Love Has No Boundaries Chapter 25
	Toni lagged behind, refusing to go near them. She knew there would be loads of fans outside as well as paparazzi and stuff. She didn’t like to get in their way, especially after when Mark admitted that he used to go out with her. But Nicky pulled her, convincing her that there was nothing wrong with her being seen with them. Flashes of light from cameras seemed to emerge everywhere as they stepped out of the building. Toni was quite dazed. She looked at the others. They seemed to be so used to it. They let her in the car first, being the gentlemen that they were. After she sat down, Bryan, Kian, Shane and Nicky quickly scrambled to their seats in the van, leaving Mark no choice but to sit beside Toni. He was kind of grateful to them though, which of course, was oblivious to Toni.      Mark and Toni sat as far away as possible from each other. She positioned herself a bit, so that her back was turned to Mark and she was facing the window. She had given her address earlier to Anto and he knew exactly where she lived. Mark’s hand was draped on the headrest, and he could almost touch Toni’s hair. He started reaching out to play with it, just like he used to before, unaware that Toni could see him through the reflection of the car window. The car suddenly came to a screeching stop, and Toni, who was surprised by the impact, fell back into Mark’s arms. She was almost lying on his lap, if his arms weren’t around her, holding her. They looked into each other’s eyes, and the memories of their sweet past came rushing back to them. Toni suddenly freed herself from Mark’s embrace, feeling her face blush as if it were on fire. She was jolted into reality by Anto’s voice. “Are you guys alright? I’m so sorry, this stray cat suddenly came out of nowhere and I nearly ran the cat over.” “We’re all okay Anto. Why don’t you ask Toni and Mark how they’re doing?” Bryan said, laughing after he finished the sentence. “Oh shut up will you!” Mark and Toni both said at the same time, Suddenly embarrassed, they looked away in opposite directions. By this time, Bryan was laughing even harder and Shane, Nicky and Kian had joined him in.         “Hello? Hi mom! It’s Toni…” “Hi! How are you? I miss you sweetie?” Toni strained to hear her mother. “I miss you too. How’s everything?” “Everything’s okay. We can’t wait to see you again. Are you alright darling?” “Yes mom, I’m fine. What time is it there?” “Around 8 in the morning. I really can’t wait to see you again.” “Umm… mom, I’m really sorry but I won’t be going home for one more week.” Toni said, playing with the telephone cord. “Why?” her mother asked, sounding very disappointed. “I still have more work to do mom. I’m really sorry. I know I promised but I really can’t. This thing just came up so quickly, so I really couldn’t say no.” “It’s okay. I understand.” Her mother said. Toni knew she was about to cry. “Mom, I have to go. I miss you. Give my love to everyone back there.” she said, biting her lip, trying hard not to cry. “I will. Take care of yourself.” “Bye mom.” “Bye.” Toni placed the phone down. She continued packing, fighting the tears that were threatening to roll down her cheeks. She felt like such a big baby, crying over her mother but she missed her terribly. A few minutes later, she finished packing. She didn’t have anything else to do. She turned on the television. And tuned in to the all movie channel. She curled herself up into a ball on the sofa. The movie was just starting. “Oh great!” she thought sarcastically after seeing the title of the movie. She turned the tv off. It was her all time favorite, “While You Were Sleeping”. It’s not that she didn’t like it anymore, it’s just that it reminded her of Mark. She used to borrow that tape from a video rental shop and bring it over to Mark’s house so they could watch it. Mark didn’t really like the film. He even teased Toni about seeing it for like the hundredth time. She could watch that movie all day, over and over and she wouldn’t really mind. They would often sit at the couch, all wrapped up in each other’s arms, oblivious of what was happening around them. For Mark and Toni, there were only two people in the world, and all that they needed was each other.             She got up and went to the bathroom. Toni brushed her teeth absentmindedly, losing herself into her thoughts once more. She remembered when Mark would sometimes spend the night with her. They would just sleep in each other’s arms, feeling happy and content. There were morning when she would be in the bathroom, brushing her teeth. Mark would come in and hug her from behind, and he would place his chin on her shoulder. He would kiss her on the cheek and at her neck and greet her good morning. “Well, those were the good old days…” Toni thought as she dried her face with a towel. She lied down on her bed and turned the lights off. She tossed and turned. She just couldn’t sleep. All she could do was to think of Mark and all that had happened between them earlier during the day. She was totally confused. She knew she had to move on, she didn’t want to hope that there would still be hope for her and Mark to become as one again. If she did, she was afraid that she might get hurt all over again. She just had to move on and forget him. This was getting bad on her. How could she possibly forget after all that had happened between them earlier? And how could she forget him if her heart simply refused to let go?           Mark lied down on the bed of his hotel room. Today was yet another crazy day, but he didn’t mind. He had too much going on in his head. He had already apologized to Nicky earlier, for not having listened to his explanation and for not believing him and Toni. He also apologized for almost breaking Nicky’s nose a year ago because of that fight they had. They just laughed at it and gave each other a brotherly hug. Now he had only two problems to handle. How to tell Alessia how sorry he was for using her, and how to tell Toni that he still loves her. He knew Toni somehow hated him. “This is going to be really uncomfortable…” he thought. What they’ll be doing tomorrow is mostly practice for the upcoming tour. They’ll be learning some new dance steps and replacing some old ones. Toni would be there for the whole day with them to film that show. It was okay with him, more than okay really, that Toni will be spending the whole day with them. The problem was, Alessia will be there too. Destiny will be touring them, so they will be practicing with Westlife. “What the hell am I supposed to do with the two of them?” he said out loud. There was a knock on the door but Mark didn’t bother to get up. If it was one of the lads, they’ll just come in afterwards. He heard the door slam shut, and Shane went over to him, sitting at the edge of his bed. “So, have you figured it out yet?” “Figured what out?” Mark asked, sitting up on his bed. “Well, there’s two things.” “Then I haven’t figured out either one of them yet, whatever they are.” Mark said, closing his eyes. He felt the soft impact as a pillow landed on his face. “Filan! I’m trying to think here!” Mark said, throwing back the pillow at Shane but he missed. “Well, the two things I’m telling you about is why I gave you a sly look when I asked if we could take Toni to her home, coz you looked so confused earlier. The other, is if you’ve finally figured out how to tell Alessia the bad news.” “Okay, let’s do this one at a time… no and no.” Mark said, folding his arms across his chest. Shane sighed. “Well, if I give you this, maybe it’ll enlighten you on the first question.” Shane said, handing Mark a piece of paper. He read it. There, written in the paper, was Toni’s name and address. It was written by Toni herself. He felt his heart flutter. He pretended not to know what it was for, just to annoy Shane. “What am I gonna do with this?” he asked. Shane sighed. “Fine, if you don’t want it, give it back.” “No way!” Mark said, stretching his hand so that Shane wouldn’t get the paper from him. “Now you know how to go to her house, you know where she lives now, and you still have her mobile number right? Well, the next steps are all up to you.” “Thanks mate.” Mark said, keeping the piece of paper in his wallet. He didn’t really use it, but he just kept important stuff there. It was filled with pictures of him and Alessia, but hidden away at the very back was a picture of him and Toni at Hazel Woods. It was taken way back when they were still at school. It was the day he gave her that necklace with the silver shaped pendant. He told her to wear it always. He saw her wearing a silver necklace earlier, but the pendant was hidden inside her blouse. All that he saw was the chain, so he wasn’t sure if it was the same necklace. He stared at the picture. Mark would give everything and anything that he could give just to have those moments back. If he could go back in time prevent all this from happening, he certainly wouldn’t think twice on doing so. He often wished it was all a bad dream, that he could wake up in Toni’s arms, feeling safe, secure and loved. He laughed, remembering all the things he told her about that pendant. He said it was his heart, and he was giving it to no one else but her. He knew it sounded so cheesy, but he meant every single word he said.                 Shane coughed, bringing Mark back into reality. “I’m so sorry Shane. I was thinking of something.” “Can I look at it? You’ve been staring at that picture for quite some time now.” Mark handed Shane the photograph. “Hey! I was the one who took this picture!” Shane said, giving it back to Mark. “Yeah… that was a great day wasn’t it?” Mark said, carefully placing the picture back into the wallet. He changed his mind, and took the picture out again and propped it up on the table beside his bed. “You might want to keep that away Mark.” Shane said. “How come?” “Well, technically, you’re still going out with Alessia. She just arrived with her band mates you know, and she does know your room number.” “Well, if she sees it, she’ll ask, so I’ll take that as an opportunity to tell her how badly I wronged her.” Mark said, leaning back on the soft pillows. “Sure, if it’s okay with you for her to rip it into shreds. You know how emotional women are…” Shane said. Mark quickly took the picture and hid it away. He wasn’t going to take any chances. He loved that picture of him and Toni so much. It was the only thing that kept him holding on, the only thing that reminded him how it was like to have Toni in his arms. It made his heart ache for her all over again.            “So, how do you plan on telling her?” Shane asked Mark for about the hundredth time. “Shane I…” Mark began, but her stopped when he heard a knock on the door. He was waiting for it to open at any moment just in case it was one of the lads. By the time the person knocked for the second time, Mark was making his way towards the door. He gasped, dread filling every inch of his body when he saw who was standing there.
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