Sometimes, Secrets Aren't Necessary

Chapter 9

Levi and Drew sat cuddled together on the sofa until the end of The Vamps set. Once the concert had ended the made their way to the bus, glancing at each other frequently as neither Joe nor Davey had mentioned anything to them about Twitter. When everyone was on the bus they asked Brad and Connor if they could speak to them in private. Together, they made their way to the back of the bus and locked the door.
"Have you guys seen twitter yet?" Levi asked after the door was shut.
"No but Blake sent me a screenshot of the trending topics." Connor replied showing the picture to Brad who hadn't seen it yet.
"How did it happen?" Brad asked looking between the two boys.
"Nate and Levi were messing around earlier and after Nate stole Levi's phone he chased after him. None of us realised that they had started letting fans into the venue and they both ran through the crowd in the entrance. While running through the entrance Nate was on the phone to me and had said 'Drew get your boyfriend to stop chasing me.' We also have no idea whether Joe or Davey have seen it." Drew answered.
"I don't know about Davey but I know that Joe hasn't had a chance to look at his phone yet, so he won't have seen it. What are you going to do?" Brad asked.
"Austin had this great plan to tell them that Nate was just joking and to keep away from each other so we don't give them any reason to be suspicious. But honestly, I don't know whether it would just be best to tell Joe and Davey and not keep putting it off." Levi replied glancing at Drew.
"I'm sure they would both support you. I know for definite that Joe would and I haven't spent a lot of time with Davey but he loves all four of you like little brothers so I'm sure that he will be perfectly fine with it. It's probably not the way you wanted to tell them and I understand that, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise. You won't have to hide around them and be constantly wary that you will slip up. I don't want to panic you but there's also the possibility that Joe's boss could have found out, and if this is the case then they can help. As much as we all hate it, there is probably no way that they would let fans know that half of one of their best selling bands is gay and that you're in a relationship with each other. The way that they will see it is that people will be less interested in a band if they believe that they have no chance at all with the band members. Joe can help you deal with them and I promise that he won't try and split you up." Connor said.
"Obviously it's your choice what you decide to do, and I know Austin is only trying to help but honestly, it's just going to make things complicated and messy if you lie to them." Brad added. Connor and Brad then left them to talk and made their way back to join the others. The two boys sat together on the sofa debating the pros and cons of each option and eventually the reached a decision. They were going to tell Joe and Davey and would deal with whatever the consequences were, together. During the rest of the way back to the hotel the joined the others and attempted to take part in the conversation.
"Hey Joe, can we talk to you?" Drew asked once they had all got off the bus.
"Of course" he said before turning to the others "You go ahead and we'll catch up."
Slowly, the three made their way up to Joe's hotel room, Drew and Levi both thinking about what they were going to say. Once they were in the room and sat across from Joe, they were both slightly speechless.
"So what did you guys want to talk about?" he asked. Drew glanced at Levi before replying.
"I don't know whether you've had a chance to go on twitter yet tonight but while we were on stage, there was a hashtag trending as a result of Nate and Levi. The hashtag itself was about myself and Levi however, and its pushed us into telling you something that we probably should have told you a while ago. Levi and I have been dating for the past 9 months or so. Austin and Nate told us the other day that they've known for a couple of months and that Reece, Blake and George also know." Drew looked up from where he had been staring at the floor when Levi reached across and took his hand. "Look Joe, you can say whatever you want but there is no way that I am leaving Drew and if that means that I can't be in the band then so be it. I won't let you split us up, I love him too much to let that happen." He said looking Joe straight in the eye.
"Look guys, I have no problem with you being together and I'm happy for you. The problem is going to be higher up if they saw Twitter. We're going to need to come up with a plan to deal with it. What exactly happened earlier?" he asked. They then told him the story of what happened earlier and what Austin's idea was to make it seem as though they weren't together.
"Right, there's nothing we can do at the minute if we don't want to inadvertently let them know if they aren't aware. When they do ring, and I'm afraid it will be a case of when and not if, we have to listen to what they say. Even though no one will like anything they have to say. For now, they are probably going to trust me to carry out whatever they say or order and it'll give us time to plan. Now go join the others and enjoy the night we can only wait for them to contact us." Joe said before hugging them both then shooing them out of his hotel room. After a quick stop in their room, they made their way downstairs to the hotel bar where the others were.
"So, how did it go?" Connor asked when Davey went to get some more drinks.
"Good. Joe said we just have to wait until someone from higher up gets in touch and then we'll take it from there." Levi replied.
"See, I told you Joe would be fine." Connor replied. They spent the next couple of hours all sitting together and having a good time before everyone headed to bed, aware they had to be up early the next morning. Joe woke them all up the next morning and it was a sleepy group that made their way to the buses. The group split up with each band going to their respective bus while Joe and Davey joined The Tide and New Hope Club, leaving Dean to go with The Vamps. Drew and Levi headed straight to the bunks and went back to sleep. Blake following not far behind. About 45 minutes into the drive to Brussels Joe got a phone call from his boss Derek.
"Hello." He answered.
"Please tell me Twitter is lying and Drew and Levi are not in a relationship." Derek said.
"Do you want me to tell you the truth or what you want to hear?" Joe asked while wordlessly telling Nate to go and wake them up.
"I want to speak to them, now!" Derek demanded. Joe stood up and gestured for them to follow him to the back of the bus before he shut the door giving them some privacy.
"Okay, they're here" he said putting his phone on speaker.
"How could you do this to the band? Are you really that selfish? You two need to break things off and if you don't things are going to get a lot stricter. You are no longer to stand together in photos I want both Nate and Austin in between you. Drew, you will now travel on the bus with The Vamps and both buses will go everywhere. When you need to stay in hotels, Drew you will share a room with Brad and Levi you will share a room with Blake. You are not to go anywhere alone, I want at least two people with you, always. This is final, no negotiations and Joe you will stick to this or I'll send someone to make sure it happens!"
"Yes sir." Joe replied before Derek hung up the phone.