Chapter 3

Nick gasped as Sebastian and Hunter brought Jeff into his room. The boy was white as chalk, and unconscious. He took the boy from them and laid him on his bed. He made sure he would be comfortable when he woke up and turned to them. "What happened?"

"Someone vandalized his room." Sebastian said looking like he'd just seen the most disgusting and sad thing in the world.

"Did you two..." Nick trailed off glaring at them. Sebastian and Hunter were known to play tricks on the other boys at Dalton, but he thought they'd know better than to prank Jeff. Especially after their discussion early.

"No! We swear we didn't!" Hunter said shaking his head. "We went to check on him to make sure he wasn't hurting himself, because Seb peeked at his thoughts...not memories, and he was thinking about wanting to cut himself again when the day was over. Even though it was going really well for him. He said that he still did stupid things anyway so he needed the pain. So we went to check on him. Someone wrote on his walls with blood."

Nick paled, and his face filled with fury. Someone who knew Jeff was human had delibrately done this to try and get rid of him. Vampire/human relations was a big deal to Nick. He wanted them to all get along. So the fact that in his own school there was such an intolerance wasn't something he'd stand for. "They didn't." he growled, his voice so low he sound almost like a wolf.

"They did Nick. It was so awful, and his mind." Sebastian sobbed. He'd been through a lot in the last half an hour. Even vampires could only take so much. "It's so broken. He's so broken Nicky. You have to fix him." Hunter hugged his mate and tried to sooth him. He didn't like seeing Sebastian so upset. It made him upset.

"Tell me the bare minimum." Nick said. He wanted to know everything from Jeff, but he needed to know a little bit so he could avoid some landmines when Jeff woke up.

"Self-harm, abusive relationships, eating disorder. All he wants is love. He craves it." Sebastian said. He sniffled. "Affection. Show him affection. And get him to eat something please Nick he's nearly dead."

Nick nodded. His heart ached for his little blonde one. "I will. Go clean his room. Quickly." he said. They nodded and zipped away. Nick turned to Jeff lying on the bed. He sat down on the bed next to him, and cradled the boy close. "Oh my sweet angel. Who broke you so much?"

Jeff whimpered, and instinctively curled toward the comfort of a warm voice and a kind touch. He hadn't known many of them in his sixteen years. There was a whooshing sound and the door closed. Nick looked up at Hunter and Sebastian.

"It still smells like bleach." Hunter said wrinkling his nose. "But it's clean."

"Well clear out the smell." Nick said. He knew bleach was a toxic smell to humans, while it barely affected vampires. "I don't want him getting sick from it." Hunter nodded and ran back. He appeared a moment later.

"All taken care of." He said with a sigh.

"You know your power over the elements comes in very handy." Nick said, smiling. He knew Hunter was very proud of his powers same as Sebastian so he liked to tease him about them.

"I know." Hunter smirked. He knew what Nick was doing. "You'd be lost without me."

"No that's me dummy." Sebastian said, nudging his mate playfully. Hunter scooped him up, causing Sebastian to squeal. Nick laughed, and Jeff stirred in his arms. He didn't want to wake the boy. "Get a room you two." He said shooing them out of the room.

"With pleasure." Hunter said, but it was just a sound on the wind as he and Seb had already disappeared. Nick shook his head fondly at his two friends. He debated on whether or not he should take Jeff back to his room or not. But in the end he figured the boy would probably be scared to wake up next to a vampire in the morning. So he carried Jeff back to his own room. Nick looked around to make sure Sebastian and Hunter had taken care of everything. He closed and locked the window so that no one else could come in that way and made sure the bathroom was empty as well. He didn't need anyone trying to hurt his precious boy while he was sleeping. There was still a pink tint to the wall where the blood had been, but it was so faint you could barely see it. Nick was impressed with how well Hunter and Sebastian had been able to get the blood off. He hoped Jeff would just think it was a bad dream. He laid him down in bed and kissed his forehead. "I'll see you in the morning my precious prince." he murmured before going back to his bed.

The next morning Jeff woke up with an odd feeling of warmth in his heart, and snuggled in his bed. He must've had a good dream. They didn't happen often, but he relished the feeling of them long after they left. His memories of last night came flooding back. He frowned and looked toward where that horrible writing had been last night, but saw only a tinge of pink on the wall. He frowned, had it all been a dream? He got up and started getting ready for his day. He combed his hair and brushed his teeth; putting on his uniform with great care. He wanted it to look perfect because then less people would stare at him for mistakes. There was a knock on the door and he stiffened. Who would be knocking on his door? He didn't know anyone. At least not really. His mind flitted to Nick, but he was pretty sure he'd scared him off when he ran away yesterday. He hesitantly cracked it open and looked around. He didn't need anymore blood writing. If that hadn't been a dream anyway. He didn't see anyone. He looked down and there, just sitting there, was a blueberry muffin and a cup of coffee. He picked them up and wrinkled his nose. Why would someone leave him this? He was going to throw the muffin out, but some writing on the coffee cup caught his eye. He looked at it and read it aloud. "Morning angel, I decided to give you this muffin, because I wanted to make sure you ate something this morning. Please eat it and know that someone loves you. From your special someone." Jeff blushed and smiled. Someone loved him? Was this another joke like the blood from earlier? He hoped not. Maybe there was poison in the muffin...or the coffee. He hesitantly took a bite of the muffin and melted inside. He practically moaned from the taste. It was still warm, and the blueberries were still gooey. Just the way he loved it. How did anyone know that that was how he liked his muffins? He actually ate the whole muffin. It was delicious and he couldn't help himself. Even if it was poisoned at least he'd die happy. His stomach felt like it would burst afterward, but it had been worth it. He'd just not eat anything at lunch to make up for it. At least that's what he told himself.

He went to his first class and listened to the teacher drone on and on. It was all boring stuff he'd learned the year before. He felt like someone was watching him in class, and he hesitantly looked around to see if anyone was looking at him. He didn't see anyone paying him any attention, but he noticed Nick was there. Nick glanced at him and smiled, and Jeff blushed, hastily turning back to the teacher in front of him. He didn't know why but Nick made his heart race. He heard a soft chuckle come from Nick's direction and his cheeks flushed darker. If Nick was going to be around it was going to be a long day.