Gravity

Chapter Twenty-Five

In the subsequent weeks, Chris' and Jonny's romance started blossoming at a quiet but steady pace. They were enjoying every moment, discovering with delight how every aspect of their lives accommodated into their brand new relationship. All the pieces fit together and they could not hide how enthusiastic and jubilant they both were. Their couple was still very much a secret, but they had verbally confirmed it to Will and Guy who were not suprised in the slightest and had showed nothing but support. They had even been quite protective of the two of them. It was amazing how the four friends were adapting to this new reality in their band, there still were things to brush up and Chris was sure they would have to talk things over, not only Jonny and him as a couple but also all of them as a band. However,  things were going surprisingly well for now and Chris could not be more pleased about it. His only concern at the moment was not making a fool of himself, and consequently shaming the band, on national TV.

Awards ceremonies always made him nervous, he was intensely scared of saying or doing something stupid in front of the artists he most admired. There were also lots of press-related things they had to do and Chris being the front man of the band, was the one they required the most. It was not the first time they attended a Brit Awards ceremony, but Chris was particularly anxious this time. Two years ago, they had come as a new band and, despite being confident in their abilities and talent, they had not been expecting much in their first time as nominees. They had come back home with two awards that time. However, after having released A Rush of Blood to the Head and hitting massive success, he felt, and Jonny, Will and Guy agreed, that they had a lot to prove, not only to their fellow musicians, but also to the press, their fans and to themselves. At least they wouldn’t be performing tonight and as Chris saw it, he had one less chance of behaving like an idiot.

He was heading back to the little room they had been assigned as a sort of dressing room from a radio interview he had done by himself, mind elsewhere when a familiar soft feminine voice called his name. He turned around almost instinctively, a cold shiver running down his spine. Oh no, not now, not now. Why?

“Hi Steff,” he uttered. What the hell was she doing here?

“Hi! It’s so nice to see you again,” she told him.

‘I can’t say the same thing here’, he thought but kept it to himself. “Oh yeah, it’s been a while, huh? ‘Since you tossed Jonny aside after you had your way with him, bitch! What are you doing here?’  “What are you doing here?” he voiced in a surprised, yet polite tone.

“Oh, I’m here working actually, organising, you know,” she answered with a smile.

Of course, that was what she did, that’s how they had met her in the first place. He had never thought they’d see her again, but here she was and she was breathtakingly beautiful and with her mind on her job, just how Jonny liked it. Oh, God no! He forced himself to carry out a normal conversation with the woman while his heart accelerated in alarm and every siren in his mind sounded at its loudest indicating the proximity of danger.

“So, you’re organising the Brits? Well done!” He complimented her hoping her next words were about how this was her last big job before moving all the way to Mongolia, far, far away from Jonny and him and the new precious relationship they were cautiously building.

“Thank you,” she said with a bit of a shy smile. “Listen, Chris, I know you’re busy but if you have a minute later, I’d really like to talk to you,” she said hands firmly clutching the clipboard she was holding

“Ehh, sure, sure, what about?”

Chris indignantly watched as she pronounced his love’s name, “Ok, yeah, ehh, maybe during the after party, but I really don’t know how long we’ll be staying you know, got to carry on with the tour and stuff,” he finished before he got more nervous and his uneasiness became evident.