“Help.”

A faint voice startled Joshua Chasez. It was Friday night and it was late. Nearly eleven and it’d been dark for hours. He was on his way home from work and knew he shouldn’t have gone through the park. His mother had warned him not to go through the park in the dark when he’d been a kid. However, he’d never listened, not then and not now. He took the route through the park because it was the shortest way back from work. Going around it, took him fifteen minutes longer and nothing had ever happened before but the cry startled him severely. He was never comfortable in the park and he turned swiftly when he heard it again.

“Help!”

The voice was louder but sounded hoarse and the tone was filled with fear. Josh looked around, there was no one. What should he do?

“Heeeelp!”

Josh looked to the right; the voice was coming from behind the bushes. It was dark there, he really didn’t want to go check it out but…

“Heeeeeeeelp!”

The voice sounded young and Josh found himself walking closer instinctively. When he reached the bushes, he looked around once more. He couldn’t leave whoever was pleading for help to die.

Pushing through the bushes, he saw nothing. He let his eyes adjust to the light, or lack thereof and went around the tree. There he saw him. A cowering human being, pressed up against a tree. Josh saw it was a man and that he was trying to pull himself forward, was twisting and turning to get away but he didn’t seem to get very far. Something was holding him back, yet no one else was around. Josh tentatively stepped closer, a crack sounded underneath his feet and Josh looked down, from the branch that had snapped under his weight, to the man who was eyeing him now.

“Don’t hurt me, help me please,” the same voice pleaded with him.

Josh stepped closer, he was only two feet away from him now and realized the man wasn’t a man at all. It was a boy. He’d been fighting something and as Josh looked closer he saw they were ropes. The boy with the liquid blue eyes was tied to the tree he sat against. He was looking at Josh with fear in his eyes and pleading for help at the same time.

“Help me,” the boy whispered.

A tear that glistened in the moonlight spurred Josh into action. He dropped his suitcase and stepped up to the boy, letting his hands trail over the rope to search out the knot. He found it at the back of the tree, behind the boy, and started pulling at it in the near darkness. The knot was tight and there were several. This was going to be very difficult. He stopped his blind panic to help this kid and took a moment to think. Did he have anything sharp so he could cut the ropes? He mentally went through his pockets and suitcase. An idea hit him and he lunged at his suitcase, blindly opening it as he remembered he had a knife he’d used to cut his apple at lunch earlier that day.

The boy whimpered when the moonlight reflected off of the knife and he pushed himself into the tree.

“It’s okay,” Josh told him reassuringly before he set to work, cutting the rope with his knife. It took some time getting through the first one that was tied around the boy’s upper chest, then the one around the boy’s waist and finally the rope around his ankles. Josh gave a breath of relief when all the ropes were laying in pieces around them and the kid was free, but the boy looked worried.

“My hands,” he whispered, lifting his arms up from behind him, showing his savior his hands were still tied behind his back.

Josh set to work again as he saw how the kid closed his eyes tightly when he disappeared behind him with the knife in hand. He was however rewarded with a relieved sigh when he cut through the kid’s final bonds. He sat back on his heels and watched how the boy’s arms fell at his sides, he heard his whimpers as the blood flooded back into his veins.

“Come on,” Josh urged softly as he reached out for the youngster, slipping his arm around him so he could help him get up. The boy was too dazed to protest and got to his feet with Josh’s help. He leaned the boy against the tree, let the knife slip into his pocket and picked up his suitcase before he slipped his arm back to its former place. He left the ropes that had tied the youth to the tree and took the trembling kid home.

Josh led the kid out of the park and the two blocks further to where he lived. The boy didn’t protest, he was too weary. Josh could still feel him trembling and he was starting to feel more and more like dead weight in his arms. Josh was glad to see his apartment building up ahead.

They rode the elevator to the seventh floor. Once inside Josh guided them through the doorway and let the kid drop onto the couch where he curled into himself automatically. Josh sat down in the easy chair and breathed heavily as he, for the first time, really looked at the kid.

He noticed the curls right away, a dark blond that could have been described as golden once. Now it looked greasy and filthy. As did his clothes, he wore a pair of faded jeans; they were ripped and torn at the bottom where he’d walked on them. You could see a sliver of a white t-shirt he was wearing underneath his gray hoody but the white was no longer white and the gray was stained here and there with black and green smudges. He also wore a jacket, a denim one that had faded as well.

Overall Josh could say the kid was dirty, beautiful but dirty. The real beauty was hidden underneath layers of filth and Josh wondered when the last time was that the kid had taken a bath. As he lay there, peaceful in sleep, the kid appeared to be no older than twelve but the fear and pain Josh had seen in his baby blue eyes earlier told him the kid’s soul was much older than his appearance.

Josh shook his head sadly as he saw the dried tear tracks on the kid’s face, they’d erased the dirt that had stuck to his cheeks but the rest of his face was still covered in a light layer of filth. Josh got up and pulled a blanket from the hall closet, covering the youth gently before he sat back in his chair, watching over the kid. He knew no one had done that in a long time judging by his appearance alone and he knew that tonight no one else would.

Fearful blue eyes opened with a start as light began to pour in announcing a new day. Saturday morning and Josh’s eyes slowly opened as he awakened. Something in his dreams had alerted him to wake up, but it didn’t happen very quickly. He groaned and grabbed his neck. As he gradually woke up fully, he realized that somewhere during the night he’d fallen asleep in the easy chair. He discovered however that although they may call it an easy chair it sure as hell wasn’t easy enough to sleep in.

He didn't have much time to think about this, because his focus soon changed from his neck to the fearful blue eyes that were leveled on him. The boy’s eyes darted from the door to the person sitting opposite of him and Josh saw exactly when the kid decided to make a run for it. He shot up faster than lighting and ran for the door. He yanked at the doorknob, not realizing in his panic that it was locked. He pulled frantically on the doorknob to get the door open, but it didn’t budge.

Josh got up quickly and reached out for him. As soon as his hand touched the boy’s shoulder, the youth turned sharply, putting his hands up in a sort of karate defense mode as he warned, “Stay away from me!”

Josh was taken aback and stepped away. “Relax,” he told him calmly.

“Where the hell am I?” the youth demanded.

“How did I get here? What do you want with me?” he wondered, suddenly fearful.

“Nothing,” Josh answered. “What’s your name?”

“None of your business!” the kid snapped back. Josh sighed but wasn’t going to let the kid’s tone scare him off.

“Okay, I’m Josh.”

The kid eyed him suspiciously.

“I found you in the park last night.”

Suspicion turned into fear.

“You were… tied… to a tree.” Watching his reaction, Josh saw how the kid swallowed hard and ducked his head. As if the memories came flooding back.

“I heard you calling for help. I cut the ropes.” Josh watched the kid’s reaction sharply, shifting slightly so he could see the kid’s face. He saw how his shoulders shook and he heard the sniffles.

“Come on,” Josh urged gently, touching the boy’s shoulder carefully. The kid flinched but didn’t pull back and Josh carefully pulled the boy back towards the couch.

“You want a cup of coffee?” Josh offered. He didn’t get a response, but went to the kitchen to make the coffee anyway as the sobs continued.

“Justin.”

“What?” Josh wondered, taken aback as he set the cup of coffee in front of the youth. He stilled for a moment, eyeing the kid before he went to sit in the easy chair. Josh hadn’t expected him to say anything, or maybe a thank you at the most.

“My name is Justin,” the boy repeated softly as he slowly looked up. Josh couldn’t help but smile.

“Nice to meet you Justin.”

Justin, smiled however timidly. There was silence between them and Justin slowly looked up towards the cup, smelling its aroma. He didn’t reach out for it though, he didn’t feel comfortable enough and instead he stared down at his lap, waiting for Josh to make the first move.

Josh eyed the kid, wondering what to do next. He took a deep breath to break the uncomfortable silence.

“You want to take a bath?” Josh suggested, not to be mean or anything, actually to be nice because the kid could really use it and it always made Josh feel better. Justin looked up at him in question and confusion, which was quickly replaced by hurt. Justin ducked his head, he could take a hint.

He nodded as he got to his feet, “I’ll leave.”

“What?” Josh asked surprised, jumping up.

“I stink, I know, you don’t have to tell me,” Justin said softly and ashamed, on his way to the door, ready to leave.

“I’m sorry I contaminated your apartment but it’s not like there are showers on every street corner and wearing the same clothes everyday doesn’t exactly help either.” Justin bit at him in self defense, his hand on the doorknob once again ready to leave.

“No, that wasn’t what I meant,” Josh said, as he quickly followed Justin to the door, stopping him by placing a hand on his arm. Justin looked from the hand on his arm up to its owner, staring into sincere blue eyes.

“I wondered if you wanted to take a bath because it might make you feel better.”

Justin eyed him suspiciously. “You’d like that wouldn’t you, getting me out of my clothes?” There was anger in his eyes, but Josh saw the fear as well.

“No,” Josh denied strongly as he released Justin’s arm and let his hand drop to his side. “There’s a lock on the door.”

Justin had to admit it sounded appealing but he’d heard about plenty of people who’d been taken advantage of because something had sounded appealing and had seemed safe.

“I’ll wash your clothes if you want.” Josh pressed further. Justin hadn’t run out the door yet so that was a good sign, but he became defensive again almost instantly,

“What will I wear then?”

“I’ll give you some of my clothes.”

“Why are you doing this?” Justin wondered suddenly, hoping to be able to figure out if this man was to be trusted by the answer he gave him.

Josh stared at him, “Honestly?”

Justin nodded, needing to know where he stood with this strange man.

“I don’t know,” Josh answered.

“You don’t know?” Justin repeated disbelievingly. He’d never heard that one before.

Josh nodded. “I don’t know, I just couldn’t leave you at the park.”

“Why not? Why would you care what happens to me? You don’t even know me.”

“Maybe not but I couldn’t just leave you there.”

Justin eyed the man up and down. He looked into Josh’s eyes, sighing, not knowing what to do.

“Hold on,” Josh said suddenly, sensing Justin’s inability to make a decision. He went into the hallway and disappeared into the second room to the right. Justin stared after him in surprise.

“Here,” the man offered, when he came out of the room only moments later holding a bundle of clothes in his hands, offering them to Justin who still looked surprised and suspicious.

“Here are some of my clothes. Take a bath or a shower. You can lock the door and come out when you’re ready. I’ll stay here,” Josh promised stately. The sincerity in Josh’s eyes convinced the youngster because he’d heard plenty of lies before but he’d never seen a pair of more honest eyes.

Justin nodded slowly in acceptance, taking the clothes from him even though his suspicion of the man hadn’t disappeared. He’d make damn sure the door wouldn’t be able to open from the outside before he’d even think about taking his clothes off.

“Thank you,” Justin said softly.

Josh smiled. “You’re welcome. Come on, I’ll show you the bathroom.”

Justin nodded, following him hesitantly into the bathroom where Josh took some towels out of a cabinet and put them on the sink counter. He gave the youth, who was still hovering nervously in the doorway, a reassuring smile and then stepped away.

“I’ll leave you to it. Yell if you need anything.”

Justin nodded in acceptance, watching intensely how Josh left the bathroom and disappeared down the hall. He couldn’t help but peek around the doorway to make sure the man was really gone before he closed the door and locked it.

After slowly peeling the clothes from his body, he let them drop to the floor one by one. He pulled his shirt over his head and smelled it. It was awful, he really hoped he didn’t smell like that, but he knew that he did.

He hadn’t had a shower in weeks, maybe even months. At first, when he’d looked somewhat clean and almost like a paying customer, he’d tried his luck at the local swimming pool. He snuck in, took a quick shower and fled out of there. But they caught on to him and apparently he hadn’t been the only one to do it because there were locks on the doors shortly after.

When summer came around he took to using the showers that were meant for the customers of the outdoor swimming pool. However summer had come and gone and so Justin was back to being dirty. He sighed heavenly as he stepped underneath the warm spray. It had been so long since he had a warm shower, where he didn’t have to rush. Although he wasn’t quite comfortable, the door was still locked and that at least gave him some sense of security.

Josh had the soup ready when Justin came out of the bathroom, looking clean and fresh. He looked better, wearing a pair of sweatpants and a red hoody, it looked amazing on him. Josh gripped the counter and blindly dropped to a seat as his eyes were fixed on the beautiful creature that was heading towards him.

Josh blinked and swallowed hard as he thanked God for Justin’s avoidance of eye contact. He shook his head, cleared his throat and finally managed a few words, “H… how are you feeling?”

Justin looked up at the sound of the voice, there was a hint of a smile on his face as he answered, “Okay.”

Josh noticed the curls now indeed looked golden and the baby blue eyes had somewhat of a sparkle to them. He smiled subconsciously. It was only then that Josh noticed the crumpled clothes in Justin’s hands.

“I’ll take those, throw them in the washing machine.”

Justin handed them over with trepidation. “Be careful with that,” Justin couldn’t help but warn. Then added softer, “It’s all I have.”

Josh nodded sadly and disappeared with the clothes. A few minutes later he returned, offering Justin a seat, “I made soup, you want some?”

“Uh, sure.”

Josh smiled before he turned towards the stove, taking the pot and setting it in front of his guest. He got two bowls and two spoons.

Justin eyed him the whole time with a suspicious look in his eyes. He just couldn’t help it. Josh met his eyes as he picked up the first bowl, smiling shortly, before focussing on filling the bowl with soup. He set it in front of Justin and smiled again.

“Dig in,” Josh urged, when he’d filled his own bowl as well and noticed Justin hadn’t started eating yet, even though Josh knew he must be starving. He certainly looked it and Josh couldn’t help but be surprised the youth actually had manners; a street kid. Josh shook his head and started eating as Justin tentatively picked up his spoon.

“It’s really good,” Justin complimented softly, once he’d swallowed the first spoonful of soup. He eyed Josh from underneath his eyelashes as he said the words and his head was slightly ducked.

Josh beamed at him. “Thank you. It’s actually my mother’s recipe.” Justin smiled at him.

They fell silent and ate.

“So,” Josh started once the soup was gone, placing his spoon in the now empty bowl. Justin looked up, once again suspicious as he placed his spoon in the bowl as well.

“What?” Justin wondered softly, pulling his gaze away from Josh’s eyes, focussing instead on the table top.

Josh sighed inaudibly and took a deep breath but before he could ask the question that had been on his mind since he found the kid, Justin beat him to it.

“You wanna know what happened now don’t you?”

Josh was a little shocked at Justin’s directness but recovered quickly. “If you want to share it with me, I’ll listen.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you will,” Justin said.

Josh frowned, but didn’t press.

“What if I don’t want to tell you?” Justin wondered.

Josh looked taken aback, but answered quickly, “Then, well,” he frowned, “I guess you don’t tell me.”

“No, you expect me to tell you,” Justin stated.

“W… what?”

“You think I’ll tell you because you fed me soup and allowed me to take a shower.”

“N… no, I don’t.”

“You do,” Justin countered, certain.

“No. I mean I’d like to know how you got yourself tied to a tree, but if you don’t want to tell me, it’s fine.”

Justin eyed him suspiciously. “What do you want then? What do you want in return?” Justin clarified, he was demanding an answer, but his nervousness still lingered under the surface.

“What do you mean?” Josh wondered, confused. Justin looked at him, his eyes angry.

“You didn’t do all this for me for a simple thank you. I know how the world works. You want something, what is it?” he demanded.

Josh was shocked and didn’t answer.

“You expect a blowjob? Thinking you’ll get to fuck me?” he pressed.

That got Josh out of his shock real fast. “No!”

“I. Am not a whore,” Justin insisted angrily, underlining his point by jabbing his finger on the table.

“I… I know.”

“I won’t let you fuck me!” The finger was pointed accusingly towards Josh this time.

“I wasn’t thinking that.” That was a lie. Josh wouldn’t mind actually having sex with this beautiful guy, but he wouldn’t force him to do it out of gratitude.

“So if that’s the only reason you did it, tough luck!”

“It’s not,” Josh denied.

Justin still eyed him angrily then decided, “I’m leaving.” He quickly turned and headed for the door, determined to walk away. But his determination didn’t last long and he hated himself for stopping almost dead in his tracks when Josh spoke up.

“I still have your clothes in the washing machine,” he called out randomly to get Justin to stay. He still wasn’t sure why he even wanted the kid to stay. He just didn’t want it to end like this, he didn’t want Justin to have the wrong idea.

“Keep ‘em,” Justin said shortly, ready to go again.

“I want my clothes back.” It was a lie, but it would maybe get Justin to stay. Josh swore he could hear Justin grumble before the kid turned around to face him, his eyes blazing.

“Fine, I’ll take ‘em off, that’s what you wanted from the beginning, isn’t it?!” Justin demanded and he began throwing off the hoody. Then the shirt. Josh watched with wide eyes, in complete shock.

“Stop!” he cried finally as he watched how Justin began on removing his sweats, his chest already visible. His beautiful chest that looked incredible soft, but with ribs that poked out where they shouldn’t.

However, Justin didn’t stop at Josh’s cry and Josh reached out quickly to grasp his hands, to make him stop. Justin wouldn’t have it though and he struggled against the grip.

“Let... let… let me go!” he yelled as he struggled to break free, Josh grasping his hands time and time again to stop him from removing any more of his clothes.

Justin finally managed to push Josh away with a burst of power, causing Josh to slam into the wall. They eyed each other in shock, both breathing heavily in exertion. They were frozen for a few moments, both looking into each other’s eyes while trying to regain their breath.

Josh startled when Justin gave a sudden and defeated cry before slumping to the floor. His shoulders soon heaving in sobs. Josh literally saw Justin breaking down on the spot. His sobs increased as helplessness filled his heart. He was so tired of being suspicious, tired of being angry, tired of hiding and tired of distrusting everyone that came close. He wanted to trust this man, but what would be the price if he did was a question he struggled with on a daily basis.

As Justin continued to cry, Josh slowly got his senses back. He picked up the blanket from the back of the couch and stepped towards the youth.

“Justin,” he started softly, telling him he was coming closer.

Justin didn’t respond, so Josh crouched down next to him, draping the blanket over his shoulders. He flinched and his sharp intake of breath told Josh that Justin knew he was there, but he just wasn’t ready to face him. Sinking down next to him, Josh softly started to talk to him.

“I swear I have no ulterior motives, I’m just trying to help you.”

Justin’s sobs quieted at hearing Josh speaking to him, but he didn’t respond to the words.

“You can leave if you want or you can stay, it’s your decision. I’d just… like you to stay,” Josh continued, giving Justin the time he needed, but wanting to make sure he knew what his motives were and that he was indeed just trying to help him.

“I don’t expect anything, you don’t have to do anything, you can sit near the door, I’ll go sit on the other side,” Josh rambled on quietly, trying to make Justin feel comfortable enough to stay.

Justin sniffled and sighed heavily, slumping as the air left his defeated body. “I’m sorry,” Justin apologized just as softly, completely unexpected. Slowly lifting his head, he met Josh’s eyes.

Josh frowned, but soon smiled in reassurance. He wasn’t mad at all, just sad as he stared into blood shot, liquid blue eyes. Justin’s lips were trembling slightly but he managed a small smile in return.

“It’s okay,” Josh reassured again, his smile still in place as he reached out to retrieve the shirt and hoody Justin had thrown off earlier. He handed them back to Justin.

“Here. Put your clothes back on,” Josh urged, underlining his words that he really didn’t want anything from him in return and certainly not out of debt of gratitude. Justin hesitated for a moment but then took the clothes and slowly put them back on.

“Do you want to watch a little TV?” Josh suggested once Justin had pulled the shirt and hoody back on. Justin looked at him sideways, thinking it over for a second and then nodded.

“Come on then,” Josh said as he got onto his feet, offering his hand to Justin to help him get up.

After a moment of hesitation Justin took the offered hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. It meant more than what appeared, he didn’t just take the hand in order to help him get up. By taking his hand, he showed Josh that he’d let him help. It didn’t mean he trusted him blindly but he was at least willing to try. He really didn’t want to distrust this man, but it wasn’t something he could just not do. He’d had to be suspicious of everyone in order to survive and he’d made mistakes that he’d learned from. One being to always be on your guard. After living on the streets for so long it wasn’t just a switch he could turn on and off. He’d try though. They both sat down on the couch with a foot of space between them, Josh turned on the TV and they watched in silence.

The sun had set and darkness remained on this early November day. Justin and Josh were still watching TV in comfortable silence. It was nearing dinner time and both were getting hungry. However Justin would never voice this, but Josh would and he did.

“I’m hungry.” Justin looked at Josh sideways in surprise.

“Do you like Chinese?” Josh wondered.

Justin frowned, not sure if he would benefit from Josh’s hunger in a way that he’d be invited to eat with him, but he nevertheless nodded in answer to his question. “S… sure.” It was food and he was always hungry.

“Do you want to get some?”

“Um... okay,” Justin answered, after only a moment of hesitation.

Josh smiled at him before getting to his feet. He walked towards the closet near the front door and got a black coat from the pegs screwed against the back of the door. He grabbed his wallet from the table next to the front door and let it fall into his back pocket before shrugging into the coat he held in his hand. As he turned around, he was somewhat surprised when he realised Justin was still sitting on the couch. “You coming?”

Justin shook his head in confusion. “Um yeah but I thought…” Shaking his head again, he dismissed the sentence. “Forget it.”

“What?” Josh wondered, as Justin got to his feet and walked towards him.

“I just thought you’d… call or something.”

“Oh,” Josh smiled in understanding, “I rather walk, it’s only three blocks.”

“Oh ok.” Justin nodded in understanding. Josh saw his trepidation.

“Unless you rather stay here while I go get it.”

Justin stood in shock, gaping at him for a few moments. Who in their right mind would let a homeless kid stay in their apartment, alone, with no supervision? This man was too trustworthy and despite the fact that Josh gave him the option Justin didn’t want to stay here alone, trouble could only come of it. It would be easy to accuse him of doing or stealing something and he’d be in jail real soon. Although Justin didn’t believe Josh was like that, once again distrusting someone was easier than trusting them. It would lead to trouble and Justin wanted to come along, he only had one problem.

“No, no, I’ll come,” he began then lowered his head as he continued, “But I um… don’t have a coat,” he admitted quietly in shame.

Josh hadn’t thought about it and he suddenly realized, everything Justin had worn when he’d found him in the park was now in the washing machine and a coat was not amongst them. He recovered quickly however and handed Justin another coat, this one was light brown and long. Not to mention very warm. Exactly what Justin needed. There was a blush on his cheeks but he accepted the coat gratefully. Josh decided not to waste anymore words on it and instead unlocked and opened the door.

“Come on.” Justin was glad Josh didn’t say anything else but he still couldn’t help but duck his head as he followed Josh out the door.

“Aye, look who that is?!”

“Is that…?”

“Yeah! It’s the punk!”

“Who is he with?”

“Who cares?”

“Mark does.”

“Right.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“Me neither, let’s go tell Mark.”

“No, let’s see where he goes first.”

“Good thinking.”

Josh and Justin returned home about forty-five minutes later with a bag of Chinese each. And after the cold outside, they were both ready for something warm. They shrugged out of their coats and sat on the couch, digging into their Chinese food immediately.

Justin rolled back the sleeves of his sweater before he opened his container and picked up the chop sticks. Josh’s eye caught on Justin’s wrists, noticing for the first time the chafing the tight ropes had caused.

“Oh my, does that hurt?” Josh wondered in surprise and concern, dropping his chop sticks.

Justin looked up at Josh then and followed his line of sight, seeing Josh’s eyes were trained on his wrists. He hadn’t even given it a moment’s thought. He shrugged, “A little.”

“I’ll get you some cream.” Josh suggested as he got up and went to the bathroom. He was gone before Justin had a chance to tell him not to bother and he didn’t want to be rude and tell him no.

Although he could see Josh coming, Justin still couldn’t help but flinch when Josh sat next to him and gently picked up his wrist. Josh felt it and stopped immediately, he looked up at Justin who didn’t find this really necessary, but he gave Josh a small smile to tell him it was okay, and so Josh continued. He carefully smeared the cream all around his wrist and repeated the action with Justin’s left hand.

“Thank you,” Justin mumbled and Josh smiled.

“You’re welcome,” he said, before standing. He brought the cream back to the bathroom and washed his hands before returning to the living room to turn on the TV to a random channel. He picked up his chop sticks to start on his food and a few seconds later, so did Justin.

Josh sat back with a satisfied sigh, clasping his hands on his stomach. “That was good.”

Justin swallowed another bite and nodded in agreement. “Yeah.”

“I’m gonna go check on your clothes.”

Justin nodded as he watched Josh get up. Josh smiled before walking to the hallway where his bedroom, the bathroom and his washroom were. Justin watched him go and then looked down at the food still left in the container. It was almost gone. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had a decent meal like this, except for the soup he’d had earlier for lunch. Something warm hadn’t been on the menu for ages.

He wondered how long Josh would let him stay. He wondered how long he could bear it to stay. He felt as if he were intruding, taking advantage of this man and at the same time he felt as if Josh was taking advantage of him. He couldn’t explain it. This was becoming a very weird situation but he couldn’t help but hope his clothes weren’t dry yet, if for no other reason than that he really didn’t want to go back to the cold dark streets and what could possibly await him there.

“It’s all dry except for the jeans. They were still pretty damp so I put them back in the dryer for a little while,” Josh announced as he came back into the room.

Justin nodded in understanding as he swallowed his last bite and then set the container on the table.

“Good?” Josh asked him.

“Yeah, really good, thanks.” He couldn’t help but drop his head once the words were out.

“Good,” Josh said softly.

“I’ll just clean this up a bit,” he mumbled as he started gathering the trash.

Justin got up quickly, offering, “I’ll help.” Feeling happy he could finally do something to help him instead of the other way around.

“Thanks.” Josh smiled as they set to work, gathering the containers and plastic bags before taking them to the kitchen. It really wasn’t a lot of work and it was done quickly.

Glancing at the clock, Josh noted, “Oh it’s almost eight, Desperate Housewives will be on in just a minute, you want to watch?”

“Sure,” Justin agreed easily. He’d never seen the show or even heard of it, but he didn’t really care what they watched as they both sank down onto the couch again.

Pounding on the door startled the both of them when the dialogue between Lynette and Susan had been the only sound in the room. They eyed each other and then eyed the door. After more pounding on the door, Josh got up, wondering who it could be. He took the lock off the door and opened it in curiosity. But curiosity killed the cat and it wasn’t exactly safe for Josh either. Before Josh could even blink, the door banged against the wall as it was pushed open harshly. Men streamed in and Josh couldn’t even see their faces or how many of them there were. They were inside before Josh could stop them. The last one that came in pushed Josh inside harshly and shoved him against the wall before he closed and locked the door. The man then grabbed Josh’s arm and pushed him into a chair.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” a voice wondered tauntingly as Josh noticed for the first time that the men were surrounding Justin. One had a knife that was pointed towards the youth and Josh realized they were in deep trouble. Justin had pressed himself against the back of the couch to get as far away from these men as possible and Josh could see him trembling in fear.

“So...” the obvious leader began, “You got yourself a place to stay.”

Justin didn’t answer, he was too scared.

“You fucking him?” the man asked as he turned towards Josh. Josh’s eyes widened as he shook his head in denial.

The man shrugged and commented, “Stupid.”

The leader, Justin knew as Mark, came closer and snatched out to grab his face, squeezing his cheeks together to show him who was in charge. Justin quickly met Mark’s eyes while his own were starting to fill with tears.

“Don’t please,” Justin begged before he knew what was going to happen, his words coming out strangely as he could barely move his lips in the awkward grip Mark had on him.

“How did you get away, did he help you?” the man demanded to know.

Justin said nothing and Mark squeezed tighter.

Justin cringed from pain and nodded quickly wanting to avoid more.

“So you’re shacking up with him to repay him. Well listen kiddo, there is nothing to be grateful for because he ruined our plan and you will pay for it,” Mark warned, finally releasing his grip.

Justin rubbed his stinging cheeks as tears started to fall, while Mark turned towards Josh and began to elaborate.

“You see, we tried to teach little Justin here a lesson, but you cut him loose, now he’ll never learn his lesson.”

“W…wha…what lesson?” Josh dared to ask.

The man smirked. Josh saw Justin cringing out of the corner of his eye and he was almost afraid to learn the answer.

“That he’s a worthless piece of shit and we tell him what to do,” Mark said without blinking an eye.

“That’s why you tied him to the tree?”

“Yeah fun isn’t it?”

Josh shook his head in disbelief and disgust, but Mark laughed.

“He thought he deserved to be in the park, babbling about it being a public place and all that when we told him to get out. He didn’t listen. See? He’s stupid too and we thought it’d be a good idea to let him stay in the park, since he seemed so keen on it.” Mark turned back towards Justin suddenly, an angry look in his eyes. “But then he didn’t stay.”

“I’m… I’m sorry, I know you told me to stay put and I’d learn my lesson, but it was cold and I was scared and I’m sorry,” Justin babbled pleadingly, his eyes watering.

“You were supposed to be cold and scared. We wanted you to learn something. Now you didn’t.”

“I did, I did, I did learn my lesson I swear.”

“Well, we don’t believe that. We told you to listen and you didn’t.”

“I’m sorry, please, I’m really sorry,” Justin sniffled.

“You’re a wuss. How you ever survived is a mystery to me. Come here you piece of shit,” the leader angrily sneered, before pushing him face first into the couch and twisting his arms up his back.

“You’ll learn your lesson,” he rasped in Justin’s ear as he yanked on his arms.

Justin whimpered and struggled but it was futile.

Another guy stepped forward to assist his leader; he grabbed both Justin’s wrists and held them together so Mark could tie the rope, he produced out of his pocket, around their victim’s wrists. Justin yelped and gasped for air as his wrists were secured tightly with the scratchy rope, while he tried to twist his head to the side so he could breathe.

Justin was really scared, he’d always been afraid of Mark and his group of friends. There were four of them, including Mark, and they always hung around the park, mainly around the basketball court. That’s where Justin had met them because he mostly spent his time sitting on a bench just outside of the park. Although they thought they were big shots the gang was neither dangerous nor feared by others. They were just a group of guys who were bored out of their minds and hung around together.

No one was really afraid of them except for Justin. Not because they really hurt him physically, but because they wanted entertainment from their boring existence. Justin was their entertainment. They ridiculed him for fun. They knew he was homeless, they saw it and they smelled it. They used it to hurt him and to make themselves feel powerful as they knew their remarks caused the hurt and fear to pass over Justin’s face.

They’d began some time ago when Justin had accidentally run into the leader. Mark had made a big show of shoving the kid away and brushing off the dirt and bacteria he was sure were sticking to him, after colliding with the kid. He’d been angry and he’d yelled at the trembling youth, shoving and threatening him so he would stay away. Justin had nodded quickly and agreeably, he’d make damn sure he was out of their way, but a week later he ran into them again. From then on the gang entertained themselves by taunting the kid, humiliating and denigrating him, having a laugh at his expense. They enjoyed intimidating him, seeing the fear in the kid’s eyes and knowing he’d listen to them just because he knew he didn’t stand a chance against them.

That’s also why they’d had so much fun when they tied him to that tree. The kid was powerless and he knew it too, they could see it clearly written in his eyes. And so when they discovered he was gone the next day they didn’t really care; they’d had their fun. However they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have a little bit more fun with the kid when Wallie and Frankie had spotted the youth earlier today and knew where to find him. Now, the fun was just getting started.

“Let’s go,” the leader announced, ordering his men to get the kid up and take him along.

Josh opened his mouth to stop them, he couldn’t let them walk out with Justin. He needed to help him. He eyed Justin, but words never came.

Mark caught a glance of the look shared between the two; the kid and his savior. Mark clearly saw the despair in the savior’s eyes and the pleading look for help in the eyes of the kid. His smirk grew. He had a better idea. “On second thought, Wallie, pull out that chair.”

Wallie, a rather short, but obviously strong man, frowned as he obeyed orders. He pulled out a kitchen chair and set it next to his boss.

“Get the other chair out of the way and get him up,” Mark instructed, pointing towards the easy chair Josh had spent the night in, then gesturing towards Josh. Wallie once again did as he was told and the leader put the kitchen chair there instead.

“Put the kid there,” he instructed, indicating Justin.

Two of the men dragged Justin towards the kitchen chair and pushed him onto it before the leader followed, securing the kid’s bound arms to the back of the chair so he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere.

“Hold him,” Mark instructed two of his men, who immediately stepped forward and held onto Josh’s arms. Josh frowned and tried to struggle, but he couldn’t move an inch.

Mark smirked at him. “Now, we are all set.”

“What… what are you gonna do?” Justin wondered, looking up fearfully, his eyes liquid. He was sitting on one side of the room, secured to the kitchen chair while Josh was held by two men on the opposite side.

Mark was standing in the middle of the room, in between Josh and Justin. “Just watch.” After turning around, he punched Josh in the gut. Josh groaned loudly, doubling over awkwardly as he was held up by two guys.

Justin shot up, but moaned as the rope tightened around his wrists. Another punch and Justin began to cry. He shook his head as another punch landed in his savior’s gut. He had to stop this.

“No,” he whispered, but they didn’t hear him.

Another punch.

“Stop! Please, he has nothing to do with this.”

Mark turned towards Justin while Josh took a much needed, but painful, breath of air.

“Well what do you suggest?”

“You came here for me, please stop hurting him.”

“You gotta pay for abandoning the lesson we tried to teach you.”

“B…but how? I… I don’t have any money,” Justin wondered desperately, knowing they enjoyed seeing him like this; desperate and out of control, but he didn’t care. He needed to help Josh. He might never voice this, but he knew he owed the man at least that much.

“We can make him pay for it,” the leader suggested, waving towards Josh who was still in the hands of the two men.

“Like this,” Mark continued, showing Justin exactly how they’d let Josh pay for it: Mark turned around and punched Josh hard, gaining a loud gasp and desperate coughs from Josh in return.

“Or,” Mark said, bringing up option number two. Justin’s eyes widened as he urged Mark to tell him the other way that wouldn’t involve Josh getting hurt.

“You blow us,” Mark stated simply, a smirk on his face as he imagined it.

Justin stared at Mark in disbelief, his eyes building with tears as he swallowed thickly when he realized Mark was serious. Mark knew it would be the ultimate humiliation, being forced to blow them while his new friend, or whoever he was, watched. Yes this was fun.

Justin glanced at Josh who, although he was in pain, was shaking his head no, telling him not to do it, that he’s not worth it, but it just told Justin the opposite.

He had to ask, whispering, “What if I don’t?”

“We’ll continue beating the living shit out of him,” Mark answered easily.

“Someone has to pay for the lesson you two ruined, it’s either him or you. Who’s it gonna be?”

Justin didn’t answer right away and to speed it up, Mark punched Josh again, causing him to yelp loudly. Justin tried to jump up to stop them, but once again got nowhere.

Instead he cried out when Mark punched again, “Stop please, I’ll do it.”

Mark turned towards Justin and smirked before he quickly stepped up to him.

“Good boy,” he praised him degradingly as he petted his cheek. Justin twisted away, but there was no avoiding it as they left him tied to the chair.

“If you screw up, he’ll get it,” Mark warned, before stepping forward and reaching for his zipper.

Justin couldn’t look. His head was low and when Mark was ready, he smacked Justin’s head to make him look up. Justin met Josh’s eyes only for a second before he seemed to accept his fate.

Josh slumped in the firm grip of the two men and watched in tears as the kid he’d met just two days ago was forced to blow Mark, the first of four men, as the tears cascaded down his face.

Josh wanted to break free and stop them, but he was tired from the punches he’d received, not to mention he was held back by two men. He was powerless to stop them and help the one person he so desperately wanted to save.

Mark smirked again, it seemed like that was all he’d been doing all evening, as they’d all gotten off and then nodded to let Josh go. The two men now holding him dropped him instantly. Josh was unprepared, not to mention weak and he fell heavily onto the floor, his side taking the brunt.

“You learned your lesson?” Mark demanded, as he eyed Justin.

Justin looked up through shimmering eyes and nodded quickly when the leader squeezed his cheeks.

“Goodbye, thanks for the blow.” He smirked at Justin a final time before waving his gang along. They followed him and disappeared out the door laughing loudly.

Justin was still tied to the chair, Josh was laying dazed on the floor. They heard the door slam and they both jumped. It startled Josh into motion immediately. As painful as it was, he leapt to his feet and quickly closed and locked the door. Although he didn’t think they’d come back, at least now if they did they could not get in. He fell back against the door, panting in fear and exertion as he held onto his side, he was sure was bruised.

“Josh,” a quiet shameful voice called to him.

Josh looked up, remembering Justin was still tied to the chair. “Oh, I’m sorry!” Josh apologized, rushing to the kitchen as quickly as possible, returning with a pair of scissors, so he could cut the boy’s bonds. Justin’s head was bent low as Josh started on cutting his bonds. It went quickly, there was plenty of light and there only were two ropes this time.

When his bonds were cut Justin pulled his hands in front of him and rubbed his wrists thoughtfully. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Josh stumbled to a seat on the couch. He sighed as he stretched out and groaned when tender flesh was stretched.

Justin cringed as he heard it. “I’m sorry,” he said quietly, his voice laced with shame as he got to his feet. “I’ll leave,” he continued, raising his voice a little louder when Josh didn’t respond.

Josh opened his eyes, shocked. “What?”

“I’m sorry I got you involved in this and you witnessed how I,” Justin cut himself off abruptly as he ducked his head, nervously fumbling with his shirt.

“You don’t want me here, you must be disgusted and I’m sorry it had to happen in your home,” Justin tearfully apologized, before turning away and going for the door.

Josh now knew what he really was. Of course Josh had known he was homeless, but he now knew the full truth about Justin; he was a worthless piece of shit and a whore too. He was sure Josh wanted him gone.

“Justin, wait!” Josh called after him as he got to his feet.

Justin turned slowly, full of insecurity, prepared for Josh’s anger and to be yelled at.

“You saved me,” Josh said quietly, as he eyed the youth and stepped closer.

Justin’s eyes grew wide with shock. Josh hesitantly took Justin’s hands in his own and, as he eyed Justin, he asked, “Why do you want to leave?”

Justin looked down at his own hands in Josh’s soft gentle grip and as he met Josh’s eyes again he shook his head quickly. “I… I don’t, but you saw how I,” Justin denied, his head sinking low again at the end of his sentence as he reminded Josh of the shameful thing he’d done.

But Josh didn’t want hear it, he didn’t see it that way at all. “I saw how you saved me,” Josh cut him off determinedly, as he tugged on Justin’s hands lightly, urging him to look up again.

“You said you wouldn’t… let anyone use you, you were not a whore…”

“I’m not Josh,” Justin nearly pleaded, searching Josh’s eyes for anger, but in his panic he saw nothing.

Justin had said the same words before, telling Josh he was not a whore, but what made the difference was his tone, it was the complete opposite. He’d said the words in defense last time. This time he desperately wanted to make sure Josh didn’t think he was a whore. He couldn’t bare the thought that Josh would think of him that way.

“I know, I know you’re not. You’re so special.”

Justin’s eyes glistened with tears and he sniffled as he broke eye contact and shook his head softly. “Don’t mock me, Josh, please,” he whispered, sensing he was going to get hurt. He didn’t want Josh to hurt him. He only did what they had said to save Josh. Josh couldn’t reject him now.

Tears fell silently as he waited for the final blow, waited for Josh to tell him that he was a whore, he was a worthless piece of shit and that he had no right being in his house. He waited to hear that the words ‘you’re so special’ were a lie, he waited to hear Josh say: ‘did you really believe I meant that?’ He waited for those words. He waited for Josh to shatter him and he stood there shaking in front of Josh as he physically shrunk millimetre by millimetre to protect himself.

However, those words never came. Instead he only heard Josh’s soft, soothing voice whisper an explanation, “You let them use you to save me. You stopped them from hurting me and you sacrificed yourself to do that. It means a lot to me.”

Justin looked up slowly, his eyes full of insecurity as he searched Josh’s face. He was met with only a friendly and reassuring expression.

“I really like you Justin,” Josh told him simply. “Thank you. For saving me,” he added before slowly almost hesitatingly pulling him closer, wrapping his arms around the trembling kid and holding on tight.

To Josh it felt right immediately and he knew right away that it had been fate that they were here together. Some greater power had guided Josh into making the decision to take the route through the park that Friday night after he’d worked late. He knew he’d been meant to save Justin. He knew this as he held him and he didn’t let go. Josh noticed the tension in Justin at first but slowly felt him slumping into the contact. And when Justin’s arms slid around his waist, Josh smiled.