See You at the Show (15 page)

Suddenly, something on the TV attracted his full attention and he sat up, staring at the screen.
 
They were doing the entertainment news, and that wasn’t something Daniel usually paid any attention to but the music coming from the TV was familiar to him now, still fresh in his mind from last night.
 
Black Rock Diamond.
 
Loud, heavy and nothing but noise had been his opinion of it – until last night.
 
But whatever was going on with that band involved Stevie too and he grabbed the remote control, turning up the volume.
 

They were still in
London
.
 
They were due to start the first of a sell-out five night stint at Wembley stadium tonight, according to the presenter.
 
He also mentioned something about a European and American tour but Daniel was already picking up the ‘phone.
 
He had five nights to get his head sorted.
 
He had five nights to work out just what the hell was going on here.
 
Five nights, that was all.

“Hello, Angus?
 
It’s Daniel.”

“Daniel!
 
Well done this morning by the way.
 
You were superb.
 
We’re well on track to get all the signatures we need and if you keep up this kind of momentum we’ll walk this Leadership Election no problem at all.
 
What can I do for you?”

“I need a favour, Angus.
 
A big favour.”

“Ask away.”

“I need you to be discreet about this, and I really need you not to mention anything to Samantha.”

“Are you ok?
 
You sound a little flustered.”

“I’m fine, really.
 
At least, I will be.”

“You’re not making a lot of sense, Daniel.
 
What exactly do you want me to do?”

“I need you to cover for me tonight, Angus.
 
I need you to tell Samantha I’m staying here in
London
, having dinner with you, a business dinner.
 
A really important business dinner.
 
Something that means I can’t make it home tonight.
 
I have to stay here in
London
.”

“Daniel...”

“Please, Angus.
 
If there was any other way I could do what I have to do I would.
 
But there isn’t.
 
And I really need your help with this.”

“Ok.
 
But I don’t like lying to Samantha.
 
Are you sure you can’t tell me what all this is about?”

“No, because I’m not even sure myself…look, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, Angus.
 
Believe me.”

“You’re not in any trouble are you?
 
Because if you are...”

“No.
 
No, nothing like that.
 
There’s just something I need to do, and there’s no other way I can do it.
 
Not that I can think of anyway.
 
I’ll be fine.
 
It’s just something I’ve got to do.”

And so Daniel Madison got ready for another night at a rock gig as his world headed off in that strange and different direction once more, leaving him with no choice but to follow it.

***

The first of the band’s sell-out Wembley gigs had gone like a dream.
 
The weather had been amazing, the atmosphere incredible, and the band had been the best Stevie had seen them this tour.
 
They really were stepping it up with each gig they played.
 
Their energy on stage was something nobody could knock; they gave it their all, and then some.
 

Now it was over and most people had gravitated towards the V.I.P. Green Room area backstage.
 
That’s where Stevie found Johnny, strumming away on his acoustic guitar.
 
Jack was asleep on one of the five huge black leather sofas, a copy of a rock magazine over his face and Stevie knew it was only there to hide the fact he wasn’t really asleep at all, he’d be listening in on whatever it was that was going on around him, which wasn’t that much at the minute - a few celebrities Stevie vaguely recognised were hanging around, and some of the crew guys were making the most of the free food and drink.
 
Billy and Ava were over on another sofa, talking to each other as they flicked through what Stevie reckoned was a baby name book.
 
They’d been trying to think of a name for their baby for a while now, ever since they’d found out Ava was expecting a boy.
 

She had no idea where Mark was, although she could hazard a very strong guess.
 
It was post-gig after all, and the women hanging around were tenfold compared to what they had been on every other date of this tour, all of them made up like second rate Pamela Anderson’s and all of them desperate to be bed Mark Cassidy.

Johnny looked up as Stevie sat next to him.
 
“You all done for the night?”

She nodded.
 
“Almost.
 
Can I talk to you?”

“Talk away.”

She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tight.
 
“What’s going on?
 
What you said the other day, about me.
 
I don’t understand.”

He stopped strumming his guitar and put it down by his side, clasping his hands between his open knees, staring straight ahead of him.

“It doesn’t matter, Stevie.”

“It matters to
me
.
 
You’re my friend, Johnny.
 
I care about you.
 
And I don’t know what you meant when you said
I
was the problem.”

He looked at her, taking her hand.
 
“I wasn’t myself yesterday, ok?
 
I’ve been feeling a bit low since we got back from
Ibiza
, that’s all.
 
I guess all this touring is catching up with me.
 
It didn’t mean anything, really.
 
It didn’t.
 
I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t tell her the truth.
 
How could he tell her anything anyway when he wasn’t even sure what he was feeling himself?
 
And then there was Mark.
 
How could he compete with Mark Cassidy?
 
He couldn’t.
 
Even most of the groupies Johnny got were only with him because he got them closer to Mark.
 
So whatever he was feeling for Stevie, it could never match what she felt for his best friend.
 
Even if he did treat her like crap half the time.
 
Like now.
 
It was more than likely that Mark was in the dressing room with someone less pretty, less intelligent and less interesting than Stevie and Johnny had no idea why he did it.
 
Stevie was incredible.
 
Why couldn’t he be happy with that?
 
He
would be.
 
He knew that now.

“You and Mark...” Johnny went on, looking down at their joined hands.

“What about us?”

“Does he make you happy?
 
I mean, really happy?”

“I’m happy being here, Johnny.
 
Happy being around you all, in this ridiculous, crazy world we live in.
 
And yeah, I suppose he does make me happy.
 
Most of the time.
 
When he’s not being a total bastard.”
 
She looked at him.
 
She loved him so much, as the best friend he’d been to her all these years.
 
She’d been around him – around all of them - before any of this fame had hit them and he hadn’t really changed all that much since then.
 
He’d always cared about her, always been there for her.
 

Johnny smiled.
 
He wasn’t going to push it any further; he could see she didn’t really want to talk about Mark right now.
 

“What’s the matter?” Stevie asked as Johnny’s gaze was distracted by something.

“Nothing.
 
I just thought I recognised someone, that’s all.
 
Probably just someone off the TV.
 
You know what these places are like, every Z-list celebrity for miles around just wants to be seen backstage, even if they hate our music.”
 
He leaned over and kissed her quickly.
 
“I’m off to get a drink.”

“Johnny?”

He sat back down and looked at her.
 
“Yeah?”

“Tonight...”

They both knew what was coming next.
 
Stevie wanted some normality back in her life.
 
Some routine.
 
No matter how twisted and perverse their normality and routine was, it would just make her feel better if it happened.
 
If Mark was off with some fame hungry glamour-model or celebrity wannabe then she wanted to be with her friend.
 
And Johnny knew that.

He smiled, giving her hand a squeeze again, leaning in to kiss her slightly open mouth and she fell against him.
 
This wasn’t a strange occurrence, not in the world of Black Rock Diamond.
 
To others unfamiliar with their own private set up it might look a little odd but, to them, it was normality resumed.

“I need to be with you tonight, Johnny.”

He kissed her again, feeling his heart race faster as her mouth moved against his.
 
“My place?”

She nodded.
 
“Your place.”

He smiled, suddenly feeling ridiculously happy.
 
“Ok.
 
Later then.”

She nodded, watching him walk over to the bar, hugging her knees to her chest again and smiling to herself.
 

Resting her chin on her knees she looked around the room.
 
Yeah, she recognised a few faces.
 
A couple of soap stars, one or two members of boy bands, even an actor she knew was over from Hollywood, but nobody she was particularly interested in.
 
Until she saw a figure standing on his own near the door.
 
Was that him?
 
Was that Daniel Madison?
 
She stared at him, trying hard to understand what was going on here.
 
Why was he hanging around yet again?
 
This wasn’t his scene, he would never normally be seen dead at a gig like this, you only had to look at him to know that, so what the hell was he doing here?

She looked away the second his eyes met hers, and even though she knew he was coming over to her she didn’t move, she stayed exactly where she was, looking around as the room started to fill up with more people, more famous faces.
 
But still no sign of Mark.

“Can I join you?”

She looked up at him.
 
“You’re going to anyway so you might as well.”

He sat down next to her and she couldn’t help staring at him.
 
He looked different.
 
Probably because he was out of that suit and tie.
 
He was dressed in dark trousers and a white open-necked shirt but something told Stevie he wasn’t entirely comfortable being this casual.

“What’re you doing here?” she asked, breaking the stare and looking straight ahead of her, still hugging her knees.

“I needed to see you.
 
I don’t know why so don’t ask me, I just...I just needed to see you.”

She turned to look at him, those green eyes of his looking right into hers.

“You
needed
to see me?
 
You only met me yesterday, what the fuck is going on in your head?
 
Do you know how crazy you sound?”

“Yes.
 
Yes, I do.
 
Because I don’t do things like this, ever.
 
I don’t veer from the norm, I don’t do anything on the spur-of-the-moment, that just isn’t me.
 
I’m a politician, a businessman; I’ve got a wife...”

“You’re
married
?
 
Jesus Christ, what the hell are you
doing
here?
 
You’re crazier than I thought!”

“Stevie, please, just listen to me…”

“Does she know you’re here?
 
Your wife?
 
Does she know you’re here doing...what the hell
are
you doing?”

Daniel pushed a hand through his hair.
 
“I don’t know.
 
I really don’t.
 
And no, she doesn’t know I’m here.”

“And you think she won’t find out?
 
I saw you on TV this morning; I know you’re going to be taking part in this leadership election, or whatever it is.
 
You’re high profile and you’re
here
, where there are journalists and reporters and God knows who else and you really think she won’t find out?”