Justin let himself into the house around five-thirty that evening and found his mother cleaning up the kitchen. He noticed a pan of lasagna cooling on the counter.

"Hi, Honey," Jennifer said to her son, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "How did your treatment go today?"

"My iron level is still too low, so they want me to double my usual dose," Justin said as he opened the refrigerator door and grabbed the orange juice. He didn't know why his mother went to the trouble of cooking a big casserole when she knew he usually had a poor appetite after his dialysis treatments.

Jennifer retrieved a glass out of the cupboard and reached out to take the juice carton from him. Justin held tight to the carton and grabbed the glass out of her hand. "I can do it."

She watched as he poured his juice, his hands shaking slightly. "Why don't you go upstairs and lay down, and I'll bring you up a plate in a bit?"

Justin shook his head. "I'll have some crackers or something before I go to bed later."

Jennifer pressed her lips together for a moment before saying, "You really should eat a real dinner, Sweetheart."

"I'm not hungry," Justin replied forcefully as he put the juice away. He then carried his glass up to his room, his mother trailing behind him.

"How was your first day at your new job?" she asked.

He sat down on the corner of his bed. "Fine."

"Are your coworkers nice?"

Justin gulped down some of his juice before answering. "Yes."

Jennifer waited for a few seconds to see if he was going to give her any details. "So... you didn't tell me exactly where this diner is," she finally said.

"I said that it's on the other side of town," Justin mumbled as he looked down at his left arm, which was a bit bruised and sore from his treatment.

"Well, that's not very specific," Jennifer griped. "What's the name of the place? And I don't understand why you felt the need to get a job, anyway. I know that your doctor cleared you to work, but-"

Justin finished his juice before standing up and handing the empty glass to Jennifer. "Will you take that to the kitchen? I'm going to take a shower. I stink."

Jennifer stood with a confused expression on her face as her only child pushed past her on his way to the bathroom.

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

It was almost ten before Brian pulled the door open to his loft. After taking a long shower and dressing in a white wife beater and a pair of worn jeans, he grabbed his bottle of Jim Beam and plopped down onto his couch.

Brian sat there debating whether he wanted to go out or just stay home and drink until he passed out like the last two nights when his house phone began to ring.

He let it ring until his answering machine picked up. "Bri-aaaan," Emmett sang out, loud music playing in the background. "Me and Teddy are at Babylon, wondering if you're going to grace us with your presence tonight. We haven't seen you since your birthday. Helloooo?" Emmett waited a few moments before sighing. "Well, if we don't see you at the diner tomorrow morning, we'll come by the loft to make sure you're not a bloated corpse. Ta-ta."

Hearing Emmett mention the diner made Brian think about Justin, wondering if he would see the hot little blonde again the next morning. Then he wondered why the fuck he was even thinking about the kid. Justin wasn't at all like Brian's usual type, so he couldn't fathom why the boy was on his mind. Could it be that he was growing tired of the usual tall, dark, and handsome package?

Whatever it was, the fact remained that Brian preferred his men to be experienced, and he could tell by looking that Justin was untouched goods. He could practically smell the innocence on him, even through the bacon grease clogging the air of the diner that day. But, for some reason, that peaked Brian's interest. Teaching the young lad everything he knew about the fine art of fucking was an intriguing thought.

That, and the sight of the boy's hot little body would make any fag swoon...

Brian swallowed a big mouthful of whiskey before sitting down in his computer chair. He spent some time on a local gay hook-up site, chatting with a few guys, but none of them interested him. The thought of going to Babylon without Michael, along with the possibility of running into Ted and Emmett, wasn't very appealing at the moment. Even if he spent a large percentage of the evening in the backroom, being out on the dance floor without his best friend wouldn't be much fun.

Although he and Michael usually went with Ted and Emmett, the latter two were no substitute. In reality, Brian only hung around them because they were friends with Michael. Ted bored the shit out of him and Emmett usually embarrassed him with his blinding flame.

He was about to log off and put a movie in when the phone rang again. He let it go to the answering machine like the last call.

"Brian," Michael said through what sounded like clenched teeth. "You know, the point of having a cell phone is so that people can get a hold of you wherever you are." Brian rolled his eyes and continued to listen to his friend nag him. "There's no point in having one if you turn it off and never return your messages. Before I left, you promised that we would talk every single day. You better fucking call me tomorrow... or at least not hang up on me the next time you actually pick up the phone."

About five minutes later, Brian was watching the beginning of Scarface when the phone rang once again.

"Son of a bitch!" Brian screamed, his voice echoing in the large area of his loft. "Can't a man spend one fucking night alone in peace?!"

This time, it was Debbie's voice coming from the machine. "Dammit, Brian, where the fuck are you? Michael just called me, saying that it's probably easier to speak to the fucking Pope than to you. Are you there? Hello? If you don't pick up this phone right now, you asshole, I swear to God, I'm coming over there and I'm going to knock on your door until-"

Brian jumped out of the chair and raced to the phone. "Yeah?"

"I thought that would make you pick up," Debbie said smugly.

Brian fought the urge to scream. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were okay, Honey. Um... Michael told me about how he found you the other night."

Brian squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Of course he did."

"He said that you promised that you would never do anything like that again, but I... I just want you to know..." Debbie paused to sniffle, her voice cracking as she continued. "You can come to me if you need someone to talk to. As much as you piss me off sometimes, I love you like a son, you know."

Brian smiled a bit. "I know. Don't worry about me, Ma. I'm fine."

Debbie sighed. "Well, whether you like it or not, I'll always worry about you. Especially since you don't have Michael here anymore to keep an eye on you."

"I can take care of myself, thank you," Brian countered. "I'm thirty years old. I don't need a fucking babysitter."

"Wow... you actually admitted how old you are," Debbie said with a snort.

"Goodnight, Deb," Brian said before hanging up and taking another swig of whiskey.

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

Brian pushed the door to the diner open on Tuesday morning and walked in. He glanced around the room, telling himself that he was looking for Ted and Emmett, but in reality, he was looking for the new twink bus boy.

He heard Emmett before he saw him. "Oh, my God, it's alive!" the big ol' queen yelled from the booth farthest from the door.

Brian gave up his search for Justin and went to join Ted and Emmett. "Morning, boys," Brian mumbled as he sat down next to Ted.

"We didn't see you at Babylon last night," Ted stated.

Brian looked up and spotted Justin returning from the kitchen with an empty bus tub in his hands. Justin smiled at Brian as he walked past him to clear a table towards the front of the room.

Brian pivoted in his seat to watch Justin walk away. "That's because I wasn't there, Captain Obvious. But I'm sure you didn't need me to help you prop up the bar."

Emmett watched Brian's wandering gaze. "Isn't he the cutest thing you ever saw? He just started yesterday."

"Hmm?" Brian said as he turned back around, being pulled back to present company.

"The bus boy," Emmett said. "I think his name is Justin."

Knowing that he had been caught staring, Brian tried to act indifferent. "He's alright," he said with a shrug.

Ted turned around to take a peek at Justin, who looked like he just stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch commercial. "Christ, he looks like he's in junior high. What the fuck's he doing here? Shouldn't he be on the monkey bars or something?"

"He's eighteen and he got his GED a few weeks ago," Brian said, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

Emmett's eyebrows shot up. "And how do you know that? Did you talk to him?"

Brian shrugged again. "For like, a minute yesterday." To get off the topic of Justin, Brian looked around and found Debbie talking to a man sitting at the counter. "Hey, Deb! Can I get some coffee over here?"

Half the diner witnessed Justin nearly break his neck as he raced around the counter. "I'll get it, Debbie!" he yelled.

Emmett giggled as Justin walked over with a steaming coffee cup in his hand, depositing it in front of Brian. "Now that's top-notch service!" Emmett remarked.

Justin gave Emmett a guilty smile before turning to leave. Before he could take a step, however, Brian snagged him by the bottom of his shirt.

"Do you have any plans tonight?" Brian asked as he stared into Justin's surprised blue eyes.

"Um... no," Justin replied, trying to keep his cool.

Holy shit... is this God asking me out? he wondered to himself.

"Do you want to go to Babylon with us?" Brian asked, being sure to say us rather thanme, so it wouldn't sound like a date.

"What's that?" Justin asked in an innocent tone.

Emmett gasped dramatically. "What's... what's that?!" he nearly shrieked as he clutched his imaginary pearls. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's only the hottest gay dance club in town!"

"Oh," Justin replied, feeling like an idiot. "Uh... don't you have to be twenty-one to go to those places?"

Brian, Ted, and Emmett all chuckled. "You'll be with us, so they'll let you in. Just don't take any candy from strangers," Brian said with a smile.

"Yeah, they frown upon little blonde twinks who pass out on the bathroom floor," Emmett said, chuckling. He realized his gaffe at the same time Ted sucked in a breath, his spine stiffening. "Oh, shit... I'm sorry, Teddy."

Ted looked down and nodded before reaching for his wallet and throwing some bills on the table. "Will you let me out, Bri?" Brian got out of the booth long enough for Ted to get out. "I'll pick you up at nine, Em," Ted mumbled.

"Have a good day at work, Baby," Emmett called out as Ted made his exit.

Justin looked over at Emmett, who was on the verge of tears. "What was that about?" Justin asked.

"I accidentally opened up a can of worms named Blake," Emmett answered sadly.

Justin then looked at Brian, hoping he would elaborate. Brian waved his hand before saying, "If you spend more than five minutes with Theodore, I'm sure he'll tell you the whole gory story."

"Blake's his ex-boyfriend," Emmett said. "Teddy found him passed out in the bathroom at Babylon one night after he overdosed on crystal meth, and then he took him home with him after he got out of the hospital."

"Or, if you spend more than five minutes with Emmett..." Brian droned before taking a sip of his coffee.

"A few days ago, Teddy took Blake to rehab, but Blake checked out a couple hours later and Teddy has no idea where he is now," Emmett continued. Brian raised his eyebrows in surprise, for that was the first he had heard of Blake's departure. "He's been trying to cope, but-"

"He should be celebrating, not mourning," Brian cracked. "The little crystal freak did him a favor by leaving."

Emmett clicked his tongue. "Well, I'm inclined to agree with you, as I'm certainly no fan of Blake's, but I just hate to see Teddy so depressed."

"How can you tell the difference from his regular mood?" Brian asked, earning himself a middle finger from Emmett.

"Sunshine!" Debbie yelled. "Those tables aren't going to bus themselves, you know!"

Justin jumped, suddenly remembering he was on the clock. "Oh. I'd better get back to work."

"So, how about you meet me here at little after nine, and then we'll meet up with Lucy and Ethel at Babylon?" Brian said to Justin.

Justin smiled. "I'll be here."