Tongue Piercings and Hair Flips

The day before had been painful. The entire time we were recording, all I could think about was Justin. Wanting to be with Justin, wanting to curl up on the couch with him, wanting kiss him... I wasn't even sure what it was about him that I just... Liked so much.

Being with him was definitely dangerous for me. He was, in no way my type and he was kind of the biggest idiot ever. But yet, when the buzzer rang, I felt a smile tug at my lips and my heart began to beat a little faster.

Smiling like a huge fucking idiot still, I got up and walked to the intercom on my wall, leaning my face into the speaker while pressing down the ‘TALK’ button.

“Who is it?” I called into the intercom in a sing-song voice.

“Let me in, you asshole” I grinned and pressed the button to let him in, before I skipped like a complete gay boy back to the couch and sat down, pretending to act casual by flipping through channels, my face emotionless.

…And then I realized that I actually had to let Justin into the apartment… Perhaps, giving him his own key would make my plan work better. Yes, that could work.

Or he could be totally creeped out by the fact that I was giving him a key to my apartment, when really, we were just friends. Probably like his own little of-age friends back in ‘the smallest town in the world’. But you know, him and those friends totally kissed. Teenage boys do that. So in some ways, I was… Just. Like. His friends.

A banging on the door made me jump out of my thoughts, and as I walked to the door I was contemplating whether or not I was okay with taking the same ranks as his weird little minions. If I was being honest, I didn’t. But I wasn’t sure what Justin would be comfortable calling us, and as a grown man; I felt a little odd, getting nervous about the prospect of asking Justin out.

Since when was I such a little school girl?

When I undid the locks and opened the door, Justin smiled and practically fell against me, my arms instantly wrapping around him to ensure that he didn’t fall. His cap, on the other hand, got knocked to the floor with a quiet clatter but Justin didn’t seem to care. He just pressed his face into my chest and breathed deeply, before kicking out behind him and closing the door.

“I was so. Fucking. Bored” He stated into the cloth of my shirt, before he straightened up, bent down and picked up his hat, placing it back on his head slightly tipped.

“You coulda… Played Tetris. Good waste of time.” I said, nodding in a fashion that most likely mirrored a pigeon.

“…Is that what you do in the studio? Just… Play Tetris all the time? Is that why it takes you so long to release new albums?” He raised an eyebrow and kicked off his douchey shoes before stepping out of the threshold of the apartment and into the actual apartment.

“No Justin, my bands albums take so long to be released, because unlike you; my band makes real music, that takes real time to write and real time to record”

Wow, way to go. Insult the touchy sixteen year old that you’re thinking of asking out.

Justin stared at me for a moment, before he pouted and his eyes began to water. “It…It isn’t my fault! They work me so much! I want to write, I do! And I want to spend large amounts of time perfecting my albums! But the-the record people. They don’t want perfect, they want acceptable. And they work me so much! I just don’t have time!” He wailed. I stared at him with wide eyes, then stepped over to him and wrapped my arms around his upper torso. His arms soon wound around my waist and he quietly sobbed into my shirt, me wondering how the fuck it went from me insulting him to me comforting him.

“They over-work you…” I mumbled. He nodded against my chest and I began to side step towards the couch slowly, so that he wouldn’t trip. Then I sat us both down and he leaned against me. “Why don’t you ask for a break? What work have you even been doing while here?” I asked.

“This technically is my break. I was here to do work, then I was forced to go to the party where you sexually harassed me and… Now we’re just here, until my tour starts up again.” He said, pulling away from me and wiping his eyes on his sleeve. “I feel like such a sell-out” He murmured, his voice going really high as he spoke.

I furrowed my eyebrows and grimaced at him, while his watery brown eyes just stared back at me, his sniffling becoming constant.

“You…” I stopped, taking a deep breath.” You’re sixteen Justin. You’re still new to this business, even though you’ve probably seen more than I fucking have… You’re going to… Learn more. Learn how to juggle your time better. Learn how to stand up to the people who wanna fuck you over. And as you learn, and live, you’ll have more things to write about.” I said. He nodded and then leaned back against the couch, biting his lip.

Why was that so sexy to me?

“Thanks Josh” He said finally, after a moment of silence. I nodded and leaned back, staring at the ceiling as I wished that Justin had some words of wisdom to shed onto me, about my problem. Did I want to ask him out?

No fucking way. That would make me feel like I was in high school all over again.

But he was in high school, so is that what he would want? Or would me asking him out creep him out just as much as me giving him a key to my apartment?

“Are you… Okay Josh?” He asked, making me look back over at him. I nodded, then sighed and shook my head. “What is it?” He sat up a little straighter, staring at me worriedly.

“I’m just… At a loss. Yes, I’m at a loss. Because you see… I enjoy kissing you. And I enjoy being around you. And I enjoy the strange sense of adventure that I feel whenever we hang out, because being attracted to a sixteen year old boy, whose adored by millions of teenage girls is completely new to me… But I’m 27. I don’t want to feel like I’m back in grade 10… that year sucked.” I rambled on. Justin stared at me, his face falling as my words sunk in… What meaning he took from them, I have no idea.

“I… I don’t understand. Do you… Want me to leave?” He asked, sounding a little hurt. Today was just not his day.

“Nonononono!” I flailed my arms around, making him crack the tiniest smile. “No, I just… I mean, I just. Don’t know how to ask you to…—“

“Be together?” He asked, interrupting my train of thought. I stared at him for a minute, wondering how he understood so quickly. But then I just nodded and he smiled, my eyes looking him up and down as he scooted a little closer and touched my face with his small hand. “It’s as easy as that Josh.” He murmured.

“Easy as what?” I asked, my breath getting caught in my throat as he gave me an unintentional smoldering look.

“Saying you want to be together”

Then he stretched his neck up and kissed me.