Behind The Scenes (Completed) ✔️

15• Four weeks

One month later.

The clock on Brennen's living room wall read 1am.

Not that any of his guests cared about how late it was.

The purple, blue and red lights that danced across the floor and ceiling gave the already noisy place an even more animated ambiance, illuminating the eight young men that were sprawled all over the room, from the couches to the floor. Their loud voices and bursts of laughter were almost drowned out by the bouncy music pounding in the background.

It felt just like old times. Talking about random things, telling funny stories, cracking jokes, and enjoying each other's presence.

The long weeks of sorrow and depression had ended now, and most things had gone back to normal.

The wave of anxiety that had struck the fandom, which had been left without any news for over two weeks, had come down too. Just like their managers had asked, Sam, Colby, Jake, Brennen, Corey, Aaron, Elton and Nik had told everyone that it was just a minor issue, which had already been dealt with, and that there was nothing to worry about. And of course, everyone believed that, because the boys were all back to their usual, happy and lively selves. If anything, they looked even more happy now than they did before.

But of course, as you have probably guessed, that was because of the pills.

They took them every morning. The peace of mind and joie de vivre it gave them lasted the whole day, wearing off only in the evening. That was the difference between their previous happiness and their current. The fans weren't there to see them every night as they cried themselves to sleep. As they woke up in sweat and tears from their nightmares. As they walked around their apartments every morning, the usual glass of water in their hands to drink yet another dose, their windows tightly shut, because the temptation to jump was too strong.

The eight had started the habit of all meeting every Saturday evening. It had first started at Corey's, as the friends went to visit the bedridden young man together regularly, and it soon turned into weekly sleepovers, where they spent long white nights chatting. Those gatherings were one of the only things that prevented them from going crazy.

They had to do a lot of effort to cope with their new lifestyle.

In an attempt to start feeling more like a normal person again, Corey started dating a girl named Devyn. When she moved in with him, the eight friends decided to change their meeting spot to Brennen's apartment, as they couldn't risk her finding out the truth about them. They had all agreed to keep their forced allegiance a secret, as talking about it would lead to divulge not only their fake personalities, but also the horrible rituals they had made, which was something that, as hard as it was, they strove to burry as far as mentally possible.

Elton had gone on yet another long journey, and came back, but he still spent the major part of his weeks travelling. He went alone, and he never really specified where exactly to, but his friends never really asked either. He did bring some interesting things, however. One of them being heavenly scented incense that they used at all their Saturday meetings. Its powerful smoke helped mask the strong odours of cocaine and marijuana that always filled the room.

Because, yes, there was cocaine and marijuana.

Brennen and Nik had found drugs to be their best refuge from the horrible reality of their new lives. In the week, they were on Zero X-high pills, and in the weekend on drugs. It was illegal, and it was unhealthy, but they didn't care. The X-high pills, at least, didn't have any side effects.

Jake had almost followed their steps, but then he decided to turn to vaping instead.

Aaron, who had pretty much stopped eating for a really long time, eventually figured this self starvation needed to come to an end. He also realised how much weight he had lost over those few weeks, and so he had the good idea of taking advantage of the progress by starting a diet, and working out. He went for long walks and joggs every morning, and he spent long hours at the gym. Taking his focus off his worries and onto another aspect of his life really helped his mental health.