"Nothing is optional anymore," I say, my voice grim. "Drew's on a mission to ensure no brother is left behind."
"Fantastic," he mutters. "I do know how to skate, but I was hoping to avoid the group bonding aspect."
"You know how to skate?"Well. That's one more thing that doesn't fit the grumpy rich kid image.
He shrugs, and a hint of defensiveness creeps into his voice. "My mother insisted. Said every cultured person should be able to skate with grace. Six years of lessons."
"Well, you'll be one of the few. Most of the guys can barely stand up on the ice. Myself included."
Caleb raises an eyebrow. "The Webmaster has a weakness after all?"
"I have many weaknesses.” I shrug and lean against the counter. This guy may not be as bad as I thought, but no way am I giving him any ammunition. "Lack of coordination on slippery surfaces is just going to be the most obvious tomorrow night."
"Maybe you need lessons," he suggests, and for a moment I think he might be offering to help before he quickly adds, "though I doubt even six years would help some people."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." There's less heat in my grouch than there would have been a few hours ago.
A thought occurs, half-formed and probably stupid, but the words come out anyway. "You know, if we acted like we got along, Drew would probably back off."
Caleb's eyebrow arches. "What?"
"He's on this whole brotherhood mission, right? Making sure everyone's connected and included." I wave vaguely between us. "If we pretended to be mates when he's around, he'd be so happy he might actually leave us alone about the rest of it."
"Fake friendship to avoid forced bonding activities." Caleb considers this, head tilting slightly. "That's... actually not terrible."
"We've already proven we can collaborate without killing each other. How hard could it be to act civil in public occasionally?"
"Fair point." His smirk returns. "And it would save us both from Drew's sad, disappointed face when we avoid each other."
We're interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Drew appears in the doorway, hair mussed from sleep, with Gavin looming behind him like an oversized shadow.
"What's going on?" Drew asks, eyes widening at the sight of Caleb and me standing in the kitchen together. "I heard laughing."
"At three in the morning," Gavin adds, yawning expansively. "Loud laughing."
Caleb and I exchange a glance, mutual annoyance at the interruption creating another moment of unexpected solidarity.
"James was telling me about the virus problems on the frat computers," Caleb explains.
"Again?" Drew sighs. "Who was it this time?"
"Rex. But it's a bigger problem than just him. We were talking about setting up some safety stuff for the whole network."
"Blocking certain domains and keywords," Caleb adds. "Setting up a more extreme firewall."
Drew's expression shifts from sleepy confusion to concern, though he hesitates. "James, be honest, how much time are you spending fixing these problems? As webmaster, I mean."
“Ummm, maybe ten hours per week. Minimum. Rex alone has needed three cleanups this month."
Drew's jaw tightens slightly. He exchanges a look with Gavin, then sighs. "That's not sustainable. Okay, that changes things. I want to treat everyone like adults, but not at the expense of your time and sanity. If you two can set up protections that don't interfere with legitimate use... yeah. Do it."
Again, Caleb and I exchange glances. "Sure," I'm reluctant to admit I want to work with Caleb, but he had some good ideas. "We can put something together."
"Great!" Drew sounds way too excited for 3:00 AM "This is exactly the kind of teamwork I've been hoping for. Brothers using what they're good at to help each other out."
Gavin, now fully awake, grins at us. "Wait, are you two getting along? This is historic."
"We're not—" Caleb starts.
