Chapter 17

Adrian woke up feeling better at least physically. His stomach no longer ached, and his head was no longer pounding, but that didn't mean he wanted to get up for school. The thought of another long day made him groan as he buried his face in his pillow.

"Adrian, get up!" Elijah's voice called from downstairs.

With a heavy sigh, Adrian rolled out of bed, dragging himself to get dressed. He threw on his usual oversized hoodie, pulling the sleeves over his hands as he made his way downstairs. The smell of breakfast filled the house eggs, toast, and something sweet. Pancakes?

The kitchen was alive with the usual morning chaos. Miles was shoveling food into his mouth while still half-asleep, Alex was messing with the salt shaker, probably planning to ruin someone's meal, and Henry was scrolling through his phone. Elijah stood at the stove, flipping pancakes, while Easton was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Easton?" Alex asked through a mouthful of toast.

"He went back to work today," Elijah answered. "Said he was feeling better."

Adrian slumped into his chair, grabbing a piece of toast and nibbling on the edge. The twins immediately honed in on him.

"Feeling better, baby bunny?" Miles smirked.

"Bet he just wanted an excuse to stay home and cuddle all day," Alex added.

"Shut up," Adrian muttered, taking another bite of toast.

Elijah rolled his eyes. "Leave him alone and eat."

The room settled into light conversation, mostly about school and who had what classes. Everything was fine—until Adrian did something to really piss Henry off.

While reaching for the juice, he knocked over his own glass, sending a wave of sticky liquid straight onto Henry's phone.

The kitchen went silent.

Henry slowly turned his head, staring at his drenched phone in pure horror.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said, voice deadly calm.

"Oh... uh... oops?" Adrian said weakly.

Henry shot up from his chair. "Oops?! You just drowned my phone, you little—"

"Put it in rice," Elijah cut in, already grabbing a bag. "It should be fine by tomorrow."

Henry groaned, running a hand through his hair. "So I have to go a whole day without my phone? Because of him?"

"Yup," Elijah said, giving him a pointed look.

Adrian barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before Henry's eyes narrowed. Without warning, he grabbed Adrian by the back of his hoodie and yanked him upward.

"No! No! NO!" Adrian shouted, realizing what was about to happen.

But it was too late.

Henry's grip tightened, and with one swift motion, he yanked Adrian's underwear up in a brutal wedgie.

Adrian let out a loud yelp, kicking his legs as Henry hoisted him up higher.

"Henry! Cut it out!" Elijah snapped.

Henry finally let go, letting Adrian drop back into his chair with a huff.

"That's for my phone," Henry said smugly, sitting back down like nothing happened.

Adrian shot him a glare, rubbing at his sore backside. The twins, of course, were laughing their heads off.

"Better watch your back, baby bunny," Alex teased. "Henry's still got all day to think of a punishment."

Adrian groaned, already dreading the rest of the day

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Elijah drove while Adrian sat in the backseat with Miles and Alex, who spent the entire ride making him paranoid.

"So, what do you think Henry's gonna do?" Miles mused, grinning.

"I'm thinking a classic, maybe a trash can dunk," Alex suggested.

"Or maybe a frozen wedgie," Miles added. "Those are the worst."

"Or he could just hang you from something. That's always fun."

"Guys!" Adrian snapped. "He's not gonna do anything."

The twins exchanged a look before smirking.

"Sure," Miles said.

"If you say so," Alex added.

Adrian groaned, sinking lower in his seat. This was going to be a long day.

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Adrian met up with Lucas, Chloe, and Sophia and immediately launched into his morning disaster.

"He's totally going to do something," Adrian complained. "The twins won't shut up about it!"

Lucas chuckled. "Well, you did spill juice on his phone."

"Not on purpose!"

Chloe smirked. "So... what's the worst thing Henry's ever done to you?"

Adrian crossed his arms. "I'm not answering that."

Lunch passed with Adrian barely eating, but his friends didn't push. He wasn't even thinking about food, just when Henry was going to strike.

The rest of the school day dragged on, and when the final bell rang, Adrian practically ran to the car, hoping to find some sense of safety.

But Henry wasn't riding with them.

"Where's Henry?" Adrian asked hesitantly.

Alex smirked as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Oh, he's definitely planning something. I'm sure you'll see him soon."

Adrian gulped.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As soon as Adrian stepped inside, a hand clamped over his mouth, and he was yanked backward.

His muffled scream went unheard as Henry dragged him into a private room.

"Time for your punishment," Henry said gleefully.

Adrian barely had time to protest before he was yanked into the most brutal wedgie of his life. But Henry wasn't done; he lifted Adrian and hooked his stretched-out underwear onto a coat hook, effectively suspending him in the air.

Adrian squirmed, but it was useless. His toes barely touched the ground.

Henry grinned. "Oh, almost forgot!"

He pulled out a can of whipped cream, an ice cream tub, and a banana.

"No, no, no, Henry, come on—!"

SPLAT.

The cold mess was dumped down the back of his underwear, squishing against his skin.

Adrian let out a pained shriek as Henry pulled his legs down and the mush coated his entire bottom and the banana mashed into his crack.

Adrian let out a horrified gasp as Henry snapped a picture of him.

"And... sent!" Henry said, tapping his phone. "To the group chat."

Adrian froze.

The group chat.

With all his brothers.

And Leon.

And no

LUCAS.

"No," Adrian whispered in horror.

"Yes," Henry grinned. "Enjoy!"

He left Adrian hanging, still covered in the sticky mess.

After what felt like hours, the twins finally found him.

Alex and Miles burst into laughter the second they saw Adrian dangling from the hook, his underwear stretched beyond repair and the mess of whipped cream, ice cream, and banana smeared all over his back and seeping into his waistband.

"Henry got you good," Alex chuckled, crossing his arms as he looked Adrian up and down.

Miles snorted. "Damn, dude. He really went all out. You look like a walking dessert."

"Shut up and help me down!" Adrian whined, wiggling his legs in frustration.

Alex tilted his head, smirking. "Hmm... I dunno. This is a rare sight. Kinda wanna savor the moment."

"Yeah, maybe we should take a picture too," Miles added, pulling out his phone.

"NO!" Adrian panicked, struggling even harder. "Come on, please!"

The twins exchanged a glance before finally giving in.

"Alright, alright, hold still," Alex said, stepping forward.

Miles grabbed Adrian's waist while Alex carefully unhooked his stretched-out underwear. The second he was free, Adrian crumpled to the floor with a dramatic groan. His legs felt stiff from hanging for so long, and the cold, sticky sensation in his underwear made him shudder.

"This is the worst day of my life," he muttered.

Miles patted his head. "Nah, I think the day you peed yourself in the grocery store was worse."

Adrian glared. "I was three!"

"Doesn't change the fact that it happened."

Before Adrian could argue, Easton's voice rang out from down the hall.

"What the hell is going on?"

The room fell silent as Easton stepped in, taking one look at Adrian, his ruined underwear, the mess clinging to his skin, his defeated expression and sighed.

"Henry," he muttered under his breath before walking over and crouching next to Adrian.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Easton said, helping him to his feet.

Adrian let himself be led away, too exhausted to argue. He didn't even flinch when Easton stripped off his ruined hoodie and helped him out of his underwear, tossing it straight into the trash. He just stood there, shivering slightly as Easton grabbed a damp towel and wiped the mess off his back.

"That idiot took it too far," Easton muttered as he worked. "Should've known he'd pull something like this."

Adrian stayed quiet, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Once he was clean, Easton handed him a fresh pair of underwear and pajama pants. "Here. Get dressed. I'll go deal with Henry."

Adrian nodded, pulling on the clothes as Easton left the room.

By the time Elijah got home, Adrian was curled up on the couch, still feeling sore and humiliated. The second Elijah walked in, Easton pulled him aside, whispering about what had happened.

Elijah's face darkened. "Henry!"

Heavy footsteps sounded from upstairs, and Henry strolled down, looking completely unbothered.

"What?"

Elijah crossed his arms. "Sit down."

Henry frowned but obeyed, dropping onto the couch with an exaggerated sigh. The twins quickly took their spots, eager to watch the drama unfold, while Adrian kept his eyes glued to the floor.

"Henry, you're grounded," Elijah said, his voice firm.

Henry's face dropped. "What?! For what?!"

Elijah shot him a look. "For tormenting your brother."

Henry scoffed. "Oh, come on! He deserved it! He ruined my phone!"

"And you still have it," Elijah countered. "It's not broken. It's just drying out. You didn't need to go that far."

Henry crossed his arms, muttering under his breath.

Elijah sighed. "And Adrian"

Adrian's head snapped up. "What?!"

"you need to be more careful," Elijah said. "If you hadn't spilled juice all over Henry's phone, none of this would've happened."

Adrian pouted. "That's not fair..."

Elijah gave him a look, and Adrian slumped further into the couch, grumbling.

Satisfied, Elijah turned back to Henry. "You're grounded for the rest of the week. No phone, no video games."

Henry groaned. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Henry let out a loud sigh, muttering something under his breath as he stood up.

But before he left, he turned back to Adrian with a wicked grin.

Then he lunged forward.

Adrian flinched hard, gasping as he instinctively recoiled.

Henry smirked. "Baby."

Then he turned on his heel and stormed upstairs, slamming his door shut.

Adrian's chest ached. His face burned. He hated when people were mad at him.

But at the same time, he was furious.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he hugged his knees to his chest.

Easton sighed and pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back. "Ignore him. He'll get over it."

Adrian sniffled. "I hate him."

"No, you don't."

"...Yeah, I do."

Easton chuckled, ruffling his hair.

By the time dinner rolled around, Adrian had calmed down, though he was still a little moody. Diana had made food the night before, but the boys were too lazy to reheat it, so they ordered pizza instead.

When the boxes were set on the table, Adrian hesitated.

Pizza.

Carbs.

He knew he shouldn't. He knew he'd regret it later.

But his stomach growled, and before he could stop himself, he reached out and grabbed a slice.

The second he took a bite, the room went silent.

All of his brothers were watching him.

Adrian tensed, expecting a comment, a joke, some kind of teasing.

But it never came.

Instead, they just... smiled.

Elijah gave him a small nod of approval.

Easton ruffled his hair but didn't say anything.

Even the twins, who always had something to say, just exchanged a glance and smirked.

No jokes.

No teasing.

Just quiet understanding.

Adrian took another bite, feeling warmth spread through his chest.

For once, he didn't feel guilty.

For once, maybe it was okay.

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Word count: 1889

Hey Guys Thanks for reading this story so please be nice and kind. I am sorry if there are any spelling mistakes or bad grammar.

Thanks for reading my seventeenth chapter and please vote and leave a comment.

More chapters will be coming out soon.

*EMMA HETHRON*