A/N: Trigger Warning! Although not very explicit, this chapter contains cutting. Please don't read if it will trigger you.


When Nick and Jeff arrived back at Dalton, both boys headed back to their dorm. Nick laid down immediately, hoping to avoid the inevitable conversation that would follow the evening's events. Jeff sat next to him, trying not to scare the already tense teen.

"Nick, who were those people?" Jeff asked softly.

"I didn't know them," Nick mumbled.

Jeff frowned, knowing it was a lie. "They definitely knew you…"

Nick didn't answer immediately, and for a moment Jeff thought he had fallen asleep. When an answer did come it was hesitant and barely above a whisper. "They went to my school. They used to beat me up there, and they were the reason I transferred mid-year."

Jeff pulled the smaller boy into a hug. Nick finally let some of the tears out that he'd been holding in.

"I won't let them hurt you again, I promise," Jeff whispered in Nick's ear, rubbing his back soothingly.

"What if you're not there?"

Jeff hugged him closer. Nick sounded so broken, so much like he had been last year when he first transferred. He had never seen someone so scared, so sad all the time. "I won't let you go anywhere by yourself if that's what it takes okay? I'll be with you whenever you leave Dalton."

Nick nodded but remained silent. The boys stayed like that the rest of the evening, only moving to get ready for bed and then to sleep.


Nick woke up the next morning to an empty room. He stretched and reached for his phone. Instead, he felt a sheet of paper on his desk that wasn't there the night before and grabbed it. It was a note from Jeff.

Nick,

You looked exhausted and I figured you could use the extra sleep. I'll grab you a coffee and breakfast from the cafeteria. See you in a while!

Nick signed, rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock. 8:45, enough time to take a shower before Jeff came back. He grabbed some clothes and headed to the shower. Standing under the hot water, Nick couldn't help but remember what happened last night. It was just like what happened at his old school. He saw his razor on the shelf. No, he thought, it's been months, I've been doing so well. He shook his head and turned his back to the temptation.

His thoughts kept going back to the night before. He could practically feel the fear and depression creeping back to him, and his thoughts turned darker. When he left the shower, he took the razor with him.

Standing in front of the mirror, Nick looked at himself with disgust. His scars were prominent in the light of the small room, his torso skinny with no hints of muscle, and black bags under his tired eyes. He glanced at the razor in his hand, frowning. His eyes became wet with tears, and brought the blade up to his arm, sighing in relief when he drew blood. The pain washed up his arm, dispelling the numbness that had been creeping up ever since the events of the night before.

Nick hated feeling helpless and numb. The emotions became overwhelming and just disappeared, leaving him with a void that he didn't know how to fill, except by cutting. The pain felt good, it grounded him in reality.

The sound of a door opening awakened Nick from his thoughts. He heard Jeff in the other room, saying he brought breakfast back. "I'll be out in a minute!"

Nick ran the new cuts under the faucet, washing away the blood. He dressed and toweled his hair dry before leaving the bathroom, making sure the cuts were hidden underneath the sleeves of his sweatshirt. Jeff couldn't know; he would think Nick stupid, dramatic, and a failure. So he made sure to hide his scars.

"How are you feeling?" Jeff asked, the concern in his eyes lost on Nick as he sat down on his bed.

"I've been better," Nick replied, gratefully accepting the coffee and bagel Jeff handed him.

Jeff put an arm around Nick's shoulders in an attempt to comfort the other boy. "Did you have anything you wanted to do today? I was thinking we could have a movie day, just the two of us." Nick looked like he could use some down time, and some peace from the noisy Warblers.

"Sounds good," Nick sipped at his coffee, relishing in the warmth it brought. It let him forget the stinging cuts for a moment, giving him something else to focus on. Jeff grabbed his laptop and opened Netflix.

"You can have the first choice," Jeff said with a smile.

Nick laid down next to the blonde boy, careful of his coffee.

"Can we just start with Harry Potter?"


A/N: Just like Nick hides his cuts and scars, many people probably do. You never know what someone is going through. Be thoughtful with people, and don't push someone beyond their limits. Always be kind and stick up for others who can't, or won't, stick up for themselves.