Part III (Fayt)

"Fayt!"

Albel calling my name….tired.

"Faaayt.." some thing warm and wet moved over Fayt's ear.

Mmm, so soft…..feels good. He moaned and slowly opened his eyes to find Albel leaning over him, licking his ear.

"Finally," Albel muttered, "This place opens in an hour."

Fayt scowled. "I wanna sleep, Albel."

Albel smirked and kissed Fayt, tongue flicking into his mouth before he pulled away. "Well we have to get out of here. Wake up."

"Well I wonder whose fault it is I'm so tired, hm?" Fayt sat up. "Tired and sore." His lover shrugged and kissed him lightly.

"On the bright side, someone left an unlocked car outside and dropped their keys next to it. They're just begging us to steal it."

"Albel, the McDonald's door is locked. Shouldn't we hide somewhere in here?"

"I noticed and broke a window."

Fayt raised an eyebrow and stood up slowly. "Off we go then."

Albel took Fayt's hand and helped him out the window, leading the boy to a beat-up white Toyota. It appeared to have been made quite a few years ago and has numerous small dents in it's side. "What now?" Fayt asked, climbing into the passenger side of the old car.

"I dunno," Albel replied, starting the car, "School?" Fayt shrugged.

"If nothing else, it'll keep us out of the cold." Fayt wasn't too happy about the prospect of sitting in a hard school chair all day, but he would manage somehow. Better than sitting around in the snow all day.

Albel nodded and sped off towards the school, arriving in a matter of minutes. The couple stepped out onto the school grounds, where students were mingling and talking. They were greeted by a familiar face approaching- Sophia Esteed. She was insanely popular, and still wanted Fayt.

"Fayt!" She squealed, running up to the boy and hugging him. Albel made no move to stop her, watching in mild amusement as Fayt pushed the girl away.

"What do you want?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, just saying hi." She winked and leaned in closer to Fayt.

Stupid girl. Can't Albel make her go away? Fayt glanced up at Albel, eyes pleading with him to make her leave.

"Hey Sophia," Albel called.

"Yes?" She smiled sweetly at him.

"Fuck off. Fayt doesn't want you." Albel's voice was plain and emotionless.

"Since when? Me and Fayt are good friends."

Albel smirked and answered in a low voice, "Me and Fayt are very good friends. Now fuck off."

She glared at him unconvincingly and shot back, "No need to yell at me because you think Fayt's in love with you. Poor Fayt, you're always dragging him around."

Fayt laughed dryly. "Maybe I am in love with him."

"It's ok sweetie, you can admit your feelings for me any time." She smiled and placed her lips on Fayt's.

Albel was quick to react, pushing Sophia off of Fayt and kicking her easily to the ground. She screamed and heads turned towards the three of them. "That," Albel announced, "is what happens when anyone but me kisses Fayt. Got it?"

Sophia's friends rushed to help her up, glaring at Albel and whispering. He smirked and wrapped an arm around Fayt's waist. The two walked into the school silently.

Afterwards the day at school passed fairly uneventfully. A few people congratulated Fayt on Albel's performance, saying they hated Sophia. He assumed they were too scared to talk to Albel- crowds seemed to be parting for the older boy everywhere he went, people whispering as he went by.

Fayt was more focused on going home than the attention Albel was getting, however. After a night away, he wasn't sure what his family would do when he showed up alive and unharmed. When they final bell he was dreading rang, Fayt ran outside to find Albel yelling at another student. He recognized the blonde boy as one of Sophia's admirers.

"Albel!" Fayt called out.

The black haired boy looked up for the voice and, finding Fayt, pushed the boy he was yelling at down and kissed Fayt softly. "Ready?"

"No, but I won't ever be."

The blonde boy was back up, taunting Albel. "Ohhh, got your GAY LOVER there?"

This earned him a firm punch in the face.

"Anyway," Albel continued, "I kept that car. Better than walking home."

The couple climbed into the stolen car and Albel took off, way above the speed limit. Buildings flew by, Albel skillfully driving under a red light. Fayt thought he heard a crash, but they were going to fast to be sure.

Albel screeched to a halt in front of Fayt's house. "Remember, I'm here for you if things get bad." He grabbed the back of Fayt's head, wrapping his fingers tightly in Fayt's thick, blue hair, and their lips met. Fayt felt Albel's tongue slide between his lips and run lightly over the roof of his mouth. He pulled Albel in closer, his tongue rubbing against his lover's gently.

Fayt broke the kiss, taking a deep breath. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too. I'm here for you."

Fayt got out of the car and got all the way to the door feeling calm, like he was watching a love movie with himself and Albel and everything had to turn out ok. Shakily, he rang the doorbell. His father answered. "Oh, look. You came crawling back."

Peter's voice called in the background. "Is it the girl scouts? I could go for some Samoas!"

Fayt's father spat on the wooden doorstep. "It's your faggot brother." Fayt suddenly remembered the boy laughing at Albel, and wished he had the guts to punch his father in the face. "Well, come on in." The blue-haired boy stepped inside and his father slammed the door, shoving Fayt into the living room. Peter hopped off his favorite chair and slowly approached his brother. Fayt felt his father pull his hands behind his back and firmly hold them there. Peter slammed a fist into his stomach, and Fayt did his best not to flinch. Be strong like Albel. He took the punches, green eyes angry and determined.

"You're….too bold," Peter remarked, disgust in his voice. "You won't be like this for long. We'll break you down and build you up into a real Christian man Like us." Fayt responded only with a defiant glare. He received a firm punch to the back of the head.

The days all began to blur together to Fayt. He would wake up nearly every morning to find Albel waiting to sneak him away. They skipped school often so no one would question Fayt about the bruises. It seemed he was always finding himself with more of them- most days when he went home his father and Peter would beat him senseless, or until Fayt gave in and pretended to faint.

Albel was adjusting surprisingly well. Where before he had been somewhat rough with Fayt, often slamming him into walls or tables and making out with him, he was now almost uncharacteristically gentle. He seemed to know where all the painful bruises were and avoided them. Fayt was both surprised by and grateful for his sudden gentleness.

December 17th was a particularly cold day. The ground had frozen the night before- Fayt had woken up where he fainted the night before, shivering at midnight and crawled into his bed. Snow fell heavily onto the ice covered ground, giving it an almost peaceful wintry look. Fayt woke up to the sound of Albel honking his car horn loudly outside. He hopped out of bed gladly and ran out of the house, unnoticed by Peter who sat at the table eating cereal, and met his lover. Immediately, Albel was kissing him softly and rubbing a hand over Fayt's unbruised right hip.

"Mm, Albel…you know I'm too beat up."

Albel sighed and reluctantly pulled his hand away. "They're really breaking you. I promise, someday, you'll get better. I'll take you away from here."

Fayt nodded. How is it he can live with that uncle every day and still have time to worry about me?

Albel's voice interrupted his thoughts. "So how about we ditch this place and spend the night somewhere else?"

Fayt nodded instantly. "Yeah, let's go. Where to?"

"I was thinking grocery store."

"Good idea." Albel slammed the gas pedal, somehow avoiding other cars as he sped off, often in the wrong lane. "Where did you learn to drive like that?" Fayt asked curiously.

Albel smirked and replied, "When I was younger I decided to run away once. I knew I wouldn't last long, but I didn't really care. I just wanted away from here. So, I stole my uncle's car. I ended up lasting a few months before the police found me and dragged me back here. No idea how I lasted so long. But it sure taught me how to drive, hm?" He laughed dryly.

"How old were you?"

"I was eleven." Albel swerved into the parking spot a soccer-mom-looking woman was about to take. "Slow bitch," he remarked. Fayt climbed out of the car slowly, wincing as little as he could. The pain must have shown anyway. "New bruises?" Albel asked sympathetically. He nodded. "Damn family."

Fayt made his way up to the store, his left leg in pain where it had been kicked repeatedly the night before. Albel gave him worried looks the whole time, but said nothing. They reached the store, and Albel quickly found a corner hidden from view by large stacks of soda. Making sure no one was watching, the couple crawled in. Fayt sighed peacefully, setting his head on Albel's lap, and fell asleep.

It was dark when Fayt woke up. "Albel?" he whispered.

"I'm right here," came Albel's reassuring voice. "You slept for so long, I was worried…"

"You? WORRIED!"

He laughed and retorted, "Well when my little uke sleeps from 7 until 10, I get to be worried."

Fayt smiled, though it was too dark to see, and was inwardly glad Albel was worried. At least he cared. "10 AM you said?

"10 PM."

"What! Why didn't you wake me up sooner!"

"We were sitting behind a bunch of soda waiting for a grocery store to close. You didn't miss much." Fayt sat up and yawned, running a hand through his messy hair. "Come on, let's get out of here. Grocery stores have alcohol and I've been sitting here watching you sleep all day."

Fayt crawled out of their corner and into the dimly lit store. Albel wasted no time in finding a fridge full of beer. He snatched a carton out and took one. The two set off walking down the store aisles, Fayt feeling considerably better. "Why the fuck do they sell condoms at a grocery store? I'm not terribly turned on by food," Albel commented, "Oh, and greeting cards. What am I going to write? 'Hi, I'm buying cookies.'" He took a swig of beer. "Anyway," he grabbed a loaf of bread and sat down, "let's eat."

Fayt nodded and shoved bread into his mouth, eating quickly- it had been a while since he'd had a decent meal. Albel watched him, looking oddly affectionate and gentle considering how he normally acted. Fayt could feel red eyes scanning him carefully. Albel reached out and ran a hand over Fayt's rib cage, which he knew must stick out slightly.

"You're not getting enough food are you?" Fayt looked down, avoiding Albel's eyes, and shook his head. "Damn," Albel muttered. There was a silence. "How much longer do you think you can last?"

Fayt's sad eyes met Albel's. "They'll have me dead by Christmas. They say if by Christmas Eve I'm not better, they don't want me hanging around any more. I'm ruining their reputation."

Albel's crimson eyes burned with anger and hatred. "Then we have to get you away from here," he said firmly. "Soon. We could steal money and drive off. I could kill people for money or something."

Fayt considered it. True, it would be easy enough for Albel to live like that. But would his family search him out and kill him? And if Albel did get hurt, he would have to fend for himself. "Do you think we'd last much longer out there?"

"Fayt, they're going to KILL YOU by Christmas! You've got around a week to live! Dammit, what will I do if you die? It's only thanks you I'm alive!"

Fayt didn't respond for a while. He opened a beer and took a firm swig of the drink, staring at the floor. "Maybe it's better I just die now. You can go and survive on your own. Look at me now, all beat up. I won't last. I'll weight you down." There was a brief silence. Fayt looked up at Albel. The other boy's eyes were confused and hard to read.

"I'm sorry," Albel said, voice filled with regret and self-hatred.

Fayt was confused by this statement. "Sorry! For what?"

"If it weren't for me, you might not have ever known you were gay. Maybe without me you'd have a lot longer to live than a week." He laughed dryly. "Yet without you, I'd be dead by now. It seems either way, one of us was destined to die. Dammit, why not me? I wanted it." Albel took a firm swig of beer.

"It doesn't matter now. I'm the one with the death sentence and you're the one with the strength to live. I'll be dead by Christmas." I want more time with him. He knows plenty about death. He's tried to die. "Albel?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know enough about death to die yet."

"It's not much. Of course, I can't be sure. An end to everything. Just- nothing. Ceasing to exist. It's inevitable, but hard to understand until you're nearly there, or want to be there. By Christmas Eve, I'm sure you'll understand."

Their eyes met again- Albel's sad, frustrated and angry now. He leaned in, kissing Fayt passionately. All Albel's emotion and energy came through in that kiss, his tongue reaching out to touch every part of his lover's mouth. Fayt wrapped his hands in Albel's hair, pushing the two of them onto the floor with Albel below him. He breathed heavily, lips still barely touching Albel's. Albel's arms wrapped around Fayt carefully, and their lips met again, the kiss lasting longer this time, both boys stopping only occasionally to breathe.

"Fayt…I don't want you to die." Albel kissed the boy again briefly, before gently sitting up, with Fayt on his lap, legs on either side of him. He pointed outside, and Fayt turned around, sitting between Albel's legs with his back to the boy now.

It was morning already. The sun was in the sky, but clouds hid it- only a few rays of light peeking through proved it had risen. "It's a Sunday," Fayt remarked. "They'll want me to go to church and try to 'accept God's help.'" Albel sighed and stood up.

"Then let's go." He took a knife from his belt and threw it at the window, which shattered. The couple crawled out, Albel retrieving his knife. They got in the old car and took off, whizzing past other cars. As they reached Fayt's house, Albel slowed. "Don't let them get you. If you need me…don't be afraid to stop by, ok?"

Fayt nodded and crawled out of the car, stepping onto the white lawn. Albel sped off, and he was alone. Taking a deep breath, Fayt crossed the lawn, climbed the two steps to the door, and rang the doorbell. No one answered. He pushed it again, and this time the door flew open. Peter stood in the doorway.

"You. You missed church to sleep with a man. You'll pay." Peter grabbed Fayt's arm and yanked his brother inside. "Mom's on vacation. We've got all the time we need." He punched Fayt firmly in the jaw. The blue-haired boy swung back, only to have his arm punched down by his brother's stronger fist. Their father came down the stairs, yelling about too much noise. He saw Fayt, and their eyes locked.

"Well, there you are." He firmly kicked his son's leg. "We're very disappointed in you. You slut." Fayt closed his eyes, allowing them to beat him until he collapsed, as usual. This time it seemed to take forever, though it felt like they were punching harder. "Get the knife," his father's voice commanded.

The knife! Are they going to kill me now? Albel! He heard footsteps, presumably Peter's, leave and return.

"Are we going to finish him now?" Peter's voice asked.

"No, not just yet. I think he needs to see some of his own blood to come to his senses."

Fayt felt something cold and sharp run down his arm painfully. Something wet and sticky followed. Blood- his own. Albel I need you! The knife ignored his mental screaming and criss-crossed all over his chest and stomach. Blood flowed freely over him. Fayt felt something hard, probably a fist, collide with his head. ALBEL!

He woke up on the garage floor, still bleeding. I must have just been tossed in here…There was little blood on the floor and a dull ache in his head, proving his theory. Thankful he had woken up, Fayt slowly crawled towards the door, pushing the button to open it. I have to get to Albel. Cold air blew in painfully on Fayt's bare chest- his shirt had been sliced off, but be stumbled out into the snowy landscape.

The ground was covered in a layer of smooth ice, causing Fayt to have more difficulty walking. He fell down at the end of Albel's street. "Come one, just a few houses down," he encouraged himself. Fayt clawed his way up the sidewalk and to the front of the apartment building Albel lived in. No one passed by him. Fayt was now covered in blood, dripping the red liquid in a trail as he climbed the stairs.

He dragged himself down one last hallway to apartment 5b. He raised one bloody hand and pounded on the door. The sounds of a TV were blasting from the apartment. "Who the fuck is it?" The voice wasn't Albel's.

Fayt struggled to answer. "Albel…" was all he could manage.

"It's for you, Albel!" the voice yelled.

After a few moments the door flung open and Albel stood in it's place, looking annoyed until he saw Fayt. "Fayt! What did they do? You look so…come on in." Fayt looked up at him for a moment before stumbling in. "Can you talk?"

Fayt answered the best he could, and still his voice cracked slightly, "Yeah, kinda."

"We need to get you to a hospital. You'll die otherwise."

"No! They'll ask questions, and my family will be pissed and disown me instead of paying the bill. Look, they have to get rid of me or it'll ruin their reputation." Fayt broke into a fit of coughing. "So let me die now."

"Hell no," Albel answered determinedly. "I've got a plan Your family will take you back. I know I said one of us has to die- well, it won't be you." Fayt weakly threw his arms around Albel, who hugged him briefly before turning to a man on a couch, glued to the TV. "Rex!"

The man turned to Albel. He had black hair that was a little too long and shaggy, falling almost to his broad, muscular shoulders. The man was tough-looking, with sharp brown eyes and a scar on the right side of his face that ran from his ear to his mouth. From his place on the other end of the room, Fayt could tell he smelled of cigarettes. "What the fuck do you want?" he asked in a rough voice.

"I'm taking him to the hospital. If his family stops by, tell them I apologize for my awful behavior in taking their son's innocence and to tell the hospital I beat him up."

"Why should I help you?"

Albel let go of Fayt, setting him on the floor and stood in front of his uncle, hands pinning the man to his chair. "Because, dammit, Fayt's going to die otherwise. I have a plan, so follow it, you bastard."

Rex laughed slightly. "Nothing in it for me. You're mine without that Fayt kid hogging you."

Albel rolled his eyes and leaned in, his face inches away from his uncle's and their hips touching. "I'll be yours this once if you help."

Stupid uncle, agree or I'll die right here! Fayt not only wanted the man to agree so he could get to a hospital, but he wanted Albel away from him. He was putting his faith blindly in Albel's plan- it was all he had. Albel seemed to know what he was doing, too. Rex was falling into his trap, slowly but surely.

"Once?" The man asked skeptically.

"Twice, maybe." Albel casually moved his hips, grinding against the man so his shirt lifted slightly to reveal a slim waist. His uncle quickly agreed.

Fayt was scooped up by his lover, who dashed to the stolen car which sat outside. Laying Fayt down gently in the back seat, he hopped in and took off, muttering, "Fucking pervert."

"Albel…what's the plan?" Fayt asked weakly.

"To make you look straight," Albel replied, veering to the right to avoid another speeding car.

"What, so I'm suddenly going to turn straight?" Fayt asked skeptically.

Albel sighed and answered, "You'll see. What matters is if it works you'll live." Albel pulled up next to the hospital, grabbed Fayt and dashed inside, calling out, "Alright, he's about to die!" A tall redheaded nurse immediately took Fayt and, with surprising strength, ran off down a hallway. Fayt saw several rows of rooms flying by before the nurse entered an empty one and set him down on a clean, white bed.

The nurse set about poking around Fayt, covering his chest in bandages and changing him into a pair of fresh white pants once she was sure there were no cuts on his legs, before asking his blood type. "B," he answered and she scurried off, returning with a machine Fayt thought would pump blood into him. He turned out to be right.

After hooking Fayt up, she added, "You're underweight, do you eat?"

Unsure of Albel's plan and what he should say, Fayt answered, "Sometimes."

With a worried nod, the nurse attached him to an IV. She sighed and continued, "And you've got bruises all over you. This screams abuse to me. Who was that boy that brought you in?"

"My…lover."

"Mmhmm….does he hit you?"

Albel ran in at that moment, saving Fayt from risking ruining his plan. He turned to the nurse instantly, asking "Will he be ok?"

"He looks pretty hurt, so he may have to stay awhile. Now," she continued, "you're his lover, correct?" Albel nodded. "He looks abused. Do you know who did it?"

"He won't say. I think maybe he just gets into fights, but it could be abuse."

"Does he eat enough?"

"Oh, he eats enough to live, but not a whole lot."

"So he's not trying to lose weight?"

"No."

The nurse smiled. "Well, that's all. I'll leave you two to talk."

Albel approached the bed as she left. "Do you feel alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah. I'll live."

Looking relieved, Albel exhaled slowly. "You scared me. A lot." He breathed deeply. "But I have a plan. We can't pretend there's no abuse- it shows. But we can let your parents blame it on me. That's so when you act straight, you can say you were bullied into all this by me. Tell them I forced you to sleep with me, ok?" Fayt nodded. "Good. Don't start confessing yet, though. I'll be out of the way suddenly- you'll know when it happens. Then tell them this was forced. No matter what, stick to the plan. Sure, they're extremists, but I think I've got your family's minds figured out. Or at least your father and brother. They'll start begging their God for forgiveness. You'll be accepted right back in."

"What about you?"

Albel smirked and replied, "I'm not the one in the hospital bed with blood being pumped into me by machines, am I?"

Fayt sighed. "But you're the one who's going to be stuck with your uncle even once I'm fine." The two boys stared into each other's eyes. Please save yourself. The door swung open and Peter and Fayt's father walked in.

"We said what your uncle told us to. Blame's all yours. They should be around to look into it tomorrow," Peter informed Albel, who nodded and silently walked out of the room.