A little more than two weeks had passed since Brian experienced his first flash of memory from the night of Justin’s Senior Prom. Brian had kept the news to himself, except for Justin, intending to tell those who loved him all about it that weekend. Those plans changed when he was called out of town on business, but Justin kept his word to remain mum on the subject until Brian returned. On Monday, after work, Brian managed to arrange a meeting with everyone who cared about him. By eight o’clock that night, his living room was filled with curious loved ones who knew something was up. Brian never called everyone together like this, unless it was for a prearranged party to celebrate something, and even then it was seldom held in his loft. A disastrous thirtieth birthday party for Michael was an exception to that rule.
However, now they were all here… Michael, Debbie, Vic, Emmett, Ted, and even Daphne and Jennifer. Justin had already been at the loft ever since Brian picked him up immediately after classes were out for the day at PIFA. Justin was the only one present who was already privy to Brian’s reasons for gathering everyone together. And although he felt it was a shame, he understood why there were no blood family members of Brian’s at the loft too. He understood it all too well, now that his relationship with his father had soured so badly that they never spoke to each other anymore. He was just grateful that he still had his mother in his corner. He was also grateful that Brian had Debbie, who was as much a mother to him as any woman could be. All those present stood around theorizing about the reason Brian had called them together. They hoped it was good news. There had been enough bad news to last a lifetime for Brian as far as they were concerned. Finally, they spotted Brian stepping down from his bedroom and coming towards them. A hush fell over the group. Inquisitive eyes fell on Brian as he approached.
“Glad to see you all came tonight,” Brian began. “I’m sure you are wondering why I asked you to come.”
“We are a little curious,” piped up Michael. “It must be important for you to give up a night at Babylon just to see all of us.”
“Mikey’s right. You don’t care whether it’s the weekend or a weekday. Babylon is where you are usually at this time of night,” added Emmett.
“Babylon will be there tomorrow, but as for tonight, I thought I would celebrate my big news with the folks who care about me the most. And yes, I know you love me. Can’t blame you for that,” Brian grinned, tongue planted firmly in his cheek.
Debbie piped up with, “Okay, Brian, you have our full attention. This is obviously very important to you, and we are all now on pins and needles to find out what is going on. So, spill.”
Justin stood off to the side and listened as Brian recounted the story of his miraculous memory recall. He glanced from one face to another as he saw them taking in the news. It pleased him to see that everyone looked so happy to hear what Brian was telling them. From the discussion that followed, he could tell that they were all hoping Brian would continue to have further breakthroughs. Unfortunately, nothing did happen for the next couple of weeks. No one was giving up hope, especially Brian and Justin. Yet, some things had changed since that meeting, and everyone who had been there noticed it. There was no longer any questions about how the relationship between Brian and Justin was growing closer by the day. They had witnessed it happening once before, and now they were seeing it again. And no one was happier about the direction their relationship was headed than Justin. Although he still longed for Brian to remember their time together before the bashing, he was feeling a lot more comfortable in simply making new memories. But then Justin got a phone call that promised to change everything.
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Justin had just arrived at his Mom’s condo, after spending the entire weekend with Brian at the loft, when his cell phone rang. He checked the caller ID, thinking maybe he had forgotten something at Brian’s. It wasn’t Brian on the line, it was Daphne. He smiled to himself. He knew she was missing him, because he now spent far less time with her than in the past. But they still kept in close contact via phone calls and texts. He enjoyed chatting with her. He answered her call with a smile.
“Hey, Daph, what’s up? I just walked in the door. Can you let me set my stuff down and get comfortable while you hold on for a minute?”
Daphne’s voice came back, sounding very excited. “Yeah, sure, but don’t be long. I’ve got something important to tell you!”
Justin had heard that tone in Daph’s voice plenty of times since they had grown up together, but there was something more urgent than usual in its timbre. He quickly decided not to waste time getting comfortable. Instead, he hurried up to his room and tossed his school supplies carelessly on the bed before settling down in the computer chair at his desk. He had not been surprised, although extremely pleased, that his mother had brought everything from his old bedroom to her new place, once she and his dad sold the family’s house. She then set everything up in her spare room next to Molly’s bedroom. Sitting here now was like déjà vu, it felt so familiar. It felt even more so as he put the phone to his ear and heard Daphne humming one of her favorite songs, as she waited for him to answer. He could just see her impatiently bouncing from one foot to the other, dying to tell him the news she seemed so certain he would want to hear.
“Okay, I’m back,” he told her, smiling as he pictured her eager face. “What’s the big news you are so excited to tell me?”
“Right! So, do you remember our old classmate, Jackie? She was the girl who wanted to be a photojournalist more than anything in the world.”
“Yeah, I think I remember her. Didn’t really talk to her much, but I do remember that a lot of the kids would use her to take pictures for them for things like birthday parties and such. If I recall, she was pretty damned good at using a video camera too. But why ask me about her? I don’t even remember you being close friends with her.”
“No, we weren’t that close, but we were friends. You know, you weren’t the only one I hung out with. And once you met Brian, I hardly saw you anymore, so I spent most of my senior year getting to know a few new friends better. Jackie was one of those. Anyway, that’s not why I called you… to talk about old school acquaintances.”
“So then, why did you call?”
“Because, old pal of mine, I ran into Jackie at the mall yesterday and she told me that she had made a video of the Senior Prom, and that the dance you and Brian shared is on it. She even told me that she offered to share it with the prosecutor in Chris Hobbs’ trial, but they decided not to use it. Told her it wouldn’t be needed for their case. Anyway, she told me she could make me a copy of it, in case I was interested. And, of course, I said yes. She’s going to give it to me tomorrow. So, you interested in watching it with me, or not?”
Justin sat with his mouth agape. Their dance… the dance that changed their lives beyond words… was recorded? He could hardly believe his ears. What could that mean for the future? He didn’t have to think long on what he wanted to do with this new information.
“Oh Daph, of course I’m interested! I not only want to see it, but I think we should show it to Brian. What do you think?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking too. Okay, I’ll call you tomorrow as soon as I get the copy from Jackie. I told her I would pay her for it, but she refused. She told me she hadn’t said anything before because she thought it might be too upsetting for us, after what happened to Brian. But when I ran into her and we got to talking… and yes, we talked about you and Brian too… anyway, she realized it might help more than hurt you to see it, so that’s why she wanted us to have it. Oh, and by the way, she has always had a bone to pick with Hobbs herself. Said, he and his buddies used to bully her about wanting to go into a profession only fit for men. She thought he was a jerk, just like most of us.”
“Sounds like my kind of girl. Thanks, Daphne… thanks a million. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up. Justin sat still in his chair, his eyes staring off into the distance. He was no longer in his bedroom, he was at the prom. He saw himself dancing with Brian and the love that shone in Brian’s eyes as he held him in his arms. Tears sprang to his eyes as he pictured that beautiful moment in time, and how it all ended that night. He wasn’t quite sure how Brian would react when he viewed the video, but nothing was going to stop him from showing it to Brian… nothing at all!
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It had been a couple of weeks since Chris Hobbs first gathered his old pals together at his house, in order to seduce them with beer and games into helping him stop Kinney from suing him. They had met again a few times since then, but Chris hadn’t given them any real plans to think about so far. As long as it was still only talk, they enjoyed themselves bragging about what they would do to Kinney and Taylor once they got the chance. The drunker they got on his endless supply of beer, the bolder their talk became. But Chris wasn’t fooled. He knew that talk was easy, but carrying out any plans he came up with would be the true test as to who was with him, and who would chicken out. He just hoped his cash reserve would buy him the help he needed, if loyalty to his cause wasn’t enough for them. The thing is, he finally thought he knew what would be the best way to solve his problem.
Whenever Chris wasn’t at work, or serving some of his community service time, he had been stealthily keeping watch on Brian Kinney’s comings and goings, especially at night and on the weekends. He had started doing it right after being served for Kinney’s suit against him, not really knowing why he felt the need to do so at the time. During his surveillance, he began to notice that Justin was spending more time with Kinney with each passing week, and that they were spending more of that time alone than in the beginning when he first started tailing Kinney. This simple fact helped form the idea as to what he wanted to do to the two of them, and how it could be accomplished. He wasn’t quite ready to pass on his plans to his friends. He knew it held an element of risk, so he needed to find the right time to make it palatable for them. But soon… he knew he wouldn’t have to wait much longer. He couldn’t afford to anyway. The court case wasn’t that far off, and he had no intention of facing Kinney in court.
To be continued…..