Haunted

Untouchable Face

The tour went on and Maddox found himself wishing he knew how to fix things with Jackson. He couldn't figure out if anything was actually going on between Jackson and Trace or if they were just friends but it didn't stop him from being jealous. He wanted to have that kind of friendship with Jackson, even if he couldn't have anything else. So Maddox didn't stop trying to hang out, no matter how awkward he felt.

The good news was that it seemed like his voice had finally adjusted to being used so much and he was allowed to start talking like a normal person again. Not that he really had many people to talk to, but at least he was allowed to do interviews and talk to fans he ran into on the street.

The bad news, on the other hand, was that Maddox had a hard time finding any real alone time. He tried to get away when he could but it meant not getting to see Jackson. It was always a tough choice but sometimes he just needed to be alone. 

One night Maddox locked himself in his bedroom, sure he had enough time to at least jack off before anyone came looking for him. And he did manage to get off and clean everything up before Justin knocked.

"What?" Maddox asked when he opened the door.

"They just sent us the final version of your music video," Justin said, pushing right past Maddox to come into the room.  "Can I show you?"

"Yeah," Maddox sighed and pushed his laptop at Justin. His dad opened it and Maddox waited for Justin to turn the computer around so they could watch the video. Instead, Justin's eyes got really wide and he closed the laptop.

"Maybe you should um, put that away," Justin didn't seem to know what else to say as he handed Maddox his computer back. Maddox opened it and realized that even though he'd hit pause, the porn he'd been watching before was still up on the screen. 

"Oh fuck," Maddox said, closing all the windows he had open. 

"It uh, happens, I guess," Justin said. Maddox handed the computer back to his dad, not sure he could look him in the eyes. Maybe it did happen, but Maddox was pretty sure most straight guys didn't watch gay porn - and there was no way Justin could have mistaken it for straight porn.

They awkwardly sat through Maddox's music video and managed to talk about it a little bit afterwards but Maddox pretty much sat there wishing Justin would just leave. Justin finally did stand up to go but he turned back at the last second.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" Justin asked.

"I think there are some things you wouldn't understand," Maddox said.

"Maybe," Justin nodded. "But I wish you'd let me decide."

"Goodnight, Dad," Maddox said.

"Night, Dax," Justin sighed. "Love you."

"I know," Maddox rolled his eyes. He waited until Justin was gone before he rolled over to scream into his pillow.

  

A few weeks passed and Maddox had a few days off in a row. Justin scheduled rehearsal space and everyone spent the day working through their choreography to make sure it was as good as it could be. When Maddox's rehearsal ended he had to wait around while Justin worked with The Singer, who was still Maddox's opening act.

Maddox bit his lip as he looked over at The Singer. He was walking through some choreography with Justin, a thin sheen of sweat on his face. They ran through the song again and Maddox pretended to play with his phone but he had the camera app open so he could watch without being seen.

The Singer wasn't even that good with the dance moves. Sure, he could hit the steps and roll his body through each move but next to Justin it was clearly unnatural for him. It would take many more practice sessions like this one before his dancing looked as effortless as it should.