Disclaimer: Queer as Folk is not mine. It’s ShowTime et al’s. I’m just abducting them briefly.

Brian was vaguely aware that he was dreaming. He had stepped into his loft – which didn’t really look much at all like the loft except for the cast of blue light over everything – to find most of his friends, and a double of himself in Rage garb, gathered there intervention-style.

“What are you all doing here?” he asked cleverly.

Lindsay, holding Gus, spoke first. “We’re here to help you, Brian.”

“I don’t need any help.”

“Yes, you do, you’re a fucking train wreck,” Debbie squawked.

Michael nodded. “You’ve become very self-destructive.”

“And you’re getting in the way of our relationship,” Ben added, slinging a protective arm around Michael.

“Bullshit. Mikey loves all this attention.”

Melanie scolded, “That isn’t the point, Brian.”

“Oh yeah? And what is?”

“Me,” Justin and Ethan said in unison, glancing at each other.

Brian snorted. “What do I care about either of you? Especially you, you pedestrian fiddler twat.”

Ethan scowled.

Rage spoke up. “Well surely your problem isn’t with me.”

“Of course not,” Melanie gibed, “he loves you.”

“And us,” Lindsay said softly, smiling down at Gus.

“And Sunshine, too, whether or not you’d like to admit it,” Debbie added.

“He says he doesn’t,” Justin said.

“That’s right,” Rage replied. “Brian doesn’t fall in love with anyone.”

“No. I don’t. Now why don’t all of you get the hell out of here?”

“That’s not fair,” Michael said. “You need your friends right now.”

“Then what about them?”

Melanie, Ben, and Ethan took the hint, vanishing.

“There, now no more excuses,” Debbie said.

“You, too.”

Debbie managed a “Hey!” before popping out of existence.

“I don’t think he’s been much of a friend to you lately, either,” Lindsay said gently, gesturing at Rage. “All he wants to do is get high or fucked or both.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Rage retorted, affronted.

“I told you, it’s self-destructive,” Michael said.

Brian sighed. “Fine.”

Rage left the room, calling back, “I’ll be right over here if you need me.”

“And what about you? Are you my friend?”

Justin looked injured. “More than that.”

Lindsay said, “Brian, you need to deal with your feelings for Justin. It’s doing no good to anyone you being depressed and drowning your sorrows.”

“Wait a second –“

“And you’re hurting me in the process. You’re taking advantage of my feelings for you so that you don’t have to face this alone.”

“Mikey, I wouldn’t take advantage –“

“And you never gave me a straight answer as to why you paid my tuition. Or, how about why every time you fuck someone, you imagine it’s me?” Justin pressed.

“I didn’t know about that . . .” Lindsay remarked, more to herself.

“Hey, you should be grateful that Brian didn’t leave your worthless ass up Shit Creek.”

“Uh . . . Mike, honey, remember who paid the mortgage on your comic shop?” Emmett said quietly.

“When did you get here?”

“Hmm, good question. Oh, well. See ya!” Emmett vanished in a puff of pink smoke.

Lindsay said, “Stop bickering. The point is, you should tell Justin how you really feel. Come on, Michael, we should leave the two of them alone.”

Michael frowned. “Yeah, I don’t want to witness this, it might make me retch.”

Lindsay glowered at him as they both disappeared.

Brian stood alone, facing Justin.

“Come on, Brian, just tell me you love me. Then this will all be over,” he said, laying a hand gently on Brian’s arm.

“You know I can’t.”

Justin wrapped both arms around him. “Sure you can. No one else will ever know.”

“I don’t believe in love, I believe in –“

“Fucking?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then . . .” Justin said decidedly, “Fuck you.”

He vanished.

Brian awoke next to trick du jour, as alone as ever.

end