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Linx, in all his years, has never stayed in a house for more than 24 hours. When he was living with his parents he was always running away somewhere, whether that was to get some food from the food bank or to get away from his dad.

Though Linx did want to go jogging, the steadily falling snow outside was disagreeing with him. Of course, he didn't care that it was snowing but with him being under house arrest, or the boys calling it 'his recovery time', he can't even make a stealthy escape.

So here he was, doing his ninth set of squats. His legs were burning with such an intense lower body workout but it was the only activity he could think of without it involving his wrists. A strong headache was already raging at him the moment he finished his second set and only this stopped him from continuing working out or else he was sure he was about to faint.

He crouched down and closed his eyes, trying to regain his balance and his breath as well. It took him a couple minutes and then he went to his bathroom cabinets to get a pill for his headache. He swayed back and forth as he scanned the shelf's before locating the bottle. He grabbed it and quickly unscrewed it, soon tossing a pill in. He downed it with a scoop of the faucet water and returned to his bed.

But he didn't want to go to sleep. The amount of sleep he's gotten has given him an unnecessary dose of energy; energy that he needs to use up or he might as well start running in the snow.

So he walked to the living room, thinking there would probably be something remotely interesting. To his surprise, there actually was. A single corridor was right next to the couch, a feature of the house he's never noticed before. Finding his entertainment, Linx walked into the corridor.

Three closed doors were presented to him, two to the left and one to the right. Some paintings were also hanging off the walls with a thin wooden desk at the end of the corridor, it displaying five pretty plants. A row of lights were also hanging off the ceiling, but Linx didn't want to bother with finding the switch for them.

He didn't care about any of that, so he opened the door to the left. It was a green themed bathroom and it was at least three times bigger than Linx's bathroom. The two sinks that were hugging the entire left side were already wider than Linx's bathroom and he wasn't mentioning the shower that took up half the space.

He stepped in and his toes curled upon touching the fluffy white carpet, not expecting to feel something this soft. Linx then opened the cabinets, surprised at how neat everything was compared to his messy mirror cabinet.

Each shelf seemed to have it's own category and he was astounded by the sheer amount of perfumes there were. Other shelf's had shampoos, medicines, towels, or any other necessities but only the perfumes had it's own shelf. The smell was also quite strong too, so he closed it before it triggered a larger headache.

He explored a little more, noticing how some of the shower heads were coming out of the ceiling and how confusing the knobs were inside of the shower. Linx understood that they were dating and all, but did they really need all this space just to shower? He much preferred his small bathroom because at least all he had to do was turn a knob to start the shower, unlike theirs were you have to press ten different buttons and probably solve a rubrics cube too.

He left the bathroom and went to the next door on the left. It was a simple storage room, with plastic bins on every shelf. Linx didn't feel like searching through them, not like he could take down the bins with his sprained wrists anyways, and left the storage.

Going to the right door, he hoped it'll be a bit more interesting than the other two rooms. Upon opening it, it certainly piqued his interest.

It was a large room, about twice the size of Linx's, and in the middle of it all was an enormous bed. But when Linx took a closer look at it, it was actually four large beds all squished together. Each bed had it's own cover, with the theme being the seasons. Few pillows were on the bed, which was a weird sight for such a large bed.

Glancing around, the room was quite aesthetically pleasing too, just like the bathroom. There was a general blue theme around the room with some air plants hanging from the ceiling near the wide windows. He walked around a bit, not finding anything intriguing on their desk or under the bed.

Though the wooden blocks under the bed were a bit strange, especially with the handle sticking out. Perhaps it was a large drawer the boys built? Linx didn't want to test it out because he found an entryway to another section of their room and it was of a walk-in closet.

Clothes upon clothes with racks of shoes and drawers found all around. Linx almost wanted to gasp because who needs so many types of clothes? He's already figured out this was the boy's room, it'd be a bit weird if they did actually sleep separately, but he didn't think they'll need so many clothes.

Maybe it's because Linx only really needs his sweatpants and some sort of top that he's forgotten some people really care about their fashion style.

But despite how crowded it was, there was one section in the very back with no clothes. He stepped inside and noticed the soft smell of cinnamon, probably from a freshener or something. Linx stopped and instead of the wall being filled with clothes, it was filled with pictures. Some were overlapping each other, as if the person who put them here couldn't bare to take down some to have more room.

All of them were of the boys in silly positions of them goofing around, showing off, or visually appealing shots. One of them was of Kade giving a piggy back ride to Trev and princess carrying Orion, all of them laughing their asses off. Another was clearly taken in the morning with how softly the sun reflected against Austin's silver hair with a sharpie mustache drawn on him and Finn still drawing some glasses on him.

A small smile graced Linx's face, happy that the boys had each other. Sure, he doesn't interact with them much but that doesn't mean he wishes them ill. He's seen how caring they are for each other, the clear affection that could be heard in their voices. He's glad that they all have each other's back.

As he kept admiring the pictures, the clothes absorbing his soft laugh at the dumb photos, his breath hitched and eyebrows creased down.

Why was there a picture of him?

Half the picture was just of a wall, probably because the person taking the picture was hiding behind it, and the rest was of him laying his forehead against the cool kitchen island. He most likely just came from a match with how dark it was outside and sweaty his clothes were.

The picture wasn't even that good, you could only see his side profile with his eyes closed. There was barely any light source too, making it seem like Linx was blending in the background with his dark clothes.

Yet, they still decided to put a picture of him in their little secret closet area. Scanning the pictures, more pictures of him could be found. They were few and far between, and not a single of them got overlapped with another picture. Some recent, like of him invading someone's tackle in Rooster, and some clearly old with their torn edges.

At the back of his mind, an emotion arose, so quietly that he didn't immediately brush it away. He stared at himself a bit more, confused why they would do this. This photograph wall was clearly private, he's sure the boys might be upset at him for snooping around, but they still hung pictures of him for some strange reason.

Linx didn't want to think about that strange reason, so he pushed to the back of mind alongside the quiet emotion that was slowly growing.

He returned to the living room and stood there for a bit, thinking about all the rooms he discovered. Slightly funny that he only just discovered those rooms, despite living here for a bit. Though, he never had to seek out the boys for help, so it made some sense.

Remi walked in, finding a flushed Linx staring at the carpet. Panic swirled around Remi as he jumped to Linx, putting his hand against Linx's forehead. It wasn't quite burning but it was too warm for Remi's liking.

"Linx, sweetie, why don't you lay down on the couch while I warm up the soup, alright? I'll bring you some water while you wait, and make sure to drink it all." Remi guided him to the couch and softly pushed him to lay down, noticing how sweaty Linx was.

Linx, no doubt, overexerted himself as he was working out and now they'll have to deal with the consequences for the fifth day in a row.

Lovely.

Remi brought him the glass of water, which Linx drank under his watchful eye, and he went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Finn was also working in the office, on his clothing project, so Remi had to hurry up to feed two hungry mouths. Thank god Remi was on winter break or else these two would probably starve themselves before someone made them eat.

Linx did indeed forget that he was sick and that his body can't handle all those exercises. Now his world was slightly tilting back and forth with his face feeling like it was under the hot sun. He did want to close his eyes and sleep, but he could wait once he goes back to his room. The living room was a bit too open for his liking.

To keep himself awake, he searched for the remote control and turned on the TV to a boring movie. He willed himself into scrolling through the channels, even though he could careless about what he was watching. Eventually, he stopped at another movie, this one looking a bit more modern.

He looked over at the kitchen, seeing Remi still hurrying around the place, and went back to the TV. He half-heartedly watched it, the current scene having two adults yelling at each other about something. The woman looked quite angry, staring up at the man with her sharp teeth. The man also looked angry, but his back was slouched and voice not dripping with the same sharpness to truly hurt the woman. It seemed like the argument came to an end once the woman pointed to the door and stomped her foot against the wooden floor.

Linx quickly lost his attention on the TV when Remi brought in a bowl of soup with some bread on the side. He placed it on the coffee and handed Linx the spoon as he was leaning down to check his temperature again. Still warm but it definitely cooled down slightly. Remi smiled and ruffled Linx's hair, just like he does to his students, and stood back up.

"You should probably sit on the floor so the soup won't spill while you're eating it. I'll go give Finn his soup and then I'll be back to measure your temperature, alright?" Linx nodded and was already sitting on the carpet, a spoonful of soup in his mouth. Remi smile grew to a grin and he walked away with a small hop in his step.

Linx, for some reason, was entranced with the movie. He didn't like it, on the contrary it made him uncomfortable, but there was something about it that seemed familiar that his curiosity got the best of him. Maybe it was because he was deprived from technology for so long that he found it interesting but he kept on watching.

They skipped to a new scene, and the woman was still there but now there was small child on her lap. A book laid on the daughter's knees while the woman read the story. The woman had a soft smile on her but the child was stiff and her eyes held no joy for the story that was being read. Once the story ended, the child hopped off her lap, whispered a thanks, and headed for the door. She was stopped by her mother's voice asking her what's wrong.

The girl was disturbed by her question, her steps hesitating whether she should run out the room or answer her. Her moment of silence was her mistake because that's when the yelling started again. Before the girl could even defend herself, the TV was turned off.

The black screen of the TV stared back at Linx and the silence wasn't bringing him the peace he wanted. Linx pushed on one of his bruises to regain focus, his mind slipping to those memories.

By the time Remi came by Linx wasn't in the living room anymore, his soup only half way eaten. Remi didn't think too much about it and went to Linx's room. While Linx wasn't in sight, Remi could tell the big lump under the blanket was definitely Linx.

He walked in with gentle steps and stopped at the foot of the bed, reaching out his arm to lightly shake Linx.

"Linx, can I take your temperature or do-" Linx flinched away from the soft touch and thumped against the floor, his bruises cushioning his fall. Both didn't realize what just happened until Linx groaned in pain.

Remi rushed to the other side and pulled the blanket down to uncover Linx's face. Remi didn't dare to touch him again, not wanting Linx to bang his head against the edge of the bed. He took a step back and kneeled down, the thermometer still in his hand.

"Hey Linx, are you okay? Do you want to get back on the bed maybe?" Remi lowered his voice and sweetened his tone, just like he would for his kindergarteners. But it didn't seem like the words got through Linx for his eyes were still clamped shut and body curled up like a shrimp.

Remi didn't like the way things were going and wanted to shout to Finn to come over. But Remi stopped himself before he could and instead walked over to the door and called Finn in a hushed voice. Thankfully, Finn doesn't listen to music when he's concentrating so he should be able to-

"What's wrong, Remi? You look a bit tired, seems like you didn't get your REM cycle in." Finn gave him a cheesy smile and Remi had to think about what he had just said.

"How long did it take you to come up with that?" Remi whispered back.

"Ahhh it doesn't matter! But if you really wanna know, I've been saving it since last year." Finn blew him a kiss in triumph as Remi was rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, what's happening and why are we whispering all of a sudden?"

"I think something's going on with Linx, he flinched away- what is that smell?" Remi stepped back into the room and he could taste the metallic smell wafting around. He hopped over the bed and a chill spread throughout his body.

"Oh shit- call 911! Oh my god, Linx stop, stop!" In a panic, Finn rushed over to see what was going on as well and he soon scrabbled for his phone in the back pocket to get rid of the horrid image.

Linx's nails were tearing into his arms, creating half-mooned craters on his forearms which stained his blanket a scarlet red. Violent shivers racked down his body and caused his nails to dig deeper in his skin. But the blood wasn't what got them truly alarmed, it was the raw fear and confusion so clearly painted on Linx's face.

Linx was finally showing his emotions and no one was prepared for it.

"Stop it Linx, stop ignoring me, you're hurting yourself!" Remi tried to pry his hands away from his arm but Remi could barely budge his hand out of the way by how much force Linx was applying. He looked at Finn for help but saw that he was still talking to the emergency operator.

Remi looked back at Linx, mad at himself that he couldn't do anything significant to help. He could only fret around and untangle Linx from his blanket, whispering encouraging words to hopefully ease Linx.

Yet, what was most disturbing was how silent Linx was. Barely a peep came out of him despite the clear shudders racking throughout his body and sudden twitches in fingers as if he wanted to pull away but couldn't.

The two of them could only watch and feel miserable.

Linx on the other hand could feel someone touching him and talking, but his mind wouldn't let him react to it. It would only let him react to the memories playing in his head.

"Come on Linx, don't ignore me. You know I'll always be here."

"You can't run from me, Linx. I'll always be faster and you'll just be punched harder."

"Why are you hiding from me, Linx? No point in hiding when everything will be the same, so why even try. Isn't that right, Linx?" His taunting words rung in the house, with Mom's sobbing echoing around him.

But the steady footsteps would always overshadow her cries. He got closer and closer to his bed, and with Linx's trembling agitating the squeaky floors, it was no wonder he would always able to find him.

His bloodshot eyes with his sharp grin appeared and stared at its prey for a couple moments, making Linx's trembling sky rocket from those rotten eyes.

However, his trembling soon stopped seconds later as his father grabbed his neck with his hairy hands and tossed him out. Pain exploded all over his body and a mixture of mocking words ringing in his ears.

Linx still wasn't sure which one lasted longer; his hits or his words.

But that wouldn't be the end of it. His mother would sometimes join and her cries-

Linx gasped and was greeted with the pungent smell of blood. Immediate pain spread throughout his arm and his thigh, it burning with the intensity of hell. He tried to blink to clear his vision, but that seemed to only make it more blurry.

What's happening? Where am I? What happened?

Questions blew up in his mind and his father started to peak around his mind again. Linx could feel his ridicule and how he was slowly trapping in his memories again.

But the pain in his arm and thigh flared up again, pushing his father away and gaining some sanity. Linx wasn't sure how he was in pain, but he kept on pushing on it to be out of his clutches.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's okay, the pain will go away. How about I read you a little story, yeah?" Mother scooped him up and hide both of them under a thin blanket. She turned on the flashlight and pointed it to a wrinkled up Rapunzel story, her peaceful voice narrating the story. Linx almost fell asleep if it wasn't for the loud-

BANG!

Two paramedics rushed to Linx and pushed Remi to the side, quickly stopping Linx's self harm. They proceeded to stop the bleeding while seemingly doing ten other tasks at the same time. Remi and Finn couldn't keep up with movements and just stood in the back, watching it all unfold.

Finn was still on the phone, but Kade was the one on call trying to calm the two while still trying to understand what in the world just happened. The others were already vaguely informed of what occurred and the concern could be felt through the text messages.

Linx had fallen asleep while the paramedics were doing their job, the fatigue and low blood pressure knocking him out. Remi was the one who went with Linx in the ambulance as Finn followed behind in his car.

And so, not even a week later, Linx was back to the hospital with old wounds reopening.

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"Oh shit- call 911! Oh my god, Linx stop, stop!" In a panic, Finn rushed over to see what was going on as well and he soon scrabbled for his phone in the back pocket to get rid of the horrid image.