(no subject)
Title: Line In the Sand
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Gabe/Ian
Summary: Ian notices Gabe isn’t himself and he has some questions, but he isn’t going to like all of the answers
AN: Sequel to Another Night (Wishing I Wasn't Here) Big thanks to crashdownpixie for the beta! You did a fantastic job!
Gabe was limping. He was trying not to, but it was very obvious that walking was hurting him. Not just walking either, Ian could see a wince if Gabe moved the wrong way and sitting down seemed to be the most painful thing ever. Once, Ian even heard his friend whimper, though Gabe tried to play it off as a yawn.
There was one person who Gabe couldn’t fool, no matter how hard he tried. Ian approached CJ and asked her to watch Gabe, because quite honestly Ian was worried about him. He spent that day watching his friend and it seemed like every movement no matter how small caused him to wince.
When CJ found him after his session with Coach she looked concerned. “Something is really wrong. He’s trying to hide it, but he’s in a lot of pain.”
“Do you think I should talk to him?” Ian asked.
“I think someone should,” CJ said. “He’ll talk to you.”
“He’ll talk to you too,” Ian said, confused.
CJ ducked her head and Ian thought she might be hiding a smile, which only confused him more. “He’ll want to talk to you.”
Ian was even more confused, but she walked away before he could question her further. He frowned and turned in the direction of the library. It wasn’t that far away and he was so deep in thought about his friend that he arrived before he knew it.
The library was quiet, because Librarian kept it that way. She had a mean glare and a no nonsense attitude that kept even the rowdiest of students in line. Ian knew he never wanted to get on her bad side though he wasn’t sure there was a good side to be on either.
The library was busier than normal with students forming study groups at various tables. Most of them were older students that Ian didn’t really know that well. He skirted around their tables and kept an eye out for Gabe. He would have asked one of the students, but they all looked really into what they were doing.
He had almost reached the back of the library when he overheard something. That far back Librarian couldn’t hear anything and there were no more nooks or open spaces for students to sit. Therefore, he was just a little surprised to hear talking as he closed in on a bookshelf.
“What did I say about you hyper-suading me?”
“Not to do it.”
“Then why the hell would you have the audacity to try it?”
Ian recognized the voices of Gabe and Ray. Ray sounded mad and Gabe sounded absolutely terrified. The strange thing was that Gabe was being really quiet. Ian had noticed Gabe’s tendency to ramble when he was scared or nervous, but there was none of that. It was as if Ray scared the voice right out of him.
Peeking through the cracks between the shelves, Ian saw that Ray had Gabe pinned to the opposite bookshelf with one hand on the smaller boy’s chest. He could see Gabe’s face and his friend looked like his worst nightmare was in front of him. There was a subtle, yet noticeable tremble to his hands where they splayed motionlessly against the shelf he was pinned to and he was making soft, pained sounds.
“I di-didn’t mean t-to,” Gabe stuttered.
“Oh I’m so sure,” Ray sneered. “Maybe you need a reminder of what happens when you mess with me.”
Ian had seen enough; he stormed around the corner and yanked Ray away from Gabe. Ray jerked out of his grasp easily and sneered at the two of them. Ian placed himself between Ray and Gabe, intent on protecting his friend.
“Back off,” Ian warned.
Ray smirked. “I didn’t know your spidey-sense included knowing when your boyfriend is in trouble.”
“Boyfriend?” Ian repeated. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Ray--,” Gabe started, but was cut off.
“For someone supposedly two steps ahead of everyone else you’re completely oblivious to what’s right in front of you,” Ray taunted.
Ian realized with a start that Ray wasn’t looking at him, but trying to make eye contact with Gabe. He shifted his weight to draw Ray’s attention back to him. He didn’t know what exactly was going on between Gabe and Ray, but he could tell that it had Gabe terrified.
“I think you should walk away,” Ian said.
“I think you should make me,” Ray said, tensing up at the same time Ian did.
Ian didn’t actually know what Ray was capable of in a fight. Ray was stronger than him, but if he couldn’t fight then that strength would count for nothing. Ian was willing to find out if it meant protecting his friend.
“What in the blue blazes is going on here?”
Ian jerked in surprise and turned his head to see Librarian looking at them through the shelves. Her mouth had a displeased twist to it and her cold eyes were flicking between each of them. Finally her gaze settled on Ray and her frown deepened.
“You brought back Dante’s Inferno with pages wrinkled,” she barked. “You will leave my library immediately until you learn how to treat books properly.”
Ray gave her an unimpressed sneer, then leaned around Ian to look at Gabe. “Next time, Forrest.”
With that, Ray turned and sauntered away. Ian watched him go feeling as if he had been told something important, but didn’t understand it. He turned to look at Gabe and his heart twisted. His friend was pale and looked like a breeze would knock him over.
“Mr. Archer,” Librarian said, gaining Ian’s attention. “Please escort Mr. Forrest to his dorm, I’m excusing him from the rest of his shift.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ian said dutifully
Ian moved toward Gabe and was confused when he noticed Gabe’s shaking increase. Throwing a quick glance at Librarian he was surprised to see her gone. Looking back at Gabe he found that his friend was sweating profusely and breathing hard and quick, like he just couldn’t catch his breath.
“Dude, are you okay?” Ian asked worriedly. He carefully put out his hand and placed it on Gabe’s shoulder, holding on lightly. “Gabe?”
“M’okay,” Gabe said faintly, which was just ridiculous, because he obviously wasn’t.
“Did he hurt you?” Ian asked, looking his friend over. Obviously Gabe had already been trying to hide some kind of physical injury from them all, but it was bad enough that he just couldn’t.
“N-no, why would you think that?” Gabe sounded like he was still scared, like Ray was still there threatening him.
Ian frowned. “Are you afraid of me, Gabe?”
“N-n-no,” Gabe managed to say, but his stutter betrayed his real feelings.
Ian wanted to ask more, but Gabe tried to step away from him and nearly collapsed. Ian moved to support Gabe’s weight, but Gabe flinched back from him as if he thought he was being attacked. Truly confused, Ian stepped back and held up his hands in surrender.
“Hey, I just want to help you, Gabe. I think you need to lie down,” Ian said like he was coaxing a scared animal to come to him.
Eventually, Gabe allowed Ian to help him. They made their way out of the library with students watching their progress curiously. Gabe didn’t say anything the whole walk to their dorm, but he did make pained sounds if Ian’s arm touched his back too much..and his limp was even more pronounced.
In the silence, Ian analyzed what had just happened. Ray had said something about giving Gabe a reminder and Ian just didn’t like the sound of that. It sounded like there was history there. Having roomed with Ray and dealt with his attitude and hatefulness, Ian didn’t like the idea of Ray being anywhere near Gabe alone.
Then there was the whole boyfriend jab. The words had been said to Ian, but seemed to be directed at Gabe. The insult about not seeing what was in front of him was entirely directed at him, he knew that much. What was he supposed to be seeing?
Gabe seemed to have a lot of trouble getting up the stairs and leaned heavily on Ian as they went. By the time they got to their floor Gabe was soaked through with sweat and trembling so bad he almost couldn’t walk. He stumbled and Ian helped keep him up, but he was half-afraid that Gabe was going to collapse before they got to their room.
Thankfully Ian managed to get them both to their room and helped Gabe over to his bed. Gabe laid down on his stomach and let out a sigh of relief. Ian could see Gabe’s body already starting to relax.
“Gabe?” Ian started and then wasn’t sure where to begin; he waned to understand. He wanted to know why Gabe was limping, what had Ray meant, and why was Gabe suddenly scared of him, “What’s going on?”
“Ray was just being an asshole,” Gabe answered.
“So what else is new?” Ian retorted. He frowned and sat down on the edge of Gabe’s bed. “You’re avoiding my question, why? Why did Ray say that stuff about boyfriends? Why are you scared of me?”
Ian could see Gabe visibly trying to stay relaxed. “M’not scared of you.”
“You’re lying. You keep flinching when I reach toward you, like you think I’m going to hit you,” Ian reasoned. “Why are you lying? Gabe, friends don’t lie to each other.”
“You won’t want to be my friend when you figure it out,” Gabe said, his voice muffled when he buried his face in his pillow.
“That’s…” Ian trailed off.
Things started to fall into place, clicking in his mind like pieces of a puzzle. Ray’s boyfriend comment and the way Gabe had been flinching away form him ever since. Ray’s jab had been directed at Gabe, not at Ian. Then there was Ray’s statement that he was missing something right in front of him, which had something to do with the aforementioned boyfriend jab. Reasoning it out almost made his head hurt, but it made sense.
Ian reached out and placed his hand on Gabe back, then jerked it away in surprise when Gabe made a high pitched sound of pain. “What the hell?”
“Go away, Ian, please,” Gabe said through gritted teeth.
“No way, I want to know what’s going on,” Ian said. “Lift your shirt.”
Gabe hesitated just long enough that Ian almost did it for him, but finally his friend carefully maneuvered until he was sitting on his knees with his back to Ian. Then, he took off his jacket and tossed it to the side before he could hesitate again. Now Ian was really concerned as it was really apparent that Gabe didn’t want Ian to see.
“Gabe, please.”
A tremble went through Gabe’s body, “You have to do it…I can’t reach back like that.”
Ian didn’t question why, just reached forward and gently lifted Gabe’s shirt. What he saw almost made him sick; there were ugly, square shaped bruises all over his back that contrasted vividly to Gabe’s pale skin. Some of them blended together as if on top of one another.
“Gabe…what is this?” Ian asked softly. He wanted to reach out and touch, to comfort, but he could sense that it wouldn’t be welcome.
“It’s nothing,” Gabe said quickly and dropped his shirt, but Ian saw a flash of a bruise on his lower back as he did so that led him to believe it went further down. It would explain why Gabe looked like it hurt to sit.
“How far down do those go?” Ian asked.
Gabe sighed and slouched. “You’re really not going to leave it alone are you?”
“Someone hurt you,” Ian said. He thought of the shape of the bruises and his eyes widened. “Someone used a paddle on you, like the Rooks’ paddle from pledge week. Who did it?”
“Nothing can be done about it now,” Gabe said. “It doesn’t matter who did it.”
“The hell it doesn’t,” Ian snarled. He was about to demand Gabe tell him when the rest of what he witnessed in the library clicked into place. “It was Ray, wasn’t it?”
Gabe twitched when Ian said Ray’s name, but he didn’t respond. It was all Ian needed though. He silently fumed that Ray, or anyone really, had dared to hurt his friend. It was obvious that the paddling had been much worse than what they’d endured during the hazing for the Rooks.
“Gabe,” Ian said softly. He reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder. “What did he say that has you so afraid of me?”
Gabe took a deep breath and sighed. “He-he said he was going to tell you…”
“Tell me what?”
“That...that…I can’t tell you,” Gabe said. He hung his head. “You’ll hate me.”
“There’s nothing you could say that would make me hate you, man,” Ian replied.
“I’ve heard that before,” Gabe nearly whispered. He sighed again. “Just, promise me that all you’ll do is kick me out and not kick my ass.”
“I wouldn’t do either, but I promise,” Ian replied. “How about you face me first?”
Gabe nodded and carefully, but slowly moved around until he was facing Ian. He kept his head bent though, unwilling to look Ian in the eyes. It made something in Ian’s heart twist again that Gabe, his friend, was afraid of him. He had a feeling he knew what Gabe was going to say.
“He was going to tell you that I’m gay,” Gabe said quickly.
“And why exactly would that make you so scared of me?” Ian asked.
“Duh, because you’ll hate me,” Gabe replied. “You’ll call me fag and beat me up and not want to be my friend anymore and--.”
“Gabe, I’m not doing any of those things,” Ian cut him off before he could really start rambling. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“It-it doesn’t?” Gabe asked, lifting his head to look at Ian with wide eyes.
“Not at all,” Ian replied. He smiled softly at his friend. “Actually, I’m relieved.”
“Why?”
“Because it means I’m not alone.”
Gabe’s eyes widened even further. “You’re gay too?”
“Well, bi actually,” Ian clarified.
He thought the revelation would have made his friend happy, but instead Gabe looked even more upset. He dropped his head into his hands and Ian was startled to see Gabe’s shoulders shaking. Gabe was crying.
“Dude, what--?”
“How could I have been so stupid?” Gabe muttered. “I let him-what I did, to keep him quiet, and you don’t even care.”
Ian’s stomach dropped a little and he put one hand under Gabe’s chin to lift his head. “What do you mean, ‘what you did to keep him quiet’? Did you take this beating so that I wouldn’t find out that you’re gay?”
“No,” Gabe replied. His eyes were lowered, but Ian could see tears still trekking down his face. “No, I played right into his and Don’s plot I think the paddling was the original goal.”
“That doesn’t actually answer my question.”
Gabe shook his head and his eyes briefly flickered up before dropping again. “I-I can’t tell you. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ian wanted to push it, because he wanted answers, but he knew he had already pushed Gabe a great deal and his friend just looked drained. He could get the rest of the answers later and in the meantime there were a number of things that he understood better now.
“He threatened to tell me that you like me, didn’t he? You were afraid that I would hate you for liking me as more than a friend.”
Gabe hesitated before he nodded. “It’s happened before. I was stupid and I paid the price for it and I didn’t want that to happen again.”
Ian felt his heart break at the scene Gabe’s words painted in his mind. CJ had once analyzed Gabe’s writing and said he was deeply troubled emotionally. What little Gabe had said at least put some meaning to her analysis.
“The only thing that is going to happen is that I’m going to make that bastard pay for whatever he did to you,” Ian said firmly.
“No,” Gabe said. “No, you can’t. You won’t stop him, Ian. You won’t be around all the time.”
“Once I’m through with him he won’t dare touch you again.”
Gabe started to look a little panicky. “C’mon Ian, does Ray strike you as the type to back down? Give him the chance and he’ll come after you himself.”
“I’m definitely not scared of him. If he wants to pick a fight with someone then he can bring it on.”
“No, I won’t let you,” Gabe said. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you what he did. You’re only going to make things worse for me than they already are.”
Ian sighed heavily. “Gabe, I can’t just let him get away with this.”
“You won’t be the one to pay the price for pissing him off,” Gabe shot back. At least he was starting to sound a little bit more like himself.
“I have to do something,” Ian insisted.
“Not to him, you don’t,” Gabe retorted. “There’s no telling what he’ll do to me next time and that was bad enough.”
Ian studied his friend. Gabe was still pale, but he at least seemed a little more relaxed. He didn’t appear to be scared of Ian anymore, which was nice. It had hurt his heart a little to have his friend scared of him. But, there was something in the way Gabe was protesting so much and Gabe still refused to make eye contact.
“Gabe, what exactly did he do to you?” Ian asked.
Gabe winced. “The paddling isn’t bad enough?”
“Oh it’s bad, but I have a feeling something worse happened,” Ian said.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Gabe said.
“Gabe--.”
“No,” Gabe said. “Please don’t make me hyper-suade you, Ian.”
Ian sighed and decided he’d found out enough for the night. It wasn’t too late yet, but he could tell that due to his injuries and the emotional outpouring, Gabe was exhausted. He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Gabe’s forehead before he stood up and stretched.
“You look like you could use some sleep,” Ian said. “And I’ve got homework for History that I better get done.”
Gabe had his hand to his forehead and looked slightly stunned. Ian smiled at him, then turned to walk away, but stopped when he felt a hand close lightly around his wrist. He turned back around and noticed immediately that Gabe’s hand was trembling again.
“Would you…I mean…I know it’s stupid and weak, but I just…could you stay over here? Just for a little while?” Gabe asked, stumbling over his words nervously.
Ian turned and went over to his desk to grab the things he’d need. When he turned back around the crestfallen look on Gabe’s face made him feel like an asshole. He quickly made his way back over to Gabe’s side and showed him the things he’d grabbed.
“I was just getting my stuff, man,” Ian said.
He waited while Gabe moved enough to give him room and sprawled out on his stomach. He splayed his things out and held them in place as Gabe shifted around to lay on his side so that he was facing Ian. Ian could feel Gabe’s eyes on him for a few minutes, but it wasn’t long before Gabe’s breathing evened out and it was clear that he was asleep.
Ian stopped working and turned his head to look at his friend. Gabe was a lot more peaceful in his slumber than he had been awake. There was still a twitch of pain to his expression, like even sleep hurt him, but it was significantly less prominent than it had been while Gabe was awake. How Gabe even thought he could hide something so terrible was beyond Ian’ comprehension.
He reached out a hand and gently smoothed his fingertips over Gabe’s cheek. The pain fell from his expression and Gabe nuzzled into his touch slightly, a sigh of contentment leaving his lips. His homework was forgotten as Ian took in everything he could about the sleeping Gabe, because he knew he was seeing the real, relaxed and unafraid Gabriel Forrest.
“I don’t care what you say. He won’t get away with this,” Ian murmured.
Gabe made a sleepy sound, but didn’t wake up. Ian gave up on his homework completely and instead lay down on his side so that he was facing his sleeping friend. He hesitated a moment, then carefully moved to splay a hand on Gabe’s hip, where there was no bruising or tender spots. Gabe sighed happily and moved closer. Ian smiled and closed his eyes. For now at least he could offer Gabe the comfort he obviously needed. He could kick Ray’s ass later.
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Gabe/Ian
Summary: Ian notices Gabe isn’t himself and he has some questions, but he isn’t going to like all of the answers
AN: Sequel to Another Night (Wishing I Wasn't Here) Big thanks to crashdownpixie for the beta! You did a fantastic job!
Gabe was limping. He was trying not to, but it was very obvious that walking was hurting him. Not just walking either, Ian could see a wince if Gabe moved the wrong way and sitting down seemed to be the most painful thing ever. Once, Ian even heard his friend whimper, though Gabe tried to play it off as a yawn.
There was one person who Gabe couldn’t fool, no matter how hard he tried. Ian approached CJ and asked her to watch Gabe, because quite honestly Ian was worried about him. He spent that day watching his friend and it seemed like every movement no matter how small caused him to wince.
When CJ found him after his session with Coach she looked concerned. “Something is really wrong. He’s trying to hide it, but he’s in a lot of pain.”
“Do you think I should talk to him?” Ian asked.
“I think someone should,” CJ said. “He’ll talk to you.”
“He’ll talk to you too,” Ian said, confused.
CJ ducked her head and Ian thought she might be hiding a smile, which only confused him more. “He’ll want to talk to you.”
Ian was even more confused, but she walked away before he could question her further. He frowned and turned in the direction of the library. It wasn’t that far away and he was so deep in thought about his friend that he arrived before he knew it.
The library was quiet, because Librarian kept it that way. She had a mean glare and a no nonsense attitude that kept even the rowdiest of students in line. Ian knew he never wanted to get on her bad side though he wasn’t sure there was a good side to be on either.
The library was busier than normal with students forming study groups at various tables. Most of them were older students that Ian didn’t really know that well. He skirted around their tables and kept an eye out for Gabe. He would have asked one of the students, but they all looked really into what they were doing.
He had almost reached the back of the library when he overheard something. That far back Librarian couldn’t hear anything and there were no more nooks or open spaces for students to sit. Therefore, he was just a little surprised to hear talking as he closed in on a bookshelf.
“What did I say about you hyper-suading me?”
“Not to do it.”
“Then why the hell would you have the audacity to try it?”
Ian recognized the voices of Gabe and Ray. Ray sounded mad and Gabe sounded absolutely terrified. The strange thing was that Gabe was being really quiet. Ian had noticed Gabe’s tendency to ramble when he was scared or nervous, but there was none of that. It was as if Ray scared the voice right out of him.
Peeking through the cracks between the shelves, Ian saw that Ray had Gabe pinned to the opposite bookshelf with one hand on the smaller boy’s chest. He could see Gabe’s face and his friend looked like his worst nightmare was in front of him. There was a subtle, yet noticeable tremble to his hands where they splayed motionlessly against the shelf he was pinned to and he was making soft, pained sounds.
“I di-didn’t mean t-to,” Gabe stuttered.
“Oh I’m so sure,” Ray sneered. “Maybe you need a reminder of what happens when you mess with me.”
Ian had seen enough; he stormed around the corner and yanked Ray away from Gabe. Ray jerked out of his grasp easily and sneered at the two of them. Ian placed himself between Ray and Gabe, intent on protecting his friend.
“Back off,” Ian warned.
Ray smirked. “I didn’t know your spidey-sense included knowing when your boyfriend is in trouble.”
“Boyfriend?” Ian repeated. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Ray--,” Gabe started, but was cut off.
“For someone supposedly two steps ahead of everyone else you’re completely oblivious to what’s right in front of you,” Ray taunted.
Ian realized with a start that Ray wasn’t looking at him, but trying to make eye contact with Gabe. He shifted his weight to draw Ray’s attention back to him. He didn’t know what exactly was going on between Gabe and Ray, but he could tell that it had Gabe terrified.
“I think you should walk away,” Ian said.
“I think you should make me,” Ray said, tensing up at the same time Ian did.
Ian didn’t actually know what Ray was capable of in a fight. Ray was stronger than him, but if he couldn’t fight then that strength would count for nothing. Ian was willing to find out if it meant protecting his friend.
“What in the blue blazes is going on here?”
Ian jerked in surprise and turned his head to see Librarian looking at them through the shelves. Her mouth had a displeased twist to it and her cold eyes were flicking between each of them. Finally her gaze settled on Ray and her frown deepened.
“You brought back Dante’s Inferno with pages wrinkled,” she barked. “You will leave my library immediately until you learn how to treat books properly.”
Ray gave her an unimpressed sneer, then leaned around Ian to look at Gabe. “Next time, Forrest.”
With that, Ray turned and sauntered away. Ian watched him go feeling as if he had been told something important, but didn’t understand it. He turned to look at Gabe and his heart twisted. His friend was pale and looked like a breeze would knock him over.
“Mr. Archer,” Librarian said, gaining Ian’s attention. “Please escort Mr. Forrest to his dorm, I’m excusing him from the rest of his shift.”
“Yes ma’am,” Ian said dutifully
Ian moved toward Gabe and was confused when he noticed Gabe’s shaking increase. Throwing a quick glance at Librarian he was surprised to see her gone. Looking back at Gabe he found that his friend was sweating profusely and breathing hard and quick, like he just couldn’t catch his breath.
“Dude, are you okay?” Ian asked worriedly. He carefully put out his hand and placed it on Gabe’s shoulder, holding on lightly. “Gabe?”
“M’okay,” Gabe said faintly, which was just ridiculous, because he obviously wasn’t.
“Did he hurt you?” Ian asked, looking his friend over. Obviously Gabe had already been trying to hide some kind of physical injury from them all, but it was bad enough that he just couldn’t.
“N-no, why would you think that?” Gabe sounded like he was still scared, like Ray was still there threatening him.
Ian frowned. “Are you afraid of me, Gabe?”
“N-n-no,” Gabe managed to say, but his stutter betrayed his real feelings.
Ian wanted to ask more, but Gabe tried to step away from him and nearly collapsed. Ian moved to support Gabe’s weight, but Gabe flinched back from him as if he thought he was being attacked. Truly confused, Ian stepped back and held up his hands in surrender.
“Hey, I just want to help you, Gabe. I think you need to lie down,” Ian said like he was coaxing a scared animal to come to him.
Eventually, Gabe allowed Ian to help him. They made their way out of the library with students watching their progress curiously. Gabe didn’t say anything the whole walk to their dorm, but he did make pained sounds if Ian’s arm touched his back too much..and his limp was even more pronounced.
In the silence, Ian analyzed what had just happened. Ray had said something about giving Gabe a reminder and Ian just didn’t like the sound of that. It sounded like there was history there. Having roomed with Ray and dealt with his attitude and hatefulness, Ian didn’t like the idea of Ray being anywhere near Gabe alone.
Then there was the whole boyfriend jab. The words had been said to Ian, but seemed to be directed at Gabe. The insult about not seeing what was in front of him was entirely directed at him, he knew that much. What was he supposed to be seeing?
Gabe seemed to have a lot of trouble getting up the stairs and leaned heavily on Ian as they went. By the time they got to their floor Gabe was soaked through with sweat and trembling so bad he almost couldn’t walk. He stumbled and Ian helped keep him up, but he was half-afraid that Gabe was going to collapse before they got to their room.
Thankfully Ian managed to get them both to their room and helped Gabe over to his bed. Gabe laid down on his stomach and let out a sigh of relief. Ian could see Gabe’s body already starting to relax.
“Gabe?” Ian started and then wasn’t sure where to begin; he waned to understand. He wanted to know why Gabe was limping, what had Ray meant, and why was Gabe suddenly scared of him, “What’s going on?”
“Ray was just being an asshole,” Gabe answered.
“So what else is new?” Ian retorted. He frowned and sat down on the edge of Gabe’s bed. “You’re avoiding my question, why? Why did Ray say that stuff about boyfriends? Why are you scared of me?”
Ian could see Gabe visibly trying to stay relaxed. “M’not scared of you.”
“You’re lying. You keep flinching when I reach toward you, like you think I’m going to hit you,” Ian reasoned. “Why are you lying? Gabe, friends don’t lie to each other.”
“You won’t want to be my friend when you figure it out,” Gabe said, his voice muffled when he buried his face in his pillow.
“That’s…” Ian trailed off.
Things started to fall into place, clicking in his mind like pieces of a puzzle. Ray’s boyfriend comment and the way Gabe had been flinching away form him ever since. Ray’s jab had been directed at Gabe, not at Ian. Then there was Ray’s statement that he was missing something right in front of him, which had something to do with the aforementioned boyfriend jab. Reasoning it out almost made his head hurt, but it made sense.
Ian reached out and placed his hand on Gabe back, then jerked it away in surprise when Gabe made a high pitched sound of pain. “What the hell?”
“Go away, Ian, please,” Gabe said through gritted teeth.
“No way, I want to know what’s going on,” Ian said. “Lift your shirt.”
Gabe hesitated just long enough that Ian almost did it for him, but finally his friend carefully maneuvered until he was sitting on his knees with his back to Ian. Then, he took off his jacket and tossed it to the side before he could hesitate again. Now Ian was really concerned as it was really apparent that Gabe didn’t want Ian to see.
“Gabe, please.”
A tremble went through Gabe’s body, “You have to do it…I can’t reach back like that.”
Ian didn’t question why, just reached forward and gently lifted Gabe’s shirt. What he saw almost made him sick; there were ugly, square shaped bruises all over his back that contrasted vividly to Gabe’s pale skin. Some of them blended together as if on top of one another.
“Gabe…what is this?” Ian asked softly. He wanted to reach out and touch, to comfort, but he could sense that it wouldn’t be welcome.
“It’s nothing,” Gabe said quickly and dropped his shirt, but Ian saw a flash of a bruise on his lower back as he did so that led him to believe it went further down. It would explain why Gabe looked like it hurt to sit.
“How far down do those go?” Ian asked.
Gabe sighed and slouched. “You’re really not going to leave it alone are you?”
“Someone hurt you,” Ian said. He thought of the shape of the bruises and his eyes widened. “Someone used a paddle on you, like the Rooks’ paddle from pledge week. Who did it?”
“Nothing can be done about it now,” Gabe said. “It doesn’t matter who did it.”
“The hell it doesn’t,” Ian snarled. He was about to demand Gabe tell him when the rest of what he witnessed in the library clicked into place. “It was Ray, wasn’t it?”
Gabe twitched when Ian said Ray’s name, but he didn’t respond. It was all Ian needed though. He silently fumed that Ray, or anyone really, had dared to hurt his friend. It was obvious that the paddling had been much worse than what they’d endured during the hazing for the Rooks.
“Gabe,” Ian said softly. He reached out to touch his friend’s shoulder. “What did he say that has you so afraid of me?”
Gabe took a deep breath and sighed. “He-he said he was going to tell you…”
“Tell me what?”
“That...that…I can’t tell you,” Gabe said. He hung his head. “You’ll hate me.”
“There’s nothing you could say that would make me hate you, man,” Ian replied.
“I’ve heard that before,” Gabe nearly whispered. He sighed again. “Just, promise me that all you’ll do is kick me out and not kick my ass.”
“I wouldn’t do either, but I promise,” Ian replied. “How about you face me first?”
Gabe nodded and carefully, but slowly moved around until he was facing Ian. He kept his head bent though, unwilling to look Ian in the eyes. It made something in Ian’s heart twist again that Gabe, his friend, was afraid of him. He had a feeling he knew what Gabe was going to say.
“He was going to tell you that I’m gay,” Gabe said quickly.
“And why exactly would that make you so scared of me?” Ian asked.
“Duh, because you’ll hate me,” Gabe replied. “You’ll call me fag and beat me up and not want to be my friend anymore and--.”
“Gabe, I’m not doing any of those things,” Ian cut him off before he could really start rambling. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“It-it doesn’t?” Gabe asked, lifting his head to look at Ian with wide eyes.
“Not at all,” Ian replied. He smiled softly at his friend. “Actually, I’m relieved.”
“Why?”
“Because it means I’m not alone.”
Gabe’s eyes widened even further. “You’re gay too?”
“Well, bi actually,” Ian clarified.
He thought the revelation would have made his friend happy, but instead Gabe looked even more upset. He dropped his head into his hands and Ian was startled to see Gabe’s shoulders shaking. Gabe was crying.
“Dude, what--?”
“How could I have been so stupid?” Gabe muttered. “I let him-what I did, to keep him quiet, and you don’t even care.”
Ian’s stomach dropped a little and he put one hand under Gabe’s chin to lift his head. “What do you mean, ‘what you did to keep him quiet’? Did you take this beating so that I wouldn’t find out that you’re gay?”
“No,” Gabe replied. His eyes were lowered, but Ian could see tears still trekking down his face. “No, I played right into his and Don’s plot I think the paddling was the original goal.”
“That doesn’t actually answer my question.”
Gabe shook his head and his eyes briefly flickered up before dropping again. “I-I can’t tell you. I don’t want to talk about it.”
Ian wanted to push it, because he wanted answers, but he knew he had already pushed Gabe a great deal and his friend just looked drained. He could get the rest of the answers later and in the meantime there were a number of things that he understood better now.
“He threatened to tell me that you like me, didn’t he? You were afraid that I would hate you for liking me as more than a friend.”
Gabe hesitated before he nodded. “It’s happened before. I was stupid and I paid the price for it and I didn’t want that to happen again.”
Ian felt his heart break at the scene Gabe’s words painted in his mind. CJ had once analyzed Gabe’s writing and said he was deeply troubled emotionally. What little Gabe had said at least put some meaning to her analysis.
“The only thing that is going to happen is that I’m going to make that bastard pay for whatever he did to you,” Ian said firmly.
“No,” Gabe said. “No, you can’t. You won’t stop him, Ian. You won’t be around all the time.”
“Once I’m through with him he won’t dare touch you again.”
Gabe started to look a little panicky. “C’mon Ian, does Ray strike you as the type to back down? Give him the chance and he’ll come after you himself.”
“I’m definitely not scared of him. If he wants to pick a fight with someone then he can bring it on.”
“No, I won’t let you,” Gabe said. “This is exactly why I didn’t tell you what he did. You’re only going to make things worse for me than they already are.”
Ian sighed heavily. “Gabe, I can’t just let him get away with this.”
“You won’t be the one to pay the price for pissing him off,” Gabe shot back. At least he was starting to sound a little bit more like himself.
“I have to do something,” Ian insisted.
“Not to him, you don’t,” Gabe retorted. “There’s no telling what he’ll do to me next time and that was bad enough.”
Ian studied his friend. Gabe was still pale, but he at least seemed a little more relaxed. He didn’t appear to be scared of Ian anymore, which was nice. It had hurt his heart a little to have his friend scared of him. But, there was something in the way Gabe was protesting so much and Gabe still refused to make eye contact.
“Gabe, what exactly did he do to you?” Ian asked.
Gabe winced. “The paddling isn’t bad enough?”
“Oh it’s bad, but I have a feeling something worse happened,” Ian said.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Gabe said.
“Gabe--.”
“No,” Gabe said. “Please don’t make me hyper-suade you, Ian.”
Ian sighed and decided he’d found out enough for the night. It wasn’t too late yet, but he could tell that due to his injuries and the emotional outpouring, Gabe was exhausted. He leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Gabe’s forehead before he stood up and stretched.
“You look like you could use some sleep,” Ian said. “And I’ve got homework for History that I better get done.”
Gabe had his hand to his forehead and looked slightly stunned. Ian smiled at him, then turned to walk away, but stopped when he felt a hand close lightly around his wrist. He turned back around and noticed immediately that Gabe’s hand was trembling again.
“Would you…I mean…I know it’s stupid and weak, but I just…could you stay over here? Just for a little while?” Gabe asked, stumbling over his words nervously.
Ian turned and went over to his desk to grab the things he’d need. When he turned back around the crestfallen look on Gabe’s face made him feel like an asshole. He quickly made his way back over to Gabe’s side and showed him the things he’d grabbed.
“I was just getting my stuff, man,” Ian said.
He waited while Gabe moved enough to give him room and sprawled out on his stomach. He splayed his things out and held them in place as Gabe shifted around to lay on his side so that he was facing Ian. Ian could feel Gabe’s eyes on him for a few minutes, but it wasn’t long before Gabe’s breathing evened out and it was clear that he was asleep.
Ian stopped working and turned his head to look at his friend. Gabe was a lot more peaceful in his slumber than he had been awake. There was still a twitch of pain to his expression, like even sleep hurt him, but it was significantly less prominent than it had been while Gabe was awake. How Gabe even thought he could hide something so terrible was beyond Ian’ comprehension.
He reached out a hand and gently smoothed his fingertips over Gabe’s cheek. The pain fell from his expression and Gabe nuzzled into his touch slightly, a sigh of contentment leaving his lips. His homework was forgotten as Ian took in everything he could about the sleeping Gabe, because he knew he was seeing the real, relaxed and unafraid Gabriel Forrest.
“I don’t care what you say. He won’t get away with this,” Ian murmured.
Gabe made a sleepy sound, but didn’t wake up. Ian gave up on his homework completely and instead lay down on his side so that he was facing his sleeping friend. He hesitated a moment, then carefully moved to splay a hand on Gabe’s hip, where there was no bruising or tender spots. Gabe sighed happily and moved closer. Ian smiled and closed his eyes. For now at least he could offer Gabe the comfort he obviously needed. He could kick Ray’s ass later.