Frustration -SERIES- [Part 1] [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty

The camera panned out and, under a glittering sign which displayed the show's name, were two chairs separated by a low coffee table. On one, as we already knew, sat Carrie. And on the other, heart-stoppingly, horrifyingly, inevitably, was Conor's dad.

'I'm sitting here with Cian Archibald, father of controversial singer Conor Archibald, of Name Withheld fame. By now you are probably all aware of the story I recently broke regarding Conor's love triangle involving his ex-boyfriend Tyler Lincoln and new beau, Arthur Rollings – the lead singer of The Tiny Manatees, with whom Name Withheld are currently touring. However, Mr Archibald has a unique take on events. Welcome to the show!'

There was a smattering of applause from the paltry studio audience as Mr Archibald smiled and lifted a hand in recognition. I knew my mouth was open in shock; when did this happen? Was it live? Why hadn't anyone told Conor about it? Surely somebody would have known and seen fit to warn him...

'Cian... May I call you Cian?'

'Of course.'

Chilcott almost swooned at his accent and the smile he shot her. Conor really did have an amazing mix of genes. 'Wonderful. Cian, tell me about your relationship with your son.'

What proceeded to drip from Mr Archibald's poison lips was a string of lies so blatantly untrue I knew everybody would believe them. He said their relationship had been strained after Conor "came out" but that they were now closer than they had ever been, having – at least this next part was true – reconciled in Nottingham during the tour.

'So you don't have a problem with your son's sexual orientation?'

Mr Archibald smiled. 'I don't deny that the Lord states that homosexuality is abomination. But I don't think that persecuting the people who fall into the path of temptation is the way to resolve the issue. We need to teach them, guide them, coax them back onto the path of true righteousness.'

'And is that what you're doing with Conor? Coaxing him back to heterosexuality?'

'I like to think so,' Mr Archibald said, with another easy smile. 'Conor is very receptive to the idea. You'll remember those photos I showed you.'

'Of course,' Chilcott said, and the screen was suddenly filled with a snapshot of Conor and his dad standing outside the church where his dad's newly-straight group met; Mr Archibald was standing on one side of the sign – Seen The Light; Striving To Be Straight – smiling at the camera with his hands behind his back, while Conor was on the other, grinning at the camera and looking pretty bemused. The image faded and there was another in its place, of Conor just standing beside his dad, who had an arm around his son. He looked really happy.

'So how do you explain his recent behaviour with Arthur Rollings?' Carrie asked as the second image disappeared and the camera showed them sitting across from one another again.

'It's actually quite a common phenomenon,' Mr Archibald said authoritatively. 'Think of it from the other way around. When a person starts to suspect that they're gay, they often engage in promiscuous behaviour with people of the opposite sex to try and prove to themselves that they're straight. This is what Conor is doing, only he's trying to prove to himself that he's gay, because, somehow, this is what he was conditioned to believe. The Lincoln boy didn't fulfil this mental requirement any longer, so Conor moved on to somebody who could. Eventually, this behaviour will subside and he'll realise that he's actually not attracted to either of them.'

Chilcott was nodding in measured consideration, but I couldn't tell if she actually believed it or was just humouring him for the sake of the story.

'Very interesting,' she said. 'And now, we'll take a short break. Back after these messages with more from Cian Archibald!'

Daniel lowered the sound on the TV as the ads started playing and glanced at his bandmate warily. The rest of us followed suit. Conor was sitting in his chair like marble, his jaw quivering, his eyes shifting slightly in their sockets. Then, before anybody could break the sudden silence, he jumped up and darted quickly across the lobby and through the double doors that led to the stairs.