Zac collapsed into bed, grateful that the day was over. Taylor and Isaac had sure gotten him back for drinking last night. He closed his eyes and waited to sink into sleep. He soon became aware of a conversation between his two older brothers. What started out as murmurs gradually became louder.

“…It’s not like I don’t see what you’re doing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, please, Tay, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Can we just drop it? You know I don’t like talking about this.”

There was a brief silence.

“You always used to tell me everything. We were best friends, and now it seems I don’t even know you. You’re changing so much, physically and emotionally.”

“Did you ever think that maybe I’ve tried telling you stuff and you don’t listen? Maybe I’m not the only one who’s changing?” Taylor’s voice was accusing.

Zac sat up, trying to figure out where Isaac and Taylor were. His eyes drifted to the window and he realized they were on the roof.

“Tay, I’m listening now.”

“Why do you guys always call me ‘Tay’? It’s such a babyish nickname.” Taylor’s voice was cold.

Silence stretched on and Zac longed to get up and see what they were doing but didn’t want them to know he was awake.

“Okay, I’m sorry, that was mean. I don’t have anything against ‘Tay’...I don’t know what’s wrong with me these days.” Taylor sighed. “I find myself saying things I don’t mean, and sometimes I don’t even know I’ve said them. It’s just…sometimes everyone just gets to me, you know? And now, Mom and Dad always on my case about eating.”

“They’re just worried about you. I am, too.”

“I eat, Ike, I swear I do.”

“I know you do. I’m just worried about how often you eat and how much you eat…but if you say you eat, then you eat. I’ll try not to bug you about it too much, okay?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me. Now, what are we gonna do about Zac?”

“I don’t know. I’m worried about him, too. I can’t believe that he’s only 14 and he’s gotten drunk twice.”

“I know.”

“And it may not seem like such a big deal, but he’s always wearing shirts. Always. That worries me, especially since he acted so weird when I asked him about my razor.”

Zac froze. Isaac didn’t know; he couldn’t know!

“Whoa, wait a minute. You’re not saying that…that he…you actually think…Zac?”

“Well, the day you went over to Chris’s, it was time for lunch. Mom called him three times before he finally came down. And I swear I thought I saw something wrapped around his arm when he was eating.”

Zac brought a shaking hand to his right arm, feeling the cuts. He tried to breathe normally.

“Yeah, but come on! This is Zac we’re talking about!”

“Taylor, I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but Zac’s not the same slap-happy kid he once was.” Isaac paused. “I feel kinda sorry for the poor kid. It’s not like he had a normal childhood. Well, I guess none of did, really, but Zac-I don’t know.”

“Yeah, he was only nine when we recorded MMMBop.” (Author’s note: the CD, not the song.)

Zac felt his muscles relax as they talked about how the music had affected their lives. He laid back down and sighed. It had been so long since he had heard Isaac and Taylor talk like they were. He fell asleep to the sound of their voices.

The next morning, he was awake before Isaac and Taylor, which didn’t surprise him any. He wondered how long they had been up talking.

As he watched them sleep, a small smile curved his lips. This was the perfect chance to get them back. But how? He thought a moment, then started chuckling quietly to himself. Sure, it was mean, but oh well.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed a bottle of body wash. Quickly, he filled a small washtub with cold water. He took it into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. He knew he had to work fast.

Zac put the washtub in between Taylor and Isaac’s bed and opened up the body wash. He decided that Isaac had to go first.

He slowly pulled the sheet back. He took the bottle and turned it upside down, pouring it over Isaac. He made sure to pour it into his belly button. He did the same to Taylor. Then he had to decide whom to dump the water on. As he was pondering this, another idea occurred to him.

He quickly located some glitter and then poured it on the body wash. He decided not to dump the water on either of them and carried the container back to the bathroom, pouring the water down the drain. Zac scurried back to the room and waited for them to wake up. He didn’t have to wait long.

Isaac moaned and brought a hand up to scratch his chest. His fingers landed in the gooey mess. He slowly opened his eyes and inspected his fingers to see what was on them. He sat up and looked over. “Zac!”

Taylor stirred, on the verge of waking up.

“Ugh, what is this stuff? Ew, it’s all over me! And Taylor!”

“What about Taylor?” Taylor mumbled.

“Why don’t you wake up and see for yourself.”

Taylor opened his eyes and looked over at Isaac. “Hey, you’re all shiny.” He raised a hand to point at him and that’s when he noticed the stuff on him. “Hey!” He sat up.

Isaac shook his head. “Zac, you’re dead!”

Zac laughed and took off around the room as Isaac chased him. Taylor soon joined in. By the time they were called down for breakfast, Zac was covered in glitter and body wash, and all three were breathless from running and laughing. It had been a long time since they had laughed like that together.

“What are we gonna do?” Taylor asked, attempting to wipe off some of the body wash and only managing to smear if even worse.

“I don’t know,” Zac said, shaking his head and trying not to laugh.

Isaac covered his mouth, his eyes dancing. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to go down there like this,” he said finally.

“And, if anyone gives us any flack about it, we can just give them a big ‘ole hug!”

The three boys ran down the stairs and entered the kitchen, trying to keep a straight face.

All activity stopped as all eyes turned to the boys. “What happened to you?” Diana finally managed to say.

“What?” Taylor asked, looking puzzled.

“Yeah, why is everyone staring at us?” Isaac asked, sitting down.

“Did I forget to brush my hair?” Zac asked anxiously, running a hand through his blonde tresses.

“Well, yes, but you guys are all…shiny and sparkly,” Jessica said.

The boys exchanged looks. “Um, okay,” Isaac said.

“We really have no idea what you guys are talking about.”

Zac shook his head and picked up a plate.

Diana sniffed. “Something smells like…oh my gosh! Is that glitter and…body wash?”

“What are you talking about?” Taylor asked, his voice quivering with laughter. “I think you’ve all gone nuts,” he managed before his laughter overtook him. Isaac and Zac joined in.

Walker shook his head. “I don’t think I even want to know.”

The three boys grinned as they started to calm down.

Taylor practically inhaled his food. He jumped up. “Well, I’m gonna go take a shower.”

“You do that,” Zac said, smirking.

“I will.” Taylor shook his head and left the room.

“Mom, why don’t you go relax? Ike and I will clean up the kitchen.”

“We will?” Isaac looked at Zac raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, we will.”

Diana smiled. “Why, thank you, Zac. Thank you, Isaac.” She hugged both of the boys, and she and Walker left the kitchen, hand in hand.

“Thanks for volunteering my services,” Isaac grumbled as he gathered the pots and pans.

“Oh, come on. You know how stressed out Mom and Dad have been lately. Besides, what were you planning on doing? Tay’s in the shower, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

Zac grinned and started picking up the empty plates on the table. He threw away the napkins as he stacked the plates. “Uh, Ike?”

“Yeah?” Isaac said, turning away from the sink where he was running dishwater.

“What time did, uh, did you and Tay go to bed last night?” He handed Isaac the plates and walked back to the table.

“I don’t know; it was pretty late. You were out. Why?”

“Oh, I was just wondering.”

The boys worked in silence as they waited for Taylor to get out of the shower.