Freak Show

Mikey opened his eyes, the sunlight shining onto them. He was surprised momentarily; he thought he'd been at Sarah's for at least three hours. Or at least, that's what he thought. He shuddered involuntarily at the thought of Sarah. He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder and instinctively cried out.
"Mikey...? It's me, Ali!" Alicia said, worry in her voice. She placed her other hand on Mikey's arm, causing him to gasp a bit. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying, but to no avail.
"Oh my god, what did she do to you?" Alicia murmured, taking her hands off Mikey. The latter held the blanket draped over him closer to his face, tears beginning to stream down his face. He held his head in his hands as memories of the encounter with Sarah flashed through his mind. His shoulders heaved almost violently with every inhale and shake with every exhale.
"S-S-She... I-I-I... D-D-Didn't-t w-want to..." He barely said through his cries. Alicia put two and two together and covered her mouth with her hands. She wanted to throw her arms over Mikey, but stopped herself so as not to frighten him. She grabbed a cup of coffee she'd managed to get from the morning previous and handed at to him. Mikey glanced at it before slowly pushing herself into a sitting position on the bed. His cries dissolved into hiccups and sobs as he gratefully sipped the coffee like a mouse. Alicia watched him intently before he handed her the coffee back, only a quarter of an originally full cup of coffee back. She placed it on the night stand next to his glasses before sitting down next to him. He sat miserably, his bony legs crossed.
"I'm so sorry... Y-You shouldn't need t-to care 'b-bout me." He choked out, rubbing his eyes with his arm. Alicia hesitated for a moment.
"Do you mind if I hug you?" She gently asked. Mikey paused, before shaking his head slowly. Alicia draped her arms around Mikey and laid her head on his shoulder. He made an odd noise at first but relaxed halfway into the hug. He slowly laid his head on hers, finding comfort in the fact she was caring enough to him. The moment was interrupted by a gasp in fright from Alicia. She pulled away suddenly.
"Holy fuck! Are those hickeys? Did she give you those?" Alicia asked wildly. Mikey looked at her with wide, terrified eyes before nodding slowly. He hugged himself as Alicia took a deep breath.
"How many more?" Mikey stayed still before peeling his shirt off slowly. Purple-bluish marks were littered all over his chest and back. The bruises on his stomach from his secret encounter with Brendon were slowly fading, but fresher ones replaced them. Alicia noticed a handprint on Mikey's cheek. His ribs were poking through his chest. Mikey sighed as Alicia shook her head and clamped her hand over her mouth. As she hugged him once again, he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
"We'll get her, Mikey. I swear, we will."
---
Pale moonlight barely illuminated the streets. A voice in Alicia's brain screamed at her to get out of Times Square, to run back to the show. But watching Mikey twist and turn in his sleep broke her heart, and she absolutely couldn't let Sarah get away with this. Thank god for Pete, since Mikey was finally sleeping peacefully. Brendon had pitied Mikey after Alicia had explained the situation, and Patrick had offered to watch him while he slept, since his act 'wasn't as good as the others' according to him (much to the chagrin of Pete, oddly enough). Alicia saw Sarah, blending into the night and leaning against a street lamp. She stood up straight as Alicia approached her.
"Called it." She taunted, a wide smirk on her face. Alicia grabbed her by her blouse's peter pan collar and shoved her against the street lamp.
"Listen here, you motherfucking bitch," Alicia growled. "Stay the hell away from Mikey, stay the hell away from the show, stay the hell away from me. If you even blink in Mikey's direction, I will not hesitate to rip your throat out. Got it?"
"Seems like you really care for Mikey, huh?" Sarah said instead. Alicia narrowed her eyebrows.
"You remember what happened to last man you fell for, don't you?" Alicia held Sarah against the street lamp with her forearm. Sarah gasped for air, clutching Alicia's arm until blood dripped down it. Alicia finally let go, letting Sarah collapse to the ground.
"Fuck you." She simply responded. She stormed off, bitter tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

Notes

minor peterick mention! sorry mikey... three chapters today? whoa!