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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction that combine worlds created by the original content owner with names, places, characters, events, and incidents that are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, companies, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
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Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
Ray of Hope - 8. Chapter 8
Chp8
"Ray, anything you want to say to the judges?"
He just stood there, utterly frozen, completely still. Something was clearly wrong.
The light in his eyes had dimmed, the pallor of his skin was more than just the
avoidance of the sun that came with being a loner. Ray was completely frozen in
fear. His performance of "Say Something" had lacked everything, his entire
performance had been void of anything that we could compliment. He'd landed himself
right in the bottom two, and the realization of it seemed to have completely turned off his brain.
"Ray? Ray? I think we should get him some water!"
Ryan reached for Ray but the latter flew off the stage; I immediately left my
chair and sprinted across the stage on live TV, all thought of propriety and
decorum left somewhere beneath my chair, stowed with my common sense and my good
judgement. I could hear the audible gasps as I chased after Ray, my only thought
was him, consuming and utterly pressing.
I saw him stumble and then, like a marionette that's had it's wires cut, crumble
to the ground, a sick "crack" sound came from where his head met the floor, I
knew immediately he was unconscious. I yelled for help, knowing my mic was still
on.
"C'mon Ray, stay with me. C'mon mate, wake up!!"
I knew my voice was playing on a speaker somewhere, and so were the small taps I
kept giving Ray's face, trying to wake him.
I knew in a split second that something was different. I'd just sprinted off
camera on a live show, after a contestant who, by all intent and purposes,
should be no more important than the others, but he was. To me he was, and that
was clearly a problem.
[I've really done it now haven't I? I've gone mad. How could I be so stupid?
What's gotten into me?]
I looked at the prone figure in front of me and the answer was simple: bright
hazel eyes, chiseled features, boyish charm, devilish smirk, and undeniable
talent. This guy had pushed a button I hadn't even thought about since I'd had
my start in this business. I'd missed this feeling, but now that I was faced
with it, I sort of dreaded it rearing its head.
The paramedics had shown up some time while I was caught in my reverie,
thankfully my body had kept working while my mind had wandered. They took him
away on a stretcher and I walked back to my chair, apologizing for my sudden
outburst.
"It was very good thinking on your part Liam, old instincts from the competition
circle?"
"Yea, I remember one time during X Factor Zayn just blanked for a minute, and
next thing we knew he was flat on his back, out cold."
Kelly and Carrie agreed that sometimes the competition and nerves could take a
lot out of you, Josh made a crack about feeling left out and Ryan reminded us
that after the break we'd hear the results of the votes.
As we went to break I grabbed my phone and texted Zayn.
"And we're back in 5, 4, 3, 2..."
Ryan began by reassuring the public in the studio and at home that Ray was
alright, the producers had been contacted by the EMTs and he was awake, and
would be alright. He spoke briefly to Channing and turned his attention to the
envelope in his hand.
"And, the final spot for the Top 10 goes to...best of luck to both of our
contestants...with 86% of the vote, to Ray Johnson!!!"
The audience roared in applause, Kelly let out a whispered "yes!" which her mic
barely caught, Carrie's smile tripled, I let out a breath I thought I wasn't
holding and Josh simply sat back in his chair.
Ray was safe in both the literal and hypothetical situations which had put him
in danger. Ryan handed Channing a mic and I cringed inwardly at the thought of him
reprising his rendition of Prince's "Kiss." I fixed a smile on my face as the
lights dimmed and focused on the stage, but my mind was intent on a single
thought.
Ray Johnson.
The end of the show came. Ryan paraded all the participants, and asked the
public at home to tune in for the show the following week. We all smiled and
applauded. I tried my best to keep my foot from shaking, but my body itched to
find out where he was. How he was.
I made my way out of the studio as fast as I was able to. I had to sort all this
out and Zayn was the right person for the job. Zayn and I had become best mates
through our time in One Direction. Our shared interests and philosophies had
made a great platform for friendship, and although I felt close to all the
members of our group, Zayn simply got me better than the rest of the guys.
“Liam!! Hey, Liam!! Wait up!”
Kelly’s voice made me stop, I tried to wipe the annoyance off my face and turned
around, reminding myself that she was nice, kind, and had not actually done
anything to me.
[Get ahold of yourself! Geez, I’m turning into a twat.]
“Hey Kel, everything alright?”
“Yea, I just needed to ask you a quick question”
“Sure thing”
“Well…” she paused, looking away, my temper flared.
“Go on then, I won’t bite” I poured a big smile on my face, trying to hide the
fact that she was annoying me, though it was most decidedly not her fault.
“I kind of wanna go to the hospital to see Ray…I just don’t want to go alone,
would you mind coming with me?”
My heart soared from my chest to my brain, overriding all conscious thought. I
wanted to say no. I wanted to tell her that I had plans with Zayn, and that I
simply had to rush to my hotel. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry, and get
into my car and breathe until the pressure on my chest subsided. I wanted to say
all these things, but I found my self pulling my phone out of my pocket.
c u in 2 hrs?>
“Sure, let’s go.”
I signaled my driver to leave and we got into Kelly’s car, her husband was
driving, and I sat in the back, my entire body shaking, my hands sweating, and
my mouth suddenly dry. I was going to see Ray outside of the show, I was going
to talk to him one on one with only Kelly nearby.
“Liam, are you cold? I’ll put the heat on if you want.”
“It’s fine, really.”
She pulled her visor down and used her mirror to look at me, I made an attempt
at a smile, but I knew it looked more like a grimace.
“I know. I knew when he sang ‘I've Gotta Be Me’ The way you looked at him, the
way your face just went so peaceful, like you'd been hoping he'd impress us all
again. I knew. You care about him.”
I felt the car drop away from me, I was suddenly struck with a feeling of
vertigo, and I was rendered utterly speechless.
“I…what are you implying? I’ve no idea—no idea what you’re going on about”
Her face changed, the knowing look changed to pity, and then a mask of
compliance took over.
“Oh, I apologize. I just thought—never mind”
The car moved forward, she reached her hand across the center console and her
husband intertwined his fingers through hers. I longed for that closeness. I
longed to feel like I could be myself, truly and utterly myself with someone. I
wanted to feel like my flaws and short-comings were as delightful as my talents
and qualities, I wanted to feel loved; truly, madly, deeply loved. I felt the
tears well up and looked away, focusing on the dusk-lit streets.
b there 2 long>
The car pulled into the parking structure, where Kelly’s security detail was
already waiting for us. The flash of the cameras began as soon as the door
opened, and the paps were all over the place. Kelly took a deep breath and made
her way to the elevator, I followed close behind, waving to the paps but never
stopping or speaking. As the elevators doors closed Kelly turned to me.
“I’m going to say something, but before you so much as think about speaking, I
want you to just not ok? (I nodded my consent) Good. I have been in this game
for almost twelve years, I’ve seen plenty of guys and girls like you; dying
inside, cleaving away at your happiness to satisfy the studio, or the band, or
the parents, or whomever or whatever it is. It doesn’t end well Liam. It never
does.”
I opened my mouth to give some sort of response, to deny that what she had just
said was true, to protest her “assumptions” and protect my truth. I wanted to
disarm her, to make her see the lie that I had so carefully crafted as the
truth. I wanted to but the elevator doors pinged open and security swarmed
around us as the paps went nuts with their cameras and mics.
We were rushed along the hallway, the paps hot on our heels, but once we reached
the Recovery Ward a team of hospital security closed ranks behind us and Kelly’s
security team remained, stalwart, by the doors. We made our way in silence,
following the doctor who’d been put in charge of Ray.
“…so that’s a good thing, you did real well Mr. Payne.”
The mention of my name snapped me from my stupor, and I rushed back to reality,
leaving my contemplation and worries stowed beneath the many layers of things I
did not want to focus on at the moment.
“Thank you doctor.” I blanked on his name so I simply left it at that, Kelly
glanced my way, and I knew that my defenses had to be reinforced, I could not
afford to let my feelings get in the way of my career. The guys needed me, we’d
worked very hard to achieve what we had, they did not have to pay for the things
that I wanted for myself, it wouldn’t be fair to them.
The doctor informed us that Ray had a visitor inside the room. We were asked to
wait while he went inside and announced us. I sat down and let my head fall into
my hands.
The day had been long and exhausting, my brain was starting to pulsate in my
head, my chest was tight and my stomach was full of butterflies. I knew right
then that no matter what things were going to get very difficult from here on
out. The way I was feeling couldn't be hidden long. If Kelly had seen my face,
if shed been able to work it out that easily; could I really hide it for much
longer?
"You--I know it's not my place--you need to talk to someone or do something
before this whole situation just blows up in your face."
I looked up at her and tried to be as stoic as I could.
"I still have no idea what you're going on about Kel."
She nodded and turned away. I got up and went to the door where the doctor had
indicated Ray was. Through the small glass pane I saw something so heart
wrenching, so completely terrifyingly heart breaking that I felt the cracks
forming almost immediately.
A young man was bent over Ray's bed. His lips were clearly on Ray's, his right
hand cupping the cheek I'd so longed to kiss, his other hand was stroking Ray's
hair. The love was evident. I had assumed Ray was a single man, and perhaps
straight; this proved I might've had a chance, but he was taken.
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6
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1
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction that combine worlds created by the original content owner with names, places, characters, events, and incidents that are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, companies, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
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