The start

Flashback

Cas shivered as held his red cup of alcohol firmly in his hand. The wind was beginning to pick up causing most of the party to head inside the house. Cas stumbled along with the crowd and jumped when a hand laid on his shoulder.

He turned his head to see who it was and broke out into a wide smile when he saw his friend. "Balthazar!," he greeted loudly and drunkenly.

Balthazar smiled back at him as his hand found its way to Cas' waist and pulled him in closer to him. "Cassie, you're freezing. How about we get you inside?," he offered him.

Cas nodded. " 's where I was going," he slurred. It was the last party of junior year and he wanted to be completely hammered before he had to go back home to his parents for the summer. It was just a shame that his best friend, Gabe, couldn't make it out tonight.

Balthazar's warm breath against his neck made him shiver again as he chuckled softly. Cas' stomach twisted in an uneasy feeling. He grabbed the arm that was gripped tightly on his waist and pushed it away. Balthazar's arm dropped at his side but he continued to press up against Cas as they walked.

Cas pushed through the back door then steadied himself up against the wall in the living room. Balthazar followed him and leaned in next to him. "Are you feeling okay, Cas? Can you make it back to your house?," he asked in a concerned voice as he gently pulled the cup from his hands.

Cas closed his eyes and ignored the uneasiness and alarms going off in his head. "Mm. Maybe. I- I should just call an Uber," he stuttered while pulling out his phone.

c

"Nonsense! You can sleep in my room," Balthazar offered him without hesitation.

Cas shook his head slowly. "Not such a good idea. Where will you sleep?," he asked him.

Balthazar put his hands in between Cas' head and stood firmly in front of him. Cas opened his eyes slowly and saw how intently the other boy gazed at him. He swallowed down a lump in his throat as Balthazar pushed a stray hair off of his forehead.

"You know, my bed is big enough for two," he hinted. His tongue darted out across his lips as he continued to stare. Cas looked away from him but didn't miss the way Balthazar's head dipped down to meet his.

Cas dodged his head out of the way and grimaced when Balthazar's lips landed on his cheek. He pushed on the stronger boys' chest firmly to get him to back off. "Balthazar, it's never going to happen," he said calmly even though his entire body was buzzing from the copious amounts of alcohol he consumed that evening.

Balthazar tightened his lips but nodded anyways. "Fine, Cassie. But you know where to find me if you change your mind," he suggested with a sly wink before pushing away from him and walking off with his drink.

"Uh, that's my drink," Cas said softly but fell on deaf ears when Balthazar made his way into the kitchen.

Cas shrugged lightly to himself then walked over to the long couch where a couple was making out. He sat down next to them and pulled out his phone to request a ride.

The screen blurred together as he attempted to pull himself together and get the hell out of here. Walking or driving was clearly out of the question. He squinted his eyes but it only made the screen look worse. He sighed and raised his phone to show the couple next to him. " 'scuse me? Can you please help me get an Uber?," he slurred.

The couple ignored him even when he began tapping on their shoulders to gain their attention. When that proved to be no use, he locked his phone and rested against the couch with his eyes closed. Maybe he could crash here for a couple of hours then leave when he sobered up.

A light shake of his shoulder caused him to open his eyes slightly. "Hm?," he hummed as Balthazar slowly came into focus.

Balthazar held out his red cup from earlier for him to take. "My mistake, Cassie. I grabbed yours by accident," he told him.

Cas shook his head. "Nah. I'm trying to get sober," he said, rejecting the drink.

Balthazar placed the drink in his hand with a tight smile. "I insist. You don't want it to go to waste, do you?," he questioned him rhetorically while guiding the cup up to Cas' lips.

Cas shrugged but didn't stop the drink as liquid flowed into his throat. One more drink couldn't hurt. He leaned back again when the cup was empty then pulled out his phone once again. "Will you help me get a ride?," he asked Balthazar while holding it up.

Balthazar smiled and nodded. "Of course. What are friends for?," he said as he took the phone from him.

Cas smiled back. He was happy to know that him and Balthazar could still be friends even though he wasn't interested him romantically. Cas' phone began to ring in Balthazar's hand. Cas looked over at him and tilted his head.

"It's Gabe," Balthazar told him then held his phone out to him.

Cas grabbed it then swiped to answer. "Hello?," he slurred.

"Cas? Are you okay? You haven't texted me back," Gabe said with worry evident in his voice.

" 'm fine. Bout to go home," he confirmed to his friend. His head was beginning to feel like a ton of bricks making it hard to hold up any longer. He laid back against the couch and grimaced when the room began to spin around him. Maybe he did have one drink too many.

"When? When are you going home? I need to know," Gabe questioned him. Cas could barely comprehend what was being asked of him.

"Um. I- I. G- Gabe," he stuttered. He felt as if he was on the verge of passing out. His eyes fluttered shut as his body went limp.

He dropped his phone on his chest but felt it being removed. "Gabriel, he will stay here tonight…yes, no problem at all…be in tip top shape when he comes home," he could hear Balthazar's voice coming in and out as he began to lose consciousness.

After what felt like hours but was probably just minutes, his body was being picked up and taken up the stairs. He could hear the music fade out followed by the heavy sound of shoes on the stairs.

He weakly attempted to open his eyes but failed when he couldn't move them a bit. He could feel himself slipping into complete darkness but he fought to stay awake. He was screaming at himself to move, to cry, to shout, to do something. But he couldn't. His mind was here but his body was not. And there was nothing he could do about it.

His mind began to slip away from consciousness no matter how hard he fought back. Then he was gone.

He woke up in a pool of sweat in an unfamiliar room. He looked to his right to see Balthazar sleeping soundly next to him, his chest bare. He felt a wave of nausea hit him like a train when he realized he was also completely naked. He sat up slowly as to not wake the other boy and almost cried out when a sharp pain in his ass greeted him.

He put his hand up to his mouth to muffle his cries when his emotions betrayed him as tears began to spill out of his eyes. He searched the room quickly to look for his clothes while slipping out of the bed.

He stumbled into the large bookcase that proudly held all of Balthazar's football awards and trophies. Cas reached out and held onto the bookcase to steady himself as he wiped away his tears. He looked down and found his discarded clothes lying in a pile at the end of the bed.

He let go of the case then proceeded to quickly slip into his clothes. He felt his pockets for his phone and felt panic rise in his chest when he realized it was missing.

He let out a loud sniffle and closed his eyes when Balthazar started to groan lowly and turn around in the bed. When he was sure he hadn't woken up yet, he scanned the room once again. He spotted his phone on the bedside table next to him and pocketed it quickly.

Cas tiptoed out of the room silently but left the door ajar before dashing down the stairs despite the pain radiating through his lower body. He carefully stepped over the leftover party goers who were passed out on the floor.

He made it out of the front door and he knew what he had to do. The rain poured relentlessly over the campus. Cas pulled out his phone now that his vision wasn't impaired and checked the time. It was nearing five in the morning meaning that the sun would be up soon.

He noticed a notification at the top of his phone letting him know that the 'do not disturb' method was currently in use. Balthazar must of turned it on when he took his phone from him earlier to ensure that no distractions happened.

He shoved his phone back into his pocket to protect it from the rain then slowly began to grudge towards a campus building. He felt numb, shocked and overall betrayed.

He had to admit that he was a little bit glad that he couldn't remember the event itself but with every step he took, there was an awful pain that reminded him that he wasn't dreaming. This was happening. And he had been assaulted. No. He had been raped.

The downfall of rain soaked into his clothes and matted his hair down on his head and forehead. He could see the building in sight. The colleges medical center.

A few minutes later, he walked through the automatic doors and up to the woman behind the glass counter. She put down her clipboard and looked at him with worry. "Are you okay, hun?," she asked him.

Cas adverted her brown eyes and opted for the tiled floor. "I- I've been raped," he said softly. He couldn't tell if he had said it out loud or if he was still thinking.

The woman came out of a door next to the counter then wrapped a warm blanket around him. "Okay. We're going to go run a rape kit on you and see if you have sustained any injuries, alright?," she asked him while directing him to a small white room with a checkup table.

Cas nodded even though he hadn't been listening to closely to her. He could only think of how embarrassed he felt. This wasn't how he pictured his last night of junior year. He briefly wondered what the nurse must think of him. Did she think he was weak or lying? He looked into her warm and understanding eyes and took his previous questions back.

Cas went numbly through the exam and test while trying not to remember the entire reason he was even here. After it was over, the nurse gave him a warm pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt to change into. She asked him if he wanted her to wash his damp clothes and have him pick them up at a later date.

"No. Burn them," he said with detachment.

The nurse frowned but discarded the clothes into a clear plastic trash bag. The nurse and doctor that came in at some point confirmed that Cas had indeed been raped but had no injuries. His rapist knew what he was doing.

The nurse allowed him to lie on the checkup table for as long as he liked but came back to see how he was doing every once in a while. She laid her hand on Cas' shoulder but pulled back when he flinched. "Sweetie, would you like us to call the campus police so you can take further action?," she asked him gently.

Cas shook his head. He wanted to say something but the words would only come out cracked and dry at this point. She sighed and sat down next to him. "I know this is hard. Hell, it's the hardest thing you will ever go through. What he did to you is not okay. He has done this before. Do you want him claiming even more victims? If not then something needs to be done. He needs to be reprimanded," she told him with confidence in her voice.

Cas stayed motionless and quiet. The nurse stood up and let him be alone once again. He finally allowed himself to break down, to let everything out and tell himself that everything was going to be alright even when it wasn't.

He decided that the nurse was right. He wasn't going to let Balthazar get away with this and have him victimize anyone else. He met with the campus police with nerves chattering through his entire body.

They took his statement, asked for any potential witnesses and seemed to be genuinely comforting in the wake of this traumatizing event.

"Now, Cas, can you tell me who your assailant is?," the head of police asked him as he held a pen and notebook filled with details in front of him.

Cas looked down at his feet with shame. "B-Balthazar Roche," he stuttered out.

He didn't hear the sound of pen against paper like he did before. He looked up and saw the man looking at him oddly. "I'm sorry. Did you say Balthazar? Quarterback?," he questioned him.

Cas nodded as his cheeks flushed red. The cop shook his head slowly and set down the pen. "That cant be. Are you one hundred percent positive? Balthazar is a great kid. He would never do anything like that," the cop defended him.

Cas felt his entire stomach flip over in his stomach. "I think I would know who fucking raped me," he spat out angrily.

The cop pursed his lips. "But maybe you didn't. You did say you were drinking, correct?," he asked him.

Cas nodded slowly. "Yes, but I don't see what that has to do with anything," he deadpanned.

"You could've slept with anyone. Drinking impairs your judgement. You don't want to get anyone in trouble for something they didn't do. Do you?," he questioned him quickly.

Cas tilted his head at him and furrowed his brow. "But he did it. I know with everything I have in me that he did it. Please, believe me," he begged the officer.

The cop sighed then closed the notebook without writing a name into it. "I will get this in sometime this week. We'll call you," he falsely assured him.

Tears stung in his eyes when he realized that he would never receive that call. Nothing would happen to Balthazar because of who he was. Cas was nobody compared to him. He stood up quickly and ran out of the station.

Balthazar wasn't getting away with this. None of them were. If the police didn't believe him then fine. He would find other alternatives to get their attention. This was not over.