DISCLAIMER – I do not own Degrassi (damnit!) Oh well, I guess some things were never meant to be. Some scenes in later chapters will contain graphic sex between two males. Both boys are meant to be of the age of eighteen. But if you are not comfortable to read that, or you are too young to read…DO NOT READ. Or unless you really want to, I can't stop you. Please enjoy the story.

Chapter 1: A friend in need

The cold Toronto air hit Marco Del Rossi in the face as he walked down De Grassi Street. The young Italian boy had just left his house; sneaking out to go to…well he didn't know where he was going. He just needed to get away from his house. His relationship with his father had been on the rocks ever since he came out to him during the school play. The stars in the night sky were shining down on him and the full moon provided light so he could see where he was going. He passed the highway, going toward Spinner's house. He thought for a second. Spinner was like a brother to him. Even though he was shaky about Marco's sexuality at first, he quickly adjusted and they were best friends again. A breeze hit him in the face causing him to shiver. He wished he hadn't run away. He wished he could make it all better. But he knew he never could. He contemplated whether or not to go to Ellie's house. She had stuck with him through thick and thin. She was his best friend and there was no denying a best friend. He looked at the clock on his cell phone. 1:08 a.m. He knew he would never reach anybody at this hour. He crossed the storm drain going onto a street he was very familiar with. He looked up and saw the big brown house staring back at him. He grabbed for his phone.

"Spinner, you up?" he said. He could hear a loud thud coming from the upstairs room in the house. Spinner's room. Marco winced at the sound. He saw a tiny light in the darkness. His phone rang.

"I am now. What the hell do you want at this hour?" Marco scanned the message, making sure not to miss any stray letters, as Spinner sometimes left off. He hit reply.

"I'm outside, can I come in?" he hit send. After about 10 seconds, Spinner's light turned on, revealing the shirtless image of a sleepy boy. He looked outside and motioned Marco to come inside. Marco took that as a yes and went up to the door. Spinner opened it. Marco walked inside and saw that the house had been renovated.

"Wow Spin," he said "the place looks great." He wandered around looking at every little aspect and detail of the newly refurbished house. Spinner walked over to him and trailed close behind, watching his friend take the grand tour of his house. He finally stepped ahead of Marco and switched on a lamp.

"Wanna sit down?" Spinner asked. Marco nodded and took a seat on the couch. Spinner sat across from him in the leather chair. He looked at Marco for a second, but Marco refused to meet his eyes. "Is something wrong Marco?" he asked "You usually don't wake me up at 1:00 in the morning." Marco didn't look at him, but nodded his head. Spinner took this as his cue to continue. "So what is it?" Marco looked up at him and a stray tear fell from his eye. Spinner was now worried. Marco was gay, but he was no fairy cry-baby. He got up and took a seat next to the smaller Italian boy. He flung his arm around Marco's shoulder and Marco winced in pain. "What did I do?" Spinner asked. Marco shook his 

head, but Spinner pulled down his shirt enough to see his shoulder. It had a gash on it that ran down to his arm. He was bleeding. "We should really get that cleaned up." He said. He gently helped Marco get off the couch. They walked into the kitchen where Spinner grabbed a rag and some Hydrogen peroxide. For the first time in about 10 minutes, Marco spoke.

"Your parents keep Peroxide in the kitchen?" he asked with his eyebrows raised inquisitively. Spinner nodded.

"You know my parents," he said "total health freaks." Marco laughed quietly. Spinner applied some of the peroxide to the rag and started rubbing Marco's shoulder with it. "So, what happened?" he asked. Marco knew he couldn't tell his friend the truth, so he came up with something fast.

"I…uh…ran into a tree branch…" he started "on the way here." He looked up at Spinner. Spinner looked down at him. He knew that wasn't what happened, but he let it go…for now. As he kept nursing Marco's wound, he started studying the rest of his body, looking for any other spots of blood. He didn't see any, so he focused on Marco's shoulder. Each time the rag went down Marco's shoulder, he moaned in pain. Spinner put his other arm around Marco's stomach. He rinsed off the rag and threw it in the laundry room. As soon as he did, Marco wrapped his arms around Spinner, buried his head into his chest, and cried. Spinner held him, muttering how it was going to be alright. Spinner used a free hand to grab some gauze and some medical tape. He fastened it to Marco's shoulder and led him back into the living room. He sat Marco down on the couch gently and lied down to where Marco could lie down on top of him. Marco cried himself to sleep that night, but some were tears of joy, as his friend held him through the night.

Spinner woke up to Marco cuddled up to him, grabbing onto his wife beater like he was a life raft. Spinner rubbed up and down his back slowly. Marco's eyelids fluttered. He slowly woke up and thanked the good lord it was Saturday. He looked back at Spinner, who was smiling.

"What's gotten into you?" Marco asked. Spinner shook his head and got up. Marco followed him into the kitchen while Spinner went over to the counter and started to brew coffee. He turned over to Marco.

"You want some coffee?" He asked sweetly. Marco just nodded and mouthed a 'thank you'. Spinner was still deeply concerned about his friend and looked back at him every few moments. Marco just quietly sat at the table. Spinner went up behind him and put his hand on his good shoulder. Marco jumped. That tore it. "Okay," he started "You really need to tell me what the hell is going on. You show up out of nowhere, you slept on me on my couch, I think I deserve an explanation." Marco looked up, his eyes full of mixed emotions.

"Spin…" he choked. Spin got up and went over to him. He threw his arm over his shoulder. Marco tried again. This time his voice was deep and serious. "Spinner, my dad," he started "My dad didn't quite…react well to my coming out."



"Your dad did this to you?" Spinner asked, pointing to Marco's arm. Marco unbuttoned his shirt.

"This too." His torso was covered in yellow-purple bruises and some cuts. Spinner looked at the sight and he cringed. He'd never seen Marco that beat up before, not even the night he was walking down the plaza and the gay bashers caught him. He was in bad shape and Spinner just wished he could have done something more. He couldn't believe Marco's dad would do this to him. He knew Mr. Del Rossi wasn't particularly fond of gays, but he loved his son. He wrapped his arms around Marco, making sure not to hurt the poor boy. He pulled back as the coffee pot beeped, signaling that the coffee was ready. Spinner poured a mug for him and Marco. Carefully, he slipped a bit of schnapps into Marco's mug. They sat down at the kitchen table in silence, watching the rain pour outside. Spinner looked at Marco. He had at least 15 bruises on his chest and stomach. His shoulder had bled through the gauze. The image of his father beating him was a lot for Spinner. A tear fell from his eye as he once again put his arm comfortably around his friend's shoulder.

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