Chapter Text
Ethan runs as his mother hits him in the head. He doesn't stop until it feels as though it's impossible for him to move any further. He is near the dog park on the other side of town. He stops to catch his breath as a man approaches him.
"Hey, kid. Are you okay?", asks the stranger. Ethan sits down and shakes his head a bit.
The man sits beside him and says, "My name is Mark. I have a first-aid kit over by my van. I am going to grab it." Ethan nods.
He continues, "Would you like to wait here or, would you like to grab it with me? A bench over there would make taking care of you easier." Ethan responds by getting up. Mark takes that as he will follow so, he leads the way. They get there, and Ethan sits on the bench while Mark gets the first-aid kit.
Mark asks, "Hey, do you have any other injuries?"
Ethan says, "Yes.", as he lifts his shirt the smallest amount to show the stark scratch as well as a few bruises on his stomach.
Mark tells him, "Hey, instead of having everyone's eyes on you. How about I help you in my van?" Ethan gets up, lets himself into Mark's van, and sits down. Mark quickly follows him.
"I don't know how wise it is to get into some stranger's van, dude.", Mark says jokingly.
Ethan lets out an, "Oh, well. I guess."
Mark hovers over him and asks, "Are you hurt anywhere else at all? Anywhere or any way you would need to be taken to a hospital?"
"I mean I got hit in the head a bit.", Ethan quietly responds.
Marks states, "If I am going to help you I need to know what happened. Can you tell me, please?"
"Fine", he mumbles in response., " I. I - uh I. I failed one of my classes and was told that I would have to make it up. When I told my mom she, she. She started yelling at me, calling me a worthless idiot, and saying how I will never survive past college. She-."
He starts crying and continues as his voice starts to waver, " She kicked me in the shin. I fell and she nabbed my shirt. She cut my stomach up when she caught my skin but continued to drag me anyway. Gosh, it really hurt. I got away temporarily and I tried to lock myself in the bathroom but she got in before I could. She continued yelling, telling me how I will never amount to anything and that I am just a fucking retard. She dragged me by the hair to my father's office to tell him. You know cause there was obviously no way he would know what was happening."
He finishes the retelling of what happened, now sobbing, "I escaped her grip and she started throwing anything she could at me as I ran. I just ran until I physically couldn't. That's when you saw me."
"Okay, well I think you should be checked for any broken ribs and a concussion. Okay?", He responds a bit shakily.
Ethan says, "But, I don't have my own insurance and I don't know if you can afford to pay it outright."
He says back, "Dude, I make enough to afford to buy a house in Hollywood if I wanted to. I choose not to because I like traveling the world."
"Fine. But I insist on finding a way to pay you back.", Ethan responds.
Mark says, "I mean you don't gotta but if you insist you could always help me by being my friend and showing up in my videos."
Ethan tilts his head like a puppy and says, "Uh, yeah, sure."
Mark takes him to the hospital and explains, "This is my friend, Ethan, He got hurt pretty bad and I wanted to make sure he didn't have any major injuries." Ethan waves dejectedly.
The nurse asks, "What happened to cause the concern?"
Ethan speaks up, "I got kicked in the chest and then hit in the head a few times."
"Okay, well please fill out this form then sit down and we will be with you as soon as possible.", the nurse responds. Ethan fills out the form and Mark makes sure that Ethan isn't the one charged for the visit. Ethan gets called back to a room and Mark heads outside to wait. Ethan is led to a set of rooms where he gets a CT scan and an X-ray. He is brought back to the original room and waits about 2 hours. He finally gets the news that he does not have any broken ribs or a concussion. Mark heads in, gets everything taken care of, and then heads back to the park with Ethan. They ordered lunch from a vendor at the park.
As they are eating Ethan asks, "What did you mean show up in your videos?"
Mark laughs a bit, then realizes he is being serious. "How don't you know?", he asks.
Ethan explains, "My mom is really strict about computer time and insists that idleness is a sinful thing."
Mark asks, "Wait, why?"
"She just does, just like how she thinks tattoos, LGBT, piercings, and interracial couples are sins.", Ethan explains more.
Mark jokingly responds, "Your mother would think I'm a pile of sins wrapped up in a meat suit." They both fold over into laughter.
" Which of those apply to you though, seriously?", Ethan asks.
Mark responds, "Well, I am pan, have eight tattoos, six piercings, and make content for the internet as a living."
Ethan asks, " What does pan mean?"
"I can have an attraction to anyone. The gender of the person doesn't matter to me, only the personality.", Mark explains.
"Ooh, I might be pan too, then.", Ethan thinks out loud in response.
"Anyway, do you have any plans as to where you're gonna go?"
"I mean not really. I don't have any other close family. I'm sorry that you got dragged into this mess."
"It's okay. I chose to get myself involved. If you want, you can crash on my couch for now."
"Thank you so much."