Chapter Text
Aaron hadn’t expected much from Andrew when he went to find him on the roof. He just wanted a small bit of help. Andrew had done it before, sitting in on Aaron's lessons pretending to be him. It wasn’t Aaron's fault that the professor was such a stickler for taking attendance each time.
Aaron just needed this one favour from Andrew, so he could use that time to finish his essay instead. And then he could hand it in early, have the afternoon off and meet up with his friends from one of his classes who were going out.
But no, just his luck that Andrew had better things to do today, apparently. His sparring session with Renee couldn’t wait, and he had no problem letting Aaron know that his poor time management skills weren’t his problem. And Neil just had to grin at him with that stupid smug face the entire time. Of course, it ended in Aaron yelling some insult and leaving, stomping down the stairs to his dorm.
He was absolutely fuming. Angry at Andrew, Neil and himself.
Neil can shove that shit-eating grin up-
His foot never found the next step.
When he expected to feel resistance, there was just air under his foot. He accidentally skipped a step before dropping too hard on the next one, the impact running from his foot to his knee. Instantly, he tried to regain his balance, but the damage was already done.
He tipped forward, and for a split second thought he could actually catch himself. His hand flew towards the railing while he tried to get his feet under him properly.
Both attempts to stop what was about to happen failed, and his hand missed by a mile; fingers closing around air.
Shit.
His knees slammed into the edge of a step so hard that it felt like the bones had shattered. Only a split second later did his chest make impact, knocking the breath out of him, before the world started to turn. Up and down were indistinguishable from each other as his vision swam in a blurry mess of concrete stairs and ceiling.
Pain exploded all over him so quickly that there was no way to know where it would come next. His shoulder screamed when he hit the stairs sideways, his back bouncing off a step before his head took the brunt of the next.
Somehow, his fingers hit a step, and he tried to hold on, but his hand slipped almost immediately from the cold stone and sent him down the rest of the way. The quick spark of hope was immediately shattered as he hit his chin so hard his teeth clattered, stars bursting behind his eyes.
Another hit on the shoulder, his back, his side, before finally, he reached the end of his journey, coming to an abrupt halt at the landing.
But even then, the stop was brutal. He landed face-first, nose and mouth smashing into the floor before the rest of his body followed. The impact was enough to render him breathless for a few seconds.
He stayed there, sprawled on the ground, trying to catch his breath. His ears were ringing loudly, and his entire body throbbed with pain. After several seconds of gasping for breath, his vision slowly came back to him fully.
The first thing he saw was a puddle of blood slowly forming under his face. His nose and mouth were aching badly, and he could feel something warm and wet running down his chin, dripping steadily.
On instinct, he licked his lips, only to retch violently when the metallic copper taste filled his mouth.
He groaned miserably, letting his forehead thunk to the floor. Everything hurt, his face worst of all, and he was nauseous from the pain.
He was scared to move, scared he had broken something. So many places pulsed and ached, he couldn’t even begin to catalogue all the injuries he might have. Slowly and carefully, he turned his head to lay it sideways, resting his cheek in his own blood. That left him blinking at the staircase he had just come down.
Fell down, actually.
Only now did he actually grasp what had happened. His eyes widened as he stared at the steps.
Worse than the physical pain was the hot shame that immediately flooded him.
Oh my god. I just fell down an entire staircase.
No one had pushed him; the floor wasn’t even wet. He just missed a step and somehow managed to tumble down the entire flight.
How fucking embarrassing.
It was all he could think about, his face now not only pulsing with pain, but also burning bright red with utter shame.
He must have looked ridiculous. Stomping around angrily only to tumble down a staircase like he was in some slapstick comedy movie.
He would never live this down if anyone found out.
Thank god nobody saw that.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to repeat that thought to lessen the utter humiliation that sat in his chest.
Nobody saw me.
Nobody saw that.
Nobody will know.
A faint sound from somewhere further down in the building made Aaron snap his head up, only for that to send a flash of pain through his neck.
He needed to get up. Lying at the bottom of the stairs, looking like he had just been driven over by a truck, would surely clue anyone in as to what had happened. He could see the whole scene play out in his mind. Someone, probably Neil or Andrew, rounding the corner, sees Aaron sprawled on the ground, looking miserable. How the confusion would shift to realisation and barely disguised amusement. Because this was just that, ridiculous and amusing.
He needed to get up.
Under great agony, he slowly pushed himself up. He tried to be as quiet as possible, but when he tried to put any weight on his left arm, a sharp stab ran from his shoulder down his arm, making him cry out in pain. His arm buckled, and he slumped back to the floor, sobbing heavily.
This was so, so stupid.
So unbelievably pathetic.
Falling down a flight of stairs like a cartoon character. Like he was some bumbling idiot. Every time this happened in a show, it was something comedic, wasn’t it? Every impact just a testament to a character's incompetence.
He was nothing more than a punchline.
His shoulder throbbed, his nose and mouth ached, and blood dripped from them continuously.
This wasn’t something he could let heal on its own.
God, how would he explain this to Abby? He would have to sit out at least the next few practices.
And then the others would surely find out.
“Sorry, guys, Aaron won't be participating today. You see, he launched himself down some stairs because he was too busy sulking to watch his step.”
He could already hear everyone laughing.
No.
He couldn’t let that happen. He could suck it up; he just needed to cool his injuries, wash off the blood.
He had finally managed to push himself up on trembling arms when he saw something in the bright red puddle. Something white and small.
No.
He snatched it with trembling fingers, praying that he was wrong. But as he held it up, his worst fear was confirmed.
It was a tooth. More specifically, his tooth.
He had managed to knock out one of his teeth in the fall.
Automatically, he ran his tongue along the inside of his teeth, trying to find the gap in the row.
He bit back a sob when he felt the gap, warm and empty. It felt wrong, disgusting, and his stomach cramped.
Top row, almost at the front. He couldn’t hide this. This was obvious, visible every time he smiled. Everyone would notice it instantly. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Why was this happening to him? Why?
He quietly sobbed, his mind grappling with the gravity of the situation. He was just a clown at this point, wasn’t he?
Falling down a flight of stairs just because he was stomping around angrily like a toddler throwing a tantrum. And he lost a tooth. A fucking tooth. Now he had to walk around with a gap in his teeth like a second grader who tripped on the playground and was now awaiting the tooth fairy.
Guess that was his karmic justice.
He could already see Neil laughing so hard his stomach hurt when he found out. Andrew would stare at him as if he had never expected anything else from Aaron. And Kevin was always so focused on appearances, he would surely lose a comment or two about how idiotic Aaron looked now.
The tears felt hot on his already burning cheeks, and he scrubbed a sleeve over his face, soaking it in blood. As he finally pulled himself upright, his shoulder screamed in agony. He clenched his teeth, trying to stifle a cry, and instantly regretted that decision when pain flooded his mouth. He was so injured all over that he couldn’t move anything without making more pain flare up.
His nose felt broken, his mouth ached. His back and knees were already starting to bruise. And despite everywhere, the gap his tongue kept finding eclipsed every other injury.
Shame burned itself deep into him. It was an injury so visible, so obvious, so ridiculous that there was no sleeping it off.
He looked down at his feet and the puddle of blood still left there. Fuck, he couldn’t leave it like this. Someone would see it and figure out what had happened here.
He stared at it for another long moment before dragging his shoe through it in an attempt to clean it up. Obviously, it didn’t work at all. Instead, it smeared the blood around, making the mess bigger.
Stupid.
Aaron gave up with a defeated sigh. Leaning onto the railing, he slowly stumbled forward. Then he stopped and looked down. Right. He had to make it down another flight to the hallway of his dorm.
He stared down the stairs with wide eyes, trembling softly.
What if I fall again?
The thought was utterly ridiculous.
His throat closed up nonetheless, and his legs refused to move.
This could not happen again. Not a second time.
The fear of falling made him stand there for multiple minutes, unable to do anything other than hold onto the railing like it was the only thing keeping him alive.
And then, very slowly, he moved one foot down onto the first step. His legs were shaking, and his arms only relaxed minimally when he had both feet next to each other again. He was descending these stairs so carefully as if he were learning how to do it for the very first time. For a split second, he considered the thought of crawling them down backwards, just fully embracing his newfound youth. Couldn’t fall far if you're already on all fours. But the minuscule sliver of pride he still had was keeping him from giving in.
No, he refused to clamber down like some baby. Might as well sit down and wait for someone to hold his hand if he did that.
With that thought, he kept moving from step to step.
Right foot. Left foot. Stop and breathe. Then repeat.
And all the while, he prayed and begged that no one saw him.
Please, don’t let anyone walk over here right now.
His brain kept supplying him with images of someone rounding the corner and spotting him like this.
Hugging the railing.
Crying.
Bruised.
Missing a tooth.
He looked pathetic, staring down at his feet the entire way down. He could not risk another fall. The tooth in his fist was a constant reminder of his humiliation.
Once he had made it down, he stumbled through the hallway to the opposite wall, leaning against it as he hurried to his dorm. He didn’t care to look back at the trail of blood drops he was leaving in the carpet.
He fumbled with the doorknob, twisting it before falling into the dorm with the door swinging open. He almost tripped again, but this time his hand managed to hold on to a small table in the hallway. It did help steady him, but the keys that were thrown on it all clattered to the ground as he almost tipped it over.
The bathroom. He needed the bathroom. Lock himself in so no one could see him. Get cleaned up, hide every trace of his embarrassing failure. Before he even reached the door, he sniffed, frustrated with himself.
As if I could lock it.
Just another one of his pathetic habits. Unable to lock a bathroom. The thing anyone with an ounce of respect for themselves could do.
His hand reached out, and the door flew open before his fingers even made contact. Someone had decided to leave the bathroom in just that moment.