"So many times you’ve shown me

Grace under pressure

You never tried to prove me wrong

I’ve got a ticket for the last train to nowhere

Why should you have to tag along?"

Kian fiddled with his bracelet as he was sat in the small waiting room with Anto. Him and Shane had always wanted to believe that their matching bracelet’s connected them in someway. Fiddling with it made him believe Shane would be all right, had to be all right, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, Shane would feel his presence even though he was in another part of the building.

Kian shook his head at himself. Why did he even believe that? It was something they had believed when they found two identical shells on the beach as kids. They had saved them, heck he still had his and bet Shane did too, and he remembered all the lonely nights he had sat with that shell in his hand and felt a strange comfort knowing that he’d always have Shane for a friend, no matter what. Childish really, but they had still gone out and bought the bracelet’s and it still brought exactly the same comfort to him as the shells had.

A doctor came into the little room.

"You’re here with Shane Filan?"

Anto stood up. "Yes, I’m his tour manager, this is his band mate. His parents will be over shortly. How is he?"

The doctor looked solemn. "Very unstable. We’ve had to restrain him because right now he is a danger to himself and people around him. It’s just a temporary meassurement, we’ll be putting him on medication tomorrow."

Kian almost choked. Restrain him? A danger? Shane! "Can, can we see him?" He almost couldn’t recognise his own voice.

"You may stay with him for a while. I’m not sure he’d recognise you though. Come with me."

The doctor led them through a swipe-card locked door and through a long white corridor to a little room. Anto’s arm slipped around Kian’s waist, something it very rarely did unless he was dragging them through a crowd of fans.

Kian looked at Shane. He was laid on the bed, his eyes were closed but he must be awake because he was constantly struggling against the restraints. Kian wondered why they couldn’t have sedated him so he wouldn’t be aware.

He turned to Anto, "Can I be alone with him?"

Anto nodded. "Sure, I’ll be right outside if you need me."

Kian sat down on the chair by Shane’s bed.

"Hey Shane…" He spoke softly, trying to keep his voice steady.

There was no response from Shane. He kept struggling but nothing proved that he had even heard Kian.

He had heard though, and he was struggling against his emotions. Part of him really wanted Kian to be there with him and hold him, while another part didn’t want to drag Kian into the hell he was going through. And then there was that voice. The superior voice who told him to trust no-one. And it won.

Kian continued to talk a bit more but it was getting hard to keep it together seeing Shane like this, so with a sigh he decided to give up.

"Ok Shane, I’ll pay you a visit some other day. See you."

Chapter 6 >>