Freak

by Alicia Masterson

  Brian was barely motile enough to help Corey get clothes onto himself, and he readily collapsed onto the bed as soon as it was within his reach. Corey put some clothes on too before climbing into bed with him, becoming aware that sexual contact was triggering Brian's bizarre symptoms.

  "I hate not knowing how to help you," Corey whispered at the sleeping form of Brian. He was almost afraid to touch him, as if he might burst into flames at his touch. He collected his nerve when Brian started to shiver though, adjusting him until he was comfortably under the covers. Corey yawned, checking the clock before cautiously spooning himself behind Brian. To his relief, Brian didn't tense up. "I guess we're skipping for today."

  --

  Brian woke up a few hours later, comforted by Corey's protective embrace. He blinked away the sleepiness, startled when he saw the clock. He pulled himself free from Corey's arms, but his attempt to get up ended with him on his knees again, a splitting hangover preventing too much movement.

  "Morning, sunshine," Corey chirped, stretching his limbs. "Yeah, complicated movement might be a little bit hard. What did you drink, anyway? Or is 'how much?' a better question?"

  "Drink?" Brian repeated, the word opening the floodgates of his memory. To Corey's dismay, Brian gagged again, before trying to steady himself and stand up.

  Corey helped him up, and took him to the sofa. "Stay here."

  Within minutes, he gathered several bottles of water and some Advil, seating himself on the opposite couch, remembering that it was for the best to keep his distance until this was all sorted out.

  "Are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

  "Time…" Brian whispered distantly, trying his best to get up.

  Corey watched curiously, Brian stumbling clumsily around the room until he got to his drawer. He raised his eyebrow. What could Brian need with his phone right now?

  "Shit," Brian cursed at his phone, using furniture to steady himself as he ambled to the closet. Corey watched as he threw on random clothes, but he had to step in when Brian made a beeline for the door. He reached out an arm to try to block his way, but he felt like a piece of him died on the inside when Brian released a strangled yelp, losing his balance and falling on the ground again.

  'Am I doing this to you?' Corey thought helplessly. He shook aside his concern for the short term. Someone needed to be the voice of reason right now. "Brian, where the hell do you think you're going?"

  "Don't… hate me, have to go… Andy… promised," Brian managed to sputter out, still trying to clear the roaring headache in his head.

  "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Corey yelled, exasperated. Of course he's got something to do with this. "You can't even walk, and you're going to drive all the way over there, to do math!? Or is there something you're not telling me?"

  The simple question caused Brian to retch again, which more than answered Corey's question.

  "We'll talk about this later. Since you're not listening to reason, I'll drive you over to your little study-date. Just quit the dry heaving? It's kind of making me sick."

  --

  Andy waited patiently in their normal spot in Starbucks, drinking some coffee to pass the time.

  "You could just clock in to make up for time," Brian said. "You said he wasn't even here today, he's probably sick or something."

  "He didn't even text back… I'll just wait until my shift actually starts," he replied, looking patiently out the window for any signs of Brian.

  Brian shrugged. Not like it makes any amount of difference anyway. Business was always slow around this time.

  "Nice car," Andy quipped, watching a black Corvette with tinted windows pull up to the spot closest to the entrance.

  "Huh?" Brian asked, looking out the windows. A deer in the headlights look stuck to his face when he recognized the car. 'No! This is bad, there's no way, no way!'

  Apparently there was a way, because the first figure to exit the car was Corey Towers. Andy's eyes grew a little bit from surprise, but his surprise was multiplied ten-fold when -

  he opened the passenger side, to aid what appeared to be a half-unconscious Brian out of the car. Corey looked like he was doing the walking for the both of them, Brian's form slumped almost disturbingly as he half walked, half dragged his feet until they made it inside the store.

  "Brian!" Andy yelled, out of concern. He shot up out of his seat, placing his hands squarely on Brian's shoulders, trying to look him in the eyes.

  "No, idiot, don't touch him!" Corey berated, putting a hand to his forehead in exasperation as Brian once again fell to the ground, heaving violently towards the floor. "Thanks, a lot; I thought I finally got him to quit doing that. Come on Brian, upsy-daisy, let's get you to a chair."

  "What's wrong with him?" Andy asked. Brian was watching curiously from behind the counter, almost glad that Corey was currently too preoccupied to notice his presence.

  "The fuck if I know," he snapped. "He won't tell me anything. If you don't mind, I'm going to be supervising this study session. Just avoid moving too quickly, and don't touch him if you can help it. His stomach's empty, I'd avoid putting anything in it for a while."

  "Water," Brian rasped; the first word he's spoken since they'd arrived. Andy hurried to the counter, and Brian threw him a filled cup. Brian drank it down greedily, clearing his throat, the Advil finally starting to kick in.

  Corey sat a few tables away, eying the pair calculatingly, his arms folded in concentration. To his surprise, and mild irritation, a few minutes in Andy's company was enough to get Brian to settle down and start acting like himself again. Before he knew it, Brian was practically studious, following along with Andy and even asking questions.

  Brian watched the scene unfold, his thoughts buzzing. He's here… and the world isn't ending. What have I been afraid of all this time? He thought back to Corey's casual attempt to control him through blackmail, and he scoffed silently to himself. Two can play that game. He noticed happily that Brian was becoming more himself. Maybe a little bit less touchy-touchy with Andy than he normally would have been by now, but that was probably because Corey was only a few feet away, and it might have something to do with whatever was wrong with him when he got there.

  When customers stopped coming for a few minutes, Brian quietly collected his reserve. Now or never. He walked up casually until he was beside Corey, pretending to be taking similar interest in watching the studying pair.

  "Corey, how long's it been?" Brian asked, cryptically. Andy and Brian both stopped what they were doing, the question piquing their curiosity.

  "Who're you?" Corey retorted, his stare still honed in on the two people in front of him.

  "Geez, I remember you always being a little bit cold, but that's harsh, even for you."

  Corey started to see where Brian was going with this, and he really had no outs. He could leave, but then he'd be subjected to questions from Brian later. It would just delay the inevitable. He might as well try to minimize damage right here. "You keep talking, but I don't hear a point."

  "Why does there have to be a point? Just a couple of old friends, talking. Been a while since you called though. Rumor has it that Brian and Abigail are done," he commented, nodding towards the confused Brian in front of them.

  "How long was he sleeping with Abigail, anyway? That really must have put a strain on your relationship," Brian continued, knowing that that little piece of information was likely the damning blow. He didn't care anymore if he broke his promise to Corey. He was tired of it all. "Hey, Brian. You really have to learn when to drop the crazy ones. Then again, the way I'm seeing things right now, I guess you already have," he noted, nodding meaningfully towards Andy.

  "Have a nice evening, guys," he finished, nodding maliciously towards Corey before walking back behind the counter.

  Andy connected the dots a lot faster than Brian did. "You two… know each other? Brian, you and Corey, wait, Garret wasn't wrong… no!" He flinched backwards, away from Brian. "This is wrong; I d
idn't mean, no, I'm sorry!"

  Andy picked up his stuff, retreating into the back of the store, away from everyone. He had things to get straight first. What did I get myself into… Brian lied to me. They are an item. Maybe I just didn't want to see what was right in front of me.

  Brian mentally punched himself, so consumed by the temptation to get even with Corey that he forgot to figure Andy's role into the equation. Too late to take it back, the damage is done.

  Everything eventually snapped into place in Brian's mind, and he got up on his own, glad that he had his motor coordination back. He put his things in bag silently, heading out of the building.

  "Brian, wait!" Corey called after him, beating Brian to his car. "I'm sorry I never told you—"

  "Don't be sorry," Brian stated flatly, his former guilt eroding from his head. "Because I'm not sorry for liking Andy. We're even again."

  --

  -

  'Even…' Corey thought bitterly. He slept on the other side of his bed, facing Brian's back longingly. He already made the mistake of trying to get close to him, but Brian tensing and growling menacingly told him that he needed space. There was nothing that could be done now.

  'Brian…' he thought, the name reverberating through his mind as he fell into a deep sleep.

  The chapel was a marvel of architecture, every surface made of white marble, even the pews. An unquantifiable amount of people were watching expectantly from their seats, plush purple cushions set to keep them comfortable for the duration of the ceremony.

  Brian and Corey stood side by side before the minister, both basked in an ethereal glow, the sunlight seeming to be magnified and transformed through the chapel's many high windows.

  Brian looked fondly at his sides, Brian and Christine there as the best man and maid of honor, both wearing smiles that seemed to say, "Congratulations!"

  The minister mechanically proceeded through his scripted words, finally arriving at the line that the couple was waiting for.

  "I pronounce you legally married," the minister said, with mirth in his voice. "You may now kiss the… groom!"

  The crowd laughed softly, tension building as the couple leaned forward, their lips about to connect.

  "WAIT!" A disembodied, desperate voice shouted, the sound of doors being forced open echoing in its wake. Corey looked around, there was no one there, and the doors remained intact. Yet the voice finished, shouting, "I object!"

  Corey woke up, feeling a combination of fuzzy and irate, mostly because of how that wonderful dream ended. 'That voice… I don't even have to guess whose it was…'

  --

  Yesterday, Friday

  Days passed by, and Brian barely spoke a word to Corey more than absolutely necessary. He was angry, angry at Corey for lying to him, angry at himself for lying to Andy, angry at Brian for initiating it all. His only solace came from his mandatory study sessions with Andy, who decided to conduct their meetings on a much more "business-only" style. Brian knew that that was his fault, but he didn't know how to make it up to -

  him. Andy was probably the only person on the face of the earth that Brian wasn't harboring some kind of anger for.

  After Brian left Starbucks once again, Andy sighed to himself, taking his position at the cash register.

  "Listen, Andy, I'm sorry for not telling you."

  "Funny, Brian, that it took you this long to even find the balls to say something to me. This is your fault just as much as it is anyone else's. If you told me you knew what was going on months ago, months, Brian, none of this would have happened. Christine wouldn't have gotten as hurt, I would have known better than to try to get close to him… I wouldn't still have feelings for him now…" Andy said, tapering off to a whisper towards the end. "Why did you do it?"

  "Andy, I'll tell you everything, I promise, but only if you don't speak a word of this to Christine. I need to tell her myself, when the time is right."

  "The time's been right for almost a semester now. But I'll agree to that," Andy replied.

  Brian explained everything, from the beginning, exactly as he heard it from Corey. Corey's original intentions, his plot to win Brian a spot as captain by sheer popularity, just to get Brian to feel a sense of "gratitude" towards him.

  "Captain… that's why Corey disliked me from the start? Just because I risked unraveling his plan?"

  Brian nodded, continuing. He told Andy how Corey's plans backfired when he figured out that he was actually interested in Brian, and Brian was interested back. How it was Brian's idea to push everyone he loved away from him, because he felt that his existence only served to bring them pain. According to Corey, eventually, he started to fall in love, and Brian recalled the phone call when Corey told him that Brian said, "I love you" first.

  Andy took it all in, all of the pieces falling into place except for one. "Why did you never tell anyone this?"

  "No one remembers, why would they? Corey and I used to be tight, inseparable. Then high school came around, and Corey realized that he could make a name for himself, and he did. Eventually, he kept making promises that he couldn't back up, people wanted him too much," he reminisced, remembering obviously bringing him pain.

  "It was so similar to what happened between Christine and Brian. Corey never had a real family; he's been nannied in that mansion until he was old enough to fire her and start taking care of himself. My family decided to take him in for a while; he could have been my brother for the amount of time he spent in my house."

  "And then you got dropped, too?" Andy asked.

  Brian nodded, glad that Andy saw where this story was going. "I tried so hard to get his attention again, try to wake him up and realize that he could have the best of both worlds. But he was set in his ways, and I know that he was doing it for me, not against me, however messed up that was. This whole Brian fiasco, it was a chance for me to at least be able to talk with Corey again. But he made me promise. He would tell me what was going on, but only if I would never tell anyone. How could I refuse that? I finally got what I wanted; I could talk with my best friend again. At the time, hurting Christine was worth that price."

  "What made you change your mind? You really stuck it to him," Andy complimented, satisfied that he was finally understood what was going on.

  "Haha, yeah, I didn't think I had that in me. A while back, the last time I called him, Corey blackmailed me to ensure that I kept my mouth shut. He threatened to let Christine know exactly how much I knew. It was at that point that I realized that whatever was left between Corey and I was long gone. He probably saw that from the start, and was using me to collect information this entire time. I don't like being used. I wanted so badly to lash back." Brian sighed, an immense relief washing over him from finally telling the story, all of it, as far as he knew from Corey, anyway.

  Andy gave him a hug in thanks for being honest with him. "Just to let you know, once you tell Christine this, I'll completely forgive you."

  "What are you going to do about Brian?"

  "Well, I'm not going to lie to myself and say that I don't have feelings for him, but they'll go away eventually. I guess my course of action is pretty clear though. I'll succeed where you and Christine failed. It's probably too late for Corey, but I can show Brian the light of reason."

  "Andy… I have to warn you again to be careful with who you're messing with. I can't stress that enough. Don't give Corey the wrong message. If it comes down to it, he won't give up Brian without a fight."

  "Don't worry about me, Brian," Andy reassured, "I'm just going to talk with Brian. What could go wrong?"

  --

  Present Day, Early Saturday Morning

  -

  Corey was naturally a light sleeper, but now he woke up from almost any noise. He couldn't help it, he was naturally a high energy person, and he was used to having sex with Brian once, twice a day, more if they had the time. And that was just normal, part of their normal daily routine. But Brian was angry at him, he barely even spoke to him anymore, a
nd it had almost been a week since Corey got any at all. Masturbation did nothing for him; any effort short of drinking himself unconscious was completely ineffective.

  'Fuck, I'm actually addicted to him,' Corey thought restlessly, a small sleeping noise from Brian's side of the bed waking him up. He listened carefully, and he thought he could hear Brian's breathing. Why is he breathing so hard?

  Moving carefully, he inched towards the sleeping figure, paranoid about making any movement that could potentially wake him up. No need to provoke him any further…

  When he was a few inches away from him, Corey could clearly hear what was going on. 'Oh my God, he's having a wet dream, that's so hot!' He thought, trying his best to contain laughter. Brian was making his telltale sex noises quietly to himself, his hands unceasingly moving nowhere in particular. Corey had to contain a yelp of surprise when Brian rolled onto his back without warning, Corey half trapped underneath him, too petrified to move, or risk waking him up.

  'This is bad…' Corey thought, praying silently for Brian to roll back over onto his side. He smirked though, craning his head slightly up, seeing a very pronounced tent rising vertically from the sheets. Corey… come on, don't even think about it, you're not that stupid, he's going to kill you if he wakes up.

  !!CENSORED!!

  "Ungh…" Brian whispered, his eyes screwed shut, still stuck in his vivid dream. "So… good, ah, Andy, keep going… AH!" He groaned loudly, emptying himself substantially into the sheets and Corey's hand.

  Corey's eyes were narrowed into slits, furious and humiliated. Brian rolled over onto his side again, snoring, satisfied. Corey rolled himself over to his side of the bed, his back to Brian for the first time since their fight started. He lifted his stained hand in front of his face, the soft moonlight causing the semen to glimmer slightly. He wiped it off on the sheets spitefully, knowing the he didn't earn it, this was Andy's doing, even if he didn't know it.

  'This is the first time I've ever had a real relationship,' Corey thought, feeling the temptation for tears for the first time in recent memory. 'I can't love Brian any more than I already do. Andy is going to ruin everything. Even if he doesn't know it. I have to put a stop to this…'