Titel: Into better days
Rating: rated M because of the content of later chapters
Disclaimer: The real people I'm referring to belong to themselves of course. Their characters and gimmicks belong to the WWE.
Pairing(s): eventually Mason/Evan
Summary: High school can be hell. But what happens if some of the 'outsiders' decide to stand together, facing all the injustice each of them had to suffer in their past? A loose alliance soon transformed into friendship... and more...
Warnings in this chapter: Violence, strong language
A/N: Thank you so much for xour comments! They are really appreciated!
III. - All that we have feared so much
Cold water embraced his smooth and slender body. The young man took a deep breath and pushed himself from the pool edge. He ploughed through the water and as he arrived at the other end of the pool he had to gasp for air. "Thirty-two seconds!", his coach announced. "You're getting better every day!"
Evan smiled. He loved swimming. Inside the pool he felt weightless and free. He swam towards the ladder and climbed out. His coach came over and patted the wet man on the back. "I'm expecting a lot from you!", he told the small boy and gave him a proud smile. "I won't let you down coach", Evan replied as he removed his swimming cap and goggles. Cheery he went into the locker room, took a quick shower and hurried to get dressed.
He frowned as he stepped out of the building. The rain had increased and he could barely see the buildings across the small paved yard. He held his bag above his head and ran towards the little glass house at the bus stop. 'If it keeps raining like that I can swim back home', he thought while checking the bus timetable. He sat down on a small bench to wait.
Suddenly a familiar voice attracted Evan's attention. He tried to spot the source of the voice and made out some blurry silhouettes under a nearby chestnut tree. One of the silhouettes clearly belonged to his friend Cody. The other one belonged to a blonde boy, roughly their age, with short hair and a wicked smile. Evan couldn't recall his name but by his clothes he recognized him to be one of the rich kids. He started to wonder why Cody was talking to the boy but his thoughts were interrupted as his bus arrived. He entered the vehicle and as he sat down he already forgot about what he had just seen.
A few days later the temperatures decreased and the rain turned into snow, which was a bit unusual for Chicago at the end of October. Nevertheless, people started to decorate their houses with spider webs, pumpkins and all sorts of gory and spooky things. At St. Helmsley High School it was usual to have a 3-day holiday around All Hollows' Eve. Therefore, the boys had enough time to get prepared for the horror movie marathon Phil had planned for Halloween.
Daniel, Evan and Sheamus had organized some snacks, and Cody and Wade even managed to get some beer. Phil was the proud owner of an enormous collection of horror movies on DVD and even VHS so they had a whole lot of stuff to chose from, starting with classics such as 'Creature from the black lagoon' and 'Nosferatu' up to 'Nightmare on Elm Street', 'Alien vs. Predator' and 'Saw'.
They had just finished their second movie and Phil was occasionally answering the door to give candy to trick-or-treating children. "I need a break", Daniel stated. The young man stretched and, getting his cigarettes from his bag, headed to the door. Phil had cleared the roof of the garage from the early snow and they all decided to go up there to get some fresh air. Wade scrounged a cigarette from his friend and the boys sat there in silence, watching the flickering lights of Jack O' Lanterns through the snowy trees in the Brooks' front garden.
After some minutes Phil began to shiver. "Brrr, it's way to cold out here!", he decided. He got up from one of the beverage crates they were sitting on and went to the ladder that led back down to the ground. "I think I'll get the pizza ready. You can join me if you decide not to freeze to death out here." With this words he started to climb down.
"I'll come", Sheamus said also getting up and soon only Mason, Evan and the two smoking men were left. As soon as they finished their cigarettes Daniel and Wade also went back down and inside, and the two remaining boys sat there in silence.
"Are you okay?", Mason asked as he usually did when both of them were alone. Evan felt that the strong man was indeed worried about him and how he got treated at school. "I'm fine", he smiled as he gave his usual response. "No bothering, no hate-messages in my locker... Seems as if they grew tired of pushing me around." He smiled even wider and returned to watch the nocturnal lights on the other side of the driveway and the shadows of costumed children and party-goers rushing by. He breathed in the cold yet refreshing air and wrapped his coat closer around him.
"I always wanted to ask you...", Mason started to say but interrupted himself.
"Yah?" Evan looked at him giving him his cute and open signature smile.
"About those rumours... about you being gay", the strong man continued and lowered his head so he didn't have to look at Evan. "Are they..." Mason obviously had some troubles uttering his question. He had started to play with a loose thread on his sleeve, staring at it and avoiding Evans sight. But in a sudden streak of courage he looked up, directly into the blue eyes of the small swimmer. "Are they true?"
Evan cocked his head, thinking about the question. "I don't know", he finally responded. "I haven't had a girlfriend yet, if you thought of that. It's not that I don't like girls, I'm just not that interested in them... But I haven't thought about being with a man either." Evan tried to read Mason's thoughts by looking into his peer's dark brown eyes, but he couldn't find any indication of either disgust or astonishment. "But still those idiots keep gossiping about me spending my nights with random guys. Jesus, I haven't even kissed another man!" He laughed nervously. He just couldn't figure out what Mason was thinking. Even so he liked him quite much the quiet man remained a mystery.
"You didn't?", Mason asked, shifting on his crate, drawing nearer. The younger man shook his head. Suddenly he felt uneasy under the gaze of his taller friend. "Ahm, no...", was his simple reply as Mason bend his back to bring his head closer to Evan's. The thoughts in Evan's head started to tumble over one another and he was unable to break eye-contact. He felt as if his stomach started to twist inside his body.
And than, all of a sudden, he felt the urge to kiss Mason. The sheer thought of it made him blush and he had to fight against this completely new feeling. Sure, Mason was tall and strong. He had helped him out many times since the last two months and Evan really came to like this calm and moderate young man. But kissing him? Impossible!
But still, in the face of all logic, the feeling just didn't go away. He caught himself staring into the eyes of his friend, in danger of loosing himself in them. The feeling rumbled inside his belly and all at once it grew that big that he couldn't resist anymore.
Leaning towards Mason Evan closed his eyes, giving him a quick kiss on the lips. It lasted no longer than a heartbeat but Evan could still feel this warm and tender lips after he broke the kiss and turned his head away from Mason.
'What did I just do?', he asked himself, startled and surprised by his very own actions. 'Oh my god, what is he thinking right now?' But he didn't dare to look at the man sitting next to him. 'I bet he's disgusted. How could I? Shit, shit, SHIT! Why did I do that? Why did I give in?' And then a new thought hit him as hart as a punch into the face. 'Are the rumours true? Am I... gay?' Confused he stared on his feet, almost forgetting about Mason's presence.
'Am I gay?' The thought kept repeating itself inside his head and it filled him with fear and anxiety. All consequences possible visualized themselves inside his brain, leaving his mind in a state of pure desperation. His parents, friends, schoolmates, expressions of disgust, anger, disappointment and hate on their faces... 'It can't be. I can't be gay!'
He got interrupted as a cold hand reached out for him and touched him on the cheek. Startled Evan turned his head and was once more confronted with this deep and unreadable eyes. "I'm sorry", he whispered but Mason just shook his head. A second hand reached out for him, running through his black hair and resting on the back of his head. With some gentle force Mason drew Evan's head closer to his and their lips met for a second time.
The kiss lasted longer than the first one and bit by bit the tension inside Evan's body seemed to vanish. He closed his eyes and felt his sorrows withdrawing back into the hindmost corner of his mind. He felt Mason's strong hands on his face and in his hair, his soft lips pressing against his own. For the first time he realised Mason's personal odour. He smelled good, tangy yet good.
Everything around them turned into one big haze. The lights melted together and all sounds became one. Evan completely forgot about his surroundings. It didn't matter anymore. The only important thing for him was the other man holding and kissing him. Way to soon Mason broke their innocent kiss. He kept looking into Evan's eyes and a new thought entered the mind of the smaller boy. 'It's okay', he said to himself. 'Being gay can't be that bad if it feels as good as this.' A mild smile appeared on his face which was returned by Mason with one of his rare and open smiles.
"Pizza's ready!"
A loud noise made them startle and burst apart. Daniel was standing at the base of the ladder, his hands forming a funnel, and shouting up to them. "Damn, you must be chilled to the bone!", he stated as both man climbed down the ladder. Actually they hadn't noticed that such a long time had passed by since they were left alone on the roof but as Daniel mentioned it Even felt the icy cold taking over of his body. He rubbed his hands against each other and nodded.
Together they went inside to grab some food and watch some more movies until early morning.
The weeks went by and almost everything went as usual. Since the incident on the roof the mood between Evan and Mason was a bit tense. They tried to spent some more time together but both were aware that they risked a lot. In the presence of Phil and the other boys they behaved as nothing had happened because they wanted to avoid getting them suspicious at any rate. It was the same with their parents. Evan's parents liked Mason, even though they were a little sceptical in the beginning because of Masons beefy figure. But both men didn't dare to show any affection at the Bourne's house because there they were under constant danger of Evan's mother entering the room at any time to sustain them with snacks and beverages. They couldn't meet up at Mason's home either. Even though his mother was out most of the time with one of her male conquests, Mason's two sisters were a constant threat to their privacy, especially 4-year-old Maria had no sense of privacy whatsoever. The chances for both men to occasionally hug or kiss were rather seldom and it really started to frustrate both of them.
Another thing the group had to struggle with was Cody. The once very nerdy boy had begun to cancel appointments and he chose to hang out with some girls at school rather than sitting or wandering around the grounds with them. He even started to miss some of the learning sessions which made especially Phil and Wade very mad.
One day the group was standing outside the main building of their school, making plans for the upcoming weekend. Daniel had pull off a gig for the band, which restricted their plans, namely to meeting up at Phil's. Evan looked around while Mason tried to convince the other boys that they should have an extra learning session on the weekend, too. He spotted Cody, who was leaving the building together with the blonde guy he had seen him earlier with. Cody showed no intuition to come over, so Evan went over to the stairs where the two young men were standing.
"Hey Code", he greeted his friend and eyed the smug boy standing next to him.
"Well, I gotta go then", the blonde boy said and Evan thought that a little anger resonated in his voice.
"He's one of the rich kids, isn't he?", Evan asked curiously. "I can't recall his name. I saw you talking to him some days ago, are you friends with him?"
Cody just looked at his smaller friend and shook his head. "Oh, never mind", he murmured and left for the bus stop, leaving a pretty confused Evan behind.
"Evan! You coming?" The small man looked around as he heard his name. "We're hanging out at Phil's, wanna join?" He spotted Sheamus waving at him while the other boys were already heading towards the parking lot. He shook his head. "I have swim training", he yelled and made an excusing gesture. "I'll meet you guys later."
The training went quite well. He wasn't able to beat his previous time but he felt more comfortable with his abilities in breaststroke and freestyle. His coach praised him and Evan felt exhausted yet proud when he left the pool building. He didn't notice the group of men standing at the edge of the building. "That's him", one of them whispered and pointed in Evans direction. "You know what you have to do!" The other men nodded and followed Evan who was getting his bike.
The blonde man stayed behind, watching the group as they went after their target. His blue eyes darkened and he curled his lips. This little faggot had seen him talking to Cody. He was a potential threat to his plans and therefore he had to be taught a lesson.
Although the snow had vanished it was pretty cold and an icy wind howled through the almost empty streets. Evan was riding his bike freehandedly. He rubbed his hands and tried to breath some warmth on them. His hair was still wet and he hurried home. All he wanted was to change his clothes, head over to Phil's and see Mason.
He was just driving through the local park as he heard a car coming closer. According to its sound it must been driving with high speed. Evan descended from his bike and went to the roadside. He most certainly didn't want to get run over by some idiot in a sports car. But instead of driving by the car stopped next to him and five men jumped out of it.
"Evan Bourne?", the tallest one asked.
Evan nodded and suddenly he found himself surrounded by some strong, buff and fierce looking boys.
"It's nothing personal", one of them said and before Evan could answer, two pair of strong hands grabbed his shoulders, removing his backpack and holding him in place. The man who had spoken stepped right in front of him. "Nothing personal", he repeated and punched Evan hard in the stomach.
The young man coughed as all air fled from his lungs. The throbbing pain in his stomach made his eyes fill with tears. Another punch made his legs yield. He would've fallen down on his knees, but the strong arms held him upright. Unable to produce a sound he looked up to his torturer and was rewarded with a sharp slap across the face.
At a word of the tall man Evan was pulled backwards until he felt the rough bark of a tree in his back. The other two men were still holding his arms, bending them backwards until he felt a stinging pain in his shoulders. He yelped and earned himself another slap. The man kept punching him, attacking his stomach, upper body and face with numerous blows. Evan felt his skin crack and blood ran down his face from a wound above his brow. His lips burst open and he tasted the bitter, copper flavour of his own blood in his mouth.
The tall man rubbed his knuckles and wiped Evan's blood from them. Evan felt the other two men loosen their grasp around his arms and fell forward. His shoulders hurt even more as he tried to break his fall and he ruggedly landed on his injured face. He spit out and cringed at the sight of the bloody spot of grass underneath him. "Why?", he asked, his voice coarse and unstable. "I already said it's nothing personal", the man replied laughing and he felt a harsh kick against his ribcage that tossed him on his back.
Evan whimpered and screamed in pain as the five men started kicking him in the side and his back. He covered his face with his arms to protect it from further damage and doubled up in a foetal position. With every cry of distress his attackers laughed even harder. His whole body consisted of merely pain and lightning bolts flickered before his closed eyes.
"Please... let go", he pleaded through his clenched teeth. But his tormentors didn't let go. One of them seized him by the collar and set him on his feet. "Hey, stay with us", he said as he slapped Evan across the face. He raised his hand and gave Evan a punch that sent the young man flying against one of the other man. They pushed him around until his legs indulged and he collapsed. Breathing heavily he lay in the wet grass and felt every muscle in his body aching from the punches and kicks. Tears ran down his cheeks, mixing with blood and sweat, and he started sobbing uncontrollably.
"What a pussy!", one man with a very deep voice snorted and he spit on the small man lying at his feet.
Evan refused to think. He tried hard to shield his brains from any thoughts, just hoping that his torture would end soon. But however hard he tried, some bad thoughts entered his mind, worrying him even more. 'What next? What are they gonna do to me? It hurts so much, I can't stand it anymore. Good lord, let it be over!', he pleaded in silence as more tears dripped from the corners of his eyes.
A strong hand seized him by his neck and dragged him towards the curbstone. Evan's eyes widened. 'They're going to kill me!' The thought sent a new wave of strange through his maltreated body. He stemmed his hands and feet against the ground. "No, please no!", he howled. Again the men burst into laughter. One of them stepped on his hand and they dragged him on and placed his head on the curbstone. "Don't worry", one of them hissed into his ear. "We're not going to kill you. We'll just... hurt you pretty badly!" They laughed again and Evan felt a hand in his hair, pulling his head up. The man slammed Evans head against the solid stone and a merciful darkness dragged him into unconsciousness.
A/N: I think I was a little unfair towards Evan, I feel really sorry for him...
As always: let me know hwat you think!