If Only You Were Mine. . .

This is the first part in a Stephen and Eloy fanfic I wrote about a year ago (2000) about the beginning of the relationship. As I, and nobody else, knows the 'real' truth about how they first got together, I thought you might like to read this completely fictional piece of work which I would like to think is how they got together. In some instances, real events are portrayed.

Stephen opened one eye cautiously. 'Ouch, my head,' he groaned. It had been Mikey's birthday the previous night and them, and the rest of Boyzone, had certainly drinked the pub dry! Now Stephen was paying for going mad with the drink. He glanced to the side of where he lay. Keith was still fast asleep, despite drinking more than anybody else. 'He'll feckin' wake up as right as rain- not a hangover in sight!' Stephen thought, affectionately. Keith was like a brother to him on the road, always making sure he was okay. They looked after each other in the bad times. When Keith was going through a bad patch with his wife, Lisa, Stephen was there to give him a shoulder to lean on. Keith was just the same with Stephen when he needed someone to talk to. Last night, after their mad drinking session, Stephen had gotten quite frightened in his hotel room, which was supposed to be haunted. He rang Keith at 2am and asked him whether he could sleep in his hotel room. Keith obliged immediately, even coming to get Stephen so he wouldn't be even more frightened than he was already. Stephen smiled at the thought. Sometimes Keith would help brighten the cloud that had always loomed over Stephen's head since the beginning of Boyzone. Being gay in a boy band wasn't easy at the best of times, especially now that Boyzone were bigger than they had ever been. Their new single, No Matter What, had been number 1 in the UK for 2 weeks now and was thrashing the competition for the 3rd week running. Stephen sighed, looking at a collection of photos that were on the bedside tables. There was a picture of Keith, Lisa and their son Jordan, a picture of Ronan and his wife, Yvonne. . . Stephen sighed again, looking wistfully out of the window. He was so jealous of the rest of the lads and their relationships. He longed to find HIS soulmate. Someone who he knew he was going to wake up with every morning for the rest of his life. Keith, Shane and Mikey had all been with their partners for years. It wasn't too bad when Ronan didn't have anyone either. Him and Stephen used to keep each other company. However, that all changed when Ronan met Yvonne and, within 2 months of asking her out, got married. Although Stephen was happy for them when he eventually found out, a tiny part of him was scared. With 4 members of Boyzone now either married or engaged, all the attention would be on Stephen. He expected a flood of questions: "Who's your girlfriend?" "When do you plan on getting married?" When, Who, What, Where. . . in a way, Stephen felt as if the Boyzone marriages were his funeral. He knew he couldn't keep up the pretense for much longer, especially as the majority of newspapers already knew his secret. The rest of the lads were always very good though, often covering up for him during interviews when he was asked difficult questions. Ronan would often joke during such interviews, "he's got too many girlfriends, that's his trouble!" Although Stephen was grateful for their support, he often wished for the time when he could openly discuss his relationships. 'But, what relationships?' Stephen thought bitterly. 'I don't know the meaning of the word!' he said wryly. Although he'd been involved with people before, he'd never truly been *in love* and, boy, did he long for that! The lads were always trying to fix him up with friends of their wives, but didn't really understand that Stephen wasn't interested- he wasn't that desperate!!

Stephen's train of thought was suddenly stopped by the sound of voices outside.

"Keith, will ya get up ya eejit!"

Keith groaned from next to Stephen, mumbling uncomprehendable words. Stephen jumped out of bed, still wearing his favourite clothes to curl up in, a Mickey Mouse t-shirt and Calvin Klein jogging bottoms. Ronan looked surprised to see Stephen open the door.

"Bad night?" he asked, sympathetically.

Stephen nodded. "I'll just get some clothes on and be right down. Let's leave Keith. Silly sod- that'll teach him to drink too many Jack Daniels!"

Both Ronan and Stephen laughed. Stephen was always glad to be able to call Ronan one of his best and closest friends. Despite never leaving Yvonne's side, he'd never forget Stephen and would always involve him in things. Stephen was planning on having another boring night in at home one night when there was a knock at the door. To his surprise, Ronan and Yvonne stood shivering on the doorstep. "Let's go", they'd said. Stephen didn't understand- "where?" he'd asked. "We're going to the cinema," Yvonne had replied, emphatically. "But, but, but, but, I can't go with just you two!" Stephen had spluttered. Soon, Yvonne was dragging him upstairs to get him changed. Stephen did go to see City Of Angels in the end- albeit reluctantly- but he'd had a great time! It sure was a great feeling to be surrounded by such a close knit group.

Stephen quickly got changed, ready to go into Europe and begin a heavy round of promotion for No Matter What there.

"Keith?" Stephen whispered, gently shaking his friend. "KEITH!"

Keith's eyes slowly opened. "Hey Steo," he said. "What's up?"

Stephen rolled his eyes. "In case you've forgotten," he replied sarcastically, "WE, as in Boyzone, have a flight to catch to Germany in a few hours. Ronan's having kittens downstairs!"

Keith groaned and turned over, mumbling a few words. "Just give me a few more minutes."

Stephen snapped, "Fine!" Sometimes Stephen got so exasperated with Keith. Although they all hated the early mornings, Keith was the worst at it. Suddenly, Stephen had a wicked thought. Searching in his large suitcase, he found exactly what he was looking for. Just before he had come back to England, he had been playing with Jordan, his little nephew. They'd been having a water pistol fight. By accident, Stephen had taken it on this trip with him. Stephen grinned. 'No more Mr Nice 'Zone,' he thought.

"Right Mr Duffy- you're in for it now!" Stephen aimed the pistol at Keith and watched with glee as a huge jet of water came spurting out.

Keith quickly jumped out of bed. "Wha. . . ?!?!?!?" Stephen stopped, throwing Keith some jeans and a t-shirt.

"Hurray- you're up!"

"Well, I didn't exactly have much choice, did I?" Keith grumbled, wringing his boxer shorts out with his hands. Stephen giggled at the state Keith was in, before running off downstairs to join the rest of the band and their entourage.

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