Alexander hadn't seen Lafayette in two days. He heard Martha speaking to George about the teen who now refused to come out of his room, and some part of Alex did feel bad, but moreover he felt betrayed.

Lafayette had been his first friend, the first person to be nice to him and to respect his boundaries. And then this? Honestly, Alexander berated himself for even thinking that Lafayette was nice enough not to hurt him. And if Lafayette was there to hurt him, what about the others? George? Martha? Hercules, even John? Alex's breathing got faster as he drove himself into worry.

What if they all turn up to be like Lafayette? What if I have to move again? What if George or Martha gets tired of me and what if they hurt me? What if John tells me silent hands? What if-

"Yo, 'Lex?"

John.

The knock came again as Alexander realized it was John at the door, something that was grounding and helped him breathe easier. He got up off the floor - when had he gotten there?- and opened the door a bit, to see a grinning John peeking in.

"Hey," he said out loud as opposed to signing, "We were about to watch a movie. Wanna come out of there and watch it with us?"

Alex opened the door wider and looked for Lafayette warily before grabbing a blanket and following John down the stairs. He found the beginning credits of Beauty and the Beast rolling on the screen as he settled into the couch that the other two weren't occupying.

"I hate this movie," Hercules grumbled as John sat next to him.

"Then why are you watching it?" John laughed.

"Because I wanted to," he replied, crossing his arms and sliding further into the couch. Alexander laughed silently with John as Hercules sang along to Belle, the first song in the movie.

"Don't like this movie, huh?" John teased, and Hercules playfully slapped him.

As the movie went on, Alexander didn't particularly pay attention, instead choosing to think about Lafayette. It had been two days, and maybe John was right, and he was just acting irrational or something. Lafayette was kind and bouncy and full of energy, not wrathful... So why had he done it? And now why had he locked himself in his room?

Like a zombie, Alexander swung his feet to the floor and stood up. He didn't even realize he had until Hercules asked him why he was getting up. Alex opened his mouth, then shut it, and signed, I'm gonna go upstairs.

"Okay," the other two said in unison, and Alex wrapped his blanket loosely around himself. His gaze was distant as he stepped up the stairs and he woke up as he found himself in front of Lafayette's room with his fist raised to knock on the door.

For the first time in a long time, time slowed down and Alex's brain caught up with what he was doing. Fear raced through him and he let out a small, strangled cry and gasped as he clapped a hand over his mouth.

He hadn't talked in ages. But he just had, and dear god he was in trouble. He felt his legs buckle under him as he was violently brought back to Thomas, his mind protesting but going into the flashback anyway.

Thomas loomed over him. Alex heard the clink of the belt buckle, but didn't see it. The blindfold around his eyes prevented him from seeing anything.

"Please," Alex sobbed, "Please, sir."

"I thought I told you to shut up!" Alex heard the woosh of the belt before he felt it hit him. A cry escaped his lips.

"What is it going to take?!" Thomas screamed, hitting Alex again. The handcuffs tying Alex to the wall bit into the boy's hands, making them bleed.

"If you stop talking," Thomas said, swinging the belt one more time, "Then I will stop hitting you."

Alex didn't reply. The belt swished down again, and he bit his tongue so hard that he tasted copper.

"Allie," Thomas crooned, and Alex felt him rest the belt over his legs and bend down. "Would you like me to take off this blindfold?"

Alex opened his mouth but remembered at the last second and nodded instead.

"There's a good boy," Thomas said, hooking a finger around the blindfold and tugging it down to cover Alex's mouth. "And good boys get rewards, don't they?"

A muffled sound came from behind the cloth and Thomas lit up in rage. Angrily the belt smacked him over and over again until Alex lay on the floor with a broken wrist because of the cuffs and bleeding profusely.

"Don't talk," Thomas said, puffing angrily. "Don't say a word."

Alex opened his eyes, but closed them soon after. He just wanted to die.

Suddenly, his eyes flew open at the intruding sensation at his back entrance- not today! He couldn't handle it now! He screamed again as Thomas grabbed him roughly.

"Oh, Allie," he moaned. "Allie."

"Alex..."

"Alex! Alexander!" Thomas shook him.

No, not Thomas. Someone else? Alexander looked up, blinking away the tears and the blurriness. Lafayette?

"Alex," Lafayette said, grabbing his arm. Alex's brain caught up with him and he writhed to get out of the French teen's grip, but he didn't let go. Lafayette shifted between Thomas and his regular self, and somewhere he knew he was still having a panic attack. But that didn't matter. He fought back a scream at all costs, Thomas's imposing figure threatening to do unspeakable things to him.

I thought I was safe, he thought, flinching desperately away only to be caught by Thomas again.

"You are safe," a voice said, and once again Alexander struggled to realize that it wasn't actually Thomas. "You are safe, Alexandre. See? It is me, Lafayette. Breathe with me, mon ami. Breathe, ready?"

Everything tingled, and Alex wondered briefly if Thomas was cutting off his air supply again before his brain wrenched him back to Lafayette, who was counting softly. "One, two, three, four," he started slowly, breathing in and out with each number. Alex tried, but everything was still too blurry and those hands were just too there, threatening to trap him and choke the air out of him and beat him and hold him as he's being used and caressing his hair and smacking him and-

"Breathe, Alex! One, two, three-"

Lafayette was cut off by Alex's scream. His panic increased by tenfold. He wasn't supposed to scream. He wasn't supposed to make noise. Thomas was surely going to kill him. He had been doing so well, too. He was going to die. Death was here, finally.

The last thing Alex saw before the darkness came was Lafayette screaming down the stairs for someone to come help.

Okay, yes, it's a cliffhanger, but I decided I wanted it here. I feel like this is a good place to stop. In case it's slightly confusing, Alexander has a panic attack because he realizes he's coming back to the person who hurt him just like he had with Thomas. He makes noises during said panic attack, and Laf comes out because he's wondering what's going on. Thomas and Lafayette just happen to look a lot like the same person (wonder why) and Alex can't tell the difference right now. He can't breathe, which is why Laf tries to count with him. Lafayette is holding onto him because I know that when I get flashbacks, it helps me to be held by someone in order to be brought to the present. It sucks, but it works well. At least for me.

Alex has finally made noise... What happens now?