They pick bars where Justin and Lance can get in. Justin half expects Chris to complain about it, because Chris, it turns out, can be a bitch like that. But then, Justin whines, so he supposes fair is fair. Chris, however, doesn't complain about the shitty bars where last call is midnight, or that he usually has to buy the beer, because Justin is always broke. He doesn't say much, really, at least not to Justin. He chats with Joey about cooking school and Federal Hill and the best places to get canolli and manicotti, and with JC about classes and music, and even sometimes with Lance about life beyond high school. When he talks to Justin it's usually to argue about some band or art styles or politics. Justin wishes sometimes that they could just have a normal conversation, but to be honest he doesn't mind the fights. He's used to fighting, it comes easy, and there doesn't seem to be much threat of violence with Chris, though there's this undercurrent that says there could be. The danger is half the draw.

He finds it pretty easy to push Chris' buttons. If he's cocky enough and opinionated enough, Chris often argues with him purely to play devil's advocate. Sometimes, though, a stated opinion will touch a nerve and they'll be off, circling one another like dogs, snarling and biting and snapping. Sometimes he'll score a direct hit, and Chris will acknowledge it, saluting him with his beer and saying, "Ok, ok, you have a point." He plays it cool then, but wants to grin and shout. It feels good to make Chris respect him.

It's because of Justin that he comes, Lance tells himself, sitting uncomfortably in a dive bar at a sticky table. Sure, he likes talking to JC, he's a smart guy and pretty interesting to talk to. He's willing to humor Lance and talk about all the schools Lance applied to (JC tells him that eight is a lot) and the programs he could do. They talk about music and what Brown's like and how he chooses his classes and stuff, too. But he wouldn't come if Justin didn't need the ride, right? Sometimes Lance wonders why he lies to himself.

It's pretty obvious tonight. Joey came, and he's cool, but he can dominate a conversation. He always seems to want to talk to JC, and JC always, even if he's off in a dream, wants to talk to him. Nights like this, when Joey joins their cozy foursome, Lance plays odd man out. When Joey's not there, Lance and JC can talk for hours, and Lance loves those nights, because he feels a little closer to leaving, a little closer to his dream. Plus, holding JC's attention is a rush, because he can be vague, flitting from conversation to conversation without knowing, really, what they are about. It makes Lance feel important or something when JC really listens to him.

The nights Joey comes Lance makes the most noise about leaving early. Sometimes Justin can put him off, but usually after a few salvos he gives in and lets Lance drag him out. Justin fights the hardest on nights when Chris and he have the biggest fights, which Lance thinks is weird. The few times they've talked about it, JC has said that the fighting is a kind of foreplay. Lance thinks it would be nicer to have regular kiss and grope foreplay, but after the second screaming fight he and Justin got into on the way home, he doesn't mention this. He wonders why Justin is so hung up on Chris; he can't really see the attraction.

Tonight he's staying pretty quiet, but he's checking his watch, and figures in fifteen or twenty minutes he can start making "getting late" noises and they'll be out of there in half an hour, tops. Chris and Justin are as close to calm as the two of them get tonight, so he isn't expecting a fight. And then he can get home and go to sleep. He won't think of JC at all when he jerks off in his bed. Not at all.

When he isn't buying rounds or arguing with Justin, Chris watches JC. He does it pretty surreptitiously, he thinks, careful, when he was caught, to make it seem like he's trying to catch C's eye. It's pretty easy to not get caught—C gets really wrapped up in conversations anyway, and after two beers, he stops noticing what else is going on around him. It's obvious to Chris what is happening, and after Lance and Justin head home and Joey drops them off at Chris' house, he calls him on it.

"Dude, you are totally falling for him."

"Chris, who says dude?"

"Me, dumbass. And dude you are totally falling for him."

"Falling for who?"

Chris, who's been wrestling with his lock, which tends towards stubbornness after he's had a few drinks, finally wrenches it open. "Ah ha! Fucker." He turns to JC, "You are falling for Joey. It's so obvious."

JC blushes and stammers and denies. "What? Um, Chris, just... no... it's... He's my roommate's boyfriend."

Chris winks and grins. "Since when has that stopped you?"

He wonders if JC can possibly get more red. He flips on the lights to see, then heads for the kitchen. "Water ok?"

JC's headed towards incoherent, so Chris quickly gets them both glasses of water from the tap and then sits JC down on one of the milkcrates currently serving as chairs.

"Look, JC, it's fine if you like him. He's a good guy, I can totally see the appeal. But, just watch out for yourself."

JC slumps in the chair, defeated and miserable, still bright red, and takes a sip of his water. "It's just... he's so cute, you know? He's... he likes showtunes and cooking and he's got this amazing voice, I heard him, he was singing in the shower." Here, JC's lips twist. "But he's... Lauren's so happy with him, and he's good to her, and I'm not going to try to break them up, or find out if he's bi, because what if I break them up! God, she'd hate me and he'd probably hit me... Chris..."

"Oh, JC." Chris leans over from where he's sitting on the floor and wraps an arm around JC's waist. "Look, we need to find you a nice gay boy, you know? Because Joey's going to break your heart even if he doesn't break your face. Which he won't because he's a cool guy, I don't think he's put off at all by the gay thing. But yeah. Straight. So het, even with the liking showtunes."

JC just leans into Chris' arm, and then bends over, resting his head against Chris'. "Why?" he asks, and Chris tells him, "I don't know, kiddo. Here, finish your water and you can sleep on the futon with me..."

They snuggle together, Chris spooning JC even though C is so much taller. "Hey," JC says sleepily, "Justin? He's..."

"Yeah. Yeah," murmurs Chris into the soft hair on JC's neck. "I know. I know."


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