Credence
 

Chapter Three: “Just My Stalker”


I am not putting the knock on dolls. It's just that they are something to have around only when they come in handy... like cough drops. ~Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls

*****

May

Justin put his messenger bag over his head to prepare himself for the onslaught of rain. He hoped that Brian was on time. He went outside and looked around to see if he could spot Brian’s Jeep or the Vette. He wasn’t sure which one he was going to drive. The rain came down in sheets and obscured his view, but he thought he spotted Brian’s Jeep across the street. He stepped out from under the awning and took a few steps toward the corner.

“Justin!”

Justin turned at the sound of his name and saw Brian standing against the window of the diner, a cigarette in one hand and a black umbrella in the other. “Hey!” He quickly slid underneath the shade, dropping his messenger bag to his side as his body pressed close to Brian’s. “I didn’t see you from inside.”

“Who could see through this rain?” Brian commented, throwing his cigarette to the sidewalk. ”Let’s go.”

Justin refrained from commenting about Brian opening the door for him and holding the umbrella over him while he climbed into the car. It was a sweet gesture, but then again, he knew that, coming from Brian, it wasn’t so much a ‘gesture’ as just a simple action.

Brian got in, placed the umbrella in the back of the car, and grabbed the box he’d placed in the back seat. “Here,” he grunted, “open it.”

Justin looked at the box in his hands, feeling very confused. “You got me something?”

Brian started the car and teased, “Well, if you don’t want it, I can take it back.”

“No, no I want it. I’m just surprised. It’s not my birthday or Christmas or…”

“Just shut the fuck up and open it.” Brian wanted to gauge if Justin truly liked it, so he waited before pulling out onto the road. They still had about an hour before <i>A Streetcar Named Desire</i> played.

“You bought me a sweater?” Justin ran his hands over the Ralph Lauren black label V-neck. The cashmere was so soft he felt like his fingers would sink into it. “Why?”

The night before, Justin froze the entire time they watched the movie. He had then declared that movie theatres were always cold and when Brian asked why he didn’t bring a sweater with him if he knew that, Justin told him that he didn’t want to be seen carrying a sweater around in May. Brian solved that issue, because who could refuse to be seen carrying cashmere. “I’d like to hear the movie tonight instead of your teeth chattering,” he explained.

“That’s very considerate of you, Brian.”

Justin hadn’t said it in a condescending way, which sort of bothered Brian. Then, his eyelashes fluttered a little and his cheeks turned pink. Brian felt the need to say, “I don’t like to see my friends freeze to death.”

Justin took the sweater from the box and dropped the tag onto his lap. He gasped when he saw the numbers on it. “You often buy your friends $650 cashmere sweaters?”

Brian wanted to kill the sales associate. He’d specifically asked the man to take the tag off and told him it was a gift. “It was on sale.”

“Sure it was,” Justin said, his giggle making an appearance. “This is the nicest present anyone has ever given me. It’s just a shame that I’ll only get to wear it at the movies now that summer is almost here.”

“For what I paid for it, you better bring it with you every night.”

“I will.” Justin reached across the seat and touched Brian’s thigh, his long artist fingers giving Brian’s muscles a soft squeeze.

Brian wanted to shake Justin’s hand off but it felt too good where it was and he shamelessly let it stay there the entire ride to the theater. Instead of keeping his distance in his seat that night, as he usually did, Justin leaned against Brian throughout the whole movie. Brian could hardly focus on the movie, too engrossed in his own thoughts and fighting the urge to make out with Justin and jerk him off. He really wished he hadn’t known what Justin thought of Stanley Kowalski and his first foray into sex.

“It was so much better on the big screen,” Justin gushed as they exited the theater. “I’m so glad I got to see it like that.”

“Me too.” Brian wasn’t really in the mood to chat. He wanted to drop Justin off as fast as he could and go find someone to relieve his erection.

The rain had stopped while they were inside and now the streets and sidewalks sparkled with color from the streetlights and neon signs as they walked toward Brian’s car. Justin came to a sudden stop and threw his arms out to the sides, nearly hitting Brian who was a step behind him. Unbeknownst to Justin, Brian had been watching his ass the entire time. “I wish I could set up an easel right now and paint this.”

Brian looked around at the run-down buildings and dirty, wet streets and could not understand what would prompt Justin to want to paint such a thing. Justin faced him and looked so happy that Brian had to smile, too. “You want to paint in the slummiest area of Pittsburgh?”

Justin dropped his hands to his sides and shrugged. “It isn’t slummy. It’s inspiring.”

“Okay.” Brian pulled on Justin’s wrist to keep him walking. “Come on, Picasso.”

“Wait, wait.” Justin shuffled his feet and shook Brian off. “I want to take a picture with my phone so I can have something to paint from.”

“Cell phone pictures suck,” Brian told him. “If you’ll wait until we get to the car I have a camera in the glove box.”

Justin put his phone in his pocket and bounced. “Awesome!”

Brian wasn’t sure why Justin ran for the car. He had to wait for him to unlock it first. Once Brian finally got there, Justin gave him an annoyed expression but Brian ignored it and dug the camera out. “Hurry up. I’ve got somewhere to be.”

Justin made a grunting noise before flashing a grin and walking back down the block. Once Justin had taken at least a dozen pictures, Brian watching from the car, he got back in and demanded to take a picture with the both of them. Brian took the camera from him and held it out to get them both in the frame, smiling just a little bit.

“Sometimes I wish people could see things the way I see them,” Justin said when they stopped at a red light. He was looking out the side window while his fingers danced along the glass.

Brian cocked his head to the side and watched Justin until the light turned green. He knew exactly what Justin meant and that scared this piss out of him.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“Is that can of soup that interesting?”

The man’s voice sent prickles of pleasure down Justin’s spine; he tried his hardest to ignore it as he responded, “Yup.”

“Are you on a diet or something?” Brian asked, amused at the thought. Even he didn’t go so far as to read labels on food to keep his shape.

Justin looked up at Brian worriedly. “Do you think I’m fat?”

“Your ass is the only thing on you that’s huge and that’s a good thing. I thought you were counting fat grams or calories.”

“No, I’m reading the ingredients. They stopped making the chicken soup I used to get and I have to make sure that there isn’t any celery in this.”

“You’re allergic to celery?” Brian had never heard of that.

“Yeah. You wouldn’t believe how many things have celery in them.” Justin placed the can back on the shelf. “Celery.”

Brian picked up a different brand, found celery in the list and put it back. “Why don’t you just make it from scratch?”

“I guess I could. I just feel funny making soup in the summer.”

“But it’s all right to buy canned? You have the weirdest rules about what you will or won’t do in the summer.”

“Some things are meant for the winter and some are meant for the summer,” Justin defended lightly. “I’m sure you have a collection of clothing that only sees a certain season each year.”

“I have a collection of clothing that will see one season,” Brian corrected, a curvy smile gracing his lips. He looked in Justin’s cart and surveyed the items. “Two boxes of condoms, white milk, chocolate milk, strawberry jelly, cream cheese, wheat bread and orange juice.” He moved the two boxes of Cheerios and grinned at the discovery. “Four bottles of lube?” He raised his eyebrows at that and heard Justin giggle nervously. “And baby wipes. Why baby wipes?”

Justin rubbed his hands over his face and tried to quell the embarrassment he felt. “I only have time to do laundry every two weeks. They make cleanup a lot easier and I don’t have to worry about going to the laundromat with crusty towels.”

Brian drew his lips into his mouth and nodded. “Makes sense.”

Justin peaked into Brian’s basket and saw two items. “Lube and Condoms?”

“Normally I buy in bulk online but they fucked up my order and sent me a hundred sheep skin condoms instead of latex.”

Justin wondered how long 100 condoms lasted for Brian but didn’t dare ask. “Are you done shopping?” he asked.

“I’ve got to grab some bottled water and then I’ll be through, why?”

“I have to drop these groceries off at my building but if you’re not doing anything before our movie tonight, maybe we could go to dinner first? I still have a gift card my mother gave me for my birthday to <i>Mallorca</i>.”

Since Brian canceled his reservation on the same date that he’d met Justin, he had yet to eat there again. “Your mom got you a gift card to <i>Mallorca</i>?”

Justin began pushing his cart toward the water & soda aisle. “You act like I’m supposed to be completely unsophisticated as well as have a two-year-old’s palate.”

“You’re the one with chocolate milk, jelly, and Cheerios in your cart,” Brian teased. “When I was your age, I was still scarfing down double-cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets.”

Justin stopped in front of the display with water bottles and put his hand on his hip. “Did you really just say, ‘when I was your age’? Because if so, please let that be the last time you ever say it or I will start teasing you about how old you are, Peter Pan.”

“It’s a deal, Lost Boy,” Brian agreed.

“Expensive restaurants don’t bat an eye when I tell them I have an allergy and ask them to not include an ingredient in the dish I’m ordering. You don’t know how many times I’ve gone to fast food restaurants and when they take my order they act like me getting what I want made-to-order is a hardship for them. Many times they wouldn’t make it right and I have to go back up and ask them for my money back because I’m worried that they won’t remake it, they’ll just wipe off what I didn’t want on it and give it back to me. I’ve had to threaten to sue them a few times just to get my five bucks back.”

“Well, I’ve been to <i>Mallorca</i> dozens of times so if you want to tell me what foods you’re allergic to, I can recommend something you can eat.” Brian placed his basket in Justin’s cart and took over pushing.

“No need. The whole reason my mother got me a gift card for that restaurant is because I can eat anything on the vegetarian menu. I don’t have to order anything special there. That is a treat in itself. Even if people are nice about it and accommodate my allergy, I still have a worry in the back of my mind the entire time I’m eating that somehow a piece of something I’m allergic to accidently got added.”

“Is there anything you once were able to eat that you developed an allergy to?” Brian asked as they got in line at the check out.

“Peanut butter,” Justin answered without hesitation. “My mom used to make me grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and I’d eat like three of them. God, my mouth is watering right now thinking about them.”

“Sorry I asked,” Brian, said genuinely. “My favorite sandwich is peanut butter and avocado.”

“Well, my mouth isn’t watering now. That sounds gross.”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

“Fortunately for me, that won’t ever happen.”

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“God, that Paella Vegetariana was amazing. I don’t think I’ll need any snacks at the movie.” Justin rubbed his belly. “I think I’d puke if I ate anything else.”

“No skittles tonight?” Brian fake-pouted. He enjoyed stealing all of Justin’s favorite red ones.

“You can buy candy for yourself, Brian. I won’t tell anyone,” Justin joked.

“So what’s on tonight?” Brian knew but he was testing Justin’s movie knowledge.

“<i>Guys and Dolls</i>. Which means the theater will probably be packed since it’s one of his more famous movies.”

“Just wait until <i>The Godfathers</i> are playing. We’ll have to get to the theater an hour early if we want seats.”

“Probably. Oh, you know I’m going to have to miss <i>The Fugitive Kind</i>, right? That’s what’s on the night of my opening. If I sell half of my paintings then I should make enough to buy a used car. You won’t have to cart me around all the time.”

“Well, it sucks that you won’t be able to see it, it’s one of my favorites.” He chose to ignore Justin’s remark about buying a used car. He was already living in a death trap, he didn’t want to think about him driving around in one too.

“You can see it and tell me what it’s all about,” Justin decided. “I’ve never even seen that movie.” There was no way Justin was going to ask Brian and make him obligated to come to the show. Sure, he wanted him there, but he didn’t want to tell Brian that.

“I suck at giving movie summaries. We’ll have to rent it.” Brian tried not to pout because Justin hadn’t asked him to go to his show. Practically everyone else had told Brian about it, but Justin hadn’t spoken much about the show and it made him think that there might be a reason Justin didn’t want him there.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“What is it, Mikey? I’m busy.”

“That’s some greeting,” Michael said, walking toward Brian’s desk.

“What do you want?” Brian shut his laptop. Michael didn’t need to know that he’d been playing a game of Texas Hold ‘em while waiting on Jeffrey to bring him his lunch.

Michael took a seat in the chair in front of Brian’s desk. “I tried to call you but apparently you’re in meetings all day.”

Brian crossed his arms and gave his friend a blank look. “Do you think that I’m not entitled to a lunch break?”

“That’s why I came by now.” Michael smirked. “I want to be sure that you’re going to Justin’s art show tonight.”

“Did he tell you that I said I’d come?”

“No. He said that you were going to the movies.”

“I never said that. But, he also never invited me.”

“Maybe he didn’t invite you because he thought you’d turn him down.”

“Maybe he didn’t invite me because he doesn’t care if I go or not.”

“Of course he cares, and of course you want to go,” Michael spoke the obvious.

Brian sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I want to be there more than you know.”

Michael grinned. “I knew you did.”

“I was thinking of asking Justin on a date after the show.”

“You were?”

“Sure. Then I thought, I’d take him back to my loft, light some candles, and make sweet passionate love to him.”

Michael’s grin faded. “Brian, that isn’t funny.”

“Mr. Kinney?” Jeffrey appeared in the doorway, holding a brown bag and cup of coffee. “I have your lunch.”

Brian waved his assistant over. “Thanks, Jeffrey. Would you be so kind as to escort Mr. Novotny out of my office?”

Michael stood up and glared at Brian. “Thanks, but I know the way I out. And for the record, I’m only trying to help you.”

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

Justin opened his door to find Trent on the other side. “Hey.”

Trent held out a bottle of wine. “This is to thank you.” He kissed Justin’s cheek.

“No thanks necessary,” Justin said uncomfortably. “You wanna come in?”

“Can’t. I’m on my way to work. I wanted to wish you luck for your show before I go.”

“Thank you. Too bad you can’t come.”

“Well, I’ll go by and see your stuff sometime tomorrow.”

“Cool. I won’t be there though. I’ve got to work at the diner.”

“How long do you have before you start at the gallery?”

“I start around the middle of August. That’s when Lindsay’s assistant is going on permanent maternity leave.”

“Good, maybe with some regular hours we’ll be able to hang out more often.” Trent’s cell phone began ringing. “Hey, I gotta go.” Trent kissed Justin’s cheek once more before taking off down the hall.

Justin sighed with great relief and closed his door. He liked Trent, he really did, but Trent was no Brian Kinney.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“What are you doing here?” Justin asked, wrapping his arms around Brian.

Brian stiffened for a second before relaxing into Justin’s hug. They hadn’t done that before. “The reel was damaged.”

Justin looked up at Brian and knew the man was lying. “It was not. The movie wasn’t slated to begin for another ten minutes.”

Brian shrugged. “Well, I couldn’t bear that group of teenage girls that are always there, giggling at us every night, to see me alone. They might think that we broke up and try to take your place.”

“Well, too bad, they can’t have you,” Justin said jokingly. <i>But neither can I</i>, he thought.

“Brian, nice to see you here,” Jennifer said, walking their way. “Have you seen his work?”

“I just arrived, Jennifer.”

“Well, then I’ll leave Justin to give you the tour.”

“Mom,” Justin groaned. “I don’t need to give every single person we know a tour of my paintings.”

“Sure you do,” Jennifer teased, walking back over to Tucker who gave Brian a nod of acknowledgement.

“She’s always so embarrassing at these things,” Justin said, gulping the rest of the wine in his glass. “If she tells another critic that I used to draw on my diapers, I’m going to die.”

“Leave her alone,” Brian chastised. “She’s proud of you.” He added in a soft, envious voice, “You don’t know how lucky you are to have a mother like that.”

Justin had heard second-hand of Brian’s childhood and he felt guilty. “You’re right. I guess if it were my child having his first art show, I’d be all aflutter, too.”

Brian took Justin’s glass and placed it on a waiter’s tray before grabbing two fresh glasses and handing one to Justin. “Give me the tour and don’t leave anything out because I want to get my money’s worth.”

“The show is free,” Justin said, grinning while leading Brian toward his stuff.

“Ah, but the art isn’t.”

“Why? You’re planning on buying something?”

“Perhaps, if you’re good enough.”

“I’m good enough,” Justin assured. “But there’s only three pieces that haven’t been sold, so if you want any of them you’d better tell Lindsay fast.”

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“You look like shit,” Brian said as Justin put on his seat belt.

“Yeah, thanks.” Justin wiped the sweat from his forehead and put his face directly in front of the vent. “Thank god you have air conditioning.”

“Don’t you?” Brian asked, pulling away from the apartment building.

“Not in the hallways; and the elevator is broke so I had to walk down five flights of stairs,” Justin explained. He pulled down the visor mirror and looked at his reflection. “I can’t go to <i>Mallorca</i> looking like this.”

“We’ve gone there almost every other night this month, which means they’ve been making a shit load of money from us.”

“From you,” Justin interrupted. They usually went to cheaper restaurants on the nights Justin paid.

“Either way, I doubt they’re going to have a problem with how you look.”

“Brian, let’s just go somewhere else. My face is red, I think I even smell.”

Brian did think that Justin smelled sweaty but he enjoyed it. However, he knew that Justin would be uncomfortable all night if he didn’t change. “Let’s go to my loft. I’ll order something in and you can shower and change clothes there.”

“But I don’t have anything but my sweater with me,” Justin said.

“I’m sure I have something you can fit into,” Brian said, turning around and heading toward the loft.

“What about food? I can’t just order from anywhere.”

“I’ll order from Lorenzo’s. You’ll eat their cheese pizza won’t you?”

Justin nodded, feeling a heat of another kind spread through him. He’d only made the comment about eating Lorenzo’s pizza once and Brian had remembered. “Thank you.”

Brian parked and turned off the engine. “No need to thank me.” They got out of the car and headed up to the building’s entrance. “I didn’t want to sit next to your rank smell all night.”

Justin laughed and pushed himself against Brian. “Yeah, right. You like the way I smell. You do.”

Brian pushed Justin away. “Back off or I’ll lock you out and leave you out here.”

Justin snickered to himself and allowed Brian the space to unlock the door. He’d just wait until they were inside the loft before he rubbed his sweaty body against him.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

Brian slid the loft door open, annoyed with Justin interrupting…absolutely nothing. “What are you doing here?” he asked, glaring at him.

Justin shoved past Brian and announced, “I’ve come to cool off.”

Brian closed the door and turned around to face Justin, blood pumped into his dick, his erection skyrocketing as he saw that Justin was shirtless. How in the fuck he’d missed that, he didn’t know. Justin’s pale skin was flushed and glistening, dots of moisture clinging to the blond treasure trail that began under the sexiest belly button Brian had ever laid eyes on. Brian visualized where the tufts of hair led, wondering if Justin was sweaty there too. “You look hot.” As soon as he spoke, he kicked himself mentally in disbelief that he’d actually said it aloud.

Justin pulled out the t-shirt from his backpack and wiped the sweat from his chest. “I know,” he replied, oblivious to the true nature of Brian’s observation. “It’s over 100 degrees outside.”

Brian felt relief realizing that Justin hadn’t taken his comment for how he meant it. He walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water for Justin. “Here.”

“Oh my god, thank you,” Justin said, his voice raspy.

Brian blinked rapidly as he watched Justin’s Adam’s apple bob up and down while he guzzled the drink. The moisture he felt leaking from his cock jarred him and he backed away from Justin and stood on the other side of the kitchen island. “What are you doing?” he reiterated.

Justin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, though his lips were still shiny pink and plump, taunting Brian. “I came to ask you a favor.”

Brian used the image of the time in college when he’d walked in on Melanie eating out Lindsay and his body’s reaction to Justin nosedived. “What?”

Justin wasn’t sure Brian would go for it but he figured it didn’t hurt to ask. “I need a model for a new piece I’m working on.”

Brian was flattered, but for some reason <i>Justin wanting</i> him felt vastly different from the countless men and women who wanted him every day. “I don’t have a lot time to be lying around while you paint.”

Justin expected that answer. “I know. I’d probably just sketch you, you know? Maybe take a few pictures and I can go from there.”

Brian had planned to make a trip to the baths before he headed to the movies with Justin that night but those plans held little appeal now. If he was going to seduce Justin without the other man realizing it, posing nude was a good place to start. “All right, but you’ll have to do it here. I’m not going to your place.”

Justin’s excitement was clear on his face and in his voice, “Thank you! We can totally do it here.” He grabbed his bag from the bar stool and pulled out his sketchpad and camera. “Can we do it now?”

Brian shrugged and hid his smug smile with an expression of indifference. “Sure.”

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“Mr. Kinney, Mr. Taylor, glad to have you join us. We missed seeing you both the last week,” the host of <i>Mallorca</i> spoke.

“Thank you, Lucas. I appreciate you reserving us a large table on such short notice,” Brian said.

“It was no problem at all. I’m happy you’ve chosen our restaurant for your celebration. Congratulations on your graduation, Mr. Taylor.”

“Thank you,” Justin replied.

“Is this your entire party?” the man asked, gesturing to the gang and Justin’s family behind Brian and Justin.

“We’re all here,” Debbie spoke up.

“Good. Then follow me this way.” Lucas led the group to a long table at the far end of the restaurant near the bank of windows that overlooked the river. “I hope this is to your liking.”

“It’s our usual spot,” Justin said, “only bigger. It’s perfect.”

“I’ll let you all get settled and send Juan over to take your drink orders in just a moment.”

“You guys eat here all the time?” Lindsay asked in awe.

“It’s Justin’s favorite restaurant,” Jennifer explained.

Melanie opened her menu and commented. “There aren’t any prices listed.”

“Just order what you want,” Brian told them. “I’ll be paying.”

“Brian, you don’t have to do that,” Ben said. “I can pay for Michael’s and my dinner.”

“And I can pay for Molly and Jennifer’s,” Tucker added.

Brian gave all of them an annoyed look and sat stiffly in his chair, awaiting other protests. He knew damn well that none of them could afford to pay for their own meals, and if they did, they’d complain about the price later.

Justin placed his hand on Brian’s thigh under the table and spoke up, “I’d appreciate it if you’d let Brian pay. His graduation present to me is buying my family and friends dinner at my favorite restaurant.”

Brian relaxed and patted Justin’s hand in thanks. He let it rest there until Juan came over to take the drink orders.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“So, when have your lunches with Gus started to include Justin?” Lindsay raised her eyebrows and smiled as though she knew something Brian didn’t.

“Today was the first and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will probably be the last.”

“Don’t go and do that. Gus likes Justin.” Lindsay pointed toward the end of the backyard where Justin was swinging beside Gus.

“I know that Gus likes Justin.” He knew that Justin liked Gus, too, which for some reason made Brian feel uneasy. “Justin usually works at the diner on Saturdays until one.”

“You know his schedule pretty well,” she teased.

“I need to know his schedule. He still doesn’t have a car, so I’ve been giving him a ride to work and picking him up for the movies. It’s too hot to be waiting outside for the bus.”

Lindsay grinned. “You’re generous, Brian. I’ll give you that.”

“It’s no more than I’d do for you or Michael,” Brian pointed out. His attention was diverted from Lindsay for a moment as he heard Justin giggling. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he felt stirrings of desire making themselves known.

Lindsay pretended that she didn’t see Brian staring at Justin as if he wanted to eat him and gave him a moment to gaze at the beautiful young man before she continued with her interrogation. “So, Justin has already made it up the ranks that quick?”

“Would you shut up?” Brian pushed out the retort, looking back at Lindsay. He hoped he hadn’t nodded ‘yes’ when he spoke because that had been his immediate answer.

“No. I enjoy watching you squirm.”

“Do you also enjoy watching me leave?” Brian threatened. “Or are you jealous that because Justin’s going to the movies with me, he’s stopped his weekly visits to Art Museums with you?”

Lindsay had only gone to one art museum with Justin. While there, Brian had called Justin’s cell and asked him to go with him to see the matinee of some Brando film they’d seen the night before. Justin had told Brian he couldn’t and Brian must’ve been pissed about it even though he didn’t let on to Justin that he was. She started to laugh as though Brian’s accusation was the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Oh, Brian. You really are falling for him if you’re still jealous about me spending an afternoon with him nearly a month ago.”

“I am not jealous.” Brian crossed his arms over his chest. “I’d appreciate it if you stopped insinuating shit about me and Justin every fucking time I see you. For your information, the only reason he’s with me today is because the electric is off in his building and they have people over there fixing it and ordered the tenants out while they worked. We were going to the matinee anyway, so when he showed up at my place this morning I figured he could tag along. It’s nothing more than that.”

“All right, Brian. I believe you,” Lindsay placated him.

Justin had been discreetly paying attention to the conversation Brian and Lindsay were having. He hadn’t heard a word, but he could tell from Brian’s body language that they’d probably been discussing him. Or, more accurately, Lindsay had been urging Brian to do away with his wild ways and date him. Brian’s friends thought they knew what they were doing, trying to push them together, constantly implying that there was more to their relationship than there was but it made Brian get defensive about it and spout reasons why he would never be in any kind of relationship.

For people that claimed to know Brian Kinney, Justin thought it was funny that they didn’t understand what Justin had realized early on. Brian couldn’t be forced into a relationship. Justin didn’t realistically include himself as a potential mate for Brian. He just wanted to prove to Brian that it was possible to enjoy doing all the ‘boyfriend’ things Brian claimed to hate, all without Brian realizing he was doing it. If someone were to get Brian into a relationship, that was how it would have to be done.

The problem with that was he had to struggle to keep his guard up and not fall for the man in the process. Justin knew that what he wanted, <i>needed</i>, from a boyfriend was far more than Brian could ever offer him. He’d have to hold on to that truth, no matter how much he found himself lusting after Brian.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

Brian hated Justin. Okay, so that wasn’t true. But he hated that Justin was making him feel like a desperate teenager who, out of obligation, took his girlfriend to a movie when all he really wanted to do was get her in the backseat and fuck her brains out. He loved <i>Don Juan DeMarco</i>; it was one of his favorite movies but he was barely watching it. His dick was painfully hard. Every time Justin would laugh or sigh, Brian’s cock throbbed.

<i> Have you never met a woman who inspires you to love? Until your every sense is filled with her? You inhale her. You taste her.</i>

“Only Johnny Depp could say something so cheesy and make it sound so hot,” Justin whispered into Brian’s ear.

Justin’s breath on Brian’s ear caused an electric current to race toward Brian’s groin. “Shh,” he said, only half joking. He was already fighting not to jump him, he didn’t need Justin whispering in his ear.

Justin laughed quietly and nudged Brian with his shoulder.

<i> You must not forget, my friend, that the power of your love, the power of love of Don Juan, is eternal and will not be denied.</i>

Justin did the sighing thing again and Brian closed his eyes, seeing a flickering reel of dirty images. There were so many ways Brian knew he could draw out a similar, more pleasurable sound from Justin. He almost leapt from his chair when Justin mistakenly placed his hand on his leg instead of his own. Brian opened his eyes and looked over at his companion. Justin smiled at him, quickly moved his hand from his leg and rested it on his arm instead. Brian shifted in his seat, dislodging Justin’s light grip.

“I’ve gotta take a piss,” he said. He had to take a breather away from the combination of Justin and Johnny Depp or he’d come in his pants. All right, so Justin Taylor alone was the real reason he was going insane, but he couldn’t let himself believe that it was only because of him. He couldn’t admit that Justin truly had that much power over him.

“Get me more skittles while you’re out there,” Justin asked as Brian left his seat. He had to pee too but he would hold off until the movie ended.

“All right,” Brian whispered back. In the dark of the theater, he rubbed his erection and thought repulsive thoughts, hoping it would relieve the ache.

A few minutes later, Justin felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He discreetly took it out and saw the name on the display, ‘Trent’. He pushed it back in his pants; there was no way he was going to miss Johnny Depp to talk to Trent. Another minute later, the buzzing began again. Justin wished that he could turn the phone off completely, but that would require him hitting buttons which made noise and he didn’t want to be kicked out. When the vibration began again, Justin figured he might as well go to the bathroom and answer his phone. If Trent was calling so many times, it might actually be important.

Justin rushed into the bathroom, whipped his dick out, aimed it at the urinal and relieved himself. He heard a funny noise coming from the corner stall and figured it was probably a pair of teenagers messing around, all the more reason he needed to hurry. After flushing the toilet he walked over to the sinks, washed his hands and called Trent while he dried his hands. At the same moment that Trent picked up the phone, the lone stall behind Justin opened and he heard a familiar voice.

“Keep your day job.”

“Fuck you, man!”

“Hello, Justin?” A loud noise rattled through the line, almost drowning out Trent’s greeting.

Justin stared at the reflection in the mirror, slack jawed as he watched Brian walking out of the stall behind one of the theater’s ushers. “Brian?” He felt a surge of jealousy enrage him as he took in Brian’s flushed cheeks.

“No, it’s Trent! Can you hear me, Justin?"

The usher glanced at Justin with an evil smirk before bolting out of the bathroom.

“You forgot to wash your hands,” Brian called after him, unable to look at the destroyed expression on Justin’s face as he stood beside him to wash his own hands.

“The fucking building is gone,” Trent said. “It collapsed!”

Justin’s attention went back to the phone call. “What did you just say?”

“The building, it collapsed, Justin,” Trent said, his voice shaky and barely heard over the sound of sirens in the background.

“Oh my god!” Justin gasped, rushing out of the bathroom. “Are you kidding me?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“I wish I was. I’m standing here looking at it. It’s gone. The whole fucking thing has collapsed.”

“Oh god! This can’t be happening. It can’t!” Justin had tunnel vision and his knees buckled.

“Justin!” Brian had been right behind Justin and grabbed the man and pulled him upright. “What’s going on?”

The anger Justin felt toward Brian came roaring back as he felt the man’s touch; the feeling strengthened him. He pushed away from Brian and ran out of the cinema. “What the fuck happened?” he yelled into the phone.

“I don’t know. But it’s gone. The whole fucking thing is rubble!” Trent told him.

“What the fuck is going on?” Brian asked again, running up beside Justin.

Justin could barely face Brian. He just ordered, “Take me home now!”

“You can’t get too close,” Trent told him. “I’m about a block away. On the corner of Fuller and Tremont.”

“Fuck! I’ll be there in a minute.” He hung up his phone and practically ran to Brian’s car.

“Tell me what’s going on,” Brian said in a pleading tone he didn’t often use as he caught up with Justin.

“If you won’t take me home then I’ll call a fucking cab!” Justin warned.

“I’ll fucking take you,” Brian said, unlocking the ‘Vette. “But you need to tell me what happened.”

Justin hopped into the car and once Brian got in, he growled at him, “I’m not telling you shit. You don’t fucking care about me anyway, so what the fuck does it matter?”

Brian started the engine and peeled out of the parking space, gunning it for Justin’s apartment. He was completely lost and freaking out about what he should say or do. “Did something happen to your Mom or Molly?” he asked in a soft voice.

“No.” Justin doubled over on himself and felt the world spinning. “Pull over,” he gasped. “I’m going to puke.”

Brian made it into a spot that was reserved for buses only, Justin threw open the door and started heaving his guts. Brian’s concern grew even more as he heard Justin’s whimpering. He slowly reached out and put his hand on his back but Justin pushed him away.

“Don’t touch me,” he said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of the black sweater. He tore it off and threw it onto the floorboard. “I’m done. You can drive now!”

Brian didn’t want to drive. He didn’t want to go anywhere until Justin told him who had called and what they had said to upset him so much. He knew that Justin was pissed at him for seeing him with the usher, which, logically, he had no right to be angry about, but something much worse had happened. “Tell me what is going on, Justin.”

“Drive me home and you’ll see,” Justin said cryptically, wiping the tears off his face.

A bus honked behind Brian, prompting him to weave back into traffic. Justin stared out the window in a daze for the next couple of blocks.

“Go up the alley by your building,” Justin directed in a scratchy voice as they neared the turn for Tremont. “We can’t get through.”

Brian listened to Justin’s directions, figuring that Justin also thought there was a wreck on Tremont, since the sounds of sirens were blasting through the air. As he pulled the vehicle to the end of the alley, he saw why it was that they couldn’t get through. He realized what the phone call must have been about.

In a flurry, Justin threw open his door and started running toward a crowd of people, many of whom were tenants of the building. He didn’t notice Brian running after him until he felt the man’s hand on his shoulder.

“Justin!”

Justin spun to face Brian and pushed on his shoulders. “Just go. This doesn’t concern you. I don’t concern you. We aren’t friends. We aren’t lovers. So just leave me alone!”

“I’m not fucking leaving you alone!” Brian ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “Christ! What the fuck are you going to do?”

“Leave me alone, Brian. I don’t need you here.”

“Justin!” Trent grabbed Justin’s arm and pulled him into a hug. “Jesus. I can’t fucking believe this.”

“Trent! Is there… is there any way that anything has survived?” Justin asked, his tears spilling over again.

“I don’t think so,” Trent whispered. “Look at it.”

“I’ve lost everything,” Justin said, taking in the crumbled structure. “I’ve lost everything.”

Brian grabbed Justin around his waist and turned him to face him. “Not everything.”

“Who are <i>you</i>?” Trent asked.

“He’s just my stalker,” Justin spat, extracting himself from Brian’s arms. He grabbed onto Trent’s hand and walked with him closer to the group of people he recognized as his neighbors.

<center>~~~~~~~~~~</center>

“Michael!” Brian yelled for his friend as he entered Red Cape Comics.

“He’s in the back,” Hunter told him from behind the counter. He wondered what crisis Brian was in now, he looked like shit.

“Michael!” Brian yelled again, ignoring Hunter and the customers who were looking at him strangely.

Michael ran out from the storage closet. “What’s going on?” he asked, walking quickly toward Brian.

“You’ve got to go see Justin,” Brian said. “Now. Come on, I’ll drive you.”

“Why?” Michael asked, an icy chill zapping down his spine. “Did something happen to him?”

“That fucking shit building he was living in fell down!” Brian grabbed onto Michael’s arm and pulled him toward the doorway. “Let’s go!”

“Is he hurt?” Michael asked fearfully.

“He was with me at the movies when it happened,” Brian said, opening the shop door.

“Hunter, watch the store,” Michael called out before the door closed behind him.

“Thank fucking God he was with me and not in that piece of shit building.” Brian walked around to the driver’s side and got in the car. “You can hardly tell there was a building there,” he added once Michael got in beside him. “I don’t know if there are casualties, I didn’t stay long enough to see, but at least he’s okay.”

Before Michael could get his seatbelt on, Brian zoomed off. “Why aren’t you with Justin? Where is he?”

“A lot of the tenants are standing across the street from it, that’s where I dropped him off.”

Michael knew there had to be a reason Brian was avoiding his question. “What the fuck did you do? Tell me!”

“It doesn’t matter what I did. He doesn’t want me there but…”

“But he wants <i>me</i> there to lean on? Come the fuck on,” Michael grit out. “Stop trying to bullshit me, Brian.”

Brian looked over at Michael and became acutely aware that he sounded more like Debbie than himself. This revelation wasn’t too shocking, but he realized he’d better tell Michael before Justin did. “I didn’t <i>do</i> anything to Justin. To be clear, we are friends, that is all.”

Michael crossed his arms and glared at Brian. “Right.”

“We are! It isn’t my fault that seeing me with a trick made him realize how insane his rule about not fucking me actually is.”

“You ditched him in the theater to go fuck a trick and he caught you?” Michael shook his head and groaned, “Brian, you really are a prick.”

“Are you really that surprised?” Brian asked.

“Yeah, I am. I thought you liked him.”

“He’s the one that doesn’t want to fuck me. I’ve made my intentions known from the beginning so don’t act like I’m the one at fault.”

“Well you didn’t have to fuck some trick while you were in the middle of watching a movie with him,” Michael pointed out. “Jesus, Brian, couldn’t you have at least waited until the movie was over?”

Brian couldn’t wait. He honestly couldn’t, but he would rather Michael think of him as an asshole than try to explain something he didn’t understand. He wasn’t going to tell Michael that the moment he got a glimpse at Justin through the crack in the stall door, his heart had constricted painfully and he’d pushed the usher away, wanting no part of the mouth sucking his dick. His thoughts were brought back to the present as he spotted large crowds of people milling about the sidewalks. “Look.” He pulled the car into the alley and pointed to his right at the collapsed structure.

“Holy fuck!” Michael gasped. “It’s completely demolished!”

Brian could see Justin still standing with Trent, Justin’s arm slung around the guy’s waist. “Make sure he calls his Mom and….”

“I’ll take care of him,” Michael said, opening his door. “Want me to call you later?”

Brian shrugged in answer and Michael took it as one before getting out. He watched as Michael walked over to Justin, tapped him on his shoulder and seconds later he had Justin clinging to him. More foreign feelings prickled around in his stomach and he found himself biting his lip, holding back….something. Something big, so big that Brian couldn’t wrap his head around what exactly it was.
 

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