Chapter Text
A smile plastered to his face, Piers watched as Jaxon got up from their table to go mingle. the moment his model boyfriend had his back to him, that smile faded. He hated this, he hated coming to these Galas with him. He hated Galas, to begin with. Rose only ever invited him in hopes to convince him to move Spikemuth to a Power Spot.
The rockstar watched Jaxon have a good time while he felt crushingly
alone
. He always felt so
alone
when he attended these things, even before dating Jaxon. He had stopped going to them for a while because of this and now here he was, sitting in silence by himself. He nursed his glass of wine, fiddling with the charm on his choker.
Piers looked around, trying to find familiar faces to distract himself. The first person he saw was Nessa. She was talking nervously with Milo, which made the singer wonder about their conversation. He shook his head, his eyes finding Bea and Allister talking with adults twice their age. Allister… the boy was a Ghost-type prodigy and Bea was adamant about sharing her Gym with him. Piers could understand why, and he knew it’d probably take her a few more years before Rose would even give her request a
thought
.
Taking a sip from his glass, his eyes passed over Melony, who was fussing with Gordie’s suit while he looked absolutely miffed over her embarrassing him. That made him chuckle softly behind his glass. It also made him subconsciously adjust his own fuchsia-colored tie. He quickly averted his eyes from them only to land on Opal and Kabu deep in discussion. Piers shook his head, knowing better than to stare.
He sighed as he swirled the wine in his glass, mostly to entertain himself. He could hear Raihan nearby, laughing with Leon as they took selfies together. Piers felt a pang of jealousy, wishing he could have a good time. He set his glass aside and laid his forehead on his arms, trying hard not to sob.
The singer hated being here, hated being so alone, hated himself. Why did he let Jaxon bring him along? He remembered why when the model pulled his head up by his ponytail. The blonde leaned in close, harshly whispering to him.
“Keep your fucking head up, sit straight and look fucking pretty!” Jaxon hissed into his ear before letting him go. He pretended to help Piers straighten his hair and suit before stepping away again. Piers came to the Gala because he
feared
Jaxon.
No, no… he loves you… he’s just trying things outside of the bedroom… that’s all.
The singer tried to rationalize with himself as the model walked away from him again.
Yea, tonight will probably be really good. He’s just trying to rile me up…
Piers continued to convince himself.
Once again he found himself alone, and his glass was now half empty. He sighed as boredom and loneliness returned to him, his only company for the Gala, it seemed. Just as he was settling in for a long rest of the night, someone decided to sit next to him. He was surprised to see the beaming face of Leon.
“Leon? Uh… what made ya sit next t’ me? Don’t ya got other people ya need t’ mingle w’?” Piers asked, keeping his eyes on his glass.
“Well, for one; Rose was going to come check on you but I asked him to let me do it, and two; Raihan was worried cause you seemed so lonely.” The champion smiled at him.
Piers shook his head, “Ya didn’t need t’ d’ that… ‘m fine.” He didn’t like how Leon squinted his eyes at him. The singer sighed in relief as the Champ shrugged.
“Well, do you at least want to get some fresh air?” Leon asked.
Piers peered at Jaxon, the man not looking at him. “I… guess it couldn’t ‘urt… I need a cigarette anyways.” He slowly got up, following the Champion over and out to a balcony. The punk rocker pulled out his pack of cigarettes, nervously fishing one out and lighting it. “Ya ain’t gotta stay out ‘ere w’ me…” he muttered, leaning against the banister and taking a deep drag.
Leon shrugged, “I needed a bit of air too.” he smiled and watched Piers.
A long moment of silence passed between the two men, the singer easily finishing off his cigarette. As he flicked the butt off the ledge, turning to say something to Leon, Piers froze. Jaxon stood there, eyes narrowed, arms crossed, and foot tapping. Rose strolled over to Leon and led him away, murmuring something along the lines of, “that’s their business, not ours.” He caught the Champ’s apologetic look as he was led away.
Piers averted his eyes to the ground. “I… I just needed a quick smo--” Piers was cut off as he found himself suddenly pinned by his neck against the nearby pillar. He stared up in horror at Jaxon as the man squeezed on his windpipe.
“What part of “Sit straight and look pretty” did you not fucking understand, Piers?” He snarled at the singer.
Piers struggled to respond, clawing weakly at the hand on his throat. The lack of oxygen was quickly making the Dark-Typer user light-headed. Right as he thought he’d lose consciousness, Jaxon let go of his neck. The blonde shoved his back hard, Piers’s head hitting hard against the pillar.
“Go the fuck home, don’t sleep, wait for me. This. Isn’t. Over.” The model snarled and walked back into the Gala.
Piers slid down against the pillar, sobbing softly as his hands lightly touched his neck. He knew there were gonna be bruises in the morning and he’d have to hope his make up could cover it well enough. After a few moments of gathering himself together, the singer got up, walking quickly through the Gala to leave. He could feel eyes on him as he tried to slip out quietly. He wrapped his arms around himself to try and become smaller, more unnoticeable as he slipped out.
The walk back home was chilling, many thoughts running through Piers’s head. One thought always came to the forefront, no matter how much he pushed it back.
You’re the reason he hurt you. Had you just listened, he wouldn’t have hurt you.
The more he heard it, the more he believed it.
Yea… had I o’ listened t’ him, I wouldn’t b’ walkin’ ‘ome alone. We’d be chattin’ an’ laughin’...
Somethin’ ain’t right about this guy, Piers…
Guzma’s words sat in the back of his mind like a plague. The last time he’d seen the rapper was nearly half a year ago when he toured Alola. He’d excitedly told the other man all about Jaxon when they’d first started dating, and Guzma had responded with the words that sat waiting in the deepest part of Piers’s mind. Where reason had been pushed to after the first time Jaxon had smacked him. Still, he pushed to try and convince himself that Jaxon was just being extra dominant outside of the bedroom…
The rockstar sighed as he unlocked the door and walked into the flat. He noticed a letter from Marnie.
Good, she doesn’t need t’ b’ ‘ome when Jaxon does whatever he does t’ me…
He thought, reading over the letter before moving to his room to change his clothes. After doing so, he moved to the couch, waiting for Jaxon to get home.
Piers did his best to stay awake, but his eyes drooped and soon he was drifting. What woke him up was the sudden pain that radiated over his cheek, and a sharp crack in his ribs which made him cry out.
“Oh, you’re awake
now.
After I told you
not
to fall asleep before I got home!” Jaxon bent down, picking Piers up by his ponytail. “Do you like when I hurt you? Do you realize how much it hurts me to hurt you? But you never listen to me, Piers!”
The singer yelped as his hair was tugged, being dragged into his room. The blonde tossed him to the bed hard enough that the singer’s back slammed against the wall. Piers hissed in pain and winced as Jaxon tied him up to the bed. The model’s fist connected with the singer’s nose before he kissed Piers hard and bit on his bottom lip hard enough to make him bleed. “Oh, Piers… I love you, I really do… but this is what you get for not obeying me.”
The blonde pulled away, leaving Piers tied up to the bed and leaving the room. “I’ll be back by noon tomorrow, maybe a night alone and no breakfast will teach you to do as I say.”
The singer heard his front door slam and he sobbed openly. He tried to get out of his confines but he was tied tight enough that without moving the rope was digging deeply into his wrists, and with movement the rope caused him to bleed. Piers sobbed himself to sleep that night, his mind double guessing his relationship even as he dreamed.
When Jaxon would return the next day and untie him, Piers would do everything the man said without a word.
After all… he
loved
Jaxon…
right?