Kindred Love

Granger Point - The Party

Todd, and his brother Jeremy, picked Brian and Justin up right on time to go to Granger Point. The rest of the gang was going to meet them there. In the car on the way there, Todd chatted away with Brian almost nonstop. Justin mostly remained quiet, just listening, not really knowing what to say to Brian's apparent close "friend". He knew this was the boy Brian had told him about; the one he had messed around with and possibly planned to lose his virginity to. Justin wasn't sure how he felt about Todd yet. He was jealous of the other boy, but as far as liking him, he still wasn't sure yet.

Once they arrived at Granger point, Jeremy yelled at his brother to help him carry the cooler, which was full of beer. Brian and Justin grabbed some lawn chairs from the trunk of the car and followed them to a group of young guys, most of them ranging from 18 to 24 in age. They were kids that went to school with Jeremy. They were all hanging out around a bonfire, laughing, a lot of them smoking cigarettes. There were already a few joints being passed around. As soon as they set the cooler and chairs down, Todd immediately went off to talk to someone he knew.

Justin looked at Brian nervously. He had never been to a party like this. He had never hung out with college boys before either. He wasn't sure how to act around them. Brian saw the look Justin was giving him, and squeezed his shoulder affectionately and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Jus. Everything is cool. Just relax and have fun," Brian whispered. Justin smiled nervously at Brian and nodded. A tall blond came over to greet them.

"Hey, Jeremy. You made it," he said, giving Jeremy an affectionate kiss on the mouth. "Who are your friends?" the guy asked. Jeremy smiled at the guy.

"Erick, this is Brian, my brother's friend, and uh... I'm sorry, I forgot your name," Jeremy said to Justin.

"This is Justin," Brian introduced. Erick smiled at them and nodded.

"Hey. I'm Erick, Jeremy's boyfriend. You guys are younger. That's good. My younger brother is here with me tonight. He'll be glad there are some kids here his age," Erick told them.

"So have you guys started having fun without me?" Jeremy asked with a teasing smile.

"As a matter of fact, there are a few joints being passed around as we speak. But now that you're here, and the beer's here, the party can really start," he told Jeremy, kissing him on the mouth again. They left the two boys standing there and walked hand-in-hand to join some their other friends at the bonfire.

"Justin, I'll be right back, I'm going to get a beer. Do you want one?" Brian asked.

"Uh, sure," Justin nodded. Brian smiled at him and left to get their drinks.

Justin curiously turned his attention back to Jeremy and Erick. He watched as Jeremy took a hit off the joint that had been passed to him and then handed it to his boyfriend. Erick smiled as he took his turn with the joint and then passed it to someone else. He then grabbed Jeremy by the back of the neck once more, and started kissing him passionately.

Justin smiled as he watched the two men kiss. He was still not used to seeing two gay people being openly affectionate with each other, but when it happened, it made him happy. He was glad that he was surrounded by people who weren't afraid to be themselves, and it reminded him that he wasn't alone. There were gay people everywhere. Most of all, though, he envied those who had someone to be affection with.

"Anyone ever tell you it's impolite to stare?" Todd whispered in Justin's ear, startling him. He hadn't seen the other boy walking back over to him. Justin blushed at being caught.

"Sorry," he said quietly, too embarrassed to look Todd in the eye. Todd only winked at him and smiled.

"I'm just teasing you, kid. I don't blame you for staring. Watching two guys make out is totally hot," Todd said, inhaling deeply from his own joint he had, and exhaling the smoke, blowing it directly into Justin's face. Justin, unprepared for the smoke, started coughing.

"Sorry, blondie, I didn't mean to make you choke," Todd frowned, patting Justin's back.

Brian came back with two beers in his hand, and noticed Justin coughing.

"Justin, are you okay?" Brian asked concerned.

Justin rubbed his eyes which were watery from the smoke and coughed once more. "Yeah, just a little smoke," he answered hoarsely, accepting a beer.

"Did I just miss witnessing his first hit of weed?" Brian asked with a half smile.

Todd shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't know it was his first. It wasn't official though, I blew the smoke in his face. You can still be there for our baby's first toke," Todd mocked in a falsetto tone, and batted his eyelashes. Brian elbowed his friend and smirked, as he took the joint from him and inhaled deeply and held the smoke in his lungs.

"Shotgun?" Todd asked. Without hesitation, Brian leaned in and put his mouth to Todd's and exhaled. Todd couldn't resist putting on a little show for Justin, and ended up holding Brian's neck to keep him close, and kissed him deeply, slipping his tongue into the brunette's mouth.

Justin's heart fell as he watched the two boys kissing in front of him. They continued kissing for a minute or two, but it seemed more like an hour to Justin. He might have cried, except that after a few minutes, a strange dizzy feeling in his head had just started distracted him from everything around him.

Brian pulled away from Todd and smirked. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Well, your little friend here seems to be interested in watching two hot guys make out, so I thought we could give him a little show - free of charge," Todd said, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

Brian furrowed his brows in confusion, and then turned his attention to Justin, who was looking a little spaced out.

"Hey, J? Are you all right?" he asked. It seemed that Justin didn't hear him, because he didn't respond. He just continued to stare off into space. "Justin?" Brian called out again.

Justin finally turned to look at Brian, in what felt like slow motion, wondering why his voice seemed to echo in his ears. Suddenly everything seemed brighter, quieter and louder all at the same time. He knew there was something that had just made him feel sad, but he couldn't remember what it was anymore.

"I think he's high," Todd said.

Brian frowned. "Jesus, from one hit? This must be some good shit."

Todd nodded. "Yeah, that and he was coughing up a storm. You see, coughing opens your capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels that run throughout your entire body. They deliver Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide; thus, when you cough, blood rushes to the capillaries, making them expand and allowing more Oxygen and THC. End result, making you extremely, utterly and pleasantly baked," Todd said with a huge smile.

Brian looked at him and started laughing hysterically, which got Todd laughing along with him. Todd was higher than a kite.

"What the fuck was that?" Brian asked still laughing. "Professor Todd Riddick!" Brian mocked.

"I know, dude. Made me sound like a real scholar, eh? My brother was the one who told me that shit. Who knows if it's really true or not."

Justin started laughing at them hysterically. Todd and Brian looked at him and started laughing again. Brian took another hit off the joint. He really needed to catch up to these two.

"Brian, I want one of those gunshot thingies," Justin said jumping up and down.

Brian laughed at his friend. "You mean you want a shotgun?" he asked him, amused.

Justin smiled his sunshine smile at his best friend and nodded happily. "Yeah, one of those," he said, taking a swig of his beer. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and he hoped the beer would help.

"All right," Brian said.

He inhaled deeply again, and motioned for Justin to come closer to him. Justin did, and Brian leaned into his face and put his mouth close to his. Justin felt the smoke enter his mouth and inhaled as it passed through. He couldn't believe how close their lips were, and he wanted to kiss Brian so badly. He wanted to kiss him the way he had kissed Rachel when he was imagining it was really Brian. He wanted to claim his mouth. The mouth that was so inviting. The mouth he had dreamed of kissing for so long. He had countless sketches of Brian's handsome face and that luscious mouth of his.

Justin felt his heart beating faster and his resolve growing weaker, and soon, he found himself touching his lips to his best friend's. When he felt Brian's soft lips against his, he moaned, and then to his surprise and delight, Brian opened his mouth and offer his tongue to him, deepening the kiss. Justin was in heaven. He wondered if this was a dream. Or maybe it was the weed making him feel as if this were really happening? He decided he didn't care, and just enjoyed it.

Todd stood there and watched them with an amused smile. If he didn't know better, he would say that these two had a thing for each other. He would have to do a little research to know for sure. It would make sense though if they were into one another. He knew that Brian and Justin had been close when they were neighbors. He also knew that Justin and his family had been there for Brian through some very rough times. He wasn't sure of the details, but the way that Brian spoke of the Taylors so affectionately, he knew that it must have been pretty bad, and that they had really helped him.

Todd finally cleared his throat, and Brian was the first to pull away from the kiss. He looked at Justin a little shocked with slightly wide eyes, as if really seeing him for the first time, and then brought his hand to his mouth, touching his own lips with his fingers, as if he couldn't believe what they had just done. Justin looked back at Brian with lust-filled eyes and smiled at him.

"I'll take that," Todd said as he grabbed the joint from Brian's hand which was no longer lit. He sparked it up again with his lighter and took a long drag, and smiled at them.

"Wow, you guys, that was some show. Should I expect a sequel anytime soon?" Todd said, almost laughing at their expression. It was as if they had forgotten he was even standing there.

"Shit," Brian mumbled and then pinched the bridge of his nose.

Justin frowned, knowing what that usually meant. Brian only pinched the bridge of his nose when he was stressed out, annoyed or regretful. Justin started to get a panicky feeling in the the pit of his stomach. Had he just made the biggest mistake of his life?

"Brian... I'm sorry. I didn't uh... well, I mean I just... I shouldn't have crossed the line. It must be the weed," Justin stammered nervously.

Brian looked deep into his blue orbs and felt his stomach drop, as if he were on an elevator. "Don't worry about it, J. It's okay. I understand," Brian said resting his hand on Justin's shoulder, and gave him a small smile. "Things like this happen sometimes," he said softly.

Justin looked back at him, unable to read his expression. He could tell that Brian wasn't upset with him, but there was something in his face and tone that made him unsure of what he was thinking.

Brian suddenly noticed Michael waving at him. He had just arrived with Josh, Emmett and Ted. "Uh, Mikey just got here. I'm going over to talk to him and Josh," Brian said and walked away, leaving Justin and Todd standing there. Justin covered his face with his hands and growled into them.

"Shit," he mumbled. "He couldn't get away from me fast enough."

"Maybe he's scared because he just realized that there's something there that he didn't see before," Todd suggested. Justin removed his hands from his face and looked at Todd, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

"What?" Justin asked.

Todd rolled his eyes. "You and Brian just shared a pretty intimate kiss. Now he's confused and doesn't know how to register it," Todd told him.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I think I just fucked everything up," Justin said sadly. They were quiet for a moment, Justin chugging his beer, and Todd puffing on the rest of his joint.

"So, how long have you been in love with him?" Todd asked bluntly. Justin quickly looked over at him in surprise.

"I... don't. You're wrong," Justin lied. He looked away from Todd. He figured the other boy probably knew he was lying. Justin never really was good at that.

"Right. You should have seen your face when he pulled away. Sorry, sweetheart, but either you were imagining a love scene from Gone with the Wind, or you've got it bad for your best friend," Todd told Justin.

Justin frowned. "Please don't say anything," he asked quietly. "It's best if we just forget this ever happened. I don't want to ruin our friendship. Most of all though, I don't want to lose him," Justin said.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything. I think you two should talk about this, though," Todd said.

Justin shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about. It was a stupid mistake that I made when my mind was not in its logical state. It won't happen again. End of story," Justin said. Todd wondered who he was trying to convince.

Just then they saw Emmett and Ted walk up to them.

"Hey, sweetie, are you having a good time?" he asked Justin.

Justin put on a fake smile and tried to pretend to be enthusiastic. "Yeah, Em. Great time," he said. He noticed a dark-haired boy standing next to Emmett. He looked a little nervous and stayed almost hidden behind Emmett, who was a few inches taller than him.

"Who's your friend?" Justin asked Emmett. He smiled at Justin and pushed Ted in front of him.

"This is my good friend, Ted Schmitt. Ted, this is Justin, Brian's friend, who's visiting from Philadelphia," Emmett introduced.

"Hey," Justin smiled. Tod nodded in response and gave a returned small smile.

"Hello, Ted. Read any boring books lately?" Todd said sarcastically, which earned him a frown from the dark-haired boy.

"Yeah, it was probably while you were busy sucking off by some random stranger," Ted shot back.

Justin laughed out loud. He liked Ted. Emmett looked uncomfortable, as his eyes shifted between the two boys. Their names might have started and ended with the same letters and were both one syllable, but Todd and Ted couldn't be more different from each other.

Todd didn't seem too phased by Ted's comment and insinuation to his promiscuousness. He just rolled his eyes and smirked. He really couldn't give a shit what the boring, Ted Schmitt thought of him.

"Now, now. Can't we all just get along? You're going to ruin my buzz," Emmett said, taking a chug of his beer.

"Hey guys," Michael said coming up behind them and wrapping one hand around Ted's shoulder. Ted looked slightly uncomfortable and immediately took a swig of his beer he had been holding.

Justin looked around for Brian and finally spotted him over by the bonfire with Josh, in what looked like some deep conversation. Todd followed Justin's line of vision and decided to speak up.

"Hey guys, why don't we join Brian and Josh over at the bonfire. I think they have some more weed over there, and I'm down to a roach now," Todd said. They all agreed and walked over to the bonfire where their two friends were standing.

Brian was trying to act nonchalant, but in reality he was freaking out. He hadn't expected for Justin to start kissing him, and he definitely didn't expect to kiss him back. He wasn't sure what that meant. The kiss had felt good. He wasn't sure if the kiss had happened because of the drugs, or if Justin had done it on purpose. When he had pulled away from the kiss, Justin's face had looked angelic and beautiful, not to mention lustful.

When Michael said he was going to go see what the others were up to, Brian used that opportunity to tell Josh what had just happened with Justin. He had to tell someone, or he would go nuts. Josh didn't seem too surprised that it had happened. He suggested that Brian talk to Justin about it later when they were alone, but in the meantime to just kick back and have fun. "Easy for you to say," Brian thought, as he saw the gang walking to join them at the bonfire.

He could feel Justin's eyes on him, and he decided to finally look back at him. He gave him a smile, and could see a look of relief come across Justin's face. He hoped that would keep for a while. At least Justin knew now that things were okay between them. Brian was just confused right now, but they would sort it out later.

"Hey, Justin, I want you to meet someone," Todd said. Justin looked over at him and noticed a guy with light brown hair standing next to him.

"This is Cameron, Erick's younger brother," Todd said. Justin smiled at the boy and shook his hand.

"Hi," Justin told him. The boy was quite handsome. He was slender and only a little taller than Justin, with dark brown eyes and a nice smile. By the way he looked at Justin it was apparent that the attraction was mutual.

"Hey. Todd said that you're from out of town," Cameron said.

"Yeah, I'm from Philly," Justin told him.

"Well, hopefully we'll get to know each other well before you have to go back," Cameron told him, giving him a sexy smile. Justin blushed and nodded.

"Yeah, maybe we will," he answered. Brian watched Cameron and Justin exchange words and flirt with each other, and frowned.

Todd watched Brian carefully, and saw he had the exact reaction that he had expected. He smiled to himself and decided to turn up the fire.

"Cameron, from what I understand, Justin is a terrific artist. Aren't you into that sort of thing as well?" Todd said.

Cameron nodded and was about to answer, when Brian suddenly cut in.

"What, finger painting?" he said sarcastically. They all stared at him and then back at Cameron, who let the comment roll off his shoulder and laughed.

"Actually, watercolor painting," Cameron said. "My mother is an art teacher and has taught me from a young age all the various techniques of painting. Watercolor though, that is my favorite," he shot another smile at Justin who seemed impressed.

"I like painting too. The last class I took was oil painting, but I'm more into sketching. I like to draw people and characters. I want to be an animator," Justin said.

"Looks like we'd make a good match," Cameron smiled. Justin blushed again and laughed lightly. Justin glanced in Brian's direction and saw the disapproving look on his face. Could he be jealous?

Justin saw Todd whisper something into Brian's ear. At first it looked like Brian hesitated, but then he nodded and allowed Todd to lead him away from the group and walk to a more secluded area of the campsite. Justin felt a pang of jealousy surge through his veins. Todd was probably pulling Brian away so that they could mess around. He huffed and then turned his attention back to Cameron and continued chatting with him, trying to be interested in whatever topics of conversation they had. Cameron was at least a good distraction for the blond at the moment.

Todd and Brian sat in a dark part of the campsite where there were few other people. Brian seemed totally distracted, and barely made any response as Todd ran his hand from the brunette's knee and worked his way up his thigh, getting closer to his crotch. He licked and kissed lightly on Brian's neck.

"It seems Justin may have his first boyfriend before he leaves Pittsburgh," Todd whispered. Brian frowned and pushed the other boy off of him.

"You don't know that for sure," Brian said.

"I thought you'd be happy for him. He just came out and everything. Don't you want him to be happy?" Todd asked.

Brian's expression softened. "Of course. I just don't think that Cameron guy is right for him," Brian said.

Todd looked at Brian suspiciously. "And why not? They seem to have a lot in common, not to mention they were obviously attracted to each other," Todd pointed out.

"Whatever," Brian said and frowning again.

Todd shrugged and then his hand found the button to Brian's 501 jeans and started to unbutton them. When he stuck his hand down the front of Brian's underwear, he felt Brian's dick hardening under his hand.

Brian moaned as he felt Todd stroke his dick slowly. Pushing all thoughts of Justin away, he immediately pulled Todd closer to him and kissed him. Things were getting hot and heavy when suddenly the image of Justin's face flashed before him in his mind. His beautiful sunshine smile beamed at him, his bright blue eyes sparkling. Then he saw Justin kissing him as he had earlier, so tenderly.

Brian pulled away from Todd in confusion. Todd looked at him questioningly and then leaned forward to try to kiss Brian again, but he pushed him away.

"What's wrong?" Todd frowned.

Brian shook his head. "I uh... I can't do this right now," he answered. Todd raised an eyebrow at Brian.

"It's Justin, isn't it? You're thinking about him," Todd said.

"No, he has nothing to do with this," Brian lied. "I'm just a little fucked up. I think I drank and smoked too much," Brian said.

Todd nodded at him. He knew Brian was lying, but he'd let it go for now. "All right. Do you want to go home?" he asked him.

Brian shook his head. "No, I think I'll be okay. I just need to sit for a while. Would you mind if we just stayed here and talked a bit?"

"Okay," Todd said, rubbing small circles on Brian's back.

"You're not mad?" Brian asked.

Todd frowned. "Of course not. I thought you knew me better than that," Todd said. "If you're not into it, then you're not into it. I have never, and will not ever force you to do something you don't want to do," Todd said looking directly into Brian's eyes. "Always by mutual consent," Todd smiled and elbowed his friend, earning a small smile from the brunette.

"Sorry," Brian said.

"Aren't you the one who always says sorry is bullshit? Stop acting like such a lesbian," Todd smirked. Brian laughed at his friend.

Back at the bonfire, Cameron was still doing most of the talking and Justin was still half-listening with a smile on his face, when Erick came over to them.

"Hey, Cam, we gotta go. Mom said you have to be home by curfew," Erick told his brother. Cameron sighed.

"I gotta go," he told Justin regrettably.

"Oh... Well, it was nice meeting you," Justin said.

"Do you have a cell phone?" Cameron asked.

"Uh, no," Justin replied.

"Oh. Well what about that guy Brian that you're visiting?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, but I wouldn't feel comfortable giving out his number," Justin told him.

"Honey, you can have my cell number and I'll let Justin know if you call," Emmett volunteered.

"Cool," Cameron smiled, and programmed Emmett's cell phone number into his own phone. "Well, I'll see you around, Justin," he said.

"Yeah, all right," Justin smiled. He watched Cameron leave and turn back around and wink at him.

"Wow, sweetie. He sure was interested in you," Emmett chimed.

"Yeah, I guess so. He was nice," Justin replied.

"Nice? He was a walking wet dream!" Emmett said, fanning his face with his hand.

"He doesn't seem right for Justin," Ted spoke up. They turned to look at the normally quiet boy.

"Are you nuts? They're a perfect match," Emmett insisted. He spotted a cute guy next to the cooler. "Well, I'm suddenly very thirsty. See you, boys," Emmett said cheerfully as he left Ted and Justin.

"So why don't you think that Cameron seems right for me?" Justin asked Ted.

"It's just that I swear I sensed a little chemistry between you and someone else tonight," Ted told him with a shrug.

"Oh yeah? Who?" Justin asked, trying to sound clueless.

"I think you know who," Ted said, giving Justin a small smile, and then turning his head to look in Brian's direction. Justin followed his line of vision and then blushed.

"How did you know? Am I really that obvious?" Justin whispered.

Ted looked down sadly. "I'm a very observant person. I recognized the look of being in love with your own best friend," he said.

"You're talking about you and Michael," Justin said, looking over to where Michael and Josh were sitting. They were cuddling together and making out.

"Yeah," Ted said softly.

"I'm sorry, Ted," Justin said sympathetically.

"It's okay. It happens. Michael has always held a special place in my heart. He was my first friend back in elementary school. None of the other kids would talk to me. He always did though, and he's always included me in everything in his life... until now," Ted whispered as he looked back at the happy couple.

"I know he still cares about you, Ted. He said so. He just feels guilty about spending all his time with Josh," Justin assured him.

"Well, it's a little more complicated than that. But that doesn't matter right now. I did want to say that I don't think your situation is exactly the same," Ted said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well I was watching Brian, and I think there's something there. I think he feels something for you too," Ted told him.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Friendship. He loves me like a brother," he said, hopelessly.

"I don't think so, Justin. I was watching him. He looked disturbed when you were talking to Cameron," Ted said.

Justin laughed. "That's because not too long before that I kissed him. I fucking kissed Brian. God what was I thinking?" Justin yelled at himself.

Ted's eyes went wide. "You kissed Brian?" he asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I wasn't thinking - I was -- AM stoned. He leaned in to give me a shotgun and I kissed him. I'm such a fucking idiot," Justin said, shaking his head.

Ted put his hand on Justin's shoulder. "You're not an idiot. You did what your heart told you to do. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah, but I don't know how he feels about it. He acted all weird and has been avoiding me all night," Justin said, tears now in his eyes. "I don't know what to do," he said, a tear falling down his cheek.

Ted hugged the blond. He understood exactly how he was feeling. He had made the same move with Michael, and things had changed. The difference was though, that he was pretty sure that Michael didn't feel the same way for him. But he owed it to himself to find out, or else he would always wonder "what if?" He knew there was a chance that Michael would push him away, or tell him that he wasn't interested in being more than friends. He was okay with that. What made him so sad was that it changed their friendship, and Michael started to pull away from him. Then he met Josh, and the rest was history.

"Just talk to him," Ted said softly.

Justin nodded. "Yeah, I think I need to," he agreed.

They heard someone clearing their throat, and pulled away from their hug to see Todd and Brian standing there watching them with curiosity.

"Hey, Justin, are you ready to go? Brian's not feeling well, and my brother wants to leave to go meet Erick at the dorm," Todd told him.

"Uh, yeah. I'm ready," Justin replied. He looked at Ted.

"Do you have a ride home?" Justin asked him.

"Yeah, I came with Emmett, Michael and Josh. Josh's sister is going to pick us up," he explained.

"Okay, I'll see you," Justin told him.

Ted nodded and then leaned in to Justin's ear. "Talk to him soon," he whispered. Justin nodded and smiled at him.

Walking towards the car, Todd smirked. "Wow, Justin, you're really popular with the guys tonight," he laughed. Brian frowned at his friend's comment.

"Things have an unexpected way of happening sometimes," Justin replied and made eye contact with Brian.

The car ride back home was mostly quiet. Justin knew he would talk to Brian soon, probably tomorrow. He had no idea how he was going to sleep tonight. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about the conversation he was planning on having with Brian. It was going to be a long night.