Jared's plan to break up the budding lovers goes awry when Brian discovers his latest plot; Sarah goes to bat for her nephew as she has a heart-to-heart talk with Justin.
From his place by the bandstand, Jared had watched his brother rush by, his face drawn and red. It was obvious he was upset about something. He grinned; apparently Emmett was playing right along with his plan. He wasn't sure what had happened exactly, but it had evidently not been in his brother's favor. Now all he had to do was bide his time a little until Emmett worked his magic on Brian; then he would promptly step in to help 'alleviate' his pent-up frustration and lust.
He decided he would play it safe for a little while longer inside the barn before heading out to the midway to try and figure out what was going on; let his brother simply brood and pout outside if he wanted to. There would be far less complications that way, anyway. "It never pays to play in the big leagues, Squirt," he chuckled softly in satisfaction as he observed Justin hurry out the main entrance doors. He shuffled lightly from one foot to the other and glanced from time to time toward the rear of the building in barely-restrained impatience, not noticing Brian's Aunt Sarah quickly heading toward the entrance to follow after his brother.
Her husband currently involved with the cow chip throwing contest, Sarah rushed to follow after Justin, somehow accessing accurately that his look of dismay and anguish might have something to do with her nephew. "Brian, what have you done?" she murmured to herself as she hurried to catch up with him. She quickly rushed out the doors, glancing around to try and figure out where her young neighbor had gone. Fortunately, there was enough lighting by the front entrance, as well as the starlight cast from above, to just make out a crown of shining blond hair heading toward the grassy parking area; Justin was apparently going back to his parents' truck.
Her brow creased in concern, Sarah scampered after him, her lithe, petite frame aiding her in keeping track of him. Just as she thought, after a few minutes, Justin pulled up short next to his parents' truck and climbed into the back of the bed, sitting down on one of the straw bales and placing his head wearily in his hands. He didn't notice her approaching until she greeted him softly.
"Justin?"
Justin's head popped up, startled. He frowned as he recognized who it was. He sniffled a little to try and disguise his sadness from her as he said, "Mrs. Walker? What are you doing here?" He really liked Brian's aunt - she had always been kind and loving to him - but she was probably one of the last people he wanted to see right now. How did she even know where he was?
She hesitated a moment, wondering how to proceed before she replied, "I saw you head out here and thought maybe you might want someone to talk to. I noticed in the barn that you seemed upset. Are you okay?" She quietly walked up to the side nearest where Justin was sitting and placed her hands on the top of the cool, metal truck bed; in the darkness, she could just barely make out Justin's eyes gleaming back at her, and she thought they seemed brighter than normal even in the dimness. Her heart sank at the thought that her nephew could be to blame for his appearance. Brian, I told you not to hurt him, she thought silently. She did not want to judge her nephew, though - at least not yet - until she knew for sure what had happened.
Justin let out a ragged breath. "I really don't want to talk about it," he told her sadly. Had he been wrong about Brian after all? That had been one of his fears from the start; that Brian was simply one of those guys who chased you until you gave in, and then dumped you like a pair of muddy boots by the back door. Had he been wrong about him? What did he know about relationships and love, anyway? It wasn't as if he had had a lot of experience in that department. Had Jared been right all along? He swallowed the painful lump in his throat and sighed, a mournful sort of sigh that tore straight at Sarah's heart.
His mouth hung open in shock just then as he watched Brian's aunt walk over to the back of the truck and, pressing the gate's handle to release it, deftly hoist herself up onto the back of the vehicle to walk over next to Justin and sit down on the other bale that his brother had occupied earlier. "Mrs. Walker, I said I don't..."
"I know," she told him quietly as she reached over to place her hand comfortingly on his denim-clad knee. "But I care about you, Justin. And I have this sinking feeling that this somehow has to do with my nephew. Am I right?"
Justin stared over at her in the darkness and finally nodded.
Sarah pursed her lips tightly together; she had hoped she was wrong. "What did he do?"
Justin turned his head to peer out over the fields, clearly uncomfortable. This wasn't exactly something he wanted to discuss, especially with Brian's aunt, no matter how much he liked her. How could she possibly understand something that he didn't even comprehend? "I...I can't really discuss this with you," he finally told her as he turned back to peer over at her.
Sarah eyed him resolutely, however; she wasn't going to give up that easily. She cared about both these boys too much to do that. "Justin, if it has anything to do with my nephew, you have to tell me. Please."
Justin rubbed his hand over his face; could he really discuss something this personal with Brian's aunt? Would she even understand, or would she condemn it? He knew he couldn't dare talk about it with his mother, even though she normally was quite sympathetic to his concerns, a lot more so than his father would ever be. But as he peered over at her sympathetic, kindly face, there was something about this woman that led him to hope that perhaps somehow she could help him at least to understand why Brian did the things he did.
"We...we had a misunderstanding, I guess you would say," he finally whispered, the pain evident in his voice as he relived what had happened.
Sarah frowned, her hand tightening slightly on Justin's knee. "What sort of misunderstanding, Honey?"
Justin bit his lip before he sighed in resignation. The truth was he wanted to talk to someone about what had happened, and perhaps Brian's aunt was the perfect one to talk to about it; he knew that Brian was genuinely fond of her and respected her as well. Making up his mind, then, he told her, "We were out at the midway around the games." A small smile played on his face as he recalled how much fun they had been having. "We played some Skeeball and the Iron Man game," he stated. His smile widened a little more as he told her, "Brian gave me a stuffed horse when he won his game, and I gave him a cow. I found out he wasn't very good at Skeeball, but he sure knew how to handle a mallet."
She smiled over at him, a little confused, however, by what had gone so wrong then. "That sounds nice," she told him quietly. "It sounds like you were having fun together."
Justin nodded as his smile faded slightly. "We were." And they had been; he knew Brian couldn't have been faking that.
She nodded back at him. "So what happened, then?" she pressed softly.
Justin took a deep breath; it was all so personal. He felt his face warm, and was relieved that in the relative darkness Brian's aunt couldn't see his reaction. "Well...We got to the end of the midway where there weren't a lot of people, and...We were standing near a part of the barn where no one else could see us, and..."
Sarah's heart began to pound over the hesitation in Justin's voice. Just what had Brian done to him? Despite her fears, she refused to believe that he would force himself on this boy. "Justin, please; just tell me what happened," she beseeched gently.
"Well...he kissed me," he finally confessed, wondering how Brian's aunt would react to that particular piece of information. Would she be shocked? Disgusted? He had no idea. To his relief and surprise, however, she didn't gasp in disbelief or make any other sound of scorn or disapproval, but merely gazed over at him thoughtfully, her hand still resting lightly on his knee.
Sarah had to hold back both a sigh of relief as well as a smile, because she wasn't quite sure how Justin felt about that. Apparently something had upset him. "You didn't want him to?" she probed carefully, trying to decipher exactly what was going on.
"No...I mean, no, it wasn't that," Justin admitted as he licked his lips nervously. "I...I mean, I liked the kiss," he confessed, a little embarrassed to be discussing something so private with Brian's aunt. But to his continuing amazement, she merely nodded at him briefly.
"Well, that's good," she said tentatively, still dumbfounded as to why Justin was so upset, then. There had to be more to this story, and evidently she was going to have to pry it out of him. "Justin, if you wanted him to kiss you, then why are you so upset now?"
Justin let out another sigh as he swallowed hard. "Because...," he began. Shit, this was so hard! But he really did want to try and figure out Brian's motives, and perhaps his aunt was the only one who could explain it to him. But how to properly say it? Finally, he told her, "Because he wanted more than I was willing to give him - at least for now."
Sarah stared over at her young neighbor, her heart heavy. She had been afraid something like this might happen. Justin was young and inexperienced; he was very strong in a lot of ways, but he was also fragile at times, too, and despite his many talents, he was still somewhat unsure of himself and his place in the world. Justin had just admitted to her that he liked Brian's kiss, so that could only mean one thing to her - Justin was attracted to her nephew, just like Brian was attracted to him. Apparently, though, he had tried to move a little too fast for Justin's liking, and this had been the result. "Justin," she began quietly as he lifted his head to look over at her, "he didn't try and force himself on you, did he?" She had to know one way or the other.
To her immense relief, Justin shook his head in response. "No," he whispered. "Nothing like that. But he told me this had been the longest time he had gone without sex before," he told her, his face flushing in humiliation. His eyes watered as he told her, "I thought he really cared about me. Now I think I was only his next target until he got what he wanted and moved on." He hung his head in shame, a soft, melancholy groan escaping his lips.
Sarah's heart broke at the plaintive sound in Justin's voice, but she had gotten to know her nephew well enough by now to know the real truth. Her nephew could be gruff, short-tempered, impulsive, and impatient, but he also had a tender heart that he did not allow others to see - except around her and then only during rare moments of vulnerability. And even though she had only known him for a relatively short time, she knew him well enough by now to realize that he cared about this young man a great deal, apparently more than Justin knew.
She reached over to clasp Justin's hand as he lifted his gaze to look at her, his eyes luminous under the starlight above. "Justin," she began softly. How could she explain her tempestuous nephew so he would understand? "Brian does care about you; I'm sure of that," she told him firmly.
Justin's heart leapt at her statement; could it be true? He wanted to believe that, but he dare not read too much into it; after all, she was his aunt. He still had to ask, though. "You are?"
She nodded as he added, "How do you know?"
She smiled, not missing the hopeful sound in his voice. "He told me as much earlier today," she stated.
"He did?" Justin asked in surprise, a hitch in his voice. Was it possible...? "He said that?"
Sara pondered her answer to that question. No, Brian hadn't come right out and specifically said, "Yes, I care about Justin." But on the other hand, he didn't need to; the answer was there in his voice and in the insecurity that had flared to the surface when he had asked if she thought Justin was too young for him, and how useless it would be to get involved with someone just over the summer before he had to go home, and in the way he tried to find an excuse to deny his feelings for Justin but couldn't contradict her when she had forced his hand about it. No, her nephew wasn't just in it for temporary gratification. And while Brian could act first and then think about the consequences later, it was obvious to her that both boys felt deeply for each other. Something told her, too, that they both needed one another.
Her mind made up, then, she nodded, not worried that she might not be correct; she knew she was. "Yes," she told him with a smile. "He did tell me that he cared about you." She watched a smile begin to bloom just then on Justin's face as she explained, "Brian can be very impetuous, Justin; he likes to act first and think later. I think he was just so happy to be with you tonight that he wanted to express that to you. I'm sure he didn't mean for what he said to come out the way it did."
"I don't know..." He wanted to believe her so badly; was it true? Was Brian just so anxious to be with him that he had merely used the wrong choice of words? Maybe if he had stayed around to listen to him...He DID try to get him to stay, but he was so upset at the time that he hadn't been willing to do that. "You really think so?" he asked softly, pressing his thumbnail between his teeth pensively.
She smiled over at him and squeezed his hand. "Yes, I do," she replied. "And I suspect that Brian is probably kicking himself right now for what he said. Please, Justin, give him another chance to explain before things get out of hand, and you both regret it. I'm sure you'll find that I'm right. Brian is not as tough as he would like everyone to think. He needs someone like you."
Justin stared over at Sarah, constantly amazed at how perceptive this woman could be. He had always trusted her opinion; was she right now? Could Brian really care for him as more than just a temporary plaything? He wanted to think so; he knew he had to find out. He figured the worst that could happen was that his fears would be realized, but if she was right something wondrous could occur; something that he had been yearning for.
He finally nodded. "Okay, I'll go talk to him. Do you know where he is?"
Sarah released his hand, enormously relieved that he was willing to listen to Brian. You'd better give it your best shot, Brian; don't muck this up, she silently warned him almost telepathically. "I didn't see him before I followed you out here," she admitted regretfully. "But this place is not that big; you should be able to find him pretty easily."
He nodded again as he stood up. Extending his hand out to her as a courtesy, she smiled as she accepted it long enough for him to help her rise to stand beside him. Walking the few steps over to the end of the truck bed, Justin hopped down before turning around to hold out his hands to help Sarah jump down, also.
"Go," she encouraged him. "I'll be inside the barn near the judging booths. I'm hoping my berry cobbler's about to repeat as a blue ribbon winner."
Justin grinned at her, his heart a lot lighter now. "It will," she assured him. "Just make sure you save me a piece of it."
She smiled. "No need; I'll make you another one tomorrow. Now get going."
Justin didn't need any more encouragement as he nodded before turning to rush back toward the entrance doors, his heart thudding in his chest.
Sarah watched him go as she bit her lip. Here's your chance, Brian. Make the most of it.
Thirty Minutes Earlier...
From his place on the bench, Brian peered over at Emmett with a grimace. Was this boy serious? Did he really think he'd be interested in him after Justin? To him, NO ONE could be as amazing as he. Brian couldn't help from laughing softly at the comparison. "No, thanks," he replied as he sighed and brushed his hand through his hair in agitation.
How did Justin consistently manage to make him do and say things he never thought he would say? And how did he always seem to cause him to put his foot in his mouth? Before, he would have never cared either way; now, he felt like shit over the expression on Justin's face when he had made it sound like he was considering him just another guy to fuck, which was the farthest thing from the truth. Why did he have to make it worse, too, by calling him a 'drama princess?' Real smart, Kinney, he reprimanded himself.
Emmett frowned as he looked over at the other boy. This wasn't quite going the way that Jared had indicated it would. Kinney was supposed to be sex on legs and a walking bundle of testosterone; the way Jared had talked, all you had to do was stand anywhere near him and offer him a wink and a nod and the boy would be only too glad to oblige. This guy, though, looked positively miserable, even if he WAS probably the hottest guy he had ever seen. He fleetingly wondered why Jared hadn't gone after Kinney himself, but he was too absorbed in trying to figure out a way to impress the older Taylor boy that he didn't stop to analyze it. What was he supposed to do now, though? He was supposed to come onto Kinney while Justin was around so he would show his friend how shallow and vain the boy was; Justin, however, had run off just as he got there, and it was obvious he was already upset about something. So what now?
"Why are you still standing there?" Brian growled. "Get the hell away from me!"
Well, at least Jared was right about one part, Emmett decided. This guy obviously had a short fuse. But there was just something off about this that just didn't jive - he wasn't trying to push him around or get in his face; in fact, he looked pretty damn dejected at the moment. Something - he didn't know what - made him walk closer to the other boy and query, "Why was Justin so upset earlier?"
Brian huffed in disbelief; what part of fuck off did this nelly queen not understand? He eyed the boy's flamboyant, flashy apparel - a shimmering, royal purple, satin shirt paired with multi-colored suspenders and form-fitting blue jeans with a pair of silly-looking, pink crocodile boots - and shook his head. "It's none of your damn business," he snapped. To his utter astonishment, the boy actually sat down next to him instead of leaving. He really WAS deaf as well as suicidal, apparently.
"Leave me the fuck alone!" he yelled as a few of the social's attendees close by gave him a glare or a dirty look over his foul language; at least it matched his mood at the moment, however.
Emmett fixed him with an unyielding stare; his previous fear of him being violent quickly abated to be replaced with an innate curiosity. "Not until you tell me what happened between the two of you," he insisted firmly. "I care about Justin and I don't want to see him get hurt." The words fell unbidden before he could stop them; he wasn't sure if Jared wanted him to reveal that much to this other boy, but he couldn't help it. It was the truth.
Brian's eyes widened slightly; apparently Vic's nephew had balls. He had to give him credit for that. "Well, neither do I," he told him rigidly, "not that it's any of your business, even if he IS a so-called friend of yours. You must not know him very well," Brian pointed out, "since you live, where? In Hicksville, Arkansas?"
"I know him well enough," Emmett maintained as he bristled at the imposed insult. "I know he's a sweet boy who doesn't deserve to be slapped around because he won't bow to your sexual advances." He quickly placed a hand over his mouth as he realized what he had divulged, his heart hammering in his chest as Brian looked over at him in total confusion.
"What the fuck are you talking about, Honeycutt? Are you...," he couldn't even get the thought spoken aloud - it was too disgusting and vile to think about - "Are you insinuating that I've been slapping Justin around because he won't have sex with me? Where in the hell did you get THAT idea from?"
Emmett bit his lip anxiously now; before then, he hadn't really felt all that nervous around Kinney, but the present, scathing look that he was receiving was making him quite alarmed. For Justin's sake, however, he was not going to back down.
"Yes," he told him stiffly as he straightened up in his seat. "That's exactly what I'm saying. And I won't stand by and watch you hurt him anymore."
Brian's mouth hung open in incredulity. "You won't stand for it!" His voice carried so loudly that others nearby once more turned around to look at the two men sitting there on the bench; their deadly serious faces were a stark contrast to the festivities occurring all around them as Brian stated unequivocally, "I did no such thing! I don't HAVE to beg anyone for that, trust me!" Well, that wasn't exactly the truth; he had never begged Justin to have sex with him, but if anyone could make him possibly break that rule, it might be him. Of course, it was all probably a moot point now after their fight. "I have never laid a hand on anyone, Honeycutt," he told his companion, prickling at the notion. "Especially Justin."
"But you were in jail," Emmett pressed, unconvinced.
Brian harrumphed in irritation. "Will you keep your voice down?" he hissed as he looked around the midway, even though the noises from the crowd and the games seemed to be thankfully drowning out most of their actual conversation. "I have NEVER been in jail," he told him, his voice lowered somewhat. Why he was explaining this to this boy was beyond him, but he told him nonetheless, "I was arrested for stealing a car and wound up here instead of being sent to jail. Why else would I be in this godforsaken place where there're more fucking cows than people?"
Em frowned; that made sense in a way. And this Kinney guy had really looked affronted over his accusation that he might have been physically abusing Justin. But Jared had told him that; it had to be true - didn't it? Why else would he have said that if he wasn't trying to protect his younger brother? It didn't make sense otherwise.
"Where did you hear that, Honeycutt?" Brian demanded, seething inside. He would NEVER hurt Justin - well, not physically, anyway. And it pained him greatly to think he had hurt him emotionally; he resolved to take care of that at the first opportunity. There was no way he was going to let Justin go that easily, not without a fight.
Em pursed his lips together, his thoughts racing. He was totally confused; what exactly was going on here? Should he tell him? How he wished he could figure out who to believe. He trusted Justin implicitly; he just knew his friend had no malevolent bone in his body. But Jared had told him that Justin would be too afraid to admit the truth even if he asked him. And he thought he trusted Jared; but he had thought the boy was being a little odd earlier. Before, Jared wouldn't have given him the time of day, and the thought that he was playing hard to get as he had indicated earlier didn't make a lot of sense then - or now.
Brian was quickly becoming fed up; this night had quickly gone from a wonderful experience with Justin to hell in a hand basket. "I'm waiting," he demanded curtly as he folded his arms across his chest. "I want to know who told you that." Brian's mind swirled with possibilities as Emmett remained silent until, at last, the only logical answer slipped into place and his eyes narrowed in fury. "Jared! That asshole Jared told you that?"
Emmett shrunk back slightly from the other boy as his eyes widened like a rabbit caught in a snare, and Brian knew he had hit his mark. "He told you I was hurting Justin? Answer me!" he shouted as he reached over and grasped Emmett by the shoulders, uncaring now if anyone heard or saw him.
Emmett's face turned pale and his eyes grew wide as he gasped out, "Yes, damn it! He told me you were hurting his brother, and he wanted me to come onto you when Justin was around so he wouldn't want anything to do with you! I was doing it for him! Now let GO of me!"
Brian stared at him, a mixture of horror and rage on his face as he finally released the other boy with a grunt. "I'm going to fucking kill that asshole!" he shouted as he rose to his feet. "He's going to wish he never messed with me!" Abruptly, he turned around and began to rush down the midway, periodically bumping and crashing into other patrons and not caring about the scowls and angry reprimands he received in return over his bad manners.
Emmett sat there for a few seconds, immobile and unsure what to do, before finally he rose to his feet and hurried off after him. He had no idea what he was going to do; he only knew somehow that he needed to be there when the confrontation took place. Briefly wondering where Justin had run off to - and partially worried what would happen to him as well - he hastened to follow the other boy, still mulling over who was lying and who was telling the truth. Something in the pit of his stomach, though, told him he already knew the answer.
Brian's nostrils flared in fury as he stomped toward the back door of the exhibit barn, not bothering to cast a glance toward his uncle and Justin's father, who were standing nearby watching contestants wrapping up the cow chip throwing contest. Both men, however, noticed him as they heard a woman loudly call out in a huff, "Well, I NEVER!" as Brian roughly barged past her without so much as an 'excuse me.'
"Looks like your nephew is loaded for bear, Will," Craig told his neighbor as they turned to watch Brian rush inside. "Maybe you'd best go check up on that boy." Craig still didn't trust the Walkers' nephew, and the boy appeared to be enraged about something.
Just then, they noticed Emmett rushing up to them. "You'd better stop him!" he told them breathlessly, his face drawn with worry. "He's going after Jared!"
"What?" Craig asked in shock.
Emmett reached over and grabbed Craig's arm. "No time to explain!" he told them desperately. "Come on before one of them kills the other!"
Both men stared at each for a brief moment in indecision before they hurried of one accord into the rear of the barn, systematically searching for either Brian or Jared; they could see the top of Emmett's head several feet in front of them, doing the same. The teeming crowd, oblivious to their anxious search, was currently clapping along to a lively tune being performed by the bluegrass music quartet at the front of the barn, and with the others grouped around the judging areas, it was extremely difficult to find anyone. After a minute or so, however, the music abruptly stopped in mid-tune and the crowd slowly died down to a murmur as two males could be heard screaming at the top of their lungs. Suddenly, they didn't need to search for them; it was obvious where they were.
"You son of a bitch!" Brian snarled as he hurried up to Jared, a large vein popping out on his neck. "I know about Honeycutt and what you did! I would never hurt Justin! You're a lying piece of shit!" There was a gasp from some of the participants over Brian's language as his uncle, Justin's father, and Emmett hurried over to intercept them before things escalated even more out of control.
Brian lunged for Jared then, who brought his hands up in front of his face in a defensive gesture as he deftly dodged the other boy's initial strike. "You want a fight, Kinney? You're on!" Jared shouted, furious that his plan had obviously backfired somehow. "Come on, big man!" he taunted him as he crooked his fingers at him in a beckoning motion before he curled his hands into fists in a combative stance. "You have more to lose here than I do!" He no longer cared about getting back at Justin or winning Kinney over; his reputation and superiority were on the line now. "Show me what you've got!" he mocked him as Brian's face turned red with rage and he began to rush him.
"Brian, NO!" Justin shouted from nearby just then, his face filled with fear and concern; what in the hell was going on?
Brian turned around in stunned surprise at the sound of Justin's voice to try and find him, only to have Jared sucker-punch him with a glancing blow to his left jaw.
"Why, you sniveling coward!" Brian growled as he rushed at him in fury, only to have Justin grab him from behind to hold him in place while Vic grabbed Jared and held on tight to him, giving Craig just long enough to step between the two of them to intervene.
"Oh, my God!" Jennifer whispered in horror as she left her place near the preserves and honey judging station at the sound of the fight and hurried over, recognizing both her sons and her husband right in the middle of the fracas.
All eyes were on the drama taking place as Craig snapped at his son, "Stop this right now!" Brian's chest heaved up and down in agitated fury; Justin continued to hold onto him in a virtual vise, his wrists linked around his chest to prevent him from moving as he peered around Brian to see what his father and brother were doing. "What in the hell is going on?" Craig asked Jared as he turned to stare over at Brian suspiciously, not missing his other son holding onto him from behind.
Jared struggled to free himself from Vic's grasp as he cried out, "He tried to charge at me! He's a fucking troublemaker! He belongs in jail!"
"He's lying!" Brian shouted at him, inexplicably embarrassed as he felt everyone's eyes on him. He had worked hard to try and turn his life around here; he resented Jared insinuating that he was the same person as the one who had first stepped foot on the Walker's ranch. "He started the whole damn thing! He told Emmett that I was slapping Justin around!"
Justin's mouth flew open in shock. "What?" He stared over at his brother with hatred and hurt in his eyes. "Is that true? Did you do that?"
Jared sneered at him as he retorted, "Don't flatter yourself! I don't care WHAT happens to you!"
Craig felt his face warm with shame as everyone he knew in town turned to stare at them in thinly-disguised disgust. "You're embarrassing the whole family," he hissed at Jared. "We're taking this conversation outside - NOW!" He none-too-gently grabbed his son's arm and forcefully began to drag him toward the entrance doors. "You, too!" he called over to Justin as Jennifer rushed up to them, but Justin refused to budge from his place by Brian's side.
"But...but it wasn't me!" Jared continued to insist as he struggled to remain inside; despite his somewhat shorter height, however, Craig was stronger than he appeared as he ignored his son's diatribe and continued to roughly pull him to the front doors by his arm.
"You can explain yourself outside!" Craig snarled as the two of them finally disappeared out of sight, followed shortly by Jennifer; the crowd stood there for a few minutes longer until Vic finally cried out, "Show's over, folks! Let's get back to the social!" The shocked observers lingered several seconds longer, until the band's leader nodded at his fellow musicians and the music started up again. That seemed to jolt everyone out of their frozen state as they finally began to murmur among themselves before they slowly returned to the festivities.
Will let out a heavy, ragged breath, trying hard not to jump to conclusions as he surveyed his nephew. He had hoped Brian had changed, but now he wasn't so sure. He observed the youngest Walker boy finally release his hold on him as he felt Sarah clutch at his sleeve; he looked over at her, noticing a myriad of emotions on her face. She seemed to silently beg him to go easy on Brian as he asked the boy with surprising calm, "What's going on here, Brian? Did you do what he said you did?"
"No!" Justin interrupted unexpectedly before Brian had a chance to answer. "Brian would never do that!" His eyes flashed with righteous indignation as well as concern over what fate might befall Brian now, his own prior anger totally dissipating to be replaced by his worry over his predicament. He stood next to Brian's side as their eyes locked on each other for a moment before he softly added, "Brian would never do that to me."
"He's right," Emmett verified from his place nearby as he spoke up, now convinced that everything Jared had told him was a bald-faced lie; Vic, having released possession of Jared to his father, chose to remain with the others to find out exactly what had occurred as he listened quietly to his nephew, who appeared to be fairly distraught. He knew Emmett could be over-the-top at times and downright eccentric, but he also knew the boy wasn't a liar, and something told him he had been the innocent party in this whole affair.
"Jared came to me earlier today and told me that Brian had been pressuring Justin to do something that he didn't want to do," he began; he chose intentionally to keep his explanation vague, cognizant of the prying eyes and ears still listening in. He fixed his stare on one older man nearby in particular who was glaring at him until the gray-haired farmer finally had the decency to turn away in embarrassment.
Sarah urgently suggested, "Let's take this outside, okay? Side door." The last thing she wanted was to run into Jared and his parents at the moment still in the heat of their argument; at least if they exited out the side door opposite all the activity that was occurring at the moment, they could be assured of some privacy to hash everything out.
Will nodded, realizing that was best. "Good idea," he muttered, red-faced as he noticed too many familiar faces studying them curiously; even if Brian WASN'T to blame for this, he feared he would have a lot of explaining to do tomorrow when he had to go into town for supplies. "Let's get out of here."
Sarah noticed Justin standing there in indecision, however, as if he didn't know what to do. "Justin?" she asked quietly in concern.
Justin bit his lip as he stared back at Brian, still feeling a little awkward after the way they had parted before, but knowing he didn't want to leave just yet. But on the other hand, his father had practically ordered him to follow them out, and he knew he would come looking for him any minute. "I...my father," he tried to explain, wondering if he was about to incur his wrath once again; he noticed that his mother had followed him and his brother out the door. They no doubt would be expecting him to join them any second. There was NO way, however, that he was going to go home with his brother after all this. Just the thought of being anywhere near him made him want to puke.
"Justin?" Brian called out his name as their eyes met again. "Don't go yet," he beseeched him softly. He had to know that Justin misunderstood what he had been trying to say earlier, and that he wasn't to blame for his and Jared nearly coming to blows.
Justin swallowed, torn over what to do. Any second now he expected his father to poke his head back in the door and demand that he come outside.
"I'll talk to him, Justin," Vic suddenly offered. "I'll tell him that you will ride home with Emmett and me."
Justin eyed him dubiously. "You think he'll go along with that?"
To his immense relief, Vic nodded; he was sure he could talk Craig into it; there were certain advantages to having been around as long as he had. "Don't worry; you go with them and I'll take care of it." With a reassuring nod of his head, he turned and hurried away.
"Let's go," Will told the others as the rest of the group walked toward the side door leading out to a small, concrete patio area with a couple of wooden picnic tables; they could all feel the stares of the others on them as they reached the door and opened it, blessedly finding the area unoccupied at present.
Will and Sarah sat down on one table with Emmett, while Justin felt Brian's hand on his arm gently leading him to the other one; they wound up sitting side-by-side as they stared over at the other party in the dim lighting.
Will sighed as Sarah looked over at him with some surprise over his self-control; normally, Will would have blown up and accused Brian of being the perpetrator instantly, but apparently things had changed somewhat. It seemed that he was actually willing to hear the whole story before he placed the proper blame. "Okay, let's hear the whole story. And I want the truth, Brian." His voice left no question that he would receive - and expect - nothing less from his nephew.
Justin felt Brian reach over and place his hand on his knee underneath the table as he began to speak; he suspected it was meant as a comforting, supportive gesture, but Justin could feel his body heat even through the thick denim fabric as he began to tell his aunt and uncle how the two of them had become 'separated' earlier (he chose not to divulge the actual reason why), and how Emmett had approached him in a move to try and divert his attention away from Justin.
Emmett then proceeded to back up Brian's version of events, revealing that Jared had enlisted him supposedly to keep Justin safe from harm and away from Brian. As Justin sat there dumbstruck, Emmett had continued to divulge how Jared's initial plan had been for him to come onto Brian in an attempt to make him appear to be just a callous sort of gigolo who only cared about having his needs met. The goal, according to Emmett, had been to break the two friends up so Justin could be safe from further pressure and abuse at the hands of Will and Sarah's nephew.
He concluded his story by telling them how Brian had figured out what was going on when he had committed a slip of the tongue, and how Brian had rushed away in search of Jared to have it out with him. The rest, as they say, was history.
As Emmett wrapped up his version of the story, Sarah glanced over at the two boys sitting so close together at the other table; it was obvious that despite their earlier misunderstanding, the two of them still were quite taken with each other. No one had forced them to sit that close to each other. She was heartened, at least, to see that.
Emmett looked up as the door opened and his Uncle Vic walked back out. Justin turned around to eye him anxiously in the dim light as Vic walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay," he reassured him as Justin let out a deep breath of relief. "I think they're going to have more than enough to handle with Jared for the time being." One side of Vic's mouth crooked up in amusement as he told Justin, "I don't think he's doing a good job of playing the wounded party this time; I haven't heard the whole story yet, but I heard enough. They left a few minutes ago," he informed them. He glanced over at his nephew. "Em has a good heart; I hope neither one of you is angry at him for what he did. He thought he was protecting you from harm, Justin."
Justin nodded as he looked over at his friend. "I know you were," he told him sincerely. "I don't blame you at all." He sucked in a shaky breath, still reeling over the extent that Jared continued to go to just to dominate and torment him. What had happened to the two brothers who used to be so close not so long ago? He had grown up, he supposed, and now Jared somehow felt threatened by that. Perhaps he always had, although it didn't have to be that way. Now, however, he was afraid their path was sadly going to remain tumultuous and divergent.
"Justin, Son, we both have to be up early," Vic quietly reminded him. "We'd best get going. You ready? Emmett?"
Emmett stood up and nodded as he walked over to his uncle, both of them looking over at Justin expectantly. "Yeah, I think I've had more than enough drama for the day. Just let me stop and pick up my pecan pie and I'll be ready to go."
Vic chuckled as he shook his head, not surprised in a way that Emmett would concentrate on that, even after everything else that had happened. "We'll meet you out by the truck, then, okay?" he told Justin as the boy nodded. "Don't take too long."
"Brian, time for us to head back, too," Will instructed his nephew just then to his dismay, his voice gruff but not overly caustic. He was secretly relieved that his nephew hadn't wound up being the instigator of what had happened earlier, but they, too, had obligations to fulfill and he had a newborn calf that had to be closely watched for the next several days.
"But..." Brian protested, desperately wanting, needing to talk to Justin alone, to explain why he had said what he had said earlier; he couldn't believe how Justin had come to his defense against his own brother, despite what he had done. It just made him feel like an even bigger jerk, and he really needed to straighten everything out with him. "It's not that late..."
He looked over at his aunt for support, but in the growing darkness it was becoming difficult to ascertain his silent plea for understanding.
Nonetheless, he heard his aunt begin, "Will..."
"No, Missus," her husband said in that tone of voice that always indicated he was not going to back down. Despite his belief that Brian had been the afflicted party in the altercation with the older Taylor boy, he had not appreciated being in such an embarrassing spotlight earlier and he was anxious to just put the whole, unpleasant incident behind them and get back to business. Incidents like this in a small town tended to linger forever, so the sooner they could move on from it, the better.
"It's late enough," he told his wife and nephew as he stood up from the picnic table. "I have Checkers' calf that needs tending and more fields that need to be plowed. And Justin there needs to get up even earlier tomorrow for his race on Saturday. No arguments; let's go. Chores don't take a holiday, and neither can we."
Brian huffed out a protest, but he knew that no-nonsense tone of voice. Shit. He watched as his aunt reluctantly rose to join his uncle, both of them standing there waiting for him, and he let out a heavy, frustrated sigh. He suspected he would get no sleep tonight - his thoughts would be far too preoccupied with the events of tonight, in addition to how Justin would fare back home. How could Justin even go back to that house after what Jared had done? And which son would his family support? Him or his moron of a brother?
With great hesitation, he turned to Justin, knowing he urgently needed to say something to him. "Justin..."
Justin sighed as he held up his hand for Brian to stop before he even started; he just couldn't handle any more tonight. How did such a promising evening go awry so quickly? Not only had Jared taken advantage of Emmett's sweet nature and idol worship of him - a boy who wouldn't hurt a fly - but he had also managed to make his father look like an idiot in front of the other townspeople; something that no doubt would be discussed at length when he got home, even though he had nothing to do with it, and neither did Brian. Just what had happened to his brother to make him this hateful? They used to get along so well; they used to be close. Now it seemed that Jared's single purpose in life was to make HIS life miserable. And as much as he wanted to talk to Brian - especially after his aunt had sought to reassure him earlier that he really did care for him - he just couldn't deal with it right now. It was going to be tense enough when he got home; how was he going to walk back into that house? He had done nothing wrong, but he knew the repercussions would be long lasting nonetheless. And somehow in the midst of all this, he had to try to find a way to concentrate enough on his practice with Headstrong tomorrow to come out victorious in Saturday's race. The thought of so much pressure and responsibility threatened to almost make him dizzy.
"I can't deal with this tonight," he told Brian at last to his disappointment. "I...I have to go. Vic and Em are waiting for me." He turned around to go, just as Brian reached over to grasp his arm in one, last, desperate measure.
"Justin, I have to talk to you," he insisted, but Justin gently removed his arm from Brian's grasp.
"Not now, Brian," he murmured as he quickly turned to go; Brian watched him walk away toward the front of the structure rather than going back inside to reach the parking lot. He couldn't blame him, he supposed; all of them had garnered more than enough unwelcome attention tonight. "Fuck," he said under his breath as he let out a frustrated breath. Well, if you think I'm just going to let things remain the way they are, Justin Taylor, I've got news for you.
"Brian," he heard his aunt softly call his name as she walked over to stand next to him. "Let him go; you can fix things with him tomorrow." Will walked over to join them, overhearing the conversation, but choosing not to acknowledge it as he simply said instead, "Time to head home," before he, too, walked away toward the front of the building, following the same path that Justin had taken a few minutes earlier.
Brian sighed heavily in resignation as his aunt gave his shoulder a squeeze. "It'll work out, Brian; I know it will," she whispered soothingly. "Let him sleep on it."
"If he even gets any sleep," he murmured guiltily as Justin's shadowy form disappeared around the corner of the barn. Knowing there was nothing more he could do tonight,however, he reluctantly began to trail along behind his uncle, his aunt's hand still gripping his shoulder as she walked alongside him. He knew that neither he nor Justin would likely get much sleep tonight. He didn't dare try to go see him tonight, however, but tomorrow? Tomorrow was a new day, and a new opportunity. Before the day was over, he would resolve things with Justin, one way or the other.
A/N: I'll have another part of this up shortly that details Craig and Jennifer's talk with their sons, as well as the 'morning after' ramifications. How does Brian go about making amends with Justin? You'll find out soon.;) Thanks to boriqua522 for being my beta as always.:)