"Hey Isa, can I borrow the silver crayon?" Colton asked, discovering that he needed one to color the dimes on his worksheet.

"Nope."

His head snapped up at that and he scowled at her.

"Why not?"

"Cuz. Remember we split the box, that was the deal. You got gold and I got silver. You could use gray."

"Isa, dimes are silver. Not gray. Can't I borrow it?"

"Nope, it's mine. Fairsies are fairsies."

He sighed and watched the iron grip she had on the crayon, even though she wasn't using it. He didn't know if she was just messing with him or if she really didn't want to share the crayon.

"Hey Isa, you could use the gold one if I could use the silver."

"Nope. I don't need no gold crayon. Looks like poop."

"It does not!"

She let a giggle slip out and he knew she had been at least partly joking, but he wasn't amused.

"Isabeth," he hissed, scrunching up his nose to make it sound as awful as possible because he knew how much she hated people calling her that.

"Shut up Colton Matthew Ross!"

"Make me, Isabeth Grace Messer!"

She jumped to her feet, knocking her chair over in the process.

"You're a big fat jerky-jerk!"

"Yeah well you're a whiny face!"

"I'm not your girlfriend no more and I am not sitting by you at family dinner ever again!"

"Fine! That's okay because you don't even gots no table manners!"

"Yes I do! You're the one what always spills his drink! And you cried when Indy said you could not have a straw!"

"Yeah, well you got sended to the corner last night because of putting sketti noodles up your nose!"

"I hate you!"

"I hate you more! Selfish meany Isabeth!"

"Stinky poopy Colton!"

"Colton, Isa, that's enough," Mrs. Lawrence warned, raising her voice just slightly. They both turned and looked at her, crossing their arms over their chests. "Sit down and finish your worksheets please."

They sat, glaring and moving as far away as they possibly could from each other. They'd never had a fight before. They'd never said they hated each other before. Colton wasn't certain what it all meant, but it did make his tummy hurt and he wondered if they would ever be able to talk nice to each other again. He was pretty mad.

The class moved on to their history lesson and Colton sat there quietly not really paying attention. This was turning out to be a very bad day.

Little did he know, it was about to get worse.

He didn't notice right away, but after a moment he felt something cool and sticky on his scalp. He looked across the table at Oliver and Samantha who were sitting there with their eyes wide and their mouths dropped open.

"What. Is. Happening?" he asked, terrified.

"Cameron is putting glue in your hair."

He wasn't sure what to do so he just sat there for a moment. He wanted to yell for his teacher but he didn't want to be called a baby for it. So he sat.

And sat.

And then realized what happens when glue sits for a long time. All he could think about now was having his hair stick up permanently like the time Ben got into mama's hair gel, or having to shave all his hair off and be bald.

He didn't make a decision to scream, it just came out on its own and it actually scared him for a second. He kept his eyes closed because he knew he would start crying if he opened them and saw everyone staring at him. He could hear them chattering away as Mrs. Lawrence led him into the small bathroom and put his head in the sink trying to wash the glue out of his hair.

"Colton, I'm sorry, I don't think I can get this glue out."

"This is the worst day of my life!" he said, brushing the water away from his eyes. "It's even worse than the day that the baby Aves had runny poops and stinked up the whole house! I didn't have to shave my head that day!"

He wanted so badly to start crying and beg for his mama, but he knew he couldn't do that. He was a big boy now. He had to be brave.

That meant he would have to face his friends with glue in his hair.

No one wanted to play with him at recess time. Oliver and Samantha sat by him for a little while, but then decided they didn't want to waste their recess by sitting on the curb. Isa was off playing karate with Cameron of all people, and every other kid in the glass had walked by and called him Glue-Head. It was bad enough having glue in his hair, but to have it sticking straight up was awful. He sighed and rested his chin on his knees, watching as Cameron and Isa laughed together. That was usually him. Isa always laughed with him. They always played together at recess. They were best friends after all. They used to be boyfriend and girlfriend too, but that was another story.

He watched as they ran across the playground, sighing when they moved to the other side of the play structure where he couldn't see them. He stood up from the curb and walked over there, peeking around the corner to spy.

"Now I will be Zelda and you will be Link."

He growled low in his throat. He and Isa always played Zelda and Link at recess. If it weren't for him, she would have no idea who Zelda and Link even were! He was starting to wonder if Isa had really been his true friend all along, or if she was just waiting for someone cooler than him. If only he had blue eyes like Cameron, or was a little taller, or if his front teeth would grow in all the way. Maybe then he would be cool enough for Isa.

The bell rang and he slowly made his way back to the classroom, finding himself at the end of the line. Mrs. Lawrence gave him a sad look, and he shook his head, not wanting to talk about it. He sat down in his chair and picked up his pencil, carefully writing his name on top of his spelling page. He copied the words down from the chalkboard, not really remembering what they were, but not caring either. He just wanted to go home. And maybe never come back.

Yeah, that would show them! He was a fun boy after all, they would miss him if he just quit school, wouldn't they? Who else would tell the best jokes and sing the best songs and be friends with everyone?

Right before class was over it occurred to him to wonder why Cameron had poured glue in his hair in the first place. It didn't make sense. Who would even think of something like that? Who besides the Evil Dr. Porkchop from Toy Story?

When class was over he stayed in his seat, waiting until all the other kids had left before he picked up his backpack and headed out into the hallway. Austin had come to pick up Isa, and Sarah and Junior were with her. They were running around the hallway with Ben and Colton wanted to join in, but Isa was playing, and he didn't want everyone to see his hair anyway. Thinking fast, he pulled the hood of his jacket up over his head, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the hallway.

"Hey bud- what happened to your hair?"

He couldn't take it anymore and burst into tears, hating this whole day.

"Daddy," he hiccupped. "I wanna go home!"

Adam and Austin both crouched down in front of him as he cried. He knew he looked pitiful but he couldn't help it. He was just so sad.

"Colton, tell me what happened."

"Daddy I don't wanna talk 'bout it. I want to shave my head and get it over with now."

"I don't think we're going to have to shave your head buddy. Let's go home and see if mama has some ideas, okay?"

"I have never been this mad and sad in all my entire life."

Austin wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. He calmed down a little when she hugged him because he knew she would always love him and never laugh at him. He sighed and she rubbed his back for a minute before she said anything.

"If worst comes to worst, buddy, maybe your mama will let you wear it in a Mohawk."

"Really?"

"We'll see."

"That would be okay I think."

She smiled and kissed his cheek and he really wanted to blurt out how mean Isa was and how Austin should punish her, but he just couldn't do it. Isa may have hurt his feelings, but he still loved her. He'd promised for all the days.

Colton sniffled quietly as Lindsay washed his hair for the third or fourth time, using another remedy Adam had found online. Nothing had worked really well so far, probably because the glue had been allowed to set for so long. It was still a tangled mess and his scalp really hurt from all the tugging and scrubbing.

"Mama?"

"Yeah sweetie?"

"I'm sorry."

She stopped scrubbing for a minute and tipped his chin up to look at him.

"This isn't your fault honey."

"But it's frustratin' to you."

"I am frustrated, but not at you. I'm just mad that someone would do this to you."

"I'm mad too, mama."

"Your teacher called to tell me what happened. She said she didn't know why Cameron put glue in your hair. Do you have any ideas?"

"Nope. I am a nice boy all the time. He's a nice boy too, I thinked! Not like the mean boy what kicked Mrs. Lawrence and can't come to our school no more. I so did not see this coming."

She gave him a half smile and continued to scrub while he sighed.

"Nobody likes me no more," he whispered.

"What?"

"They don't wanna play with no Glue-Head at recess time."

"Nobody played with you?"

"Nope."

"Not even Isa?"

He just shook his head, unable to say what had happened between them. He was so ashamed and so sad. He didn't want anyone to know that they weren't friends anymore.

"There is no way this is Elmer's glue," Adam said, bringing a bowl into the bathroom. "I think that little demon child had Tacky-Glue. Let's try some peanut butter."

"I don't wanna smell like a sandwich! My shampoo is strawberry!"

"You won't smell like a sandwich for long, honey, I promise."

He sniffled some more as Lindsay worked the peanut butter into his hair. He did not like this one little bit and he was never ever going to go back to school. Forget being a doctor, he was going to do something else. He was going to be a racecar driver. All he had to do was learn how to drive fast and make pit-stops. He could do that easily. He didn't need to learn grown up stuff.

"I'm going to let that sit on your hair for a few minutes, okay? I'll be right back."

Colton nodded sadly as Lindsay left the room, then looked down into the murky bathwater. He did not feel very clean at all.

"Hey Cole?"

"Hi Ben."

"You sad?"

"No," he answered, trying to be brave for his little brother. "Just irritated."

"Oh. Head hurt?"

"A little."

"Brunged juice. Sneaked it."

"Really? Ben, you're my best friend!"

"I are?"

Colton nodded enthusiastically before taking a drink of the juice.

"Yup. Thanks!"

"Welcome. More?"

"No, that was enough. It tasted very good."

"I love you Cole."

"I love you too Ben."

"Benjamin!" Lindsay hollered from downstairs. "Did you spill juice on the floor?"

Ben's eyes grew wide and he moved towards the door.

"I hide under bed now."

"Okay. I keep it a secret."

Ben scampered out of the room and Colton smiled, feeling a lot better than he had just a few minutes ago. He would always have his brother and sister after all. They could all be best friends. He didn't need anyone else.

The weekend passed by way too fast and Colton was not ready to go back to school. He hadn't seen Isa all weekend or talked to her on Skype or anything and he wasn't sure if she was going to remember their fight and still be mad at him or if she would have gotten over it.

He took a deep breath before entering the classroom, relieved that he was one of the first kids there. It was a quiet and rainy morning and Mrs. Lawrence had quiet music playing. That made him feel a little bit better, and he sat down in his chair, taking his spiral notebook out of his desk. They were allowed to do quiet activities until class started, and he was almost done drawing the Zelda and Link picture that he was planning to give Isa for her birthday. He was still going to give it to her, whether they were friends or not. He was currently trying to fashion Zelda's skirt into pants because Isa didn't like skirts. He worked for a few minutes until he was ready to color, and selected the best green crayon out of his collection.

"Hey Colton. Did your mommy get all the glue outta your hair?" Samantha asked, sitting down across from him.

"Yeah. I had a headache all the next day. I had to go get my hair cut a little too."

"It looks cool still."

"Thanks. What did you do for the weekend?"

"I seen my grandma and grandpa. We played in the park."

"I like to play in the park. Sometimes when I go with Isa, her daddy and my daddy chase us around and do lots of roaring."

Samantha giggled.

"That is funny. My daddy doesn't like to play much games."

"Maybe you could come to my house. My daddy loves to play games. That's all we ever do at our home. Me and Ben and daddy, and even mama when the baby Aves is asleep. We done hide and seek the other day and I hided behind the couches and no one found me for a long time. They even gived up."

"Wow! I want to play at your house!"

"Okay. I will ask my mama for sometime that you could come over after school. Maybe Oliver too. But we have to play with my little brother Ben or it's not fair."

"That's okay he sounds like he's cool."

"He kind of is but he don't talk that much."

"Can Isa come too?"

"No, she doesn't like me no more. Even though we're family and we gotta stick together."

"She doesn't wanna stick together?"

"Nope. We been friends since we was borned. I guess she's bored of me now."

"Oh. Well I will still be your friend, okay?"

"Okay. Wanna play at recess?"

"Yeah. Me and Oliver been playin' a game with dogs, from this one movie. I am a cat named Sassy and Oliver is a dog named Shadow and you could be the dog Chance."

"Hey I knowed that movie! I will play it with you."

She gave him a smile and they went back to their separate drawings. He didn't feel so bad now. Maybe he didn't even need Isa after all.

He may have had that independent thought, but by the end of the day he wasn't feeling quite so confident anymore. He and Isa had gotten into two more arguments and he was feeling a lot crummier than he wanted to admit. By the time school was over he wanted to go home and crawl into his bed and hide under the covers alone for a long, long time. He didn't want to ever go back to school or see Isa ever again. He didn't hate her, but every time he saw her, it reminded him of how much his feelings were hurt.

"Colton, what's the matter?" Lindsay asked as they walked home.

"Nothin'."

She stopped walking and crouched down in front of him.

"You can tell mama."

He shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it today. Or tomorrow. Or ever."

"You make me worry, buddy."

"I'm tough like daddy. It's okay."

She sighed and tucked his hair behind his ear, looking into his eyes for as long as she could.

"Alright. But if you change your mind, you let me know."

"I will."

"I love you, mister."

"I love you too."

They continued walking and he sighed a little, not even happy about splashing through puddles. His untied shoelaces were wet and slapped his legs with every step, making the cuffs of his jeans wet and muddy. Normally that would have bugged him at least a little, but today he didn't really care.

When they got home he hung his backpack by the door and kicked his shoes off, then went and curled up on the couch under a blanket, refusing the lunch that Adam offered him.

"Buddy, are you sick? Does your tummy hurt?"

"No daddy. Just my feelings."

"How did your feelings get hurt?"

"I don't wanna say."

"Do you want to do something to take your mind off of it?"

"Like what?"

"Want to play a game before I have to go to work?"

"No thanks daddy."

"What can I do to make you feel better?"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then sighed.

"Is families forever? Like for really forever?"

"Families are forever."

"And you got no choice right? You have to be a family, right?"

"Basically. What are you getting at buddy?"

"Well… what if someone decided not to be in our family anymore? Or what if they decided that they did not want someone else in our family? What if someone said they don't want me in our family no more?"

"Buddy, what are you talking about? We all want you in our family. Forever. Who said they don't want you in our family?"

"Nobody, daddy. I was just wondering. Can you hug me now for a long time?"

"Sure, bud."

He leaned down and picked his son up, worried about what could have brought this on. Colton was never mopey like this, nor did he refuse to talk about what was bothering him. It had to be something big.

"Mama?"

She looked up from the book she was reading and found Colton standing in the doorway, chewing on his finger and dragging his sock monkey behind him.

"Why are you awake honey?"

"I can't sleep. Can I come in bed with you for a little while?"

"Yeah, sure. You want to sleep in here until daddy gets home?"

He nodded and climbed onto the bed, snuggling against her side.

"What are you reading?"

"A book about love letters from soldiers."

"Oh. I'm ready to talk about my feelings now."

"Okay, I'm ready to listen."

She put the book down and gave him her full attention, smoothing his hair back from his face.

"Well me and Isa had a fight the other day. And we are not friends anymore. We said we hate each other. And then she played with Cameron after he put the glue in my hair. She really did, mama. And we will never be friends again. And that's why I am so sad."

"Oh Colton," she sighed, wrapping her arms around him and kissing the top of his head. "I'm sure you'll be friends again."

"I don't think so. We fighted again today. Two whole times."

"Can I tell you a story?"

"Okay."

"A long time ago, before Ben was born, me and Austin got in a big fight."

"You did? But you're super best friends! You love each other so much!"

"I know. And we loved each other then too, but that doesn't mean we don't argue. We both said things to each other that were really mean and we didn't talk to each other for a long time."

"But how did you become friends again?"

"We never stopped being friends honey. We just had to stop being mad at each other long enough to listen to the other person. We loved each other enough to fix the fight, and you know what?"

"What?"

"We love each other more now than we did back then. Because we had a fight. I know that's kind of confusing, but we both know that we'll always be there for each other, no matter what. And so will you and Isa. Fights aren't forever unless you want them to be. Do you want it to be forever?"

"No! She's my best friend!"

"Then it won't be forever, honey. You and Isa will be okay again, I promise."

"Should I say sorry?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Can I talk to her now? I don't want to go to sleep if she's still mad at me."

Lindsay checked the time and picked up her phone.

"Okay, I'll call Austin but Isa might have gone to bed already. We'll see."

Colton nodded and closed his eyes with a sigh. Maybe it would be okay after all.

"Hey Aust."

"Hey, I was just about to call you. Isa told me what happened."

"Yeah, Colton just told me too. He wants to talk to her if she's still up."

"She's right here."

They handed the phones off to the kids, then pretended not to listen to the ensuing conversation.

"Hi Colt."

"Hi Is."

"I'm not mad at you no more."

"Me neither. Mama says that her and your mama got in a fight one time."

"My ma telled me that story too!"

"Isa, I didn't like how you played with Cameron 'stead of me. How come you done that?"

"Because he asked me to and I not wanting him to put glue in my hair too!"

"Why did he put glue in my hair?"

"Because you and me was fighting and that crazy boy gots a crusher on me."

"So he was bein' mean to me because he likes you and wants to kiss you and make you his girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"Well you could be his girlfriend then Isa."

"No! I am your girlfriend! Just yours!"

"But you said you were not anymore!"

"I was just mad. I still love you Colt. I don't like us to fight anymore. I won't play with Cameron, just you now. I promise. I was just being mad at you for callin' me Isabeth."

"That was really mean of me, Is. I'm sorry. I know you don't want no one callin' you that 'cept for your mama. I won't do it no more."

"Okay. Sorry I telled about you crying."

"Sorry I telled about the sketti in your nose. I really love you Isa, even when I am mean."

"I love you too Colt. Can we be best friends and boyfriend and girlfriend again and forever?"

"Yep, forever. I will see you at school, okay?"

"Okay. You could borrow the silver crayon."

"That is a deal. Night-night Isa."

"Night-night Colt."

He handed the phone back to Lindsay and smiled happily. All was once again right in his world.