Koon's POV

I stepped out into the hall, turning to see Charlie's retreating figure. Luis followed me out, and gasped when he saw Adam. I inhaled sharply as I saw him, too. It wasn't a pretty sight.

He was writhing in pain on the floor, and as I stepped towards him, he flinched involuntarily.

"Adam?" I spoke softly, kneeling so as to meet him at an even level. I didn't want him to feel intimidated.

He grunted a response, and I supposed he must have recognized me, because he didn't seem happy to see me.

Luis stood behind me, peering over my shoulder, looking close to tears. Adam whimpered, and I lifted his shoulders off the floor. He looked at me strangely, and I picked him up.

I carried him into the dorm, with Luis nipping at my heels.

"Is he okay? Is he hurt bad? Will he be okay? Is he even alive?!"

I turned, with Adam still in my arms. [1] "Will you shut up?!" He did.

I put Adam on his bed, and went to the bathroom to get a damp facecloth. When I came back, Luis was crouching next to him, stroking the back of his hand and whispering into his ear. Adam wasn't paying attention to him, but was looking at me. It was almost as if he were trying to tell me something.

I walked over the where Luis was, and snorted. He looked up at me, his eyes wide.

"You lousy coward…get the hell out of my way." I shoved him, and he sat, shuddering.

I sat on the edge of Adam's bed, and wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead, brushing his bangs back, off his face.

I brushed the cloth slowly up his cheeks, and his breathing began to steady. I could feel the tension in him begin to subside, but not completely.

His eyes, still watching me, almost suspiciously, averted suddenly, to Luis. I followed his gaze, and after staring Luis down, looked back at Adam. He blinked at me.

"Make him leave." He whispered, and I nodded, getting up. Luis knew I meant to kick him out, so he scurried towards the door.

"Okay…okay…leaving." Then he disappeared out the door. He was nothing but slime and I'd thought so since the day I met him.

I walked back to where Adam was, and sat down again. The sweat had re-gathered, and I wiped it off again with my cloth.

He looked at me as if I had grown a second head, and I stopped, looking at him questioningly.

"Something wrong?" I cocked my head at him, and he giggled. I squared myself to him, trying to do anything that would set him off laughing, or anything that might cause him to hurt himself. From what I'd heard, his ulcer was pretty serious.

"It's just…this is a side of you that I've never seen before. You seem so…" He paused, leaving it unfinished and searching for the right word. Silently I tried to guess what it would be. Idiotic? Sappy? Wimpy?

"…Sensitive." He concluded, and I blushed.

I didn't know whether it was a good thing, or a bad thing. He giggled again, and caught my hand.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." There was something in his tone that held an obvious melancholy. He seemed unusually calm, too.

I squeezed his hand, then released it. I must have still been flushed, because he put his hand to my forehead. When I looked at him, he, himself, seemed concerned.

"Are you okay, Koon?" His tone held compassion…I was jealous of it. He could be emotional, and it was kind of obvious that he often was…. I wanted to be able to have that kind of freedom. - I longed for it.

"Yeah…I'm fine." I looked at him, leaning forward. "Are you?"

He nodded, patting his stomach with pride, and almost as if he were imitating an expecting woman. "…Pain comes and goes, he just triggered a spasm." I nodded slowly, a realization beginning to form in my mind.

Charlie did this.

My attitude suddenly changed, and I tried to be patient and sit there with Adam, but I couldn't. I got up, and Adam followed me with his eyes.

"Are you leaving?"

"No…" I muttered, "Not just yet."

I was looking around the room. I'm not sure why, but I thought maybe if I could find something to talk about, I could understand Adam better.

I knew the all-star hockey player, with war paint under his eyes, and a puck in hand…I knew Banks, but I didn't know Adam. I didn't know the sensitive, intelligent, charming teenager that he was…all I knew was the bullheaded Banks. I had misjudged him entirely, and now I felt guilty, and ashamed at the way I had treated him before.

On his dresser, was an ancient-looking book. I picked it up, and raised my eyebrows at it. I opened it up and red from an age-stained page.

"Weep no more, my blessed king,
for your suffering shall be short-lived.
Cease your cursed unending cries,
for, sir, not yet all is lost.
In beauty, truth and sometimes love…
Feelings may wither, but never die." [2]

Adam, who had begun to doze off, now stared at me unblinking. There were tears in his eyes. I put the book down abruptly.

"Sorry." He shook his head.

"Please, don't be."

I frowned, and looked at the door. I knew what I had to do. Why had I let Charlie take him out there to begin with?

"I'm glad we had this talk, Adam. I'm glad you're okay…but I have to go…" Make that bastard pay, that is.

He seemed to read my thoughts, and as I turned to leave, he called after me.

"Don't be too hard on him, Koon." I looked back at him, with a knowing smile.

"Okay…get some rest, you hear?"

"Yeah, okay."

I left…in search of Charlie.

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[1] Kinda like the sound of that *grins*

[2] All rights reserved to moi!

I will try and get another chapter up as soon as possible! I will be gone May 31-June 3 on a trip with Maine Magic… We're going to Regionals [for the *counts* seventh time!] Wish me luck!