The Fight
chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6
Chapter 2
Daniel stared at the flawless white hospital walls above him as he sat motionlessly on the bed. So polished and smooth the walls were. So utterly smooth. The doctor's instructions were buzzing through the room but his brain wasn't really paying attention to them. He had other things more important to think about."Just a fracture and a couple of cuts and bruises," Dr. Riley continued, his spectacles once again slipping down his red nose as he spoke. When he didn't receive a reply from the subdued guitarist, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Mr. Jones, have you been listening to a word I'm saying?"
Daniel turned to look at him, his face blank and completely devoid of emotion. "Yes. That I can be released today and not to stress on my arm and head."
The doctor gave him a look. "That means plenty of rest, Mr. Jones." When Daniel made a face, Dr. Riley sighed then nodded and started to walk out the door. "That's it then. You have your minders waiting outside."
He left him with his own dark, brooding thoughts. For a long moment, Daniel simply looked down at his plastered arm. It didn't hurt anymore - actually it felt kind of numb. And the experience was similar to how he was feeling emotionally. Empty. A deep, wounding anger inside of him, eating his insides away with irresistible force.
He cocked his head to one side and narrowed his eyes out towards the window, where the skies were still a cloudless, brilliant blue. His head only slightly throbbed as he contemplated it.
A silent, lingering resentment towards his band mate formed dangerously in his heart.
'I can't believe he would actually land me in hospital,’ he thought bitterly. He bit his lip unconsciously and closed his eyes. Anna Maria's last words suddenly made their way into his already chaotic mind - "Haven't you noticed anything? He's been spinning off on an identity crisis for the last 2 months! He's been trying to get your attention for a while! And you've been completely ignoring him!"
What on earth did she mean by that? An identity crisis? Daniel almost rolled his eyes, despite himself. Puh-lease. It was still absolutely no excuse for blowing his top like that and breaking his best friend's arm, for God’s sake!
The more he thought of these disturbing thoughts, brand new flashes of anger started to spark within him. Yes, what was with Darren anyway? Paying no attention to him, hey? Every day the media devoured him with endless interviews, questions, photo shoots... wasn't that enough? Why was he supposedly trying to get his attention anyway? Daniel snorted. 'It's not as if I'm that important to him anyway.' Just what mind game was he playing this time?
He was sick of it. Sick to death of the constant squabbles and warring over the past few weeks. It was... mentally draining and not very good for the soul.
It wasn't helping very much their relationship either. Sure there was always a slight tension in the past which actually helped sharpen their songwriting relations - all in the name of art - but when it went out of control, like this time, all creativity flew out of the window. How did the fans simply not notice?
He took a deep breath. 'Okay Dan, just take it easy. Don't start knocking chairs over here, he's not even around to suffer the scene.' He was the calm one. Things blew over with him quickly. As long as he didn't have anything else to do with the object of his fury, he would be able to keep his cool.
Except that was the problem. They still had a few more bloody weeks of promo tours around the world. Together.
He sat up slowly as he collected his bags next to him.
"It's not over Darren," he whispered very quietly to himself, his eyes darkening. "You'll see."
~*~*~*~*~*~ "I'm fine!" Darren almost yelled in exasperation as Anna Maria ushered him back into his hotel en suite up on the top floor - to one of the more luxurious rooms. "Stop treating me like a baby. You didn't have to walk me back here, you know." To tell the truth, he desperately wanted to be alone with his jumbled thoughts for a while. He needed to think. Think. Was that even possible anymore?
"Darren," the backing singer noted him sternly. She glanced over one more time at the purple marks left on his face by Daniel. 'Ouch,' she mentally thought as she watched him throw himself down on the freshly made bed, not bothering to taking his dirty shoes off. He lay sprawled face down on the soft bed covers, burying his face on the pillows. 'Ah, the life of a pop star. Not a damn care in the world.'
But Darren seemed to have some very heavy burdens on his mind at the moment and she knew which ones they were. "I'll go now," she said quietly, watching him carefully. There was no reply. Darren simply turned on his back and stared listlessly at the ceiling. His face was once again expressionless, his eyes dull with apathy. Sighing, she walked quickly out of the room and shut the door.
Instantly, the vivid memories of a few hours ago flew back into the singer's mind. Daniel's detached attitude, his slowly mounting volcanic rage then finally his own hand down upon him. Darren unconsciously winced as he could still feel the harsh slap of those fists against his cheekbones. 'Damn him,' he cursed. 'Damn him for being the fool that he is.' Then, to his utter and immense shock, unexpected angry tears started to well up in his eyes.
'What the hell is with you these days? Why are you so cold and aloof? Why don't you care?' He gritted his teeth in an attempt to control himself once again. 'So you're the kind that deals with the games in the mind, eh? You'll see. Two can play at that game.'
~*~*~*~*~*~ Daniel carefully levered himself up from the bed and began to put on his wrinkled and blood stained clothes. The words of the doctor still rang in his ears. How am I supposed to play guitar without stressing my arm?
When Dr. Riley returned with the sign out forms Daniel signed them then stammered but spoke bluntly, "Um, I’m a guitarist for a band. When can I play again?”
Dr. Riley frowned, "Not for at least a couple weeks and after then only for short periods. At your follow up they can decide more or less then."
Daniel stared at him in stunned silence. "A couple weeks?"
"Yes, Mr. Jones, if you stress it sooner than that it may never heal right."
Dr. Riley turned on his heel. "I'll let your friends know you are ready to go."
They opened the door and were met with the faces of a worried Leonie and Ben. Rebecca had left to go deal with their future promo dates and the like.
"Hey, mate," Ben greeted uncertainly, running his fingers anxiously through his spiky hair. "Ready to go?"
Daniel pushed past them without saying a word, he was almost to the elevator when he felt himself pulled to an abrupt halt.
He turned, anger burning his eyes to face an equally angry looking Leonie.
"Enough." she hissed at him "I'm sorry you had a fight with Darren and I am sorry you can't play the guitar for a while, but you will not be rude to the rest of us. You need to grow up and deal with your problems."
Furious, Daniel pulled out of her grasp and stormed into the stairwell instead, leaving an exasperated Leonie and a circumspect Ben.
"Wanker," Ben decided with a shrug before heading for the elevator. Leo sighed and followed.
They found Daniel downstairs, pacing out front of the hospital and sucking furiously on a cigarette. When he saw them, he quickly stubbed the cigarette out and spat out, "Sorry." He then turned his back and headed for the rental car.
Leonie made a face at Ben, who just shrugged again and commented in a deadpan tone “It’s the most we’ll get.”
~*~*~*~*~*~ "Be reasonable, Darren!" Karl said, looking to Lee and Anna for help. "He can't play and an apology from you would go a long way towards making things better."
They’d gotten the phone call from Leonie letting them know that status quo, and that they would be back at the hotel soon. The band’s road manager hadn’t called yet, but Anna Maria had assured Daniel that Rebecca would be present soon after if not by the time they arrived, barring any situations. In the mean time, they had left the venue and now all waited in Darren’s hotel room, which was adjoined to Daniel’s.
"No!" Darren vetoed, raising his voice, his hand touching the bruise on his face almost instinctively. "He shoved me first, I can't help it if he has got big feet and no co-ordination!"
Lee sighed, "Come on, Darren, you aren't going to let a fight ruin a good friendship and partnership, are you?”
The sound of a door opening and shutting next door silenced all the conversation in the room. One by one everyone's eyes slid to Darren's face, which was white.
The connecting door between the rooms slowly opened and Leonie's face poked through. "Hi, he's here and he's fine."
She stepped into the room followed by a battered and bruised looking Dan. Daniel and Darren locked eyes and a lazy smile that came nowhere near his eyes spread over the guitarist’s face.
"I see you can still perform," he sneered, "Put a little make up on that pretty face of yours and the girls will be screaming as usual."
Darren flinched but held his ground "You shouldn't have shoved me."
Daniel could feel the anger rising in him again and it took all his will to push it down and allow an icy coldness to spread through him. With cold measured words he replied, "Oh, and I guess it was my fault you were throwing things at me too. Well don't worry about it, mate, cause I won't be anywhere near you after this!" He turned abruptly and slammed the connecting door on his way out, punctuating his words. The sound echoed around the silent room like the rifle shots at a state funeral.
Turning to his silent and shocked band mates, Darren whispered in an emotionless voice, "Leave."
Leonie reached for him. "Darren…"
"Now!" his voice rang with a touch of desperation, causing the others to flinch. As they filed out hesitantly, his eyes remained unfocused, refusing to look at any of them.
When the last person was gone and the room was empty, he threw himself on the bed and sobbed, unaware that on the other side of the door Daniel was doing the same thing.
Darren cried until his throat ached and winced when he accidentally turned the bruised side of his face into the pillow. After a long while of just laying there on his stomach, not thinking about anything, he raised his head to look at the time. It was just after 6:30 in the evening, NYC time.
Darren knew the band had to be on a plane for home the following evening. What a time to get a night off! An hour had passed since he'd gotten back to the hotel and another two hours since the fight. The Fight. Darren grimaced as he realized the other band members were probably going to dub it just that.
He pulled himself up off the bed, already beginning to feel the bruises from Daniel's pounding fists around his rib cage. He slowly made his way to the dresser and looked in the mirror. Darren winced at the image he saw.
His normally pouting bottom lip was cut and puffed up, while an angry welt around his left eye was slowly but surely darkening. The interior of his mouth was tender because he'd accidentally bit the inside of his cheek when Daniel had landed that one punch on his jaw. The side of his neck was red and slightly scratched from when Daniel had thrown him against the wall with that strangling grip. All in all, he wasn't worse for the wear though...where as Daniel...
Darren shook his head, determined not to feel guilty. In any case, if the media got a hold of this, they'd have a field day. Just then, he heard some faint music. He lifted his head up quickly and strained to hear. 'Damnit! It hasn't even been an hour, Jonesy!' Darren scolded mentally, before making his way unsteadily to the adjoining door. He tried to open it but it was locked from the other side.
He heard the melody of Truly begin and his heart ached with memories of the way things were before, when they had just been starting out. They had been two young, naive yet endearingly innocent men in a crazy and sometimes cruel new world, with nothing to save them but their music. Daniel used to play his guitar in secret in that one-bedroom apartment, late at night when he couldn't sleep. He would sit in the bathroom or try to muffle the sound somehow, just the way he was doing now. Darren always woke at the sounds, but he never told Daniel to stop or that he was awake. He'd just listen, the comforting strains of the guitar humming into his soul.
Darren leaned against the door, putting his ear up against it to listen. He sighed softly and murmured to himself, "What happened to us, Daniel? Where did you go...why did you leave me here all alone?" Tears that he didn't think he had left started welling in his eyes, trickling down and dropping soundlessly to the floor. He made no move to stop them and though he felt no pain, his very being ached for a time long past.
Just then the music stopped abruptly and as Darren lifted his head, his brow furrowed with curiosity, the door suddenly opened. Darren nearly lost his balance, as he had been leaning on it, but he quickly regained it and looked up with startled blue eyes. Equally startled, jade coloured eyes greeted him.
Darren wiped at his face, trying to make it look as if he was pushing his hair back. Great, the last thing he needed was Daniel catching him crying. But he noticed Daniel’s eyes were slightly red as well.
The two band mates and best friends stared at each other for a long moment, both with near-expressionless faces, but with an air of longing. Neither spoke. Daniel held the door open with his uninjured hand, as they surveyed each other's wounds with more intensity.
Darren had changed his clothes as soon as he had gotten back to the hotel, but Daniel had just recently discarded his. He now wore a simple deep blue silk button-down shirt, which remained unbuttoned and hung loosely over his bare chest. Darren could see the welts on his torso and neck, which were fast turning into ugly, angry bruises. The gash near his eye had been stitched and so looked worse than it was, but still made Darren flinch inwardly.
As time passed and no one spoke, Darren suddenly thought with a strange hilarity, 'And we stare each other down like victims in the grind...' And his mouth twitched on the verge of a smile. Daniel noticed immediately and his eyes darkened.
"What? You find the way I look funny, Darren?" Daniel spoke with a slight sneer, his lips twisting, but his voice remained calm and even. Darren's smile disappeared. His own blue eyes clouded over, guardedly.
"No. I was just remembering something..." he tried to explain softly, before he snapped defensively, "Why am I explaining myself to you? It's not like you'll listen anyways. I was on my way here to stop you from playing that blasted guitar of yours. The doctor said--"
"Like you even care what the doctor said." Daniel interrupted, ominously. The quieter his voice became, the more agitated Darren felt.
"Fine then!" Darren sarcastically acquiesced, bowing his head in mock agreement, "You're right! I don't care! But the last thing I want to hear is your pathetic attempts at playing that bloody guitar with a fractured arm!"
Daniel snorted with a dangerous amusement, his brow rising at Darren's nerve, "Like you can play at all! All you have is your damned effeminate voice. And everyone knows singers are a dime a dozen."
Darren saw red and leaned in across the threshold, pointing a finger at Daniel in warning, his teeth gritted as he succinctly spoke, "Don't go there, Jonesy. You won't like the consequences."
"Hey," Daniel brandished his uninjured arm in a mocking denial of fault, as his voice became almost casually light, "It wasn't me who went there first. You're the one that pushed me."
"Oh right!" Darren snorted in disbelief, his blue eyes wide at Daniel's claim, "Nice try, pal! You're the one that shoved me first!"
Daniel lowered his gaze and scoffed with blatant disinterest, "Sure. Look, you pushed me and I pushed you back. That's how it happened, whether or not you want to conveniently change it."
Darren was getting highly agitated and his voice raised with indignation, "No, you look! You hit me back, and for no good reason!"
Daniel smiled triumphantly, like a Cheshire cat, and pointed out silkily, "So you admit that you pushed me first."
Darren sputtered, knowing he was caught in the trap, but all the more furious because of it. Unable to see beyond the haze of anger, he launched himself over the threshold entirely and grabbed a fistful of Daniel's shirt.
"Shut the fuck up, or I'll snap your other bloody arm like a twig!" Darren shouted, his voice rising half an octave with distress and frustration. Daniel quickly grabbed Darren's neck right on the bruised area and did his best to squeeze the tender area viciously.
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