Sad Song of a Gay Teen 49

SAD SONG OF A GAY TEEN 49!!!!!!!

This story is copyright 2007 by yours truly, Paul Walker. You may not copy or post it to any other website without my permission. All the characters are entirely fictional and any resemblance to people, either living or otherwise is pure coincidence. The story contains acts of a sexual nature between teen males and if this offends you, then leave now. If you are under the legal age to be reading this in your territory, then leave now or it's your problem.

Please e-mail all comments to my new e-mail address at kindsoft5@googlemail.com

From the last chapter!!!!!!

I could tell that aunt Teri didn't seem to think that this was such a great idea as she didn't think that Ricky would eat a full portion of mussels and his spaghetti. I came up with the idea of asking the waiter if he could get the chef to make me a slightly larger portion of my first course and then I would let Ricky have some of mine. That solved that problem.

The evening progressed well and we talked about our lives. Rory and Connor told me about their school and I told them about mine. They asked a lot of questions about how I had become interested in music and how we originally formed the group. I had a really great time and Gary later told me that he had also really enjoyed it.

It was when Gary noticed that little Ricky was falling asleep that he said, “It's getting late and Ricky looks like he needs to get home for bed.”

Gary called the limo driver to come and collect us and take us back to the hotel. After another round of hugs from everyone we made our way out of the restaurant.

As we were leaving, Connor said, “Mom, dad, could Jason and Gary come over to our place for a few hours tomorrow night?”

“You'll have to ask them,” Teri said.

We had to explain that Billboard magazine had run a competition and that the winners, who where from Iowa would be arriving in the morning and that we wanted to hang out with them. Then again, I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my cousins while I was in New York and it ended up with Rory and Connor being invited to join us at the hotel.

Sad Song Of A gay Teen 49!!!!!!!

It had been a long day. We had been up at 4am GMT and it had been after 11pm New York time when we went to bed (making after it 4am GMT), this in effect meant that we been awake for twenty four hours and although we had been feeling really tired when we went to bed, I was still awake at just after 7am. And I was feeling kind of sad as it was two years to the day since mum and dad had died and all that other stuff had happened. To be totally honest, my emotions were all over the place. Thinking about mum and dad and how much I missed them made me sad but I was also really happy remembering the great time that I had had last night meeting the previously unknown family members. Not really a good way to start the day considering that we had a full day ahead of us rehearsing with our special guests for the two concerts.

'Maybe I'll feel better after taking a shower,' I thought to myself.

I also needed to go and empty my bladder and so I got out of bed as carefully as I could, so as not to wake Gary. Once I had peed and brushed my teeth, I got the shower going and as soon as the water was at the right temperature, I got in and had a nice long shower. It was very refreshing too. By the time I got out of the shower, Gary was in the bathroom emptying his bladder.

I went over to him and said, “Morning babe and happy anniversary,” before pressing my lips firmly against his.

“So what did you get for me as an anniversary present?” He asked.

“Well, seeing as you have arranged to take me out to lunch, I thought that we would exchange presents then,” I said.

“So should we just have breakfast in bed?” Gary asked.

“Umm..nice romantic idea but the guys from Iowa, you know, the ones that won the competition, are supposed to be here by nine and it would be nice to get to know them a little before we head off to the rehearsals,” I said.

With that, I made my way back to the bedroom and got dried and dressed. I decided that I would wear the new t-shirt that I had been given by Rory and Connor.

After Gary had showered and dressed, we made our way down to the restaurant for breakfast. I noticed that Chris and Steve looked a little glum and I asked them why.

“To be honest with you, Jason, it's because we kind of feel guilty about what happened to you two years ago,” Steve informed me.

“You have no reason to feel like that,” I told them. “None of it was your fault.”

“But if we hadn't been late that morning, then we would have been with you and it wouldn't have happened,” Chris said.

“Look, I have no way of ever proving this but what those assholes did to me was planned. If it hadn't happened then, it would have happened at some point, so just forget this guilt trip,” I said.

We were soon joined by the rest of the gang and of course, everyone wanted to know how I was due to the fact that they were all very aware of what day it was. I assured everyone that I was fine and that they had no need to be concerned. OK, so last year I had a massive flashback but then I was at school that day and just seeing the school gates was enough to remind me of just what had happened. There was no chance of that this year as I was three and a half thousands miles away. Besides, I had to concentrate solely on the rehearsals that we had to today. Sure, I was thinking about mum and dad but I think I had every right to remember them, today, of all days. Not that I didn't think about them everyday anyway.

At that point, Jamie and Greg showed up. They had already eaten breakfast and Jamie asked, “So how is my favourite half brother today?”

Liam jumped in by saying, “He's your only half brother, so how can he be your favourite?”

Jamie just responded by saying, “OK, whatever.”

Before anyone else could say anything, I decided that I would answer Jamies' question, “I'm not too bad but Steve and Chris are being a couple of idiots and saying that they are partly to blame for what happened to me. I told them that none of it was there fault and that I think that it would have happened at some point anyway due to the fact that I really believe the people who did it had it all planned anyway and were just waiting for the right opportunity to carry out the attack.”

Jamie looked over at Chris and Steve and said, “Listen guys, Jason is right, what happened probably would have happened at some point and you two could have done absolutely nothing to prevent it, so just don't blame yourselves.”

Chris and Steve said, “OK, Jamie.”

“So what do you and Greg have planned for today?” I asked Jamie.

“Just some shopping we have to do for some presents for a few people,” Jamie replied.

“So what are you buying me as an anniversary present?” I asked.

“Who said anything about buying you a present?” Greg quickly responded.

By now the waiter had arrived with my breakfast. I hadn't been able to decide between the waffles and the pancakes, so I decided to have both. I had also ordered bacon, grilled tomato and mushrooms and to top it all off some maple syrup (although that was mainly for the pancakes and waffles). As I finished my first mouthful, I asked, “So has anyone seen Brett and Gavin this morning?”

“Yeah, they were just leaving in one of the limos as I came out of the lift. They where heading for the airport to meet their friends from Boston,” Ross replied to my question.

We all continued eating and talking and it was about ten minutes later when our guests from Iowa arrived. Gary did the introductions for the guys from the band and our friends. Then it was the turn of the guys from Iowa. First off there was Dane and Colt, they were actually cousins as well as boyfriends. Then there was Joel and Alex and finally Dustin and Dave. It was Dustin who had actually won the competition but he had given the prize to his friends Dane, Colt, Joel and Alex as they had all stood by him when he was having problems with his mother over his sexual orientation. Dustin was with his boyfriend Dave.

“Well it's great to meet you all,” Steve said, “and you won't have any problems with the fact that you are all gay from us.”

“We kind of guessed that as we had read that you are very good friends with Elton John and so we thought that you at least might be gay friendly,” Joel said.

“Steve and I are the only straight guys in the band. Jason is with his boyfriend Gary, who is also our lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Nick over there is Liams' boyfriend and then we have Shane who is Ross' boyfriend,” Chris informed our visitors.

“And before you ask, all the stuff that you have seen in my biography on the website about being raped and my parents being killed in a car crash, well, it's all true. I often get asked if it is just some sort of publicity stunt to help sell more records but I think that you would have to be really sick to do something like that,” I said.

“Most of us have had our share of problems,” Colt said. “When Dane first arrived at school I really didn't like him. I think I was hiding who I really am. Anyway, to cut along story short, Dane and I eventually fell in love and the man who I had always believed was my dad found a note that Dane had written and given to me. He really tried to beat me up over that until my mom came in and pulled a gun on him. After he got arrested I went to see Dane and that is when my mom told me that Danes' uncle Wade is my real dad. He's gay too, so I guess that's were I get it from.”

That got a laugh from all of us along with the comment that Shane made about Dane and Colt giving the term kissin' cousins a whole new meaning.

Dane and his mother had moved in with his grandmother when his dad, DJ, was called up to serve in Iraq. It hadn't been easy for him as he knew that he was gay and the one thing that he had always dreaded was telling his dad about his sexuality. It turned out that one of the other men serving under DJ was gay. That person had died in an explosion and that had somehow had a profound effect on DJ and as a result, he, DJ, had accepted Danes' coming out quite readily. DJ had also lost a leg in the explosion and had since been fitted with a prosthetic leg.

Joel had been brought up in Florida for most of his life until his parents found out that he was gay and sent him to live with his grandparents in Bentonville. His parents had just been unable to accept that their son was gay.

It was Dustin who said, “And thanks for organizing the private jet, it was a really great way to get here and cut out the change of plane in Chicago.”

“Well after reading what you wrote in your entry, we decided that we should make this into a real VIP trip for you guys,” I said.

Gary asked them if they had had breakfast on the plane. They had been provided with a light snack and drinks but they all needed something more substantial and so Gary told them all to take a seat. A waiter brought some menus and the only one that didn't seem to phased by the prices was Joel. It turned out that both sets of his grandparents were wealthy people and he was used to this kind of luxury. Gary told the rest of the guys not to be worried by the prices as it was all included in the trip. The guys ordered what they wanted and while we waited for their food to arrive, we talked some more.

At one point Joel said, “As I already mentioned, both sets of my grandparents are wealthy and they said that we should all go out to dinner and they gave me some money to cover the cost of that. The only thing is that I just thought it would be the six guys from the band. I didn't know that Liam and Ross would be with their boyfriends and that Chris and Steve would have their girlfriends with them.”

I told them about the new family that I had discovered that I had who lived right here in New York and that two of my cousins would also be joining us later in the day. “But we would love to have dinner with you tonight, if you pay for those of us in the group, I'll cover the cost for the rest of the crew,” I said.

“You just got yourself a deal,” Joel said.

The competition winners wanted to take the opportunity of seeing some of the sights of New York while they where here. Chris said that we would be spending the day at Madison Square Gardens doing last minute rehearsals. Kate, Carla, Nick and Shane decided that they would all spend the day with the guys from Iowa and meet up with us at the arena late afternoon.

“So how do you plan to get around?” Asked Gary.

“We'll just take the subway or use the bus,” Dane replied.

“You don't have to. The limo that brought you from the airport is one of three that we have at our disposal, so you may as well make use of it to get you around,” Gary said.

“We really don't mind using the subway, you have done enough already in extending the trip to six people instead of the original four,” Colt said.

“Jason already told you that he wanted to make this into a real VIP trip for you, and that's what we all want. So just make use of the limo. Please,” Steve said.

“OK and thanks for doing all this for us,” Dustin said.

“What was it that you wrote in the tie breaker/essay part of the contest?” I asked. “ That was it, it was about the five friends who had helped you come out to your parents and how Alex and Joel had said that they would come to physical blows to protect you when you thought that your dad might try to smack you around. I was also moved by the way in which you said Dane and Colt took you and Dave to live with them when your mum become emotionally unwell. The thing that really clinched it for you was that you said you really would like to see us live but if you won you would give the tickets to your four best friends who had stood by you through all your troubles. When I showed your entry to Gary, we both agreed that you were the most deserving person to be chosen as the winner. We printed it out and showed it to Liam and he also agreed. So did Chris, Steve and Ross when I showed it to them at school the next day, so, Dustin, don't ever lose your caring nature.”

“And don't you ever lose yours, Jason,” Dustin said.

With that we both got up and gave each other a big hug.

By now it was time for us to leave for the arena to get rehearsals underway. We spent part of the morning running through MY LIFE with Billy Joel and then we spent time going through the song ASHES TO ASHES with David Bowie. By about 12.30 it was time to wrap up and go out for lunch. The morning had gone well and we felt confidant that the audiences were going to really enjoy the shows. Gary and I headed to the limo and away to the restaurant on Clinton Street where he had booked a private room for the two of us. We decided to have the chefs nine course tasting menu and the food was excellent. Before having our dessert, Gary asked the waiter to give us twenty minutes of privacy. He than asked me to go and sit in his lap and gave me a very passionate kiss and told me how much he loved. I returned the kiss and told him the same thing. We didn't mention the incident that had nearly broke us up the year before as we had vowed to never ever mention it again. Then Gary handed me a gift and said, “I got this for you.”

I took the gift and said thank you before I kissed him again. Then I gave him his gift and we kissed again before opening our gifts. We had both bought each other really expensive watches that were made by a Swiss company. They weren't identical but we both really liked them. It was at this point that the waiter returned with our dessert. We had coffee and Gary paid the bill before we headed back to the arena to rehearse with Jim Steinman. We would be doing his song BAD FOR GOOD. On the way back in the limo, a Meatloaf song, ROCK AND ROLL DREAMS COME THROUGH was playing. I listened to the words and thought that they really said a lot about my life over the last two years, which gave me another idea. Once the song had finished, I looked at Gary and said, “You know, that was another one of Jims' songs and it really sort of says a lot about my life over the last two years so I'm going to see if we can get Jim to do that one with us as well.”

“I agree with you,” Gary said.

I called Chris and told him the website to go to so that he could print out the sheet music for the song. When we got back to Madison Square Gardens, Jim Steinman had already arrived and Chris had printed out the music. We did all the introductions and then got to work. By five we had the two songs memorized and note perfect. The guys from Iowa had arrived and so we got some drinks and snacks in the back stage area and talked for a while.

My phone rang and it was Rory. “Hi Wowy,” I said, just to annoy him a little.

“I really am gonna get you for doing that before you fly home,” he said.

“So you keep saying. Now did you actually want something?” I asked.

“Yeah, dad was just going to run us over to your hotel and I wanted to make sure that you are there before we left,” Rory said.

“Actually, we are still at Madison Square Gardens so why don't you come over here and you can have a VIP tour of the stage,” I said.

“Do any of you play an instrument?” Liam asked the crew form Iowa.

“I play the trumpet,” Dave said.

“Lucky for you that Jason has only just found that out,” said Steve.

“Why?” Asked Dustin.

“Well, it is forty years tomorrow since THE BEATLES released the album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and we are doing our version of the song as a tribute. There was some trumpet parts on the original and if Jason had known that you play the trumpet he would have got you up on stage with us,” Chris added.

“I think I would have been so nervous in front of 20,000 people that I would have messed up completely,” Dave said. “I have also been learning percussion. After I got beat up, it hurt too much to play trumpet so I stood in on percussion and really liked it so I started learning that too.”

“Would you like to try out my drum kit?” Chris asked.

“That sounds like a really cool idea,” Dave said.

“My cousins, Rory and Connor will be here soon so when they arrive we'll give you all a tour of the stage,” I said.

“So who is that guy over there talking to Steve and Chris?” Alex asked.

“I know we said that we wouldn't tell you too much about he show so as not to spoil it for you but that is one of the special guests that we have been rehearsing with. We're doing two of his songs and his name is Jim Steinman, he wrote all the songs on the MEATLOAF album BAT OUT OF HELL,” Chris said.

“I've heard my dad playing that,” Dane said.

At that point someone placed their hands over my eyes and said, “Guess who?”

“Hi Connor,” I said as I recognised his voice.

I looked around and said hi to Connor and Rory and introduced them to everyone. They both said that most of their friends at school had been really pissed off that they were getting to meet us today.

“Are many of your school friends coming with you tomorrow?” Liam asked.

“About twenty,” relied Rory.

“Well they are all welcome to come back stage after the show and meet us,” Liam said.

The only response that both Rory and Connor had to that was, “Kewl.”

We then headed onto the stage and showed everyone around. When we got to my keyboard set up Alex said, “this looks just like something out of STAR TREK.”

Although I couldn't actually demonstrate how it all worked, due to that fact that everything had been switched off for the night, I did give them an explanation of what everything did. Last stop was Chris' drum kit and Dave sat down and started playing. He seemed really happy and had a great sense of rhythm and timing. When he finished he said, “Thanks for that Chris, I really enjoyed it.”

“If we ever decide that we need another drummer, then we'll call you first,” Chris told him.

After the tour of the stage, we went back to the back stage area and Robert and Neil had arrived. They had been taking care of some business at their New York office. Liam went into perfect gentleman mode and introduced everyone. When he had finished he said, “Dad, can I talk to you in private for a minute?”

Robert and Liam went off so that they could have some privacy and when he came back, Liam addressed the guys from Bentonville and said, “I know the prize only gave you two nights at the hotel but it's my fifteenth birthday on Sunday. Dad has been asking me for weeks what I want and the truth is that, because of my background and the fact that most of my life I lived in poverty, well almost, I really have no idea what want. Since I met Jason and the rest of the group, my life has really changed and I now have more in terms of material possessions than I ever dreamed of. I just talked to my dad and asked him if he would pay for you guys to stay two extra nights and then you can be here for my birthday. I told him that that would be my present. He also said that he would call the aircraft charter company and rearrange your flight home for Monday afternoon.”

The guys from Iowa all looked at each other and I think that were a little bit stunned by this until Colt said, “OK, we accept your offer.”

“Thanks guys, this just means so much to me,” Liam said.

“But what about a present?” Dustin asked.

“As I already said, I have so much more than I ever dreamed of in terms of material possessions. Just having you guys here will make my birthday that bit more special,” Liam said.

We decided to head back to the hotel and get ready to go out to dinner. The guys from Bentonville asked if they could ride with Gary and I. That was one limo full so we all headed back to the hotel. On the way the Iowa crew were calling home to let their families know about the change of plans. Although I could only here one side of the conversations, I chose to listen in. I know that was out of order but it was hard not to in the confined space of the limo. Colt was calling his grandmother and Dane was calling his parents. When the call was answered, I heard colt say, “No grandma, we don't have a problem and we are not in any trouble. Remember a few weeks back when we did the cyber link with Jason and Gary? They said that they would make this into a real VIP trip and they really have. They let us use one of their limos for the day so that we could go sight seeing. That was so cool.”

There was a pause as Colt listened to something that his grandmother was telling him and then he said, “The hotel is great, really out of this world. The reason I called is that Liam, the groups guitarist is 15 on Sunday and asked his dad to pay for us all to have two more nights here so that we could help him celebrate, so we won't be home until Monday.”

“Dane is calling DJ and Ellen right now,” Colt said.

Colt finished the call by saying, “OK, grandma, we'll enjoy the rest of the weekend and see you on Monday and tell you all about it then.”

“Is everything OK for you to stay for two more nights?” Gary asked.

“Yeah, everything is OK for us to stay until Monday,” Colt informed me.

We had arrived back at the hotel and the Bentonville guys went to their suite to get cleaned up for dinner. We had got the concierge at the hotel to arrange a table for twenty at a nearby Italian restaurant. Rory and Connor had got permission from Bill and Teri to spend the night as Friday was the last day of school before summer holiday, (oops, I mean vacation), for them. As they wouldn't be doing any real lessons, Bill and Teri saw no harm in the boys missing one day of school.

On the way up to the apartment in the elevator, Rory asked, “Don't you need to tell reception the you have two extra people staying the night?”

“No,” I said. “You remember last night when I told you about our billionaire friend from Arizona?”

“Yeah, the guy that bought the helicopter for your birthday present?” Connor said.

“Well, the apartment belongs to him, so it is not really anything to do with the hotel therefore it is no problem for you to stay the night,” I said.

As we rode up to the apartment in the elevator, we told Connor and Rory how we had gotten to know Chris Dickson and that he was the uncle of an old school friend of not only me but also Chris and Steve. We told them that he was Crown Prince Cullen Muneday but we couldn't mention the country of which he was the Crown Prince. We also had to ask my cousins to never mention any of this to anyone for safety and security reasons involving Cullen. They assured me that the secret was safe with them.

On entering the apartment we offered Connor and Rory something to drink. Then I said, “I'm going to take shower, would you like to join me.”

“I'll pass on that,” Connor said.

“So will I,” Rory added.

Gary and I headed off to the bathroom to shower and left my cousins playing on the Playstation 3. As I made my way back to the lounge, I called out, “Is everyone else almost ready to go out for dinner?”

I got various answers and it was basically a case of Connor, Rory, Gary and me meeting up with the gang form Bentonville in the hotel lobby and then they would all meet us at the restaurant. It was only two blocks away and so we decided to walk. As we walked along, Colt said, “I've noticed those guys in black shirts following you guys all day. Is it OK to ask who they are?”

“Sure! They are agents from a company called FOSS INTERNATIONAL and they take care of all our security,” I explained.

“I don't think that I would like that,” Dane said.

“You just learn to live with it,” I responded.

It took us about five minutes to walk to the restaurant and as we entered, there was a gorgeous smell of garlic, oregano and basil. Typical flavourings in Italian food. We also noticed the wood burning pizza oven that was a feature of the restaurant. The aromas of the food being prepared and cooked in the open kitchen had us all feeling really hungry. We were shown to our table by the restaurant manager who was very pleasant and told us that his two teenage daughters would be at the concert tomorrow. I was about to offer to organize some backstage passes for them when Gary whispered in my ear that I shouldn't. However, we did give the manager some signed photos of us to pass on to his daughters.

It wasn't long before everyone else arrived, including Jamie and Greg. As there were so many of us, we all split into little groups and got our conversations going. Gary was talking with Joel and Alex as they were all the closest in age. Colt was talking with Liam, (I think it had a lot to do with the fact that they had spent a large part of their lives not knowing who their real fathers were and that when they had found out, it was also revealed that their real fathers were gay. It gave the two of them something in common). Chris and Steve were getting very intimate with Carla and Kate. Nick and Shane were talking with Rory and Connor and Ross were talking with Jamie and Greg. That left me to talk with Dane, Dave and Dustin (the three Ds').

“So when do you finish school for summer?” Dane asked.

“I go back on Wednesday and have another four weeks,” I said.

I also told them about the music exam that I would be taking and how I would be fast tracked through the next stage, which meant I would be doing two years work in one year and all being well, I would get to go to university two years early. I also told them about the group appearing at the Glastonbury festival and that I would be singing with Elton John at the Princess Diana memorial concert on July 1^st .

“So why did he only ask you and not the other guys?” Dustin asked.

“I know that he likes all of us in the band but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he sees me as the son or grandson that he always wanted but never had,” I told my new friends.

We ordered our food and continued to talk as we waited for the food to arrive. I told the guys from Bentonville about our trip to South America in the summer and that we would also be at Wembley for the Live Earth concert on July 7^th. Joel heard me mention this and said that they should all spend the weekend at his grandparents lakeside cottage so that they could watch us on TV. Then he went back to his conversation with Gary and Alex. I saw this as the moment to put a proposition to the guys.

“Gary will be 18 in August and I am staging a big concert in Manchester for his birthday. It's a concert of my instrumental electronic music and involves closing the city centre for the night. I'd love to fly you guys over for that. You don't have to give me an answer right now as I want you to talk it over with the rest of your friends. Think about it for me, will you?” I said.

Dave, Dustin and Dane said that would talk to Colt, Joel and Alex about my proposition when they got back to the hotel later. The rest of the evening passed by really quickly. We enjoyed the great food and conversation but it was time to get back to the hotel so that we could all get to bed. It had been another long day. When we got back to the hotel we noticed that the coffee shop was still open and decided to have some hot chocolate. As we sat having our drinks I said, “Joel, thanks for dinner and thank your grandparents on behalf of all of us when you get home.”

We talked for another half hour before we all headed of to bed.

At breakfast the next morning we all decided that we wanted to go and see Central Park. Liam and Steve particularly wanted to see the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon. We had a great morning but the band had to get Madison Square Gardens for the sound check before the show tonight. Carla. Kate, Nick and Shane decided that they wanted to go souvenir shopping with guys from Bentonville. Rory and Connor went with them. Due to the fact that they were New Yorkers, they knew where to get the best prices on what everyone would be looking for.

We had finished the sound check by five and that gave us a couple of hours to chill out before the show. When we got to the backstage area I was very surprised to see dad talking with uncle Bill.

As Gary and I approached dad, I said, “So when did you get here?”

“About two hours ago,” dad said. “Amanda, Linda, Kathy and Carol said that they would spend the weekend with Jane so that all the men could be here. Bill was just discussing a few business ideas with me.”

“About him wanting to represent the band here in America?” I asked.

“Yes,” dad replied.

“We talked about it when we had dinner on Wednesday but I said that he would have to talk to you about it,” I told dad.

Gary asked me if I wanted something to drink. I settled for a bottle of water. I only ever drank water between the sound check and the actual show so that I could keep my vocal cords lose and moist. The last thing that I wanted was my voice giving out during the show. While I waited for Gary to return with my water, Craig came bounding up and said, “Hi Jason.”

“Hi yourself,” I replied. “Would you like to meet my cousin Ricky, he's the same age as you are?” I asked.

“Yeah, OK,” said Craig.

Gary had returned with my bottle of water and I took a really good gulp before going off to find aunt Teri and Ricky. I found aunt Teri talking with Steve and his dad, Howard.

“Whose your fwiend?” Ricky asked.

“This is Steves' little brother Craig,” I said.

“Hi Cwaig,” Ricky said to my little friend.

“My name is Craig and not what you said,” Craig said in a somewhat annoyed tone.

“Craig, Ricky has a little problem with pronouncing his Rs', so don't be mad at him, please,” I said.

“Sorry Jason, sorry Ricky,” said Craig.

With that the two young boys started talking and getting to know each other. I talked with aunt Teri and Howard for a little before going and getting something to eat. We also passed the goody bags round all our new friends. Theses contained some t-shirts, sweatshirts and a variety of other stuff from the merchandising shop.

Just after seven the guys from Iowa, along with all of our family members made their way out front to their seats. They all wished us good luck with the show before they left and we said that we would see them all later, after the show.

Dead on seven thirty Chris was behind his huge drum kit and had started to play the opening of the old QUEEN song, WE WILL ROCK YOU. Gary and I made our way on stage from opposite directions clapping our hands above our heads in time to the drum beat. When we reached our microphones, we grabbed hold of them and I said, “Good evening New York.”

Gary looked at me and then said, “that wasn't a very good greeting, lets' try again.”

I repeated my words of, “Good evening New York.” This time the audience went wild.

“OK, tonight we're starting off with an old song form the band QUEEN,” Gary said.

“It's called WE WILL ROCK YOU and if you know the words, sing along with us,” I said to the audience.

Gary and I then began to sing the words which go;

Buddy you're a boy, make a big noise

Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day

You got mud on your face

You big disgrace

Kickin' your can all over the place

Singin' We will we will rock you

We will we will rock you

Buddy you're a young man, hard man

Shoutin on the street, gonna take on the world someday

You got blood on your face

You big disgrace

Wavin' your banner all over the place

Singin We will we will rock you

We will we will rock you

Buddy your an old man, poor man

Pleadin with your eyes, gonna make you some peace someday

You got mud on your face

You big disgrace

Somebody better put you back in your place

Singin' we will we will rock you

We will we will rock you.

(Words by Brian May, copyright EMI music 1977)!!!

By now the audience had been worked up in to a real frenzy and were singing a long to the song. The atmosphere was just amazing. We then did the Duran Duran song WILD BOYS, which we had adapted as our theme song. Then, when we had finished that song, Liam walked up to the microphone and said, “Tonights show is a little different in that we are going to be doing a few more cover versions than we normally would. Part of the reason for this is that our voices are changing as we get older and we have to rework many of our songs to take that into account. We also want to pay tribute to some of the great musicians and song writers that have influenced us.”

Steve took over at this point, “we're gonna carry on with a song by our friend Elton John. This is called FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND/LOVE LIES BLEEDING and is from his album GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD.”

We had great fun playing the song, which was around eleven minutes long in total and it seemed to go down really well with the audience. Then we spent nearly the next hour playing our own songs. Then I announced, “Forty years ago today was a very special day in the history of music as a group from Liverpool, England, released what is considered to be one of the greatest albums ever made and we are going to do our version of the title song as a tribute. This is called Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

Liam started playing the opening guitar chords and was soon followed by the rest of us. I sang the first part which we had changed slightly and it went:

It was forty years ago today

That Sgt. Pepper taught us how to play

And we've been going in and out of style

But we're guaranteed to raise a smile

So may I introduce to you

The act you've know for all these years

Sgt. Peppers Lonely hearts club band

We all sang the next part as a six part harmony, which sounded awesome;

We're Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts club band

We hope you will enjoy the show

We're Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts club band

Sit back and let the evening go

Sgt Peppers Lonely

Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts club band

It's wonderful to be here

It's certainly a thrill

You're such a lovely audience, we'd like to take home with us

We'd love to take you home

Then Gary sang the final part;

I don't really wanna stop the show

But I thought you might like to know

That the singers gonna sing a song

And he wants you all to sing along

So may introduce to you

The one and only Billy Joel

And Sgt Peppers Lonely hearts club band.

(Words by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Copyright Northern Songs 1967).

At this point Billy Joel had joined us on stage. The road crew had also wheeled on two grand pianos. I made my way to one of the pianos while Gary was introducing our guest by saying, “A few months ago we were asked to do a charity CD for an anti bullying campaign back home. Our first guest tonight is the one and only Billy Joel as we used his song MY LIFE for the charity record. Lets here it for Billy Joel.”

Billy said a few words about how honoured he felt to be on stage with us tonight and then we did the song. When it was over we got a long standing ovation and then we played two songs from the as yet unfinished and unreleased third album before taking a thirty minute break. This was turning into one of the best shows that we had ever done. During the break we caught up with the guys from Iowa and my cousins. They were all having the time of their lives.

At the time I was talking with aunt Teri about something but Joel came up behind me and said, “I've really enjoyed the show so far but I really liked the song that you did with Billy Joel. When you sang that line, 'I don't care what you say anymore, This is my life', you sounded as if you meant every word of it.”

“I did,” I said. “My other foster brother, Keith, sang it as a duet with me on the single but he got himself a part in a TV drama series and so had to stay home to meet his filming schedule.”

“Hopefully we'll get to meet him if we take you up on your offer to fly us over to England for Garys' birthday,” Joel said.

“I hope you guys take me up on that, I'm sure that you'll all have a great time,” I said.

About ten minutes before we were due back on stage, everyone began to make their way back to their seats. We all got back on stage and played a few more of our own songs, including CRIED TOO MANY TEARS, TECHNOLOGY and MESSED UP WORLD. As the song was not only about what had happened in HIROSHIMA in 1945 but also about the futility of war in general and how our so called leaders were messing up the planet, we had asked Dane if we could say a few words about what had happened to his dad in Iraq and also to dedicate the song to DJ, Danes father. Dane agreed to this.

Then it was time for our next guest, David Bowie. “Now it's time to introduce our next guest. Jason and I had the chance to meet him a few months ago when he was recording at Dreamfields, the recording studio complex that Jason owns back home. Lets' have a very big and warm welcome for the legendary David Bowie.”

David walked on stage dressed in a white Armani suit. “Meeting Jason and Gary a few months ago was a real treat, they are both very talented young musicians and record producers. I only got to meet the other guys yesterday but they are also very talented and I think that they all have a great future ahead of them. When they found out that would be doing a couple of gigs in New York they called me and asked if I would join them on stage to perform my classic hit ASHES TO ASHES,” David said.

This earned us another rapturous applause from the 20,000 strong audience before David said, “Take it away guys.”

We began to play the intro and then David, Gary and I took up on the vocals which we had rehearsed the previous day as a three part harmony. And it went:

Do you remember a guy thats' been

In Such an early song?

I heard a rumour from ground control

Oh, no,don't say it's true

They got a message from the action man

David was stood with his arm around me as we sang the next line;

I'm happy, hope your happy too?

I've loved and I've needed love

Sordid details following

The shrieking of nothing is killing

Just pictures of Jap girls in synthesis

And I ain't got no money and I ain't

got no hair

And I'm hoping to kick the habit

But the planet is glowing

Want an axe to break the ice

Wanna come down right now

Ashes to ashes

Funk to funky

We know Major Toms' a junkie

Strung out in heavens high

Hitting that all time low

There was another verse and a repeat of the chorus and the whole song was a great hit with the New York audience. After that we played some more of our own songs including a few of the new ones from the next album which we told the audience we would be releasing at the end of November in time for the Xmas market. Then it was time for our final guest of the night, Jim Steinman.

As Steve was introducing him, I made my way to the front of the stage as I would be playing guitar on this song. Once we had introduced Jim, he made his way to the grand piano that had been brought on stage. After Chris had counted us in, Liam and I began to play the opening guitar chords and riffs. Then I began to sing:

The sky is whipping the Sea

The sea is whipping the sky

You can hide away forever from the storm but you'll

never hide away from me

The icy cold will cut us like a knife in the dark

And we may lose everything in the wind

But the Northern lights are burning and they're giving off sparks

I want to wrap myself around you like a winter skin

The song continued at a fast tempo for a few minutes and the words continued in that vein but at about the four minute point it slowed down a little and I sang;

For the good of some thrills on a long frigid night

For the good of the fire in your soul

For the good of the kiss, let me hold you so tight

For the good of getting out of control

Things continued in that vein for a few minutes before the song reverted to the opening verse and ended with the line;

You'll be bad for good

The song ended with some frenzied power chords from Liam and I. As we hit the last notes of the song, Liam and I leapt in the air and the stage erupted in a flash of white light and fireworks. The audience went really wild.

AS I caught my breath, Jim Steinman said, “All I can say is that these guys are fucking brilliant. Most of you will know about all the crap that Jason has been through in his life and he asked if I would do another one of my songs with them as he feels that it says so much about his life over the last two years. This is called ROCK AND ROLL DREAMS COME THROUGH. Take it away Steve.”

With that, Steve began the opening bass riff and was soon joined by the rest of us.

I took up on the lead vocal;

You can't runaway forever but there's nothing wrong with getting a good head start

You want to shut down the sun

You want to shut out the night

You want to shut away the pieces of a broken heart.

Think of how we lay'd down together

We'd be listening to the radio so loud and so strong

Every golden nugget coming like a gift of the gods

Someone must have blessed when he gave us those songs

At that point Gary took over on the lead vocal and sang;

I treasure you love

I never want to lose it

You've been through the fires of hell and I know you've got the ashes to prove it

I treasure your love

I wanna show you how to use it

You've been through a lot of pain in the dirt and I know

you got the scares to prove it

Gary and I sang the next part as a duet;

Remember everything that I told you?

Well, I'm telling you again that it's true

You're never alone, 'cause you can put on the phones and let the

drummer tel your heart what to do

Keep on believing (the whole band sang that line in harmony)

And you'll discover baby

There's always something magic

There's always something new

And when you really really need it the most

That's when Rock and Roll dreams come through for you.

At that point in the song, there was an instrumental section and a second verse about how all the chords came to life and how the angels had guitars even before they had wings. Then a repeat of the chorus and that it was. The applause that we got was tremendous. We played a few more songs that we had written and then took a bow and left the stage. The audience were calling for more, clapping their hands and stamping their feet. We headed back on stage and did our usual two encores of HOTLE CALIFRONIA and the FELLTWOOD MAC song, DON'T STOP. We took another bow and left the stage for the second time. We still had one more song to do and so made our way back on to the stage. Gary said, “we still have one more song left for you and this is why we are here tonight. This is called FOREVER AUTUMN and we would like to say thank you to everyone that bought it and put us to number one here in the USA.”

I added, “And this is for my mum and dad who were sadly killed in a car crash two years ago.”

We played the song and then took another bow and thanked the audience for being so great. Then we left the stage and headed backstage. As we left the stage, I noticed the pictures of mum and dad on the huge video screen and I silently mouthed the words, 'Thank you mum and dad, it's you two that made all this possible for me.'

After leaving the stage, I made my way to our dressing room to take a shower and put on some clean clothes. It got really hot on stage due to all the heat that was generated by the lights and all the electronic equipment that we used. After my shower, I went and joined our friends from Iowa and my cousins. Craig and Ricky were munching away on hamburgers and fries and they seemed to have more ketchup on their t-shirts and round their mouths than they had going into their stomachs. But they looked happy anyway.

When I joined everyone, they were all talking about the show and trying to decide which had been their favourite part. For the next two hours there was a great party atmosphere going on backstage before we all went back to the hotel. Before leaving Madison Square Gardens, I said goodnight to my aunt, uncle and cousins and said that I would see them on Sunday at the party that was being organized for Liams' birthday.

End of Chapter 49!!!!!

The characters of Dane, Colt, Dave, Dustin, Joel and Alex appear courtesy of David Lee and his story TALES FROM BENTONVILLE HIGH (in the high school section here on nifty). Thank you David.

I hope you all like this chapter and that it was worth the wait. It is the longest chapter so far at over 9000 words. The New York adventures will continue in the next chapter. Thank you to all of you who wrote after the last chapter. You can drop me a line at kindsoft5@googlemail.com

See you all next time.

Lol Paul.