Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 01:44:49
From: Jeff Langdon <jeff_langdon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Westlife Romance - Part 8

This story is pure fiction and involves the members of Westlife.  I am in no
way implying anything about the sexuality of any of their members.  This is
purely a fictional story.  Enjoy!

I would really, really appreciate some feedback on the story...so please
send any comments and/or suggestions to jeff_langdon@hotmail.com.  I would
love to hear from you!!

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Westlife Romance - Part 8

Kian began to panic as he tried to find a believable response to Mark's
question.  "Uh...I forgot something downstairs...I was just heading back to
my room, actually."

"Anyways, just wanted to let you know that we're gonna head out to dinner in
about 30 minutes.  You gonna join us?" Mark asked, appearing satisfied with
Kian's answer.

"Uh, sure, why not," Kian replied.  "I could use some fresh air."

"Ok, meet use in the lobby in 30, k?"

"Gotcha." Kian turned off his phone and turned his attention back to Derek.

"You gotta go, right?" Derek asked.

"Yeah, the guys want to go out for dinner." Kian could see the disappointed
look on Derek's face, but now was not the time to arouse the guys'
suspicions.

"Okay, you need to get out of the hotel for a bit anyways." Derek leaned in
and gave Kian a kiss.  "Now you better go and get ready."

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Bryan checked himself in the mirror for what must have been the tenth time,
making sure that he was presentable.  Checking the watch, he still had 20
minutes.  Satisfied that everything was perfect, he sat down and turned on
the television.  Hearing a knock on the door, he walked over to see who it
was.  It was Nicky, dressed in a gray sweater.  He had always admired
Nicky's taste in clothes.  This was why they were best shopping buddies.
"What's up, Nix?"

"Can I come in for a bit?  I didn't realize I still had 20 minutes and I
thought maybe I could chill in here till dinner time," Nicky asked with a
grin.

"Sure, sure, make yourself at home," Bryan replied in a jokingly dramatic
tone.  Without further encouragement, Nicky did just that, planting himself
on Bryan's bed.

"Hey, you didn't have to take it literally!!" Bryan said with mock
annoyance.

Laughing, Nicky answered, "Too bad, Bry..." The two friends sat in a
comfortable silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company.
Finally, Nicky decided to break the silence.  "So, Bry, you still angry at
Shane?"  Bryan was caught off guard with the question.  When Nicky got no
response, he continued, "You guys were pretty loud earlier."

"Oh, so you heard," Bryan said softly.

"Don't be so hard on him, Bry.  He does care about you."

"Does he really?" he questioned.

Nicky moved closer to Bryan.  "Look, everyone of us cares for each other.
We just show it in different ways.  Sometimes Shane just shows it in ways
that we might not expect.  But deep down he cares for you.  He's really torn
up over this fight with you."

"So what are you saying?  That it's my fault?" Bryan asked, suddenly getting
defensive.

"Hey, I didn't say that," Nicky answered quickly to keep the conversation
under control.  "It's nobody's fault.  It was a misunderstanding, that's
all."

"That's only because he never tried to understand other people."

"Come on, Bryan.  Tell me that you don't miss your friendship with Shane?"
Nicky knew this would do the trick.  There was no response from Bryan.  "If
you can look me in the eye and say that don't miss Shane, I'll leave both of
you alone."  When there was still no response from Bryan, Nicky knew he had
a breakthrough and decided to follow through on it.  "Why don't you guys sit
down for a bit and talk this through after dinner tonight?"

"But..."

"You do want to repair your relationship with Shane, don't you?"

"I guess so..."

"Then it's settled then.  And promise me, no screaming matches.  I do want
to get some sleep next door, you know."

That comment drew a quiet laugh from Bryan and the tension was broken.
"Okay, okay, I promise.  I can't speak for Shane though."

"That's good enough for me," Nicky answered with a grin.  "Thanks Bryan."

"I think I should be the one thanking you."

Dinner was relaxing.  Shane and Bryan refrained from saying anything that
might annoy the other.  As they headed back to the hotel, both Shane and
Bryan were getting increasingly nervous.  Mark and Kian went back to their
respective rooms while Shane followed Bryan to his room.  Before going in,
they both looked to Nicky seemingly for moral support.  Nicky gave each of
them a reassuring hug.  "I'm sure you lads can handle this on your own, but
just in case, I'll be next door if you need me, ok?"

"Thanks, Nix," Shane answered appreciatively.  He looked nervous, like a
child about to perform on stage for the first time.  Bryan also looked
uneasy, though he covered up his fear more successfully.  Nicky watched the
two boys disappear into the room before retreating into his own.  Deep down,
he prayed that things would work out, because not only would a conflict like
this tear Westlife apart, but more importantly, seeing his friends like this
tore him apart.

Once inside the room, Bryan and Shane took a seat across from each other.
No words were spoken until Shane finally mustered up enough courage to
speak.  "I know I said it earlier, but I know I need to say it again.  I'm
sorry, Bryan.  I'm so sorry.  You were right...I've been selfish and
self-centred.  But please know that I do cherish your friendship and I would
never want to give that up."
He looked at Bryan hopefully, looking for any signs of a softening of
Bryan's stance.

At first Bryan didn't say anything, and this caused Shane's heart to sink.
"I'm sorry, Shane..." These weren't the words that Shane wanted to hear, his
eyes began to well up in tears.  "I'm sorry about the way I treated you.  I
was way out of line."

Shane met Bryan's gaze as he heard those words.  Seeing Shane's glassy eyes
threatened to bring tears to Bryan's eyes as well.  "No, Bry, you were
right.  You told me what was on your mind and it opened my eyes.  I just
hope that it's not too late."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Shane.  It's not your fault.  I was just so
upset that I wasn't even thinking of what I was saying.  Only afterwards did
I realize what an ass I've been.  I should be the one apologizing."

"Let's just say that we both have our share of apologizing to do.  But I
hope that we won't just stop there...I hope that we can be friends again.
And I promise this time I won't mess up."

Bryan smiled at Shane's suggestion.  "Yeah, I'd like that a lot, Shane."
With that, Bryan moved to give Shane a big hug.  "I know this sounds so
cheesy, but I've missed you," Bryan said, struggling to keep his emotions in
check.

"Yeah, me too, Bry.  I'm just glad that it wasn't too late to turn back.
Nix said that I have to learn to loosen up a bit.  I hope you know that it's
not easy for me..."

Bryan nodded in understanding.  "I know what you mean.  But no one expects
you to change overnight.  It's the same with me.  I've been spoiled ever
since I was born.  And I guess in a way, I began to take it for granted that
everything had to go my way or else.  It's a big adjustment for me too, but
in a good way."

"Well, you're certainly right about being spoiled.  Just look at how Nix
spoils you."

Bryan laughed at Shane's comment.  "Actually, you're right.  Nix does spoil
me.  Poor Nix, I sometimes wonder how he can stand me all the time."

"Or me, for that matter."

For the next few hours, the two band mates laughed with each other and
talked well into the night, revealing to each other their innermost secrets.
  Bryan came out to Shane, who showed nothing but absolute support.  Their
friendship rekindled, they were determine not to repeat their past mistakes
again.

Early next morning...

"You're so bad, Bryan," Shane whispered.

"Yeah...as if you're not enjoying this..." Bryan answered softly.

"Well, I must say this is a new experience for me..."

"Yeah, I bet you never did anything so illegal before.  You were probably a
teacher's pet in school."

"I wouldn't go that far...but I've certainly never picked a lock into
someone else's room before."

"This is going to be fun," Bryan assured.  "The expression on his face will
be priceless, I tell you..."

Within a few minutes, Bryan had successfully picked the lock to the door.
He quietly opened the door and they snuck into the room.  The room was still
dark.  They could make out a figure sleeping on the bed.  Slowly and quietly
they walked towards the bed.  Sure that their "victim" was still fast
asleep, they went into the washroom and prepared a tub of ice cold water,
closing the door to keep out the noise.  Once the water was ready, they
snuck back into the room and approached their target.  Shane watched as
Bryan gave the signal and they threw off the bed covers.  Bryan grabbed
Nicky's feet and Shane grabbed his arms.  The sudden movement woke Nicky
from his sleep, but he had no clue what was happening.  By the time he shook
the cobwebs from his mind, Bryan and Shane had carried him to the washroom.
Within seconds, they had dumped him into the pool of ice cold water.  The
sudden change in temperature immediately woke Nicky up, only to find himself
drenched with two very amused lads laughing at the sight.

Crawling out of the tub, Nicky approached the two laughing band mates.
"Well good morning to you too!! What the hell was that for??"

"Just thought we'd have some fun!" Shane answered, still struggling to
control his laughter.  Bryan was right.  The look on Nicky's face was
priceless.

"Fun??  You call this fun??" Nicky exclaimed.  "First of all, it is six in
the morning.  Secondly, you call throwing a helpless Irish lad into a pool
of cold water fun?" The mock anger was not too convincing as a smile was
quite evident on Nicky's face.  Walking over to Bryan, he said, "I would
expect this type of prank from you, McFadden, but Shane, I would never have
guessed.  What did this guy do to you?"

"Well, actually, I have you to thank for this, Nix."

"Oh really..."

"Yeah, you told me to loosen up a bit, right...well I took your advice and
Bry here just showed me how to put your advice into action," Shane replied,
again beginning to laugh.

Rolling his eyes in mock annoyance, Nicky said, "So this is what you get
when you try to help your friends out...they gang up on you..."  By now,
Nicky was laughing as he spoke.  "So it's safe to say that things worked
out?"

"Absolutely," Bryan answered enthusiastically.  "Things are better than
ever, right, Shane?"

"That's right," Shane agreed.  "And we both have you to thank for it."

"You know you don't have to thank me for anything," Nicky answered.  "In the
end, it was you two who had to work things out."

"True, but you opened both of our eyes to how stupid we were being."

"Well, as long as things worked out, I'm happy.  I'm happy for both of you."

"I'm just curious about one thing though," Bryan mused.

"What's that?" Nicky asked.

"Remember when I accidentally outed myself to you yesterday?  How come you
were totally not surprised at all?  You didn't even flinch or anything..."

...to be continued....

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Hope you enjoyed this segment.  Let me know what you think!!

I'd love to hear any comments/ideas/questions.  Please e-mail me at
jeff_langdon@hotmail.com.