Take My Breath Away

After deleting the video, Wesley threw Niles' phone back to him. As Wesley approached, Niles could hear the knuckles of his brother's hands cracking. "You threatened me. Know what happened to the last guy who did that?" Wesley said.

"No. What happened to him?" Niles asked. His heart was hammering in his chest. He knew what awaited him if his threat didn't work—another round of Wesley's fists. Niles was anxious. He could only think of one person who could save him. Curling up in a corner, he secretly dialed Blair's number.

When Wesley was close enough, he dragged Niles to the edge of the bed and told him in a menacing tone, "I cracked his skull open. He's probably been reincarnated by now. Want what he got?"

Blair picked up the phone. To make sure Wesley wouldn't find out, Niles quickly put his phone down on the bed and pleaded apologetically, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have threatened you. But come on! I'm your little brother. Can't you just let up? Just for one second?"

He was so nervous he kept glancing at his phone. Wesley couldn't miss that and followed his gaze. He reached to grab for the phone. Niles wasn't quick enough to stop him. The screen was on, and the call to Blair was displayed, along with how long the call had lasted.

"Hi, Niles. What's up?" Both of them could hear her on the other end. Niles sensed that Wesley was going to hang up the phone, so he yelled quickly into his phone, "Blair, help!"

No sooner had he shouted these words than Wesley cut the call short.

Niles wasn't sure if Blair heard him.

"Wesley, please. Just let me up. I'll go back to my room," he pleaded again, wistfully; but there was never a single tear on his face.

As if he heard nothing, Wesley sent him sprawling on the bed again and punched him.

Just then, "Knock, knock, knock." Someone was knocking at the door.

Niles guessed it must be Blair. His eyes widened, shining with hope. "Blair, ah! Help! Help! He's killing me!" he wailed.

"Shut up, idiot!" Wesley warned him and covered his mouth with one hand.

"Mmph...mmmm..." Niles struggled, still trying to utter some words, but Wesley's "gag" was too strong.

Wesley assumed if no one answered the door, the person outside would leave, but Blair wasn't going to give up so easily. She was worried about Niles, so she kept knocking. She knocked as lightly as possible so she wouldn't disturb the elders.

But even after a while, no one answered her knocks. Just when she was about to dial Wesley's number, he opened the door.

His pajamas were disheveled, revealing his burly chest. He was so tall and sturdy that standing there, he was like a wall between her and his bedroom. All she saw was his broad chest. She lowered her head, looked away and said in a low voice, "Um... I'd like to talk to Niles."

"He's in bed," he replied. Well, strictly speaking, he wasn't lying. Threatened by his brother, Niles was lying in bed, with his mouth and eyes shut.

Blair found that weird. Niles had just called her. Suspicious, she raised her head and looked around, trying to figure out how Niles was doing. But Wesley led her further away from the doorway. "It's late. Why do you want to talk to him?" he asked.

"Er..." Blair opened her mouth, but she couldn't come up with any excuses to give him. She was only there because Niles had called her and asked for her help. While she was considering how to respond, it also occurred to her that Wesley seemed to have been trying to keep her away from his room. It looked as if he was covering something up. In that case, she had to go inside. He might have killed Niles! Thinking of this, Blair said calmly, "I couldn't sleep. That fight between you and Niles kind of freaked me out. Maybe you can talk me down?" Then she walked past Wesley and made her way towards the room.

Wesley was taken aback. He thought of his poor brother's swollen face and black eye. He had to stop her. So he grabbed her arm and said, "It's not a good time."

"Come on, you're a guy. What are you shy about?" Blair gave him a disdainful look. Then, something struck her. She stared at him and queried, "Wait a minute! You have a girl in here! Is that why you don't want me to go into your room?"

Wesley felt defeated. 'This is the middle of the night, for fuck's sake. Why would there be a girl in my room?' he thought.

Blair wasn't going to drop it, though. "Why do you look so nervous? Is there really a girl in there? Who is it? Megan? Or maybe Garnet? Or is it someone I don't know?"

Her absurd speculations made Wesley's head spin. He would rather let go of her arm than keep listening to her babble. He moved aside, and Blair walked into his room.

Before he followed her inside, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the door to Baldwin and Cecelia's room was slightly ajar. Wesley just kept walking, leaving his door open.

Blair saw that someone was in Wesley's bed, rolling himself tightly in the covers.

She knew it was Niles. She walked over and patted him. "Niles, I'm here. You called me. What's up?"

Wesley's warning was still fresh in his head. Niles was too scared to say anything. He just shook his head.

"What are you doing in the covers? Talk to me," Blair convinced. She waited, but the younger brother wouldn't get out of bed, or say anything.

Meanwhile, Wesley sat on the couch quietly.

Not hearing any warnings from Wesley, Niles revealed his eyes slowly from under the covers to see what was going on. Blair saw that and pulled the covers away, fully exposing his face.

Blair almost screamed when she saw his bruises.

"Wh-wh-what happened to your face?" she asked.

Niles couldn't keep his silence any longer. He sat up and said pitifully, "Blair, help me! It's my brother. He did this." Of course, it sounded a lot different. His lips were swollen, and a string of drool escaped as he talked.

Blair looked at his face. It had to hurt like hell. She patted his shoulder soothingly. "Don't worry. I'll see if I can talk him out of it. Go get some ice and some cortisone," she assured him.

Niles was eager to get away. He shrugged out of the covers, hurled himself off the bed and ran towards the door as quickly as his slippers could take him.

"Stop!" Wesley demanded as Niles passed him.

"But Blair said I could leave," Niles said, freezing in his tracks.

Blair walked up to Wesley and pointed out, "I told you nothing happened between Niles and me. I told you to leave him alone. Why did you beat him up? You're impossible!"

Wesley looked at her and countered, "He's fine. He's a guy. A few punches won't kill him." To Wesley, the beating was fully justified. Niles had not only gotten too close to Blair but also threatened him. He should have known better.

The bruises on Niles' face made Blair feel terrible. She wished Wesley would treat his brother better. "There are lots of ways to solve problems. Why do you always use your fists? Why not use your head once in awhile?"

Niles, who was too afraid to leave without his brother's permission, nodded violently when he heard Blair's words. As far back as Niles could remember, Wesley always solved his problems with violence.

Wesley closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa. "Get lost!" he said coldly.

'Get lost?' Niles and Blair exchanged a look. The expressions on their faces were in sharp contrast.

Niles dashed out of Wesley's room excitedly.

Blair looked at Wesley in disbelief. It was a while before she asked uncertainly, "You told me to get lost?"

Realizing she had misunderstood, Wesley opened his eyes. "Not you, him," he explained. He was conflicted about whether to ask her to leave or not.