Chris moved slowly from where he had been hiding.  He had fallen asleep a couple of times and his body was starting to feel the pain again.  He opened his eyes and pushed himself to keep on walking.  He smiled when he reached the room he was looking for.  He opened the door slowly and smiled when he saw the outline of the body.  He would get his revenge. 

“Taylor.”  Chris whispered.

Chris walked slowly as he gripped the pair of scissors he had stolen.  He walked over to the body and raised his hand, about to strike, when he heard two shots.  The light went on and Justin opened his eyes wide.  Jake came out of the bathroom holding his gun and Brian moved from across the room where he had been waiting patiently.

Jake’s bullet had hit Chris in the side and Brian’s had hit him in the neck.  Chris fell back and tried to move, but he couldn’t.  He tried to breathe, but found it difficult.

“What’s going on?”  Justin asked.  

Brian walked up to Justin and caressed his face.

“It’s okay.”  Brian whispered to Justin.

“Help.”  Chris gasped out.  “Please, help me.”

Jake moved to the door and locked it.

“What are you doing?”  Kevin asked as he stepped out of the bathroom,  looking at Jake.

“Making sure he dies.”  Jake hissed.

“Brian.”  Justin whispered.  “Don’t do this.”

“Jake, open that door.”  Kevin said.

Jake shook his head.  There was somebody outside banging on the door and asking to be let in.

“You are just going to let him die?”  Kevin asked.  “Are you?”

Justin closed his eyes and started crying.

“Shh, is okay.”  Brian told him.

“You are a good man, Brian.  Please, don’t do this.”  Justin murmured.  “Don’t do this.”

“He killed Ben!”  Jake shouted at Kevin.

“So, you are doing the same, huh?”  Kevin asked as he looked at Chris writhing in the floor, gasping for air.  “That doesn’t make you much better than he is.”

Jake looked at Chris on the floor and frowned.

“I guess it doesn’t.”  Jake said as he licked his lips.  “Ben was a better man than me.  If he was here, he would have…done this.”  

Jake closed his eyes and unlocked the door.  Two nurses, a security guard and a doctor rushed in.  They all went straight to Chris who was in the floor trying to breathe and bleeding.

“Is anyone else hurt?”  The security guy asked.  “What happen here?”

“Are you okay?”  One of the nurses asked Justin.

Justin nodded as he cried.  Brian caressed his face and whispered sorry over and over again in his ear.

***

Kevin sat down next to Jake and smiled.

“How are you doing?”  Kevin asked.

“Okay.”  Jake told him as he put a picture of Ben back where it had been lying.

“I miss him.”

Jake smiled and nodded.

“I keep thinking it’s all a bad dream.  That at any moment, he is going to come through the door and tell me to stop goofing around.”

Kevin smiled and moved closer to Jake.  He took the dirty blonde man in his arms and held him tight.

“I’m glad Chris is dead.”  Jake said.  “And I really don’t care if that makes me a bad person.”

Kevin smiled and kissed him on the neck.

“It doesn’t, baby.  It just makes you human.”  Kevin said.

Jake smiled and turned to stare at Kevin.  He caressed the taller man’s cheek and then kissed him.

“I love you, Kevin.”  Jake said.

“Good thing I feel the same about you.”  Kevin told him.

Jake smiled and put his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.  He closed his eyes and felt protected and loved.

***

“Hey, Justin.”  Daphne said as she entered the hospital room.  “How are you feeling?”

“Fucking ecstatic.  They are letting me go.”  Justin told her as he reached for his one crutch since he had a broken arm.

Daphne nodded.

“How long would you have to use that?”  Daphne asked sitting in the bed next to Justin.

Justin shrugged.

“I can’t wait to get out of here.”  Justin told her smiling.  

“I’m happy that you are okay.”  Daphne told him.

Justin smiled and nodded.

“It sucks getting shot.”  Justin told her.  “But I guess you know.”

Daphne nodded with a smirk. 

“God, I guess this is when you know you are too close to your friends.  If you get shot and so do they.” 

Justin laughed with Daphne.

“You are a freak.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dork.”  Daphne mocked.

There was a knock on the door and they both looked up to see Brian smiling.

“Am I interrupting anything?”  Brian asked.

Justin smiled and shook his head.

“What are you doing here?”  Justin asked.  “I thought I was going to see you at the house.”

“I couldn’t wait to see you.”  Brian told him.

Justin smiled and blushed.  Just then Molly rushed into the room followed by Craig and Jennifer.

“Hello.”  Jennifer said, smiling at Brian before she moved to kiss her son.  “How are you doing, baby?”

“I’m okay, Mom.”  Justin told her, cleaning his cheek.

“Are you ready to go?”  Craig asked.

Justin nodded and slowly got out of the bed with the help of the cane and his mother.

“I’ll see you at the house.”  Brian told him.

Craig waited until everyone was out of the room except Brian.  They looked at each other before Craig broke the silence.

“I don’t like the idea of you and my son.”  Craig said.

“I know.”  Brian said.

“Let me finish.”  Craig told him.  “I don’t like it because I’m scared that you are just going to end up hurting him.  But I do see that he loves you and he is happy.  So you have my blessing.”

Brian stood there a little taken aback at Craig’s change.

“I just want him to be happy.”  Craig said.  “And if you think you can do that then I’ll just back down.”

Craig smiled a little before he turned around and left the room.  Brian stood there, trying to think on what he was going to be able to offer Justin.  And at that moment nothing came to mind.
 
***

Brian knocked on the door and waited.  Michael opened it and smiled at his friend.

“Come on in.”  

Brian stepped in and closed the door.

“How are you doing?”  Brian asked.

Michael smiled and shrugged.

“I went to see Chris.”  Michael said.

Brian looked at him like he was crazy.

“I…I just wanted to see for myself.  I wanted to make sure he was dead.  I didn’t leave until they lowered him down.”  Michael told his friend.

“It’s over, Mikey.”  Brian said.

“I wish.”  Michael said.

Brian stood there, not sure what that meant.

“I can’t stop thinking about Ben.  I know it’s going to take time.  I was mad at him; fucking angry that he left me.”  Michael said as he cleaned a tear than ran down.  “I’m getting better thought.  I think.  I hope.”

Brian walked to his friend and hugged him.

“I’m sorry.”  Brian whispered.

Michael smiled and nodded.  He pulled away and smiled.

“So.”  Michael said, trying to sound enthusiastic.  “Did you have lunch already?”

Brian shook his head.

“Come on.  I’m warming up some spaghetti.”  Michael told him.

Brian smiled and walked into the kitchen behind his friend.

“So how are things?”  Michael asked.

“Okay.”

“How is Justin doing?”  Michael asked.

“He’s okay.  He was released today and he was very happy about that.”  Brian said.

“So, what are you doing here?”  Michael asked.

Brian shrugged.

“Are you two fighting?”  Michael asked.

Brian shook his head.

“Craig gave me his blessing.”  Brian said.

“That’s good.”  Michael pointed out as he moved the spaghetti.  “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to wait for Justin to get better.”  Brian said.

“What for?”  Michael asked.

“Before I go back home.”  Brian said.

Michael turned around slowly and looked at Brian with wide eyes full of shock. 

“Do you mean the loft?”  Michael asked.

Brian swallowed and shook his head.  

“Did you guys fight?”  Michael asked a second time.

Brian shook his head.

“Then what the fuck is it?”  Michael asked, getting upset.

“I live there and he lives here.  It’s just the way it goes.”

Michael shook his head.

“You are just going to leave Justin?”  Michael asked.  “For no reason at all.”

“It’s not like that.”  Brian said.

“The fuck it isn’t.  God, I can’t believe I’m arguing about this.”  Michael said to himself, but then turned his focus back on Brian.  “You leaving him will be worse than Ben dying.”

“How can you say that?”  Brian asked.

“Because he didn’t have an option.  You do.”  Michael told him.  “You know what?  Just go.  Get out of my house.”

Brian opened his eyes wide.

“Are you serious?”  Brian asked.

“No.”  Michael said after a while.

They stayed in silence for a while.  Michael served them and sat down to eat.  After his first bite he looked at Brian who was playing with his food.

“You do know Justin is going to kill you?”  Michael asked.

Brian looked at Michael, but stayed serious, not sure how Justin was going to react.  But pretty sure that Michael was right.

***

Justin was having a great time just lying on a towel next to the pool.  He opened his eyes when he felt someone standing next to him.  It had been two weeks now since they had taken off the cast from his leg and arm.

“Hey, Bri.”  Justin said.

Brian smiled and sat down on the floor next to Justin.  He looked at the blonde from head to toe.

“How does it feel to be back to normal?”  Brian asked.

“Fucking amazing.”  Justin told him.  “Tomorrow, Daphne is helping me to get my things out of here and into the dorms.  Where the fucks were you?”

Brian frowned.

“Around.”  Brian said.

“Brian, is something wrong?”  Justin asked.

“I…I’m leaving on Thursday.”  Brian said.

“Where are you going?”  Justin asked.

“Home.”

Justin sat up and stared at Brian.

“What are you talking about?”  Justin asked.  “You leave for a whole month and then you come back and tell me you are leaving?”

“Justin, you knew that I was living in Costa Rica.”  Brian said.

Justin nodded.

“Yeah, but…what about us?”  Justin asked.

Brian stayed silent.

“Can I go with you?”  Justin asked.

“You are studying, Justin.  You have to finish.”  Brian said.

“So how about when I finish?”  

Brian shrugged.

“You would have probably…”

“What?”  Justin asked angrily.  “Fallen for somebody else?”

Brian cringed.

“Why are you leaving me?”  Justin asked.  “How can you?”

“I’m not…I’m…”

“Then what the fuck do you call it, Brian?!”  Justin asked getting up from the floor.  

Justin started walking away from Brian, but then turned around and came back.

“You said you loved me!”

Brian got up and put his hands on Justin’s arms.

“I do love you.  I don’t want you to miss out on all there is for you.  You still have two years of college and…”

“And what the fuck is it about college?  Does it have a clause that says ‘while here don’t fall in love with anyone’?   Shit, Brian!”  Justin hissed.  “That’s so fucking stupid.  Just because I go to fucking college, it doesn’t mean that suddenly my heart and my mind are incapable of knowing that I love you.”

Brian closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“You are young and you can still meet…”

“Santa Claus?”  Justin asked.  “Because I already met you, and as stubborn and stupid as you are acting right now, I still love you.  I know I always will and I need you, you fucking, selfish bastard!”

Brian stood looking at Justin for a while before he leaned in and kissed Justin.

“Why are you leaving?”  Justin asked in a low voice.

“I have to.  You need to live your life here and I need to go home.”  Brian said.

Brian felt his heart breaking.  He didn’t know why he was leaving.  He pretty much was scared of the whole relationship thing.   In the beginning, he had enjoyed it.  But now his head was filled with fears that Justin would leave him one day or that he would end up hurting Justin or a million other things.

“You know what, Brian?”  Justin asked.

“What?”  Brian asked.

“Fuck.  You.”  Justin yelled and pushed Brian into the pool

Justin turned around and left.  He would talk to Brian later.  Somehow he was going to put some sense into the man.  He had less than a week to convince Brian that he loved him and that he will forever.  He didn’t know what had come over Brian all of the sudden but he would do his best to find out and fix it.