***Ok I will start off with saying I am sooooo sorry that this chapter has taken soooooo long!! I have been very busy with my A-Levels and needed to concentrate on them if I am to get into Uni next year, hehe. So here is the next chapter of Twice Upon A Tour for those of you who have not forgot about this fic altogether! Feel free to review! And hopefully more chapters will follow this one and take no where near as long!              Love Jo x***

 

*****Chapter 9*****

 

I was back to rehearsals a few days later. My ribs were still painful but I couldn’t afford to miss any more or I would never learn all my cues in time. Mark was excited about showing me around the set. It was a really extravagant set; it was all on different levels with a bridge at the back of the stage under a huge screen.

 

“And look!” Mark said standing at the front of the stage. “We have trap doors!”

 

“Wow, so you’re gonna appear in a flash of light,” I said.

 

“Yeah! It looks really good!” Mark said excitedly.

 

“And the dancers get to have a go as well,” Ben said smiling as he caught my grin.

 

“Really?!” I grinned. “When do I get a go?”

 

“You’ll get your turn soon,” Mark smiled.

 

“We’re starting off with the flying scene today though, maybe later,” Ben said.

 

The finale was Take On Me where a1 flew out over the audience. They were re-enacting the video and the finale had gone down really well in America with girls reaching a screaming frenzy so they were keeping the same format for the UK tour.

 

The rest of the day was filled with rehearsal and learning my entrances and exits from the stage. I didn’t join in the dance routines however as Paul thought my injuries were likely to get worse if I started throwing myself back into the dance routines. I knew them all anyway so I only really needed to know my cues. I stood in the correct positions for the dance routines as Ben danced round me. He surprised me during No More as he grabbed me and dipped me backwards as the finishing note sounded.

 

“How are you feeling?” he asked looking down on me.

 

“I’m ok; my body is still aching a bit. How are you anyway dancing with the invisible dance partner all afternoon?” I asked as he pulled me back onto my feet.

 

Ben laughed, “It’s quite hard actually! I can just about imagine where you are but it’s hard!”

 

“Aww too taxing for Benji’s brain,” I teased.

 

“Shurrup I don’t see you having to do it,” Ben retorted.

 

I laughed at him.

 

“You guys want a lift home?” Mark asked as he came over.

 

“Yeah please,” Ben replied. “I don’t fancy battling the underground with an injured dancer in tow.”

 

He gave me a sly look, “She’ll only moan,” he teased.

 

“Oi!” I exclaimed hitting him on the arm. “Take that back, I’m hurt and am entitled to a moan if I want to.”

 

“I know,” Ben laughed hugging me tightly until I winced. “Oops.”

 

Mark made the quick drive across London in just under half an hour, “Ooo drop us off at the shop, I need to get some milk and stuff,” Ben said as we approached it. Mark quickly skidded into the parking lane before he got swept away in the stream of traffic.

 

“Yeah could have done with slightly more warning Ben,” Mark laughed.

 

“Sorry, Jo are you coming?” Ben asked.

 

“Yeah,” I nodded; I still didn’t like being in the house by myself which fortunately was rare.

 

We made our way quickly round the small Spar surprising a young girl coming across Ben from a1.

 

“Shall we pick up a tub of ice cream?” Ben asked as we hovered by the freezer. He had a sweet tooth almost as bad as me but not quite.

 

“Definitely!” I said. “When have you ever known me to turn down ice cream?”

 

Ben chuckled, “True, ok what flavour?”

 

I debated over the containers eventually settling on triple chocolate.

 

We made our way off the bustling high street into the quiet of Ben’s road. Ben was in high spirits singing happily as he swung the shopping bag. As I listened I didn’t recognise the song he was singing, he was singing about getting sunshine.

 

“It’s not even sunny,” I laughed.

 

Ben shrugged, “It’s a happy song.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“I Got Sunshine, it’s one of our B-sides,” Ben replied. “What are you saying you’ve never heard it before?” he said nudging me playfully. “I thought you were a huge a1 fan.”

 

He was teasing me; before I had joined a1 on tour I had not been much a fan of their music and only knew them through my best friend Jemma who was besotted by them. Once I’d joined the tour dancing along to all the songs I knew them all word for word now. I didn’t know many of the B-sides apart from Miracle which they sang on the tour.

 

“Oh you know I love all a1 songs,” I replied nudging him back.

 

“Do I detect sarcasm in your voice?” Ben laughed.

 

I shook my head, “No, I do actually love all your songs now.”

 

Ben cocked his head quizzically, “Really?”

 

“Yeah, they’re all growers. I did love Same Old Brand New You the first time I heard it though and She Doesn’t See Me, that is a beautiful song,” I replied. “Anyway I have to love them; I’ve had them drilled into me enough times.”

 

“Oi,” Ben said. “You should be happy that our music is so pleasurable on your ears.”

 

I laughed as I froze.

 

We were just approaching Ben’s flat and someone was approaching in the distance that looked scarily like the woman that had attacked me. As she got closer I could see it was exactly the same woman and she was heading straight towards me, obviously to finish off what she had started.

 

Ben stopped next to me as I started shaking uncontrollably.

 

“Jo what’s the matter?” he asked.

 

“She attacked me,” I said pointing slightly as she got closer.

 

I saw Ben’s face harden, “I won’t let her hurt you again,” Ben said protectively.

 

He pushed me gently behind him and I felt his back leaning into me protectively.

 

“Ben!” the woman was yelling.

 

She started running and I leapt back away from them both as she collided with Ben.

 

I was trembling still I stood there.

 

“Ben, I’ve been waiting for you for ages where have you been. I was going to start making your tea but I didn’t know what time you would be back. Oh Ben I’ve missed you, I do love you,” the woman was babbling away.

 

She wasn’t out to get me this time she was still living in her fantasy world where Ben was her boyfriend.

 

“Jo,” Ben hissed over his shoulder. “Ring the police.”

 

“Oh Ben I love you, why did you go away all day?” the woman was still babbling.

 

I didn’t have my mobile phone on me so I reached forward to try and get Ben’s phone from his pocket. Sadly the woman spotted me.

 

“Ben!” she yelled. “It’s her!! It’s the bitch that’s trying to steal you off me!”

 

She went to lunge at me and I jumped back in fear. Ben had a strong hold on her though and kept her away from me as she fought against him.

 

“Ben let me get her!” she yelled.

 

“Look….” Ben started.

 

“Fiona, can you not even remember my name anymore, the bitch is poisoning you against me!”

 

“Of course not Fiona, she’s not my girlfriend,” Ben laughed.

 

“Really?” Fiona smiled.

 

“You are,” Ben said with a slight sneer. He passed his phone over to me as Fiona gazed up adoringly at him.

 

I quickly rang the police and they said they would be over in 5 minutes.

 

Ben was smiling at Fiona as I indicated 5 minutes silently to him.

 

He rolled his eyes and mouthed he didn’t think he could stand another 5 minutes of it. I sat down on the wall as I waited for the police to arrive and the woman blabbered on inanely.

 

“Ben, really can you not tell her to go away,” Fiona said giving me a disgusted look. “She’s ruining the mood.”

 

“No I will not tell her to leave, she is my friend,” Ben said.

 

Fiona sulked up at him, “But I wanted us to be alone.”

 

“We soon will,” Ben said.

 

Fiona smiled happily and carried on her talking. Luckily the police actually stuck to their estimated time of arrival and pulled up five minutes later.

 

I went over to speak to them and told them the situation.

 

“So you can make a positive identification that that is the woman that attacked you?” the younger officer asked.

 

“Yeah I saw her clearly,” I replied.

 

“Right well we’ll take her down to the station to question her,” he replied.

 

Fiona screamed as she was taken away from Ben and started crying in big sobs. “Ben why are you letting them take me away!! Ben!” she yelled as she was handled into the police car.

 

“You could almost feel sorry for her,” I sighed.

 

Ben’s face hardened, “No you couldn’t she brought it on herself. Jo she attacked you,” he said pulling me into a hug. “But it’s over now.”

 

I leant against him gratefully. Coming face to face with her again had shaken me quite badly though I did feel better now the police had got her. I breathed in Ben’s comforting smell and could almost imagine he was doing this because he cared about me the way I cared about him. I shook myself out of that day dream quickly; he did care about me but only as a friend. He had Marie and wouldn’t care about me the way I wanted him to. I gave a deep sigh of resignation.

 

“Aww Jo, it’s all over now,” Ben said mistaking it for a sigh of relief.

 

It would never be over while I still had these feelings for Ben.