Disclaimer stuff: I don't know the Backstreet Boys, I doubt that I ever will, I'm not denying the eligibility of Kevin and Kristin's marriage, but I can hope can't I? I am not making any assumptions about the sexuality of the BSB or any other celebrities who may appear in this story, they are merely the product of my imagination and their appearances, lifestyles and careers happen to bear a striking resemblance to those of the real life celebrities they resemble.
Right, now I'd like to make a couple of recommendations, especially for anyone who's about to start writing on the archive: Forever (my Holy Grail!), Josh and Just, My New Life, JC's Hitchhiker, Reformation, Get Another Boyfriend, and there are so many others I can't think of now, though I'm sure I'll think of them at some point, and add them to the list.
Finally, there's all the stuff about me being English, so if something doesn't make sense, then I'm sorry but it was our language first and you changed it, so don't blame me! Hope to hear from lots of people on this chapter, it's quite long, so anyway, on with the story:
On The Streets - Part 15
I sat back at the hotel, I was pretty bored, I hadn't actually been alone without Kevin pretty much since we started and I guess I was getting used to it. I decided to go down to the gym. Once there, I noticed some of the dancers down there. They were running or lifting some weights and I said hello to each of them before starting myself on a pretty intense workout. A couple of the female dancers saw the weight I was lifting and came over and started talking to me about fitness and stuff. They all knew I was the guy's fitness instructor, so they were just trying to get some tips.
"So, how do you feel about what management said about you and Kevin?" I flicked my head back up. I didn't know how much these people knew, but as they had linked me and Kevin right away, I presumed that they knew about us.
"I don't know what you mean." I answered.
"You know, about how they don't want you in any pictures with the guys, whether they're official shots or not. That's pretty much cut out any going out with the guys I guess, it really sucks." I looked up at her confused.
"What...what do you mean? I didn't know management had said anything like that. When did they say that?" I was sitting on the bench press bench and one of the girls was sitting on the machine next to it, and the other girl was standing to the other side. I looked from one back to the other, waiting for an explanation. I was looking at the one on the right when the one behind me started to explain.
"Ummm, when the guys get a 'friend' or somebody they want around a lot, the management spends a lot of money finding out what they've done in their past. They feel that the guys have been in the tabloids enough, so they check out everyone's history. I guess they found something in yours they didn't like, and with you going out with Kevin, they want to make sure that you didn't get linked to him too closely. Is there something in your past that management could have felt uncomfortable with?" I stood up and started walking out the gym. I mumbled goodbyes to all the dancers, and almost collided with Tima as she walked in the gym, but I just said "excuse me", and carried on up to Kevin's suite. Did Kevin know about this? Or was he just keeping it from me. Was that why he didn't invite me to the interview?
I sat in the darkened suite for almost two hours from the time I got out the gym until the time I heard Kevin's keycard enter the door. I stood up and waited for him to enter. He saw me standing in the living room as he entered the main door of the suite.
"Hey, Jared. What's the matter? Why are you standing here in the dark?"
"Did you know about what management said about you and me? How I can't go out? How I can't appear with you in public?" Kevin cringed. I saw it, and I was instantly angry. He still couldn't trust me, I couldn't believe it. I trusted him, and he never reciprocated. I walked into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed. He followed me in. "Kevin, I'm not angry that management wants me to stay away from you in public. I'm angry cos you didn't tell me. You still can't trust me, and this isn't gonna work unless you trust me. I think I've already invested far too much in how I feel about you. Until you can come to terms with telling me things like that, and just telling me the truth, this relationship isn't gonna work. I love you Kevin, never doubt that." I stood up and walked for the door. "But until you can love me back the same way, maybe we should avoid each other." I said, perhaps a little coldly. I walked out the main door of the suite. As I slowly shut the door, I heard Kevin shout my name, but I didn't turn, and I shut the door quietly. I started to walk down the hallway, walk away from probably the best thing that had happened to me in years, and I went down in the lift, and walked out the lobby and into Paris. I didn't stop walking, and I just walked.
Kevin finally came out the suite and went down to Jared's room. He knocked tentatively on the door. When no answer came, he tried louder and then louder still. He thought about the last time this happened and decided to try Tima's room. He walked opposite and knocked on the door.
"Tima, have you seen Jared?" She saw the tears in Kevin's eyes and told him she hadn't and asked him what the matter was. He told her about how he hadn't told Jared about the management's demands and she shook her head.
"Kevin, did you really think you couldn't trust him? Did you think he would leave you if you told him that? You deserve what you get Kevin, you mucked up, and now you're paying the price. You've got to learn to put as much into this relationship as Jared is. Do you realise how much it must take for him to start trusting you? Think how long he's gone without trusting anyone at all. Now he finds out that you don't trust him either. What did you expect him to do? I suggest you get the other guys who are willing to help you after you tell them what you've done and you go out looking for Jared. And, while you're looking, I suggest you think long and hard about where you want this relationship to go and how much you're willing to fight for it." Fatima shut the door in Kevin's face and he stood there stunned. He almost started to cry, but he knew he had to find Jared. He would get the guys like Fatima said. Perhaps between them they could find Jared and he could apologise. It seemed he had been doing that far too much in this relationship...
I stood, leaning against the edge of the bridge, looking over into the dark waters of the Seine. It had been almost 3 1/2 hours since I left the hotel and it was very dark. I really felt like jumping. I couldn't believe I'd done it again. I lost what I held dearest because I put too much trust in that person, and they hadn't given it back. I was so close to jumping in fact that I had started to raise myself up a bit to look over. The water looked cold and dark. I knew if I hit the water head on I wouldn't survive. I felt a hand on my back. I recoiled, fearing it was a mugger or something. As I turned, I could see it wasn't.
"Kevin." I mumbled.
"Jared." His tongue wet his top lip. He was dressed in jeans and a knee length overcoat. "Jared, I don't know what to say. I did it again. I fucked up." I held my hand up to him.
"Kevin, I told you how I felt. I have you given you my love and my trust, but you haven't given back in the same way. I don't care about being stuck up in a hotel wherever we are, but the fact you didn't tell me really makes me question whether we should be together at all." Kevin looked shocked. I was so desperate for him now. I wanted him more than anything in the world. I would give up everything for him. I think I would have gone to any limits to keep him. I suddenly felt I needed him, and I wanted him...now. I started sobbing, knowing that Kevin wasn't feeling the same way as me. He didn't even trust me, how could I have fallen for him so badly when he didn't return the feelings I felt for him. I turned away. Kevin had seen me cry before, but I didn't want him to see me this time, to see that he had hurt me again.
"Jared, I do trust you. I love you, I want to be with you always, the only reason I didn't tell you was because I didn't want to hurt you. I thought you would be upset with me. I want so badly for us to be able to be together, like a normal couple. But we're not a normal couple. I love you Jared, I really do. By not wanting to hurt you, I ended up hurting you anyway, and now I don't know what to do." Kevin's voice was becoming shaky, and I heard him sob. "I feel like I'm losing you Jared, I know I don't deserve you. You've given everything to me, and I haven't managed to give anything back. But please, forgive me this one last time, I promise I won't not trust you ever again. I love you Jared, I don't want to lose you. Please don't walk away from me, I need you." I turned around and saw tears streaming down Kevin's face. I wanted to run up to him, but how could I be sure? Do I really trust that he won't do it again? I trusted him completely, but he's hurt me twice now, can I afford to give in to him again? Yes.
I ran towards Kevin and wrapped my arms around him. I felt his arms embrace me too. I leant my head on his shoulder, and sobbed gently. I had him again. I had everything again. I was complete again. I needed Kevin, and he came to me. I looked up at him, and he leant forward and kissed me. It wasn't heavy or anything, just passionate enough to let me feel how he felt about me. I pulled back and looked into his eyes. Then I remembered where we were. I pulled back a bit and looked around. He held me tight to his body though.
"I'm not letting you go again, I don't care anymore - I want you, I need you. You mean so much to me Jared, I won't lose you again." I smiled up at Kevin and held him close again. It had started to rain. October in Paris wasn't exactly the warmest of times.
"Shit. Let's get out of this rain."
"Here, duck under this statue thing, I'll phone for a car to come get us." I didn't feel much like getting wet, so I let Kevin push me under the stone plinth and he pulled out his cell phone and called. Five minutes later, a long, black limo pulled up and the back door opened. Nick, Howie, A.J. and Brian were all in there already. We jumped in, our clothes only dripping slightly from the downpour.
"Jared, thank God you're ok!" Nick squealed in my ear.
"Is everything ok man?" A.J. asked. I nodded slightly. I felt slightly guilty now at just running away like that. "Do you want to fill us in on what's going on?" I looked up at him.
"I didn't trust Jared. It was stupid of me, and I guess he couldn't stand it anymore. I'm just glad he accepted my apology, and he's back now." I looked over at Kevin as he spoke. I could see he was still a bit upset, but he was obviously elated at having me back. "Oh yeah, and I'm gonna speak to management in the morning." All the guys' heads shot up.
"What are you gonna say?" Brian asked.
"I'm gonna see what I can do about getting rid of this stupid order, and if they won't lift it, then I'll take more drastic measures." The guys all had confused expressions on their faces. Kevin leant over and put an arm around me and kissed the top of my head.
"Kevin? What do you mean drastic measures?" Nick questioned.
"I don't know Nicky. It depends how far they force me to go. But I'm not giving up Jared." Kevin answered with a stern tone to his voice.
"You know, by leaving me in the hotel when you go out, you're not really giving me up, and I've said I don't mind waiting in the hotels. I mean we don't have to go out together, and when the tours over, I'm sure they'll relax the rules a bit. And Kevin, don't forget, I mean, they could, you know, fire me." I said, with a note of concern in my voice.
"If they fire you, I'm leaving too." Kevin's answer was met with a response of gasps. The guys flashed looks at one another. I couldn't believe it: he'd give up superstardom, riches and his music for me! This couldn't be true. But he said he loved me, maybe it was true. I loved him too. If they fired me, I'd find a way to be with him, even if it meant following the tour, hitchhiking.
"OK, I think we need to think about this. Look, how about you see management in a few days rather than tomorrow, it'll give you a chance to get your thoughts in order and think about what you're gonna say."
"No." He said in a tone that brooked no argument. "I will see them tomorrow, and I will show them how much I love you and they will give in. If they don't then they will lose, bigger than they thought they ever could." Kevin said in an ominous tone. I gulped - was he really gonna go up against management for me? I leant over against him and the limo stopped. We piled out and went back into the hotel. I just wanted to lie down and go to sleep - it was only about 9 o'clock, but I was so tired. Kevin and I both went up to his suite, and after stripping down, we climbed into bed together. I kissed him gently on the lips and we laid back onto the cool pillows which wrapped themselves around our necks. I sighed and felt myself slowly drift off to sleep.
The next day was Tuesday, and the guys had a rehearsal after lunch. I woke up around 9 o'clock and I started coughing. I didn't feel too good, and my throat was pretty sore, but I'd felt like this before - I knew it would be gone in a day or two, and I'd feel better once I got up. I looked over and saw that Kevin's side of the bed was empty. It was cold, he had been gone for a while and I couldn't hear any sounds outside, so I guessed he was gone already. He must have gone to that meeting with management. I think he said it started at 9. I started to get up, I showered and shaved and got ready. I wore really casual clothes - I knew I would either have to stay here all day, or I would only be going to rehearsal, depending on what happened with Kevin. I sat in the living room. There was a television in there so I watched some French TV for a while. Eventually the news came on, and I watched - most of the time, the programmes had people who spoke very fast, and I couldn't understand what they were saying, but at least with the news I could look at the pictures. There were pictures of a riot somewhere, and I realised it was Northern Ireland, then there was a picture of the President on and he was talking about the economy, but I couldn't understand what he was saying, my German never was very good, then it transferred to local news rooms. I watched some stuff about the local football teams, then a picture of the Backstreet Boys came up - a very old picture - Kevin didn't even have his goatee in this picture and I guessed they were talking about the concerts later this week. There were Wednesday and Friday concerts in Paris, and a Saturday one in Lyons, so I guessed that the Lyons newsroom was also reporting on this. Finally, about 10:15, I heard Kevin come back in the apartment. I flicked off the TV and turned around. I saw him trying to shut the door quietly and then he started creeping down the hallway.
"Why are you trying to be quiet?" I whispered to him.
"Oh Jesus, Jared!" He said with a look of surprise on his face, which was quickly replaced by a grin. "You're up."
"Yeah, did you go to the meeting? You could have woken me you know?" I said back to him.
"I went to the meeting. Ummmm, I negotiated, shall we say a position that I think is a lot better than what we had." He held up his arm as if to direct me into the living room. I guessed he wanted us to sit down for this. He took off his leather jacket as he sat down next to me. "Ok, I guess I should start by saying that management are pretty pissed that I'm going steady with an ex-prostitute. They want me to cut things off, but hey, that's not gonna happen is it?" He said with a chuckle. I looked up, I was glad that Kevin had come to an agreement about going out with me, but I hoped he hadn't pushed my bosses too far - who knows how much trouble they could cause me? "Ok, basically, rather than a complete cut-out, they just want us to try and limit our exposure together, or make sure that you spend some time with the other guys on your own too, so that if push comes to shove, and the tabloids start reporting, we can say that you're just friends with all of us. I don't think that any of the guys will have much of a problem spending time with you. They all seem to like you quite a bit, and hopefully we can arrange something so that you appear with them in public quite regularly. Then we can spend some time together in public too!" Kevin's eyes lit up at the thought. I nodded and smiled at him. By now it was about 10:30 and Kevin and I agreed that it was high time the guys got their butts out of bed and we all had breakfast, so we started calling around. A.J. and Howie had both been up for a good half hour or so already, but Brian and Nick were both in bed. It was quite funny hearing their slurred voices as they complained about being woken up quite so early in the morning. Then they reminded me about how some bastard had woken them up yesterday at 6:00, and how they deserved so much more sleep than this. I told them their breakfast would be here in less than half an hour, and that seemed to wake them up. Within twenty minutes all the guys were there. We sat around chatting about the day's events until the room service arrived and then we tucked into all the food on the cart. Kevin piled my plate up high again. I was gonna have to talk to them about their diets, but they seemed to burn it off somehow. They had rehearsals most of the day, and it was a closed set, so I didn't need to worry about being seen there. Once the guys were all done, Fatima called and said we should get down to the venue by 12:30, and they would provide a meal for us down there. I laughed at the thought that the guys wouldn't need food now considering how much they had just eaten - I was wrong. As soon as the limo dropped us off at the Stade de France, the guys made a bee-line for the cafeteria, and they started piling up their trays again. Kevin only took a sandwich. He and I sat together while the guys sat around a separate circular table. Tima eventually joined us.
"So Jared, I hear you put the guys through hell yesterday?" She said with a smirk. I looked up at her. Then I grinned a bit.
"Yeah, but the next session will be harder, I was just trying to get them into the swing of things with yesterday's session." I answered back, with a wink that Kevin couldn't see.
"What? What do you mean harder?" Kevin asked incredulously.
"Well, that was only a light workout, come on Kevin, you didn't think I was really pushing you did you? I mean we missed off all the heavy cardio machines didn't we? We didn't go on the cross-country skiers, we didn't even raise the treadmill up to an angle to make it harder." Kevin looked at me with wide eyes and gulped. His eyebrows put on a pitiful expression, and he looked so worried. I cracked up, I couldn't take Kevin's sudden change in expression. He looked like a deer in headlights. Then the realisation struck and he almost reached across the table and strangled me.
"Right, that's it, you're rehearsing with us today - everything we do, you do." Kevin said with a malicious tone to his voice.
"Fine." I said in as cheery tone as possible.
"This isn't gonna be difficult for you is it?" Kevin asked, and I shook my head with a smug expression on my face.
We started out on stage with some stretches. I decided that although Kevin's threat was an idle threat, I had eaten with these guys enough times for it to be necessary for me to rehearse with them: it's actually pretty good exercise. Tima started out with some basic dance steps, I think they were more for my benefit than anything else, but I caught on pretty good and we were soon into the full swing of the songs. A couple of times, Tima even called out when I made a really bad mistake. There were a few dancers with the guys for some of the songs, but most of them were just the guys on their own. I saw the girl I had talked to in the gym yesterday and I smiled at her, she seemed nice enough, I mean it wasn't her fault that I didn't know about management was it? After a couple of hours, the guys were sweating buckets and Tima gave us a long break: about three-quarters of an hour.
"I swear this is not fair!" A.J. whined from one side of the stage.
"What are you talking about A.J.?" Kevin asked, his brows knitting together in the middle.
"I mean look at us, we've been dancing and whatever for like 8 or 9 years now, we've been training with Tima for at least half of that, and we've practised all these moves before, and Jared is still as good as us on his first try!" A.J. said exasperatedly.
"Well, maybe it just shows that we're not trying hard enough." Kevin defended me.
"Or maybe he's just some kind of freak." A.J. mumbled under his breath. Kevin was on his feet in a second.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" He shouted down A.J.'s ear.
"N..no...nothin' Kev." A.J. backed off. Kevin came back and sat down close to me. When he turned to look at me, he saw my raised eyebrow. He mouthed the word sorry to me, realising that he had gone over the top, and I motioned with a flick of my head towards A.J.. His shoulders slumped, and he took a deep breath.
"Sorry A.J.." He shouted across to him. A.J. nodded back. I leant over and kissed Kevin.
"You know you've got to get that temper under control. It's not gonna do your blood pressure any good, and frankly I find it very unattractive." I said to Kevin with a solemn voice. Tempers never turned me on. My dad had a bad temper, so did my brother, so did my mum. I ended up being the quiet, withdrawn one, and they would always blow off at each other, sometimes at me, and that would be it. I could not stand Kevin having a temper though. I think a little time in the gym would remedy his temper problem. We sat there most of the time drinking our water or just talking quietly among ourselves. A couple of the stage hands were moving stuff about, and I watched the scenery being arranged for the next show. We went back on stage and practised the last few songs of the show with their dance steps and then filed back out of the stadium. The limo took us back to the hotel: all the guys were pretty tired and even though it was only about 5 o'clock, all the guys went back to their rooms to sleep for a while. We all agreed to meet up at about 8 for some dinner. Kevin and I went back to our room. Kevin actually didn't look too tired.
"I don't want to sleep." He said to me. "Will you come out with me?" He asked with a hopeful tone.
"Where do you want to go? Remember we're supposed to limit our exposure." I warned.
"Nah, it'll be ok, I'll put on a disguise. It's cold outside, but it's still sunny, so I'll be able to put on a hat and sunglasses and not look too conspicuous. No-one will recognise me. I doubt if we even have to take guards with us."
"If you think it's ok..." I answered. "Where do you want to go?" I asked again.
"Hmmmmm, I don't know. Have you ever been to Paris before? The only thing I can think of is the Eiffel Tower."
"Ok, yeah I have been here before, a few years ago now, but... ok, I think I know where we can go. Are we going by limo or public transport." Kevin looked at me like I was an idiot. "What?"
"We'll take the limo." He chuckled. We walked back out the suite once Kevin and I had showered and changed and went downstairs. The limo driver was sitting in the lobby reading a French newspaper. When he saw us he stood and we went out to the limo. Kevin and I climbed in the back, but I talked to the driver outside for a moment first.
"Tu es Francais?"
"Oui, monsieur."
"Est-ce que tu peut aller a l'Eglise de Sacre Coeur?"
"Ah, oui monsieur." Ok, so I know my French wasn't brilliant, and by no means perfect, but he got the gist of it. I climbed in next to Kevin.
"Where did you tell him to take us?"
"You'll see." I answered and faced forward.
"No, you can tell me now." Kevin said with a chuckle. I looked over at him with my eyebrows raised. When I turned to look back to the front, I felt Kevin's lips on my neck. He started slowly kissing down my neck and onto my shoulder. Then he went back up and started licking on my earlobe. He gently took it into his mouth and sucked on it. His hands came over and caressed my sides, then he moved down and slowly massaged my crotch. He whispered in my ear: "You gonna tell me now?"
"Nope." I answered back with a smile, though I must say I was enjoying the action. Kevin tutted and went on kissing up and down the side of my face and neck. I was starting to get a bit hard, so I turned to face him. He stopped massaging me and we just started kissing full on. The limo stopped all of a sudden and Kevin looked out the window to see the base of a huge flight of steps, going up the side of a hill.
"Where are we?"
"At the Church of the Sacred Heart. I think this church is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, but be warned: it's a bit of a climb!" I laughed and pulled Kevin out the limo. I told the driver we'd call him when we needed to be picked up and he nodded before going off again. Kevin looked up, and up, and up, and finally saw the white dome of the church with the gold cross on the very top.
"We're climbing up that???" He said.
"Come on, it's only a few thousand steps! We'll be up there in no time, come on, I'll race you." And I set off at a gentle jog up the side of the hill. I didn't look back until I got to the top and once there I turned around, and I couldn't see Kevin. I looked there for a minute, tracing my path up the flights of stairs down to the bottom, figuring Kevin would take the same route as me. I actually started to get a little concerned: Kevin was nowhere in sight. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned to see Kevin in his hat and sunglasses behind me. "How...how did you? How did you do that?" I asked. He wasn't even out of breath, and I was puffing. He grinned and walked towards the church doors. I ran after him. We walked into the dark interior of the church. I meant what I said: this was one of the most beautiful places I had ever been. Although I didn't always agree with all the doctrines of the old church, I felt that the spirituality that you can almost feel in churches is incredible - especially ones like this. From the outside, the church is a huge, white octagonal building, with a dome on top reaching a pinnacle with a cross. It is pure white, painted every year, except for the cross which is gold. The tip is higher above sea level than two Eiffel towers, mostly due to the height of the hill which it is situated on: the largest hill in Paris. Inside, it is quite dark, but up at the front, over the altar is a huge mosaic of Jesus in gold and deep colours, it really is beautiful. Standing there, I almost feel in awe of the power of religion over people, the benefits of the faith and unfortunately, the downfalls. If only people didn't try to impose their religion on others. People should be free to choose their religion, and not fear persecution. I don't care which faith it is: I have always believed in Christianity, but there are other faiths: Judaism, walking into a synagogue filled with people and hearing the person up at the front reading from the Torah can fill a person with wonder at the sound produced, the fluidity of the sound and the intense concentration and attention it hold over the people. Walking into a mosque, one can feel a similar sensation, the oneness felt by the people in the Islamic places of worship is truly awe-inspiring, they know their faith, they feel it in their hearts and in their heads, and they celebrate the fact that their God is one, almighty being. It always surprised me that those three faiths had such problems in the world: their beliefs are so similar, and they all teach mutual respect, it really is a surprise that they do not cooperate more.
But standing at the doorway to the church, looking up at the mosaic, smelling the scent of incense, the candles burning, feeling the musty air wrap around us, it was obvious the intensity of the emotion, and faith in this place.
"Wow." Kevin mumbled.
"Yeah." I smiled at Kevin's expression. We started walking around the edge of the church, following the eight sides, and finally coming to the front. There was no service in progress, so we could stand right before the altar. I crossed my chest: I wasn't a Catholic, but I had been raised one, so whenever I came to the front of a church, I always crossed myself out of habit. Kevin noticed.
"Are you a Catholic?" He asked. I shook my head and looked to the floor.
"No, I was raised one though, I do it out reflex, sorry."
"Hey it's ok, I don't mind. I'm a Baptist, so's Brian, but I haven't been to a service in about 6 months now." I smiled up at Kevin. He knew the right thing to say to make me feel better. We spent the next half hour walking around in there. I told Kevin more about what part religion played in my life as I grew up, and he filled me in on his. I even told him about how churches made me feel, and he said he felt similar, like you could feel the strength of faith in some of them. I was so happy that he felt the same way that I hugged him. He pulled back with a surprised expression on his face.
"Sorry, I forgot we were in public." Kevin blushed, then said not to worry about it, he was just surprised.
We left the church, and walked through the market which was just to the right of the church as you come out. Kevin and I didn't really buy anything, we just looked at some of the stalls. Kevin seemed to be entranced by the stall with old musical instruments on it. Finally, we called the limo driver. It was almost time for us to get back for dinner with the guys.
Once we got back to the hotel, we called up to their rooms and told them to meet us in the restaurant. We spent the next couple of hours talking and eating a huge meal. I warned the guys that tomorrow we would have another workout, but it would be easy as tomorrow was a concert day. Finally, we retired to our rooms, and Kevin and I fell asleep together. That night was the first time we fell asleep actually close to each other: neither of us liked to 'snuggle' much, but we both just came together and wrapped our arms around one another. I felt safe, I felt loved, and I felt happy, all in Kevin's arms.
End of Part 15 To be Continued...
That's day 2 in France. I'm sorry these chapters are taking me so long to get out. I'm thinking that maybe next chapter, I'm gonna do a jump, you know like say something like "The next few weeks went by..." or say "Two months later..." Just to get closer to the US or to get to another interesting destination. It's boring writing about where you actually live - I can't believe it took me this long to realise that!!! Either way, I hope everyone's happy with the way the story is shaping up, I might give the whole plot another 'shake up' pretty soon, but until then it's gonna carry on pretty much the same until somebody starts seriously criticising it. Oh yeah, I'm sorry if anyone is offended or upset by the long discussion on religion in the middle of this chapter, I know it's a touchy subject at the moment, but please remember it is just a story, even if the character's views do occasionally reflect my own. Anyway, hope to hear from you!