It was late at night and the household was fed and full.

All of us, except Eli, were in the living room, watching some movie that the triplets had been adamant about. Coral had tried to get Eli to come out of his room, but she hadn’t been successful. It was one of those nights when it was clear he wouldn’t be changing his mind, so we all left him alone.

The lights were off, and the room was cast in the eerie white and blue glow from the TV, occasionally bathing our faces a hellish red colour whenever a car, house or a building blew up.

“What even is this film?” I gave Gomez a dry look.

I liked action movies. In fact, they were the only kind of movies I watched. But this was ridiculous. Completely unrealistic and over the top with the explosions and theatrics. Gomez grinned back at me from the beanbag he was slouched in on the carpet.

“Action comedy, Phoenix. Haven’t you heard of those before?” his teeth reflected the light of the TV.

“Those are two genres that should never mix,” I muttered.

“Nah, this is good shit,” Landon agreed with Gomez with a laugh, sitting on the carpet with his legs tucked up. He usually chose to sit on the floor, he liked it there for some reason. Occasionally he’d wrap his arms around his bent knees like he was doing now, resembling a very big child.

I was in my armchair. Coral and Walter had one whole sofa to themselves, Walter spread across the length of it, and Coral slotted in his arms. She rested her back against his chest, her head laying on his shoulder and Walter’s arms wrapped around her waist. The cuddling was off putting, but at least it was dark in the room.

I turned my attention back to the TV as the music grew louder, signifying something dramatic about to happen. The boys had their eyes glued to the screen, Giovanni and Severn in the other sofa, with Severn asleep in the corner of it. Just as the climax was about to be reached, the movie stopped playing and the adverts came on, earning a groan from everyone.

“What?” Severn woke up, looking around blearily.

“Why do you always miss the good parts?” Walter smirked over at him in amusement.

“Well, I think I’ve missed more than half the movie,” Severn answered as he rubbed his hair and then stretched. “I remember the sex scene though.”

“Of course you do,” Walter rolled his eyes.

“Wait, Severn,” Gio turned to grin at him. “Are you telling me the sex scene got you so excited, you fell asleep?”

Severn’s face split into a sleepy smile as his brother teased him.

“No, that’s not what I said,” he shrugged it off. “It takes a lot more than some semi-darkness, sex scene for my narcolepsy to act up.”

Severn’s condition, narcolepsy, meant that his sleeping pattern was abnormal, leading to him getting tired during the day sometimes, or being up all night. Usually both. His narcolepsy also meant that if his emotions got the better of him too much, it could trigger an ‘attack’ and he’d simply fall asleep. Pain, fear, elation. Anything. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes it did. Once when he got his first tattoo. His triplets had seen it coming and timed how long it had taken for Severn to fall asleep. Severn had always had the lowest tolerance for pain out of us all.

“How about actual sex?” that, of course, gained Landon’s interest. “Does your narcolepsy affect you then? Wait, are you guys still virgins?”

“What’s the rush?” Coral was the one who spoke.

“Didn’t say there was one,” Landon said.

“You used the word ‘still’,” Walter added.

“Well, they did turn seventeen a couple of weeks ago,” Landon shrugged.

The triplets shared looks, as if silently debating whether they should spill a secret, or not.

“You don’t have to answer him if you don’t want to,” Walter said to them.

“Er, yes they do,” Landon held a finger up. “Why are you all going shy now? You’re never shy.”

“We’re not shy,” Gomez scoffed. “I, personally, am just wondering if Phoenix is still a virgin. How can he get girls if he never speaks to them?”

I met his blue eyes in the gloom, looking at him flatly as his cheeky smile grew. I didn’t have to answer that. I had my ways and they all knew it.

“Don’t deflect,” Walter spotted the move too. “Answer the question.”

“Really?” Landon looked at Walter incredulously. “You just said – ”

“I know what I just said, but they’re acting suspicious now,” Walter regarded the three of them in turn through narrowed eyes. “Start talking.”

Gio, Gomez and Severn shared another look and then they all shrugged, as if deciding there was no use holding back anymore.

“No,” Gomez answered.

“No,” Gio said the same.

“No, what?” Landon frowned.

“No, I’m not a virgin.”

“That sounds more like I expected,” Landon nodded, smiling proudly at them.

We turned to Severn who sighed exaggeratively, “Yes.”

“Really?” Landon arched his brows.

“He talks the talk, but he doesn’t walk the walk,” Gomez teased him.

“Sex sounds good in theory, but in reality, it’s overrated,” Severn rolled his eyes. “Girls expect you to have a lot of stamina, I mean, come on. Me? Stamina?”

Landon’s mouth fell open and his brows pulled together, offended by his words.

“We know,” Gomez agreed with Landon, grinning widely. “We tried to tell him otherwise.”

“Our goal is to get him laid before the end of summer,” Gio smirked, nudging Severn with his elbow. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

“Only two weeks left,” Landon reminded them.

“Yep,” Severn brushed it aside lazily.

“You do realise you can have sex in positions where you don’t have to do all the work?” Landon eyed Severn.

“Of course, I know,” Severn scoffed. “I do know what sex looks like.”

“Okay fine,” Landon murmured, not sure how to convert Severn to his way of thinking.

“Well,” Gio started with what was going to be a cheeky suggestion, judging by his smile. “How about we ask the sexually active couple for some tips?”

It took us a second longer to realise what he was getting at, and Walter gently ushered Coral off him so he could slowly stand up. Childish excitement was lit in Gomez and Gio’s eyes as they got up and raced out of the room. Walter tried to grab for Gomez as he scrambled past, but he missed him by a hair’s breadth. Instead, Walter turned on Severn, who was still sitting down.

“I’m not running, I wasn’t part of this!” Severn cried, ducking into a ball on the sofa.

Walter rained a few ‘light’ blows on him anyway, which made me crack a smile, before he went off to find the other two triplets. Coral was laughing as she shook her head to herself. It was the same thing again, and again.

“Never gets old,” Landon chuckled.

“They literally ask for it every time,” Coral agreed.

“Again, I wasn’t a part of this,” Severn groaned as he uncurled himself from the corner of the sofa.