Midnight Whispers
QAF Brian and Justin Fanfiction
Author's Chapter Notes:

Brian and his son have a heart-to-heart chat, not realizing that they each know the subject of their conversation. 

 

 

Promptly knocked on his ass onto the hard-tiled floor and in shock from being punched out by the new student he had just met, Owen's face turned red with anger as he quickly rose from his position and punched Justin in the stomach just before a teacher came rushing over to them to separate them.

 

"Both of you!  In the principal's office - NOW!" the larger and burlier male teacher bellowed as he pushed them toward the inner door leading toward the principal's office, leaving a worried Gus standing there alone.  The principal, a slender, tall brunet woman by the name of Sarah Morrison, looked up from her place behind the desk as they came walking in with the teacher, quickly moving to end the telephone conversation she was having as the two boys glumly took the seats opposite her.

 

In the time that she needed to end her conversation, however, Justin had taken full advantage of the few seconds he had to completely change his demeanor - from one of an aggressive, confident, and smart-alecky combatant to an introverted, tearful victim, small and helpless.

 

Owen looked on in shock as tears began to form in the other boy's eyes and Justin lowered his head as he held onto his stomach as if in pain, right where he had been punched.  He didn't know that Justin was a natural-born actor, calling on his innate talent when the need arose, but he was about to find out.

 

Several minutes later and a performance worthy of an Oscar - including more tears and some batting of Justin's blue eyes at the woman - a shell shocked Owen watched in disbelief as the new guy convinced the woman that he had been totally innocent in the whole affair.  The principal had immediately believed Justin's story, blaming Owen completely for being the instigator and deciding that Justin had merely been defending himself after being provoked.  She had promptly excused Justin from her office as she had twisted around in her chair to pull open her wooden filing cabinet to retrieve the other student's disciplinary file (which was rather thick due to the other boy's constant tussles with other students in school) and inform him what his latest punishment would be.  While she had her back to both students, Justin took the opportunity to give Owen a wink and a smirk before he turned around and triumphantly exited the woman's office, causing the other boy's eyes to darken with barely-controlled rage as he watched him go. 

 

"Are you ok?" Gus asked anxiously as he suddenly appeared at Justin's side as soon as the office door was opened; before Justin could reply, Gus grabbed Justin's shirt and lifted it up a little to see where Owen had hit him.

 

"Yeah, it's going to leave a mark, but I've had worse," Justin reassured him, smiling at the other's boy's concern and enjoying his attentiveness and protectiveness, although he was quite capable of defending himself when the need warranted it.

 

"Did you get detention?" Gus asked, secretly hoping the blond would keep him company while he served his own 'time.'

 

"No" Justin answered proudly.

 

Gus smiled at him and nodded; he was relieved for Justin's sake, but also secretly a little disappointed that he wouldn't have the chance to spend a little more time with him.  He was about to say something, anything, to keep Justin nearby when his phone rang.   "Sorry," he said apologetically as he noticed the caller I.D.  "It's my dad; I have to take this." 

 

Justin nodded.  "It's okay; I have to get to class anyway.  I'll see you around." 

 

Gus sighed, a little frustrated as he watched Justin leave before he answered his cell and brought it up to his ear.  "Hey, Dad."

 

"Hey, Sonny Boy.  I have a meeting with your Teacher of the Year in about an hour, so I'm on my way to your school," was the dry response. 

 

"That's great," Gus told him, not surprised that his father had managed to get it scheduled so quickly.  "I'll meet you here; maybe we can go eat lunch in the cafeteria together."

 

Gus could hear his father chuckle softly on the other end.  "Wouldn't you be embarrassed about having your old man tagging along?"

 

"Are you kidding? It'll be fun," Gus told him.  When it came to his father, he couldn't be prouder of him; his dad was the epitome of everything he ever wanted to be:  confident, successful and extremely charming.  Whatever his father wanted, he stopped at nothing until he got it - Gus liked that.  And right now Gus desperately needed his advice about Justin.  Shit, he had to have that boy, no matter what.  He was occupying his every thought now.  Hopefully his father could give him some badly-needed guidance on how to make that happen.

 

"Okay, I'll see you in a little bit," Brian told him, silently pleased that Gus would want his company and was proud to be seen with him; that meant more to him than his son would ever know.  "Later," he said softly as he and Gus disconnected their call.  As soon as they said goodbye, the next period bell rang and the whole hallway was suddenly flooded with teenagers being dismissed from their classrooms for the lunch break. 

 

Gus observed Kayla walking quickly in his direction as Owen emerged from the main office, looking pissed as hell.  Owen stomped up to him and began to curse over his bad luck; Gus was saved from having to commiserate with him as Kayla arrived and the other boy suddenly became uncharacteristically quiet. 

 

"You won't believe what a boring class you missed!" she said to Gus as she walked up to her friend; Gus was too busy noticing Owen's weird reaction to Kayla's presence, however, to reply as he gave his basketball teammate a nudge. "What's up with you, dude?" he asked him, but Owen seemed to only have eyes for his friend. 

 

"Hey, Kayla, you look pretty today," Owen blurted out abruptly as he looked down at the floor in embarrassment; Gus couldn't believe his eyes as everything suddenly became crystal clear.   Owen was smitten with his best friend!

 

Kayla looked at Owen as if he had grown a third eye as she replied woodenly, "Thanks," before turning to address her best friend.  "Can we get going, Gus? PLEASE?"

 

Giving Owen a quick goodbye in parting, he could almost feel the other boy's eyes watching them as they walked away. 

 

"What the fuck was that?!" Kayla screamed at Gus as soon as they were out of the other boy's hearing range.  "You set that up just to mess with me, didn't you?!  I can't believe you!"

 

Gus giggled; could this day get any weirder?  "I swear, Kayla, I had nothing to do with it."  He grinned at his friend's indignant expression.  "I guess the low-cut blouses you're wearing are finally catching someone's attention."  Kayla knew she was barely adhering to the Academy's dress code by wearing white blouses that showed just a little too much cleavage, but she tried to skim around the code by keeping her blouse buttoned up a little more while she was in class.  As soon as she was back out in the hallway, however, invariably the blouse got unbuttoned just a little more as her slightly rebellious nature took over. 

 

"Ewww!!!" Kayla replied with a disgusted look on her face as she wrinkled her nose at the thought.  Owen Stevens was the last person she would be interested in.  Once more, she lamented the fact that the boy she WOULD be interested in would never be interested in her. 

 

"Come on!" Gus cajoled her good naturedly.   "You could do a lot worse! He's a poplar jock," he reminded her as he nudged her with his elbow.

 

She grimaced as Gus grinned.  "Shit, can we please just change the subject!?" she growled as she gave him a smack in the upper arm.

 

Gus's eyes twinkled.  "I know what will cheer you up," he told her.  "Your favorite man is on his way here," he sing-songed as he smiled over at her. 

 

Kayla's eyes lit up.  "Your dad is coming?!" she said, excited, as she stopped in her tracks, making several students have to detour around them.

 

"Yep! He's having a meeting with that bitch, Miss Lipton," he reported with a smile, knowing his father would be quite capable of taking care of her - and putting her in her place. 

 

"Yes!!!" Kayla said as she punched her arm briefly into the air; she began to literally jiggle up and down in anticipation.  Unlike her other friends' parents, Gus's father was uber cool. 

 

"Don't you need to get to your next class?" Gus asked in amusement, knowing that she typically had second lunch with him. 

 

"Are you kidding?! And miss staring at the most beautiful man in the whole wide world?! I don't think so!!" she cried out, grinning from ear to ear.

 

Gus shook his head, hoping that one day he, too, would be the recipient of that sort of idol worship.  He could only hope that his father's ability to make everyone adore him - man or woman - would one day be passed onto him as well. 

 

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Kayla exclaimed as they resumed their walking down the hall.  "Could you please sleep over tonight? I really need you to help me with my math; I have a major test tomorrow."

 

Gus grinned.  "Sure, just as long you put your hair back in a ponytail! I'm tired of waking up with all your curly hair in my mouth!"

Kayla gave him another smack in the arm as she laughed at him. 

 


 

A short time later, Brian walked out of his meeting with Miss Lipton, his opinion unchanged from before.  Shit, the woman was a raging bitch!  But it hadn't been long before she, too, had fallen for the Kinney charm, he noticed, as he smirked at her reaction to him.  She wouldn't be bothering Gus anymore, that much was assured.  The woman had practically drooled all over him as he had turned on the charm.  Standing out in the hallway now, wearing a custom-made black suit with a light green shirt and a gray tie, he looked like he had just been photographed for a spread in GQ magazine.  A few teenage girls standing nearby stopped to openly ogle him, whispering in each other's ears as they smiled at him in pure awe and giggled.  He indulged in their fantasies by returned their smile and waggling his eyebrows at them before he retrieved his cellphone from his suit pocket and texted his son.

 

"Dad!"  Brian heard a yell from across the hall before he had a chance to finish; seconds later he was greeted by a tight bear hug from his son.  He didn't care how old his son became; he loved him so much, and he loved the fact that no matter how old his son became Gus was always willing to show affection toward him.  It was a far cry from what he had experienced from his own father. 

 

"Hello, Mr. Kinney," Kayla greeted him almost shyly by Gus's side, her eyes sparkling. 

 

"Well, Miss Callahan; don't you look beautiful today," he replied smoothly, winking at her as she promptly blushed a deep shade of pink. 

 

"Yeah! That seems to be the general conclusion today," Gus quipped mysteriously with a laugh as Kayla smacked him in the stomach this time.

 

"What do you mean?" Brian asked as he raised an eyebrow curiously.

 

"Nothing!" Kayla hastily replied, her face turning an even deeper shade of pink as she tried to warn Gus with her eyes that if he valued his life, he'd better keep his mouth shut. 

 

Gus, however, merely grinned as he gave her a temporary reprieve.  "I'll tell you later, Dad," he said as Kayla glared at him.  "Come on, let's go eat!"

 

Just as they were about to leave the hallway and turn toward the cafeteria, however, they heard someone speaking nearby.  "Miss Callahan!"  

 

Sighing heavily, Kayla turned around to see the principal staring at her as she lightly tapped her foot, her arms crossed over her chest. 

 

"I see Gus has a parental excuse from his study class, but unless there's something I don't know about, I don't recall Mr. Kinney being your father, too, so get back to your classroom immediately!" she barked.

 

"Yes ma'am," Kayla said dejectedly.  Gus gave her a sympathetic look as she turned and strode reluctantly down the hallway toward her class.  Gus was silently somewhat thankful that Kayla has been redirected to her class, however, because he desperately wanted to talk to his dad alone.

 


 

"So, Dad," he began as they obtained their lunch trays a few minutes later and walked over to a deserted table to sit down next to each other.  "I kind of needed your advice on something..."

 

"Sure, Sonny Boy," Brian reassured him as he looked over at his son.  "What about?"  Brian began to get a little concerned when he noticed Gus fidgeting nervously.  Had he managed to get into some other kind of trouble?  He knew his son wasn't an angel, especially, but he was normally a pretty good kid. 

 

"Well, it's about a guy....." Gus stammered as he looked down at his lap.

 

Brian smiled in relief; now that was something he could handle! 

 

"... Well, I can't... he's just so... and I seem to..." Gus mumbled as he struggled to speak.  Shit, this was so hard!

 

Brian placed his hand on his son's arm reassuringly.  "Listen, Sonny Boy.  When you talk to him, just be yourself," he counseled.  "I can't think of anyone who would turn you down; if they do, they're a fucking idiot."

 

Gus beamed at his father's words before his face sobered.  He bit his lip as he informed his father, "The thing is... I think he has someone else..."

 

Brian grinned.  "A little competition never hurt anyone," he replied. "But you can make him forget this OTHER guy," he said firmly.  "You are my son and the Kinney man always gets the guy," Brian said proudly with total conviction. 

 

Gus's face broke out into a grateful smile.  He felt so much better now!  He knew his father would say just the right thing.  "Thanks, Dad!" he exclaimed as Brian nodded with a smile. "Oh, by the way... I'm spending the night at Kayla's tonight; is that ok?  She needs help studying for her math test tomorrow."

 

"Of course, Sonny Boy," Brian told him, smiling.  As Gus dug into his mashed potatoes and chicken nuggets with gusto, Brian pulled out his phone to type in a quick text. 

 

**How about we continue where we left off tonight, Sunshine?**

 

Only a few seconds passed before he got a text back. 

 

**Definitely.**

 

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