Never quite the same...

Since he had lost the man he had loved, Stephen Farrelly, the man now named Wade Barrett had wondered what it was like to die with a broken heart. He had been sent to Manchester, England which was home to a private boarding school that his own father had hoped would teach him how to be cut off from everyone. It was also closer to the action of the Barrett family, something that would work for his advantage. There had been things that had happened to him there that he would never tell a soul, things that had changed who he was as a human being and not for the better.


Walking into the lounge room after grabbing a cup of coffee, Wade saw his young friend Justin Gabriel. They had once been close, best friends who would tell each other everything, along with Heath Slater and Stephen Farrelly. But Wade had grown cold, distant. He had learned not to let anyone get to close to him for fear that they would hurt him like he had been hurt so many other times. Sitting down on his black leather reclining chair, Wade picked up the newspaper and began to read.

Watching Wade cautiously as he walked into the room Justin sat there wondering, for what was already probably the millionth time, what exactly had happened to change Wade so much. He wasn't going to say anything, but kept watching until the Englishman sat down and began reading his newspaper before slowly looking back down at his drawing pad.
Justin slowly picked up his pencil again, drawing absent-mindely as he thought about Heath, who was currently back in America.

For years now he and Heath had been lovers, though not even Wade was aware of it. After seeing how Wade's father had reacted to his own son having another male as a lover, Heath & Justin had decided to keep their relationship secret. By the time Wade had returned from Manchester and killed his father, they were so used to keeping it a secret that they didn't bother telling him.

Justin felt weird being left alone with only Wade, so used to having Heath around and once also Stephen around. He felt almost uncomfortable being around this new, colder Wade without Heath beside him and was tempted to leave the room, though he knew if he did that he'd just get called back to explain.
He continued staring out the window as he drew, not even aware he was doing so.

Wade felt the strange awkwardness in the room but didn't know how to respond. He had once been best friends with them. There would be laughing, merriment and probably a drinking game. However, since Stephen had been sent away and Wade had been sent to the hell hole he called Manchester, there was something silent and cold about him. He held no joy in his heart. All the joy had been sucked away while in school.

Looking up from his paper, he looked over at Justin. He wanted to say something, to break the awkwardness. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "How are you?"

Wade nodded and looked at the paper once again as he spoke, "I'm doing well. I haven't talked to you in...in a while." the truth of the matter was he couldn't remember the last time he had actually sat down and spoke to anyone about anything. He kept everything bottled up inside until he couldn't handle it himself. He could tell his friend was nervous and took a deep breath. "How...how is work going?" he asked softly.

Wade frowned at Justin's words about work. He had let Heath go to America for several reasons, both personal and work related. He had forgotten all about the two being best friends and hadn't thought about how his own moodiness was affecting those around him. Slowly, he spoke up, "No...but I know what it's like to miss someone. Sorry I've been so...distant. There's just been a few things that I'm...I'm dealing with..."

Wade sat in silence for a moment. That question, about what was going on with him, had sent something through him. He knew how sensitive his old friend was and he knew that if half of the things that had happpened to himself reached his ears, Justin would be a mess. Softly, he spoke up, "Its....its probably best you don't know..."

Wade sighed as he watched Justin leave, putting his head in his hands. He was use to being alone but he didn't like it. He had hoped Justin was close enough to him to help him get over this anger and hatred in his heart. He hated the man he had become, the hatred he had in his own heart.

Wade had went up to his office to try and do some work before the day got started. He would stay in here as long as he could, not letting anyone bother him or let him stop himself from doing his job.

Wade took a deep breath, running his hand through his hair, "What do you want Justin?" he didn't need to see who it was. Somehow he knew without asking.

Wade sighed to himself and got up, opening the door and smiling a soft way at Justin. He should have realized how upset and bored his friend had been here lately. "What...whats up?"

Wade laughed a bit, looking at Justin, "You really think I would learn by now. I meant with yourself. What has been going on?"

Wade chuckled a bit, "Well that sounds about right. But you always seem to have something interesting going on."

"That's how I remember you," laughed Wade. "Your hilarious..."