Unbrotherly Love

Part 2

Foreseeing Changes

The following Monday, Justin and Daphne sat in the school cafeteria eating their lunch.

"So, my mom fucking freaked out about the ugly shirt thing. You should have seen her face - all of their faces, when I came down the stairs in that ugly thing. It was priceless," Justin said, laughing. Daphne laughed along with him.

"I can't believe you actually did that! Holy shit!" Daphne was laughing harder now.

"Wait, it gets better. So, it turns out that Jack's son, Brian... he's fucking gorgeous and he goes to St. James Academy. He's on the boy's swim team, and that is where I recognized him from."

"Holy shit! Brian... Wait, do you mean Brian Kinney? The Brian Kinney? He is so fucking hot!" Daphne squealed. Justin raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"And gay," Justin smiled, as he saw Daphne's eyes practically pop out of their sockets.

"Shit. I didn't know that."

"How do you know him?" he asked.

"He's in my chemistry class. He's best friends with Michael Novotney - you know, the short dark-haired guy who's always carrying around a comic book. So like, did you and Brian talk at all?" she asked.

"Yeah, unfortunately, it wasn't all that great," he frowned, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"We got to talking about divorce, and he said that my parents were not going to get back together, and I got pissed at him. I mean, who the fuck does he think he is? Miss Cleo? He doesn't know that it won't happen."

Daphne looked down at her tray of food guiltily. She never said anything to Justin because she didn't want him to get mad at her, but she also knew how unlikely it was that his parents would get back together. She wished that he would just let go of that fantasy and let his mom be happy.

"Hey, Justin... he probably didn't mean anything by it. I mean, I'm sure he wasn't trying to upset you."

"I know... you're probably right. I was just in a really bad mood that day. I was already pissed about having to meet Jack. Brian tried to apologize to me but I ran away from him. I felt kind of bad for yelling at him. He probably thinks I'm a total loser."

Just then Daphne noticed none other than Brian Kinney heading straight for their table. She smiled at him.

"Well, loser... Speak of the devil. He's headed this way," Daphne said. Justin quickly looked up and saw Brian walk up to their table.

1 "Hey," Brian said looking at Justin and then Daphne.

"Hi, Brian," Daphne gushed. Gay or straight, this boy gave her goosebumps just being that close to her, and she silently cursed to herself that all the cute guys were gay.

"Hello. Daphne, right?" Brian asked giving her a charming smile. She smiled and nodded back at him shyly, amazed that he even remembered her name.

"Hey, where's your cool shirt?" Brian smirked, looking at Justin. The blond frowned at him, not appreciating the brunette's sarcasm.

"You're hilarious," Justin said dully. Brian furrowed his eyebrows.

"It was just a joke. Jesus, still uptight, I see."

"What do you want?" Justin asked, sounding bored.

"I just came over here to say that I was sorry about what I said. I really didn't mean to piss you off. It wasn't only that I was telling you what I knew from my own experience. I know my father, and he has it bad for your mom. It doesn't look like they are breaking up any time soon," Brian said.

"I know," Justin nodded. He was slowly but surly coming to that conclusion.

"Look. You don't have to be my friend, or even like me, but I thought maybe you could at least try to tolerate me around our parents. I mean... they are happy. I don't want to fuck it up for them. My dad hasn't been this happy in a long time," Brian said. Justin took a bite out of his sandwich and didn't say anything, which made Brian roll his eyes at the blond.

"If you'd at least get your head out of your ass, and actually gave him a chance, you'd see that my dad is not that bad of a guy. In fact, you'd maybe think he was kind of cool," Brian told Justin. The blond looked up to meet Brian's eyes once again.

"I don't want a new dad," Justin said. Brian rolled his eyes again.

"He's not trying to replace your father, Justin. He just wants you guys to be friends, or at least wants you to be cool with him."

Justin sighed. "Okay, I can't promise anything, but I will try to refrain myself from being too much of a shit, okay?" Justin said with a small smile.

"Well, that's a start," Brian smirked. "I guess we'll find out on Saturday. You, your mom and sister are all invited to our house for a barbecue. See you then," Brian said, and walked away.

Daphne immediately slapped Justin's arm hard and frowned. "Justin, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Ouch! Fuck!" Justin shrieked, trying to rub the sting out of the spot Daphne's hand just slapped.

"Even after you were a total asshole he was still nice to you AND he apologized for the other night. Not only is he a cool guy, and genuine, but he's fucking HOT. Why are you giving him such a hard time?" Daphne asked. Justin shrugged.

"I don't know," he sighed. "I just want things to go back to how they were. I don't want a new family. Everything is going to change," Justin explained.

"Justin, sometimes change is good. Why don't you give Brian and his father a chance? If they both turn out to be assholes, then I will personally help you to get revenge, okay?" Daphne said, making a fist. Justin laughed at her.

"Yeah, like you could take on anyone with your skinny little body."

"Hey, shut up! I'm a lot stronger than people think. You'd be surprised." Justin just shook his head at his best friend and laughed again, earning him a punch in the arm.

"Ow! Okay, okay, I believe you! Shit, you hit hard for a girl." Daphne gave him a triumphant look.

"Thank you, I rest my case," she smiled.

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

Jennifer, Justin and Molly stood just outside the door of Jack Kinney's house right on time. Jennifer gave her son a stern look.

"Justin, remember what I said. If you do anything to ruin our evening, I promise you that you'll be sorry. Just think, no car. Got it?" she warned.

Justin rolled his eyes at his mother. "God, Mom, I heard you the first time."

"Just making sure," Jennifer said smugly, ringing the doorbell. A moment later they were greeted by a smiling Brian.

"Hey, guys, come on in," he told them, stepping aside to let them walk inside.

"Hi, Brian," Molly smiled as she walked in first.

"Hey, squirt, " Brian smiled back.

"Brian, so nice to see you again," Jennifer told him.

"You too, Jennifer. Dad's in the backyard starting up the barbecue," Brian told her, closing the front door.

"Thanks, honey," Jennifer said and immediately walked towards the kitchen to get to the backyard.

Justin was quiet, but did manage to give Brian a small smile. He was going to try to keep his word on being somewhat courteous. Even though he acted like it wasn't that big of a deal when his mother threatened his car privileges, he really didn't want them taken away. Besides, he had kind of been taking what Daphne said into consideration. Maybe he should give them a chance.

"So, do you guys want a tour of the house or do you just want to go out back?" Brian asked.

"And see them suck face? No, I don't think so," Justin muttered before he could stop himself. To his relief, Brian laughed.

"Yeah, parents kissing is pretty fucking gross; not to mention, the fact that they're breeders makes it even worse," Brian smirked. Justin laughed, while Molly's mouth flew open.

"Ooooh, you said a bad word!" Molly accused, pointing her finger at Brian. "And what do you mean by breeders?" she asked curiously, wrinkling her nose.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, squirt. How about something to drink? We've got Kool-Aid, soda, juice... what's your poison?" Brian asked the young little blond.

"It's poisoned?" she asked with a frightened look. Brian just laughed.

"It's just an expression, doll," he explained. Molly's face softened and then she smiled.

"Oh. In that case, my poison is Kool-Aid," she said with a satisfied smile, happy she learned a grown-up expression. The word "breeder" was totally forgotten.

"All right, coming right up. Justin? Anything for you?" he asked, walking into the kitchen and motioning them to follow him.

"No, I'm cool," Justin replied.

As Molly drank her Kool-Aid, she glanced outside to the backyard through the sliding glass door, when something caught her eye.

"Doggy!" she shrieked, pointing to the Shetland Sheep dog chewing on a rubber toy on the lawn of the large backyard.

"That's J.B. He loves kids. You'll be his new best friend if you throw that tennis ball out there for him," Brian told her. Molly's face broke out in a huge excited grin.

"Oooh, can I?" she squealed.

"Sure," Brian said. She put down her glass of Kool-Aid on the kitchen table, and was out the sliding glass door in seconds running towards the dog to pet it. Brian and Justin laughed as they watched J.B. revel in the attention from the little girl and practically knock her over while licking her face. They could see her giggling and hugging the dog.

"She always wanted a dog," Justin told Brian.

"I can tell. Why didn't you guys ever get one?" he asked.

"My dad doesn't like dogs. He said if we got one it would stink up the house and ruin the furniture. We had a cat for a little bit but had to get rid of it because of my allergies. Molly was so disappointed. She loves animals."

"Well, it seems animals love her too. J.B. sure does," Brian said, watching the Sheltie fetch the tennis ball and bring it back to Molly to throw again.

"Nice save, by the way, on the 'breeders' thing," Justin smiled.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Forgot there were a young pair of ears in the room."

"So, uh, does your dad know that you're..."

"A fag?" Brian finished. Justin nodded his head. "I've never outright told him, but I think he knows. He's seen the magazines of men in my room. That, and the fact that the only girl I've ever brought home is Lindsay Peterson, who is so obviously not my girlfriend. I think he's smart enough to figure it out. It has just never come up," Brian told him with a shrug.

"Do you think it bothers him?" Justin asked.

"No. If it did, he would bring it up and say so. That's just the way he is. I think he is just waiting for me to tell him I'm gay." Justin nodded. Maybe Jack wasn't so bad after all. He probably knew that Brian was gay and was okay with it.

"I think my parents would freak out if they knew I was gay," Justin admitted. "Or at least my dad would, for sure," Justin frowned. He looked out through the glass door again, watching Jack and his mother laughing and talking together, while keeping an eye on the burgers and hot dogs cooking on the grill in front of him. Molly was still playing with J.B.

"Something smells good," Justin smiled. Brian nodded.

"Yeah, Dad makes the best burgers and hot dogs on the planet," Brian smiled. "Want to go outside now?" he asked. Justin nodded and followed him out the sliding glass door. Jack turn to look at them and smiled.

"Hey, there you guys are. Food's almost done. Brian do you want to get everything ready? I thought we could eat out here. It's the perfect day to eat outside," Jack said.

"Oh, good idea, sweetie. Justin, why don't you help him?" Jennifer suggested.

"Okay," Justin replied. They went back in the kitchen to gather the paper plates, napkins, and anything else they would need for the food.

They all joked and talked as they ate the delicious food. Brian had been right. Justin had never had a better tasting hamburger, plus, Jack had grilled the buns, which really made it complete.

Justin hadn't said too much to Jack, but he had been observing him a lot. He knew it would take a little more time, but eventually he guessed he might start to open up to the man. One thing that troubled him, was if Jack and his mother were to end things after he and Molly got close to him, how devastating it would be for them. Especially for Molly, whom Justin already knew adored the older man, and now that a dog was mixed into the equation, she couldn't be happier.

Justin smiled as he sat there thinking and ate his food. Being there felt like a real family. They were all having a good time. He missed his Dad being home with them, but he had to admit that they never did things like this. His father was usually too busy with business to ever have time to do barbecues. Actually, Justin's couldn't really picture his father in front of one. His mom always did all the cooking.

The only thing Craig had really made time for over the years was going to Justin's baseball games. Craig had wanted Justin to join little league when he was 10, and had insisted that Justin keep on with it, even though the blond didn't particularly enjoy doing it. Not that he wasn't any good. He was the team's strongest pitcher. It just wasn't something that he liked doing, and it always seemed to take time away from the things he really wanted to do. He stayed with it because it was something that he and his father could bond over. It made his dad so happy that he did it, and it was the only father-son thing that they shared. Justin wanted to quit, but was afraid of how his father would react. He had always pushed him so hard when it came to the sport.

Craig had played baseball when he was younger and was always known as the team's star player. He got a scholarship to Dartmouth and continued to play all through college while getting his business degree. He wanted Justin to follow in his footsteps. Justin didn't want to go to Dartmouth or study business. Since he was a young kid he had known that he had the potential to be a great artist. He wanted to learn more about art and improve on his techniques.

Justin was brought out of his thoughts by his mother's voice.

"Justin, is everything all right?" she asked. He looked at her and blinked.

"Yeah. I was just thinking," he told her with a small smile.

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

Later that night, Justin was sitting on his bed sketching and thinking about the day and everything that had happened lately, when he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

"Come in," he called out. The door opened slowly and he saw his mother's head pop in. He smiled at her. She came in and sat on the bed next to her son, and looked at his sketch. It was of Molly playing with J.B. She smiled widely as she studied the the drawing.

"Justin, this is great. I always thought you should take your art more seriously. You have real talent," she said, resting her hand on her son's shoulder. Justin smiled at her with a slight blush.

"Thanks."

"Well, I came up here because I just wanted to see if you were okay. You've been awfully quiet, and well, when you're quiet, I know something is not right," Jennifer said with a teasing smile.

"Oh, ha-ha," Justin said sarcastically, but still smiled. "Everything is fine. I've just been thinking a lot about how much things are changing."

Jennifer nodded in agreement. "Yeah, there definitely has been a lot of that lately," she agreed. "Justin... did you have a good time today?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, yeah, I did," Justin replied, and then paused. "Mom, I want you to know that I'm going to try to not interfere this time. I mean, Jack - he seems like a nice guy, and he seems to make you happy," Justin told her. Jennifer's eyes teared up.

"Oh, honey. I was hoping you would feel that way," she hugged him tightly. "He really is a good man. He really likes you and hopes that you two can eventually be friends," she told him, releasing him from her embrace.

"Baby steps, Mom," he said, smiling.

Jennifer nodded and wiped her tears. She was just so happy that Justin was coming around. This was the first time he seemed to be accepting the fact that she was moving on. She hoped that in time, things would progress even better.

"Your father called. He'll be here at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon to take you to the Pirates game.

Justin sighed and rolled his eyes. "Why can't we ever do anything that has NOTHING to do with baseball?" he complained.

"If you want to do something else, why don't you say something to him?" Jennifer asked.

"Because every time I mention something negative about baseball he takes it the wrong way. He always says, 'You're not thinking of quitting are you? You know how I feel about quitters.'" Justin frowned. Jennifer nodded and sighed. She knew how her ex-husband was. He was a control freak.

"The funny thing is, I've actually been seriously thinking about quitting baseball and joining Art Club at school. I can't do both. Art Club is after school at the same time that Practice is," Justin told Jennifer.

"Well, sweetie, it's up to you. But I think you should take some more time to think about it before you make your decision," Jennifer told him.

"Yeah," Justin replied.

Jennifer smiled at her son, and kissed his forehead. "I'm so proud of you, honey. I love you," she whispered, and then stood up to leave Justin's room.

"I love you too, Mom. Goodnight," he told her, as he watched her close his bedroom door behind her.

Justin certainly had a lot to think about. Changes - lots of changes. He thought about what Daphne said. She was right. Sometimes, changes were good. He knew that if he were to quit baseball and join the Art Club, that it would be a good change for him. He would be happier. The only thing stopping him from quitting all these years was his fear of disappointing his father. Well, Craig was just going to have to accept it.