|Weak Hero| Healing Snake [REWRITTEN]

Chapter 5

The Eungang was together when Ben received a phone call the next day from the same unknown number. Ben made a mental note to save it as Donald's in his contact list. He answered the call and put it on speaker mode. "Donald Na,"

"I take it that you've informed the rest of your friends about our previous phone call?"

"Yeah, he did," Alex answered.

"Then it's a good thing that I haven't put you on speaker yet because Gray only requested to speak to Ben,"

"We're his friends so he'd be fine with us also being on this end of the line,"

"Just because you're his friend doesn't mean he's comfortable talking to you. It took him two weeks to gain the courage to talk to just Ben,"

"You—"

Ben covered Alex's mouth to avoid an argument. "Can you ask Gray if he's alright with the others being here then?"

"Little brother, Ben is currently with the rest of your friends. Are you alright with them being on the other end of the line, or do you want Ben to talk to you alone?"

Gray was silent at first. "They...They can listen...but I-I only want to talk...talk to Ben..."

"You heard his answer," He put the phone on speaker.

"B-Big Ben?"

"Hi Gray," Ben softly greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm...I'm okay...I like cuddling with Jawbreaker,"

"Jawbreaker?" Ben asked. "Is that a stuffed animal?"

"She's big brother's pet bunny,"

"...She's Donald's pet bunny?"

"Uh-huh,"

"Okay then..." 

Ben and the others were shocked by the discovery. They all thought Donald would have a fierce looking dog or at least a cat to look like an evil supervillain, but no one ever thought he'd have a bunny of all creatures for a pet.

"Gray, if you ever want to talk to me or to the rest of our friends, we're here for you. We don't know what you've been through, but we're your friends and we won't abandon you,"

Gray began to cry. "Even though you say that...I'm afraid that you'll be disgusted when you do find out,"

"No matter what happened to you, we won't be disgusted. If you really don't want us to know, you don't have to tell us. We'll still be here for you,"

The Eungang continued to listen as Gray cried.

"Even though...I've been missing for three months...are we still friends?"

"Of course we are, Gray. We searched for you the entire time you were missing,"

After a few more minutes of Gray sobbing, the call ended.

"That really was Gray," Teddy said. 

"He sounded so...broken," Rowan added. "Just what did his kidnappers do to him?"

"I still don't like the idea of him staying with Donald Na," Alex mumbled. "But since he's so fragile, I don't want to force him to stay with one of us,"

"He seems comfortable enough in Donald Na's home that he's cuddling with his pets," Eugene mentioned. "Even though it's hard to believe, Donald Na really is taking care of Gray,"

XXX

Gray called everyday for an entire week. By the fifth day, he was willing to also talk to the rest of his friend group, although he still preferred to mainly talk to only Ben. Gray mainly talked about Jawbreaker or what he saw on TV. His friends mainly spoke about school and Takken. Teddy also talked about Co and Sprite.

"Big brother?" Gray asked after the seventh phone call ended. "Do...Do you think I could see them...in person?"

"Do you want to see them in person?" Donald asked. "If you're not ready, they can wait. I don't want you to force yourself. Just because they're your friends doesn't mean you owe them anything,"

"I want to...but I'm afraid," Gray admitted. "They say that they still care about me over the phone, but I'm afraid that they'll change their mind when they see me in person,"

"Gray," Kingsley told him. "Your friends are not the type of people to throw you away because of your trauma. Ben Park cares deeply about his friends,"

Gray thought back to Ben. Ben had a warm and friendly presence, but he also had a powerful aura to him. He knew that Ben would never use that strength to hurt him...but Gray would be lying if he said that thought of being near Ben wasn't intimidating.

"Maybe...Maybe not Ben..." Gray said. "Maybe someone else..."

"That's fine too," Donald nodded. "It can be whoever you're comfortable with,"

XXX

"Is this the right address?" Eugene glanced down at the address on his phone and then at the house they stood in front of.

"Are we seriously in front of Donald Na's house?" Teddy asked.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Alex said. "We're sending in Eugene alone!"

"He's the person Gray's most comfortable with seeing in person right now," Gerard reminded. 

"Eugene, if anything happens, yell and we'll all rush inside," Rowan advised. "We'll get both you and Gray out of there if Donald Na tries anything,"

Eugene nodded and walked up the path to the front door while everyone else stayed by the side walk. He nervously knocked on the door and instinctively froze in fear when Donald Na opened it. Donald stared at him with an intimidating gaze before ultimately allowing him inside.

"Little brother, your friend is here," Donald gently called.

Gray, who sat on the couch, looked up from the math worksheet he was solving. "Eu-Eugene,"

"Hi Gray," Eugene shyly waved.

"Do you want him to stay near the doorway or can he approach closer?" Donald asked.

"A few steps closer is fine," Gray managed to say.

Eugene took a few steps until Donald stopped when he noticed Gray flinch. Jawbreaker hopped up to Eugene and stared at him with suspicion. She stood up on her hind legs and started punching the air with her front paws, as if trying to intimidate Eugene.

'Donald Na really does have a pet bunny!' "Gray, how are you doing?" Eugene asked, shifting his focus back to his friend.

"I'm doing alright," Gray mumbled.

"Hey, stop ignoring me!" Jawbreaker was annoyed that Eugene wasn't paying attention to her threats and hopped back over to Gray.

"This is Jawbreaker, my brother's pet bunny," Gray knelt down and picked Jawbreaker up. As he stood back up, he was suddenly struck by sudden lightheadedness.

"Gray?" Donald noticed his brother losing his balance and rushed over to catch him just in time as he crashed into the coffee table.

"Gray!"

"Donald!"

Gray's withdrawal from the drugs he was given in that hellhole finally took effect.