Chapter 6 ? With Eyes Opened Wide

 

Justin beamed.

 

The castle was amazing.

 

The floor was smooth, the walls were really high and he had washed his hands with real castle water and prince-soap.? Now his fingers smelled like oranges and almond cake.? He couldn?t stop rubbing his nose on them.

 

He gently swayed back and forth as he stood in Brian?s kitchen.? One of his arms was tightly looped around his book, the other hand under his nose and his gaze at the prince.? He was totally mesmerized.

 

Brian rummaged in his kitchen cabinet. Red beet, red beet- hell, the only pickled vegetables on his property were sweet and sour soy bean sprouts.

 

With a scowl he looked over his shoulder, throwing a chastising gaze at his guest.

 

The boy was rather irritating. He talked to himself, ran through every room as if he were seeing a damn house for the first time and he had this totally blinding sunshine smile with perfect lips and white teeth that stretched from ear to ear every time Brian looked in his direction.

 

Oh yeah?he was more than irritating.

 

?You always invite yourself to dinner?! You know, that?s fucking rude!?

 

?Supper. Of course at 6 o?clock. Liverwurst and red be-?

 

?Yeah, yeah all right. I know your slogan.? Annoyed the man took the can of soy bean sprouts out of the cupboard and held it up. ?What?s about this? Would this be to your liking - your royal highness??

 

?Ooh.? Justin stretched out his hand to the can. It was out of pure silver and somebody had drawn pictures and words on it. He held it to his ear and shook. ?Ha!? he laughed. There was water in it!

 

Brian frowned and took the can opener out of the drawer. ?Come on, hand it over.?

 

Justin stepped on his tiptoes and stretched his neck to look past the prince. The can was moving in a circle, made a funny sound and then ? ?Soup!? Fully in awe he stuck his finger in the opened can and in the slippery soy sprouts.

 

Brian took the finger out and dried it on a towel. ?These are soy bean sprouts. Not soup.? He fished one of the white germinations out of the liquid and held it out to Justin. ?Tastes yummy.?

 

The boy didn?t even try to grab for the offered food. Instead, he opened his mouth in order to catch the small thing with his tongue, while his blue eyes looked up with an innocent expression.

 

Brian watched with a sense of fascination as the blonde bent forward and opened his mouth as if he were a baby bird trying to eat a worm with its beak.

 

A small pink tongue poked out and touched his fingertips, all warm and wet. ?Ahem.? He cleared his throat and took his hand away quickly.

 

The boy chewed carefully. No, it really was not soup. It tasted cold and a little bit sour. Hmm. Almost like red beet. Just without the red.

 

?Good?? Brian arched a brow.

 

Justin beamed happily. The white beet was really tasty.

 

Brian raised his eyebrow a bit higher. ?You want to eat them now or what??

 

Did he? Justin looked at the opened can and held his hand out to it wistfully. He really wanted to eat them, but today was?

 

?? of course Friday. Red beet and liverwurst.?

 

Brian was unimpressed by the argument over this. He was after all the best ad man in town and when he wanted to sell a product he would find a way to do so.

 

?Well, I don?t know who?s writing your lunch schedule,? he said, poured half of the contents of the can in a small bowl and sharply put it on the kitchen bar, ?but all the babies and cute little kittens are starving in Africa and I have absolutely no intention to put that crap in my fridge only to become moldy, so-? he held up a fork for Justin and smiled artificially, ?sit down and eat. I?ve got work to do.?

 

Justin blinked at the prince with big eyes. ?Red beet??

 

Brian cocked his brow warningly and pointed to one of the high chairs in front of the bar. ?Soy bean sprouts. Sit down and eat.?

 

The boy looked hesitantly at the huge chair, then again at Brian?s rigid face and finally plodded with small steps in the ordered direction.

 

A little clumsy, he climbed on the unfamiliar sitting accommodation and peered one more time at the prince before timidly gripping the shiny fork.? Shyly he began to eat.

 

?Hh.? Brian, with a stern face, watched his small achievement for a moment, before putting down a glass of orange juice beside the boy?s bowl and then disappeared to his desk to finish his presentation for Lindman.

 

Pfft. One should say again that he wasn?t a good host?

 

?????????????????????????

 

45 minutes later Brian shut down his notebook, combed a hand through his hair, looked in the direction of the kitchen and smiled.? The boy still sat unaltered at the bar.

 

It seemed that he had some difficulties spearing the slippery sprouts on the fork and therefore used his fingers for help. In absolute concentration, he fished around in the bowl, placed each soy germination on his fork and balanced it to his mouth.

 

Brian walked over to him and grabbed a beer out of the fridge. ?You aren?t among the fastest when it comes to eating, huh?? He opened the bottle noisily and drank a big gulp before sitting down at the bar in front of the boy.

 

Justin lost a sprout from his fork and pressed his lips together while he focused and started a second time with ?white beet? number 82.

 

Brian watched his guest in silence, while drinking his beer, before his gaze fell on the old book lying close beside Justin.

 

?You really read this crap?? He grabbed it and began flipping through the pages. ?What?s it about??

 

Sprout number 82 slipped from the fork and Justin collected it patiently. ?You.?

 

The older man looked up. ?It?s about me??

 

The fork disappeared between Justin?s lips and he nodded. ?Of course. Of course about you.?

 

?Really?? Where?? Brian turned the pages again.

 

The boy laid the fork on the bar, reached across the table and turned the pages exactly to the story of Rapunzel. ?Of course. Page 16 to 19.?

 

Brian arched a brow, looked at the pages of the old book and frowned. ?That?s Rapunzel.? He didn?t know if he should?ve been amused or pissed. They called him a lot of things, but ?blonde long hair lesbian in a fucking tower? was a new one. Even to him.

 

White beet number 84 was really slippery and the tip of Justin?s tongue poked out in high concentration. ?Of course the prince. Page 16.?

 

Ahh. Mister Kinney studied the drawing on page 16 and had to admit the guy with the crown wasn?t that bad? for a lousy drawn fairy tale figure that is. ?I?m the prince?? Yeah, that was definitely better, even though the ugly tights were really queeny.

 

Justin snickered a little. The prince made jokes with him. Of course he was?

 

?? the prince.?

 

?Hm.? Brian threw one last gaze at the drawing before closing the book.? He devoted himself to the rest of the beer in his bottle. ?So?why would you think that??

 

The boy looked up in all graveness and seemed almost insulted. ?I know it.?

 

?You know it??

 

?Yes.?

 

?I?m the fucking prince??

 

?Yes. My prince.?

 

Ahem. Brian cleared his throat with unease as the boy looked at him with dreamy eyes.? He stood up quickly to dispose his bottle. ?My name is Brian.?

 

?Hh!? Justin was shocked and then got all excited. The prince wanted to ?

 

??introduce each other!?

 

?Th.? A surprised little laughter escaped the man at the trash can and he turned around to look at the boy with amusement. ?Yeah exactly. And who would you be? Cinderella, Bambi? the sixth of the seven dwarves?!?

 

Justin straightened his back and grew a bit puzzled.? He didn?t know who Bambi was. Cinderella of course had glass shoes and surely he didn?t prefer to be Sleepy. He stayed?

 

?? in bed until April.?

 

He twisted a blonde hair strand around his finger a bit uneasy as he looked at the prince with a hint of helplessness.

 

The amused smile disappeared from Brian?s face. The big blue eyes which looked at him in a childish and innocent way showed him that the boy didn?t have a clue what he had talked about before.? In some way, Brian found this much unspoken honesty should be rewarded a little more. He sighed deeply, combed through his hair again and walked over to his young guest.

 

?Brian Kinney.? He said and held his hand out to Justin.

 

The boy made big eyes and sat there stiffly. Prian. With a P like prince and pudding.

 

?Well?? Brian moved his fingers forward. ?Say hello.?

 

Justin looked frightened almost as if he had to step in front of the big bad giant himself.? He held his hand reverently out and said a shy, ?Hello.?

 

Brian decided on a polite handshake in average strength. ?And?? he arched a brow waiting. ?Do you have a name too??

 

?Justin.? The boy told him a little absently and crooked his head as he tried to discover his own fingers in the princes? huge hand. He liked how tight and warm the strong fingers felt around his own and wondered if the princes? hand also smelled like castle water.

 

Brian frowned as the blonde bent forward, pressed his nose on the back of his hand and inhaled deeply.

 

Justin whimpered a little.

?Prian.?

 

Prian really smelled like almond cake, but also like something else. Like? prince.

His skin had a beautiful color and tiny hairs which tickled when he touched them with his mouth.

 

Brian?s grip around Justin?s small fingers grew a little tighter as he heard the boys mew while feeling soft lips at the back of his hand. Christ, the boy really knew how to perform some friendly greeting.? He probably would?ve given him his other hand too in supporting this ritual if the ringing of his phone hadn?t disturbed the moment.

 

?Shit.? He released himself and walked to his desk. ?Yes.?

 

?Brian? Where are you?! The ratatouille is getting cold.?

 

?Uh.? Stressed out Brian rubbed his neck. ?Yeah, something came up.?

 

?Came up? Did Santos shown up to cut the hedge already??

 

Justin hadn?t wanted to let go of Prian?s hand and looked after him with a craving gaze, but the prince only talked and wasn?t paying any attention.? So Justin decided to eat some more of the white beet.

 

He looked into his bowl. ?Eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven.? He counted and searched for the eighty-eighth one, but found nothing. Maybe there was more white beet in the cupboard?

 

Hmm.? He slipped off his chair with great effort, leaving his book behind at the bar and plodded with small steps along the fitted kitchen.

 

The cupboard door the prince had opened before was quite high, but he stepped on his tiptoes and smiled as he reached the handle.

 

?Ooh.? He was stunned. There were so many silver cans. Big ones, small ones, transparent ones and even colored boxes.

 

?Ha!? He pushed himself a little higher on his toes to grab the cans. They were heavy and he shook one after another beside his ear. Hmm. Presumably there was water in both of them, or soup?or white beet?

 

He wailed a little because he didn?t know exactly what was in them and knocked on the hard material. Then he stepped again on his tiptoes and fished for a big blue box.? It was lighter and rustled from his shaking.

 

Justin was exited. Maybe there were?

 

??way stones in it??

 

With his fingers, he poked on the cardboard material, plucked a little and after a few minutes he ripped a hole in it that was big enough to look through.

 

?Hh!? He got frightened. The whole box was full of?

??yellow caterpillars!?

 

Horrified, he threw the package away and breathed hectically for a moment. Then he rubbed his forehead and ducked his head a little and glanced over to test the box.? No, there weren?t any caterpillars. Caterpillars were small and plump and munched holes in salad. After that they went to sleep and when they woke up again they were?

 

?? butterflies!?

 

He quickly slipped closer again to the box and bent down to look in it. ?Yes! Many yellow ones with wings!? He laughed and began to shake the package so that the butterflies would come out.

 

Brian heard noises from the kitchen and stretched his neck. Justin didn?t sit at the bar anymore.

 

?Justin?? Quickly he stepped closer. ?Fuck!? He found his blonde house guest kneeling on the kitchen floor between some tomato paste cans and dozens of noodles.

 

?Brian? What?s that clicking noise??

 

Brian rubbed his hand through his hair. ?Justin?s shacking out my farfalle noodles.?

 

?What? Who?s Justin??

 

Mister Kinney sighed and closed his eyes a moment over all this unplanned chaos. ?Listen Mikey, I?ll be there at half past seven, okay? Have the whiskey ready.? He put the phone down without waiting for a response and threw it next to the coffeemaker. ?What the fuck are you doing?!?

 

Shocked Justin let the package fall down as he turned around.? He beamed with his whole face when he saw the prince. ?Butterflies!?

 

Brian presented a fake smile. ?That?s nice.? His face then darkened as he put the noodle box furiously back into the cupboard. ?Come on, get up. I have to go and you can buzz off home.?

 

?Home?? Justin knit his eyebrows. He stood up awkwardly and took his fairy tale book, cuddling it tight in his arms.

 

?Home.? Brian ran around hectically and collected a few things like his wallet and cell phone, before slipping on his shoes. ?You live somewhere, don?t you??

 

When he didn?t get an answer to that, he looked up from his shoe laces. ?Where are you living??

 

Justin rocked a little, looking interested at the white roof. ?Of course. Justin Taylor. One five two one nine Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.?

 

Brian stared perplexed at the boy for a moment and then huffed a short laugh.? ?Thank you very much, but it would be helpful if you also could tell me the street Justin Taylor.?

 

?Street.? Justin liked the color of the roof. White like paper to draw with. He could draw the prince and his hands and the silver sword.

 

?Great. Just great?? Brian sighed and shook his head. One thing was for sure - Rapunzel here was definitely his first and very last guest for dinner in this house!? ?Okay? come on, we?re going in the car.? He grabbed his key and marched in the direction of the front door.

 

?In the ca-ar.? Echoed Justin and followed Prian with small steps outside.

 

There he saw a big black car with giant tires and immediately recognized it. ?Beep-Beep.? He smiled brightly and touched the lacquer with cautious fingers.

 

Brian ignored it. He had enough strange behavior for one evening.?

 

Quickly he sat down behind the steering wheel and opened the passenger door for Justin. ?So listen. We?ll drive around and you say stop if you recognize your house.?

 

?The tower.? The boy climbed on all fours on the seat.

 

?Whatever.? Frustrated, Brian secured Justin?s safety belt - totally ignoring the boys enjoyable smell in their close proximities.? Finally, he started the machine.????

 

Justin giggled because it hummed funny in his belly as the car started to drive.

 

Brian guided through the gateway. ?So, you say stop when you see your house, got it??

 

?Got it. The tower.? Justin imitated Prian?s voice and looked to the right. ?Stop.?

 

Brian sighed. ?What did I just say? Only when you see your house.?

 

?Of course the tower.? Justin looked through the car window up to his tower. ?Stop.?

 

?Here?? Slowly braking, Brian followed the kids gaze. ?You really live here??

 

?Of course. One five two one nine Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USA.?

 

Okay, Brian had somehow assumed that the boy could maybe come from the St. James institute, but now he wasn?t sure if he liked the idea that much anymore.

 

A little hesitant he opened Justin?s seat belt. ?That was a short drive.?

 

Justin smiled but looked at the glove compartment. ?Yeah, short.?

 

?But hey, we are neighbors.? Brian also smiled slightly and really didn?t know why.?

 

The blonde looked through the window up to the sky, while shouting a happy, ?Hello neighbor!?

 

Brian frowned. ?Wow, you almost sound like? Emmett.? He mumbled the last word inarticulately and reached over Justin?s legs to open the passenger door.

 

Justin remained unmoving.

 

?See you then??

 

Justin blinked and hugged his book tighter.

 

Brian smirked. ?Come on Rapunzel, I have to go.?

 

Justin didn?t want to go back in the tower. The prince was so nice and beautiful.

 

?Certainly everyone is already searching for you. Don?t you have to go to bed??

 

?Of course. After the good night greeting on channel 4. 8:05 pm.?

 

?Really?? Brian looked at the boy in disbelief. He really went to bed at 8:05 pm? ?Well, then you better hurry up.?

 

?Yeah.? Justin climbed from the seat and stayed on the sidewalk. He was sad. He really didn?t want to go back to the tower.

 

Brian shut the door behind him and started the engine again, with a last glimpse out of his side window.

 

The boy stood there with a sad face, rocked a little back and forth and smelled on his fingers.

 

Brian didn?t like what he saw.

 

?Hey.? He bent over the passenger seat and let the window down. ?Justin??

 

?Yeah?? Justin curled a hair strand around his finger and absently looked up to the sky.

 

?Later when the good night greeting is over and you go to bed??

 

?Yeah??

 

?Dream of me, okay??

 

The boy still gazed up to the sky but now he smiled. ?Okay.?

 

?You?ll dream of me??

 

?Yeah. Dream of Prian.?

 

?Brian.?

 

?Prian.?

 

Brian sighed.

 

Justin smiled.

 

?Now go in already.?

 

?Yeah.? The boy turned around and walked with clumsy steps in the direction of the entrance.

 

Brian shook his head and drove away.

 

???????????????????????????

 

?Justin!? Blake immediately saw his blonde patient traipse through the garden. ?Where have you been? I was looking for you everywhere.?

 

Justin rocked back and forth and smelled on his hand. Mmh? prince-almond cake.

 

?Hfft!? Blake felt a big rock of relief fall from his heart as he guided the boy back to the ward. ?Next time you have to tell a nurse when you want to go for a walk, okay??

 

?O-kay.? Answered Justin, but decided that he surely wouldn?t talk to a nurse who wasn?t Plake.

 

?Good.? Blake was glad.

 

?Perfect!? Justin too.

 

???????????????????????????

 

After his dinner at the Novotny-Bruckner?s, he went on a short visit to the local baths.? Not really sober, but absolutely satisfied, Brian Kinney entered the main door of his mansion a little after midnight.

 

He was tired and swayed as he made his way through the dark rooms, stripped his shoes, threw his jacket away, decided to treat himself with a little good night beer and swore when he stepped on something edgy.

 

?Fuck!? He rubbed his foot, took a closer look at the floor and found dozens of small yellow noodles.

 

Hmm. He took a big sip from his beer and bent down.

?

?Damned boy.? It wasn?t the nicest of words, but he said them calm and softly and then collected 52 butterfly-noodles, while he asked himself if Justin really would dream of him.