A/N: Here I mention some events from Sincerely, Angel — my first highschool BxB romance. But you don't need to read it first to enjoy this one.

There's no soft-core version for this chapter. I think it's more or less safe to read, even though I mention abuse briefly in some of the paragraphs but it was the shortest way I could describe it in order to move the story forward.

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I was just getting in our Chemistry lab, holding the textbooks from our previous class tightly in my arms, when some invisible force crashed into my back. I dropped my textbooks, nearly falling over, and when I lifted my gaze to spot the culprit, I saw one of the jocks storming past me. It was Dragomir. One of Pavel's buddies. I didn't expect him to apologise. They never did.

I bent over to pick up my books and then noticed someone's slender hand reaching to help me. It was Angel. One of my very few friends in this fucked up school. Who for some reason started dating Dragomir not too long ago. What did he find in this brainless jock?

"Sorry about that." Angel gave me one of his very rare dazzling smiles. When Angel smiled it was a treasure to behold. He had beautiful brown eyes and black hair that fell freely past his ears in gentle waves. I loved the way he kept his hair!

I shrugged, not really knowing how to respond. It was a regular occurrence. It was like I didn't even exist for these boys. If I didn't sit next to Pavel in some classes, they wouldn't have even known my name.

"Yo! Angel!" Dragomir called from across the room as if Angel was a naughty puppy.

Angel stood up, handing me my notebook and rewarded me with one more of his awesome smiles. It must be my lucky day!

He followed his boyfriend's command, leaving me alone to gawk at his retreating form. He had a slender, elegant back. And I didn't mind one bit stealing a glance every now and then.

To say I was surprised when they started dating would be an understatement. They didn't suit each other at all. Dragomir was this dumb cocky jock that expected everyone to fall in his feet simply because his grandaddy was a big shot. And Angel... Well, Angel was more like me. I could tell he wasn't dumb. More like lazy when it came to doing homework. His priorities were different than mine, I guess. But we were both socially awkward, both not quite sure where we belong, and both of us just about had it with the annoyingness of it all. The stupid school hierarchy, the way our teachers just expected us to memorise what is being fed to us without forming independent thoughts. I was good at that. Memorising without caring if the information is right or not. It didn't make me enjoy it though.

I liked subjects like Chemistry and Biology where everything was clear, trialed and tested. But History on the other hand... The events were described to us only by the winning side of said war or conflict. And governments change, politics change, and they feel the need to shape History into their liking. It wasn't a trustworthy source.

"Hey, man." I heard Dragomir's voice looming above me.

What the fuck did he want now?

"Uhm... sorry. For bumping into you. And not saying sorry."

What? Did he just... fucking apologise?

I gaped at him stupefied but snapped out of it pretty fast, quick enough to mumble a faint "No worries" before Dragomir went back to his boyfriend.

What did just happen? I've never received an apology before. It was surreal. Like I just stumbled upon some alternate universe without even noticing it happen.

"Am I dreaming?"

Alejo, who was sitting right next to me during the whole thing, pinched my arm. It didn't even hurt. I was used to much worse. But I turned to glare at him anyway. He had weirdly yellow eyes. Or at least they looked yellow to me. It was a welcome deviation, compared to the standard brown I saw in everyone else.

He was like the closest thing I had to a friend. We sat next to each other in some classes, ate together at lunch, liked the same TV shows. He was like my safety net. Something to bring me back to reality when things get tough.

I haven't told him anything about my situation at home, only that my parents didn't like guests so we mostly hung out at his place. At this point, only Mr. Andonov and the shrink guy knew, and this was two people way too many. I didn't believe they would actually help me. But I had to let it out. I felt so much better after talking about it with the shrink!

Our last period was with Mr. Andonov. It was kinda weird, knowing that he knew. I constantly felt his misty grey eyes trained on me. I didn't like the pity I read in them. Not one bit. So I actually shared a few words with Pavel for a change. I could tell he was surprised that I would even bother but he welcomed the distraction as much as I did. I couldn't care less about his morning routine or flirty one liners but it was better than gazing into Mr. Andonov's judging eyes.

What I didn't expect was for him to call me after the class was over. Or maybe I should have. The teacher patiently waited for all of our classmates to scatter through the door. Alejo hung around for a little bit before he said he would wait for me outside and left us alone.

"Radomir..." Mr. Andonov started as if he was talking to a scared kicked puppy. In a sense he was. Only I stopped feeling fear a long time ago. "I've discussed your situation with Mr. Dimov..." So this was how shrink guy was called. "...and he thinks it would be best if we inform the authorities about it." Wait, what? "I don't want you to be scared but there will be some people that might come to your house to assess living environment." I furrowed my brows in confusion. "I know you don't have a phone but..." He handed me a piece of paper with his phone number scribbled on it. "...this is my phone number. Feel free to call me whenever you like." He said, gazing deep into my eyes. "Especially after the social services come to visit."

This didn't sound good. But I took the little paper without much protest. If what he said was true, the milk was already spilled. There was nothing more I could do right now. Except maybe sleep at Alejo's. You know, just in case my father got pissed that I was complaining about him. Not that he needed a reason to be mad at me. I mean, what was he going to do? Hit me harder that usual?

He did hit me harder than usual. In fact, much harder. So hard that I ended up in a hospital.

It was the unluckiest day in my entire life!

I'm never telling anything this shrink guy ever again!

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After my mother surprisingly called an ambulance and I arrived at the hospital at the verge of death, the usual story with 'he fell down the stairs' no longer passed.

When I finally recovered, I was sent to a social home. It was a building that resembled a school but with all the windows having bars as if it was some kind of prison. Was it that common for kids trying to run away? It didn't speak well for the place.

I had to sleep in a room as big as a classroom, with more than eight bunk beds aligned in rows by two. The top bunk was taken by a boy with smokey grey eyes and a slim skinny frame that appeared to be around my age. In fact, all boys in my room were in their mid-teens.

"I'm Luke," the skinny boy spoke to me while I was still looking around like an idiot. "Total orphan up for grabs. My dad died of cancer and my mom had a heart attack not long after. How about you?"

"Uhm, Rado. Radomir," I corrected myself, looking at the boys around me. Most of them had buzz-cut brown hair and brown eyes, skin in a slightly darker shade than what I'm usually used to seeing. There was one blond boy with green eyes that hasn't had his hair buzzed yet. Maybe he was new like me?

"My parents are very much alive. Just... not quite acting like parents should," I tried to put it lightly.

"Were they beating you?" The blond boy asked.

"Uhm, yeah."

"They should sign off their parental rights," Luke said. "Otherwise, you won't even have a chance in getting adopted. Not that anyone gets a child our age anyway. They usually go for younger kids. Maybe they could find you a good foster home. Most foster parents do it for the money but they're still rather nice."

Money? What did he mean by that? But I did not dare ask. I was still trying to adjust to the new environment. First, the hospital, now this. I didn't know if I should be happy I no longer get to see my father, or sad that I would have to live here, as if I have no parents at all.

It was kinda weird how all boys told me about the way their parents died when they introduced themselves, right after stating their names. Ok, very weird. Some just went with "abusive parents" and left it at that. I should remember it for the next time someone asks me about mine. But overall, they were friendly enough.

First, there was Luke. He had lost both of his parents but still managed to keep a positive attitude towards life. He was 17, like me. Soon to be 18 and totally unaware of what he would do from now on. He had a heart-shaped collage, propped at the headboard of his bed, filled with family photos. Mostly of his parents but there were also some boys his age, probably from his life before the social home. I had no idea if they were his brothers or just friends. I did not dare ask.

Then there was Stoyan, the blond green-eyed boy that somehow reminded me of Pavel, but only by his looks. His character was totally different. He was sarcastic but in a gentle, kind way that you just knew had no intention to offend. He listened to My Chemical Romance over some cheap mp3 player that he shared with one other boy and dressed primarily in black.

Next it was Maxim. He had curly brown hair that he kept a little longer than other boys, just enough for his beautiful curls to show. He really loved animals and aspired to be a veterinarian. He had the habit of sneaking into Stoyan's bed at night. They weren't doing anything, just cuddling together, so no one complained about it.

There was also Georgi. He always had some great story to tell, making sure to keep the rest of us entertained. He seemed rather calm and collected most of the time so I was a little surprised when Stoyan warned me not to piss him off. Apparently, the last boy that dared to cross his path ended up in a hospital. Déjà vu much.

I've found it really easy to make friends there. Unlike at school. Mostly because I no longer had to worry about my physical safety. I could finally relax and just be me, you know.

The women that took care of us were rather nice as well. We had French toast with some jam and butter for breakfast, with an apple or a banana, added to keep us healthy. At lunch it was either some weird-looking soup, or moussaka, or a vegetable risotto. At dinner they served sausages or chicken, usually with potato garnish.

It was a bit hard to adjust, considering I was used to eating sandwiches only. Sometimes the bananas seemed rotten, even though the teachers claimed the brown part is good for us, sometimes the meat in the moussaka was semi-raw and hard to swallow, but I forced it down anyway. Because it was the only food I was going to get.

Most of the time I gave my bananas to Georgi though. He was somewhat of a leader among us so I wanted to be on his good side.

My day was spent in the classroom, studying, which is what I love to do the most. The boys were rather loud and never paid attention to the teachers though. It was like trying to hear something in the middle of a fucking zoo, surrounded by screaming monkeys, but I managed to focus anyway.

After lunch, we had some free time to ourselves, which we were supposed to use for doing our homework. But me and Maxim were the only two boys that bothered with that.

At about 4 pm Georgi was showing me some workout moves: mostly sit ups, push ups, lunges. But by the time he went for a plank I more or less have given up on trying to keep up with his pace.

And an hour later, I had a date with the local shrink. Not every day. Only on Mondays and Wednesdays. She was a rather kind lady that tended to kiss my forehead after each session. Probably trying to compensate for the lack of motherly affection I never got. I didn't mind. It was kinda weird the first few times but gradually I got used to it.

In conclusion, I wasn't mad at Mr. Andonov anymore. Informing the social services about my father turned out to be a good thing in the end. Even if he nearly killed me when he learned about it.

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A/N: The situation in the social home is all fiction. I've never been to one so I had nothing to compare to.

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