Warning: Minor non-con. Please skip to the next chapter if you feel you aren't in a place where you can handle this.
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Adam POV
I awaken feeling refreshed, having my first full night's sleep in weeks. It is a bit troubling, since I can't remember anything past getting in the car, but I brush it off as I was probably just exhausted from doing things all night.
I feel the tiniest twinge of sadness when I realize I'm lying here alone, feeling a certain emptiness in the spot in the bed where they would be. I quickly shake it off, embarrassed at myself for having such shameless thoughts.
I check the time and get up, wandering into the kitchen where Noah was already finished preparing our meal.
"Adam, you're up! I was just about to come get you." He smiles and sets me down a plate next to Daniel, standing and eating at the counter across from me.
As I sit down, James sits up straight and looks at me.
"My friend Vix invited us to this party tonight. It's really her roommates' party, we're just going to keep it company. If you don't wanna come, that's perfectly fine, one of us can just stay here with you. Seriously, there can be some real dickheads at these things."
I smile, curious to meet one of James' friends. "I'd like to go, that sounds like fun."
He smiles, and my heart feels a little lighter.
- 9:00 P.M. -
I finish drying out my hair and throw on some makeup, pretending like I didn't spend the greater part of the past twelve hours agonizing over which outfit I should wear. I'm surprisingly nervous, especially since this is the first big social gathering I've been to in over a year. Even longer since I went to one without him.
We all pile into the car, and I'm an absolute bundle of nerves.
Danny seems to pick up on this and holds me reassuringly. I feel myself relax a little in his touch.
We arrive much sooner than I'd like, and we all climb out of the car. You can tell this part of town is mostly rented out to college kids, and It's abundantly clear which house we're going to.
Music blasts down the street as colorful lights flash through the windows. The farther and farther we walk down the sidewalk, the more urge I feel to turn around and forget this ever happened. Nevertheless, my legs carry me inside, immediately getting shoved by several crowds of people.
Daniel is stopped by someone who seems to recognize him, and steps away to make conversation. Having lost my comfort blanket, I trail behind James and Noah as James pushes his way through the crowd to get to his friend. I do my best to stay close behind, but a flying elbow knocks me to the ground.
I look around, only to realize that I am completely alone.
James POV
Vix and I talk about everything, from it's terrible new roommates to her adorable new crush. And Adam. I talk a lot about Adam.
"Okay, okay." She laughs, stopping me mid-rant. "All this talk, when am I finally gonna meet the guy?"
"What do you mean, he's right-" I stop mid-sentence, surveying my surroundings. "Oh yeah, where did he run off too?"
Noah's face shows a small trace of worry. "He's probably just with Daniel. I'll go track them down."
He wonders off in the direction we saw Dan last, leaving us to worriedly make up theories about where he could be.
Adam POV
A large hand reaches down to help me up, and for a second my heart leaps, only for my hopes to be instantly shot down when I realize its none of my boyfriends. I gloomily reach out and pull myself up, examining the stranger.
He's wearing a warm brown sweater, and has his hair up in a bun. It looks almost as long as Daniel's.
"Sorry about that. It's really easy to get swept away in crowds like this, huh?"
Something about him puts me at ease. "Yeah. I don't exactly fit in, either."
He laughs easily, gesturing to a nearby patio door. "Wanna step outside?"
"God, yes." I reply, eager to breathe some fresh air.
We step out, and he lights a cigarette. I do my best to ignore the smoke and the stench. My parents smoked when I was a kid, and I've always hated it. He offers me one as well, but I quickly decline the offer.
After a few puffs he stamps it out and heads inside to grab some drinks. I tell him over and over that I'm fine, but he insists.
He returns shortly with a red cup in each hand. I thank him and set mine down on the small patio table. He may seem nice, but even I'm not dumb enough to consume an unspecified drink from a stranger at a party. He starts talking about how he's lived in this city his entire life, and how well he knows these streets.
Before I know it, I'm being dragged along in the space between this building and the next. I start nervously rambling about how I need to get inside and how I have people waiting for me. I even check my pockets for my phone, even though I know I left it in the car.
Just as I begin struggling against his grasp, he pulls me against a wall and grabs my other wrist, effectively pinning me down.
"G-get off of me." I order as I begin to realize this is really happening.
He laughs and I can smell the cigarettes in his breath.
"Just relax." He tells me in a soothing tone.
I can hear voices in the distance, and I open my mouth to yell, only to have his disgusting taste fill my mouth as he silences my cries for help.
He lets go of one of my hands and begins groping at my chest.
I finally snap, wriggling my leg out and kneeing him in the balls as hard as I can. He writhes in pain and I break free, punching him in the face with all my strength.
I run as fast as I can towards the yard, his footsteps following close behind.
"You little-"
He cuts himself off as I run into a huge wall. Or at least, that's what it seems like before it grabs me. I automatically start fighting back against the unknown man as he turns my head to face him.
"Adam, it's me!"
I look up to see Daniel staring back at me with fear in his eyes, and I immediately burst into tears. I cling to him like my life depends on it, cold tears rolling down my cheeks.
Daniel POV
I hold Adam's shaky hand in my own as he sobs into my chest. James and I continue to ask him questions, only to give up after the lack of responses.
I look back up at the perpetrator, his wrist held tightly in Noah's grasp, on the verge of breaking.
"H-hey d-dud-de, w-why d-don't y-you c-calm down, th-there s-seems to h-have b-been a b-bit o-of a m-mis-u-under-" His idiotic ramblings are cut off by a hard blow to the face, and blood pours from his broken nose.
Noah grabs his head and slams it into the wall.
"If I EVER see your face again, I will see to it myself that you won't be walking anytime soon."
He wiped the blood off of his hands and we all quickly make our way through the house, James quickly saying his goodbyes to Vix before we continued our march, only stopping once we were all sat down in the car.
I pull Adams face away from my chest. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
He quickly shakes his head, blubbering.
"I- I just- and I- and he- I- I'm sorry..." He whimpers, Hugging me closer.
James wraps his arms around him telling him over and over to stop apologizing while I hold his head, quietly comforting him.
I look back at Noah in the front seat, who is absolutely shaking with anger. His hold on the steering wheel is so tight, I fear it might break. I haven't seen him like this since we went to Adam's apartment and he was there. I'm not sure if ever before that.
James holds him close. "Can you tell us what happened?"
He gives a wary nod.
"I was just- I was alone and then he was there and so w-we went outside and he o-offered me a cigarette and then I-I said no b-but then he went and got drinks b-but I d-didn't drink m-mine and- and then he started talking again and h-he grabbed me and s-started walking us away and I- I really was fighting back, I really was, he was just so much bigger than me- and then he was h-holding me down and he was touching me and I told him to stop and I tried to yell for help, b-but then he was kissing me and it was so icky and I kneed him r-really hard and I ran away and- oh, I'm so sorry, I can't stop tasting it, I'm sorry..."
He looks up at me in fear, his whole body shaking as he keeps apologizing and begging me to believe him. I start tearing up as I imagine if this had happened with Martin and not us, what would've happened to him.
I kiss him gently, wanting him to forget that disgusting man. "No more apologizing. You did nothing wrong."
We end up driving home with him on my lap, too scared to take him off me.
We all make our way up to the apartment together, and after a hug from Noah, he immediately makes a beeline for the shower. My insides feel gross as I think about that man, and what Adam told us.
"You should've broken more than his nose."
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I've had this chapter in my mind for a while, but I was on the fence about even writing it. It made me sad just thinking about it. The next few chapters are sure to have a lot of fluff so we can all recover.
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