Two

 

 

"Did you have any problems getting away?" Justin asked Nick as soon as he and Brian walked onto the court.  Chris nodded at Brian, who gave a brief wave hello.

"Nope.  Lou loves Brian.  And we had off today, anyway."  Nick looked at Chris, who was shooting some practice baskets.  "Isn't he kinda...old?"

"He just turned twenty-four," Justin said, insulted. "He's not old."

"No!  I mean...I just...sorry," Nick mumbled, blushing.  "I just normally don't hang out with people that old.  I mean, Kevin's that old, but he acts it."

Justin's sunny smile flashed out.  "Chris does NOT act it, that's for sure.  Isn't Brian a lot older than you?"

"Five years," Nick said. 

"Like me and JC...except JC's an old stick in the mud sometimes," Justin said. "C'mon. Let's play."

Brian and Chris were about the same size, so they were paired up against each other.  Nick guarded Justin, his long arms waving in Justin's face.  Justin laughed and easily dodged around him, that smile beaming as he easily sunk his first basket.

 

"Do you guys want to go get something to eat?" Justin asked as they all fell to the ground.  The park was becoming more crowded, and they wanted to let other people use the baskets.

"We can't," Chris reminded him.  "We have that dinner thing."

"Thanks, anyway," Brian said quickly.  Justin liked Brian. He was nice and he was funny.  He and Nick were hysterical together.  Chris had even warmed up to him.

"Do you wanna do this again sometime?" Justin asked Nick. "I had fun. It's more fun than just playing one on one with Chris."

"Thanks a lot," Chris said, rolling his eyes.

"I can't.  We're, uh...we're leaving soon," Nick said evasively.

"Oh, well, maybe when you get back," Justin said.  Nick shrugged, and Justin was disappointed.

 

One week later, Chris came up to Justin as they were taking a break from dance rehearsal.  Joey was standing in a corner with a towel over his head.  JC was patiently going through the latest choreography, trying to help Lance.

"I know why your little pal Nick was going away," Chris said.

"Yeah?"

"I heard Lou talking.  They're in Europe."

"THEY'RE in Europe? But we're going to Europe."

"They're doing it first," Chris said, sighing.  "Look, Curly, I know you like him. He's your age, and you have a lot in common.  They're still competition.  He knew that all along, and didn't even bother to tell you."

"Nick's not like that," Justin argued.

Chris smiled condescendingly, something he didn't often do with Justin.  "Not everyone is trustworthy, J.  Remember that."

Justin scowled at the back of Chris' head as Chris walked away.

 

"Paul called me this morning," Lynn said to her son.  It was their third day overseas.

"Really?" Justin said to his cereal.  He was grateful that his mother had remembered to pack a huge supply of Lucky Charms when they were preparing to come to Europe.

"You got a postcard.  It's postmarked like a month ago...part of the address was wrong."

"I got a postcard?" Justin asked.

"He said it's just signed 'N.'  It was from Germany.  Who do you know in Germany?"

"No one," Justin said sadly, poking at the marshmallows.  He knew exactly who it was from.

Three