Firework

Raivis sat in his small, cramped room on his bed, hands clamped over his ears, trying to drown out the fighting coming from downstairs. It didn't bother Eduard or Toris at all, for they were the ones always starting things with Ivan, but it all only made his nervousness worse.

The sound of a screech found its way into Raivis's bedroom, which he identified as Toris's, probably a result of resistance against the evil Russian they lived with. After a few more minutes of a yelling Estonian, the front door slammed and the small teen guessed that Ivan had left, totally enraged with the situation.

He heard his bedroom door open and he turned away, his back now facing whoever it was that was entering. Seconds later the mattress sunk down a bit more next to him and a strong arm was draped over his shoulders. "Raivis…"

Silence.

"Why are you curled up in here?"

Raivis turned to face Toris, flinching a bit at his now blackened eye. "I hate fighting…it makes everything worse!"

The Lithuanian sighed, patting the teen's back. "I know you want to get out of here, Raivis, but we have no other choice. Going to Ludwig's wouldn't be any better, and you know that."

"Then why don't we go to Alfred? You like him real well, don't you?" Raivis asked, his voice quivering a bit as hot tears found their way down his face. "I hate it here! It'd be better if I was dead!"

"Don't say that, Raivis. Eduard and I wouldn't know what to do if you weren't with us."

"I'm sure."

Toris sighed and stood, seeing that he wasn't in the mood to talk. "If you want to talk to me about things, I'll be downstairs." And with that, the bedroom door closed, and the small area once again had a lonely atmosphere.
"I'm done with everything. I'm sick of it all," Raivis mumbled. He laid down and rested his head on his stiff pillow, growing sleepy. "Maybe they wouldn't be so miserable if I wasn't here to make things worse…"

With mind wandering and eyelids heavy, he shut his eyes and let himself be taken away into his dreamland.

xxXxx

The next day at the conference, the air was tight with tension between the Baltics and Ivan. Raivis spent most of the time listening every now-and-then, but mainly reading one of his romance novels. But even during the most exciting point in the story, he couldn't focus, worrying himself out of his mind about what would go on once they returned home. He looked over at the Russian sitting across the room, a dark aura surrounding him. So…scary… he thought, shuddering a bit.

His eyes then wandered to the other two he was imprisoned with, both of them shaking in their seats, which was not an abnormal sight to see. But it seemed to be worse than normal, if it was even possible for them to be more shaken up than normal.

Raivis closed his book and sighed, standing as he did so. No one would notice if he left early…would they? At this point, he didn't care what anyone else thought and grabbed his belongings, heading for the doors of the conference building. He turned and gave one last look at everyone before slipping through the brass doors and back to the house that he despised with a passion.

Once back in the (somewhat) safety of the house, Raivis retreated to his bedroom. He removed his shoes and flopped onto his bed, silently lying there, waiting patiently for the Lord to just end it for him. He didn't want to see Toris and Eduard in pain; they were his best friends. And he absolutely didn't want to stay with Ivan any longer and risk his life just by talking to the man.

He sat up and leaned against the headboard, reopening his novel, now able to fully focus on the amazing story of Romeo and Juliet.

The peace in the house didn't last.

About an hour later, Raivis heard a car door slam shut and muffled yelling. He shut his book and slid off the bed, drawing back the torn curtain on his window and peaking outside.

Eduard was yelling at Ivan, standing in front Toris, who was down in the snow. The tall Russian made his older friend seem like an ant compared to a boulder, and soon enough he was on the ground next to the shaking Lithuanian. Ivan stormed to the front door, leaving the two outside. Raivis flinched as he heard the stomping footsteps of the infuriated man come up the stairs.

Starting to shake as a wave of nervousness swept his peace away, he sat in the corner beside his bed where two walls met, cowering in fear. Seconds following more footsteps followed, and within the small hallway outside his door, Raivis heard the anger-filled mix of voices and shrieks.

There was a loud gasp before the door gave way and Toris fell onto the floor. He didn't move again.

"T-Toris…?"Raivis stuttered, slowly coming out of hiding to look at the fallen man.

No response.

Raivis looked away from the ugly sight, using all his strength not to cry. He couldn't show weakness, not at a time like this.

Eduard stood in the door frame, frozen from shock. He clenched his fist and turned back to Ivan, who was smirking with pride at his actions. "Why would you do such a thing?"

Ivan cocked his head, "What makes you think you can speak to me in that manner? I give you a place to live, somewhere to sleep at night, da?" His eyes narrowed and he advanced at the trembling Estonian, who was backing up and trying not to trip over the lifeless body on the floor. "Maybe I'm not good enough for you, is that it? Would you like to join your little friend?"

At that moment, something came over Raivis, a feeling he had never felt before. He was no longer frightened, terrified. He was enraged. As if on their own accord, his legs made him stand. His hands clenched into fists. Something inside him seemed to spark up, like someone igniting a firework. And now, he was going to burst into action.

Raivis ran at Ivan, and once he reached him shoved him back from Eduard, making him stumble backwards a bit. He stuck out his arms, acting as a shield for his trembling friend and his poor one who it was already too late for. "This is for you, Toris…" he muttered though clenched teeth.

After regaining his balance, Ivan stalked over to the young Latvian as if nothing had happened and lifted him up by the collar. "Well, Raivis…acting a bit out of character, are we?"

"You will harm them no longer!" Raivis spat back, looking dead into the violet daggers staring back at him.

"I think it's your turn to see why you don't mess with me," Ivan replied coolly, switching his grip from around the shirt collar to around the young boy's neck. The tightness slowly increasing, Raivis couldn't help but struggle a bit, wanting to free himself.

"Please, d-don't hurt him! He's done nothing!" Eduard pleaded, but the Russian had already made up his mind.

"Bye bye, Raivis. Have fun with Toris."

That was all Raivis recalled before a sickening snap filled the room and he could no longer feel his limbs.

Ivan dropped the boy and watched his body crumple to floor beside Toris, laughing the whole time. Eduard looked down at the Latvian teen, not believing that Ivan had really just snapped his neck with one hand. "Raivis…no…"

The ceiling began to go blurry, and Raivis knew the end was near. Excepting his fate, he closed his eyes and smiled, and then whispered, "Don't be afraid to stand up, Eduard. Be a firework. Show him what you can really do."

Slowly, Raivis's pain ended and the darkness took him from the evil man and into a world of happiness.