Queer as Folk: The Alternative

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Disclaimer: Queer as Folk and the used lyrics or quotes in this fanfiction belong to their respective owners.

Summary:

The actions take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Justin Taylor is a sixteen year old runaway who has been living on the street for a few weeks. He ran away from a violent home in hope to have a better life but fate has its own plans.

Brian Kinney is twenty-six years old and the owner of the advertising company Kinnetic. He tries to pretend to be a cold and obnoxious person when it comes to business but those who are his friends and family know better. Throughout all of his adult life he keeps on trying to ignore the fact that his childhood and early teenager years were filled with violence and heartache due to having an alcoholic father and an uncaring mother who couldn't accept who he was.

What happens when Brian finds Justin?

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Chapter 01: Streets Of Life

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When you are young you usually think that you can conquer the world but if you are sixteen and on the street that is another story. Sadly that was Justin Taylor's reality.

It had been two weeks since the young boy had ran away from the retched place he used to call "home". He still had a hard time believing and accepting that he had to stay alive after all that had happened in his short life but he was certain that the choice he had made to leave that house was a good one. Ironically as it was, being on the street proved to be one hell of a lot better place to be than being under the same roof as his so called parent. Molested and beaten by his father, abandoned by his mother and sister, Justin had only himself to rely on ever since an early age so when he took the first step out of the door step he felt relief wash over him.

He already knew that the world was a cruel place but still he hoped that it couldn't be worse than being a domestic violence and sexual abuse victim each and every day. The teen was tired of bleeding, of pleading and never being heard, of being humiliated for simply being in the same house as Craig Taylor.

After the first few days out on the street his greatest fear became the thought of being found and brought back "home". Justin knew that he was only a sixteen year old and that gave his only remaining parent full custody rights over him so hiding turned main priority. The young boy knew that he was clever enough to remain well hidden but he also knew that the cops could always find him if they really wanted.

The thoughts of finding a job and a place to stay started to surface soon after. Justin knew that he would need a parental permission for most legal jobs and the idea of being a hustler sent shivers down his spine. The only option was staying at homeless shelters but he was sure that his age and even younger appearance would attract some social worker and that would draw a lot of problems for him. He also knew that his father had the reputation of a respected citizen and no one would believe Justin's words because he was the runaway who made his parent worried.

The only thing left was to stay in the alley he found as a hiding place.

...

Craig Taylor was an ambitious man who went after his goals but he was also a man who had serious anger management issues. He married Jennifer Taylor when he was twenty-five years old and two years later had his first child with her – a son that they named Justin. Their family was considered to be a stereotypical one if not for Craig's occasional yelling and mean remarks.

Seven years later their daughter Molly was born. After her birth Craig went mentally unstable for a short period of time due to a lot of stress. During those few weeks something within the family happened, something that should have remained a dark secret.

The real tragedy began when Justin was twelve and his father's company went nearly bankrupt. The man began to take all of his frustrations out on his family. Things went from bad to worse and that continued for the next four years till Jennifer, Justin and Molly ran away. During those years Jennifer tried to protect her children as best as she could but the result was her reaching a state of being completely broken.

One day after Craig received a decline for a loan he went rampant and the shown anger and violence made Jennifer fear for her and Molly's lives. As soon as the man went out of the house she packed the most needed of belongings and left a note for Justin who was currently at school.

When the then fifteen year old boy returned home he found the whole place in chaos – everything was a mess, no object was on or in its rightful place.

"Your mother has left and has taken your sister with her. They abandoned us", he heard his father say in a drunken voice.

"Are you going to abandon me, too? Tell me boy!"

"No...No...I wouldn't..."

And that was when the punches and kicks began but what they turned in to was unexpected to Justin. He suddenly felt his trousers being pulled down and then felt even more pain...

After that he was confined within his room and had no access to the world outside. At some point he understood that his father had finally lost everything and that explained in a twisted way why he had turned the young boy into an outlet for all his frustration and anger.

After four months Justin had become sickly pale and looked unhealthily slim so he begged Craig to at least let him walk around the house with the promise that he wouldn't try to escape. The teen knew that his father was in need of serious mental help but kept those thoughts to himself, knowing well what would happen if he voiced his opinion. With his new found "freedom" he made a plan and two months later he was out on the street.

The first night out in the cold was the hardest for Justin due to the fear and insecurity that raged in his mind. When he decided to leave "home" for good, something his mother and sister had done six months prior, he thought of taking the most necessary of things – he took some food and bottled water, the money he had been saving since he had twelve, some clothes, his toothbrush and toothpaste, a hair brush, a couple of blankets and a pillow.

That night may have been tough but Justin felt in peace. He knew that for at least awhile he wouldn't have to deal with being used as a human toilet during the night nor that he would be used as a punching bag the next day by the man known as his father.

The teen's body had been mistreated but what was truly damaged was his very soul. He feared being around a lot of people, he feared that strangers would want to do sexual things to him against his willor maybe even kill him.

During that same first night the young boy knew that the only place in Pittsburgh where he could be fairly safe was Liberty Avenue – the part of the city where its gay village was situated. By now he doubted that he would ever be intimate with a woman in his life.

When Justin reached the beginning of the avenue he read a sign - Tremont Str. There he found a Georgian style brick building and next to it an alley that looked to be a good hiding place since it gave a good view of who came or went and had a back exit.

He took out his blankets, covered himself in them and curled up in the corner, trying to fall asleep.

...

On his first morning out on the street Justin decided to explore Liberty Avenue.

He found out that the few working joints were the clubs down the street and the flamboyantly decorated Liberty Diner, after all it was only 5 A.M. Diners were a good way to spend less money and get a lot of food, something that was in Justin's advantage, so the teen decided to check it out. When he walked in with his extra large and fully duffel bag he was glad that there were only four people in there and one of them being a waitress. Said waitress had a kitschy yet lovable appearance and when she started a conversation with Justin he instantly like her. Her name was Debbie.

For the past two weeks Justin came to the diner at around 6 A.M. with the statement that he was grabbing a bite before going to school. Of course he had an ulterior motive – only around that hour the diner was almost empty and that allowed him to keep his panic attacks under control.

"Hey Sunshine. How are you?"

"I'm fine", he casually smiled at her.

"Your usual?"

Justin nodded and she walked away to put in his order. He was occupying the last booth at the far end of the diner, where from he was almost invisible. When Debbie walked back to Justin, she noticed that he was paler than usual and a lot skinnier than she remembered him to be and that was very skinny. All though he was wearing a black sweatshirt and baggy jeans, he seemed as if he had lost weight.

"Are you sure you're okay?", she asked as she sat down and put her hand on top of his. She didn't expect him to pull his hand away in the startled manner he did nor did she fully believe his statement.

"I'm fine, I just have a lot of tests lately and that's stressing me."

"You know you can talk to me about everything and anything."

"I know, Deb. I know."

After finishing with his breakfast Justin told Debbie that he was going to school and then back "home." What she didn't know was that "home" was a cold alley.

…

At twenty-six Brian Kinney was everything that most people dreamt to be throughout their whole lives – he was handsome, he was smart, he was a genius when it came to advertising and at his age he already had a company of his own. Of course his life didn't start out as a fairytale.

Brian had the luck to be born to Joan and Jack Kinney, two individuals who weren't meant to be parents. Ever since he had thirteen, Brian had to deal with Jack's kicks and punches and Joan's verbal abuse. His parents hated each other and it seamed that he was the perfect scapegoat for everything that happened.

At fifteen Brian met Michael Novotny who was two years older than him and a class mate of his sister. Clare wasn't the best example of a big sister but at least she didn't blame him for her problems and she was also the only person in the Kinney household who showed him some kind of an affection. She usually stayed out of the house because she was tired of listening to Joan and Jack's quarrels but when she was around she was the one tending to Brian's wounds.

Clare was seventeen and thought of taking her little brother away with her when she turned eighteen but one day when the door bell rang and Brian opened the door and found a dark haired boy standing there everything changed.

"Is Clare home? I really need some math notes she told me she had?"

"I'll get her."

A few seconds later the seventeen year old girl was talking to the brunet.

"Michael! I have to ask you something before I hand you the notes."

"Yes?"

"Are you coming to Christy's party this Friday?"

"No, my mother is dragging me to some PFLAG event on Saturday morning."

"I really don't know how you can stand or even handle her."

"Trust me...being embarrassed turned in to my second nature but she's my mother and I love her so no chance on ditching her."

"Well I hope the notes help you", she then realized Brian was there and listening, "Oh and Michael...This is my little brother, Brian. Can you take care of him this Friday since I'll be at the party?"

"You are sooooooooo irresponsible but sure unless he's scared of queens and fairies."

"Oh, Michael don't even try to be funny since I'm sure he knows what we are talking about."

And then Brian spoke.

"Yes I know what you are talking about and sis...I might be gay..."

Both Clare and Michael stared at him stupefied.

Later that week Brian met Debbie and Vic, Micheal's mother and uncle. Slowly the fifteen year old became best friends with Michael and at some point had the idea that he could skip some high school grades and have a college scholarship that would allow him to have a future career.

That idea turned out to be brilliant.

Brian finished high school at seventeen and got into Carnegie-Mellon in the same year. He participated in all debates, classes and projects that were available. That won him extra points which allowed him to do an internship at the Vanguard advertising agency in Pittsburgh during his second year of college. His original ideas and professional attitude gained him a permanent position at said company and four years later he was a partner. At twenty-five and with the encouragement of his sister, best friend, surrogate mother and newly-gained friend Lindsay he decided to have a company of his own. It was an uneasy start but after winning a campaign for HIV patients medication things went stable and Kinnetic turned Vanguard's main competition. A year later, Brian's company was the absolute leader on Pittsburgh's advertising market.

...

For two weeks Brian had been hearing strange noises coming from the alley next to his building. Tremont Street was considered to be a good and quiet street so each and every sound that was out of the ordinary would and could be heard. He ignored the turmoil during the first nights but after a week had passed and the noise remained he realized that something was seriously wrong and became slightly alerted.

At some point he started to ask his friends if they knew something about weird occurrences that were mentioned on the news but the answer would always be "No".

By the end of the second week he got a call from Debbie that got his attention. When he got to the diner he got surprised by the fact that the usually nonchalant woman was acting nervous.

"Deb, what's going on?"

"A couple of minutes ago Sunshine was here and he looked paler and skinnier than ever before. What was disturbing was that he wore the same sweatshirt and jeans that he had been wearing for the past two weeks. He also had that ridiculously large stuffed duffel bag of his. I don't know what's going on but if I'm connecting the dots right then your alley problem might get solved."

"Deb...wait! Who's Sunshine?"

"His name is Justin Taylor. He is sixteen, has blond hair and blue eyes. His smile can lit up a whole room so I call him "Sunshine". He always seems nervous and stressed out so if you see him be careful not to startle him."

„You mean?"

"I'm not sure but I think I am right. Tremont is just five minutes away from here."

"So what else can you tell me about that kid?"

"He reminds me of you when you were fifteen."

Those words sent a chill down Brian's spine. He instinctively knew that he had to find the boy known under the name of Justin Taylor as soon as possible.

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