Long Away

Chapter 49

The faint sound of footsteps coming closer caught Ben's attention. Someone was standing next to him now. They grabbed his hand. Ben tried to move, to at least open his eyes to see who it was. But his body wasn't cooperating. Everything felt heavy, as if he was being held down by something. The person's voice sounded strange, and Ben struggled to make out the words.
"Ben. I am sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have... I...I don't even know what to say. I'm sorry. You have to make it. Otherwise, I'll never forgive myself."

Ben drifted out of consciousness again. Time passed. Whether it was a second or several years, he couldn't say. Someone was beside him again, but the hand touching his own felt different this time. The voice was different too.
"It's okay, Ben. Everything is going to be okay now. He can't hurt you anymore. I can't believe he got away with this for so long... But it's over now. You'll be okay again. I promise."

"Are you sure you're okay? You look really pale and tired."
Roger eyed Ben with concern as they walked to the studio together the next day. Ben had woken up with a massive headache. At least, that's what he told Roger. Really it was his entire body that wasn't feeling quite like it should. But he didn't want to miss the band meeting Freddie had spontaneously called for this morning. And he knew Roger wouldn't have let him go if he told him the truth.

"Of course. It's really not that bad."
Forcing a smile, Ben put an arm around Roger's shoulder. He hoped it wasn't too obvious that he needed to hold on to him to keep his balance. Whatever was up with him today, he didn't want anyone else to know. Neither about the pain, nor the dizziness, nor the bizarre dreams he had been having again. They especially didn't need to know how real said dreams had felt this time around.

Roger sighed.
"If you say so. But please, tell me before it gets too bad. Because I am certainly not strong enough to drag you all the way home when you can't walk anymore."
"It won't get that bad, I promise."
Before Roger could say anything else about it, Ben spotted John down the street.
"Look, there's Deaky," he distracted his boyfriend.

"Hey Deaks!", Ben called out, and the younger man spun around. As soon as he recognized the two, a wide smile appeared on his face, and he raised his hand to wave at them.
Roger and Ben quickened their pace to catch up with him.
"Hey, how's it going?", Roger asked as they approached their friend.
"Hi! I'm doing alright, thanks. And how have you two been?"
Ben and Roger exchanged suggestive glances.

"Pretty good," Roger said with a smirk.
John's eyes wandered from Roger to Ben and back.
"Did I miss something?"
Ben chuckled.
"Oh, it's nothing. We just upgraded our gayness levels."
"Ah. I'm gonna pretend I know what that means," John said.
"By the way, where's Freddie? I assumed you would be going together?", Roger changed the topic.
"Oh, he asked me to leave him a headstart. Apparently there's something he wanted to prepare at the studio."
Roger sighed heavily.
"So this is one of his surprises again?"
John nodded.
"Looks like it."
"God help us all," Ben said jokingly.

When they stepped into the building, the first thing Ben noticed was the smell of pizza. The second thing was a balloon flying into his face.
"What the?" Roger skeptically eyed the decorations Freddie had filled the small room with. He and Brian were already sitting at the table with pizza and champagne in front of them.
"Surprise!" Freddie jumped up and ran towards the three for a brief group hug.
"What exactly is going on here?", Ben wanted to know.

"I wish I knew," Brian said.
Freddie stepped back and motioned to the table.
"Please, take your seats, I will explain everything in a minute."
Ben chose a chair between Roger and Brian. John followed right after them and sat down on Roger's other side.
With a cheeky smile, Freddie positioned himself behind the last remaining chair. Everyone looked at him in anticipation.

"So, the reason I called you here. I have been making some call. Talking to some people. Specifically, some managers."
Ben's eyes widened.
"Wait. Are you saying...?"
"I'm saying, if you all agree, I may have found somebody willing to manage us. And, we already have an offer for a tour at the end of the year if we make a contract with this person."

"You're kidding," Brian said in disbelief.
Freddie's smile grew even bigger.
"I am not."
"No way. That's amazing!" Roger jumped out of his chair and pulled Freddie into another hug. Ben, Brian and John looked at each other with wide eyes, still baffled at what was happening.
Freddie grabbed one of the champaign bottles and raised it into the air.
"We did it, boys! The Queen has been crowned."
Brian found his speech again.
"We really did it," he whispered to himself, shaking his head.

Roger broke the hug with Freddie and threw himself into Ben's arms instead.
"Can you believe this? We are going on tour!"
"I actually can't believe it," Ben said.
He stood up, and hugged Roger back.
"I can't believe that I'll be a part of this," he added.
He felt Brian's hand on his shoulder.

"Well, you certainly will," he assured him.
"Obviously," John chimed in.
Ben felt a tightness in his throat.
"Are you crying?", Roger asked, taking a step back.
"No." Ben wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Maybe."
"Come on. Of course you're coming along," Freddie said matter-of-factly.
"You belong with us. Now and always."
Ben nodded slowly.
"Always."
"Always," Roger repeated with a soft smile.