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Chapter Two

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A woman stands just behind the door. "Are you the Novotny-Bruckners?" she asks. At Ben's sharp nod, she greets them, "Hi. I'm Alison. I believe you and I spoke over the phone?"

"Yeah, that was me," says Ben. "About – "

"Justin. I remember." She turns around to face a boy – looking far younger than his fifteen years – standing nervously behind a desk. "Justin? Why don't you come out and meet your new family?"

The boy, his light blonde hair falling into his eyes, steps out as requested and looks them over. "Hi," he whispers.

"Hi," Ben replies. "I'm Ben, and this is my husband Michael and our son, Hunter."

Justin's eyes immediately flit over the three as he glances up at Brian.

Hunter bites his lip to keep from snickering.

"This is a family friend. Brian." Michael is speaking through gritted teeth.

Justin nods. "Nice to meet you," he says quietly. Robotically, as though trained, he extends an arm to Ben, who shakes his hand politely, albeit rather bewilderedly. Justin then repeats the gesture to Michael, Hunter, and finally Brian, whose hand he holds for slightly longer than necessary, and whose gaze he does not release even then.

"Well, if you two can just sign here and here," says Alison brightly, "then you're free to go." She hands Ben and Michael a sheet of paper with several flagged lines for signatures. As they approach, Justin takes a tiny step away from Hunter and Brian, as though afraid that with Ben and Michael two feet away, he'll be attacked.

But when Ben and Michael return, Justin looks no less nervous. He follows them, Hunter, and Brian to the latter's car, asking quietly before the doors open, "Where should I sit?"

"Anywhere you like," Ben tells him. "Front, back, wherever." Then he teases, "Just not in the driver's seat."

Michael fakes a laugh, because he thinks the situation calls for it. Justin does not.

When Brian slides into the driver's seat, Justin immediately opens the passenger door and slips in beside him. Brian, glancing at him, is suddenly aware of how skinny the boy is. Justin only takes up half the seat, if that. Then Brian shakes his head to clear it. Now is not the time to be thinking like Debbie.

"So where's the party, Mikey?" Brian calls into the back. "Your place or Deb's?"

"Mine," Michael replies.

"Deb?" echoes Justin.

Hunter snorts. "Granny."

"My mother," Michael explains. "You'll meet her and a few of our friends tonight. We're having a party."

Justin's eyes glaze over, evidently remembering something. He trembles just a bit, and Brian pretends not to notice when the boy wraps his hand around his seat belt and squeezes, his knuckles whitening. "What kind of party?" Justin asks, his voice trembling just a bit. He's expecting something. Something bad. Brian knows that much. He just doesn't know what it is Justin's expecting.

"Oh, just a little friendly get-together," Michael replies offhandedly. "Our friends wanted to meet you, but we didn't want to overwhelm you by bringing them all to greet you at the foster center. So we decided on a little meet-and-greet."

Justin cringes. Brian notices. "How many people will be there?" the teenager asks nervously.

Michael considers and begins to count aloud. "Callie, Lindsay, Melanie, Gus, J.R.," he murmurs to himself. "Emmett, Ted, Blake, the five of us, Mom, Horvath… damn, there's a lot of us." He grins. "Fourteen people. Or thirteen, if you're counting Gus and J.R. as halves."

"That's a lot," Justin murmurs to himself. "Who is everyone?"

Hunter grins. "This could take a while. Well, Callie's my girlfriend."

Taken aback, Justin glances back at Hunter, then at Brian. "Oh. I thought you – I thought you and him were – I mean – "

Brian bursts out laughing, just barely managing to keep his attention on the road. "No fucking way."

"I'm sorry," Justin mumbles. "Are you even – "

"Are you?" Brian retorts. "I am. Ask anyone in the entire city, they'll tell you."

Justin still isn't convinced. "Um – if I was – would you – would I have to leave?"

"Fuck, no!" Hunter exclaims. "Michael and Ben are, Brian is, and pretty much all our friends are. Me, I'm both."

His foster brother, at least for now, shifts uncomfortably. "I… I am."

"Cool," says Hunter, and that's that for a few minutes, until at last Brian parks the car just outside the Novotny-Bruckner driveway.

"Well," says Ben, "you asked who everyone is. Now you'll get to meet them."

Justin smoothes down his poorly-fitting jeans. He glances at his ragged white tee-shirt, which at one point had words on it, but they faded over time. His shoes have holes in them, he doesn't have any socks, and his hair hasn't been cut professionally in years. His last haircut was administered very poorly by one of his roommates back at the foster center. His name is Ethan Gold, and he had taken it upon himself to hack at Justin's hair with safety scissors until Justin looked suitably ragged.

"They won't like me," Justin whispers to himself. "They won't."

Brian, overhearing, cackles. "Then you and I will be in the same boat."

Maybe it's just Justin, but he personally can't think of anything better than being in the same boat as this gorgeous man. Not that he would ever say so, of course.