_ Chapter Seven _

The sun had begun to set, casting a beautiful orange and purple glow throughout Funicello. Butchy continued to lead Sam down ever busy roads as the day's warmth finally began to fade away and the chill of night settled in.

The leader of the Rodents eventually pulled into a full lot near the beach. Sam parked his bike besides him before following the other teen towards a brick wall. It seemed to be the last remaining structure from an old building and was marked with hundreds of names and numbers. Butchy settled onto the ground before it, leaning his back against the wall. With a furrow of his brows, Sam copied his actions, drawing his legs to his chest.

"I like to sit here and watch the sunset and sunrise. None of the other bikers know I go here on my own time. They always assume I'm off somewhere else causing trouble." Butchy explained as a soft wind rustled his brown hair.

"It's always nice to be able to get away from chaos and find some peace and quiet." Sam agreed as his eyes followed the expanse of ocean that lay before them.

A comfortable silence settled between the two, only the distant sound of waves breaking the quiet. It was in this moment that Sam was finally able to feel at peace. Despite the now cool night air, he could feel warmth radiating from the other biker. They had sat quite close to each other, bare arms brushing up against each other.

As if noticing this at the same exact moment, Butchy turned to gaze at Sam's features. He let his eyes roam over the soft, pale skin and the structure of his face that made him appear to be carved from some elegant stone. How he longed to stretch his hand out and let his fingers slide across the other's face.

As if hearing his thoughts, Sam turned then. Their eyes locked and cliché as it may be, time seemed to slow. Summoning up an ounce of courage, Butchy leaned forward and was greatly relieved when Sam moved towards him as well.

Their breaths left their lips in heavy pants as their faces drew closer. Their noses brushed alongside each other's and their mouths were mere inches apart. One more breach of space and their mouths would meet in some form of a kiss.

The sudden flash of car lights caused them to jump apart in panic. Heart wishing to beat out of his chest, Sam turned to see who had arrived and felt a surge of guilt wash over him.

It was his parents' minivan. The sudden realization that he had left Lucas at the beach hours ago and vanished without a word filled him with guilt. He was definitely going to be in a load of trouble once he spoke to his mom.

Jumping to his feet and dusting himself off, Sam turned to see that Butchy was now also standing. Offering a small smile, he spoke.

"Left the kid brother alone at the beach, definitely going to be in trouble. See you later?"

Butchy nodded his head but a look of disappointment flashed over his features. "Yeah no problem. See ya."

Frowning, Sam turned away and moved towards the minivan. Pausing before the open passenger window, he could see his dad at the wheel and his mom besides him. Lucas sat in the back, hair still wet with sand smeared across the side of his face.

"Before you start yelling at me, I'm sorry. I met up with some friends and I completely lost track of time." Sam began as he crossed his arms over his chest, hoping to hide his new tattoo.

"You better be sorry! You left your brother all alone at the beach and I was worried sick that something had happened to you two!" Lucia exclaimed as her eyes widened.

"Mooom," Lucas groaned from the backseat as he blushed. "I can take care of myself! I'm sixteen!"

"Oh no, that's not what I worry about. I worry about the fact that our older son isn't more responsible!"

"Look, I said I'm sorry. It was an honest mistake." As he said this, Sam uncrossed his arms and his new tattoo was suddenly visible to the three pairs of eyes in the car.

"Did you get a new tattoo?" It was Henry who spoke, eyeing the fresh ink on his son's arm.

"YOU GOT A TATTOO WHILE YOUR BROTHER WAS ALL ALONE!?" Lucia screamed, anger filling her features.

"You joined the Rodents?" Lucas asked after a pause of silence settled over the small family.

"Y-yeah, those are the friends I was talking about. They asked me to join their gang so I did." Sam replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

A look of guilt soon overtook Lucia's features as she looked down. "Oh… I knew this move would be hard but I hadn't realized you would miss being part of a group."

"Mom, you don't have to feel sorry." Sam replied as he propped his arm against the car window, peering into the vehicle. "None of us were about to let you pass up the job opportunity that you were given. It was worth moving away."

Lucia forced a small smile before reaching out of the open car window to lightly touch the side of her eldest son's face. "Thank you."

"All of you." Lucia corrected as she turned to look at all her boys.

"Always sweetheart." Henry leaned over to kiss his wife's temple before turning to look at his oldest son. "Don't let it happen again, Sam."

"I won't. I promise." Sam nodded rapidly before meeting Lucas' gaze and smiling apologetically.

"Good. Now let's go home. It's getting late."

Lucia trailed off as she seemed to finally take note of Butchy. The brunette biker had finally left his spot by the brick wall to approach his bike. As if feeling her gaze, Butchy turned and awkwardly smiled.

"Are you Sam's friend?" Lucia called out to him causing Sam to flush furiously.

Butchy seemed to flush as well but crossed the parking lot to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sam. "Yeah, name's Butchy."

"I'm Lucia, Sam's mom. It's real nice to meet you." Smiling widely, Lucia extended her hand and gave the biker a handshake.

"Pleasure ta meet you."

"I'm Henry, Sam's dad." Henry greeted as he leaned across to stretch his arm out for a handshake.

Butchy smiled and shook his hand as well before turning to look at Lucas. Brown eyes moved over the blonde's attire before he pursed his lips. It was clear the brunette realized the blonde was a surfer and Sam could only wonder how the two would treat each other.

"That's Lucas, my brother." Sam introduced him as it was clear neither would introduce themselves.

Butchy simply nodded at the surfer before turning away. "I got to go but it was nice meeting you all."

With small smiles and nods at one another, Butchy turned away from Sam to mount his bike before starting it and heading off to the open road.

"What a nice boy." Lucia smiled at Sam before tapping the car window. "Now let's go home for a late night meal."

Sam nodded before moving over to his own bike. And as he followed the blue minivan out of the parking lot, Sam couldn't help but look over his shoulder to where the brick wall was.

As he eyed the rundown wall, he wondered what could have been if his parents hadn't interrupted. Turning back to face forward, sudden dread filled him.

Had he lost his only chance to learn how Butchy truly felt for him?