forum Apaixonar: The act of falling in love.//OxO//Romance//CLOSED

Started March 29, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

Henry's enthusiasm dimmed, but only slightly. "No, I'm pretty sure you should do it, and you'd be great at it." Henry backed down a little, his voice less intense.

Babe looked over at him, and sighed. "I can't promise I'll make it on stage. But I can try?"

His grin widened and he nudged Babe again. "Awesome! I'll come sometime on Saturday. Are you about ready to head to practice soon?"

((I gotta toss in the drama….))

Babe nodded, gesturing to her uniform. "I'm off in…about twenty minutes, and I'll have to get changed. You can always go next door to the-" She cut off as something caught her eye, eyes widening. "Kai? What-" She set down the cd she was holding, hurrying past Henry towards her brother, who was covered in bruises and holding a sleeve to a bleeding nose.

(Ooooh)
Henry turned to look, dropping the cd as he rose to his feet. He followed Babe over quickly, his eyes scanning the boy and his bruises. "Babe, is there a first aid kit in here?" He asked quietly, trying to keep a calm head.

"Under the counter. My bag is back there too, grab the clean shirt in it." Babe instructed, switching into leader mode. It was her defense when there was a crisis, picked up from years of dealing with brothers and teammates. She gently guided her brother over to a chair in what her boss called the chill zone, directing him to sit.

Henry nearly ran to it, snatching the bag and the first aid kit. He quickly made his way back to Babe and her brother, setting down and opening it to hand Babe some of the bandaids and antibiotics, along with anything else that looked helpful.

"Once I clean you up, you can head into the back and change your shirt." Babe said gently, knowing he wouldn't change it out here. She took the supplies Henry handed her, carefully cleaning up the blood and putting antibiotics on any cuts. She didn't ask what had happened, knowing Kai would either tell her when he could, or that she'd just have to ask him later.

Henry stayed quiet as well, not sure if he should intrude or just see if he could help more. Babe seemed to have some experience with cleaning cuts like this, so she must have it under control.

Kai was crying, silent sobs wracking the boy's body as he let his sister deal with the cuts. His face was covered in purple and yellow bruises, and there were more disappearing under his shirt. Whatever had happened, it had been done with the intent to cause harm.

"Kai, honey, it's alright." Babe said softly, finishing up what she could. She met her brother's eyes, everything about her soft, different from her usual hardened and mischievous look.

Henry tried not to look too closely, biting his lip. What could have possibly happened to hurt Kai like this? At the same time, he was seeing a very different side of Babe, one he'd never seen before or known existed.

"Th-they-" Kai stuttered out, before shooting forward and burying his face in Babe's shoulder. "I d-don't know how, b-but they knew, a-and-"

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Babe wrapped her arms around her brother, face darkening dangerously as he began talking about his attackers. Her voice stayed soft though, and if one hadn't been able to see her face, they'd have no clue.

Henry was full of sympathy for the boy. Even if he still didn't quite understand, it was obvious that Babe did. He kept a little ways back, giving the two space to talk.

Twenty minutes later, Babe had managed to calm Kai down and get his shirt changed, clocking out of work. He hadn't let go of her though, always clinging to her arm, hand, side, something. "Hey, Henry? I'm…going to bring him along, if you've got room."

Henry paused for a minute before enthusiastically nodding his agreement. "That's fine, I have plenty of room. Do you want me to take you home or to practice?" He unlocked the car and walked over to the driver's side.

Kai looked to Babe, confused. "Practice? What-?"

"Practice works." Babe said, with every intention of keeping Kai away from home for a bit. He didn't need mom and the others fussing over him, it would just bring everything back up.

Henry nodded, driving off to the rink. It was only a few minutes away, so they reached it quickly. The parking lot was almost empty, just the coach's car in a corner. Henry parked smoothly and unlocked the car, silently wondering if he should help.

Babe shot Henry an incredibly grateful look as she helped Kai out of the car, letting him lean against her. He looked confused, studying the stadium with wide eyes before turning to look at Babe, who pulled her lips up into a smile devoid of much emotion for a split second.

Henry walked ahead of them to get the door and switch the lights on for the rink. He still wasn't sure what to say, and he didn't want to ask and come off as rude. He was enjoying his friendship with Babe and didn't want to risk messing it up at all.

Babe got her brother settled in the lounge, leaving him her bag. He pulled what looked like a small first aid kit out of it, only to begin pulling metal parts and things from it. Babe gesture for Henry to follow her out in the hall, pulling out her phone and leaning against the wall.

He followed after only a brief hesitation of watching the boy. He casually leaned against the opposite wall to face Babe. He wouldn't ask, but his expression was clearly curious.

Babe turned her phone so that the screen was facing him. It was a picture of what one would assume was her family, father included. There were two girls though, arms wrapped around each other, and Kai was nowhere to be seen. "It's not quite my place, but…"

Henry examined it closely, confusion scribbled around his face. "What…" He trailed off, theories inside his head as he started to put the pieces together. He met her eyes, looking for an answer he wouldn't have to guess for.

"Kara Nova." Babe said, looking back at the door to the lounge. "Kai Nova, now. He had…trouble, back when he'd decided to transition. With a group of boys who used to be his friends."

Understanding finally flooded Henry's face. "Oh… Oh. That's…" He shook his head, both angry and apologetic. 'And he still has trouble now? That kind of trouble?" He moved his head to indicate the room Kai was in, and the kind of trouble he'd gotten into.