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Additional tags: Kidnapping (just so you're ready)

Credit for my lovely new banner to SandiD - So artistic! Thank you!

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Chapter 1 - A Blankness.



Justin had always been able to read people; always, that was, until the fateful day he’d ventured forth onto Liberty Avenue and met Brian Kinney.


He’d had this ability since birth. He had a special affinity with all of humanity. He could just tell what people were feeling. If he had to put a name to this skill, he’d probably call himself an empath, although the term brought with it so many ridiculous connotations from popular culture that he refused to use the label even in his own mind. There was nothing mystical or supernatural about what he did. It was simple, actually. He could just read people’s emotions really, really well. So well, in fact, that it was almost as if he could read minds. It wasn’t exactly like that though, it was just that, knowing how a person felt allowed Justin to anticipate what they’d do. Which was kind of the same thing, right? 


So far, this skill had served him well in life. If you knew what made people happy, you knew how to make them happy with you. If you knew what a person feared, you could get on their good side by avoiding whatever that feared thing was. You could tell when something you were doing or saying was annoying another person and adjust your behavior accordingly. Or, when the mood struck, you could intentionally annoy or even frighten someone to get your way. And Justin had learned early on how to take advantage of all these factors, which no doubt had something to do with how he’d mostly sailed through life without any real problems up to that point.


Justin didn’t think of it that way, though. He truly liked people and wanted to get along with them; he thought of his special abilities as merely another tool to help accomplish that. Even as a baby, he’d used his skills to make life more comfortable for all around him. His very first real memory was lying in his mother’s arms and reaching one chubby hand up to lie against her cheek so he could better feel what she was feeling. Sometimes, establishing a physical connection like that enhanced the sensations and, in effect, created a bit of a feedback loop that allowed Justin to not only feel the other person’s emotions, but to transmit his responses back to them, thus allowing him to judge that reaction as well. Needless to say, baby Justin rarely had to cry or throw tantrums to get what he wanted. Jennifer had commented more times than anyone could count about how easy her son had been as a child. And that effect carried through into his youth. 


It wasn’t until Justin reached school age that he realized he was different and not everyone had the same ability to read emotions as he had. It quickly became evident that not all his friends were as emotionally aware as he was. The ones that were particularly bad, particularly unempathic, were the kids who had the most trouble in school and who were always getting in trouble. Justin initially tried to make a connection with these types - the inherent kindness of his soul always trying to make things better - but for the most part they were unreachable. They just didn’t get it and nothing Justin did changed that. Nothing reached these few who just didn’t have the genetic makeup to feel another’s pain. But Justin was still able to read even those who were so cut off from their fellows. He could read them, they just couldn’t return the gesture, and they were immune to that feedback loop phenomenon. However, Justin was able to read them well enough to either appease them or know when to avoid them and it was all good.


Eventually, Justin came to the conclusion that there was a broad spectrum of empathy in the human race. Some were completely lacking in all empathy and there was nothing you could do to save them. Others had traces of empathy and probably could be redeemed but lacked the will to try. Most people had enough empathy to allow them to operate in the world as society expected. Justin thought of himself as being the tiny dot at the far empathic end of the spectrum; the one who was so empathetic that he could almost control the rest because of his inherent understanding of what made them tick. 


Unfortunately, one of those on the lower end of the spectrum turned out to be Justin’s own father, Craig. Craig wasn’t completely lacking in empathy, he just rarely cared enough to exercise what little he had. This led to more conflicts in the Taylor home as Justin got older and began to insist on asserting himself despite his father’s antipathies. The more that Justin asserted his own personality, the more Craig found fault in his formerly quiescent son’s actions. Which was one of the driving factors behind Justin’s adventure to Liberty Avenue.


See, Justin had known from a fairly early age that he was gay. He’d never been at all attracted to girls, except as friends. And once puberty had set in, it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t destined for a happy hetero future like his father envisioned for him. But Justin was also well aware of his father’s homophobic feelings - the man practically radiated fear and hatred any time any discussion about the LGBTQ community would come up - so Craig’s son had tried to repress those particular desires.


However, hiding one’s true self was especially difficult as an empath. For someone that felt so deeply and strongly, keeping his real feelings hidden was uncomfortable. Justin hated pretending to be other than what he really was and that led to a whole slew of complications. He found he was feeling more and more angry over time - a negative emotion that drained him - and because of that feedback loop thing, those around him fed off his anger and reflected it back at him. There was a lot of unease in the Taylor household for a few years. By the time Justin started his senior year of high school, though, the situation was becoming untenable. He simply couldn’t bear the miasma of unhappiness and denial he’d been living in for so long. It was becoming an existential crisis by that point.


So, with the intention of alleviating some of the built up negativity surrounding him, Justin had made the decision to venture out into the world where he felt he truly belonged. 


One propitious Wednesday night he told his mother he was sleeping over at a friend’s, texted his BFF Daphne to cover for him, and hopped on the bus to downtown. He got off on Liberty Avenue, in the heart of Pittsburgh’s gayborhood, and immediately felt like he could breathe again. The colors, the lights, the excitement, were all exactly what he’d been hoping for. Not to mention the people; all the colorful, exuberant people. Guys kissing guys, girls kissing girls, drag queens, trans folx, you name it, they were all there. To the long-repressed youth it felt like he’d come home.


For a while, Justin simply roamed around the streets, watching people and soaking in the atmosphere. There really was something to the colloquial term ‘Gay Community’, he thought. The entire street seemed so immersed in a general feeling of joyousness. And, while not everyone he encountered was happy per se, the overall emotional temperament of those around him was so unrestrained, eager, lavish, and open that it made Justin happy. He’d never been in a place where so many people were allowed to just be themselves without censure. It was refreshing. He wanted to just soak it all in and then revel in the positiveness of it all. 


So he wandered. He people watched. He peeked into shop windows, laughing at the crazy clothing, the outrageous displays of sex toys, and the colorful decorations. And he listened in to the emotions of everyone he passed. It was a balm to his beleaguered soul. 


Eventually Justin grew bolder. He smiled at a couple of the passersby, thrilling when they smiled back appreciatively. One nice looking red headed guy even winked. Justin could sense that these men found him attractive. What an ego boost! He rather liked all the open flirting. 


After a few hours of aimless rambling, Justin thought he was ready for more. He’d noticed that most of the men walking up and down the street were trailing from one bar or club to another, and he became curious. He’d never been to a bar, let alone a gay bar, and he figured that if there was this much happiness out here on the street, there’d be even more inside. Plus, Justin loved to dance, so what could go wrong?


He turned to a man who’d been standing not far away, eager to ask for advice. “Excuse me. Could you tell me, like . . . where’s a good place to go?”


Justin knew the second the stranger turned to look at him that this had been a mistake. There was an antipathy in this man’s soul that went to it’s very core. He was filled with self-loathing and anger. 


“It depends what you’re looking for . . .” the man replied, assuming a superior air. “You want Twinkies, go to Boy Toy. You want leather, go to the Meat Hook. You want snotty, conceited assholes who think they’re better than everyone else, try Pistol.”


Justin was already backing away from the man before he finished his bitter recitation. That’s when the man gave Justin another look, his elevator eyes raking over the younger man’s body from bottom to top. Justin could feel a surge of lust emanating from the man’s tall lanky frame. And the thoughts that came along with that emotion were toxic and malevolent. The empath could tell the man not only liked what he saw, but assumed that Justin would be easy prey.


“It’s kind of late to be out though, isn’t it? Especially on a school night . . .” The man reached up and hooked a hand behind Justin’s neck, pulling the boy closer. Justin could smell his heavily-applied cologne, a scent which only barely masked the underlying stench of stale tobacco smoke and sweat permeating the man’s skin. “Why don’t you come home with me, huh?”


Justin immediately took an alarmed step backwards. “No thanks!”


The man knew his intentions had been seen through and he looked around himself guiltily. Justin could feel the waves of doubt and fear radiating off him. Thankfully, there were a lot of people in the near vicinity, and his wannabe attacker knew he had no chance at the delectable morsel on display in front of him. He laughed and pushed Justin away, pretending it was his choice. Justin, however, could feel the dark-haired man’s disappointment.


“Go on home to your mommy. Go on!” he ordered derisively.


And Justin was more than happy to take his chance at escape. He turned and practically fled from the street corner where the tall, lanky, older man remained, laughing at the inexperienced boy. OK, so maybe not everything was rainbows and unicorns here on Liberty Avenue. Maybe Justin needed to be a tad bit cautious about this new world he was so interested in becoming a part of?


Justin quickly walked down the block and around the corner, away from the menacing man, while trying to regain the emotional equilibrium he'd been feeling earlier. The side street he turned into, though, was not as well lit nor as populated as the main Liberty Avenue drag. After the encounter he’d just had, he didn’t feel safe moving away from the protection of the busier areas. Justin was about to turn around and head back the way he’d come when he noticed a large, blue, neon sign displaying the word ‘Babylon’ attached to a building at the end of the block. Intrigued, he took a few more steps in that direction, just to see what it was he’d be missing out on.


He passed by a collection of newspaper boxes and paused under a streetlight. He dropped the cigarette he’d been smoking - a basically futile effort to try and make himself look older - crushing the butt under the heel of his Vans. He squinted at the congregation of people surrounding the building, trying to figure out what they were doing by taking the emotional temperature of the crowd. He sensed excitement, anticipation, some frustration, and a little exhaustion due to the late hour. But for the most part, the men he saw were the same as the others he’d encountered that evening; glad to be out amongst others like themselves. Nothing out of the ordinary.


And that’s when it happened; when HE came along.


Justin had stepped around to the far side of the streetlight to get out of reach of a vent spewing unpleasantly warm steam and leaned against the light pole, ready to settle in for more people watching, when he’d looked up and locked eyes with one of the most beautiful men he could imagine. Even from that distance, Justin could tell the guy was tall - clearly over six feet - with a thin but well-formed body. The light from the neon sign behind him glinted off the man’s auburn hair creating odd blue highlights. But none of that was what made the man stand out. What made him totally unique, was the fact that Justin couldn’t read him. At all. It was like he wasn’t even there. A blank where there should be some emotion; some inkling of a human personality. But instead, there was nothing at all.


The man smiled at Justin, his lips stretching in a sly, predatory, grin, like a cat who’d found its prey. Every nerve ending in Justin’s body went on instant alert. He stood up straighter, peering back at the man with a confused expression. The boy had absolutely no idea what to make of this anomaly that was now striding purposefully down the sidewalk in his direction.


As the beautiful man neared, Justin tried again to pierce through that blankness. He had never failed to read someone before, so he was intrigued. But try as he might, even focusing all his energy on the nearing figure, he got nothing. Not even a glimmer of emotional output. When Justin blinked, it was almost as if the man had disappeared. But when he opened his eyes again the handsome brunet was standing directly in front of him.


“How’s it goin’? Had a busy night,” the elusive creature asked in a seductively low tenor, stepping even closer until he had completely invaded Justin’s personal space. 


Justin could feel his heart hammering in his chest and his mouth went dry. He was totally at a loss as to how he should respond to the overture. Without being able to read the man, he felt blinded; he didn’t know what to say. Which, in turn, made him even more anxious, since he’d grown up always knowing what to say. The whole situation was unprecedented. 


“I was just . . . Um . . . Checking out the bars, you know?” he stammered, trying his best not to sound like a total rube. The man continued to stare at him, unconvinced, prompting Justin to blather on, “Boy Toy, Meat Hook . . .”


The man snorted a little laugh, making Justin feel even more stupid than before, but the glimmer of amusement in the hazel eyes that were now only centimeters away kept him from bolting. “Meat Hook? Really? So you’re into leather?”


Justin knew he’d been caught, but he was still too flustered to know what to say, so he just bluffed. “Sure.”


The Adonis smiled again, leaning even closer. “Where ya headed?”


Justin had no clue how to answer that question. The sexual undertones of the query were obvious, even without Justin‘s usual ability to read the emotions of the questioner. This man exuded sex; every line of his body, every note in his words, every scintilla of his being, radiated sexual energy. Justin didn’t have to be an empath to sense the desire that poured off the man propositioning him. The only question was, what did Justin want? 


He wasn’t a total idiot; he hadn’t come down to Liberty Avenue planning to hook up with a total stranger. He hadn’t even contemplated that. Hell, up to that point, Justin hadn’t even kissed another man before. No way was he expecting that, his first evening out in the gay community, he would end up going off fuck-knew-where with some strange, compelling, seductor. But, based on all the available evidence, that is exactly where this emotionless blank of a man was trying to lead him. So, was Justin willing to follow?


But, because he still couldn’t sense this man and he doubted his reading of the situation, Justin decided to hedge his bets. “No place special,” he replied.


Completely unfazed, and his expression unchanged, the man replied, “I can change that.”


That was the point at which Justin lost control of the evening. He didn’t remember actually consenting to go with the man, but somehow, it seemed, that choice was made anyway. Before he knew what was happening, he’d been towed towards the man’s car and pushed into the passenger seat. The man’s friends whined and complained about being left behind but Justin’s new acquaintance ignored them. A short, silent, drive later, and Justin found himself being led through the front doors of an older, brick building, towed up three flights of stairs, and then ushered into the loft apartment on the top floor . . . All before he’d actually even had a chance to think about what he was getting himself into. It wasn’t till the man ordered him to close the door behind him, that Justin began to panic.


Justin paused with his hand on the metal door handle and had a very brief, wordless, freak out. ‘What the hell am I doing? I don’t know anything about this guy. Fuck, I don’t even know his name. And I can’t read him - he could be planning to do anything to me - although he doesn’t look like an axe murderer or anything . . .’ he argued with himself in his head. ‘I should just leave. Now. Before things go any further. I should just walk right out this door, right now . . .’ But then he thought about the mystery of his beautiful new companion and he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t simply walk away. Justin HAD to figure this man out; figure out why it was this one particular man seemed immune to his special talents.


So, taking a deep breath, Justin slid the door closed and turned to meet whatever fate had in store for him that night.


By the time Justin had turned around, his host had already stripped off his sweaty t-shirt, revealing a slim yet well-toned torso, decorated with just a hint of auburn hair outlining two, tiny, nut-brown nubs and leading south in a darkening line. While Justin was still taking in that glorious sight, the brunet took a swig from a bottle of water and then upended the rest of the container over his head. When his host shook his head like a big shaggy dog, letting droplets of water scatter around him, Justin completely forgot what it was he’d been afraid of in the first place. 


As the beads of wetness trickled down over taut pecs and toned abs, Justin’s mouth suddenly went dry. He desperately wanted to lick up some of that water, preferably right off the man’s perfectly tanned skin. He nervously looked around, feeling like it was rude to stare at the spectacle of the man’s bareness, but he couldn’t focus on anything. No matter where he looked, his eyes kept being drawn back to the enigmatic man whose naked charisma lured him nearer. Justin tried mumbling some inane compliments about the man’s home, but his host ignored the comments. Instead, he continued to remove his clothing one item at a time - first one boot, then the other, then, with an intentionally blatant tug, opening the fly of his jeans - while Justin blathered on, not even one hundred percent sure what it was he was saying. He knew he was likely making a fool of himself, but thankfully he was too flustered to dwell on that right then.


Then, in the middle of what appeared outwardly to be just polite conversation, the man shoved his pants down, stepped out of them and kicked the pile of material away. Justin felt mesmerized; almost like he was frozen in place. He couldn’t have turned away even if he’d wanted to, but by that point he didn’t want to. He wanted to see more. A lot more.


And his desire was almost immediately granted when the man hooked his thumbs in the waistband of the thong he’d been wearing and shoved the skimpy thing down, completely exposing himself to Justin’s hungry gaze. 


It wasn’t as if Justin hadn’t ever seen a naked man before. He’d made a point of taking gym every term at school, despite the fact that he was hopelessly unathletic, primarily because it afforded him an excuse to hang out in the boys’ locker room on a regular basis. And, of course, he’d looked at his fair share of porn, like any child of the technology age. But all those men had been out of his reach. Distant. Never to be approached. Unlike the god who was now offering himself up to Justin’s avid examination. The man seemed to know exactly how much Justin desired him and was more than willing to sacrifice himself to the scrutiny. He just stood there, arms extended, palms upward, everything on display, allowing Justin a nice loooonnnng look. No modesty at all. Not that any was needed when you looked like THAT.


“So, are you coming or going?” the man asked calmly. “Or coming, and then going? Or . . . coming and staying?”


Who could turn down an offer like that, right? 


Justin peeled off the jacket he’d been wearing and tossed it aside without even looking. He took a step forward, towards the delicious treat on offer in front of him. Then another step. And another. The man continued to stand there, his body on display, his cock becoming firmer as Justin neared. Seriously, who could have walked away at that point? Who?


When Justin was only an arm’s length away, the man reached out and hooked a finger in the front pocket of Justin’s jeans, using that tether to tug the boy even closer. Justin felt like a puppet. He didn’t care though. He had already made his choice and was willing to give himself over to whatever this enchanter wanted to do with him. 


The man used his other hand to begin unfastening Justin’s pants while bending forward so that his face was only millimeters away. Justin could feel the warmth of his lips and longed for them to finally make contact, but the man only teased him, ghosting over a cheek, just missing an earlobe, and then breathing heavily down the column of Justin’s neck, but never actually touching him. Until, that is, Justin’s fly was completely undone, whereupon the man roughly shoved his hand down Justin’s pants, cupped his already rock-hard dick through the material of his briefs, and at the same time suctioned his lips to Justin’s mouth, allowing him to thrust his tongue as deep as it would go. 


Now, Justin had never been kissed by another man before. The sum total of his sexual experience up to that point was when his best friend Daphne had talked him into ‘practicing’ kissing, but that had been tame and emotionless. It was NOTHING like this kiss. This was the real thing. This was like being devoured. It set every nerve ending in his body into overdrive. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, and that wasn’t only because his mouth was being kept too busy to allow for respiration. This kiss was electric. And Justin instantly found himself returning the passion he was receiving with equal fervor, wrapping his arms around the bare body and pulling the man closer, grappling to find a hand hold on the slippery, wet skin, to try and reach for more, wanting to pull in so close that they would fuse together. 


Yet, even in the height of his frenzy, a tiny part of Justin’s mind continued marvelling at the fact that he STILL couldn’t read anything of this man’s emotions. Usually, physically touching a person he was trying to read enhanced the connection. Even difficult to decipher feelings would become crystal clear when Justin touched his target. But not now. Now, all he got was that same blankness. It was as if there wasn’t anything inside the man he was kissing so passionately. Or maybe, if there was something there, it was hidden behind an impermeable barrier. But no matter how much he reached out with his mind, Justin got no sense at all of the man’s emotions.


Of course, it’s not like he needed any special skills to be able to determine exactly what it was his host wanted. Not when those hands were fumbling to remove Justin’s clothing even while their lips remained fused together. And, while this wasn’t exactly what Justin had planned - he’d only wanted to come check out the gay community, revel in the belonging he’d hoped to feel, maybe dance a little, or even, if all went well, meet someone he might be attracted to and who might want to get to know him better in return, but he’d never dreamed of going quite THIS far - there was no way to deny the insistent need that now overwhelmed him. He wanted this man more than anything he’d ever wanted in his entire life. He knew that this was the moment. His moment. His life was about to change and he’d never be the same again. 

 

It didn’t matter that he couldn’t read the man he was about to offer up his virginity to, because it seemed the man could read Justin just fine.

Chapter End Notes:

8/22/19 - Okay, I KNOW I have 2 WIPs sitting there waiting for me as well as a story request that I've been trying to work out, but THIS is the story that apparently wants to be told right now. I really have very little control over these things, people. Please don't be annoyed at me. Sometimes you just have to write the story that is most insistent. As always, I WILL get back to my other stories as soon as I can. I've never not finished a story yet, even though some seem to take a lot longer than others. Please bear with me. TAG

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