Part 21
Wes could pride himself in a few things and one of them was being able to hide very well. He was right now sneaking around on the third floor of the school, trying to keep away from the Warblers. He'd managed to escape them because he was smaller and could get through tighter places than they and he could take the turns faster and better because he had a shorter frame to maneuver. He had felt a bit bad when Rob Barton went down in the entrance hall, slipping on the floor.
Wes felt really proud of himself slipping from curtain to curtain or around corners and still go undetected. He had lost count on how many of the Warblers had run past his hiding places, some had done it more than once even. He was in a hallway with three doors, three classrooms he figured. No one was in sight so he left his hiding spot, underneath a bench and smiled. He brushed his dusty clothes off and fixed his tie and hair. He turned to walk away but collided into someone. He looked up and grinned sheepishly.
"Hi Jesse", he said still grinning like that. "Bye Jesse!" He made a run for it but Jesse grabbed his arm.
"Hey don't worry kid", Jesse said when Wes tried to pull himself loose. "I'm not gonna bring you back to Brad."
"Really?" Wes asked curiously.
"Really", Jesse said. "But I know some of the guys are close behind me… so let's find you a hiding spot."
Wes wasn't sure if he could trust Jesse. He hadn't known him for long and Jesse seemed eager to become lead singer. Maybe this was just a ploy. But Wes saw something in his eyes, they looked honest and caring. So maybe he wasn't so bad after all.
"Okay", Wes said and Jesse led him over to the middle door. "A classroom?"
"You'd think anyone would look there", Jesse asked with a smirk and Wes shrugged. Jesse opened the door and Wes cocked an eyebrow skeptically.
"This is a cleaning closet", he said and looked at Jesse. The older boy smirked.
"I know", he said and pushed Wes in, closed the door and locked it. After that he leaned on it. Wes started to hit on it but Jesse didn't notice because it was so thick. He didn't even hear Wes' cries to be let out. Nathan, Michael and Peter came around the corner.
"Hey Jesse have you seen the runt", Peter asked with a fond smile.
"Nope", Jesse said leaning on the door. "I just checked the classrooms. He's fast for someone so small."
"You don't know half of it", Nathan said and the three boys hurried off. Jesse smirked and opened the door. Wes made another run for it but Jesse pushed him back.
"Now listen", Jesse said. "Sooner or later the others will give up searching and return to Brad. I can then go and get you, but I need to know where you are."
"I'll tell you", Wes said with a trembling voice. "Just let me out!" He tried to run again but Jesse pushed him back.
"No this place is a good as any", he said and smirked. "Bye!" He slammed the door shut in Wes' face, locked it and left.
Wes was all alone in the dark. He hit, kicked and screamed at the door but nothing was heard. That damn fake snake! He had tricked him! He only cared about getting that solo and not about how he could get it! Didn't he think about what this could do to a person.
"Help!" Wes yelled and hit on the door. "Somebody please help! Help!" He hit on the door and got a splinter in his hand. He hissed and moved his hand back but couldn't see something through the dark. He looked at the door again and peaked through the keyhole.
"Help me", he called, his voice breaking slightly. "Nathan! Otto! Lucas! Austin! Alvaro! Justine! Mitch! Peter! Michael! Philip! Charles! Brad! Ethan! Joseph! William! Roger! Matt! Austin! Reed! Malcolm! Tom! Julian! Eric! Carl! John! Kim! Isaac! Rob! Eric! Brett! Help!" He sniffled. "Help!" He pounded on the door with all his might as he sobbed and after a bit his hands started shaking in fear.
He backed away from the door and sat down, hugging his knees and let the tears slip. Wes hated tiny spaces and especially if they were dark. That was because sometimes his grandparents would lock him up to keep the he's-just-a-cousin-lie alive, by pretending that said cousin was away. He would be locked into a tiny room where no one would look and no matter how much he screamed or hit on the door he'd be heard. Just like now…
When it was dark it was even worse. He looked up at the roof and sniffled a bit, horrified. In that moment he wasn't Wes Montgomery 13, he was Wesley Montgomery 5. He was shaking badly and sobbed and called out for anyone to save him, the names he called was the name of the Warblers, even Jesse. But he got no answer and he called out for teachers and other grownups and Alvaro. After a bit he panicked and started to scream louder and now he screamed for Mark and Jerry, they'd save him. They had to. They wouldn't let him stay here all alone. They'd save him, they had to. They had to come! Someone had to come! But no one did...
After a bit more time he buried his face in his arms and tried to shut out the darkness, the stuffed air and the feeling of utterly helplessness… and fear. But it didn't help and Wesley screamed again.
Jesse St. James always wanted to be the best and he couldn't take it if someone was better than him and this time it was that little shrimp Wes Montgomery and that stupid Swedish guy! They'd totally creamed him and Philip and Philip is supposed to be the lead singer of the Warblers! Jesse knew he was better than Philip and would be better than the guy had ever been. Brad had told him there was potential in him but that was wrong. It wasn't potential… it was star-power.
Jesse was a star and he was going to make damn sure that everyone at Dalton knew it, so to get that solo was his only goal. He had to get it so that he could show everyone just what a big star he was and he would replace Philip just like that! *snaps fingers* And if that meant keeping a kid in a closet for a few hours then it was a small price to pay, especially if the kid had been part of beating him. Jesse smirked and pushed the door opened to the Warbler hall. Nearly every Warbler was in there.
"Jesse", Brad said and looked at him. "I take it you didn't find the kid either?"
"No", Jesse said and shook his head. "I didn't find him. He's fast… and sneaky."
"You have no idea", Otto said happily."You should see what he came up with last year! I've never known anyone that are so good with planning mischief… and getting away with it."
"How", Brett Everett asked confused.
"Have you been put under the force of his puppy-eyes yet?"
"No."
"When you have you'll understand."
"Who is that kid anyway", Jesse cut in sitting down in an armchair.
"A Warbler", Austin said calmly while peeling one of the oranges absentmindedly. "He's not allowed to compete with us though since he's still too young."
"What is he doing here", Kim asked from where he sat between the two Everetts. "Is he a wonder-child or something?"
"No", Lucas said calmly. "It's really not our thing to tell, but let's just say that if any of you hurt him there will be hell to pay. Everyone at this school, from sophomore onwards, loves the kid. We've been working on him for a while and he's finally acting like a normal kid."
"He didn't before", Isaac asked.
"He's been through some serious shit", Brad said with a sigh. "We don't know all of it, but he had a hard time trusting us and letting us get close to him. In the beginning he was as shy and scared as a church mouse."
"The fact that he is really small didn't help", Charles said and smiled a bit. "But we all care a lot about this little dude."
"Even more when he takes that cursed whistle", Joseph said and smirked at Brad before taking a bite of his banana. He'd taken it from the pile Wes had created. He ignored the look Brad sent him and Brad ignored the sniggers around him. He looked at the mountain of fruit and sighed.
"Why all this fruit", he asked picking up an apple.
"I imagine he wanted you to look through them all darling", Justine said with a smile. "Or make a fruit-salad."
They all laughed and soon all boys had returned, but there was still no trace of Wes. The boys decided to go have dinner and call it a day. Wes was probably hiding somewhere. They'd been talking for a few hours by now and Jesse had totally forgot that he'd locked the kid into that closet.
Later that evening Lucas was making his rounds in the Dragon, making sure everything was as it should and that all boys were where they were supposed to be. Lucas knocked on Wes door when he got there.
"Shorty are you in here", he asked before opening the door.
Wes had been gone since the chase and no one had seen him. He didn't even come to dinner. The Warblers had asked a few other boys if they'd seen him but they hadn't. They had tried Wes' phone only to realize it was in his bag in the Warbler hall. Otto had returned it to Wes' room but Wes hadn't been there.
Lucas was starting to get worried and as he walked into the room his heart dropped to his feet. The bed was empty and everything was like it had been when Lucas met up with Wes before Warbler practice. Lucas got his phone out and called around to the boys in the Warblers. He told them Wes was still missing and that he'd go to Carmichael and that they would search for him.
Mark Connors was walking through the big doors of Dalton Academy early next morning. He was going to stop by and say hi to the Warblers and some of his teachers. He was having a short break from school and decided to check up on his friends. But what met him when he opened the big doors of the school was not what he expected.
He saw boys everywhere looking for something in a near panic way. The teachers he met was also looking for something and when he got to Carmichael's office he saw the man talk to two constables. He knocked on the door and the three men looked up. Carmichael sighed in what looked like relief.
"Mark", he said and hurried over and shook the boy's hand. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a few days off sir", Mark said and smiled weakly. "What's going on here? Why is everyone looking for something? Did someone steal the pipe that belonged to Mr. Dalton again?"
"No", Carmichael said and ran a hand over his face. "This is far more serious."
"How?"
"Mark", Carmichael said and put a hand on his arm and looked up at the young man. "Wes is missing."
"What", Mark asked horrified. "What do you mean missing?!"
"Brad told me that he told the Warblers to catch Wes for stealing that whistle of Jerry's", Carmichael explained. "The one that brought him to Brad would get the next solo. Wes ran for it and no one has seen him since. He avoided all 'attacks' on him and got away. We have no idea of where he is or if someone has taken him."
Mark balled his hands into fists.
"Where are the Warblers", he asked.
"Brad is having them in the Warbler hall", Carmichael explained. "They are going through where every single Warbler last saw Wes and in what direction he was heading."
Mark nodded and stormed out of the office and towards the Warbler hall.
"And then I slipped on the floor and lost track of him", Rob told Brad as the older boy took notes. "When I got up again I saw him disappear up the stairs with Charles, Lucas, Michael, Nathan, John, Kim and Peter following him. So I gave up and returned to the Warbler hall."
"And you didn't see him or heard his voice after that", Brad asked looking up from his papers.
"No", Rob said. "I-"
He didn't get any further because the doors to the room slammed open and there stood a tall and I mean tall young African-American man. He was dressed in denim, black shirt, sneakers and had a brown jacket on. The older Warblers gulped in fear while the freshmen looked confused.
"How dare you", the guy said as he walked into the room. "How dare you?" he slammed the doors shut behind him.
"I give you one simple task", he thundered on with his really deep voice. "I told you to keep an eye on the kid and now I hear he's missing?!" the young man was in Lucas' face, yelling.
"Mark", Lucas began. "I-"
"And you three", Mark thundered turning to Nathan, Mitch and Otto. "I told you to not let anyone hurt him or boss him around!"
"Mark", Brad said and turned to him, shaking slightly. "We're doing our best. We have no idea-"
"You have no idea on how to take care of a kid!" Mark yelled. "Or where to look for him! What's your conclusions so far then huh?"
"Nothing", Brad said. "I… I um want to question everyone first."
"Then let's do it my way instead of going into meaningless details!" He turned around. "Who of you looked for Wes on the first floor?"
All boys raised their hands.
"How many of you saw him on the first floor at one point or another?"
Half of the boys lowered their hands.
"How many of you saw him on the second floor?"
A few more hands dropped.
"How many of you have looked there?"
All hands went up.
"How many of you saw him on the third floor?"
Four hands went up, including Jesse's. Mark turned to four said boys and they all reported when they last saw Wes, where they last saw Wes and in which direction he'd run off to.
"Did you ransack the third floor", Mark asked coldly.
"Yeah every room that wasn't locked", Otto said.
"And how about locked doors?"
"We don't have keys to those", Philip said and felt ashamed. But then it dawned on him. "Wait you think he might've gotten locked into a room?"
"Maybe… did anyone of you see something that you thought was odd on the third floor?"
Nathan, Michael and Peter looked at Jesse but he just looked confused.
"What", he asked and all eyes turned to him.
"You were leaning on the door of the cleaning closet near the astronomy classroom", Nathan told him and looked deep in thought. "You acted a bit nonchalant and told us you hadn't seen Wes at all."
"Yeah", Jesse said. "So?"
"Jesse", Austin yelled slamming his hands down onto the council table so everything on it jumped.
"Geez man take it easy", Joseph said as he started to pick up the papers that had fallen off. But Austin ignored him.
"Did you, for some reason, lock Wes into that closet?" Austin yelled and Jesse looked at him… and then paled.
"Oh no", he said and felt on his pants and found the key. "I forgot!"
A fist filled his view and Mark had to grab Lucas around the middle and hoist him off of Jesse. Lucas was trying to kill him and was still trying to get to him.
"You bastard", he yelled. "You complete, utter, stupid, fucking jerk!"
Jesse sat up looking scared.
"How could you?!" Lucas yelled. "What were you thinking?! He's just a kid damn it!"
"He…" Jesse stuttered out. "He t-told me to hide him in there so no one would find him a-a-and when you all gave up he would let me catch him."
The Warblers all glared at him but he could see that they all believed him. The key had fallen from his grasp and was lying on the floor. Jesse reached for it but Mith took it before Jesse could. Mitch glared at the boy in anger and disappointment. Jesse got onto his feet, trembling.
"I", he stuttered. "I didn't mean to harm him."
Lucas roared and tried to get at him.
"Lucas", Mark snapped and the younger boy turned to him. "Not now. We have more important things to do."
"Right", Brad said. "Lucas, Mark, Mitch and Justine come with me. Otto, Nathan you two tell Carmichael we might know where Wes is. The rest of your spread the word around." All boys nodded and they left, Jesse was dragged to the principal's office to explain himself to Carmichael.
"Which door is the cleaning closet", Mark growled and Justin pointed. Lucas then snatched the key from Mitch and hurried over to the door.
"Wes", he called. "Can you hear me?" He got no answer so he put the key in the hole and turned it. He tried the handle and the very heavy door opened. He hit the light switch that sat on the outside of the closet and when light came on… his heart became heavy.
Wes was sitting on the floor, hugging himself tightly while staring at where the door had been. His eyes were red and dull and he was very pale. His hands were bleeding and he had a haunted look on his face. He was trembling slightly.
"Oh Wes", Lucas said and hurried inside but the boy didn't move or respond to him. Lucas sat down in front of him. "Wes?" he asked but got no reply. He snapped with his fingers in front of Wes' eyes but got no reaction what so ever.
"Shorty", he asked and slowly moved his hand towards the boy's cheek. "Are you okay?" When he touched the pale cheek something flashed in the boy's eyes.
"YAOW!" Lucas exclaimed as Wes sunk his teeth into his hand. Wes stopped biting him and ran for the door. Lucas grabbed his arm but the kid screamed in terror and hit and clawed at him. Lucas lost his grip and the kid made a run for it again. But Mark stepped in and grabbed hold around the kid's middle. The frightened child screamed and screamed in terror and hit on Mark to get loose. But he was so weak that it didn't do any good and after just a little bit he fainted.
"Oh God", Justine said, being pale. "What happened to him?"
"I think", Mark said scooping the boy up. "That he is claustrophobic so he had a panic attack or something."
"He didn't even know it was me", Lucas said leaving the closet, holding his good hand over the bite mark. "He tried to run because he was scared."
Mark looked at the boy in his arms. Wes looking worried and scared even in sleep and he whimpered slightly. Mark hoisted him up a bit so that the kid was leaning his head on Mark's shoulder.
"Let's get him to a hospital", Mark said and they hurriedly left. "We'll deal with the aftermath later, when he wakes up."
TBC From now on and forever this story is dedicated to my grandma who passed away today 2012-10-17 at 8 am.
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