There wasn’t much remarkable about Justin Kelly. He was average in height and looks, his most prominent feature being, perhaps, his hazel eyes, which at most times appeared gray over any other color. He’d been former military, having served in the Nav, and while h e guessed that might have been part of the reason he was chosen to be a ghoul, he didn’t really know the entire reason.
He retired from the Navy after a twenty-year career, heading back home to Phoenix, and to civilian life. Civilian life was difficult to adjust to, and his marriage had been short-lived. No kids, but with alimony to pay, he joined up with local law enforcement in order to earn a paycheck. It was through an operation with Homeland Security that he ended up meeting Nathan Pierson, the man he would come to know as Adam.
He was one of the officers working closely with them on the case, and while he didn’t know exactly what, he guessed Adam must have seen something in him, because the next thing he knew, he and “Nathan” were talking on the regular. Before Justin knew it, he had been ghouled, and was sent to work security at the Chase building, guarding the cells and working mainly with Declan.
Over the years, he had worked hard to gain Adam’s favor, but didn’t seem to garner his attention. Just another cog in the m machine, an extra in the background. Still, he was diligent about his work; efficient, all in the hopes of doing Adam proud. One day, maybe, he might get that recognition. In the meantime, he just worked at following Declan’s orders and trying not to fuck up. There was no desire to get recognition for the wrong reasons.
Gradually, he learned a bit about the city’s structure, and Adam’s role in everything. At this time, he’d only been Prince perhaps five years. Justin was diligent, and worked hard. Gradually, as he became to be trusted, he was given slightly more responsibility. Always, he noticed Adam. Always, he did as he was asked, without question – even if it conflicted with his own beliefs. Adam was everything to him.
It took time for him to come to terms with the fact that, after a while, he stopped dating, stopped pursuing someone to hook up with. Adam encapsulated his thought’s, and he began to wonder if he was in love. A year of soul-searching later, and he came to the conclusion that he was. What took more time, was trying to come up with the courage to talk to Adam at all, let alone try to tell him how he felt.
Eventually, he did find the courage to talk to Adam – but only about work, and only occasionally, as he knew Adam was very busy running the city. There came a time, however, when Justin found the courage to tell Adam how he felt. He was happy, outright cheerful at times even, much to Declan’s seeming distaste. One evening, he saw Adam in the hallway, and decided to approach him, but then stopped. He was with someone. A shorter, petite young woman, and they were headed for his office. Adam was smiling. He was happy. Expressions he’d never noticed on Adam’s face before.
He felt deflated, and reluctantly went back to work, as though nothing had happened. Some of the others noted, and one or two commented, but he never spoke about it, though at some points he did snap at them to mind their own business – something he wasn’t exactly known for doing. One evening, on his break, he ventured up to the main floor, meandering outside the door. His goal wasn’t to guard the room, as he was pretending to do, but to listen. In time, he was rewarded with rumors, and learned of who Adam was with – a woman named Tavi. A woman who evidently had been granted her own titles within the city, a woman whom Adam was madly in love with; a woman who had him wrapped around her finger.
This angered Justin, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Adam was happy with her – he had seen that clearly, and that’s what he wanted most, was for Adam to be happy. Based on what he’d heard about this Tavi person, he didn’t much care for her, but he also knew they were rumors, and likely only had some truth to them. With a sigh, and his break over, he slunk back to his post. Adam would never know how he felt, and that saddened him.
Ghoul life be damned.