Kevin.

The stench of what could only be described as dentist odor assaulted my nostrils as I stood in the infirmary next to Adam, who sat on the only more or less clean and empty bed. A few other inmates were scattered around the room, some were already fighting over the beds again and others just sat on the floor with ice in their hands.

A tiny, blonde nurse, Nurse Maldonado, stood in front of Adam. Carefully she examined the cut above his eye, his split lip and the bruises on his torso. She did a bit of touching him to make sure his ribs were all right and all I could do was watch in fascination as her slender fingers wandered over Adam's pale skin, up until to the point when she jammed a needle in his arm (lovingly) and wrapped his upper body up to help his ribs heal.

When the nurse finally determined Adam as healthy enough, she leaned up and gave him a kiss on his cheek. However as soon as her lips touched him, she lingered there after the kiss and whispered something in his ear. She then got louder and louder while talking until she was shouting in his ear.

"- and I swear the next time you're not here because of a flesh wound, I will end you! What is it with you not being able to eat like a normal human being and -"

At one point she stood normally in front of him with a pointed finger on his chest, but she also stopped making sense and I stopped listening. Adam's dead eyes were completely focused on her, but I could tell he wasn't even aware that she was still speaking.

Guilt boiled in the pit of my stomach as I remember the events of a few hours prior.

Some guy, I wasn't even sure who had started a fight that quickly spiraled out of control and soon everybody had been fighting or at least, looking to hide and save their own butts. Adam, who had been standing next to me when everything started, had the incredible luck to get hit by a chair, lose consciousness immediately and be still somewhat fine afterward. Apart from that broken rib and the heavy medication Nurse Maldonado had given him, he seemed completely fine actually.

However during that fight I had been useless and failed to protect Adam, the next flying object send me to the ground too and I almost fell on top of his lifeless body. I could've crushed him by accident, I realized and wondered how many of Adam's bruises were my fault.

I was unsure how it happened, but as fast as that chaotic shit started it stopped and Summers, the guard, had the situation under control. When I had mustered up the strength to look up from my spot on the floor, he had been standing in the middle of the room and around him a few unconscious men, who all seemed to be much taller and muscular than him, with blood on his knuckles. I remembered how furious he looked and how I had been frozen in fear when he started to shout orders at everybody who still could walk on their own.

For far too long nothing had happened and only very few people were actually moving.

"- And you better get lost before Chris finds you, I'm pretty sure Austin ain't gonna stop him when it comes to ripping you apart."

Nurse Maldonado's voice dragged me back to reality and I noticed both Adam and her looking at me. Adam seemed incredibly tired, but he also had an apologetic expression on his face and was tapping out a beat only he could hear. I didn't know why, but I felt like what the nurse had said was right and Adam knew it.

"He may not have done what they say he did, but that sure as hell won't stop him from hurting you," Nurse Maldonado added and after a few more moments of me not reacting, but staring at Adam she started to lightly push me in the general direction of the door.

I waved Adam goodbye, I didn't need to loudly apologize for the fifth time and went to leave, but stopped as I noticed that too sharply dressed man with the too fluffy hair.
He sat alone in the corner and held ice against his right eye. Our eyes met and for a split second I feared he might try to come over to me again, but he looked far too done with this whole place and its inhabitants to be bothered with me or let alone standing up.

With a sigh, I broke our eye contact and opened the door. Not far away were Scomavi, looking as flawless as usual and because of their little shower adventure they hadn't been caught up in that madness earlier.

Mitch leaned against a wall, examining his fingernails while Scott and Avi stood like bodyguards on either side of him. I quickly made my way over to them and stood with squared shoulders next to Avi. We talked in quiet voices for some time and I filled them in on a few details they didn't know until Brown, Foust, Rob and Adam's brother walked by.

Chris looked like he was ready to murder a man and tend to a kitty in the same second, like he wasn't yet sure which skill was needed first.
Rob, on the other hand, looked only worried and I was waiting for the moment when he would pop out candy for that sick (gigantic) child they were visiting. However, there was also something else in the way he held himself and I wasn't so sure what it was.

Weirdly enough Brown seemed once again creepily relaxed while he held Foust's hand and led all four of them towards the room I just came from.

But I wasn't the only one that had noticed the group passing by and I caught Avi giving Foust a lingering stare. For a split second their eyes met and both men were smiling, that was until Mitch lightly punched Avi's chest, reminding him that he wasn't as subtle as he believed he was.

We tried to talk a bit more after Brown and his friends left, but the conversation felt forced and soon Avi excused himself and went to the toilet. I wasn't even sure why, but I followed him to the community bathrooms and honestly I wasn't even expecting answers from him.

"So," I started the moment I entered the room and he had opened his zipper. "I guess something happened either outside or in the past that neither Mitch nor Brown like."

Avi just hummed in agreement and for some time nothing, but Avi doing his thing could be heard. He only chuckled and responded to me after he finished, zipped himself up again and went to wash his hands.

"Outside," he started with a hint of nostalgia in his voice and soap on his hands. "Outside is a different existence. The rules say that what happened outside has to stay outside. But like... Tim didn't stay outside."

"I beg your pardon?" With a raised eyebrow I watched Avi clean and dry off his hands. I already knew he was gay, a lot of people in here seemed to be openly gay, but did that mean he had feelings for Foust?

"Tim and I were lovers outside, our relationship ended with me killing an abusive asshole that regularly made our lives a living hell and no goodbye kiss," he sighed and threw the used paper towel away before he turned to the dirty mirror and fixed his appearance.

"Bro," I tried, but had no actual way of comforting him. Well, I didn't even know whether or not he wanted to be comforted, but I felt like I had to help him. "And Mitch - ?"

"Mitch knows it. Mitch is... okay with it. I have very few romantic feelings for Tim left and that's it. Period," he interrupted me and his tone felt colder than ever. I didn't exactly trust my own voice to not be embarrassingly high, but I didn't even need to reply as Avi was already walking out on me.

°^°

Aaand there is Kirstie and there is what happened and there is your reason not to fight Summers. Yay.

How come other stories have their ship in a relationship by chapter 3 and I need four chapters alone to introduce the love interest??
Spoiler: In chapter 20 they're gonna have a full blown conversation with more than four sentences. (Or not.)

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