=Normal POV=
[Saturday, 5/11/2019; 6:00 am]
[Archian City; Hospital]

Hayden slowly began to wake up as if his body internally registered that it was time to despite how tired he was. Hayden opened his eyes to look over and see Gabriel sleeping in the chair, arms draped over the sides and slouched. Hayden checked the clock, finding that it was 6 am, and it dawned on him that he didn't have his pills. There was one extra in his wallet, for situations like his 18th birthday when he didn't have one while at Trayden's. Hayden didn't want that to happen again, so he made sure to always have one on him for emergencies. Hayden carefully adjusted and winced at the pain, causing Gabriel to flinch and wake up.

"Hm?" Gabriel sat up quickly, looking around. "Laddie, you're up," he pointed out.

"Y-Yeah…Can you help me get my wallet…My spare pill is in there…I didn't have one last night, and now I'm…Getting a little edgy…" Hayden admitted. Gabriel could see it too, Hayden looked nervous and had started to shake. Gabriel got up and got Hayden's wallet out of his back pocket for him. Hayden opened it up and located his pill in a small clear bag; he quickly took it and tried to relax.

"Give it a little time to kick in, son," Gabriel rubbed Hayden's shoulder.

"Ow…" Hayden tensed.

"Sorry. Forgetting that you're all sore right now…" Gabriel frowned.

"When can I go home…? I-I wanna see Spencer…" Hayden asked.

"Um, I'm not sure, but I'll find out okay. Sit tight…How do you feel?" Gabriel asked.

"I think I might have a concussion…I feel sick; there's pressure in my head… I see flashy spots, mind if all fogged up…I'm tired…" Hayden closed his eyes, frustrated and fatigued.

"Doctor said you might have one…Alright, I'll go see what we can do about getting ya released and home," Gabriel said, carefully patting Hayden's left leg, knowing there was no way he'd feel anything since it was a fake one. Gabriel left the room as Hayden tried to relax a bit. Fifteen minutes passed before he returned and with the doctor on staff. Hayden already knew where this was going, and if it got him out faster; he didn't care.

. . .

[8:15 am]
[Berk; Raseri Home]

The friends were all up, not they got a bunch of sleep due to worrying about Hayden. Gabriel never updated them last night, but Dustin said that it was late, and perhaps Gabriel just forgot in his concern for Hayden's well-being. Rachel took care of Spencer, changing and feeding him at 6:30 am.

"Tray…Try to relax…We're all worried about him," Syrus said. Trayden ignored it; nothing was gonna keep him from being concerned about his boyfriend of almost seven months. Rachel was working on making breakfast as Dustin helped and the girls were keeping Spencer preoccupied with toys. There was a knock on the door as Dustin went to answer it.

"Gabriel, good morning," Dustin greeted.

"Hi, Dustin…" Gabriel sighed.

"How's Hayden?" Dustin asked.

"Released, out in the truck right now. I came by to grab Spencer," Gabriel informed as Dustin let him inside to go get Spencer and his diaper bag.

"Can we go see him?" Trayden hoped.

Gabriel sighed a bit. "I'd give him some space for a few days, kids. Unfortunately, he's not in the best state right now; physically and mentally,"

"Did he…Hurt himself?" Syrus asked, hoping it wasn't the case.

"No, but he was hurt last night," Gabriel informed. "I'll explain quickly because I don't want to leave him by himself too long until I better gauge where he's at mentally," he said while lifting Spencer into his arms.

"How is he right now?" Rachel asked.

"Hard to say. He's…Quiet, which worries me. You know, knees up, arms around them, quiet, looks depressed," Gabriel informed. "That's how he's been since this morning when he woke up at 6 am and asked if I'd get his emergency pill for him. He missed last night's dose because of what happened, but he was unconscious until 2 am, and still tired, so it didn't affect him all that much. But he's almost like he was when he got out of the foster care. Withdrawn, quiet, reserved, only speaking if he has to…"

"What happened last night?" Evan inquired.

"Hayden can't remember, which I find difficult because that boy's memory is stellar. I don't think he wants to talk about it, but the doctor believes he was mugged based on all the injuries…Hayden said nothing was taken from him because he locked everything in the glovebox of his car and alarmed it, so I'd call it more of being jumped," Gabriel informed.

"How bad are his injuries?" Trayden asked softly, worried about his boyfriend.

"Concussion, left wrist is broken, two cracked ribs on the left, one bruised on the right. He's covered in cuts, scrapes, and bruises. He has a black and blue mark under his eye; the swelling has gone down since last night, though. He's looking at about eight weeks for total recovery," Gabriel stated.

"And he doesn't want to see anyone?" Rachel frowned.

"I don't know; he won't talk. I assume with the way he's sitting with his legs up and arms around them, though, that he wants to be alone. He said he wanted his son, so that's why we came here right after getting back to Berk," Gabriel shrugged.

"Poor Hayden," Alicia frowned. "You think he'll be okay for school Monday?"

"Well, it's almost Finals Week; he won't miss those. I think maybe he needs a few days to settle, and cope with things. I'm sure it'll come up in therapy on Monday or Wednesday; I forget which day his falls on next week," Gabriel said.

"No problem, we'll give him his space," Trayden nodded. "Just let him know we're here for him?"

"I will," Gabriel nodded. "Dustin, thank you again for all your help finding him last night,"

"My pleasure. Let me know if Hayden remembers anything and wants to press charges. My officer who went last night to the cemetery said that the groundskeeper did have cameras after all. The person from last night was new and didn't know, so we may have the incident on camera, but won't pursue unless Hayden wants too," Dustin informed.

"Thanks again, and for watching Spencer all night. Best be getting home now," Gabriel smiled a bit and headed for the door. After Gabriel left, Trayden looked out the window, seeing Hayden in the front seat all curled up in himself looking depressed.

"We're gonna have to see how he is in school, try to help without pushing him," Syrus offered.

"Absolutely," Trayden nodded. "I can't believe he got attacked…Who does that in a cemetery? That's so messed up. Hayden tries to mourn the loss, and he got jumped? I'd be upset too,"

"But Hayden is more than upset, son. He's already had to deal with so much, and he's trying to recover from all that. Throwing something new on around a time of year that is already difficult won't be easy. Hayden doesn't like feeling weak or defenseless; this is something else that happened outside of his control despite an attempt to likely fight back and stop it. Losing control of his life and unable to stop things from happening was his biggest problem before, so keep an eye on him," Rachel stated.

"Got it," Trayden nodded. And he definitely would because he didn't want Hayden to feel like he didn't have anyone again. Hopefully, this incident would cause Hayden to relapse in his depression, but if it did; the friends would not let Hayden fall.

. . .

[Monday, 5/13/2019; 6:50 am]
[Berk High School]

The friends did not hear from Hayden at all Saturday or Sunday, but at least Friday they learned Hayden went to the cemetery alone to mourn his parents, and then on Saturday morning by Gabriel, that Hayden was injured in an attempted mugging at the cemetery between 6 and 7 pm, then taken by ambulance to the hospital. Gabriel got to the bottom of why he never received a call, and it was because Hayden didn't have any identification on him upon being admitted to the emergency room. The only reason the name was known when Gabriel came is that the officer went to the hospital and asked where the patient who had brought in was, stating that it was Hayden Haddock.

Something had been messed up in the paperwork, the only contact information for Hayden on file at the Archian City hospital was his parents, who were dead. Gabriel forgave the mistake and updated things while he was there, but hopefully, there would not be another incident like this. It was Monday morning now, back to school. The friends weren't sure if they'd see Hayden or not, but Gabriel had made a point on Saturday morning that Hayden wouldn't miss school because Finals Week was starting on the 20th, which was next Monday.

The friends met in their spot and began to chat as always. "Here he comes," Ford pointed out softly. Hayden walked up quietly; he was wearing black jeans, sneakers, a red long-sleeve shirt, and a brown hoodie sweatshirt. The hood was up and shadowing Hayden's face, so they couldn't see much.

"Hey, babe," Trayden went in to greet him.

"Hi…" Hayden said quietly.

"Missed you," Trayden tried.

"You too," Hayden replied.

"We getting together for practice this weekend?" Syrus inquired.

"If you want," Hayden responded.

"What time or day is good for you?" Katie asked.

"Doesn't matter. Work it out amongst yourselves and when you've come to a consensus; text me," Hayden remarked as he reached into his hood and pulled out a cigarette out from behind his ear; then set it between his lips and lit it with a black zippo lighter.

"You seem pissy today…" Tyler stated.

"What was your first fucking clue?" Hayden snapped.

"Your attitude," Rylee muttered. "We didn't do anything to you…"

"And I never did anything to anyone else, but my parents ended up murdered, I ended up in abusive foster homes, tried to kill myself three times, and no matter how much I do; the hits just keep coming, and I can't stop them. I can be upset and cry about it, feeling the hurt and pain, or I can be pissed off and not feel a damn thing. I think you can figure out what option I went with," Hayden scoffed, taking another drag.

"What's wrong, babe?" Trayden asked softly. Hayden let out the smoke from the drag he took before he got off the wall and pulled back his hood, revealing the injuries to his face.

"I love you to death, babe…But I know what you're trying to do, and while I appreciate it…I don't need any comfort right now. Don't take my words or behavior as hate towards any of you. I'm not mad at you; I'm mad at the world, and this is just how I've chosen to deal with it this time. Alright? I don't want to talk about it; I don't need anything in particular right now other than you accept that this is where I'm at for the moment because I'm trying hard not to snap and go back to the other place. I don't want to go there again because if I do; I might not make it back a second time from how I feel right now…But being ticked off is keeping me from falling back to where I was, so if you want to help me feel better…Just let me be pissed, okay? If things change; you'll know. Until that happens…Just let m-me be how I am…" Hayden said.

After that; Hayden flipped his hood back up and turned his head away from them. "Alright…Alright, we'll back off, baby. It's okay…Don't get upset. We're here if you need us, you know that," Trayden said calmly. Hayden managed a nod while taking a drag; the others could see that Hayden was shaking a little. Trayden looked at the others, telling them with his eyes not to push things. The others agreed, not wanting to see if Hayden got any angrier or make the situation worse.

Hayden only smoked half of his cigarette; then put it out and tucked the remaining half away for next time, which would likely be lunch hour. There was still three minutes until the warning bell, so now Hayden was sitting quietly against the wall with one leg up and hands in his hoodie pockets.

"Hey, Hayden?" called a voice as Hayden glanced up a bit to see Marcus standing in front of him.

"What," Hayden said coldly.

"What happened to your face?" Marcus asked.

"Marcus…Today is not the day to be doing this…" Trayden warned.

"I'm just curious. Kid talks a big game about fighting, but looks like someone showed him that it was all talk," Marcus shrugged.

"I am not in the fucking mood," Hayden stated.

"If you'd stop hanging with losers; you be in the fucking mood, wouldn't you?" Marcus chuckled. "Come on…What happened?" he asked.

"None of your business. Fuck off," Hayden remarked.

"Marcus, stop," Trayden ordered.

"Oh, shut up. I ain't afraid of him…" Marcus ignored Trayden.

"Dude, bad idea. Leave Hayden alone," Syrus warned.

"What's he gonna do? Nothing. Looks like he can't do shit to defend himself. Someone did a number on you, boy," Marcus laughed, flipping Hayden's hood back. Hayden's eyes were closed, remaining as he was. "Come on…What happened?" he pushed Hayden a bit.

"Touch me again, and I will hurt you. I will straight up punch you in the face and put you to sleep," Hayden said.

"Pussy. You ain't gonna do shit," Marcus shoved Hayden again, making him hit his head on the brick building. Hayden winced a bit as it happened to hit where it did on Friday night. "Did someone put you in your place? Did Tray decide to be the dominant one by showing you he's-," Marcus never got to finish as Hayden grabbed the front of Marcus's jacket and whipped him around into the wall that Hayden had been leaning on.

Hayden held Marcus in place, off the ground with an arm against his throat. "What happened to me is going to happen to you if you don't back the fuck off and get out of my face. Got it? I've warned you countless times to stop, and you persist. This time…I will not hold back," Hayden warned before letting go and stepping back.

Marcus rubbed his throat a little, now with his feet on the ground. Hayden went to walk away as Marcus grabbed his shoulder. "Don't you walk away from me!" he ordered. Hayden reacted almost instantly to being grabbed; he whipped around, using his left arm to knock Marcus's hand off his shoulder, then grab his arm and twist it before letting go. "OW," he howled. "You said you were gonna punch me in the face and put me to sleep!"

"You calling me a liar?" Hayden asked as he grabbed the front of Marcus's shirt and punched him right in the face with his right fist. Hayden let go as soon as his fist made contact, Marcus hit the ground on his back. Marcus looked up at Hayden, though it looked like he had the wind taken out of him. "Don't bother getting up. Have a good rest, and maybe when you wake up…You'll remember not to fuck with me again," almost instantly after Hayden said it; Marcus passed out. "See what I fucking mean by it never stops?" he grumbled angrily now. The friends felt bad too; they saw it no problem now. Hayden really did never catch a break.

"Hayden Haddock!" came the voice of Amy Mayden. The bell rang as a bunch of students dispersed from the area, leaving only Marcus, Hayden, the friends, Miya, Devon, Evan, Bryan, Aaron, and Amy present in the Breezeway. "Fighting is strictly against school rules!" she scolded.

"He started it," Hayden said.

"You knocked him out!" Aaron motioned.

"Oh, stop. He'll be up in about two minutes; I didn't hit him hard enough to need a hospital, though I could have if I wanted to. I only used enough strength for a reality check. I didn't do anything wrong; he put his hands on me first, and I'm injured," Hayden informed revealing his wrist in a brace, his face, and midsection.

"I'll second that," Trayden said. "Hayden defended himself,"

"Hayden was mugged on Friday night; he's got a broken wrist, two cracked ribs, and a bruised one. He had a concussion too, and Marcus shoved Hayden into the wall," Syrus stated.

"Hayden only defended himself, Miss. Mayden. I was standing here the whole time," Miya stepped up. Marcus started to wake up and set himself up.

"Marcus Knight…One week of detention for bullying Hayden," Amy stated. "And three of them will be extended school detention,"

"Son of a-," Marcus growled.

"Finish that sentence, and you will be making it two weeks!" Aaron glared.

"Hayden…Despite defending yourself, you still threatened and knocked out another student. You will also join Marcus in detention for three days. One of yours will be an ESD as well," Amy said.

"Whatever…You're gonna have to let me out at 5:30 pm," Hayden stated.

"ESD is until 6:30 pm," Aaron remarked.

"And I take my second pill at 5:45," Hayden argued.

"It can wait until you are home," Amy sighed.

"No, it can't actually," Hayden stated angrily, though; he winced from the pain in his head. Hayden's stance faltered a bit as he brought his right hand to his head. Trayden went next to Hayden and let him lean against him. Trayden happened to see blood on the back of Hayden's head.

"Miya…He's bleeding in the spot that hit the wall…" Trayden said now. Miya came over and inspected it.

"Looks like an old wound that reopened," Miya mentioned.

"Ha-Happened Friday night…That's the place that hit and caused the concussion…" Hayden mumbled.

"I think he has another concussion," Miya looked at Amy. "Hayden, do you have a severe headache, like pressure-feeling? Dizzy? Tired? Ringing in the ears? Nauseated?"

"All…Of the above…" Hayden closed his eyes. "I feel like I'm gonna throw up…"

"Will you make it to my office?" Miya asked. Hayden felt the vomit rise in this throat, but he swallowed and went to nod to Miya. However; the feeling came right back as Hayden brought a hand to his mouth.

"That's a no," Trayden said as he got Hayden to the outside trashcan on the other side of the wall. Tray took the cover off as Hayden puked twice. There were a few seconds of pause before it happened again. "And for the record, Miss. Mayden and Mr. Ogglebert…Hayden can't miss his second dose of meds; they are his anti-depressants, and without them, he starts freaking out and shaking within fifteen minutes. Things can get worse the longer he goes without it."

"I was unaware," Amy sighed. "Hayden is permitted to leave ESD early tonight,"

"I don't think he should even be here," Miya said. Hayden threw up again after two minutes. "He's in no condition to be at school with his injuries, and now, another concussion. They can take an hour to days to heal from depending on what kind it is…Hayden might have been mostly recovered from the first one where he lost consciousness, which would be grade three. This looks like grade one or two…Which can take hours, days, even up to a week until symptoms disappear," she explained.

"It isn't fair to give him detention. Marcus has been giving Hayden crap for months; this was the first time he's ever retaliated…" Bryan mentioned. "And it was in self-defense. Hayden is injured…As Syrus named everything off. Marcus started it,"

"I got it on camera," Tyler mentioned, flipping his phone around to show Amy and Aaron.

"Hayden needs to go home and rest," Miya stated firmly.

"He can't drive," Devon chimed in.

"I'll take him home in his car, my little brother has his license and can take mine back at 2:30 when the day is over," Trayden informed.

"After seeing that video; it does appear Marcus was given ample warnings to stop and persisted. Hayden was provoked and attacked first. And Marcus knew he was hurt; Hayden did only defend himself," Aaron shrugged.

"Very well. Hayden; you are to go home until your concussion is gone. You won't miss any work; it's all review for finals. I'm certain you're not missing any assignments. Trayden, you will drive him. And when you return Hayden…One day of ESD, permission to leave at 5:30 pm to get home to take your medication," Amy stated. "Marcus…Your punishment stands as is," she added. "Now…All of you to class!" she ordered firmly.

"Babe, you doing alright. Think you can make the ride home?" Trayden asked.

"I-I'll be fine…" Hayden nodded, pulling off the trash can and groaning. Trayden grabbed his spare shirt out of his backpack that he used to use for gym class; he kept it on the back of Hayden's head. "That's your shirt…"

"It's just a shirt, babe. You're bleeding, and we're closer to your car than Miya's office. It's okay; the blood will wash out…I'm not worried. Guys…Can you help him to his car? I gotta give my little brother the keys to mine," Trayden asked.

"Sure thing," Evan nodded as he went to get one side of Hayden, and Bryan the other. Devon held the shirt in place and got Hayden's backpack for him.

"Take care of him, Tray," Alicia said.

"I will," Trayden nodded as he headed into the school, heading for B-Hall and locating Dex's class. Trayden opened the door and stepped in. "Sorry for the interruption, Ms. Dex…I need you to take yourself, Eliot, and Aria home in my car," he strolled over and gave his brother the keys.

"Where are you going?" Dex asked.

"Too long of a story to explain. Hayden has a concussion and can't drive himself, so I'm taking him home in his car. You need to take mine for me," Trayden said.

"No problem," Dex nodded. Trayden smiled and headed out of the class to get to the student lot. Trayden reached Hayden's car, sliding in the driver's seat and buckling up.

"We gave him a bucket just in case and used his first aid kit to wrap his head with an ice pack and bandages," Devon informed.

"Thanks, guys. See ya later," Trayden said as he got the keys from Hayden and started up the convertible. Trayden backed out and headed down the road out of campus, then towards Gabriel and Hayden's place.