The sun finally begins its descent over the busy town. The sound of roller blades can be heard from afar, as they continuously move a lone hockey puck back and forth. It was an hour or two into the game. One side with Otto and Harmony skating and Jorge in goal. The other side has Reggie, Twister and Sam. Anna watches as the referee, giving Harmony a chance to finally skate. Each dresses in their usual hockey gear. As the puck yet again bounces off Reggie's skate and onto Otto's stick, he feels the determination in his mind. It's that competitive drive that embodies his personality. No matter what the event, it is his job to achieve success. And after the recent streak of failure, he feels more determined than ever. He looks in front of him to see Twister, ready to challenge his determination. As he tries to focus, his mind is already playing tricks with him, over the recent events between them. Only one thing can truly calm him...winning.

He takes the puck and looks to make a deke on the boy facing him. However, Twister predicts the move. His stick anticipates Otto's movement and slips the puck from his opposition, onto his own stick. In a swift movement, he makes his steal and readies himself to go towards the goal. In that split second, Otto panics and jolts his stick out to try and stop him. Unfortunately, his quick reaction does not move his own stick to the puck, but instead tangles and hooks Twister's leg. A quick, but powerful "thud" echoes, as Twister slams to the ground. Otto's stick is still hooked to his leg. The entire gang drops their sticks and rushes over. Otto looks down and realizes what he has just done.

"Shit."

Otto looks on in shock, as Harmony runs to Twister's leg and begins to look at it. To each of their surprise, Twister is quick to start laughing with those concerned surrounding him.

"Guys, guys! I'm okay. Just slipped up a little."

Twister is a little out of sorts, but quick to stand up, still giggling to himself. Harmony hovers over him, cautious of his movements.

"Are you sure? That looked like a wicked fall."

Twister shakes his head a bit and wipes off his leg.

"I'm good. I guess with Rick gone, I'm taking the mantle of injury bug."

The laughter reaches Harmony, Reggie and the others. Except Otto, who is still almost in a state of emptiness in his expression, looking at Twister. As each sets back up in their positions, Otto stands almost lost in his thoughts, unsure what to think. Reggie notices and skates over to him.

"Uhhh, you okay Otto?"

The boy's brain fixates on something, but Reggie can not comprehend what it is. For Otto, his mind wanders back to his uncertainty of this day. His fear of what could happen. Everything in his life got….WAY too complicated. Feelings are clearly not the boy's strong suit. However, his mind constantly thinking about that day he would have to break his friend's heart keeps him restless. And now, even before it happens, he is hurting Twister yet again. Somehow finding the escape from his trance, he bounces his head back forward and looks to Reggie. Her face is clearly worried about his reaction. He's quick to shake his head out of the trance and silence the thoughts.

"I'm fine."

As Otto returns, the game progresses. The only discernible difference can be seen in the transfixed boy from before. Otto's aggression and fire seems to fade away from his play. A fully engaged Twister blows past him on multiple occasions and becomes the star of the show. Otto's reactions become blank to all that is happening. Soon, the score becomes a blowout for the old Rockets crew's side. To a few of them, this is extremely noticeable. However, the fun the others express overlaps the worries for that time. The game goes on and concludes, as the sun finally begins to set on the active town. As the sun setting becomes noticeable, Twister yet again speaks up.

"Forgot how much I missed our hockey games."

Reggie continues to engage in his banter.

"Yeah. You really killed it."

Twister smiles gleefully at the rest of the group.

'I guess so. Hey, can we all meet up at your guy's place in like 30? I wanna grab something and hang out. If that's okay?"

Reggie looks to the rest of the group and nods. As she looks towards the blank Otto, who is now looking at her, she decides to honor her friend's request.

"Sure."

Twister smiles again.

"Awesome! I'm just gonna grab something at home. See ya there!"

As Twister darts off, Reggie looks behind her to see Otto already heading over.

"I'll let Dad know."

Otto does not even look at the rest of the crew as he walks away. Any sort of doubt in his movement is now noticeable to the other five. The contrast in their actions and attitude is as clear as the blue skies above them. They look at each other in confusion. Harmony is first to speak up.

"What is going on between them? This is getting scary."

Jorge is next to interject.

"Yeah. This seems to happen with Otto every time Twister is around."

Reggie quietly stares towards the house, unsure what to think or how to handle what was going on. This whole….situation has taken over her brother's life to the point it was easily evident in his expressions and actions. The only person who fails to see it is the boy behind all Otto's grief. She knows Otto doesn't want to hurt Twister. In the end, she sees Otto hurting himself in the process. All she wants is for things to go back to the cheerful way they were.

"Reg?"

Reggie abruptly looks back to see Harmony.

"You okay Reg?"

Harmony walks up to her, while the others are cleaning up the hockey equipment. She looks at her, lost in her thoughts. Reggie nods, even with a face full of emotion.

"Yeah. Let's head over."

Harmony gives her an approving nod back as they help the others clean up…

The night sky hovers over the kids by the campfire yet again. A scene of normalcy for them. The wind is so tranquil, it's easy to forget its existence. Stars shining brightly over them as strong as the embers of the fire. The kids relax on their chairs, talking and laughing about the events from the past week. Some are more quiet than others. Still, the energy is light hearted. Two of them sit close, glancing at each other with bright smiles. Noticing this, the kid across from them speaks up.

"You two are adorable."

Reggie looks over to Harmony. She notices her clear fixation on Sam at that moment. For her, this is something she is happy to make noticeable to everyone. She looks back to Sam with a bright smile, giggling a bit before answering.

"Thank you. It's been a good week for me."

Sam, looking back to her with his own bright smile, affirming his feelings.

"Been pretty amazing for me too."

The group as a whole laughs and smiles on their own, again some stronger than others. Reggie and Sam's happiness seems to give off a strong aura of joy. Everything being bright and clear heightens the mood all around. For Reggie, the unexpected event of Sam confessing to her became the best thing to happen to her. He showed every day how much it meant to him they were together. From texts, to calls, to being close to her every day. Every event assured her of how strong things were between them. Sam, of course, was elated. Life was certainly better than it had ever been for him. After staring at each other for a while, Reggie looks back to Harmony.

"How have all of you been?"

Harmony smiles back to her and responds.

"I'm really good."

Anna follows up on Harmony's response with a hopeful tone.

"Things are looking up."

Jorge continues the chain of positivity.

"They really are."

Harm looks over to the quietest one of them so far.

'How about you Otto?"

Otto looks towards them. He had been busy staring off into the distance yet again, trying to keep his mind at ease. The rest of them are brimming with joy. Who was he to take that from them? Still, he was never the person to be fake in front of people. He sure wishes he could right now. He finds the best way he can to reassure them.

"I'm fine. No complaints."

Harmony knows a bad bluff when she sees one. She is not truly convinced by his claim. However, she can read the scene. It would not be smart to push the envelope, especially with someone like Otto. Her attention quickly shifts over to the one who has not answered yet.

"And how's Twist?"

Unlike Otto's distracted tone, Twister's vibe is a different version of feeling "off". He sat there fidgeting his fingers in a nervous rhythm. While he was the one who originally wanted everyone together to hang out, he knew his true reason to bring them all together would be harder for him to get out. Still, he just kept repeating the words of advice given to him over and over in his head. However, Harm's question surprises him and he answers bluntly.

"Nervous."

Harmony finds it hard to hide the surprise in her tone as she answers.

"Oh. Well I do know you wanted to talk to us about something."

Otto's distraction is overtaken by Harmony's words. Reggie and Sam also look up quickly in anticipation. Twister takes a bit to answer her in his still nervous tone.

"Yeah. I'm just…getting the courage to do it."

Otto can feel the lump in his throat get tougher to swallow. Reggie and Sam both look at each other, feeling the intensity of what was about to happen. Twister continues.

"But Tito's right. I need to fly the kite."

Jorge breaks the tension with a laugh as he interrupts the foggy tone.

"Tito's got the wildest advice."

The group join in on a laugh, giving Twister an easier feeling. But Tito was right. Ever since he came to terms with what he was feeling, things became better, but tougher for him. He now has higher aspirations for himself. Everything he thought he knew seemed to change. Most of it he could not control. Now, this was his chance to finally put all the worries and fears he had behind him. No matter how scary the results could be. If it went for the worse, so be it. He needed to do this.

"Yeah. I do have to tell you guys something though. It's important."

Jorge quickly changes his tone, as he speaks to Twister.

"Of course dude. We're here for ya."

Harmony and Anna both nod in approval. Reggie responds after.

"No matter what, we'll support you Twist."

Sam joins in after.

"We always will."

And then there was Otto, petrified like a statue. All he could do was blankly stare at his friend. His face stuck in the same, frozen state. This was the moment he feared more than anything. For Twister, the fear would be overpowered on this day.

"Okay. Well, for a while now….probably a few months…I guess…"

Everything goes quiet for a bit. Everyone looks on in anticipation. Twister takes a deep sigh and readies himself.

"I have….I've had a crush on someone."

For Otto, his stomach dropped through his entire body. His face fails to move a single muscle. Reggie and Sam look on, uneasy by what could happen. For the others, however, the surprise is a good one. Harmony perks up.

"That's awesome!"

Twister quickly follows up, trying to explain his thoughts.

"That's not the scary part about it."

Jorge, with a puzzled look, questions him.

"Wait…What's the scary part?"

Twister fidgets a bit more and takes another breath. It was time.

"Well….it's a….it's a guy…"

The group went silent for a solid ten seconds. Reggie and Sam are not truly ready for the moment themselves. Otto is overtaken by fear and anxiety over what is really happening. While Anna and Jorge are unsure how to react, the last one takes charge. Harmony walks over to Twister and wraps her arms around him tightly.

"Twist…I'm so proud of you!"

Twister glances at Harmony in surprise at her bold reaction.

"Pr...proud?"

She squeezes him tighter as she continues.

"Yes Twist. I'm proud. That had to have been very tough to hold in."

Harmony lets go of her embrace, as Jorge follows up on the words of encouragement.

"Yeah dude. She's right. I'm glad you trust us enough with something so personal."

Ann, still perplexed, conjures a question to the boy.

"So wait…you like boys?"

Twister, still clearly nervous and a bit shaken, answers to the best of his ability.

"I mean…yeah. I don't know. I've never really liked someone before. Never even knew what I liked. Well, until now."

Harmony, still happy for her friend in excitement, asks the obvious question.

"Well, who is it? Do we know them?"

Twister looks down, shaking a bit as he tries to answer nervously.

"Well…"

Before he can continue his answer, another sound takes over each of the kid's ears. The sound of tears. And even worse…it was not Twister's. Reggie looks over to her overcome brother.

"Otto? You okay?"

But he clearly was not okay. It was happening. He was about to destroy everything and he knew it. It was all so fast. He could not overcome the fear and emotion enveloping him. It felt like an active avalanche. The tears just poured out of control through his eyes. Soon, everyone's concern moved to him.

Twister looks at his best friend in shock. What was happening to Otto?

Otto can barely see as he looks up. His vision is blinded by the mass of tears dropping from his eyes. He sees Twister staring at him. How was he going to break his friend's heart? He slowly stands up, his body almost moving involuntary from the monsoon of emotion. He walks towards Twister with an overwhelming weakness to his stride. Twister, unsure what to do, stands up on his own.

"O….Otto?"

As Otto reaches him, he continues to sob and wraps himself around Twister. His words are incredibly hard to hear or understand. Everyone looks to the two boys, unsure what to do. For Otto, all he could think was the fear of losing his best friend. It was too much. But everything he had been feeling rushes out of him in his grief stricken voice.

"I…I'm so sorry Twist! I went into your room and f….I found your journal a while back and….I….I looked at it. I knew about how you felt….how you felt about me. But…I don't know what to do. I….I know you feel that way and….and I can't…I just…I'm not…you're my….you're my best friend and I don't want to hurt you. I….I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Otto had lost any control of himself, repeating his sorrys over and over again to Twister. Everyone is standing at this point, concerned for both boys. Reggie is full of tears herself, as Sam holds her in support. Anna, Jorge and Harmony are lost at how to react. They all just saw Otto cry. Fully cry. They were completely shaken up. It was pure shock on all of their faces. But another shock came with what happened next, once Otto calmed his tears. They heard something they could never have expected…..

A laugh. A long one at that.

As Otto struggles to look at his friend, he sees Twister holding him laughing, barely able to contain himself. What was happening? How could he be laughing at this moment? Otto in frustration pushes him away.

"You're LAUGHING AT ME?"

Twister takes a second to collect himself and face all his friends. He knows deep down it was not the right reaction. Still, he needs to explain himself. He looks to Otto and calms himself.

"Otto. I…I never thought I'd see you cry like that."

Otto wipes away his tears, still furious.

"H….HOW? How could….how could you laugh at me when I hurt you so bad?"

Twister comes back closer to him. He puts his hand on his friend's shoulder as he speaks.

"Otto….you are and always will be my best friend. You know that will never change no matter what happens."

Everyone looks at Twister still, as the next words create another element of surprise.

"Otto, you are my best friend and my brother for life. We're family. But I…I don't have a crush on you. You're my brother."

Otto steps back, in even more disarray than before.

"Wha….but how? You said it was some….someone you see every day and….you eat lunch with…and was very important to you…"

Twister nods.

"I did. And while you're all of those things…there's someone else who I…well…who fits all that too. And well… I really like them."

They all stay silent for a while yet again, until finally Reggie speaks up.

"Wait, if it's not Otto…"

Reggie thinks to herself.

"Then who is it?"

Every person looks at Twister in full anticipation. For the rest of the group, the name he was about to say would add to the list of crazy things to take in and work through. On this clear night of ease, things were about to get very hazy and uncertain for every single one of them...