~Chapter 7~
Brian got back to Pittsburgh late on Wednesday, so it wasn't until Thursday evening that he had a chance to connect with his friends over a quick bite at the diner before heading over to Babylon. Privately, Brian was glad to see them, but it wouldn't do to let them know that, so before stepping into the diner, Brian put on his best bored expression. Michael, Emmett, and Ted were already occupying their usual booth when Brian walked in and elegantly slid onto the seat next to Michael.
"Hey." he said by way of greeting.
"Hey. How was LA?" asked Michael.
"Tedious."
"And the men?" Emmett moved directly to the most important question.
"Mediocre."
"Happy to be home?" Ted asked.
"What? Happy to be back in the Pitts? No one is happy about that unless they have a death wish."
"Then why don't you move?" Brian decided to ignore the last question, turning his attention to the potential bed mates for the night.
That was when Brian saw Justin serving a nearby table. Brian silently cursed himself for forgetting that this was one of Justin's nights to work. He hadn't prepared himself for that. Still, he couldn't quite take his eyes of the teen. As he watched the younger man, Brian became vaguely aware that something was off with Justin. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely different about him. At the risk of never hearing the end of it, Brian put the question to the guys.
"What's up with Justin?"
"What do you mean?" they were all looking at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra head, which wasn't too surprising since, following the break- up, Brian had very nearly killed anyone who mentioned Justin's name.
"I don't know. He just seems different."
"Maybe he got a new haircut." suggested Emmett. Brian rolled his eyes.
"Not something like that. It's bigger than that."
"Since when did you develop such an interest in the Boy Wonder?"
"I don't really care. I was just asking."
"Could it be that someone is missing his boy toy?" asked Ted happily. It always thrilled him when he had an opportunity to taunt Brian Kinney.
"Could it be that someone wants to lose the balls he allegedly posses?" Brian asked back. "Though I was never convinced that they exist."
Brian went into pout mode, and as the boys had no real desire to risk the family jewels they let the issue slide, returning instead to their earlier conversation while Brian sulked. Trying to be subtle, Brian continued to watch Justin as he moved about the restaurant. The longer he watched him, the more he became convinced that something had changed. All of a sudden, Brian realized what was missing. It was Justin's smile. He would smile at the customers, but it wasn't his usual bright sunshine smile. The smile he was giving seemed forced. As Brian was contemplating this discovery, he noticed Justin stumble slightly and grab onto the back of a booth for support. That was unusual. Brian waited until Justin disappeared into the back of the restaurant before he got up and went over to Debbie who was standing behind the counter.
"Hey Deb." he said.
"Well, if it isn't the anti-Christ." she retorted.
"It's good to see you too, and by the way, my trip was fine."
"Brian, as you can see, we're really busy tonight, and since I'm willing to bet that you didn't come over to chat, why don't you just tell me what you want."
"What's up with Justin?"
"Why do you want to know?" she asked as she tensed.
"I was just wondering. He seems a little off."
"He's fine." she replied quickly.
"Are you sure? Look, if he needs anything. . ."
"I told you, he's fine. And what he needs is peace and quiet, so just leave him alone." Debbie walked away to wait on another customer. Brian was slightly stunned by the apparent anger in her voice. He sensed that Debbie wasn't being entirely forthright with him, but if she said that Justin was fine it would be easy enough to believe her. Brian went to sit back down, pushing all thoughts of Justin out of his head.
A few days later, Brian found himself back at the diner. Since his conversation with Debbie, Brian had tried to ignore the worried feeling he got every time he thought of Justin, which was all too often for comfort. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he could tell that something was wrong. The words of that crack-pot fortune teller kept coming back to him, haunting him when he tried to sleep. That was why he came back late Monday afternoon. He knew that the diner would be fairly empty at that hour.
"He's not here." said Debbie as she watched Brian scan the room for a certain blonde young man.
"Who's not here?" he asked, taking a seat at the counter.
"That act might work with some people, but it doesn't work with me. Justin's not here. I made him take the day off." Debbie bit her lip when she realized what she had said.
"So something is wrong with him."
"No, he's just been working so hard lately that he needed a break."
"You're lying to me. I can tell."
"Why do you care? It's not like he's a part of your life anymore."
"I can still ask."
"Do you care about him?" Brian was taken aback by the question and couldn't respond. "Fine, don't answer. I can see right through you Brian, and I always could. If you really do care about this kid, you'll listen to what I say and leave him alone. Like I told you before, he needs peace and quiet, and he doesn't need you fucking with his head."
"I don't fuck with his head."
"Yes you do. Don't give me that look, because you do. So, if you care about Justin you'll leave him alone. You owe him that much. Now, what do you want to order?"
"I'll have my usual." Brian glanced around the room one more time before coming to a decision. "To go."
Brian pulled up in front of Debbie's house feeling both foolish and determined. He knew that he should have listened to her and stayed away, but he couldn't. She had given away enough to confirm his suspicions that something was up. Brian had enough of Debbie's cryptic bullshit, so if she wouldn't tell him what was going on, he would have to get it from Justin directly. As he reached the front door, it opened to reveal Justin and Daphne standing there.
"Hey." Brian said to the teens.
Neither of them answered him. Instead, Daphne gave Justin a quick hug and glared at Brian for a moment before hurrying to her car. It looked like she had been crying. Justin had turned around and walked away, so Brian let himself in and shut the door.
"What's with women and their moods today?" Brian joked, feeling uncomfortable. Justin whipped around.
"What do you want?"
"I just came to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine, now please leave."
"You're not fine, and I'm not leaving till you tell me what's going on." he started to walk towards Justin.
"Don't touch me. Don't get any closer or I'll scream." warned Justin as he backed away from Brian.
"Don't be such a drama princess."
"I mean it. I'll scream."
"Okay, okay." Brian stopped and put his hands up. "Just tell me what's going on. I want the truth."
"The truth? You want the truth? I'm dying Brian! The trick who stayed to long is dying!" Justin was close to hysterical.
"What?" Brian felt like he had been punched in the stomach. All the air had left his lungs.
"Six months from now I'll be underground in a box, and you can forget all about me, pretend I never existed. Are you happy now?"
"Happy? Of course not. Justin I. . ."
"Get out!" interrupted Justin "I want you to leave."
"Justin, please."
"GET OUT NOW!" Justin screamed. He opened the front door and practically shoved Brian out the door before slamming and locking it.
Brian didn't know what to do. He felt as though the world had stopped turning. He had known that something was wrong, but he could never have imagined this. Had those dreams been a warning, a sign of what was to come? Brian had always enjoyed solitude, but suddenly he felt very alone. He would have to get used to the emptiness if what Justin said was true. Brian didn't even want to contemplate what a world without the young man would be like. In that instant, everything became clear to Brian. He could no more live without Justin than he could love without oxygen, but it seemed that he wouldn't have a choice. Brian felt very weak, and had to sit down on the steps before he collapsed. He couldn't stop shaking. How could Justin, his Justin, be dying? Brian put his head in his hands and tried not to cry.
Brian got back to Pittsburgh late on Wednesday, so it wasn't until Thursday evening that he had a chance to connect with his friends over a quick bite at the diner before heading over to Babylon. Privately, Brian was glad to see them, but it wouldn't do to let them know that, so before stepping into the diner, Brian put on his best bored expression. Michael, Emmett, and Ted were already occupying their usual booth when Brian walked in and elegantly slid onto the seat next to Michael.
"Hey." he said by way of greeting.
"Hey. How was LA?" asked Michael.
"Tedious."
"And the men?" Emmett moved directly to the most important question.
"Mediocre."
"Happy to be home?" Ted asked.
"What? Happy to be back in the Pitts? No one is happy about that unless they have a death wish."
"Then why don't you move?" Brian decided to ignore the last question, turning his attention to the potential bed mates for the night.
That was when Brian saw Justin serving a nearby table. Brian silently cursed himself for forgetting that this was one of Justin's nights to work. He hadn't prepared himself for that. Still, he couldn't quite take his eyes of the teen. As he watched the younger man, Brian became vaguely aware that something was off with Justin. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely different about him. At the risk of never hearing the end of it, Brian put the question to the guys.
"What's up with Justin?"
"What do you mean?" they were all looking at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra head, which wasn't too surprising since, following the break- up, Brian had very nearly killed anyone who mentioned Justin's name.
"I don't know. He just seems different."
"Maybe he got a new haircut." suggested Emmett. Brian rolled his eyes.
"Not something like that. It's bigger than that."
"Since when did you develop such an interest in the Boy Wonder?"
"I don't really care. I was just asking."
"Could it be that someone is missing his boy toy?" asked Ted happily. It always thrilled him when he had an opportunity to taunt Brian Kinney.
"Could it be that someone wants to lose the balls he allegedly posses?" Brian asked back. "Though I was never convinced that they exist."
Brian went into pout mode, and as the boys had no real desire to risk the family jewels they let the issue slide, returning instead to their earlier conversation while Brian sulked. Trying to be subtle, Brian continued to watch Justin as he moved about the restaurant. The longer he watched him, the more he became convinced that something had changed. All of a sudden, Brian realized what was missing. It was Justin's smile. He would smile at the customers, but it wasn't his usual bright sunshine smile. The smile he was giving seemed forced. As Brian was contemplating this discovery, he noticed Justin stumble slightly and grab onto the back of a booth for support. That was unusual. Brian waited until Justin disappeared into the back of the restaurant before he got up and went over to Debbie who was standing behind the counter.
"Hey Deb." he said.
"Well, if it isn't the anti-Christ." she retorted.
"It's good to see you too, and by the way, my trip was fine."
"Brian, as you can see, we're really busy tonight, and since I'm willing to bet that you didn't come over to chat, why don't you just tell me what you want."
"What's up with Justin?"
"Why do you want to know?" she asked as she tensed.
"I was just wondering. He seems a little off."
"He's fine." she replied quickly.
"Are you sure? Look, if he needs anything. . ."
"I told you, he's fine. And what he needs is peace and quiet, so just leave him alone." Debbie walked away to wait on another customer. Brian was slightly stunned by the apparent anger in her voice. He sensed that Debbie wasn't being entirely forthright with him, but if she said that Justin was fine it would be easy enough to believe her. Brian went to sit back down, pushing all thoughts of Justin out of his head.
A few days later, Brian found himself back at the diner. Since his conversation with Debbie, Brian had tried to ignore the worried feeling he got every time he thought of Justin, which was all too often for comfort. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he could tell that something was wrong. The words of that crack-pot fortune teller kept coming back to him, haunting him when he tried to sleep. That was why he came back late Monday afternoon. He knew that the diner would be fairly empty at that hour.
"He's not here." said Debbie as she watched Brian scan the room for a certain blonde young man.
"Who's not here?" he asked, taking a seat at the counter.
"That act might work with some people, but it doesn't work with me. Justin's not here. I made him take the day off." Debbie bit her lip when she realized what she had said.
"So something is wrong with him."
"No, he's just been working so hard lately that he needed a break."
"You're lying to me. I can tell."
"Why do you care? It's not like he's a part of your life anymore."
"I can still ask."
"Do you care about him?" Brian was taken aback by the question and couldn't respond. "Fine, don't answer. I can see right through you Brian, and I always could. If you really do care about this kid, you'll listen to what I say and leave him alone. Like I told you before, he needs peace and quiet, and he doesn't need you fucking with his head."
"I don't fuck with his head."
"Yes you do. Don't give me that look, because you do. So, if you care about Justin you'll leave him alone. You owe him that much. Now, what do you want to order?"
"I'll have my usual." Brian glanced around the room one more time before coming to a decision. "To go."
Brian pulled up in front of Debbie's house feeling both foolish and determined. He knew that he should have listened to her and stayed away, but he couldn't. She had given away enough to confirm his suspicions that something was up. Brian had enough of Debbie's cryptic bullshit, so if she wouldn't tell him what was going on, he would have to get it from Justin directly. As he reached the front door, it opened to reveal Justin and Daphne standing there.
"Hey." Brian said to the teens.
Neither of them answered him. Instead, Daphne gave Justin a quick hug and glared at Brian for a moment before hurrying to her car. It looked like she had been crying. Justin had turned around and walked away, so Brian let himself in and shut the door.
"What's with women and their moods today?" Brian joked, feeling uncomfortable. Justin whipped around.
"What do you want?"
"I just came to see how you were doing."
"I'm fine, now please leave."
"You're not fine, and I'm not leaving till you tell me what's going on." he started to walk towards Justin.
"Don't touch me. Don't get any closer or I'll scream." warned Justin as he backed away from Brian.
"Don't be such a drama princess."
"I mean it. I'll scream."
"Okay, okay." Brian stopped and put his hands up. "Just tell me what's going on. I want the truth."
"The truth? You want the truth? I'm dying Brian! The trick who stayed to long is dying!" Justin was close to hysterical.
"What?" Brian felt like he had been punched in the stomach. All the air had left his lungs.
"Six months from now I'll be underground in a box, and you can forget all about me, pretend I never existed. Are you happy now?"
"Happy? Of course not. Justin I. . ."
"Get out!" interrupted Justin "I want you to leave."
"Justin, please."
"GET OUT NOW!" Justin screamed. He opened the front door and practically shoved Brian out the door before slamming and locking it.
Brian didn't know what to do. He felt as though the world had stopped turning. He had known that something was wrong, but he could never have imagined this. Had those dreams been a warning, a sign of what was to come? Brian had always enjoyed solitude, but suddenly he felt very alone. He would have to get used to the emptiness if what Justin said was true. Brian didn't even want to contemplate what a world without the young man would be like. In that instant, everything became clear to Brian. He could no more live without Justin than he could love without oxygen, but it seemed that he wouldn't have a choice. Brian felt very weak, and had to sit down on the steps before he collapsed. He couldn't stop shaking. How could Justin, his Justin, be dying? Brian put his head in his hands and tried not to cry.