Disclaimer in part 1.
Ronan just sat there, hoping the stranger would go away. When that didn't work, he shifted, again hoping the stranger would leave. Once again, it didn't work. Maybe if he got up... But before he could do anything, the stranger spoke again.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" When Ronan didn't say anything, the stranger took that as an invitation to sit down. The two sat in silence for a long moment before Ronan spoke.
"Why do you watch me from that window?" Darren looked at him in shock.
"I can see you, you know. You and your buddy are pretty obvious."
"I, uh, I thought it was interesting."
"You thought it was interesting." There was another long break of awkward silence.
"You have no idea, Darren, do you?" Darren simply shook his head.
"Do you know who I am? No. All you know is that I sit on this bench. Do you know why I sit here? No. You just know that I do." Ronan cleared his throat; he hadn't talked in a long while. "You don't know that I've lost half of my world. My son and wife were taken from this world, taken from me, for no reason. And in a plane accident! Ironic, isn't it? I flew in planes almost every day for years and years, and one of the few times they do, they die. Does that sound fair to you, Darren? Does that sound interesting?" When Darren didn't say anything, Ronan decided to continue.
"I don't know, that may very well be interesting to you. I have no idea. I don't know who you are, or what kind of a person you are. All I know about you is that you have watched me from the beginning. Like clockwork, there you are, in your window, watching me. Waiting for me. I don't know what you've been watching, what you've been waiting for, but here I am; this is it." Darren looked down at the ground for a moment before speaking.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? What for?"
"For your loss. And... for making you my entertainment. I should have realized that you're a human being with feelings and emotions, not some kind of weird television show."
"It's okay." Ronan sighed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Darren asked tentatively.
"With you? I don't even know you!"
"Sometimes strangers are the best people to talk to..."
"You're right. But first, you have to tell me where you're from.... With an accent like that, I know you're not Irish!"
Stephen was driving himself crazy worrying about Ronan. Every day, Ronan would come home at the exact same time, and fall into his exact same routine. So when that changed, Stephen started to worry. Bad things of every sort were running through his head, things that might have happened. Accidents, crazy fan encounters, murderers, thieves...
When his fingernails were almost gone, Stephen decided to go out and look for Ronan. After grabbing his keys and jacket, he left the house.
"Darren?" Daniel called as he walked into the hotel room. When he got no reply, he looked around the room and bathroom, but found nothing. "I wonder where he could be..." Daniel muttered, thinking. There were no messages on his phone or pager, and the hotel phone didn't have any new messages. "Usually about now, he's watching that guy..." Daniel hopped up from the chair and ran to the window, cautiously looking outside. What he saw did not surprise him. Darren and the strange man were sitting on the bench, in a very animated conversation. Daniel laughed out loud and continued to watch. "Just like him..."
"Your friend is watching us." Ronan said all of a sudden. Darren looked up and sure enough, there was Daniel, watching from the window.
"He doesn't usually do that. He was probably looking for me."
"I've seen him watching before."
"Yeah, but only when I made him."
"Why do you stick up for him like that?" Darren started.
"What?"
"You make it sound like he can do no wrong. You did it earlier too."
"I just don't want him blamed for something he didn't do. I don't know, he's my best mate."
"Not your brother?" Darren laughed.
"No."
"Not your lover?" Ronan slyly put in. Darren laughed even harder.
"Not a chance. I doubt he sees anything in me." Ronan just nodded. He was about to say something when Stephen's car came to a quick stop in front of them.
"Ronan!" Stephen called, running towards them. He stopped in front of them and started talking to Ronan, completely ignoring Darren.
"Oh my God...are you okay? When you didn't come home..." Ronan got up and quickly embraced Stephen trying to calm him down.
"I'm fine, I'm alright. I just got caught up in talking to Darren here. I should have realized you'd be worried." Stephen shifted his attention to Darren, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Stephen."
"Likewise, Darren."
"Well, now that you've shown up, I guess I'd better get going. Ehm, I'll meet you in the car, Stephen." Stephen took the hint and left the two alone.
"You know where to reach me if you ever need to talk again. I'm here for you." Darren explained, standing up.
"Darren.... Thanks. Talking to you has been a big help." Ronan threw his arms around Darren and pulled him close. "I'm gonna keep in touch with you. You never know when you're gonna need someone to talk to." Ronan waved goodbye and joined Stephen in his car, then sped off.
Darren just stood there for a moment before walking back to the hotel.