fool again

chapter sixteen

"I take it things didn't go well with Shelly then?" Shane asked Mark, when he met him at the gate and helped him start to look for his baggage in Amsterdam airport.

"No, she reckons nothing can happen while I'm in WestLife," Mark said with his anger clearly apparent.

"What? She's not expecting you to leave the band is she?" Shane said very concerned.

"No of course not, but she got so stressed and wouldn't let me get a word in edgeways, she came up with a million excuses as to why, and she reckons I've just got to live with it, well I'm telling you mate I'm not going to, I don't know what I'm going to do yet, but it'd better be good to persuade her." Mark said determinedly.

"Yeah that's good mate, we'll talk about it later at the hotel," He called being dragged off by screaming fans who had still managed to find out their schedule even though they had changed it at the last minute. Mark wasn't in the mood to pose for pictures and sign autographs so the other lads apologised for him, while Anto took him out to an awaiting taxi.

As soon as I arrived home, I was relieved to remember my mum was out with my sister and would be for the majority of the evening. I certainly didn't need to have another 'heart to heart' with my mother. The last one had been a disaster. I went straight into the house and flopped onto the sofa. I lay there thinking, something I'd deliberately not done on the walk back, incase I felt the feeling I was now. Why did whatever I do make me unhappy? I was in a no win situation, I could have chosen either way, but me being me had to be the one where other people got hurt. I couldn't believe I'd made Mark cry-I wasn't feeling freeness as I'd imagined, instead I was full of guilt and regret. But what's done was done, and I did feel relieved to now be out of it, if not somewhat empty. I decided on a shower and then putting on slob out clothes-namely an old baggy Boyzone T-shirt, and tracksuit bottoms, and watching Friends to cheer me up, homework definitely wasn't the sort of therapy I needed tonight, any night infact. As I sat there, I realised how I had indeed made the right decision out of the two. I just couldn't give up nights like these, to be hanging about TV studios constantly having to be on guard against people, looking my best and hiding from fans. No, I'd definitely made the right decision, I just only wished I felt better about it.

"Oh come on try and cheer up mate," Bryan said to Mark back in the bar at the hotel.

"I can't Bryan, I just can't." Mark said softly, then his determination returned. "Actually I can, I'm not letting her have the last word like that, I'm flying back to Dublin now, and I'm not coming back unless she comes with me."

"Come on Mark, do ya think that's wise?" Kian interrupted.

"I don't care if it's wise or not, I've got to do it, I'm not going to be unhappy." Mark said standing up already on his way up the stairs for his bags. On returning he gave the lads each a quick hug, and begged them to tell Anto, he'd already been annoyed at him for travelling separately, and wasn't in the mood for an argument over it. "Mark-" called Shane. Mark stopped in his tracks and turned to face his friend. "I just got the girl at reception to see what flights there were, there's one at 7.45pm the BA1703, go get her!" Shane announced.

"Cheers mate," Mark said giving him another quick hug before hitching a taxi. He successfully arrived at the airport and boarded the flight, ready to not give up fight or no fight this time.

Shane was pottering around his hotel room at 9pm leaving the other guys down in the bar. He had the tv on sky news, seeing as he hadn't seen the news in a week, and was curious to see what was going on in the world. He was unpacking seeing as the guys would be staying here for 3 days, when the newsreader read something which made his heart momentarily stop beating. He turned around and punched up the volume to hear about a plane which had crashed on route from Amsterdam in Dublin. No, he thought, please don't let it be, no, but then the newsreader confirmed his worst nightmare-the flight number was BA1703.

chapter seventeen