another suggested translation started with "azok köze a fiúk köze... I had "a köze a fiúk köze.. which was rejected. Why do we need "azok" here?
Because it is "azok a fiúk", in plural. If it were just one boy, "az a fiú", you could say "a mellé a fiú mellé". Or "az elé a fiú elé".
understood. Thank you