"Does it normally happen this fast?" Will asked himself as he glanced up through the sun roof of Ashton's Explorer as they passed through Times Square.

"Does what?" Ashton started as he glanced over and saw what Will was talking about.

"Sometimes it does," he smirked as he glanced up at the billboard with Will leaning against a stone column in a pair of Calvin's.

"This is just," he muttered quietly.

"Yeah, I can imagine, it's gonna get hard for you to go places now, since that thing went up yesterday a lot is gonna change," Ashton explained.

"Bums me out though," Will sighed as he lit a cigarette.

"What?"

"That I've gotta go through all this alone."

"You're not alone dude, I'm here," Ashton smiled.

"You know what I mean," Will smiled back as he turned and looked out the window.

For the past month he had been staying with Ashton, but his heart, soul and mind always returned to Taylor late at night. He found himself staring up and out the window at the skyscrapers as he tried to fall asleep. His mind replaying things he remembered doing with Taylor.

He swallowed hard, trying to get over the fact that they really were over, that after nearly a month and a half with no contact with any of them, even Daphne. Will had finally come to grips with the fact that his life had taken another road.

"Oh my god," a female voice yelped from a bus stop beside them at a red light.

Will glanced over and saw a girl in the bus stop staring at the illuminated image of him behind the plexi-glass and then at him. He smiled and waved as they pulled away from the intersection.

"It's already started," Ashton laughed as he reached over and rubbed Will's shoulder.

Will felt himself tense up briefly but Ashton didn't move his hand, only he slowly began to rub the tension out of the muscle. Will sighed quietly, the feeling of another person touching him felt good. He hadn't hugged or even touched another human since that day that felt so long ago in the Plaza hotel when Taylor left him.

*          *          *          *          *

Taylor smiled to himself. Glanced in the mirror and relaxed his face and then smiled again.

"God you're so fucking fake," he thought to himself as he tried to make a convincing smile in the mirror.

"Hey," Anthea smiled as she came out of her mother's house and got into the car.

"Hey," Taylor exclaimed as he turned to face her and tried out the smile he had just invented.

"You ok?" she asked slightly puzzled.

"Yeah, why?"

"You're smiling weird," she exclaimed as she shook her head and turned on the radio.

"I figured we'd go and eat at Milanos," Tay shrugged as he backed the car out.

"Sounds good," she smiled as she placed her hand on his leg.

Tay felt himself flinch inside, though he managed to keep it from being visible.

"At least it's better than her kisses," he heard his mind grumble in the depths.

Taylor found his sunglasses and pulled them on.

"Mind if," Taylor asked as he reached for the pack of Camel Lights in the console.

"Yeah, I do actually I don't want to stink like cigarettes," she nearly hissed.

Tay pulled his hand back in mid reach and put it back on the steering wheel.

"Will wouldn't have hissed like that," Tay heard his mind grumble again.

"Do you have to dress so gay?" she groaned as they got out of the car.

"What?" Tay asked almost in shock as he looked down at himself.

"Those slides, shit my cousin has a pair like that and what guy in his right mind wears capri slacks," she started.

"Shut up," Tay snapped.

"You shut up, if I'm gonna date you, you're gonna dress like a normal person," she exclaimed as she walked closer.

"I dress how I want," Taylor started as his cell phone rang.

"Hello," he snapped.

"Oh, hey dad, yeah, we're getting something to eat, yeah I guess, yeah, ok," he hung up.

"Want to go with me to this music festival conference tomorrow night?" he asked almost as if someone was behind him twisting his arm.

Anthea smiled in a way that made Taylor shiver.

"Yeah, that'd be nice, I'll pick out what you're gonna wear," she grinned as she took her arm and put it in his.

"Do we have to?" he sighed as he looked down at her arm.

"Yes, remember what your mother said, you need to dispel that gay scandal shit as much as possible," Anthea smiled.

Taylor sighed quietly as they walked inside.

"I'm not gay," he muttered to himself flinching when Anthea replied to him unaware he said it out-loud.

"Sure you are, but it's not like it makes a difference, you're mine now," Anthea smirked.

Taylor struggled with himself to keep from yanking his arm away from her and walking out the door. He even considered shoving her into the brick flower planter inside the entrance. But the image of his mother and father prevented him from acting on impulse.

*          *          *          *          *

"Congratulations dude," a voice Will almost didn't even recognize boomed over the cell phone as he sat in his agent's office.

"Zac," Will almost yelled in excitement.

"Hell yeah man how are yah, I just saw the ad in one of my sisters girl mags," he heard Zac smiling.

"Whoa, hey yeah, I'm a model now," Will smiled glancing up at his agent who sat there smiling at him.

"Zac Hanson," Will whispered.

"Ahhh," she smirked.

"So yeah, dude how've you been?" Zac asked.

"Eh, you know, hanging in there I guess, considering," Will grew quiet.

"Did you hear?" Zac asked.

"Hear what?"

"Daphne dumped me," Zac replied not as enthusiastically.

"Dude, I didn't," Will nearly gasped.

"Yeah," Zac laughed quietly.

"How long?" Will began.

"Actually, the same day you and Tay," Zac stopped himself.

"No shit," Will sighed.

"Yeah, pretty weird huh?"

"Where are you at?" Will asked glancing around.

"Oh, I'm in Tulsa, not at home, though."

"Oh, I thought you might have called me from the house."

"Uh, no, only from my cell which I just got back, I can't call you from home. Your name is kind of not allowed to be spoken," Zac explained.

"That bad huh?" Will asked.

"I know you want to ask," Zac said quietly.

"Honestly, I'm afraid of what I'll hear."

"Do you want me to tell you what's goin' on with him or … ?" Zac paused.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"He's dating," Zac exclaimed.

Will felt his heart pinch and his stomach turn as the words met his ears. He blinked his eyes a few times in a failing attempt to keep them from flooding with tears.

"Dude," he heard Zac ask.

"Yeah, I'm here," Will's voice cracked, causing his agent to glance up from her paperwork.

"I'm sorry man, if it's of any comfort, he's not dating a dude," Zac sighed.

"Well, no fucking shit Zac, of course he's not," Will groaned as he fell back in the sofa.

"I can't stand her, she's the biggest fucking bitch on earth," Zac continued as he revealed to Will that Taylor had been dating Anthea now for nearly a month.

"You mean that freaky weird bitch he wrote about in Eternal Night?" Will asked in shock.

"Yeah, he's dating THAT thing," Zac laughed.

"No shit," Will sighed.

"Yeah man, it's hell on earth, she's trying to change him."

"Change him?"

"You know, change how he dresses to trying to get him to stop smoking," Zac continued as Will cut him off.

"He's smoking?" Will asked suddenly.

"Uhm, yeah."

"He's not happy," Will muttered.

"Yeah duh," Zac replied.

"He's been drinking more too," Zac yawned.

"Yeah, I can imagine," Will muttered.

"So are you dating anyone?" Zac asked.

"Hah, me, no sir," Will replied quietly.

"I'm sure you've had offers," Zac started.

"Well, I'm sure I will once the ads get major circulation, but for now I'm still just God," Will replied.

"Say what?" Zac asked.

"Right now, when people see me they go 'oh my god!'" Will laughed.

Zac chuckled.

"Well with the tabloid shit and the crap from back on MTV," Zac started.

"Zac, the MAST took care of all that, remember," Will explained as he suddenly realized something.

"Shit, yeah I forgot about that, man," Zac laughed.

"Hey, can I call you on your cell later? I gotta go do something," Will asked.

"Yeah, I gotta split too anyways, you can call whenever, if I'm asleep I won't hear it so don't sweat waking me up, later dude and take care," Will could hear Zac smiling.

"You too dude, it was really great to hear from you," Will replied as he hung up.

"Maddy?" Will asked glancing up.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Do you know Cassandra Peters?" he asked.

"She's a designer I think, why?" she asked.

"Just curious, I've got to go, I'll swing back later on and get my schedule," he explained as he stood to leave.

"I'll have it in a few hours, you'll need to get sleep tonight, you've got a ten am autograph signing at Macy's tomorrow morning. I'll tell you all about it on the phone tonight You staying at Ashton's again?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there, and if you can't get me there call my cell," he smiled as he opened the door.

"He's not happy. He'll come back to you," she smiled as Will turned back suddenly.

"What?" he asked quietly.

"You know what I'm talking about," she started.

"Thanks," Will swallowed hard as he put on a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap.

*          *          *          *          *

"The lawyer called today," Cristin exclaimed as she sat down on the couch.

"I can't believe it's taking this long to get that asshole for totally faking that entire article in Maximum," Daphne groaned.

"It's all the legal red tape," Cristin sighed as Amber walked in.

"What shocks me is the release we let out about it being a fraud and that only the photos were released to the magazine to use," Daphne exclaimed shaking her head as she leafed through some paper work.

"What's his story?" Cristin asked again.

"Apparently he told them the interview was authentic and they used it with the photos."

"Well at least they fired him," Amber shrugged.

"Firing him isn't enough, that bastard destroyed so much for me, for, hell for us," Daphne growled as she threw the pile of papers onto the coffee table.

"He destroyed you and Zac," Cristin muttered quietly placing her hand on Daph's shoulder.

"I know," she whispered putting her hand up to her forehead.

"Things will work out," Amber sighed.

"Well, if things go the way Taylor's been talking then we should get some major interest soon," Daphne exclaimed as she shuffled another stack of papers into her lap.

"How is all that coming along anyways?" Cristin asked as she pinched off a piece of muffin she was holding.

"Pretty good, lately it's been kind of hard to keep him on track, what with that bitch around him all the time," Daphne mumbled as she skimmed over something on a yellow notebook sheet.

"I think I saw a photo of her. She's not all that unattractive," Amber exclaimed as she riffled through a stack of magazines.

"Yeah, here she is," Amber pointed out as she held up a tabloid.

"Amber, that's not a magazine, that's a tabloid, I can't believe you even still buy that shit," Daphne exclaimed shaking her head.

"Anyways, yeah it says 'Taylor Hanson struggles to dispel gay scandal. Taylor and his longtime girlfriend Anthea Bryant were seen at the local music festival this past weekend," Amber trailed off.

"Why'd you stop?" Daphne asked.

"It's boring after that," she shrugged causing Daphne to almost giggle.

"You're a class act," she smiled as Amber looked up unsure if she should take it as a compliment or not.

*          *          *          *          *

"She's not in her office today," the female voice exclaimed over the cell phone static.

"Do you know when she'll be back in?" Will asked.

"I really can't give out that sort of information, if you like I can transfer you to her voice mail and you can leave her a private message," the voice explained.

"That's ok I'll just give her a call tomorrow, or something," Will replied as he turned the card over in his hand and saw another telephone number and an address written in pen.

"Well, I guess I can drop by your place," he smiled as he hailed a cab.


On to Chapter Eleven

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A Love Incognito is Copyright © 2000 by Taylor W. Quest.
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