Net Friends

Chapter 10

Justin was silent all the way home. Brian knew that Rue had given his trick a fictitious name but he wasn't sure why that had upset Justin so much. Many club kids, people, had fake names that they used, but Justin had said that Rue wasn't really very experienced with the club scene. What was going on with that little fucker Rue? He was going to find out.

They rode the elevator up to the loft. Justin leaned against the side of the car as far away from Brian as he could get. Brian continued to study his young lover wondering what Justin was thinking and what had upset him so much.

Once inside the loft Brian had had enough.

"Justin," Brian said. "Justin, look at me! Are you looking at me?"

"What?"

"Tell me what you know about Rue, what you figured out after talking to that guy."

"I … um … I'm not sure."

"Based on the color of your face at Babylon, I'd say you are pretty fucking sure."

"He didn't tell me his real name."

"I figured that out," Brian said, "but there's more, isn't there?"

Justin nodded. "Did you hear that guy say they smoked pot and Rue lit it with a gold lighter?"

"I heard. So…?" Justin stared at Brian. "My gold lighter!" Brian exclaimed. Justin nodded again. "But I didn't think Rue was ever in the loft," Brian said with a frown.

"The first night he was here and you were out. He wanted to see where I live, and I wanted to show off a bit."

"Would he have had a chance to get into my stash and take my lighter?"

"I went to the bathroom, and closed the door. I was in there for a few minutes. When I came out he was standing by the bed. He said he was just looking around," Justin trailed that statement off thinking how easily he had accepted Rue's explanation.

"So he might have had time to take those things?"

Justin nodded. "I think that's what must have happened. It never dawned on me that Rue might have taken them until that guy said Rue used a gold lighter. Then it all made sense."

"Fucking thief! And I bought him lunch."

"I'm sorry, Brian."

"What are you sorry for? He's the thief."

"I brought him here. I gave him the opportunity to rip you off. I talked to him on the internet."

"Justin, you didn't know."

"You tried to warn me," Justin said, tears just a heartbeat away.

"Come here," Brian said.

Justin stepped forward and found himself engulfed in Brian's arms. His own arms went around Brian's back and he held on for all he was worth. He tried not to cry, but a few tears refused to obey.

"I really am sorry," Justin gulped.

"Don't talk," Brian said and his mouth found Justin's. He kissed and kissed and kissed some more, hoping to suck all the hurt and misery out of his boy. The kisses began to have the desired effect as he felt Justin respond and kiss back with all his usual fervor.

Brian began taking off Justin's clothes, only breaking his kisses long enough to get rid of a piece of clothing. He would use one of his patented pain management techniques on Justin - mind blowing sex. That ought to do the trick - and it did.

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A few days went by. Justin began to feel a little better. Brian didn't seem to hold Rue's actions against him. In fact Brian was being awfully nice about the whole thing. Justin couldn't help but wonder why.

Every day Justin checked the mail looking for a letter from Rue containing his money. Every day he was disappointed. No letter came. No money came. He began to realize that if Rue was a thief, then it was highly unlikely that he was going to pay Justin back. He was going to rip Justin off too.

Justin went to the last tutorial on "Wuthering Heights". He had finally finished the book. The ghosts of Cathy and Heathcliff stuck in his brain for some reason. In the class they discussed the ending and Justin finally began to realize that how Heathcliff had been with Cathy was his true self. The loss of her and their love had turned him into the insensitive asshole that he was at the beginning of the novel. Only reuniting with Cathy would allow him to be human once again.

As Justin walked out of the class, he thought about the concept of timeless love, love even across the boundary of death, and the whole concept of soulmates. He wondered if Brian truly was his soulmate. He often thought so, and then at other times he wasn't so sure. Brian could be as big an asshole as Heathcliff was. Could his love help to transform the man? He thought he had helped to start that process. If he had died from the bashing, he wondered if Brian would have turned in on himself, becoming more and more isolated from the rest of the world. Would he have become something like Heathcliff? He'd never know, because he had lived and they were still together in spite of everything.

Justin made his way to the computer lab. He had decided last night that he was going to give Rue one more chance. He logged on and requested an IM with Pet. The screen came up saying "blocked". He was blocked from contacting Rue. Blocked! He stared at the computer screen in disbelief.

That fucking asshole Rue was refusing to communicate with him. He couldn't believe it. But, yes, he could. He had suspected that Rue was going to renege on their deal, that he would never see one penny of the money Rue had promised to repay. Somehow though, he had never expected this refusal to communicate. Rue hadn't even given him the chance to tell him off. He couldn't let that asshole know how disappointed he was in him, couldn't vent his frustration, couldn't tell Rue that he needed the money just as much or more than Rue did.

"Fuck!" Justin said aloud as he stood up and walked away from the computer.

Justin spent the rest of the day trying to concentrate on his classes. His mind kept wandering back to the screen that said "blocked". He couldn't believe that he had been so wrong about Rue, or whatever the fuck the guy's name actually was. He had made a big mistake to trust him.

By the time he went back to the loft he had decided that he would tell Brian about the money Rue owed him. He knew he would never see a penny of it, and their finances were such that five hundred bucks would make a big difference to them. He wouldn't be able to contribute anything to their shared expenses for awhile if he hoped to pay off his credit card.

Brian wasn't at the loft when he got there. Justin decided he would cook for them to help reduce food expenses. He rummaged through the cupboards and refrigerator looking for things he could use. He nuked a chicken breast that he found in the freezer, cut it up along with all the vegetables he found in the fridge. There was a piece of cheese so he made a cheese sauce and threw it all on some Minute Rice that he cooked up. It all went into a casserole dish and he stuck it in the oven. He hoped Brian would be home before it was done, but he could always turn the casserole down at the end and keep it warm until Brian arrived.

He went over to his computer and switched it on. He thought maybe he'd talk to Whimsy or some of the other people he chatted with on Art Nouveau. He looked for Whimsy but she wasn't on line, so he tried Mondrian's Myth who was. Myth came up "blocked". That was weird. Myth had never blocked him before. Justin then tried Monet's Lily whom he had talked to a few times. Lily had seemed like a nice girl. It came up "blocked" too. What the fuck was going on?"

Justin stared at the screen for a few minutes not really believing his eyes. Why was he being blocked by all these people that he had thought of as friends, as colleagues?

The computer pinged indicating that someone was willing to talk to him. It was Whimsy. At least she was still willing to communicate. He responded.

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Slip: Hey, Whimsy, how are U?

Whimsy: Not so bad, but what about U?

Slip: What do you mean?

Whimsy: Art Nouveau has been buzzing the last couple of days and you are the topic of conversation.

Slip: I tried to contact a couple of people and I've been blocked. Do you know what's going on?

Whimsy: Kind of.

Slip: Tell me.

Whimsy: I found out some of it through a roundabout method.

Slip: Just tell me.

Whimsy: I chat with Monet's Lily sometimes.

Slip: I used to but she's blocked me.

Whimsy: I'm not surprised. She's bought into Pet's story.

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Justin felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He thought this was going to have something to do with Rue and it looked like he was right. He had to know what story Rue was spreading.

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Slip: What story?

Whimsy: Apparently Pet has contacted all of the people he usually chats with. I'm not one of them, so I only know what Lily has told me. He has put out the story that he went to visit you and you ripped him off.

Slip: I ripped him off?

Whimsy: That's the story.

Slip: And just how am I supposed to have ripped him off?

Whimsy: Something about stiffing him for all the bills that were run up during his stay with you. You were supposed to be treating him and you made him pay for everything including all your meals and some clothes that you got him to buy.

Slip: Jesus! He told me he had lost his credit card and got me to pay for everything. He owes me over $500. And he's blocked me. I can't communicate with him. I'll never see a cent of that money.

Whimsy: I tried to warn U.

Slip: I know. I wish I'd listened.

Whimsy: I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help.

Slip: The fact that you don't believe him helps a lot.

Whimsy: I don't believe him. I told you what he tried to pull with me. He can't be trusted.

Slip: That's for sure.

Whimsy: Oh, one other thing. Lily says he's accusing you of ripping off his new style of art.

Slip: What?

Whimsy: He says that he described to you a new technique of using computer generated figures and hand coloring them. When he visited you, he discovered that you have been doing a cheap imitation of what he described to you.

Slip: FUCK!!!!!

Whimsy: Excuse me!

Slip: I was doing something like that, but he's got it all backwards. He told me that he was trying out my techniques. I showed some of my work to him while he was here. He's trying to rip off my art as well as my money. What a fucking asshole!

Whimsy: I'm sorry, but that lie really got him sympathy. You know how protective artists are of new techniques or ideas that they develop. Everybody thinks you're going to steal their ideas.

Slip: And so they've blocked me.

Whimsy: That would be my guess.

Slip: Christ! What can I do to fight this?

Whimsy: I don't think there's much you can do. Lay low and let it blow over.

Slip: I can't believe this is happening.

Whimsy: I'm sorry.

Slip: I'm glad you're on my side. Nobody else seems to be.

Whimsy: You're welcome. I could talk to Lily, tell her your side of the story and see if I can get her to believe me.

Slip: You'd do that?

Whimsy: Sure.

Slip: That would be great. I thought I had some friends on this site, but they all seem to have turned against me.

Whimsy: Well I haven't.

Slip: I appreciate that.

Whimsy: I'll tell anybody else that I chat with to watch out for Pet and that they shouldn't believe that bad stuff about you.

Slip: Thanks again.

Whimsy: You're welcome again. I'll be here if you want to talk.

Slip: I'll be in touch soon.

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Justin logged off. His head was spinning. Rue had taken everything that had happened and turned it all around to make Justin the villain. And what was worse was that everybody, except Whimsy, seemed to believe Rue. How could everything have become so fucked up?

The door to the loft slid back as Justin mulled over these thoughts. Brian walked in. He waved a check in the air.

"Hey, Sunshine! I just got paid. The cab company has handed over enough shekels to keep us in beans for another day or two."

"That's good."

"A little more enthusiasm would be appreciated."

"Sorry, but I don't think I can muster up any at the moment."

"What's wrong?"

"Dinner should be ready. Let's eat, and I'll tell you the sad tale while we have the fabulous casserole I made for us. Tomorrow it may be beans."

Justin set out some plates and took the casserole out of the oven. Brian changed into some sweats and they sat down on the couch with their plates.

"This isn't bad," Brian said taking a bite and trying to be encouraging to Justin.

"Yeah," Justin said as he picked at his plate of food.

"Okay, tell me the bad news and then maybe we can eat without getting indigestion."

Justin looked at Brian for a minute. He reached over and set his plate on the coffee table. "I've made a huge mistake," he began. Then it all came pouring out about Rue's credit card story and the five hundred dollars Rue had stiffed him for and how Rue was telling everyone that Justin had stolen his art ideas and how he had been blocked by almost everyone on Art Nouveau.

By the time he was done there were tears running down his face and Brian's arms were around him.

"I'm going to kill that fucking little toad if I ever lay eyes on his fat ass again!" Brian threatened.

"We'll never see him again. He got what he wanted and I have to pay the price for being so stupid."

"I guess five hundred isn't too great a price to pay for learning that the internet is a scary place."

"I won't be able to contribute much to the loft until I pay off my credit card."

"We'll get by. I just got the cab company check and I may have picked up another client this afternoon."

"Who?" Justin asked feeling a little better.

"Buttery Bagels."

"They're yummy," Justin said wiping away most of his tears.

"Yeah, they are. They're expanding across the city and I'm working up a campaign for them."

"That's good."

"But what can we do about Rue? Christ, I knew I hated that fucking name!"

"I should have listened to you about it."

"Too late now."

"I rue the day I first talked to him," Justin said with a huge sigh. "I don't think there's anything I can do. I don't know Rue's real name and he's turned everyone on Art Nouveau against me. They think he's the injured party."

"So he just gets away with it?"

"Looks that way."

"Fuck!"

"You could do that. I might feel better," Justin said snuggling closer and bumping Brian's crotch.

"You are such a naughty little boy. When are you going to start listening to your elders?"

"Some things you have to learn for yourself."

"So have you learned something?"

"Like what?"

"Like … that you never know what you're going to find on the internet," Brian stated. "It could turn out to be some sexy guy who might end up being more than a friend?"

"Or a really nice guy that becomes a friend."

"Or a child molester."

"Or a scam artist."

"Or someone who steals your ideas."

"Or steals your stash."

"Or your lighter.

"Or rips you off."

"A thief."

"A manipulator."

"A fraud."

"A user."

"A liar."

"An asshole."

"Or fucking all of the above."

"Yeah," Justin agreed.

"You just can't know ahead of time what you're going to get with someone from the net. So … whatever is on the net should stay on the internet. Agreed?"

"Probably," Justin said with another sigh.

"Youth! How do you ever get through to them?" Brian thought, but he quickly put that thought out of his head as his mouth found Justin's. They had more important things to do.

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Hours later Justin lay awake in the bed beside Brian. He would like revenge on Rue, but that was highly unlikely. Maybe tomorrow he would contact Whimsy and see if she had made any progress with Lily. He wanted some of his net friends back. He wasn't going to let Rue take everything away from him, not if he could do anything about it.

He got up from bed and went to the coat rack by the door. He fished in the pocket of his jacket and found the cheap, ugly keychain that Rue had given him. He wanted to throw it in Rue's face but he would never get that opportunity. He walked over to the garbage can and was about to toss it in when something stopped him. He held the offensive keychain up and looked at it more closely.

"Come back to bed," Brian's voice said from the bedroom startling him.

Justin carried the keychain with him as he climbed the steps and slid into bed next to Brian.

"What were you doing down there?" Brian asked.

"Looking at my five hundred dollar keychain," Justin replied showing it to Brian. "What a fucking piece of junk!"

"Not much of a bargain was it!"

Justin shook his head. "But I've decided to keep it and use it. Every time I touch it it will remind me of what happened. I won't make that mistake again."

"Good." Brian pulled him close.

"Brian, did you ever read 'Wuthering Heights'?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondered," Justin said drawing circles with his finger around Brian's nipple. He could see it start to stand up. "What did you think of Heathcliff?"

"A bit of an asshole, but he had lost the most important thing in his life, so it was … understandable."

"Do you think something like that could ever happen?"

"Maybe," Brian said seriously.

"Did Heathcliff remind you of anyone?"

"No," Brian replied too quickly. He rolled his body over on top of Justin pinning the boy to the bed. His hands wandered all over the slender body and his mouth chewed at Justin's lips and chin and throat.

Justin smiled briefly as he knew that Brian had made the connection. This was one of those times when he was sure they were soulmates. That was his last coherent thought as Brian carried him away to that lovely, exciting, passionate place that Justin was sure only the two of them could reach. Nothing else mattered.

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The next day Brian was on the computer working on the ads for Buttery Bagels. After he had completed a couple of them, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the monitor. An idea began to form.

He searched for the site he wanted and entered it. He had to be a member to go farther. He decided to join. He thought for a moment to come up with a good screen name to use. Then it hit him - Pollock's Pole. He didn't really like Jackson Pollock's stuff too much. It looked like he threw cans of paint at the canvas, but for some reason his name had popped into Brian's head. Pole could be taken in several ways.

Brian read through some of the messages and then decided to introduce himself. He made up some junk about himself. A couple of people responded with a welcome. One of them was someone called Picasso's Pet.

"Contact!" Brian grinned as a plan began to form in his head.