The minute Justin stepped off the plane, JC had to do a double take. The kid had grown almost a half a foot. It suddenly hit JC that in probably no time, Justin was going to be taller than he was. And then suddenly, Justin was there in front of him, grin spread wide across his face, eyes shinning brightly.
"JC." One word, one simple word, and JC was smiling as well, holding open his arms for Justin, hugging him tightly.
"It's good to see you, Justin." He pulled back to look over Justin again. "God, you've gotten tall. I don't see you for nine months and you're almost as tall as I am now."
"Not quite," Justin giggled. "But I'm getting there." They stood there for a few moments, until Justin finally smiled again. "I'm in LA for the first time. What the hell are we doing standing in the airport? Come on man, let's get a move on it." JC raised an eyebrow but before he could comment, Justin had grabbed his arm, dragging him off toward baggage claim.
Once they found Justin's bags and had climbed into JC's jeep, Justin pulled a CD out of his carry on bag and waved it at JC.
"You mind?"
"Go for it. I'm up for anything." Justin slipped the CD into the player and turned up the volume, causing JC to jump slightly, veering the wheel for a moment as the loud bass hit his speakers. But when he turned back to Justin, ready to say something, Justin was looking out the window at the skyline in the distance, bouncing back and forth to the beat of the music in his seat. JC wasn't sure how the seat belt was restraining him. Reaching out a hand, he turned the music down slightly, causing Justin to turn back to him and grin.
As they got closer to the city, inching through rush hour traffic, JC watched as Justin's eyes darted about, taking in everything he could.
"Fuck, this city is huge. And I thought Orlando was big."
"You're how old again?" JC asked, turning an amused smile toward Justin. "And you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Justin rolled his eyes slightly.
"JC, you have met my mother right? Where do you think I learned to talk like that?" JC raised an eyebrow. Justin was probably right. Lynn was, well, she was something else. And the truth was, JC adored her. "Besides," Justin continued. "You can't tell me when you were fourteen that you didn't talk like that with your friends."
Justin was right. JC had talked like that with his friends when he was fourteen. But he also remembered thinking he was cool for doing it. Justin didn't seem to be doing it for any reason other than that was who he was. And they were friends. Despite the age difference, they were close friends, had stayed close after MMC ended, even though JC had moved out to LA and Justin and his mother had gone back to Tennessee. Somehow, they'd stayed connected. JC still wasn't sure how the bond between them had gotten so strong. If it had been any other fourteen year old, it would have been different. But there was something different about Justin, something older, something special.
They finally pulled into the parking lot for JC's apartment and JC shut the car off. Justin grinned at him and hopped out, grabbing his bags from the backseat and following JC up the steps and down the outdoor corridor to JC's door. JC slid the key in the lock and pushed the door open, ushering Justin in first.
"C?" A voice called from the living room. Justin turned toward JC, wide grin spreading across his face before he dropped his bags and bounded toward the sound of the voice.
"Dale! Man, what's up?" JC stepped around Justin's bags, shut the door, and moved into the living room just in time to see Justin pounce on Dale, still lounging on the couch. Dale laughed and pushed Justin off, sending him to his ass on the carpet. Justin climbed quickly to his feet, grin still fully intact.
"Kid, you've gotten way too tall for pouncing. Look at you. You're taller than I am now." Dale shook his head sadly. "It's pathetic really, that I was cursed with short genes."
"Don't worry. Anyone picks on you, I'll beat them up for you," Justin said, plopping down next to Dale on the couch. Dale rolled his eyes and reached out, ruffling Justin's blond curls slightly, causing him to pull away quickly, running his hand over his head as he sent and indignant look toward Dale.
"Do not touch the curls. Don't you remember the rules? No one touches the curls." Dale and JC both laughed and soon Justin was grinning as well.
They talked for awhile, Dale catching up on what Justin had been up to since MMC had ended a little over a year ago. And then JC and Dale told Justin all about LA. Justin knew a lot of what was going on, since he talked to JC pretty regularly, but Dale told him all about some of the auditions he'd gone on. Justin listed attentively, asking questions and showing serious interest.
"I miss it," he finally said, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his chin between them. "I hate being back home. It's like, life there is so boring now that I know what's out there, now that I've done something besides simply go to school and hang out with my friends. I miss that life." Dale reached out to ruffle his curls again, but pulled back when Justin shot a glare in his direction.
"You've got time, kid. You're only fourteen. You still have your whole life to get famous." And suddenly Justin's pensive mood was gone, a grin sliding across his face again.
"That'd be awesome, wouldn't it? To be famous?" He glanced at JC. "Can you imagine, C? Maybe someday we'll be famous together. How cool would that be? Traveling to all these exotic places. People everywhere will know our names."
"Maybe someday," JC said, smiling at Justin's enthusiasm. And as Justin continued, going on and on about what it would be like, where they would go, the things they would see and do, JC could almost believe it. Unfortunately, failed audition after failed audition filtered through his mind, tainting the colorful world Justin was building for them. But he didn't have the heart to shut down Justin's dreams.
Finally, Justin looked around the apartment, eyes scanning each and every corner as if looking for something.
"So, uh, where's Tony?" He asked tentatively.
"He's working. Keri got him an audition for a TV show she's going to be in, and he got the part. They're shooting the pilot," JC told him.
"Does he know I'm here?" Justin asked, glancing from JC to Dale and back again. JC nodded. "What did, I mean...."
"It's cool, Justin. Don't worry about Tony." JC knew where the uneasiness came from. Tony wasn't fond of Justin, hadn't been since JC and Justin had become friends on MMC. There was more behind it than Justin was aware of, but JC had sat Tony down when he found out Justin was coming out for a week and had asked him, begged him, to be nice. Or at the very least, civil. Tony had begrudgingly agreed and they'd left it at that. JC just hoped he kept his word.
"So what do you feel like for dinner, Justin?" Dale asked, changing the subject and getting Justin's mind off Tony. His face lit up immediately and he hopped to his feet.
"I want to go somewhere where we can sit outside, some little cafe. That just seems so Hollywood to me. And, you know, since it's my first time to LA, we have to do it." Dale laughed and stood as well.
"Ok, kid. Outdoor cafe it is. But I'm warning you. It's not really as extravagant as it seems in movies." Justin shrugged slightly, like he didn't care how extravagant is really was or wasn't. He still wanted the experience. "Ok, don't say I didn't warn you." JC grabbed his keys and followed Justin and Dale out of the apartment, locking the door behind him as Justin jumped on Dale's back, yelling at the top of his lungs for Dale to move his slow ass. He had a feeling it was going to be a very tiring week.
*****
Justin sighed and rolled over onto his back, breaking the silence of the dark bedroom. Through the pale moonlight filtering in from the window, he could see JC on the bed, curled up and facing Justin. He could just make out the grin on JC's face before he flipped over again, another sigh escaping his lips as he tried to find a comfortable position.
"This is the most uncomfortable floor I've ever slept on," Justin said, voice barely above a whisper. He heard JC's quiet chuckle and sat up, glaring at him for a moment.
"You knew, when I invited you to come out here, that you'd have to sleep on the floor. This apartment is crowded enough as it is. Tony already has to sleep on the pullout couch. You knew all this, Justin, and said that was fine." Justin leaned forward, resting his chin on the edge of JC's bed, eyes meeting JC's through the semi-darkness.
"That was before I knew your floor was the equivalent of concrete," Justin said and JC could hear the pout in his voice. He chuckled slightly again, shaking his head.
"It's not that bad."
"Like hell it isn't!" Justin exclaimed, pulling back to sit up straight, an indignant look sliding across his face. "Besides, how would you know? You're up there in a nice comfy bed while I'm stuck down here all uncomfortable." JC rolled his eyes and pulled the covers back, sliding to the far edge of the bed.
"Get your ass up here you big baby." Justin grinned, grabbed his pillow from the twisted mess of blankets he'd spread out on the floor for himself, and climbed under the covers next to JC. "I swear you start tossing and turning up here and I'm pushing your right back down on the equivalent of concrete floor of my bedroom," JC threatened, but Justin heard the underlying fondness in his voice.
"Thanks, C. This is so much better."
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't make me regret it." JC chuckled slightly and pressed a warm hand against Justin's shoulder for a moment, a gentle goodnight, before turning away from Justin and curling into his pillow again. He was almost asleep, dreams just reaching up to take him away into a fantasy world for the night when Justin's soft voice filled the room once again.
"C, you awake?"
"Mmm." It was the only response JC could manage. Yes, he was technically still awake, but slumber, dreams, were looking so good he couldn't bring himself to say more.
"That a yes, man?" Justin chuckled. "Cause with you, I'm not sure what that meant."
"M'awake," JC managed, yawning and rolling onto his back, head turning toward Justin, sleepy eyes scanning his face bathed in moonlight. The chuckle from moments before was gone, his face suddenly serious and pensive.
"What's Tony's deal? I mean, I know he doesn't like me, but why? I've thought about it, and I can't think of anything I ever did to him. And it kind of bothers me, you know? Cause he's your friend, and well," he paused and a sigh escaped his lips. "I just don't get it." And this was so not a conversation JC wanted to be having with Justin at ass-o-clock in the morning, if at all. But Justin looked so serious, so curious and worried about it. And JC couldn't bring himself to tell Justin it was nothing.
"It's not you, Justin. It's more me than anything." Justin turned so he was facing JC, their faces only inches apart on the pillows. His eyes were wide and so very blue even in the dim moonlight.
"But that makes no sense. It's not you he's a prick to, it's me." JC sighed and Justin felt the warm breath slide across his face.
"When Tony and I first met, we became really close. And then, well, it went farther, we became even closer." Justin nodded in understanding. He was one of the few who'd known there was more than friendship between them on MMC. "So when it ended, when he ended it because he couldn't handle it anymore, I was hurt. And I couldn't be around him."
"And that's around the time you and I became close," Justin said, realization dawning on him. JC nodded.
"But the thing with Tony was that he didn't want our friendship to be over, just our relationship. Unfortunately at the time, I couldn't just stay close friends with him. It hurt too much. So yes, I started hanging around with you more. And Tony got jealous of the time I was spending with you." JC paused, eyes on Justin's face. "We eventually worked things out and became friends again, obviously, but by then, you and I already had a tight bond and Tony has always resented that. When we moved out here, Tony just kind of assumed that the friendship you and I shared would just fade away, but it never did, and he just can't accept that."
"That's insane," Justin sighed. "I mean, it's not like I stole you away and you and him aren't friends anymore. Hell, you live together!" JC just shrugged, he thought it was insane too. "So is there anything I can do to, you know, make him stop being jealous of me or whatever?"
"There's only one thing you could do," JC said. Justin's eyes were imploring, boring into JC's, waiting for his response. "You'd have to stop being friends with me." Justin gasped, eyes going wide, and pulled back quickly.
"You. You don't. I mean, JC, what?" JC reached out, hand wrapping around Justin's bicep and pulling him closer again, reassuringly.
"No, Justin. I don't want that. I'm just saying that if you want to stop Tony from being jealous that's the only thing that you could do."
"No way. No fucking way, JC. You and I are friends. And I like that. I'm not giving that up for Tony." His tone was determined, completely sure. And JC chuckled slightly. He squeezed Justin's bicep lightly before letting go, head sliding back into his pillow, eyes closing once again.
"Get some sleep, Justin. Stop worrying about Tony. It will all work out eventually. And in the mean time, you and I are friends, so everything's cool." Justin was quiet for a few moments, his breathing evening out, his hands stilling at his sides. And when he finally spoke again, JC could tell he was on the edges of consciousness.
"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you guys broke up." He breathed deeply for a moment before continuing. "We might not be friends otherwise." And he was asleep before JC could come up with any kind of response.