Part 65

The first thing Wes noticed when he woke up was that his head was hurting. It was the pain from hell and he had never felt this way. He tried to sit up but as soon as he moved his head started pounding even more. He groaned and looked around the room. Every little thing in his body heart and he had a horrible taste in his mouth. He noticed a bucket beside his bed. It was empty. What was going on? He noticed a bucket by Benjamin's bed as well. Wes slowly moved his legs over the edge but groaned at the pain he felt in his pounding head. He looked at the window and his eyes widened when he noticed that the windows were closed and locked by a piece of string holding them together.

"What the hell?" he asked confused. He slowly got up and realized that except for his shoes, tie and blazer he was sleeping in his uniform. He swayed a little because his head was pounding.

"Holy fuck what happened last night", he mumbled and went to the door… but found it locked. "What the hell?" He pulled on the door and looked for the key that usually sat in the door but it was gone. Same went for the key to the window. Wes took a few calming breaths. It's okay. It's his room and Benjamin was there with him. He was not alone. It was light and not dark. But… there was no way out. Shit… there was no way out.

"Are you a complete idiot?!" he heard an angry voice shouting coming down the hall. "Why the hell did you lock the door?!"

"You didn't see them guys", another voice said. "You have no idea what they could've done if I left them with a way out."

Wes heard the lock in the door click and the door was opened.

"It doesn't matter", the first speaker said and Wes realized it was Rob Barton. "You know of Wes' claustrophobia."

"Didn't bother him last night!" the other speaker objected and Wes noticed that it was Otto.

"Guys", he asked and the two of them looked at him. "What's going on?"

But instead of getting a warm, comforting smile or a joking reply all he got was two death glares.

"Great", Wes said and plopped down on his bed but regretted it as it sent pain to soar through his body and especially his head. "Fuck…"

"What's your language", Otto scolded and walked over to Benjamin. "Wake up Calypso."

Benjamin's eyes opened slowly and he sat up and then groaned.

"Aw damn…" he groaned. "What happened last night?"

"Beats me", Wes said and looked at him. "I can't remember a thing."

"Well you will get a reminder now!" Rob spat and gripped Wes' arm.

"Ow! Take it easy man!"

"Not this time kid", Rob said and pulled Wes up and towards the door.

"You're coming too Calypso", Otto said.

"No way", Benjamin said and pulled the covers over his head again.

"It wasn't a suggestion."

Benjamin's eyes widened in fright and he flew up and followed Rob and Wes. Otto followed him.

Wes and Benjamin were sitting on a couch in the Warbler Hall surrounded by all the Warblers from Wes' first year and this year. Benjamin felt really scared and shrunk into Wes' side. Almost cuddling him. Wes was just glaring at the current speaker. That was Jerry. Jerry had been going on for an hour now. Lecturing them about how they should've known better than to drink when they are underage. While Benjamin was scared and feeling guilty Wes was getting angry.

"Do you two know what could've happened", Jerry asked. "You had no control over yourself and you could've gotten hurt or hurt someone or-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Wes yelled and the Warblers all stared at him. Wes was standing up and Benjamin was looking at him in awe and terror.

"Wes sit down", Mark said sternly.

"No", Wes yelled and bit his lip when it hurt his head but he turned his burning gaze onto Jerry. "You have no right lecturing us when you all did the very same thing when you were freshmen!"

"We never-" Bastian tried.

"Yes you did!" Wes yelled. "I can remember most of you getting drunk when underage after winning competitions or celebrating something else! Except from a certain birthday party each year! But on all others 90% of you got drunk! Don't you lecturing me and Ben about what's wrong and right in this matter because you've done it yourself!"

"No we haven't", Otto said sharply.

"Yes you have", Wes yelled. "God you're all such hypocrites!"

"We are not", Jerry said sharply and Wes glared at him. "We've all gotten drunk yes but-"

"See it gives you no right to-"

"I wasn't finished." The tone Jerry had shut Wes up and he slowly sat down. Lucas sighed.

"Wes we wouldn't be this angry with the two of you if you'd just gotten drunk", he said.

"What are you talking about", Benjamin asked shyly.

"Boys", Justine said softly. "You were both high last night."

"What", Wes asked and his face clearly showed them he didn't belive them. "No we weren't."

"Yes you were", Otto said. "I saw it with my own eyes and I know a crackhead when I see one."

"Hey!" Wes objected angrily. "We didn't do crack!"

"Well you did something because I could smell it on you."

"We drank a few beers", Wes objected.

"Yeah", Benjamin said. "None of us would do drugs."

"But you did", Mark said and walked up to both boys and smelled on them. "I can still smell it."

"But papa I swear we didn't", Wes objected. "We didn't do crack!"

"Wes the evidence are all against you."

"But I'm telling you we didn't do drugs!" Wes yelled. "Why won't you believe me?!"

"Because we can smell it on you and Otto saw you two last night when you returned", Mitch said. "You were both high as kites."

"But we didn't do it", Wes objected.

"Yeah all we did was drink some beers", Benjamin said.

"Boys stop lying", Jerry said.

"We aren't!" Wes yelled angrily and got up again. "We didn't do it! I don't remember taking any drugs! Check everywhere for needle marks!" Wes held his forearms out.

"Fine", Jerry said and walked up to Wes and pushed up his sleeves there was nothing on his forearms. Wes glared at Jerry.

"Happy now", he asked.

"Take your shirt off", Jerry said coldly. Wes growled but did as he was told. There was no needle marks on his forearms or upper arms. Jerry looked at Wes and saw the hurt in his eyes.

"Are you happy now", Wes asked and his voice wasn't angry anymore. It was just sad.

"Wes", Jerry began. "Try to understand. We-"

"You just believe the worst without even trying to believe us", Wes said. "You all really think that we would willingly take drugs…"

"We do not", Jerry tried and put a hand on Wes' cheek.

"Stop being such a hypocrite!" Wes yelled and backed away from his touch. "Stop it stop it stop it!"

"Wes please", Jerry tried but Wes slapped his hands away when he tried to touch him.

"Stop", Wes said. "You know I'm right."

Jerry sighed and Wes sat down on the couch again. He looked at his lap. Jerry was about to say something when he felt a hand on his arm. He turned and noticed that it was Charles Owens. The brunette smiled at him before he sat down on the table in front of Benjamin and Wes. His brown eyes were soft as he watched them. Jerry wanted to know what was going on, but Mark covered his mouth with his hand before he could say anything. Because he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Charles was sure he could talk to Wes because he had been the cause of a big misunderstanding between the Warblers and their little brother by jumping to conclusions himself and he had worked very hard to get Wes' friendship back. Wes would know Charles wasn't just going to try and throw it aside.

"Wes look at me", Charles said softly and Wes looked up at him.

"We didn't do it Charlie", he said sadly.

"I know buddy", Charles said. "I can't see either of you doing it either. But can you tell me what you remember of last night?" Wes shrugged. "Please buddy? Where did you go after the competition?"

"We… we went to Kevin's place", Benjamin supplied and Charles smiled.

"That's good", he said gently. "Then what happened?"

"His brother left beer for us", Wes said and shrugged. "Samuel, Benny and Cory were hesitant to drink but Kevin, Gabe, Sammy and I said that it was nothing wrong to try it… I mean… had I gone back with you guys we would've drunk beers also."

"Yeah but we wouldn't have gotten you high!" Nathan objected wildly.

"Shut up Nate we didn't do it!" Wes yelled and Nathan was about to object again but was silenced by a glare from Mark. Charles took Wes' hand.

"It's okay buddy", he said gently and Wes looked at him with sad eyes. "So you drank a few beers, what happened next?"

Wes wiped at his eyes and squeezed Charles' hands.

"We drank a few each and played some games…" he explained.

"At first we all thought the beer was really yucky", Benjamin mumbled. "But after a few we liked it."

"It's normal", Charles said gently. "What games did you play?"

"Uh… never have I ever and… um…"

"Truth or dare", Wes said. "I think… it's a bit hazy at this point."

"I remember coming out to my friends", Benjamin said and blushed.

"And something about a Net Gargler", Wes said.

"What the heck is a Net Gargler", Charles asked and the two freshmen shrugged.

"Beats me", Wes said.

"Okay, what happened next?"

"Uh… I don't…"

"Oh I know!" Benjamin said. "We smoked those cigarettes Kev's brother left for us."

Lucas' head snapped up.

"Cigarettes", he asked.

"Yeah", Wes said.

"What kind of cigs?"

"Uh just normal Marlboro", Wes said and shrugged.

Jerry suddenly started to wrestle in Mark's grip, almost desperately.

"Wes your brother is weird", Benjamin said.

"You don't say", Wes said and the Warblers laughed. Jerry continued to try to get free and Mark had a hard time keeping him in place. But he suddenly yelped and let go of the other young man. Jerry had bit him.

"Wes!" Jerry yelled and grabbed the younger boy by the shoulders. "What is Kevin's last name?!"

"Uh", Wes said and felt a bit scared. "McGuire?"

"Is his brother named Paul by any chance?"

"Uh… yeah. How did you know?"

Jerry along with all former Warblers groaned loudly.

"Of course", Richard Diamond said. "How could we be so stupid?!"

"Paul McGuire", Brad Nolan growled. "This explains everything!"

Wes and Benjamin looked at each other.

"Uh… explains what", they asked in unison.

Ethan Hughes explained it to them. Paul McGuire had been a student at Dalton, he was a year older than Mark, Jerry, Scott, Bastian, Brad R., Fredric and Richard. He had been caught smoking pot a few times around campus and was hanging with junkies from all over Westerville. He sometimes even gave freshmen and sophomores cigarettes with weed in them. He had even gotten kicked out of Dalton but it didn't stop him from trying to deal at the school. He was known for this throughout Westerville and had been arrested a few times. But he always had just a really tiny bit of weed on him when getting caught.

"I didn't know he was back in town", Jerry said. "Or I would've never let you go with Kevin. You two better stay away from him."

"No", Wes objected. "Jerry it's not his fault!"

"Yeah", Benjamin said. "Chances are Kev doesn't even know! He loves his big brother. He talks about him all the time but never mentioned anything like this!"

"I still don't think you should hang out with him. The apples look alike you know."

"Oh then what does that mean for Nate, Austin or me", Wes growled and Jerry paled slightly.

"Wes that's not funny and not the same thing", he said.

"But it is!"

"Jerry just be quiet", Mark said before Jerry could say anything more. "We have no say in who they are friends with. Besides we still have the question about the missing freshmen."

"Missing freshmen", Benjamin asked.

"Gabriel, Kevin, Samuel and Cory didn't come back last night", Otto said and Wes and Benjamin laughed.

"They're not missing", Wes said. "They were going to stay at Kevin's place. They are probably there still."

Mark sighed. "Well let's go get them."

Wes and Benjamin nodded and got up to go with them.

"Not you two", Otto said. "You are grounded."

Both boys groaned but had to take their punishment… they had a lot of guards.

Mark, Jerry, Scott, Bastian, Brad R., Fredric and Richard were the ones to go over to the McGuire house and when they got there they found Paul just walking out the door, holding a bag in his hand.

"Going somewhere McGuire", Jerry asked and crossed his arms.

"AAH!" Paul screamed in fright and twirled around. "Jerry! Buddy! Nice to see you… all again." He noticed the rest of the boys. "Heh hey Bastian! Scotty so nice to see my former Tortie friends!" His 'Tortie friends' just glared at him.

"Leaving town so soon Paul", Mark asked.

"Ah you know uni is calling and all that", Paul said and tried to walk past them and towards the car nervously. "So what are ya'll doing here? Oh you were here to watch the Warblers? I heard they won, congrats boys."

"Drop it Paul", Brad spat and Paul's smile dropped. "We know."

"Know", Paul asked. "Know what?"

"That you got your little brother and his friends high!" Scott yelled and then found two hands over his mouth, shutting him up.

"Shut up!" Paul hissed. "Do you want him the hear?!"

"Who", Bastian asked and crossed his arms. "Your dad or your little brother?"

"Guys you can't tell Kevin please", Paul begged and gripped Scott's jacket tightly and looked panicked. "He doesn't know anything!"

"Anything about what", Jerry asked.

"About me using and dealing drugs!" Paul said. "It would break him if he found out! I'm his biggest hero and he thinks I'm a golden boy… and… and he loves me so much. I can't lose him guys! Please."

"It's not our thing to tell him", Mark said. "you should… but why are you out here packing your stuff?"

"I… I was… uh you know I…"

"You were leaving weren't you", Scott growled and pushed Paul back. "You were just gonna leave town and let four kids look after themselves?!"

"They're 15…" Paul mumbled and then fell to the ground after being punched so hard in the face his head was spinning. Mark just growled and rubbed his fist before stepping over Paul and heading for the house. The rest of his friends followed, except for Scott who stayed behind to keep an eye on Paul.

Wes and Benjamin were getting… tortured. There was no better word for it. Otto and Nathan… along with the Everetts and the rest of the Warblers from the Dragon, former and current, and Toby Benjamin's mentor were making their life hell. They were making loud noises, talking with loud voices and just making life unbearable for Benjamin and Wes. And the torturers were enjoying it a lot. Because for most of them it was payback for all the times Wes had been an angel to them when they had hangovers.

"Oh God now I understand why you guys hate me so much", Wes groaned and glared at William who'd just whistled to make everyone calm down. William smiled innocently.

"Hate you", Nathan asked.

"Nah", all boys said loudly and Wes put a pillow over his face and groaned.

"I'm… really hungry", Benjamin mumbled and looked at Wes. Wes lifted the pillow and looked at him.

"I am too", he said.

"Don't you worry", Nathan said and smirked. "Reed and Malcolm are getting you something to eat."

Wes' eyes widened in pure terror. He knew how bad said boys were at cooking. They couldn't even boil water without ending up as a catastrophe. When noticing the horror on Wes' face Lucas smirked.

"See that as part of your punishment boys", he said and Wes groaned again and lied down on his back. Just for the door to slam open when a hopping mad Jerry and an equally angry Mark entered.

"When I get my hands on that guy again I will do more than punch him in the face!" Jerry yelled.

"You didn't punch him Jerry, I did", Mark corrected.

"It's the same thing!"

The boys in the room looked at the duo, except for Benjamin and Wes. Wes looked at Benjamin and nodded and they both sat down on Wes' desk, holding and arm around each other. They watched, while wincing every now and then, as Jerry and Mark told them what went down at the house. They found Kevin passed out in his own vomits and the other boys passed out as well. Gabriel had been really close to choking on vomit when they woke him up. Paul had found them and just left, too afraid to take care of the mess. The four boys that had been held back at the house had gotten a lot more high than Wes and Benjamin and were still coming down from their highs. Feeling really crappy but they were being looked after by their mentors and the current Warblers and former Warblers of their dorms.

Scott Crawford was angrier than the rest because when he looked up as he heard Jerry's angry shout of: "PAUL!" Paul knocked him down and ran for it. Scott didn't catch up to him and he was now angrier than Jerry and Mark combined. Sad thing was… Kevin still had no idea it was all his brother's fault… and he refused to believe that it was. He kept on saying, sounding almost delirious, that it was someone else's. That someone had given Paul the wrong cigarettes and that he had then done the same mistake.

"You got to talk to him boys", Jerry told Benjamin and Wes.

"Huh", Benjamin asked.

"You have got to tell Kevin about his brother."

"But we can't", Wes said. "We can't ruin his life just because of one little mistake!"

"But it wasn't one little mistake Wes", Mark said.

"What do you mean?" Benjamin asked.

Mark sighed. Of course they wouldn't remember a thing sobering up from both alcohol and drug use. But instead of scolding them he decided to just tell them again.

"Paul has done this before… here", he said. "At Dalton."

"He got kicked out", Jerry continued, knowing what Mark was doing. "And if Kevin's not careful… he'll end up in a lot of trouble. When word gets out… and trust me it will get out…"

"Then what", Benjamin asked.

"People will treat Kevin like they'd treat Paul", Lucas said. "They'll treat him like a junkie."

"No!" Wes exclaimed and got up from the desk. "They can't!"

"And he might even turn into one", Otto said.

"No!" Benjamin said and flew up. "We won't let him!"

"Then you have to tell him the truth", Jerry said.

"Why us", Wes asked.

"B-b-b-because he won't listen to me!" Jerry said and threw his hands out to the side. Wes and Benjamin looked at each other and then their feet.

"I love that kid", Wes grumbled. "He's one of my best friends."

"I love him like he was my own brother", Benjamin agreed.

"Then you have to think what's best for Kevin", Mark said gently. "And not for yourselves."

"B… But can't we at least wait until tomorrow?"

"It has to be now", Jerry said gently. "Go on boys."

Wes and Benjamin looked at each other. They seemed to communicate telepathically or something because soon Wes took Benjamin's hand and they left the dorm.

"Will they be okay", Alexander asked.

"I hope so", Jerry said with a sigh. "The big question is… will Kevin?"

TBC Sorry for long wait... again. Really sorry you guys. Anyway if anyone figures out what the last exchange between Wes, Jerry and Benjamin comes from I will be really impressed ;) The exchange from: "Then you have to tell him the truth" to "Go on boys."

Answer to non-members' (or not signed in members') reviews:

Sarah1 - Yeah he really was in for it... but not as bad as you expected I guess.

Sarah2 - Seriously? Where have you been the last 9 years ;) Just kidding. It was "La Copa De La Vida" with Ricky Martin