At first Sam and Coop and Shawn said forget it, no way they were going to the movies with a guy from another team, especially that guy, they’d rather have some teeth pulled than hang out with Chase Braggs.

They were all in Ben’s basement, having finished playing video games for the moment, switching back and forth between college basketball games. It was a sleepover Saturday night, this time at Ben’s, two guys sleeping on couches, two on blow-up mattresses.

Shawn was the first to change his mind, saying that he’d provide Ben with backup.

“That’s it, I’m in,” Shawn said.

“Get out,” Coop said. “You don’t want to go any more than we do.”

“But Ben would do the same for any one of us,” Shawn said.

“And I already told Lily I would go,” Ben said.

“I get that,” Coop said. “What I don’t get is why.”

There was a chair in front of Sam, a couple of pillows on it, Sam’s ankle propped up on the pillows. He looked at Coop and said, “How dense are you?”

Coop grinned. “On a good day or a bad one?”

Sam said, “He’s going because he’s not gonna let Chase go to the movies with Lily alone.”

“She won’t be alone with him,” Ben said.

“In your brain she will,” Sam said.

“And you still won’t go with me?”

“Too much weirdness, too little fun,” Sam said. “And I don’t like dopey vampire movies any more than you do.”

Shawn said, “Wouldn’t us not going be a violation of the Cooper Manley Bro Code?”

Lots of guys had some kind of bro code. Coop’s Bro Code — for the Core Four plus Shawn — just seemed to be the one with the most rules to it, Coop constantly revising it, depending on the situation.

“Shawn’s right!” Ben said. “Hadn’t even thought of that. Definite violation of the Bro Code.”

He looked at Coop now, who had slumped back in his chair, frowning, deep in thought. Or as deep as he ever got.

“Right, Coop?” Ben said.

Coop held up a finger now, like a great idea had just come to him, and said, “The Bro Code does not apply to a total non-bro like Chase Braggs-A-Lot.”

Coop turned to Sam and said, “Help a brother out here. Or bro.”

“I would,” Sam said, “except for the fact that you’re pretty much beyond help.”

“Why don’t you all just help me?” Ben said.

Coop said, “What I really don’t get is that you’re actually going to miss a Packers game to go to a movie with the hated Chase?”

“I don’t hate him,” Ben said. “I just want to beat him.”

“Do you want to beat him in a game,” Sam said, grinning, “or give him a beatdown because he likes Lily?”

“Who said he likes Lily?” Ben said.

“Or,” Sam said, “is this all because you think Lily might actually like him?”

Ben knew Sam was right. And that Sam probably knew that Ben knew he was right. So there was no reason for Ben to pretend that he wasn’t. Or that it wasn’t true. Because it was.

That was exactly what he was worried about.

Now Sam said, “Okay, I’m in, too.”

“Same,” Coop said.

He shifted position with his ankle a little bit, Ben seeing him make a face as he did, and said, “Plus, this might be the first time in history that there’s a better show in the seats than there is on the screen.”

“The more I think about it,” Coop said, “the more I can’t wait till tomorrow.”

Ben sighing again, thinking:

Tomorrow’s a long day already.