The Underworld [Closed]

[Evan Brackett]

[[Continued from The Talk.]]

As bile forced its way up Van's throat, he had to turn on his side so he wouldn't choke on his own vomit. His sick splashed across the counter and onto the floor, and he whimpered slightly at the sound and the smell. There were good things to be learned from the action, however. For one, he had been able to move, which meant that he couldn't have broken his back or neck. He didn't appear to suffer any long term damage, in fact, although he wasn't going to get out of this without a large and nasty bruise. The pain of which he would have to hold off on suffering, for his body had gone completely numb. Just another side effect of phasing, of course.

Evan forced himself into a sitting position, swinging his legs over the side of the bench and leaning his head against the wall. There was a surge of pins and needles with every movement, running from his nose to his toes. Despite suffering the side effects of his power, he had been extremely lucky. Taking in his new surroundings, he realized that he had fallen into one of the basement-level research labs, and as far as he knew, if he had been sitting just a seat or two to the left, he'd be in the ground right now.

With a sharp exhale, Van slid off the side of the bench and stepped carefully over the mess of vomit and broken glass. Putting his full weight down, he stumbled across the aisle and fell onto another lab bench, his numb legs unable to support the rest of him. The phaser sagged awkwardly, pressing his forehead against the cool counter and relishing in the bit of feeling he had regained before tilting his head up again to search for the exit. The movement made him woozy, and he had to put his head down again to quell the feeling. Fortunately, his short glance was enough for him to spy the door. The problem was finding the strength to get there.

Using the counter as a support, he followed it to the end closest to the door. His exit was still on the other side of the room, but at least he had temporarily escaped the rank smell that had started to permeate the lab. Evan lay his head on its side so he could evaluate the remaining distance between him and the next bench, and then, as he attempted to rush over to it, his legs buckled out from under him and he stumbled and fell to the floor.

"God fucking damn it!" he screamed into the concrete. This was exactly why he hated his stupid power; activating at the most inopportune time, leaving him numb and useless. He rolled onto his back again, and ignored the growing ache in his shoulders as he waited for the feeling to come back to his legs. There wasn't much else he could do.

[Levi Xu]

Levi had to push past quite a few students to get out the door of the auditorium. They'd been sitting in the middle of the row, and somewhere in the back of his head the boy knew that that the students scrambling to get their legs out of his way had just seen a picture of him and Evan having sex.

At least the age of consent thing had been cleared up ahead of time, or some of them would probably have been thinking that Evan was some kind of perv for dating him.

In the hall, as he ran for the stairs to the basement, it finally hit him that it was over. They were out. He'd wanted that from the start--no having to worry about hiding their relationship--but not like this. He took the last several steps with a leap, stumbled a bit on his landing, and kept running. Luckily that particular entrance to the lab was unlocked, and he darted past the back of the researcher inside. (Conrad's headphones were in and turned up pretty high.)

It was the cursing that led Levi into the right lab.

He burst through the door hard enough that it swung back and slammed against the wall. That didn't matter to him so much as the broken glass and what looked like blood on a far table. He sprinted towards it, but stopped short when he almost ran past the lump on the floor. Oh G-d. Evan.

"Evan, Evan, are you okay?" Levi's voice rose to a frantic pitch as he dropped to his knees next to his boyfriend. "Van, please, just say you're okay." He reached out for the older boy's hand and squeezed it. "I'm going to kill her. I am going to fucking kill her."

[Evan Brackett]

It wasn't long after he'd given up on scrambling for the door did he hear it slam open. Van honestly didn't care who it was, he was just relieved that someone else was there to help him. He did manage a weak smile, though, when his boyfriend came into view. "Levi," he muttered back, seemingly unaffected by the other boy's frantic tone. He was just happy to see him.

"No," he answered truthfully. "No, I'm not okay." It didn't occur to him to lie, as he probably should have to prevent Levi from growing more concerned. However, Evan, being farther from okay then he had ever been, wasn't exactly in a state of shrewd thinking. He had phased through walls before, and he had been left sick and numb afterwards then too. Those things were bad enough on their own, and the fact that he had fallen ten or so feet in addition to that was not affecting him well.

Evan winced at the unpleasant tingle that ran up his arm. He couldn't feel the other boy's hand squeezing his, but he knew what was going on from body's negative reaction to movement. "Everything hurts," he admitted while feebly trying to squeeze his boyfriend's hand as well. Even as the numbness faded, it was replaced by a new ache or pain. Evan wasn't sure which he preferred.

It was Levi's last words that jumbled up Van's priorities, and he let out a stiff groan at the reminder of what just happened upstairs. In his moment of agony, he had forgotten why he had wanted to disappear in the first place. "The entire school is going to hear about it," he moaned, "And they're going to tell my parents, aren't they?" It was bad enough having to worry about coming out to them. Now, not only were they going to hear it from the school, but they were going to find out that he was sexually active with someone that was only 15.

Maybe landing in the basement wasn't such a lucky thing after all. He's almost rather be dead. "I don't want them to tell my parents," he choked out in a fit of panic.

[Levi Xu]

"Can I help?" He didn't think he could carry Evan, but he'd seen his boyfriend after a bad phase before. Eventually, he regained the use of his body. Soon enough, so long as nothing was broken, he'd probably be able to walk if Levi helped him keep his balance. But there were going to be stairs to maneuver up, and that wasn't going to be easy.

For now though, he kneeled on the floor next to Evan, gently running his free hand through the taller boy's fluffy brown hair. "Once you're ready, we'll go up to the medical wing. As soon as you're ready." He was trying to be reassuring, but the one thing that was really sticking out in his mind was that they didn't have to worry anymore about being seen with Evan leaning on him for support with Levi's arm wrapped tightly around him. Everyone had seen them do worse. Much worse.

"It...it'll be okay?" But, of course, Levi wasn't sure of that. He didn't know why the school would have to call and inform all of the parents, but that seemed like a pretty standard school thing to do. Something bad had been done on the premises, and they alert everyone, so it didn't look like they were trying to hide something. "Maybe they won't tell them?" If the school told all the parents...well, his dad would ask what he was doing in the picture. And he wouldn't like that what he'd done was with another boy. "And your parents love you. It's going to be okay, Van." Stroking his hair, trying to be soothing, Levi leaned in a bit closer. "I love you too, and we'll be okay."

[Evan Brackett]

"No, I don't think so," he replied dismally. Evan was use to not being able to do anything for his side-effects other than wait them out. It wasn't like he could take pain killers for his numbness like it was a migraine. Then again, maybe that would help with the pain from the fall. "Actually, do you have Tylenol or something on you? This really hurts." He rushed to add, "It's okay if you don't, just don't leave me here alone." As much as his muscles ached, he didn't want to be left there alone while Levi went off to seek medication. He'd rather tough it out.

Under normal circumstances, simply moving around would help. That wasn't really an option after a fall, however. The only alternative he could think of involved rubbing the feeling back into his limbs, but his cheeks went pink as his mind managed to wander into less appropriate territory. He wasn't about to suggest that.

The phaser nodded, although there was a wince to accompany it. "Okay, yeah. I'll let you know." He wasn't looking forward to that journey at all.

Evan knew the other boy was just trying to calm him down, and he took no solace in the reassurances. "They will," he disputed. "Of course they will." He knew his parents loved him, and he loved them too. That was why he was so worried about them finding out. He didn't want to disappoint them. Before, he had just been afraid that they wouldn't approve of him being into guys. That was probably going to be overshadowed by the fact that he was having underage sex, which he knew they wouldn't approve of.

Again, it was the last bit that stopped his thoughts in their tracks. He stared up at Levi blankly, taking a moment to work out what he had said and deciding that, yeah, love had been mentioned. "Wait, what did you just say?" Van thought, maybe, that he was just hearing things.

[Levi Xu]

No, Levi didn't have any Tylenol on him, though it wasn't unusual for him to carry something for headaches. He shook his head slightly and squeezed Evan's hand a little tighter. He wasn't going anywhere, not unless Evan was able to come with him. (Of course, his cell phone was sitting in his pocket, fully-charged. He just wasn't thinking straight right now.) "I'll stay with you, don't worry." Well, telling Evan not to worry was like telling a turtle to hurry up. It wasn't going to do much. But he didn't have to worry about that at least.

And honestly, after what they had just run (Well, run and phased) away from, it was probably a better idea not to do any excessive rubbing.

"Well, maybe they won't." He was trying, no matter how ineffective it was. "It wasn't like we did anything...what?" Levi blinked when Evan questioned him. He'd just said....oh.

Levi's face turned a little pink as he offered his boyfriend a small smile. Yeah, he'd said it off-the-cuff, but he meant it. It had been something he'd been thinking about for a while now, but didn't want to say right away. After all, they'd only been dating for a month and a half-ish. "I said that your parents love you, and that it's going to be okay." But that was obviously not what the older boy was talking about. "And I said I love you too. Because I do, and I want us to be okay too." He kept stroking his hand through Evan's hair, waiting for a reply.

[Evan Brackett]

Even if the school didn't tell his parents exactly what happened, Evan knew the administration would, at the very least, tell them that something happened. Schools were like that. And when his parents would ask him for more information about it, he knew he wouldn't be able to lie to them. He was like that. Either way, it was inevitable that they would find out.

As Levi skirted around what the phaser was actually asking about, Van felt like he had definitely misheard, but then the other boy said it again. I love you too. Suddenly it was like nothing else mattered, or at least, that's what his heart decided as it flitted in his chest. He wasn't sure where his brain had gone in all of this, but it was no where to be found as his eyes glazed over and his mouth bent up in a happy smirk. "I love you too," he repeated listlessly, just thinking about what Levi said, rather than saying it back. "You love me."

He spent another good minute or two swooning, before he blinked himself back into the moment, his eyes focusing on Levi's face. "Yeah. I-I love you." He had been thinking it for a while as well, but hearing the words actually come out of his mouth was somehow strange. They carried so much more weight than they had when he said it to family, and he had been scared to try saying it to Levi. His stomach flopped every time the thought came up. But, between the phasing and the swooning, that wasn't as noticeable now, and he knew that he wanted to say it back.

Van's smile broadened, and he said it again with more confidence. "I love you. I'm glad you're here." With him in lab, at Hammel, on Earth. Just...here, as a tangible being that he could love. He sat up so he could kiss Levi, but his stupid numb face, which still lacked any proper sense of touch, ruined the sensation. "Ah...sorry," he muttered, feeling pretty sure that he had just given the worst kiss ever. It was hard to tell.

[Levi Xu]

Evan's listless, distracted response worried Levi. It wasn't just that it was obvious his boyfriend was repeating what he'd said and not responding with the same, but the way he said it, Levi was worried he'd hit his head. Just seconds ago he'd been worrying, and now he was smiling like a dope? The younger boy looked up at the ceiling, trying to judge just how far Evan fell. It was farther than seemed safe.

He kept stroking the older boy's hair, trying to think of a way to ask if he'd hit his head without distressing him. And while he wanted to get Evan up to the infirmary as soon as possible, he was afraid of him getting hurt more. But then he responded, and Levi just had to smile. Hearing that gave just gave him a bit more confidence that whatever shit was going to come with their parents finding out--because of course their parents were going to find out now--they could get through it.

When Evan sat up, Levi dropped his hand to the taller boy's shoulder. He was about to ask if he was ready to try walking again, but the kiss surprised him.

And yeah, it was pretty awful.

He didn't mind that Evan apparently couldn't really move his lips, but he'd also just been sick. And when the phaser apologized, Levi managed to not wipe his mouth on the back of his hand. "It's okay, Van. I'm glad I'm here too." He pulled him into a hug and nuzzled into his neck. "Do you think you can walk yet? You can lean on me."

[Evan Brackett]

Evan hadn't hit his head in the fall, but after hearing Levi say that he loved him, he might as well have had a concussion. He wasn't able to think straight--not that his anxieties were doing him any favors before--which was why, when he kissed his boyfriend, he hadn't taken into account the nasty taste in his mouth. It was something he would regret later.

The hug was what got the gears turning in his mind again. His back stung in response to the squeeze, reminding him of the fall, and Van had to bite back a hiss. He hesitated to return it, but stroked Levi's hair as he nuzzled into his neck, trying very hard not to ruin things by whining about his pain again. "Uh, yeah. I think. Um. I could almost walk before, so yeah, should be okay now with your help." To say he could almost walk before was pretty optimistic of him. He had made it about half way across the room on his own, but that was because he was acting frantic.

He slung one arm around the other boy's shoulders before trying to push himself off the ground. Van's legs wobbled as he slid them beneath the rest of his body, and while he was akin to a newborn deer trying to stand for the first time, they were functioning well enough. But as his wits returned to him as well, the phaser realized that, being unfamiliar with the labs and having fallen through the floor, he had no idea how to get out of the basement. "Uhm...do you know the way out of here? Please tell me you do." He had a sinking feeling the answer was going to be no. Now was not the time to go exploring the basement.

[Levi Xu]

It was sweet, if a little dismaying that Levi admitting he loved Evan had that kind of reaction. Of course, the younger boy was still worried that it had something to do with the fall.

He helped the other boy up, steadying him as stood. He was really wobbly, and Levi was worried he wouldn't be able to keep him upright. "Just hold on tight to me, and tell me if we need to stop." The younger boy was nervous, but concentrated on the next goal of getting Evan upstairs. Reaffirming his boyfriend loved him (in a way that wasn't completely gross), worrying about what their families would do, and providing appropriate retribution to whoever had done this (Mia) could wait until later.

"Of course I do, Van. I found you, right?" Levi wrapped his arm a little more securely around his boyfriend's waist and raised the other up to hold Evan's arm around his shoulders in place. He was barely less than a foot shorter than the other boy, so he wasn't a great support. But he was enough, and even running into one of the researchers didn't stop them. ("Phasing accident" was all Conrad needed to hear before he waved them along and said he'd clean up the mess.)

Now there was just the staircase. Okay. They could do it.

(wrapped)