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Author's Chapter Notes:

We're having so much fun writing we thought we'd go ahead and give you another chapter today. Enjoy! 

 

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Chapter 2 - Smells Like Teen Spirit.

 

“What’s up, Cynthia?”

 

“Brian you are NEVER going to believe what’s happened. It’s the best news we could have hoped for!” Cynthia gushed so much Brian could almost hear her enthusiastic smile over the phone connection.

 

Brian wasn’t really big on playing twenty questions when it came to important information about his business. He was especially not in the mood for games after learning that the one person he thought he could count on for a little assistance, could offer absolutely zero help in the funding department. Maybe his irritation was evident to Cynthia, even though he didn’t say anything, because she immediately started in on a full explanation.

 

“I finally got through to one of those contacts on the list you left me, Brian. Accelerate Corporation! And, because I’m really THAT good, I even managed to finagle a meeting for you. See, it turns out Adam Dennison, the CEO, is a huge supporter of gay rights and was a major backer for the Basic Rights Oregon Foundation - the group that was instrumental in pushing through the Equal Marriage initiative in Oregon a few months ago. Well, Dennison’s son and his partner are now getting married themselves and I got YOU an invitation to the wedding,” Cynthia crowed, obviously proud of her negotiation skills.

 

“How the fuck did you do that? I’ve been trying to get Adam on the phone for weeks now,” Brian was just as impressed by his Assistant as he’d always been.

 

“Well, I kinda had to promise that you’d be making a substantial donation to the Basic Rights Oregon Foundation . . . Which you WILL do as soon as we get his account and are flush again, so it’s not a total lie,” Cynthia elaborated.

 

“You are fucking amazing, Cynthia,” Brian praised her. “Once we actually have enough money to start paying employee salaries again, remind me to give you a raise. A very small raise . . . for the time being. But you know how huge Accelerate is? If we win this account it will solve all our financial problems. And I know I can win Adam over if I just have a chance to pitch to him. You are truly a miracle worker!”

 

“I’m so glad you are as excited about this as I am Brian, and everything should smooth over soon enough, but . . . Well, the only hitch is that the happy couple is getting hitched THIS WEEKEND. So you’re going to have to get your ass in gear and get to the airport, like, right now. I’ve got you the last two seats on the red eye from Pittsburgh to Portland tonight. It leaves in just over three hours though so you better get a move on.”

 

“No problem. I’ll just stop by the loft and pick up a suit or two and I’m good to go . . . Wait, why TWO tickets?” Brian paused on the sidewalk outside the hospital to hear Cynthia’s explanation.

 

“Ummm . . . Well, there is one. Other. Contingency . . ." Cynthia trailed off, not really wanting to divulge this part of the plan to win over Accelerate and save their collective asses. “You have to show up with your . . . boyfriend,” Cynthia cringed, imagining the withering look Brian was probably casting her way - sure that if Brian’s eyes could shoot fire, she would have been incinerated by one of his glares a long time ago.

 

“That is just fucking great! How am I supposed to show up with a boyfriend when I don’t have one, let alone believe in the concept of ‘boyfriends’?” Brian snarked into the phone.

 

“Well, I didn’t know what else to do, Brian,” Cynthia tried to explain. “Dennison was going on and on about his kid’s wedding and I was trying to lay it on thick, you know. And, well, one thing led to another and before I knew it I was agreeing with him that you were just as excited about the change in the law here in Pennsylvania. Then he sorta made a comment about how you could be the next one getting married and I didn’t really correct him . . . So, when he asked if you would like to bring your boyfriend or partner with you to celebrate the wedding, I didn’t have the heart to tell him you’re like the biggest slut in the world and think that the idea of marriage is only slightly less distasteful than eating pussy.” Brian could hear Cynthia’s amusement over that image even through the phone. “So, the bottom line is . . . you need to come up with a boyfriend, or at least a date, for the wedding. And, if you pull this off, then Dennison will meet with you and hear your pitch on Sunday afternoon.”

 

“Fuck, Cynthia! How the hell am I going to come up with a date for a wedding in less than three hours?” Brian pinched the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes closed, thoroughly exasperated at the circumstances and scrambling to try to come up with someone - anyone - who would be willing to participate in this stupid charade.

 

“I’m sure Michael wouldn’t have a problem pretending to be your boyfriend . . . he practically thinks he is already anyway," Cynthia snickered.

 

Brian sighed, and hoped that she was right. Before he could say anything more though, Brian felt a gentle tap on the back of his shoulder. Spinning around, there was Justin - the kid he thought he had left upstairs in his room in the mental ward. He was standing there nibbling on his lower lip, looking uncertain yet hopeful, with a battered old messenger bag draped across his chest and no shoes on his bare feet.

 

“Hey ‘Just Brian’! I did exactly like you told me and listened to my gut,” Justin said excitedly, rubbing his belly for effect. “My gut was telling me that I didn’t like it at the hospital, and that I should be with a good person like you.”

 

“Justin? Justin, you can’t be out here. You need to go back inside. Does anyone know where you are? Don’t you know how worried they’ll be when they find you’ve gone? And where the hell are your shoes?” Brian gently, yet firmly, took hold of the boy’s shoulders, trying to turn him around and guide him back inside.

 

“But I don’t like it in there. I don’t want to stay there. They aren’t good people. You said to listen to my gut and my gut says they aren’t good people,” Justin wiggled until he’d freed himself from Brian’s grasp. “So I’m coming with you.”

 

Brian briefly closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose again. He could tell a migraine was brewing between his eyes. This was all he needed right now.

 

“You still have to go back, Justin. Not all the people inside are bad - just that one orderly. The rest of them are there to take care of you. To make you better. You can’t just wander around outside without a jacket or shoes or anything, Justin.”

 

“I don’t like shoes. They hurt my feet,” Justin stated matter-of-factly, still smiling trustingly up at Brian. “And I’ve never had a jacket. I was never allowed outside before.”

 

“Enough! I don’t have time for this,” Brian raised his voice, too exasperated by the craziness of this situation to try and stay calm anymore or to figure out the state of the little blond mental patient. “Come on. I’m taking you back inside!” He roughly grabbed hold of the kid’s wrist and started to tug him down the sidewalk.

 

“NO! NO. No. No no no nononono,” Justin’s emphatic cry quickly changed to a panicky repetition as Brian watched the boy begin to hyperventilate and crumple to the ground.

 

Brian immediately let go of the boy’s wrist and knelt down in front of him. “I’m sorry, Justin. I’m sorry, okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. Just breathe, okay. That’s it. Breathe. Take deep breaths and slowly release them. Good boy. Good,” Brian tried to talk the kid out of his panic attack all the while rubbing the kid’s arms in a soothing manner.

 

Eventually, Justin calmed down enough that Brian was able to get him to stand again. He carefully wiped away the tears that had run down the soft, pale cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. A tremulous smile took form on the beautiful blond’s pink lips at the care which ‘Just Brian’ had taken with him during one of his attacks.

 

As Brian gazed into the trusting blue eyes still swimming with unshed tears and that gentle, yet welcoming smile, he had an epiphany - he could take his barefoot blond to the wedding as his boyfriend. Wait! What was he thinking; he couldn’t take Justin to the wedding. Both the hospital staff as well as the local police would no doubt be searching for the runaway sprite by now. Maybe Cynthia was right, he should at least try to get Michael to go with him to the happy homo festivities. At least then he wouldn’t be in danger of committing three types of felonies including kidnapping. Brian needed to get to Babylon asap before Michael happened to disappear and time was definitely of the essence. There was only one problem . . . what to do with Justin?

 

“Listen to me, Justin. Are you listening?” Justin nodded silently, eagerly awaiting more of ‘Just Brian’s’ words of wisdom.

 

“I have something very important to do and if you can behave yourself you can come along. But you have to understand that eventually you’ll have to go back to Brighton.” Once again Justin looked crestfallen at the mere mention of having to go back to the facility. Brian truly hoped Justin understood that he couldn’t just take him home with him. It wasn’t really his style to begin with, but Justin’s unique situation made it even more impossible in the grand scheme of things. For the moment, though, he would indulge the runaway for at least a little longer.

 

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A short while later Brian and Justin walked up to the entrance of Babylon, ignoring the string of curses and obscenities being hurled at them for completely skipping the line. They were immediately granted access and soon found themselves in a sea of hot, sweaty, beautiful, writhing bodies. Normally, Brian would be scoping out the club for his first conquest of the night, but that would have to wait for another time. He had to find Michael so that he could convince him to play the role of his date. Then they had to get their asses to the airport in order to catch their flight. But it was a damn shame - the offerings tonight were exceptional and it would have been his distinct pleasure to sample as many of the goodies at the club as was humanly possible.

 

Justin was wide-eyed with fascination over the sights and sounds. There were men in really skimpy underpants dancing on platforms with bars around them and people were shoving money in there. He wrinkled his nose a bit as that really didn’t seem all that clean to him.

 

“Just Brian, did you see that - those men aren’t wearing any clothes! Why aren’t they wearing clothes? And what do they do with the money once they take it out of their undies? Do they wash it so that they won’t get germs or get sick?” Brian was, however, saved from answering the young blond when his reason for being there finally made an appearance.

 

Brian spied Mikey standing at the bar taking a swig from his bottle of beer. He pulled Justin along with him and, without bothering to explain anything, Brian launched right into his pitch to his best friend. “Hey, Mikey.” Brian grabbed a hold of the beer bottle and took a gulp. “Want to take a trip to Portland, Oregon? I need a ‘boyfriend’ to attend the wedding of the son of a prospective client with me. Think of it as a vacation; all expenses paid.” Brian made air quotes when he mentioned boyfriend, the bottle of beer he swiped from his friend dangling between the thumb, ring, and pinky fingers of his right hand.

 

“Sorry, Bri. No can do. I have tickets for Comicon this weekend! Captain Astro is supposed to be there and will be signing autographs and everything! I can’t miss that! It’s the first time he’s ever attended one of these cons. It’ll be EPIC!” Michael exclaimed enthusiastically “Anyway, I don’t think Ben would be too crazy about the idea of me going to Portland of all places, and putting on a charade pretending to be your boyfriend.”

 

“Damn it, Mikey! Can’t you act like a grown up for ONCE in your life for christ sake? Captain Astro will always be there, but you only get to be my ‘boyfriend’ once. And I think that Ben would understand that it’s only business. Besides, this is an important client that I can’t afford to miss out on.” Brian was feeling frustrated by Michael’s intransigence - he rarely asked his friends for favors but, inevitably, when he did, they always failed him.

 

While Brian had been pleading his case to his best friend, he hadn’t noticed that Justin had slipped away. It wasn’t until he heard the symphony of whistles and catcalls for some nameless gogo boy to “Take it off, Sweetheart!” that he paid attention to the fact that the left side of his body was decidedly cooler than it had been a few minutes prior. To Brian’s dismay, the nubile blond had managed to get up on the bar and was dancing with the go-go boys. Justin had his shirt off and there were already some dollar bills tucked into the waistband of his unbuttoned cargo pants. He looked to be having a blast.  

 

“Shit!” Brian grumbled and headed in the direction of Babylon’s newest dancing queen.

 

“Justin! Justin, come down from there.” Brian grabbed at the boy’s ankle in order to get his attention.

 

“But Just Brian, dancing is so much fun, and that fat man over there offered me $100 for a hand job . . . I was so excited. I've never had a job!” Justin exclaimed, bouncing a bit on his toes and gingerly pulling the bills from his waist as soon as Brian had managed to coax him down off the bar. “These will need to be washed.” Justin scrunched up his nose as he handed the bills over to Brian.

 

Brian took the handful of wadded up bills and shoved them into his pocket. “Justin . . . I know it’s fun to dance. I like dancing too, but right now I’ve got something else really important I need to do and I can’t be running after you. So, please, just sit here on this barstool and stay put for a bit. Okay? Please?” Brian pressed him down onto the first empty seat he found and hoped the boy could stay out of trouble for at least a few minutes.

 

“Okay, Just Brian. I’ll stay here. But, if that guy with the job comes back, can I tell him yes? I’d really like to have a job, you know. I’ve never had any money of my own before. Although I don’t know exactly what a hand job is . . .” Justin looked at Brian with those artless blue eyes.

 

“No you can NOT tell him ‘yes’ Justin. It isn’t the kind of job you're thinking of,” Brian sighed “Remember what I told you about trusting your gut? Well . . . this is DEFINITELY one of those times when you need to listen very carefully.”

 

Brian reluctantly left Justin sitting on his bar stool, the boy’s eyes almost popping out of his skull every time he noticed something new and outrageous - which there was always a lot of at Babylon. But Brian was running out of time. He had to find someone to play his boyfriend for the weekend. This potential client was just too important.

 

Unfortunately, twenty minutes later Brian still hadn’t secured himself a date. He’d asked Emmett - who was preoccupied with hosting a wedding that weekend and couldn’t get away. He’d asked all the guys he thought of as friends and then had to resort to other options. He’d hit up at least five of the best looking gogo boys who he happened to have casual acquaintances with. He’d even asked Todd, the ubiquitous backroom bottom boy who could usually be counted on to agree to ANYTHING. But so far Brian was batting a big old zero.

 

After Brian was shot down by Todd, he slumped back against the wall of the backroom, at his wits end over what to do. Brian had a pretty wide circle of sex partners but when it came to friends he was pretty much dry in the well. Looking around him, all Brian saw were a bevy of used up tricks that he didn’t really care to ask because there was no way he could bear the thought of spending more than ten minutes with any of them.

 

While he was figuratively pulling his hair out over what to do, he happened to look over to the far corner and saw something that really shouldn’t be in Babylon’s infamous back room . . . a small blond man-child.

 

“Fuck! Justin, what the hell are you doing? Did I not tell you to wait for me at the bar?” Brian pulled the kid away from where he’d been perched on the arm of a reclining chair watching avidly while a rather rowdy threesome had been going at it.

 

“I know you said that I should tell the hand job man ‘no’, but he was being kind of pushy and my gut said he wasn’t a good person. So I had to leave the bar to get away from him. Then a guy came by and told me that if I really wanted to see a show that I should come back here. He said that this was where the action is.” Justin looked back over his shoulder at the trio he’d been watching even as Brian ushered him out of the room. “Did you see what those guys were doing, Just Brian? They were NAKED! Was that what the guy meant by ‘action’? I thought maybe they were filming a movie or something - you know how they always say, ‘Action’ when they start filming a movie? I saw that once on television. But those guys didn’t look like they were acting to me, though. They were pretty serious . . .”

 

Brian pulled the sweet blond after him and as far away from the backroom as he could get him. Justin kept looking back with intense interest at the various acts and stages of undress of the occupants. Brian didn’t think it was possible to be as naive as this kid seemed to be. He wondered again briefly exactly what had brought Justin to the mental hospital in the first place.

 

“In fact, it looked like what they were doing was kind of painful. That one guy was yelling ‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’ and he even started crying at one point. Do you think they’ll need a doctor after they leave? Maybe we should call one for them just in case," Justin offered, his face etched with worry and concern.

 

“No. Justin. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Thankfully, Brian was interrupted before he had to get into the nitty-gritty of explaining anal intercourse to the ingenue by the pinging sound of his cell phone indicating a new text message.

 

Cynthia: ‘Brian where the hell are you? Have you arrived at the airport yet? If not, you better hurry. We can’t afford to buy you another ticket if you miss this flight!’

 

“Shit!” The expletive was uttered loudly and was threaded with frustration as the brunet roughly jerked his fingers through his hair; his shoulders slumping in defeat.

 

“What’s wrong, Just Brian?” Justin asked with a note of concern in his voice and in his expressive blue eyes.

 

Brian looked at the boy standing in front of him. The kid WAS nice looking and seemed like he could be easily managed. When it came to date material, Brian could probably do worse. And since nobody else seemed interested . . . At this point Brian knew it was crunch time, so in his mind he only had two options. He could lose his only ticket to success or he could just say fuck it all and take Justin with him. For all intents and purposes, Justin was here, available, and if Brian were honest with himself, the only person willing to go with him anywhere.

 

“Say, Justin, how would you feel about going to Portland?” Brian asked as he moved them both out the front entrance and waved down the first available cab.

 

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Chapter End Notes:

11/1/15 - Artless, innocent Justin . . . He's just too cute, isn't he? 

 

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