Not to mention that it was a chance to do something which mattered, bring some representation to queer people. Darien had gotten so much fan mail saying as much, telling him that he had inspired them to come out. That was what the band had done, and that was the sort of thing which could change the world.
“I’m busy, Darien. We can talk later,” Lester said, and then abruptly, he hung up the phone, which was maybe for the best, because even Darien wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Bring up the contract, yes, he knew that much, but what would he tell Lester? Was he in or out?
Slowly, Darien lowered the phone and stared at it, though he didn’t see the brilliant, glowing screen at all. Noah’s feet withdrew from his lap, and he felt a small hand on his shoulder again, felt the weight of Noah’s gaze on him.
“What is it? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Noah commented, and Darien forced a smile to his lips as he turned to look at the other man. There was no sense in putting his own uncertainty onto other people, he figured. That wasn’t fair at all.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” he said, though that had to be the furthest thing from the truth. The opportunity to go nationwide, to play to crowds all over the country, was far from nothing. “Lester, my manager, he just wants us all to make social media accounts? Websites, maybe?”
Darien shook his head, fighting off the slight twinge of guilt that he felt. But what was the point in telling Noah about the tour, when he wasn’t even sure that he’d be going at all? Until he knew what he was going to do, there was no sense in bringing it up. Things between him and Noah felt pretty precariously balanced as it was.
Besides, he comforted himself, it’s not like he and Noah were dating. And this was an example of why it was a good reason to keep it that way. It was his decision to make, not Noah’s, not anyone else’s. And he suspected that, if they were together, he’d have to tell Noah things like that.
Too much responsibility. Who needed it? What they were doing was fine, more than fine. Friends with benefits. He could get behind that.
“Oh. That stuff is easy.” Noah got up, and Darien had a moment to admire his beautiful, slender body, skin so pale and so soft, like satin, before Noah found his underwear and modestly slid it on. Then he went to where he’d left his bag the night before, opened it up, and for one sad moment, Darien thought Noah was going to get new clothes, but instead, he pulled out a laptop.
It was a relief when Darien realized that Noah intended to help him. He was more knowledgeable than Lester, maybe, and he had a Facebook account, so it wasn’t like he was a complete idiot when it came to this stuff, but Noah had always been more technologically savvy than he was.
Noah brought the laptop over to the couch, and Darien tried hard not to focus on the smooth, graceful lines of his body, or how he moved that tight little body of his. He was like poetry in motion, his beauty so much more than just his face, as lovely as it was.
“Okay. So you’re going to want to hit all of the major ones,” Noah instructed as he opened his laptop and the screen lit up. “And I’ll get a basic website together.”
“How long will this take?” Darien asked, concerned. He had an appointment, and the other members of his band were sogrumpywhen he was late. Especially Aaron.
“Half an hour for something really basic,” Noah told him. “You can go shower if you want. I’ll get this started.”
That seemed like a good idea. It wasn’t like he was going to be much help, hovering over Noah’s shoulder. So he nodded, wandering off to the bathroom, with quite a lot on his mind.
He had no idea why Noah was even helping him. Did Noah just not care anymore if Darien stayed in the band or not? Once, Noah had begged Darien to stay, but that had been a long time ago.
Wasn’t it possible that Darien would be giving everything up for nothing? Not just possible, but likely? He groaned as he turned the water on until it steamed, and then stepped under the spray, letting the warmth soothe his muscles.
He didn’t want a relationship. Well, it seemed like Noah might not, either. So what point was there in giving up his new career? He would only be young for so long, and he had no illusions about the longevity of his career. He was in a boy band, and he would only be allowed to stay as long as he was young.
School would still be there later, right?
Nothing had been settled when he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around himself. And something was going to have to be figured out, soon. So far, Lester hadn’t asked him about his contract, but it was just a matter of time, and when it came up, Darien was going to need to know how to respond to it.
Wearing only the towel, Darien padded out of the bathroom, glancing over at the couch. Noah was deep in what he was doing, utterly focused, to the point where Darien was very aware that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to bring him out of it. When Noah got into his zone like this, he was nearly impossible to rouse.
Though Darien had some ideas, now that their relationship had turned sexual, he wouldn’t mind trying out …
He didn’t have the chance, though. By the time he was dressed and ready to go, Noah was sitting back, just looking at the screen, not typing anything. He even glanced up when Darien came into the room, beckoning him over.
“This is just the bare bones model. I’d need a little bit more time to really get something fleshed out, but this is the general idea,” Noah told him. Darien settled beside him on the plush couch, drawing his legs up and cuddling against Noah. Not that it meant anything. He just needed to see the screen, and so what if it felt good to be so close to him? That wasn’t a crime or anything, he was allowed to.
His eyes scanned the screen, and for once, he was without words. Noah was the one chattering away, completely in his element when it came to this sort of thing.
“I’ve got your Twitter handle, and Instagram, and your celebrity page set up on Facebook,” he informed Darien. “They’re all linked here, see?” Noah tabbed to a web page, something that looked more polished, more professional, and just plain more beautiful than most of the webpages out there.
“Noah!” Darien breathed, amazed. He had known that this man was talented, but he hadn’t seen the depths of it before. And Noah had done this all in, what, half an hour? People had called him the boy genius back in college, and Darien had always known it was true, but he hadn’t known the extent of it.
“I know, it’s basic. I could do a lot more if I had time.” Noah’s voice was earnest, and Darien searched his face as the barest hint, just a tiny germ, of an idea started to grow, to burrow into his brain.
“Come with me to practice,” Darien suddenly said. There was no way that he could just hog all of this talent for himself. Not when three other members of the band also needed all of this stuff for themselves.
“Why?” Noah asked, as well he might, but Darien just shot him a confident smirk. He definitely had something in mind, but he didn’t want to say anything until he knew for sure that it was possible.
“Just trust me? Come with me, and bring your laptop,” he directed, and Noah frowned. Trust. That was a huge word between the two of them, and in some ways, Darien knew it would be easier for Noah to grow wings and fly away than it would be for him to trust.
But in the end, Noah nodded, and slowly went off to get dressed, leaving Darien to stare in wonder at the screen of his laptop.
