WestFiction- "Crash and Burn" by Kate

- You know, D...- I paused - maybe I wasn’t right after all? Thinking about all the fun you had with Bryan I’m beginning to think that it could work out for you guys....

She replied after a longer pause.

- You really think so?- she sounded happier and I smiled to myself.

- Yes, I REALLY think so. Besides, I know you well enough to imagine what you’d be acting like after they had left and you didn’t take your chance on Bryan... and I simply can’t allow this to happen!

- Yeah- she laughed - your life would be a living hell!

- Tell me about it!- we both laughed. - By the way, what got into you yesterday?

She gasped. - You’re talking about Agata?

- Yes, what else... I’ve never seen you like that! What happened?

- To tell you the truth, Kate... I don’t know...

- It isn’t about Kian, right? - I was hoping she’ll say ‘no’ or the situation would be much more complicated then it already was.

Fortunately, she let out a little laugh. - No, of course not. But I guess I was a little jealous....

Now, that was getting more and more interesting!

- I smell some juicy gossip here! - I said in a fake voice. - Jealous of whom? Tell me!

- I’d rather say ’jealous of WHAT’- I could tell she had much fun telling me this but then her voice softened. - I think it was because of the way she got along with Ki.... I was watching them and thinking that something like that would never happen between me and Bry... and all they needed was a couple of minutes!

- Dorothy! You SILLY thing!!- I exclaimed - that’s all?! It’s that why you dislike her?

- Oh, not at all!- she sounded a little hurt by the way I said that - that and... well, there’s just something about her that I simply can’t stand..!

- Oh!- I almost shouted, trying to sound convinced - that TOTALLY changes everything! - ...but I basically ended up laughing. - You CAN’T be serious!

- I AM, KATE- she said slowly not founding it funny at all - and if you won’t stop laughing at me now,

I swear I’ll hang up!- I couldn’t tell if she was serious or not and I rather didn’t want to find out, so I just apologised and changed the subject.

- Are we going to meet already at the hotel or... do you want to drop by and we’ll prepare some love elixir to pour it into Bryan’s drink later on?- I giggled.

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It was almost half past eight when I finally ran into the hotel lobby, trying to catch my breath.

I must say, I had quite an interesting trip after I left my apartment exactly at eight o’clock. I knew I was already late, but I never thought it would bother somebody THAT much.

First, while I was waiting at the bus stop, I got a message on my mobile. I started to laugh and made people staring at me as I read it:

„Tip no.1: In case your parents locked you inside the apartment and you can’t get out, use a window”.

I was sure it was Bryan’s idea to send me this. I was still laughing as I typed a message in response:

„Can’t do it. I’m living on the 9^th floor”.

I didn’t have to wait long for his another ‘tip’: „Hold on. We’re sending the firemen to get you out of there”.

I had much fun during this ‘message session’, which lasted all the way to the hotel- I must have sent about 15 messages in response to Bryan’s ridiculous ‘tips’ and I probably looked slightly mad as I laughed like crazy to my mobile phone...

Anyway, I finally made it to the hotel. Everybody was already waiting in the lobby and I almost got a round of applause as they noticed me.

- FINALLY!- I heard Bryan, Dorothy and Mark shouting. -What took you so long?- Mark asked and kissed me on the cheek.

- Oh, the firemen never came and I had to jump!- I laughed and hugged Bryan.

Then I looked around and noticed Nicky and Kian sitting on the couch. Kian had his arm around Agata and he was whispering something into her ear, that made a huge smile appear on her face. Then he touched her face gently with the back of his hand and she smiled even more. Even if they only met yesterday, they already looked very much in love.

Nicky, not surprisingly, was talking on the phone. I could tell who he was talking to by the expression on his face and the way he was smiling as he listened to the person on the other end of the line.

Then I spotted Shane- he was standing in the most distant corner of the lobby, hugging a pretty, tall girl around my age. He was completely different to Shane I’ve seen last night: his face was glowing with happiness and he didn’t seem to notice anything around but his girlfriend.

- That’s Anya- Mark said noticing my look - she came here this morning, making Shane the happiest man alive. We hope he’ll marry her soon or something, ‘cause he’s freaking out when they’re apart for too long- he giggled.

- That’s so sweet- I smiled watching them.

Mark just gave them a blank look. - Yeah, I suppose it is...

I looked at him and gently hugged his arm. He smiled at me. - I’m okay, really.

- Boys and girls, time to go!- we suddenly heard Bryan shouting. Dorothy and him were already at the door, waiting for us. Nicky finally hung up and followed them with a heavy sigh. Kian and Agata stood up too. As we all stepped outside, Anya and Shane joined us and she and I exchanged hellos. I could tell straight away that we’d become great friends. Fortunately, Dorothy liked her too...

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After a short discussion, we all decided to have a few beers in a pub. It was of course Dorothy and me who got to choose which one it’ll be and we thought it’ll be nice to combine both fun and some sight seeing.

Still, we had huge problems persuading the lads that they couldn’t leave Warsaw without seeing the Old City. They were moaning a little, but Anya and Agata agreed that this was a good idea. And what could have changed Shane’s and Kian’s minds better?

- That’s what I call ‘Girl Power’!- I exclaimed as we all finally seated ourselves in the cabs.

When we got there, the lads were really impressed.

- I told you you’ll like it!- I said seeing their smiling faces.

We found a nice pub opposite the Royal Castle and settled ourselves at a table outside, enjoying the warm weather and our beers.

We started talking about everything: the lads’ work, Nicky’s girlfriend Georgina, Ronan, Sligo... but we had the biggest fun when they mentioned some of the jokes they were playing on each other....

- ...and the worst thing is, they especially like to play their silly jokes on ME!- Mark stated. - when we were on a plane once, I fell asleep and one of these devils here drew a big red nose and tear drops on my face. And when we got into the hotel, all the fans where laughing at me and I didn’t know what was going on!

- Awwww, poor little fella...- all the girls agreed. Agata shot Kian an evil look, so he stopped giggling Anya slapped Shane on his arm playfully and Dorothy looked with disapproval at Bryan, who, at this point, was basically laughing his head off. Only Nicky got away with it!

Mark looked at me pretending he was going to cry: - Hug me!- he whispered. I laughed and did what he asked for.

- Did I miss something last night?- Nicky asked looking at us, puzzled.

- Not really...- I blushed and pulled away from Mark’s hug.

Dorothy noticed I was feeling a little uncomfortable. - Hey you guys, we can’t just sit there, you’ve GOT TO do some sight seeing today!

None of the guys was excited about her proposition though...

- Boooooring!- Kian said rolling his eyes. But after a look he got from Dorothy, Agata, Anya and me, he suddenly changed his mind.

- On the other hand.... why not!- he exclaimed standing up and the rest of the lads had no choice but doing the same.

- Women..!- I smiled as I heard Bryan sigh.

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We headed for the market place. On the way we broke into groups: Mark and me were basically showing others the way, Bryan, Dorothy and Nicky were behind us, followed by Agata with Kian and finally- Anya and Shane.

I knew something was going on, when Mark spotted a mime- he was standing still in a knight’s armour with a fake sword in his hands, not moving even a single muscle. I saw this man here a couple of times and he was quite an attraction for the tourists that wanted to have a photo taken with him. There was loads of people who teased him to cause some kind of a reaction, but he never moved – it reminded me a bit of the famous guards I’ve seen in London.

I looked at Mark. He was thinking very hard...

- Mark, what’s going on in your evil mind?- I asked but he didn’t answer. He just stood there, looking at the ‘knight’ and waiting for the others to approach.

- Why did you stop?- Dorothy asked with a questioning look.

- What’s the matter, Feehily?- Bryan had the same expression as Dorothy.

- Oh nothing, really- Mark said innocently. Did anyone but me noticed that he had something on his mind??

- We were just looking at this mime- Mark continued, watching Bryan. - It must be damn hard to stand here all day without making a move.

I glanced at Bryan, too. He looked at the ‘knight’ and seemed very interested.

- It can’t be THAT hard- he stated. He walked up to the man and started to watch him closely. Then he shrugged his shoulders - Even I could do it- he finally said.

- Do what?- Shane asked as him and Anya finally showed up beside us.

I was watching Mark, trying my best to understand what he was up to. I failed, though.

- Bryan says he could stand here all day without moving. And I say- wanna bet, McFadden?

Bryan looked a little surprised. - You want me to stand here ALL DAY?

Mark just grinned - You would give up after five minutes!

Bryan glanced at Dorothy, who was dying to know what it was going to end like. He knew he couldn’t say ‘no’, it was his pride we were now talking about!

- You got yourself a bet, Feehily- Bryan said - We’ll see who’s the looser here...

He placed himself on the sidewalk, put his hands on his hips and stood still. All of us were wondering if Bryan’s gonna win. It didn’t seem to be such a hard thing to do.... But obviously someone had a slightly other idea of making this harder for Bry...

- Kate? Do you have a lipstick?- Mark asked me and I looked at him, shocked.

- Lipstick?! Mark, I think you look good enough...

- Kate, trust me- he winked at me and then I got it. I reached in my purse trying my best not to burst out laughing and handed Mark what he wanted.

He thanked me and walked up to Bryan. - We don’t want any fans to recognise you, right?

Kian, Shane, Agata, Nicky, Anya and me almost fell to the ground, laughing, when Mark put some lipstick on Bryan’s lips and then drew huge glasses around his eyes.

- Oh God, that’s SO CRUEL!- I shouted, but in spite of all my ‘compassion’ for Bry, I couldn’t stop laughing like mad. Well, we all did, including people passing by. Lots of them were stopping and pointing at poor Bryan. Only Dorothy didn’t seem amused...

Surprisingly, Bry didn’t move. All he did was mouthing ‘I’m gonna kill you’ to Mark, but Mark just laughed. - Revenge is a sweet thing!

I think we all totally lost it, when some fans spotted Bryan. They began to take photos with him and asking for autographs but, unfortunately, didn’t get any...

- The time is up!- Kian finally shouted glancing at his watch.

Just then Mark squealed ‘Help!’ and began to run as fast as he could. No wonder: Bryan was already after him and I could see that he had pure anger in his eyes...

I don’t think I had so much fun ever before in my life: seeing Mark and Bry chasing each other around the market place and scaring pigeons off the sidewalk was priceless!

Finally they both were out of breath and just then Mark ran up to me and hid behind me.

- Get out Feehily!- Bryan shouted and tried to get Mark, so they ended up running around me. My head was spinning after a while and I HAD to stop it.

- Alright guys, time out!- I shouted and rubbed my head.

After a couple of minutes they finally calmed down and we continued our walk along the Old City, all grinning like no tomorrow.

The night already began to fall, so the view was incredible as we finally sat in silence at the bank of Vistula, watching the stars’ reflection in the water.

- Oh look!- suddenly Dorothy shouted with excitement, staring at the sky -A falling star!

- Quick! Someone make a wish!- Agata exclaimed.

Silence fell, but after a few seconds a silent voice could be heard.

- I wish we wouldn’t have to leave tomorrow...

I had to turn my gaze away from Mark to hide the tears in my eyes...

Chapter 10

*** - Mark, I don’t want you to leave...

I couldn’t believe I just said that. And I think he was just as surprised as I was.

- Kate? Is there something you’d like to tell me?- He was staring into my eyes, smiling.

I looked at the floor. - I think I’m in love with you...- I mumbled and still didn’t dare to look at him.

Then I felt his hand on mine. Time has stopped when he raised it to his lips and kissed it gently.

All I managed to do was looking at him and opening my mouth to say something.... but I never did.

He just stood there, with this happy expression on his face, making my heart beat like crazy and still holding my shaking hands in his.

- I was hoping you’ll say that- he finally whispered - I love you too.

He put his arms around my waist and I closed my eyes when he leaned towards me. As I felt his lips on mine, I felt very calm and relaxed all of a sudden. So I just put my arms around his neck and enjoyed every second of our kiss...

Just as I slowly ran my fingers through Mark’s hair I heard an annoying beeping sound. I decided to ignore it, I was enjoying that moment too much... but it kept getting louder and louder... ***

- Damn it!- I hissed as I half- opened my eyes and hit the alarm clock with all my might. Thankfully, it stopped beeping.

- I was enjoying it, you damn thing!- I mumbled and got out of bed, heading for the bathroom.

I got there and stood in front of the mirror, trying to wake up and recall what were my plans for today, but just as did, I wanted to turn around, get back to bed and never come out again.

It took me quite a while to overcome this feeling...

An hour later I took my purse, grabbed my keys and walked out of the apartment, locking it.

All the way to the airport I was so distracted I almost got hit by a car, I stepped on some old lady’s foot and above it all, I got onto a wrong bus... which, of course, made me being late AGAIN.

I took a deep breath before walking through the airport’s automatic door and headed to the departures section.

Everybody was there already: Shane holding Anya’s hand, Kian all over Agata, Nicky on the phone, Bryan teasing Dorothy.... and Mark.

He was walking around and constantly glancing at his watch. I smiled to myself and tried to stay invisible to him for as long as I could. Call me sentimental, but I wanted to look at Mark for the last time, without him realising it...

- Where is she?!- I heard him saying and I smiled even more. He took his mobile out of his pocket and started to dial a number. Before I realised he was actually calling me, something started to ring in my purse...

Suddenly all eyes were on me.

- Hello everyone...- I said approaching them and flashing an innocent smile.

- Where were you?!- my eyes widened as Mark raised his voice. - there will be a final call for our flight ANY MINUTE NOW!- he continued and I got a little scared. I looked at Bryan for an explanation.

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at me. - It’s just his polite way of saying ‘I was getting worried that you won’t make it’.

Mark gave him a blank look, then glanced at me and... started to apologise.

- I’m sorry! Bryan’s right, I thought you wouldn’t come...- he sighed. - Forgive me, please?

- Yeah, sure- I smiled, still in shock - I guess I just should be glad that you care...

He blushed a little -Yeah, I guess so...

Just then we heard an announcement about a flight to London.

- That’s us- Mark said and peered at me

- Did you check in already?- I asked, not knowing what else to say.

- Um...yeah...

At that moment I recalled my dream that was interrupted so violently in the morning and it made a huge grin appear on my face.

- Are you so happy that we’re leaving?- Mark asked, puzzled.

- Nooo....- I exclaimed. - I just remembered a dream I had this morning...- I tried to change the subject as soon as possible, but Mark was faster.

- A dream, huh? It had to be very pleasant- he seemed very interested - can you tell me what was it all about?

I blushed and started to laugh hysterically at the same time

- God, no!- was all I could say between my giggles.

He probably thought I lost it, but finally decided to ignore it. I immediately stopped laughing anyway, when he said:

- Can I call you sometime..?- he seemed uncomfortable saying this, because he wasn’t looking at me for a single moment- ....you know... just to talk and ask how’s it going..?

I just smiled - Of course you can... In fact, I was hoping you would...- it was my turn to feel uncomfortable and stare at the ground. - But are you sure you’ll find some time to call poor old me, you... POP STAR??

I giggled finally looking straight into his eyes.

- Well...- he pretended to hesitate - if we have some time off, which would be probably in three months and there’s no big party or someone’s birthday AND there’s nothing good on TV...

- OKAY, I get it!!- I laughed and punched him playfully, but then got serious again. - Besides...you have to tell me how did it go with Rachel, remember?

I half expected him to start sobbing or something, but he just smiled sadly:

- Of course I remember.

I gave him a reassuring smile and we hugged tightly

- Take care and good luck... with everything- I said

- Thanks, you too- he said as we pulled away, but still had our arms around each other. We smiled and finally let go.

I cleared my throat - Well... I better go and say goodbye to everyone else.

- Yeah, you do that- he nodded. - and I’ll say goodbye to the girls. - he said, looking at Dorothy and Agata.

I followed his gaze. Kian obviously wanted to take Agata with him on the plane, even if she didn’t have a ticket, ‘cause at the moment he was arguing passionately with someone of the staff.

- Sir, your girlfriend can not walk behind that line. You have to say your goodbyes here- the woman tried to sound firm, but she seemed a little scared. No wonder, Kian was almost shouting in her face.

- I D- O- N- T C- A- R- E!!- I thought he was going to explode, but Agata stopped him in time and dragged him away. - Baby, it doesn’t matter- she hugged and kissed him passionately, so he calmed down and kissed her back.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief...

I walked up to Bryan - How about a goodbye- hug?- I offered and opened my arms. We hugged for a few minutes, until Dorothy got impatient and protested.

- Hey..! I want to say goodbye too!- she laughed.

We pulled away and then I saw Shane and Anya approaching us. They were in a great mood, as they were flying to London together and Anya was meant to stay there with Shane for a couple of days.

- Want a hug too?- I asked them laughing.

- Sure- they smiled and I hugged both of them.

- Have a nice trip!- I exclaimed and was about to go and look for Nicky, as I remembered something.

- Can I just add something?- I questioned looking at their happy faces. They nodded.

- You make a great couple- I stated and walked away, smiling. I turned around again just in time to see them grinning at each other and kissing gently...

Finally, it was time for the guys to go. I was lucky enough to get an extra hug from Mark and to hear his ‘talk to you soon’, so I didn’t feel as depressed as I expected myself to. Dorothy tried to hold back her tears but she eventually failed, making Bryan hug her even more tightly.

That was it- a few minutes later there was only me, Dorothy and Agata standing in front of the gates, behind which the guys have disappeared just a few moments ago. Dorothy was crying her eyes out while Agata and me were staring at the gates with little smiles on our faces. We both sighed deeply at the same time.

- Well, I guess it’s time to move on...- Agata said and smiled at me. I smiled back and nodded. - Let’s go.

I turned around and started walking. Agata was just behind me, but Dorothy didn’t move an inch.

- Aren’t you coming, D?- I shouted and she finally snapped back to reality.

- Yeah, I am...- she sighed heavily and started walking. Agata smiled at her with sympathy.

- You’re going to miss Bryan, right?- she asked, trying to make a friendly conversation. I knew it wasn’t going to work out... Just then, to confirm my thoughts, Dorothy looked at Agata with so much hate in here eyes I have never seen and hissed angrily: - It’s none of your business...!

Agata’s eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. I was very thankful to her for not putting up a fight, but she was upset, I could see that. She ignored Dorothy and walked up to me.

- I hope it’s just because he’s gone- she said, looking at me for a confirmation- ...and that she’ll get over it soon.

I nodded, not quite sure what to say but finally stated. - You just have to give her a little time and I’m sure it’ll be okay.

In fact, I wasn’t so sure after all. The three of us had to stick together, but I wasn’t sure how to ease the tension between those two.

‘If everything else fails I’ll set up an arena for them and let the lions out...’ I thought bitterly.

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