October 31st, 2015, 1:30 am

Molly lags up the stairs in front of Justin, tripping over her feet as she sways from side to side with each step.

“Watch it,” Justin warns, taking a hold of her arm as she minorly stumbles. What would she do without him?

“It’s been a very l...long t-time since I drank that much,” Molly hiccups as she waits for Justin to unlock his apartment door.

“Really?” Justin asks, raising his brow in amusement as he lets her in, “I couldn’t tell you were even buzzed.”

“It’s probably because of my impeccable makeup job,” she answers.

“I still don’t know what you are supposed to be,” Justin admits. God. He sucks. He had like two cranberry vodkas and his memory is already wiped, obviously.

“I’m a Sexy Steampunk Mad Scientist. God, can’t you tell?” Molly groans as she flops down onto the couch.

“Right, the weird goggles. Should have remembered,” Justin murmurs, sitting on the arm of the couch next to her head, “Just don’t get any of that impeccable makeup on my furniture.”

Molly opens one eye to convey her annoyance, before trying to reach for the remote, “What’s to watch? What’s to eat?”

Justin reaches over with grace and hands her the whole remote caddy, giving her complete control over every electronic form of entertainment he has, “I have Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. You probably could just entertain yourself for hours with browsing alone. What do you want to eat? I have a lot of fruit and vegetables, some of that Skinny Pop stuff, Lean Cuisines-”

“What the fuck?” Molly blurts out, lifting up the regular dull ass shirt covering Justin’s stomach, “Are you gaining weight or something? You look the same-”

“Can’t a guy just eat healthy to maintain a better lifestyle?” Justin laughs, pulling the shirt down.

“No.”

Justin rolls his eyes like that, “I think there may be a frozen pizza in the back of the fridge.”

“Now you’re talking,” Molly smiles sweetly, before clicking on Netflix, “Oooh, Sherlock. If only John and Sherlock would realize their love for each other...hey, do you have weed?”

Justin scoffs, “Like you need it! And no, I don’t.”

Molly gives him a look, “But you usually have some, even if it is sitting in a drawer for several weeks at times. Who are you?”

Justin shakes his head and runs his fingers through her hair, “Do you want a pizza or not?”

“Fine. Go, peasant,” Molly dismisses as she presses a button to start the first episode.

That gives her a swat. Whatever.

She tries to focus on Benedict Cumberbatch’s voice and face. At first, she thought his face was a bit odd looking, but the charisma, intellect, and rich baritone made her embrace it. With her drunken thoughts and her focus on some random actor across a damn ocean, she could almost get her thoughts off of Hunter.

Almost being the key word.

Things are...up in the air at best. She has been answering his calls less, found excuses to be too busy for him to visit or to visit him. Fuck, he had even told her he’d buy her way to come to Los Angeles. And she had said no. Then they fought. She pushed him away, admitted to him she didn’t think she could do what they had been doing anymore.

She wishes that she could. But they were lucky to see each other one weekend every six weeks or so. Sometimes she went there, and sometimes he came to her. She actually enjoys meeting halfway the most. Spending a couple of days in a random city in the midwest, as though they were both taking a brief vacation from reality. The last time they’d done that, he surprised her with a resort in Arkansas, right before the school year started. He had a little time off before starting work on the new season. He had surprised her last second. Called her, told her to check her email and pack enough clothes for a week. Make sure she brought a bathing suit and some decent walking shoes.

She remembers trying not to scoff at Arkansas. But she went, despite the elephant in the room when it came to her asking to have an open relationship, despite the fact that neither of them had even attempted a go at the perks of an open relationship.

And when she got there. When he had picked her up and looked gorgeous, driven her from Fayetteville to Eureka Springs, and had booked them a luxury treehouse for a week, alit with lanterns and a winding path up to the cottage nestled in the oak. They spent that week having mindblowing sex, hiking, exploring the town, going on ghost tours, finding the more secluded natural hot springs, swimming in those springs, kissing in those springs, fucking right next to those springs…

There were probably plenty of couples who have spent less on a honeymoon, have felt less blissful than they had. That week...it had actually gotten her mind off the elephant in the room. It had gotten her mind off a lot of other things too. The shaky mental health of her dad, the fact she is afraid as hell to leave a reliable job and go into debt for grad school, the fact that she is too afraid to even apply. Too worried that she’ll be out of a job while she goes to school and too poor to make anything work. Too nervous to apply to places far away from her dad, since he will have pretty much no one after she leaves.

All that stress had disappeared. Just because she had the time of her life with him, because he had chosen a fucking oasis to take her to, as though he had known how stressed she was by everything.

The euphoria of the trip had lasted a few days after she returned to Morgantown. But the stress and worry had started to seep back in after that. The doubt. And even though they had met up once more after that, the doubt still clawed at her brain, making her wonder if it might even be the last time they saw each other as a couple, or whatever they were...are.

Sometimes she just wonders if she would have been better off staying in that hotel room the day after Christmas, listening to Tucker’s snores.

Nothing seems to fix the stress anymore. The aching she feels in her chest. She knows Justin can tell something is wrong, the way he’s been practically coddling her since she arrived at 7. The way he had made sure not to drink, watched her carefully at Liam’s bar, let her go a bit wild by letting her get too drunk and make out with a guy. Making sure to pull her away the moment he knew she would probably go further and do something she’d regret.

She feels the regret seeping in over the kissing and fondling already, even though she’s in an open relationship, even though she’s not sure the relationship is still in effect at all.

She feels herself let out a sob and tears pool inside of the goggles she has still failed to take off.

--------------------------------------

Justin takes his time with trying to find things to feed his sister. She could be a fucking garbage disposal at times, they both could be. But ever since he decided to go on a health binge last month, his fridge has been lacking.

He finds some frozen organic sweet potato fries in the back. They would do.

He preheats the oven and sits at the small table by the window once he has the food ready to put in once the oven is hot enough. He finds himself browsing on his phone, same stuff over and over but he can’t help it. Then he puts the food in the oven, prepares himself to deal with his drunk and most likely depressed sister who he is worrying more and more about, then hears a sob from the other room.

Damn it.

Making his way back into the living room, he finds her still on the couch, every bit of her costume still in place, as she cries on her side.

“Fuck, are you starting out with season 3 or something?” Justin asks, kneeling down next to her.

He had been thinking that comment might get a laugh out of her, but all she does whimper and sob out, “N-No. It’s the f-first ep...episode!”

Molly gets more inconsolable at that point, only crying like a drunk person can cry. Or a heartbroken person. Or both.

“Molly,” he murmurs, lifting her head up so that he can sit down, “Shhh...shhh. It’s going to be alright. It might not feel like it now, but everything’s going to be okay.”

“It won’t!” she exclaims, taking her goggles off and throwing them across the room, leaving subtle circular marks on the skin around her eyes, “My life is f-fucked! I am barely holding it t-together! I hate ev...everything! I always worry about Dad even though he’s doing better than he was, I worry about M-Mom, Tucker, and Grandma getting overwhelmed with Gr-Grandpa, I h-hate my job, I fucking hate it. I love the k-kids but I’m so bored and wh-when I’m not, it’s because s-some boy in my class is obviously getting abused and I am tr-trying to childline his mother. And that shit’s taking forever since no one else at the sch-school is d-doing it so I did and I have to w-watch him come in ev-everyday, knowing that he’s st-still with his mom until the investigation is over because god forbid CPS do shit. And I’m just going out and getting wasted like a fucking idiot and making out with some guy I don’t know while all that is happening, when there’s someone who really loves me out there who I can’t fucking be with-!”

Molly breaks off of her rant and sobs into his lap. Justin wraps an arm around her shoulders and pets her hair, murmuring what are probably pointless reassurances in her ear as he worries over her even more.

She calms down after a while and robotically eats pizza and sweet potato fries as she watches his flat screen silently with glassy eyes and takes big gulps of water. Every time he tries to speak to her, check where her head is at, he gets the shortest answers possible.

It’s definitely not the right time to tell her about the baby.

----------------------------------------

Justin wakes up the next morning, yawning and stretching, only to almost hit Molly in the face with his wrist.

When he sits up though, she’s still asleep, which is weird since she is always up before him. He just hopes she doesn’t wake up vomiting and sick all day, considering they are supposed to go to another Halloween party tonight.

Maybe she should be sick then. It could get them out of it.

Alright, that’s a shitty thought. She had a rough enough night. Became weepy again and internally clingy but wouldn’t say a word, just looked at him with big eyes when he told her he was heading to bed. He ended up letting her sleep in Nathan’s space right next to him. It seemed to make her feel less alone and Justin had wanted to keep an eye on her anyway. It was the first time anyone else slept in that space. He has had some tricks over here and there, has even been hooking up with this guy a few times a week for almost two months now. Malcolm Jones. He’s 34 years old, smart, a lawyer and a human rights activist, tall, athletic, and gorgeous with his dark skin, six pack, and, on top of everything else that’s perfect about him, ten inch cock.

Ten. Inch. Cock. And Malcolm is primarily a top. Despite Justin’s vast amount of experience, he had been nervous as hell to take that on at first. But it’s...fuck, it’s good.

But Malcolm is starting to drop hints. Just a little bit. Hints that he wants to stay over, that he wants Justin to meet his friends and his twin brother. He has always said it in a super casual way, as if he knows not to push. They’re already doing things outside of their apartments, things that aren’t sex related. Like going on jogs, visiting galleries, going out to eat, to a bar or a club for drinks, or to the movies. It has only happened a handful of times, but it is becoming more frequent.

Fuck.

If the circumstances were different, he would probably try this, more than he has been already, at least. He actually really likes this guy. His smile lights up a room, the way he kisses him...it puts his mind at ease. If it weren’t for his mind wandering back to Nathan, if it weren’t for the fact that it hadn’t even initially occurred to him things might go further than just a few random fucks with Malcolm, that no one, especially Malcolm, even knows about-

“Unghh…”

Justin looks over again and sees Molly rub her face and turn to face him.

“What time is it?” Molly mumbles, only one eye open.

“Nine.”

Molly nods, “Fuck, I should get up.”

Justin snorts at that, “It’s really not that late.”

“Yeah, but if I go back to sleep, it will suddenly be noon. My head hurts,” she groans, placing a hand on her forehead.

“Then sleep it off,” Justin stresses, tucking her back in a little, “It’s a cold, cloudy Saturday morning and you’re hungover. It’s what any normal person would do.”

“I can’t. My sleep schedule will be fucked for days. I may be a mess, but I know myself well enough to predict that.”

Molly sits up and stays still for a moment, cradling her head.

“Want breakfast?” Justin offers, circling around the bed.

“...Yeah. Just make me whatever you’re having,” Molly ends up answering as he starts to leave the room, “Hey, what are you having?”

“Kale, yogurt, and pineapple smoothie,” he calls out before going to the kitchen.

He doesn’t know how quickly Molly recovers from hangovers, but she’s only 24 so maybe it is just her youth. Justin still can’t help but feel jealousy bubble up within him when his sister is suddenly in front of him in the kitchen, blocking his path.

“What the hell is going on with you?” she demands to know, stepping to the left to block his path once more.

“Come on, fuck off,” Justin snorts, putting his hand on her shoulder to try to usher her off to the side.

“No,” Molly mutters, studying him as if he’s a specimen under one of her favorite microscopes, “Justin...Justin.”

Justin lets out a groan, “Jesus Christ, what?”

“You aren’t...You aren’t sick are you? You’re not...fuck, you’re not pos-”

“Molly, Molly,” Justin interrupts her quickly, holding up his hand and taking the opportunity to step past her to get what he needs out of the fridge, “Don’t go there. I’m not positive, I’m not sick, and I don’t have any abnormal growths or autoimmune deficiencies. I went to my doctor just last week and I am perfectly healthy.”

Molly nods, letting out a shaky, relieved breath. And he connects the dots on why she was so worried. He knows how meticulous Ben is with his diet, how Hunter has become more health conscious in the last several years as well. It would be a rash conclusion for most other people to make, but for her? She is in love with someone affected by it. Of course it’s in the forefront of her mind.

“Okay, so what...what is all of this?”

Justin has to laugh, “You’re acting like there’s something seriously wrong with me.”

Molly rolls her eyes, “I mean, it’s good you’re eating so well, I guess. But it’s not you. What, are you seeing some hot fitness trainer, drooling over his perfect rock hard abs and it’s your dream to become chest twins?”

Molly is smirking now and Justin is just looking at her like she has grown a second head.

But she’s technically onto something. Not really, but sort of. If he tells her the real reason for his sudden clean eating habits, she would ask question after question, get excited, get worried, be demanding more and more information.

9 am may be late in Molly’s world. It isn’t really in his though, especially not on weekends. And, as sentimental as it sounds, he wants it to be just right when he tells her.

“He’s not a fitness trainer...but I have been seeing someone. Sort of. I guess.”

He really has to keep himself from growling at his sister when she lifts herself onto his counter, then slams her hand over his when he tries to lift the lid on his blender.

“Tell me everything,” Molly orders urgently, eyes excited, “No, wait. Pull him up on Facebook, then tell me what I can’t guess.”

Justin shrugs off the order at first, but Molly is insistent, holding down his hand so hard that he is forced to take his phone off the charger on the counter and look Malcolm up.

“Malcolm Jones,” Molly announces, as she steals his phone away, “Oooh, he’s cute, Justin. Okay, so he was born in 1980 and turns 35 on December 16th. Not far off, hope you’re thinking of presents.”

“Molly, give me back my phone,” Justin demands, exasperated.

“He’s a lawyer, look at you!” Molly exclaims, holding the phone out of his grasp, “And a brother? Damn, are they twins? Is he single?”

“Yes, they’re twins. No, he’s married with kids. Now, give me my phone,” Justin tells her slowly.

Rolling her eyes, Molly tosses the phone back to him after a minute of research, before smiling mischievously.

“Does he have a big dick? He really looks like he would have a BBC-”

“That’s a racial stereotype...and a porn tag,” he scolds her.

Molly just keeps the smile on her face and waits.

“Alright, it’s ten inches. Are you happy? And he’s girthy. Do you want to know the details on how much he has to prep me before-”

“Oh my god, stop,” Molly shudders, leaping off the counter in disgust.

“Thought so,” Justin mutters smugly, before throwing the kale and chopped pineapple into the blender and scooping out the yogurt, “Do you want some honey in it? It will make it sweeter.”

“Anything to mask the taste of kale.”

“It’s really not that bad,” Justin assures her, squirting some honey in the blender too.

Justin blends the ingredients until the are a smooth, green, consistent liquid and pours it into two large glasses before setting them both on the bistro table by the large window in the back of the kitchen. Molly takes the seat on the right while he takes a seat on the left, and both of them watch the pigeons sitting on the sill until Molly turns to him.

“So how long have you been seeing him? Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Justin rubs the space in between his eyebrows, “We’re not...nothing is official or anything. We haven’t really talked about it. We started hooking up at the beginning of September and didn’t start doing anything other than that until about a month ago.”

“Hmmm,” Molly acknowledges, “How did you meet him?”

Justin laughs and shakes his head, “Tinder.”

“You did not,” Molly gasps mockingly.

“I wanted sex,” Justin deadpans, “And it was a slow night at the bar. They were either older bears or barely legal twinks. Neither really appealed to me. As for him, he had been working late on a client’s case several nights in a row and needed release. I went over to his place.”

“That’s okay, I used to hook up with guys on Tinder once in awhile too,” Molly shrugs, then takes a sip of her smoothie, “Hey, this isn’t so bad.”

“Told you.”

Molly just takes another swig before looking at him with purpose.

“You should invite him to Emmett’s Halloween party tonight,” Molly suggests. Justin can tell by her eyes she’s already set on it.

“No,” Justin answers, in an attempt to shut her down, “I haven’t even agreed to meet his friends and brother yet. And his circle is probably sane and normal, filled with those who don’t fly in from a different country for Halloween, and with no trace of an ex-fiancé in the mix.”

“Nathan and Brian met at one of Emmett’s parties. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

Justin shakes his head, amused, “Yeah, they met at Emmett’s Christmas party. Great first meeting that was. And Nathan and I had been together almost two years at that point. What, I’m supposed to invite a guy I’ve been fucking and getting coffee with sometimes?”

“Okay, yeah, Christmas was awkward,” Molly agrees, “But things were still very hesitant and shaky between you and Brian then. You’re becoming good friends now, even if there is still a hint of unresolved sexual tension coming off of both of you now and then.”

“I really don’t think that’s true-” Justin starts to object but is cut off.

“Plus, Nathan’s like twenty years younger than Brian. Brian was probably secretly jealous and felt old or something,” Molly continues, “As for your relationship with Malcolm being new and undefined so far, who cares? Brian and Eric started secretly dating like three weeks after meeting, isn’t that what you told me?”

“Hmmm, yeah,” Justin answers with annoyed and mocking agreement.

“And you and Nathan took about the same amount of time to start dating as well, if not less,” Molly points out, “So? You should-”

Molly is cut off by the sound of his phone ringing on the table, lighting up with Malcolm’s name listed on the screen.

“Oh my god, what a coincidence-”

“You texted him and told him to call while you were on my phone, didn’t you?” Justin glares.

Molly stares at him innocently, “It would be really rude if you didn’t answer, since you asked him to call and all.”

Justin has to take a deep breath to stifle the anger before he picks up his cell.

“Hey, Malcolm. Glad you called.”

-------------------------------------------------------

“What do you think he will wear?”

Justin turns to glare at his sister as she puts on her costume makeup in the mirror.

“I don’t know, didn’t really get to plan couple’s costumes,” Justin answers with bitter sarcasm.

Molly looks at him likes he’s stupid, “You said you like him.”

“I do!” Justin answers, frustrated.

“Then why are you hesitating right now?” Molly inquires, “I know you still love Nathan, but you can’t keep yourself from moving on.”

“It’s not just Nathan!” Justin blurts out, “It’s-”

His doorbell buzzes, effectively cutting him off.

“That’s probably him,” Molly murmurs, a bit less sure of herself, before sighing, “Look, I’m sorry if I overstepped. I just want to see you happy. Especially when I’m not.”

“Yeah, I know,” Justin answers quietly, “And you’re right. I do like him. Just...reign yourself in. You are way too chipper. It makes it seem like you are overcompensating.”

“Well, you saw me last night,” Molly tells him with a smirk that doesn’t meet her eyes, “I probably am.”

Justin takes a brief moment to judge his sister’s emotional state, but she seems okay. So he presses the button on the intercom, sees that it is Malcolm, and says, “Hey, come on up.”

It doesn’t take long for Malcolm to make it up the two flights of stairs. Justin opens the door on the second knock and Malcolm greets him with a smile.

“Hey,” Malcolm murmurs warmly, setting down a bag before pulling him in gently by the waist to give him a kiss. Once the kiss ends, their faces are still only a few inches apart. Malcolm rubs the back of his neck and lets out a nervous laugh, “Uh, I’m surprised you invited me.”

Justin bites back a smile and runs his hands down Malcolm’s ridiculously toned biceps, “Figured you should meet my ridiculously nosy, weird, protective older friends.”

“Oh, is it a test?” Malcolm laughs, arms still wrapped around Justin’s waist.

Justin dons a serious expression, “Oh, yes. A test that requires great strength, endurance, and an extreme amount of patience.”

“Sounds daunting,” Malcolm answers, biting his cheek, “You know, we could have just met my friends.”

“Yeah,” Justin agrees, “But it’s best to get the hard stuff out of the way first.”

“Of course,” Malcolm smiles before meeting him for another kiss.

“Ahem.”

Justin breaks the kiss off and steps away from the man. He doesn’t know how Malcolm does it. Completely puts him at ease, with his charisma and beauty, when just minutes before Justin had been wondering on how he could keep this up considering, in a little over half a year, his life would change forever.

“Aren’t you going to introduce me?” Molly asks, steaming curling iron in her hand.

“...Put down the iron first,” Justin balks at her.

Molly glances at the potential hazard, sets it down on the styling mat that’s lying on the end table, then comes over.

“I’m Molly,” she greets, holding out her hand, “Justin’s sister.”

“Hi, I’m Malcolm,” Malcolm smiles, shaking her hand.

“Oh yes, I know all about you.”

Malcolm raises his eyebrows and glances at Justin, “Do you?”

“She made me pull up your Facebook,” Justin mutters, heat rising to his face, “Here, come in. Take your coat off.”

Malcolm steps inside, hangs up his coat, and makes his way to the living room to sit down on the couch. Justin sits next to him as Molly goes back to focus on her hair.

“So Malcolm,” Molly starts, as she forms a perfect curl, “I saw you had a bag. Did you bring a costume?”

“I did. I had a Han Solo costume from a couple of years ago. I just brought that.”

“Outfit repeater,” Molly tsks, “But Justin did the same thing. He’s going as Paul McCartney in The Yellow Submarine, same thing he wore last year. He didn’t even wear a costume last night when we went to Liam’s party. Although Liam is less likely to throw a fit than Emmett would if Justin just passed on dressing up.”

Justin barely contains shuddering at the sheer disappointment that would roll off of Emmett if he arrived only in his regular clothing.

“He’s that enthusiastic, huh?” Malcolm guessed.

“He can be a bit…” Justin starts, thinking of the right word, “Okay, some people go the extra mile but Emmett does a triathlon to make sure everything is extravagant and exciting. For any holiday or special event.”

“Has he done anything for Arbor Day yet?” Molly asks.

“2012,” Justin mentions, before turning back to Malcolm, “But he also will do anything for his friends, does a lot for charities, is passionate about adoption since he adopted his son almost a year ago. I think Drew as well as age sort of mellowed him out a little. And he's a lot more grounded than he used to be.”

“He sounds like an interesting guy,” Malcolm smiles.

“And lucky,” Molly adds, plopping down on the couch next to them, “Adorable kid, sweet dog, gorgeous house next to the river, and Drew Boyd as a husband.”

Malcolm raises his eyebrows, “Drew Boyd? The Drew Boyd?”

“You a fan?” Justin smirks, nudging his shoulder, “They aren't married but might as well be. He will be there too.”

“I respect him,” Malcolm answers, “He didn't play for my team until the last couple of years of his career, but he was the first active professional football player to come out. And the way he did it? Bold and all out on live television? That took balls.”

“The guy he kissed on there was Emmett,” Justin informs him, “Emmett lost his job because of it. Luckily he just did that gig for fun, if you can call it that.”

“Okay, enough talking about Justin’s friends,” Molly says, looking at the clock, “You both need to get dressed if we want to be somewhat on time.”

He and Malcolm shouldn't have gotten dressed in the same room because, despite Justin’s dilemma on putting the relationship on pause or ending it...the man is just so hot.

So yeah, he ends up on his knees to suck the other guy’s cock before they can get anything on and Malcolm pushes him on the bed, captures Justin’s lips in a bruising, searing kiss, then travels down his body to return the favor.

His sister is kind enough to wait until he comes before knocking on the door to tell them to hurry up.

He still thinks she is a cock block though.

------

“Jesus, you weren't lying about him going all out,” Malcolm mutters once they arrive in front of Emmett’s gate.

“Probably the most decked out house in all of Hoboken,” Molly agrees.

“Probably in the whole damn state,” Justin corrects, stepping over a very realistic looking severed hand, illuminated by the green lights.

“Oh my god, do these headstones have our names on them?” Molly asks, running to the yard, “Molly Taylor, September 23rd, 1991 to October 31st, 2015. Cause of death: Impaled in the pantry. Okay, that's dark.”

“Justin Taylor,” Justin reads, “March 15th, 1983 to October 31st 2015. Cause of death: Thrown off the balcony by a supernatural force. Great.”

In place of Emmett and Drew’s more traditional door knocker, is one shaped like a deformed, skeletal rabbit. Justin takes a hold of the torso of it and knocks five times.

There's a rustling on the other side of the door, before it starts to creak open. Justin squints and starts to peek through, only for a Monster’s Bride version of Emmett to swing the door open and greet them with a theatrical voice.

“Welcome, to the Honeycutt-Boyd Manor! Where horrors from the deepest corners of your mind await you, demons lurk amongst the shadows, and-unf! Four year olds attack with little to no regard. To find out what's in store for you in the fiery depths of hell, all you have to do...is come inside…”

“Hi, Emmett,” Justin responds, trying not to laugh at the deep voiced introduction.

Emmett drops the demeanor, squeals a little, and does a little dance before fluffing his stiff, tall wig.

“Hi, baby!” Emmett exclaims, urging Justin to meet him for a bone crushing hug, “I'm so glad you came! You look so nice, even though you could have dressed up in something different this year, but I will let bygones be bygones. Oooh, who is this hunk of a man?”

Emmett scoots over to Malcolm and obviously checks him out, before holding out his hand daintily.

“Emmett Honeycutt,” the older man introduces himself dramatically, “Charmed to make your acquaintance.”

Malcolm smiles, amused, before playing along and taking Emmett’s hand to press a quick kiss against the back of it.

“Malcolm Jones. It's nice to meet you.”

“Malcolm, what a gorgeous name! Almost as gorgeous as those biceps, which your costume compliments so well, by the way. Now are you a friend of Molly’s or a friend of Justin’s?”

“He’s a friend of my brother’s,” Molly interrupts, “A special friend.”

Emmett gasps at Molly’s words and claps his hands, “Oh my god oh my god oh my god! Come in, come in! Any special friend of Justin’s is a sp...well, friend of mine. Can't stray from the path, love my Drewsie too much, but honey, you would tempt anyone. And Molly, you look gorgeous. The Sexy Steampunk Mad Scientist look is perfect for you!”

The three of them follow the host into the house and Justin really shouldn't be be surprised when they have to force their way through a tight passage, inflated airbags lining the walls creating an atmosphere not unlike a bizarre birth canal. But, of course, the mystique of it has to be all part of Emmett’s plan, considering the big reveal of the large parlor on the other side. Grand isn't the right word for it. Spooky isn’t strong enough. Ominous? Spine tingling? Maybe, with the blood red lights and candles casting shadows in all of the right places and illuminating the more intense decorations of jared body parts, a grand coffin, shadowy humanoid figures. Justin still can't tell how Emmett is creating those. Then there’s a fountain pouring blood red-

“Punch?” Emmett asks, walking over to the fountain, “I made it myself! Pinterest is a lifesaver.”

Emmett hands them each a goblet, filled with red liquid, “It's not spiked. With the kids here, especially with Gus and some of my clients’ teens, I made sure to keep the alcohol secure with the bartenders.

There are more people than Justin anticipated. He's kind of shocked that Emmett heard him knock to begin with.

“You know, you are lucky you knocked when you did. The doorman went on a bathroom break and I am so glad I answered the door for you, considering this new guy at your side,” Emmett winks.

“How many people did you invite?” Justin asks, looking around, “I thought it was supposed to be a small get together.”

Emmett shrugs, “Just 50 or so. Nothing too overwhelming. And yes, it was supposed to be small, but then some of Drew’s old teammates and their families wanted to come, plus I am trying to impress a several potentially huge clients. So I just added a few extra decorations, gave each room a theme, spent a teensy bit outside of the original budget, and voila! Thanks for the bleeding portraits, by the way. They really add to this room and the dungeon.”

“Yeah...no problem,” Justin answers, shaking his head, “Who is all here that I would know?”

“Teddy and Blake surprised me and came up!” Emmett squeals, clapping his hands, “Gus, Lindsay, Michael, and Ben came in. JR is sick, poor thing, so Mel stayed back with her and Debbie and Carl are staying over there to give out candy with them, but those four are staying with Eric and Brian. Brian, Eric, and Lily are already here. The little kids were supposed to stay in the kid friendly room. Brian brought Jess to help watch and I have Duncan’s regular sitter, both are getting paid quite handsomely for this. Most of the younger kids have stayed put, but Lily and Duncan keep escaping and exploring, they just think all of this is the greatest.”

“Couldn't this give them nightmares?” Justin asks, picking up a pickled fetus prop. This one probably disturbs him the most.

Emmett shrugs, “That's what I thought, but they think this whole place is adventureland now. Obviously, if you catch them, try to take them back to Duncan’s play room and give them a stern talking to. But as long as they aren't badgering guests, going down in the dungeon, following a stranger, or sneaking underneath the bartender’s legs to snatch a bottle of vodka, then let them have fun, I say!”

“Hi!”

Justin looks down to smile at Duncan, who is dressed up as a wolf, but the only person Duncan has eyes for is Malcolm.

“Han Solo,” Duncan whispers in awe, before walking closer to Malcolm in a trance, arms out.

“Oh…” Malcolm laughs a little surprised, before patting the little boy on the head when Duncan clings onto his shirt, “Hey, little man! I'm Malcolm, Justin’s friend. You having a good time?”

“You’re Han Solo,” Duncan repeats, staring at him with wide eyes, “You're Han Solo and you look like me!”

And, call Justin white as fuck, but he doesn't get it at first, what Duncan means, but it does click when he sees Malcolm’s knowing expression and understanding and Emmett’s look of almost self-consciousness and concern, as if his thoughts are going a mile a minute.

“Hey, I do think I see a resemblance,” Malcolm winks, before glancing at Emmett then back at the little boy, “We have the same haircut!”

“Yeah, but we’re the same color too!” Duncan points out, holding his arm up, “Look, we’re both black! My daddy and pa are white and my girlfriend Lily is neither. I dunno what she is. Brown, maybe. Tan.”

“Lily’s a quarter Mexican, baby,” Emmett interrupts a little bashfully, but tries to educate him, “That part of her is sort of a mix of a few races, but her papa told me they have mostly Indigenous Mexican roots and some Afro-Mexican on that side. That means-”

“And she speaks a whole ‘nother language. Yeah, I like it when she does that,” Duncan interrupts, not concerned with Lily’s possible racial identity, with a dreamy look in his eyes, before shaking himself out of it, “Come on! I got lots to show you, Malcolm!”

Justin knows from firsthand experience that Duncan is a lot stronger than he looks. So he can't help but laugh a little by the surprise on Malcolm’s face when the little boy starts to pull his arm.

“Here, baby. I’ll come with you too,” Emmett calls out, trying to be chipper.

“No, I gotta show Malcolm stuff,” Duncan answers his father consolingly, “I will see you later, Daddy. Okay?”

Emmett purses his lips and tries to smile, “...Um, alright. You better just be taking him to your playroom though, mister, because that’s where you need to be!”

Justin and Molly are quiet as they watch Emmett battle with processing of Duncan’s interactions with Malcolm, before the older man clears his throat.

“Well...okay,” Emmett says uncertainly, “I’m just...I’m just going to find Drewsie.”

“You alright, Emmett?” Justin asks him.

“I’m fine!” Emmett answers unconvincingly, “Why wouldn't I be fine?”

“I don't know, you just look like-”

“ARRRGGHHHH!”

Molly and Justin jump before quickly turning around to find a zombie behind them, complete with realistic prosthetics.

“Are you...are you anyone we know?” Justin asks, trying to see behind the drooping flesh.

“Oh, he's an actor. There's plenty of them hiding around here. If the kids ever stay in their room, we have plans to have someone come out with a chainsaw.”

Emmett doesn't seem to register their looks of unease as he walks away.

“Does he seem okay to you?” Molly asks.

“He's second guessing himself as Duncan’s dad,” Justin answers.

“Just because Duncan took to Malcolm? He shouldn't take it personally. He has to understand-”

“He does. That's why he's doubting himself,” Justin interrupts.

Molly looks like she may say something else, but as they are walking throughout the parlor to find someone they recognize, they get startled by another actor, a ghoul this time. He ends up losing Molly to the bar when she sees a couple dancing and looking completely in love, leaving Justin alone. But, despite the chaos, he finally sees Gus standing near the wall by himself.

“Gus!” Justin calls out, walking towards the teen, “I’m so happy to see you!”

Even though Gus is probably too cool for hugs, his styled hair and leather jacket a good indicator of that, he accepts one from Justin anyway.

“Who are you supposed to be?” Gus asks, wrinkling his nose in confusion.

Justin feels personally offended by the ignorance, as well as ashamed. He knew he should have watched The Yellow Submarine with Gus more when he used to babysit him.

“Paul McCartney. The Yellow Submarine. We used to watch it together,” Justin absolutely does not pout.

Gus looks at him as if he has grown six heads before seeming to remember the film, “That was the weird cartoon. I remember it. I think.”

Okay, Justin had done something right. Possibly.

“Why are you hanging out over here by yourself?” Justin asks.

“Because my parents are dicks,” Gus glares, obviously pissed at the world, “Lindsay, Mel, Brian, Eric? They’re all fucking prudes, total hypocrites-”

“I don't think James Dean cursed that much in his movies, but good job with the brooding. Right on point,” Justin heard Brian say from behind him.

Brian comes into view, gives his son a wink and a pat on the shoulder. All Gus does is scowl and walk off towards the punch fountain, rejecting his father’s sudden appearance completely.

“What's his problem?” Justin asks, keeping an eye on Gus.

“He's pissed that we all vetoed his girlfriend coming to stay for the weekend,” Brian smirks, “That I agreed with his mothers for once, especially after what happened.”

“Oh no,” Justin winces, “What happened?”

“Gus snuck his girlfriend into the house and into the shower, Mel had to piss and walked in-”

“God stop, he's a baby,” Justin grits out. Gus would probably consider him to be a prude and hypocrite as well.

“Not really,” Brian murmurs, before looking a bit proud, “He is going to NYU next summer for their pre-college program. He just got the letter last week. Early admission and everything. He COULD just stay with us for the summer. But he wants to stay in the dorms.”

“Can you blame him?” Justin asks, “He’s probably gearing up to have the time of his life.”

“As long as he’s careful and doesn’t get caught by anyone in the program,” Brian shrugs, then laughs, “He doesn’t have a good track record of not getting caught so far. First it was the condoms, then it was me catching him at Mel’s birthday party. Eric went outside to look for him when we were up there a couple of months ago and caught Penelope on her knees unzipping Gus’s pants. Mel caught them in the shower the other day. It’s no wonder he hates us all, really, especially after not allowing the Gus and Penelope weekend of love. He’s barely spoken to me since he got in last night.”

Justin snorts, “He’ll get over it. He’s just betrayed since he thought you were the cool one.”

“Well, he’d be right,” Brian smirks, before giving him a once over, “Yellow Submarine? You’re such a loser, Sunshine.”

Justin scoffs, “And what are you? You literally look the same as you always look for a business meeting.”

“Eric is telling people I am James Bond,” Brian shrugs.

“Probably so people don’t think he married such a spoilsport loser,” Justin taunts playfully, pinching Brian’s side.

“Like hell I was going to dress up as the grandma to his lumberjack or whatever the fuck,” Brian laughs, squirming away, “Thinking it’d be cute to dress up along with Lily’s red riding hood costume and Duncan’s wolf costume.”

“Eric dressed up as the huntsman and Lily’s Little Red Riding Hood?” Justin asks, “I haven’t seen them around.”

“Lily’s idea. God forbid she and Duncan didn’t match. Eric was just collateral.”

Justin’s about to respond, but he sees a mildly surprised look sweep across Brian’s face just as Justin feels an arm sneak around his waist.

“Hey!” Justin exclaims, turning to look at Malcolm, “You get away from Duncan?”

“For now,” Malcolm smiles, “He had to show me every single one of his Star Wars toys and I stayed in his doorway so that I could try to get him to go back to his playroom. Drew stopped by and convinced him. Their place is huge. I would have killed to have had a whole attic to myself as a kid.”

“He’s a great kid, especially considering how much Emmett and Drew spoil him,” Justin snickers.

It’s only then when Justin turns back, he sees Brian still standing there, waiting with curious and interpretive glances, studying the arm around Justin’s waist to the once overs he has been giving Malcolm probably since the man arrived at Justin’s side.

“Malcolm,” Justin speaks up, clearing his throat, “This is Brian. Brian, Malcolm. Brian’s an…”

“I’m an old friend of Justin’s,” Brian smirks, holding out his hand, “And what’s your relationship with him?”

He and Malcolm had never discussed titles. But it’s never been socially acceptable to introduce someone as a fuck buddy or booty call or a guy you’re sort of seeing and are definitely into but you haven’t-

“We’ve been seeing each other. For a couple of months now,” Malcolm answers, accepting Brian’s handshake with a strong grip, “How did you and Justin meet?”

Brian shrugs, “Outside of a club in Pittsburgh, back when he was a horny twink. How did you meet Justin?”

Malcolm bites his cheek, “Oh, he came over one night so that I could fuck his brains out. Things just grew from there.”

Jesus Christ, he did not need a pissing contest surrounding him right now.

Brian dons a pleasant smile and tilts his head, “Sunshine, you certainly have a habit of doing that, don’t you?”

Justin rolls his eyes, “Shouldn’t you be finding your husband and sneaky and ornery children?”

Brian shrugs, “Probably. Shouldn’t you be making sure your sister doesn’t make any stupid decisions, especially with Michael and Ben here to potentially witness it all?”

Justin quickly turns around and sees an older man, probably in his 50s, blatantly hitting on his sister as she is sipping on a drink. She doesn’t seem interested. She actually seems oblivious to the way the man is putting a hand on her waist and starting to sneak it around to the small of her back, all while she pays attention to him with glassy, sad, relatively uninterested eyes.

Although he knows there’s a lot of stressful things going on in her life right now, things she had been bottling up and had weeped out the night before, he’s never seen her this broken up about a boy. Ever.

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Justin sighs, “And get that guy to back off. Who does he think he is?”

“The highest paid anesthesiologist in the tri-state area,”Brian informs him, “One of Emmett’s potential clients. Make sure not to scare him off too effectively.”

Justin can’t help but not really care over the fact the guy might be a client of Emmett’s. He can only think that a guy rubbing up against his sister is a professional at drugging people.

“I can go over and pull her away,” Malcolm offers, “Pretend to be her boyfriend for a second or something.”

“Yeah, I look like her. It will be less suspicious if you do it,” Justin agrees, still keeping an eye on the anesthesiologist.

Justin watches as Malcolm walks over to throw an arm around Molly. He can’t hear a word that’s being said, but he can tell that Malcolm is managing to stay charming while getting the message across.

“So how is he?” Brian asks, watching him as well.

“What do you mean, how is he?” Justin responds.

Brian rolls his eyes, “Is he a good lay, is he successful, is he a complete prick, how big is his prick-”

“He’s a lawyer, great in bed, a good person, smart as hell, and yes, Brian, he has a big dick,” Justin sighs.

Brian opens his mouth to respond but a flash of red runs by and Brian moves quickly to make a grab for it.

“Daddy!” Lily pouts, hood partially covering her curls as she starts to kick her feet, “I’m in a hurry and you’re wastin’ my time!”

Justin lets out an involuntary laugh at that and tries to sober up when Brian shoots him a warning glare.

“What are you doing?” Brian asks her, turning her around to hold onto her better.

Lily shrugs, “Explorin’. You wouldn’t understand fun stuff like that. But I got places to be.”

“Yeah, you do,” Brian agrees, “Up in Duncan’s playroom. That Emmett worked his ass off on to make it both spooky and age appropriate.”

“Daddy, ass is a bad word!” Lily scolds before adjusting her hood, “And besides, down here’s more funner anyways. I’m gonna go in all the rooms. Did you know that there’s a ghost in the bathroom? I talked to it and everything. And I can’t miss the treasure hunt! Emmett said there was gonna be one and I gotta be the one to find it!”

“It’s for the adults, Lily,” Eric says as he suddenly approaches them, “You get your own treasure hunt upstairs. You know that.”

Lily bows her head and whimpers, “But I wanna stay with you…”

“Then why are you running around the whole house and bypassing us every time you see us?” Eric laughs, calling her out, “Hey, Justin. How have you been?”

“I’ve been pretty well,” he tells him, smiling a little.

“Justin!” Lily gasps, “You tell them! Tell them I should be down here. We were gonna hang out, remember?”

Justin looks at the little girl in confusion and rolls his eyes when she winks.

“Sorry, Lily. Maybe I can stop by and see you and Duncan upstairs later though. That sound good?”

“No, that does not ‘sound good’,” Lily mumbles, looking towards the floor.

“Yeah, you can go upstairs. I’m not going to reward you with your attitude,” Brian tells her as he makes his way to the stairs, “See you later, Justin.”

Justin waves him off and realizes Eric hasn’t followed.

“Hey, I like your costume,” Justin says to him, “Brian made it sound like a lumberjack, but it’s a lot more medieval.”

“Yeah,” Eric answers, glancing down, “It’s more Snow White and the Huntsmen but I liked it better. Yellow Submarine, right?”

Justin nods, “Paul McCartney.”

“Thought so,” Eric smiles.

Justin introduces Malcolm to Eric once the man comes back with Molly, who still looks distracted and disinterested in everything. They find Lindsay later on, along with Michael and Ben. Lindsay is dressed like Van Gogh and Michael and Ben, of course, are dressed up as Zephyr and Ken Kirschner, thankfully as hot Ken Kirschner and not as Juice Pig Ken Kirschner. With Ben and Michael dressing as Rage characters leads to business discussions and brainstorming and, according to Michael,

“The issue we have planned for April will be the most groundbreaking issue we’ve ever had and I think it will be the one that really blows the critics’ minds!” Michael geeks out, “What if we get an Eisner Award?”

“You are getting ahead of yourself,” Justin laughs, holding onto Michael’s arms in an attempt to contain the man’s excitement, “But I agree, it will be awesome.”

“If only we could get out an issue every week like our readers wanted,” Michael sighs.

Justin shakes his head, “That’s unrealistic for a two person team. We both have other commitments. Hell, you’re about to be a dad, again. And I’m-”

“Oh, Ben and I have been arguing about names,” Michael interrupts, eyes bright with even more excitement, if that’s possible, “I like Felix but Ben likes Gideon. We decided that we could use both and have one used as the middle name, but we can’t decide which one. What do you think?”

Justin freezes and winces at Michael and Ben’s expressions, patient yet fully expecting an answer.

“We’ve been asking everyone,” Ben offers, “All different answers. Yours would probably end up being the tiebreaker.”

“Well, I like Gideon,” Molly speaks up, sipping on a drink, “It sounds smart and sophisticated.”

“What about you?” Michael suddenly asks Malcolm.

“Um…” Malcolm starts, a little flustered from being put on the spot, “I think I like Felix as a first name better. Felix Gideon flows better than Gideon Felix.”

“Justin,” Ben hints, “You’re the tiebreaker. Just know that no matter what-”

“We’ll still love you,” Michael continues.

“Regardless of your answer,” Ben adds.

“You both make parties so much less fun. Finishing each other’s sentences. Talking about babies. Look at what you’ve both become,” Justin grumbles.

“To be fair, we’ve been like this for years,” Michael shrugs. Ben just nods in agreement.

Justin lets out a groan, “Okay, fine. Sorry, Ben. Gideon is a really nice name but is more defining when it comes to what type of person people will expect your kid is, while Felix allows more room for interpretation. I don’t know why, but it just does. Like Malcolm said, Felix Gideon flows a little better, and Hunter, JR, and Felix sounds better than Hunter, JR, and Gideon.”

“That last one shouldn’t even matter,” Molly objects, “Each kid is over a decade apart.”

“But you are so right about everything you just said,” Michael grins, “See, Ben? All we needed was Justin’s input.”

“It was also almost identical to Brian’s answer. Except a little more polite,” Ben forces a smile.

Before the conversation can continue further, Emmett’s haunting voice comes on over some hidden speakers installed throughout the house.

“Jesus Christ, how much did he spend on this party?” Michael sighs, shaking his head, “I know he is doing it to raise money from sponsors and rich clients for Drew’s foundation but come on.”

“Good evening to all of you witches and ghouls and superheroes and rockstars in the crowd! Whether you are alive or undead, good or evil, gay or straight, baby you were born to come to The Honeycutt-Boyd Halloween Extravaganza of 2016! And honey, the party's just getting started.”

Justin rolls his eyes at the sounds of intrigued murmuring and clapping scattering throughout the parlor and living room. Then Emmett continues.

“Above your heads are balloons that will bless some and curse the rest, but no matter your infliction, you must work together to try your best. In teams of four or of teams of five, you must look for the treasure as you try to stay alive. Potions and clues will line your path, but nightmares from the shadows will try to get you to stray so that you can feel their wrath. The first team to find the treasure will be the grand winners of this quest, and only then will the terrors of this house sigh in defeat and lay down to rest.”

Just as Emmett finishes his rhyme, balloons break free from the ceiling and start to float down towards the crowd. Justin catches a black balloon with gold stars that falls in front of his face, puts it on the ground to pop it, picks up the small flashlight inside, and reads the card attached to it.

Curse Card!
Every word from your mouth
is not spoken, but sung.
The curse of Broadway
has landed on your tongue!

Justin closes his eyes and shakes his head, but starts laughing and feels relief for himself when he hears Brian complain, loudly, from across the room.

“I’m NOT clucking around like a chicken, Eric! That’s bullshit!”

“But it’s part of the game!” Eric chokes out, laughing,

“Then you do it and I’ll take the clue that you got,” Brian growls.

“You three want to form a team of five with us?” Ben asks, “Lindsay went to join Brian, Eric, and Gus. Ted and Blake have been talking an Opera singer and his husband all evening so I am guessing they’ll join them. I’m not very well off, I’m afraid. I’ve been cursed to walk with my knees locked like a zombie and have only been given a spray bottle as a tool. But Michael got a blacklight and a clue saying, “It’s Halloween Night, it’s time for a treat. Go look for another clue where we sit down to eat.”

“I have a vial of...baking soda?” Molly guesses, before nodding after taste testing it, “And I am ordered to sing...I mean, sing every word from my mouth!”

“Me too, what a coincidence,” Justin sings back, “But I have a flashlight.”

“You two are the next Donnie and Marie!” they hear someone cackle. Turning around, they see a witch making their way towards them, before rushing over to get up in Justin’s face.

“You both look even tastier than they were,” the witch murmurs in a sinister tone, “Donnie was a bit gamey. He made a good meal last night though. You both can join Marie in the freezer. I have a big feast planned for Yule.”

“If water is near, you should never fear. Along with revealing a clue, it can also scare away witches trying to say, ‘Boo!’” Malcolm reads from his card.

“Oh,” Ben says, before shrugging and spraying the witch.

“How dare you!” she screeches, her outfit starting to smoke, “I’m melting! I’M MELTING!!!!”

The witch starts to fall to the floor as the fog starts to become stronger. She crumples into a ball and stays motionless.

“That was fun,” Molly sings, “Malcolm, what’s your prop?”

“A map,” he tells them, “Looks like it is of a basement?”

“Okay, great!” Michael exclaims, “Let’s look for the clue in dining room then head down to the basement.”

The five head towards the dining room, slowing down a little for Ben who is playing along with his curse. They start to look around the dimly lit room, shine the blacklight on the walls and black table cloth, and jump at the sound of an actor rushing in to put a severed head on the dining room table.

“Dinner for five?” The maniacal man asks with wide eyes, wiping blood on his apron, “Oh, I’ve been waiting for you. Sit, sit! I insist.”

The man ushers a nervous looking Michael to one of the chairs and pushes on his shoulders to sit. Once he ushers Ben as well, Molly, Justin, and Malcolm take a hint and sit down in the remaining places.

“Please, please, help yourselves!” the man insists eagerly, “The tongue is the best part…”

The man begins to laugh hysterically, licks his lips, then heads back for the kitchen. Once the swinging door swings shut, Malcolm bends down to look under the table.

“Another clue,” Malcolm grunts, tearing the clue off from the bottom of the table, “If dessert is what you crave the absolute most, you must fight your way past the terrifying little ones to get to the child of the host.”

“I wonder if Duncan will even still have the clue when we get there,” Ben chuckles.

“Maybe we should split up, a couple of us go upstairs and the rest head down to the basement,” Michael suggests.

“Malcolm and I can go up,” Justin offers by singing, “I told Lily I would go up to say hi anyway, even if she wasn’t that enthusiastic about the idea since it meant she had to stay upstairs. Emmett’s basement is even bigger than his attic so it’ll need more people. Malcolm can give you his map.”

“Sounds good to me,” Michael answers, “We can meet up in the parlor after. This is actually really fun.”

“Emmett does know how to throw a party,” Ben agrees, standing up.

“Wait a second,” Molly mutters, not even singing like she’s supposed to.

The other four freeze and Molly reaches over to pry open the silicone lips of the severed head. Justin grimaces as she detaches the severed tongue and begins to cut it open with her knife.

“A key!” Molly belts out, returning to her curse’s restrictions.

“You’re disgusting,” Justin sings to her.

“And smart,” she singsongs back.

“Let’s hold onto that,” Ben suggests, “Malcolm, Justin, if either of you see anything in the attic that might work with that key, just text us. If we find anything downstairs that works with it, we’ll let you know.”

“I see you’ve tried the tongue,” the cook says with a deep voice as he re-enters the dining room, “Of course, the eyes and cheeks are also a yummy treat, but the tongue? It’s always been my favorite. A great last meal for you all, should you not make it. Oh, who am I kidding? Billy! Fetch me some heads for the next guests!”

A large, masked man runs into the dining room, revving a chainsaw. Goddamnit, he thought Emmett had been joking about that.

“Run!” Michael yells as he dashes out, seeming to forget this is all just a game set up by their friend.

But it is pretty convincing. Even Ben seems to forego the zombie legs in order to get out of the room. As Justin makes his way out on Molly’s heels, he takes one last glance into the room to see the cook carrying the head back into the kitchen.

--------------------------------

“At least this room is probably a little less intense,” Malcolm offers while Justin is still recovering from the shock of having dead looking hands grab at his ankles as he had tried to go up the stairs.

“I mean, there are small children in the room,” Justin agrees, then gulps when the attic door creaks open.

The sound of children laughing starts to echo from the doorway and a bright white light begins to flash and flicker, making the attic look more ominous.

“Or he’s using the fact that there are creepy kids upstairs to make things even more terrifying,” Malcolm offers, before shrugging and making his way up the steps.

When they make their way in the attic, they see no one at first, just the flickering light illuminating toys in disarray. But then, a spotlight lands on a girl with a red hood.

“I died,” Lily whispers from underneath the hood, “It was a long, LONG time ago. But I did. The shadow monster took me. She took all of us. All on Halloween night. It was crazy.”

Justin forces him not to laugh at Lily’s improv line and nods solemnly instead.

“She wants to be a kid, just like me. So she took my face. SHE TOOK MY FACE!”

Lily screeches as the hood falls back, her face covered in blood and torn flesh. A strobe light starts to flash before Justin jumps back and runs into a group of small kids, all with torn faces dressed in all different types of outfits. The children begin to claw at their arms and sides, screaming and jumping up and down as they do so.

“Lily, where’s Duncan?” Justin calls out.

Lily smirks and lets out the evil laugh, “You want to talk to the king?”

“Uh...sure.”

“He belongs to the wolves now,” Lily gulps, looking away since she is obviously affected by the situation, before donning a more neutral expression and jumping down from her spot to stroll towards them, “He fighted back so he had to go away. But YOU belong to us! Tie them up! They are the next scarifeces!”

Justin groans as the kids start to wrap jump rope around his legs before being forced to sit down. The kids begin to chant as they circle them, “One of us! One of us! We will make you one of us!”

“Oh my god,” Justin laughs, catching the reference, “Emmett and his old movies.”

“This is NOT a movie!” Lily bellows, pointing a barbie at him, touching his nose with the head, “This is real life. The realerest life you’ll ever see!”

“Quick!” Malia’s daughter, Tiana, Justin thinks her name is, whispers, “She’s coming! I think I hear her coming!”

Lily gasps as she turns to glance at the attic door, “Quick! Everybody hide! If we’re lucky, the shadow monster will eat them and leave us alone for now on!”

Justin watches the kids run off to hide in the corners of the room, only the sounds of excited whispering giving away that they’re actually enjoying the game they are playing. The whispers go silent when the attic door starts to slowly open once more. Justin starts to feel himself squirm when he sees a woman, dressed in a dirty raggy dress, start to contort her way into the room. She moves her body in a way that isn’t normal, crawling on all fours closer and closer to them. Justin closes his eyes and winces away as she starts to sniff his face and Malcolm just looks at the ceiling as she moves onto him. However, both of them jump when she suddenly stands to full height and begins chanting in Latin.

“She’s going to get you,” Lily whispers out from her corner, smiling menacingly, “You’ll belong to the shadows now. Just like us.”

As the shadow monster’s chant begins to grow louder and stronger, the strobe light begins to flicker more quickly. Like, Justin knows they aren’t goners, but it sort of feels like it may be the end for them in the game.

But then he hears a holler from the small clubhouse tucked into the the corner of the attic.

“Hey, shadow monster!” Duncan calls out from the window, “Over here!”

The shadow monster gasps in fear as Duncan slides down the slide that leads away from the clubhouse’s exit, Stella sliding down right after with a bark. Still dressed as a wolf, Duncan is now swinging around a lightsaber, making his own sound effects along with the toy’s.

“Woosh, woosh!” Duncan blows out, coming closer to the shadow monster as he methodically swings the saber around, “I’m gonna get you, shadow monster! Once and for all!”

The shadow monster lets out a wail once Duncan makes contact with the saber, stumbling backwards before running out of the attic.

“And stay out!” Duncan yells, Stella agreeing with another bark.

With purpose, Duncan approaches them and stands in front of them regally, fist on his hip.

“King Duncan!” Lily cries, running out to collide with the boy, “You saved us! You’re our king now too!”

“And you’re my queen!” Duncan says excitedly, jumping up and down with his one true love as they have obviously hijacked the skit for their own agenda.

Lily giggles and looks at the floor bashfully at that, before growing serious.

“But the shadow monster is not gone forever. She still has my face, you know.”

“But I got your heart,” Duncan smiles, with way too much game than a four year old should have.

“Oh, Duncan!” Lily sighs, palm on her chest, before throwing her arms around Duncan’s shoulders.

“Uh, Duncan?” Justin asks, clearing his throat, “Do you have a clue for us?”

“Huh?” Duncan asks, clueless.

Justin tries to simplify it a little, “Do you have something your daddy or pa might have given you to give to us or anyone that came into the attic?”

Duncan becomes shy, “Yeah. But I was hungry.”

Duncan reaches into the pockets of his outfit and pulls out a golden, wadded up, candy wrapper. Justin laughs at the sight and does his best to straighten it out. He does a good enough job, since he can make out the message typed out on the wrapper.

“Now that you’ve eaten, you should go to the loo. But the toilet won’t flush! So what should you do?”

Justin leans in, “Do you know what bathroom this clue is in? You guys have like seven of them.”

Duncan looks at him with a serious expression, “That’s cheating.”

“We don’t HELP cheaters!” Lily agrees, linking arms with Duncan, as the rest of the kids nod silently.

“Right, of course,” Justin sighs, “I better start singing again. You guys scared all of the musical ability out of me.”

“We’ve got lots of practice at that,” Lily shrugs, “We’ve done this like three times now. You gotta go so we can scare even more people!”

“Sorry, sorry,” Justin smiles, untying himself to stand up next to Malcolm, “Have fun guys. Lily, make sure you’re extra scary for your Daddy.”

Lily puts her sinister smile back on at those words.

----------------------------------------------------

The bathroom clue just happens to be in the first bathroom they check, the one in the third floor hallway. It’s a simple enough clue to find, hidden in a plastic bag inside the toilet tank. Inside is another blacklight flashlight and a different key, this one looking like it belongs to a locked journal rather than a book. Justin takes the flashlight and shines it in the dark bathroom, finding a riddle.

“Some may say that when she married him, she made her bed. But it was a bit much that she was so young the year she lost her head,” Justin reads, “Who do you think it is? Anne Boleyn?”

“Or Catherine Howard,” Malcolm suggests.

“We can just google both years and it’ll probably be a code for something-”

Justin is cut off when Malcolm presses him against the door and kisses him, passionate and insistent. Justin kisses him back, nipping at Malcolm’s lip and gripping at the collar of his outfit, before breaking off with a laugh.

“We’re supposed to meet back up with Michael, Ben, and Molly-”

“They can wait,” Malcolm murmurs, moving to Justin’s neck.

“And we have to continue with the game,” Justin adds.

“It can wait,” Malcolm smirks, unzipping Justin’s pants to pull them down, along with his briefs.

“Someone may need to find the message in here,” Justin sighs, spreading his legs a little as Malcolm starts to jerk him.

“Then they’ll just have to wait too.”

“Fuck, do you have a condom? Lube? You better have fucking lube.”

Malcolm grins and their mouths meet, their kisses so rough and needy that their teeth clack and their lips are seconds away from bruising. Justin turns around and lets Malcolm prep him, moaning as the man touches his prostate, then breathes out, preparing himself for Malcolm’s cock.

But then Malcolm turns him around, picks him up, and holds him as he pulls Justin down.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck!” Justin chants out once Malcolm’s halfway in. He can only gasp once Malcolm pulls him down the rest of the way. Justin hugs Malcolm’s shoulders in a vice grip and breathes out through his nose.

“I’m not going to drop you,” Malcolm tells him softly, “Just relax.”

Justin lets out an almost hysterical giggle, but that turns into moaning as well once Malcolm starts moving him, up and down.

He’s fully expecting for Malcolm to put him down at one point, fuck him against the wall or the sink to finish off. But he doesn’t. The WHOLE fucking time, he seamlessly bounces Justin on his cock, building in speed. Once Justin comes, Malcolm presses him flush against the door, holding him just at the right level, and thrusts up into him until he spills into the condom. Malcolm holds onto Justin as he pulls out, before tying off the condom to throw into the trash. Malcolm kisses him one more time then winks.

“Now we can go meet up with our group.”

They end up not having to go all the way to the parlor before running into Molly. She had decided to take off on her own to check out a clue in one of the guest rooms.

“Did you find what that first key goes to?” Justin asks, walking into the room with her.

“It was like this large box on a table in the back room of the basement,” Molly tells them, “We unlocked it and there was another head inside, but it was obviously someone sitting underneath the table. He was being a creep, talking in riddles we had to answer. We figured them out and now Michael and Ben are looking at the graves out front for some message decoder. I still don’t know what to do with my fucking baking soda. The only reason I am in here is because I found an extra balloon and popped it.”

“Cheater,” Justin scolds her.

“It was right there,” Molly shrugs, “And it led us to right here.”

The three of them look around the room, lights shining to look for any hidden messages or clues to help them later on.

“Here’s a mini bottle of Grey Goose to cure someone of singing,” Justin calls out, pulling it out from a drawer.

“Dibs!” Molly yells, grabbing it from him, “And stop looking worried. My buzz has worn off.”

Justin sighs as he lets go of the bottle to give to his sister. She’s NOT an alcoholic, he has to tell himself, she’s just going through a rough time. She’s young and heartbroken and healthy so she’s allowed to indulge.

Molly swallows the shot sized bottle, grimaces at the taste, then throws her arms out.

“Look at that, all cured. Justin, you better remember that you have to sing once we’re back with Michael and Ben. Ben hasn’t taken a break from being Mr. Zombie Legs once.”

“That can’t be the only thing in here though, can it?” Malcolm asks, looking under the bed.

Molly shrugs, then goes to explore the closet.

“FINALLY,” she exclaims, dropping down to her knees.

Justin and Malcolm go to join her and see what looks like a chemistry set.

“Okay, so I’m guessing that, since they are all different colors, the one that fizzes up with the baking soda will be a hint,” Molly tells them, “But take note of all the colors. Figure out which number corresponds with each letter of the word-”

“Or just listen to this tape recording,” Justin points out, reaching back for it.

Molly glares at him but then rolls her eyes, “Or that.”

Justin stifles the satisfaction of outsmarting his sister, even if she ends up being right, and presses play.

“I’m so close...close to the cure. Finally, my creations can live normal lives. Great lives even. I won’t be so alone. After all this time, chased by the town, threatened outside of my own home. I’ll show them...I’ll show them all. Pink, Blue, Gray. Pink, Blue, Gray. It’s so simple. I just need one more ingredient and things will become so clear…”

“...Was that Drew?” Molly asks, raising an eyebrow.

“The things he’ll do for Emmett,” Justin murmurs, “Well? You’re the scientist. Go on.”

Molly nods and starts to tap the baking soda in each of the named vials. The vials begin to smoke and bubble over, before one of the shelves in the closet pop open.

“Okay, Emmett has to have the place rigged with cameras,” Justin mutters, before peering into the drawer, “He has this drawer rigged too.”

“Thanks, Emmett!” Molly calls out, sounding buzzed once more, “Okay, what’s inside?”

“A lock box,” Justin answers, reaching over to pick it up to read the message on the top, “‘You have many numbers but need to narrow it down to four, add them all up until you can’t anymore.’ You were probably onto something when you were talking about a letter to numbers code, Molly. Look up a key and I will type it into my phone to figure it out.”

Justin writes each letter of each color out and writes the number that corresponds with each letter right next to them.

P=16 I=9 N=14 K=11
B=2 L=12 U=21 E=5
G=7 R=18 A=1 Y=25

They add the first letters together, then the second, third, and fourth, before getting double digit numbers for each in order to add the double digit numbers together.

7  3  9  5

“Why is there so much math in this?” Justin sighs, “I have known Emmett for years and never once has he come across as a math enthusiast.”

“Learn something new every day!” Molly chirps, before taking the box to type the numbers in. The light turns green and they open the handle.

“Another riddle,” Molly sighs.

Good work, your smarts are tested and true!
Now come to the kitchen for a well earned break
and drink with Emmett and Drew. <3

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Molly growls.

“They’ll probably give us another clue,” Justin tells her, “Come on.”

The three of them walk back down the stairs, dodge the creepier actors and more startled groups, and make their way for the kitchen. Drew and Emmett are sitting at the island, Emmett sipping at a cosmo and Drew taking a swig of beer. Neither of them seem to be aware that they are standing there.

“I don’t know, Drewsie. You should have seen his face. What if we’re not giving him enough? Like, I know we’re friends with Scott, Isaac, and Kirk. He’s friends with Lydia and a couple of boys from school. But what if he feels like he’s missing out? What if he feels displaced? What if we’re not watching enough shows with little boys who look like him or-”

“He’s four, Emmett,” Drew interrupts gently, “Look, I get why you’re concerned. I am to an extent too. And we can definitely look into more resources when it comes to his heritage and check into different organizations to connect with in order to make sure he isn’t confused about anything. But I do think you are looking into this a little too much and it’s making you doubt yourself.”

“And I should be if I’m not looking at the best interests for our son!” Emmett exclaims, gripping his hair.

“Should we come back?” Justin asks softly, taking a couple of steps closer.

Both Emmett and Drew turn, before Emmett shakes his head and waves the question off.

“No, baby. It’s okay. So you found one of the kitchen clues? Which one?”

“The chemistry set one,” Molly informs him.

Emmett smiles at that, “And the drawer worked, right? I have a few guys in the garage watching the cameras, waiting for cues.”

“Without a hitch,” Malcolm confirms, but then walks over, “Look, I know you just met me, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

Emmett flushes a little, “Yeah, sorry about that. I...It’s not your fault. I’m not upset or jealous. If anything, I am just upset with myself.”

Justin watches Malcolm sit down next to Emmett as he glances at both men.

“Look...my brother and I were adopted,” Malcolm tells him in a soft voice, “My mom passed and her cousin and her husband took us in when we were six. They’re both biracial, they were lighter skinned, so I guess it’s different than Duncan being with you but, even though I noticed sometimes, even though people asked questions about the difference...it didn’t matter. They still loved us and everything they did for us was appreciated. Even when we were brats about it, insisting they weren’t our parents. I can’t imagine not having them in my life. They influenced us so much that my brother and his wife just adopted two girls two years ago. They’re seven now. One of them is black and the other is her best friend and has been since foster care. She’s a pale redhead. My brother and my sister-in-law worried about it, wondered what people might think, especially when there are so many kids of color in the foster system at the moment. But it didn’t matter. They fell in love with both of them and they try their best to keep Meredith’s Irish heritage in mind when events come up or when Saint Patrick’s Day comes around. And there are times when she feels out of place, especially after my sister-in-law gave birth to a biological daughter almost a year ago, but she knows that she’s loved. They talk to her about her heritage and what it means. They answer every question they can and make sure she knows she’s just as much a part of the family as Hannah and Sasha are. For the most part, the kid couldn’t be happier.”

Malcolm takes a breath and looks Emmett in the eye.

“And man? I saw that playhouse up in the attic and his ridiculously cool room. I witnessed firsthand how enthusiastic he was to take part in this party. The fact that you are sitting here with your husband, talking about how you want to be able to do even more for him because you’re afraid you aren’t doing enough should tell you that you’re a pretty amazing dad. There’s no doubt that both of you love your son. Hell, I don’t think I have ever seen a dog as loyal as your dog is to that kid. Honestly, I think he just got excited over Han Solo. It probably was just a plus that this particular Han Solo looked sort of like him. There might be instances when he’s older where it’s deeper than that, but it seems like you are planning for that. It’ll be okay.”

Emmett sniffles and wipes at his eyes, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m a crier, ask anyone! Ask Drewsie, ask Justin!”

“It’s true, he is,” Drew shrugs, smirking.

“It really is true,” Justin adds, but more tenderly.

“But thank you,” Emmett chokes out, holding onto Malcolm’s arm, “And know that you are invited to come by whenever you want. With or without Justin, Han Solo or sans Solo. Now, who wants a drink and a clue?”

Emmett gives them all festive Halloween cocktails and, since Emmett is the most sentimental man that Justin knows, he toasts to,

“Old friends, new friends, family, my beautiful son, and whatever the upcoming years may bring!”

Emmett hands Justin a map after they finish their drinks off, and then they go back to the parlor to finally meet with Michael and Ben.

“Okay, so you got the clues we sent you?” Michael asks, pulling out his phone, “We got yours on the year of the beheaded wife and used it on a lockbox we found hidden across the street. It was Catherine Howard’s death year, by the way. We also found a bottle of Louis Roederer Champagne after figuring out one of the harder clues. So, after we beat this thing, I say we split this.”

“We got a map from Emmett,” Justin tells him, “It looks like it is of the backyard-”

Suddenly, every light goes out and gasps and shrieks are heard from the other guests. People are yelling out for their teammates and grunting out expletives, before the actors make an announcement.

“It’s 10 pm and it’s the hour of prizes! Whoever can get to the fuse box first will be quite pleased with their findings!”

“You guys go downstairs!” Justin calls out as he starts to get separated from the group, “I’ll go check outside!”

Justin fights his way through the crowd and manages to make his way to the sunroom and the backdoor of the house. It’s chilly, to the point where he is rubbing his arms from the goosebumps that pop up. He doesn’t even want to get out the map. He just wants to go back inside, curl up under the covers in one of the less creepy guest rooms, and-

“Cold, Sunshine?”

Justin glances behind his shoulder to see Brian laying in the hammock, staring up at the stars.

“I see you’re being a real team player,” Justin scoffs, coming a little closer.

Brian shrugs his shoulders, “They knew what they were getting into when they made me play Emmett’s game.”

“Come on,” Justin reasons, “It’s really well done, creepy as hell, and complex. Your daughter is a phenomenal actress, by the way.”

“Yeah, I played along through her part. I wasn’t expecting that, I will admit that,” Brian answers, eyes twinkling, “What’s going on in there now?”

“Emmett cut the power.”

Brian snorts, “Of course he did. He wouldn’t be Emmett if he didn’t go all out for every party he threw.”

“That’s true,” Justin agrees, playing with the edge of the netting.

There’s a silence between them, nothing but the sound of muffled music from nearby parties and occasional screams from Emmett’s house.

“I should be looking for-”

“Lay down with me.”

Justin freezes at the request, “Brian…”

Brian sighs, “Chill out. I’m not asking for a fuck in the hammock. Hell, I lay in this thing with Emmett all the time. It’s huge. So take a break, lie back, and shut up.”

Justin hesitates before laying on the edge of the hammock, “If Eric comes outside and sees this, I am fully blaming you for everything without shame.”

“He wouldn’t think we were doing anything,” Brian scoffs, “...Probably. Actually, he’d most likely stop speaking to you.”

Justin sits up quickly and starts to get up, but Brian pulls him back down.

“I’m kidding. Believe it or not, Eric actually values his friendship with you.”

“Yeah, and I value my friendship with him,” Justin replies, “Which is why I should get up.”

“There’s literally three feet between us,” Brian reasons, “I just wanted you to see one of the only places near the city where you can see the stars.”

Justin studies Brian for several moments, but Brian is only staring up at the sky. Justin gives in and turns his head to look as well, and...Brian’s right. They’re up there, twinkling and clear, despite the fact it was cloudy earlier in the day.

He can’t remember the last time he took the time to stare at the stars.

No, that’s wrong. He remembers. It was at Britin. Back when their engagement was still a secret and they were completely in love, back when Justin was able to dismiss Brian’s off-the-wall PTSD symptoms as romance. He and Brian made love on a blanket, in the fucking cold, then wrapped themselves up in a cocoon of blankets, clinging onto each other as they watched the same stars as Justin and Brian are watching right now.

That was such a long time ago. They were such different people.

“I’m going to be a dad,” Justin whispers out, breaking the silence.

He hears Brian let out a breath at the words, feels him inch his hand closer to Justin’s, until his fingers are lightly touching Justin’s hand.

“Yeah?” Brian asks softly, “Since when?”

“I guess it took on September 1st. Found out a few weeks later. The surrogate missed her period, took a test, and called me up to tell me. Doctor confirmed it.”

Justin feels Brian looking at him, waiting for him to continue. But Justin doesn’t know what to say. After bottling it up for what felt like ages, after going through days upon days of wanting to call his friends to tell them...he didn’t have much else to say.

Brian takes a hint and nods, “Good for you. You’ll be a great dad. They’ll be one lucky kid.”

Justin breathes in shakily, “I’m excited, I am. But now I am going to have to cut things off with Malcolm. He doesn’t know. When I got with him, he was just a fuck buddy, one that I was hooking up with from time to time. I didn’t even think there was a need to tell him that I was waiting for my surrogate to get pregnant. And now-”

“You care about him and actually see things going somewhere,” Brian finishes, “Why can’t they go somewhere?”

Justin lets out a humorless laugh, “You know why.”

“It’s not like single parents never date, Justin.”

“Yeah,” Justin agrees, “But the people they date tend to know what they are getting into. I’ve been seeing him for two months. I can’t expect him to suddenly start planning my unborn child’s future with me. We don’t know each other well enough. Plus I still...I still keep thinking about Nathan....And I planned to do this on my own.”

Brian opens his mouth to speak but the lights come back on in the house.

“Wonder which team turned the power back on?” Justin asks, getting back up to stretch.

“Probably yours,” Brian answers, “As much as I hate to say it, Michael is on his game with this shit.”

“Yeah, he is,” Justin laughs, “I need to find whatever I’m supposed to find from this map.”

Brian holds up a small box and waves it in the air, “I was going to hide it somewhere else to cause chaos, but I guess I can just give it to you.”

Justin raises a brow, “And you don’t want to save it for your team?”

Brian huffs out a laugh as he gets up, “I don’t give two shits. I agreed to match the donations regardless. Whatever Emmett and Drew decided on when it comes to the grand prize, I’m sure I can afford.”

“So can I,” Justin reasons.

“Just take it, Sunshine.”

Justin sighs and takes a hold of the box, unlocks it with the tiny key in his pocket, and finds five round-trip tickets to Bermuda.

“Maybe you should wait to break up with Malcolm until after your Bermuda trip,” Brian suggests, feigning innocence.

“Shut up,” Justin mutters.

-----------------------------------

After Justin and Brian come back inside, Justin finds his group to let him know that they’ve won, which causes Michael to let out a cheer, letting the rest of the guests know that they found the treasure out in the backyard. After the announcements have been made and there’s a bit of downtime, Justin turns to Michael and Ben and holds out the box.

“You should take them,” he offers.

“There’s five tickets though!” Ben exclaims, “We could all go.”

“You have a couple of months left until your son is born,” Justin points out, “Seriously, take anyone you want.”

“...We could take Hunter and JR,” Michael says, warming up to the idea.

“Let Hunter take someone he really cares about,” Ben adds, glancing at Molly.

Molly purses her lips and looks away, “I’m not sure if-”

“If I can have your attention, please!”

The crowd turns towards the speaker as Michael starts to squint.

“Is that-”

“Speak of the devil,” Ben nods.

“Oh my god,” Molly mutters, jaw dropped.

“While you all were partying it up, drinking Emmett’s fruity alcoholic beverages, and getting the wits scared out of you on each and every turn, I was landing at LaGuardia and forcing my cab driver to go over the speed limit just to get here. He threatened to kick me out of the cab after trying to get him to go even faster. So I stopped. But what matters is that I could get here just in time to sing this song. Molly Taylor, this is for you.

“Oh my god, Justin make him stop. Michael, Ben, make your son stop, please.”

“No,” Michael grins almost maniacally as the intro music starts.

“Absolutely not,” Ben reiterates.

“No, you can get through to him-” Molly starts, but is cut off by the sound of Hunter’s voice.

And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now

And, although Justin would probably feel a little embarrassed and put on the spot if he were in Molly’s position, it could be a lot worse. Hunter’s voice is actually good and, although Molly is hiding her eyes in what looks like embarrassment, he can see her mouth twisting, the wetness starting to form on her cheeks. His sister, his no romance, ‘let’s avoid talking about my feelings and just focus on your feelings’ sister, is affected by this. He bumps her shoulder a little in solidarity, shakes his head with a smile, and listens to Hunter continue.

And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later it's over
I just don't wanna miss you tonight

Justin has to give Hunter props on this set up. The younger man had to have set some of this up with Emmett and Drew. The timing of Hunter appearing at the top of the center stairs right in the parlor, dressed as Mr. Darcy nonetheless, before sliding down the bannister to sing the damn chorus. The way Molly’s eyes widen at the site and the crowd parts for Hunter, just so he has a direct path to Molly, all while Emmett's red spotlights shine on both of them.

It’s incredible. And hilarious. Basically an embodiment of whom Hunter basically is.

And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's meant to be broken
I just want you to know who I am

Hunter makes his way to Molly and stops inches in front of her.

“Okay, okay!” Molly wails, laughing and crying at the same time as the music fades to the background, “Stop it, you’re so embarrassing!”

“I know,” Hunter smirks, before wrapping his arms around her, earning points for gladly letting Molly’s tears get all over his costume.

It is probably the way that Hunter’s expression grows serious, the way his eyes start to look wet as well as he holds Molly tighter and strokes her hair that makes Justin listen intently in order to try to catch any whisper that may pass between them.

He’s a nosy big brother, but he shouldn’t be faulted for that. Molly has sort of been a mess.

“I’m moving to New York in January,” Hunter rasps out, “I got a job, a job as a cinematographer on a television show filming over here. I want you to move in with me. I want you to go to a great grad school. I want you, I want us, to be happy. I want you to stop being so stressed. Because you don’t have to be. I’ll take care of you. I’ll make enough for the both of us until you’re curing cancer or Alzheimer’s or even curing me. We’ll go down and check on your dad every month, have him come up to stay with us a weekend here and there. I want to make this work. I love you.”

Hunter holds her out so he can see her, his hands cradling her face. Two tears spill from Molly’s eyes as she bites her lip and nods, before throwing her arms around Hunter’s neck to meet him for a passionate kiss. Even if the words Hunter said were probably not heard by the majority of the crowd, the whole room erupts in an applause.

Justin can’t help but wonder if some of ones farther away possibly thought Hunter just proposed to her without a ring. It was definitely a grand enough gesture to be mistaken as such.

“Michael, stop crying,” Justin sighs, not even having to turn around to check.

“I can’t help it!” Michael whimpers, “And Ben is crying too!”

Justin has to turn around to check whether or not that allegation is true.

Ben wipes his eyes quickly and straightens out his previously emotional expression, “I am just aware that Hunter has been having a difficult time with being in a long distance relationship. I’ve been very worried about him.”

“I have been too,” Michael cries, “It’s been very stressful.”

“Oh my god, both of you are such bitches,” Hunter yells out, holding Molly close they make their way over.

“Your girlfriend is crying, you definitely were trying not to, why can’t we?” Michael asks.

“One, because she’s my girl. I was actively trying to make her cry because she bottles too much shit up. I was looking out for her best interests. That’s my job,” Hunter shrugs, “And two, I wasn’t crying. My contacts were just bothering me. Didn’t I tell you? I’m going blind and can’t go without them. I would take them out to show you, but I don’t feel the need to prove myself.”

“You are such a strange man,” Molly breathes out, shaking her head.

“Whatever you say, son,” Ben smiles, “Did Molly tell you we won five tickets to Bermuda? We figured we’d take JR and you and Molly could go too, get a room to yourselves.”

“Far away from our room,” Michael stresses.

“Hells yeah!” Hunter exclaims, holding up his hand to get a high five from both of his dads.

Then, he literally sweeps Molly off her feet.

“What are you doing?” Molly squeals, gripping onto Hunter’s suit jacket as she is lifted off the ground.

“Honey, I’m taking you to the best hotel in...well, Hoboken. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to wait,” Hunter announces dramatically.

Without another word, Hunter carries Molly out of the house, which only starts up the drunken cheering again.

“Lucky her,” Malcolm murmurs, putting his arms around Justin’s waist, “Maybe I can go over to your place tonight? I don’t think she is coming back.”

Justin has to let out a chuckle at that, “I’ll probably just have to send her stuff back to her. But yeah...you can come over.”

They take part in a couple of more party games, have a couple of drinks. Justin writes a check for $15,000 because he has the money to do shit like that, all of the proceeds are going to something important, and Brian is matching every dollar donated. He sees a few zeros on Malcolm’s check as well, knowing the man has donated at least a few thousand towards both foster kids in New York and New Jersey and children with Albinism in Tanzania. Malcolm doesn’t really even know them, but trusts they’ll do the right thing with the donations. As if Justin knowing them and trusting them is good enough for him.

It makes Justin feel pretty shitty.

------------------------------------

When they get back to Justin’s apartment, they are kissing and grabbing at each other’s costumes, already wanting more despite the quickie they had earlier in Emmett’s bathroom. And Justin really does want more. His cock is hard, straining against his pants.

But Malcolm seems to know that he’s distracted, that Justin’s mind is wandering. Pressing a few more kisses against Justin’s jaw, he moves to his ear and, whispers, “What’s wrong?”

Justin rubs Malcolm’s sides and lets out a sigh, before stepping away to walk to the living room. Malcolm trails behind him and scratches the back of his head, “Shit, I thought I was just being paranoid.”

Justin sits on the couch, trying to come up with the words to say, trying to figure out how to announce this upcoming monumental change.

“I…” Justin starts, then takes a breath, “I’m not sure we can do this anymore.”

Malcolm bites his cheek, nods, then turns away, “How come?”

“I...I really, really like you, Malcolm,” Justin begins, wringing his hands.

“But not enough?” Malcolm rasps out.

“Actually, I’m telling you this because I like you too much,” Justin counters, letting out a wet laugh.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Malcolm asks him, squinting in the dark room.

“I’m, fuck, I’m having a kid,” Justin blurts out, deciding to just say it, “I decided to have a kid on my own, got a surrogate and an egg donor, and my surrogate...I found out a month ago that she’s pregnant. It was a few weeks after I met you. I didn’t think...I didn’t think we would do more than fuck around. But then we started spending time together and my feelings for you snuck up on me and before I knew it, I saw our relationship going somewhere, even though it really can’t. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I haven’t really told anyone.”

Justin exhales and closes his eyes, waiting for an answer. For a minute or so, there’s silence. Not that he can blame Malcolm for not knowing to say. But he wishes he would say something-

“Why...Why can’t it go anywhere?” Malcolm asks. When Justin opens his eyes at the question, he sees Malcolm looking away. It’s pretty easy to see Malcolm already knows the answer.

“We’ve known each other for two months,” Justin shrugs, “Have only started getting to actually know each other for a little over one. If we keep this going? Keep falling harder and entwining our lives more than they already are? You’ll end up making a huge commitment to a guy you’ve basically just met. You’ll be a dad, completely unplanned, when there’s no need for you to put yourself in that situation. And if things don’t work out, it will be messier.”

Malcolm huffs out a breath, “It would have been easier if I had just met you after the kid was born.”

“It would have.”

Malcolm looks at the floor, “I don’t...I don’t want to end this. To give up on this already.”

“I don’t either,” Justin sighs, “But I think I need to do this alone. Or at least start out that way. My kid? They have to come first, even when they aren’t here yet.”

Malcolm walks over to Justin and leans down to catch the blonde’s eyes. Tilting Justin’s chin up, he meets his lips for a kiss and softly says to him, “I’ll see you around, Justin.”

With that, Malcolm lets himself out and Justin sits alone in the dark.

He’ll be okay.