TITLE: Life Is a Rollercoaster
RATING: PG-13/ R in places
AUTHOR/S: Hannah
FIC DISCLAIMER: This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any link to real characters is purely fictional. Any reference to Take That or their families, and any event, location that may fit their real locations or connection between them and the fictional characters is purely coincidental. The copyright for this story and their own characters belong to the author. Please do not steal/copy or use them without express permission of the writer.
SETTING: Anywhere and everywhere
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Jason Orange (of Take That fame) is my true love and stories about him are one of the best types of story. I just hope you like it. This is the sequel to my story, Once Upon A Dream. I know this has been an extremely long time coming but I hope you like it :) What's even better is that I have another chapter ready and waiting to be typed so the next update shouldn't be too far away :)
Chapter 10 – A Party, A Concert And A Shock
After an incredible New Year spent in Barbados, where the lads had performed an intimate set for their management, it was now full steam ahead for Gary's 40th birthday celebrations. As well as the GB40 concert on the evening of Gary's birthday, we were going to be having a party in the penthouse the day before to get us all in the mood for the gig the following night.
"So that's Gareth and his missus, Milton and his missus and Laura and her hubby, right?" Markie called, as he wrote down the last few names on the party guestlist. Dawn nodded at him.
"Yeah it is, thank god. Everything's finally sorted," Dawn replied with a smile. "Food's done, guestlist's done, How's sorting the music, we've got all the banners and balloons and everything so it's all good!"
"Do we need any other entertainment for the party? I mean Gaz is the big 4-0 after all..." Howard said, grinning at Dawn. I saw Kelly poke him hard in the arm and I grinned as I cuddled into Jay on the sofa.
We were all up pretty early on the day of the party so that we could get the penthouse decorated appropriately before Gary woke up. Banners and streamers were plastered all over the walls, balloons were tied right across the balcony and on the backs of the dining chairs and just about anywhere that we were able to tie them to, 40th birthday confetti was scattered all over the surfaces and the whole place just looked ready for a party. The bar was fully stocked and Howard had already sorted the DJ booth ready for tonight.
"Quick! I've just heard movement from their room!" Emma hissed at us. We all quickly grabbed handfuls of confetti and hid by the entrance to the bedroom corridor. Kelly was in a fit of silent giggles next to me as we heard Gary and Dawn's bedroom door open. I could see the eager looks on all of the kids' faces as they prepared the throw confetti all over Gary.
"I'm just gonna run a brush through my hair. I'll be out in a minute, love," we heard Dawn call, and Kelly fell into another fit of silent giggles which then set me off. The pair of us stood shaking with silent laughter as we heard Gary's familiar shuffle down the corridor. As he came into our view, he was bombarded by a cascade of flying confetti, as the kids' laughter (and mine and Kelly's) filled the room.
"Happy birthday, mate!" Mark said, stepping forward to give Gaz a hug. We watched Gary shake the confetti out of his hair, grinning at us all. He hugged his best mate in Mark and then turned to be met by a kiss from his beautiful wife, Dawn.
Seeing as there would be no time for presents tomorrow, we gave Gary his gifts today. To name but a few of them, there was a Calvin Klein watch, a Burberry suit, numerous aftershave sets and tonnes more besides.
Anyway, once I'd gotten ready and was dressed to impress in my pink, halter-neck , knee-length dress that accentuated my bump and my curves in all the right places, I took my place behind the bar with Jay.
"Best looking barmaid I've ever seen, babes," Jay whispered in my ear. He winked at me and I blushed crimson. He gave my bum a quick squeeze and gave me another wink before getting drinks ready for Howard, Kel, Markie and Emma. Robbie and Ayda were still in LA so they wouldn't be attending and Gary and Dawn were still getting ready.
Once the party was in full swing, the kids were tucked up in bed and I was now getting extremely good at pulling a decent pint, it was time for Gaz's speech.
"Gaz, mate, make it short and sweet and bore us with the long version tomorrow at the gig!" Markie called and everyone burst into laughter. Gary stuck two fingers up at his friend before speaking.
"Well this is just fabulous! So many friends, old and new, here for me. It's really something special to see you all!" Gary said, smiling at each and every one of us in the room. "I just would like to thank all of you for coming tonight and agreeing to help with the gig tomorrow. It does really mean a great deal to me. A special thank you goes to my beautiful wife, Dawn. My love, my life, my everything. I love you with all my heart and I always will. You blessed me with three incredible children and I'd be lost without you." I watched Gary smile softy at his wife and he blew her a kiss as we all sighed at how cute the moment was. I watched Dawn wipe away a few tears from her eyes as she smiled happily at her husband as he continued to speak. "Now, I'd like to thank How and his lovely fiancée, Kelly, for doing an excellent job on the music tonight!" Gary raised his glass to them and then looked over to me and Jay at the bar. "A final thank you to Jay and his beautiful bride-to-be, Hannah, for doing a fantastic job with the pint pulling duties tonight!" I grinned, as Jay indicated there was a pint waiting for Gaz at the end of his speech. Gary smiled and then spoke one last time. "Again, thanks everyone for coming! You are all truly incredible! Thank you!" With that, Gaz handed the mic back to Howard and stepped out of the spotlight as we all applauded and the party got going again.
The party ended about midnight, seeing as we all had a long day ahead tomorrow. We would all be up at the crack of dawn to travel down to London for GB40. I was pretty excited about it all really and I couldn't wait.
The alarm clocks rang at 6.30am and movement was heard all over the penthouse as everyone hurried to make sure things were ready for the trip to London.
The whole train journey was a complete giggle and the talk focused on who would be appearing at the gig tonight. Gary wouldn't tell us a thing, but we, that's to say the WAGs and kids, knew the band meeting on Christmas night had been about what song the lads were going to perform tonight.
We checked into the Savoy at around half 12. Gaz left immediately to sort out lat minute stuff at Shepherd's Bush, seeing as it was his concert after all. We were being picked up at about 6ish, so it left us all with plenty of time to get ready.
It was a smart, casual dress code, so I had opted to wear my spangly, off-the-shoulder, baby pink and white dress top with my jeggings and my ankle boot stilettos. As my bump was getting pretty big now, there weren't many things I could get away with wearing. Sitll, Jay said I looked stunning (as he always did) in my outfit, with my hair curled in ringlets.
When we arrived at Shepherd's Bush Empire, the atmosphere was electric and the lucky tickets holders lined the red carpet, screaming as celebrities walked into the Empire. I gulped as we all prepared to get out of the limo. Kelly looked as scared as I felt, but Emma looked completely relaxed. They were obviously used to this sort of thing. Dawn was already inside sorting things out with Gaz.
"Shall we?" Howard asked, reaching for the door handle. We all smiled and he opened the door. Straight away we were blinded by the dozens upon dozens of camera flashes and deafened by the screaming of the fans. Jay took my hand and helped me out of the limo. I smiled softly at Kelly, who was stood in awe at the scene in front of us. We were quickly joined by Emma and Mark. Flash after flash after flash! It was making my head hurt.
"Keep close, babes, and be careful," Jay muttered to me as we started walking up the red carpet. I grinned as I thought of a time not long ago when I would have been exactly the same as these fans around us. I watched Jay sign autograph after autograph and smile for photo after photo. We were near the door and Jay was signing his last few autographs when I thought I heard my name being called. I looked around and for a split second, a face I knew so well swam in front of my eyes in the middle of the crowd. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"Babes?" I heard Jay say behind me and I quickly snapped out of it. It surely couldn't have been, could it?
"Wha.. What? Oh, yeah," I muttered and took Jay's hand as we walked inside.
"Are you alright, love? You seem a bit spaced out there…" Jay trailed off, putting his arm round me. My head was filled with the thoughts of that face I'd seen, or thought I'd seen anyway. I quickly shook the feeling and smiled at my gorgeous boyfriend.
"I'm alright, baby. Just looking forward to tonight," I replied, still smiling. I leaned up to kiss his cheek softly. "I love you, my Jay-bear," I whispered, the smile still present on my face. I saw the same smile appear on Jay's face and I saw the familiar twinkle glinting in his eyes.
"And I love you, my angel. More than you could possibly know," he said softly, lifting my chin up with two fingers and leaning down to kiss me passionately.
"Oi! Get a room will you!"
We broke apart, grinning shyly, as Howard walked over to us. He winked at us before walking further into the VIP Lounge with Kelly. We followed suit and started to mingle. There were quite a lot of people in here, the majority being celebrities, but I could see some very star-struck faces everywhere and I knew that they were the faces of some extremely lucky ticket holders.
"Her you go, darlin'!" I heard Emma say and I turned to see she had a drink for me. I smiled at her and accepted the glass of lemonade.
"Thanks, babe," I said, still smiling. I looked over to Howard, Jay and Markie being hounded for more autographs and photos, as we were joined by Kelly and Dawn, who'd obviously finished sorting stuff out for the show with her husband.
"Still gets me as to how they can put up with all that," Dawn murmured and I nodded in agreement as I took a sip of my drink. Then, to my left, I saw his face again and almost choked. I had to do a double-take and when I looked again, he was gone.
"Han, are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost!" Kelly whispered. I could tell something must have changed in my demeanour and my friends were worried. I shook the feeling before answering.
"I'm fine. I just need the loo. Mind my drink will you, Kel?" I said, handing my glass to my best friend before making my way towards the toilets.
"He can't be here…" I said quietly to myself, as I stood up and unlocked the door of the cubicle. "He doesn't even like Gary or Take That…" I quickly checked my make-up was still alright before making my way out of the toilets and back towards the VIP Lounge.
"Hannah?"
My stomach dropped. It couldn't be… Why the hell was he here? I daren't turn to look to see if it was who I'd been seeing all evening.
"Uh… I think you've got the wrong person," I said hastily, making a swift exit back into the hustle and bustle of the pre-show party.
"Still love this song!" I heard Kelly call over the din in the theatre, as Gary sang Said It All. It was such an amazing feeling hearing every single member of the audience singing along.
"All of the miles of words we've spoken…"
I almost had heart failure as the noise level went up ten-fold because Gary had been joined by Howard, Markie and Jay on stage. I cheered loudly along with everyone else.
"I didn't think they'd choose to do this! Still, it sounds incredible!" Emma said, smiling, and I nodded in agreement.
"Sounds fantastic and they look brilliant!" I added, not taking my eyes off Jay. I sighed at how amazing he looked in his suit.
The lads performed Shine as well, and it made me giggle to see the sea of "Gary Barlow's" in the audience. Gary's face was a picture when he opened his eyes to see the whole audience wearing masks of his face.
The gig ended with Gary singing Never Forget and then Rule The World. My ears were ringing from the level of noise but I'd enjoyed every second of it.
"I won't be able to hear for weeks now!" Kelly said, grinning, as we made our way back to the VIP Lounge. I couldn't see Jay because he'd slipped off to the loo just moments before.
"Hannah, we need to talk. NOW!" a voice hissed in my ear. My heart froze. It was his voice and I felt him grab my wrist.
"Fine! Just let go of me!" I hissed back. I felt him release me and I walked back towards the corridor to the toilets because I knew we could talk without getting disturbed too much.
I spotted a couch in the corner of the corridor and sat down. I looked up at him, still not believing he was actually here.
"Why are you here? Here of all places, Harry?" I said, watching as Harry James, the school hottie and man who'd saved my life that day at the pier, sat down next to me. He took my hand in his own but I yanked it away immediately. His face fell a little and then he spoke to me.
"I need to talk to you, Hannah. That's why I'm here," he said softly. "I knew you wouldn't talk to me any other way so I thought a public place would be my best bet…" he trailed off, looking at me. His look made me feel really uncomfortable so I shifted a little more away from him.
"What's so important that you feel the need to stalk me?" I snapped, looking coldly at him. He seemed to be pondering his thoughts. "Well?"
"You need to know the truth…" he whispered. I looked puzzled as he continued. "I should have told you ages ago but I lost my chance because of that twat…" I jumped up. Already I'd heard enough.
"Don't you EVER call my Jay a twat!" I thundered. "You know absolutely nothing about him!"
"I know he's not right for you, Hannah! I am!" Harry pleaded with me, grabbing my hand again. I pulled it away immediately and started to storm away. I didn't make it very far, as I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. It felt so tights and the pain was awful. When I looked down, my jeggings were soaked with water. Not now… It was too early!
"Hannah?" I heard Harry say timidly behind me. I clutched my belly as the pain seared across it. I collapsed on the floor in agony. I'd never, ever experienced pain like this before. I heard my name shouted from four different directions. I knew who all the voices belonged to as I heard footsteps running towards me.
"Babes, what's the matter?" Jay said, kneeling beside me, his voice plagued with worry and fear in every syllable. I looked up at him, pain etched on my face as I spoke.
"My waters have broke! Dylan's coming…"