Star Struck Ch. 06

Okay guys this is the last chap of this series. Hope you enjoyed the story.

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It had been over 2 months since Chris's departure. I managed to go on with life, not letting it affect me as much as it could have. I still loved Chris, and I spent many nights wishing he were there with me in my bed. He did stay true to his word and kept in touch. He made it a point to call me at least once a week, times that I treasured dearly.

Hearing his voice was what helped me through it all I guess. Even though we weren't together, we still care about each other and somehow that made it all okay.

"Dude you're never going to believe this." Ryan said, walking through my front door without so much as a knock.

"Once again, just waltz right in." I said, turning my head to look at him from the couch. He walked over and sat down next to me.

"Dude you're not going to believe who I just asked out?"

"Sam." I deadpanned. The excitement on his face disappeared.

"How did you know?"

"Dude I was the one who told you she likes you." I said. I know I said I wasn't going to meddle in Sam's affairs but she didn't hear what Ryan said. He had actually told me that he likes her so I couldn't help it and spilt the news. I didn't really think Sam would mind.

"Oh right." He replied. I shook my head. Ryan could be a little dense at times.

"You seem really happy about it? I guess you're over Amy Reaver?" I asked.

"No I'm not over her. She has a special place in my heart. It's just that I found another place for Sam too. Anyway you yourself said that Amy was no man's land. It's not like I'm actually going to meet her, let alone go on a date."

"Aw that's too bad, because I convinced Chris to let you meet her."

"What!!! Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He said, jumping off the couch.

"Dude I'm just messin' with you."

"Not cool man. Not cool at all." He sat back down on the couch. I was about to say something when my phone started to ring. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Chris and I answered it.

"Hey man, how's it going?" I said.

"Good. You'll never guess where I am right now."

"Somewhere in L.A." I said, not really wanting to guess.

"Well yeah but...you are such a killjoy." He said.

"Okay sorry. Where are you?"

"I'm backstage at 'Tony Live'." He said. I could hear the excitement in his voice. 'Tony live' was the highest rated talk show in the country and he had mentioned once or twice that he wanted to appear on it.

"No way. What are you doing there?" I asked.

"What do you think I'm doing here? I'm going to be on the show."

"That's great." I said.

"Will you tune in to watch?" He asked. The show was a live one, hence the word live in the title.

"You really need to ask?" I asked. He laughed over the phone and I could have melted at his laugh right there.

"Oh hey I need to go. I just wanted to tell you the good news." He said.

"Sure thing. Bye, I love you." I said. As those words slipped past my tongue, I wanted to pull them back. I was horrified that I uttered that last part. I hadn't told Chris that I loved him and I wasn't going to anytime soon. I waited for him reply, hoping that he didn't hear that.

"Bye. Talk to you soon." He said and I hung up. It seemed like he either didn't hear it, or thought it was some casual remark. Either way I was glad and relieved at the same time.

"That was close." I said, dropping the phone onto the couch. I turned to look at Ryan and he was staring at me. "What?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to tell Chris." He said. Of course I told Ryan about my feelings for Chris. He was my best friend after all.

"I hadn't meant to. It slipped out. Besides it seems he didn't realize it."

"I don't know if that is lucky or unlucky." He said. Ryan had made no effort to hide his disdain for my lack of action since finding out that I loved Chris. He felt that if I loved him, I should have been with him, whatever difficulties that came with it. I didn't reply to his comment.

Later in the day, I sat in front of the T.V. watching 'Tony Live'. Ryan had left a some time back, receiving a call from Sam. He took off in a flash, leaving me sitting in my living room alone. Probably fifteen minutes into the show, Chris came on. Seeing him, even on the T.V. made me smile. Of course he looked amazing as usual.

I watched at Chris sat down in the chair opposite Tony Brall. "Well hello Chris, it's good to finally be able to have you on the show." He said.

"Thanks Tony, I seriously can't believe I'm sitting here right now next to you. I may not look it but I'm freaking out on the inside right now." Chris said, rubbing his hands on his thighs. I smiled at his enthusiasm. He reminded me of an excited little kid on Christmas morning.

"Great but just don't pee in your pants from the excitement." Tony said, making the audience laugh. "You guys laugh but it's happened before." He said to the audience.

"I'll try to maintain my bladder control." Chris replied. I watched at Tony asked Chris a series of question, each one being answered by Chris. In between question, a joke or two would be thrown in, making the audience laugh in response. It was obvious Chris was comfortable doing interviews; probably from the number of them he has done in the past. You could really tell Tony and him were feeding off each other's responses, making sure it was entertaining at least.

"So Chris, everyone has been anxiously waiting for your upcoming movie. Care to tell everyone what it's about?" Tony asked.

"Okay well the movie is called 'Broken'. Basically it's a love story revolving around a girl called Anne, who had felt a lot of loss in her life. She was orphaned at a very young age and grew up in a foster family that wasn't very caring. The only person she could confide in was her best friend Harvey, who is the character I play. I don't want to give too much away but I guess things don't really go very smoothly for Anne." Chris finished.

"And you shot this in Miami right? It's my hometown you know" Tony asked.

"Really? I didn't know that. But yeah we shot in Miami. The filming was actually done around eight months ago, but we went back a couple of months back to film some changes." Chris said.

"I see. So you like Miami?"

"Yeah definitely. Met some really nice people there." He said. I smiled, having a strong feeling he was referring to me.

"You brought a clip didn't you. Let's play it shall we?" Tony asked. Chris nodded before the screen cut away, changing to a scene from the movie.

I saw Victoria Oakley on screen, sitting in the couch from the set apartment. My memory of the day I was there flooded my mind. I noticed the outfit she was wearing wasn't the same as the one the day I was there. I knew then that the scene was shot on the second day. I watched as the camera shot over to Chris, sitting down next to Victoria.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He asked. Victoria's expression was downcast, looking solemnly at her hands.

"It's nothing." She replied. My eyes widened when I finally realized what this scene was. It was the same scene that I practiced with Chris, the one where he kissed me.

"C'mon Anne. You know I can read you like a book." Victoria's expression changed, her face now showing frustration and anger. I remembered my sad attempt at trying to look angry and I would have chuckled to myself if not for the memory now running through my brain.

"Oh really. You must be illiterate then because you obviously aren't reading correct." Victoria shouted.

"I think I do know though. But Anne, you and I. You know we can never be. I just don't see you that way." The way he said it differed from the Chris in my memory. He seemed genuinely sad in the video, something that he didn't portray during the practice at my house.

"You think I don't know that? I know you won't ever like me like that but hell I didn't ask for this Harvey. You think I want to be miserable?" Victoria sounded like she was on the verge of tears, credited to her great acting skills.

"I'm sorry Anne." He said. There was an aura of distress surrounding him.

"I'm sorry too Harvey. I know a lost cause when I see one." Victoria said, getting up off the couch. The shot changed to show Chris reaching out and grabbing Victoria's wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Look I can try. For our friendship, I can try."

"You can't try to love me Harvey. It just won't work like that. I can't have you force yourself to love me just because of our friendship. I'm going to be fine." Victoria said, tugging her wrist out of his grasp. This was it; the next part was the kiss. Chris got off the couch too, grabbing Victoria and spinning her around, pulling her to him. The video ended, just before their lips touched. In my mind, I remembered the kissed we shared; I remembered how electrifying his touch was. How my lips were still tingling even after we broke the kiss.

"Wow." Tony exclaimed, the camera now cutting back to their interview. "So the girl that play Anne, her name is Victoria?" He asked.

"Yeah Victoria Oakley." Chris confirmed.

"Great actress yes? How was it like working with her?"

"It was awesome. She's an amazingly talented actress and to be able to deliver like that for a debut film is just phenomenal to me." Chris said.

"Now she was amazing but we can't give her all the credit. You were really good too. I could totally feel your despair." Tony said, something that I agreed with.

"Thanks. It was a scene that I really connected with and it all just came out. John Driver, who is the director really liked it too."

"Now emotions like that must have come from somewhere? Someone important maybe?" Tony prodded.

"Yeah, someone really important."

"Might I be able to get the name of the lucky girl in question?" Tony asked. It was his job to get as much information as possible, and he was surely going to try to learn the name of the person in question. But the thing was, I had a feeling it was me. Chris shook his head.

"I can't tell you that because he isn't a girl." Chris said. My mouth dropped. Had he just come out on television?

"So you mean a best friend?" Tony tried to clarify.

"No. I'm talking about the man who loves me, and I can definitely say that I love him too." Chris looked into the camera and I felt like he was looking right at me. I was completely stunned. He had heard me say I loved him, and I now knew that he loves me too.

"Chris I'm really trying to pieces this together. Are you talking about your father or some male role model or something?" Tony asked. I understood the plight Tony was in. With news this big, he needed to make sure that there were no misunderstandings. It was part of his job to make sure that the audience understood what the interviewee was saying, analysing it from any possible way.

"No. I'm talking about my boyfriend." Chris said. That was it. He had confessed. He had come out to the world on live television. There was murmuring in the crowd.

"Wow okay, this is some big news. C'mon people let's give it up for Chris McCray." Tony said, turning to the audience. The audience started applauding but Chris stayed in his seat, unmoving. "Congratulations Chris. And it looks like that's all the time we have for you tonight. What a show this has been. Goodnight everyone and don't forget to tune in tomorrow." Tony said as the credits started rolling.

I didn't know what to do. Chris just came out on T.V. and said he loved me. I didn't know if I should have been happy or that I should call Chris and ask him what he was thinking. My phone ringing knocked me out of my stupor. I answered, too stunned to take note of who it was. "Hello." I muttered.

"Did I just watch what I thought I watched?" Ryan asked.

"I need someone to pinch me right now. I think I'm dreaming." I said.

"This is no dream man. Chris just came out of the closet. You know what that means don't you?"

"No."

"Dude, it means he wants you back. He called you his freaking boyfriend. If that isn't asking you to take him back, I don't know what is." Ryan said.

"I think I need to lay down or something. All this is happening too fast." I said, dropping down onto my couch, leaning my head in the cushion.

"I'll let you think." Ryan said, hanging up without another word. I put down my phone, resting my arm over my eyes. I looked at my phone, wondering if I should call Chris. I thought about it for five minutes, unsure if I wanted to call him or not. Eventually I dialled his number, waiting for an answer but it went to voicemail. I tried again with no change.

I was confused. Why would he turn his phone off? Was he scared of my reaction to it? I decided to call my mom. The phone rang which was a good sign in itself. Finally she answered. "Hello."

"Mom! What just happened on 'Tony Live'?" I asked.

"Don't look at me. I'm as shocked as you are. Chris took off on his own after the show and I can't even contact him now."

"Yeah I tried too. His turned his phone off."

"I don't know what that boy is up to. What did me mean when he said 'the man who loves me' anyway?" She asked.

"Well I may have accidentally let that one slip while I was on the phone with him earlier on."

"And why didn't you tell me you were in love with my client?" She asked, going all motherly on me.

"Didn't think it mattered."

"Of course it matters Justin. But I guess with everything that has happened, you two are going to get back together?" She asked.

"I don't know. That's why I wanted to call him."

"Well regardless, I would like to formally congratulate you. I did say I would be happy for you two if you decided to stay together didn't I." She said.

"Thanks mom but we're not officially back together yet."

"Keyword 'yet' Justin. Bye. Call me if you hear anything from Chris." She said.

"Sure thing. Bye mom." I hung up. So Chris had gone AWOL, after pulling a stunt like that. If I could I would have slapped some sense into him. I tried not to think about it much, failing miserably. It was the only thing I could think about for the next two hours. I eventually decided that sleeping was the only thing I could do to take my mind off everything. I was extremely tired and I was out like a light upon hitting the bed.

I slept in the next morning, waking up close to noon. I briefly wondered if the previous day had been a dream; a horribly happy but confusing dream. It wasn't. What's worse was that I had woken up with a horrible headache. I got up and took a quick shower, hoping the cool water would ease my throbbing head. I worked a little, my head no longer throbbing but still painful. I changed before heading down to the kitchen to whip something up for lunch. I was really hungry, having gone to bed without dinner the previous night. A simple pasta dish was what I settled on.

I sat at the kitchen island while I ate the food on the plate in front on me. While eating, I tried calling Chris again but his phone was still turned off. Sighing, I put my phone down onto the counter, continuing with my food. I stared into space, wanting so badly to talk to Chris, to find out what was going through his mind. It took me thirty minutes to completely finish my small plate of pasta, my continuous thoughts making eating really slow

I placed my empty plate in the sink, grabbing myself a soda from the fridge. The cold carbonated beverage running down my throat was refreshing, making me down the entire can at one go. I crushed the can and tossed it into the trash before I heard the doorbell. I walked over to the door, expecting that it was Ryan at the door. To my surprise, the person standing on my porch wasn't Ryan, but Chris.

I had barely gotten over the shock of it before Chris ran up to me, wrapping his arms around my waist, hoisting me up and spinning me around. After spinning me a few times, I got slightly dizzy. That coupled with the headache I was sporting, made me feel like throwing up my lunch.

"Chris stop." I begged, to which he put me down and smiled at me. I tried to control myself from puking, holding back the urge. Unfortunately, it was futile, the urge to throw up overcoming me. I ran up the stairs to my connected bathroom, emptying the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I heard Chris's footsteps follow me up the stairs, standing at the entrance to the bathroom.

I finally stopped hurling when there was nothing left in my stomach. "I didn't realize I had become so repulsive." Chris said. I cocked my head in his direction and rolled my eyes.

"Just help me up." I croaked. He walked over to me and lifted me to my feet. I walked to the sink, taking my toothbrush and applying a generous amount of toothpaste on it before sticking it in my mouth. Chris wrapped his arms around my torso as I brushed my teeth, removing the taste of vomit from my mouth. The situation finally set in and it dawned on me that Chris was back in Miami. I spit out the toothpaste and rinsed my mouth. "What are you doing here? Why did you turn off you phone? I tried calling you so many times." I said.

"I wanted to surprise you." He said, kissing me on the lips. I melted. It had been over two months since I'd felt his lips on mine and it was heavenly, never failing to make my hairs stand on end. We broke the kiss.

"Very surprised, but not more surprised than what you did on 'Tony'."

"What about you telling me you loved me? That totally caught me off guard. Why didn't you tell me before?" He asked.

"I figured it didn't matter." I said. He placed his forehead on mine.

"It makes all the difference babe." I smiled at the use of the term of endearment. "I love you too."

"You already said that on live T.V."

"I'll be saying it a lot from now on, because I love saying it." I blushed.

"I love you too you big lug." He smiled, carrying me out of the bathroom and throwing me onto the bed. He lay on top of me, kissing me again. "So what does this mean?" I asked.

"It's up to you. Are you willing to put up with the reduced privacy to be with me?"

"I was willing to do that the day you left." I said.

"Wait, so why did we...you know."

"I was thinking about you. I didn't want to jeopardize your career. Not that you've taken care of that by yourself. I'm all yours babe." He smiled and kissed me again, this time more passionately than before.

"I've missed you so much." He muttered between kisses.

"I've missed you too." I said before going in for another kiss. He sucked on my bottom lip, making me moan. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him further down onto me. I had missed everything about him, his smile, his touch and his smell. His tongue pushed at my lips and I parted them without hesitation. Our tongues battled for domination, each wanting to take control, our hunger for each other fuelling our efforts.

Warmth spread across my naval area as his hand found his way underneath my shirt. His fingertips sent tiny sparks through my skin as he ran them up my abs. The contact made me grow hard in an instant, my hard on straining against my jeans. Travelling up, his hands found my nipple, which he pinched, making me hiss in response. His kisses trailed down my neck and to the spot that he had memorized.

"I love it when you squirm every time I kiss you here." He said, biting the skin lightly, making me buck my hips in response. I could feel his smile against my skin. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of keeping control, flipping him onto his back. My hands pulled at the hem of his t-shirt, pulling it up, revealing the tan skin on his torso. He put his hand up, allowing me to completely remove the piece of clothing before I tossed it onto the floor.

I licked up his abs to his chest, making him writhe under me. I captured one of his nipples with my mouth, lightly flicking with my tongue. His intake of breath told me that he enjoyed it. I lightly bit on the nub, eliciting a moan from Chris. While my mouth worked on his chest, my hands were roaming his body. Chris pulled at my shirt, trying to take it off. I obliged, raising my arms and allowing the fabric to slip off before returning to his chest.