𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 | 𝐁𝐗𝐁

ＴＥＮ

"Hey, Ben...!"

It was very difficult to lift my eyelids, but I managed. I don't know how long I've been tied up here in the middle of nowhere or who decided to untie me, but I think I must have been unconscious for a while. Interestingly, one of the team members must have taken pity on me and returned to untie me, because it was impossible for me to free myself from the pole by my own efforts and lie naked on the ground. I thought I was dreaming, but there was a pair of hands leaning on my shoulder. He shook me gently, muttering desperately as he untied my wrists to free them from the rope.

"I'll untie you, it's all over."

Another fit of sobs that shook my chest. I was crying. I was crying shamelessly in front of those who came to save me. For some reason he allowed this. After releasing me from my captivity, for what seemed like forever, he took my naked, ruined body in his arms, wrapping them around my frail body and pulling me to his chest to keep me warm, to keep me safe. There was a chin on my head and a hand reaching for my hair covered in muddy soil. It was Luke.

"I tracked your phone," he muttered, not caring how dirty I was, how hurt I was, "I heard you decided to join the team and I knew they were going to do something to you. You've been lying here for two days, buddy. I'm so sorry."

I couldn't speak. I only had hands that wanted to hold him, support him, or touch him because they saw him as a peaceful haven. They reached out and hugged Luke's torso. He stood on his knees, not caring about getting stuck in the mud, as he moved away from me to take off his jacket. As I wrapped her around me, he purred, "I'll pick you up. My car is here, can you walk?"

He did as I nodded through tears. With both arms supporting me, I stood up with him and obeyed as I walked towards his car parked about a meter away. Luke carefully sat me down and then got into the driver's seat. His hands were on the steering wheel for a while, but he did not start the car. I couldn't look at him with my face burning with shame, I was just sobbing constantly like a baby.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to do it, Ben, but if they're going to be punished for what they did to you, I need to know. Did they do anything to you? You know, touch or..."

"Please..." I continued sobbing, once again embarrassed at how weak my voice sounded, "I'm begging you, Luke."

He just nodded once and started the car. The journey into the city was quiet, and judging by the deserted roads we took on the way back, I must have been brought by them somewhere just outside the city after I lost consciousness. I put my head to the window and closed my eyes. It wasn't for sleeping, I just listened to the silence. I did the same thing until Luke's car pulled up in front of the familiar dorm room.

"I'm assuming you don't have anywhere better to go," he turned to me as he parked the car, "You can stay with me until find something better. I'll go to Matt's house to get your stuff. I'll do it for you."

I nodded silently and got out of the car, shivering, clutching Luke's jacket, not caring who I might see on campus. His arms caught me once again and he sent evil looks to the men we passed on the way to his room. 

Thank God none of them were from the team.

***

I lay on his bed until I heard Luke come in. My knees were pulled up to my stomach, I got into a sort of fetal position. A few days passed and I didn't talk to anyone, not even him. I didn't eat and didn't even stand up except when I wanted to pee.

"I brought most of your stuff," he breathed as I lay with my back against the wall, "I brought as much as I could for now. Matt wasn't home and that made it easier. I'll give him the key later."

I slowly peeled my body off the bed, pushed the sheets aside, and sat down, playing with my fingers as I looked at Luke, who was carrying boxes in his arms. "Luke, thank you."

"Hey, I didn't do anything." He raised his hands as he placed a box on the floor.

"No really." Taking a deep breath, I looked off into the distance and muttered to myself, "Matt did nothing but treat you like you were a terrible thing, some kind of cancer. But even if you took the risk of meeting him, you went to get my things for me."

After closing the door silently, he came to me, sat on the bed, and with a surprising but calm movement, he took one of my hands in his and my eyes widened. His fingers grazed my knuckles for a moment, his cold skin tracing little circles on my warm skin, looking down at where we were touching, "The truth is, Ben, I will always do this for you. All for you. And I'm gay, but even though I'm crazy about you, I won't make anything of it. I'm so scared you'll think you are. You should know that I'm not doing all this because I have any expectations from you. I just want your friendship."

I moved closer until my forehead rested against one of his broad shoulders. The obvious thing is that I was a long way from touching someone after what happened to me that terrible night, but I didn't feel that way with him. I was pretty sure I didn't like Luke, but there was something about his touch. I found a certain warmth and soothing in the way he held me, like a kind of peace. As my forehead hung over his jacketed shoulder, I looked down at our tightly clasped hands and threaded my fingers through his, causing his breathing to quicken.

"It's okay, Luke. Gay or not, I'm okay with that. I know who you are and I love this. Even if I'm not, it's okay for us to be friends. I'm not going anywhere as long as you want to hang out with me."

When I lifted my head towards him to see a warm smile taking over his face, he chuckled softly, "Okay, now I'm gay as hell."

Then I realized I was smiling for the first time in days. Luke grinned, looking at the takeaways he'd left on the table, "I brought you Chinese because I knew you couldn't refuse."

"Can we watch Back to the Future while we eat?"

"Sure," Luke laughed, jumping out of bed to unpack packages, "I'll give you a shoulder to fall asleep while we watch."