"What the hell is that?" Brian asked.

Justin looked up from where he was sitting. He had been hanging out at Michael's comic book store for the last couple of days. Ethan had met the love of his life and they had been going at it in the apartment, loudly. His beautiful couch, where he had sex with Brian, now made him sick when he saw it. Ethan fucking his boyfriend Tevye on it wasn't a pleasant sight.

Tevye was as pompous as Ethan, maybe even more so. He had shoulder-length red hair and flawless skin. Weren't redheads supposed to be covered with freckles? He also six foot tall with toned abs. But as gorgeous as he was, he was still an egotistical asshole. He was a cellist and went to their school. Justin was sure Ethan couldn't be with another violinist, too much competition.

Every time Justin came home and Tevye was there he would make a comment about him. At first it was small jabs, but then they became hostile comments.

There was also the problems with his dad. It had been a week since he had seen his father. They had talked on the phone a couple of times. Each time it was the conversation was stilted and awkward. A couple times, therapy was brought up but Justin shot it down. He wasn't going to go and spill his guts to someone he has to pay to care.

"I repeat. What the fuck is that?" This time Brian sounded a little freaked out.

"It's a frog," Justin answered.

He couldn't wait until 4pm; that was when the people bringing the tank and setting it up.

"I can see that, genius. What is it doing here?" Brian looked to his left, then right. Probably looking for Michael.

"He's keeping me company while we work." His frog was in a small clear amphibian carrier. Soon he would have a nice big tank to lounge in.

"Where's Mikey? Does he know you have a toad in his fine business?" Brian looked like just the sight of the frog was making him ill.

"He's a bullfrog, not a toad. And of course Michael knows about him. He was the one who gave him to me."

Justin picked up the carrier and cooed at the frog. He had been so surprised when Michael gave him to him. Michael's boyfriend Ben had been given the frog by some student. It turned out the kid had gotten the frog but was not a good pet parent. She thought Ben would be better at it but he had no interest in taking care of a frog. When Justin listened in and he almost asked if he could take care of him. But he was worried that they would say no, so he just kept his mouth shut.

It was yesterday that Michael surprised him. He was so happy he hugged both Michael and Ben. Michael didn't really like Justin hugging Ben, he noticed. It was obvious the man was a catch. Ben was smart, built and incredibly sweet. It had shocked him when Ben confided in him about his positive status. It wasn't a secret from his friends but Justin still felt honored that he trusted him with a part of his life.

"That thing can't be sanitary," Brian griped.

"You want to hold him?" Justin asked. He sat the carrier down and opened the top. The bullfrog didn't seem all the cooperative but he settled in Justin's hands anyway. "I just love him so much already." He held him tightly in his hands.

"Easy there, Lennie. Squeeze him anymore and all he'll be good for is frog legs."

Justin looked down at the bullfrog, horrified that he might have hurt it. He quickly put him back in his carrier and cooed to him some more.

"Okay, two weeks ago you were a perfectly fine eighteen year old. But now it seems you have taken over by the mind of an overzealous five year old."

Justin blushed a little at that. He knew he was acting kind of childish but he never had a pet. His dad didn't think he or Molly were responsible enough for a pet. When Ethan moved in he hoped that he could play with Wolfram, but when Ethan wasn't at home he kept him shut up in his room.

Michael thankfully picked that time to come bustling back into the shop. He had to run an errand and left Justin in charge of the shop.

"You're back. I was getting worried because I need to get back before the aquarium guys get there," Justin said to Michael.

Michael rolled his eye but then grinned at him. "I told you I would be back on time. Go on now, I hope the guys are at least hot."

Justin laughed at Brian's scowl. If he didn't know better he would think Brian was jealous.

"Bye, Michael. See ya, Brian," he said before grabbing his messenger bag and the frog carrier. With a last wave, he headed out the door.

Walking through the door, he was assaulted with the sounded of moaning. It didn't take a genius to realize that Ethan and Tevye were going at it in the living room again.

"You have a bed room…. please use it," he snapped.

This time Tevye was kneeling on the floor with Ethan's dick in his mouth. He knew he was being a hypocrite because of his night with Brian. But really this was getting out of hand. Justin couldn't remember them ever staying in Ethan's room for their activities.

"I'm having company in a few minutes. So unless you want to give them a show you might want to take it to your bedroom," Justin said, trying his best not to sound bitchy.

"This is my apartment, too. I can do whatever the fuck I want," Ethan snapped.

Justin didn't know how he had missed that Ethan was a complete jerk when he agreed to let him move in. Because of the rules with his landlord, Ethan had to be on the lease. Now Justin was stuck with the guy until the lease was up. Thank goodness it was up in two months.

"Fine, fuck your brains out. But I'm still going to let the guys up to install Jerry's aquarium."

Ethan pushed Tevye away and shoved himself back in his pants. "Who the hell is Jerry?" Ethan bit out.

"My frog," Justin said, holding up the carrier.

He had fed him at Michael's, Jerry's favorite were crickets. He had pellets for him but Justin thought he deserved a little treat for being such a good boy.

"Who said you could have that thing here?" Ethan said, glaring at Jerry.

"I did. It's my apartment too."

"I had to pay a pet fee, did you?"

"I asked Mr. Callaway about that. He said as long as the frog had a decent sized tank, and was in it most of the time I didn't need to pay one."

Justin didn't know exactly what had happened. Two weeks ago he had asked Ethan to tell everyone who came to the apartment that he needed time. Ethan was a kind of a jerk sometimes but sometimes he was really nice. Then during Justin's week away, he had started dating Tevye.

It was then that Ethan started being outwardly nasty to him. He suspected that he was trying to impress Tevye, who always seemed to be rotten. The environment was getting more and more hostile lately. It was one of the reasons he was so happy to get Jerry.

"So, you're what? Blowing the landlord now?" Tevye sneered.

"No, he's just a nice man." And an old friend of his father's but he wasn't about to say that.

Justin's phone when off, stopping anymore argument from the two.

"Hello," he answered.

"Mr. Horvath?" a smooth voice asked.

"Yes."

"I'm Cal Ingram. I'm here to deliver and install your tank. A Mrs. Elgin paid and set up the time. Is this the right number?"

"Yes," he said excitedly. "Are you here yet?"

"Yes, sir. We're outside of the building. Just calling to make sure you were there before we start to unload."

"I'll be right down to let you in."

There wasn't a need, the outside doors didn't lock until ten at night but he wanted to get away from Ethan and Tevye.

"Thank you," the man said before disconnected.

Taking Jerry with him in his carrier he went back down stairs. His apartment was only on the second story so hopefully the movers wouldn't mind.

Once outside he spotted the van. Two men were pulling things out of the back. Justin made his way over to them.

"Hi," he said cheerily.

"Mr. Horvath?" asked the first man. Justin recognized his voice from the phone. He was a tall man with wide shoulders. Just looking at him Justin could see his Italian heritage.

"Just call me Justin."

"Sure. I'm Cal and this is Vinny." He pointed to another man who was clearly the man's twin.

"Nice to meet both you. Jerry's excited about his new home." He held up the Jerry, who was looking less impressed still inside the small carrier.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. It looks like Jerry is going to start planning your murder if he's in there any longer," Vinny said.

Justin led them to the elevator. They were first moving in the base. It was a large cherry wood base. It was bigger than he thought it would be but his sister was the one to buy it. He called her last night after finally getting the courage up. His dad had told her what happened. She cried on the phone with him until he begged her to stop. She blamed herself for not seeing his pain. She had come to visit weeks after he came home. He told her about her old boyfriend. She sobbed some more and told him that she was glad he could help some.

He wanted to cheer her up so he told her about Jerry. When she asked where Jerry was going to stay he was at a loss. It hadn't even occurred to him at the time that Jerry would need an aquarium. He told her that he would look on a yard sale site. She told him no, that she would buy one and have it delivered in the morning. After twenty minutes of arguing he conceded. Jerry really did need a good home. Vicky didn't tell him how much she paid when she told him the time of the installation.

But now just looking at the base he could tell she spent a lot.

"How much did all of this cost?" he asked them.

"Sorry, the lady who bought it said not to tell you. Something about you would refuse it if you knew."

Justin rolled his eyes. Vicky was trying to buy his forgiveness. She didn't need to, she had done nothing that needed forgiveness for. Maybe it was that she felt responsible for how C.J. acted. He didn't know but he hated that she felt guilty. They didn't always get along but she had never turned her back on him. And when he told his family he was gay she never even blinked an eye. She was always treated him the same, like an annoying little brother that she loved.

"Please tell me she didn't go broke buying me this thing," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

"She said to make sure you didn't worry. And to remind you she was married to a very well-off lawyer." Cal wiggled his eyebrows at him. Justin couldn't help but laugh at the man.

He opened the door for the men and hoped that Ethan was now in his room.

"Where are you going to put that?" No such luck.

"I'm going to move my drawing table into my room. Then move the book case over. With that done there will be enough room for the tank."

Justin started grabbing things off of his table. He was interrupted by Cal and Vinny.

"Need some help?" Vinny asked with a grin.

"You don't need to, that's not your job," he told them.

"Non-sense. Where are we taking it?" They asked as both grabbed a side and lifted it.

Justin led them to his room and directed them to an empty corner. He had cleared the spot the previous night after talking to Vicky.

Back in the living room the men moved the bookshelf over. The placed the base in the spot by the kitchen and went back out to get the tank.

"That thing is a monstrosity," Tevye said loudly.

"If you think this is bad then be lucky you never saw Ethan's old apartment."

Justin saw Ethan's cheeks reddened with embarrassment but it quickly changed to anger. "Shut up Justin. My place may have been older than this one but at least I earned it. This place was given to you from your dad and your friend's parents."

"They co-signed the lease but they haven't paid one cent in rent," Justin growled.

He worked hard not to have to ask his dad for a dime after getting out of St. James.

The men were back with the tank. The door hadn't been closed so they just came back in.

Justin's jaw dropped at the sheer size of the thing. It was huge, his sister was out of her damned mind.

"How big is that thing?" he asked.

"One-hundred gallons. Jerry should be quite comfy in here," Vinney said, smiling.

The only way he could tell them apart was because of their hair. Vinny's black hair was shoulder length, while Cal had short spikey hair.

"I bet. Hell, I could be comfy in there," Justin said in awe of the tank.

"How the hell did you afford that?" Ethan asked. "Oh, wait. No, who did you blow to get that."

"No blow job is that good. He must have been bent over all night to get it," Tevye said.

Temper rising Justin stiffened. "My sister bought it for me, because she loves me."

After that he ignored Ethan and his boyfriend. He talked to Vinny and Cal as they set everything up. They had a box with things for the habitat. They set up the water and had it flowing down a small stream. The whole thing was amazing. On one side was a large rock. It sat in water so Jerry could sit on it. The left half of the tank was a few inches of water. The other half had plants and soil with small rocks. The stream ran through it to the water.

When Justin put Jerry in he could tell the frog was happy. He jumped around, looking at everything.

"Thank you so much. Jerry looks very happy in there," he told the men.

He thanked them and tipped them. They tried to deny the tip but Justin assisted. After they left Ethan and Tevye started in on him again. Deciding that they were there for the night, he left instead.

He had dressed up for Babylon. He hadn't been there since his fight with Gary. He didn't really have to worry about it though. He had gotten a membership before he started working there.

"Hey, Justin, right?" a tall, flashy man asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm Emmett, a friend of Brian's. Michael said you've been hanging out with him lately."

"Yeah, Michael's been really nice. He gave me a frog," Justin said, smiling at him.

"Just don't tell Ben," Emmett guffawed.

He chuckled along with the flamboyant man. Once inside he walked to the bar with him. There he was introduced to Ted. Michael showed up later with a sexy as hell Brian.

Brian made eye contact with him but didn't say anything. Justin watched as the man hit the dancefloor and then go to the backroom. After Brian was out of sight, Justin accepted a dance from a man who used to tip him well. The man was sweet, not someone Brian would waste his time with. Justin liked him because he sort of reminded him of his dad. That wasn't as creepy as it sounded. The man was around mid-thirties with a small potbelly. His hair was greying in the temples.

Justin closed his eyes and danced seductively with the man. Song after song came and went. He kept dancing with the same man. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder that he turned around. Brian was standing behind him.

"Wanna dance?" the man asked, smirking.

"I already am." Justin turned back around only to see his dance partner was no longer there. "He left because of you."

"I did you a favor. If you're seen dancing with trolls no one will touch you."

The statement annoyed Justin, he pushed away from Brian.

"I don't care what you think. Or anyone else. I'll dance with whoever I want to dance with."

Brian snaked his arm around Justin and whispered in his ear, "Stop being such a princess. Come on, let's get out of here."

Justin hated that there was a part of him that wanted to go. Unfortunately, it was the part making decisions that night. He promised himself this would be the last time he would follow behind Brian Kinney. There was something about the man that called to him. Justin was sure there was more than the Stud of Liberty Avenue. Brian kept seeking him out not the other way around. That had to mean something. It just had to, maybe Brian was ready to move on to a different part of his life. The only way Justin would find out, is if he let his guard down. He just hoped it didn't come to bite him in the ass.