In heaven, they say, you will be eternally happy. You will be reunited with those you have loved and lost, have everything you always wanted but never had, and live in a place that you�d always dreamed of. They cater for you pretty well up there, and satisfaction is guaranteed.
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Bryan McFadden and Nicky Byrne were the exceptions.
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They weren�t particularly happy now. Sure they were performing miracles and helping souls down on earth, and they both got a great deal of good feeling from doing that; but they weren�t happy. They had been reunited with those they had lost, and they were mostly happy around them, but the ones who made them completely joyous were still living their lives on earth. The places that they wanted to live were a beautiful Irish country manor with huge grounds where Bryan could run his dogs around, and a beautiful old Irish country manor with a fully lighted full-sized football pitch that Nicky could run around on anytime he fancied. Not on a cloud waaaay above the earth.
And as for having everything you�ve ever wanted� this was definitely not the case. The two Dublin lads shared the same dream - to sing. They would sing all over the world, and people would hear their music and be happy. But that dream remained unfulfilled, and so did the souls that dreamed of it.
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Ann, their supervisor, noticed this, and as she sat in her Heavenly Office she struggled with what to do. Her angels had to be happy; otherwise there was no point in them being angels. The lads would do their work alright, but then they�d whoosh back up to heaven and sit around like a coupla sacks of depressed taters. She never questioned The Big Guy�s authority, but she truly thought he�d made a mistake this time. Nicky & Bryan hadn�t been ready to leave. They�d been on the brink of fulfilling their dream when He took them, and now they�d never have it.
*knock knock knock*
�Hmm? Wha.. oh, come in.�
A young lad of about 18 popped his head through the door, his winged hat falling off as he did so. This was Hermes, Cupid�s messenger. He walked through the door, picked up his hat and replaced it neatly on his head. He then straightened his half-toga and walked over to Ann�s desk.
�Got big news for ya Ann. And for two of your boys.�
At the mention of the last two words Ann looked to Hermes from the pen she�d been chewing. �Which two of my boys?�
�Nick & Ryan.�
�Who?!�
�Nick & Ryan.�
�Ohh. You mean Nick-Y and B-ryan.�
�Yes. Whatever. Anyway, Cupid�s got a bit of a mission for them. It�s a toughie, but he thinks they�ll really enjoy it for some reason.�
�Why isn�t he doing it himself?�
�He had.. let�s say there was an incident involving an arrow and a giant nappy which now has a hole in the butt area.�
Ann cringed. �Ouch. Send my regards. So what�s the mission?�
Hermes took out a tiny flask and poured a few drops of it�s contents on to the pedestal on which sat a mirror, facing the ceiling. The mirror shimmered and an image of a girl with long-ish dark brown hair and eyes came up. She was walking briskly alongside a girl with jet-black hair and chocolate brown eyes. It looked like they were walking down a studio corridor, and as they began to run on to a white set with a large orange couch in the middle of it Ann could hear someone counting down. Then some theme music played and the girls began filming their show.
�Who are they?�
Hermes pointed to the brown-haired girl, who Ann now realised had an
American accent much like her own. �That�s Rachel. The other girl is her best friend and co-presenter Fernby. They work on a music show, interviewing popstars and the like.�
�Mmm-hmm.�
The mirror flickered again and an image of three guys in a pub, talking and laughing, came to the surface. One of them had brown hair, stunning hazel eyes, and a beaming smile which crinkled his entire face; another was blonde, with ice-blue eyes. �Hmm. Cute,� thought Ann to herself.
The last lad had mousy brown hair and large, deep blue eyes. He seemed a little quieter than the others, yet she could tell that he didn�t really need to speak that much; you could tell exactly what he was feeling by the look in his eyes.
�Shane, Kian and Mark. They were the guys who�s band your boys were supposed to join.�
Ann raised an eyebrow. �Okay. What�s the deal?�
Hermes took a deep breath in, and repeated the mission word for word,
exactly how Cupid had told him. When he had finished Ann had a huge smile on her face.
�Ah!! Bless that man in nappies, this is going to make my boys ecstatic. When do they begin?�
�As soon as they want to. But there is one catch.� Ann�s expression drooped.
�Hmm.. is it a big one? Cuz these guys are young, y'know, they wanna have some fun before they die.. again...� She frowned.
�Well it�s something that they might not be able to control.. they are forbidden to fall in love with anyone on earth while they are down there. They can do whatever they like, as long as they don�t fall in love. The ties are too strong, and not even worlds would let lovers be parted. To be loved by an angel is like nothing of any world; but no-one will ever experience it. You just can�t do that.�
�Aww.. that was really touching Hermes.� She paused. �Did Cupid tell you to say that?�
He shrugged. �Nope. Completely from the heart.�
�Wow. Very nice.�
�Thank you. Well I�d best be off now.. Cupid will be ringing his little bell like crazy if I don�t get back and get him something to eat soon. Tell Nicky & Ryan good luck.�
�It�s B-Ryan. With a B. Thanks, see ya later Hermes.�
He whooshed out the door, and Ann leant back in her chair. She pushed a little button. �Nicky? Bryan? Get your butts to my office right now, I�ve got some really good news for you.�
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A few minutes later Nicky & Bryan knocked on the door Nicky opened and sat down, followed by Bryan. �You wanted to see us?�, asked Nix.
�Yes I did.. � she leaned forward onto her desk like an evil lawyer from TV.
�How would you two boys like to be back on earth - on business of course - but with a few erm� extra perks?�
Bry's face lit up at the mention of the words �extra perks�. �What kind of extra perks are we talking here?�
Ann sighed, and braced herself for the look on their faces when they heard the news.
�You�ll be going undercover on this job�� She sighed again. By now both lads were excited and agitated. Nicky stomped his foot. �Come on Ann!!! Spit it out already!!!�
�Okay! Alright.. you�ll be going undercover as two members of the most successful boyband in the world.�
There was a silence, until Bryan asked. �This is some joke right?�
�I kid you not, mi amigos.�
�We�re going to be undercover in a boyband? As in like Boyzone? Backstreet Boys?� Nicky was bouncing in his seat. �Most definitely.�
The two lads stared at each other, then at Ann, then back at each other.
Large grins began to form on their faces.
�YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!�
The two lads began jumping around the office hugging each other, then grabbing Ann out of her cloud-puff chair and bouncing around in a huge group hug screaming and yelling like there was no tomorrow.
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It was claimed that on the road outside The Muddy Farmer pub in Dublin that night,
above the exact spot Nicky Byrne & Bryan McFadden were tragically killed in
a car accident, strange and loud whooping noises were heard coming from the sky.