Chapter five

The Calm before the Storm

Brett McAdams went to his room he shared with Irene and Sebastian. He opened the door. He assumed, since it was nearly 2 in the morning, that they would be asleep, but no, they were sitting on their chairs, having a couple of drinks from their mini-bar. Brett's suite was a lot like Raye's and her friends, but they had queen-sized beds and a pull-out couch. And of course, their balcony was a bit bigger than the girls'.

"Ah, there you are. Where'd you disappear to?" Irene asked. Brett shrugged.

"I ran into the little Freak and she was returning to her room, apparently after the Celtic Thunder concert, because she was accompanied by her two favorite boys, Keegan and Cahill," Brett explained.

"You seem a little disappointed," Irene noted. Brett smirked.

"Not really, I just have to be careful. But I think I found a toy to play with," he smirked. Sebastian perked up.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, seems like Cahill is a little virgin, I got a little taste. Of course, the Freak stopped me and promised me that if I "touched" her friends and her precious Irish boys again, that she would have the older Holmes put me in jail. I know that He promised the Detective that He wouldn't touch their daughter, but Sherlock didn't say anything about Irish lads. Get where I'm going?"

"I see. You want to teach the little bitch that no one threatens anyone who's in league with Him and got away with it. You want to take it out on her precious boy," Sebastian said, thoughtfully.

"And if Keegan gets in the way, kidnap him as well. He has husky-eyes and short raven hair. He'll be with the Freak and Cahill, most likely."

Comet

There had been no incidents since Raye and her two boys' encounter with McAdams, but that doesn't mean they weren't about to forget it. Raye and Colm especially were cautious around Emmet. Colm made sure that he was besides his fellow singer and friend (crush?) as much as he could, without being too obvious. He practically went everywhere with Emmet. Of course, he had a talk with the other lads and with Sharon to why he was being a bit overprotective of the youngest member in their group. Emmet was a little innocent with the whole thing, but he really didn't mind having Colm with him nearly 24/7.

The lads, Raye, and her two friends were having lunch at their usual table when the captain announced that they were going to dock at Ocho Rios, on Tuesday late evening and that the excursions people had signed up for were going to start the next day. Keith turned to Em.

"So do you have any idea what excursions that you're signed up for?" he asked.

Emmet shrugged. "I don't really know, I signed up for some that sounded fun and cool to do. Here's my list, if you're interested," he answered, as he handed a piece of paper to the blonde. He looked it over, smirking when he was done.

"Hmm, seems like you can't get a break from Colm," he smirked. Raye and Colm looked up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Colm demanded.

"Oh, nothing," Keith said, trying to look innocent.

Comet

Emmet couldn't really sleep, even though he knew that he and his friends were leaving the ship at nine in the morning, after breakfast, which was at eight. It turned out that only he and Colm really had signed up for something, in which no one else in their group had signed up for. And he was wondering why it was making him nervous. Of course, the way Keith was teasing him and Colm at lunch, it made seem like it was going to be a date thing. Because this wasn't like their question and answers' sessions, or even when they were sitting in his home, thinking, discussing, and rewriting songs for their "Comet" gigs.

No, this was something very different. It would be the first time where it would be just the two of them; without worrying about the CT songs or their own remixed songs. Was it really considered a date? Emmet blushed in the darkness of his and Colm's shared room. Maybe. The Irish brunette really did have feelings for his fellow husky-eyed singer, and they were deeper than a normal friendship.

Keith, Ryan, and Neil were considered "older" brothers to him as they always loved to tease him (since he was the youngest member for the time being), and George was more of a mentor/fatherly/uncle type figure, in Emmet's mind. And Colm was considered his closest friend, probably since they were closer in age…well; Colm was only a year older than him. It wasn't common knowledge, at least, not yet, but Ryan and Neil were dating; he and the other three had accepted Ryan and Neil's relationship. Perhaps George and Keith would accept that he had feelings for Colm?

Knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep anytime soon, Emmet quietly got of bed, found his t-shirt on the floor and slipped it on. Carefully he slid the balcony's door and stepped outside, but not before sliding the door slightly closed. He briefly wondered if the breeze might wake up Colm.

Emmet leaned against the railing and stared towards the calm ocean and the beautiful night sky. There wasn't a moon, but it didn't matter, because it meant that Emmet could see every star and galaxy in the Milky Way. Besides the stars, it was really dark. There wasn't a horizon that separated the sky from the ocean. He closed his eyes briefly and breathed in the salty and breezy ocean-scented air.

He had to think. He knew he was a bit of a virgin in the homosexuality world, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what that Boy wanted from him; he wanted to go further than he planned, and would have, if Raye hadn't stopped him. He trusted that Colm would have stopped him as well if it had gotten out of control. Emmet was also a bit scared of the situation. He was older than the Boy, and yet, when the Boy was either provoked or mad, he easily overpowered the brunette.

Emmet glared at the ocean. And that was another thing. That Boy had stolen his first real kiss. Sure, he shared a few chaste kisses to his devoted girl fans, but those didn't really count. Em's glare turned into a blush. He actually wanted to share his first kiss with Colm, though he would never admit it. He valued his friendship with Colm so much, that he was willing to hide his feelings for him, forever, if he had too.

But then, ever since that incident in the hallway, Colm was acting a bit strange. Well, not strange, but maybe a bit protective of him. Although, he didn't mind it. That also raised another question. With his strange, protective, (jealous, maybe?) behavior, does this mean that he also had feelings for him? Emmet couldn't be sure.

He briefly heard some movement behind him, with the door sliding open, and he knew that Colm was awake. Emmet didn't blink when his friend was suddenly beside him.

"Hey, you're up kinda late," Colm said, softly, as to not startle his friend, as he leaned against the railing.

"Yeah, couldn't sleep. I had too much on my mind," Emmet responded in the same tone. There was no reason to talk in a regular tone; they could hear each other just fine.

"What's on your mind?" the husky-eyed singer asked.

"Not much," Emmet lied. "Just the incident in the hallway, from the other day."

"Oh that. Listen, Em, if I made you uncomfortable…then I'm sorry." Emmet turned to face his friend.

"Why are you apologizing? You're not the one who forced themselves on me. And if you're apologizing by the way you're behaving now, don't be sorry. I know why you're following me everywhere. Yes, I'm a virgin in the homosexuality world, but I'm not stupid. You're worried that I might get harassed again," Emmet explained. "I really don't mind that you're keeping an eye out for me."

Perhaps it was the scenery or just the feeling of just the two of them together, either that, or Emmet really wanted to thank Colm in a special way. But he felt an overwhelming desire wash over him, and before he could stop himself, he leaned over and touched his lips to Colm's. Colm was too shocked to even think about responding to Emmet's unexpected kiss. Of course, Emmet misunderstood Colm's reaction and pulled away quickly, panic filling in his eyes.

Shit, did he just ruin their relationship? Colm was just standing there, looking stunned and not responding to anything. Emmet just slowly backs away from his friend with fear in his eyes.

"Oh my god, Colm, I'm so sorry…please, I…just - ," he panics. Emmet looked like he was about to cry.

Before he could take another step, Colm springs into action and grabbed his friend's wrist. The husky-eyed singer turns Emmet around and pins him with his back against the railing, as he grips his friend's arms by his side.

"No, you're not going to run. I won't let you. I know it was just an innocent kiss, but you've just confessed your feelings for me. And if this makes you feel any better, then I have feelings for you too. I wouldn't show it, because our friendship is too important. But, I think it just got deeper and stronger. I don't think anything can ruin our relationship now," Colm confessed, using one of his thumbs to wipe away the unshed tears. Emmet nodded and smiled, taking it all in.

He cautiously let go of Emmet's arms, confident that the brunette wasn't going anywhere. He reached up and gently took a handful of Emmet's brown hair and pulled him in so that their lips met. Colm starts to kiss Emmet slowly, as he wraps his other hand around the back of Em's neck and the husky-eyed singer deepens the kiss. Emmet starts to moan appreciatively.

Colm slides his tongue to Emmet's lips asking permission to enter. The brunette eagerly lets him in without question, and Colm explores his brunette's sweet, innocent, and moist cavern. Emmet moans into the kiss, and is content to let Colm take the dominate roll, since he probably has more experience.

It was only a few minutes, before they broke away, but it felt like an eternity. Colm smiled as he took in his boyfriend?'s appearance, knowing that he was the cause of it. Emmet's face was flushed deep red and he was panting slightly, but he was smiling nonetheless. Also, his hair and his shirt was a little ruffled up.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Colm confessed.

"So what does this mean?" Em asked, a little breathless. Colm just smiled.

"Whatever you want it to be. We can keep it slow for the time being," he answered.

"What about the guys? Should we let them know?"

"Not right away, I think. We'll keep them in the dark for the time being, but it wouldn't hurt to flirt with each other, just to keep them guessing. Although I wouldn't pass it to Ryan and Neil to figure it out first."

"Hmm, I like that. Maybe tomorrow night during our gig, we can "pretend" to flirt while we sing our songs. And does this mean we're boyfriends now?"

"Only if you're comfortable enough with it."

Emmet just smiled and leaned in to give his boyfriend a chaste kiss on his lips. "More than comfortable enough," he answered. "One more thing, should we let our girl know?"

"Well, if she's anything like her genius Father, I believe she could deduce on what happened between us tonight. And I trust her enough that she isn't going to go and tell everyone that we're a couple now," Colm replied.