Chapter Fourteen
Kili was glad that teachers never taught anything important on the first day of school because he was unable to concentrate in any of his classes. He was grateful when lunch period rolled around and he was able to follow his classmates to the cafeteria.
He craned his neck over the crowds to look for Fili or any of his friends. None of his friends had been in his English class, and he had no idea how he was supposed to find anyone with so many people pressing around him.
The crowd was only exasperating his earlier desire to run away and hide. He felt a little shaky and clammy for some reason. He chalked it up to worry over Faramir and twisted his head left and right in order to catch a glimpse of any of his friends.
He bit his lip as a horrible thought struck him. What if he didn't have the same lunch period as any of them? What if he was stuck sitting alone in the cafeteria?
He felt sick all of a sudden and nearly bolted into the nearest bathroom before an arm was looped through his and Tauriel was grinning at him. He stared at her for a moment, wondering why she didn't seem as worried as he was, but then remembered that she hadn't been there to know that something was wrong with Faramir.
"Finally found one of you!" she cried in relief. "I had no idea there'd be so many students at this school!"
Kili gave her a weak smile. "Yeah, I was starting to worry about sitting alone in the cafeteria."
She frowned at him. "Everything alright?"
He didn't answer because he wasn't really sure. He just kept walking down the hallway. Something loosened in his chest when they ran into Fili and Eomer as they rounded the corner towards the cafeteria.
As long as Fili was around, everything would be alright because Fili always knew what to do.
They took their place in the lunch line with most of the other student, Kili being sure to stick between Fili and Tauriel. With them on either side of him, the crowd didn't seem so smothering. They spied Eowyn nearer the front of the line. She looked back at them and waved before grabbing a tray and turning towards the food selection.
"How were your first classes?" Fili asked him.
"Fine," he mumbled, scanning the room for any sign of Faramir.
"If he's not here by now, he must have the second lunch period," Fili informed him, grabbing a tray for himself as they reached the front and then handing one to Kili. "Don't worry. It looks like Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn will be with him."
Kili sighed as he took the tray and looked at the food available for lunch. His stomach lurched unpleasantly. "I'm not really that hungry," he said.
Fili, though, pretended he didn't hear him and grabbed two of everything, putting one on his own tray and one on Kili's. He rolled his eyes at the blond's antics but didn't say anything, only handed the lady at the end of the line his lunch money and followed Fili to where Eowyn and Eomer were already waiting.
Tauriel trailed after and frowned at them once she sat down. "Why do I feel like I missed something?"
"Faramir's father has been hurting him," Eowyn answered in an undertone. "We realized right before you showed up this morning."
Kili's head shot up and he looked at Eowyn in horror only for his attention to be drawn away by a derisive snort from Eomer. "Call it what it is," her twin spat bitterly. "He's been abusing him."
His blood ran cold.
It was stupid, he knew, to pretend as if he hadn't known all day what had happened to Faramir over the summer. He may not have known the particularities, but he had known on some level. He had just been fooling himself into believing that wasn't possible.
Because it shouldn't have been possible. Faramir didn't deserve that kind of treatment. Faramir was one of the nicest people Kili had ever met. He was kind and understanding and soft-spoken and smart and never made any kind of trouble. Kili had never even seen Faramir break one rule in school. Why would his father hit him?
"What has he told you before?" Fili asked seriously.
Eomer stabbed at his broccoli violently. "Not a lot," he replied sullenly. "I saw hand-shaped bruises around his arms one day and asked him if his father did it. He didn't deny it but begged me not to say anything because it wasn't going to happen again."
"And you believed him?" Tauriel asked incredulously.
He glared at her. "Of course not!" he growled. "But I believed Boromir when he told me a little later that he wouldn't let it happen again. Their father always doted on Boromir so I figured that if he was going to step between them, nothing else would happen."
"Faramir might not have let him get between them," Kili said quietly, staring down at his tray. If it were him, he wouldn't let Fili. He knew what happened when people got in the way.
"Well he should have," Eomer snapped angrily.
"You being mad at him isn't going to help anything!" Kili shot back, fed up with the older boy's attitude. "You're just gonna make him more scared and he'll never let anyone help him! It's not like it's his fault! Faramir doesn't deserve to be hurt and he doesn't deserve your anger!"
"I know!" Eomer exclaimed before sighing and continuing in a softer tone. "I know. I'm more angry at myself for not telling someone before."
"You told Boromir," Eowyn reminded gently.
"Fat lot of good that did."
They all sat in silence for a while, quietly eating their food and not knowing what to say. Well, everyone but Kili ate their food. He finally began picked up his pizza once Fili nudged him and gave him a significant look.
"How did you guess it was his dad hurting him?" Fili asked, breaking the silence at last.
"Denethor was always a little uncaring towards Faramir," Eomer explained. "Dad once said it was because his wife died when Faramir was born and it was hard for him to look at with being sad. I don't think he thought him capable of actually hurting him though."
"Not loving him probably hurt him more than hitting him did," Fili remarked, shooting Kili another look as he noticed him only holding his pizza and not eating it. Kili sighed before taking a bite that sat like ash on his tongue.
Eomer only shrugged helplessly. "Anyway, the only people he'd been around were Denethor and Boromir, and Boromir would rather cut off his own arm than hurt Faramir so…"
"What do we do?" Tauriel asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind. "What can we do?"
"We can't do nothing," Eowyn insisted, looking outraged at the very thought.
Kili envisioned them all storming Faramir's home and confronting his father directly and had to stop himself from shuddering at the image. If he could hurt Faramir, he could probably hurt any one of them as well.
"We tell our parents," Fili said in a calming voice.
He felt a tiny flicker of hope at that. Dad and Pop would know what to do. They would help Faramir and would make sure that no one else was hurt by him. Pop was a police officer. He wouldn't let Faramir's dad hurt him or Bilbo or anyone else that tried to stop him from hurting Faramir.
"We have to be able to do something more than just run to our parents!" Eowyn protested.
"What if he doesn't want us to tell anyone?" Tauriel asked.
"I don't care what he wants!" Eomer hissed. "This is what he needs!"
Fili nodded. "I agree. As for what else we can do, all we can do is be there for him."
"What if he doesn't let us?" Tauriel said mournfully. "What if he's too upset at us for going behind his back and saying something?"
"Are we going behind his back?" Eowyn asked, brow furrowed. "Shouldn't we tell him that we're going to tell our parents?"
"No," Kili replied softly, speaking up at last. "It'd just make him act differently in front of his dad. That might make him angry."
She nodded thoughtfully. "Should we tell Aragorn and Gimli to tell their parents as well?"
Fili nodded. "The more people, the better, I think."
Kili really hoped that was true. He didn't want Faramir to get hurt because his father didn't like being ambushed by a mob of his friends' parents.
Kili was in two classes with Faramir after lunch, and in both the other boy tried his best to pretend as if nothing was wrong. For his benefit, Kili tried to do the same. It was hard, though, chatting about their science teacher's toupee when Kili was bursting at the seams to tell Faramir than none of this was his fault and that he didn't deserve any of it.
It was a relief, then, to leave the rest of their friends behind on the walk back to their house.
"You okay?" Fili asked him, bumping his shoulder lightly.
Kili nodded. "Do you think Pop and Dad will be able to help Faramir?"
"If anyone can, they can," he assured, throwing an arm around Kili's shoulders before frowning. "You're growing taller too fast. I know I was taller than you this summer."
He shot Fili a weak but grateful smile. He knew his brother was trying to take his mind off of Faramir. "Guess you're just doomed to be short," he quipped back. "You're practically a dwarf."
Fili rolled his eyes. "A half inch does not make you a giant, you know."
Kili just smiled and hummed at that and continued walking. The tension eased in his chest a little as he spied Thorin's car in the driveway. He really didn't want to put this conversation off.
Determinedly, he picked up his pace, grabbing Fili's hand and pulling him along with him. They burst into the house and slamming the door behind them, causing Frodo to jump on the couch in the living room, startled by their loud entrance.
"Fili! Kili!" Thorin cried, walking into the entrance hall and frowning at them sternly. "What have we told you about slamming the door?"
"We need to talk to you!" Kili said in a rush. "It's important."
Thorin looked from Kili to Fili before nodding and gesturing towards the kitchen. Kili looked over at Fili, suddenly anxious about the upcoming conversation. Fili gave his hand a reassuring squeeze as they both followed Thorin and took seats at the kitchen table across from him.
"Are you two alright?" Thorin asked before either of them could start.
Kili nodded. "We're fine, but…" He bit his lip as he trailed off, not really sure what to say now that their pop was in front of them listening.
Thankfully, Fili took over for him. "Our friend Faramir is being abused by his father," he said.
Thorin's face grew stony. "He told you this?" he asked in what Kili knew to be his detective voice.
"More or less," Kili answered with a shrug, looking down at his hands.
"Pop, he looked awful," Fili elaborated in agitation. "He was hurt and in pain. And he admitted that it happened before but that he thought it had stopped and it hadn't. You've got to help him!"
"I will, Fili. I promise," he stated seriously. "Did you tell anyone else?"
"We all decided to tell all our parents," he informed. "We didn't really know what else to do."
Thorin nodded. "You did the right thing. I'm proud of you. Both of you," he added, giving Kili a small smile.
"What's going to happen to Faramir?" Kili asked, worried that his friend was going to end up shipped off to a group home like he was after they took him from his first father.
"We're going to try our best to make sure he is taken in by someone who will love him and keep him safe," Thorin promised. "Faramir is a good kid. I'm sure there are plenty of people who know him who will make sure he is cared for, don't you worry, Kili."
He nodded, mind set at ease. Thorin was right. Faramir was great. Even if he did end up in a group home, his experience would be different than Kili's. It would take no time at all for him to find a foster family. Kili just hoped it was a family close by so that Faramir wouldn't have to change schools.
It was going to be okay, he told himself. Pop would take care of everything.
Tbc…
I've made a decision regarding POV. It's going to stay just Kili, though be sure to look for oneshots with varying POVs that are outtakes of this story!