Party time.

He'd gone home after rehearsal ended around 7, dropped off his stuff, and changed out of his sawdust-covered set clothes. Daphne picked him up shortly afterwards, having changed and put on some makeup.

Justin was ready to have fun. His first few weeks of high school had been stressful, and he wanted to just kick back and enjoy himself. As Daphne parked, Justin took note of Brian parking a few cars down. He wore a black button-up shirt tucked into black pants with a leather jacket. His buttons were undone just a little more than they should, the first two or three top ones. Justin also took note of Brian's chest- what he could see of it was definitely impressive.

Justin found it more than a little arousing.

Daphne and Justin got out of the car and walked towards Shauna's door. Her house was really nice- very tastefully decorated, as Justin pointed out to Daphne. Her response? "You are literally the gayest man to ever walk the face of the planet."

Justin didn't appreciate that comment.

The two made their way into the party. They passed one couple making out in the threshold, a game of beer pong, and some people dancing. There was also a DJ. One of the advantages of going to a party thrown by theatre kids is that every sound technician fancies himself the next Skrillex. As a result, there were 5 or 6 up and coming dubstep artists, all eager to display their proficiency with sound at any given opportunity.

Justin spotted Brian in a corner, chatting up a few girls who were clearly swooning. He was definitely being friendly and affectionate. Justin began to doubt his gaydar's capabilities.

Brian chose that moment to catch Justin's stare, and instead of awkwardly ignoring it, he instead called out "hey, Sunshine!"

Justin blushed bright pink, which, he supposed, was Brian's intention. He walked over.

"Hey, Brian. There are a few people I want you to meet."

Brian's eyes lit up. "Excellent. I'll talk to you later, ladies."

One of them, a blonde girl named Dianne, grabbed Brian's arm. She was clearly already somewhat inebriated. "Wait, can I have your number? I mean, just in case I don't see you again tonight."

"You'll see me," was Brian's only reply. He shook her off, put his arm around Justin, and walked away. "Now, let's go meet some drug dealers, shall we?" he whispered in Justin's ear.

Justin's pink flush of embarrassment went full on bright red. There is no way that wasn't flirting, he thought. Okay, maybe it wasn't. But it was sexy.

He led Brian out to the backyard, knowing that it was common courtesy to not smoke indoors. He eyed the yard, looking for Ingrid. He saw her smoking with Daphne, the familiar smell pervading the air.

"Hey, guys. This is Brian."

Ingrid eyed Brian up and down, then offered out the joint she was smoking. "Wanna hit?"

"Don't mind if I do." Brian took it and lifted it to his lips. Justin watched the action, nearly drooling. He'd never found smoking sexy, but Brian could make anything attractive. His mouth was just so great to look at.

Justin caught himself gaping, and closed his mouth before anyone noticed.

"You want one, Sunshine?" asked Brian.

"No, thanks, I don't smoke," replied Justin, beginning to walk away.

"Wait! Where are you going? Stay. Talk."

Justin blinked. He wanted to punch himself to check that he was awake. Brian Kinney wanted to talk with him? Like, for no particular reason?

Justin was usually good at checking himself, realizing when he was being unrealistic, but this guy seemed to be breaking all his barriers. The usually cynical, unromantic boy was becoming a crazy stalker crush over someone he barely knew. If he wanted him to stay, it didn't need to have any connotation or hidden intention. Justin hated being sappy. He was a jaded 15 year old, even if he didn't have any reason to be.

"I'm gonna go grab a beer. Anyone want one?" asked Justin.

"No thanks, I'm good," said Daphne.

"Yeah, no" said Ingrid.

"I think I will," said Brian.

"Got it." Justin turned his back on the group, walking away again.

Justin wasn't sure how he'd ended up making out with Brian Kinney against the side of Shauna's house. He was pretty drunk, very off balance, and extremely proud of himself for 1) remaining upright and 2) actually getting with someone this good looking.

He couldn't remember who'd propositioned who first, just that Brian had whispered something in his ear and led him to the side of the house. He was pretty sure he'd said something too, but couldn't remember what, and he may or may not regret whatever that was and the hangover he was bound to have come morning, but at that moment he couldn't really focus because Brian Kinney's tongue was actually the most amazing thing in the universe.

If Justin thought Graham was a good kisser, then Brian was the epitome of kissing talent. His lips were soft, his breath was fresh- clearly, this was a man who took good care of himself. He couldn't get enough of this. It was amazing. He tasted like peppermint gum and smoke and the leather of his jacket was definitely real, and it was soft and Justin liked the way it felt. He liked the way Brian felt underneath the jacket, his chest so defined, his stomach firm, and slowly Justin slipped off the jacket, because even though it was cold, he didn't think Brian would mind. Brian's arms were strong, and they held him and Brian was really, really warm. And his tongue was so skilled. He didn't even know tongues could do stuff like that to him. This was surreal. A sexy, older guy was kissing him and Justin hadn't even tried to hard. Brian removed his lips from Justin's and the blonde whimpered- actually whimpered- but Brian moved towards his neck and began to leave a mark. That was something Graham had never done, and Justin was totally willing to wear a hipster scarf for the next few days to cover it because he'd never exactly realized why neck kissing was so hot, but it really was. Justin had to repay him for this, and even though they were outside, he didn't think anyone would see them. His hands moved towards the waistline of Brian's pants, and he began to unbutton...

They felt a light on them.

Justin squinted, and saw that the light was coming from a flashlight- a really, really bright flashlight. "We got some calls from neighbors complaining about the noise, and we're getting everyone out of the house. We assume you boys weren't doing anything against the law?"

Both of them nodded, and Justin, for probably the zillionth time that night, blushed. The police. Of anyone who could catch them hooking up, it just had to be the freakin' police. Of course this would happen to him. He tried to stand straight and not look too drunk.

Brian smiled. "Sorry, officers. We'll be on our way."

The two left the scene of the crime, Justin starting to feel a little bit nauseous and very, very embarrassed, and stressed, too, because he had no idea how he was going to get back to his house. Shit.

"Could you give me a ride home?"

"Where's your ride?"

"Her car is gone, and I really can't call my parents."

Brian sighed. "Where do you live?"

"Over by the park. A few blocks from the school."

"You're lucky I'm, like, around the corner from there."

"Seriously?"

"Mmhmm."

"Thank you," said Justin. He hoped Brian wasn't mad/spiteful at all. It's not like it was Justin's fault or anything. Still... the police had this way of killing the mood. "I'm sorry," he added, after a moment.

Brian stared at him blankly. "What for?"

Justin shrugged. "I dunno. I just... I feel like you're offended, or something."

"You didn't do anything wrong. It's the fucking cops' fault."

"Yeah. They kinda... suck."

"You think?"

They reached the car. Brian got in the driver's seat.

"Uh, are you okay to drive?" asked Justin.

"Not all of us drink as much as you, believe it or not. I had one hit, over an hour ago."

"I was just checking."

"Well, isn't that great for you."

Justin grumbled, and Brian turned on the ignition

The car ride home passed mostly in silence. Brian switched stations until he found one he liked- some rock with a few indie bands thrown in. A bit pretentious for Justin's taste, but, hey, to each his own.

Justin directed Brian to his house, and Justin noticed that his parents' car wasn't in the driveway as he pulled up. He began to get out. "Well, bye," said Justin, awkwardly.

"Sweet dreams, sunshine," said Brian, sounding tired.

"Thanks for the ride. I'll, uh, see you Monday?"

"Sure thing."

Feeling dismissed, Justin got out of the car, walked to his house, and fumbled with the door key. He stumbled up the stairs to his room and thanked the lord that he wouldn't be caught that night. He nearly fell into his bed, the alcohol nearly reaching its last stage before sleep.

But he needed to take a moment to process: he. Had. Hooked. Up. With. Brian. Kinney. He felt a sense of pride. Maybe he was a blonde twink, but he had made out with the hottest guy in the entire school. Brian was a skilled kisser, that was for sure. That tongue did magical things. And as Justin passed a mirror, he noticed the giant red mark that said "I GOT SOME" on his neck, a gift from none other than Brian Kinney. Justin had to make sure he covered that up soon. Luckily, he had a skill for concealer (he was enlisted to help do makeup for a show, and he'd done facepainting at several carnivals over the years) and many hipster scarves to boot (he'd gone through a phase last year). He was pretty much set for hickey damage control.

But it was like he'd come back from a bad date. He had no idea how Brian would react, and hoped Brian would even want to see him again. It wasn't even his fault, but it was still... nerve wracking.

Justin logged onto his computer, went to Facebook, and saw a red little "1" at the top of his screen. He clicked it.

Brian Kinney has accepted your friend request, said the screen, and Justin breathed a sigh of relief.

However, internet stalking would have to wait for later, when Justin was less exhausted. Tomorrow was Saturday- a day of opportunity. Which usually translated into lunch with Daphne and homework for the rest of the day, but creeping on Brian's profile could easily replace that.

He fell into his bed, tired, confused, and ready to have another dream about Brian.

And he did.

And it was one of the best dreams ever, as evidenced by the embarrassing state of his sheets the next morning.

True to his word that he'd made to himself the previous night, Justin spent a majority of Saturday on Brian's profile, persevering through the headache of his hangover.

Michael seemed to be a childhood friend- very cute, definitely gay. He assumed they weren't dating and never had, because they seemed really close, in a platonic way. Justin scrolled through pictures of them at age 5, playing in piles of leaves. Brian had been a remarkably cute toddler. Like, child model material.

Brian had lived in New York, like Justin had thought, and gone to some preppy private school. He didn't seem to have many pictures from there, just one from 8th grade graduation and a few from class trips. He never was with anyone in them. He didn't look like a loner, necessarily, more just, superior.

He didn't post many pictures. He had one album called "Mikey," which was just pictures of the two of them when they were little. Profile pictures were the model-esque ones Justin had seen before, and cover photos were promotions for plays he'd been in, mostly Shakespearean stuff.

Brian's profile didn't reveal a whole lot, though. There were bits and pieces, but not a full person. Justin supposed that was the point- an Internet profile wasn't a person. You couldn't look a picture in the eye. You couldn't read a status and listen to the nuances of a person's speech and their tone of voice. You couldn't look at the pages a person liked and get to know what their interests and hopes and dreams and goals are.

And one thing Justin really wanted to do was get to know Brian better.

If Brian was really interested in Justin, he would like it if he texted him, right? He'd be anxiously waiting by his phone, maybe stalking Justin's profile. But at the same time, he didn't want to look like a creepy stalker, and most certainly didn't want to make the first move. But what if Brian didn't want to make the first move either? Justin didn't want nothing to happen. Though not wanting to make the first move didn't really seem like Brian. But Brian might not be good at texting, or might be doing that stupid 3-day rule.

As Justin weighed his options, he realized his phone was in his pants' pocket on the floor and dead, so he went to plug that in. He stalked for a few more minutes as his phone turned on.

No messages from Brian. He tried not to be too disappointed.

Well, maybe Brian was busy, or still sleeping. Maybe he had college essays to work on, or something. Or maybe he wasn't interested. Maybe he'd forgotten about Justin.

For the time being, Justin probably should go downstairs, face the day, and not think about last night, despite the raging headache. Thankfully, he never got nauseous when hungover, so the smell of waffles wafting from the kitchen made his mouth water.

He went downstairs to see his mom in the kitchen, humming as she put a new batch on the iron. "Oh, Justin, your sister was craving waffles, so I thought I'd make enough for the whole family."

"Thanks, Mom," he said, and kissed her on the cheek. He liked seeing her smile.

"Justin!" Molly said, smiling in a way that only a 7 year old could, so big it took over her entire face.

"Hey Mollusk, you like those waffles?" Justin said playfully.

She nodded. "Yum!"

He tousled her hair. "Eat up, kiddo."

Molly smiled and ate.

The weather was warmer than most days in late September and Justin saw the sun shining brightly, and tried to forget about his text to Brian that was freaking him out. He had his waffles like he always did- doused in syrup and butter and slightly overdone, just so that they were a bit darker than everyone else's.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," said Justin's mother, as she got up and went to the door.

Justin assumed it was some of those Jehova's Witnesses coming to convert them, so he was surprised when his mother called his name.

As he went to the door, he saw none other than Brian Kinney, in a dark leather jacket and black jeans (Justin wondered if he even owned anything else), standing at his door and holding the sweater Justin wore last night.

"You left this in my car last night. I figured you'd want it back."

Brian didn't make eye contact,

"Thanks," said Justin, now hyperaware that his white t-shirt had a syrup stain on it and his sweatpants were extremely unflattering. He searched for some smile, some affection in his tone, anything. There wasn't anything.

"No problem."

"See you on Monday, then?"

"Sure. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Taylor," said Brian, and he walked away.

Mrs. Taylor turned to her son. "Who on Earth was that?"

"Brian. My friend. He gave me a ride home last night."

"Is he in your grade?"

Justin rolled his eyes. "He gave me a ride home last night."

"Well, how old is he?"

"He's a senior."

"Does he have a license?"

"I assume so."

"You didn't ask?"

"Didn't I just tell you, I assumed?"

"Why are you getting so defensive?"

"What's with the interrogation?"

"I was just curious. I didn't know you had so many older friends."

Justin's mother meant well, but she really had no clue what was going on in his life. She had some vague sense that he liked to work on shows, and that he got decent grades, and that was about it. She didn't necessarily not care- even though Justin felt that sometimes- but she was just clueless. She didn't know many of Justin's friends at all, besides Daphne and Ben.

"I don't really. Why does it matter?"

"I was just curious, Justin. I feel like you don't tell me things anymore."

Which was pretty untrue. He told her things. Kinda. She knew he was gay, which was more than he could say about his father.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Justin said, defeated.

"Come on, sweetie, I think Molly wants more waffles."

Indeed, they could hear the young girl calling her mother's name, saying "more! more!"

"I have to call Daphne," said Justin.

"Okay, well, try to make it quick!" said his mom as Justin bounded up the stairs frantically.

He ran to his room, grabbed his cell- no text from Brian- and dialed Daphne's number, hoping she could explain Brian's weirdness.

"Hello?" said Daphne.

"Hey, so, uh, how did you get home last night?"

"I got a ride from someone's parents. Are you okay? Did you have to walk?"

"Did you leave before the cops came?"

"The cops came?"

"I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, Brian gave me a ride. I was really drunk, and we were hooking up, and then the police interrupted."

"I knew about the drunkenness and hookup. So what's the deal?"

"Well, I left my jacket in his car, and he dropped it off this morning, and he seemed kinda cold."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he was polite to my mom and all, but he didn't really smile or anything."

"Oh."

"Do you think that means anything bad?"

"I'm sure it's not that you did anything wrong."

Justin heard something in her tone that suggested she wasn't letting on what she was thinking.

"What was it, then?"

"Well, I've heard some rumors about him."

"Rumors? What kind of rumors?"

"Well, he… he gets around."

"So?"

"I think it was just a one-time thing, Justin."

A little part of Justin died when he heard that, but he persevered. "But would that explain the rudeness?"

"Maybe he wanted to make it clear?"

"By being mean?"

"Listen, Justin, I know it's not what you wanted it to be—"

"No. Why would I care? He's just some guy. I wasn't expecting a relationship or anything. I just want to know why he was being a douchebag." None of that was true. Justin cared more than he'd let himself admit to anyone, ever.

"Well, you have his number. Ask him yourself."

"You think?"

"What's the worse that could happen?"

"Thanks Daph. So how was the rest of the party for you?"

"Uneventful. I want to hear more about Brian!"

"I'll tell you later. I think my mom wants me to babysit Molly later anyway, If you want to join me I'll give you all the dirty details."

"Don't mind if I do. Wait for me to get there before you text him, then."

"Got it."

He hung up the phone and breathed a little bit easier.

For the rest of the day, he did homework, watched TV, showered, jerked off thinking about Brian in much more vivid detail, and checked his phone every 5 minutes, just in case.

The doorbell rang around 7:30, and Justin opened it to find Daphne with a large pizza box.

"You owe me $13.50," she said.

Justin rifled through his wallet. "Here you go, and thank you for picking up dinner."

"No problem. Dinner's here!" she called to Molly.

"Daphne!" Molly scurried down the stairs and attacked her with a hug.

"Hey, kiddo," said Daphne. "One extra cheese pizza, as you requested?"

Molly smiled. "Yum!"

They settled down in front of the TV and put on Tangled, Molly's favorite movie. She began to sing along and quickly became engrossed, allowing Justin and Daphne time to discuss Brian.

"Have you spoken to him at all since this morning?" asked Daphne.

"No, he didn't text me."

"Okay, so, fresh start. Just say 'hey,' to start."

Justin typed the message into his phone and hit 'send' and immediately began freaking out.

"What if he thinks I'm a creepy stalker? What if he likes to text first?"

"Justin, Justin, breathe. Slowly. No one likes to text first. Relax."

"Okay, okay. So now we wait?"

"Yep."

"Watcha doin?" Piped in a voice from the other side of the couch.

"Texting someone," replied Justin.

"Why?"

"Because we want to talk to him."

"Why?"

"Because we like him."

"Why?"

Justin rolled his eyes. He loved his little sister more than anything, but she could be a pain in the ass when she wanted to.

"Look, Molly, the next song is starting! You don't want to miss it!"

Her attention again turned towards the screen, Justin anxiously looked at his phone.

No new messages yet.

No new messages yet.

No new messages yet.

No new-

It vibrated.

"Yes?" the screen read.

"Yes? What does that even mean?"

"He's just being aloof. Call his shi- uh, lie."

Justin glanced over at Molly, noticing she was still enthralled by the movie.

"Okay, how's… this?"

"I just wanted to say thanks for the jacket. Sheesh."

"Good. Send."

He did, and the conversation continued. "I think I can take it from here, Daph."

"Suit yourself. I'll watch the movie."

"I'm sorry, was my first text rude?"

"Just a little bit. But what's your damage? Seriously?"

"What's my damage? What is this, the 80's?"

"Don't be a smartass."

"Can you even call me a smartass? You're in the 9th grade."

"I can call you whatever I want. But seriously, what gives?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You were rude this morning, and you're rude now. What. Gives."

"What were you expecting? A bouquet of flowers?"

"Some eye contact would have been nice."

"Sorry I didn't live up to your expectations."

"Why didn't you?"

No response.

"This is ridiculous," Justin muttered. "Daphne, I'm going into the other room to make a call. Want to come? And is that okay, Moll?"

Molly nodded, and Daphne rose from the couch.
Justin and Daphne went into the other room, and Justin filled her in on the conversation.

"So I'm going to call him now. Should I?"

"Go for it," said Daphne.

Justin dialed, and waited for Brian to pick up.

"What do you want?"

"Listen, did I do something wrong? What gives?"

Brian sighed on the other end. "You're going to want me to be your boyfriend, or partner, or whatever. I don't do that. Got it?"

"What the hell makes you think you know what I want? And there's a long road between manners and monogamy." Justin applauded his eloquent use of alliteration, internally. Outwardly, he remained pissed.

"You don't remember what you told me, Sunshine?"

Justin froze, and turned beet red. Daphne was on the edge of her seat. "I was wasted. I don't remember half of what I said."

Brian was silent for a moment, and the tension on the other end was driving Justin insane. "Hello?"

"You don't remember. Shit."

"What are you even talking about?"

"You whispered something to me, remember? A secret you wanted to tell me."

Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK. "What did I tell you?"

The volume of Brian's voice dropped low. "You told me you wanted me to fuck your tight little virgin asshole until you couldn't see straight."

Justin felt like he was about to throw up. He'd revealed he was a virgin, something he'd never wanted to reveal to anyone, and he'd ruined the illusion. He wanted to seem cool and mature- not like some desperate, horny freshman.

"I… I really told you that?" Justin gulped.

"I found it sexy at the time, if that's any consolation." Oh, jeez, no wonder Brian had avoided his gaze. Justin didn't think he would ever be able to look him in the eye again after that. Or be in his presence.

"Wow. Shit. That's really… I'm not usually that forward, I swear."

"Listen, we had a nice go, but you're almost 4 years younger than me. You were in middle school a year ago, and I'm sending in the common app today."

"Uh…" Justin gestured at Daphne to go back to the movie. She reluctantly did. "I'm old for my grade. I'm not that much younger than you."

"You've never fucked before. Hell, have you even hooked up with anyone before? Was I your first kiss?"

"Don't be stupid. I already have a fake ID."

"Bouncers actually believe that?"

"Sure they do." Justin was lying through his teeth. Not the best idea. "I mean, I haven't exactly tested it out, but-"

"You have a fake that you don't use?"

"Uh, well…"

"Listen. Sorry for the rudeness, but I don't think you realize- it's technically illegal, you know that, right?"

"What?"

"I'm 18, you're, what, 14 or 15?"

"15. My birthday was in September."

"Well, happy birthday. Anyway, I'm above the age of consent. You're not."

"Does that really bother you?"

"That's not the point. I'm not a cradle robber."

"You knew I was a freshman before!"

"It didn't resonate with me until after the fact."

"My parents are 6 years apart!"

"That's different."

"How?"

"They're old, they're straight. People would talk if we started… whatever."

"You cannot deny that last night was fun."

Brian paused. "Until the cops came."

"Come on! That was a fluke."

"You don't want to do it for the first time with me."

"Why not?"

"I'm a cold, heartless jerk."

"Bullshit."

Once again, there was silence, this time a little longer. "What are you doing right now?"

"Babysitting."

"Can you sneak out later?"

"Depends on when." Was he actually planning a sexy rendezvous with an older guy? This was surreal.

"2 or 3."

"Probably, then."

"Well, let's meet up, then. I live on the perpendicular street. Want to meet up at the corner?"

"Sure." Justin tried to keep the nerves out of his voice.

"I'll text you then. We'll talk. Goodbye."

"Bye—" Justin said, and was hung up on promptly.

Okay then, thought Justin.

He walked back into the living room, where Daphne and Molly were both singing along. He smiled.

"Hey, how'd it go?" asked Daphne.

Justin thought for a moment. "Well, maybe. Possibly horribly. Who knows."

She looked confused. "Okay, then. Well, fill me in, okay?"

"Later. This is one of my favorite parts."

Daphne knew he was avoiding the topic, he could tell, but he wasn't going to offer up any more for the time being. He'd let her know tomorrow, after the fact.

They finished watching the movie, then watched Hannah Montana until Justin thought he was going to kill anyone who said "Best of Both Worlds" one more time. His parents came home, thanked Daphne, and paid them both- half of what Justin would have earned had he watched her alone, but it was worth the company.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Taylor. Text me later, Justin!" She said as she left.

Justin talked to his parents for a bit, and went upstairs. He fell asleep, setting his alarm for 1:30. Then, he would meet up with Brian, and hopefully they'd make out. And stuff.

Needless to say, Justin was psyched.