Title: Bending the Rules
Author/Email: Angel; beckhamstory@comcast.net
Genre: SLASH
Fandom: Football Slash
Pairing: David Beckham/ OC
Rating: NC-17
Category: Romance/Erotica
Summary: A friendship spawned from convenience leads to some rules being bent and other flat-out broken.
Disclaimer: None of this is true. I do not own these people (except for the original characters which I do own) and certainly do not make them do the things I write about. By reading this, you relinquish any liability I may have regarding you meeting the requirements to view such material.
WARNING: This story involves consensual INCEST and homosexual relations between fictional characters.
Notes: I dedicate this to one of my favorite people, David Beckham, who is one of the coolest guys around... and he's handsome to boot! Thank you David for the inspiration and the eye-candy.
Feedback: I would appreciate it more than words can express and will try my best to reply to all of it.
NOTE:
A lot of you have read my work before and know that I do not shy away from the adult stuff and if I did, I wouldn't be posting on this site. I mean, come on... in "Leo and Chris" I had those guys going at it every chapter from like the fourth chapter on... sometimes several times in a chapter, and if you need further evidence just look at Kevin's New Camera, The Blond and the Brit, The Talk With My Big Bro, A Real Man and everything else I've written. However, this is only the first chapter and in it I am just setting the foundation... the groundwork and back story for what is to come so if what you're looking for is just some quick smut, walk away. There will be plenty of that... no, make that a ton of that, but only after the story has built up to it. So without further delay, enjoy the story... it'll definitely be worth your while.
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"In every possible way, I want it to be a departure from everything they've seen from me so far." This young man heard his own voice utter these words and was surprised by the confidence it conveyed. The last few months of his life had been hectic to say the least and confidence had taken a back seat to scrutiny and insecurity.
His name was Arik and at the ripe old age of 23 years, he found himself in the middle of a media whirlwind. You see, just eleven months prior, life had taken a turn that he never expected, not even in his wildest dreams. He'd been pumping gasoline into his car at a local gas station and humming to himself quietly, only letting a few actual words seep through when he caught the attention of the man on the other side of the pump. It turned out, that man was Larry Rudolph, famous in the entertainment world for being the man behind the rise of Britney Spears and a few others.
After an introduction and a few words were exchanged, Larry asked the young man he now knew as Arik to please consider coming in for an audition... no risks, no commitments, just a "see if there's actually something there" kind of situation.
When he was younger, Arik had briefly considered a career in the entertainment industry. He'd had dreams of that... singing and dancing, even acting. He'd write songs during class in high school, choreographed a school musical... all that... but after high school, he got practical and hadn't really thought about it since. He'd gotten into the healthcare field, which fit him like a glove, he thought. It was that very practical side that prevented him from saying yes to Larry right away and what kept him from giving the man a call, but after a few weeks and some sound advice from a friend, Arik called Larry... and the rest as they say, is history.
Now, months later, an album had been released, two hit singles exploded onto the television and radio airwaves and a video for the third single was in the works. That's actually where Arik was at that moment. He was at a creative meeting with his manager, Larry, the Spanish man who would be director of the video, Joaquin Valencia, and his assistant director, Guy Ian Pierce.
"There was nothing wrong with the first two videos but they were big productions with dancing and special effects... I definitely want that stripped away for this one." Arik said, looking mostly just at the director. "I want it to be simpler and feel... intimate."
That was a bold move on Arik's part because the big production videos were his idea to begin with. They were his way of taking the focus off himself and putting it on the dancing or the song or even the special effects, anything to avoid scrutiny on his personal life. He had nothing to hide, least of all the fact that he was gay, but he just did not feel comfortable letting people in... letting the unforgiving media in.
He still felt that way but he knew he owed it to himself and to his fans to give them a glimpse of who he was, without the flashing lights. It's also why he'd chosen a ballad for the third single.
"The song calls for it, obviously." He said. "It's a slow song... a sort of unconventional love song, so the last thing one would associate with a ballad is intricate choreography."
"Right." Joaquin chimed in. "I heard the song. It's beautiful by the way."
Arik smiled politely but didn't interrupt.
"And I get that very intimate feeling from it. It's not just because it's slow, or even just because of the lyrics... it's a combination of the fact that both are very unique and the melody is hauntingly beautiful." Joaquin finished. "So I've drafted up a concept based on what first popped into my head when I closed my eyes and listened to the song."
"Wow. Sounds promising." Arik said. He knew from experience, the best ideas usually came that easily.
"It's more adult than your fan base is used to but I think that's a good thing. They'll grow with you." Larry told Arik, having already heard the concept from Joaquin the day before.
"Basically we'll have two near-strangers in a hectic but beautiful city... I'm thinking London, having a series of random meetings and chance encounters and near misses too." Joaquin explained. "You'll play one of the two strangers, of course, and we, the audience, watch as they go about their busy lives and bump into each other on a train, on the sidewalk, and even at an airport but they're never standing still. They're busy and rushing and never share more than a lingering glance. We'll also see a couple of times where they've missed meeting each other, like one crossing the street as the other one is just getting out of a Subway station from the very sidewalk the first is walking away from... and things like that. So basically we're seeing them in all these public, fleeting encounters."
Arik found the concept interesting so far but nothing seemed to really stand out or be unique and certainly nothing about it seemed intimate.
"But that's not all the audience is seeing. In contrast to those very impersonal chance meetings, there's another scene that cuts through between each of these random encounters and that scene is the complete opposite of what we're seeing from the other scenes. That scene is of those same two people, but together, clearly in a setting where they aren't strangers to each other. We'll see them lying on a bad together cuddled up naked, caressing each other softly with a white sheet just loosely draped over them, and then in a kitchen wearing very little and attempting to make breakfast but only succeeding at touching other and kissing each other more than anything else... and other settings like that. Basically we'll show them on a lazy day in their intimate home life." Joaquin explained further and watched Arik for a reaction.
Arik had to admit he was a lot more intrigued now than he was a couple of minutes before.
"At the end, we see them run into an elevator where they end up together and alone and from their body language and their reactions to each other, we learn the truth, that they really are strangers to each other and that the intimate settings we witnessed of them together were what they have been imagining and fantasizing about each other from just those chance brief encounters... but we also see that this is the very moment they stop being strangers to each other and realize that those fantasies are now all of the sudden, a very real possibility of their future."
"Wow." Arik said in a small voice, barely audible. He'd been completely wrapped up in Joaquin's storytelling and now that he'd heard all of it, he was truly impressed, surprised, and eager to see it through.
"What do you think?" Larry asked, since Arik didn't seem to be volunteering many words.
"I love it. I cannot believe how perfect it is. I want to do it." Arik's words made everybody in the room smile except Arik who still found himself surprised, even though pleasantly so.
"Great! I'm glad to hear it." Joaquin said and looked at Guy, his assistant director. "Guy and I have talked about shooting the video mainly with a steadycam and a handheld one because we want it to have that intimate and personal feel. So no big expensive movie-esque kind of shots."
"And since this is a step in a new direction, a big step, we need to make sure we do everything right. That's why the casting is important. We can't just cast some nameless pretty boy." Larry spoke up after Joaquin. He already had someone in mind but of course Arik had to approve. "I mean, the media and your fans know you're gay but they've never actually seen it and the temptation might be there for some to turn away when the intimate scenes come up so we've got to give them something they wouldn't want to walk away from, right?"
"Okay, you're rambling which means you already have an idea as to whom you want, so spill it." Arik said with a chuckle.
"David Beckham." Larry replied, leaving Arik, Joaquin and Guy a little stunned.
"The British soccer player?" Arik asked, even though he knew the answer.
"Yeah. You met him once at that amfAR event, remember?"
"No, not really. I mean, yeah I remember that event but we didn't really get to meet. I just posed for a picture with him and his wife." Arik recalled that night only vaguely. Mostly what he remembered was that he wasn't feeling so well and was dying to get back to the hotel and get into bed but couldn't because the fundraising event had run so incredibly long. "What would make you think someone famous in his own right, with a career of his own, heterosexual and a multi-millionaire many times over would want to do a small five minute music video?"
"The fact that he's straight is a non-issue because it's well-known that he's very gay friendly, has a huge gay following and he embraces it... even teases a little sometimes. As for the money, he wouldn't be doing it for the money. Now, where we do have something unique to offer is the fame." Larry was practically smiling now. He was as happy as a kid who just found a loophole in the whole "do your homework or get punished" clause. "He's famous but not in the states. Barely anyone knows his name here and the Beckhams have made no secret of the fact that they want to conquer the states too. Just look at all their failed attempts, including David's endorsement deal with Gillette. It drew no one's attention. That's where you come in. Face it, kid, whether you like it or not, you've very quickly become American Royalty, which makes you the perfect new friend for the Beckhams. We'll make an offer that is a little unconventional. More than the money, we'll be pushing what they really need... we'll agree to some kind of publicity deal that will include him not just appearing in the video but a few months worth of public appearances and so on."
"What do you mean?" Arik asked.
"Well, we'll just arrange for little things at first and start building up your friendship publicly. After the video airs, we'll have you spend time with them in Europe, make sure you get photographed having lunch with them, going shopping and so on. The we'll have you attend a few events with them over there... all of this builds up over a couple of months so that by the time you head back to the states, everyone has already been hearing about it and seeing it on TV and in magazines. At that point, we'll pretty much do the same thing all over again state-side. We'll have them come out and stay with you for a few days then you'll take them out, be seen in public, then you'll do some press and events with them and then Victoria will go back home and you and David will pretty much be anywhere and everywhere. Movie premieres, parties, clubs, shopping in Manhattan... basically just having a very public friendship. From here our work is done and I guess his camp will take over and spin his new popularity in his favor."
"Wow. That's... um... elaborate for just one video shoot." Arik feared a backlash from all of that. He also feared all that attention on them would shine an even bigger spotlight on him not just in the states but worldwide and he didn't know if he could deal with that much pressure.
"I know what you're afraid of. I do." Larry said. "But this is a great opportunity... a win/win for the both of you. And this is good publicity... very good publicity. The bottom line is the press is always going to be talking about you so why not make it so that we control what they say. Isn't it better that way... using them to work for us not against us?"
"I guess you're right." Arik was still a little hesitant though Larry did make a great case for it. "All right, let's do it. Make them an offer."
To be continued...
Next chapter on Bending the Rules:
We meet David, the plan is put into motion... and there's a music video to shoot!