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DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you Marny for the beautiful banner!

Written November 2012 - March 2013

 

"Here you go, Blondie," a customer whispered into Justin's ear as the man stuffed something into Justin's back pocket, giving the blonde a pinch on the ass before walking towards the door.

Justin turned to look at the man, who gave Justin a wink before leaving the diner. Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out a five dollar bill, along with a receipt with a phone number written on it.

Debbie, who was passing by Justin after delivering plates to one of her tables, looked over Justin's shoulder. "Got another one, I see."

It was Justin's first day working as a bus boy at the Liberty Diner and he had already received a dozen or so phone numbers, as well as nearly $50 in tips. Pretty impressive, considering he had come in at six on that Monday morning and had only been working for about three hours. He had already lost count as to how many times his ass had been pinched or smacked.

Justin sighed as he threw the receipt into his bus tub. "Do I have ‘Desperate for a Date' written on my forehead or something?" he asked the older waitress.

"No, but with a bubble butt like yours, Sunshine, you'll soon have the phone number of every man, single and taken, in the neighborhood," Debbie said, patting Justin's cheek before turning her head in response to the bell ringing over the door. "Wow, you look like shit," she said to the new arrival.

Justin looked to see who Debbie was talking to and felt his already-tight blue jeans get a little tighter at the sight. The man, who was dressed in an expensive-looking gray suit with a burgundy shirt and tie, sat down in the booth that Justin had just finished clearing. The man's chestnut-brown hair was stylishly tousled and he was clean-shaven. His only noticeable flaws were circles under his heavy-lidded eyes.

If this is him looking "like shit," how does he look when he's rested? Justin wondered to himself.

"Nice to see you, too, Deb," the man all but growled.

"Running a little late this morning, aren't you?" Debbie asked the man. "Ted and Emmett left a few minutes ago; they got tired of waiting for you and had to get to work. Surely, you weren't out sucking and fucking on a school night, were you?"

"Coffee, Deb... and don't call me Shirley," the man said. Hearing Justin snicker at hisAirplane! reference, he looked over and said, "Or, I'll just take you to go. Fuck work."

Justin blushed as Debbie informed the man, "He's not on the menu. This is Justin; he just started this morning." She then turned to Justin and said, "Justin, this is Brian."

"Enchanté," Brian cooed, reaching his right hand out to Justin.

Justin rubbed his slightly-greasy hand on his jeans before returning Brian's handshake. He desperately searched his brain for an appropriate response but came up with nothing, despite the fact that he took French in school. Justin wasn't even sure he could reply in English at the moment.

"Uh... Sunshine, why don't you go and take those dishes to the kitchen?" Debbie suggested, referring to the blonde's full bus tub.

Justin reluctantly pulled his hand away and did what Debbie asked.

"Sunshine," Brian echoed as he watched Justin walk away, nodding in approval of the nickname and the blonde boy's ass.

Debbie leaned forward and stuck a finger in Brian's face. "You just better forget about it, Mister."

"What?" Brian asked, attempting to look innocent.

"I'm warning you, Brian: leave that kid alone," Debbie said in a stern voice before leaving to get Brian's coffee.

********************

Brian turned the corner to walk to his office, hoping to sneak past his secretary, Cynthia, who was on the phone. No such luck.

"Yeah, he just walked in, hold on," Cynthia said into the phone before putting the call on hold and looking at Brian. "It's Michael, line two."

Brian nodded before Cynthia added, "Oh, and Ryder wants you to come and see him. Whatever it is, he's pissed about it."

Brian sighed dramatically before walking into his office. I knew I should have worked from home today... he thought to himself. He shut the door behind him, sat down at his desk, and took the call.

"Hey, Mikey. How's Portland? Have you stepped in any moose shit yet?" Brian asked in a bored tone.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Brian. I tried calling you all weekend, but I either kept getting your answering machine or voice mail," Michael snarled.

"Busy, busy," Brian said.

"Too busy out getting your dick sucked to even call me to see if I made it to Portland safely?"

"I'm sure I would have heard if you hadn't," Brian said as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He had actively ignored all of Michael's calls over the weekend, not wanting to be reminded that his best friend was now on the other side of the country with a man that Brian could hardly stand. "Look, Mikey, I've gotta go. Ryder wants to chew my ass out, and not in a positive, life-affirming way."

"Brian... I'm worried about you. I wish I hadn't even left, especially after what I walked in on the other night-"

"Give my best to the doc," Brian said tartly before hanging up the phone.

********************

After getting bitched at by his boss about some boards he wasn't happy with - which resulted in Brian having to bitch at the people in the art department that created the boards - he decided to take his lunch hour at the diner. It was rare that Brian would eat lunch there right after having breakfast there, but he felt compelled to make an exception that day.

When he walked in and saw the new bus boy bent over a table, Brian realized why he had felt the need to come in. He walked over to the blonde, who was repositioning the condiments on the table.

Brian walked right up behind Justin, who hadn't noticed he was there yet, and asked, "Are the buns fresh today?"

Justin quickly stood up straight, almost head-butting Brian in the process. "Oh... uh... hi," the blonde stammered.

Brian chuckled at Justin's obvious apprehension around him. He then looked around and asked, "Is Deb still here?"

"No. She had been here since midnight, and we all kicked her out before the lunch crowd came in," Justin said.

"Yeah, she does tend to put in too many hours," Brian remarked as he remembered a night a few months before when Debbie collapsed from exhaustion in the middle of the diner after putting in who know how many hours. "When does your shift end?"

"At twelve-thirty," Justin answered before hanging his head, as if he was ashamed of what he was going to say next. "I have to be somewhere at one."

"Okay," Brian said as he took a seat in the booth. He then glanced down at his watch and noticed that it was a quarter after twelve.

Kenny the waiter, who had been appearing more and more womanly lately, sashayed by the table a moment later. "Hey, Brian. You want your usual?"

"Only if you let Sunshine here off a few minutes early so he can join me," Brian said, giving Justin a little smile.

"Sure. He did a great job today," Kenny said with a smile before walking away to put Brian's order in.

Justin shuffled his feet nervously for a few moments before taking his apron off and sitting down across from Brian. "What's your usual?" he asked as he placed the apron on the seat next to him.

"Turkey sandwich on whole grain, no mayo, and Perrier with lemon, no ice." Brian loosened his tie as he tried to relax on the lumpy old seat. "So, tell me a little about yourself. I've never seen you around here before."

Since when do I give a fuck about some random twink working at the diner? Brian asked himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

Justin thought about what he wanted Brian to know. "Um... well, I've never actually come to Liberty Avenue before or had a job, but I saw the want ad in the paper-"

"Why are you even working right now; why aren't you in school?" Brian asked as Kenny dropped off his water. "You hardly look a day over twelve."

Justin smiled. "I get that a lot... actually, I'm eighteen. I got my GED a few weeks ago, and I'm hoping to start taking classes at PIFA in January; that is, if I'm accepted."

"You dropped out of high school?" Brian asked.

Christ, what's with all the fucking questions, Kinney? Shit... Brian berated himself.

Justin bit his bottom lip before answering, "Yeah, uh... I've had some... problems." He then grabbed the dirty apron and pulled himself out of the booth. "Look, I should get going."

"Does it take you forty-five minutes to get to where you need to be?" Brian asked, wondering why the kid was trying to escape.

"No, but I..." Justin looked down at his feet. "I'll see you later."

Brian watched as Justin quickly made his way to the back of the diner and out the kitchen door.

********************

Justin stepped out of the elevator and walked over to the check-in desk. Rebecca, his favorite technician, greeted him with a smile.

"Hey Justin. You're here early today."

"Yeah, I got off work a little early, so I figured I'd come on over," he answered.

"Oh, you found a job?"

"Um... yeah, it's at a diner," Justin replied, hoping she wouldn't ask which diner. His parents didn't even know where exactly he worked.

"Good for you. Well, you can come on back," Rebecca said as she led the way to a small exam room. She took Justin's blood pressure and had him step on a scale, then showed him into the large dialysis room.

Justin placed his messenger bag on the floor, sat on a cushy lounge chair, and waited while Rebecca got the machine ready.

"Hey, Sweetie," the older lady in the chair next to him said.

"Hey, Annie," he replied.

"So, did you get that job you were telling me about Friday?" Annie asked.

"Yeah. I went in there on Saturday afternoon, and they hired me on the spot," Justin said proudly. "I started this morning and made a bunch of tips."

"Way to go. At least it gives you something to do, other than mope around the house all day."

"Yeah, I've done enough of that to last me a lifetime," Justin said, chuckling. He then looked in Annie's lap and noticed that she was reading J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. "You're on the first book again?"

"Well, yeah. I go through them pretty quick, having to sit here fifteen hours a week," Annie stated.

Justin's heart went out to her, since he knew that Annie's treatments had recently been increased to five hours each session because of higher fluid levels in her body. Justin could hardly tolerate sitting in the chair for his four-hour sessions. "How many times have you read the whole series?"

Annie thought about it for a few moments. "Hmm... probably eight or nine times. Granted, I only started reading the books about five years ago when my daughter bought them for me for my birthday."

Justin shook his head as Rebecca walked around the chair to Justin's left side. "Alright, Justin, are you ready?"

"I guess," Justin said with a sigh. The first part of his treatment was always the worst. Even after all his years of being in and out of the hospital, he still hated being stuck with needles.

"I'll go as quickly as I can," Rebecca said in a caring voice.

Justin laid his head back and closed his eyes as the two needles were jabbed into his left arm. He whimpered as the second one went in, but sighed happily once they were in place. Rebecca applied a few pieces of tape to keep the tubing in place, and then hit the switches to start the dialysis machine.

"Here we go. I'll come to check on you in a bit," Rebecca said before departing.

"I'll be right here," Justin called out to her sarcastically.

After chatting with Annie for a few more minutes, Justin pulled his sketchbook out of his bag and flipped to a blank page. He knew exactly what he wanted to draw that day, and he smiled to himself as he pictured Brian's face in his mind.

 

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