I turned away and yawned discreetly. It must have been really late..my eyelids were drooping…

“Hey you tired Brit?” whispered Mark gently just as I was about to enter dreamland.

“Yeah, I had a long day.”

“Must be getting really late..er..actually very early in the morning I mean! What time is

it anyways?” asked Ben who had sobered up, and was now pulling into a stretch.

“It’s bout..oh gosh bout 3!” said Christian after checking his watch, a little shocked, “ wow time really flies when you’re having fun huh?”

“Yeah..” sighed a worn-out Paul. “we better be heading back, we’ve got interviews lined up tomorrow..er..today..”

“Brit how are you going home?” Mark asked.

I suddenly remembered that I would have to walk home. WALK. All alone for half an hour, past dark, quiet alleys and backstreets, before reaching the safety of my home.

I shuddered at the thought of getting mobbed, when Mark out his arm around me, and nudged me,saying, “ What’s wrong Brit? You alright? You went rather pale there..”

“It’s ok..I..I j-just..” I started.

“Is anything wrong Britannia?” asked Christian with a concerned look on his face.

“Well..I’m just being silly..that’s all..it’s just that..I’m scared...of going home alone considering it’s so dark and quiet, and I live quite a bit from here, and there are no cabs..” I rambled.

“Hey why don’t you come and stay with us for the night?” suggested Ben. “We have a sofa bed and everything back at the suite..and we don’t bite..well not really,” joked Ben.

“What? Are you sure? I can make it home on my own you know..it’s really alright..I don’t want to be of trouble to you guys or anything..”

“Nonsense! It’s no problem at all..please stay..it’ll put my..our mind at ease..we can’t go away thinking that something could have happened to you,” cried Mark.

“ So Brit you coming with us?” asked Paul.

I looked at these guys in front of me with amazement. 4 darn good looking celebrities, FAMOUS people, inviting me back to their HOTEL. Oh my gosh.. I knew these guys were trustworthy and would never have any cruel intentions, but I just could not believe they’d suggest such a thing. This showed how caring, how protective, how sweet they were, caring for me even though they’ve only known me for a couple of hours. My ears must have really been playing tricks on me..plus my fatigue and the drinks and all…but no. This was real. REALITY.

Paul, Ben, Mark and Christian looked at me expectantly, as I opened my mouth and uttered, “I..i would love to..”

Mark never looked happier. He stood up with his arm still around me, and led me out of Chinablack, with the rest of the band following.

When we reached the a1 suite, it turned out to be a luxurious penthouse at Ritz Carlton, the 6 star hotel in the city. The suite consisited of 4 spacious bedrooms with 2 huge bathrooms with both showers and bath tubs. There was a comfy living room with a widescreen tv, 2 long plush sofas and a glass coffee table with flowers in an expensive vase. Totally star treatment, I tell you.

Ben sauntered to one of the sofas and plopped himself among the cushions.

“Ben get up! We gotta open that sofa bed for Brit, remember?” said Paul.

“Oh yeah,” he yawned, “Sorry I forgot bout that,” he mumbled as he heaved himself off the very inviting sofa, and with the help of the rest of the guys, assembled the sofa bed for me.

“Alright! That’s done, you’d better get some rest Brit,” said Christian as he walked towards me and gave me a hug and a kiss on my cheek. Ben and Paul followed suit, and went to their respective rooms after that to get some sleep. Mark was busying himself at the refrigerator, when it dawned on me that I had nothing to sleep in.

I walked up to him and said,” Mark..erm..i don’t have anything to wear..could I borrow a shirt or something?”

He nodded and smiled as he pulled me into his room. He looked through his clothes and pulled out a dark blue shirt and passed it to me. I thanked him and went to the bathroom to change. The length was just nice as it reached near my knees. I washed up and went back out into the living room to finally get some sleep. When I reached there, I saw Mark sitting on my sofa bed, so I sat behind him and put my arms around his neck- something I had been dying to do all my life.

I whispered, “ Thanks for the shirt. It fits nicely”

He took my hands away and turned to face me. He stared into my eyes and me in his. He brushed away a loose strand of hair hanging by the side of my face. He put his hand under my chin and tilted my head upwards as his face came closer and closer. I could feel his warm, moist breath on my face. The moment I wished for was drawing near, and I closed my eyes, awaiting the soft kiss that Mark was going to plant on my lips..

..but it never came. All I felt was a wet patch on my right cheek as Mark placed a peck on my face. Argh, did he have bad aiming, was the first thought that came to mind. He pulled me into a hug, and that was when I realized something that I did not want to admit was true: Mark did not feel the same way as I felt for him. He was not interested in me, just being polite. Disappointment washed over me. Not that I expected him to be madly in love with me or anything*I just met the guy..and I’m not THAT unreasonable* but I was just upset that he did not show any sign that he was keen in getting to know me better.

A tear formed in my eye. I hurriedly brushed it aside, not wanting Mark to think that I was just another lunatic fan devoid of attention. That would only ruin my chances with him..were there chances with him?

Mark heard me sniff and pulled back to look at me. His eyebrows creased, and he asked, “ Are you okay? Were you crying?”

My tear glands lost more control as a couple more tears toppled out. A little worried, Mark put his hands firmly on my shoulder and asked what was wrong, before giving me another tight and assuring hug, rubbing his hands up and down my back, trying to calm me down.

“Britannia is everything alright? Please tell me what’s wrong! I’ll do anything to make you feel better!”

“Then LOVE ME!!”

“What?”

Oh crap. Did I really say that aloud?

“What did you say?” Mark was now looking at me with a strange expression that I didn’t know what to make out of.

Should I tell him the truth? Mt heart was bursting to tell him that I loved him to bits, that I think about him night and day, how my life depends on him…instead I muttered, “ Erm, nothing..it’s getting late..I’m just cranky..th-that’s all..” I pulled the covers over my head and tried to go to sleep..hoping this nightmare would fade away.

The patter of footsteps told me that Mark had walked away, and went to his room to sleep. Unknown to me, was that Mark spent the rest of the time puzzled, thinking of the two little words that escaped my mouth.