Weeks pass and Adam still hasn't tried to talk to either me nor Aaron. Kenji says he's missing a lot of classes, spending his time who knows where.

"Has he talked to James about it yet?" Kenji and I are hanging out at a cafe. It's Sunday morning, so Aaron's at the gym.

"I doubt it. I think the little guy's starting to figure out somethings up though. I mean, with Kent not coming home as often, and shit."

"Have you met him?" I ask.

"Yeah of course, I love the dude. He's like the sweetest little kid. I actually think he'd handle the news a lot better that Kent did." Kenji laughs. "That kid is so damn calm, I honestly don't even know how those two are related. Social skills are through the roof compared to Adam. Ha, better than Warner's too now that I think about it."

I laugh. "Those aren't very high bars to surpass."

Kenji and I are still laughing, poking fun at the two brothers, when Aaron comes up behind me.

"What are you two laughing so hysterically about?" He grabs a chair from an empty table and sits down next to me.

"Just your lack of social skills." I say.

"I am truly hurt Juliette." Aaron says, clutching his hand to his chest.

We stay seated at the small table for close to two hours. Although neither Aaron nor Kenji would ever admit it, they're getting pretty close. They disagree on about ninety percent of life, but the remaining ten percent is the only important stuff. They have similar views on religion and politics. They're both dog people. To me, the biggest similarity between the two of them is that they both managed to save me, and even if they didn't mean to do it together, it wouldn't have worked in any other way.

Suddenly another attractive male walks up to our coffee table.

"Hey," He says with an easy smile.

"Oh, uh- hi." Kenji says, suddenly looking flustered. There's an awkward pause before he finally remembers that Aaron and I are here. "Oh! sorry! This is uh- this is Juliette and her boyfriend, Aar-Warner. Warner."

"Hi," The mysterious stranger says to us. He waits a moment, clearly giving Kenji the chance to introduce him, but the signal seems to go straight over Kenji's head, so he does it himself. "I'm Conner, it's nice to meet you two."

Aaron and I shake his hand. There's more awkward silence so Aaron of all people, decides to make small talk.

"So uh, how do you know Kenji here?" He asks.

"Oh, well he's in a few of my arts classes, and we went out a few weeks ago."

We all turn to Kenji. "Right, I've been meaning to call you, it's just that so much has been going on lately…"

At this point, I decide to help him out. "I know that sounds like an excuse, but I swear it's not. I've sort of been taking up the majority of his time recently with some… personal issues."

"Well I suppose he'll have to make it up to me then," Connor says. "How about brunch tomorrow at eleven."

He's looking at Kenji, but it's Aaron who answers. "He'll be there."

"Alright, see you then." And then he's gone.

"Guys!" Kenji exclaims. "What the hell was that?"

"That," Aaron says picking his nails all nonchalant like, "was you getting a date."

Kenji scowls, but I know he's not actually angry. We spend another hour in the cafe before finally leaving. As we walk through the square back towards the apartment, we see Adam walking down the street with a little kid. He looks to be around nine or ten, a red backpack on his back, wearing those sneakers that light up when you stomp. Aaron freezes when he sees them. At first Kenji doesn't notice and keeps walking, but as he realizes that we've stopped, he looks in the direction of our gaze.

"Shit." He says.

Maybe James hears him or something, because he turns and makes direct eye contact with Aaron. They're both just starring at each other, neither of them moving. Finally, Adam notices that James has stopped walking and turns to face whatever his brother is looking at.

Suddenly, all hell breaks loose.

"James, let's go." He takes his hand and starts to run.

"Adam!" I yell across the street "ADAM!"

Aaron's already running towards them, trying to catch them. I don't even think he knows what he's going to say, he's just set on saying something.

"James!" I hear Aaron shout. He's almost caught up to them now, just a few metres away. When he's finally close enough, he reaches out and takes James' arm out of what seems to be pure desperation.

"Let go of him!" Adam yells, angrier than I've ever heard him before.

To my surprise, Aaron drops his arm, as if just realizing what he'd done.

"Let's go James," Adam pulls his brother away and continues walking.

"Adam who is that? Adam!" But Adam isn't answering, just barreling on through.

Kenji and I run over to where Aaron is still standing, as if in a strange trance.

"What were you thinking?" I demand. "You can't just grab a kid like that!"

"I know. I just- I just had to see him."

"Well at least one good thing came out of this." Kenji says. "James is a pretty stubborn kid. He's not going to stop asking about you until Adam tells him something. He's also not going to take any of Adam's bull-shit answers, so y'all need to start preparing for your next move."

None of us are able to fall asleep at night. We've opened something up that can no longer be closed, and whether Adam likes it or not, this is happening. Secrets are coming out, whether we're prepared to hear them or not.

And so the real story begins! I'm so excited that we are finally in the thick of things! The upcoming scenes are really why I started writing this story in the first place. I really wanted to see that development of Warner and James' relationship, which we might actually get since we're getting THREE MORE BOOKS! I am beyond excited! anyways, sorry for all the absences, but hopefully the drama of this chapter made up for it a little. I was literally sitting up in my seat writing it lol. Please review! I love hearing from you guys!