A Dreamers Dream

Harry. Philadelphia, USA.

"Maddie? It's going to be OK because no matter what those idiots say, no matter what anybody else thinks, you and I know the truth. We know that this isn't about you furthering your career or about sex or convenience or anything else. I love you, more than I honestly knew I was capable of loving another person, so much so that it scares me to death half the time because I'm terrified of being without you. I know it's going to be OK because no matter what Sammy does, no matter what the rest of the crew or Paul or Jeff or the band or anyone say, we know the truth. And we'll get through this, together." I tell her forcefully, willing her to believe me as I stare down into her bloodshot blue eyes.

"I love you too." is all she manages in response.

"I'm really not sure this is such a good idea, Harry," Maddie says quietly as I help her out of the car in the arena parking lot later that afternoon.

"Trouble you have to trust me, they're going to talk no matter what we do. So the best thing we can do is put on a united front and face them together." I try and reassure her, bending down slightly. I place my hands on either side of her face and dip my head to plant a soft kiss on her lips. I didn't need to come to the arena for another hour yet, but Maddie did, and after seeing how upset she was earlier I just couldn't bear to send her off into the lion's den alone. I gave it some thought whilst we were eating our lunch, well I was eating, Maddie was mostly pushing her salad around her plate with her fork and occasionally nibbling on a piece of cucumber or a bit of lettuce, seems that as much as we have in common, our eating habits are markedly different, I'm a stress eater, always have been, whereas my girl can't seem to stomach even the tiniest morsels of food when she's worried or upset, and I really do believe that a united front is best, so I came in early with her to show her, and the rest of the crew, that I'm not ashamed of her, of us. I intend to make it very clear where I stand on all this and what I think about their incessant gossiping.

I grasp Maddie's tiny hand in mine and place one last kiss on her temple before squaring my shoulders and heading up to the doors, giving Stuart a grateful nod as he falls into step behind us. Not sure exactly what he thinks he's gonna do if any of my own crew start being mouthy, but his presence is reassuring, and it's nice to know that he worries about Maddie nearly as much as I do.

As we make our way through the maze of corridors backstage searching for my dressing room, I catch people's gazes flickering towards our conjoined hands, but they soon look sheepishly away when I catch their eyes, one of the riggers makes the mistake of staring a little too openly at us causing Stuart to clear his throat loudly and snap the guy out of his daze, he turns a rather amusing shade of red at having been caught out and quickly busies himself with some nearby boxes of equipment. Rounding the last corner that will lead us to my dressing room, I finally allow myself to relax a little bit.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I say to Maddie, glancing down at her, she gives me a reluctant smile in return, but as I raise my eyes again, I realise I may have spoken too soon when I spot Clark leaning up against the wall by my dressing room door. Shit.

"Hey," He says calmly as we approach him and I tighten my grip on Maddie's hand.

"Hi Clark," Maddie says quietly whilst I just nod in response wondering what on earth he wants.

"Kiddo, mind if I have a quick word with the boss?" He asks, and I see the expression on Maddie's face soften at the use of his nickname for her.

"Erm, sure, I should get to work anyways, or Paul will be on my arse. I'll see you later?" She says, turning to me shyly, clearly unsure how to act now that we have an audience.

"Come find me before the show," I instruct her, letting go of her hand and placing a quick kiss on her temple. She smiles up at me adorably for a moment before making her way out into the arena, and I turn to Clark.