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RAY PASSED A JOINT TO JJ WHO LIT THE END WITH HIS LIGHTER, BEGINNING TO INHALE WHEN THE JOINT WAS SNATCHED FROM HIS LIPS.

JJ narrowed his eyes at Xavier who was holding it in between his fingers. "Dude, what the hell?" he asked.

"I get first puff," Xavier replied, placing the joint between his lips.

"Says who?" JJ asked.

"Uh, I'm the older half-brother, it's within my rights," Xavier stated.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't realize there were rights," JJ sassed. "What's mine?"

"You don't get any."

"Why?"

"I don't like you."

"You're in the very low range of people who don't."

"Well, they don't see you're an asshole."

"And this is coming from a fellow asshole."

Trevor looked to Ray and Chet. "Is that a daily thing for them?" he asked.

Chet nodded while Ray answered, "Daily, weekly, sometimes hourly."

"It's their thing to argue over stupid shit," Chet stated but the Plymptons heard them and both flipped him the bird. "And they do that a lot too."

Brooke suddenly walked over. "God, did you guys see that?" she asked, pointing to the T.V. that changed to a commercial.

Chet sat beside JJ as he said, "Oh, I love this one."

"Oh, this is the...the..." Trevor began.

"'Where's the beef?'" JJ and Chet answered with a small laugh.

As Montana sat on the other side of JJ with a beer in her right hand while her left rested on JJ's thigh, rubbing circles, Brooke said, "No, there was a murder at the gas station. The one we stopped at. They're saying it could be the same guy who attacked me." Brooke gasped. "Oh, my God. He's coming after me."

"And this is a different killer from the killer on the phone?" Xavier asked, making most in the room chuckle. "The one with the keys?"

"I'm not making this up," Brooke stated.

"Boys and girls," someone spoke, everyone turned to see it was Margaret who came in from the back door entrance. "Together after dark."

"Ms. Booth, I think we're in danger," Brooke told her.

"Yes. We are in danger," Margaret stated. "From sin."

"Brooke's just jumpy 'cause she got a prank call," Xavier replied. "It freaked her out."

"Well, the locals think I'm crazy for reopening this camp to create a sanctuary of fresh air and exercise to purify the soul. But I refuse to let fear dictate my life." She looked around at everyone. "We've got a big day tomorrow. Lights out in exactly minutes. The boys will leave," Margaret said, grabbing Montana and JJ's beers. "And remove themselves from temptation."

JJ stood up as Trevor called, "Let's go, boys."

"Go. Okay. Hop to it," Margaret urged them out except for JJ and Xavier.

As JJ was about to leave the cabin, Montana grabbed his arm. "Hey, leave a window open for me tonight," she told him quietly.

"You sneaking in to see me?" JJ asked with a smile.

"Yeah, you're going to finish what you started down at the lake, Cub," she whispered, pushing his hair out of his face before pressing a quick chaste kiss to his neck.

"You gonna make us pray the boners away?" Xavier asked Margaret which made Montana and JJ quietly chuckle.

Margaret turned to Xavier with an annoyed look. "A clean body is a clean mind. How many times do I have to go over the rules?" She snatched his joint, throwing it outside. "Boys shower at night. No exceptions. Now go wash the filth off so you can wake up pure and refreshed for morning prayer."

With that JJ and Xavier walked out but not before JJ glanced back to Montana holding to fingers open to V on both sides of her mouth before tongue between them behind Magaret's back.

JJ walked ahead with the grin of an idiot.

"What's up with you?" Xavier asked.

"Nothing," JJ answered before hurrying towards the guy's cabin where the boys were getting their stuff.

Everyone but Xavier got their stuff and walked to the showers in the dark.

"I can't see shit," Xavier stated, despite shining his flashlight. "If you had to give up one of your five senses, which one would it be?"

"Smell. Definitely," Ray answered.

"Yeah, but then you could never smell bacon," Chet added before nudging JJ. "What about you, dude?"

"I don't know," JJ answered. "All I know is Montana's skin smells like vanilla frosting. We had a real connection down there at the lake. Like..." He grinned. "I don't know how to describe it.

"A meeting of souls?" Trevor suggested.

JJ only eagerly nodded. "That woman teases me to no end but fuck. I never wanted someone so bad in my life."

Trevor patted his back. "First base never felt so good, huh?" he asked.

"If he gets dibs on Montana, I get first shot at Brooke," Ray stated.

"Wait, who does that leave for me?" Chet asked.

"Margaret," Trevor answered.

"Or Rosy Palm," Ray added.

Xavier shook his head with a laugh as they walked into the showering area. "Don't even think about going after my girl Chef Bertie. You want to talk about connection, she's the one."

As all the guys put their clothes and towels on the benches and hooks, Xavier looked in the showers and all around with his flashlight. "What the hell? Where are the towels and little soaps?" Xavier asked.

"You know this isn't a spa, right?" Trevor told him.

"He thinks he's classy," JJ remarked, already removing his cap and shoes.

"I'm more classy than you, stripper," Xavier told his half-brother, shining the flashlight in his eyes before heading to exit out. "I'm gonna go get my beach towel. Save me some hot water."

"Yes, ma'am," Ray told him making Ray and JJ laugh.

"Beach towel?" Trevor questioned.

JJ just shrugged. "I don't know. He packs his own things," he stated, removing his shirt as Chet removed his shorts. "Hey, nice tighty whities, Chety."

Chet gave him a look while Trevor and Ray laughed until the lights were suddenly shut off.

As Xavier was walking back to the cabin, the lights closeby him suddenly shut off as well.

The man glanced around in confusion shining his flashlight until someone quickly grabbed him.

And before he knew it, Xavier was shoved in the back seat of a car. A man sitting beside him closing the door which was who Xavier recognized.

"What the hell, Blake?" Xavier questioned.

"That name is reserved for business associates and acquaintances. My boys never call me that," the man, Blake, stated as he put a cigarette in between his lips.

Xavier resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Fine," he huffed before changing his tone as Blake held his cigarette out to him which Xavier took. "What the hell, Daddy? You know, it's illegal to threaten someone over the phone. Not to mention stalking them."

As Xavier took a small puff before cringing and stamping the cigarette out on the door while Blake stated, "You always underestimate yourself, X. That is your problem. But you are a goddamn Rembrandt. Do you think that I would give up a Rembrandt?"

Xavier paused, trying to think his words over. "Look, I'm grateful for all that you've done for me-"

"I found you in MacArthur Park," Blake cut him off. "A needle in your arm, your blue jeans damp from your own piss. I cleaned you up, inside and out."

Xavier remembers that, of course. It was a year, nearly 3 years ago before he and JJ lived together. JJ was making a living at just Chippendale's at the time and Xavier didn't have much and got addicted to some pretty bad drugs. He lost contact with JJ and his father at the time.

When Blake found him, Xavier saw how much of a mess he was, he called JJ and asked (formed in a proposition) if they could live together, to save money as Xavier said. JJ agreed and offered to help his older half-brother get some work but Xavier declined, letting his distastefulness for JJ take over, saying he would find his own thing that didn't sink so low to being a male stripper (even though he was half-joking).

Xavier didn't know it can get any lower than that until Blake asked him if he needed work.

"Little piece of advice, by the way," Blake continued. "If you're trying to run away, don't leave a forwarding address for your paychecks at the aerobics studio. You are as dumb as you are pretty." Blake held up a VHS tape labeled 'The X-Man Cometh'. "And you are very, very pretty."

"You promised me I only had to do one," Xavier said, slightly tearing up. "I'm not gay."

"Gay for pay, baby," Blake replied.

'I'm working so hard to be a real actor. You think Michael J. Fox ever did gay porn?" Xavier asked. "Tom Selleck?"

"You think you're too good for me?" Blake asked, now fulling to Xavier. "I've seen your half-brother, X." Xavier's face fell in worry. "JJ, right? Especially when he works at his nightly job." He slowly licked his lips, thinking it over almost in hunger. "Could be just what I'm looking for. When I tell him about your situation and how I found you, I'm sure he'll be glad to help."

"No, please," Xavier practically begged. "Not him, not my brother. He can't know. You told me you'd leave him out of this. He's not-He doesn't want to do it. He won't do it."

"He's family, he cares about you," Blake stated, once again getting the VHS tape close to Xavier. "I am very persuasive and...descriptive."

Xavier still shook his head, pleading.

"Why are you betting a one-in-a-million chance on mainstream success when I am here offering you stardom?" Blake asked.

Xavier wiped his eyes, opening his car door, climbing out. "Fuck this. I'm not doing it."

As Xavier tried to run away, Blake got out in time and shoved Xavier to the ground, holding his hand to the Plympton boy's throat.

"You're gonna do what Daddy says," Blake told him. "Or I'm gonna send copies of that tape to all your friends, to little JJ, and your bosses at that dance studio. I might hunt down that drunk mother of yours, send a copy to her."

"And what if I could get you someone better to replace me?" Xavier asked. "Not me. Not JJ." Blake paused. "The next John Holmes. Even bigger."

Blake hummed, standing up to let Xavier breathe. "Huh. Show me."

Meanwhile, in the shower area, Jeopardy by the Greg Kihn Band played on Trevor's radio that was sitting on a bench with the three boys washed themselves down.

JJ was washing his chest with his soap when Trevor spoke, "Takes more than it gives." JJ noticed that Chet was eyeing Trevor's penis. "Cost me that Jane Fonda video. Most girls can't handle it."

Now JJ isn't the type of guy to look at a man's junk in the shower but he glanced down at Trevor's and nearly gaped.

JJ had a good size of his own but now he felt slightly insecure, now he understands why girls like Montana would wanna bang him.

"And when you get a boner, you get light-headed from the lack of blood to your brain," Ray joked, making JJ laugh.

"So, what do you guys do for work?" Trevor asked.

"You already know what I do," JJ answered. "But other times, I'm an aerobics instructor."

"Come on, dude. We know you dig singles out of your asshole at your nightly job?" Chet joked.

"My asshole only takes twenties, thank you," JJ fired back with a small laugh.

"I'm in the medical field," Ray answered Trevor's question.

Chet laughed. "Sure, you are."

"What?" Ray questioned.

"He wipes drool off of brain-dead corpses."

"Don't call them corpses, man. They're human beings. They're...they're still aware. They're just in a coma," Ray answered.

"Yeah. A vegetative state," Chet remarked.

"They can probably hear and feel you helping them, Ray," JJ spoke.

Ray nodded. "There's even an entire hit song written about it. 'Coma Chameleon'."

"What?" Trevor questioned.

"Yeah. Check the lyrics out," Ray stated.

JJ chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I know that one."

Together he and Ray sang it loud and proud to which Trevor told them, "Hey, hey, shut up, man. That's gonna be in my head all day long."

Outside of the showers, Blake was watching through a small hole in the wall at Trevor. "That's no cock," Blake told Xavier. "That's an act of God."

As Blake turned back to watch Trevor, Xavier quietly snuck away before running.

In the area, all the guys shut off the water before going over to their stuff, drying off.

Minutes later, Ray was the last one to dry off and exit the area.

As JJ grabbed pulled his new shirt back on, almost, fully dressed, Ray suddenly yelled out, "Help!" Everyone ran outside to see the man, Blake, was still kneeling outside but he had a stake through his skull and wasn't moving.

"Holy fuck," JJ mumbled in shock.

"Jesus Christ," Ray mumbled. "Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ."

"Stop saying that, man," Chet told him.

"Everyone just chill out," Trevor told the guys.

"Do either of you know who he is?" Chet asked.

"He's the dead guy with a fucking hole in his head," Ray nearly snapped.

JJ moved to glance at the side of his face. "I think I've seen him before but I don't know who he is," he answered.

"Why's he here?" Chet asked.

"Does that even fucking matter?" JJ said.

"I don't know!"

Chet picked up a broken branch nearby, poking the man in the back, getting no response before looking to Ray. "Shouldn't you check his pulse or something?"

"Yeah, you're in the medical field, check," JJ added.

Ray hesitantly stepped forward, pressing his fingers to the man's jugular. "He's dead," he told everyone. "You happy?"

The man's body fell back onto the ground, the wooden stake going completely through his skull.

JJ looked away in disgust while Ray turned away, gagging before emptying his stomach while Trevor glanced in the hole the man was staring in.

"Oh, shit," Trevor spoke. "I think he was checking me out."

Brooke and Montana suddenly approached.

Brooke gasped as she saw the body. "Jesus Christ!"

"Oh, now here she goes," Trevor mumbled.

Just then, Xavier rushed back over seeing Blake dead. "Holy shit! Is he...?" he began. "Oh, God. W...We have to help him. Somebody do something. We have to call an ambulance."

"X, he's dead, dead," JJ told his half-brother. "We got to call the cops."

As Xavier tried to approach the body, Trevor snapped, "Don't touch the body. People might think you're involved."

"Why would anyone think I'm involved?" Xavier suspiciously asked. "I've never met this guy in my life."

"What happened to him?" Montana asked.

"Somebody put a spike through his head," Trevor answered.

Montana looked to Brooke. "You were right."

Right about what?" Chet asked.

"That guy, the Night Stalker. Brooke said she saw him down by the dock."

"He attacked me," Brooke answered as JJ looked over the body from a distance.  "And there was a body in the lake."

"We need to find Margaret," Chet uttered.

"We got to book it," Montana added.

"Like, right now," Brooke whimpered.

"Uh, guys," JJ spoke in fear. "I don't think this was the Night Stalker." When everyone looked at him, he pointed to his left ear that was missing and there was nothing but a bloody mess.

At the sound of keys jingling closeby, Montana grabbed JJ's arm.

"It's Jingles," Chet spoke softly.

"Let's get the fuck out of here," Ray hissed.

"My van," Xavier uttered.

Montana interlocked JJ's fingers with hers as everyone ran towards where Xavier led the group.

They made it to the staff parking lot, rushing into the van, everyone piling in the back while Trevor moved to the passenger's side and Xavier sat in the driver's side, starting up the engine.

The engine wasn't turning over as Ray panicked, "I can't unsee that shit! It was gray matter coming out of his head, man!"

"Who gives a shit?!" Montana snapped. "Xavier, just drive!"

"Go, bro!" JJ yelled but the engine still wasn't turning over.

"It's not gonna start. We're stuck here!" Brooke exclaimed.

"I can't die with a guilty conscience. I totally did those steroids," Chet whimpered.

"Yeah, we all fucking know!" Montana yelled.

Xavier turned his key one last time and finally, the engine started making everyone cheer.

Xavier reversed the van before stopping.

"Fuck you, Camp Redwood!" Montana cheered.

"Go, dude. You got this!" JJ added to Xavier who smirked.

The van jolted forward towards the entrance but Rita who ran in front of the van made Xavier quickly turn the wheel.

As the front of the van nearly collided with another car, JJ held his arms out in front of both Brooke and Montana to stop them from flying forward just as the van smashed into the side of Magaret's car.

Everyone climbed out to check on Rita who was on the floor nearby.

"Rita? Are you okay?" Brooke asked as she and JJ helped her stand but she was groaning in pain.

"Can you sit up?" JJ asked but with a struggle, they helped her stand.

"Shit. That's Margaret's car," Trevor pointed out. "That ain't buffing out."

"He's in the infirmary," Rita spoke up.

"What?" Brooke questioned.

"I thought I locked the door, but then I heard it...the jingling," Rita answered. "He's back."

"Oh, fuck," Chet cursed as Xavier got back in the van, trying to start it up again but the engine wasn't turning over. "Dude! Dude! It's dead," Chet told him.

"We're all gonna be dead if we don't get the fuck out of here," JJ added.

"I got a car. It's a Rabbit, though. We won't all fit," Rita stated.

"I got my Ninja, but, uh, I...I mean, I can fit someone on the back," Trevor answered.

"What's a Ninja?" Brooke asked.

"A badass motorcycle," Montana answered.

"One problem...my keys are in the cabin," Trevor answered.

"I got to get my keys, too. Somebody come with me," Rita stated.

"There are two crazed killers roaming around that camp. And you want us to go back?" Ray questioned.

"It's fucking stupid but what else can we do?" JJ asked.

"I'm not going alone," Rita added.

"You bunch of pussies. I'll go," Montana stated.

"We should all go. Two groups," Chet added. "I mean, we're no safer out here in the open."

"He's right," Trevor agreed. "Montana, JJ, Xavier with me. The rest of you with Rita. Get the keys, get your asses back here. Got it? Let's go."

And with that JJ split off away from everyone else with Xavier, Montana, and Trevor.

***

The group of four made it to the cabin, Xavier was pacing, Trevor was looking for his keys and JJ and Montana were keeping watch by the window.

"I shouldn't have come here," Xavier spoke.

"Yeah. Okay. Bad idea overall," Montana stated.

"Trevor, how's it coming?" JJ asked.

Trevor dropped his keys in his pocket. "Got 'em," he answered.

"Let's go," Montana spoke.

All of them about to leave until Trevor saw Xavier sink to the floor beside one of the bunks. "Dude, we got to go."

Xavier shook his head, holding his hand to his stomach. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to get away, have a fun summer...A-A little fresh air, some canoeing, archery...."

JJ approached him. "I think he's having a panic attack," he told Montana and Trevor.

"Why are you wigging out?" Montana asked Xavier. "Now is not the time."

"'Cause all this is my fault," Xavier stated, tearing up. "That guy in the showers. I knew him. His name was Blake. He came here because of me..." He motioned to his half-brother. "And he was going to go after you but I stopped him. Now...Now he's dead."

JJ kneeled in front of Xavier, adjusting the hat on his head. "What do you mean, bro?" JJ asked. "Xav, who was that guy?"

"I didn't want to tell you this but he saved me. And I screwed him over," Xavier cried.

JJ thought it over, Xavier's symptoms after he proposed moving in together. A co-worker at the club who had quit doing heroin was constantly vomiting, had night sweats...JJ knew because he was his mentor at the time and he went through the same symptoms he saw Xavier go through (even though Xavier said it was just the stomach flu).

"Did, you had a drug problem, X?" JJ asked.

Xavier shamefully nodded and continued, "And I...was a shitty brother to you since you were born. I didn't mean to be."

"Xavier, it's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment but-" JJ tried to say, grabbing his arm but that didn't stop Xavier from saying what he wanted to say.

"I blamed you for mom and dad splitting up and everything that went wrong in my life," Xavier said, his voice cracking. "I'm so sorry. All of this...is my punishment."

Everyone tried to calm him down but a pounding on the door made everyone jump.

"We're all gonna die," Xavier said.

JJ glanced back at the door in fear as the pounding only got louder.

***

I lowkey love JJ and Xavier's bond.