AUTHOR: 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 fic about him is one of the bestest forms. I just hope you guys like it. I decided to go a little random with this one but anyhow, here goes.
Chapter 12 - The Lead Up to Gary and Dawn's Big Day
When I woke up the next morning, it took me a moment to realise why I felt so miserable. I felt the tears threatening to spill from my eyes again as I felt the soft movement of Jay's chest. He was stroking my hair and I felt so calm in his grip. I moved a little to get a better grip of him. To feel safer. He obviously felt my movements and he kissed my forehead.
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly. I looked up into his face, tears glistening in my eyes.
"Why?" I whispered, as more tears began to roll down my cheeks. Jason pulled me tight, entwining his fingers in my own.
"Shhh. Everything's going to be ok, princess," he whispered in my ear. I wasn't aware of what time it was, but I heard the muffled sobs of my mother and father. I snuggled closer to Jay for the comfort he gave me. I didn't want to let him go.
"Hello?" I said, my voice strained, as I answered my phone.
"Hey hun. It's me. I've just heard the news," came Kelly's voice. I could hear the heartbreak in her voice. After all, she'd always had a soft spot for my brother. "How are you?"
"I've been better," I replied, sitting up. I was still in my room with Jay by my side, and I'd not moved from my bed since last night. "I just can't believe it…" I trailed off, my voice cracking.
"Do you need me to come round?" Kelly asked, sympathy in her voice. "I've got you all the stuff you missed from today." I smiled, knowing my best friend was there for me. At the mention of the uni work, something clicked in my brain.
"Thanks, Kel. You're a star. You can bring it round later if you want," I answered. I looked at Jay who gave me an encouraging smile, even though I was hurting so much inside.
"Right, well I'll be round in about an hour, lovely. See you soon," she said. I bid her farewell before hanging up the line. I was finally realising that my brother would not have wanted me to cry for him, and so I gritted my teeth. I turned and looked at Jay.
"Thank you so much for staying with me, Jason. It's made me feel so safe. You've given me the strength I need," I said, as he sat forward and put his arm around me.
"You're being so brave, Hannah. I would dread to know what it feels like to lose a sibling," he replied, hugging me and kissing my hair. "You know we don't have to go to the party on Saturday," he added, but I shook my head.
"I want to go. It'll help to clear my head a little," I replied. I saw him look at me a little shocked.
"Are you positive?" he asked me, questioning whether my judgement was accurate. I smiled at him.
"Extremely positive. I need to get away from all of this and clear my head," I replied. I leaned in and kissed him.
"Hey babe," Kelly said as I opened the door a little while later. "How're you holding up?" I smiled at her as she hugged me.
"I'll be ok," I replied, leading my best friend into the lounge. Jay was sat on the couch. My mum and dad still hadn't emerged from upstairs. I knew they were still coming to terms with the news. So was I, but I knew I had to be strong for my parents.
"Here's the stuff you're gonna need. Danny needs it completed for Monday," Kelly said, pulling a few sheets out of her bag. We sat down on the sofa. "It's just about internal and external communication. There's a couple of good company examples in there too. And Danny looked rather good today too." She winked at me, and I grinned at her. Danny was our marketing lecturer and he was rather good looking in our eyes.
"Oy! I'm taken so don't go suggesting my lecturer to me," I said, poking her in the arm. Jay raised his eyebrow at us.
"You've got your eye on your lecturer huh?" he asked, grinning at me. "Am I not good enough?" I blushed but continued to smile.
"Danny hasn't got a patch on you, Jay, so don't go worrying. I'm not about to leave you, even if Danny is rather nice," I replied, winking at him. He leaned in and kissed me.
"Do you mind?" Kelly said, mock disgust ringing in her voice. I pulled away from Jay and smiled at Kelly.
"Problem?" I asked, in an attempt to sound perfectly innocent. Kelly rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. You're kissing Jay in front of me. That's the problem," she said, grinning. "Oh, and I know this is probably the wrong time, but have you phoned Howard for me?" It was my turn to do the eye rolling.
"Honestly woman!" I sighed, as Jay passed me my phone of the coffee table. I quickly looked through my contacts and found Howard's number. Smiling at Kelly, I pressed the call button and, after a moment, I heard the ringing tone.
"Ello?" came Howard's voice.
"Hey Doug. It's me!" I replied. I conversed with hi for a few minutes before ending the call because he was spending time with his daughters, Lola and Grace. Kelly was looking expectantly at me as I put the phone back down on the coffee table. I decided to keep her in suspense and so I didn't speak for a minute, but I was smiling. I knew it would piss her off something rotten.
"What did he say?!" she said eventually, unable to take the silence. I grinned at her.
"Pass me your phone," I replied, and, in her haste to give her new iPhone to me, she dropped it on the floor. I giggle a little as she picked it up and handed it to me. I entered Howard's number and handed it back to my best friend. She looked as though she could have heart failure there and then. I just grinned. "By the way, I'd leave it 'til a bit later to phone him cos he's occupied with Lola and Grace," I added, as Kelly engulfed me in a hug, muttering incoherently. I guessed she was thanking me but I couldn't be sure.
"Have fun and be careful," my mum said to me, as I started to walk down the garden path to Jay's car. I'd skipped uni today to pack my suitcase which Jay had already put in the car while I said goodbye to my parents. I felt a little guilty about leaving so soon after the news about Jake, but I really just needed to get away from everything. Besides, I'd be seeing my favourite boys in the world in a few hours time at the hotel.
"I'll see you on Monday morning, mum," I said, hugging her. I turned to my dad. "Love you, Daddy," I said, smiling as he pulled me into a hug.
"You be careful, love," he said to me, releasing me as Jay came to my side. "Please look after my little girl," added my dad, with a look to Jay.
"Don't worry, Captain Williams, I will," Jay said, smiling. "Ready to go, babes?" I smiled at him and nodded. With a last look to my parents, I went and got into Jay's car and we began the drive to Liverpool airport.
"You do know people will be everywhere when we get to the airport?" he asked me. I grinned at him.
"I know but I'm just gonna have to get used to it, aren't I?" I replied. Jay smiled and then he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I blushed a little.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be taking off momentarily. If you could just focus your attention on the cabin crew who will proceed with the safety demonstration. Thank you," came the voice of the pilot over the intercom. I rolled my eyes. I'd watched plane safety demonstrations too many times.
"Why do they have to go through this stuff?" I muttered to Jay, who was sat to my right. He had a small hint of fear in his expression, and I knew it was his vertigo and his fear of flying starting to kick in. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand. "You'll be fine, sweetie. You've got me here," I said to him. He looked at me and smiled weakly.
"Thanks babes," he said softly. "It's just I really hate flying." I smiled at him again, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.
Once we were in the air, I took my writing pad out of my hand luggage and I pulled out one of the sheet I had to work on for marketing. I knew I'd never get it done otherwise. I pulled down the tray in front of me and set to work. I could tell that Jay was watching me while I worked. I knew the flight was about 40 minutes, so I had plenty of time to complete the sheet.
"What?" I said, looking up to see Jay staring intently at me. He smiled and leaned in to whisper in my ear.
"You're so sexy when you concentrate." His warm breath sent shivers down my spine and I grinned at him. He leaned over and kissed me. I heard a small intake of breath to my right, obviously from the passengers who were sat there. I pulled away, grinning embarrassedly.
When the plane had landed, I'd just about finished my work. We'd collected our suitcases and we were making our way out of the terminal where the car would be waiting to take us to the hotel. I thought I could hear Jay's name being chanted but I couldn't be sure. I was dreading it if there were a load of fan girls waiting for him, because I would certainly be the object of torment and abuse. As we got nearer to the exit, I was positive I could hear the chanting now.
"JASON! JASON! JASON!" My stomach started somersaulting. I knew I'd be ridiculed, but by the sound of it, I wasn't sure I was ready to be ridiculed by so many people at once. Jay grabbed my hand and he probably knew what I was thinking.
"You just go ahead and follow David," Jay said, indicating the security guy who was escorting us. "He'll take you to the car and I'll be right behind you." He kissed me swiftly on the cheek before we actually left the terminal.
I was shocked at how many people had actually showed up. There was a crowd of about 30 people stood waiting for Jay and I felt sick. I saw several of them giving me filthy looks, but I ignored them and followed David to the car.
It was about 20 minutes before Jay finally got in the car. He was blushing and I could tell he was flustered.
"Enjoy yourself?" I asked, grinning at him. He smiled at me before speaking.
"Honestly, they get wilder every time!" he answered as we felt the car start to move. Jay took my hand as the car pulled out of the airport car park.
I enjoyed the journey into London very much, having never drove into the city before. Jay and I made small talk about the events of the last few days, with him telling me how strong I was being and me thanking him for being there to support me.
When we finally pulled up outside the Mandarin Oriental hotel, I was amazed at how big it was. It looked pretty posh from the outside. I felt rather out of place. I was certainly not this posh. Jay took my hand as we got out of the car.
I looked in awe at the hotel as we walked up the front steps, David bringing our luggage for us. I looked through the glass-plated entrance doors and I gasp. It was so beautiful! I felt Jay squeeze my hand as we entered the hotel.
"Hey mate! Hey Hannah!" I heard someone calling our names. I looked to the top of the staircase and saw Mark making his way towards us.
"Hey Markie!" I said, as he reached us. He pulled me into a hug before shaking Jay's hand.
"We'd best get checked in, hadn't we?" Jay said, smiling at me. I watched as he walked over to the reception desk, leaving me with Mark. I smiled at him. I'd not seen him since my audition and it was a little surreal to be truthful.
"You ok, Hannah?" he asked me, smiling. I returned his soft smile before answering.
"Oh yeah. I'm just amazed at this place," I said. He grinned at me and then he spun round to the staircase as his name was called. I followed his gaze and saw a red-headed woman coming down the stairs. I knew instantly that this was Mark's wife, Emma. She came over to us, placed a kiss on Mark's cheek and then looked at me.
"You must be Hannah?" she asked me, shaking my hand. I smiled and nodded. "I'm Emma. We've heard quite a lot about you from Jay," she added, nodding her head towards my boyfriend. I rolled my eyes, wondering what Jay could possibly have told them.
"We're all sorted, babes," Jay said as he came back over to us. I smiled at him and he put his arm round me. "Now, where's the blushing bride and I don't mean Dawn?" he asked, grinning. I giggled as I heard Gary shouting from above us.
"Oy! I heard that, you fucker!!" That just made me laugh even more. Gary jogged down the stairs, came over to me, scowled at Jay and then pulled me into a hug.
"Long time no see, huh?" he said, as he released me. I grinned.
"I know!" I replied.
"Are we just gonna stand around in the lobby all night or what?" Jay moaned. I looked up at him, smiling. He leaned down and kissed me softly as Gary and Mark grinned. As I pulled away from him, I saw Emma smiling sweetly while Garry and Markie were having a fit of silent giggles. They were obviously trying to hide it from us but failing miserably.
"Excuse me, but what's so funny?" I asked, trying to sound highly offended, even though the situation was highly amusing.
"Nothing," replied Mark. "It's just it's weird seeing Jay with a bird cos he's not been with one for ages." I took offence at the word 'bird'.
"Do I look like I have feathers, Mark?" I asked him. I hated it when a girl was called a 'bird' even though I'd heard so many people say it for years. "I don't think I do have feathers thank you very much!" Jay pulled me close.
"Thank mate. Go and upset her why don't you?" Jay said. I could tell from his tone that he was grinning. I looked up into his face and I tried so hard not to smile, but it was impossible. I grinned at him as he handed me the key to our room.
"Steamboat, Han?" Doug shouted as we entered the hotel bar. I grinned at him as we walked over to where everyone was stood. I was rather nervous because there were quite a few people here. I knew them but they'd never met me before. Howard passed me my drink as Gary stepped forward and pulled me to the middle of the group. I blushed crimson as he spoke.
"Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Jay's new girlfriend, Hannah," he said, and a chorus of 'hi' and 'hello' came from all around me. I didn't want to be in the spotlight, so I hurried back to Jay's side. He grinned at me as Gary called for a bit of hush.
"Ok, everyone. Dawn and I would just like to thank you all for everything you've done for us over the last few years," he said, as his wife stepped forward. Dawn was so pretty.
"Yes, as Gary's said, thank you for what you've done for us. It's a real honour that you've all accepted the invite to our wedding celebrations. We just hope you have fun!" she said, smiling.
"Cheers!" called a guy who I instantly recognised as the lead guitarist of the Take That band, Milton McDonald. We all raised our glasses and toasted Gary and Dawn's words.
After a few drinks, I was acquainted with everyone present, but I knew that tomorrow would be the big test seeing that there were so many famous people invited to the party, including a couple of the members of Boyzone and Cheryl and Ashley Cole.
"Fancy a bit of a sing before bed, Han?" Howard shouted over to me. It was now about half 11. I grinned at him.
"Not tonight, Doug. I'm knackered!!" I called back, as Mark looked at me.
"Oh go on! You're good!" Mark pleaded. He pouted at me and Jay nudged me in the arm before leaning in to whisper something in my ear.
"Do it for me? You know I love your voice." His warm breath sent chills down my spine and I rolled my eyes as I came back to my senses. Standing up, I grinned.
"One song," I said, emphasising the word. I was really tired after the flight and everything that had been going on over the last few days. Mark and Howard led the cheering as I took the karaoke mic out of Howard's hand.
"Anyone wanna choose a song for me?" I asked, looking round the room. Not many people had stayed up. There were a few of the dancers and one or two members of the band still awake, along with the boys, Dawn and Emma.
"'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey!" shouted one of the male dancers. I thought it was Gareth but I couldn't be sure. I laughed in agreement.
After a rousing rendition of the song and being joined by Mark to sing it, I was ready for bed. After all, tomorrow was going to be a big day.
"I'm turning in, everyone! Night!" I called, making my way towards the door. I watched as Jay bid everyone a good night and he followed me. I smiled at him as he grabbed my hand and led me to our room.
Once we were in there, I knew things were hotting up again, but I didn't want to let them get too steamy yet. I grabbed my PJs and my wash bag off the bed and headed into the bathroom.
I quickly changed and brushed my teeth. I wiped off the little bit of make-up I had on and then I was ready for bed. I came out of the bathroom to see Jay in just his boxers on the bed. I felt my heart skip a few beats as I climbed up next to him.
"Nice PJs," he commented with a wink. I was wearing my 'cheeky monkey' set and I blushed.
"Thanks," I mumbled, cuddling into him. I heard him take a deep intake of breath and I looked into his face. He leaned down and kissed me passionately before pulling away. He was smiling at me as he moved a lock of hair off my face. He sighed before speaking.
"I… I've wanted to tell you something for a while, Hannah," he said. I noted the nervousness in his voice and I wondered what he was about to tell me. "You know I've told you that you make me feel so complete. I've honestly never felt this way about anyone before. I think you're the one." He gulped. "I love you, Hannah Williams," he breathed.
I was stunned so much that I momentarily forgot how to breathe. I blinked several times before I gained my composure. I sighed softly.
"I love you too, Jason Orange," I whispered, smiling at him. He leaned down and kissed me. When he pulled away, he, too, was smiling.
"That's the best thing anyone has said to me for such a long time," Jay said, pulling me tight. I held him close. I truly did love him and not just as a fan. I loved this man for who he was. A kind, sensitive, caring man who loved me for who I was and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. Laying my head on his bare chest, my eyes fluttered closed as I drifted off to sleep, holding the man I loved…
