Tests of Friendship Chapter 4
Tests of Friendship, Chapter Four:
By AD
Intro:
Yikes, chapter four all ready, I only started writing this thing last week. I hope you’re all enjoying it, if you’re not, then why are you reading chapter four! Usual legal stuff applies, don’t read if you’re a minor or it is illegal to do so in my country, although I’m not exactly certain what they will do to you if you do. Anyway, it’s got to be said:) This story is fictional and is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync. Any characters other than these are completely fictional, and any resemblance to real life is not intended.
Anyway, now we’re over with that. Read JM’s ‘Brian and Justin’/’Just Beginning’ if you haven’t all ready, as well as all the other great stories on Nifty. I am personally fond of ‘Insecurities’, since I’m a fellow conspiracy theorist. I’ve got a whole filing cabinet filled of books and declassified reports on UFO accounts etc. Just got to wait for the White House lawn landing now, and then see if they still deny it. Anyway, I’m drifting off the point here. Let’s got on with the story.
Oh yeah, before I forget, happy birthday to JC on Sunda 8th August. I forget to post it on the last issue, so it's late rather than early, but hey, no one's perfect!
Thanks to my proof readers, two people read for me now before it gets posted from this issue. Sean, author in Insecurities, and another reader who just wants advanced copies:) I'm too generous for my own good. Anyways, I'm blabbering on here again, so I better just let you get on with the story.
Chapter Four:
We walked out the into the corridor and into the breakfast room. I collected myself a plate of hot and cold assorted meats and some weird stuff that I think the German’s refer to as bread, but the rest of the world calls rock. "Have a good morning you two? Certainly sounded like it from my room." Lance spoke up. Chris just looked disgusted.
"Yep." I replied sitting down at the table next to Justin.
"Well, how about some details?" JC asked looking at the both of us with a smile on his face.
"I don’t think the others would share your enthusiasm of the nature of our sexual activities. However, if you really must know, we just jacked each other off." I said calmly. Justin was starting to blush again, but I had been prepared for it, and retained my composure.
"That’s it! We are going to get you a soundproof room for when you two start sucking and fucking, even though we’ll probably still hear it outside!" AJ said laughing. I smiled back at him, glancing towards Chris who looked like he was about to be sick. Suddenly my phone rang and interrupted the moment. I stood from the table and took it out my pocket.
"Guten Tag. Wer ist es?" (Hi, who is it?)
"Oh, hallo. Wie gehts dir?" (Hi, how are you?)
"Ich bin auch gut danke. Kannst du mich abholen?" (I’m fine too, can you pick me up?)
"Ja, dass wunderbarr ist. Danke schon, auf wiedersehen." I finished the conversation and put the phone into my pocket.
"You speak German?" Justin asked finishing his bowl of cereal.
"Yep. I can’t speak French very well though, I was never very good at French."
"Spanish?" Howie asked, giving his voice a very apparent Spanish accent.
"Not a word. Spanish is not a very popular language in England, despite that Spain is just about our top holiday destination. French is the most common, then probably German."
"What was it about?" Justin asked, referring to the phone call.
"Oh, someone is coming round to pick me up later. I’ve rented a car for the next couple of days, and I want to give it a test drive. I love Germany for that." I said, smiling slightly.
"The autobahns have no speed limit, and when you’re driving a TVR Speed 12, that means fast."
"What’s a TVR speed twelve?" Kevin asked.
"Fast, the world’s fastest car in fact. The Sultan of Brunei is buying them all up just about. I was owed a favor by a few people, and managed to get hold of one."
"Are you obsessed with cars?" Nick asked.
"Yep. They’re my life, I love them, especially when they’re fast."
"Can I have a ride?" Nick asked eagerly.
"No, it’s not safe to drive that fast!" Kevin said sternly. I smiled at how he looked out for the rest of the guys in the group.
"Anyway guys, you have a photoshoot to do this morning if I remember correctly, and then the rest of the day off. I’m getting picked up and taken down to the garage where it’s parked, and I’ll meet you at wherever you’re having the photoshoot." Kevin gave me the address and I left, giving Justin a quick kiss, directly in front of Chris. I walked out and headed towards the lobby. My lift was waiting and I got into the car. I nodded to the driver, but never spoke. We drove to the garage in silence and I picked up my keys before stepping into the car.
I drove sedately onto the autobahn and moved over to the fast lane, flooring the accelerator. The car sped past sixty in barely three seconds. As I powered past the 150 mark, I devoted all my attention onto the road. Fortunately the road ahead was clear. As I shifted into sixth gear the car slipped past the 200 mark, the fastest I had ever drove. I continued accelerating until 210mph, before applying the brakes and slowing down. I pulled into the studio where they were doing the photoshoot/interview for some German magazine or other. I parked the car and stood staring at its absolutely beautiful looks for a few minutes. To me at the time it was probably the second most beautiful object to exist on Earth, Justin coming first, obviously. I walked to the door and got cleared through the security. I waited out of sight as they were having their photos taken, some with the interviewers. They were trying to persuade Justin to take his shirt off, but he seemed very shy, which surprised me. They had to settle with him having his shirt unbuttoned. They had the same problem with JC, Nick and Brian, but the rest of the guys took their shirts off. I waved to Justin when he noticed I was there, and he cheered up a bit. They finished after about half an hour and went through for the interview. I was interested in Justin’s answer when it came round to current relationships.
"Well, I’m currently involved with someone, so sorry girls, I’m taken." He said with a smile.
"Any hints on who?" the interviewer, a young lady, asked with only a very slight German accent on her english.
"No luck there sorry. That’s for me, my lover, and the rest of these guys to know, and not for you to find out." The interviewer laughed slightly and moved on asking about another 20 or so questions before finishing the interview.
"Thank you guys, that was great. We’ll send you a copy of the magazine for tomorrow or Thursday, and it will be published on Friday. If you have any comments or questions don’t hesitate to give me a bell, you have my card." The lady stated, walking away. AJ was staring at her as she walked out, her hips swaying seductively from side to side. She was dressed very seductively indeed, wearing a tight dress, which helped to accentuate her breasts. Nick was waving his hand in front of AJ’s eyes until he finally snapped out of it.
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking." AJ said.
"Yeah, about how exactly she looks with that dress off." Nick said grinning.
"You mean you weren’t, or were you looking at the camera man?" AJ retaliated. I had to admit, the camera guy was pretty cute, with well defined looks.
"Why the hell does everyone think I’m fuckin’ gay?!" Nick said standing up and walking out the room. "I am not gay, and I just wish people would stop accusing me!" By now he had run out the room and was heading out towards the street. The other guys just looked to each other confused.
"What’s wrong with him, we only have a little joke now and then." AJ asked, trying to defend himself.
"Don’t worry about it AJ, I’ll go after him. He’ll be ok, he probably just doesn’t like to be accused of being gay all the time, it just gets him down." Brian said standing up and running after where Nick had gone.
Brian ran round the corner and saw Nick sitting on a bench, his head in his hands. He sat next round to him and put his arm round him, puling him into a hug. "Nick, what’s wrong? It was only a joke."
"They are always joking saying that I’m gay. All the time I get accused, papers accuse me, the internet accuses me, my friends accuse me. I think you’re the only one who stands by me." Nick said, tears running down his face.
"Don’t worry Nick, they know you’re not gay, don’t worry about it." Brian asked, afraid to actually ask if Nick was gay.
"How do you know I’m not gay? I’m sure they all must think I am now after running out like that. Why would I run out if I was straight?"
"I don’t know, why would you?" Brian responded, rubbing his hand against Nick’s back.
"I don’t know why. I just felt like getting up and running. Being accused all the time just got me down. I think I’m beginning to question my own sexuality, the fact that every thinks I’m gay, maybe I am." Nick said, starting to cry again. Brian just comforted him, still hugging him.
"Don’t worry Nick, I know you’re straight, don’t listen to what everyone else says."
"Doesn’t it ever get you down to, they accuse you too, saying that us two are in a relationship and all. I know we’re close, but there’s nothing like that between us. You were always there to support me. The guys never get at you though, just me. What do I do wrong?"
"Nothing, it’s just how close you still are to me now you’re a bit older. When you were younger, they just considered it you seeking comfort. Now you still do the same, they just have a little but of fun. They know the truth, they know you’re not gay. Yes, it gets me down sometimes, people saying I’m gay and all, but the fact they say us to are in a relationship hurts me, because it hurts you. I can’t really call them though about saying I’m gay. You can’t get at people too much when they tell the truth." Brian said, a few tears appearing in his eyes as he told Nick.
"You mean you’re gay?" Nick said pulling up in shock. "All this time, since we met?!" Brian just broke down and cried at Nick’s reaction. This time Nick turned into the comforter, hugging Brian. "Don’t worry Brian, it doesn’t bother me. I...I was just shocked, I never even suspected you were gay. You’ve always acted so straight and all. The thought never even crossed my mind. You’re still the same person I’ve always known, I still love you, in a brotherly sort of way." Nick quickly added. Brian sat up and pulled Nick into a proper hug.
"Don’t tell the others, you can’t say anything to them, they would hate me. I’ll tell them in my own time." Brian said, hopefully looking towards Nick.
"Don’t worry Brian, I won’t tell any of them." Nick said, smiling at him. They walked back into the studio, drying their eyes off as they entered the room where the others were waiting. I knew what Brian meant when he smiled when he walked in. "I’m sorry guys, it just got me down. I thought about how stupid I was, I know you only mean it as a joke, it’s just that everyone accuses me." They all stood up an AJ walked over to Nick.
"It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have said anything. Well...you know...well, I don’t want to make you cry or anything, just forget it."
"Don’t worry AJ, no I’m not gay, it just got me down. I’m not bi either before you ask!" Nick said smiling. AJ smiled back as Nick got into the limo. AJ quickly ran over to the door of my TVR, grinning while I walked up.
"In the back AJ, Justin goes in the front. Oh, wait a second, there is no back!" I said grinning. AJ pouted and started to walk away. "AJ, I’ll take you a ride later if you like, but Justin can drive to the hotel with me. We’ll work out where to go then, and I’ll give you a ride." He grinned slightly and jumped in the limo as I unlocked the car and Justin got into the passenger side. "I would let you drive, but you probably can’t drive a manual, so it’s pretty pointless." I said, pointing down to the gear change lever in the center console. I started the car and pulled off behind the limo. As soon as we got on the autobahn, I down shifted and floored the accelerator, the car rapidly overtaking the two limos. I got the car up to about 200mph until I slowed down for the exit. Justin had turned as white as a sheet, and I burst out laughing.
"You’re mad! You are truly insane. What are you on? I’ve never even got my Merc to 130. What’s the fastest you’ve ever drove? I thought I was a bad driver"
"231 in a MacLaren F1 on a test track in England. I’ll get this thing up to 250 before I leave Germany though." I said, grinning. "This car is almost as beautiful as you, and it can almost make me have an orgasm, but you just about sneak ahead. It doesn’t kiss very well."
"Whatever you’re on, give me some, it sure seems to make you happy." Justin said smiling. "It’s only a car, ok, it’s a fast car, but you’re comparing it to me, now I feel insulted."
"You shouldn’t, cars are my passion, and this car is almost the ultimate in my book. The Azure still is my favourite though, but that’s off the road right now. I used to clean it every single morning. Cars were all I cared about until I met you. The fact I’ve put you first should make you feel cheerful, now I can clean you every morning!"
"Great, I’m falling in love with a gay who compares people to cars." We both burst out laughing as I playfully punched him in the shoulder. We pulled into the hotel parking lot and waited for the two limos to arrive. We all went upstairs and decided on what to do for the day. The first thing on the list was some food. We walked back down and took the limos to yet another Pizza Hut, since none of them seemed drastically keen on a variety of ‘wursts’. (sorry all you German folks reading this, I don’t mean to insult your food that much.)
We ate in peace for about fifteen minutes until the guys were sighted by a group of fans who ran over to the table that we were eating at. The guys were forced to sign a few autographs and pose for a couple of snaps. I stayed out the way of the impromptu photoshoot. But before long we were climbing back into the limo and driving round the city. We made a few stops at some of the major tourist spots before going to a night club at about 6pm. I was never a club person and I was practically carried in kicking and screaming. We were let in without any problem, skipping the queues. We walked over to the bar and took a seat until the bartender walked over to us.
"Guten tag, kann ich ihnen helfen?" (Good day, can I help you?)
"Danke. Ich mØchte ein Vodka Martini mit lemon, geròht, nicht geschòttern bitte." I replied to the waiter. [any German readers, your help would be appreciated on the past tense there]
"Er.. rum and coke bitte." Justin said.
"The same please." JC replied.
"A large beer for us two." Joey said for himself and Chris.
"Jack Daniels please." Lance spoke up. The waiter was scribbling the drinks down as he looked towards the Backstreet Boys.
"Two rum and cokes, a beer and a two glasses of orange juice." Kevin spoke up for the group.
"Thank you gentlemen, your drinks will be ready in a moment." The waiter said in a very strong German accent before walking off to prepare our drinks. We small talked for a few minutes, until he came back with the drinks. As he was laying them out on the table the intercom came on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have some special guests here tonight, The Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync. Herren and Damen, wir haben etwas spezial Gasten heir abend, die Backstreet Boys und ‘N Sync. I hope you have a nice time here tonight, and we might even get you to dance for us later!" The man came over the intercom.
"Your presence stayed quiet for a while." I said sarcastically.
"We usually get announced when we come to a club, but we don’t get bugged too much." JC said, taking a sip of his rum and coke. I took a couple of small sips from my Martini.
"Isn’t that what James Bond drinks?" Howie asked as he took a drink of his beer.
"Almost, he has it shaken, I have it stirred."
"Oh." He replied as I took another sip.
"You might just get me out of these seat if you keep these coming." I said smiling.
"Now I don’t want you getting drunk on us. Brian here has to stay off his acohol, don’t you Bri. He gets a bit tipsy after one or two. You proposed to the bar maid last time you were in Germany, remember that?" AJ said as he had
"What, being in Germany or proposing? Neither I think!" Brian said smiling. "Nick here just isn’t old enough." Brian said, playfully punching Nick in the shoulder. Nick pouted and went back to his orange juice. "Well, I’m going to hit the dance floor, anyone else coming?" Brian got a field of nods and virtually everyone besides Justin and myself walked off. Justin refused to go until I would.
"You’ll be waiting a long time, just go and dance. I only do what I’m good at, and I can’t dance. I can sing, well I think so, but I can’t dance."
"I never knew you could sing. What do you sing?"
"Baritone or tenor. I can do bass, but that’s boring. I can’t get as high as you, although I can give some of your songs a good go, but I need to drop an octave now and then to hit the right key. I can do your voice to a tee. I’m good at accents."
"Let’s here it then?"
"Here what? My imitation of your voice, well, you’re hearin’." I said, doing my best impression of Justin’s voice.
"Wow, how the hell can you do that? It sounds exactly like me. You’ve got to pull a prank on the guys. Walk up behind one of them and see if they think it’s me or something. What other accents can you do?"
"I can do a nice Aussie accent mate, or we can do a very German accent, or une French accent. In terms of people and celebrities, I mainly do British ones, but I practised yours. Gives me a sore throat though." I said, switching accents as I talked. Justin laughed a little before finishing the rest of his drink.
"Well, I’m going for a dance, and you’re going to drink up and come with me." Justin said, as I finished the rest of my drink in a couple of large gulps. I stood up and walked onto the dance floor and started to dance along with Justin. They went up onstage and lip-synced to some of their songs while doing the dance moves. I danced along as best I could in the audience. We stayed there til about 11 when we decided to head back to the hotel, since they had a long day tomorrow.
As we walked back to the limo Justin spoke up, "Hey, Si, you’re not a bad dancer. You did our moves almost perfectly."
"I have a virtual photographic memory, I remember them from the first time I saw you perform."
"Can you sing too?"
"'Too' implies I can dance, which I can’t, but yes, I can sing. I can impersonate Justin too." I said as I glanced out the window. It was amazing they don’t have more accidents than they do in Germany, with how they drive.
"Well, let’s here it then." JC spoke up, waiting for my attempt to impersonate Justin.
"What, Justin’s imitation, ok then. I don’t really know what to say, that will have to do." I said, the whole line in Justin’s voice. JC laughed, while Lance seemed almost shocked at how well I managed to pull it off.
"How the hell do you do that so well? I couldn’t tell the differences unless I saw you speaking." Lance spoke up.
"A little something I picked up. Not too hard really, you just pick them up after a while." I replied. "I just refuse to do any ‘Americanisms’, more excessive levels of the American English language."
"Oh, and what would those be dear fellow?" Justin said, in a very upper class English accent.
"Those, my dear fellow, would be your rather interesting usage of abbreviated, barely understandable items, that to me have very little basis from any part of English."
"Whatchu talkin' `bout?" Justin replied, grinning slightly. I just shook my head at him.
"He does that now and then." JC said laughing, punching Justin in his arm. He pouted and cast his head down. I smiled at how he was acting, but we pulled upto the hotel and walked out the limo and over to the elevator. No fans were waiting outside, German efficiency for you. We headed up the elevator and to our rooms. I sat on the edge of the bed and smiled over at Justin who collapsed besides me.
"You’re not tired are you?" I asked.
"Yep, exhausted. Got up too early this morning, and we’ve got a big day tomorrow."
"You must certainly do. I might not come to your concert, it’s getting rather boring seeing it for the third time now. I'll probably have a nice relaxing night at the hotel."
"You’re coming whether you like it or not!" Justin said, grinning.
"And if I don’t?"
"I may just have to send you home then."
"We couldn’t have that could we."
"Nope."
"Fair enough, I suppose I’ll have to endure yet another rendition of your concert. Anyway, I’m getting ready for bed." I said, hopping up and running into the bathroom before Justin had a chance to beat me to it. I locked the door and had a quick shower before changing into a dressing gown, since it was a very cold night. I walked out after about 15 minutes and Justin went in. I walked over to the mini bar and poured myself a small whiskey before sitting on the bed. I took it down in a few sips before lying back down on the bed, waiting for Justin. He walked out after a few minutes and lay down next to me. He cuddled up against my side, putting his arm round me, until we both fell asleep.
I woke up in bed, glancing over at the clock. It read 6:21am. I glanced over at my side, but Justin had disappeared. I stepped out of the bed and wondered round the room, but he was nowhere to be found. I opened the door and walked out into the hallway, looking around. The lights were on, but the area was deserted. All the doors were open as I walked down the corridor, and the rooms were all empty. I saw a note stuck on the elevator: ‘Hi Simon, thanks for the ride, it was fun dragging you around like that, but it was only that, a little joke. Thanks for giving us a diversion. We moved hotels now, so you head back to England or wherever. Thanks for being so gullible. Justin’. I just stared at the note in front of me and went back to my room. I put a change of clothes on and headed down the elevator. As the doors opened on the lobby, all the hotel staff started laughing at me. I started shouting at them, trying to make them shut up.
I opened my eyes, still lying on the bed. The clock read 6:21. I looked over at my side and saw Justin cuddled up next to me, his arm draped over my chest. I put my head back down on the pillow and closed my eyes, trying to go back to sleep. I couldn’t figure out what made me have such a weird dream, but I couldn’t help but think about the unusual situation I was in. The fact that Justin Timberlake had actually fallen for me of all people, especially after smashing into the back of his car. The more I thought about the situation, the worse it seemed, and the more likely something beyond the initial obvious was going on. I hadn’t devoted much thought to my situation, however the dream was causing me to think more carefully about my situation. After a while I managed to relax a little and drift back off to sleep, until I was woke up by the banging on the door. Justin pulled the pillow over his head as I looked over at the clock, which was now reading 8:30. "We’re up thanks!" I shouted through the door.
"Ok, breakfast in my room in half an hour." Kevin shouted through the door. I went to get out the bed, but Justin wrapped his arms round my chest and pulled me back down. He refused to let go as I attempted to get up.
"Justin, come on sleepy. We need to get up, you’ve got a concert to do, two television interviews and a live radio interview. Now get out of bed or I’ll throw a bucket of water over you, and these German folks really won’t like me messing up their nice clean and tidy room." I said.
"No, stay here, I won’t go to the concert, I want to stay here." Justin said, pouting. I forced myself up out of bed before carrying Justin out the bed, who still had his eyes closed. He cuddled up against me as I picked him up. I carried him into the shower and put him down on the floor. He still had his eyes closed and pulled himself into a ball. I reached over and turned the cold water tap on, the water raining down onto Justin. He shot bolt upright and quickly ran over to me, his clothes dripping wet. He pushed me into the shower and quickly closed the door. He held it shut while I was getting soaked. Finally he let me out, dripping wet. The water was still cold despite the fact I had turned the heater on. I glared over at him when I stepped out, and Justin for a second looked worried that I was mad, before I burst out laughing.
"That got you up!" I said smiling.
"I’m going back to bed now." Justin said, walking back through the bathroom door. I closed the door and stripped down, entering into the now hot shower. I quickly warmed up before washing my hair and stepping out and drying myself off. As I went over to the toilet I slipped on the wet tiled floor. My head hit the edge of the sink as I fell to the floor, in pretty much the same place as the other door. My vision quickly tunnelled out to blackness as my head fell against the floor, the sounds around me disappeared close behind, until I fell into unconsciousness.
Justin heard the bang in he bathroom and quickly jumped up, running over to the door. I had locked the door, and Justin was trying to force his way in, shouting my name. AJ heard the commotion from the next room and put his head round the door, "What’s wrong Justin?" He asked, still slightly sleepy himself.
"I just heard a bang from the bathroom, Simon is in there, but he’s not answering." Just said quickly, and worriedly. AJ ran over to the door and started to bang on it with Justin. He ran out and quickly came back with a key for the door and unlocked the handle. Justin opened and ran in. He saw me collapsed on the floor. "AJ, go and call an ambulance." Justin shouted as AJ ran out the room over to the phone. He called down to the receptionist and asked for an ambulance. He ran back to Justin and called the other guys. Virtually all the guys ran into the room and looked into the bathroom. By now blood was pouring out over the floor from the cut in the back of my head. Justin had tears pouring from his eyes as he held my hand. I wasn’t aware of him even being there, I was out cold. JC was holding Justin when the lift doors opened and the paramedics were guided into the room by Kevin, who was standing at the door. JC pulled Justin away from me as they came over to my side. They stood over me, talking rapidly in German before transferring me onto the stretcher.
"We are taking him down to the hospital. You can follow behind the ambulance if you wish." The man said, in a very accented voice. Justin and JC both ran off after them as they carried me down the elevator. They climbed into the limo and followed the ambulance to the hospital. The doctors ran over to the ambulance as they pulled the stretcher out and ran into the hospital besides me. A nurse walked over to Justin and JC and escorted them to the relatives room. Justin just kept pacing up and down the room, waiting for some news. After about twenty minutes, Joey, Lance, AJ and Kevin arrived at the hospital and were shown to the relatives room. JC forced Justin to sit down while they waited for some news. About 15 minutes of uncomfortable silence followed until the doctor finally entered the room. He closed the door behind him and stood infront of it.
"Herr Williams has suffered a very severe concussion due to the impact on his head. He is still unconscious, but we have er...stemmed the bleeding, and stitched the wound. He should regain consciousness within a few hours, but will have a kopfschmertzen, er...headache. He might have some temporary amnesia for a few further hours. We will be able to release him tomorrow providing his condition improves steadily. We will take him for another CT scan this evening if he has not regained consciousness before then." The doctor said in a slight accent.
"Can we see him?" Justin asked, glad that I was going to be alright.
"I can only let one or two of you see him, it might represent too much stress to his system and not aid his recovery otherwise. Would two of you like to go and see him now?"
"Yes, us two will go and see him for a while." Justin said standing up. He leaned over to JC, "JC, what should I do about the concert tonight, I can’t leave him here."
"Don’t worry, we’ll come to that later. If he’s still unconscious you’ll just have to stay here. We can cover for you, say that you’re ill and couldn’t make the concert." JC replied as they followed the doctor into the small private room. Justin sat besides my bed, opposite JC, gripping my hand. I have a vague memory of him holding my hand until I regained consciousness.
They just sat at the side of my bed for hours. The other guys had to leave for concert rehearsals, but they were allowed to stay. JC left at about 5 to attend the concert. Justin was left alone sitting at the side of my bed. He hadn’t spoken since he entered the room, only nodded to the other guys when the left. At about 6 o’clock he felt my hand squeeze slightly on his, and he jumped up, from nearly falling asleep.
"Si, Simon, can you hear me!?"
"What, where am I?" I said groggily, as my eyes flickered open.
"You’re in the hospital, you slipped and hit your head."
"You’re, you’re Justin Timberlake, what are you doing here?" I was in total confusion, plus my head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it.
"Don’t you remember?" Justin asked, out of concern.
"Remember what?" I asked, the events of the past few days out of my mind.
"We’re together, in a relationship. We met in England."
"I don’t know whether this is some kind of sick prank or something, but I don’t really care. Can I see the doctors please?" Justin looked hurt at my words and just stood, walking out the room.
"Yes, I’ll go get them." Justin said, quickly running out the door and calling for the doctor. He quickly came down the corridor and walked in the room. He told me what had happened, and where I fell, explaining I was expected to have a memory loss. He left the room and Justin sat back down at my side.
"I’m sorry for earlier, obviously we must be in a relationship or something, but I can’t remember anything about it now. I realise it must hurt you, but I’m really confused myself. Give me a bit of time, it’ll come back to me." I said, smiling slightly, realising that Justin must be hurt by me not remembering. "Don’t you have a concert of something to go to?"
"I’m not going, I decided to wait here with you. I couldn’t go to the concert knowing you were lying in here alone." Justin said, holding my hand again. I returned the grip. I fell back to sleep for about another hour. I woke up about an hour later, again with a major headache. I looked over at Justin, my recollection of the previous events flooding back to me, my memory of the last few days returning. Justin was on the verge of falling asleep himself. I shook him and he looked over at me.
"I remember everything just about. You answered a question that was on my mind though."
"I’ve not said anything though?" Justin said, slightly confused.
"You’re here, instead of going to your concert."
"What do you mean?"
"I had a dream last night, I can’t remember the exact details, but I can remember the more general details. It just made me question whether your reasons behind this relationship were genuine or not. You’re here, so that’s answered my question."
"I would never do a thing like that. I love you Si."
"Whoever said my name was Si, I thought I said I was called Simon." I said smiling slightly. "Anyway, when do I get out of this hellhole?"
"Tomorrow if the doctor thinks you’ve made enough progress."
"Good, now could you go and ask for some paracetamol or something like that please? I’ve got a splitting headache. You go back to the hotel and get some rest, or go to the concert and make a guest appearance, say you’re better or whatever other excuse they made for you."
"No, I’m staying here till you come with me!"
"I don ’t feel like arguing, my head hurts too much." Justin got up and walked out and found a nurse, returning with two tablets and a glass of water. I quickly swallowed them and lay down on the pillow. Justin lay back in his chair, still holding my hand. "Justin, we better not do that, someone might think that we’re together or something, which even though we are, we don’t want anyone else to know yet, do we?"
"You’re right, I’d rather not take that chance." Justin said, letting go of my hand and resting his head on the edge of his chair. I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Justin walked out over to a phone box and left a message for the rest of there guys. When he walked back in, I was completely asleep, resting peacefully. Justin just sat in the chair at the side of the bed, watching me, until he himself fell to sleep.
Justin woke first the following morning, his clothes slightly creased from sleeping in the chair. I was still asleep as he sat up in the chair and straightened his clothes out. He stood up and walked out into the corridor, which was very quiet. My ECG machine was silent, only the light flashing on the front. Justin glanced over at the clock, the time just before 8am in the morning. I suddenly stirred, hearing Justin walking around. I cracked my eyes open and looked over to where he was standing. I smiled at him, my headache almost completely subsided. He sat down on the edge of the bed and gripped my hand. He quickly let go at the sound of the door opening.
"Ah, Mr. Williams. Glad to see you are up. We have been monitoring your condition over night, and after a few quick tests this morning, you will be free to go home." The doctor said smiling slightly. He walked over to my monitoring equipment and checked my blood pressure, before disconnecting me from the drips. He left the room before returning with some signout papers. I signed the forms and the doctor left.
"Justin, uh...I need some clothes!" I said, remembering that I had only had a towel on when I came in.
"The other guys thought of that, and brought you some in yesterday while you were still unconscious." Justin said as he walked over to the cupboard. He passed me a change of clothes, and I quickly got dressed, leaving the hospital gown on the bed. I walked out, examining the cut on my head. They had shaved my hair down slightly at the back, in order to place the stitches, leaving a patch of extremely short hair. "You’ll have to go and get something done about that. I’m sure they could make it blend in ok." Justin said, noticing I was looking at the back of my head in the mirror.
"Yep, I’ll have to find a decent hairdressers around here."
"We’ve got one in the group, who tours with us. I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to patch you up ok." Justin said, as he guided me out the hospital. We hailed a cab and headed for the hotel. As we pulled up we could see that the fans had regrouped outside. I told the driver to pull round the back. As he stopped, we quickly hopped out and ran for back entrance. We were noticed just as we entered, and managed to get away with it. We went up the elevator onto our floor and headed down to Kevin’s room, where the most noise was emanating from. Everyone looked up as we entered and most of the guys smiled when they saw who is was. JC walked over to give me a light hug. I smiled at him and assured him I would be alright.
"You should be more careful, slipping up like that. You could have really hurt yourself." Kevin said, as his way of a greeting.
"I did really hurt myself! I got a major concussion and 15 stitches in the back of my head!" I replied, motioning to the wound. "Anyway, I want some breakfast." I walked over to the breakfast cart in the room and dished up a quick selection before sitting down at the table and quickly eating. I saw the others looking at me, as I stuffed the food down my throat. "Hey, I’ve not eaten for ages. I didn’t have anything the whole of yesterday, did I?" I finished after only a few minutes, and had a second glass of orange juice and an expresso. "So what’s the lineup for today?"
"We’re flying to Frankfurt later today. When we get there we have yet another interview for a local radio station, and we have one of the magazine interviews to do, since we cancelled it the day before."
"How did the concert go by the way?" I enquired
"Fine, we told everyone Justin had come down with a bad cold, and was unable to perform tonight. They were upset, but we filled in ok. In fact, I think we probably did better without him." Lance said smiling. Justin playfully punched him in the arm. "Well, we better all get packed, since the plane leaves at eleven, and it’s almost nine now." We all got up and went to our rooms. I got the few clothes that I had put in the wardrobe and replaced them into the case, before closing it up. I helped Justin get all his things ready and we got everything prepared pretty quick. I gave the room a quick tidy up before heading out to the hallway. We left our bags at the elevator and waited for the other guys, who arrived in dribs and drabs over the next few minutes. A few bellhops came and took our bags down for us, putting them into the two waiting limos, until we ourselves headed down. The fans had built up after seeing all the bags being loaded, and almost got a few souvenirs with the looks. We walked into the lobby and tried to make a run through the fans. I got through unscathed, but by the time we reached the limo, we were totally out of order. I was sitting down as Nick, Brian, JC, Justin and AJ jumped into the limo. Nick was minus about half a shirt, and missing a trouser leg. I laughed at his dishevelled appearance, he might as well have been without a shirt, he only had a sleeve and half of one side left intact. A few people evidently got a few souvenirs. Justin wasn’t quit as bad, but he had a few rips on his shirt. The others had escaped punishment however, and were just ruffled up, rather than actually having their clothes damaged.
"Good thing we only wore old, cheap, replaceable ‘get ripped by fans’ clothes!" Nick said, seeing the comedy of the situation.
"Does that happen often?" I asked.
"It’s not usually that bad. I’ve lost my whole shirt before, and pants. I barely escaped with my underwear!" Nick said, smiling slightly. "Usually we get through intact, or like Justin. We’ve got the limos a bit mixed up though. We were supposed to be split by group."
"I think we just hopped into the closest one when we got through the fans. Are you going to replace your shirt at the airport Nick?" AJ asked, pulling his hat over his eyes slightly.
"Why, it’ll probably just get ripped up again!" Nick said smiling. He realised he did look a bit, in fact a lot, of a mess though. What was the point if a similar crowd would be facing them at the airport however.
"That won’t be a problem Nick. Kevin told me before we left, the limos are taking us right round the back of the airport to the plane, since it’s an internal flight there are no customs or anything." Brian spoke up for the first time, so you can change your shirt.
"But don’t you think it’s kinda sexy?" Nick said, grinning.
"Save it for the next photoshoot Nicky." AJ replied. While they were going on, I reached over to the minibar and poured myself a glass of the Liebfraumlich wine in the cabinet. I took a few sips, before taking the drink down quickly.
"You seem to drink a lot?" AJ spoke up as I finished the drink
"Stress. Helps to relax oneself. I don’t drink much. I usually have a shot of spirit at night, but beyond that I don’t usually drink any alcoholic beverages. They were kind enough to provide the drinks though, so I didn’t see the point of letting a decent wine go to waste?" I said matter of factly. As I looked out the window, I could see we were now driving down one of the carpaths round the taxiways of the airport. I returned the glass to the holder and got ready to leave. The other limo had just pulled up next to the plane, a ladder going upto the doors. It was a small, early Lufthansse 737, already running. Our luggage was unloaded as we climbed up the steps. A small first class section was at the front, for about 20 odd people. We had this to ourselves. The rest of the plane hadn’t boarded yet, so it was hard to say whether we would be completely alone or not. We took our seats, and waited as the other passengers got on. I turned round as I heard someone enter the first class section, and was surprised to see who it was.
The end of chapter four.
Well, I hope you enjoyed chapter four. A little bit of drama possible, and maybe a few twists? I don’t think I can really call it a cliff hangar at the end, but you’ll have to wait a few days for the next part to see who it is. Thanks for reading. As always, comments to trekster2@hotmail.com . Thanks to all those who have replied. No bad comments yet, touch wood! I might make the next instalment a slightly longer one. It depends how long it takes me to write and tie the section up neatly with a clean ending, giving you something to look forwards to in the next issue. See yas. Oh yeah, the possible relationships are all made clear over the next two or three chapters, a few people have been asking that. The next chapter will be up in 4 days hopefully!
AD