Mark and Rye

Okay the usual stuff that nobody reads. This is a gay story with lots of gay sex. If you aren't supposed to be here, leave. The work is mine and unless you ask you can't post it anywhere else. I have no clue if any member of Westlife is gay, so this is all my fantasy. Email me at rye_encoke@hotmail.com to tell me what you like or hate.

The author wishes to acknowledge and thank the archivist for Nifty for allowing this story to be published here.

Authors Notes: After many emails, some threatening violence against my body, which I ignored, and others offering sexual favours, which I took names and addresses, here is chapter 9 a week early. Please understand how worried I am that I get behind in my writing. I have many chapters written but like to keep about 2 months (8 chapters) ahead in case I hit a block. This ONE TIME only I am giving in and posting early. I hope you all understand and realize that if I do it too often, at some point I am going to run out of pre-written chapters and you may have to wait several weeks for a new chapter....and nobody wants that.

DEDICATION: This Chapter is dedicated with love to a special new friend. This is for you David, enjoy and know that I count you as a friend. My thoughts are with you.

• Dressing Rye -

A cell phone beeping woke everyone. Shane jumped out of the bed and flipped it open.

"Yeah okay. We'll be ready," Shane said then closed the phone. He turned to look at everyone on the bed.

"The bus will be here in an hour and a half."

Suddenly Bryan started to cry. Nicky and Rye immediately grabbed onto him.

"It's okay my boy, it is only for three days," Rye tried to comfort Bryan but his own emotions were quickly overpowering him.

Soon everyone was holding each other and sobbing. Finally Shane stood up and wiped his eyes. "Let's get breakfast ready and pack. We only have a short time. Let's not make this worse than it has to be."

Everyone nodded and grabbed pants and shirts. Bryan was hiccuping from his bout of crying and he did not want to let go of Rye. Mark was the same, he was clinging to Rye like he was scared to let him go.

"One of you is going to have to let me go so I can get dressed or you will have to dress me," Rye chuckled. This brought chuckles from everyone then laughs as Mark and Bryan began to dress Rye. It was particularly funny since each boy had one of Rye's hands and so could only use one of their own. It did serve to lighten the mood though.

As they were trying to get Rye's underwear on, Mark sighed and glared at Bryan, "Are you trying to help me get his underwear on or are you just trying to get a feel?"

Bryan looked embarrassed then giggled and fell onto the bed pulling the other two with him, "I was trying to get a feel."

This caused another laughing fit from Rye and Mark. Downstairs the rest of the group began to laugh at the antics.

"Don't make me come up there," Jill called out.

"Ooooooh," the other boys all said together then burst into more laughter.

"How bout no underwear, just some jeans?" Mark compromised.

"Okay fine, just get me dressed," Rye laughed. He was enjoying this immensely.

Finally they had him dressed.

"I want you two to dress me all the time from now on. That was sexy fun," Rye giggled.

Both Mark and Bryan laughed as they finally let go of his hands to get themselves quickly dressed. Rye waited for them then took their hands again as they finished. They trotted downstairs to join the others at the table for bagels and cream cheese.

"What were you doing last night after we all fell asleep?" Nicky asked Rye.

"Oh that. I sorted the pictures and burned a couple of cd's to take with you so you can look at them," Rye smiled as he remembered some of the funnier pictures.

"You are awesome possum," Jill said around a mouthful of bagel.

Everyone looked at her then burst into laughter.

"Awesome possum?" Mark asked.

"Just a silly expression my cousin uses," Jill blushed.

The breakfast continued with laughter and giggles and no tears. That changed quickly though as someone rang the buzzer. Everyone stood as Jill went to the speaker. Nicky had moved to the window.

"The bus is here," Nicky said quietly.

"I'm gonna be sick," Mark suddenly said and ran for the bathroom. Rye began to follow but Shane stopped him.

"Let me go Angel," Shane said sadly. Rye nodded.

• Briefly Shane and Mark -

Shane knocked on the door once and then entered. He looked at his best friend kneeling in front of the toilet and throwing up. He went over and held him as he emptied his stomach. When Mark had finished he lifted him up and sat him on edge of the counter. He got a wash cloth, wet it, and gently began to wipe off the sweat from Mark's forehead.

"It's gonna be okay fella. I know it doesn't seem like it now but I promise it will be. Now rinse your mouth and let's go say goodbye to Jill and Rye," Shane said.

"I don't want to go," Mark said.

"None of us do. But we have to," Shane said.

"We don't. You said you felt safe to just let it all go. That's what I want to do," Mark said forcefully.

"We could do that. But what about the consequences if we did. We would disappoint all of our fans. We would disappoint each other and most importantly we would disappoint Rye," Shane said.

"Fuck you Shane," Mark said bitterly.

Shane nodded. "I know you are upset Mark. I am upset too, not as much as you, but it still hurts me to leave. And yes, fuck me, I don't want to always be the voice of reason. I want to be the one sometimes who needs to be looked after. I hate being the bad guy, and this time it particularly hurts. So you can tell me 'fuck you' all you want but it doesn't change what we have to do. When we decided earlier this week what we were going to do you said you would live by our decision. This is our decision and really things are even better than before. Now we only have to wait three days before we see him again instead of three weeks."

Mark was now sobbing quietly.

"It sucks Mark. I know that. We all know that. But we have to go and trying to change it now and throw everything away is going to hurt us all, including Rye. Now rinse your mouth and let's get going," Shane said forcefully.

Mark looked at Shane for a long time then obeyed. When he was done he turned and threw his arms around Shane.

"I'm sorry boyo. I love you and I'm sorry for making you the bad guy. You aren't the bad guy you are my very best friend and I love you so much. Thank you for looking after me," Mark whispered into Shane's ear.

Shane just held onto Mark for a long time till a knock on the door brought them back to the present.

"Guys we gotta go," Kian's voice said from the other side.

• Goodbyes -

Shane opened the door and led Mark out.

"I told them we needed some time to say our goodbyes and threatened to fire anyone who interrupted us before we were ready," Nicky said.

Shane nodded. The boys all went to where Jill and Rye were standing.

"I'm sorry boys, but I am so bad at goodbyes. So I am gonna do the quick hug and kiss and take Kian down to the bus," Jill said.

Jill quickly kissed Bryan and Nicky and Shane. She then hugged and kissed Mark tightly, whispering something into his ear that made him start to cry. She went to the door and waited for Kian to say goodbye to Rye.

Kian stepped forward and hugged Rye to him. "You are the most incredible man I have ever known and I love you so deeply. My heart is breaking. But in just three days we will see each other again. The boys explained how we can share on the weekends and I look forward to holding you and making love with you and Mark again. Thank you for everything you have taught me and given me. We will all look after Mark," He then kissed Rye sweetly on the lips and turned away with tears in his eyes to take Jill to the bus so he could say his farewell to her there.

Nicky came forward. "Angel thank you for opening me up to love, showing me what it really means, and for giving me my lovers. I will miss you every second we are apart but soon we will never have to be apart again. I love you Angel, never doubt it," Nicky kissed Rye on the lips and lay his head on Rye's chest briefly before leaving for the bus.

Rye had tears rolling down his face and he had said nothing to anyone yet. He wouldn't have been able. Shane stepped forward next.

"You are my friend my lover and teacher. You showed me what real love is and helped to heal me. You were the first man to make love to me and I will never forget that or what you sacrificed of yourself to do it. You are the most caring wonderful man I have ever met and I am so honoured to be your friend. I love that you and Mark share with us and I thank you for that too. I love you Angel," Shane kissed Rye passionately then stepped back. He stayed there waiting for the others to say their goodbyes knowing that these last two would need someone to be there for them.

Bryan threw his arms around Rye and began to cry. "Angel, I love you. You own me forever." That was all Bryan could get out as he sobbed without control onto Rye. Rye kissed Bryan over and over, very softly, on his eyes and forehead and lips.

Finally Shane stepped forward and took Bryan into his arms. Bryan refused to let go but finally relented and let Shane lead him to the bus. Now only Mark and Rye were left. Mark stepped forward and drew Rye to him. The two were sobbing together. They kissed each other softly, trying to put all their love into that kiss.

"Always and forever my only fella," Rye whispered.

"Always and forever my true Angel," Mark sighed.

Together their hands moved to cover the other's heart and they moved their heads together. Their mouths met and enfolded each other. They began to breathe as one and their hearts quickly began to beat in sync. Time seemed to stop as they held onto each other and their souls touched. After a short period of time they separated. Tears filled their eyes as Shane and Jill came back into the room.

"Time to go my boy," Shane whispered softly to Mark and led him away.

Rye and Jill moved to the window to look out at the bus. Mark looked up into the window as he climbed onto the bus. The door closed and the bus pulled away, and as it did Rye broke. He fell to the ground and began to weep uncontrollably as he curled himself into a ball. Jill took him into her arms and rocked him gently. It was only a few minutes before the door opened and Maria and Matt came in. They looked at Rye with sympathy. Jill had called them sometime yesterday and told them they would be needed today and she had been right. Maria's heart broke and Matt, big strong Matt, let a tear escape as he watched Rye weep.

"Shall we go?" Maria asked Jill.

Jill nodded and moved aside as Matt reached down and tenderly, like a parent cradling a child, picked Rye up and carried him outside to a waiting van. He did not let go of him as he sat in the back seat. Jill got in behind him and Maria got in the front with her son.

Andy looked at Rye with concern.

"Will he be all right?" he asked his mother in a soft voice.

"In a while," Maria answered.

Andy nodded and began the short drive to Jill's apartment. He continued to look at Rye in the mirror. How could someone love that much? Would he and Matt love like that one day? His heart hammered in his chest as he listened to the strong caring man being held in Matt's arms weep like a baby. They pulled up to Jill's apartment and once again Matt never let go of Rye as he got out of the van and followed Jill upstairs. Andy watched as his lover gently laid Rye down in the bed and tenderly undressed him.

Matt gasped as he removed Rye's shirt and saw the scar. He looked at Andy who was also looking at the scar. When Andy gave him a questioning look Matt just shrugged his shoulders and went back to undressing Rye. As he began to undo the jeans he stopped at the second button as he realized Rye was naked underneath, but then continued on and finished undressing him. He covered Rye up and gently kissed his forehead then closed the door behind him.

"I love you Matt," Andy said suddenly and flung his arms around Matt.

"I love you too little man," Matt said.

"I have never seen anything like that. Will he be okay?" Andy asked.

"I think so. You weren't there the other night. Their love is so far beyond anything you have ever seen it's amazing. When they walked into the room, arm in arm, it was like a physical force their love is so strong. It is going to be hard for him to be separated like this but it's only for a short time," Matt answered.

"Do you think we will ever be like that?" Andy asked.

"No," Matt answered then continued quickly, "I mean....geez Andy there is no way to answer that. Nicky was telling me it's like they are part of the same soul, like fate. How can we ever be like that? It doesn't mean that I will not love you with everything I have and everything I am. But honestly, we will never be that way. Nicky said the same thing about him and Shane and Bryan. What Rye and Mark have is like something from a fairy tale and it just doesn't happen that often," Matt answered.

Andy nodded, "I understand. It wasn't really a fair question. I still love you."

• On the bus -

Mark and Bryan were on the floor in the lounge area of the bus holding each other and crying uncontrollably. The others sat on the couches unsure of what to do. Suddenly Shane stood up and grabbed Kian's hand and led him to the kitchen at the front of the bus.

"Grab some drinks, nothing fizzy and put them in glasses," Shane said.

Kian nodded and grabbed some juice from the fridge and poured glasses. He watched as Shane opened a packet of some powder and emptied it into one of the glasses and put it aside from the others then did it again to a second glass.

At Kian's questioning look Shane said, "Sleeping powder. Will keep them out for a couple of hours but they will be fine. Just don't mix the glasses."

Kian nodded. Normally he would have protested but this seemed like a good solution under the circumstances.

Shane took one of the drugged glasses in his hand and a regular juice in the other. Kian took the other drugged glass and picked up the other two in one hand.

"Make sure you give the right one to Bryan," Kian nodded at the two glasses Shane held.

"I will," Shane walked to the back and wordlessly handed the glass to Bryan who took it but did not drink.

Kian handed Mark's glass to him but Mark did not drink either. Thinking quickly Kian raised his glass. "We are friends forever and together we will get through this hard time. Here's to us." He quickly drained his glass and the others followed suit. He caught Shane's nod of approval as Bryan and Mark drained their drugged drinks.

The group watched as Bryan and Mark continued to hold onto each other but between the exhausting bout of crying and the sleeping powder they quickly began to nod off. Just before falling asleep completely Mark turned to Shane and gave him a weak smile.

"You drugged us," Mark tried to sound mad.

"Sorry fella, you needed to calm down," Shane said sadly.

"Thank you Shane you look after us so well, you are not the bad guy, you are the good guy, the best guy. I will have to beat you when I wake up though," Mark chuckled but fell asleep in mid chuckle.

Shane and Kian smiled at each other and looked at Nicky.

"I wish you had drugged me too. This is so hard," Nicky began to cry softly and Kian and Shane quickly wrapped him in their arms.

"Let's get on the floor with those two and fall asleep together. It shouldn't be too hard we are all exhausted," Kian said.

Kian went and lay down behind Mark and pulled him in close. Shane guided Nicky behind Bryan and then lay himself down behind Nicky. Soon the motion of the bus and the stress of the day took its toll and all five men slept.

• Teasing Andy -

Rye woke feeling like shit. He was naked in his bed at Jill's apartment. He looked at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was 4 p.m. and realized he had been asleep for almost 6 hours. He wondered briefly who had undressed him then remembered Matt. He smiled to himself hoping he had at least given a good show to Matt. His hand reached out for Mark to share this joke with, then realizing he wasnt there his face clouded over.

"No, it's only for a few days. Snap out of it. You have shit to do," Rye said aloud to himself as he got up and threw on his jeans. He decided he needed no shirt. He went out to the living room and wished briefly he had put a shirt on when he found not only Jill but Matt, Andy and Maria all in the living room looking through the pictures Rye had burned to cd. He noticed as everyone pretended not to look at his scar.

"Hi everyone, glad you were all here for my breakdown," Rye joked.

"No problem, gave me and Andy a chance to see you naked, quite a piece you pack there Rye," Matt joked. Andy went the deepest red and briefly Rye worried the poor kid might pass out.

"You realize of course that you will both have to show me what you're packing, just to even things up," Rye quipped as he sat down on the couch in between Matt and Jill.

"Of course, wanta do it now or wait till the ladies leave?" Matt answered back quickly. Rye and Matt knew they were joking but Andy obviously didn't.

"Excuse me please," Andy said and got up and ran to the bedroom.

"Shit. He didn't know we were teasing," Matt said.

"Why don't Jill and I go grab the rest of the stuff from the loft and some groceries. You two can try and calm my son down," Maria said.

Rye looked at Maria, "You are like the coolest mother ever."

Maria chuckled and grabbed her purse.

"Straighten this out with the boy Rye, can't have him scared of you. We'll be back in an hour or so," Jill said as she closed the door.

Matt looked at Rye, "Should I go talk to him."

"No," Rye said then yelled out, "Andy, come on back into the living room, its just us guys now."

Andy obeyed and came in but wouldn't look at either man as he sat on the opposite sofa. Matt felt so bad but didn't know what to do, he looked at Rye for help.

"Andy tell us what's wrong. You know you can trust us both," Rye said.

Andy looked up and there was definite fear in his eyes. Rye smiled and nodded.

"I don't want to show you anything," Andy said quickly.

"Oh baby we were just joking around. Nothing is gonna happen between me and Rye or you and Rye. Not even showing ourselves to him. It was just in fun," Matt said.

Rye nodded.

"But he was with all the other guys, I thought he was gonna be with us too," Andy said.

Rye's eyes opened a bit in surprise. He had not known that someone had told Matt and Andy about their sharing.

"No Andy. I do share with the other boys. But that is something special and is just between us. It's very very hard to explain, but I love them all on a very deep level and so we can share. Together Mark and I were their teachers as well. But that is not going to happen with us three. I promise," Rye said calmly, pitching his voice low and putting all the warmth and sincerity he could into it.

"But you said we had to show you ours," Andy argued.

"That was a joke Andy. You two saw me it's true but not because you wanted to, or you were trying to. And I may just see you both one day, who knows. If we ever go to the gym or something I may see you in the shower or any number of other ways. But I am not trying to get a look. I am not interested in you sexually," Rye said.

Andy stared into Rye's eyes then looked at Matt who had a whipped puppy look on his face. Andy then smiled and nodded. "I'm sorry, I should have known better. I just got worked up cuz I thought I was going to have to do something I didn't want to."

"You will never have to do anything that you don't want to, ever, I promise you Andy," Matt said fiercely.

Andy nodded again and looked at Matt. "Can you call me Andrew. Andy is a boy's name and I want you to think of me as a man."

Matt smiled widely and went to Andy and held him. "Of course my little man. Can I ask you something?"

Andy nodded.

"Can I get you to call me Matthew. My mom used to always call me Matthew when I was little. It sounds silly but I want to be your boy now," Matt said shyly.

Andy smiled brightly, "Okay Matthew, I like that." Andy then looked deep into Matt's eyes and said, "Tell me what you want Matthew."

Matt swallowed hard and whispered, "I want you inside me Andrew, I want it so bad."

Andy nodded and took Matt's hand. He led Matt to Rye's bedroom and closed the door.

"Sure no problem, go ahead and use my room," Rye said quietly to nobody, a huge smile plastered on his face as he turned to the tv to watch the pictures they had all taken the other day.

• Back to Work -

Mark woke up to the sounds of soft music and talking in the lounge. He opened his eyes to see Bryan still laying in front of him snoring softly. He rolled over and saw the rest of the boys looking at pictures that had been taken the other day. He laughed out loud as he saw the picture of Bryan on all fours with the goats being fed by Rye and Jill.

"Welcome back fella," Shane said.

"Thanks boyo. I am still too tired to beat you. Nicky beat on Shane a bit for me," Mark giggled.

Nicky smiled and quick as lightning whapped Shane in the head with a pillow. This started a pillow fight that ended with all the boys whapping on Bryan who finally had awoken.

"Hey, you're looking at the pictures without me," Bryan complained.

"We can start it over," Kian said as he hit the button on the remote to begin the show over.

The five boys sat and watched the pictures laughing and giggling and smiling at each other. They watched the cd through several times until they felt the bus slowing down. Looking out the window they could see they were pulling into the parking lot of an arena. They could see the crowds of fans already standing outside holding signs and screaming and waving at the bus.

"Looks like we are here already. Sleeping like that sure made the time go by fast," Shane said as he looked at a sheet of paper. "Looks like sound check, rehearsal, break for dinner, make-up, meet and greet, costumes then concert. We are back on the bus after the concert overnight then 2 radio shows tomorrow morning and a tv show tomorrow afternoon."

"Geez, back to work huh?" Nicky said.

"Come on guys, we all love this. It's just we are missing Rye. But let's pull it together okay," Shane said.

"Boyo's right. Come on we love this stuff. Besides, if Rye happens to see us on tv or something and we aren't all happy and smiling he will kick our asses," Mark joked.

Everyone smiled and nodded at Mark. They were surprised at how he suddenly seemed to be dealing much better with this but still vowed to never leave him alone and watch him constantly.

The bus stopped and soon someone entered the lounge.

"Hey guys. Everyone ready to get back to work?" Liam their road manager asked.

Liam was a man in his mid 30's that was average in just about every way. He was the kind of guy who would disappear in a crowd if you didn't keep an eye on him. What made him outstanding was his incredible management skills. This man was one of the best in the industry and had actually turned down other acts and had come looking for Westlife. They had jumped at his offer and paid his outrageous salary without a second thought. All of the boys hoped that when it came time to leave their label and their management that somehow they would be able to bring Liam with them. Shane immediately decided to talk to Liam the first chance he got and tell him what was going on and what was going to happen.

"Hey Liam, we're good and raring to go," Kian said.

"You guys look like shite," Liam, though not from Ireland, had picked up some of the more colourful phrases from the boys, "what's wrong?"

"We had a rough day. We left behind some friends that mean the world to us and it did us in. We will be ready to go for the concert though," Bryan said.

"I know you will guys, you have never let me down yet. Anything I can do? Are your friends able to come see you maybe?" Liam asked.

The guys all smiled at the obvious care that Liam felt for them. It was not about the money or the concert, well not much, he actually felt for them as people and was concerned.

"We have them coming for the weekends to stay with us Liam. You will meet them both then. Thanks for your concern though, it's appreciated," Shane smiled.

"No problem guys. Listen we will combine sound check and rehearsal and see if we can cut rehearsal time. Drink lots of fluids that should take down the puffiness around your eyes. Let me know if there is anything else I can do. The opening act for this concert is a local group called 'Heaven's Door' a nice little 5 person act that is very popular around here. They have already done sound check and rehearsal. Ready to head in?" Liam asked.

"Let's do it," Nicky said.

"Awesome possum!" Bryan said excitedly, rubbing his hands together. Everyone burst out laughing, even Liam who was not in on the joke had to laugh at Bryan's obvious excitement.

The group got off the bus to find security already waiting for them and entered the concert venue, going immediately to the stage for rehearsal. The boys quickly got back into the routine, their minds not thinking about Rye as their performer persona took over and stepped them through their routines. The boys made it through their routines in a couple hours then headed off for food.

As they sat eating their meal Bryan spoke up, "How soon before we can call Rye?"

"We can call whenever we want Bryan, I just thought that, you know, we should try to wait till after the concert so we don't get worked up," Mark said.

"I wanta talk to him now," Bryan whined.

Mark giggled and flipped open his cell. It rang only once.

"Hey my love," Mark said.

• Hey my fella. -

"Miss us?"

• Like crazy. Bry boy made you call didn't he? -

"Ha ha, you know us so well. So I will let him talk to you first," Mark handed the phone over to an eager Bryan.

"Angel," Bryan breathed the word and you could hear every emotion that Bryan felt in that single word.

Bryan could hear Rye swallow hard, and if he had been watching the boys he would have seen they had all reacted as well.

• God my Bry boy, you should hear how you say my name. I feel like I just got the best hug and kiss ever. I miss you guys. -

"We miss you too. We just finished sound check and rehearsal. We got back into things real quick. I'm sorry Angel but I forgot all about you while rehearsing. Don't be mad kay?" Bryan asked.

• My sweet Bry, I am glad you were able to concentrate. I don't want you to forget about me totally, but you have to be able to do your job. I am getting things started here for the big surprise too, so I am trying to get my mind off of how much I miss you. -

"That's good, I knew you wouldn't be mad at me. I felt so good last night. Next weekend I am gonna teach that to my boys, it's almost as good as the threeway. Guess what Shane did to me and Mark? He drugged us cuz we couldn't stop crying," Bryan fake glared at Shane who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"And he doesn't even seem bothered by it. Doesn't it sound scary that my lover is so comfortable with drugging me? But it worked, me and Mark slept through most of the trip and we are doing okay. We looked at the cd you burned, it was awesome possum."

• I am gonna have to hold Jill down and tattoo that little saying across her butt or something. I can tell you have become very fond of it. -

Bryan laughed gaily, "Love you Angel, here's Nicky."

"Hiya Angel, we have to go soon, so just wanted to say love you and miss you. Nobody drugged me but we all slept on the bus and our road manager Liam is looking after us making sure we are okay for tonight. I miss you so much Angel, I can hardly wait for the weekend."

• Miss you and love you love, look after yourself and the others for me. -

"I will Angel. Here's Kian."

"Love you Angel. Tell beauty I love her," Kian was a little emotional.

• Love you always sweets and Jill loves you to. She told me to tell you if you called that she is counting the hours till she can be with you again. -

"Thanks Angel, here's boyo."

"Angel I drugged these two cuz they were gonna make themselves sick," Shane said with a laugh but inside he was a little worried about what he had done.

• You did great my boyo. You look after everyone, just be sure to look after yourself, remember it's okay for you to ask to be held too. I love you boyo, so much. I want us to share one of the nights next weekend, so the night before your morning you can come and be with us okay? -

"Thanks Angel. Can you write this name down, Liam Walsh. He is our road manager, looks after booking interviews and basically looks after us. I want him. You understand?" Shane hoped Rye would understand what he meant without having to explain more, he knew Rye did not want the boys all knowing his surprise yet.

• I understand boyo. It will happen. Have a great concert tonight. Listen I can't be there and doing it over the phone won't be the same, but I slipped another cd into your bag. It's a recording of me singing our theme song. If you think it will be okay, and not make everyone too upset for the concert, you could maybe play it before you go on? Make sure you listen to it once through first though okay? -

"Oh Angel," Shane said around a lump in his throat, "that will be perfect, we will do that. It will be almost like you are with us."

• I will be with you in my heart. Love you boyo, let me talk to my fella again okay?"

"Hi my Angel. You're not mad at Shane are you? He did it for us and it really was for the best," Mark wanted to make sure that Rye had absolutely no bad feelings at all about the sleeping powder.

• Not even a bit mad. I almost wish Jill had thought of it. As it is I broke down as the bus pulled away and Matt carried me to the apartment. Remember when you guys dressed me and didn't put underwear on me, well Matt undressed me for bed and he and Andy got a real eyeful. -

Mark laughed loudly, throwing his head back in glee.

"Is he still there? Can I talk to him for a minute and tease him?" Mark asked.

• Sorry him and Andy are in my bedroom for their first time. Turns out Andy is the top. I want to ask real quick, if they need 'help' of some sort, how far am I allowed to help them out? -

"Hmmmm, kinda hard to answer that. But I trust you completely Angel, do what you think is best. Don't feel guilty about it. No anal or oral but beyond that you make the call. I will not be mad," Mark answered.

• Okay, well hopefully they won't need any help. Have a great concert fella. I miss you but I am gonna be busy for the next few days with the loft and you have all kinds of stuff to keep you busy. I want to ask you to promise me you will not sleep alone during the time I am not with you. -

Jill had still not told Rye about the arrangements the boys had to look after Mark.

"Okay my Angel, I figure the boys have already thought of something. We are gonna head for make-up then the meet and greet. I will talk to you tonight my Angel. I love you forever," Mark suddenly got all choked up. Immediately Shane put his arm around him.

"It's okay fella, we are all here for you," Shane whispered.

• Love you too my fella. Go knock those fans on their ass. Speaking of ass, did I ever tell you I love your sexy ass. I can hardly wait for the weekend to get my hands on it again. -

"God you are so bad Angel. You can have it as many times as you want as long as I can have yours," Mark was red faced but the sadness had fled.

• It's a date. Talk to you tonight fella. -

"Bye my lovely Angel," Mark closed the cell phone.

Everyone looked at Mark and he blushed deeper, "He said I have a sexy ass and he can't wait for the weekend to get his hands on it."

"Well he is right on both counts. Your ass is sexy and I can hardly wait for the weekend either. I want to touch your ass again too," Nicky giggled.

As they were walking to the dressing rooms Bryan pinched Mark's ass and then tried to pass the blame. He signalled with his eyes and a barely noticeable nod that it had been Nicky. Nicky, seeing this, denied it was him and eventually all 5 boys were chasing each other down the hallways laughing and acting silly.

• House Cleaning -

Rye hung up just as the door to his bedroom opened. He turned to see the two men come out, holding each other and with that post love glow.

"Well are you two okay?" Rye asked as Matt sat down and Andy sat in his lap.

"It was wonderful. What a feeling. It's like I can still feel him in me," Matt answered as Andy blushed.

"Sorry for taking your room like that," Andy said.

"Glad I could help out. What are your plans for the night?" Rye asked.

"We are going to the drug store to get some, you know, supplies. Then we are heading back to my apartment. Andrew wants to take a turn being on the bottom. He wants us to be equal so if he likes it I will be on top whenever he asks," Matt answered.

"That's the way to do it. I am glad it all worked out."

"And I want to try sucking too," Andy suddenly said then blushed again.

"Yeah I want that too. We will have to clear it with your mom. The going back to my place I mean, not the sucking," Matt blushed furiously at the way he had said it.

"Clear what with me?" Maria asked as she opened the door, her own face red from hearing the last part of Matt's statement.

"Umm mom we...." Andy did not know how to continue and looked at Matt, who was also at a loss.

"Looks like some people spent the evening discovering each other. I think they want to spend another night at Matt's place," Jill giggled as she walked into the kitchen with some bags of groceries.

"Alright that's fine. But please I don't want to never see my son again," Maria said only half jokingly.

Andy and Matt looked at each other.

"Maria I am sorry. We can do it another night, or...." Matt paused, "if it would not be totally uncomfortable for you, we could go to your house tonight."

"Wouldn't that be a little uncomfortable for you two?" Maria asked.

"Maybe a little, but we will have to get over it. If we are going to be together we have to be able to be comfortable with you around. We won't make out in front of you and we will be quiet when we do make love but we don't want to cut you out of Andrew's life and I want to be part of the life you two have," Matt answered.

"Andrew?" Maria raised an eyebrow.

"Andy is a boy's name, I want him to think of me as a man now," Andrew answered.

"Okay Andrew then," Maria answered.

"No mom, for you I am always Andy," Andy said.

Maria smiled and held out her arms which Andy ran to.

"I am always your little boy mom," Andy said.

"Okay then, let's go home and we can fix dinner together," Maria said.

"Come on Matthew," Andy called.

Andy and Matt trotted past her after waving goodbye to Rye and Jill. Maria turned to the two with a smile on her face.

"Matthew?" Maria asked.

"Their names for each other, I think he is still Matt to us and I am pretty sure Andy is still Andy to all of us as well, Andrew is for Matt only," Rye answered.

"I don't know if I should cry or laugh," Maria said.

"A little of both maybe. I think though that you are losing nothing Maria, in fact you are gaining a great man into your life. You being so accepting of their being together insures you will lose nothing," Rye said.

"I owe it all to you Rye. If I had not met you I don't know how I would have reacted but it would not have been like this. I told Andy he can talk to you if he ever needs to and I hope he will. I will too. Thanks Rye. Are you going to be okay?" Maria asked.

"I'll be fine. We are going to have dinner then head over to the loft to get started. We are also working on an idea involving Andy and Matt in our new company. How set are you on Andy finishing grade 13?" Rye asked.

"I want him to go to college. I want him to be something," Maria answered.

"What about a job in the music industry with part time classes in music and business?" Jill asked.

"Give me time to think? It sounds okay but I want to think a bit about it. Have you talked to Andy about it yet?" Maria asked.

"No, we wanted your input first," Jill answered.

"He is almost a man. Well I guess he really is already but I am going to mother him as long as I can. But I don't want to hold him back at all. The answer is probably yes. Are you going to offer the same thing to Matt?" Maria asked.

"Yes. We were thinking of working Andy into something like mixing and recording and Matt into the marketing end of it. That seems to be where there interests lie, but of course if they want something else that would be fine. The jobs will allow them to work together in the same building but not have to actually work with each other. Don't want the job to interfere with their relationship in any way," Jill answered.

"Okay then I am out of here for now. I will talk to you tomorrow. I guess when I really think about it this is all Andy's choice but I would like to be able to give him my input before he decides. When do you need an answer?" Maria asked.

"Not for a bit. School is still 3 months away. Let's just let them worry about their relationship before we complicate things," Rye answered.

Maria nodded and left for the car.

"Got the stuff for nachos, wanna grate the cheese?" Jill waggled a block of cheese at Rye.

"Sure. Got a call from the boys. Kian sends his undying love," Rye said.

"Hehehe, they lasted longer than I thought they would, I expected them to call an hour after they left," Jill giggled as she started to dice tomatoes.

"Shane drugged Bry boy and my fella to make them sleep. He said they needed it or they were going to make themselves sick. Then they woke up and watched the picture cd. They called after rehearsals. Bry boy couldn't wait any longer," Rye smiled.

"It's nice that Mark is not jealous of Bryan. Bryan almost pays more attention to you than to his own lovers," Jill said.

"Yeah but it's different. Nobody is jealous, and nobody ever will be. If it was just Bry boy that loved me and shared with us there would be a problem, but all of them love me and share so it's okay," Rye answered.

"I know, it's so weird. I don't feel at all jealous of Kian being with you. You would think I would. You don't think we are all a little twisted do you?" Jill asked.

"Nope. Others may think it but who cares. I love them all but I am in love with Mark and if other's can't understand that then screw em," Rye said as he popped a piece of red pepper into his mouth.

"Rye Angel, I want you to come to me if you feel even a little sad. I will be super pissed if I find out you have been crying somewhere cuz you didn't want to bother me," Jill said suddenly.

Rye smiled, "I will beauty. I will let you know immediately if I need you. In fact I was hoping that maybe for the first couple of nights we could sleep together?"

Jill quickly leaned over and kissed Rye on the cheek. "Good boy, I am glad you are being so reasonable. Now after supper we have to go to the loft to direct the cleanup. When do the contractors arrive?"

"Tomorrow at noon. Shouldn't be a problem. I have hired a moving company and some extra hands. Hopefully it should only take about 5 hours," Rye handed the plate of grated cheese to Jill and took over slicing the toppings as Jill sprinkled the cheese over nacho chips and put it in the oven to melt.

Jill turned from the oven and looked Rye over.

"What?" Rye asked with amusement seeing her scrutiny of him.

"You need a makeover," Jill stated.

"Like hell I do," Rye grinned back knowing he had already lost this battle before it had begun.

"Yep you do. I am thinking short and spiky with blond tips, an earring, and maybe something else pierced or tattooed," Jill said with a gleam in her eye.

"Holy shit. The hair okay, the earring maybe, nothing else on me is getting pierced or tattooed," Rye was adamant.

"We'll see," Jill smiled

"No we won't see," Rye thought quickly, "Besides piercings take too long to heal and I am not going to miss out on my weekends with Mark. And tattoos are ugly."

"Well if you got one nipple pierced he would still have one other to play with," Jill was not giving up.

"Aaarrrggghhh...leave it girl," Rye said with finality. Jill chuckled and took a sip of the wine. Rye knew this was not over. Secretly he was himself thinking over what Jill had suggested and found it appealing, he wondered if the boys could put up with not touching his nipples for a couple of weeks.

• Meet and Greet then On to the Concert -

There had been a slight problem with the room for the meet and greet so things had been changed a bit. The boys were in full costume and doing the meet almost an hour later than planned. They would head from there directly to the dressing room then their opening act would begin.

"Ladies and gentleman. Thank you for you patience. I am glad we were able to get you all together. Let's not keep you waiting any longer. Here are Shane, Bryan, Mark, Kian and Nicky," Liam announced the boys.

The boys walked in all smiles and waved to the small but screaming crowd. Kian spoke up immediately to get everyone's attention.

"Thanks for your patience all. Before we begin we have a quick announcement to make," Kian pulled out a piece of paper and began to read, "We have always appreciated the love and devotion of our fans. We love what we do and the fans make it all worthwhile, but this is not an easy life and sometimes the pressures become almost unbearable. At times like that we look to our personal lives outside of our singing to bring us comfort. Recently we have had to do this. We love and respect our fans and we ask now for you to respect our wishes. We will no longer be answering questions of a personal nature about our lives outside of our performing. Our standard reply when a question is asked will be, 'We choose not to comment on that, thank you'. We hope you understand our actions and help us in this regard. Signed the boys of Westlife."

The room was silent. Suddenly one girl, maybe 16 said out loud, "We love you guys, we'll do as you ask."

Everyone started to applaud and the boys faces lit up. The questions were actually more entertaining and informative than ever before. People asked about how they came up with song ideas, did they do it individually or as a group (everyone took a hand, although Kian was the most prolific). There were silly questions like who was the worst dancer (it was Mark), who was the best dancer (Nicky). Someone else asked what the worst habit each boy had that drove the others nuts (Shane's love of wet willy's was the hand's down winner from all the other boys). Who was the biggest practical joker (Bryan). There was one question that caught them off guard though.

"Yes the young gentleman at the back, we don't see many men at our concerts," Nicky pointed to the young man around 18 years old.

"I wanted to ask you what you all look for in a friend, what qualities and so on, but I am not sure if that is allowed now?" the young man asked.

The boys looked at each other briefly. It was Mark though who caught it first. Leaning over to Shane he whispered, "I think he is gay. Let's answer the question as if we were talking about Rye."

Shane nodded and whispered to Kian next to him who passed it on.

"Again we want to be clear here that we are not trying to cheat the fans of anything by not answering some questions, we just want some things to be ours." Shane began. The young man smiled sadly and sat down. "This question though is important to us so we will answer it as best we can. First though, we didn't get your name."

"Sorry, it's Paul," the young man said.

"Okay Paul. A friend must be willing to sacrifice himself for you, and he must be someone you can trust completely, even with your life," Shane said. All the boys thought of the many times Rye had sacrificed himself for them.

"He has to be able to laugh at himself and at life. If he can't be happy himself then you can't be happy with him," Bryan said as the boys smiled remembering Rye's laughter and how it made their hearts soar.

"A friend must be willing to forgive you for your mistakes and be willing to admit his own," Kian said thinking of how Rye had forgiven him when he needed it.

"There has to be real affection, nothing withheld, love can never be just half way," Nicky added as he thought of how Rye had taught him what love really meant.

"There are many things that make up a good friend. You will know you have found your friend when you think of them when you are apart and you long to be with them again, to hear them laugh or see their smile, to talk about your day and listen to theirs, or even to just sit together and do nothing but share their company. Friends like that come along seldom, so when you find that one, you hold onto them and never let them go and pray that you can be as good a friend to them as they are to you," Mark finished and was becoming emotional and the others noticed. Thankfully so did Liam.

"Well that's about all the time we have. Thanks for your patience again. Enjoy the concert. We have arranged for you all to recieve some extra gifts tonight for your understanding," Liam addressed the group of fans. As the boys began to move out of the room Bryan whispered to one of the security guys who nodded.

The boys sat in the dressing room, Shane comforting Mark who had not broken down but had come close.

"I'm sorry boys I thought I could handle that," Mark finally said.

"No worries fella, you did great. Rye would be so proud," Bryan said as a knock came at the door. "That should be Paul."

The security guy opened the door and ushered in the young man who had asked them about friendship.

"Hi Paul," Bryan got up and went to shake Paul's hand.

"Hi," Paul said with a combination of awe, shock and excitement along with a little embarrassment.

"You alone at the concert tonight?" Bryan asked.

"Yeah my boyfr....my friend couldn't come. I won my ticket but it was only one," Paul said and now he definitely was embarrassed and also nervous.

Bryan smiled, "You were right Mark, he is gay. And his boyfriend couldn't be here."

Paul went very red and began to back away. "I gotta go now," he said as he tried to run but Bryan was too quick and moved behind him to block the door.

"No running away. You gotta stay here for a bit. We don't go on for another 45 minutes or so. What's your boyfriends name and address?" Bryan asked.

The other boys had now figured out what Bryan was doing. Nicky jumped up.

"Oh cool Bry boy. We can send a car for him and they can watch from backstage. It's perfect," Nicky smiled.

Paul was flustered, "Okay so you figured it out, I am gay. Now let me go please. I am scared." Nothing had really clicked in for the young man yet and he still was in fight or flight mode.

Mark realized what was happening and stood. He looked at Shane who looked back and they shared a silent conversation until Shane nodded. Mark moved forward and spoke, "Paul. You are safe here. Nobody here would hurt you because you are gay, otherwise they would have to hurt me too."

Paul seemed to think he was now being cornered and backed up again, tripping and falling. "Please, I'm scared," he cried.

"Paul, listen. We aren't going to hurt you. I am gay Paul. Listen to what I am saying okay. I am gay, I love another man," Mark said it calmly. Bryan's little plan to please the young man was backfiring terribly. Finally though the words seem to sink in.

"What? You love a man?" Paul whispered.

"Finally. Remind me to let you guys punch me later. I did this really bad," Bryan said.

"S'okay Bry boy. Your heart was in the right place. Now Paul, first let's get the name and address of your boyfriend so we can get him here before we go on. Then we can all talk a bit before he arrives okay," Shane said as he gently lifted the young man.

Paul gave the information and called his lover, Trevor, to let him know what was going on. Then he sat and just looked at the boys. Finally he could contain it no longer.

"Why did you tell me?" he asked Mark.

"I don't know. You were scared and I couldn't stand it. We were trying to be nice and messing it up pretty good. Besides I really want to tell the whole world but I can't yet, so I figure one at a time and to those who will keep my secret is all I can do," Mark answered.

"How do you know I won't go blab it to the press? I could get lots of money I bet," Paul asked.

Bryan shook his head. "I may not think things through very well but I don't believe you would do that. It was your question that makes me think you won't blab. You value friendship, I figured we could trust you. Although I didn't know Mark was going to tell you about Rye."

"BRYAN!" Kian and Shane shouted together. Bryan blanched.

"It's okay guys," Paul said quickly, "Bryan is right, I would never tell anyone. I promise. I swear on everything I love."

Bryan smiled weakly and looked at Shane. Shane wanted so much to go and hold him but didn't dare, then thought what the hell. He went and hugged Bryan.

"I'm sorry my boyo," Bryan sobbed.

"It's okay my boy," Shane whispered.

The others quickly went and embraced Bryan, feeding him their love. By everyone embracing Bryan all that Paul would see was the group of friends forgiving their friend. They finally pulled apart and Bryan looked at Paul and shrugged.

"Sometimes my mouth works quicker than my brain."

"It's okay really. I love Trevor so much. Everything you said about friends applies to us. The radio station was supposed to be giving away pairs of tickets, but they ran out so I only got one. I cried when I won, not because I was happy, but because I wasn't going to be able to go with Trevor. But he made me come. He wouldn't let me give it away," Paul said.

"He sounds wonderful," Mark smiled.

They continued talking together for some time until finally there was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal another young man of about 18. Paul's face lit up and he ran to Trevor and threw his arms around him and kissed him. Trevor struggled for a moment, being in front of everyone, but soon gave in and returned his lovers kisses. Finally the two broke apart and Paul dragged Trevor into the room.

"Guys this is my boyfriend Trevor, Trevor the guys," Paul's smile was so bright it would have outshone the full moon.

"God do I look like that when I am around my boyfriend?" Mark asked, choosing his words carefully to immediately clue Trevor in. Trevor was shocked but tried very hard to not let it show.

"Oh yeah at least. When you and Rye walk into a room it's like everyone else is invisible. It's disgustingly sweet and romantic." Nicky laughed.

The tension was gone and Paul briefly explained the nights events to Trevor. Another knock on the door and Liam entered.

"Here's the backstage passes for your two guests. You are on in 20 minutes. Larry will look after these two," Liam smiled at the young couple.

"Thanks Liam you're the best," Shane smiled at the happy faces of the two men.

"That's why you pay me the big bucks," Liam joked.

"Maybe, but that's not what I meant," Shane said which caused Liam to smile uncertainly.

"You guys wanta join us after the concert for a drink or two, maybe watch a movie or something? We sit in the bus for a few hours before we leave," Mark asked.

The two quickly agreed and Liam left to let security in on the arrangement.

"We have to get ready now. We usually do a little prayer and stuff before we go on. Would you like to stay for that?" Shane asked.

"Isn't that just for you guys? We don't want to interfere," Trevor said.

"Stay please. Besides I have something special tonight," Shane smiled.

The group got into a circle, Paul and Trevor held hands, while Bryan held Paul's hand and Mark held Trevor's.

"Bry boy, lead us in prayer tonight?" Nicky asked.

"Heavenly father. Thank you for giving us our gifts and the opportunity to share them. Thank you for our two special friends tonight and for granting us the pleasure of having them both here with us together instead of their being apart. We ask that you look after our loved ones, our friends and family. We ask that you especially look after and guard Jill and Rye. We thank you for allowing them into our lives and blessing us with their love. For these many gifts we thank you. Amen."

Everyone said their amens.

Shane briefly left the circle and pushed the play button. Soon the room was filled with Rye's voice.

"Hello my boys. Hello my love. I hope you are missing me, cuz I know I am missing you," Tears had suddenly filled everyone's eyes as Rye's voice spoke to them. Paul and Trevor realized that this was Mark's lover and they also realized how much he meant to all the boys.

"Now no tears, especially from you Bry boy. Shane, Nicky go hold your lover."

"Shite," Shane thought, "I should have listened to this before I played it."

"I hope you guys are playing this alone otherwise I just outed most of Westlife. I know Shane well enough to know he would have listened to the cd before playing it." Rye chuckled and shivers went through the group. Shane rolled his eyes, normally that is exactly what he would have done, he couldn't remember what had caused him to not play the cd earlier. It was a stupid mistake on his part, hopefully it was not a fatal mistake.

"Hopefully it is just before you go on. I know you all say a prayer but I thought we could start a new tradition. I can't be there in person but I thought our theme song would be appropriate somehow."

By now Shane and Nicky had indeed moved to hold Bryan. Kian was holding Mark. Rye's voice began and everyone smiled as his voice entered them. For Paul and Trevor it was like a dream. This voice was like magic. They had both shivered with pleasure as the man had chuckled and now the voice was singing to them.

On the second verse the boys had joined in. They sang through the song.

"Well my boys, have a good show. Call me afterwards if you aren't too tired. I love you Bry boy. Love you boyo. Love you love. Love you sweets. Love you always and forever my only fella," Rye's voice said.

"Love you forever my true Angel," Mark whispered.

Everyone stood and watched Paul and Trevor. This had gone so wrong. Things could turn against them now so badly and they waited to see what was going to happen.

"I feel so wonderful. What a voice he has. I feel so free somehow. Like I am not alone anymore. Even if you guys can't come out and tell everyone, I still know there are others out there. I mean I always knew there were other gay men out there, but now I actually know some of them. It's so great," Trevor said as he threw his arms around Paul.

"I understand why you guys can't say anything. I am so glad we know though, even though we can't say anything. Are you happy?" Paul asked.

"Yeah we are," Shane said simply. Things seemed to be okay but he was still unsure.

"I guess it is a little easier for you three since you are all together all the time," Paul said to the three boyfriends then turned to Mark. "Your man sounds wonderful. I wish you all the happiness you deserve."

A knock on the door and a shout, "Five minutes."

"You won't tell anyone will you?" Bryan asked in desperation.

"Of course not. We will see you after the concert still right? We can just all talk. I have never had a chance to talk to other gay men. And we can watch a movie and all wind down. This night has already been rough for you guys, but my last two weeks have been so stressful. I would like to just sit and talk a bit with someone," Paul said with a smile.

"Alright then. We will see you later," Kian said as they walked out to the stage.

The two young lovers held each other and walked out to find Larry waiting for them. They never stopped holding hands for the entire concert.

• After the Show -

The concert was incredible. Paul and Trevor were ecstatic as they danced together, held each other, and kissed each other from the sidelines. As the boys finished their final encores Larry moved them quickly back to the dressing room. The guys burst in a few minutes later.

"Hey guys, how did you like it?" Bryan asked as he bounced over to Paul and Trevor, still on his performance high and hugged them.

"It was awesome," Paul laughed.

"Awesome possum," Bryan laughed and threw himself onto the couch in a fit of giggles.

"Don't worry about us, we stay on this high for a bit before we settle," Nicky laughed as he fell onto Bryan and kissed him. Bryan quickly became very amorous and began to kiss Nicky passionately, running his hands all over him.

"Hey guys, let's save it okay. Remember our promise, not until everyone has their lover with them," Shane said quietly, but Mark heard anyway.

"What?" Mark asked.

Shane blushed and looked away, then looked at Paul and Trevor. The two men seeing that they were intruding immediately stood.

"We will wait out in the hall for you guys," Trevor said.

"Thanks," Shane answered. He waited for the door to close then turned back to Mark. "We decided that the three of us won't be together as lovers until you and Kian have your lovers here. It's not fair."

"I appreciate it but it's not fair to you either," Mark responded.

"Yeah it is, we couldn't deal with it if we were like together one night and then found out you cried yourself to sleep because you needed to be held and were too scared to come to us," Bryan said. He and Nicky had stopped the heavy making out but were still holding each other.

"We decided that we won't be together as lovers, and that two of us would sleep with you and the other with Kian, and during the days, we aren't going to leave you alone at any time Mark," Nicky said.

"I'm not going to do anything stupid guys?" Mark said with a hint of anger.

"We know that fella, but you could just suddenly feel sad and we want you to have someone with you. Please, we want to do it," Shane answered.

Mark looked at his friends and relented. He knew they meant well and truthfully it made him feel better. He had already had a couple of moments when he had suddenly felt a deep sadness and they had been quickly washed away by the presence of his brothers.

"You guys look after me so well. I love you all," Mark said.

"Let's just go back to the bus and change there. Then we can order some food, watch a movie, talk with Paul and his boy and then maybe call Rye," Kian said.

"Yeah lets go. I like Paul and Trevor. We sure fucked up though, they know everything about us. But I guess it doesn't really matter. We aren't really trying to hide it anymore, just put it off," Bryan said.

"Yeah you're right Bry boy. God I can't believe how much Rye has changed our lives," Kian said.

"All for the better," Shane smiled.

The group left the room and found Paul and Trevor snuggling outside the door. They headed for the bus. Paul and Trevor were left alone briefly as the boys headed for quick showers and came back in sweats and tee's.

"Pizza okay for everyone?" Mark asked. Everyone nodded. Bryan flipped through the dvd's looking for a movie.

"The movies all suck," Bryan stated.

"We can just all talk or stuff," Nicky said, "Or we could watch Rye's cd again."

"Yeah let's look at the pics again," Bryan smiled.

"We should call Rye now so we don't wake him later. Then when the pizza gets here we can eat and watch the cd," Mark said as he flipped open his cell.

"Oh wait, I have something," Kian said as he ran out of the room. He came back with a box that resembled a set of speakers for a computer. "It's a speakerphone. You hook this onto the cell like this and then we can all talk and hear Rye at the same time."

"Cool," Nicky said.

"Should we go?" Paul asked.

"No you can stay. You already know just about everything there is to know about us anyway," Shane said.

Mark dialed the number and it was picked up almost immediately.

"Thank you for calling Jill's Boy Band Emporium, if you are looking for a boyband member to call your own, press 1 now," Jill's voice said. Everyone burst into laughter.

"Hey beauty," Kian's voice said.

"Hey my sweets. How come I can hear all of you?" Jill asked.

"We have a speaker phone contraption so we can all hear each other. I miss you beauty," Kian said his voice suddenly emotional. This was Nicky's cue to pull him close.

"Great minds think alike. Rye has a speaker attachment here as well. I miss you too my love," Jill said, "Just a sec that sounds like Rye coming in."

The boys could hear some muffled talking then clearly hear both Jill and Rye as they came close to the phone.

"Hi my boys," Rye said.

"Angel we miss you," Bryan said with emotion.

"I miss all of you. You can all hear me?" Rye asked.

"Yes my Angel, Kian got a speaker phone thing. I love you my Angel," Mark said.

"I love you my only fella. How was the concert?" Rye asked. Everyone by now was sitting around the phone. Mark was in between Shane and Bryan as they each held onto one of his hands.

"It was awesome possum," Bryan giggled, "but we fucked up majorly."

"You always say that Bry boy. I bet it was nothing," Rye giggled back.

"No actually this time, we did mess up. I think it will be okay though," Shane said as he turned to look at Paul and Trevor who smiled back and nodded.

"What happened?" Rye's voice said with a hint of worry.

"Well it started like this..." Shane told the whole story.

"So Paul and Trevor are there now?" Rye asked.

"Yes we are here," Paul answered, "and the boys have nothing to worry about. We would never say or do anything to hurt them. We promise."

There was a long pause before Rye spoke again. "Listen my boys, you know that no matter what happens we will still all be together. And even though we want to control this as much as possible, we really don't have to be overly careful. If someone leaks it out, well we will deal with it. But no more hiding. Shane I want you to tell the boys about the secret. Let them know okay."

"Are you sure Angel?" Shane asked.

"Yes," Rye stated simply.

"Okay Angel. Did Beauty tell you about our arrangements for looking after Kian and Mark?" Shane asked.

"Yes she did. I can't tell you three how thankful I am for that. I want you to know how much I love you and how much it touched me that you would do that. I am so proud of all my boys, all five of you, for looking after each other," Rye said.

"Love you Angel," Bryan said quickly. Just then a knock on the door and a voice calling out that the pizza was here was heard.

"Love you too Bry boy, sounds like snacks are there. Have fun tonight guys. Shane has a lot to tell you tomorrow. I love you all and can't wait till the weekend. I miss your goofy smiles," Rye joked but everyone heard the catch in his voice.

"We love you Angel, and you too Beauty," Kian said.

"Look after my man beauty. I love you both." Mark said.

"Night boys. Rye can't say anything else right now but I will look after him. Talk to you tomorrow. Night Paul, night Trevor. Get the boys to give you their numbers and we will keep in touch," Jill said.

Everyone said goodbye and disconnected. Another knock on the door startled everyone and Paul quickly got up to grab the food. He brought the pizzas back to the lounge. Nobody moved or said anything, emotions were too high and everyone was scared that they would be the first to break down.

"I miss him," Bryan finally said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

"We all do, and he misses us. Let's open the food and watch the cd. That should make us feel better," Shane said.

"Sorry guys, we didn't think this would be so hard. Not very nice to see your favourite boy band in tears is it?" Mark said as he wiped at his eyes.

"Actually it's wonderful. It's so nice to see you as real guys. All in love with each other and that man and woman. Sort of makes me feel like there is hope for the world after all," Trevor said as he pulled Paul close to him.

The conversation quieted briefly while slices of pizza and sodas were passed around.

"So what do you guys do? Do you live together? Tell us all about you," Nicky encouraged.

"Okay. Well we do live together. We are working part time right now but we want to go to university. It's going to be hard though. My parents died a few years ago and I lived with my aunt and uncle. They found out I was gay and kicked me out. Luckily I had money coming to me from the life insurance. Trevor here is in almost the same situation. His parents are alive but they kicked him out as well," Paul said.

"We found each other quite by accident and moved in together right away. At first it was to share expenses, but we soon found we loved each other. I don't know if you believe in love at first sight but it was. We have been together for about 8 months now," Trevor continued the story.

"So you do okay money wise?" Bryan asked.

"Oh yeah. I mean we pay the bills, and buy food. We live on mac and cheese and peanut butter sandwiches but at least we are happy now," Paul said as he leaned over and kissed Trevor again.

The guys sat in stunned silence as they listened to the story. Both boys had come out to their families and both had been rejected. Trevor had been beaten badly. They had both ended up basically on the streets. Paul got lucky and got a large check from his parents life insurance. He found Trevor a few days later as he was leaving the men's shelter and brought him with him. Life in the shelter is hard for someone so young, you are easy prey for the older rougher men. Paul had used his insurance money to get them an apartment and clothes and furniture. But it was all but gone now. They both had jobs though and were applying for loans and scholarships for school.

"What would you be studying in university if you went?" Shane asked.

"I wanted to go into business and Paul wants to be an artist," Trevor said.

"Would it matter where you studied?" Shane asked. The other boys had stopped eating and had realized what Shane was doing. They eagerly watched as he got the answers from the two boys.

By the time the driver came and told them it was time to go, Shane had got all the information he needed from the two young men.

"Okay guys we gotta go. It was great meeting you. I want you to call this number tomorrow and talk to Jill. She is gonna set some things up for ya," Shane said to Paul and Trevor as everyone got up to walk the two out.

"What do you mean set things up for us?" Paul asked with confusion.

"I can't explain it all right now, mainly because the rest of the boys don't know yet. But basically you are going to move to where Rye and Jill live and where we will be living soon. You will be given a good job and go to school at no charge to do exactly what you both want," Shane said. The rest of the boys looked a little awed, they trusted Shane but didn't really understand how he could offer all this without clearing it with Rye.

"You can't just do that can you?" Trevor asked.

"Actually I can. I will leave a message for Jill and she will set it all up. You will have a place to go to and good jobs until school starts. Once school starts something else will be worked out for you. I can't say more now but trust me," Shane smiled.

"You don't have to buy us off, we said we wouldn't say anything," Paul suddenly said angrily.

"Oh God that's not what we are doing. Really," Mark answered.

"No. It's just....." Nicky couldn't explain.

"Look it is hard to explain, and I can understand why you would think we are trying to buy you. But just trust us until you can talk to Jill. She will clear everything up. We are trusting you with a huge secret, just trust us a little bit until tomorrow. You will see we just want to do this because we like you and if truth be told because you are gay and have had a rough time," Shane said, pleading with his eyes.

Paul and Trevor looked at each other for a long time then smiled.

"We're sorry. It wasn't very nice of us to assume you had ulterior motives. You have been nothing but nice to us and we will trust you," Paul finally said.

"Great. Now sorry but you have to go because we are on a bit of a schedule. But we will see you in 3 weeks or so once we get back home," Kian said and quickly hugged the two men. Everyone else followed suit and soon the bus was on its way.

"Man I don't think we could have fucked up more if we had planned it," Mark said.

"I don't know, I mean at first glance it seems like it all went bad. But when I think about it I think it went perfect, almost like it was meant to be. We got two lovers together at our concert. We arranged to help them in their dreams. I mean what more could we have asked," Nicky said.

"Okay Shane. You better tell us how you can promise all that stuff," Bryan said.

"Oh right, let me call and leave a message on Jill's machine first," Shane said as he went to the front of the bus and made a quick call.

The bus rode on into the night while Shane explained the details of Rye's new business. He explained how Rye had founded a new record label and management company to help and guide new singers. How Rye was going to make the Rye N Coke club the hottest night club around and introduce the new acts there. How Rye was going to sign the boys to the new label and management. How Rye had promised Shane to bring Liam into the new business. How Rye was beginning to build a music empire where the boys could have whatever position they wanted. How Rye had made all seven of them equal owners of not only the new business, but also the club and the loft all that remained was a formal signing of the papers by the boys.

When Shane had finished talking the boys just sat there in stunned silence.

"Fuck me," Bryan said finally. Still nobody said anything.

"If it was anyone other than Rye, I would feel like we were being bought. I can understand how Paul and Trevor felt earlier," Kian said.

"He's not buying us," Bryan said, then quietly asked, "Is he?"

"No my boy, he isn't, but he worried about the same thing. That's why he told me. I could have put a stop to it immediately. He would have stopped. Make no mistake though he is doing it for us. Because he can. He has the money and he loves us, he wants to make sure we can continue to do what we love. But like I said, he is giving us control. Think about it, between the five of us we have majority control of the company, the club and his loft. He is giving up a lot of himself to us. I think that shows just how much he cares," Shane said.

"He can't give us the loft and the club. We can't let him do that," Nicky said.

"Yeah we can," Mark answered, "Look I know it seems like we are taking advantage, but I know him, this is something he wants to do and if we refuse we will hurt him. Besides he just wants us to know that we are all equal in this relationship. We accept what he offers and we thank him, a lot, many many times, over and over," Mark began to laugh. The others laughed as well thinking of the many ways they could thank Rye.

"Let's watch the cd again. I want to see Rye," Bryan said suddenly.

The boys fell asleep together again in the lounge, holding on to each other and thinking of the man who loved them and of their own lovers. The pictures of their fun day together still flicking by on the monitor. At Jill's apartment Rye was snuggled up to Jill and the two slept peacefully. Out at the cabin Pup and Blue lay together in an intimate embrace, Pup's head resting on Blue's chest. At Maria's home Maria peeked in to look at her young son, now a man really, as he lay with Matt's arm wrapped around him protectively. And in a small apartment in a city now many miles behind, Paul and Trevor fall asleep after their love making, wondering how they had been so lucky to meet up with the boys from Westlife.

...to be continued