“What the hell do you think you are doing with MY wife,” Justin yells at JC pacing around the kitchen.

Justin was throwing another of his legendary hissy fits. Nick hadn’t seen one in a longgg time and JC hadn’t seen one since the day that he had left. Kevin was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper, which was folded in half by now, so he could watch Justin’s antics. Well he was in for a show. Justin had found out about JC talking to Ness alone and to put it mildly…he was ready to cut off JC balls with a butter knife.

“She agreed to talk to him, Justin,” Nick says looking at him from his seat on a counter by the sink.

Justin looks at him strangely before looking back at JC, “I agreed to talk to you. I never said you could go near her…”

“Justin, you don’t control her life,” Nick says to him as Justin looks back at him again.

“Nick, SHUT UP,” Justin yells, “This is between JC and I.”

Nick rolls his eyes and folds his arms across his chest, “At least I’m not the over dramatic one of the two of us.”

Justin looks at him hard and narrow his eyes, “This is all your fault!”

“Mine?” Nick asks eyes getting wide, “You just said this was between JC and you.”

“Not that,” Justin fumes, “This,” he waves his arms in the air dramatically, “All this. She’s gonna be pissed as hell at me now because SOMEBODY decided to pry their nose into my past,” he looks at JC, “I don’t know how my infidelity is relevant to NICK.”

“I…” JC goes to say.

“No,” Justin snaps, “I have worked for years to get my life back on track again and it is falling apart because of what? A week worth of staying in the States so far?”

“Justin you’re being over dramatic,” Nick says calmly.

Justin stares at him and snorts, “Right…”

“Justin!” a voice yells from the hall as they all turn their heads to look at Ness standing in the threshold holding Alex in her arms.

Justin’s body stiffens slightly as he turns to look at her.

“Stop,” she says to him, “Just stop. Everything is fine, ok? I’m not mad at you ok? Nothing is falling apart. JC asked me and I agreed on my own free will. You DO NOT control me. He, JC, referred to your fucking up once. Once! Leave him alone. And leave Nick alone for God’s sake he did nothing. He’s sitting there like a deer in a headlight again like you always used to do to him before. Now stop acting like a child again. I had enough of you acting like this before.”

Justin looks at her calmly and sighs as the anger leaves his face instantly, “Ness I…”

“Justin, just don’t,” she says calmly putting Alex down on the kitchen tiles.

Nick looks between the two of them before sighing, “Well isn’t this a visit to the past.”

Justin looks over at him slowly before looking down at the floor and finally back up at Ness, “Sorry,” he mumbles softly.

Kevin continues to watch from his position behind the half folded paper and looks over at JC.

JC was leaning against the counter looking at Justin and Ness intently. Kevin figured he was taking notes with his eyes.

Nick looks down at the kitchen tiles studying the patterns in each and how they connected to one another. He knew the rest already.

Justin walks over to her slowly and locks eyes with her before she turns and walks out of the kitchen down the hallway with him trailing close behind.

Nick looks up finally once they leave the kitchen and looks over at Alex who is standing on his tip toes attempting to reach a piece of fruit in a fruit basket on the island in the middle of the kitchen. He sighs hoping off of the counter and walking over to the small form of Justin picking him up easily and sitting him on the island, “Don’t think he’s some nutcase because of that,” Nick says calmly reaching over for an orange and beginning to peal it, “Justin, just lets out his anger like that for some reason,” he says pealing the orange apart and dividing it into sections.

“He always like that?” JC asks.

“No,” Nick says handing Alex a small section of the orange, “That was the first time I saw him act like that since…well since before I left,” he says as he looks at Alex intently and the small piece of orange vanishes into his small mouth.

Kevin stands up slowly placing his paper onto the table before walking over to his refrigerator and opening it. He reaches inside and grabs a juice box before walking over to Nick and handing it to him.

“Thanks,” Nick smiles at him softly and opens it as Alex eats another small piece of orange, “It’s just…well he’s my best friend. I know him well enough to know he doesn’t act like that anymore. I just don’t want you all to get the wrong impression of him,” he says handing the box to Alex.

“We know he’s a good guy, Nick,” Kevin says, “We know.”

“He probably covered my ass when he was talking to you,” Nick says looking at JC briefly, “Ask him what we talk about?”

“Yeah?” JC says calmly.

“He say we never talk about the past?” Nick asks not turning to look at him.

“Yeah,” JC says nodding.

“He’s lying…”

“I figured,” JC looks over at Alex as he holds the small juice box near his mouth.

“We don’t like letting people we…don’t trust in,” he sighs looking over at JC, “He doesn’t trust you, JC. Never probably will again.”

JC nods looking down at the floor tiles.

“Sorry,” Nick says, “When it comes to Justin and I…there are whole webs of lies upon lies to…to people,” he says stumbling with his words, “We like it that way. Prevents people from getting too close,” he says picking Alex up calmly and walking towards the hallway before stopping suddenly, “Maybe…maybe one day we’ll tell everyone about it. No more lies,” he says not turning to look at JC or Kevin and walking out into the hallway.

Kevin watches as Nick figure turns around the corner with a small mess of brown curls resting on his shoulder, “I don’t like the way he said that,” Kevin says looking over at JC.

JC nods, “I agree. I think you need to tell me everything he’s told you before. Because as of right now I have no idea what if fact and fiction when it comes to those two. Between the two of them…if they preplan a story…they can create a whole web of lies…a whole world.”

Kevin looks at JC and nods, “I think they did.”

“I think we need to spilt them up and talk to them each separately,” JC says, “See if we can get one of them to tell the truth at least.”

Kevin nods, “They aren’t gonna like this. And if they don’t crack?”

“We talk to her,” JC says sighing looking out the window as the sun begins to set. It was gonna be a long day tomorrow.”

“You said I’m gonna buy this place and burn it down. I’m gonna put it six feet under ground…”

“Justin,” a voice says through the darkness.

Justin drapes an arm around Ness calmly as his body fits the contours of her back perfectly fitting the two of them together. She stirs slightly in her sleep as Justin unconsciously buries his face in her hair near her neck.

“Justin,” the voice says again.

Justin’s eyes flutter in his sleep slightly as he pulls Ness closer.

“Justin,” the voice hisses.

“What,” Justin mumbles softly.

“Get up,” the voice says.

“What?”

“Get up,” it hisses.

“What the hell is going on,” he says groggily as he sits up slightly squinting at the figure looking at him from the side of the bed he is facing with Ness.

“C’mon I need your help.”

“Nick…what the hell,” he says sitting up in the bed and rubbing his eyes with his hands before looking at the clock, “It’s 3:30 in the morning, Nick.”

“I know,” Nick sighs looking at the clock.

“Nick…”

“C’mon, Just…please,” Nick says looking at him through the darkness.

Justin stares at him and nods, “I’m fuckin’ naked,” he mumbles to himself throwing the covers off and walking over to his dresser and pulling out a pair of mesh shorts and a t-shirt. He pulls on a baseball hat calmly before walking over to Ness and kneeling by the side of the bed. He moves a few loose strands of hair out of her face and kisses her softly before standing up and following Nick out of the room.

“You said I’m gonna buy this place and watch it fall. Stand here beside me baby in the crumbling walls…”

Justin stares at Nick as he watches him throw a canister of gasoline across the furniture in his old home. Nick was dousing everything in it. Walls, paintings, pictures, couches, tables, chairs, lamps…everything inanimate.

“C’mon, Justin, help me,” Nick says calmly handing him a canister.

Justin takes it calmly walking towards the kitchen and throwing it over the table, dish washer, sink, cabinets, counter tops, refrigerator, “You sure you don’t want anything in here before it’s too late?” he asks walking back into the living room with an empty canister throwing it aside.

Nick nods walking in from a room in the back, “I’m sure.”

Justin nods calmly looking around the building, “Ready?” he asks. He was getting dizzy from the fumes now

Nick nods tipping a canister he has in his hands as the two walk out of the house, down the steps and down the path gasoline leaving a trail behind them, “Alright,” Nick says calmly stopping halfway down the walk and closing the last canister.

Justin looks up at the looming house and shivers. There had to be millions upon millions of dollars in that house in the form of things and the house itself.

“ Oh I’m gonna buy this place and start a fire. Stand here until I fill all your hearts desires…”

Nick pulls out a match and lights it calmly dropping it onto the trail of gasoline as the fire ignites.

Justin sighs and pulls out a cigarette from his shorts pocket and bends over lighting it on the flames licking the air from the trail.

Nick looks over at him as the fire creeps up the trail toward the house quickly, “I thought you were cutting back?”

“I am,” Justin says taking a drag as the fire hits the house and swallows the front door up with flames, “It’s extra light,” he says breathing the smoke out.

“Ness should be proud,” Nick says as the black smoke begins to pour out of the windows in the house and fire engulfs the whole lower half as an orange glow is poured onto them both emitting a feeling of warmth.

“We should go, Nick,” Justin says calmly as he takes another drag off the cigarette and watching the house go up in flames.

“Yeah…yeah we should,” Nick says turning around and walking towards his Prowler.

Justin hops in the passenger seat cigarette hanging from his lips as Nick hops into the drivers seat, “Nice car,” Justin says smiling as he flicks away his cigarette and buckles himself in.

“Yeah,” Nick smirks, “Yeah it is,” he says starting the car and shifting it into drive taking off down the street.

Justin looks over his shoulder as the house is engulfed in flames and black smoke pours from all the windows.

“It deserved it,” Nick says as they continue to drive under the night sky.

“Huh?” Justin asks turning to look at him.

“The house deserved it,” Nick says calmly.

Justin nods giving one last fast glance back in the direction they came from, “I think it did.”

Nick smiles looking over at him for a second, “The greatest thing is they think I’m dead so they won’t think of me.”

Justin smirks again, “They think I’m in Italy.”

“Intricate web of lies…” Nick says.

“Oh so intricate,” Justin says smiling as a fire engine roars by them going in the other direction. The direction of the smoke.

“ Because I’m gonna buy this place and see it burn. And do back the things it did to you in return…”

~ Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head”.