Finn's bullying
Prompted by jamessuttonlover: what if, on the 12th August 2014, Ste had overheard Finn and JP's fight at The Hutch but hadn't interrupted them?
John Paul's whole body trembled with a combination of fear and fury. Finn was looking him straight in the eyes and it took everything within John Paul not to flinch or show any signs of weakness. Finn already knew that he had a hold over him, and John Paul had previously told him that he wasn't going to be bullied by him any more, so he wasn't about to give Finn the satisfaction of proving that he was still frightened of him over six months since the attack.
"You pathetic, weak-" Finn snarled
John Paul couldn't control his anger at that moment so his natural reflexes took over and he shoved Finn away violently, "Back off!" he exclaimed.
Finn looked taken aback by John Paul's response, but John Paul was too full of emotions to think rationally, and he stormed towards Finn, causing him to cower slightly.
"What, you think because you hurt me you can just keep intimidating me?" he continued, eyes fixed and voice full of rage.
Finn realised that John Paul had power over him in that moment, so in order to salvage it again he quickly recovered and stood up straight to look John Paul in the eyes, "You deserved everything that happened to you" he hissed
John Paul took a step back and shook his head, "No" he responded quietly, all of his dominance ebbing away, "No-one deserves that"
Finn smirked smugly, "How many times do we have to go over this?" he asked apathetically, "You were asking for it"
"Nobody asks to be raped" John Paul breathed.
Neither Finn nor John Paul realised that Ste was standing just outside the kitchen. Ste, frozen with shock, overheard this conversation and was tempted to enter and confront them. However, just as he had made the decision to do that, Finn barged through the double doors with a proud expression on his face, not even noticing Ste. Ste watched after him, deliberating whether to follow him or go into the kitchen to check on his boyfriend. Eventually, he glanced through the circular window in the door to see John Paul taking deep breaths and sipping water from a glass. In total shock from what he had just found out, Ste slowly left The Hutch, not bothering to remove his apron or warn the customers.
xxx
John Paul entered his house and leant against the front door, sighing in exhaustion from his encounter with Finn and having to take over at The Hutch, and he was also annoyed because of having to cover Finn and Ste's shifts without explanation as well. All John Paul wanted to do was go to bed, wrap up in his duvet (despite it being the height of summer) and never speak to or see anyone ever again. 'No such luck' he thought to himself as he remembered the fact that he lived with a number of loud-mouthed women who were unlikely to give him any peace. Reluctantly, John Paul traipsed into the living room and was surprised to spot Ste sitting on the sofa with a grave expression on his face. Marlena was watching him worriedly.
"Oh, hey" John Paul greeted his boyfriend, trying to hide the disappointment in his tone. Ste didn't respond immediately and continued to stare straight ahead of himself.
"Sort your fella out" Marlena insisted, "He's had that same expression since he arrived"
John Paul nodded and crept over to Ste, "What's wrong?" he asked
Ste glanced up at John Paul, then at Marlena, "Do you mind giving us a minute?"
Marlena raised an eyebrow, "You youths and all your relationship dramas" she began, rolling her eyes, "Why can't things ever be simple with you lot?"
John Paul smiled slightly at his nana's attitude as she ascended the stairs. He cautiously sat down beside Ste and rested a hand on his knee.
"Tell me what happened" he instructed softly, then looked anxious, "is it about your parents, or drugs?"
Ste shook his head, "It's about you" he whispered, "and Finn"
Although he was horrified by the idea that Ste knew that Finn was the one who attacked him, John Paul tried not to give it away and nonchalantly responded, "What about me and Finn?"
Ste leant in closer, "I know it was him that raped you" he hissed
John Paul's face became pale but he shook his head, "Why would you say that?"
"Because I heard you guys talking in the kitchen" he muttered, then raised a hand to stop John Paul from speaking, "And don't even dare try to change the subject by accusing me of eavesdropping, this is way more important"
John Paul gulped and Ste lowered his voice, "I know that he was the one who did it" he watched John Paul carefully, noticing his fixed expression, "You don't have to say anything, just nod your head or something" he instructed.
John Paul avoided his gaze and Ste could actually see his boyfriend's inner conflict. On the one hand, John Paul couldn't admit the truth because he was still so ashamed of himself and was scared of what Ste might do, though most importantly he was scared of what Finn might do if he confirmed Ste's suspicions. However, keeping it to himself was slowly tearing John Paul apart, and he realised that revealing all would feel as though a weight had been lifted, and he knew that he could trust Ste to keep it to himself. Slowly, John Paul nodded and Ste - although not surprised - was completely devastated so he reached out to rub his arm comfortingly. As Ste's hand made contact with him, John Paul flinched and shuffled away.
"Don't" John Paul whispered
"Don't what?" Ste questioned, "I just want to make sure you're alright"
"'Alright'?" John Paul repeated, "Of course I'm not alright"
Ste cleared his throat, "Well I'm gonna change that" he asserted determinedly, standing up.
"Wait, what do you mean?" John Paul asked, beginning to panic
"I'm gonna teach that little rat a lesson" Ste replied grimly.
John Paul stood up opposite him, shaking his head, "You can't. You don't know what he's capable of"
Ste snorted, "He's a teenager, he can't do anything to hurt…" he suddenly broke off as he noticed John Paul's crestfallen expression and realised that his boyfriend was still ashamed of the fact that Finn had managed to hurt him the way he did.
"I'm sorry" Ste whispered regretfully, "It's just that we need to do something"
John Paul tentatively took a step towards him, "We don't need to do anything" he insisted firmly.
Ste was outraged, "You mean you want to let him get away with it, let him parade around the village as if nothing's happened?" he cried, the volume of his voice rising, "You do realise you're putting everyone at risk having a rapist living here, don't you?"
"Keep your voice down!" John Paul hissed, "Look, just keep it to yourself, ok?"
Ste shook his head, "No, not 'ok'. I can't keep quiet about this"
John Paul gritted his teeth, "You can and you will" he ordered
"Is that a threat?" Ste asked warily
John Paul avoided his gaze, "It's an ultimatum" he replied coldly
Ste shook his head in disbelief, "I really don't get you sometimes" he responded before pleading, "John Paul, please talk to me"
John Paul held his gaze for a moment before collapsing onto the sofa. Ste carefully lowered himself down next to him.
"I'm scared, Ste" John Paul admitted tearfully, "Finn's just a kid and I hate being frightened of him. He has this hold over me and I can't do anything about it"
Ste stared at his boyfriend sympathetically, "But you can do something" he reassured him, "If you report him to the police then he can get exactly what he deserves and you can get the power back"
John Paul shook his head, "I can't, not yet" he argued, voice barely above a whisper, "I need to do this in my own time"
Ste nodded reluctantly, "Ok, I get that" he agreed, "But you can't keep it to yourself. We both know what keeping secrets can do, especially one like this"
John Paul nodded and Ste thought to himself, "Luckily you're not keeping it to yourself anymore"
John Paul glanced at him quizzically so Ste elaborated, "Now you've told me so you've got me for however long you need. I'll always be here, I promise"
John Paul smiled in relief, "Thank you" he whispered, "And I'm sorry for giving you an ultimatum, that was unfair"
Ste shrugged, "It was, but don't worry about it now" he reassured him. John Paul stroked his cheek before kissing him softly. At that moment Marlena came down the stairs and both of the men pulled away, looking panicked that she may have overheard their conversation. However, her cheery disposition suggested that she was still oblivious to what was going on.
"Don't let me interrupt you two love-birds" she began, strutting into the kitchen, "I'm just glad you've sorted out your petty dramas"
Ste and John Paul shared a knowing look and Marlena tutted, "There aren't any clean plates! You Gen Y kids are such a disgrace"
John Paul stood up, "It's ok nana, Ste and I will wash up"
"We will?" Ste questioned, irritated.
"Yes, we will" John Paul insisted firmly, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to the sink.
Ste sighed as he grabbed a dishcloth, "Fine, but you're washing and I'm drying"
John Paul smiled and winked at him before grabbing the first plate and proceeding to wash it. He was grateful for a distraction as trivial as washing dirty dishes with his boyfriend so that he wouldn't have to think about his ordeal. John Paul realised that everyone would find out the truth sooner or later, but he could trust the fact that Ste wouldn't be the person responsible for that, and hopefully John Paul would be in control of how it would be revealed.
Thanks for reading! And thanks to jamessuttonlover for the prompt. I know you were probably expecting this to be in 'The Aftermath', but because of the continuity the story had to go slightly AU so I made the decision to upload it here instead; I hope that's ok. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this, and please feel free to leave requests, reviews and prompts!
