Well, here's chapter 16. I never thought I'd make it this far, but here it is. You guys are the best readers! Thanks for all your support for my stories!
Disclaimer: I don't know BSB or Nsync. I don't know their management. Don't know their orientation. This story is pure, 100% fiction and contains material of an adult nature. People under 18 should stop reading now. You have been warned. Comments? ngclle@yahoo.com
Brian kissed Nick's forehead longingly. Nick had fallen asleep very quickly and only stirred a little when Brian's lips made contact with him.
Brian heard the door open and close as Moju came back home. Brian quickly pulled his hand up and brushed the locks of golden hair off Nick's cheeks.
He heard Moju step into the living room quietly.
"Any luck?" Moju asked, sensing the tension in the room.
"He's tired," Brian said sadly.
"Help me in the kitchen," Moju said as he walked past Nick's sleeping figure. Together, they left Nick on the couch.
"Something had to have happened, either on that island or in the hospital." Moju's voice was adamant.
Brian cringed. "He won't say anything. Look at the way he slept. He looks so helpless." The tears drifted down Brian's cheeks. "I don't want to see him like this."
Moju sighed and looked away. "One of them raped him."
Brian snapped from his sadness. "How . . . how can you be so sure? Justin or Jeff? I . . . I mean . . . they couldn't possibly . . . not without his permission." But even as Brian said that, he knew deep down in his heart that Moju was right.
"It could be that Justin raped Nick and that Nick is keeping silent to protect him." Moju's voice was pensive, sad.
Brian stared at Moju, disturbed. "Or it could be Jeff? Why would Jeff do something like that? I don't think he likes Nick that way."
Moju sighed. "It doesn't matter. Perhaps to Nick, it's all the same. He was violated. Why else would he try to run away from that hut?"
Brian felt the tears coming again. "He deserves so much more."
Moju smiled sadly. "He does have that much more. He has you . . . and me."
Brian's head bobbed up from Moju's words. Moju was obviously trying to gain some ground with Nick. He could hear it in the man's voice, in his actions. Moju didn't want to let Nick go. And suddenly, Brian realized that perhaps he was fending off a man whose love for Nick was many times deeper than Justin's.
But could Brian truly share Nick in earnest? He loved Nick too much and though he wanted Nick to get lots of attention, he was uncomfortable with Nick getting THAT much attention. And as wonderful as Moju had been during the past few days, Brian knew that when it came to Nick, the same noble man would turn vicious.
Moju's eyes not only burned of love, they revealed an animal-like lust as well. For some reason, Nick just transformed innocent men into sex-crazed beasts. The boy was too hypnotizing. Brian sighed. And not even someone as experienced, as powerful as Moju could resist the temptation.
He had a feeling that this was the beginning of something dark. Suddenly, Lance didn't look so evil anymore. Brian sighed. No. His ultimate battle for Nick would be with Moju, where the webs were being weaved and the fields were ready for combat.
Problem was, Brian didn't want to fight. He was afraid to fight. Nick was near dead just from the experience with Justin. How could they think of fighting for him at this moment?
Yet the idea lingered in Brian's mind. It was obvious that Moju was laying the groundwork. Why else would he not leave Brian to be with Nick for more than an hour? Brian sighed. He will not act too brash. For the moment, if Moju could heal Nick, then Brian would not stop him. But as he made this decision, he knew that he wasn't that generous. He wanted Nick, badly. And despite what Moju would do to get Nick back, Brian will not give in without a worthy fight.
As Brian started to wash the foods, Moju left the kitchen to check on Nick. He found the youth lying uncomfortably on the couch. In a few strides, he was hovering over Nick's exhausted body. He kneeled down so that their faces were inches apart and smiled.
"You're a tough one to handle, aren't you?" He stroked Nick's cheeks lightly. "You know, Brian's having a nervous breakdown at this moment. And I think I will too." His words were ever so soft and reassuring. "Wake up, Nick."
Nick's eyes slowly opened, and at once, Moju knew that Nick had been awake all this time. He probably even heard their conversation in the kitchen. Moju smiled reassuringly and placed his lips on Nick's. His kiss was chaste and he did not try anything more invasive, knowing how Nick would probably react.
"Tell me what's wrong, Nick. Brian's worried, and so am I. Tell me why you're acting like this. What did they do to you on that island?"
Nick's warm blue eyes flickered a little. Moju placed the palm of his hand on Nick's jawbone, lightly stroking it. He felt the warm tears moistening his fingers and he instinctively leaned in to give Nick a hug.
Nick's arms reflexively curled around the older man's body. "They don't want me. They used me and they don't want me anymore." Nick's voice was almost inaudible as he talked into Moju's chest.
"Who?"
"My mom. Randy. They don't want me anymore." Nick began to shake hard. Moju held him tighter, as if afraid that he would collapse in his arms.
"You don't need them. Nick, you have Brian. You have me. And Kevin. Aj. Howie. We're your family now. We all love you."
Nick shook his head wildly. "You all have your own families. I'm not . . . "
Nick never had the chance to finish his statement when Moju sealed his lips with a strong, but tender kiss. "I have no family, Nick. I want you to be my family." He managed to quiet Nick down. The younger boy slowly eased in his embrace and relaxed his muscles. He looked up into Moju's green eyes longingly.
"Brian." Nick whispered. Moju felt a tinge of jealousy as Nick called out the name of his lover. Moju smiled a bittersweet smile and held onto his tears, willing them not to flow down his cheeks.
"Brian's in the kitchen." Moju didn't trust himself to speak, but somehow he managed to say those words while staring at Nick's blue eyes. "But I'm here now." With that, he let his hands innocently slide down Nick's side and rested at his hips.
He looked longingly into Nick's eyes. "I've missed you," Moju whispered into Nick's ears. "Come, let's help Brian cook."
Nick nodded and struggled to his feet. But his feet were still weak because as soon as he got up, he collapsed onto Moju. Moju smiled at the closeness and dependence on Nick's part. He let the younger man lean onto him as he put a hand around Nick's waist and helped Nick towards the kitchen. At least Nick didn't shy away from every touch.
Plus, he managed to kiss the younger man. Moju smiled smugly. Nick was still open to his love. He was not going to give up until the very end. Just remembering that one erotic night with Nick was reason enough to continue this fight. He couldn't help but think of the way Nick's soft skin felt under his fingertips. Nor could he forget how raw and cool Nick's lips were. He desperately wanted another night like that, but he knew that Brian would be thinking the very same thing.
Deep down, he knew that he didn't want to share Nick. But he loved the boy too much to make Nick choose between him and Brian. Not that he was afraid to pressure Nick, but because he knew that Nick would choose Brian at this moment. He needed time to prove to Nick that his love was just as pure as Brian's. He needed to recapture that one night in bed with the boy.
Finally, Moju and Nick entered the kitchen where Brian was busily cooking away. Moju placed Nick on a chair and walked up to help Brian. Brian jumped when Moju neared, not noticing that the man was in the kitchen until he was a foot away.
"Sheesh, you scared the hell out of me!" Brian cried out. As the words came out of his mouth, Brian suddenly noticed the other figure in the room. "Nick?" Brian's eyes widened from fear. "Nick! You should be resting!"
Brian turned to Moju with a little anger. "Why did you bring him here? He's tired. He needs rest."
Moju shrugged his shoulders. "He can't sleep all day. Plus, a little excitement would do him good. He wants to help you cook."
Brian looked uncertainly at Moju. Then he looked at Nick. "You wanna make a fruit salad?"
Nick nodded. He got up and barely took a few steps to the counter when Brian and Moju saw his body sway and his eyes closed. The two older men each ran towards Nick and managed to grab him before he fell to the floor.
"You shouldn't have let him get up!" Brian cried out angrily at Moju.
"I thought a little activity would do him good." Moju's voice was soft, worried. "I didn't think he was that weak."
"Sorry," Nick mumbled before trembling. "I'm so useless."
"No, Nick? Don't do this, okay? You're not drifting away like that. Nick, here. Wake up!" Brian furiously grabbed Nick's shoulders and shook him.
Moju had to stop Brian from shaking too hard. "You're making it worse. He's dizzy and weak!" With that, Moju carried Nick in his arms and headed towards the bedroom. Brian followed close behind.
As they entered the bedroom, Moju gently placed Nick on the bed. Nick broke a sweat and began to shake. Brian panicked.
"What's going on?"
"He must be getting a fever," Moju answered worriedly.
Brian ran into the bathroom to find some Tylenol while Moju tried to dab off the sweat from Nick's body.
When Brian finally entered the bedroom again, he noticed that Nick was mumbling something. He ran to the bed with the medicine. "What's he saying?" Brian asked.
"Shhhh." Moju shushed Brian as the two listened attentively.
At first, Nick's words were a jumble, but later on, he became more coherent. "Don't. Please. Daddy. Don't. It hurts."
"He's hallucinating!" Brian cried out.
"No. He's probably having flashbacks or something." Moju replied pensively. "I can't believe that Randy had that much of an impact on him."
"Impact? Is that how you describe a father raping his very own son? Forgive me for saying this but impact is hardly the word I would use to describe such an atrocious crime!" Brian's voice was rough and harsh, but he didn't care. He didn't like the way Moju minimized the horrible act that Randy had committed.
Moju became silent.
Brian couldn't resist. He had to continue. "He had basically destroyed Nick's entire childhood. Now, everything that Nick does makes him feel even less secure. And all that crap that Justin and Jeff were doing to him . . . they . . . " Brian was too fueled by anger to finish his line.
"They pretty much cut his connection with us," Moju finished.
Brian suddenly looked at Moju. "Do you know that Nick had this imaginary friend named Daemon. Supposedly he's a character from a book. And something happened to him in the book. Like he was raped by many people and I think Nick said something about him being insane. Had Nick told you about that?" Brian asked curiously.
Moju's eyes lighted up. "Yeah. He mentioned it to me one night. This Daemon character became insane. But in the end, Daemon was led out of his insanity by the very person he loved and trusted the most."
Moju and Brian suddenly realized that Nick had stopped mumbling. He was listening in on their conversation! Brian nodded for Moju to continue. "In the end, Daemon became strong, though he was never the same as he was before."
"What happened?" Brian asked meekly.
"His soul was shattered, and even though his lover tried to piece it back one by one, some chips were still missing, making him coherent, but just more fragile than before."
All this time, Nick was listening intently to their conversation. His body had stopped trembling.
"Did he ever become whole again?" Brian asked.
"Yes." Nick said that one word with sadness. Brian and Moju looked at Nick, surprised by his answer.
"His lover found the last missing pieces to his soul," Nick explained. His eyes were melancholic. Both Brian and Moju felt the chill running down their bodies. Neither dared to speak.
"Tell us, then, what it is that is bothering you," Moju urged.
Nick gazed at Moju. Then he turned and stared at Brian. His body started to shake again, but he was able to calm himself down. "I feel like I'm not human anymore."
Brian shook his head slowly, his eyes piercing Nick's. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Like I don't have my own will, my own desires. Like I'm just here physically. Like I don't belong here." Nick struggled to make sense of what he was saying.
"Then where do you think you belong?" Moju asked quietly.
Nick sighed. "Nowhere."
Moju leaned in to hug Nick hard, but that only triggered the young boy to shed more tears. "I don't belong here!" Nick cried out. "I'm so confused. I don't know why I'm here. What do you see in me anyways? I'm full of trouble. Even my own family doesn't want me. Why do you want me?"
Brian saw the desire in Moju's eyes. Moju wanted desperately to kiss Nick, but he held back because Brian's presence kept him restrained. Quickly, Brian sat behind Nick's body and hugged him from behind. The three of them sat there, each one lost in their own little world. The two older men were now each wanting to spend the time alone with Nick. With the two of them there, neither were able to get any closer to the younger blond boy.
So both men sat there, each embracing Nick. Both stared at each other, willing the other to leave, to give them a moment alone with their lover. Suddenly, Brian's eyes pleaded to Moju to let him be with Nick. Moju resisted at first, but soon, his conscience forced him to loosen his grip on Nick and slowly get off the bed. He nodded sadly at Brian and Nick before leaving the room.
When he heard the door click, Brian gently pulled Nick back so that Nick's body leaned against his. "We don't want you, Nick. We need you," Brian whispered into Nick's ears. "You're a part of me. I don't know what I'd do without you there to support me." With that, he kissed Nick's neck. "I love you too much."
Nick closed his eyes and relaxed in Brian's arms. "Even when you know that I'm a prostitute?"
"You're not. You're a victim. Randy used you. Justin used you. You were raped. You're not a prostitute!" By now, Brian had raised his voice, although it was unintentional.
"On that island, I . . . they . . . I felt myself being . . . they rode me." Nick didn't know how to explain any clearer. "When I woke up, I was naked, but I felt it. I felt really sore, like they were putting a lot of pressure on me." Nick's eyes watered some more before he buried his head into Brian's chest. "Why do they want to do that to me? Am I really that easy to have sex with?"
Brian wanted to murder Jeff and Justin by now. How could they harm someone so insecure, so fragile as Nick? Tomorrow, he made a note to deal with those two. But tonight . . . tonight was reserved for Nick.
Brian remained silent. He didn't know what to say anymore. There was really nothing else to say. He had now known everything that influenced Nick's thoughts. The only thing left for him to do was to get Justin, Jeff and Randy behind bars. Nick had suffered too much, and if he didn't put an end to it, then the tragedies would recycle themselves and Nick would never be free.
Brian pulled Nick down onto the bed and the two of them lay side by side. Soon after, Nick fell asleep beside Brian. Brian didn't dare touch him. All he could do was be by his side so that when Nick awoke, Brian would be there to hold him.
Lance stared in shock at Justin's story. They were in his home at the moment and a distraught Justin was speaking to him in incoherent phrases. Jeff, Justin's bodyguard had somehow disappeared.
"So exactly what the hell were you thinking kidnapping Nick like that?" Lance shouted, distraught. He couldn't believe how naive Justin was. And selfish too.
Justin sighed. "I couldn't help it. I was losing him to Brian. I . . . "
"You wanted to f--- him all by yourself. Is that it?" Lance cried out angrily.
Justin cried, his tears honest and burdened with guilt. "All I wanted was for him to love me. I can't help it Lance. My feelings for him have been too deep. I tried to talk myself out of it, but I can't. I don't know what to do anymore."
Lance looked at Justin, wanting to feel pity for the younger boy, but knowing that his own love for Nick prevented him to feel anything more than hurt. "So did you rape him on that island?"
Justin shook his head. "I don't remember. Jeff was gonna give him some drug to stimulate him and then he gave me this glass of wine too. Next thing I knew, I was really hot. And then I felt myself become really excited. After that, all I wanted to do was have sex with Nick."
"Did you?" Lance asked.
"Yeah. I think I did."
"How do you know that you weren't actually doing it with Jeff?" Lance pointed out.
Justin became quiet all of a sudden.
"I see the lust in his eyes. He lusts for you," Lance added.
By now, Justin simply stared at the walls, thinking.
The two jumped two feet in the air when they heard a knock on the door.
Lance warily got up to answer it. To his shock, Jeff was standing across from him. "Yes?" Lance greeted coldly.
"Is Justin here?" Jeff asked. His eyes looked worried. Before Lance could answer, Jeff barged into the house and approached Justin.
"Have the police bugged you about anything?" Jeff asked, his voice lacking any tone.
Justin slowly looked up at Jeff, the hatred welling. "Did you try something on me when we were on that island?"
Jeff's eyes narrowed into slits. "No. Nothing happened between us. What's with this paranoia crap anyways?"
"You gave me a glass of wine with drugs in it!" Justin spat.
"Yeah, and we gave one to Nick as well. What's your point. I thought you'd need a little stimulation so that your intense erotic session with Nick would go more smoothly." Jeff's voice was full of tension.
Justin wanted to punch Jeff in the face. "I never touched Nick, right?" Justin suddenly started to piece together some things.
Jeff merely glared at Justin. "Damn it! I never had intercourse with you, if that's what you're getting at!"
Justin backed off a little. Jeff said that last statement with resolve. "Why wouldn't you?"
"Because I love you too much!!" Jeff screamed out. "Is that a crime? Why else did you think I would go through all that kidnapping crap? For the fun of it?"
"So you're telling me that everything you did until now is for me?" Justin spat again.
Jeff had a look of exasperation on his face. "YES!"
Justin was about to stop his line of questioning when something suddenly occurred to him. His face instantly paled. "When you left to go find Nick that morning . . . I looked on that mattress that Nick lay on . . . There was semen on it."
Lance's eyes widened at Justin's words.
Jeff's face no longer looked accusing. He stared at Justin, like a child being caught red-handed.
The change in Jeff's face confirmed Justin's fears. "You raped him." It wasn't even a question.
Jeff suddenly laughed insanely, throwing his hands up in the air. "I couldn't rape him if he wasn't stiff himself, could I? I'm sorry to tell you this, but Justin, Nick was one hell of a f--- toy. He was the best sex I've had in years."
Justin lunged at the older man, but the man was too strong for him and soon, Jeff grabbed Justin and pushed him away. "You were too exhausted then after you came all over the place. And there I was, still unsatisfied. So I needed an outlet. And since your Nicky was just starting to be aroused from the drug, I thought I'd do him a favor and settle his throbbing organ!" Jeff smirked.
Lance was furious by now. Before Jeff knew what was happening, he threw himself at the bodyguard, giving blows right and left. Jeff never knew what hit him. Lance simply punched until he was exhausted, leaving an unconscious Jeff lying on the floor.
Then he collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion. Justin had stopped crying by now and crawled to the phone. All he could think of was to call the police. And soon, the police arrived.
Lance and Justin told them the truth. There was no holding back. If Nick didn't already know that Jeff had raped him that night on the island, then after this night, he definitely would. Yet, Justin felt at peace with himself for bringing the story to light.
And Lance? He felt more settled knowing that he had done something to make up for all the pain he caused Nick. Perhaps he could now cleanse himself of his guilt and once again prove to Nick that his love was not as dark as the boy thought. And perhaps, he still had an inkling of a chance left to court the blond boy.
All right, another chapter done. Comments? Critique? Opinions? Suggestions? ngclle@yahoo.com
Please don't anybody be mad. This is just a story. I'm not trying to put anyone down!
Credits: The character Daemon is taken from The Black Jewels trilogy by Anne Bishop.