"Do I have to like you?"

☆

Ash squints his eyes as he sees the headlights of the coral coloured fiat 500 come into view. It comes to a stop as Lucy opens the door to the driver's seat and gets out, holding a checked fleece blanket in her grasp. "Come here." she says in a motherly tone as she wraps the blanket around a cold, wet and shivering Ash.

"I'm su...sorry..." he tries to speak through chattering teeth, as he is guided to the passenger door. Lucy opens it up, helping Ash inside and pulling the seat belt over him, clicking it into place.

"Let's just get you warm and dry." She says as she rubs his blanket covered arm affectionately, with Ash nodding with a shiver still present in his bones. She soon sat in her seat and the car started up.

It isn't until an hour or so later that he is warm and dry over at Lucy's place. He checks his phone. His messages unanswered. Ash began to feel the reality hit him that maybe he had been stupid. Had he really just fallen for a pack of lies? Had he been played?

"You should have taken the money." Lucy said, thinking of the events of the night that Ash had told her. But he shakes his head.

"I haven't given up on him yet." He says, once again glancing down at his phone, but even to his own ears it didn't sound that convincing.

"This is my fault." Lucy suddenly says. "If I hadn't made you go to the concert. If I hadn't been so swept up in the romance..."

"Hey, like you said. I needed to give this a try and I still have faith he will call." Ash darkens his phone screen and puts it to one side. "Besides. Who can say they have had amazing sex with Luca Brailsford?"

"Well I hope just you." Lucy smiles weakly. "You know it wasn't me right. I told no one about this. You are my friend and I don't care if he is famous, If anyone messes with you, they mess with me."

"I know Lucy." Ash looks at her with reassurance. "I don't know how they found out, but it's not like it would have been a secret forever. I just wish we had more time."

"Well I hope he comes through for you." She says. "Because if he doesn't, he will feel my wrath!"

***

"Where is he? What have you done with him?" Luca storms into the main office of the NBV music company, coming face to face with a woman who looked unaffected by the threatening tone Luca was trying to portray.

"Please Luca, take a seat." She says calmly, gesturing towards the chair in front of her on the other side of her desk.

"Tell me where he is!" Luca balls a fist, slamming it on the desk.

"Sit down Mr Brailsford. Please don't let me call security on you. I merely asked you here for a chat." The lady stays poised as she holds her nerve, with Luca eventually sitting down.

"Now tell me. What did you do to Ash?"

"Mr Brown it seems cannot be bought."

Luca sniggers at the news. "I knew it. Your tactics won't work on him because what we have is real."

The lady takes a sigh. "Have you ever considered what you are doing Luca?" The lady sits back.

"Of course I have. I'm ready. I'm ready to show the world who I am."

"And what about him? Have you considered how this will affect him?" She asks. Luca goes quiet. "Luca, I understand that you have a right to a personal life, but how personal will it be? For you, we can offer you some kind of support system. You no doubt, will break many hearts if people find out you are in a relationship and there will be an expected backlash over your sexuality."

"I don't care about other people..." Luca begins.

"But you care about this man. Tell me, will you be there when the press comes knocking at his door? Will you be there when he gets abuse online?"

"I..."Luca begins, but cannot seem to end the sentence.

"You will be going to Japan in no less than eight hours. You will be leaving him alone to deal with all of this, unless you do the right thing and end it." She then gets up and walks around her desk to Luca. I hope for your sake and his, you make the right decision."

Luca gets up from his seat and leaves the space. He still felt angry, but not as hot headed as a few moments before. She had thrown him a curve ball and now he felt lost.

He takes a walk to the window looking over the night sky of London. It reminded him of his and Ash's first proper date. Their first kiss.

Footsteps approach. Luca looks to his left to see Dan look out to the view alongside him. "Life can be shit sometimes." He utters.

Luca looks across to Dan who is still looking straight ahead. The man never said anything much deeper than chorio moves, but when he did, it was usually to the point.

"It was you wasn't it. You told them."

His bandmate nods. "You know you are a fool to think it could work."

Dan's words cut deep like a knife. "How did you find out? Was it Noah?"

Dan shakes his head. "I saw how you were, at the fan meet, taking his hand and going outside into the corridor. So infatuated, it made me sick. You would have messed things up for all of us. I was dammed if I was gonna let you ruin what I have worked for all these years."

"You've never liked me, have you?" Luca snorts sarcastically.

"Do I have to like you?" Dan shrugs. "If you choose to live this life, you have to make sacrifices."

"But why can't we be allowed to love? Is that too much to ask?"

Dan just shrugs his shoulders. "We are allowed to love, but it's just in different ways. We love and have the love of our fans, our family, our friends. That has to be enough right now. Anything more is indulgence. That guy's life will be turned upside down. He doesn't have the safety net we have. He is going to plunge unless you end it...for both your sakes and for the band."

Luca takes a huge breath in and breathes out. "You Dan, have always been a total son of a bitch." To which he gets not reply from the other male, but whether he liked it or not, Dan's words got into Luca's head.