Disclaimer: See Chapter 18

Note: Hey everyone! Nope, I'm not dead, nor is this fic. I'm sorry that I haven't updated in over a year, life's been a little nuts, and having my laptop's hard drive crash last September didn't help any. I'm still looking into getting everything recovered, because most of my fics had chapters that were ready to go up as soon as I had time to post. But either way. I wanted to let you know that I will be updating as often as possible, and hopefully not with a year between chapters. I can't promise how frequently I'll update but I WILL be updating. And thank you for the reviews and comments. I do apologize for it being so long! As always, I hope you enjoy!

Striptease

Jeff sighed, it had been three days since he'd seen Phil. He looked over the yard, watching as Alicia braided Layla's hair back. He pulled his knees to his chest as he sat on the patio, looking over to another corner where Randy and John were chatting, their eyes wondering over to him every few minutes. He hadn't heard anything about leaving the house since he'd slammed the door in their faces. He hadn't seen Shannon and Ron most of the day, he was sure they were holed up in one of their rooms fucking. He tried not to smirk, knowing that this was the first person that Shannon really looked at as more than a one nightstand.

He leaned into his knees, biting his lower lip, a little nervous about going back to work. He'd gotten a few days off, only to finally talk Papa Paul into letting him go out and dance to earn his keep. He looked around to the house, finding Papa Paul and Gail talking, him pulling her to his chest and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. He smiled at that, finding that a lot of things were getting better with Mama Melina and Papa Paul apart.

"You okay?" Cody asked, coming out of the house and flopping down next to Jeff and leaning his head on the other man's shoulder. "You look so sad still."

Jeff looked down and the younger male and smiled, wrapping his arm around him. "I'm okay, still a little upset," he admitted, pressing a soft kiss to Cody's forehead. "What are you doing?"

Cody shrugged, smiling as his eyes closed. "Just coming to talk to you. You looked sad," he easily explained, scooting a little closer and taking Jeff's hand in his. "Jeff, are you really gonna stay here?" His blue eyes opened, looking up at Jeff. "Because, some of us were talking about leaving and finding different jobs."

Jeff sighed, pulling Cody closer. "This is all I know. It's what I'm meant to do," he explained, looking down into the sparkling eyes. "Are you leaving?"

Cody shrugged again. "I don't know yet. It's just an idea at the moment."

Jeff nodded, leaning his head on the top of Cody's. "You're young, you have your whole life ahead of you. You shouldn't be working like this." He pressed another kiss to Cody's forehead.

"Jeff?"

"Hm?"

"If I leave, will you do me a favor?"

Jeff heard the dark under tone in Cody's voice and he looked down at him, tipping Cody's chin so their eyes could meet. "Anything, you know that," he answered softly, looking into the pretty face for anything that was bothering his little brother.

Cody leaned in, pressing his lips to the outer shell of Jeff's ear. "Sleep with me again," he whispered, feeling Jeff shiver against him, his lips moving down to Jeff's neck, his hand slipping up to turn Jeff's face towards his so their lips could meet. He groaned, Jeff's experienced tongue over taking his and ravaging his mouth.

Jeff groaned, pulling away a moment later. "I'm sorry Cody," he answered, looking down at the concrete. "I can't do it." With that he stood and started inside, not daring to look back. He opened the sliding glass door and stepped in, shutting it behind him. He sighed heavily.

Cody felt tears build up in his eyes as he sat there on the cool concrete. He looked at the door, finding that Jeff had already walked away without a second glance back. He blinked hard, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his forehead on his knees. "Stupid…."

"Cody?" John asked, squatting down and resting a hand on the younger male's shoulder. "You okay?" His voice was concerned. He'd seen the kiss before Jeff just up and walked away. "What happened?"

Cody jerked away. "Don't touch me," he growled, pushing John's hand away when he came back, his head up and eyes full of fire.

John gave Cody an odd look as he reached out again to somehow console Cody.

"I said don't fucking touch me!" Cody snapped, earning not only the attention of the girls not far from him but Randy whom was still across the yard. He pushed up onto his feet before glaring at John. "I don't need your fucking pity!" He turned on his heels and headed inside, the sliding door nearly slamming shut behind him.

"What was that about?" Randy asked, stepping next to John. "What did you do to him? He's never acted like that." He watched through the glass as Cody went through the house, pacing back and forth before heading up the stairs, Randy presumed, to his room.

"I just asked him what was wrong, shit, who pissed in his Cheerios this morning?" John retaliated, completely confused by the situation. "He was fine yesterday."

Randy shrugged, wondering what could have happened to make Cody's personality do a 180. "Maybe you should've just left him alone," he suggested, earning a glare. "Shit, don't get mad at me, it's not like I pissed him off." He smirked, watching as John walked away. "Oh c'mon did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry John forgive me?"

"Fuck you Randy," John snapped.

Ron sighed, pressing a kiss to Shannon's forehead as they laid in Shannon's double bed. He was content there with the blond in his arms. "Don't touch there unless you're going to fix the problem you cause," he growled teasingly, pulling Shannon's hand away from under the covers.

Shannon smirked, his fingers once again trailing down to touch over the ebony man's gym shorts. "That may be part of the point," he whispered, easing up and capturing Ron's lips with his, his bold fingers finally getting the nerve to move under the shorts. He gasped, his hand wrapping around the hardened length. "You're big."

Ron smirked, allowing his own hands to start moving over Shannon's bare chest. "Is that bad?" he asked, groaning as the covers were pulled back and Shannon straddled his lap. "Because if it is, this might not work."

Shannon chuckled, kissing Ron harder, his hips already starting to grind with Ron's. "If it was a problem, I wouldn't still want it," he answered; groaning as nimble fingers starting tugging at his nipples. "That's so good."

Ron and Shannon both jumped when the heard a door slam shut. Shannon pulled back, looking at his door when only a moment later there was a knock at it.

Ron groaned, easing Shannon off of him before going over and unlocking the door and pulling it open. He gave an exasperated look at the other male on the other side. "What Randy?" he asked, looking over to see Shannon leaning back on the pillows, arms crossed over his chest in annoyance.

"Sorry to bust up your lovefest but there's something seriously wrong with Cody. He's acting really weird," Randy explained, his own arms crossed over his chest. "He was outside with Jeff and when John went to talk to him, he just blew up."

Ron was concerned, even on the worst days Cody never worried anyone, hell it wasn't very often that he was in a bad mood. "Shannon, I have to go check on Cody," he explained, walking over to the bed and pressing a soft kiss to the man's lips. "We'll continue this later."

Shannon nodded, sighing as he looked down at his tenting jeans. "Just me and you buddy," he muttered.

"Oh no, I'm not getting involved. Ron would throw me over the balcony," Randy teased, stepping into the room and looking over the blond. "But seriously, have you talked to Jeff?"

Shannon flipped Randy off at first, sitting up and crossing his legs in front of him as Randy moved closer. "We've talked in passing, nothing about him leaving if that's what you're asking about," he elaborated, allowing Randy to sit at the foot of the bed. "He hasn't wanted to talk to me."

Randy nodded. He knew the feeling. "Some of us were talking about leaving the house," he started, looking over at the adverted eyes before looking down at the floor. "We, well, I was thinking about asking Papa Paul for a small loan and getting an apartment and finding a new job. I was going to ask Ron if he wanted to go with me."

"You want him to leave me here?" Shannon asked, more than a little irritated with where Randy was taking the conversation. He looked back at Randy.

"No," Randy breathed, his eyes meeting Shannon's. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go with us. It wouldn't be for a little while, I have to figure out where I could even get a job and available decent apartments before anything."

Shannon was touched as well as shocked. "Oh," he murmured, looking down at his crossed legs. "I see." He was silent for a moment. "I've never had a real job, just so you know."

Randy chuckled. "Neither have I. So is that a yeah?" he asked, setting his hand out to take Shannon's. "Sound good?"

Shannon nodded, returning the small smirk. "Sounds good," he answered taking Randy's hand in his and giving it a firm squeeze.

Jeff leaned against his headboard, thinking of what had just happened with Cody. "Fuck," he growled, scrubbing his face with his hands. How the hell was he supposed to handle that kind of request from someone he saw as his little brother? Sure, he'd enjoyed their time together when he'd been tested, but this; this was different. This wasn't for a place to sleep, a place to eat, this was something personal, something he didn't want to feel. He growled, slamming a hand down into his mattress.

"You okay?" a soft voice asked, the bathroom door opening. John stepped in, moving over to sit on the edge of Jeff's bed.

"'m fine," Jeff answered, closing his eyes and sighing. "Just a lot on my mind." He relaxed into the headboard, opening his eyes and looking at the handsome brunette. "What's going on?"

John shook his head, his eyes focused on the bed sheets. "Nothing really, same old same old. Cody's mad at me for some reason though," he answered, shrugging. He saw the confused look on Jeff's face and chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

"Cody's never mad at someone," Jeff mused, leaning forward, trying to understand what could be going on in the young man's mind. "What did you do?"

John shook his head. "I don't even know," he muttered, crossing his arms and slumping back a little. "If I knew that I could apologize or something and he'd be over it." He groaned, leaning forward and resting his head on Jeff's knee. "Fuck my life."

Jeff chuckled, resting a hand in the soft brown locks. "I'm sure fucking you would be more fun," he teased, smirking when John looked up at him. "What?"

John shook his head, moving into a more comfortable position where his head was still in Jeff's lap, his legs dangling over the foot of the bed. "No comment," he breathed, enjoying the feel of fingers running through his hair.

Jeff paused, heat hitting his cheeks as he tried not to think down that path. "Anyway, I start working again tonight," he began, closing his eyes and leaning back against the headboard again. "I've never worked on a pole before." He gave a small laugh.

John chuckled too. "It's not hard," he explained, closing his own eyes and focusing on Jeff's fingers. "I'm moving out in a few weeks."

Jeff stopped, eyes snapping open as he looked down into the dark brown eyes. "You're leaving?" he asked, unsure if he was clarifying or questioning what John had said. "Where are you going?"

John shrugged. "I talked to Mike and he's willing to let me stay with him while I find a job and can save up for my own place. He said he could get me a job with his uncle without too much effort and I can start my own life," he explained, looking away towards the wall. "This place is going down and I don't plan to watch it crash."

Jeff nodded, clenching his jaw. "I see," he murmured, sucking his lower lip into his mouth before chewing on it gently. "Good luck."

John moved to sit up next to Jeff, taking a hand in his. He leaned in, pressing a kiss to Jeff's soft lips, sucking the lower lip into his own mouth. He heard Jeff groan as he pulled away. "Come with me Jeff, we'll get out of here, make real lives for ourselves. Whenever you feel up to it you can go out on your own."

Jeff shook his head, smiling softly. "I'm not leaving John," he answered, leaning in and pressing another kiss to John's lips. He felt a hand wind in his hair, his mouth getting invaded by a strong willed tongue that easily roamed his mouth lazily. He whimpered, pulling back gently after a few moments. "Keep that up and neither one of us will be able to work."

John smirked.

"Cody? Cody c'mon, open the door," Ron asked, knocking heavily on the locked door. "I'll go through Randy's room if I have to." He heard a lock click and he sighed. "Cody." He tried the handle again, finding it still locked.

"Both of the doors are locked, I don't want to talk," Cody growled, getting on his bed and pulling his knees to his chest. "Just leave me alone for a while."

Ron rested his head on the door, touching his hair quickly, finding that he had a bobby pin hidden. "I'll pick the lock Cody, I've done it before."

"Please, just leave me alone," Cody whimpered, the tears thick in his voice. "I just want to be alone for a while." He sighed, feeling stupid for feeling the way he was.

Ron sighed, listening to the hurt in Cody's voice before backing off. "You know where my room is. I'll be there if you want to talk about it Codes," he suggested, letting his hand slide down the wood. "Take a shower before tonight so your face won't be red."

Cody nodded, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and trying to stop the tears. "So fucking stupid," he growled at himself before getting up and rubbing his face. He opened his closet, pulling out clothes to wear for that night before heading into his bathroom to shower and rinse his face from the tears.

Randy stretched as he made his way to the landing and waiting for the others. Tonight he had on a cowboy getup that he'd been dared to wear the night before by Ron. He shook his head at the assless chaps, sure that he was nuts for even entertaining the idea in his mind. He looked up, Ron and Shannon coming out of their rooms, both dressed up in costumes for the night. "Anyone heard from Cody?" he asked, looking over at Shannon and wondering if he'd talked to Ron about their conversation from before.

Ron shook his head. "He wanted to be alone," he explained, wrapping an arm around Shannon's shoulders. He went to speak again, his mouth shutting when the boy in question was coming out of his room. He looked over the skin tight jeans and cut out shirt. He whistled in approval. "Now, that's what you're supposed to look like!"

Cody smirked, looking down at his bare feet before looking back at group. "Hush, Shannon will get jealous," he teased back, smirking.

John opened his door, stepping out. He looked up, his eyes landing on Cody. He reached out for Cody's arm, ready to apologize for whatever it was he'd done to piss the youngest male off. "Cody, listen," he started.

Cody turned to John and easily pulled his arm back before stepping forward and pushing John back into his door as hard as possible, the taller male tripping over his feet and falling backwards on to his back. "Stay away from me," he growled, turning back to the others and making his way downstairs.

Shannon watched in shock as Cody made his way into their dressing room. He looked back at Ron before looking at Randy and then John, who was once again on his feet. "What the hell happened?" he asked, completely taken back that Cody would be that upset. "You really pissed him off."

John gave a helpless and confused look. "I don't even know what the hell is going on!" he yelped, covering his face with one hand. "He's been this way all day."

"Who?" Jeff asked, stretching as he stepped out of his room and looked at the others. "Do I look bad?" He looked himself up and down before looking over at John and then at the others. "What's going on?"

"Cody's still pissed at John," Shannon explained, hooking his arm with Ron before leading him downstairs. "C'mon, we're gonna be late." He looked back at the others, before waving them to follow.

Cody sighed, running his hands through his hair to make the glitter set. He looked into the mirror and smiled, thinking he looked pretty fucking good. He looked back to see everyone filter into the room, turning back to his reflection when John stepped in.

Jeff looked at Cody, more than a little shocked at what he was wearing. He had never seen Cody wear anything so tight or sexy since he'd picked out his outfit. He gave an encouraging smile, feeling a little awkward after their encounter earlier. "You look good," he said, coming up and brushing some of the glitter off of Cody's forehead.

Cody felt himself blush. "Thank you," he answered, looking down at their bare feet. "You nervous?" He looked up once Jeff had pulled his hand back. His blue eyes caught the green ones and he looked away again.

Jeff smiled, puffing his chest out. "Not at all. I'm fucking sexy, no one can resist this ass!" he declared, smacking his rear for emphasis. "You go out there and strut your stuff Codes, I want to see what you can do."

Cody nodded, smiling softly. He turned back the mirror, making sure everything was okay before making his way to where their stage had been set up. He wasn't the first to go up, but he did enjoy watching the others, that way he knew what he was competing against for the night. He watched as Randy easily went through his routine, the cowboy hat being placed on a face he hadn't seen in a while. He smirked, glad that John had finally come back to see Randy dance, instead of tying up Randy's phone line for hours at the end of the night.

Cody watched intently, Randy throwing in some new moves that looked like he may make it hard for the others to fallow. He smirked, Randy taking his final bow, grabbing his clothes and winking at John. "Good job," he murmured as Randy made his way back. He stepped out, already getting a round of applause, his eyes looked over the room, looking for someone in particular.

He took the pole in hand, swinging around it easily and climbing up. He clenched his legs around the top, hanging upside down as he reached for the ground, before pulling his shirt off and tossing it behind him. He heard the wolf whistles, his eyes closing as he allowed his body to rotate around as he descended.

Quickly he opened them when the cheers got louder. He eased off the pole, finding that Jeff had made his way out onto the stage, the tight ripped long sleeve shirt only enticing everyone in the room, including Cody. He walked over, taking Jeff's hand and pulling him center stage. Easing up behind him, he pressed a warm kiss to the side of Jeff's neck, causing the older male to lean back into the strong body. Cody pulled the shirt up, showing off Jeff's dark blue belly ring before tugging it off completely. He earned even more cheers.

Jeff smirked, turning the tables and pushing Cody against the pole, giving the audience a side view of them. He pushed his hips into Cody's from behind, his hands lightly gripping the jean material. He leaned over Cody, pressing kisses down the long back, hands working on the button and zipper under them.

Cody gasped, wiggling his hips. He was turned so his back was to the crowd, Jeff squatting in front of him, a dark look of pure lust covering his face. He felt his cheeks glare red.

Jeff eased the dark jeans down, showing the black thong that Cody had decided on wearing that night, his hands grabbing a handful before moving in and pressing a kiss to just above Cody's underwear. He eased up the other male, tipping Cody back for the others to see his flushed cheeks.

Cody easily felt money being shoved into his thong, Jeff's hands running up and down his chest. He turned to Jeff, grabbing a hand full of the multi colored hair and landed a hot, sloppy kiss to those lips he wanted so badly. He easily devoured Jeff's mouth, enjoying the chance at being the dominant one. He groaned, Jeff's hand teasing him over the thin material. He yanked away, showing Jeff to the audience, his body pressed up against Jeff's back, his hands moving from his shoulders to his waist, teasing the audience as he popped the button open, but eased down the tight jeans.

Jeff smirked, moving away from Cody and grabbing the pole. He swung around it once before climbing up it, hoping that he had enough strength to try one trick that he'd seen done. He bent backwards, his legs clinging tight to the warm metal. His hands touched the floor as he let his legs start to unfurl. He felt Cody's hands move over his legs and down to his waist before his jeans were lifted up, leaving him to do mostly a handstand. He quickly wrapped one leg around the pole as Cody finished undressing him, showing his own dark blue sparkly thong, the crowd going insane seeing them near naked together.

Cody tossed the jeans to the back, helping Jeff back to a standing position. He climbed up the pole, maneuvering so that his back was towards the floor, his legs bending over the top of him. He felt Jeff ease up on him, pressing their hips together. He wrapped his legs around Jeff, allowing the other male to grab him off completely and hold him in the air. His arms wrapped around Jeff's neck, smirking as he leaned back to do a back bend, giving everyone a view.

Jeff let Cody slip backwards into a backbend to get out of his arms. He thrust one hip out, feeling hands move up and over his leg to place money in the straps of his thong. He walked over to Cody who was on his knees motioning to him with one finger. He took the strong jaw in his hand, pulling him next to his crotch, hands pressing wetly to his hips. He growled, Cody's hot breath ghosting across him.

Cat calls and hollers where all either of them could hear as Cody grabbed the strap, showing a little hip to the massive group before kissing up the taut belly, strong chest, right to the moist lips that he easily captured. He felt more hands on him as they stuffed bills in his and Jeff's thongs as they kissed. He pulled away smiling, taking a bow and looking over the crowd, still unable to find the one face he wanted to see.

Jeff took his own bow, taking the last few hands grabbing at him before following Cody by grabbing their clothes and heading off of the stage and into the back. "Well, that was hot," he announced, finding Shannon and Ron watching them with amused looks. "What? You told me to go out there." He pointed accusingly at Shannon before smiling, looking over to see that Cody was already pulling his clothes on.

Cody sighed, rubbing some of the glitter out of his hair. He looked into the mirror, rubbing his face gently before smiling. He hadn't expected Ted to show up, he'd just hoped for it. He stood up straight, thinking of going outside and just taking a moment to breathe, think about how he'd been acting.

"Cody?" John asked, stepping beside the younger male, hoping that he could figure out what was going on with him. "Can we talk?"

Cody shook his head, a scowl hitting his features. "I don't have anything to talk to you about," he stated, turning away from John and leaving the room to go upstairs. He felt a hand on his arm. He turned back, his fist balled, ready to strike.

John let him go, holding up his hands in retreat. "Whatever. You're acting like a spoiled little bitch," he snapped, turning his attention back to where Jeff was pulling his shirt back on. He wrapped his arm around Jeff, turning his attentions to him.

Cody deflated, watching how easily Jeff seemed to melt into John. He started upstairs, unsure of what he was even jealous. He sighed, stopping at Randy's door, listening to the thumping and romping inside. He smiled softly, glad that Randy had gotten a happy night. He found his own room and shut the door. He laid face in the pillow on his bed as he laid there to think. He'd been there the most for Jeff, why wasn't he the one that Jeff had come to? Why wasn't he the one that could console him? He shook his head, knowing it was stupid to ask those questions. He wasn't anything like John, he was just a teenager, a younger brother type.

A light knock came at the door, making Cody sit up. "Come in," he answered, checking his face to make sure he hadn't done anything stupid like start crying.

Jeff opened the door, poking his head in to look in on the other male. "Hey, you missed someone down in the hallway," he started, opening the door wider to show a tall, handsome, sandy blond.

"Teddy," Cody gasped, his eyes widening. He jumped up, running to hug the other man to him. "I didn't see you at the show."

"I wasn't in there watching. I don't like getting jealous because there are other men on you," Ted confessed, tipping Cody's chin up and kissing him lightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Cody admitted, missing that Jeff had left them alone and shut the door behind him.

Jeff smiled, leaning heavily against the door, listening to sloppy kisses and soft groans. "That's why I can't," he started softly, his voice barely a whisper. "Because someone like that deserves every bit of you." He heard a loud gasp before standing straight up and heading downstairs.

(A/N): Alright! It's been a while lovlies. I do apologize for that. I'm sorry if this chapter isn't up to par as the others either. I haven't written in it for a LONG time and to be honest, I haven't been writing anything for a while. Anyway, I know it was a sudden character change for Cody, but I didn't feel like he had enough depth to his character after rereading some of these chapters. Oh well, hopefully John with catch on. Well, not much else to say, besides that I've never been to a strip club and it's really hard for me to write a strip/pole dance… Just… wow. So if that sucks, I am sorry. Title is Striptease by Hinder.

JacktheSinister_JaktheJust