Chapter 21 - Negative Creep

*Ahem* Brian heard a displeased male voice clearing its throat somewhere above him at the same time he felt something hard poking into his back several times. *Ahem*

Brian pulled the corner of the blanket down about two inches, which was enough to uncover his eyes. He still wasn't completely awake and it took him a minute or two once he was able to see to figure out where he was. The warm, pliant body that snuggled down further under the blanket next to him certainly helped jog Brian's memory. But all he could see of the man wrapped around him were a few tufts of white-blond hair that stuck up from under the blanket about an inch in front of his face. The only other things Brian could see from his current viewpoint were a stand of dark evergreen trees a couple meters away, a sandy swathe of dirt in front of the trees and a slightly dirty cowboy boot that was shuffling in the dirt and occasionally poking into his side to help prod him awake.

“Good Morning, Sir,” announced the cowboy boot’s apparent owner from somewhere up by the treetops. “Welcome to Clear Lake Park. I'm the ranger in charge of this facility and it looks like I'm also your wake up call this morning. You have five minutes to get yourselves up, pick up your clothing and everything else and get back into your campsite before I give you both tickets for littering, public nudity and - if that's your RV over there - failure to pay the overnight camping fees.”

“Sorry, Sir,” Brian answered in a raspy, half-awake voice. “It was really late when we pulled in last night and there wasn't anyone around to pay. As soon as we’re presentable, I'll come over and pay last night’s fee.”

“See that you do,” the cowboy boot’s voice admonished as it started to move out of Brian's line of sight. “And, since this is a family friendly park, just keep in mind I won't be happy if you two give any repeat performances of whatever seems to have gone on here last night.”

“Wouldn't dream of it, Sir,” Brian responded as he tried to get his brain awake enough to figure out how to move his body.

The idea of just staying where they were after he and Justin had made love on the beach the night before had seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. They'd both been exhausted, sated and happy to just stay where they were all tangled up together on the lake shore. Brian had merely pulled the blanket over the top of them and they'd both drifted off to sleep almost immediately. In retrospect, it didn't seem like it had been wise. Not only had they had to endure the unpleasant wake up call from cowboy boot guy, but Brian remembered why it was never a good idea to sleep on the hard ground all night. His back was throbbing painfully and he was so stiff he could barely move. And, while there was a nice warm pocket of air trapped inside the blanket with them, the rest of the outdoors just outside their blanket was ridiculously cold. In order to get up, they'd have to leave the warmth of their cozy little nest, run naked across the shore area - which was now well lit up by the breaking dawn - struggle to find all their clothing and somehow get back into the RV before they froze to death. THIS was why Brian didn't do ‘camping’.

“Nnnnnmmmmhhhh. Brian, do we HAVE to get up?” the blond tufts of hair mumbled from under the blanket somewhere down by Brian’s shoulder.

“Well, that IS what the cowboy boot ordered, Sunshine. So I suppose we will have to follow it’s directions or it will come back over here and start poking into my back again. And they don’t call them ‘shit kickers’ for nothing. I, for one, would prefer not to get the shit kicked out of me.” That pronouncement caused the blond hair tufts to giggle, and those happy vibrations helped to wake up at least one part of Brian - a part that was currently trapped between his belly and Justin’s thigh - although that part wasn’t very interested in doing anything involving going out in the cold. “Down, boy,” Brian ordered his rebellious piece of anatomy. “Come on, Justin. If we go back to the RV, I can start the generator so we can have a nice hot shower, breakfast and then go back to sleep for a couple hours on a real mattress.”

“Hmmmm . . . that does sound more comfortable. I think I slept the whole night with a boulder under my right hip anyway,” the blond hair tuft seemed motivated enough that it started to wiggle and move around under the blanket. “But, how do we get back to the RV, Brian? I’m . . . I’m not wearing any clothes, you know. *hehehe* Won’t people see us? Naked? And won’t it be cold out there?”

“I told you, Sunshine, there’s nothing wrong with being naked. Who cares if someone sees you without your clothes.” Brian explained again.

“But . . . but . . . but they’re not all my boyfriends, Brian. I just don’t want other people to see me. And it would still be cold . . .” Justin had turtled his head up from under the blanket, but was still gripping its edge with white-knuckled hands.

“Fine, Justin. You keep the blanket,” Brian conceded chivalrously. “Just wrap it around you and you’ll be warm and safe from all the prying eyes. I’ll gather the clothing up and then meet you up at the RV. I think I’d better start the generator first thing if we want to shower and cook breakfast or else we’ll kill the battery. But, please, make coffee before you do anything else, Sunshine.”

Brian then threw back the blanket, exposing them both to the chilly early morning air and causing Justin to squeak before the youth pulled the blanket back around himself as quickly as possible. Brian chuckled and slapped the boy’s plump blanket-padded posterior with his palm as he painfully climbed to his feet. Brian stretched and yawned - not really caring over much who the fuck saw him buck naked at the crack of dawn in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere - before he stooped over and started to pick up the various items of clothing and litter around their little lakefront nest. Justin meanwhile gathered his blanket tighter around him, and ran pell mell towards the RV.

Brian took his time pulling his jeans on and then slowly ambled his way back up the short path towards the parking lot. It was now late enough that some of the other residents of the park were starting to stir. There was one older man who was out walking his annoyingly loud mop dog in the grass along the edge of the parking lot - Brian grinned at him and nodded as if he always took strolls around county parks at dawn while only half dressed. The man just stared and the little dog just kept yipping at him, so Brian continued on his way.

Back at the RV, Brian pulled open the hatch where the generator was and tried to remember how the fuck he’d managed to get the thing started that one time back in Oregon. Unfortunately, he didn’t have either Justin or the manual with him this time, and he hadn’t had any coffee yet either, so he was feeling even more mechanically-challenged than usual. He vaguely remembered he had to flip this one switch, and then didn’t he have to twist that knob . . . ?

Justin had made it back to the RV in record time. He promptly pulled on some clothing and then went to start making coffee as Brian had directed. He probably should have started right away on getting something prepared for breakfast, but instead he was daydreaming about the sensual activities of the night before. He could still feel Brian where he’d been inside him. It had all been so amazing. Brian had been amazing. And he was so gentle and sweet. Justin was profoundly grateful that Brian was his boyfriend and was so very VERY good at doing boyfriend things.

*Knock, knock, knock* The loud hammering on the RV’s door brought Justin out of his reverie abruptly. He jumped up from where he’d been sitting at the table and hustled over to the front where he leaned down and unlatched the door. Through the glass panel in the top of the door, Justin could see a man in a rather ugly, brown felt hat standing a few paces back with his legs spread in a wide stance and his arms crossed. The man had a quirky half-smile on his face but underneath that weird little smile Justin thought the guy was sort of laughing at him. Justin instantly took a dislike to the guy. He didn’t know what to do though, so when the man made a summoning gesture at Justin through the window, the boy hesitantly opened up the door.

“Morning, Sir. I’m Officer Assum with the Illinois State Police. Is this your RV?” the brown-clad man asked Justin as soon as his head was clear of the door.

“No. It’s my boyfriend’s,” Justin answered but then fell silent because he didn’t know what else to say to this man who was now frowning at him.

“Boyfriend?” ‘Officer Asshole’ - as Justin kept thinking of him - sneered out the word with distaste.

“Just like I told ‘ya, Clyde,” the cowboy-booted park ranger who’d roused Brian and Justin earlier piped up from where he was standing a few meters away over by the trooper’s squad car. “There are two of them. This one and an older guy. Brunet. They the one’s you said you were looking for?”

“Don’t know yet, Bubba. This one here does fit the description of the boy they’re looking for. I heard this morning that they thought he’d been sighted over in St. Jo yesterday, but that don’t mean he couldn’t have driven out our way,” the trooper was nodding and looking Justin over as if he was sizing him up for an orange prison jumpsuit. “What’s your name son?”

Justin had been thinking the whole time the conversation between Asshole and Bubba was going on. There was no way he was going to let this local yokel do anything to his Brian. And, if at all possible, he didn’t want to go back to that hospital. So, there was really only one thing Justin could do . . . pretend again.

“I’m Cletus Wheeling. I’m from Rawlins, Wyoming,” Justin answered and then grinned at the officer with what he hoped was his most disarming smile.

“Cletus, huh? Funny . . . You don’t look like a Cletus to me,” Officer Asshole replied with a disdainful sneer. “You got any ID on  you, Cletus?” Justin shook his head. “Course not. Now, where is this boyfriend of yours, son? I’ve got a few questions for him.”

“My boyfriend ran off that way into the trees when he saw your car driving up because he thinks you’re going to throw his sorry ass in jail,” Justin advised, pointing over his shoulder at the thickest patch of trees around the park.

“He did, did he?” Officer Asshole turned to look over at the copse of trees, an avid look on his face as he contemplated the possibility of catching the fugitive. “I’m going to need you to step over here and wait for me by my car, Son. I’ll be right back . . . AFTER I catch your boyfriend.”

“Couldn’t I wait in the RV?” Justin asked, looking back at the warm interior of the RV where there was hot coffee waiting. “I think I’d actually rather stay inside. It’s kinda cold out here.”

“Son. Step away from the vehicle,” the police officer demanded and waited with a stern expression until Justin had complied before he entered the RV to make sure the vehicle was secure.

A minute or so later, the officer climbed back down the RV’s steps and emerged back into the bright June morning. “What did you say your boyfriend’s name was, son?”

“His name?” Justin echoed, caught out for just a second. “His name is-is-is Hank. Hank Pearson. He’s from Twin Falls, Idaho.”

“Yeah. And that’s about as likely as you being named Cletus, Sweetheart.” Officer Asshole replied with another deprecating smile aimed Justin’s way. Justin simply kept smiling at the man and he looked so pathologically innocent that even a hardened police officer couldn’t find it in his soul to doubt the boy. “Which way did you say ‘Hank’ went now?” the officer asked finally after staring the boy down for about a half a minute. Justin pointed to the woods again and renewed his sunshiney bright smile. Officer Asshole looked at the young blond with a confused expression for several seconds before shaking his head as if he was confused. “All right. This is what we’re going to do. You’re going to wait right here until I get back. You hear me?” Justin nodded vigorously in agreement. “I’m going to go round up your ‘boyfriend’ and when I get back here I’ve got a metric fuck ton of questions for the both of you. So you stay put right here. Okay?”

Justin nodded ingenuously and just kept smiling until Officer Asshole stomped off towards the treeline at the edge of the park. Justin looked around as soon as the policeman was out of earshot. Bubba, the park ranger, was still loitering nearby keeping a watchful eye on Justin.

“I hope he’ll be alright,” Justin said, pretending to be talking to himself and not the ranger. Then he looked up at the other man artlessly, as if just noticing that he was still there, and added, “Hank has a bit of a temper. He doesn’t really mean anything by it, you know, but . . . well, if he feels trapped he might get . . . you know . . . a bit . . . nasty?” Justin tried not to gloat when he saw Bubba look worriedly after his buddy Asshole. “Officer Asshole should probably have called for backup before he headed off alone after Hank . . .”

Bubba looked around him as if he thought he’d suddenly gain inspiration from the parking lot. “You wait right here! You hear me boy?” Bubba ordered with a growl when it didn’t look like he’d found any inspiration.

Justin nodded again obediently and then watched silently until Bubba had trotted off in the same direction as Officer Asshole.

As soon as the park ranger was far enough away, Justin ran to the side of the RV. “Brian? Hey, Brian!” Justin hissed as loudly as he dared. “They went off into the woods to look for you, Brian. Get in the RV and get the engine started. I’ll be right back!” Justin ordered.

“Justin? Justin! Get back here, Justin. We need to get the fuck out of here,” Brian hissed back from the spot where he’d been cowering behind the far side of the RV and hiding from Officer Asshole and Ranger Bubba.

Since there was no immediate answer, though, Brian simply darted around the front end of the RV and climbed inside. As soon as he was inside, Brian seated himself in the driver’s seat and started to buckle up. Through the windshield Brian caught a glimpse of a blond-headed streak of lightning running up to the state trooper’s car. He couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what the hell Justin thought he was doing. Brian thought briefly about going back out there and physically pulling his blond back into the RV so they could get the fuck out of there, but before he could do anything, he saw Justin reach in through the patrol car’s open window, pull out the car keys and then sprint down to the lake shore where the boy tossed the keys as far out into the water as he could. Two minutes later Justin was back inside the RV and strapped into the passenger’s chair, urging Brian to ‘Drive!’.

“What the fuck did you do, Justin?” Brian asked as soon the boy was seated.

“I threw his keys in the lake so he can’t follow us,” Justin stated as if it was not only obvious but entirely logical.

“Why?” Brian couldn't help but ask even as he turned the key in the ignition and smiled as the RV’s engine roared to life.

“Cause, if you go to jail, we can't be together,” Justin stated matter-of-factly.

“Shit, Justin . . . You are hard core!” Brian scoffed as he pulled the RV out of the park’s gates and headed them back towards the interstate.

“I know,” Justin stated with pride and a cheeky grin. “Now, just fucking drive already!”

So Brian did.

“So, ‘Cletus’, what’s your next brilliant plan?” Brian asked as soon as they’d driven a few miles down the highway and hadn’t yet seen any police cars following them. “I doubt that our state trooper friend back there will take kindly to having to fish his car keys out of the lake. And we still have at least a day of driving to get us back to the Pitts. I just hope he doesn’t call out his buddies to hunt us down before we get there.”

“Sorry, Brian. I just . . . I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want that man to take you away or make me go back to the hospital. But I’m sorry if I messed things up even worse,” Justin apologized, chewing on his bottom lip with vigor.

“I know, Sunshine. I know . . .” Brian sighed. “Actually, I don’t really think you could make it any worse, so don’t worry. I just hope we make it home before the real shit hits the fan. Although, I’m not sure what good it will do us to be in Pittsburgh when it does hit. If we could maybe at least get someone at that hospital to listen to your story. Now that you’re not quite so overwhelmed, you could at least try to explain what really happened with your mother. The big problem’s going to be to get them to hold off on arresting me until after they take the time to listen. Unfortunately, most law and order types aren’t really big on listening. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Do we HAVE to go back?” Justin questioned plaintively. “Can’t we just go somewhere else? Somewhere that nobody knows about me?”

“I’m in a lot of trouble, Sunshine . . .” Brian commented, trying to figure out how he was going to explain all this to Justin so that the boy would understand.

“That’s why we shouldn’t go back, Brian.”

“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, Justin. I have to go back. I have a life there. I have family, friends, my son. I also have a business that I’m trying desperately to get off the ground. And I owe a lot of people a lot of money right now, so if I don’t get Kinnetik up and running soon, I’ll end up in even bigger trouble. I don’t see any alternative for me,” Brian rationalized.

Justin really wanted to trust that what Brian was telling him was true. He wished there were some other way for them to get through this mess. But wait . . . Brian had a son?

“You have a son, Brian? You never said you had a son. How come you never mentioned him before? How old is he? What’s his name? Who’s taking care of him while you were in Portland?”

“Slow down, Sunshine. Yes, I have a son. He’s three. His name is Gus. He lives with his mothers - my friend Lindsey and her partner Mel are his primary parents - and I’m sure they’re taking good care of him. And I didn’t mention him because . . . well, because I didn’t know how to tell you exactly - I don’t talk to people about him much. It’s something I like to keep mostly private. His mothers and I have a very unique arrangement - most of the time I’m only his father and allowed to see him when they need money from me. Believe me when I tell you it’s a pretty fucked up situation. I know I don’t see him a lot and I’m not really much of a father but I don’t want to just disappear on him either.”

Justin could feel Brian’s sadness as he talked about his son. Justin felt helpless because he couldn’t figure out what to do to make his boyfriend feel better. “We definitely need to go back then. You have to be there for Gus. And we have to fix that whole situation with his mothers. I know what it’s like to have a mother who thinks she knows best when she’s really just bonkers. I can’t imagine what’s it’s like to have TWO crazy mothers. But I won’t let them hurt Gus or you, Brian. So we’ll just have to go back, deal with the hospital people and then fix Gus’ mothers. And we’ll find you some money for your business, too.”

Justin thought about all of that - all the things that Brian needed to do and that he now felt compelled to do as well because he wanted to help Brian in any way possible. And it all of a sudden dawned on him that, for the first time in his life, he was thinking about the future. His future. And the fact that he actually HAD a future. For so long his mother and the small house they’d lived in had defined his whole world. There had never been a chance for him to think about any future because he just couldn’t see anything beyond the walls of that house. Beyond the limitations his mother had set out for him. She’d constantly told Justin that he wouldn’t be anything because he wasn’t smart enough or talented enough or brave enough. His whole life he’d been told what he COULDN’T do. There had never been a time where he’d been encouraged to even wonder about what he COULD do. Now, though, for the first time ever he was catching glimpses of some nebulous time called the ‘future’ and was starting to think about what that would be like. What he could do in the future. What he wanted to do to make that future better.

It was fucking frightening as hell.

But then Justin looked over at Brian and realized he didn’t have to face it alone. THAT was his future. Brian was his future. Or at least he hoped that Brian was his future. And he would do almost anything to help Brian. If only he was brave enough or bold enough to try. Well, there was no better time to start than the present.

“If I had any money, I’d give it all to you, Brian,” Justin announced as boldly as he could. “Maybe I could sell some more of my drawings or something. How many do you think I’d need to sell so you’d have enough money to fix your business?

Brian looked over his shoulder at Justin and smiled - a real smile that made the green glints in his hazel eyes sparkle - but didn’t say anything. When Brian turned back so he was once again concentrating on the road ahead of them, Justin could tell that the worried look was already back on his boyfriend’s face. Justin didn’t want to see that look in Brian’s eyes anymore. He liked the happy look much better. So maybe he would have to start thinking about that future that he’d never dared to contemplate before and figure some things out for himself and for Brian.