Long Away

Chapter 54

Picking Rami up from the airport turned out to be a little more stressful than either Joe or Gwil had hoped. The two of them weren't the first to spot and recognize their friend. A steadily growing group of fans was following the actor, their phones shamelessly raised to take pictures and record videos. Gwil sighed heavily when he saw the annoyed look on Rami's face.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?"

Joe nodded, and followed Gwil through the crowd to get to Rami. It didn't take long for the fans surrounding him to recognize them as well. Joe tried his best to ignore the pointing and excited squealing. Rami was visibly relieved not to be at the center of attention for a few seconds. He picked up his pace and quickly reduced the distance to his friends, dragging his suitcase after himself.

"Hey Rami." Joe could barely hear his own voice over the noise their fans were making. Gwil turned to them and tried to get them to calm down.
"Would you please give us some space?"
It had very little impact.
"Can I just get one picture please?", a woman tried to persuade him.
"Where is Ben? Is he going to join you?", someone else blurted out.
Joe drew in a sharp breath and put his hand on Rami's back. Gwil followed short after them as they pushed through the mob of people.

"Hey boys," Rami said.
"I'm really sorry about all this. I certainly wasn't hoping for anyone to follow me."
"No worries, mate. They should give up in a second." Gwil waved to two security guards who were standing close by. When they realized what was going on, they immediately stepped in.

"Please everyone, stop taking pictures and step back," one of the men said in a calm, but commanding tone. His colleague turned to Gwil, Rami and Joe.
"You three belong together?", he asked when he saw that they were the only ones not retreating. They all nodded.
"We do," Rami confirmed.
"Do you know the reason why these people were after you?", the guard followed up.

"We are actors. I was recognized during my flight and they followed me once we got off the plane," Rami explained.
The guard nodded along as he spoke.
"Would you like an escort to make sure you don't get harassed again?"
Joe was relieved about the offer.
"If that is possible, that would be amazing," he said gratefully.
The guard detached a walkie talkie from the belt of his uniform and spoke into it.
"We need some backup over by gate one. There are three celebrities who need an escort off the airport grounds."

They didn't have to wait for long until two women and another man, who were wearing the same uniforms as the other two guards, came into sight.
"These three?", one of the women checked in with the guard who had called them.
"Yep. I'll leave them to you."
"Thank you for the help, sir," Joe said.
The guard nodded briefly.
"Just doing my job." With that, he turned around and went back to where he was stationed.

"Good day, gentlemen." The woman who had just spoken gave them a friendly smile.
"My name is Ilse, and these are my colleagues Curt and Kim. Where do you need to be escorted to?"
"Just to my car in the parking lot," Gwil said.
"Alright, just show us the way then."
Ilse and Kim took the three of them in their middle, while Curt walked right behind them. As they made their way through the airport, they noticed a few more people looking their way with visible interest, but nobody tried to approach them anymore until they got to the car.

"And here we are," Gwil said to the guards.
"Thank you for your time."
"You're welcome," Curt said.
"Next time you can call ahead and ask for a guard to be assigned to you," Kim told Rami.
"It's better if we can plan that in advance."
"Yes, I know. This was just a rather spontaneous flight, and I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary," Rami explained.
"Guess you can never be too careful," Ilse said.

"Maybe I just need to wear a uniform like that. Might keep people away from me," Rami said jokingly when they had all gotten into the car. Joe had volunteered to sit in the back so Rami could be in the front with Gwil.
"Hm, I don't think that would do anything. The problem is more your face," Joe said with a smirk.
"How charming, Mr Mazzello. At least I never had a perm," Rami countered.
Joe gasped.
"You're not really gonna bring the perm into this?"
"Ah, the perm. Yes. That was a look," Gwil ignored his complaining.
"That is low," Joe said.
"I really expected better from you two."
"Oh, quit pouting." Gwil took his phone out of his coat pocket.
"I know what will cheer you up."
Once Gwil started the car, he connected his phone to the speakers and put on Bohemian Rhapsody.

When they finally got back to Gwilym's place, they decided to order takeout. They all needed a break, and nobody felt like cooking. After Rami had unpacked his stuff, they sat down in the living room with some soda to catch up while they were waiting for the food.
"So, you said we can see Ben in two days?", Rami asked.
"Yes, that's what the doctor told me," Gwilym confirmed.
Joe let himself sink into the backrest of the sofa.
"I just hope he will be okay when he wakes up," he sighed.

"I wonder if he will remember the accident," Rami said.
"Or what Brian told him."
"Oh, don't remind me," Joe groaned.
"I still haven't figured out what I am going to say to Roger."
"Perhaps we should ask him if he wants to have dinner with us or something, so we can talk," Gwilym suggested.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Rami said.
Joe hummed in agreement. He absolutely wanted to see Roger as soon as possible, but he also knew it wasn't going to be easy for him.
"I will definitely need your support with this though," he said.
"Of course. We'll be there for you," Gwilym assured him.
"Always," Rami agreed.