"Is it true?" a man's voice shouted as Will and Taylor darted out the side door passing a mob of reporters.

"Do you have a statement?" another voice shouted.

They continued to ignore the shouting, the questions and the cameras. Not more than a few more steps and they found themselves inside a quiet cab on their way back to the Plaza.

"We'll be ok," Will whispered as he reached to hug Taylor.

Without speaking or even reacting Taylor pulled away from him quietly. Will stared at the side of Taylor's face. Confused, shocked and hurt.

"Taylor," his voice trembled.

Taylor turned and looked at him. His eyes were foggy with tears, and his jaw was still clenched shut.

"I'm here for you, you know that," Will whispered as he reached his hand out to touch the side of Taylor's face.

"No," Taylor muttered turning his face away.

"Someone might see and take another photo," he finished turning to look out the window.

Will felt his heart split in half. Tears began to surge up in his eyes as he felt his head starting to spin.

"I do love you," Will's voice cracked.

"Yeah, I know I love you too," Tay muttered quietly still facing the other way.

The cab ride back to the Plaza was quiet. Except for the off and on bout of sniffles and whimpers coming from either Taylor or Will. Yet again, they dodged another mob of reporters and rushed into the hotel.

"No calls, no visitors no nothing," Taylor exclaimed as he passed the manager.

"Yes sir," he replied quietly.

"I'm taking a shower, I'll be out in a little bit," Taylor exclaimed as he closed the bedroom door leaving Will standing in the main suite. His mouth hanging open, he felt his knees going weak. His head spun, the very moment they were alone, the very instant he thought he would be able to wrap his arms around Taylor, he found himself alone again.

He sat down quietly and stared at a spot on the wall. His mind replaying everything that had happened. Distantly in the other room he heard the shower turn on. He put his face in his hands and cried, truly cried harder than he felt he ever had.

"Fucking reporters," he screamed into the pillow on the sofa as he laid there face down.

Suddenly, he sat up, not caring if Taylor seemed to want to be alone. He stood up, and walked to the bedroom door, he gave the handle a turn and found it was unlocked. The shower was still running. He quietly walked towards the bathroom. Not more than a foot away he heard the water turn off and the curtain pull open. He swallowed hard and gave the door a shove.

"What the hell are you doing?" Taylor blurted as he scrambled to cover his body with a towel.

"I," Will began to stutter.

"I'm sorry," Will exclaimed as he began to turn away.

"Would you please close the door?" Taylor asked coldly.

"Would you please tell me what is happening right here, right now?" Will asked turning around suddenly.

"I have to get dressed first," Taylor started as Will suddenly stepped closer.

"Bull fucking shit you do, like I haven't seen this before," he snapped as he yanked the towel from Taylor's hands.

"Give it back," Taylor growled as he reached for the towel.

"Like fucking hell I will," Will snapped as he flung the towel out into the bedroom.

As he turned he yanked the other towels off the rack and flung them out as well and kicked the door shut with his foot.

"What are you doing?" Taylor asked in shock cupping himself with his hands.

"Who are you fooling?" Will asked in pure shock.

"What are you talking about?" Taylor asked.

"Why are you doing this, Taylor we've made love, we sleep together, you and I," Will tried to continue as his voice cracked and he dropped to his knees.

"You and I, we're," he tried to say again.

"Oh God, Taylor I love you so much, what is happening, why are you acting like this?" Will sobbed as he threw his arms around Taylor's thighs and pressed his cheek against him sobbing.

Taylor stood there, his heart screaming, his mind spinning. A part of him was angry, another part of him was scared. All the while another part was trying to convince him, that if he could just break away from Will that everything would go back to normal. A part kept insisting he could explain his way out of the situation that he was in now.

As Tay's mind drifted over these things he found his hands had slowly begun to gently stroke Will's hair. He realized tears had begun to run down his cheeks. No matter how angry and how scared he was, the love for Will seemed to be fighting hard to survive. While his brain tried to freeze his heart up, his soul fought desperately to keep it warm.

"I'm sorry," Taylor cried quietly as he pulled Will to his feet.

"I'm so sorry," Taylor cried as he kissed him gently on the mouth.

"I love you so much," Taylor sobbed as he hugged him and kissed him again.

The phone in the main suite began to ring.

Taylor glanced off and back at Will.

"I thought I told them no calls," Taylor growled as he turned and went into the main room.

"Hello," he snapped as he picked up the phone.

"Mother," his voice gasped as his face went pale.

"Yes, no I know, I didn't," he stuttered.

"Mother please," he exclaimed as he turned to face the other way.

"You don't understand," he almost cried into the phone.

"I know, I know, no I can't, not today, Mother no," Taylor whimpered into the phone.

"No, no don't get dad, ok, ok," he cried quietly.

"I'm sorry, I will, ok bye," he cried as he hung up the phone.

"Taylor?" Will asked quietly as he walked up behind him.

"I have to go home," Taylor exclaimed without turning around.

Will found himself frozen instantly to the spot.

"You, just you," Will asked.

Taylor turned to face him, his face twisted in pain.

"There is so much I don't understand, so many things my heart is telling me, and so many things my brain is saying," Taylor sighed quietly as he stared at Will's mouth. He found that he couldn't look Will in the eyes as the next words came from his mouth.

"William, I think it's best we," he paused as he swallowed, his eyes squeezing shut, his eyebrows pinching tightly together.

"We can't," he tried again.

Will felt everything turning from left to right.

Taylor grabbed a hold of him and pulled him close. Still avoiding direct eye contact he traced his fingers over Will's lips and kissed them.

"I can't see you anymore," Taylor whispered, his voice failing him.

The words impacted into Will's mind, sending a shockwave through his body. Trembling he felt his knees give out as his weight fell against Taylor.

"I'm sorry," Taylor cried quietly.

*          *          *          *          *

Zac suddenly felt his skin prickle. The hair on the back of his neck stood and his stomach turned. Glancing upwards out the window into the afternoon sky he felt it. His mind, refusing to believe it was possible, as his heart told him it was. He felt his brother's pain as Taylor and Will broke up.

*          *          *          *          *

Will found himself sitting at the chair next to the window. His mind nearly blank. His heart, numb. Taylor had been packing and making telephone calls for the past half hour. A fax had come in from Walker and Diana with the statement they had written for Taylor to be released to the news media. Will had taken it to him and glanced down at it.

"I'm growing and learning the errors of my ways. Clearly this was all a very big mistake and I apologize to my fans and supporters for my actions. We all make mistakes, hopefully with God's help I can find a way to make it up to you all, those who matter the most to me."

Will found himself ill as he watched Taylor sign his name to the fax and send it out again. He couldn't begin to honestly understand everything that was happening. His mind couldn't comprehend the idea that Taylor was explaining his relationship with him as a mistake. That he was trying to mend the errors in his ways.

The moment came as Taylor stood at the door. All of Will's emotions and pain congealing into one final reaction.

"I guess this is goodbye," Taylor said still staring at the floor.

"I guess," Will replied without any emotion to his voice.

"I'd like to," Taylor whispered reaching to touch Will's face.

"You'd like to what?" Will asked stepping back.

"I'd like to ki-" Taylor started as Will cut him off.

"Make a mistake one last time?" Will asked.

Taylor visibly flinched.

"Sorry, but," Will exclaimed as he bent down and picked up Taylor's bag.

"Make mistakes on your own time, I've got to find a way back home," Will exclaimed as he chucked the bag against Taylor almost knocking him down.

"Will," Taylor reacted in shock.

"Have a nice life, even if it's not the one you were meant to live," Will replied as he slammed the door in Taylor's face.

*          *          *          *          *

"It's over," Will sighed into the telephone.

"What's over?" Daphne asked over her cell in her cab on the way to her apartment in upper Manhattan.

"What the hell do you think, me and Taylor we're over," he swallowed hard.

"You two broke up over this," she asked almost in shock.

"Yeah," Will muttered as he exhaled a mouthful of smoke out the window in the room.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

"I thought things were going to pull through but, well his mom called and she must have said something to him that meant more to him than I do."

"Don't say that. I'm sure he still cares for you a great deal," Daph sighed.

"Hey wait a damn minute, he's more than fucking cared for me, he loves me," Will snapped as he stood up.

"Don't get all mad at me, I'm not the reason this happened, besides maybe it's a good thing you know I mean I can see his side of it being in the public eye, this kind of thing can be damaging," Daphne defended herself and Taylor.

"Oh really?" Will replied in shock.

"Yeah, he's probably doing what's best for the band and everything if you really think about it," she replied.

Trying not to yell Will took another drag from the cigarette.

"I need a place to crash, this room is only paid for until tomorrow at eleven in the morning."

"Well, I'm not even sure what my schedule is, you're like totally in the opposite direction I'm going," she started.

"I really don't want to stay here tonight, alone," Will muttered quietly.

"I can see what I can do but don't count on it, I'll call you in a little bit," she exclaimed.

"You know what, don't even fucking bother, I thought you were my friend, and here you are defending Taylor, and his choice to ignore his true self, and not only that you're sitting here brushing me off."

"Taylor," Daphne started.

"Don't fuckin' call me that name, I don't even want to hear it, even if it is mine," he exclaimed as he hung up the phone.

"Why?" he screamed out the window as he threw the cigarette butt out.

Sliding his hands into his pockets he stared out at the city. The room empty, except for himself. Taylor, probably already on the flight back to Tulsa, without him. He felt a slip of paper in his pocket and pulled it out.

"Ashton," and a telephone number were written on it.

Will stared at the slip of paper, then at the door to the hotel room. Almost as if he still mentally pictured Taylor standing outside it waiting for him to open it back up after he had slammed it.

"Yeah, I think I will give you a call," Will exclaimed as he thumped the slip of paper with his finger.

*          *          *          *          *

Taylor sat in the first window seat of first class. Staring out the window his mind replayed the last time he thought he'd ever see Will again over and over. The hurt in his eyes, the way he slammed the door. Taylor had stood outside the door for almost fifteen minutes, almost praying that Will would open it back up again. But as seconds turned into minutes Taylor had realized that Will would not be back to the door to let him in.

He had turned away and walked down the hallway, staring at the floor the entire time. He thought about how he'd handled things, about how he had let his mother scare him into leaving Will, into returning home to Tulsa. She had demanded that he leave Will in New York.

As the city sank beneath him, as the plane rose high into the air Taylor had hoped he could just close his eyes and forget about everything, if only for just a moment, if even for a second. But every time he closed his eyes he saw Will's staring back at him, filled with tears, with hurt and fear. Taylor swallowed the lump in his throat down and tried to relax.

"Can I get you a drink?" the stewardess asked, shaking Taylor from his inner turmoil.

"Yeah, rum and Dr. Pepper," Taylor sighed his voice cracking.

Remembering it had been Will who had introduced that drink to him that day back at home at the old house when they ate pizza and watched "Too Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar," and got drunk. It seemed so long ago, Taylor found himself crying quietly.

"We can't end this way," he thought to himself as his mind replayed every single little instance of his and Will's relationship over and over in his mind.

From the elevator in the Beverly Hills hotel where they met, to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris where he conceived his 'vampire birth' scene in Eternal Night on his laptop with Will by his side sipping an iced tea. To that first moment when he saw Will again after all those long months of anguish as the MAST had tampered with their memories. The way it felt to see him again after all that time and not even understanding why his kiss was so sweet, only knowing it felt so right.

Taylor swallowed hard. His head ached, his heart was sore. Still he could not shake the image of Will's eyes, hurt and full of loss that slowly appeared every time he closed his own.

*          *          *          *          *

"Aware of this," Diana asked Zac as she handed him the magazine.

"No," Zac muttered as he took the Maximum magazine from his mother.

On the cover sat Daphne, wearing a next to nothing black leather outfit in a pose that would only curl the hair of ultra conservative prudes. Zac found himself grinning until he read the large bold lettering beneath her it read,

"'I can't wait to have sex,' Daphne Catanelli of Freezer Burn spills the beans about her wild sex drive, and steamy trysts with some of Rock's most famous players."

Zac stood there, his mouth hanging open as he opened the magazine. Mixed between full page shots of Daphne in even more revealing and questionable photographs were candid paparazzi stills of her with Justin Timberlake on one page.

Zac felt his blood pressure rising as he turned the page and saw himself with her outside the back of a venue during their last tour, in which Freezer Burn had opened for them. Next to the photo was a small text caption that read,

"Even little Zac Hanson isn't safe from this sex kitten!"

"We can't have this," Walker exclaimed from behind Zac.

"I'm sure it's a mistake," Zac almost whispered as he walked back to his room with the magazine.

Walker and Diana glanced at one another, knowing that they had very little left to do; that Zac would handle things from that point on out.

*          *          *          *          *

"Sorry about all that," Will winced as he climbed into Ashton's black Ford Explorer and tossed his bag in the back seat amidst a burst of flash bulbs.

"Hell I don't care if they take my picture," he laughed as they pulled away.

"Where is," Ashton started to ask as Will cut him off.

"Gone, he left to go back home, he broke it off with me and left, mind if I smoke," Will asked as he reached into his coat pocket.

"No, just put the window down or something," Ashton replied.

"Thanks."

"So, tell me," Will began after exhaling a cloud of smoke which was then sucked out the window.

"Do you have a spare bed or anything for a day or two until I can get back home, I have nowhere to stay after eleven tomorrow morning and I don't really want to stay back there," Will motioned behind them with his finger.

"Yeah, I mean I've got a futon you can crash on, if that's cool with you," he replied as he made a turn onto a side street.

"Crap," Will blurted suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I've got a appointment with Elliot Harper tomorrow at three," Will groaned as he put his hand up to his forehead.

"Elliot Harper," Ashton almost shouted.

"Yeah, why?"

"Dude, do you know who he is?!"

"Yeah, he's the guy in charge of East Coast Marketing or something for Calvin Klein," Will replied.

"What's goin' on?"

"He wants to have me photographed, to see how I look on film, I think he wants me to start modeling for Calvin Klein," Will yawned out the window.

"Speaking of modeling for Calvin Klein, how come you're here, I thought you were still doing TV," Will asked flicking his cigarette out the window.

"Oh, I am. We're on hiatus right now, they're doing reruns so I've got free time, figured I'd go make some money since I modeled before I did television," Ashton exclaimed.

"I knew you had before," Will smiled.

"Really now," Ashton grinned that famous grin of his.

"Yeah, I've got some photos or something back at my place in Miami," Will replied smiling.

"That's cool, well here we are," Ashton exclaimed as he pulled into a covered parking deck.

"My place is eight floors up on the corner, it's pretty cool," he smiled.

"I can't wait," Will smiled.

"Say, do you think we could go out or something tonight and chill or something, I'd kinda like to get my mind off of stuff if you know what I mean," Will asked as they got out of the Explorer.

"Yeah, I know a few cool places," Ashton replied as he took Will's bag.

"Dude, you don't have to do that," Will smiled.

"Naw it's cool, you're a guest and all," Ashton smiled.

"Heh, thanks dude."

*          *          *          *          *

"Hey Justin," Daphne smiled as she walked up the front walk of her building.

"Hey Miss Thang, heard from Cristin you were back today so I figured I'd chill out here until you got in, there's a kickass party tonight I want you to go to so I figured I'd show up early to do your hair and make up," Daphne's stylist explained as he walked up.

"Ugh, tonight do I have too?" she asked as she punched in the security code.

"Yeah, there are some majorly big producers that should be there, it always helps to stay in the spot light," he smiled.

"Yeah, it's just a lot of shit has gone down in the past few days," she sighed as she dropped her bags in the front entry of her condo.

"Yeah I heard, so anyways," he laughed as he drug her by the hand towards her bedroom.

"I know you've got something we can work with in here," he exclaimed as he pulled open the closet doors.

Daphne heard her cell phone ringing in the front hall.

"I had better answer that," she muttered as she went back to get it.

"Hello?"

"I can't wait to have sex huh," Zac's voice asked almost angrily over the phone.

"What?" Daph replied in confusion.

"You've been quoted by Maximum saying you can't wait to have sex, and what's all this with Justin Timberlake anyway?" he nearly interrogated her.

"Zac, babe," she laughed instantly realizing it was the wrong thing to do.

"Oh ok so this is funny to you, do you have any idea what my parents are doing right now," he almost yelled.

"Zac, please calm down," she tried to explain.

"Why should I?!"

"Zac," she started as Justin started yelling something from the bedroom.

"Justin not right now," she yelled covering her other ear so she could hear Zac.

"What?" Zac almost howled over the phone.

"No, Zac wait," Daphne started instantly.

"So he's over there right now, great, ok you know," Zac started.

"You're over reacting," Daphne yelled.

"I'm over reacting!? My girlfriend does a layout in Maxim magazine, doesn't tell me, and then she tries to hide that she's dating another guy," he started yelling.

"Zac, fuck this, I am not going to try and explain every damn thing that I do," she tried to get out of her mouth but Zac kept on yelling.

"Zac, we're over ok, goodbye," she growled as she hung up the phone and turned it off.

"No party tonight," Justin asked sheepishly.

"Get the hell out," Daphne snapped as she stormed into the kitchen.

"Well alright Mary, you just throw another chance for a record deal out the window, it's not my life you're fuckin' up," he sassed at her as he walked towards the door.

"What was that?" she growled.

"You heard me," he exclaimed as he slammed the front door.

"Yeah, oh yeah," she asked pulling the door open.

"Well go find yourself another fucking job you tired old queen because your nellie ass is fired," she shouted at the top of her lungs from the front steps.

*          *          *          *          *

"I don't understand Dad," Ike gasped into the phone.

"I think we all need to get grounded again with what is priority," Walker explained.

"But I can do that without pulling out of the project with Rochelle," Ike explained.

"Right now, I think it's best we all stay out of the public eye, at least for now, so I want you and Shiye to come on back home for a few months," Walker finished.

"Alright," Ike sighed not willing to fight with his father.

"But you realize it's going to be tough to get Shiye to agree with this," Ike tried to explain as Walker basically told him he would see him soon and hung up.

"Shiye," Ike called out as he began to dread the task that was at hand.

Explaining to Shiye that they would be moving back in with his parents was not going to go over well with her. She was beyond happy with having their own home in Beverly Hills. Plus she had finally established a presence in the neighborhood and was just now getting invited to functions and events that involved other celebrity mothers and actresses. He knew it would be tough, but he also knew he could do it. He took after his father, and when his father set out to have things done, they got done.

*          *          *          *          *

As the day grew into night fate found four lives totally shifted from the course they had been on only hours before. Two lovers, who had been brought together by catastrophe, torn apart by their very union.

Another couple who had found themselves in each other, who when joined together could take on anything the world could throw at them now ripped in half by their own stubborn personalities. As the hours passed each of them began to feel a sort of detachment from everything that had happened.

A third couple who seemed to be effected by this simply through association came to grips with up-rooting their child and home to return to a place they had secretly dreamed of escaping.

Daphne wrapped up in a thick blanket eating ice cream while watching cartoons in her New York condo, was able to push Zac out of her mind as she watched the Road Runner yet again outsmart the Wile E. Coyote.

Zac, after sneaking out of the house and driving to the old one found comfort in a joint crashed out on the back deck next to the pool. His nerves and emotions numbed by the marijuana.

Taylor smoking a cigarette while drinking a glass of wine pounding away on the piano in the basement. Trying to find meaning in confusion as his heart bled into the music his fingers desperately tried to create.

A disco ball found Will, dancing till he broke into a sweat in the mixed mass of bodies on a dance floor beside Ashton Kutcher in New York City; throwing his anger and pain into his movement. He found himself desperately trying to rid his body of the pain and anguish that had filled it earlier that day.

A nice quiet dinner found Ike and Shiye at home soaking in everything around them knowing that very soon they would no longer be there, in their own place with their own lives.

The moon found all four of them unaware of how difficult things would become in the very near future as Walker and Diana slowly continued to plot out Taylor and Zac's lives. Two people who didn't even begin to understand what results their actions would produce, only caring about the problem at hand. Unaware that tomorrow would be, another day and the hands of Fate would deal another card.


On to Chapter Nine

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A Love Incognito is Copyright © 2000 by Taylor W. Quest.
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All applicable copyright laws apply. All individuals depicted are fictional with any resemblance to real persons being purely coincidental.

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