Circled by The Wolves [Brustoff]

Chapter 31

~Cameron P.O.V~

"...'cause every member in this band is equally important to me. We're back with the original fucking line up and better than ever." Ben finished the live stream he did to finally calm down our fanbase.

People were flipping out for the past month. Once again picking sides between Denis and Danny, fighting all over the internet. 

You'd think that we weren't aware. You'd think we weren't aware of all the fanpages of Instagram and twitter, but we were hella aware and it was weird.

I didn't even know how we got to taking Danny back in the band. Yesterday after our conversation we ended up getting drunk, and today Ben decided to do the live stream to try and at least calm the internet down and let the people know which person they're seeing on stage once the tour starts. 

It'll be quite ironic considering it's called '10 Years In The Black' and we're probably not going to play a single song from The Black.

God, I wish I could just talk to Denis. There has to be an explanation for all of this. Not a reasonable one, but an explanation definitely. It killed me inside that we did all of this without even considering what he might be doing, where he might be... 

It wasn't like Denis shut us out, he shut the whole world out. Yeah, yeah, I checked his Instagram daily, so what? He didn't post a single photo since he left for Ukraine. There was not a single tweet, nothing. Maybe the guys were right. Maybe he really was after fame and money and now he's just going to hide until the drama dies down. Maybe I was just trying to dig out a reason to pass him as a good guy. Maybe he was just that good of an actor. Of a player. I remembered his face. Usually always lit up by a smile. His eyes. Those hazel eyes full of love and care that always did things to me. I remembered him on stage. Such a huge grin while he played... It just couldn't be. You can't fake that kind of excitement. Energy. Happiness. You can't... Or perhaps you just have to want something hard enough. In his case money and fame.

I shook my head. 

"What do you think how they're gonna react?" Sam asked me referring to our fans.

"They should be happy!" Danny answered instead of me. "We're back guys! Better than ever!"
I rolled my eyes. "Let's hope so." I said to myself walking off to my guest room. People loved Denis. 

Maybe they preferred Danny's voice or whatever, but Danny never did a show like Denis did and people appreciated that.

I have to walk pass it though, he was fake the whole time. It was hard to believe, but the sooner I stop denying the truth the sooner I'll get over him. 

The door of the guest room I was in opened and Ben walked in. His gaze very much giving away the question he wanted to ask. 'Have I seen the live stream?'. I just nodded putting my laptop to the side.

"You said it... well." I said carefully picking words. 

He sighed then sat on the bed next to me. "I know it's hard to believe that he fooled us all like that, but shit happens. We've been warned, but we didn't listen and now we're here where we are."

It wasn't easy for him either, I could see that, but I was just so fed up with thinking, rethinking and overthinking. I relived all the conversations I ever had with Denis in my head and it was all so off. 

He always seemed so pure and honest. It was so hard to believe it was all an act.

"I just don't know." I sighed honestly. "When I think about the past year and a half with him, it just doesn't add up with all the recent events. It doesn't seem like him." 

"It's so strange - that someone can be such a player, but we have to accept it. I did. The last couple of weeks were literally hell for me and if Danny wasn't here I don't know what I'd do." He said and and suspicion rose in me again. Danny was here the whole time with him and Sam and neither of them bothered to tell me or James. "He cares Cameron." He said as my gaze met his. "He is our best friend. The past is the past. We both said stuff and it was shit, but Danny is the one saving the band now."

Although what Ben was saying made sense I was so skeptical. I don't think the band will survive one more From Death to Destiny era. We were all washed out and fed up with the stage, the fame and touring. We didn't get along that well anymore and all we did was drink together. We were picking sides and arguing almost 24/7. It was impossible to get Danny into a studio and it all sucked the living life out of us. One of the worst feelings is watching your friends drift apart and not being able to fix it and although I wasn't that close with Danny they all were. We won't be able to pick ourselves up again if something like that happens again. Hell, we weren't able to do it nor a year and a half ago until Denis came along. In a matter of a month that he was in the band we were all excited again, happy and hungry for more. 

''No Ben, you don't get it.'' I said thinking. ''It's not like him... He wouldn't do it. He just...'' I thought about his past. Well, the pieces of his past which he dared to speak of. ''He told me...'' I sighed. It didn't matter anymore, didn't it? "You're right." I spoke not letting my feelings for Denis take over my rational thinking.

Ben seemed to be taken back by my response, but soon the shock on his face was replaced by a smile. "Thank you for not making this any harder than it already is." He hugged me.
"We're family and we stick together." I said hugging back.
This was the harsh reality in which we were living in. Denis was a liar. A cheat and a faker... And I had to accept it.