Justin couldn't believe how raunchy the comic book 'Rage ' turned out to be. He had read through it rapidly the night he got the thing and found himself rereading it the next morning. He was surprised at how fascinating the characters were. He had never been drawn to comics, even as a child. He was a bit of a literary snob, preferring the classics to pulp fiction, but this comic had hypnotic characters, especially Rage himself.

Justin had been a little disturbed while contemplating on how close to the comic the producers were going to come with the movie. The script he had read did stick pretty close to the comic itself, but it was a rough draft and Justin knew enough about the business to know that a lot of changes could happen before the final draft. He was more anxious than ever to get to the audition and snag the part. Sex scenes be damned. JT was an interesting character and he wanted the part so bad it hurt. He'd deal with the details of what was going to be expected of him once he nailed the audition.

Two days (and several more perusals of the comic book) later, Justin stood in front of his tiny mirror and examined his reflection. He was dressed in a colorful tee shirt and tight fitting blue jeans, an outfit that he was fully aware made him look several years younger than he actually was. But that was the whole point. JT was supposed to be a 'twink' barely out of high school, and Justin knew it always helped the casting directors if the actors came in looking the part. He wasn't sure who would be at the audition, but he was as ready as he ever would be.

Thirty minutes and one bus transfer later, Justin stood outside the small studio where the audition was to be held. He couldn't remember ever being so nervous. He wanted this lead role more than any part he had ever gone up for. It was almost eerie. The part was a lead role, true enough, but Justin felt drawn to the role in a way he had never done before. It called out to him. He knew he could do the part more justice than any other actor. Now he just needed to prove it to the head honchos. He stepped into the building and made his way to the room that was listed on the note Sherry had sent him.

Justin entered the door at the end of the hall and found himself in a room full of young men. There had to be twenty five or more twenty somethings with various hair colors lounging on couches and chairs or standing along walls. Some chatted with each other, others read scripts, while others just sat looking at nothing in particular. Justin moved over to the tiny desk in the corner where a young lady was busy shuffling resumes and head shots. She looked up and gave him her best tired smile. Justin handed over his papers and was instructed to take a seat.

It seemed like hours later when Justin's name was finally called. By that time, he was the only actor left in the room. He stepped gingerly to the door the young lady pointed him to. Justin entered the small inner office. He was standing in front of a long table that took up nearly the entire room. There were a little more than half a dozen men and women in the room. He recognized Brett Keller, the Director, from a previous film he'd shot. Most of the others were strangers, but there were two faces he recognized immediately. They were the creators of the comic book. They had small mug shots on the back of the comic where the credits were listed. The dark haired, brown eyed man that Justin knew was Michael Novotny sat forward suddenly and seemed to stare a hole through the young blond in front of him. For some reason, Justin felt more nervous than ever being scrutinized by the author. Then he remembered why he was here.

After being reminded what scene he was to perform, Justin began his lines. The scene involved JT thanking Rage for saving his life. Justin reflected on how getting the part would truly be saving him and put all his heart into the reading. When he was finished, there was a small smattering of light applause from a few of the panel including Novotny and Lindsay Peterson. A small bespectacled man, sitting next to the Director, thanked Justin for his performance and informed him that he'd be hearing from them soon. Justin exited, but not before noticing the large grin on Mr. Novotny's face. Now all he could do was wait.

***************************************************

Brian tried to get his friend to calm down. Mikey was blathering on and on about the perfect cast, especially JT.

"Really, Brian, you should see him! It's almost weird too. He even has the same initials. I mean, the kid is perfect. He's just what I pictured when I wrote the character for you... I mean Rage to save. The casting director wanted to go with this other dude but I made it clear that I wanted this kid. I think Brett's going to go along with me on this. Keep your fingers crossed. I've got to get back. I'll call you when I know something."

Poor Brian had barely been able to get a word in edgewise. He didn't think he'd ever heard Mikey so excited about something. Well, except for when he first created the comic. His boyfriend, the Professor, had written and published a book and Michael had made some smart aleck comment that he could be a writer too if he put his mind to it. He loved owning his own comic book store, but never even thought about creating his own comic. Ben had snapped back that writing wasn't as easy as Michael thought. That did it. The gauntlet was thrown down.

Michael had zero art talent but he soon pressed their mutual friend, Lindsay, into creating the art work for the comic. Brian was fully aware that the main character of the comic was based on him. He was truly flattered, although he'd never let on. He had always known that he was Michael's hero. It was a role he enjoyed playing.

The meeting with Brett Keller the previous day had gone well. He seemed genuine in his plans to keep Rage as gay as he was supposed to be, although Brian kept his reservations intact. He was an ad man, after all. He knew what kind of bull shit was thrown out there by people in show business. Keller, himself, was obviously swinging for their team, since he all but drooled when he saw the image of Rage reflected in Brian. Brian would have given him a tumble, but he was too busy at the time.

Now all he had to do was wait for Mikey and Lindsay to get back to the Pitts and wait for the production team to arrive. He had been reluctant to get involved in the whole Rage thing at first, but Brian was beginning to warm up to the idea. Who knew, if the film did well maybe it could lead to more advertising work in the movie industry. He knew big bucks could be made that way. He liked the sound of that. Production was scheduled to begin in two weeks. Brian would just have to be patient.

****************************************************

Justin had been sitting by the phone for what seemed forever. Luckily it was his day off from the diner, but he had to get back to work tomorrow. He had not been able to eat or concentrate on anything since leaving the studio. That had been around four p.m. He had been home for hours now. The phone rang and Justin jumped out of his skin. He had the phone to his ear before the second ring.

"Hello, hello!" he yelled into the receiver.

The voice of his agent, Sherry, came back at him as cool as a cucumber.

"Whoa there, boy! You're going to bust a blood vessel. So, I heard from the Rage people."

"I figured as much! So what did they say?" Justin questioned anxiously.

"Well...they thought you did a good job and...."

"And I didn't get the part. Fuck!"

"I didn't say that. You're JT, kiddo!" she yelled into the phone.

Justin's yelp of pure pleasure would have broken Sherry's ear drum, but the woman had been in the business long enough to know that news like this required holding the phone a long distance from the ear.

"So, you wanna hear more?"

Justin forced himself to calm down a little. "Lay it on me."

"They want you to be in Pittsburgh by the end of the week for pre-production, and you'll get the final script then. They'll have a ticket for you to fly out on Friday. Shooting starts a week from that Monday. They're moving fast on this now that they've got the financing. Most everything else was already set in place...location shots, costumes, etc. They want you to meet with the main players in the making and selling of the film before they start shooting, plus you have wardrobe fittings. Congratulations kiddo, you are going to be a staaaar!"

"I love you Sherry!"

"You too kiddo." He really was her favorite client.

The next day, Justin walked into the Celluloid Diner and looked around for his nemesis, Phil. He spotted him behind the counter making a fresh pot of coffee. He walked boldly up to the greasy man and tapped him on the shoulder. Phil swung around and grinned when he saw the blond behind him.

"You're five minutes late, kid. I'll have to dock you. Unless you'd like to make it up to me," he leered.

"I don't think so, Phil. Oh, and by the way, I'm giving you my twenty four hour notice. I just got the lead in a new movie and I won't be returning here after today." Justin threw a huge smile Phil's way.

The man's face turned beet red.

"What!? You can't just walk out like that. I gave you a job when you needed one desperately and this is how you repay me? If you leave now, don't expect your job to be waiting for you when you fall flat on your face, you asshole." His voice rose with each word.

Justin was a little taken aback by Phil's anger, but he stood tall and shot back, "Whether I fall flat on my face or become a big fat fucking success, I can guarantee you'll never see my face in here again, you jerk. And if I finish out today, you'd better keep those greasy fingers of yours to yourself. I'm tired of you pawing me. Touch me once today and I'll break your fucking hand."

With that, Justin turned around and went to the back to get his apron. He had the feeling that Phil wouldn't be in too big of a hurry to give him his last weeks pay, but Justin could have cared less. He had a film waiting for him. He was going to be the actor he always wanted to be. By the time he was done, everyone would know his name and he would be in demand. He looked heavenward. If there really was a God he prayed he'd be right.

To be continued......