CydneyElise: Sorry you fainted... are you okay?

AdoreThem: Glad you like it and I try and update when I can. I'm writing this story in a rather weird way, I'm writing now... a year from now and then a few days after the... incident... a year from now. If that makes any sense.

Rietta: Glad to hear it!

TheWeddingFairy: Sorry about that. Things would have been a lot easier if they had kissed but I decided since Ianto is confident that I want Jack to take the lead when it comes to kissing. I like the idea of shy!Jack starting things ;]

katwinchester: We're all pretty much hopeless romantics. It was sweet, wasn't it :] and as for Ianto... you're going to have to wait and see.

leonale: You're gonna have to wait and see. You're not going to like it but it sort of helps them both after the... incident.

JantoForever21: Thanks! Affection has always been a dodgy thing for me, I'm glad I managed to write it fairly good.

Moonlight83: They will help each other to heal. But it's going to be a while before Jack finds out about that part of Ianto's past.

Authors/Note: Ianto learns a little bit about Jack's homelife. Jack goes to his first concert but it's ruined by an argument with Ianto afterwards. Remember Ianto is 19 while Jack is still only 17. Ianto argues with Tosh in Welsh and it's going to be a bit rough for Jack. There will be some ADULT themes of VIOLENCE here, if that offends you or you're offended by abusive situations then don't read it. Also, I don't speak Welsh so if I get it wrong blame my sources. Welsh/English Lexicon and that Welsh Translation page. Welsh translations for sentences used are below:

#1 - I think one of his parents is abusing him

#2 - If he is being abused why did you let him go home?

#3 - He is seventeen, Toshiko, I had no choice! You think I was happy knowing that he was going home for a beating?

Chapter Five

Light streamed in through the curtained window and it woke him up, he opened his eyes sleepily wondering why his bedroom was so bright and why the heavy tacked up sheet wasn't doing it's duty. Jack looked around blinking in surprise when he saw that it wasn't his room and it all came flooding back, even more shocking he found that he was sprawled pretty much on top of Ianto.

Carefully he untangled himself from the grip of strong arms and got out of bed, he wondered briefly if it was okay for him to get a shower. Jack bit his lip torn between waking Ianto up to ask or let him have more sleep; in the end he knelt on the bed gently nudging his shoulder

"Ianto? Ianto? Ianto?" he mumbled

"Whu... what? What is it?" he replied sleepily then his face lit up in a wide smile when he saw Jack "Hey"

"Is it okay if I get a shower?"

"Yeah" Ianto nodded reaching out to stroke Jack's cheek then the happy expression disappeared, the young American moved to leave but Ianto stopped him "Wait, Jack... we didn't. I didn't do anything last night?"

"No. We just slept" he answered as he stood in the doorway then he disappeared off to the bathroom leaving Ianto alone.

Laying alone in bed all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep but for some reason he couldn't, last night had been such a really good night and now it was Saturday and they were going to a gig later on.

Jack padded barefoot to the bathroom, he spotted Mary in the kitchen happily making herself coffee and helping herself to leftovers from the food Ianto had cooked last night. She nodded when she saw him and he nodded back. He hadn't met her before last night because she went to a different school than they did but she'd been Toshiko's girlfriend for a few months

"Hey" she greeted him coming out of the kitchen to offer him a mug of coffee "Morning"

"Morning" he replied before taking a sip of the steamy brew "How come you're awake?"

"I'm an early bird, besides I'm really excited about seeing Angels Among Us later on. I'm a big fan of their music. What about you? How come you're awake?"

"The sun comes up through Ianto's window, it woke me up, I was just going to get a shower"

"Right" she nodded glancing at Ianto's door "So... did you? You and Ianto?"

"Did we what?"

"I saw the look on your face when he was kissing Russ, you looked like you'd had your heart broken"

"We... I... it's not like that. He's my friend" he explained, he felt his face heat up with embarrassment

"I'm not the one you have to keep telling that to" she smirked "Sometimes people click and he looks the sort that you'd enjoy clicking with"

"Not that I wouldn't mind... clicking... with him, I'm not even sure if he thinks of me in that way. All he sees when he looks at me is a friend"

"Sometimes it's better than nothing but I don't think he thinks of you as just a friend, an idiot can see how he feels about you"

"He looked like he wanted to... I thought he was about... but no. I'm just not the guy people are interested in" he shrugged his shoulders

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? Because if I weren't so fond of Tosh I'd be having you bend me over this table here" she nodded her head at the small kitchen table making him blush "Okay you are a little on the thin side but you're gorgeous. You got really nice hair and an amazing jawline"

"Amazing?" he repeated as he rubbed his jaw

"Yes. Now go... you tell anyone what I just said and I will kill you" she grinned at him. He shook his head then continued on his way to the bathroom.

Back in Ianto's bedroom he was lying in bed staring at the ceiling feeling empty again; it was so close to... no, he wouldn't think about that. Ianto was tired of make believe, pretending didn't make it real... all he wanted was to not have to pretend, to present a front to those around him. If they knew, well then... if Jack knew. He sat up burying his head in his hands, Jack could never know what happened to him, the American wouldn't understand and then all he would do was look at his kind Welsh friend with pity.

And to be honest Ianto was more than sick of seeing pity in the eyes of the people he cared about and called friends; he was sick of them looking at him and seeing how broken he truly was. It was like being something unnatural.

"I should try and get some sleep" he mumbled to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. The fright he'd had earlier in the night dragged everything back, made it there again, forced him to think about what happened.

He could hear the shower turn on in the distance and he scowled, wishing he had the courage to be with Jack. To climb into the shower with him, show the American how he really felt... show him the truth instead of his medicated persona.

*

Several hours later the gang left the pub where the concert had been performed and they felt the usual afterglow elation from good music. Jack felt like he was over the moon, he'd never been to a concert before and they'd all managed to get fairly near the front and then they'd gone back stage for autographs and to mingle with the band all thanks to Toshiko.

He was so excited that he really didn't want to go home but now that they were all outside they were saying goodbye to each other. Mary was going to be sleeping over at Toshiko's while everyone else was going home with the parting words of 'seeing you at school on monday'. Jack stood around watching everyone wandering off or catching rides with people who'd come to pick them up

"Are you parents coming to pick you up?" Ianto asked him when he realised that the American was just hanging around instead of going home

"Um..."

"Jack? Do they even know where you are?"

"No" he shook his head before lowering it feeling suddenly ashamed

"Shit! Aren't they worried about you? They've probably called the police! Why on earth didn't you tell them where you were?"

"Because it's just my foster father and he doesn't give a shit where I am. He probably hasn't even noticed that I've been gone" he replied honestly. Jack's honest answer made him blink in surprise

"I'm going to drive you home then"

"No!" Jack cried almost desperately. Ianto scowled at him annoyed with how the situation was and the fact that Jack hadn't told his foster father were he was, he was feeling hurt and lied to

"Then how the hell are you going to get home? I hope you don't plan on walking home?! Don't even think of telling me that!"

"Please don't yell at me" mumbled Jack as he let his gaze drop to the ground

"I'll do what I'll god damn well like! You're being stupid! This is going to get me in trouble..."

"It won't! I meant it when I said my foster father won't be aware that I'm gone. I'm sorry"

"I'm taking you home and if you do anything like this again..." he trailed off not willing to think about what would happen or what he'd do. Ianto knew that he could have been in a lot of trouble considering that he was past a legal milestone and Jack wasn't; if this happened then people would clearly get the wrong idea about them being just friends.

"It won't. I'm really sorry Ianto"

"Come on. Have you got your stuff?" he asked as he pulled Jack towards his car. The young American grabbed his backpack and let Ianto lead him.

The ride home was quiet, each man lost to their own thoughts, both of them lost in the seriousness of the situation. Ianto was worried he was going to get in trouble and Jack just didn't want Ianto to see where he lived, hell he could already see the quality of the buildings that they passed were beginning to be less and less appealing. He was still rather ashamed of his roots after Ianto had laughed at him living in a trailer park, he didn't like being known as the trailer trash kid.

"This is it!" he cried suddenly when he realised they were around the corner, he would have bolted from the car if it still hadn't been moving

"Here?!" gasped Ianto as he pulled the car up, looking round the dimly lit area. Jack grabbed his pack and pushed the door open but the welsh man stopped him "I'll see you at school on monday?"

"Yeah, see you on monday. Thanks for this weekend... I've never had so much fun" he explained and then he was gone disappearing into the dark like he was made of it.

Ianto sighed deeply as he watched him go, things seemed strange but it wasn't his place to question it. He was deeply worried about Jack but he just didn't know what to do and he was a little scared about saying anything in case the younger man was frightened off, how could he help him then? With a sigh he pulled away and went home.

Jack stood in the shadows watching as Ianto sat there in the car for a moment, it was clear to see the Welshman was deep in thought and he knew that wasn't a good sign. If Ianto was beginning to think about his homelife then he knew things could get serious, he didn't want anything to happen to Ianto. The new student had become the best friend he'd ever had and all he wanted to do was protect him from Derek. When Ianto left Jack hiked his bag up his shoulder and wandered off around the corner into the trailer park to face the music.

When he got there he knew it was the lesser evil to climb in through the window so Derek didn't know he'd been gone so long. The window scraped open and he tumbled inside just as the overhead light went on. Jack's heart sank to his feet when he saw Derek sitting on the edge of his bed. The older man looked furious and even across the room Jack could almost taste the alcohol on his foster father's breathe

"I'm not even going to bother ask where you were" he hissed quietly "I saw that man dropping you off. I saw you get out of his car. You're a whore aren't you? A fucking disgusting whore selling yourself to fags"

"No... Derek... I-I... he's just a friend. He's a friend from school" he protested weakly

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your lies!" he bellowed, he stood up staggering under the weight of the alcohol "All this time I have tried to beat your filthy habits and still you aren't grateful for what I've done"

"I am! I am grateful..." he sank down on his knees begging the man not to do what he knew Derek was about to do "Please. Don't..."

A quick fist to Jack's jaw silenced him, he fell back against the wall as Derek moved in. The beating started with a flurry for kicks and punches keeping him down curled up in a ball; he knew that he was stronger than Derek and he knew that he could easily defend himself against a man that drunk... hell he was a security guard for godsake and he'd been in situations where he'd been charged by intoxicated men but as soon as Derek laid into him he was just a scared little boy again.

Stamp. Stamp. Stamp. Crack. Jack heard something crack and then everything seemed quiet and calm, almost felt as if he was floating Derek disappeared and he was alone in the dark again. The peace and quiet was astounding him and then he tasted that metalic tang of blood in his mouth, he licked his lips and felt a brief jolt of pain which meant he had either opened up the previous split lip or he'd suffered another one.

The quiet was lovely as he lay there, he didn't want to move because then the pain would come and he felt so content. Jack had had so much fun with his friends, with Ianto, it had been such a long time since he'd had fun but he knew that it couldn't happen again... not if this was the end result. He longed for it, Jack longed for the chance to do those kinds of things but he knew that if he did then really wouldn't last long.

Ianto's beautiful face popped into his mind and for one second he thought he was there with him in the room but it was just his imagination running away with him; Jack decided there and then that since he was getting beaten anyway he might as well just enjoy the good times that Ianto and his new friends gave him. If he was killed by Derek then at least he would have had those good times and he wouldn't have changed that for the world. Jack drifted off to sleep on the floor in an endorphine haze thinking about the past few hours and all the good times to come.

***

Monday morning dawned and Ianto drove to school, he'd spent the previous day with his family helping his parents unpack some more boxes and filling them on his new friends and the concert minus the underage drinking. After what happened back home two years ago he knew that his parents looked down on his drinking habits. Now he was back at Amundsen for another week.

He stopped off at his locker putting the stuff he didn't need in there for later then headed down the hall towards Jack's locker hoping to see the young American before home room started. Ianto waited as long as possible but when the second bell rang he sighed and headed to class hoping that he hadn't ruined his friendship with Jack by asking those stupid questions on Saturday and shouting at him.

Ianto knew it was ridiculous to spend some much time thinking about the other man expecially when he was supposed to be focusing on school work but he was genuinely worried about him. All he hoped was that Jack was okay!

Jack opened his eyes and felt groggy, the smell hit him and he knew that he'd been laying there for longer than he needed to, his entire body ached and he stank of dry blood. It took a while for him to sit up and when he did he wished he hadn't bothered; every minute move sent bolts of pain shooting through him and he prayed that the pain would pass.

Now in the light of day he could see the mess Derek had made of his room and that it was half one on Monday, he didn't bother hiding his surprise at being unconscious for so long. This beating had been a bad one and now he needed to clean up; his room and his body. If Derek came back in and saw that he hadn't tidied up then he was in for another thrasing and he wasn't sure he'd survive anymore. Jack straightened his room as best as he could, righting the draws that had been pulled out then putting away his clothes before finally pushing his bed back against the wall and correcting the mattress. It took him two hours to tidy everything up, not because he was slow at tidying but because he was in a lot of pain.

When he finally got his room sorted he turned his attention to himself; it was a struggle and a half to get his soiled jeans off. Holding them up he debated whether it was best to try and save them or just put them straight into the bin; in the end he tossed them towards a corner where he kept his dirty washing, he'd deal with them later. The shirt was much harder to remove because of his ribs, they were bruised and discoloured... looking down at his multi-coloured flesh he remembered hearing something crack.

"Great! Broken ribs! That means no gym for a while" he muttered to himself. The trailer was quiet so he assumed that Derek was either out at a bar or passed out in the living room, cracking open the door he peeked out and saw that it was the former. The relief he felt was palpable as he hurried to the bathroom so he could wash away all the blood.

Moments like this were what Jack loved more than anything else, it was quiet and peaceful and he could use as much hot water as he liked because there was no one to tell him not to. It was freedom to him and that's why he loved it. Even though the shower was pure agony on his damaged body he wouldn't have got out for anything! The water washed the blood away and he winced as he scrubbed at the dried spots so he would be presentable. Overall it was his ribs that seemed the worst affected of this beating, after that his face wasn't fairing too good. A large purple bruise stood out over his eye while his other was nearly swollen shut, he hated that he was thankful that he'd re-opened his old split lip instead of receiving another one. All in all he had enough injuries to know that it would take a while before he got better which meant that he had to miss school for a while.

Jack knew that if anyone found out what Derek was doing to him then he'd terrified for his life, yeah he would get out of his hell hole but he knew that Derek would come after him for giving the whole thing away and he was sure that if his foster father ever caught him, he'd kill him.

After the blissfully painful shower he got dressed, tugging on some shades and left the trailer... he hadn't really eaten since he'd stayed at Ianto's house and he was starving. This was an emergency and he could use some of his emergency fund on food... he briefly thought about bandages and some salves but he shook that idea off; if Derek found them then he'd want to know how he managed to afford them. All the hopes and dreams of escaping he'd had for the last twelve years would be over if his foster father found that money; it was a fair bit now and he needed it to get away.

The streets were fairly quiet, with the odd person out shopping or running some other type of errand, he walked slowly because of his aching joints. Jack didn't want to risk eating anything too heavy because it had been a few days since he last ate and those damn injuries didn't help either!

After getting enough money out of an ATM for a sandwiches and a bottle of water he found a quiet place to sit so he could eat his lunch then he moved on and headed to the library. If he was going to be off school for a while then he might as well find something to pass the time; he was glad that it was a schoolday and Ianto wouldn't be at the library. Jack got several books out, including one on how to learn Welsh then started the long walk home.

Derek was there when he got back. Luckily the man was distracted by the idiot box so he crept to his bedroom as quickly as possible and shut the door behind him sliding the locks into place. The young American's heart sank when he saw that Derek had been in here again and all the hard work he'd put into straightening his room had all been for nothing. Seeing his room in such a disaray again he broke down, his jaw shaking as tears filled his eyes, his legs gave out and he tumbled down the door wrapping his arms around his legs as he cried.

***

"Did you and Jack have a fight?" asked Toshiko as soon as he sat down for lunch, he had his sandwich and the spare he'd made for his best friend "Coz I haven't seen him all day"

"No we didn't have a fight and I haven't seen him either. I haven't seen him since Saturday evening" he explained his worry for his friend was growing and he didn't like it

"I hope he got home okay" Russ uttered as he opened his milk carton

"He got home fine. I drove him" answered Ianto "He seemed really jittery when he got there. He pretty much shouted this is it then jumped from the car"

"Weird" said Michael rolling his eyes

"Actually he was acting weird before that. He didn't tell his parents that he was spending the night at mine and he didn't tell them about the gig either"

"Ach yn cellwair!" she gasped; the others on the table rolled their eyes for her speaking in Welsh. They'd known that she could speak it but they didn't know that she'd been born there, it wasn't easy to figure out what with her oriental appearance

"Not even a little" Ianto replied easily understanding his native dialect. He glanced at his friends on the table before looking back at Toshiko

#1"Dybia hun chan eiddo rhieni ydy yn cam-drin 'i"

"WHAT!" she shrieked loudly getting the attention of the entire lunch room

"No confering in Welsh" Nate ordered them once the attention returned to normal and the other students went back to their food.

#2"Ai dydy cam-driniedig paham adawaist 'i cer addef?" she demanded ignoring her non-Welsh speaking friends for a moment

#3"Dydy seventeen, Toshiko, Cawn na ddewis! Dybi Buais 'n ddedwydd yn adnabod a cerddai addef achos churfa?" he cried angrily then gathered his things up and left the table

"What the hell were you two monkeys yelling about?" Michael demanded. Toshiko just sighed and went back to lunch with a lot more on her stomach than sandwiches.

After Ianto left the table he ambled down the hall with one thought on his mind, and then it hit him. He raced to the library hoping to find Jack in his usual place but when he got there the library was empty and quiet with no sign of the young American anywhere.

He flopped down on the chairs Jack used to lie on and pulled his legs up, he wanted to know that his best friend was okay but he had no way of knowing. He didn't have any way of contacting him because Jack didn't have a phone and Ianto didn't know where he lived either.

Ianto sat there lost in thought until the bell rang bringing him out of his reverie; had he done something wrong? I shouldn't have shouted at him, he thought as he made his way to his locker to dump the sandwiches and get his books for his next few classes. He just wished that wherever Jack Harkness was he was okay.

TBC...