SIDEBAR CHAPTER TWO: NEW FRIENDS AND OLD FOES

Three days after the soon-to-be former DA Clarence Peters testimony, Melanie walked into the conference room serving as the Depositions chamber. She was literally exhausted. Between compiling copies of the evidence which was express mailed to the District Attorney's Office, dealing with Gus teething and Lindsay's ever-present seething, Melanie felt that in that moment she couldn't take one more gripe, snipe or comment without losing her shit. Placing her briefcase down on the long wooden table, she sat down in one of the padded chairs to review her notes while nursing her third cup of coffee since arising this morning.

She was well into reviewing the written accounts from Detective Horvath, who had testified just after Melanie had finished with Peters, and the formal written account that she would have to address today with Daphne Chanders when she was interrupted by a gentle throat clearing and the subtle hint of a scent that she never thought to smell again within close proximity. Melanie raised her head to see the very first woman whom she had ever had sex with...an old friend and a bitter foe.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting,"  Shavonne Fuller said.

The husky purr of her voice still reminded Melanie of late nights studying, grilled cheese sandwiches made by their iron and shots of bourbon- good times before it all turned south. "What are you doing here, Shavonne? I would have thought that you would be buried tits deep in paperwork."

"Not exactly, but close," Shavonne laughed. "As to why I'm here, you could say that this case has caught the attention of some very influential people in D.C."

"Really? Other than Senator Baxter I would think this kind of Civil case would have flown under the radar since gay rights are still being denied."

Shavonne nodded. "It's true that our kind are still seeing a hard time throughout this country. But rest assured Melanie, I am not here to rain on your parade regarding winning this case. If anything, I want to see justice done for Justin Taylor. However, I still have to be privy to any and all evidence presented."

"What sparked this particular interests?" Melanie was genuinely curious why all of a sudden the Attorney General's Office was sending one of their vaunted Civil Rights attorneys out into the field. These people no longer argued cases. Instead they wrote policies to be presented to the Supreme Court for review. So why was Shavonne really here?

"Okay look... I'll level with you, but it stays between us, meaning that you can't disclose any of this during your arguments or interrogations of the witnesses in this case."

"You have my word."

"Do I?" Shavonne asked quickly, remembering another time that Melanie had uttered the same sentence, and things had not gone quite as planned.

Melanie knew where Shavonne's mind had gone in those brief seconds after the question had been asked. Years ago, after a particularly difficult final, Shavonne and Melanie decided to live it up. Getting dressed in their most provocative outfits, they hit the town, going into every bar they could find- gay or straight- taking shots. The last bar they had entered was the reason why they were now estranged. Shavonne was a granddaughter of one of the first black billionaires from Georgia, the Fullers. As such, Shavonne had to keep her sexuality a secret in order to marry and combine the fortunes of the neighboring Prince family. Melanie knew this and would have kept it a secret if they weren't so fucking drunk. They entered the bar, danced and took in more liquor than either of them could handle. They ended up making out on the crowded dance floor only to literally bump into Shavonne's fiance, Gregory Prince. When asked what they were doing there, instead of keeping quiet Melanie answered ‘Dancing now and fucking later.' Her answer had caused all types of problems for Shavonne, including being married immediately to a man she hated. Although Melanie had tried to apologize when she realized the consequences of her loose tongue, it was all to no avail. The damage to their relationship- their friendship- was done and they hadn't spoken until this moment regardless of keeping up with each other's careers.  

Melanie cleared her throat and answered Shavonne. "Regardless of what you think or feel about me, I would never betray Justin. If this affects the outcomes of any civil suit he's involved in, I will do what I have to do until it's time for the evidence to speak for itself."

The vehemence in Melanie's voice gave Shavonne pause. "He must be a special young man to incur such loyalty from you."

"You did too, Shavonne. You just didn't accept it. Instead you preferred to inherit your riches and ditch me; then wouldn't accept my apology for outing you. I never meant to you know? Anyway, we are well passed that aren't we?"

"Yeah we are. So let's get down to what you need to know regarding my arrival. Thanks to the evidence you sent regarding the gross misconduct of Clarence Peters during the Hobbs trial. I have not only been sent to gather the evidence from start to finish but to try him myself, as well as Chief Stockwell, and Judge Russo. I was asked to take this case specifically because our kind keeps getting the shaft- and not in a good way- when it comes to getting justice. Another teenager was bashed in a backwater hick town in Mississippi just last week and like it or not, we all are still feeling the affects of the Matthew Shepard case in our own ways. If there is a way to prevent this from escalating where the only justice to be had will become ‘Street Justice' then I think it behooves us all now to make this the priority."

"You keep saying ‘our kind,' Shavonne. What exactly are you saying?" Melanie couldn't help but ask the question. As far as she knew, Shavonne's skeletons were buried so deep in the closet that it might as well have been named a graveyard. Some of what she was thinking must have shown on her face because Shavonne began laughing.

"Yeah...OUR kind. Gregory and I are divorced."

"Sorry," Mel said as a courtesy although she was anything but. She had been ditched for the man and that was something that she couldn't quite get over. "So you went back to sucking snatch and got busted? Is that it?"

Shavonne shook her head in the negative. "Believe it or not, I wasn't ‘sucking' anything; Gregory was."

"You caught him with another woman?"

"You could say that, but it would be wrong. He was dating a drag queen name Laverne. In the end I kind of felt bad for both of them but then Greg messed with my money so the feeling didn't last very long. Lawrence- otherwise known as Laverne- was in the dark about the whole arrangement until..."

"The night that I blurted out everything," Melanie dropped her eyes.

Shavonne chuckled. "Yeah until you pretty much told Greg that I was a carpet muncher. But what I didn't know was that Lawrence was there, standing behind him. So imagine my surprise when my private investigator's report came back telling me that Gregory was sexually involved with Lawrence, especially since his throat nearly exploded while yelling at me for fucking with you. I had all the pictures, including the ones where Gregory told me that he was going to Europe on business but he was really in San Francisco where Ms. Laverne and about 15 other Queens were competing in the Pride Drag Pageant. Although the winning model would get a contract to work as one of RuPaul's backup entourage members, most of the proceeds would go to hospice care and AIDS research. The other portion would be used locally to fund several educational programs for gay teens so that they would have a safe haven to call their own."

"Well that's a noble cause, but why the secrecy and anger if he was basically doing the same thing that you and I were doing?"

"Gregory is a bigot in his own right. It wasn't that we were fucking that was the problem so much as that you were a white Jew. Had you been a Black Jew like Sammy Davis Jr. he wouldn't have had a problem with it."

Melanie was literally stunned silent for more than a few moments. Of all the reasons Gregory could have picked to be angry, that was the one? She was fucking his woman and WELL, getting Shavonne off at least six times a night while she had admittedly faked orgasms to get him the hell off of her, but he chose the color of her skin to take issue with? If anything, Mel would have thought the insult to his dick would have been sufficient reason to hate her fucking guts, but not because of something as trivial as skin tone. "Well unless my name is Michael Jackson, that was something I just couldn't change to suit the fucker. And even Michael didn't do it on purpose- at least I don't believe so, but that is another discussion for a later time. So when did you guys divorce?"

"After we both inherited about three years ago. His grandparents died first. His grandmother had been admitted to the hospital with a weak heart. While they were prepping her to run tests, she slipped away. They couldn't perform CPR because of the Do Not Resuscitate order on her chart. Upon hearing the news, his grandfather had gone over to stand with his wife. I think he just knew and refused to live this life without her. He kissed her a final time, laid his head on her chest over her heart and quietly followed her into death."

"Oh my God, that's terrible!"

"Not really. They had been married 55 years. They were married longer than they had been single people. I can understand why they would have wanted to be together even in the afterlife."

Melanie nodded. "So what happened to get you your inheritance?"

"Greg gave me a nasty but uncontested divorce in exchange for my continued silence in reference to his ‘real' relationship with Lawrence/Laverne. He is still firmly entrenched in the closet while I am enjoying the life that I was meant to lead. My family and I still speak although few and far between. At least the questions of when I'm getting remarried and having some babies have officially stopped. I think I've scared them sufficiently that they no longer want me to reproduce."

"So basically a career dyke?"

Shavonne nodded in the affirmative. "Yep. And proud to be one."

Melanie sighed a long-suffering sound that was not lost on Shavonne. "Involved for nine years and a second mom. Sometimes I miss being completely unencumbered to further my career as fast as I can, but Gus kinda changed a lot of that."

"Not your partner?"

"Lindsay too," Melanie corrected. She didn't want Shavonne getting the wrong idea about her relationship with Lindsay but sometimes... "Lindsay is in a weird place emotionally right now. You know how that can be."

"Yeah I do. I would imagine this case is taking up a lot of your time."

"That's only a small part of it..." Melanie began but didn't get a chance to explain further since Daphne and Charles had come into the conference room.

"I'm not late, am I? It's been such a fucked up morning that I thought I wouldn't get here on time," Daphne griped.

Melanie laughed. She really couldn't help but like Daphne Chanders. Her no bullshit approach to life reminded her a lot of Brian, but her willingness to fight for whatever cause she believed in showed why she and Justin were so close. "That's alright Daphne. It sounds like we had very similar mornings."

"Was it the silent treatment this time? Or the ‘you don't understand' speeches? I know she's your partner but if..."

Melanie placed a stern hand on the young woman's shoulder, effectively cutting off the tirade she knew was coming. She knew that she wasn't the only one to get an earful from Lindsay as the blonde had been picking her time wisely to corner Daphne and anyone else who didn't agree with Lindsay's way of thinking at the moment. "Daphne, I'd like to introduce you to the new Interim DA, Shavonne Fuller, this is Justin's best friend since preschool. She'll be giving testimony today that you will definitely want to pay close attention to since she was there for just about every single incident between my client and Chris Hobbs, which also extended to certain members of the faculty at St. James Academy.'

"It's a pleasure to meet you Daphne. Anything that you would be able to add to this case will definitely be a big help," Shavonne said, gripping her hand and shaking it.

"Are you going to be asking me questions too?"

"If you don't mind," Shavonne confirmed. "I should tell you first and foremost that the main reason I'm here is to build the cases against the higher ups involved, whereas Melanie is taking a more personal approach. My portion of getting justice for Justin will mostly be on the federal level."

"Then it's fine if you have some questions of your own for me. While I am best friends with Justin, I still have the unique perspective of being on the outside looking in. The way the entire case was handled was fucked in the extreme. Just promise me that whatever happens you will nail the bastards without lube."

Melanie laughed. "Daphne you've been spending entirely too much time with Brian, I see."

Daphne dropped her eyes then, shielding the tears that were threatening to fall. "Not enough," she said.

"What's happened? I was over there this morning and everything was fine...well as fine as it could possibly for Justin and Brian at this time. What changed?"

"It isn't so much about what changed since this morning as much as it is what changed over the last few weeks. Ever since Michael and Lindsay pulled that stunt at the loft, Brian is even more guarded and protective. You would think that he would know by now that I'm not anything like them."

"I know he knows that, Daph honey. I think it's more about how he's handling the constant stream of visitors to the loft. I've known Brian a lot longer than both you and Justin and although there used to be a revolving door of tricks at the loft, they never stayed longer than the time it took for him to get off once or twice. With Justin being there, there's a lot more people in and out and we all know how Brian likes to control things. It doesn't help that Justin still won't go outside and resume his normal life. I think that's probably the biggest glaring obstacle Brian has to face right now." Melanie really felt bad for Brian, which always managed to shock her.

"You're right. I was just in my own feelings about having limited access to Justin. I'm sorry."

"No need to be, sweetheart. We're all trying to hang in there until Justin can make it through this. But we can't forget how Brian is holding up. With everything else going on in his life at the moment..."

"What else is going on?" At Melanie's closed countenance, Daphne pushed a little. "Come on, Mel. I think you've gotten to know me pretty well over these last few weeks. I won't say anything to worry or betray Brian or Justin."

"Ryder sold the company to Gardner Vance," Melanie rushed through the statement, having made the decision to level with the young woman.

"That rat fucking bastard," Daph exploded. She knew all about Ryder trying to railroad Brian into giving Justin up. The idiot had threatened Brian that if he didn't talk his ‘boyfriend' out of suing Dixon, that he would be out of a job which Brian promptly dismissed out of hand. "So because Brian didn't do what he wanted, he sold the company out from under him? What is Brian going to do?"

"I don't know but we're working on it. There has to be something. I have Charles checking into some things as well as backing me up on this case, which we should really get started."

Daphne nodded, understanding so many of Brian's actions since the Dumb Patrol had invaded the loft. Brian not only wanted Justin to resume his normal daily functions, he needed him to. She was familiar with Gardner Vance and his prejudices. Having grown up in the country club set, Daphne and Justin were privy to all the gossip about businessmen both local and abroad. Although they often looked like they weren't paying attention, she and Justin had amassed quite a different perspective about the world according to WASP. Gardner was going to really force Brian's hand regarding Justin while Ryder escaped any liability for terminating Brian. With her and all the others constantly visiting Justin at the loft, he had no reason to ever leave it. Brian's motives became so clear with that small tidbit of information. She would help him- both of them- but first she needed a solid plan to do so.

Once she settled herself into the chair opposite Melanie, Charles and Shavonne, the proceedings began.

"Daphne, you said in your written account that you were present for most all the confrontations between Chris Hobbs and Justin Taylor. Can you explain the last one leading up to the prom?" Melanie asked her.

"In order to do that Ms. Marcus, I would have to fill you in on what our senior year at St. James Academy was like in general so that you can get a whole picture and not just a snapshot of the last straw. Am I allowed to do that?"

"Sure as long as the focus is on Chris and Justin."

Daphne took a sip of her latte, thinking of the specific events she would point out. Finding the perfect place to begin, she cleared her throat delicately and began to speak. "The day after Justin Taylor met Brian Kinney, Justin and I decided to take a walk across the football field after school. It was a walk he and I took quite often since I wanted to watch the football players and Justin wanted to sketch them. On this particular day, Justin and I were talking about how he had met ‘The Face of God' Brian Kinney..."

"Wait he actually said that?" Melanie couldn't help but snicker.

Daphne blushed and snickered as well. "Well you know us teenagers Ms. Marcus- all angst and misusing famous quotes to suit our own prose and purpose. I thought Justin was exaggerating until I met Brian myself but that's a different story. Anyway, that was how Justin described him. We talked about his first sexual experience- or more accurately Justin gloated about it, since I was still a virgin at the time. The thing that struck me most was that Brian took care of him even then. I've heard horror stories from other girls and knew that most guys wouldn't have. I remember asking Justin if Brian was his boyfriend and he was unsure saying that he didn't know, he guessed so and then dismissing the notion saying that it was only one time. I asked him if he loved Brian and got pretty much the same responses. When I asked Justin if Brian loved him, he said that Brian said he did."

Melanie gulped. "He did?"

Daphne nodded. "Yeah. I kinda understand why Justin would have placed an emphasis on that turn of phrase even in the throes of passion. You see, up until that point, Justin was unsure of his place in the world. Sure he knew that he was gay and although he hadn't told me up until that point, somewhere in within myself I knew it too. You can't be around someone almost everyday since you are four years old and not know when they are not attracted to the opposite sex. Justin knew that coming out would open up a can of worms both at home and at school. So he kept himself in the closet until that morning. Sure there was always speculation and innuendo but with Brian driving Justin to school that morning, the word ‘Faggot' in huge pink letters on his jeep, that kinda outed Justin."

"So where does Hobbs fit into all of this?"

"We were sitting on the low wall as we always did during practice. Everyone else always sat on the bleachers and since we were two misfits, we tended to steer clear of the ‘cool' kids. Although my attention was on Justin for most of the question and answer period of our conversation, out of the corner of my eye I could see Chris and a few others standing in a huddle talking while looking directly at Justin and me. I don't know what was said but I could see Chris eyes change from masked longing briefly to anger and then to mischief. Next thing I know, Justin was sitting there with an arm full of football even though he dared not drop his sketch pad."

"So you think it was done deliberately?" Shavonne asked, fascinated by this young woman's tale. She had never seen a young lady testifying with such poise and grace as Daphne Chanders was doing. Although she was definitely on Justin's side about this, she was also delivering the facts objectively.

"Oh I know it was. You see, that is not the first time over the years that I had seen Chris watching Justin from a distance. Most of the time, it was done when no one else was looking or so he thought. He would tease Justin on occasion but it was always good natured and borderline friendly. But that took a decided turn once he learned how Justin had arrived at school that morning."

"Did anyone else notice how Justin arrived?"

"The entire student body that was still outside and key members of the faculty were entering the building behind me as well. I know for a fact that the former Headmaster Dr. Perkins had noticed. His comment of ‘Goddamn reckless ass kids' was heard by quite a few of us standing on the top step. One kid even had the audacity to tell him that he shouldn't take God's name in vain since it WAS an Episcopalian school after all. Dixon sneered ‘Taylor' as the jeep came to a stop and Justin scrunched down in the seat for a few brief moments before alighting from the vehicle and moving close to Brian. When Brian reached out to fix Justin's collar, Dixon said ‘Another faggot...I knew it," and moved off into the building with Dr. Perkins in tow. The rest of us that remained on the steps stood there in confusion and intrigue until Justin came up the steps. I handed him his uniform and asked him who that was and that was when he uttered that infamous line while watching Brian tear down the street, terrorizing the other high school kids. Chris wasn't out there then, having arrived late to homeroom but by football practice, the entire school had heard about Justin's arrival at school."

"So you're saying that Dr. Perkins and Mr. Dixon had stated some derogatory remarks in Justin's direction?"

"Dr. Perkins' initial comment was mostly generalized while Mr. Dick....Dixon's was a direct declaration of bigotry. If Dixon was going to be reprimanded at all by Perkins, that would have been the first opportunity to do so."

Melanie picked up her line of questioning again. "How much do you know about the scene in the equipment room?"

"Not much outside of what Justin told me. But I do know that it meant nothing to Justin. Making Chris cum in his hand was an experiment. Justin watches a lot of porn- more than any man, gay or straight. The afternoon before it happened, Justin and I were flipping through the channels and stopped at an afternoon movie on Playboy. We were in his room and it had kinda caught us both off guard. The cable boxes were supposed to be locked that time of day."

"Locked?"

"Yeah," Daphne confirmed and then explained. "With our cable company, there is  one box that controls all access to all adult channels. At that time of day, Justin's mom was out with Molly and his father was supposed to be at work which means that all the premium channels should have only been able to be accessed with a code. We found out the reason it wasn't later which is part of the reason Justin's parents are divorced. Anyway, we sat and watched that cheesy movie, laughing at the horrible dialogue while paying close attention to the techniques of the sex. It was all very clinical."

"I'll bet," Shavonne snickered, earning answering chuckles from all the occupants of the conference room.

Regaining her composure, Melanie continued. "So Justin wanted to try out a new technique you said. On who?"

"That wasn't decided until Hobbs landed himself in detention. By that time, Brian and Justin were fu...having sex regularly, and although Brian was teaching Justin, he wanted to be able to surprise the older man too. Justin had decided that Hobbs would make an excellent guinea pig, but he was supposedly straight."

"What do you mean by ‘supposedly?'"

"I mean up until Justin's ‘outing,' Chris used to look at Justin as if he was a dessert being denied- all longing looks and licked lips. It was both disgusting and intriguing for me to watch. Yes Justin is HOT but he is also way out of Chris' league. Besides Chris had a girlfriend who was hand-picked by his parents for her looks and money. Even if Chris wanted to be who I think he is- which is gay- he couldn't be. His parents would cut him off."

"So you're saying that Justin came on to Chris?"

"I'm not saying that at all but if it was the case and Chris was 100% straight, he could have stopped Justin, and my best friend would have stopped. Justin doesn't have to resort to rape for any reason. As I said, he's hot and he has the hottest Stud in his bed. Why would he blow all that for some know-nothing kid and especially one who is sexually confused?"

Melanie questioned Daphne about several more instances of bullying including the scene in their AP Calculus class where Justin stopped Hobbs from harassing another student- one who called her two days ago and said that he would like to testify on Justin's behalf. Now that he is eighteen and doesn't need his parents permission anymore, he feels that he owes it to Justin for standing up to Hobbs. His parents had forbidden him to testify at the trial, not wanting to upset the Hobbs family and several of their supporters but he couldn't keep silent in good conscience anymore. Melanie had a feeling that between Daphne's testimony and the forthcoming one from Bryce Whittingham, justice for Justin was closer than anyone- even herself- thought.