“I’m so hungry,” Justin said as he walked to Debbie’s house. “You are always hungry,” Daphne pointed out. Brian smirked and nodded. He walked inside like he owned the place. Justin on the other hand stopped and looked at Daphne. “What?” Daphne asked. “I don’t want you to force me to come back home with you,” Justin told her. “Don’t even mention it.” “Why not?” Daphne asked. “Don’t you want to come back?” “Yes,” Justin told her. “But I love being with him.” Daphne shook her head. “Are you two planning on coming inside?” Hunter asked. Daphne nodded and went inside. Justin took a deep breath and went in. “Hey,” Michael said. “Look who it is. It’s the blond bombshell.” “Leave him alone,” Ben said. Hunter mouthed ‘he is jealous’ to Michael as he stood behind Ben. “I think we can start dinner now,” Debbie announced. “We are waiting for someone,” Michael said. “Who?” Brian asked as he sat down with his son. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. “There he is,” Michael said and walked to the door. “Come on in.” Duncan stepped inside. “Look who it is,” Justin whispered to Brian as he picked Gus up. Brian looked at Duncan and raised a brow. He shrugged and then turned his attention back to Gus. “It’s nice to meet you,” Debbie said to him. Duncan nodded and looked back at everyone who was staring at him. He felt completely out of place. “Who is he?” Ted asked. “He works for me,” Michael said. “Go ahead. You can sit down. You know Justin.” Duncan nodded and sat next to the blond. “I’ll be right back,” Ben said and went up the stairs. He didn’t believe that Duncan worked for Michael for a second. He knew about the man’s trick he just couldn’t believe that Michael had brought one in front of all of them. “What’s with him?” Melanie asked. Michael shrugged and sat down. “Who wants to help me?” Debbie asked. She was trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll help you,” Lindsay got up and walked with her to the kitchen. “I’m going out for a smoke,” Justin said getting up. “I’ll go with you,” Duncan got up quickly and followed the blond. Brian gave them a warning look as they left. Together Justin and Duncan entered the backyard to have a smoke. “Are you okay?” Justin asked him taking out his cigarettes. “Not really,” Duncan told him. “Not really,” he muttered to himself. Justin reached inside his pockets but didn’t find his lighter. “It’s weird being here next to you.” “Why is that?” Duncan asked as he reached in his pocket so they could use his lighter. “You know,” Justin said and looked away with a little smile as he lighted his cigarette. “Oh yeah,” Duncan smiled at Justin knowing he was talking about them fucking together. “You are very beautiful.” “Thanks,” Justin said handing back the lighter. “I don’t want to be here right now,” Duncan told him as he lighted his own cigarette. He inhaled deeply and then let the smoke out. “Michael is fucking nuts bringing me here.” “You didn’t have to come,” Justin said. “I didn’t know Ben would be here,” Duncan shook his head. “I should just leave.” “Don’t,” Justin said. “Just pretend like it’s not happening.” “I fucked up,” Duncan said. “I am falling for him,” he grimaced and tried not to cry. “I know what you are going through,” Justin told him. “Yeah right,” Duncan said and sat down on the steps. Justin sat next to him. “I am in love with Brian but he’s so against love and relationships. I just wonder sometimes if he really loves me or if my mind has deluded me into believing it.” Duncan nodded. “Okay, so it sounds somewhat like my story.” Justin laughed a bit. They were silent for just a couple of minutes until they finished smoking. “This is not what I wanted,” Duncan said frustrated. “I wanted to spend some time with Michael but not like this. I feel so out of place, Justin. I feel so fucking bad.” Justin frowned and answered, “I decided to be with Brian knowing he wouldn’t stop tricking and you knew that Michael was with someone,” he shrugged. “We choose this course so we can’t complain.” “Yeah, that’s true. I also know that Michael is with me now because he doesn’t love Ben anymore but that’s no reason to parade me like this. Nothing but lies,” he took a deep breath as his eyes watered. “And he won’t leave him either. I know he wants to.” Justin didn’t know what to say. “I just...” Duncan shook his head. “This is so awful. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s that I can’t keep him out of my head, out of my dreams. I knew that what I was doing was wrong. I got in between a couple and destroyed what they had.” “Man,” Justin said shaking his head. “You are so complicating your life. It’s not like that. If Michael...doesn’t love Ben anymore maybe it’s because it was meant to happen like that. Maybe he never loved him.” Duncan looked at the blond and smiled. “Thanks for listening to me.” “I love talking about men,” Justin told him smirking. “Can’t live with them...can’t fuck without them,” Duncan teased. Justin laughed. “Hey,” Brian said coming out. He lighted his cigarette. “Debbie is serving us.” Duncan and Justin got up. The dirty-blond man went inside first. Brian held Justin back and pushed him against the wall. Justin smiled and wrapped his arms around Brian’s neck. “I’m yours and only yours,” Justin whispered sexily. Brian kissed him and then pulled back to stare into the depths of the blond’s blue eyes. Justin winked at him and went inside the house. He loved it when Brian got jealous and possessive. *** Daphne yawned and went to open the door. She frowned looking at the men in front of her. “Hi,” Clay said. “I’m detective Williamson and this is my partner, Terrance Perry.” “What do you want?” Daphne asked them. “Can we come inside?” Terrance asked her. Daphne swallowed and nodded. “Sure, why not.” The three of them walked to the living room and sat down. “Do you want anything to drink?” Daphne asked. “No,” Terrance told her. “We are okay.” Daphne nodded and then stared at them waiting to hear what they wanted. They just kept staring at her. “Okay, what do you want to know?” Daphne asked. “Do you remember the day that Justin’s parents were murdered?” Terrance asked. Daphne just stared at them. After a few minutes she nodded. “Yeah,” she sighed. “I remember.” “Could you tell us about it?” Clay asked. “It was out of the blue,” Daphne said. “It was like the sort of thing you watched in movies or saw on the news, but never expect for it to happen to you.” Terrance nodded. “Justin was with you that night.” “Yeah, we had planned on watching movies and eating everything in sight,” Daphne shook her head. “It didn’t go that way.” “How far away was your house from his?” Clay asked. “I don’t know,” Daphne told him. “About fifteen minutes,” she frowned. “Maybe less.” “By car,” Clay added. “Yeah,” Daphne told him. “Did Justin have a car at the time?” Terrance asked. “No,” Daphne said. “His mother sometimes lent him hers. That day he walked to my house.” “And what time did he arrive there?” Clay asked. “It was nine I think,” Daphne said. “Was he with you all the time?” Clay asked. Daphne opened the door and crossed her arms. “You are late Justin.” “I’m not,” Justin told her as he went inside with the bag. “It’s nine twelve,” Daphne told him. “Jesus,” Justin said as he turned to look at her. “That can’t be considered as being late.” “Yes it can,” Daphne told him. “No,” Justin dropped his things on the floor. “At nine and one minute it can be called late,” Daphne said. “Just drop it, Daphne,” Justin told her. “So I’m late.” “I just wanted you to accept it,” Daphne smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “We have a schedule to follow.” Justin laughed. “We’ll get to watch the movies. I’m staying the night, remember?” “Fine,” Daphne said. “I’m going to take a shower,” Justin told her. “Okay,” Daphne said. “But make it quick,” she then went to the living room to wait for Justin. An hour later he came out and joined her. “Yeah,” Daphne told them, coming back to the present. “We didn’t separate.” “It took you some time to think about it,” Clay pointed out. “I was remembering all that we did that night,” Daphne answered. “I wanted to be sure.” “So, you are sure then?” Clay asked. “Yeah,” Daphne told him. “Did he ever get up to go get popcorn or something to drink?” Clay asked more forcefully. Terrance frowned. He didn’t like the way Clay was attacking her. “Yes, but it doesn’t take that long to make popcorn. Plus I went to the kitchen with him,” Daphne assured him. “What else happened?” Terrance asked. Daphne took a deep breath as she remembered that night. “Justin!” Daphne complained. “I thought you had become a fish,” she joked but then saw that he wasn’t talking. “Justin.” Justin stayed quiet just looking at the floor. “What happened?” Daphne asked worried. “Did something happen to your dick?” she asked. “You were just taking a shower.” Justin looked at her and arched a brow. “What?” “Jesus fuck, Justin!” Daphne shook her head. She grabbed the remote control. “You blacked out again.” Justin sighed. “I hate when that happens.” Daphne nodded and hit play. “It’s okay. I entertained myself doing some of my homework.” “What did I do?” Justin asked her. “I don’t know,” Daphne said. “Jerked off again and again.” The both of them looked at each other and laughed. “So we started watching the movies but we never finished doing that,” Daphne said. “We received a call from Molly and she told us that someone had entered the house. When we got there...we found out about everything else that had happened.” “What time was that?” Clay asked. “What?” Daphne asked him. “What time did Molly call?” Clay asked. “Around eleven or eleven thirty,” Daphne told him. “I don’t remember.” “How long did it take you to get there?” Terrance asked. “I don’t know,” Daphne said. “After the call everything happened so fast. Everything was like a dream, I kept expecting to wake up. I didn’t stop to look at my watch.” Terrance nodded understanding her. “How did Justin react?” Clay asked her. “How the fuck do you think?” Daphne asked agitated. “How is Justin now?” Clay inquired looking around. “Is he here?” “No,” she shook her head and got up. “I think you guys should go. I really don’t see the point in continuing this any further.” Terrance got up and nodded. “Thank you for your time,” he re is my card in case you remember anything else. “Sure,” Daphne said as she looked at the card. “We’ll let ourselves out,” Clay told her. Daphne watched them go and then went to her room. “What do you think?” Clay asked. “What?” Terrance asked as they made their way down. “I think she was hiding something,” Clay told him. “You really want it to be Justin,” Terrance concluded. “I just got a feeling,” Clay said. Once outside the detectives encountered Brian and Justin walking towards the building. “What are you doing here?” Justin asked. “Not much,” Clay said. “What do you want?” Justin asked. “Did you find anything?” “Not really,” Terrance put his shades on. “We were only talking with your friend.” Justin nodded. “I have to go,” Brian said and kissed Justin. “You be good.” Justin smiled and nodded. He looked at the detectives and then went inside. “Have a nice day, detectives,” Brian told them and walked away back to his Jeep. “I’m telling you,” Clay said. “Something is going on with that kid.” Terrance just rolled his eyes as they walked to the car. He had someone else in mind to blame. Justin opened the door to his apartment and went inside. “Daphne,” he called out to his friend. He went to his room and put his things there. Then he went in search of Daphne. “Justin,” Daphne said in surprise tone when the blond opened the door without knocking first. “When did you get home?” “A few minutes ago,” Justin told her. “Brian dropped me off.” Daphne nodded. “We saw the detectives leaving the apartment,” Justin told her. “Oh yeah,” Daphne said. “They came to talk to me.” Justin frowned. “About what?” “Just stuff,” Daphne told him. “They were asking a bunch of questions about what happened to your parents. Then about you but I didn’t tell them much.” Justin sighed. “I don’t like to think about that night,” he told her. “I argued with them before I left the house that day.” Daphne got up from her bed. “I know and I am sorry, Justin.” Justin shook his head. “Never mind me,” he pulled away from her. “I’m going to go to my room.” “Okay,” Daphne watched him go and then went back to her books. Sticking out of one of them was the card that Terrance had given her. She took it out and looked at it for a few seconds and then put it away once again. She took a deep breath and kept on writing her essay. *** “I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Brian said. “Come on, Brian,” Justin said. “With all that has happened they just want to know that I’m safe with you. In every aspect,” he told the brunet hoping that Brian wouldn’t leave. “Okay, fine,” Brian gave in. Justin smiled and they walked over to the house. Justin opened the door and walked inside with Brian. “We are here!” “Mom!” Rachel yelled as she ran to get her mother. “Great,” Brian muttered. “There are kids here.” “You love kids,” Justin told him. “Have you lost your mind?” Brian asked him. “I love my kid.” Justin smiled at that. “Oh shut up and stop smiling,” Brian told him grufly. “Hello,” Lenny said coming out of his study. “I’m Lenny Taylor.” Brian shook hands with the man. “It’s nice to meet you.” “Who is that?” Alex asked as he looked up at Brian. “He’s my boyfriend,” Justin told his little cousin. “Oh okay,” Alex said and ran to where his sister had left. “Kids,” Lenny said. “Do you want something to drink?” Brian looked at Justin. “Glass of water would be fine,” he was craving something stronger. Lenny nodded. “Sit down.” Wanda came in at that moment and Lenny took the opportunity to get Brian something to drink. “It’s really nice to meet you,” Wanda was saying by the time Lenny got back. “Here you go Brian,” Lenny said. Brian looked at the glass and the amber liquid inside. Then he looked at Justin’s uncle and grinned. “Here come help me,” Wanda said to Justin. Justin got up and went with her. “Thanks,” Brian said after he tasted the whisky. “I needed that.” “I remember when I first met Wanda’s parents,” Lenny smiled. Brian smirked and nodded. “Hi,” Shay said as she walked down the stairs. “Who is he?” “That’s Brian,” Lenny said. “Holy shit!” Shay said. “You are hot. He’s hot,” she said as she looked at her father. Lenny shook his head. “Go help your mother. I’m sorry about that,” he said as he turned towards Brian after Shay had left. Brian was smiling and said, “that’s okay.” “Hello,” Molly said walking over to Brian a few seconds later. “I’m Molly. Justin’s sister.” Brian just nodded at her. He could see some family resemblance. “Dinner is ready,” Molly said. “They told me to let you guys know.” Lenny nodded and turned towards Brian. “Come on.” Dinner went pretty much without any kind of trouble for Brian until the very end. Then Justin’s family started asking him about his life and how he had met Justin and all about the two of them. “What are your plans with Justin?” Lenny asked. Brian looked at Justin and then at the blond’s uncle. “I don’t have any plans with him. We just...are.” “I think he’s okay, Mom,” Shay interrupted and then winked at Brian. “We grilled him enough about his life. I’m getting bored.” “Don’t be rude,” Wanda said. “We have taught you better than that.” Shay just rolled her eyes like any teenager would do. “Who is ready for dessert?” Lenny asked as he got up. Rachel and Alex started yelling that they wanted some and ran out of there. The others just got up and followed. “We always go back into the yard and share a few stories while we eat dessert,” Justin explained. Brian just nodded. He wasn’t having such a bad time after all. *** Justin looked at his watch and sighed. He had so much work to do but it was time to go. He could finish it later. “I’m leaving,” he looked at Hunter and who rolled his eyes. He walked over to the teen and grabbed him by the arm. “Dude!” Hunter yelled. “You scared me,” he took his headphones and dropped them on the desk. “What’s up?” “I’m leaving,” Justin told him. “I haven’t finished yet, but it’s late.” Hunter shrugged. “You can take your time. It’s not like it’s my problem.” “Just tell Michael I’ll have everything finished by tomorrow,” Justin said. “Okay,” Hunter drawled. He kept silent watching the blond gather his stuff. Justin continued to collect his things. He wondered where Michael was and why he wasn’t at home, but he had a slight idea. He had told Michael he would be at his apartment tonight, but the man was nowhere to be found. “So,” Hunter sat down. “Are you and Brian serious?” “About what?” Justin asked not paying much attention to the teen. “Your relationship,” Hunter smiled. Justin looked at him and smiled even when he was trying not to. “Uncle Mike says that you guys are going to end up getting married,” Hunter shrugged. “Who knows?” Justin kept silent as he picked up his things. Not revealing any information about his relationship with Brian. He knew that the brunet like to keep his private life just like that; private. Hunter left to go to his bedroom and Justin walked out of Michael’s office and towards the living room. “Hey,” Ben said as he closed the book he was reading. “Hey,” Justin said. “Has Michael gotten here?” “Not yet,” Ben told him. “I was going to call him just now.” Justin nodded. He looked around the living room and then back at Ben who was staring at him. “Uh, this place is really nice.” “Yeah,” Ben said. “Too bad we are going to be leaving it soon. The house, remember?” “Yeah,” Justin nodded. He really didn’t know how to talk to the man. They both stayed silent looking at each other. Ben didn’t want to be mad at Justin but he couldn’t help it. He just knew that Michael liked something about the boy. What’s more, he was more than sure that they had done something. “Brian should be here any minute now,” Justin said. “You can sit down if you want,” Ben told him. Justin put his art case down on the floor. He walked to the sofa and sat down. He sat as far away from Ben as he could. “Can I tell you something?” Ben asked. “I guess I can’t stop you,” Justin told him. “You are a great person, Justin,” Ben told him. “And I really don’t want to see you get hurt.” “What are you talking about?” Justin asked. “I’m talking about, Brian,” Ben told him. “What about him?” Justin asked. “You know that he’s just playing with you,” Ben shrugged. “But you can do much better.” “I can’t believe you would say that to me,” Justin got up from the sofa. “Don’t go,” Ben said getting up as well. “Look, he’s a great guy to a certain extent.” “I don’t want to hear this,” Justin told him. “No one does,” Ben said. “I have experience in this kind of thing. Michael and I fight all the time because he likes to go out way too much.” “So what?” Justin asked. “I’m not with Michael. I am with Brian and whatever happens between us is our damn business.” “He’s only going to end up hurting you someday,” Ben told him. “Why are you telling me these things?” Justin asked almost desperate. “I’m just trying to protect you,” Ben told him. “I don’t need any protection,” Justin hissed. “Brian loves me, no matter what you or anyone else says. We understand each other and we love each other.” “Come on, Justin,” Ben said. “I’m older than you. I know about these things. Michael is just like him. They don’t care about anyone but themselves.” “Then what the fuck are you still doing with Michael?” Justin asked. Ben sighed. “I don’t know. I love him and we have a life together.” Justin wanted Ben to shut up. “Brian is never going to give you what you want,” Ben shrugged and sat down. Justin closed his eyes and tried to breathe. He walked to the window and made the world go away. He kept watching outside waiting for Brian. No matter what anyone said he wasn’t going to listen.