Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Fox, Ryan Murphy or CP Coulter respectively.
"blah" – talking
'blah' – thinking
blah – flashback
Derek stumbled for nearly the tenth time as he half carried, half dragged his cargo across Dalton's perfect lawns. He'd started counting to distract him from the uneven, raspy breaths Julian was emitting. He tightened his grip around the actor's waist and the arm draped over his own shoulder, as their destination came into distant sight.
"C'mon, Jules, almost there…" he panted, wanting to rush headfirst into the safety that the building in the distance offered.
There was no response from his load, except for another wheezing, cut-off gasp. Derek cringed as he risked a glance down at his friend. Julian hung limply from the athlete, skin pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat. His eyes were glazed, and Derek was growing more concerned as he listened to his breathing worsen.
Derek cringed as he tripped again, twisting his already injured ankle. He had to stop for a moment then, and just stood, taking deep breaths to drive away the pain. When he felt he could go on, he hefted Julian's arm further across his shoulders and re-commenced his snail trudge across the grounds.
It was extremely slow – slower than Derek would have preferred, given the circumstances – and the athlete found himself checking over his shoulder multiple times. Eventually, the pair of Stuarts made it to their destination. By that time, there were a few curious bodies gathered outside. Derek grimaced at the thought of what he was about to do, but he didn't really have much choice. He didn't know any of the Hanover students and at least Julian was on talking terms with the some of the Windsors.
Windsor House loomed over them as Derek came to a standstill, adjusting his hold on Julian when the actor showed no signs of waking up from his personal haze. Looking around, Derek recognised the Brightman twins and Dwight Houston, armed with his ever-present spray bottle. Derek fought the urge to roll his eyes as the pale boy cowered behind the twins and raised a cross-shaped medallion in the direction of the two Stuarts.
"King of Hearts…to what do we owe this little surprise visit?" one of the blonde haired twins spoke, his face devoid of any expression.
"And dear Cheshire?" the other twin stepped forward to look more closely at Julian's limp form.
Derek hadn't thought about what he'd say when he got here; he'd only known that they couldn't stay at Stuart House.
"…Julian…he needs help…" he glanced down at his best friend, then turned his gaze desperately to the twins. "I think he's really hurt…".
The twins didn't say anything, only scrutinised Derek and Julian in turn. Derek was suddenly afraid that they'd turn him away.
"I didn't know where else to go! Please help!" he exclaimed, jostling forward a bit and making Julian gasp audibly.
Derek never imagined he would be begging with the Brightman twins to be let IN to Windsor House; hell, he'd never begged for anything in his life. Julian really needed some sort of attention, though, and Derek was nothing if not loyal to his friends. It wasn't safe at Stuart House at the moment, and he'd been in too much of a hurry to escape the building to grab his car keys.
Dwight flinched at his loud outburst and raised the spray bottle threateningly. The twins didn't speak or even bat an eyelid for what seemed like an hour to the Stuart athlete, as he waited desperately to hear the verdict. Eventually, their identical faces softened.
"Of course we'll help pretty Cheshire".
"Please, this way".
Derek sighed with relief as the twins reached back to push open the double doors leading into Windsor. He was even more pleasantly surprised when Dwight reluctantly holstered his spray bottle and lifted Julian's other arm over his own shoulders, halving Derek's burden. The hunter smiled at Derek, though it looked a little pained. Slowly, with Julian between them, the pair made their way inside the house and into the common room.
The twins hovered near a large couch, and it was here that Derek and Dwight carefully deposited their human cargo. Julian let out a choked whimper at the change of positions, but otherwise settled down and resumed his troubled breathing.
By that time, a number of Windsors had wandered downstairs and now stood on the outskirts of the room, watching curiously. Derek recognised Charlie Amos as he stepped free of the gathered crowd.
"What are they doing here?" the prefect asked the twins, who only shook their heads.
Charlie turned to Derek then, but the athlete, suddenly faced with recounting his story in front of the entirety of the Windsor student body, hesitated. Charlie must have noticed his reluctance because he spun around to usher the rest of the Windsor's back to their rooms. Only the Tweedles, Kurt and Blaine remained. Even Dwight left, stalking from the room while menacingly brandishing his spray bottle at the Stuarts. Derek seated himself at the head of the chair Julian laid upon and returned his gaze to the prefect.
"There was…an accident at Stuart. I didn't know what else to do; we need your help," he gestured at Julian as he said the last part.
"What sort of accident?" Amos questioned, wary of his rival.
Derek hesitated again. Charlie noticed, but before he could say anything, Derek spoke up.
"Can you help Julian?...I'll tell you, but please help him first…" he pleaded, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.
Charlie turned his attention to the slender brunette on the couch, and Kurt and Blaine crept forward to inspect the actor, and even the Tweedles sat straighter in their seats. The Windsor prefect knelt down beside the couch.
"What's wrong with him?"
"…I think he broke a rib…" Derek answered carefully.
Charlie slowly rolled Julian's shirt up to his collar bone and gently prodded at the exposed chest. All of the gathered boys noticed the large patch of purple bruising travelling up the actor's torso. Charlie pressed on one of the lower rib bones, and Julian suddenly emitted a breathy yelp and attempted to wriggle away, his eyes opening fully and searching for his attacker. His sepia gaze slid across each person until they reached Derek and stayed there, silently questioning. When Charlie prodded the sore area again – albeit, more carefully this time – Julian's stare snapped to him.
"What are you doing?" His voice was weak.
"It's alright, Jules," Derek intervened, saving Charlie from answering. "They're helping".
Julian seemed to settle down after hearing his friend's voice, but his body remained tense throughout Charlie's examination. He flinched again as Charlie ran gentle fingers across one of his ribs. His wheezy breathing was the only sound in the still room, as he struggled to draw in proper breaths. His eyes were slowly slipping closed again, as he fell into the half-asleep daze he'd been in before their arrival to the house.
Looking down at his suffering best friend, Derek thought the actor looked so small and fragile, especially dwarfed by Charlie's athletic form. Julian had always been slim; toned instead of muscled, and delicate instead of strong features. He knew Julian hadn't been eating much lately and he'd had trouble sleeping in the last few weeks, too stressed by his stalker, but even Derek was disturbed by the prominence of the brunette's bones and the dark circles under his eyes.
Charlie finished his inspection, and carefully lowered Julian's shirt. He looked up at Derek as he spoke, keeping his voice quiet.
"It's definitely broken, and the one above it – looks like it might be cracked. There's really nothing I can do for broken ribs… …From what I gather, you guys can't go back to Stuart right now, so you can spend the night here and somebody can take you to the hospital tomorrow morning".
As Derek listened, he was dismayed to think Julian would have to suffer through his pain, but relieved to be offered shelter. Charlie was right; they couldn't go back to Stuart tonight. He looked down at Julian, whose face was slightly scrunched up in pain, so he reached down to run his fingers soothingly through the oak-brown hair.
"…thank-you…" he almost whispered, suddenly overcome with the stress of the last few hours, and the burden of Julian's stress of the last few weeks, and Logan's resulting emotional turmoil.
Charlie didn't reply. Instead, he waved the Brightman twins over. The rose in unison and made their way over to their prefect.
"Take Julian up to the spare room. Make sure he's comfortable, alright? Then let him rest".
Both twins nodded before moving over to the couch Julian was resting on. With surprising ease, they gently lifted the dazed actor and slung him between the two of them. Julian whimpered at the change of positions, but otherwise remained passed out, overwhelmed by the combination of his injury, lack of sleep and sustenance, and stress. Derek followed them with his eyes when they started towards the stairs, but Charlie stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look questioningly at the Windsor prefect.
"It's okay. They're just taking him to a spare bed," Charlie explained, with a small smile.
"Is it alright for him…to be alone with them?" Derek asked uneasily; he'd seen the way the Brightman twins looked at Julian sometimes, and he still wasn't sure about their motivations.
Charlie didn't seem worried, but he turned to Blaine and Kurt.
"Blaine, just make sure they behave, ok?".
The curly headed boy nodded at his prefect and left to catch up with the twins.
After watching the Windsors escort Julian from the room, Derek turned back to Charlie, ready to explain. Before he could, however, Charlie reached down and carefully lifted the Stuart boy's leg at the knee to rest of the couch between them. Derek was so surprised by the action, he just sat there as the prefect worked. Charlie slid his hands gently down Derek's calf, and when he reached the ankle, Derek couldn't stop the hiss that escaped his mouth. Charlie noted the reaction and carefully twisted the foot to the side. Derek clenched his teeth; he'd completely forgotten about his own injury in his desperation to reach safety. How Charlie had noticed it, puzzled him.
Charlie looked up at Kurt – the only remaining Windsor in the room – and asked him to fetch the first aid kit.
"It's only sprained, but you should try to keep off it for a day or two," Charlie explained.
When Kurt returned with the first aid kit, Charlie thanked him and sent him off to check on the Tweedles and Blaine. Digging through the box, Charlie finally located the bandages. He then proceeded to tightly wrap them around Derek's foot and lower calf. Once finished, he packed up the kit and then sat still, looking at Derek expectantly.
Derek sighed, "I guess I owe you an explanation…".
"I guess you do," Charlie smiled grimly.
As Derek recounted in detail the events that had led to him and Julian seeking refuge at Windsor House, he was drawn back into the memory.
Derek had just managed to coax Julian to sleep, but was hesitant to leave his side. He sat on the edge of the bed, softly running his fingers through the actor's hair. Julian was curled up on his side, facing Derek. He looked peaceful except for his face, which wore ever-constant worry lines these days. Every time Derek left the room after putting Julian to sleep, he was called back by Jules' terrified whimpers and sobs as he struggled in whatever nightmare he was trapped in.
Derek slowly moved to the chair situated beside the bed for this exact reason, and picked up one of the several textbooks he'd left on the bedside table. Between all of the time he spent supervising Julian and consoling an irate Logan, Derek hardly had time to study.
He must have slipped into a doze because the next thing Derek became aware of was the loud stomping of angry footsteps coming up the stairs. Footsteps that could only belong to one person in Stuart House.. Derek worriedly glanced to the side and saw Julian was still asleep. Sleep that he badly needed. Derek would rather deal with the blonde's anger himself than have it steal even a minute of Julian's precious sleep.
With that thought, he rose from the chair, ignoring his complaining body, and made his way to the bedroom door. Just as he opened it and stepped out, an angry-looking Logan ('really, was there any other type of Logan?' Derek found himself briefly thinking) stormed through, roughly pushing him back into the room.
"Where is he!...Julian! Wake up!"
And he pushed past Derek and stormed towards the bed, where its only occupant was slowly becoming aware of the situation. Logan roughly grabbed Julian's arms and shook him, trying to rouse him. Derek saw Julian's eyes widen, reflecting his own fear and anxiety. He moved then, to try to pull Logan off their friend. Logan only turned around and shoved him away again. Julian took the opportunity to jump out of the bed and scurry to Derek's side.
Logan turned to face his friends, and both could see the clear brilliance of his furious green eyes, indicating that he wasn't medicated.
Derek looked at Logan – distraught, enraged, emotional Logan – and then looked at Julian – scared, vulnerable, too-tired-to-be-in-control Julian – and knew something bad was about to happen. He stood protectively in front of Julian.
"Logan, what's wrong?"
"Him!" he pointed at Julian, who tried to conceal the fear and sadness on his face. "And you! You're both HIDING things from me!"
"What are you talking about, Lo?"
"Your stalker, Julian!" he sneered. "Oh, don't look so surprised. I had to find out eventually".
"How…How did you…?" Julian sounded stunned, like he couldn't quite believe what was happening.
"Bailey let it slip, what happened on the fair day. Why didn't you tell me!"
"Why do you need to know? It's not like you care about me! Or anyone, but yourself!" Julian's voice was growing stronger, and he was starting to get colour back in his face.
"I'm the House Prefect; of course I need to know! Of course I care if a student under my care is threatened!" Logan was breathing heavily, his face turning red. "And we're supposed to be best friends! Of course I care about you!"
Julian could see the crazy glint in Logan's eyes, shining brighter with every word he spoke. He knew he shouldn't fight back; knew shouting at Logan would rile him up further, but he couldn't stop. After hiding his real feelings for three years, they were finally breaking out. Stressed out, he was vindictive and vicious as he attacked Logan with his words.
"Stop pretending! You don't really care about me, otherwise you would have noticed – He abruptly cut himself off before he could reveal his secret. "The only thing you care about is your precious boy-toy Hummel!"
He's almost given away his biggest secret. He needed to throw the blonde of his trail. So Julian desperately lashed out, hurling the vicious words at his friend, hoping he wouldn't notice Julian's slip. Logan took the bait.
"Don't bring Kurt into this!"
"Oh, now you're defending? Big surprise there. Newsflash, Logan, the damned pixie doesn't need you to defend him," he snarled. "Just because he looks like a girl -
Julian honestly wasn't startled that Logan reacted physically. He'd long since learnt that being friends with the blonde meant the occasional black eye or bruised jaw, but the actor had never seen him so unrestrained. Both himself and Derek had been on the receiving end of Logan's temper, but the Stuart prefect looked wild as he lunged at him.
Julian heard Derek shouting. He felt his shirt collar gripped tightly and then he was forcibly pushed backwards – head lolling uncontrollably until it painfully collided with the wall, along with his back. He let out a soft gasp at the sudden contact. Squinting down, he saw the dexterous hands still gripping his collar, fingers turning white from the amount of pressure being applied. His gaze travelling upwards, Julian came face-to-face with his best friend's furious expression. Never had Logan looked so beautiful; his cheeks flushed red, his uniquely green eyes luminous; his features so fierce – almost feral – but honest, uninhibited by drugs.
"How DARE you!" Logan growled. "Kurt is kind and genuine – he's a good person – unlike you… …I don't know why I even bother with you – I come in here, trying to help and all you do is insult me!"
Julian chuckled, but it was cut off as Logan tightened his grip on the actor's shirt.
"You are such a squid," he choked out.
"Logan, don't – " Derek shouted, rushing forward.
The athlete had been caught off-guard when Logan had grabbed Julian and pushed him into the wall. He'd stood by, pleading with Logan to let the actor go. All of Derek's protests fell on deaf ears. He saw the flash in Logan's glossy eyes when Julian laughed at him and called him a squid. He forced his legs to move, trying to stop the inevitable.
He was too slow; Derek watched as the muscles in Logan's arms rolled smoothly underneath the tan skin, and then he was spinning around, dragging slender Julian with him. He heard Logan roar unintelligibly as he exerted tremendous force to throw their friend bodily across the room; watched as Julian – fragile, hardly any muscle, shorter Julian – flew away from Logan, almost a foot off the ground. He watched as Julian crashed into the solid, wooden desk, an ominous crack resounding throughout the room, and then the actor slid down to lay limply on the carpet floor.
Everything was still after that. Derek stood frozen to the spot, arm still outstretched. He was frozen, staring at the actor, waiting for some sign that he wasn't dead and that the crack he'd heard hadn't been Julian's neck breaking. Logan stood nearby, panting harshly and glaring at the prone form.
After a minute of silence and stillness, Julian suddenly moaned, and pushed an arm underneath himself in an attempt to get up. Derek almost sighed in relief when his friend showed signs of life, but it was short-lived when Julian cried out and wrapped an arm tenderly around his chest. He slumped back to the floor, curling up slightly. He laid there, breathing strange uneven and short, little breaths, occasionally emitting a choked-off whimper. He didn't even acknowledge the other two boys in the room, and Derek knew then that something was seriously wrong.
When Logan moved toward the prone actor, Derek jumped into action. He intercepted Logan before he could reach their mutual friend, glaring at the fuming blonde.
"Get out of the way, Derek," Logan growled, shoving the athlete's chest.
"Logan, listen to yourself," Derek implored. "You need your medicine. And Julian needs help".
Logan stopped trying to get around Derek. He stood before Derek, hands flexing and body trembling with his suppressed rage. He glared at Julian, as if daring him to make a move. When Derek made no indication of moving out of Logan's warpath, the blonde snarled and violently turned away.
Derek watched as the blonde paced agitatedly back and forth, hands gripping his hair tightly before being flung to the side, as Logan tried to reign in his temper. The athlete didn't flinch when Logan's foot struck out at the dresser, the force knocking several photo frames onto the ground. When Logan made to swipe at the remaining photo frames, Derek hurriedly reached his hand out to stop him.
"I said, get out of my way!"
He didn't react fast enough when Logan spun on the spot and grabbed his arm, before using his remaining hand to shove Derek back. Unprepared and unbalanced, Derek stumbled backwards. He felt his ankle twist and his foot fold sideways underneath his weight, before his body collapsed to the floor.
Logan stared down at his friends – he looked almost surprised, Derek thought – but Derek never looked away. He refused to back down; he refused to show any fear. Sooner rather than later, Logan grew tired of the silent stare-down and with a savage shout, stormed from the room. Multiple thuds and crashes sounded through the open doorway.
As soon as the irate blonde was gone, Derek wasted no time crawling over to Julian. His ankle throbbed, but he ignored it as he checked his friend over. Julian was semi-conscious at that point; the heavily-lidded eyes that looked up at Derek portrayed a sadness that Derek felt reflected in his chest. The actor was still struggling to breathe properly, which worried Derek.
"C'mon, Jules. Let's get you some help".
Even though his entire foot pulsated in protest, Derek managed to unfold Julian and wrap one of the actor's arms around his broader shoulders. Lifting Julian's dead weight off the ground while only leaning on one foot was difficult, and he Julian accidentally slipped from his grasp on the first attempt. Derek almost cried when his friend hit the floor, releasing a tortured scream that was no louder than a hoarse whisper. The actor started coughing – tiny, pitiful coughs, as if he didn't have the strength to produce anything more – and it took Derek a full five minutes to calm him down. The second time he lifted Julian was a success and as soon as he was up, he quickly braced himself against the wall.
They needed to get out of Stuart House. Who knew when Logan was coming back? He could still hear him raging further down the hallway.
Slowly – torturously slowly – Derek and the semi-conscious Julian made their way down the stairs (which was an even slower journey because Julian couldn't seem to focus enough to control his feet properly and kept slipping, and Derek was trying to put as little weight as possible on his bad foot), through the foyer and through the double doors leading to the grounds.
At this point, Derek didn't really care about his ankle. He just knew that they needed to be away from here. Now. He realised he'd forgotten his keys in his rush to get out of the building. He didn't want to risk going back in to get them. That really only left him two choices – Hanover House or Windsor.
The more pressure he put on his foot, the quicker it seemed to numb. Which was good, because he wanted to put a lot of distance between themselves and Logan at the moment. He'd tripped a few times already on the uneven ground, causing his entire lower leg to ache for a few minutes each time until it eventually numbed again.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, and gently hefting Julian's arm further around his shoulders, Derek continued on, destination decided, hoping he wasn't dooming them.
"I panicked," Derek admitted to Charlie as he finished his tale. " I came here, because Logan's never hurt us that bad before…and I didn't know what else to do…".
"That's understandable," Charlie reassured the younger boy. "C'mon, you should get some rest. I'll take you to Julian's room".
Derek rose and limped after Charlie. They'd made it half way up the staircase before the double doors leading in to the common room burst open, slamming against the walls. Logan stormed in, looking wildly around the room. His blazing eyes alighted on the pair on the staircase, and he started towards them.
"I'll take care of this," Charlie murmured to Derek, gently pushing the athlete behind him.
"What are you doing here, Logan?" Charlie asked, keeping his voice level.
"I'm not here to bother you or any of your precious Windsors. I want to speak to Derek and Julian," the other prefect answered, his tone sounding tired.
His eyes caught Derek's, and he took a step closer. Derek didn't move, didn't lower his gaze. He continued staring at his friend until Logan dropped his eyes. Derek watched as they landed on and widened fractionally at the sight of his bandaged lower leg, which he was still favouring.
"Did…did I do that?" Logan hesitantly whispered.
Derek nodded, not trusting his voice.
Logan looked up at him when he didn't say anything, his face exhibiting the guilt he obviously felt when he realised what Derek's silence meant.
"Logan, I think you should leave," Charlie interjected gently.
"No! Where's Julian? I want to see him. Derek, where is he?"
"…Lo…you really hurt him… …we just need some time –
"What do you mean?"
"We're staying here for a while…I don't think Julian should be around you –
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT! YOU CAN'T STOP ME FROM SEEING HIM!...He's my friend too!...I'm sorry, alright?"
Derek was taken aback by the sudden transition from calm-sad-safe Logan to furious-unstable-dangerous Logan. The blonde stormed up the stairs and Derek tripped in his haste to back up. He fell hard, his back roughly coming into contact with the sharp edges, jostling his sore ankle. Dazed by the abrupt eruption of pain in his lower leg and back, Derek could only lie there and stare at his friend above him, looking ready to kill. Tiny tendrils of an emotion he vaguely recognised as fear coiled around his chest, constricting his lungs so he couldn't breathe. He flinched when Logan raised his arms, bracing for the blow…
…that never came.
When several seconds had passed and nothing happened, Derek opened his eyes to see Logan standing above him, arms still raised, but unmoving. Only this time, his face was contorted with shame as realisation of what he was about to do dawned on him. Slowly, his arms lowered to his sides.
Derek didn't move as he warily waited for Logan to calm down. Charlie was also frozen halfway up the stairs, arm outstretched as if to stop the blonde prefect; he dropped his own arm when he saw Logan had done so. Nobody moved after that, even when several Windsor boarders arrived at the top of the staircase to see what the commotion was about.
"Derek, I…I'm so sorry," Logan's voice was barely more than a whisper, stifled by a mass of emotions that he seemed to be trying to control. "Stay here as long as you both need. I won't bother you".
Derek couldn't find any words to reply with. He nodded his head slowly, the tentacle remnants of his fear still persisting.
It didn't matter – Logan had turned and was walking away, shoulders hunched. Charlie did nothing to stop him; didn't say anything to him. Both boys left on the staircase winced when they heard the double doors slam closed, the reverberations travelling through the floor and up the walls to reach them.
Charlie sighed heavily as peace and quiet reigned over the house again (well, as much peace and quiet as could be expected in Windsor House). As the brunette prefect's gaze fell on him, Derek realised with slight horror that he was shaking.
"Let's get you to bed," Charlie said when he saw the tremors running through the younger student's limbs.
He leant down to grasp Derek's arm and haul him up, off the floor. Together, with Charlie supporting much of Derek's weight, they headed down the hallway. Derek was relieved he didn't have to hold his tired, sore body up on his own. Finally, they reached an open door and Charlie led them inside.
Inside were two beds with a small bedside table next to each. There was a large couch at the opposite end of the room, but other than that, the room was unfurnished. Julian was tucked up in one of the beds, dozing fitfully. The Brightman twins were standing vigil over his beside, while Kurt and Blaine occupied the couch.
Charlie guided Derek to the empty bed, where he tenderly slid his injured leg under the covers. Derek was relieved when Charlie didn't fuss over him, and when he shooed the other boys out of the room, so that Derek and Julian could properly rest.
"Sleep well, pretty Cheshire," one of the twins murmured, while the other gently brushed a hand across Julian's cheek.
"Goodnight, King".
And then the room was silent, except for Julian's quiet, wheezing breaths and Derek's own thoughts. Derek couldn't sleep. His brain was too wired and not even his heavy limbs could hold it down. He'd already forgiven Logan. The blonde had always been prone to violence, but never before had he hurt either of his friends so badly. Derek could never hold much against him. He knew the blonde struggled with a lot and was still trying to figure things out. Julian's ribs needed time to heal, though. For now, distance from Logan was the best idea. Maybe when Julian could breathe properly again and Derek's leg could hold his full weight, maybe then, they would return to Stuart House.
Just saying – I love the Stuart Trio, and that includes Logan, so I don't want anyone to think I don't like Logan. It was just convenient to use him as the bad guy :p
Also, I would really appreciate any feedback on my writing you could give me; this includes any criticism :) Especially in regards to the ending. I always get stuck on conclusions.