Not Like All The Others

JUSTIN’S POV


“Fuck!” I shout as the side of my face collides with the cold, metal locker. After recovering from the impact I bend over to pick up my books that have fallen to the floor. I notice the taste of copper forming in my mouth and bring my hand to my lips. Sure enough, when I pull it away the tips of my fingers are dark red. I look up at the person that had just shoved me into the locker.

Chris Hobbs.

When I came out last year his tormenting had only been mild. Apparently he did not intend on giving me the same slack this year. I watch as he and his friends laugh their asses off. Several other kids in the hallway snicker at the situation. Have I mentioned that I was dreading this year? It’s only the first day and already I have a list of people that have every intention of making my life hell. I wipe the blood from my mouth and pick my books up off the floor.

“Fuck you Hobbs.” I mutter as I walk passed him to go to my next, and thankfully final, class of the day.

“You fucking wish Taylor.” he shouts back at me. I ignore him and continue to my class.


I walk into the room and spot Daphne sitting towards the back of the class. Thank God. At least I’ll have one class with her. She’s looking through the mountains of paperwork the teachers have given us today. I make my way over to her and sit down. She sets down her papers and looks over to me with a huge smile on her face. A smile that quickly fades once she notices the cut on the side of my bottom lip.

“Jesus, what happened to your face?” she asks me. She reaches up and touches the injured area. I hiss from the sting and pull my head back. She withdrawals her hand and gives me an apologetic look.

“Sorry.” she says. I smile at her reassuringly.

“It’s okay.”

“So, I take it that your day has not been going as good as mine, huh?” she asks me.

“No. I guess not.” I tell her. “Chris Hobbs decided that it would be amusing if he shoved me into a locker.”

“That asshole. God, I hope somebody kicks his ass before the end of this year.” she says. I laugh a little at the thought. Yeah, that is definitely something that I would pay to see. The teacher clears her throat at the front of the room to get everybody’s attention. We all quiet down and she begins to tell us what she expects of us this year. A minute or two into the lecture she is interrupted by the classroom door being swung open. And in walks Chris Hobbs.

“How nice of you to join us young man.” the teacher says to him. “But next time please remember that if you show up late again I wont let you into the class room.” she scolds.

“Whatever.” Chris mumbles under his breath as he makes his way towards the back of the room. As he’s scanning for a place to sit he notices Daphne and me. A menacing smile crosses his face as he takes a seat a few places away from me.

Shit. This is going to be a long fucking year.


BRIAN’S POV


I’m sitting at my computer desk trying to fix the disaster that the fuck up twins have made out of a campaign that I have to present tomorrow when I hear somebody knocking on my door. I save my work and get up to answer it. I have had a shitty fucking day and got a ton of work to do. I am really not in the mood to see anyone. I pull open the door and come face to face with Justin. Although just seeing him improves my mood it’s not quite enough of an improvement for me to be too social.

“Hey. I’m kind of busy right now.” I tell him. If I didn’t have so much shit to do right now I would drag his ass into this house and have my way with him. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen today.

“Oh. Okay. I just wanted to see you. I’ll come back tomorrow.” he says and begins to turn around. As he turns I see the side of his face.

“Wait a minute.” I reach out and grab his arm, pulling him closer to me. All thoughts of work are immediately banished from my mind. I pull him inside the loft and slide the door shut. I grasp his chin and turn his head slightly so I can examine the cut on the side of his mouth.. Justin looks everywhere but at me.

“What the fuck happened?” I ask him, even though I have a fairly good idea since today was his first day of school. I feel heat rising in my body at the thought of somebody fucking with him. He finally brings his eyes up to mine.

“It’s nothing. Just some asshole at school pushed me into a locker. It doesn’t even hurt.” he quickly tells me. I’m not convinced. I run my thumb over the abrasion and he instinctively flinches away. I raise my eyebrow at him and he blushes slightly at getting caught in the lie. I grasp the front of his shirt and pull him to me. I lean down and kiss him softly on his injured lip. He smiles up at me before wrapping his arms around my waist and laying his head against my chest. After a few minutes he lifts his head and takes a couple of steps back.

“Well, you’ve got work to do. I better go.” he tells me. He leans up and kisses me one last time then turns to go.

“Wait.” I say before he gets out the door. He stops and turns around. He watches as I hurry into the kitchen and grab something off the counter.

“Here.” I tell him once I’m back in front of him. He glances up at me, a very surprised look on his face. “This way you don’t have to wait for me to get up and let you in when you come over tomorrow night.” I explain to him. He holds out his hand and takes the key from me. The smile that crosses his face could have outshone all of the neon lights on Liberty Avenue. I lean down and kiss him once again before sliding the loft door back open and stepping to the side. Justin walks out and lifts the gate of the elevator.

“Later.” he says as he pulls the gate closed.

“Later.” I say back to him once the elevator starts to move. I stand at the door until I can no longer see him. I walk back into the house feeling a lot more comfortable than I thought I would be with this new development in Justin’s and my relat…with Justin and me


CRAIG’S POV


I sit on the edge of Justin’s bed staring at the photograph in my hands. I hadn’t moved from this spot since I found it. Jennifer had asked me to bring up one of Justin’s sketch pads and when I went to put it in the drawer Justin keeps them in, the picture was sitting there. I don’t know who the man in the photo is or how long ago this was taken but I do know that the man in the picture, with his arms around Justin and trailing kisses down his neck while still managing to smile at the camera, is way too fucking old for my son. I know that Justin is gay, and even though the thought of him being with another guy does not settle too well with me, I promised I’d try to be excepting. But with someone this much older? Fuck that! This man is practically a child molester. I hear the front door slam shut. I stand up and put the picture back where I found it. I close the drawer and set the sketch pad on the desk.

“Dad, why are you in my room?” Justin asks coming up behind me. I turn around to face him.

“Your mother asked me to bring this up here.” I explain motioning to the sketch book.

“Thanks.”

"What happened to your lip?" I ask him.

"Nothing. Just hit it on something at school." he tells me. He begins toying with the hem of his shirt. Something he does when he’s nervous. “Umm. You know that dinner that you and mom wanted me to go to with you tomorrow? Well, I’m not going to be able to go.” he says.

“Why not?” I ask him. He hesitates for just a second before answering.

“Daphne’s boyfriend just broke up with her and she’s kind of depressed so I promised I’d go over there tomorrow night. I told mom while I was downstairs.” he explains to me. I don’t believe him. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” I tell him. I leave the room and head downstairs. I find Jennifer in the kitchen making dinner. I walk over and stand next to her. “I’m not going to be able to make it to dinner tomorrow.”

“Why not? Justin’s already canceled. What’s your excuse?” she asks me sounding annoyed.

“I just got a call from my boss and he has something he’s going to need my help on.” I tell her. She sighs slightly before turning to me.

“Alright. I’m sorry you have to work. I can reschedule if you want.” she tells me. I shake my head.

“No. You go. Have fun. Tell them Justin and I said hi and we’re sorry we couldn’t make it.” I say to her and lean down to kiss her on the cheek. She smiles and agrees to go before going back to cooking dinner. “And don’t tell Justin. I don’t want him to feel bad for canceling too.” I tell her as I turn to leave the room to get ready for the ‘work’ that I will be doing tomorrow night.