A/N This chapter is a rollercoaster, let me tell you ;)

"It's about damn time," Tyler grumbled when James climbed out of the backseat of his parents car. "My parents went in like fifteen minutes ago. I've just been standing here like an idiot".

"First off," James began, unconsciously straightening out his suit. He hadn't worn it since his brother's funeral, and it hugged him a little more than he was used to, but it had looked fine when he had checked in the mirror before leaving. "Your parents got here ridiculously early, so that's not my fault, and second off, no one asked you to stand out here and wait for me". James just looked at him, eyes narrowed. "Thank you, though".

"Uh-huh". Tyler still didn't look pleased, but before James could apologize, his mother was climbing out of the car and pulling Ty into a hug.

"Hello dear!"she greeted happily. "You look very nice". Briefly, James eyed his best friend, and found he had to agree with his mother. Tyler was wearing a charcoal grey suit, the jacket left open and the top buttons of his shirt undone. He was lacking a tie, but James knew that was because his friend couldn't stand the feeling of fabric against his neck.

"Thank you Mrs. Anders," Tyler said, and James chuckled as his mother glared at his best friend. "I mean Lisa".

"There we go," she encouraged, patting his arm. James's father got out of the vehicle then and greeted Tyler with a nod in his direction. "You can show us the way, right Tyler? I know we're supposed to go to one of the ballrooms but Frank never found out which one".

"Oh, yeah," Tyler confirmed with a small smile. "I'll lead the way".

Immediately, James fell into step with his best friend, leading his parents towards the building, stopping only when James's father's passed his car keys off to the valet. "I'm not supposed to like... do anything, right?" James asked his friend, shooting a look over his shoulder to make sure his parents weren't paying attention. They were talking amongst themselves, something about his mother's dress.

"Do anything?" Tyler repeated, shooting a smile as the woman sitting at the front desk. She waved them by, seeming unconcerned. "Well, you'll have to say hello to all of the Bradford sons and probably their parents, but everyone does that. The sons stand kind of by the door in a line and greet the guests as they enter. You know all of their names, right?"

"Brad, Garett, Pierce, Michael, Daniel, Joe, and Kalen," James responded without pause, and Ty nodded his head in agreement. "Do I need to know which is which?"

"Since you're new, they'll introduce themselves to you when you enter, but after that you're expected to know. It's good to know the names beforehand because it makes it easier putting it to a face and remembering it," Tyler explained. "Other than that, you're not supposed to do anything. I mean, you have to eat the food, and put your napkin on your lap, but other than that, it's all on your parents to mingle. We can kind of just hang out and ignore everyone".

This had James exhaling a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I didn't know if I was expected to follow my parents around".

"Of course not. I didn't even go in with my parents," Tyler pointed out. "If you follow them around, that would only be embarrassing for you".

"So what'd you do the last couple years then? Without me to keep you company?" As he asked this, James directed his attention upwards to appreciate the large crystal chandelier that was hanging in the hallway.

"I hung out in the bathroom and played games on my phone," Tyler said nonchalantly, and when James looked at his friend, he caught him smiling to himself. "Seriously man, you should check out the bathrooms here. There's like couches and shit in there for you to relax. It's crazy".

"Do they have one of those guys that stand there and offer you a towel?" James inquired, only partly joking. It seemed like that kind of place.

"Not of the first floor," Tyler claimed, slowing to a stop in front of an extremely large set of doors. James tilted his head back slightly to look up at them. "That's some third floor shit, or so I've heard. They don't let me up there". Green eyes shifted past him then to his parents. "This is the room".

James looked back at his parents and was unsurprised to see his mother's eyes wide with delight, and his father's lips stretched tight. "This place is... more than I was expecting," his father claimed, running his hands down the front of his suit jacket to straighten the fabric. "Shall we?"

Tyler pulled the door open, and James quickly moved out of the way, gesturing a hand to his parents so they entered before him. It made Tyler laugh, and then call him a "pussy," under his breath when James stepped in behind his mother. Tyler followed him, letting the door fall shut, and James made sure to glare at his friend so he'd know he was less than pleased with the previous comment.

Amused green eyes stayed on his for a moment longer before looking past him at something. James turned to face the room, and the line of young Bradfords he would have to greet before getting to take a seat. First he noticed Kalen, who was pressed between Daniel and Michael at the end of the line. He was in the middle of greeting a girl— who looked about his own age— with a warm smile, but Daniel's arm came up around his brother's shoulders, and he said something to the girl that made her flush, nod, and turn away from them.

The next person James noticed was the one at the very front of the line. It was one of the three brothers he didn't know, and James found himself openly staring, fascinated by how much this older man looked like his younger brother. They had all the same facial features, the same nose and eye shape, and the gold eyes seemed to be a trait that was passed down to just the two of them, James noted with a quick glance down the line, seeing all blue eyes. The only difference he could see between this man and Kalen, besides the obvious difference in age, was the slightly lighter hair of the older. It was more similar to the brown of Mrs. Bradford's hair than the ink black of Mr. Bradford's. It made his gold eyes look less bright, but they were still striking.

As his father shook the man's hand, James looked back at Tyler and asked, "who's the one with the eyes?"

It seemed clear that Ty knew exactly who he was talking about, because without looking at him, he said, "Pierce".

Nodding, James turned his head to look forwards. His mother was currently greeting the second golden eyed son then, and James prepared himself to be next, curious as to what the Bradford who had been described to him as the aggressive one would say as greeting.

His mother moved forward to the second sibling, and James moved into the empty space as those golden eyes fixated on him, so much like Kalen's it almost took his breath away.

"You're new as well," the man said matter of factly. "I'm assuming you're the son of the Anders'?"

"That's correct". James held out his hand. "James". For a moment, the man looked at him, eyes flicking between his face and his hand. Then, he reached out and shook it, grip firm.

"Brad Bradford. Nice to meet you".

James felt his eyes widen, and he shot a look off to the side at Tyler, curious as to why his friend had lied and told him Brad was Pierce. He received no clarification from the glance though, since Tyler was busy glaring past him, jaw clenched.

James moved down the line to the next brother, who happened to be Garett. It took everything in him not to laugh when he recalled Tyler describing him as a "total fucking idiot" as Garett shook his hand and asked if he was working for his father.

The boy on Garett's right—who by process of elimination had to be Pierce— finished greeting James's mother and turned to address this. "Yes, because our father is most definitely in the business of hiring useless high schoolers".

James allowed his attention to shift from one Bradford to another, and immediately understood his earlier miscommunication with Tyler, because of course when he said "the one with the eyes" Tyler had thought he meant this boy because wow.

When James had been picturing Pierce before this moment, he certainly hadn't been expecting this. He had thought he would be exceptionally tall, with dark hair and eyes alike, but here was this man about James height, with broader shoulders and thicker arms. His hair was dark, that had been right, but like his mother, it curled rather than falling straight against his forehead like all of his brothers did.

But his eyes were by far the most striking thing about him, and James he couldn't believe he had missed it at first. His left eye was the same cornflower blue as the rest of his brothers, but the right one was the same gold James had stared into multiple times on Kalen. It was a condition James had never seen before in person, and it was something he couldn't help but stare at with wide eyes.

Luckily, he was able to compose himself before Pierce realized it was his turn to shake James's hand, though when he turned his head to the side, both Brad and Tyler seemed less than pleased with him. Quickly, he shook Pierce's hand, introduced himself to the angry looking man, and moved out of the way, towards the triplets and Kalen.

"Hey James," Michael greeted pleasantly, even going as far as to smile at him. The other two grumbled their greetings to him under his breath. "How's it going?"

"Good," James offered his eyes moving to Kalen for just a second before he looked back to his left at Pierce.

Him and Tyler seemed to be in the middle of some kind of stare down, that ended with the shorter of the two's lips twitching before he said, "hey dumbass".

Tyler huffed, and then immediately came back with, "asshole". Pierce seemed satisfied with this, because he turned away to Garett then, and Ty moved to stand at James's side.

"And so it continues," Joe said to Tyler, who simply looked at the other boy with narrowed eyes before reaching out a hand and grabbing James's sleeve.

"We'll be leaving now," Tyler insisted, and before James could even properly greet Kalen, he was being pulled away from the line of attractive boys and pushed towards the back of the room after his parents.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" James asked under his breath to avoid offending any passing adults.

"He just makes me angry," Tyler claimed with a shrug, staring straight ahead. "I mean, it feels like we're trying to force the other one to talk first and then he just talks first and then I feel stupid for not talking first. I can never win. He never lets me win".

James hummed thoughtfully at this as he pushed Tyler's hand off his arm. "His eyes though. You couldn't have mentioned that to me beforehand? I wasn't prepared."

The look Tyler shot him was less than happy. "Yes, you were staring".

"Well it's kind of hard not to when you're not expecting it," James defended, eyeing his best friend cautiously. "Why are you acting this why? What's it matter if I was staring? Only you and Brad noticed". Ty shook his head. "What? Who else?"

"Kalen".

"Kalen?" James repeated, turning slightly to be able to look over his shoulder at said boy. He found Kalen's eyes already on him, and they widened comically before looking away, cheeks flushing pink. James grinned and turned back to Tyler. "You pulled me away before I could say hi to him".

"I guarantee you that he'll be over talking to you at some point tonight," Tyler claimed, and James raised his eyebrows in question. "He's totally into you, and even though it's pretty obvious you're into him, you did just check out his brother in front of him, so he's probably having some doubts".

For a moment, James was silent, wondering if he should be happy that Tyler thought Kalen liked him, even though it was outside of the plan— hell, it was pretty much the exact opposite of his plan— or if he should defend himself once more and deny that he had been checking out Pierce. Instead, he chose to focus more on Tyler's sour mood. "Explain to me why you're upset again?"

His friend only huffed, and turned to walk alongside one of the long tables. James, who had been following him aimlessly, looked after him, taking note of his and Tyler's parents seated together at the very end of the table, talking. There were two free seats between James's mother and a woman James didn't have a name for, and Tyler took the seat next to James's mom, gesturing for him to join him on his other side. With a sigh, James obeyed.

The dinner progressed in an unsurprising fashion. First, Mr. Bradford gave a speech, thanking everyone for attending, and instructing them to be seated as dinner would be served soon. Tyler remained suspiciously quiet until there was food in front of him, and then his mood seemed to shift back to normal, and they fell into their regular conversation.

When they finished eating, and the plates were cleared, both of their parents left the table to go mingle with other Bradford employees, leaving James and Tyler behind to entertain themselves. This involved removing all of the money from both of their wallets— even combined, it wasn't a lot— and attempting to fold the bills into different origami shapes.

It was when James was pressing the last folds in the sword he was making with a dollar bill that Tyler threw a rough elbow into his ribs and mumbled, "I told you so," under his breath.

Annoyed, James raised his head to ask what was so important he had to distract him, when a smooth voice came from over his shoulder, "is anyone sitting here?"

Eyes widening, James slapped a hand down over his project and turned to look at Kalen, who simply blinked down at him, waiting for a response. He looked good in a suit, James noted, his eyes doing a quick once over the boy in front of him, and then his teeth sunk into his lip hard as a way to restrain himself from looking a second time. He found it difficult to believe he had gotten distracted by anyone but Kalen in the front of their room, even if Pierce did have two different colored eyes. "I think you're about to be," James responded, nudging the chair next to him out with his foot. "Or at least I'd like you to be".

"How could I refuse," was Kalen's response as he dropped into the seat next to him with a gracelessness you wouldn't expect in someone dressed that extravently. Hastily, James tucked his nearly finished dollar sword into his pocket.

"Quite easily," Tyler said then, forcing James to break eye contact with the pretty boy to glare at his best friend, who simply ignored his gaze and smiled past him. "Hello Kalen. I'm very sorry we didn't get to greet you earlier. You see, I wanted to kill your older brother and I thought that might dampen the night. James was very disappointed with me, you see".

James wondered if he had ever wanted to punch someone so badly in his life, but then Kalen laughed and turned slightly in his seat, his knee bumping into James's under the table, and he allowed his gaze to move from his best friend to the youngest Bradford, who either missed the implication of Tyler's words, or was simply ignoring it. "It's alright. I want to kill him sometimes too, you know."

"I can't imagine how you refrain," was Tyler's quick response, and Kalen's lips pulled into a small smile before his gaze slid over to James's.

"So when did you two meet?" Kalen asked, propping his elbow up and leaning forward onto his palm. "I noticed you two are together all the time at school, and you seem awfully close for two people who had just met".

"We met when we were kids," James explained quickly, hoping to shut down whatever thoughts were going through Kalen's head that made him ask his question in that tone.

"Yeah," Tyler confirmed over his shoulder, making golden eyes shift away. "Childhood best friends and that shit. Our closeness comes from about fifteen years a friendship, like, a million sleepovers, and throwing up on one another at least once". The face James made in response to this last bit must have been funny because Kalen actually laughed, the sound very pleasant. "Now that I've explained that, I'm gonna go meet new people. You two stay here and talk".

With that, Ty was rising to his feet and fleeing at a pace that would have been funny if James wasn't so shocked. "He alright?" Kalen asked softly, and James shrugged.

"I don't think I've ever heard him express interest in mingling ever". He continued watching his best friend and rolled his eyes when Ty finally finished weaving through the crowd of people in the room before silently slipping out of the ballrooms doors. Probably going to sit on the couch in the bathroom.

"So he's your best friend who moved away then?" Kalen asked, and James finally looked back at him. "I guess I never realized he was from Florida, though I knew he moved here from somewhere out of state. He never mentioned it".

"He probably wouldn't," James confirmed with a nod of his head. "Tyler doesn't really like talking about himself with people. It's occurred to me lately that there are even things he keeps from me, sometimes". On the table in front of him, his cell phone buzzed with a message from Tyler.

From: Ty

You're so fucking screwed, man.

"But you don't keep anything from him?" Kalen inquired, drawing James's attention away from his phone.

"No," he admitted honestly. "Not really. There's nothing to keep. You see, my life isn't very exciting or scandalous or anything like that".

"Oh really now?" Kalen inquired, eyebrows raising. "And why do you think that is?"

Kalen's voice was very light, but not in like an easy going sort of way. No. Light like he was flirting with him. Smooth. With wide eyes, James just looked back at the younger boy, gaze roaming his perfect face and looking for any indication that he was being tested. There was none, and he relaxed slightly, but his eyes kept wandering, though this time for application. Kalen smiled.

"Maybe I just make good choices," James claimed, and Kalen hummed thoughtfully, shifting more so he could press his leg more firmly against James's. He could feel Kalen's warmth against his knee, and sighed heavily. "Or maybe I just make very bad choices".

"How so?"

James looked down at their legs, and then up at Kalen, squinting his eyes slightly at the other boy. He could tell him the truth, that it felt like not making a move in times like this was a terrible decision, but that would have been far too obvious, and he didn't quite understand Kalen yet. Instead he said, "I get the feeling that you know".

"Very unspecific," Kalen accused, seeming unconcerned. On the table, James's phone buzzed again, reminding him he had a text. Gold eyes slid over to the screen before sliding back up to James's face. "You can respond to that if you need to".

James thought about the message from Tyler which he realized Kalen had now probably read, and nodded. "Thank you". He typed quickly to avoid keeping the other boy waiting.

To: Ty

Why?

Incase the answer was something Kalen shouldn't read, James dropped his phone in his lap so the screen wouldn't be visible to the black haired boy. "Tyler," James explained when he looked up to catch the other boy watching him. In understanding, or maybe just to humor him, Kalen nodded as if he hadn't already known this.

"You know, I wish I had someone I was able to tell everything to," Kalen said softly after a brief pause, sounding somewhat sad.

"You don't?" James's eyes flicked over to the table of Bradford's across the room, and then widened upon realizing that all of the sons were all looking back at him and Kalen talking, none of them seeming pleased about it. The sight made him feel nervous, so James dragged his focus back to the boy next to him.

"If you're thinking I probably tell one of my brothers everything, you're wrong. My brothers aren't exactly the most understanding of people, if you haven't realized," Kalen pointed out, and James nodded his head to show the validity he found in this point. "Also, they tell one another everything. If I tell any one of the triplets, the others are gonna find out. Daniel and Joe can't keep their mouths shut, and Michel tries, but if the other two know he's hiding something, they harass him until he breaks. I could tell Pierce things, he's probably the one most likely to keep secrets, but telling Pierce anything is pretty risky on it's own since so many things piss him off. Garett tells Pierce everything, and Brad tells my father everything, so there really aren't any good options".

"I see". James felt his phone buzz in his lap, but he ignored it. "So what you're telling me is that it's not fun to have six siblings". Kalen deadpanned, making James laugh. "What's it like being the youngest out of seven?"

"It's like I have eight parents," Kalen explained. "It does have it's advantages, I'll admit, because if I want something I can just ask one after the other and chances are someone will say yes, but most of the time it just really sucks. They're all so over protective, and being surrounded by six boys who everyone fawns over is super frustrating".

"Oh?" James inquired, shooting a look over at the table of boys in question and tensing when he realized that all of them were watching them. Before he could point this out to Kalen, he was talking again, sounding awfully put out as he did so.

"Yeah. I think part of the reason why they feel the need to shower me in constant attention is because I don't get much of it away from them. When we're all together like this, no one is looking at me," Kalen explained before groaning and shutting his eyes. "God, that sounds awful. I'm a Bradford complaining about not getting enough attention from people".

"I actually think I get it," James said softly, and Kalen's eyes slid open slowly. He couldn't blame Kalen for actually wanting positive attention from people outside of his family. To the boy, it must seem that everyone looking at him was doing so out of anxiety and fear, given the frequency of his brother's threats. But that wasn't true, and James said as much. "I want you to know though that I think you have it wrong."

"Oh?" Kalen inquired, eyebrows raising. He straighted in his seat, his hand which had been propping his chin dropping against the table softly. "Chemistry all over again?"

The joke got James's to smile. "Not quite," he breathed, eyes on Kalen's face. When he was looking at him, he could almost ignore all of the boys across the room looking at them. This seemed like a dangerous thing. "You should have realized by now that I'm looking at you".

Kalen's lips parted in surprise, but then he was saying, "Pierce. You noticed Pierce".

"I wasn't-" James cut off and sighed. "The eyes shocked me, but that was it. I notice you". Kalen flushed, but his gaze didn't waver. "And I guarantee you, I'm not the only one. I think you feel that way because your brothers scare away everyone who tries to get close to you".

"Well you're still hear," Kalen pointed out, voice barley above a whisper. James smiled softly at him.

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm stupid".

"Yeah," Kalen agreed, making James laugh. "Maybe I am too".

They stared at one another softly for a moment longer before James sighed and shifted his gaze to see if they were still being watched. "And you most definitely weren't joking about them being overprotective, huh?"

"You don't say".

At this, Kalen's eyes widened, and he shot a look over at his brothers table, rolling his eyes at the sight of them all watching him. "Don't they have anything better to do?"

"Yeah..." James agreed, shifting his eyes from the group of threatening boys to look at Kalen again. "I know we've agreed that I'm stupid and all, but should I be like... concerned for my safety or something?"

Kalen grinned. "Not at all. Pierce isn't over there, and he's the one you should be worried about". One additional glance over to the table confirmed this with James, and he relaxed into his seat with a long sigh. "Also, the older three will leave you alone if I tell them to, as long as you don't do anything to really threaten them. It's the triplets who ignore me all the time, and it's already been established that they're going to leave you alone from now on. Basically, I need to be the one worried right now".

"Really?' James inquired, and Kalen nodded without looking at him. "They'll be upset with you for being over here?" Tyler had mentioned this at lunch the day before, but James had doubted whether or not it was true.

"Oh, most definitely".

Humming, James bumped his leg into Kalen's purposely under the table, and the other boy finally looked back at him, eyes growing very wide. "Then why are you here?"

"I-" Kalen cut off to think. "I'm stupid, remember? Also, getting some time away from my brothers makes everything worth it. They're insufferable when they're all together. All they do is fight". James hummed at this, smiling at the same time. "Why? Would you like me to leave".

"No," he insisted quickly. "That's not why I asked".

There was a look in Kalen's eyes that reminded James of the first day they met, when they had run into one another in the hall. "Good," the younger boy breathed. "I don't really want to go anywhere".

For what felt like a long time, they just looked at one another, but still too soon they were interrupted by James's mother and father taking the two seats across from them with smiles on their faces. Both of them turned to them, and the movement caused James's phone to shift in his lap, reminding him of its presence.

"Hello Kalen," James's mother greated. "How are you tonight?"

As they made small talk, James finally checked the most recent message, still holding his phone beneath the table.

From: Ty

Because, he likes you, and you like him.

To: Ty

I really tried not to

James thought about the boy next to him, thought about what it would be like to take him out to dinner and hold his hand and kiss him when he wanted. Then he thought about what would happen if Kalen's brothers found out about it. At the moment, Kalen seemed to believe that his brothers would leave him alone, but he doubted that would still be the case if they found out about James's sexualtiy.

Some of Kalen's words came back to him then. The older three will leave you alone if I tell them to, as long as you don't do anything to really threaten them. James feared that engaging in any type of romantic relation with their youngest brother would quality as really threatening them.

To: Ty

Nothing can ever happen between us.

The response he got was almost immediate.

From: Ty

I'll pray for you, man.

This situation is already completely out of your control.

To: Ty

I have self control.

There was no response, and with a heavy sigh, James returned his phone back to his pocket, choosing to focus on the conversation happening before him.

They talked about colleges and food and Florida and the time Kalen visited James's homestate with his mother once. Then his mother asked about all of the trips Kalen had gone on before, and the boy spoke fondly of Rome and Japan and a plethora of other countries that James had never gone to. It had all of the Anders's attention, all three of them hanging on to Kalen's every word, living vicariously through the stories from a boy younger than all of them.

Kalen seemed embarrassed with their interest, but he answered all of their questions without hesitation.

He was in the middle of telling them about that time him and Garett got lost in Greece and ended up staying with a woman who made them the most amazing food, when said brother approached the table with a radiant smile. Kalen cut off mid sentence and raised his head to look at his brother, directing James's parents attention to him as well. "Excuse me," Garett began after a brief pause. "I need to steal Kalen from you. Our father called the car to take us home".

"Oh," James's mother said, turning her head to smile at Kalen. "That's quite all right. Thank you for sharing your stories, dear. You have been a pleasure to talk to".

"You as well, Mrs. Anders". Kalen rose to his feet before pausing to look down at James. "I'll-"

"See you Monday," James finished for him, making Kalen smile a little and nod.

"Alright, well, thank you all for coming. It's been great to see you all again," Kalen offered pleasantly, bowing his head in goodbye before going to join his brother.

As they left, James heard Garett ask, "Have you seen Pierce at all? He went out to smoke a while ago and none of us have seen him since".

James didn't get to head Kalen's response before his mother's close voice was cutting into the conversation. "He's a very nice boy, isn't he?"

"He is," James agreed with a nod of his head, thinking of Kalen's flushed cheeks and the warmth of his leg pressed against his own. "Very pleasant".

"He's by far the best behaved of Mr. Bradford's children," his father said under his breath. His eyes then shifted past James to the chair next to him. "Where'd Tyler go?"

It occurred to him then that Tyler had been gone a really long time, and he frowned at the chair. He could possibly still be sitting in the bathroom playing on his phone, but James figured if he had been he would have responded to James's most recent text. Possibly he had fallen asleep– it was Tyler after all– but that was also unlikely. All James knew was that he still had to be there since his parents were sitting at the next table over speaking with a blonde haired woman wearing pearls. "I honestly have no idea".

"Oh," James mother sounded, sitting up straight and turning her head to look around. "Well, I'd like to say goodbye to him before we go".

"I can go find him. I'd like to talk to him about something as well". He wanted to talk about Kalen, but he wouldn't let his parents know that. His mother didn't look thrilled at his suggestion, and James figured it was because she was eager to leave. "I'll just do a quick look around out there and if I don't find him I'll come right back".

"Don't delay," His father grumbled. "I'd like to leave as soon as possible. I have to see these people every day, I can only pretend to like them for so long." This made James laugh, since it was something that he knew if anyone else heard, they'd be shocked that the kind and generous Mr. Anders didn't want to deal with them.

"I won't. I already know where I'll check first," James assured before rising from his seat and pushing his chair in. "If he's not there I'll come back. I'll be quick".

James went to the bathroom, but it was empty. The lounge area had empty couches, and all of the stall doors were open. No sign of Tyler lingered.

As he walked back to the ballroom to meet his parents, James considered the fact that maybe his friend had gone up to one of the other bathrooms, since it seemed they got fancier by floor, but he had promised his parents he would return quickly, and he had already taken too much time searching the first floor bathroom for his friend. With a sigh, he slowed to a stop and removed his phone from his pocket. The dollar bill he had been folding earlier fell to the floor.

To: Ty

Where the hell are you? We're about to leave

Since Tyler often responded immediately, James stood there and waited, looking down at the screen.

A familiar sound reached him then, coming from the ballroom to his right. It was the sound of a phone dinging with a text message. It was just a coincidence, James was sure, but he moved closer to the door and typed another message.

To: Ty

Hello?

There was nothing on the other side of the door for a long minute, and then the sound came again. Smiling, James braced himself to barge through the door and hopefully scare his best friend at the suddenness of it, but then another sound reached his ears, one that made his entire body go rigid and his eyes widen.

There was no way. Literally no way. Tyler had not left the Bradford's dinner to have sex in a random ballroom. He must have been in there earlier and left his phone behind on accident, and then people decided to have sex in there because there was no fucking way.

He had to check and see. It couldn't be Tyler, but he had to make sure it wasn't Tyler, because if he didn't then he would never know, and not knowing would be horrible, because he would always wonder but never feel comfortable enough to ask.

With a deep breath, James braced his hands on the door once more, this time softly to avoid making any noise. Very carefully, he pushed the door open a crack, just enough that he could peek around the door.

The first thing James thought was how horrible sex sounded when you weren't the one having it. The second thing he thought was holy fucking shit, and the third was, so much makes sense now.

His question was answered. Yes, Tyler was in fact having sex in an empty ballroom, but who he was having sex with was a far more controversial issue.

Because it was fucking Pierce Bradford.

James walked back to his parents in shock, wishing he could unsee what he had just seen, but also wondering why on earth his friend hadn't mentioned that he was fucking Pierce Bradford.

A/N And Yeah, that's happening