“Is that all?”
“What do you mean ‘is that all’?” Lance questioned.
“Well jeez, we’ve noticed the way C has been looking at you for months...it’s about time you got your head of out Joey’s ass and saw it for yourself.”
Lance lowered his head.
“So when did you realize it?”
“This morning. He wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, in fact he was writing in his notebook...but then he complained that he had a crick in his neck so I offered to rub it for him.” Lance bit his bottom lip. “What am I going to tell Joey?”
“Tell him to get his no good, lazy ass out of your room.” Justin commented as he walked through to the kitchen.
“Good morning to you too.” Lance groaned.
Chris and Lance exchanged a worried look as they heard Justin rooting around in the kitchen cupboards. There was a sudden silence and they tried to hide their bowls under the table. Sure enough, Justin stormed over to where they were sitting.
“Where’s my cereal?” He demanded.
“Joey ate it.” They replied in unison. Justin’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Then why do you two look so guilty?”
“Umm...” Chris started. “I think I need to go make a phone call.” And he bolted from the table. Justin looked at Lance for an explanation.
“Fine,” he said and brought the bowls back up to the table. “Happy?”
“No.” He spun the chair around and sat on it backwards. “I’ll be happy when you dump Joey’s sorry ass and tell C how you feel about him.”
“It’s not that easy Justin, Joey and I have been together for a while and...”
“Bullshit. You’re the only one in that relationship that still cares. You need to get out of it.”
“Justin...”
“Tell you what. We’ll all get out of your hair today...we’ll leave JC with you and you tell him that your back is sore. He’ll offer to massage it for you and you can tell him then. We’ll take care of Joey for you.” Justin grinned evilly.
“J...go easy on Joey. He may have treated me like shit as a boyfriend – but he’s still one of my best friends. And as a friend, he’s been nothing but wonderful to me.”
Justin was immediately apologetic. “I know. And the breakup might not be easy on your friendship at first, but it will get better.”
“Even if JC and I start seeing each other?”
“Ok, so he might have some issues with that. But knowing Joey, it won’t be long before he’s over it, because he likes to see his friends happy.”
“Yeah,” Lance said thoughtfully. “I’m going to talk to him now.”
“While he’s sleeping?”
Lance grinned. “Of course not. I’m going to wake his sorry ass up first.”
Justin burst into laughter. “Good...and after that, you can go out and buy me some more cereal!”
Lance threw his spoon in Justin’s direction, causing the younger man to duck.
“Justin abuse!” Justin shrieked. “I’m going to have you arrested for Justin abuse!”
“I think I would be commended, rather than reprimanded.” Lance said wryly.
“Justin abuse!” Justin shrieked.
Chris poked his head out of his room. “Where? And why wasn’t I invited?”
Lance smiled innocently and ignored the short dark haired figure that was currently flying towards Justin. He turned in the other direction, slightly apprehensive about the confrontation with Joey.
He quietly opened the door to his room and saw that Joey was spread eagle on his back - without a stitch of clothing on. His mouth was hanging open from his alcohol induced stupor and his snoring was so loud, it sounded like a 747 was preparing to land in the bedroom.
He sighed and decided to cover Joey's nether regions before he woke him. Just as the blanket fell into place, there was a loud crash followed by mad giggling from Chris. Joey stirred and automatically turned in the direction that Lance was standing.
"Whazzat?" He murmured sleepily. "What's going on?"
"Chris and Justin," Lance said simply and sat on the side of the bed. "Joey, we need to talk."
"Go for it." He closed his eyes and turned onto his side, away from Lance.
"It's over Joey. I can't do this anymore. I don't like sleeping alone at night, and I can't even remember the last time we were intimate."
Joey was silent for a minute and then, "You gonna date C?"
Lance was stunned. "Umm...what?"
Joey turned back to Lance. His eyes were suddenly very alert.
"He's been checking you out for a while and you're the only one who hasn't noticed. I think you should go and talk to him...he's better for you than I am."
Lance's heart felt full. "Joey, I..." Joey sat up and kissed his lips lightly, but felt the loss. He knew it would be the last time his lips would touch Lance's. "Go get your man." He told Lance quietly and lay back down with a smile on his face.
Lay Your Hands On Me Index
Shades of Grey
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