Rette Mich Ch.18

Chapter 18 - Mit Haab
"BILL KAULITZ! "
The sound of the voice that was screaming his name sound so eerily familiar that he couldn't help but jerk his head back around. Frantically, his eyes ran over the crowd in an attempt to locate the owner, and in the back he saw a person standing. That person looked and awful lot like...
Bang.
His eyes were still wide in surprise from gazing at a person who had an uncanny resemblance to Freja when the door slammed shut, nearly right on his face.
"Mr. Kaulitz, we have little over an hour left before the concert starts. Let's hasten our pace, please."
Bill tore his gaze away from the door. "Right." He tried to think nothing of it; after all, surely Freja wouldn't be standing back there with the crowd of fan girls. She still probably hadn't arrived with Gordon and Simone yet, anyways. Simone still probably had Freja locked down on the couch trying to figure out what she should wear.
As he passed through a door into one of the large rooms backstage he noticed only Gustav and Georg present. His eyes wandered about the room, but there was no sign of Tom at all.
"Don't bother looking for Tom," Georg said with a lopsided grin as he glanced over at Bill, brushing some of the strands of hair away from his eyes and behind his ear. "He's trying to sneak a peek into the crowd and see if your parents have arrived with Freja yet."
Bill sighed. "He's a love-sick puppy."
The ever-silent Gustav averted his eyes, choosing once again not to comment on the subject.
"Love-sick puppy? That hurts," Tom feigned heart break by covering his chest with both hands. He gave a pearly-white grin before bursting out into laughter as he trudged over toward Bill, throwing his arm around him. "At least I don't drive her crazy with worry. You're the only thing she asks about when I talk to her."
There was a twinge of guilt that flickered in the pit of Bill's chest after hearing Tom's words, and it was apparent on his face. "Well, we have a concert to do," he said finally, forcing a smile. "So how about--"
"You can't get out of that one, little brother," Tom teased, pinching and pulling at Bill's cheek. ""You should tell her you're sorry!"
"Hey, that hurts--"
Georg shook his head at the two, while Gustav just turned his head away. Neither of them tried to interfere with the twin's antics.
"Tokio Hotel! The concert starts in ten minutes, let's get ready!"
"Okay!" Bill and Tom chimed in unison.
________________________________________

As he sang his heart out into the microphone, his feet danced across the stage on their own. Every movement; the bend of his knee, the placement of his foot, all were precise and graceful, yet Bill didn't even pay attention where he was moving.
His eyes wandered across the crowd of people, waving their hands in the air. All of them screamed along with him, singing the lyrics of the songs he'd written himself. The feeling was euphoric, but the true reason for him glancing around at all the people was simply to see if he could see his mother, or step-father amongst the crowd. Maybe even...
But never mind that. In all of these people, with the dim lighting, he could hardly see a thing. So he resigned himself to merely focusing on the music, giving the occasional glance to his fellow band members to make sure they, too, were focusing.
Tom, on the other hand, slid his fingers flawlessly against the strings of his guitar. He, too, gazed out into the crowd, but unlike his younger twin he didn't move across the floor. Instead he stood deathly still in the midst of the stage, continuing to gaze out into the crowd, and occasionally glancing at his brother as well as his guitar to make sure his fingers weren't striking the wrong key.
I can't see anyone in that crowd, he thought, somewhat depressed, wondering if maybe his mother and step-father hadn't made it after all.
Either way, they wouldn't find out until after the concert when their parents were escorted backstage to see them.
________________________________________

"Wow, that was so exhausting!" Bill exclaimed, laying the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically. He seemed pretty content with their performance and smiled readily at the bodyguards when they entered the room.
Following after them came the other's parents, but to both Bill and Tom's disappoint both Simone and Gordon were absent among them.
"Do you think maybe something happened?"
Tom could see the panic on his brother's face, and he, too, felt a bit worried; the whole time through the concert he'd had a knot in his stomach. Somehow it just felt as though something was amiss. However, he wouldn't let his worries onto Bill; he'd only worry more if he did.
"Don't be stupid," he scolded, throwing his arm around his brother's shoulder and tipping him over. "We should take a break before we go out and chill with the ladies tonight." Tom forced a grin.
The worried expression seemed to melt away on Bill's face, replaced instead by a warm smile. "Alright. A break doesn't sound so bad."
The twins took a seat on a couch. Bill felt rather stiff just sitting there while the others were chatting, but he somehow didn't feel in the mood for socialization. It also came as a surprise that his brother seemed to enjoy such secluded leisure so much.
A minute passed. Five minutes passed. Ten... And soon it was an hour. According to the bodyguards most of the crowd had cleared out, and it was about time for the boys to go home as well.
"No phone calls? Any word from--"
"Bill? Tom? Your parents are here." Bill was suddenly interrupted by one of the employees, who quickly opened the door to allow Simone and Gordon in.
From the instant they entered the air erupted into the sound of sobbing. Simone was literally clinging to Gordon, who was struggling to keep her upright as she sobbed in to his sleeve. The fact that Freja wasn't amongst them set off an alarm in Bill's head, but Tom was the first to act.
"What's wrong? Mom? What happened? Where's Freja?"
To Bill's surprise, Tom was frantic after all, despite seeming so calm and collected earlier. Has he been worried this whole time?
"Freja..." She sniffed, glancing up at her son with tear-filled eyes, which were red and puffy. "She... She..." Before Simone could go any further she buried her face back against Gordon's sleeve, sobbing once more.
Gordon looked rather worse for wear, though unlike his wife he wasn't crying. "The police came to fetch Freja. They found her parents."
Excitement filled Bill's face at the sound of Gordon's words, and yet he was the only one wearing a smile. Tom, instead, looked angry.
"So? There's more to it. What happened?"
"They... They took her... While we were... At the store!" It was the only sentence Simone could manage before bursting into uncontrollable sobbing once more.
"We called them concerning the matter the moment we got home and found her missing. They informed us that she had convinced her parents to come here, to the concert tonight. After we heard, we came here immediately, and walked around the parking lot trying to find her, or her parents. Amongst the crowds we could find no one, and after the concert ended we were still searching, but we found no sign of any of them."
"We'll call the police back," Tom stated firmly. "Maybe they can give us her parent's location--a phone number--something."
Gordon merely shook his head. "We already asked for that. They wouldn't even disclose her real name. It's all 'private'."
Bill felt as though his heart had nearly stopped beating in his chest. His face flooded with guilt. Earlier, he thought, when I saw that girl that screamed out my name. Was that really...? While at first he'd pushed it off as merely a look-a-like, he knew for certain now that it had to have been her. Yet, she'd been standing back then... But she was standing on a wheelchair.
He pondered mentioning it to Tom, or his parents but already his twin looked furious. Saying anything might just make the situation worse. The guilt was already unbearable enough for Bill without saying anything.
"I'm going back home." Tom didn't even look at Bill, or his parents, he just traipsed off and out of the building with one of the bodyguards as his escort.
"I think it's best if Simone and I go home, as well." Gordon quickly wrapped his arm around her shoulder, guiding her away from Bill and toward the door.
There was a knot in Bill's chest, and a lump in his throat from the mixed feelings. Anger because he'd ignored what he'd seen earlier when he could've easily gone after her, even if it really wasn't her. Sadness because he would never see her again. And yet... Happiness, because she'd finally found her parents.
He owed her an apology... Maybe he should try to find her. Tom would surely like to see her again. But that would risk attention from the paparazzi, further complicating both his own life and hers as well. Being on tour, and in a band, he didn't have much time. Maybe he should just let her go.
After all, before he'd met her he'd been just fine with Tom and the other guys; completely on his own with a few friends for support. So even if he felt sad now, and Tom was disappointed... Both of them would eventually get over it and forget about her.
...right?
________________________________________

Tick... Tock...
I sat in the uncomfortable, stiff school desk staring straight up at the clock. Every day I watched, waiting for the time to pass quickly. Even if it was German class I couldn't be bothered to pay attention; it was just a bitter reminder of what had happened--what could have been--a month ago.
Tap, tap.
"Hey, Michaela?"
That's right. That's my name now. I should respond. But why does that name sound so distant? So foreign to me?
"Heeeello? Michaela? Anybody home?"
Jerking my head, I shook myself from the reverie before peering over toward the person who'd been tapping me on the shoulder. My eyes fell upon a girl with jet-black hair and beautiful emerald eyes. Theresa... Her name sounded unfamiliar in my mind, but I was starting to get use to calling her by it.
"Yes... Uh... Theresa?"
Possibly because she'd finally got my attention, or otherwise because I recognized her by her name, she started beaming. "Hey, you want to come over to my house today? We can watch television, listen to some music, look at cute guys on the--"
"No thanks."
It was the same answer I gave every time, and with each day I found less and less strength to be persistent with it. Especially since Theresa kept wearing that same smile despite my rejection of her invitation.
"That's okay," she said. "I'll ask again tomorrow, then."
I found myself offering an apologetic smile in return, to which she gave a nod at before returning to the worksheet on her desk.
Brrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnnnnngggg!
The bell rang loudly in our ears, and the moment it did I saw Theresa popping out of her seat and bending down to retrieve the crutches tucked beneath my chair. Despite not treating her like a close friend, she was always clinging to me, trying to help in any way she could. Even if helping was only grabbing my crutches for me.
"Here you go!"
Gratefully, I accepted them, placing a great deal of my weight on the crutches before leaning forward and maneuvering to the front of the classroom with them. Theresa followed me closely, and the two of us all walked down the hallway. She escorted me to my mother's car, putting my backpack which she'd carried the whole way, in the backseat.
"Thanks for helping her again today, Theresa." My mother gave a smile and waved to her before taking the crutches out of my hand and putting them in the backseat alongside my backpack.
I clambered into the passenger seat, buckling myself before the car drove off. Though I didn't usually, today I gave Theresa a goodbye wave.
"How was school?" My mother asked.
"I'm getting use to it."
I wasn't 'allowed' to mention Bill or Tom around my mother. She'd requested that I 'forget' about them for their sake and my own. After all, they were an important, famous German band. Worrying about some silly Danish schoolgirl would interfere with their work, as well as earn the both of us a front page on many tabloids... Which was something my mother convinced me I didn't want.
At first all I could do was thinking about them endlessly. Whether I was daydreaming or sleeping comfortably in my bed, my thoughts were always about Tom and Bill. I missed them, and yet the most painful thing was knowing that they probably hadn't given me a second thought. They were so busy with their schedule, and tours.
That's why I didn't try to contact them... Why I threw out all the CDs I had with their music... Why I tore down and shredded every poster of them. Anything that reminded me of Tom or Bill was destroyed, and slowly my memories of them were beginning to fade into the past.
"I'm going to make biksemad tonight, so I hope you're hungry!" She exclaimed as she slowed to a stop and turned a corner.
At the sound of food, my stomach growled readily. The two of us laughed together, one of the few times I allowed myself such a leisure.
________________________________________

"I didn't know we were going to do a concert in Denmark next month." Sporting a rather confused look, Georg scratched the back of his head before glancing over at Bill and Tom. "So which of you decided upon this?"
Tom merely shrugged and pointed an accusing finger over at his brother.
"What?" Bill glanced over at his sibling ludicrously. "I didn't request that! If anyone would want to go back to Denmark, I would think it would be you."
Gustav merely shook his head. "Let's not argue..." He mumbled.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter whether it's coincidence or not," Georg said with a shrug. "This was just kind of a late notice for a concert."
The group was lounging about in a small living room that was part of their hotel room. The decor was rather luxurious, but no one complained... Well, except for Tom who ranted about how the soap smelled too 'girly'.
"Can we ask them to just cancel it if it was last minute? I'd rather not--"
"Stop being a pussy."
Bill glared over at Tom.
Here we go again... Georg thought as he walked out of the room, not wanting to listen to another minute of arguing between the two of them. For some reason, ever since that girl had been taken back to her home by her parents, the two of them bickered endlessly. It was hardly surprising that Tom was the instigator.
"You know who made that request..."
Gustav's voice shocked him out of his thoughts, and the bassist nearly jumped out of his skin as he jerked away from the coffee machine he'd been standing in front of.
"D-do you have to just appear out of nowhere?" He asked with an awkward laugh.
The drummer merely gave a lopsided, half-hearted smile. "Tom was the one that badgered the manager to set it up. For the past two weeks."
"I didn't want to say anything. We don't need those two to fight anymore."
Gustav shrugged. "Going to Denmark might not be so bad..."
Georg grinned. "They do have some cute girls."
________________________________________

"Tokio Hotel concert!" Theresa waved her tickets in front of my face before plopping down in her desk beside me. "I've got two tickets, and I'm sure you know who I'm inviting to go with me. I owe you!"
Concert tickets...?
"In Germany? That's far away."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. "No, silly. They're coming back to Denmark again to perform. Which is why we have to go. Last time was a total bomb because of all the crap that happened after. You should totally come with me."
A concert in Denmark? Again? I could feel my heart beating so quickly at the thought of meeting--no, just seeing them again.
"No, sorry. I'll be busy."
Theresa slapped a ticket against my desk. "I've already given it to you. You can shred it, sell it, use it as toilet paper... You know, frankly, I don't really care what you do with it. I hope you come though." Despite sounding angry, she was grinning the whole time, and only a minute later asked me to sit with her at lunch.
Reluctantly, I tucked the ticket into my pocket. I pondered ripping it right away, but my heart held me back from doing it. I had already resolved myself not to go, but just the hope... The thought of maybe being able to...