The Graduation Present
GRADUATION PRESENT
© 2003-2005 Josh Brandon
All Rights Reserved
THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2003-2005 BY JOSH BRANDON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES WHICH REQUIRE PAYMENT TO ACCESS THE SITE, DISTRIBUTION IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) FOR A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD, DVD, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA FOR A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The sexuality of all characters is entirely a figment of the author's imagination, and does not reflect on any celebrities used in this story. For those of you that are NOT of legal age, please find other material to read. If you are offended by male/male material, or it is illegal to view such materials in your area, you should be leaving at this time.
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This is a story of friendship and love. I have read some other stories on the Nifty Archives and I wanted to try my hand at writing, so here I am. Any questions or comments can be emailed to me at spacecowboy_josh@yahoo.com I would like to hear what you the readers have to say about my story. But please, don't send me flames. I would never do that to other people.
Thank you.
CHAPTER 10
Camden could’ve killed Justin. In fact, it took every bit of control he had not to hire a hit on the young singer. The audacity he had to accuse Kellen of what he accused him of and then being so violent before he found out the facts. Camden looked up at the street sign just two blocks from the hotel. He had been driving around for hours looking for his brother. He kept replaying, in his mind, what he was told in the Nsync suite…
Justin rubbed his temples over and over. He looked up at Lance. Lance stood still looking at him not even blinking. “Well, say something!” Lance all but shouted.
“What do you want me to say? Sorry? Look Lance, I feel bad enough already. I don’t need you on my ass either.” Justin said looking like he was about cry at any moment.
“Well Justin, you have some serious damage control to do. With Kellen and then with JC when he finds out.” Lance was seriously pissed at Justin for his actions. However, he tried not to be too hard on Justin. The main concern was to find JC and Kellen. After that, they could deal with the consequences concerning Justin. Lance was glad that he was right about Kellen. He knew Kellen would never hurt Jace like that. Obviously, Kellen still hadn’t convinced Justin though.
“Um, did I come at a bad time? If so, I can leave.” Camden said confused while looking at Lance.
“Oh, I’m sorry Camden. I completely forgot you were standing there.” Lance said suddenly remembering that they had a guest.
“By the way, what happened up here? That table is turned over and there is blood all over the place. Who got beat up?” Camden asked pointing at the spot where Justin tackled Kellen.
“Justin, Why don’t you explain that to him.” Chris said. He sure as hell wasn’t gonna be the one to tell a member of Kellen’s family what Justin did. Justin got himself into this mess and Justin was going to get himself out of it. “Go ahead Justin. Tell him.” Chris ordered.
“Camden, I’m not sure how to tell you this, so I’ll just come out and say it.” Justin looked down at the floor in shame, “Its Kellen’s blood.”
It took a moment for Justin’s response to click with Camden. But when it did, everyone’s attention was suddenly on him as he yelled. “What the hell? What do you mean its Kellen’s blood! I just talked to him not even ten minutes ago. He was fine.”
“Well, you see, it’s like this. JC and I walked down to Kellen’s room earlier and saw he and you hugging and talking about how much you two missed each other. JC lost it and ran away because he thought that Kellen and you had something going on with each other. I tried to run after him but didn’t catch him in time. When I came back to the suite, I saw Kellen talking to the guys and I lost my temper, rushed at him, and tackled him into the wall. He ran out of here and you showed up a couple minutes later.” Justin said in almost one breath.
“You did what!” Camden shouted almost immediately. “You assumed some fucked up shit, then you beat up my brother!?” Camden had started walking towards Justin. He didn’t get very far though because Lance and Joey got in front of him.
“You both are standing in a dangerous spot. I’d suggest you move.” Camden said.
“Listen, Camden. I know you want to hit Justin. Quite frankly, so do I at the moment. But that wont solve the fact that both JC and Kellen are roaming around New York City and neither one is in very good shape. I suggest we start looking for them now.” Lance said calmly looking right at Camden.
“You’re right.” Camden said. Then he turned to Justin, “But I swear, if anything happens to my brother, I will hold you personally responsible. And no body guard, not even God himself will keep you safe from me.” The tone he used made everyone in the room shudder and no one was going to dispute it. Justin just nodded and looked back down at the floor. Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
Camden and Lance ran to the door opening it expecting either Kellen or JC. However, the guest was Andre, Justin’s bodyguard. “What’s up Andre?” Lance asked a little disappointed.
“I was patrolling the parking garage and I saw JC run out and get onto the bus. I think he was upset, but I’m not sure. I wanted to report it in case you were all looking for him.” Andre reported with a serious tone. Then he noticed Camden and several bloodstains on the wall. “Is everything ok here?” He said going into full alert mode.
“Everything is fine. Stay here with Justin We’ll go down and get JC.” Lance ordered as Joey and Chris got up off the couch and walked to the door. Lance looked at Camden and motioned for him to follow suit. The four of them walked out of the room and got onto an elevator. The car was silent as it made its decent. Then Camden decided he had to do something.
“You not coming along?’ Lance asked when Camden pushed the ‘stop’ button as the car reached the lobby.
“I’ve got to find my little brother. There is no telling what state of mind he’s in. I’m extremely worried what he’ll do to himself or what someone else might do to him.”
“What do you mean?” Joey asked
“Kellen is a man of deep feelings. We talked a little earlier about he and JC. He was so happy. Every time he mentioned the name ‘Josh’ his whole face lit up. And this morning when he came out to me, he thought I was going to disown him or something.” Camden said hitting the wall with his fist. “I’m just worried what this whole situation will do to him. His former girlfriend broke up with him a couple months ago. Then he finds JC and now JC thinks he cheated on him. Kellen would never hurt anyone like that. He’s got too big of a heart. He always wants to help others. I’m sure he’s out there right now looking for JC and I have to go find him.”
“I’ll come with you.” Chris said.
“You don’t have to do that Chris. That is your name isn’t it?” Camden said making sure he got the name right.
“I want to do this. I’ve come to accept Kellen over the past few weeks and I want to make sure he’s ok. Lance and Joey can go get JC and fill him in on things.”
“Do you think that’s a good idea Chris. JC will be happy to hear that Kellen isn’t cheating on him, but then he’ll probably kill Justin when he finds out what he did to Kellen.” Joey said looking at Chris.
“Yes, I’m sure. JC has to know. You will tell him. Ok?” Chris said.
“Ok Papa bear. What ever you say.” Joey said while Lance nodded his head. Camden and Chris walked out of the car and moved briskly through the lobby and out to Camden’s waiting car.
“Nice car.” Chris commented as he got into the front seat.
“Thanks.” They shut their doors and Camden started the car. As they drove away from the hotel, Chris noticed a tense silence. “Camden?” Chris called as they drove down the street.
“Yeah”
“I know you’re mad at Justin, and so am I, but he’s normally a great guy. He’s just very protective of Jace. They’ve been friends for years. When Josh’s former relationship ended, it almost destroyed him. Justin was the only one he’d talk to. After that, he opened up to the rest of us.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly happened?” Camden asked as he turned down a side street to look for his brother.
“Bobbie, that’s JC’s former girlfriend, cheated on him with some guy. I don’t know who it was and I don’t think Jace does either. After he found out, he ended the relationship. He said he couldn’t be with someone who’d treat his love like that. Well, a couple weeks went by and then without warning, JC started to receive disturbing mail. We couldn’t prove it, but we all thought it was Bobbie trying to get back at him for breaking up with her. It really freaked him out because there were several references to the killing of his family. It sent JC into a depression. We had to deal with that for about a month. Then he met Kellen in an elevator at one of our concerts. After that, it was like having the old JC back again. Justin was so happy as were the rest of us.”
“I still don’t see how that gives Justin any right to do what he did.” Camden said
“Oh believe me, I know. But Justin was just reacting to the promise he made.”
“What promise?”
“After the breakup, Justin vowed that he’d never let another person treat JC that way ever again.”
“I can understand Justin’s initial anger, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he assumed something. And instead of checking to make sure his suspicions were correct, he acted on them. I’ll be able to forgive him, but not right now. I’m so mad at him for hurting Kellen.” Camden said as they rode through the early evening traffic.
Lance and Joey made their way through the parking garage and over to the bus. After opening the door, they each climbed on and headed towards the bunk area. “JC?” Lance called. There was no answer. “Look JC I need to talk to you. It’s about Kellen.” There was some rustling then one of the curtains opened.
“There’s no need. I went to talk to Kellen and…” JC couldn’t finish the sentence. He thought he would start crying again. “Look, Kellen and I are over. And I really don’t want to go into the reasons right now okay.” JC said trying to move past Lance and Joey.
“Uh, Jace. Hold up for a sec. I don’t think you should break up with Kellen. He’s a great guy. Especially for you. I think you should listen to what he might have to say.” Lance said putting his hand on JC’s shoulder.
“He cheated on me. He’s not great. I saw him with my own eyes. He and some guy came out of his room and started hugging each other.” JC said as his body shook with sobs.
“JC, what exactly did you see?” Lance asked.
“Look Lance, I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Well, we’re going to talk about it or none of us are leaving this bus.” Lance said looking at JC. “So start talking.”
“Fine, you want to talk, we’ll talk. Justin and I walked off the elevator and as we were walking around the corner, we both heard them say how much they missed each other and then they hugged each other for a long time. There, are you still going to defend him?”
“Actually, yes we are,” Joey said. JC’s head shot up in surprise. “Because, he didn’t cheat on you.”
“But, I saw…” JC started but was interrupted by Lance.
“I don’t care what you think you saw. That guy Kellen was with is his brother Camden. He lives in New York and was visiting Kellen. He came up to our suite looking for Kellen after you ran off.”
“What?” JC said not believing what he was hearing. “Did you say Kellen’s brother?” JC clarified.
“That’s what I said.”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe this. I thought Kellen had cheated on me. Oh God, I need to go see him.” JC said pushing past Joey and Lance.
“Hold up a minute Jace. Kellen isn’t here. We don’t know where he is. He ran away also.”
“He what?” JC yelled. “What happened?”
“Well, he came up to the room to find you and when Justin walked in, you know how he gets when he thinks you’ve been hurt.” Lance said.
“Go on.” JC said getting worried.
“Well, Justin tackled him. Kellen hit the wall knocking over a table and knocked the wind out of himself. Joey and Chris had to pull him off Kellen.”
“While Lance was shouting at Justin, Kellen got up and ran out of the room. When we noticed he was gone, all that was left were bloodstains and bloody fingerprints on the walls.” Joey said finishing Lance’s story.
“Where is he?” JC said getting out of the bus.
“We told you, we don’t know. His brother thinks that he ran away to look for you. He and Chris are driving around right now looking.” Lance replied.
“We have to find him. He’s hurt and he’s outside.” JC said realizing the severity of the situation. “Oh, my God, he’s out in the city. What if something happens to him?” JC said getting even more worried.
“We are going to find him before that happens. Just relax. He’ll be okay.”
“We need to get back to the room and see if he’s come back yet.”
“Jace, I’m sorry Man. I didn’t know it was Kellen’s brother.” Justin said as JC, Joey and Lance walked through the door.
“Save it Justin. My main concern is finding my boyfriend. After he’s back safe and sound, the three of us will talk this out.” JC said not even looking at Justin.
Kellen walked and walked. Every minute that passed seemed like hours. The blood on his face had long since dried and was now causing a crusty layer to form. He kept on going because he had to find JC. Looking for one person in New City would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but Kellen had to get to him. As he crossed the street, he noticed that he was a block from the entrance to Central Park. Kellen thought back to childhood memories. Walking with his mom through the park and even when he visited Camden. The two would take long brisk walks in Central Park. ‘Perhaps Josh went in there’ he thought. Kellen ignored the stares of all the people looking at his bloody face. Several people even stopped to make sexual innuendoes towards him. What Kellen didn’t see was a guy dressed in a black trench coat, black glasses, and a black hood following him.
“Hey boy. You want some tonight. $100.” A prostitute said propositioning him as he walked by.
“No thank you Ms.” He responded and kept walking all the way up to the opened gate. He moved past the entrance and started down the darkened path that led further and further into the park. Camden used to tell him stories about Central Park at night. The things that would happen to people. These thoughts entered his mind and threatened to consume him as he moved. His pace got slower and more cautious. He couldn’t shake the thought that he was being followed. He turned around to see, but no one was there. The path, as much as he could see, was clear. He turned back around and started walking again. Kellen truly hoped that JC wasn’t alone in here somewhere. Thinking of his ‘Josh’ in a place like that only made him more determined to move through the park.
After walking for about ten minutes, Kellen was beginning to think it was a bad idea to go into the park alone. Especially after the sun had set. As he turned around on the path to head out the way he came, he heard a bush move and then a pair of boots walking. Kellen started walking faster but the boots were catching up to him. As he started to sprint, he was tackled from behind and fell to the ground. The unknown force turned him onto his back and he came face to face with the guy in the trench coat.
“Please Sir. Let me go.” Kellen pleaded.
“I’ll let you go boy, but not until I’ve had my way with you.” The guy said as he took something out of his coat. Kellen looked at the container and noticed it was a cup with a lid on it. “Here boy open up and say aww.”
“No! Get off me.” Kellen said thrashing about trying to get loose. He had no such luck. His attacker had straddled his waist and had him pinned to the ground. “Please let me go.” Kellen said going into hysterics. As the guy tilted the cup, Kellen clamped his mouth shut to prevent any liquid from entering in. The guy grabbed his jaw though. “No! Please!” Kellen screamed as the guy pried his mouth open all the way and poured the contents of the cup into his mouth. Kellen thought he was going to choke. He started coughing violently.
“Now drink up and be a good little whore. A little Ecstasy won’t hurt you.” The guy said as he unzipped his pants and started pulling them down. He brought his hands to Kellen’s face and rubbed his cheeks. He bent lower and started kissing all over Kellen’s face moving closer and closer to his lips. Kellen extended his right arm as far as it could stretch. He probed for something. Anything that he could grab to hit the guy with. His hand came in contact with a big rock. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna enjoy this.” The guy moaned as he undid Kellen’s belt and unzipped his pants. He reached into Kellen’s pants and groped his crouch. Kellen got a grip on the rock and hit the guy as hard as he could in the side of the head. The guy fell off Kellen stunned. Kellen took advantage of the situation got up and started to run, but the guy grabbed his shirt and started ripping it. Kellen stood to his full stature causing a fist full of his shirt to be torn off. As he started to running, the guy grabbed one of his shoes and pulled it off. Kellen used the one leg that still had a shoe on it kick the guy straight in the nose. Kellen could almost hear the bone shatter as the guy’s nose entered his brain. The guy fell limp on the ground and Kellen ran away from the scene.
As Kellen ran, he noticed that he began to get tired, then a wave of dizziness hit him. He tried to stable himself on a tree, but he couldn’t get a hold of the trunk. Thoughts of JC entered his mind as he fell. He could see JC’s wonderfully chiseled face, his dark brown hair, and his beautiful lips. He wished JC was here to protect him. He fell to the ground, looked up at the sky and watched as everything went black.
“Ok Camden think. Where would Kellen go? What kind of places does he go to when he’s here?” Chris asked as they drove. Both had been looking for about three hours and hadn’t had any luck. Lance called them wanting a progress report. Halfway through the call JC grabbed the phone and started pelting Chris with questions. Chris tried his best to calm JC down but it wasn’t working. Lance had gotten the phone back and told them to keep them appraised if anything changed. Lance also told them that Justin had went out to look for Kellen. Of course, that was almost thirty minutes ago.
“Wait!” Camden said hitting the steering wheel in realization. “Everytime Kellen comes to New York, we always go to Central Park. It’s one of his favorite places in the city.” Camden said suddenly as he pressed on the gas and made a right in the direction of the park. “God, I hope he’s okay. I don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him.”
“He’ll be fine. Don’t worry, we’ll find him. Then he and JC can straighten things out and it’ll all be good.” Chris said.
“I hope your right Chris. I’m just worried about him. I haven’t met JC yet, but from what Kellen has told me, he sounds like a great guy. One of those ‘once in a life time’ guys you read about in fairy tales.”
“Well, they both really love each other that’s for sure.” Chris said. The car got silent as the two drove through the city. After ten minutes of driving, Camden pulled the car on the side of the road and came to a stop right next to the same entrance Kellen had entered through. “Do you have flashlights?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, they are in the trunk. Here, take this. If someone gets in your way, spray ‘em with it in the eyes.” Camden said handing Chris a can of mace. He got out and opened the trunk producing two flashlights. They walked into the park and started walking around looking for Kellen. As they walked, it seemed to be getting darker and darker. “Hey Chris?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re pretty cool. Maybe after all this shit straightens out, us older guys can hang out.”
“Sure, what ever you say.” Chris said point his flashlight in all different directions. “Hey, what’s that. I think it’s him.” The two ran towards the fallen body of Kellen who had been passed out for about 45 minutes. “Oh my God, he’s filthy dirty. What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. Kellen? Hey Kellen, wake up.” Camden called out as he shook his brother trying in vain to wake him up. “Kellen!” He said louder. Still nothing. “Here, help me get him turned onto his back so I can pick him up.” They both carefully turned Kellen over. Chris pointed the flashlight on Kellen and saw the torn shirt, undone belt, opened zipper, and the missing shoe.
“Oh my God. I hope this isn’t what I think it is. God please tell me he hasn’t been raped.” Camden said as he gently picked Kellen up and started walking back towards the entrance.
“You don’t think it’s that do you?” Chris asked worried about Kellen.
“I hope not, but he’s unconscious, and his appearance is pointing in that direction. Let’s just get him back to the hotel. Can we bring him into the suite? He need’s to be where there are a lot of people.” Camden asked
“Of course. It’s no problem.”
The two made their way out of the park with Camden carrying his younger brother. Chris took Kellen and got into the passenger seat while Camden rushed to the driver’s side. After he got in, he slammed on the gas pedal and sped to the hotel.
Chris reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone to call Lance. He waited until Lance picked up. “Lance?”
“What’s up? Have you found him?” Lance asked impatiently.
“Yes. We found him. We’re on our way back now.” Chris listened as Lance told an eagerly waiting JC that they had found Kellen. He heard JC thanking God in the background. “Lance, you there?” Chris asked.
“Yeah Chris I’m still here.”
“Don’t tell JC this, but we found Kellen in Central Park. He’s a mess. When we found him, he was unconscious. His shirt was torn, and his pants were undone. He was also missing a shoe. Camden thinks he might have been sexually assaulted. Listen, you can’t let JC know until we get there. Be strong for him ok. I have to go. I’m holding Kellen in my arms now. He’s still unconscious. We’ll be there shortly.” There was a short pause before Lance said anything.
“Uh, right Chris. Well we’ll see you guys get back here. I’ll call Justin and let him know that you found Kellen. Bye.” Lance said ending the call.
Chris put his cell back into his pocket and looked over at Camden. “How long until we get back?”
“Well, if we don’t get pulled over, I’d say about fifteen minutes. What will JC’s reaction be to this? Will he be able to handle it if in fact Kellen has been assaulted?” Camden asked as he watched the road.
“He’ll freak when we walk into the room with Kellen looking like this. But, I think after he hears the story, he’ll settle down. At least I hope. He’ll be hurt because Kellen was hurt, but he’ll try to be strong for Kellen’s sake.” Chris said putting his arms around Kellen and holding him trying to warm his cold skin.
“Oh my God! What happened to him?” JC said rushing over to Camden. JC took Kellen from Camden’s arms and headed towards his suite room. Everyone followed quickly and watched as JC carefully laid Kellen on the oversized bed. “What happened to him?” JC asked again as he turned to face Camden.
“I sent Chris to get the tour doctor.” Camden said. “We found him in Central Park. He was unconscious and looked like that. I think he may have been assaulted.”
“I can see that he’s been assaulted.” JC said turning to Kellen. He sat on the bed next to Kellen and held his hand. “By who?”
“JC, I don’t just mean assaulted. I think he may have been sexually assaulted.” Camden said as he walked slowly to sit on the other side of the bed. He put his hand on his brother’s other hand.
“I know.” JC said starting to cry. He laid his head on Kellen’s chest and cried. “Why though. Why did this happen to him? He’s such a good-natured person. I love him. I can’t believe I thought he’d hurt me. He couldn’t have.” JC said still crying.
Suddenly, Chris ran into the room with the doctor tailing behind him. The doctor took JC’s place on the bed and slowly examined Kellen. After about five minutes a checking, the man removed his gloves and looked at everyone. “He’s be given the date rape drug ‘X’. Do you know when this happened?” He asked turning to look at Chris.
“No Sir. His brother and I just found him lying on the ground in Central Park.” Chris answered. They answered a few more questions. The doctor gave Kellen a shot and stood up to leave. After he gave orders to be woke up again once Kellen woke up, he left. Everyone else stayed in the room for a while longer before leaving to let JC be with Kellen.
JC held Kellen for a while. Justin had arrived back at the hotel and stood in the doorway watching as JC held Kellen. He was so mad at himself for not trusting Kellen. He’d hurt the young man and caused him to be raped. He turned and walked to his room. He slowly shut the door and sank into his bed crying for Kellen and feeling shame of his own actions.
JC was rubbing Kellen’s hands as he noticed Kellen’s eye lids move. “Kellen?” He asked. “Kellen, it’s me Josh. I’m here Baby.”
Kellen shot up quickly and jumped out of the bed as if he were a fleeing captive running from his attacker. He huddled into a corner and convulsed with tears. “Kellen!” JC said loudly. “It’s me. It’s Josh. I’m here.”
Kellen just kept crying. He put his fingers in his ears to drown out the voices. He kept hearing the man call him names in his mind. He could feel the grimy hands roaming his body. He just sat there in the corner in a ball crying and yelling, “No. Please Stop! Don’t hurt me!” Over and over again.
JC’s heart broke. He was trying desperately to get Kellen’s attention. He didn’t want to get to close because he knew that Kellen wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings and didn’t want to risk Kellen hurting himself. The door opened and Camden ran in followed Closely by Joey, Chris, and Lance.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Oh wow! This was an extremely difficult chapter to write mainly due to my own past personal experiences, but somehow, I felt better after writing it. I hope everyone is still trying to keep up with the story. With school and finals, it can get really busy around here. However, I’ll try to put out at least a couple of chapter’s a month. I’m starting to develop some really good ideas for this story, and I would like to see where the story will go.