He ran down the stairs, his ass still on fire causing him to nearly trip. 'God damn! Maybe I should let him top instead of taking turns.' Joey tripped on the second to last step when he heard Yugi call his name. Looking up, he saw his friends standing there near the living room seeming nervous. "I don't have time to talk!" He jumped up but stormed up to them anyway. "But you have to swear not to tell Seto about my dad!" The blonde growled.
It was mostly directed towards Tristan who just scratched the back of his head before nodding. He knew everything that Joey's dad did to him but no matter what, Joey wouldn't let him help him. All he could do now was watch his friend run out the door and curse as he took in the cloudy sky. 'I remember when he tried lying to me when he came to school one day with a black eye… he said it was from a jerk who hated his guts, which I guess is partially true, but his dad is more than a jerk; he's an alcoholic and blames Joey for everything that went wrong in his life.'
"I waited for an hour after you finally picked up to get back here!" his old man slammed him against the door, making Joey wince when his head hit none to gently. "I needed more whiskey and where the hell were you? At some stranger's house!" he punched his son in the stomach before throwing him across the room.
Joey felt the screen crack as he crashed into the TV. He fell to his hands and knees as his father neared him. "He's a classmate. He refused to let me come home and dragged me to his place." It was half the truth. Kaiba was a classmate but Joey had been out of it when he was taken to the mansion. His father stood above him and laughed before grabbing him by his left arm. "Who the fuck would ever associate themselves with a bastard like you?" Joey was forced to his feet as he cringed at the harsh words. 'My friends and Seto...' he nearly smiled but the feel of his father grabbing ahold of his shoulder forced the blonde to frown before pain caused him to gasp and cry out in pain before being punched in the stomach again.
"If you're ever late again I'll kill you!" He dragged Joey by his blonde hair across the carpet. All that the blonde could do was grit his teeth at the pain in his back. He didn't know why it hurt so much but he'd find out when he got to his room. "And since you weren't here to cook dinner or breakfast, you don't get to eat tonight or at all tomorrow. You're only allowed to come out to cook for me. Are we clear, boy?" The older man released his son who nodded.
Joey waited until his father had slammed his bedroom door before painfully standing and walking to his mirror. After struggling to remove his shirt with one hand, he gave a sad smile as he stared at his beat-up body. A couple bruises on his stomach, a dislocated shoulder which was quickly beginning to swell, and deep cuts in his back that were bleeding. "At least it's not as bad as I had thought it'd be." He whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks and he turned to look out his window, smiling as he saw the rain. "I guess you know how I feel too." He just stood there for nearly an hour when his phone vibrated in his side pocket.
It was Tristan calling him; probably wanting to check on him. "Hello?"
"What did that bastard do to you now?"
Smirking, Joey said "I guess you want me to get to the point like usual?"
"You won't let me help you get out of there so the only thing I can do is ask what happened!"
"Thanks buddy. To be honest, I'm going to need your help this time. My father dislocated my shoulder and my back is bleeding, but he won't let me leave until Monday morning. So early on Monday, I'll meet you behind the school." Before Tristan could respond, a bang from the blonde's father forced him to hang up.
Monday came faster than Joey had expected but he was happy. He quickly made his father his usual bacon and scrambled eggs before heading back to his room to change. It was obvious that changing took longer than usual due to his shoulder, but he had managed. By the time he was done, it was seven o'clock. He didn't need to worry about his jeans or putting on his sneakers. He had worn them since he'd gotten back, and he was glad he had kept them on. He would have had to go barefoot to the school. And sure, he'd had quite a bit of trouble getting his black hoodie on, but it had only taken at least ten minutes. He grabbed his only baseball cap and quickly ran out the front door.
'Tristan's not going to be happy with me when he sees my face...' Joey kept his head down as he passed a few people who were out for their morning exercise, his black hood helping more than his cap. A few times he'd stop, the pain in his shoulder caused from running, but he had made it to the school. Running to the back like he and Tristan were meeting, he took a breath of fresh air, relaxing at the sight of only seeing his friend.
Sighing heavily, the spike haired teen dropped his bag and told the blonde to sit who happily did so. "Hold still. This might hurt." Tristan noticed his friend's confused face but continued. He took hold of Joey's left arm and bent it quickly, forcing a scream from him. Tristan pulled the arm out carefully, taking note that the blonde didn't have a shirt on underneath. "Sorry about that but I didn't know how else I'd get it out." He received a glare from underneath the cap, but he didn't see it.
"You could've warned me. God, that hurts!" Joey hissed grabbing hold of his shoulder before Tristan removed the rest of his hoodie. In his pain, he had forgotten about his face, so when he saw his buddy staring, he looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. He did this after you had called. Because of my shoulder, I hadn't been able to cook dinner fast enough, so he punched me then yesterday he split my nose for not cooking his breakfast fast enough. But then he just punched me for lunch and dinner. I got up early this morning and made him breakfast, so I was able to avoid getting punched again."
Anger setting in, Tristan grabbed Joey's shoulder again and immediately set it back in place forcing an even louder scream and tears to form from him. "Turn around." He ignored his friend's tears and grabbed the medical kit from his back pack. He heard the whimpers as he took out disinfectant and bandages. "If you don't leave that place, I will tell Kaiba. Promise or no promise. He needs to know about this."
"You know I can't tell him!" Joey yelled before biting his tongue as the disinfectant stung for a few minutes. Breathing heavily, he continued speaking. "I don't like seeing Seto so angry. And I know he won't just be angry at my father, he'll be angry at me!" He wiped at his falling tears as Tristan quickly bandaged his back.
"If you tell him today, he won't be as mad. In fact, he probably won't even yell. I didn't tell him, but I told Yugi and Tea. Now turn around again. I'm nearly out of disinfectant but I have enough to take care of your nose."
Joey didn't move though. For some reason, he felt dizzy, so he calmly said, "Hey, I don't feel too good. Can you call him for me?" He laughed before blacking out.
"Shit!" Tristan yelled as he pulled the blonde into his arms. Why did he blackout all of a sudden? Did he do something wrong while helping bandage him? Was something keeping Joey going? Tristan decided he'd think about this later. He had to get him to a hospital. He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed 911, saying that he needed an ambulance quickly at Domino High School. He'd have to wait five minutes but that was enough time to call his friends. He noticed it was 7:59 and teachers were finally arriving, but he went on to call Yugi. "Yugi!" He shouted into the phone, causing a few teachers who had ran towards them to jump. "Meet me at the hospital." Yugi asked why but Tristan didn't have time to explain. "Just do it and bring Tea!" He hung up and waited only a few seconds before the EMT's pulled up, the teachers moving aside.
Two of them took the blonde from Tristan's arms and placed him on a gurney while another two hooked him up to an IV and pushed the gurney back into the ambulance. Standing, Tristan headed to his bike and followed after them quickly. 'If Yugi called Kaiba about this, he'd better not be angry at Joey.'
When Yugi and Tea had arrived, Joey had already been placed in a room and quickly looked over. Tristan understood why they took so long to get there though so he wasn't pissed. Well he was pissed but not at any of his friends or even Seto Kaiba. He was pissed at Joey's father for depriving him of food for nearly two days as well as not letting him go to the bathroom and for beating on him. He opened his mouth to tell his two friends what had happened but Kaiba and Mokuba had burst into the waiting room, breathing heavily. "Did you two run here? Why didn't you just drive?"
But Seto just brushed off the questions and asked worriedly "How is he?"
"How'd you know it was Joey? I didn't even tell Yugi." Tristan looked at the short teen who just lightly laughed.
"I'm guessing he assumed it was him from the way you yelled in the phone at him." Mokuba spoke up before repeating his brother's question.
"He was acting sort of normal when I was taking care of him but then when he said he couldn't tell you," Tristan stared at the CEO "I'm guessing his body couldn't take any more pain and he collapsed. Anyway, the doctor should be out in a minute to tell us what happened."
"What couldn't he tell me?" Kaiba slightly glared at Tristan and his other friends.
"Figures Joey would be right... and I told him you probably won't be as mad. Plus, I promised him I wouldn't tell you, but I have no choice. I was the only one who knew for a long time that his dad was beating him. He wouldn't let me get him out of there. I called him nearly three hours after he got home, and it sounded like he was smiling but I don't know why. He never does when he tells me what his father did." He sighed and continued. "His father ended up dislocating his shoulder and his back was bleeding from something. He wasn't allowed to leave until this morning. When I saw him, he was in worse condition than what he'd said. I'll let you see for yourself, but he didn't want you to know because he said you'd be angry at him." Tristan turned away before hearing someone clear their throat.
Everyone looked over and saw a doctor standing there, watching them closely. "Mr. Wheeler's awake for now. I advise only one person seeing him at a time. He's not exactly in his right mind at the moment. We asked him if he knew where he was, and he said the hospital. When we asked if he knew why and he said yes because it was all worth it in the end. He started smiling and whispered it was worth it after all of Friday night and Saturday morning." The doctor sighed and asked who was going to see him. No one even needed to say a word as Seto responded upsettingly. "I will." He breathed and followed Joey's doctor.
Joey's smile faded as he felt his bladder empty without his permission. He was angry, and he quickly sat up removing the heavy white blankets from his legs. Growling at the sight of the catheter, he wasn't thinking as he grabbed it and yanked it out. "Fuck!" He yelled as pain ran through his dick. Moving to stand, he felt something lightly pull. Looking behind him, he saw a small tube running from him to a medium sized bag filled with nothing. Following the tube up his way, he felt a plastic mask covering his mouth. "I don't need this either!" He yelled and ripped it off before standing, taking hold of the IV stand. The blonde understood why he needed the IV but not the catheter or breathing mask. He began walking to the door, looking down at his feet to make sure he wouldn't trip over the line connecting him to it until he stopped at the feel of his bladder again. He immediately plopped down on the cold tile just as it released again. "Goddamnit!" He sat there in his own urine, waiting for a nurse to enter and help him. He began crying as he realized he was stupid for getting angry about the catheter that he had obviously needed.
"Mr. Wheeler! Are you trying to kill yourself?" At the call of his name and the demanding question, Joey stopped crying and stared at his doctor confusingly. "Kill... myself?" He stared a bit longer, sniffing before sneezing at the disgusting smell of his pee. Anger got to him again and he began shouting. "Why the fuck would I want to kill myself? Are you nuts!? I have people I love and care about! So I don't know why you think I'd want to fucking kill myself!"
"How's your breathing?" The doctor walked passed him. Joey didn't get what he meant until he finally went to take a deep breath and began coughing. His vision was becoming blurry and he felt dizzy again until the mask was placed against his face quickly. "Better?" He was asked. The blonde nodded before being told someone would be in to help him back in bed and a new catheter. He just sat there until he saw his brunette standing in the doorway.
"Seto!" Joey was glad but also scared to see him again. But he didn't move a muscle as his lover strode up to him. "I... I..."
Seto just smiled lightly and placed a gentle hand on blonde hair. "I promise I'm not mad. Tristan told me everything even though he said he swore not to. I didn't make him tell but he was worried. I am curious however." He frowned, removing his hand.
Joey stared once again at Seto's face, wondering why he looked upset. "What are you curious about? I promise to answer as best I can."
"Why do you think that it was all worth it? Being with me was worth getting abused? Why?"
"Remember when I told you my dad was gonna yell but it was gonna be worth it?" Joey slightly blushed before continuing on. "Well, I figured he wasn't going to just yell at me when I got home but I didn't care. Because even though he tried putting me down and beat me, I knew I'd get through all of it because I'm finally with you." He didn't want to let Seto see his tears, but it was impossible now. "I took all the pain because I was happy that I had you to think of to help me get through it all. But when I met up with Tristan, I said I didn't want to tell you because you'd not only be mad at my dad, you'd be mad at me. And I don't like seeing you angry. It kind of hurts." He stared at the floor, worried what Seto was going to say.
"I guess we're a lot alike after all. Stubborn and stupid. Not to mention we get angry fast." The brunette leaned in and kissed his blonde's forehead who responded with "I guess so."
"Can you stay for the whole week with me?" Joey tried cuddling into the crook of his brunette's neck.
Seto laughed. "I would but I highly doubt I'm allowed. And I thought you'd want to see your friends. Plus the doctor said only one of us is allowed to see you at a time. I would abuse my power but then I'd be a major dick."
"But you've only been here for like twenty minutes." Joey whined before a light knock interrupted them.
"We're here to take care of Joey Wheeler and a few other things." Seto watched as three women and four men entered the room. He looked up as one of the women approached him. "I'm sorry but we're going to have to ask you to leave. It'll just be for a half hour. We have to put him under for the new catheter."
At first, Seto was hesitant but he knew Joey needed them to help so he whispered to the blonde that he'd be back tomorrow after school, which was returned with a mumbled word that sounded like 'really?', then he finally gave his tired looking blonde a kiss and sadly stood, watching the nurses carefully stand him up before a nurse shut the door on him.
"Well?" Mokuba looked at his somewhat smiling brother who finally responded with a brighter smile.
"He'll live. But when he was yelling at the doctor, I took a peek inside. I watched on as the doctor calmly stood there and waited a moment for Joey to stop yelling. He asked him how his breathing was and it's obvious that Joey didn't know from his confused expression, but he suddenly started coughing and the doctor gave him the breathing mask he'd been wearing." He received worried looks from everyone before continuing. "I don't know what caused it, but it seems that when Joey gets angry, he has trouble breathing. He sat on the floor as we spoke about the little problem we had and we're all good. You won't be able to see him for a half hour though. The nurses have to replace the catheter that he removed and from the smell I picked up... I'm guessing they're going to have to change his gown and clean up the mess he made." Seto noticed an evil smile spread across Tristan's lips.
"Now I have something to hold against him when he finally gets released from the hospital." The smile disappeared quickly as Tristan looked thoughtfully at his friend's boyfriend. "So when is Joey allowed out?" All Kaiba did was shake his head before saying he had to head to school and collect Joey's schoolwork for the entire week.
"If you want to stay here until he wakes up, you can, Mokuba. But call Roland when you're done." He was almost to the front doors when he paused, looking back at Yugi. "And I promise not to hurt anyone without my puppy's permission."
"I'm guessing one of us should ask when Joey can be released." Tea spoke up after the CEO was gone. She noticed Mokuba wasn't in the waiting room and it seemed Yugi had noticed as well.
"Where did Mokuba go?" Yugi looked at his two friends who just shrugged and kicked their feet, waiting patiently for their blonde friend to wake up. He sighed before turning away to head to the drink machine.
"Did you think it was a bit weird to hear Seto call Joey his puppy?" Yugi jumped at the sound of Mokuba's voice. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's fine." Yugi smiled before thinking about his question. "Kaiba used to call him mutt all the time so hearing your brother say that is a tad strange, but I suppose it fits."
"I asked the doctor after my brother left when Joey can leave. He said if Joey stays in bed and doesn't attempt to move a lot, then he'll be out in a week or so." Mokuba frowned slightly as did Yugi.
"I shouldn't be asking at a time like this but what do you think your brother's fan girls will do if they hear he visited 'the rude and ugly dog'?"
"Seto's going to have to confront all of them about their relationship and I know most won't be happy. But we should wait until Joey's all better to bring it up." Replied the younger Kaiba brother before looking at the time and smiling. "He's going to wake up soon! We should head back to the waiting room."
He felt murderous as he neared the school. He didn't have a grudge against anyone there so why was he feeling this way now? He looked down at his watch. Only 9:37. He sighed heavily and thought of boring his day was going to be without Joey and his friends around until later, well, his puppy's friends will be there later. All he had to do was get the blonde's work for the week, plus whatever else he thought Joey might need from his locker. He slipped into the school, his black sneakers barely making a sound as he headed to the main office. 'Sneakers?' the CEO looked down at his shoes to see sneakers instead of his usual fancy brown shoes. "He's really rubbed off on me in the last few days, hasn't he?" He whispered to no one in particular. Shaking his head of any awful thoughts, he proceeded into the office and asked to see the principal.
She just nodded, and he headed in only to see something he didn't want to. The principal was banging some woman against his desk, both half naked and completely oblivious to Seto Kaiba's presence. Practically laughing and scaring the hell out of the two, he continued standing there, realizing that the woman in front of him must've been Joey's mother. As far as Kaiba could tell, she had light brown hair and amber eyes. "Your son was right about you. You are awful!" He received a glare from the principal, but he turned around and gave them a couple minutes to pull up their pants.
"What the hell do you want so early in the morning? I know you're a busy man but for Christ's sake give a guy some privacy!" The old man yelled as Joey's mother stood to the side embarrassingly.
Walking up to the desk but not daring to touch it, Kaiba grinned and his light blue eyes were full of a glint that told the principal it was a demand. "I have a message I need you to give to the Seto Kaiba president. I'm sure she and the rest of my fans will be more than happy." His grin widened when he saw the old man visibly gulp, fear in his green eyes. "Tell them it'll be a month from today. It's to be held in the auditorium. I'm just giving a tiny speech is all so it's just going to be a few minutes. And if it's a little longer, then I'll serve detention for a month." The principal looked shocked but didn't say a word as Kaiba walked out quickly to gather up Joey's work from his teachers.
The doctor waited for a response from his blonde patient who asked quietly 'what is that?' "Mr. Wheeler, you have a condition called Hyperventilation Syndrome. It's often mistaken for asthma but there a difference between the two. HS is triggered by psychological factors where as asthma is not. You can handle it in a few ways like don't panic, because in general symptoms of shortness of breath and tingling not threatening. Try to curb your emotions and try to breathe slowly and relax; if you can't do that, then try a paper bag. Make sure your mouth and nose are closed to restrict the exchange of oxygen and and carbon dioxide; regular exercise can reduce the risk of hyperventilating; and my favorite one of all..." he grinned smugly at Joey "learn to control your emotions and try to face the problems."
Growling, Joey clenched his right fist. "So you're saying... that I developed some syndrome just from constantly becoming angry?!" But all he received was that smug grin still plastered on that doctor's face.
"Have a good day Joey." The green haired doctor turned and walked out the room, leaving behind an angry blonde until a young and excited Mokuba Kaiba burst in seconds afterwards.
"How are you feeling, Joey?" the raven haired boy's gray eyes were full of happiness but worry as well.
"I'm doing okay, I suppose." Joey ruffled the teen's messy hair, getting a laugh from him. "You know how Seto and I would constantly fight and I would always be so angry at him?" He looked serious from Mokuba's point of view who nodded and urged him to continue. "Well, I never thought something bad from it could happen but it did. I ended up with something called Hyperventilation Syndrome. It's not asthma and that damn doctor said his favorite way for someone to control it is by learning to control their emotions."
Mokuba stared at Joey, gripping the bed rails until his fingers turned white. "So... is it my brother's fault?" Anger and guilt for not stopping their fights could be seen clearly in his eyes.
"Of course not!" Joey breathed, thinking of as many of his and Seto's fights as he could. "I was the one who usually started them and I guess the doctor was right. I really do need to learn to control my emotions, especially my anger." He turned his head to look out the window to see it pouring down rain again. He smiled lightly before hearing the short Kaiba's question.
"Say you return to school, and, for example," Mokuba began nervously "there's a couple of girls hanging on Seto who can't shake them off, what would you do?" He noticed Joey clenching and unclenching his fist so he backed up a few steps from the bed and out of reach.
"If that ever happens, I would shove them away before showing them that he's mine. Of course, I would get in trouble but I wouldn't care. Those sluts need to know to keep their filthy hands off what's mine or they'll pay the price."
I had actually looked up the whole Hyperventilation Syndrome. I know it can be caused from excitement and panic and apparently anger as well. Well, I'll work on chapter three soon! Apparently, the word upsettingly is not spelled right or is not a word on FanFic... I know I spelled it right and it's underlined with red...
