To Be Loved

The doorbell rang and I opened the door. "Mark!" I said, shocked to see him in front of my door at 3 in the morning. "Hi, Rebecca," he said, apparently drunken. He staggered inside the house and dropped on the couch. "What happened to you?" I asked. "Is anything wrong?"

"Well, besides being dumped by Michelle, having a bad tummy-ache, I'm fine. Never been better. You?" he gave a laugh and took another drink of wine. "Oh my, you were dumped by Michelle? Oh, I'm so sorry Mark." I sympathized. He looked at me and said, "Don't be. She said she found another guy that can be with her all the time. I mean, is it my fault that I have to go tour with Westlife? I knew I shouldn't have got her, it was because she wanted fame. That's why she went with me," he looked at me again. I sat down beside him and took the bottle of wine. "First of all, you have to stop drinking. It's bad for your health. Second of all, you have to get over her. Promise me that ok?"

"Oh man. Can I stay for the night?" he asked. "Em, sure. Chill on the couch for awhile," I smiled at him. "I'll get you a cup of coffee," I went to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. By the time I got back, he was sleeping on the couch. I sighed and covered him with a blanket and drank his coffee instead.


The next morning, I woke up to see Mark standing next to me. "Morning' Rebecca. Here's a cup of coffee to thank for last night," I accepted the cup of coffee and sat up. "Morning Mark. Feeling better?" I asked. "Yeah, thanks." He kissed me on my cheek. I suddenly had this weird feeling and said "Well, better get you to the hotel. Or else the lads will be wondering where were you last night," I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom.

In 20 minutes time we reached the hotel and went up to meet the lads. "Hi Nicky," I greeted him as he opened the door. "Rebecca! How nice to see you again!" he gave me a kiss on the cheek and we went in. "Rebecca. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Bryan was teasing me again. "Ooh.. stop it Bry, you're making me blush," I joked. Kian pulled me aside. "Why did you come in with Mark? And you know, I didn't see him last night,"

I looked at him and rolled my eyes. He was always teasing me about Mark. "He came over last night cos Michelle dumped him," I explained. "Michelle did WHAT?" they didn't like Michelle actually. "Yeah," I smiled. "Get the full version from Mark himself," And he did. Soon, everybody was crowding around Mark as he told the story. Deciding that I already heard it, I went to the window and got lost in my thoughts. "Hey, Rebecca. What are you thinking there?" asked Mark. "Nothing. So, what are you guys going to do afterwards?" I asked. "Well, I thought of making you buying dinner," he replied. "Oh, very funny Mark. But I'm afraid I have no cash on me, so you, my dear have to buy ME dinner," I answered, poking his nose. He pretended to pout. "I'll ask one of the guys then," he said, turning around to the other lads. "Oh, no you don't Mark. You'll buy dinner for all of us," Shane exclaimed. Mark pouted more. "You guys bully me a lot," he grumbled. We all laughed.

"Shane, where's Gill?" I asked during dinner. "She was to busy to come down. G and Kerry are too," he replied. "I see," As I was eating, I spotted my old childhood friend. "Oh no. Melissa Sheerwood. Hide me Nicky," I covered my face with the menu, trying to avoid seeing her. To no avail, it failed. "Rebecca Fidlay. How nice to see you again!" she spotted me. I managed a smile. "Melissa!" I stood up to hug her. "Oh, where are my manners? This is Nicky, Kian, Mark, Shane and Bryan. Everyone, this is Melissa Sheerwood. She was my classmate from high school," I introduced. "We sure were," she smiled, squeezing me. "Oh, my date just arrived. Well, bye bye bye," she waved goodbye and left. "Whossat?" asked Bryan. "Em, she was my classmate from high school. We weren't friends. She stole my future-boyfriend!" I explained. "Oh. Really," Nicky coaxed. "Really!" I replied. The others laughed.

The next day, the lads had to go to the studio to do some recording. With some spare time available, I decided to do some shopping. After 3 hours of endless shopping, my cell phone rang. "Hello?" I answered. "Rebecca! Where are you?" Mark asked. "Em, I'm at Parkson. Why?" I asked. "Oh. Ok, we're coming over to pick you up. Go to the exit," he said and hanged up the phone. I obeyed and went downstairs. As soon as the limo pulled over and Mark jumped out of the car, everyone stared. A couple of young girls were saying, "Look, that's Mark from Westlife," "Oh no. Joe, drive on quick, before they start asking for autographs," Bryan gestured to the driver. Joe quickly pressed the gas and zoomed out of here. "Wow. That's a lot of stuff you bought, Rebecca." Nicky was observing all the things I bought. I laughed. "Well Nix, ask G if she doesn't buy this stuff!" I said. "Ok, I will," he replied, and phoned G. "Hey, baby. What are you doing? Oh, you're busy? Sorry. You'll call me later? Ok. Love you. Bye," he hung up. "She's busy with something," he explained.

Anyway, later this week, the girls all came down to see their boyfriends. Kerry and Molly came to see Bryan, Georgina came to see Nicky, Gillian went to see Shane and Rachel came to see Kian. "Finally, you guys are here. I've been hanging around with the lads, I think I've turned into one," I complained. The girls all laughed. "Are they that bad?" asked Kerry, while the guys were protesting. "Yeah," I joked. I looked up to see Mark looking at me. Suddenly, I got this weird feeling all over again and looked away. He too looked away. "Isn't it great, all of us together again. Oh, except Michelle. Where is she Mark?" asked Rachel, carrying Molly. The girls didn't know that they broke up. "We broke up," said Mark. "Oh, I'm so sorry," chorused the girls. "It's ok," he smiled. I looked away, thinking about James, my ex. He broke up with me one year ago to go with this girl, but I still missed him. So I kinda know how Mark feels. There was an awkward silence. "Well, who wants to go for a swim," asked Bryan, breaking the silence. "Me," chorused everyone except Mark and I. "Do you mean you don't wanna swim? Can you take care of Molly for awhile while I dip into the pool?" asked Kerry. "Nope. Sure, no problem," I said as she handed Molly to me. "Hey, you ok?" I approached Mark. He looked a little down. "Yes, thanks. I'm ok. Looks like I'll have to hang out with you for awhile," he smiled as we made our way to the backyard. "You make it sound like it's bad," I joked. "Sorry," he apologized. "It's ok," I said, playing with Molly. The others were splashing in the pool. "Guys, don't splash me, ok? I have a flu," I said as I handed Molly to Mark. Bryan glanced at me and splashed me with water. "Here's to you, wet baby!" "Oy! I said no. Help me Mark," I pleaded. "No can do. You're on your own," he laughed as Bry splashed me with more water. "Kerryyyyyyyy!" I yelled. She was laughing in the pool. I grabbed a jar of cold lemonade and poured it on him. "Hahaha. Now you're sticky," I laughed gleefully. "Hey, that's not fair," he groaned as he looked at himself. "Who asked you to splash me?" I asked. "Nevermind, Bryan," Kerry said as she licked him. "Ewww," all of us yelled. "Disgusting!" Rebecca said. The others were then Bryan's targets.

"Rebecca, can I ask you something?" asked Mark later. "Sure. What is it?" I asked. "Do you still miss James? Your ex," he asked when I looked at him. "Sometimes. Why?" I asked, curious. "I'm just asking," he replied, looking at the rest. I took one glance at him and saw that there was a sad look in his eyes. "Mark? What's the matter? You can tell me anything, you know. I've known you since we were just kids," I asked, concerned. Molly stirred in my arms. I put the sleeping baby in the cot in front of me. "I know. It's just...nothing," he whispered. "if there is nothing, how come I see this sad look in your eyes?" I replied. He looked up at me sadly. "I miss Michelle," he lied. I stroked his hair. "Don't. Not after what she did to you," I advised. He just smiled.

Mark looked at her as she played with Molly. 'She's so beautiful,' he thought. 'I wish I could just hold her in my arms and comfort her when she's down. I want to feel her lips on mine and just caress her,' he drew in his breath as her arm touched his. "Sorry," she said. 'I tremble when she just touches my arm. I want her!' he yelled in his brain. 'So get her,' a voice in his head advised. 'How?' he asked the voice. 'Ask her out,' the voice said. 'I will,' he thought.

"Rebecca, you got any plans tonight?" asked Mark. I woke up from my daydream. "Nope. Why?" I asked. "Well, I was thinking, maybe we can go out. You know, to dinner. Tonight?" he said quickly. I smiled. "Sure. What time?" "Is 7:30 alright?" he asked. "Ok," I replied.

At dinner..

"So, what is good here?" I asked the waiter, looking at the menu. "The buttered shrimp is our special, miss," suggested the waiter. "What do you want to eat?" I asked Mark. "Em. I'll have the lamp chop special," Mark told the waiter. He nodded and wrote it down. "How about you, miss? Have you decided yet?" asked the waiter. I shook my head. "I think I'll have the salad," I said finally. "Ok," he took the menu. "You've never came here before?" asked Mark. "No," I shook my head. "My first time," I admitted. "Cool," he said. "Why?" I asked. He just shook his head. I looked at the door and saw her coming in. "Oh my gosh, isn't that Michelle and-James?" I said in amazement. Mark looked up and saw them together. "Oh, hello Mark," Michelle greeted him coolly. "Oh, it's you," she said sarcastically. We never did liked each other. "Are you with him, Rebecca?" asked James, also as coolly as Michelle did. I stared at him. "Yes, we are," Mark suddenly said. I looked at him curiously. "Is that a problem?" I asked, playing along. I took his hand in mine. They both looked at us in disgust. "No problem," Michelle answered. "Come on, James. Let's go. I don't want to be seen in this restaurant with this two people," she pulled James away. "Thanks, Mark," I kissed his palm in gratitude. He smiled. "It's ok. What are friends for?" he said sadly. We continued dinner as if nothing happened. After dinner, Mark took me to the park, and we walked hand-in-hand together. Overall, it was a really good night.

"Thanks for everything tonight Mark," I said later on, as he walked me to the door. "No, thank YOU," he replied. I smiled. "Goodnight," I kissed his cheek. As I was about to go in, he suddenly pulled me and kissed me on the lips, with passion. I recoiled back at first, but then started to kiss him with passion too. "What was that for?" I asked after we broke apart. "For tonight. For..for the rest of my life," he explained. "Rest of your life? What do you mean by that?" I asked, bewildered. "Well, actually Rebecca, I love you. Ever since last time. I wanted to be with you, but you started going out with James, and I started seeing Michelle. I never got the chance. I thought that my feelings for you were over. But then Michelle broke up with me, and I realized that I still love you and miss you. Do you-do you feel the same way?" he asked nervously. "Oh, Mark," I said happily, "I do," I kissed him again. "Will you become my stead?" he asked. "Of course I will become your stead," I replied, burying my head into his shoulder. He smiled at me and gave me a passionate, hot, and saucy kiss. "Now I know what it feels like to be loved by you," he whispered.