Once off the bus, Brian rushed to get his key, but then he found himself dragging his feet on his way upstairs. He knew Dave was up there waiting, most likely still annoyed with him. The last thing he wanted right at that moment was a fight. Moments of his conversation with James kept playing through his mind. At the end James had seemed so sad and scared.
What Brian kept coming back to was the fact that James said that they knew one another. That was more than James had admitted since the first day. If he was a friend of a friend, who was he? He’d never noticed anyone watching him the way that he knew James would. Never once had the man made shy about the face that he found Brian attractive. Not to say that he hit on him, but little comments here and there clued Brian in that the attraction was there. If he was honest with himself, Brian knew that there was an emotional attraction. He found himself highly attracted to James as a person, even without knowing what he looked like.
As the elevator went up, a random thought struck Brian. Was there a chance that James was closer to him than he had realized? Like, one of the band? Almost as quickly as that thought came he tried to shove it back. No, no way! None of the band members were gay. But…if it was, it could only be two people. AJ or Howie.
There was no way that it was Kevin, what with them being family. It couldn’t be Nick, because he’d been sleeping in his bunk more than once when Brian had been chatting with James. But, Howie or AJ? No way. Neither of them was gay. They’d both had parades of women in their beds! Though, come to think of it, that had slowed down lately. Either that, or Brian hadn’t been paying any attention to it. He could admit to himself that he’d become wrapped up in Dave since they became a couple, and now his free time was spent either talking to Dave or to James.
Maybe he was a friend of a friend. Someone that Brian had met through one of the guys. That made more sense than it being one of the guys. Neither AJ or Howie had ever shown any interest in him beyond the brotherhood they all shared.
The elevator doors dinged open, and Brian saw Dave waiting for him down at the end of the hall. With a supreme effort, Brian forced all his other thoughts to the back of his mind. He let himself smile as he rushed down the hallway to the arms of his smiling boyfriend. Wrapped up in his tight hug, Brian vowed to focus only on them for the duration of his visit.
~~~~~~~
Smiling, Brian stared at his partner as they lay together in bed. His body had that nice relaxed feeling where all of his muscles felt as if they’d been reduced to jelly. “I’m glad you came.” He whispered, snuggling in closer against Dave’s side. His lover ran a hand lazily up and down his back. “I am too.” He said, smiling and kissing the top of Brian’s head. “I know I get a little weird sometimes on the phone, but I just miss you while you’re gone.”
“I miss you too, honey. But you know I care about you. I wish you wouldn’t worry so much.”
Dave kissed the top of his head again. “I’ll try not to, m’kay?”
“Works for me.”
They laid together for a while, just enjoying the closeness of the other one. Eventually Dave stretched himself and sat up. “I’m going to go get some ice for drinks, ok?” he said as he grabbed his pants. Brian snuggled further into the bed. “Sure, honey. It’s down the hall.” His voice was tinged with sleep.
A smile curved Dave’s lips. He leaned down and stole a quick kiss before standing up and finishing pulling his clothes on. The couple had talked a little before jumping in to bed; clearing the air about the band and about James. Dave had suggested that maybe James was someone close to him who was in love with him. The idea had surprised Brian, but he had brushed it off and reassured Dave that he wasn’t, and even if he was, that it was Dave that Brian cared about. That reassurance had led to where they were now.
“Be back in a min, hon.” Dave called as he grabbed the ice bucket. Brian grunted a reply, already drifting off to sleep.
Dave stepped out into the hallway, his smile dropping. He didn’t like this whole ‘James’ business. Brian hadn’t really said what the two talked about except that James was gay as well, and it gave them a common ground to talk about. Brian had also said that the guy was funny, and a good friend to talk to with a willing ear to listen to anything. Jealousy ate at Dave, but he kept it under wraps. Now was not the time to press that. They’d talk about it again before he went home.
Speaking of jealousy, he thought to himself as he looked down the hall. AJ was standing in just his jeans at the ice machine, shoveling ice into his bucket. If there was one person that Dave hated above all others, it was AJ. From day one that little punk had been rude to him. If not rude, then he ignored him, which was just as irritating. Dave was convinced that AJ had the hots for Brian. He acted like that was his boyfriend sometimes!
Sneering, Dave strode to the ice machine and tapped his foot as he waited impatiently. “You gonna take the whole machine?” he snapped out.
AJ just continued to carefully fill his bucket, never bothering to turn around.
“Hey, you do realize I was talking to you, right? Or are you too slow to catch on to that one?”
The taunt had AJ turning his head slowly, his hand frozen in the process of putting the shovel back in the ice. He looked Dave over from head to toe, a sneer on his face. When he was done he gave his head a slight shake before he made to step around it. Irritation had Dave grabbing hold of AJ’s arm to stop him. The look AJ gave him was hard and cold.
“I was talking to you. What the hell is your problem, AJ?”
“Let go of me.” Was all AJ said. He gave his arm a light pull, but Dave only tightened his grip. He wasn’t worried about this little punk. With his 6’ frame, Dave towered over him. Dark eyes met dark eyes. “Answer me, then.” Dave replied nastily.
AJ closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, the look there could have melted stone. “I think you’re an overbearing, egotistical piece of shit who isn’t fit to spit shine Brian’s shoes. You treat him like he’s dirt, and talk down to him like he’s a child. You’re so convinced that you’re a God that you don’t have time for mere mortals. You treat his profession like a joke, though it’s his life. You are overly jealous and disrespectful to anyone who you think is hitting on him, even when they’re not. You’re most likely here just for the money, as far as I can figure. You want a rich boyfriend and you’ll do anything to keep one. To you, Brian is a possession, not a person.” AJ gave a yank, pulling his arm from Dave’s suddenly slack grip. “To sum it up, you’re a piece of shit. That’s what my problem is with you.” That said, he spun to walk away.
“Jealous, AJ?”
The question had AJ’s attention snapping back over to him. Dave’s smile was smug as he crossed his arms and stared at the man he considered his biggest rival. “Bet you heard us earlier, didn’t you? That why you’re getting ice, to go down there and drown yourself in alcohol? Try to run from the fact that you want my boyfriend, and that you’ll never have him.”
“You’re a rotten mother fucker who doesn’t know how good he’s got it, Dave. I’m his friend. That’s it.”
Something clicked in Dave’s brain and he found himself staring at AJ intently. “AJ. What’s that stand for?”
Surprise flitted across AJ’s face. “What?”
“What does the AJ stand for? It’s a simple question.”
A moments pause, in which something went across AJ’s face before he managed to cover it up. “Alexander James. Satisfied now, David?”
James. Alexander James. Why, the rotten little fucker! Dave actually saw red for a minute. “You little son of a bitch.” He snarled. Furious, he stalked toward AJ. “You’re him, aren’t you? That James fellow! You’re the one trying to break us apart!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” But there was something that was in AJ’s eyes that told Dave he was right. Holy shit. This little fucker was James? Was he serious?
“You’re the friend, that James, that Brian’s always talking to. Does he know it’s you?” At AJ’s blank look, Dave started to laugh. “He doesn’t! Oh, that’s perfect! How do you think your friend would react to finding that out, huh AJ? That his precious James was really AJ McLean? The man he thinks is straighter than straight.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, and I don’t intend to stand here and listen to you rant.” AJ announced. He moved to leave again, but Dave was close enough now that he slammed a hand into the wall, blocking AJ’s path.
“Let’s get one thing straight, right here, right now.” Dave said slowly. “That man in there is mine, AJ. He will never be yours. No matter how often you lay in your room and beat off to thoughts of him, you’ll never get any further than that. That ass in there has my name written on it. So, you keep your nasty little hands to yourself, you hear me?”
Anger had AJ’s eyes going darker and darker. “I swear to God, Dave, you back the fuck off, and now.” He warned him.
“Or what? You’ll tell Brian? Do that, and I’ll just tell him your secret, AJ. Wouldn’t want that coming out, would you? Wouldn’t want him to know that you wish it was you pounding that sweet little ass until-“
With more strength than Dave would have thought possible, AJ shoved him halfway across the hall. He advanced on him with murder on his face. Rage filled Dave. He tightened up, prepared to kick ass. It would be more than satisfying to kick this little punk’s ass.
“You listen here, and you listen well, you slick dicked mother fucker.” AJ hissed. “One, I’m not whoever the fuck you keep accusing me of being. Two. You are nothing and you will always be nothing. One day Bri’s gonna wise up to the piece of shit you are, and you’re going to be left in the dirt.”
“You think you’ll step in to take my place then, James?” Dave asked mockingly. “You’ll never have him. I swear to God, here and now, that I’ll never let you have him.”
“Are you threatening me?” AJ’s voice dropped even lower as he took that last step that brought him right up against Dave. The whole situation would have gone from bad to worse if Brian’s voice hadn’t suddenly filled the hallway. “What’s going on out here?”
It was AJ who moved first. He visibly gathered his temper and pushed it back down. “Just talking, Bri.” He said. There was still a hard edge to his voice, but he had softened it as best he could to speak to Brian.
“Talking?” Brian walked toward them, his robe belted loosely at his waist. He’d pulled on pajama pants before coming to see what was taking Dave so long. He’d never expected to find his boyfriend and his friend squaring off in the center of the hallway. Having known AJ for a long time, he recognized how close he was to snapping. When he got close enough, he put one hand on AJ’s arm. “Is everything ok?” he asked him quietly. “Are you ok?”
AJ took another deep breath before he moved his gaze from Dave to Brian. “I’m fine, Rok. Really.” He insisted. A half smile curved his lips, but Brian could see the falseness behind it. “Thanks for asking, though. I’ve got to get back to my room. I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?”
“Ok, J.” Brian said softly, letting go of his arm. He watched as AJ walked down to his door and disappeared inside. Without saying another word, Brian turned on his heel and walked back to his room. Sure enough, Dave followed.
Once inside, Brian waited until he heard the door click closed before he spun around and demanded “What the hell was going on out there?”
The hurt look on Dave’s face did nothing to diffuse Brian’s temper. “I was just talking to him, Brian!” Dave insisted. “He started to act like a jerk, threatening me, telling me I was a money grubber and all this other stuff.”
“Bullshit!”
This time the hurt on Dave’s face transformed to shock. He had rarely heard Brian yell or swear, and it had never been at him. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I saw you two out there, squaring off like you were about to beat the crap out of one another. What’d you say to him?”
“Why are you trying to blame me? He was the one that started it!”
“It takes a whole hell of a lot to get AJ as pissed as you had him out there. He may be our hothead, but you had him beyond angry. What did you say to him?”
Dave drew himself up, managing to look offended. “I don’t have to stand here and let you talk to me like this.” He glared back at Brian, not sure what to do with this new side to his personality. Brian never yelled at anybody! It galled him that the one time Brian was doing it, it was over that little punk ass shit, AJ.
Brian returned the glare. “I won’t have you fighting with my friends, Dave. These guys are like my family. They’re my brothers and they deserve to be treated with respect!”
“Brothers my ass! That man wants in your pants more than anyone else I know! Why the hell don’t you see it?” Dave snapped at him.
Angrily, Brian paced off to the kitchen. “I can’t believe you’re falling back on this again, Dave! Dammit, he’s my friend! Why can’t you see that? I’m sick and fucking tired of your jealous bullshit!”
“I’m tired of you acting like a fucking idiot!” Dave shouted back. “You can’t see what’s right in front of your nose! That little bitch is fucking waiting for the day to climb between those legs! Either you’re an idiot who can’t see it, or you want him to! Which fucking one is it?”
A cold feeling settled over Brian. He stared at the man that he had thought he knew. “Get out.”
“What?” Dave asked him, anger turning to shock.
“I said get out.” Brian’s voice firmed. His insides felt frozen, beyond anger, beyond hurt. “I’m done fighting like this. I’m done with the jealously and the insults. Get your bag and get out of my room within the next twenty seconds or I call security.”
Something on his face must have shown how serious he was. Dave stared for a few seconds before going to grab his bag and yank his shoes on. “You’re making a big fucking mistake.” He snarled out. “I knew you wanted him. I knew it. Well, now you think you’re free to go to him. You’re making a fucking mistake.”
“Ten…eleven…twelve.”
With one last glare, Dave stormed from the room, letting the door slam shut behind him.