Just for Tonight

24.

Migé was angry, really angry.

"Ville, we have to get back to the bus. Now! You've screwed up enough, that's it!" he said, upset.

" Want... Want to spend more good time with... My... Babam", Ville tried to put in words.

" Enough !", Migé shouted. "If I have to drag you back by your neck skin, I won't hesitate", he threatened.

Ville gave Bam, who was half-asleep on the table, an apologetic look.

"It's enough, Ville", Migé softened his voice. "Chloe is waiting for you".

Ville staggered after Migé and had to lean on him to walk to the bus. He tried to protest again and Chloe and the others heard them arguing. They got off the bus, dead worried. 

"Oh boy !", Chloe exclaimed.

"What a mess", Linde added.
 
Burton and Gas helped Migé get Ville onto the bus. Chloe came to him and softly squeeze his arm, tears in her eyes. He abruptly stepped aside, yelling at her : "YOU ! Don't touch me !".

Chloe looked at him, lost. He had never raised his voice at her.

"Ville...!?", she began.

" You are not good for me", he stammered, his gaze hard and cold.  "You're not my mother or my wife, so let me be".

She tried to lock eyes with him but he avoided her gaze.

"Ville, don't you dare speak to her like that !" Burton shouted. Gas and Linde approached Ville, while Burton asked Migé what Ville had been drinking.

"Beers and wine... I tried to stop both of them but they drank a lot", Migé explained, feeling ashamed.

"Beautiful, please, look at me", Chloe softly asked Ville.

He tried again to avoid her gaze but she took his face in her hands and he plunged his eyes into hers.

"Something's wrong, Migé," she said. "Look at his pupils. They're dilated. What else did they take, Migé?", she asked, trying to remain calm.

"Beer and wine, I swear !", Migé exclaimed.

"Chloe, I feel sick..." said Ville before vomiting on the bus floor.

"Is it better now?", Burton asked. 

"My heart.... It beats too hard.. I feel... Dizzy", Ville complained as his skin seemed to turn translucid.

" Call the ambulance, Migé. He's under the influence of God knows what," Chloe said firmly.

"Beer... And wine", Migé explained once again.

"Call a fucking ambulance", Linde said, looking at Ville. " Chloe is right. He took drugs... And knowing Bam... He must have been unknowingly drugged."

Chloe tried to take Ville in her arms but he released from her embrace.

"Go away", he whispered. "I've had enough of you".

Burton took Chloe by the arm and led her outside.

She grabbed a cigarette and lit it, her eyes filling with tears.

"He said...", she began.

"Darling , he's under the influence. He didn't mean it. I assure you!" Burton said firmly.

"Or maybe Bam convinced him that I wasn't good enough for him.", she said softly, as if to herself.

They heard the sound of the ambulance. The carers immediately took charge of Ville, looking at his parameters while the band tried to give confused explanations.

" So, you think he is under the influence ?", a carer asked them.

"Yes, pretty sure", Burton replied.

"Only one of you can come in the ambulance with him," the second paramedic told them.

"Chloe", Linde said.

Ville fidgeted on the stretcher.
"No, not her," he growled.

"Go on, Migé," she nodded, holding back tears. 

He gave her a weak smile and followed Ville into the ambulance.

Gas asked the bus driver to follow the ambulance.

At the hospital, they all met in the waiting room.

"What's the deal with Ville and Bam?" Chloe asked, her eyes red.

"Bam... Is used to this kind of thing. Putting drugs in other people's drinks... Says it's a joke...", Burton tried to explain.

"I swear, I didn't see anything...", Migé said.

"He does it so quickly, don't feel guilty," Gas mentioned.

"I don't understand...", Chloe said. "It's so dangerous... Hasn't he ever been arrested for this?".

"I don't think anyone's ever pressed charges against him. Bam is... How do I put this... Recreational, so to speak." Gas noticed.

"I can't get it. I don't understand the world you are living in", she sighed.

"It's Bam who is to blame ", Linde stated.

"I don't get...", Chloe hesitated. " I can't forget the way Ville looked at Bam. Be honest with me, guys... Was there ever anything between them?"

"Not the way you think," Migé replied. "Bam has always been fascinated by Ville. He wanted to be like him, he wanted to be him. Skinny, covered in tattoos, the same as Ville, booze, girls... he even uses heartagram for his business... For him, Ville is perfection incarnate. And in his mind... Sick... He doesn't realize how much he's hurting the man he admires so much. He...destroyed him".

Chloe listened, tears falling down her cheeks.

"I don't understand...not really... Why do I get the feeling that Ville admires this guy too?", she whispered.

"HIM owes a lot to Bam. In particular, the fact that HIM is known in the US. And somewhere - they were young when they met - Ville must have felt flattered by the kind of devotion Bam had and still has for him.", Gas added.

"And here we are", Linde sighed.

"I hate that Babam guy", Chloe stated, anger in her voice.

The doctor interrupted them.
"You can go and see him now. He's been drugged, and we are running tests to find out what drugs he is on.
You can go together, except... Chloe?" he declared.

Chloe shrugged. "Go ahead and keep me posted. I'm going to get some air."

She left quickly so they wouldn't see her crying.

Outside, she lit a cigarette and tried to put her thoughts in order. Well, he wasn't himself, but he was aware that he wanted to see everyone but her.

" It's over", she sadly whispered. "What... What am I suppose to do next?".

She looked at the bus, then at the cab service next to the hospital. She sobbed as she imagined catching the next plane to Helsinki. Was this the right thing to do? Her eyes fell on the bracelet on her wrist.

"May this bracelet always bring you back to me", he had told her.

"I'm here, Ville", she sighed. " But you don't let me in...".

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Hi dear reader ! I hope you still enjoy our two cursed lovers... How could it be something else between a rockstar and a journalist ? 😉
Maybe they will find out some peace in a near future...