The sounds of fans milling around the arena were becoming louder and louder by the second as more of them arrived. Most of them were going into the coloured doors which their tickets told them, but a few were waiting at the gates towards the side of the arena, although it was impossible for them to be able to see the band or meet them now. The show was due to start in an hour, and you knew yourself that the band had already arrived. Screams and singing were all around you, and you glanced around at the faces stood near to you. You were burning inside. You knew something they didn't...Your eyes were fixed on the door to the arena, which presumbly lead backstage. was standing by your side, nervously looking at the door, too. You had to speak in hushed voices, so that other fans wouldn't catch on and instantly start spreading rumours. The plan you had made would cancel out any rumours, you hoped. A rush of nerves suddenly came over you. It was cold outside, and dark. This added to your state, making you shiver even more.
"I...I can't do it," you said to your friend.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down. I can't do it. I just can't...I'm just made to be a fan. Look at the state of me," you said, slowly starting to walk backwards. She put her hand on your shoulder.
"Don't be so silly. Look at these people. Look," she demanded. You did as she said. People were looking at all of the cars and vans parked backstage, they were holding banners for their idols and starting up chants. "What wouldn't they give to be in your postion?" she said, concluding your thoughts. "And you look gorgeous, you really do. The mascara brings out your eyes, the lippy is fab, and your clothes look great. I don't do a Fashion and Beauty course for nothing, you know," she said, smiling. You smiled too. "We can walk away, hun. We can get into the car and go. But think of what we'd of left behind. Every single time we saw them, we'd be wondering what could of happened, wouldn't we?" she asked. You nodded. "So, the only thing we can do so we don't regret this is..."
"Get our asses inside of there," you finished.
"Indeed! God, don't be nervous. But, if you are, have some of this," she said, letting go of your shoulder and placing her bustling bag down on the ground. She crouched down and rummaged through it, pulling out a coke bottle, but it wasn't full of coke. It was some kind of alcohol. You laughed. "I always come prepared. Drink." You took it and drank most of it down. Straight away, your nerves flew out of your body, replaced by a high feeling. You looked at each other and burst into giggles.
"This is SO exciting!" you said to her. A few people looked at you in confusion, wondering what could be so good about standing in the freezing cold, observing stationary vehiciles.
"I know! But keep it down, hun. We're not dreaming, are we - oh, oh hell! He's there!" she said, lowering her voice. Butterflies filled your stomach as you saw approaching.
" !" He came up to the fence. A few fans started to throw questions at him, but he ignored them. This was it. You and pushed past the fans who were at the fence. He winked at you, so you must of looked okay. You tried to talk, but your voice was stuck in your throat. You swallowed, gulped some air and tried again. "Hi uncle! Thanks for letting me and my friend backstage," you said, nudging when she stiffled a laugh. Fans glared at you, but you didn't care.
"That's okay," he said, unlocking the gate which the cars drove through. He opened it a tiny bit and you both squeezed through it. "How is your mum doing?" he said in a loud voice so everyone would hear. He started to walk off to the door you'd been staring at and you both followed, linking arms. Both of you were shaking.
"She's fine!" you said, and as you were far away from the fans you all burst out laughing. He was at the door now. It said "Backstage" on it, and he entered in a PIN number. The light turned green and he placed his hand on the handle.
"Ben and Paul can't wait to meet you," he said with a leery smile. He opened the door and warm air greeted you.
"We can't wait to meet them..." you both said at the same time, stepping inside the corridor and wondering what would happen now...

A few months ago...

"Beeee-en. Come on. It's fun," Mark complained, placing one of his hands on the banister and one on the wall then swinging back and forth over the stairs. He was looking down at Ben who was stood at the bottom of them, his arms crossed and a stubborn look on his face.
"I hate them, Mark. You know I do."
"You never know unless you try! This isn't doing some - woah," he said as his hand slipped and he nearly went flying down the stairs. He re-balanced himself and stood safely on the top stair, trying to look as casual as possible. "Erm. It's not techinal stuff! We'll have a laugh, honestly. I do it all the time."
"Well that's you, isn't it."
"If you're gonna be a bore go back home. Why are you here anyway," Mark wondered out loud. a1 were at last on a break for a number of weeks, before kick starting a fresh new year. He was back home in Surrey, his brown hair was all over the place for the first time in months, his clothes were old and his socks didn't match. But he didn't care. Today he just planned to laze around. Then Ben had arrived. It was ironic, they still weren't apart even when the band didn't have to work. Ben too didn't look his best. He had on a pair of old, faded jeans, a t-shirt that didn't have a designer logo on it and was in his socks, as Mark always made people take their shoes off.
"Because..." he said, hesitating. He looked away. "I kinda missed you, that's all."
"Aww...Ben! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me. Come on up, and if you don't like it, we can come downstairs. But I wanna go online anyway, please? I'll sing," he threatened.
"Oh we can't be having that," Ben said, running up the stairs.
"Thank you," Mark said, heading towards his room.

It felt like an eternity since he'd been in it, but he was glad things were left just as they had always been. The same posters were still on his walls, bands which he'd liked as a teenager and cartoon characters which you were never too old to love. His bed was still in the same place, his piano was in the same place and all of his Platinum disks still hung proudly on the wall. Ben sat down on the floor, his back resting against his bed and looked around the room. It was small, but more comfortable and homely than any massive and posh hotel room they'd ever stayed in. Mark sat down next to him, his lap top resting on his knee. He'd already turned it on and it was loading up. Ben couldn't hide his interest, and watched the screen as it became more and more alive. Mark was always on this, but Ben was stuck in the 20th century still and couldn't stand them. Until today.
"So we're what, running the web?" Ben asked.
"Surfing the web, idiot!" Mark said in a matter-of-fact tone. His finger was guiding the pointer around the screen quickly, like he'd done it all before. He was telling Ben what to do to connect, but Ben didn't understand a word of it.
"What're you boys up to?" asked Mark's mum, coming into his room with some drinks for them. She placed them down on the floor near to them. She couldn't help but smile when she saw her son like this. It was like the old days, having Mark home with Ben here, and re-living the old days was the best feeling in the world. Her eyes didn't see two pop stars, one of which was a major heart throb. She just saw her son, who was just a regular boy, with his friend Ben. They looked up at her with innocent faces.
"Nothing!" they said at the same time.
"I should hope so, too!" she said and they all laughed. Mark thanked her for the drinks. "Anything you want, just ask," she told him before leaving. He was always spoilt when he came back home, his family missed him so much they treasured the time when he was back with them.
"Right, we're on," Mark told him, and Ben looked at the screen curiously. "I often go on this chat room. I hope my friend is on."
"Friend?" asked Ben with a raised eyebrow, watching as loaded up.
"Yeah. She's from and . I've never asked for her real name, but she's cool. She doesn't talk to me because I'm in a1, you know what I mean? She doesn't know who I am, we can talk about all sorts."
"This is pretty deep, huh?" asked Ben.
"I guess. It's just a relief to find someone - "
"Who isn't in it for the fame. I know," Ben said in an understanding voice. "Wonder if she's got a mate for me!" Ben joked, not knowing how ironic this statement was to become. "Not that I'm getting into this computer lark!"
"Whatever, Ben!" Mark said, grinning at him. "I use the name Kram."
"Kram?"
"Yeah, work it out. She just thinks it some dumb name I made up. You can be..." he said, pausing as he thought. "Neb!"
"Ahh, Ben and Mark backwards!"
"That's right, we are Neb and Kram," explained Mark, typing in that name. He joined the chat room and instantly looked at the names. "She's not in," he said, disappointed.
"Maybe later," Ben said, feeling his heart sink a little too. Soon both of them were laughing as they created different profiles and life styles for each other. Even Ben seemed to be enjoying it...

You prayed that your would just stand up, announce she was leaving and go anytime soon. Your friend had just left, telling you all about a guy she had been chatting to on the internet. You were dying to check out the chat room to see if he was on, but when you were just about to head off upstairs to your room, your had arrived and your friend left. It would of been rude to ignore her and go upstairs, especially when she bought you something really nice for Christmas. Finally, she began to stand up.
"Well, I'll be off," she said.
"Bye!" you said, jumping up. "Sorry, but I need the loo! See you later," you said, kissing her cheek. Your mum helped to wrap her up in all of the outer layers she had worn, then took her out to the car. You ran up the stairs and turned your computer on, logging onto the net. It seemed to be taking forever today...You typed in the site address as fast as you could, then thought of a username. sprang to mind, so you entered that in and joined the room. When you entered, you saw the name Kram, but he seemed to have a friend with him. You giggled at what they were talking about with everyone, something about one of them been a builder. You doubled clicked on their name, not really knowing what to say...after a while you sent:
: hi. do u know my friend, ? shes my best mate :)

Ben nearly spat his drink out, he was so happy to see that her friend had arrived. He was really getting into chatting to people, he was dying for Mark to leave the room so he could grab his computer off of him and take over talking. A ringing sound played when you recieved a PM, and both him and Mark smiled at the same time.
"Let me talk," he told Mark.
"You don't know how," said Mark.
"I do!" he argued back, then he placed his hands on the lap top and grabbed it out of his hands, he turned so he had his back to Mark, who was now mumbling things about him.

: hello? are u there?
Neb and Kram: sorry i'm here now! bear with me, i cant type fast
: oh, thats ok. so, you new to this?
Neb and Kram: yeah. my friend introduced me 2day.
: what's your real name? and where r u from? didnt say much about, about kram. whatever his name is.
Neb and Kram: our names are secret. u have to guess!!
: i'm no good at cluedo! where are you frommmmm
Neb and Kram: london. come on u can guess. its so easy man.

As it by our magic, one of your a1 posters came loose on the wall and fluttered down to the floor. Realisation hit you as you stared at the name, and the letters seemed to re-arranged themselves. Neb and Kram...Ben and Mark. It couldn't be! It had to be some fans messing around, you told yourself. Still, hope was in your heart. London, too. Just as you arrived, they were telling jokes which definately only males would find funny...what if it was?

Neb and Kram: are you there?
: sorry, i was just thinking. i think i've guessed. are u called ben? and the other one mark?
Neb and Kram: hehe
: well?
Neb and Kram: maybe
: you're impossible, u know that!

"Ben!" said Mark as he read the screen. "Why did you tell her?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Why? It's nothing, she probably won't believe we're them anyway. There's loads of Bens and Marks."
"This changes everything, don't you see? Now she'll tell and she'll be different with me! She'll be like all other girls and talk about boybands and stuff..."
"What is your problem?!" Ben asked. "She won't be any different. Oh, look. Is that her?" he asked. had just joined the chat room, using her real name.
"Yeah!" Mark said, his face lighting up. "I wanna talk to her."
"I want to talk to her!" Ben said, pointing at your name.
"You can use my old one," Mark told him, walking over to his wardrobe. He opened it and rummaged around in some boxes, pulling out an older model of a lap top. "Oh, I'll use it."
"Sure?" Ben asked.
"Yeah," said Mark, smiling at him. Mark went to sit on his bed, he connected his mobile to his computer and waited whilst it loaded up. "Tell her I'll be on in a minute."

You couldn't PM your friend fast enough when you saw her come in.
: omg omg omg
: hey! whats up? oh, krams here.
: he's not kram!
Neb and Kram: hey u 2 kram won't be a minute ok
: ok.
: well, who is he then!
: mark
: shut up
: i know its hard to believe. ben and mark.

Kram arrived in the room.

Kram: u two
: hey m8
Kram: hiya :D anyways, u 2
: yer?
Kram: , if i tell u something, it wont change our friendship will it? u won't treat me any different? let's go into a private room. i'll pm u with the name and password.

"Ben, the room is secrets and the password is 12, okay?" Mark called out to the floor.
"Okay," said Ben, concentrating on the drama that was unfolding. He worked out how to change rooms and went to the one Mark told him about. You and your friend were already in. And he told you. Kram confessed all, with Neb and Kram commenting now and then. You asked questions and they answered. At first, you were very wary. But as days wore on, you believed him more and more. Ben loved talking and the net so much, that Mark gave him his old lap top that night and went home with him to show him how to set it up and connect. Ben caught on fast, and you become closer and closer to him, talking well into the late hours. was understanding, and didn't treat Mark any differently. Ben and you talked about everything bar a1. From the things he said, you could tell he was male. The real proof came when a1 got phone calls one night, asking them to appear on a UK talk show. It was out of the blue and not planned. Ben was chatting to you when he got the phone call, and explained he'd have to leave as they were getting a plane to London.

ben: watch out for us ok!
: ben
ben: yeh?
: its not that i dont believe u, but i need ultimate proof
ben: ok what shall i do on the show!
: it's the parkinson show yeah? well...u can say no if u want. but i want you to drop your mic if you sing, and when you walk over to the sofa where he sits, i want you to trip and fall
ben: hahaha! okay!! that will be so funny!!

You couldn't sit still that night. You'd not felt this nervous since your major exams at school. Michael Parkinson at last introduced a1. The camera panned around to the them, and Ben was looking absolutely gorgeous. You stared at the screen, and the camera did a close up on his face. It felt as though he was looking into your heart, it was pounding and melting at the same time. He also wore a cheeky grin, as did Mark. The camera did a wide shot of the whole band, and just as he was about to sing the opening lines of "Take On Me" he let his mircophone drop. Mark burst out laughing, but the others looked annoyed at Ben's mistake. Ben was biting in his cheeks as he picked it back up, mumbling his apolygies. Him and Mark kept on bursting into giggles throughout, and so did you. But still, that could of been a fluke. The song ended and the audience clapped, some were still laughing. a1 set off towards the sofa which Michael was sat at, Ben was last. He was purposely not looking at the floor, and when he arrived at a small step, he dramatically fell forward, flat onto his face.
"Is he all there?" asked your dad, tutting at the TV. Ben got up, apolygising again and sitting down next to Mark on the sofa. Thankfully the other members answered the questions fired at them, Mark and Ben were too busy covering their mouths and grinning to talk. You too couldn't stop laughing, and felt on top of the world. It was true, the person who you'd spent hours upon hours talking to him was Ben. As if someone wanted to give you a last measure, at the end of the interview Ben spoke up.
"I'm sorry about before, must of been too much drink over the New Year! Can I just say a big happy birthday to my cousin, ? Thank you."
"Oh, his cousin has the same name as you," noticed your dad.
'If only you knew!' you thought as you felt like singing from the mountain tops inside. He had to say cousin so no one would become suspicious of him having a secret girlfriend, but you totally understood this.

Days went by and Ben had to re-join a1 again, meaning your end of day chats were stopped. For the first time, he trusted you enough to give you his number, and you gave him yours. Virtual chat was turned into real chat, and he often called, or you'd call him. You spoke to other a1 members, their voices and accents were so unique, it was definately them. Sometimes Ben would forget about the time differences, and call you whilst you were sleeping, or at the break of dawn, but you didn't mind. Then, a gig was scheduled to take place in your town. Ben knew where you lived, and insisted that you finally meet up. He had split with his girlfriend a few weeks ago, and Mark was single. You couldn't be there in person, but you provided a shoulder to cry on for him and listened to what he had to say about her, and he was grateful for that. He was simply grateful for all of your friendship, and how loyal you had been to him, and said you deserved a reward for that. He arranged for you to come to the gig, then for one of the crew to come outside and you to say the secret question to him.

Which is how you arrived here.

pointed at two doors with names on them. One had a piece of paper stuck to it, with the name "Ben" on it, then the other had "Mark".
"There's not many bands here today so we got individual dressing rooms. Well, when you're ready. Just knock. They're great guys," he said, and with that he left.
"Heck!" said your friend. You did feel nervous, but it was a feeling that you'd have meeting any person for the first time. You didn't think you'd be star struck because you knew so much about Ben already, he just felt like a normal man. "You okay?" she asked, her hand raised againt Mark's door.
"Yeah...go on," you said, flashing her a grin. She knocked once then pulled her hand away. The door opened, and you saw Mark. He was much shorter than you imagined him to be, a wore a friendly smile.
"Hey!" he almost shouted.
"Hi," said . He looked at you.
"Hiya!"
"Hello, Mark." He stood outside then tapped on Ben's door. "Mark!" you said, not sure if you were ready yet. He laughed and started to talk to . Soon enough, they were both stepping inside his dressing room.
"Call me if you need help," you said, without meaning to. "Sorry!" you said, blushing.
"Nah, I'm not the mad murderer. Ben is," Mark said with a smile. "But just to be sure, I'll leave this door open, 'kay?" he asked. You nodded and he went further inside the room.
"Someone out there?" you heard Ben's voice say. It sounded different to how it did on the phone, and you felt butterflies in your stomach.
"It's...it's me," you said. Almost instantly, the door flew open. He looked even better infront of your eyes. He'd always amazed you by his looks, but now he was right here, they amazed you even more. How one man could be so perfect, you'd never know. He was obviously getting ready for the show, as he had black trousers on, a shirt and a tie hung loosely around his neck. He was looking at you, a satisfied smile on his face. He opened his arms and you stepped into them, wrapping yours around his body. It felt great to be this close to someone, especially him. You silently hugged for quite a long time, making up for the days which you spoke but were never in contact with each other.
"It's great to see you," he said as you broke apart. "You look great. I love these," he said, lightly touching the clips you had in your hair.
"Thanks! God, it's so weird meeting you."
"I know, I kinda feel like I know you inside out. Come in, hun," he said. You felt a rush of heat charge through you when he used that endearment. You went inside his dressing room and he closed the door after you, sitting down in a chair opposite his dressing table. The room was small and standard. It had a dressing table with a mirror infront of it, lights were circling it, a few chairs, a sofa, a TV and empty crisp packets and cans of coke had been thrown around. "I didn't make the mess," he said and you both laughed. You placed yourself on the sofa, aware that his eyes were on you. On the phone and over the internet, you weren't afraid of saying anything as he just couldn't see you. But now you felt tense, and didn't know what to say. To your surprise he stood up, and sat down next to you. Your bodies were touching and you could feel the attraction that had been created as soon as he saw you at his door. He put a hand in his pocket, pulling out a small blue box. He turned to look at you, and you looked at him. For a while you studied each other's faces, and he slowly reached his free hand to your face, as if he wasn't sure if it was okay to touch you. You smiled and then he placed the tips of his fingers on your face, softly tracing them downwards. "I just can't believe you're here. You're real, you're not just some unknown voice which knows the answer to everything."
"I don't know everything!" you argued.
"You do," he told you, his fingers were now on your lips, tickling the skin there.
"My lip stick, Ben," you complained and he laughed, taking his fingers away.
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Well, I just want to thank you for listening to be and always been there. I know we never really knew each other, but I've got a feeling we soon will be getting to know each other very well," he said, raising an eyebrow. He opened the box and took out a silver necklace with a small, hollow heart on the end of it.
"Aww...Ben. You shouldn't of done this."
"No, I wanted to," he said, and you turned so he could put it on you. His fingers kept on brushing your skin and it sent shivers down your spine.The touch he had was so soft, yet so powerful. You turned back round.
"Can I do something I've been dying to do ever since I heard your voice?" he asked. You nodded, sitting back a little and he came towards you, his mouth parted slightly. The kiss was soft at first, and he pulled back, then did it again, this time it was more hot and passionate. It lasted what seemed like forever and felt like your whole life had been leading up to this point. He had his hands on your shoulders and softly said your name now and then. Of course, it had to end sometime, and it was only when an announce said a1 were on stage in ten minutes that it stopped. He smiled at you, his cheeks slightly red. His tie still wasn't done, so you did it up for him. "Thank you," he said. "I have a question," he said, standing up to put a black waist coat on.
"Yeah?"
"You and me, do ya fancy, giving it a go?"
"I would love to, Ben!" you said happily. You quickly shared another kiss, and left the room, bumping into Mark and who were holding hands, so you presumed she'd got lucky too. As you passed by other a1 members, he introduced you as "his girlfriend" and you'd never been happier. You both got to stand infront of the very first row for the show, and your dream of knowing the man on stage was all yours had finally come true.

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