Hidden Truths - Chapter 1
"Guys, what are we doing tonight?" Ben asked the three boys sitting in the hotel suite.
They had rented the apartment suite of the Royal Alexandra Hotel in London for a week, while
they spent some down time before their tour began again. It was also Christian and Paul's birthdays.
"I don't know about you Ben, but I'm meeting up with Jenna and we're going out for our anniversary meal!" Mark grinned.
"Anniversary?" Christian queried aloud.
"Yeah! We've been seeing each other for nine months today!" He sighed.
Ben's heart dropped, he was happy for his friend, but something about the way they acted annoyed him - perhaps he was simply jealous. He knew deep down this was the answer. Without a doubt, he would give his right arm to be in a relationship like Mark and Jenna's.
Paul was worse. He was still seeing the girl from his childhood. From the beginning it had been 'Sara this, and Sara that..." Then they had met Sara and had understood. She was great for Paul, and always put up with his bad agenda and mood swings that went along with living such a stressful lifestyle. They were perfect for each other.
Christian, he thought, 'now there's a guy I can depend on' always flicking between girls... never content with just one girl. He put it down to his almost split personality. One girl never seemed to be perfect, so he didn't keep to one girl. Ben on the other hand, knew he could get any girl from his cute looks and musical connections, not to mention the fame, but that was the problem - He didn't want 'any girl' he wanted 'the' girl. The girl that would be perfect for him in all ways... The one that would stand by him through thick and thin, and respect his career as the thing that would have to come first an awful lot in their relationship. He would never be able to deny himself his music... no matter how much he loved a girl - it would kill his spirit!
"I'm catching a movie with Sara tonight... you're welcome to join us!" Paul offered.
'No! Anything but being with people completely in love like that!' Ben thought, but ended up saying
"What movie?"
"Umm, Vertical Limit!" Paul said.
"I'll pass, I don't think my stomach is up to seeing a movie about falling off cliffs..." Ben laughed. The others joined in, they had all experienced Ben's vertigo at times. He wasn't worried about flying because he could look at the bottom of the plane and forget he was in the air. He just hated being able to see down, and to keep seeing down.
"Yo Ben... want to check out some chicks at a club?" Christian suggested.
'Now there's an idea that might be good fun' He thought.
" Yeah, sounds cool... get to see the London club scene - fine by me!" Ben said.
"Cool, so shall be say eight?" Christian asked
"Yeah, eight's good... Shoot, that leaves me two hours to get ready... I have to wash my hair and shower before we go!" Ben said, checking his watch, "Catch ya later guys... Have fun if I don't see you guys before you go!" He called, walking into his room, which was connected by a door to the main sitting area.
The three remaining boys laughed. They had set Ben's watch forward two hours, because they knew he wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the time here and in Norway, where Christian had been visiting some friends and family, before they had come to London.
When the time came for Ben and Christian to go, Ben had been waiting for a good hour and a half, and had not been impressed with the watch prank, which he had figured out.
Christian had chosen to wear his usual charmer outfit, which consisted of smart black trousers, dulled silver shirt, with the top two buttons undo, and a knee-length black suit-jacket hung over one arm. Ben had opted for the more casual look, wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a dark blue denim jacket.
They chose a club on London's Leicester Square. It wasn't too posh a place that they needed to use their celebrity status to get in. In fact, the place was full of bachelors like themselves, or couples.
"Drink?" Ben asked
"Yeah - let's go sit over by the bar..." Christian suggested.
Ben nodded in agreement and they began to snake their way through the people milling as obstacles in the pathway.
"Two pints!" Christian ordered.
"Coming right up!" The cheesy bartender grinned at them. The end of the club had a bar, which they had gone to on account that the bar near the door had been crowded and there had been no where to sit. This end of the club was emptier than the first half anyway. There were mainly couples dancing to the music played by the DJ booth. They figured that the dance floor was a good place to stand anyway, as any groups of girls that might come in would undoubtedly want to dance. It was a trait of the girls they had picked up from the first few clubs they had graced.
The bar remained empty for a good hour or so, until a group of girl walked in clad from head to toe in Adidas shell-suits. One look at them, and both Ben and Christian pitied the group of blokes standing in the corner of the dance floor, which the girls had seemed to take on as a challenge. Pitied, that was, until they turned around and Ben and Christian noticed that they too were dressed in Nike Shell suits.
"Man this is boring, we obviously went to the wrong bar, want to try somewhere else?" Christian asked, after he had not received any kind of attention from any females, bar an ageing bar tender, who came around periodically, smiled her toothy grin and collected the ever growing empty glasses from next to them.
"Yeah... This place is bare of all action!" Ben agreed.
The two boys set about paying their bill and collecting their coats from the stools next to them.
"I'll have two Smirnoff Ices, please!" They heard a sweet feminine voice request from the cheesy bartender.
"Anything for a girl like you darling!" He said. The boys cringed - This guy needed to get out more, none of the girls in here was worth talking to like that.
Just out of curiosity, Ben chanced a glance at the girl being served. She took his breath away, and without thinking about it, told the barman "It's on us!"
Surprised, the girl looked towards the offer, and smiled.
"Thanks, that's really nice of you!" She said. Ben's heart soared, her eyes, her voice, her smile... If he hadn't believed in love at first sight before then, he did now!
"No problem... Ben, Ben Adams!" He introduced himself, after snapping out of his trance.
"Elizabeth Carter!" She replied, shaking his hand.
"This is Christian Ingebrigtsen!" Ben said, throwing a hand behind him to where Christian had sat back down again. It was clear that they wouldn't be going anywhere just yet, so he had ordered another round for Ben and himself.
"Hi Christian, you know, my friend will be over in a moment, she just went to freshen up!" Elizabeth said, directing more at Christian than as a conversation starter.
"So what are you doing here?" Ben asked.
"Well, we were too bored to stay in on a Friday night, so out we came..." Elizabeth said.
"Same here. Finally got a day off work, so we weren't about to go and waste it!" Ben said. As with the plan of meeting any girls, Ben kept his mouth shut about A1. It was too complicated to let on unless they already knew, and by the look on Elizabeth's face, she didn't.
"Oh yeah... days of work are great... You work weekends too?" She asked with interest.
"Yeah, it's one of those jobs that doesn't really stop in the office though... Always on call if you like!"
"Yeah, I know what you mean!" Elizabeth said.
"Hey Liz, who's this?" Came a voice from behind Elizabeth. Ben tore his gaze of her for a second to see who her friend was, only to know immediately that she was Christian's type.
"Ben Adams, and Christian... I'm sorry, I can't remember your surname..." Elizabeth started
"Ingebrigtsen!" Christian offered.
"Right. This is my friend, Hannah Kirkwood!"
"Hi Hannah!" Christian and Ben said together.
"Hi!" She replied.
From there, things seemed to flow smoothly. Hannah opened a conversation with "Ingebrigtsen... That's an interesting surname... Norwegian?" Which Ben knew would thrill Christian. He had yet to find a girl who could pin point the country and pronounce his surname on first hearing.
Ben and Elizabeth, who he now called Lizzi, had discussed themselves and their families, without giving on to either of their occupations, which suited them both down to the ground.
The evening drew on, and over a few more rounds of drinks, both Ben and Christian had invited Lizzi and Hannah to join them at the ball they were having to celebrate Christian and Paul's birthdays. Both girls had accepted, and the next thing anyone knew, the ageing bar tender had appeared from nowhere, and minus her toothy grin said, "Alright you's lot, get on outta here… there's no place for you to be hangin' this time a' night."
Ben and Christian walked the girls to where they were meeting the taxi, and swapped phone numbers so they could inform them of the time and place for the party.
Everyone was in high spirits and said good bye feeling less lonely and mighty glad they had decided to go out that evening.
"Get the phone Hannah!" Lizzi mumbled from underneath her pillow as the phone's shrill ring penetrated the quietness of the morning.
Hannah mumbled a reply, which Lizzi ignored, and waited for the sound of Hannah's voice answering the phone.
"Lizzi's place... she's not up!" Hannah managed to form a sentence.
"Is that Hannah?"
"Yeah it is!"
"It's Ben here!"
"Hold on..." said Hannah, waking up properly and covering the receive, "Lizzi - It's Ben!"
"Give it here!" Lizzi said, still buried in her bed. A hand appeared from the side, which Hannah handed the phone to. It disappeared underneath the pillow.
"Ben?" Hannah heard the muffled sound.
"Lizzi... Where are you?" Ben asked, confused at the sound of her voice.
"Umm, under my duvet!"
"Right... I woke you up? I'm sorry - I can call you back later if you like?"
"No, that's okay - We have to get up at some point anyway.
"Right... It's about tonight... I'm going to send over a limo for you and Hannah to take you to the ball. It's a big event because Paul is into all this expensive do-s!" Ben explained.
"That's okay - It's it like ball dresses too?" Lizzi asked.
"Yeah - it's supposed to be!"
"That's fine! It gives me a good excuse to dress up!" Lizzi replied, getting excited about the prospect of getting to dress up and spend another night with Ben.
"Great, well I'll let you go. Can you pass the message on to Hannah for Christian, and then the limo will arrive at seven, okay?"
"Brilliant. I'll pass on the message!" Lizzi said.
They said good bye to each other, and hung up. Lizzi's head appeared in view.
"The ball is all dressy and we get to go in a limo. It's coming at seven, so we better go get ready, because it's already twelve thirty. I think I'm going to go and get my hair done properly...you coming?"
"Yeah... What are you going to wear?" Hannah asked
"Umm, my dark green ball gown from last summers ball, you?"
"I was going to wear my short red dress, but now it looks like I have to go shopping first!"
"Nonsense, you can borrow one of my dresses. They're all in that cupboard over there!" Lizzi scolded, pointing in the direction of a large walk-in wardrobe. Hannah quickly disappeared inside and began searching through the dresses.
The girls were about the same size, so that wouldn't be a problem, and Hannah knew that Lizzi had to attend at lot of functions with her parents because they were both high profile members of the local government.
Near the back of the wardrobe, stood a rack of once-worn ball gowns ranging from traditional to sleek to fancy dress. Hannah could take her pick.
After looking through all the different coloured dresses, Hannah had settled on four, which she really liked. One was a traditional floor-length ball gown, made of a light blue material, which shimmered in the right light. The second was a simple black dress but with a sash of silver draped over the shoulder. The third was practically a wedding dress. Pure white silk layer after layer built up a full shirt, with a simple, but stylish bodice. The fourth dress, and the one, which Hannah eventually chose to wear, was made from a soft pink material. It had thin straps and a tight bodice, which flowed smoothly into a full-length straight skirt, which flowed out from the knee in a stylish drift.
By the time the two girls had returned from the hairdressers and done their make up, they had enough time to put on their dresses and jewellery and be waiting for all of a minute and a half for the door bell to be rung by the chauffeur.
"The Limo for Miss Elizabeth Carter and Miss Hannah Kirkwood" The chauffeur stated when Mr Carter opened the door.
"There must be some kind of mistake, my daughter has not told me she is going anywhere!" He started.
"Daddy, who is it?" Lizzi called from upstairs.
The front hall of their house was made of white marble and gave the effect of a starch buy immaculately clean and well-run home.
"Elizabeth, There's a chauffeur here for you and Hannah... did you order it?"
"Oh no Daddy, we were invited to a high profile ball to celebrate the birthday of one of our friends... It is okay for us to go isn't it?" Elizabeth asked sweetly, using her puppy-dog-innocent eyes on her father.
"Of course darling! Did you remember to buy a gift for the host?"
"Oh my goodness... I knew there was something I forgot... Is it alright if I take a couple of bottles of wine from the larder?" Elizabeth asked, faking ignorance.
"I'll fetch you two bottles of our best... It'll have to do I'm afraid!" Her father said, before disappearing down one of the corridors.
Elizabeth gave a thumbs-up sign to Hannah, who grinned back in response.
"Here you go sweetie... Have a lovely time, but try not to be home too late, won't you?" Her father said, bringing out two bottles of expensive wine.
"Of course... we'll do our best and remember to act in a way that does not bring disrespect to you or Mummy's careers!" Elizabeth spouted off the rest of the usual speech.
"Take care... bye!"
"Bye Daddy!"
"Bye Mr Carter!"
The limo ride took about fifteen minutes, winding through the busy streets of central London, before eventually pulling up in front of a large Hotel - presumably, the girls thought, where the ball would take place.
"Here you are ladies!" The chauffeur told them, opening the side door for Hannah and Elizabeth.
Hannah got out first, and stood to one side while Elizabeth also got out. It was like something from films, where all the famous stars climb out of the limo's onto the red carpet, while the envious media snap photos like snapper-happy children.
"My goodness - This really must be high profile!" Hannah whispered to Elizabeth with a tone of nervousness in her voice.
"Relax... so what if it is?" Elizabeth replied, handing one of the bottles of wine to Hannah.
"I haven't ever been to something like this before..." She whispered, before Elizabeth took her by the elbow and led her inside the hotel.
"Lizzi, Hannah! Over here!" Elizabeth heard the voice and directed both Hannah and herself towards where Ben and Christian stood waiting for them.
"I'm so glad you could make it!" Christian was telling Hannah, as Ben stood open-mouthed in awe of Elizabeth.
"What? Do I have something on my chin?" Elizabeth asked, reaching to rub her face. Ben caught her arm, bringing her closer to him.
"No, nothing like that... You look gorgeous!" He gushed.
"Thank you, you don't look bad yourself!" Lizzi responded, smiling.
"Shall we go in? I'm dying to introduce you to the others - they're as eager to meet you two as well!" Ben said to her.
"Let's go!"
Ben took Lizzi's arm and led the way further into the building and into a magnificent ball room. The crimson and gold decorations reflected the light and gave off a warm glow.
"This is wonderful - however did you find a place like this?" Lizzi asked in astonishment.
"Paul's parents have stayed here before!" Ben lied. He hated lying to Elizabeth but he wasn't ready to tell her the truth yet.
They found Paul and Mark standing by their girlfriends chatting.
"And speaking of the devils!" Paul let out.
"Paul, I'd like to introduce you to Elizabeth. Lizzi, this is Paul, Sara, Mark and Jenna... Everyone, this is Lizzi!"
"Hi... As it appears that Hannah has given her bottle to Christian, this is for you! Happy Birthday from both of us!" Lizzi said, handing her bottle to Paul
Christian introduced Hannah and after rounds of greetings, a conversation began discussing the entertainment for the remainder of the evening.
After the meal, there would be dancing and a live band.
The meal arrived with a sounding of a large bronze gong, and the announcement "Dinner is served, if you would like to make your way into the dining room through the doors on your left..."
There seemed five or ten minutes of total pandemonium, in which Lizzi and Hannah found themselves split off from the rest of the group, being herded into the dining room. Inside there was about six long tables neatly laid out with the traditional table places. There were candles that gave a homely glow across the table, as well as soft ceiling lights.
"What do we do now? I can't see Christian or Ben through all the people!" Hannah almost shouted to be heard over the racket.
"I don't know..." Lizzi was cut off, by the appearance of the short brunet in front of them.
"There you two are... Ben and Christian are totally freaking!" Jenna told them.
Lizzi smiled apologetically.
"We lost them in the rush to find dinner!"
Jenna laughed sweetly, and began to lead the two girls toward the head table.
"Hannah!" Christian almost knocked his chair over in the rush to help her to her seat.
Ben laughed at Christian, but quickly quietened down when he saw Elizabeth.
"You seat my lady!"
"Why thank you kind sir!" Elizabeth joked back.
When everyone had been seated, the waiter and waitresses began to serve the meal. They ate melon or prawn cocktail as a starter, before moving on to Salmon and Vegetables or stuffed tomatoes for the vegetarians.
As desert, they were offered a choice of fresh fruit, chocolate gateaux or trifle.
The meal was delicious, and everyone simply made small talk while they ate. Lizzi and Hannah were also introduced to Christian and Paul's parents, as they had come for the ball as well.
After everyone was finished eating, the waiter bought out a huge coffee cake in the shape of a treble clef, and everyone sang a very tuneless, but sentimental 'happy birthday'
"Why a treble clef?" Lizzi asked Ben.
"They're very musical!" Was the reply. Elizabeth didn't really understand, but the singing had started, so she dropped the subject for the time being...
Before anyone really knew what was happening, The evening was over, and morning was upon them.
4 am saw Elizabeth and Ben dancing with a handful of other guests who hadn't already left, and Hannah curled up on a chair, fast asleep - Under the watchful eye of a sleepy Christian.
The DJ had long since put up a mix of love songs, and as Ben and Elizabeth swayed to the music, an air of complete serenity held them both in a dream-like state.
"I can't believe I'm still awake!" Elizabeth murmured, her eye lids drooping as she said it.
"Me neither - it's been a while since I've been up for nearly 24 hours!"
"24 hours? What time did you get up yesterday?"
"About 7am... We had an Int... umm, something to do early in the morning, to get this place ready!"
"Oh right!" Elizabeth was so tired, that she missed Ben's mistake, "What time is it now?"
Ben looked down to his watch.
"Umm, 5:30"
"Oh my... My father is going to Kill me!" Elizabeth started. She hadn't realised how late, or rather, early it was.
"What? Why?"
"I told him I wouldn't be back to late!" She complained, the alcohol, noise, and bright light now struck her with a force that could have killed an army. Elizabeth's hands flew to her head in an attempt to stop the pain. There would be no more getting back to the calmness today.
"Okay, okay... Let's get you sitting down!" Ben said, guiding Elizabeth to nearby chair. Her head slumped onto the table, with her arms protecting her eyes and ears from the light and sound.
Ben was trying not to panic.
'Find Mark, Christian or Paul... they'll know what to do!' Ben thought to himself.
"Liz... I'm going to find some help, okay?" He asked her.
A groan, in the tone of 'don't shout' escaped from under her arms, and Ben nearly kicked himself for not taking her home earlier.
Moving quickly, Ben set off in search of one of his friends.
"Chris... It's Liz - She's not feeling too well, What should I do?"
"Umm, I don't know Ben. I'd come with you, but I said I'd stay with Hannah!"
"Brilliant!" Ben replied sarcastically, "Where's Paul and Mark?"
"Umm, Paul went off with Sara, and Mark and Jenna are by the bar!" Christian told him, ignoring the previous comment.
"Thanks anyway Chris - Catch you later!"
"Hope she feels better soon!"
"Me too!" Ben told him honestly, before heading over to the bar.
"Mark, are you busy?" Ben tried a different tactic.
"He looked at Jenna, sitting opposite him, with a pale pink blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Umm, not right now - what's up?"
"Liz isn't feeling to good... What should I do?"
"What's wrong exactly?"
"I don't know - I think a huge headache, and worry that her parents are going to kill her!"
"Oh-kay... Is she tired?"
"Yeah..."
"Then the best thing to do is book her into a room in the hotel, or take her up to the suite, and then phone her parents and explain to them what happened - Or better still" Mark said, looking at his own watch, "Send them a gift, with a note to say where Liz is... It won't help to wake them up now!"
"Thanks Mark - you're a life-saver!"
"No probs... Catch you later!"
Ben headed back to Elizabeth.
"Right, where were we?" Mark asked Jenna.
"Mark, I'm not sure this is such a good idea... Not right now! Neither of us is thinking right!" Jenna told him.
"What do you mean, thinking right?"
"I... I have something to tell you!" Jenna finally mumbled. It had taken her all evening to get this out, and she was already regretting having to tell him at all...
Ben returned to Christian first.
"Chris - I'm going to take Liz up to the suite, are you going to bring Hannah?"
"Yeah, it's probably a good idea to get to bed now anyway!"
"Christian!" Ben was shocked.
"Separately... God damn it Ben, I wouldn't try something like that on the first night... That's Paul's trait!"
"Good... I was getting worried there for a moment. We can put them in the spare double room!"
"Yeah!" Christian agreed.
Ben went back to where Elizabeth had fallen asleep onto the table. She looked uncomfortable.
Ben shook her gently.
"Lizzi... I'm going to put you to bed now... Lizzi?" It was no use. Elizabeth was fast asleep, and nothing would wake her for at least 8 hours.
Sighing, Ben picked her up in his arms, carrying her like a baby.
From across the room, he could see Christian was supporting Hannah in getting her upstairs.
They travelled in the lift up to the 16th floor, where their suite was.
Inside, Ben silently knew that he would have a lot of explaining to do the following morning, so after he had seen Elizabeth curled under a comfortable duvet, he made a quick phone call to a 24 hour gift service.
He sent her parents a large bouquet of flowers and a gold watch, as well as a complete continental breakfast hamper with a message to explain who he was, and where their daughter had spent the night. He hoped that it would be alright.
Ben finally crawled into his own bed at 6:45 and silently thanked the lucky stars that tomorrow was a day off from A1. It wouldn't do to be in the middle of explaining everything to Elizabeth, when he had to leave for an interview or photo shoot.
Morning turned to afternoon, and still everyone in the A1 suite slept.
The suite itself, consisted of a main living and dining room area, with six doors leading to five bedrooms and a kitchen. The living room was decorated in a white and gold colour scheme, with royal blue sofas and chairs. A widescreen TV and stereo system made up one wall. The dining suite, was also gold-coloured legs, with an almost perfect glass counter. The chairs had white cotton seats, with gold legs. The whole room screamed of money.
The bedrooms were all either double, or twin, and had en-suite bathrooms. The colour schemes differed here, to include a room of dark green, royal purple, dark blue, burgundy and Crimson.
The girls' twin room was the burgundy room.
Hannah woke up first, and had a vague recollection of where she was, and how she got there. She was still shocked at the luxury of it, before remembering that she had been picked up in a Limo, and this was probably all part of the package. She had had quite a lot to drink the night before, and finally figured that she couldn't actually remember what any of the people, other than Christian, looked like. The thought made her giggle, and in an attempt not to wake up Elizabeth, decided to take a shower.
While Hannah was showering, Elizabeth finally woke up. Yawning, she pushed back the covers from over her and sat up. Looking around, her mouth opened into an astonished look.
'How the hell did I get here?' She asked aloud, before her thought process lead to another question: 'Where the hell is here?'
Fighting back a longing to throw up, Elizabeth tried to recall exactly what had happened the night before. She remembered dancing with Ben, and then the conversation before the headache began. Remembering the headache made her hand fly to her head, to check if the headache had gone, and thankfully it had.
It had occurred to Elizabeth that she didn't actually remember anything beyond the start of her headache, and wondered now, how it was that she had come to this expensive hotel room - she knew it was a hotel room from the personalised notepad sitting on the bed-side table, reading the message, 'Hey Liz, I'll catch you later, love Ben xxx' - And who she had come to the hotel with.
The shower stopped, and Elizabeth became aware that someone was about to walk through the door, and she had no idea who it would be.
To be safe, she covered herself in her duvet again.
Relief flooded her face, when she found her companion to be Hannah.
"Oh, you're awake! Did you sleep well? You were out cold last night!"
"Yeah, the sleep did me good... Where are we?"
"The boy's hotel suite... I think!" Hannah said, "Chris and Ben said they would drop by later, after they had got some sleep, but that was at 6am!"
"Oh cool... Didn't think they would be able to afford all this!"
"It's probably just for tonight, being two birthdays and everything!" Hannah suggested.
"Possibly..." Lizzi said thoughtfully, "Did they ever tell you what they do for a living?"
Elizabeth's question was interrupted by a loud hammering on the door.
Lizzi disappeared under the duvet again, Hannah was already dressed, so she called:
"Come on in!"
"Morning girls... or rather afternoon!" Christian said, kissing Hannah on the cheek.
"Sleep well?" Ben asked
"Yes thanks!"
"Umm, Have either of you seen Mark or Sara? They've disappeared!" Christian broke the news.
"What? Where could they have gone?" Hannah sounded seriously worried.
"We have no idea. They weren't supposed to leave until this evening at the earliest!" Paul shouted from the living area.
"Paul, why are you outside?" Lizzi asked loudly.
"Didn't know if you girls would be decent or not!"
"We are!" Hannah called back.
Christian and Ben were trying to conceal laughter - apparently the idea of Paul being worried about whether a girl was decent or not was a new, and humorous one!
"So why did they have to wait for tonight?"
"We gave the bodyguards the day off!" Paul said.
Ben's eyes darkened considerably, as Elizabeth turned to him for an explanation.
"Bodyguards?" She asked, confused.
Important authors note:
Hey, I'm sorry to point this out, but I made a mistake in the last chapter. The part when Christian says Mark and Sara have disappeared - It's actually Mark and Jenna who have disappeared, not Sara. I'm not entirely sure how that happened, but I apologise for it now...)
Mark sat on the stool opposite Jenna - the girl he had known and loved for over nine months, and couldn't quite believe what she was telling him.
"I... I don't understand, how can this have happened?" He stumbled over his words as the shock of the situation caught his words in his throat.
Just five minutes ago he had been gazing at her soft brown hair and wondering what he had done right to deserve her. Staring into her deep chocolate brown eyes and imagining the future - A nice house in the country, but near enough to a town so not to go stir-crazy. The house was made of white brick, and was set in about four acres of lush green gardens. The children played there, a little boy and his younger twin sisters ran through the wooded flowerbed between one garden and the compost heap. A dog or two chased after them, eager to join in the fun. The future would be wonderful. The future Mark would share with Jenna and their family in that white house would be wonderful... Would be the future... Not now!
Which is what surprised him.
"Mark, I thought I told you how these things happened..." Jenna tried to joke about the situation, tried to lighten the feeling of thick tension that hung between them.
"This isn't the time for jokes Jen... We were careful!" mark insisted.
"Not careful enough..." Jenna pointed out softly, letting her smile drop to her knees.
"What are we going to do?" Mark asked, needing to know more than just the problem... needing a way out.
"What do you mean?" Jenna asked, suddenly alert, "You can't mean for me to... to abort..."
"I don't know Jen... i don't have any answers - What do you suppose we do?" Mark nearly shouted back at her.
"I don't know... I just don't know!" Jenna was openly crying now, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks with no attempts to even wipe them away.
Mark's eyes smarted now as well.
"Have you told your parents?" He asked softly.
"No, not yet..." Jenna replied, "I only found out for sure today!"
"So, there isn't even the possibility that it's a false alarm?"
Jenna shook her head... the doctor had shown her the sound of the baby's heartbeat.
"What will you tell them?" He asked again.
"The truth and what we've decided... when we've decided..." Jenna said.
"What about A1?" Mark asked.
"What about them?"
"I can't just leave? How will we support ourselves?" He tried to reason. It was he commitment to A1 that meant the future couldn't be moved forward. It was his love for A1 that meant he didn't want the future to be moved forward...
"So, you'll be happy to go off on tour while I stay home with our baby?" Jenna demanded, a hint of anger in her voice.
"Of course not! That's why having It now is such a bad idea!" Mark said.
"It? It? Mark It is our baby... Yours and mine... And whether you like it or not, this baby will be born in seven months time!"
"Seven months? How on earth have you been pregnant for two months without knowing it? Aren't you women supposed to get sick or something?"
That was the last straw. Mark's firmly placed heels in the situation resulted in a swift smack around his face, and was followed by Jenna standing up and storming off, out of the hotel.
The press had long since departed, and as soon as the cool night air hit her face, the tears started flowing again. She was angry and hurt and confused. Mark wasn't supposed to react like that, he was supposed to be supportive and tell her everything was going to be okay...
The pavement below her pounding feet was cold and damp from the evening's rain. It soaked through her thin tights, as her shoes had fallen off outside the hotel. High heels were not designed to be run in. Neither was the ball gown that clung to her legs like a frightened child. Everything reminded her of the child she now carried inside her.
Jenna didn't stop running until she came to Picadilly Circus. Here the collection of unusual figures camoflaged her unsuitable outfit and stained face. She slowed to a walk, and then finally let herself sink into a bench, where the tears helped release all the pent up emotion she had been feeling for the past week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark gingerly touched the rapidly swelling spot on his cheek, before flinching in pain, and replacing the towel-wrapped ice. The barman had sympathetically offered the cold compress after witnessing the last part of the argument between Jenna and himself.
There was still a part of him that didn't want to believe in what he had heard. Didn't want to believe that in seven months he would be a father. His little son, or daughter...
The very thought scared him more than the idea of facing his friends and family with the situation. They would be supportive - he knew it... And Ben, Christian and Paul wouldn't feel too let down if he was to drop out of the band...
'Who am I kidding?' Mark asked himself, 'Maybe they wouldn't feel let down... but I would! Here I am doing the one thing that I always wanted to do, and no ammount of interferance in my future... by anyone... will stop me from dreaming that this is the way my life should be. Other people can juggle and career and a family. Other popstars can juggle their careers and families. Look at Ronan Keating... Half of All Saints, the Spice Girls... Okay, so not the Spice Girls! But plenty of others do both... Why can't I?'
The question echoed in his head, and no ammount of telling himself it was due to the swelling could convince himself that he couldn't do both.
"I have to go after her!" Mark said aloud.
"Go on mate... It's for the best!" The bartender said, picking up the compress that Mark had disgarded on the bar.
Mark didn't need any more encouragement. Running from the hotel, his clue to Jenna's direction - her shoes - lay within eye sight of the door. mark continued, hoping against all hope that finding her would be easy.
He ran for five blocks without stopping. His lungs heaved air in as he reached Picadilly Circus. 'This is where she would be!' He told himself 'Here, where we first met nine months ago!'
Mark recalled that day vivadly in his mind. The band had been doing a CD-signing at a record store - He couldn't remember exactly which one - and afterwards, they had dared each other to dress up in a disguise and go out into the street. Walk from that record store to the HMV at the other end of the block, and buy the new album, before coming back.
Mark had been easy. A hat covered his otherwise indistinguishable dark hair, and an eye pencil nicked from make-up had secured him a fake, drawn-on moustache. The others hadn't been so easy to hide. With Ben and Christian's obvious curtains, and Pauls even more obvious bleached blond look, their hair had got them caught at least once in their trips. Bodyguards had followed them in case of the recognition anyway, and had thought that the whole game was a lot of harmless fun to start with.
Mark's trip had been uneventful until he got to HMV. He was the last to go out of all four, and had been extra careful so not to be shown up in the street where the other three had all been noticed. There would be fans looking for him now.
In HMV, he had made his way to the album racks, and reached for the last copy of the A-list, and missed by millimeters. Instead of hitting the smooth plastic surface, he now held on a girls wrist. She clutched the CD.
Their eyes had met and all the sound from the crowded store had filtered from their ears. This was a world where only they mattered. Mark explained briefly what the plan was, and Jenna had agreed to walk back to the store with him in exchange for a free signed CD and a chance to meet the rest of the boys.
That had all been such a long time ago, and now that Mark was standing here again, he could hardly believe how real it seemed. Remembering his original purpose for being here now, he quickly scanned the crowds.
Opposite, and further down, he spied a girl sitting, dressed in a lilac dress and illuminated from the giant billboards. Jenna!
He crossed safely at a crossing and walked towards her.
"Can I sit here?" He asked.
"Sure... Mark!" Jenna said, surprise in her voice, "What are you doing here?"
Surprise turned to anger, and she continued with "I don't want to see you... Go away!"
"Please Jenna... can't we talk?"
Jenna ignored him and stood up. In a desperate plea to get away from Mark and the pain he had caused her earlier that evening, she ran.
Away from the bench and the HMV store. Away from Mark. Across the road. Half way there. She didn't see the bus. Mark did!
"JENNA!" He cried out in warning, reaching out to her as she tripped on her dress.
The sounds of screeching pierced the air as the bus tried to swerve.
It was too late, and Mark hid his eyes from the scene...
Authors note:
What can I say? I'm on a roll with this story now... You guys are as curious as I am about what is going to happen... And before you ask, no! I don't actually know yet! When my characters have decided... I'll let you know! :-)
Ben looked into Elizabeth's expectant face and silently cursed Paul for being annoying and letting his secret slip.
"Maybe we should talk about this..." Ben stated. He directed glances at the other three, who failing to get the hint, were treated to "ALONE!"
When the room had finally been emptied of everyone but them, Ben sat down next to Elizabeth on her bed.
"What is it? Why do you need bodyguards?" She asked, opening the conversation swiftly.
"Me and the boys - We're in a music group together!" Ben said quickly, praying Elizabeth wouldn't react the way most people did when they heard that.
"You are? Are you any good? ...I mean, have you got anywhere yet?" Elizabeth asked, correcting herself when she realised how rude it sounded.
"Yeah, we're not doing too badly," Ben laughed, "We have two top 10 albums, and two number 1 singles, as well as another 5 top 10 singles in England in the last three years!" Ben said modestly.
"Wow... What's your group called?" Elizabeth asked, looking at Ben with respect.
"A1... Have you honestly never heard of us?" Ben asked curiously.
"My parents don't agree with the modern arts. I can see Shakespeare performed only by the RSC. I can only read classic books and listen to classical music. Everything I do must not be seen to effect their careers!" Elizabeth revealed with a touch of scorn, as she inspected her fingers in embarrassment.
"How did you get them to let you go to the club the other night?"
"I... Didn't tell them!" Elizabeth said honestly.
"And if they found out?" Ben wanted to know.
"If they find out... It's about time they started to let me lead my own life and make my own decisions... I can't live in the past forever, and they'll have to start getting used to the idea of me not taking over their governmental lifestyles... I don't want to do that!"
"That's good for you! What do you want to do with your life?" Ben told her, grinning.
"Honestly - I have no idea... I'd like to travel the world and see other cultures. I'll have enough money from my inheritance funds to finance everything... it should be really interesting!" Elizabeth grinned at Ben, and he could see the shine of her eyes telling him that she was loving the idea.
"It is interesting!" Ben told her, "I'm so lucky to be able to go performing, and they pay me to travel the world!"
"You are lucky..." Elizabeth agreed, remembering their previous conversation. "Why didn't you tell me to start with?"
"I didn't know how you would react. Somepeopl freak out - others are angry... I like you too much to push you away over my career..." Ben said softly, "It also gets in the way with getting to know someone for who they truely are!"
"And you feel you truely know me?" Elizabeth asked, matching his softness.
Ben held her hands in his own, and scooted nearer to her.
"Liz... I never doubted it, I was just trying to come up with enough confidence to tell you!" Ben said truthfully.
"It's okay really!" Elizabeth told him, "I was just testing!" A grin spread over her playful mouth and Ben turned from her jokingly.
"Well, if it's like that..." He said, getting off the bed.
"Aww, Ben... I was only joking!" Elizabeth said, struggling out from under the duvet to follow him to the door.
Suddenly the pain seared into her head from the night before. It ripped through her skull at the speed of a jet plane, and she only had a chance to let a strangled moan escape her lips before her eyes clouded over and she dropped, like a stone, to the floor.
From the doorway, Ben heard the moan and started to think she was just playing still. Turning back to chide her, he saw her drop to the ground in a dead faint, and panicked.
"LIZZI!" He cried, attracting the attention of Sara, Paul, Hannah and Christian from the living room.
They were running to the room, while Ben was already kneeling at Elizabeth's side.
"What happened?" Hannah asked, tears streaming her face to match Ben's.
"I don't know, she just got up and collapsed!" Ben said, through his sobs.
Paul went to phone for an ambulance and taxi, while Sara helped Christian to tear Elizabeth from Ben's grip to lay her on the bed.
Sara felt for a pulse, and merely glanced at Christian to let him know there wasn't any signs, so as to not panic Ben and Hannah anymore than possible.
The ambulance arrived first, and Ben insisted on travelling with her, while the paramedics straped her to a board and carried her to the ambulance.
When the taxi arrived, the bodyguards joined Hannah, Christian, Paul and Sara in following Ben to the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul went to his room to wake Sara up, and tell her the news about Mark and Jenna, while Christian led Hannah to the sofa in the living room.
"The bodyguards?" She prompted.
"Yeah them... Basically, our parents are all, well... important in various industries. Mark's parents are in a band, Mine are business people over in Norway. Paul's have shares in lareg companies in both England and Spain... Not so sure about Bens... They're pretty secretive!" Christian told her, reeling off ideas as they came to his head.
"And?" Hannah asked, although she already expected she knew the answer. Elizabeth's parents often had bodyguards to look after them at important social occasions.
"Well, recently we've been the target of some kidnappers... You know, the sons of these famous people... worth quite a lot in ransom..."
"Yeah... Liz's parents are like that. She gets hardly any freedom!"
"Liz?" Christian asked, changing the subject.
"Her parents are John and Lilian Carter!" Hannah said, expecting Christian to have heard of them.
When he still looked confused, she added "Important government people... You're parents have probably met them if they're famous!"
"Probably! To be honest with you, we don't talk about the fame thing too much... it gets in the way of our family life!" Christian lied again, covering his own tracks.
"I see... I can understand that I suppose!"
"In fact, if you were to mention it, then everyone would probably deny it... We're not supposed to go around emphasising the fact that we're the kids of famous parents!" He lied again.
"Does that account for all the press outside the hotel last night?"
"Yeah... probably!"
Hannah was about to ask, why only 'probably' when Ben's scream of "Lizzi!" pierced the air, and echoed around the suite. Hannah and Christian joined Paul and Sara in the race to the bedroom where they found Ben knelt over Elizabeth.
Hannah found wings and flew down to the ground next to her friend, and tried to get some answers, but she was incoherant with sobs to hear what happened. She was so confused... What had happened? Why was Ben crying so much? What was the tearing, high-pitched squeal that kept getting louder?
The men in bright green jump-suits came to strap Elizabeth to a board, and still Hannah sat and sobbed, Ben moved from her side then, and followed Elizabeth. She would have done the same, had Christian not caught her arm and directed her to a taxi with Sara and Paul close behind.
The taxi was already occupied. Three large men - about the size of a bus each, sat wearing black suits and dark sunglasses, as though they were members of the mafia.
Remembering why Christian had said they needed bodyguards made Hannah wonder if they had come to kidnap the three sons that still remained... afterall, they already had Mark, didn't they?
Some how, the calming hug from Christian soothed her senses, and she relaxed, concentrating instead on the problem at hand. She knew that she would have to phone Elizabeth's parents, but somehow that would only lead to disaster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mark sat by Jenna's bedside as the sound of the consistant beeping filled the silence of the night air. He didn't know how long he had sat there, and he didn't care.
After the bus had hit Jenna from it's path, it had careered into the shop window. There had been a lot of screaming, as people scrambled from the wreckage of the bus. Luckily, mark had been informed, only the bus-driver had been killed, everyone else had escaped unharmed. Mark wondered how that would be seen as lucky for the bus drivers family - a mother and two young children.
He had seen them arrive at the hospital, and ask where he was. He had seen the nurse trying to lead them into a quieter room to break the terrible news, but the words had never needed to be said. The mother understood and silently asked to see his body. The children were too young to understand about death. He had been responsible for stealing a father away from two children not old enough to remember him. He felt terrible.
Jenna had been rushed into intensive care, and Mark had had to wait for the best part of two hours while they operated on her. In those two hours, something serious had changed between them, and Mark was yet to find out what it was.
"Mr Read?" The nurse had said, "Jenna has had a nasty accident..." mark bit his lips to stop himself from yelling 'you think?' and instead, let the nurse continue, "She's broken her left leg in three places, and damaged her spine in the impact. The baby was lost, I'm sorry!"
"Will Jenna be okay?" Mark damanded, forgetting the baby that had nearly been his. He would have time to mourn the loss later.
"We have put her under a general anisetic and she loss a lot of blood in the miscarriage. While it is likely that Jenna will regain consciousness, I must inform you there is a chance she may never recover the feeling in her legs..." The nurse said.
Mark struggled to understand the formal language, but once he had translated it, the news that she might be paralysed for life from the waist down, was enough to make him sink into a chair with grief.
'She's not dead!' He kept telling himself joyfully, 'be thankful for that!'
Mark was thankful for that... very thankful, but he still felt so guilty. Two lives had been lost... And probably a third wrecked completely... All because he hadn't wanted to give up his career for his family!
He felt sick to the stomach, and as he sat and looked at Jenna's sleeping figure on the bed next to him, he wondered how it was that he would be able to face her with what he had done.
To his surprise, and horror, he had to face his friends before he faced Jenna.
Ben, Christian, Paul, Sara and Hannah were escorted over to another bed in the intensive care ward.
'What happened? Where's Elizabeth?' Mark wondered, but had the question answered to him from the tears that glinted on Hannah and Ben's cheeks. They matched his own, but were for somebody else.
The others had not noticed Mark yet! Paul and Christian noticed him and almost the exact moment, and rushed over.
"Mark... what is it? What happened... Are you okay? Why didn't you call us?" The questions were fired in such a rapid motion, that Mark had not the time to think of what they were asking.
"Talk to us Mark!" Christian urged.
"Jenna was knocked down by a bus... it's all my fault!" Mark said like a child, and began to shake as his tears renewed their strength.
Christian hugged his friend and told him "It's not you fault... calm down! Tell us exactly what happened!"
Mark sat back down, and was about to start his tale, when the doors to the ward were flung open, and two people with faces of thunder burst in. Hannah flinched and physically dropped two feet away from the door.
"Hannah Kirkwood! What the HELL happened to my daughter?" The man shouted, his voice matching his face.
Christian knew there would be trouble now. From Elizabeth's bedside... So did Ben!
Hannah gulped loudly from the wall that kept her standing up. Elizabeth's mother ran directly to Lizzi'a bedside, and clutched her hand, calling for her to wake from her comatose state. She was too preoccupied with her daughter's condition to notice her husbands actions, or the causes of her condition.
Elizabeth's father was walking menacingly towards Hannah, his fists itching for someone to pay for the damage to his reputation. The fear showed in Hannah's eye and Paul wondered what dark secrets had been concealed by both Elizabeth and her closest friend, because it was obvious there was some dark secret being hidden. He was also sure it wouldn't be long before they found out.
Hannah began whimpering as John Carter came closer. Christian inched towards her, trying to calm his raised awareness of the situation, and attempting to comfort her, but the feeling of tension in the room kept him and the others quiet and still.
"Well?" John barked, "What the HELL happened?"
"I... I don't know..." Hannah whimpered visibly shaking.
"Don't you answer back young lady.... Do you know who I am?" John demanded, having pinned Hannah against the wall with a hand held firmly against her shoulder. Tears flowed down Hannah's face in fear. It was too much for Christian to take. it took him two long strides to get to Hannah's side, and throw John's hand away from her with a swift, calm movement.
"We know who you are Mr Carter!" He said, the same calmness showing in his diction, "And if you wait for the doctor to arrive, I'm sure he'll be able to tell you what happened to Elizabeth!"
Christian's words seemed to have calmed John's anger, and he turned away to his daughter's bedside, the opposite side from his wife. There was no way anyone could have for seen the way in which John's mind ticked. 'if it wasn't Hannah Kirkwood's fault... Then it must have been that breakfast boy's fault.... What was his name? Ben Adams.." John thought to himself.
"Ben?" John asked, loudly, facing no one in particular.
"Yeah?" Ben asked, looking up from Elizabeth's bed.
John moved so quickly hat no one really understood what was happening, until he had Ben pinned to the floor and was punching his chest, face and arms anywhere he could reach, while screaming... "Breakfast? You think breakfast pays for the dirty night you spent with my daughter... How dare you think she comes so cheap... I'll have you thrown into Hell for this... mark my words!"
Christian, Paul and Mark had leapt from their positions within the room and on to John's back in an attempt to stop him hitting Ben anymore. The bodyguards had entered the room from their posts outside, and pulled them all apart. They set Christian, Paul and Mark down on to the floor, while holding John tightly. Mark reached to help his bestfriend off the floor, with only a few bruises and a split lip as a sign of the scrap with John Carter.
"What on earth is going on in here?" A doctor asked from the doorway. The noise had attracted his attention. "If you can't be quiet than you'll have to leave! Go on - Get into the waiting room, all of you!" He demanded firmly.
The bodyguards, guiding John by firm, strong hands on his shoulders, were the first to leave. Mark returned to Jenna's side, being that the doctor did not make the connection between him and the remaining members of A1.
"My daughter - What happened?" Lilian Carter asked the doctor.
"It appears that a small blood clot has appeared in a vein in her brain. By standing up, she dislodged the clot, and it flowed to a thinner part of the vein, blocking the blood!" The doctor explained in simple terms for the mother.
"What caused it?" She asked, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear it spoken aloud.
"It can be a number of thing... Incessant beating to the face is the most common occurrance!"
"I'll kill him!" Lilian muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Ben to hear,
"Can it be cured?" Ben asked, ignoring the comment he had just overheard and moving the conversation along.
"Not cured exactly... But prevented! There is a pill that can be prescribed to keep the blood from clotting. She'll have to take them once a day for the rest of her life!" Lilian choked back a sob as she thanked the doctor for the information, before she turned and started crying into Ben's shirt. Ben was shocked at the display of emotion from a near stranger, and gingerly hugged the woman back to a calmer state of mind.
While Ben was comforting her, Christian had knelt down next to Hannah, seated on the floor next to the wall. Sara had lead Paul out after hearing what was wrong. It was not a place that Mark or Ben needed them to be right at that moment. Their job in comforting would come later.
"Come-on Han... Lets go for a coffee!" Christian offered her a comforting hand, which she took.
"What's up with Lizzi's dad? Christian asked, when they were both seated at a small table in the hospital cafeteria.
Hannah studied the foam on her cappuccino, debating whether or not to tell Christian the truth or not. Elizabeth wouldn't expect her to lie after that out burst surely! And She didn't really want to lie to Christian.
"He... He beats her..." Hannah finally said quietly, "Not very often these days but it used to be really frequent, like three or four separate times a day!" Hannah spoke truthfully, not meeting Christian's eyes. He could tell there was something deeper.
"Why did he do it?"
"Never for any serious reason - listening to the wrong music, speaking out of line... She soon learnt to be the perfect daughter where ever it might get back to her parents."
"And now? When did he last hit her?"
"Last week... It was quite bad. If you look at her back and shoulders, they look like a blue colour-spectrum wheel. The bruises on her face and eyes are covered by thick make-up!"
"This is terrible Hannah... Why didn't she ever tell anyone?"
"She did - She told me, and after her father found out..." Hannah broke off trying to forget those terrifying days. Christian sensed her trembling hands beneath his.
"What did he do to you?"
Hannah couldn't bring herself to say the words.
"What? What was it?" Christian demanded with urgency.
"He... threatened me..." Hannah broke into sobs to mask the guilt of lying through silence. Christian saw through her facade.
"What else?" Hannah still didn't answer.
"Hannah - what else? Tell me!"
"He hit me badly... And and he -" Her throat caught, and she almost choked, "he... he nearly raped me..." She finished in a whisper so quiet Christian could barely hear it.
"Oh God Hannah! I am so sorry!" Christian soothed her. He felt his protective instincts rise, and he guided her with his hands into a tight gripping hug. Hannah cried into his shoulder. When the tears subsided a little but, she continued.
"Lizzi and her mum stopped him before it was too late... Since then I've been treated like a princess in their house. Liz is too good a friend to walk out on, especially now, I couldn't have anyone else go through that just to let Liz talk to someone." Hannah spoke softly and with feeling, and Christian could sense the bond between the two girls was very strong.
"Mrs Carter got him some help - privately of course, and since then he has injections to keep his cool. When he forgets to inject himself though, everything is ten times worse... the anger, the pain... It's so frightening wondering when the next day he'll forget will be!" Hannah said, "He would still hit her, with me there, watching her, but whenever I tried to get him to stop, we would just push me away... He's so strong!"
"I'm so sorry you're had to struggle with this all on your own - you and Liz, you should have had to!" Chrisian said.
"We don't any more - you know now, and when Liz wakes up, so will Ben... She'll have to tell him now!" Hannah said, a small smile of relief creeping onto her face.
"I'll always be here for you!" Christian told her, "I know I've only known you for such a short period of time, but I feel like I know so much about you! Hannah, would it be alright if I could get to now everything there is to know about you?"
"Of course that's alright... Ask away!" Hannah smiled properly, pleased to have come to terms with the secret she had been keeping for so long!
Christian let his hand swiftly but slowly wipe a stray tear away from her cheek, before sweeping her hair away from her face, until his hand rested on the back of her neck. Slowly, as to not startle each other, they both felt the urge to lean forward into a soft kiss - full of love for each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Mrs Carter - " Ben started, when she had calmed down enough to listen. "What about Elizabeth?" Ben had guessed who was to blame for Elizabeth's condition. Lilian's comment combined with his own experience had led him to his conclusion.
"What about her?" Lilian asked, off guard. Ben let a light blush remove the paleness off his cheeks, He would have smiled, had it not meant increased pain to his bloody lip.
"I really like her - I mean, I don't think I've ever felt like this about anyone before - especially some one I've only known for a few days!"
"So, she finally learnt to use the oak tree I had planted outside her window on purpose!" Mrs Carter smiled wistfully, with a proud tone in her voice.
Ben smirked at the thought, before wincing in pain from his lip.
"Will you stay?" Lilian asked suddenly.
Ben didn't need any explanation as to what she meant by 'stay', but numbly found himself nodding in agreement.
Without saying a word, Ben had just vowed to look after Elizabeth and protect her from her own father.
"Where will you go?" He asked.
"I'll stay with John - It is too damaging to leave him now!" Lilian sighed.
Ben felt sorry for this woman, and wished there was some way of helping her, then he realised that he was helping her, by looking after her only daughter, and keeping her safe, he was doing the one thing Lilian Carter wanted the most from her present life.
"What about you two... where will you go?" Lilian asked him.
Ben was stumped. He had momentarily forgotten his commitment to A1.
"I... I'm in a band... we have to go on tour next month!" Ben struggled to fight his growing sickness in the stomach.
"That's okay. Provided you can work it to take her with you, I've put plenty of money into an account for her over the years to tide her over for life... There's nearly a million pounds in there now - A lot my own dowry, most is her college and home funds..." Lilian told him, "I knew this day would come one day!"
Ben sighed his relief, "I'm so glad... I mean, I can work it for her to come with us, but I wasn't sure how it would be financed!"
Lilian smiled at the boy she had spent nearly an hour with, and knew almost for certain would care for her daughter.
At this mutual respect and understand for each other, they embraced.
"You're a good boy Ben, and I thank you!"
"No needs for thanks - just keep yourself safe!" Ben warned.
Lilian smiled, and in that moment, an awkward silence hung between them. Lilian stood up to leave, when Elizabeth stirred.
Her eyelids flickered open, and she slowly scanned the room.
"Where's dad? What happened to your lip Ben?" Suddenly, the realisation dawned on her, and she felt sick to the stomach.
Ben decided it was probably a good time to work himself up, and let Elizabeth and her mother to have a last good long conversation. He reckoned she would need to hear an explanation sooner or later, and rather her than him to give it!
Jenna woke up later that evening, after Ben and Mark had been kicked clear of the wards. The nurses had sent them out because they were keeping Lizzi awake, and hadn't actually been to sleep themselves the entire time. It was nearly 9 o'clock when the doctor drew back the curtains revealing a very red-cheeked Jenna. Lizzi guessed that she had had the news about the baby broken to her. Mark had told Lizzi and Ben in confidence, because he didn't know how Jenna would react to the information.
As it happened, Jenna blamed Mark and Lizzi knew it would be a tough battle to convince her otherwise. Lizzi also confided that she was excited about the up-coming tour she would go on with the boys. As Paul's cousin, Jenna would come along anyway. As would Sara because she was now Paul's personal assistant, hired by himself. Lizzi suspected that her duties far outnumbered the average personal assistants. Jenna was thrilled to learn that Lizzi would be coming along, because it meant that she would have someone to talk to. Without Mark to keep her company, things would undoubtedly be different on this tour. Lizzi couldn't see how going on tour with the one person you were trying to avoid could possible be a good idea, but bit her tongue from saying anything out loud.
The evening passed with the girls chatting about past tours and what the boys got up to. Or rather, Jenna talked while Lizzi listened. Jenna made everything sound very exciting, and Lizzi's curiosity was heightened.
Jenna asked if Hannah would be coming as well, and Lizzi had to answer honestly, that she didn't know because she hadn't had a chance to speak to her best friend since the morning, and that hadn't been for very long. For the first time since they had met the boys, Lizzi found herself wondering if Jenna even knew about the band thing, because so far she hadn't mentioned anything to suggest she knew. And yet she was there in the morning when Lizzi had found out just before Ben had told her the truth. Lizzi smiled at the moment as it replaye in her mind. Ben was perfect - Almost too good to be true! Surely Christian had had the decency to tell Hannah then as well??
When morning came, Lizzi was discharged to Ben's responsibility and strict orders to do no physical activities until she has regained the loss of strength in her legs. That meant that she was wheelchair bound for a few days. Ben seemed happy to be able to mother and care for Lizzi, and she wondered exactly what her mother had said to him before she left. The fact that she had left still hadn't sunk in. The fact that her parents had disowned her for her own good was still lost inside her thoughts.
"Come on Lizzi... nearly there!" Ben said encouragingly as he supported her from the wheelchair onto the sofa.
"Ben, I can manage!" Elizabeth sighed, as she used her arms to position herself comfortably.
"I know... I just don't want to put you under any unnecessary stress!" Ben said with a smile on his lips.
"That's sweet really, but I wish everyone would stop fussing so much... it makes me feel like an invalid!"
"Liz Hun... you are an invalid!" Hannah said from the doorway to Christian's bedroom. Christian stood just behind her and both had slightly messy hair. Ben and Lizzi shared a grin that spoke without words 'guess who's been making the most of an empty apartment?' Mark was at the hospital with Paul, visiting Jenna. Sara had gone home for the weekend, so she could get ready to go on tour again. She would arrive back on the following Tuesday, two days before they would leave.
"Hannah! I have so much to tell you!" Lizzi grinned at her best friend. Ben had asked her to become a steady girlfriend with him on the short Limo ride between the hospital and the hotel and she was positively bursting to tell someone.
"So do I!" Hannah replied, "How about we kick out the guys tonight and have a girls night in... Jenna should be here by then as well!"
The doctor had indeed said that if Jenna's stats. stayed normal the rest of the day she would be free to go home as well.
"Umm, Hannah..." Christian reminded.
"Oh damn!" Hannah swore, "Can we make it for tomorrow morning? I promised Christian we'd go out tonight!" The look of longing and apology on her face made Lizzi crack up, and agree.
"Sure, tomorrow morning then!"
Hannah smiled in return. Christian's face registered relief. He knew that a night in with the girls would result in Hannah discovering his true vocation, and although he now regretted lying to her, telling her the truth was becoming one of the most difficult things to do in the world. He had decided that tonight he's have to tell her, but thought to himself, 'what harm can it do to have a little fun before hand?'
*************************************************************************************************
At the hospital, it was a different story. Jenna wanted to get out of the hospital. She could now add one more tragedy to the list of reasons she hated them, and in order to get out that day, she had to keep everything normal - including her blood pressure. Having Mark there in the first place didn't help, but asking him directly to leave would cause all sorts of problems, and probably result in an argument, which would raise her blood pressure and cause the doctors to say she was unfit to leave that day.
So instead, she concentrated on Paul, and what his life with Sara was doing.
"She's at home til we leave!" He replied sombrely. "She didn't want to leave right now when all this happened, but she has stuff to organise before she goes away with us, so it's better she's gone for three days now, than for three months later!" Paul's eyes told the story of heartache, and Jenna reached out to comfort him.
The pain soared through her arm, and she quickly retracted it, looking around in case any doctors had seen the action. Luckily, none had, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
"You should tell someone if your arm is sore!" Mark said softly in his chair by her bed. Jenna turned to give him a stare that spoke of 'who asked you to crawl out of your shell?' before returning straight to the problem of Paul's loneliness.
"You could always go with her... to her home I mean!" She suggested.
"That wouldn't work, I promised Aunt Katie I'd look after you!" Paul said, referring to Jenna's mother. Living up in Newcastle had kept her parents there, because it was too far to travel in one day. If she hadn't woken up yesterday, they would have travelled today, but instead they saw little point in visiting their daughter, as she was apparently fine.
"I'm not joking Jenna... if you don't tell someone, I will!" mark warned her, changing the subject back to her arm.
Jenna's eyes narrowed and her breathing became narrow as she tried to remain calm. She kept her own eyes locked on Paul, not daring to let the unwanted sight of Mark enter her mind through the act of visual contact. Paul read her expression.
"Jenna... You have to tell someone! It could be serious!"
"Leave it Mark!" Paul said very quietly, "Jenn doesn't want to stay overnight again, especially without Lizzi to keep her company!"
"The two problems are completely different! Lizzi had a blood clot - You got run over by a double decker bus... You have to think about this carefully! What if it's not safe for you to leave let? What if there's some unnoticed injury?" mark persisted.
"Mark, leave it!" Paul said again, voicing Jenna's opinions for her, so she wouldn't have to get angry.
"No, I won't just leave it! I love you Jenna - I don't want to see you damage yourself more because you were too stubborn to listen to me! I'm going to tell a nurse or doctor or someone!" mark said, scrapping his chair backwards as he stood up.
"No! Mark, don't! Please!" Jenna said in a loud enough voice to sound like a shout against her previous tone.
Mark glared at her. "I have to... it's for your own good!" He said firmly.
"If you tell, I promise I will never speak to you ever again!" Jenna said spitefully. Anger caught on the harsh pronunciation of her tongue.
"So be it!" Mark said, walking out. He loved her too much to risk losing her to death. At least he could work on the talking thing when she got better. The thought comforted him as he made his observation, and as he quietly, but confidently walked out of the hospital.
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The doctors checked out Jenna's arm, and found that she had caught a nerve in her shoulder. A physiotherapist sorted it out mid-afternoon and by 5 o'clock, Jenna and Paul were on their way back to the hotel.
When Mark found out, he had begged Ben to keep an eye on her that evening, and to try and get her to talk about what Mark would have to do to win her back, inconspicuously, of course.
That was why it was decided that Christian, Hannah, Mark, Paul and Lizzi would go to the movies, and Ben would stay back and talk to Jenna. Ben had been unwilling to free Lizzi's care into anyone else's capable arms, but Hannah had insisted, and Mark had promised to look after her in return for the favour Ben was serving him. Ben reluctantly agreed.
Christian took Hannah out for a meal first, and met the others at the cinema, careful to arrive as the trailers ran, so they would only have to sit down, and not spend too much time small-talking before hand. He had chickened out of telling her at the last minute, and hoped that the others would leave him a bit of time before Hannah found out. Either that, or he would tell her later that evening.
The film, Miss Congeniality, had left the five friends in stitches of laughter, and they had gone to the nearby Haagen Darz ice cream cafe for a hour or so afterwards, while they swapped humorous quotations from that movie and others they had seen.
Back at the Hotel suite, Ben wasn't having so much luck in getting Jenna to open up.
"Would you like to order room service?" Ben asked her. Jenna shrugged her shoulders, starring at the blank screen where the box-office movie had finished playing. The static was more interesting, apparently, than talking about Mark.
"Jenna... we've always been friends!" Ben sat down next to her on the sofa. Jenna swung her head away from him, and crossed her arms. Ben continued, knowing she would listen anyway. "Better than friends, so I know that there is something bothering you!" Jenna grunted. "And I know that it's got something to do with Mark... and probably something to do with the baby..."
Ben had hit the sore patch. Jenna's head flicked to face his, her eyes mirroring that of a basilisk. "What do you know about the baby?" She asked through a clenched jaw.
"I know that when you told Mark two days ago, he didn't react the way you wanted him to!" Ben hinted that he wanted the rest of the story. Jenna obliged.
"No! He didn't, did he? Like all the other selfish men I've ever met, Mark just turned his back on me!"
"Why? What exactly did he suggest you do?"
"He didn't... Not specifically anyway! He was just too dumb to even notice how I felt!"
"Did you tell him how you felt?"
"Humph..."
"Well?" Ben urged.
"No..."
"Well then... Mark's not psychic you know... How did you expect him to act?"
"I don't know... I wanted him to be happy!"
"Because you love Mark..."
"Of course I love Mark!"
"So why did you run away from him when he tried to apologise!"
"Because... Well, because I felt guilty!"
"Guilty? Why?"
"Because I was making him feel guilty and responsible for something that isn't any of his doings!"
"I don't understand..."
"Mark's first reaction was 'we were careful'..." Jenna said, "Well that's the truth! mark and I were careful... 'We' however, weren't..." Jenna's eyes met Ben's as the realisation slowly dawned on him.
"You mean... that in running in front of the bus, you were killing the baby that Mark thought was his, but was actually..."
"Yours Ben! Our baby..." Jenna's eyes filled with tears.
The memory of that night came flooding back to Ben now. Mark had been visiting his brothers. Something to do with D2E, Ben couldn't remember what anymore. Jenna had been making dinner when she had cut her finger on the knife, and Ben had been the only one around to help her. They had already had too much to drink that night as was normal when they were on holiday from work. Too much drink, and too much closeness had resulted in the mistake that had nearly cost Jenna her life. Ben knew that if mark ever found out, his life wouldn't be worth living.
Jenna's tears cascaded down her cheeks now, as she mourned the loss of her child. It hadn't sunk in to Ben, because to him, he had just never been a father and wouldn't be from this girl. Jenna was a good friend - too good to mess things up with a mistake like this. So was Mark. It still hurt him to see her crying, and although he sensed it was all wrong, Ben leaned over to hug Jenna. Jenna cried into Ben's shirt, before slowly leaning up to kiss him. Gently at first, then with a little more passion.
Neither Ben nor Jenna heard Paul open the door to the returning five. Neither did they see Lizzi and Mark run in different directions. Lizzi towards the elevator in her wheelchair, Mark straight towards the fire exit staircase. They heard Christian, Paul and Hannah's shocked outcries though, and immediately broke apart.
In a second they both registered what had happened.
"Oh my God!" Ben thought frantically, "Lizzi!"
Ben fumbled to get his shoes on in his rush. He couldn't think straight through his tears - how could he have let her leave like that? Why did he and Jenna even kiss in the first place? Jenna loved Mark and he, well he was almost positively in love with Elizabeth Carter.
Out in the sitting room of the hotel suite. Everyone was in as much chaos. Paul had already left to search for one of the missing pair. Jenna had locked herself into her room, which she had been sharing with Mark only a few nights ago. Christian and Hannah were at a loss to what to do, but had promised Paul to make sure nothing else happened between Ben and Jenna. Ben had been adamant he wanted to look for Lizzi, while Jenna spoke to no one. Sounds of sobbing could be heard from her room.
"Are you ready Ben?" Hannah asked from the sitting room. Christian was pacing - This was not the way the night had supposed to end!
"Yeah, let's go! I have to make my peace with Lizzi before the tour starts!" Ben said, walking from his room and flinging open the door to the hotel.
"Tour?" Hannah asked, freezing in confusing silence.
"Umm... Chris?" Ben turned to his friend, who directed a death stare at him.
"What tour?" Hannah asked, frostily. She had picked up the glare and could only begin to imagine what they were talking about.
"This wasn't how I wanted to tell you!" Christian said, going over to hug Hannah.
"Tell me what?" Hannah demanded.
"Hannah... Mark, Paul, Ben and I... we're in a pop group called A1! We have to go on tour..."
"Tour... when?" Hannah asked again, the jigsaw pieces falling into place suddenly.
"Next week!" Christian sighed.
"And when exactly did you plan on telling me?"
"Tonight... except things have, happened..."
"And the bodyguards?"
"Are there because crowds of teenage girls can get unruly very easily!"
"You lied to me!" Hannah sounded more hurt than angry now. She turned to Ben. "Does Liz know?"
Ben nodded.
"Ben told Liz, and all of you failed to tell me!" Hannah nodded in amazement.
Christian was waiting for tears, or anger... something, anything, that could help him determine how Hannah was taking the news. There were no signs.
"say something Han..."
"Say what Christian? How am I supposed to act? I need to think and we have friends to find! I'll speak to you later!" She snapped, and led the way out the door.
"Sorry Christian..." Ben apologised.
"It's okay - you weren't to know!" Christian said rationally. Ben would already have a problem with one of the members of the group. If he was to fall out with him as well, there could well be no tour to go on next week...
"Lizzi... where are you going?" Mark asked. The two had reached the door at the same time, because Lizzi was slower than he had been, even though she took the elevator.
"I... I don't know! I don't have anywhere else..." She cried. There were tear tracks streaked over her cheeks and Mark felt genuinely sorry for her. Jenna had already been mad at him, and could have kissed Ben to make him jealous. Lizzi? What had she done wrong to deserve being treated like that? Then Mark got to thinking - His girlfriend - the mother of his dead child - had just been caught kissing another man. The seeds of self-pity returned, and he found himself unable to extend the sympathy he felt towards Lizzi.
"Well, see ya around!" he spoke harshly, and started running in the opposite direction, letting the chilled night air calm him, and allow him to think. Only two nights ago, he had been running this exact stretch and that had ended in tragedy.
The reality bought him to a direct halt. And led him into a near-by bar, where he ordered a few pints of beer and downed them in his misery. He was unable to account for the exact number he had had by the time Hannah found him.
One reached the ground floor of the hotel, Christian, Ben and Hannah decided to split up. Hannah went in the same direction as Mark had run in, but it had been unknown to her at the time. Christian went to the road running perpendicular to the hotel, and Ben went the opposite way to Hannah.
Christian was confused. Hannah was proving so difficult to read, and it had hurt him more by being passive to the situation, than by just reacting hurt or angry. He couldn't react to passiveness and he was at a loss as to what to do to make things better. His mind, so clearly on his own problems, was not concentrating on the task at hand. That's why he didn't see Paul walking through the small, central-London square garden he was also walking through, until he had almost walked straight into him.
"Sorry!" He mumbled, head staring at the cobbled path in front of him.
"Christian?" Paul asked, checking to see if it was his friend, as the darkness concealed expressions and details thoroughly.
"Paul? What are you doing here?"
"Same thing as you are apparently - looking for Lizzi!"
"She came this way?"
"Of course she did... you could see the direction of the wheelchair in the puddles next to the road!" Paul said matter-of-factly.
"Oh!" Christian said, not really listening.
"Chris? What's up?" Paul asked, worried by his friends' lack of perception and interest.
"I lied to Hannah! I didn't tell her about the band thing, and Ben just let it slip!" He revealed.
"Oh dear... How did she react?"
"She didn't... She just said she would talk to me later!"
"Harsh!" Paul agreed with Christian's thinking.
Paul heard Lizzi first, but Christian saw her just moments later. After talking about his own problems with Paul, they had split up to actually look for Lizzi. Paul was adamant she was in the gardens, but they had proved to be bigger than either thought.
"Lizzi?" Christian asked softly, coming over to the bench where Lizzi had stopped her wheelchair.
"What do you want Christian?" She asked. After her encounter with both Ben and then Mark, she wasn't in the best of moods with the group of friends, and didn't want to have to deal with another person ignoring her in such a fashion.
"We've been looking for you everywhere... It's not safe for you out here on your own... especially in your condition!" Christian pointed out.
As if to prove his point, Lizzi shivered with the cold. Christian immediately acted the way his sensitive self had been bought up to react, and wrapped his own jacket around her shoulders. from the bushes across the path from them, Paul watched the action and smiled to himself. Christian would look after Lizzi and make sure she got to safety, and in doing so, he would probably win points for his case with Hannah, and distract himself from dwelling too much on the outcome of the chat that would undoubtedly come with the return. Satisfied that he wouldn't be needed to help, he turned and headed back to the hotel.
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"This should suit you fine for a couple of nights!" Christian told her, as he wheeled her into the small hotel room, down the street from their own hotel. "Everything is paid for, so don't worry about food, just order room service!"
"Thanks Christian... please don't tell Ben where I am yet... I have to think about what I'm going to do, and tell him!" Lizzi sighed, "But if he does get suspicious, tell him that I love him and I won't stay away too long!"
"Sure thing Liz... Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Yeah! See you in a few days!" Lizzi said, as Christian left, and she shut the door, putting the chain-lock in place.
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"Mark... What have you been doing?" Hannah asked, eyeing the half-dozen empty glasses on the table in front of him with suspicion.
"I... I don't know!" Mark slurred.
"Okay... It's okay! We're all worried about you, you know!"
"Are you Hannah?" Mark asked. His voice was so slurred that she couldn't make out the punctuation or tone of the question that often depicted the manner in which it was supposed to be received.
"Of course we are... We've been looking all over!"
"Hannah - I think, I think I love you!" Mark said, flinging himself haphazardly into her arms as she tried to pry him from the seat where he had been slumped.
"Umm, Mark... What about Jenna?" She asked, but was cut off as Mark plastered a sloppy kiss on her mouth. His breath smelt badly of alcohol, and she grimaced.
"How much has he had?" She shouted at the bartended watching the two struggle with amusement.
"Umm..." He gulped, not expecting the anger in her voice.
"Well? Tell me!" She demanded
"About 18 pints!" He said eventually, seemingly after counting on finger the exact amount.
"And you kept serving him?"
"He's paying ain't he?"
"That's no excuse... he can't even stand straight!" She pointed out, hefting his arm over her shoulder and trying to use her own weight to counter his as he slumped across her.
"I'll call a taxi..." The bartender said, guilt in his voice, "On the house!"
"Oh how generous!" Hannah said sarcastically.
Once she had got him into the taxi, he had apparently sobered a little bit.
"Hannah... I'm sorry... I love Jenna, not you!" He gulped, rolling his head back onto his shoulders.
"That's okay Mark. I love Christian, so let's not tell them what happened, it would only cause unnecessary arguments!"
"Yeah!"
"Mark, one more thing..." Hannah started, her over reactive imagination plotting to use his guilt as a weapon to keep peace between the group.
"What?"
"Jenna was really upset! So was Ben... I don't think they meant to kiss each other..."
"And?"
"And don't you think, after what you just did it would be hypocritical to blame either one of them?"
"Yeah... I suppose! So what should I do?"
"Don't do anything. least of all yell at Ben or Jenna!"
"Okay!" Mark let his head roll to his shoulders again, and his eyes closed.
Hannah guessed he was sleeping as a side effect of drinking too much alcohol. Her own words seemed to grind her nerves. 'After what you just did it would be hypocritical to blame...' And even though the circumstances were slightly different. In concealing the kiss from Christian, she was doing exactly what he did to her - keeping the truth hidden! In that moment, Hannah decided that Christian would get off lightly this time, but she would act hurt to prevent him from lying again. Hidden Truths - Chapter 9
Hannah and Paul had helped to put Mark to bed in Hannah's room, because Jenna had exhausted herself with crying and gone to sleep behind her locked door. Mark was too drunk to be trusted to go near her in any case.
Hannah had whisked Christian off to his room as soon as he had returned with the news that he had not found Lizzi either. Ben was beside himself with grief and he expressed his feelings through anger.
"I can't believe you're all just going to bed when Lizzi is out there. She has nowhere to go and she's in a wheel chair! Doesn't anyone else care?" He shouted at his friends.
"Ben, we're tired, we need to rest! We'll look again in the morning!" Christian explained.
"Well you heartless bunch can all go to sleep then! I'm going to find Lizzi! She's my responsibility!"
"And a fine job you did of that!" Hannah muttered under her breath, dragging Christian away.
Ben turned to Paul for support.
"I - I have to phone Sara! She doesn't know what's happened!" Paul found himself lying.
'Something doesn't make sense here!' he thought to himself as he changed for bed, 'Christian found Liz - I saw them... If Chris isn't worried, then I won't dwell on the subject! I'll just ask him about it tomorrow!'
Hannah had just closed the door to Christian's room when they heard the door slam, which meant Ben had left.
"So..." Christian started.
"It's okay Chris! I've thought about it, and I know why you lied!" Hannah finally revealed.
"You're not angry then?" Christian asked
"Not angry - No! I am hurt that you couldn't trust me though!"
"It's not that I didn't trust you Han, I just didn't want to frighten you off! I really like you Hannah... In fact, I think I'm falling in love with you!"
Hannah smiled, but deep down her heart cringed. That was the second time someone had confessed their love to her that evening, and although she knew that Mark's was caused by excessive drinking, she still wasn't used to having it happen so often.
"Hannah - would you like to go on tour with me?"
"I'd love to Christian! Thank you!" Hannah relaxed now that the time in which she was supposed to respond to Christian's revelation has passed. She had strong feelings for Christian - sure - but she still wasn't sure it was love yet! After all, they had only known each other for a week!
"I - I have something else I need to tell you, although I promised I wouldn't tell anyone!" Christian continued, "I - I found Lizzi! She's in a hotel down the street, she just couldn't face Ben tonight!"
Hannah's immediate worries subsided at the sentence, and her face showed her relief.
"Oh Christian! You don't know how happy I am to hear that! I have been so worried about her! If it wasn't for the necessity on this conversation, I'd be out there with Ben looking for her now!" Hannah confirmed her happiness by throwing her arms around Christian's neck and planting a kiss on his lips. "Thank you so much for looking after her!"
Christian kissed Hannah back, and the couple felt completely content in each others arms at last. Hannah decided that if this wasn't love, then Love had to be pretty amazing.
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Mark woke up without a headache of any kind and as he lay still in the bed he couldn't believe his luck. The memories from the night before came trickling back as he tried to determine what he was doing in Liz and Hannah's room.
'Ben and Jenna had kissed... 18 pints... He'd told Hannah he loved her... Then promised not to get mad at Ben and Jenna... 18 PINTS!?!?' Mark's stomach lurched and he flew to the bathroom to repay his debt from the night before. He spent a good deal of the morning inspecting the bottom of the toilet bowl for his troubles.
He heard the door open behind him and felt the familiar smoothness of Jenna's hands rubbing his back through the thin material of his T-shirt.
He felt instantaneously better from her touch, and fifteen minutes later the vomiting had subsided enough for Mark to turn to face Jenna.
"Mark, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to kiss Ben!" Jenna started, as she let the tears spring back to her eyes.
"Shhh... It's okay! We're okay!" Mark said hugging her close to him.
"But... I have to tell you..."
"No Jenna! It's over! Whatever has passed is past! Let's not think of it any more!"
"I love you, You know that!" Jenna insisted
"And you know that I love you!"
"I'm sorry!"
"So am I!" Mark told her.
"I'd kiss you now, but you just threw up, so forgive me for not wanting to!"
"That's okay! I think I should probably clean my teeth!" Mark said, standing up and extending an arm to help her to her feet. She took it and they walked towards their own room.
Before they reached the door, the hotel suite's main doorbell rang.
Mark opened it to reveal a hotel employee pushing a room-service trolley.
"Room service for Mr C. Ingebrigsten!"
"I got it!" Mark heard Paul shout from across the room.
Paul tipped the man and took the tray off the trolley.
Mark and Jenna looked at Paul curiously.
"I have to ask Chris something... thought I'd kill two birds with one stone!" Paul offered their expressions.
"Did Ben find Lizzi?" Jenna asked.
"I don't know... He didn't get back last night, so I think he's still out there looking!" Paul filled her in. Jenna's face was stricken.
"What's the matter?" mark asked her.
"It's my fault that she ran off!"
"It'll be alright! You'll see!" Paul could see that Mark and Jenna had made up, as he watched Mark comfort her and lead her into his room.
Juggling the tray with one arm, and opening Christian's door took a few seconds for the multi-talented Paul Marazzi.
"Oh! Umm... sorry guys! Room service called, this is your breakfast I believe!" Paul said, trying to divert his eyes from the bed in the centre of the room. The curtains were still closed so the room was quite dark, but walking in on a couple in the morning was still quite an embarrassing situation.
"Oh, thanks Paul!" Christian said, taking the tray from his hands.
"Can I ask you something Chris?" Paul said, still hiding his eyes.
"Sure shoot!"
"Umm... Where's Liz? I saw you meet her yesterday, and then you said that you hadn't seen her? Something's up with that!"
"Shit Paul! You'd better come in!"
"That's okay!" Paul insisted, not willing to become 'third-wheel Paul' again.
Christian put the tray on the table, and dragged Paul into the room shutting the door behind him. Hannah shifted in the bed and pulled the covers closer.
"Lizzi's in a hotel down the street! She didn't want to see Ben, so I paid for her own room for a couple of days, so she didn't have to face him straight away! You can NOT tell anyone, understand?" Christian spoke slowly clearly so Paul would understand. It made for a long conversation.
"I understand... What about her pills? Is she alright?" Paul asked.
"She's fine! Han and I are going to take her pills across today, would you like to come with us?"
Paul nodded mutely thinking the problem over in his mind.
"Can I go now?" He almost begged
"Yeah okay! We'll go in an hour and a half okay? And if Ben turns up, we'll have to pretend that we're going out to look for her, got it?"
"Yeah! I'll leave you two to your brekkie now! See ya Hannah!" Paul said.
Having the door open and his escape path clear brought Paul's usual cheeky behaviour rushing back, and he clapped Christian on the back, whispering 'way to go mate!'
Christian gave him a look to kill, and shoved him out the door and turned to face Hannah.
"Sorry about that... we had to tell him though!"
"Yeah I know!" Hannah smiled warmly at Christian.
"Breakfast?" He offered
"Yeah! I'm starved!" Hannah said, making space for Christian under the covers again.
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An hour and a half later, Christian, Paul and Hannah made a speedy disappearance from the hotel, nearly running into Ben on his way in.
"Find her?" Hannah asked
"Nope... I've looked everywhere! Checked all the hotels! No one signed in under her name or mine!" Ben signed with frustration. "I feel so bad about her spending time on the streets last night! I pray to god that she's okay! ... Is there any other friends she could have gone to?"
Hannah shook her head.
"Where are you lot off to in any case?"
"Out to search for her!" They said in unison.
"Good Luck! Phone me if you find anything! I'm gonna crash!" Ben said, his voice still registering grief and pain.
All three felt bad about letting their friend suffer like this, but they had inadvertently promised Lizzi to keep her location from Ben, so they kept their mouths closed, and as the door shut behind them, they sighed relief.
"That was close!" Hannah whispered, fingering the pills in her pocket.
"I know! Let's get going!" Christian said, shooing Paul and Hannah ahead of him on the trip downstairs and down the street.
Lizzi was pleased to see her friends, although at first she had been anxious about so many people knowing her whereabouts - after all, she really didn't want to face Ben yet. She admitted to Hannah that she was confused as to where that left her, and what she was going to do. She gained comfort from the idea that Ben had spent all night searching for her - Maybe he did really care for her, and then again, maybe he had some kind of debt to pay her mother! 'No!' She decided, and turned her attention back to her friends. They spent the morning trying to concoct plans for a romantic reunion, and fell about laughing at some of Paul's suggestions.
Back at the hotel, in Christian's room, laying untouched next to the uneaten pastries and fruit from breakfast, the front-page article of the morning paper read 'MP Carter accused of Fraud, Mishandling and debts - Disappears!'
Author's note/ This Chapter is dedicated to a variety of people - Jenna for forcing me to write it so soon, Helen for helping me come up with a better ending than the one I had planned (I'm gonna use a variety of the ideas we discussed!) and my sister Jenny, for putting up with all my gossip about A1 - I've finally succeeded in turning her into an A1 Fan!! Yay!!
Chapter 10(I'll work out where the chapter in the middle is in a min. lol)
Ben slowly closed the door to his room. Tears filled his eyes as a sob choked on the lump forming in his throat. 'This is all my fault!' He thought to himself, sliding down the door into a huddled position.
'Why did she have to go? Why did she have to walk in just at that moment!' He tried to reason, 'Why is Mark spending the day with Jenna after what she did? Why can't Lizzi be here spending time with me?' The tears let up to the hysterics they were concealing. Ben buried his head in his knees.
Outside the door, Mark and Jenna could hear the crying and felt sick with worry. Jenna felt that she should be out there looking for Lizzi, seeing as it was half her fault Lizzi had run off in the first place, and Mark was thinking that he should have offered to go with Lizzi instead of running off in the selfish fashion he had done.
"Mark, I feel terrible... there must be something we can do!" Jenna said in a hushed whisper, trying to make sure Ben couldn't hear her.
"I know Jenn... If only I hadn't run away! I'm such a coward!" He admitted.
"What?" Jenna asked
"Outside... Just when we caught you..." Mark broke off, before continuing with his sentence, "Lizzi and I were both outside! I ran away instead of offering to help her find someplace to go! She was in a god damn wheelchair and I just ran off!" Mark said, clenching his fists in anger at his own actions.
"Shh, it's okay! We'll find her! She has to be in London somewhere, surely!" Jenna offered.
"Does she? It's been nearly twelve hours since she left - She could have gone anywhere! Heck in twelve hours she could have caught a plane to America and got on a space rocket!" Mark said
Jenna looked sceptical.
"Okay, okay... So it's unlikely - But she could be anywhere by now!" Mark relented.
"All the same - where could she have gone? She's in a wheel chair, with no money!" Jenna said.
"Yeah I suppose!" Mark agreed, Ben had told them that Lizzi had been left a fortune by her mother and all her cards and papers had been left in the hotel, so Lizzi was without money. That fact had made Ben cry even more - she was totally helpless.
"We need to think clearly!" Jenna said aloud, beginning to pace the front room, "She could get anywhere, and with very little problem, she could be anywhere in the world now! Right?"
"Yeah!" Mark said
"So where's she likely to be?"
"Umm..."
"Here in London of course!"
"Wha?" Mark was confused.
"She could get anywhere, so she would want to be in the one place that we wouldn't think of looking for her - Here!"
"In this hotel?"
"Quite possibly! Let's go and find out!"
Mark and Jenna told the bodyguard standing at the door to follow Ben everywhere he went if he came out, and that they were just going to the restaurant on the first floor and didn't need watching.
The bodyguards reluctantly agreed not to follow them. They had released three of their prime charges into an unprotected atmosphere that day. They also understood that some kind of minor problem had arisen within their circle. Nothing could be kept completely secret from the bodyguards.
Mark and Jenna crept up to the front desk, trying to avoid any teenage girls that looked like they had even the remote possibility of being a fan. The actual desk was hidden from the door by a large potted plant which Mark and Jenna were thankful for.
"Excuse me, could you please tell me if anyone under the name of Elizabeth of Lizzi has checked into the hotel within the past few days!" Marks stage whispered to the snout lady perched behind the desk. She resembled a cross between a canary and an eagle - bright yellow suit and eyes that would burn the deepest holes, glaring over a long, hooked nose. On the end balanced a pair of half-oval spectacles.
"If you want me to help you sir, you'll have to be more specific than that!" She spoke with a clipped accent.
"Umm... The surname is either Adams or Carter..."
"There is no one under either of those names checked in! Good afternoon!" The Lady finished.
Just as Mark and Jenna were about to leave the safety of the plant, they heard familiar voices.
"I'm glad she's okay now!" Hannah said to Paul and Christian.
"Me too... It's vital that she got those pills today!" Paul added
"Thanks Christian! We owe you one! How long do you reckon she'll be over there for, before she can face Ben again?" Hannah asked.
"I have no idea - hopefully not too long, it's killing Ben!"
Jenna was about to storm out there and demand an explanation, when Mark caught her on the arm and pulled her out of sight and practically into the plant pot.
"What are you doing?" Jenna hissed
"We can't let them know we know!" Mark said.
"Why not? Ben has a right to know where Christian has hidden his girlfriend!"
"Okay, first - Lizzi is not Ben's official girlfriend, and second - Doesn't she have a right to her own privacy?"
"Yeah I suppose!" Jenna hesitated before finally relenting.
"So we keep quiet... Let them explain to Ben when the time comes, we just have to be supportive, okay?"
"Yeah!" Jenna agreed, and let Mark lead the way up to the hotel suite, but not before they sent a sarcastic little wave at the Receptionist glaring at their behaviour.
That evening saw Ben leave for another search of London for Lizzi. Paul offered to go with him, but soon retracted his offer when a knock at the door invited Sara back into his life. A smile as big as the one pasted on his face had not been seen for the last few days.
"Sara! You came back!" Paul said into her hair, as he hugged her close.
"Of course I did!" Sara laughed a high-pitched giggle.
'It's that laugh!' Paul thought to himself, 'that made me fall in love with her to start with... Well, that laugh and the eyes, and the smile and... Everything about her!'
"Let's go to my room!" Paul offered.
"One track mind!" Mark laughed from the sofa where they were watching 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'.
Paul shot a dirty look in his direction, and caught sight of Ben in the corner of his eye, and remembered his previous offer.
"Ben... I..."
"It's okay Paul! You got your girl back! Enjoy yourself!" Ben said, letting a wry smile play his lips, before heading to the door to begin his own search.
Paul thanked god for that one, and led Sara to his room.
"Okay - What about the movie?" Hannah asked the remaining three.
"Sure! What did you get?" Jenna asked
"Oh, umm..." Hannah said, looking at the spine of the video box, "Shakespeare in Love!"
"Great!" Jenna grinned.
Mark and Christian collapsed against the back of the sofa
"Chick Flick!" They groaned, but settled down with their respective girlfriends to watch the movie anyway.
When it had finished, Hannah, Jenna and Christian were all blubbering like babies!"
"That is so sad!" Mark spoke first, switching on the lamp beside the sofa, because the sun had set, leaving the room in darkness.
"Yeah I know!" Christian agreed, hugging Hannah.
"No, I mean - you three sitting there crying! Here - Catch!" Mark explained, chucking a box of tissues in Christian's direction.
Ben walked in a few minutes later, his face telling the tale that he had not found Lizzi yet.
"Come on Ben... Let's get you something to drink!" Mark offered, dragging Christian to his feet and leading Ben out the door towards the bar.
"See you girls later or tomorrow morning!" Christian and Mark called over their shoulders as they left.
Hannah and Jenna were fine. It was a previously discussed idea, and the two girls began to gossip about the upcoming tour. Jenna's mind wondered back to the day when she had told Lizzi everything there was to know. It was looking increasingly unlikely that she would be coming with them at the rate she was taking to understand Ben's behaviour.
The following morning, everyone was sitting in the sitting room with a feeling of tiredness hung over them all. Paul and Sara had spent the night awake together, while Ben, Mark and Christian were feeling slightly hung over from the alcohol the night before. Jenna and Hannah were tired from waiting up for Mark and Christian to get back the night before.
Christian turned on the TV when small talk had dried up. No one wanted to mention the subject of Lizzi just then.
"And back to today's main story - Local government MP, John Carter has been declared guilty of the murder of wife and fellow MP, Lilian Carter! Police found sufficient evidence of Mr Carter's involvement in his wife's attack late last night to incriminate him. If he is found, Mr Carter is facing a life sentence in prison!"
The news hit everyone like a ton of bricks, and everyone sat in stone silence for nearly five minutes contemplating the ever-growing complicated situation at hand.
The silence was interrupted by a sharp rap on the door and Hannah found the strength to move first. She got up and walked stiffly to the door and pulled it open. There was no one around, and the bodyguards claimed to have seen no one about. Confused Hannah went to close the door and noticed a small starch white envelope sitting on the floor close the door hinges. It was addressed to Ben, and all Hannah could do was make an incomprehensible noise and hand it over.
"What is it?" Jenna found her voice.
Ben ripped open the envelope and took the single sheet of white writing paper from the envelope.
On it in large black letters read "Don't bother coming over again! Elizabeth will be fine in my care!" The message was unsigned, but it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
"We have to get help! This has gone too far!" Hannah whispered urgently
"That is all very well, but where do we send them - We have no idea where Lizzi is!" Ben said, tears and hysterics coming all at once. It took a few seconds for Ben to be hyperventilating, and running to throw up his uneaten breakfast.
"We have to tell!" Hannah said to Paul and Mark.
"Tell what?" Ben asked from the doorway, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve and leaning to let the doorway support his weight. His eyes glinted with anger and fear.
"Ben... Lizzi has been staying in a hotel down the road! She didn't want to see you straight away!" Paul explained.
"Who? Who did it?" Ben asked
"I did!" Christian revealed.
"And you all knew?"
"We did!" Hannah and Paul said together.
"We did as well!" Mark said, gesturing to himself and Jenna.
"How?" Christian asked.
"We overheard you on your way back yesterday!" Jenna explained.
"I can't believe you all knew and no one told me! We're supposed to be friends!" Ben said, staying remarkably calm.
"Lizzi's our friend too Ben... She had a right to her own privacy!" Hannah told him.
"This isn't getting anyone anywhere... We should be going over there to help her! To get to her before her dad does!" Mark forced.
Ben nodded in agreement and the seven of them stormed out the hotel, bodyguards trailing uselessly as no one had bothered to waste time explaining where they were going.
Christian directed everyone straight to the corridor where Lizzi's room was.
As Ben and Hannah approached first, Hannah drew back and let out a small scream! Lizzi's door was open about three inches, and as Ben rushed into the room, they discovered they were too late - The place had been trashed!
No one could quite believe their eyes. The bed in the centre of the flaccid yellow room had been overturned, and blankets of off-white now lay in a crumpled heap to one side. The glass-covered table had been smashed, with a single point of impact, that led the shocked friends to believe that someone had been pushed through the glass haphazardly. The chairs from around the table lay smashed into smithereens in the corners of the room, wood splintering anything in their path.
Ben was kneeling in the middle of the floor, hyperventilating. The tears flowed from his eyes so fast they bore deep red tracks in his cheeks. Hannah hadn't managed to make it as far as the room, and Christian had gone to comfort her in the hall way. Jenna, Mark, Sara and Paul stood behind Ben, not sure what they should do. Sara was the first to move, and gently offered an arm around Ben's shoulder. At first he didn't respond to her hug, but then he twisted into a tight hug, crying into her shoulder. Paul saw the whisper, 'it doesn't mean anything' and calmed down. After what had happened between Jenna and Ben, he wasn't prepared to risk leaving them alone, but he also trusted his girlfriend to know that she was only comforting a friend in a sorry state.
Mark took Jenna by the hand and took her outside to where Christian and Hannah were standing, considerably calmer.
"We'll ask someone downstairs if they saw a girl in a wheelchair leaving!" Mark started, "Her chairs not there!" was the only offer of an explanation to the confused faces.
Jenna nodded and the four friends walked to the lift again.
Downstairs, they approached a security guard, and asked if they had seen anyone in a wheelchair leave.
"No mate, sorry - I haven't! I've only just come on though, so you best ask the receptionist - Jilly! Her shift started this afternoon!" Came the thick London accent.
Mark thanked the man and walked over to the receptionist.
"Excuse me!" He started.
"How can I help ya love?" Came the reply.
"Oh, umm... I don't suppose you noticed a girl in a wheelchair leave the hotel this evening, have you?"
"Ya mean Little Lizzi?"
"You know her?"
"Sure! I served her breakfast just this morning!"
"So, has she left?"
"No duck... She's only a little lass - she'll be snoozing, I tell ya!" Jilly said, laying her dumpy arms over the edge of the desk. The rollers still in her greying hair an indication that Jilly was a regular, if not living in the hotel itself.
"Thank you!" Mark was tempted to say more, but decided that keeping the investigations between themselves would be far better for everyone.
"So, what did she say?" Jenna asked, curiously, as soon as Mark returned.
"She hasn't left! That means Lizzi is somewhere in the hotel, and I'll bank that she didn't use the ground floor as a route!" Mark repeated.
"Well, that only leaves another twelve floors to try!" Christian pointed out, sarcastically.
"Better than thirteen!" Mark responded just a quickly.
"Mark, do you reckon that receptionist would help us get a list of occupants for the rooms?" Hannah asked quietly.
"We can try! She seemed pretty nice, but not all that clever, you know!"
"Can we trust her judgement on where Lizzi is then?"
"Yeah... As sure as anyone's down here!" Mark said, gesturing to the fact that the receptionist desk was situated right between the only lifts and the door.
"I'll go and ask her!" Hannah offered, and walked off.
"Chris man - how'd she take it?" Mark asked.
"She'll be okay... what about Ben?"
"Sara and Paul are looking after him, and the bodyguards are up there!" Jenna explained.
"This couldn't have happened at a worse time... right before the tour I mean!" Christian said.
"Tell me about it... We won't get another extension - not this time! We've already moved it back for the party!"
"Yeah!" Christian mumbled. 'The party' seemed such a long time ago now, almost as though it had happened weeks, or even months before, rather than a matter of days. Yet everything seemed to have gone slightly haywire since then, since they met Lizzi and Hannah. 'Was all this there fault?' He wondered, before scolding himself for even thinking it. He loved Hannah, and poor Lizzi had just needed a break from Ben, but she still loved him, and where were they now? Ben was upstairs in hysterics and Lizzi... well, only time could tell where she was now!
"What can I do for ya sweetie?" Jilly asked as Hannah nervously approached the desk.
"Umm, I'm Lizzi Carter's best friend, and we, me and her other friends, are looking for her. Seems she's not in her room, and it's quite urgent... I was wondering, could you help us by, possibly giving us a list of occupants against their room numbers... I understand that this is probably against hotel policy, but it really is urgent!" Hannah mumbled.
"Hmm... A list ya say? Well why didn't ya just ask? I tell ya, it may be policy in some o' the posher hotels in this part, but here we don't go in for all that policy babble! If it's a list ya after, it's a list ya'll get!" Jilly replied, and started typing with one finger, very slowly into what appeared to be an ancient keyboard.
Something under the desk crackled to life, and the noisy whirring of an equally aged printer drowned out the noise extruding through the single layer of glass on the windows. This was the sort of place that Mr and Mrs Carter would never have dreamed of staying in, and the sort of place Ben wouldn't have thought of looking in. Housing around 500 poxy rooms on thirteen floors, the entire place took up a bad corner of the famous street. From the outside, Ben probably mistook it for a multi-story car park!
The list took the best part of twenty minutes to print, and in that time, Jilly had begun chatting idly with Hannah, while Hannah herself let her mind wander, nodding occasionally and answering questions with superficial babble.
"Call me Jilly, deary! And let me know how ya get on!" Jilly said, handing over the list. The paper was the old fashioned printing paper, with holes down both sides. The badly printed words reflected the ageing machine, and Hannah swore that if this list helped her find Lizzi, she would pay for an up-to-date computer and printer herself.
"Got it?" Mark asked, a smile spreading across his face. It appeared that the security guard, whose name was Billy, had attempted to find out what they were in the hotel for, "I mean, a posh frock like you lot". Jenna had answered most of the questions with the undying patience that made Mark love her more. As soon as Hannah arrived however, they made their way to the first floor and began knocking on doors, marking the list once they had spoken to the inhabitants. Several times they had interrupted lust-torn teenagers, escaping their parents to a place where any budget might stretch.
They searched the entire hotel, asking questions like 'have you seen a wheelchair lying around?' and 'What are your opinions on the recent trouble in the local government?' When these didn't result in much, they attempted a blunter, 'Do you know where Mr Carter is?' and 'Where the hell is Lizzi?' Eventually, they ended up on the second floor - Lizzi's floor. They had decided to leave this till the last because no one was eager to walk past that wrecked room, knowing that just a few hours ago, it had been vaguely liveable in, and that their friend had made it her home for the past few days. They also knew that it would hurt everyone to see Ben in such a state. When he cried, he was releasing all the emotions he had stored up from the moment Mr Carter's fist had hit his jaw, to the present moment. He realised that his promise to Lilian Carter had to be upheld more now with her death, because there was nothing she could do to prevent any harm coming to Lizzi.
They continued the search on that floor, and kept their eyes held against the room that held so many bad feelings. They came at last to the door opposite it, and knocked on the door. Paul, Sara and Ben came to see what they were doing, and the bodyguards who still didn't quite understand what was happening, but had been trailing the floor with an eye out for any unusual activity since their arrival in the hotel nearly five hours before hand.
"What are you all doing?" Paul asked
"Searching for Lizzi... she's still in the hotel!" Christian said absent-mindedly
"What?" Ben screeched.
"Congratulations Chris!" Jenna and Mark said at once.
"Sorry!" Christian apologised.
"No! Thanks Chris... If she didn't ever leave the hotel, that means she'll still be here somewhere... and that, gives me some glimmer of hope!" Ben said, thinking through the problem as he spoke.
"But we didn't want you to get your hopes up, in case she's not here, or..." Hannah broke off, not wanting to think about that prospect.
As the silence filled the corridor, Mark leaned over and knocked on the door again, louder this time.
Something inside the room exploded and the force of the door flying off it's hinges, threw Ben, Paul and Sara back into the room, while the others sprawling in the corridor.
The flames licked the door frame and Christian and Hannah ran to the other side nearer to the lift and stair exits.
Mark helped Jenna to her feet, while inside the room they could hear Paul checking to make sure everyone was fine. Ben and Sara replied that they were, although Ben sounded even more shocked than before.
"Alright - everyone out of the building! Right now!" The chief bodyguard ordered, while using the metal rod to break the glass to sound the fire alarm. Doors along the corridor opened and a swarm of people started to evacuate the building. Paul and Sara emerged first and joined Hannah, Mark, Jenna and Christian as their sprinted along the corridor with the other inhabitants.
Ben, however, had different ideas, and tried to get into the burning room, screaming "Lizzi!" At the top of his lungs over and over. He was sure that she was in their somewhere and was determined to try to rescue her.
The bodyguards grabbed a hold on Ben's arms and legs and carried him screaming from the hotel. An ambulance arrived and a paramedic administered a sedative to him. It was all that anyone could do to calm his down in his frantic state. The remaining friends stood on protective watch around Ben's sleeping trolley, and the exits to the hotel. They wanted to make sure they would catch anyone related to the incident as they left the building.
The fire crew pulled only one body from the wreckage that had been London's worst hotel. It was so badly charred, that at first glance it was impossible to tell if it was male or female. The paramedics covered their noses as the stench of burnt flesh and smoke rose from the body. As uneager as they were, they gave a healthy respect for the dead and drive it to hospital to be confirmed by a senior consultant, blessed by a padre and post-mortemed by a forensics team. With the use of dental records, they matched the body to be that of Mr Jonathan Carter.
Ben and the others took some comfort in the fact that he was no longer around to inflict pain, but the large pile of ash and debris, which had once been a hotel was enough to lay any hope of finding Lizzi alive, to rest. Everyone was distraught.
*************************************************************************************************
Nobody spoke a word on the taxi journey back from the hospital. Ben, now awake, was the only one who didn't avert his eyes from the wreckage as they passed. It was his moment of realisation and he silently let a few tears trickle down his cheeks. It was a sobering occasion.
Flanked by bodyguards the seven remaining friends trudged heavily through their own hotel and up into the suite. No one had the energy to talk, or cry even, and simply stared, mutely at the television screen. Sara was the least effected because she had only met Lizzi the once, but she still felt as though someone close to their circle was missing. It was strange to imagine what their world had been like without Hannah and Lizzi in it. The way in which everyone had instantly clicked had been a first for their group, and Sara couldn't help but wonder what would happen now.
Sighing she let her head drop back onto Paul's slumped shoulder. He used the brief break as a chance to flick channels with the remote control. The news flashed up.
"Fire, caused by what is thought to be a suicide explosion, ripped through the grade II listed building, converted into a hotel during the sixties. Only one person was killed by the blaze, but several more have been admitted for injury by falling debris and smoke inhalation. It is thought that top British boy-band, A1, may have been near the heart of the explosion as it happened, and although none of them were injured, Benjamin Adams was sedated due to shock."
Paul heard Ben growl deeply in his throat before muttering, "where do they get their information from?" under his breath. Paul changed the channel again.
"The tragic death of John Carter, MP for London Borough County Council for the past eighteen years, has come as a shock for all those nearest him. He was a beloved husband and father to wife Lilian and daughter Elizabeth. "We just can't believe this happened. We'll never forget him!" Lilian Carter is reported to have said just shortly after forensics revealed his identity earlier today!"
Paul hit the off button on the Television. It was sick the way the press took just the basic facts and created their own stories. Lilian Carter hadn't said anything about the death of her husband - He had brutally murdered her the day before!
Hannah was crying again, and when Christian went to comfort her, she flinched and ran into their bedroom. Sighing at the frustrating inability to help her when she was upset, Christian followed Hannah, vowing to be there for her. Mark and Jenna also left for their own room, leaving Paul, Sara and Ben in the living room. When the phone shattered the silence, Sara reached over and picked it up.
"Hello? ... On, hey Vicky, what's up? ... Uh huh! He's here right now! ... Upset obviously, he hasn't said much about it, but I'm sure it hasn't hit his yet! ... Yeah of course we will, he's a mate, isn't he? ... On, umm, I'm not sure! Let me ask him!" Sara said into the receiver, before turning to Ben.
"Vicky and Tim want to know if you're okay for the tour tomorrow? They want to let us have an orientation day first, with an interview and photo shoot!"
"Sure, sounds a good idea!" Ben said, smiling for what must have been the first time in ages.
"He said yes! ... Okay, sure! I'll tell the others! ... Nine then? Okay! ... Brilliant! See you tomorrow! ... Bye!" Sara finished the conversation with Vicky, before relaying the message that they would be leaving at nine tomorrow morning to Ben and Paul.
*************************************************************************************************
"Alright - everyone out!" Tim yelled to the group from the front room.
Christian opened his door to reveal a stack of neatly packed bags, piled next to the door and Hannah and himself awake and ready to go. Tim smiled.
"Hannah, right? You're welcome to come on tour with us whenever you like, if this is the effect you have on our Christian!" Vicky caught on.
"Thanks!" Hannah said, reached down to pick up a bag.
"Bus is outside!" Tim informed them, as Christian took the heaviest bag off Hannah and carried it himself.
Paul and Sara fell out of their room a few seconds later, throwing wash bags and hairbrushes into carry-all bags as they headed to the door. Vicky smirked in spite of herself, knowing that those two were hardly ever on time for anything.
Ben threw his door open and tossed a cassette at Tim.
"What's this?" He asked, as Ben lifted a bag to his shoulders.
"Just some lyrics I put down last night!" Ben smiled, "Where are we headed first - I can't wait to get out of London! All our travelling has made me go stir-crazy when I stay in a place to long!" He laughed, and everyone could tell it was almost forced.
"Manchester!" Vicky replied.
"Great!" Ben exclaimed, before bouncing out of the room.
"Mark?" Tim yelled, checking his watch again. Jenna opened the door with a slightly tear-blotched face.
"Jenna, what's wrong?" Vicky asked sympathetically.
"Tough night... Umm, can we have five minutes? We'll meet you by the bus!" Jenna asked
"Sure Hun... Be as quick as you can though, we need to make tracks to get to Manchester on time!" Vicky said. Jenna smiled her thanks as closed the door behind her.
"What's up with them, do you think?" Tim asked.
"I don't know for sure - could be this girl Ben was supposed to bring, or it could be the problem with the baby... It's been a tough week for all of them!" Vicky said, ushering Tim down to the bus.
Ben was bouncing around, while trying to tune the radio as the same time. It took ten minutes for Mark and Jenna to get downstairs. They had both been visably crying, but the attempts to cover up the proof with make-up were enough to silence the others from asking any further questions.
Tim and Vicky sat in the front with the driver, while an interviewer joined the trip to ask questions. Paul had to physically make Ben sit down in his chair while Christian fastened the seat belt.
"Hi guys, I'm Tanya, and I'm reporting for Smash Hits magazine... How are you all?" The interviewer greeted them. Tanya was a pretty girl in her own way. A shock of natural copper curls were pinned away from her face with tiny butterfly-clips.
"I'm great, how are you doing?" Ben replied, smiling broadly at her.
"We're doing okay! It's been a tough few weeks!" Mark ignored Ben's answer.
"Oh? Is this to do with what the press were saying yesterday?" Tanya hinted.
"Yes and no!" Mark answered again.
"We were in the blaze yesterday, but Ben's sedation was..." Christian tried to explain, but Ben interrupted him.
"Hello! I'm sitting right here!" He demanded.
"Okay ben!" Tanya laughed, "Do you want to tell me about it?"
"No! It doesn't matter anymore, and I don't want the fans to know about it!" Ben shot warning looks at his friends, who nodded their understanding.
Tanya also noted the look, and chose to change the subject.
"So, tell me about the new tour?"
"It's going to be great! We've changed the actual format to the performance that gives us more of a chance to find out what the fans want!" Paul enthusiastically explained.
"Yeah! We're going to be playing more of the music as well, and getting more audience participation!" Christian added.
"Our supporting acts will be staying to sing a few tracks with us!" Mark included.
"Who are the supporting Acts?" Tanya asked.
"It's a couple of new groups. One is made up from three American sisters - No, not cleopatra! They're called Angelz. The other group is..." Mark started, before losing track and letting Ben take over.
"The other group is part British, part Norwegian. Christian actually helped them get hooked up with the record companies over here!" They're called 'Calamity' and is two girls, three boys, right Chris?"
"Yeah! Calamity have come a long way since we started them over here last year! It's going to be great performing with them!" Christian finished.
Tanya continued to ask questions to the boys, and a few to Jenna, Sara and Hannah. Soon enough they had reached Manchester, and were escorted into the orientation studio and bus park by bodyguards.
"Okay, here's the plan - Lunch is in the cafeteria in a hour's time... I want all four of you to have got all the pictures Tanya wants to do before then. After that, we'll talk through the programme for the tour, meet the supporting acts, and then you can unpack, okay?" Tim explained, reading off the clip-board.
It was the normal outline for the day, and Tanya explained that she wanted each boy on their own. Christian took about ten minutes to get done, as did Mark. Then it was Ben's turn.
"Today's gone well, don't you think?" Mark asked, sitting down in a chair in the waiting room, and picking up the latest edition of Smash Hits to flick through.
"Yeah!" Was the others reply as they were all absorbed in their own conversations and magazines.
Twenty minutes later, and Paul was getting fidgity.
"What' the matter?" Sara finally asked, "You got ants in your pants or something?"
"Nah... But it's lunch soon and Tanya hasn't even started taking my photos - what's taking her so long with Ben I wonder?"
"Okay, you want me to go ask?"
"Yeah!" Paul smiled with relief.
Sara got up, and marched down the hall to the studio. Paul, Christian, Mark, Hannah and Jenna heard the door open loudly, and then an astonished "What do you think you are doing?" From Sara.
At twenty-two, Alex Jackson was mortified to learn that his bachelor's night prank had landed him with one hundred hours community service. 'Some best mate!' He thought soberly as he pulled a white cotton T-shirt over his tanned and toned chest. He smiled despite the situation and remembered the prank... It had all gone so perfectly until Sharon had found out and come storming into the bar armed with a smashed bottle, screaming abuse at the terrified stripper. Sharon had gone to jail, and her livid fiancee Richard had sued *him* for setting it up.
One hundred hours community service was his only charge, and he had been ordered to help with the clear up of the 'Hotel Revolucion'. That was where he was stood now, humming along to some oldies playing on a near-by radio, while throwing large pieces of stone into a wheelbarrow, before taking it to a large skip. Anything in enough tact to be reused had to be declared, and was immediately confiscated. So far that morning, he had recovered a bed post, a suitcase of smouldered clothes and a sink.
That was why Alex didn't notice the importance of the cheap ceramic bath at first. Still, he worked on getting the scorched material out of the rubble.
"Hey Alex - What's that in the bath?" Bobby Jones called from where he was hauling rock nearby.
"Just a bunch of curtains or towels or something, why?" Alex called back.
"Are you sure?" Bobby asked, as he started to plough through the various boulders between them.
From his direction, he could make out what appeared to be skin sticking out from the bundles of cloth in the bath. Alex couldn't see it from his side.
"What?" Alex asked confused.
"Here, give me a hand with this large one!" Bobby said, and he and Alex grabbed one side of a large chunk of rock and threw it into the wheel barrow.
"Holy Cow!" Alex let out with a long slow breath.
"No kidding! Reckon she's alive?" Bobby asked, moving around the bath trying to get a better look, but still keeping a respectable distance.
"Nah, see all those cuts and bruises?" Alex reasoned, but leant over to push the girl's form onto her side.
"Oh Shit!" Bobby exclaimed as the gagged face came into view. Alex didn't hesitate in pulling off the packing duct-tape, and started on the rope that was tied around her ankles and wrists.
"Do you think you should be doing that?" Bobby asked, backing away from the bath.
"Does it look like this was caused by the explosion?" Alex asked icily.
"No, that's the point... Do you think you should be, you know, meddling with another crime?"
"I'm not a criminal, I just want to see if she's alive! Do us all a favour and go and get Mike!" Alex snapped, and returned his attention to the girl.
Mike was the co-ordinator of the project, and so far that morning he had had an endless supply of people interrupting his coffee and morning newspapers with bits of rubble that might have been valuable once upon a time. He wasn't prepared for the urgency in Bobby Jones's voice.
"What is it?" He asked looking up.
"Me an' Alex - We found a - G-girl! Boss!"
"Oh yeah? What was she doing?" Mike replied bemused.
"She's - Wait! I mean, we found her under the rubble!"
"Shit! This can not be happening! It can't be revealed, understand? We're supposed to have the situation under control - I'll never get another job if the press get a hold on this! Is she alive?"
"Dunno boss... Alex is un-gagging her - look's like murder if she id dead!"
"That's all I need! Tell NO-ONE, got it?"
"Yeah!"
"I'll take her to the hospital myself, okay?"
"Yeah... It's this way!" Bobby said, gesturing over to where Alex was stooped over the bath.
Mike Green ploughed his chunky legs over broken glass and rock and desperately tried to keep his overweight body balanced. He was not made for this sort of work and was silently glad he was only a co-ordinator. On reaching the girl, he made a frantic movement to usher Alex away, and then picked up the cloth carefully so that no part of the girl was showing.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm leaving her at the hospital!"
"You're just going to leave her there?" Alex asked in disbelief
"What do you expect me to do? Admit that I didn't find her sooner and throw my career away before it's started?" Mike shouted, but not load enough to attract any attention from any other workers, "If the press get a hold on this, they'll have a field day!"
"But we don't even know who she is!" Alex appealed.
"I don't give a shit who she is Alex, and neither should you! With all your finger prints all over her, if the police gets a hold of the connection, they'll lock you up faster than you can say 'It wasn't me!' got it?"
Alex was mute with shock. He knew what Mike was saying made sense in some twisted sort of way, but he was a man of principles and everything within him was telling him that this wasn't the way to handle the situation. Yet, he was on community service, and Mike was his boss, so he said nothing, turned his back, and refused to watch as Mike stumbled towards his car carrying the bundle of girl-whose-name-they-didn't-even-know!
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"What the HELL do you think you are doing?" Sara shouted.
Within seconds she could hear the reactions of Mark, Hannah, Christian, Paul and Jenna behind her. Inside the room, Ben and Tanya looked up from their intensive lip-lock. Tanya had a smug expression on her face as she stood up and straightened her suit. Ben looked at his feet with a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks. No one said anything for the longest minute history had ever known.
"Right then, thanks Ben that's you finished - Paul your turn!" Tanya swallowed deeply and broke the silence.
"Not bloody likely!" Paul spat out before turning and walking forcefully towards the door.
"I'll sue!" Tanya yelled down the corridor.
"Go to hell!" Sara hissed as she passed on her run to follow Paul.
"Way to go Ben! How could you even do that?" Hannah asked spitefully.
"Do what?" Ben asked nonchalantly and completely at ease.
Another silence filled the hall and tears smarted Hannah's eyes.
"Traitor!" She whispered, before rushing from the room to hide her pain.
"Ben - you're my best friend, but that was un-called for!" Mark spoke calmly.
"I'll check to see if Hannah's okay!" Christian said, leaving the room without catching Ben's eyes.
"Ben, I - " Jenna started,
"Mind your own business! All of you!" Ben shouted and ran out the door, nearly plowing Tim and Vicky down in his flight.
"What on earth happened?" Vicky spluttered as she regained her balance.
Mark and Jenna said nothing, but looked up at Tanya, who was packing away her camera and tripod.
"Did you get everything you needed?" Tim asked, still unsure of what exactly had gone on.
Tanya looked up and hesitated, debating whether to say anything or not. She decided against it, and smiling sweetly said:
"Yes thanks - I'm all done!"
"Good! Boys - uhh, Mark! ... It's lunch time, tell the others please!"
"Okay!" Mark agreed and walked out the door with Jenna's hand in his.
They did not hear Tim and Vicky grill Tanya on what had happened to cause Ben to storm off. They also did not hear Tanya weave some story about Ben arguing with Paul and Hannah.
Tim and Vicky did not see the boys all together until that evening. The tension had simmered down since the initial outburst, but what remained in the glances and overall quietness in the room could easily have been put down to an argument between the three involved. What was not clear was what caused the argument.
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"Hannah, are you alright? Please talk to me!" Christian begged through the locked bathroom door.
"I don't know what to say!" Hannah sobbed back.
"Why are you crying?"
"I don't know! I feel... I - it's so stupid!" Hannah choked a laugh into her tear-stained voice.
"Nothing you say is stupid to me! Please let me help you!" Christian responded quietly.
He heard a sound on Hannah's side of the door, before it slowly opened. Christian immediately enveloped her in a comforting hug.
"I feel like Ben is cheating on Lizzi, you know..." Hannah said when they had sat themselves on the floor next to the toilet.
"That's not stupid Han, I think we all felt like that - It's not like Ben to act this way!" Christian consoled her.
"But Liz was my best friend! I have to protect her even though she isn't here!" Hannah almost whined.
"Liz is gone Hannah! She won't come back!" Christian tried to tell her
"I know, I know - I just want to believe that there is still a possibility that she might! Just for a little while!" Hannah smiled.
"Me too! It'll be okay though, you'll see!" Christian told her.
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"Paul wait!" Sara called running down the corridor after him. Paul did not stop, but pushed through the double doors leading off to the left and continued to collide head on with a girl running in the opposite direction. The pair of them fell to the ground in a messy muddle of arms and legs, as Sara reached the doors and burst out laughing at the sight. That was - until she saw the expression on the girls' face.
Paul noticed at the same time.
"What's wrong? You're not hurt are you?" He asked worried, his previous problems forgotten in an instant.
The girls face was partly concealed by her long, light brown hair falling in front of it, and yet both Paul and Sara could tell she had been crying.
Brushing her hair away, she looked up at Paul and Sara's worried faces.
She couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Sara shot a confused expression at Paul before bursting out laughing again, and extending two arms to help the pair up.
"Thanks - I'm..."
"HOLLY! There you are!" came the voice of another girl as she came flying down the corridor towards the three.
Holly shrieked and tried to hide behind Sara and Paul as the other girl chased her in circles. Eventually she was caught and Holly shrieked again as the girl tackled her to the ground and started tickling her.
"Jude - stop please! I'll tell Helen!" Holly laughed so hard that it was obvious to Sara and Paul that her previous tears had been caused from laughing, not crying as previously thought.
Jude stopped still when Holly said that and immediately got up.
"Hi, pleased to meet you! I'm Jude and this is my little sister Holly!" Jude offered a hand to both Paul and Sara.
"Hi Jude - I'm Paul and this is my girlfriend Sara!" Paul shook her hand warmly, his eyes crinkling with a bemused smile at the sudden change in character. Holly stood up and also shook their hands.
"This may seem a little strange, but you said 'sister'... You don't look anything alike!" Sara said.
Jude's frizzy dark brown hair was an obvious difference between them, but on closer inspection and seeing the two girls side by side, they also noticed that while Jude's eyes were brown, Holly's were grey-blue.
"Technically, we're not! I was adopted at birth, so I've always been her sister, but we're not blood related!" Jude explained.
"Ahh, that explains it then! And what are you two doing here?" Paul asked.
"We're Angelz!" A third voice interrupted.
"Helen!" Jude and Holly said together and the look of guilt on their faces as they tried to place Sara and Paul between them and Helen was too much for Paul and Sara to handle, and they moved aside.
"Hi, I'm Sara and this is Paul Marazzi!"
"Marazzi? As in A1?" Helen asked, also shaking their hands.
"Yep!"
"Cool, I'm pleased to meet you! Are the others around?" Helen continued
"Now isn't exactly a good time - We're in the middle of a... disagreement!" Sara said
"Oh?" Helen asked
"Don't ask! You'll meet them all soon enough!" Paul suggested, laughing.
"What about Calamity? I haven't seen them yet either!"
"Nor have we! Hey, you girls want to grab some lunch and tell us about yourselves?" Paul asked.
"Yeah!" Holly yelled. At Helen's glance, Holly quickly added:
"Yes please, that would be lovely!" In a much calmer voice.
Sara smiled at Holly and Jude and began walking towards the cafeteria. She could tell that Paul was interested only in Helen's musical past, so she left them to chat as she went to talk to the two livelier girls.
Author's note: I know these chapters (the last one and this one) are quite slow and boring because of the introduction of so many new characters, but I promise things will start to pick up soon. The characters of Alex, Sven, Charles and Tomas are not based on anyone in particular. The character of Holly is A1srose (I forgot to mention that in the last chapter) The character of Amy Foster is courtesy of Sami! All the others are pretty self-explanatory! A big thanks to everyone who has helped me out so far, especially Helen who keeps giving me ideas! I hope you're all still liking the story! So without further ado (I could do the joke 'by the way what is an ado' but only Jenna would find it even remotely funny, so I won't bother!) On with the chapter...
Ben found the entrance of a vacant studio and let himself in. At one end, a stage dressed in dark green velvet curtains provided a backdrop to a dance area. About half way across the hall, stairs began to ascend in stalls carrying neat rows of chairs with it. That was where Ben chose to sit. On the top-most row of chairs, hidden from immediate view of the door. His eyes itched to cry, yet he refused to let them. Resounding himself to silence, he calmed down over the hour he sat there alone.
"Umm, Hello?" A voice startled Ben from his daydream. He looked up to see a girl with long, wavy brown hair. Her olive skin was slightly tanned and set off her deep chocolate brown eyes with a twinkle of amusement. Her mouth seemed to smile, even through the puzzled expression she held on her face.
"Hi, sorry! I didn't hear you come in!" Ben called down, smiling his prize-winning grin.
"That's okay! I'm supposed to meet my band mates here for a rehearsal!" The girl voiced.
"Oh right! I had to escape from mine for a while, so I came in here!" Ben responded, "Umm... Which band are you in?" He silently prayed it to be one of the two bands that would be touring with them.
"Calamity! I thought you'd recognise us Ben!" The girl said as she climbed the stalls until she was sitting next to him.
"Chris has been keeping really quiet about it! I mean, the only information we've been able to grill out of him is the fact that you're all great singers and that there are two girls and three boys! I don't even know your name!" Ben explained.
"That's so like Christian! He was really un-eager to talk about you guys as well! Maybe he's scared we'll get on!" She laughed, "My name's Gerri!"
"Hi Gerri!" Ben grinned again, and kissed her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Gerri giggled and waved off the gesture with a slight blush to her cheeks.
Ben flirted with Gerri for the best part of twenty minutes and was about to kiss her when someone arrived in the room. Gerri blushed scarlet and pulled away guiltily as the person called:
"Hey Gerri, what's up?" Ben guessed that this was the other girl in the group.
"Hey Rach!" Gerri called back. Rachel also climbed up to meet Gerri's companion.
"Hi Ben! I'm Rachel - it's nice to meet you at last!"
"And you!" Ben said, shaking her out-stretched hand warmly.
Rachel, he could see, had green eyes and naturally brown hair. She wore it trimmed short, with two blonde streaks at the front. Although not a style he would have immediately suggested, it suited her, and Ben couldn't wait to introduce her to Paul - He'd love it!
The next people to get there, arrived shortly after Rachel, and two boys entered. They were talking among each other as they walked easily up the stairs towards the chatter of their friends.
"Hey Charlie!" Gerri giggled, as he broke away from his companion to wrap his arms around her and plant a kiss on her lips. Ben was shocked and slightly put off that Gerri hadn't mentioned having a boyfriend before.
"Are they always this... public?" Ben whispered to Rachel.
"Yeah! It's Charlie's way of expressing himself! They've been together for years, or as long as I've known them in any case!" Rachel replied.
"Hi Ben - I'm Sven! Christian's told me a lot about you!" The blond who had been talking to Charles introduced himself.
"All good, I hope?" Ben asked.
"Oh yeah! I was thinking, if you had some spare time on tour, would you like to try putting some lyrics to music with me? I have a lot of ideas, I just don't have a clue where to start!" Sven got straight to the point.
Ben was, to put it mildly, flustered with the flattery.
"Umm, sure! I can give you some pointers!" Ben choked haphazardly.
Sven was tall, Ben realised, like six foot tall, with almost midnight-black eyes that made his bright blond spikes seem even brighter. He had a serious, yet friendly face that he could foresee a lot of women falling for if the band made it off the ground. Like Christian, Sven was obviously Norwegian in roots, but had learnt to speak English remarkably well. Charles on the other hand, seemed to be the exact opposite. Charles had jet-black hair, which had a slight wave in it, before meeting the nape of his neck. He had perfectly tanned skin and hazel, brooding eyes. He was shorter than Sven but only by an inch or two. The biggest difference appeared to be the quietness of Charles, because he didn't say a word to Ben the entire time he was sitting there.
"Mr Adams, is there something I can help you with?" Ben had been so intent on analysing the people around him that he hadn't heard the tour choreographer come in to the hall.
"No Miss Mitchell! I was just leaving!" Ben said quickly. Miss Mitchell was not a woman to be crossed, not unless you were after an extra five hour rehearsal. She was good at what she did though, so Tim and Vicky were un-eager to get rid of her, on the contrary, they felt that she reminded the boys what hard work it was, and kept their feet on the ground as a consequence - Metaphorically speaking, of course!
"Where is Tomas?" Miss Mitchell demanded.
'The other member?' Ben thought to himself, but decided to use that time to exit from the hall. He got as far as the door, before it flew open and smashed him in the face, sending him sprawling across the floor.
"Ohmigod! I am so sorry!" Tomas mumbled.
Miss Mitchell went into the small side room, as Gerri, Rachel and Sven rushed over to see if Ben was alright.
"Tomas you idiot!" Gerri spat out, "You shouldn't rush through doors, when you don't know who's on the other side!"
"I'm sorry! I didn't know anyone would be there!" Tomas said, close to tears.
Ben noticed that Tomas' bright blue eyes were glazed with tears that threatened to spill over his cheeks. He had soft brown curtains that mimicked Ben's own hair-style. He was clearly the youngest of the group and presented the epitome of Innocence! Ben hated that!
Sven reached down and helped Ben to his feet.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked, trying not to look at the bloody nose.
"My nose hurts!" Ben said numbly.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" Miss Mitchell asked, waving a hand in front of him.
"Four and a thumb!" Ben replied.
"Can you lick your elbow?" She asked.
"Ben attempted to lick his elbow and failed miserably.
"You're okay! Take this!" Miss Mitchell concluded, shoving a soaking wet cold-compress into his hand, "And go away!"
"I'm so sorry!" Tomas tried again.
"Whatever!" Ben said icily and left the hall.
"Alright kids - Back to work!" Miss Mitchell barked.
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"Oh my god, What happened to you Ben?" Sara asked, rushing over to where he had just walked into the cafeteria.
Paul also stood up and walked over.
"That must have hurt!" He commiserated.
Ben nodded mutely and shoved the bright red, blood-stained compress back to his nose.
"Perhaps you should sit down?" Helen suggested, noticing his pale complexion.
Ben closed his eyes in an attempt to focus on what she had just said, and to get the world to stop spinning to fast, and instead felt himself slowly dropping to the ground.
"BEN!" Paul cried, leaping forward as he caught a hold of his fainting friend. All previous arguments were immediately forgotten.
When Ben came around a little later on, he found that he had been moved into a smaller, quieter room, where Paul, Sara, Christian, Hannah, Mark and Jenna sat vigil by his side.
"Wow buddy - you gave us all a bit of a scare there!" Paul said softly, "What happened?"
"Ugh - " Ben said, struggling to sit up and remember at the same time, "Tomas knocked me coming through a door!"
"Ahh..." Everyone breathes at once. They didn't completely understand, but it was clear that it was all the explanation they were going to get. Someone knocked on the door, and after an agreement nod from Ben, Mark opened the door. Holly, Jude, Helen, Gerri, Rachel, Sven, Charles and Tomas came in, chaperoned by Tim and Vicky.
"Everything okay Ben?" Vicky asked.
"If it makes you feel any better, Miss Mitchell will only be with us until the end of her contract. It was completely irresponsible to let you go off in your condition!" Tim told them. Everyone smiled and both Tim and Vicky wandered why they hadn't seen the general dislike for Miss Mitchell before hand.
Ben was trying his hardest not to glare at Tomas.
"Guys, I don't know if you've met Calamity and Angelz yet?" Vicky said, before leading everyone in a confuffle of introductions and hand-shakes.
"Right, now that that's over with, I'd like everyone to come to the cafeteria with us so we can discuss menus for the tour with the head chef. Gerri, as you're the only vegetarian, we've set up a private discussion afterwards, so if you want to stay here with Ben, that's alright!" Tim ordered.
"But - " Ben started.
"Ben, the chef knows your preferences for food, and somehow I still don't think that buying in from Macdonalds is going to be part of his plans!" Vicky joked. Everyone laughed and the joyous sounds of chatting could be heard as the party travelled down the corridor.
It highlighted the complete silence that Gerri eventually broke.
"Are you sure you're alright Ben?"
"Yeah! I guess that door just knocked it out of me!" Ben replied. Gerri laughed weakly at his pun.
"You know, I am sorry I didn't tell you about Charles!"
"What about him?" Ben decided to play ignorant.
"About him and I going out - I was leading you on earlier!" Gerri remained calm.
"I like you Gerri, you're a nice girl!" Ben started after another short silence.
"But, I'm Charlie's nice girl!" She said
"Nothing's going to change that then?" Ben asked hopefully. Gerri shook her head and Ben sighed.
"Can we still be friends? It's easy to talk to you, almost as easy as talking to Liz- " Ben broke off.
"Who's that?" Gerri asked.
"No one!" Ben said defiantly. Gerri looked at her hands. It was clear that Ben wasn't telling her something and it was clear that he didn't want to talk about it, so she left the conversation.
"So, you're a vegetarian? How can you live without meat?" Ben asked.
"I don't know... I just find it really sick to be eating something that was running around with it's little brothers and sisters once upon a time!" Gerri said.
"Oh right! Have you always been a Veggie then?"
"Yeah pretty much! I think I started when I was about eight. My dog died of old age and my older brother told me it was because my mum wanted to give us something nice for dinner. Then she served chicken and I got really upset! Pretty pathetic really, but I was only little! I've not eaten meat since then!" Gerri explained.
"Make's sense! I don't think I'd eat something if Jeremy told me it was dog either! Ben joked.
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"Spaghetti and meatballs?" The chef asked. As if on cue, Charles and Jude both burst out laughing.
"What's wrong with the two of you?" Mark asked, suppressing a laugh of his own.
"Umm... Nothing!" Jude choked, tears of laughter streaming down her face.
"No really, what?" Sven asked.
"Don't tell me - " Holly started
"Sailor Moon?" Helen finished with her. Both girls were glaring at their sister, who grinned.
"You like Sailor Moon too?" Charles stopped laughed to ask her.
"Of course! I love all Anime, but Sailor Moon is some of the best!" Jude replied.
"Favourite character?"
"Prince Darien, but dressed as Moonlight Knight, rather than Tuxedo Mask!" Jude blushed, "Yours?"
"Umm, Has to be Lita!" Charles said, "Now there's a girl who knows how to kick ass!"
"Have you two freaks quite finished?" Holly laughed, gesturing to the head chef who was currently getting very irate at all the interruptions.
"Talk about it later?" Charles asked quietly.
"Sure - I'll show you all the fan subs I've had imported!" Jude replied. She received a huge grin in response.
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"Alex, will you please calm down, and slow down?" Amy Foster begged, clinging to the door handle of the car, "What is all the rush anyway?"
"I don't know! I just have to find her that's all! There was something haunting about her face!" Alex said.
"That's because she was half dead!" Amy joked, only to find that Alex was clearly not impressed.
The lines of determination were evident next to his eyes, and it was obvious that this was something he felt strongly about.
"Okay, okay... I'll help you find her!" Amy relented and as a second thought added, "But only if you slow down a little bit!"
Alex slowed the car down to safe speed and carried on down the road towards any of the hospitals in London. He didn't know which one Mike had taken the girl too, but he was just going to go in and ask if they had anyone unknown bought in because he was worried.
"Thanks Amy! This means a lot to me you know!" Alex said, as they walked towards the hospital.
"Yeah, I know!" Amy replied, as Alex hugged her. The two had been best friends for years, and had gone out for a little while during university, but things hadn't worked out, so they had gone back to being best friends before they had become too mad at each other. Neither regretted the relationship and it was clear in the way they were completely comfortable with each other that there were no hard feelings. Amy tossed her shoulder-length brunette hair over one shoulder and linked arms with Alex.
"So, what's the plan?" She asked him.
"Umm, I was thinking you could pose as her sister, and she's just gone missing..." Alex said.
"Sounds good! Are we going to give her a name?"
"Yeah, it's probably a good idea! I don't know what to call her though!"
"How about something like umm... Angel?" Amy suggested.
"That's perfect!" Alex grinned at her, "Angel Foster!"
"Okay!" Amy said.
"Excuse me!" Alex got the receptionist's attention
"How can I help you?" He replied.
"Umm, my best friend has lost her sister, so we're doing a round of hospitals to see if she's been brought into one!" Alex said.
"What's the name?"
"Angel Foster!"
"We don't have anybody by that name... If you'd wait a second..." The receptionist broke off in mid-sentence and left his desk.
"Hello! I'm Doctor Jacob... I hear you're looking for a girl who's been brought in!"
"Yes! My sister... She went missing yesterday, and we're just checking the hospitals!" Amy feigned upset.
"Okay, well - we have a girl but we can't match up any names! Unfortunately, she'd under police observation... If you could identify a photo of her, we can let you know her status!"
"Of course doctor!" Alex said.
Alex and Amy were shown into a small room with blinds blocking out most of the light and a half-starved plant in the middle of a low, imitation mahogany table.
The doctor handed a photo to Amy who looked startled and let Alex see. She didn't know what she was supposed to be looking for.
"That's her!" Alex whispered, reaching for Amy's hand. It was more for his benefit than hers, but the doctor didn't have to know that.
"Maybe you'd like to see down! Your sister has been involved in a serious, and yet unidentified incident!"
"Will she be alright?" Amy asked.
The Doctor looked at them both and gestured to the seats. What ever he had to tell them, it was clear it wasn't going to be good news...
"Please, tell us what's wrong!" Amy pleaded. Alex was shocked. Amy was acting her part really well. He would have believed that this doctor had some unfortunate news about her sister. In his distanced position, he realised that what they were doing could get them into a lot of trouble. 'Police Observation' the doctor had said, 'What for? What happened to her?' His mind screamed back. Alex found himself feeling protective and slightly worried for the girl he had pulled from the rubble earlier.
Amy dragged Alex back to a seated position next to her, so that the doctor could start speaking.
"Angel has been badly beaten, Her cuts and bruises are purposeful, not accidental as was first suspected, that is why she is under police observation - for her own safety. Whoever bought her here dumped her in the car park and drove off!" Alex felt a incredible urge to pound Mike's face in - 'How could he have just dumped her?'
"However," The doctor continued, "We have been able to resuscitate her, and accept for a number of broken bones, it appears as though her most serious injury is likely to be some form of brain damage. With your permission, I'd like to get her through a CAT Scan as soon as possible and try to find out what exactly, is wrong!" The doctor paused, and Amy nodded. She couldn't quite bring herself to believe that she was in charge over a complete stranger's life. The power was daunting and she squeezed Alex's hand.
"The brain damage - How serious is it?" Alex asked.
"At present, I can not say for sure, but it is clear that she has some form of Amnesia, although seeing you two might help her to remember something!" The doctor said brightly. Neither Alex nor Amy dared to point out that it was highly unlikely considering they had never met her before hand.
"Can we see her?" Amy asked.
"Of course, let me show you the way!" The doctor said, before leading them down a corridor to the ward.
Alex and Amy let the doctor start walking towards her bed so that they didn't give the game away by approaching someone else.
"Oh my - ANGEL!" Amy gasped in surprise when she saw the state that her new sister was in. Plaster casts covered both arms and legs and her head was bandaged tightly. What hit her most though, was her apparent age. She couldn't have been an adult yet... Not fully! 'Who could do this to such a beautiful child?' Amy wondered to herself, and was nearly as surprised to find that in spite of all the bandages and casts, she could understand Alex's previous "haunting" comment. Angel had startlingly bright blue eyes and wisps of waist length, light strawberry blond hair were evident from underneath the head bandage.
"How are you feeling?" Alex asked her.
"In quite a lot of numbed pain..." Angel replied, with a confused expression in her face, "Not trying to be rude, but please could you tell me who you are?"
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There were three tour buses in total. The first, and biggest one was for the band and sound crews. Tim and Vicky would also be staying on that bus. The boys, A1, Sven, Charles and Tomas were to stay on the second, medium bus and the five girls had to share the other medium bus.
The rest of it was the same, with the steep flight of stairs into the driver's cabin. A curtain hung over the arch way into the first spacious room - the living room. It consisted to a sofa set in front of a TV, Games console, DVD and a video player on the left hand side, and a table with two bench-like sofa chairs on the right hand side. Along the top of the walls, cupboards with lift-up lids provided space for storage of everything.
The next room was the kitchen, complete with a fridge, freezer, cooker, sink, microwave, toaster and kettle as well as any other appliances they might need to make themselves snacks and breakfast in the morning. Everything was arranged in smart, wooden surfaced cupboards to the left side of the ailse, with a breakfast bar and stools on the right hand side.
Immediately outside the kitchen, two flights of small steps led down from both sides to two small bathrooms, where one could probably shower, use the toilet and clean their teeth all at the same time.
The final room was more of a corridor with door leading off on both sides into small bunk rooms - two rooms on each side. Each bunk room had wardrobe and drawer space for two, and a set of bunkbeds. That meant that there was a spare bunk on both buses.
"Come on everyone, I want you to have had a chance to settle into your buses before we move off in approximately three quarters of an hour. You can do what you like with the time, but please try to be sensible. Girls in bus three, boys in bus two... Bus one is completely out of bounds, understand?" Tim ordered, but said the last sentence with a smirk to his voice. Previous tours had found that the band members thought it was quite funny to start playing pranks on the crew bus, and after several complaints, it was getting harder to find crews for these buses.
Helen gestured towards the small bus and her smaller sisters groaned and traipsed towards the entrance. Gerri and Rachel picked up their suitcases and followed them. Before Sara, Hannah and Jenna could even reach their cases, they found Paul, Christian and Mark had picked up their cases and moved towards the bus. The three girls smiled at each other and followed them.
"Umm, the boys bus is number 2!" Rachel laughed as she saw the boys come onto the bus behind her.
"Just delivering these lovely ladies cases!" Paul grinned back and winked.
"Oh charming! Where's Charles when I need him?" Gerri joked, dragging her case through to the bunkroom corridor.
"Okay, who's sharing with who?" Jenna asked.
"I'll share with you Jenn!" Hannah said, taking the room nearest the bathroom on the right.
"We're opposite!" Holly and Jude said simultaneously.
"Rach and I are sharing, if that's okay with you two?" Gerri asked, facing Sara and Helen.
"Fine with me!" Helen smiled.
"And me, but we get the first choice room!" Sara said, heading to the other right-hand side room. Rachel and Gerri laughed, and went into the remaining room.
"Oh Pauly... Please can I share with you?" Mark asked in a high-pitched voice.
"But of course Marky! I don't want you sharing with Benji again!" Paul mimicked, and both boys started laughing.
"Well Svenny and I are going to share!" Christian laughed.
"Are you Chrissy?" Mark asked in the same high-pitched voice, as he clasped his hands together in excitement.
"Why yes, certainly! - He's my new best friend!" Christian said.
"Alright you girls, get out of here!" Sara yelled, before throwing an apple in Paul's direction in a pretend vicious gesture. Paul caught the apple one handed and bit into it, before bowing low and pushing the other two out of the bus.
In the time it had taken to discuss the girl's sleeping arrangements, the rest of the boys had taken their luggage onto their bus and sat down in the living room. Ben and Tomas were already arguing about what TV channel to watch.
"I want the watch MTV!" Tomas was saying
"Well I want never gets, and I would prefer to watch Sky One!" Ben argued back, flicking the channel over by pressing the button on the TV. Tomas switched it back to MTV by remote. Ben switched it to Sky One.
"Christian!" Sven said, with a look of relief on his face, "Shall we unpack? These two are driving me mad!" He spoke in Norwegian for the last bit, so he wouldn't offend either boy.
"Yeah lets..." Christian said uncertainly looking between Ben and Tomas. His face registered complete confusion, which he shrugged off and went towards the back of the bus. Mark and Paul, who also had no idea what was wrong, went towards the bunkroom as well.
"Svenny, which room do you want?" Christian asked when they were stood in the corridor.
"Umm... It's Sven!" Sven said slowly, with a worried expression as he stepped further away from Christian. Mark and Paul burst out laughing behind Christian.
"It's alright Sven, it's just a joke we were playing on the girls - They were arguing over which bunks they got, and we were mimicking them!" Paul explained, as he and Mark started to drag their cases into the nearest left-hand side room.
Sven didn't look completely convinced, but followed Christian into the other left-hand side room.
"I figure those two kids can share, being of a similar age and all!" Charles said, carrying his case with ease into the right-hand side room opposite Mark and Paul. As all the doors were still open, they continued a short conversation between the separate rooms, until Charles announced.
"I'm not feeling to great - Late night last night! I might just catch some shut-eye for a while!" He explained, "Will you wake me when dinner is served?"
"Sure thing Charles!" Sven replied smiling at his friend. Charles smiled back, and shut the door to his bunkroom with a small 'do-not-disturb' sign tacked up outside.
The others finished unpacking, and Sven and Christian got their guitars out, and started to strum quiet chords out, while Christian offered words to act as lyrics. Christian had been learning English longer than Sven and his vocabulary was considerably more extensive, so every time Christian said a word Sven hadn't heard of before, he'd explain it and Sven would write it down in a little notebook that he kept.
Mark and Paul were also in their bunk with Mark looking through photos of himself and Jenna, while Paul stared at the ceiling of the bus from his top bunk. Their peaceful silence was shattered by an earth-crumbling cry.
"There is NO WAY ON THIS GODDAMN PLANET I AM SHARING WITH THAT IDIOT!" Ben screamed the bus down.
As quick as lightening, Mark and Paul had opened their door, to see Ben standing in the corridor with his arms flailing everywhere and a look in his eyes that would have shot death lasers. He was flushed bright red with anger and shouting, and looked as though he would burst if he didn't calm down quickly.
"What the HELL is going on here?" Charles demanded, appearing in the doorway of his room, rubbing sleep angrily out of his eyes.
"I'm Not sharing with HIM!" Ben swore
"I don't want to share with Ben if that's the way he's going to act!" Tomas said, arms crossed neatly across his chest as he stood in the doorway to what would have been Ben and Tomas' bunkroom.
"Is that it?? Is that all the reason you screamed so sodding loudly, waking me up??" Charles fumed. He couldn't believe this... That two grown men could be so petty as to shout and scream over the sharing of a bunk.
"And I thought the girls were bad!" Paul whispered to Mark. They both grinned and tried not to laugh.
"Can I share with you, please!" Tomas begged his band mate.
Silence filled the air, as Charles seemed to contemplate the idea.
"Would it guarantee that I get some sodding peace and quiet for a while?" He asked.
Ben and Tomas nodded.
"Then yes! But you'll have to leave me be while I sleep - you can unpack later!" Charles said, and disappeared into his bunkroom.
Ben stuck his tongue out at Tomas, who would have retaliated by throwing a strong left hook at Ben, had he not just promised to keep the peace. Mark and Paul rolled their eyes at their fellow band member and went back into their bunkroom. As did Christian and Sven, who had also come to see what all the fuss was about.
Later that evening, everyone was sitting around in a large room, where a buffet meal had just been served to the musicians. Ben seemed to have calmed down considerably and now sat talking quietly to the stylist, Vanessa. Vanessa wasn't going on tour with the groups, and was only the resident stylist to the company headquarters, but she wasn't suited to a life on the road because her family had always lived in Manchester and that was were her elderly mother needed her.
"You're going to have a fantastic time! In Newcastle, there's this one stylist who's a great friend of mine, she'll be able to give you some advice on keeping your hair straight without spending hours on it every morning!" Vanessa smiled.
"Really? Could you give me her name, I'll look out for her! This hair drives me mad! You should have seen it when we were filming Summertime Of Our Lives... After I got out from swimming with the dolphins, the air was so warm that fifteen minutes later I looked like I had been dragged through a bush backwards... The guys were teasing me for weeks afterwards!" Ben laughed.
"Sure I can get it for you! I have it in my office, if you want to get it now!"
"Sure, I'll just tell the others where we're off to!" Ben smiled.
"Mark, Vanessa is just going to get me an address for this stylist from her office, so if anyone asks, that's where I've gone!" Ben said, interrupting a conversation between Mark, Hannah and Jenna. It looked as though Paul had wondered off to refill the drinks.
"Sure mate! See ya later!" Mark said, before turning back to Hannah, "So basically Jenna's mum was all over us like a rash..."
"Tomas, I need a bit of a word with you..." Charles said quietly. They were sitting amongst an amicable circle of small talk about the group's formation, between Christian, Sara, Helen, Sven, Holly, Jude, Gerri and Rachel.
Tomas bit his lip and smiled nervously.
"Sure, what about?" He asked
"Over here!" Charles said, gesturing to an unoccupied corner of the room.
The two boys sat themselves down and Charles began
"Tomas, I know you and Ben don't get on very well - Any fool can see that, but I was talking to Christian and Sven about it earlier, and Christian said that he doesn't normally act like this and that he's been through a lot this past month!" Charles started.
"What like? Bloody PMT??" Tomas asked sarcastically.
"It's not funny Tom... Ben lost his girlfriend in that hotel explosion last week, and he's been a bit lost ever since!"
"Oh..." was all Tomas' reaction. He was unsure exactly what else to say, it had appeared to him that Ben had been purposefully vindictive and argumentative, considering that they hadn't ever had a proper conversation yet; but at the same time, he felt a pang of guilt for being so stubborn towards him. But he hadn't known of his lose then. 'It shouldn't make any difference' he thought to himself, taking it out on me is completely pointless because I'm not to blame for his lose!
"Look, I'm not asking for you two to be best buddies, that would be like asking for a miracle, but could you just try to be a little more considerate to his position and allow him some extra freeway for a while... We really don't need the sort of arguments we had this afternoon for the entire tour... It'll be stressed enough with us living so close to each other!" Charles said.
Tomas nodded mutely, and vowed to be a better friend to Ben from then on. After all, what would he act like if his girlfriend, or anyone close to him, was killed so suddenly??
Ben and Vanessa walked down a darkened corridor to her office. The lights had been turned off in this area of the building, as everyone working in it had long-since gone home. Only those people staying for the buffet had remained, and Vanessa wanted to see off her friend and colleague, who would be on tour with the bands. With key in lock, Vanessa opened the door, and switched on the light, before allowing Ben to go in before her. Her office was split into two, with a professional desk littered with important-looking documents to one end, and a sofa and coffee table to the other, for informal chats with clients.
Vanessa opened a lever-arch file from a shelf above her desk, and flicked through some pages until she found the information she required. Jotting the name and rank onto a piece of notebook paper, she smiled at Ben, who had moved into the comfortable side of the room, and was looking at a picture of a young girl in a photo frame.
She walked up behind him, and offered the paper, which Ben tucked into his pocket, before gesturing back to the photo.
"Who's that?" He asked
"That's my niece!" Vanessa replied, picking up the photo, "She'll be four next month!"
"She reminds me of my little sister, Lucy when she was younger!" Ben said.
Vanessa didn't respond, but put the photo down.
In a matter of milli-seconds and a surprise to both of them, Ben and Vanessa started to passionately kiss, letting their hands roam all over each other, as Ben led her down onto the sofa.
"Come on, best get on the road now... We need to get to Brighton by morning to start the tour!" Tim said, trying to get everyone geared up to move back onto their buses. They would be travelling through the night tonight.
"Where's Ben now?" Vicky asked.
"Oh, Vanessa the stylist went to get him a number from her office, about twenty minutes ago! They're probably trying to find it still!" Mark said.
"Right well, we'd better get back to the bus anyway, and I'll go get Ben!" Tim said.
"No need, I'm here!" Ben replied with a grin plastered on his face. Vanessa was nowhere in sight, but no one was bothered enough to think of where she was, as they were all busily trying to make sure they had everything they came with, to get back to the bus. Mark noticed however. He also noticed the messed up hair, and badly done up buttons on the shirt Ben was wearing. He decided not to say anything in front of everyone, as he remembered the results from the outburst earlier on that day. it seemed like a decade ago that Ben had been caught kissing the photographer, and Mark was shocked to discover how slowly today had actually gone, because they had packed so much into just the one day.
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Alex looked at Angel's sleeping figure and felt a twang of guilt. This girl had no one true in her life... Not one person who she could turn to for the complete truth, and the lies that Amy and himself had spent the afternoon weaving were becoming one big story snowballing out of control, and there was nothing that any one could do to stop it now. Somewhere, Alex figured, somewhere there would be someone wondering where she was. Her breathing was peaceful, but below the calm exterior, he could tell her sleep was uncomfortable, and he wondered what fierce demons were plaguing her dreams. Something inside him stirred to be protective over her, and it was a feeling he couldn't quite place, but was the some feeling that had bought him to the hospital in the first place.
"Alex... Are you alright?" Amy asked from the doorway with two plastic beakers of tea in her hands.
"Amy... I don't know what to do!" Alex told her quietly.
"It'll be alright... we'll look after her... she'll get her memory back, and things will go back to normal!" Amy tried to convince them both, but the look in her eyes betrayed her true feelings on the subject.
Alex took the tea and Amy dragged a chair next to his, and rested her head on his shoulder in exhaustion. They had been at the hospital for nearly five hours, and it was already getting late.
Amy's entrance had apparently woken Angel from her sleep, and her eyes flickered open.
"You're still here?" Angel asked groggily
"Sure are Sis!" Amy said cheerfully.
"When can I go home?" Angel tested her vocabulary with something she no longer knew what it was. 'Home' she knew was the place where she lived, but she just couldn't place her life into any particular location, and the more she struggled with the thought, the more confused her got and the more her head hurt.
"I don't know Ang... Perhaps the doctor will say when he comes back with your CAT scan results!" Amy reasoned.
"Yeah... Is that tea?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, Do you want it?" Alex asked her.
"Hmm... I don't remember if I like tea..." Angel thought out loud.
"Try it!" Alex offered his cup to her, and she sipped it, before making a face.
"Not nice?" Amy laughed.
"No, it was nice - just I think I burnt my tongue!" Angel laughed.
Alex shot a 'she's so cute!' look to Amy, which made Amy start laughing even harder. Angel was clearly about to ask what she was laughing at, when the doctor came in.
"I thought I heard laughing!" She said smiling.
"Angel just rediscovered her like of tea!" Amy offered.
"I see... Well Angel, I have you scan results back from the neurologists, and I'm afraid what I have to say isn't entirely good news!" The doctor said. Alex gripped Amy's arm and Angel's hand in one motion.
"It appears that a small clot of blood recently shifted position inside your brain, which would have caused you to black out, and possibly fall into a coma. Unfortunately, your files have gone missing, as your sister told us, so we are unable to trace any likely causes for this blood clot. We are unable to remove in completely, but we'll be able to prescribe you some pills that will prevent the clot from growing, and hopefully keep it from becoming dislodged again!" The doctor explained.
"What about the amnesia?" Angel asked, taking in the news with the same blank expression, as though she didn't quite understand the complications of having a blood clot in the brain.
"The Amnesia, is undoubtedly caused by the severe condition you were in on arrival, although the blood clot also explains why your sister's arrival didn't trigger off any immediate effects! Miss Foster, when Angel is released from hospital, it is normally advisable to try and take Amnesia sufferers to places that may be of particular importance in their lives, a work place, or local hangout, or something to that effect!" The doctor offered. Alex and Amy nodded in agreement.
"When will I be able to go home?" Angel asked
"Well, we'd like to keep you in overnight for observation, but provided that the place you'll be staying in is accessible enough to get a wheelchair in and out, tomorrow should be a reasonable date to consider!" The doctor broke the news with a smile on her face. Angel's face registered joy, and it was obvious she was eager to try and gain her memory by seeing something she might recognise.
Alex and Amy also exchanged a horrified glance, and they quickly made up an excuse to leave the hospital for the night.
"Shit Alex, what are we going to do now? We need to come up with memories and a room and all in less than twenty four hours!" Amy panicked, as she and Alex started sprinting to the car.
Alex jumped into the driving seat and revved the engine into life.
"Where are we going?" Amy asked
"Homebase or the likes... We've got to make this room look lived in, and we'll just have to borrow things from your place to make it seem like hers!" Alex said.
Amy turned seriously to Alex.
"Stop it!" She said simply.
"Stop what?" Alex asked
"Don't you think this is unfair on the people who really do know and love Angel? What about her real family?" Amy asked.
"We'll tell her when she gets home tomorrow... We'll say what really happened, and umm... we'll offer her a place to stay until she can remember who she really is!" Alex said, and Amy smiled. 'Great! Now this girl's got me lying to my best friend, what the hell is wrong with me?' He thought to himself, but drove on to find the nearest DIY store.
Author's Note: Okay, I'm going to start by apologising for the slow update of this fic, i've been slightly busy with exams since the last chapter went up. Also, I forgot to mention that the previous chapter is dedicated to Nessa. This chapter is dedicated to Elle for all her hard work in forcing me to write the chapter (Sami and Nessa helped too!) I hope you all enjoy it... and read and review, because it's the only way I get to know what you're thinking!
speak to you all soon, love Lizzi
"Ben, What the HELL was all that about?" Mark asked, shutting Ben's door behind them.
"I don't have a clue what you're talking about!" Ben said, with a mystified expression on his face.
"Oh come on Ben! You disappear with Vanessa for over twenty minutes and you come back with tosslled hair and your shirt inside out!" Mark exclaimed, "It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened!"
Ben looked down to see that his jumper was indeed inside out, and he guiltily raked a hand through his tangled curtains.
"I don't understand your problem! It's not like you've never had a fling before!" Ben said scornfully after a few moments silence, "I mean, remember Jo?"
"You wouldn't dare..." Mark's face paled, "You know it would break Jenna's heart!"
"Then Back OFF!" Ben shouted harshly, pulling off the tell-tale jumper, while picking out a T-shirt to wear in bed.
Mark stood stock still for a couple of minutes, debating over the situation, then without a word to Ben, quietly left the room and closed the door behind him.
Ben looked up as the door shut, and wondered what was happening to all his friends. He shrugged it off as tiredness and jumped into bed. His final thoughts before he went to sleep were, as usual, the previous month of his life; and once again, his eye lashes were heavy with tears as he cried himself to sleep.
Mark took the photo album from the draw above his top bunk, and by the little nightlight attached to the ceiling, slowly flicked through the pictures that told the whole story of his and Jo's relationship. It was weird for him to be looking over them now, because he felt as though he were looking at porn, and condemned himself for becoming aroused.
'If Jenna ever found out...' he thought to himself, and slammed the book shut and threw it onto the shelf next to his small TV set, in disgust.
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Sven's eyes accustomed to the light and he swept the sleep haphazardly from his eye lashes. His body was still used to the Norwegian time and he had woken up while everyone else was still fast asleep. He knew Tomas would probably be awake, but after the argument with Ben earlier that evening, he didn't really want to talk to him and get dragged into the middle of things.
"Rachel will talk!" He said quietly to himself. He had known Rachel since he was little, so they had been friends for longer than both could remember. Picking up his mobile, Sven quietly left the bunkroom he and Christian were sharing, and padded softly into the darkened sitting room. The only sound to be heard from the entire bus was the soft, unfamiliar sound of the engine moving the bus along as they slept, and a deep growling-type noise that sounded suspiciously like a lion snoring, coming from the open crack of Paul and Mark's bunkroom door.
Sven didn't turn the lights on for fear of waking anyone else, so he settled himself onto one of the sofas and pressed in the numbers for Rachel's mobile.
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Helen washed her hands in the sink and stumbled sleepily up the stairs to the space between the corridors and the kitchen and was about to head straight back to bed through the quiet bus, when the sound of a phone ringing in the kitchen, pierced the silence. Thinking that it could be important, she quietly went to answer the phone, unaware at that point whose phone it was.
The caller ID read "Sven" and Helen didn't query about the phone and just figured something was wrong.
"Hello, Sven?" She answered
"Yeah... Who's speaking?" He replied.
"This is Helen!"
"Hi Helen... Umm, Is Rachel there?"
"Is there something wrong... Rachel's sleeping!" Helen asked.
"No, nothing's wrong!"
"This is Rachel's phone then?"
"Yeah..."
"Sven, don't you think that social calls should be kept to the daytime? Everyone's sleeping..." Helen reprimanded, realising there was no emergency.
"You're not!" Sven reasoned.
"I... hmmm... I... damn!" Helen was stumped for a comeback.
"Which sister are you anyway?" Sven swiftly moved the conversation along with his deep, extremely Norwegian chuckle.
"I'm the oldest one!" Helen replied.
"Right... What were you wearing today?" Sven asked, still not able to put the name to the face.
"Umm... Blue jeans, white T-shirt, Lilac cardigan..." Helen reeled off.
"Oh, The cute one!" Sven said in realisation, before catching himself for speaking out loud.
"The cute one, hey?" Helen laughed.
"I didn't mean to say that out loud!" Sven offered, obviously embarrassed.
"It's okay - really! Anyway, why were you calling this early?"
"I couldn't sleep because of the time difference, and Rach said I could always phone her!"
"Rachel seems really nice, have you two been friends for long?" Helen asked, wondering through into the sitting room, and tucked her feet beneath her on a sofa.
"Most of our lives. Or it seems like that anyway. She's one of my bestfriends in the whole world, although there's nothing romantic there!" Sven said.
"Cool... I mean, it would be hard on Tomas if another two band mates were in love! Gerri and Charles are pretty close huh?"
"Oh those two? Yeah! Charlie nearly pounded Tomas for getting too close when we first started out. Tomas didn't mean anything by it... He was just nervous and Gerri's such a friendly person!" Sven started rambling about his bandmates. Helen was listening intently, taking in his deep, warm accent. "Charlie's a great guy, but he's too quick with his fists a lot of the time..." Sven said, "Anyway... You have to answer me one question! Obviously all three of you girls are very musically talented, despite not being blood related... But while I was studying in America, my host family were very big into this country singer, called Mike Wilson! Are you related... what with the same surname and all?"
"Technically no! Our family's complicated. We're not connected by blood. My uncle Joe was in the country circle in his youth and he and Mike's mum, Aunt Betsy ended up marrying. So through Marriage, Mike's our cousin!"
"That's so cool... Could you get me his autograph sometime? My host family would be wrapped!"
"Sure... I'll get Joe and Betsy's too... They'll have heard of them if they've heard of Mike!" Helen laughed. England was the last place on earth that she expected to get the connection between her cousin and herself figured out.
There was a comfortable silence between both talkers as they reflected on the new found link.
"Anyway..." Sven interrupted the silence, "I know what you were wearing earlier, but what are you wearing now?!?!"
"Sven... Are you flirting with me?" Helen laughed.
"Maybe I am..." Sven said, raising his voice suggestively.
"Well, presently, I'm wearing a plain blue pair of pyjamas with a little elephant in a night cap embroidered onto the pocket... Does that help?" Helen asked.
"Yeah, thanks!" Sven laughed again. "Hold on a sec... I'll be right back!" He said, before laying the phone on the table and slipping to the front of the bus to ask the bus driver to overtake the other bus. The motorway was empty of any other traffic, so agreeing to overtake on the condition Sven pour him some coffee from the thermos flask next to him. Sven gladly agreed, and went back to the sitting room and turning on the light. Helen had turned the light on in the girl's sitting room when she had settled in there before hand.
As the bus overtook, Sven laughed and waved, after telling Helen to wave back over the phone.
"Sven - you're mad!" Helen said through her laughing.
"Can I offer you a coffee later on?" Sven asked, and it took a moment for Helen to realise that he was seriously asking to spend more time with her, face to face.
"Umm... Of course, provided you let me get some sleep before hand!"
"Of course... I'm so sorry - I didn't realise you wanted to go to sleep!" Sven sounded very apologetic.
"That's okay... Talking to you has been really interesting... Shall we say we'll meet for breakfast when we get to the venue?" Helen asked.
"Yeah, definitely! That'll be great!" Sven agreed
"Okay, well I'll talk to you later then!" Helen smiled.
"Sleep well!" Sven ended the conversation and switched the off switch on the phone, with a content smile, before being interrupted by a voice asking:
"What are you doing up so early?" Mark asked, rubbing his tired eyes.
"I couldn't sleep - Time difference... You?" Sven asked
"Listen!" Mark said, pointing one finger towards the corridor.
The loud growling noise came again and Sven had to swallow down the laugh.
"That's Paul, right?"
"Yeah!"
"No wonder you're awake... Can I get you a coffee or something stronger?" Sven asked
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"Sven, wanna work on that chord for a bit?" Christian asked, despite all the hustle and bustle of the first morning on tour, and the busy commotion that took place in and around the bunkroom corridor.
"No can do Chris... I'm meeting Helen for breakfast!"
"Whoa... you sure move fast!" Chris laughed
"It's not like that... well, not yet anyway... we genuinely get along, and it's unusual for me to have so much in common with a girl!" Sven tried to explain.
"When exactly did you two realise you had a lot in common then?" Chris asked, attacking his hair with a comb.
"About five hours ago!" Sven offered.
"Five hours... but that's the middle of the night..." Chris started!
"I know... Catch ya later Chris!" Sven called, heading out of the bus towards the venue's backstage cafe.
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The noise from the crowds was deafening. Wave after wave of screams reached the backstage area and in three separate groups, each band were rising to the thrill and soaring high on the energy of performing in front of such a hyper audience.
Calamity were the first band to head towards the stage, to wow the teenage girls with their talent and the boys looks.
They stormed on stage to a fast track, with a high tempo and lots of background harmonizing by Rachel, Charles and Tomas, while Gerri and Sven sang lead vocals. The song was called "Ain't Misbehaving", and without realising it, they had unintentionally performed their first single, even though it wasn't released until the tour was over. After the song had finished, they continued their set with a slower, ballad-type track, which Tomas and Rachel sang leads on. They finished their set by performing another fast song, to demonstrate their dance routines which had been practised and practised under the supervision of Miss Mitchell the co-ordinator.
The whole group left the stage to applause and more screaming, and they sparkle present in all of their eyes could tell all the technicians and tour members that the performance had been a success. Angelz were due on stage, and it was clear that Holly, the youngest, was having difficulty swallowing her nervousness. She was stood looking out across the crowd, from backstage, wringing her hands, while sweat smarted on her forehead.
Tomas looked towards the girl, and although he didn't even know her name, went up and said:
"Hey... You nervous?"
"A bit, yeah!" Holly admitted.
"There's nothing to worry about... The crowds great and they're going to love you guys... I heard you rehearse - only an earthquake could make you three sound bad!" Tomas said.
Holly laughed at the image, and her broken concentration made her relax some what.
"Come on Holz - We're on now!" Jude said, taking her arm as they went towards the stage. Helen went to follow them, only to have her arm caught by Sven as she passed.
"Good luck Elle!" He whispered.
"Elle?" Helen laughed, "No one calls me Elle!"
"Then it'll be my special name for you!" Sven smiled. Elle smiled back before running on stage with her sisters.
Angelz stormed the stage and the audience loved them. Their unique sound of sisters harmonizing, with Jude's different, but chocolate-warm voice was a big hit. Their first song was called "Magik kisses" and was so catchy that the audience were singing along and dancing to the simple dance routine by the end of the performance. Next came a slow track that Helen sang lead vocals on. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sven dancing with Rachel and he gave her a big thumbs up sign. Helen turned back to the supportive crowd, and smiled a winning smile before finishing the song with the help of her sisters singing background. After the last track, the girls left the stage to yells of encore mixed in with the yells for A1 to come on the stage. Sven and Rachel swept them into a big group hug, that when A1 and the rest of Calamity saw happened, rushed over to join in. It was the proper start to the tour and there was going to be no stopping them now.
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Jenna let herself into the boys bus. She was tired and all the bands had gone out to the first aftershow party of the tour, and she hadn't really felt up to it. Things had left her drained after the miscarriage and all the stress from losing a friend and then starting the tour. Either way, Jenna found herself bored and restless and she didn't feel like dressing up, just trying to find something to do, she wondered over to the boys bus, and let herself into Mark and Paul's bunkroom, with the intention of lying down on Mark's bed, hoping the familiar scent would send her to sleep.
The bed was comfortable and Jenna, despite being sleepy, still couldn't fall asleep, so she decided to flick the TV on. Reaching for the on button, her cuff caught on a thick black book, which fell off the bunk and landed upside down on the floor.
She could hear the boys start to get on the bus, and knew Mark would ask questions if she had been through his personal items.
She jumped off the bed and lifted the book up, her eyes darted briefly to the contents, then to the door where Mark stood in shock.
"Jenna... What are you doing in here?"
"What on earth is this?" She asked, looking back at the book and feeling her mouth run dry. Mark's face paled. This was crunch time. And he was sure he knew who to blame...
Hey everyone... I hope everyone's still enjoying it... Please say if there's something you're not sure about... apparently the "book" needs more explaining, so I'll put that in this chapter, okay? Please review when you're done reading. and please feel free to vote for this story in the addicted awards run by Emzie, thanks!! Also, This chapter is dedicated to Sami for making me write faster!! Speak to you all later, love Lizzi
"JENNA! Wait!" Mark yelled, as Jenna pushed her way past Mark into the corridor. Paul caught a hold on her arm.
"Jenn... What's wrong?" Paul asked gently, moving Jenna so that he was standing between his band mate and cousin.
"Marks... Mark's... I feel sick!" Jenna moaned pulling out of Paul's grip and fleeing from the bus with a hand over her mouth.
"What was all that about?" Paul turned to Mark to ask.
Mark looked at the book in his hands and felt a wave of guilt rise over him, and he quickly tried to hide the book from his friend.
"Mark, what's in that book?"
"Photos!" Mark swallowed against the lump in his throat.
Paul stood there, shaking his head. 'Not the Jo book' he kept saying to himself.
Mark just nodded and Paul sank into the nearest sofa.
"I can't believe to let Jenna see that... what are you, stupid?"
"She doesn't know about Jo at all..." Mark said.
"You didn't tell? After all the warning that me and the guys gave you?" Paul stood up angry.
"No I didn't bloody tell her... She would have hated me!" Mark yelled back, matching Paul's angry flare
"And now? What about how she feels now?" Paul asked, storming into his own room.
'BEN!' Mark thought angrily, and turned his attention to the last door in the corridor. Every step he took pounded and echoed through the bus. Tread marks were left in the soft green carpet, warn down by Mark's heavy strides. He hammered on the door.
"Open this FUCKING door!"
Ben's eyes flicked open, he had just been about to fall asleep when he heard the argument down the hallway. He couldn't make out which two were arguing and hardly had the energy to be bothered to get up and find out. However, the banging on his door now meant a quick scramble out of bed and a rush to open the door, before whoever it was tore it right off the hinges.
"Mark? What on earth is wrong with - "Ben started. Mark's fist hit him squarely on the chin, and the force was strong enough to send him flying across the room, to end up in a crumpled pile on the floor, nose dripping blood.
"Holy cow Mark - What the hell did you do that for?" Christian asked, as he and Sven came out the door opposite.
"Little bastard is always sticking his nose into other people's business!" Mark spat.
"What the hell did I do now?" Ben asked, nursing his nose. Christian and Sven were now standing between Ben and Mark in case either of them started again.
"You know full well what you did..."
"I honestly have no idea, so just tell me!" Ben defied.
"You... You've wrecked me and Jenna - Again!"
"What?" Christian asked shocked, looking from Ben to Mark and back again.
"You heard me... He told Jenna about Jo!"
"Jo? What's she got to do with all this?" Ben asked
"Who's Jo?" Sven asked
"Don't ask!" Christian told him quietly, "I'll tell you later!"
"Jenna knows about Jo, and now she's not talking to me, and I know only one person who would want to come between Jenna and I - And that's you!" Mark pointed an accusing finger at Ben.
"Mark, I swear to you, I haven't told Jenna anything... especially about Jo!"
"You all knew?" A voice behind them spoke.
"Jenna!" Mark spun on his heel and made towards her. She jumped back a few feet and put her hands up to stop Mark.
"Don't come near me... I just want to give you a chance to explain: Who the HELL 'Jo' is!"
"Jo?"
"Don't give me that crock of shit Mark... Just tell me, I need to know!"
"Maybe we should leave..." Christian suggested, as he and Sven went back into their own room, after shutting Ben into his bunkroom.
"Jenna, I'm sorry... Jo... She, she happened a long time ago - way before we even met... When A1 were just starting out!"
"And those photos in that disgusting book? It's like a porn channel, only with someone you know... I don't understand..." Jenna said through tears of numbness.
Mark tried to come nearer to hug her, but again, Jenna pushed away from him.
"Why do you still have them?"
"I don't know... It's... habit... I, I, I just look at them to remind myself what happened last time... My girlfriend at the time -"
"Karen?"
"Yeah... She found out about Jo and I, and she left me..."
"As I would, if I didn't believe that you and her are actually over..."
"You, you're going to forgive me?"
"Yes, but only if you go and apologise to Ben this instant - He had nothing to do with this! I found that book by accident!"
Mark looked at his fist guiltily.
"Yeah..." He said quietly, turning to Ben's bunkroom again. "Can you go and talk to Paul - He hates me at the moment!"
"Umm, yeah sure!"
"Thanks!" Mark said
Mark knocked on Ben's door and waited until Ben opened it.
Seeing who is was, Ben tried to slam the door back in Mark's face, only to have it stopped abruptly by Mark's shoe.
"What do you want this time? To give me another black eye? Break my arm maybe? Or is it to finish me off for good?" Ben spat harshly.
"Ben, I'm so sorry... I flew right off the handles!"
"No kidding!"
"Look, I'm trying to apologise here... please, can I just come in?"
Ben didn't say anything, but walked to the other end of the room, so that Mark could open the door.
"Jenn and I made up... She, she found my book of Jo photos, and kinda flipped!"
"And?"
"And I just got so angry with Paul for stopping me, and..."
"... A you thought that you couldn't go and hit Paul, and came to pick on me instead?"
"It wasn't like that... honest! Aghh - I'm so confused! I'm sorry Ben - there's nothing more I can do!"
"Fine, you're forgiven - Can I go to bed now?"
"Just like that?"
"Yes, what do you want? Written instructions? Good Night Mark!" Ben finished, pushing Mark out the door and shutting it firmly behind him.
"Yeah, good night Ben!" Mark said quietly, shaking his head. There was something wrong with his best friend, and here he was, pushing Ben even further from him!
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The following morning, the girls were all buzzing around their bus, trying to get ready. The bus was on the road again, travelling to the next venue, and everyone was still hyper about the night before.
"Is Jenna still in the shower?" Holly asked
"Yeah!" Helen replied from the kitchen table.
"Who's in the other one?" Holly asked, irritated.
"I've no idea!" Helen replied.
"Who's in the shower?" Holly called.
"Hannah!" Hannah shouted back.
"Okay!" Holly replied.
"Please tell me there's a toilet free!" Jude jumped from foot to foot.
"Sorry Jude, both are full... Gerri's in that one and Rachel's in the other!"
"Damn... Hurry up you two, I'm going to burst!" Jude yelled.
The sounds of a toilet flushing and the door clicking open came from the left, and Gerri came up the stairs, only to be practically mowed over by Jude on her way down.
"This place is crowded!" Gerri noted, and walked into the kitchen. She grabbed herself an Orange, and sat down opposite Helen and began to peel the orange. Helen stopped her, stood up, grabbed a plate and placed the orange and peel onto the plate.
Gerri looked at her in horror.
"What was that for?" She asked, shocked
"It's unhygienic!"
"It's making more mess to clean up!" Gerri pointed out.
"We have a dish washer!" Helen replied.
"Oh yeah... okay, thanks for the plate!" Gerri said, smiling, and continued to peel the orange, over the plate.
Hannah and Jenna came out the shower about the same time and disappeared into their bunk to get dressed.
"Oh great, you wait and wait for a shower, then two come along at once!" Holly groaned.
"Nah, that's buses!" Rachel pointed out, coming out of the toilet.
"It's both!" Holly said, gesturing to the showers, now empty.
"Oh well... Guess I'll take mine now then!" Rachel said, going into one shower.
"Ohh... is that an empty shower?" Jude asked, heading for the other one.
"NO!" Holly shouted, and leaped into the shower and turning it on.
"Aghh... It's cold!" She yelped.
"That'll teach her!" Jude laughed and sat down next to Helen to wait for her shower.
"Where are we headed to today?" Hannah asked, as she sat down opposite Jude. Jenna took a packet of Bacon out of the fridge and started to heat some oil in a frying pan.
"Anyone want a bacon roll for Brekkie?" She asked.
"Yes please!" Jude said, grinning
"If you're making, I won't say no!" Hannah added
"Great!"
"I'll pass thanks!" Gerri said, "The grease clogs my pores!"
"I'm sorted already!" Helen said, eating another slice of toast and jam. "As to your question Hannah, I think we're off to Torquay!"
"Ohhh Beach! Yay!" Hannah smiled.
"Uhh, did you see the weather?" Gerri asked, pointing to the thick black clouds that were throwing buckets of water out of the heavens.
"Oh, right... yeah! No beaches!" Hannah's face showed her disappointment.
"There will be others... this is an Island, remember!"
"Oh yeah, good point!" Hannah smiled again.
"Does anyone know when we're back in London?"
"We stop over there next week for the weekend I think..." Helen replied.
"Why didn't we just start in London, instead of having to drive from London to Manchester?" Jenna asked
"Because *we* weren't in London?" Jude offered.
"Oh yeah!" Jenna replied.
Half an hour later, the girls had been forced to abandon the small kitchen area, and move into the living room, in order to allow everyone to sit down in comfort. They sat around for the next hour or two as they travelled, just chatting together and having a good time. Things were very different in the boy's bus.
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"Is Ben up yet?" Mark asked. He was still feeling guilty about hitting him, and he was worried about what the stylist was going to say to him for giving Ben a huge bruise and bloodying his nose for him.
"Not yet Mark, sorry!" Christian sympathised
"You hit him, didn't you?" Paul demanded.
"Yeah, and I've apologised already, so don't start into me!" Mark snapped back. Paul held up his hands in defence.
"Look, sorry - I just feel really guilty!" Mark said.
"You four are more problematic than the three of us... I never thought that was possible!" Charles said, tucking into a bowl of rice krispies.
"Glad to have proved you wrong!" Mark bowed excessively.
"Morning you guys!" Ben said cheerfully
"It's afternoon!" Tomas pointed out.
"Shut it smart arse!" Ben said.
"Well aren't we all happy-go-lucky this morning!" Sven told Christian in Norwegian.
"I have to agree with you completely." Christian replied in Norwegian
"Great, so let's just recap here... Paul and Ben aren't talking, Ben and Mark aren't talking, Ben and Tomas aren't talking, Mark and Paul aren't talking and I'm stuck here in the middle with Sven and Christian, who aren't talking English! Anyone else see the injustice of this?" Charles moaned.
"Shut up Charles... All you ever do is complain... can't you find a different tone?" Ben replied.
"Oh, my bad - Now Ben and I aren't talking!" He said, and pulled a set of headphones over his ears to bloke himself off from the others.
"Well I can see this being great fun - I might just go back to bed!" Ben muttered, heading back to his bunkroom.
A silence fell over the rest of the boys as they went about making themselves food and watching MTV numbly. It wasn't quite how everyone had expected things to turn out, and everyone knew that if they were going to survive this tour, something would have to change - And soon!
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"This is my home?" Angel asked, looking around her confused and slightly upset.
"Why? What's the matter?" Amy asked, genuinely concerned.
"I just hoped - no it's stupid!" Angel said, dejected and sinking into a chair at a desk, in what was supposed to be her room.
"No, really! What's wrong?"
"I just hoped that coming home would, you know, bring everything back!"
"Look Angel - there's something we have to tell you, and I don't think you're going to like it!" Alex said slowly, as he and Amy sat down opposite her.
"What is it?" Angel asked.
"We... Angel isn't your name, and this isn't your home!" Alex just rushed out with.
"Oh great exhibition of tact Al... NOT!" Amy said, shoving him playfully.
"What do you mean?" Angel asked, confused.
"We don't know who you are! Alex found you half-dead, and took you to the hospital, but we couldn't just leave you there, and when we found out that you had amnesia, we just lied and said you were my sister! We know it was wrong and really stupid, and we both feel guilty now, but we couldn't just back out after that first lie!"
"So... This isn't my home, and you're not my sister?" Angel asked, getting it straight in her own head.
"Yeah!" Alex said.
The next thing that happened shocked both Alex and Amy, instead of getting upset and angry with them, she smiled a huge smile.
"What?" Alex asked confused at her expression.
"It means there's still hope - I can find my family, and friends and home and, and I haven't forgotten everything for good!" She replied.
"I suppose so!"
"I suppose you'll want me to go now though?" Angel asked
"No! Not at all... We want to help you find everything you're looking for! You're welcome here as long as you like and longer. You can treat us both as family until you find your real one!" Amy told her.
"Thank you... thank you both!" Angel said, and hugged them both at once.
"And Alex - Thanks for saving me!" She finished
"I couldn't leave you there, Angel!"
"What about your name?" Amy asked.
"Call me Angel until I find out, or remember my real name?" She asked hopefully.
"We'll gladly call you that, Angel!" Alex told her, hugging her again.
"So how do you want us to help you find your family?" Amy asked
"Well, will you take me back to the place that you found me, and we can work from there?"
"Of course! We'll take you tomorrow, okay - I think you still need to rest for now, but not until you've taken your pills - here!" Alex said, handing her a glass of water and two white, round tablets.
"Thanks! Night Amy, Night Alex!"
"Night Angel, sweet dreams!" Alex smiled, and closed the door behind him.
"I can't believe she took it that well!" Amy said.
"We have to help her find her family - if only I knew where to begin!" Alex replied.
"What if we look up missing people on the internet? Her family are bound to have reported her missing!"
"Good idea... let's do that now!"
"Great!" Amy said, leading the way into the study and to the computer.
Author's note: Hey again everyone... Thanks for all the great feedback I've been getting, it really helps me to keep going so don't stop by any means! :o) This chapter (and I've got to do this) is dedicated to the glorious sunshine of Alberfeira, Portugal; because it persuaded me to sit in the sunshine, while I joined tanning with writing more fanfic. I've actually got about 28 A4 pages of written work done so far, so it's a case of typing it up and dividing it into chapters now, but don't worry because I'm going to upload the next chapter on Friday before I head of to University - aghhh! ***IMPORTANT*** This chapter contains some reasonably vivid descriptions of foreplay, so if you're squeamish or too young for that kind of material, please be warned and don't read it!! Thats all for now folks! Catch ya later, love Lizzi
Angel wondered downstairs in the strange house, which she knew wasn't her own home, and felt completely at ease. Her bare feet padded softly on the thick cream carpet as she floated down the sweeping staircase with the intricately carved banisters. The entire house had been made with a precision and charm that had both astonished and been faintly familiar to her.
In the breakfast room, she found Alex, morning paper spread in front of him and glass of orange juice on the table.
"Morning Angel, Did you sleep well?"
"Yes thank you, where's Amy?" Angel enquired
"She's taking a shower. Do you want something to drink - The juice is in the fridge!" Alex said, before throwing the paper down in disgust.
"Oh get over it already!" He exclaimed out loud
"Sorry?" Angel asked, startled.
"This bloody John Carter case - So the guy was a creep - murdered his wife and kid! But he's dead already, stop blowing his horn!" Alex complained
"Oh... Umm... Okay Alex!" Angel replied brightly, clearly having no idea what he was talking about.
"Sorry Angel - I keep forgetting that you haven't been around to hear about all that's going on in the world!" Alex apologised, and pointed out where the glasses were kept.
"That's okay - I think I should concentrate on the past before I look at the future!" Angel smiled.
"That's true! Do you have any idea where you want to start?" Alex asked.
"I was thinking about it last night. What do you think about going to ask the police if any people have been reported missing?" Angel asked.
"That's a good option, only if anyone asks why we want to know of missing people, what are we going to say?"
"Uhh, we could tell them that I'm doing a project for school or something?" Angel suggested
Morning you two - What's up?" Amy asked, coming into the room, towelling her hair.
"We're just deciding what to do about finding Angel's memory!" Alex told her, before explaining Angel's suggestion.
The shrill sound of the telephone ringing interrupted the conversation.
"Good idea!" Amy agreed as she grabbed the phone and clicked the 'answer call' button.
"Hello?" She asked, "Okay, okay Ness... Calm down... Tell me what happened from the beginning Amy soothed. Alex and Angel exchanged an interested look but said nothing. The girl on the other end of the phone was obviously in hysterics over something. There was a long period of silence in the kitchen as the girl explained what had happened.
"Where is he now? Have you heard anything at all?" Amy asked
"No! Not a think - He went on tour!" Nessa told her through subsiding sobs.
"Why did you do it?" Amy asked questions to try and determine the exact situation.
"I don't know - He was so friendly and flirting... I was flattered that someone as famous as him would be interested in me!" Nessa replied.
"And when do you expect to see him again?"
"I don't know. They're on tour round England for almost a month, they're in London next week, but I don't know if they're coming back to Manchester!" Vanessa said.
"You're welcome to stay here, it'll be on the sofa though, as a friend of mine and Alex's is staying at the moment! You'll get along well with her though, she's about your age I think!"
"Aww, thanks Amz - You're a star!" Nessa said, calming down a bit. "I'll send a letter to their stylist here and ask her to pass a note onto Ben for me!"
"That's great - get him to ring you, or meet you somewhere!"
"Uh huh... They get in on Saturday, so if I come on Friday? Would that be alright?" She asked
"Of course it's alright... He's got to know about it! Are you sure it's real?"
"The line went blue! I'm positive it's real!"
"Okay then Hun... I'll see you on Friday, give me a ring if you want picking up!"
"Thanks Amy - I knew I could count on you!"
"Anytime Nessa - I mean it! Speak to you soon!"
"Bye"
"Bye!" Amy hung up and sank into a chair at the table. Alex placed a cup of coffee in front of her and sat down expectantly.
"Thanks Alex!"
"What's up with Nessa?" He asked
"She had a wild fling with some pop star!" Amy said, "And that's not the worst of it... She's pregnant!"
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Tomas sank into a chair and offered a coffee to his friend sitting opposite. They had just finished the sound checks to a concert in Birmingham NEC arena, and as much as the hype had been in the morning about performing to such a huge audience in such a prestigious arena. The gruesomely boring task to sound checks had bought everyone's adrenaline to a direct halt, and the tiredness of a bumpy night's sleep from travelling the night before had come rushing back.
"There you go Holly - White with two sugars!"
"Thanks Tomas - It's just what I need!" Holly smiled at him. The two youngsters had become increasingly close as the tour had proceeded, and nearing the end of the first week, they were finally at a decision point.
"Holly, I have to ask you something..." Tomas struggled to find the right words.
"What is it?" Holly prompted
"I was wondering... What you would think... if i... Holly, I really... I, will you..."
Unknown to them, Ben was about to come up the starts to the boys' bus, and that would mean going into the room where Tomas was making a huge pig's ear of asking Holly out. And he, having been searching for ways to annoy Tomas as much as his jealous mind could; was hatching a nasty scheme.
"Holly, here you are - I've found you!" Ben burst in, and sounded out of breath. Holly jumped to her feet, heart pounding.
"What's wrong?" She asked, urgently
"It's Helen... She's looking everywhere for you, and it looks like she's really angry... I had to warn you - she could be here in any second!"
"Oh god! What should I do? She's probably spitting hot acid if I forgot to do something again... What should I do?" She reiterated.
"Hide!" Ben suggested, "I've got the perfect place, quick - this way!" He said and began to drag her to the back exit of the bus. Tomas began to follow, only to be stopped by Ben
"No Tomas, you stay here and stall Helen for us!"
Tomas looked at Holly, hurt evident in his face. Holly, in her plight to hide from her mad sister, just nodded and pushed Ben forwards.
They ran on, out of the bus and behind the nearest building. It resulted in squeezing between the bricks and a tall fence, but at least no one would think of looking for them down there. They slowed then, and walked into the small courtyard between some buildings. A gardener or caretaker had conveniently left a bench there, and the two panting escapees sank into it gratefully.
"Thanks Ben!" Holly said, as she caught her breath.
"You know - You shouldn't waste your time on someone like Tomas, you could do so much better than him!" Ben said.
"Me and Tomas are friends!" Holly replied simply, but almost defensively
"Looked like more than that from everyone else's position... Has he asked you out yet?"
"Well... No - But!"
"He's an idiot!" Ben spat, "If I were him, I'd have - but I'm not him..." Ben broke off his rant and turned away, smiling inside and quietly thanking his mum for the drama lessons he had taken when he was little.
"You'd have done what?" Holly asked naively.
"You know Holly, you're easily the most beautiful girl I've seen on tour so far... You've got these incredible eyes, and the most beautiful hair!" Ben turned back to her, and gently played with a strand of Holly's hair.
"What about that stylist in Manchester? You seemed pretty into her!" Holly pointed out.
"What Vanessa? Nah... She was just getting me a number for a stylist who's got this new technique for straightening hair!" Ben passed off.
Holly's glance fell to her lap.
"Oh..."
"Hey... You've got to keep smiling! You shouldn't ever stop smiling... It's the vision of perfect-ness!" Ben said, putting his arm about her and giving her shoulder a supportive squeeze.
Holly looked back up at Ben, only to be greeted with his lips, that he pressed on her lightly and then more eager for some participation, while Holly seemed to gladly offer. Ben's free hand moved to Holly's neck and before she knew what was happening, Ben was laying her slowly back on the bench, still kissing her. His hands roamed to her waist and still he kissed her.
It was a dream come true for Holly, who long before she and her sisters had formed the band and been contracted to appear on tour with A1, had had a crush on Ben. Then she had met him and her dreams had crumbled as she slowly convinced herself that someone like Ben could not possibly fall for someone like her. She was swirling in a milky cloud of bliss, when one thought pierced through - Tomas.
Ben's left hand found it's way up under Holly's shirt, until it gingerly rested on her breast.
"Ben -" Holly murmured through his kisses.
"Good huh?" Ben asked, smirking to himself, and massaging her gently.
"Ben -" Holly said again, as this time Ben's right hand started pulling at the waistline of her trousers.
"Ben - Stop!" Holly said, moving her hand to remove Ben's from her waist.
Ben didn't stop, and oblivious to Holly's purposeful action, he massaged her still harder, kissed her more passionately and wriggled her trousers down further. She herself, felt him become aroused above her, and began to panic.
"Ben stop it - Please!" She begged.
It took all her might to push his chest with both hands and slip out from under him. She straightened her shirt and trousers as she ran back to the thin passageway, without pausing for a backward glance at Ben before she disappeared from sight.
Ben sighed. Half content at having ruined Tomas' attempt to ask Holly out, and quite possibly having ruined his chances of getting Holly to accept and trust him as well. But also, half aggravated at having been aroused only to get nothing for his trouble. All the same, he shrugged and went through the other alleyway to the front of the building. At least he'd have enough decency to not mar Holly's name any further.
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Outside the bus, Helen was indeed looking for Holly, but not in any angry reason - just to tell her that their parents had phoned and that their grandfather had passed away. Holly almost ran straight into Helen, her eyes blinded by tears of hatred, betrayal to herself, fright and just because it was the easiest way to release all her emotions at once.
"Oh Holly - Are you alright?" Helen asked, practically bursting into tears as she enveloped her youngest sister into a hug.
"I... I..." Holly stammered.
"Did Jude tell you? I asked her to let me tell you!"
"Tell me what?" She asked
"Mom and Dad phoned... Grandpa died!" Helen broke the news.
Holly stopped crying momentarily, while the news sunk in. 'Grandpa' was the name they had called their grandfather since they had been small. All three generations had been remarkably close, and since Grandma and Grandpa had been married young, they had only been in their sixties and incredibly healthy.
"How did he die?" Holly asked, choking back a fresh set of tears.
"He had a seizure during the night, and was dead when Grandma woke up. The doctors said that part of his brain had been badly affected, and that he would have died almost instantly... Barely any pain!" Helen said, gently to her sister.
"And the funeral? Are we going back?"
"No... It's not practical - You know it isn't... Grandpa always wanted to be cremated thought, so they're going to wait for us to come back before they scatter the ashes!" Helen explained.
"But I want to be there... for the actual funeral... I - I don't want to be here!" Holly started crying again.
"Shush Holly... We'll have our own remembrance service here... we can light candles, sing all the ranch songs and talk about what a good life Grandpa had! He wouldn't want you to be crying now!"
"I don't want to be HERE though..." Holly persisted.
At that moment, Jude came out of the bus and joined her sisters in a group hug.
"Why not here, holly?" Helen asked.
"Because... Because, I don't want to be on my own with Ben anymore!" 'There' Holly thought to herself, 'I've said it'.
Anger sparked in Jude's eyes, while worry filled Helens.
"What did he do?" Helen asked
"He tried to have sex with me!" Holly stammered.
Jude didn't wait to hear anymore. 'That boy has always been trouble in my eyes!' She thought to herself, as she stormed towards the boys' bus at a rate of knots, fingers itching to give Ben another black eye. 'What is wrong with that Tosser?' She asked herself.
She threw open the door and marched into the bus.
"Where is he? Where's that little S**T?" Jude shouted down the bus. Hannah and Christian flew out of one room, to see what all the fuss was about.
"Where's Ben?" Jude demanded again.
"Why? What's happened?" Hannah asked.
"When I get my hands on him, I'm going to knock him into next year for what he's done to my sister!"
Author's Note: Looks like I've done it again folks... So before you say anything, yet again, I'm sorry that it's taken some time to get the next chapter up! This time, I have a valid excuse though, because the chapter has been ready to be posted for some time, but what with starting University and then finding out that the Uni computer system had crashed two days into the start of the new year, meant that I haven't had a chance to upload the chapter. But here it is, and yet again, it's full to bursting of twists and turns and a complimentary cliff-hanger at the end! Oh yeah, one more thing - before anyone asks what's happened to the Angel/Amy/Alex part, I tell you now, nothing's happened to it, it's just the way I ended up writing it and in about a chapter or possibly two, you're going to be treated to nothing but that side of the story. It gets complicated to run them side by side and keep up the pace, so this is the best I can do! I hope you enjoy it still, and feel free to leave a review! Thanks, love Lizzi (p.s. E-mail me anytime you like, It'd be nice to hear from some of you crazy cats!)
Further down the hall, Sven and Charles came out from rehearsing a new song they had written; and behind Jude, Tomas, Paul and Mark had arrived with Gerri, Jenna, Rachel and Sara in tow. They had all heard the noise and come to investigate what was wrong.
"What's Ben done this time?" Charles asked cynically
"What hasn't he done more like? Poor Holly really didn't need that just now!" Jude said, still in a loud voice.
"Jude - No!" Holly struggled up the stairs to the bus, before realising it was too late. All heads turned to her, and she fled towards the safety of her own room. Helen glared at Jude.
"Thanks Jude - Just what WE needed!" She muttered, before following Tomas out of the bus in search of Holly.
"What exactly did Ben do?" Gerri asked
"Only tried to force himself on her!" Jude told everyone, "I mean - What is wrong with that boy - Can't he keep his dick in his trousers for one day?" Jude kept ranting.
"It's not as easy as that Jude! A lot happened to Ben just before we came on tour!" Hannah spoke quietly to fill the silence that had been created as the news sank in.
"Nothing as bad as having to force yourself on innocent girls could possibly have happened!" Jude passed off.
Hannah took a sharp intake of breath and was about to shout at Jude for being to insensitive, but Christian gently surrounded her in a hug, and placed his hand over her mouth so she couldn't speak. Mark took over the tale.
"Ben fell in love, Jude... With Hannah's best friend... And then her father murdered her mother and then her and finally killed himself... It's quite possible that Ben may be feeling some penned up emotion of losing Lizzi... He never even got the chance to say goodbye at her funeral... They never found her body!" Mark tried to explain so that everyone could understand.
"But that sounds just like the John Carter case..." Rachel started. Mark nodded. Hannah's eyes flowed with unstoppable tears as she hugged Christian closely for support.
Jude had fallen silent.
"I didn't know... I'm sorry..." She said quietly. tears of her own sliding down her cheeks. Mark gave her a hug.
"It's okay... We know you didn't know, and it still doesn't excuse Ben's actions, but please, before you pound him - try to find out why he did what he did!" Mark soothed.
Clearly, the conversation was over, and questions were not to be asked at that time. So as quietly as most had come, they left the bus. Hannah and Christian went back into their room, and Charles and Sven, all inspiration zapped into oblivion, dispersed, Charles with Gerri and Sven to find Helen.
Mark and Jenna stayed on the bus, but Rachel, Paul, Sara and Jude went off the bus to talk about what had happened. From Paul's slightly distanced position, he had observed without getting deeply involved. He offered to explain in slightly more detail that Mark had dared to go.
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"Come on Holly - Open the door!" Helen tried to persuade her.
"Helen - Are you okay?" Sven asked, noticing her eyes were fast filling with tears of her own.
"No!" She said honestly, and allowed herself to be taken into a hug. She didn't feel like being the strong one - the mother, to her siblings right then. Grandpa had been especially close to Helen as she had been the first child he ever held. When his own child had been born, he had been stressed and young, and had walked out on Grandma for five years. Grandma had forgiven him in time, but when Helen had been born, she had forced him to help as much as he could.
Sven signalled with his eyes to Tomas, to make him stay with Holly, before he took Helen to her room so she could talk more freely.
"Helen... Elle... What's wrong?" Sven asked
"Everything!" She cried.
"What? Tell me..."
"My grandpa died last night and we can't go to the funeral - Then this thing with Holly and Ben!" She said. "I'm just so tired to playing the adult role... I'm just as homesick as they are, and I'd give everything to be at home with my parents and grandma now! Only I know I can't, and a part of me wouldn't want to give this tour up... Wouldn't want to give you up, without a fight!" Helen spoke with passion and tears, and Sven sat there, soothingly rubbing her back and listening.
"You're doing a great job Elle, but sometimes we all need a break! You worry about Holly and Jude too much... They can take care of themselves, and I've been noticing that you've been so busy looking after them, you've been neglecting you! Did you eat properly this morning?" Sven asked
"I don't remember... Mornings are so hectic trying to get Holly and Jude up and dressed..."
"See, there you go again! Forget those two for just a minute! You should be your first priority, not them!"
"But they're my little sisters -"
"Exactly! Sisters, Not children - And they're not exactly little either!"
"You're right - I know - But it's just so difficult!"
"I know, I know - But you've got to try, and if you'll let me, I'd like to help you!" Sven said. He was perched in front of her now, while she sat on the bed. He gently wiped her tears off her cheeks with his thumbs.
"What did I do to deserve you?" Helen asked, smiling.
"Well, I think you took the whole world onto your shoulders for a while!" Sven joked.
"Thank you!" Helen whispered
"No - Thank you, for making me realise how lucky I am to have found you!" Sven whispered back, before kissing her gently on the lips.
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"Holly... It's me - Tomas... Helen went with Sven... Won't you open the door?" Tomas asked softly when they had gone from the room.
There was no reply.
"Holly - I'm sorry... It was my fault! If I hadn't have been about to ask you out, Ben wouldn't have dragged you off like that and, and done what he did to you... I-I didn't want to let you go with him because I know what he's like! He's had it in for me since the day we met and I knocked him out with that door... I'm so sorry that he got his revenge on me the way it would hurt me the most - through you!" Tomas said.
The door opened slowly.
"It's not your fault! I let it get that far... I should have stopped him when he told me what nice hair and eyes and smile I had... But I couldn't... I, I used to like Ben from A1 before I ever met them and you, and I just couldn't force myself to stop him... It's my fault!" Holly said.
"Don't blame yourself!" Tomas said, "Blame Ben - It's his fault this happened!"
"Yeah!" Holly agreed, "I suppose so!"
"Umm, Holly - things haven't, changed between us with the whole Ben situation, right?"
"I think they have!" Holly said quietly.
"Oh!" Tomas said, with a dejected tone in his voice. He was convinced he'd lost his chance with her now.
"I think we've become closer... I've trusted and confided in you over my own sister, so Yes!" Holly continued.
"Yes what?" Tomas asked, confused.
"Yes I'll still go out with you, if you want to!"
"Of course I want to!" Tomas cried joyfully, and threw his hands around Holly's neck in a massive hug. He would have kissed her if he didn't thing it would scare her off!
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Everyone seemed to avoid Ben that evening. During the actual concert, only pleasant civilities were exchanged between the other boys and Ben. He and Holly avoided each other completely. After Calamity had performed, everyone applauded, and Angelz came onstage, smiles being exchanged between Sven and Helen and Tomas and Holly. Angelz performed almost perfectly despite their tiresome day, and as soon as they finished their set, they made for the wings only to be stopped by A1 and calamity heading on stage.
Angelz were thoroughly confused, as this wasn't a part of the registered concert. As soon as the screams for A1 had calmed down, Sven took the microphone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, today has been a somewhat difficult day for Angelz. As you may have figured, they're sisters and this afternoon they were informed that their Grandfather had passed away. But rather than fly home to America, the girls decided to stick out for the show; So I'd like you all to demonstrate your support for the girls by joining us in a minute's silence for remembrance!" Sven finished, put the microphone down, and put a supportive arm around Helen and Jude's shoulders. Tomas was already comforting Holly. The entire arena was silent. Not a murmur or scream could be heard. No cough or sneeze interrupted the silence, and as the long minute drew to a close, And Calamity and Angelz headed off stage to let A1 finish their set, the sound of applause - Not the same screaming applause as before, but a more dignified clapping filled the arena.
As Holly passed by A1 to get to the wings, Ben leaned over and made to take her arm and whisper something in her ear, but Holly shrugged out of his grip. Tomas nearly hit him and Mark warned him to 'leave Holly alone'. It was at that moment that Ben realised everyone knew what had happened that afternoon with Holly, and a guilty look crept onto his face. He shrugged it off and acted his normal bubbly self on stage, but the moment everything was over, it became patently obvious that the others were giving him the cold shoulder, so he left to go back to the bus, while the others went on to the after show party.
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"What are we going to do about Ben?" Hannah asked, as she, Christian, Jenna and Mark sat around a table talking.
"Think we should go and check he's okay?" Christian asked.
Mark and Jenna nodded and the four of them headed back to the bus.
"Ben?" Mark called as they climbed onto the bus. There was no reply, but all the lights were on, so they knew he must have been there. Worried for his safety, and general stupidity at times, they decided to make sure he was either sleeping or showering, rather than dead of dying.
There was no sound from the showers and a quick inspection confirmed he wasn't there. Mark headed down towards Ben's bunk, fearing the worst. He opened the door to find Ben and a 'female-friend' in a state of undress on his bed.
"Ben!" Jenna cried in shock.
"Jo!" Mark echoed...