Shit goes down guys. It all goes down.

Enjoy!

Merlin was sitting on the floor of the stage with Gwen and Morgana. Today they were going to find out which play they were going to act out. Merlin was, of course, nervous that if he got a part, he would have to perform in front of a crowd. He liked literature and had always liked the idea of being a part of it all. But as backstage help. Gwen and Morgana were going on about if it was some romantic play that they would want to be the lead actress. Ugh, girls. Merlin hoped he could maybe help with the props. He liked painting, so it was something he could enjoy doing.

Their teacher finally made her way down to the front row of seats to wear her desk sat. "Hello class. Are you all excited?" She was grinning and holding a pile of scripts tight to her chest.

A small murmur of voices came from behind him, where as Morgana and Gwen were giggling in excitement. Merlin just rolled his eyes, but secretly he was jumping up and down inside.

"We will be doing the play of Much Ado About Nothing, a Shakespearean play. I will be having auditions for parts over the weekend and will pick parts on Monday. Here are the scripts." She passed out the packets and looked at Merlin as he was handed the last one, she was grinning. "I expect to see you all there. The class is dismissed for the day."

Merlin stood and went to grab his backpack that was waiting for him backstage. He had read the play before and it was one of his favorites and was really excited.

"Merlin! Wait up!"

He turned to Morgana and Gwen running over to him, both wearing the biggest smiles. Morgana got to him first and slid her arm through his own. "You excited?" Gwen had reached the other side of him but wasn't showing how much she wanted to jump up and down in glee.

"I guess so. This is one of my favorite stories, I have to admit." Merlin could feel the small blush creep up.

"Then you have to try out for a part!"

"Yeah, Merlin! Come with us to audition on Saturday!"

Both girls were clinging on him, staring up with those big puppy dog eyes. He couldn't say no to them. "Fine. But I can't promise to try that hard."

Morgana rolled her eyes and Gwen just giggled. "We wouldn't expect anything different, Merlin." They both ran off.

"Hey!" Merlin scurried off after them hoping he wouldn't trip and fall. His clumsiness always made an appearance during these times. As he rounded the corner to see them only a couple feet away, Merlin ran into someone, sending them both to the floor.

"Watch where you are going!" The man yelled.

"I'm so sorry, let me help!"

"Just get away from me, freak." The man stood and swung his bag onto his shoulder. He was at least half a foot taller than him.

"I was just trying to help." Merlin frowned and crossed his arms.

"Maybe you shouldn't be running like an idiot in the hallway."

"Whatever. I'll just get out of your way." Merlin went to step around the man but was pushed up against the wall, feet dangling above the floor.

"Oh, you aren't getting off that easy."

Merlin was now worried. Nobody else was in the hallway because they were released early. Just perfect. "I said I was sorry."

"Sorry isn't good enough. You need to be told whose in charge here." The man pulled his arm back to bring it back with a force that knocked the air out of him, dropping him to the floor.

Merlin curled himself up on the floor and winced as a foot kicked him right in the stomach. A hand gripped his shoulder and lifted him up. A fist met his face and another. Merlin finally gave up and fell over in defeat.

"You better not find yourself in my sight again." The man left and left Merlin in a poorly lit hallway.

Something dripped on his chin, Merlin lifted his hand to his lips and found it red. And that he could only see out of one eye. He had the hardest time to open the other. Picking himself up, Merlin dragged himself to the closest bathroom to see the damage. The lights flickered above him and he turned to find him staring back in the mirror. "Oh, god." His lip had a gash down the middle and was currently bleeding down his chin. A dark black ring started to take form around his left eye and it was swollen shut. He lifted up his shirt to see a small bruise on his lower abdomen. Merlin knew he couldn't go to class like this so he strut off to find the nurses office.

Inside the small room, a older man stood at one of the counters. He had a white coat that reached his knees. Merlin coughed to break the silence in the small space.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't hear you." The man had on glasses that magnified his eyes, making Merlin smile.

"I'm sorry to have startled you." Merlin but his bag on one of the chairs lined up against the wall.

"What in the world happened to you."

"Bumped into the wrong company." Merlin smiled as the other man just shook his head and chuckled.

"So what's your name?" The man started digging through bandages and other medical items to find something to help clean up his lip.

"Uh, Merlin Emrys."

"Well, Merlin. I'm Gaius and lets get you cleaned up and on your way."

"Yes, sir!" Merlin smiled and hopped up onto a tall stool that sat next to the counter.

"Emrys is a unique last name. Your mother's name doesn't happen to be Hunith?" Gaius started to dab at the cut with a alcohol soaked cotton ball.

"Yeah, why do you know her?" Merlin winced every time it stung.

"She's an old friend of mine. I haven't talked her in awhile." Gaius gave him a small pat on the shoulder. "Now, it will take awhile for it to heal, so don't do anything to stop that process."

"Thank you, Gaius." Merlin jumped down and picked up the pen on the desk and a small piece of paper. "Here's my house number if you want to talk to my mother. I'm sure she'll be happy to." He picked up his bag and walked out to the doorway.

"Thank you, Merlin."

Merlin turned back to give a small smile before entering the hallway. it was still at least twenty minutes until classes ended and Merlin didn't want to sit through the rest of his classes looking and feeling like this. He figured he could go back to the dorm room and take a nap.

"What is Arthur going to do once he sees this?" Merlin muttered under his breath. Shit.

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