Flaws (Mark Owen Fanfic)

Chapter 19

The next morning I woke up with an incredible headache and for a few moments I thought all was right in the world, I was on tour with my idols, I was singing in front of thousands of people nearly every night, and I had the most caring boyfriend in the world.

But then it hit me. Oh, yeah, MARK OWEN WAS IN LOVE WITH ME!

I groaned, rolling over in the king size bed trying to forget about it all again, but unfortunately my sleeping state had ended and it was time to face reality.

So I got up, had a shower, got dressed and after checking my phone to see if I had any missed calls (Which I hadn't), I made my way downstairs for breakfast.

'Cora!', I heard the moment I walked into the dining room.

Looking around I saw Dean, Josh and Ryan eating at a table.

'Hi lads', I greeted them, trying my best to look upbeat as I walked over, 'How are ye?'

'Good thanks', Josh smiled back.

'How are you feeling?', Ryan asked, 'Cian told us you were sick last night.'

'Much better', I assured him, 'Um, where is Cian by the way?'

'Himself, and Dayl slept in, as well as Bren', Josh explained, 'They should b edown in a minute. I'll call Cian if you want.'

'No, no there's no need', I said, 'They deserve a lie-in.'

'Well sit down and join us', Dean smiled, standing up and pulling out a chair for me, 'I'll get you something to eat.'

'Thanks Dean', I thanked him, as I took a seat, 'You're the best.'

'Don't let your boyfriend hear you say that', Ryan joked as Dean walked away, 'Or you'll be in the doghouse.'

I laughed, but couldn't help but think I would be in trouble with Cian for a lot more than complimenting Dean!

Ten minutes later I was happily eating with the boys when Cian, Dayl and Brendan joined us. They were all in good spirits, and Cian was thrilled to see that I was feeling better.

'So how nervous is everybody about tonight?', Josh asked, as we all at eour food, 'The O2 arena, wow!'

'Man stop making us nervous by talking about it!', Brendan whined, 'We're bad enough as it is, I am anyway.'

'Aw poor Bren!', Dean teased, throwing an arm around his shoulder, 'The baby is scared.'

'Go way will ya!', Brendan shot back in his Galway droll.

We all laughed at his reaction and spent the rest of our breakfast teasing the brunette, although he knew we were only having fun with him.

Once we were finished eating we got the call from Gary that there would be a car coming to collect us to bring us to the arena for sound-check in thirty minutes, so we all went to our rooms to get ready.

Ten minutes later we were all packed in our van singing a very random version of 'Five Hundred Miles' as we were driven to the arena.

I was trying to stay calm but I could feel my nervousness getting to me as we moved closer and closer to the arena, knowing that I would have to face Mark when we got there.

When we arrived Gary was waiting for us and showed us to our dressing rooms, the boys first and then me.

'Cora could I speak to you for a minute?', he asked, as I put my bag on the dressing table.

'Sure', I smiled, turning back to him, as I silently began to panic. Had Mark told him about his feelings for me? Was he going to make me leave the tour? Was I in trouble?

'I wanted to talk to you about your set-list', Gary said, sitting down on the leather couch.

I instantly relaxed and sat down beside him, 'Oh yeah? Do you want to change one of the songs?'

'We want you to add in a duet', Gary explained, 'We think the audience would love it.'

'With Cian, yeah?', I asked absently mindlessly as I picked at the varnish on my nails.

'No, we were thinking Mark', Gary replied, at the very same moment I felt my stomach drop.

'M-Mark?', I asked, looking up at Gary as he beamed at me, 'Why Mark?'

'We thought it was a great idea, after all everyone knows that it was he who discovered you', Gary explained, 'What do you think?'

'Well', I began, 'It's a bit sudden, but what song could we possibly sing together? Our voices are so different.'

'Cora I know how big a fan you have been of Mark's with years', Gary reassured me, 'Don't let your nerves get the better of you and start making up silly excuses. I know it's scary to sing with your idol, I remember when I first sang with Elton, I was petrified. But Howard and I know you can do it.'

'And, uh, Mark?', I asked.

'We suggested it to him a few weeks ago and he was all for it', Gary smiled, 'I'll just mention it to him again, I'm sure everything will be fine.'

'But what song would we sing?', I asked, 'There's so many songs out there.'

'Mark told us when you lived with him during rehearsals that you guys would often sing his song 'S.A.D'. That would be perfect!', Gary beamed.

I sighed, closing my eyes in what I hoped looked like elation. It was true, I had told Mark how I had loved his song 'S.A.D' that he sang as a duet with Ren Harvieu on his fourth solo album 'The Art Of Doing Nothing'. So, he had surprised me one night by arranging that we record it together in The Rabbit Hutch. He gave me a CD of it afterwards and I also had it on my iPod. It meant so much to me at the time, very different from the dread it caused me now.

'So, um, when do you want us to start singing it?', I asked nervously.

'Tonight!', Gary exclaimed with excitement, 'We thought it would be great to start off our run here. You and he can practice in a few minutes but I heard Emma even saying how amazing you two sounded together. I'm sure it won't take you long to get back into it.'

I sat there, speechless at the suddenness of it all.

'Tonight is going to be great Cora, I can feel it', Gary smiled, standing up before looking back down at me, 'You'd need to find Mark and get a move on. Time's a ticking.'

With that he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

I sat there in a daze looking at the floor.

What else could go wrong?

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Hey guys, 

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! 

Thanks for reading and voting!

Love, 

Lauren

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