head over heels

64 ~ well that totally failed

[A/N - TW for theo. lol he is his own trigger warning at this point]

Suddenly, Kei was beside him.

"Theo, leave, seriously—"

Theo grinned, "Oh, good timing loverboy, I wanted to talk with you too."

"Back off—" Kei warned.

Evan felt like he was shutting down.

Theo shrugged, "I just want to talk." He glanced between them both. "That whole stunt you pulled with the post." He nodded almost approvingly. "Smart."

Then, Hugo and Ethan were beside him.

"Theo," Ethan bit out, still shivering. "Stop—"

Theo snickered, "Wow, Ethan I have to say, your act was great." He waved a hand, "But there's a reason I like Evan so much. He's a coward. You can't replicate the fear in his eyes. You gave yourself away by fighting back."

Evan shrunk in on himself.

"You wanna go next Evan?" Theo uttered, "No, what about Kei—"

Evan flinched, "Theo," he rasped, "What do you want?"

"See—" Theo laughed, "Look at you, just rolling over, man, I can't get enough of it."

Kei looked beyond furious. "Theo—"

Theo turned to his goons. There were four of them. Evan only recognised Matt and Landon. "Throw those two back in the pool," he gestured at Ethan and Hugo.

It was barely even a fight, as even on a good day, Hugo and Ethan were nowhere near the size of the Canyons guys. Now, they were shivering and tired. Evan squeezed his eyes shut as the yelling started. Quickly, they hit the water.

"Kei, your turn," Theo said happily, "Don't worry, you get the special treatment. Get in."

"No," Evan uttered, "Please Theo."

Theo shrugged, "Do you want to leave the team Evan? I told you that's what I wanted before. Just because you pulled that stunt with the post, doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. I always get what I want."

"Okay, okay just—"

"No," Kei bit out, "Don't. I'm fine, it'll be fine."

Theo shrugged. "Delaying the inevitable. Get in, or I beat the shit out of Evan."

Then, he stepped towards Kei, and shoved him hard. Kei stumbled, but didn't fight it. He looked like he was barely keeping it together. Evan tried to get up, to scramble after them, but he couldn't, as hands shoved him back to the ground.

"No—" Evan cried, voice wobbling precariously.

Then, Kei hit the water, and he couldn't look.

Theo was kneeling at the poolside, and Evan could just hear his laughter, somehow carrying over the splashes.

Evan didn't know when he started crying, only that his sobs hurt his chest.

He didn't even know how long it went on for. There was shouting. So much shouting. Theo's taunts. It was too much. All of this was going to fucking break him.

Then, Theo disappeared.

Evan stared through blurry eyes. Shock laced with his terror.

Then, two heads of black hair bobbed to the surface. 

Kei had his fist in Theo's collar, somehow, he'd managed to drag him under and shove him into the wall. He looked livid. Theo fought to tear his hand away, and he managed it, but Kei's fist collided with his nose.