Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 01:23:10 -0500
From: Gary Brlow <garybrlow@eudoramail.com>
Subject: OPEN ROAD 2

OPEN ROAD
by: GaryBrlow

Author's note and dedication:

First of I would like express my sincerest apologies to those who have been
following my story.  Due to my being busy with work and my ocassional fit
of depression (everyone get's depressed you know :P) I was unable to write
the continuation of this story for quite some time. I would like to thank
JONATHAN ANDREW YBANEZ (author of "SIMPLY WORDS" under the boy bands
section) for his never ending support and now that we've met we have become
good friends. :P, RAMUNTXO my ever dearest friend who keeps my sanity alive
and giving me moral support.

To all you readers pls bear with my writng coz this is the first time I
have ever written a story in my life :). And I'm very thankfull to all of
you for taking time to read my story. To those who have written to me I
thank you for your kind words to which I am forever greatfull. To Yuli
(author of "BUSTA" under the boy bands section) thanks a million for your
encouragement.

This story is fictional and does not suggest that GARY BARLOW is gay or
other wise. If you are a minor pls obey the law and wait until your old
enough enough to read this :) or find something appropriate for you there
are lots in the internet. If you found this story by accident I suggest you
keep your mind and your heart open.


"Simple words my hands write,
  A story of a young man's journey...
  From lands end to wuthering heights,
  Cupids arrow through every page carry..."
					-GaryBrlow 11161999



III Where It All Began

Soon enough I arrived at the cafe. I saw Bruce on the counter entertaining
some customers.

"Evenin' Bruce. Any one looking for me?" I smiled as I asked him.

"Heya Gary. No, am afraid not." Smiling as he responded.

Killer smile alert!!!! Duh darn Bruce and that killer smile of his. Even
before, looking back to our first day on the job he always had the killer
smile. He was kind of aloof and withdrawn at first but he was always eager
to learn. A quick learner that he is :). From being a newbie to a spiffy
net addict that's Bruce for you thanks to me that is :). Aside from having
a killer smile Bruce is someone you could describe as cute. Jet black hair,
a pair of very expressive eyes, and a very nice personality to go with it
as well :(. But he is as straight as they come :(. Oh well, he's quite nice
nevertheless.

I proceeded to deposit my bag under the counter. Since the counter housed
most of the cafe's equipment including the server, tidbits etc. So I went
to my favorite computer in the cafe aside from the server which is computer
no. 15. I sat down and spared no time in opening my e-mail,ICQ, and
MIRC. Even though it was already my shift, Bruce always stays for 2 hours
more. Chatting of course, what else :_. Well at least I get a little extra
time to do my stuff before really working since the person on the counter
usually entertains the customers. So I went on chatting with my online
friends and stuff when suddenly someone nicknamed G^Barlow entered the
channel where I was currently chatting. The nick immediately caught my eye
then I went on to perform a /whois on the nick and it turned out the he was
from the UK. "Definitely not a local.." I muttered to myself. My curiosity
got the best of me, so I initiated a chat session with the person. >>

<GaryBrlow> hi...

<G^Barlow> hi :)

<GaryBrlow> how r u?

<G^Barlow> me? Oh am quite fine :) u?

<GaryBlow> oh well... a tad depressed but fine nonetheless :)

<GaryBrlow> may i know ur a/s/l?

<G^Barlow> am 27 / M / Fordham, Cheshire England :) u?

<GaryBrlow> 22 / M / Cebu City, Philippines

<G^Barlow> nice. How is the Philippines btw?

<GaryBrlow> oh tad rainy but quite sunny most of the time :)

<GaryBrlow> umm what do u do for a living?

<G^Barlow> well I work in the entertainment business.  and u?

<GaryBrlow> kewl :) umm I am a jack of all sorts I suppose.  I do graphic
arts, web design,
            cooking, etc. and a bit of singing as well; though I mainly
work as as an asst. mgr
            and part technical support for a cyber cafe :)

<G^Barlow> hey gary :), I hate to say this but I really need to go :(. I
have to attend a
            meeting in an a few minutes. btw can I have ur e-mail address?
if u like to keep in
            touch my e-mail address is gb90@daemon.co.uk

<GaryBrlow> sure mine is garybrlow@eudoramail.com

<G^Barlow> hey I really have to go :) see ya later chap :)

<GaryBrlow> goodnight n sweet dreams :)

<G^Barlow> :)

---end---

Wow. :) who on earth was that? Quite an intriguing chap isn't he?. Oh my
that Britt accent is beginning to rub on me he he he he. Wonder when will
we get to chat gain. Oh well :). When looked at the clock it was already 12
MN and Oliver was now getting ready to leave. So I said goodbye to all whom
I have been chatting though I promised to be back as always :). Oliver got
his backpack and put on his favorite cap and proceeded to the door.

"Hey Gary I'll be going ahead. Take care and goodnight." He said smiling as
he went out the door.

"Take care and goodnight to you as well. See ya in the morning" I answered
back cherfully.

As the night wore on my thoughts went back to the events that ocurred in
the past hour. "Could that person really be Gary Barlow? Not!!! Duh, in my
dreams most deifnitely." I muttered as I kicked myself mentally. At around
2:00 AM, the cafe surprisingly got full and I had to say goodbye to my
online friends to give way to the customers. With the memmories of the past
hours temporarily forgotten, I hastily got on with my usual work.  It was
already 6:00 AM when the last customer finally left the cafe. I let out a
sigh of relief, finally I'm alone again. I quickly went on making my daily
reports, printed them out, and filed them. Now with all that work done, the
first thing that came to mind was that intriguing person I chatted with a
few hours ago. I decided to write him an e-mail. When I suddenly realized
that I had forgotten to note down his e-mail!!! "Arggggh!!!!" I
screamed. How on earth could I have forgotten to write down his crummy
e-mail address?!? Knowing fully well that I have a tendency to forget
things!! "Arggggh!!!" I screamed again. How utterly stupid of me. Stupid,
stupid, stupid. :( After a few minutes of self remorse and condemnation. I
finally decided that it was probably for the best.. What was I t hinking .?
He and I are both worlds apart in more ways than one. Tsk tsk. Why am I so
affected by him anyway? Simillar situations like this have happened in the
past and well I just forgot about them. What is with this person and what
makes him stand out from the rest? With a sigh, I went on and checked my
mail, and sent some as well. I suddenly yawned and I immediately stood up
and donned a stretch :). Sleep was getting to me and I was quite exhausted
from all the activity earlier. I glanced at the clock on the wall and it
was almost 8:00 o'clock. A few minutes more and my shift ends. I went to
the bathroom and proceeded to fix myself in readiness for my departure
homeward. I then prepared my things and eagerly waited for the arrival of
the second shift.

Amidst my rationalization I still could not forget that intriguing
person. At the back of my mind there lurks anticipation for something
big. But what? Strange, never have I felt something like this for any one
let alone some stranger who could be some crazy lunatic or someone worth
fighting for. Still, the reality of it being so nil and quite far fetched
if I should say so myself. But nothing is impossible. Even dreams have a
chance of becomming true. It's just a matter of trying make something out
of Destiny's cryptic ministrations as to where your life's journeys begins
and ends. Hit or miss we try to interpret the best way we can. The
decisions we make prove essential or determental to the success of each
situation we face in life. We either move forward or as the saying goes "
go back to square one". But the bottomline is that we will never know
unless we try. Mistakes are unavoidable and one should always learn from
them; especially those done by others for they provide insight. If not one
will always be subjected to learning the hard way.


TBC... for comments/suggestion or anything else pls send them to
garybrlow@eudoramail.com...
till next time :)