MY SISTER, HER LOVER, MY EX AND HIS BROTHER....

Craig & John Paul

John Paul had got as far as the fountain in the middle of the village by the time Craig caught up with him.

"John Paul...John Paul!" the younger man halted in his tracks as Craig put a hand out to stop him, turning on the balls of his feet until they were facing each other. "John Paul I'm sorry....I'm sorry you had to find out like that". Craig said sincerely. John Paul laughed wryly, shrugging the brunette's hand from his arm.

"I didn't though did I? I didn't have to find out like that" his voice caught in his throat when he thought about everything he'd seen and heard in the last half hour. "You knew and you didn't tell me". John Paul's accusation cut through Craig like a knife, searing across his flesh, a cold stab of fear when he saw the look of contempt in his lovers blazing blue eyes. "I trusted you Craig....why would you keep that from me?" his voice broke as he fought to keep the tears at bay. Craig frowned, running his hands through his hair in frustration....at himself, Michaela, Ben...the whole bloody fucked up situation in general.

"What was I supposed to say? What could you have done eh? Your sister's getting married to James, how was I supposed to fuck that up?" Craig ran his hands over his face, his eyes pleading with John Paul to understand the predicament he'd been in. "You were walking her down the aisle for goodness sake, could you still have done that if I'd told you?" John Paul shook his head, knowing Craig was right but still feeling the humiliation coursing through him at Ben's words, the knowing looks of pity and sympathy on people's faces imprinted on his mind from when he ran outside.

"You let me make a fool of myself in front of everyone" he cried, his voice wavering as he gestured at Craig, pointing his finger at him as tears sprang from his eyes. Why? Why did Craig have to know and not tell him? It had all been going so well. "You...you could've just told me" he shook his head and Craig reached out, stunned when John Paul batted his hand away harshly. "You kept it from me but then....I guess I shouldn't be surprised, you keep a part of yourself back anyway, it's what you do". Craig's eyes lifted to John Paul's, locking on the blond's as the bitter words spilled from his mouth. Something inside of Craig told him not to react, this was just John Paul's way of dealing with what he'd just heard, it was his reaction to his sister and Ben's betrayal, it couldn't be how he really felt but another part of him knew that John Paul never would have said those words unless he was thinking them in the first place.

"You're judging me? That's a good one" Craig snorted derisively when he saw the look of disbelief and surprise in John Paul's eyes. "I've never pretended to be anyone other than who I am with you....you've seen the real me all this time" he held his hands out in an open gesture of honesty. "You're the one who brought me here to play a part....to pretend to be your boyfriend and now you're the one running away." Craig pointed out. John Paul looked away guiltily, his jaw locking in place as he listened to Craig speak, his usually warm, rich voice now cold and unfeeling. Craig rubbed the back of his neck before throwing his hands up in a sign of frustration.

"You know what, go ahead John Paul....hate me!" He shook his head, the full, lush lips that John Paul loved so much set in a firm, unwavering line. "Hell, maybe you'll hold onto the breakdown of this relationship long enough to ruin the next one." Shrugging his shoulders, no longer able to bare feeling the burning intensity of John Paul's accusatory gaze, Craig walked away, his hands firmly in his pockets as he rounded the corner next to the Loft and disappeared out of sight. Sighing in frustration John Paul sat on the cold stone wall surrounding the fountain. Loosening his tie, his head in his hands he thought about what Craig had said.

Was he right? Was John Paul just looking for an excuse to bail out of their relationship before he could get himself hurt? If that was the case then it hadn't worked because nothing he'd ever felt when he and Ben split up was like this overwhelming feeling of loss and anguish that he was feeling now. Craig's words stung him. He didn't hate Craig, he could never hate him....he loved him, had only ever loved him.

Tears continued to flow freely from his eyes as he thought of everything that'd just happened. He hated what Ben and Michaela had done but....in the end it had all brought him to Craig, hadn't it? If Ben had never split up with him because of his fling with Michaela then John Paul never would've felt the need to go out there and find a pretend partner and he never would've met Craig. Surely that's what was important....right? Alright so he couldn't believe that his little sister would do that to him and it'd take some doing to get over it....to trust her again but thanks to her Craig had come into his life....had become his life and that's what mattered most.

Michaela & James

Michaela hesitated for a second before lifting her hand and knocking on the vestry door. She felt sick, sick to her stomach, not just because of what she was about to do but because of what she'd already done....throwing away the trust of the two men, the two people she loved most in this world. James opened it with a flourish, a beaming smile on his face which disappeared on seeing his fiance standing there, in her gown, biting her lip, the red wax of the cherry coloured gloss no longer visible, seeing that he knew something was wrong. Was this it? Had Michaela finally figured out that someone like him....staid, safe, secure wasn't the man for her? He knew before she spoke that this was the end, that she'd finally woken up and smelled the coffee and realised that there were so many better men, more exciting men out there for her....it was inevitable that it would come to this.

"Hey darling....remember it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding" he tried to keep his tone light, teasing, belying what he was actually feeling inside. He covered his eyes, more so that he wouldn't have to look into her eyes when she finally dealt that blow he'd been waiting months to hear than because he thought seeing her was bad luck.

Making her way over to stand in front of James, Michaela lifted her arms, her small delicate hands barely covering his as she drew them away from his face a mixture of regret and shame written on her face. Frowning at his fiance, taking her hands in his, James drew her over to one of the pews that lined the vestry walls.

"Michaela? What's....going on?" He asked tentatively, knowing even before she opened her mouth that he didn't really want to hear what she had to say.

"James....honey....there's something I need to tell you before you marry me..."

Craig

Shit!!! Shit shit shit! 'Why the fuck hadn't he just told him?' He stood outside the house where he'd spent the last few days building up memories and he cursed himself....and John Paul. He'd fucked up not telling his lover about Ben and Michaela, he knew that but he'd hoped that John Paul would understand, see it from his point of view but he hadn't. Oh no, the stubborn bastard had thrown everything in his face, once more making him feel like a whore. And he was wrong, Craig thought, never once had he kept a part of himself back...at least not since that first night.

Yeah so he knew he had a persona that he used at work but being with his pretend boyfriend at the park, the affection he'd shown when they played football and then afterward when he'd sat in front of the fire with John Paul nestled in his arms....that'd been real. He thought about last night, laying in John Paul's arms in the afterglow of sex, remembered the way it'd made him feel complete, basking in the joy of it all, silently making plans for the future...for their future.

He couldn't believe that he'd finally found someone worth loving, someone he wanted to give his heart to whose heart he could hold in return only to lose it like this, through the actions of a selfish ex boyfriend who John Paul thought was 'nice'.

'Well that was it', Craig thought as he stepped through the unlocked door, he could no longer hang around here, seeing those beautiful azure eyes looking at him with betrayal and sadness as he continued to play a part for the family, a part that up until minutes ago had turned real. He made his way into John Paul's bedroom, smiling at the memories that flashed through his mind when he looked at the bed, the duvet and pillows still throw haphazardly around from earlier in the day when the two of them and Spike had ended up fighting over the last slice of toast.

He gathered his belongings, stuffing them back into his designer luggage as hastily as possible, not wanting to get caught by one of John Paul's sisters and having to explain to them that John Paul was better off without him around to complicate things. Loosening his tie he cast one last glance around before taking an envelope from the zipped pocket of his Kenneth Cole travel bag, laying it on the pillow where John Paul was sure to see it.

At least this way he'd know that, in Craig's mind, he wasn't just a job.

Ben & James

"You fucking arsehole!!! Sorry Father" James flew from the vestry and launched himself at his brother, casting a quick apology towards the shocked priest who he was supposed to be making his marriage vows in front of right about now. Michaela fought to keep them apart, tugging at James' hand, tears flowing down her cheeks as she tried to stop her...fiance? from killing his brother.

"James please leave it....pleasee!" Michaela's pleas fell on deaf ears as the older man tore into his brother.

Hearing her words as she told him about the one night stand had fractured his heart and hearing her plead with him to give them another chance had almost broken it but when he'd asked her who it was with, hesitantly but unable not to, he'd never....ever in a million years expected her to say Ben's name...his brother. She'd whispered it softly, her eyes flicking from his to the floor and back again, her bouquet clutched in her fingers like it was a lifeline to their wedding, as though not letting go of it would mean him not letting her go. Regret had tinged her voice and he knew she was sorry but it didn't stop him from shaking his head, telling her he needed time, he didn't know what he wanted anymore. Then a rage had taken hold of him and for the first time in his life he'd been unable to control himself, stop himself from leaving the vestry and confronting Ben.

"What is it with you?" he asked incredulously, taking a swipe at his brother but only succeeding in making himself look like a right prat as he missed his mark. Ben actually had the audacity to laugh....nervously but laugh all the same. Was this just a fucking joke to him? He'd fucked up his own life because he couldn't keep his dick in his pants so now he had to screw around with everyone else's? Hearing Michaela tell him about them...together on their holiday while he and John Paul had slept soundly in their rooms had made him feel ill but she'd at least had the courage to look him in the eye and tell him, apologising time and time again as he'd looked at her in disdain.

"What? You couldn't make John Paul happy so you decided to mess with everyone else too?" He glared at his brother, his hands bunched into fists to stop himself lashing out any more. This wasn't like him, he never got physically violent with people but....fuck his brother made him angry. It was bad enough seeing the way he'd treated John Paul when they were together, making the younger man feel worthless but this....he'd just come the closest he'd ever come to actually hurting someone and it made him feel sick. He still wanted to punch him though. Then it struck him.

"Does John Paul know?" he looked around at the faces who surrounded him, friends and family of the blond man, someone that James considered to be a damn good friend, someone who he'd seen become a shadow of his former self whilst dating his brother. James had to admit at the time, when Ben had split up with John Paul, he'd been glad, relieved even, the younger man deserved someone so much better than his brother, he deserved a better taste of love than what he'd seen his brother provide. Still....he hadn't known that John Paul was better off because his boyfriend had screwed his sister and Ben had only dumped him in the hope that he and Michaela had a future, that was even lower than James could've imagined.

"I said does he know?" James looked at the surrounding faces, some staring astounded at the debacle they were watching, others simply regretful, sad that what should have been such a happy, momentous occasion had descended into chaos. James cast his gaze around, still unable to pick up the shock of blond hair he associated with his soon to be brother in law or the dark, brooding, handsome figure of his boyfriend. Did the absence of both of them mean that John Paul didn't know or did it mean that he did know but that Craig was with him, comforting him, showing him what it should be like to be loved and not that crap public display of affection that Ben used to dole out. It was Mercedes who finally stepped forward.

"He told him" she gestured with an absent wave of her beautifully manicured hand towards Ben. Turning once more to look at his brother he lunged forward, grasping him by the lapels of his formal jacket, falling forward as Ben jerked away, making a fast, hasty exit towards the back of the church. He was almost out and home free when Spike stuck his foot out, causing the object off all the trouble to trip, his hand grabbing onto the other brunettes jacket to break his fall.

"Tosser". Spike shook his head, controlling his desire to smack Ben one in honour of his friend, watching with delight as James caught up with his brother outside. Unfortunately Ben was too fast and as James grasped a fistful of his jacket, Ben shrugged out of it, legging it across the nearby field in the direction of Chester, James hot on his heals as he chased him.

"It was just one night...let's talk about this!" Spike heard Ben call over his shoulder at his older brother who ran behind.

"You shagged my fiance!"

"She wasn't your fiance!" The voices started to fade as they got further into the distance.

"What about John Paul? You treated him like shit!"

"Yeah well....he doesn't love me anyway....he likes that other bloke....Craig" Spike chuckled to himself, pleased at least to hear the jealousy that was in his friends former boyfriends voice.

"Good! Because you don't deserve him, you don't....." the men finally ran so far away that Spike couldn't hear the bickering anymore.

Spike & John Paul

Turning around to go and find Jacqui he came face to face with his friend who looked like a man in mourning as he approached from the direction of the village, hands stuffed in his pockets, a forlorn expression covering his face.

"Come ere" he drew John Paul into a hug, pulling him in tighter when he felt the blond man start to tremble, his shoulders shaking as he began sobbing into Spike's neck, wetting the collar of his crisp, white dress shirt. He rubbed his friends back, his hand going beneath John Paul's jacket holding him closer until his tears subsided. Pulling back Spike wiped the tears from the blond's face, holding him at arms length until he started to relax and looked at him.

"He's a prick and he's not worth any more of your tears, you get me?" John Paul gazed back, his brow furrowed and his lips quaking as a fresh torrent of tears beginning to stream down his face.

"Hey....come on....you weren't even this upset when he broke up with you two years ago, why now?" John Paul licked his lips, swiping at his face with the heals of his hands, trying but failing to find words.

"Is it Michaela? She is sorry you know...she went looking for you but couldn't find you". John Paul shook his head, the earlier events with Michaela and Ben the furthest thing on his mind. Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled out the note and the envelope stuffed with three thousand pounds in cash that he'd found on his pillow.

"It's Craig....he's gone".