Back To Our Roots, Book One

XXI. And Thad Knows

Saturday morning, Matt, Wes, and David were in their dorm when there was a knock on the door.

"Police, hide the drugs," a familiar voice joked.

Matt laughed, opening the door.

"Surprise, little bro," Nathan said, messing up Matt's hair.

"You just came here to surprise me?" Matt asked skeptically.

"Okay, I was going to force you to come home for the weekend and be with your family, but somebody came back from a business trip early. So, looks like it's just us."

Matt sighed. "I swear, it's like he doesn't want me to even set foot in the house again."

"Hey, no dwelling on the assholes of life. You and I are going to have a good day, were I will embarrass you in front of all of your friends and you will roll your eyes when I get hit on."

Matt chuckled. "Sounds like a plan."

Someone cleared their throat from behind him and he turned. "Oh, right. Nathan, this is Wes and David. Wes and David, this is my brother Nathan."

"Nathan, the CPS brother?" Wes asked cautiously.

"That would be me," Nathan said.

Wes looked rather pale. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Yeah, welcome to Dalton," David added.

Nathan nodded to him, before leaning over to Matt. "They're totally dating, right?"

Matt rolled his eyes fondly. "Yes, Nathan. They're dating."

"Good. I'm too hungry to play matchmaker right now."

"Let's just go get breakfast."

"What was that?" David asked, confused.

Matt chuckled. "I think he ships you two," he said, following his brother out.

There was something to be said for walking down a hallway with his brother. Compared to his brother's, his jawline was nonexistent. He just felt like he looked so much more feminine next to him.

Nathan was getting checked out by several guys, pretending to be oblivious to it.

When they got down to the dining hall, there was only one person at their table.

"That isn't coffee, I hope?" Matt asked jokingly as he sat next to Sebastian.

"It's tea," Sebastian said expressionlessly.

Matt frowned. "Are you okay?"

Sebastian sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I'm fine. Just had a bit of a bad dream."

"On a scale of one to ten, how much are you under exaggerating that?" Matt asked sternly.

"Nine," Sebastian mumbled.

Matt winced. "Your parents again?"

"Kinda. Look, Matt, I don't really want to talk about it."

"I can understand that, we're-"

"I don't mean right now. I mean ever." Sebastian picked up his mug and left the table.

"Oh," Matt said softly, looking after him.

"Is he always like that?" Nathan asked interestedly. "Like, are his emotions are always such extremes?"

"No. No, he's never like that. The numbness you saw only happens when he talks about his parents. That, or anger. But this... this is new."

Before they could say anything else, Thad walked over to the table and sat down.

"Hey! How'd it go?" Matt asked.

"I broke my arm once, and that was less sore than this is," Thad said dryly. "Other than that, though, it went well."

Matt chuckled sheepishly. "I might have toned it down a bit."

"Nah, I mean, if I knew I would be this sore, I'd never have gone through with it." Thad shrugged. "This must be one of your brothers?"

"Oh! Right. Nathan, this is Thad, Thad, this is Nathan. Yes, he's my brother."

Thad shook Nathan's hand. "Pleasure."

"Likewise." Nathan knew better than to ask what they had been talking about.

Two more boys joined the table. Jeff took one look at Nathan and shifted closer to Nick.

"Nick, Jeff, this is Nathan, my older brother. Nathan, this is Niff."

Nick blushed. "Is it really too much trouble to say our names separately?"

"Come on, it's cute," Thad teased.

Jeff rested his head on Nick's shoulder. "I like it."

Nick chuckled. "Of course you do. You're a hopeless romantic."

Matt rolled his eyes. "I apologize in advance for their sappiness."

"Dude, are any of your friends straight?" Nathan asked.

Matt frowned, ticking the people off his fingers. He chuckled. "Looks like it's just you and Jason."

Nathan shrugged. "I don't know, I think all doctors are mildly questionable."

Matt laughed, pushing his shoulder. "He is not gay."

"Wait, what'd you say your brother's name was?" Thad asked, mind slowly processing it.

"Jason. Why?"

"Oh, I thought you said something else," Thad lied.

Matt gave him a calculating look. "No, you didn't," he said simply. "And no, I don't have a younger brother."

There was a note of challenge in Matt's voice. Thad wished he could say something, that he didn't care, but he couldn't in front of everyone else.

There was a fierce light in Nathan's eyes, ready to protect his brother.

"Sabes que no me importa, ¿verdad?" he asked softly. He had to say something, even if Matt couldn't understand him.

"What'd he say? Matt, what'd he say?" Nathan asked him quietly but urgently. Thad hoped that meant that Matt spoke Spanish, at least enough to understand him.

Matt set his hand on Nathan's shoulder, and he seemed to calm down a bit.

"Thank you," Matt said softly, the challenge in his eyes fading.