Author's Note: Thank you all for your support, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Instead of waiting longer, I will end this here and start the chapter!

Warnings/Triggers: Attempted suicide, abusive/absentee father, orphaned teen, and forced performance (kinda).

Beyond the Masks We Wear

Waking up with a groan, Bruce rubbed a hand against his face and immediately regretted it. The events of last night came back in sporadic sounds, flashes of images up until the last thing he remembered, fading into darkness. Sitting up in his bed, not wanting to get up too fast in the off chance he had a concussion. Groaning as he stood up, feeling his muscles stretch and joints pop, he walked to the bathroom after grabbing some clothes for when he finished his shower. Staring in the mirror, he wasn't surprised at what stared back at him. Black and purple bruises littered his face, mostly around his eye, which bore the brunt of his father's strike.

Pulling out the medium sized metal box from the cabinet beneath the sink, he left it on the counter as he turned on the water in the shower. Stepping into the scalding water, he scrubbed his body trying to forget the events that happened the night before. He wondered how he ended up in his bed, he knew that his father would have left him there so he decided that his mother must have carried him into his room and put him in his bed. He laughed at image of his mother dragging him into his room; he stood over her by at least a foot. Finishing up washing his hair, Bruce turned the water to the opposite side causing the hot water to turn ice-cold. Letting the water run over his face, he hoped that any swelling would be reduced.

Standing in front of the steam-covered mirror, he was glad to see that the shades of bruises were slightly lighter than he first thought. With a hiss of pain, Bruce removed the contact from the black eye, as he knew it would have to come out anyway, before removing the other contact, he opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out the glasses he hadn't used in a while. Chuckling as he remembered that he thought contacts would help him look less nerdy. He put on the glasses after removing the last contact, turned on the fan to help remove the steam from the room and wiped off the mirror.

Opening the metal box, he pulled out the makeup that even his mother didn't know about. Applying it with such skill that wasn't normal for a 17-year-old male to have, he covered the bruises until it looked like he had bags under his eyes. Putting all the items back into the box and hid it behind the stack of toilet paper in the cabinet. Quickly pulling on his clothes, he threw the dirty clothes into the hamper and left the bathroom. He knew he couldn't avoid the kitchen forever, so he stopped thinking about what happened and looked for a sign of his mother. Finding none, he ate some toast and decided on getting out of the house. Grabbing his keys, cell phone and iPod, he noticed his wallet with the pass on the table near the front door. He grabbed both items and entered the warm summer day.

He didn't know how he got there, obviously he walked, but Bruce wasn't standing in front of the library, which was his intended destination. Instead, he was standing underneath the sign for the circus. Walking to the ticket booth, showing the pass, and walking around the circus, he wondered if he would run into Clint today. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was secretly hoping that Clint would want to hang out again.

"Bruce! How long have you been here?" Clint asked, running up to meet the other teen.

"Just a few minutes, I haven't been here that long. Don't you have a show to do?" Shaking his head, Clint grabbed Bruce's arm and tugged him in the direction of a ride.

This continued for a while, Clint dragging Bruce from ride to ride and visiting every attraction in-between. Every time Bruce caught Clint looking at him, he prayed that he wouldn't be able to tell that he was wearing makeup, or that he looked 'overly tired' due to the bags under his eyes. They were able to covertly cut every line for the rides due to Clint knowing the operators.

"Lets go to that booth!" Clint happily said, leading Bruce to one of those 'knock over the milk bottles' booths. He wasn't surprised when Clint knocked over every bottle with the first ball.

"Congratulations Clint! Although, you already have every stuffed animal we carry, pick one for your friend and leave before I change my mind." Joked the attendant, before handing Clint the giant stuffed panda bear. Thrusting the bear into Bruce's arms, Clint continued dragging Bruce around.

They stopped for lunch at the joint near the water ride, Johnny's Burgers right next to the 'Niagara Falls'. Bruce got a slice of pizza while Clint asked for the chicken strips, and they ate under the shade of the tree, leaning against the trunk. No sooner than they both finished eating, Bruce was being led toward the water ride with an uneasy feeling in his stomach.

The ride was enjoyable, Bruce normally loved water rides so this one was just like all the others. When they got out of the seats thoroughly soaked as they sat in front, laughing as they walked away. Bruce took off his glasses and wiped his face on his shirt, not noticing the makeup stains that were left behind.

"Bruce, what happened to your face?" Clint asked cupping his face with his hand and turning it so he could get a better look.

"Well… you see…" Bruce mumbled, rubbing his hand on the back of his head before looking at Clint who was giving him that look. Without saying anything, Bruce knew that Clint wouldn't believe anything but the truth, so with a sigh, Bruce decided it would be best to just tell him.

"My father made a … surprise visit last night. This is the result."

"Come on, lets go somewhere private. You can tell me everything there." Clint said, noticing that Bruce looked both scared and ashamed. Throwing his arm over Bruce's shoulder, Clint glared at anyone who looked at Bruce for too long.

A/N: So Bruce told Clint, what is going to be his reaction, even I can't tell you that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know if you're liking it so far, or how I'm doing.

RAY