Ever since that moment, the two were inseparable, as close as brothers. They learned more and more about each other with every second spent together. Kaz learned that Oliver was deathly afraid of any type of needle, and Oliver learned that Kaz wanted a pony named Oatmeal, as examples.

The closer they became, the more their personalities became altered. Kaz was no longer a shy little nervous kid, instead becoming a wild, reckless, and loud kid. As for Oliver, he lost his sense of total seriousness, instead becoming more quirky and dorky, but still serious at the times he needed to be.

The two boys made it through preschool, with the blonde boy known as Lance Richardson keeping away from them for the most part. Kaz did have to tell him off a few times, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. Just keeping his best friend safe from bullying he didn't deserve.

On the day they started kindergarten, they were delighted to discover that they were in the same class, again.

"Sweet! Check out this classroom!" Kaz exclaimed as the boys entered the bright and lively room.

Oliver smiled and they sat down, next to a girl with blonde hair. She did not look happy. Instead, just annoyed and angry, in a way.

"Hi, I'm Kaz, and this is Oliver," Kaz told her with a grin. "What's your name?"

"Jordan," she grumbled, folding her arms.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked, confused.

"I don't wanna be here! This place stinks! And that boy won't leave me alone!" she pointed to a boy who was sitting in the corner.

He was scrawny, he wore pretty thick glasses, and had moppy brown hair. He was currently taking off his shoes and socks, and sniffing them. Oliver wrinkled his nose in disgust, while Kaz just laughed.

"He isn't even doing anything to you," Oliver pointed out.

"He was trying to get me to smell his socks, and now he won't stop looking at me!" Jordan muttered.

As if on cue, the boy looked over at her, smiled and waved, then walked over again.

"Go away! I don't wanna smell your socks, you sicko!" Jordan complained.

"Relax. I just saw new people to get to smell them," the kid said, shoving the socks in Kaz and Oliver's faces.

The smell was repulsive. Oliver gagged, and Kaz pushed them away.

"Eh, thought that might happen. I'm Gus," he informed them.

"I'm Kaz."

"I'm Oliver."

"Go away!" Jordan snapped.

Gus just ignored her. "You two have met Jordan? She's obsessed with me!"

Jordan looked infuriated. "Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

The argument went back and forth, on and on, for a long time, before Kaz and Oliver silently slipped away to another table.

"Those two are sure interesting," Oliver remarked, weirded out.

"Inter… inna… inner… huh?" Kaz asked, confused by Oliver's choice of words.

Oliver had always had an extensive vocabulary for his age, and he often forgot that. While "interesting" wasn't necessarily a too advanced word, it also wasn't a word a kindergartener like himself would normally use. Plus, Kaz didn't have a very good vocabulary.

"Interesting," Oliver corrected, enunciating. "It's a word you would use when something is cool, or if it's weird, I guess. Whatever it is. Gus and Jordan are interesting in the weird way."

"Oh, okay. So superheroes are interesting in the cool way?"

Oliver giggled his signature, small little innocent giggle. "Yeah."

The rest of their kindergarten year was similar to that. They learned a lot of new things, and Kaz has to relearn things from preschool. Whenever Kaz didn't understand something, like how to read or spell certain words, for instance, he could always count on Oliver to help him through it. And Kaz helped Oliver with plenty of things as well. In fact, Kaz was incredibly helpful to Oliver most of the time, with things like… if Oliver tripped and fell, Kaz would help him up. If Oliver couldn't find something, Kaz would help him find it. If someone was picking on Oliver, Kaz would stand up for him. If Oliver was sad, Kaz would do everything he could to make him happy.Kaz and Oliver just simply had an unbreakable bond. They rarely fought, but when they did, they always made up and forgave each other. Besides, their fights were hardly that extreme. A few petty arguments, they butted heads occasionally, and Kaz would get on Oliver's nerves, but they weren't going to let them tear their friendship apart.

On Kaz's fifth birthday, three days after Oliver's birthday, he had a party. He had a few friends over: Oliver, of course, Gus and Jordan, and a few other kids from the neighborhood, including Oliver's next door neighbor, Stefanie. Kaz took a liking to her. She was a really pretty blonde girl, and her family was rich, so she was always dressed so fancy. Too bad she wasn't exactly the nicest person ever.

It became time for Kaz to blow out his candles on his Tecton cake, after he was sang to. He thought about a wish to make. This was finally time for him to wish for his pony, Oatmeal! He grinned, wished it, and was about to blow, when Oliver, who was sitting right next to him, sneezed. The candles were blown out, and everyone thought it was Kaz who blew them out. Kaz was angry. He'd never been angry with Oliver before, but now he was.

"Oliver!" he yelled out in rage.

Oliver shrunk down in his seat ever so slightly. He looked guilty and hurt.

"I-I'm sorry, Kazzy… it-it was an accident!" the smaller boy told him.

"You ruined my wish!"

Oliver looked like he could've started bawling. Kaz didn't believe him that he'd done it on accident. He couldn't help if he had to sneeze.

"I-I'm sorry…" Oliver repeated in a soft, sad voice.

Kaz felt bad. Oliver looked exceptionally sad. He sighed, "It's okay… I'm sorry for yelling at you…"

Oliver nodded. "It's okay."

Kaz was still upset about his wish, because he knew it would never come true, but at least he still had his best friend.

A lot of their school years were the same. Sometimes they weren't in the same class, but were still together as much as possible, and both continued to help each other.

One specific day during their third grade year, when Kaz was at The Domain, their favorite comic book store, with his older brother Kevin, who was barely even watching him like he was supposed to, Kaz had carefully tucked his math and science homework into two comic books he was planning on buying, for safekeeping. When he checked his pockets and counted his money, he discovered he didn't have enough for even one of the comic books. Sad, he put them back, completely forgetting his homework was in them.

Kevin and Kaz eventually walked home, but Kevin left Kaz behind once they reached the head of their neighborhood, but he kept heading home anyway. If he told his mom about that, Kevin would be in so much trouble. And those were Kaz's intentions.

Meanwhile, Oliver was huddled up in his dark bedroom, timidly listening to the all too familiar sound of his parents arguing. He was used to it by then. His parents fought all the time. Too much for a small boy of his age to have to listen to. But then, he just couldn't take it anymore. He silently opened his bedroom door, and crept downstairs.

"...How could you possibly think that?! I think I know much more about what's good for Oliver than you do, thank you very much!" his mother yelled.

"And why is that?! He's my son, too!" his father yelled back.

Oliver felt horrible. They were fighting about him? That didn't settle right on his conscience very well.

Being as quiet as he could, which wasn't very hard for him, he ran out the front door, and sat on the cold grass in his front yard. The sun was almost completely set, and it was starting to get chilly, but Oliver didn't care. He didn't want to be inside anymore. The arguing was making him extremely anxious. The small boy began to softly cry. He didn't know what to do. He wished he could get them to just stop fighting for once, but he'd probably get yelled at if he asked them to, and he certainly didn't want that.

"Oliver?" a familiar voice said from the sidewalk in front of him.

Oliver flinched, startled, then looked up to see Kaz standing there, looking worried.

Kaz had seen Oliver run out of his house while he was walking, since they lived quite close, and he could tell that he was really upset. Not just by the fact that he was crying, but also because Kaz knew Oliver well enough to tell when he was hurting.

"Are you okay?" Kaz asked him gently, even though he knew he wasn't.

Oliver nodded, and gave his best friend an obviously fake smile.

"Are you sure?" Kaz asked again, sitting next to the smaller boy.

Oliver's fake smile faded, and he shook his head, more tears running down his cheeks. Kaz hugged him tightly, holding him in his arms. Oliver silently cried.

"What's wrong?" Kaz asked, feeling very worried about his best friend.

"M-my parents. Th-they won't stop fighting," Oliver said with a sniff.

Kaz knew how that felt. His parents fought all the time, as well, and he knew they were only still together because it was financially convenient for them, and because they had so many kids. And that alone really hurt Kaz.

"My parents fight a lot, too," Kaz said simply.

"Really?" Oliver sniffled.

"Really. I'm sorry yours do too. It must make you really said like it makes me."

"Yeah…"

"Don't cry, Ollie, it's gonna be alright…"

Kaz pulled Oliver even closer to him, and Oliver nuzzled his head in the crook of Kaz's neck. Kaz's presence was enough to start to calm Oliver down. He stopped crying, and his breathing became normal once again. The boys were out out there, Kaz holding Oliver in his arms, for a long time. Then Kaz realized that he had better get home. His mother would worry. Or… she would just get mad at him. The last one was more likely, he decided.

"Hey… Oliver?" Kaz whispered gently.

"Yeah…?" was Oliver's soft reply.

"I, uh, I gotta go home. My mom will… worry. Sorry, buddy…"

Oliver looked a little disappointed, but shrugged anyway, pulling away from Kaz. "It's okay. I'll be fine."

Kaz stood up, then helped Oliver to his feet. Though both were young, there was still a significant size difference, both in height and build. Kaz had always been bigger than Oliver, who was actually the older one. However, they were both too young to notice much, or even really care all that much.

They hugged briefly one last time, then Kaz whispered gently, "Love you, Ollie."

"Love you too, Kazzy…" Oliver whispered back.

When they let go, Kaz started back on his way home. It was dark by then, but he knew his way.

Oliver sighed, rubbed his exposed arms to warm himself up, then walked back up his porch steps and walked through the front door. No surprise to him, his parents were still arguing. He slipped past them and ran back upstairs, hopping straight into bed without doing anything to get ready for it. He wished he wasn't being so neglected, and that his parents, happy and getting along would come up and tuck him in… but he knew that wouldn't happen.

As he began to drift off to sleep, he thought to himself how lucky he was to have a best friend like Kaz…

Kaz eventually got home, and his watch read 9:47 by then. Sighing, he walked inside. The usually utter chaos. The house was trashed, he could hear two of his sisters fighting all the way upstairs, and his mom was yelling; hopefully at Kevin. He wanted to sneak up to his room undetected, but he wasn't sure that was possible. Mostly because his older sister, Kendra, yelled, "Kaz is home!"

He shot her the death stare. His mother immediately stopped yelling, and he could hear her quickly and loudly making her way to the living room.

"Kazimieras Duncan! Where have you been?!" she screamed, approaching him and grabbing him by the ear. She dragged him all the way to the kitchen.

"Ow! Mom!" Kaz complained.

"Your brother got here an hour ago! What took you so long?!"

"He left me alone!"

"He's already been dealt with! Where were you?!"

"I-I got lost!" he lied.

"Bull crap! Where were you?!"

"Okay! Okay! I was at Oliver's house! When I walked past, I saw he was outside, crying, so I stayed with him until he calmed down!"

His mother's expression softened ever so slightly.

"And why was Oliver crying?" she asked in a much calmer tone.

"He… well… his parents were fighting. They fight all the time. Just like you and dad," Kaz explained.

His mother now wore a pained expression, but she said, "That was good of you to be there for him. But you're still grounded for lying to me."

"How long?" Kaz groaned.

She thought about it for a few seconds. "Only three days, I guess. If you hadn't lied and said you got lost, it would be zero."

He sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Now, go to bed, Kazzy."

He did as he was told, heading straight up to the room he shared with two of his brothers, Kenny and Keith. He had way too many siblings for comfort. So many that he typically couldn't remember all of their ages and birthdays. He did have eleven, after all. There was Katie, Kenny, Kevin, Kaylie, Kyle, Karen, K, Keith, Kendra, and no one could forget, the two Kasey's, who were twins, one a boy and one a girl. That meant he had six sisters and five brothers. He didn't have a great relationship with any of his siblings, besides Kyle, who he had an okay relationship with, but then again, he was three.

As soon as he entered the room, Keith demanded, "Kaz, where did you put my headphones?!"

Kaz certainly wasn't expecting that when he entered. He stood there, confused, then finally replied, "I don't know. I didn't even touch them!"

"I know you did, you little shit! Now, where are they?!" Keith yelled, approaching the boy.

Kaz was secretly terrified of his fourteen year old brother, as he was taller, tougher, and a whole lot meaner than the nine year old he was, but he didn't let it show. "I didn't do anything with them!"

Kaz truly did nothing to his brother's belongings. In fact, he rarely did. He knew not to mess with Keith. He was a dangerous kid, and he could flatten Kaz in two seconds. Keith just always blamed Kaz for it, when it was usually Kenny or another one of their siblings.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you'd better give them back, before I start taking things of yours!" Keith growled, storming over to Kaz's trunk that was at the end of his bed.

"No!" Kaz cried out as he opened it and started digging through the young boy's possessions.

Kaz tackled his brother and tried to get him away, but Keith shoved him off and he fell to the ground. But he didn't give up. He did everything he could think of to try and get him to leave his things alone, but it all ended badly for him. He turned to his thirteen year old brother, Kenny, who was on his laptop with headphones on, and didn't seem to realize just what was going on. Either that, or he didn't care. Kaz shook his head. Kenny wouldn't help him unless he got something in return for it.

Keith finally found something, and stood up, holding it high above his head so his little brother couldn't reach it. Kaz was completely horrified to discover that it was his favorite Tecton comic; the one that Oliver had given him for his ninth birthday. It was his prized possession. Kaz watched as Keith dangled it carelessly from his filthy hands. He jumped, trying to reach it and grab it back, but Keith was way too tall.

"Come on, Keith! Give it! I don't have your controllers, I swear!" Kaz pleaded, trying not to sound too weak.

"Well, then where are they?" Keith demanded.

"I don't know, but I didn't do anything with them! Give that here!"

"Oh, does it really mean that much to you?" Keith said in a mocking baby voice.

Kaz scowled at him, and he smirked.

"You need to grow up, little Kazzy. Superheroes aren't real. Never have been, never will be. This? It's just a picture book with a cheesy story. Nothing more. I'm gonna do you a favor, and help you grow up a little faster."

Kaz panicked at his words. Keith looked delighted, seeing the pain on his brother's face. He, for a split second, lowered it, and instantly tore it right in half.

"NO!" Kaz yelled, but it was too late.

The comic fell to the ground, completely torn in half, much like Kaz's innocent little heart. He felt like he could cry, which was rare for him, but he certainly wasn't going to do it in front of Keith.

"Did I hurt your little feelings, Kazimieras? Good. You deserve it. Stop lying, and start acting like a man. Got it, twerp?" Keith growled, grabbing Kaz by the front of the shirt.

Kaz nodded immediately, feeling the strongest urge to punch his brother square in the jaw. He could never do that, because he knew his mother loved Keith more, for some reason, so he'd be in a lot of trouble. Kaz pushed him off of him instead, and crouched down to pick up the remains of the comic. His first thought was… I can't let Oliver find out about this… It will make him feel bad…

He picked up the pieces, and a certain sense of deja vu came over him as he laid out the pieces on his bed. He remembered when he first met Oliver, and the picture that had been torn to pieces by a bully. He smiled a sad, small smile, thinking of that. He opened his trunk and hid the pieces at the very bottom, way too ashamed to do anything else about them. He felt horrible. Not because his comic was destroyed, but because the comic that Oliver had given to him as a meaningful gift was destroyed. He remembered seeing it in The Domain while hanging out there with Oliver once, and wanting it, but his mother wouldn't let him get it, and he had no money. But… about a week later, on his birthday, Oliver surprised him with it. That had made him so happy. He wished Oliver was there then…

His brothers had already switched off the lights to go to bed, and he had to find his way to his bed in the dark. Even though he was pretty much right next to it, he kept stepping on things, which really hurt. He didn't bother with pajamas, or anything else. He crawled into his bed and cuddled up in his blanket, which was a Tecton flannel blanket he'd had for forever. It was kind of small, and he was getting taller, but it was warm and he loved it.

He let out a few tears of sadness, but was sure to be quiet about it. His brothers never would have let him hear the end of it if they caught him crying.

Kaz wished he had a better family life. He wished he had no siblings, and two parents that loved each other, and loved him. For a split second, he wished he had Oliver's family… but… then again, he'd seen how upset his best friend was because his parents were fighting, he could hear them inside. Plus, Oliver was always left alone, and his parents often neglected him because they had to work so much. Perhaps him and Oliver both didn't have great family lives. Oliver did have an older brother, Chris, who had recently moved out of the house to go to college, and he knew they didn't get along great. Better than him and his brothers, but still not great.

Kaz then stopped his little game of self pity and started feeling awful for his best friend. He pictured his family. Bridget, his mother, who was shamelessly overprotective of him but still so neglectful. She never stopped working, and she was a prejudiced woman. She didn't like Kaz, or anyone from his family. He wasn't even sure she knew his name. Bridget always wanted everything just so, and was hard on Oliver to be the perfect son she wanted him to be. Oliver didn't like it at all, and he knew that.

Kaz thought of Nathan, Oliver's father. He hardly ever saw him. He'd always despised Kaz, and always tried to get Oliver to find other friends besides him because he saw him as a bad influence. Well… to be fair… Kaz had shaved half of Oliver's hair off, once… but that was one time. Nathan was very stern, and hated Oliver's obsession with comics and superheroes. He had some big, important job, but he wasn't sure what it was. It called for multiple business trips here and there, and he was hardly ever around. He, too, was hard on Oliver, which Kaz didn't understand.

Oliver was nine years old and was already being pressured with his grades and such. He was brilliant, and didn't need all the pressure, but they did it all anyway. Kaz's parents didn't care about how he did in school. Most of the time, they were barely willing to help him with homework. He wished he and Oliver were both in the middle.

Kaz then remembered Oliver's nineteen year old brother, Chris. He was a big, lanky guy, and he and Oliver looked pretty much exactly the same. Except, Chris' hair was a lot darker. The two were opposites. Oliver was smart, Chris was… not as smart. Oliver liked everything neat and nice, and Chris couldn't have cared less about any of that. Oliver was a caring person, while Chris was pretty much oblivious to people's feelings for the most part.He wasn't rude or anything, he just was too airheaded to notice much. Chris had mostly ignored Oliver, but he remembered once when Oliver had told Kaz how much he loved Chris and how much he wanted for the two of them to become close. For some unfathomable reason, Oliver looked up to Chris. The age gap made it pretty hard, though. They were a whole ten years apart, and not to mention, Chris wasn't even at home anymore.

Then Kaz pictured his best friend; the small, dorky little kid he knew and loved. Oliver was so kind and caring, and he certainly deserved much better than everything he got. Kaz couldn't even grasp why someone would want to harass or hurt Oliver. He was relentlessly bullied all the time, by Lance and a few others here and there. They had no good reasons for his treatment, and Oliver was the biggest pushover he'd ever seen, so, luckily, Kaz was always there for him, to back him up whenever needed.

Those thoughts still in his mind, Kaz drifted into a restless sleep.