A/N: Hey guys! I just had an idea for another story and I wanted to get it down before I forgot. I promise I'm working on the other ones! This is darker than what I usually write, so let me know what you think! And if you're reading my stories for the first time, check out my other ones and review! I'd love to hear what you guys have to say :)

"What's the matter, fag? Can't get up?"

The taunting voice cut through the chorus of judgmental voices and discriminating stares. Carlos clenched his stomach, writhing in pain on the cold tile of the hallway. His right eye was starting to discolor and cuts were slashed all over his body like a mural. His clothes were tattered and the contents of his backpack were scattered all around him.

Another sharp pain shot through his stomach as he felt the toe of a shoe jab his midsection again. Laughter tolled through the halls like funeral bells. A pained and frustrated tear slowly rolled down his cheek as the combination of physical pain and outright hatred towards him began to crack and chip away his mask.

"Oh look, now he's crying!" jeered the same voice, "James, look! Come on fag! Cry like a bitch for me!"

Why are they doing this to me? What have I ever done?

Carlos felt pressure on his throat as he was being lifted up from the ground. Every nerve in his body screamed as his feet left the ground and his back was slammed against the wall. The vice-like grip on his throat tightened and crushed his windpipe. His hands left his stomach and clawed at the fingers slowly murdering him, desperate for a gasp of air.

One lifeless brown eye met a pair of malicious emerald ones. A cruel smirk, crawled its way on the blonde-haired face as hatred and disgust battered the soul of the suffocating teen.

To his horror, a hand snaked its way up Carlos, thigh and clenched strongly on his groin.

"You like this, don't you?" his voice dripping with malice, "You want me to fuck you."

The crowd roared with laughter at the Latino's humiliation.

Tears began to stream down his face as the world around him began to blur. The laughter stabbed at his heart and the jeering tore through his mind like a tornado, leaving nothing but broken pieces of self-esteem in its wake.

Carlos felt his grip loosen from the blonde's fingers and his struggling cease. His ears began to ring and his vision began to turn black.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" a voice demanded from the crowd.

Frightened, the blonde suffocating Carlos released his grip and dropped the Latino to the ground.

Before he completely lost consciousness, Carlos saw a spiky-haired brunette step forward from the crowd, giving his assailant a challenging glare.

Carlos couldn't move. He couldn't open his eyes. He didn't even have the energy to think. Every once in a while voices and sounds would reach him from the deep recesses of his unconscious.

"Kendall! What did you do?"

"I didn-"

The sound of fists meeting skin.

Nothing.

Footsteps retreating.

A door slammed.

Nothing.

A siren.

Nothing.

His mind completely shut down.

Beep Beep Beep

Hushed voices could be heard whispering.

"-s your name?"

"Logan, is he going to be okay?"

"Your friend has undergone a lot of damage, and from all the old scars, it seems as if this has been going on for a while. He has a few cracked ribs and he might have a concussion. Where's his parents?"

"I don't know, I've only met him on a few occasions. Can I please stay? He shouldn't have to be alone."

A silence only broken by the steady beeps from a machine hung in the air.

"You can stay until his family is here."

A door opened and shut. Then footsteps retreated from the room.

Then, nothing.

His head was pounding, and his neck was sore. Carlos cracked open his one good eye slowly. He was in a hospital room, lying down on a bed. The room was dimly lit from a small lamp off to his side. A machine was hooked up next to his head beeping steadily to his heart rate. Carlos groaned and tried to prop himself up, but gasped sharply as pain shot through his ribs. He fell back down and cursed inwardly.

"Hey, you're awake!" A soft, groggy voice came from across the room.

Carlos turned his head to see the spiky brunette he saw before he blacked out. The boy was sitting in a chair with a jacket draped over his body. The chair next to him held a backpack and higher-level textbooks. The brunette rubbed his eyes, got up, and walked over to Carlos' bed. He gave Carlos a gentle smile mixed with relief and concern.

Did he save me?

"I'm Logan," he said quickly, "Um... How are you feeling?"

Carlos opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a dry cough. Alarm filled Logan's eyes and he quickly ran over to a small table. He returned and pushed the button to prop Carlos' bed up to a reclining position. He handed Carlos a cup of water.

"Here, drink this." Logan said with concern.

Carlos took the cup and drained it of its contents. The brunette took the cup from Carlos when he was done and placed it on the stand next to him.

"Thank you..." Carlos croaked, looking away.

Logan smiled, "Can I get you anything? Are you hungry?"

"No, it's fine..." Carlos said staring at his hands.

An awkward silence began to settle between the two. Carlos looked at the clock.

9:25 PM

Say something. It's the least you can do.

Logan shifted his feet and looked down, trying to find something to say to the battered boy without bringing up the obvious predicament.

Still not meeting his eyes, Carlos asked, "How long have you been here?"

Logan raised his gaze, "Hm... I think it was around one."

So he's been here for 8 hours?

"Oh..."

Carlos grew silent again, and Logan smiled uncomfortably.

"Um... Do you want me to leave?" Logan asked.

Carlos looked up to meet his eyes, "You don't have to stay if you don't want to... "

Logan stared at the Latino's face. One eye was black and swelled shut, while the other looked at him with a gaze that was years beyond his actual age. He tried to find some sort of life in that eye, but all he saw was a sad darkness. Carlos began to get uneasy by the analyzing boy and looked at his hands again.

"Do you want to be alone?"

Memories of sitting alone in solitude at school began to flood his mind. Day after day, he walked around campus alone. No one talked to him. He was isolated in all his classes and the teachers paid him no heed. The dull, familiar pain of loneliness surfaced and he knew the answer to the question. He didn't want to inconvenience the spiky-haired brunette any longer by making him stay, but he couldn't bear being alone any longer. Especially in his current situation.

"No..." Carlos said softly, "Can you stay?... Please?"

Logan gave him a kind smile and nodded. He grabbed the chair he was sleeping in a few minutes before and dragged it next to Carlos' bed.

As he watched the boy move furniture, Carlos felt a twinge of warmth run through his body.

He's actually going to stay? Someone cares?

Carlos felt relief and yawned as Logan settled down next to him, feeling sleep creep up on him.

"I'll stay with you through the night." Logan said, "You won't have to be alone tonight." He reached forward and gave the Latino's hand a quick squeeze.

Carlos was filled with so much warmth and emotion, he almost started to tear.

No one has ever said that to me before.

Carlos, before drifting off to sleep he gave Logan a misty look, "Thank you."

The last thing he saw was a warm, almost loving, smile.

Then he was asleep.

A/N: So what do you think? Do you like it? How was the writing? Please leave a review! It lets me know how I can improve and imspires me to write faster. Thank you for your time guys :)