From Drags to Riches

Yay!! So there's a computer in the hotel that I can use. I put up today's episode, but I probably won't put up tomorrows until Monday. Swim meets are tiring. And I would be up for another hour trying to write another episode. We're getting up semi-early, 8am. *snore like kate*

Busty gasps.
"No, it can't be. What the hell are you doing here? How did you..."
"Now 'Busty,' I'm not going to give that away."
The man slowly walks down the front stairs only a few high. It was his mother's one mistake, Braxton's father. His mom was young and naive. High school equals, his parents thought they had fallen in love during their senior year. Joyce became pregnant. Only a short while after his birth, Braxton's father lost his single mother. To support his younger siblings, he reverted to drugs and crime. Joyce felt the effects of his loss as well. Beaten almost every other day, Joyce had to leave him and file a restraining order. The path of crime and hate soon caught up to her once beloved. He was arrested under many robbery and drug charges.

Braxton flashes back to about 3 years ago when his father was finally let out on parole. His father seemed to be better and the life of crime was put behind him. He was visiting the two to catch up. Everything changed when Braxton informed him of his homosexuality and his future career as a drag queen. His father went ballistic with rage and reverted to beating Braxton and his mom. Braxton's father was prosecuted once more for domestic violence and an outstanding warrant was found for murder from just a few days before and a couple states away. His father had never changed.

Joyce comes from backstage, curious as to why everything was quiet. Seeing the man with a gun pointed at Busty, she starts towards him.
"Antoine Bouchet, what the hell are you doing here and how did you get out?"
Hearing sirens in the background, Joyce knows her once loving friend had somehow escaped. Seeing Joyce move towards him Antoine reacts quickly.
"If anyone moves again, you will be shot."
His gun goes off. Joyce drops to the floor. Shaking she wonders how she could have ever thought she was in love with this man. Whispers go around the club. Antoine's voice booms again.
"SILENCE!"
The sirens are closer now, Joyce hopes this will end soon. Her arm is bleeding badly. Antoine's bullet entered her upper arm causing pain that she tries to ignore.

Nicole looks over from the bar.
"Blair, I must help that woman."
"Nicole, the man is crazy. He will shoot you if you even dare to move."
Fearful of the man with a gun, Nicole stays close to her husband near the bar.

"Dad... please... just go."
Pointing his gun back at a now tearful Busty.
"Now son... or daughter, that disgusts me... why would I do that? I've spent so much time planning how to get out waiting for this moment."
Busty looks down at the people in front of him. Alex is almost stiff as if being literally petrified. Jason is trying to protect his wife by crouching in front of her. She is antsy, wanting to help resolve this before anything else happens. Braxton's voice is weak.
"What do you mean?"
"You see son, it has always been my belief that people like you shouldn't exist. These homosexuals, this cross-dressing, it's a shame to families and ancestors. Your kind should not exist. Thus, I have taken it to myself to exterminate all of you."
"But... I'm... a part of you."
"That's what disgusts me the most."
He begins to pull on the trigger as Kathryn stands up. For just a second she tries to say something to calm Antoine down, but the gun goes off.

Okay, I regret to inform you, my trusted fans, that I have a swim meet this weekend in New Orleans and will not be able to post Saturday's or Sunday's episode until Monady. I know I left on such a huge cliffhanger, but you will get three episodes on Monday. I'm sure you will all be shocked with the events about to happen. *tear* So sad. :(

The bathroom door slams open. Denver and Skyler quickly look to see who it is. It's just a drunken couple wanting to fool around in the bathroom. Skyler tries to go back to making out with Denver, but Denver feels even more uncomfortable now that two other people were there.
"What's wrong? You don't like it?"
"No... no... that's not it. It's just... we're in a bathroom, and... two other people just walked in too."
"Oh, come on it's not like we're going to have sex right here, unlike what those two are probably going to do, unless you want to."
Skyler throws a look their way. The two that had just entered the bathroom were fairly attractive to him.
Denver tries to escape from Skyler, but Skyler had his arms and legs pinning Denver to the wall. For some reason Denver found this slightly erotic.
"I was just joshin' with ya Denver. I would never do that here."
"Can we just go back out to watch Busty?"
"Sure. Remember, I live right down the hall from your sister. Apartment 4309."
Even though he is slightly uncomfortable, Denver will remember this number. Skyler removes himself from in front of Denver. As Denver walks towards the door, Skyler looks over to the couple and winks. He rushes in front of Denver to open the door. Just as he opens the door, he and Denver hear a loud breaking noise.

Bright lights blind Alex for just a second.
Alex yells at Brayen still watching Busty and hardly noticing the lights.
"Indoor fireworks!"
"Yeah, that's amazing."
Disappointed with Brayen's lack of enthusiasm towards the spectacle, Alex wanders off just to notice Jason and Kathryn in a corner.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hawke notices Skyler holding the bathroom door open for Denver. Hawke rushes over.
"Denver, can you excuse Skyler and me for a minute?"
Nodding, Denver wanders off to look for his sister, trying to avoid his parents at the bar.
"Skyler what the hell are you doing? Stop harassing Alex's little brother."
"Give me a break. The kid was practically asking for it. And he's not so little if you know what I mean."
"Dude, I don't want to know that. Just leave him alone okay?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
Hawke goes to join Brayen. Thinking to himself, Skyler will have who he wants when he wants. He notices some security walking to the bathroom. There will obviously be no hooking up in this club.

"Hello, Ms. Stone."
"Oh... Alex... please, call me Kathryn. This is my husband Jason.
"Nice to meet you Alex. Kathryn has told me a bit about your work. I hear you will be doing great things."
Blushing, Alex doesn't know what to say.
"Isn't Busty amazing? Jason forced me to come see her tonight, but I'm so glad he did."
Kathryn smiles and kisses her husband. Alex dreams of a man like that one day.
"Ladies, do you care to dance? I see Miss Bouchet will be joining us on the dance floor."
The three rush to the middle of the floor where Busty is dancing. She always likes to please her fans by dancing with them during breaks in her performance.

A man dressed in black sneaks around the club. He knocks out the bouncer and pushes his body behind the bushes outside. Locking the front doors, he stands right at the entrance.
"Braxton Thomas Bouchet!!"
The people in the club become silent. The man's voice boomed throughout. Slowly he reaches in his pocket to pull out a gun and points it straight at Busty. Instantly everyone drops to the floor except for Busty. Slowly, the man removes his hood. Busty gasps.
"No, it can't be!"

The lights begin to dim and everyone becomes quiet. The curtains open, and everyone gasps! Miss Busty Bouchet is dressed in the most extravagant gold sequin dress with a gold fro and gold 5-inch heels. Looking as though she was Beyoncé in Goldmember, Busty begins to sing "Hey Goldmember" from the movie. Back-up dancers join her. The performance is amazing. Busty isn't the normal lipsyncing drag queen. She was actually singing the song herself, a feat almost never done in the drag profession.

Skyler slips his hand onto Denver's leg. Surprised Denver jumps a little. As Skyler removes his hand quickly, Alex looks at Denver. "Are you okay?" Nodding his head, she returns to watch Busty's performance. Skyler slips his hand back onto Denver's leg. This time he doesn't jump. Skyler slowly moves his hand up Denver's leg. With his heart racing faster, Denver can hardly control himself. Quickly he gets up and moves to the bathroom. As the song ends the audience stands up and pushes their chairs to the side. Who could resist the urge to dance along with Busty during her performance? Seeing his opportunity as he is split from the rest of the group during the commotion, he walks to the bathroom to check on Denver.

Blair looks at his wife uncomfortably.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."
"Are you kidding me? This was a great idea. Oh, come on, these gay men can't be bothering you that much. They know you are taken by me."
Sensing her husband's uneasinesss, she walks him over to the bar to get a drink and continue to chat.

Denver hears the bathroom door open. Looking out from the stall, he notices Skyler standing by the sink. Playing a game of innocence Skyler turns the sink on to pretend to wash his hands. Denver comes out from the stall to approach him. Skyler turns around suddenly.
"I knew you were in here. I hope I didn't scare you away."
"Of course not, but how could you tell I am..."
"Honey, that's easy. Haven't you ever been around other gay men. It's like a second nature for us to be able to know each other."
Denver stands in silence. Skyler noticing the slight discomfort of Denver's stance he asks a few more questions.
"Haven't you ever been with a man before?"
Denver's heart races. He slowly shakes his head. He notices Skyler approaching until they are face to face. After what seems like a minute to Denver, in an instant their lips are touching. He was shaking with nervousness and excitement. His first man to man kiss was more than he could have imagined.

Jason and Kathryn stand in the middle of the dance floor. Busty has disappeared backstage to change costumes for her next song. Kathryn couldn't be more excited to finally enjoy a night out and away from work. Looking into her husbands eyes, she thanks him for forcing her to come out. They kiss and hear everyone awe. Blushing Kathryn turns around but notices no one is looking at her. Busty is attached to a swing-like contraption that is zooming her around above everyone's head. "Toxic" begins to play in the background and Busty succeeds in amazing acrobatics on this small swing. About half way through the song, a loud breaking noise is heard by everyone.

Yes, I have added a song into the HTML for good reason. Act like the song is starting right at the end of todays episode and the beginning of tomorrow's. You will understand soon enough. :)

I changed it, as of Thursday, February 5, so the song only plays once through. I don't want a repeating song to be the reason for someone not to read my soap. I promise to take the song away in about a week. I'm just proud of myself for adding that using HTML. HAHAHA. I'm awesome!

"Where is my gold fro wig?! I need it for my first act!!"
Busty is frantic backstage. How could he lose his favorite wig? Joyce and other people who help on the tour look around hastily. Joyce eventually finds it behind some rack of costumes.
"Braxton, you need to keep track of this stuff better."
"Mom you know this is my favorite wig, I would never just throw this around."
Braxton quickly puts on the wig and then straps on his 5 inch heels. The transformation to Busty is complete.

Outside the club, Skyler and Hawke run into Alex, Brayen, and Denver.
"Hey Alex, what brings you here?"
"Hey Skyler. We're just here to see Busty Bouchet perform. Brayen got tickets for us."
Skyler looks over Brayen carefully. The two never liked each other much. Skyler and Brayen both remember their-not-so-great hookup from long ago that never really resolved itself.
"And who is this other young stud with you?"
"Skyler! This is my little brother, Denver. Please be nice and don't make him feel uncomfortable. He's straight but I couldn't let him miss Busty Bouchet."
Skyler eyes Denver. "Hello Denver, I'm Skyler Sterling. Your sister lives on the same hall as me."
Shyly, Denver shakes hands with Skyler. Again, heart beating fast, he had never met so many gay people in one night. Skyler knows Denver is gay. With a wink he introduces Hawke to the group. Excited about the show, Hawke rushes everyone inside. They notice the club almost filled with people.
"It must be getting close to Busty's performance."

Blair and Nicole notice Denver and Alex walk in. Rushing over at once the four greet one another as a family would. Surprised to see her son at the club, Nicole asks Denver what he is doing here?
"Alex invited me mom, she thought it would be an experience for me to see a drag show."
"Well it will be an experience for you and me both."
Barely able to contain herself, Alex blurts out the news of Denver coming to live with her when he gets a job.
"That's perfect! I'm glad you two finally worked things out after all these years."
Happy for her children, Nicole grabs Alex to run to the bathroom. Feeling slightly uncomfortable in a gay club, Blair talks with his son, the only other straight one around him.
"So, how are the ladies treating you these days?"
Trying to contain their laughs, Brayen, Skyler, and Hawke wander off to get a drink at the buffet before taking a seat.
"Dad, they are fine. I just haven't found that right girl yet."
"Ah well... how old are you now? 23?"
Denver has a bored look on his face.
"Yes Dad."
"Well, she'll come around sometime son. Don't you worry."
Seeing the ladies come back, Denver grabs Alex and walks away. He always thought his dad was a dork, but he was in a gay club. Blair is probably just uncomfortable. Denver and Alex take seats near Brayen, Skyler, and Hawke. Sitting next to Skyler, Denver is breathless. Their shoulders rub as he sits down. Thighs touching as he gets comfortable in his seat. This was going to be a great performance.

The lights begin to dim and everyone becomes quiet. The curtains open, and everyone gasps!

An early 20's, shorter-than-average, cute, brown-haired guy hears a knock on his apartment door. Still only half dressed he goes to answer it. Opening the door, he finds Skyler with smile on his face. It has been a long time since they had seen each other.
"Skyler, what the hell are you doing here?"
He grabs the guy, does a little bise and ushers him inside.
"Hawke, it's good to see you. How have you been since we were last together?"
"Pretty good, so what brings you over here?"
Skyler proceeds to explain where he would like to take Hawke and how he ended up with the tickets. With a semi-disgusted, look Hawke sits down.
"So, still doing that job? I'd think you would drop it after you realized that you couldn't have a relationship while doing that job."
Flashing back to about a year ago, Hawke remembers when he found out about Skyler's escorting job. Skyler was irresistible to most any guy. He had Hawke wrapped around his finger. His only mistake was having one of Hawke's friends as a client. Hawke found out from another friend and couldn't handle his boyfriend being an escort. He stormed back to his apartment and confronted Skyler and the relationship was over. They continued to remain good friends.
"I tried for a bit, but it makes such good money. I can't afford to drop it right now. Anyway do you want to go or not?"
"Of course, you knew this would be something that I couldn't pass up. Besides, I think my brother said he was taking his wife to see Busty tonight as well. I'll get to see them. You remember Jason and Kathryn, don't you?"
With a slight chuckle at his brother's tendency to hang around all the gay places in the city, Hawke finishes getting dressed and the two head to Skyler's car.

Denver knocks on Alex's door. Who was this Brayen she said was with her?
"Denver, I'm so glad you came!"
Entering the apartment, he sees a tall, blonde-hair, blue-eyed, mid-20s man standing near the kitchen.
"Denver, it's nice to meet you. Alex has told me so much about you in the past day. My name's Brayen Scott."
Brayen winks but Alex can't see. Denver's heart beats fast. Brayen was well... hot. His jaw drops slightly and as Alex walks away to straighten up the apartment before they leave, Brayen pushes Denver's jaw closed. "Save that open mouth for later." With another wink, Brayen wanders off to help Alex. He couldn't believe this was his sister's friend that he now lusts over and only after a couple minutes within meeting him. Alex walks back towards Denver.
"Okay we're ready to go." The three leave the apartment and head over to the club.

Blair and Nicole arrive at the club at about the same time as Kathryn and Jason.
"Well fancy meeting you two here."
"Likewise, Mr. Chase. What brings you two here? Don't you live about an hour and a half away?"
"Well Jason, it was our anniversary yesterday, and we will be moving into town very soon for my wife has accepted a position at the hospital."
"Oh, well congratulations on the anniversary and the job."
All four enter the club with high expectations. To their amazement, it's better than they could imagine.
"This place is beautiful. This is going to be a club?"
Kathryn looks all around. Grabbing her husband, she points at the balconies that span the lower dance floor and connect the upper dance floors. The lower floor is set up with seats for tonight's performance. Being a somewhat VIP event, a buffet is set up off to the side. Kathryn and Jason head to the buffet to snack and pick up some drinks.
"Blair, this is amazing."
Nicole kisses her husband. They notice a friend standing in another part of the room and head over to talk.

Braxton is confident. His last rehearsal this morning went... well perfect. Slipping into his first costume, he looks at himself in the mirror. "Busty is ready to go!"

Braxton searches the back stage. "Where are these voices coming from?" Just as he's about to give up he stumbles upon two men dressed in black. As the men hear him approach they stand up and turn around. "It's Busty, I can hardly believe it!!" They rush towards Braxton. Realizing they are just fans of his that hid out all night waiting for him, he calls security. Pleasantly, he autographs some pictures before he has security usher them outside. All of a sudden he realizes the hunger he replaced with curiosity and heads to the brunch waiting for him.

Kathryn leaves the office building to head home. She needs a night of fun then relaxation at home. It finally hits her. Jason is right. She works too hard and just needs to let loose. Arriving at home, she notices a present left for her by Jason. Opening the small box, she gasps at the sight of the necklace. Jason steps behind her.
"Can you help me?"
He slowly lifts her curly blonde hair and puts the necklace around her neck.
"What's this for?"
"I just wanted to pick something up for you. No reason in particular. Just to say I love you."
Barely able to contain herself, she hugs her husband.
"Now how 'bout we get ready for that performance I promised to take you to?"

Denver runs back to his dorm from class. His class got out so late. Getting to his room, he quickly removes his clothes to hop in the shower. Looking in the mirror, he notices he has a decent body. He is a little thin but nothing that a little time in a weight room couldn't fix. He rarely had time to workout with his current schedule of classes and part-time job. He hops in the shower. After a couple minutes he hears the phone ring. Hurrying to finish, he turns off the water and grabs a towel. He grabs the phone, "Hello?"
"Denver? It's Alex."
"Hey, I just got done taking a shower. I should be over at your place in about an hour and a half. Traffic will be a little bad."
"Okay, I'll be waiting here with Brayen. See you then."
Hanging up the phone, he throws some clothes on, does his short brown hair, and runs out of the building to his car.

Alex hangs up the phone. Brayen looks in the fridge for some food.
"Now Brayen, my brother will be joining us. Please, try not to make him feel uncomfortable. He's a good little straight boy."
"Yeah, yeah. I promise I won't hit on him."

Denver wakes from a dreamful sleep of beautiful men. Looking at his phone, notices a message. He laughs as his sister talks. "... Just to warn you it will be in a new gay club. I hope that doesn't bother you. Oh by the way, I never asked. Is there anyone special in your life that..." Denver sighs. He never told his sister he was gay. Never would anyone know he was unless they paid attention closely. Growing up in a small town and going to a small university, he rarely ever met another gay person. Tonight he would finally get to experience the club life that he never has before. One problem, how would he tell his sister what she hasn't figured out? He will just have to play it off like he is straight until the right opportunity arises.

Kathryn hears a knock on her office door. A tall, lean, handsome man walks through the door.
"Jason, what are you doing here?"
"Can a man not visit his wife at work?"
Smiling as she gets up from behind her desk, Kathryn walks over to her husband to kiss hello.
"I apologize for the rude welcoming."
Kathryn walks back to her desk and sits down again. Flustered from all the paper on her desk, she knocks over the picture of her and her husband. The picture smashes on the floor. As Jason picks it up, he notices the glass cracked down the middle of the picture.
"We're going to have to get you a new frame."
Walking behind Kathryn, he begins to rub her shoulders in an attempt to relax her.
"I want you to come with me tonight to enjoy the 'Busty' Bouchet performance. My father owns the new club so has given me tickets for the two of us."
"Jason... I don't..."
"Oh, c'mon. Just come and relax and be entertained for once. You work too hard sometimes."
"You're father didn't hire me for this job because I knew how to have fun."
"No he hired you because you're good at what you do and he knows you'll get it done too, but he also agrees with me, you work too hard. This is the reason he gave me these, to get you out of the office for once."
After a bit more persuasion, Kathryn agrees to go. She does need a fun time every once in awhile. Why not kick it with all the gay men?

Skyler wanders around his apartment. That was the first night he's slept normal hours in a long time. The bar/strip club he worked at had given him the night off. Luckily, he also has tonight off, so the tickets given to him by Alvin Stone can be used. "Who to take? Who to take?" Finally it hit him. "Of course, he would love to go with me to see Busty."

Blair and Nicole wake from a night of passion. Even in their 40's they still had it.
"Honey, to continue the anniversary I want to take you to see Miss 'Busty' Bouchet tonight."
Surprised, Nicole hugs her husband.
"But, why to see her? Why not the opera or the symphony?"
"I figured we need to do something different ever once in awhile. I realize its a drive to get out there just for a drag queen, but I hear she really very good."
"Blair, about the drive. Pretty soon it won't be so long."
With a confused look he asks what she means. She tells of her job offer at the hospital. Blair knows that his wife has always wanted to move back to where she grew up. Reluctant to move to the big city, Blair still is happy for his wife.
"For you Nicole, we'll move as soon as we can."

In his pink cashmere robe, Braxton sifts through his costumes for tonight. Moving to his "normal" wardrobe he can't help but get upset that he can't find his favorite pair of shoes.
"Mother, where are they?"
"Right here honey."
Grabbing his wooden clogs, Braxton storms to the back of the trailer. His mood slowly changes from diva to worry. He can't seem to shake the feeling that this performance is just going to be... well scary. Looking slightly paranoid, Braxton wanders out of the trailer and into the club where they have provided his breakfast before his last run through of the performance. Wandering through backstage, he hears two voices. He can't quite place where they are coming from let alone who they belong to. Forgetting about his hunger he goes to investigate.