Chapter Ten

"Tum-Tum, get up!"

"Michael, we're not going to ask you again!"

Rocky rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, squinting through the watery sunlight that poured through the curtains covering his window. He squinted, briefly hating himself for the idea of not getting blackout curtains when he had the chance.

Especially since their next-door neighbor seemed to think it was fun to put up floodlights on all sides of his house. It didn't seem his appreciated being neighbors to the 'hometown heroes' as much as others did. It was bad enough the city wanted to make a celebratory day for them shortly after they'd stopped the heist at Mega Mountain, the response to it was a bit worse.

But he did like the fact he, his family, and whomever they invited to Mega Mountain got in free. No matter the time of day. That was an amazing perk.

Too bad they didn't get perks like being able to skip school occasionally. It wasn't that Rocky didn't like school, but knowing how many of his friends and classmates had gone to the ninja tournament to watch him and his brothers was something he wasn't looking forward to talking about it. Wasn't looking forward to the reminders that he'd lost, that Colt had lost as well.

As far as their friends and peers knew, they were the best ninjas around. Solving real crimes and stopping real threats. They shouldn't have been beaten so easily.

I wonder if mom will let me skip. The thought briefly passed through Rocky's mind, a thought that he simply mulled over, didn't even think of the realm of possibility for it. The first day of school, first day of senior year, can't miss that.

Especially if their father had taken the morning off to ensure that he got one last reminder into his eldest son of how important that year was going to be. He would get his SAT scores back, he would get his ACT scores back, he would start to apply to colleges and hear back from them, his entire future was being set.

What else could his father say that he hadn't reminded him the night before?

"Michael!"

Then again, at least he wasn't being badgered to get out of bed like Tum-Tum was. A late night of binge-eating candy and staying up video chatting friends would do that. Especially if Tum-Tum was the one who, as the year kept going, was to be the one who needed his mother to drive him to work early when he had wrestling practice. It wouldn't keep for very long.

Rocky was sure his parents were already regretting having Tum-Tum join the team with how often either of them had to wake up early to drop him off. Of which Rocky was sure was now going to befall to him, especially when there were days he could start classes late.

There was a knock on Rocky's door the moment he swung his legs out of bed and to the ground. He leaned forward to stretch his back, already feeling the effects of their last summer ninja training from the night before. Whether or not chopping and hauling logs was actual ninja training, Rocky wasn't sure. But some time with their grandfather alone was always awesome.

And their annual end of the year bonfire had been great. It was something their family and the Sargeants have done since they first became neighbors; taking both families to the beach the night before going back to school where they frolicked in the sand, enjoyed the sunshine, had the biggest barbecue with as much food was imaginable complete with a roaring bonfire, laughter, and music. One of the best nights they could ever have.

The knocking on his door was a harsh reality that summer was over and school was starting again.

Rocky ran a hand through his hair, working the sleep from his eyes as he called, "Yeah?"

"Just making sure you're awake," Jessica called back.

"I'm awake."

Rocky glanced at his phone as the push notification light continued to gleam. He picked it up and illuminated the screen. He shuffled by news reports of his favorite sports teams, tweets from twitter accounts he followed, a stack of likes and comments on his Instagram, and focused on the text messages. A few from Jason, who had the habit of texting at all hours of the night no matter if Rocky were to respond, jumping from one topic to another, a few from the group text he had with his brothers and Jo, a few in the group texts he had with his friends, and the most recent from Emily.

Emily: Hope you're awake.

Rocky quickly responded: Of course I am.

Emily: Don't be late. I'll see you at 7:30.

Rocky: When am I ever late?

Emily: Do you really want me to answer that?

With an emoji smiling with its tongue sticking out to add punctuation to the text. It made Rocky smile and roll his eyes all the same. She was a punctual person, always found being on time to be a trait that everyone should take seriously. And Rocky tried, he just typically got help up by something one way or another. And as her main ride to school, he almost always copped a 'you're late' the second he pulled up to her driveway with a half-hearted 'Sorry' thrown in, in response.

Rocky: No, I get the point. I'll see you.

Emily: 7:30

Rocky: I know!

Emily: ;)

Rocky tossed his phone aside and moved to get dressed. Thankful for having the foresight to take a shower the night before, it didn't take long to get dressed in a pair of black and white converses and a pair of jeans. He paused, trying to decide between the flannel he'd wear; green and white or blue and white. Not to say that he and his brothers were stuck in their ninja colors like twins would be to be told apart, but he hadn't particularly wanted to wear green.

A stupid thought, really. Didn't want to bring too much attention to himself for those may have gone to the tournament by wearing green. But on the other hand, he didn't wear blue so often considering it'd always been Colt's favorite color before having it as his ninja color. How silly, here he was starting the first day of his last year of high school and he was concerned with what he was going to wear.

Not that he was the only one; for their own reasons, Colt and Tum-Tum would care how they looked too. Both reasons being for girls. As much as Colt insisted he didn't have a girlfriend—there were a few Rocky knew he was "talking to" all summer—and Tum-Tum was in limbo of being an awkward teenage guy how didn't know what to do to get a girlfriend, first impressions were always important.

None of them were too cool for it.

Finally, Rocky finished getting dressed, picked up his baseball cap with a sweep of his hand, and his backpack with the other. He clambered down the stairs to the kitchen, ducking under his mother's arm as she laid one hand flat against Tum-Tum's chest, leaning a cookie jar in her left hand out of his grasp.

"Hi, mom." Rocky moved to Jessica's other side.

"Hi, Rocky," Jessica replied. She turned her head, allowing her eldest to give her a kiss on the cheek. Rocky then took the opportunity to—in a flurry of movement—take the lid off the cookie jar, grab two from the inside, and place the lid back on. "Hey!" Rocky popped a cookie into her his mouth and tossed the other to Tum-Tum, who quickly did the same and grinned. "Not for breakfast."

"Sorry, mom, you know I have to carboload." Tum-Tum then gave his mother a kiss on the opposite cheek as her shoulders dropped in defeat.

With a heavy sigh, Jessica walked to the island and placed the cookie jar down. She looked at her sons with narrowed eyes. "I'm pretty sure cookies don't count as carboloading."

"Maybe not, but it's a good breakfast." Rocky flashed his mother a cheeky grin, dropping to his place at the table. Tum-Tum laughed and dropped across from him, reaching out so the two could ex-change a low-five. Lifting his foot, Rocky placed his shoe on the table top and started to tie his laces together. "Blame the growth spurt, mom. It was bound to happen."

"I should've listened when my mom said a house full of boys was going to eat through my money." It was Jessica's turn to give a cheeky smile while her sons both gave cries of outrage. She made quick work of filling up their lunch bags. "Speaking of which, you're all making your lunch from now on."

Rocky shrugged carelessly. Not that he didn't love his mother's efforts to be included in their lives, but it was something that probably should've been stopped ages ago. Then again, had she not made their lunches, she wouldn't have been able to sneak in their favorite treats that their father looked down upon. (Though Rocky knew their father had a secret stash of Snickers in his office drawer).

"Can we just buy our lunch?" Tum-Tum asked.

Jessica gave him a pointed look. "Do you have money for it?"

Tum-Tum hesitated, opening his mouth to think about it. Then he turned with a pout, lowering himself in his chair, busying himself on his phone.

Rocky smirked. "That's a 'no'," Rocky pointed out to their mom. Tum-Tum simply stuck his tongue out at his brother in response. Quick as a flash, Rocky whipped out his phone and took Tum-Tum's picture. "I'm going to post it to Instagram," Rocky threatened.

Tum-Tum merely shrugged. He didn't even look up when Jessica placed a plate full of food in front of him, thumbs twiddling away at his phone.

Jessica exchanged a glance with Rocky—pausing briefly to swat his foot off the table—and placed a plate in front of him before getting food for the rest of her family. Rocky instantly clocked onto Tum-Tum's change in demeanor and grinned. "Who are you talking to?" He asked casually.

Tum-Tum grunted and shrugged again. He put his phone in his pocket and sat up straight to start shoveling eggs into his mouth. He chewed for a few minutes before saying with an almost smug smile, "Sheila," he said. "She's meeting me before school starts."

"You going to trade spit ball tips?" Colt dropped haphazardly into his seat next to Rocky, dumping his backpack to the floor with a low, resounding 'thud'. Rocky winced, hearing the familiar clatter of Colt's cleats hitting the ground and gave a surreptitious look to his mother.

It didn't look like she'd notice, saving them from another 'no cleats in the kitchen' lecture that sent them scattering in all directions.

"At least I have someone who wants to spit ball with me," Tum-Tum shot back.

Rocky tried and failed to keep his laughter from spilling from his lips. He tried in vain to cover it by drinking some of his orange juice, but nearly choked on it. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Colt wrinkle his nose and shoot a look toward Tum-Tum, a petulant look that warned everyone around him a curse was about to sprinkle his vocabulary.

So much so that Jessica raised a warning eyebrow and Colt slumped back into his seat. Instead, he picked up a grape and bounced it off the table toward Tum-Tum, striking him in the middle of the forehead.

"Hey!" Tum-Tum cried, grabbing his forehead as if he'd been shot.

Rocky finally recovered from his choking and elbow Colt in the side. "Not shot."

"I've been practicing."

"Mom!" Tum-Tum continued to shout.

"I know you're teenage boys but I'm not above separating you three if I have to," Jessica warned, making the three calm down. "In light of other news, Colt, while you were lollygagging, I was telling your brothers that you're packing your own lunch or buying your own from now on."

"Oh." Colt looked suspiciously at the bag in front of him. "Does that mean dad made lunch today?"

"I heard that." Sam breezed into the kitchen, pulling his suit jacket over a button-down shirt and tie. Rocky glanced at his father. Even in a rush he managed to be smartly dressed. "Always make a good first impression," he reminded them. "And, no, I didn't make lunch for you today. I thought we were in understanding that you were to make or buy your own lunch from now on."

"We got the message loud and clear," Colt said. He leveled his gaze at Tum-Tum and said seriously, "Tum's going to starve," making the entire family start laughing.

Rocky settled into his seat, eating breakfast quickly, while alternating looking at the time on his phone, as the conversation shifted to their baseball practice after school. Still playing as part of their father's city team while also doing their ninja training and their own sports and activities at school. It was no wonder their mom said that as soon as they got their licenses she'd stop driving them where they needed to go. It made Rocky's head hurt just thinking about how many different directions they were going to be pulled.

"And if you play well enough, you may even be able to go to school on baseball scholarships," Sam said with a warm grin to all three of his sons.

"Sam," Jessica warned, lifting an eyebrow.

With a bulging cheek, Sam shrugged. "What? I'm just saying it's not a bad idea if they get some scholarships."

"I thought you said we didn't have to worry about paying for school," Colt commented.

Rocky lifted his chin, keeping his head down enough so that his fringe covered his face. It had been something his parents had reassured him about time and time again. They had enough money—especially with the raise that Sam had received when being promoted to the FBI Director—that they wouldn't have to worry about affording any amount of higher education they wanted to receive.

"We do," Sam agreed. He exchanged a look with Jessica, or, at least tried to. His wife looked away, as if suddenly very interested in the food on her plate. Sam's eyes narrowed, a flash of annoyance moving over his face. "I'm just saying it always looks good on college applications if you've got a good amount of extracurriculars and if you get into a good school on a sports scholarship, well…" he spread his hands. "You're bound to go far."

"And, you know, baseball is a way of life," Colt agreed, nodding emphatically. "There's a lot you can learn on the baseball field."

"Exactly! Good one, Jeffrey." Sam lifted his hand and gave his middle son a high-five, seeming not to notice the light teasing sent his way. Or else ignoring it.

Tum-Tum quickly changed the subject, squirming in his seat. "What? Did you piss yourself?" Colt asked, immediately ducking his head when Sam swung a hand to cuff the back of his head and Rocky and their mother gave him identical warning looks.

"Where's grandpa?" Tum-Tum asked.

Jessica pressed her lips together. "Still asleep," she said, voice lowering to almost a whisper.

"I want to say goodbye."

"Well, you're not going to have enough time before we're late," Rocky said, looking at the face of his phone again. Just a few more minutes and he'd be home free. A full conversation without having to hear, "College applications", "Your grades are more important now than ever", "You need to think about setting up your future", and "When you get to UCLA"…

They'd always had the rule, since they were old enough to get out of their beds early in the morning, that they were to not wake up their parents for anything other than an emergency. Which gave way to many, many early mornings of Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum watching cartoons with the volume on low until something set them off and their exuberant yelling woke their parents up later. Eventually, the rule extended to their grandpa, not until after the time Tum-Tum had gotten in trouble for sneaking into his room and getting Pop Tart crumbs everywhere.

"I'm sure he doesn't want strawberry filling smeared all over his bed," Colt added.

"Jerk," Tum-Tum snapped.

"Bigger jerk," Colt shot back.

"Knock it off," Rocky said quickly. He picked up his finished plate and glass, rinsing them off before putting them into the dishwasher. "Come on, we have to get going."

Colt made a face, looking at his own phone. "We still have time."

"No, we don't. We have to pick up Emily," Rocky said. "And, I don't know about you, but I don't want to have her lecture me about being late again. Especially when it's your fault this time." He reached out and grabbed Colt's shoulder as he started to pass him, noticing a somewhat familiar scent wafting off him. "Are you wearing dad's cologne?"

Colt clenched his jaw and looked at Rocky, widening his eyes in a signal that clearly read I can't believe you did that. Then he closed his eyes when he heard Sam sigh and say, "How many times do I have to tell you to ask first?"

"I didn't think you'd care, dad," Colt shot back. "This is the one that mom's allergic to."

Jessica turned to her husband. "I thought you said you threw that one out."

"Why would I throw it you? You were the one who gave it to me."

"And do you remember how much I was sneezing before we figured it out?"

"It was adorable. You make cute sneezes."

At the same time Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum gave identical horrified expressions before rushing from the kitchen, calling to their parents as they went. Rocky snagged his keys from the front door and ushered his brothers to his truck. He climbed into the front seat and started up the engine as Tum-Tum hauled himself into the back.

Colt pushed the seat back up and started to climb into the passenger side when Rocky shook his head. "Uh-uh," he declared. Colt stared at him. Rocky jerked his thumb over his shoulder, keeping his eyes forward, ignoring the resulting burning holes in the side of his head. "Get in the back."

"You can't be serious," Colt replied.

"As a heart attack. Get in the back. Emily's sitting up front."

"Oh come, Rock, make her sit in the back."

"We're already late as it is. And, considering I'm a senior, I can afford to be late." Rocky challenged Colt with an upward tick of his eyebrow. "Can you?"

Frowning, Colt grabbed his backpack and heaved it into the back row. He stepped onto the seats and jumped over, ignoring Rocky's cries of protests. Rocky rolled his eyes and pulled away from the curb, giving two sharp horn blasts in farewell as their father hurried out the front door to go to work as well. Sam waved after them, his figure disappearing the moment Rocky pulled out of the neighborhood.

The second his father's image was gone, he felt himself relax, shoulders slumping and all the muscles in his back loosening. Rocky leaned back in his seat, grasping the steering wheel with one hand and fiddling with the radio with the other.

As they drove along, the three boys sang loudly to the radio, headbanging and really getting into the music as they went. Rocky turned it down when he pulled in front of Emily's house, finding her already standing at the foot of the driveway, head bent over her phone. When he pulled up, she opened the passenger door, bounced inside and sang, "You're la-ate."

"I know," Rocky replied. He jerked his head toward the backseat. "You can blame Colt this time."

"Really?" Emily looked surprised, looking over her shoulder. "Hi guys."

"Hi, Em," Colt replied.

"Hi," Tum-Tum agreed.

"You were the one who was late this time, Colt?" Emily looped her arm around the back of the seat to see the other boys. She shifted her eyes towards the youngest Douglas brother. "Normally it's Tum-Tum making us late."

"Technically he still did." Colt smirked and folded his arms. "Mom was yelling at him so much that I kept trying to sleep. I guess I over did it a little."

Emily faced the front once more, grinning over her shoulder when Rocky said, "At least it wasn't me this time." She rolled her eyes, holding up her phone. "Yeah, yeah, don't be such a showoff, Rocky," and aimed it toward him.

Rocky quickly gave a smile as she took the picture and uploaded it. "I hope you make me look good," he commented.

"You always look good, Rocky," Emily replied.

Rocky felt a faint blush move to his cheeks, didn't respond. Didn't know how to, really. It wasn't a strange comment to make. She always made lighthearted remarks to his looks and he always reassured her that she looked good when she felt she was having a particularly bad day.

But there was always a sense of pressure he felt behind her words. As if he had to mean his responses to her or else they'd be hollow, or else, maybe, he'd be leading her on in some way. But…it did feel good to hear.

"Back atcha, Em," Rocky finally replied.

He saw the look Colt and Tum-Tum exchanged in the rearview mirror. It didn't take too long for the quiet whispers to start. "Rocky loves Emily," Tum-Tum whispered quietly under his breath. It didn't take more than a half second for Colt to join in on the whisper. "Rocky loves Emily. Rocky loves Emily."

If Emily noticed, she didn't otherwise react. How often had that same mantra been used before? On nearly every girl Rocky had been interested in, and even on Jo once upon a time. (And there was that incident when he had a thing for the substitute teacher freshmen year, but they'd at least listened to his threats of serious bodily harm if they didn't shut up).

Rocky ignored them, only smiling when he turned sharply on the steering wheel to practically flatten his brothers into their seats at the speed he turned the corner. He turned his hat to the front, allowing himself to rest his head against the headrest, a large grin sliding over his face.

The cityscape of LA loomed in the distance as they breezed through the suburbs, heading toward their school. Warm sunlight rolled over his truck, only briefly cut up by the shadows of the palm trees lining the streets. As warm as a bath and rising the spirits of the four friends, lifting their spirits, despite summer being over and the school year just a few minutes away from starting.

Rocky pulled into the senior parking lot and parked. Colt and Tum-Tum blasted out of the backseat and hurried across the sidewalk to their friends while Rocky and Emily took their time. Rocky glanced at his phone and asked, "Do you think Jase is having car trouble?" There was a slight tinge of worry to his tone.

With a roll of her eyes, Emily said, "If he does, I hope it's the wakeup call he needs to final get a new car. Did I tell you that while you were at your grandfather's place that he blocked traffic four separate times because it broke down?" She swung her purse to her front, shoving her phone into a side pocket.

Something bright caught Rocky's eye. "What's that?" He zeroed in on the bright green packet in the pocket of her bag.

Emily stared at him. "You know, there's some things that girls have to use when…" she burst out laughing at Rocky's embarrassed grimace. "'I'm kidding." She pulled it out and turned it left and right, the sunlight catching the brightness of the foil. "It's a free sample. Some vitamin thing I got from the MedoCal booth while at the tournament. Sounds pretty good."

"I wouldn't take anything you can't read the ingredients of," Rocky warned her.

"Ingredients are easy to read. All natural. At least that's what it says. I haven't tried any of it yet. If they're giving it away at an event like this, it can't be that bad." She then noticed the almost passive expression on his face. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You're not still thinking about the tournament, are you?"

"No." It was the truth that time. And yet, Emily continued to stare at the side of his face, waiting for him to break down and tell the truth. "I promise," he added.

"Okay." Emily nodded and unfurled her arms. "So, I want you to promise me something." Rocky shrugged and nodded. "It our last year here. Probably out last year together." Rocky started to protest—he did not want to think about that—but Emily kept going. "We need to make sure it's our best one. Alright?"

She didn't say more than that. Didn't have to. He knew exactly what she meant.

Rocky smiled and nodded. "Alright."

A/N: I haven't written normal teenagers doing normal things in a while. But it's fun, always very fun to get to write Rocky, Colt, and Tum-Tum similar to their younger personalities but older as well. Brings interesting dynamics with friends and people they may or may not know.

Hmm, sometimes I think I get a little heavy handed with the way I portray Sam, but I promise things will make sense as things go along. Let me know what you think of this one.

Cheers,

Riles