Chapter Three

Mark and Ben didn’t move from their seats as Chloe and Rose got changed.

“Do you think they’re talking about us?” Mark asked, gesturing towards Chloe’s room.

“Undoubtedly. But then, we’re talking about them.” Ben said.

“True. So what really happened between you and Chloe last night? Chris wanted me to get all the details.” Mark said, sitting up.

“Well we didn’t have do anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Ben started.

Mark held his hands up in protest. “I didn’t think that! Although Chris did.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t expect any less of Chris.” Ben said. “He really does have the wrong opinion of me you know. She’s only 15.”

“Is she?” Mark asked, surprised.

“Didn’t you know that?”

“Nope. Thought she was, I dunno, 17 or something.”

“So did I. But she’s only 15.”

“Oh. How old’s Rose?”

“16 I think. Why?”

“Just wondered.” Mark said.

Ben grinned.

“So what did happen last night then?” Mark asked, changing the subject.

“Nothing much. We just talked a lot. It’s cool, we get on really well.”

“Were you jumping on the beds?” Mark asked.

Ben thought. “Oh! We had a pillow fight.” He said, grinning. “That was great fun!”

Mark smiled. “So what’s the situation with you two then?”

“I dunno really. I mean I like her, I really really like her, but I dunno.”

“Does she like you?”

Ben shrugged. “Think so. She said she’d let me take her out again.”

“Usually a good sign.”

“Yeah.”

“Hang on, what was that shrug for?” Mark asked. “Do you not know if she likes you or not?”

Ben shrugged again.

“Ben, you of all people should know she’s into you. She was all over you this morning!”

“I guess. We talked a bit about you and Rose actually last night. Speaking of which…”

“I thought we were talking about you and Chloe.” Mark said, ignoring Ben’s questioning tone.

“And we are, but indirectly, you and Rose come under that heading as well. So…? What’s happening?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Yeah.”

“Why not? You looked like you were getting on really well!”

“We were. I mean, we are! She’s a great girl!”

“So…”

“So what?” Mark asked.

“Well you like her right?” Ben probed.

“Yeah…”

“You wanna be with her?”

“I don’t know, maybe. It doesn’t always work like that.”

“But she likes you as well. I know, coz Chloe told me, but surely you’ve noticed? It’s pretty obvious.”

“I know she does…”

“So do something about it! Make a move. She’s not going to is she?”

“I’m not like you Ben. I can’t do that.” Mark said.

Ben sighed. “I know, but you always do this. You play it too cool and they think you don’t like them. You know that whatever you do, she’s going to respond positively, so why not just go for it? Grab the bull by the horns, as they say. Although I never actually knew why they said that…” Ben trailed off, considering his last comment. “Just spend some time with her, get to know her a bit better, then…”

“Yeah but Ben…”

“No buts! You like her, you go out with her! That’s all there is to it!”

“She’s really young though…”

“That’s a stupid excuse. She’s not that young! What are you always telling me? Try everything once?”

Mark smiled. “Good use of counter-advice there Ben.”

“Well y’know, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for years!”

“I’ll think about it.” Mark said, by way of decision.

“Argh, Mark!”

“I can’t help it, it’s just how I am!”

“Well you know, if you don’t do something today, you might have missed your chance. She’s a pretty girl, she’s not going to be single forever.” Ben warned.

“I know.” Mark paused to think about what Ben had just said. “Okay, I will do something. When we get to Legoland.”

“Do you want me and Chloe to subtly leave you two on your own at some point?” Ben asked considerately.

“You and Chloe is it now?” Mark teased.

“Shut up.”

“Sorry. Yeah, okay, thanks a bit of alone time would probably be good.”

“Hey, no problem! I want you to be happy. I am. And plus it’s no fun being all potentially,” Ben said pointedly. "loved up on your own. Nobody talks to you. They all run away.” Ben said sadly.

Mark laughed. “That’s because when you’ve got a girlfriend, she’s all you talk about! You’re a nightmare!”

“Am I really that bad?” Ben asked surprised.

“Yes!”

“Oh. Well anyway, back to Rose. She’s really nice and she’s really pretty and she likes you. What more could you ask for?”

“Actually, do you know what? I was talking to her earlier and it’s amazing, we have so much in common, we’re so alike!”

“Well there you go!” said Ben. “The perfect match.”

Mark smiled. “I guess so…” he said, lapsing into thought.

“We better go and change.” Said Ben. “Otherwise we’ll never get there!”

“Yeah okay. What have you brought to wear?” Mark asked.

“Um, I’ve got… I can’t remember, come with me, I’ll show you.” Ben replied.

“Okay.”

Ben and Mark got up and went into Ben’s room. A few minutes later, Mark came out again and went into his own room to change.

After half an hour and a lot of going in and out of various rooms, Chloe, Rose, Mark and Ben all came out of their respective rooms, fully changed and ready to go.

“You look very nice.” Chloe said, going over to Ben and hugging him.

He grinned. “I know, I always do.” He said cheekily.

Chloe smiled embarrassedly.

“Sorry, I meant, so do you.” Ben corrected himself.

“Is everybody ready?” asked Mark.

“What are we doing with our bags?” Rose asked.

“You can just leave them here.” Ben answered. “Someone’ll come and get them for us when we want to go home. Being famous does have its benefits.” He said.

“Oh and bag collection is the only one.” Chloe said.

“One of few…”

“Whatever. How are we getting there?” asked Chloe.

“I rang Del this morning, he’s sending a car over. It should be there now in fact.” Mark said, looking at his watch.

“Okay then, let’s go!” Ben said excitedly, taking Chloe’s hand and opening the door.

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Mark said. “I’ve just gotta get my phone and stuff.”

“Okay, me and Chloe’ll go out to the car.” Ben said.

“I’ll wait with you if you want.” Rose offered Mark.

He smiled at her. “Okay, thanks.”

“See ya later!” Ben said, leaving the room with Chloe.

Rose leant against the door frame as Mark went back into his room to get his things together. A few moments later he came back out with his jacket on and hotel suite keys in his hand.

“I nearly forgot about these.” He said. “Wouldn’t have been surprised if I’d have lost them. I dunno what Ben was doing giving me responsibility for them, he knows what I’m like!”

Mark took a look round the hotel room. “Right, have you got everything?”

“Yep.”

“Cool. Let’s go then!”

“Okay.”

Mark pulled the door shut behind him and Rose as they stepped out into the corridor. He locked it and put the keys into his pocket. They walked in an awkward silence to the lift.

“Did Chloe say anything about Ben this morning?” Mark asked.

“Are you kidding? That’s all she talked about! Ben this, Ben that, she wouldn’t shut up!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why? Did he say anything about her?”

“Yeah, a bit. He was all, ‘I don’t know if she likes me’.”

Rose frowned. “Is he blind?”

“Well I think so.” Mark said, smiling.

“I’ll be sharing your opinion on that one I think.”

“It won’t take them long to get it together properly I don’t think.” Mark said. “It’d just be stupid if they didn’t!”

“Yeah.”

The lift reached the ground floor and Rose and Mark walked into the foyer where Mark stopped at the reception desk to give the keys in.

“Tim Byrne.” He said to the receptionist. “Our manager.” He said off Rose’s puzzled expression. “He’s got a special arrangement with them here where someone will come and pick our bags up later.”

“Can you sign this please sir?” asked the receptionist, taking the keys from Mark.

“Sure.” He said, picking up the pen on the desk and signing the authorisation form.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Mark and Rose started to walk towards the glass double doors when Mark’s mobile rang.

“Oh, hang on.” He said, stopping and getting the phone out of his pocket. “Hello?”

“Hi Mark, it’s Ben. Where are you?”

“In the foyer, we’re just about to come out to the car.” Mark said, looking confused.

“Yeah, you might not want to do that just yet.” Ben said.

“Why not?”

“Because we’re not actually out here any more.”

“What?! Why not?”

“Well it seems that some fans managed to find out that we were staying here and we just got completely mobbed.” Ben explained. “Lots of girls, not particularly happy to see me with Chloe.” he elaborated.

“Oh god. Where are you at the moment?” Mark asked, putting his arm around Rose and moving back from the windows.

“We’re just driving round.”

“Well are you gonna come and get us or just leave us here?” Mark asked.

“We thought seeing as we had the car we’d go without you.” Ben said. “No, only joking, can you find out if there’s a back entrance? You’re okay while you’re in the hotel coz it’s a locked door but the fans obviously know we’re both here so they’re not gonna go ‘til they see you as well. If you can get out the back it’d probably be a lot easier. But do it quickly coz it won’t be long till they find that as well.”

“Okay, hang on.” Mark said, going back up to the reception desk. “Hi, um, is there a back way out of here, preferably with road access? We’ve got a bit of a fan situation outside.” He explained to the receptionist.

“Yes there is. If you come with me, I’ll get someone to escort you.” she said helpfully, lifting up the desk surface to let Mark and Rose through.

“Okay, thanks, give me a minute. Ben? Yeah, we’re gonna go out the back. Who’s driving?”

“Rich.”

“Does he know where it is?”

“I don’t think so, hang on...” Mark could hear Ben talking to Rich their designated driver. “No, he hasn’t done this hotel before.”

“Okay, well give the phone to him and I’ll give mine to someone who can explain it to him.”

“Okay.” Ben said.

Mark handed his phone to the security guard who had now appeared by the receptionist’s side.

“Can you tell our driver where the back entrance is?” he asked him.

“Yeah sure.”

Turning to Rose he said, “Sorry, you must be wondering what’s going on. Ben says that him and Chloe got mobbed by fans when they left the hotel so the car’s gonna pick us up round the back.”

“Okay.” Said Rose.

“In case there are some round the back, stay close to me and just walk as fast as you can. But don’t worry,” he said, noticing Rose’s anxious expression. “you’re perfectly safe. Come on, let’s go.”

They followed the security guard through the ‘Staff Only’ section of the hotel, which went through the middle of the building, all the way through to the big warehouse at the back. They crossed the large extension and Mark put his arm around Rose’s waist as the security guard opened the small door on the far wall which opened out into a private car park. As it was authorised people only, luckily there were no fans there and they were able to relax.

“Oh good.” Said Mark as he saw Ben get out of a silver people carrier type car parked near to the gates.

“Got out then?” he asked, looking slightly amused.

“Yeah. Are there any fans outside the gates?” Mark asked.

“There was a few but that was 10 minutes ago, so I have no idea. There could be loads now.” He answered.

“Okay, well let’s go shall we? Before any more find their way round here.” Mark suggested.

Ben got back in the car and resumed his position in the second row of seats between the window and Chloe. Rose followed him, sitting in front of Ben on the row of seats in front of him and Chloe.

“Wow, it’s really posh in here!” she exclaimed as Mark sat next to her.

“It’s nice though isn’t it?” Ben said.

“It’s lush!” Rose enthused as the car started up.

“And it’s got blacked out windows.” Chloe pointed out. “Which makes me feel really important. Although I would have thought they would attract more attention than normal windows.” She contemplated.

“Nah, loads of people have them these days.” Ben informed her. “And plus, you are really important.” He said, putting his arm around her and kissing her on the cheek.

Rose and Mark looked at each other knowingly. Chloe smiled as the gates opened revealing a small crowd of dedicated a1 fans, and the car pulled out of the car park.

“So tell me about the mobbing then.” Mark said.

“Well we walked out of the doors and you know they’re the kind where you have to speak into the thing to be let in? Well, they closed behind us and I was just talking to Chloe, and I looked up and there was this huge crowd of girls, and they were completely blocking the way to the car. We couldn’t go back into the hotel coz the doors were locked and by the time we got let in again, they’d have surrounded us and probably have got into the hotel as well so we had to push straight through the middle of them. Actually, it was pretty scary coz usually we have someone with us in that situation don’t we? But I was all on my own, trying not to get Chloe stabbed or something, coz they could obviously see that we were together they didn’t look that happy for me!” Ben laughed.

“Together?” Mark mouthed to Ben.

Ben just shrugged and smiled.

“It’s not funny, they looked really really angry. I was on the verge of just saying “okay, I’ll go, you can have him”!! It was terrifying!” Chloe said.

“Did they get any pictures?” Mark asked.

“Yeah I think so, there were quite a few camera flashes.”

“Ah well that’s it then, it’ll be all over the papers tomorrow!” said Mark. “I can just see the headlines: ‘Worldwide devastation as cute boy band member is spotted leaving hotel with girl.’ It’ll be all over the front pages.”

“I really don’t think the papers are gonna be that interested in who I stay at hotels with. They’re more interested in scandal.”

“It is scandal!” Mark said. “Sordid sex romp in expensive hotel.” He continued casually.

Chloe looked alarmed.

“Shut up Mark.” Ben said.

“But you know what they’re like, if there’s no story, they’ll make one up.”

“Yeah, something like ‘Annoying pop star thrown from moving vehicle by band member.’” Ben said.

“I’m only joking.” Mark said. “Just preparing you.”

Ben made a face at him. “Just ignore everything he says Clo.” He said to Chloe. “Just jealous.”

“Yeah, of course.” Chloe said, sounding distinctly unconvinced that Mark would be jealous of Ben being with her.

“And I don’t care what the papers say. It’s only going to make me look good being pictured with Chloe. Or worse, standing next to her.” He said.

Chloe smiled and leant against Ben as he slid his arms around her middle.

“Is it going to be like this the whole day?” Mark asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You two, all lovey dovey! It’s enough to drive anyone insane!” Mark said exasperatedly.

“You should try it, it’s great fun!” Ben said happily, whispering something to Chloe.

Mark sighed and turned away as Chloe giggled.

“I think it’s sweet.” Said Rose.

“Trust me, after five more hours of it, it will no longer be sweet.” Mark advised her.

“Well we’ll just have to do something to distract us then.” Rose said evocatively, looking Mark in the eye.

Mark grinned. “Anyone for I spy?”

“How far is it?” Ben asked the driver, leaning forward so he could hear the answer.

“About an hour.” Came the reply.

“Can we stop on the way? I’m starving!”

“Why didn’t you have some breakfast this morning?” asked Mark.

“We didn’t have time. And anyway, I really didn’t feel like eating… much.”

“That’s a first!” joked Mark.

“You are so mean!” said Ben, turning back to the driver. “Rich, can we stop at a services or something? I want some food.”

“Yeah, no problem, there’s one in about 20 minutes time. Once we get out of London and onto the motorway.”

“Thanks Rich.”

Chloe yawned.

“Are you tired?” Ben asked.

“Yeah, a bit.” She said.

“I’m not surprised after all that “talking”.” Rose grinned.

“Oh shut up!” Chloe said with a smile. “I’m not getting into this again. I told you what happened!”

“You should have gone to bed earlier.” Said Mark. “Me and Rose were sensible, we went to bed at a respectable time and we’re fine this morning.”

“You fell asleep in front of the TV!” said Ben.

“Yes, that’s true…” said Mark, clearly faltering for a good comeback. “But,” he continued. “If we hadn’t have fallen asleep, we probably would have gone to bed at a sensible time anyway. Wouldn’t we Rose?”

“Yes, we definitely would.” Rose agreed.

“But you didn’t have half as much fun as we did.” Ben pointed out. “I can’t actually remember what we did before we sobered up a bit, but there was definitely fun involved.” He said certainly.

“It was fun.” Said Chloe, yawning again.

“You can go to sleep if you want.” Ben said. “I make a very comfortable pillow.”

“No, it’s okay, if I go to sleep now, I’ll never wake up again and then I’ll have missed spending the whole day with you. Which would be very sad.”

“What about us? Do you not want to spend the day with us as well?” asked Rose indignantly.

“Of course I do. I want to spend the day with all of you!” Chloe reassured her. “But you’re coming back to my house for a week after this and Ben isn’t.”

“What about Mark?” Rose asked.

“He’s not either, but he’s not my…” Chloe trailed off realising that she couldn’t officially call Ben her boyfriend yet.

“Not your what?” Rose asked.

“Nothing. You’re getting me all confused now, I keep saying things I don’t mean.”

“It’s okay, I understand what you’re trying to say.” Mark said kindly, smiling at Chloe.

“You’ll be there only one.” Rose commented.

“I didn’t mean it to sound like I don’t want to spend any time with you.” Chloe said, ignoring Rose.

“I know.”

“Maybe I should just stop talking.” Chloe said as Ben hugged her reassuringly.

“What is happening after today anyway?” asked Rose. “How are we getting home?”

“We’re taking you both back to Chloe’s house with you and then going back to London I guess.” Said Mark.

“You’re coming back to Chloe’s house?”

“Yeah. If that’s okay…” Mark said, looking at Chloe.

“I already said it was fine!”

“Cool!” Rose enthused. “I thought you’d just put us on the train and send us back or something.”

“What, like mail order dates?”

“Okay, I’m scared that you even know what one of those is.” Rose said as Mark laughed.

“Yeah, he uses them all the time.” Ben joked. “Just coz he can’t get a real girlfriend. You’re well known by the escort agencies too aren’t you Mark?”

“Have you always been this annoying?” he asked.

“Mmm, pretty much. But it’s more intense when I’m embarrassing you in front a girl you like.”

Rose went red and looked out the window in an attempt to pretend she hadn’t heard that last comment. Mark just glared at Ben who gave a satisfied smile in return.

“Are we nearly there yet?”