Haunted

Wait it Out

 "What the fuck?" Eli gasped and tried to shut his laptop before Maddox could see what he was looking at but Maddox was too fast. He got his hand in the way and pushed the screen open.

Maddox and Eli were hanging out at Eli's apartment that night. They were watching a movie but, Maddox had discovered, Eli was unable to go without his laptop for more than 30 minutes at a time.

"Fucking TMZ," Maddox huffed but he made the picture bigger anyway. It was obviously Brent, no denying it, and he was kissing some other guy. At first Maddox just stared, pushing his teeth into his tongue and trying not to cry. Then he felt his anger bubbling up.

Though he'd gotten to spend a few days with Brent before he left for Australia, Maddox and Brent had never talked about the cheating. It was obviously bothering both of them but neither one of them brought it up. The whole visit was tense and made Maddox feel like he wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"I bet it's photoshopped."

"I bet it's not," Maddox gave Eli his laptop back. "Whatever, fine, I can play this game too."

"Dax, don't do something stupid," Eli scrambled to get up.

"Try and stop me."

"Just don't come back all bruised up, okay?" Eli begged, following Maddox to the door.

"Technically I'll be going to my house," Maddox pointed out. "And you, pretty boy, could make sure I'm in good hands if you wanted to do it yourself."

"Use protection," Eli sighed and stepped away.

"I always do," Maddox grinned.

He wasn't completely sure how it happened but just a few hours later he found himself leaving a different guy's apartment. All Maddox knew was that he'd gone to the only club he was sure would let him in since he was still under 18 and even after turning down the first few guys he still had plenty of invitations to hook up. His phone was ringing by the time he got into his driveway. "Hello?"

"Never go to his house," The Singer said.

"What?" Maddox turned around, wondering if he was being watched or something.

"There are pictures of you and this dipshit online already," The Singer sighed. "Safety first, Maddox. Take them to your house where you know nothing is poisoned and no one is waiting to kidnap you."

"Shut up," Maddox rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to help you. You want to end up dead?"

"No," Maddox swallowed hard.

"It's a lot harder for the paparazzi to catch you being an idiot if you do it within the safety of your gated community. The neighbors might talk but at least you have a team of security guards to protect you from bad guys," he said in a mocking tone.

"Maybe I want the paparazzi to catch me."

"You don't. I know you want your boyfriend to see you, but you don't want your fans to see it."

"They're big girls, they can take it."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Was he as good as me?"

"No," Maddox grinned. "They never are."

"Funny, I have the same problem," The Singer told him. Maddox sighed. "Alright, well, goodnight, Dax."

"Night," Maddox hung up and went inside.

He wouldn't have done it again except that the pictures of Brent on his Australian tour kept coming up and he was always with other guys. Once he knew how easy it was though, Maddox found it happening more than he'd really intended. Anytime Brent did something to upset him Maddox found another guy to hook up with and he wasn't careful to keep it a secret.