DARREN'S POV

My hand traced absently over the slightly scratchy material of my shirt as I stumbled alongside Daniel. He was guiding me down a hallway at a brisk pace, both of us lagging behind Leonie--who, judging by her rapid footsteps, was an entire county ahead of us. Then Leonie's distinct tread fell silent as she paused for a moment (in order to summon the lift, I realized a second later). The metal doors to the elevator car opened with a protesting screech and the three of us boarded. I tried not to pay too much attention to the unhealthy sounding grinding/clunking noise that the lift made as it brought us to the ground floor. With another creak and a rush of air, the doors slid open.

As soon as Daniel dragged me past the open doors, my body was hit by a gust of stale-smelling damp air. The three of us wandered on for a little while longer, the musty feeling increasing all around, then finally I heard Leonie sliding open another door. Immediately, the warmth of sunlight ghosted over my exposed skin and a breeze carried the smell of must away. Then I felt a small tug on my arm signifying that Daniel wanted me to move again; we took one step out of the building and into the fresh air before pandemonium broke loose.

Voices�so many voices yelling. They seemed to be coming from all sides--we were surrounded. Questions and demands were fired at us without pause. There was a flurry of motion all around. Amid the noise and adding to it was the all too familiar sound of flashbulbs going off. I stiffened at the onslaught, cowering into the ever-present, solid support of Daniel's side.

"NO comment!" Leonie bellowed to be heard over the chaos. Her hand then wrapped firmly around my wrist, and suddenly both she and Daniel were hustling me along. My steps faltering, I let myself be pulled. Trying to breathe evenly, I refused to panic, but the swell of voices seemed to be closing in on me violently. There was no escape.

"Mr. Hayes! Mr. Hayes!"

"Daniel, Darren could you tell us please�"

-flash--flash-

"Do you have anything to say about�"

"What happened?"

-click--flash-

"How are you--"

Leonie cut in. "I said, NO COMMENT!"

She tugged sharply on my arm without thinking causing me to stumble. All I wanted to do just then was curl into a fetal position and hide where they couldn't get me--a definite change from the coy little media darling I was used to being. For the first time, I think I understood what Daniel felt like trapped in the spotlight. Involuntarily, my breathing sped up, and it became harder to force air into my lungs.

I will not panic. I AM NOT panicking. Will not. Am not. Will not will not not not NOT�

The sudden blaring of a car horn cut through the terror gripping me. The next thing I was truly aware of was practically being lifted off my feet and thrown into a semi-moving vehicle.

"Darren!" Angie's voice shouted. Then her long fingers closed around my wrist, yanking me up and into a seat. Doors slammed, tires squealed, Ben cursed, and someone threw themselves into the seat next to me, breathing heavily. Finally, the noise faded away, like a fleeting memory. After a moment, the warm body beside me shifted in the seat.

"Are you�okay?" Daniel demanded as he regained his breath. His hand moved to rest solidly on my shoulder. Still rather in a daze, all I could manage in answer was a shaky nod. Before, I had been relying solely on adrenaline and now that I was relatively safe, what adrenaline remained left me in a rush. My body began to tremble uncontrollably. Daniel, concerned, tightened his grip on me.

From behind me I heard Lee muttering to himself, "God, I hate reporters�"

"I'll second that," Daniel replied, voice low. His hand still covered my shoulder and he seemed reluctant to move it. I didn�t say anything; I merely sat motionless, huddled in my seat, and attempted regain control of myself. Without another word, Daniel turned me around and pulled my non-resisting body to recline against his chest. For the first time since we left our hotel room, I felt myself relax.

From the front of the van, I heard Leonie barking out a one-sided conversation on her mobile. Angie, in the seat next to me, was absently drumming her fingernails against the window. The litany of fingernail clinking against glass actually served to calm me down a bit more, while Daniel's warm breath ghosted past my ear as he nestled his head next to mine. No one else said anything, save for Ben who, to make my already crap day even worse, seemed to be driving again.

I sighed, and relaxed even further into Daniel's arms. One of his hands rubbed gently over my arm; I concentrated on only that feeling and soon felt myself drifting off. I didn't fall asleep, really. It was more like I lost interest in the world around me and let my mind shut off for a little while. When I finally came back to myself, the van had stopped and everyone else in it was moving about. Daniel shook me slightly to get my attention.

"C'mon Darren�we're at the airport," he told me before releasing me from his hold. Reluctantly, I got up and crawled after him out of the van.

Airport check in actually went smoothly for once with the wonderful magic of first-class tickets. In no time (or what passed as no time for airports, but was in all actuality a good deal of time) the others had their baggage claimed and were idly waiting to head to their gate. Because Leonie, Daniel, and I weren't traveling with them, we couldn't go past the airport security post. This meant that we had to exchange our goodbyes before they moved on.

Leonie actually paused in her phone calls to say goodbye, but the moment the last member said his farewells she was back on her mobile again, ordering someone about. Daniel stood beside me letting the others say goodbye at their leisure, laughing softly every now and then at something someone said. Then it was my turn. One at a time Angie, Elisa, Karl, Lee, and Ben came up to either pat me on the back or hug me. The girls were a little weepy, hugging me and vowing that they'd be back before I went into surgery. The guys however acted much differently. Karl was the first to come over and clap me on the shoulder.

"Daz, take care of yourself, man!" he told me, laughter in his voice. Then, still laughing he remarked, "You're a braver man then I am!"

I frowned, puzzled by his words. But I didn't have time to ponder them for long because Lee came over next and wrapped an affectionate arm around my neck. "We'll be thinking of you during the LONG flight home," he stated before releasing me. His hand then brushed over one of my sleeves. "Nice shirt, by the way."

My frown deepened. Huh?

Ben appeared next, wrapping me in a bear hug. "See ya 'round Doze!"

I laughed when he let go of me, my confusion gone for a moment.

As almost an afterthought, Ben spoke up again. "You know something, Darren?" he asked conversationally.

Confused again, I replied. "No. What?"

Laughing, Ben continued, "When we bought you that shirt, mate, we didn't actually expect you to ever wear it!"

"When you bought me�?" A feeling of dawning horror washed over me as I brought a hand up to feel of my shirt. The material was scratchy to the touch and something seemed to flake off in my hand. It felt like crumbs or sugar or�glitter. Glitter! In that moment I knew for certain what shirt I was wearing, and I am sure that my face drained of all color, my expression aghast. My mouth dropped open, attempting to form words, but no sound came out. Ben, Lee, and Karl's laughter broke through my momentary shock and with all the fury and injured pride of one as egotistical as I am (and that is a LOT of fury and injured pride!) I took in a deep breath of air�Then I let it all out in a very undignified yelp.

"DANIEL!"

tbc

***another note***

And what will happen to the poor, unsuspecting Daniel? Will an epic-sized tantrum of a Diva-in-Distress be the end of our blonde guitar god? *grins* Even I don�t know the answer to that, and I'm the one writing this damned thing!