By JalizaBurwell

I hold back a giggle as Luke and Gabriel help each other put on the ugly masks. I can't see their mouths, but I know they are smiling hard by the way their eyes light up with mischief. Luke's eyes are especially a nice warm shade of brown.

"Sh," Gabriel says to me as I giggle, holding my phone up to make a video recording. It had taken Luke a few minutes to show me how to use the feature on the smartphone, and now I hold it between my hands, trying to keep it still despite my unsteady hands.

Their masks are absolutely freaky looking. Flashes of Volto come to mind, but I quickly shake my head of those thoughts. These masks are nothing like the plain white mask. They look like fancy masquerade masks, covering nearly the boys' entire faces, but instead of pretty and elegant looking, they are kind of hideous.

Luke's reminds me of a lion with all the gold and with the frills sticking out from all around, framing his head. I can see his jawline but not his lips.

Gabriel's is a little simpler, but reminds me of a demon with the dark colors and sharp lines. His crystal blue eyes are focused on the task at hand as he plays with the feathers around Luke's mask.

My heart thumps with excitement. After weeks of planning in secret, we can finally do this. We're going to celebrate Epiphany to honor Silas. The idea is to celebrate the baptism of Jesus, along with his birth, but in traditional Greek style.

"Alright, let's do this before the giant wakes up," Gabriel mutters, stepping away from his work of art with a critical eye. I admire him from behind the camera. I always love the focus he has when he works on an art project. He puts more thought into his work than he let's on.

They work their way up to the second floor and down the short hallway to where Silas is still passed out in. My ears pick up on his snoring, and I relax a little, glad he's still asleep.

We've put a lot of thought into today, and I don't want the surprise ruined.

Luke slips in first, light on his feet, with Gabriel right on his heels, sticking close, almost as light on his feet as Luke.

I follow behind, trying my best to be quiet. By the glance given to me by Luke, I know I'm not as quiet as I could be. I'm just too entertained and excited about this.

I never thought Epiphany would become such a big event when I went to North with the idea. But with all challenges given to the Academy boys, once the idea was there, they ran with it. And Silas deserves to be able to celebrate a holiday he used to celebrate when he lived in Greece.

Silas lays on his side, half of his massive frame out from underneath the blankets. He wears dark blue pajama pants, but nothing else, showing off an impressive bare chest. My cheeks heat at how I woke up wrapped around him this morning, snuggling into his chest. I nearly woke up him as I untangled myself from him.

Since being kicked out of my house, I stayed at Kota's for a few days and then his mother got suspicious and I started staying with Sean. In a few more days, I'll be able to stay with Nathan and not have to move around so often. I feel like a burden, but everyone has reassured me that they prefer this instead of the alternative­—living with my stepmother. I prefer it too.

Silas snores lightly as we creep closer, and I make sure to stay back so I can catch everything on camera.

I want to be able to show this to Silas later on as a fun memory for him. I want everything today to be a fun memory for him. He deserves it.

Luke and Gabriel share a glance before pouncing, moving on him, screaming and yelling out.

Silas tries to scramble away from the sudden loud noises and ends up falling off the bed with a grunt.

A moment later, he's up on his feet, ready to take on whoever intruded on his sleep.

Luke and Gabriel laugh hard as they jump out of Sila's range, and Silas frowns, staring at the masks as the other two pull them off.

"Dude, that was awesome," Luke says, holding on to his stomach.

Silas's eyes are slightly sleepy, his deep black hair standing up.

"What is going?" he asks, his Greek accent slightly thicker than normal thanks to the lethargy and the surprise he just woke up to.

I step forward, passing my phone to Gabriel.

"Silas," I say softly. His dark eyes focus on me, clearing up a little from the daze he stands in.

"Aggele mou," he calls out and opens his arms. I step into them without hesitation. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in close.

His skin is hot, and I have no problem leaning into him, wanting to get closer, to feel him against me. I breathe in his ocean scent and think about how perfect it is for today.

"What is going on?" he asks.

I tilt my head up to look up at him, noting the slight scruff along his jawline.

"Happy Epiphany Day," I say softly, watching his expression carefully. Last month, he mentioned celebrating it with his family, but the traditions stopped when his mother died.

I want to give him something back from his heritage, and I hope I don't miss the mark on this. His expression goes across an array of emotions. I hold in my breath as I watch his confusion, his realization, sadness, and then slowly, his lips curl into a bright smile.

He's happy. I didn't overstep myself.

"You did this for me?" he asks with a slight hint of awe on his voice.

"I'll do anything for you. So will your brothers. This is part of your heritage, one of your traditions. You should get to celebrate it."

"Sang," he whispers and pulls me tight as he kisses the top of my head. "You really are an angel. Aggele mou."

When I pull away, I realize Gabriel and Luke are gone. They allowed this moment for Silas, and my heart warms at all of them. Some days, I struggle with the idea of dating nine men, but then moments like these help me realize this is possible. We can do this.

"Ready to eat?" I ask Silas, grabbing his hands. He weaves our fingers together as he takes the lead to head back downstairs. He pauses long enough to grab a t-shirt before exiting Sean's guest bedroom.

"Always," he says and uses his free hand to pat his stomach. I laugh as we head downstairs. He pauses long enough to pick up on the noise in the kitchen.

North stands at the stove, diligently working on the Greek breakfast. He's been up since early this morning to prepare the food for today.

My stomach growls as I take in the scents filling the kitchen, enjoying how well the spices meshed together.

Silas freezes as his nostrils flare, and by the softness in his expression and the distance in his eyes, North has done an exceptional job choosing the menu.

"Ready for today?" North asks, not looking back as he focuses on the sfougato before him. There are also Greek breakfast wraps, an almond torte, and something called a feta cheese pancake.

"We have the whole day planned out for you," I add in.

Silas nods his head before bringing me over to the table and sitting down, pulling me into his lap. His arms stay wrapped around me as he closes his eyes and works through his emotions. I share a look with North as we give Silas this moment. His fingers curl into my clothes, and I rest my hands on his, giving him all the comfort I can.

After a few minutes, I push away my worry and begin filling the air up with chatter.

"Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green are on their way back. They had to go to Mr. Blackbourne's place for something. Kota is checking up on his family and should be back soon. Nathan is finishing up a run, and Victor is in the living room, finalizing the details for the day. I'm sure the other two will be back down after they clean up a little."

Silas nods his acknowledgement.

"Thank you," he says. "I don't know what else you have planned, but everything is already perfect. So thank you."

I grin, and the sound of quick footsteps draws our attention as Luke and Gabriel come into the kitchen.

"Smells great," Gabriel says.

Over the next fifteen minutes, everyone trickles into the kitchen, working together to set up breakfast. Silas stays in his seat with me in his lap as everyone gathers around the table.

I make Silas's plate, and he doesn't complain with what I give him. I even make sure to overfill his plate.

Once we finish, everyone quickly works together to clean up so we can get on the road. We have a long day ahead of us. With ten of us, we make quick work of putting the kitchen back in order before rushing out the door and spreading out between three vehicles.

I sit in North's jeep with North, Silas, and Luke. Mr. Blackbourne drives behind us with Sean and Victor, with everyone else with Kota, following at the rear. Our little caravan drives out to Ashley Marinas. Silas glances around with curiosity.

"Alright, I give, what are we doing here?" he asks as we park the car.

I just smile and climb out of the car. No one else answers him as we gather around and then follow Victor and Mr. Blackbourne out to the docks.

Even I don't know which boat we are going to. Finally, we stop in front of a large sailboat, big enough to fit twenty people.

"We rented out the boat for today," Victor says.

"We'll spend the rest of the day out on the water," Mr. Blackbourne explains as he eyes the boat. A millimeter smile dancing on his lips, he approves of the boat.

I step up next to Mr. Blackbourne, and he looks down at me with a warm expression.

"Ready, Miss Sorenson?" he asks.

I nod, and he presents his arm. I stare at it for a moment before weaving my arm through his. He escorts me up the small plank to make sure I get there safely. Gabriel snickers behind me and then yelps. I don't have to look back to know North had whacked him upside the head for me.

We get on the boat, and no one wastes any time in exploring the large craft.

Silas and North are at the steering wheel, and Silas has a massive grin on his face, showing off his white teeth. He looks so happy. Happier than I've seen him over the last few months with everything going with the Academy, Volto, and Ashley Waters mission.

After being introduced to the Academy and then going right into dealing with Carol, my stepmother coming back, and finding a way out of the house, we haven't had any downtime. And this doesn't even include Volto and the Ashley Waters mission.

We all need this little bit of downtime, and I'm determined today will be a success.

By some of the boys' expressions, they feel the same way. We need a good day.

Everyone brings abroad a bag of supplies, and then we begin our journey.

It doesn't take long for North and Silas to get us moving out of the marina and into open water.

I breathe in the salty ocean water, loving the breeze brushing over my skin.

I mess around with everyone. Nathan even threatens to throw me into the water, but then North chases him off and forces me to wear a life jacket. He also makes everyone else do the same, grumbling about us not following directions and being proud for noticing.

After two hours of traveling, seeing nothing but clear blue skies, dark blue waters, and the occasional boat going by, we stop, the motor silencing as we just float, riding the waves.

Silas says something to North, who just jerks his head at me.

I smile big as Silas comes over with a questioning look, curious about what we have planned while just floating in the middle of the ocean.

I go over to the familiar pink and black duffel bag North bought for me and dig in it until I find everything I want.

The others move around me, and when I turn with the items in my hands, I freeze. Everyone, except Mr. Blackbourne, wear swimming trunks and nothing else. I nearly get lost in the sea of bare, muscular chests. Even Silas followed along and stripped down to his trunks, showing off strong thighs.

Someone chuckles and breaks me from my thoughts. I blush hard as I move forward, Mr. Blackbourne standing at my side.

I clear my throat, meeting Silas's dark eyes. His gaze flickers to the item in my hand, a cross with a dark blue and white ribbon tied to it.

"I want to do the Great Blessing of the Waters," I say slowly. "I don't know everything I probably should to do this but I know this is something important to you, Silas. This ceremony marks the ban on sailing and to cleanse the seas of the bad goblins. With this, we will send them back to the hollow earth for another year. I know this ceremony is to do that, but when each of you jump into the water, I also want you to throw out there your fears and worries, to cleanse yourselves of all your negative energy and thoughts. I want you all to remember you aren't alone, that you are surrounded by brothers who love you and I'm here to always support you guys. Together we are strong and we will face any trouble that come our way. So, when you go into that water to race to get this cross," I lift it up for everyone to see, "toss out your negative energy. This is more than just a cleansing for the bad goblins, but also a cleansing of yourself."

Silas beams at me as I walk to the edge of the boat and then give the cross a good throw, knowing it would float. I made sure to test that out before coming out here.

Everyone pauses just long enough for the cross to land with a small splash before yelling out and diving into the water, racing with determination for the cross.

"Miss Sorenson," Mr. Blackbourne says to get my attention.

I turn and look at him. "Yeah?"

"Thank you," he says, smiling. My breath catches at the way his face transforms when he smiles and looks his age. I keep forgetting that he is only a couple years older than me.

"For what?" I ask, a little confused.

"Putting this together. We all come from different backgrounds despite what connects us all together. Sometimes, we forget that what Silas celebrated while living in Greece isn't what we celebrate here. So thank you for being thoughtful and putting this together for him. Just by looking at him, I can see this means the world to him."

I nod, the emotions making it a little hard to speak.

Mr. Blackbourne rests his hand on my shoulder, telling me it's okay, that I don't need to respond. So I don't, and we watch as everyone swims with everything they have to reach the cross.

There's a moment of confusion on who grabs the cross, it being a close call between Nathan, Kota, and Luke.

Nathan disappears from the battle only to pop up a few feet away with the cross in his hands. I laugh as everyone chases after him in hopes of stealing the cross away from him, but he's too fast for them and reaches the boat first.

He climbs up, the water dripping from his body and onto the wooden platform. He grins, his blue eyes bright with pride for winning.

The others follow behind, North coming up last.

They joke around, and Nathan dramatically presents the cross to me.

I giggle as he does a weird bow with the cross lifted up above his head, his gaze focusing on the floor, the tilt in his lips the only telltale sign that he's joking around.

I grab it.

"Nathan Griffin, you may stand," I say, barely containing my laughter. The others don't bother hiding it as they chuckle. Nathan stands up straight, and I approach him. "Mr. Nathan Griffin," I say slowly, my cheeks heating. This part is Dr. Green's idea and I'm nervous about it. "I bestow up on you, as the winner, a blessing."

I step up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek before stepping back, my face hot with embarrassment.

Nathan's grin widens. "So worth the fight," he says.

"Lucky dog," Gabriel says with a grin while Silas pats his back.

The next two hours goes by quickly while we swim. North makes sure I wear my life jacket, refusing to let me go in without despite the others not wearing one. Even my pouting doesn't work against him.

The water is cold, in the low sixties, but with all the moving around and playing, I quickly forget how cold it is. Silas tosses me in the air, and I scream out in excitement as the water covers over me.

When I get tired from all the racing around, Dr. Green pulls me up onto the deck, where I find a spot and stretch out, letting the sun dry my skin. I stay like that until I begin shivering. By then, Silas is back on the deck, drying off.

He disappears for a moment before coming back with a blanket to wrap around me. He wraps himself up in a different blanket and sits close, his body pressing against me. I lean into him, resting my head against his arm.

"This day is amazing," he says, watching as everyone climbs out of the water, shivering but still smiling.

"Everyone needs this," I say and laugh when Luke manages to push Nathan back into the water.

"You need this," Silas says, drawing my attention back to him. I meet his eyes, and my breath catches at the warmth in them. "You never signed up for all of this, for the Academy, but you've been facing it straight on. I'm so proud of you, Sang."

My heart warms and fills with happiness from his words.

"Time to get this party shore-side," Gabriel calls out.

North nods and throws on a long sleeve black shirt before going in to steer with Silas by his side.

We head back toward land, munching on sandwiches North had done up for us. When we are close to shore, North turns off the engine, and we work on getting everyone over to land using a small dinghy attached to the back of the boat.

North managed to find a nice private looking beach spot with clean sand bleeding into the surrounding woods.

I go over on the first trip and help Nathan and Victor collect the wood for the fire pit while everyone else works their way over with all the supplies.

By the time everyone is on land, Kota is working on getting the music playing and we have the fire roaring.

Gabriel spreads out his supplies. I grin as I stare down at the blank masks, waiting to be decorated.

"Will you make a mask with me?" I ask Silas, reaching out tentatively for his hand. His eyes focus on my hand as he weaves our fingers together. He breaks out into a slow smile when he glances behind me where Gabriel is already hard at work, focused on making the image in his head a reality.

"Of course, Aggele mou," he says and allows me to tug him toward the set up. The next hour passes quickly as we make what should be scary masks and Silas goes on talking about Ragkoutsaria, the name of the tradition for the masks. He tells me about how everyone would flood the streets back in Greece, wearing masks and dancing around. The more traditional sense was that people wore the masks and went from home to home, cleansing them of bad spirits.

Gabriel's is the only one scary enough.

Nathan walks over, watching us work.

"That's cute," he says, and I look up at him.

"Oy, Sang," Gabriel says, leaning over to look at my mask. "You aren't supposed to do cute. You're supposed to do scary."

I frown and look down at my mask. I had added some pink around the eyes to make it colorful. None of us are going simple with the white mask. They look too much like Volto masks that way.

"It will be," I say, pouting a little.

"Put that lip back in," Gabriel says, glaring at my mouth. For a moment, I swear his gaze heats up, but then the moment is over as he looks back down at my mask. "And this isn't scary. You aren't going to scare away any bad spirits with this."

"Leave