Chapter 2

Jan walked down a dimly lit street. He shivered and pulled his jacket tighter. He hadn't been lying when he'd told Bella he didn't know where he was going. At first he'd thought about going to a bar and getting drunk but before he even managed to take a step into the bar he'd seen his sister's disappointed face. Jan sighed and kept walking, trying to ignore the cold that bit at his fingers. He didn't plan on staying out to long; just long enough for him to calm down.

As Jan made his way down the street a groan caught his attention. Jan stopped when he heard the sound. The street was empty now; everyone was either at home or in the clubs. Jan shrugged; it must have been his imagination. He was about to head home when he heard it again. This time he heard where it came from. Jan jogged up the street until he came to an alley just a little further up the street. Jan peered into the alley.

"Hello?"

There was no answer. Jan frowned and stepped into the alley, this time he was sure he'd heard something. As he got further into the alley he could see a figure hunched over against a wall. Jan hesitated before taking another step.

"Hey are you o-"

Jan's eyes widened as he stared at the familiar dark curly hair that belonged to the one person who had been at the back of his mind all day.

"Antonio?"

The older teen groaned and raised his head to look at the man who'd called his name. He tried to smile when he saw who it was but flinched when he felt the sharp sting of pain.

"Heh, fancy seeing you here."

Jan ignored Antonio and continued to stare at him. Antonio was covered in what looked like his own blood. His nose was bleeding and his swollen cheek forced him to squint up at Jan. They were silent, apart from Antonio's heavy breathing. As Jan slowly took in Antonio's beaten form a faint sense of horror overcame him. Antonio's small smirk slowly slid off his face as Jan just stared at him, shocked. As Jan continued to stare at Antonio he couldn't help but focus on his usually confident green eyes that now looked...dull.

Antonio flinched away from Jan's hand as he reached out to him. Jan hesitated before slowly holding Antonio's chin in a gentle grip, careful to avoid any bruise that was starting form. He turned his head from side to side taking in all the damage.

"You need to see a doctor"

Antonio's hand shot up and grabbed Jan's arm as he moved to pull it away. Jan turned to look at Antonio in surprise and was shocked to see panic clear on his face.

"Don't...Don't take me to the Hospital" his voice was weak.

Jan hesitated trying to figure out what to do, he couldn't force him to go but he couldn't leave him here to bleed. There was only one other place he could take him. Jan gently shifted Antonio and pulled him up. He stumbled as he slowly made his way out of the alley.

"No...I don't want to go..." Antonio tried to push himself away from Jan but all he succeeded in doing was pushing his already bruised shoulder into the wall. Jan was quickly at his side.

"Easy, I'm not taking you to hospital. Just stay quiet."

Antonio felt too weak to protest, he didn't know where Jan was taking him but he didn't have the energy to try and stop him.

"I don't live to far, just...try to stay awake."

Bella looked up from her book when she heard the door open. She'd felt guilty after her fight with Jan, she did care for her brother but lately they just clashed and fought. She'd been preparing herself for the worst. She could cope with a drunken Jan and she could deal with a silent angry Jan. She'd never thought that there was a chance he would stumble through the door carrying a bloody and beaten Antonio.

"Oh my god, Jan what happened?" She ran to them and quickly put Antonio's other arm over her shoulder.

"I'll explain later, just help me get him to the kitchen."

They moved Antonio into the kitchen and sat him down on one of the chairs.

"Jan what happened?" Bella asked again panic clear in her voice. Jan ignored her and quickly went to the bathroom. He opened the sink cupboard and grabbed the small green box. He came back into the small kitchen and placed the box on the floor by Antonio's feet before he knelt down in front of him.

"Jan!"

Jan turned to Bella with an irritated look on his face.

"I'll tell you later, now please leave Bella."

Bella stared back at Jan before nodding and turned to leave. She took one last look at Antonio before she left.

Jan watched her leave before he opened the box and took out an alcohol wipe. He turned to Antonio and gently turned his head to the side.

"This is going to sting."

Antonio bit his lip as Jan lightly pressed the wipe to a cut above his eye.

"Sorry."

Antonio glanced up at Jan, surprised by the apology. The two had never been civil towards each other so he hadn't been expecting anything. After cleaning the cuts on Antonio's face the best he could, Jan put the wipes away and opened some salve to help ease the bruising. Antonio stayed still and watched Jan work.

"Thank you."

Jan glanced up at Antonio to see the older teen avoiding his eyes, a faint blush on his cheeks. Antonio had been quiet and Jan had thought he'd misheard at first but judging from the other teen's sudden change in personality he guessed he must have heard him right.

"It-It's no problem."

Jan finished bandaging the cut on Antonio's palm.

"That's the best I can do." He put the salve and bandages back into the box before standing and putting it on the table.

"Did I miss anything?"

Antonio shook his head and an awkward silence enveloped the two. Jan tried to focus on packing the first aid box away while Antonio looked around the small kitchen. It was rather small but cosy, it reminded him of his dear abuelas casa back in Spain. Antonio clenched his fists but flinched from the pain. He looked down at his palm and gently ran a finger over the soft bandage.

"Where did you learn to do this?"

Jan looked back up to see Antonio gesturing at his hand.

"I've had to clean myself up a few times in the past" The answer was short and simple.

Antonio nodded and looked back down at his hand. The silence returned and the two teens focused on different things, anything to take their mind off the silence.

Antonio jumped when he felt a vibrating in his pocket. He quickly pulled out a slightly battered looking phone.

"Hola?" Antonio grinned when he recognised the voice.

"Haha lo siento, I got into a little trouble."

Antonio held his phone further from his ear when Gabriel's voice became panicked and demanded to know if he was alright.

"Ah I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm at a...friend's house."

Jan raised a brow at his choice of word but otherwise stayed quiet.

"Si" Antonio nodded "I'll come home now. Adios."

Antonio hung up and turned to Jan.

"I have to go; my hermano is worried about me"

Antonio left the kitchen and made his way down the hall; Jan followed and leant against the wall. He watched Antonio open the front door and turn back towards him with a guilty look on his face.

"If our positions had been changed, I cannot say I would have done the same for you."

Antonio paused before he smiled at Jan. "Thank you."

Jan's eyes widened as he watched Antonio shut the door behind him. He stood still for a while, Antonio's face still in his mind. He turned and walked up the stairs, past Emma's and Bella's room's until he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. One thought was in his head. It was the first genuine smile he'd seen on Antonio, and he wanted to see it again.

A/N: Hey, here's the next chapter of Helping Hand, I hope you like it. Please review and tell me what you think, any advice is you can give is appreciated like if the character's are OOC or if you think Antonio and Jan's relationship is moving too fast. Oh let me know if you would like longer chapters and I'll try to make the next one longer. Thank you for reading this.

Gabriel: Portugal