Bryan ran to catch up with Mark in the hallway. �What?�

�You�ve got something to answer for.�

Mark stopped walking. �Eh? What�ve I done?�

Bryan grinned. �You�ve stolen her heart�� he sang. Mark rolled his eyes and started walking again, but nevertheless looked pretty chuffed. �No idea what you�re talking about Bry.�

�Don�t lie to me man! I saw what was going on there!�

�Yeah, Nicky & that Fernby girl huh?�

Bryan put out a hand to silence him. �Shh. We�re not talking about him are we? The subject is you-� he prodded Mark in the chest � �and that Rachel girl.�

�Yeah.. so?�

�Come ON Mark, I know you like her.�

�Yeah, but I just met Lauren-�

�Lauren?! Lauren who?! Listen man, I got a feeling.� He clapped Mark on the shoulder, and looked him dead in the eye. �She could be the one.�

Mark laughed. �Would you relax man? I don�t even know her last name.�

�Doesn�t matter. She�ll be taking yours anyway.�

He rolled his eyes again. �Thanks for the kind words Bry but I can manage my own love life.�

Bryan then let out a loud cough which sounded mysteriously like �Ebony!�

Mark glared. �Ahh shut your mouth McFadden. I�ll call her myself.�

�I never said anything about calling her.� Bryan started to grin.

�Yes.. well..er.. I�m calling her anyway. Seeya later Bry, 2.30 right?�

�Actually 2.27 Anto Time, but 2.30 sane time.�

Mark shrugged. �Whatever.� He walked off to his room, and Bryan began to feel a couple of distinct niggles in his back. �Ow.�

Mark turned around. �Alright?�

�Yeah..� Bryan twisted his body, trying to scratch at his back when he realised what was happening.

�Yeah, I�m fine. I�ll see ya later, right?�

�Alright.� Bryan headed quickly to the lift, and when the doors opened Nicky was already on there. Bryan raised an eyebrow. �You hate lifts.�

Nicky rolled his eyes in reply. �Oh yeah, I�ll take the stairs with wings half sprouting out my back. Get in.�

The two hopped in the lift and took it to the roof. By the time they got there they looked like man-sharks, with two fins protruding from their backs.

 �This better be good,� mumbled Nicky, in a state of extreme discomfort from the wings now unfolding out of his back.

�It�ll have to be, she wouldn�t call us otherwise.�

�Well it better be extra good� I�m meeting Fern for coffee in half an hour.�

Bryan snorted. �Typical Byrne � ladies first.� He rolled his eyes as the final creases in his wings unfurled. �Ready?�

�Let�s do this puppy!�

And with that, two fifths of Westlife, international boyband phenomenon, soared in to the sky � quite ironically, with wings.

When they penetrated the clouds and reached Pete the Grumpy Guard (otherwise known as Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates), who approved their passes with a grunt, they found Ann waiting for them at the other side of the Gate.

�Jeez� must be really serious if you had to get out of your chair.�

�Hah. You know Byrne, you seem to get less amusing as the days pass by. � She began pacing quickly in the direction of her office. �Hurry up, we�ve all got appointments to get to..� She stopped. �You especially, I hear, Mr. Byrne.�

Turning on her heel, she strode off, leaving Nicky & Bryan somewhat dumbstruck. As they followed her, Nicky noticed an anxious look had come to Bryan �s face.

�Scary how she knows everything.�

�Yeah� I just hope she wasn�t listening to me in the shower earlier.�

�What did you say-� He paused and looked at the expression on Bryan �s face.

�Cancel that � I don�t wanna know.�

As they entered Ann�s office and sat down, Bryan noticed Ann had her �tut-tut lads� face on.

�Okay. What�ve we done?�

She sighed. �Lads, lads, lads� how you stress me so.� She sat down in her comfortable cloud-puff chair and sighed again, tapping her fingers against the desk. Nicky began to fidget and Bryan looked very nervous in the silence.

Suddenly she sat forward and slammed her fist on the desk. �Ow!�

Wincing, and somewhat sheepish, she gazed at Nicky imploringly.

�I told you specifically not to get involved!�

Nicky was taken aback at this comment. He cast a glance at Bryan, who shrugged. �She�s right man. You were warned.�

�But I�m not involved! All I�m doing is having a coffee with her!� he spluttered.

�That�s still classified as involvement Nicky� you�ve really got to watch your step. I mean, you�re both doing a great job with the task you were set -  I think it�s progressing quite nicely � but you need to understand that getting too close will end up hurting everybody in the long run.�

Nicky looked at Ann as if she had just asked him if Pamela Anderson was busty. �It�s a coffee, Ann. A COFFEE. I�m hardly going to propose marriage on the first date.�

�See? The key word there was date. You can�t do these things anymore Nicky � at least not the way you used to.�

For a moment Nicky grinned, reminiscing his days as Baldoyle's Number One Ladies� Man. He then remembered the subject at hand. �Come on! Bryan !� He turned to his closest friend sitting beside him. �Surely you don�t think that having a coffee with someone is involvement� that�s crazy, right?�

Bryan hesitated. �I don�t know Nix� I�ve seen a few of the looks you give her when you think no-one�s looking.�

Nicky couldn�t lie, not to their faces. �Well.. so?! Look, let�s just say, that technically, we�re going to have coffee as friends. If something more results of it then, c'est la vie! Would that make you happy?�

Ann rolled her eyes. �That�s what I�m trying to say Nicky! We can�t take any risks of any bonds you guys have with people evolving into more than friendship� it can messy otherwise, really messy, too messy for you to understand.. we just can�t take that chance, Nicky, I�m sorry.�

�Well I�m sorry too, because I can�t control how I feel.� Nicky was nearly shouting now. �So what if I do like her?! It�s only human to have feelings like this!�

Ann suddenly looked uneasy.

�You forget, Nicky,� she spoke softly. �You�re not human anymore.�

Nicky opened his mouth for a retaliation, but nothing came. He came to sickening realisation that Ann was right. He didn�t like it, but she was. He cast a desperate look at Bryan , but he didn�t meet his eyes. Throwing hopeless looks around the room, his thoughts and vision a blur, he shot an icy glare at Ann and stormed out of the office, slamming the door. Ann saw him take off into the clouds.

She sighed for the third time in 20 minutes and ran her hands through her hair. She looked at Bryan pleadingly.

�Would you?�

He smiled wanly. �Consider it done.�

He got up quietly, opened and shut the door softly. He took off in the direction that Nicky had headed.

Ann reclined in her chair, an anxious and helpless expression clouding her face. She pulled open a drawer and picked up a bar of Toblerone. Munching on it despairingly, she began tapping her fingers on the desk again.

�Cupid better have something reeeeeeeeeeal nice for me after this one.�

Chapter 5

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