Rock Bottom: Season Zero

Found

Joey spent the rest of the week asking the right questions, pulling some strings in his social network, and making phone calls that his parents would be apoplectic to hear him making. He even left school at lunch on Tuesday to talk to Seto's little brother about him. Mokuba had been guileless enough to answer honestly, even telling Joey how there were some Saturdays when Seto could hardly stand. By Friday, Joey'd found what he was looking for. He made one last call during lunch, made a sizable withdrawal from an ATM right after school, then went to the motel room to wait, pulling out his laptop as he sat on his bed and waited for the right time.

Seto's second customer that Friday had been one of the impromptu ones, the ones who called for same-day service that he had to squeeze in among the regulars and those who'd made appointments ahead of time. But this client had booked two full hours, and Seto was more than a little nervous. It was a man. Those sessions were always the most painful. They were meeting at a cheap motel, which was just as normal for Seto as an upscale hotel.

Seto went to the front desk and got the key-card, then went to the room, suppressing the protests his soul made each and every time. They were getting quieter the longer he did this, which worried him. He straightened up as he stood in front of the door, then opened it and went in. What he saw made him freeze, then slam the door behind himself before he started shouting.

"What the hell, Wheeler? What the actual hell?!" Joey put his hands up in defense as Seto charged forward, looking furious. As Seto made to take a swipe at him, Joey deflected the blow and knocked Seto onto the bed behind him, the impact from that alone making him wince. Joey began to speak before Seto could yell at him again.

"I could tell somethin' was wrong, okay?" he said somewhat quietly, a tone in his voice that Seto had never heard before. "I was able to figure it out 'cause I'm not actually as dumb as you think I am." He crossed his arms. "You've been exhausted and chugging way too many pain-killers for someone our age. Too many for anybody, for that matter. It's not safe, and Ryou told me that Mokuba's gettin' worried about you."

"So this is some kind of intervention?" Seto demanded as he sat up. Joey couldn't tell if his face was red from shame or anger. Probably both.

"No, this is me giving you a break." He tossed the envelope of cash on the bed, and continued, "Do whatever you want for the next two hours." He moved towards the door, intending to leave, when Seto's voice stopped him.

"Why? Why would you do this?"

The voice held such brokenness and pain that Joey didn't trust himself to turn around and look at Seto's face.

"Because... you need it," he answered quietly. "And because I'm not as bad as I seem." With that, Joey left the room and the motel, walking down the street with his hands in his pockets as he went to find some place to eat and kill time.

Seto, apprehensive about this gift of time, took Joey's advice in the end, deciding to take a nap. He took off his shirt and jeans and climbed into bed only after locking the door as securely as possible. In the unfamiliar darkness of the motel room, he could still fall asleep within seconds, telling himself to wake up in exactly two hours.

Two hours later, Joey had come back to the room to find that Seto still asleep. He sat in the chair in the corner, wondering if he ought to wake him up. He decided he'd give him a few minutes, since he most definitely needed the rest. Seto woke up on his own, actually, and when he sat up in bed with his back to his friend, Joey's jaw dropped.

"Holy shit." The words fell from his mouth before he could stop himself, and Seto whirled around, looking furious. Now Joey could see his bruises too, and he kept his mouth shut this time, though his eyes were wide with shock. He'd never seen so many bruises on one body before. They must have been what he'd glimpsed last Friday. He opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again. Seto's fierce glare silencing any words he might have spoken. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Seto turned around, quickly dressed, and left without a word.