Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 14:56:12 -0800 From: Mel Mac <vocal76@hotmail.com> Subject: Turn Around 15 So... this one should clear up a bunch of things and confuse you guys a whole bunch more... I think... but at least it'll answer the question about who Mike is... Um... but yeah... oh yeah... someone kick my ass so I can finish DMG before I disappear from here for a while... well supposedly disappear for a while... hmmmmm... what else... I gotta thank all my faithful readers that always write in: Casey, J, Montero, Rich, Ray, and Jordan the dominatrix. Even though Jordan never writes in but is always bugging me in the room some way or another with her damn can of fix-a-flat and she better hurry up and post another installment of 'For Always' which is a pretty damn good story in my opinion or that other teaser that she let me see sometime soon cuz I'm gonna be sooooo not talking to her if she doesn't. <insert cheesy fucking evil grin here> But until next time... =) Evil Disclaimer I don't know if they're gay or straight or bi or if they do animals when they're not on tour... and if you're not 18 go to sesamestreet.com or something cuz you shouldn't be here anyways... and if you don't like homosexual material why the hell are you here in the first place??????? With that said go and read and enjoy and write me back to tell me how much I suck... well... you guys don't *really* know how much I suck or swallow or... um... am I saying too much here now???? naw... not me... =) Turn Around XV ======================================================================== Justin threw the door open. "How the FUCK can you even think about coming here after what you fucking did?" Justin didn't sound too happy. "Do you have the slightest clue on how bad you hurt him? Do you? Do you?" Actually he sounded pretty pissed the fuck off. "Do you have any fucking idea what you're putting him through? Turn around and just fuckin leave... before I..." Marc cut Justin off before he could finish. "I... I... I just need to talk to him." Anguish glazed over Marc's eyes. He could feel the tears welling up. He didn't know what to say. He didn't really have anything to say to Justin, everything that needed to be said was for JC. He knew Justin was just playing the protective part over his best friend. Marc was able to understand that but he just wanted to clear things up between the two of them, set things straight. "You just wanna what? My God man, haven't you already done enough? And now you just wanna talk to him'???? What the fuck Marc? You're a fuckin disappointment man. I thought you were better than that. I thought you were like this cool guy and the best thing that was ever gonna happen to Josh. I can't believe that I was actually trying to hoo..." Justin got cut off again, this time by Mike. "Dude, don't fuckin talk to him like that. He doesn't need to hear shit like that right now. And I'm not gonna fuckin sit here and let you spew shit like that at him." He had never raised his voice like that at anyone. It surprised even him, but he knew something had to be said. Justin peered over Marc's shoulder, catching his first glimpse of Mike. "Who the fuck are you? Oh wait, duh! You're the fucking boyfriend, huh? And you're still taking this fucking loser's side even though you're fucking loser boyfriend just tried to cheat on your ass? Gosh this is soooo fucking good. Oh wait, I bet he fucking probably told you some cheap ass lie like it was all Josh and he didn't do anything or some shit like that, right? Gosh you guys are both fucking pathetic." Mike snapped back. "What the fuck did I just tell you? He doesn't need to be hearing shit like that, especially from your ass. Is that what you think? You think I'm... Fuck...I don't care what the fuck you think alright but just keep shit like that to yourself. Cause its fucking pissing me off alright?" Justin started to push past Marc. Marc tried to hold him back, he didn't want a fight. He just wanted to talk to JC. "Justin, please, we'll leave, I don't want anyone fighting. I'm sorry." He couldn't hold the tears back anymore. "Oh don't pull that crybaby bullshit on me man. That is so fucking pathetic. You're so fucking pathetic man. Just fuckin leave then." Justin started to turn. The words hit Marc hard. It was too hard for him to hold it together any longer and he broke down. His legs buckled under him and he slumped to the walkway. He couldn't even speak anymore, much less think. Justin smirked. "See what I mean? I told you you were fucking pa.." "Justin, just let them in." JC stepped into view. He had heard the yelling and had finally worked up the courage to come out. He looked out past Justin and saw Marc curled up on the walkway crying. He froze. He didn't know what to do, how to react. Mike was there first. He propped Marc up and wrapped his arms around him. He rested Marc's head on his own shoulder and tried to soothe him. His actions showed just how much he cared for him no matter how much he told himself otherwise. They closed their eyes and just sat there holding each other. JC just watched. He didn't want to come between them. They looked so perfect together, like they were made for each other. JC couldn't help but imagine himself holding Marc that way, comforting him. He felt a tear roll down his face. Regardless, he found himself moving towards the two. Mike was surprised to feel another set of arms wrap around Marc from the other side. He opened his eyes only to stare directly into JC's piercing blues. JC managed a smile. They both pulled Marc into a deeper hug. Mike smiled back and mouthed a thank you to JC. "Josh." Justin put a hand on JC's shoulder. "Josh... I... I..." He couldn't think of anything to say or do. He didn't want JC to be angry with him, but he wanted to know that he was just trying to look out for his friend. JC turned his face towards Justin. He forced another smile. His eyes pleaded with Justin to let him just stay there for a while. "This is the only time I'll get to hold him like this," He thought over and over and over in his head. He turned his head back and rested it on Marc's. He placed a kiss on Marc's temple. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tears flowed freely down his face. Mike loosened his grip on Marc, slowly pulled away, and stood up leaving Marc in JC's arms. He looked at Justin. It looked like he was going to cry. He was still angry at Justin for all of the hurtful things that he had said to Marc. He watched as a tear slid down Justin's face. Marc turned himself around and buried his head in JC's chest. He was sobbing uncontrollably. He tightened his grip on JC. JC pulled him closer. JC rubbed Marc's back trying to soothe him. He didn't understand everything that what was going on but he didn't want Marc to hurt this much. Having Marc in his arms just felt so right to him and he couldn't believe that Mike was letting him hold Marc like this. "We should go inside." Mike broke the silence. JC looked up at him questioningly. Mike gave him a smile. JC smiled back, but a hint of confusion swam over his face. The four of them made their way inside the house. They each took a seat at the dining room table. Marc calmed down enough to sit on his own. JC got them some drinks and started to talk. "I'm sorry... I had no idea... if I would've known..." "JC... don't do this to yourself man..." Justin cut him off, he looked at JC concerned. "Justin, I'll be okay... it needs to be said." He turned back towards Mike and was about to finish saying what he started. "Hey... its okay man, really... but I think the two of you really need to talk, not me... and talk alone, no me, no Justin, just Marc and JC." Mike stared Marc in the eyes. Marc gazed back at Mike fearfully, not wanting to be alone with JC. He was hoping that Mike or at least Justin would be there. "Mike... I... I..." "You need to talk to him alone, no holding back, okay?" Mike placed his hand on Marc's shoulder reassuringly and stared him straight in the eyes again. "Mike... I... I'm... but..." Marc pleaded. "No buts." Mike silenced Marc's lips with his index finger and gently shushed him when he tried to speak again. "No buts, okay? Just talk to him." "I don't think thats such a good idea either. I don't know if I trust..." Justin got cut off by Mike. "I don't care what you think, they *need* to talk and they *need* to talk *alone*." Mike was still pretty angry at Justin. "Hey look buddy..." Justin began to stand up until JC settled him back down in his seat. "He's right Justin. I don't think everything that needs to be said can be said in front of you two." JC sighed, then started speaking again. "Look Marc, I know I'm the last person you want to be around after what I did. I know I make you feel uncomfortable. I'll sit away from you if that'll make things better." He sighed again in relief that he was actually able to say anything at all. He looked at Marc, who wouldn't return his gaze, then headed off towards his room. Mike nudged Marc to go. "Marc, go and talk to him." Mike and Justin watched as Marc reluctantly followed JC to his room. He sat himself on the bed. JC was sitting on a chair at his computer across from Marc. They started talking, slowly and akwardly. Justin walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch. He turned the TV on and flipped through the channels furiously. He couldn't believe that JC was actually talking to Marc after what had happened. Mike sauntered into the room and sat himself in the recliner. "I never got to introduce myself. I'm Mike, Marc's best friend." Mike held his hand out to Justin to try and start to make amends. "Yeah whatever best friend, boy friend whatever." Justin waved him off and for the most part ignored him. Mike sat back down. "Why do you have to be such an asshole about shit?" Mike slumped in his chair. "And I'm not his boyfriend, we broke up." "Really now?" Justin said in a sarcastic, surprised voice. "I'd break up with his ass too if he tried to cheat on me." Justin smirked, not even bothering to glance in Mike's direction. "We've been broken up for over two months now... god I don't even know why I'm fucking telling you this shit." Mike slumped in the recliner. Justin perked up a little. "Then whats all this shit about then?" "I dunno, he never told me anything. Shit I didn't even know he was fucking hanging out with you guys til I saw JC sitting in his fucking hotel room." Mike closed his eyes. "You love him don't you?" Justin said pushing, going straight to the point. "Why don't you ask yourself that?" Mike shot back at Justin. "Look man, I don't want to see JC get hurt. He's my best friend. I just want to see him happy." Justin threw back at Mike as he still mindlessly flipped through the channels. "Exactly. Thats where I'm coming from." Mike tried to make Justin see where he was getting at in making the two of them talk alone. Justin sat in silence as he let it sink in. He had wanted JC to be happy, thats why he worked so hard at trying to hook him up with Marc. After Marc stormed out on JC and Mike came into the picture things changed. Finding out that Mike wasn't his boyfriend just made everything even more confusing. "So why'd you break up with him then?" He avoided looking at Mike. Justin could hear Mike relax in his chair as he sighed. "I loved him too much to stay with him." Mike finally let go and stared at the ceiling. "So if you're gay and JC is gay, why didn't you hook up with each other?" "We waited too long." Justin frowned a little. He fidgeted with the remote for a bit before continuing. "Then Marc came along and JC saw him first." "What do you mean JC saw him first? What? Are you guys competing for him cuz if you're both just trying to pull some celebrity bullshit on him I'm gonna..." Mike started getting angry at Justin again. "Its not like that man. JC's looking for love and I thought he found it. I don't care who its with and if its with Marc it *might* be cool but I dunno. And I swear if Marc ever hurts him I'm gonna..." Justin started flaming up as well. "You're gonna what?" Mike shot out, cutting off Justin. "I guess it works both ways then, doesn't it." Justin countered back smirking. "Whatever." Mike folded his arms over his chest and tried to calm himself down. "Look, Mike, right?" Mike nodded seeing that Justin got his name right even with all the anger they were both feeling towards each other. "All I know is that they met, they clicked, I thought they'd be happy together. JC finally works up the balls to make a move and just when it looks like your boyfriend, whatever, ex-boyfriend is gonna return those feelings he walks out on my bestfriend and won't return any calls. I thought he was just confused about the whole being gay thing then I find out he has a boyfriend, or thought he had a boyfriend because JC heard you call Marc babe or whatever. And then now you say you're not his boyfriend then if you weren't then why all this bullshit?" Justin had stood up to do his rant then slumped back down on the couch and sighed defeatedly. "We always call each other babe. Even before we were together and we knew each other was gay." Mike tried to explain at least a little bit of it. "Look all I know is that everytime I would call him he would be happy and I thought it was because of me. I didn't know about you guys. I didn't know that he was hanging out with you guys. I knew he thought JC was cute though, I mean shit... we used to talk about shit like that when we were... well nevermind that. Then all of a sudden he calls me yesterday crying like crazy telling me he needs me here and I got worried that he would do something so I caught the first flight I could catch over here to see whats up and then see JC sitting in his room and I'm wondering what the fuck so I guess I'm just as lost as you are." Mike had done the same thing Justin had done. He stood up and paced a little while he was ranting and then sighed back defeatedly in the recliner. "And you guys are here because?" Justin inquired curiously. "Because I told Marc that he needed to clear things up between the both of them once I saw JC run off the way he did. I mean... I guess I could see what I don't think either one of them could see." Mike closed his eyes and leaned back into the recliner even more. "Which is?" Justin pushed, though he knew what Mike was getting at. "Don't fucking play stupid with me man. I know you see it too, shit you already admitted it." Mike kind of blew up at Justin again. "Then just fucking say it. Say you know they're in love with each other and it hurts like hell because you know you still love them... him... and you'd do anything you could to make them happy even if they had to be with someone else..." Justin let a few tears fall. "And all I want is for him to be happy and I know he will be even if its not with me." Mike let a few tears fall too and stared at the ceiling, not wanting to look over at Justin. They both sat in their own misery in silence for a few moments. After a few minutes they both composed themselves. Then stared at the TV still not wanting to look at the other. "BECAUSE I HATE YOU!!!!! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!!!" Marc screamed from the room followed by sobs. Justin jumped up quick and bolted for the stairs. Mike got in front of him and held him back. "What the fuck man. He just tore out and ripped my best friend's heart." Justin was angry all over again with Marc. "Look, we don't know that for sure, but when one of them comes down crying then we all go our separate ways. Let them talk, as much as its gonna hurt all of us." Mike pleaded though he was hurt too. "Whatever." Justin lay back down on the couch pissed off. He couldn't believe that he was letting Mike get under his skin like JC had in the past. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JC's room... "Marc, I'm sorry for what I did. I should have never forced myself onto you the way I did." JC sighed from his seat at the computer. Marc sat in silence for a while before answering. "I don't know what to say. I don't know if I'm supposed to apologize, I don't know if I should accept your apology." Marc sighed and slumped down on JC's bed and avoided JC's gaze. "I don't know what to do." "Just accept it, please, so I don't feel all guilty anymore. Then you and Mike can go back to being happy." A tear fell down JC's cheek at the thought of Marc being happy with someone other than him. "We broke up." It came out simply and unemotionally. "Please, not because of this, I never meant to get in the way of your relationship." JC let another tear fall, feeling guilty that he had broken them up. "We broke up over two months ago." Marc turned his head the other way. "Then why Marc?" JC simply asked. "Why did you leave? Why wouldn't you talk to me afterwards?" "I don't know." Marc turned his back to JC as he lay on the bed. "Marc don't tell me you never felt the same way I was all this time if you weren't with Mike." JC stood up and let more tears fall. "I was confused, I am confused." He was at a loss of words and he didn't want to be there right now. He wanted Mike to be there to comfort him. It was what he had wanted since they had broken up. "Confused about what? About us?" JC stood fists clenched trying to work up the courage to push Marc to say what he wanted to hear. "I don't know. Yes." He curled up and folded his arms over his stomach. He could feel tears swelling up as JC pushed him. "Then why couldn't we just talk and work through all that confusion. Marc, why?" JC tried pushing a little more. He got no answer from him and asked again. "Why Marc?" Still no answer. "Marc," JC moved closer to the bed. "Marc, why?" He pushed even further. "BECAUSE I HATE YOU!!!!! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!!!" Marc screamed. He curled up into a ball. JC stood shocked. At what Marc had just said. He stared on at Marc still in disbelief as Marc lay sobbing on his bed. Marc calmed down a little bit and started speaking softly as he cried. "I hate the way you look at me. I hate the way you make me feel. I hate that you turned everything in my world around. I hate your eyes. I hate the way they look at me. I hate the way you make me happy. I hate that you make it feel right. I hate you. I hate the way you make me smile. I hate the way you make me laugh. I hate the way you hold me. I hate it." Marc sobbed on the bed grabbing at the sheets. JC sat himself on the bed next to Marc. He hesitantly reached out to him, then finally let his hand rest on Marc's shoulder. Before he knew it he found himself lying behind Marc and holding him from behind. And he let the tears fall. He let them flow freely as he pulled Marc closer. Marc didn't resist either. He turned around and buried his face in JC's chest again and pulled him into a hug. "It was supposed to be Mike... I wanted so bad to still be in love with Mike... I... I... and then you... and I was happy all over again... and then I thought of Mike... and... I felt... I felt guilty... and..." Marc cried into JC's chest as JC pulled him in closer. "Shhhh... I... I'm sorry Marc... I never meant to... and..." JC continued to cry. They cried for over an hour in each other's arms. Neither saying anything until their sobs died down. They lay there resting for a while, just like how they had several times before. "I've wanted to love Mike and only Mike since the day I met him. He was the first guy I've ever fallen in love with. He was the first guy I ever made love to. He was the first and I wanted him to be the only. When he broke up with me I was devastated. But then we kept talking so that we could work out some issues that we both had and we had planned to get back together. But then..." Marc couldn't finish and felt like crying again. "But then I came along?" JC asked hesitantly as he ran his fingers through Marc's hair gently. "Yeah... and my whole world... my whole world... I don't know what to do anymore..." Marc let a few more tears fall as he clutched onto JC. "Marc, ever since that first day we met I knew... I knew that... that there was something about you... something that I could fall in love with and I did." JC let Marc snuggle up to him more. "I'm scared... this whole time... it was supposed to be Mike... it was supposed to be Mike, but then... I don't even know what to think... how to feel... where to start..." Marc began crying again. "Just say that this is right... that what we... what we've made... between us these past few weeks... that what we have is right..." JC ran his hands soothingly up and down Marc's back. "I... I want to... but I'm scared..." Marc managed between sobs. "I'll be here for you..." JC cupped Marc's face in his hands and smiled for him. "I'll be here... as long as you want me to..." He continued to smile as tears began to flow down his face again. "I need time... and I don't want to hurt you... I... I... I can't even say it Josh... how I feel... because I don't know anymore... I don't trust myself anymore... and I don't want to see you hurt..." Marc stopped sobbing and just let the tears run down as he stared into JC's eyes. "Marc... I lo..." JC started but Marc placed his finger over JC's lips to silence him. "Please... don't say it... I want to be sure of it before I hear it and say it... please..." Marc pleaded with him. "Until I know for sure... please..." "Okay... Its whatever you want... I want you to be comfortable with me again..." JC still lay there lost in Marc's eyes. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." Marc started sobbing again, thinking that he had hurt JC with his words. "Hey... shhhh... Just let me stay here with you tonight..." JC did his best to comfort Marc and calm him down. He lay in silence as he let Marc cry himself to sleep. He kissed his lips lightly before he let himself drift off as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I'm gonna go check on them... its been too quiet up there." Justin shot up and headed for the stairs. "Don't think you're gonna go up there alone." Mike got up to follow. "Hey its my house, I'm pretty sure I can do whatever I want here. And don't even be trying to get too comfortable." Justin shot back. "Whatever." Mike muttered as he decided to just leave it alone. Justin paused at the foot of the stairs. "Hey..." He called out to Mike. "What?" Mike turned to look at him with annoyance. "You gonna come?" Justin's tone softened as he looked towards Mike. "I thought it was your house." Mike shot back annoyed. "Yeah... and I'm inviting you up." Justin tried to smile back. "Fine, whatever." Mike answered as he got up to follow Justin. JC's door was open and the light shone through into the dark hallway. JC and Marc slept with smiles on their faces. JC wrapped his arms around Marc protectively as Marc clutched on to JC. Marc's head rested on JC's chest. "They really do make a cute couple." Mike spoke up from behind Justin as they watched them sleeping from the doorway. "Yeah, I've thought so since the beginning." Justin smiled over at Mike. "So I guess this means that they've made up." Mike smiled a little. "Yeah..." Justin smiled. They remained silent as they continued to watch the sleeping pair. Justin broke the silence. "...and we get to wallow in our loneliness." Justin walked down the hallway to the linen closet. He pulled out a few blankets and turned to Mike. "You wanna help me tuck them in?" "Yeah..." Mike took a blanket and they waltzed into JC's room. The two of them spread the blanket over their sleeping friends, turned the light off and closed the door. "What are these ones for?" Mike asked Justin as they walked back down the stairs. "It gets cold downstairs sometimes." Justin smiled over to Mike as he handed him one of the blankets. He wrapped himself up in the remaining one. "Thanks." Mike returned the smile. "I'm glad we're getting along now." "Yeah... look... I'm sorry for being a dick about everything earlier but..." Justin started to apologize. "Naw... its okay... I think I'd do the same thing if I was in your situation." Mike smiled over at Justin. They sat in silence as they flipped through an endless array of infomercials on the idiot box. "So..." Justin started nervously. He looked up towards Mike. "Huh?" Mike sat up in the recliner wrapped in his blanket to look over at Justin. "Um... whats it like?" Justin asked curiously. "What's what like?" Mike asked back just as curious. "You know... to be... you know..." Justin tried hinting. "Um... I don't think I follow." Mike was genuinely lost. "You know... to... you know... with another guy..." Justin blushed as he finally was able to work up the courage to ask Mike. "Oh... Ohhhhhhhh..." Mike blushed as well as he figured out what Justin was getting at. "I mean... you and Marc... you guys... I mean... I'm sorry... I'm being hella nosey, aren't I?" Justin turned his eyes away from Mike and tried to refocus on the TV. He looked back at Mike when he heard Mike start laughing. "What's so funny?" Justin asked, a little hurt. He felt as if Mike was poking fun at him since he was ignorant to the whole notion of sex with another male. "You said hella... you've been hanging out with Marc waaaaaaay to much. Thats a west coast thing. Yam always makes fun of us for saying that whenever he goes back home to visit." Mike managed to squeeze out. "Yeah... I guess I did huh?" Justin joined in on the laughter. Their laughter died down and Mike spoke up again. "Um... for your question..." Mike started as he settled back into the recliner. He paused to think. "It can be the most beautiful thing in the world when you're with someone that you love. Or it can be the most pleasureable experience if you're with someone that knows what they're doing. And with the right person... its both..." Mike smiled. "Yeah... but doesn't it... you know... when they... I mean... like its not made for that and stuff... and... I mean..." Justin tried to avoid Mike's eyes as he spoke but found his eyes constantly drifting back to Mike's. "Yeah... it hurts like hell when it first goes in... but then... I dunno... after a while... its I dunno... and then if your partner really knows how to hit it its like nothing you've ever felt before. I mean... its amazing..." Mike smiled and you could tell he was thinking about Marc. "So I guess someone's gonna be happy." Justin smiled as he imagined Marc and JC having sex. "Eeeeeeeeeew... you're thinking about them doing... eeeeeeew." Mike teased Justin. "Hey... don't even try to act like you're not doing the same thing." Justin shot back embarassed. "I don't have to *imagine* anything..." Mike teased again. He stopped laughing abruptly. "What's wrong?" Justin asked concerned. "Nothing really." He paused a bit and averted his gaze to the ceiling. "I just think the heartbreak is catching up with me." Mike curled up into the recliner and smiled, his eyes glazed over slightly with tears that refused to be shed. "I know what you mean..." Justin fidgeted in his seat not knowing what to say. Mike sat quietly for a while before speaking again. "So... how did you guys end up meeting him?" "We went to a going away party and we heard him sing." Justin looked up at Mike for a bit before continuing. "I thought he was just... you know... it... and then I saw Josh go and talk to him and I was like... awwww man... but the smiles he brought to Josh's face was well worth it." Justin smiled as he saw Mike's face light up with a smile. "So you met him at a party?" Mike asked to confirm. "Um... we didn't actually meet him til later... I think it was kinda at a gym and I was kinda stalking him for Josh..." Justin replied embarassed and blushed a bit. "Stalking him????" Mike raised an eyebrow at Justin and smiled. "Um... yeah... cuz Josh is... he's a... he's a dork... and when it comes to meeting people he sucks and so I figured I'd do my best to try to *arrange* a meeting between them no matter how manipulative I'd have to be... but they were both soooo damn frustrating." Justin smiled over to Mike still blushing. "So... you had to stalk him?" Mike smiled again at the whole notion of a celebrity stalking someone. "Yeah... we finally caught up with him at a gym and I had to push Josh to go talk to him." Justin giggled as he recalled that day. He went quiet when Mike went quiet. "So... you're not mad that I stalked your ex?" He smiled over at Mike again. "No... its cool... I kinda had to do the same thing..." Mike smiled over at Justin and they both shared a giggle. "Really now?" Justin looked over at Mike curiously. "Yeah... I saw him at a Miss Fil-Am coronation that he sang at and tried to go and talk to him... but all we really said to each other was 'Hi' and that was it. Then I started seeing him around town every now and then but still couldn't talk to him. And then a few years later my sister ended up having some classes with him and he came over to the house and we ended up getting close." Mike smiled as he remembered. He drifted off as he thought about it. Justin brought him out of his daze by waving his hand in his face. "Earth to Mike... you there man?" He giggled once Mike broke out of his trance. "You kinda spaced out for a bit on me bro." He flashed Mike a smile. "Sorry." Mike blushed a little. "Were you saying something?" Mike tried to get back into the conversation. "Yeah..." Justin giggled a little. "I asked you if it was like love at first site or something." He giggled again. "I guess it might have been... but then I wasn't really sure of why I had wanted to meet him so bad and I didn't understand all the feelings I was feeling for him and I was absolutely scared shitless when I came to the realization that I was gay." Mike sighed a little then smiled over to Justin. "Same here... and then there's the whole friendship thing and lines you don't want to cross but you really do... and all that stuff... I totally hear what you're saying..." Justin smiled in agreement with Mike. "Yeah... but we ended up crossing those lines eventually and it almost destroyed us... but we worked through alot of things and ended up coming out on top of everything... well sort of... I mean... we didn't end up staying together or getting back together... but we're still very close friends..." Mike drifted off again as he thought. "Yeah... I guess Josh and I kinda went through some of that... but we never really crossed any lines... almost... but then Josh fell for Marc... fell for him hard... man... you should have heard everything he would say about Marc before we even met Marc... and then when we did meet Marc it was still always Marc Marc Marc Marc Marc... But it was cute watching him like that..." Justin smiled just thinking about them. "Yeah... I just wish he would've told me about you guys... I think I would've been better prepared to deal with all of this..." Mike stated. He looked over at Justin and smiled to let him know he was okay. "So I guess you were the mysterious person that he always had to go off and call or who he'd talk to in private when his cell rang." Justin smiled as he pieced things together. "Yeah... I guess that must've been me..." Mike smiled as well. "So what now?" Justin turned and asked him. "I have no clue... but those two better realize what they have or I'm gonna have to beat the shit out of JC until he realizes..." Mike joked but got cut off by Justin. "And I'm gonna have to beat the shit out of Marc..." Justin joked back and they both started laughing. "Yeah... could you imagine us doing that????" Mike stopped laughing for a bit. "You will love him damn it JC... as I'm kicking the shit out of him and you're doing the same thing to Marc." He broke into laughter again and Justin joined him. They both stopped laughing and lay in silence. "So is it just you and JC that live here? Isn't that kinda gay?" Mike smiled over at Justin as he broke the silence and joked with him. "Well duh! We are gay... even though you and Marc are the only ones that know... pretty much the only ones that know anyways..." Justin smiled over at Mike. "So if you two live alone in a house you share... and you've never messed around with him and you didn't know each other was gay then..." Mike smiled as he continued to joke with him. "Actually my mom and my step dad live here too but they went up to Tennessee to visit my dad and my half brothers. Chris lives here too but he's up in New York with Joey and Chrissy doing TRL and some other stuff that management has them doing." Justin explained. "Ohhhhh... I get it." Mike smiled back and rolled his eyes. "What was that for?" Justin giggled back curiously. "I dunno... I'm just being stupid..." Mike giggled back and Justin rolled his eyes back at Mike. "So does anyone other than Marc, me, and Josh know about you being gay?" Justin asked him. "Nope... we kept our relationship secret. Everyone thinks that we're just best friends... I'm pretty sure some of our friends think that something might be up between us and they joke with us about it but we just play along and laugh later knowing the truth." Mike giggled again just thinking about it. "So why not come out? I mean... its not like you have anything to lose, right? I mean you guys are normal people and stuff..." Justin asked him. "Well... yeah... since we're not all high and mighty famous celebrities and shit..." Mike shot back with annoyance in his voice. "Hey... sorry... I didn't mean it like that..." Justin apologized. He genuinely felt guilty for coming off the way that he had. "I know... I'm just fucking with you..." Mike smiled back at him. Justin rolled his eyes at Mike. "You're an asshole, you know that???" He shot back jokingly. "Anyways..." Mike rolled his eyes then continued. "We never really felt safe coming out... I mean... both our families are really religious and everything... and the catholic church doesn't really accept all that and stuff... and then its like our families really mean alot to us and stuff so we didn't really want to risk anything and tell them... and then theres the fact that we're both financially dependent on our families right now." Mike explained. "Yeah... I guess that makes sense..." Justin nodded his head in thoughtful agreement. "We had planned on telling them and stuff... this December after Marc graduated and got a good job and we supposedly got back together and stuff... but by the looks of things..." Mike looked towards the stairs and smiled. "I guess the plan has totally changed." He smiled again to let Justin know that he was still okay with all of this. "Yup... guess it has..." Justin agreed. He felt bad for Mike but was happy that he was taking it well for someone that had pretty much had his entire dream of true love shot down. "Can you do me a favor and watch over the both of them after I go back to Diego?" Mike got up and jotted down his number on a napkin that lay on the coffee table. "This is my cell... well actually its Marc's cell but we traded until he gets back to Diego. Just call me every once in a while and tell me how they're doing... like if they argue or anything like that or if they do anything cute that needs to be shared just so you don't have to wallow in lonely misery by yourself... But especially if they argue... cuz I know Marc won't tell me about anything like that directly." Mike smiled over at Justin as he handed him the napkin. "Will do... gosh... now that they're together they're both gonna get even mushier with each other... thats gonna be so gross watching them now... as if it wasn't enough before." Justin giggled and rolled his eyes thinking about them. "I think I know what you mean..." Mike rolled his eyes too and giggled along. "Man... its like almost 2 in the morning already... shit we've been talking for hours..." Justin giggled as he noticed the time. "And theres nothing on the fucking TV to keep us occupied but... Yeah... but talking's good... you know... you're pretty cool when you're not being a dick." Mike shot back jokingly. "Yeah... and you're pretty cool when you're not being a pushy ass dominatrix bastard fuckhead..." Justin shot back and burst into laughter. He noticed the change in Mike's demeanor and stopped laughing. "Um... did I say something wrong? I'm sorry Mike... I was just joking..." They experienced an akward silence as Mike didn't answer. He sat in the recliner and stared at the ceiling making Justin feel more uncomfortable with each passing second. "Sorry... its just that my dad died when I was young... so I was raised without a father... and you... called me..." Mike got cut off by Justin. "And I called you the B word... I'm sorry Mike... I didn't know... I'm an asshole... dude... I'm sorry..." Justin tried his best to apologize. He really regretting saying it after Mike had tried to explain. "No... its cool... but I'll accept your apology anyways... I mean... you had no way of knowing." Mike smiled a little and sank back into the recliner. They remained silent for several moments before Mike spoke again. "You know... I put the last person that called me a bastard in the hospital cuz I beat the crap out of him so bad... You're lucky I don't want to screw up that pretty little face of yours..." Mike smiled over at Justin and giggled as he got over Justin's little name calling. "I'm glad you don't want to screw this pretty little face of mine... I'd rather have you screwing something else." Justin burst out into laughter and he was relieved that Mike actually joined him. "You're just like Marc, you know? Always find some way to pervert something that comes out of my mouth..." Mike smiled again as he tried to control his laughter enough to speak. "And what would be *cumming* out of your mouth???? Hopefully something that was *cumming* out of me." Justin joked again and they burst into laughter again. Mike rolled his eyes at Justin again as their laughter died down. "You're too much, you know that?" "I try... I try..." Justin flashed his cheesy smile over to him. "Man... you've really been hanging out with Marc tooooooo much... he always says that..." Mike giggled again as he saw just how much Marc had rubbed off on Justin in the short time that they knew each other. "Guess I have, huh? And you say that like thats a bad thing..." Justin joked back with another one of Marc's lines. "See what I mean?" Mike giggled again and shook his head. "He's funny though... I've never met anyone that could pull one over on Chris... and Chris and Joey at the same time... he's like a fucking idol now..." Justin admitted. "Okay... you can kick him down from that pedestal cuz by the looks of it he's already got a man." Mike joked back with Justin. "What? How long's he had that problem?" Justin started laughing again at his stupid joke. Mike just rolled his eyes again noting that Justin was becoming a 'white' version of Marc. "That was sooooooo something Marc would've said." Mike pointed out. "And you say that like its a bad thing..." They both said and burst into laughter at their own stupidity. "Hey tell you what... since you don't want to screw my... I mean screw up my pretty little face..." Justin paused to smile and watched Mike shake his head and smile at his little slip. "How about I let you kick my ass in Tekken... to make it even for what I said earlier." Justin smiled and moved to get up. "I wouldn't *need* you to let me kick your ass in Tekken fool." Mike shot back arrogantly and jokingly. "Ohhhhhhh you are soooo on buddy... you haven't seen me play." Justin shot back smiling. "Trust me... I won't nee..." Mike started but Justin threw his hand up in Mike's face to silence him. "It's soooo on man... lets go..." Justin smiled and helped Mike out of the recliner. They headed upstairs to Justin's room and the Playstation. ============================================================================= So this is the last one for awhile... yeah... yeah... I did the most unusual thing and signed up for more hours at work. Yeah... yeah... 13 hours a day isn't enough for me... (someone take the crackpipe away from me like now!!!!!) =) Anyways I hope that this one cleared up some things that were kinda unclear in the last chapter and stuff... And yeah... there wasn't too much JC/Marc in this chapter but shit... they're practically together now... so what more could you guys ask for????? I mean... I did manage to drag it out for like 15 chapters before getting them both to actually admit how they kinda feel for each other... even if it ended up being kinda lame... but... hmmmm... OH FUCKING WELL! =) And yeah... its not gonna end here... unless you want it too... but I probably won't listen to you guys to cancel it... this is gonna be like one of those TV shows that everyone wishes would get cancelled but doesn't because theres some psycho following that keeps infusing money and threats to keep the show on the air and so it just keeps bouncing from network to network... am I making any sense right now or blowing shit out my ass? Anyways... questions, comments, flames, threats, JC and/or Justin buttnekkid and tied up, or Mike for that matter... hehe... can be directed to my e-mail at vocal76@hotmail.com =) peace and adobo grease!!!!