The World is a Story...

Check it out! ~~~~~ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ApollosFiction/ ~~~~

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First...I must post an apology, I know it has been way to long since I updated, and I know I said, at least to myself that updates would be so far apart, but unfortunatly life has away of coming around to smack you in the ass. I had a lot going on with work, plus the muse left. But the muse is back and I have a wonderful new beta who was SOOOO helpful with this chapter! Give her a round of applause please! Now...Onto the update!

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***Disclaimer: The characters portrayed below are my own, sprung from my own lil twisted mind. Please ask before using them (they really don\'t like to be yanked from my mind without warning). They are going to at some point get into adult situations. If you don\'t like that idea, please leave this page now. Oh and if you really like it and wanna post it else where, please ask first. Any emails to me need to include AFF in the subject line otherwise they will be deleted.***

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Justin started to speak, just as he heard those cultured tones start, smiling when Desimir looked at him wondering if he should continue or not. He was rewarded with a small smile from Desimir before he started speaking again, not knowing what to expect, but certainly not the question that stumbled from his date’s lips.

“Are you very similar in lifestyle to your characters?”

Justin blinked, a slightly confused look on his face. His writing for once was the farthest thing from his mind. It was then that he realized what Desimir was asking, “Oh! Like that? Yes, I am. I suppose you are as well?” For some reason he had to ask and hear it from the other’s mouth, instead of the vague hint from before.

“Yeah, I just didn’t want to be too obvious about it in an open place like this, you never know what kind of people are here, you know? It’s not that I’m shy about it, you know? It’s just that I’ve dealt with enough because of it.”

Justin nodded, a serious look on his face, “I think all of us have at some point or another. Some people just can’t accept differences and must mock them. Upsets me, but hopefully one day thinks will be better for people like us.”

Justin’s mind drifted back in time to his high school years, where somehow his secret had been leaked out. It hadn’t been a pleasant time for him, having to deal with both the blossoming realization that he wasn’t like other teenage boys and then the typical harassment that high school students were bound to dish out.

It was then that Marissa came with the wine, her bright green eyes taking in the two solemn men in front of her. “My, my, my, it’s way too early on in the night to look so serious! You two are here to have fun and get to know each other, so I want to see fun and laughing and no more seriousness. Do I make myself clear?” The words pulled Justin back from the painful memories, and he hoped that Desimir hadn’t seen anything; his emotions had a tendency to play out across his face.

Desimir lifted the glass to his lips, taking a sip and nodding at Marissa before he spoke, “Perfect, thank you. And we aren’t being serious already; we were just taking a moment out of the fun and laughter to get the serious stuff out of the way. Wouldn’t want to ruin the evening later on with seriousness, now would we?”

Justin chuckled softly as Desimir tossed a wink off his way, content to let the other man handle the outgoing redhead. He wasn’t quite sure to deal with her, the earlier reservations about her gone now that he knew her preferences, but still, she was just too energetic for him. He felt tired just watching her.

Marissa just shook her head and continued to pour the wine, “Silly man. Your apps should be here shortly. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Grinning, she turned away and headed back towards the kitchen.

Justin had simply watched as Desimir had gone through the whole wine tasting bit, and was slightly curious as to the process, but didn’t feel like asking right then. Instead he watched as Desimir picked up his glass and twirled it by the stem slowly, watching the crimson liquid inside. “So, now that we have that important stuff out of the way, tell me a little about yourself. You told me about how you became an author, but what about family? Do you have any family?”

For a moment Justin wasn’t quite sure what to say in response to that, and let a long pause draw out until he heard Desimir speak again, “That’s okay, touchy subject? Let me tell you about mine instead.”

Shaking his head slowly, Justin waved away Desimir’s retraction, “No, that’s fine. I just don’t talk about them very often. Don’t see them very often either.” Once again, his mind drifted off into the past; the memories playing through his head like an old video reel. “My family and I have drifted apart over the past few years. We have become the sort that only talks to each other around holidays. My parents got divorced when I was eight years old, and I spent the next ten years being shuttled back and forth between them. I suppose I was luckier than some because they both lived in the same town, so one week I was with my father, the next with my mother.”

By this time he was almost certain that the hurt and betrayal he had felt at the hands of his parents was obvious on his face, causing him to instinctively tighten his grip around the stem of the wine glass, shoulders hunching.

Justin went on to explain how he’d withdrawn into school work in an attempt to get away from the awful way his parents treated him and his sister – like a pawn in a chess game – before moving away to college. Purposely, he avoided looking at Desimir through out the short monologue, not wanting to see the pity that always ended up on people’s faces when he told the story.

“I’m so sorry; I shouldn’t have brought up what are so obviously painful memories, Justin.” There were the soft words, tinged with sadness that he’d been expecting.

Justin shook his head, slowly bringing his eyes up to meet Desimir’s, “It’s okay, really. It doesn’t hurt as much to think about them anymore. I haven’t seen them since I moved out five years ago. I can’t say that I really miss them. But my mother blames my father for what she calls my ‘condition,’” A soft snort of indignation could be heard before he continued, “She says that it was because he never paid me enough attention, while my father blames it on her, saying that it was her families bad influence – her older brother is gay too. My sister, Jenna, is the only one who’s okay with it.”

Justin shrugged, biting on the inside of his cheek when it turned into a rather painfully awkward moment. Thankfully it was then that Marissa returned with the appetizers, setting them down before the two men with a flash of a smile before hurrying back to work since the restaurant had gotten a bit busy.

However, he couldn’t help but being transfixed as Desimir picked up a mussel, and sucked the meat from the shell. Justin swallowed hard, his writer’s mind being carried away with images of lips elsewhere.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t just left alone with his naughty thoughts, since Desimir offered to tell him about his own family. A slight shake of his head, sent the thoughts away, for the most part, and his attention was focused on Desimir.


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Note: Yes, I know it\'s only last chapter from Justin\'s POV, but it gives a bit mroe insight into his life, setting things up for possible angst..(I never know what direction the charrie is gonna drag me in) But look for another update in the next few days - I\'ve got several ideas and I am already half way into the next chapter.