CHAPTER 02

Akio's legs churned as he ran down the sidewalk, his Nikes slapping the cement in a steady rhythm. He ended up in one of the small parks his town housed, a glorified stand of trees with a trashcan or two and a few benches. A chilled hand reached into an inner pocket, pulling out a silver flask. Sipping the liquor without a care, Akio didn't even notice the group that had slipped out of the shadows until it was too late. He spied a flash of blond and lime before rough hands grabbed him, blinding him in a heartbeat with a stray scarf and silencing him with a cheap cloth that tasted just awful.

Struggling proved to be useless as teens big enough to be club bouncers held his arms firmly to his sides, half-dragging him to some unknown location. He was tossed carelessly to the floor, A soft groan was heard through the material shoved in his mouth, and the group laughed, revealing it to be an all-male party. Akio's hands were surprisingly left unbound, and he took that advantage by removing the blindfold, and pulling the sodden cloth from his mouth. Tossing the scraps aside, he took in his surroundings.

An abandoned house greeted his purposely-blank eyes. A group of roughly a dozen boys his own age were huddled around a makeshift table, their voices low and ominous. This time, he knew he wasn't seeing things; long blond hair, naturally tan skin and those startling citrine eyes... 'Why's he here?' His train of thought came to a halt, as the group turned to him, suddenly aware that he was no longer cowering on the cool wooden floor. He rose to his knees, only to find a strong hand pushing down his shoulders, allowing Akio to move no further.

The obvious leader stepped forward, his friends chuckling under their breath as he came closer, two plastic cups typical of high school parties held in his hand. The Mendego boy wrinkled his nose, the acrid scent of hard liquor reaching him all too soon. "A toast, to our prince," the brunette teen announced, raising his own cup while handing Akio the other.

"To our prince!" resonated throughout the battered building, soon followed by slurps and loud gulps as the boys all downed their cups. Not one to turn down any form of alcohol, especially when it was free, the dark-haired triplet raised his own cup momentarily before tilting his head back, letting the liquid burn a trail to his stomach. His cup was refilled once, twice, even three times. After that, things began to get hazy. He remembered being surrounded by the guys who had kept pouring him more drinks, but seemed as sober as they came.

"Wh-what's... going on...?" Akio slurred, his vision getting dark around the edges. His olive skin was flushed to an unnatural pale hue that glistened with sweat. The dark-haired boy was trembling and couldn't even form a protest as the brunette kissed him, two others letting their hands roam over the frail body before them. His heart was racing and his body refused to listen to the commands his brain was screaming... until his thoughts ceased to exist in any other form than mush. Limbs as heavy as lead, and his words dying bitter deaths on his tongue, he knew he was powerless to stop the sinister plans already set into motion. His drink had been spiked, and no one even knew where he was - his fate was sealed.

Hands touched him here and there, lips wet and tasting faintly of alcohol kissed him teasingly. Slowly, those very hands undressed him, leaving him completely vulnerable to his rapists. And it seemed everyone was going to get a turn, even the one boy that Akio had hoped might save him. Lukas had been the last, and was by far the gentlest. The rest had pounded into his drugged body, ignoring his wordless pleas while his body betrayed him; arching up against every single one of them, seeming to be insatiable and only wanting more. The teens granted that unspoken wish until they grew bored of Lukas' slow teasing and called it a night, leaving the blond to take care of his broken friend.

At one point, Akio's arm had been broken. Not that he could remember the exact point of time, but the pain lingered just as Lukas had. Cool water dribbled down his thighs, and with tender hands, the Anderson boy washed the blood and semen from his friend's body, apologizing countless times. Still in a bit of a haze, and unable to focus on anything for more than a few seconds, the oldest triplet asked in a raspy voice if he could please just sleep. Sadly, Lukas shook his head, "No, I don't know what they gave you, so I can't risk you falling asleep right now, nii-chan."

A loud groan escaped bruised lips as Lukas scooped his dear friend into his arms, cradling the boy lovingly. He knelt down, picking up a thin wool blanket and awkwardly shifting Akio in his grip, wrapping the cloth around the naked boy. Dark hair stood out starkly from the tan embrace the blond had the other teen, and swayed slightly as Lukas moved towards a gaping hole in one of the walls. It was a long process, but he never faltered as he staggered to the Mendego's house.

It was nearly midnight by the time he reached the front steps. His arms cried out from the surprisingly strain of carrying the frail body of his friend. Lukas climbed the steps, let himself in, and proceeded to carry Akio up to his bedroom. He laid the pale boy onto his bed, noticing how pale and vulnerable he appeared in the glow of moonlight. Brushing a tanned hand across the actor's face, he flinched as he found the skin to be feverish, even though he was shivering violently. Afraid to leave his side for even a moment, but finding no other choice, the green-eyed teen made a dash for the twin's room, praying they were still awake.

Not even bothering to knock on the door, but shoving it open roughly Lukas paused for a moment. Hiro and Kane were lying on Kane's bed, wearing boxers and old t-shirts, their lips fluttering over each other's skin. The blond's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening as he took in the sight that lay before him. How was he supposed to react? He couldn't even begin to comprehend what was playing out before his eyes. Nervously, he coughed, blushing as the twins look up, startled but not looking too embarrassed. They trusted Lukas that much was obvious.

"Hai?" Kane inquired, his own green eyes slightly darkened yet curious all the same.

"Akio's been drugged... I don't know what they gave him... they raped him... I'm so sorry..." the blond stuttered, tears stinging in his light emerald eyes. "I'm really sorry..." A liquefied crystal ran down his cheek, and he felt like he might be physically sick. "He's really sick though... he won't stop shaking, and he's unconscious. Please, help him."

Hiro nodded briskly, the twins sliding off the bed, leaving the room just as quickly. They split up in the hallway, Kane heading for the bathroom and Hiro going to his brother's room, Lukas following on his heels. The youngest triplet sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing stray strands of hair from his sweat-slicked face, lifting the closed eyelids carefully, looking at those lime eyes.

"Date-rape drug with heavy alcohol. Correct?" Numbly, the blond nodded. "He needs to be watched until his fever breaks and he wakes up. We can't leave him alone." Hiro continued. Lukas nodded again, fingering the cell phone resting in his pocket. He pulled it out, gesturing to the hall, and exited down the hall and stairs into the living room. He stepped outside, hitting 1 on speed dial, his heart pounding.

The phone rang three times before a sleepy female answered. "Hi Mom, I won't be home tonight. Akio's in trouble, and it's all my fault... I'm staying at his house; Hiro and Kane need my help. I'll call in the morning." Mrs. Anderson gave a tired okay, adding that she hoped Akio would be all right. A mumbled "thanks" and "goodbyes" were exchanged, and Lukas sighed as he hung up. 'Fuck...' he thought as he dialed another number, left a message that the recipient wouldn't want to hear, and then slipped his cell back into his pocket. Turning on his heel, he left the cold September night and stone steps behind.

Around 4:30am, Akio's fever finally broke. When his eyes fluttered open not too long after, he winced. His head felt like it had been smashed in with a hammer, and his arm was in excruciating pain, even though Kane had put it in a makeshift splint. Lukas helped the eldest Mendego sit up, placing a pillow behind his back; taking the proffered cup and painkillers from Hiro's outstretched hands and giving them to his abused friend. The three boys stared worriedly at the short-haired boy, who had closed his eyes again, leaning his head against the wall, breathing shallow yet steady. Feeling unnerved by their eyes trained on him like a criminal, he cracked open one of his own, arching an eyebrow. They immediately looked away, smiles dancing on their faces as they busied themselves with cleaning up the medical supplies that were no longer necessary.

When the blond and injured boy were left alone for a few moments, an uncomfortable silence descended. Lukas felt the need to apologize for the thousandth time, but before he could even open his mouth, Akio used his good arm to silence him, pulling the other boy close for a chaste kiss.

Backing off enough to stare into lime eyes identical to his own, the dark-haired teen whispered, "No more apologies. But, tell me this, why did you still do it? They were gone... I heard their voices fade away... so why did you go through with it?"

The Anderson boy lowered his lashes, shame staining his cheeks red. He already knew the answer, and he was sure Akio had figured it out as well, he just wanted to hear the words from his friend's lips. 'Bet he also knows how hard this is going to be to confess... sadistic bastard,' he thought with a wane smile.

A gentle hand cupped his chin, tilting his face up so the half-Japanese boy could look into his eyes. Lukas searched those eyes that were so much like his own, shocked (to say the least) that he couldn't find a trace of pain, betrayal, devastation or any other pessimistic emotion. Instead, raw love shone like the sun, and this made him gasp. 'After the things that happened to him, the things I couldn't prevent... he doesn't hate me?'

Before he knew it, his mouth was forming those words, giving birth to them with ease, "You don't hate me?" An uncharacteristic snort was Akio's response, and it sent the blond into a fit of embarrassed laughter. Of course the other teen didn't hate him - it was only too obvious that he was in love with Lukas Anderson, and even more so, Lukas shared those feelings; he loved the star actor of the slowly expanding city, Akio Mendego.

"I did it because I was too much of a coward to tell you how I felt. I thought showing you would make it easier, but look what's happened to you. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be in my room, or yours... not on a wooden floor that was threatening to crumble. It was supposed to be special, your innocence wasn't supposed to be ravaged beforehand by those assholes." Lukas put his head in his hands; bitter tears cutting paths down his cheeks. "I really am sorry though, Akio-chan. The way I had imagined it in my mind... I wanted it to be perfect." Cherry touched his cheeks once more. How much more could he confess without sounding like a girl confiding to her friends about how she had dreamed of losing her halo, and how it had really happened? Personally, he was pretty sure he had already crossed that line, and felt like a total pansy.

When he lifted his face, wondering about Akio's silence throughout his lame confession, he found that the boy was crying. 'Huh? Is everything catching up to him? Oh shit, did I just remind him of his "wonderful" night on the town?' "Gomen nasai!" the blond blurted out, reaching out to embrace his friend, wishing he had kept his big mouth shut. "I'm such an ass," he muttered to himself, placing a light kiss on the other teen's forehead. "Gomen--"

"Stop bloody apologizing, or I'm going to break your damn arm, Lukas-chan," came the muffled reply from the Mendego son, whose face was buried in the blond's neck, his smile evident in the way his lips were pressing against the delicate skin. On an impulse, Akio flicked his tongue out to taste the flesh against his lips. A trail of wet kisses made their way up the tan column of muscle, following the elegant jaw line and ending in an open-mouth kiss on those sweet lush lips. He couldn't stop himself; heat flared in the pit of his stomach when Lukas' tongue brushed against his.

The sound of quiet footsteps on carpet reached his ears and reluctantly the dark-haired boy pulled away from the dizzying kiss, just as Kane walked into the room, Hiro on his heels. In the right hand of the youngest triplet were the keys to their father's Honda, "We're borrowing the car to take you to the hospital. Let's get moving before Mom and Dad get up and try to stop us."

Mischief sparkled in the four pairs of citrine eyes, as Lukas helped Akio to his feet, an arm slung over the teen's shoulders as they slowly followed the excited twins. The car was an automatic, and required hardly any thought at all, which was a godsend since Hiro exclaimed he would drive his poor injured nii-chan to the hospital. Silver bell laughter rang out in the cool early morning air as they piled into the Honda, Kane in shotgun, and Akio and Lukas in the backseat.

The ride to the hospital was uneventful, though actually walking in was amusing to say the least. Three dark-haired teens, one with a rough splint and cropped hair while the other two were unharmed and their hair was long and unbound; followed by a striking blonde - and they all had the same haunting bright green eyes. The nurse at the front desk did a double take, pausing just long enough to try Lukas' patience, "Ma'am, it would be nice if my koi's arm could be fixed before dawn."

"Oh, yes! Please fill out these forms. The doctor will be with you shortly," she said, absently slipping a clipboard of papers towards the blonde, her eyes still trained on the twins who were murmuring to each other. Without even a glance in the brunette's direction, Hiro and Kane followed Akio to a plush couch, leaving Lukas to take the nearby armchair where he proceeded to fill out the forms that never seemed to have an end to them, much less a point.

A few minutes after returning the papers to the receptionist, the double doors parted and a man in his mid-50s stepped out, another blue clipboard held in his hands, "Akio Mendego?"

The four boys stood in unison, trailing after the oldest like faithful puppies. Somehow, all five of them managed to fit into an examining room, where Akio was forced to lay down and "relax". "Easier said then done," he grunted, trying to readjust his broken arm.

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you, Akio. This is going to hurt like hell. But afterwards, I promise you won't be able to feel a thing," the doctor assured him, sliding those trademark white hospital gloves onto his calloused hands.

Without another word, Doctor Williams grabbed the teen's arm that had been unwrapped from the splint, and jolted it back into place. A hoarse scream was ripped from the Mendego's throat, his free hand clutching desperately at the once-pristine sheets. White-hot pain danced through his veins, striking his spinal nerves with abandon. Lights burst across the insides of his eyes, reminding him of the 4th of July before darkness overtook his senses. Before he passed out completely, Akio heard his brothers soothing Lukas and cool plaster was being draped over his arm. He surrendered to the ebony embrace, sinking into a sleep that even Sleeping Beauty would envy.