Kindred Love

Deals and Plans

Brian and Michael walked into their home and went upstairs to Michael's bedroom. Michael sat his backpack down on the floor and took off his jacket and threw it over his desk chair, and sat down. Brian walked over to his bed and sat on it, placing his own backpack on the floor next to him, and looked at Michael expectantly.

"Okay, Mikey, spill it. You promised," Brian said.

Michael sighed and sat in his desk chair. He hoped he wouldn't be sorry for doing this. "You really want to know about Carter Stephens?" he asked.

"I wouldn't have asked you, if I didn't," Brian replied, getting slightly annoyed.

Michael sighed again, and then looked at Brian in defeat. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Anything; everything. How old is he; what kind of a guy is he; does he have a boyfriend..." Brian spouted off.

"Well, let's see. I think he's 24," Michael answered.

Brian waited for Michael to say more, but when an answer didn't come right away, he grew impatient.

"Okay, and? What kind of guy is he?" Brian pressed. He could tell Mikey was hesitant in telling him about Carter and wondered why.

"Well, Carter is -- he kind of has a reputation as being an asshole. I'm not sure why, though. He's always been nice to Ma and I. Ma said once that he has trouble letting people get close to him," Michael said.

Brian nodded his head, relating to the issue of trust. Carter must have been burned by someone in his past.

Michael continued. "He's intelligent. In fact he is studying law at Carnagie Mellon. He's a real partier. He is considered to be one of Liberty Avenue's hottest studs. He could have anyone he wants without even trying - I've seen it. I don't really know too much about his dating habits, but I do know that as long as I have known him he has never had a boyfriend. Actually, come to think of it, other than his regular friends he's with, I've never seen him with the same guy twice," Michael told Brian.

Brian thought about what Michael was telling him. He definitely knew there was a mutual attraction with Carter. He wondered if Carter didn't have a boyfriend because he hadn't met the right guy, or if he just didn't want one. Brian wasn't sure what he wanted from Carter. All he knew for certain was that he wanted to see him again and get to know him.

"When does he usually come into the diner?" Brian wanted to know.

"Well, sometimes he stops by the diner to grab some lunch in between classes like he did today, but he's usually always there on Friday and Saturday night before he goes to Babylon or Woodies. He and his friends meet at the diner to eat and then they all leave to go clubbing," Michael said.

Brian stood and walked over to Michael and smiled at him, and then gave him a big hug. "Thanks, Mikey," he told him. When he broke away Michael gave him a worried look.

"Brian, are you going to try to get with Carter?"

Brian smiled at Michael, knowing that his cousin was concerned for him, and it made him feel good that he cared. "Mikey, relax," told him, rubbing Michael's back in little circles with his hand.

"It's just that... Ma says that he's broken a lot of hearts. I don't want you to get hurt," Michael admitted.

"Mikey, it means a lot that you care, it really does. But don't worry about me. Whatever happens, I'll be fine. Thanks for the heads up though."

Michael nodded, "No problem."

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Brian asked Michael.

"Sure," Michael replied.

"Have you... ever been with a guy?" Brian asked.

Michael looked away shyly and then shook his head. "Not really. Well, kind of. I mean once Ted and I..." he started to say, but Brian cut him off.

"Oh, my God! You and Ted? What happened?" Brian asked.

"It was sort of a mistake. He, Emmett and I were having a sleepover at his house. Emmett had brought some weed, and we smoked a couple of joints. Emmett had fallen asleep, and Ted and I were up just laughing and talking, and before I knew it we were kissing and we gave each other hand jobs," Michael said.

Brian looked at Michael with a shocked expression. "So, what happened? How come you two aren't together?" Brian wanted to know.

"Well, I don't really think of Ted in that way. We have been friends since elementary school. I don't want to ruin our friendship," Michael admitted.

"So did you two ever talk about it?" Brian asked.

"Not really. I think he wanted to be boyfriends, and I just told him that I didn't want to lose him as a friend. We sort of just left it at that and it hasn't come up ever since."

"How long ago did this happen?" Brian asked.

"A few months ago," Michael answered. He looked at Brian wondering the same question he had asked him. "What about you? Have you ever done anything with a guy?" Michael asked.

"No. But I intend to change that soon," Brian smiled. "You want to know what finally made me admit that I was gay?" Brian asked.

Michael nodded his head. "Yeah, what?"

"It was Mr. Schwartz," Brian said simply.

Michael gave his cousin a confused look. "The Principal? What does he have to do with anything?" he asked.

"I felt this strong attraction towards him, and when he smiled at me I thought I would lose it. Then later on that night I started to think about him and found myself having to take care of a hard-on. Then I knew it was true. I couldn't deny that I was gay." Now it was time for Michael to be shocked.

"What, Mikey? You gotta admit that Principal Schwartz is fucking hot," Brian said with a smile.

"Well, yeah. It's just weird to think of you and Mr. Schwartz..." Michael trailed off and made a face. Brian laughed at his cousin's expression.

"Oh, come on, Mikey. I didn't fuck him. I just thought about him and jerked off. No big deal. I'm not going to try to get with the principal. I'm not stupid," Brian said, and gave Mikey a playful noogie on his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks had gone by, and Brian had settled into his new routine of living in the Novotney home and all the changes that came with living in Pittsburgh. Brian's room had finally been fully cleaned out and refurnished for him.

He had a new double-size bed. Debbie insisted on getting him a bigger bed because of his long legs, and pointed out that he would inevitably be doing some more growing, and wanted him to be comfortable.

His laptop rested on his new desk, the Internet connected to it, just as Debbie had promised. He had a chest of drawers full of clothes now. Debbie had taken him shopping for some new clothes. Brian refused at first, having been used to working for his own money and buying his own stuff, but Debbie wouldn't have it. They finally came to a compromise.

Debbie had said, "Look, you're my responsibility, Brian. You're in my care, and it's my job to see that you are taken care of and have everything you need. And you are in need of some new clothes, so I'll make a deal with you. If it's really that bothersome to you that I'm buying you new clothes, then when you turn 15 and you start working at the Diner, you can pay me back half. Does that sound like something you can live with? Half is fair because I'm your guardian, and providing you with things goes without saying. Deal?" Debbie had asked.

"Yeah, it's a deal," Brian had finally answered and they shook on it.

Brian had not seen Carter at all since the first time at the Diner. He figured they just kept missing each other. Brian had gone to the Diner a few times a week after school hoping to run into him, but hadn't seen him. He knew he would have a better chance of seeing him if he went to the diner on a Friday night, and that is just what he was planning on doing.

Brian rummaged through his closet, trying to decide what he would wear when he went out later that night, when he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Come in," Brian called out.

The door opened and Michael and Emmett walked in. Brian turned to look at them and smiled. Emmett was dressed in tight blue jeans and a hot pink tank top that said "Angel" in sparkled letters across the front. His hair was spiked and the tips were hot pink in color to match his shirt.. He wore a little eyeliner and lip gloss. He smelled of some kind of fruity scented body spray, which he undoubtedly bought from Bath and Body Works in the mall. Brian admired Emmett for having his own unique style and not being afraid to put himself out there.

Michael looked really plain standing next to Emmett. He was dressed in loose fitting jeans and a blue T-shirt with the red Superman symbol on it. Classic Mikey attire.

"Hey, Bri, Emmett and I are going to go grab some pizza tonight and then maybe rent a movie. You in?" Michael asked.

Brian went back to rummaging through his closet. "Sorry, Mikey. I have plans," Brian said.

Emmett observed Brian carefully.

"Does Mr. Gorgeous have a date tonight?" he asked Brian.

Brian quickly turned to look at Emmett and frowned. "No," he stated.

Emmett gave Brian a knowing smile. "Oh, come on, honey. I know this scene. You're looking for the perfect outfit to wear. You're planning to meet somebody. Do tell!" Emmett said excitedly.

Brian had come out to his close friends at school, so he didn't have to pretend around them. Of course they weren't surprised. Usually the supposedly "confused" ones were not really all that confused at all.

What Emmett had said, now had Michael's interest piqued. Brian had not spoken about Carter since he spilled the beans about the guy, and Michael had wondered if Brian had changed his mind about wanting to get to know him.

"Brian, is that true? Do you have a date?" Michael asked.

Brian rolled his eyes at the both of them. "I just said I didn't," he told them, not bothering to look back at Michael. He finally pulled out a dark green silk button up shirt and contemplated on it for a moment.

"Ooh, honey, that color is great on you. It brings out the green in your eyes. That would go good with those black 501 jeans you have," Emmett suggested.

Brian considered what Emmett was saying. "You think?" he asked.

"Definitely. You're going to look hot for whoever this mystery man is," Emmett said, and continued to stare at Brian, waiting for him to admit what he already knew.

Brian sighed. "Okay, it's not exactly a date," he said.

Emmett excitedly hopped on the bed next to Brian and bounced on it enthusiastically. "I knew it!" he said. "So who is this guy and if it isn't a date then what exactly is it?" Emmett asked.

Michael walked over to Brian's desk and sat in the chair waiting for his cousin's answer.

"Carter Stephens," Brian practically mumbled.

Emmett's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, I could have swore you said the name Carter Stephens," he said, thinking he must have heard wrong.

"You know him?" Brian asked.

Emmett looked at Brian and smirked. "Honey, anyone who doesn't know him would have to either be dead or from out of town," Emmett said. "When did you meet him?"

"A couple of weeks ago at the Diner. He came in and shook my hand; said that he hoped we could become better acquainted," Brian explained.

"Well, that's not surprising. You're fucking hot. You're exactly his type," Emmett pointed out. Brian blushed at the compliment.

"Brian, I didn't know you've been talking to Carter. Why didn't you tell me?" Michael asked.

"No, I haven't seen or talked to him since that day. I was planning on going down to the Diner and seeing if I could catch him before he goes clubbing and talk to him a little," Brian said.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Michael asked. "I mean what if he wants to take you back to his place or something?"

Brian shrugged. "I don't know. I can't predict what's going to happen, Mikey," Brian said cryptically.

"Honey, Michael's right. You may not be ready for this," Emmett said.

"I'm going," Brian said. It was obvious he had already made up his mind.

"Can we come? You know, just for moral support?" Emmett asked hopefully.

Brian sighed. "Okay fine. But if he wants to leave with me you have to promise not to say anything about it. And DON'T tell Aunt Deb, okay?" Brian looked at Michael.

Michael and Emmett looked at each other, not sure whether to comply with Brian's conditions.

"All right, I promise. What do you say, Michael?" Emmett asked looking at his friend.

"I don't know, you guys. What if something happens to Brian?" Michael said frowning. Brian got up from his bed and walked over to Michael and put his arm around his shoulder.

"Look, Mikey, if I happen to leave with Carter, it won't be for too long. You have my cell number and I have yours. Here's what we can do. You guys can go hang out somewhere until you hear from me. I promise to call you by 10:00 pm, regardless. We can meet back here at the Diner and then go back to your house. When Debbie asks where we've been we'll just tell her that we went out for pizza and a movie," Brian said.

It was the perfect plan. Michael stayed silent thinking over what Brian said.

"Mikey, this is only IF I see him at the Diner and IF he is even interested. He might not even be there," Brian told Michael.

"Oh, by the looks of it, he was definitely interested," Michael said. He looked up at Brian and then sighed. "Okay, I'll go along with this. But if you leave with him, and don't call us by 10:00 like you said, I'm going to assume that you're in trouble and I'm going to tell Ma everything."

Brian smiled widely at his cousin and gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Mikey. I'll owe you one."