a hot, sweaty, good time.

Michael flopped back the other way so the boys could kiss and rub up against each other. Saliva and precum coated their nether regions making them nice and slippery. The temperature was rising in both boys when Michael felt a finger brush his hole.

"Yes," he hissed. Bottoming for Lukas had become a habit when the two boys were together and it was something the boys craved, no matter how much of a bottom boy Lukas was with everyone else. Michael hopped off Lukas and turned to present his bottom to his blonde classmate and brother. Lukas was up in an instant grabbing the lube and saddling up behind Michael. While he waited for Lukas to get started, Michael reflected on his weekend. Derek, Lewis, Sam, and now Lukas -- a different boy every night and four very different experiences. But if he had to choose tonight to be with only one of those boys, tonight he would have chosen Lukas.

Both boys groaned on penetration. Lukas twitched with the stimulation on his cock head until he got used to it. Then, he started thrusting. Lukas couldn't imagine topping anyone else, but fucking Michael just seemed right to him. Fucking, well, making love to Michael, had so much meaning to the blonde. It was so much more than just sex. He felt all those things for Simon too, and more, but never had a desire to top his boyfriend. It was confusing, but at the moment, with his dick buried in his beloved little brother, it didn't matter. He took Michael from behind while the younger boy rested his head on his folded arms.

Tonight, the boys fucked at a frantic pace. The day, the weekend, had been an emotional roller coaster. The two lovers used that excess emotional energy as fuel for their before bed fuck.

Michael raised up to his hands and groaned, "Keep doing that, you're gonna make me cum." The little tweener refined the angle of his hips to maximize the pleasure of Lukas' maturing rod on his little, but growing, prostate. With a squeak, Michael's penile muscles circling his boyhole contracted around Lukas' cock causing strings of clear ejaculate to drizzle the sheets below in a dizzyingly intense orgasm.

Lukas reached up and grabbed Michael's shoulders for leverage as he worked his painfully erect cock in and out of the vice-like contractions of Michael's orgasm. The stimulation on Lukas' cock was insane and the teen's orgasm quickly followed Michael's. His seminal output was growing as it matured through his early teen years. This night, he dumped an impressive load in the rump of the hot little boy below. Spent and exhausted, Lukas and Michael fell onto the bed still connected cock-to-ass. Wrapping an arm around his lil' bro, the boys dropped off into sleep.

----------------------     

The boy's parents, Lars, Carol, and Zach, shared conversation and coffee instead of heading to bed. They were wound up thinking about the events of the past weekend and worrying about the events of the coming weeks. "I'm just trying to wrap my head around how things are going to be over the next few weeks," said Lars before taking a sip of his coffee. "Press coverage brings out the worst in the tabloids as they try to sensationalize or shock the public."

"Whether it is the tabloids, ambitious investigative reporters, people on social media, or jealous friends at school, there could be a lot of negative backlash to all of this," stated Carol. "I'm going to work from here the next few weeks so I can help out Janette and you guys with whatever comes our way."

Lars reached over and gave Carol's hand a squeeze. "The boys will be happy to have you here for three whole weeks. So will we," said Lars referring to how he and Zach will appreciate her help.

"Well, the boys better let me get my sleep," laughed Carol after getting teased by Lars all day about getting to experience what he'd been living with. "Speaking of which, I'm going to check on the boys. Michael's surprise tonight was precious, but I didn't expect Simon to become so emotional.

Zach and Lars talked about how Zach could support the family while maintaining his responsibilities at school while Carol checked on the boys. She peeked into Lukas' room to check on her son. The light from the street lamp left the bed in the shadows. Since her eyes couldn't adjust to the dark that quickly, she quietly slipped into the room. The smell of sex set heavily in the air, so Carol stepped to the front window and opened it to air out the room. She then picked up the blanket off the floor and moved to place it over her boys. Leaning over the bed, instead of finding sleeping heads resting on pillows, she found two sets of feet. She followed the feet up to find Lukas' cock draped over Michael thigh and the light from the window reflecting off the stream of cum trickling from Michael's exposed hole.

Carol quickly covered the boys' exposed bodies. She should have known she'd get an eyeful when she saw the feet, but her brain didn't get there before it was too late. She grabbed the pillows and placed them by the boys' heads so they could grab them if they wanted them. Despite being flushed and flustered, she took a moment to look at the two peacefully sleeping boys. 'If the boys not being discreet about their sexual activity is the worst thing these boys do, I can live with that,' thought Carol. Then it occurred to her. 'Where's Simon?'

She tried not to panic, using her skills learned through leadership development at work, she reminded herself not to jump to any conclusions until she had all the facts. Stepping into the hallway, she decided to go next door to see if Simon decided to go home to be closer to his father this night. Passing by Matthew's open door, she noticed Matthew wasn't alone. Poking her head in the door to block the glare of the hall light from her eyes, she spied Simon. Relieved she entered the room, happy to see the two older boys wearing boxers, even if the flimsy garments were only partially providing modesty.

Knowing the oldest brothers had been trying to understand their roles in the new family dynamics, particularly when it came to each other, it appeared they made some progress that night. Simon was sleeping on his back with his head resting on a pillow and Matthew's outstretched right arm. Matthew, lying on his right side, had fallen to sleep with his head propped on a pillow, and his left hand resting on Simon's chest. She stood there to take in the sight. Just like in the other bedroom, the two sleeping boys, brothers, were a display of love. Though their love for each other was shared in a very different way from their younger brothers, it was there, and it was real.

Carol pulled the comforter over the two teens before leaning down and giving Simon a kiss on his cheek. She would have done the same for Matthew but she couldn't reach him. Stepping into the hallway, she closed the door and returned to the dining room.

"Everything okay?" asked Lars.

"Yes," answered Carol. "It seems Simon needed some comforting tonight and sought it from someone else."

"Oh?" Zach and Lars reacted the same way and the same time which lightened the mood in the kitchen.

"Yes," she stated. With a sip of coffee, she elaborated, "It appears Matthew was comforting Simon when they fell asleep tonight."

Zach and Lars agreed with Carol that this was a momentous occasion.