![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beren_writesSorry this is so late - the ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
th_fanfic FQF really kicked my behind and so I was behind with everything.
Title: Out With the Old, In With the New 09/20
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel RPS
Pairing(s): Bill/Tom, Bill/OMC (reported, non-con)
Rating: NC17/18
Warnings: rape (non-graphic), twincest, vampires
Summary: There are things that many people do not see and are never supposed to see, but when one of these takes Bill from his hotel room, by force, everything changes for him and Tom.
Links:
Prologue | Ch 01 | Ch 02 | Ch 03 | Ch 04
| Ch 05 | Ch 06 | Ch 07 | Ch 08 | Ch 09
| Ch 10 | Ch 11 | Ch 12 | Ch 13 | Ch 14
| Ch 15 | Ch 16 | Ch 17 | Ch 18 | Ch 19 | Ch 20
Full Chapter Listing (with chapter descriptions)
Chapter 9 - Hints of Normality
Tom looked up from reading his magazine to see Bill sitting at the other end of the sofa staring at a notebook with a small frown on his face. They had taken up residence on the couch an hour or so before, both sitting in a corner with their feet up and touching in the middle and had maintained companionable silence ever since. To anyone else they probably looked as if they were hiding from each other behind their knees, but that was very far from the reality. Bill had muttered something about lyrics and had been scribbling and occasionally singing quietly to himself as Tom caught up on reading a couple of magazines he was subscribed to and hadn't had the chance to look at.
"How's it going?" he asked, since he knew for a fact that Bill hadn't written anything in the last ten minutes.
Bill could be a little strange when writing lyrics: sometimes he'd want to share everything all the time and other times he wouldn't let anyone see anything for ages. Tom wasn't quite sure what had inspired Bill to write this time, but he was pleased to see that something had; it just meant he wasn't sure what reaction his enquiry would receive. When Bill looked up at him, the little frown disappeared.
"I think I'm done," Bill said, worrying his lip a little with his teeth.
It was a nervous tick that Bill had had since they were small, well actually they both had it, only his had morphed slightly since he'd had the lip ring, and Tom knew that he was about to find out what Bill had been working on. Bill was only ever nervous like that when ready to reveal the masterpiece.
"What do you think?" Bill asked and handed him the pad just as he had expected.
The page was full of writing with crossings out, scribbles, and insertions, but as with everything else about Bill, he was one of the few people who could decipher it. At the top of the page was the word "title" with a colon after it and nothing following it, so the song wasn't quite complete yet, but he could tell that everything else was there. The way the handwriting was so messy in places told him one thing very clearly; Bill had put his heart and soul into this and so he set about reading carefully and slowly.
The first few lines made him go cold; they were bleak and scared and it was very clear where the lyrics were coming from, but then he read the end of the first verse and he could not help looking up. Bill was watching him closely and he glanced back down quickly, continuing to read. After that he couldn't take his eyes off the page as the lyrics took him on a whirlwind ride through Bill's psyche. By the end he wanted to cry and he was not a tearful person, but he didn't want to cry because the song was so sad; quite the opposite in fact. It was amazing to him really; it was a song about love and hope.
"It's about being lost and your friends helping you find your way again," Bill said quietly in an unsure voice.
"Oh god, Bill," he replied, looking up from the paper, "I know; it's ... I think these are the strongest lyrics you've ever written; it's amazing."
And Tom meant every word. Possibly it was because he was so close to the subject, but he had never felt words move him quite so completely before.
"You like it?" Bill asked, as if unsure.
"Like it?" Tom asked, putting his magazine on the floor and crawling over the sofa so he was right next to Bill. "I love it, and we have to put some music to it as soon as possible. This is our next single."
Bill looked rather shocked at his reaction.
"It's just some words," Bill said, clearly somewhat flustered.
"You never just write words," Tom said, giving his twin a smile and leaning forward and kissing Bill on the nose, "you write what's in your heart; if we can get the right tune this will knock everyone's socks off."
For a few moments Bill just sat there and blinked at him, but slowly a tiny smile formed.
"You think so?" Bill asked.
"I know so," Tom replied with supreme confidence.
"Um, maybe we should see if Gustav and Georg are free," Bill suggested tentatively, "and then we can find a tune?"
The fact that Bill was suggesting other people visit filled Tom with almost more joy than the ideas the song provoked and he grinned happily.
"I'll find my phone," he said and bounced off the sofa.
Things were looking up; they really were.
====
Bill was trying so hard not to giggle; he really was, but it was a losing battle. He was sprawled on the floor, leaning against the sofa and one of Tom's legs; Gustav was on the other end of the sofa and Georg was in the arm chair. They had been playing around with the new song most of the afternoon and they were almost there, but had mutually decided to take a break when food had been produced.
He wasn't blind; he knew how pleased his mum and Tom had been when he had shown real interest in doing things with other people and the over catering was to be expected. There were sandwiches, snacks, vegetable sticks and dips, fruit, sweets; basically just about everything their mum had had to hand and could produce at a moment's notice.
They had been eating and chatting for a while and the reason Bill was trying so hard not to giggle was that Tom had been throwing things at Georg every time Georg looked away and finally one had stuck in Georg's hair. It was a cheesy twig kind of thing and Georg seemed totally oblivious to the fact that it was there. Every time Georg moved his head it kind of danced and Bill found it incredibly funny.
If the way Gustav's eyes were twinkling was anything to go by, he wasn't the only one.
Eventually he couldn't help himself and he fell over sideways, dissolving into a fit of giggles to rival any ever seen. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. For a moment Georg looked as if he wasn't sure if this was some weird coping mechanism or not and it was only when Gustav began to laugh as well that Georg realised he was the butt of a joke.
"Okay, who did what?" Georg asked in a patiently resigned tone as Tom started laughing as well.
"Hair," Bill just about managed to squeak out between laughing.
"Oh very mature," Georg said as he found the cheesy addition to his hair style and Tom threw another one at him for good measure, "how old are you two again?"
Georg was very often the butt of the jokes, their friend had the temperament for it. and rolled his eyes while smiling. Bill just about managed mock shock that he was being accused of having anything to do with this, but he was still giggling like a loon.
"Y'know, Bill," Georg said as he ate the cheese snack, "if your cowardly brother wasn't using you as a human shield, I might have to spank him."
"I'd like to see you try, Big Man," Tom jeered back.
For a split second Bill thought Georg might try; it wasn't as if it would be anything knew in the continual round of horseplay that had always been part of the band, but at the moment Bill almost panicked. Then Georg just picked up a handful of nuts and threw them at Tom and thus began a food war. Bill joined in almost instantly, as his panic vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but he couldn't forget it, even as he tried. They were going to be in so much trouble when their mum saw the state of the room, but it was definitely fun. Some things were still very far from normal and he wasn't sure they ever would be again, but he could live with it.
====
Bill looked up from his sketchbook when Tom wandered back into the bedroom from having had a long and indulgent shower. Being away from Tom for any amount of time still made him very uneasy, so he had picked up the sketchbook mainly as a distraction when Tom had gone to the bathroom, but then he had begun thinking and he had an idea. He wasn't sure if it was a practical idea, but he was quite excited by it.
"You look like you discovered gold while I was gone," Tom said, pausing just inside the door.
"I've been thinking," Bill said, trying not to sound too excited.
"Now there's a bad start," Tom commented with a grin and Bill just stuck his tongue out.
"The new song," he said.
"What about the new song?" Tom asked, throwing himself down on the bed beside Bill and peering at the sketchbook.
"Do you think they'd let me do the idea for the video?" Bill asked; not sure how the management would react if he asked.
Tom looked thoughtful, but smiled as well.
"I think, right about now," Tom told him, "if you asked to do a concert from the moon, they'd see if they could arrange it. You're hot property at the moment."
Bill made a face.
"You'd think something like this would make me less popular, not more," he commented; not sure he liked all the extra publicity.
"Hate to break it to you, Little Brother," Tom said, patting him on the leg, "but now you're a tragic hero soldiering on through adversity and that makes you about ten times more interesting even than you were before."
"Yeah, well I'd just like to go back to making music if it's alright with the rest of the world," Bill replied, feeling just a little annoyed.
He felt a bit like a freak show; there were paparazzi from all over Europe parked outside the house for any glimpse of him and it was beginning to piss him off.
"Yeah well, we will," Tom said, clearly trying to cheer him up, "especially if we have a killer video to go with the new song. Show me what you're thinking."
Bill flipped back his pad a page and showed Tom his sketches. Tom gave him a long hard look then.
"Okay," Tom said slowly; "and you're sure about this."
He nodded; he was really rather excited by the idea.
"Okay," Tom agreed with a nod, "as long as you're sure. If we can work it out properly today then we can pitch it to David tomorrow when he comes over and we tell him about the new song."
Bill grinned; he was actually beginning to look forward to climbing back onto the horse and getting back to work. It would be slow at first, but that was why David was coming over to talk about how to proceed. He couldn't stay cooped up in his safe little world much longer and it was time to begin to put things in motion.
====
"Hey, David," Bill greeted as he walked into the living room.
He hoped he didn't look too mussed, since Tom had just had him pinned to the wall, snogging him senseless, when their mum had called to them to announce that David had arrived.
"Hey, yourself," David greeted with a smile, "your bodyguard not with you at the moment?"
"He's ringing Georg to find out where he and Gustav have got to," Bill replied and folded himself into the arm chair. "Last time Georg took them on a detour to avoid the press and they were lost for an hour."
"That's what you get for letting Georg navigate," David replied and laughed; "he's worse than you and that's saying something."
"Hey, no picking on the singer," Bill said with mock petulance, "or I'll tell Tom you're being mean to me."
David held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Okay, okay," David said, doing a good impression of terror, "I swear I'll never pick on you again, just don't send the Tom monster after me!"
Bill giggled at that; it was one of the things he liked about David; they could be silly with him sometimes.
"The mighty navigator and his side kick will be here momentarily," Tom said, walking into the room and throwing himself down onto the sofa. "They brought the navigation system this time and it only took them twice as long to get here than normal."
"Why do they bother," Bill asked, a little bewildered, "they're going to be seen coming into our house anyway?"
"I think Georg just thinks it's fun," Tom replied and grinned, "and Gustav likes to have some blackmail material for later, so he goes along with it."
"One day Gustav's going to write his memoirs and then we're all in trouble," David commented, while opening his filofax on the coffee table.
"Well except me," Bill said in an airy tone, "I threatened to burn his collection of Metallica t-shirts and we came to an agreement."
"Ooh, and the dangerous play wins," Tom said with a laugh; "he could have just turned around and put you out of your misery on the spot to protect them."
Bill made an off hand gesture.
"I made sure there were witnesses when we had the conversation," he said. "What do you think I am, stupid?"
"Don't answer that," David said as if it was the most dangerous question in the world; "I'm not here to arbitrate an argument."
David was saved from any form of cutting reply, because the door bell went.
"That'll be our dangerous duo now," Tom said and pushed himself off the sofa to go and answer the door.
Bill played with the printouts he had brought down from upstairs with him while they waited for Tom to come back with the others. He knew David was incredibly curious about what it was, so he made sure to make a thing of it, to see if he could catch his friend trying to catch a glimpse of what was on it.
"I think it's time to call in the army," Georg said as he walked in; "there are ninja photographers in every bush out there."
"Don't worry," Bill replied, "we have ninja Scotty and he's bitten at least one of them on the bum when they tried to climb the fence at the back."
"Your dog is my hero," Georg said with a laugh. "Hi David."
David made noises of acknowledgement and Georg and Gustav settled into comfortable spots as Tom vanished to furnish everyone with drinks. These types of meetings were so predictable that asking what people wanted to drink was rather moot, since it was always the same. Georg and Gustav managed to get into a mock fight over one of the cushions on the sofa, which Gustav won, by grabbing it from Georg and glaring like an angry bear. By the time that was over, they were all set and ready to begin.
This was one meeting Bill was rather looking forward to.
"Okay," David said, sitting forward and looking at them all one by one, "what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"We've written our next single," Tom said and Bill handed over the piece of paper with the lyrics on it.
"It's called 'From the Fire'," Bill added, suddenly unsure that David was going to like it, even though the other three had thought the words were great and they had all come up with a wonderful tune.
Tom had helped him come up with the title that morning when he had typed it into his laptop to print it out properly.
"Those are the words," Tom seemed to sense his reticence and took over for him, "and we can sing it for you in a while, but you'll want to read those first."
David looked down at the paper and began to read and Bill held his breath, waiting for the verdict. It took David a while to reach the bottom of the page and Bill had to start breathing again or go blue, but he was so nervous that it was difficult. Tom rubbed a leg against his and instantly managed to calm him down quite a bit, but it wasn't a cure-all. By the time David looked up Bill was almost vibrating out of the chair; he had managed to wind himself up that much.
"That," David said after a moment, "is amazing."
People seemed to keep saying that, but Bill wasn't sure the words were that great.
"Really?" he asked, waiting for the 'but'.
There was always a 'but', usually a 'but if we just add this ...' type of 'but' and he was used to them by now. As long as his words mostly made it to the songs he didn't mind that most of the time there are other people's names on them as well. Even the best authors need an editor and it had ceased to bother him a long time ago.
"Really," David replied with a smile.
No 'but' came and Bill began to wonder why.
"Aren't you going to say anything else?" he finally asked, not sure if this was going to be one of those awkward times when those around him were trying to spare his feelings.
He was delicate, but not about something like this, well at least not that delicate.
"There's nothing else to say," David said and looked back down at the piece of paper; "with the right tune this will knock them dead."
"No improvements?" Bill asked, honestly confused by now.
David smiled at that.
"Bill," David told him, while looking him directly in the eye, "no one could improve on this, and if they say they can, they're lying."
Bill couldn't help it, he felt his mouth fall open. Tom laughed and nudged him in the side.
"See miracles do happen," Tom quipped and made him smile.
Never before, not once had one of his songs been accepted without comment.
"And you're not just saying that because you think I'm going to cry and hide behind Tom?" he had to be sure.
David put his hand over his heart.
"I swear," David promised faithfully. "These words come from the heart; anyone with two eyes can see that and messing with them would be sacrilegious."
"We told him that yesterday," Gustav commented, looking pleased, "but he didn't believe us."
"Well believe it," David said firmly; "this is gold."
There was no point arguing with that, so Bill didn't try, but he still wasn't quite sure the song would have had the same reception under different circumstances.
"We were thinking of a pretty quick turn around," Tom started the conversation in earnest; "use the single to get everything going again."
"We could go to the apartment and record it," Gustav began to elaborate on what they had discussed the previous day, "and maybe write some more for a new album."
"Do a few light interviews," Tom took over again, "nothing too heavy and build up until we're ready to release."
Bill was very well aware that the 'nothing too heavy' meant no in-depth interviews about his kidnapping. That would come, it had to really, people wouldn't give up until they knew something, but he definitely wasn't ready for that just yet. David was nodding and flipping through his filofax as the others spoke.
"Sounds like a good plan," David said, clearly looking something up. "We can talk about where we want to go and how soon as we go along, but if you want, I can have everything set up to start by next week."
It wasn't difficult to notice that everyone was looking at him at that point and Bill had a fluttery feeling in his chest as he realised things really were going to happen, but he nodded.
"That's fine with me," he said and tried to sound supremely confident.
Just leaving the house seemed like such a big thing at the moment, when before it had been such an insignificant obstacle. Dwelling on the maybes was not going to help him and he knew he was going to make sure he was up to the job. Becoming the front man of Tokio Hotel again was going to be difficult and it wasn't going to happen overnight, but the need to perform was still there in his heart and with that he knew he could build anything.
"There's one other thing as well," Tom said and dragged him from his thoughts, "Bill has an idea for the video, can you run it past the production people to see if it's feasible?"
David looked surprised at that; they had all always had some creative input, but the videos had always been someone else's genius.
"It might be a bit complicated," Bill said, not wanting to put too much pressure on their manager.
He then handed over the other sheets of paper he was holding. They had scanned his sketch book and then annotated his storyboard with print rather than his overexcited handwriting. David took the offered pages and began sifting through them.
"We could get a couple of great photo shoots out of it too," Georg offered his support from where he was sitting.
"Vampires?" David asked, looking up from the drawings.
Bill had always loved horror movies and vampires and his lyrics had put images in his head that he knew would suit the song. It was also a way to purge some of his demons and he really hoped David liked the idea.
"It would be very dramatic," he offered with a little shrug.
David gave a smile.
"We'd have to get some specialist people in for it, which would be expensive," David said, clearly thinking out loud, "but I think this single will be more than strong enough to carry the expense. If this is what you are all agreed on then I don't see it being an issue; I'll run it by the right people later today."
That made Bill smile brightly.
"We probably will have to refine it a bit though," David said, looking at the sketches again.
"That's okay," Bill said quickly and it was.
Now that David had said yes he couldn’t help being excited. It might not turn out quite like the idea in his head, but they were actually going to use his idea and he almost bounced off the couch. There were details to sort out, lots of details, but he didn't care; things were beginning to happen and he used his excitement to quell any nerves.
====
"This is so cool," Andi said, looking over the sketch pad that Bill had handed him a few minutes earlier, "and they're really letting you go this gothic?"
"David said it shouldn't be a problem," Bill replied with a nod, pleased that his best friend liked the idea as much as he did, "and he rang again this morning and said people seemed to like the idea. I don't think they're just humouring me."
That statement was met by a laugh from Tom, who had just appeared in the doorway with three mugs of coffee.
"Bill, David knows better than that," Tom said, putting his burdens down on the sideboard; "last time any of them tried humouring you, you ate them alive and then told the public how evil the record company were."
Bill thought about that for a little while and then gave a small shrug; Tom had a point.
"When you make this one, can I come?" Andi asked with a grin. "It's just so cool."
Andreas actually seemed to be more excited about the idea than he was and Bill couldn't help grinning, but it did bring up other thoughts into his mind. They were going to the studio apartment in a few days to start the production of the single and that meant leaving Andreas behind as usual. Their best friend's whole life did not revolve around them, but Bill never liked leaving Andreas out of things, which in turn led him on to the one big thing he was leaving his friend out of completely.
"A vampire gansta rapper is going to be interesting," Andreas teased Tom and Bill watched the pair as they joked.
"Undead bad ass," Tom responded and struck a pose.
Bill would have laughed if his thoughts hadn't been busy with other things.
"Andi," he said, before either of the others could launch into anything else, "how would you feel having a vampire for a friend?"
Tom looked a little startled for a moment, but Bill gave him a small smile and turned his attention to Andreas. The question had clearly caused a mild brain flip in his friend, but Andreas had had to become used to those over their friendship, so it didn't take his friend long to recover.
"Dracula type vamp or Underworld type vamp," Andi asked in only a way a true vampire fan could with a straight face.
Bill looked at Tom and he knew that his twin knew what he was thinking.
"Underworld," they said at the same time, "ish," Bill added.
"So not likely to eat me then," Andi said with a grin.
"Definitely not," Bill replied and tried not to sound too shocked by the suggestion.
It was strange how quickly he had adjusted to the Strigoi way of thinking and the idea was preposterous.
"Then that'd be cool," Andi said with a big smile.
"I knew you'd say that," Tom said and Bill was very aware it was for his benefit.
He accepted the mug of coffee his twin passed him and put the sketch pad back down the side of the bed where it would be safe. Andreas had been their friend for a long time, through the hatred, into the fame and success and he had always been constant. That was what Bill admired most about his friend; Andi was never swayed by others' opinions and he really wanted to trust his friend now. He watched Tom hand Andreas the second mug of coffee and he tried to decide if he was feeling brave enough.
"Andi," he said and he still hadn't decided what he was going to say or do, even as his friend looked round at him.
It wasn't really a conscious choice at all, but he let his Strigoi nature surface as he gazed into Andreas' eyes. As events unfolded, he realised his timing could have been better. Andreas's mouth opened in shock, his friend's face went slack and so did the fingers holding the coffee mug. For a moment time seemed to slow down and Bill lunged at the mug, but he was too late and hot brown liquid spilled onto the bed and Andreas's legs.
"Ow, shit," time started again at normal speed as Andreas hopped off the bed, swearing and trying to get the soaked jeans away from his legs.
Bill didn't have time to think about his best friend's reaction, he was more worried that Andreas had scalded himself badly.
"Bill, towels, cold water," Tom took over and Bill didn't even consider not obeying and dashed out of the room as his twin tried to help their distressed friend remove the jeans.
It never occurred to him not to use every advantage at his disposal and he moved about as fast as he had ever moved. Turning on the cold tap and soaking the nearest hand towel with icy water seemed to take an age as his mind began working with incredible speed. He barely remembered to turn off the tap as he ran back to the bedroom where Tom had just finished dragging the jeans off of Andreas, who was sitting on the bed.
Andreas' right thigh was very pink and there were splotches of pink on the left one as well, but Bill hoped it wasn't too bad. He switched back to normal speed and handed Tom the towel, which his twin then placed over Andreas' legs. Andreas yelped, but then visibly relaxed as the cold took the heat away.
"Are you okay?" Bill asked, desperately afraid that he had caused his friend real damage.
It was then that it looked as if Andreas' mind flicked back from the accident to what had caused it and he found his friend just staring at him. He was about a breath away from freaking when Andreas finally spoke.
"I'm fine," his friend said, still looking at him. "Bloody hell, Bill, couldn't you have broken it to me a little more gently?"
Bill felt his face heating up; he felt somewhat of an idiot.
"Sorry," he said a little sheepishly, but he couldn't deny that the fact Andi seemed mostly unfazed by the whole thing had him a little elated.
He was still nervous, because he wasn't completely sure, but he wasn't on the verge of running for his room and hiding.
"You know Bill and subtle do not go together," Tom said with a small laugh, but Bill could hear the tension in his twin's voice.
Planning, he was beginning to think he should have done some planning, but it was too late now.
"How are the legs?" Bill asked, hoping to deflect whatever was coming for a little while.
Andreas lifted the towel and peered underneath.
"No serious damage," was the thankful conclusion and Bill breathed a sigh of relief, "but no one is sitting on my lap for a while."
Bill laughed a little at that, but it was a slightly hysterical sound. He wasn't sure what to do next.
"Vampires," Andreas said, looking down and shaking his head, "fucking vampires are real. This is kind of crazy."
"We know," he replied quietly
Andreas looked up at him again then.
"Wow," his friend said and looked honestly amazed, "can you fly?"
For a moment Bill didn't quite catch up with the question and when he did he laughed. No deep, probing questions, no recriminations, just 'can you fly'.
"No," he said, somewhat delighted by his friend's reaction, "and I can't change into a bat either."
"Damn," Andi said with a small grin, shock still showing in his eyes, but far calmer than Bill had feared, "you could have got in anywhere as a bat."
Bill gave a little smile back.
"But sunlight, you're always out in sunlight," Andreas said, clearly assimilating the information little by little. "Don't tell me the whole night thing is a bunch of crock; it's the whole cursed to darkness thing that makes half the vampire legends romantic."
"No, that's true for most vampires," he said, thanking his lucky stars that he had a best friend who thought almost like he did, "I'm just different."
"What Bill is trying to say in an unusually bashful way," Tom said, entering the conversation while hanging Andreas' jeans over the end of the bed, "is that he's a very rare type of vampire that has the whole vampire community thinking he's the best thing since sliced bread."
That made Bill blush again; Tom sounded so proud of him when all he'd really done was fail to die.
"Okay," Andi said, looking at both of them, "tell me everything. How big is this 'vampire community'? How the hell does no one know? Are there any gorgeous vampire babes who might be looking for a bleach blond boy toy?"
The way Andreas wiggled his eyebrows made Bill laugh; in some ways his friend was exactly like Tom. Andreas would probably love Delphine if they ever got to meet.
End of Chapter 9
On to Next Part
th_fanfic FQF really kicked my behind and so I was behind with everything.Title: Out With the Old, In With the New 09/20
Author: Beren
Fandom: Tokio Hotel RPS
Pairing(s): Bill/Tom, Bill/OMC (reported, non-con)
Rating: NC17/18
Warnings: rape (non-graphic), twincest, vampires
Summary: There are things that many people do not see and are never supposed to see, but when one of these takes Bill from his hotel room, by force, everything changes for him and Tom.
Links:
Prologue | Ch 01 | Ch 02 | Ch 03 | Ch 04
| Ch 05 | Ch 06 | Ch 07 | Ch 08 | Ch 09
| Ch 10 | Ch 11 | Ch 12 | Ch 13 | Ch 14
| Ch 15 | Ch 16 | Ch 17 | Ch 18 | Ch 19 | Ch 20
Full Chapter Listing (with chapter descriptions)
Chapter 9 - Hints of Normality
Tom looked up from reading his magazine to see Bill sitting at the other end of the sofa staring at a notebook with a small frown on his face. They had taken up residence on the couch an hour or so before, both sitting in a corner with their feet up and touching in the middle and had maintained companionable silence ever since. To anyone else they probably looked as if they were hiding from each other behind their knees, but that was very far from the reality. Bill had muttered something about lyrics and had been scribbling and occasionally singing quietly to himself as Tom caught up on reading a couple of magazines he was subscribed to and hadn't had the chance to look at.
"How's it going?" he asked, since he knew for a fact that Bill hadn't written anything in the last ten minutes.
Bill could be a little strange when writing lyrics: sometimes he'd want to share everything all the time and other times he wouldn't let anyone see anything for ages. Tom wasn't quite sure what had inspired Bill to write this time, but he was pleased to see that something had; it just meant he wasn't sure what reaction his enquiry would receive. When Bill looked up at him, the little frown disappeared.
"I think I'm done," Bill said, worrying his lip a little with his teeth.
It was a nervous tick that Bill had had since they were small, well actually they both had it, only his had morphed slightly since he'd had the lip ring, and Tom knew that he was about to find out what Bill had been working on. Bill was only ever nervous like that when ready to reveal the masterpiece.
"What do you think?" Bill asked and handed him the pad just as he had expected.
The page was full of writing with crossings out, scribbles, and insertions, but as with everything else about Bill, he was one of the few people who could decipher it. At the top of the page was the word "title" with a colon after it and nothing following it, so the song wasn't quite complete yet, but he could tell that everything else was there. The way the handwriting was so messy in places told him one thing very clearly; Bill had put his heart and soul into this and so he set about reading carefully and slowly.
The first few lines made him go cold; they were bleak and scared and it was very clear where the lyrics were coming from, but then he read the end of the first verse and he could not help looking up. Bill was watching him closely and he glanced back down quickly, continuing to read. After that he couldn't take his eyes off the page as the lyrics took him on a whirlwind ride through Bill's psyche. By the end he wanted to cry and he was not a tearful person, but he didn't want to cry because the song was so sad; quite the opposite in fact. It was amazing to him really; it was a song about love and hope.
"It's about being lost and your friends helping you find your way again," Bill said quietly in an unsure voice.
"Oh god, Bill," he replied, looking up from the paper, "I know; it's ... I think these are the strongest lyrics you've ever written; it's amazing."
And Tom meant every word. Possibly it was because he was so close to the subject, but he had never felt words move him quite so completely before.
"You like it?" Bill asked, as if unsure.
"Like it?" Tom asked, putting his magazine on the floor and crawling over the sofa so he was right next to Bill. "I love it, and we have to put some music to it as soon as possible. This is our next single."
Bill looked rather shocked at his reaction.
"It's just some words," Bill said, clearly somewhat flustered.
"You never just write words," Tom said, giving his twin a smile and leaning forward and kissing Bill on the nose, "you write what's in your heart; if we can get the right tune this will knock everyone's socks off."
For a few moments Bill just sat there and blinked at him, but slowly a tiny smile formed.
"You think so?" Bill asked.
"I know so," Tom replied with supreme confidence.
"Um, maybe we should see if Gustav and Georg are free," Bill suggested tentatively, "and then we can find a tune?"
The fact that Bill was suggesting other people visit filled Tom with almost more joy than the ideas the song provoked and he grinned happily.
"I'll find my phone," he said and bounced off the sofa.
Things were looking up; they really were.
====
Bill was trying so hard not to giggle; he really was, but it was a losing battle. He was sprawled on the floor, leaning against the sofa and one of Tom's legs; Gustav was on the other end of the sofa and Georg was in the arm chair. They had been playing around with the new song most of the afternoon and they were almost there, but had mutually decided to take a break when food had been produced.
He wasn't blind; he knew how pleased his mum and Tom had been when he had shown real interest in doing things with other people and the over catering was to be expected. There were sandwiches, snacks, vegetable sticks and dips, fruit, sweets; basically just about everything their mum had had to hand and could produce at a moment's notice.
They had been eating and chatting for a while and the reason Bill was trying so hard not to giggle was that Tom had been throwing things at Georg every time Georg looked away and finally one had stuck in Georg's hair. It was a cheesy twig kind of thing and Georg seemed totally oblivious to the fact that it was there. Every time Georg moved his head it kind of danced and Bill found it incredibly funny.
If the way Gustav's eyes were twinkling was anything to go by, he wasn't the only one.
Eventually he couldn't help himself and he fell over sideways, dissolving into a fit of giggles to rival any ever seen. He was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. For a moment Georg looked as if he wasn't sure if this was some weird coping mechanism or not and it was only when Gustav began to laugh as well that Georg realised he was the butt of a joke.
"Okay, who did what?" Georg asked in a patiently resigned tone as Tom started laughing as well.
"Hair," Bill just about managed to squeak out between laughing.
"Oh very mature," Georg said as he found the cheesy addition to his hair style and Tom threw another one at him for good measure, "how old are you two again?"
Georg was very often the butt of the jokes, their friend had the temperament for it. and rolled his eyes while smiling. Bill just about managed mock shock that he was being accused of having anything to do with this, but he was still giggling like a loon.
"Y'know, Bill," Georg said as he ate the cheese snack, "if your cowardly brother wasn't using you as a human shield, I might have to spank him."
"I'd like to see you try, Big Man," Tom jeered back.
For a split second Bill thought Georg might try; it wasn't as if it would be anything knew in the continual round of horseplay that had always been part of the band, but at the moment Bill almost panicked. Then Georg just picked up a handful of nuts and threw them at Tom and thus began a food war. Bill joined in almost instantly, as his panic vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but he couldn't forget it, even as he tried. They were going to be in so much trouble when their mum saw the state of the room, but it was definitely fun. Some things were still very far from normal and he wasn't sure they ever would be again, but he could live with it.
====
Bill looked up from his sketchbook when Tom wandered back into the bedroom from having had a long and indulgent shower. Being away from Tom for any amount of time still made him very uneasy, so he had picked up the sketchbook mainly as a distraction when Tom had gone to the bathroom, but then he had begun thinking and he had an idea. He wasn't sure if it was a practical idea, but he was quite excited by it.
"You look like you discovered gold while I was gone," Tom said, pausing just inside the door.
"I've been thinking," Bill said, trying not to sound too excited.
"Now there's a bad start," Tom commented with a grin and Bill just stuck his tongue out.
"The new song," he said.
"What about the new song?" Tom asked, throwing himself down on the bed beside Bill and peering at the sketchbook.
"Do you think they'd let me do the idea for the video?" Bill asked; not sure how the management would react if he asked.
Tom looked thoughtful, but smiled as well.
"I think, right about now," Tom told him, "if you asked to do a concert from the moon, they'd see if they could arrange it. You're hot property at the moment."
Bill made a face.
"You'd think something like this would make me less popular, not more," he commented; not sure he liked all the extra publicity.
"Hate to break it to you, Little Brother," Tom said, patting him on the leg, "but now you're a tragic hero soldiering on through adversity and that makes you about ten times more interesting even than you were before."
"Yeah, well I'd just like to go back to making music if it's alright with the rest of the world," Bill replied, feeling just a little annoyed.
He felt a bit like a freak show; there were paparazzi from all over Europe parked outside the house for any glimpse of him and it was beginning to piss him off.
"Yeah well, we will," Tom said, clearly trying to cheer him up, "especially if we have a killer video to go with the new song. Show me what you're thinking."
Bill flipped back his pad a page and showed Tom his sketches. Tom gave him a long hard look then.
"Okay," Tom said slowly; "and you're sure about this."
He nodded; he was really rather excited by the idea.
"Okay," Tom agreed with a nod, "as long as you're sure. If we can work it out properly today then we can pitch it to David tomorrow when he comes over and we tell him about the new song."
Bill grinned; he was actually beginning to look forward to climbing back onto the horse and getting back to work. It would be slow at first, but that was why David was coming over to talk about how to proceed. He couldn't stay cooped up in his safe little world much longer and it was time to begin to put things in motion.
====
"Hey, David," Bill greeted as he walked into the living room.
He hoped he didn't look too mussed, since Tom had just had him pinned to the wall, snogging him senseless, when their mum had called to them to announce that David had arrived.
"Hey, yourself," David greeted with a smile, "your bodyguard not with you at the moment?"
"He's ringing Georg to find out where he and Gustav have got to," Bill replied and folded himself into the arm chair. "Last time Georg took them on a detour to avoid the press and they were lost for an hour."
"That's what you get for letting Georg navigate," David replied and laughed; "he's worse than you and that's saying something."
"Hey, no picking on the singer," Bill said with mock petulance, "or I'll tell Tom you're being mean to me."
David held up his hands in mock surrender.
"Okay, okay," David said, doing a good impression of terror, "I swear I'll never pick on you again, just don't send the Tom monster after me!"
Bill giggled at that; it was one of the things he liked about David; they could be silly with him sometimes.
"The mighty navigator and his side kick will be here momentarily," Tom said, walking into the room and throwing himself down onto the sofa. "They brought the navigation system this time and it only took them twice as long to get here than normal."
"Why do they bother," Bill asked, a little bewildered, "they're going to be seen coming into our house anyway?"
"I think Georg just thinks it's fun," Tom replied and grinned, "and Gustav likes to have some blackmail material for later, so he goes along with it."
"One day Gustav's going to write his memoirs and then we're all in trouble," David commented, while opening his filofax on the coffee table.
"Well except me," Bill said in an airy tone, "I threatened to burn his collection of Metallica t-shirts and we came to an agreement."
"Ooh, and the dangerous play wins," Tom said with a laugh; "he could have just turned around and put you out of your misery on the spot to protect them."
Bill made an off hand gesture.
"I made sure there were witnesses when we had the conversation," he said. "What do you think I am, stupid?"
"Don't answer that," David said as if it was the most dangerous question in the world; "I'm not here to arbitrate an argument."
David was saved from any form of cutting reply, because the door bell went.
"That'll be our dangerous duo now," Tom said and pushed himself off the sofa to go and answer the door.
Bill played with the printouts he had brought down from upstairs with him while they waited for Tom to come back with the others. He knew David was incredibly curious about what it was, so he made sure to make a thing of it, to see if he could catch his friend trying to catch a glimpse of what was on it.
"I think it's time to call in the army," Georg said as he walked in; "there are ninja photographers in every bush out there."
"Don't worry," Bill replied, "we have ninja Scotty and he's bitten at least one of them on the bum when they tried to climb the fence at the back."
"Your dog is my hero," Georg said with a laugh. "Hi David."
David made noises of acknowledgement and Georg and Gustav settled into comfortable spots as Tom vanished to furnish everyone with drinks. These types of meetings were so predictable that asking what people wanted to drink was rather moot, since it was always the same. Georg and Gustav managed to get into a mock fight over one of the cushions on the sofa, which Gustav won, by grabbing it from Georg and glaring like an angry bear. By the time that was over, they were all set and ready to begin.
This was one meeting Bill was rather looking forward to.
"Okay," David said, sitting forward and looking at them all one by one, "what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"
"We've written our next single," Tom said and Bill handed over the piece of paper with the lyrics on it.
"It's called 'From the Fire'," Bill added, suddenly unsure that David was going to like it, even though the other three had thought the words were great and they had all come up with a wonderful tune.
Tom had helped him come up with the title that morning when he had typed it into his laptop to print it out properly.
"Those are the words," Tom seemed to sense his reticence and took over for him, "and we can sing it for you in a while, but you'll want to read those first."
David looked down at the paper and began to read and Bill held his breath, waiting for the verdict. It took David a while to reach the bottom of the page and Bill had to start breathing again or go blue, but he was so nervous that it was difficult. Tom rubbed a leg against his and instantly managed to calm him down quite a bit, but it wasn't a cure-all. By the time David looked up Bill was almost vibrating out of the chair; he had managed to wind himself up that much.
"That," David said after a moment, "is amazing."
People seemed to keep saying that, but Bill wasn't sure the words were that great.
"Really?" he asked, waiting for the 'but'.
There was always a 'but', usually a 'but if we just add this ...' type of 'but' and he was used to them by now. As long as his words mostly made it to the songs he didn't mind that most of the time there are other people's names on them as well. Even the best authors need an editor and it had ceased to bother him a long time ago.
"Really," David replied with a smile.
No 'but' came and Bill began to wonder why.
"Aren't you going to say anything else?" he finally asked, not sure if this was going to be one of those awkward times when those around him were trying to spare his feelings.
He was delicate, but not about something like this, well at least not that delicate.
"There's nothing else to say," David said and looked back down at the piece of paper; "with the right tune this will knock them dead."
"No improvements?" Bill asked, honestly confused by now.
David smiled at that.
"Bill," David told him, while looking him directly in the eye, "no one could improve on this, and if they say they can, they're lying."
Bill couldn't help it, he felt his mouth fall open. Tom laughed and nudged him in the side.
"See miracles do happen," Tom quipped and made him smile.
Never before, not once had one of his songs been accepted without comment.
"And you're not just saying that because you think I'm going to cry and hide behind Tom?" he had to be sure.
David put his hand over his heart.
"I swear," David promised faithfully. "These words come from the heart; anyone with two eyes can see that and messing with them would be sacrilegious."
"We told him that yesterday," Gustav commented, looking pleased, "but he didn't believe us."
"Well believe it," David said firmly; "this is gold."
There was no point arguing with that, so Bill didn't try, but he still wasn't quite sure the song would have had the same reception under different circumstances.
"We were thinking of a pretty quick turn around," Tom started the conversation in earnest; "use the single to get everything going again."
"We could go to the apartment and record it," Gustav began to elaborate on what they had discussed the previous day, "and maybe write some more for a new album."
"Do a few light interviews," Tom took over again, "nothing too heavy and build up until we're ready to release."
Bill was very well aware that the 'nothing too heavy' meant no in-depth interviews about his kidnapping. That would come, it had to really, people wouldn't give up until they knew something, but he definitely wasn't ready for that just yet. David was nodding and flipping through his filofax as the others spoke.
"Sounds like a good plan," David said, clearly looking something up. "We can talk about where we want to go and how soon as we go along, but if you want, I can have everything set up to start by next week."
It wasn't difficult to notice that everyone was looking at him at that point and Bill had a fluttery feeling in his chest as he realised things really were going to happen, but he nodded.
"That's fine with me," he said and tried to sound supremely confident.
Just leaving the house seemed like such a big thing at the moment, when before it had been such an insignificant obstacle. Dwelling on the maybes was not going to help him and he knew he was going to make sure he was up to the job. Becoming the front man of Tokio Hotel again was going to be difficult and it wasn't going to happen overnight, but the need to perform was still there in his heart and with that he knew he could build anything.
"There's one other thing as well," Tom said and dragged him from his thoughts, "Bill has an idea for the video, can you run it past the production people to see if it's feasible?"
David looked surprised at that; they had all always had some creative input, but the videos had always been someone else's genius.
"It might be a bit complicated," Bill said, not wanting to put too much pressure on their manager.
He then handed over the other sheets of paper he was holding. They had scanned his sketch book and then annotated his storyboard with print rather than his overexcited handwriting. David took the offered pages and began sifting through them.
"We could get a couple of great photo shoots out of it too," Georg offered his support from where he was sitting.
"Vampires?" David asked, looking up from the drawings.
Bill had always loved horror movies and vampires and his lyrics had put images in his head that he knew would suit the song. It was also a way to purge some of his demons and he really hoped David liked the idea.
"It would be very dramatic," he offered with a little shrug.
David gave a smile.
"We'd have to get some specialist people in for it, which would be expensive," David said, clearly thinking out loud, "but I think this single will be more than strong enough to carry the expense. If this is what you are all agreed on then I don't see it being an issue; I'll run it by the right people later today."
That made Bill smile brightly.
"We probably will have to refine it a bit though," David said, looking at the sketches again.
"That's okay," Bill said quickly and it was.
Now that David had said yes he couldn’t help being excited. It might not turn out quite like the idea in his head, but they were actually going to use his idea and he almost bounced off the couch. There were details to sort out, lots of details, but he didn't care; things were beginning to happen and he used his excitement to quell any nerves.
====
"This is so cool," Andi said, looking over the sketch pad that Bill had handed him a few minutes earlier, "and they're really letting you go this gothic?"
"David said it shouldn't be a problem," Bill replied with a nod, pleased that his best friend liked the idea as much as he did, "and he rang again this morning and said people seemed to like the idea. I don't think they're just humouring me."
That statement was met by a laugh from Tom, who had just appeared in the doorway with three mugs of coffee.
"Bill, David knows better than that," Tom said, putting his burdens down on the sideboard; "last time any of them tried humouring you, you ate them alive and then told the public how evil the record company were."
Bill thought about that for a little while and then gave a small shrug; Tom had a point.
"When you make this one, can I come?" Andi asked with a grin. "It's just so cool."
Andreas actually seemed to be more excited about the idea than he was and Bill couldn't help grinning, but it did bring up other thoughts into his mind. They were going to the studio apartment in a few days to start the production of the single and that meant leaving Andreas behind as usual. Their best friend's whole life did not revolve around them, but Bill never liked leaving Andreas out of things, which in turn led him on to the one big thing he was leaving his friend out of completely.
"A vampire gansta rapper is going to be interesting," Andreas teased Tom and Bill watched the pair as they joked.
"Undead bad ass," Tom responded and struck a pose.
Bill would have laughed if his thoughts hadn't been busy with other things.
"Andi," he said, before either of the others could launch into anything else, "how would you feel having a vampire for a friend?"
Tom looked a little startled for a moment, but Bill gave him a small smile and turned his attention to Andreas. The question had clearly caused a mild brain flip in his friend, but Andreas had had to become used to those over their friendship, so it didn't take his friend long to recover.
"Dracula type vamp or Underworld type vamp," Andi asked in only a way a true vampire fan could with a straight face.
Bill looked at Tom and he knew that his twin knew what he was thinking.
"Underworld," they said at the same time, "ish," Bill added.
"So not likely to eat me then," Andi said with a grin.
"Definitely not," Bill replied and tried not to sound too shocked by the suggestion.
It was strange how quickly he had adjusted to the Strigoi way of thinking and the idea was preposterous.
"Then that'd be cool," Andi said with a big smile.
"I knew you'd say that," Tom said and Bill was very aware it was for his benefit.
He accepted the mug of coffee his twin passed him and put the sketch pad back down the side of the bed where it would be safe. Andreas had been their friend for a long time, through the hatred, into the fame and success and he had always been constant. That was what Bill admired most about his friend; Andi was never swayed by others' opinions and he really wanted to trust his friend now. He watched Tom hand Andreas the second mug of coffee and he tried to decide if he was feeling brave enough.
"Andi," he said and he still hadn't decided what he was going to say or do, even as his friend looked round at him.
It wasn't really a conscious choice at all, but he let his Strigoi nature surface as he gazed into Andreas' eyes. As events unfolded, he realised his timing could have been better. Andreas's mouth opened in shock, his friend's face went slack and so did the fingers holding the coffee mug. For a moment time seemed to slow down and Bill lunged at the mug, but he was too late and hot brown liquid spilled onto the bed and Andreas's legs.
"Ow, shit," time started again at normal speed as Andreas hopped off the bed, swearing and trying to get the soaked jeans away from his legs.
Bill didn't have time to think about his best friend's reaction, he was more worried that Andreas had scalded himself badly.
"Bill, towels, cold water," Tom took over and Bill didn't even consider not obeying and dashed out of the room as his twin tried to help their distressed friend remove the jeans.
It never occurred to him not to use every advantage at his disposal and he moved about as fast as he had ever moved. Turning on the cold tap and soaking the nearest hand towel with icy water seemed to take an age as his mind began working with incredible speed. He barely remembered to turn off the tap as he ran back to the bedroom where Tom had just finished dragging the jeans off of Andreas, who was sitting on the bed.
Andreas' right thigh was very pink and there were splotches of pink on the left one as well, but Bill hoped it wasn't too bad. He switched back to normal speed and handed Tom the towel, which his twin then placed over Andreas' legs. Andreas yelped, but then visibly relaxed as the cold took the heat away.
"Are you okay?" Bill asked, desperately afraid that he had caused his friend real damage.
It was then that it looked as if Andreas' mind flicked back from the accident to what had caused it and he found his friend just staring at him. He was about a breath away from freaking when Andreas finally spoke.
"I'm fine," his friend said, still looking at him. "Bloody hell, Bill, couldn't you have broken it to me a little more gently?"
Bill felt his face heating up; he felt somewhat of an idiot.
"Sorry," he said a little sheepishly, but he couldn't deny that the fact Andi seemed mostly unfazed by the whole thing had him a little elated.
He was still nervous, because he wasn't completely sure, but he wasn't on the verge of running for his room and hiding.
"You know Bill and subtle do not go together," Tom said with a small laugh, but Bill could hear the tension in his twin's voice.
Planning, he was beginning to think he should have done some planning, but it was too late now.
"How are the legs?" Bill asked, hoping to deflect whatever was coming for a little while.
Andreas lifted the towel and peered underneath.
"No serious damage," was the thankful conclusion and Bill breathed a sigh of relief, "but no one is sitting on my lap for a while."
Bill laughed a little at that, but it was a slightly hysterical sound. He wasn't sure what to do next.
"Vampires," Andreas said, looking down and shaking his head, "fucking vampires are real. This is kind of crazy."
"We know," he replied quietly
Andreas looked up at him again then.
"Wow," his friend said and looked honestly amazed, "can you fly?"
For a moment Bill didn't quite catch up with the question and when he did he laughed. No deep, probing questions, no recriminations, just 'can you fly'.
"No," he said, somewhat delighted by his friend's reaction, "and I can't change into a bat either."
"Damn," Andi said with a small grin, shock still showing in his eyes, but far calmer than Bill had feared, "you could have got in anywhere as a bat."
Bill gave a little smile back.
"But sunlight, you're always out in sunlight," Andreas said, clearly assimilating the information little by little. "Don't tell me the whole night thing is a bunch of crock; it's the whole cursed to darkness thing that makes half the vampire legends romantic."
"No, that's true for most vampires," he said, thanking his lucky stars that he had a best friend who thought almost like he did, "I'm just different."
"What Bill is trying to say in an unusually bashful way," Tom said, entering the conversation while hanging Andreas' jeans over the end of the bed, "is that he's a very rare type of vampire that has the whole vampire community thinking he's the best thing since sliced bread."
That made Bill blush again; Tom sounded so proud of him when all he'd really done was fail to die.
"Okay," Andi said, looking at both of them, "tell me everything. How big is this 'vampire community'? How the hell does no one know? Are there any gorgeous vampire babes who might be looking for a bleach blond boy toy?"
The way Andreas wiggled his eyebrows made Bill laugh; in some ways his friend was exactly like Tom. Andreas would probably love Delphine if they ever got to meet.
End of Chapter 9
On to Next Part
