"James dear!" His mother called from the living room. With a soft sigh he rolled out of bed and left his room, leaning over the edge of the balcony to look down at her. She was wearing a charcoals grey dress and her hair was pulled up into a bun. He thought about how the last time he saw his mother dressed up like this was his brother's funeral.

"Yeah mom?"

"Would you please change into your light blue button down? I called Mrs. Amore and she told me the Bradfords always look nice for the dinners they're invited to, and I know your father really wants to impress Mr. Bradford". James wasn't exactly pleased with this request, since he really didn't want to wear a button down at school and at home, but she was smiling up at him, looking so hopeful that he couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Wouldn't you like to impress his sons as well?"

"Huh?"

"I mean... it would be very nice if you and the boys get along. Tyler said you haven't made many friends since moving here-"

"Mom," James interrupted, all the while cursing his best friend in his head. "That is a completely different issue". She frowned. "You know you don't need to worry about me with that stuff. I have Tyler".

"Yes dear, I know, but what happens when Tyler gets a girlfriend?" She inquired, actually seemed concerned about this. It made James laugh.

"Mom, if you saw how Tyler talked to girls, that wouldn't be something you were concerned about," he advised, moving back into his room before she could respond. The Bradfords were coming soon, and when his mother began discussing his friendships—or lack there of— it typically became a long conversation.

It took him a minute to find his shirt, still not used to the new way he had arranged his dresser upon moving, and he made quick work of changing from his comfortable shirt to the scratchy one. Once he was sufficiently dressed, he made his way down the stairs, hoping to relieve some of his mother's stress by helping her with whatever she needed.

He was rolling his sleeves by the time he entered the dining, and his father looked up from setting the table to smile at him. "You're wearing a shirt with buttons," he observed, receiving a huff from James in response. "When's the last time you did that?"

"My school uniform has a white button down, but I have to wear a vest over it," James responded, picking up the pile of forks that had been discarded in the middle of the table. He began to place the utensils where he knew his mother would have wanted them.

"I guess I haven't seen your school uniform yet," his father said, sounding strange. James lifted his head to catch the older man polishing a spoon with a cloth napkin as he frowned. His father often worried that he was missing parts of James's life, though this seemed like a very minor thing.

"That's okay," James supplied casually. "It doesn't look that good".

"What doesn't look that good," his mother asked as she moved from the kitchen to join them.

"My school uniform". James set the last fork down and then directed his attention to his mother. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?"

"No. The chicken is in the oven. It should be done in a matter of minutes". Her eyes were roaming the table, looking for anything that stood out. James wondered what it must feel like to have the kind of relationship that his parents did, where his mother cared just as much about this dinner as his father did, just because she knew he wanted it to go well. "I think your school uniform looks very nice".

"Of course you do," James said as he pulled his phone from his back pocket to check his messages. He had texted Tyler to see how he was feeling nearly an hour before, and the lack of response told him his friend was probably trying to catch up on some sleep. With a sigh, he returned the device to his pocket. "Is there anything else that needs to be done still?"

"No-" she cut off at the sound of a knock at the door, her eyes going wide. "I should get that". She left the room, and him and his father followed her. They sort of hovered behind her at the door, as they usually did when there was company. Once upon a time Ace would have been directly behind her, excited to meet new people. They had been the entertainers of the family.

His mother smothered her dress down with steady hands before pulling open the door and smiling widely.

And so the night began.

***

James ended up sitting between his mother and Kalen, which was very pleasing to his mother, and extremely displeasing to Kalen's brothers— or at least Daniel and Joe— who glared forcibly at him from across the table. Michael didn't seem to mind too much, but he did shoot James unreadable looks every couple of minutes.

The whole thing wouldn't have been awkward if that's where they left it, but both Joe and Daniel seemed to feel they needed to make little quips about the situation, stopping only when their father scolded them.

It was only uncomfortable for a minute after that before Mr. Bradford asked James how he was enjoying the school.

"Oh". James, surprised at the attention, had not been prepared to speak, so he had to clear his throat. "It's a great school. All of my professors are really helpful."

"That's great," Mr. Bradford said, sounding pleased. "We pride ourselves on our dedicated staff. I'm trusting the transition from your previous school to this one is going well?"

"Most definitely," James answered, and it wasn't a lie. Having Tyler around made the adjustment easy.

"James didn't really like his school back in Florida," his mother cut in, shooting him a smile when James's eyes widened slightly. He was fully expecting her to begin talking about Taylor and that whole situation, which was a horrible idea, so he was incredibly thankful when she said, "they had a very bad chemistry department".

"Chemistry?" Mrs. Bradford asked before sipping at her glass of wine. With a tight lipped smile, James nodded and eyed his food, wondering if it was rude to eat when he knew he'd have to speak in a minute. "Are you looking at a college with a chemistry program?"

"I haven't actually looked yet," James admitted. "That's my plan though. I'd like to go into pharmaceuticals some day".

"Oh that's wonderful," Mrs. Bradford claimed, smiling warmly at him. James found that he liked her. She was a very warm woman who smiled easily and seemed genuinely interested in the conversation around her. It was an interesting dynamic with her husband, who was colder and slower to smile.

"That is awesome," Mr. Bradford chimed in, blue eyes alight with interest. The triplets had their father's eyes, while Kalen had his mother's. It made James wonder how many of the other siblings had the unique trait— golden eyes had to be recessive, right?— but it seemed like it would be a strange thing to ask. "How long have you known what you want to do in the future?"

The question surprised James, and he shared a look with his father. "Oh, um... a couple years, I guess?"

"James has been interested in science his entire life," his mom supplied. "He used to go to science camp in elementary-" there was a snicker from across the table and James shot an unamused look at Joe Bradford. "And in middle school he was one of the top science students so he got to go on multiple field trips shadowing jobs in the science field and he really enjoyed pharmaceuticals".

"That's a good plan," Mr. Bradford advised. "You two must be relieved that he's so independent. My boys typically need me to pick a career for them". Kalen shifted at this, uncomfortably, and of the triplets, Michael and Daniel looked less than pleased. Joe just smiled, unconcerned.

"Dad, there's nothing bad about not knowing what you want to do when you go to college," Michel defended, receiving a displeased look from his father.

"That's true," James mom chimed in. "Our Ace applied under undecided. He never knew what he wanted to do as an adult". She said it so casually, as if she had forgotten that Ace would never do anything as an adult. Quickly, James shared a look with his father before they both turned to their mother.

"Oh! I didn't realize you had another boy," Mr. Bradford said pleasantly. "Where is he going to school then?"

It was silent then, for longer than acceptable in regular conversation, but James found himself frozen, staring at his parents with wide eyes. His father seemed shocked, his mouth slightly open and eyes trained on his wife, who was looking down at her lap, hands clenched into small fists. It was when his eyes landed on her face that he was snapped out of his silence, the look of pain on her face telling him that she couldn't be the one to explain the situation. He really hated seeing his mother cry.

"Um, my brother passed away about seven months ago, sir," James explained in a small voice. He was staring down at his plate, trying to avoid all the eyes that he suddenly felt on his face. "He was planning on going to University of Tampa but...he didn't make it to graduation.''

It was Mrs. Bradford who broke the horrible tension first. "Oh my, We're very sorry for your loss".

"It's... alright," his father cut in, shooting James a thankful look. "We don't talk about it much. It's still a bit of a shock".

"That's... understandable, of course," Mrs. Bradford assured. She then, thankfully, changed the topic with ease, discussing the Bradford's upcoming dinner party in a week and if they would be attending. The shift finally brought the multiple pairs of eyes off of James, but when he turned his head he still caught Kalen staring at him, Golden gaze soft with something he had yet to see from the other boy.

As he finished his food, and the adults continued to converse, he wondered what it meant, and hoped for selfish reasons that it was something fond.

***

The triplets left right after dinner, having apparently come in their own car so their parents could stay behind and discuss business plans. They practically begged Kalen to leave with them, even attempting to physically pull him out of the house before the younger boy slipped free and demanded he be left behind. With a word from their father, the triplets left, and the the two remaining minors were directed to go sit in the dining room together while their parents spoke.

James reviewed all of these actions in his head when he found himself sitting across the dining room table from Kalen, wondering if he should say something, and if it would be rude to check his phone for any messages from Tyler. Kalen, across from him, was staring off to the side with a blank look on his face, lower lip pulled between his ivory teeth. With a heavy sigh, James tore his gaze away, thinking it was probably better not to be caught staring.

It was Kalen who broke the silence with a clearing of his throat, and James's wide eyed gaze snapped to his face. "I'm sorry about my brothers".

"Oh," James began softly, surprised at the apology. "They honestly don't bother me". Kalen's perfect eyebrows raised. "I've... I've been warned about some of the consequences that could come upon me by offending them, so I'm opting to keep my mouth shut instead of telling the to piss off". This made Kalen crack a little smile, but it faded as his eyes raised to regard him seriously

"I'd say that they should still scare you, but I'm not sure that's true anymore".

"What do you mean?" James inquired, leaning forward a bit. He propped his elbows up on the table and clasped his hand in front of his face, smiling a little at the way Kalen's eyes focused on his forearms for a second before flitting away.

"You're living their nightmare," Kalen explained softly, though James didn't understand what he was referring to. "You've lost something that they are terrified to lose, and you're still a functioning human being". Oh, James realized, dropping his eyes. Ace. Something about his expression must have indicated his sadness, because when Kalen spoke again his voice was even softer, nearly a whisper. "You don't need to worry about those consequences anymore. They're not going to make your life any more difficult than it currently is."

James didn't exactly like to be pitied, but he supposed it was something he could accept it in this specific case, since it could potentially be helpful.

As he waited for a response to this, Kalen continued to look at him, studying. With a sigh, James spoke. "I don't think I've terrified anyone before".

Kalen seemed to be thinking about this, his golden eyes steady but distant as he continued to look at him. When he finally spoke, something about his voice was off. "You'd be surprised, I think".