Something More

Chapter 5

People

People who need people

Are the luckiest people in the world

Brian groaned and fumbled around for his cell phone, finally finding it under his pillow. He stared at the display and sighed before answering it.

"Yes Emmett?"

"Unlock your fucking bedroom door."  Brian rolled his eyes and got out of bed, sweatpants hanging low on his hips. He held the cell phone to his ear as he unlocked and opened his bedroom door, finding a very perturbed looking Emmett on the other side. They both hung up their cell phones.

"Can I help you? How did you get up here anyway? And why didn't you just fucking knock?" Brian asked, turning back towards his bed. Emmett stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. He turned and followed Brian over to his bed.

"Your mom let me up. And I did knock. You didn't answer." Brian shrugged and fell back on his bed.

"Guess I didn't hear you."

"You have People as my ring tone? You hate that fucking song."

"Yeah, but it reminds me of you," Brian replied. Emmett smiled. "And how fucking annoying you can be." Emmett rolled his eyes and slapped Brian's thigh.

"Asshole."

"Bitch."

"So," Emmett started, remembering why he went there in the first place. "I just had lunch with Daphne." Brian winced and sighed.

"Great."

"What the fuck is your problem?" Brian raised an eyebrow and Emmett took in his appearance. His eyes were red and slightly swollen and he looked like he hadn't shaved or showered in three days. He looked awful. Or, as awful as Brian Kinney could look, anyway.

"Nothing," Brian responded quickly. Emmett sighed and sat down on the end of the bed.

"Right. I already know. The situation with Justin blew up in your pretty little face."

"Em. Please…fuck off." Emmett wasn't expecting to see tears in his eyes. He swallowed hard and scooted closer to Brian.

"Want to talk about it?" Emmett asked, putting his hand on Brian's arm. He noticed the earphone in his left ear and plucked it out. "What are you listening to?" Brian shut his eyes and gulped as Emmett brought the small earphone to his ear.

Tell me am I right to think that there could be nothing better

Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together

Don't you feed me lines about some idealistic future

Your heart won't heal right if you keep tearing out the sutures

"The Postal Service?" Emmett asked incredulously. "Not the best music to listen to when you're depressed." He pulled Brian's small silver iPod out from under his pillow and shut it off. "Talk."

"I don't want to fucking talk, Emmett." Brian said softly, staring at the ceiling.

"So," Emmett replied, unfazed. "Talk anyway." Brian sighed deeply and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the bedside table drawer. He lit one and took a long drag, watching the smoke curl up towards the ceiling.

"Daphne told me Justin is in love with me," Brian blurted out. Emmett's expression didn't change. Brian raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

"Well what? That's no big surprise. We could all see it in the way he looks at you. We could tell by the look on his face every time you ventured to the backroom. We all knew. We just didn't know the extent of it. We didn't know you were feeding him such false hopes."

"I wasn't giving him false hopes!" Brian nearly shouted, smoke spewing from his lips. "I didn't know he felt that way. If you guys knew so much, why didn't anyone fucking tell me?"

"It wasn't our place to tell you. It was something Justin had to do. Granted, I'm happy Daphne finally did because I was sick of seeing Justin mope around like he was."

"Why didn't I see it?" Brian asked, more to himself than Emmett. The flamboyant teen sighed and shook his head. He hated seeing his two best friends so conflicted, confused, and…sad.

"You weren't looking for it, honey. You aren't a big fan of change. Justin has always been Justin to you, and you never opened up the possibility that Justin could be something else, something more than a friend. Justin could be the love of your life or he could turn into a complete stranger." Brian sighed and Emmett smiled slightly. "The question you need to ask your self is…"

"Do I feel lucky?" Brian smirked, trying to lighten the mood. Emmett put his forefinger against Brian's temple like he was aiming a gun and shut one eye. He bent his thumb and made a cracking sound before tucking Brian's hair behind his ear.

"That, and…how do you feel about Justin?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it? Well, I must say Regis, I don't fucking know. And yes, that is my final answer."

"I'm going to pretend you did not just compare me to Regis Philbin."

"Yeah, that would probably be better for both of us." Brian sighed again. Emmett had never seen him so conflicted. Brian was always so calm and collected. Yet here he was…broken.

"Well, Brian, you need to think about it. Can you see yourself with Justin? Loving Justin?" Emmett asked, studying Brian's eyes for the answer he knew his lips most likely wouldn't give.

"I never pictured myself loving anyone," Brian replied, shaking the hair from his eyes.

"I sense a but. Please let there be a but!" Emmett exclaimed. "And don't even make the completely obvious joke about that."

"But," Brian replied, chuckling a little. "Justin makes me happy. I love Justin as my best friend already. If I ever saw myself being in love with anyone, it would be Justin." He saw Emmett's grin and quickly continued. "But I just don't know."

"Gah! You are so frustrating! What's there to know? You and Justin are fucking perfect for each other!" Emmett crossed his arms. "He's miserable, you know." Brian's head perked up.

"I don't want him to be sad."

"Then get over yourself and admit you love him. I know you do. I saw it in your eyes too." Brian narrowed his eyes at Emmett, and then his expression softened. He knew deep down that Emmett was right.

"Fine!" Brian shouted in frustration.

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

I've been dying to tell you anything you want to hear

Cause that's just who I am this week

And Sugar, we're going down swinging

I'll be your number one with a bullet

A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it

Brian looked over at his cell phone, lighting up and vibrating on his nightstand. "That's Justin," he whispered. He looked at Emmett with fear in his eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"He wouldn't call unless he had something important to say. He's scared to death of you right now. Answer it." Brian picked up the phone as if it physically pained him to do so. He pressed talk and brought it to his ear.

"Hey Justin."

"Hi Brian." The brunet visibly relaxed at the sound of the other teen's voice.

"What's up?"

"Um, nothing. Okay something. I wanted to talk to you about the other night." Brian sighed and Emmett was practically pressed against him, eavesdropping.

"Yeah?"

"Well," Justin began uneasily. "Can we just pretend it never happened? I mean, I'll get over it. It'll be fine."

"Justin…"

"No really, it'll be okay. I just want to be friends. So, can we just forget it happened?"

"But Justin-"

"Please?" Brian bit his bottom lip and looked over at Emmett, who thrust his finger towards the phone and mouthed 'tell him'. Brian shook his head.

"Sure."

"Okay, thanks. Bye."

"Bye…" Brian whispered, long after the dial tone began to sound in his ear.

"What the fuck Brian?" Emmett asked, pushing him to the side.

"What?"

"Why didn't you tell him?" He noticed how defeated Brian looked and felt his heart clench.

"Maybe it's better this way," he whispered, looking down at his cell phone. "I can't hurt him if I'm not with him."

*************************************

Justin dropped his cell phone on the bed and turned towards Daphne with tears in his eyes. A choked sob escaped his lips and Daphne flung her arms around him, holding him tight.

"Why did you do that?" She whispered. Justin took a deep breath and rested his head on her shoulder, not ready to leave her comforting embrace.

"I wanted to give him an easy out. I want to fix it before it hurts even more." She sighed and kissed his temple. She closed her eyes and shook her head, astonished by the stubbornness of these boys.

They were so obviously in love, and so completely…stupid.

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