21st September
A discussion with Dustin had been an inevitability but Evan had hoped it would at least happen on a full stomach. He stood from the sofa and in doing so noticed that the other Head Boy was not alone. There was a very tall girl standing just behind him and it only took Evan a moment to recognise her. She was the same lion hybrid who had helped him during the attack the night before.
“Evan, this is my girlfriend Anna,” Dustin revealed, inclining his head towards her.
“That’s where I recognised you from,” Evan said, voice filled with realisation. “I’ve seen you with Dustin before. Thank you so much for helping me like you did.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she smiled, her voice tinged with a South African accent. “It’s not like I could’ve kept walking like I hadn’t seen anything.”
“You’re not a prefect though so what were you doing out after curfew?”
“I might’ve been on my way to distract a certain Head Boy,” Anna replied, sending a playful leer in Dustin’s direction.
Evan grinned as he watched Dustin’s face turn bright red. Anna also noticed and she chuckled earnestly, reaching over and giving her boyfriend’s arm a squeeze.
“Okay, I’ve had my fun,” she assured. “I just wanted to come and see how you were for myself. How are you today?”
“I’m okay; everything hurts like hell but, you know,” Evan shrugged, “it could’ve been worse.”
“That’s good then. I’m glad you’re mostly okay at least.” Anna said genuinely before she glanced at her wrist-watch. “I need to get going to my meeting with Mr Jessop so I will see you later, Dusty.” She paused then and leaned over to kiss Dustin’s cheek. “Evan, hope it stops hurting soon.”
“Thanks. See you later maybe?”
“You bet,” she agreed as she turned and headed back out the open doorway. “Bye for now.”
After the sound of the front door closing there was a heavy silence. Evan could feel Dustin’s stare on him and he sighed, resigned. He moved to sit down in the middle of the sofa and was soon joined by the lion hybrid who sat on the other end after placing the tray of food on the coffee table in front of them.
Unsurprisingly, it was Dustin who broke the silence abruptly: “So, gonna tell me about what’s going on with that rape mark?”
Evan rolled his eyes and slumped back. “I wasn’t raped.”
“Someone else didn’t invade your body without your consent?”
“I told you last night it was an accident.”
Dustin said nothing to that and simply stared at the younger teenager expectantly.
Evan gave an irritated huff. “It was the summer I was nine. I was in town, standing in a line to buy ice-cream. I noticed a hybrid struggling to walk and disappearing into an alleyway. I went to see if he was okay, he was in pain and didn’t think before he grabbed me and created the bond in an attempt to heal himself. I then passed out. The end.”
“That’s it?” Dustin asked sceptically. “That’s all that happened?”
“Yep.”
“And your parents were, just, okay about it?”
“I’m an orphan. I have a guardian and he is both aware and accepting of the situation.”
Dustin stared at him, bewildered. “You’re an orphan? Since when?”
“I was seven; it was a car crash.”
The lion hybrid shook his head and ran a hand over his hair. “I don’t…I can’t…I…” He stumbled until he threw out his arms. “I don’t even know how to react to all this! I mean, how does no one else know? How does the entire world not know?”
Evan shrugged. “The mark’s easy enough to hide and that’s the only real give-away.”
“And your arms?”
Although it was an abrupt change of topic, Evan made no comment as such. “I was young and I couldn’t hurt other people so I hurt myself. One day I was stupid and took it too far; I was found in time and Nurse Hope helped me get better. I haven’t hurt myself since.”
Dustin returned to just staring at Evan, his gaze somewhere between shocked and confused. Evan, for his part, just stared back at him evenly. There was no shame or anxiety in his manner, just a calm acceptance. The two teenagers held each other’s stares for several minutes before Dustin was the first to falter. He seemed to deflate all at once, slumping back in the chair and running his hands over his face.
“This is a lot to take in all at once.”
“I’m sure it is.”
Dustin peered at Evan through his fingertips before dropping his hands, leaning forward with his elbows supporting his weight on his thighs. “So who is it?”
Evan frowned. “You don’t need to know that.”
“Evan…”
“No,” the human cut off quickly. “I’ve told you what I have to reassure you that I’m happy and not being abused. This wasn’t an invitation for you to become intimately involved in my life.”
“Why so defensive?”
“I’m not defensive, I’m cautious.”
Dustin grinned a little and leaned back. “That’s fine; you don’t need to tell me. I’m sure with a bit of detective work I can figure it out. And then once I know who it is, I will have words to say to them; stern words.”
Evan chose to not reply to that threat, partly in an attempt not to encourage the idea but also because he was confident that it would come to nothing. After almost eight years of hiding his bond mark, only two people had found out about it without being told directly. Evan was certain that he could continue to keep the identity of his bonded secret.
*****
“Will you be back in classes tomorrow?”
“Not sure, I’ll have to see what Nurse Hope says this evening when she changes my dressing.”
“Well, I’ll come see you again if you’re not.”
“Good, you can bring more food.”
Dustin laughed as he opened the front door and started to leave. “Will do. Take it easy Evan.”
“See you later,” the human said with a wave goodbye.
The lion hybrid threw a wave over his shoulder before turning and walking away without further word. Evan watched him go for a moment and then closed the front door, a wave of fatigue washing through him. He had been grateful for Dustin’s company but it had really exhausted him.
Evan headed back upstairs with the intention of collapsing onto his bed and maybe napping. However, that idea vanished as he opened his bedroom door and saw a very large white feather resting in the middle of his bed. He looked around his bedroom, noting the open window but not seeing anything else. Stepping inside and shutting the door behind himself, he went over to the door to his en suite and looked inside. There was nothing out of the ordinary.
An arm slid around his waist then, a pale hand with long, elegant fingers splaying over his abdomen possessively. Then another hand came around his throat and something pointed was pressed against his pulse-point. Warm lips brushed against the shell of his ear.
“You are dead, my love.”
Evan closed his eyes and smiled a little. “If last night didn’t kill me then I don’t think the pointy bit of a feather is going to do the job either.”
“And if it wasn’t a feather?”
“Then we’d both be a bit screwed.”
Evan turned around then, resting his cheek against a firm chest. The hand around his neck trailed up to card fingers through his hair and the arm around his waist held him just a little tighter.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Evan mumbled.
“I had to see you. Even with Christine’s reassurance that you were safe I needed to see for myself.”
Evan pulled back slightly to look up at the face of his bonded, Maximilian Swann. The swan hybrid towered over him at 6’1 and his pure white wings curved around him a little in a protective cocoon. His gaze was met by deep green eyes that studied him intently. Another small smile curved the human’s lips and he brought a hand up to run his fingers over the cotton of the shirt specially tailored to accommodate hybrid wings.
“Don’t you have class?”
“I had a lecture this morning, that was all for today.”
“Ah, you lucky Upper School students and your free periods.”
“Are you trying to avoid the main issue here?”
“Not at all, just making casual comments. We can have serious talks if you want.” Evan pulled out of Maximilian’s embrace then and sat on the edge of his bed, gesturing to his desk and the chair tucked under it in invitation.
The hybrid moved to the chair, pulling it out from under the desk and turning it to face Evan. He perched rather than sat, his folded wings only just brushing the back of the chair. Feet placed squarely on the ground, he carded his fingers and rested his hands on his lap.
“How are you?”
“I’m all right,” Evan reassured with a smile. “It hurts and I feel really drained; I think the shock’s still wearing off. Did Christine explain what happened?”
“She did, though she said she did not know the identity of your attacker. Do you?”
“No. The Headmaster came to see me this morning and told me that the student’s been expelled and has already left the grounds.”
“How fortunate for him.”
Evan chose to ignore the unspoken threat in his bonded’s voice and pushed on with the conversation. “I chose to not press charges; I thought it would probably bring down a lot of media attention not to mention a medical examination on me.”
“I agree. As much as it irritates me that this animal has escaped with nothing more than expulsion we cannot afford to involve the authorities.”
“I don’t think he was in his right mind when he attacked me anyway. Mr Moore said that the student admitted he had taken something beforehand.”
“Christine mentioned something to that effect. So you think he was intoxicated?”
“Yeah, I guess. I thought at the time something wasn’t right with him. He didn’t speak for one thing and his eyes were wild and unfocused.”
“How strange,” Maximilian murmured, looking off to one side thoughtfully. “I will have to make enquiries amongst the others to establish whether anyone else has experience of this drug. Christine also told me the troubling news that the other Head Boy is now aware of our bond.”
“Yeah, he saw my mark in the nurse’s office.”
“I’ll make sure he stays silent.”
“No you won’t,” Evan said firmly. “I’ve just spoken to him, it’s all fine.”
“Did you tell him the truth?”
“Oh yeah, because that’s a good idea. No, I told him an inoffensive pack of lies and I wasn’t specific about you. I’m confident that he’ll keep it to himself.”
“We’ll wait and see,” Maximilian replied, obviously sceptical.
Their conversation paused then as Evan winced and tried to shift into a different position, straightening his back and carefully pulling his shoulder out of a slump. Maximilian’s manner softened considerably at the sight and he rose from his seat. He knelt at Evan’s feet, taking his hands in his right one while he raised his left hand to cradle the teenager’s injured jaw.
“I cannot stand to see you in pain.”
Evan turned his head a little to press a kiss to Maximilian’s palm and gazed at him sympathetically. “I know you care and I love you for it, but I know what you’re about to say. You can’t heal me.”
“But your suffering is so unnecessary.”
“Pretty much the whole school knows I was attacked and I’m not a good enough actor to pretend I’m badly injured when I’m not. And Mr Moore’s seen me already, he’d want to know how this thing on my face healed overnight. If it makes you feel better then think of it in terms of me being ever so brave and protecting us through my pain. ”
“That does nothing to make me feel better but I do see your point,” Maximilian admitted reluctantly.
“Good,” Evan chirped with a bright smile. “Thank you for caring.”
“Of course, my love,” the hybrid murmured, leaning down to press a firm kiss to the teenager’s knuckles. He then released Evan’s hands and rested his head in his lap.
A tender smile on his face, Evan weaved his fingers through his lover’s silver hair. They sat like that for quite some time.
