Mark had noticed a big change in Gael’s personality ever since Gael had come up and told him that he was gay. Katie Wells was gone from Gael’s life; Jimmy had told him all about what had happened between her and Gael, but what was ironic was that she had no interest in Jimmy, either. Now it seemed as though Jimmy’s dreams wouldn’t come true.

But it was clear that Gael was suffering.

For a whole week, he had seen Cyrus trailing Gael, going where the boy went, class to class, lunch to lunch, bathroom to bathroom. On days when he went to Cyrus’ house, he would sometimes find Gael there, but Gael wasn’t his usual self anymore. Whatever had happened between him and Cyrus had affected Gael so much he wasn’t even the same person anymore.

His hair had lost its golden sheen; it was now a dull, listless brown. It was also matted and dirty and Gael stank of both sweat, sex, and other things that Mark couldn’t identify or wish to identify. Gael’s once clear blue eyes were the same as his hair, only that his eyes didn’t turn an ugly shade of brown; they turned dark instead.

His clothes no longer seemed to match anymore, either. He would go to school in all of these weird combinations, all of them terrible. Yesterday he wore a long-sleeved purple shirt that had obviously been at the bottom of Gael’s drawer for it looked crappy and smelled like mothballs. His shorts were a dark orange color and the only benefit with the shorts were that they at least didn’t look ridiculous on him. And the same went for his shoes. He no longer wore the cool looking black boots; it was now old running shoes that not even nerds would wear anymore, his style now pale and faded. When Mark tried to start a conversation with him, Gael only looked away and refused to meet eye contact, looking miserably at something else. And Cyrus only smiled and held him, oblivious to all that was happening to his boyfriend.

It took another week and three days for Mark to finally draw the line; he couldn’t ignore Gael’s situation any longer. He needed to get in contact with the person who knew Gael best: his ex-girlfriend.

“Look, you have to talk to him…”

Katie gave Mark a dirty look, but otherwise continued to ignore him. She went back to reading her book. The library was oddly empty; they were the only ones in it. The teacher was in the back room eating her lunch, but otherwise they really were the only ones in the library. Maybe it was because the computers were shut down for the day.

“Hasn’t it occurred to you how much Gael’s changed ever since he came up and admitted he was gay?”

“Well, it’s obvious. The reason he’s changed is because I’m not there to ruin his relationship with another boy.”

“No!” He slammed his fists on the table. He wanted to do worse, as in snatch that book she was reading and slap her across the face with it. “Don’t you see how much he’s changed? He’s depressed. He’s miserable. Cyrus has him on some kind of restrain. I try to tell him about it and he would only laugh and smile and say that nothing’s wrong, then when I go ask Gael, Gael doesn’t even want to answer. Like he’s afraid that something might happen to him if he opens his mouth.”

She still continued to ignore him.

“Look, I had my doubts from the first that Gael wasn’t gay; it wasn’t likely. Why don’t you talk to him, get it out of him?”

“Why should I care about Gael’s personal life?” Katie snapped back, putting down her book. “If you care so much about him, why don’t you go see what’s bugging him. Or maybe the reason he’s so depressed is because Cyrus no longer pleases him.”

“Look,” said Mark in a very quiet, and dangerous voice. “I knew you had your doubts too. If you still have an ounce of love for him, it wouldn’t kill you to just make this one phone call and ask him what’s wrong.”

She was silent. Mark sighed, ruffling back his hair. “I really think you should see what’s wrong with him, Katie. You know he hasn’t been himself. If you talk to him now you won’t regret it.”

“Why would I regret it, Mark?”

“Because he can be helped now. He won’t be of anyone’s help if he’s dead.”

So Mark sat down with Katie, pulling up a chair and watching her as she pulled out her cell. She looked at the phone she held in her hands, back to Mark, then to the cell again.

“He never tried to call me. Not to apologize or talk or anything.”

“Maybe Cyrus had told him not to. Calling him now and talking to him would solve a lot of problems.”

“Maybe…” But she still held back.

“Call him, Katie. You still have his number, right?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath and flipped her phone open. Her thumb began dialing the number she knew by heart. Then as she pushed the talk button, she slowly brought it to her ear and listened as the phone connected with Gael’s.

“Hello?” the voice on the other line was Gael’s, however thin and strained. Katie’s stomach fluttered as she heard his familiar voice, talking to her like he had always done. That was all before the breakup.

“Gael, it’s me.” She swallowed back a lump in her throat. “It’s Katie.”

She heard his breathing quicken and turn harsh, his breath blowing on the mouthpiece of the phone. “Oh, hi!” He sounded really happy that she had called. “Katie, I need to talk to you.”

“I’m listening, Gael.”

“No.” His voice was really strained and frantic. “Not here. Meet me at the baseball field after school. Then you--” Then his voice was cut off and Katie heard noises of what sounded like two people arguing. One was Gael and the other one sounded like Cyrus. She heard the phone being passed on and a dark male voice that was Cyrus’ answered.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

Katie quickly hung up and looked over at Mark.

“Well, what happened? Why’d you hang up?”

“Gael didn’t want to talk on the phone. He said he would rather meet me in person after school today. He wanted to tell more, but Cyrus took the phone away from him and wanted to know who was calling so I hung up.”

“Wise,” Mark replied. “Will you meet him after school anyway?”

“Yes.” She put her cell back inside her pocket. “I think I know what you mean now. I think something’s wrong with my ex. And I won’t leave him until I found out what’s really going on between him and Cyrus.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

She shook her head. “It’s between me and my ex. Thank you for asking, though.”

“No problem,” said Mark with a smile. “You’re not the only one who cares about him, you know.”

---

After school, Katie had reached the baseball fiend but there was no sign of Gael yet. As she looked around, she felt a little exposed, being out here in the open. If Cyrus had come along, it would do her no good for him to see her first. She quickly ran off the field, finding a good hiding spot behind a clump of bushes that was next to the dugout.

A few minutes passed by. Then a few more. Katie’s legs were starting to cramp, her mood not helping her situation either. Just when he had given up all hope and decided that Gael couldn’t make good his words, a thin body walked its way towards the field, hands in pockets, blond hair fluttering lightly in the wind. Upon stepping on one of the bases, the blond stopped and looked around for his ex. Katie slowly rose from her spot and waved a bit, catching his attention from the corner of his eye as he jerked his head around and looked at her. But he made no move to come to her and she made no move to come to him. Pressing a finger to his lips, he told her to be quiet, and as he made gestures with his hands, he also told her to stay down. The minute she did, she saw someone running up towards Gael, someone she immediately found out to be Cyrus. Kicking up a cloud of red dirt, the youth stopped short of where Gael was and looked around suspiciously. Cyrus wouldn’t be able to see her unless the boy knew how to look. Looking pleased with his field inspection, Cyrus turned to Gael.

“What will you be doing tonight, love?” Even from here, Katie could pick up on their conversation. The voices grew a little louder as they paced in her general direction, crossing halfway over the field before stopping.

“Nothing, Cyrus. My homework maybe.”

Cyrus laughed. “You don’t need to do homework. Would you rather spend the day with me?”

“I always spend the day with you.”

“It’s to make sure you’re alright. You haven’t spent the time with those interlopers, right?”

“Interlopers?” Gael said, looking over to where Katie was hiding.

“Yes. Mark and even Jimmy are worried about you. They should mind their own business. You should tell them that.”

“Why don’t you?” said Gael in his flat voice as he looked away from the bush to look at his rapist. “You control me as though I’m your puppet.”

Cyrus smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You know I love you.”

“Then show me you do,” Gael said with a small snarl. “Leave me alone and let me have my old life back if you love me so much. All I’ve seen you do is rape and lie. That’s not love, no matter how you try to believe that it’s right.”

“Did your friend over the phone tell you this?” Cyrus was more angry at this unknown caller than at Gael. “Was it a chick? An interloper?”

“It was me, Cyrus.”

Cyrus’ expression darkened. His hand shot out and Katie’s eyes grew wide when she saw that it was a knife. She clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. The knife pressed tight against Gael’s belly, not meaning to hurt, but it would if it came down to it.

Gael’s legs shook as he felt his nerves betray him. He started to shake as the knife pressed deeper into his gut, the tip of the knife breaking the skin bit by bit, the blood a dark stain as it slowly ran down his stomach in a tiny line. His eyes were those of a horrified child.

“Are you saying I rape you? Are you saying I don’t love you?” Cyrus’ voice rose above a snarl of contempt. “You stupid shit! How many times must I make it come onto your head for you to understand? Do you think I enjoy hurting you?”

Gael’s eyes rolled wildly in their bony sockets. “No, you don’t--”

“No, babe,” Cyrus corrected with a smile. “Say it.”

“No, babe,” Gael whispered, hanging his head in shame now that Katie had to witness this as well.

“Tell me that you love me.” The knife slowly withdrew, Cyrus’ thumb pushing the blade back into the slot.

“I love you, Cyrus.”

Cyrus stalked forward, forcing Gael to step back, away from Katie’s field of vision. She heard the fence shake a little as Gael’s body leaned against it and the small scuffle of feet on dirt. She could no longer hear them, but the sound of their smacking lips was audible. Katie bit her lip, feeling so distressed and torn as she held her head in her hands, feeling the tears come to her eyes. Gael wasn’t forced into the relationship by choice, but by oppression. She wanted to run up to him, to save him, but Cyrus had a knife. He had a knife and if he could use it so carelessly around Gael to hurt him, then Cyrus would have no problem using it on Katie.

She couldn’t abandon him, but she knew that Gael had done this to show her the truth of what was happening. She couldn’t meet Cyrus here, especially if he was armed.

As Katie made a quick dash for it, Cyrus had heard her and lifted his head from Gael’s, flipping out. His green eyes were wide at the thought of being discovered threatening Gael and he craned his neck to see if he could catch a glimpse of the running figure. But Gael seized the back of Cyrus’ head and pulled him to his face, kissing him deeply as a distraction for Katie to get away.

Cyrus went along with it at first, but easily tore the hands away and shoved Gael off of him. “Someone saw us.”

Gael smiled and tried to laugh, his shrug coming out awkward and sloppy. “So what? Everyone already knows that I’m gay, or think they do. Who cared if they saw us?”

“I had a knife.”

“So? You use it on me all the time.”

Cyrus’ eyes narrowed suspiciously at Gael and Gael knew he had overdone it.

“Look, if you want to see who it was, you’re in for some tough luck because they’re far gone. I don’t care anymore, Cyrus. Why don’t you kill me? You did all but that.”

“I don’t want to kill you, love,” the boy said softly, his green eyes also softening up. “What makes you hurt so? I know it’s not me.”

Gael bit back a scream. Cyrus only smiled, though he knew that if he was to fully get Gael on his side now, he had to put an end to those who were giving him distractions. “You don’t have to hang out with me today. I can just drop you off at your house so you can get some sleep. Take a shower, too.”

Like I invited myself to go to your house, Gael snarled silently to himself. But he obeyed and gave a curt nod. Never had Cyrus had allowed him to so willingly go to his own home without him. Why had he let him off so easy? It was like he had said; everyone knew about the relationship. Everyone laughed at Gael because he was the one who supposedly hit on Cyrus while banging his girlfriend at the same time. Was it because he was caught with the knife? Caught threatening Gael to love him?

Cyrus offered to drop Gael off at his house, something he didn’t force on Gael but rather presented. Gael took it only because he didn’t feel like walking home by himself. The streets weren’t safe for him anymore. He would be jumped.

As they made their way to the student parking lot, Cyrus hung back so that Gael was walking ahead of him. He hung back a few more feet so that as Gael walked into the open, Cyrus was still in hiding. Then as Gael looked back, confused, Cyrus quickly ran up to meet him and as he did, he saw a figure shrink back behind a car. It was a fast maneuver that anyone would’ve missed, but not Cyrus. He was looking around for something like that to happen. He had found the interloper who had shoved its nose where it didn’t belong.

“Gael, wait for me at the car. Go. I’ll catch up.” He shoved Gael in the direction of the car and Gael obeyed, though he occasionally looked over his shoulder to see what was going on with Cyrus. On the third time he found that Cyrus had vanished.

---

The cars in the lot were very little concerning that most of the students had gone, which was why the student that hid behind his had nowhere else to go but open ground. He lifted his head from his hiding spot and saw that both Cyrus and Gael were gone. Satisfied, he stood up from his shelter and laughed. He pressed right into the open and quickly halted. Cyrus had appeared as if from nowhere, his bulk slowly crawling from the large lightpole that he hid behind. The boy began backing away as Cyrus took a step towards him, his walk stiff as he fingered his pockets. Cyrus recognized the dark hair and brown eyes, though that and the name was all that he remembered. He couldn’t remember that Mark had once been a friend to him.

“You were watching us,” Cyrus’ words were a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I was watching you. I had to make sure Gael was okay. I know what you’re doing to him, you know, and it’s sick. You fucked him up bad.”

Cyrus didn’t crack a smile, didn’t chuckle, made no indication of a proper response. “You fucked him up,” Cyrus admitted in a soft voice. “You fucked him up by sticking your nose in where you’re not wanted.” As he talked, he stalked forward while Mark stalked back. “You filled his head with lies about me and for his concerns for your safety, you and your friends have given him a distraction.” He stopped suddenly and Mark stopped as well. “What is it with you interlopers?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been spying and listening to things that don’t concern you, bitch. I’ve had it with asking nicely.”

Cyrus advanced once more and Mark was forced to back up. “Asked? You’ve never asked me to leave you guys alone! Fuck, I’ve only interfered until today and it’s because of what you’ve been doing to Gael. You fucked up his mind, faggot. You’ve completely ruined him!”

A hand shot out to slam him against his own car and Cyrus pressed forward as he did so, pressing hard against Mark’s body.

“So pretty…” Cyrus cooed, running his fingers in Mark’s dark hair. His other hand remained tucked inside his pocket.

Mark made a frustrated noise inside his throat and kicked out, screaming, “Help! Somebody he--oof!” He doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“You had to interfere, didn’t you bitch?” Cyrus’ snarl was a savage sound above Mark’s ears. He took that moment to tear his eyes away from Mark for just one second as he looked towards the school. The only kids remaining were too busy talking to one another to notice them, and he and Mark were well out of range.

“You…” muttered Mark angrily as he struggled to get back up, his bruised gut crying out as he stretched out the sore muscles in his belly.

“Gael no longer will suffer. Because I will take care of the things that he still clings to.” He pulled Mark up on his feet and the blade swung up and slammed into Mark’s stomach. Mark made a strangled, choking sound as he doubled over again, clutching the blade that tore into his stomach weakly, his legs starting to fold from under him. Cyrus gave the blade a savage twist and a pull, so that Mark jerked in pain as the blood spurted from his torn stomach wound. A whining gurgle escaped his throat, coming out of his mouth in a watery cry as bloody foam dripped from between the youth’s teeth.

Cyrus quickly gripped the boy as he went weak against his form and fumbled in the boy’s pockets for keys. Finding them, he opened up Mark’s car and carelessly tossed the body inside, closing the door behind him. The blood that formed a small puddle at Cyrus’ feet was easily disguised as Cyrus pulled his bloodied shirt over his head, making sure that his blade didn’t cut him as he did so. Retracting the blade back into the handle and stuffing it back inside his pocket he draped his shirt over the puddle and watched as his black shirt darkened as it absorbed the blood. Leaving the shirt and body in the car, he casually made it back inside his car, trying not to attract too much attention from the kids that were there. One interloper down, one more to go.

While this was going on, Gael had been calling on his ex.

“Gael?” Her voice was as strained as his. “Oh, what else has he done to you?”

“It doesn’t matter now, but I hope you would understand that I had no choice. He was going to kill you if I told anyone what was going on.” He started to cry. “I’m so sorry!”

“It wasn’t your fault, Gael. It’s mine for believing him, for letting him do this to you while I sat back and let it all happen. What are we going to do with him, now?”

“With Cyrus?”

She sighed. “Yes, with him. You want me to tell you parents? Tell his parents about this?”

“No! No, you can’t!” Gael’s voice was almost frantic. “You can’t call my parents!”

“Well, why not?”

“He’ll blackmail me!”

“Blackmail you?”

“When I told you I was grounded for sneaking out, that was a lie to cover up what Cyrus had done. I got drunk.” He hesitated, waiting for Katie to fume, but she told him to continue, her voice a little sharp but forgiving. Now was not the time and place for this.

“Well, when I got drunk, someone called for Cyrus to pick me up. He went to get me and took my weak state as an advantage and raped me. He said he would tell my parents where I really went last night and what a fag I’ve become when I let Cyrus have sex with me. If anyone tells, he tells. You can’t contact my parents.”

“But Gael, this is severe. He’s been doing all of these things to you that you getting drunk will mean very little to them if you tell them what’s been going on.”

Gael’s eyes widened as he saw Cyrus walk up towards him, back to his car. “Katie, let me call you back when I get home, okay?” He didn’t wait for her to respond; he hung up and shoved the phone deep into his pocket and watched as Cyrus returned into his car, completely shirtless and sweaty.

“Hello, Gael,” he said cheerfully as though nothing had happened.

“Uh, hi?”

“Change of plans. I don’t think I’ll be able to drop you off at your house.” Cyrus rose a foot and propped it on his knee to remove the shoe, hastily working on removing the laces.

“Well, what are you doing?”

“Call your parents,” said Cyrus as though Gael had never interrupted. “Tell them you‘ll be staying with me.”

“But--”

“Don’t try to test me, Gael,” warned Cyrus as he finished pulling the laces from his shoe and was now working on the other, not looking up. “Call your parents. Tell them you’ll be at my house.”

“Alright. Okay.” He pulled out his cell phone and dialed. After a few moments of ringing from the other line, his father picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey dad. It’s me Gael.”

“Oh, hello son.”

Gael felt his stomach tighten and he managed to keep his voice light and cheery. “Hey, dad, is it okay if I stay over at Cyrus’ house?”

He heard his father’s hesitation. “You’ve been seeing that boy for quite a lot of times. How about your schoolwork?”

“I’ll do it at his house.” When his father remained skeptical, Gael pleaded, feeling Cyrus’ green eyes bore onto him. “Please dad. I promise I’ll be back when I finish my homework, okay?”

“You’re not doing anything stupid while you’re over there, right Gael?”

Gael gritted his teeth in exasperation. “For crying out loud, dad, I’m not that stupid okay? He’s just a friend.” He shuddered when he felt Cyrus’ arm drape over his shoulders.

“…oh, oh alright.”

“Thank you, dad.” His throat felt dry as he hung up. He could hear his father’s worry, even as the man allowed his son to go. And he had every reason to worry. He was filthy, both inside and out. And Cyrus praising him like a master to a dog wasn’t making his job any easier. He noticed that Cyrus’ shoes weren’t in his lap anymore; they were tossed in the back, but he held the shoelaces in the hand that was holding the steering wheel. He didn’t question about them or even ask about the laces, even as Cyrus pulled out of the parking lot and took off with speed that told Gael that he was in some kind of hurry. Then he remembered that Cyrus had told Gael to go ahead in front of him while he took care of something. What was it that he did, exactly?

“Cyrus?”

But Cyrus ignored him, driving in the opposite of his house, finding a solitary place to pull up. Gael sighed and expected sex or blow, leaning back in his seat as the car slowed down, preparing himself for another useless rape session.

But he was surprised to find that Cyrus had no intention of raping his sex partner. He only looked at Gael and tightened the laces he had in his hands. Gael looked at them, wondering if Cyrus was going to try some new kinky sex routine. He could feel his heartbeat began to rise as Cyrus gripped his wasted wrists with one hand, pulling him closer. Fear slowly crept its way up his spine, causing his body to give a shudder from a sudden chill. He realized that this was no kinky sex he was being prepared for.

“Let me tie you,” said Cyrus, his gaze locked on Gael. “If you struggle, it’ll only make it worse.”

Gael winced as Cyrus tied his hands tight by the wrists, forcing them to clasp together as though in prayer. He leaned against Gael as though kissing him, but he only adjusted the seat so that it bent back as far as it could go so he could remove his shoes and take the laces off of those too, though not pausing to tie his ankles together with his own laces. When he was done removing Gael’s laces, he used one to tie the hands together by the fingers, adding as much pressure as he could. Gael could feel the circulation cut off slowly as his hands turned red, then purple, then blue.

“Why are you tying me?” Gael demanded, though his voice was low.

“To keep you from doing anything stupid.” Cyrus pulled out one of his black socks and then worked on removing his belt.

“I told you I wouldn’t struggle,” Gael was disappointed now that he couldn’t contact Katie, and she couldn’t contact him if she should call. “I’ll behave in whatever you’re going to do.”

“Oh, trust me, love. I think this would be a good idea.” He stretched out his sock and then fanned it out to get rid of any dirt. “You’ll thank me for it later, you know. I know why you hurt, why you still suffer.” He leaned closer and kissed him softly on the lips. “I got rid of an interloper for you. He won’t bother you anymore.”

“What?”

The sock was stuffed in his mouth. Gael gagged and the belt loped around his head, closing down to his mouth, securing the gag as he tightened the belt and slid it through the buckle. He didn’t tighten it as hard as he did with the boy’s hands and wrists, but enough so that the belt wouldn’t be easy to come off.

Cyrus pulled out his pocketknife, sighing sadly as though preparing himself to tell Gael that he failed the proficiency. Pulling back the silver button that unsheathed his six-inch blade, he only looked at Gael’s face with what looked like grief as the blond caught sight of the bloody blade.

It was once a fine red, a red that dripped with Mark’s blood, but now it was the color of rusted steel. When he had withdrawn the blade, flecks of dried blood fluttered in the air, falling to the cushions and discarded.

The stricken blond stared at the blade in incredulity. His surprise mixed into grief, and grief mixed in with anger. He glared daggers at Cyrus, screaming and shouting at him, his screams muffled by the sock in his mouth. Gael ignored him as he withdrew the blade.

“I did it because he was interloping, nothing more.” He forced Gael to sit behind him as he adjusted his own seat to get ready to drive. “I want you back there so no one could see you up front. I also want you back there so when you try to stop me, you wouldn’t get in the way of me driving. I will break you from the hold they have on you. If they are out of the picture, you would be relieved and would have more time for me, to love me.”

As Cyrus drove on, Gael was kicking, thrashing, snarls of fury muffled by the restrains in his mouth.

“Doing that wouldn’t do you no good. It wouldn’t do her a lot of good either. Stupid bitch.”

Gael froze.

“The many times I dropped you off at her house made a mental map in my head. She won’t be hard to find.”

Gael made a strangled noise and struggled. He felt the car slow down.

“Oh, please don’t make me hurt you. After all, I did this for you.” He pulled up in someone’s driveway, but it wasn’t Katie’s. He withdrew his knife and turned around, but upon seeing Gael crying made him hesitate. But because Gael was crying for another reason entirely, like crying for the bitch that had stolen his heart, he decided that having Gael unconscious was a good thing. He didn’t want to hear him whine. He didn’t want him to viciously attack the back of his seat. He didn’t care how many lives he took. He just wanted Gael to be happy with him.

So he beat the boy savagely on the head with the handle until the boy was knocked out. “I’m only doing this for you!” he screamed at Gael’s slumped form, rubbing the boy’s ripped forehead with his shaking fingers. “God dammit!” He didn’t want his lover to choke. Removing the belt and sock, he would wait until the boy regained conscious before he could put it back on.

Frustration made his driving rough; all he could think about was Gael. He didn’t go to Katie’s house. Instead, he pulled up at his house, waiting for three to become six. Just three hours, when the sky darkened, and the trials would be complete.