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5 - avant l'ange

5 - avant l'ange
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Laying in bed that night, Edwin's mind took him to a place that he desperately didn't want to return to.

Fabio Hernandez.

Fabio was not an angel.

The Hernandez Hair Hut was Edwin's go-to hairdresser because of their stellar ability to treat curls, and the little establishment was run by a sweet old man named Julio. That was, until he had a heart attack on the job and needed three months to recover.

Soon, the Hernandez Hair Hut was taken over by Julio's son, Fabio Hernandez.

Fabio was attractive, there was absolutely no denying that. With smooth skin, dark lusty eyes, luscious brown hair, and the lips of Stephen Tyler, he was enough to drive Edwin insane with impure thoughts.

But Edwin always knew what to say to Fabio. Nothing.

One day, the two had been alone in the shop. Fabio was individually curling each of Edwin's curls around his finger, painfully slow.

Suddenly, his breath was on Edwin's ear. "You're straight, right?"

Edwin was too scared to respond that, no, he was not. In fact, he was incredibly attracted to Fabio.

"Hot," the boy whispered, then spun the chair around and began hungrily kissing Edwin.

It went like this for a while; Edwin would be the only one in the store, and Fabio would do things with him because he thought he was straight. Fabio saw it as a challenge.

There were things that Edwin thought he'd want to do with Fabio, but he quickly learned that he didn't really want those things.

One day, Edwin had the guts to say that he didn't feel like doing anything.

Fabio hadn't liked that.

They did something anyway.

After two and a half months of mindless, non-con activities, Edwin finally stood his ground.

Fabio liked that even less.

Edwin went home with bruises.

So many bruises.

But Fabio had been careful. Nothing was visible under Edwin's clothes, so there was no evidence to Fabio's crime, unless, of course, Edwin were to get naked, which, after all this, he didn't think he ever wanted to do again.

He stopped returning Fabio's calls, answering his texts, and passing by the store.

He was at lunch with Lilith one day when he realized his hair was getting long again.

His chest constricted, images of the bruises and how they'd arisen flashing in his mind, memories of the pain and fear arising too.

He struggled to breathe, his body seeming to conspire against him. Tears ran down his face as he tried and tried to breathe. Just to breathe.

Lilith hopped up in a panic, unsure what to do or what was happening. She placed a hand on his upper back, gently asking him what was wrong.

He couldn't hear a word she was saying over the ringing in his ears, but her touch helped him. He felt anchored, like Lilith was protecting him from anything that might hurt him. His breathing steadied.

"What happened?" Lilith asked in a concerned tone. "You've never done that before."

Edwin didn't answer, as he still regaining his breath with his hand clamped on his chest. Slowly, the redness left his face and he quietly wiped away the tears, feeling vaguely ashamed. Nobody else ever cried and tried to breathe over their hair.

"Just stressed," Edwin told her finally, very carefully breathing in and out.

Lilith nodded solemnly, then wrapped her arms around her still-shaking friend in a comforting hug.

"Sorry, Edwin," she whispered to him. "Sorry."

Edwin, back in present time, shivered after awakening from the graphic and painful dream. He glanced with tear-filled eyes to his phone, charging on the nightstand beside him, but, of course, Fabio had not contacted him. He had stopped trying after a while.

Beethoven stirred from her sleep when Edwin moved to check the phone anyway. She looked around groggily, then went back to sleep as Edwin began to check the notifications.

One unread message from Gabriel

Edwin gulped, but opened the message.

Gabriel : Hey, I know it's like 1AM, but I'm up late and I just wanted to say I had an idea for the skit, and you could probably walk home with me tomorrow for when we work on it. Text me back when you get this!

Edwin's face warmed at the boy's enthusiasm. He began typing a message back.

Edwin : It's fine. I found myself up. That all sounds good. My last hour is technology with Mrs. Bunch. Maybe we can meet up outside of that classroom?

Gabriel : Sounds great. Do you wanna hear about my idea now or let it be a surprise for later?

Edwin : Whichever you choose.

Gabriel : K. I'll tell you about it once we get to my place after school

Edwin : Okay. Good night.

Gabriel : Night

Edwin smiled to himself and turned off his phone, laying back down. 

It was important to remember, there was a world past Fabio Hernandez.