Enjoy more itty bitty Kogan!

o*o*o*o*o
'You would wind up as a cat' I told her.
'They don't need anyone else.'
'I need you.' She replied.
'Well,' I said. 'Maybe I'll come
back as catnip.'
-Jodi Picoult
o*o*o*o*o

12 Years Old

"This is actually not boring!" Carlos exclaims as he turns another page in the book that Hortense had handed him.

They four boys are sitting in the library attempting to do research for a project for history. They'd begun studying Ancient Egypt earlier in the year and, for once, Hortense wasn't the only one interested in the subject.

"I know!" Kendall points to a picture of a long metal rod in the Latino's book. "They used that to take out your brains!"

"How awesome is that!"

All four boys share a high five before the school librarian glares and tells them to be quiet. Giggling as softly as possible, they all turn back to their respective books. "There's one thing I don't get though." Carlos admits as he looks up at Hortense. "Why did they go through all this trouble to make the bodies last forever if they just thought they were going to be born again as someone else?"

The bookworm shakes his head. "They didn't. Egyptians believed you had one life and an afterlife. The body, and all your worldly possessions-if you were rich enough- needed to be saved so that you could use them later. Reincarnation-the belief in being born again as someone or something else-" he adds at the three blank looks he receives at the word, "is actually an Eastern belief. It's mostly found in the religions of most of Asia, like Buddhism or Hinduism."

His three best friends all stare at him in awe and Hortense can feel the flush creeping up his neck. "What?"

"Wow, Hortense." Kendall breathes out, unable to tear his gaze away from the smaller boy, "I think you might be the smartest person ever!"

Carlos and James nod enthusiastically. "Totally!" James cries, earning them another glare from the librarian. "You know everything." He adds in a whisper.

"And it's not as boring when you talk about stuff." Carlos adds.

Hortense blushes at his friends' praise. "It's no big deal." He shrugs casually. "I just like to learn about stuff."

"Well I think I like the idea of reincarnation." James declares. "I'm so awesome it would probably take a hundred life times before people could properly appreciate me!" He glances at his friends. "Well, except for you guys."

"If we were reincarnated," Carlos grins, looking really enthusiastic, "I bet I was a king!"

"I bet I was the guy who invented hockey!" Kendall joins in.

"I'm pretty sure I was Elvis." James tells them seriously.

They all turn to Hortense. "What were you?"

The brunette stops and thinks. "Maybe I was…"

"I bet you were Einstein!" Kendall chimes in enthusiastically. "Or that guy who invented gravity!"

Hortense chuckles. "Nobody invented gravity, Kendall. Isaac Newton did discover how it worked though."

"See?" The blonde beams at his best friend. "Einstein!"

All four boys chuckle before turning back to their books. There's silence for a few minutes before James puts down his book. "So does everyone get reincarnated or is it just people who are awesome, like us?"

The other brunette laughs lightly, shaking his head. "Everyone, James. Reincarnation is a religious belief. I don't get the whole concept fully," He frowns and the other three know it's because Hortense hates when he doesn't understand things, "But it's kind of like there are stairs that lead up to Nirvana, which isn't exactly a heaven, but it's easiest to explain it that way, and if you're a good person when you die you get reborn as someone on a step higher than you. If you're bad, you get reborn as someone or something on a step lower than you. If you're a good person for enough lives you reach Nirvana. You know the saying "what goes around comes around"?" Kendall, James, and Carlos nod. "It's a lot like that, I guess." He shrugs.

He's aware that there are some flaws in his explanation, but the concept is hard enough for him to understand, let alone to explain to his three friends who, while certainly not stupid, are clearly not up to his level when it comes to academics and learning.

"Really? I've never heard all that."

Hortense shrugs again. "You probably wouldn't have. The media and entertainment companies, like movies, have sort of twisted the idea a little to suit their needs. We see people being born again more frequently attached to the idea that it happens because something that was supposed to happen in a past life didn't. Like two people who were supposed to fall in love but missed each other or whatever."

"My mom loves watching movies like that." James admits, "She watched one where two people where tied together or something like that."

The shorter boy nods. "That's more of Chinese/Japanese belief." He tells his friends, who are all still listening intently. "You're apparently connected to someone though all lifetimes or whatever." He shrugs. "It's like the 'yarn of not having a choice' or something."

Kendall grins. "I bet the four of us are connected. And we've been causing trouble together for ages."

James and Carlos both wear matching Cheshire cat grins as they nod in agreement. Hortense, however, turns an interesting shade of red. "A-actually…" He's rather embarrassed and thinks part of it has to do with the funny way the blonde makes his stomach flutter when he smiles at him. "It's really only, um, lovers who are connected like that."

"Oh." Kendall looks momentarily disappointed by the idea before shrugging it off and going back to his book on Ancient Egypt.

"You know what though," James says, because as interesting as mummification is, he, Carlos, and Kendall still hate doing schoolwork. "I bet even if the four of us weren't reincarnated together, Hortense and Kendall were."

The latter smiles at James while the former turns even redder and manages to stutter out, "W-what? Why?"

"Duh." Carlos rolls his eyes, which are just peeking over the top of his book. "There's no Hortense without Kendall."

"Exactly! Remember when we were younger and Kendall kept saying he was waiting?"

It's Kendall's turn to flush as James and Carlos laugh good-naturedly. One look at his other best friend, and the blonde can tell that he still feels really embarrassed about the whole thing. It's no secret that Hortense looks up to Kendall for a lot of things, friendship, protection, a place to go when he was house was just too empty right after his father had left. He also knows that the smaller boy feels bad about depending on him for so much.

In effort to make the other boy feel better, Kendall reaches across the table and gives Hortense's hand a reassuring squeeze. And even though he's trying to make his best friend feel better, there's a strange, but familiar sensation in his chest that reminds him that he's also being completely honest.

"It's okay, 'Tense." He says with complete sincerity. "There's no Kendall without no Hortense either."

And here's chapter 12 (: Reviews are always appreciated!