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“You take too long in the shower,” Nathan said, grinning. “And then when you shave, you’re always going over the same spots.”

“That’s because he uses the same old razor. He hangs on to those things like they’re gold,” Silas piped in. He sat up on the bed. “Gabriel’s always getting after me about switching out my razors for new ones. You have to or you get cuts.”

What was going on? Kota didn’t say a word. I mean he just started talking and the others seemed to know what to say. Had they done this before? It didn’t seem like it. Somehow, once I wasn’t there, they were able to say what they needed to say?

I couldn’t think like that. It hurt to think that’s what he was doing. Or maybe I made them nervous by looking at them?

I made the big, tough Silas and Nathan nervous?

“He can grow a beard when he just didn’t shave for a week,” Victor said. He pressed a palm to his cheek and smoothed it out over his face. “If I try to even grow anything, it’s all splotchy. The hair is too fine.”

“Have you seen his abs though?” Nathan said. “I mean, he does what, a few pushups a week?” He lifted up his shirt, showing his abdomen. He was clearly defined with lean muscles. “He’s got those genetics that lets him eats nearly anything he wants. If I ate like him, I’d be a pudge like I was before.”

“He’s got good muscle tone,” Kota said. He moved himself from the archway between the bathroom area and sat on the bed next to Victor. “He hides it under the clothes.”

Nathan groaned, shoving a hand over his face. “And he fits into everything. I put on jeans, and I look like a stuffed sausage. Gabriel can pick out an outfit, and then he’s like those models.”

Kota motioned his hand, like he was turning down an invisible radio. Then he pointed at himself. “I don’t know if I really feel comfortable in jeans. I feel fine in them when I’m at home, but when I go out, I want to be in slacks. Something a little more dressy. Which really doesn’t work for this high school. The kids in class all wear jeans. Even the girls. So I come off looking like a teacher’s pet.”

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open, causing the toothpaste to drip out into the sink. I quickly spit the rest out and rinsed, but still couldn’t get over what Kota had just done. He’d turned the conversation from talking about Gabriel to what they were uncomfortable with in themselves. So maybe by showing Gabriel how they’re vulnerable, he’d understand no one thought they were perfect or better.

Kota was brilliant. With the occasional comment about Gabriel being smart or thoughtful, without going overboard, it seemed like a genuine conversation.

“The big guys at school make fun of my eyes,” Victor said.

I leaned out away from the sink to look at Victor.

Kota spoke. “When?’

“In class,” Victor said. “They ask if I use mascara. The girls say I must wear colored contacts. The girls are almost as bad as the guys.”

“They’ve got no idea who they’re talking to,” Nathan said. “If they knew who you were…”

“I don’t know,” Victor said. “They see Gabriel and he’s so hardcore. I stand next to him and look…feminine.”

“At least you wear better clothes than they do,” Silas said.

Victor rolled his eyes. “It wouldn’t make a difference. It’s not like I can whip out a piano at school and they’ll suddenly be impressed with me. They probably wouldn’t even care. They like rap music and loud guitars. I just have to deal with it.”

“If you change, they’d notice,” Nathan said. “I swapped out my white shirt for just a T-shirt and they all commented. But when I’m in gym, they really like to point out if I ever miss the ball, or like in basketball, if the other team scores. I have to carry my team.”

Silas snorted. “Most kids think I’m stupid. It doesn’t matter if I speak their language. They’ll start speaking Spanish or joke about Border Patrol coming to collect.”

My mouth dropped open again. Really?

Kota changed his hand signal, like turning up a radio dial. “Only a little while longer, guys,” he said. “Then we go back to the real world.”

Silas laughed. “Thank you. Yes. I can’t wait. I can finally get Gabriel to change my clothes out. He’s doing so much running around the school, I can’t get a minute with him.”

“No,” Nathan said. “I need him to finish up the décor in my bathroom. It’s still not finished because we were waiting for him to choose some tiles.”

“I’ve got a closet full of clothes that I don’t know what to do with,” Victor said. “And my hair needs a change. If Gabriel did it now, the kids would notice.”

Kota sighed. “Gabriel’s going to be busier than ever.”

“We should probably give him a year off,” Nathan said. “A vacation.”

“He’d want to go to Disney World,” Victor said. “With us.”

Silas smiled. “I like Disney World.”

“I want to go to Harry Potter land at Universal Studios,” Nathan said.

“Oh Gabriel’d like that,” Kota said. “I think he’s a Gryffindor, isn’t he?” Kota turned his hand again, pointing at himself and then at Victor’s cell phone, motioning for him to stop. When Victor paused the recording, he spoke. “That’s pretty good, but if we cut it off now, it sounds more natural than adding a conclusion. We ran it a bit long.”

“Sorry,” Silas and Nathan said at the same time.

“Still,” Kota said, “we’ll have to chop that up a bit to send it.” He looked at Victor. “The whole thing isn’t bad but...”

Victor was hitting at buttons. “I think he’d appreciate hearing the whole thing. Sounds more natural, like you said.”

Kota nodded and then looked over at me. “Does that sound like something he'd appreciate?” he asked me.

I shrugged, only as I didn't have much else to respond to. He seemed confident that Gabriel would appreciate this. I was hesitant to say yes or no, fearing the wrong answer.

It was a wonderful thing to do for him, though. It was an odd way of talking to Gabriel, but if Gabriel felt unconfident, he might appreciate knowing the other people he envied were just as unconfident in certain areas.

“Sounds good to me,” Victor said. “I’ll send it along.”

“It still seems kind of obvious,” Nathan said.

“It sounds just like if someone had accidentally called him,” Kota said. “Victor can place it in his voicemail box. He’ll check it and will probably assume…”

“That we butt dialed him?” Nathan asked.

Kota smiled. “Something like that.”

“I know it’s his birthday soon,” Victor said. He put the phone down and settled back onto the bed. “I wanted to take him to the spa, but I don’t know if he’d appreciate it right now.”

I considered the car, but it wouldn’t do any good to mention it when North and I couldn’t find it, and he might have already handled it. “Luke said to buy him an art set.”

“That’s what Luke gets him every year,” Kota said.

“He likes those,” Victor said. He patted the bed, motioning to me. “I’ve been thinking of it for weeks. It’s hard to pick something out for him. You can’t just buy him a shirt or a watch. He’s picky about that sort of thing.”

I tiptoed across the room. Silas looked like he’d already fallen asleep.

Kota smirked as I approached the bed, holding the blanket and sheet open for me so I could climb over him. I settled in with Victor and Kota on either side.

“If you get too warm,” Kota said, “just let me know.”

“When is his birthday?” Nathan asked out loud. “I mean what day is it today?”

The others quieted for a moment, even Kota.

Kota picked up his phone, looking at the screen. “Oh no, his birthday is tomorrow.”

We all sat up then, Silas included.

“Shit,” Nathan said. “Tomorrow? Why didn’t you warn us?”

“I was going to,” Kota sa

id. “I have…except I’ve been saying soon, haven’t I? Then with Mr. McCoy…”

Victor sighed. “Nothing to do about it now. But tomorrow…” He looked at the rest of us, not finishing his sentence.

“Tomorrow, we’ll figure it out,” Kota said. “Nothing we can do right now.”

I settled down, excited thinking maybe Gabriel would appreciate the small gesture the boys were trying to share, reminding him that none of them thought themselves to be perfect, and yet they all had something nice to say about him. Envy was normal, in small doses. It was a human emotion. Gabriel didn’t have any reason to be envious of the others. Wealth was something Victor didn’t have control over. Strength was something that Silas seemed to have naturally, and Nathan strived for. Gabriel had so many talents, plus a lot of friends ready and willing to support him.

And for his birthday? If we all had to drag him out to the spa, or to the movies, or something, we’d do it. They were a family. They knew what to do for each other.

I tossed around a bit, thinking I’d never be able to sleep. I thought of what to buy for Gabriel for his birthday. It wasn’t long, though before I drifted.

Victor’s hand was on my back.

Kota’s arm was over mine.

I wanted to be awake to enjoy it.

I dreamed instead.

GABRIEL COLEMAN, BEAUTIFUL

I dreamed I held a heart in my hand. The wind whipped around me, tossing me side to side as I stood in the dark.

The heart pulsed with light, shining almost too bright to look at.

I dropped it.

It shattered.

The pieces got caught in the wind. The light extinguished.

I was alone.

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