Ru sat in the chair in his dressing room just staring at the far wall, trying to figure it all out. “Where are you? Are you close to downtown?”
“I can be. Whatcha need?”
“How about we do an interview to blow this all up?”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“Announcing to the world that you’ve left VG, and are going to tour with me? If that’s what you want. If you’re sure you’re done with VG and AJ. I just don’t want you to be doing any of this because of me.” Ru wondered if this meant the end for his old group. One member lost, maybe, but two? “The media is going to come down like a storm on both of us. Best to get it over with.”
“I know. But I’m okay with it. And yeah, I’m done with VG. It was time to move on anyway. I’m not a kid anymore. I want to have say in the music. I’m tired of dancing those dumb AJ-patented moves. Maybe I’m not a rock star like you, and maybe I’ll never do a solo thing. I’ve been looking at a theater arts program at a few different colleges. Too late for me to get in before next fall, but I figure touring with you will give me more stage time. And that’s all I really want, to be on stage.”
Ru smiled. The door opened, and someone leaned in to tell him they were ready for him. “Okay, you need to be here in like five minutes if you want to make this official,” he told Tommy.
“Let me just find someplace to park and I’ll be right up.”
They hung up, and Ru got up to make his way to the interview room. He shook hands, smiled, and asked if they wanted an exclusive. Of course they did; everyone wanted to out-scoop everyone else. And so they waited for Tommy, even gave him ten minutes to get through hair and makeup. When they finally sat down to talk, they laid it all on the line.
“So Tommy, you’ve left Vocal Growth for good?” Their interviewer was a man named Sergio Mateo from one of the largest online music magazines on the West Coast.
“I have. Ryunoski has inspired me to move on.”
“What does this mean for your music career?”
“I’ll be touring for Ru’s debut. Since I’m already recording backup vocals for him, it makes sense. Then I’m going to look into moving to a musical-theater career.”
“And Mr. Nakimura, do you feel you had a hand in this change?”
“Well Tommy’s my best friend. I want him to be happy. He’s been pretty unhappy with the way Vocal Growth has changed in the past eight months. I want to support him in any way I can. He’s family to me,” Ru replied. He knew what the next question would be before it was even asked. He’d warned Tommy when they went in that the conversation would turn to his sexuality. Everything was about Ru being gay, though it really had nothing to do with anything at all. The press just loved to talk about it.
“So are you lovers?”
“No,” Tommy said.
“No,” Ru replied. “He’s like my big brother. I am currently in a relationship, but not with Tommy. Tommy is still searching for the love of his life and his role in this world. I’m just here to help him any way I can.” He redirected the heat back to himself, figuring Tommy could use a breather, and any good interviewer would want to know more about a confessed new flame.
“So you’ve got a new lover? Are you willing to talk about him? Is he anyone we know?”
“No, you wouldn’t know him. He’s not in the spotlight. I’d like to keep the relationship quiet. My time with Kris was heavily tainted by interference from the media. I want to avoid that if I can. Let me just say that I’m crazy in love with this guy, and I hope we can grow old together. He helped put me back together,” Ru answered truthfully. He didn’t know if Adam would ever see the interview. Maybe Ru would send it to him.
“Sounds like a very special guy. Was ‘Start Something’ written for him?” Sergio asked.
“Yes. He is very special. But I think you’ll have to realize that I’m only seventeen, and like me, he’s very young. I want to protect him as much as I can.”
“The media can be harsh. I’ve heard you’ve been doing a lot of LGBT benefit shows and even donated a song called ‘Bullied,’ which is an angst-driven hard rock song unlike anything we’ve heard from you, to the cause of LGBT youth. Do you feel more connected to these kids because you are gay?”
“I feel more connected to them because I was abandoned. I have never spoken about it to the media before, but when I was eleven, I came out to my father. He couldn’t take it, and left. I don’t think people realize how often kids are abandoned by their parents because they are gay, or bi, or trans, or just a little different. And of those kids who are abandoned, a lot of them don’t make it. A lot of them commit suicide. That’s unacceptable to me—kids killing themselves, kids killing each other, or kids bullying each other to death. That should be unacceptable to everyone.” Ru sat back in the chair and thought about some of the things he’d read in Adam’s journals. Bullying wasn’t just for gay kids, though they did get a lot of it. Everyone was bullied. Even him, a man who had money, power, and fame. It was never good enough. “Everyone needs to know they are loved. That’s what it means to be human.”
Ru left the interview feeling good. He had a few more to go before he could get back to Adam but knew he could fly through them if he needed too. Tommy, however, looked as worn as he had sounded. “Why don’t you go back to my place and sleep for a bit? Let me do some more interviews. I’ll call Katie and have her spin it. And you’ll probably want to set up a contract with her since you’re not with VG anymore. You know she’s taken good care of me.”
Tommy nodded. “Did you feel like this? Like you’re all alone?”
Ru reached out and yanked Tommy into a fierce hug. “You’re not alone.” He watched his friend blink back tears, worried that he just didn’t know what to do or what to say. “Let me call Katie to reschedule these two interviews. We’ll go to lunch someplace private or just order Thai up to my place. The paparazzi probably have yours covered.”
“If you reschedule, it will take you longer to get back to Adam.”
“Adam will understand. I’ll call him. Now let’s go.” Ru took Tommy home, called for takeout, and then dialed Katie. She promised to work on rescheduling the interviews.
When the food finally came, he and Tommy ate in silence. Ru watched his friend, searching for signs that he needed something else. He remembered the days after he’d been outed and how he wanted nothing more than to hide from the world. The silence of his condo had been a haven for him. Maybe it could help Tommy like that too. “Too bad we don’t have Binks here. We could send him to your place to get clothes and stuff.”
