BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Chapter 4

Preparing for Dinner

   After the ugly scene in the beautiful courtyard, Brian had gone to the workout room and Justin went upstairs to his room. He was beginning to get the hang of the house by now and only needed minimal help from the guiding lights.

   He got in at about 11 AM. There was yet no food or anything to do there except paint or relax so whatever so Justin used the time to unpack his bags and then do a bit of sketching. He kept a close eye on the time via a clock on his wall.

   As he did, he thought back to the courtyard. Part of him was still in a state of shock. True, he had asked his question, demanded answers and now he wished he never had.

   What a terrible position to be put in! To love a Beast...or die! And if he couldn't...or wouldn't...then Brian would die as well! And Justin wasn't sure if he did want to. Sure Brian was nice and all, generous, friendly...but now that Justin was in the privacy of his own room, he could admit to himself that...oh God, Brian was ugly! Frighteningly, horribly, ugly! His tattoos repulsed him. They were so lifelike and filled with violence and murder. His cleft lip kinda grossed him out, as did that space at the side of mouth. It was a strain to keep smiling in his presence because at the same time his stomach was churning.

   Justin gave himself a shake and found that he had been absentmindedly been sketching Brian's face, the side that had the space and tendon exposed. With a cry of anguish, he threw pencil and pad away into the corner but it only landed with Brian's face up, staring at him.

   Justin stared back and felt terrible. Terrible for thinking such things, Brian couldn't help the way he looked. But terrible as well, because he had to think practically as well. Could he live with Brian's deformities for the rest of his long, long life? And it would be all his life; he turned 18 in three weeks. His youth, his 20's his 30's and onward stretched out before him like a prairie's grass stretches out before you, forever and a day, all the way to the distant horizon. And then Justin wept because he simply did not know what to do.

   After Brian had outlined his suicide, Justin, innocently asked to take a walk back inside which Brian readily agreed. When they were inside, he just as innocently asked to see this mirror. So, Brian took him up a long twisting way to his own room where he showed him the large, square hand mirror with a silver back and golden curlicue filigree over that.

   Justin took it up and then let go. He blasted and yelled and screamed at Brian non-stop for 15 minutes about the evils of suicide and that under no circumstances was he going to commit such an act while he was under this roof. And just to make sure, he was taking this with him. This was his mirror from now on! Understand!?

   And throughout his ranting and raving, the Beas...no...the Bastard!!...had done nothing but stand there with a small smirk on his face. It was like when he had been smiling at him that first night when Justin demanded that he release the claim on his mother and sister. It was as if he were humouring a small child and waiting for him to wind down like a tired clock.

   After the 15 minutes were up and when Justin could think of no more to say, he took in a huge breath of air, let his red face return to normal and generally wound down like a tired clock.

   OHHHHHH! And do you know what the only answer that Beas...no - Bastard gave? He said:

   "Sure, keep it. You're the only one who can use it now anyway."

   "OH NO!! You don't get to threaten suicide and then act the self pitying asshole!! You promise me! Promise me right now!!"

   Brian sighed long sufferingly. Justin was beginning to hate that sigh. "I promise. I promise not to do anything while you are under my roof. OK?? Now...can you stop the histrionics please? It's making my dick soft."

   Justin huffed.

   "Now, if you've finished all the "After school special crap", why don't you go and get ready for tonight. And I need to go work out! How about I come to your apartments at about 7? Anything else I can do for you?"

   "Fine! And yeah 7 is OK!" he yelled as if to say: You better be there, buster! Justin wasn't over his mad and huffed his way over to the door like a locomotive engine...just because he could. "And you better be prompt! Oh yeah...and I'm sick and tired of sunglasses! Wear something so I can see your eyes, for Chrissakes!"

   It wasn't till he had slammed his way out of the room and was five minutes walk away, that he realized Brian really hadn't promised anything different after all.

B&B&B&B&B&B&B

   At last, the clock struck noon.  The clock was still chiming when Justin went over to the fridge and opened it up and then the cupboards.

   There was nothing there.

   Justin closed the doors and wondered. It was noon, wasn't it? It wasn't that he was impatient...well, he was, and he wanted to start cooking...but he thought the Beas...no, Brian...had said things would be here at noon.

   No, that wasn't entirely true. Justin struggled to remember.

   DING! DING! DING!" The last stroke of twelve sounded.

   There was a shuffling sound in the cupboards and an equally disturbing shuffling sound in the fridge as well as odd clinking sound. Then all was silent again.

   Carefully, Justin opened the cupboards again. They were packed with food. There was a big bag of rice, boxes of cereal, a box of coffee, sugar, salt, and flour. There were a lot of other dry goods not worth mentioning, plus oil, vinegar and a whole section just for spices. On the counter where he hadn't noticed before was a flour canister. Justin checked and within was nested the rest of the set. He spread it out.

   Next, he checked the fridge. It was filled with vegetables and fruits, just as he had imagined downstairs. There were potatoes and carrots and apples and oranges in the crisper. There was cheese and yoghurt. There were four bottles of fresh milk. That is what had made the clinking noise.

   He checked the freezer. It was equally stuffed with freezables.

   Justin closed the doors to everything and thanked whatever magic that had done this for him.

   "You're welcome, dear boy." Came the thought, unbidden to his mind.

   Justin blinked. That was weird. It was like...he had thought that and yet as if...he hadn't. As if he had been forced to think it.

   "Wait!" he cried, "Are you there? Is this the magic that the Beast...uhh...Brian talked about?"

   There was a pause. Then: "We are here. Yes, we are the...magic." Came the thoughts-that-were-not-his-thoughts. They sounded...if that was the right word and Justin couldn't think of anything better...amused.

   "You are sentient!"

   "Yes."

   "Who are you?"

   "You must ask the Master that..."whispered the voices in his head.

   "Master!? You mean Brian?"

   "Yessss," whispered the voices.

   "Are you enslaved? Is he mistreating you?"

   "We do not understand, little one. You must ask the Master..."

   Ohhhhhhh!!! Damn right he was going to ask him! And he was going to get answers too.

   "Are you happy here? Are you all right?"

   "We do not understand, little one. You must ask..."

   "The Master, yes I know," Justin was getting increasingly frustrated. He struggled to think of a question that the entities could answer. "What are you here to do?"

   "We are here to take care of the Master in the year of his enchantment. We fetch and take away. We clean and cook. We protect him. And now we protect you as well, little one."

   "Oh, this is strange! Oh, it makes my head spin when you force into my head like this. Is there any other way to communicate with you?"

   A pause. Then: "Yes. Take up the mirror."

   Justin went over to the bedside table where he had put the mirror and obeyed.

   "Hi Sweetie! Now isn't this better!?"

   Justin gasped. Instead of his reflection there were the shoulders and head of a skinny, smiling man with a charming gap in his front teeth.

   "But...But, I don't understand! This isn't possible!"

   "I know it isn't! And yet...here we are!' The man placed his cheeks in his palms and seemed to lean forward as if he were lying on his stomach supported by his elbows. Justin smiled. He could almost see the guy's long legs raised in the air behind him, crossed at the ankles ready for a real girly gab-fest.

   "Who are you?"

   ""Oh, I'm afraid I can't tell you that! You'll have to ask the Mast - ohhhhh, you mean who am I!??" he said in sudden understanding but not really understanding at all, "I'm a projection of one of the Master's friends back home. His name was...Emmett, I believe. Of course, the real Emmett is far away but since I'm the one who's in charge of the cooking and dressing and decorating, I thought I'd take his form. You see this is who the Master thinks of whenever I make a particularly good meal or create a particularly fanciful mask for him. I'm the one responsible for all the food right now." The man paused to take a particularly deep breath after this rather rambling speech.

   "Well, thank you very much!"

   "Well, you're welcome so much, Sweetie! And remember....whatever you wish for, I'll make it happen as soon as I possibly can! And don't worry...as long as you're here...we'll watch over you Bye for now! Call me if you need me....!" Emmett began to fade away.

   "Oh wait! Don't go! Don't go! I have so many questions!" cried Justin.

   "Sorry sweetie! Master's growling like a angry wolf for his lunch....Gotta go...See you later...." And then Emmett faded and vanished altogether from the glass and Justin's own reflection reappeared, as it should be.

B&B&B&B&B&B

   Justin hummed a little tune as he set the table in his breakfast nook. He checked the clock for what seemed like the thousandth time and at last it seemed to have made some progress.

   After Emmett had disappeared, he had lay down on his bed and had a nice long think about Emmett, about what Emmett actually was and how to get the answers he so desperately craved.

   At about 4:00 PM, he had given up and started on the jambalaya. He cooked some meat and the vegetables together. Then he cooked the rice and made the sauce and stuck everything in the oven. Everything was right on schedule.

   At the stroke of seven, there was a knock on the door. Justin went over and answered it. He gasped.

   The Beast - uhhh...Brian had really gone all out but had honored Justin's request to see his eyes in the most unusual way. He wore a fancy leather shirt with silver snaps and leather blazer and a black cowboy hat. Over his hands he wore black leather gauntlets that went up to elbows and flared out. He wore jeans and black leather chaps so Justin could see his denim butt cheeks. He wore a black leather belt and at the side was some sort of clip or hook and fastened to this was a coiled lasso. He wore a black kerchief around his neck. And over his face was a black, rubber, executioner style mask. The mask had large eyeholes so his eyes were clearly visible but his forehead, nose, and cheeks were covered. The mask curved down gently on both sides and covered ¾ of his face. The rubber was smooth and shiny and stuck to his face like a second skin and was the most erotic thing Justin had ever seen to date. Hell, the whole thing was the most erotic thing Justin had seen to date

   "Howdy pardner," Brian drawled.

   "Uhhh...good evening...I mean, howdy yourself! That's quite the outfit!" Justin managed.

   "Do you like it?" asked Brian suggestively.

   Justin nodded wordlessly and sucked back the drool that threatened to escape.

   "Thank you, my scrumptious Beauty," said the Beast smoothly, "May I come in?"

   Justin was suddenly glad that he had taken the time to take a shower and get dressed in some clean jeans that hugged his bubble butt and a nice red shirt. He nodded and stepped aside.

   "Thank you, Justin," And then he was inside but instead of moving further inside, he kicked the door shut, moved into Justin's personal space and gathered him into his arms.

   "I'm very hungry for your jambalaya," said Brian, "But I think we have time for a little...appetizer...first!" And with that, he smashed his lips down onto Justin's and demanded entrance. And Justin willing gave it. Truly, if anything, he wanted to feel those fangs again.

   And then he did and yet when he did, it was not enough. He moaned. Brian was the most intoxicating thing he had ever smelled. He smelled all the leather and the rubber and then all of a sudden, all he wanted was more. He groaned and tongue fucked Brian until he heard a moan in return. He stroked the mask up and down. He moaned in pleasure. It felt even better than it looked. For many minutes, they remained fused, not wanting to let go and yet Justin was of two minds. On one hand he was incredibly hard and turned on but at the same time, he wondered if this was wise. He didn't want to give Brian the wrong idea and besides he didn't want to do anything...more...until he turned 18.  And so finally, he broke away and set them both apart gently.

   "What's wrong?" asked Brian said, confused and a little hurt.

   The oven timer buzzed.

   "Nothing's wrong. Dinner's ready," that's all," Justin hedged.

   "Fuck the dinner!" Brian grabbed him again. "That's not all! You pulled away from me! What happened?"

   "Let me go!" Justin struggled. Brian refused, holding him in strong arms that were like steel bands. Dammit! Why did those strong arms have to feel so damn good!?

   "Fine! Just let me go for a minute to turn off the damn buzzer and I'll tell you!"

   And so, Brian let him go and stalked over to the couch while Justin hurried to silence the timer and turn the stove down to low.

   Then he came over to the living area and came up behind the couch. He touched Brian's shoulder to let him know he was there. Brian smiled up at him in a way that was both toe curling and hair-raising and covered his white hand over with his bigger, black one. Justin closed his eyes for a moment. There was a roar and a whoosh and a fire sprang to life in the fireplace.

   "Ahhhh, I see you are getting the hang of this place!" Brian said in approval.

   "Yes. I'm beginning to see how things work," Justin said and then moved around to sit in one of the chairs. Brian would have none of that though and pulled him back until Justin landed right where he wanted him, square in his lap. Justin struggled but those steel arms were around him again and easily arranged him so he was lying across Brian's lap, his back against the soft side cushion and his body pressed sideways against Brian. His arms were inescapable.

   "However..." he continued, when he saw he wasn't going anywhere, "The way things work around here is also why I pulled away from you over there."

   "What are you talking about?" Brian asked.

   Justin looked at him like: Are you kidding me? "Really? You don't see it!?" He sighed. "OK. You're the Master. What you say goes. Your way or the highway. And we...the rest of us...of me...are the slaves who have to wait till you're damn good and ready till you are ready to open up or deign us with an answer to a question. There are..."

   "We?? Who's we!!?" Brian growled. When Justin didn't answer, he growled dangerously and yelled, "Justin! Answer me! Who's we?"

   "There! Right there! This is exactly what I'm talking about! You need an answer and it's demanded!! Well, I'm sorry you're Highness! Maybe I'll tell you. Or maybe...I'll wait till later. You know...another day...but soon." His voice was like acid.

   Brian looked properly shamed. "You're right Justin. I'm sorry. It's part and parcel of being an Alpha male, I guess. I'm used to getting my own way and I've been getting my way an awful lot lately."

   "That's no excuse!" raged Justin.

   "No, it's not. But that's another reason why I wanted to have this dinner. I promise...today...tonight...is the day where I shall answer your questions. I will answer everything you want to know before I leave tonight."

   "Everything? Really?" Justin was transported with joy to a pincushion filled with pins and needles.

   "Really. But take care Justin. You may not like the answers. And you may grow to wish you had never asked the questions."

TBC