BIG SIS

11.4 Nobody's Welcome Here

The thing about hitting below the belt? It tended to drop a guy where he stood.

"Get off," Collin grunted.

Derek whined something back, soft and miserable and too damn close to Collin's ear.

Collin jostled the other boy, trying to dislodge him. Derek slumped a little more. Since he was clutching at Collin to remain upright, that meant Collin got dragged down too. Collin groaned; great, now the doorknob was digging in his ass.

"Seriously?" he asked no one.

Derek was obviously out of commission. Collin got his hands under the man's arms and heaved up, legs straining. He managed to slip free, though he wasn't overly proud of how long it took or the amount of wriggling required. Derek fell to his knees and curled up, face drawn in agony. Collin stood over him for a minute, breathing hard. He thought about offering an ice pack or something. Not that Derek deserved help, the creep.

The doorknob twisted.

Collin lunged for the door, pressing it closed just as it started to open. "Not a good time," he said, going for casual and ending up strangled.

"It's me, moron," Iris whispered.

Derek let out a broken noise and tried to sit up. Collin kicked him back down. "Go away," he hissed.

Iris ignored him. "Is Derek in there?" she asked.

"No," Collin said.

"Yes," Derek grunted.

Iris pushed at the other side of the door. It slid open despite Collin's best efforts, revealing half of Iris' face. She raised her brow at Collin.

Collin rolled his eyes and let the door go. "Sure, come in. Let's have a sleepover," he snapped. Why did he even bother?

"Aww, is baby in a bad mood?" Iris simpered. Quietly, though. She took care when she shut the door, too, throwing a quick glance out in the hallway as she did.

Collin flopped down on his bed. Iris took the chair by his desk, stepping over Derek on her way. She didn't seem overly surprised to see him there. Collin glared at her suspiciously.

"So," Iris began, propping her legs on the bed, "did bully-boy pull through?"

"Michael?" Collin asked. It said something about his day, that he'd forgotten the whole blackmail subplot until just now.

Iris hummed in agreement. Collin shrugged.

"He said he's gonna do it, but who the hell knows. I gave him until Monday."

"Where're you meeting up?" Iris asked.

"I'll see him at Reed's office, first thing Monday morning," Collin said. He wasn't looking forward to doing time with Michael, but at least it meant that Iris wouldn't be able to invite herself along. Thinnest silver lining ever.

"Aren't you gonna do something about," Collin searched for a word to describe Derek, then gave up and just waved in the other boy's direction.

"Why?" Iris asked.

"He's here because of you!" Collin said, and immediately felt like an idiot. Iris wasn't responsible for Derek. Hell, Derek didn't seem like he could be responsible for Derek at the moment.

"What'd he do?" Iris asked. She looked at Derek when Collin didn't answer, for the first time since she'd entered the room. Something'd shifted in her expression, and not in a good way.

"Derek," Iris said. Her voice came from somewhere deep in her chest.

Derek pulled himself so he was sitting up, shoulders hunched. His face was still twisted in pain.