SUNDAY, APRIL 19

Segovia was only an hour drive north by northwest of Madrid, but it seemed like another world to Alejandro. The medieval town of only 55,000 inhabitants took its newest resident centuries back in time. Set among the Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, Segovia's fascinating history was brought to life by its historic architecture. Roman aqueducts, Gothic cathedrals, Romanesque churches, and Alcázar de Segovia, a Moorish stronghold from the seventh to ninth centuries (and the building that inspired Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disney World).

Alejandro hadn't been in Segovia long. After leaving from the Van Nuys airport just north of Los Angeles, Alejandro and Carlos hung out at Carlos' apartment overlooking Central Park while Elena tended to some business in New York City. Then they spent a couple days in London before flying into Madrid and being driven to the family compound on the outskirts of Segovia.

Though Alejandro loved East Harbor, he was very comfortable in a big city -- any big city. Having spent most of his life in the Los Angeles metro area, New York and London were not a shock. However, he was keenly aware of the different vibes. LA, even being one of the largest cities in the US, still had a Southern California vibe. Show business, surfing, sunshine and outdoor dining gave the city a laid-back feel despite the smog and traffic. He'd anticipated their stop in New York City. It was his first time out of Southern California that he could recall and his first time back to his hometown, even if he was too young to remember ever living there. New York, compared to LA, was faster paced, but the history of the city, Central Park, the different university campuses, and Times Square thrilled Alejandro. He stayed up each night sitting in a chair staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the park and the city. London also fascinated the young teen. Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, the accents, and all the other new cultural experiences being outside the US for the first time. He loved the red double-decker buses, fish and chips, and all the historical and cultural landmarks he visited.

Boarding the private jet to Madrid, Alejandro was disappointed he'd spent so little time in New York and London. Elena, however, assured him he would visit both cities quite often. It was time, however, for him to come home. They arrived in Segovia Saturday evening. Even under the cover of darkness, the architectural lighting welcomed the boy to step back in time.

After breakfast this cool yet sunny Sunday morning, Alejandro and his Castilian tutor Constanza hopped on bicycles to tour Segovia and to put his new language skills to good use. They rode leisurely through the streets of Segovia. Riding faster would have threatened Alejandro's well-being since he spent most of the time craning his neck to take in the sights of his new home. After a couple hours, Constanza was getting parched from so much talking. They stopped at a café and she had Alejandro order for the two of them, in Castilian. She also handed him some Euros to pay for their refreshments.

The waiter at the café brought them each a glass of Mosto and a slice of cake. Alejandro took a drink of deep purple drink.

"Mmmmmm," said Alejandro after licking his lips. "Tiene un sabor parecido al jugo de uva. (It tastes kinda like grape juice.)"

"Si," agreed Constanza. "Es vino de uva sin fermentar. Eso significa que no hay alcohol. (It is unfermented grape wine. That means there is no alcohol.)"

"¿Y este pastel se inventó aquí? (And this cake was invented here?)" he asked.

"Si. Ponche Segoviano es un pastel tradicional español inventado aquí en la Confitería El Alcázar en 1926. (Yes. Ponche Segoviano is a traditional Spanish cake invented right here at Confitería El Alcázar in 1926.)"

Alejandro was impressed that he was sitting in the café where this delicacy was originally created. He sliced off a fork full of the custard filled yellow cake and took a bite. Hints of lemon, cinnamon, and almonds danced across his taste buds. A smile and the boy diving in for a second bite was evidence of the pleasure he was taking in this newly discovered treat.

When the third bite entered his mouth, his phone vibrated in the pocket of his jacket. He pulled the iPhone from his pocket and excitedly answered the Facetime call from Michael.

Michael's sleepy face filled his screen and Alejandro greeted him with great pride in his Castilian Spanish, "Bienvenido a Confitería El Alcázar en Segovia, España mi amigo. (Welcome to Confitería El Alcázar in Segovia, Spain my friend.)" He watched as Michael smiled and laughed but couldn't hear him. "Dude, I think you're on mute."

Michael nodded his head and an alert of a text from Michael appeared at the top of the screen.

Michael: Sound off
Michael: Boyfriend asleep

That's when Alejandro remembered the time difference, it was almost noon in Segovia which meant it was only three in the morning back in California.

Alejandro opened Message.

Alejandro: boyfriend?
Michael: Look

Alejandro switched back to Facetime and propped his phone against the center piece on the table. When Michael was certain Alejandro could see, he lifted the phone so Alejandro could see who was snuggled up to Michael from behind.

It took a moment for Alejandro to recognize Christian. He leapt from his chair in the café and danced around pointing to the screen. Michael couldn't hear a peep, but he could tell exactly what Alejandro was saying.

The patrons of Confitería El Alcázar weren't used to noise and commotion in the café, at least not on Sunday mornings. They stared at the American boy hopping around and shouting, "I knew it! I knew it! Yes! Yes! I knew it!"

When Alejandro finally gained control of his excitement, he grabbed his phone again and tapped out a message to Michael.

Alejandro: When? How?
Michael: Tell you later
Michael: Woke and couldn't go back to sleep til I told you
Alejandro: so HAPPPIEEEE for u!!!!!!!!
Michael: How did you know?
Alejandro: know what?
Michael: You planned this when you gave Christian the book, didn't you?
Alejandro: maybe
Michael: thank you. You're the best friend ever
Alejandro: you're sleepy. Call me later
Michael: ok. Love you
Alejandro: love you too

----------------------     

Craig and Oliver spent weekends with the Samuelsons and with Craig's family, the Kendalls, during the week. It just made it easier for school. Jonathan and Juliana, Oliver's parents, would stop by two or three times a week to join everyone for dinner and to see their son, but weekends were limited to just the four of them.

One of the few nice things about Bozeman, in Craig and Oliver's opinions, was its location. In less than an hour, they could get to Big Sky, Bridger Bowl, Whitefish, Snowbowl, or Red Lodge to hit the slopes. Neither boy had skied before this ski season. Now that the season was wrapping up, both were comfortable on skis or snowboards. The end of the week had brought more snow and according to reports, Big Sky got the best of it. The Samuelson's took Oliver and Craig for a day of snowboarding on Saturday. The boys stayed on the slopes until the lifts closed and even then left with great reluctance. Eight hours on the slopes wore the young teens out, but it didn't dampen their excitement about dinner.

Starving, the boys held out until they made it back to Bozeman and stopped by Café Zydeco. Oliver ordered the Jambalaya and Craig got the Red Beans and Rice. Dr. and Mrs. Samuelson couldn't decide what to order. They ended up sharing two main dishes - Crawfish Étoufée and Shrimp and Grits. The food was delicious and spicy (with the assistance of large quantities of Tabasco sauce) and a constant infusion of Zydeco music made the dinner seem festive. The food and atmosphere elevated Café Zydeco to the boys' favorite restaurant.

Drowsy after a large meal, the boys barely managed to make it home and up to Oliver's bedroom to get ready for bed. It was a bit early for them to go to sleep and it didn't matter. They cleaned up and crashed; sleeping soundly through the night.

In the morning, they woke to the smell of bacon. Sundays Juliana cooked a huge breakfast for her boys, including her husband. It was a treat for Craig and Oliver so she went all out. When the boys staggered into the dining room, they found hot Belgian waffles with syrup, strawberries and whipped cream for toppings. Beside the waffles sat a heaping plate of bacon and a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice. After the huge meal the night before, Jonathan's appetite hadn't returned. That wasn't true for the boys, however. They attacked breakfast with the same gusto they attacked the slopes and their Cajun meal the day before.

After breakfast the boys headed upstairs and prepared for the day. Oliver showered first and booted up his laptop while Craig took his shower. Oliver dressed and settled in on his bed when Craig walked out of the bathroom naked, drying his hair.

"Damn, you are sexy."

Craig blushed, "You think?"

"Dude, you were hot last summer, but since you started running and working out with me... shit. Your body is smoking!"

Stepping into some red briefs, Craig replied, "Thanks, but your body is still better than mine." He crawled up on the bed and kneeled next to a similarly clothed Oliver. The brown-eyed Arizona native was wearing plaid boxers that did little to hide his large, semi-erection.

"Do you know how much I love you?" asked Oliver.

"If it is only half as much as I love you, then I'm the luckiest boy in the world," answered Craig. He looked into Oliver's eyes and smiled before giving his soulmate a gentle kiss on the lips. He plopped his body down next to Oliver's. "What do you want to do?"

"I was thinking about that town your dad was talking about moving to... East Harbor? We've spent so much time looking at Cate School and the surrounding area, we haven't even looked at the other town. Do you think your dad will get the job in San Diego?"

"Of course. He's the best. I'm thinking Cate School is our backup plan in case he doesn't get the job."

Oliver shared his laptop and said, "Then we better get up to speed on East Harbor if that is where we're going."

Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on the bed they watched the results of the Google search load.

They scrolled through news articles about some Mallway and arts district, city council meetings, then they came across some school sports news.

"It looks like the track team is pretty good." Oliver scrolled down and clicked on a link to see the results of an Invitational the East Harbor high school team won. "Looks like they are really good at the field events and sprints, but they could use our help with the distance events. Look at these times. We would have placed in the top five with the times we're running right now."

"And their top runners are underclassmen. Awesome!" The boys bumped fists. They were already starting to get their hopes up about East Harbor.

Scrolling down farther, the boys crossed a set of videos tagged with East Harbor. "Stop," called out Craig.

Oliver stopped. "What?"

"That boy," said Craig pointing to one of the videos on the screen. "He keeps popping up in pics in the search. Who is he?"

"Let's see." Oliver tapped on the video. The browser hopped over to YouTube and played the recording of a KFMB-TV CBS News 8 report. The reporter told about a SWAT and FBI takedown of an international child sex trafficking ring in East Harbor and the role a young boy played in the crime fighting. Then the station cut over to a video of a press conference where the boy talked about being a victim of the criminals and his role in taking out the man's henchmen before a sharpshooter took out the head of the organization. The video played the press conference in its entirety, including the reporter's questions to which the boy countered with a threat of civil suits and the further exposure of the activities of this crime organization.

"Whoa," was all Oliver could say when the video ended.

"That kid is bad ass," said Craig. "Look him up." Oliver returned to Google and started typing in the boy's name. Craig stopped him. "It's spelled m-e-i-j-e-r and add East Harbor so we don't get other guys with that name." They weren't prepared for all the results that flooded the screen.

The search returned results on far more than the sex trafficking ring. It also returned results on the East Harbor middle school soccer team, the JV high school lacrosse team, the East Harbor Mallway and arts district, Majestic Studios and Majestic Music Academy, and videos of a band called At the Majestic.

It was Craig's turn to be speechless. "Wow..."

Oliver clicked on the Video tab to filter video only results. He saw a black and white video and figured that was a good place to start. He tapped. The browser pulled up the "Body Talks" music video by At the Majestic. The two bullied, gay teens in Bozeman, Montana watched the boys from East Harbor rock out in a cool music video. They moved with the music and found the hot boys a pleasant visual treat. Then the video took a twist at the end. The hot, raven-haired teen singing hadn't been singing to the dancing girls at all. He'd been singing to the blonde boy playing the drums. The video ended with the two boys kissing.

Craig squeezed Oliver's wrist. "It's true, isn't it?"

"What babe?"

"That it's safe there to be out. Like dad's friend said."

"I think so." Oliver took Craig into his arms and the boys just held each other. They couldn't wait for Dr. Kendall's interview.

----------------------     

Back in East Harbor, the boys at the sleepover woke to find Simon and Lukas helping Zach and Lars cook up breakfast for more than a dozen famished teens. It was a tall order, but stacks of French toast, pancakes, bacon, and sausage sat next to a bowl of scrambled eggs and gallons of orange juice.

The boys who stayed together at Dr. Meijer's were up and relishing their first plate of food when two of the boys from next door stumbled into the kitchen. Immodest and wearing just their undies, Sam and Gregory responded to a text from Lukas about breakfast being ready.

"Man, I'm starving," stated Sam. He grabbed a plate and made his way to the French toast. "Thank you for letting us spend the night and cooking breakfast, Dr. Meijer."

"Me too," added Gregory. "Thank you!" He started stacking pancakes and bacon on his plate.

Several of the other boys laughed. Then Lukas spoke up, "I bet we know what you guys did to work up such an appetite." The home roared with laughter, including Lars and Zach.

Sam turned from the counter to find a place to sit and Gregory walked up behind him. The dark-haired boy slid an arm around Sam. Pulling Sam's body to the front of his, Gregory looked at the other boys. "You're just jealous." He then licked Sam's ear and slid his hand into the front of Sam's briefs and gave his junk a squeeze.

Sam gave a yip in surprise and nearly dropped his plate. He blushed at the fact he was getting felt up by his boyfriend in front of a dozen or so people, including two adults.

Lars cleared his throat. "Boys..."

Gregory pulled his hand free. "Sorry Dr. Lars. I just love my Sam so much."

Lars ruffled the boy's hair and sent the two on their way to find a place to eat their breakfast. A round of applause and cheers started causing Lars to turn around to what Sam and Gregory were doing now. Instead, he found Michael and Christian standing at the entrance of the hallway showered, dressed and holding hands.

Matthew walked over and gave the new boyfriends a huge hug. "I'm happy for you little bros. Love you both."

Lars motioned for them to come into the kitchen where he and Zach were waiting. Michael led Christian to the kitchen only releasing his boyfriend's hand to give his father a huge hug.

Zach put his arm around Christian and gave him a side hug. "You look happy," he noted to Christian.

"I am," said Christian smiling up at Zach. "I finally figured things out."

Lars reached out and Christian came to him. Moving beside Michael, Christian hugged both Michael and Lars and then felt the man's strong arm squeezing him. Zach followed sandwiching the boys between him and his partner.

The men released the boys and Lars bent down so he was eye-level with the new couple. He lowered his voice and said, "You two have something very special. I have to admit, I didn't see this coming, but I couldn't be happier for you two. I hope you take it slow and cherish the connection the two of you have as friends and build this new relationship on that rock-solid foundation." He placed a hand on each boy's cheek. "I love you two so much. I'm glad your hearts found their way to each other." The boys hugged Lars again.

"Alright you two," Lars said standing up. "Get some breakfast before it's gone."

The crowd of boys finished their first and second plates of food and turned from eating to conversation when the doorbell rang.

"Got it," called out Will hopping up and off toward the door before anyone else could react. He opened the door and gasped. "Trajan!"

----------------------     

Jack woke in Derek's arms. It felt good, even if Derek's morning wood was poking him in his butt crack. He found the hand of the arm draped over his chest and laced his fingers through Derek's. The morning sun shone through the window casting a golden glow throughout the room. Things seemed perfect. Jack wished things could be this perfect every day. Then the incident from the previous night came flooding back.

He never expected Derek to stand up to Uncle John, but he was proud of his boyfriend for doing what he never could. He hoped Derek put an end to the abuse, but Jack feared this was only the beginning. In the past, when he had said he didn't like it, his Uncle John became vengeful and violent. Derek straight out threatened him, and Jack was scared of what his uncle might do next.

He felt Derek stir behind him. The bed rocked gently when the little swimmer rose to an elbow then kissed Jack behind the ear. "Good morning, Jack." Derek gave a thrust of his pelvis to make sure Jack could feel his boner. He slid his hand down Jack's body to give Jack's limp noodle and little balls a quick feel. Moving his hand back up around Jack's chest, Derek gave his boyfriend a morning squeeze.

"Mmmmm..." moaned Jack. "Stick it in."

"Really?" After getting cock blocked by John the night before, Derek was horny and wondered if Jack felt the same way. However, since they'd been messing around, Jack never bottomed which is why Derek was surprised by Jack's request. The mop of dark blonde hair before him nodded the affirmative.

Derek slobbered on his hand then reached under the covers to lube up his tween cock. With little experience, Derek didn't have the aim to hit his target. Jack arched his back and moved his hips to help guide him in. Both boys groaned in pleasure when Derek's hairless four inches slid home in one continuous motion.

Derek's left arm ran over Jack's shoulder and across Jack's chest cushioning Jack's head while holding him in place. His right hand gripped Jack's hip as he began to slide his boyhood in and out of Jack's rear. Slipping his hand to Jack's front, Derek found Jack to be fully erect. He used his hand, still wet with his saliva, to encapsulate Jack's stiff member. Each thrust of Derek's hips drove Jack's cock through the slick palm sending erotic sensations through the younger boy's body.

As the boys climbed towards their climaxes, Derek's speed increased. The boys moaned and groaned through their sexual act, rocking the bed causing the headboard to gently rap against the wall. They called out to the heavens above as they shared simultaneous orgasms.

----------------------     

My head," groaned Trajan.

Lukas turned his bedroom light back off and crossed the room to the bed. Scott and Simon were sitting on either side of Trajan who was curled up with a terrible headache.

"Here," said Lukas. He handed Trajan two generic headache pain relief tablets and a glass of water. Trajan sat up and took the pills and drank the entire glass of water. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until the first swallow of the thirst-quenching water. He handed the glass back to Lukas and settled back into a fetal position.

Simon, Scott, and Lukas looked at each other and Trajan wondering who was going to address the elephant in the room. They all suspected that whatever happened the previous night, it had something to do with what's been going on between Trajan and Scott. At a time when Lukas would typically blurt out what was on everyone's mind, in this moment, he wisely deferred to Scott.

"Trajan," began Scott, looking to Simon and Lukas for support, "where were you last night?"

Trajan rolled away from his friends. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Look, whatever you tell us will stay in this room," said Scott. Lukas flinched when he heard that promise. He knew better than to ever say that to a friend because sometimes adults need to know. He remained silent, however, and the boys waited patiently for Trajan. Eventually, he turned and sat up facing his friends.

"Can I talk to Scott alone?" asked Trajan.

Lukas opened his mouth to protest but Simon beat him to the punch. "Sure. Com'on Lukas." He took Lukas' hand and led him from the room.

When they shut the door, Lukas yanked his hand from Simon's. "What are you doing?" he whispered with great anguish. "We should be there to help. You heard Scott. If something bad happened, Scott can't keep that a secret. It's wrong!"

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

Simon rolled his eyes. Sometimes Lukas got too emotional for his own good. "Exactly that Scott can't keep a secret. If something bad happened to Trajan, it will be easier to get Scott to tell us than Trajan. So, we needed to leave the room to get Trajan to tell Scott."

"Oooooohhhh," replied Lukas. "You're smart sometimes." He raised to his toes and gave Simon a peck on the lips.

----------------------     

"I better get going home," said Christian, packing the rest of his things in his overnight bag.

"Can you stay a bit longer? I wanna call Alejandro. He'll want to see you."

"Bet you can't wait to tell him about us," smirked Christian. He stopped packing and looked over at Michael lying on his bed. "You know, I think he gave me that book just for this purpose."

"Well, last night I woke up and texted him. He already knows we're together and his happy dance confirmed he totally set us up."

"Then I think he deserves another call from us, together." Christian crawled up on the bed and scooted next to Michael while the Facetime call with Alejandro connected.

When Alejandro answered the phone only Michael's face was visible. "Yo bro! So, did you and that sexy nerd of yours knock bones last night? You promised to tell me all about it when you called."

Michael smiled and reached out to place to phone against the footboard so both he and Christian were visible.

"Sexy nerd?" asked Christian incredulously. Alejandro turned red with embarrassment.

Michael just had to play into it. "I thought you fixed Christian up with me. Are you on the make for him?"

Christian jokingly asked, "Make a play for me? He called me a nerd?"

Michael turned to Christian and kissed him on the cheek. "That's because you are a nerd sweetie. But you're my nerd."

"And you're mine." Christian kissed Michael.

"Get a room you two," joked Alejandro.

Michael acted as if he was offended. "What do you mean? We're in my room. You're intruding on our private time."

"Ungh, ugh. You called me," corrected Alejandro. "Now spill it!" All three boys laughed before Michael and Christian shared the events starting with the kiss and shared as much detail as they could with their friend.

"So, did you know?" Christian asked Alejandro.

"I didn't, really," he explained. "Everyone could tell you two had a real connection. I thought it was strange that Christian was never around when any of us got naked and stuff. I figured that either meant he was homophobic, or he might be gay and trying not to get caught looking. If he was homophobic, he wouldn't have been friends with you guys or hanging out so much. So, I figured he might be gay. That's why I gave him the book. I was hoping but wasn't sure. But it worked! YES!" He gave another fist pump.

"Well, thanks Alejandro," said Christian. The blonde put his arm around Michael and leaned his head against the other boy's shoulder. "I don't know how long it would have taken me to figure this out if you hadn't given me a shove in the right direction."

"Yeah, thanks bro," said Michael. "Love you so much. By the way, you meet any cute boys on your trip?"

"Nah, not really. Flying private meant I didn't really get to see anyone at the airport or on the plane. We never had to deal with other passengers. It was so cool. We would just pull right out onto the ramp, get out of the car and into the jet. In New York I was with Carlos the whole time and too busy sightseeing. In London I did get to do some people watching but didn't get to meet anyone. Though I did learn that I like watching boys in their shorts and school uniforms. The idea of going to a private, all-boys boarding school is starting to sound kinda fun. Anyway, here is Segovia, today's my first day. Constanza and I rode bikes around town in the morning. Since then I've been learning my way round our property."

"Well, you're awesome and a hottie. You'll have boys and girls drooling after you in no time," assured Christian.

Michael and Alejandro giggled.

"What?" asked Christian.

Alejandro answered first, "It's funny hearing you talk like that. Seems when you came out you kicked the closet door and broke it!"

Laughter filled Michael and Alejandro's bedrooms.

----------------------     

Trajan and Scott didn't come out of the bedroom until it was time for lunch. Christian, Michael, and Lukmon joined Carol, Zach and Lars for a make-your-own-burrito feast. The boys devoured all that Lars and Zach prepared, but the mood of the lunch was strange. Trajan was oddly quiet, Scott seemed troubled, and no one dared ask.

With a full stomach and care of his friends, Trajan felt better physically, but still looked like someone shit in his cornflakes when his parents picked him up after lunch. As soon as the De Luca's vehicle pulled away from the curb, Zach called everyone back to the dining table to find out what was going on. Seated, Scott looked uncomfortable -- not because everyone was looking to him for answers, but because he was never good at keeping secrets from his big brother. Zach always knew when he wasn't telling the truth, or not all of the truth.

"Well," began Zach, "I know you probably promised Trajan you would keep his secret, but you can never promise that if the secret is something harmful to your friend. That aside, if Trajan's parents think he was here last night and they find out something happened to Trajan, then they might think it happened here. We -- Carol, Lars, and I -- need to know what's going on."

Scott's shoulders slumped. He knew he was about to tell all he knew despite his promise to Trajan. He also understood telling was the only right thing to do. "He didn't feel like talking much and didn't give me any details. He said he ran into someone on his way to the dance and was offered a ride. The guy that picked him up talked him into skipping the dance and hanging out. They went to some big fancy house with a pool and met up with a bunch of friends of the guy he ran into. Though everyone else was drinking and he thought he saw them popping some pills, he didn't have anything. He said they were swimming and the next thing he remembers is them waking him up in the morning. He didn't really say anything else, but I could tell he wasn't telling me something. He acted really weird when I asked him about what he thought happened."

"Scott, you don't need to say anything to Trajan about this conversation, but don't promise to keep what he tells you a secret." Lars looked at the other boys. "This is a lesson for all of you. Loss of memory. Headache in the morning. These are symptoms of Rohypnol or 'Roofies'. It sounds like someone may have drugged him at the party by slipping Rohypnol in his drink."

"Why would someone do that?" asked Simon.

"It's often used to make someone more susceptible to sexual assault with an outcome of the victim not remembering what happened or who committed the assault -- at least not enough to prosecute the perpetrator." Lars paused to let that set in. "Trajan may have woken up with enough clues that something happened but can't remember it happening. That's why he's not ready to talk about it. You each need to be available to Trajan to talk to, but if he says anything about this, you need to tell one of us," he noted Carol, Zach and himself.

The boys sat silently and worried about their friend.

----------------------     

After dinner, Alex sat on his bed thinking about the events of the last 24 hours. His mom and John were both home and things always seemed so strange when all three of them were in the apartment. That's why the first chance he got to excuse himself to his room, he took it. Propped up against the headboard with his knees bent, he scrolled through the photos he'd taken at the dance Saturday night.

Each photo was a mix of joy and regret. Will and Curtis making funny faces at the camera. Scott and Najma sitting at the table posing sweetly together. Lukas and Simon in the refreshment line holding hands. A photo of him with Jaden's arm around his shoulder and their heads almost touching as they stuck their tongues out at the camera for a selfie.

He was definitely starting to crush on Jaden. There was something in that boy's blue eyes as they danced tonight. He wondered if Jaden felt the same. Alex knew Jaden was on the swim team and it didn't take a genius to understand the boy was fit, but when he took Jaden's waist in his hands as they began to sway to the music, he could feel the other boy's taut abs ripple under his fingers. If they'd danced any closer, Jaden would have been fully aware of how sexy Alex thought he was. The photos reminded Alex of all the new friends he'd made since moving to East Harbor. Yeah, there was Lukas and Michael and their table of friends at lunch. But he had made friends with other students in each of his classes. They didn't seem to care what kind of grades he got, that he wasn't from East Harbor or even California, nor that he was of Hispanic descent. They liked him for himself.

But he also wondered if they would still like him if they knew he'd been in rehab, that he'd sold his ass for alcohol and drugs, or how he treated Grant and Aiden and the other guys that tried to be his friend in Mayfield. The opportunity had been there for him to have friends -- to be friends with some really good guys -- but he'd fucked it all up.

It was moments like this when he could have easily gotten depressed and wanted to drink. Instead, Lars' words floated through his brain. "It's not about what you did in the past, it's what you do the next time you are in the same situation. Do you repeat the mistakes you made before, or do you learn from them and make different choices?"

That was what Alex was doing. He was making different choices and reaping the benefits. But even the photo of him and Jaden together and the memories of their dancing together couldn't shield his heart from the stabbing pain when he thought of Grant. He closed his eyes to remember the dance. He pictured himself watching his hands take Jaden by the waist before looking up into Jaden's ocean-blue eyes. But this time in his imagination, when he looked up, he was staring through a pair of glasses into the blue eyes of Grant Foster.

Alex opened his eyes to break the power the daydream held over him. He flipped to the next photo. It was one he and Jaden snapped of Christian and Michael dancing. A smile rose across his face and his spirit brightened. The more he spent time with Michael, the better friends they'd become. They each had demons in their past that they fought on a daily basis and it seemed to Alex they each found strength in the other. At least he found it in Michael. One of the best moments in his life was the night he, Michael, and Christian sang and danced to "Migraine". He had freely admitted to having suicidal thoughts and sharing his past with friends he felt understood and were supportive. Since that evening it was like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. For the first time in ages, he felt like he belonged.

He swiped to the next image when his phone rang. "Shit!" he exclaimed. The call scared him causing him to jump and drop his phone. He didn't think he'd given his number out to many people and he couldn't remember anyone ever using it. He was around Michael and those guys so much, they never needed to call -- just text. Reaching between his legs, he found the phone and answered it before the call rolled over to voicemail.

"Hello?" asked Alex.

"Hey! Alex?"

Alex couldn't place the voice. He didn't reply immediately as he tried to figure out who it was on the other end of the call.

"Alex? It's me, Josh, from Ala-Teen."

"Oh! Hi, Josh. Sorry. I was going through some stuff from school and thought you were from... you know, school." He was a bit embarrassed he didn't catch it was Josh. He looked at his phone and realized how stupid his excuse was. Josh's name was displayed by the caller ID since the boy's added their contact information in each other's phones a couple weeks back.

"That's okay. So, uh, I have kind of a question for you."

"Only kind of a question?" laughed Alex. Josh cracked him up all the time. The boy was so full of energy and talked non-stop -- so different from himself.

"Uh, yeah, well, a question," Josh sounded nervous. "You know I'm gay, right?"

"Yeah, you told me that a few times. Is that the question you wanted to ask?"

"No," said Josh. There was a pause while Alex waited for Josh to ask his question. "Alex, I don't know if you are gay or not, but I really like you."

Alex smiled. "I like you too, Josh."

"No, I mean I like-like you."

This time Alex paused. He didn't know why it surprised him. All the signs had been there. Josh followed him around like a new-found puppy and was always trying to do nice things for him. Alex also had to admit that he thought Josh was really cute. "Josh, I'm gay too."

"REALLY?!" exclaimed Josh. Alex could picture Josh bouncing around in excitement like he'd seen him do so many times. "So, I know we see each other at Ala-Teen, but I was wondering if you'd like to hang out together sometime."

"Yeah, Josh. I'd really like that." Alex was surprised by how much he meant that. The first time they met, he thought Josh was a bit annoying, but the boy had grown on him. Alex listened and it sounded like Josh was hyperventilating. "Josh? Are you okay?"

He heard a gulp before Josh answered. "Yeah, I just didn't plan anything because I thought you'd say 'no'."

"Why would I say 'no'? You're hella cute and friendly. I think it would be fun to hang out."

"I don't think my mom will be able to work things out to hang out during the week because of school and us living so far apart. But maybe Friday after Ala-Teen we could do something. Maybe you could even spend the night or something."

"Cool. I'll talk to my mom and let you know," stated Alex.

"And I'll talk to my mom," added Josh.

There was silence as each boy tried to think of something to say. The conversation turned out to be nothing either expected when Alex answered the phone. Now they had no idea what to talk about next.

"Okay," continued Josh, "I'll talk to you later and let you know what my mom says."

"Okay, talk to you later."

"Bye Alex." The call ended and Alex sat there and looked at his phone in disbelief. Definitely another person to add to his "friend" count. He smiled and opened his photos back up and let his mind wander about the possibilities.

----------------------     

MONDAY, APRIL 20

Cai Yin interrupted the morning team meeting. "Topher, you have a call on line one." She was intentionally vague since Topher didn't like his team to know about new talent until he had an inked deal, or at least a demo to share of someone he was about to sign.

The team was having a productive brainstorming session on retooling one of their shows and Christopher "Topher" Jennings the lead producer at Sveedeesh Feesh Media wasn't going to leave this meeting unless he felt it was truly important. He looked to Cai for more information.

"It's from East Harbor," she added.

"Really?" he asked in surprise. He'd been working hard to land his latest recruit. You never know if they will work out until you get them in a studio, but after several phone calls, he felt good about his current show idea. Topher left the meeting and shut his office door to take the call.

"I'm glad you finally called me instead of me calling you," greeted Topher.

"Well, I've been thinking about your proposal and checking to make sure there isn't any conflict of interest or clauses in any of my contracts. No use going down the road if it is a dead end, right?"

"Exactly," answered Topher. He could tell this conversation was going in the right direction. "Are you ready for a trial run?"

"I think so, but I wanted to run some ideas by you. First, you said we could record the show from anywhere. I've brought AJ, the manager and sound engineer of the recording studio next door to my new office. He'll be able to give you more details on the specific equipment we have access to, and you can fill him in on anything that we may need to record from there. Trust me, we'll be able to get Majestic Studios at a great price."

"That sounds fantastic. I'll have Cai get our sound engineer to sit in on that conversation. In the meantime, what other ideas do you have?"

"Well," stated Lars, "you were saying that having a second host could be a great format for the podcast -- someone to ask questions and to banter with. I think I have the perfect person for this. His name is Zach Schultz. He's a graduate student in Child Psychology and his curiosity about the topic leads him to ask really insightful questions. Plus, he has a performance background so he's comfortable behind a microphone. I'd like to try out that format -- having Zach as my counterpart to ask the deeper questions to keep the conversation going. I think if we do this like you suggested, we won't have to have a guest each episode."

"So, what I'm hearing," stated Topher, crossing his fingers, "is you're ready to record an episode to see how things go?" Jeff Reynolds walked into Topher's office. "AJ, I'd like to introduce you to my sound engineer Jeff. He just walked in so we can have our conversation about the studio's equipment in a moment."

Lars answered Topher's question before turning the conversation over to the sound engineers. "Yes, I think we're ready."

"Great!" Topher pumped his fist. "I'll get the team on coming up with some name ideas and the musical theme for the show. We'll send ideas over by the end of the week."

"You work on the name," replied Lars. "I think we've got the music covered. I can guarantee you the musicians on our end will come in at a very competitive price."

----------------------     

"You know," said Sam as he and Gregory walked to lunch holding hands, "next year, we'll be the eighth graders. It won't be us sitting with Lukas and the gang, it will be other students sitting with us and our gang."

"So true, sweetness," answered Gregory. "But what 'our gang' are you talking about?"

"My point exactly. We need to start our own lunch table so we're ready to be the big dogs next year."

Gregory thought for a moment. "Well, we can get Alex and Jaden to sit with us for sure. We can def tap into the lacrosse team."

"Let's get Alex and Jaden to sit with us at one end of the table and we can start planning for our own table right next to Lukas and those guys."

The boys purchased drinks to go with their packed lunches and found Jaden already seated at the end of their regular table.

"Hey Jaden! What's up?" greeted Gregory, sitting at the head of the table next to their friend. Sam took the seat across from Jaden.

"Just thinking," answered a melancholy Jaden.

"Dude," said Sam, "you sound so serious. What's going on?"

Jaden swallowed a bit of his sandwich and took a drink of his apple juice. "I saw Trajan in the hallway earlier and he still looks like crap after the weekend."

"Don't let it get to you. We need to be there for him and let him know we are still his friends no matter what happened," said Gregory.

"I know, it's just..." Jaden searched for the right way to say it. "It's just we're growing up and things just seem to get more serious. When you think about what happened to Michael and Alex and who knows what happened to Trajan. It's like what other people want to do is getting more and more dangerous and the mistakes we can make are getting bigger and bigger."

Sam and Gregory understood what Jaden was saying and it put a damper on their plans for lunch. Several other of the boys arrived in this moment of quiet, including Alex.

"Hey guys! Hi Jaden." Alex took the seat next to Jaden and noticed how Jaden looked down. He put his arm around Jaden and said, "Thanks for dancing with me at the dance. You've been a great friend to me. If something's got you down, I'm here for you."

Jaden smiled at Alex. He knew he had no business being down. He'd lived an idyllic, sheltered childhood and he was grateful. He just wasn't certain he was ready to put it behind him and learn more about the parts of life hidden from him for so long. Then again, he really didn't have a choice. His visit to Mayfield had been life changing. Making friends with Alex and Michael inspiring. And if he could learn from situations like Trajan's -- from blabbing everyone's business to whatever happened Saturday night -- then Jaden knew he'd be smarter and better able to navigate the world. If he was to be a good friend, then he was going to have to learn to deal with all of this.

The rest of their friends arrived, and Jaden looked down the table at his friends. Their smiles, their laughter, and their caring support of Trajan. Despite everything, whatever each boy had or had not experienced in his life, they were friends and no matter what gets thrown at them, they are in this together.

----------------------     

The high school lacrosse practices were over and the boys on the team packed up their gear and either hit the showers or headed home. Simon, Michael and Matthew were in a bit of a hurry. They had a busy evening planed: get home and have dinner; knock out some homework; then head to the Majestic for a bit of practice.

They walked around the high school and into the Mallway. "I'll meet you guys at home, I need to talk to Alvin," called out Michael as he headed towards the east side of the Mallway. With the suspected events over the weekend, however, the older boys were not so keen on Lukas or Michael going anywhere alone.

Matthew started after his little brother. "I'll hang with Michael. You can catch up with Lukas and we'll meet you at home." Simon agreed and headed to meet Lukas who'd just come around the middle school building with Christian. Matthew followed Michael across the grassy lawn in the direction of the Café. They entered one of the vacant store fronts to find William Calloway, Alvin Kahale, and a structural engineer going over the blueprints of the existing structure.

"Hello!" chirped Michael, seeing the men discussing the feasibility of taking out walls to open out the area for MAD, the Majestic Academy for Dance. Matthew was less interested in the details and started exploring the vacant space.

"Hello Mr. Meijer," greeted Bill. He still liked to tease Michael about being his boss. "I thought you weren't allowed to take part in running things? Well, at least until after the summer."

"I know, but I got a pass when it came to working with Alvin on getting the plans for 'Saberspace', the dance studio, and the music store finalized. They can't wait."

"Hey Michael," said Alvin, "we're just discussing what it would take to keep the roof over our heads if we knocked out these walls." Alvin pointed to the walls that he and Michael agreed needed to come down to open up the space. After a great deal of thought and discussion, they agreed to keep the store front next to the Café as offices and open the other two spaces from the front wall to the back wall.

Mr. Katz, the engineer, shared his thoughts again. "The wall separating the retail space from the rear of the building is a load bearing wall. It would be cheaper to leave that wall up and have the offices along the back of the building and the dance studio across the front."

"Agreed, but that configuration isn't quite that simple and doesn't provide the cost savings it appears to provide at first glance," explained Michael. "With your plan, the natural wall for the mirrors is the wall opposite the windows. That, however, poses a number of issues. First, the wall across all three spaces isn't in the same place. We would have to move two of the existing walls to match the third. Second, if we do that, the windows face the mirrors. During daylight hours, the light from outside will be so bright the dancers will only see their silhouettes and glare. Blocking the windows increases the cost and eats into any cost savings we might realize. If we take these walls out and leave the office space here, the offices create a sound barrier between the dance studio and the Café. We don't want the music from the dance classes to bother the Café patrons and we don't want the dancers to have to worry about the music being too loud. With the space open along here, we not only maximize the square footage for the dancers, but the mirrors would go down the wall between the studio and Saberspace. This wall's straight and needs no modification and that wall is perpendicular to the windows so no problem with the light reflecting off the mirrors. I think we can build architectural columns where the current walls between the store fronts would meet the front and rear walls and then run I-beams front to back in the building."

"There is a great cost when you buy I-beams this long," pointed out Mr. Katz.

"I know, but we have enough equity in the building that we can afford to make this investment," shared Michael. "Do you think we can get similar skylights to what we have over the music academy except with remote controls that open and close the windows. With a bunch of dancers, it will probably get pretty hot and being able to open the skylights would let the heat escape and keep the a/c from running full blast all the time."

Alvin added his two cents. "I think we go with a different skylight solution. I've got an idea where we can blend the LED lighting and skylights together for daytime and nighttime lighting needs and provide the ventilation you are thinking about. I'll draw something up for you."

"Cool!" said Michael. "Do you think we can have the I-beams raised so the skylights and lighting are between the beams instead of above? If we do that, the beams won't cast shadows."

Alvin liked the idea. "Yeah, and..."

"Okay," interrupted Mr. Katz, "you two can talk design later. I think we can put vertical I-beams here, here, here, and here and then run the horizontal beams between them. Then you can brick up the vertical beams, so they look like part of the original building. Just save the bricks from when we take out these walls and the brick work will all match."

"Yeah." Michael's brain was working with the ideas the gentlemen had thrown out.

"Michael," called Matthew, "we need to get home for dinner."

"Oh yeah. So, are we good with the design of 'Saberspace'?" asked Michael.

"Yes," confirmed Alvin. "Everything is set. We will need to completely rewire the electrical system and put a new fuse box in, but we should do that with all units anyway."

"Agreed." Michael nodded and moved onto the next topic. "What about the music store? I still think we have a storage issue. We'll need to have some inventory -- not just the demos on the floor."

"Are these the oldest blueprints you could find of the west side of the Mallway?" asked Bill.

"Yes," said Alvin. "I searched everywhere from the historical archives to the city and county files, but I couldn't find anything older than these from when they reappraised all the properties in the 60s."

"Well, when I started working at the theater, I heard that there had been a basement at one time," said Bill.

"Really?" asked Michael.

"I've never seen one, but it makes sense. Back when this was a venue for stage performances, they would have had a trap door on the stage. When they replaced the stage floor, they didn't install a new trap door."

"Do you think we can figure out how to get into the basement?" asked Michael.

"Alvin and I will see what we can find."

----------------------     

TUESDAY, APRIL 21

"Hey Alex!"

Alex heard his name being called and looked around. He smiled when he spotted Josh running his way. Josh smiled back and dropped to the ground to sit beside Alex and watch the Oceanside Lacrosse Club take on the middle school Saber teams from East Harbor.

Alex offered his first to bump. "How did you know I'd be here? How did you get here?"

Josh took Alex up on the offer and fist met fist. "One of the guys I go to school with plays on Oceanside and I heard him talking about how they had to move their game to Bonsall West. I live just a few blocks away, so I walked over hoping you'd be here. Which guys are your friends?"

The seventh-graders were on the field for the first match. Alex pointed to number seven, Greenfield, and number 13, Fielder first. Alex also pointed to a few other players on the field he considered school friends. Sam and Gregory, however, were the only members of the seventh-grade team he knew outside of school. "I'd introduce you to Jaden, but he doesn't play lacrosse. He had a swim meet today." Josh nodded in understanding.

"I'm friends with a bunch of the guys on the eighth-grade team too," said Alex proudly before feeling like he was bragging too much.

"Which ones?"

Before Alex could answer, Gregory ran past the front of the net. As the goalie moved to his left to follow Gregory, Gregory stretched out and caught a pass then flicked the ball behind his head into the area of the net the goalie had just vacated. The East Harbor crowd cheered -- including Josh and Alex. They stood and cheered loudly for the Saber lacrosse team.

Alex turned to Josh. "Which guy on the Oceanside team is your friend?"

Josh laughed. "The goalie. But he's not anyone I'd call a friend. He's kind of a jerk." Alex laughed with Josh.

"Which guys on the eighth-grade team are your friends?" asked Josh again.

Though the eighth-grade team was seated watching the first game, it was easy for Alex to point them out since they didn't have their helmets on.

"The blonde on the end with the wavy hair, that's Curtis Werner. Beside Curtis with the dark brown hair is Will Brown. The curly-haired guy beside him is Trajan De Luca and Christian Olsen is next to him. Behind them is Scott Schultz on the end, Lukas Meijer is the blond next to him, then Jordan King and the red head is Lewis Feurst, their goalie. He's really good."

"You have a lot of friends," said Josh in admiration.

"Yeah, well, Lukas and Michael included me with their friends. The guys I pointed out are the bunch I sit with at lunch each day."

"Michael," Josh said trying to recall what Alex had told him about that boy. "He's the one that had bad stuff happen to him. Where's he?"

"He plays for the high school team with Matthew and Simon."

Josh was confused. "I thought you said Michael was younger than us?"

Alex laughed. "He's only 11, but he is a freshmen at the high school." He thought back to his first appointment where Lars showed him a family photo and told him things weren't always what they appeared to be. "If you think that is crazy, Dr. Meijer's family is a logical family -- though I sometimes wonder how logical it is. Dr. Meijer's best friend is Simon's mom. Zach, Scott Schultz' brother, is Dr. Meijer's boyfriend. Since Dr. Meijer and Carol, Simon's mom adopted Michael and Matthew, Simon and Lukas are their brothers."

Josh nodded in understanding as he tried to work it all out in his mind. "So, Michael, Matthew, Simon and Lukas are brothers by adoption."

"Well," Alex chuckled, "not exactly. Michael and Matthew are biological brothers. And Simon and Lukas are not brothers to each other -- they are boyfriends. The cool thing about that though is they live together. Like, Simon and Lukas actually get to sleep together every night like they are married but they're only 14!"

Josh's eyes were saucer-like. He leaned in towards Alex to keep their conversation private. "You mean, like, they even have sex and stuff?"

Alex leaned towards Josh and lowered his voice even more. "Like, knockdown, drag-out, fuck-your-brains-out, screaming sex." Both Josh and Alex squirmed a bit, trying to find some comfort by freeing their boners from bunched-up clothing.

The score of the seventh-grade match was 8-1 in favor of East Harbor. The Saber lacrosse teams were getting better each week and Coach Merrill had the seventh graders humming like a well-oiled engine. The upstart Oceanside Lacrosse Club was simply out matched by the better coached and highly-skilled East Harbor players. While Coach Merrill had his team on the sideline for half-time adjustments, Coach Powell had the eighth graders begin warmups in preparation for their match.

Josh ran off for a few minutes when halftime started and came back with some popcorn and two sodas. He and Alex watched Sam and Gregory lead the younger Saber team to a dominating 20-3 whipping of the Oceanside club.

Before the eighth-grade team took the field, Lukas approached Trajan who was pacing about 10 yards from the rest of the team. "Dude, what's got you so wound up?"

"Leave me alone." From Trajan's tone, Lukas understood that Trajan wasn't angry, he was panicking over something. "Tra, calm down. You're going to hyperventilate or something."

Lukas stepped in front of Trajan and the facemasks of their helmets clacked together. There was a wild look in Trajan's eyes like a feral animal deciding between fight or flight.

"I got this, Lukas." Coach Mark beckoned Trajan to follow him and headed towards the school bus. Trajan stood fast. "Trajan," he commanded firmly, "come on."

Trajan's eyes met Lukas' and pleaded with the blond before he turned and followed Coach Mark reluctantly. When Mark turned the corner to the far side of the bus, Lukas ran back to the team and grabbed Scott. "Com'on. Quiet!" Scott carefully followed as Lukas traced the steps of Mark and Trajan. Lukas removed his helmet and motioned for Scott to do the same. They made their way to the edge of the bus and listened closely to see if they could hear Mark and Trajan's conversation.

"You need to get your shit together or people are going to start asking questions," said Mark. His tone was more threatening than consoling.

In anguish, Trajan asked, "What did you guys do to me?"

"Nothing you didn't want." Mark's smug attitude made Lukas and Scott want to punch him in the face. However, they both understood that overhearing the conversation may be the only way they were going to find out the truth about what Trajan couldn't remember.

"What? I don't remember anything. I remember feeling really weird and you giving me the pacifier. Then Bryce brought us drinks at the pool and then I don't remember anything after that. You woke me up the next morning."

"Huh," uttered Mark, acting all innocent. "There was no evidence to tell you what you did the night before?" Trajan blushed. "Exactly. You know exactly what you did." He reached out and pulled Trajan's helmet off the boy's head and handed it to him. Mark then pressed his body against Trajan's pinning the boy against the bus. "I bet you loved the lingering taste of cum in your mouth the morning after and your ass aching for another cock. Hell, I bet your balls ached from cumming so much. Did you notice how much cum you dumped in the toilet when you took your morning shit?" By that time, Mark's left hand had slipped in the back of Trajan's uniform and cupped a bare ass cheek.

Lukas and Scott could hear Trajan sobbing. Lukas grabbed Scott when the boy started after Mark. When Scott looked at Lukas, the blonde shook his head "no". Scott understood Lukas was waiting to hear more.

"I didn't want that..."

"Your dick got hard when I played with your ass in the pool."

"But..."

Mark rang his finger through the crease of Trajan's ass and tickled the pucker. His right hand grabbed the front of Trajan's shorts. "Feels like your jock is straining to contain things. I think you want it right now. We could get in the bus and..."

That was enough. Lukas had turned his head and yelled away from the bus hoping it would make it sound like he was farther away. "Hey Trajan! Where are you?" He grabbed Scott's arm and they headed back towards the field then midway turned back towards the bus as if they were just starting to head that way. Trajan and Mark came around the corner - Trajan with his helmet back on hiding his tear streaked face.

Mark's expression quickly turned to a look of concern. Scott and Lukas glared at the older teen. The intensity of their stares could have burned holes through steel. Mark immediately knew they suspected something and those two wouldn't give up until they knew it all. Damage control was all Mark could think about.

Coach Powell called the boys and his young assistant to the huddle to give the eighth-grade team the starting lineup and instructions before they took the field for pre-game drills when the seventh-grade game ended.

For the first part of the season, Trajan bounced in and out the starting lineup. Since his outburst at lunch and the proceeding emotional rollercoaster, Trajan spent most of his time on the bench getting a few minutes here and there based on how Coach Powell assessed the boy's ability to focus on the game while on the field. Today Trajan was clearly struggling, and Coach Powell scratched him from the lineup in favor of Taj Singh.

Despite Lukas and Scott splitting their attention between planning to take down Coach Mark and the game at hand, the eighth-grade Sabers took down Oceanside with an obliterating performance -- 23-0. Lewis was on fire in goal and shut out the opponent's A team for their first goose egg of the season. When the teams shook hands, the Oceanside players wished Lewis luck on the rumors of him being a candidate for league MVP.

The Sabers packed up their gear and prepared to board the bus.

"Hey! Whose gear is this?" asked one of the seventh graders. Everyone looked to where the boy pointed. There on the ground was an equipment bag with someone's gloves, helmet and stick resting on top.

Coach Powell stuck his toe under the edge of the bag to see the player's name. "Shit. Year sevens follow Coach Merrill onto the bus. Eights, huddle up. Trajan is missing and I want to search the school grounds before we call the authorities. Scott and Will, cover the perimeter of the school grounds starting at the entrance to the parking lot and going clockwise. Don't leave school grounds but do a visual check both on and off school property. Lukas and Curtis, do the same counter clockwise. When you meet each other, come back to the bus. Lewis and Jordan, search the school. Follow the walls into each courtyard, look behind every obstacle. Be quick, go." The boys ran off in search for their friend while their teammates packed up Trajan's things and carried the gear of the search party onto the bus.

It didn't take long to find Trajan. He wasn't hiding, he just needed some privacy for his emotional meltdown. Lewis and Jordan came upon him sitting on the ground with his back wedged into one of the corners of the brick exterior of the elementary school.

"Wait here," instructed Lewis. "I'll get him." Jordan nodded. As Lewis approached Trajan, Jordan caught sight of Scott and Will. He indicated to the pair they'd found Trajan. Scott and Will left to round up Lukas and Curtis before reporting back to the coach.

Lewis walked slowly and kept his voice low. "Trajan?" Trajan raised his head and wiped his face dry. "Hey buddy, you alright?" Lewis sat down beside Trajan and put his arm around the shaking boy. "You know Trajan, I used to be a real asshole." The comment made Trajan chuckle and nod his head in agreement. "That's how I expressed the anger I felt -- taking it out on everyone else. I'm not going to pretend to know how you feel or what's going on inside. But what I can tell you is, you have lots of friends and we can help. If you share with us how you are feeling and let us carry part of that load for you, it will be easier. Just like we did for Michael. That's what friends are for."

Trajan shuddered and started crying again. Lewis pulled him close letting Trajan cry on his shoulder.

----------------------     

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22

Christian was working his magic in the band's "command center". Between the school project he and Michael worked on, YouTube videos and all of his work on social media, Christian and the band had taken over a couple of the upstairs offices for their needs. While he waited for Christian, Michael was checking out the bands social media and listened to music in The Loft above the Majestic's recording studios. Michael stretched out then slipped his socked feet under the leather cushion of the sectional.

He swiped then stopped to answer a message from one of their followers. Before he finished typing the message, a blond shock of hair blocked his phone's screen. Looking up, he smiled at the upside-down view of Christian smiling down at him. Michael tilted his head back and puckered up. Christian complied and give Michael a kiss on the lips.

"So, what's new?" asked Michael pulling the buds out of his ears.

"We got a message from Keith and Asa. Do you mind if we join the rest of the guys on stage so I can share it with everyone?" Michael hopped up and they headed down the stair.

Zach was sharing the piano bench with Lukas with Simon beside the instrument leaning into the discussion. They were working out the kinks in another one of Lukas' songs while Matthew relaxed on the couch learning the acoustic version of "Sorry" by Nothing But Thieves.

"Hi guys!" greeted Christian to get everyone's attention. Matthew took his headphones off and the three at the piano turned to give Christian their attention. In the rare moments Christian spoke up, it meant he had news and the band was happy to listen. "Two things. First, I confirmed the location of the VIP section of the concert Friday. We'll be right down in front on the grass, stage right." The boys cheered. They couldn't believe they were going to see Weezer AND Green Day in the same concert, but with the VIP tickets from Rick Cox when they performed on 94.9 KBZT, they would be right in front of the stage.

"And second is a message from Asa and Keith. They apologized for not getting the movie finished in time to allow you to preview it before they turned it in last Friday. However, they've already learned that their film is being submitted to several movie festivals and has already been picked up by the Newport Beach Film Festival next month and you guys are invited to be on the red carpet for the world premiere. They'll send more details when they get them." Another whoop from the boys as they pulled out their phones to congratulate Asa, Keith and their gang of SDSU friends on their success.

The doors between the auditorium and lobby opened and a group of boys came in pushing their bikes.

Lukas got up and hopped off the stage to greet the others. "Hey guys, glad you could make it." He bumped fists with Lewis and Jordan, a side hug to Curtis, and a bear hug to Scott and Trajan. "We emptied the Transit in case we run late. Matthew or someone can give you and your bikes a ride home."

The boys propped their bikes against the stage or used their kickstands and joined Matthew, Simon, Michael and Christian. The chairs and couch filled up as they all found seats and got down to business.

"Trajan," began Lewis, "the reason we all got together is to help you. We love you, bro, and we sort of know what happened Saturday night."

Trajan felt sick.

"We're sorry Tra," Scott apologies. "But we think Coach Mark is kinda weird and when he showed up at the game last night you flipped out. Lukas figured out it had something to do with Mark and when he took you aside before the match, we followed and overheard your conversation."

Michael spoke up. "It's not your fault Trajan. It took me a long time to accept that we're just kids and it's not our fault when adults trick us and do bad things."

Christian remembered a section of the book Michael has been working through. "The voices in your head telling you how stupid you are for doing it are wrong. You are feeling guilt and shame over what happened, but it isn't your guilt or shame to live with. It's Mark's. He's the bad guy here. He's the one that's guilty. He's the one that should be ashamed of himself. Not you."

Trajan managed to maintain his composure, even if he had to constantly wipe tears from his face.

Lukas added his findings. "I did some research, Trajan. When you mentioned Mark giving you a pacifier, that was probably because they'd spiked one of your drinks with Molly or Ecstasy. It's a club drug that makes things feel more intense but often causes people to clench their jaws That's why when they use it at clubs people take baby pacifiers to keep from grinding their teeth together."

Trajan stopped crying and listened intently as Lukas explained the events of Saturday night better than Mark had -- and more honestly. "What about me not remembering anything else?"

Lukas continued, "That fruity drink Mark gave you -- the last one you remember -- probably had another drug in it. It's sounds like they 'ruffied' you. Rohypnol -- it's what they use to drug people at clubs and sexually assault them without the victim remembering what happened."

Shame began to turn to anger. Trajan suspected Mark had done something to him, but he wasn't certain. Mark was his coach and Coach Lange's son. Trajan had trusted and believed in his coach, even if he was young. But now the young teen was learning the college lacrosse player was responsible for what happened Saturday night. Trajan now had an explanation of what happened that showed him his trust had been misplaced. That his coach had betrayed him. The pieces fell into place.

"I should have known," groaned Trajan.

"No," said Scott. "Stop blaming yourself. It's his fault."

"I know, but I shouldn't have gotten in his car in the first place. But it was like this $60,000 Mercedes and so cool." There was a pause in the conversation, then Trajan moved the conversation in a different direction. "You know, Scott, I think he was perving on us in the locker room before interrupting and taking me into the coach's office. And in the coach's office, he gave me a hug while I was naked instead of giving me privacy to get dressed. In fact, he 'helped' me get dressed. Then on the bus back from one of our games, he ran his hand up my shorts." Trajan realized how wrong Coach Mark's behavior had been. He was fuming mad at this point.

"Well," said Lewis, "it's up to you how we handle this from here. It seems we have two choices. We can either make him pay for what he did to you..."

"Or," interrupted Lukas, "we can tell my dad and let the adults take care of this." He and Lewis had been butting heads on what to do next now that they knew who hurt their friend.

"I don't know," said Trajan. "Can I think about it?"

The boys were noncommittal on Trajan's request and were interrupted by Jordan. "What I don't understand is where Mark got his hands on such an expensive car."

"That's what I was wondering too," said Matthew. He pulled out his phone and continued while pulling up something for Trajan to look at. "Trajan, do any of these guys look familiar? Swipe up to see each photo."

The boys gathered around to see the portraits Trajan was looking at. "That's Mark, but why is the pictured tagged as 'Craig'?"

"Just keep looking," encouraged Matthew.

"Why are all the guys shirtless?" asked Curtis. Not that Curtis minded -- the guys had nice bodies and were all good looking.

Trajan proceeded to find "Jimmy", "Bryce", "Davey" and "Riley" before Matthew asked for his phone back.

"Trajan, those aren't the guys real names -- it's their stage names."

"Stage names?" asked Trajan.

"Yeah, and those guys weren't high schoolers -- they were just pretending to be in high school. All the guys in those photos work at Helix Studios. That list of photos is their roster of actors that make movies for them."

Curtis asked, "What kind of movies?"

Half of the boys groaned when Curtis asked the question. The other half thought it was a good question and wondered if they'd seen one of their films.

"Helix Studios makes gay porn," answered Matthew.

"So why did they do this to me?" asked Trajan.

Matthew walked around the couch and kneeled in front of Trajan. "Trajan, I don't know why and if you were to ask Mark or the other guys, I'm not sure you could ever trust their answer. Michael and I have learned that the hard way. Maybe they wanted you to party with them. Maybe they thought you might be interested in getting into the movies when you're older. Maybe Mark is just attracted to younger guys. I don't know. You might get answers, but you may never get the truth. Just know that we're all here to help you just like you guys helped Michael."

"So, instead of picking one or the other, can I pick both?" asked Trajan.

Lukas was intrigued. "What do you mean?"

A devious smile spread across Trajan's face. "Could we fuck around and torture Mark before we turn him in?"

"Who is this guy and what has he done with Trajan?" laughed Scott. The other boys laughed too.

"So, what did you have in mind?" asked Michael, excited to get in on the torturing of asshole adults.

"Sorry Michael," teased Jordan, "but I don't think Trajan means we go all vigilante on his ass like you would." He stood and mimicked Michael taking out one of the henchmen with a nail gun. The laughter grew and Trajan made a realization.

"I don't deserve friends like you guys," Trajan professed, "not after the shit I pulled."

"Trajan," Scott said putting his arm around his long-time friend, "it's forgotten. The only person who hasn't put it behind him is you."

Trajan turned and gave Scott a huge hug. Things for the group were finally back to normal. Lukas, Michael, and the gang got down to the business of exacting revenge on Mark and his friends.

----------------------     

THURSDAY, APRIL 23

The middle school lacrosse teams had another away game and this time Coach Mark was able to join the teams on the bus for the game. Trajan and the eighth graders had the back of the bus. With Trajan in a much better mood, the older boys were more rowdy than usual and got the seventh graders to join in. Coach Powell and Coach Merrill were optimistic. Both of their teams were about to take on older and bigger opponents. It was a late non-league pickup to their schedule, but after seeing how the boys did against Poway in their preseason game, they decided to add On-Pointe Lacrosse to their schedule. What they didn't know at the time was they would be playing up a level. The eighth-graders would play the 16-and-under team where On-Pointe's youngest player was older than the Sabers oldest player. The seventh graders drew the 14-and-under team which was made up of high school Freshmen and eighth graders. Perhaps the saving grace in this was On-Pointe wasn't a private club. On-Pointe was a well-coached community program that was making a name for itself by playing some great lacrosse.

The seventh-grade match was intense. On-Pointe used their size and strength to bully their way to a 7-2 lead. When On-Pointe scored their eighth goal, Sam and Gregory called the team into a huddle.

"Get your heads in the match, guys!" shouted Sam, fired up and willing his classmates to follow. "The only thing they have over us is their size. We play better lacrosse and we know it."

Gregory jumped in. "Play feisty. Every time we turn on the defense, they have a turn over. No backing down. No giving in. Like flies on shit, make the guy you are defending think you have four arms. You don't have to hit them hard. The ticky-tack shit seems to frustrate them."

"And on offense, don't avoid the contact. Let them commit the fouls." Boys on the team shouted their agreement before Sam continued. "Play smart! We've beaten better teams than these guys."

"1-2-3", shouted Gregory.

"SABERS!" answered his teammates.

The boys clawed their way to a single-goal deficit at halftime -- 12-11. With three minutes left, the score was tied 17-17. Both defenses had clamped down and the bigger boys were wearing the smaller Sabers down.

On-Pointe scored quickly giving them the lead. Gregory was stepping into take the faceoff when Sam stopped him. "Play bullfighter."

Gregory look at Sam. "What?"

Sam smiled. "He always drops his shoulder and drives into you without the ball. He doesn't pick it up until after he's pushed you away. Step to the side and I bet he leaves the ball on the ground for you." Gregory smiled and gave Sam a nod.

When the whistle blew, the On-Pointe player lunged at Gregory to push him away. Gregory spun out of the way causing the larger boy to stumble and fall flat on his face. The ball sat patiently on the ground waiting for Gregory to pick it up. With a quick scoop, he had the ball and raced down the field while his defender gathered his wits after eating dirt.

The Sabers knew they needed to strike fast while they were up a man. A quick pass to the right then back to Gregory caused Sam's defender to rotate to defend Gregory. Sam cut to goal and Gregory fed him the ball in stride. Multiple defenders converged on the smaller boy. Sam knew that every defender coming his way was leaving someone unguarded. The player before him lowered his shoulder to take out the Saber's blond team captain. Just before impact, Sam reached to his right and passed the ball to Lance Boeding, the Saber player left alone to the right of the crease. Lance was a heads-up player and was ready when the ball came flying around the side of the defender. Lance caught the ball and flicked it into the bottom corner of the net in one smooth motion. The score was tied with less than two minutes to go.

Three On-Pointe defenders stood over Sam. One took his glove off and reached out to help the boy from the ground. "Dude, that was one helluva play. Way to take a hit." Sam took the hand that was offered and got to his feet.

Gregory was right there to check on his boyfriend. "You okay?" Sam nodded he was fine, and the duo jogged back to midfield.

Knowing the On-Pointe midfielder wouldn't be caught twice with the same trick, Sam decided he'd take the faceoff to change things up. When the whistle blew, the On-Pointe midfielder, covered the ball and spun in a circle around it, knocking Sam to the ground. Sam was quick to be back up on his feet, but On-Pointe was on offense and a single score could win the game.

Gregory shouted "Grey! Grey!" directing the Saber defenders into the right formation for the final play of the game. The Saber defenders spread out to stay tight on their man, but to not crowd the goal so the Saber keeper, Andrew Tidwell, could get a good look at any shot on net.

The Saber defense wasn't letting any of the On-Pointe players get a clean shot on goal, forcing them to pass it off to someone else. Sam looked up to check the time on the clock. He and Gregory had worked up a play for this situation during the student-led practices during the off season and he hoped Andrew remembered it. With 22 second left, Sam pretended to stumble leaving his man open close to midfield in the right-wing area. Once Sam was behind his man, he prepared to make a run for it. The ball came his way and the boy Sam left undefended got the ball and took a shot from a good 30 yards away. Andrew had a clean look at the shot and caught a glimpse of Sam sprinting towards the other net. The ball bounced and Andrew took a step towards the ball. Catching it cleanly, he spun and launched it as far down the center of the field as he could. The crowd gasped when they noticed a lone Saber player tracking the ball in the air.

The On-Pointe goalie had to make a decision. Would he allow the Saber player to catch the ball and have a one-on-one shot on goal, or would he race out and fight for the ball to prevent the last second shot. Without a moment to spare, the goalie raced from the net. He didn't want to foul the smaller boy and face a penalty shot, but he did believe he could out jump the smaller player to intercept the pass and end the game in a draw.

Sam jumped to snag the ball before it passed him over. As his body turned, the goalie's stick smacked against his own as the bigger boy tried to avoid body contact. His pad weighed him down causing him to not jump as high as he would normally. The goalie's left leg caught Sam knocking them both over. The crowd started counting down the final seconds of the match. Sam hopped to his feet but didn't see the ball anywhere. He heard everyone shouting "Shoot! Shoot!". He looked in the pocket of his stick and found the ball resting snuggly in the strings. He adjusted his hands and threw the ball at the net. Two On-Pointe defenders had dropped back but couldn't block the shot. The Saber seventh-graders won a thrilling match.

The eighth-grade team had spent little time warming up. They were too busy cheering on their schoolmates then swarming the field to celebrate the seventh-grade victory. Coach Powell tried to wrangle in their emotions before their match and was reasonably successful. At the start of the match, the eighth-grade offense was on fire, scoring at will. Their offensive sets and quick, accurate passing kept the On-Pointe defense confused and out of position. On defense, however, the eighth-graders weren't focused, giving up shots on goal that should never have been available giving Lewis fits in the net.

Lewis called a huddle and chewed out his teammates. "I know you guys are scoring like crazy, but don't make me look bad by sitting on your asses and not playing defense. We shouldn't just beat these guys, we should annihilate them. Now come on and let's play lacrosse at BOTH ends of the field."

The fire Lewis lit under the asses of the Saber defense stopped the barrage of from being fired on net. The eighth grade Sabers cruised to a 24-5 victory and they were able to get their bench players a lot of minutes. Trajan was happy he got to start and play the entire match.

The boys boarded the bus quickly and took their seats. Lukas and Scott sat behind Trajan, Lewis and Jordan across the aisle with Curtis and Will behind them. The boys did what most middle school boys do on a bus trip. The scooted down in the seats and put their knees on the back of the seat in front of them. It gives them a false sense of privacy, but in this case, it was to give Mark a false sense of privacy.

When the older teen boarded the bus, he spied Trajan sitting alone next to the aisle and approached to sit next to him.

"Scoot over," offered Mark.

Trajan didn't reply and continued to mess around with his phone. Instead of scooting over, he stood to let Mark sit by the window. Mark had to make a decision. Does he make a scene to have his way and sit on the aisle and control when he comes or goes and blocking the view from across the aisle or go ahead and sit by the window. Noting the coaches were taking their seats, Mark knew he'd be drawing attention to himself if he were the last to sit, especially when the coaches make their announcements before the bus pulls out. He slipped past Trajan and quickly took a seat. Trajan wordlessly sat down and put his phone to sleep.

The coaches made their announcements and the bus began its journey back to East Harbor. The boys in the back of the bus were noisy and the driver shouted at them to quiet before he merged onto the freeway.

Underway, Mark started the conversation. "You seem to be feeling better than you were at Tuesday's match."

"Yeah." Trajan smiled at Mark. He reached for Mark's hand and pulled it up onto his lap and threaded his fingers thought the coach's. "You wouldn't have fucked me if you didn't like me. I like you too Mark. We're boyfriends now, right?"

"Uh, Trajan, stop that." Mark tried to pull his hand away.

Trajan didn't fight him much, he had more up his sleeve. He leaned into Mark and rested his head on Mark's shoulder and placed his left hand on the inside of Mark's knee.

He tried to get Trajan's head off his shoulder before one of the coaches noticed. "Trajan," whispered Mark in a panic, "someone could see this."

"You mean like us?" Scott and Lukas popped their heads over the back of the seat, their faces right by Mark and Trajan's heads.

Mark looked over his shoulder then noticed Lewis and Jordan waving to let Mark know they were watching too. The memory of Scott and Lukas calling Trajan came back to him. They knew. They all knew. Mark's mind was in full damage control.

Trajan continued to spin his web. "Once I realized that I had feelings for you too, I just had to share the news with my friends. You understand that don't you Mark? Sharing with your friends?"

He began to answer, but Mark was so confused by Trajan he didn't know what to say. He couldn't tell if Trajan was fucking with him or serious. Trajan let his hand slide up Mark's thigh and into the leg hole of the older teen's shorts. With his head still on Mark's shoulder, Trajan toyed with the hairs on the inside of Mark's thigh.

"I'm really happy for you two," said Lukas in his normal speaking voice. When the boys discussed their plan, they realized it really didn't matter if they got caught or not. The only person that was going to get into trouble was Mark. Besides, the risk of being overheard scared the shit out of Mark which made it all the more fun. "I mean, you'd never take advantage of Trajan, would you Mark? You wouldn't just fuck him for the fun of it."

Mark couldn't answer. His brain was stuck between what Lukas was saying and what Trajan was doing. The boy's hand was making him hard despite his efforts not to bone up, but he didn't dare challenge the boy and create a scene.

"Stop. Please stop," whispered Mark. "Just act normal and we'll discuss this in private when we get back to the school."

"Maybe we can go back to that house where we were skinny dipping?" teased Trajan. "Will your friends be there? Mine would like to come too."

Mark felt like he needed to commandeer control of this situation. "No. We aren't going back to that house and we aren't hanging out with the guys."

"That's too bad. You wouldn't have to drug me this time to get me to let you and your friends fuck me."

By this time, Mark was hard as a rock. He grabbed Trajan's wrist and tried to pry the boy's hand away.

"If you do that I'll scream," threatened Trajan. Mark released the boy's wrist and broke out into a cold sweat. This time, Trajan's hand clutched Mark's cock and squeezed uncomfortably tight. The boys had his full attention.

"So," began Scott piping in, "you like drugging boys and you and your porn star buddies gangbanging them?"

"I didn't, I..."

They needed to get Mark to talk and fess up. Lukas added, "The Rohypnol may be out of his bloodstream after 60 hours, but they can take a hair sample to test for it."

"That wasn't my idea," Mark hissed. "Bryce..."

Trajan's grip shifted to Mark's balls that he'd extracted from the older teen's boxers. He wanted answers more than he wanted to attract attention. He sat up and gave the appearance that there was distance between him and the young assistany coach, but a squeeze of his left hand made Mark's face turn red. "Who all took a turn?" asked Trajan.

Mark didn't answer and Trajan squeezed again, a bit harder. He kept his face looking forward and asked, "You went first since you brought me to the party, right?"

Mark nodded.

"I didn't hear you," hissed Scott.

"Yes," chocked out Mark.

"Did all the other guys get their turn too?" ask Trajan, his anger building causing his grip to tighten even more.

"Yes... please let go..." Trajan let go of Mark's nuts.

"Whose idea was it to drug him?" asked Lukas.

"Bryce. He's the biggest club boy in our group." Mark adjusted his shorts to hide his manhood.

"So, you just decided to pick me up, drug me, and rape me?"

"Yes... No... I mean, it started out with me just wanting to show off for you. Take you for a ride in my car, show you the big house we were hanging out in the for weekend... But I knew you were heartbroken about Scott and I thought hanging out with us would be fun for you. You know, get your mind off of things. But then the guys wanted to party like they always do and wanted you to have a good time too. The Molly laced drinks surprised me. I didn't know they did that, and everyone got one."

Trajan's mind flashed back to Bryce bringing out the other drinks. "But not the next drinks. When Bryce brought them out, there were three drinks and you started to pick one up but ended up choosing the other. You knew exactly which drink was roofied and you picked it and gave it to me."

Mark was defeated. "Yeah, I did."

"So what? You guys all just raped me?"

"No, it was really just a big orgy and you were just part of it. The drug lowered your inhibitions, so you just went along with everything. We didn't rape you. You really just didn't know what you were doing."

"What the hell do you mean you 'didn't rape' him?" said Lukas loudly. Eyes turned to see who said that. "That's the fucking definition of rape you idiot!"

Coach Powell spoke first. "Is there a problem back there?"

"No sir," said Lukas. "We were just having a heated discussion."

"Well Mr. Meijer," said the Coach not fully believing Lukas, "I would suggest you watch your language." He turned facing the front of the bus but kept his ears open to what was being said behind him.

Trajan pulled out his phone and went to work. Mark looked over and saw the voice recording app open. He grabbed at the phone, but Trajan was quick and handed it to Lewis.

"And sent," said Lewis, tapping the phone's screen.

"What did you do?" asked Mark in a whisper.

Lewis handed the phone back to Trajan who slipped it into his equipment bag. "I just sent the recording of your conversation to all of us." He indicated the six of them: Lukas, Scott, Jordan, Curtis, Will and himself.

Mark noticed Coach Merrill look back their way. He lowered his voice so only Trajan, Lukas and Scott could hear. "Are you going to give that to the police?"

Trajan and Lukas laughed letting Scott answer. "Oh no," stated Scott reaching over the back of the seat and patting Mark on the cheek like a Sicilian Godfather. "We aren't going to let you off that easy."