~One Month ago~

                          "...and remember, this is our little secret. No one else needs to know about this. It's our special time; you understand, don't you Ed?" Ed looked up at his abuser full of hatred and frustration but didn't say anything. The man smiled lustily at the kid and pulled his hair even harder pushing his head deeper. Ed started gagging, coughing and choking harder as he tried panting for air.

"There we go, good boy! Ah! You're enjoying this, too I see." He suddenly stopped and pulled him up by his hair with a tight grip with one hand, and with the other he started touching and molesting his victim. "You see that?" he continued," you were born for this. This is why you exist. You think a person like you could ever be something big? Ha! What a load of batcrap! You are a good for nothing, just like your mother, I bet. Look at how easily you'll spread your legs for an utter stranger. You little ." Ed couldn't hear him. He was now being fully and all he could focus on was the pain and the feeling of being ripped apart. He was starting to lose consciousness and a swamp of awful past forgotten memories were rushing back to haunt him. This wasn't the first time this was happening, but it was equally painful and scary as the first time. At last, he realized that the moving had stopped and could feel he was bleeding. He didn't have time to rest though, as he was hastily dragged to his feet and from there to the showers. The man threw him in and turned the hot water on to maximum because Eds' skin was really sensitive to heat and would turn an angry red hiding the fresh hickeys, wounds and bite marks. He didn't care of course that Ed felt like he was being boiled alive and as he couldn't stand, he was held up hanging by just his long hair. But then again, Ed was more or less used to this kind of treatment, which continued for the next three months. It was sad that many of his foster-parents had treated him in a similar manner whether it was , a cold or boiling hot shower, a good beating with the belt and many more horrifying means of punishment. Ed believed all children went through this kind of treatment and was taught from a young age that his life was meaningless and that he would grow up to be a e.

                          "Does it...still hurt?"

"...."

"Do you think we should-"

"No."

"I know...I don't want my parents to know, I don't want anyone to know..."

"Well then."

"So?"

"We carry this with us, to our graves. I'do'n't matter who we tell, no'ne will believe us, anyway. Not y'parents, not the company, absolutely no'ne.

"My parents wouldn't even care."

"See?"

"Police?"

"You want the whole world to know? Go a'ead. Give graphic details about everything an' have to recall it crystal clear an' relive it all.Go a'ead. But I'm not following you."

"No. I don't want my parents to know, I said so."

"There you go, no point in talking about it at all. Hopefully, we'll debut and forget about this and one day, I promise Milan, one day we will get our revenge. Nice and silent. He's going to pay, big time."

"What if we never debut, though?"

"We'll grow up. An' other boys will replace us. Or we'll quit.". The two boys continued walking down the hall silently. They got to the rooftop and Ed got two bags and a tube of glue out his pocket.

"Glue?" , he offered to his friend.

"I still 'aven't got the hang of it.",Milan answered.

"That's alright, mate. Practice makes perfect.",he said handing him a bag and the tube.

                                Ed was a trainee at NHMedia now. He was given new clothes and even a place to stay with other trainees, although he could always go back to Jack whenever he wanted to,even though the visits where getting scarcer each week. But Jack didn't seem to mind that much. Sometimes she wasn't even there when he visited. Everything was new to him as he had never been around normal children of his age before or been to school. It didn't take him long to become the class clown, which everyone, of course, was fond of. He got along with most his classmates, but most of all, with a half Italian boy named Milan who quickly became his best friend. Having been raised in Europe for the better part of his life, Ed didn't really understand the Asian way of doing things. Since Milan was half Italian and had lived in Italy when he was younger, he was the only one who could relate to Ed. Milans' family was problematic. His mother and father fought every day since he was eight and he was always stuck in the middle of it. His mum was a fanatic catholic, so divorce was out of the question and Milan was blamed for everything that went wrong by her, while his father cringed at the mere sight of his son. Milan had learned to keep to himself and away from them from a young age, and as he was usually grounded for things he hadn't done, he was usually locked away in his room alone and bored to tears. So in many ways, Ed and Milan had a lot in common, including their dark secret with their vocal trainer, but since they decided not to talk about it, let's not either.

                             Milan had never done drugs before he met Ed. He had always been curious, though, and since Ed always had something about him, he got to experiment with a lot of new 'friends' as Ed called them. None of them really stuck with him though. Only smocking and that just once in a while to join Ed. It was a cry for attention from his parents at first, but since they were usually fighting with each other, they didn't have time to notice their stoned tween with spliff in his hand stumbling about the house in just his underwear, and sometimes not even that, and soon he stopped or tried stuff for his own entertainment. Ed wasn't a junky or anything like that. Well at least not with the hardcore stuff. Just cigars, booze, glue, maybe some crack once in a while, not too often. Anyhow, these two were like twins separated at birth, or something, except they didn't look alike.