JUSTIN

I really have to stop doubting Marilyn, damn it. My mom was waiting outside school for me today. She wanted us to talk. I wanted to avoid it all, but I got in the car. Lovely, we get to relive the therapist again. I think this happened later, but I can deal with the woman and her condescension. Only we don’t go to that office, nope, it’s Alex Wilder. I always wanted to meet him, he tried to help Brian and I once, after the bashing.

“Justin can you at least keep an open mind? I wanted to see if maybe this would help you see that I only want what’s best for you.” Mom tells me.

“It’s not going to change my being gay.” I tell her. Wonder if she realizes that Alex is gay?

“I just think we need someone to mediate. You didn’t even try to talk to your father, you just left.” She tells me.

“What did he say, you know, when he found out his son was a faggot?” I ask her.

“I didn’t tell him, yet, but I have to. I want you to come home. I don’t even know where you were last night.” Mom tells me.

“I stayed with my boyfriend.” I tell her.

“Justin that won’t help the situation.” She tells me. Alex comes out and invites us in. I flirted with him. Mom looked like she swallowed a lemon. We sit on the couch together and Alex walks over to a chair in front of us and sits down.

“Hello, I’m Alex Wilder and your mother called because she said you were having some issues. I tape my sessions so that I can concentrate on you, is that okay?” He actually asks me, not my mom.

“Sure, but the only issue we have is my mom thinks I’m confused. I know I’m gay.” I tell him. I don’t want to waste a lot of time on this.

“Mrs. Taylor, is Justin’s sexuality a problem?” I like how he put my mom on the spot.

“I love my son, but I don’t think he knows his sexuality at seventeen. I think someone gave him the idea.” She tells Alex.

“Mrs. Taylor, a person’s sexuality is decided almost at birth, by the time Justin was six, he probably exhibited signs that he wasn’t going to be straight. By seventeen, he is no longer confused, but ready to start exploring his world.” He tells her.

“Justin also left home to move in with his… boyfriend. I don’t think he’s ready for that level of commitment.” She tells him. I can see her point, when I was seventeen, I wasn’t ready, but neither was Brian.

“Justin do you feel pressured to stay with your boyfriend?” Alex asks me.

“No, I would have left sooner, but I had things I needed to happen.” I tell him.

“What needed to happen?” Alex asks me.

“I meant that I was going to school and you know I wanted my parents to accept me.” Alex really listens, shit I need to be careful around him.

“I don’t even know where he’s staying.” Mom tells Alex. Hey, I’m sitting right here Mom.

“Is there a reason you don’t want your mother to know where you're staying?” Alex asks me.

“Let's see, my dad is a homophobe. My boyfriend is older and doesn’t need my father trying to fuck with him. My mom is going to spend all her time trying to make Brian feel like shit for corrupting me. Then Brian is going to have deal with my family, who I can’t convince that I’m gay. You tell me if you want them to know where I am.” I tell Alex.

“Mrs. Taylor, if your husband has problems with gay people, having a gay son is only going to make it worse.” He tells her. Maybe she’ll listen to him.

“He’s our son, I know Craig will have a hard time accepting that Justin might be gay, but we love Justin and we’ll get through this, as a family.” She tells him.

“It doesn’t work like that mom. Dad isn’t going suddenly run out to march at Pride. He’s going to put conditions on my life. I won’t live like that.” I tell her.

“Mrs. Taylor, you came here today to see if we could help Justin. I can’t help you if you aren’t willing to listen to him. He is telling you he’s gay and you're still trying to act like he isn’t. Unless you can admit to yourself that he is gay, we are only going to talk in circles.” Alex tells her.

“I want my son to come home. I can’t keep lying to Craig, he thinks Justin is at his best friend’s house.” Mom starts crying.

“Why haven’t you told him why Justin left?” He asks her.

“I don’t want to cause problems.” She tells him.

“I think you don’t want to see that Dad isn’t going to be smiling and accepting. You can’t admit that he isn’t going to love me the same. I know it and I don’t have to pay a therapist to tell me that.” I tell her.

“I want to add, that if you're lying to your husband, it’s as good as admitting that this isn’t going to be something he can accept.” Alex tells her.

Mom tells him she needs to think about all this and wanted to set another appointment. I told her have fun talking to Alex, I don’t need to talk about it anymore. She tried to get me to let her drop me off, but I told her to go home and take care of Molly. I waited till she was gone and asked Alex if I could use the phone to call my ride. I called Brian and told him to pick me up at Alex’s office. Brian told me he needed an address because he’d never been to Alex’s office. I hand the phone to Alex.

“Could you tell Brian how to get here?” I ask him.

“Yes.” He tells me. “Hello, I’m located in the building next to the Pittsburgh Medical.” He tells Brian and hangs up.

“Thanks, I’ll wait outside.” I tell him.

“You were my last appointment, how about I walk you out. You can explain how you got Brian Kinney to commit to someone.” He seems surprised but I guess he would be. Brian wasn’t big on the commitment thing at this point.

“He took one look at my ass. You gotta admit it’s stellar.” I flirt with Alex. He’s kind of cute. Poor Alex looked and then shook his head.

We wait for Brian to show and I can tell Alex wants to ask a hundred questions. Luck was on my side because Brian pulled up before Alex could ask. I hop in the new Jeep, hopefully Brian didn’t take out the window of the showroom.

“Interesting day I’ve had.” Alex tells Brian.

“Well if we didn’t make it interesting, what would you have to talk about at Woody’s?” Brian asks him.

“Brian, if Brad Pitt picked Justin up, I’d be less surprised than I am now.” He tells Brian.

“Brad can wait for Angie, Justin is mine.” Brian tells him.

“Brian, his wife is Jennifer Aniston.” Alex tells him.

“Jennifer, Angie, they’re women’s names, I don’t keep up with that shit. Good seeing you, but my little twat and I have an appointment.” Brian tells him. Brian pulls away from the curb.

“Did you kill the window?” I ask him.

“No, the asshole wasn’t there. I also didn’t take Lindsey and Gus this time. Kind of ruined it for me.” He tells me.

“You can still fuck with your parents.” I tell him.

“Yeah, there is that. Pop is dying and I think I’ll just let him find out the way he does. Mom was still around the whole time, I’ll wait till Dad’s funeral and bring you with me.” Brian tells me.

“Man, I was hoping you could take Michael. He would kiss up to your mother. I would most likely explain purgatory to her.” I tell him.

“What’s that like, Purgatory?” He asks me.

“It’s like sitting on a train that goes nowhere for centuries, while the people there try to explain why they deserve to get off.” Justin tells me.

“So it’s a bunch of people whining because they think they lived a good life? Hope Mikey likes it there.” Brian jokes. 

As we pull up, we both groan. Guess Michael ran to Lindsay, you know, to talk some sense into Brian. Why does Lindsay look like utter shit?

“What the hell is wrong with Lindsey?” I ask Brian.

“She isn’t bathing or doing anything, according to Mel.” Brian tells me.

“Can we make her take a shower before she sits near us?” I ask him.

“How about we just pull away and go to Deb’s?” He tells me.

“They’ll just follow us.” I tell him.

“Not if what Mel told me was true. Deb ripped into them when we left the other night.” He tells me.

“You didn’t tell me that.” I tell him.

“You got naked, sorry but it didn’t seem very important at that moment.” He tells me.

“How about I take the Jeep and get some dinner, while you deal with your besties.” I tell him.

“We’re partners, if I have to deal with them, so do you.” He tells me. 

“I can always run away to Deb’s.” I warn him.

“You could stay and see what Marty wants, he just walked up too. All we need is Ted and Emmett and we can have a party.” Brian tells me. I see Marilyn, well Marty, standing next to Michael and Lindsay. 

“I think Marilyn is still pissed about me threatening to out her.” I tell him.

“That’s what you get, Mr 1500 on your SAT’s, instead of trying to smooth your way in, you bulldoze people.” He tells me. 

Michael knocks on Brian’s window. I can see Brian debating whether or not to just put the Jeep back in drive. He looks out the window and sees Emmett and Ted walking up, with Mel. Mel is carrying Gus and that makes Brian’s decision easier. 

“Take Ted with you and get enough food to feed the masses.” I grab his face and kiss him. I can take forever getting food.

“That doesn’t mean leave me here all night with them. You get food and drive back.” He tells me, he knows me too well. At least that gets me an hour free of the whole ordeal.

BRIAN

I get out of the Jeep and see Justin slip over into the driver’s seat. The twat was too happy not to have to deal with everyone.

“Ted, go with Justin. He’s getting some food.” I tell Ted. He starts to say something but I give him the ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. Ted walks over and hops in. Justin practically peels out, I look longly at my disappearing Jeep.

“He’ll be back in forty minutes, let’s get this over with.” Marty tells me.

“Not a word until we are in the loft. Anyone says anything and they leave.” I tell the group. I walk over to Mel and grab Gus’s carrier. Mel looked like she needed a hand.

“You okay?” I ask her quietly, leading her away from the others.

“No, I’m not. I’m done is what I am.” She tells me.

“Do you need any help?” I ask her.

“I can handle it, I did something that isn’t going to sit well with Lindsay.” She tells me.

“If you want to keep your relationship, don’t tell her about Mary Ann.” I tell her. Mel looks surprised at that.

“I haven’t done anything yet, but I want to.” She tells me.

“Make sure it’s right for you, I’ll take care of Gus.” I reassure her.

“So you and Mel can talk but we can’t.” Michael whines.

“You can go, I’m talking to the mother of my son.” I tell him. Michael shuts up.

I lead everyone inside and catch a whiff of Lindsay. Jesus when was the last time she bathed. I run and grab a towel. 

“Don’t sit on my furniture, you fucking stink Lindsay.” I tell her. 

“Brian we need to talk. Michael told me you moved the kid in here.” Lindsay tells me.

“Why is that your problem or your business?” Mel snaps at her.

I take Gus and put him on the bed. Glad he’s sleeping through this. Emmett comes in and tells me he’ll stay in here with the baby. I grab the coward and drag him with me. 

“What did I do in this life to deserve this? Can someone answer that?” Emmett seems to be talking to himself or maybe the divine fates.

“You accepted the key to my loft.” I tell him.

“You gave Emmett a key.” Michael yells.

“Shut the fuck up, Gus is sleeping you asshole.” Mel yells back. That was helpful. I walk back in to check if Gus is okay. Marty tells me Gus is going to sleep through this, nice to have a psychic here. I wanted to ask if I could sleep through it too.

“Nope, they're your friends.” He answers my thoughts.

“Brian, you need to send Justin home to his parents. You could get in trouble for letting a seventeen year old live with you.” Lindsay tells me.

“He won’t because Justin’s parents aren’t going to do anything that would bring embarrassment to them. They are like your parent’s Lindsay, they pretend the problems don’t exist.” Marty tells her.

“Brian is too old for that kid.” Michael tells everyone.

“Justin is a highly intelligent young man. He will never sit on his ass and wait for someone to take care of him. Just look at the sketches in that book. That young man is going to be famous one day.” Marty tells them.

Lindsay picks up the sketch pad and starts flipping through it. I wasn’t there when she looked through it the first time. I came later when she started really looking at them. She wasn’t able to hide her jealousy, but she tried to make it to look as if she was thrilled at his capabilities. I look and can see the differences that all the years make to the more recent drawings.

“If this is what Justin is doing at seventeen, he needs to go to New York and show his work there.” Lindsay comments absently. I see red, she didn’t just say that to me.

“If you're so fucking interested in the center of the art world, I’ll fucking buy you a ticket and you can pray the plane doesn’t crash and ruin your loved one's life.” I tell her.

“Calm down, she was just saying Justin’s talented.” Marty was holding me back from killing the bitch.

“Mel we should see if he wants to enter some drawings at the GLC art show.” Lindsay tells Mel. She acts like I didn’t just bitch at her.

“Do what you want Lindsay. Unless you stop this crazy shit, I won’t be home to care.” Mel tells her.

“Mel, it’s postpartum. The doctor told you that.” She tell Mel.

“I don’t care what you want to call it. You need to take a bath and start taking care of Gus.” I tell her.

“Brian, Lindsay and I feel you need to think about what you're doing with the kid.” Michael tells me.

“He meets David soon, just let it go.” Marty whispers.

“Michael, how about you worry about your promotion and leave Brian to worry about Justin.” Ted tells him. Justin walks in with Ted, and crap what the hell did Justin order.

“I got your noodles, you know the ones with zero good stuff.” Justin tells me. At least it wasn’t his usual carb fest. “I got Michael and I chicken and biscuits.” He adds.

“Where’d you get it?” Michael asks him. These two and food.

“Where do you think, the colonel.” Justin tells Michael. Michael runs and grabs a leg, guess he forgot why he came here.

“Justin, this gentleman showed us your drawings. We have an art show at the GLC, you should let me show your work.” Lindsay tells him.

“Sure, if you want to.” He tells her. Why is he letting her do this? “Maybe we should invite my mom. It could help her with the gay thing.” Justin tells me. He means Deb explaining it to her would.

“Is your mom giving you a hard time? My mom was practically screaming she’s a proud mom to a gay son.” Michael tells him. How does Michael go from hating Justin to being nice to him?

“She still thinks I’m just experimenting.” Justin tells him. 

Justin grabs two forks and pours the gravy over all the biscuits. He and Michael sit down and start eating together. I still want to grab the fork and put it in Michael hand correctly. It’s sad to see Justin eating like a good little WASP and Michael acting like the fork is a shovel.

“Maybe your mom could talk to Ma.” Michael offers.

I turn to look at Lindsay and she is staring at Justin’s work. Guess they aren’t interested in telling me how to live my life anymore. I walk into my bedroom to change and smile at Gus looking around the room. Marty walks in.

“They're all going to leave in a minute. We have to decide if you want Emmett to know.” He tells me.

“Why Emmett? Ted and Mel are both out there too.” I ask him.

“Emmett is more open minded than the other two. By being told, he will understand why you’ve suddenly changed.” He tells me.

“Let’s wait till the others go.” I tell him. I pick Gus up and take him to the living room. Marty brings the carrier. 

“Brian, I need to get Gus home and clean up. We can talk later?” She asks me.

“Only if I have to.” I tell her.

“I’d better go too, I have to put a display up early tomorrow. I’ll see if Ma will talk to your mom.” Michael tells Justin.

Ted goes with them and we are finally alone, except for Emmett and Marty.

“What were you going to tell me?” Emmett asks us. “Marty why aren’t you Marilyn?” 

“I had to rush to get here before Brian ran Michael and Lindsay over with his new Jeep.” Marty kids. I hope he’s kidding, would I have really done that?

“It was road rage.” He tells me.

“Emmett, sit down, it’s a long story.” Justin tells Emmett.

Marty and Justin take turns explaining it to Emmett. He sits and listens, I wait to see if he believes any of it.

“That explains so much. Justin, were you and I like, great friends?” That’s all Emmett is concerned about?

“You are probably one of my best friends other than Daphne.” Justin tells him.

Emmett is beaming at Justin.