October 11, 2005

Today was another at on tour, and the boys were playing a show near Dougie and Harry's home, Essex.

I made my way backstage in search for the boys during the lull between sound check and the show.

After about fifteen minutes of navigating my way in the labyrinth of a backstage this venue had, I opened a door to fine Harry, Dougie and Danny leant close to a mirror.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Trying to put colored contacts in." Harry says without looking over to me. I notice him trying to hold Dougie's eye open. "It's no use mate. Your eye is rejecting it."

"Where's Tom?" I ask.

"Don't know." Danny shrugs.

"Why isn't he in here with you?" I ask.

"Because he has brown eyes and he was acting moody again." Harry said.

"What do you mean?" I ask. Danny turns to me.

"These contacts make your eyes look brown, and we all have blue eyes, but Tom has brown eyes so it would be kind of pointless for him to-"

"No, Danny, she means about Tom acting moody." Dougie says.

"Oh."

"You know Tom. He gets in his gothic moods sometimes." Harry says.

"I'm going to go find him." I say. They nod and turn back to the mirror. "You know..." I continue. "I could try to put those in. I do have blue eyes."

"You can give it a go, but it's not easy." Harry says. I walk over and pull the contact out of the container and put it in. Harry was right, it wasn't easy, but it was possible.

"How did you do that?" Danny asks.

"That looks awesome." Dougie adds.

"I don't know. I guess my eye wasn't rejecting it like Dougie's." I say. "However, I don't like it, so I'm taking it out." I say, doing so, and then leaving to find Tom.

*************************************************************************

It doesn't take me long to find Tom. I just had to follow the sound of the piano.

"Tom?" I ask, walking onto the stage.

"Hey Lilly." Tom says, looking up and ceasing his playing. "Just practicing for tonight. What's up?" He doesn't seem like he's in a mood...

"I was just wondering if you were okay?" I ask.

"Yeah...why wouldn't I be?" He asks.

"The boys said you were acting a little...funny." I say.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks defensively.

"Well...you know you can be a little..." I begin, not knowing how to phrase this. Tom sighs.

"Harry just annoys me sometimes...that's all it is." He says.

"Harry annoys me too, but I don't act the way you do around him." I say.

"I like Harry, I do. He just drives me crazy...he can be so mean sometimes." Tom says.

"He's not mean Tom he's just-"

"What do you mean 'he's not mean?' He is mean! Especially to you, as well." Tom says in a harsh tone.

"Harry's not mean, he teases." I reply.

"There is a very fine line between teasing and being mean Lilly." Tom says.

"Yes, and Harry's not crossing it. I mean, he's right on the edge of that line, but he's not over it. You just gotta take him how he is." I say.

"Well you can do that for yourself!" Tom yells. "I'm not going to be a dirt mat."

"Tom-"

"Just go away." Tom says, making his way back to the piano.

**********************************************************************

I race through backstage in hopes to find Harry (and ask him what he's done this time) but instead I run into Dougie.

"Hey Lilly." He says.

"Where's Harry?" I ask. Dougie shrugs.

"Dunno. Why?" He asks.

"I reckon he's made Tom upset." I say.

"Doubt it." Dougie responds. "Tom gets upset over the tiniest things lately."

"Why?" I ask.

"I don't know."

"Well we have to find someone who does know...he can't be upset all tour...he has to enjoy his time." I say. "Would Fletch know?"

"No...but maybe Giovanna would." Dougie says.

"Giovanna?" I ask. Where have I heard that name before? "Tom's girlfriend?" Dougie nods.

"She lives about half an hour away. Maybe you could ask her." Dougie says.

"Do you have her telephone number?" I ask.

"No, but I know her address. We didn't live too far away as kids." He says.

"But what about the show?" I ask. "I can't possibly make it to hers, talk, and then be back in time."

"Don't worry about it. I'll explain to Fletch. We'll be fine." He says. I sigh.

*****************************************************

It took about forty-five minutes for me to get to Giovanna's on the tube, but I was relieved when I finally did arrive. Walking to her house, I couldn't help but wonder where Dougie's house was...

The house was small and brown with bright blue accents, which seemed to shed some light on a rather rainy Essex.

I knocked on the door and a man, probably in his fourties, with tan skin and short, dark hair answered the door.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Um...I was wondering if I could speak to Giovanna?" I ask.

"Are you...a friend from school?" He asks.

"Oh...no...sorry. I'm a friend of Tom's. I work for McFly-"

"If your the paparazzi, you will be taking no part in my daughter's life. She is a normal twenty year old girl and-"

"No, no I'm not the paparazzi. I'm Tom's manager." I say.

"Really? I know Fletch is his manager." The man says.

"Dad?" I hear and look up to see a girl standing on the stairs. She is short with an athletic build. She has tan skin and long brown hair. Her face looks young and round and her cheeks are pink.

"Gi, honey, do you know this girl. She's insisting she knows Tom." The man says, turning to his daughter. Giovanna makes her way down the stairs.

"Well, lots of people know Tom." She says, making her way to the door. "What's your name?"

"Lilly." I say. "Greene." I add.

"Oh, yes...yes, yes, yes." She says, gesturing for me to come in. "Tom has told me loads about you." I walk through the door.

"I was hoping I could talk to you about Tom." I say.

"Is he alright?" She asks.

"Oh...um...yes. He's fine." I say.

"Well...we can go up to my room. Come on." She says, leading me up the stairs.

********************************************************

Giovanna's room was a lot like Tom's room, in the sense that it was lined with books and pictures on the walls. A lot of the pictures had Tom in them.

"I know he gets like that sometimes." Giovanna stated after I had filled her in on all that was going on "I wish I could tell you why. He's just always been like that."

"What's the longest he's been in one of these moods before?" I ask her.

"I think about a month...of course, some of it could have been jet lag." She says. "It's never been longer than that."

"Giovanna-"

"Gi." She smiled.

"Gi, do you know anything that would maybe...I don't know...cheer him up?" I ask.

"Well...sometimes watching films makes him happier. He likes Disney films." She says. "He really likes Toy Story and of course Back To The Future."

"You guys seem very close for a couple so young. I mean usually when young people in a relationship see any trouble in the relationship they..." I stopped myself.

"Break up?" Gi asks.

"Well..." I begin.

"It's alright Lilly. I get it. I know Tom has a problem, and I don't know what it is but...I'm not going to leave him because he's got a problem. You have to stick together, you know?"

"I do now." I respond.

"I know I sound silly, because I'm only twenty but...I love Tom. Like, I'm really in love with him. I've lived my life with Tom, and without him and it's so much better with him in it. I can't stand to be away from him. I can take tour, and whatnot, but actually knowing he's not in my life? I don't know if I could ever do it again."

"Wow." I say.

"I'm sorry I've burdened you." She says.

"No...not at all." I say. "But I probably should get going. I have to get on the tour bus before the boys do or they'll give me a rollicking." Gi laughs.

"Oh wait." She says, heading to her wardrobe and pulling something out. She hands it to me. "It's Tom's Buzz Lightyear jumper. I've been meaning to give it back to him. He loves Buzz Lightyear."

"Thank you, Gi." I say.

*************************************************************

As I made my way back to the venue, I felt like everything I had learned in the past year with the boys was flooding back on me, and it was all so important, I needed to remember it all.

While I waited for the tube, I made my way into a little shop, bought what I needed and made my way onto the train.

When I sat down in a seat in the back, I pulled out the new notebook and a pen and began to scribble a list of everything I've learned so far. It read:

What I've Learned

Just because you throw something off a balcony, doesn't mean it isn't there.

The worst place to hide a key is under a welcome mat.

It's okay if your birthday cake gets ruined, it's the thought that counts.

A thank you letter is the best way to make a friend.

A stuffed swan is just as good as a teddy.

The best meal is pizza

All teenage boys are those kinds of boys.

Steam and smoke are very different.

Tom Fletcher loves Christmas more than anyone else in the world.

The most important is Natalie Portman.

A small party to celebrities is different than a small party to regular people.

Always hide in Dougie's room.

Billie Joe Armstrong knows how to celebrate.

You are a person in this world with a voice. Use it.

Never go to dinner with Lindsay Lohan.

Dougie hates gore.

Always give a friend a spare flat key.

If you have a problem, consider playing GTA.

Don't let someone tell you what you can and can't do.

Make sure, if anything, you take out the bins.

Silence is a Scary Sound.

//

************************************************************

Let me know in the comments if you remember where any of these lessons came from! (Each one comes from a previous chapter)