Wow, sorry it took so long to update... its been a little hectic lately and I hope you guys are patiant with me :) Okay, so here's chapter eight! Thanks to my beta and to Helen for the help with the Greek :) Enjoy!

Brain sat in his business class... his last class of the day. He knew he should have been listening to his professor's lecture but his mind kept wondering to the little blonde boy he had grown oddly attached to. He knew it was unhealthy to think of him as a friend but that’s what he was to Brian, a friend. Even at his young age Justin had been able to do something his other "mature" friends had not. Hold his interest for more than five minutes. Actually understand what he was saying (most of the time) and have a good argument when he disagreed with the hazel eyed man. Brian knew the boy was wise beyond his years yet he still had that youthful innocence that Brian felt compelled to protect. He also knew that Justin saw him as a friend... and that, for some reason, didn't sit well with him.

He was 20 years old. 20 year old men do not make friends with eight year boys. It just didn't happen... It shouldn't happen.

It was wrong.

Brian sighed; frustrated at how much like his mother he was beginning to sound. He knew he wasn't doing anything wrong. He wasn't abusing Justin nor did he have any desire to... and Justin's "feelings" for him were nothing more than a simple (yet confusing) crush that would fade over time.

Still, Brian couldn't help but think about how unhealthy their relationship was becoming. Okay so maybe unhealthy was a strong word but it was close. Justin should have friends his own age who he could talk to about how gross girls are and such.... not a 20 year old who talked about Babylon, guys and rimming. He shook his head slightly and for the umpteenth time since he got this stupid job, wondered what he had gotten himself into. He heard his professor's voice ring throughout the class informing them that the class was over. He stood up quickly and gathered his notes (or lack thereof) and slung his backpack over his shoulder. He began to make his way out of the class when he heard his name being called. He groaned and stopped, turning to meet the eyes of his very old, yet kind teacher.

"Brian, I wanted to talk to you about something." he said walking back to his desk.

"Will it take long? I have to go pick someone up..." Brian questioned, his thoughts going back to Justin.

"Not too long, I’ll try to make it quick. I know you're looking into a career in advertising." he started, getting Brian's attention.

"Yeah, that’s right."

"Well... Marty Ryder of the Ryder advertising firm is scouting for interns. Not necessarily at this school but I have a friend who works there. I told him about you and how I thought you might be interested and he told me to give you some forms to fill out."

"Seriously?" Brian asked eagerly. He momentarily forgot about Justin as he thought about the possibility of getting an internship at the Ryder agency.

"Yes. There are five spots open but you're talented, Brian... I have faith that you will go far in that field." he said as he dug some papers out from his brief case, and then handed them to Brian "Get these back to me before Friday okay? I'll make sure I get them to my friend before the deadline."

Brian took the forms with a huge smile on his face. Usually he wouldn't dare let himself be seen with such a look gracing his handsome features but he suddenly didn't care. He looked back up at his professor.

"Thank you, sir... you have no idea how much I appreciate this." he said. He glanced at his watch and his smile dropped. "I have to go!" he said franticly and left the large room, ignoring the chuckle that left his professor's mouth as he nearly tripped over a desk.

~~~~~

Justin sat alone on the steps to the large school and sighed, Daphne had already been picked up, along with a large portion of the school, but Brian was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't angry in fact, he was worried. He hoped that nothing bad had happened to the man. He shifted slightly and started to hum. He regretted leaving his sketch book at home, now he had nothing to do to pass the time. He heard a rumbling in the sky and looked up at the blackening clouds glad that he had an umbrella tucked away in his backpack.

"Hey fag!" Justin heard and groaned knowing Chris must be standing behind him.

"Do you even know what that means Chris?" he asked and was rewarded with silence. Justin laughed. "You should at least figure out what it means before you use it, or you'll look stupid." he said and heard Chris huff. He saw the other boy out of the corner of his eye sit next to him and shoot him a glare.

"Well since you're so smart mister 'I'm So Great 'Cause I Skipped a Grade' you tell me what it means." he challenged him.

"Well MISTER 'I'm So Dumb They Held Me BACK a Grade' I would tell you but I don't think your small brain would be able to comprehend it!" he shot back and Chris snarled, balling his fist up and hitting Justin on the arm. Justin yelped and held it while glaring at the other, sandy haired boy.

"You're a jerk Chris!" he accused and Chris smirked.

"I know." he stated proudly. "S,o my dad says that your parents got a divorce." he poked and Justin tried not to let the other boy's words get to him.

"Yeah. So did yours." he said defensively and Chris rolled his eyes.

"They're separated, that's different." he said and continued "Besides, my Dad says that your dad CHEATED on your mom, that’s really bad. Plus he shaved his head for some reason..." he added that last part in a slightly confused voice. Justin laughed.

"Already?" he asked "I thought it would take a little longer than that!" Justin said happily, more to himself than Chris. The sandy haired boy gave him an odd look.

"You're such a freak, Taylor." he said and Justin rolled his eyes.

"Is that the best you can do?"

The boys were brought out of their bantering by a horn. Justin looked up to see Brian's car parked in front of the school. He smiled and stood up, starting to walk towards the small blue car. He stopped suddenly and sighed. He turned to look at Chris.

"Is your dad or mom coming Chris?" he asked in a small voice "Because if they... ya know, forgot or something I'm sure Brian wouldn't mind giving you a ride." he offered and Chris sneered.

"They didn't forget!" he yelled defensively "and even if they did, I wouldn't want to ride home with you and your pedophile babysitter!" he finished and Justin nodded, ignoring the fact that he had called Brian a pedophile.

"Okay." he said simply and turned to walk towards the car, but once again stopped in his tracks. He looked up to the sky and knew it was going to rain any second and was willing to bet that Chris didn't have an umbrella. He turned towards the slightly older boy and reached into ?his backpack. He handed the dark blue contraption to him and smiled. Chris had an odd look on his face while looking over the umbrella, and then finally he looked up to meet the bright blue eyes of Justin.

"You really are a freak, Taylor." was all he said and Justin shrugged, turning once again to jog over to the Gremlin. He hopped in the car and looked over at Brian who was giving him an odd look as well.

"What was that about?" he asked and Justin smiled.

"Nothing." he said and laughed, "Chris called you a pedophile." he said while chuckling. Brian groaned and took off out onto the empty street.

"Did you hit him?" he asked

"No, I gave him my umbrella. It looks like its going to rain." Justin responded.

Brian looked over at the blonde boy with a raised eyebrow.

"He insulted me and you helped him?" he asked in a false hurt voice and Justin nodded.

"I kinda like Chris, even though he's a jerk. His parents aren’t very nice to him... nobody is, so I see no reason to be like them. I'll be nice to him if I can." he replied and Brian snorted.

"You weren't like that with me!" he yelled and Justin giggled.

"That’s 'cause you're funny when you're angry!" he replied, still giggling.

~~~~~

Brian was once again surprised by this boy. This "Spawn of Lucifer" as he had referred to him in the past had giving his bully an umbrella so he wouldn’t get wet in the rain. He was about to ask what was wrong with the umbrella when he saw the genuine smile on the boy's face. He couldn't help but get a bad feeling when Justin said that he liked the boy. He brushed it off, realizing how stupid that had sounded and concentrated of driving.

"We need to stop by my apartment. I realized on the way over here that I forgot the key your Mom gave me to the condo." he said and Justin nodded. "My roommate might be there with her girlfriend... so prepare yourself." he said jokingly and Justin gave him an odd look.

"Prepare? Is she mean?"

"Lindsay... nah, Melanie on the other hand..." he replied and Justin giggled.

~~~~~

Minutes later the two pulled up to a run down looking apartment building. Brian glanced over at Justin just in time to see him wince. He laughed.

"Not quite like home, eh?" he teased the blonde who shook his head vigorously. The two got out of the car and walked over to the main door. Brian pushed the obviously broken door open effortlessly and began climbing the stairs. Justin waited behind.

"Why don't we just take the elevator?" Justin asked and Brian turned around on the fifth step.

"'Cause it's broken, come on!" he said and began climbing the stairs again.

"What floor are you on?" the blonde asked, ignoring the command.

"Seventh."

"Seventh!? I'm not climbing seven flights of stairs!" Justin yelled and Brian sighed.

"Well you can’t stay down here, you'll probably get molested or abducted or something... then what I'm I supposed to do for money?" Brian replied and Justin ignored him.

"I'm not doing it." he said stubbornly. Brian growled.

"Then how do you suppose you get up there, huh?" he asked and Justin smirked. Brian wasn't sure he was going to like the blonde's suggestion.

"Carry me!" Justin said happily. Brian glared.

"I'm not doing that." Brian stated, just as stubbornly.

Justin frowned and gave Brian a look that could only be described as completely and utterly pitiful. Brian sighed.

"Fine." he groaned out and jogged back down the stairs, turning away from the blonde and kneeling down as an invitation to get on his back. He heard Justin's squeal of delight as he jumped on Brian, wrapping his arms around the man's neck and his legs around his waist. Brian shook his head and tried to hide a smile as he started the trek up the stairs again. Justin was extremely light and not hard to carry at all but he wouldn't let the boy know that. He wouldn't even let himself acknowledge the fact that he didn't mind carrying Justin... even sort of enjoyed it.

By the time Brian reached the seventh floor he was slightly winded but not bad. He silently thanked himself for taking all those years of track. He walked to his door, Justin trailing behind him. He opened the door to find Lindsay and Melanie on the couch with their tongues down each other's throats. Brian immediately covered Justin's eyes and gasped.

"Not in-front of the boy, what do you want to do.... traumatize him!?" he yelled and the girls looked at him.

"Oh shut up Brian." Lindsay said as he climbed off of her girlfriend and walked around the couch to greet them. Melanie reluctantly did the same. Brian kneeled down to Justin's level and ?started checking his eyes and pulse.

"His vital signs are all normal, but I'm not sure about his mental health!" he said dramatically, making Justin giggle and causing the girls to roll their eyes.

"Don't you think your tricks are getting a little young, Brian? I mean I'd hate to have to come visit you in prison." Melanie snorted and Brian rolled his eyes.

"Believe me Melanie, if I were in prison you would be the last person I'd want to visit me." he shot back and Lindsay sighed.

"Okay guys, you can stop fighting now. Honestly you two are acting like children." she said in perfect WASP fashion. "You must be Justin." she continued aiming the last comment at the young boy who seemed to be enjoying the banter between the two brunettes.

"Yup." he said simply, still looking between Melanie and Brian. An awkward silence filled the room before Lindsay finally cleared her throat.

"Okay, well... Mel and I have to go. We're going to a play at PIFA and we don't want to be late." he said hurriedly while grabbing Melanie's arm and began pulling her towards the door. She grabbed their coats and keys on the way out and said a goodbye to Brian and Justin before closing the door. Brian shook his head and looked over at the blonde boy who had an odd look on his face.

"Brian, why did she call me your "trick"? What does that mean?" he asked and Brian shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. Look I'm going to take a shower... I'm all sweaty from carrying SOMEONE up seven flights of stairs." he said giving Justin an accusing glare which Justin smiled at. He started towards the bathroom, picking up a few towels on the way. "I'll be quick. There's not much in the fridge but help yourself and try not to make a mess, okay?"

"I wont... do you have milk?" Justin asked. Brian gave him an odd look. ??

"Yeah... but watch out, the carton with the blue sticker is Melanie's skim milk. It’s fucking nasty."

"Then why does she drink it?"

"She can’t drink whole milk... for some fucked up reason she gets sick when she does. Vomit everywhere, its not pretty." he finished and disappeared into the bathroom. Justin smiled. He didn't like Melanie. He knew that disliking someone for making Brian crazy was quite hypocritical since he did it himself but he chose not to acknowledge that little fact. He waited 'til he heard the water start in the bathroom before he walked over to the refrigerator and opening the door. Sure enough there were two cartons... one which said whole milk and one blank with a blue sticker on it. He smiled and took them both out and placed them on the small counter. He looked around the small kitchen and giggled when he saw what he was looking for. Justin stood on his tip toes in order to reach the empty "Big Gulp" cup on the counter. He placed it besides the milk cartons and got to work. He picked up the whole milk and poured it in the "Big Gulp" cup and set it back down. He picked up the skim milk and carefully poured it in the whole milk carton and closed it. He then took the "Big Gulp" cup with the whole milk and slowly poured it into Melanie's skim milk carton before closing it as well. The blonde placed the two cartons back in the fridge before placing the large cup in the sink.

Justin smiled happily as he grabbed a soda and jumped on the couch and waited for Brian to finish showering.

~~~~~

Brian looked over at Justin. The boy was sitting on the couch silently reading through one of his many school books doing math that Brian doubted that even he could do. He knew the boy had done something at the apartment… he just wasn’t sure what. The blonde had been smiling the whole ride home and when Brian asked what he had done Justin only gave him a mysterious smile before replying happily with “nothing!”

“Alright Blondie… what did you do?” Brian asked again, annoyed at how quiet the boy was keeping. Justin only laughed.

“Promise not to get mad?” he asked.

“Depends on what you did…” Brian replied. Justin sighed.

“Then I’m not telling you.” he said simply. Brian rolled his eyes.

“Fine, I promise not to get mad, not spill it!” he said. Justin gave him a look before smiling and putting down his book. He turned to face Brian.

“I switched Melanie’s milk.” he stated and Brian sat for a minute trying to decipher what the blonde had meant.

“You switched her… milk?” he repeated and Justin nodded.

“Yup.”

Brian’s eyes widened.

“You switched her milk!” he exclaimed while laughing “Who are you… Dennis the Mennis?” Brian asked as he continued to laugh. Justin rolled his eyes.

“No. I’m so much more creative than that dweeb!” Justin replied pretending to be offended, that only made Brian laugh harder. After Brian clamed down he looked over at Justin who was looking at him with an amused look.

“You know Justin… now that I’m not on the receiving end of your little pranks, I’m starting to like them more and more.” Brian said lightheartedly. Justin blinded him with a smile. “Hurry up and finish your homework. We’ll watch a movie before your Mom gets home.” he finished and Justin nodded. The boy picked his book back up and got to work.

~~~~~

An hour passed before Justin finished his homework and the two sat down to watch “The Yellow Submarine”. The blonde had spent a good five minutes trying to convince Brian that it wasn’t just a kids movie… that it had a lot of artistic value as well. Brian finally gave in after Justin threatened to cry (which in earlier experiences, Brian had learned he could do on cue) and now Brian was laying on the couch with a nearly asleep blonde eight year old cuddled up next to him. He sighed.

“Brian…?” he heard the boy whisper quietly.

“Yeah?” Brian asked just as quietly. Silence followed. Brian wondered if Justin had heard him or if the boy had fallen asleep, but he realized that neither was the case when he felt Justin scoot up closer to him.

“Se agapo.” the boy barley whispered in Greek and although Brian didn’t quite know what the words meant… he had a feeling that he knew what Justin was trying to tell him.