Warning: If you do not like yaoi then please don't read. Thanks!
A few months had passed prior to the incident between Eric and Alan, and nothing else awkward had taken place between the two of them. Eric had started dating a new girl almost every week, and Alan had begun a secret relationship with an older student named Claude. Only Eric and a few of their close friends knew that Alan was bisexual and in a relationship. Eric was indeed happy that Alan had found someone and felt happy with him, but Eric couldn't help but feel there was something that didn't seem right about Claude.
Alan got home late from a date one Friday night and startled Eric when he slammed the front door shut. Eric heard his stepbrother run up the stairs and rush into his own bedroom. The blonde got off his bed and walked slowly to Alan's bedroom and knocked softly. "Alan, are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes Eric I'm fine. Please go away," Alan requested. Listening to his voice, Eric could tell that Alan was crying.
"Alan, please let me in, I want to know what happened," Eric said firmly.
"No, nothing happened, leave me alone," Alan demanded as he cried harder. Eric knew that he couldn't leave his brother alone when he was upset, so he opened the door against Alan's wishes. "I told you to leave me alone!" Alan yelled as he threw a book at his stepbrother.
Eric dodged the book, but looked at his brother's face. Alan had acquired a black eye, and a few scratch marks on his arms. "Where did those come from?" Eric asked as he walked towards Alan.
The brunette backed away from Eric as he climbed on top of his bed. "No, I don't want you to see," Alan cried.
Gently, Eric sat down next to Alan and touched his face. Alan was shaking and flinched when he felt his brother's hand on his cheek. "Now tell me what happened; you didn't leave the house with a black eye, and the only other person you've seen tonight is Claude. Is he abusing you?" Eric questioned.
Alan looked up at his brother and let tears slip out of his eyes. "He's just very violent if he doesn't get his way, and tonight he –" Alan stopped and lowered his face.
"What, what did he do to you?" Eric asked as he brought his brother's face back up to his.
"He wanted to have sex, and I said no. Claude got mad and hit me, scratched me, and tried to force me to sleep with him, but I managed to get away and take a cab home," Alan finished slowly.
Eric was speechless. This son of a bitch had just attempted to rape his brother and had possibly been abusing him for God knows how long. Placing both hands on Alan's face, Eric asked quietly "Where did he hurt you at?"
Alan removed his jacket and revealed that his t-shirt had been ripped in three different places. Continuing, Alan took off his destroyed shirt and showed Eric that his torso was littered with scratch marks, and bruises from where Claude had either grabbed him or hit him.
The blonde saw that Alan had an ashamed look on his face. "Alan, this isn't your fault," Eric promised quietly as he wrapped his arms around his brother gently. Alan latched onto Eric and felt protected for the first time in a long time. Pulling back, he said "I will take care of him. No one is going to treat my brother like trash and get away with it."
"No Eric, Claude will get mad if he finds out that I told someone what he tried to do. He said that he'll beat me if I tell anyone, even you," Alan explained.
"Alan, don't worry about him, because when I get through with him, he will think twice about coming near you again," Eric replied as he wiped away his brother's tears.
"Eric, please don't do this, he will hurt you and I can't have that. It's better if you act like you don't know," Alan pleaded. "He'll graduate in a few months and then I won't ever have to deal with him again."
The blonde ran a hand through his brother's hair before gently kissing his cheek. Alan dropped his jaw. "I thought you didn't love me like that," Alan said.
"I don't," Eric stated before getting up and leaving Alan's room. Walking down the hall to his room, Eric gripped his chest at the thought of someone hurting and almost raping his brother. No one deserved his brother more than him, but Eric knew that love like that between two stepbrothers was immoral and forbidden, yet he couldn't help but become more attracted to his brother.
Eric locked his bedroom door shut and lay on his bed as he felt his eyes begin to water. How could he lie to Alan and tell him that he didn't love him like that, when he very much did? This incident with Claude would not go undealt with; Eric would deal with this himself. Alan had pleaded with him and requested that Eric not become involved, but Eric would do anything to protect the one he loved.
Starting in the next chapter, things will be getting very fluffy between Eric and Alan, so be prepared! Thanks for reading! - Fangurl