“Was there a reason you had someone in your room last night, boy?”

       Josh lifted an eyebrow, far more than amused that his little sister had just called him boy.

       “I’ll tell you when you mind ya own damn business, girl,” he grinned and took a noisy seat at the table, his father sitting, already eating his sausage and eggs. His mother was washing dishes, listening to the Beatles.

       Josh silently hoped Heather didn’t realize it was a boy, none the less Justin.

       “Where’s–” He began but his sister beat him to it.

       ”Your brother? Probably out, most likely in jail. That’s his new hang out spot,” Heather rolled her eyes. “The new rage my ass.”

       Roy laughed and shook his head, taking a sip of his coffee. “You are some type of queer,” he chuckled and Josh swallowed his own laugh, the single word seeming to put a damper on the cheery air. Roy, having noticed the tight silence sighed, turning back to his plate, Josh biting on his lip before turning around, lifting from the chair.

       “I’m gonna go... to the store. See what I can get into,” he told his mother, placing a kiss on her cheek. His eyes stayed down as he left through the threshold, hating that one single fucking word did so much.

       His Diesel’s scuffed the cement sidewalk as he tried to realize that he was home, back to Tennessee and that he was still hiding. That being the hardest thing.

       Never mind that his past was ultimately going to come up and kick his ass a few times. But he’d be ready this time, he’d be ok with fighting this time.

       But, he groaned as Mr. Wonrow and the rest of his group watched intently as he walked past the shoe shine shop. The elders would probably start talking once they couldn’t see his back anymore, whispering or not even about the events, about the lies that had spread just as a flame on dry brush.

       He could definitely live with out that.

       He was a good kid. He knew what he wanted from life, how he was going to live, where, when, fucking why. He had aspirations that surpassed this country bumpkin town yet, no one saw that.

       “Hey there Josh, sweetie,” Marie from the corner store yelled out as she opened a can of pop. Josh nodded with a warm wave. She didn’t see. Never would, either.

       “Well hello, Mr. Chasez, I heard you were back in town.”

       Josh couldn’t help the grin that spread, grasping Mrs. Harliss’ hand and kissing the back of it softly.

       “Oh boy, you make me blush,” she chuckled and took her limb back, grabbing onto Jordan’s small palm. “How are you these days?”

       “Good, ma’am. Great actually, my last year is almost here. Then I’m going to California, I’ma live there,” he beamed and the blonde woman nodded but her furrowed brow threw Josh off.

       “You’re not coming back for good?” she questioned and Josh opened his mouth, closing it as he shook his head.

       “I... I can’t live back here–“

       ”May I guess why?” she whispered as she leaned in, Josh’s eyes darting to the floor.

       “Mrs. Harliss–“

       ”Have you seen Justin yet?”

       Thank you, Josh smiled and nodded. “He looks like a handful. He’s so...” Sexy? Nah... “Grown.”

       Lynn laughed loudly. “You’re telling me. He’s... he’s changed though. He just has this temper, so aggressive.” She waved off at a passerby.

       “He’s a teenager, I’d guess.” When Josh raised his eyes, Lynn smiled.

       “He asked me about you once, he was so heartbroken once he found out you had left for Georgia. You would have thought he was losing a family member–“

       ”Please, ma’am,” he begged and turned away. “I should be on my way, it was great seeing you. Tell your husband I said hello,” he spoke evenly before walking along, ignoring that Lynn didn’t stop watching until he disappeared into the grocery mart.

       Josh didn’t come back until 9 at night, the moon already so bright in the starless sky. Going to the store turned into going over to Freddy’s and that soon turned into going to Memphis for the day and now the brunette was back with a bag full of clothes and two new CDs.

       “Hey!”

       Back to Justin who was sitting on his steps, hoodie covering his hat, the brim shading his eyes. Josh simpered as he held back from skipping down the trail of stones, nodding instead.

       “You been waiting long?”

       Justin’s smile told him yes but he shook his head, Josh reaching out to shove the youth’s shoulder.

       “Follow me, homeboy.”

       Justin followed without a word through the threshold, greeted with Josh’s brother, Tyler. They had met, had mutual friends.

       “Hey,” Justin rasped and Tyler nodded in greeting.

       Josh was already at the top of the steps by the time Justin was descending up and he was sitting on his bed when Justin waltzed through, hands in his pocket.

       “You look like you’re about to rob a fucking bank. What happened to the tight jeans and the cowboy hat? I’ve only been gone what, 3 years?”

       Justin chuckled and sat down also. “I never wore a cowboy hat.” But that was a lie. “And ya know, things change. If you woulda been here–”

       “We’re not talkin’ ‘bout that,” Josh said. “Look, you remember that game from Nintendo, where you ran? Like you had the little pad that you laid out and you were in like, the Olympics and you ran? Hell yeah,” he hooted as he held up a faded blue shirt with the main player from the Nintendo game on it. “Hot Topic rocks my world.”

       Justin raised an eyebrow before pulling back his hood and slipping off his hat to scratch his scalp. “You’re bizarre, you know that?”

       Josh skipped over a hamper before throwing the bags on the floor and picking up a CD. He started on the wrapper as Justin shrugged out his jacket as a whole.

       “Who’s that?”

       Josh gave Justin a long glance before shaking his head. “You wouldn’t know. What are you into? Rap?”

       “What a judgement! Well excuse me Mr. I am gonna be all into...” he leaned over and took a peak, “Tatu now. And for your information, bitch,” he smiled teasingly, “I am into rap. And if you diss my culture, I’ll be the one kickin’ ya ass, hear me?”

       Josh laughed heartily before falling back to the bed, head cushioned by a down pillow, CD on his chest, forgotten as Justin watched him. He felt it in his toes and the elder bit his lip, turning away.

       “My mom told me she caught up with you. Says ya mom told her you’re into music now. You play anything?”

       Josh closed his eyes. “You used’ta sing, right?” At Justin’s groan Josh continued. “Yeah, I’m majoring in it. I love it, man. Nothing else better than music. You can’t even deny it, either. Oh!” he jumped up with a grin. “I remember when you had this talent show in... 4th grade! And you and your friends thought you were so cool as Jodeci! That was before your little, George Strait phase. Oh lord, your mom made me come, I was rollin’ for a good week!”

       Justin on the other hand didn’t find it too amusing.

       “Fuck you, I was little,” he replied simply with a blush. There was no denying it, so therefore no trying to defend himself. It was unfortunately true. He just couldn’t believe Josh had remembered it, him.

       “Yeah whatever, that was so great. You still know Trace?”

       Justin nodded, and thumbed the comforter before sighing and turning his eyes to Josh. But at Josh’s sincere return of the gaze, the crystalline pair soft he bent his neck down again.

       “Hi,” he whispered with a pink face and Josh blinked, trying to figure out whether he should be interested or not. None the less, he answered the sentiment with a teeth revealing smile.

       “Hey,” he breathed, blushing at his own fascination with this boy. And when Josh looked away, realizing he had been staring deeper than he had noticed, he settled into his bed with some sort of understanding, and maybe even some acceptance.

TBC...

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