Chapter Thirteen
Author: Keishi
BIG FAT WARNING:
Contains m/m relationships
ONLY read if you are of age and open-minded!!
"Gimme everything ya got, kid," the mugger growled out lowly.
Drayne looked up into the man's face, but it was covered by a ski mask. Without hesitation, he handed over his cell phone, wallet and watch. "I've got nothing else of value."
The attacker took them without question, then punched Drayne hard in the stomach. He fell instantly, doubled over and clutching himself. Pain ripped through his body, debilitating him. A kick to the chest further incapacitated him, as he coughed onto the dirty asphalt. He could hear running footsteps, and opened his eyes long enough to see the mugger running away. Curling further into a ball, Drayne just lay there for a good while, in agony.
--
Gade checked his watch, stifling a yawn. It was almost midnight, and already he was about to fall out. Curling against Carly on the couch, he resumed watching the movie they'd picked, some mindless comedy. Anything to help keep the events of the previous couple of weeks out of his mind. "I'm bored," he murmured.
Carly looked down at Gade's head in her lap. "You're telling me," she sighed. "I mean, how long does it take to give a blow job? Chasey and Seb should be back by now."
Gade shrugged, "Maybe they both had to get down on their knees? I dunno."
Carly rolled her eyes, one hand idly playing with Gade's thick hair. "That's what sixty-nining is for."
"Please," drawled a voice from behind the couch, "don't tell me you two have nothing better to do than talk about our sex lives?"
"Chasey, shut up," Gade said dully, not even looking up.
"Uh huh," he said sarcastically, flopping down on Gade's legs. Sebastian perched on the arm next to him. "Whatcha guys watching?"
Moving to accommodate the newest additions onto the couch, Gade said, "Nothing of major interest. Want to order some pizza?"
At that moment, Gade's cell phone buzzed in his pocket, making him jump. He flipped it open. "Yeah?" A pause, as Gade furrowed his eyebrows. "Will, quit talking so fast. What happened?"
Sebastian, Chasey and Carly listened to the one-sided conversation with growing alarm. "Wait, what do you mean you've lost Drayne?! No, he's not with me! Will, what the fuck is going on?!" Standing up, he unwittingly dumped Chasey to the floor, his voice growing louder and louder. The only thing holding him in check was Carly's cool hand on his arm, grounding him. "I've got the crew with me, we'll all get in my car and look around. And Will," another pause, "if anything has happened to Drayne, your ass. is. mine." He flipped the phone closed with finality, and strode to the door, grabbing his coat and hat. "Come on, guys."
"Wait, Gade, what's happened?" This from Carly.
Gade looked around the room, cold fury in his eyes. "Will and D went to some club in the city, some college hangout on Liberty, and D left. Will doesn't know why, or with who, but we've gotta find him."
"What the fuck was he doing, making out with some whore instead of keeping an eye on Drayne?" Sebastian asked, outraged.
"Most likely," Chasey and Gade both answered at the same time. "Come on, let's go." Gade motioned them all out the door.
--
Will closed his own cell phone after Gade's threat, not the least bit worried for himself. "They're going to help look," he said to Pan. "He wasn't at Theo's either when I checked."
"Alright," was all Pan said, concentrating on the road. He was driving because if he hadn't wrestled the keys away from Will, they'd have been in a wreck by now. Will was too drunk and too upset over his little friend to be behind any wheel at that moment.
Trolling slowly through the city streets, both squinted into the shadows to see if Drayne might be there. They had no idea where he had gone off to, whether he was okay or bleeding somewhere, alone and scared. They had no leads of any kind, just a quiet, intense hope that he was okay.
After a moment, Pan asked, "So was his lover pissed?"
Will shrugged his shoulders, looking out the side window. "They aren't lovers, though God and everyone underneath knows they should be. Just fuck and get it over with, I say."
Pan spared Will a deadpan look before scanning the shadows again. "Not everything can be fixed with sex, you know. Some things are just made worse."
"Fuck off, Mr. Psychosis."
Quietly, "It didn't work for you and I."
"Yeah, well, that's because we're doomed. Now shut the fuck up and help me look for Short-shit."
They continued the search in silence.
--
Gade and the rest of the gang had been walking through the dirty, dimly-lit streets for a good hour before Gade's cell phone buzzed again. He barely looked at the unfamiliar number before flipping it open. "This is Gade," he said into the receiver, hopeful.
"Gade?"
His heart clenched in his chest at the faint voice, tears already beginning to form at the corners of his eyes. "Drayne?" he whispered. Chasey, Carly and Sebastian stopped dead in front of him, all with wide, hopeful eyes.
"Gade," relief flooded through the phone. "I need you, Gade, please."
"Just tell me where you are, D, and I'll come get you."
Carly wordlessly shoved a small notebook and pen in his direction, and Gade scribbled down the name of the convenience store and the street corner names Drayne gave him. "We'll be there in five," he promised, flipping closed his phone and heading back to where he parked the car.
"Where is he?" asked Sebastian as they all fell into step behind Gade.
"Corner of Third and Brooks, at the Seven Eleven." He unlocked the driver side door and hit the unlock button for the rest. "Get in," he ordered.
Sebastian and Chasey looked at each other. "Why don't you just go, man. Drayne needs you right now, not the rest of us."
Gade's gazed snapped to Sebastian. "No. I'm not losing any of my friends tonight, so get the fuck in." He flipped open his cell phone again, almost as an afterthought, and dialed Will's number. When the blond answered he quickly gave the address Drayne had given him. "Meet us there."
*
The drive was short, but every second of it made Gade want to vomit all over the place. His heart was hammering, his stomach rolling, and his mind kept recalling the brief conversation with Drayne, picking it apart and trying to determine whether Drayne was alright or not. Was the faintness of his voice because of the connection, or was he hurt and losing blood? What had happened to him? Was he really okay? Where was the nearest hospital in case he needed treatment? These thoughts kept roller-coasting in his head as he white-knuckled the steering wheel and drove, very calmly and sensibly, toward his destination. He wanted nothing to deter him from getting to Drayne.
*
It was a toss-up on who rolled into the Seven Eleven parking lot first. A photo finish would have determined that indeed Pan and Will had arrived first, but none of that mattered to Drayne. He briefly registered the sleek Mustang crawling toward him, but from the other side was Gade's beat-up Prelude, and that's all that entered his vision.
Gade took enough time to put the car into park, but that was about it as he leapt from the driver's side, his shoes pounding the asphalt as he ran toward the huddled figure sitting on the curb by the pay phones. Everyone else got out of their respective vehicles and watched, some worried but most with a smile on their faces.
Drayne didn't even have time to stand before he was scooped up, Gade's arms tight around him. It was painful for his bruised solar plexus, but at that moment he couldn't have cared less. "Gade, I'm so sorry," he whispered into Gade's neck, burying his face in it.
"Shut up," Gade said. "I don't want to fucking hear it. You're okay now, alright? So just shut up." He leaned down and kissed Drayne's forehead before walking him toward his car. Wordlessly, Sebastian and Chasey filed into Will's Mustang to give Drayne all of the back seat. When Gade forced him to lie down, his hands clutched at Gade's jacket, protesting as he tried to get in front.
Gade sighed, smiled softly at Drayne. "Carly, can you drive us back to Chasey's? I think I'm needed back here." He couldn't explain the warmth that spread throughout him at the thought of truly being needed.
Carly nodded and yelled back at the others, "Back to Chasey's! Let's move it!"
*
Huddled in the back seat, neither paid attention to Carly's eyes on them in the rear-view mirror, silently watching the pair with a smile on her face as she drove through the streets. They looked so perfect in each other's arms.
Drayne lay his head on Gade's chest, Gade's arms wrapped around him lightly, running over his bruised chest and abdomen. "You're probably wondering what happened."
"Shhh," Gade buried his face in Drayne's hair. "Later. Right now I need to know if you're okay."
"I am," Drayne said, closing his eyes and smiling sadly. "Just sore, bruised. But I'll live."
"You scared me. Actually, I think you scared all of us."
"Sure did," piped up Carly from the front seat.
Drayne's eyes slid from Carly's gaze in the mirror to Gade's. "Are you two...?"
They both shook their heads at the same time. "No, Gade's affections lie elsewhere, don't they, McKay?" Her eyes were expressive as she bored a hole through Gade. 'Tell him, tell him,' she silently pleaded.
Gade refused to meet Carly's gaze, shutting his eyes and burying himself further into Drayne's hair. He could feel the tension radiating off of Drayne, and silently cussed Carly out for bringing it up right then. He could feel the weight of hazel eyes upon him.
"I've got something to tell you," he whispered into Drayne's hair.
Drayne shut his eyes tightly, drawing in a shaky breath. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
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