Bleeding Emotions

Chapter 5

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure neither of them have moved in the past twenty minutes," Juliana grinned. "We may have to intervene."

"You're right," Graham smirked. He gave Juliana a quick kiss and then leaned towards Brian. "Hey!" No response. "Brian look, its Angelina Jolie! Wait, that won't work. He's a cigarette. It's, um, Brad Pitt!" Nothing. "Ah, I give up."

"A cigarette?" Daphne asked, looking puzzled.

"Yeah, I'm from London. So to me, a fag is a cigarette. Brian came out when we were fourteen, and I was new to this country, by telling us that he was a fag. I was bloody confused. It's been an inside joke ever since," Graham replied. Daphne and Emmett nodded.

Michael got a devious gleam in his eyes as he looked at the back of Brian's head. He snatched a bunch of flyers and crumpled them up into a tight little ball. He caught everyone's attention as he aimed, sticking his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. He took his shot, throwing the little ball hard at the back of Brian's head. It bounced off his skull and rolled under a nearby table with a crinkle. Brian gave no response. They all stared in disbelief.

A few moments later, Brian broke his gaze with Justin and whipped around in his chair. He couldn't shake the dreamy look out of his eyes.

"You say something, mate?" Brian asked. The whole group broke into a fit of laughter. Brian looked back to Justin, as if the starry-eyed blonde could tell him what he missed.

Justin shrugged and flashed one of his dazzling smiles. Brian leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his messy hair.

"Where's Gizmo?" Graham asked.

"In the back," Brian sighed, blinking owlishly to clear his thoughts.

"Who's Gizmo?" Justin asked.

"The love of Brian's life," Lindsay replied. Justin looked crestfallen.

"I thought you said he was single," Justin blurted out before he could stop himself. A blush rose to his cheeks and Brian laughed.

"Ah, sharing details of me personal life now, are we?" Brian asked with his trademark smirk and raised eyebrow. Lindsay just laughed.

"In Ireland, gizmo is slang for guitar," Graham explained. "That's what we named Brian's beloved instrument."

"That's adorable!" Emmett exclaimed. Brian gave him a warning glare. "I mean, sexy, rugged, masculine." Brian chuckled and slung his arm around Em's shoulders.

An hour later, all eight of them were talking happily amongst themselves. Daphne and Emmett surprised their underage companions with beers from the bar. Brian stood up and stretched, his long body extending itself beautifully. A tantalizing strip of bronzed flesh was revealed as his shirt crawled up his toned abs. Justin shifted in his seat.

"I'm going to step outside and have meself a fag." The group looked up at him questionably and he quickly amended himself. "A cigarette. Curse that bleeding word."

"All right, and if you find the other kind of fag send him in here to me," Emmett drawled.

"I could go for a smoke," Justin said as he rose out of his seat, smoothing his sweatshirt over his young, taut stomach. "Care if I join you?" Brian gave him a quick once over and smiled.

"Course not. C'mon." He cocked his head towards the door and the two boys walked towards it together, shoulders brushing together. Once they were out of sight, Daphne leaned forward.

"We have to get them together!"

"Oh I know. They're already crazy about each other. You can tell," Emmett added.

"It would be nice to see Brian with somebody. He's been so sad lately," said Graham.

"The only problem is," Daphne paused. "Justin is really skittish around relationships, or the thought of them. He's never really had one, and he's terrified of letting anyone close."

"Why? What happened?" Michael asked. Emmett and Daphne exchanged worried glances.

"We can't tell you that," Emmett stated. "Something happened to him in our senior year of high school and it really fucked up his life. He hasn't really been the same since. But I think Brian may be just what he needs."

"I see," Juliana offered, tapping her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"I think Brian is scared of relationships, too," Lindsay added. "He wants to be loved, but he's scared of getting hurt. The only love he's ever known is the love we've shown him."

"But what about that song?" Daphne asked. "It sounded like he was looking for a relationship."

"He is," Michael responded. "But not with just anybody."

"I think Justin can be that somebody," Emmett smiled. The rest of the gang nodded in agreement.

"Ok. So how do we get them together? Daphne asked, a gleam in her eye. The gang eyed her dubiously. "What? It's our duty as loyal best friends to meddle in their personal lives!"

"I agree," Emmett stated, placing his hand over his chest. "I butt in because I care."

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Justin watched as Brian strode purposefully out of the large double doors. He looked left, then right. Justin watched the way his shaggy hair hung gracefully in his beautiful eyes. Justin ached to sketch him. He looked down as he dug through his pockets, searching for his cigarettes. He pulled one from the pack and placed it between his lips.

Suddenly, he felt Brian's hand on his hip, so strong and warm and there. "C'mon," Brian whispered in his ear, his breath hot and taunting. Brian led him away from the crowd of people and the cloud of smoke lingering over them. He grabbed Justin's belt loop and led him down an empty alley, leading him to the eerie glow of a single streetlight half way down. The only noise was the pounding of his heart.

Brian let go out Justin's hip and the blond momentarily mourned the loss. Then he watched Brian lean against the gritty wall, the glow from the dim streetlight making shadows play over his gorgeous features. Justin memorized the picture, fingers twitching with need. He wanted to see Brian's face etched in charcoal, smudged and dark and beautiful. He knew he would be up until dawn, sketching this beautiful specimen until his hand cramped and begged him to stop.

Brian reached into the pocket of his velvet jacket, pulling out a crumpled plastic bag. He looked up and down the alley and opened it, extracting a joint. He looked up at Justin, the cigarette still hanging from those perfect lips. He reached out and took the smoke from Justin's mouth and slid it into the pocket of his jeans.

"You won't be needing that," Brian said with a smirk, his voice low and rough. His accent made his voice even sexier to Justin, who gulped as he spoke. He slipped the tip of the joint between his delicate lips. "I share."

"Lucky me," Justin grinned, eyeing the joint longingly. Brian pulled a silver lighter from his pocket and flicked it open, the orange flame making shadows dance on their chilled skin. He brought it to the end of the joint and lit it, the off white paper crackling as he inhaled. He took it between his fingers and tilted his head upwards as he exhaled the smoke. Justin watched closely, taking in the elegant slope of his long neck, the way he puckered his lips as he blew the gray smoke out slowly. Both pairs of eyes were trained on the wispy tendrils until they dissipated into nothing.

Brian began to extend his arm, as if he was going to offer the joint to Justin. He gave a wicked smile and brought the joint back to his own lips, taking a deep drag. He held the smoke in for a long while before blowing it out into the sky once more.

"So, Justin. Tell me about yourself." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, the joint hanging dangerously from his fingertips. His hazel eyes bore deep into Justin's blue ones, and the blond found himself nervous under the scrutiny.

"Well, um." He ran his fingers through his silky hair, absently noticing how long it was getting. He tucked the blond strands behind his ears before continuing. "My name is Justin Taylor. I'm twenty-two years old. I just started my senior year at Carnegie Mellon." He brought his fingers to his lips, chewing nervously on his thumbnail.

"You're an artist," Brian said calmly. Justin scrunched up his nose in confusion.

"How did you know that?"

"You have paint stains on your fingers." He uncrossed his arms and took one of the smaller hands in his, bringing it up to the light. He ran his thumb along the indigo stains, a souvenir from a painting recently finished. Justin blushed from the contact of their hands, both boys feeling something like electricity surging through their veins.

"Oh," Justin laughed nervously as Brian released his hand. "Yeah, I'd like to think I am."

"That's good. Art is an amazing thing to lose yourself in," Brian said thoughtfully. He took another drag from the joint. Justin vaguely wondered when he was going to share.

"Very true. You were amazing in there, though. Mesmerizing."

"Mesmerizing?" Brian repeated with a deep chuckle. "That's a new one. Thanks." Brian looked into the pools of blue for a long time before motioning the blonde forward. "Come here." He grabbed his shoulder and pulled him forward until they were toe to toe. Justin felt something like fear, but more like excitement, rise up in his throat. Brian took a deep drag from the joint and held it in his lungs, leaning slowly forward. He pulled the joint away from his mouth and moved until his soft lips brushed against Justin's slightly. Once he made that slight contact, he blew the smoke from his lungs into Justin's mouth. He inhaled deeply, his skin buzzing from the feeling of Brian's lips on his, even if it was merely a brushing of skin.

Brian pulled away and Justin held the smoke in for a second before looking up at the sky and letting it out. Brian watched the smoke escape those beautiful boy lips, his face looking far too young to be doing so. Justin licked his lower lip, a mere flick of the tongue across cherry skin. Brian watched the tip of the bubblegum pink tongue closely, and licked his own lips in response.

"I like the way you share," Justin replied dreamily. Brian smiled and turned the joint around in his mouth to blow the blond a proper shotgun. Justin felt those lips briefly touch his again and inhaled, his lungs filling with smoke. Brian pulled away all too soon and watched as this blond angel held the smoke in as long as he could before exhaling into the misty night air.

Brian leaned back against the dingy bricks again, his lips turned up in a smirk. Justin's eyes glazed over as the drugs took affect. Brian also felt himself finally relax.

"So, Justin Taylor, what else should I know about you?"

"What do you want to now?" Justin asked in a flirty tone.

"Anything you want me to know," Brian drawled, taking another lazy drag.

"Well, my favorite movie is Fight Club. Well, that's second to The Yellow Submarine, but I don't usually tell people that."

"I am Jack's genuine surprise. Fight Club is number one on my list, too. Can't say that I've seen the other one though."

"It's the best. So, Brian Kinney, what should I know about you?" Justin boldly took the joint from Brian's fingers and popped it in his mouth backwards. He lifted onto his toes to reach Brian's lips, pinning the taller boy's hands to the dirty wall behind him. Brian parted his lips slightly as Justin blew him a shotgun. Brian closed his eyes as he took it all in. The feeling of Justin's plump lips brushing against his own in a teasing caress, the smoke burning it's way down his throat, the hands clutching to his own, pinning them in place against the rough brick.

Justin pulled away, still holding Brian's hands in place. The brunet opened his eyes and stared right into Justin's as he exhaled the smoke into the sky. It was all so breathtaking, intense, erotic.

"Wow," Brian breathed softly. "That's so fucking hot." Justin smiled and released his hands, taking the joint from between his lips and flicking the ashes to the ground. He held the remaining bit of the joint between two fingers. Both boys willed their erections down, which was no easy task as they kept their eyes locked on each other.

"You were about to tell me about yourself, Brian Kinney." The brunet smirked, feeling a surge of respect for the blond in front of him.

"Well, I just turned eighteen. I'm a senior at East. I play the guitar. There's not too much to know."

"I'm sure there's much more below the surface," Justin said softly.

"I guess you'll just have to dig a little deeper and find out," Brian challenged. They shared a smile.

"That accent will be the death of me, that I'm sure of," Justin laughed, taking another drag from the joint, feeling the warmth between his fingers, signaling the end of the joint was near. He handed it over to Brian, who took it and took one last long drag before flicking the rest to the ground, crushing it under his shoe. He held the smoke in his lungs and pulled Justin close again, one arm draped over each shoulder. They touched lips once more, this time just a little firmer. Brian exhaled the smoke, and his breath, from his lungs into Justin's, the act so intimate, so arousing. Justin held the smoke in deep before turning his head to the side and releasing it.

He turned back to Brian, the taller boy resting his forehead against his, blonde strands mingling with chestnut. Their lips were so close, so hot. It all felt so right.

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