Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 17:21:50 +0200
From: jerichoholic #1 <beer4myhorses@hotmail.com>
Subject: Paul & Josh / chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: The following story is completely FICTIONAL
is does not imply anything concerning the private life of
Paul walker or Josh Hartnett. I don't know them and I
don't know anything about their lives. This story is only
meant as fiction an does in no way describe real
occurrences, situations or facts. All other persons
mentioned in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to
an existing person, company or business is coincidental.

Paul and Josh: chapter 2


...

When the show was over he looked at the clock was almost
7.30 pm. "I better get ready cause he'll be here soon."
Paul thought. He changed into an outfit he thought he
looked better in, made sure there was no mess in the
apartment. After that he went out on the terrace for a
quick smoke before Josh arrived. As he walked back into
his apartment the doorbell rang...

...

Paul felt his heart skipping beginning to race when the
sound of the doorbell sounded through the apartment. He
knew who was waiting outside. His nerves were killing him
so he took a deep breath to calm himself down. He
answered the doorbell over the intercom and sure enough
it was Josh. He unlocked the door and told his guest to
come right up. Half a minute later there was a soft
knocking on his door. He opened the door...

Paul's heart skipped a beat when he saw Josh. He knew the
guy was cute but nothing could have prepared him for what
he saw when he opened the door. Josh was wearing a pair
of night-black jeans and a black leather jacket that
completely matched whit his ink-black hair. There was a
little bit of hair gel run through his hair causing the
little light there was in the hallway to reflect in
Josh's hair. The wet-look made him look even more
beautiful then he already did. Under his open jacket he
was wearing a white shirt, tight enough to give a hint of
his perfectly sculpted torso. Paul was completely taken
aback by the stunning good looks of the guy standing in
front of him. Lucky for him he hid it well enough for
Josh not to notice.

"Come in..." Paul said, still quite impressed by Josh's
appearance.

"Thanks" Josh replied as he entered Paul's apartment.

Paul showed his guest to the sofa and offered him a seat.
After getting him and Josh a drink from the fridge (two
corona's to be precise) he took a seat opposite to Josh.
Paul wasn't sure how to start a conversation with the guy
in front of him. Dozens of subjects and openers ran
through his head but each one, he thought, made him look
stupider then the last one.  Fortunately for him Josh
started the conversation.

"This is a real nice place you got here" Josh
complimented.

"Thanks" Paul said, "I've lived here for quite a while so
I've tried to give it kind of a homey feeling, you know?
I'm glad to come home after a days work."

"Yeah...I know what you mean." Josh replied "I'm always on
the move from one hotel to the other. Not exactly the
best circumstances to deliver good performances, but I
can cope."

"So...you read the script already?" Paul asked. Talking
about the movie was the only thing he could think of to
keep the conversation going. He had never been a smooth
operator that could just waltz into any company and join
a conversation, let alone start one.

"I did...I thought it was awesome. I mean some of the
dialogues are so good it's almost freighting. That was
one of the deciding factors in my decision to do the
movie, the fact that it was so well written. I can't wait
to perform it. That's going to be a real challenge
creatively." Josh replied.

"I hear you" Paul said, "I've read the script about three
times by now and it's just amazing to think I'll be
bringing some of that stuff to life."

"My thoughts exactly." Josh agreed.

With that another silence fell. Sometimes it takes a
while for two strangers to get accustomed to each other
and before that happens they might be hesitating in each
others company.

"So...are we still going somewhere?" Josh asked.

"Yeah sure" Paul answered. There's this really great bar
a couple of blocks from here. Let me just get a few
things and we'll be one our way."

Paul gathered his cell-phone, his wallet and a few other
things, put on his shoes and together they left the
apartment. It was quite a could day in NY this time of
year. The wind seemed like it could cut through anything
with its freezing breath. Nonetheless the streets of the
city were busy, crowded and alive. Tourists walked the
sidewalks looking for the famous NY sites. From time to
time they passed a street –musician still playing his
songs. There were people selling roasted chestnuts. The
atmosphere of the evening-city was quite a picture onto
itself. Nothing much was said during the walk to the bar.
For Josh this was the first time he experienced the real
NY. Sure he had stood on the statue of liberty once, a
long time ago, but most of the time when he visited a
city the experience was limited to his hotel-room and a
movie-studio. He had immediately fallen in love with the
beauty and the character of this vibrant city so he
inhaled its atmosphere as if it were some reviving drug.
>From time to time he would ask Paul about the things he
saw on those streets. Whether it was regular tourist-
information or more specific details about the way people
were acting, Paul was happy to give all the explanation
he could give. He too loved this city and he was happy
Josh could appreciate it to. It was funny to see how
these seemingly pointless conversations began to break
down some of the walls between them. They had broken the
ice as they say.

Suddenly Paul said: "Well here it is." As he pointed to
the building in front of them.

They were standing in front of a bar that, from the
outside at least, looked very inviting. The decorations
on the outside immediately gave away the country &
western –theme this bar was focussing on. Josh was amazed
by the location of this seemingly very entertaining bar.
He asked Paul about it.

"You know, if it wasn't for you bringing me here I would
have probably never found this place, and even if, by
coincidence I would have walked down this street I still
wouldn't have noticed it." He said.

"That's the whole point." Paul explained, "We could have
gone to `times square' or something like that but believe
me, when you live in NY you're happy there are placed not
overrun by tourists. Only people familiar with the city
will know of this place, and since it's Tuesday it
probably won't be that crowded either...so let's go in.
It's freezing out here."

With that said they entered the bar. Paul was right.
Beside a few regular costumers the place was nearly
empty. They made their way to the back of the bar where
they sat down in a booth, well hidden from most of the
people in the bar. Even though they both enjoyed and
appreciated their fan base, this was one of those times
they preferred not to be bothered for autographs or
pictures. Josh overlooked the bar. Paul was right: this
really was THE place. There were many ornaments and
decorations referring to the bars western theme but they
were obviously carefully put together so the whole thing
didn't seem overdone or ridiculous. There were some
familiar country tunes coming out of the speakers, adding
to the relaxed and toned down atmosphere of the bar.

"So what do you want to drink?" Paul asked. He couldn't
help but notice Josh looked even better now that the red
and yellow lighting of the bar was reflecting in his hair
and his jacket. There was something almost angelic about
his appearance. Also Paul had noticed Josh had the most
beautiful smile he had ever seen. From time to time Josh
would flash it and it just cut through Paul's heart when
he did. He couldn't help but think "God! I want this
guy!"  He was pulled out of his thoughts by Josh
answering his question.

"I'll have whatever you have!" Josh answered to Paul's
question what he wanted to drink.

Paul ordered two Coronas. "You can drink whatever beer
you want, as long as it's a Corona." Paul smiled.

"The fast and the furious" Josh said.

"What?" Paul asked a bit confused.

"Wasn't that Vin Diesels line in `the fast and the
furious'?" Josh asked.

"Yeah it was." Paul answered "but that's my line. I say
that all the time. One time the director heard it and put
it in Vin's dialogue.  But it's a patented Paul Walker
Catch-phrase!"

Both guys laughed at Paul's last comment.

"You know I could come to this bar just for the music
they play." Paul said. He felt the conversation was
drying out a bit and talking music, he had learned is
always one of the best ways to revive a conversation. He
was right again.

"Yeah it's pretty cool" Josh agreed. "So you're a country
fan then?" He asked.

"I like all sorts of music, country being one of them."
Paul replied. "So what have you been listening to
lately?" He asked.

"I've been listening to some of the music mentioned in
the movie actually" Josh answered, "apparently my
character is a big Melissa Etheridge mark so I've been
listening to her quite a bit lately."

"She's one of my favourites.." Paul said. Immediately he
wondered whether that was a good idea. He often worried
it would be little things like that that would give him
away. He knew the singer had a big gay following but he
wasn't completely insecure so he quickly dismissed the
thought. "She's a class act all the way." He continued.

"There was this one song I thought was awesome." Josh
said, "I can't remember the name but I went something
like..."

Suddenly softly began singing the song.

"I would dial the numbers just to listen to your breath.
And I would stand inside my hell and hold the hand of
death..."

"Come to my window" Paul spoke "I love that song. That's
one of my favourites". Paul was amazed how good Josh's
singing sounded. Even though it was very quit it still
sounded amazing. He knew Josh was a great actor but he
never thought the guy could sing as well.

"Or how about her latest tune." Josh continued.

Suddenly and without warning he sang as loud as he could:
"Ooh it only hurts when I breathe..." He even imitated the
guitar-chords from the song. The entire bar looked at
them for a few seconds, but neither guy could care cause
they were both laughing at Josh's sudden performance.

"I think they heard you at Liberty Island!" Paul laughed.

"Hey...when you're in the mood you gotta go with it!" Josh
defended himself, still laughing.


With that the ice between the two guys was completely
broken. They talked all night about everything that came
to mind: the movie obviously but they were comfortable
enough to talk about their own lives, their careers,
their general interests...anything that came to mind. As
the evening progressed Paul was drawn more and more to
the guy he had just met today. Not only did he definitely
appreciate the guys' handsome features but also he really
enjoyed being around josh. The guy was funny, easy to
talk to, friendly but also very bright and intelligent.
>From time to time he would find himself lost in Josh's
beautiful dark eyes and bright million-dollar smile. He
had a really hard time not to let his guard down. They
were hitting it of so well he didn't want to ruin
anything by being caught staring at Josh in a way that
would completely give him away. After a while the
conversation came back to the movie about to start next
week.

"So you're ready to begin the movie next week?" Paul
asked.

"Yeah I am" Josh replied, "Only...". He seemed to hesitate
a bit as he continued. "I feel a bit uncomfortable with
those nude-scenes in the script." He said.

"I know what you mean" Paul agreed. He couldn't help but
picturing the filming of those scenes, and more
importantly he couldn't help picturing Josh naked. Again
he found himself trying to keep a straight face, as to
not give himself away. He hated situations like this, but
what other alternative did he have?

"You know...we could get them cut if we both position
ourselves against it." Josh continued.

"Yeah we could..." Paul agreed, "but I don't think we
should. They are a vital part of the script. Cutting them
out I think would ruin the plot."

Even though it might seem that way, Paul wasn't trying to
keep the possibility of seeing Josh naked open. What he
said was sincere. Those scenes were a key element in the
script and cutting them would probably ruin the movie.

"Yeah you're right" Josh agreed, "It's to good a movie to
be ruined by pride or shyness."

They ordered another drink as they continued their
conversation. Finally Josh spoke the words Paul had been
hoping not to hear.

"You know...It's getting really late...I think it's best to
start going home." Josh said.

"I think you're right" Paul agreed, even though he hated
doing so. He wished this evening could last forever but
not even dreams last forever, let alone a pleasant
evening.

They stood up and left the bar after having paid their
bill. The greeted the waitress as they went out the door.
Back outside they started to say their goodbyes to each-
other. Paul had a heavy feeling in his stomach. He didn't
want to end the night because he knew their might never
be a chance to repeat it. Suddenly Josh ended his worries
with a simple question."
"Hey...you weren't doing anything tomorrow were you?" He
asked.

Paul's eyes lit right up. "No why?" He answered.

"Well...I was planning to visit the city tomorrow...you know
the tourist thing...See all the landmarks NY is famous
for...if you're not doing anything I would like your
company." Josh spoke.

"Yeah...count me in" Paul accepted the invitation. Though
he played it down in front of Josh his heart was jumping
at the idea of spending another day with Josh.

They talked a bit more, set the time and the place where
they would meet each other tomorrow and then said their
goodbyes. Paul watched as Josh walked back to his hotel.
Before turning the corner Josh raised his arm as a final
goodbye.

Paul walked through the cold streets of the city back to
his apartment. Though it was freezing there was an
entirely different coldness plaguing him. He had a very
good evening tonight and Josh was a fantastic guy to be
around, but with that came the realisation Josh was all
he could want in this life and at the same time the one
thing he would never have. Paul didn't even consider the
small chance Josh could be interested in him. "There's no
way he could be gay" he told himself. His mood started to
shift as he became more and more saddened over the fact
his chances of happiness were little to none.

When he had arrived at his apartment he immediately went
to his stereo. Pulled a CD out of its case and, at a low
volume, let the song play. He softly sang along as he
went to the fridge for on last drink.

"I would dial the numbers just to listen to your breath..."

When the song had finished and his glass was empty he
went to bed. Sad about his life but happy with the idea
he would spend another day with Josh tomorrow.



  -   To be continued –


Hey that's all for chapter 2.  I'll do my best to get the
next chapter finished as soon as possible. Please keep
letting me know what you think of the story so far. I
know it seems as though nothing much has happened yet and
most of the time they're having (seemingly) pointless
conversations about music and movies but believe me this
is all going somewhere. I have a lot of storylines
planned for this story and some of them are already
taking staring to line out in these two chapters. Anyway,
next chapter will be up soon...might write it tonight if
I'm up to it. Let me know what ya think
Beer4myhorses@hotmail.com