Spring, 3 years ago.

As always, he was the last one to actually get to the spot that they agreed on as a group. For some reason, it took forever for his parents to fall asleep, not giving him the opportunity to immediately climb out of his bedroom window and down the big oak tree in his backyard when he got the text message from Nicolette and Thomas.

"I swear, I'm coming now." Alan whispered through his phone.

"You always take forever. We've been here for a good 10 minutes." Nicolette groaned on the other end of the phone, Thomas laughing slightly in the background.

"It's not my fault that my dad refuses to go to bed. He's a freakin' night-owl." Alan shot back as he quickly rounded the corner of his neighborhood block.

"Sounds like someone else we know..." Thomas spoke through the phone in a teasing manner.

"Hey, you guys are up too. Can't pin this all on me." Alan teased back with a grin as he continued running down the street, before rounding another corner and into a brush of bushes and small trees. He turned on the flashlight on his smartphone as he made his way through the wooded area. "Why couldn't your parents have built your studio in a nice, open area? Why does it have to be behind the house, down the massive hill at the bottom of your property?"

"No clue. I'm still surprised they built it to begin with." Thomas said, his tone surprised. "I was joking when I asked for it, but my dad was actually serious about it."

"I mean, isn't that how it is for rich kids, anyway?" Nicolette teased, only to hear Thomas sigh in annoyance.

"I'm not rich, Nikki. My dad just got a huge promotion and he's being.... what did my mom call it...?"

"Egotistical and arrogant?" Alan spoke, hearing Nicolette and Thomas laugh.

"I mean, that's a blunt way to put it. She said 'alpha' or something like that." Thomas added.

"So, he's a regular ape, basically." Alan stated as he walked through the door of the cabin to see Nicolette and Thomas resting on the couch, watching them both turn around to face him quickly.

"Took you long enough." Nicolette teased with a smirk.

"Next time, you figure out a way to get my dad to sleep and I'll come faster." Alan joked back, closing the door behind him.

"Sleeping pills in his food sounds like a good option..." Nicolette joked.

"No need to drug anybody just to watch a show, guys." Thomas followed-up. "Glad you could make it. Let's get to it! GoT starts in about 2 minutes. I already got snacks." Thomas added, pointing to the large coffee table in front of them, filled with bags of chips, drinks and popcorn.

"Yassss, snacks!" Alan exclaimed happily rushing over and plopping onto the couch in-between them both.

"You'd make a good drag queen." Nicolette said with a laugh, only to see Alan strike a slight pose.

"I'd be fabulous, is what you meant to say." Alan added, only to see both his friends laugh.

"Get you some good eyeliner and make a solid cat-eye, a blonde wig and you'd.be.set." Nicolette spoke, adding snaps to the last bit.

"I'd be more curious about his choice of dress." Thomas questioned; an eyebrow raised as he thought about it.

"Green, slim fitting dress. Duh. Brings out my eyes." Alan quickly responded with a slight huff.

"You've thought about this more than I would've imagined." Nicolette said with a laugh, grabbing the remote and turning up the volume.

"I mean, why wouldn't I? Never know when it could happen." Alan joked back, settling against the couch comfortably.

"You'd look good in that." Thomas added with a smile. "Green does bring out the color of your eyes."

"Ha, thanks... maybe I should consider it." Alan joked.

"Don't tease me, now..." Thomas said with a smirk, his attention back to the TV.

This was a typical Sunday evening during the spring of his 7th grade year. It was only a few more weeks before summer vacation, right before they would be entering 8th grade. While their parents would not allow them to stay up and watch a show with a bunch of incest, sex, violence and anything else middle schoolers should probably not be watching on a regular basis, Thomas was able to find a way around it by inviting them to his game/entertainment studio that his dad had constructed for him. It had its own living room with an extra large couch that pulled out into a large bed, small kitchenette, half bath with a shower, wi-fi with full cable and streaming access. He also had the majority of video game consoles, along with an air hockey table and old school arcade system with over 300 games.

Thomas had a bit more freedom than Nicolette and Alan had, with his parents being perfectly fine with him spending his evenings in the small space, as it wasn't incredibly far from the house and visible from their bedroom windows. He used it to his advantage to spend time with his best friends that he had known for years, and they never had any reason to object. This cul-du-sac was their home for as long as they could remember, the three of them having been born within just a few months of each other, being the only children in the area when it was first developed years ago. Nicolette was an only child, while Thomas was the youngest of 3 (his older siblings both being boys) with Alan being the older brother to his little sister, Kristen.

After the show was over, they discussed the episode in detail, raving about the epic fight scenes and characters in detail as they continued to eat snacks. It wasn't until Alan brought up volleyball did they begin to talk about their upcoming 8th grade status.

"I don't understand what's so different about 8th grade from 7th. It's just the same stuff, right? We're still in the same school." Nicolette stated with a shrug.

"Well, we are, but we're on an entirely different side, completely separate from the 6th and 7th graders. We won't see anyone but the people in our grade level." Thomas stated.

"I mean, is that bad?" Alan asked, confused.

"Depends... my brothers told me that's pretty much when things get... weird. People start to form their own groups based on certain things, like how they dress, music, money, sports... all that. Josh said that's what it will be in high school for 4 straight years and it just gets even more segregated the higher the grades get." Thomas spoke with a sigh.

"Apparently, that's when the hormones kick in too." Nicolette proclaimed with a smirk.

"Says the girl who already got her hormones..." Alan teased, only to see Nicolette glare at him.

"I did not ask for a visitor to come and give me pain for a week once a month. Nor did I ask for boobs." Nicolette stated through gritted teeth.

"I mean... they are nice..." Alan joked, just to see Nicolette flip him off.

"This coming from the guy who doesn't know if he likes guys or girls." Thomas shot back, only to see Alan look offended as Nicolette laughed.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Alan questioned, his face turning red in embarrassment.

"Maybe when your hormones kick in, you'll figure out which one you like." Thomas teased, a grin on his face as he poked Alan in the side.

"What if I don't? What if I end up liking both?" Alan stated in a serious matter.

"Well... nothing wrong with being bi." Nicolette stated as she reached over to put some popcorn in her hand.

"That's true..." Alan said with a confirming nod. "Maybe I will be bi..."

"Just means I have a shot..." Thomas joked, only to see Alan stick his tongue out at him.

"Cut it out. I can't date you, Thomas. You're like a big brother to me at this point. Would be weird." Alan stated, shaking his head.

"I'm only older than you by 8 months. It's not that big of a gap." Thomas replied with a sigh.

"Still older. I mean, I'm only older than Nicolette by 6 months." Alan stated.

"Yet, I seem like the older sister." Nicolette teased with a smirk, only to have Alan throw a pillow at her face.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll end up liking girls. That would solve everything. Won't have to be confused and frustrated anymore." Alan stated with a sigh, leaning back onto the couch.

"Nothing wrong with being confused. You take your time and figure it out. We don't care anyway." Nicolette stated as she threw the pillow back at him, seeing Alan catch it carefully and hold it close to his chest.

"Yeah, we love you anyway, Allie. Even if you are a little werido." Thomas spoke with a light tease, but in a sincere manner.

"Thanks... maybe 8th grade won't be so bad." Alan stated with a reassured smile.

Goodness... I sure was a naïve little shit back then.