A/N: This chapter contains dark themes that may be uncomfortable for some viewers. Just warning you now...
"Travis, where's your kitchen tongs?!" Jace shouted from the kitchen, Travis wandering in from the laundry room. "What's wrong?"
"The tongs, where are they?!" Jace growled, angrily opening drawers and cupboards, rummaging through the silverware and utensils.
"Um, I think they're in the dishwasher." Travis frowned at him as he watched, brow raised at his behavior.
Jace growled and slammed the cupboard shut, opening the dishwasher, glaring inside. "Hmmph. Thanks." He grabbed them out and turned to face Travis with a sort of smirk. "You finished with the laundry?"
"Um, yeah, yeah, all done." Travis smiled softly, Jace coming up to him with a smirk.
"Good, cause that means we can make out now." He wrapped his arms around Travis and pulled him close, quickly kissing him deeply, surprising Travis, who pulled away.
"Um, heh, okay, uh a little warning next time, maybe?" He chuckled softly, Jace pulling him closer again.
"Just shut up and kiss me already." He huffed, kissing him again, a little roughly, Travis frowning this time as he pulled back.
"Whoa, hey, okay, um, Jace honey, are you okay?"
"I will be if you just kiss me." Jace frowned at him, grabbing at his arm, Travis flinching away, suddenly concerned.
"What?"
"You heard me!" Jace snapped with a growl and Travis flinched, gasping as Jace grabbed him by the arm tightly, frowning a little fearfully at him, suddenly reminded of Zack.
"Jace, you're scaring me a little." He frowned, pulling at his arm, Jace not letting him go.
"Just kiss me already, then!" He gruffed, shoving Travis up against the wall roughly, startling him, frowning up at Jace with big eyes as he held him against the wall, Jace already kissing him again deeply, cupping Travis's face with both hands, holding him there.
Travis frowned and almost whimpered a little, not sure what was going on, eyebrows furrowed as he kissed Jace back, but only faintly.
Jace finally stopped kissing him and let him go, smiling down at Travis as he patted his shoulder, walking away as if it had never happened, Travis baffled, not sure what to make of it, staring at him.
Jace was fine after that, but a few days later, the same type of thing happened, while they were out to eat at dinner, Jace suddenly very anxious to get home.
Travis smiled faintly at him in confusion. "What's the rush? We've hardly finished eating."
Jace was already getting out a fistful of cash, getting up. "Let's just get home, alright?"
Travis didn't understand. "Jace, what-"
"Let's just go, Travis, alright?!" Jace snapped as he reached down and grabbed Travis tightly by the arm, pulling him to his feet and towards the door.
Travis frowned, stopping. "Jace, what is the problem?" He asked seriously, flinching when Jace turned, his expression irritated.
"Don't be stupid, Travis, let's go." He huffed, walking out, dragging Travis with him, who went with him in confusion, wondering why Jace had been acting this way lately.
Over the next few days, Jace's temper was easily triggered, Travis not even knowing he had a temper, baffled as to why Jace hollered at him and smiled less, seeming so distracted, only seeming to want physical intimacy now, their conversations becoming less and less frequent.
He had gotten much rougher too and Travis was getting worried, not knowing why Jace wanted to kiss him so roughly or even just holding hands with him, he was rough now.
When Travis tried to ask him about it one evening, expressing his concern, it did not go over well with Jace, who turned to look at him, a fire in his eyes.
They were in the bedroom and Travis was getting changed, shirtless when he popped the question, frowning at Jace's reaction, who was slowly coming over.
"You know what, Travis?" He started in a soft voice, grinning at him. "I've been worried about you too."
He suddenly grabbed Travis and pushed him, shoving him onto the bed roughly, Travis gasping as Jace was directly ontop of him.
"I've been worried," He growled, glaring down at him angrily. "Because you can't seem to mind your damn business!" He snapped.
Travis shook underneath him, gaping with big, fearful eyes, suddenly frightened. His mouth opened and closed nervously, stuttering in fear. "J-J-Jace, I-I-"
"Shut up!" Jace snapped, covering Travis's mouth with a hand firmly. "I don't wanna hear a word out of you, I just wanna kiss you and hold you and make love to you."
He took his hand away and Travis gaped in fear as Jace started to lean in for a kiss, quickly pushing at him, attempting to get up. "J-Jace, I don't think-"
Jace growled and quickly pushed him back down, his hands on Travis as he began to kiss him roughly, moaning softly. Travis frowned deeply, not kissing him back, trying to get up but Jace wouldn't let him,. His kissing got rougher and rougher, rolling Travis over, getting into a more comfortable position with him, Travis still struggling to get away.
When Jace finally quit, Travis panted, looking at him fearfully, Jace just grinning at him and lying down, saying good night, leaving it at that, Travis staring at his back in complete perplexion, wondering what he should do, if he should do anything.
He thought about it throughout his entire shift, grinning at Jace a little nervously when he picked him up at the station afterwards, taking him out to a movie. And Jace was fine the entire night, he was just like his old self; Travis didn't know what to make of it.
It was like all of a sudden Jace was undergoing impulsive mood swings, acting one way this time, completely acting differently another time.
But Travis wanted Jace to be the perfect guy he fell in love with all the time, not angry and rough at random times when it was least expected.
He just hoped whatever this was, would all pass over soon and he could have his old boyfriend back again.
After the movie, they were walking up to Travis's home happily, holding hands affectionately, when Travis suddenly spotted Zack on his porch, his fears instantly returning, shocked.
Panicking, Travis looked at Jace immediately. "Jace, Jace, th-that's the guy! H-He's here!"
Jace looked up with immediate anger, balling his fists quickly, eyes going narrow. "He's here? I'll get him!" He growled, beginning to stomp up, looking quite aggressive, Travis recognizing how tough he came off as, sure he could take care of Zack for good.
He kept his distance, watching intently with an open mouth, heart racing, hoping Zack wouldn't hurt Jace instead.
Jace stomped up to Zack who stood upon his feet and Travis held his breath as he felt his heart stop, watching Jace raise his fist and wrap….an arm….around Zack….hugging him with a smile, greeting him warmly.
"Hey man, how's it going?"
"Jace, buddy!"
Travis gawked at the sight before him, not at all understanding, slowly coming closer cautiously, frowning deeply in alarm at Jace.
"Jace, what are you doing?!" He hissed at him, looking at them both as they turned to face him, each grinning.
"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Jace started. "Zack and I are old friends! In fact, we're so close, he asked me to help him get back at his boyfriend's ex by pretending to fall in love with him and then hurting him when he least expected it…." Zack's voice got lower as he spoke, eyeing Travis gleefully as he stared at him, Travis's eyes going wide, realization striking him head on.
He was so shocked, he just stood there, shaking his head no, knowing there was no way that was true. "No, no, you're lying…."
"Are we?" Jace chuckled, pulling away from Zack, each smirking down at him.
"Grab him!"
Travis gasped and tried to turn away and run as they each reached for him but Zack caught him, wrapping an arm around Travis's throat, pulling him towards the door, Travis struggling to get away, terrified. "No no, no!"
Jace reached into Travis's coat pocket for his keys, Travis watching fearfully as Zack held him, whimpering when Jace unlocked the door. "No, no, Jace, why are you doing this?!" He cried, but didn't get an answer before Zack shoved him harshly inside, Travis landing on the hard floor.
He rolled to his back to look up fearfully as the two men closed the door as they stepped inside, Travis so afraid he wanted to cry, starting to back away, Zack and Jace looming over him.
"Pl-Please, Jace, I-I, I love you!" He pleaded, trying not to look at Zack, wanting his boyfriend to snap out of this, hoping this was all just some awful nightmare and that this wasn't happening.
"Heh. That's cute." Jace smirked with a low voice, him and Zack suddenly reaching down for him, Travis gasping, getting grabbed before he could get away.
They yanked him to his feet, Travis whimpering and squirming, the two shoving him into the wall, Zack punching him hard in the stomach with a laugh.
Travis yelped and quickly the two began to take turns punching him, Travis soon crying, falling to the floor as Jace knocked him down, crying out in fear as he was grabbed and pulled to his feet again, his arms held behind him by Jace.
Zack didn't hesitate to punch Travis as hard as he could, Travis gasping in pain, struggling not to fall down even though Jace was holding him up.
"Thought I was gone, huh?!" Zack shouted at him as he kept punching Travis, bruising his cheek badly. "You couldn't get rid of me! It was all part of our plan, sucker!"
He punched him again and Travis gasped, feeling his head spin, crying as blood ran down his face, seeing stars, not able to take anymore punches to his face, knowing he'd fall unconscious soon, whimpering out. "Pl-Please, please don't hurt me anymore!" He begged, the two just laughing at him.
"He's so cute," Jace laughed in his ear, Travis glancing up to see Zack raise his fist again.
"You said it!" Zack punched him hard and Travis cried out, hunching over, Jace dropping him to the floor, Travis curling into himself, crying with pain, hurting badly.
He felt hands grabbing at him and he cried out, not even knowing who it was that punched him, crying out as he fell to the floor with a thud, the hovering faces above him going blurry as he felt unconsciousness take him over, whimpering as he knew he couldn't black out.
"N-No…." He whimpered, but everything became black.
Travis blinked his eyes open slowly, feeling his head smarting badly with pain, groaning softly as he lifted his head, waking up, glancing around.
He quickly could see he was still in his house and as he came to his senses, he looked down to his legs, realizing he had been tied up to a chair, his arms tied behind him, ankles tied as well.
Panicking a little, Travis looked up with a deep frown, spotting Jace walking past, quickly looking hopeful. "J-Jace, Jace!"
He knew it must have all been a dream, that it was just Zack that had attacked him, there's no way his boyfriend could've been involved, Jace would never hurt him!
Jace looked at him and grinned, Zack suddenly coming in, standing beside him with a chuckle, Travis's heart sinking, devastated to know it was all real, that it had all actually happened.
He shook his head no, pulling softly at the rope around his wrists, frowning deeply at Zack and Jace who came closer.
"I-I don't understand," Travis whimpered, his face hurting badly as his entire left side of his face was bruised, blood still upon him.
"Ugh, please, how hard is it to understand?" Zack rolled his eyes. "I asked Jace to pretend to be your boyfriend so we could get back at you harder than ever. To break your heart like you did to Grant." He sneered and Travis gaped in disbelief, eyes watery.
"Pretend to be my boyfriend?" He looked at Jace with a deep frown, hurt, hoping it was just a joke.
Jace didn't answer, just giving him a hard look, mouth formed into a line.
"As-As in you never loved me?" Travis almost whimpered, wanting to cry as he watched Jace, who showed him no signs of sympathy, instead looking at him crossly.
Zack was just laughing as he watched. "This is just too good!"
Travis lowered his head, a few tears falling, longing for Michael right now.
There was a pause of silence as he sat there, crying quietly.
"S-So-So what now?" He whimpered sadly, frowning deeply, his heart shattered.
"That's the best part," Zack announced happily, looking quite pleased with himself. "You get to be the sorry little sad sack you are and we get to continue to have fun tormenting you!"
Travis looked up with tearful eyes, frowning a little angrily. "N-No way….!"
"No? Oh, well I guess that means we get to pay Victoria a little visit." Zack smirked coolly, Travis shaking his head no.
"N-No!"
"I've met her. She's very pretty. It'll be good to see her again." Jace smirked down at Travis with almost pride and Travis looked to him with a look of hurt betrayal.
"You wouldn't….!"
"Well don't tell anyone about us and we won't have to." Jace huffed, sneering a little.
"So, so you would just keep me here? Torment me here in my own home?" Travis choked out, wanting to get out and get away from them.
"Exactly!" Zack beamed. "Oh, it's going to be so fun! Revenge has never felt so good…." He mused to himself, walking off to the kitchen.
Travis sniffled as he looked to Jace sadly. "Jace, Jace please, how can you do this to me? After all we've been through?" He whimpered faintly, still devastated from the heartbreak.
Jace stared at him a moment, slowly bending down to his level, gently putting a hand on each of Travis's shoulders, looking him in the eye. "Oh Travis, it was so easy…." He said slowly, grinning after a minute, getting up to join Zack in the kitchen.
Travis watched him with an open mouth, feeling more tears silently fall down his face, lowering his head sadly, frowning deeply as he was both heartbroken, frightened and completely betrayed.
He frowned when he saw Jace and Zack coming back, sitting up, eyeing the rag Zack held in his hand.
The two came before him, each grinning at him, seeming to be in a conversation of their own.
"So, how was the movie?" Zack began to clean at the blood on Travis's face, who flinched, frowning at them with big eyes.
"It was alright." Jace stood near, watching, hands on his hips. "Didn't really care for it though."
Travis frowned up at him. "You told me you liked that movie…" He still couldn't believe all this; had Jace been lying to him about everything this entire time?
Jace looked back at him. "Yeah well, I lied."
Travis felt his shoulders slump, frowning as Zack dabbed and cleaned up the rest of the blood, holding back a sniffle, feeling like he had lost everything all over again. After all, he was practically losing the love of his life all over again, like he had lost Michael.
A ding from Travis's phone, the tone he set for Vic, suddenly brought him to attention again, eyes widening. "Vic, that's Vic! Wh-Where's my phone?"
Jace reached a hand to the counter, picking up Travis's phone. "With us, genius. You think we would just leave you with your phone?"
"Vic, Vic, I-I wanna talk to Vic!" Travis frowned at him, suddenly wanting his best friend more than ever.
"Puh. Yeah right, we're not stupid, Travis." Zack huffed, glancing between them.
"Please, just-just let me talk to her!"
Jace unlocked Travis's phone, having learned his password. "She says, 'Hey, how was date night? Mine was great. Wait until I tell you about Ripley.'"
Zack snorted and Travis frowned deeply up at Jace, quickly regretting telling him his password. "I-I wanna talk to her…."
Jace turned off Travis's phone, setting it down, huffing. "No."
"Please!" Travis almost begged, wanting to talk to someone whom he actually loved and trusted, needing to be comforted right now.
"Travis, that's enough." Zack gave him a look, warning him.
"No, please, I just want to talk to my best friend!" Travis insisted with big eyes, Zack suddenly slapping him across the face.
Travis yelped, startled with pain and fear.
"I said that was enough," Zack stated lowly, looking down at him with narrow eyes.
"Now, it's getting late, why don't you sit there awhile and then we'll all settle for bed, hmm?"
Travis frowned up at him, swallowing hard. "You-You mean, you're both going to sleep here tonight? In my home?"
Zack raised a hand as if to punch him. "Is there a problem with that?!" He growled and Travis got the message, flinching with a deep frown, holding back tears as he looked away.
"N-No."
"Good." Zack huffed with a mean look, walking away to the kitchen, Travis glancing up wearily at Jace who went to the living room without a word.
Zack came back over quickly, going behind Travis, who thought he might be untying him, only to find he was gagging him instead, frowning deeply when there was cloth between his teeth, Zack tying a double knot tightly around his head, coming back around to face him.
Biting down uncomfortably, already hating it, Travis looked up at him with big, scared eyes, whimpering softly at him, praying the man would just let him go.
Zack smiled at him with a chuckle, patting him on the cheek, Travis flinching with a whimper, Zack turning to go join Jace by the tv.
Now alone, Travis frowned even more, biting on the gag with distaste, lowering his head as he began to cry again, pulling weakly at the rope binding his wrists together, though it was pointless to struggle, the ropes much too tight to get free.
Travis had watched many tv shows when a character was captured and put into a situation just like this, tied up and surrounded by people who threaten and harm, with seemingly no way of escape, Travis knowing this was now him in this exact same situation, him the hostage, Jace and Zack his captors.
What was he going to do?
He wanted to call the cops or tell someone, anyone, that he was in trouble, but if he did, they'd go after Vic. He was in the exact same position he was in a month ago and he felt terrible about it. Except now it is Zack and his now fake boyfriend Jace who is hurting him.
He felt like running away, running away to someone who could help him and make sure neither of these two hurt him ever again.
Once again, Travis wished deeply for Michael, sniffling miserably.
He just wanted to feel safe and feel loved again, is that too much to ask for?
It had to have been at least an hour that Travis sat there, not able to do anything but look around and think to himself sadly, crying quietly, before Jace and Zack finally came back over.
He swallowed hard, looking up at them with a pleading look, beginning to wonder if he could run away after they each went to bed.
Jace came behind him, undoing his gag and starting to untie him, Travis holding his breath as he watched Zack in front of him fearfully, wondering if he could read his mind about wanting to get away.
Jace got him untied and Travis stood, attempting to dart away quickly, Jace grabbing at him from behind, Zack shoving him with a growl.
Jace getting ahold of him, Travis let out a sort of cry of defeat, jerking and pulling, but Jace pushed at him, urging him to walk, taking him to the bedroom, Travis frowning when they were inside.
"L-Let go of me!" He huffed with a growl and jerked, Jace holding onto him firmly, the two beginning to push at him, sitting him down at the end of the bed on the floor, Zack grabbing to get Travis's hands around one of the legs.
Travis jerked and pulled, not quite sure what they were doing but each of them held him and got his arms back, Travis soon feeling rope being tied around his wrists to the pole.
Breathing heavily, he glared up at Jace who was tying up his ankles now, still trying to jerk and get away, ceasing when Zack yanked the rope tightly around his wrists, too tightly, leaning his head back against the frame to glare at them.
"I don't even get to sleep in my own bed?" He growled lowly at them, eyeing Zack angrily, who smirked, Jace standing when he had finished as well.
"Well we thought about it and we thought it might be easier to have you tied up like this all night rather than…you know," Zack spread out his limbs to show what he meant and Travis understood, still frowning.
"You didn't have to tie me up at all." He muttered quietly.
"And let you escape or call the police at any given time?" Jace huffed and Travis glared at him, hating him so much right now.
"Hey, just be glad we considered you and that we're gonna go easy on you right now, you should be thanking us."
"Thanking you?" Travis asked in disbelief. "Thanking you?!What for, essentially kidnapping me in my own home and keeping me tied up and beating me up? Yes, you're absolutely right, Zack, thank you." He growled sarcastically, Zack's mouth forming into a scowl.
"There were a lot of me's in that sentence, Travis," He started, eyes narrowed into slits. "But perhaps you don't realize we're doing you a favor. After all, it doesn't matter what we do to you, no one's going to care! Besides, you deserve this."
Travis frowned up at him with an open mouth, looking at him as if he were out of his mind, about to protest when Jace spoke.
"Uh, Zack, perhaps I should just finish up here, you can go on." Travis glanced at him, but Jace just looked neutral, not showing much expression, with hardly any sympathy.
Zack looked up and seemed to raise a brow suspiciously, but nodded, looking again to Travis. "Alright. Nighty night Travis. See you in the morning for breakfast." He smirked, before walking out and Travis was left with Jace, looking up at him quickly.
"Jace, Jace, please you have to let me go," He pleaded softly. "What did I ever do to you? How can you do all this just to please Zack? Breaking my heart like this, pretending to love me?"
Jace bent down in front of him, giving him a sort of knowing look. "Travis, I'm not going to let you go." He said, talking lowly, looking him in the eye.
"But how? Why? I-I loved you! We-We had sex and made love together and you're going to tell me you didn't once feel a connection, after we got along so perfectly?" Travis looked at him painfully, eyes watery, searching Jace's expression with any hopes that he would snap out of it and help him.
Jace licked his lips, taking a moment before he spoke. "Travis, you're taking this too personally, stop making so much out of this."
Travis looked at him incredulously. "What?! I lost a husband and now I've just lost you! You can't just do this to me and not show any sympathy! Yesterday you cared about me and now you don't care one bit?!"
"Travis," Jace frowned a little, but not by much. "Stop overthinking this. I'm going to leave you now."
"Wait, wait, where-where are you two sleeping tonight?" Travis frowned at him, still hating that these two were going to be here all night.
"Zack's on the couch and I'm in your guest-bedroom, but that shouldn't concern you." Jace just stated, eyeing him.
Travis frowned at him, shaking his head, but at least neither one of them were going to be in his bed. "Jace please, you-you can't just leave me like this, please just help me…!" He whimpered softly, feeling his eyes tear up.
"Travis, I'm not discussing this with you anymore." Jace stated with a knowing look, reaching into his pocket.
"Please, I just want-"
"No. Now come on, open your mouth." He held out a handkerchief, Travis quickly shaking his head no.
"N-No, I-I don't want you to-"
"You don't have a choice now come on, make it easy on the both of us." Jace insisted, eyeing him closely.
"Or what? You're going to hurt me, now that I know you don't actually love me…?" He frowned, giving him a betrayed look.
Jace's eyes seemed to flicker in anger and he reached forward, getting the gag into Travis's mouth before he could protest, tying it into a knot around his head.
Travis bit down and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, a whimper escaping him as he lowered his head, trying not to cry, not wanting Jace to see, more devastated and pained than ever.
Jace eyed him, slowly grabbing his face softly with both hands, raising Travis's head up, who flinched, looking at him fearfully.
Jace studied him, smirking slowly. "Night Travis. See you in the morning." Was all he said, leaning forward, kissing Travis's forehead, shocking him. Jace then got up and left, closing the door behind him, Travis watching him go with big eyes, assuming the kiss must of been just another part of the act, making him frown deeply, especially now that he was all alone.
He glanced around and tugged a little at the ropes with a soft growl, frowning deeply when it was pointless, no way he could get free on his own, the rope tied much too tightly.
And with his ankles tied, there was no way he could break free, stuck there, Travis letting out a saddened sigh, looking up to the walls at his pictures of Michael.
He whimpered softly through his gag as he cried quietly, hanging his head sadly, feeling more heartbroken than ever.
He wondered if this was the worst time in his life, aside from losing Michael, for now he was all alone, hurting and worst of all, betrayed and surrounded by those who only wished to hurt him even further.
Travis slowly awoke when he heard voices, lifting his sore neck to look up, spotting Jace and Zack coming in, quickly making him scowl.
It must be morning, he assumed, Zack already grinning at him as they came over. Frowning, Travis tried to pull at the ropes around his wrists at an effort to somehow break away, growling faintly, but Zack and Jace already made it over.
Jace untied his ankles and then undid his gag and Travis spat it out, moving his jaw around painfully, sending a mean glare up at him as Zack got him free.
The second the ropes were off him, Travis leapt to his feet and took off, shoving past Jace, making a dash for it, hearing both men immediately protest behind him.
Panting, Travis made it out of the bedroom but an arm was grabbing at him, pulling him back and soon arms were wrapped around him tightly, stopping him, Travis jerking and kicking wildly, a hand going over his mouth to help keep him still.
"Oh so that's really how you want to start the day off now, is it?!" Zack growled into his ear as he held him, Travis muffling out a snarl into his hand, trying to elbow at him and shove him off, Zack suddenly shoving him roughly to the floor, landing on his chest.
Travis tried to quickly back up but each of them grabbed his arms, yanking him to his feet, dragging him over to one of the chairs by the dining room table despite his struggles.
"L-Let go of me! Stop it!"
They pushed him into the chair and yanked his arms back harshly, Jace holding them back firmly, Travis jerking and standing to his feet to get away, Jace growling as he did his best to keep him still. "Get the rope, man!"
Zack grabbed the rope from the counter, hurrying back over, each men pushing Travis back into the chair forcefully, Zack quickly beginning to tie his wrists together.
Travis growled angrily though he was scared, pulling as much as he could, Jace pushing him down when he stood on his feet again, panting as he shot him a mean glare.
Zack yanked on the ropes and came in front of him, letting out a snarl as he punched Travis as hard as he could.
"O-Ow!" Travis yelped in pain, wincing loudly, hanging his head, it hurting badly, feeling his cheek smart horribly.
"Nice job Travis, way to piss me off early!" Zack snapped, bending down to tie Travis's ankles to the chair, who no longer struggled, pained as he looked from Zack to Jace with a fearful look.
Voice shaking, his voice was now quiet and scared. "L-Let me go, please….you can't just do this to me…"
Zack sneered at him instantly, looking anything but pitiful. "Oh yeah, let you go so we can get thrown into the slammer, I don't think so."
"B-B-But I-"
"No, now listen, while we're here, there is no trying to escape, you understand?! Otherwise, we're going to punish you, so don't even bother trying to escape!" Zack punched Travis hard again, who yelped painfully. "Understood?!"
Travis nodded with big, scared eyes, holding back a few tears of pain, Zack already yelling again.
"And you do whatever we say, when we say it! We make the rules, pal!" Once again, he punched Travis, who cried out, tasting blood as his head began to smart badly.
"Zack," Jace frowned in protest, Zack whipping to face him. "What?"
"You shouldn't keep hitting him, he's got work tomorrow, remember?" Jace stated matter-of-factly and Travis looked up at him with a sniffle, wide-eyed.
"Oh, right. Sure, I guess, Maybe," Zack huffed with a drawl, not looking like he cared much, putting his hands on his hips. "Either way, we're in charge, we make the calls, you suck, we rule, everyone's happy, boom."
Travis frowned at him a little sadly, keeping his eyes downcast, hating to look at them, wishing they would just leave already.
"Okay uh, I'm going to start breakfast, Jace keep an eye on him." Zack huffed, going to the kitchen, Travis watching him with a frown, not wanting him in his kitchen at all.
He glanced over at Jace, swallowing hard as their eyes met, quickly looking away, feeling worse than ever. Jace went and sat down at the counter overlooking the kitchen, avoiding looking at him as well.
Travis glanced wearily at Zack in the kitchen, who was cooking away as if he owned the place, frowning as he watched him using some of Michael's pans, hating that he was still here.
Travis frowned and tried to pull against the ropes a little with no success, hanging his head to look at the floor, just forced to sit there while Jace was on his phone and Zack cooked.
He thought about Vic and Jack and the rest of the gang, wondering if he could ever tell them, if he'd be able to tell anyone at all.
Perhaps he could tell someone without having to worry about Jace and Zack finding out at all, but then whoever he told could get involved and then Vic….Vic would get hurt.
Travis didn't know what to do, feeling quite helpless.
Zack eventually got breakfast made and ready, setting the table and Jace came over to sit next to Travis, who frowned at him instantly.
"Can he sit somewhere else?" He looked to Zack, who set the last platter of sausages down, on the other side of Travis as well.
"Why?" Zack frowned at him, eyes going a little narrow.
Travis shifted a little uneasily in his seat, looking away. "That was Michael's spot."
Zack and Jace shared a look but Jace did not get up. Zack chuckled lowly, starting to dish up.
Travis looked up with a frown, watching them a little sadly. "A-Aren't you going to untie me so I can eat too?"
Jace smirked and Zack just grinned. "Silly Travis, you can eat without needing to be untied." He grabbed Travis's plate, dishing it up for him, making Travis frown in confusion, glancing at Jace.
"You want to feed him or shall I?" Zack quipped and now Travis frowned even more, quickly looking at Jace again.
"Go ahead." Jace answered quietly, not smiling nor frowning. Travis turned to Zack, unable to believe this. "You can't be serious."
Zack took a bite of his eggs, cutting up a sausage link, holding up a forkful at him. "Just shut up and eat, otherwise we could just not feed you at all."
Travis frowned at him with a sort of glare, looking at Jace who was just eating quietly, Travis not wanting to go along with this at all. But he was hungry and the food was all prepared and perhaps he wouldn't be fed again for some time, so reluctantly, he finally leaned forward and took the bite, not looking at Zack as he chewed.
Zack huffed with a smile and continued to eat and feed Travis as well, it being quite awkward for him, who felt extremely embarrassed, feeling like a helpless child now.
The two talked between each other and Travis stayed out of it, not wanting to be a part of their stupid conversation anyways. They weren't addressing him anywho, acting as if he weren't even there, save for Zack feeding him.
Finally, the stupid and humiliating event was over as they all finished, Travis hunched over in his chair, staring at the floor, eyes hard, not bothering to look up at them as they both stood, clearing the table.
"Hey Travis," Zack spoke up. "At least you don't have to worry about cleaning up or having to do things anymore, thanks to us."
Travis didn't answer, frowning from his chair.
After cleaning up and putting stuff away, the two came back, Travis looking up with a frown, wondering what nonsense they'd put him though now.
Zack grinned. "Okay! So, let's get you changed and then I would like to-"
A ding from Travis's phone came and Travis straightened, becoming aware. "Vic! That's Vic!"
"You can't talk to her." Jace almost growled.
"Why not?" Travis frowned, feeling desperate.
"Because you'll blab about everything, dipsh**."
"Please!"
"Travis, that's a no, now, Jace, you go and get him new clothes and I am going to go upstairs and go through stuff that isn't mine, ha ha." Zack huffed, already turning to go.
Travis looked to Jace with a frown, still hoping to change his mind about letting him talk to Vic. "Jace, please, can't you just-"
But Jace had already turned to leave, walking out and Travis frowned with anger, pulling at the ropes around his wrists desperately, hopping a little in the chair, wondering if he could get free, praying to, but the ropes were all but too tight.
He knew he wouldn't be able to go anywhere, but he had to try, though it was no good, his wrists badly sore and aching, hands shaking.
He panted heavily as he struggled, frowning as he didn't want to give up, but he eventually had to stop, hanging his head in defeat, wishing he could be stronger, like Michael.
Jace came back in and Travis frowned at him, giving him a sort of dirty look.
"I set some of your clothes in the bathroom. Now, come on."
He came over and started untying him, Travis tensing, trying to think of an escape plan.
Jace got the ropes off and Travis made to jump up and make a dash for it but Jace was quick and grabbed him, stopping him from getting very far, Travis jerking around the best he could.
"L-Let me go, Jace!"
"No way!" Jace snarled as he held him, dragging and pushing at him towards the bathroom. "Come on!"
Travis struggled but Jace was stronger than him and Travis didn't have all of his strength, huffing when Jace shoved him inside the bathroom.
"Go on then, get changed, do what you need to," Jace huffed, eyebrows furrowed. "Make it quick though." He closed the door then, loudly, Travis staring at it a minute.
How in the world could this all be happening? It was a nightmare, it really was!
It took a moment before he caught his breath and snapped back into reality, glancing at the pile of clothes Jace had set out, a pair of jeans and a navy blue top. He glared at them a little, but did he really have a choice?
He used the bathroom and took a quick shower, getting changed and brushing his teeth and hair.
Looking in the mirror, Travis couldn't believe the sight of his face, the bruises looking atrocious. His cheek looked awful, colored a very dark purple, even nearly black in some places, cut up and quite terrible.
Just the sight of it almost made him want to cry again, reminded of his reality once again, how awful it really was.
Would he look this bad tomorrow when he had to go to work? Would he have to try to explain again?
Travis's stomach tightened into a knot, tired of all this anxiousness, it getting to him.
He had to get out of here, he had to escape these two.
He couldn't get away from them both, but if only Jace was out there, him he could most likely evade.
Travis thought about it, taking in a deep breath, preparing himself, praying he could do this, that failure could not and would not be an option.
He thought of Michael, remembering his husband's determination and will, telling himself he has to be brave like him if he wants to fight and succeed.
Holding his breath, Travis opened the door and as soon as he saw Jace, he shoved him as roughly as he could, knocking the man to the floor.
Travis instantly ran for the front door, his heart pounding.
"Travis!" He heard Jace shout, going as fast as he could but he could hear footsteps behind him quickly.
He made it to the front door and ripped it open hurriedly, racing out.
All of a sudden, he was tackled down, slammed into, yelping as he landed hard on his porch, both him and Jace nearly tumbling down the front steps.
Scrambling to get away, Travis tried to leap to his feet but Jace was ontop of him, wrapping his arms around Travis quickly, trying to get ahold of him.
"Let me go!" Travis huffed as he squirmed and kicked, Jace grabbing at his face.
"No! Now get back inside!" Jace growled, struggling to get Travis to his feet, yanking on him.
He got to his feet but Jace held him by the arm, his grip tight, pushing him towards the door, making him stumble, panicking when he was nearly forced inside. "No!"
Jace got an arm around Travis's throat, dragging him forward, closing the door when he was inside, growling into his ear. "Stop it, Travis! That's enough!"
Travis twisted and squirmed, prying at Jace's arm around his throat desperately. "N-No! Now let. Me. Go! Gah!" Jace was not letting go, his arm choking him a little, Travis trying to elbow him to get away.
Zack suddenly appeared, looking cross. "What is going on here?!"
"Travis tried to escape!" Jace snarled, tightening his arm around Travis's throat, making him choke and cough, his struggling lessening.
"What?!" Zack snarled, quickly looking angry. "Damn you, Travis! Let's punish him!"
"Perhaps we shouldn't tie him up down here, let's bring him upstairs while we go through his stuff." Jace stated, holding Travis firmly, still choking him, though he half forgot he was, Travis coughly loudly.
"J-Jace…" He choked out, whimpering, pulling at Jace's arm weakly.
"What sense is that?" Zack snorted, not paying any mind to Travis either.
"Just trust me." Jace hissed, giving him a look.
Travis's face was white, on the brink of unconsciousness, coughing. "J-Jace…" He could barely make out the words, choking.
Jace finally realized what he was doing, frowning. "Oh Jesus, sorry!" He let go of him, Travis almost collapsing to the floor, gasping, a hand around his throat.
"Sorry," Jace muttered, Zack just rolling his eyes.
Travis leaned against the wall, gasping for air, coughing, looking at them with wide eyes.
"Whatever, let's just get upstairs then." Zack huffed, turning away.
Jace turned to Travis, who frowned at him, tensing with big eyes.
"D-Don't touch me…." Travis shook, panting, quite spooked, feeling as if he should run away right this second.
"Just come here," Jace gave him a look, stepping closer.
Travis frowned and hesitated a second but turned away to run, Jace already grabbing him however, quickly dragging him to the stairs, Travis frowning as he knew it would be pointless to struggle, just going with him, scowling.
They went upstairs to the guest bedroom where Zack sat upon the bed, a pile of open boxes at his feet, making Travis raise a brow, quickly frowning.
"Alright come here, Travis. Zack, can you give me a hand with him?" Travis frowned as Jace started pushing at him, quickly starting to protest, though it was little use as Zack came over as well, both of them pushing him towards the bed to the floor.
Travis huffed at them, giving them both an angry glare as they tied his wrists around one of the legs of the bed, disappointed with himself for being so helpless yet not sure of what else he could do, seeing as it was pointless to try and escape now.
Zack stood satisfied when they finished tying him up and Travis nearly sneered at him. "Happy now?
"Quite. By the way, love your old knick knacks and such. You and Michael had great sense." He turned away to continue going through Travis and Michael's things, rummaging.
Jace just produced a cloth from his pocket, making Travis frown up at him. "You don't have to do that," He murmured. "Haven't you done enough already?"
"Well you're the one who tried to escape." Jace huffed, bending down as he gagged him, who quickly frowned, hating him completely, watching him go over to join Zack.
Frowning, he tried pulling at the ropes, struggling slowly, doing the best he could but it was no use, watching the two go through his things.
It was boxes of mostly Michael's things, items he had packed away for remembrance, half of them just being photos, but seeing them pull out his husband's things quickly made him sad, frowning as he watched.
Even just the pictures of himself made him frown, because Michael had loved those pictures of him so much, Travis's shoulders slumping, hanging his head, deeply wishing his husband were still here, missing him terribly.
Apparently Jace and Zack were looking for something for themselves, slipping small items into their pockets occasionally, Travis narrowing his eyes.
"Mmph!" Half-forgetting he was gagged, he growled lowly at Zack who slipped a few key-chains into his pocket, making him look up.
"What?" He huffed with a sneer.
Travis pulled a little at the rope, murmuring quietly, trying to explain those were Michael's, voice coming out muffled.
Zack just turned away. "Whatever."
Travis scowled at him, cussing him out mentally.
It was quite awhile that they took looking through everything, most of it consisting of making fun of Travis in the photographs, to which Travis glared, looking away.
Finally Zack stood, coming over to one of the boxes near Travis, whose eyebrows rose.
Acting quickly, he stuck out his leg, tripping Zack as he passed, who fell to the floor with an 'oof!'
Travis almost smirked but frowned when Zack got to his feet, swearing. "Ugh, I outta-!"
He raised his fist to punch him and Travis quickly cowered.
"Zack. Work tomorrow, remember?" Jace interrupted, to which Zack stopped, Travis peeking an eye open slowly.
"Fine." Zack snorted. "But he's crossing the line." He pointed a finger into Travis's face with a glare, who just huffed, glaring back.
He frowned as he glanced over at Jace after Zack went back over but Jace was looking away and Travis couldn't help but feel glad he was looking out for him, knowing he'd be much worse thanks to Zack if it weren't for him.
Still, he knew Jace didn't care for him after what he had done to him, the traitor.
The two finally finished and put everything away, Jace coming over to untie Travis who was more than ready to be untied, spitting out the gag with a huff when it was undone, frowning at them.
"Lemme put this last box away, then I'll be down." Zack nodded to Jace, who grabbed Travis by the arm, Travis getting to his feet with a sneer, giving a jerk but Jace held him.
"Yeah okay." Jace started urging Travis out of the room, who went with him, a plan suddenly forming in his brain, slowing down as they got to the stairs. "Uh, you can go first, Jace."
Jace gave him a look but let go of him, turning to start going down, Travis quickly sticking his foot out, tripping him.
Jace instantly fell, tumbling down the stairs, crying out in pain as he rolled and tumbled, wincing when he landed at the bottom, Travis wasting no time in immediately running down the stairs and past him.
He felt bad for doing that to him but he had to get out of there somehow, not once looking back.
Zack heard the yells and came running, frowning when he saw Jace curled up at the bottom of the stairs. "Jace! Oh Travis you are so going to get it!" He roared, storming down the stairs himself.
Travis panted as he made it to the door, struggling to get it open, racing outside, running down the front steps when Zack slammed straight into him, both impacting the ground hard.
Travis cried out and scrambled to get away but Zack grabbed him by his shirt, punching him hard.
Travis cried out with a yell of pain but Zack hit him two more times and he couldn't move, holding his face in pain, dazed and hurting, Zack pulling him to his feet roughly.
"Come on, come on, get inside," He snarled angrily, Travis stumbling as Zack pushed at him, whimpering a little when they were back inside and Zack harshly yanked him over to one of his dining room chairs.
Jace had gotten to his feet now, holding his head painfully as he came to watch, Zack shoving Travis into the chair, grabbing at him.
Travis attempted to struggle to get away but Zack was rough and firm with him, keeping him in the chair, managing to get both of his wrists tied together tightly.
Travis frowned as he knew he had failed to get away, again, feeling so stupid, pulling weakly at his wrists, his ankles now being tied as Zack cursed and muttered angrily under his breath.
He could feel Jace watching and he frowned when Zack roughly gagged him, biting down in distaste, Zack suddenly punching him again. "Mmmph!" He yelped in pain, wincing badly.
"Zack," Jace scolded and Zack just snorted. "I don't care! He deserves it!"
Travis frowned up at them with watery eyes, swallowing hard.
"Are you alright?" Zack looked at Jace, who just nodded, Zack continuing to swear under his breath. "You Damn fool, Travis. Your punishment starts now! You are gonna sit there and think about what you did for three hours and I don't care otherwise!" He huffed with a growl.
"Can't believe all this insubordination this early in the morning, goddammit." Zack ran a hand through his hair in frustration, stomping off, Jace following suit after giving Travis an unsympathetic look, who almost whimpered out at him sadly, wishing more than anything to get free, beginning to feel helpless again.
He frowned deeply when they were each out of the room, already feeling terrible. Three hours? And he was just supposed to sit there?
Why couldn't he just get away from these two already, he just wanted to be treated nicely by someone who wouldn't actually hurt or betray him….
If you thought time passed slowly already, try being tied to a chair for over two hours. Travis was extremely bored and very miserable, having nothing to do but look around and think.
Zack and Jace must've been in the living room this whole time, most likely watching tv and yet here he was, tied up to a dumb old chair.
First he stared at the floor, then the wall and lastly, the ceiling. He couldn't be more bored.
Finally Zack passed through to get to the kitchen, going to get a drink.
He spared a look to Travis, raising his eyebrows at him, getting a drink from the fridge, Travis watching him with a pleading look.
Zack came back over, munching on some cheese, glancing at him, seeming to hesitate but finally he came over, taking out Travis's gag, making him grateful, though he looked up at Zack without a word, weary.
"So, you sorry yet?" Zack sneered and Travis slowly nodded, thinking it'd be best if he just complied peacefully.
"Good. You had no right doing a stunt like that to Jace. He didn't do nothin'."
Travis looked at the floor. "I-I was just trying to escape." He murmured quietly, though Zack heard him.
"Escape? Now why in the world would you wanna go and do a thing like that?"
"Because maybe you two are here in my house hurting me and going through my husband's things when I clearly don't want you to." Travis dared look up at him, frowning.
"Oh, is that so?" Zack smirked a little. "Well gee, that's too bad…for you! Oh, and uh, speaking of your husband, I am sick and tired of having to look at all these pictures of Michael everywhere, I want them gone!"
Travis quickly frowned, getting a little defensive. "B-But he's my husband…"
"Was your husband once, was. Really makes the difference pal." Zack smirked, taking one of the picture frames of Michael off the wall, tossing it carelessly to the floor.
"Hey!" Travis's eyes widened, sitting up straighter.
Zack knocked a few more to the floor, cracking a few, breaking others.
"S-Stop it!" Travis cried, feeling his eyes get watery, watching in horror to see his pictures of Michael ruined, Zack just laughing.
Jace came in, hearing the noise, glancing quickly at Travis. "What's going on?"
"Get a box, Jace," Zack was still wandering around, collecting all the pictures of Michael he could find. "We're saying goodbye to Michael," He then turned to smirk at Travis. "Permanently."
Travis shook his head no quickly with big eyes, mouth dropped open as he watched Zack throw another to the floor, it cracking. "N-No, stop it!"
Jace turned to go and find a box for Zack, helping to take them all down when he came back, also treating them carelessly, beginning to toss them in, the box soon getting full of cracked frames and broken glass.
Frowning deeply and in horror as he watched, pleading at them to stop but they wouldn't listen, Travis began to cry, whimpering, sniffling as they went through each room, taking down every picture.
"St-Stop it, stop it, please!" He cried at them but they just came back when they had finished, smirking at him, the box full.
Crying, his walls now practically completely bare, Travis hung his head, sniffling through his whimpers, eyes narrowed as he frowned. "Do-Do you know how much those pictures mean to me? How much looking at him to remember him means to me?" He shook his head, getting angry. "I-I hate you…." He growled under his breath, furious yet devastated, feeling broken-hearted yet again.
Zack almost just burst into laughter and Jace just frowned. "Oh ho ho, wow! I sure am scared now! Travis hates us!" Zack laughed, turning to go upstairs to put the box away.
Travis still sniffled, not looking up, Jace stepping close, tying the gag back in his mouth, making Travis cry even more, glaring at the back of Jace's head as he left.
Biting down tightly on the cloth, Travis attempted to struggle against the rope but quickly gave up, still crying a little, hanging his head as he tried to stop.
All of his pictures of Michael were gone; they had taken them and put them away but most of them were already ruined and now Travis knew that without being able to look at his husband as soon as he walked in the door, he'd be miserable.
Looking at Michael always made him feel comforted and almost hopeful, still a little saddened of course, but Travis loved to look at his husband, even when it hurt. It was those pictures that helped keep his memories with him so fresh, so treasurable.
When he quit crying, still sniffling a little occasionally, Travis's eyes were puffy and sore, his neck getting stiff as he had been hanging his head for so long, and especially after the position he had been forced to sleep in last night, his back getting sore also.
It was a long while of just sitting there, again, before Travis's phone suddenly dinged, a text from Vic. Travis blinked and raised his head, spotting it on the counter, frowning at it, pulling at the rope as he let out a whimper, muffling out a few grunts as he struggled.
Jace heard him and slowly came in, giving him a look, hands on his hips. "What is it?"
Travis frowned and looked up at him with sad eyes, murmuring as he tried to talk, glad when Jace came over and removed the cloth.
"What."
"Vic texted and please, I just want to talk to her." Travis almost sighed out, getting tired of asking, wishing they'd comply with him.
"I said you weren't going to talk to her." Jace stated, Zack coming in now.
"But you have to let me-"
"No way! You'll tell her everything." Jace glared.
"I'm not going to tell her." Travis spoke in sincerity, shoulders slumping as he frowned deeply. "I swear I won't."
"Still no."
Travis looked up, eyes flickering, frustrated with them. "Well you gotta let me talk to her! If-If you don't, then-then she could get suspicious and come over here and find you both…." He found himself saying, realizing it actually made sense.
Jace and Zack quickly shared a look, Jace scowling. "He's right. We better let him do it."
"What if he says somethin'?" Zack huffed quietly.
"I'll be in the room with him, to make sure." Jace stated, grabbing Travis's phone, whose spirits lifted, finally glad he would get to talk to her.
Jace unlocked Travis's phone, reading her text. "She says, 'Okay, I dunno why you're not answering your phone, and there had better be a good reason for that, but do you wanna hang out tonight? I'm free.'" Looking up, Jace turned to Zack. "He can't hang out with her tonight."
"No way! He's gotta have an excuse."
Jace looked at Travis a little crossly. "Okay look, when you talk to her, you're going to tell her you can't hang out with her because you and I have plans tonight, you got that?"
Travis was frowning, feeling bad that Vic might be worrying about him, slowly nodding though he knew it meant he'd have to lie to her again, dreading having to do so. But what other choice did he have?
"Good. Now don't try nothin' else." Jace stated, putting Travis's phone into his pocket as he began to untie him, leading him to his bedroom by the arm, Travis just complying, wanting to be able to talk to his best friend.
Jace closed the door behind them. "Alright, sit down, I'll tie you up."
Travis frowned at him. "But then how will I talk to Vic?"
"I'll hold the phone for you."
"But you don't have to do that."
"If I don't, then I know you'll try and escape." Jace huffed, frowning at him.
Travis looked away. "I'm not going to try and escape." He stated quietly, a little sadly, knowing it would be pointless by now.
Luckily, Jace seemed to believe him, though he didn't look happy about it. "Fine. But I'm going to be standing right here. And don't even think about going through that window." He handed Travis his phone with a mean look and Travis just took it a little sadly. "I won't."
Glad to have his phone back, Travis turned to go to the opposite side of the room, holding his breath as he dialed, suddenly nervous about what he would say.
Vic picked up quickly. "Travis! You better have a good reason for not answering me!"
Travis already smiled at the sound of her voice, making sure his back was turned to Jace, not liking his eyes on him. "H-Hi Vic, yeah, I'm really sorry about that."
"Well, what's your excuse then?"
"Oh," Travis frowned, thinking quickly. "You know, Jace was over last night."
"Oh, right. So how it'd go? Did you like the movie?" Vic's tone quickly shifted, sounding happy again.
Travis frowned, suddenly remembering that he once considered Jace his boyfriend, realizing that had happened only last night, realizing how much Jace's betrayal has really affected him.
"Oh yeah, yeah, it-it was good." He stuttered, frowning a little nervously, remembering the old Jace in comparison to the new one, who was standing right there in the room with him, mind you.
"Oh good. My date night went great too. Just wait until I tell you what happened with Ripley….are you cool to hang out tonight?" He could hear Vic smiling, saddened that he would have to let her down.
"Sorry Vic, but…Jace and I have plans tonight." He tried his best to keep his voice steady, wondering if he sounded like he was lying as much as he could feel it.
"Well can't you two just be together a different time?" Vic just chuckled softly, making Travis internally panic as he tried to think of what to say.
"Well, yes but, we-we've been planning for this night for a long time now…" He fibbed, cringing at himself, glancing nervously at Jace with a frown, swallowing hard.
Vic scoffed softly. "How about I talk to him?"
"Oh uh," Travis felt a lump in his throat, not liking the idea, though he knew Vic didn't have a clue about who Jace really was, knowing how much she liked him. "S-Sure."
He took the phone away from his ear, looking at Jace, talking quietly. "She wants to talk to you."
Jace glared, looking a little angry, coming over and taking the phone nonetheless, his turn to turn his back to Travis as he talked. "Hey Vic."
He quickly sounded cheerful and Travis watched him with a hurt look, eyebrows furrowed as he still had yet to figure out what to think of the man that was previously once his boyfriend.
"I'm good, I'm good; no, Travis and I just had lots of fun last night, that's all." Jace laughed into the phone with a grin, talking to Vic happily, Travis continuing to watch him in bewilderment.
"Wow, I can't wait for you to tell me about it…..well you know, I was kinda hoping to take Travis somewhere special tonight. I got reservations at Marquis's and you know how long their waiting list is, so we've been waiting for tonight for awhile now." Travis glared at Jace as he lied to her, wondering how he could do it so easily, frowning when he heard Vic laughing.
"No no," Jace chuckled. "Not quite yet, that's just how much I love him." He turned to face Travis with a look, who furrowed his eyebrows with narrowed eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, sitting on the edge of his bed to look away, feeling hurt.
"Plus you get to see him all the time at work, you've gotta let me have some time with him every once in awhile." Jace chuckled into the phone, Travis still scowling as he listened.
"Right, so you understand….there'll be plenty of other nights, but trust me, he won't forget you I promise….Okay, thanks Vic, I'll see you later, okay? Alright…." Jace spoke happily into the phone, handing it back to Travis with a look, who quickly took it, Vic still chuckling.
"Okay Travis, looks like you're off the hook. For now."
Travis chuckled nervously, hardly able to smile. "Heh heh, yeah, yeah…."
"Well, don't let me spoil your time with Jace, go have fun at your big fancy restaurant and I'll see you at work tomorrow and you can tell me all about it and I'll tell you about Ripley, okay?"
"Okay, Vic," Travis almost didn't want her to hang up, longing to keep talking to her. "I-I….yeah, that sounds like a plan." He found himself stuttering, frowning at himself sadly.
"Okay! Bye." Vic chirped as she hung up and Travis still clutched his phone with ownership as he turned to Jace, giving him a look.
"You'll see her later?" He almost hissed. "I do not want you to see Vic ever again, Jace." He growled softly.
"Well lucky for her, she doesn't know the real me so it doesn't matter. And it's not like she'll find out, especially not from you because you're not going to tell her." Jace huffed.
"Find out that you don't really love me?" Travis gave him an accusing look, still hurt that Jace had been pretending with him for so long now. "And that I'm supposed to just act like we're still a couple and that we love each other when really it was all just one-sided the entire time?"
"Travis, that's enough," Jace glared.
"Is Zack paying you? Is that what this is? Is that why you have so much money to the point where you can afford fake reservations at expensive restaurants like Marquis's and nobody raises a brow about it? You're sick…" Travis shook his head, eyes narrowed. "I-I trusted you for so long-"
"Travis, I said enough-"
"How much?" Travis demanded, eyes watery. "How much does he think I'm worth getting my heart broken a second time, h-how much?"
"That's enough, I said!" Jace snarled, shoving Travis roughly, knocking him into the wall.
Travis glared and pushed at him, trying to fight back but Jace punched him hard, falling to the ground with a yelp, getting punched again as Jace grabbed him.
Seeing stars, Travis whimpered and started to crawl away, Jace practically throwing himself ontop of him, grabbing him until he was sitting upright against him, holding him to his chest, forcing Travis to be still, who was crying.
Blood ran down his cheek and he was crying out in pain and fear, not moving as he shook badly, in a sort of hurt daze, Jace's hand going over his mouth to quiet him, pressing Travis's head back against his shoulder, holding him there as he sat up against the wall.
The door opened and Zack popped in quickly. "What happened?" He frowned and Jace panted, growling. "Take him, just take him, the bloody sh**."
Travis couldn't move, shaking in pain, Zack quickly grabbing him and pulling him to his feet, huffing at Jace. "What did he do now?"
Jace didn't answer but just waved him off as he got to his feet, Zack bringing Travis into the dining room, who was breathing heavily, frowning deeply with pain, his face and head hurting badly, things starting to go blurry.
Zack sat him down into the chair and it seemed him and Jace were talking, but to Travis their voices sounded distant, not able to make out what they were saying, his head too busy pounding, unable to concentrate, painfully dazed.
Of course he was tied up again and they hardly seemed to notice the state he was in, gagging him quickly, Zack giving him a harsh slap for the hell of it.
Travis cried out and squeezed his eyes shut in pain, lying his head back, chest heaving as he whimpered faintly, his cheek hurting badly, feeling the bleeding cut sting and ache.
A few tears escaped him as he sat there in pain, the two having left him alone, his head smarting and pounding badly, knowing he must be in awful shape with how bad he hurt, damaged badly not only physically but also emotionally.
It was quite some time before he saw Jace or Zack again and luckily he was in a better state by then, though he was still hurting. But he had definitely lost most of his strength by now as well as energy, quite miserable and tired, feeling like giving up entirely.
Jace walked past and Travis watched him quietly, hoping he would come over and untie him, sitting patiently, Jace finally coming back over, a plate of sandwiches In hand.
He took out the gag in Travis's mouth. "I thought you might be hungry. These are for you."
Travis frowned softly, looking at the food, realizing it felt like forever since he had eaten and though hungry, he didn't feel much like eating.
"I'm not very hungry." He stated quietly, looking away.
"Well if you don't eat now, you won't get to until supper."
"Th-That's okay. Just another way that you can hurt me." Travis just said quietly, giving him an accusing look, keeping it subtle.
Jace's eyes flickered and he didn't look sympathetic, walking away, taking the plate with him, more than likely going to share the food with Jace. "Fine."
Travis watched him go, just glad he didn't gag him again, sighing quietly as he sat still, once again alone, save for his thoughts.
Surprisingly, they each came back after a short time had passed, making him look up, unsure of what to expect now.
"Well Travis, if you promise to behave and cooperate," Zack started, looking between him and Jace. "We'll untie you from the chair and let you sit with us, but only if you don't act up. Understood?"
Travis looked up a little hopefully, nodding as he sat up further, quite glad when Zack came up and untied him. He got to his feet and Zack grabbed him by the arm. "Come on, then."
He wasn't rough with him thankfully and Travis walked with them to the living room, going over to the couch where Zack sat him down in the middle.
Travis remained quiet, frowning as he had a sort of distant look, still feeling out of place but it was most likely from all the hits he had taken to his face or due to his lack of energy.
Zack grabbed at his arms to bring them behind his back, tying his wrists together to which Travis didn't protest, ankles being tied by Jace as well.
When they had finished, Zack rubbed a hand over Travis's shoulder with a smile. "Thatta boy." Travis didn't answer, watching as the tv was turned on.
He sat there without a word, watching television between them, each watching as well and Travis was just glad there was a change in scenery and to have something to do, with Jace and Zack actually leaving him alone for once. They all just sat, watching tv quietly.
They had been watching for awhile before Zack suddenly let out a groan, almost making Travis jump.
"Well time to make supper. Come on, Jace." He sighed, getting up. "You can stay here, Travis." He grinned, ruffling a hand through Travis's hair, who frowned, watching them go.
He held his breath a moment, hesitating, wondering if he stood take this chance to escape, alone, the door being right there, so close and accessible he could run out and get as far away as possible before they'd even have a chance to catch up with him.
Knowing he couldn't just ignore this opportunity, Travis got to his feet, making a run for it, but, forgetting his ankles were tied, he quickly fell to the floor with a cry, landing on his chest.
Realizing his mistake and yet another failed attempt to get away, Travis let out an exasperated breath, whimpering softly, squeezing his eyes shut, feeling terrible once again, almost wishing he hadn't even bothered trying to escape.
Zack and Jace came running back, quickly spotting Travis on the floor, realizing what he had tried to do, Zack quickly looking angry, Jace just sighing.
Zack started forward to grab him but Jace held out an arm to stop him, giving him a look. Zack just sighed and shook his head, coming to Travis anyway, though luckily he wasn't rough with him.
He got Travis to his feet, who frowned, Zack bringing him back to the kitchen with him, sitting him down on one of the stools overlooking one of the counters.
Travis frowned at each of them, expecting one of them to explode into an outburst, mostly expecting this from Zack, but that was it, Zack just giving a look to Jace. "I'll just punish him later…" He muttered, going back to start cooking.
So Travis sat there quietly, watching them cook, hanging his head as he once again thought about everything, especially about going to work tomorrow, still quite worried.
It was hard having two men cook in his kitchen, using his pans and utensils, some being Michael's of course, cooking his food, using everything that was his, hating it.
When supper was ready they set the table, moved him to his place at the table, set out all the food and dished up, though he was quite glad they didn't tie him entirely to the chair though his limbs were still bound.
Jace started getting ready to feed him and Travis frowned, speaking for the first time in hours. "Can-Can Zack feed me instead?" He hated Zack but he had already had his heart broken by Jace once, there's no way he could be humiliated by having him feed him as well, he just couldn't do it.
Travis looked to Zack, whose eyebrows raised, smirking, looking almost proud.
"Ooh, dang Jace, sorry man." He grinned, picking up his fork, holding it out for Travis, who avoided looking at him nonetheless, just eating quietly, not saying a word for the rest of the meal.
When everyone finished, they were cleaning up everything, getting dishes put away before they came and grabbed him, taking him to the living room again.
"Okay," Zack grinned, looking happy as he sat Travis down. "Time for someone to get their punishment." He sing-songed, looking pleased as he put his hands on Travis's shoulders, who frowned, looking glum, not wanting them to do anything else to him, just tired. Tired physically and tired of them.
"Wh-What are you going to me now?" He sighed tiredly, almost wishing they would just knock him out.
"Oooh, you'll see…" Zack grinned, wrapping his arms around him, suddenly pulling him close, making Travis tense, quickly becoming aware and alert.
He looked to Jace with a sort of alarmed, concerned look, trying to figure out what was going on. Jace gave him a sort of knowing look and Travis knew something bad was about to happen, Jace getting up to leave.
Travis frowned deeply, not wanting him to go, not wanting to be left alone with Zack who had his arms around him firmly, chuckling into his ear, already making Travis panic.
When Jace left, Travis swallowed hard, frowning. "Z-Zack, wh-what are you—p-please don't-"
"What? Hurt you? I would never….no, I'm gonna do just the opposite…" Zack grinned, pulling on Travis until he was sitting on his lap, leaning him back against his chest, holding him there, Travis instantly beginning to panic, heart starting to race. "Wh-Wh-What are you doing?" He stammered in a rush, trying to pull away, but Zack held him, not letting go of him.
"Just relax….I'm not going to hurt you, remember?" Zack grinned, talking softly into his ear though Travis knew he wasn't telling the truth.
"L-Let go of me," He breathed out in a rushed voice, continuing to pull against him but Zack's grip only seemed to get tighter.
"Relaaaxx," Zack laughed, bringing a hand over Travis's mouth, pressing his head back against his shoulder, holding him there, smirking down at him as Travis cried out. "Just calm down…." He chuckled.
Travis was in full panic mode, crying out under Zack's hand, his whimpers muffled, unable to get away as Zack held him up against his chest, attempting to move his head around but couldn't.
He kicked and jerked but it was no use, breathing heavily through his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut, petrified with fear.
He tried to bite Zack's hand but Zack was pressing on him so hard he couldn't.
Zack continued to smirk at Travis as he held him against his chest, waiting for him to calm down, knowing if he kept him still long enough, Travis would quit.
Sure enough, already weak, Travis was getting tired of struggling, but he was too frightened to stop, whimpering as it was getting harder and harder for him to try to get away, his chest heaving as he began to stop, shaking as he became still with a whimper.
"Thatta boy…" Zack just grinned, his hand still pressed firmly over Travis's mouth, listening to his heavy breathing, watching him as he took his opposite arm away from Travis's chest. "You just keep still now…."
Travis felt like he knew what was coming but he still cried out when it happened, Zack beginning to slowly rub a hand over Travis's chest smoothly, holding Travis with his other when he jerked weakly.
Whimpering, he couldn't get away as Zack's hand moved over his chest and to his stomach, the touch frightening him badly, soon beginning to cry, trying to plead at Zack to stop.
"Oh come on, don't tell me Michael never felt you up like this," Zack smirked and Travis quickly shook his head no as he cried out, whimpering at the awful touch, flinching constantly as Zack ran his hand everywhere.
"No? Really? Wow, you two must not have ever had any fun. Well, that just means you're going to enjoy this even more…."
Zack's touch quickly became rough as he smirked, ignoring Travis's muffled cries, holding the man still as he groped him, hand running over his chest roughly, even running it over Travis's neck, face and hair, Travis flinching badly, crying out through tears.
He still tried to kick and pull but he had lost nearly all his energy and being so frightened didn't help either, crying into Zack's hand helplessly as Zack continued to grope him, terrified as he had never been touched so roughly in his life, not by any man, especially not by Michael.
Zack just chuckled into his ear and made crude comments, scaring him further, whimpering loudly, sobbing as he trembled everywhere, beginning to scream now when Zack slipped his hand under his shirt, now groping his bare skin, rubbing and squeezing him harshly, his touch rough and careless.
Zack wouldn't stop and Travis continued to cry and whimper as it felt like hours and he still hadn't stopped, Travis now more exhausted and sore than ever, hardly able to move or kick at all, shaking badly, chest heaving, eyes squeezed shut as he continued to sob.
All he could think of was Michael, how badly he wanted him, wanting to be safe in his arms and away from these creeps, knowing he would never get hurt again if he was with him. Michael had never hurt him in any way and all he wanted now was his husband.
He could just picture Michael's reaction, how quickly he would come and protect him and get him out of there and make sure he'd never get hurt again but of course that couldn't happen.
After what Travis thought must have been hours, Jace came back into the room and when Zack still didn't stop, Travis became even more humiliated, looking away quickly as he cried out, afraid and embarrassed to let the man he thought to be his boyfriend watch.
Zack just smirked as he continued to grope him. "It's okay, it's okay…." He hushed into Travis's ear for the millionth time, Travis sick of hearing him say that, whimpering louder with a sniffle, attempting to move his head off his shoulder, Zack not letting him.
Jace came in and just stood there, watching with a sort of frown, Travis sobbing out when Zack groped him too roughly, Jace slowly coming over.
"Hey Jace," Zack grinned at him, his hand on Travis's chest. "Travis says Michael never touched him rough before."
Travis cried out again in pain and Jace sat down, brow raised. "Really?"
"I know, right?" Zack laughed as he watched Travis cry, who whimpered out as loud as he could through tears, trembling.
"Do you want a turn with him?"
Jace was watching Travis, shaking his head no. "Um, no thanks."
"If you insist." Zack shrugged, sliding his hand up to Travis's throat and up Travis's face, who squeaked and tried to pull away, his cries muffled as the hand eventually travelled back to his chest.
"Alright, well, I guess that's enough for tonight now." Zack stated and took his hand off of Travis's mouth, though his opposite remained under Travis's shirt.
Travis gasped as soon as the hand was gone and let out a sob, the room filling with the sounds of his loud crying, leaning himself off of Zack's shoulder, though Zack kept him in his lap.
Travis panted and cried, gasping to breathe as he almost cried more now that it was done, it still feeling like Zack was groping him everywhere.
He didn't look at either one of them as he tried to talk, hardly able to get the words out as he couldn't stop crying. "H-H-How c-could y-you?! How could y-you do this to-to me? Y-You-You're si-sick….I-I thought you-you were supposed to-to be with G-Grant, h-how could y-you do this?"
Zack laughed a little, his hands on Travis's shoulders, smirking at Jace. "Oh yeah, should prolly tell you: Grant broke up with me a week ago." He said it cheerfully as if he didn't even care and Travis just continued to sob, shaking badly, wanting Michael.
He was horrified, frightened, never having been handled in such a way, feeling almost traumatized, never having been through an experience so physically awful.
Zack eased him off his lap and the two men stood, Travis only able to make out the word bed, his ankles getting untied as they soon got him to his feet and started urging him to walk.
Travis could hardly move, let alone walk as he still continued to cry and whimper, the two dragging him to his bedroom, placing him on the floor with a huff.
They got the rope that was already tied around his wrists off and tied them to the pole, Travis's hands sore and discolored already from having struggled so badly from Zack.
The boys were talking to him with smiles but Travis couldn't hear, still crying and sniffling, hardly able to protest when they gagged him, biting down tightly as he hung his head, tears dripping down onto his stomach.
Zack ruffled Travis's hair with a grin, making Travis instantly cry out and flinch away at the touch, shuddering, Jace bending down, giving him a peck on the cheek, making him cry out even more, both men closing the door and leaving quickly afterwards.
Travis stared at the door a long minute, continuing to sniffle. His body shook everywhere, able to still feel Zack's hand on him, his chest sore and hurting, continuing to make him cry.
He couldn't sleep for hours as he mostly watched the door fearfully, afraid Zack would come in and touch him again, sniffling as he could barely stop crying.
He never wanted to be touched again and he never wanted to see Zack or Jace again in his entire life, just wanting to be happy and safe and never be abused like this again.