Chapter 4

Somehow, they went through the show. Tokio Hotel did their opening set, and then Adam came out with his. The fans cheered for both of them. But this one time, Adam couldn't hear any one of them. There was a nagging worry at the back of his mind. His moves were awkward, his singing soulless. All he cared about was the look Bill had given him before half running off the stage during soundcheck.

He was good at reading people, but not Bill. Something was bothering the perfect creature, and he didn't know what. Part of him hoped, begged perhaps for a hint that Bill felt the same way about him as he did. Had he already messed up the one shot he had with this guy? He hadn't felt the way he did about Bill as he did with Brad, or Drake, or any guy he'd ever been with.

Tuning Bill out wasn't an option, as he knew that would only make him think of him more. The 5 minute interval when the sets changed served as nothing, Bill was gone before Adam was ready, and Adam wasn't sure if Tokio Hotel had already left the arena. He ignored the cheers of "Encore" from the fans, he would make it up to them, they would have another chance but he only had one, and went looking for Bill after the last song of his set.

Adam found him sitting on the curb behind Tokio Hotel's tour bus. His unfinished dinner was on his lap and he was wearing nothing but a shirt and jeans even though the cold was brutal. Adam shrugged off his leather jacket and approached Bill cautiously, not wanting to scare him, hardly making a noise before wrapping him in it. Bill felt the gentle hands and the sudden warmth and turned around.

He guessed who it was before he saw. Adam's face was pale in the night, the only light source was the moon.

"There's something bothering you, isn't there," he said. Bill remained silent for a while. He was so still, he could have been dead. But he wasn't and he answered, eventually.

"I feel like I've known you my whole life, Adam." He turned up and stared at Adam eyes. He could see everything about this man through the blue irises. He could see, Adam. The Adam everybody knew existed but nobody really saw. He couldn't help it. He had only just met this man and he hated to admit it, but he was in love with him.

"So do I, Bill." Adam leaned forward to catch his lips in a passionate kiss. Bill returned it willingly. It was starting to rain, but he didn't seem to care and so Adam didn't either. He deepened the kiss and slipped his hands under the jacket, feeling Bill's angular body. The other guy's hands were woven into Adam's short, spiky hair. Adam spoke through the kiss.

"I love you, Bill."

The rain came down in full force, drenching both of them. Adam saw fit to take Bill by the waist and lead him into his tour bus before either of the vocalists could get sick. Adam's bunk was small, but cosy and they spent the night huddled up with each other, until Bill fell asleep on his chest. He watched Bill sleep. His slow, gentle breathing was calming to the runner-up American Idol, and before he knew it, he was passed out himself.