| Brian survived the ride better than he thought he would but he was glad to get both feet firmly on solid ground again. He skied over to a nearby pole and leaned his head against it, his eyes closed, breathing heavily. When somebody touched him from behind, he barely felt it through the thick jacket he was wearing to ward off the cold. But he sensed her return. “You okay Brian?” came her lyrical voice, this time laced with concern. He straightened then turned to look at her, all thought of his ordeal out of his mind once their eyes connected. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think I survived that one. But I sure hope they got all the shots they needed, I don’t want to do that again in a hurry.” “Um, Brian. We have to get back down.” “Uh uh,” she said shaking his head from side to side. “I will ski down, I will walk down if necessary, but I am not getting on that again,” Brian said firmly. “Skiing sounds fun. Could I join you?” Belle asked him. He smiled at the thought. One couldn’t help but smile back at Brian when he smiled at you, and she was no exception. “I would love you to join me.” Brian watched her for a moment amazed that simply having her nearby would make him forget his fears. “Okay everyone, lets not waste any time. Straight over to the cable cars. Now!” Belle threw a cautious look at Brian who did look nervous. He reached down to take her hand in his lacing his fingers through hers tightly. “I can do this,” he told her. She squeezed his hand. “Yes, you can Brian. We’re all here for you.” He looked around and sure enough, everyone was watching him carefully. His band mates were all aware of his fear of heights, and had worried about how he would cope with the video shoot when they had all read the treatment, but it seemed Belle was taking good care of him, which they were relieved about. As a group they lined up at the spot the car would arrive, Brian and Belle in the middle of them. The car with the camera equipment was approaching and Brian panicked. “Do we really have to go up there? Can’t we film down here?” “Brian,” Kevin’s voice said behind him in a calming tone. “You’ll be okay. We have to go up there for some more filming. It’s all been arranged. I know you can do it.” He said no more to anyone and was taken in with the crowd when the car arrived. There was no chance of him backing out. He held Belle’s hand tightly, afraid to let it go. As the car moved his eyes went to the floor and stayed there. “Don’t look out Brian,” Belle whispered in his ear. “I think I am going to be sick,” he said to her as the car swayed on it’s cable. “Shhh! No you aren’t.” She reached out and brushed her fingers down his cheek. He didn’t look well. “Just sit for a little while,” she said to him gently while guiding him down to sit. She wished she had a cold washcloth and water, but there was none. Brian sat himself on the floor of the cable car listening to the others talk about the scenery below, which didn’t help at all. When Nick excitedly called out, “Wow, look how high we are,” Belle had to step in. “Nick, do you think you could keep the comments like that down?” He looked at her with an annoyed expression until he saw Brian sitting on the floor. No one had seen the state Brian was in and they all instantly stopped talking and looked at him warily. The director wasn’t quite so accommodating when he looked at Brian. “Come on Brian. It’s only a short ride, I need some film of you trying to chat Belle up.” “I can’t get up.” “Yes you can and you will.” He said to Brian with no compassion. The others all pleaded with him to leave Brian alone, but Brian struggled to his feet. “No, it’s okay,” he said still looking a little green. He still held on to Belle’s hand for support. “What do you want me to do? Maybe it will take my mind off… well you know what off.” He was rewarded with a look of pride from Belle and he felt something swell in his chest. The remainder of the ride was done with the cameras on, Brian slowly getting the courage to talk to Belle, Belle finally opening herself up to Brian. That was the acting side of it. In reality a similar thing was happening. “Thank you Belle,” Brian said as the cameras rolled. No one could hear them because they were making small talk among themselves, making it look very natural for the camera. “My pleasure Brian.” She smiled at him with the right amount of gentleness to be perfect for the video shoot. It brought a cheer of satisfaction from the director, him mumbling something about it being perfect. “Please let me make it up to you. Dinner tonight? Would you please join me for dinner,” Brian stammered out, ignoring everything going on around him just concentrating on Belle. Belle took a breath and thought. Did she want to go to dinner with Brian? She knew she did, but would it be wise? Then again, what could it hurt? Life goes on! She looked away for a moment and then returned her gaze to Brian. Their eyes met and she let her eyes lower to his lips. She wanted to feel those lips on hers more than anything else right then, the intensity scaring her. She looked back into his eyes and she knew that he knew what she had been thinking. She blushed softly. Finally she nodded her head. She had to be honest to herself and admit it was what she wanted too. “Okay, that sounds nice,” she said. Brian let out the breath he was holding totally unaware that the car had stopped moving. The director had arranged for the car to stop for ten minutes while he completed his filming, but right now, Brian was too happy to notice. The horizon and the height they were suspended from was not a concern. He continued to chat with Belle quietly and the director was loving the interaction between them. If this wasn't for real, they were both fantastic actors, he thought. With a bump the car began to move again and Brian stiffened. “It’s okay Brian,” Belle said to him and he relaxed. “I said you would be the one to get me over this fear and I was right.” His face showed the gratitude he felt and Belle smiled. “Cut. You guys, that was perfect. Belle, sweety, I know why they are singing your praises in Hollywood. It is truly an honor to work with you.” Belle turned and looked at the director. She knew he was complimenting her, but she found it difficult to accept it as one. She didn’t like to be singled out especially as she hadn’t been acting. The way she was interacting with Brian was real. She smiled her thanks to him before turning to look out the window. They were coming to the top of the mountain now. Soon they would be out of the carriage. Brian came up behind her. “What’s wrong?” he asked. She shrugged and told him how she felt. He could tell it bothered her. He frowned to himself, touching her shoulder but not knowing what to say to her. He guessed she was having a hard time with the idea of being famous. He wanted to help her the same way she had helped him, only he didn’t know how. Turning Belle with the hand on her shoulder he stopped and looked at her, wondering if he should do the thing that had come to mind. Should he throw caution to the wind or should he wait. He shook his head slightly and saw the look of puzzlement on her face. What did he have to lose? He had everything to gain by letting Belle know how he felt. He leaned in to her and brushed his lips softly across hers, moving back as quickly as he had kissed her. Belle touched her fingers to her lips and Brian gave her a lopsided grin. For the first time since he had met Belle he had a good feeling about the two of them. |