Chapt 1 Michael walked into his apartment, humming the chorus from one of his favorite songs. He finally had his own little family and couldn’t be happier with the way things were going. Hunter was starting to act like a regular teenager and it seemed like the hustling was finally behind him. Michael heard running water in the bathroom and assumed Hunter must be inside, since Ben was most likely still at work. “Hunter, what do you want for dinner? I was thinking on attempting my mom’s lasagna.” Just then the door opened and a wet beautiful blond walked out. He only had a towel wrapped around his slim waist and tucked neatly in front. He looked to be a couple of years older than Hunter but more innocent. His deep blue eyes were wild with terror as they scanned the apartment. He was shaking slightly and started to walk back into the bathroom. “Whoa, hold it. Who the hell are you?” He looked flustered and couldn’t bring himself to meet Michael’s eyes. Michael yelled out into the apartment. “Hunter, where are you? I said no more tricks! You promised you’d stop hustling.” Michael reached out to grab a hold of the blond, but he stumbled back falling to the ground and covered his face with his hands. The shakes become more apparent and he started to mumble under his breath. That’s when the front door opened and Hunter walked in carrying a bag of bagels and coffee. He took in the scene quickly and ran to the blonde’s side, kneeling down in front of him and gently taking his hand. “Shhhhh JT, it’s me. It’s Hunter. You’re all right, nothing bad can happen to you here. You probably just surprised Michael. He’s a friend, I swear. I’d never expose you to anything harmful, would I?” JT continued to shiver but looked up into Hunter’s eyes. He eased his way out of the fetal position and squeezed Hunter’s fingers in response. “See that’s better. Michael, what were you thinking scaring him like that?” Hunter questioned as he whipped around in Michael’s direction. He tried to keep his voice soft and steady, but there was a definite edge to it. “Me? It’s my apartment. Who is this kid and why is he here?” “Hold on and I’ll explain,” Hunter assured Michael as he gently lifted JT to his feet and escorted him into his bedroom. He pulled the blanket back and watched as the blond scooted carefully under the covers. Hunter brushed a stray strand of hair off of his face, before easing his way out of the room and shutting the door behind him. He motioned over to the couch and sat down facing Michael. “That’s JT.” “And you mind explaining to me who JT is exactly?” Hunter took a deep breath in and waited a moment, formulating the best way to describe the young man in the other room. “JT is just JT. He’s a guy I know from the street. He’s not like the other guys. The others are harder, more experienced. JT didn’t enter the scene until about 2 months ago. I don’t know much about his history before he hit the streets, only that his father kicked him out for being a fag and he had nowhere else to go. First time he hustled it was with a guy who liked it pretty rough. We found him in the alley, all beat up and bleeding everywhere. Nobody could even get near him for the first couple of weeks. We’d leave him food and watch to make sure he ate it. I don’t know why we all took to him but I guess it just felt good to be the one needed for once. Now we all take responsibility for him, making sure he eats and sleeps somewhere safe. He can’t hustle, too messed up from the first time so he’s not able to take care of himself. Maybe one day, but until then we all take turns. The guys found out I had a sweet ride and figured I could take better care of him then the rest of them. So here we are. It’s just for a little while, you know until one of the others can find him something else. He’s not much trouble, doesn’t even talk much so you don’t have to worry about him being too loud. He mostly just sketches in this book he brings everywhere.” Hunter had been speaking quickly, afraid to stop and hear Michael’s protests until he had made his case. With the crackdown from the cops, the other boys had moved to other parts of the city and Hunter hadn’t wanted JT to be so far away just in case he needed him. He knew it was silly and everyone did their fair share, but no one had ever trusted him as much as JT and he never wanted to let him down. Too many people had let both of them down and Hunter didn’t want to add his name to the list in JT’s life. Some day JT would wake up from whatever spell had been cast over him and they could be like real brothers, talking and doing all sorts of stupid shit together. Until then he just had to wait. He just had to make Michael and Ben understand. Michael leaned his head into his hands, not sure what to say. His little moment of nobility was coming back to bite him in the ass. A part of him was touched that Hunter seemed to care so much for this little waif that he had taken it upon himself to make sure the boy was OK but the other side of him could already see big problems in the horizon. The boy was obviously damaged goods, unable to function properly on his own. It was easy dealing with Hunter because he always had some sort of smartass remark, but this kid was like a ghost, unable to even talk about what was going on in his head. How do you live with that? Why hasn’t it driven Hunter nuts yet? “Hunter, don’t you think he needs some professional help? It’s been two months and he doesn’t communicate with anyone.” “But he does and I’m not sending him away,” Hunter insisted and grabbed an old worn backpack from the floor. His smile was bright as he flipped through the pages of a beat up and battered sketchbook, finally stopping at one page and shoving it under my nose. “See, it’s him and me at a park not far from here. I bought him an ice cream and he drew a picture of us smiling as we ate on one of the benches. And this one,” he explained as he flipped a few pages,” is all of us asleep in one of those crappy cheap hotel rooms. He almost let me hold him that night as he slept. He got scared though, so I just held his hand instead. He drew this the next day and gave it to me.” “I don’t get it,” Michael stated as he continued to stare at the drawing. “Are you guys in some sort of a relationship?” Hunter huffed and responded, “No, God he’s like my brother. A very hot brother but that’s not why I take care of him. Don’t you understand the significance of these drawings? JT is trying to tell me how he feels and that he appreciates my friendship. Nobody has ever given a damn about being my friend until JT. He might not say it with words, but it’s all here. In this book!” Michael wasn’t sure what to say next. He knew he would regret it tomorrow, hell by dinner he would probably be swearing himself an idiot, but Hunter had never asked for anything. We had given him plenty, without ever asking what he needed. What he needed right now was asleep in his bedroom and the need wasn’t sexual. For once it seemed sex wasn’t even on the menu in Hunter’s head. “Fine, he can stay for a couple of days but that’s it. Then we talk about what we’re going to do next. This is not a halfway house. You got it?” Hunter wrapped his arms around Michael in a tight hug and whispered quietly in his ear, “Thank you.”