 |
| Part 1 : Are You Strong Enough? |
| "Get the fuck out, Justin!" Brian raged. He and Justin were fighting, yet again. They had been fighting non-stop for weeks. Brian didn't know why he had let Justin stay for as long as he had, but he was surely not going to live like this any longer. "You're just kicking me out now?" Justin demanded. "After all this?" He was confused about what was going on with Brian. He would be quietly sitting on the couch sketching and Brian would come home and pick a fight. "Pretty much." Brian sneered as the sarcasm dripped off his voice. "This is my place anyways. You weren't living here; you just stayed with me for a while. And now you've worn out your welcome. Leave." Brian poured himself a scotch and sat down at the kitchen table regarding Justin with distaste. "I can't believe this!" Justin exclaimed as he started going around the loft grabbing everything that was his. He was furious with Brian for treating him like this, but he should have expected it. Brian was never nice to him for long. "Please hurry. I have company coming." Brian delivered the final blow and Justin nearly broke down into tears, something he had vowed he wouldn't do in front of Brian again. At least, not because Brian was telling him, yet again, that he meant nothing to him. "I'm going as fast as I can." Justin said firmly. "Trust me, I want to be out of here just as much as you want me out." "Then hurry. Company's coming in 15 minutes. I want you to be gone by then." Brian swigged back his scotch and went into the bathroom to prepare for his trick. Tonight's pleasure was a new waiter at Woody's. Brian had picked him up when he stopped for a drink with Mikey after work. He looked delicious and Brian couldn't wait to get a taste. "Why did I think that something happened to make him human?" Justin asked himself as he slammed the door of the loft and walked outside. He dropped his huge bad and pulled out his cell phone. He was about to ask directory assistance for the number of a cab company when he saw a familiar face walking towards him. "Ty?" He asked. "Justin!" His cousin exclaimed before pulling his cousin into a hug. "What are you doing here, man?" Justin sighed and glanced down at his bag, there was no way he could lie. "This guy I was seeing just kicked me out." Justin said sadly. A look of realization came to Ty's face. Justin became aware that his cousin hadn't been informed of his sexuality. "Dude, was he like tall, thin, brown hair?" Justin nodded and then groaned. Ty was the trick. "Shit, man." Ty looked down at his feet. "Don't worry, Ty. He's not my boyfriend." Justin found himself saying. "He's Liberty Avenue's resident asshole and I'm the trick who over stayed his welcome." He bit his lip. "I've heard all about Brian Kinney. I was just looking to test him out, seeing if the word on the street was true. Someone at work told me about the blonde trick that Brian kept around more than any other." Ty said. It looked like he was thinking really hard. "I think my dear old cousin could tell me all about Brian's techniques." Ty took Justin's hand and pulled him into the building. "Play along." When Brian pulled open the door to the loft with his famous "fuck me" smile on his face he found his waiter standing there with his arm around Justin. His smile turned to a grimace as Ty started talking. "Listen, man, I was into it until I got here and saw this delectable morsel outside." Ty's tone was a lot like Brian sounded sometimes when he was on the prowl. Justin smiled at Brian and started running his finger up and down Ty's neck. "And I figured, why have a classic when I can have the newer model with all the new toys." Justin had to give props to his cousin, who was saying all the right things to drive Brian crazy. "Sorry, Bri." Justin said. "We've gotta go. Ty is taking me back to his apartment." Justin winked and let himself be led out of the building. Brian was left standing there looking like a wounded dog as his new trick left with his boy toy. This reminded him of the night of the King Babylon contest, and that Sean kid. He wondered if the ache in his chest was from being turned down, which happened to him very rarely, or was it because Justin wasn't broken hearted that Brian's kicked him out. He had just found someone else. "Did I do that?" Brian asked himself out loud. He was suddenly terrified that he had ruined the beautiful boy that Justin used to be. Had he turned his angel into another Brian Kinney? Had he broken the boys heart one too many times? Brian wasn't used to doubting his decisions, but he also wasn't used to thinking that Justin could be gone for good. ... Meanwhile... "I figured he'd have issues about his age. Someone told me he's thirty?" Ty said as he and Justin sat in the Liberty diner drinking pop and eating lemon squares. "Thirty one, last April." Justin said. He couldn't believe it had been almost two years since he had started taking Brian's shit, and he was still taking it, This time he was drowning his sorrows in deserts. Sometimes it was beers at Babylon, this time it was lemon squares at the diner. "Ty, when did you move to the Pitt?" Ty's family lived in Chicago. "Three weeks ago. And the reason you didn't know is because no one knows. The Taylor family doesn't like fags, I've learned." Ty shrugged. I heard that Liberty Avenue was pretty cool, and a bus ticket to Pittsburgh was cheaper than L.A. "So you moved here secretly?" Justin asked. He understood completely. If he hadn't been in high school when he came out he probably would have left too. And if he hadn't had Brian's credit card, when he had left he wouldn't have somewhere as cool as New York. "Yup. Got the job at Woody's, found a little apartment, close to Brian's actually, and here I am!" Ty lifted his arms in a gesture Justin would normally see from Emmett. "Hiya, Sunshine." Debbie said as she squeezed herself into the booth next to Justin. "Who's your friend?" She asked as she gave him an approving pinch to his thigh. "Deb, this is my cousin Ty. Ty, this is my den mother Debbie Novotny." Justin introduced. Debbie shook his hand and quickly turned to Justin. "He kicked you out, didn't he?" Debbie demanded angrily. "Did some flaky trick come around or did he just throw you out for no reason?" Debbie was very good at getting angry with Brian really fast. "Some flaky trick came alone." Ty said raising his hand. "Don't worry, Mrs. Novotny, we gave Brian a good taste of his own medicine." Debbie oohed and ahhed over Ty for a while and then excused herself to go take a table. "Don't worry, I thought she was a freak the first time I met her too." Justin said seeing the look on his cousin's face. "I even told her son. She's done a lot for me. She let me stay with her when I had no place to live, she was like my second mom." "Your lucky, J." Ty said. "My parents kicked me out and I had no place to go." "Your parents are strict Catholics, aren't they?" Justin asked. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be gay in a religious family. "Yeah, and they caught me fucking in the confessional." Ty laughed. "I wasn't meant to be a Taylor anyways. I think I'm the mailman's kid." "Ty!" Justin laughed. "Justin!" The familiar bark set Justin's heart racing. "The jig is up." Justin tried to joke, but felt more than a little nervous about Brian walking up behind him. He refused to turn and look at Brian, but Ty's eyes were glued. Justin could just imagine the anger in Brian's face. "Can we help you?" Ty asked standing toe to toe with Brian. "We were grabbing some food because it's no fun to fuck on an empty stomach." "Fuck off. This is between me and Justin." Brian couldn't believe he was being so outwardly jealous but he had realized some time ago that all his friends knew when he was anyways. "Justin, you're coming back to the loft." "Brian, leave me alone. I'm about to get laid." Justin didn't even look up, just dipped a fry into some ketchup and shoved it in his mouth. "Ty, let's get out of here." Justin threw some money on the table and stood to leave the diner. Brian grabbed his arm. "Fuck off, Brian. You kicked me out!" Justin stormed out of the diner. "Stay away from him." Brian warned Ty before he left through the back door. He didn't want Justin to think he was following him, even though he sort of was. He watched as Justin say down on the curb and put his face in his hands. Ty came out of the diner and put his arms around Justin who just cried and cried. "Maybe it is better this way." Brian said to himself taking one last look at Justin before driving off to spend the evening brooding at home. He hoped Justin had fun. NEXT |