The Wish - Part 1
Brian stood on the catwalk; looking down at the hundreds of hot, sweaty bodies moving to the music, grinding against each other.
“The pickings are slim, huh?” Emmett asked.
Brian glanced at him, then returned his gaze to the guy he’d been eyeing all night.
“When was the last time you two talked?” Emmett asked, seeing who it was that Brian was staring at.
Brian didn’t say anything, just sighed.
“You do know that he left Ethan, right?”
Brian looked up at him, “So?”
“So? There’s a reason for that.”
“And what might that be?” Brian was starting to get annoyed. Everybody always thought they had the right to butt into their relationship, or the lack there of.
“You.”
Brian rolled his eyes and began to leave, but Emmett grabbed his arm.
“Can’t you see it? He’s just as miserable as you are.”
Brian looked at Emmett, then down at the blonde in the crowd. It had been almost five months since Justin left and over three months since Justin left Ethan. Apparently the great romance didn’t last that long and wasn’t all that great. He and Justin tried to remain civil, since Justin still worked at the diner and they had the same friends. Emmett was right. He could see it. He could see that Justin wasn’t happy, not even during those two months that he was with Ethan. And he hated the feeling that Justin’s unhappiness was once again his fault. And not for the first time he wondered how different their lives would have been if they hadn’t met that night. If he hadn’t seen Justin leaning against that pole.
Brian pushed Emmett’s hand away and walked downstairs and out of the club. He was tired of the loud music, but didn’t want to go home yet, so he pulled his Jeep out on the road and headed to Woody’s.
~~~
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brian Kinney so depressed before.”
Brian looked up to see Mysterious Marilyn standing next to him.
“He still loves you, you know,” she continued.
“Who?” Brian asked.
“You know who, honey. The same little twink that you’re thinking of right now.”
“Is that supposed to impress me? Everybody here knows I was with him.”
“Yes, but only few know how much you care about him.”
Brian smirked.
“I can help,” Mysterious Marilyn said, taking a seat next to him.
“Help? How?” Brian was actually drunk enough to be amused by this.
“Make a wish.”
“What?”
“Here,” she handed him a little crystal, “Put this under your pillow tonight and make a wish before you go to sleep.”
“Are you kidding me? Am I gonna see a tooth fairy fly through my window?”
“Trust me. You can wish for anything you want.”
“Like what?”
“Like for him to never have left you. Or for him to be in your bed the next day. Whatever you want.”
Brian sneered again.
“It can’t hurt, can it?”
Brian sighed. It can’t get any worse than this. He placed the crystal in his pocket, threw a few bills down for the drink, and walked out of the bar.
~~~
Brian stumbled in, sliding the door shut behind him. He took of his jacket and threw it on the couch. He heard something hitting the floor. Turning on the light he saw the little crystal that Mysterious Marilyn gave him lying on the floor. He picked it up and went into the bedroom. He felt too tired and too drunk to undress, so he just dropped on the bed.
Twirling the crystal in his hand he wondered what he wanted to wish for. For Justin to be here right now? Yes. For him to be inside Justin? More than anything. For him to stop loving Justin? It would make life so easy. For him to never have met Justin? Definitely.
“I wish I didn’t meet Justin that night,” he said out loud, then put the crystal under his pillow, and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to overcome him.
~~~
TWO YEARS BEFORE
“That was quick,” Michael said when Brian came down the stairs and put an arm around him.
“When you’ve had as much practice as he’s had,” Ted chimed in.
“I got bored,” Brian replied.
“Yeah, ‘cause getting your dick sucked can be so tedious,” Emmett said.
“Hey, Kinney.”
Brian turned around to see his latest trick standing a few feet away.
“What the fuck do you want?” Brian said annoyed.
“I thought we’d continue this somewhere else,” the trick said, getting closer.
Brian smirked, “You weren’t THAT good.”
~~~
Justin leaned against the light pole, asking himself once again what the hell he was doing here.
“You’re new around here,” he heard someone say. Turning around he saw a guy standing next to him. He was a little bit taller than Justin, buff, but not too much. He had light brown hair and green eyes. Justin thought he looked a lot like Shane West, only a couple years younger.
“Is it that obvious?” Justin asked.
“Well…yeah, sort of,” the other guy said. “I’m Caleb.”
“Justin.”
“Can I buy you a drink?” Caleb asked.
“Uhm…”
“No funny business, I promise.”
Justin considered his options, “Yeah, sure,” he nodded.
They both crossed the street, heading towards the bar.
~~~
He finally got rid of the trick. This one was persistent. Brian turned around and headed toward the Jeep again.
“So, what was wrong with this one?” Ted asked as they once again moved towards the Jeep.
“He looked pretty hot to me,” Michael said.
“Everybody looks hot to you,” Brian said, putting his jacked inside the Jeep. He got this weird feeling. Looking up, he stared at the light pole. Suddenly he saw an image of a blonde standing there looking at him like in a soda commercial. He turned away then looked back. There was nobody there. Blaming his hallucination on whatever drug he took tonight, Brian opened the door and got into the Jeep.
~~~
“Caleb is a really strange name,” Justin said, sipping on a beer.
“It means faithful. My dad cheated on my mom while she was pregnant with me, so she wanted to make sure that her son wouldn’t do that to another woman,” he explained. “I guess she can rest easy. All the women are safe from me.”
They both laughed.
Caleb found himself to be completely mesmerized by Justin’s smile. It was a shy smile, but it could brighten up the whole room.
“Does she…does she know…” Justin tried to ask.
“That I’m gay?”
“Yeah.”
“On the days when she visits from the denial land. What about your folks?”
“Oh, God, no. They’d kill me,” Justin shook his head.
“Maybe not.”
“No. There’s no way that’s gonna happen.”
Caleb nodded. That topic was closed. “I gotta get home. Do you want a ride or something?”
“Uh, no. My parents think I’m sleeping over at a friend’s.”
“So, you have nowhere to go?”
“Well…technically…” Justin looked down.
“My place is only a couple of blocks away.”
Justin looked up at him. Even he realized what the invitation meant.
“Ok,” he said.
~~~
“So, boys, get any dick tonight?” Debbie asked with a huge smile.
“Ma!” Michael whined, as Emmett, Ted, and Brian laughed.
“Well, I know I don’t have to ask you,” she said to Brian who gave her an innocent look. “So, what are you all gonna have?” she took out the order book.
While the boys were ordering, Brian took out his cell phone to check if there were any calls.
“Shit.”
“What’s wrong?” Michael asked.
“I left the damn phone off.” He turned the phone on and pressed the button to check his messages.
All four of them stared at him, watching the expression on his face change. “Fuck!” he exclaimed.
“What’s wrong now?” Debbie asked.
Brian got up, grabbing his jacket, “Mel called from the hospital.”
“Holly shit,” Michael said, getting up and following Brian out of the diner.
~~~
“Come on in,” Caleb said, holding the door open for Justin.
Walking in, Justin looked around. It was a very small one-bedroom apartment.
“It’s a nice place,” Justin tried to be polite.
Caleb chuckled, “It’s a shit-hole, but it’s my shit-hole and that’s all that matters.”
Justin smiled.
“You want anything to drink?” Caleb asked, opening the fridge and taking out a can of pop.
“No, thanks,” Justin said. His heart was racing in anticipation of what was to come next.
He watched the other man take a couple of sips out of the can. Putting it down on the kitchen table, Caleb slowly walked toward him. Justin thought his heart would leap out of his chest as Caleb leaned in, gently placing a kiss on his lips. He pulled away a bit, looking at Justin, making sure it was ok. He kissed him again, this time slipping a tongue into his mouth. It started slowly and gently, growing into a passionate kiss.
~~~
“Oh, my God,” Brian said at the sight of Lindsay on the bed, holding a baby.
“Say hello to your son,” Lindsay said.
Brian hesitated.
“Well, go on, Michael nudged him.
“When did it start?” Brian asked, coming closer to the bed.
“Around seven,” Melanie said, obviously annoyed. She was always annoyed with him. That wasn’t anything new.
“Six hours later there he was,” Lindsay added.
“Wish I could’ve been here,” Brian said, looking down at his son. “How often do I get to see snatch?”
They laughed.
“Looks just like you,” Lindsay said.
“I guess he must be mine then.”
“Wanna hold him?”
Carefully, she handed their son to him.
“Careful, don’t drop him,” Melanie said.
“That’s just what I was planning on doing,” Brian said sarcastically.
He couldn’t stop staring at this little creature in his hands. He smiled at his son.
“We’ve been thinking of names. Mel wants to call him Abraham, after her grandfather, but I like Gus,” Lindsay said.
Brian looked up at where Michael was standing. Suddenly, there was another person standing there. The same blonde he thought he saw outside of Babylon. “You wouldn’t survive a day in school being named Abraham, but I guess Gus is ok,” he heard the blonde say.
“Brian?” He heard Lindsay’s voice.
“Hmm…what?” he looked down at her.
“What do you think?”
He looked down at his son, “Gus.” He looked back at her, noticing the very unhappy look on Melanie’s face. “Gus.” He repeated. For some reason it felt right. “Come on, Gus, give your daddy a smile.”
He smiled and looked at Michael who took his first picture with his son.
~~~
It took him a moment to realize where he was, to remember the events of the night before. He rolled on his back to see the other man staring at him.
“Morning,” Caleb smiled.
“Morning.”
“How did you sleep?”
“Fine.”
Caleb scooted closer and kissed him. “Last night was great.”
Justin smiled, “Yeah. I think all the kudos for that go to you, since I had no fucking idea what I was doing.”
“You were wonderful.” Caleb kissed him again.
“You mind if I take a shower?” Justin asked, sitting up.
“No, not at all.”
Justin got up and strolled out of the room.
The warm water felt incredible on his body. Everything felt incredible right now. It was as if his body had been asleep and was awakened last night. He remembered the feel of Caleb inside him. It was something he’d never felt before. It was so completely new and exciting. He knew he should have been happy. He had sex last night. And he was happy. He was ecstatic. But there was something missing.
~~~
Brian opened his eyes, trying to remember what the fuck happened the night before. Unable to do so, he tried to remember what the fuck he took last night. Unable to do that either, he strutted over to the phone to check his messages. Hearing Mel’s message it all came crashing down on him. The hospital, his son, Lindsay. He remembered all of it.
“Fuck. I have a baby.”
He looked around the loft. Something wasn’t right. It was this weird feeling he had in the pit of his stomach. The loft was empty. But that’s how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be alone here.
Hoping that a shower would help erase the effects of the hangover, Brian headed for the bathroom.
He leaned against the wall, letting the water run down his body. It felt good. But something was still off. An image of the same blonde standing here with him in the shower ran through his mind. What the fuck? He couldn’t even remember meeting that guy, but he kept seeing him in his head. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the image. The image went away, but the feeling that something was wrong, that something was missing was still there.
~~~
Noticing Daphne on the steps, he ran up to her.
“Where have you been?” She asked, handing him his stuff, “Your mom called. I didn’t know what to tell her. I said you were still asleep.”
He just stared back at her, a smirk on his face.
“Justin?”
His smile grew wider, “I’ll tell you later.”
Picking up his bag and uniform, they went inside the school.
Go to Part 2