Shades of Grey Chapter 8 Part Two
Title: Shades of Grey Chapter Eight
Author: qafan
Beta: positive_pat Thanks, Pat, for taking the time and effort to work on this story. It is an enormous undertaking, but I'm so glad you were the one with the guts to do it! You and Dops both know Brian better than anyone on here I've seen, so thank you so much for taking on my story!
I'd also like to thank doppelgangerqaf for all her input and guidance in this story. She encouraged me and kept me excited to write this, and I wouldn't have even had the courage to seek Pat out to have it betaed were it not for her. Thanks Dops!
As for the AMAZING banner, that's all courtesy of the AMAZING foreverbm. Thank you SO much, again, for the banner! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect banner for this story. Thanks again!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Time line: season one
Rating: PG-13 for now, but it'll heat up.
Synopsis: This story, for now, is simply going to be the events of Season One from Brian's perspective. It has a lot of flashbacks to Brian's past, and some scenes that fill in the gaps between scenes and episodes. Everything is written through Brian's eyes, and he tells the story. I hope you enjoy it, it's been a LONG time coming, and if it is a success, it'll be coming a lot more as well. Gimme plenty of feedback!
Author's Note: YES! Chapter Eight is UP! I'm so sorry to those that have been trying to follow this for it taking so long. Life has been insane, and I lost my muse for a while, then I found it, and I didn't have time to use it!! BUT, I'm back, and I'm so excited to start writing again. I hope against hopes that I haven't lost all my faithful readers. COME BACK! lol Please, let me know what you think. This is rather long, so enjoy!
One reason I knew this was how Michael was beginning to act. It was almost exactly the way Lindsay started acting when she first started dating Mel. It was like pulling teeth to get her to go out with me, and the few times she did, she was constantly talking about her. I was starting to see these same things in Michael. I had to try something to get him to come back. Luckily, one of his favorite parties at Babylon was coming up: Studs n Suds. Michael never missed it. Plus, we always went together. This year, I was determined that instead of flaking off on him like I normally did, I would spend the whole night partying with him, like he always wished I would. That would count for something, right?
Only, this year he didn't seem nearly as excited about it as he usually did, and that scared the crap out of me. Was I really losing my best friend?
Of course, it didn't help that the boys were psyching him out about how things were getting “serious.” Flowers...weekend getaways...meeting Mom. Perfect. How was I supposed to compete with that? I already knew his mom much too well, I don't do flowers, and I wasn't taking him on a romantic getaway. Funny thing is, not too long ago, Michael would be completely freaked out by all of that. Now...he was eating it up.
Justin, as always, had a way of distracting me from my current concerns. Of all things, he showed up with a nipple ring. What the crap?! As usual, I acted completely unimpressed, eliciting that little flicker of disappointment in his eyes that always caught me in the gut.
“Every piece of trash has something stuck through their ear or their nose or their belly-button...or their cock. What makes you think that I'm even remotely interested that you have a ring through your tit?” I said as I rolled my eyes.
As Michael was taking his leave, I made sure to remind him of that coming Friday.
“What's this Friday?” Justin nosed in.
“You're too young to know.”
“It's just this heathen ritual,” Teddy interjected, “called Studs n Suds.”
As Emmett and Theodore explained the beauty of the coming weekend, I eyed Mikey and let him know, with our own way of communicating that no one ever caught, that I wanted him to be there.
“You better be there too,” I said again as he left.
“Don't worry,” he said as he set his beer down and left.
“Guess who's head over heals,” Emmett, the ever-perceptive one said.
“More like heals over head,” Theodore joked.
“Does Michael have a boyfriend?” Justin said, a little too eager.
“That's none of your business,” I scowled.
“I just wanna know,” he laughed.
“Well, don't stick your tit in where it doesn't belong,” I said as I pinched his soar nipple.
That elicited a little whimper from him as he jumped. I finished out my game of pool that Michael had deserted me in, and quickly became bored. Woody's wasn't nearly as fun without Michael hanging around, I was quickly beginning to see. The boys had moved on to observe the hot men that they weren't going to approach, which I found loathsome and pathetic. Justin, of course, was still hanging around, being flirtatious. I would never admit it to him, but the nipple ring did turn me on, just a little. Especially when I pinched it and watched him jump. We ended up back at the loft.
To be honest, that was the first time we tried our hands (or cocks) at rough sex together. We'd had some pretty hot sex before, but it never got too rough. That night...well, it was hot.
Our bodies seemed fused together. I wanted to be as close to him as I could. That was the night I discovered how much I loved running my hands in his hair. I grabbed it as I thrust inside him. After that, I didn't want to let go. Still don't.
The next day, Michael was taking the doc to have dinner with his mom. Of course, that meant that I couldn't stay away. Something in my urged me to sabotage the whole thing. Instead, I settled for being a general annoyance.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as I waltzed into his apartment past Emmett.
“I'm hungry, let's go get something to eat.”
“I'm going to my mom's, remember?”
“Oh right, din-din with the doc. I forgot,” I said as I rolled my eyes and plopped down at the dinner table.
“He's going to be here any minute, so you better go.”
“What's this?” I said as I opened a bakery box filled with éclairs.
“Chocolate éclairs, I bought them from the Big Q bakery for des-” he cut off as I stuffed one into my mouth.
“Wow,” Emmett said with all the sarcasm he knew how to use, “it takes years of practice to develop technique like that.”
Michael came over to swipe the box away before I downed another.
“Look, I know you don't like him -”
“Who said I don't like him? And why do you care what I think?”
“I've been saying that for years,” Emmett interceded.
“What matters is what you think,” I continued with éclair still in my mouth, “If you like him, that's all that's important. Even though he is quite a bit older than you, and lives in a world you know nothing about.”
Ok, so that was pretty harsh. Even I could see that. I looked over to see that Emmett was about two seconds from ripping my head off, and Michael looked like he was about to have a heart attack.
“Shut up!” Emmett said, obviously amazed at my blatant cruelty. Wouldn't be the first time.
“Are you saying he's too good for me?” Michael scowled.
“Nobodies to good for you, Mikey! You're better than anyone!” I said.
I stood to walk toward him.
“ - Because he happens to think I'm hot! You know, some people do.”
There goes that “he thinks I'm hot” crap again.
“Haven't I always told you that?” I said as I brought my hands up to his face and kissed him.
Knock-knock-knock
Oh joy. The doc's here. Emmett and I both made a dash for the door, but I beat him to it and opened it.
“Dave, buddy. We were just talking about you.”
He walked past me, saying hi to Emmett, and went straight to kiss Michael, carrying a huge bouquet. Of course.
“These are great, my mom will love these,” Michael said as he looked at the mixture sunflowers, lilies and roses.
The doc laughed politely and replied, “Hers are in the car, these are for you.
God, I think I'm going to be sick thinking about it. It was all so pathetically chivalrous. As Emmett took the flowers, I saw Michael's “deer in headlights” look, and couldn't help but laugh inside.
Dave, seeming rather confused, asked, “Everything alright?”
“He's allergic to boyfriends bringing bouquets,” I said dryly.
Dave seemed rather unsure what to do for a moment, before he regained his composure, and very politely cleared his throat.
“Well we better go,” he said as he walked past me to the door and opened it, “Don't want to be late.”
As they walked out the door, I turned to grab the desserts.
“Don't forget this,” I handed them the box, “Have fun you two.”
I turned and plopped down in the chair I was sitting in before.
Emmett came back out with the flowers in a vase full of water and looked at me with a very knowing eye.
“You can't keep him your little toy forever, you know. He's going to grow up and be his own man sooner or later.”
I stuck my tongue in my cheek and said, “Thank you, Dr. Phil.”
“That doesn't mean he's going to disappear. Just means he'll be happy for once.”
I walked out the door without saying anything.
I needed something to get my mind off of Michael and his new boyfriend. Justin wasn't around, due to it being a school night. Why did I keep him around again? Oh yea...because he gives amazing head. Well, I decided I would need to make my own entertainment, and checked out my favorite “personals” website again. The guy had my number and my address and was headed over to my apartment when I got a knock on my door.
I opened it to see Michael grinning like an idiot.
“You got laid.”
“I did not,” he admonished as he walked through the door.
“Yes you did. I can always tell. I thought you and Dave were having dinner at Deb's?”
“Dinner's over.”
“Oh, what did she scare him off?” I laughed.
“Actually, she and Vic were on their best behavior.”
That's even scarier. Listen, you can't stay. I've got someone coming over in approximately seven and a half inches. So, see you tomorrow, at Studs n Suds.”
“I can't go. That's what I came over to tell you. David invited me away for the weekend,” he studied me to see what my reaction would be. When there wasn't one, he continued, “He has a cabin.”
“Well what do you know, just like the boys said. Flowers, dinner at mom's, now an invitation to the country.”
“You're mad.”
“Why would I be mad? I mean, who wants to be on a crowded dance floor filled with soap suds, when you can be breathing all the fresh, country air,” I said as I smiled at him.
He smiled back, knowing I wasn't going to stand in his way.
My phone rang and I went to pick it up.
“Just don't forget to take your inhaler in case your asthma attacks,” I snarked as I picked the phone up, “Must have gotten lost.” I pushed the button to answer it and held it to my ear, “I told you, 6 Fuller, corner of Tremont. Now get your tale over here. I've got this new dildo: nine inches long, seven round. I'm going to open up your hole with it and I'm going to screw you so hard your eyes roll back into your head.”
As I hung up the phone, Michael smiled and said, “Have you ever considered a career in phone sales?”
I smiled and said, “Get out of here.”
The phone rang again and I answered it, rather impatient at how clueless this guy was turning out to be, “Now what?”
“Hey man, I know you said it was somewhere on Fuller, but did you say Tremont, or Kensington?”
“Wait, didn't you just call?”
“Uh, no, I just got to this side of town.”
“So that wasn't you.”
“Nope.”
“Crap. Ok, well, it's on the corner of Tremont.”
“OH! Ok, I see it. I'll be right up.”
I hung up the phone. I decided to look back at the number that just called, and it wasn't one I recognized. I would have thought more about it, were the hot number for the evening not banging on my door at that moment.
After having a passable evening with 10-inches, I decided to turn in early to be fresh for work and Babylon the next day. As I normally do now, I stopped by the girls' place to see my son and talk to Lindsey for a while. Of course, they needed money, so I wrote her a check.
“Now I'll barely have enough for Studs n Suds tonight.”
“Oh, is that this weekend? You going with Michael?”
Michael went to the country with the proctoligist.”
“Chiropractor!”
“Whatever.”
“Aw, sounds romantic! Peaceful walks, cozy fire.”
“-stepping in bear crap, getting stung by mosquitoes. I guarantee you after two days, he'll wish he was back here with me at Babylon.”
“Oh I wouldn't be so sure. He might actually like a change of scene, not to mention someone who actually wants to be with him.”
“You know, I told him I'm glad you're going out with Dave. He can't spend the rest of his life tricking and going to clubs. It's time he settled down, and grew up,” I said as I put my jacket on and walked toward the door.
Lindsey laughed, “You are so full of it. You can't imagine why two people would want to be together, can you?”
“The desire to fall asleep in front of Jay Leno and argue over who gets to pick up the dry cleaning?”
“It's called not wanting to be alone, knowing that you're loved. Apparently a lot of us need that, including Michael. So promise me you won't screw it up for him.”
I rolled my eyes as I closed the door behind me.
So the party of the season came. Babylon was filled with soap suds, and I was alone. Michael was off having a great time with his doctor. I tried to have a good time, but it just wasn't the same without Michael. Obviously, everyone else knew it, as well. After a few pointed jabs from Theodore, I decided to call it an early night. As I was walking toward my car, one of my old tricks decided to go for a second round. I wasn't feeling very charitable, so I blew him off, which didn't seem to sit well. I peeled away with him cursing me from the street. That's when my evening hit it's all-time low. I was rear-ended by some psycho (presumably the angry trick), who then decided to take a second shot at me, before speeding off down the street. The perfect end to an entirely screwed up night.
The next day I got a call from Michael, all giddy about the outdoor sex he and the doc were having. He asked how Studs n Suds went. Of course I didn't let on that I missed him being there. I made sure to sound pitiful so that he would pick up that something was wrong, though.
“Ok, what's going on?”
“Nothing,” I lied.
“You can't fool me, out with it.”
I sighed dramatically, “Well, if you promise not to let it spoil your weekend. I was in an accident. That's all.”
He sounded really concerned and asked what happened, so I explained the situation as I understood it, being sure to play up the injuries.
“Now you promised not to let it spoil your weekend, so don't even think about cutting your trip short and coming back here. You and Doc just enjoy your poke in the pines. Bye Mikey,” I said as I hung up.
What? I told him not to come back. Of course, I did play up my injuries. My “head wound” was a cut on my forehead. And the “concussion” would be gone by the time he even got back. At any rate, he is my best friend. He has a right to know these things, and he would have been pretty angry I had not told him.
When everyone found out about the wreck, they all decided to come over to see about me. I have been known to be a rather...difficult patient, but it was still nice to have everyone there. Emmett certainly knew how to bring a laugh.
“Time for your temperature! ROLL OVER!” he yelled, in a hilarious bearish voice.
That got us all laughing, and I grabbed his hand, telling him no way was he sticking it anywhere.
“Geez, that accident must have really jogged your brain,” Ted joke.
“That wasn't an accident. That a-hole kept ramming me.
“Did you get his license?” Mel asked, ever the lawyer.
“It was dark.”
“What kind of car was it?” Justin asked.
“I don't know, some silver thing.”
“Oh my god, it was my dad. I know it,” when we laughed he continued, “No, I saw his car, it was totally smashed.”
“Now why would your father do something like that,” Mel said, looking at me pointedly.
“Because my mom told him. He wants to have you arrested and send me away.”
“Don't be a drama princess,” I said.
“You better be careful, just in case,” Lindsey advised.
“Don't worry about me, I'm invincible.”
“Yea, you also got a concussion.”
I jumped up and turned up the music, saying fuck it, and started dancing with Justin. Of course, that's when Michael decided to walk in. He looked pretty upset at seeing me not quite as close to death as I had made it sound. This, of course, made the doc mad, who then walked out.
“Don't go after him, Mikey. Don't ever go after anyone.”
Of course, Mel decided to be the go-between and went to talk to Dave. Michael tried being upset at me for a while, but I was able to convince him how stupid that was, and we all decided to head to Babylon. Michael and I were in the middle of our ritual poppers popping, when David showed up to whisk me away for a dance. The guy didn't dance half bad.
He started talking about how Michael was so insistent coming back to see about me, and I'm his world and all the crap. And about how he's been waiting for sixteen years for me to fuck him. This guy has been around for a couple of weeks, and he actually thinks he knows what he's talking about?
“You think you know him? You don't.”
“I'd like to, but I never will, as long as you're around. Maybe I should disappear. You'd probably like that, and he probably wouldn't think twice about it. But I'm not going to, because I want him, even more than you don't want me to have him. So if you're really his best friend, give him a chance to be happy, to have a life; his own life. Let him go.”