Aria Graice - 5. Chapter 5

By the time the concert came to an end, Drew knew everything there was about his suite-mates and was best friends with them all. He was pretty sure that if any one of them saw him in the street the next day they would walk straight past, either because they didn’t remember him or because they didn’t want to, unless Aria was around. After all, what could he do for them?

The same people tagged along as they made their way back to the backstage room. Aria had been jumping around the whole time, but he was cool as a cucumber with not a hair out of place, even when he danced down the corridor backwards not able to stop chatting to everyone for a moment as he walked. It made Drew smile and that strangely paternal fondness crept over him again. Or something like that.

“They’re quite a pair, aren’t they?” Alexei said falling into step.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve barely met Amara.”

Alexei chuckled. “You’ve got a treat coming, then. Do you know I begged Aria to sign up with Amara? Could you imagine the two of them together up there on the stage?”

Drew tried, and the images made him shiver. “I don’t know. I think it might be too much. There’d be deaths from heart failure.”

Alexei burst out laughing, causing the others to pause and stare at him. He flapped a hand at them, waving them on. “You have a point. Seriously though, what do you think of the little bird?”

“Little bird? Ah.” The more he thought about it, the more the metaphor of a bird suited Aria. He chuckled. “Yeah, I see what you mean. I must admit I’m not entirely sure what to make of him.”

Alexei cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

“Everyone seems to talk about them as a pair, and I get that when they’re together they’re high energy, bouncing around, making mischief, but I haven’t really seen that side of him. Well, the high energy part, yeah, of course. Amara’s only been around for about five minutes, so I haven’t had much chance to compare, but without Amara, Aria seems….” Drew groped for the right word, but it eluded him.

“Lost?” Alexei suggested softly.

“Lost? I wouldn’t have said that, but yeah, I guess. Unbalanced maybe?”

Alexei sighed. “Part of me wishes Aria would reconsider about performing. Not only would it create an amazing phenomenon, but the boys would be together more. But then, part of me acknowledges it would be the worst thing in the world for him. The pressure would crush him, and if I was responsible for hurting that boy I would never forgive myself.”

Drew wondered for a moment if there was a veiled threat in there, but he didn’t have the chance to explore it because the corridor got busy and before they knew it they were back at the Fab room, as he’d discovered it was called. This time, it was so packed, Drew had no opportunity to look around. He managed to fight his way through to the bar and filled a tub with green M&M’s. He looked around for Aria, but he’d been absorbed by the crowd. Drew fought his way back to the door and lodged next to it, absently popping M&M’s. He’d never be able to stay close to Aria in this press, but at least he could make sure Aria didn’t make it through the door without him. He’d have to trust Amara to take care of the rest.

Someone sat on one of the stools at the bar. It was probably the only seat left in the room. The man nodded at Drew and Drew nodded back.

“Security?” the man asked.

For a moment, Drew narrowed his eyes, but the man was smiling what appeared to be an open smile, and he was wearing a plain black shirt and slacks, which suggested very much to Drew, in this room full of peacocks, that he might be in the same business.

“What gave me away?” Drew responded with a grin.

“You look normal,” the man said with a subtle cock of the head, “and about as comfortable with this crowd as I am. Who are you with?”

“Aria Graice.”

The man whistled softly. “Shit. Good luck with that, mate.”

“What do you mean.”

“Aria goes through security faster than he does M&M’s, and he loves M&M’s.”

“Yeah.” Drew glanced down at the tub in his hands. The man followed his glance and chuckled. “You’ll need more than that to keep Aria Graice in line, especially when he’s with the other one.”

“I’ve been warned they’re a bit of a handful.”

“That’s one way to put it, I guess.”

“What’s he done that’s so bad? He seems really sweet.”

“He does?”

The man sounded so surprised it send a shiver down Drew’s back. Before he could answer, he stumbled when someone clapped him on the back.

“What the hell?”

“Hey there, buddy, what you up to? I’m surprised you’re not judging Aria. Hey Carl.” Ben beamed at the other man who gave him a tight-lipped nod. It seemed that Drew wasn’t the only one who didn’t like Ben.

“What do you mean, judging?”

“You just give me the impression of being a bit of a tight-arse, no offence.”

It always annoyed Drew when someone added “no offence” to a statement that was clearly intended to offend.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinions,” Drew said tightly. “I still don’t understand what this has to do with Aria.”

Ben gave him a sly smile. “It doesn’t bother you that the twins are in the secret room sharing some out-of-this-world experiences with a couple of lucky fans.”

“Out-of-this-world experience? Are you suggesting they’re having sex with fans? Or doing drugs?”

“Both of course,” Ben said, with a shrug.

“Shit.” Drew made to enter the crowd, but Ben grabbed his arm.

“Leave them alone. They’re kids. They’re rock stars. That’s what they do. That’s what they all do. Trust me, they won’t be happy if you intervene. They won’t be too long and when they come out we’ll be moving on to the party. It’ll be quiet then, so we can keep a closer eye on them, but I warn you, they will be disappearing upstairs or into the bathroom and if they don’t give you specific instructions to stay the hell away, it will be implied loud and clear.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

Ben shrugged. “I’m not their babysitter, and neither are you. It might seem that way but as long as they’re not getting up to something that’s dangerous – or bad press – it’s nothing to do with us.”

“The hell it isn’t. You don’t think casual sex and drugs are dangerous? Christ, they’re seventeen-year-old kids.”

“He’s right,” Carl agreed, reluctantly. “It’s what they do; what all the kids in that set do. Everyone knows about it. Your two boys are no different to the rest. Maybe a bit higher profile so they draw more attention.”

“Fuck me, Drew,” Ben said, sounding frustrated. “This is exactly what they’d be up to if they were at a college party let alone a rock gig. It’s practically expected of them.”

“And that’s why “stars” who get into it this young, burn out by the time they’re thirty.”

“Maybe so, but it’s not our job to do anything about it.”

“The hell it isn’t. His safety is my responsibility, and this isn’t safe.”

“Drew, you seem like a nice guy,” Carl said, “and I wouldn’t want you to throw away your career on this. They’re going to do things like this all the time – they all do. Things you don’t approve of, that you wouldn’t let your own kids do. But they’re not your kids and what they do isn’t your responsibility. You just make sure they’re safe while they’re doing it.”

“Even if what they’re doing isn’t safe?”

“You can only do your best. You can’t tell them what to do.”

Drew growled low in his throat. It took everything he had not to storm the room and drag both boys out by the scruff of their necks. Carl and Ben were right. There were kids their age all over the country, probably the world, making bad decisions, but that didn’t make the decisions any less bad. On the other hand, he really wasn’t anything to Aria at all. Just the muscle who hovered in the background and made sure the bad guys didn’t get close. It would help, of course, to know exactly who the bad guys were, and it got complex when the bad guy was Aria himself. Drew scowled and crossed his arms across his chest, glaring into the crowd. Ben and Carl wisely left him alone. Ben soon melted back into the crowd.

“You want to watch that one,” Carl said quietly after Ben had gone.

“Sorry?”

“Ben. He can be a nasty piece of work and he wouldn’t think twice about throwing you under a bus if he thought it would benefit him. I’ve no idea why Amara’s kept him around this long. Before that, he was bouncing around with a bad name and a worse attitude.”

Drew narrowed his eyes, slow anger igniting in his gut. “Yeah, that I can believe.”

“Just be careful.”

“I’m always careful.”

Carl chuckled. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”

Drew glanced at Carl with surprise.

Carl grinned and got to his feet. He stole a handful of M&M’s out of Drew’s cup. “White knights are never careful, not in that sense of the word.” With another grin, he disappeared leaving Drew feeling uncomfortable.

Was it wrong to want to take care of his charge as well as protect him from the bad guys? Was it wrong to want to save him from himself? Professional distance a voice whispered from the back of his mind. Keep your own feelings out of it. But he wasn’t doing that, was he? He’d managed perfectly fine in the past but there was just something about Aria Graice, a certain vulnerability he’d glimpsed in unguarded moments and an honesty he hadn’t expected.

Growling, he pushed his way through the crowd with a purpose that might just be his undoing.

Some direct questioning led him to the back wall where floor-to-ceiling fitted shelves contained an odd assortment of items. The left hand section was filled mostly with CD’s, DVD’s and records. It was the work of a moment to discover they were all fake, but a little longer to work out how to open the secret door.

Immediately, a sweet-scented cloud of smoke rolled out to greet him and he gritted his teeth. He’d be lucky not to get high just from breathing it in. He squeezed into the room and closed the door.

The secret room wasn’t very big and most of it was taken up by a massive curved sofa and a couple of gaming tables. Although there were only five or six people in the room, it was crowded. Drew immediately oriented on Aria, who was sitting on the edge of the sofa, with a game controller in his hand, yelling something at a television screen that hung on the wall next to the door. He glanced up, and on seeing Drew, threw down the controller and pushed through the surprised people. Standing on tip toe, he looped his arms around Drew’s neck, necessitating Drew leaning forward a little.

“Drew,” Aria sang. “It’s my friend, Drew. Look, it’s Drew. Isn’t he big. He’s protecting me.”

Aria seemed very excited and he beamed at Drew. Initially, Drew couldn’t help but smile, then he glanced up and met Amara’s eyes. Amara was scowling.

“What are you doing here?” Amara growled.

“Checking up on Aria. Making sure he’s safe.”

Amara narrowed his eyes. “He’s with me. Of course, he’s safe.”

Aria didn’t seem to notice anything wrong in his brother’s voice. He grabbed Drew’s hand and tugged him toward where Amara sat, still clutching the game controller.

“Come on. You can help me. Mara keeps winning, but I think he’s cheating. You can watch him because that’s what you do. Don’t let him cheat me.” Aria wriggled in beside Amara and pushed the person sitting next to him away to clear a space for Drew.

“Oh, Mara,” he whined. “You let them kill us. We have to start again.”

“I don’t feel like playing anymore.”

This time, Aria noticed the tone and Amara’s scowl. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Amara growled.

“Mara?”

“He’s jealous darling,” one of the pretty people said. He was probably around Aria and Amara’s age, with dusky skin and shiny black hair that fell in a deep wave over one eye hiding the purple and blue glitter eye shadow. Shiny silver hot pants and a flimsy gauzy top did nothing to hide his lithe body and the diamonds that glittered in his nipple rings and belly button. Yellow, cat eyes regarded Drew with a smouldering expression.

“Jealous?” Aria sat up straight, a puzzled expression on his face. “Why would Mara be jealous?”

“Because he’s got competition, darling. Your new boy toy is getting possessive, and Mara doesn’t like it.”

“Shut up, Jay,” Amara snapped.

Jay grinned lazily and accepted the joint that was passed to him. He took a long drag as Aria turned to his brother.

“He’s not right, is he? You’re not jealous of Drew? Why would you be jealous of Drew? That’s silly. He’s my friend.”

“He’s not your friend,” Amara snapped. “He’s your bodyguard. He doesn’t care about you, only about his job.”

“No, that’s not true, Mara. He’s my friend. He said so.”

Amara got to his feet and glared down at his brother. “God you’re fucking pathetic. Are you so goddamn desperate for attention? Or are you just jealous that everyone is focussed on me for a change? Have fun with your new friend but make the most of it because he’ll drop you on your arse soon enough, just like everyone else.”

“Mara?” Aria reached out to grab his brother’s hand, but Amara snatched it away.

“Leave me the fuck alone.” Without another word, Amara stalked out of the room. Drew was certain he would have slammed the door behind him if the other people in the room hadn’t followed him out.

Jay was last. He turned at the door. “He’ll come around. He always does.”

Aria nodded without looking up from the controller he was randomly pressing buttons on. “I know,” he said in a small voice.

“I’m sorry,” Drew said, meaning it. “I didn’t mean to cause problems between you and your brother.”

Aria shrugged. “He’s been wired all night. I think he wanted to fight with someone. I’m glad it was me.”

“It wasn’t right, what he said to you.”

Aria shrugged again. “He says hurtful things sometimes. He doesn’t mean them. He’ll be sorry tomorrow.”

“Has he been taking drugs?”

Aria gave him a sidelong glance then gave a mirthless chuckle. “That’s why you came in. To check on me. To see if I was getting stoned in here.”

It wasn’t a question, but Drew felt the need to answer. “That’s what friends do. Look out for each other. You know it’s stupid to take drugs, and I know that’s what happens at this kind of thing. It’s my job to make sure you don’t get hurt – even when you’re hurting yourself.”

“So would you stop me? If I set up a line of coke, would you stop me taking it? What if I lit up a spliff?”

“I couldn’t stop you doing anything, but I would sit here and judge you and disapprove.”

Aria gazed at him open mouthed, then started to laugh. “You’re the weirdest bodyguard I’ve ever had.”

“I aim to please.”

Aria glanced around. “Let’s go to the party. This place has lost its appeal.”

Aria took Drew’s hand and dragged him along behind as he fought his way out of the room, through the crowd and into the corridor. There was no sign of either Amara or Ben. Aria seemed resolute rather than upset. It seemed he wasn’t unused to his brother exploding. To Drew, the words Amara had spoken had been hurtful to the point of devastation, but Aria didn’t seem to have been affected, at least not that he was showing.

“Should you be wandering around back here on your own?” Drew asked as Aria towed him through corridors. “Do you know where you’re going.”

“I’m not by myself,” Aria pointed out. “We’re going to the party. I told you that.”

“We have to get out of the arena first.”

Aria made no response, but Drew was pretty sure he’d rolled his eyes.

Before too long they turned a corner and Drew found himself in the open area they’d entered when they arrived. Aria dropped his hand and headed for a booth in the corner, Drew hadn’t noticed on their way in. Aria didn’t linger and was back with Drew in moments. “Come on,” he said and headed toward a door which led to the outside.

It was only when the cold air hit him that Drew appreciated how hot and stifling it had been inside. Apparently, Aria felt the same because he took a deep breath and sighed. Before Drew could make a comment, the limo appeared like a ghost from beneath them and slid silently to a halt before them. The driver got out and hurried around to open the door. Aria stepped daintily in and Drew followed, feeling like a clumsy dolt.

As soon as they were seated the car pulled slowly off. Aria took a phone out of the tiny clutch bag he’d held on to and tapped something in. Then he put it away again and relaxed. At least he appeared to be relaxed. There were slight tells that led Drew to believe he wasn’t as relaxed as he seemed. He had no idea what to say.