The Secrets Hidden In The Scars

      Meanwhile, the men kind of forget that the girls are in the house. Terrence, Peter, Edward, and Daniel are still in the living room. A little transparent bowl with salt crackers is placed on the coffee table. At first, the four eat them and laugh at something, but then they start to throw them at each other sometimes. And they eventually start a little game when Daniel throws a piece of cracker to Terrence, who catches it without hands.       “Let’s bet that you don’t catch it,” Daniel says confidently.       “Why don’t I?” Edward wonders. “No crackers have passed by my mouth yet.”       “Don’t become the Terrence MacClife number two and show off,” Peter says with his arms crossed over his chest. “Having this peacock is enough.”       “You and Perkins aren’t far from him.”       “Alright, stop talking!” Daniel orders. “In short, kid, if you catch this delicious piece, I’ll pay you a few dollars. So, you buy chocolate.”       “Huh!” Edward chuckles. “Think you’ve said goodbye to your money.”       “Okay, get ready,” Daniel shrugs.       While Peter and Terrence watch what’s happening with interest, Daniel takes a piece from the half-filled glassy bowl and throws it at Edward after the count “Three”. When he leans his head back slightly, the young man catches the cracker with his mouth easily. Then he looks at the three with a sly smile, feeling the nice, salty taste of the piece that literally melts.       “So, buddy!” Terrence exclaims cheerfully, clapping his hands loudly. “The kid won! You can say goodbye to your money!”       “C’mon, c’mon, reveal your nest egg and gimme my money,” Edward says confidently with his head proudly raised.       “Fucking rat,” Daniel says under his nose gloomily. “I did say you and your brother were worth each other.”       “C’mon, Perkins, I’m waiting,” Edward hurries up and claps Terrence on the head slightly. “Otherwise, I’ll give the order to my bro, and he’ll kick your ass.”       Daniel growls quietly, gets up from the sofa slowly, and, pulling up his jeans, goes to the table near the stairs, on which there is his black wallet. He takes a few dollar bills, goes back to the men, sits next to Peter, and throws the money in the hands of Edward with a gloomy face. The young guy counts them and puts them in the pocket of his jeans with a sly smile.       “You two are idiots,” Daniel throws gloomily. “The older brother is unbearable, and the younger one is taking after.”       “Sorry, Perkins,” Terrence throws his hands up with an innocent smile. “But you asked for trouble.”       “Me? Asked for trouble? Huh! As if I want to give my money to this little rat for nothing.”       “Oh, you’re now pretending to be an innocent angel! You know, remember and see nothing!”       “Don’t worry, Daniel, I’ll give you a chance to take revenge and take your money back,” Edward replies, says nothing for two seconds, and smiles slyly. “Someday.”       “Oh, yay!” Terrence laughs quietly. “That’s my brother!”       “I’m so imitable,” Edward says with his head proudly raised.       Terrence chuckles kindly and suggests Edward give him a five, showing the palm of his hand, and the guy does it with pleasure.       “They’re starting to annoy me more and more,” Daniel addresses Peter, crossing his arms over his chest. “At first, one washed my brains, and another does it now.”       “Calm down, buddy, we’ll kick their asses when they go too far,” Peter promises confidently.       “I wonder, how many people were lucky that their parents separated these two and didn’t give them a chance to do bad things?”       “Oh, there are definitely many lucky people.”       While Daniel and Peter laugh shyly, Terrence glances at them, smiles slyly, and breaks the silence, clapping his hands on his laps:       “Okay, Daniel, relax your face. I’m starting to be afraid of your dangerous look.”       “Go to the fuck, idiot,” Daniel throws gloomily.       “Hey, let’s do something: I shall pay you and Peter if you both catch crackers. At the same time.”       Daniel and Peter look at each other, smile widely, and rub their hands happily, looking forward to the taste of victory.       “Huh, you can put your money on the table,” Peter chuckles, pointing at the table. “Why would you do something if you lost?”       “The blond says it right!” Daniel agrees. “C’mon, MacClife, open your wallet and put everything you have.”       “Deserve it first,” Terrence says confidently.       “Relax, pretty boys,” Edward smiles slyly, putting his arm on the back of the sofa and spreading his legs slightly. “You’ll screw it up. Your throats are little. You can’t open your mouths widely, so a little cracker gets into it.”       “Shut up, Edward,” Daniel snaps.       “Hey, MacClife, throw it now,” Peter hurries. “Grab a cracker and put it in our mouths.”       “I am warning: if one of you doesn’t catch it, I’ll pay nothing,” Terrence warns confidently. “You two must catch a cracker.”       “Throw it!” Daniel and Peter demand loudly.       “Okay, okay, fools, I’m throwing. Calm down.”       Terrence takes a couple of crackers in his hands, while Edward watches what’s happening with interest, leaning back in the sofa. After waiting for a few seconds, the man counts down to “three” and throws the crackers to Daniel and Peter. While the blond easily catches the cracker and swallows it, the brunet gets some problems. Terrence starts to think he has won, but Daniel catches the thrown cracker at the last moment, getting up from the sofa slightly, and looks at his friend with an innocent smile. MacClife, Sr., opens his mouth widely and pouts, Daniel and Peter laugh loudly and give a five to each other with both hands, and Edward shrugs with a shy smile when his brother glances at him.       “So, pretty boy, you started to understand that you aren’t perfect?” Peter chuckles.       “You were just lucky,” Terrence says gloomily. “You wouldn’t have caught them!”       “We know nothing!” Daniel exclaims and points his hand. “Okay, MacClife, give us the money. Put my piece on my hand.”       “You behaved badly!” Terrence chuckles loudly. “Today, you should get nothing.”       “Not only today, but also over the past few months,” Edward laughs shyly, keeping his arms crossed over his chest.       “Give our money to us!” Daniel demands. “Hear, MacClife, who I the fuck say!”       “I have no money,” Terrence smiles innocently. “I have the money on my bank card that I left at home.”       “Hey, you promised to pay if Dan and I caught the cracker!” Peter resents. “We caught! So, give our money to us now!”       “Maybe, we agree somehow?”       “Give our money!” Peter and Daniel demand loudly.       “Or you two will end up in the cold pool at the back of the house,” Daniel threatens, looking at Terrence and Edward. “And I won’t give you dry clothes! You’ll go home in what you will wear after a fresh shower.”       “Ar-r-r!” Terrence growls crossly, rolling his eyes. “Fuck you two!”       Terrence gets up from the sofa, takes his coat, gets a black wallet out of it, and finds a few bills, while Daniel and Peter watch him with sly smiles. Then MacClife, Sr., throws the money into the hands of his friends, who quickly count it and share it with each other.       “Don’t worry, bro, maybe, you’ll be lucky next time,” Peter laughs shyly, putting the money in the pocket of his coat that he puts where it was placed with a smug smile.       “Listen, guys, do you know Terrence got nothing?” Daniel notices with a wide smile after he puts his money in his wallet and sits on the sofa again. “You and I got some money for a treat, but our egoistic peacock got nothing.”       “No, dude,” Terrence shakes his head. “Edward and Peter got money, but you had a few dollars in your pocket and kept them. Even if you gave the money to my brother, I kind of gave it to you back.”       “Yeah, but you stayed with nothing anyway. And you must accept that people sometimes lose.”       “I said you and Rose were just very lucky.”       “Excuse Perkins and me for being so imitable,” Peter throws his hands up.       “It happened only once. You will no longer get this chance.”       “Listen, MacClife, if you’re the only one to get nothing, it doesn’t mean you can snap,” Daniel smiles innocently. “I understand losses and humiliations always hurt you. But remember, even the most perfect, irresistible, and attractive people aren’t deprived of shortcomings and can lose.”       “Oh, oh, resented you were when Edward got a victory over ya,” Terrence shakes his head. “Your hand itched to do a bad thing.”       “Huh, you actually boiled like a kettle!” Daniel chuckles. “You were literally smoking! I did even get hot.”       “Alright, stop it! I’m done with listening to you.”       “Yeah, I know, it hurts.” Daniel leans back in the sofa and spreads his legs slightly. “But sorry, dude, nobody’s gonna sing praises to you about your alleged eternal awesomeness and everything that nature gave you. Of course, we could. But if we don’t bring our proud rooster to the earth and don’t remind him that he’s the same as all of us, it may lead to catastrophe. People should speak to narcissus cruelly and never let them relax.”       “You are a narcissus!” Terrence grabs a pillow from the sofa and throws it at Daniel, getting into his face, which he, however, closes with his hands, while Peter sits aside with a quiet laugh.       “Hey, don’t touch my pillows!” Daniel exclaims and throws the same pillow at Terrence, making Edward sit aside sharply.       “Ah, you hurt my eye, idiot!” Terrence winces, rubbing his eye, into which the pillow got, and throws it on Daniel again.       “Okay then! Alright, MacClife, hold on!” Daniel throws not one but two pillows at Terrence with a sly smile. “Get it, you, plucked rooster! Get it!”       Terrence throws one pillow at Daniel, who just hides his face and jumps off the sofa sharply before his friend does the same and runs to him, starting to beat him with the thing that was thrown at him. MacClife, Sr., does not leave it without attention and starts beating his buddy with a pillow, thrilling with loud laughter along with him and sharing threats to deal with each other.       “How do you care to go against Terrence MacClife himself?” Terrence resents funnily, giving Daniel hits on everything he sees. “Yes, chocolate head, get it!”       “Hey, hey, quiet, buddy, quiet…” Daniel tries to catch a breath through a laugh, breathing a little heavily. “Don’t get so excited.”       After lulling Terrence a little and waiting for some time, Daniel gets into his face with a pillow and keeps beating him cruelly. And while they literally run around the whole living room and thrill with loud laughter, Peter and Edward sitting in front of each other watch look at each other at some moment.       “What do you say?” Edward smiles slyly. “Help them or let them fight?”       “I like the second variant more,” Peter replies confidently.       “M-m-m, I like it, too.”       “I love watching these two kicking each other’s asses. When I was in the hospital, they only did it when visiting me together.”       “This is the case, Pete, when two insolent, egoistic roosters collided and can’t decide who’s supposed to be a leader. Terrence is sure that everyone must bow to him just because of his name, and Daniel isn’t ready to accept it and wanna take a place on the throne.”       “So, let them deal with it,” Peter waves a hand and smiles slyly. “Perkins and MacClife love it.”       “You’re right.” Edward glances at Terrence and Daniel with a sly smile, while they start running after each other in the whole living room with pillows in their hands. “Sorry, bro, deal with him yourself.”       “Yup, we’ll talk a little.”       “Maybe, you can tell me more about your girlfriend?”       “What do you wanna know?”       With these words, Peter and Edward get up from the sofa and slowly go to another side of the living room.       “Absolutely everything,” Edward says confidently and pinches Peter on the hip slightly with a sly smile. “C’mon, buddy, speak out. Where you met, how, when… How did you fall in love with her?”       “What can I say?” Peter shrugs with a shy smile. “It started with the friendship and ended… With the confession of love and the kiss at the hospital.”       “Did you get a crush on her at once?”       “Yup, I considered Helene a sympathetic girl immediately. I really like such short and thin girls like her. It’s, so to say, my fetish.”       “She’s too short. Even lower than the girls.”       “Yeah, her height is about 5’2.”       “I got it. Nevertheless, I liked that girl. Of course, we have questions for her because of her conflict with the girls. But I think it shouldn’t impact your relationship. Helene took care of you all this time.”       “But Natalia, Raquelle, and Anna’s story made me suspicious and briefly doubt Helene’s trueness about me,” Peter confesses, crossing his arms over his chest.       “I completely get it. But I think you better judge her by what she is now. Yes, you’re afraid of her betrayal, but it will hardly happen. That girl is really attracted to you. The guys said she almost went insane when she heard what happened to you.”       “Yeah, Edward, I know. My fears and doubts about her are only connected to the fact that she participated in the bullying of Raquelle and Natalia. Yes, Helene says she did it because of the fear of having the same situation, but it changes nothing.”       “Stop, Peter, don’t think about it. I believe Helene really changed and would no longer hurt anyone. Think yourself, she would’ve hardly been worried about you if she’d been egoistic, insolent, and shameless. But that girl does love you. I think you should try to understand her and not deprive yourself of happiness.”       “Of course, I’ll talk to her about it, and I ain’t gonna leave her so easily. But I’ll have to be careful for some time and find a way to see bad signs, even when the mind is clouded by love.”       “Don’t worry, it’s gonna be fine,” Edward encourages with a slight smile, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “When someone regrets something, they deserve a second chance. Helene made one mistake, but that doesn’t mean you should reject her. You can try to forgive her and understand if the mistake was made for the first time.”       “Yeah, I think you’re right. Helene does deserve a second chance. And if the girls forgive her, it’s gonna be cool.”       “I’m sure they will do it. They aren’t vindictive and can get cold quickly. I think the reasons for that situation were explained well enough to analyze them.”       “I hope.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds. But when Edward and Peter want to continue to talk, Terrence meddles in it, using the chokehold on Daniel and ruffling his hair strongly, while his friend is beating him on everything he sees:       “Hey, cuties, what are ya standing there and talking? Come here now! Help me!”       “Forget about him, men!” Daniel meddles. “Better help me! This rooster annoyed me!”       “Oh, c’mon, guys, you feel so good together,” Peter laughs shyly. “Why MacClife and I should prevent your idyll.”       “Yeah, we’re standing here and admiring,” Edward smiles slyly, crossing his arms over his chest. “We’re thinking, ‘What a sweet couple!’”       “Hear, kid, close your mouth and help me now,” Terrence demands confidently. “Who I the fuck said! Bring your ass here!”       “Why are you standing there, blond head?” Daniel wonders, getting out of Terrence’s grip, using a chokehold on him, and starting to ruffle the hair of his friend. “Don’t ya see I can’t do it?”       “No, guys, we don’t wanna end this show,” Edward shakes his head. “I love kicking my bro’s ass and watching someone doing this.”       “Okay, little rat, I shall remember this,” Terrence threatens in a low voice.       “What would you do? Complain to Mommy and Daddy? Tell them I’m terrible and always hurt you?”       “Don’t make me wild, Edward!”       “I haven’t started it. But if I start, Perkins’ actions will seem innocent to you.”       “Well, as you made a wise decision to stand by me, help me kick the ass of your brother,” Daniel says confidently with a sly smile. “If Rose left me, you should show wisdom.”       “Stop, did I say I stood by someone’s side?” Edward frowns slightly and runs his fingers through his hair with his head proudly raised, glancing at Peter. “Pete, you heard?”       “I dunno, I didn’t say I’d stand by someone,” Peter smiles slyly. “I just remember that this couple promised to pay for my door in the bathroom.”       “Huh, go the fuck with your door,” Daniel chuckles, letting Terrence go, while his friend pulls his shirt down and strokes down his hair. “May Edward buy it if you hit it off. He’s our ‘rich boy!’ I don’t wanna spend so much money.”       At first, Peter takes one of the pillows lying on the floor and throws it at Daniel as strongly as possible, and later Edward does the same. Then Perkins starts running after them, but the guys run on different sides immediately.       “Hey, come here!” Daniel exclaims. “Both! Now!”       “So, dude, the blond for you, my brother for me?” Terrence smiles slyly.       “Too much!” Daniel grabs Edward, who stands in his way, by the t-shirt, pulls him on sharply, and does the chokehold from behind. “This kid is mine, too.”       “Hey, let me go now,” Edward demands.       “Only if you say you’ll be by my side.”       “You heard what I said?”       “I’m waiting, MacClife.”       “Ar-r-r…” Edward growls crossly. “Alright, Perkins, hold on! I will annoy you!”       Edward slightly hits Daniel on his leg and takes a pillow from the floor, while the man rubs the hurt area. Then MacClife, Jr., starts beating his friend, who tries to close his head with both hands. While the happy Terrence watches it with a wide and smug smile, crossing his arms over his chest.       “C’mon, Edward, beat him, beat!” Terrence encourages happily. “You can! I will even help you a little.”       Terrence takes a second pillow from the floor and starts beating Daniel, who does not know where to hide from the attack of the MacClife brothers.       “Hey, hey, guys, calm down!” Daniel demands through a loud laugh. “Quiet, we can agree on everything. Don’t beat me, don’t!”       “Get it, get it!” Terrence exclaims happily.       “You’ll go nowhere,” Edward adds confidently with a happy, smug smile.       While Edward, Terrence, and Daniel are thrilling with loud laughter and do not hide their wide smiles, Peter stands aside with his arms crossed over his chest and watches what’s happening with quiet chuckles. The man does not hurry to join this war and prefers watching it from afar, leaning on the wall that separates the kitchen and the living room with his hip. Daniel, Terrence, and Edward do not notice that something is missing at once. But some time later, Perkins glances at the laughing blond and frowns slightly.       “Rose, fuck, why are you standing there and laughing like an idiot?” Daniel resents. “Don’t you see that these two went too wild?”       “Oh, c’mon, a couple of strong hits wouldn’t be bad for you,” Peter replies with a sly chuckle. “You’re confidently taking after MacClife, Sr., and aiming to take his place on the throne. So, you must also be slowed down at times.”       “Right, Pete!” Terrence smiles widely and slyly. “So, help Edward and me. Let’s kick the ass of this fool all together.”       “I will kick you, plucked peacock,” Daniel threatens and takes the pillow from Terrence. “So, MacClife, bring your gorgeous ass here.”       Terrence jumps aside immediately and hides behind Edward’s back, who still holds the pillow and tries to beat Daniel with it.       “C’mon, bro, deal with him for me,” Terrence says with a sly smile, clapping Edward on the shoulders. “You’re a good boy and wouldn’t succumb to this idiot.”       “Don’t test my patience, idiot,” Daniel says confidently with a little heavy breath. “If you move off, I will reach you.”       “Huh, you catch me first! You can’t run at all! You’re as slow as a snail.”       “What? You are a snail! I run better than you!”       “Okay, but you haven’t caught me yet.”       “I will do it. Come here now!”       When Daniel moves off with the pillow in his hands, Terrence runs two circles around the sofa before he hides behind the back of Peter, who is still standing aside with his arms crossed over his chest.       “Loser, loser!” Terrence teases funnily and shows his tongue to Daniel. “You didn’t catch! You didn’t catch!”       “Listen, you’ll ask for trouble, and I’ll kick you outta home,” Daniel threatens and points at Peter and Edward. “And these two idiots if they don’t help the fuck me.”       “What can you offer in exchange for our help?” Peter smiles shyly.       “Hey, is it fine that friends help each other for nothing? The first asks for chocolate from people, the second asks for food, and the third wants money! You’re freaking insolent, guys!”       “Hey, could you offer me something to eat?” Terrence asks happily.       “Or you hid something sweet for me?” Edward smiles widely.       “Go to the fuck!” Daniel chuckles.       “Can I get a bottle of bear?” Peter asks. “I’m not driving today!”       “Ha, I see your claims have become much more unreal than the claims of these two. You want a bottle of beer! And a door for five hundred dollars at your rabbit hole!” Daniel chuckles quietly and shakes his head with a slight smile. “Yeah, blond… You surprise me… Surprise… You were such a shy, decent guy, but now you've become kind of insolent.”       “As if you’ve always been good.”       “Oh, how it’s bad!” Daniel tuts quietly. “Oh, oh, oh! I’ll go to complain to your cutie.”       Peter grabs the pillow sharply from Edward and gives Daniel a strong hit, after which he doubles over with a stupid chuckle and closes his face with both hands.       “Listen, idiots, stop beating me!” Daniel demands through a loud laugh. “Fine! I’m at my home and getting beaten by the three! Hey! I’ll kick everybody out to the fuck if you don’t calm down!”       At some moment, Daniel tries to get the pillow from Peter by force, but the blond refuses to give it and pulls it on himself along with the laugh of Terrence and Edward standing together.       “Alright, fools,” Daniel pronounces confidently. “I’ll kick your asses now. I’ll show you where you belong.”       Daniel takes the pillow from Peter with one sharp movement but does not keep a balance and falls on the floor, pulling down a small table, on which some things are placed. Then the three men start laughing loudly, making Perkins much angrier.       “Okay, if you don’t wanna be good, I’ll be cruel,” Daniel says confidently, rubbing the small of his back. “Hold on, morons.”       Daniel gets up quickly, but Peter, Terrence, and Edward run on different sides. He has to run after the blond, who is much closer to him. However, Rose does not get confused, takes a pillow from the floor, and starts beating his friend, who does not leave it unnoticed. Later, the MacClife brothers join them after taking two more pillows placed on one of the sofas. They do not hide their wide smiles, do thrill with a loud laugh, and sometimes make happy whoops or squeaks. The guys get great pleasure from beating each other and playing catch. Every one of them falls on the floor at least once and pulls something down from small tables. They let the salt crackers from the transparent bow fall and do not also refuse to fight hand in hand and try to tickle and ruffle someone’s hair.       But at some moment, Anna comes to the living room, looks at everything she sees, and gets shocked, opening her mouth slightly and staring at Terrence, Daniel, Edward, and Peter gloomily. While they do not notice her and keep thrilling with a loud laugh.       “Hey, hey, what are you doing here?” Anna asks loudly.       The men shake slightly in surprise and sharply turn on the resentful Anna.       “What did you the hell do?” Anna resents. “Look what you turned the living room into! And what you’ve become!”       Edward, Peter, Terrence, and Daniel throw the pillows aside with a quiet chuckle and little blushed faces, put their disheveled hair in order, and pull down their shirts and t-shirts raised up.       “Oh, Anna, you’re here?” Daniel smiles innocently. “I kind of forgot about you…”       “And what does it mean?” Anna asks gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest. “Don’t you wanna say anything? Huh, guys? Perkins? Rose? MacClifes?”       While Edward, Edward, Peter, and Daniel look at each other with shy laughter and do not miss a chance to push someone slightly, Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene return to the hospital and do not also like what the men did, opening their mouths in surprise after looking at everything they see.       “My gosh…” Helene laughs shyly. “I thought hippos or elephants were running here. But our boys just felt bored. And decided to destroy half of the living room.”       “Yeah, we’re right when we say these idiots must not be alone,” Natalia shakes her head.       “Girls, you just look what they did!” Anna resents and claps herself on the forehead. “God, why did we leave them here?”       “Listen, guys, do you have nothing to do?” Raquelle wonders. “What did you do that almost all the tables are turned down, and things are lying on the floor?”       “No, they are chuckling!” Anna exclaims, seeing Daniel, Edward, and Terrence cannot stop laughing. “Stop smiling, idiots! We’re talking with you! When you come together, you immediately become stupid!”       “Listen, guys, you look like four scarecrows,” Helene laughs shyly, closing her mouth with a hand. “With these hairstyles.”       “Oh, yeah, the hair is gorgeous,” Natalia chuckles. “The fans of ‘Against The System’ would be delighted if they saw these wonderful creatures like this.”       “Listen, guys…” Terrence pronounces with a laugh. “I kind of forgot about our girls.”       “Oh, yeah, I got a little dumbfounded when I saw them,” Daniel says with a wide smile. “There had been nobody, but at first Anna showed up, and then Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene did.”       “Beauties, where have you been?” Edward asks with an innocent smile. “I don’t get it…”       “Yes, girls!” Peter says. “We were sitting here quietly, and then you showed up. Suddenly. I started to think you weren’t here. But then such a nice surprise.”       The men start laughing a little louder than before, not being able to calm down. Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia look at each other, put their hands on their waists and stare at Edward, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter.       “Stop laughing!” Natalia, Raquelle, Helene and Anna exclaim.       “You don’t even have to drink to turn your brains off,” Natalia says confidently. “You just need to come together and give a little reason.”       “We left only for a few seconds, but you did nobody knows what,” Raquelle resents.       “Thank you for at least not letting our coats fall on the floor,” Helene adds, glancing at the coats and purses still lying on the sofa.       “Actually, we wanted men to take care of us,” Natalia says confidently. “Not us to take care of little, rebel babies. Who could literally get a pacifier and a bottle of milk.”       “We are men!” Terrence, Daniel, Edward, and Peter protest funnily at the same time.       “You are children!” Raquelle exclaims. “Just children.”       “So, why do you stare at us as if you understand nothing?” Helene wonders. “Will you keep laughing like idiots?”       “Yes, girls, may they clean everything,” Anna suggests confidently. “Since they started this mess, they must get rid of it. I’m gonna touch nothing!”       “That’s fair!” Natalia agrees. “They should clean where they leave a mess.”       “C’mon, lads, put the living room in order with the same wide smiles and jokes, with which you threw these things on the floor,” Raquelle encourages.       “Hey, you just look at them!” Anna resents, shaking her head with her hands put on her hips. “They keep smiling. Stop, guys, jokes are over! Put everything in order immediately!”       “So, will we have to wait long?” Helene wonders and starts wrapping a strand of her hair around her finger. “No, of course, we don’t rush… You can be laughing and looking at us like stupid idiots even ‘till the night. So…”       “Alright! Calm down quickly and start cleaning! Put everything in the right places and move this cracker off the table!” Anna claps her hands quietly. “Come on, come on, handsome guys, move!”       While Anna, Raquelle, Natalia, and Helene look at the men with innocent smiles, Terrence, Peter, Daniel, and Edward look at each other and do not rush to put the living room to order, still chuckling quietly and definitely wishing to keep having fun.       “So, guys…” Daniel says confidently with a mysterious smile and his head proudly raised. “Since you made a mess at my home, you’ll have to clean it up.”       “Aha, why do we have to clean it?” Edward resents. “You turned this place into nobody knows what, and you want us to clean it all for you.”       “Yes, I actually came here to spend a cool time, not to become a cleaning man,” Terrence says confidently.       “Huh, he thinks just because we’re his friends, we must clean this fucking house,” Peter adds, putting his hands on his hips. “What you want, though! He’s a snob that’s never cared about clearness at his home.”       “Faster, guys,” Daniel smiles innocently. “Otherwise, I’ll give a mop to all of you, and you’ll clean all the floors at my house. Well, I’ll stay here with our gorgeous girls and watch you. For me, it will be an honor to be surrounded by such attractive beauties.”       “No, my dear, no concessions!” Anna says confidently. “You’ll clean it all along with the others!”       “Hey, why should I clean it?” Daniel wonders and points at Peter, Terrence, and Edward. “They started it all! I was sitting here quietly and eating crackers, but then our unbearable MacClife brothers started to fight. And the blond joined them.”       “Yes, yes, we saw how you were sitting quietly.”       “They made me! I swear, I don’t have to do with that!”       “I don’t care who started and who ended. You all will be cleaning up this mess. And until everything is put in order, none of you will leave.”       “Maybe, I don’t do it?” Peter smiles innocently, looking at Anna with pity in his eyes. “I recently left the hospital. I’m still weak… Pity me, friend. You’re good and kind. Would you dare to make the sick man work?”       “We saw how weak and sick you were.”       “But, Anna…”       “I said everything!”       “I don’t actually care about the business of this trio,” Edward says confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was sitting quietly and eating delicious crackers. So, I may not clean it up, ‘cause I wasn’t the one to make this mess.”       “And I am Terrence MacClife!” Terrence says proudly. “Such a unique man like me can’t be a cleaning man or a servant!”       “In short, our unique MacClifes, Rose and Perkins, you have two minutes to clean this place,” Anna orders loudly and confidently. “All together!”       “Please, Anna,” Daniel pronounces in a lower, nice voice with a mysterious smile, comes to Anna confidently, and caresses her cheek tenderly. “Don’t be so harsh to me…”       “It won’t work, pretty boy. Don’t try.”       “Beautiful…” Daniel runs her fingertips slowly over the skin on Anna’s head, not stopping to smile tenderly and look into her eyes. “Could such a sweet girl be severe? Why does your boyfriend have to fix the mistakes of other people, who almost ruined the love place of you and me?”       “So, put this love place to order.”       “But, princess…”       “Go to work,” Anna says with a sly smile, moves Daniel’s hand off her face softly, and caresses his cheek tenderly. “Leave no dust after all of this.”       Anna turns around with her head proudly raised and comes to Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene confidently, while Daniel is standing a little discouraged with his mouth slightly open, and Terrence, Peter, and Edward chuckle quietly.       “Did you hear what your girlfriend told you?” Terrence asks through a laugh. “You can’t avoid it!”       “Okay, but you three will be doing a bigger part of the work,” Daniel says with his head proudly raised with a sly smile.       “Don’t try to be lazy!” Natalia exclaims. “You’re gonna be cleaning it obediently.”       “That’s right, Blondie,” Edward replies with a smug, wide smile, comes to Natalia proudly, and caresses her head and cheek tenderly. “That’s my girl!”       “Hey, you’ll show tenderness after you finish the cleaning,” Natalia moves Edward’s hand off her face, looking into his eyes with a sly smile. “You got it?”       “Hey, what do I have to do with it? They destroy everything, but I have to pay for that!”       “Faster, sweetie.” Natalia caresses Edward’s cheek and slaps him on the nose with a finger playfully. “A 180-degree turn and go!”       “Excellent, the fuck!” Edward throws his hands up, shakes slightly after Natalia claps him on his buttocks, and sharply moves his eyes to Peter and Terrence laughing quietly. “Stop laughing, idiots! You mess up the fuck everything, but I’ve gotta pay!”       “Ah, guys, you can’t talk to girls,” Terrence says confidently, comes to Raquelle proudly, and hugs her around the waist. “My cutie does anything I ask her about, without any questions. She will obviously allow me not to clean after you.”       “Ah, Terrence…” Raquelle shakes her head with a slight smile. “My sweetie… Of course… No!”       Raquelle steps back from Terrence and turns on him sharply.       “Wide smile on your face and go – to put everything in the right places.”       Edward, Daniel, and Peter start laughing quietly, and Terrence throws a resented look at them.       “Yay, MacClife, you puffed your tail for nothing,” Daniel laughs quietly.       “Okay, I will not even try to come to you,” Peter raises his hands up, addressing Helene. “Because the same is waiting for me.”       “At least one clever guy,” Helene smiles slightly. “Good, Rose, good boy.”       “Alright, stop talking!” Anna exclaims confidently. “We give you two minutes to put the living room in order. Nobody will leave until this place is perfectly clean! Guys, who I’m saying! Begin!”       Daniel, Terrence, Peter, and Edward sigh quietly or moan. They have to do nothing but calm down and start placing the tables, taking the things from the floor, and putting everything in the right places. Meanwhile, Raquelle, Natalia, Helene, and Anna watch them with sly smiles and their arms crossed over their chests. They cannot hide a laugh when seeing how the guys start laughing again and slightly push each other or say something.       “Yeah…” Raquelle exhales slowly. “I thought Terrence was a serious man… But he’s actually still a child. If he finds the right company, he shows himself.”       “And I thought Edward was such an idiot only with his brother,” Natalia replies thoughtfully. “I thought he was also serious, but now MacClife is acting like a child.”       “But Daniel and Peter don't surprise me,” Anna chuckles quietly. “Those two have always acted like idiots when spending time together.”       “You know, girls, I’m kind of afraid to let this company go in public,” Helene confesses. “When the guys are back to work and start to attend some events, they won’t miss a chance to mock each other and show everyone that they’re idiots.”       “Oh, yeah, I’m afraid, too… If these four come together, we can expect anything.”       “People are right when they say who you hang out with is who you become,” Natalia says thoughtfully.       “Gosh, they laugh and mock each other even now,” Helene shakes her head, seeing how Edward takes a thing from the floor and starts scaring Terrence, Daniel, and Peter, who run aside like boiled with quiet squeaks.       “Gosh, they’re gonna work as a band…” Raquelle sighs with tiredness. “The guys can’t even clean it up well, but they’re gonna write songs and play shows.”       “C’mon, girls, let these pretty boys relax,” Natalia says with a slight smile. “They need to have some fun. We’ve all suffered enough lately.”       “I think you’re right, friend. May the boys have fun. They deserve it. Of course, the guys look a little stupid, but their happy faces are worth much.”       “Agree,” Anna agrees. “Okay, may they have fun. But at first, they should clean everything here. And then they may have fun.”       “Oh, yeah, until they make a mess again,” Helene laughs shyly.       Silence settles in the air for some time, during which the girls keep watching the man put the living room in order but find time to beat each other with pillows, strike down for fun, push, and scare each other somehow.       “I don’t even know what I’d do if I was a boy: joining them or getting out as far as possible,” Anna says thoughtfully, putting a finger on her lip.       “Active, active!” Natalia encourages funnily. “More sex, boys, more sex! Don’t be logs!”       These words make the men thrill with a loud laugh.       “C’mon, c’mon, show us a passion!” Anna exclaims with a laugh. “Where are your emotions? Where are your feelings? You should clean it up with a wide smile on your face!”       “Hey, why are you like snails?” Raquelle chuckles. “Faster! Funnier! We wanna see the fire in your eyes!”       “Ah, boys, how handsome you are while cleaning!” Helene laughs shyly. “And you’d look much better with mops, vacuum cleaners, and doormats much better. And if you take your shirts off… M-m-m… We could picture you and publish photos on the Internet to make your fans happy.”       The girls keep laughing shyly and joking at the men, who keep thrilling with a laugh and mocking each other in all possible ways.       “Listen, let’s leave alone?” Raquelle suggests. “May the boys have fun.”       “I’m ready to bet that they run to us if we leave,” Anna replies confidently. “And we wouldn’t notice how these idiots will get us involved in their game.”       “Who said we couldn’t join?” Natalia smiles mysteriously. “We can show off a little and pretend that they wouldn’t take us easily, and then join.”       “Great idea,” Helene smiles mysteriously. “Let’s pretend that we’re mad at them for not telling me about you and you about me, and then forgive them.”       “I agree,” Raquelle says confidently.       “Me too!” Natalia exclaims happily.       The girls laugh quietly and slowly go to the exit from the house, glancing at the men, who are sitting on the floor near the sofa. And when they are a few steps back from the hall door, Edward notices it, coughs the way he can, and claps Peter, Terrence, and Daniel on the hand or a shoulder, saying in a little hoarse voice:       “Hey, hey, slow down, guys! The girls are gonna leave us!”       Terrence, Daniel, and Peter instantly stop fighting with each other with a quiet laugh and a heavy breath and move their eyes to Raquelle, Helene, Anna, and Natalia chuckling sometimes and slowly going to the hall door.       “Ha, fine!” Daniel resents and clears his throat, which hurts slightly after a loud laugh. “At first, they mocked us and then decided to get out!”       “Yeah, how did they dare?” Terrence agrees.       “No, no, men, it’s wrong!” Peter jabs confidently. “We must teach these cuties and tame them.”       “Oh, I’ll do it with great pleasure!” Edward replies funnily, lying on the floor with his hand placed above his head and breathing a little heavily. “Next time, they’ll think before laughing at us.”       “They want sexuality!” Peter clears his throat. “With a mop and a vacuum cleaner in the hands!”       “Aha, emotions, passion, and feelings…”       The men start thrilling with a loud laugh again.       “Listen, let’s get them involved in our game softly?” Daniel asks with a sly smile, leaning on the floor with a hand and keeping his weight on it. “But it doesn’t mean we’d give them a right to do anything to us. We can play with them.”       “M-m-m, Perkins, you’ve come up with a genius idea!” Terrence smiles widely.       “Aha, but we must be careful with these cuties,” Peter laughs shyly. “If you distract a little, you’ll become their victim and get cruelly beaten by a pillow.”       “Oh, c’mon, Rose!” Edward chuckles and gets up slowly, bending his legs to his knees. “You must caress and warm up a girl, and then you can do anything to her. And she’ll do nothing to you. It’s just like sex: she’ll be ready to give herself to you after you caress and warm her up.”       “Oh, our kid is experienced,” Daniel chuckles. “As if he’s fucked hundreds of girls and got a great experience.”       “But he says very right things,” Terrence smiles mysteriously, letting his hands down from his legs bent at his knees, and coughs quietly. “Hey, Dan, you and I calmed Anna and Raquelle so well when they were jealous of Helene and us. So, why don’t we do it again?”       “How can I refuse to caress a beautiful girl?” Daniel rolls his eyes with a wide smile.       “Okay, deal!” Peter exclaims confidently. “Caress our cats and get them involved in our game.”       “Deal!” Edward clicks his fingers. “So, gang, come on?”       Terrence, Peter, Daniel, and Edward nod slightly with sly smiles and get up quickly. And because Rose and MacClife, Sr., do it a little earlier, they help Perkins and MacClife, Jr., taking their hands tightly and pulling them up. None of them put their hair in order and shake the dirt off their clothes. Everybody comes to the girls that are about to leave. And while his friends and brother are busy with their sweethearts, Terrence creeps to Raquelle from behind and hugs her, putting one arm around her waist and another around her neck.       “How far are you gonna, beautiful?” Terrence asks softly.       “The girls and I wanted to leave you and the guys and give you a chance to have fun,” Raquelle replies with a shy smile.       “We won’t mind if you join us.”       “Sorry, sweetie, we aren’t gonna become the same idiots as you.”       “Don’t say it, sweetheart.” Terrence kisses Raquelle cutely on the cheek and rubs his cheek against the top of her head. “What’s wrong with the fact that the guys and I had some fun?”       “Nothing. You just looked hilarious. Adult men behave like little children.”       “And what? I see nothing bad about it!”       “Me too, but…”       “C’mon, Raquelle, relax. We wanted to have fun and get pleasure. I think we deserved some rest after all the terrible events.”       “Yeah?” Raquelle turns on Terrence and sees the man with a blushed face, a sly smile, and disheveled hair. “I doubt that you and the guys would relax. Because we are all mad at you for saying nothing to us about Peter’s girlfriend.”       “Yeah, we did a stupid thing – our blame. But now you know everything and can stop being jealous of us and her.”       “Maybe, we will do it.” Raquelle smiles mysteriously and caresses Terrence’s cheeks tenderly with both hands. “But you’ll have to apologize to me for a long time. I ain’t gonna forgive you so easily.”       “Come on, babe!” Terrence purrs quietly with a slight smile, runs his hand over Raquelle’s cheek, and touches tenderly the curve of her neck with his fingertips. “How couldn’t you forgive such an incredible man like me? That’s just resentful!”       “Don’t try, handsome guy, you won’t take me so easily this time. You can kiss me and feel me up, but I will not forget that you dared to do that.”       “C’mon, don’t exaggerate everything. Nothing bad happened. And we gave you a chance to meet Helene.”       “But you shouldn’t have kept a secret about the personality of the blond’s girlfriend.”       “Hey, stop being mad,” Terrence grabs Raquelle’s head and kisses her cutely on the forehead. “Of course, you’re fucking gorgeous in anger, but you seem cute when being quiet.”       “Erm…” Raquelle bites her lip slightly and smiles slyly and widely. “There’s something that could help you get my mercy…”       “You wanna go somewhere and do something nice to me?” Terrence looks forward in a low, quiet voice with a wide smile.       “No, filthy male, you’ll wait ‘till tonight. And now I just wanna beat you enough. Tying you up would be the best punishment, but you’ll get it a little later.”       “I’m all yours, baby. Do anything you want to me.”       “Absolutely anything?”       “Yes.”       “Okay. Then don’t whine and complain.”       With these words, Raquelle takes Terrence aside, playfully clapping him on the buttocks on the way and noticing that he immediately gets blushed and smiles much wider. Meanwhile, Daniel comes to Anna from behind, takes her by the shoulders tightly but tenderly, takes her to another side of the living room, and turns the girl on himself. Then the girl can see the blushed face of the man and his hair stuck on different sides, feeling how heavily he is breathing.       “You’re leaving, princess?” Daniel wonders.       “Leaving,” Anna says softly. “Maybe, far. Maybe, for long.”       “And leave me alone?”       “Actually, you feel good. You’ve got a great company, with which you become an idiot.”       “They hurt me,” Daniel pouts, looking at Anna with pity in his eyes, and wraps a strand of Anna’s hair slowly around his finger. “These idiots agreed against me and mocked me all together.”       “You can hurt anyone!”       “Not true. I’m a very good and sweet boy! I’ve always been obedient and kind.”       “And insolent and shameless.”       “Why do you think so, sweetheart?” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheek tenderly and touches her earlobes with his fingertips. “You know I’m not the one.”       “Yeah, but what about being silent about who Peter’s girlfriend was?”       “But now you know everything.”       “The girls and I are mad at you.” Anna steps back from Daniel softly. “For your wish to make a great secret out of it.”       “Nobody tried to make it a secret. It just happened. We didn’t think it would end so.”       “Oh, yeah. Would your tongue have stopped working if you’d told us?”       “C’mon, beauty, why did you decide to become bad again?” Daniel caresses Anna’s cheeks with both hands. “Or do you want me to use my favorite way to calm you down?”       “Not this time. I will not react.”       “Come on!” Daniel smiles widely and slyly.       “Exactly! So, don’t hope you’ll get what you want by feeling me up and kissing.”       “Pretending to be hard to reach?” Daniel chuckles, kisses Anna on the cheek cutely, and brings his face to her ear, which he barely touches with his lips. “What if I try?”       “You can’t,” Anna replies confidently, steps back from Daniel softly, and fixes the collar of his shirt with short sleeves, looking at him with a sly smile on her face. “You’ll have to deserve a chance to caress me.”       “Am I behaving badly?”       “Very badly. Terribly. You didn’t tell me the secret and made a mess here.”       “But the guys and I did everything that the girls and you wanted. Look, everything is clear, and the things are put in the right places.”       “And you looked so funny at that moment. We barely held down a wish to take a photo of you and post it on the Internet, so your band’s fans admire.”       “Oh, how bad our girls are.” Daniel caresses Anna’s head and caresses the nape of her neck tenderly with his fingertips. “You mocked us and wanted to post a photo.”       “What did you expect?” Anna wonders with a playful smile. “Bad boys can’t have good girls. They become bad and do what they don’t usually do, early or late.”       “Aw, you’re my bad girl,” Daniel growls quietly with enjoyment, while his eyes examine Anna’s face. “Wait, baby, when we stay alone, I’ll surely deal with you.”       “But at first, I’ll deal with you.” Anna caresses Daniel’s cheeks with both hands and then puts them on his chest. “You’ll have to pay for being so silent and trying to close my mouth with kisses.”       “Purr-r, I can repeat it with great pleasure…” Daniel tenderly touches the area behind Anna’s ear with his lips with a wide smile and wants to slide down to the curve of her neck.       “Not this time!” Anna says confidently and steps back from Daniel. “We’ll be playing by my rules. And as a punishment, I’m going to beat you with a pillow. And tonight, I’ll put you under a much more unbearable but very sweet torture. I shall see how long you will take it.”       “M-m-m, sounds very good…”       “But it will happen later. Something different is waiting for you.”       “Although I’ve been beaten strongly with pillows, I would take a little bit more for such a beautiful girl. Such an incredible beauty is worth all the terrible tortures and sufferings.”       “Excellent then. Good boy. Good…”       Anna takes Daniel aside, taking one of the pillows from the sofa and looking forward to mocking the man. Meanwhile, Peter slowly comes to Helene, hugs her around the shoulders, and presses her to himself.       “I see you wanna leave me for those idiots…” Peter says with a slight smile in a quiet, low voice, softly turns Helene on himself, and puts his arms around her waist. “Yes, sweetie?”       “You feel good with these idiots,” Helene laughs shyly. “You were running after them like crazy! As if you weren’t at the hospital!”       “They made me! I was sitting quietly and eating crackers, but the guys got me involved in their game.”       “Oh, yeah, I believed it.”       “It’s the truth, Helene. I told them I was still weak, but they didn’t listen.”       “Gosh, Rose, why are you weak if you were running here like a hurricane?” Helene shakes her head, caresses Peter’s cheek tenderly, and puts her hands on his chest. “We all saw it.”       “Come on! What’s wrong with it? I had fun! You know how much I missed these moments. And now I have fun to the fullest.”       “Who would’ve doubted it!”       “And while they’re dealing with the girls, I don’t mind having some fun with you.” Peter kisses Helene cutely on the cheek and the temple, making her smile shyly.       “M-m-m, wanna have fun again?”       “Again,” Peter pronounces confidently, while his hands slide over Helene’s back up and down. “Again, again, again.”       “Did you forget you were literally disappointed in me when you heard about my conflict with the girls?”       “Didn’t do,” Peter says a little gloomily. “But after talking to the guys, I thought I’d better give you a chance to prove that I wouldn’t be betrayed so cruelly.”       “You can completely trust me, sweetie. I’ll never do such a terrible thing to you and leave you. It would be too mean for me. Especially, after many years of hiding my feelings.”       “I understand why you did it. Understand that you didn’t wanna become a victim. And nobody can understand the one to start it all. If Ashley, or what’s her name, was instead of you, I’d hardly forgive her.”       “But I’m not Ashley. I’m different. That girl was never my friend. Jessica became the first one to prove that she could be a true friend.”       “You know well how much I don’t want what I had to experience to happen to me again. I don’t wanna torture myself and make others worry. Never…”       Peter does not say his thought because Helene puts two fingers softly on his lips, shushing very quietly as if she asks him to fall into silence.       “No,” Helene pronounces softly. “Please, don’t remember everything that happened. It will always be your past. Not the present that will be better thanks to the support of your close people.”       “Without the help, care, and support of my close people, I would’ve hardly understood that life wouldn’t stop after what happened at school. After that event, I withdrew into myself much more and locked my heart away, letting nobody get into my soul.”       “I promise we’ll always be by your side,” Helene promises confidently and runs her hands through Peter’s little disheveled hair, squeezing and pulling it tenderly. “You can count on any one of us.”       “I know,” Peter smiles shyly.       “And you can especially count on me. You know I’m ready for anything for you. Just say what you want, and I’ll do it.”       “You’ve always been too nice to me.”       “Be sure that I’d become a part of the collective and befriend the guys. Prove that you shouldn’t be afraid of me because of my mistakes of the past.”       “Hey, as I see, Raquelle, Anna, and Natalia forgave you.”       “Yes, I explained everything and asked the girls for forgiveness, saying that I had always treated them well, despite nothing. Well, they said they weren’t mad at me and gave me a chance.”       “I’m very glad,” Peter smiles slightly and caresses Helene’s cheek tenderly. “The girls are very good. You’ll quickly get on well with them.”       “It would be great,” Helene says shyly. “But the most important thing is that you aren’t mad at me and don’t reject me because of the fear that I’d betray you.”       “It’s okay, my sweetheart. Let’s not talk about it. If the girls forgave you and gave you a chance, there’s no point in talking about it. Moreover, I don’t have to do with your conflict. It’s only related to you four, and you should’ve solved it.”       “Don’t worry, Peter, we talked about everything.”       “I definitely feel a relief.”       Helene smiles much wider and takes Peter in a touching, tender hug, to which he answers with pleasure, putting his hands on her back and caressing her head with one of them, while she runs her fingers through his soft wheat-blond hair. A few seconds later, they step away, and the girl smiles slyly, putting a finger on her lip. The man glances aside and sees the girls beating their men with pillows and running after them in the whole living room with a happy whoop.       “Yes, yes, the girls and I decided to punish you for not telling us about each other and making a mess,” Helene says confidently.       “Yeah, poor guys,” Peter chuckles shyly. “Well, okay, may they run. C’mon, girls, beat them well!”       “You think you don’t have to do with it?”       “But wouldn’t you do that?” Peter runs the back of his hand over Helene’s cheek and his fingers through her hair at the root. “Just because I was released from the hospital doesn’t mean I’m healthy.”       “Are you always gonna excuse yourself in this way?”       “Now everybody should treat me very tenderly and carefully. What did Lewis tell you? You should take care of me!”       “But he didn’t ban us from beating you with a pillow and making you run in the whole living room. Moreover, you’re kind of guilty.”       “Not true! The guys did bad things! May they answer for it.”       “Don’t be insolent, Rose. And don’t forget that all for one and one for all. If one gets wrong, they pay along with those, who surround him or her.”       “But, Helene…”       “Alright, blond, calm down, I'm gonna deal with you.” Helene chuckles and claps Peter on his nose with a finger playfully. “But don’t worry, I won’t punish you too cruelly. The girls started to plan revenge and are gonna kick the asses of the lads, but I’ll be softer to you.”       “M-m-m, how it’s nice…” Peter purrs with a wide smile and rubs the tip of his nose against Helene’s nose, putting his arms around her waist. “How it’s nice when someone gives you privileges…”       “And it’s much nicer to be a little mean and playful.”       Peter does not realize how Helene takes a pillow from the sofa, next to which she is standing, and gives him a strong hit. He winces slightly, but takes another pillow later and hits the girl’s back slightly. A pillow war starts between them. The girl beats the man with happy whoops, and he answers back and unsuccessfully tries to touch her hair and ruffle it a little. But she does not let him do it and ruffles his hairstyle, which already lost its original sharpness.       When all the men came to the girls, Edward creeps slowly to Natalia from behind and hugs her around the shoulders with both arms. The girl smiles widely with the feeling of the warmth that her beloved man’s body is spreading.       “Where are you going?” Edward asks softly with a shy smile. “How far is my shoot of the bright sun gonna go?”       “The shoot of the bright sun is still here and isn’t gonna leave,” Natalia smiles cutely.       “M-m-m… I started to think you wanted to leave me.”       “You feel good with the lads. You agreed with them so well and behave in the same way they do.”       “Ha, I can barely deal with those idiots. I can keep my brother on a short leash somehow, but doing this to those two fools is much harder.”       “Oh, MacClife, you’re so sly,” Natalia smiles slyly. “Terrence is right when he says we must not believe you, ‘cause you just pretend to be an innocent angel.”       “Listen to that storyteller more.” Edward tenderly kisses Natalia on the cheek and rubs the tip of his nose against it, while his arms are wrapped around her waist. “I’m much better than those three bandits. The most innocent and shyest one.”       “When you’re with those people, you can’t be called the one.”       “Okay, I don’t deny that I don’t mind playing a little and kicking their asses. The boys went out of control. I hope the girls beat them enough. A little shake-up would be good for them.”       “Aw, my playful kitty,” Natalia pronounces with tender feelings and runs the back of her hand over Edward’s cheek, while he closes his eyes with a wide smile. “You wanted to play…”       “Didn’t I deserve it?”       “Of course, you did, sweetheart. You deserve something good like nobody else.”       “Then what’s wrong with the fact that I play with the guys? And how can I miss a chance to mock my brother?”       “So, that’s why I’m gonna leave you here. The guys and you got so busy with a fight that you almost forgot me and the girls.”       “No, don’t leave me.” Edward puts his arms around Natalia’s waist and puts his hands on her buttocks. “Of course, foolish friends and bro are cool. But it would be much worse without my beloved girl.”       “Aw…” Natalia turns to Edward and looks at him with a tender smile, softly taking him by the forearms. “You know that I’d be happy to spend all my time with you. But I can’t literally tie you up to me and limit your pastime with fellows.”       “Nevertheless, I’m always with you.” Edward takes a gilded pendant in the form of the letter “N” on Natalia’s neck. “Even if I’m far away, a part of me will always be with you. Thanks to this thing. That I was picking up with a special love.”       “I know. But it would be much better if I saw and felt your pretense. If I knew you were near me.”       “Sure, sweetheart.”       Natalia smiles shyly and kisses Edward cutely on the cheek and hugs him tightly, putting her arms around his neck, while he runs the tip of his nose over her golden hair beautifully falling down from her shoulders and back.       “Hey, I’d be very happy if you joined this fun,” Edward says softly. “I mean, I insist upon it. I don’t want you to stand aside and feel bored, while everybody has fun.”       “Don’t worry, handsome, I have some plans for you, as well,” Natalia replies confidently with a mysterious smile, steps back from Edward, and starts playing with his open platted shirt. “Don’t think you’ll avoid the explanations for your not very good behavior.”       “I behave well.”       “Come on! You made a mess here along with the guys and said nothing about Peter’s girlfriend.”       “I ask you not to get me involved in the business that I don’t have to do with. Those guys planned something about Peter’s girlfriend, and I just met Helene.” Edward smiles slyly. “Well, a mess is also their job.”       “Yeah, don’t say you were sitting quietly and eating crackers.”       “It happened,” Edward smiles innocently. “Terrence started mocking me and didn’t let me eat. So, I had to kick his ass. And then I had to wash the brains of Daniel and Peter because they started to hurt me, as well. They made me do it! I’m guilty of nothing!”       “Do you think i’ll believe you? Of course, you speak very beautifully and have a charming voice. But it won’t work for me this time. I will not listen open-mouthed.”       “C’mon, my girl.” Edward caresses Natalia’s face with his warm hands. “How could such a sweet and beautiful girl be bad? You agreed with your friends?”       “Me? Friends?” Natalia opens her eyes widely and laughs shyly. “Don’t make me laugh, Edward, please.”       “What if you think better…” Edward pronounces in a lower, quiet voice, running the fingertips of his hands over the curves of Natalia’s neck and the nap of it. “We can expect anything from you, sly foxes. Moreover, you smiled and laughed so cutely while standing all together aside. And you mocked us so well, while the guys and I were cleaning this place.”       “We just encouraged you. And I think we did it so well. Though, you weren’t as sexy as we wanted.”       “Okay, okay, we’ll remember. While the guys are dealing with those beauties, I’ll deal with you. You aren’t behaving like a good girl.”       “Aha, we’ll see who will deal! I’ll start beating you with pillows strongly!” Natalia glances at Terrence, who is trying to hide somewhere from Raquelle, who is beating him with a pillow with no mercy. “Look, your brother doesn’t know where to hide from my friend. See what’s waiting for you in the nearest five or ten minutes.”       “Terrence is getting kicked for the reason. And I’m guilty of nothing, and I could get something nice from my gorgeous blonde.”       “You’ll feel nice now. I promise. Although it’s just a pillow, I’ll be beating you strongly. No bruises, but your hair will lose its form.”       “Please, Natalia, don’t do this to me,” Edward begs quietly, looking at Natalia with pity in his eyes, presses her close to himself, and puts his hands on the curve of her waist. “You’re my good girl. Who looks stunning today. I didn’t know a black color fits you so well. You’re just a dolly in this gorgeous blouse.”       “Hey, don’t try to palaver me!” Natalia says confidently and softly grabs Edward by the chin. “No mercy! Don't even hope!”       “So, not at all?” Edward raises shyly the edge of Natalia’s transparent blouse and her black tube top and runs his fingertips tenderly over a little naked part of the smell of her back.       “No, my sunshine.”       “I can give a damn that there are many curious people here and caress you a little,” Edward purrs, caressing Natalia’s head and letting his fingers through the silk strands of her hair. “The way I can do it.”       “Of course, it sounds very good…” Natalia rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t mind it…”       “Then let’s go to a secret side and play a little?”       “We could try,” Natalia says with a slight smile and falls into silence, keeping a look into Edward’s eyes. “But not now.”       Natalia runs to the sofa, takes a pillow, and hits Edward on his arm and back when he, being a little dumbfounded, turns aside. The man starts laughing shyly and tries to calm the girl down, but she gets a taste for it, thrilling with a quiet laugh and thinking it’s funny to watch the young guy unsuccessfully trying to avoid hits. His attempts to caress his sweetheart on the head or the cheek meet failure, and he keeps getting strong hits from the beauty, who is smiling slyly and flirts with him with her eyes. MacClife, Jr., holds on for only a few seconds. And then he takes the last pillow from the sofa and starts beating the blonde. Sometimes he teases her with funny faces or movements and makes her catch him, going backward and running in the whole living room like a hurricane.       At first, the girls were beating the men first and not letting them relax and breathe out, but everything changes later. Now they have to run after their sweethearts, who take a little revenge for laughing at them and beating them with pillows strongly. All of them feel absolutely relaxed and do not care that they look like little children. They just want to have a lot of fun and forget the bad things. While the other men run after their girls, Daniel has fun with Anna. At some moment, he takes a thick hairpin off her and smiles slyly when showing it to the girl, who is resentful that her puffy ponytail is destroyed, and her little disheveled hair falls on her shoulders and expresses her baby face beautifully.       “Hey, you destroyed my hair!” Anna resents with an open mouth. “I was making it for the whole morning!”       “C’mon, princess, you look good,” Daniel smiles slyly, wrapping the hairpin around his finger and looking at Anna tenderly, while she is literally ready to kill him with her eyes. “A beautiful girl with a cute baby face and disheveled hair like after a sleep is my perfection.”       “Give me the hairpin now!”       Anna tries to take her hairpin from Daniel, but cannot do it. When the girl reaches for a hand for her thing, the man moves his hand aside with a sly smile or raises it up, laughing shyly when seeing that she is unsuccessfully trying to jump but cannot get what was stolen because of her short height.       “Ar-r-r, hate you!” Anna growls crossly and tries to jump again. “Why are you so tail? And why am I so short?”       “You look at the tall Rose and his short girlfriend – she’s lower than you,” Daniel laughs shyly. “Or stand near MacClife, Sr., – he’s our six-foot tall column.”       “Stop palavering me! Give me my hairpin now!”       But Daniel keeps playing with Anna, raising his hand with the hairpin and laughing when she unsuccessfully tries to take her thing. But later, the girl loses her patience, grabs tightly the part of the arm that she can reach, and tries to lower it by force. The green-eyed beauty even does it – or the man just succumbs to her. She tightly grabs his wrist and tries to open his hand, in which he squeezes her hairpin tightly. But even at this moment, Perkins is not going to give up and keeps laughing for some time, not letting her take what she wants to get. And a few seconds later, Daniel presses Anna to himself and tightly hugs her from behind with a free arm, while she tries to break free, makes a quiet squeak when he slightly bites the thin and sensitive skin on the curve of her neck and unconsciously tenses her muscles when feeling how the warm hand of the man gets underneath her blouse and caresses the naked part of her belly tenderly.       However, some time later, Anna takes the hairpin from Daniel, who just decides to pity her. The girl tries to tie her hair in a beautiful tail, but cannot do it without a mirror. After watching her a little, the man decides to help and thinks of nothing better than taking a couple of middle strands on the sides and pining them on the back of her head, doing it carefully enough and giving some volume to the hair. Anna checks what she has on her head by feeling and turns to Daniel, smiling tenderly at him and getting the same answer. The man has clear admiration in his eyes and does not refuse to kiss his sweetheart on the cheek, making her blush.       The lovers share a tender gaze and a slight smile for a few seconds before they move their eyes to Edward and Natalia running in the whole living room with pillows and beating each other. At some moment, the blond shouts loudly after her boyfriend throws a pillow aside, creeps to her from behind, tightly grabs her with both arms, and tickles her neck with his nose and her belly with his fingertips. A little later, the man slips on something and falls on the sofa along with the girl, so that she falls over him with her back, and he ends up under her. Their laugh gets much funnier and louder, and they feel comfortable enough. But a few seconds later, Natalia gets off Edward and just sits next to him. He puts an arm around her neck and presses her closer to himself, while she takes his free hand. Daniel and Anna laughing shyly look at each other and sit down in front of them: the man locks his fingers on the girl’s breast, and she presses herself against him as closely as possible.       “Listen, it’s so cool!” Edward exclaims cheerfully. “I haven’t had fun for ages!”       “Agree, there wasn’t such crazy fun at my house,” Daniel agrees with a wide smile. “You, guys, all rock on.”       “Thank the men for this,” Natalia says amicably, caressing Edward’s wrist. “If not for those ringleaders, it would be silent here.”       “And our hair would be okay,” Anna laughs shyly, fixing her hair. “Someone wouldn’t try to destroy it and turn it to nobody knows what.”       “What!” Edward wonders. “I love when a girl’s hair is a little disheveled.”       “Me too,” Daniel smiles slightly. “Especially, long hair after sleep. If a girl with this hair wakes up next to you, you start to feel like home. As if you can relax.”       “That’s really very cool.”       “Yeah, that’s why you destroyed our hairstyles!” Natalia exclaims, giving her half-wavy hair some volume. “You want us to have as disheveled hair as yours.”       “Why not?” Edward smiles innocently and runs his fingers through Natalia’s hair. “What beautiful hair. No styling is needed.”       “You want your girlfriend to have the same haystack on her head as yours?” Daniel laughs shyly.       “You look at yourself in the mirror. What you’ve become.”       “Maybe… But nothing has changed about you. You’ve always had a mess in your hair.”       “I like it, you know,” Edward confesses with pride and runs his hand over his hair. “This gorgeous hair is my pride. I would never agree to shave my head and cut at least one inch.”       “Are you gonna have this nest on your head even when you turn fifty?”       “Yes. I’m gonna be a fashionable old man with gorgeous hair. And if I wear something black and leather, I’m gonna be like a rocker or biker.”       “In this case, you could easily be confused with Terrence. If you’re dressed in the same way and wearing dark glasses, nobody would know who is who.”       “No!” Natalia protests. “I will do it immediately! Even if I have bad vision! Don’t forget that they have different hairstyles, and Terrence is taller than Edward.”       “Oh, c’mon, nothing similar!” Daniel waves a hand and glances at Edward’s fringe, which closes his forehead. “MacClife, Sr., has almost the same fringe as his brother. If Edward doesn’t brush it up, he can easily work as Terrence’s understudy and take photos with his fans. Nobody would see they’re deceived ‘cause these two are too similar. Despite a two-year age difference.”       “I would see a difference,” Anna replies thoughtfully. “Yes, they’re very similar, but they’re different.”       “Terrence MacClife’s true fans would immediately notice that something was wrong,” Natalia says confidently with a slight smile. “But I don’t deny that they may easily like this pretty guy.”       “Huh, he already has an army of fans on the Internet,” Daniel chuckles kindly. “Maybe, he’d get more popular than his bro soon.”       “Don’t dare to say it to MacClife ‘cause he might have a heart attack,” Natalia says funnily. “He won’t bear it if someone takes his place of a king. Especially, if it’s gonna be his little brother.”       “He’ll be a king for just one person – for my dear and beloved Raquelle,” Edward says with a slight smile. “For others, my bro is just a man with great self-confidence.”       “Terrence would kill you if he heard it,” Anna laughs shyly.       “He won’t, friend, don’t worry. We always tell him about that.”       Daniel, Anna, and Natalia laugh quietly and fall into silence for a few seconds. After this, Perkins looks at the whole living room, seeing that it’s kind of quiet here.       “Hey, why is it quiet here?” Daniel wonders. “And where are two more couples? I don’t see MacClife and his cutie and Rose and his girlfriend, whom you, girls, constantly asked us about.”       “Erm…” Edward pronounces, biting his lip slightly, looking at the whole living room, and stopping his eyes on the hall door. “Oh! Terrence and Raquelle are standing near the hall door. Snuggling again. I mean, my brother turned on the filthy, hungry male mode.”       Daniel, Anna, and Natalia move their eyes to the hall door and see Terrence and Raquelle standing in front of each other. While the man leans on the wall with both hands, chuckles slyly, has a proud look, and says something confidently, the girl kind of flirts with him but does not let him get closer to her, no matter how hard he tries to do it.       “That’s right,” Daniel says confidently. “He’s like, ‘Hey, babe, I rule everything, and you mu obey me and do my orders!”       “I wouldn’t have thought my friend would mess up with a man with such a passionate character,” Anna confesses thoughtfully. “Despite being by far not a shy girl.”       “But trust me, dear, Raquelle doesn’t mind a spice in a relationship,” Edward says confidently. “She even lets some rudeness happen. And Terrence says that when she’s mad, it gets him excited.”       “Yeah, if Cameron hadn’t wanted to get in touch with this freaking handsome but little sick guy,” Natalia laughs shyly. “Well, if she likes it, it’s okay. We’ll be happy.”       “I’m sure your friend has always been the one,” Daniel assumes confidently. “She just had nobody to wake up a tiger inside her. And then Terrence showed up and, so to say, taught Raquelle his habits and helped her understand what could give her an unreal pleasure.”       “You know what,” Edward pronounces thoughtfully. “Sometimes I think they may even get pleasure from fights. They fight to the heck, and then the fire of passion flames and helps them get ready for a much better mood.”       “Listen, Dan, maybe, we should stop them?” Natalia suggests with anxiety. “What if they really get obsessed with such a strong passion that they’ll start doing their business right now.”       “C’mon, let’s watch them for a while,” Daniel smiles slyly. “That’s interesting.”       “Oh, gosh, I get hot from their looks at each other,” Anna confesses confidently. “People are right when they say they were made for each other.”       Natalia, Daniel, and Edward smile shyly and say nothing, still watching Terrence and Raquelle. They see the lovers saying something and looking into each other’s eyes. At some moment, the girl tries to leave with a sly smile on her face, but the man tightly grabs her by the wrists, tightly presses them to the wall, and kisses her on the lips with all the passion. She tries to break free for a few seconds, but then relaxes slowly, answering the kiss of her fiancé with pleasure.       “Oh, guys, what a passion!” Edward exclaims with a wide smile. “A little bit before they start undressing before our eyes!”       “What’s the heck happening!” Daniel wonders. “She just opened her mouth and couldn’t resist for too long.”       “Yeah, this guy really turned on the alpha male mode,” Natalia says thoughtfully.       “Cameron is right when saying MacClife is a little sick,” Anna laughs shyly.       “Ready to bet you both want to be pressed to the wall and kissed,” Daniel smiles mysteriously.       “If you do your favorite things, I may wish not only that.”       “That’s right,” Natalia smiles shyly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You, pretty guys, aren’t far from Terrence. I guess you all have a perfect teacher, who teaches you to be insolent and non-educated.”       “It’s nature, friend,” Daniel replies confidently. “When a man wants sex and finds a good partner, he always gets wild and hungry.”       “Okay, beauties, don’t worry,” Edward says with a mysterious smile, hugs Natalia tightly with both arms, and caresses her head. “We’ll do something like this. But I’m gonna do this in private. Because I’m not as shameless and insolent as Terrence.”       “Huh, what kind of shyness the one, who walked naked in front of cameras and imitated wild sex with young girls all day long, may have,” Daniel chuckles. “I’m sure he took pleasure from bed scenes, and he watches them often to admire his body.”       “Said by the one, who could easily walk in the house without underwear,” Anna laughs shyly.       “When the body is beautiful, it’s a sin to hide it.”       “You know, mine is perfect, too,” Edward says with pride. “When I’m shirtless, girls do fall at my feet.”       “Gosh, why do all men love praising themselves?” Natalia sighs with a slight smile. “Even the shyest and most decent guys don’t mind praising something!”       “If you don’t praise yourself, nobody will do it,” Anna shrugs.       While Anna and Natalia laugh shyly, Daniel and Edward say nothing and just look at each other and roll their eyes with mysterious smiles.       “Oh, okay!” Daniel waves a hand. “Let’s leave these walking sex machines alone! You better tell me where Peter and Helene are. Did they decide to have sex after barely starting to date?”       “I recently saw them running in the living room with pillows,” Anna replies thoughtfully.       “And Peter ran into me once,” Edward adds. “I didn’t see the blond later.”       “There are not Peter and Helene and the pillows that they stole,” Natalia says quietly.       Daniel glances at the pillows that are placed next to Edward and Natalia.       “Hey, where did these two take my pillows?” Daniel frowns slightly and looks around the whole living room. “I see two pillows lying on the floor not far from Raquelle and Terrence. Two more are here. Two more are not far from the kitchen. And where are two more?”       “Calm down, Daniel,” Anna says softly, glancing at the doors leading to the bathroom. “Those pillows are there. Where the door to the bathroom is. And I see Peter and Helene. They’re… Erm… Snuggling…”       Daniel sharply moves his eyes to where Anna looks and sees the pillows lying on the floor and Peter and Helene. The blond smiling shyly is pressing his back and one leg to the wall and hugging his sweetheart by the waist. And the girl says something to him with a shy smile on her face, pressing herself to him tightly, keeping her arms around his neck, and stroking his soft wheat-blond hair. But a few seconds later, everybody in the living room sees that Peter puts his hand softly on Helene’s cheek and gets her involved in a cute kiss, to which she answers with pleasure.       “Oh, shit…” Daniel moans quietly. “Another kissing couple at my house! Don’t dare to undress, guys. I don’t have so many rooms for everybody. And bathrooms.”       “Don’t worry, honey, they won’t do this at the nearest time,” Anna replies confidently, taking Daniel by his arm with both arms and not hiding her smile, as she watches the kissing Helene and Peter. “The blond should find the courage to do this. Well… Or Marshall’s grandmother would mind sex before the wedding.”       “Everything is very shy about these two,” Edward notices with a slight smile. “Rose isn’t as shameless and insolent as my bro.”       “Agree,” Daniel agrees. “And I must confess that they fit each other well.”       “You’re right,” Natalia pronounces with a slight smile.       “I think it would be wrong not to give a chance to that girl,” Edward says thoughtfully.       “Helene is actually fine, she was just afraid to get into problems,” Anna confesses. “Of course, I’m very sorry for my friends, but Marshall did nothing bad to me.”       “That’s good she recognizes her mistakes,” Natalia says confidently. “I think Helene is really good. At least, now we see quite a kind and sweet girl. She is worried about Peter like a chicken about an egg… She’d hardly love to know what happens to him if this girl was indifferent to him.”       “No, girls, don’t worry,” Daniel shakes his head. “Helene is a good girl. She’s always been very nice to Terrence and me, and she was truly worried about Peter. I feel no discomfort when talking to her.”       “And I find her good,” Edward says thoughtfully. “She has nothing that could push us off. And I don’t think Peter would befriend and fall in love with a bad girl. He’s done with the mistakes of the past.”       “No, no, we may expect nothing like that from her.”       “Oh, if only Helene didn’t leave Peter,” Anna sighs with sadness in her eyes. “If it happens, he will break down again. And in this case, we’ll hardly save him.”       “We won’t let him do it. Peter knows that he can always count on us. And I personally think we’re doing this mission very well.”       “Nevertheless, even if he seems to be happy now, Peter has to take a very long way,” Edward says confidently. “This kind of psychological trauma requires special attention. Many months and years may be gone before it stops letting him know about it.”       “I think some progress is clear.” Daniel glances at Peter, who is saying something to Helene, holding her face in his hands, and rubbing the tip of his nose against her nose. “The blond became less withdrawn, and he talks about what he feels openly. He doubted Helene’s decency and said it.”       “Anyway, guys, you’re doing a great job,” Natalia says confidently with a slight smile.       “Yeah, knowing how you were thrilling with a laugh,” Anna laughs shyly.       “We’re trying, beauties,” Edward says amicably.       Natalia and Anna smile shyly and press themselves close to Edward and Daniel. And a few seconds later, Terrence and Raquelle come to them, smiling widely and embracing each other: the man keeps his arm around the girl’s neck and presses her closer to himself, and she hugs him with an arm by the waist and puts a free hand on his chest.       “Did we miss something?” Terrence asks with a smug smile.       “Nope, nothing special,” Daniel shrugs.       “Vice versa,” Edward smiles mysteriously. “The interesting things are starting.”       “We got it, remembering how you were running in the living room,” Raquelle laughs shyly.       “Just like you two,” Daniel smiles innocently and presses Anna closer to himself, while she looks at Terrence and Raquelle and puts her hand on her boyfriend’s shoulder. “You, Terrence, almost destroyed the whole living room.”       “You know, I’d have the pleasure of doing it, but I don’t wanna pay for repairs,” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “I should pay Rose for the door. Our blond put an eye on the door for five hundred dollars. He doesn’t wanna buy a door for one hundred dollars in his rabbit hole.”       “Huh, I wouldn’t buy a door for twenty dollars at that apartment. Why does he need it if he lives alone? Nobody’s gonna see him running naked.”       “But you have to buy it,” Natalia smiles innocently. “You crushed the door and have to buy a new one.”       “Oh, it’s so good I’ve gotta buy nothing,” Edward smiles shyly, putting his hand on his heart, and glances at Terrence and Daniel. “And you’re losers! Ha-ha!”       “Of course!” Terrence chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “You can give only some worn-out underwear and ripped pants. You’ve got no money.”       “I hope I'll kick you when I write a hit for ‘Lost In Time’ and get money for my work. And get a part of the income from selling and listening.”       “To kick me, you’ve gotta work your brains well and write tons of hits. Then someday, and somehow, you will probably be two steps back from me.”       “I don’t even wanna start arguing with such an insolent rooster like you.”       Terrence teases the way Edward speaks, while the others laugh shyly. Silence settles in the air for two seconds, and then Raquelle breaks it after looking around the whole living room:       “Hey, where are Peter and Helene? They were here!”       “They’ve got more interesting things than a talk with their friends,” Anna smiles mysteriously.       “Yes, friend, look there,” Natalia adds, pointing at the side where Helene and Peter are now.       Raquelle frowns slightly but moves her eyes to where Natalia shows, and Terrence does the same for curiosity. They see a very cute scene, in which Peter and Helene look into each other’s eyes with a smile and say something.       “Hey, kiss again!” Daniel says funnily. “Let us admire you!”       “I must confess that they’re quite a cute couple,” Raquelle notices with a slight smile.       “I understood that they’d look cool together a long time ago,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “I started to imagine them together after Jessica told us Helene wasn’t indifferent to Peter.”       “Rose would be an idiot if he missed such a cool girl,” Daniel says confidently. “He is an idiot because he rejected many other cute and good girls. But if Pete rejects Helene, I’ll be out.”       “The blond rejected everybody for Helene,” Edward notices. “Maybe, he hoped they’d be together someday.”       “And he got what he wanted,” Anna says confidently. “Maybe, fate made him reject so many girls for a reason. What if he wasn’t lucky with them? What if he should be happy only with Marshall?”       “Who knows, friend,” Terrence shrugs with a shy smile. “Anyway, I’m very happy Pete has a girlfriend, as well.”       “Absolutely agree with you, buddy,” Daniel agrees confidently.       Silence settles in the air for two seconds, during which everybody just smiles shyly, and Terrence and Raquelle sit on the sofa, on which Edward and Natalia are sitting after MacClife, Sr., makes a gesture and says, “Scat from here.” The silence lasts for a few more seconds before Daniel breaks it with a sly smile, looking at Terrence and Raquelle:       “Hey, it was so-o-o-o hot here… Because of you…”       “Because of us?” Terrence smiles innocently.       “Yup,” Natalia says with a mysterious smile. “Such passions were happening between you…”       “Aha, we thought you’d start undressing here,” Anna adds confidently.       “Who gave you a right to watch us?” Raquelle counters, crossing her arms over her chest.       “Oh, oh, don’t pretend you didn’t like it,” Edward shakes his head with a sly smile.       “Aha, MacClife, you need viewers even during sex,” Daniel adds. “After acting in bed scenes, you’re shy of nothing. You’d get naked, imitate sex, and show passion…”       “That’s right,” Anna smiles mysteriously. “We were under the impression from how you, Terrence, literally tied Raquelle’s hands up and paid no attention to her resistance when kissing her.”       “But now you made sure that I got the perfect skill of seducing,” Terrence replies proudly with a wide smile and caresses Raquelle’s head. “And I know how to calm this headstrong bitch down and make her make any of my wishes come true.”       “Okay, okay, honey, you’ll get what you deserve at home,” Raquelle threatens with a sly smile and slightly tickles Terrence’s stomach, which he sucks in and closes with a hand. “Don’t worry, guys, I won’t let anyone hurt me and do know how to treat this self-confident peacock.”       “Yay, of course, I knew there was much passion in your couple, but I didn’t think everything would be so hard,” Edward says thoughtfully. “I wonder what would happen if you had to act together in a super sexual scene?”       “I’d show everything I can,” Terrence replies confidently with a smug smile. “And if I get such a sexy partner, everything’s gonna be super okay.”       “Oh, c’mon, we got it!” Natalia waves a hand. “We’ve already understood that you’re shy of nothing and nobody.”       “Think we looked at all of you,” Terrence replies with a sly smile and caresses Raquelle’s cheek with the back of his hand. “There are so many couples here that feel free to show feelings before everybody!”       “Agree, there’s a couple that could get you ‘infected…’” Daniel smiles mysteriously, looking at Natalia and Edward embracing each other cutely.       “Hey, don’t you wanna mention you and Anna?” Edward asks amazingly. “You can’t be called shy people at all. And everything is shy about me and Natalia.”       “Aha, Perkins, we saw you trying to seduce my friend openly,” Natalia smiles slyly. “You kissed her, hugged her, said something…”       “And what?” Daniel smiles innocently. “Anna is my girlfriend, and I have a right to kiss and hug her whenever I want.”       “And nobody will ban us from showing our feelings,” Anna adds confidently, pressing herself closer to Daniel and putting her hand on his chest. “I can hug and kiss Daniel whenever I want.”       “Ah, yeah!” Terrence claps himself on the forehead. “I forgot! You can tell everyone you’re in a relationship because your father approved of your choice and accepted Perkins as your boyfriend and his future son-in-law.”       “Right!” Raquelle exclaims. “We do remember that you two were afraid of his anger.”       “How Daniel was afraid they’d report him to the police for allegedly kidnapping our friend, and how Anna was shaking from the thought that she’d be brought back home, locked in a room, and married off to someone she didn’t love,” Natalia laughs shyly.       “Yeah, we were afraid,” Anna shrugs with a shy smile.       “But it ended very well,” Daniel adds confidently. “Anna’s father has nothing against my affair with his daughter. And I, as you can see, didn’t get arrested for holding my girlfriend at my house by force.”       “Oh, yeah, after this, you puffed your tail and thought you got the right to do what you wanted to your beauty,” Terrence laughs shyly.       “I had this one because this girl is only mine,” Daniel puts his hand softly on Anna’s knee, showing that this girl belongs to him. “I’m just doing this with the blessing of Mr. Seymour. Of course, I was very nervous because of meeting him, but that’s good that the man liked me. Though, I would’ve been really surprised if everything had been otherwise, because everything is perfect about me.”       “You know, Daniel, I understand you very well,” Edward confesses confidently. “Because I was also afraid of the meeting with Natalia’s parents when I had to explain what happened between us, and when I was gonna meet them for the first time.”       “Well, you’ve known my father from the beginning of the meeting because you were often at our home,” Natalia notices. “And as for Mother, yes. You met her when we started to date.”       “Yeah, but one thing is introducing myself as a friend, and another thing is saying I date their daughter. Although Mr. Rochester liked me, I was afraid he wouldn’t be ready for this twist.”       “You know, I was also terribly nervous when I had to meet the grandfather and the aunt of Raquelle and explain my behavior after the scandal,” Terrence confesses.       “Oh, yeah, you two made tons of mistakes,” Daniel chuckles kindly. “You have it in your blood, guys.”       “Shut up, Perkins,” Terrence and Edward say at the same time.       “C’mon, I was also worried about the meeting with Terrence’s mother,” Raquelle says with a shy smile. “I was afraid to say something wrong and give her a bad impression. I didn’t even almost sleep the night before that. Moreover, I was supposed to meet the parent of my man for the first time in my life.”       “For nothing,” Terrence replies. “When Mother saw you, she said you were a wonderful girl and approved of my choice. But when she likes someone, you can trust that person.”       “Oh, I didn’t have to be worried about it,” Natalia waves a hand with a smile. “Seriously! Not at all! I knew Mrs. MacClife when our engaged lovebirds started to date. I liked her immediately and thought she was a wonderful woman. So, when Edward introduced me as his girlfriend to his mother, I knew she wouldn’t mind. Because she liked me, as well.”       “That woman does love you, girls,” Anna smiles shyly.       “If my parents were alive, they would like you, too,” Daniel says confidently. “And you would’ve found a common language with them.”       “The fact that Natalia knew my mother made my mission much easier,” Edward confesses shyly. “And I was terribly happy when I found out that they had gotten on well. It’s nice to me that Mother always says good things about this girl and loves her as her daughter.”       “Yeah, but now, when the father of you and Terrence showed up, you should introduce Raquelle and Natalia to him,” Anna recalls.       “We kind of saw him,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “But now I don’t really worry about having to meet Mr. MacClife.”       “And I’m not worried,” Natalia shrugs. “Although I barely remembered him on the day when he let us know about him, I thought we could get on well with him.”       “You will, girls,” Terrence replies confidently. “Father is a wonderful man. A couple of weeks was enough for me to understand it and start to get sympathy for him.”       “I believe everything has been back to the right place,” Anna assumes with a slight smile.       “Sort of,” Edward pronounces. “More than twenty years later, the MacClife family has been reunited again.”       Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which everybody just smiles shyly. And then Helene and Peter not hiding their wide smiles come to them.       “Ah, there you are!” Terrence exclaims.       “My gosh, what people!” Daniel raises his hand slightly.       “Hey, we wanted to go to find you,” Edward chuckles. “Our lovebirds disappeared.”       “Oh, yeah, you were going to find us all together,” Peter chuckles, rolling his eyes. “Instead, you were in the living room like hurricanes in the search of Rose and Marshall.”       “Of course, we were!” Daniel exclaims. “We just got a little sick and decided to sit down.”       “Yeah!” Edward exclaims, takes a little bunch of crackers from the bowl placed on the table, and eats it. “We decided to eat.”       “Aha, and you were staring at Helene and me with a wide smile,” Helene says confidently.       “Oh, we didn’t mean to watch you!” Daniel laughs nervously. “Actually, we’re talking about the parents of our sweethearts.”       “Oh, tell everybody how you peed when you met Anna’s father.”       “Maybe, you tell us about your meeting with Helene’s grandmother? Maybe, something interesting happened, but we don’t know yet!”       “To your sadness, nothing special happened during that meeting. Moreover, I met her when I started to get to know Helene better. So, sorry, guys, no funny details.”       “We’re gonna say one thing: my grandmother adores Peter and literally jumped from happiness when we told her we decided to become a couple,” Helene adds with a slight smile. “She was persuading me to pay attention to him for many years, and her dream came true.”       “Your grandmother knows everything about good men,” Natalia laughs shyly. “If you’d listened to Mrs. Marshall earlier, you would’ve gotten a wonderful boyfriend.”       “That’s right!” Daniel exclaims. “You, guys, look so cute together.”       “When I looked at you, I realized you must’ve been together,” Terrence adds confidently.       “Agree, you really look good together,” Raquelle says with a slight smile.       “We’re gonna think it’s a compliment,” Helene replies shyly, pressing herself close to Peter, who cracks a smile at her and hugs her by the waist.       “Hey, guys, how did you disappear so that none of us saw it?” Edward asks, hugging Natalia with one arm and putting a free hand on her lap. “Pete, the last time I saw you was when you ran into my back, apologized, and left.”       “We didn’t disappear,” Peter shrugs with an innocent smile.       “Aha, we were standing near that door,” Helene adds, pointing at the place where she and Peter were before. “And you know it well. I saw you staring at us.”       “I was just trying to find the pillows that you stole,” Daniel throws his hands up.       “And during the search, we saw you were standing aside and flirting,” Natalia smiles shyly.       “Hey, why can you hug your sweethearts, and why can't we do it?” Peter resents, crossing his arms over his chest. “You ran on different sides! Though, you, men, wanted to punish the girls for not obeying, as I remember.”       “Huh, who said we didn’t punish them?” Terrence smiles slyly and hugs Raquelle around the shoulders, putting a free hand on her lap. “Our girls had been stubborn and pouted, but then they became very quiet and sweet.”       “I could say so,” Anna replies thoughtfully and caresses Daniel’s cheek. “The girls and I chased the guy and beat them enough, and we got much better.”       “Yeah, they beat us strongly and are smiling,” Edward throws gloomily, looking at Anna, Natalia, Raquelle, and Helene smiling widely.       “Oh, c’mon, tender boys!” Natalia chuckles. “We did tolerate your mockeries over us. So, be nice to take ours.”       “But if you want, we can repeat it with pleasure,” Raquelle smiles slyly.       “No, no, no, no!” Peter, Edward, Terrence, and Daniel protest at the same time, opening their eyes widely and shaking their heads sharply.       “Aw, our boys are scared,” Helene laughs shyly and puts her arms around the small of Peter’s back. “They’re afraid we’d kick them again.”       “But they’d have the pleasure of kicking each other,” Anna notices confidently.       The girls laugh shyly, while the men look at each other and shake their heads. Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Peter and Helene sit on the sofa next to Daniel and Anna, who move to free space for their friends. And then the blond hugs his sweetheart around the shoulders, and she puts her head on his shoulder.       “Listen, guys…” Daniel breaks the silence. “I think we forgot why we came here together.”       “Why did we do it?” Terrence rounds his eyes. “To spend a fun time!”       “Yeah, celebrate my release from the hospital,” Peter recalls. “Let the girls know who my girlfriend is.”       “I don’t deny, I’m spending a cool time with you and getting a lot of pleasure,” Daniel replies quietly. “But did you two forget that we still have a band?” And we wanted to play a little in the garage and make our gorgeous beauties happy!”       “Oh, right” Peter exclaims happily. “I’ve dreamed of playing with my babies!”       “The babies are literally whining ‘cause nobody plays. And my guitar is lying and getting covered with dust…”       “So, let’s go to play something before we lose our voices from a wild laugh,” Peter clears his throat. “Oh, I laughed for five years to come…”       “Well, I dunno…” Terrence rolls his eyes with a sly smile, hugging Raquelle with both arms tightly and putting his head on her shoulder for a second. “I feel so good sitting on the sofa with my best friends, beloved bro, and stunning fiancée…”       “Ah, Terrence…” Daniel laughs quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I promise you’ll feel much better if someone splashes icy water over you or just throws you in a cold pool.”       “I’d be unbelievably attractive and irresistible anyway,” Terrence raises his head proudly. “I’d always be freaking sexy.”       “Don’t take everything little girls say to you seriously,” Edward smiles slyly. “Any more or less handsome man is fucking sexy for them. When they check a magazine or view photos on the Internet, they find someone to have a crush on.”       “Shut up! I’m not more or less! I’m perfect and irresistible! I got the title of one of the sexiest men in the world for a reason.”       “I can’t remember that.”       “You were sucking a pacifier and sleeping in a bed. Or you were an embryo.”       “Listen, you, the sexiest man in the world, if we don’t go to the garage and play something, I’ll throw you in a cold pool,” Daniel threatens, growling quietly.       “What, I think it’s a cool idea!” Peter smiles slyly, stroking his chin. “Splash water over the vocalist and let him go in public.”       “Aha, you want us to become deaf from girls’ shouts? And if this rooster goes to them wet and half-naked, they’re gonna have hysteria.”       “Don’t wait!” Terrence chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest and looking at Daniel and Peter with a sly smile. “You won’t get off me easily. Since we’re a band, I’ll take you with me. Even if I have to show my gorgeous body to people and put you in second place.”       “Aha, no!” Daniel resents. “No second place! I do also have something to show! And if the blond shows himself, everybody’s gonna have a heart attack. He’d conquer girls’ tender hearts with a mountain of muscles.”       “Yay, girls are waiting for that,” Peter says confidently. “And I’m ready to make them happy.”       “Oh, listen, you, unrecognized Apollos, maybe, you get your asses off the sofa, go to the garage and play at least one song before the girls get sick of your talks?” Edward moans quietly.       “Yes, fools, my bro is right!” Terrence exclaims. “You won’t get off me, and I have no chance to get off you.”       “Well, if it’s so, get up and go to the garage,” Daniel orders. “Give our sweet girls a chance to become witnesses of the grandiose return of the band to work.”       “Yes, yes, make us happy with something!” Raquelle exclaims happily. “Stop arguing and playing like children, at least for five minutes, and show us how adult and serious you can be.”       “Yes!” Anna, Natalia, and Helene support.       “Okay, okay, let’s go,” Terrence raises his hands. “We’re gonna do very much work if we wanna release a debut album.”       “You could say it earlier, frontman,” Daniel replies with a chuckle. “Instead of doing stupid things and reminding us of your uniqueness.”       “Alright, shut up and come on!” Terrence gets up from the sofa slowly. “Otherwise, you and Rose will play without me.”       Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, Helene, Daniel, Edward, and Peter get up and are going to go to the exit of the house. And while the girls come together and start talking about something with interest, the men focus on the band’s work, which they are talking about on the way.       “Everything’s in the garage?” Terrence asks. “Won’t we have to come back here to take something?”       “No, no, we won’t,” Daniel shakes his head. “I’ve touched nothing since our last rehearsal.”       “That’s good…” Peter says thoughtfully. “I should refresh my memory a little. I kinda forgot everything…”       Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, Helene, Terrence, Peter, and Daniel get so busy talking that they do not notice that Edward does not follow them. The man uses the fact that he leaves the house last, and nobody sees him, and stops when everybody goes outside. He closes the door, slowly comes to the window, and gets sad as he watches everybody going to where the garage is. After cracking a slight smile, MacClife, Jr., steps aside and starts walking in a very slow step with his arms crossed over his chest, thinking about something that gets him sad. At some moment, Edward gets sick of walking, comes to the sofa, sits down, and leans back, running his hands over his face and pulling his hair slightly. He thinks about having to be on the trial for the murder of Nicolas Carter as the defendant. He is waiting for the day when he has to get blushed for everybody, who is going to come to the one. The thought that he would have to overcome this humiliating torture makes Edward shake and get a stronger wish to be swallowed by the ground.       But later, Edward shakes his head sharply, runs his hands over his face, looks around the whole living room with a sad look, and stops his eyes on Daniel’s acoustic, slightly dusty guitar placed under the stairs along with some things. He thinks about whether he should take it without permission for a few seconds, but a wish to distract himself with music wins. Edward slowly gets up from the sofa, comes to the stairs, takes the guitar, sits on the sofa, places the instrument in front of him, and tunes on some strings for a better sound. Then he slowly starts plucking strings and striking random chords, singing something under his nose and slightly shaking with the rhythm of a quiet, little sad melody that he is playing all alone.       

***

      Daniel, Peter, Peter, Natalia, Anna, Raquelle, and Helene come to the garage placed not far from the house. When Perkins opens the automatic door, he invites everybody to enter with a gesture and follows his friends and girlfriend, who look around with interest.       “Here we go again,” Peter says with a slight smile. “I can’t believe it… Nothing has really changed since our last visit.”       “Yeah,” Daniel asks thoughtfully. “It's literally been thousands of years.”       “I believe we came together before the start of the tour of ‘The Loser Syndrome,’” Terrence replies thoughtfully.       While the men look around with wide smiles, the girls look at everything they see in this large room, where there are musical instruments and some mess that may have been here for ages.       “It’s so comfortable here,” Helene smiles slightly. “I like it.”       “It’s a paradisiacal place,” Daniel replies confidently. “I could spend hours here.”       “Yeah, but it’d be great to sort this mess out,” Anna says thoughtfully. “Otherwise, spies are gonna spin webs soon. If they haven’t started yet.”       “I’ve wanted to sort all of this out for ages, but I can get no time. Though, there is something I should throw off.”       “Still, it’s very great to be here,” Natalia smiles shyly.       “And the important thing is that you can play the instruments and sing as much as you want, and nobody will hear you,” Raquelle replies.       “Good soundproofing?” Helene frowns.       “Yup,” Natalia nods. “Just like at home.”       “Actually, this place had good soundproofing,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “But just in case, I had to do some things to stop being afraid to get threats from my neighbors about calling the police.”       “C’mon, nobody’s gonna do it,” Anna replies confidently. “You get on well with all the neighbors, who don’t call the police for any reason.”       “Agree, I’m madly lucky in this case.”       Anna shrugs with a shy smile, and Daniel comes to one of the bunches of mess and starts looking for something. While Peter pays attention to a drum set and smiles widely when seeing it.       “Drums!” Peter exclaims, comes to the drum set, sits on the small chair, and starts looking at all the drums. “My babies, how much I missed you! It’s been so long! My gosh…”       “We hope to hear something good from a play on drums,” Natalia replies confidently.       “Of course, blonde, you’ll hear me.” Peter throws his hands up. “Gonna play with my hands. I have no drumsticks!”       “Right!” Terrence exclaims. “The last time, you broke the sticks you had again.”       “How can the drums stay safe after what he does to them,” Daniel laughs shyly. “With such a crazy play, I’d have to order new ones hundreds of times. And I’d eventually be bankrupted.”       “Listen, Dan, stop talking and give me sticks,” Peter sighs tiredly. “And don’t say we’ll have to go to the house for them. Or at a store…”       “Calm down, blond, I’ll find the sticks now. I have another pair. Should sort out this mess.”       While Daniel tries to find the drumsticks among the mess settled in his garage, checking the things lying on the floor, in boxes, the lockers of old tables, and somewhere else, Terrence takes a white, lacquered solo guitar and touches its strings slightly.       “Then find a mediator for the guitar if it isn’t hard for you,” Terrence says loudly.       “Alright, Mr. MacClife, I will,” Daniel replies confidently. “Don’t worry. Your gorgeous fingers will not bleed after a long play.”       “Huh, idiot,” Terrence says under his nose.       Peter chuckles quietly and starts singing a song under his nose, sitting on the drum set and beating the rhythm on his laps. After getting used to this place, the girls go on different sides: Natalia comes to the small window and starts looking for something in her golden smartphone, Anna comes to Daniel, Helene goes to Peter, and Raquelle goes to Terrence.       “Hey, babe, you decided to help me tune the guitar on?” Terrence asks with a slight smile, glancing at Raquelle and continuing to tune on the solo guitar.       “If I could…” Raquelle replies shyly and caresses Terrence’s hand softly.       “Okay, you can stay here as long as you want. I don’t mind it.”       “With your permission.” Raquelle smiles much wider, seeing how skillfully Terrence tunes the guitar on, and understanding that her heart starts beating much faster when looking at the man. “Hey, I haven’t seen you with a guitar in your hands for ages. I can’t remember when you held it the last time.”       “Me too. But now I understand I madly missed it.”       “And you look perfect in it. You were kind of born to be a guitarist.”       “Thanks, babe,” Terrence smiles widely. “But it’s just a little rehearse. Though, if we go on stage, it’s gonna be an unforgettable show.”       “I don’t doubt it. You, guys, know how to get a crowd excited.”       Terrence cracks a smile and keeps working with the guitar. And Raquelle helps him a little, plucking strings shyly, while the man tunes on the guitar with the machine heads of the instrument. However, sometimes the lovers distract themselves and show each other some love, saying something nice and not hiding a wish to caress their second half.       Meanwhile, Helene comes to the drum set, on which Peter is sitting, watches him for a second, and slightly starts knocking at one of the symbols. That’s why a short, quiet sound spreads over the room. The blond quickly notices the girl and stops singing, moving his eyes to her with a slight smile.       “You like this place?” Peter asks. “It’s awesome, huh?”       “Yes,” Helene says confidently. “It’s very good to be here. And I can’t wait to watch you and the guys playing. Now I wanna see you live. Hear you singing and playing drums.”       “Of course, you will, sweetie. Just give us some time.”       “I can’t wait.”       “Hey, if you want, you can try to play something later,” Peter says with a slight smile.       “Me?” Helene opens her eyes wider. “No, c’mon! Me playing drums! No! Don’t make me laugh, Peter! I’d never play as skillfully as you do it.”       “Don’t worry, Helene, there’s nothing hard. You only need some practice and the ability to improvise.”       “Yeah, nothing hard… Notes, rhythm, ear… Working legs and foot…”       “The important thing is to work every day. Some theory from books and the practice, in which you add much harder things.”       “No… Sorry, Peter, it’s not for me. I’ve never been a music expert and can’t sing. I’d probably tell you the full Periodic table or show you how to solve chemical equations. Or tell you everything about the biological evolution or something else from biology lessons.”       “Aw, sweetie…” Peter smiles shyly and takes Helene’s hands. “Come to me…”       Helene goes around the drum set and comes closer to Peter, while he turns his back on the drums, seats her on his laps, kisses her on the cheekbone cutely, and hugs her tightly by the waist with one arm and puts a free hand on her lap. The girl runs her hand through the hair on the back of his head and softly caresses his cheek with another, looking into his eyes tenderly and not hiding her wide smile.       Meanwhile, Anna and Daniel are on different sides and talking about something, while the man is looking for what he needs, and the girl is sitting on a small table and leaning on it with her hands, sometimes shaking her legs.       “I can’t believe we’re gonna hear you again,” Anna says happily with a wide smile. “I can’t wait for you to start to play.”       “Soon, my beauty,” Daniel replies confidently with a slight smile. “We only need to choose songs.”       “Oh, yeah,” Anna tucks a strand of hair behind her ear with a shy laugh. “You and Terrence would love to mock each other again.”       “If he doesn’t show off and pretend to be nobody knows what, I won’t bother him.”       “Oh, gosh… I don’t feel quiet for you. Your mockeries might lead to bad consequences.”       “Stop, Anna,” Daniel replies with a slight smile and puts a little box with some things aside. “I ain’t gonna fight with Terrence. As well as he isn’t gonna fight with me. I don’t get mad at his jokes, and he isn’t mad because of mine. The girls and you also joke at each other sometimes.”       “Yeah, but we don’t insult.”       “Do the guys and I insult each other?”       “Sometimes it’s hard to understand when someone jokes about you or tries to insult you.”       “Believe me, princess, none of us is gonna fight with anyone. And when we have a good moment, we’ll be back to the studio and start working on the album hard.”       “Everything depends on Terrence. At the hearing of Michael’s case. Who knows, how long it will last.”       “So, Rose and I are gonna bend under him. When he’s able to work, we’ll come together at the studio.”       “So, good…”       Anna notices a little box near her, takes it, and examines what’s inside, noticing some senseless things, at which she looks with interest. And two seconds later, Daniel stops sorting the mess out and frowns slightly when he glances at the girl.       “Yeah, baby, get off the table, please,” Daniel says thoughtfully. “It’s weak, but you sat on it. I don’t want you to fall and hit something.”       “It’s not weak,” Anna smiles cutely, shaking from one side to another slightly. “It would crush shortly after my attempt to sit on it, even if I have a low weight.”       “You don’t better sit on it anyway.”       “But, sweetie, I like it…”       “But I like when you aren’t where danger might threaten you.”       Daniel grabs Anna under her arms, takes her off the table, and places her on the floor, letting her go only when he makes sure she is standing.       “It’s better,” Daniel says and fixes the collar of Anna’s blouse. “And don’t sit on it if you don’t wanna make me worried.”       “Aw, Perkins, how caring you are…” Anna smiles shyly and takes Daniel in her hug for two seconds, putting her hands on his back. “What a wonderful man I have!”       “Just like I have a wonderful girlfriend,” Daniel kisses Anna tenderly on the forehead, putting his hand on her cheek. “Okay, I’ve gotta find the sticks and a mediator.”       Daniel starts looking for what he needs and checks what is placed on the table, on which Anna was sitting, and small lockers before he squats down and finds what he turned half of the garage upside down for in the lower one.       “Yes, finally!” Daniel exclaims and takes two black mediators and a new pack of drumsticks. “I’ve found it!”       Daniel puts two mediators on the table and, holding drumsticks, turns on Peter, who says something to Helene sitting on his laps and wraps a strand of her hair on his long index finger while she caresses his cheek and rubs the tip of her nose against his nose, keeping her free arm around the blond’s neck.       “Peter!” Daniel calls loudly.       “What?” Peter reacts, not moving his eyes off Helene and not stopping smiling shyly at her.       “I’ve found the drumsticks!”       “Oh, thanks, dude! You made me happy!” Peter playfully claps Helene on the nose with a finger. “So, beautiful, you’re gonna finally hear me play and sing.”       “Hey, can you catch the sticks if I throw them from here?”       “Huh, easy!” Peter chuckles with his head proudly raised. “C’mon, chocolate head, do it so that they end up right in my hands.”       Meanwhile, Helene gets up and goes at a safe distance.       “Catch then!” Daniel pronounces loudly.       After waiting for two seconds, Daniel throws the sticks to Peter by one with a short pause. The blond perfectly catches both of them, but has to lean back slightly and try not to fall off the chair to catch one and get up slightly and raise his hand up to catch another.       “Nice, Pete!” Daniel claps his hands. “I should’ve believed in you.”       “You’d catch none of them,” Peter chuckles with his head proudly raised.       “Wanna check it out? Throw them to me, so I can show you how much you underestimate me.”       “I’d better throw something different later. Now I’m gonna show the girls how to play the drums.”       “That’s better,” Daniel smiles innocently.       While Peter teases the way he speaks, Daniel takes one of the mediators, comes to Terrence, and gives him this thing, asking confidently:       “So what, dude, you’re ready to show everything you can do?”       “Always ready, buddy!” Terrence replies confidently and takes the mediator from Daniel. “I hope you’re also ready to show the best play on a bass guitar.”       “It’s gonna be very hot here. I promise.”       “I like this spirit.”       Terrence and Daniel move their confident looks to Peter, who plays something quietly on the drums with the drumsticks. After looking at each other, the men come to the blond, who stops playing and looks at them with a slight smile on his face.       “And you, Peter?” Terrence asks, holding the guitar in his hands. “You’re ready to show the best play on the drums?”       “Undoubtedly,” Peter replies confidently and wraps one of the drumsticks in his hand. “I’m gonna be as wild as possible.”       “I hope you didn’t forget how to play?” Daniel asks. “What if you started to confuse hi-hat and crash cymbals.”       “I think, no. But to make sure about it, we’ll check it out.”       Peter hits the sticks against one another, counting down to the three, confidently starts beating the rhythm of a song that has been stuck in his head for a long time on all the drums and symbols, and singing into a microphone placed near the drum set and pointed at him. After a long lack of practice, his skill did not get worse, and the low masculine voice is still velvety and nice and has a light hoarse that gives it some charm. Terrence and Daniel watch the blond with slight smiles on their faces, and then Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia join them, not hiding their admiration. When Peter stops playing, he hits two symbols with sticks and looks at everybody with a slight smile. And then, his friends and girlfriend start applauding.       “My gosh, Peter, that was incredible!” Helene expresses admiration.       “You still rock on, buddy,” Daniel says confidently with pride.       “Just imitable,” Terrence adds.       “We didn’t doubt you knew how to surprise u,” Raquelle smiles widely.       “That’s true!” Natalia and Anna agree.       “Ar-r-r, damn, that was really cool!” Peter exclaims cheerfully with a wide smile. “I feel like a part of me has come back to me. Now I’m starting to understand what I've lacked all this time. Music, singing, and playing the drums. I did really miss it.”       “Oh, yeah, and you wanted to stop making music!” Daniel recalls. “How could you, man? You can’t do this!”       “That was one of my greatest mistakes.”       “And you still play well,” Anna smiles shyly. “You forgot nothing.”       “You’re right.” Peter wraps the drumsticks in his hands. “I still remember everything well. And get great pleasure from singing and playing.”       “You looked so happy playing the drums,” Natalia replies with a slight smile.       “Gosh, hiding this talent would be a sin!” Helene says with admiration. “Seriously, guys. The whole world must know such a talented man.”       “Many people know about him,” Raquelle says with a shy smile. “And now Peter has a perfect chance to show his talent to the whole world.”       “The guys are gonna be stupid idiots if they dare to refuse it,” Anna says confidently.       “Never” Terrence and Daniel exclaim.       “Don’t wait, beauties,” Terrence says confidently.       “Oh, yeah!” Daniel chuckles.       “Then let’s show everything we can do and surprise our girls right now?” Peter suggests confidently with a slight smile.       “With pleasure!”       Peter shares a homie handshake with Daniel and Terrence. And then Perkins looks at everybody and understands that something is not right.       “Hey, stop!” Daniel exclaims loudly. “Does someone have a feeling that something is missing?”       “Right…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully. “Right, Daniel… I have the same feeling…”       “You all can kill me, but I feel the same,” Natalia agrees and embraces herself with her arms. “I’m missing something so badly…”       “Wait, weren’t eight of us?” Helene frowns slightly and counts everybody by one. “Why are there seven of us?”       “I believe someone is really missed,” Anna frowns slightly. “I noticed it a long time ago…”       “Hey, stop!” Terrence exclaims. “Where’s Edward? Where did he disappear?”       “Edward?” Natalia, Raquelle, Daniel, Anna, Peter, and Helene pronounce surprisingly.       Everybody looks around and just realizes that they lost Edward somewhere, while Terrence leaves his solo guitar where it was before.       “Right!” Peter exclaims, puts the sticks on one of the drums, and gets up from the chair. “I just realized Edward wasn’t with us.”       “But how?” Raquelle wonders. “How did he leave so that we noticed nothing?”       “And hadn’t noticed before…” Natalia adds thoughtfully.       “And the question is, why did he leave?” Helene wonders.       “Natalia, you’d been with him before he disappeared!” Terrence exclaims. “You should’ve seen where Edward went and called him!”       “Yes, Natalia, we were sitting on the sofas before going here, and Edward was sitting with you in front of me, Anna, Helene, and Peter,” Daniel says confidently.       “How didn’t you understand that he got out somewhere?” Peter throws his hands up.       “I swear, guys, I didn’t see!” Natalia shrugs, looking at everybody with rounded eyes. “I don’t know when and where he disappeared! While we were coming here, I was talking to the girls and showing them something on my phone.”       “But where’s he?” Raquelle asks. “What did he come up with? What would that tomboy do this time?”       “Maybe, Edward decided to leave us quietly and say nothing?” Peter asks.       “He would’ve warned me or one of you,” Natalia notices.       “Okay, but, Terrence,” Peter glances at Terrence. “You were sitting next to him.”       “Guys, how could I see Edward?” Terrence throws his hands up. “We talked about the band, and the girls were talking about something when we were gonna come here. I never turned back.”       “Hey, stop!” Daniel stops. “Who left the house last and was supposed to close the hall door?”       “You left first ‘cause you had to open the garage,” Anna replies thoughtfully. “And Terrence and Peter followed you…”       “And were the girls, following us?” Peter frowns slightly.       “Yeah,” Helene nods. “We followed you.”       “We were busy with what was on Natalia’s phone,” Anna adds.       When Anna and Helene say it, Raquelle’s phone starts quietly vibrating in the pocket of her jeans. The girl looks at everybody and goes outside to answer the call, staying unnoticed by her fiancé and friends.       “Right,” Natalia confirms thoughtfully. “I think Daniel even asked us what we were laughing at. And we said that was a secret.”       “Okay, I got it!” Daniel raises a hand. “Edward was supposed to leave the house last at one hundred percent.”       “And he was supposed to close the door,” Anna adds.       “He did?”       “I think he did,” Helene nods. “I heard the door was locked.”       “Hey, what if Peter is right, and Edward decided to leave us quietly?” Anna asks.       “We can expect anything from that guy,” Terrence replies confidently.       “Okay, stop guessing!” Daniel exclaims. “If we don’t find Edward at the house, he decided to get out. I don’t know what that man came up with. But something isn’t definitely right.”       “Let me go there and look around?” Natalia suggests. “And if I find Edward, I’ll talk to him and bring him here.”       “I’ll better go. And take a pack of water. I bought it for today and forgot about it. Wait here, guys, I’ll be back now.”       Daniel goes to the exit from the garage and leaves it. While the others just watch the man with a little sad look and then go on different sides.       “Yeah, Edward can easily be a spy,” Terrence says thoughtfully. “He can do anything and stay unnoticed.”       “Agree,” Natalia agrees.       “Nevertheless, that guy is really weird,” Peter notices. “I don’t mean he’s out of mind. I mean, you never know what to expect from him. He’s sweet and innocent at first sight, but we don’t the heck know what he thinks about.”       “Get used, Peter,” Terrence says quietly. “And don’t think he’s really so quiet. A real hurricane is settled inside Edward and might go anywhere.”       “What if he started to think of Michael again?” Natalia asks.       “Yeah, until that man is put in prison, Edward will hardly calm down,” Anna replies with sadness in her eyes.       “And the threat to go to prison…” Peter sighs quietly. “A great reason to be worried.”       “And it’s very hard to get it out of the mind…” Terrence says tiredly, crossing his arms over his chest. “I understand him well, but I think we shouldn’t get stuck on it. The trial will hardly start in the nearest time. If we think too much about it, we can go crazy.”       “Gosh…” Natalia sighs heavily, running her hands over her face. “I can’t wait for everything to be over… Life got kind of better, but that situation makes everything worse.”       “Don’t worry, Natalia,” Terrence softly caresses Natalia’s shoulder. “It all will be over soon.”       “Can’t wait… I’m so sick of thinking I’d have to be on trial and see those people.”       “You know that you won’t be alone,” Terrence smiles to encourage. “Nobody’s gonna let anyone hurt you.”       “I know, Terrence.”       Terrence takes Natalia in his amicable hug, to which she answers with pleasure, while Anna watches them with sadness in her eyes and softly caresses her friend on the shoulder.       “What are they talking about, Peter?” Helene asks quietly, embracing Peter.       “It’s a very long story, Helene,” Peter replies quietly. “But you’ll understand it soon.”       “Hey, I saw the reportage, in which Edward was mentioned, as well as the businessman called Michael, who was an uncle of that man.”       “It’s true. I wasn’t aware at first, but the guys explained everything to me.”       “The girls also promised to tell me everything but confirmed Michael and Edward were really connected. And even Terrence has to do with it.”       “Oh…” Peter sighs tiredly. “Listen, sweetie, let’s go aside… I think I have time to tell you something about this story.”       Peter embraces Helene around the shoulders, takes her aside, sits on the sofa along with her, and starts explaining who Michael MacClife is, and how Edward, Terrence, Raquelle, and Natalia are connected with him. The girl listens to him closely and sometimes asks something if she does not understand something.       

***

      Daniel leaves the garage and quickly reaches the hall door of his house, seeing that it’s really closed. Not thinking much, he confidently comes to the hall door, opens it, slowly enters it, and looks around. A few seconds later, the man hears a masculine voice that belongs to Edward. Who kind of forgot about his friends, brother, and girlfriend and plays Perkins’ guitar, sitting on the sofa comfortably and giving his soul.       “Hey, I know this song…” Daniel frowns slightly. “Sounds like one of those that Edward was singing in one of those videos! Right! He was singing it along with the street band…”       Daniel glances at Edward, who does not suspect that he is not alone in the living room.       “He really sings well,” Daniel thinks with a slight smile. “If he were much more confident, he’d go too far. Really, that guy has great talent. People wouldn’t go by what deserves attention. And they don’t care that MacClife has to do with a crime story. For his voice and play on a guitar, they could forgive him for any mistakes.”       Daniel smiles much wider and, leaning on the wall with his side, keeps listening to Edward, who, in his opinion, plays guitar perfectly and has the same strong, wonderful voice as Terrence’s. The young guy notices and hears nothing but his voice and the melody of the guitar and gets much pleasure from what he is doing, being quiet because he is sure nobody sees him.       Some time later, Edward finishes performing this song, pulling notes at the end. And when he strikes the last chords, he falls into silence and sings a little part a cappella. After this, the man sharply runs his thumb over all the guitar strings and finishes the performance. MacClife, Jr., does not let the guitar go and keeps pressing it to himself, thinking about something with sadness in his eyes. The guy could easily fall deeper into his dark thoughts if Daniel’s voice did not get him back to reality:       “You play and sing well, Edward. I liked it.”       Edward shakes slightly and turns on Daniel sharply, looking at him with widely open eyes.       “Oh, Daniel…” Edward exhales slowly. “You scared me…”       “You shake as if robbers came here,” Daniel laughs shyly.       “I just didn’t expect someone to come here. Yeah…” Edward glances at Daniel’s guitar in his hands. “Don’t be mad… I took your guitar without permission… I wanted to play a little…”       “It’s okay,” Daniel replies amicably, waving a hand. “Don’t worry. The guys also take it without permission and play it when they come here.”       “I’m sorry anyway.” Edward carefully puts the guitar on the sofa and moves his guilty look to Daniel. “When I saw it, I couldn’t resist.”       “Don’t think about it. Play as much as you want.”       “Thanks, but I played a little.”       Daniel cracks a smile and sits down next to Edward, who moves his sad eyes to his hands.       “By the way, why did you leave us?” Daniel asks. “You did it so quietly that we just noticed your disappearance?”       “Well…” Edward moves his eyes aside.       “We started to think you decided to get out and say nothing to anyone.”       “No, I didn’t do it,” Edward chuckles quietly. “Just wanted to stay alone and think about something a little… Put my mind in order…”       “Don’t say you started to think of all the bad thoughts again.”       “No, I…”       “Listen, guy, why do you think of bad things and torture yourself? Your life is okay! You have your important people. You wanted to get back their trust and love, and you got it.”       “Yeah, I know,” Edward replies quietly. “That’s why I feel as happy as never ever.”       “Then get the bad thoughts outta your mind and relax.”       “I’m trying, Daniel, but…”       “What’s wrong, dude? What’s happening to you again? Did you decide to pretend to be happy, as Peter did, even if you’re unhappy?”       “No, no, I’m really happy,” Edward replies with a slight smile.       “It’s suspicious that you recently had fun with us and now look like you wanna strangle yourself.”       “Yeah, but… I… I still can’t get used to the fact that I got so many people I could talk to. Because… I’ve been lonely literally all my life. I’ve only been able to talk to a couple of people… And I was never in such big companies.”       “But that’s great!” Daniel smiles slightly. “That’s great you have so many people! Being lonely is bad!”       “I don’t wanna be alone. It’s just kind of weird to have so many… Friends…”       “Oh, Edward, why do you worry about it? Everybody but Helene has known you for almost six months and became your friends. Though, you can also get along with that girl. She’s very good.”       “I know,” Edward cracks a smile. “Don’t pay attention to me. I just need time to get used to the fact that I’m no longer lonely and can count on all of you.”       “Having a few months wasn’t enough for you?”       “Enough… Although it’s easy for me to make an acquaintance with someone, that doesn’t mean they will quickly get close to me. I can quietly talk to them, but I feel uncomfortable.”       “Yeah…” Daniel glances aside for a second and scratches the back of his head. “Maybe, you were really insecure at first, but then you got much opener… But that’s fine. Not every person could open a heart and a soul to someone.”       “And I wanna stop being ashamed.” Edward shakes his leg nervously. “Stop dreaming of hiding from everybody from fear of showing myself before someone’s eyes. Worrying that I could lose a close person. I don’t wanna take it all again.”       “Damn, did you think of that trial again?” Daniel concludes. “You get obsessed with these thoughts and deprive yourself of the chance to relax.”       “I’ll calm down only when I hear the positive sentence,” Edward replies gloomily, tightly locking his fingers. “When I know that the old bastard and his pals are put in prison for at least twenty years.”       “What if the trial starts in six months or one year? Are you gonna be worried and pulling your hair out all this time?”       “I will. Until the dot is put in this case, I shall be worried.”       “Edward…”       “Don’t forget, I’m also gonna be a defendant,” Edward moves his eyes to Daniel. “I’m under the threat of going to prison for twenty years. Even if I’m guilty of nothing, I’ll have to prove my innocence.”       “We know you’re guilty of nothing.”       “You won’t understand it ‘cause you’ve never been prosecuted and made to go on trial as the defendant. You won’t understand what kind of shame I feel because of the thought that I’m gonna be called a defendant with the pretense of all my close people. I already wanna the ground to swallow me up!”       “Listen, buddy…” Daniel says quietly as he claps Edward doubling over on the back. “Don’t think about it now and make your mood worse. I understand you’re worried, but that’s wrong. Do you wanna go insane before the start of the trial? You’ve got bad mental health after what you’ve taken, but these thoughts might make your condition much worse. Taking after Peter, falling into a deep depression, and deciding to take a blade and open the veins would be too much.”       “If I had nobody, I’d definitely do it,” Edward says in a low, little shaking voice. “Would there be a point in fighting for something when you do not have close people, friends, and motivation?”       “No, Edward, don’t say stupid things,” Daniel gets horrified, rounding his eyes. “You’ve got a family, friends, and a wonderful girlfriend. How would they feel if they knew you just thought about it?”       “Although I got everybody’s forgiveness, I can’t quietly look into their eyes and still feel guilty.”       “Stop, man, nobody’s gonna sentence you,” Daniel replies confidently. “And if you are, your family will find a way to get you out. Terrence promised to do it if the judge would sentence you.”       “If I’m back in that hell, I won’t survive. Nobody will have to get me out. Prisoners will make me wish to kill myself. I’ll never forget everything I had to experience during the two weeks I spent in prison. No matter how many years are gone, the memories will be clear as if everything happened yesterday.”       “Justice will be restored, I don’t doubt it. Those, who gave you pain, will get the sentence they deserved: Michael, his pals, Wainwright, who almost raped Natalia, and Eric Brown, who killed the friend of your father. The law is by our side. And there is good proof of the fault of those bastards. No lawyers will help them avoid punishment. They may even pay money to some witnesses, so they testify for them.”       “I don’t even know what I want more: knowing that Uncle Michael would spend the rest of his life in prison, or hearing they dropped the charges off me. If everything is against us, at least in one of the cases, we won’t live a quiet life. Especially, me. If I go to prison.”       “It’s gonna be okay. Everything is for you. There’s proof, the lawyer is kind of good and experienced, and there are many witnesses. What do you the fuck need?”       “Damn, why did I bring everything to that?” Edward swears, starting to shake slightly, slouching much more and rubbing his hands, which get a little sweat from the excitement. “Why was I such a coward? Everything would’ve been different if I’d been more determined and hadn’t succumbed to that old bastard! Because of me, so many people almost suffered! Me!”       “You’re guilty of nothing, buddy,” Daniel replies softly, clapping Edward on the back and taking him by the shoulders. “We completely get it. Don’t recall what you did for the hundredth time.”       “I could’ve lost so many close people. Lost their trust and love. Because of my fucking cowardice. Because of my fear that Uncle would put me in prison and do his best for me to die there from the mockeries of cellmates or at my wish.”       “Everybody turned their backs on you ‘cause we understood your motives wrongly and didn’t know the truth. Terrence, Raquelle, and Natalia were mad and offended and did their best for you to literally become a devil incarnate. But when we calmed down, every one of us started to understand that everything wasn’t what it seemed.”       “I’m guilty of showing the worst side of mine. No meaning to blame someone for failures if you always get wrong.”       “And what? Everyone gets wrong!”       “Oh, Daniel, you’ll never understand me…” Edward moans tiredly, leaning back in the sofa. “Nobody will understand me, even if everybody says they do.”       “Why can’t I understand? If only you knew how many times I’ve been wrong! For example, I’m partly guilty of the fact that Peter almost killed himself. If not for my mockeries, it wouldn’t have happened.”       “Early or late, everything would’ve led to that, no matter if you laughed or not. Peter was on edge and would’ve tried to kill me, deciding not to explain the reasons for his act.”       “But fortunately, he put himself together. So, you shouldn’t give up and go on his way. We know it’s very hard for you, but nobody’s gonna judge you. So many people are ready to help you and will be by your side, whatever those deadbeats say about you.”       “I know…” Edward exhales slowly and runs his hands over his face. “But I think I’d better be silent and make nobody’s mood worse. I’ll take it somehow. I did it somehow… And it’s okay. I’m still alive…”       “Don’t withdraw into you, Edward. Maybe, everything is fine now, but then the moment when patience is gone will come. It might lead to catastrophic consequences. You may easily go insane.”       “Don’t worry about me, Daniel,” Edward smiles slightly. “I’ll take it somehow.”       “Everybody understands that the situation is very hard. Do you think Terrence doesn’t worry? Do you think Natalia doesn’t care about almost being raped and killed? Do you think Raquelle stays indifferent to her close people’s sufferings? Do you think the parents of you and Terrence don’t worry? No, MacClife, they’re nervous, as well! Everybody just tries to distract and not to think of bad things! And you must do it! You’ve got much time to get ready for that hard test. You should spend it getting energy.”       “I know, but…” Edward pronounces hesitantly.       “Hey, why did ya get so upset? You came here so happy and funny, but now you are withdrawing into yourself, thinking of all the worst things.”       “I can’t relax completely when I have this problem.”       “And now what? Are ya gonna torture yourself and distance yourself from everybody?”       “I can’t say…” Edward slowly gets up from the sofa and steps aside. “But I know that I won’t calm down until everything is over.”       “Okay, buddy, stop doing this,” Daniel says confidently and gets up, as well. “Relax and remember that life may have not only great problems, but also little happy moments.”       “As if it’s easy.”       “Okay, Edward, let’s better come back to the guys. They’re waiting for us.”       “Maybe, I really leave and let you have without me?” Edward asks hesitantly, turning to Daniel. “I don’t wanna annoy you with my gloomy face.”       “No, buddy, we won’t let you go!” Daniel claps Edward on the shoulders. “C’mon, brace yourself! Get the bad thoughts outta your mind and get ready for a good pastime with cool people.”       “Why would I annoy you? The men and you are gonna play something, and the girls will be busy listening to you. Nobody will care about me, and you won’t notice my absence.”       “Do you feel so uncomfortable even with the pretense of your brother, near whom you usually stay when you’re together?”       “Nope… But we had good fun. And that’s enough. It’s time for the serious things I don’t have to do with.”       “You wanna get out because of this?” Daniel shakes his head with a kind chuckle. “Okay, stop acting like a girl! Take your bones and go to the garage! Otherwise, I’ll call Terrence, and he’ll bring you here by kicking.”       “Oh, okay, okay, you won,” Edward moans tiredly. “I’ll stay. But know that I still keep thinking about what’s waiting for me.”       “So, we’re gonna get this bullshit outta your head. C’mon, let’s go. Otherwise, the guys and the girls will run here all together and start looking for me.” Daniel chuckles quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. “They might think my house is something like the Bermuda Triangle, and everybody mysteriously disappears in it.”       “Ah, Daniel…” Edward laughs shyly. “You’ll never lose your sense of humor.”       “Living without jokes and laughter is not interesting! And I don’t like people, who don’t understand jokes.”       “Hard to deny it.”       “Okay, we should be back to the others,” Daniel says confidently and points at the pillows placed on the floor. “Take those pillows from the floor and put them on the sofa, and I’ll take a pack of water from the kitchen.”       “No prob,” Edward shrugs.       Daniel goes to the kitchen for the water, and Edward takes, shakes, and puts two pillows on the sofa. Less than one minute later, Perkins returns with a pack of six little bottles of water and lets MacClife, Jr., know that they can go. After ending up outside, Edward closes the door at Daniel’s plea and follows him to the place where they are expected.       

***

      Terrence, Natalia, Anna, Helene, and Peter are standing all together and talking about something, being a little discouraged. But when they hear someone comes here, the gang turns around and sees how Daniel and Edward enter the garage.       “Finally!” Peter raises his hands up. “At least one disappearance has been found!”       Daniel leaves the pack of water on a small table and comes to the others along with Edward.       “Edward, where have you been?” Terrence wonders. “Why didn’t you go with us?”       “How did you leave so that we noticed nothing?” Natalia wonders.       “I was in the living room,” Edward shrugs.       “But why?” Anna wonders. “We decided to go here!”       “Erm…”       “I found Edward in the living room, where he was playing guitar,” Daniel says confidently.       “Playing guitar?” Peter frowns slightly.       “As he said, he wanted to stay alone and put his mind in order.”       “And distance himself from everybody?” Helene wonders.       “It’s okay, guys,” Edward says quietly. “I would’ve been back to you some time later.”       “But why did you actually leave?” Peter asks, putting his hands on his hips. “You had fun with us, but then you withdrawn into yourself again.”       “Sometimes putting your mind in order is good.”       “You know, it sounds kind of suspicious,” Terrence replies thoughtfully. “You didn’t aim to distance yourself from us.”       “Don’t worry, nothing happened,” Edward finds an excuse with a slight smile. “I’m back and will not leave. I promise. Think that I just went to the bathroom for a few minutes.”       Terrence, Natalia, Anna, Helene, Daniel, and Peter frown slightly, look at each other and shrug, deciding not to annoy Edward with questions but guessing the reason for this behavior.       “Hey, lads, are we actually gonna play today?” Daniel puts his hands on his hips. “Or will we be doing everything but music until the evening?”       “We’d do it with pleasure, Daniel, but there’s one problem,” Terrence replies quietly.       “Raquelle disappeared,” Peter adds. “She left quietly, and we don’t know when.”       “Raquelle?” Edward and Daniel ask surprisingly and look around quickly.       “So…” Daniel pronounces quietly. “And where did she leave?”       “If we knew,” Anna shrugs.       “Did she disappear after you came to the garage?” Edward frowns slightly.       “Yeah, somewhere at that moment,” Natalia nods.       “Daniel, you went outside!” Terrence recalls. “Didn’t you see her anywhere?”       “No, I didn’t see Raquelle outside,” Daniel shakes his head. “I didn’t notice her anywhere. And she wasn’t at the house.”       “And I didn’t see her when we were going here,” Edward says thoughtfully. “At least, when you were leaving, Raquelle was with you.”       “On the way to the house and here?” Helene frowns.       “We would’ve noticed her.”       “I guess, she left when we tried to find out where you disappeared,” Terrence assumes thoughtfully. “We got so busy with this talk that we stopped paying attention to anything.”       “And nothing happened to her?” Daniel gets suspicious. “Maybe, she has some problems.”       “No, nothing. I’d know it.”       “Did she decide to leave us?” Anna rounds her eyes.       “She would’ve taken my car, but my baby is in its place.”       “But where did she go, then?” Natalia throws her hands up. “If she isn’t at the house, where do we find her?”       “Anyway, Raquelle is somewhere close,” Daniel assumes. “Or maybe, she’ll be back now and explain everything. If she wants it.”       “Oh, shit…” Terrence moans quietly, running his hands over his hair. “How much she likes making me worried… Cameron does love making me nervous…”       “You’d be bored without it,” Edward chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, she keeps you in sharp.”       “I don’t care about your stupid jokes now. You better think about where that runaway could go this time.”       “Calm down, Terrence, don’t get excited,” Peter replies quietly. “I’m sure that she didn’t go far.”       “Calm down, fellows,” Daniel meddles and glances at the open door. “She’s coming here.”       Everybody looks at where Daniel looks and sees Raquelle returning to them, looking kind of hesitant, walking with her head inclined, and her arms crossed over her chest.       “Finally!” Natalia raises her hands up. “Our second disappearance has been found!”       Raquelle quietly comes to the garage and steps a few meters away from the others, not looking into their eyes.       “Raquelle, can you explain where you were the fuck brought this time?” Terrence asks irritably. “If you need to go out, was it so hard to say it?”       “Where have you been?” Anna wonders. “We started to think you wanted to leave us without warning.”       “Nope, I didn’t think about it…” Raquelle replies thoughtfully.       “But why did you leave?” Peter asks.       “I should’ve left. Sorry about not warning.”       Natalia, frowning slightly, looks at Raquelle better, comes to her, and hugs her around the shoulders.       “Raquelle, are you okay?” Natalia shows anxiety. “Why do you look so sad?”       But Raquelle says nothing and keeps thinking about something with sadness in her eyes, embracing herself with both arms.       “Raquelle, can you hear me?” Natalia asks softly. “Are you okay?”       “Yes, yes, I hear you…” Raquelle replies hesitantly, glancing at Natalia. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”       “You have problems? You wanna say something?”       “Nope, no problems.”       “But what made you so upset?”       “Let’s talk about it later. Now isn’t the best time for this talk.”       “Is that something serious?”       “I’ll explain it later. I promise.”       While everybody looks at each other with suspicion, Terrence comes to Raquelle confidently, grabs her face, and raises it, making the girl look into his eyes.       “Raquelle, what’s going on?” Terrence wonders. “You had a good mood some time ago, but when you left somewhere, you were kind of replaced!”       “Listen, guys, maybe, I say it later?” Raquelle moves a strand of hair off her face. “I wouldn’t like to talk about it right now.”       “Do you think we’ll pretend that everything’s okay?”       “Yes, Cameron, don’t pretend,” Natalia says confidently.       At this moment, Edward comes to Terrence, Natalia, and Raquelle, frowning slightly and looking at his soon-to-be sister-in-law, who definitely has something to say, with suspicion.       “Don’t make me do it, guys, I don’t wanna talk about it now,” Raquelle shakes her head. “Terrence, the lads and you wanted to play something. Do it then. Make us happy with your performance and let us relax a little.”       “Seriously, Raquelle, what could happen and make you suddenly upset?” Edward wonders.       “And actually, what kind of fucking epidemic?” Terrence resents. “At first, my brother came here, looking gloomier than a cloud, and now you have a gloomy face.”       “I doubt you’d have a good mood after what I’m gonna tell you,” Raquelle replies quietly.       “But what could make our mood worse?” Edward throws his hands up. “Nothing can be worse than the story of Uncle Michael and the trial of me!”       “Actually, the case is about him.”       “What?” Natalia, Terrence, and Edward ask.       “Yup.” Raquelle moves her sad eyes to Terrence, Edward, and Natalia. “Edward, Terrence, Natalia… I just received a call from Victor Johnson and was told the judge chose the date of the first hearing. The hearing of Michael’s case.”       Terrence, Natalia, and Edward look at each other and really start getting a little upset. At first, Peter and Helene and Daniel and Anna stood aside and looked at each other sometimes, but now they come to the four much closer.       “It has been chosen?” Natalia asks quietly, rounding her eyes.       “Yup,” Raquelle nods and glances down.       “And…” Edward pronounces hesitantly. “When will we have to get over that torture?”       “October, 28th,” Raquelle says quietly. “On that day, we should be in the courtroom at ten o'clock.”       “Twenty-eight,” Natalia specifies and swallows nervously. “Too soon…”       “Almost one week,” Terrence notices. “It happens that we have much less time to get ready than we thought?”       “I think so,” Raquelle nods.       “Mr. Johnson told you that?”       “Yup. He said we all would get the notification two or three days before the start of every single case.”       “Gosh, I thought we had much time…” Natalia says in a little shaking voice. “I couldn’t assume it would start so soon.”       “I didn’t expect it, either,” Edward replies thoughtfully, comes to Natalia, hugs her tightly with both arms, and presses herself to himself, while she pressses herself to him like a little, unprotected girl. “They chose the day kind of quickly.”       “Michael and his accomplices are gonna be in the dock all together,” Raquelle says. “Some cases of some deadbeats will take place, but we won’t go to the trial ‘cause our family doesn’t have to do with them.”       “Are all the cases gonna be heard by one?”       “Yes. So, one of them will have gotten a sentence when we hear the sentence for Michael.”       “Oh, my gosh…” Terrence pronounces thoughtfully and rubs his forehead. “If those cases are heard by one, this story won’t end soon.”       “Only those cases, with which one person has to do, will be united. For example, the cases that Michael has to do. He will get a sentence after hearing all of them.”       “So, is the case of the murder of Nicolas gonna be heard later?” Edward rounds his eyes.       “The first hearing in this case will take place the next day – on October, 29th. October, 30th is the day of hearing the case of Eugene Wainwright.”       “Yeah… First, I’m gonna be a witness, but then a defendant… And then a witness again… Oh, shit…”       “Ah, yeah, I almost forgot… After tomorrow, at half past two, we’re gonna have a meeting with our lawyer. All the witnesses to the cases that Michael MacClife has to do with must come together.”       “The lawyer?” Natalia wonders.       “Yes, Mr. Johnson will introduce him to us, and we will meet all the witnesses. The lawyer will explain what we should say and how to behave during the hearing. There is a plan to come together at the house of Terrence and me. But if you have something better to suggest, tell me, and I’ll talk to Mr. Johnson.”       “No,” Terrence shrugs and scratches the back of his head. “I think our house is a good place for a meeting.”       “Great. I’ll let him know that everything is decided. Mr. Johnson will give the address to the witnesses. And you, Edward, should tell your witness, who’s gonna protect you, that he must go to our home for the meeting with the lawyer.”       “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him today,” Edward promises.       “Great!”       “I think my parents know it, but I’ll tell them that we’re gonna have to meet.”       “And remember, even if the police have good proof of the fault of Michael and his pals, it doesn’t mean we’ll win,” Raquelle replies with sadness in her eyes. “I don’t wanna deprive you of hope, but we should stay realists and not dream with the hope that justice will surely restore.”       “Sounds bad, but true.”       “But I wish everything ended well,” Natalia sighs quietly and puts her head on Edward’s shoulder, who hugs her tightly and presses her to himself. “I wanna forget all the bad things that have happened over the past few months.”       “I think you’ve got no reason to be afraid,” Daniel says confidently. “There’s a great chance to win the case.”       “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean that Uncle wouldn’t do something for everything to be against us,” Terrence notices.       “I agree, we can expect anything from that man,” Edward agrees. “He won’t recognize his fault and will be showering us with mud. Maybe, he’ll make the judge and the jury sure that we all agreed against him.”       “Do you really care about it?” Peter wonders. “That man is arrested and will be able to do nothing to you. Now he’s like a dog that can bark but not bite. Let him bark along with his friends as much as he wants. It won’t help him.”       “But as Edward said, we can expect anything from him,” Terrence says confidently. “He might grab a pistol and shoot everybody down to the heck.”       “Yeah, but he’s gonna wear handcuffs,” Anna notices. “The police are gonna be closely watching him and won’t let anyone violate the rules in the courtroom. And then that man and his friends will be taken away along with the police.”       “But still, we must not really relax,” Raquelle replies confidently, crossing her arms over her chest. “All those people are very dangerous and may do any bad thing.”       “And it’s gonna be hard when we’re called to testify by one,” Edward says hesitantly. “When we’re telling the truth, someone will be stopping you. Insulting. Humiliating. Denying their fault.”       “You shouldn’t care about it,” Peter replies quietly. “Go, tell the truth, answer the lawyers’ questions, and sit down with a calm soul.”       “And if Uncle’s lawyer tries to get us confused and lead us to the corner with his questions, it’s gonna be harder for us to make the judge sure that we’re right.”       “Oh, shit…” Terrence moans quietly, running his hands over his face. “Why can’t that trial take place without us? The lawyer could represent every one of us and tell us about the process.”       “But nobody’s gonna represent me at the hearing of the murder case,” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. “I’ll have to speak for myself.”       “I don’t also wanna see anyone of those people,” Natalia says in a little shaking voice. “Especially the stinker, who mocked me… I don’t know if I can bear that torture…”       “He won’t hurt you, sweetie.” Edward tightly presses Natalia to himself, caresses her head, and puts his nose on the top of her head. “Even if that scumbag dares to touch you, he will regret it. I will not let him leave the courtroom quietly.”       “I’m shaking from the thought that I’d be in the same room along with that man.” Natalia sniffs quietly. “I won’t take it.”       “It’s gonna be okay, don’t worry. Nobody’s gonna let anyone hurt you and let those stinkers touch you with a finger.”       “I’m scared, Edward…” Natalia snuggles her face in Edward’s shoulder and continues to say what is only clear to him, sometimes giving quiet sobs. “I’d give everything not to take it. I don’t want… I don’t want…”       While Edward tries to calm down Natalia, who hugs him tightly, putting her hands on his back and putting her face in the curve of his neck, the others watch them with true sadness. Terrence standing near the lovers also hugs Raquelle tightly with both arms, presses her to himself, and caresses her back, while she presses herself closer to him and sometimes puts her nose on his shoulder.       “Peter told me what happened,” Helene says with sadness in her eyes. “I’m very sorry about what happened. And I hope everybody will get what they deserve.”       “I’d like to believe it would be so,” Terrence says quietly, running his fingers through Raquelle’s hair on the top of her head. “But as Raquelle said, let’s be realists.”       “I’d love to support you and come to at least one hearing,” Peter confesses. “Not sure if it will help you relax, but still.”       “Sure, come,” Raquelle says amicably. “We’ll be very glad if you all go to court. With the support of our friends and close people, we’ll feel a little better. I’ve already told my family the whole story, and they promised to support us. Natalia’s parents wanna come, as well.”       “It’s true,” Terrence confirms. “The more people in our support team, the better it is for us.”       “We will come!” Daniel promises confidently, looking at Helene and Peter, and Anna, whom he is hugging from behind. “At least on one hearing. We could come only for the announcement of the sentence for every single case.”       “Agree, we must delay our businesses and go to court,” Anna says.       “You’re right, we can delay our businesses for one day or a few hours,” Helene agrees.       “Don’t worry, guys,” Peter smiles slightly. “You won’t stay without our support.”       “Thanks a lot, friends,” Terrence thanks amicably. “We do really appreciate your support.”       “It’s gonna be okay,” Daniel encourages. “Michael will be sentenced, Edward will be found non-guilty, that sick Wainwright will be sentenced, and the real killer of Nicolas will go to prison. The important thing is to do what your lawyer would say, be honest on the trial, and believe in the best.”       “Thank you so much,” Raquelle says with a shy smile. “You’re all wonderful people.”       Anna, Daniel, Peter, and Helene smile slightly, and Edward and Natalia go aside, while silence settles in the air for a few seconds.       “Oh, listen, guys, maybe, we should reschedule the rehearsal for tomorrow or another day?” Daniel suggests hesitantly.       “Yeah, we can do it tomorrow,” Peter replies quietly. “It’s okay.”       “What do ya think, Terrence? Peter and I will bend under you.”       “No, guys!” Terrence does not even hesitant. “I’m not gonna cancel our plans just because we got depressed at the thought that we have a little time before the trial. Right now, I wanna distract myself and have much fun before the hard days start for me and my family.”       “Are you sure you can play?” Peter asks hesitantly.       “Yes, I can. I came here to have fun and forget the bad things. I ain’t gonna delay rehearsals. Even if it’s just a little warm-up, we do need it. We should start getting used to it now.”       “So!” Daniel nods confidently. “I like your spirit, buddy!”       “No step back.”       “In this case, let’s show high class and surprise our girls?” Peter suggests. “Give as much strength as we’ve never given before.”       “Yeah, like never ever!” Terrence exclaims cheerfully with a slight smile.       Terrence, Daniel, and Peter look at each other and nod confidently at each other. After this, they go to their instruments that they have not tuned yet. Raquelle, Anna, and Helene go aside, and Edward keeps comforting the crying Natalia.       “Please, Raquelle, don’t be so tense,” Anna says softly, caressing Raquelle’s shoulder.       “I’m nervous because of this trial, too,” Raquelle confesses with anxiety and swallows up nervously. “And I want everything to be over as soon as possible.”       “It’s gonna be okay, friend. You have a very high chance to win this case.”       “Oh, I dunno, Anna… I can’t be so sure…”       “The case is really not hopeless,” Helene replies confidently. “And if you get a good and experienced lawyer, it will be much better.”       “It's hurtful for me to see everybody so depressed because of this freaking trial. You all saw I didn’t wanna make anyone’s mood better. I planned to tell you everything later.”       “You did let us know that something made you anxious, and we started to be worried.”       “I know, Helene, but…”       “Listen, Raquelle, we completely understand that the situation is very hard. Nobody says you should give a damn about this case. But Terence said the right thing: now you should have much fun to get energy for the so-called war.”       “I won’t calm down ‘till this nightmare ends,” Raquelle sighs heavily. “And that’s good I don’t have shootings now. I suspended my work ‘till the end of the hearing.”       “Then use it,” Anna replies cheerfully with a slight smile. “Now the guys will finally play something, and we’ll listen to them and dance a little. And then I will probably cook something.”       “Exactly!” Helene agrees with the same shy smile. “I can’t wait to hear them live. Watching a video is not very interesting.”       “Maybe, you’re right…” Raquelle replies thoughtfully. “Maybe, I should really forget about it…”       “You must forget.”       “You know, girls… If not for all of you, I’d prefer lying on the bed all day long, doing nothing, and slowly going crazy from worrying.”       “You’ll lie later!” Anna exclaims cheerfully. “But now you must have fun!”       “Right!” Helene agrees. “And we can chase the men again later. Running and warning their muscles up would be good for them.”       “Yeah, but these idiots will eventually get us caught, annoy us with kisses, and feel us up,” Raquelle laughs shyly.       “It’s okay, may the boys have fun,” Anna smiles slyly. “They, silly fellows, don’t know what’s waiting for them after this. I have great plans for my hazel-eyed, pretty boy.”       “And I’m gonna play with the blond a little,” Helene replies with a mysterious smile.       “Well, I always have a plan for our black-haired peacock,” Raquelle says thoughtfully.       “Oh, honestly, I haven’t had much fun for ages,” Helene confesses. “Working, taking care of Grandma, the situation with Peter, something else… I’ve gotten super exhausted and wanna have some rest. I even took two days off.”       “I think we all should have fun,” Anna says confidently, hugging Helene and Raquelle around the shoulders. “We all deserved it. And now, when almost everything is solved, we have the right to have a lot of fun.”       “You know, friend…” Raquelle pronounces thoughtfully, thinks for two seconds, and smiles slightly. “You’re absolutely right! While there is a chance, we should have fun to the fullest and get pleasure for a few weeks to come.”       “We can even come up with a plan of fun until the twenty-eight,” Helene suggests. “Go somewhere or something like that.”       “We’ll obviously think about it,” Anna promises confidently. “Or maybe, the guys will give us a couple of ideas. But let’s forget about the trial for a while and only think about good things! For example, those we love! So what, girls? You agree?”       “I’m for,” Raquelle smiles slightly.       “Me too,” Helene says shyly.       “Wonderful then!” Anna exclaims happily.       Raquelle, Helene, and Anna give each other a five and find much funnier things to talk about to get busy with something, while the men are working with their instruments and making sure that everything is fine.       Meanwhile, Natalia and Edward are still standing aside. The man is still trying to calm the girl down, who cannot calm down from the thought that she would have to see her offender again in a few days, and talks to her in a soft, quiet voice, pressing her tightly to himself and caressing her head or back tenderly.       “Sweetheart, you know that all of us will support you,” Edward says softly. “Nobody’s gonna hurt you. I do always say that if at least one stinker dares to get closer to you, they’ll regret it.”       “I know,” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice. “But I can do nothing for me. I shake from the thought that I’d see that man again.”       “Wainwright will do nothing to you ‘cause he’ll be under the view and held down in case of danger.”       “I’m thinking of what happened on that horrible day when I see him,” Natalia sniffs quietly. “Thinking about how shamelessly he was feeling me up when his pal was trying to knock me out on the day of my kidnapping. I would’ve been happy to break free and scream out for help, but I couldn’t. I was getting weak and passed out later. I woke up when it was too late to resist. With the thought that I felt nauseous from how much that man smelled. I’ll never forget that… And I’m even afraid to imagine what he was doing to me when I was unconscious. How much he felt me up, kissed… Whether he undressed me…”       “Now nobody’s gonna feel you up and try to put you to sleep,” Edward promises confidently, caressing Natalia’s cheeks with both hands and carefully wiping off tears under her eyes. “I’ll let nobody get closer to you. And if your father comes to the hearing, he’ll be happy to help me deal with that stinker.”       “I don’t know how I could tell the judge the truth. I should prove Wainwright’s fault, so nobody thinks I wanna slander him. But I ain’t sure if I can speak. And if the lawyer for that stinker starts pressing on me, I’ll be able to do nothing.”       “Don’t worry, my sunshine, if you forget to say something I will do it. I will also testify in this case as a witness. I shall not be silent and will tell the judge what happened to you on that horrible day.”       “And I’m sure I won’t forget that case even if much time is gone.” Natalia makes a quiet sob. “I still remember everything very clearly. I have the face of that man before my eyes. And the disgusting, nauseous smell of his sweat and dirty teeth gets into my nose. Ugh, I feel bad when I think about it…”       “But you forgot it when we started to date.” Edward softly caresses Natalia’s head and moves a couple of blonde strands of hair off her eyes. “If nothing reminds you of that case, you stop thinking of what literally poisons you. You’ll need time, but I’ll do my best for it to be harmless for you.”       “Even if I distract myself from that for a while and think of something good, there will always be a reason to recall that and dream of dying from horror and shame,” Natalia replies in a depressed voice.       “No, don’t say it. You’ll forget everything very soon, I promise. When that bastard goes to prison, you’ll get much better. And nobody will remind you of what happened.”       “I’ll go insane, Edward,” Natalia says in a shaking voice with pity in her wet eyes. “It’s beyond me. I could bear and forget much, but not that. Not the way that dirty, smelly animal was feeling me up, licking me, and getting me almost undressed.”       “Please, Natalia, don’t think about it,” Edward says with pity in his eyes, caressing Natalia’s face with both hands. “I completely get it, but you shouldn’t get stuck on it. You’re a strong girl. You can bear it. I believe in you.”       “I’m not strong. I just made myself think so all my life. Though, I’m actually a terrible coward, who is guilty that everything went too far.”       “Any girl would prefer being silent in your case. Violators often shut their victims up, so nobody knows what they did. And victims are so shocked and terrified that they really say nothing.”       “What an idiot I was. Gosh, why did I actually go there? Why? Why did nothing stop me? Everything would’ve been otherwise if I’d been smarter!”       “Don’t blame yourself, Natalia.”       “But I am guilty!”       “I promise I’ll do my best to help you forget this nightmare once and forever. Even if it takes months and even years, I shall get what I want.”       “It’s too hard, Edward, too hard…” Natalia hides her face in the curve of Edward’s neck and keeps sobbing quietly, shaking slightly, tightly hugging the man, on the back of whom she puts her hands, and breathing in the smell of his skin. “I can’t…”       “Oh, my girl…”       Edward’s heart bleeds when he looks at Natalia in this condition. It’s also very hard for him, but he has to hold his emotions down. He promised to be strong and confident for his sweetheart, who needs his support, love, and care. He cannot show his weakness to her and fall into hysteria at the thought that he might be put in prison.       “Okay, sweetie, don’t cry,” Edward says quietly, softly caressing Natalia’s head or running his fingertips over the skin on it, and kisses the girl on the top of her head, while she makes often sobs and presses herself to him as closely as possible. “Otherwise, you’ll go crazy.”       “I’m scared, sweetie…” Natalia pronounces in a shaking voice. “Really scared…”       “Don’t be, I’m with you.” Edward puts his hands on Natalia’s back and starts slowly running them over it with the hope of calming her down. “Nothing will happen to you if you’re with me.”       Natalia says nothing and just keeps crying quietly, trying not to fall into hysteria. Edward shakes his head, swallowing up nervously, and puts his nose on the top of her head.       “Please, Natalia, calm down,” Edward begs quietly with pity in his eyes and cracks a smile. “Otherwise, I’ll start crying, too. We’ll sit on the sofa and cry together.”       “Don’t take a bad example from me,” Natalia chuckles.       “Do you give it?”       “Sure! Crying like a hysterical girl and fearing the trial of that stinker so hard.”       “Is that a bad example? It’s fear. The fear that something bad might happen.”       “You sound so confident.” Natalia steps back from Edward and moves her wet look to his eyes. “You’re madly worried, though.”       “I can’t deny it.”       “Did you stay at the house because you thought about it?”       “I could say so. And I won’t calm down ‘till Uncle Michael and his pals are sentenced, and I’m found non-guilty.”       “Gosh, are you trying to comfort me, while you literally wanna hang yourself?”       “Don’t worry about me, my sunshine.” Edward caresses Natalia’s cheeks with both hands. “I can survive it. No matter how hard it is for me, I will bear any pressure.”       “Are you sure?”       “I’ve experienced a lot in my life. Tortures in prison and the regular pressing of Uncle and his pals…”       “But it’s gonna be a mask.”       “Maybe. But I’ll do my best to really be strong and confident. Uncle and his pals must not see what’s happening inside me. Although they know about my weakness, I want to become different.”       “I’m terribly worried about you and can’t imagine what would happen to you if something went wrong.”       “Don’t be, sweetheart, I can take it. I worry about your condition more.”       “Anyway, I’ll have to do what I should do.”       “And you can do it.”       “Don’t say you believe we’ll win.”       “I do. Despite tearing myself between the belief in the best and the feeling of absolute despair, I hope that Uncle, his accomplices, the killer of Nicolas, and the bastard, who mocked you, will get a long sentence.”       “It would be great,” Natalia sighs heavily. “I dream about it.”       Natalia glances down, but Edward softly grabs her face, setting his eyes into her sad, wet, but beautiful blue eyes, while she puts her arms around the small of his back.       “It’s gonna be okay, believe me,” Edward says confidently. “Together, we’ll restore justice and put Uncle in prison.”       “What about you?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “I did what I could to prove my innocence. I need only to testify at the hearing and pray that the police prove that Nicolas was killed by Eric, not me.”       “What if it’s not…”       “No more ‘not!’” Edward stops confidently and takes Natalia by the shoulders softly. “We’ll get those, who did bad things to us, sentenced. And my family won’t leave me in prison and will get me out if the judge pronounces me guilty.”       “Gosh, how do you have such confidence?” Natalia wonders. “You were sure that Michael would be released, and you’d be sentenced!”       “Maybe, the guys are right that we should stop thinking of the worst things. At least, I don’t wanna say something now. The case is really not hopeless, and we have a chance to get a victory.”       “You say it ‘cause you wanna make everybody sure that you have hope. You’re still sure it’s all worthless, though.”       “You know that I’m trying to make it the truth.” Edward moves his hands to the curves of Natalia’s waist and presses her to himself. “You wanna be with a confident man that would protect you from bad things like a little girl.”       “You’re already a brave and confident man.” Natalia tenderly grabs Edward’s face and sets her gaze on his expressive gray eyes. “And I’m sure that when it’s all over, you’ll have no reason to doubt yourself.”       “Never! I’ll never show cowardice. I’d go through fire and water for my close people. I even agree to go to prison in case it saves someone’s life.”       “No, I don’t want you to be in prison! You want you to be with me and help me forget how I was almost raped and killed.”       “I said I’d do my best. If someone dares to touch you with a finger, they will pay a high cost.”       “And who will protect me if you’re sentenced?” Natalia makes a quiet sob, looking into the eyes of Edward, on the chest of whom she puts her hands, which she clenches into fists later. “Who will show me such tender love and amazing care? Nobody can do it better than you! And I don’t wanna stay alone!”       “You will not be alone, my sweetheart.” Edward takes Natalia in a touching hug, caressing her back with one hand and putting another on the back of her head. “Never.”       “Promise?”       “Promise.”       Natalia says nothing and just makes a quiet sob, pressing herself as close to Edward as possible and putting her nose in his shoulder, while he hugs her tightly, and caresses her head.       “Okay, sweetie, okay,” Edward says softly and quietly and runs his hand over Natalia’s blonde hair. “Let’s try not to talk about it.”       “If you don’t try to get out anymore,” Natalia replies in a little shaking voice.       “I will not, I promise.” Edward steps back from Natalia and kisses her cutely on the cheek. “I’ll no longer distance myself from you and the guys and go where you’ll go. If I stay alone, I’ll withdraw into myself and think of the worst things. I’ll get obsessed with yearning and a wish to strangle myself from shame and horror.”       “In this case, I’ll do my best to help you.” Natalia puts an arm around Edward’s neck, the nape of which she tenderly caresses with her fingertips, starting to stroke his soft hair and caress his cheek at some moment. “With words and a business.”       “At first, calm down yourself,” Edward says with a slight smile, carefully wipes tears under Natalia’s eyes, and fixes her hair. “And stop crying. I said I didn’t wanna see you cry because of something bad. Only because of happiness.”       “Okay, sweetie, I’ll try,” Natalia smiles shyly and sniffs quietly. “Anything for you.”       “That’s good.”       Natalia smiles much wider, holding the nape of Edward’s neck with both hands, and kisses him cutely on the cheek. The man hugs the girl by the waist much tighter and presses her to himself so closely that their faces are at a very short distance. It makes both of them smile shyly and rub the tips of their noses against one another. The lovers look into each other’s eyes for a few seconds. Then Edward kisses Natalia on a little wet cheek very tenderly, feeling the salt taste of tears, running his hands through her incredibly soft-to-touch hair, and making the girl smile. The blonde looks into his eyes for two seconds, kisses him cutely on the tip of his nose, and touches his soft, warm lips with her open lips. It makes the man smile widely and feel that his heart stops for a moment. Edward leaves a few short kisses on Natalia’s lips before he gets her involved in a much longer one, to which she answers with pleasure.       At some moment, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter come together and try to decide what to play. Looking at Edward, who does not notice it and is busy with Natalia much more.       “So, it’s time to ask him to do it,” Peter says confidently.       “My ass does feel that this decision is gonna be a bomb,” Daniel replies cheerfully with a wide smile.       “But looking at him, I kind of doubt Edward would agree.”       “C’mon, Peter, he’ll have no choice! He will agree! Not for us, but for his girlfriend! For her, he’d climb the top of Everest.”       “I’m afraid Edward might think our suggestion is a joke,” Terrence shows anxiety, holding a white solo guitar, the belt of which is placed above his shoulder. “Just like he did when I told him I could ask him to join the band.”       “But when he understands we really want it, he’ll be shocked.”       “Damn, how it would be cool if he agreed,” Peter sighs quietly, putting his thumbs in the pockets of his jeans. “If MacClife showed the same powerful energy that he showed in those videos, it would be a bomb, as Dan said.”       “Agree,” Terrence agrees confidently. “Remember my words: after we play with him once, none of us will wish to let him go and miss a chance to get such a talented guy.”       “Aren’t you afraid that the kid could outstand you with his charm and powerful energy?” Peter laughs shyly. “It’s gonna be a strong hit for your ego!”       “I am. But a wish to let the kid show himself is stronger. This talent shouldn’t be hidden. George found a job that would let Edward show himself as a songwriter, and we could easily give him a chance to sing and play guitar in our band. Moreover, he must struggle with his shyness and start to realize his talent. He’s terribly afraid to show it and is too insecure. So, we need to do something for my bro to understand that people love his playing and singing. Too much.”       “And it would be a great way to help him distract,” Daniel notices confidently. “Otherwise, he’s gonna get nuts. Seriously, guys! A little bit before Edward goes crazy and brings himself to something horrible before the trial of Michael and his starts.”       “No, I don’t even wanna think about it!” Terrence raises a hand.       “That’s why we need to give him a chance. When I talked to Edward, he was only talking about the trial and a fear of going to prison.”       “MacClife should be with at least one person as often as possible,” Peter says confidently. “He always withdraws into himself when he’s alone.”       “Agree,” Terrence nods. “Edward may be thinking for hours. When Uncle gave the order to bring Natalia to his house, it was very hard to talk to this guy. He came back to reality just to deal with Uncle or his pals.”       “Yeah, when Edward is in a company, he’s funny and has a good mood,” Daniel replies. “He doesn’t think of bad things with us.”       “So, he must get busy with nice things,” Peter advises. “George found him a job at such a good time. And if we’re lucky, we’ll get him involved in our work. Edward will have no time to think of the trial.”       “Exactly! And if MacClife is good as a songwriter, I’m sure that George will find someone else to wish to work with the kid. If it’s doing fine, he’ll really have no time to worry. When Edward does something, he gets involved in the process and pays attention to nothing.”       “And the way he rocked in the city proves it well,” Terrence adds confidently.       “So, we must take a chance!”       “Yes! Let’s suggest he play with us and see what he will say. We won’t insist, but we will try to do our best for him to agree.”       “We can ask Natalia for help. She’d quickly persuade this romantic to play with us.”       “Okay…” Peter smiles slightly, glances aside, and frowns slightly. “Erm… But we should wait for him to be free.”       “Huh, what could the kid do right now?” Daniel chuckles kindly.       “Look there.”       Terrence and Daniel look at what Peter is looking at with mysterious smiles. The three can see Edward and Natalia smiling shyly and rubbing the tip of their noses against one another, and the girl answers his long kiss with pleasure after a few attempts to tease him.       “Oh, yeah!” Terrence, Daniel, and Peter pronounce funnily with wide smiles.       “Stopping this thing is not allowed!” Daniel says confidently.       “Yay, guys, our kid isn’t an ignoramus,” Terrence notices thoughtfully. “The boy is growing up.”       “Oh, yeah, having a brother like you, he can’t be an ignoramus!” Peter chuckles, putting his hands on his hips. “And actually, I think MacClife, Jr., is good at everything he does.”       “Right!” Daniel agrees. “He’s got a pretty face, sings incredibly, plays guitar amazingly, moves his ass well, and knows everything about good sex and the seduction of girls.”       “But if he gets a couple of lessons from me, his beloved blonde is gonna be very happy,” Terrence replies confidently with a sly smile.       “Aha, what can you teach him? Get the world of BDSM discovered for him and let him know that when someone ties you up tightly and tapes your mouth, you can get an unreal pleasure?”       “Said by the one, who wouldn’t mind trying something like that. But I doubt your girlfriend would go too far, ‘cause she is too shy and decent.”       “You know Anna bad, buddy,” Daniel smiles slyly, raising his head proudly. “If she is turned on the right wave, nothing will be left of her shyness.”       “Did ya try it already?” Terrence opens his mouth.       “None of your business.”       “I’m gonna think it’s a positive answer.”       “Hey, calm down already,” Peter meddles. “Better look what our shy guy Edward is doing. Natalia was crying some time ago, but now she gets pleasure and literally melts in his arms.”       “Listen, guys, why do you all like kissing in my territory?” Daniel asks funnily. “Is this a fucking kiss house? You should also go to guest rooms, undress, and lie in bed with your cuties.”       “Huh, you kiss and hug Anna at any good case. At your home, outside, and at someone’s house.”       “We’re not guilty that our girls are such attractive beauties, to whom we can’t resist,” Terrence smiles innocently.       “Judging Edward’s happy face, he’s really getting high,” Peter assumes with a sly smile, watching Edward, who kisses Natalia on the lips, runs his hand through her hair, and holds her by the chin. “Shy of nobody! As if we aren’t here!”       “With this girl, he forgets about insecurity,” Daniel replies confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. “When Edward ended up next to Natalia, he changed. And he could really be a hero. Or an alpha male.”       “Natalia impacts him well.”       “You just look how he’s smiling,” Terrence laughs shyly, seeing Edward rubbing the tip of his nose against Natalia’s nose with a wide smile, while she holds him by the hips. “Just like the Cheshire Cat.”       “Oh, yeah, I’ve never seen such a wide smile on his face. It seems like our sentimental romantic is getting freer and freer.”       “Who knows, maybe, my brother will grow up to propose to her to marry someday. I’ll be happy to accept Natalia into my family and have such a cool sister-in-law.”       “Well, if you said Edward wanted to marry Natalia much earlier, he could use a chance this time,” Daniel replies thoughtfully.       “And it seems like a wish to propose to marry too early is a family thing of the MacClifes,” Peter laughs shyly. “One wanted to marry literally on the day of the meeting, and another thinks of marrying two or three months later.”       “I just knew I met the right girl,” Terrence replies confidently. “When I saw Raquelle, I told myself she would be my wife.”       “I’d like to laugh and watch Cameron hitting you in the face after you began to accost her and resented that she didn’t fall at your feet,” Daniel chuckles.       “And you, Perkins, don’t forget that the guys and I are still waiting for your engagement with Anna.”       “Calm down, Terrence! Everybody here will one hundred percent be included in the list of guests at my wedding.”       “Think faster,” Peter hurries. “I wanna have fun, drink champagne, and eat a wedding cake. But the wedding of the best is such a cool reason!”       “I do know that the MacClife brothers and you are waiting for my wedding just to eat,” Daniel chuckles. “One is omnivorous, another has a sweet tooth, and a third one wants chicken in any form.”       “Why yours? We’re gonna have Terrence’s wedding. I don’t doubt that his goodbye to the single life is gonna be royal.”       “Mine isn’t gonna be worse. I ain’t gonna be greedy for my girl and me.”       “Who would doubt it!” Peter and Terrence laugh shyly.       Daniel gives Terrence and Peter a slight clap on the head, after which they stroke down their disheveled hair. Two seconds later, the guys move their eyes to Edward and Natalia and see that the girl gets control of the situation, putting her arms around the man’s neck and leaving short kisses on his face.       “Hey, hello, is that couple gonna finish their business?” Peter asks. “Or are they gonna be snuggling ‘till the evening? I understand that they have cute moments, but we won’t have time to ask the kid to play with us.”       “Indeed, we should stop them somehow!” Daniel replies confidently. “The girls are gonna eat us if we don’t play anything. And you know that an angry or unhappy girl is hell.”       “Listen, guys, I have an idea!” Terrence says confidently with a sly smile and glances at Daniel and Peter. “If we tell the others we’re ready to play right now, those two will pay attention to us. And the kid will finally get off his golden-haired girl.”       “Nice idea, dude!”       “Speak them!” Peter exclaims. “Right now!”       Terrence nods with a sly smile, hesitates for two seconds, and turns on everybody confidently, seeing the girls sitting on the sofa and talking about something and Edward and Natalia standing aside.       “Hey, guys!” Terrence exclaims loudly. “Fellows! The guys and I are ready to play for you!”       As Terrence assumed, Edward and Natalia really step away from each other, and the girls stop talking. Everybody stares at the men from “Against The System”, and Natalia and Edward’s gloomy looks say that they are not happy that someone stopped them.       “Hey, couldn’t you say it later?” Edward resents, crossing his arms over his chest. “I was actually busy!”       “So, bro, didn’t we let you snuggle with your beauty?” Terrence chuckles. “You wanted to start such a hot show but met failure.”       “Next time, I shall meddle shamelessly when you snuggle Raquelle and undress her again. I will see your face and laugh loudly.”       “Okay, stop, men, stop, stop!” Daniel waves a hand. “Otherwise, you’re gonna be arguing and threatening to kill each other ‘till the evening.”       “In short, guys, we talked about everything and are ready to make you happy with our performance!” Peter exclaims.       “Come on?” Natalia, Raquelle, Anna, and, Helene wonder.       “We thought you’d talk like girls ‘till the evening,” Edward says with a quiet chuckle.       “Will we finally dance along with good music and have fun?” Natalia asks happily.       “As they say, dance, everybody!” Daniel exclaims funnily. “And we’re ready to give you this pleasure.”       “Do it then!” Anna encourages. “Or do you want the girls, Edward, and me to die from boredom?”       “Calm down, beauties,” Terrence says confidently. “And my annoying rag. It’s gonna happen now.”       “But we have a suggestion for Edward,” Peter adds. “And we’d like to ask him something before we start to play.”       “For me?” Edward rounds his eyes.       “For you, romantic, for you.”       “And… What’s your suggestion?”       Terrence glances at Daniel and Peter, nods confidently, and comes closer to Edward.       “Edward, don’t you wanna play with Peter, Daniel, and me?” Terrence suggests. “Right now.”       “Erm…” Edward gets confused. “What? Play with you? In your band?”       “Yup. Remembering what you were doing when performing on the streets of the city, we don’t doubt that you’d give our band some powerful energy and shake it up. We definitely need it.”       This answer makes Edward laugh nervously, while Natalia smiles shyly, being happy that MacClife, Sr., finally gave her boyfriend such a good chance to show himself.       “Ah, Terrence, here you go again,” Edward shakes his head. “Very funny…”       “You think I’m kidding?” Terrence wonders. “Not at all! Rose, Perkins, and I really want you to play with us.”       “Okay, brother, you joked, and that’s enough. Go to sing.”       “It’s not a joke!”       “Listen, if you need someone to cheer a crowd up before your performance, you could say it. Don’t cover it with a wish to ask me to play with you.”       Daniel and Peter come to Edward and Terrence, while Natalia goes aside and glances at Raquelle, Anna, and Helene, who get up from the sofa slowly.       “Your brother isn’t lying, Edward,” Peter says confidently. “We really want you to play with us right now.”       “It’d be great if we had another guitarist and vocalist,” Daniel adds. “We’ll give you a guitar, and I’ll find a microphone. There are four of them.”       Edward looks at Peter, Terrence, and Daniel with mistrust, understanding that they are speaking absolutely seriously and do not look like they want to joke.       “Aren’t you really kidding?” Edward frowns slightly. “Do you want me to play with you?”       “Oh, Edward, either you’re a moron, or you’re pretending to be the one,” Terrence moans tiredly. “Isn’t it clear we’re speaking seriously?”       “But… Why? Why do you want me to play with you?”       “I came up with this idea a long time ago. But I think I said I had to forget about it due to the band issues. But I started to think about it much more after Raquelle, Natalia, you, and I watched that video and read the comments. And then Daniel showed Peter and me your other performances, and we talked about my suggestion. That nobody minded.”       “If you need a guitarist, you can start an audition and choose the best one. I can even help you with it.”       “Even if we were told to find another guitarist and vocalist, I don’t think we’d work with the one that we don’t know,” Peter says quietly. “It’s important to us. We wanna work with those, who we know very well.”       “We’ve known you for a long time,” Daniel adds. “We’re aware of your preferences in music that are the same as ours. You know our style and have helped us write songs well. They’re really cool and will surely be included in our first album. If we don’t write anything better.”       “I do agree to help you write songs,” Edward shrugs. “For nothing. I’d take no cent from you and do it for our friendship.”       “We don’t doubt it,” Terrence says. “But the case is that even if we created a band, I was obsessed with a feeling that something was missed and tried to make Peter and Daniel sure about it. They just understood me and agreed that we needed to change something to sound much better. And we think a cool solo guitarist can fix it. You fit us perfectly. After viewing those videos, we don’t doubt that if you’re confident, you can give our band the crazy energy, with which you infected those, who listened to you.”       “We don’t say you must become a member of the band right now,” Peter specifies. “No, we just want you to play with us. We want to make our girls really happy. But we can hardly do it without you.”       “Oh…” Edward gets confused, while his widely open and scared eyes run from one side to another, and he gets obsessed with doubts and insecurity. “I… I don’t know, guys… You got me confused… It’s… An unexpected suggestion.”       “You’re a talented guy, Edward,” Terrence says confidently. “When someone has a talent, it must not be hidden. You should tell the world about yourself. I mean, people do talk about you. Everyone admires you. Many fellows want you to become a part of our band. And people are really picky. They wouldn’t pay attention to some bullshit.”       “I think it’s not a very good idea. I won't meet your expectations.”       “You can. We know you don’t believe in yourself or your strength. But trust me, we’ve got no reason to lie to you. Everybody says you have a great talent for music: the men, the girls, Father, and Mother. Even unfamiliar people do recognize it and literally praise you.”       “I don’t know why people got so excited. There is nothing to admire.”       “Listen, Edward,” Daniel takes a word confidently. “Let’s play for ourselves and see how the band would sound with your play.”       “C’mon, guys,” Edward finds excuses. “Don’t waste time and play as a trio. The girls have been waiting for it and are gonna literally kill you if you don’t start playing now.”       “Don’t refuse so easily, buddy!” Peter replies with a slight smile. “Just play with us, and we'll see what’s gonna happen! Do it for your pleasure. This performance is for us and our girls, not for the public. A way to forget bad things and relax. We should, so to say, reload our brains.”       “What if I disappoint you? What if I give you a bad impression?”       “Can you say you’d kick everybody and rock on as well as you did with the street band?” Daniel asks with a mysterious smile.       “I told myself about it for many years. But now I don’t wanna lie anymore and pretend to be strong, confident, and determined.”       “C’mon, Edward, agree!” Terrence says cheerfully. “Do it for pleasure, just like in the case of George’s band. If something goes wrong, nobody will say a word.”       “No, Terrence, I can’t.”       “You can.” Terrence glances at the solo guitar, takes the belt off his shoulder, and points the instrument to Edward. “Take. Gonna be playing a solo guitar.”       “What? But you play it!”       “I’ll play a rhythm guitar this time. You’re gonna play lead guitar parts.”       Edward thinks for a few seconds, hesitantly looking at the men and the girls, who encourage him with a slight smile. And then he understands that he should use this wonderful chance to relax, even if he still doubts that he could meet their expectations. The man lets them know it with a slight nod and takes the guitar from Terrence hesitantly, saying quietly:       “Fine. I agree to play with you.”       “Great!” Terrence claps his hands with a slight smile. “I’m so glad you agreed!”       “As well as the blond and me,” Daniel says confidently, looking at Peter, who nods.       “Girls, especially you, Natalia, rejoice and whoops!” Terrence turns on Natalia, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna. “Edward agreed to play with us! We’re gonna have a brilliant performance!”       “Yes, yes, I’m so happy!” Natalia makes a happy whoop. “You, guys, did it!”       “If a person is talented, we should give him a chance to show it,” Peter replies confidently, clapping Edward, who inclines his head slightly, on the shoulder. “And help him overcome his insecurity.”       “C’mon, guys, rock on!” Raquelle exclaims. “Surprise us with your talents.”       “So what, gang, let’s show everything we can do and start an unforgettable show for our girls?” Terrence asks with a slight smile and his head proudly raised.       “Yes!” Peter and Daniel exclaim cheerfully with wide smiles.       Terrence, Daniel, and Peter clench their hands into fists and move their eyes to Edward, whom they suggest doing the same. He knocks at the knuckles of the men with a shy smile. Then the blond goes to the drum set, sits on the chair, and fixes the microphone pointed at him, while Terrence comes to the one that is placed in the center. Daniel finds a black, glossy rhythm guitar that he gives Terrence, and Edward gets a mediator from him. Then Perkins quickly installs the reserved microphone, placing three stands in a line, takes a black and yellow bass guitar, and stands in front of the microphone placed on the left of Terrence. MacClife, Jr., slowly puts the belt of the solo guitar above his shoulder and stands in front of the microphone on the right hand of his brother. While Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene sit down on the sofa with the thought that something grandiose is waiting for them.       “Ah, girls, I feel that it’s gonna be very hot,” Natalia says confidently with a wide smile. “And I can bet anything that the guys can make Edward the fourth member of the band and won’t wish to let him go after they play one song.”       “I think so,” Raquelle agrees, fixing her hair. “Moreover, Terrence has been thinking about it for a long time. And after watching those videos, he got a greater interest in this idea.”       “Many people suggest Edward create a band, start a solo career, or join Terrence’s band,” Anna confesses, folding her hands in front of her.       “I wonder, did Edward read those comments?” Helene asks.       “He did it when the four of us watched those videos,” Natalia replies, putting one leg on another. “And as for reading comments when being alone, I don’t know. But I’m not sure if he reads those comments all day long.”       “He would've been really surprised if he had seen that video earlier than all of us,” Raquelle assumes.       “Sure!” Anna exclaims. “Anyone would be shocked to see a video of themselves doing something, if they didn’t know they were photographed or minded it.”       “Hey, if our guys make the band popular, we’re gonna be famous, as well,” Helene says with a slight smile. “We’re gonna be recognized, asked to take a photo, and tell them about the lads…”       “Actually, we’re kind of famous to some extent,” Anna notices. “The guys don’t hide who they’re dating and often publish our photos and videos on Instagram. Well, if the band of the guys gets famous around the world, everyone will know us, too.”       “Maybe, not around the world…” Natalia exclaims. “But we’re gonna be stars for sure.”       A few seconds later, the men finally fix the instruments and check how their microphones work, and make sure everything is ready for their performance.       “Okay!” Terrence exclaims cheerfully. “Now we’re really ready to play!”       “Finally!” Raquelle exclaims loudly. “Our slowpokes are ready!”       “And you say we spend a lot of time getting ready,” Anna adds gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest. “We could’ve drunk coffee or eaten something, while you were working with your instruments.”       “Or we could’ve gone home and come back here,” Helene adds. “Go to my home. I live not far from here. To talk to Grandma, who would’ve looked at the girls…”       “Aha, maybe, they would've gotten ready by that time,” Natalia laughs shyly.       Terrence, Daniel, Edward, and Peter pay no attention to the jokes of the girls, even if they put on a slight smile.       “Okay, bros…” Terrence says quietly, squeezing the boards of the rhythm guitar. “It’s just a little warm-up. “But as I said, we need it to recall everything and understand how we’d sound with Edward.”       “Oh, but I’m nervous as well as I was when we were on the tour,” Daniel confesses.       “Support!” Peter agrees. “I don’t wanna screw it all up for our girls.”       “We have no right,” Terrence says confidently.       “That’s right! Even if my whole body is gonna hurt after one or two songs, ‘cause I haven't played for ages.”       “You’ll get used to it after playing a couple of songs,” Daniel replies confidently, barely touching the strings of the bass guitar with his fingertips. “But I can exactly say that the guys and I aren’t gonna have calluses on our fingers ‘cause we often play something.”       “That’s right!” Terrence agrees. “The only things that threaten us are a terrible pain in the body and hoarse voices after singing on high notes.”       “If only we didn’t screw it up while singing… Even if we had warmed our voices up…”       “Listen, stop worrying! Why are you worried about little things? We’re playing for pleasure, for ourselves and our girls!”       “Who want to hear at least one song!” Raquelle cries.       “Yeah!” Anna, Natalia, and Helene exclaim.       Silence settles for two seconds, during which the little confused guys look at each other. And then Peter breaks it, drawing something in the air with a drumstick:       “Yeah, about a song… Either I missed something, or we haven’t decided which song we’re gonna play.”       “Yeah,” Edward meddles. “What do we play? Of course, I don’t care and can improvise a little. But I thought you’d play something specific.”       “Ask the frontman,” Daniel points at Terrence with an innocent smile. “This rooster decides everything.”       The guys set their gazes on Terrence, who gets a little confused after looking at the gloomy Daniel, Edward, and Peter. Raquelle, Anna, Natalia, and Helene also look at MacClife, Sr., making him feel much more awkward. But the man quickly takes control of this situation, stepping a few steps back from the microphone and saying:       “Erm… For a couple of words, guys… Discuss something.”       Terrence turns his back on the girls and comes to Peter. Daniel and Edward join him immediately. They start whispering about something, showing some chords, gesticulating actively, and giving their opinion. While Natalia, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna start losing their patience and start to doubt that they will hear something.       “Hey, how long are these idiots gonna get ready?” Anna resents. “Do they wanna play time ‘till the evening?”       “I don’t stand in front of the mirror as long as they get ready for a play,” Natalia chuckles quietly.       “I mean the same!” Helene agrees. “Are they gonna get ready for their shows for a long time? People would leave, while these princes of blue blood are pleased to go on stage.”       “Oh, yeah, and their opening act would perform the songs from the setlist two times,” Raquelle says with a chuckle.       “I swear, girls, if these four don’t start playing in five minutes, they will regret it,” Anna says confidently. “I’ll take a pillow and beat Daniel with it again. Much stronger and crueler. It’s clear what he got the last time wasn’t enough.”       “Give me a pillow, as well,” Raquelle smiles slyly. “I wanna beat Terrence. A frontman must get much more kicks.”       “Pete may get some kicks, too,” Helene chuckles quietly.       “C’mon, maybe, we pity Rose?” Natalia suggests. “He recently left the hospital and hasn’t come to himself!”       “Oh, no! If MacClife and Perkins get kicks, Rose must pay along with them. One for all and all for one, as they say.”       “But I will pity Edward. He isn’t a part of the band of these slowpokes.”       “That’s fair,” Raquelle agrees with a slight smile.       “Count down then,” Anna crosses her arms over her chest. “If they don’t start singing within five minutes, I’ll take pillows, and we’ll kick their asses.”       “Ha, look, I think they discussed everything,” Helene chuckles. “The boys got scared that we’d start beating them again.”       “They’re just lucky,” Natalia shrugs.       Meanwhile, Terrence, Peter, Edward, and Daniel really finish talking about the song and want to go back to their places.       “Again: Edward starts playing a solo on a guitar,” Terrence gives orders. “Then you, Peter, join him, and then Daniel and I do. Next, you know when and how to play. You got it, guys?”       “Yes,” Edward, Daniel, and Peter nod energetically.       At first, the guys give each other a five, and then Terrence, Daniel, and Edward go back to their places in front of the microphones. Seeing the gloomy looks of Raquelle, Helene Natalia, and Anna, the young men get a little confused but hide it and just smile shyly.       “So, beauties, the band ‘Against The System’ is gonna perform for you right now,” Terrence speaks into his microphone. “That wants to reach success, despite nothing.”       “And one very talented man, who’s supposed to give this performance something new and fresh, is gonna perform with our band,” Daniel says into his microphone.       “We’re happy to introduce Edward MacClife, a little brother of our frontman and just a cool man,” Peter speaks into his microphone. “Who you better support to let him know that he’s more talented than he thinks.”       “That was unnecessary,” Edward says with great shyness, feeling terribly awkward and starting to doubt if he should play with the men. “Too official…”       “Don’t pay attention, at first sight, my bro seems a quiet and shy guy,” Terrence says confidently, coming to Edward and hugging him around the shoulders. “But trust me, if you help him relax, he’ll burn everything in his way and get you infected with his crazy energy.”       “And it’s gonna a great honor for us to play alongside this incredibly talented man,” Peter adds. “We don’t doubt you are gonna love our performance with this creature of nature.”       “We’ll play the song that we love so much,” Daniel announces. “And we hope you’re gonna love what we’re gonna play for the first time in a while.”       Feeling like they are at the private concert of “Against The System”, the girls applaud with wide smiles on their faces.       “C’mon, Edward!” Terrence comes to his microphone. “Go!”       The men set their gazes on Edward, who is supposed to start to play a guitar solo. But he is so insecure that he cannot make himself overcome his fear and keeps standing frozen, looking at everybody with rounded eyes full of horror. And a few seconds later, Terrence, Peter, and Daniel look at each other and shrug or throw their hands up.       “Edward, come on!” Daniel encourages. “You fell asleep?”       Edward tries to brace himself for a few seconds, but then he looks at the man with a hesitant and scared look and shakes his head, accidentally touching his microphone so that it makes a loud, unpleasant sound, which makes everybody close their ears.       “I can’t…” Edward pronounces in a quiet, low voice. “No… I can’t play…”       “Stop, buddy, you know everybody!” Peter exclaims. “Are you shy about playing for the girls?”       “I told you this idea was very bad. Nothing good would happen.”       “Edward, but why?” Terrence rounds his eyes.       “Sorry, Terrence… Sorry, Daniel… Sorry, Peter… Sorry, girls… I won’t play…”       “Edward, please…” Natalia begs with pity in her eyes. “At least try! I’m sure you can do this!”       “Listen, we know you doubt yourself and your talents,” Daniel says confidently. “But how are ya gonna fight with your fears when you don’t wanna even try? To fight fear, you must face it, not run away from it.”       “We’re giving you a good chance to show your talent and take the first step to becoming more confident,” Peter adds. “You’ll see, when you play and sing, nobody will say you’re worthless. And if you tell the whole world about you, you’ll get many fans. Hearing their admiring compliments, you’ll fight with hesitance and understand that you have potential.”       “Sorry, but I can’t,” Edward says quietly, shaking his head. “Play as a trio, but I’ll just listen to you. You wasted time deciding to persuade me to play with you.”       Edward takes the belt of the solo guitar off himself, places it on the special stand, and goes aside with his head inclined, while everybody looks at him with pity.       “The guys are right, Edward,” Raquelle says softly. “For you, it’s a wonderful chance to show yourself. And it will help you distract yourself.”       “And actually, why weren’t you shy about singing before unfamiliar people?” Helene wonders. “Why are you terribly afraid to play for your friends? As if that wasn’t you in the video.”       “Indeed, buddy, why?” Anna wonders. “We don’t doubt that you’d be a good piece of the lads’ band and play so that they’re nicely shocked. Just like we were when we saw what you did in those videos.”       “I started to regret not showing harshness and not giving a confident refusal,” Edward replies without emotions.       “But you were so happy at that moment,” Natalia notices with sadness in her eyes. “When you were signing… When the people were singing and dancing along with you… When everybody started to applaud at you and leave money… The happiness in your eyes was true. You were madly happy, so many people paid attention to you.”       “Listen, Natalia, I don’t wanna disappoint you or anyone else, but I have no courage. I’ll mess up everything.”       “Please, Edward, play with the guys… At least for me… I do wanna hear how you’d sound with the guys. Stop being afraid and shy. Everybody must discover your unreal talent. Doesn’t the fact that so many people applauded for you prove that you sing and play guitar well?”       “I don’t wanna screw it up. Especially now, when the lads wanna surprise you. Their first performance after the conflict must not be bad because of a pathetic little kid.”       “Edward, please…”       “Hey, Edward, can I take you for a sec?” Terrence meddles confidently, taking the belt of the rhythm guitar off his shoulder that he gives Daniel, and comes to Edward. “C’mon, c’mon, come here. I wanna talk to you.”       While Terrence takes Edward under the arm and takes him aside, the others look at each other with sadness in their eyes.       “Yeah…” Daniel exhales sharply. “Hard case…”       “When I just came here, he looked more confident,” Helene frowns slightly.       “Michael is the one to blame,” Natalia says quietly. “That man humiliated and insulted Edward so rudely and often that he lost his belief in himself. Everybody treated him terribly, though… His father didn’t care about him when he was a boy. His cellmates and the investigator put him under hellish tortures. And the pals of his uncle told him many insults.”       “And it’s not amazing that he’s behaving like this,” Anna replies thoughtfully. “It’s hard to believe in you when you’ve been humiliated for half of your life. Edward has never heard anything good and kind about him – just insults.”       “It’s amazing that Edward stayed good and didn’t get angry,” Peter notices, getting up from the chair, stepping from the drum set, taking a solo guitar, and barely touching the strings that make a quiet sound. “He could’ve easily become someone like Michael and taken revenge on those, who weren’t guilty of his failures.”       “Alas, but Edward will not believe in himself and stop being afraid to show everything he can soon,” Raquelle says thoughtfully. “Yes, he’s successful on this goal so far, but it all will take much time.”       “Do you think Terrence will make his brother sure to play with us?” Daniel looks at everybody.       “Maybe,” Natalia shrugs. “Terrence has a great influence on Edward and can help him find the courage for something and become more confident.”       “It would be great if he played with you,” Helene says thoughtfully. “I really liked the way Edward sang in these videos. I’m sure he could really give something special to the band.”       “We want it, too, Helene,” Peter sighs tiredly, striking strings and striking some chords on the board of the solo guitar. “Honestly, we’re literally obsessed with a wish to ask Edward to join the band.”       “But now we just wanna see what happens if he plays with us,” Daniel adds. “Though, my intuition tells me that we’d make the right choice.”       “You’d get much better if Edward joined you,” Anna says with a slight smile and glances at Edward inclining his head and Terrence saying something to him and working with his hands. “We only need Terrence to persuade him…”       “I think he wants it,” Natalia assumes. “But he can’t overcome his insecurity. Edward would have the pleasure to play with you and literally die of happiness if you asked him to become the fourth member of the band.”       “He should only start it,” Helene says. “And next, Edward will get free and forget about his shyness. In the video, he was also timid at first, but then he relaxed.”       “Oh, c’mon, MacClife, make your brother agree,” Raquelle says, moving her eyes to Terrence taking Edward by the shoulders and still saying something to him, while the guy says a couple of words hesitantly. “I also want you to play all together.”       “It might happen that he’d agree with it, so we get off him,” Daniel assumes.       “I don’t think so,” Peter shakes his head and places the guitar in its place. “Natalia is right: Edward would really like to play with us, but he’s terribly shy and afraid to screw it all. And Terrence is right when he says that this guy must be pushed a little, so he does what he can’t find the courage for.”       “Give him a kick?” Helene frowns slightly.       “Yup, sort of. Of course, you could try to promise a piece of chocolate ‘cause Edward has a sweet tooth, but in this case, it would hardly work. He needs a much more powerful kick.”       “Hey, Natalia, maybe, you come to the guys and try to talk to Edward?” Raquelle asks. “He’ll listen to you if you asked him about something.”       “I think I don’t have to,” Natalia replies thoughtfully, seeing that Edward nods when saying something to Terrence, who smiles slightly. “It seems like the guys wanna go back here.”       Everybody moves their eyes to the MacClife brothers and sees they definitely agree on something. Terrence claps Edward on the shoulder and hugs him with a slight smile when they return to the men and the girls.       “I solved it, guys,” Terrence says with his head proudly raised. “Edward will play with us.”       “You persuaded him?” Natalia rounds her eyes.       “I always say he needs a little kick for him to do something.”       “Damn, what am I doing?” Edward moans tiredly.       “It’s okay, buddy!” Peter exclaims cheerfully. “You’re awesome! You can do it!”       “You’ll kick everybody’s asses now!” Daniel encourages with a wide smile.       “That’s right!” Terrence agrees and claps his hands quietly. “So, guys, don’t waste time. Places, everybody! C’mon, c’mon! Faster!”       Terrence takes the rhythm guitar from Daniel and places the belt above his shoulder, Perkins goes back to his microphone, and Peter sits on the drums and takes the drumsticks. Edward takes the solo guitar and a mediator from the table and comes to the free microphone as slowly as a snail, looking at everybody hesitantly and noticing that the girls sitting on the sofa smile shyly at him to encourage him.       “So what, an attempt number two?” Daniel smiles slightly.       “The count ‘Three!’” Terrence pronounces confidently.       “One! Two!” Peter starts hitting the sticks against one another. “One! Two! Three! Guitar!”       Because there is no way back, Edward exhales sharply and starts playing a guitar solo, plucking the right strings with a mediator and playing chords on the board. A few moments later, Peter joins him, and then Daniel and Terrence do it. After a short intro, MacClife, Sr., starts singing into the microphone, as well as his friends do, smiling widely with the realization that they started to play again after a forced break. Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia start to shake their heads along with the rhythm of the music and watch their sweethearts with slight smiles on their faces, highly rating Terrence’s beautiful, strong, and sonorous voice. The man looks at Edward with a slight smile and nods after he sings his lines. Still plucking the strings of the solo guitar and looking at everybody with his scared, widely open eyes, the guy starts singing hesitantly. But he smiles tenderly at Natalia, who lets him know that she is enjoying his piercing, charming, and melodic voice. Her friends and she are absolutely sure that the brothers’ voices would be really harmonic if they sang together. Next, Daniel starts showing his vocal skills after Edward glances at him. Taking his favorite bass guitar, playing it, and starting to sing is unreal happiness for him. But the fact that Anna watches him with a wide smile and clear admiration in her eyes makes him much happier. She has always admired the low, charming, and strong voice of her boyfriend, which differs from the voices of Edward and Terrence but gives something special to them.       Despite the powerful chorus, Daniel, Terrence, Edward, and Peter continue to play the instruments quietly and sing into the microphone. While the drummer shows some focuses with the sticks, and the bassist and the rhythm guitarist look at each other with a slight smile, the solo guitarist relaxes a little and no longer looks as white and scared as some time ago. The girls do not also show wild emotions and listen to their men quietly, shaking slightly with the rhythm or clicking their fingers. Edward sings some lines of the second verse more confidently, starting to fall into the music slowly and getting much freer. He strikes chords, plucks strings, and shows the power of his strong voice at ease, raising his head proudly, getting his back straight, and spreading his shoulders. While Terrence and Daniel do not miss a chance to play the fool and come to Peter, beating on the drums and symbols with the sticks and smiling widely at his friends.       When Terrence shows everybody that he was born to be a musician, Edward starts running from one side to another, forgetting about his shyness and feeling much more confident. Daniel questioningly looks at Peter, who just shrugs. However, he also starts dancing and jumping along with Edward, while the singing Terrence looks at them with confusion but goes wild when it’s Perkins’ time to sing his solo lyrics. Natalia, Raquelle, Helene, and Anna get up from the sofa and start dancing and trying to sing along, despite not knowing the lyrics. They notice that they stopped being shy and began to enjoy the process with great pleasure when Edward became freer.       All the men smile widely when their girls come to them when they sing the chorus and start to move beautifully in front of them, not missing a chance to flirt with them and give them a gaze full of admiration. It’s nice for Terrence, Daniel, Peter, and Edward to watch Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia dancing funnily and playing the fool together, thrilling with laughter and not hiding their true smiles. When it’s time for Peter to show his skills of singing, the girls start clapping their hands with happy whoops, and the men shout into the microphones, “C’mon, Peter, go!” and stand in front of him, so the girls can see him. Masterly beating a rhythm on drums, Rose starts signing in his velvety, very nice low voice in a hoarse and easily takes a few high notes that show his wild range. While everybody highly rates his skills, notices how happy he looks, and dances with pleasure. And the men also sing along and play their guitars. Seeing this, Peter smiles much wider and brilliantly plays a drum solo, singing a few lines along with Edward, Daniel, and Terrence.       Right now, nobody thinks about their problems. Nobody cares that the men might sometimes miss some words or not reach some notes because of the heavy breath. The men fall into the music and play the fool with each other, and the girls have the pleasure of dancing along with such an energetic song and whooping something funnily to encourage their sweethearts. The band finishes their performance by singing some words on high notes by one. Then Edward falls on his knees, Peter throws and catches the drumsticks, Daniel steps a little back a little, and Terrence places his legs shoulder-width apart, holding a board of the rhythm guitar with one hand. Two seconds later, MacClife, Jr., gets up and, tightly grabbing the microphone, performs the chorus a cappella. The others catch the motive and finish this performance with an incredibly harmonic singing.       While Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter are breathing loudly and heavily, Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene give them deafening applause with pleasure and happy whoops, “Bravo!” It makes the men smile widely. Most likely, Edward catches the most shocking looks at him. Everybody is a little shocked by how this guy got them infected with his crazy energy and helped everybody understand what the band needed to become perfect. Only a few seconds later, the dumbfounded guys find the courage to break this long pause, even if it’s very hard for them to speak due to a heavy breath and a little hoarse voice.       “Someone…” Daniel pronounces quietly and shakes his head. “Someone, tell me it’s the truth. That our band really reunited.”       “Oh, shit…” Peter swears. “I’m shocked… I don’t know what to say…”       “Guys…” Terrence says in a strongly shaking voice from tension. “That… That was incredible! It’s probably the best rehearsal of those we’ve ever had.”       “Listen, I’ve never gotten so much pleasure from singing a song,” Daniel confesses. “I… I’m out…”       “I did even get goosebumps on my back,” Peter confesses cheerfully, waving his drumsticks. “Seriously, guys! It’s really our best performance!”       “I’ve gotta admit it,” Edward says hesitantly, breathing probably heavier than the others. “Playing alone isn’t as cool as playing in a band.”       “Excellent, guys,” Terrence smiles much wider. “You rock on.”       “My gosh, lads…” Anna pronounces, closing her mouth with a hand, and smiles shyly. “It’s… It’s a high class! Your performance was unforgettable!”       “Listen, of course, I was sure you’d rock on,” Helene says with a slight smile. “But I didn’t think everything would be so cool. Seriously, guys! My vocabulary became limited. I can’t find the words to describe my admiration.”       “What an energy, what a drive, what talents!” Raquelle smiles widely. “Guys, you’re amazing! I’m delighted!”       “Maybe, you do the same again?” Natalia suggests happily. “Please, guys, that was so cool! Please, please! We want more!”       Terrence, Daniel, Peter, and Edward say nothing and just look at the girls and each other with a slight smile. But then MacClife, Jr., takes the belt of the guitar off himself, puts it aside, comes to the table with a pack of water in it, takes one bottle, opens it, and drinks a little. Then the others join him after the guitarists leave their guitars on special stands, and the drummer puts the sticks on one of the drums. They all drink water greedily, feeling how a dry throat is getting nicely wet, and wipe drops of sweat off their foreheads two times.       “Listen, guys, that was powerful!” Peter clicks the fingers of his hand, still holding a bottle of water. “You were all so crazy! Wild and sick! I never saw you like this! And I never felt such crazy adrenaline! Even when we were performing as the opening act of ‘The Loser Syndrome’, I wasn’t as nicely shocked as I am now.”       “Absolutely agree,” Daniel agrees confidently. “I think if I had been dying from tiredness, I wouldn’t have noticed it and would’ve kept running from one side to another. Seriously, I didn’t actually feel tired when we were playing. I just understand that I barely stand on my feet.”       “Oh, we didn’t think we’d start dancing so hard,” Natalia confesses shyly, fixing her little disheveled hair.       “We just needed someone to shake us up,” Peter smiles slightly.       “Right!” Daniel clicks the fingers of his hand. “You saw what Edward was doing? How he was running from one side to another! Just like a hurricane!”       “I did tell you this guy just seemed to be quiet, shy, and discreet,” Terrence smiles slyly, squeezing the bottle with both hands.       “Oh, yay, I thought you’d destroy this garage to the fuck,” Peter laughs quietly. “You were running here so that the walls were shaking! I hope you didn’t cause the earthquake while going insane.”       “But in my opinion, the wildest ones were our MacClife brothers,” Daniel shows his opinion. “When one started, another joined.”       “Yeah, hard to deny it,” Raquelle smiles slightly, coming to the men along with the girls and standing in a big circle. “Terrence and Edward really got us hot! But you, Daniel, and you, Peter, rocked on, as well. You all made our day!”       “I didn’t even notice how I went insane,” Terrence confesses with a slight smile. “When I looked at this little hooligan, I turned off my brain and started to rock on along with him.”       “MacClife, Jr., got everybody infected,” Helene laughs shyly.       “Exactly!” Peter exclaims. “When he relaxed and got freer, he started doing something unreal.”       “And I liked the way every one of you sang a solo,” Natalia confesses with admiration. “That was incredible! And how you sang on high notes! We did wanna scream from admiration like crazy fans!”       “And it’s just a cover!” Anna exclaims. “What’s gonna happen when they start performing their songs?”       “We’ll die from happiness and an overabundance of emotions!” Helene replies excitedly and loudly.       “And God shall not let this amazing band break up!” Raquelle exclaims. “I don’t know what I’ll do, maybe not with everybody, but at least its frontman!”       “I’ll deal with the bassist and kick his ass!” Anna says confidently.       “And give me the drummer to the mercy,” Helene chuckles.       “Well, I shall talk to my pretty guy,” Natalia adds.       “Quiet, sweet girls,” Terrence raises his hand. “I’m confidently telling you that our band will not be disbanded in the nearest ten or fifteen years.”       “And maybe, it will even get one person bigger,” Daniel adds with a mysterious smile.       “Aha,” Peter agrees. “We’ll be performing even when we are all old men. Old people can hardly jump on sick legs, but we’ll stay the band ‘till death do us apart.”       “Right!” Terrence and Daniel agree funnily.       Silence settles in the air for a while, during which everybody throws a quick look at each other and smiles shyly, and Edward empties a little bottle of water.       “Listen, guys, you did really sound much better with Edward,” Raquelle says confidently. “I really liked the way he played. And I think my fiancé’s brother fits your company perfectly.”       “Yes, yes, I’m also delighted by how cool you sounded,” Natalia agrees happily. “Edward is the element you missed.”       “That’s right, with him, you’ve kind of become the same piece,” Anna says confidently. “By performing all together, you get a truly amazing result.”       “Yeah, sorry, guys, but you were stale and not memorable,” Helene confesses shyly. “You lacked some drive… Some power… You were like sleeping flies… But after playing with Edward, you sounded differently. Much better.”       “This guy made you wake up,” Raquelle adds confidently. “You were quiet at first, but when Edward started to behave more confidently, you did it, as well. We felt a different energy. A more powerful one.”       “We knew it’d happen,” Terrence confesses confidently with a slight smile and looks at Peter and Daniel. “We didn’t doubt that if we got Edward involved in this process, the band would sound much better.”       “I’ve gotta agree!” Daniel replies confidently. “Edward perfectly fits our company! He gave us powerful energy and a lot of drive for our performance. This guy did really make us shake up and wake up.”       “Daniel and Terrence never looked so wild,” Peter notices and places his bottle on the table. “They were always discreet… They just stood in front of microphones, played their parts, and sang. They could sometimes walk on the scene, but it happened a couple of times during the performance of one song. But thanks to Edward’s energy, everything absolutely changed.”       “I didn’t doubt that Edward would give our band something new and fresh,” Terrence replies confidently. “And you, two fools, finally understood me.”       “Oh, yeah, we understood that you needed someone to literally rape a poor guitar with,” Daniel laughs shyly. “You and your brother almost killed them!”       “Oh, c’mon, as if you didn’t wanna crush yours,” Peter crosses his arms over his chest. “Either against the drums or against someone’s head.”       “Thank Edward for this!” Daniel glances at Edward still drinking water and saying no word. “This silent guy that has drunk half of the bottle of water.”       “And after this, I don’t kinda wanna let him go. I don’t want our trio to become a band of sleepy, dumbfounded flies.”       “No, no! After this, I can no longer think we can stay a trio!”       “Me too!” Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene pronounce happily at a different time.       Terrence looks at everybody for a few seconds, while they say something that is hard to understand. And then the man puts his bottle of water on the table and addresses everybody:       “Friends, let me say something!” Terrence glances at Edward. “Hey, bro, stop drinking water and listen! It has to do with you!”       Everybody falls into silence and moves their eyes to Terrence, including Edward, who closes the bottle, places it on the table, and looks at his brother questioningly.       “Actually, the men and I suggested Edward play with us for a reason. First of all, to check how we’d sound. Whether something would change.” Terrence clears his throat quickly. “And after this performance, I can confidently say we’ve finally found what we were missing. We needed someone to have powerful energy and be able to give us drive and shake us up. We didn’t originally think of looking for another member. We were pleased with everything. But now we don’t doubt that in order to make our band better, we need another guitarist and vocalist. We need someone to have great charm and incredible talent. Now I know that I don’t wanna miss a chance to lose such an amazing potential guitarist.”       Terrence glances at Daniel and Peter, who nod confidently with a slight smile.       “I think Peter and Daniel don't mind if Edward becomes the fourth member of ‘Against The System.’ Becomes our lead guitarist.”       Getting sharply white, Edward sets his widely open eyes on Terrence. While the girls look at each other with shy smiles.       “Erm…” Edward pronounces in a shaking voice. “W-w-w-what, excuse me? Become… A member of the band?”       “Yes, Edward, we want you to join our band,” Daniel says amicably. “After this performance, none of us wants to let you go. You have an amazing talent and can easily warm up the crowd thanks to your powerful energy and great charm. And Terrence, Peter, and I are giving you a chance to do your favorite thing.”       “But we won’t insist if you don’t want,” Peter adds softly. “We can just play all together at times for pleasure. Though, we’d be very happy if you accepted our proposal to become a part of our band. I agree with every single word of MacClife and Perkins. And I’m really overwhelmed by your imitable play.”       “Anyway, you decide, Edward,” Terrence says confidently. “If you need time to think, we’re ready to give it. We ain’t gonna come back to work right now. But we’d like you to become a part of our band. You’re really the element that we need. The guys and I haven’t been a completed band. It needs someone to make it completed.”       “And…” Edward pronounces hesitantly. “Are you serious now?”       “Like never ever. I think we’ve never been so serious.”       “What if I can’t do it? What if I don’t meet your expectations?”       “Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll have time to get used and get into the business of the band,” Peter says with a slight smile.       “And George? What if he doesn’t like it?”       “Are you serious?” Daniel, Peter, and Terrence chuckle kindly.       “You’re a favorite guy of George!” Daniel says confidently. “Even if he didn’t know you personally, Smith already adored you and always said he could have the pleasure of working on your career. He’d die of happiness if we told him you joined the band.”       “That’s right!” Terrence agrees. “George adores you! He’d be happy to help us make changes in our contract with the studio and our PR agency that you would sign if you agreed to become a member of the band.”       “And would your fans accept me?” Edward asks hesitantly.       “Huh, check the Internet and read the comments on the videos with you,” Daniel chuckles. “And you’ll know how our fans would accept you. They’re gonna whoop from happiness as well as they’ll do it if Rose posts some photos of him being half-naked.”       “Gosh, Edward, how can you think and doubt?” Raquelle wonders. “You may get this chance only once in your life! The guys are giving you such a wonderful chance to show your talent and learn to be more confident and freer.”       “When you sang, you behaved at ease and weren’t afraid to look stupid and silly,” Anna notices confidently. “You did what you wanted: jumping, dancing, running… You were as free as a bird.”       “The guys are right, Edward, you shouldn’t hide your talent,” Helene says amicably with a slight smile. “You must show it to the whole world. Not stay alone in the living room and play for yourself, being afraid that someone will hear you.”       “My legs were also shaking from the thought that I’d have to perform in public,” Peter adds. “I thought everyone would boo me… Someone would throw something at me… But the dream of connecting my life with music was stronger. For it, I gave a damn about all my fears and regret nothing now.”       “Indeed, Edward, think about it,” Natalia says softly. “We’re all sure that you wanna play with the guys deep inside, but you can’t claim it because of your fears and insecurity. We know that getting rid of these feelings is very hard. But trust me, if you just begin and think of nothing, you’ll understand that it’s not so horrible. It will take much time, but it’s gonna be worth it.”       “Expectations are too high,” Edward replies quietly. “I ain’t sure I could reach it and leave my comfort zone to slay the guys and the fans, whose love I’ve gotta deserve in case I join the band.”       “Stop, Edward, you can do this,” Daniel makes sure. “We won’t make you do anything impossible. Everything you should do is just to be yourself. You don't need to pretend and show what’s unfamiliar to you. The meaning of our image is that we stay ourselves and do what we like. Our managers let us do almost anything. If we’re sick of something, we can always change it.”       “Is being myself mean being a cowardly, insecure boy, who's been kicked like a ball all his life?” Edward crosses his arms over his chest.       “Everything will change if you do just something,” Terrence says confidently. “And stop withdrawing into yourself and thinking of bad thoughts.”       “Please, honey, don’t reject it at once,” Natalia begs with sadness in her eyes. “We know it’s hard for you to make decisions. But trust me, it won’t give you anything bad. You shouldn’t do anything impossible. People liked you after your incredible performances, and you don’t have to conquer their hearts. And the guys got you involved in their work somehow.”       “It was also hard for me to agree to one shooting that my manager offered me,” Raquelle confesses. “And I had great problems with my self-rating. I declined that woman's offer for a week or two, but she was stubborn. And I’m very glad it happened. The modeling career helped me become more confident. To understand that I’m really as attractive as the guys from my university told me.”       “That’s right!” Anna exclaims with a slight smile. “Look how confident Raquelle is. It mightn’t have happened if she hadn’t accepted the offer of that woman.”       “We’re sure the same changes will happen to you if you start to play in the band and hear compliments,” Helene adds confidently. “I know your insecurity is the result of the fact that nobody praised you. But if you want to make your dream come true, you should get out of your hole.”       “You’ve changed a lot since we met for the first time,” Terrence says amicably. “But everything may be much better. If you want it.”       “Oh, okay, guys, let’s not press,” Peter says quietly, waving a hand. “May Edward think a little. And when he’s ready, he’ll give an answer.”       “Listen, let’s eat something tasty?” Daniel suggests. “Why don’t we drink coffee or tea?”       “Yes, fellows, let’s eat,” Anna agrees. “I can quickly think up something. Or we can just check out what we have.”       “Yeah, I think our boys deserved something delicious,” Raquelle says with a slight smile.       “Oh, yeah, people usually eat nothing when they’re excited, but I got kind of too hungry,” Terrence replies thoughtfully, running his hand over his stomach.       “Oh, you better say when you are not,” Peter chuckles. “You do always eat something, and it’s always not enough.”       “Now I have the right to eat something delicious. The girls won’t leave me, the frontman of the band and just a gorgeous guy, hungry.”       “Okay, let’s go,” Natalia says cheerfully. “Let’s put something in MacClife’s mouth.”       When everybody wants to turn around and go to the exit from the garage, Edward, setting his gaze into the distance, stops them with a couple of words that he says very quietly:       “I agree.”       Everybody stops sharply and turns to Edward, looking at him questioningly.       “Pardon, what?” Daniel frowns slightly.       “I agree,” Edward pronounces more confidently.       “Agree with what?”       “Agree to join you.” Edward moves his more confident look to the others, to whom he comes closer. “I’m accepting your proposal to become a member of the band.”       “Don’t rush, bro, think well,” Peter advises. “Let's go to eat and drink something… And then…”       “I’m serious, guys. Your proposal is so incredible that rejecting it would be an unforgivable mistake. I’ve made too many mistakes in my life. And I don't wanna screw it up again.”       While Terrence, Raquelle, Daniel, Anna, Peter, and Helene look at each other questioningly, Natalia comes closer to Edward.       “Indeed, Edward, don’t rush,” Natalia says softly. “Think better. Nobody’s gonna press on you and make you play in the band against your will.”       “I’ve decided everything,” Edward says confidently, while Natalia softly takes him under an arm and pulls him to the others. “And I’m sure this decision would never make me regret it. I’ve had to make many decisions, but this is one of the easiest ones I’ve ever made.”       “But, sweetie…”       “Please, don’t ask me to think longer. I’ll join the band with pleasure and do my best to make it famous around the world.”       Terrence comes to Edward and Natalia confidently and looks at his brother surprisingly.       “Edward, how do you get such confidence?” Terrence wonders. “It's always been hard for you to make decisions, and you spend a lot of time reflecting on them!”       “Not this time,” Edward smiles slightly. “This decision was easy enough for me because that’s what I’d like to do all my life. And if I get such a good chance, I must use it. I wanna at least try.”       “We are ready to wait as long as you need.”       “Music has always been my passion. I’ve never been attracted to something else so much. I agreed to work with George and his band because I love writing songs. It’s music that we create. I got lucky, probably for the first time in my life. I got a chance to show myself in writing songs and creating music. That’s what makes me happy. I feel much more confident when playing, writing, or singing. And I wouldn’t do what I did when we were singing all together. This thing helps me relax and, as they say, turn on 360 degrees.”       “So, do you agree to become the fourth member of the band?”       “Yes, I do,” Edward nods with a slight smile.       “Are you sure you won’t regret it?”       “I’m ready to sign any contract and start working right now.”       Being satisfied with the answer, Terrence smiles much wider. While Natalia barely holds down a wish to whoop from happiness.       “I’m glad you agreed,” Terrence says amicably. “I don’t doubt that’s gonna be amazing.”       “I hope I will not disappoint you, Daniel, and Peter,” Edward replies with a shy smile.       “You will not.”       “It’s hard to say how long I’d be in it.” Edward glances at his hands. “Because I… May be sentenced…”       “You won’t be, don’t worry. But if you are, we’ll do our best to get you out.”       “Glad to hear it.”       “Don’t think of bad things, brother,” Terrence encourages, clapping Edward on his shoulders. “You’re now a member of ‘Against The System’ and should think about how to make the band famous and slay everyone with your talent.”       “I promise I’ll do my best.”       “As they say, welcome.”       “Thanks a lot, Terrence.”       Edward shares a homie handshake with Terrence and takes him in a tight, amicable hug, to which his brother answers with pleasure. Then Peter and Daniel come to them with shy smiles, and Raquelle, Anna, and Helene follow them.       “I’m very glad you agreed,” Daniel says amicably with a slight smile. “After watching the videos of you rocking on, I couldn’t stop thinking about wishing to see you as a member of the band.”       “Refusing would be a sin when you get such a wonderful chance,” Edward shrugs.       “You made the right decision. You can do everything. You can give the band much more than we expect.”       “I can say one thing: we don’t have to spend time getting to know each other better.”       “Be ready that we’re gonna have a lot of work.”       “It doesn’t scare me. If I have to, I’m ready to spend nights at the studio.”       “I believe we got a responsible member.”       “I’m used to paying for what I do. If I promised to work in the band, I will do it.”       “Sounds cool. Anyway, congrats on joining the band.”       “Thanks a lot, Dan,” Edward thanks with a slight smile.       Daniel and Edward share a homie handshake and take each other in a tight hug, clapping each other on the back. And after stepping back, MacClife, Jr., glances at Peer, who comes to him, while Daniel goes aside and looks at Terrence with a slight smile.       “So, kid…” Peter chuckles. “I am honored to give you the title of the youngest member of the band.”       “Actually, you and I are of the same age,” Edward shakes his head. “Our difference is only one month.”       “Anyway, it’s cool that you’re with us now. Our band is supposed to sound much better.”       “I hope I won’t get kicked outta it two months later.”       “You will not do, man. Perkins, MacClife, and I won’t let you go so easily. With your talent, you won’t stay unnoticed. And if you write cool songs for George’s band, and they’re super popular, popularity will come to you itself.”       “Anyway, I’m ready to do what I should.”       “Well, if it’s so, I congratulate you on becoming the fourth member of ‘Against The System’ with all my heart.”       “Thanks a lot, Pete!”       Peter shares a homie handshake with Edward and takes him in an amicable hug, clapping him on the back. Next, MacClife, Jr., accepts the congratulations from the girls and hugs every single one with pleasure. But after this, the man comes to Natalia standing aside shyly, and takes her hand softly with a wide smile.       “Although everybody has said everything, I wanna personally congratulate you on becoming a part of the band of your brother,” Natalia says with a slight smile. “I’m really glad you agreed.”       “It was one of the easiest decisions in my life,” Edward confesses shyly. “And it’s supposed to help me always stay confident. Now I’m starting to understand that’s freaking cool.”       “You can do this. Thanks to your energy and charm, ‘Against The System’ will become one of the most famous and loved bands in the world. Of course, you’re gonna have haters, but your band works not for them.”       “I know. And if my very important person is by my side and doesn’t stop giving me the energy, I can give it to Terrence’s band.”       “It’s your band, too, now.”       “Yeah, you’re right… My band.”       “Don’t worry, you’ll get used. But now I just wanna congratulate you on such an important event with all my heart.”       “Many thanks, Natalia,” Edward thanks truly with a wider smile. “Thanks a lot.”       “Never stop believing in you. Do what gives you pleasure.”       “Sure.”       Edward kisses Natalia cutely on the cheek and takes her in a touching hug, snuggling his face in the girl’s face for two seconds, while she tenderly caresses his back with a wide smile. The others watch them with slight smiles on their faces, look at each other, and succumb to the wish to hug their sweethearts. Terrence hugs Raquelle by the waist and the shoulders, and she puts her head on the man’s shoulder and cutely presses herself to him. Daniel holds Anna by the waist and shoulders from behind and cutely presses his cheek to her cheek, while she caresses his arms. And Peter hugs Helene by the waist with both arms and cutely presses her to himself, and she puts one arm around the man’s neck and sometimes touches the blond’s face with the fingertips of her free hand and either softly caresses it or draws some senseless patterns.       “Hey, guys, what about playing again?” Natalia smiles mysteriously after she steps back from Edward.       “Yeah, surprise us again!” Helene says happily. “With the new member!”       “Please, guys, please,” Raquelle begs with puppy eyes. “Let us enjoy your performance again.”       “And then the girls and I will cook something delicious for you,” Anna promises. “Make you happy.”       “M-m-m, we’d play ten songs,” Terrence says confidently and smiles slyly. “Especially for something delicious.”       “Who would doubt you’d sell your soul for food!” Edward rolls his eyes.       “For the girls, I’m ready to play forever!” Peter says with his head proudly raised.       “Me too!” Daniel exclaims cheerfully.       “Great!” Terrence claps his hands. “Let’s go then! Places, everybody!”       “But let Edward choose the song that we will play!”       “Hey, why should I do it?” Edward rounds his eyes. “Are we a band or what? Or isn’t this the case when we decide everything together?”       “C’mon, man, we know you’d choose a cool song,” Daniel jabs.       “Yes, we completely trust your taste,” Terrence says confidently, coming to Daniel and Peter and standing next to them.       “Just start to play, and we’ll join you,” Peter says amicably.       Edward hesitates for a few seconds and looks at everybody, seeing that they nod at him with slight smiles on their faces.       “Oh, okay!” Edward exhales sharply. “There is a song I’d like to perform. And you, guys, know it. The girls you probably heard it, as well…”       “C’mon, man!” Peter encourages.       “C’mon, Edward, rock on the way you can!” Natalia says cheerfully.       While everybody looks at him with a slight smile and expects something grandiose, Edward thinks about something for two seconds, takes the white solo guitar and the mediator from the table, comes to the center microphone, and puts the belt above his shoulder. Then he clicks his fingers, counting down to the three, and starts plucking strings and striking some chords. Terrence, Peter, and Daniel quickly recognize the familiar motive of the fast and energetic song, nod at each other, run to their instruments and start playing at a different time.       Singing the first verse in a much lower voice than his natural one, Edward looks much more confident, keeps his head proudly raised, and lets everybody know that he is ready to treat his new responsibility carefully. While Peter is cheerfully beating the rhythm on the drums and symbols, Terrence, Daniel, and Edward do not stay in the same places like columns, and are acting funnily and at ease. And Raquelle, Natalia, Anna, and Helene start dancing and supporting the men immediately, clapping their hands and shaking with the rhythm. And they laugh shyly when MacClife, Jr., starts running from one side to another, while his brother and friend sing their words by one into the microphone.       The men do not hide their wide smiles when seeing how happy every one of them is and how their girls are having fun and trying to sing along with them all together when they sing the chorus. They barely hold their chuckles down when one sings his solo lines, and the others play the fool together, make funny faces, ruffle each other’s hair, and sing along with their friends funnily. At some moment, the girls start wrapping around the men very often and encourage them with their funny and energetic dances, still shooting their eyes at them, clapping their hands, and shouting something happily at times. They make sure that the voices of the four men fit each other perfectly, and the band sounds much better now.       Peter also gets pleasure from singing a few lines in his low, little hoarse voice, beating the rhythm on the drums, while Terrence, Daniel, and Edward come to the drum set and sing along with him. The newbie solo guitarist makes everybody happy with a short guitar solo, letting them know that he is incredible at this thing, even if there is much that he is going to learn. But at some moment, Edward, Terrence, and Daniel stop playing and start to dance wildly, play the fool, and flirt with their girls, letting Peter sing the rest of the lines alone and make a rhythm on the drums. However, later, they come back to their places and finish their performance all together. Then they stop in different poses for a few seconds, breathing a little heavily and feeling nicely tired after the adrenaline starts to get weak.       Raquelle, Anna, Helene, and Natalia start applauding at them loudly with wide smiles on their faces. They all make happy whoops and shout, “Bravo!” or “Well done!”, making Edward, Terrence, Daniel, and Peter feel like they successfully played their own show. They do not stop smiling widely, their eyes are shining brightly, and their bodies are literally shaking from the strong tension. A few seconds later, Terrence, Daniel, and Edward look at each other along with the loud applause trying to overcome the emotions, with which they are obsessed. After leaving their guitars in their places and putting the mediators on the table, the MacClife brothers take each other in a tight, brotherly hug with slight smiles on their faces. Then, Daniel joins them, and last, the three men press Peter to themselves.       The four men stay in the group hug for a few seconds and hug each other tightly by one. Then, the members of “Against The System” stand in the line, embrace each other and move their eyes to Raquelle, Anna, Natalia, and Helene letting themselves shed a tear of happiness. It makes Terrence, Edward, Peter, and Daniel smile and raise their heads with a feeling of pride. At some moment, the four men bow with a slight smile and step away. Then Anna, Helene, Natalia, and Raquelle run to them with happy whoops, wishing to hug their friends and kiss their beloved men. The girls hang on the men’s necks so suddenly that they step back slightly. However, Edward, Daniel, Terrence, and Peter do not get confused and hug their sweethearts with pleasure, lifting them up the floor for a few moments.