*looks in sheepishly*

Um, hi? So very sorry about the wait... eep! 3 months... way too long! Anyway, I got a job and while I was getting ideas, I wasn't getting time to actually write them down let alone type them. I sorry. I was lacking motivation at the time. And RL kicked in what with Christmas and everything...

So... I'm unemployed again (it was just a temp job I had for the Christmas rush, I wasn't fired or anything!) so I'm now looking for a job again but I have more time to write. Yay!

Thanks to everyone who has read/continued to read this or review it, alerted it and/or favourite it. I am eternally grateful for that.

On to the chapter...

CHAPTER 25

Jeff's face dropped into a deep frown when he, Evan and Phil reached their gate. They were all slightly out of breath and now that John was gone and they were getting called for their flight, it suddenly hit Jeff just how much he missed his boyfriend already and how much he loved him.

He dearly hoped that nothing went wrong on this trip home. If anything did, he wouldn't have John to support him and help him and he didn't feel comfortable with that. He planned on telling Matt about him and John but he would really have liked for John to be with him when he did.

He knew that Matt would be supportive – he was a gay man himself – but he still wished that John would be there. He knew that Matt would say something about the fact that Jeff was in love with John already, only a few days after breaking up with Beth.

And what if something happened between Matt and Evan? What if they did meet up? Jeff closed his eyes and sighed inwardly. Hopefully, he and Phil would be able to contain whatever it was.

After all the problems that he and Matt had faced this year, now that they were back on track he usually looked forward to seeing him. Not this time though. This time, he didn't know what to think. He didn't understand why Matt had broken up with Evan. He hoped to God that Matt hadn't been cheating like he and John suspected. If he was, he just didn't know what he'd do either. Should he tell their dad? Or should he just keep it to himself?

"Jeff. Jeff?"

He was jerked from his thoughts by someone calling his name. Looking around, his eyes settled on Phil. "Yeah?"

"We've got to board, man. Come on!"

"Oh, right, just coming," Jeff replied as he picked up his carry on and started to walk forward to the gate. He smiled weakly as he handed his boarding pass over to the lady at the desk.

"That's great, sir, thank you, Enjoy your flight," she said, handing the pass back to him after checking it.

Jeff walked over the bridge and on to the plane, just behind Phil. Not seeing Evan, he figured he was already on board and he was. Evan was at their seats storing his bag in the overhead locker.

Seeing his two friends, he smiled and grabbed the window seat. Jeff wasn't bothered; it wasn't like he'd never seen out an airplane window before. He let Phil sit in the middle seat while he put their bags away. Sitting down, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"You ok?"

Jeff opened his eyes and looked over at Phil and Evan who were looking at him concerned. "I'm fine guys. Just got a lot on my mind."

Jeff didn't pay attention to the safety demonstration and as soon as they'd taken off, took his iPod out of his pocket, shoved the earphones in and blasted some music. He probably would have stopped if he realised he was doing exactly the same as Matt had just two days beforehand.

Evan watched the safety demonstration with glazed eyes. He knew exactly what was included in the demonstration but felt that he should at least try to pay attention to it, just in case. As soon as the flight attendant stopped talking and went back behind her curtain, he pulled out his own iPod and put the ear buds in his ears, waiting for takeoff to start it up. If that wasn't an indication that he didn't want to talk, he didn't know was.

Phil always paid attention to the safety demonstrations on flights. What if something, however small, changed? If he hadn't listened to it, he might die or something and he didn't want that at all. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Evan was ignoring him again. What else was he supposed to think about what the younger man was doing? He'd been doing this all morning and it was grating on Phil's nerves. He hated the idea that he'd done something, anything, to alienate his friend while he was going through such a tough time. As the flight continued, Phil settled into his chair, pulled out a book and started to read.

Evan still didn't know what to think. He should have talked to Jeff to sound everything out and maybe help him get some perspective on this whole situation. He was sitting in his chair leaning against the wall, looking out the window for the most part but sometimes surreptitiously spying on Phil. He was just so confused. Was he lusting after his friend, his attached friend? Or was this his subconscious's way of telling him that he needed to get laid? That he needed to forget about Matt and move on with his life? He groaned internally. What the fuck was he supposed to do?

Jeff spent the flight thinking about what may or may not happen when the three of them got to Cameron. He had thought that the trip would be good for getting Phil's mind off of missing Adam and to give Evan something to do instead of moping around thinking about Matt. Yes, they were going to the same town that Matt lived in but none of them actually had to go see him. As far as he could tell, those plans had been working out so far. There was something else going on. Something between Phil and Evan and he was going to find out what it was. He was not spending his time at home tiptoeing over egg shells.

JHEBPBJHEBPB

At the end of the one and half hour flight, the three men were quiet as they got their stuff from the lockers and disembarked. They made their way over to baggage collection where they waited for their suitcases, which surprisingly all came out first.

The silence was broken as they grabbed their suitcases. "So, where to now, Jeff?" Evan asked.

"My car is in the car park. We'll just go get it and then we'll be on our way to Cameron and my house."

"Cool," Evan smiled as they started walking towards the exit, "I'm looking forward to this, getting my mind off everything. We can go on the track. I haven't done that for a while," Evan paused as he shook off the memory involving Matt, "It'll be fun!"

Jeff grinned at his young friend's enthusiasm for this trip. He was glad that Evan had at least changed his attitude somewhat from the plane. "Yeah, man. We can definitely do that; I haven't done it for a while either. What about you, Phil?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Phil said but actually had no idea what the other two were talking about. Track? What 'track'?

Jeff could see the look of confusion on Phil's face but decided not to say anything. Phil would probably be alright going on an ATV but he didn't know what he'd agreed to so it would be fun to see what his reaction was at the time. "My car's just over there," he said as he pointed it out, "Come on."

Upon reaching the vehicle, they all put their things in the boot before getting in. Evan got into the back and stretched out across the seat before either of the other men had even opened their doors.

Jeff sighed as he watched this. He had hoped that Evan's attitude towards Phil was done with but obviously not. Looking over at Phil, he could tell that he was hurt by Evan's behaviour. Sitting down behind the wheel, he saw that Evan was again putting his iPod on so he decided that he would talk to Phil about what was going on while driving. He figured that should give them some time.

JHEBPBJHEBPB

They turned onto Jeff's land about an hour later. As he got out of the car, Evan couldn't help but look in the direction of Matt's house. He swallowed heavily and tried to stop the tears that were now in his eyes from falling. Yes, it was only trees that he was seeing but it was what those trees represented – Matt's land, Matt's home. He quickly turned away and ducked his head to hide his face from his friends.

Jeff deliberately didn't look in that direction. He grabbed the cases from the trunk and made his way to his front door. When Beth had called him on Sunday night to break up with him, they'd made an agreement that she would be moved out of the house by the time he got back. Here was hoping she'd kept to that.

Unlocking the door, Jeff pushed it open and dumped the cases to the side. He couldn't hear anything so it did look like Beth was gone. Walking down the corridor, he went into the living room and invited Evan and Phil to take a seat while he went to get them something to drink.

As he walked towards the kitchen, he took a quick glance into one of the bedrooms. He took another couple of steps before he stopped, a horrible thought running through his mind. He shook his head trying to dispel it but it kept creeping back up on him.

He turned and walked back to the room he'd peeked into, entered and froze. He hurried out of the room and dashed into the next one. A strangled moan escaped him as he took in the empty room in front of him. He growled as he saw that all he was left with in his kitchen was the fridge, a kettle, some plates and stuff, and a single chair.

His studio was thankfully locked, as always, and for some reason there was still furniture in the living room. In the room that he and Beth had shared, there was nothing left, nothing except his clothes and some bed linen. Jeff felt rage boiling up in chest. The whole house had been emptied save a few things. The bitch had taken everything.

He slowly walked back towards the living room, trying to figure out what he... what they were going to do for the next few days. He needed all new beds and whatnot but there was no way that anywhere was going to be to deliver it all today. It was already well after one in the afternoon. He guessed he, Phil and Evan could go and get linen and small things that afternoon but first he'd have to see if he could borrow a couple of futons for that night as they only had the couch.

And that meant going to see Matt.

Soooooo... how was it? I know it's kind of a filler and probably not the best but hey, at least it's an update and it does tie to where this is going...

Please R&R :) I love to know what you think!