Runaway Chapter 8

"Tyler?"

Tyler felt all eyes on him and fought off the urge to run. "I...I thought about the offer, and...and I'll do it," he said.

Steve smiled and walked over, offering Tyler his hand. "That's great Tyler. You'll start tomorrow. I'll have Jeff get the paperwork and we can fill it out tomorrow afternoon, and show you around. How does that sound?"

Tyler smiled. "Sounds good. Thanks."

"Before you go, why don't I introduce you to some of the guys you'll be working with," Steve suggested, and began walking towards the group of men. Tyler hesitated for a moment then followed.

"Guys, this is Tyler Johnson, he saved the 'Boys' yesterday," Steve said. Tyler wondered how Steve knew his last name. "He's going to be helping out for the rest of the tour. Tyler, this is Mikey, Andy, Chris, Jay, and Nico," Steve introduced the five other men.

Tyler smiled tentatively, as he shook each man's hand.

"That was a good call yesterday, man. We were lucky you know what to look for," the one called Chris said.

"Thanks," Tyler replied.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved, so lets go eat," Jay said. They turned and began to walk away. "You coming Tyler?" Jay looked back and asked.

Tyler shook his head. "Not yet. I have to go meet Brian and the other guys," he said.

Jay looked a little surprised, but didn't comment. "Okay. See ya!"

Tyler watched them leave, and then made his way to the dressing room. He found Marcus and another man standing guard outside the room.

The one man moved to stop Tyler, but Marcus stepped in. "It's okay Pete, this is Tyler, and he's with the 'Boys'," Marcus explained, smiling at Tyler.

Marcus opened the door for Tyler. "Thanks Marcus," Tyler said softly. He walked into the dressing room.

Because the concert was at a large hockey arena, the dressing room was actually the visiting team change room, which provided the guys with lots of space. Tyler noticed Kevin sitting, looking over some papers, while Howie and AJ were both on cell phones. Nick was sitting against the wall, playing a hand-held video game.

Tyler couldn't help but smile at Nick. He walked over and sat beside the blond. "What are you playing?" he asked.

Nick looked up and grinned. "I'll show ya," he said and began to explain the game to Tyler. A few minutes later, Brian came out of the shower. Tyler looked up and smiled at him before returning his concentration to Nick's instructions.

Five minutes later, Brian was dressed and the singers were ready to go eat. Nick handed the game to Tyler. "Here, you play with it Tyler. I won't have time now till after the concert, so it will give you something to do if you're bored," Nick said with a grin.

Tyler tentatively took the small machine and put it in his pocket. "Thanks, Nick. I promise I won't lose it," he vowed.

Nick threw his arm loosely around Tyler's shoulders. "Don't worry about it man. It's just a game. If something happens to it I can always get another one."

Tyler jumped a little at Nick's initial actions but didn't pull away. He realized it was just a friendly gesture and it felt nice.

The six men left the dressing room, walking through the arena to the large lounge where the food was. Marcus and Pete followed behind them. As they walked into the lounge, Tyler realized that the entire crew must be there, including the dancers, management and security. The singers paused for a moment to talk to one person or another as they made their way to the large buffet table.

Nick kept his arm around Tyler's shoulders until they reached the table. He removed his arm as he grabbed a couple of plates and handed one to Tyler. "Dig in Tyler. There's always lots of food, so eat!" Nick said as he began to put food on his plate. Tyler followed Nick along the table and soon his plate was loaded with food. They spotted an empty table and walked over. Brian joined them.

"So how did things go with Steve?" Brian asked curiously.

Tyler smiled. "Good. He said I'd start tomorrow. Jeff is supposed to get the paperwork?"

"So you're going to be working for us, huh?" Nick commented. Tyler nodded. "Good. That makes me feel safer up on stage!" Nick added.

They laughed and continued to eat. After the meal, the singers had to go to makeup, and get their costumes on, before doing their vocal warm-ups. Tyler wandered back to the dressing room. He sat down on the end of one of the benches and leaned up against the wall. Pulling the electronic game out of his pocket, Tyler turned the machine on and began playing.

At first, he got frustrated because he kept getting killed. Very quickly he picked up some of the little tricks and secrets, and began to advance to higher levels. He smiled to himself as he made it to another level.

"How you doing?"

Tyler jumped at the voice and looked up. Nick was standing there looking at him. He could see the other singers in the room too. Tyler blushed, and sat up.

"Good, I think," he told Nick.

"What level are you at?" Nick asked.

"Um...I just reached level ten," Tyler told him. Nick took a step back and tripped over his bag falling to the floor. The other guys all rushed over to make sure he was okay.

"Nick what happened?" Kevin asked.

Nick was staring at Tyler. The guys looked back and forth between Nick and Tyler. "Frack, what's going on?" Brian asked.

Nick stood up and shook his head. He smiled ruefully. "Nothing, except I think I've created a monster," he said.

"Huh?" Everyone said.

Nick walked over and sat down beside Tyler. He took the game from Tyler's hands and turned it to show the guys. "Look! He's only been playing this thing for a couple of hours," he explained. The four other singers all looked surprised.

Tyler was beginning to feel uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what the big deal was. "Um...I guess I'm not that good at it huh?" he said, looking down at his hands.

The singers stared at him silently. He really had no idea. Nick touched Tyler's arm. "That's not true, Tyler," he said gently. "It took me almost three weeks to reach level ten, and I've played hundreds of other video games before. That's incredible Tyler."

Tyler looked up. He realized they weren't disappointed in him; they were surprised.

Before anyone could say anything else, the stage manager knocked at the door and popped his head in. "Five minutes guys!" he announced then closed the door.

Nick handed the game back to Tyler. "If you keep that up, you'll reach the end of the game. There are only twenty levels!"

"Are you going to watch the concert, Tyler?" Brian asked.

Tyler looked up at Brian and smiled. "I'd like to," he said shyly. "I've never been to a concert before."

Brian smiled back at him. "Okay, come on then." He led Tyler outside. He waved Marcus over. "Marc, could you show Tyler to the private section? We gotta get on, but I'll see ya after the concert. Okay?" he said as he looked at Tyler.

Tyler smiled and nodded. "Okay. Good luck."

Tyler followed Marcus through the halls and into the arena. He wasn't expecting the thunderous noise that bombarded him. Marcus looked over and grinned. He pulled out some earplugs and handed them to Tyler. Tyler smiled gratefully and followed the bodyguard along the aisle to a section fenced off, right in front of the stage.

Tyler could feel the eyes of fans watching him. He tried to ignore it. Marcus spoke to the security guard then waved Tyler in.

"Enjoy the show Tyler. I'll see you later," Marcus said. Tyler looked around at the section he was in. It was small and there were about a dozen girls sitting in the seats. Tyler walked over to an empty seat and sat down.

As soon as he did, the lights in the arena went off, and spotlights lit up the stage. Tyler sat back and was mesmerized by the energetic performance his five friends put on.

The trip was quiet as everyone simply slumped against the seats and relaxed.

Once back in the room. AJ and Nick decided to order some room service. Everyone else decided to go to bed, too tired to wait for food.

Tyler found himself lying on the bed wide-awake. He was tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep but his mind wouldn't let him. He kept thinking about everything that had happen. His over active imagination began to picture what would happen if the HIV test were positive. He could see the singers suddenly dumping him, leaving him all alone again. Tyler wondered if it might have been better if he'd died the night of the attack.

He curled up in a ball on the bed and sobbed quietly. He never heard the quiet knock at the door, or the door opening. Suddenly he felt strong and gentle arms wrap around him. He was pulled tight to the warm chest, while a hand gently stroked his hair. A soft voice whispered to him.

"Shhh. Tyler everything is going to be okay. We won't leave you. I promise. You never have to be alone again. I know you're afraid, but you have us now. Don't be afraid to tell us you're scared."

"What if I'm positive?" he whispered.

"Then we'll deal with it. You don't have to do it by yourself."

Tyler felt his tension slowly dissolve as the hand continued to gently stroke his hair and rub his back. He felt safe. It had been a long time since he'd felt that. He allowed his arms to wrap around the warm body beside him and he drifted into a dreamless sleep.