A Few Days Later.

Brian frowned as he watched Justin at the window.  The past few days had been rough; filled with nightmares, meltdowns, and screaming.  As he continued to come up empty handed in his search for Hunter, Justin slipped further and further back down into the depression he’d worked so hard to pull him from.  It was hard to see him go back on all the progress he’d made.  It was as if Justin didn’t even feel safe in their loft anymore, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

Now, Justin was back to listlessly staring out the window - rarely speaking, and rarely eating.  Brian couldn’t even bribe him to do his PT anymore.  He had to move Justin’s hand for him and nothing got accomplished.  He only did it to make sure Justin remained in the habit so when he broke free of this funk he’d be able to jump right back in.

Brian crossed his arms over his chest and leaned his hip against the kitchen counter.  He glanced to the pot of boiling water and stirred the pasta a bit.  He normally wouldn’t cook, but they’d been eating out so much lately that even he was getting sick of it.  He decided they both deserved a home cooked meal and he had watched Justin cook enough before to remember some basics. 

He heard Justin sigh and turned his attention back over to the boy.  He felt helpless once more.  Initially, when Justin had witnessed the murder, he seemed invigorated with the same kind of determination he had when he pursued him a year ago.  Relentless, single-minded, and dedicated.  Now, it seemed like his fear was resurfacing and he was sinking back into that hole.

Watching that brief spark of his old Justin fade away hurt more than he could say.  He didn’t care about anyone as much as he did Justin, and he was starting to realize that it wasn’t just out of guilt, either.  Guilt didn’t make a person feel the way he felt.  It wasn’t a huge revelation – he’d known that Justin was important to him since before the bashing – but it was surprising to realize his actions after the bashing had more to do with genuine concern than guilt.

He rolled his lips into his mouth, unsure of what he was supposed to do with the knowledge.  He stirred the pot again and then reached into the pantry for a jar of pasta sauce.  “Is alfredo okay?”  He called out, grabbing a white jar.  Justin reacted poorly to tomato based sauces, so he didn’t buy any, but he still felt he deserved a say in what they ate.  Sometimes Justin would surprise him and ask for something he knew would make him sick just because he liked it so much.

Justin didn’t answer and Brian shook his head.  It was going to be one of those nights.  He would probably have to try and force the food down the boy just get some nutrients in him.  He set the jar down on the counter without opening it and walked across the living room to the couch.

Brian sat down next to Justin and reached a hand to run down his back slowly.  “Hey.”  He said, glancing to the binoculars on the windowsill.  Justin didn’t even seem to care about them anymore either. 

Justin turned to him and lifted an eyebrow.  Brian moved his hand up to his back and then had it rest on the soft curve of his neck.  “Did you hear me?”  He asked and motioned his head back to the kitchen.  “Is alfredo sauce okay?”  He repeated.

“Sure…”  Justin murmured flatly with a shrug.  He turned back to the window and looked out some more.  Brian turned his hand to latch onto Justin’s chin and turned him back to face him.

“Hey.  Don’t get down.  We’ll find him.”  Brian wished he could promise Justin that everything was going to be alright, but he couldn’t.  It had been days since they had even seen the murderers, and Brian had no idea where to find this ‘Hunter’.  But one of them had to stay optimistic, and it had to be him.  If he let Justin give in he feared he’d lose the boy forever; that wasn’t something he was willing to let happen.

Justin looked at him for a long moment and then nodded slowly as he turned back to the window.  “Yeah.  Okay.”  He said evenly.  “If you say so.” 

There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in Justin’s tone, but Brian was certain it was sarcastic.  He sighed, and leaned in to kiss the side of Justin’s head. “I need to stop by Mikey’s after dinner.” He said, not even bothering to ask if Justin wanted to come along. He knew what the answer would be. He didn’t receive a response, so he just walked back to the kitchen.  He tried not to think too much about Justin’s worsening condition.  He would find Hunter, and when he did Justin would get back to his normal self.  He had to believe that.

Hunter was washing off after a job in the locker room showers of the gym at the university.  He did it clinically, noting some bruises and marks that weren’t there before.  He didn’t care, it wouldn’t have been the first time.  But it did remind him of Jason, and how rough he’d been beaten by those two men.  He shuddered as he remembered how battered the kid’s body had been.

He paused from scrubbing himself and then leaned against the cold tiles of the shower. He knew in his heart Jason was dead.  And if he ever saw those two men again, he didn’t know what he’d do.  He’d tried to warn Jason and he didn’t listen; how could he convince the police that he’d been killed?

He quickly finished his shower and patted himself dry with a towel he found in a hamper. He tossed it back and dressed in a matter of seconds.  Then, he got out of the locker room and went back on the hunt for another customer.  He hoped he could fit in two more before the night was done.

He moved a few streets away from the university and once again began looking for someone to pick up. He’d mastered the ability to pick one out of the street.  When before clients would flock to him and the other hustlers grouped up on the corner, now he had to seek them out of the crowd. 

Hunter brushed his bangs out of his eyes and assumed what he liked to call ‘the position’. He knew it wouldn’t be long for someone to stop and pick him up for a go. He shifted every once in a while, as he leaned back against the brick wall of the building he’d chosen.

There wasn’t as much traffic as he’d anticipated so he ended up staying there longer than he would have liked. But then a sleek, black SUV pulled up to the curb. Hunter paused, concerned, but he walked forward anyways.  There had to be more than one kind of black SUV in the entirety of Pittsburgh. He watched the window roll down and put on his best charming smile. “Hey.” He greeted, but then froze when he saw who was inside.

“How much?” The man asked, leaning out a bit. The light from the street lamp illuminated his face and Hunter recognized him immediately. He was one of the men who had taken Jason.

He cleared his throat and shook his head. “What are you talking about, Dude?” He asked, feigning ignorance. He stuck his hands deep in his pockets and tried to look as trashy as possible. “You drive the same car as my dealer.” He said and then started backing away. “See ya.” He waved a bit and continued walking. He forced himself to walk slowly and calmly.

The SUV remained parked there for a few seconds and Hunter could feel his heart pounding in his chest. What if they didn’t care? What if they just grabbed him and took him. There was no one else around. He’d disappear just like Jason did.

His body was screaming at him to run, but he forced himself not to. Eventually, the SUV drove off and left him alone. Hunter’s shoulders sagged and he closed his eyes tightly. He leaned over as he felt the sudden urge to be sick. All of his work to avoid those two and they still ended up finding him. ‘Oh god…What the fuck am I supposed to do?’ He wondered in a panic.

He watched the SUV turn down another road and out of sight. His heart didn’t stop racing, however. He moved over away from the street and leaned against a building. He slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets, surprised when he felt a slip of paper come with them. He turned it over and gasped a bit.

It was the business card of that professor. Following his instinct, he found the nearest payphone and slid in the few bits of change he had. To be safe, he called the man’s cellphone. He didn’t have enough for two calls and he didn’t want to risk missing him.

It seemed to ring forever. Four, five, six times and still no answer. He was practically squirming in the phone booth. He felt like he wanted to bolt out of his skin. Then, finally, an answer.

“Hello?”

Hunter smiled, he recognized the man’s voice.

“Hey uhh…Ben Bruckner?” He asked, reading the card.

“Yes. Who is this?” Ben answered and Hunter could hear someone whisper something to him on the other line, but he didn’t hear what.

“My name is Hunter. We met a few days ago at the coffee shop at the school. I…” Hunter gave an uncomfortable cough. “I came on to you?

“Oh! Hey. Now isn’t exactly a good time.” Ben answered and Hunter shook his head fervently, even though the man couldn’t see it.

“No. You don’t understand! I think these two guys killed someone and I-.”

“Wait what?!”

Hunter closed his eyes and sighed. “Please. I need help.” He said, even though it was hard to admit. He had never needed anyone to help him before and he didn’t like asking for it now. He just didn’t know what else to do.

“I’m not at home right now, Hunter.”

“Please…”

There was a sigh and some more whispering. “Okay. Come to 315 Baker Street. Number 204.”

“Thanks!” Hunter hung up and booked it across town. He didn’t want to linger nearby with those two men on the prowl. He wasn’t going to be their next victim.

It didn’t take him long to find the address. He looked up at the apartment building and darted inside when someone carrying some grocery bags opened the door. He used the stairs to get to the second floor and then knocked loudly three times. He bounced from foot to foot until it opened and he walked inside without waiting for permission.

“Well excuse you.” A snotty voice snapped at him, but didn’t stop him from getting further into the apartment. Hunter glanced back long enough to see that it wasn’t Ben who had answered the door. He looked into the living room and saw the professor sitting on the couch.

He saw the wine glasses, looked between the two of them a few times and it clicked. He’d crashed in on a date. Ben stood and walked over to him, a look of concern prevalent on his handsome face. “Are you alright?” He asked and Hunter nodded.

“Yeah I’m fine.” He said, his fear and anxiety beginning to fade now that he was safe inside somewhere.

“Hunter this is Michael. Michael, this is Hunter. He, ahem, works at the university.” Ben said politely, but it was obvious what it was he did. So, unashamed, Hunter turned to Michael and smiled broadly as he held out his hand.

“I’m a prostitute.” He said and Michael gave him an uncomfortable smile. He did shake his hand though.

“I run a comic book shop. What is this about a murder?” He asked and Hunter didn’t know why, but there was something that made him like the annoying little man instantly. Maybe it was his eyes, or the shape of his face; he didn’t know. But he felt like this Michael was someone he could grow to like.

“There are these two men who go prowling for hustlers. One kid I know…he was picked up by them and he never came back. And I know what you’re going to say. He didn’t just pick up and leave town. He was trying to make a life for himself here.” Hunter said, pre-emptively cutting them both off when it was obvious they were going to jump in with some explanation.

“Well, have you tried going to the police?” Ben asked, folding his arms over his chest as his brow furrowed seriously. Hunter shook his head.

“You think they’d believe me? I don’t have any proof; I don’t even know the guy’s last name. I just know that they did something to him. He never even came back for his stuff.” Hunter bit his lip as he thought about how unfair it was for someone like Jason to be murdered. It could have been any one of them, but it just had to be the one kid who had some redeeming qualities. “I’m no one. But maybe if you talked t-.”

Hunter stopped and turned as the door swung open. His body tensed and he was immediately ready to run because he was certain that the two killers were on the other side of the door. He even began moving behind Ben and Michael in a preemptive attempt to make a run for it. But then whoever was walking in started talking.

“Hey, Mikey. I got to talk to you about Justin. He’s getting worse.”

Hunter didn’t hear anything else that the man said because he had finally caught a look at him. He was by far the most attractive man he’d ever seen before. Hands down. No contest. Truth be told he’d always leaned more towards women, but this man was a major exception. All other thoughts fled his mind, and the only one that remained was how to get into bed with him.

After dinner Brian had stuck to his word of going over to Michael’s. He needed some advice because he was quickly losing control of the situation. Justin was safe in the loft, staring out the window morosely, and so he slipped out without Justin even realizing he was gone. He wasn’t even spared a glance.

He rushed over though, because he didn’t want to be gone long. He didn’t know what kind of state Justin was in and the idea of leaving him alone with a multitude of ways to kill himself was unnerving. So, he rushed to Michael’s apartment and darted up the stairs. He didn’t bother knocking – Michael never knocked on his door, so why should he knock on Michael’s? Instead, he pushed it open right away and started talking.

“Hey, Mikey. I got to talk to you about Justin. He’s getting worse.” He said, his back to the apartment as he shut the door behind him. When he turned to look in, however, he paused as three faces stared back. Only one he recognized. “The fuck is going on here?” He asked noting the seriousness of the air.

“Brian, now isn’t a good time.” Michael said, moving towards him and grabbing his arm. He started pulling him back to the door. “Call me tomorrow and we’ll talk about Justin.” Michael didn’t get him far, however, before some kid brushed up against him.

“Hey there. Name’s Hunter. Why don’t you and I-.”

The kid didn’t get to finish because Brian pulled free of Michael’s arm and placed his hands on Hunter’s shoulders. “Hunter? That’s your name?” He asked, unwilling to believe he’d gotten this lucky as to literally stumble into the one hustler in the entire city he needed to find.

“Uhhh, yeah?” The kid answered slowly. Brian reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He quickly withdrew Justin’s drawing and unfolded it, letting the wallet fall to the floor as he didn’t want to waste any time putting it back in.

“Brian?” Michael asked, moving towards him again. Brian simply held up a hand and motioned for him to wait.

“You know this kid?” He asked and pointed to Justin’s drawing of the hustler. Hunter’s eyes widened immediately and he had his answer. “What’s his name?” He demanded, his voice rising.

“How do you know him?” Hunter snapped, jerking free of his hold. He backed up a few steps, but Brian didn’t let up and followed him. Suddenly, the other stranger’s hand was on him and holding him back.

“Hey. Give him some space. Why don’t you just tell us what’s going on.” He said and Brian gave him a long, frustrated look, and then slowly turned to Michael.

“Who the fuck is this guy?” He asked, making a point of removing his hand from his shoulder.  Though, in the back of his head he realized something about this stranger was familiar.

“That’s Ben. He and I were having a date tonight.” Michael explained, with a roll of his eyes.

Brian raised his eyebrows and decided to look at Ben in a new light. Really looking at him, Brian realized that he’d fucked him before. He wisely decided not to voice that. However, that also meant that he was good enough for Michael. He nodded his approval. “Over a week ago Justin saw someone get murdered across the street.” He said bluntly.

“Who’s Justin?” Hunter asked and Brian glanced at him and then shrugged.

He didn’t have an answer for that. Justin was…Justin. That’s all that had ever mattered.

“Justin’s his boyfriend.” Michael supplied for him and Brian tensed and scowled.

“Boyfriend.” He spat the word with distain. “Please…We’re not teena-.” He stopped, because he was about to say something extremely inaccurate. Not to mention something Michael would probably tease him relentlessly for. It didn’t seem to matter because he could see the glee on his best friend’s face.

“Not what, Brian? Teenagers? Is that what you were going to say?” He asked smugly. Brian just scoffed and shook his head.

“You have a boyfriend?” Hunter suddenly asked and Brian wanted to scream.

“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s…Justin. Okay? Just…focus here.” He asked them all and pointed to the drawing once more. He waited for silence from the small group and then nodded in approval. “He saw this kid get murdered about a week ago. You know him?” He asked, focusing in on Hunter once more.

Hunter nodded solemnly. “His name is Jason. Those two guys picked him up once and he came back beaten pretty bad. He said he didn’t care because they gave him a fat amount of cash. Then they came back and took him again. He didn’t come back that time.” Hunter explained, leaning his hip against the nearby table. Brian looked back down at the picture and smiled a little.

With a name, and someone who could prove that he was missing, the cops would have to listen to him. “You’re coming with me.” He said to Hunter, waving him over. The eagerness with which the kid responded was familiar and reminded him of Justin when they first met. However, with Justin it was endearing. With this kid it was annoying. The last thing he needed was another teenager with a crush on him. The last one ended up with a bat to the head.

“Where are we going?” Hunter asked.

Brian looked at him as if it should be obvious. “The police.”