* Not All Glitters *

Justin took one last look around at the apartment he had called home for the last month before bending down to pick up the cat carrier. "Here you go Mollusk. Take good care of Wolfram for us."

"I will Justin." Molly said, lifting the carrier up so she could look at the cat.

Walking out the door with Molly, Justin joined his mom and Ethan in the hall before heading downstairs to the car that is waiting for them.

"Have you got everything?" Jennifer asked. She could see the unhappiness that had been haunting his eyes since he had left Brian and even though she didn't want him to go, maybe this was for the best and would help him to get over his heartache.

"Yes, Mom," Justin said, he knew that she wasn't to happy about him going on such short notice but that it was his decision to make.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have taken you to the airport." Jennifer said as she tried to keep from crying.

"Mrs. Taylor, part of my winnings was transportation." Ethan said. He couldn't understand why she couldn't accept this and was getting frustrated with her. After all, from what he understood, she hadn't been this smothering when Justin had been with Brian. But then of course, Brian had had money.

"I know Ethan." Jennifer sighed. "You boys have a good time and be careful. And be sure to call when you get there, I don't care what time it will be."

"We will Mom and don't worry. We'll be fine." Justin kissed his mom and sister one last time before climbing into the car with Ethan.

As the car pulled away, Ethan noticed the sad look on Justin's face. "You know we still have time to stop at the diner to say bye to your friends." He said as he took Justin's hand in his.

Justin gave a slight smile but shook his head no. "There is one place I would like to stop at though."

Ethan felt a small sinking feeling in his stomach and just knew that he was going to ask to be taken to Brian's. Smiling despite his fear, he said, "Sure, where to?"

"Lindsey and Mel's." Justin said watching the unease change to relief in Ethan's face even though he had tried to hide it. He knew that Ethan was trying to be supportive and give him time but as hard as he tried, Ethan just wasn't good at covering his insecurities.

Justine knew that Ethan had thought he was going to say Brian's, which kind of made him mad. In the month they had been together, he had hardly brought up Brian's name the first week and almost never after that. So he couldn't understand why Ethan would still think that he would go to see Brian. Clamping down on the anger he breathed out a sigh, leaned over and gave him a light kiss. He hoped that it would help alleviate some of his insecurities and for letting him stop at the munchers before leaving the country.

After giving brief directions, the car pulled up in front of Lindsey and Mel's. Ethan decided to stay in the car while Justin went in to say goodbye. He knew that they had tried to make him feel welcome but he just didn't feel comfortable around them. Of course it might have something to do with the fact that their son was also Brian Kinney's son. Brian Kinney, Ethan thought, the bane of his existence. It wasn't like the man had really done anything other then be Justin's ex, just the opposite. He was never around yet he was always there and he hated him for it. He had everything. Money, looks, and Justin's heart. That was what bothered him the most. That was going to change with this trip. Where Brian was still paying for school, it was now summer and he was the one paying for the trip. They were going to have three months without friends, family and most of all no chances of running into Brian Kinney.

Justin walked up and knocked on the door. Out of all the members of his new family it was these two and Vic that he felt hadn't judged him. He knew that Debbie had tried not to but once she found out about him breaking all the rules that he had set and cheating on Brian being the cause of the break-up, she was having a hard time of it. It also didn't help he and Michael were barely speaking because of it and that put her in the middle.  Ted and Emmett didn't really judge him but they were to tied up in each other lately to really notice what was going on around them. Justin shivered at his last thought.

Lindsey opened the door with a smile, "Hi Justin, come on in." Seeing the car out front as she closed the door had her curiosity up and she turned to ask Justin about it.

However, as they walked into the living room, Justin was immediately set upon by Gus.  "Jus! Jus!"

Justin bent down and picked up the toddler, giving him a big hug and kiss. "I can't stay.  I just stopped by to say goodbye."

"What?" Both Mel and Linds said in unison.

"Ethan won the Heifetz competition. It's a cash prize of $25,000 and a trip to Europe to perform with several symphonies through out Europe. He's asked me to go with him and I said yes. I need to get away, to try to find myself again and get over Brian. This past month has been really hard and I owe it to Ethan to give this a shot at making it work."

Mel and Linds nodded their understanding as they went to hug him. "Keep in touch, okay?" Mel said.

"I will and you can still email me at the same address. Keep me filled in on what's going on." Justin said with a smile.

"We will." Linds smiled back. "Have you told anyone else?"

"No, I wasn't sure if they'd care. Justin sighed.

"Of course they care!" Lindsey scolded.

Justin shrugged, "Well, if anyone asks, tell them how to get in touch and I'll write back when I can." I'll be back in time to start the next semester." Justin looked lovingly at the little boy who reminded him so much of Brian. "Don't let him forget me, okay?" Justin asked, kissing and hugging Gus one more time before giving him back to Mel as he walked toward the door.

"He won't" Linds said, wondering if he meant Gus or Brian. Each placed a kiss on his cheek as he walked out the door and down the sidewalk. "Let us know when you get to your first stop."

"Okay!" Justin called with a wave as he got into the car.

As they pulled away, Ethan noticed that Justin had tears in his eyes but wasn't sure who they were for, his friends or Brian. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just hard saying goodbye to your family, you know? I mean, a lot can happen in three months." Justin sighed as he cleared his throat, rubbed his eyes, and sat up a little straighter with a slight smile. In three months he could forget me."

"You'll see. Everything will be okay and things won't change that much while we're gone." Ethan said. And lets hope that he does forget you. Ethan though and he wasn't thinking about Gus. Reaching over he took Justin's hand, interlacing their fingers. He couldn't wait for them to get on the plane, the sooner the better. Then Justin would be all his.

It wasn't long before they reached the airport and their time was taken up with getting through the lines and onto their plane. Once they were in their seats and the door was closed, Ethan took a deep breath and released it. He couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he now felt the weight of the great Brian Kinney lift off of his shoulders. He felt free but more importantly, he felt that Justin was now free of any influence that Brian and his friends could and would have had on their relationship.  He was going to do his all to make Justin forget. Looking over at Justin still smiling, he again took Justin's hand and squeezed.

Justin couldn't help but smile back, even if it was a little sad and squeezed Ethan's hand back.  He liked Ethan and even though he felt smothered by him at times, he was going to give them a fair shot. He was going to move on, find himself, and live his life without Brian. He could do this. He just had to believe. To have time. He just hoped that Ethan would be patient a little bit longer and not push so hard. Leaning back in his seat, he tried not to dwell on anything but the future. Of all the places he was going to go. The sites and art he was going to see. After a while he began to doze off, the stress of the past month finally leaking away the farther he got from Pittsburgh.

The rest of the flight was uneventful and they landed in London right on time. As they gathered their bags, Justin looked around; he smiled a true smile at Ethan and felt a thrill go through his body. He was actually getting excited about what was to come and why not? He was about to embark on a wonderful adventure.

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