Kevin was not calming down at all. In fact he seemed to become more instead of less worked up as he fought to get at Steve’s door. It took the efforts of both Andrew and Patrick to restrain him, and they were losing ground. They were stronger than Kevin, but not as resilient and he was wearing them down. Privately, they each wondered how much more they could take.

Mike had, to this point, not involved himself. He knew Steve would at some point find out that the summons had become public information, and he and Kurt as the only two uninvolved people he had confided in, were in the immediate line of fire. The last thing he wanted was to be part of the drama exacerbating the situation. He had assumed that Pat and Andy would be able to get things under control, but he had not counted on the kid’s persistence.

He passed Kurt who was still trying to calm his own little brothers in the hallway downstairs, and his friend smirked at him. “Good luck,” he commented drolly.

“Yeah, thanks,” Mike returned as he started up the stairs. ‘What would Pat and Andy do if that was me in there, getting my ass beat?’ he wondered wryly. Somehow, he couldn’t picture them throwing themselves against the president’s bedroom door. Then again, he couldn’t picture much of anybody taking that chance, ‘except maybe James, if Jess was in trouble,’ he thought, and he couldn’t help smirking just a little. ‘Thank God the kid was gone already for the holidays. That was one less potential drama to worry about, anyway.’ James, who was Jesse’s little brother as well as Kevin’s best friend, had, in his very first semester, made quite a name for himself.

Three weeks ago the fraternity had held a mandatory meeting where Kevin, as the president’s youngest brother, had received the traditional punishment for misbehavior. It was a ritual that occurred every year, and was a more than affective way to get the new students on track. The night was inevitably hard, however, on the president, his brothers and anyone close to them, and James especially had not reacted well. He had been so enraged, in fact, that he had jumped Danny and Ryan, actually knocking them to the ground and doing a fair amount of damage to Danny’s face that was just now beginning to heal. The very next day Steve had summoned James for what was probably the ass blistering of his life.

Steve had a soft spot, though, where his brothers were concerned, and they all knew it. They definitely took chances no one else would take, and sometimes broke rules no one else would even think of breaking. Most of the time, they got away with it. The funny thing was no one seemed to mind. Mike knew it was a natural fascination with anything sadistic that had brought the majority of the fraternity together today, not a particular wish to see Danny and Ryan suffer. Most of them, when asked where their sympathies lay, would undoubtedly side with the two brothers. As spoiled as they most certainly were, they were also loveable. Ryan as the prankster and Danny as the intense and passionate driving force behind their football team, were almost as well loved by the rest of the fraternity as they were by their brother, and Kevin too was capturing hearts just as quickly as they had. Their little brother’s willingness to speak his mind, his guts on the field, his eagerness (especially the last few weeks) to do the right thing, and his devotion to his brothers had quickly made him a house favorite. There weren’t many in the fraternity who would not have eagerly seen Gregg Mcarthy in Danny and Ryan’s place tonight. ‘But it didn’t stop them from coming here and making it worse,’ Mike pondered bitterly. ‘We just can’t help involving ourselves in the pain and misery of others.’ The last thought hit him hard as he came around the corner and saw for himself the state that Danny and Ryan’s younger brother was in. ‘Poor kid,’ he sighed heavily.

Pat and Andy had him cornered like a trapped animal between the railing overlooking the common room, and Steve’s door. His eyes were red and swollen, his face was flushed, and tears continued to streak his face. He was quiet at the moment as he contemplated his next move, not willing to admit yet that he had nowhere to go. ‘At least he’s getting some good drill time in,’ Mike thought ironically. As a running back it was important for Kevin to be able to get out of tight spots. Steve’s friend paused contemplating what to do, and at that moment his brothers looked his way and saw him. Kevin followed their gaze.

“Mike!” Steve’s youngest brother cried. “Mike! Please . . .!” The next moment Kevin was rushing towards him, and Mike instinctively put out his hands to intercept him, taking a firm grip on Kevin’s arms. “Mike please!” Kevin pleaded desperately. “You can talk to him! You can stop this! Please!”

“I can’t Kev’bo,” Mike looked sorrowfully down into Kevin’s panicked face. “It’s not my call,” he asserted gently.

“But can’t you talk to him?” Kevin sobbed, and Mike shook his head.

“I can’t go in there now, Kev,” he said softly, “and if I did it wouldn’t make a difference. We just have to let them get it over with!”

“But they didn’t mean to do it!” Kevin’s frustration resurfaced. “I know they didn’t! And, anyway, whatever they did, I’m sure Mcarthy deserved it!”

“That is neither here nor there, Kevin,” Mike replied, bending lower to peer in his face. “In this fraternity, we do not fight, and when you are the president’s brothers, fair or unfair, the ability to control your temper becomes vital. Under no circumstances is it acceptable for underclassmen to attack a senior. Danny and Ryan know that!”

“But Mike . . . ,” Kevin started, and then he just dissolved into tears.

“Come on now, it’s all right,” Mike pulled him close and Kevin clung to him, pressing his face into his chest. Mike pushed his hair away from his hot, feverish forehead, and tightened his arms, looking up to meet the grateful and exhausted eyes of his own younger brothers.

Before anything could be said, however, Steve’s door opened just a crack and they all looked over in surprise. Steve peered out at them, and Patrick and Andy paled at the sight of his furious face, swallowing as they looked back at Mike. Steve was staring right at their brother, and Mike sighed inwardly as he unflinchingly met the fraternity president’s smoldering eyes. ‘Well, obviously the cat is out of the bag,’ he thought grimly, holding tighter to Kevin.

At that moment Kevin turned his head towards the door and caught sight of his oldest brother. Steve’s expression softened as he looked at Kevin’s face, and Kevin looked timidly at him. “Is it over?” he asked tremulously, and tears welled in Steve’s eyes as he barely shook his head. Kevin saw his window of opportunity and lunged towards him. “Don’t do it, Steve! Please, please!” he sobbed as Mike hauled him back and tightened his grip. Kevin fought him, frantically.

“It’s all right, let him go,” Steve instructed his friend softly, stepping outside and pulling the door, so it was barely cracked behind him. The next moment Kevin was grasping his knees and sobbing as he looked down at him and softly stroked his hair. “All right, Kev. It’s all right,” he soothed.

“Please don’t do this!” Kevin pleaded again.

“I don’t have a choice, Little Bro,” Steve returned quietly, his throat tight.

“But why? Why?” Kevin sobbed. “Why are you siding with Gregg when everything he ever does is mean spirited with the intention of hurting somebody, and you know Danny and Ryan aren’t like that! You know it!” Kevin screamed. “Whatever they did to him, he was asking for it!”

“That’s not the point, Kev’bo,” Steve reiterated Mike’s earlier assertion, keeping his voice as controlled as possible. “The way Danny and Ryan behaved left me no choice. I have to punish them!”

“But why? When you know they didn’t mean it?”

“They attacked a senior, Kevin. Even if they were seniors too, I’d probably still have to punish them, but as underclassmen there is simply no way around it.”

“But he provoked them, Steve! I’m sure he did!”

“Kevin you are not listening to me,” Steve admonished softly. “Gregg did not throw the first punch! In fact he did not return any punches at all!”

“That’s because he’s a weak ass pussy!” Kevin exclaimed hotly. Tears were streaming down Pat and Andy’s faces now, but even so they had to bite their lips to keep from laughing, and Mike quickly turned his head. Even Steve had to pause and take a deep breath before he looked once again into his youngest brother’s infuriated face.

“Try to get what I’m saying to you, Kev,” he squatted down and took his little brother by the shoulders, peering intently into his raging green eyes as Kevin brushed in frustration at the tears that continued to spill down his cheeks. “What Ryan and Danny did is very serious. It does not matter what Gregg may or may not have done to provoke them. They have to be punished. I cannot let it go. Look at me,” Steve commanded as Kevin averted his eyes and began to sob once more. “Look at me, please,” he repeated. Finally Kevin met his big brother’s eyes once more. “The minimum punishment,” Steve had been talking softly, but now he lowered his voice still more, “for an infraction of this kind is a bare bottom paddling. Do you understand me?” he asked as Kevin’s sobs increased again. “It’s the minimum punishment, Kev,” Steve choked. “If they were anybody else, I would have had to evict them from the fraternity.” Steve gave Kevin a moment to absorb what he had said and then he repeated quietly, “I can’t let this go completely unpunished. Do you understand?”

“Then punish me!” Kevin sobbed as he looked into his big brother’s eyes. “It’s my fault! I know they were fighting about me! Punish me if you have to, but please don’t whip them, Steve, please!” Tears stung Steve’s eyes and he brought his hand up to brush them away as slowly they began to trickle down his face.

“Oh Kevin,” he regarded his little brother gently, “it’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is!” Kevin protested. “If I wasn’t such a selfish brat all semester long, Mcarthy wouldn’t have had anything to provoke them with!”

“How do you know it was about that?” Steve asked quietly.

“Oh please, Steve! It was the same damn day! I’m not stupid you know! What did he say?” Kevin sobbed. “Did he call me a brat, tell them I was spoiled and I deserved it? What? Whatever he said, he was right! I wish they had just left it alone!”

“Jesus Christ!” the muffled sob came floating through the crack in the door, and Kevin barely recognized his brother’s voice. “Let . . . .”

“What, Dan?” Steve opened the door just a little wider. “I didn’t hear you. What did you say?”

“I said let him in!” Danny sobbed, taking his face out of the pillow and turning it toward the door.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked softly, standing up and looking into the room. Matt had his hand on the back of Danny’s head, and was stroking his hair softly, and now he looked up to meet his little brother’s eyes as Danny answered.

“Yes,” he sobbed. “I’m sure.”

Steve shifted his gaze to Ryan, still crumpled in the chair. “Ry?”

“If it’s what Danny wants,” Kevin heard the choked reply from his other brother, and Steve looked down at him.

“All right, Kev’bo,” he said softly. “Come on. Maybe, it’s for the best.” He pulled his little brother to his feet and opened the door just wide enough for him to get through. Kevin looked at him, hesitantly. “Go on,” he urged softly. “It’s all right.” Kevin swallowed and wiped at his tears, but then he ducked under Steve’s arm and entered the room. A moment later he collapsed into sobs again as he dropped on his knees by Danny, put his head down on the bed and cried.

Quietly Steve closed the door and turned to look at Mike, Andy, and Patrick. His accusing eyes lingered a moment on Mike, and then he looked back at his friend’s little brothers once more.

“Andy,” he stretched out his arm, and beckoned him, “come here for a minute.” Nervously, Andy looked at Mike. “Come here,” Steve repeated, glancing at Mike. Mike gave Andy an encouraging nod, and Andy approached the president.

“Tell me honestly,” Steve put his arm around him, and Andy once again looked for Mike. “No, no look here,” Steve commanded gently and anxiously Andy obeyed. “Tell me honestly,” Steve started again, looking intently into Andy’s eyes. “How did you and Patrick find out about this?”

“Mcarthy told us,” Andy replied without hesitation.

Steve’s face flushed and he clenched his fist. “Mcarthy told you? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Andy replied again. “He set up shop in the Campus store. He was telling everybody.”

Steve’s blood began to boil and he gently took hold of Andy’s jaw as Andy once again looked for his brother. “Andy, this is really important,” he said earnestly. “Are you being straight with me?”

“Yes!” Andy exclaimed. “Why would I lie?”

“Are you sure that Mike didn’t tell you, or even maybe just let it slip by accident?”

“No!” Andy replied horrified. “Mike never said a word!”

“Pat?” Steve glanced at Mike’s other little brother, and Pat shook his head too broken up to respond.

“Answer me please,” Steve prompted.

“No,” Patrick sobbed. “It was definitely Mcarthy!” Steve let go of Andy and turned away to hide his emotions.

“He was in the bookshop, telling people?” he inquired disbelievingly and Pat and Andy nodded as he turned back to face them.

“All right,” he said. “The two of you may go. Tell Kurt to come up here please.”

Pat and Andy glanced at Mike uneasily. “It’s all right,” he assured them quietly, and resignedly the two brothers made their way around the landing, and down the hallway. An eerie silence had fallen over the house.

“Well that was quick,” Kurt simpered as they started down the stairs. “Mike must have the magic touch.” They didn’t smile.

They stopped near the bottom of the stairs and sat down. Pat was still brushing at his eyes as Jesse and Sean who had grown much calmer looked up at them. “It wasn’t Mike,” Andy said quietly. “Steve came out.”

“Did he really?” Kurt replied in surprise. “So, that’s what everyone was looking at,” he said mostly to himself as he glanced over his shoulder at the restless activity in the common room. He looked back at Pat and Andy then and asked quietly, “So, what did our fearless leader have to say?”

Andy shrugged. “He talked to Kevin for a few minutes, and tried to calm him down. Kevin got real emotional, started blaming himself, and Danny overheard him from the bedroom, told Steve to let him in, so now Kevin’s in there with them . . .,”

“With Danny and Ryan?” Kurt interjected in astonishment. Andy nodded. “Wow . . .,” Kurt drawled, “way to go, Kevin! Way to get what you want by throwing a tantrum . . . ,”

“Hey, ease up!” Jesse snapped. “The kid’s having a really hard time, and who can blame him?”

“I know he is, Jess,” Kurt responded apologetically, “I just can’t believe Steve let him go in there.”

“Did you see Danny and Ryan?” Sean inquired softly.

“No,” Andy choked, shaking his head, “but we heard them talking to Steve. They’re having a really tough time!” Patrick started to cry harder again, Sean pressed his fingers to his eyes, and Jesse too put his head back on his knees. For a moment no one said anything.

“Steve knows about Mcarthy,” Andy spoke again quietly after a minute, looking at Kurt. “He wants to see you.”

“He does, does he?” Kurt returned softly. “All righty then, I guess I’ll be back,” he gave Sean’s shoulder one last comforting squeeze as he got to his feet. “It’s all right,” he reassured his brothers as they looked worriedly up at him. “If Mike and I aren’t back in fifteen minutes, though, some loud wailing, sobbing, and a little pounding on Steve’s door would be very much appreciated.” All four of the younger students looked at him now in alarm. “I’m kidding!” he exclaimed as he tried to keep a straight face. “Relax you guys! I’m kidding. I’ll be back,” he gave Jesse and Sean an encouraging little smile and placed his hand on Pat’s shoulder as he stepped through Mike’s two younger brothers and continued up the stairs, “and so will Mike,” he promised. He couldn’t keep from smirking as he headed up the stairs. ‘It’s not funny,’ he reprimanded himself, but he couldn’t help it. He just couldn’t get used to thinking of his best friend as the intimidating person that so many of his fellow fraternity members saw him as.