"You got it, boss," the tall boy answered and raised his fists. Grayson stepped forward on his right leg and threw a punch.
Christian nonchalant blocked his fist with his hand and then did it another time as Grayson came forward. The man then ducked under his outreached arm and switched to behind him. Christian quickly wrapped arm around the boy's neck. "Alright, how are you gonna get out?"
Grayson wasted no time elbowing him in the gut, the man loosening his grip and then he grabbed Christian's arm, keeping him in place as he turned around. He quickly grabbed his fist and kicked him in the gut. Christian backed up and smiled. "Atta boy. Nice job." He praised, making Grayson smile.














Oliver pulled into the parking lot of the tattoo shop and sighed. He turned off the ignition but he and Demetri sat there in silence. He exhaled. "Are you ready for this?" He asked, glancing his way.
Demetri was petrified. "No. I had to lie to my moms and say there was a new comic book release at the mall."
"Told my mom that I had a training session today with Johnny. . ." Oliver scratched his cheek and inhaled a deep breath. "Ready?"
"No."
"Neither am I." They two of them got out of the jeep. Oliver walked around the front and held out his hand, Demetri clutching onto it tightly. "Maybe it won't be so bad? Y'know, matching tattoos sound kind of nice." Oliver tried making the best of it.
Demetri looked at him as if he was insane. "Sounds nice? Do you know how long tattoos take to heal? It takes weeks, months! And then there's side effects. What if I'm allergic to the ink? What if—"
Oliver sighed. "Metri? I was just trying to make the situation better," he said and opened the door, letting him walk in first.
"It'a gonna take a lot more than that," Demetri grumbled.
The boys walked through the foyer and Oliver came to a stop when he saw all of their friends there. Odessa, Eli, Hailey, Grayson, Miguel, Sam, and Robby. "W-What are you guys doing here?"
Odessa smiled at them. "I asked everybody to come. My mom dropped us off," she explained, standing up from her seat.
"You didn't seriously think we'd make you go through this alone, did you?" Grayson asked, sitting next to Miguel, and he grinned.
"So what, you're here for moral support?" Demetri questioned, giving Eli the eye.
"Uh, yeah, that's one reason," Robby answered.
Hailey stood up. She had a notebook in her hand. She stood next to Odessa and showed the boys an open page with a sketch on it. "Dess and I drew it the other day."
It was the dojo's logo — a bonsai tree with an eagle souring above it. Oliver laughed a little. "At least we don't have to come up with it on our own," he told his boyfriend, nudging him with his elbow.
"I thought it was the perfect tattoo for all of us to get," said Odessa, carting their friends a smile.
Demetri's eyes widened. "All of us? B-But—"
"I talked to my dad. He thinks it's a great idea," Sam informed.
"Yeah, so does mine." Robby agreed.
"I had to really convince my mom, but, once I told her what it was for, she was game," said Miguel, smiling.
Grayson stood up and stood behind the girls. "We're a team. We're best friends. Family. This symbols it."
"Gray's right," said Eli, all of them turning to him. "We don't have much longer to all be together. This is something for all of us." It was hard to say seeing as how he and Demetri still weren't on speaking terms, but he was getting the tattoo for a much bigger reason. Like Grayson said, they were a team. They were a family.