A Thousand Words -
Chapter 10

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Radio interviews were on that night. Both boys were thankful to have the morning off. Darren decided that he’d go spend some of his money at the music store. Daniel, meanwhile, decided he’d take advantage of the break and visit his grandmother. Thankfully, the spring weather was warming up. It still felt like a cold day in Brisbane, but at least it wasn’t subzero temperatures. Daniel happily walked down the street finding comfort in the fact that no-one recognised who he was. He knocked on the door of his grandmother’s house and was met by a huge hug and a smile.
"Daniel, come in! How have you been?" she said, shuffling him into the corridor.
"Great," Daniel replied.
"And how is the band going? Are you here with… what’s his name again?"
"Darren," Daniel replied. "Yeah, we’re here doing promotion and we got the morning off, so I thought I’d come visit you."
"Oh, how sweet of you to do that! Thinking of your little old gran," she said with a smile and headed towards the kitchen. "I’m making myself a cup of tea. Do you want one?"
"No, I’m right," Daniel replied as he walked into the dark, musty living room. It seemed like all grandparents had to have one of these in their house. He ran a finger along the ornaments covered in dust and took a seat on the sofa. "Have you heard from mum or dad?"
"No dear, I haven’t. But I did get a letter from Johnny about two days ago. It’s on the coffee table if you want to read it."
Daniel glanced around and finally spotted the neatly folded paper on the nearby table. He picked it up and opened it. The letter was definitely written by his brother as it clearly displayed the neat writing in a brash tone. There wasn’t much news in there, just the usual navy stuff Jonathan always wrote about. Daniel placed the letter back on the table as his grandmother came in with a tray holding a plate of cookies and a mug. She placed it on the table.
"Oh, guess what Daniel? I was cleaning out the spare room the other day and I found something that you’d probably be interested in!" She left the room and came back with a video tape which she handed to Daniel. "Here you are. Why don’t you have a look?"
Daniel looked down at the video. Inscribed on the top it read Merry Christmas Grandma! Hope you like it. Love Daniel, Oliver and Jonathan. 1984. It was written in Daniel’s handwriting. He slipped the tape into the machine and pressed play. Two boys sat there with a piece of white cardboard across their laps. Written on the piece of cardboard was The Jones Boys.
"Hi!" spoke the little 11 year old blonde boy with a wave. "I’m Daniel."
"I’m Oliver," said the darker-haired boy sitting next to him. "And Jonathan is behind the camera."
The camera swung around and Jonathan said his hello’s before swinging it back.
"This is a video of us!" young Daniel said with a grin on his face.
The scene changed. They were now on the soccer field where Daniel was involved in a game of soccer. You could hear the shouts get louder as the young Daniel made his way to the goal post, successfully dodging every player in sight. He took one almighty kick and scored the point that won his team the match. Everyone cheered and Daniel was swamped by his fellow team mates. Watching the TV screen, Daniel wondered if perhaps he should go back to playing soccer and give up his music career altogether. As if the video was telling him not to be so stupid, the scene switched from the soccer field to inside their house where the camera peeked into each of their rooms where they were bashing away on drums or strumming guitars. The camera next focused on Daniel sitting at the piano.
"Play something Daniel," his mother said in the background. "For the camera."
Daniel scowled then his eyes lit up as he turned to the piano. He began to play one of the tunes he had just learnt and, to show how boring he thought it was, he yawned, slowed the tempo of the music right down and lay his head on the keys as if the music had put him to sleep. Just visible inside the camera shot, Oliver laughed and the grinning Daniel raised his head, bursting into giggles as well.
Daniel chuckled as he watched his younger self roll off the piano stool in a fit of laughter. He hadn’t realised he was just as cheeky back then as he was today.
The tape rolled on through scenes of Jonathan and Oliver. Daniel knew the reason he was missing - he was away at camp. He’s wanted to take the video camera with him but, of course, his parents had told him no.
Before he knew it, he appeared on screen again, It was his 11th birthday. There wasn’t much involved in it, just a gathering of a few friends. His mother had gotten him a piñata as well. Daniel stood in front of the camera and quickly and skillfully maneuvered the stick he held in his hands as if he were a ninja. He took one last spin and stuck it into the ground.
"See how well I can move the stick?" Daniel asked aloud. "I can keep hold of it without dropping it. See I CAN play drums if you LET me!"
The camera shook from side to side as Jonathan said no. Daniel pouted and looked down at the ground. He pulled up the stick and ran towards the piñata, hitting it with all his force.
"I can do it! I CAN!" he cried as the piñata split open and lollies spilt out onto the ground.
Spying chocolates among the pile, Daniel dived in and scooped his claim up. His mother approached him and bent down by his side, whispering in his ear. You couldn’t hear it on the video, but Daniel remembered what she had said all those years ago - "Of course you can Daniel, you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to." And surprisingly enough, Daniel had found a drum kit of his own under the Christmas Tree that year.
The seasons changed from winter to spring on the video. The boys were on school holidays so the family had decided to spend their break at Hamilton Island. The video camera roamed around the scenery of the beach very slowly, taking in every inch and breathtaking moment. Since Jonathan wasn’t there, Daniel’s father had decided to do the filming - either way the long pauses on the scenery were inevitable. The camera stopped on Daniel’s mother as she lay out the beach blanket on the golden sand. She waved and then, as the boys ran past, signaled for the camera to be put on them. The two boys raced down the warm sand and dived into the oncoming waves, swimming a little way out and stopping to jump the waves or splash each other with water. As they got out, they came running up to their father. Oliver was just a little bit faster.
"What are you guys doing?" Daniel’s father asked.
"Having a competition," Oliver huffed, hands on hips and eyes squinting to block the sun out. "To see who could get to the water quickest."
"Who won?" their father asked.
"Yeah!" Daniel said as he caught up to them, the sun glinting off his blonde hair. He paused. "Won what?"
Oliver laughed. "I won of course!"
"Did not!" Daniel said grumpily. "I did."
Oliver laughed again. "You don’t even know what you’re talking about!"
"I think it was a tie!" their mother called.
The tape showed more of their holiday and more birthday scenes. Finally it came back to Oliver’s bedroom. Daniel sat on the bed with guitar in hand and his brother moved from the camera to sit beside him.
"This is the end of the video. We wanted to finish it with a song that Daniel and I wrote for you..." Oliver began.
"To say Merry Christmas Grandma!" Daniel interrupted.
Oliver smiled and nodded. "Thanks Dan. Do you want to tell her what we called it?"
"Um…" Daniel pondered for a moment. "It’s Snowing Down Here?"
"Yep, that’s it," Oliver said then began to sing while Daniel strummed the guitar.

"It’s snowing down here for Christmas you say
But we don’t feel the same way
‘Cause it’s hot, it’s sticky and stinky too
And we wish you the best cause we love you."
A cheeky grin appeared on Daniel’s face. "Should we do the punk version?"
Oliver laughed. "No, I think that’s gonna be okay."
Daniel shrugged and looked at the camera. "Okay, seeya!"
He waved and then went running up to the camera with a roar. The camera switched off and snow filled the TV screen. Daniel got out of his chair and switched the TV off.
"Daniel, shouldn’t you be getting back now?" his grandma said entering the room.
Daniel looked at his watch. He’d been so engrossed in the video that he hadn’t realised the time. It was early afternoon, Darren should be back by now - probably bored out of his skull since Daniel wasn’t there. Daniel pulled himself out of the chair.
"Yeah, I guess I should. I don’t want to keep Darren waiting," he said and hugged her. "Thanks for letting me watch that video. It was kinda nice to be reminded what home was like… and who I really am."
"You’re welcome dear. From the look on your face when you came in, I thought you needed it."
He smiled. "Yeah I did."
She let him out the front door with a quick goodbye and told him to visit whenever he liked. He was glad he’d gone there now. The video had made him reflect on himself and his situation. It was obvious that his music and his personality were intertwined. He had to stay in some form of a band to keep happy. He had two options - stay with Darren and keep making megabucks through Savage Garden or go back to the pub scene with a new band and earn minimal cash. Suddenly, staying with Darren looked like a much brighter option. As he reached the front of the hotel, he made his decision. He was going to tell Darren he was staying with the band.

Daniel calmly strolled back into the hotel. He made his way up the stairs and into his room. Looking around he saw there was nothing of much interest to do. He left his room and went next door to Darren’s. He could hear water running, the door was slightly ajar.
"Darren?" he said quietly with a small tap on the door. Knowing how bad Darren’s temper got when you invaded his territory, Daniel gently opened the door and cautiously stepped into the room. Some clothes were carelessly discarded on the bed but Darren was nowhere to be seen. Daniel could still hear water running in the ensuite. He made his way to the door and saw Darren hunched over the sink.
"Darren?" Daniel said.
Darren raised his head to look in the mirror, removing the cold compress from his face. He had a black eye and a bruise on his left cheekbone.
"Oh my god! Are you okay?" Daniel said touching Darren’s arm. He wrestled it free.
"Don’t," was all Darren said before lowering his face to the compress again.
"What happened?" Daniel asked. Darren mumbled something which he couldn’t hear. "What did you say?"
Darren raised his head and yelled, "I was mobbed, okay?"
"MOBBED?" Daniel cried in surprise. "In LONDON?"
"Yes!" Darren snapped back. "It happens you know!"
"So how many was there?" Daniel asked.
"About two or three. I didn’t see."
"You were beaten up by three girls?" Daniel chuckled.
"No!" Darren replied in a long drawn out voice. He quickly took in another breath and shouted "God you’re naive, Daniel! It wasn’t fans, it was a bunch of big, muscley, grim-looking crooks!"
"Oh," Daniel said flatly. "What did they take?"
"My money, my new CD, my dignity," Darren replied. Daniel chuckled. "Oh, and the camera."
Daniel nodded and stood there for a minute watching Darren wet his face again before he burst out laughing.
"What?" Darren snapped furiously.
"Oh, I just thought of something. What if the British Press get hold of that film? There’s some pretty embarrassing photos of you on there!"
"Oh hardy ha ha," Darren said cynically. "Just cause you aren’t on there!"
Daniel chuckled. "I never hang around long enough for you to photograph me making a fool of myself."
Darren grumbled. "Don’t you worry mate, I’ll get you next time!"
Daniel smirked. "I’m sure you will."
There was another silent pause. Darren finally looked up into the mirror again. "What time is it?"
Daniel turned to look at the clock in Darren’s room. "Almost 5. Nearly time to leave."
Darren stared at his own reflection. The bruise had gone down but his eye had taken on a new shade of the colour grey.
"I look terrible," Darren said.
"No-one’s going to be looking at you Darren, it’s radio," Daniel said placing a reassuring hand on Darren’s shoulder. Darren screwed his face up and pulled away from Daniel. He rolled his sleeve up revealing bruises up and down his arm. A worried expression crossed Daniel’s face.
"Maybe I should wear a sumo suit," Darren joked. They both laughed. "Well it wouldn’t hurt as much then would it?"
Daniel smiled. "Of course. But you’ll find it difficult getting around and I’m not going to help you!"He winked and left Darren to get changed.

They got to the radio station and took their seats by the DJ. They put their headphones on, Darren being very careful not to hit the bruise on his face. The on-air button flashed.
"Tonight we have Savage Garden with us in the studio. Welcome back guys!" the female DJ said.
"Thanks," Daniel replied.
"It’s nice to be back!" Darren said in his usual cheery tone.
"If I remember right, you were here to promote ‘I Want You’ last time…"
"Yes, that’s right," Darren said.
"And ‘Moon’!" Daniel piped up. Darren nodded.
"…what is it you’re promoting this time around?"
"Our new single ‘Truly Madly Deeply’ and our debut album," Darren replied.
"Savage Garden," Daniel filled in.
"Rightio then. I hear there’s been a bit of a dispute between you guys lately. What’s that about?"
Darren glanced into Daniel’s eyes as he answered "Nothing really. Just little things like who gets what room, which guy gets the window seat on the plane."
Daniel rolled his eyes and the interviewer laughed as Darren smiled at her to show he was joking. The light glinted across his face as he turned and the DJ suddenly noticed the marks on his face.
"And Darren, I’ve noticed you’ve copped a shiner there. Any Oasis style fist fights?"
“We are Oasis.” Darren said as seriously as he could. Daniel burst out laughing and Darren couldn’t hold his straight expression anymore. He burst out laughing as well.
The DJ smiled. "Okay then, what DID you do to yourself?"
Darren squirmed a little. "I got mobbed."
"By a bunch of screaming teenage girls," Daniel added flashing a knowing grin at Darren. "You know, if you guys want a piece of us, it would be a whole lot safer to buy our singles!"
They all laughed. Darren smiled back at Daniel to thank him for covering up.
"Daniel," the interviewer began again. Daniel looked back into her face with pure innocence. "There’s been a rumor also floating about that you’re leaving the band. Is that true?"
Daniel swallowed and took in a big breath. "Okay, I’m going to publicly announce this on air."
Darren snapped his head in Daniel’s direction with a shocked look on his face.
"Daniel!" he hissed.
Daniel took hold of Darren’s chair and swung it around so it was facing his.
"Darren," Daniel began calmly. Darren was stricken with panic as he glanced from Daniel to the DJ and back to Daniel again - how could Daniel do this, just let the whole world know he wasn’t staying! "Darren, I am STAYING with the band."
Darren’s face lit up. "Really? Are you serious?"
"Yep," Daniel said nodding.
The DJ was confused - as far as she knew the rumor wasn’t true, yet the boys were acting as if it were.
"Oh wow!" Darren said bouncing in his chair with a grin on his face. He got up and hugged Daniel, Daniel’s chair pushing back with his enthusiastic force.
"Woah!" Daniel cried as his headphones flew off his head.
The DJ giggled. "Well, you heard it here first! We’ll let the boys get re-aquainted with each other while we put on this tune by Starship Enterprise. I wonder if they remember this 80’s Europop hit?"
Darren laughed and nodded as ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’ came on. He began to sing along to the chorus - the only words he COULD remember.

"And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing’s gonna stop us now
And if the world falls down around us
We’ll still have each other
‘Cause nothing’s gonna stop us, nothing’s gonna stop us now..."
Darren’s eyes locked with Daniel’s for a brief moment and in that time Darren felt the surge of confidence they’d had in themselves all those years ago when they sent out their demo tapes beginning to resurface. Nothing could stop them now that the team was back together, nothing at all.

Daniel slipped out the door and glanced back to see if they were watching him. They weren’t so he made his way down to the gym. After a few glances around the room he found Darren on one of the machines. "Darren, are you okay?"
Darren groaned. "What do you reckon Daniel?"
"I dunno. I heard you were in a bad mood. You didn’t fight with Colby last night did you?"
"Sorta."
"What do you mean?"
Daniel inquired.
"Well, she’s been getting horrible phone calls again and she thinks I’ve been giving out our number." Darren grumbled.
"Oh wow, that’s pretty bad. Are you gonna change the number again?"
"I’m going to have to find out who’s giving it out. It wasn’t you was it?"
"ME?" Daniel shrieked. "How can you accuse me?"
"Well you never say anything, except to those couple of girls who swamped you wanting my number," Darren replied.
Daniel gasped. "God, I can’t believe you Darren! How could you say that?"
He stomped out of the door and back up to his room. He needed to go for a drive, just to calm himself down. He didn’t want to start another argument, not now. They’d been going so well. He grabbed the keys and his mobile phone and jumped into the rental car in the parking lot.
After taking a long walk in the park, Daniel slipped back into the car and took a seat at the wheel. Slipping his INXS ‘Kick’ CD into the stereo and turning the volume up as loud as his ears could manage. By the time he stopped to pick up Darren so they could head to the airport, he was already 2 songs in listening to one of INXS's major hits. After loading their bags into the boot, Darren climbed into the car.
"Hey." he grumbled.
Daniel smiled weakly "Hey." He cut the motor giving a signal to Darren that they could talk if he wanted to.
"Well... are we going?" Darren snapped.
Daniel frowned. Obviously Darren wasn't going to be in a pleasant mood today. He started the motor again and pulled out onto the road, listening to the drum beat and guitar riff in the song. They pulled out onto the freeway. It was dark, hardly any traffic was on the road as most people were in their homes eating dinner. Daniel wished he was home now, with his caring parents, his brother, his girlfriend...
"Daniel." Darren whispered.
Daniel's mind snapped back to see the car wandering, almost over the line. He pulled the wheel back so that they were in the middle of the lane again.
"Thankyou." Darren said. "I do want to finish the rest of this tour in one piece!"
"If I let you live that long!" Daniel mumbled under his breath.
"What did you say?" Darren asked.
"Uh, I asked if you liked this song..." Daniel replied.
Darren shrugged. "It's okay."
Daniel noticed the sarcastic edge in Darren's voice as he dragged out the vowels. It only made Daniel more angry.
"You know, come to think of it, we always play what YOU want on stage! Why don't we do some INXS or something? It's great music! We should be DOING this for the music, not so that you can live out your fantasy of being Bono or Michael Jackson!" Daniel yelled.
"Hey, at least I set myself some real heroes!" Darren snapped back.
The drum beats rolled out of the car speakers as the 3rd track ‘Devil Inside’ began. Driven by the guitar and the fast drum beat Daniel's foot pressed down on the accelerator. The car began to gain speed from 70 miles p/h to 80 then 90, 100... 110... 120. The car raced along the road with the beat of the music, Daniel swerving around cars as he overtook them. Darren began to feel the increase in speed. He looked up to see Daniel's face concentrating on the road, jaw clenched, his hands gripping tightly to the steering wheel. Darren leaned his body back from its curl-up position and looked at the speedometer to see the speed increasing rapidly. He hoped Daniel would slow down, but he didn't.
"Daniel." Darren said. Daniel ignored him. "Daniel!" Darren shouted.
Daniel put more pressure onto the accelerator. The speed had reached 130 miles p/h.
"Daniel!!" Darren screamed, grabbing hold of the steering wheel. He yanked it towards him and the car swerved into the right lane. Daniel elbowed Darren in the face so that he'd let go.
"Stop the bloody car Daniel! You're going too fast!"
As Darren tried to grab for the steering wheel again, Daniel maneuvered the wheel towards him so that Darren was thrown against the passenger door window. Darren felt his back slam against the door and winced. His feet flung out towards Daniel, kicking him in the knees. Daniel's foot slipped, he couldn't accelerate or brake and they were headed straight for a guardrail on a tight curve. Daniel threw the wheel to the left and the car spun around, slamming the side into the guardrail. The car stopped. Daniel raised his head from the steering wheel and turned off the engine. His head throbbed from where he'd hit it. He glanced over to Darren to see his body leaning forward, his head shielded by his arms caught on top of the dashboard. He looked behind Darren. The back of the car had been smashed, caving right in to the passenger chair which tilted forward slightly. Daniel realised his mistake as Darren lifted his head with tears in his eyes. He'd almost killed one of the best friends he'd ever had.
"Darren, are you okay?" Daniel asked.
"What do you think?" Darren replied.
He tried to move his arms from off the dashboard but only managed to get one. The sleeve of his shirt was caught in the very corner of the dashboard.
"Here, let me help." Daniel said leaning over and unhooking it. Darren moved his freed arm from the dashboard and Daniel quickly retreated back to the other side of the car waiting for Darren to hit him. Darren didn’t move, he just looked at his arm inspecting it for any cuts and bruises. Daniel felt behind him for the handle to open the door and opened it. He quickly climbed out of the car. He wasn’t sure whether Darren wanted his help or not to get out, but he offered his hand anyway. Darren shook his head and pulled himself out of the car through Daniel’s door, dragging his legs behind him. Darren’s silence was unsettling to Daniel. It wasn’t normal. Darren turned himself around to grab onto the roof of the car and pull his legs out from under him so that he was now standing on the road. He turned to face Daniel and slammed the car door behind him. He wasn’t crying anymore, he was clearly VERY angry.
"Daniel." Darren said in a calm voice using all his might to stop himself from exploding. Daniel slowly backed away. "Daniel, stop."
Daniel obeyed and stopped where he stood, his face guilt-ridden.
"I’m sorry Darren, really I am, I didn’t mean it!"
"Why didn’t you stop when I told you to then?"
"I couldn’t, you kicked me!"
"Don’t blame me for your mistakes, Daniel. What I’d really like to know is how we’re going to explain this," Darren motioned towards the wrecked car, "to the rental company. Saying that’s how it was given to us is not going to work this time!"
"Uh, well, I’ll just tell them the truth. I’m sure we can afford it," Daniel said edging his way around Darren and opening the car door to retrieve his mobile phone. He didn’t get it more than an inch open when Darren pressed his hand on the door and slammed it shut again. Daniel looked into his face questioningly.
"Look Daniel, we won’t be able to if you keep behaving like this. So far on this tour you’ve managed to blow up a car, smash this car, and get yourself put into jail so I had to bail you out!" Darren yelled in anger.
"But I wasn’t in ja…Oh yeah, Melbourne," Daniel muttered with a sigh.
"You can leave the band for all you like, at least it will save me money," Darren continued.
"Save YOU money? What the hell are you talking about Darren?" Daniel shouted, his anger overtaking his guilt. "You’re the one who spends all the money, I’m not allowed to spend any of it! You know what, I think I might just leave the band now. There’s not enough room in the band for me, your ego takes up all the space!"
Darren grabbed the door handle and opened the door with all his force, knocking Daniel onto the road. Darren climbed into the car and stretched under his seat where the mobile phone had dropped. He backed out of the car where Daniel was just pulling himself up and dusting himself off. He shoved the phone into Daniel’s hands.
"Here, call a tow truck or something. No, actually, call John first and explain to him what happened. He’s gonna have to organise some way to get us to the airport now," Darren demanded and turned his back to walk away, preventing himself from throwing Daniel over the edge of the guardrail.
Daniel dialed the number of their manager, John Woodruff, into his mobile, still shaken up from the car crash and the argument he’d just had with Darren. "Hi John."
"Daniel, is that you?" John asked. "Where are you?"
"Uh, me and Darren have a slight problem. We’re stuck out here with no way to get to the airport."
"Stuck? What do you mean?"
"I smashed the rental car." Daniel mumbled.
"You smashed the car. You're not having much luck with cars on this tour, are you?" John sighed. "Are you guys okay?"
"Um, I think so. My head hurts a little but I’m okay. I think Darren’s got a few little cuts and bruises, I’m not sure."
"Okay, well that’s the main thing then, that you’re both okay," John said trying to be as supportive as possible. "Whereabouts are you?"
Daniel looked around. "I dunno, looks like we’re somewhere in the middle of nowhere."
John smiled in amusement. "Does Darren have any idea where you are?"
"I dunno," Daniel responded. He paused. "Don’t make me talk to him please, we’ve just had a major fight."
"Over what?" John asked.
"This." Daniel replied.
"Okay, well, can you put him on the phone then and I’ll talk to him," John said.
Daniel shrugged and glanced over to Darren who was walking up and down by the guardrail rubbing his arms to keep warm. The cold night air had just begun to set in.
"Darren, John wants to talk to you," Daniel called.
Darren sighed and made his way over to Daniel, yanking the mobile phone out of his hands and walking back to where he had been by the guardrail. Daniel looked over at him and sighed.

A few days later, things still hadn’t improved. Darren and Daniel were still at each-other’s throats, and they couldn’t even speak to each-other. The public had also become very suspicious. Darren was sick of having to put on a happy face for the public when deep down inside he just wanted to spit in Daniel’s face. As he walked into the hotel lobby, Ben and Nicole ran up to him worriedly.
"Have you seen Daniel anywhere?" Ben asked. Darren shrugged.
"Oh, just great. Nobody else has seen him, either," Nicole moaned. Darren immediately had a bad feeling in his stomach. Daniel wouldn’t just nick off and not let anybody know where he’s going. Secretly he hoped Daniel had been hit by a car or something, but he quickly pushed those thoughts out of his head.
"OK, after lunch we’ll go and look for him," Darren sighed. He and the band walked into the dining room, but no sooner did they sit down that Daniel walked into the room, looking very troubled and distressed. The bad feeling in Darren’s stomach grew worse, and he knew it wasn’t because he was hungry. He got up and immediately went over to him. As much as he didn’t want to, he had no choice but to communicate with Daniel.
"What’s the matter?" he asked. He noticed Daniel’s red puffy eyes. Daniel shook his head and ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. Darren squeezed Daniel’s shoulder gently and repeated his question.
"I came to say goodbye," Daniel finally said, his voice wavering. Darren’s heart jumped.
"Wha...what?" Darren gasped. Daniel took him by the arm and lead him into the hallway.
"I didn’t want to discuss this with you of all people," Daniel said in a low voice. "I’m going home. The plane leaves in three hours."
Darren looked at his ex-best friend in complete shock.
"Why?" he managed to say.
"There’s a lot of reasons, but i’m in too much of a hurry to explain. But I have to leave. I have to leave right now."
"But...but we’re in the middle of a tour, damnit! You can’t just leave!"
"Watch me," Daniel said firmly, then shuffled Darren aside and walked towards the elevator.
"But think about the fans, Daniel!" Darren insisted, following him. "Yeah, well, you should’ve thought about that before you started being nasty to me," Daniel said over his shoulder. "Now I know how Ginger Spice feels."
"I’m not Ginger Spice, DJ."
"Ha! You got THAT right!"
"Daniel!" Darren shouted. Daniel stopped and turned back, rolling his eyes. Darren panicked as he tried to think of something to say. "Um...well...can I....can I drive you to the airport? You know, to see you off?"
"Oh, wow, very supportive of you, Darren!" he thought.
Daniel nodded, slightly hurt. Was Darren so happy he was leaving that he wanted to get rid of him even quicker? He didn’t want to hang around long enough to find out. He walked into the elevator and took one more look at his ex-best friend before the doors slid shut. Darren stared at the door blankly, not wanting to believe what he’d just heard. Daniel, the best friend he’d ever had, was deserting him in the middle of the tour. But right now the tour wasn’t important -- Daniel was far more important than anything. He had to do something to save the tour-and their friendship. But what?

Daniel dropped his bags beside him and turned to Darren, sighing.
"This is as far as you can go," he said. "From now on the only ones past this point are those actually getting onto the plane." He waited for a reply, but Darren had his back turned and his head was hanging low. Daniel tapped his shoulder. Darren turned around, wiping his eyes and biting his nail. Daniel realised that Darren was crying.
"I wish I actually was getting on the plane," Darren sniffed. He shook his head and the tears began falling again. "I don’t want to do this anymore, Daniel."
Daniel immediately felt guilty, and he wrapped his arms around Darren and pulled him into a hug.
"I’m sorry," Darren whimpered.
"It’s okay, Daz...There’s no shame in crying."
"No, it’s not that. I mean i’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything. I’m sorry I made things miserable for you during this tour. I’m sorry I never stood behind you and supported you when you made the decision to leave. I should’ve just accepted it, and not pressure you or make you lose your sanity." He sobbed. "This hurts, Daniel. I’m sorry i’m such an awful person."
Daniel pulled back and held Darren’s face in his hands. "You’re not awful, Darren. I understand why you acted the way you did. But it’s what I have to do. Besides, i’m going to come back." "You’re not going to come back. I know you’re not. You’re going to get off this plane and never come back to the band. We need you, Daniel. I need you."
Daniel pulled a tissue out of his pocket and handed it to Darren. "Here. Just calm down, alright? I’m promising you now. I WILL come back. And you can quote me on that." He smiled. "C’mon, i’ll see you soon, okay?"
He and Darren hugged one last time. Neither wanted to let go of the other, because they feared that if they let go, the other would go away and never come back.
"Hey, you’d better let go of me or I won’t be able to get on the plane!" Daniel joked. Darren didn’t move. "Hmmm, maybe I shouldn’t have said that!"
Darren laughed as he finally let go of Daniel. "Take care, alright? I’ll ring you when you get home."
"Yeah, okay. As long as you don’t ring me at three in the morning, cause then i’ll never speak to you again!" They laughed.
"You have every right to hang up on me when I do!" Darren smiled. Daniel picked up his bags and walked away. Darren folded his arms across his chest and stared into the crowd, hoping to catch another glimpse of Daniel. But he was no-where in sight.
He was gone.

"Darren, you’re on in 5 minutes! Quit farting around!" John Woodruff called from the stage door.
"Yeah, i’m coming! I just have to make a quick phone call!" Darren replied, pushing the final digit on the payphone.
"Hello?"
"Daniel? It’s Darren.
"Hey! How are ya?"
"Busy. I’m due onstage in 5 minutes."
"What are you doing ringing ME then?! Get up there!"
"I can’t without checking up on you. Was the flight okay?"
"Yup, I talked to the pilot umpteen times during the flight so he could keep me reassured that nothing was wrong. I usually relied on you for that." He cleared his throat nervously. "Um, Darren, I have something to tell you."
"DARREN! For God’s sake, get your arse up here!" John shouted, growing very impatient.
"Oh, shit. Daniel, i’ll ring you later. I’d better get onstage before Woody ruptures a hormone."
"Er, I don’t think i’ll be home later."
"Why?"
Beep beep beep. Darren had been disconnected. He swore loudly, hung up the phone and ran over to John. They walked up to the backstage area and waited for his cue to jump onstage.

The concert that night wasn’t the same without Daniel. He saw the signs that fans waved in the air as he poured his heart, mind, body and soul into every note of the song. "Savage Garden rawks!"
"I love you!"
"Sweet like a chica cherry cola!"
He could feel a wave of disappointment in the air as the audience wondered where the heck Daniel was. As Darren was introducing the band members, he ended it by saying, "And, um, Daniel-" The audience screamed. Darren smiled weakly. "Daniel unfortunately couldn’t be with us tonight. The poor bugger’s not feeling well. So let’s give a huge scream anyway, alright?" The girls in the audience roared loudly. Darren let tears fill his eyes once again as he realised how much the fans wanted Daniel to be there...How much HE wanted Daniel to be there...

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