Longing For You Ch. 05

Hop exploded out of the house. He had heard the commotion while doing research and had wandered toward the window to see what was up when he heard the pounding on the door. He was shirtless and wearing loose sweatpants with socks but no shoes. It was a weird thing for Theo to notice, given the circumstances, but later that's the part that stood out in his mind.

Hop didn't have anything in his hands, as if he needed anything, but the look on his face was very convincing to the bullies who made a hasty retreat. Some of the adrenaline dropped when Theo saw them retreat and he dropped his hockey stick to his side as he took stock of what he could see of the chaos. Some of the fraternity members grabbed the guys trying to run away, holding them for the police, while Trevor laid on the ground with his forehead against the sidewalk, his leg a bloody mess.

The first thing Hop noticed was the blood that had been splattered all over Theo's clothes and skin, along with the redness on Theo's cheek and blood coming from his lip and nose now. It was clear not all the blood was Theo's though. Hop stopped in front of Theo, taking his face gently in his hands and inspecting him quickly but thoroughly for damage. He looked to the other two, taking in the condition of Trevor's mutilated leg.

Judging that everyone was currently safe, Hop's hyper-adrenalized state cooled down a bit, but he still felt the bloodlust just beneath the surface. This was evident to Theo, who saw the rage boiling behind Hop's usually pacific eyes, lending a sort of glow to them in the dusky light. Theo caressed Hop's jaw and cheek to show that he was okay before he dropped his stick and came over to kneel down next to Trevor.

"Trev?" Theo called to him, too afraid to touch him right then. River was on Trevor's other side and was letting Trevor cling to his hand, though Theo couldn't imagine it was comfortable based on how tightly he was holding on.

Trevor let out a few shaky breaths and then turned his head towards Theo. "R-remind me...not to...get on your...bad side, T-Theo."

They could hear sirens in the background now and Theo just hoped one was an ambulance. He put his hand on top of Trevor's curly blonde hair. "Just stay with us, okay?"

"Talk to us," River coached. "Tell us about the pain, or how angry you are, or just anything."

Trevor shifted his eyes over to where Hop was and tried to speak with some bravado when he said, "I got a r-really good hit in before he got me..."

Hop's expression changed rapidly from one of barely restrained rage to one of empathy and concern as he, too, knelt next to Trevor. He smiled and asked, "Is that so? Tell me about that."

Trevor tried to do so, his speech broken up by his shivering in pain and trying to catch his breath. Theo was glad to see that an ambulance pulled up alongside three cop cars. Theo moved away from them while motioning for Hop and River to stay with him when the cops came up to figure out what happened. Luckily, there were people who were happy to send their videos over to the cops to show what happened.

The paramedics eventually interrupted Trevor to triage him and get him onto a gurney. Trevor bit down on his lip as he tried not to scream while they carefully moved him so they could get him onto it. It was hard for them to watch because they had never seen Trevor like this before. He was always joking and laughing, or making sarcastic comments. Now he looked pale and vulnerable, and broken emotionally. Despite the brave face he was trying to show, the three of them could see it.

"You should get medical care too," one of the EMTs said to Theo.

Hop seconded that and told them he would bring Theo to the hospital once they were done with the police. At some point after he had given his account of the events to a cop, Hop was allowed to go get a shirt and lock up the house. River joined them in the car to the hospital because he wanted to be there for Trevor. Theo held an ice pack up to his lip and nose while they made their way to the hospital.

River went off to find Trevor while Theo and Hop were taken to a room in the ER to be seen. They had Theo lay down on the bed while they checked over his injuries. Luckily his nose wasn't broken and most of his wounds were superficial. The doctor stitched up one cut on his cheek but everything else he just put some ointment on and gave him a script for bacitracin and some pain meds.

When the doctor said they could go find their friend, they were taken to a waiting room where River was sitting in a chair tapping his foot on the ground. He looked over at them wearily when they came in. "They took Trevor to surgery. He's lost a lot of blood, and his knee and ankle are both pretty destroyed. They hope to repair most of the damage, but..."

Hop winced. He remembered that Trevor was on a scholarship to study dance and theater. That had always been his passion too. Hop had seen quite a few of Trevor's performances because Theo would drag him along to them, and Trevor moved with such passion and grace that it was hard to imagine him doing anything else with his life. Theo sat down on one of the chairs next to River looking devastated at the idea of what this might mean for his friend.

Theo leaned forward and put his face in his hands, ignoring the wounds there that stung at the touch. "He shouldn't have gotten involved. They were after me, not you two."

River frowned at that. "You could have gotten killed, Theo, and Trev loves you. He never would have left you to face that alone."

"Theo, you can't blame yourself," Hop insisted, "You didn't swing the bat, so you're not responsible. Choices were made, now all that's left is consequences." Hop said that last part with a look in his eyes that told Theo that the rage storm that he had thought had passed was still very present in his lover. "Now, who had the bat?"

Theo was shaking his head to say he wasn't going to say but River said, "Preston Troy. Cedrick Maretti threw the first punch at Theo before Trev knocked him on his ass. And Maxwell Smith was on the other side of us."

Hop blinked, not expecting them to be footballers, but once he considered it, it made the most sense. Meatheads. He wasn't going to do anything right away, but he made note of the names and nodded solemnly in thanks to River. Theo looked unsure if telling Hop the names was such a good idea, but it was possible they would be held up with the cops for a bit anyway, and surely by the time Hop could do anything, his rage would have calmed down by then. Or at least he hoped so.

They were there for hours waiting, and they all tried to find comfortable ways to fall asleep for a bit. They roused again when a woman with the same blonde curly hair that Trevor had came into the room with a doctor with her. She looked over at them for a moment before she turned back to the doctor.

"He'll keep his leg at least," the doctor told her. "It might take a while before he's up and moving around like he used to. He'll need physical therapy and a lot of time to rest. We placed the bones back where they are supposed to be and used screws and plates to keep them in place."

"Will he dance again?" she asked.

The doctor gave her a sympathetic but sad look. "I'm sorry, Ms. Oxlar, but it's unlikely he'll be able to dance like he did. He might get a good amount of his mobility back, but I don't imagine he'll dance without help ever again."

"Thank you," she replied, though it wasn't with a happy or relieved tone. As the doctor left, she turned back to them and gave a weak smile. "Let me guess. River, Theo, and Hop, right? Trev has told me a lot about you all. I'm his aunt Naomi, though he calls me mom now. I adopted him when he was almost fifteen."

Theo got to his feet and shook her hand. "He's mentioned you before. It's nice to put a face to the name."

"I wish it was under better circumstances, but I'm glad he has you all there for him," Naomi said.

Hop nodded to her from behind Theo and off to his right a little. "I'm sorry that this happened on my literal doorstep and I couldn't stop it, Ms. Oxlar. I truly am," Hop stated sadly.

"Please, call me Naomi," she told them. "I get why you feel that way, but no one here is to blame for what happened. I'm going to make sure the police and university hold the guilty parties responsible if it's the last thing I do."

Hop nodded as if he expected nothing less, but he was eerily quiet, much to Theo's dismay. Theo gave River a nervous look but River was willing to let the chips fall where they may on this one.

An hour or so later, the doctor gave them permission to go into Trevor's room for a bit. They had admitted him to the hospital. When they came in, his entire leg was in a cast and they could see a catheter tube traveling down to a bag on the side of the bed. Trevor looked a little out of it but the pain meds they had given him made him feel okay. He smiled at them sleepily, glad to see them.

Naomi went up and kissed him on the forehead before letting him hug her. She was more emotional now that she could see him, but she was trying not to cry. "It's okay," Trevor said quietly to her. "You can cry, mom. It's an upsetting thing. I'm feeling okay though. Maybe reality will hit later, but I'm okay, I promise."

Naomi cried quietly as she held him and then eventually she wiped her tears and went to get him some more water for his cup. Trevor finally got a good look at Theo now and he gave a wince. "You look pretty beat up," he told Theo.

Theo just shook his head at that. "They look far worse than me, I promise. I believe the cops brought them to be looked at before they continue the arrest."

"It's so stupid, isn't it?" Trevor asked once his aunt had brought back his cup. "All of this over sexuality. All of this because you just want to date someone of the same sex. Like how dare we be attracted to and love who we do, right?"

"Your dreams..." Theo said and then halted, tears stinging his eyes.

Trevor gave him a sad smile. "I know, I've been ruminating over that. I'll...figure something out. I may just have to adjust my dreams, you know?"

Theo shook his head at that, not at all happy with that idea. He was unable to stop the tears from rolling down his face. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Hop wordlessly held Theo while he cried, knowing that he had already made an attempt to convince him not to blame himself and just offering comfort while he grieved for his idea of his friend's future. It was hard for Theo not to blame himself though. He knew he'd have to work through that feeling eventually, but he was glad that everyone was giving him some grace on it.

Eventually the nurse came in and told them that Trevor should get some rest, but Trevor stopped Hop while the others went out into the hallway. His expression showed concern under the fog of exhaustion. "I see that rage bubbling under there. I'm not going to tell you to calm it down and do nothing, but just make sure whatever you do doesn't get you put in jail or prison. Theo needs you, and I think you need him too."

Hop looked a little surprised, but his expression changed to one of compassion as he smiled at Trevor. "I'll be careful, I promise, but they can't get away with this. Suing them won't teach them anything. People like this only understand one thing."

Trevor looked down at his leg and frowned. He knew what Hop was talking about. "I know. Just be smart about it. I'd do it myself if I could, but alas..."

Hop nodded and quietly left the room, knowing what to do already, but considering when would be most appropriate to do it. All three of them were silent on the way back to campus thanks to exhaustion and how heavy everything felt. They dropped River off first and then went back home. Theo stripped out of his clothes as soon as they were through the door, wanting to get the blood off him. Hop could see more bruises on his back and side now, but no cuts there.

Hop winced in spite of himself at the sight of his boyfriend in such a condition. "See, you blame yourself for Trevor getting hurt, but I blame myself for both of you," Hop admitted as he sat down in his sweatpants, still holding the shirt he had just removed.

Theo looked at Hop in surprise and then shook his head. He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in before he came over to stand between Hop's legs, wrapping his arms around Hop's shoulders. "I get why you feel that way, and I know it's hard to shake that off. Naomi is right though. The blame belongs to them. I think it will take us a little while to stop feeling guilt though. Trauma is funny that way."

Hop nodded against Theo's chest. "I know, but they're not going to learn anything from being sued or being expelled. They'll just take it as proof that they're right somehow. I can't abide them getting away with this."

Theo felt his chest get tight with worry and fear. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing for now," Hop reassured him, "and maybe nothing at all for a while. But if it doesn't look like they've learned anything once everything is said and done..."

"Well, the cops have video proof of most of it," Theo commented as he ran his hand through Hop's short hair gently. "Hopefully that means they'll take it seriously. Especially with how much damage they did to Trevor. I'm not going to tell you not to do anything, because I know you too well, but...just come back home to me, please."

"Always," Hop answered, hugging Theo to himself tightly.

When Hop looked back up at Theo, Theo bent down to kiss him gently. "I love you, Hop. You don't need to say anything back, but I do, and I want you safe and happy. I especially don't want to move down to Columbus without you with me."

Hop was still struggling to admit it, but he did love Theo. Now that he tried to think about why he was struggling, he realized he had never said those words. To anyone. Theo wasn't going to push it though. He knew that Hop would get there eventually; at this point, after everything they had gone through, he wasn't afraid he wouldn't. He just didn't want to put any pressure on him.

Theo kissed him one more time before he finished stripping and went to get a hot shower. He'd wanted to get the blood off his skin for a while but had been too worried about Trevor to do anything but wait to see him. Now that he knew he would at least be okay, he needed to get clean.

Trevor didn't get to go home from the hospital for a few weeks, as they needed to make sure that he could move around in a wheelchair and would have the support he needed to bathe and use the restroom with the cast on. He didn't go back to his apartment, though. He moved back in with his aunt, where she helped him out. They only lived over in Ann Arbor so it wasn't too far for them.

The university decided to let Trevor's teachers grade him on the work he had done so far and let that grade stand as he may never dance like he did ever again. His music classes he would submit assignments by video to finish up.

The cops were nowhere near as helpful as they should have been for a crime like this, and Naomi, along with River's mom, had to go all mama bear on them to get any movement on it. The DA was much less forgiving though. He threatened to charge them with hate crimes, because that was what they did.

Their parents were wealthy though, and in the end they pleaded guilty to assault and had to pay a large fine, do community service, and be on probation for three years. The college expelled them, but Hop had been right that to them it mostly seemed like a slap on the wrist. Preston was even telling people that this was Theo's fault for taking their star football player away due to him seducing Hop with his ass.

Hop came home after hearing this among the footballers. He had walked away, disgusted to hear them repeating it. Those were rumors that were running all through the school now, so by the time they both got home, Theo had heard about them too, as had River. Trevor only heard about it through them though, and he was threatening to come and knock some heads with his cast.

Hop sat in the living room of their house, surrounded by the boxes they had been packing for the move to Ohio. They had the whole gang over for a private get-together. The idea was that they'd crash at the house for the night and start packing the rental truck in the morning, but Hop had one more piece of unfinished business to take care of and these guys were going to be his alibi.

Theo still looked a little unsure, but he was willing to go along with what Hop wanted to do. Trevor and River were more than happy to help out too. Trevor was there only thanks to his mom driving him over and getting him into the house, and it would make sense that he would need help while he was there, so Trevor would point out to the cops that Hop was easily the biggest and strongest of them all and thus better able to helpp him.

Hop left the house at dusk, wearing dark colored, baggy clothes that hid his physique, hunching over slightly as well. He waited until he got to the neighborhood of the frat house they were all a part of before pulling the ski mask he had found in his stuff while packing up. He hadn't been skiing in a while, so it had been a little musty. He had laundered it fairly thoroughly to eliminate as much forensic evidence as he could. He also pulled on a pair of tight leather gloves before getting out of the car.

He had made sure to get back-door access to the security system the frat had in place on the house from his friends who had installed it. There was no one at the house except for the three men he intended to teach a lesson. He had considered turning off the cameras for the evening, but it was easy enough to get them outside where the cameras couldn't see anything. He pulled the bat that he had paid cash for from the back seat of the car and hiked the twenty feet or so to the house.

When he arrived at the driveway, he pulled the trash can from the street and put it in full view of the front windows before setting it ablaze. It didn't take long for someone to notice and the three of them came outside to try to put it out, clearly in the middle of some drinking and probable drug use, from the way they were stumbling about and the lack of urgency with which they moved. None of them even looked toward Hop's hiding place near the garage door as they passed. He wasted no time taking them down, efficiently striking them solidly in the knee without breaking it.

After that, he took his time, first putting the fire out with the garden hose before striking them repeatedly in the soft tissue areas, deliberately causing pain without inflicting lasting, provable damage. He used only the bat, never giving in to the temptation of using his booted feet. The job was done and the three were unconscious in short order and Hop walked back to the car where he pulled off his boots and gloves and ski mask, stuffing them into a black construction-grade trash bag. The boots were a couple of sizes too large, so he took off the extra pairs of socks he was wearing and slipped his dock shoes on before starting the car and driving away.

Hop followed local traffic laws and made his way to the opposite side of town from where he lived with Theo for the next couple of days still, stopping at a construction site and dropping the bag into the dumpster there. He made his way back home and strolled through the back door as if nothing had happened.

No one commented on it and no one asked questions. They just went back to what they were doing. The food they ordered came not long after that, and Theo went to get the food and passed everything around.

The police did come around to ask them if they had seen anything or heard of anything, especially since they were the last people those three had a problem with, but all of them said no, they had been at Theo and Hop's eating food and talking. In the end, the police chalked it up to them pissing off someone, but they didn't go farther with it, which was a relief to Theo.