Some Comfort Here Ch. 03

"Yes, if you can come home sooner."

"Doesn't seem possible. We'll head to Tenerife for a shoot, but it's a one-day thing and we'll be heading to Dublin right after..." He sighed. "God, I miss you so much. Are you okay?"

"Hmm. How's everybody?"

"Great. We're having fun. It's like a whirlwind but we wouldn't want it to be any other way. Izzi..." He breathed, then swallowed. "I wish I could see you. Haven't seen you in weeks now."

"I miss you too."

"Oh god." He dropped his head back, winced when it made a hollow thud. "I'm keeping you... I better go."

"You better."

"Please try to get some sleep," his tone was concerned. "You'll fall ill."

"I won't. Please go."

"Izzi?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

There was a pause. She had never said anything in reply to that. He knew it was too soon for her, but...

"I love you too."

His eyes snapped open. Did he hear that right?

"I love you three." Corny, but he only wanted to hear her say that again.

"I love you to infinity." Her voice was flat and mechanical like always but he still felt her love in those words. "Now go. Please. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Izzi."

He clutched the phone to his chest, trying to think how to breathe. And then with slow, unsteady steps, he made his way back to his room, the happiest man in the world.

*

The middle-aged gent was talking about their new single from their first album that had debuted on No.1, making it their second song and their second hit. It was early, they were on a radio show in Dublin for an interview, and were scheduled to go straight back to the hotel for breakfast. God, he was already starving.

Brandon and Nathan usually did most of the talking. Mark was the quiet one, only spoke when asked something. Kyle handled the difficult questions, marketing, budgeting and stuff. They joked he had Louis' number on speed dial, always talking business with him. Ben was the funny one. You asked him something and then spent the next ten minutes trying to get your breath back.

They talked about their new hit single, their upcoming album, and how it felt being small town lads from Ireland dominating the pop scene, if they felt competition. They were used to those questions already and also had set answers for them. They didn't have a lot of control over these things. They needed to listen to management, whether it was their clothes, their food, or their relationships. They knew the systematic crap they had to repeat at interviews. They knew when to smile and when to act totally unaffected.

It wasn't going to be an easy life. But they wouldn't want to change any of it. That was their dream, and they were living it.

"Hey." Kyle whispered to him in the van, on their way to the hotel. Brandon looked away from the window, gave him a small smile.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah. I just..." He bit his lip, glanced around quickly. "I wanted to say...I'm sorry about what I said that day in London. About you and Izzi..."

Brandon stared at him, then nodded, accepting his apology. Kyle didn't always apologise, was kind of self-righteous, so it felt nice that he'd had good sense. He only wished he hadn't said all that in the first place.

"I can understand those who call her weird without knowing her story," Brandon said, looking out of the window again. "Hadn't expected it from you, though."

"I know. Shit." A hand fell on his knee. "I hurt you. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." He looked at him, tapped the hand that was on his knee. "Just don't repeat it."

"You really love her, dontchya?" he smiled. Brandon laughed a little.

"Funny you should ask that, after all this time." He raised an eyebrow. "How long have you known me, again?"

"Have to go back a few decades then," Kyle laughed back.

"A few? You haven't even been alive for two." The soft, smirking voice was that of Ben, in front of them, beside the driver. "You want to go straight to breakfast?"

"Oh yeah," Brandon yawned. "I need food."

"Me too." Mark raised his hand, half-asleep in the other corner. They laughed, as Nathan punched him lightly in the belly.

It wasn't until he got to the restaurant that he saw it. Nathan had picked up the newspaper from the lounge, wondering if there was anything about them.

There was.

"Look, lads. There's our interview here." He held up the entertainment section of the paper so that the others could see.

"Which one?" Kyle asked. Nathan shrugged.

"Don't remember. But this was probably last week."

"Show." Brandon snatched the paper from him, his eyes falling on the file picture of the five of them, in black leather. He skimmed through the text, reading only his parts. There was a certain fun in reading your own interview. His family always got so excited every time they were shown on TV or featured in the paper. If he wasn't very mistaken, his mom even recorded some of their interviews.

And then he saw it. He froze.

Shit.

"What?" He hadn't realised he'd said that out loud. Kyle, who was also reading the interview while he held the paper, glanced at him. Brandon shook his head, his eyes refusing to leave that paragraph.

Interviewer: Brandon, you're rumoured to be dating X-Factor finalist Jessica Forsman. Is that true?

Brandon: No! (laughs) I'm single, not dating anyone. It's so hard to date when you're in a boyband. The schedules are hectic, you're always travelling, and it's also hard to trust people now when you're getting famous. I'm happy being single as of now. When I find someone good enough...we'll see what happens.

"Shit, shit, shit." He threw the paper away, dropped his face in his hands. That was disastrous. Everyone would see it. His family. Ben's family. Isabel.

Oh god.

He knew she read all of their interviews, she'd told him. She'd definitely read that one too. After all, it was Ireland's leading paper.

He remembered the looks Ben had been giving him while he was saying that at the interview, like warning him against messing with his sister's feelings. And now everyone would do the same.

But hell, that wasn't true. He'd been asked by management to say that.

"Geez." Mark shook his head, sympathetically. "Are you in trouble?"

Brandon didn't know. He only hoped he wasn't.

(To be continued)