heytrueblue: (087)
[personal profile] heytrueblue
Who: Cooper Saunders with Justin Campbell and the rest of the squad sans Fin and Shannon
What: The Big Reveal
Where: Sam and Cooper's place
When: Friday evening

This week, it was Cooper's turn to be the host of what had become their frequent squad hangouts. Sam was home, but his apartment was pretty big (thanks to a doctor's wage) and he and Shannon's sister were out in the sitting room watching a movie while all the teens were in the living room with plenty of junk food to go around, the stereo pumping and Guitar Hero set up on the huge plasma TV mounted on the wall.

That night, Fin and Shannon were absent due to Fin's appendicitis and emergency surgery. Apparently he had what Shannon had nicknamed a 'rebel appendix' and he had been born with it different inside him, but ultimately it caused complications when it got infected. He was doing well, but needed to stay in hospital for a few more days on antibiotics. Although they invited Shannon to come along and Fin had urged him to go, Shannon was still shy about hanging out without Fin.

This time, however, Fin's best friend, Garrett, had come again and he had brought Shannon's best friend, Kip. The numbers had mostly balanced out again, but Justin was still absent. That is, so everyone - including Will - assumed. Cooper, living with Justin's uncle, had a little bit of inside information that he had to keep hushed. There was a small chance Justin may have been discharged late that afternoon, but nothing was set in stone. His folks had gone up to Four Winds for a family conference to discuss whether Justin was well enough to be discharged and dropped down to outpatient care. Sam said that Justin wanted to talk to his friends, and if he felt up to it, might drop by the hangout.

It wasn't looking like it would happen until Sam came through and pulled Cooper aside and said Justin had been discharged and wanted to drop in. In fact, he was on his way up with Mark as they spoke. For some reason, Cooper felt nervous for his friend. He didn't know why. Maybe because he had an awareness that it would probably be a huge thing to be discharged from a mental health hospital after a very public near-miss suicide attempt, and have to come back to facing everyone. It was a little bit like exile. It was hard. Damn hard.

Still, Justin had been gone for weeks now, and he was coming back... )

CAN BE A GROUP SCENE FROM NOW - COOPER NEEDS SKY, ETC.
likefatherlikeson: (203)
[personal profile] likefatherlikeson
Who: Justin Campbell, Kyan Wilson and everyone else at the Dirty Dancing opening night party
What: PARTY HARD
Where: Broadway, NYC
When: Saturday night

It was all about the understudies tonight with Caden arranging for the entire Footloose main cast to be able to be there for the opening night of Dirty Dancing. There was no doubt about it that they all had to be there to support Kyan, and wouldn't have missed it for the world. They were over the moon for him, and so proud. It went without saying - Kyan nailed the role of Johnny Castle. It had been a sell-out audience, and the standing ovation was totally deserved. Justin was bursting with pride. Kyan used to be his understudy, and despite a blip in the system with them in the early days, Justin couldn't be more proud of his friend now. It was clear why Caden 100% wanted Kyan for the role. He was the new Johnny Castle.

Needless to say, the after party was buzzing with excited guests before any of the actors and actresses from Caden's shows arrived. They had media and press obligations to see to before they could make it to the party, but they did eventually get there. The understudies from Footloose, Cinderella, and Grease would be able to come to the party once their own shows were done for the night. When Kyan and Louise arrived, with their supporting cast (including Skylar) arrived, it was time to really get the party started. Justin had ditched his expensive designer suit he had worn to the theatre for something more comfortable, and he came out to kick off the main party by getting everyone pumped singing Love Shack with Reecy and demanding everyone get up to dance.
truthrunswild: (007)
[personal profile] truthrunswild
Who: Finlay Bennett and everyone else invited
What: Karaoke Party
Where: @ Justin Campbell's place
When: Friday night

There was an ever-present voice at the back of Fin's head right now wondering if he did the right thing and kept his nose clean (literally, because half the world probably thought he woke up and snorted coke every day), he might be able to go back home in a few months for good behaviour. He had hardly said anything to his father after being picked up at the airport. Mostly because he didn't know what to say and it boiled down to mostly one word answers to anything his dad was asking. 'Are you warm?' Yes. 'Are you hungry?' No. 'Did you have a good trip?' I guess. 'Do you need more pillows?' No. 'Here's he wifi password' Thanks. He wasn't usually a surly or miserable kid. He was just feeling like an ant in a world of giants right now, lost and feeling like he was going to be squashed at any minute. The upheaval was tough, and it left him exhausted. When you wanted to nope the whole world, the best solution was to nap and hope it all went away.

When he woke up in the late afternoon, his dad asked him if he wanted to go to a karaoke party where one of his friend's kid was having one. Turns out, it was Justin Campbell, who Fin did know, of course, but wasn't at all knowledgeable on the theatre or Broadway world. He more just knew because Justin was socially-forward and a figurehead for teens in strife or having a tough time for whatever reason. Justin's dad was a friend of Fin's dad. He wasn't really interested in going and sitting in a roomful of strangers, but when his dad said the party would be 100% dry and clean, and Justin's parents would be there, Fin figured it would be a good step in the right direction of trying to prove he wasn't a drug addict, or dealer, or user.

His dad brought him over to the place, which was a huge and modern apartment, and then he went in to talk to his friends while Fin was left there playing the wallflower and not exactly sure what he should do. Justin came over and introduced himself and all Fin could think of when he listened was that Justin was hyped and spritely, like he had been hitting the large cans of Red Bull. Of course, Fin didn't know anything about Justin's condition. It was nice to be eagerly greeted, though. Then he asked Fin if he wanted a turn, and Fin found the karaoke mic thrust into his hand and Justin led him over the catalogue of songs.

Holy shit, it was a full on professional set up, not just your home SingStar shit. Fin just had to push a few buttons on the huge touchscreen to select a song. Justin asked him if he could sing, and explained that it didn't matter if he couldn't. Yeah, right. It didn't matter at a party of a Broadway superstar who had won a Tony Award at sixteen? Luckily for Fin, he could sing. He chose Africa by Toto because it was one of his favourite songs, and figured what the hell, may as well just bite the bullet, as awkward as he felt. And exposed not having his drum kit in front of him as a comfort zone.
thosethreewords: (Default)
[personal profile] thosethreewords
Who: The teenage people!
What: PARTY!
Where: Skylar's home
When: Monday night

Skylar was seriously pumped about this party. It had been postponed the week before because Justin had a bad day, and no one wanted to hang out for a party without him. They switched up the days to now in the wake of the frankly very fucking brilliant Christmas concert and flashmob, and Harry's ballet audition with Joffrey. There were things to celebrate. Skylar's parents knew he would behave himself, so they went up the street to his grandparents' place for the evening so he could have his friends over.

He was also happy that Cooper wasn't going back to Australia for the Christmas. Instead, his family were coming over here for a white Christmas (hopefully). That meant they could hang out a lot over the break from school for the holidays, and they planned on making the most of that. Skylar was so smitten with Cooper, he still couldn't believe his luck meeting him. It hadn't taken him to fall for him.

The party playlist he put together was pumping through the stereo system and one of the biggest piles of junk food that ever existed was laid out all over the place. Skylar flopped down on the sofa beside Cooper and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, giving him a kiss. "So, do you think we should grill Haz about his virgin status?" he asked Cooper with a smirk.
biggusdickus: (076)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Toby Preston Harry Matheson

Hi, dude - thanks for the add and the chat in class with Kolbs and me the other day. I heard you were sick, so I hope you're not feeling too bad. Maybe we can hang sometime?
thosethreewords: (011)
[personal profile] thosethreewords
J, dude... would you and Will be interested in coming up to my family's cabin at the lake for a few days? I know things are weird with you guys, but Cooper's coming and so is Toby and Kolbs. My aunt and uncle live a couple of properties over, so we wouldn't be alone if anything happened. It might be a cool way to just, I dunno, bury all the hatchets and get to know everyone better?
biggusdickus: (081)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Who: Toby Preston and Kolbie Bronson
What: That next step
Where: Toby's house
When: Sunday night

There was no school the next day. That was what was making this night possible. Toby and Kolbie had slept over each other's places since they started dating, but beyond playing Playstation, listening to music, watching movies, hanging out, talking and some making out, that was all it had been so far. Toby was still finding his feet being bi. He had gotten as far to realise that was what he was. He still had an attraction to girls all along, but then this seemingly stronger attraction to Kolbie had sparked and he had suddenly found himself kissing him. That was all a whole mess for a little while because it confused him. Once he started to talk it through with Kolbie, though, he got some clarity over the whole thing.

He tried watching some porn for the first time after that too. Both guy on girl and guy on guy stuff. Both of it got him hard. Things began to make sense for him. Above all of that, he was extremely attracted to Kolbie. He liked kissing him, holding his hand, sitting up close to him when they watched movies, lying together while they hung out. There had been a bit of experimenting. There was some over the clothes action when a make-out session got heated. Then they had fumbled their way through a couple of handjobs under their jeans. But neither had gotten the courage to take it further.

They wanted to, though. They had talked a little about one day doing it together. It seemed a given that they would try, but hadn't had the chance or the time for them to go at the pace they both needed to get to the next level. Like any guy thinking about gay sex, Toby was scared it would hurt or he wouldn't know what he was doing. But he was having frequent wet dreams about Kolbie and the boners were plentiful whenever they spent time together. Toby felt like he was ready. At the very least, they could just see if they were ready by trying, right?

So, his folks were going away overnight for their anniversary. He had been going to spend the night at Haley and Luke's, but he had gotten the courage to ask his parents if he could stay home and have Kolbie over. They gave him a Parental Unit Look, like they were reading his mind and knew what was he was saying here. But thank fuck they didn't make a big deal out of it. Though, his dad did pull himself as they were packing the car to leave and gave him a box of condoms, some lube, and told him to only do what felt right. Toby had stood there blushing furiously and then stuffed the items into the pocket of his hoodie and bid a hasty goodbye to them as they left.

Now Kolbie was here and they were lying on Toby's bed together with some music playing. Toby cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward and hesitant. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he finally got the balls to ask.
biggusdickus: (Default)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
So, um, my folks are out of town for tonight and I was supposed to stay with my sister, but they said if I'm good and don't trash the place or throw parties, you can stay over for the night and we can have the place to ourselves. If you want to, that is.
noreasontorun: (032)
[personal profile] noreasontorun
Who: Kolbie Bronson and Toby Preston
What: Plucking up courage
Where: Toby's place
When: Christmas Eve morning

Kolbie had to leave later that evening to fly home to Chicago for Christmas, but it was pretty cool that Toby's parents were fine with him coming over to hang out with Toby on Christmas Eve. He would be gone for nearly a week, so he was going to miss Toby like crazy. They had been spending a lot of time together, especially since Kolbie was enrolled in the same school he and Will went to. Will seemed a little bummed sometimes that Justin had been pulled from classes there to instead study with a tutor while he was in the show, but it had been a better move for Justin, whose grades had picked up a lot since attending school had been removed as a factor from his life.

He and Toby were lying there on their backs on Toby's bed, one earbud in each as they listened to the same music together while they read comics. They spent time together so easily now that Toby had relaxed a bit and wasn't in panic and run mode at the thought of being gay. Kolbie hadn't blamed him for that at all, he had just been confused and hurt. They talked about it, and Toby seemed to trust him with talking about private things. That meant a lot to Kolbie. Lately, though, there had been something on his mind a hell of a lot and he was starting to think he had a problem. Until he got the balls to speak to Justin about it. Now he just had to try and find a little more of that courage here.

There was a break between songs and that was when Kolbie pulled his earbud out and rolled onto his side, head propped up on his hand. "Can I talk to you about something? I mean, if you decide you don't want to talk about it, that's cool too. I just, um... there's something I've been thinking about a lot."
biggusdickus: (015)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Who: Toby Preston and Kolbie Bronson
What: "It was over my head, I know nothing at all."
Where: Outside Luke's bar
When: Thursday morning

Toby was beyond nervous. His hands were shaking, his palms were sweating, and he felt like he was going to throw up as he paced back and forth on the steps out the front of Luke's bar. Sometime the evening before, he had finally plucked up the courage to send Kolbie a private messages through Facebook. He asked if he could be able to meet him there at Luke's bar the next morning, though he added his typical insecure disclaimer that he would understand if Kolbie didn't want to come.

The thing was, Kolbie hadn't replied, but it had been sort of late when Toby sent it. Kolbie hadn't started school yet, and Toby was going to ditch but Haley sprung him at it when she dropped by on her way to work to see if he wanted her to drive him to school. In a bit of a case of verbal diarrhoea (he was guilty of it when he was nervous), he had spilled what he was up to and Haley had stepped up to the big sisterly plate for him, calling the school to tell them Toby was sick and wouldn't be in class that day. She made sure she told him he owed her one, and then with a small smirk, gave him a single condom and kissed his head before leaving for work.

When he turned to pace back along the same step again, this time he found Kolbie standing at the bottom of them, and he baulked so sharply, he nearly tripped over. He had just been in the process of convincing himself Kolbie wouldn't come and who could blame him? Then he was there, and maybe his track record for not really thinking wasn't that good, but he was descending the stairs quickly and yet again, he grabbed Kolbie's face in his hands and kissed him... but this time, he didn't pull away.
morethantheeyecansee: (011)
[personal profile] morethantheeyecansee
Who? Toby Preston and Eddie Bronson
What?
Big brothers looking out for little brothers
When? Saturday, late morning
Where? The Bondi

The fact was that Jace's group of friends in New York were closely interwoven, and it had only taken a short while for Eddie to get acquainted with people like Luke, who ran the Bondi, a bar/live music venue where many of Jace's friends went on the weekends... or even during the week. It just so happened that the tattoo parlor where Jace worked was right by Luke's bar, and after having gone by the parlor to see Jace and take him a cup of tea since he was out and about, Eddie had decided to stop into the Bondi and say hello to Luke.

The bar was open most of the day... Running from around lunch time until the wee hours of the morning, and Eddie was walking by right as Luke was opening the doors, so it worked out perfectly, and he went inside, having a short chat to the Aussie before he went back to making sure that things were ready to go.

It was only then that Eddie caught sight of a dark head of hair that turned around to reveal a face that Eddie knew only from photos. So maybe he was an extremely overprotective big brother, but he had definitely gone onto Facebook and found the kid in question who'd kissed and subsequently run away from Kolbie. So he immediately made his way over to him and said, "Hey... are you Toby Preston?" He figured he might as well be sure, considering there seemed to be an abundance of identical twins around here.
mrpublicity: (050)
[personal profile] mrpublicity
Who: Aiden Preston-Lewis and Toby Preston
What: A little bit of advice
Where: Lewis & Co HQ
When: Saturday

Things were crazy. Beyond crazy. Shit had hit the fan from all angles, and Aiden found himself needing to work overtime just to keep on top of things. Which was fine, because Patrick had been well the last few months so he had been putting in more hours at the hospital himself too. Right now, Aiden had crap all over the place in his office because he had all the Electricks boys, Angel and Damien headed for the VMAs, where 'Operation Beard' (as they had fondly come to term it) would be in full force with Raven and Lori on the arms of Chase and Axel. Then there was everything with Justin, which was breaking Aiden's heart because there was so much damage control to do while the poor kid was still in a coma.

He was just finishing a telephone conference regarding a press release for a charity concert the Electricks lads had done in San Francisco for gay rights and as soon as he hung up the phone, his Receptionist buzzed through to him. "Toby Preston here to see you, boss," she told him and Aiden's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Toby? Patrick's young cousin was here to see him? Of course, Aiden's stomach did a little nervous flip that something might be wrong, but instead of jumping to conclusions, he got up from his desk and went through to the foyer of his office.

"Toby? Come through, kiddo. What's up?" he asked and then thanked his Receptionist, asking her to hold all calls for now. Toby got up and came over, and he put a hand down on his shoulder with a soft squeeze. "You okay? You want a Coke?"
noreasontorun: (Default)
[personal profile] noreasontorun
Who: Kolbie Bronson and Toby Preston
What: Chance meeting in painful circumstances
Where: Intensive Care, Mount Sinai
When: Mid morning after Justin's relapse

Kolbie had a sick feeling in his belly like he wanted to throw up. The guy who had answered the door to him at Evan and Jace's place was real nice, apparently Evan's boyfriend, but as soon as he explained to Kolbie that his big brother wasn't there because he was at the hospital trying to get information on 'an old family friend from Chicago called Justin', there was that horrible sinking feeling that had Kolbie falling quiet. Of course, he didn't object when Christian offered to take him to Eddie at the hospital, explaining he was on the way there to start a shift himself. He was quiet the whole way to the hospital, following along obediently as he wondered why Eddie hadn't told him that he found Justin in New York.

When they got there, they continued on to the Intensive Care Unit. This was where all the really sick people were and Kolbie was scared and not sure what to think. He tried to convince himself that it was okay, because Christian said this was the unit he worked in (fuck only knew how anyone could do that job, though) so maybe that was why he had brought Kolbie here in particular. He didn't want to think about it being the possible location Justin was. Christian led him to a visitors' waiting room outside the hefty security doors that led into the actual unit, because only family were allowed in there apparently. He was told to sit quietly and stay put until he found Eddie and brought him here. Apparently the hospital was fucking huge and if he went wandering off, it would be hard to find him.

Kolbie wasn't going to go wandering off. He didn't want to get lost here, he was already scared enough. He sat down nervously and awkwardly on one of the seats. There were a few people here in there in the room, he wasn't alone. In fact, just a couple of seats along from him was a guy that looked around his age and he was going to take a random stab in the dark, even if it might mean failing and embarrassing himself. "Are you here to see Justin too?" he asked him hesitantly.
biggusdickus: (077)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
... the fuck?

I've changed my mind, I don't wanna date. It looks like it feels like too much of a kick in the nuts.
likefatherlikeson: (097)
[personal profile] likefatherlikeson
"I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist, like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier."

• Chandelier, Sia


It was only three weeks until Footloose was due to open on Broadway with Justin in the lead as Ren McCormack, and he had been working his ass off. He had sunk his body, heart, and soul into getting it right and on the outside, the impression everyone was getting was that he was owning it. On stage, he did. On stage, he stepped into the character, could hige behind a mask, and he turned into something else. Inside, it was a very, very different story... and one that Justin hadn't spoken to a soul about.

Everything started well, and he not only got along really well with his fellow castmates, but also the crew. At least at first. That was until one of the older castmates who played one of Ren's schoolmates hit on Justin backstage, and he had no intentions of taking no for an answer. When Justin freaked out and snapped, it ended in an altercation of Justin punching the guy and knocking him out, and it all went downhill from there. The guy tried to make out like Justin had anger issues and couldn't handle the pressure of the lead, spreading rumours on Facebook that Justin tried to hit on him because he felt threatened that the guy could take the lead from him. Luckily for Justin, no one believed the guy, who eventually quit in a tantrum because no one was backing him, but it had caused cracks in Justin's foundation that were going to prove to crumble rapidly.

The director and producer of the Broadway reprisal knew about Justin's bipolar... )
likefatherlikeson: (032)
[personal profile] likefatherlikeson
Had a really miserable couple of days, then Will and Toby came over to surprise me with a pile of dude movies and too much junk food to be legal to cheer me up.
biggusdickus: (Default)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Justin's taken me off his friends list. I must have said something really bad to piss him off today without realising. Damnit :( Thought I actually had a cool friend for a minute there.
likefatherlikeson: (074)
[personal profile] likefatherlikeson
Who: Justin Carlisle and Will Jackson
What: Tobyvention
Where: Central Park, NYC
When: Two days after the party fail

Justin was feeling a lot better today than he had since he arrived in New York. He had rested the entire day before with his dad and then went to bed early after some chicken soup for dinner where he slept all night and didn't wake up until after 10am. Even then, despite being awake, he stayed lying in bed reading Harry Potter for about an hour longer. Of course his dad came and checked on him, making sure he was feeling better, but just told Justin he didn't have to get up if he didn't feel like it, and if he felt like he needed to rest, then he did. But there was also an added disclaimer that Mark had made a doctor's appointment for him for the following day to check on his health after all the substance abuse and also discuss things Justin might need to start getting better. Justin hated doctors, but this guy was apparently nice and worked at the hospital with his Uncle Sam, so that was okay. His dad was doing some work in his office and Justin took a long, hot shower and when he got out, he found a couple of messages there from Toby asking if they could meet in Central Park for a hot dog at lunch time, and then a follow-up message from Toby saying he wasn't letting Justin just stop being his friend because he could be a pain in the arse when he wanted to be.

'It's up to you, kiddo. But I want you back here and sober by three,' were Mark's conditions and even then, Justin wasn't sure he wanted to go out. Toby was relentless, though, and with a sigh, Justin finally texted him back and said he could come out for a couple of hours, but that he wasn't a fan of hot dogs so Toby was on his own there. It was Justin's first time to Central Park, so that should be cool. His dad walked him down to the large fountain that Toby explained in his texts and then said he would meet him six benches down from some statue because the hot dog vendor there was the best one. Mark left him to it, making sure once again to get Justin to call him if he needed him or wanted to come home. Justin nodded, promising he was okay and wouldn't fuck up again this time. As far as he knew, he would just hang with Toby for a little while and then go back home to read his book again.

He had his hands stuffed in his pockets walking down the path counting out the benches. When he got to the fifth, and then the sixth, he looked up to glance around for Toby, who promised he would be there. That was when Justin's blue eyes landed not on Toby sitting on the sixth bench, but... Will. The other guy was sitting there scuffing his feet back and forth on the path underneath him, and right when Justin baulked and was about to turn and run, Will spotted him in return. There was only a few feet between them, and no Toby in sight. It suddenly hit Justin what the hell had happened here, and Toby should have been grateful he wasn't there because Justin really wanted to kick him up the ass.
biggusdickus: (082)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Finally make a decent friend who doesn't think I'm a stupid loser, and it gets fucked up for something that wasn't even my fault. I'm going to bed. Wake me next year.
biggusdickus: (024)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
I know you're, like, ignoring my texts and everything right now, but you don't need to. I just wanna know you're okay, dude.
biggusdickus: (077)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
Who: Toby Preston, Justin Carlisle, Will Jackson and Layla Morton
What: Something like kismet
Where: Party
When: Friday night

When Will had told Toby about the party one of the girls was throwing at the school Toby would now - confirmed - be going to soon, he had been really, really reluctant. He wasn't even sure he was up to it considering he had just been discharged from hospital the evening before and basically slept all day on Haley's couch because he stayed there due their folks having a work dinner they had to go to. He had told Will a couple of times he wasn't sure he wanted to go, but when Will arrived at Haley and Luke's ready for the party Luke was driving him to, Toby agreed to tag alone for an hour or two when Haley gently suggested it might be a nice way for him to suss out some of the kids he would be going to school with.

But a last moment of panic for Toby that all the kids would be just as big assholes as at his old school had Toby quickly texting Justin and telling him he had to come too so they could be newbies together. Justin was also confirmed to be being enrolled in this school now he was staying in New York with his dad. If Toby needed the chance to suss out these kids, so did Justin and at least they could go in as a united front. Justin hadn't been sure either. He said he had a big day and was really tired, but Toby literally begged him at that point, and Justin had agreed to meet him there.

The party was in full swing by the time Will and Toby arrived. Will broke off to hang with Layla and they started to dance together, so Toby was relieved when Justin arrived, immediately going up to him so they could face this scariness together. They felt out of place, though, and Justin suggested they should dance too rather than hovering on the outskirts like losers. But that was when Toby found himself sort of ditched when this hot chick who looked like a cheerleader cut in and started to dance with Justin. Toby lost sight of him then, so he wasn't sure where the hell Justin went, and ended up just moving off the dancefloor to sit on the sofa by himself. Someone excitedly suggested Spin the Bottle then, and Toby had zero intentions of getting involved in that. Hew as tired and his head was hurting, so he sat there seriously considering texting Haley and getting her to come get him already.
biggusdickus: (082)
[personal profile] biggusdickus
I'm sick of this place. I want out. The only decent person to talk to was gone after one night, and no one gets that I freaking hate green jello.

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