About two hours or so passed, and we were finally called into the kitchen because dinner was ready. The table was already set, and my cousins and I cheered when we saw that we were eating ravioli for dinner. My mouth watered when I got a whiff of the cheese and got even more excited when I saw the buttered rolls sitting in a pan, looking like they were ready to get eaten.

"Thank you for dinner!" We thanked Dad, Bubba, Uncle Marco, and Uncle Reece.

They waved their hands and we sat in our usual spots whenever we ate as a big family. I was sitting between Dad and Papa, while Georgie was sitting on Bubba's lap and being fed.

I was happily eating my buttered roll when I overheard Vito talking with Uncle Marco. "One of the new boys kept going on and on about Frankie being way too good at using Saint. He said that there was no way that Frankie was so good at using him with the little practice he did, but Frankie's talented like that, so there wasn't much to say. Frankie's just super experienced with it."

"Well, he really is the best at it." Uncle Marco smiled at Frankie, who was busy talking with his parents.

"Don't eat too many rolls, Luci." My dad patted my wrist and I pouted, but he shook his head. "Those eyes don't work on me."

"Not even mine..." Papa mumbled beside me and finished his salad.

I huffed, but quickly finished my ravioli and sighed, patting my stomach. "I'm stuffed."

"Like how you were last night?" Vito smirked and my jaw dropped, my face turning bright red.

My family laughed and snickered at me, so I covered my face and bit the inside of my cheek. I got up after a few moments and went to the kitchen to rinse my dirty dishes, then placed them in the dishwasher. I left the room and went up to my room, falling on my bed and screaming into my pillow.

"I can't believe he would say that..." I groaned and whined, flipping onto my back for air. "I'll kill him for it later."

"Kill who?" I looked up and saw Georgie standing at my door. He walked in and plopped beside me. "I'm guessing, Vito?"

"Yes."

Georgie didn't say anything else, and neither did I. He pulled me to his side and I laid my head on his chest, looking up at the ceiling which was covered in blue, glowing stars.

"We don't have school tomorrow."

"I forgot that it was Friday today..." I quirked my lips to the side and hummed. "Do you want to go out on a ride later tonight?"

"Yeah, we haven't been on a ride in a while. Maybe we can go to the tree house?" Georgie asked, and I quickly nodded.

"Yes!"

My brother smiled and kissed my cheek, sliding his fingers beneath my shirt. "Should we go down?"

I shook my head and felt my cheeks warm up again. "I'm too embarrassed. You can go down if you want."

"Georgie, Lucio! Come down, we're watching a movie!"

Georgie laughed and got up. "Come on, we have to go."

He pulled me up from the bed and we went downstairs, seeing that everyone was already sitting on the couches. I quickly walked to my parents and sat beside Papa, leaning my head on his shoulder.

Bubba looked through some movies, then we finally agreed on one. The movie was quite interesting. It was about a man who grew up with his girl best friend, but he later left to go to the army, then met some more friends and a bunch of other stuff. It was was going completely fine, but then my eyes were quickly covered when a sex scene came on.

"I'm eighteen already! I'm not a kid!" I heard Georgie whine, but couldn't see what happened next.

When Papa pulled his hand away, I peeked over at my brother and saw that he was blushing. Bubba wore a smug smile, while Dad rolled his eyes. I put my attention back on the tv and we finished the movie about half an hour later.

"Is there dessert? I'm craving something sweet." I asked Dad and he nodded. "Ooh, what are we eating?"

"Amir made tiramisu cheesecake, and since you guys have ice cream in the freezer, we can eat some of that, too." He smiled.

"Really?!" Tony questioned him, and Dad nodded. "Uncle Amir makes the best cheesecake!"

We all agreed and my bubba chuckled. "Then let's go eat some cheesecake."

My cousins and I ran to the kitchen and we looked in the freezer, seeing the glass pan sitting inside. I clapped my hands and jumped on Tony's back, telling him how excited I was.

"You boys won't be able to eat cheesecake if I can't even take it out."

We quickly moved out of Bubba's way and watched him take out the pan, then set it on the counter. He grabbed a knife, and cut the cheesecake into even pieces. He placed the first slice on a plate and we fought over who would get the first piece.

"Wait at the table, boys, you'll all get your pieces." He shooed us away and we sat at the table.

I was way too excited, but Bubba makes the best cheesecake so that was my excuse. We waited impatiently, then plates were placed in front of us along with a spoon.

I gasped and grabbed my spoon, cutting a piece of the cold dessert and putting it in my mouth. I hummed happily and squirmed in my chair, eating some of the French vanilla ice cream that was on the side as well.

"It's so good!" Tony moaned and licked his lips.

We didn't talk as we ate since we were too focused on this delicious cheesecake that we were eating. I licked my spoon and the plate, then let out a happy sigh as I sat back in my chair.

"Thank you, Bubba!" I looked up at him and he smiled.

"You're welcome, Lucio." He kissed my head and my smile broadened.

We lazed around and talked with each other until it got more late. Our parents thought that it was time that they left, and we said our goodbyes to them.

"Can we see you tomorrow, Dad?" I asked him, but he frowned.

"We'll be at the warehouse all day taking care of some things. You and the others will have to come with us on Sunday, though."

I nodded and hugged him tightly. He kissed my head, then I went to Papa, but he picked me up.

"We'll call you tomorrow just to check in. Don't eat too much cheesecake at once, or you'll feel sick." Papa kissed my cheek and I pouted, but nodded. He set me down and I said bye to Bubba and my other uncles, then they left.

All of our moods deflated a little after they left. We were super close with our family, so it always made us sad whenever they had to leave after spending time with us.

"Should we go on a late night ride? It's almost about to be the middle of the night." Georgie asked us, but he already knew our answers, and the others agreed.

We went up to our rooms and changed into something more warmer since it was cold out. I threw on a simple gray t-shirt and some black jeans. I slipped my old, white sneakers on, then went downstairs to the garage.

I grabbed my skateboard from the rack and the others joined me, grabbing their own boards and we left the house through the front door.

I set my board down and hopped on, pushing myself forward with my left foot and looking back at the others. "To the tree house?"

"Yeah." Tony nodded and we went down the road.

The ride was nice. The weather was a lot colder than I had expected, so I pulled my hood on and pulled my sleeves down to my hands. I would look up at the sky at times and smile to myself.

"Let's go buy some snacks." Rocky told us, and we followed him down a small hill.

We arrived at a shopping center, and picked up our boards, walking in the store that was open all night. It was pretty empty, but there were some people around. We walked to the snack aisle and started grabbing random stuff like chips and candy, then walked to the back of the store where they had fridges full of drinks.

"Just get a jug of juice. We'll share." Rocky shrugged, so Frankie grabbed a jug of apple juice because it was our favorite.

We went to the register and got in line, paying for our stuff and leaving the store.

We hopped back on our boards and finally arrived at the end of a road. There was a gate blocking the dirt road, but we hopped it and walked down the dirt path. There were trees and bushes all around us, but we followed the dirt path, then turned to a different path.

We walked for a short while, before everything abruptly opened up to reveal a large field full of different kinds of flowers. We didn't say anything but just stared at the field which was being lit up by the moonlight.

"I love this place..." We silently agreed with Tony, then walked down a path on our left.

We turned to our right when the land extended, then our tree house came into view. Many memories and feelings of nostalgia hit me at once, and I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

I remember when we were younger Dad brought us and my cousins here to the flower field. He told us about a dream that he once had where he lived a different life with our parents, but there were also other people there that he had never met or seen before.

This spot was and still is his favorite place to clear his mind, so us being little kids, we wanted it to be our favorite place too. Dad brought us here many times, and when I was seven-years-old, he brought us back here and our parents surprised us with a tree house that overlooked the entire flower field. We loved the house, because it felt like we were in our own different land. At times, it feels like time doesn't exist, especially when it's late at night and it's pure silence.

When we got closer to the tree house, Frankie stopped us. "Did you guys hear that?"

We froze and listened for noise, while looking around. I heard a loud sigh, then something hitting another thing.

"Is that coming from the tree house?" Georgie whispered, and we looked up.

The floorboards of the tree house creaked, then a grunt. "Freaking lock!"

We walked closer and I saw Georgie and Vito pull out their pocket-knives, handing Tony and Rocky their skateboards. We walked up the tree house's stairs until we reached the front, and saw a dark figure standing at the door.

"Hey, you!" Rocky yelled and the figure turned around, then dashed down the side of the house through another exit.

Georgie and Vito ran after them, and we followed. The guy was pretty fast, but Vito managed to catch him and yank him down. He landed on top of him and pinned his wrists down.

"What were you trying to do breaking into our tree house?!" I could see that the man stared at Vito with wide eyes, but we couldn't quite see who it was until I used my phone flashlight to see. "Romeo?"

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked, but Romeo continued to wiggle beneath him.

"Can you get off me?"

"Oops..." Vito moved off, then helped Romeo up, but the latter stepped back.

"So what are you doing out here by yourself trying to break into our tree house?" Rocky crossed his arms and raised a brow?

"I was out for a walk, then I saw the tree house and I wanted to go inside. It looked abandoned, but I guess it wasn't since the door wasn't even budging and the windows weren't breaking." Romeo explained, but he glanced at me and quickly looked away.

"The door is metal and the windows are bulletproof." Georgie simply explained, then started walking back towards the tree house.

We followed him, but Romeo stayed back and I looked at him. "Do you want to come?"

Romeo looked at the others, then nodded, walking beside me. We went up the steep stairs on the side of the tree house, and Frankie pulled a key out. He unlocked the door and we stepped in, the lights automatically flickering on.

"There's electricity out here?" Romeo looked around, and Rocky nodded.

"Our parents managed to get electricity from a tower that's higher up on the hill." He sat down on the bed, and placed the bag down in front of him.

"You can sit." I told Romeo since he kept looking around awkwardly, and seemed super tense. "Also relax, we're not going to do anything to you."

"Unless you want us to." Tony wiggled his brows, but he was smacked on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Keep your mouth shut." Georgie glared at him, and crouched down to look through the bags full of snacks.

I sat down on a large bean bag and pulled Frankie down beside me, and I leaned closer to him. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

"Yeah." He nodded and placed his hand on my thigh, scooting closer until we were squished together.

"Give me the snacks. I want to eat, too." I held my hand up, and Georgie passed us some bags of chips and candy.

"Do you want something to eat?" Georgie asked Romeo, and the latter shrugged. "It's a simple question. Yes or no?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"More for us." Tony shrugged and we ate, so it was pretty silent, but Romeo spoke up.

"Not to sound rude, but were you guys adopted?" He looked at all of us. My cousins and I looked at each other, then started laughing. Even Frankie was laughing quietly beside me. "It's a genuine question."

"We know. It's just funny to hear someone ask that because what if we were adopted and we didn't know?" Vito's expression turned serious and Romeo got uncomfortable from what I could tell.

"Oh, sorry for ask-"

"Nah, I'm just playing with you." Vito shook his head, and Romeo nodded awkwardly. "How's the best way to put it?"

Georgie hummed, then cleared his throat. "Mm, well we're not adopted, that's for sure. I'm also pretty sure you can tell that we look like our parents. Basically, our parents went to a lab when they decided to have kids. The scientists took their sperm, somehow managed to mix it together, then put it into some lady's egg, but we wouldn't get any genes from her. Well, maybe a little bit of DNA, but everything else solely came from our parents and we got all physical attributes from them only."

"To put it easier, we were a science experiment and the scientists made a new discovery. They found a new way to make children." Rocky chuckled and opened up the apple juice.

"Oh." Romeo nodded, then furrowed his brows. "Whose kid are you?"

"Me?" I pointed at myself and he nodded. "Xavier and Enzo are my parents, Georgie is Xavier and Amir's son, so he's my half-brother slash cousin. Kind of weird if you ask me but that's why I don't think about it, we just call each other brothers. Tony is Manuel and Jace's kid. Rocky and Vito are Gio and Marco's, and Frankie is Eddie and Reece's son."

"Wow..."

"Yup." I nodded and looked at my cousins.

You could really tell that we looked like our parents. Georgie looked like Bubba the most, with a little bit of Dad. I looked like a mix of both my parents, but had more of a body figure similar to Dad's. Tony looked like Uncle Jace more, but he definitely got Uncle Manuel's height. Rocky and Vito were just a big mix of their parents, but they did look like they were siblings. And Frankie was also a mix of his parents, since he was slim but still had some muscle and was lithe like his parents.

"What about your family?" Tony asked Romeo.

"Um, my dad and older brother are all I have. My mom died when I was younger when our headquarters was raided, so I don't remember much of her. I think that affected my dad and brother a lot in a negative way, because..." He trailed off, and rubbed his neck. "I don't want to say too much, but let's just say that things changed a lot. They became strict on me and started pushing me to do better, even though I was doing the best I could, but it still wasn't enough for them."

"So you were sent here because of that?" Tony asked, and Romeo nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." He shifted in his seat, looking around at the walls which were covered in pictures and drawings from when we were younger. "So how was it for you guys? I can tell that you guys were treated right."

"Yeah." We all smiled, and Rocky subtly leaned into Georgie's side as he continued to talk for us. "We grew up really close with our families and each other. We were raised like brothers, and were spoiled all our life. It's nice to feel like you can go to someone, though, whether it's our parents or each other."

"I guess it would." Romeo looked down at the floor, then looked up at us again. "Do you guys live in the dorms? I didn't see you guys going there after school."

"No, we live in a house fifteen minutes away from school, and we don't really like the kids from our school. The last time we had friends was a few years ago, but we ended up finding out that their family was attempting to get closer to our family so they could do business with our parents. Since then, we never tried making more friends. We have each other, so we don't really care or worry about making friends." I explained and the others agreed.

"You guys are really lucky, then." Romeo stared at a spot on the wall, and I looked to where he was looking.

My face turned red and I cleared my throat. "So have you made any friends?"

"No. I've always had trouble making friends." He looked at me, and I could see that his own cheeks were a bit red.

I nodded and looked at the floor, tapping on Frankie's knees. "Hm?"

I leaned closer towards his ear and cupped my mouth. "We never took the pictures down from the last time we were here. He just saw them."

Frankie covered his mouth and snickered, pulling his phone out to text the group chat. He sent a message about the pictures and Georgie was the first to pull his phone out, so he showed the others. Vito burst out laughing and hunched over his knees, smacking Tony's knees.

"Ow, you bitch..." Tony pushed his hand away, but Vito was still too busy laughing.

"I-I can't breathe!" Tears ran down his face and he fell on the floor, crawling to me and Frankie's feet. "You're so f-fucked, Luci!"

"Literally..." Frankie covered his mouth when I glared at him.

"Romeo, can you step outside for a few minutes?" Rocky asked the boy that was sitting on my left.

"Sure." He went outside and I got up.

"Take the pictures down!" I ran to the other side of the room and started taking the pictures down. Georgie and Tony helped me until all the pictures were down. "Where do we put them?"

"You look sexy in this one, Luci. Look." Rocky came up behind me and showed me the explicit picture. "Who was the one fucking you? Was it Tony, or Vito?"

___________________________________

Uh, the boys were a middle school science project, lol.

What do you guys think?

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, see you all next time, BYE!!! :))

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