It's our second round of coffee and biscuits for tonight. We're once again sitting in the kitchen with the overhead light glaring on all the white surfaces, but I think I'm glaring harder than the bright light right now. The target of my glaring is not even Jet, as usual; it's someone who never requires any glaring at all.

The world has turned on its head.

"You sent Jet to hunt down Franklin?!" I exclaim, appalled at the news. Apparently, it wasn't Akari who called Jet away from the bonfire; it was Burlap. "Are you out of your mind?"

"Yes," Burlap shrugs, and he is taking all my heartfelt glaring a lot better than I am.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jet demands angrily, and I wasn't even glaring at him. Well, I am now, and it's helping me feel a lot more normal.

"It means that I don't want to visit you in prison when you murder him," I explain the situation to him since he apparently doesn't see the danger in Burlap asking him to find Franklin.

"You won't visit me in prison?" he asks in a small voice that almost makes me sad. I would be sad, but that question is just too weird.

He is not even trying to deny that he would kill Franklin if he got his hands on him; he is just upset about the possibility of me not visiting him in prison. Yup, he is that warped. He actually looks a bit heartbroken, the idiot!

All things considered, this conversation is starting to feel a lot more natural, though. Jet and I often have weird conversations that make little sense. Still, the idea of this lively, untameable bastard stuck in a prison cell is making me feel emotional... and there's the whole thing where killing people is wrong also making me ill.

"I didn't say I won't; I said I don't want to," I clarify.

"Not even to bring me some snacks and cigarettes to buy myself out of getting beaten up and stuff?!" This conversation doesn't feel natural anymore; Jet looks close to tears. Which part of my clarification did he not understand? Why the hell is he so emotional? Why am I?

I blame it all on being stirred up and feeling helpless about what happened to Wendy.

"Of course, I'll bring you stuff; I just don't want to!"

"Seriously!" Burlap interrupts, smacking his hand on the tabletop when Jet grabs my shirt, and I pull his hair. "I know I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again now! You are both morons!"

"Yeah, you keep telling us that. You really need to stop," Jet scoffs. "We already know that, Mr. State-the-obvious."

"Don't be mean to Burlap," I snap, giving Jet's hair another sharp yank.

"Sure, I'd rather be mean to you anyway!"

If he keeps on dragging at my clothes, I'm either going to end up shirtless, or we're going to fall on the floor. Sighing like the world is resting on his shoulders, Burlap calmly rises from his chair. He picks it up and forces it into the small space between Jet's chair and mine, leaving us no other choice but to let each other go and shift our chairs to make room for his. We both yelp in pain when he sits down and casually digs his fingers into the sensitive spot just above our knees.

It always works to stop our scuffles, and we should've seen it coming, but... well... the word morons is still hanging around in the atmosphere. I feel a bit better now, though, and I can see Burlap and Jet do too. Sometimes, we need to mess around and bruise each other a little to get the tension out of our systems.

"I asked Jet to get Jack Radford to hunt Franklin down," Burlap explains calmly. "I didn't ask Jet to hunt him down himself."

That sounds a bit better, but it's still risky. There's no way to prevent Jet from going after him too. It was a given that he would the minute he heard what Franklin did to Wendy. I'm glad he couldn't find him anywhere he went to look for him. Apparently, he asked many people to get in touch if they saw or heard anything about him.

"You hired a hitman?!" I frown, gaping at Burlap. Who is this guy?

"Jack is not a hitman!" Jet snorts. "He's a P.I. No, it's not the same thing," he hurriedly adds before I can say it.

Well, the man looks like a hitman... an old one.

When I once asked Jack Radford if he was a hitman, he said he was a retired detective who didn't want to just sit on the beach and fish all day the way his wife wanted him to, so he free-lances as a private investigator. He said he liked the hitman idea better and might change his new after-career part-time career to being a hitman instead. He even thanked me for the suggestion.

I didn't know I was suggesting anything.

He also refuses to be called anything but Jack, even though he's in his 70s. Jet's mom's law firm often uses his detective services, and he occasionally helps the police out when they're stomped. He is an excellent detective; it would be a pity if he decided to kill people instead... aside from the fact that it would be friggin' disturbing.

"I gave him all the information Burlap got from Wendy: the panel van's registration, tool serial numbers, and so on. He says that when an amateur like Franklin robs the house of his parents, it usually means that they're desperate. He probably made some enemies and needs to run away. The guys with the van might also be those enemies forcing him to get his hands on an easy haul to pay them back. Dunno, but if someone is going to be able to find them and Wendy's stuff, it would be Jack."

"Thanks, Jet," Burlap sighs, rubbing his hands through his hair. "I'm sure we'll hear from him soon."

I've always thought that Burlap cared about Wendy much deeper and differently than the rest of us. Seeing how hard he is taking what's happened, I'm now sure of it. Wendy is my buddy; she's Barn's scary monster in his closet; she's good friends with Lurch, and she's pretty much Jet's sister. His twin. They always get up to no good together and need the rest of us to set them straight or save them from themselves.

I think Jet and Wendy went through the same almost-dating thing Wendy and I went through years ago, but they are simply too similar in too many ways to make that kind of relationship work. They're really close, though.

Her relationship with Burlap has always fascinated me since they are so completely different. Burlap is the only person who can talk sense into her, the same way Barn is the only person who can get Jet to see reason. In turn, Wendy often gets Burlap to let loose more than the rest of us can.

At some point, I thought it made Burlap and Wendy's relationship the same as Jet and Barn's, but I've had my doubts about that for a while now. I've seen the way they sometimes look at each other, but they might not be aware of it. Jet and Barn sure as hell never look at each other like that. Neither do Burlap and I.

Burlap thinks he's not over Tertia yet, but I think he'll be surprised if he takes a hard, deep look into his heart. He won't, though. The guy is scared of getting hurt again, and Wendy claims that romance is for the birds.

They need a shove to get them to wake up.

"So, you're not going camping tomorrow?" Burlap asks, studying my face in the disconcertingly intense way he sometimes does when I cannot find the words I need to say what I'm thinking, so he tries to find them for me.

"No," I shrug, wincing when Jet groans as if I'd hit him. Why is it so important to him that I'm there? I'm not cancelling the camp or stopping others from going. Fine, I'll just be honest, and he'll either get it or not. Burlap is here; he might be able to explain it to him.

"Look, Kira's finally at a point where I think she's ready to admit she's not just tutoring me to be a good boyfriend but actually wants me to be her boyfriend for real. I don't want her to change her mind while I'm hanging out in the woods playing Tarzan."

"What?!" Jet exclaims, and when I see the complete confusion on his face, I remember that only Burlap knows about my deal with Kira. Wonderful, I let the cat out of the bag big time now. "Kira is tutoring you to be her boyfriend? You're not actually dating?"

It's too late to back up and change my story now.

"She thinks she's tutoring me to be a better version of myself by being a good boyfriend," I explain to Jet the complexities of my excellent plan. I won't mention the car because he might genuinely die laughing then. "I'm really dating her."

Jet nearly laughs himself off his chair - so glad I didn't mention the car - and is only saved from falling by Burlap grabbing his arm. Burlap is laughing too, and hearing my own words out loud, I have to agree; it sounds pretty messed up and stupid.

It's not, though; it's brilliant!

"That's so you!" Jet chortles happily. "It's also seriously awesome news," he grins, pulling his phone from his jeans pocket. I watch with narrowed eyes while he finds something on the screen, and then he holds the device to his ear.

"Who are you calling?" I ask suspiciously. "It's way past midnight!"

"Shhht, this is important," he assures me, and then he suddenly smiles sweetly, making me nervous. Jet's sweet smiles are never good news.

"Hi, Kiki!" he coos, and I listen to his half of the conversation, rolling my eyes when he pauses dramatically to hear her reply after each sentence. "Yeah, I know you've been longing for this call. You looked so hot tonight. Awww, I really wanted to dance with you too, but Ethan was in the way the whole night. Yeah, you're right, it is disappointing, but what are you gonna do? Want me to come over and dance with you now?"

I knew he was pretending to be speaking to Kira shortly after the 'hi, Kiki'. With a long-suffering sigh, I sit back in my chair and fold my arms, getting ready to enjoy the ride until I've had enough and kick Jet's chair out from under him. Burlap gives me an amused look, chuckling at my ex-friend's antics, and I grin, shaking my head.

Yeah, Jet can mock me all he wants; I'm about to get the girl... I think...

"Listen! I just heard that you tutor guys to be good boyfriends." Jet is really getting into his farce now. This guy could have a stellar career as an actor... or a con man. He might actually already be a con man to some extent. He certainly keeps conning me into doing stupid things with and for him. "How much do you charge per hour? I need many, many, maaaaaaaany hours, and I'll double whatever Ethe pays you."

"Double zero is still zero," I snort and clench my teeth when I realise I'm probably shooting myself in the foot. I chuckle, too, when Burlap laughs.

Come on!

"Oh, you do it for free for Ethe because you're sorry for him since he is such a pathetically hopeless case, but you'll do it for me for free too because I'm awesome and you feel honoured that I asked you. Aww, thanks, Kiki, but I assure you the honour is all mine. Yes, I'm looking forward to it too."

"Seriously, I'm going to kick your arse so hard..." I warn Jet, but he just points at his phone, raises his eyebrows and opens his hand in an obnoxious can't-you-see-I'm-on-the-phone admonishing gesture. Burlap is laughing so hard now that I have to squeeze his shoulder to remind him who his best friend is here. I know the best friend lines are mostly blurry among the six of us, but still...

"Kiki, you need to work on Ethan's interactions with his friends," Jet continues, really enjoying his imaginary phone conversation with my girlfriend. "He is very violent. Good boyfriends shouldn't be so violent... yes... yes... I understand. I agree; he is really hard to deal with. So, about the tutoring, how much kissing and cuddling are included in..."

Burlap wisely scoots his chair out of the way when I growl; he is still laughing as I launch myself at Jet, wrestling him off his chair.

"Hey! Dude! I was on an important call," Jet grumbles, wiggling out from under me to find his phone that skidded under a vegetable rack. Rising, he dusts himself off as if the Hessian's floor were the dirtiest floor on the face of the planet - it is spotless - while I try to untangle myself from his tumbled chair. "You're so rude."

"She won't change her mind," Burlap assures me, pulling the chair off me and helping me to my feet too. "She loves you."

"Yeah," Jet agrees, sitting down again and grabbing a chocolate biscuit from the tin filled with the contents of various cookie packets. "I realised that the night Akari and I had dinner with you. I don't stand a chance with her... never did. Not that I would want to stand a chance when you're so clearly all-in when it comes to her," Jet says reasonably, smiling at me like a normal human being and not the weird alien he truly is, and then he slams his fist on the surface of the table, yelling: "So come to the friggin' camp!"

I liked hearing that Jet could see it too. I know he's not half as self-absorbed as people think, but I'm still pleasantly surprised to hear that he could see that Kira loves me.

"Are you going?" I ask Burlap, and as I expected, he hesitates.

"Seriously, Burlap!" Jet growls. "Don't make me spank you!" he barks, channelling my sister.

"Of course he's going!"

We look around to see Wendy strolling into the kitchen, looking dishevelled and sleepy but no longer on the verge of tears.

"Why wouldn't he go?" she asks, allowing Jet to grab her wrist and pull her to perch on his knee when she passes his chair. "You guys look forward to this camping trip all year. It's been your thing since you were little boys." She pauses, her eyes tilting up to look at their top corners as if she's thinking about something important. "You're still little boys... just bigger."

"And you're very brave," Jet assures her, poking her in the ribs with a finger.

"I'm a seasoned brawler now," she assures him with a chuckle.

She's right about this specific camping trip being our favourite all-boys outing of the year. We used to go with our dads, grandfathers, uncles and older brothers until we were old enough to go by ourselves. One day, we will hand the torch to the younger generation of Egret's Rest's boys. This year, a few guys are bringing their younger adolescent brothers, neighbours and nephews, and we're bringing Lance and Reuben.

We once invited Wendy to come along since she's always with us and one of our closest friends, but she said that guys sometimes just need to be with other guys. She also said that she had no desire to be the only one with brains at a testosterone festival... as if that is not the norm for her... The testosterone festival part, not the brain part.

She's right, though. There's something about a bunch of guys just hanging out, talking, being stupid. It's different when there's a girl present, even when that girl is Wendy. We have plenty of co-ed camping trips during the rest of the year. The girls also have their own all-girl outings and traditions that we boys stay out of.

"I'm going to be fine now, Burlap," she smiles when he makes a protesting sound. "I'm staying right here. I'll take care of your grandfather, so your parents can have an outing or something. Franklin wouldn't dare come here. I'm not scared. I promise. I'm over it now," she adds, giving the brave shout-in-the-face-of-fear smile she often drags out when terrified.

It's making my heart pain. I can see Burlap's hands curling into fists on the tabletop, and I lean over to put my hand on his shoulder and rest my chin on it while I watch Wendy pretending to be fine.

"You could hang out at our place if you want," I offer, and she smiles, shaking her head.

"Thanks, but your girlfriend scares me," she winks. "Besides, I promised Grandpa I'll play Scrabble with him tomorrow. That hasn't changed."

I pull away from Burlap to finish my coffee and turn to see his face. There it is, the look that makes me think that his feelings for Wendy fall in the same category as mine for Kira. He is looking at her with troubled eyes and a slight smile on his lips, saying so many things without making a sound.

"Fine, I'll go," he mutters, and pushing his chair back to stand, he crosses to the counter to get Wendy some coffee - if I correctly understand why he's taking a mug from the cupboard.

"Ethe?" Jet asks, giving me the kind of look that twists my organs into a tight, uncomfortable mess in my stomach. I wish I were as certain of the whole Kira thing as everybody else seems to be. Perhaps if I also were on the outside looking in... but I'm not. I'm on the inside feeling everything. Feeling way too much.

"Okay. I'll see how things go tomorrow morning. I'll talk to Kicks and be honest with her, and if she's happy to be my girlfriend for real, I'll go camping... if she's not... I'll still go camping, but you won't want me there."

Burlap places Wendy's coffee on the table near her and hands her a couple of her favourite biscuits from the tin. When he sits on his chair again, he puts an arm around my shoulders, giving me a side hug. "She'll say yes."

"Besides, we never want you there," Jet assures me, and then he remembers what this whole conversation is about and gives a weird, dorky laugh when he sees Burlap and my mocking looks. "Well, we want you there, just not... you know...you."

"Shut up," I advise him before he hurts himself, and he laughs, stealing one of Wendy's biscuits to keep his mouth busy.

"What do you mean 'be your girlfriend for real'?" Wendy is too busy being confused by my statement to notice that Jet is taking one of her biscuits from her hand; he, therefore, lives to enjoy it. "Isn't she your girlfriend for real now?"

Oh! Right! She also doesn't know about my deal with Kira. At this rate, I will end up broadcasting it to the entire world.

"Wendy, this is excellent; you're gonna love it," Jet tells her, laughing again. "Kira thinks she's tutoring Ethan in the art of being a good boyfriend."

Wendy tilts her head, frowning at me. Now, she looks just like my grandmother's poodle before she's sent to the doggy parlour to get rid of all the tangles in her messed-up fur. The only difference is that Finella never bites; she just has a bark sharp enough to make your ears bleed, and when she comes back from her beauty session, she usually has a ribbon in her hair. I think if anybody tries to put a ribbon in Wendy's hair, they'll end up wearing it around their necks.

"She's very convincing as the lovesick, doting girlfriend," she tells me with a grin. "Are you sure she knows she's only tutoring you and you're not really dating?"

"Oh, he's dating her for real," Jet chuckles, and Wendy hastily dunks her other biscuit in her coffee before he can take it too.

"This makes my head hurt," she grunts, but she is grinning at me, and I'm happy to see that the grin is 100% Wendy now. She never lets anything or anybody beat her down completely. Besides, she knows she's with her friends, and we won't let anyone hurt her if we are with her.

We chat for a while, all of us avoiding topics like leaving town next year, Franklin, stolen tools, and other upsetting themes, but then Jet suddenly wraps his arms around Wendy when she's about to get off his knee.

"Come with me, Wends," he says, and I can tell he's serious. Wendy doesn't ask him where to; she knows, I know, and Burlap knows what he meant. Jet always asks everybody to go with him when he sails off into the great unknown, but this time, there is no humour behind it. I glance at Burlap to see how he is taking this earnest request, but aside from a tiny muscle jumping in his jaw, he is not showing any emotion. He can be such a drone sometimes.

He says the right word is stoic, not drone.

"We can visit Burlap in the UK and travel the world together," Jet tells Wendy. "Anywhere you want. We'll get you new tools, and you can have a floating workshop."

"If I brought a lathe on your yacht, it would sink," she scoffs and swivels to look at him, stiffening when she sees his face and hurries to add: "I don't need a lathe."

"You're going to sail all the way to the UK?" Burlap frowns. I'm not sure if he's worried about Jet and the mental state driving him to want to take to the ocean or about Wendy possibly going with him now that she can see how serious he is.

"You don't think I can?" Jet asks in a low voice, his eyes narrowing with challenge.

"I know you can do anything you set your mind to," Burlap says, getting to his feet and gathering dirty mugs while I put the biscuits away.

"Why don't you ever ask Barn?" Wendy wants to know when Jet finally lets her go, and she crosses to the sink to fetch a cloth to wipe the table. She's right; I've not heard Jet ask Barn even once, not even as a joke.

"Because he'll say yes," he shrugs. "He loves it here. He'll wilt and die if I take him away... I don't want dead people on my boat," he adds when he sees the endearing looks we're giving him in reaction to his obvious regard for his buddy.

He is not wrong about that. Barn would say yes out of loyalty and his love for Jet, and then he'll die being rooted up from the place he loves.

"I'm gonna go. Try not to drive Burlap up the walls," I tell the two people, always driving everybody up the walls... usually with me helping them.

"I never drive people anywhere, Ethe," Jet snorts, and I wrap my arm around his neck, pulling him closer.

"It doesn't matter if I go camping or not, Jet," I assure him, looking into his tormented eyes. "Because I'm still here. You're still here. I'll always be here for you, no matter where you are. You know that, right? We're going to make a plan, Jet. This is your home base. We'll make a plan. You're not going to be a pawn in your dad's corporation. I promise."

"Yeah?" he says, squinting at me, and I wonder if the guy really thinks that any of us would just stand by and not help him find a way out of an unbearable situation... even if that way is to help him disappear from his parents' radar.

"Yeah," Burlap agrees, and I'm glad to see a faint smile touch Jet's lips.

"Now, don't do something stupid that will land you in jail," I implore him. "Franklin isn't worth it."

"No, but Wendy is."

"No, she's not!" Wendy yells, slapping his arm. "Just stay out of it, Jet! Please!"

"Yeah, she is, but she needs us out here with her. We're no help to her if we're locked up," Burlap clarifies my message, and I give him a thankful nod.

"Fine," Jet grunts and I sincerely hope that Jack delivers Franklin and his mates or enemies directly to the police and doesn't give us a chance to make some serious mistakes.

"I'm sleeping with Burlap," Jet declares, heading down the hallway.

"No, you're not! I am!" Wendy assures him, jumping on his back.

"I'm willing to share him," Jet laughs, making Burlap groan.

"Seriously! I don't want to sleep with either of you hooligans," he grumbles. "I'll take one of the spare bedrooms."

"I didn't specify the bed," Jet tells him, and muttering under his breath, Burlap puts a hand on my shoulder, redirecting me to the living area when I aim to follow Jet and Wendy.

"How about you use the front door like a civilized person for a change?" he chuckles.

"You do know that using the door is not going to turn me into one, right?"

"I can dream," he laughs, fluffing my messy hair. "Hey, stop stressing, yeah? You've won; your plan worked. She's not afraid of her own heart anymore. I promise, Ethe, it's going to be fine."

"Hmm," I say, thinking that maybe Burlap should get Wendy to tutor him since it apparently worked so well for me, but then again, Wendy needs tutoring too. "Thanks, buddy. Please let me know if you hear anything from Jack or the police."

"Ethe," Wendy is suddenly hurrying to us through the dusky living area. I thought she'd gone to bed already. It's pretty clear that if Burlap really does sleep in one of the spare rooms, he'll find both of them in there with him soon enough. He might as well just give up and make a Christmas bed in the living room or be part of an uncomfortably hot toasted human sandwich in his own bed.

"Please go camping," Wendy says, grabbing my arm and looking up at me with large, earnest eyes. "He's not okay. He pretends to be, but he really isn't. He needs his brothers."

She's right. I saw it too. I have to man up and settle things with Kira tomorrow morning, one way or another and then join the guys at the camp.

"Yeah," I tell her, giving her a last hug. "Yeah, he does."

♂♀