| His whole life felt like it was turning upside down. His past, present and future felt like they were colliding and there was nothing he could do to stop it. But he could turn this in to a positive thing if he worked at it. He looked down at the video script in his hand and his past came flashing before him. Belle. The love of his life, though he had never ever told her that. He had never told anyone but he was sure they knew. His body ached for her any time he thought of her and he wished more than anything that things had worked out for them. He had met her in the filming of their music video ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’ and there had been an instant attraction, the chemistry between them plain for anyone to see. Long after they had left the other guys would ask him what had happened between them because while they were together the love between them shone brightly. And Brian could only agree. He felt alive when he was with her. When she was gone that fateful morning, he felt as if the life had been taken from him. He chuckled when he remembered those three wonderful days, how much she had helped him, and in return how much he had helped her. Together they had overcome fears and past hurts and then shared one remarkable evening out. The evening he had kissed her for the first time, also the evening he had kissed her for the last time. She had been whisked away the next morning by her publicist before she was able to say goodbye to him and finding time to be together after that had proven impossible. He remembered the time about three months after they had parted that they had met. They had shared phone calls over the time, when they could find each other, but this meeting had been a strain, one that had pretty much ended anything between them. In a crowd of media and journalists neither one of them could relax, the strain of the evening taking its toll with an argument breaking out between the two of them. It was nothing major, just a simple stupid argument that had done the damage. It had broken his heart to leave her that way. It had eaten him up over the years since then. He never seemed to be at peace with things anymore. He would always remember her. He had followed her career over the years and always felt proud of her despite the ache he felt. She had gone from strength to strength in the acting world and Brian was happy for her because he knew how much acting meant to her and how much she loved it. He thought back to her telling him that she loved all acting, including doing their ‘little’ music videos. Here was his chance again. He wondered if she still meant what she had told him and he planned to find out. He has had his own measure of success now and with his four band mates they were now known all around the world, equally as well known as she was. Success or lack of it had never been an issue between them, neither was the chance to meet up with one another, as it had been in the years before. It had always been impossible for one reason or another. Now that he had success, he also had a big say in how their videos would play out. This time he would demand something that would hopefully mend all the heartache he had suffered over the past three years. ********** Belle stood looking at the contract in her hands. She sat down on the comfortable chair by the window of her luxurious Hollywood home to read the contract again, the warmth of the winter sunshine warming her jangled nerves. A music video shoot, it brought back so many memories. She had been asked to do a music video shoot! Who would possibly think she would do something like this? She had done one of these in her career and it had left her with an irreparable broken heart. She couldn’t do another one of these without the pain coming back ten fold. The memories of those three days would remain with her for life and she still pined for Brian. She had watched his career slowly build with bittersweet delight. She was happy that he had made the big time that he had wanted so much, but she knew it meant the end of any chance they had. While she had never heard of him being linked with anyone romantically, she was sure he would have his pick of beautiful women to go out with. She looked around the room she sat in with its sweeping views of the ocean. She would give it all up for a chance with Brian again. What had the name of that song been four years ago? Something to do with a heart. Break your heart. No, that wasn’t it. Oh yes, it was ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’. Brian had told her he would never break hers but unknown to him, he had. It was worse than the heartache she had thought she had felt over losing Kane. In retrospect what she had felt on losing Kane after all those years was nothing to how she felt after losing Brian after only three days. I’ll Never Break Your Heart. Why did that ring a bell with her? She frowned and looked down at the contract in her hand ready to discard it when the words leapt from the page. I’ll Never Break Your Heart by the Backstreet Boys. Belle’s heart leapt to her throat, her pulse racing through her body and pounding in her ears. Could this be what she had been waiting for? Could this be her way back to Brian? Her breathing was erratic as she stood and she had to steady herself from the giddiness she was feeling. She had to ring her agent to find out where this contract had come from. Who had been responsible for her being asked to do this contract? Dare she believe it was Brian himself? ********** Brian waited the next few days for a reply from the casting director for their video shoot. He had insisted that Belle Hart play the part of his love interest in the video, arguing that it would be an interesting twist to the video to have the same girl as they had in the first one. He was ready to demand she be contracted to the video if he had to, but remarkably, they had agreed. Brian said a silent thank you and waited, though he suspected snaring such a big Hollywood star for his video shoot was a factor in his decision to try. Brian didn’t care why he agreed, he was just glad he had. Three days later he was still waiting for word. He felt like he was living on pins and needles and the rest of the guys noticed his demeanour having no idea what was bothering him. He couldn’t tell him in case Belle said no. He knew if her answer was no it would mean his final hopes gone and he would be crushed. He didn’t want anyone else to know about this, even the guys. The phone rang and he stiffened as his heart began to race. Every time the phone rang he reacted like this. He had to get a grip on himself. He would be no use to anyone at this rate even if Belle did say yes. He stood and walked to the phone quickly still in a daze. He had to answer the phone before the caller hung up. “Hello,” he breathed into the phone. “Hello Brian. I have the reply to that contract you insisted on.” |