[ PART 5 ]

November 23rd, Toronto, Ontario. They were soundchecking mid-afternoon on a familiar outdoor stage – never mind the weather – their only audience being some geese who tended, periodically, to fly away (unappreciative creatures). They had hardly spoken to one another all day.
//Ugh, how awkward,// was the extent of Daniel's sentiments.
Darren sang out a few random lines from Madonna songs, warming up. "And I feel / Like I just got home / And I feel ..." Darren paused. "Moderately pissed off," he finished quietly.
Sarcastic clapping was heard from the wings. "Bra-vo," muttered a nasal voice. Brian sauntered onto the stage listlessly, his figure all in black like an ominous silhouette. "If you decide to stop wasting everybody's time at any point soon, let me know so we can do our check," he said to Darren.
Darren went pale with astoundment. //The *nerve*.// "Listen, you impatient little pest! *You* are the last person with any right to get indignant about wasting time. This is the first show you've been anywhere *close* to on time for yet, and that's just because you've been unconscious in the back of the limo for the past several hours, unable to wander off to – to wherever the hell you'd otherwise wander off!" he hissed.
If Brian had been bionic, lasers would have been shooting out his eyes. As it stood, Brian could only turn on a dime and left wordlessly. Daniel's face was that of a hurt-puppy.
"Why are you making it so difficult for us?" he implored.
"What? What am I making difficult for who, exactly? I don't know if you've noticed, honey, but Princess Molko is the one causing all the trouble round here."
"You know what I think?" Daniel spat out, throwing down his guitar so hard it almost splintered, "I think you're fucking jealous." And he stormed offstage.

~*~

"I really don't know what we're going to do about him," Brian sighed, big blue eyes meeting Daniel's reflection in the dressing room mirror.
"He's not a bad person, you know. I'm just starting to think your karmas don't mix, you know ... or, he might be jealous or something ..."
"Jealous? What, of me?" A smile played at the corner of Brian's lip.
"I mean, just because I've not been talking to him lately, and seem to be ... spending more time with you."
"Ohh ... he thinks you don't love him anymore?" He pouted dramatically.
"Weh ... " began Daniel, before shaking his head and staring over. "Why do you keep talking like that? Why do you have to ... insinuate all these things, like we're somehow ... romantically involved?"
Brian raised his eyebrows. "Because ... because you are, aren't you? Or were."
"What? No. Why would you think that? I thought – I mean, I thought you were joking, but ..."
"You're not?" Brian looked directly into Daniel's eyes. "I thought for sure you had to be." Awkwardness abounded. Daniel opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. //It's just not that simple,// he thought.
"Let's go, let's go," Stefan paraded into the room, "I'm ready for my close-up."
"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Daniel muttered, and left.



[ PART 6 ]

Darren sat on the edge of the stage, leaning chin in hand and staring moodily out at the many rows of empty seats in front of him. An invisible but palatable dark cloud hung over the singer's head as his thoughts seethed and muttered.

//What the hell is wrong with Daniel anyway? What did he bloody mean when he said I'm jealous? Jealous of what? I hope he wasn't referring to that little lip-sticked moron Brian, cos what does he have right now that I don't?//

But that thought lead Darren places he didn't want to think about. Fighting the urge to squirm uncomfortably, Darren stood out and turned around, only to find himself once again face to face with the focus of his displeasure. Brian blinked in surprise while Darren's posture stiffened, throwing a disapproving look Brian's way.

"What do *you* want?" Darren growled, mentally sneering at Brian's outfit of a short black skirt and black work-shirt. What a fluffhead. Brian shrugged slightly and pulled out a pack of cigarettes before answering.

"Nothing, I was just coming to check the guitars out." He eventually replied, casually taking a smoke out of the box and lighting it. Brian took a drag and slowly exhaled it, oblivious to the look of distaste on Darren's face as he vainly tried to wave the smoke out of his face.

//God, it's bad enough that Dan smokes, but this bastard almost seems to flaunt it!//

"Fine. I'll leave the stage to you then." Darren said curtly, already starting to turn.

"No, it's ok, you can stay I'm not going to actually play the guitars, I just wanted to check them out visually." Brian responded before Darren had taken a step. The departing singer froze and pivoted back around to regard Brian with surprise, unable to prevent one of his eyebrows from quirking upwards inquiringly.

"What?" Darren asked quietly, perhaps dangerously "You just finished whining that I was taking too long in my warm up and I got the impression you wanted to practice quite badly."

Brian shrugged again, a gesture that continued, somehow, to convey a strong feeling of insolence.

"I lied, I was just getting sick of hearing you sing Madonna and other crap. Gave me a headache."

Darren ground his teeth for a moment, his grey-blue eyes going steely with anger.

//Is this how he treats everyone? If so, how does he live through the day?//

Brian finally seemed to clue into Darren's emotional state, for he gave the short-haired man a curious look as he took another drag from the cigarette.

"Hey, I'm not saying *you* suck, I just wanna know why you practice with such girly songs."

Darren snorted, his anger cooling a little.

"You're one to talk about girly." He retorted, gesturing towards Brian's skirt with a dismissive hand. Brian automatically looked down at his skirt, then smirked at Darren's derisive expression.

"Well, if the shoe fits..."he drawled coyly. "or skirt for that matter....Don't knock it man, Daniel seems to like it. Wait, forget I said that, last thing I need is you grabbing my throat out of jealousy!" And proceeded to crack up as Darren expression went decidedly stony.

"What did you say?" He near-whispered, staring at Brian as he convulsed with mirth.

more to be read..