Author’s notes: This is my b-day present to one of the co-moms of this list, who also happens to be my long lost soul sister – the beautiful and talented Aph. Happy late birthday dear. As you know, I’ve been working on this for a few days, finally finished, and have now decided to post this here. Love you, and I hope you enjoy.

WARNING!: This fic has no redeeming value whatsoever. None at all. It’s dark. It’s cruel. There is allusion to and description of torture and rape and general emotional nasties. If you don’t think you can cope, don’t read it. It will be better for both you and me. Again – NO redeeming value at all. Beware; here there be dragons and all that fun stuff.

Because I Can

The first thing that Justin noticed when he opened his eyes was that he was cold. The second thing he noticed was that the carpet he was laying on was rough and thin, not at all like the plush carpeting that he had in his house.

His mind tried to focus on these two things and fought to make sense out of them.

‘Why am I cold? Why aren’t I home?’ he asked himself as he shifted through his memory and searched for answers.

The last thing he remembered clearly was he and JC walking into his house, intent on a night of watching bad movies and scarfing down popcorn. They had walked into the kitchen and then…and then there had been shadows there…shadows that moved. He vaguely remembered strong arms holding him and something pressed against his nose and mouth. It had a strange, heavy smell and it had made him very sleepy. The last thing he remembered was struggling against the strong arms…

And now he was…here. Only he had no idea where here was. He sat up slowly, fighting the small waves of nausea that flowed through him. He took a moment to breathe through them and then looked around.

The room that he was in was small, the walls a dingy yellow color, the carpet a dull brown. There was no furniture in the room except for a metal chair and a folding table. An open door directly behind him showed a small, poorly lit bathroom. Another door on the far wall was closed and Justin guessed that that might be the way out.

He swallowed down his fear at having woken up in a strange place, and he forced himself to stand. He wasn’t able to take more than two wobbly steps forward before the door opened and three men walked in.

Two of the men he had never seen before, their faces dark and inscrutable. The other man he instantly recognized as JC. It took him only a moment to register that JC looked haggard and tired, that his arms were behind his back and that the other two men appeared to be holding him up.

"What the fuck…" Justin started to say as he stepped towards his friend.

The men let go of JC’s arms and he fell heavily to the floor. One of the men kneeled down next to him and brought a knife up to JC’s throat.

Justin froze. "What are you doing? Don’t hurt him…please?"

The man that still stood walked up to Justin and casually placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whether we hurt him or not depends on you."

His hand came up and gently stroked Justin’s cheek. Despite the almost overwhelming urge to push the man’s hand away, Justin forced himself to stay still and listen.

"If you’re a good boy and do what we say, then your friend won’t get hurt. If you disobey, then he gets his throat cut out. Got that?"

Justin stepped back, his heart pounding at the words, his head shaking in denial. How could this be happening? How did he fall into this horrible nightmare?

The man stepped with him, his hand again at Justin’s shoulder. "Well?" he asked. "Do you think you can handle that?"

As if on cue, the man next to JC grabbed a fistful of JC’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing his throat. JC gasped fearfully as he was forced to stare at the ceiling. The knife never wavered from his throat.

"God, don’t hurt him…please…" Justin pleaded, tears forming in his eyes.

"You haven’t given an answer," the man said as his grip on Justin’s shoulder tightened.

Justin whimpered in pain and then turned his head to face the man. "Yeah, fine…I can handle it. As long as you don’t hurt him."

"All depends on you, my friend. All depends on you." The man lifted his hand from Justin’s shoulder and smiled. "Start by taking off your clothes."

"What?" Justin asked.

"Justin, don’t!" JC shouted.

Justin looked at JC and saw that the other man no longer held him by his hair and that the knife had been lowered slightly.

"Shut up or my partner will cut out your tongue," the man next to Justin told JC calmly.

Justin caught JC’s eyes and shook his head, silently telling him to stay quiet. JC acknowledged with a small, pained nod.

"Let’s go, we don’t have all day," the man said impatiently.

Justin turned away from JC and slowly took off his tee shirt, letting it drop unceremoniously to the floor. He looked at the man and saw him nod his approval.

"Now the rest. Everything," he said.

Justin shut his eyes and successfully stopped the tears that were threatening to begin. As he took off his shoes and socks and then his pants and underwear, he reminded himself that he had no choice here, that he had to do this to keep JC alive. Despite this knowledge, the humiliation still burned.

When he was completely naked, he looked up and hugged his arms around his chest for warmth. His body continued to shiver as the terrible reality of what was going to happen began to dawn on him.

Again, the man nodded approvingly and smiled. "Very nice," he whispered as his fingertips danced lightly over Justin’s body. Justin made a noise of disgust but forced himself to keep still. He prayed that whatever was about to happen would be over with quickly.

"Very nice. But I prefer some color on my whores," he said.

Justin wondered what that meant, but kept silent, too far buried in his fear to speak.

The man studied him for a moment more and then viciously backhanded Justin across the mouth. Justin fell back hard, his body not expecting the assault. He brought a hand up to his mouth and winced when he felt blood seeping out of the corner of it.

"Get up," the man said simply.

"What?" Justin asked in bewilderment.

"Get up, whore," the man said again, this time his voice slightly darkened by an emotion Justin couldn’t quite identify.

Justin pushed himself up to his knees and was about to stand when the man spoke again.

"Better. But not enough," he said and again his hand connected roughly with Justin’s face. This time his cheek took the brunt of the blow and he let out a small sound of pain as he fell.

The man didn’t bother to give Justin instructions this time. He merely leaned over and yanked Justin back up to a kneeling position by his hair.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Justin asked breathlessly.

The man shook his head slowly. "No more questions. Now, open that pretty little mouth of yours."

"Oh God…" Justin whispered.

"Never given a blow job, huh?" the man asked as he smiled. "Well, first time for everything. Now, if you even think about biting me…your friend over there gets all of his teeth smashed in. Got it?"

Justin nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He cautiously opened his mouth and almost gagged as he felt the other man thrust himself into it. He tried to stay calm but what he was being forced to do made him sick to his stomach and soon the tears began to run down his face.

As the assault continued, Justin’s world narrowed down to the feeling of having another man’s flesh going deep into his mouth. Nothing else existed for him except that and a feeling of intense shame and fear. As the man began to force himself in deeper, the timing of his thrusts increased and he grabbed at Justin’s hair for purchase. Justin himself was not moving at all, he let the man control him as he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing and not letting his teeth touch the man.

After a few minutes, the man’s thrusts became frenzied and the hands in Justin’s hair gripped him unmercifully, causing Justin to make a small sound of pain. He heard the man say, "swallow it" in a breathless pant and when the man finally did come to orgasm, he fearfully did as he was told. The liquid that splashed at the back of his throat was thick and bitter and he had to fight the urge to spit it out. He swallowed it and instantly began coughing and choking, his knees buckling underneath him as the man pulled out of him and released his hold on his hair.

For a moment all Justin could do was to breathe deeply and try to control the nausea that was threatening to overwhelm him.

‘Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up’, he told himself. He wasn’t exactly sure why, but some instinct told him that this would be a bad thing.

Finally he was able to gain back some semblance of control, although his body still shivered and the tears still fell down his face. He looked up to see the man that had just assaulted him staring down at him with emotionless eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered, his voice cracking.

The man smiled, the grin spreading across his faces slowly. "Because I can," he said, and with that he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. The other man grabbed JC and pulled him through the doorway before the two friends could even look at each other.

Justin was left alone, trembling and sobbing with no one to comfort him. Finally exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep with the taste of the man still in his mouth.

Justin opened bleary eyes and forced himself to sit up. He didn’t remember at what point he had fallen asleep but he was glad for the respite unconsciousness had given him. He looked around the room and found that nothing had changed, he still lay naked in this small, dirty room. He choked back a small cry of fear as the reality that this was not a dream hit him.

He crawled over to a corner and made himself as small as he could while he waited for what would happen next

He did not wait long.

After a few minutes, the main door opened and the two men walked in. Justin looked around for JC, but he was not there.

"Where’s JC?" he asked fearfully.

"He’s fine. He’s sleeping. I told you, as long as you’re a good boy, we won’t hurt your friend."

Justin looked away from the cold eyes. "What do you want?" he whispered.

"I want to break you," the man who had assaulted him yesterday said.

Justin whimpered and pressed against the wall behind him as if trying to disappear into it.

Suddenly the man seemed to become impatient and angry. He grabbed Justin’s wrist and pulled him forward roughly.

Justin looked up, saw the hunger and hatred in the man’s eyes and he knew. He shook his head in denial. "No," he said.

"If you don’t, your friend suffers. Is that what you want?" the other man asked.

Justin turned to him, his own anger flaring and momentarily overcoming his fear. "How do I even know he’s still alive? For all I know you’ve killed him already!"

The man who still held on to Justin, the one who he was beginning to think of as the first man, spoke calmly. "Are you willing to take that risk?"

Justin looked at the ground in front of him as he felt the anger drain away. Now all he was left with was fear. Fear for himself, fear for JC, and fear of these men and what they were capable of. He shook his head sadly.

"Didn’t think so. Lay down. On your back," the first man commanded as he released Justin.

Justin fought the urge to struggle, to run, to somehow defy these men. Instead he thought about JC and how he had to be strong to keep him safe, then he took a deep breath and lay down on the harsh carpet. He stared up at the ceiling as he waited for what would come next.

He felt the second man kneel behind him and grab his wrists, pinning them to the floor above his head.

‘Maybe I can pretend this isn’t happening. If I think of other things then this won’t really happen," he told himself.

The feel of the first man’s hands on his body slashed his illusion to pieces. He was here, he could not escape and this was most definitely happening to him.

The man straddled his body and ran a hand over his face, stopping at his lips. Justin continued to look up, his eyes already starting to feel the sting of tears. The fingers at his lips were soon replaced by the man’s mouth and he found himself being kissed. The man’s tongue explored his mouth eagerly and Justin struggled weakly against the man that held him down.

The first man broke the kiss and looked at the young man underneath him. He was so scared. He was trembling, breathing much too hard, his eyes already shining with unshed tears. This was going to be amazing.

The man reached down and, using his body and his hands, spread Justin’s legs apart so that he was now between them. He spit on his hand and moistened his cock, already rigid with anticipation. Then he leaned forward and felt for Justin’s entrance.

Justin finally looked away from the ceiling and into the other man’s eyes. "No," he whispered.

The man did not respond; he merely looked at Justin with his emotionless dark eyes.

"Please. I’ll do anything else, but please not this," Justin heard the pleading in his voice and hated himself for it. He hated it and he hated this man for making him beg, but there was nothing else he could do; begging was all he had.

The man leaned down and whispered into Justin’s ear, "Yes…this…" and with that he entered Justin swiftly.

Justin cried out at the sudden, intense pain, his back arching in protest against it.

"You’re not supposed to fight it. You’re supposed to take it," the first man said.

"Don’t…please," Justin pleaded.

The man didn’t bother to respond; instead he began to move inside Justin and groan in pleasure.

Justin turned his head and began to sob. The pain was incredible, a blunt force that tore at him and burned him at the same time. He couldn’t breathe; he couldn’t think, his body hurt so badly. He hands balled into impotent fists as he realized that he was tearing.

"You are so tight. You’ve never done this before, have you?" the man inside him asked as he continued to pound into him.

When Justin did not answer, the man’s voice took on an angry tone. "I asked you a question. You’ve never done this before, have you?"

As the man asked the question, his hand wrapped itself around Justin’s throat and gave a tight, painful squeeze. Justin’s head turned to look at his tormentor and as soon as the hand was removed he choked out the word, "No."

"Well, from now on this is all you’re going to do. You’re nothing but a filthy whore and this is all that you deserve."

Justin flinched at the cruel words and tried again to turn his head.

The first man grabbed his chin and brought his face back. When he was certain that Justin was looking at him, he said, "Stay with me. I want you to tell me that you’re a whore. I want you to understand."

Justin shook his head furiously. "No, I’m not…I’m not…" he panted.

The other man, the one that held his wrists, suddenly increased the pressure around them and it felt like grips of steel encircled his wrists rather than human hands. The grip tightened until Justin felt sure that the bones in his wrists would snap from the pressure.

Throwing out whatever remained of his dignity, he yelled, "Fine! I’m a whore! I’m a whore, ok? Just stop…please. I’m a whore…" his voice trailed off into jagged sobs of anguish.

No more was said as the rape continued for several more minutes. Just as Justin got to the point where he felt the pain would devour him alive, the man atop him groaned and shuddered, then went extremely still. Justin felt something warm splash within him and he knew that it was finally over. He also knew that he would never again be clean.

Without a word between them, both the men rose and switched positions. The first man now held Justin’s wrists to the ground while the other man invaded his body ruthlessly.

This time was more painful than the first and Justin soon found himself alternating between begging for the pain to stop and cursing the men for doing this to him. By the time the man ejaculated, Justin was only half-conscious and he barely felt it when the man pulled out and gave him a light slap on the hip.

"Good whore," he heard the man say.

As soon as Justin was released, he curled up on his side and began to tremble violently. The tears that poured from his eyes obscured his vision and he was grateful for that small mercy. He could no longer stand to see his newfound hell.

A few minutes passed without either man making a move towards him and Justin began to hope that they were done with him would leave him alone. That hope was crushed as a new, searing pain invaded his mind and he screamed from the shock of it. He half turned to see what could possibly hurt so badly.

He was instantly turned around on his stomach and held down by forceful hands, but not before he had seen the source of the new agony.

The men had lit cigarettes in their hands. Justin continued to scream as another, and then another and then another cigarette was ground against the sensitive skin of his lower back.

He screamed until his voice was hoarse and only then did the men stop. Suddenly, the hands on his body were gone and the men were walking towards the door.

"You did well today, whore. You were made for this," one of them called out.

Justin lay still except for his body’s jerking reactions to the intense pain. His voice was nothing more than a pained whisper as he spoke to the men’s retreating backs. "I’m not a whore."

He was fairly sure they hadn’t heard him, but he knew he had said it, and that was all that mattered.

Then he closed his eyes and let blackness take him.

Justin lay on his side on the ground, near the wall, and tried to breathe.

Hurt. Hurt. Everything hurt so badly.

God, he was so desperate for the pain to end. He would do almost anything at this point to have it stop. To have everything stop.

The cigarette burns had been the beginning. He had thought that those would be the worst he would have to endure. He had been so wrong. Each new day brought a new form of torture. The whippings with the belts, the beatings, the knife that cut his thighs open…every new day brought new pain. The only constant in his life these days were the rapes. They could always be counted on.

Every time he had dared to ask them why, why him, why this, they always responded with the same answer.

Because I can.

Except that that was no answer at all and somehow being tortured and degraded for no reason was so much worse than if they had hurt him out of hatred. Everything was so much worse without a reason.

He shifted slightly and felt the drying stickiness on the back of his legs. He was bleeding again. He had been bleeding, on and off, since the first assault. He tried not to think about how badly he was damaged for that to happen. He tried to think of other things, of pleasant things, but his mind kept coming back to the fact that he was bleeding.

He heard rather than saw the door open and he wearily closed his eyes. He didn’t really know what was to come, but he knew that no matter what happened, it would end with his pain

Maybe if he closed his eyes, it wouldn’t seem so real.

He flinched at the feel of hands on his body. "No…" he whispered.

"Justin, it’s ok. It’s just me."

Justin opened his eyes to see JC leaning over him, his face full of concern and worry. Justin reached up a shaking hand and touched JC’s cheek. "They hit you," he said flatly.

JC shook his head. "It’s nothing. I’m fine."

"What are you doing here?" Justin asked as he let his hand drop.

"They said I could come in for a few minutes. They said you’ve been really good, so this is like a…reward."

"Help me sit up please," Justin asked as his voice shook.

JC nodded and helped the younger man up to a sitting position. He wrapped his arms around his bruised body and began to rock him back and forth slowly.

"We’re going to die here," Justin said as tears filled his eyes. "We’re going to die."

"No we’re not, Justin. We’re not. We’re going to get out of here."

Justin shook his head miserably and leaned heavily against his friend. "They won’t tell me why they hurt me. They never tell me why. Do they tell you?"

"No, Justin. They don’t tell me either. I’m so sorry Justin."

Justin was suddenly crying, the tears hot as they fell against JC’s shoulder. "They call me a whore. They say that it’s all I’m good for."

"Justin, you know that’s not true."

Justin’s sobs became more intense as his body began to tremble uncontrollably. "It is…it is. I don’t want to die this way. Don’t want to die a whore."

JC’s embrace tightened, as he said, "No, Justin You’re not going to die."

Before any more could be said, the door opened and the two men walked in. "Time to go," one of them said as he grabbed JC’s arms and pulled him away. Without JC’s strength, Justin dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"No! Just let me stay with him another minute. Please."

"Time to go," the man repeated as he began to pull JC out of the room.

"It’s ok, Jace. It’s what I’m for," Justin said quietly.

Justin watched as JC was dragged outside and then turned tired eyes to the first man.

"What now?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"What do you think?" he asked.

Justin looked away. Why had he even asked?

The man pointed at the table. "How about against the table again? I like it when you’re bent over for me."

Justin took a deep breath, but said nothing.

"Or." The man squatted down in front of him and lifted Justin’s chin with one hand. "Or," he continued, "We could do something else. I mean, that poor little ass of yours must be really sore by now. I can see that you’re bleeding."

Justin looked at him with a spark of hope in his dark eyes. "What?" he asked quietly.

"We could do it like the first day. Take your mouth."

"Yes, please," Justin said only a small hesitation. As horrible as it was to have someone in his mouth, there was no pain from that violation.

"See, I knew you were a whore," the man said as he laughed.

Justin swallowed back the shame and continued to look steadily at the man. He could do this; it would be so much better than being raped again. There would be no pain…he could do this.

The man gazed at the ceiling as if pondering something. "Maybe I shouldn’t make it so easy for you. Maybe I should make you beg for it."

Justin’s heart dropped at the words. It wasn’t enough that they were doing these things to him; they had to completely humiliate him at the same time. He stifled the urge to again ask them why. Fresh tears came to his eyes as he asked quietly, "What do you want me to say?"

"Just beg me for it, be creative."

Justin saw the other man walk back in the room from the corner of his eye. More humiliation. He took a deep breath, wiped the tears away with the back of his hand and spoke. "Please, don’t rape me again. Just fuck my mouth, please."

"Say it like you mean it."

Justin shuddered with shame but managed to force out the words he knew these men wanted to hear. "Please, I’m begging you. Please fuck my mouth. Please." Even to his own ears, the pleas sounded horrifyingly real.

He waited to see if this would be accepted.

The man nodded. "And why do you want me to fuck your mouth?"

Justin stared at him, confusion distorting his face. "I don’t…"

"Yes you do. Just say it. Why else would you want that?"

Understanding came to Justin and he hung his head as the tears began to flow again. Damn tears! Why couldn’t he ever stop crying?

He knew what the man wanted from him. He made himself say the words, the words that were becoming easier and easier to say every time. "Because I’m a whore. That’s why I want it."

"Good." The man seemed satisfied as he stepped forward and began to unzip his pants. The other man came up behind Justin and began to stroke his hair in a parody of kindness. Justin merely kept still and opened his mouth dutifully.

After they were done, one ejaculating on Justin’s face and neck, the other in his mouth, they left him splayed out on the floor. True to their word, they did not touch him further.

Justin sought refuge in the corner and began to wonder what it would be like to die.

JC stood and stretched his body. He brought his hands up to his face and stared at his wrists.

Rope burns.

He flexed his hands and then walked to the mirror that hung on the wall. He studied his face for a moment, then brought his fingers up to lightly trace the bruise that seemed so prominent on the left side of his face. He smiled grimly. That had hurt.

Turning around he faced two men who looked at him expectantly.

"I think it’s time."

The first man nodded, and then he began to walk towards the door with the second man and JC close behind him.

As usual Justin was curled up in a corner of the room, shivering slightly. The first man walked to the middle of the room and spoke loudly. "Come here whore."

Justin painfully pushed himself up to his hands and knees and began to crawl towards the man. He would have preferred to walk, but he knew that his injured legs would not support him. When he reached the man, he stopped and pushed himself up on his knees, swaying slightly.

The second man pulled out a blindfold and walked behind Justin. With quick, efficient movements, he placed it over the young man’s eyes and tied it around his head.

Justin whimpered but otherwise made no movement to stop what was happening.

"Things are going to be different today. Today there won’t be any torture, unless of course you don’t cooperate. We’re having a special friend come in today. All you need to do is lie there for him. Keep your hands out to your side at all times. You can cry and scream all you want but you can’t talk. Do you think you can handle that?"

Justin nodded. Of course he could handle it. He was a whore.

The man nodded approvingly and helped Justin lie down on his back. Justin winced from the feel of the rough carpet against the still-healing open wounds on his skin. He immediately spread his arms to the side in an unconscious imitation of a crucifixion.

The second man spoke this time. "We’ll be here the entire time. Be good."

Again Justin just nodded. Why did they have to tell him to be good? He wouldn’t be any other way.

The first man sat down on the metal chair in the room while the second man leaned against the wall. They both turned as JC walked into the room and gave them a nod that showed he was immensely pleased.

The men returned the nod and then all eyes fell to the figure on the floor. His chest rose and fell with his breath, but otherwise he made no movements. JC looked at appreciatively at Justin’s battered body and then moved forward. He was already naked.

He straddled him; his knees on either side of Justin’s hips as he brought his hands up to his face. He caressed the beautiful face, usually so full of life, so full of energy. Now it was slack, the lips parted slightly in anticipation and fear. He leaned forward and captured those lips with his own and began to kiss him greedily. Justin’s mouth opened as he allowed JC full access. JC noted with satisfaction that although Justin was not kissing him back with any sort of pleasure, he was kissing him back.

Like a good whore.

JC’s hands dropped from Justin’s face to his throat. They danced there for a moment and then slowly began to move down the length of Justin’s body. When they reached down as far as they could, JC broke the kiss and stared. Justin was breathing more heavily now, but he still had not moved.

JC took a minute to stroke Justin’s outstretched arms, feeling the strength of the young man’s muscles underneath his fingertips. So strong. So useless now.

Then he shifted forward until his knees were on either side of Justin’s head. He put one hand behind Justin’s neck and lifted it slightly, then he pressed against him. Again, JC smiled with satisfaction as he watched and felt Justin’s reaction. He saw the mouth open and felt himself being taken into it. He began to pump in and out, slowly at first, then more quickly as his excitement grew. He knew that Justin could barely move in this position so he found himself doing all the work. Not that he minded. He continued to thrust into Justin’s hot mouth, watching in fascination as his cock disappeared into it over and over.

JC could feel his body begin to hum with excitement and he pulled out before he could come.

Wasn’t time yet.

Not ready.

He slid down the length of Justin’s body until he was lying in between his spread thighs. More satisfaction when he noticed that Justin automatically opened his legs for him.

Good. This was so good. Better than he had ever imagined. He brought his face to Justin’s chest and bit down on a nipple. Justin made a small sound in his throat and arched his back slightly. He turned to the other nipple and bit it also, sinking his teeth harder into this one. This time Justin arched his back and opened his mouth wide as he gasped. His hands became fists but they stayed stubbornly out at his sides.

JC lifted his head and was pleased to see that there was fresh blood on Justin’s chest.

Nice.

He leaned down and licked the side of Justin’s neck just seconds before he entered him. This time Justin could not hold back the sounds the pain. He screamed as his already torn body was entered yet again.

JC stayed still for a second and relished the feeling of being inside the younger man. Of being inside the man who called him friend. He was so damn hot, so damn tight. He wondered how tight Justin had been before the two men broke him in. The thought alone sent delicious shivers down his spine.

He began to move, relishing the contact and the moans and cries that indicated how much pain Justin was in. This is what he had wanted for so long. To see that angelic face in misery, to just once take the lilt out of Justin’s voice. He wanted to kill him, but only in a way that he would continue to live and to feel the pain of being dead.

It was over before too long. It had too be, the sensations were too great, too powerful. He thrust inside Justin one final time and came inside him. He wanted to yell, to shout out his triumph, but because he could not, he instead buried his face in Justin’s neck and bit him savagely.

He waited for his breathing to return to normal before he lifted his head. He felt the blood on his lips and clearly saw it on Justin’s throat. He had marked him. Probably permanently.

Justin’s body shook as if being assaulted by horrible cold. JC knew that he was in pain, but he was a little disappointed to see that Justin apparently hadn’t cried. JC shrugged and then pulled out of the younger man. Justin made no sound at all.

JC stood and surveyed his work. Then he motioned for the other two men to continue their roles.

The first man stood. "You don’t take the blindfold off until you’re told. Understand?"

Justin gave only the barest of nods to show that he heard.

With that, all three men walked out of the room.

As the door closed behind them, JC leaned against the wall for support. He spoke in soft tones, although he knew that he could not be heard. "I guess this is it. I want to thank both of you. You did an excellent job."

The first man smiled. "It was our pleasure. Believe me."

The second man looked at JC oddly. "Did you get what you wanted?"

JC ran his fingers through his hair and laughed softly. "I think I did."

"Do you mind telling us why? The real reason. Not the "because I can" shit."

JC looked up and questioned harshly, "Does it matter?"

The man simply shrugged. "No. Just curious."

JC looked away from them both, his eyes suddenly hard and cold. "Because I hate him." Then, in a voice so soft that neither of the men heard, he added, "And because I love him."

He turned back to them; his features set in a grim line. "You guys leave now, ok?"

The men nodded and shook hands with JC. Then they casually walked out of his life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Justin still had not taken off the blindfold, no one had told him to. He still lay on his back, his arms flung out carelessly at his sides. He could feel the fresh blood running down his legs and he thought, somewhat idly, that he might have to vomit.

He heard the door opening again and he sighed.

More.

They usually let him recover at least a little before they came back. Maybe he had failed. Maybe he hadn’t been a good whore. But he had done everything that the first man had told him to. He had never moved his arms, he had not spoken. Confusion consumed him and he did not even hear the footsteps approach him.

He jumped when he felt a hand at his shoulder, but instantly calmed when he heard a familiar, soothing voice.

"It’s me Justin. It’s just me."

"Jace?" he whispered.

"It’s me," he said as he carefully undid the blindfold. Justin blinked heavily against the sudden onslaught of light as his eyes sought out his friend.

"It’s going to be ok. They’re gone. They left and I called the police. We’re going to be fine." As JC talked, he lifted Justin’s head and placed it gently on his lap.

"We’re fine? No more?" Justin asked as he stared up at JC with tired, red-rimmed eyes.

JC was struck by the flat, emotionless tone in the younger man’s voice. He appeared so vulnerable, so broken. At least he had gotten his money’s worth.

"No more. You’re safe now."

JC watched as Justin’s eyes moved away from his and settled on the far wall. They seemed glassy and unfocused, as if Justin were in the tight grip of a fever. He realized that Justin’s lips were moving and in his curiosity he leaned down to listen.

"Whore…just a whore…" Justin whispered. He seemed to be repeating those same words over and over again, making them into a sort of wretched chant.

JC looked to where the sky should have been and for one infinitesimal moment, he felt the stirrings of guilt. They were gone as quickly as they came however and soon JC felt nothing but triumph. As he stared heavenwards and held the shaking body of his friend in his arms, JC smiled.