From his high bench, Judge Dixon looked out over the gathering of men and women seated in his courtroom.  He was somewhere in his early fifties but looked at least a decade older.  He often thought that cases, like the one he was about to adjudicate, had a lot to do with his older appearance.  This was going to be one hell of a headache.  He was certain of that.  Just viewing the two sides of the courtroom confirmed his assessment.  The room was filled to capacity, with colorfully dressed folks sitting behind the prosecution’s table, while men in business suits and women, dressed as if for church, sat behind the defendant’s table. 

The Judge instantly recognized the attack victim, Brian Kinney, from news photos.  Several men sat to his left, while just as many women sat to his right.  They were obviously friends or family, because they often leaned in closely to talk animatedly with each other.  He also recognized the defendant, Chris Hobbs.  The young man looked clean cut and innocent, but he had been caught in the act, so his guilt was without question.  This trial was to determine what he was actually legally guilty of, and what his punishment should be, if any.  He knew it was all up to him.  The defendant had opted for a trial by Judge, rather than risk a trial by Jury.  Judge Dixon promised himself that he would be fair, but a part of him knew that he held certain prejudices, which normally would be cause to recuse himself.  However, this had turned into a high profile case, and could make for a bigger and better appointment in the future, so he was not inclined to give it up.  It did mean that he would have to be careful about how he made his ruling.

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Brian sat stiffly in between his friends on the bench seat, right behind the head Prosecutor.  He took a quick glance over at the defendant’s table.  It galled him that he didn’t recognize the neatly dressed young man seated with his lawyers.  He was told by Emmett and Ted that they had met once before outside Woody’s.  That strange name of Justin Taylor came up again, as they explained how the kid had once confronted Hobbs and his gang of buddies, while they were cruising Liberty Avenue.  Him doing so was probably a major cause of the animosity between Hobbs and Justin.  Brian still couldn’t fathom why this Justin character had held such a sway over him.  If he had been so important, then why in the world would he forget all about him?  At least, that was what Brian kept asking himself.  To his way of thinking, his friends were only presuming that he cared a lot about this kid.  There had to be some logical reason why he would pretend to care, because they had come to believe it so completely.  He knew himself well enough to know that there was no pimply-faced teenager who could make him want more than a single night’s fuck.  Actually, he had never cared for sex with a twink at all, not even when he was practically a twink himself.  So this desire to spend more than one night with the teenager simply wasn’t logical, making it impossible for Brian to wrap his head around the whole idea.

Once Brian had finally been released from the hospital, his entire circle of friends had tried to enlighten him as to why he had been at a high school prom in the first place.  Oddly enough, his closest friend was the only one who seemed surprised that he went to the dance.  Michael reminded Brian that he himself once mentioned how Justin had asked him to attend the dance, but that he had bluntly refused the invitation.  Now that sounded more like what he would do.  The idea that he would turn around and change his mind didn’t make any sense to Brian.  It simply boggled the mind.  What surprised Brian even more was the way that all the others acted.  Debbie, Vic, Emmett, Ted, Linds, and even Mel didn’t seem surprised that Brian had attended the dance at all.  As each one tried to explain the relationship between Brian and Justin, they kept smiling as if it was something quite wonderful.  Ridiculous, Brian kept thinking as they went on and on in glowing terms about the kid.

The most frustrating part of this whole thing for Brian, was that he couldn’t even bring up a single image of Justin Taylor.  It wasn’t from lack of trying.  Debbie eventually showed him a photo taken of Justin in his Prom finery, just before leaving for the dance.  That was another thing that surprised Brian… the fact that this kid had been living with Debbie, and in Michael’s old room, no less.  What was it with this kid?  After seeing the photo, Brian had to admit that Justin was quite a looker.  But there were countless lookers out there.  Debbie was known for giving gay boys all kinds of affection, but had never taken any of them into her home before.  Well, not counting himself, of course.  That was different.  He and Michael were like brothers.  But from what he had been told, Justin wasn’t a lost gay boy who had no home of his own that he was welcome in.  Apparently, he had a loving mother.  So, what was so special about Justin Taylor? 

Brian really wanted to learn more first-hand from the kid himself, but that hadn’t been possible.  By the time Brian was released from the hospital, Justin Taylor was gone.  Debbie told him that Justin’s mother had chosen to send him to her sister’s home in Maine for the Summer, in hopes that the distance would help him deal with the turmoil in his life.  Of course, he would have to return for the trial, but it did forestall any chances of Brian finding out for himself, what it was that made Justin Taylor such an important figure during that lost year.  Brian had hoped that spending a little time with the young man might jog his memory.  After all, it wasn’t just the recollection of Justin that Brian was missing.  His amnesia had also erased every single event of his life during that entire period since meeting the kid.  Presently, he cared more about all those lost memories than a boy he felt nothing for.  For the moment, dealing with Justin and his lost memories had to be put on hold.  All that mattered was seeing that justice was meted out to the punk who had tried to take his life.

Judge Dixon’s bailiff ordered the court to come to order, and waited the few seconds it took for all the murmuring to cease.  Once the packed courtroom was silent, the bailiff turned to the judge.  Judge Dixon wasted no time.  The court was declared to be in session and the charges were read.  Judge Dixon asked the Prosecutor to give his opening statement.  Reporters hung on every word, as did those in attendance who were most affected by the sickening event that brought them here.  The Prosecutor proceeded to give an eloquent speech, about a young successful businessman who had chosen to attend a friend’s Senior Prom as a favor.  He was then repaid for his kindness by being beaten almost to the point of death, by a homophobic young man filled with blind hatred.  As he spoke, Brian thought to himself that this was closer to the truth than all the stories his friends had been telling him.  It made more sense that he attended the Prom as a favor for someone he liked, than that he went there out of love for the kid.  Truthfully, it didn’t really matter why he went there.  That didn’t excuse the despicable actions against him by the bastard at the defendant’s table.

The Prosecutor completed his statement and took his seat.  A thin smattering of applause accompanied him, but was quelled instantly by the loud sound of the judge’s gavel, and a stern warning.  Then came the opening statement from Hobbs’ head lawyer, Patrick Schmitz.  The man had very few losses during jury trials.  The hope at the Prosecutor’s table was that he wouldn’t be as successful, with a Judge ruling on the case.  Almost immediately, there was tension on the prosecution side. Schmitz began putting Brian Kinney’s character on trial from the very first words out of his mouth.  As Brian sat there taking it all in, he could feel the anger seething next to him from the way that Debbie’s hand squeezed his harder than ever before.  He also heard the mutterings and whispered curse words, through clenched teeth, coming from the rest of his friends.  Brian, who had never let what others said about him affect him too deeply, suddenly felt oddly uncomfortable in his own skin.  It appeared that having his skull smashed in, had affected more than just his memory. 

Finally, after Hobbs’ lawyer did a thorough job attempting to turn Chris into the victim of a callous older man, who deliberately went out of his way to antagonize him to the point of temporary insanity, the time for testimony was ready to begin.  Witnesses had been sequestered from the courtroom, which kept Brian from getting the chance to speak to Justin beforehand.  Justin apparently only arrived in town the night before the trial began.  If the kid wanted to avoid Brian, he was doing a first-rate job of accomplishing his goal.  This fact alone made Brian question just how important he could have been to Justin Taylor.  Although, this made Brian wonder even more why everyone appeared to be exaggerating their importance to each other. 

The first witnesses on the stand included paramedics who arrived at the scene after the attack, and cared for both injured men, along with officers who responded to the 911 calls.  Next came witnesses to the events preceding the attack, which included a highly emotional Daphne.  Brian hung on every word as the young lady proceeded to describe the way Brian and Justin danced together, and the reaction of those around them.  It sounded almost romantic, which made it impossible for Brian to grasp how that was possible.  He simply did not do romance.  That wasn’t who he knew himself to be.  Strangely enough, a few others, including a chaperone who had attended the Prom, testified in almost the same way as Daphne.  As time went on, Brian’s head began to ache with the effort of trying to force some memories back into his brain, based on what he was hearing.  Nothing… a complete blank wall… was all he could see.  If only he could see Justin Taylor in person.  Maybe that would help.

Finally, as if reading Brian’s thoughts, the Prosecutor called Justin Taylor to the stand.  Everyone in the courtroom swiveled around in their seats, in anticipation of seeing the young man who loomed large at the center of this entire affair.  Brian stared hard at the doors as they were opened by a guard, to let Justin enter.  And there he stood, his head slightly bowed as he slowly made his way towards the front of the courtroom.  Brian recalled all the descriptions he had been given of a radiant young man, with a dazzling smile who would light up any room he entered.  He recalled words like vibrant and energetic, to describe him.  Justin never even glanced towards him, as he made his way to the witness box, but what Brian saw was none of those things.  What he saw was a complete stranger to him who looked somber, as if life had delivered one hard blow too many to him.  How, he wondered, could he have almost lost his life over this sad pathetic creature he saw in front of him now?

To be continued…….