Chapter 4

Meanwhile in Oz Charlie had a surprise for the band and gathered them around for his news. "I can't wait for Jane to arrive here" grinned Charlie. He had been excited for days in anticipation of her arrival. "And she is not travelling alone". The band looked at Charlie puzzled and Will was hoping and praying that it wasn't Charlie's sister Caroline accompanying Jane. He just couldn't bear her constant attention, he tried to be patient with her because she was Charlie's sister but the way he was feeling at the moment he didn't think he could be so tolerant. Wills sister Georgiana had just arrived so he knew it wasn't her and also Jane and Georgina had not met yet so that couldn't be the case anyway. Will was so happy to have his sister with him; she had certainly cheered him up a bit although nothing could stop him thinking about Lizzy and how she didn't want him. He had to pull himself together, out of this dark place and try and heal the hole that was eating him up inside. The band was starting to notice something was wrong and would start questioning him if he wasn't careful. Will was so busy thinking about all this that he nearly missed what Charlie said although the mention of Lizzy snapped him out of his thoughts. Steve and Dave were really excited about something and were grinning from ear to ear.

"Excellent" said Steve "We can continue our drum lessons. I'm sure she will have improved immensely in three months". When Will looked confused Charlie asked

"Will did you hear what I said?" Will shook his head

"Lizzy is coming to Oz with Jane. Jane managed to persuade her to take some time off, she has been working so hard, working all hours she really needed a break. Jane and I were hoping she could come. Will just nodded as if it wasn't any special news but inside his heart was pounding, he had started sweating and he had to stop himself from jumping up and down with excitement. He excused himself from the group under the guise that he was going to prepare for the gig that night with a bit of guitar practice but really he needed to be alone as he was too emotional. He would see Lizzy! These past three months had been hell; not seeing her tore a hole in his heart. Even if she thought nothing of him at least he would see her. Now was his chance to try to gain her respect, maybe even her friendship if he was lucky enough. She would get to meet Georgiana. He would love them to meet and get along, that would mean the world to him.

They were arriving the next morning. Will hoped he could concentrate on the gig tonight. It was the first time in a while Georgiana had seen them and he wanted to put on a good show for her.

The next day Charlie went to the airport to pick them up, Will wanted to go too but it would have seemed strange to the rest of the band. Will waited impatiently at the huge apartment they had hired for their stay in Queensland. It was in a forest about an hour outside of Brisbane where they were gigging for the next few nights. They stayed far out of town enough so they wouldn't be disturbed by fans. They actually had tonight off which was planned to coincide with Jane's visit so Charlie and Jane could spend some time together alone. The band and Georgina would keep Lizzy entertained for the night.

"What a trip" Lizzy exclaimed to Jane as they got off the plane in Brisbane. "I watched so many movies I don't think I will be able to see properly for ages". Lizzy could never sleep on planes even if she had been travelling for 24 hours. She felt so hyper, they were in Australia! She had always dreamed of visiting but never thought she would be able to afford to go. Charlie had insisted on paying for their tickets even though Jane and Lizzy had tried to argue that they could pay their own way. They had savings for a rainy day but Charlie won out. As they got through customs they could see Charlie and Steve on the other side. Jane and Charlie ran to each other and Lizzy wandered over to Steve to say hi giving the lovers some privacy for their reunion. Steve gave Lizzy a big hug

"Wonderful to see you Lizzy, so glad you could make it, I'm looking forward to seeing how your drumming skills have improved since your drum teacher has been away".

"I'm afraid I don't think I have improved much as I haven't had much time to practice" Lizzy said.

Charlie drove them back to the apartment and on the way Lizzy was chatting away to Steve but inside she was feeling a bit nervous about meeting Will again and maybe even a little bit excited but she didn't understand why. He was standing outside the door of the apartment looking down until he heard the sound of the car. When he looked up her heart started to pound hard, he was as devastatingly handsome as ever and as soon as their eyes met they seemed to lock. They just couldn't drag their eyes from each other. Lizzy stepped out of the car and they nodded to each other but didn't say a word as they walked into the house. Both in their own way were too emotional to speak. Lizzy looked slightly dishevelled from the journey but so beautiful, even more beautiful than he remembered. Dave appeared and the spell between Will and Lizzy was broken as Dave gave Lizzy a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Lizzy just didn't know what to think and tried to switch back into her cheery sociable self although she was starting to feel the effects of having no sleep. "So how is the tour going we have been hearing wonderful reviews from the U.K. media about it" said Lizzy.

"Absolutely amazing, our best tour yet yeah. We hope you don't mind we have arranged for you to come and see us tomorrow night" said Steve.

"Of course that would be wonderful won't it Jane we wouldn't miss it for the world" said Lizzy.

"We really seem to have been playing the best we ever have, probably because we have been laying off the drink a bit this time. Will played the most amazing improvised solo last night, it was hauntingly beautiful, kind of really got to everyone, the crowd were mesmerised and I have never heard a crowd cheer so much after he had finished" said Charlie.

"I wish we had been there, it sounds like something that would be a one off" said Lizzy. "I wish you had been their too" Will said under his breath. It was inspired by you he thought to himself.

"Will had to hide away after that the girls had gone mad for him, it wasn't even worth the risk for him coming to the airport as he really doesn't like the attention" said Steve laughing at poor Will who wasn't looking very happy at any of the people in the room let alone the attention he was getting in Oz.

"I'm really sorry I am really going to have to go and rest for a bit as I don't sleep well on planes and I haven't closed my eyes for the last 24 h. Where are we staying? And what are we up to later and could someone wake me so I don't miss out?" said Lizzy sleepily

"Of course, sorry Lizzy I will show you where you are staying" said Will and he picked up her bags. Will showed Lizzy to this beautiful, luxurious room overlooking the forest. Lizzy was stunned by the magnificent view.

"Thankyou what a wonderful view" she said

"Yes we are very lucky to be able to stay in such a lovely location on tour, they are not all as nice as this. This was definitely the best part of the tour for you and your sister to come and visit. I am really glad you decided to come" said Will shyly.

"I am glad I came too" Lizzy said.

"You are not our only visitors on the tour at this point. My sister Georgina is visiting and I would really like to introduce you to her when you have had a chance to have a rest" he said.

"That would be lovely I look forward to meeting her".

"Thankyou Lizzy that means a lot to me" and with that he left her to sleep.

Lizzy laid down her head but she had difficultly trying to sleep at first. Well he doesn't hate me that's something but what on earth happened when we first saw each other. I really don't quite understand my reaction. Finally she succumbed to sleep and hours later she awoke to Jane giving her a gentle shake.

"Time to get up or you won't sleep tonight, get yourself in the shower, Georgina has arrived at the house and is dying to meet you. She is so sweet and shy I think you will love her" Jane said beaming.

"Yes, yes I am awake, I will get up in a minute!" said Lizzy grumbly.

"Come on Lizzy, I've brought you a coffee it's on the bedside table".

"Ok I am getting up and thanks for the coffee". Lizzy drank her coffee and became a little bit more conscious, got in the shower which soon woke her up and slipped into a simple summer dress and joined the others. Steve teased Lizzy that she looked a little bit less like a zombie now!

"Ha ha, you are so funny Steve". Will approached her with a beautiful blonde girl who looked about 16-17, for a second she felt a bit jealous until she looked at her eyes and noticed that many of her features looked similar to Wills. It must be Georgina, what was the matter with her! Georgina ran up to Lizzy and gave her a huge hug. Will looked as surprised as Lizzy was. Georgina was usually so shy and she hadn't been so forward when she met Jane.

"It's so wonderful to meet you at last Lizzy, I have heard so much about you" exclaimed Georgina excitedly.

"I hope it wasn't all bad" said Lizzy looking seriously at Will for a second.

"Not at all" said Georgina looking worried that anyone would say anything bad about Lizzy.

"She is teasing you Georgie, you will realise that when you get to know her that she does that a lot" said Will smiling and looking toward the two women he adored the most in the world.

"I hear you are a very talented musician yourself, it must run in the family Georgina" said Lizzy.

"Please call me Georgie and I love music but my talents are nothing compared to my brothers. I heard you are a pretty amazing musician yourself Lizzy, my brother said he was spellbound by your talent at the open mike night in Longbourne".

"Your brother grossly overestimates my talents probably for some mischievous reason of his own" said Lizzy

"Oh no he says he has rarely heard anything that has given him so much pleasure; it was so beautiful and passionate".

"Well he is very kind" said Lizzy going slightly red. Luckily Will had walked off to give the girls some privacy to get to know each other by then so he didn't see Lizzys reaction.

"Right so what is the plan for tonight then, said Lizzy trying to change the subject

"Well we thought we would take you and Georgie to this private beach restaurant for some proper Aussie food. We are going to leave Charlie and Jane here so they can have some alone time" said Dave.

"Great" said Lizzy "lead the way!".

They sat outside on the beach eating steak and prawns cooked on the barbie watching the sun go down over the sea. Lizzie decided to take a walk along the beach and Will asked if he could join her. They were walking barefoot along the shoreline and the waves were lapping at their feet. Will plucked up the courage to ask Lizzy if they could be friends and forget the past. Lizzy said that she already thought they were friends and Will actually grinned at her. He was so happy he felt bold enough to put his arm in hers as they walked along the beach together.

They all went back to the house and sat around drinking beer and catching up. Steve promised Lizzy a drum lesson the next morning if he could drag himself out of bed. The next day Lizzy had her drum lesson and Steve was so impressed with her progress he thought she should join them up on stage that night! She laughed at him of course!

Jane and Charlie appeared about midday with huge grins on their faces. It was soon time to go to the gig venue in the city to get ready. The girls thought they would go for dinner in town to let the band get set up and so they could get to know each other better. Lizzy went and stood in the front of the crowd again when they got to the gig, at least this time she wouldn't be shocked when she heard them. They were mesmerising and Will played even better than he did before, he was on fire. They ran off stage after one of their big hits and the crowd were screaming for an encore when suddenly Lizzy felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and there was George Wickham "Hi Lizzy fancy meeting you here the other side of the world at the concert of a band I should have been in." he said

"Hello George I am surprised to see you so far away from home I am her with my sister as she is engaged to Charlie the bassist in the band".

"I was worried for a minute you might have formed an attachment with one of the band members".

"And that would be a bad thing then?" said Lizzy.

"Well I just hoped that my warning would be enough to keep away from a certain band member" George said.

"Well don't worry there is no chance of anything happening where he is concerned but we are friends now, the rest of the guys are really cool though. They are really good mates nowadays" said Lizzy.

"What brings you to Oz George" said Lizzy.

"I had some unfinished business to attend too" he said. He didn't expand on what the business was and Lizzy didn't want to seem nosey although it seemed a bit of a mystery.

Seeing George there did remind Lizzy of the main thing that was still bugging Lizzy about Will and made her not trust Will completely. George was such a charming man it was lovely to see him and they shouted to each other until the band returned for their encore. Will looked down to where Lizzy had been standing and nearly had a fit when he saw her talking to George Wickman. Will and George made eye contact and glared at each other. It took most of his concentration to keep it together and carry on playing. He wanted to jump off the stage and strangle that man who had caused him and his family so much heartache. Lizzy couldn't have missed the look of hate on Wills face. After the concert Lizzy and George chatted for a bit and he gave her a kiss on the cheek, said goodbye and disappeared into the crowd and Lizzy went to join the others. As soon as Lizzy saw Will she took him by the arm and dragged him off into a quiet corner. "What is wrong with you? Why do look at a man with so much hatred that you have done so much wrong to? He is such a lovely charming man and look he doesn't seem to have any bad feeling about it he has travelled round the world to see you play and support the band. I thought you had improved for the better but now I can see you haven't changed" Lizzy shouted at Will.

"You think very highly of that man don't you?" Will shouted angrily to Lizzy, rage evident in his eyes. " So this is what you really think of me!" and without waiting for an answer to his question he stormed off.

Lizzy was shaking and just sat down on the floor where she had stood. She had never seen him so angry. She could feel tears forming in her eyes but she was determined not to cry. Lizzy managed to pull herself together and join the rest of the group to congratulate them on a spectacular gig but Will was not with them. At that moment Georgie appeared looking white as a sheet with tears in her eyes. "Whatever is the matter Georgie you look like you have had a shock" said Lizzy putting her arm around the younger girls waist, who was quickly becoming to feel like she was another sister.

"Where is my brother?" Georgie asked.

"I'm sorry I don't know Georgie" said Lizzy

"I need talk to him, can we go home?" said the younger girl trying to compose herself.

"Of course Georgie but what is the matter? Can I do anything to help?" asked Lizzy with great concern in her voice.

"No I will be ok I am just very shocked. I have seen someone from my past tonight that I never wanted to see ever again. I thought I would be safe from him here in Oz, but no" said Georgie.

"Did he hurt you Georgie?" Lizzy said firmly.

"Only mentally with his cruel games, he used me and broke my heart he didn't love me he wanted our families money. If Will sees him he will kill him!".

Lizzy was remembering back to that first party at Charlies house and that Will had appeared at the party late and in a bad mood and the guys had mentioned someone giving Georgie heartache. She couldn't believe poor Georgies bad luck that this guy was here in Oz when she was just trying to have a nice holiday with her brother. Georgies brother had been so angry with Lizzy when she talked about George Wickham….would it be him, no he was so nice. Did Lizzy dare ask? Georgie was so upset she didn't want to upset her any more trying to guess names but now the idea was in her head she had to know. Just as she was about to ask, Georgie suddenly poured out her story. "George promised me he would love me forever, but he had been sleeping around, he promised he didn't care about my money but he was constantly borrowing cash from me and never paying me back. He said he would love Will like a brother but then he told cruel lies about Will stopping George getting into the band. Luckily the band members know that the story was not true as George walked into the audition with his own guitar and played it really badly. It was George that tried to sabotage Wills guitar. When he thought no one was looking he broke one of Wills strings and put his guitar out of tune but his plan didn't work as Will always carries around spare guitar strings even when he doesn't have his guitar with him and it takes seconds for Will to tune a guitar to perfection. Steve saw him do it as well. I can not believe I ever fell for George Wickham". With that last statement Lizzy gasped, her legs started shaking and she went nearly as white as Georgie.

"Are you ok Lizzy?" said Georgie looking concernedly at Lizzy.

"Yes" said Lizzy trying to keep composed "I just can't believe anyone could treat you badly. I have to confess I know that man and I can see how you were taken in by him. He is very charming on the surface."

"Please stay away from him Lizzy, he is big trouble and he has caused me and my brother a lot of heartache" begged Georgie.

"I thankyou for your warning" said Lizzy starting to recover from her own shock.

"Let us get away from here, where is my brother?" said Georgie to Lizzy.

"I wish I knew" said Lizzy quietly and sadly. What had she done! Will must hate me now and will never speak to me again; I have been so stupid, so blind I can't believe I was taken in by George Wickham and that I have ruined one of the best friendships I could ever have. Lizzy and Georgie were very quiet on the way back and Lizzy was getting very worried. The band were not concerned as it wasn't out of character for Will to sometimes go off on his own to brood! they teased, or they said maybe he had a secret girlfriend. Neither of those explanations gave Lizzy any comfort although if he had a girlfriend she hoped she would treat him well and wouldn't shout at him and accuse him of doing something he didn't do and without waiting for an explanation and his side of the story. Yes he deserved to be happy, she was starting to realise that he really did deserve to be happy. Lizzy felt sick, she couldn't believe she had got Will so wrong. They soon reached the apartment again and everyone was shattered so they headed off for bed. Before Georgie disappeared Lizzy asked her if she was okay and she said she would be in a while, she would recover, it was just a shock to see him again. Lizzy gave her a hug and stroked her hair and told her that she was there for her. Lizzy asked if Georgie could check Wills room to see if he was back as she was worried and Georgie checked and found that he had not returned.

"Don't worry Lizzy he will be back soon, sometimes he likes to be alone after a gig".

"It's just we had a few words before he disappeared and I'm worried that it is my fault" said Lizzy. "I'm sure it's not Lizzy, my brother just likes to be alone sometimes, see you in the morning Lizzy" and she gave Lizzy another hug.

Lizzy was not sleepy in the slightest, she was really worried; she had to see Will and apologise and hope one day he could forgive her. The evening was pretty warm and Lizzy went out and sat on the steps and looked out into the forest. She could see a few Kane toads hopping about, she knew they were pests to Queensland but they were quite cute. A few hours passed and her sleepiness caught up with her and she fell asleep curled up at the top of the stairs like a cat. That was how Will found her when he arrived back to the apartment about 3 am.