Fic: RPF: A Friend in Need.
Title: A Friend in Need.
Author: x_moonshine_x
Fandom: X Factor.
Pairing: Lloyd Daniels/Joe McElderry.
Rating: PG.
Warnings: Real person fic. Slash.
Word count: 1,522.
Summary: Lloyd's not so worried about the fact he'd been voted off, he's more worried about what happens next.
A/N: I've wanted to write fic about them for weeks, I finally gave in after Lloyd got knocked out. Sorry lol.
A Friend in Need
It had been a long night… a long weekend really and as yet, he couldn’t see when it would calm down again. He may have gone out of the show tonight, but he’d be busy for weeks, he knew exactly what was to come and wasn’t entirely sure that he was looking forward to it.
Lloyd wouldn’t lie, he missed Wales and he missed his family. Truth be told, he missed absolutely everything about home… even the bloody sheep. But it had been bearable because he had Joe around and now he wasn’t even sure when he’d see him again either.
That hurt… perhaps a little more than it probably should have done.
Sinking down onto one of the couches in the green room, Xtra Factor now over and done with, Lloyd ran his fingers slowly through his hair and held back the urge to sigh. He’d been alone for fifteen minutes now, he needed some space to clear his head and stop his emotions from getting a hold and send him reeling into tears.
In fact he was so lost that he didn’t realise that anyone else had joined him in the room until it was too late.
A soft cough alerted Lloyd to the other person’s presence and he looked up suddenly, roughly wiping away several tears that he hadn’t even realised had fallen. Christ, he must have looked a complete state by now.
Joe was standing in the doorway looking sheepish, twiddling his thumbs and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. His gaze dropped to the floor very briefly before settling on Lloyd once more, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He actually looked nervous.
‘Could have warned me you were coming in…’ Lloyd’s voice shook as he spoke - through laugher, through the emotions he’d failed to control.
‘I think I’d be crying, too. Don’t worry about it,’ the other boy responded, making his first ditch attempt to come further into the room. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
Lloyd almost laughed again as he haplessly lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
There was an awkward silence as Joe gave up hesitating and closed the gap between them, sinking down onto the cream leather couch and joining him. His arm encircled Lloyd in two seconds flat, a comforting gesture in what was probably one of the most confusing days of his life.
‘It’s gonna be weird without you in the house,’ said Joe then, putting a stop to the silence before it fell. ‘Room to myself though, that’ll be nice.’ He flashed his trademark cheeky grin and Lloyd elbowed him in the ribs.
The teasing stopped immediately and his eyes fell closed as he felt Joe’s hand ghost across his back, his touch burning through the fabric of his shirt. This had been happening a lot lately, especially over the past couple of weeks. But Lloyd was guilty of it, too, it wasn’t completely one sided. He knew it was all wrong, that they shouldn’t have even been doing it, but he relished in it each and every time.
Lifting his head to look at Joe, Lloyd felt his palms beginning to sweat, that familiar adrenaline racing through his veins. It was nothing like how he felt before a performance, it was different somehow and he couldn’t quite place the feeling. He ignored it, wiped his hands on his jeans and forced himself to concentrate again.
That lasted all of five seconds…
‘OK now…?’ Joe’s hand drifted over his back again and Lloyd felt his stomach tighten with a knot of fresh nerves.
He really needed to get a hold of himself and fast.
So he nodded and resisted the sudden urge to pull away from his friend’s hold, angling his body away slightly instead, hoping that would be enough. ‘I’ll be fine,’ he lied. ‘Still a bit shocked… I suppose.’
Shocked? Messed up? What was the difference?
Apparently getting the hint, the older boy said nothing and got to his feet, pushing his hands awkwardly into his pockets as he retreated to the door. Lloyd followed Joe with his gaze as he crossed the room and suddenly didn’t want him to go after all.
He leapt to his feet, perhaps a little more enthusiastically than he should have, and then took a step toward a startled Joe, muttering, ‘No… wait. Sorry. Don’t go. Really don’t want to be on my own right now.’ The words came out in a garbled rush and he raked his hands through his hair anxiously, gaze dropping bashfully to the floor.
Joe didn’t move and for several long moments they simply stared at each other across the room.
‘What do you want… then?’
Lloyd swallowed down the sudden lump that had formed in his throat and shook his head. He didn’t know what he wanted. He had absolutely no idea what he wanted. At least… that’s what he continued to tell himself. He couldn’t say what he wanted and that was the problem.
The silence continued for only a short while before Joe approached him. ‘You know… I don’t believe that you’re OK for a second,’ he murmured and laughed.
The sound put Lloyd at ease immediately and he smiled in return, his arms dropping lifelessly to his sides. No, he wasn’t OK, he was going out of his mind actually and his friend - the older teen stood before him - was undoubtedly the cause of it.
‘I…’
The words died on the tip of his tongue and he sighed, eyes closing.
Joe took another step closer, awkward and abashed, but his head held high.
Lloyd sensed the touch before it happened and the elated groan that left his lips did so unintentionally. He closed the gap quickly, gripping Joe’s shirt with trembling hands and crushing their lips together before he lost the nerve altogether. He was met with no hesitation and soon relaxed into it. Joe wanted this as much as he did it seemed.
His grip loosened and a sigh escaped his lips, the kiss deepening naturally as it went on. He could have got used to this so easily, Joe’s lips on his, inquisitive fingers tangling into his hair, the welcome heat of his body pressed so closely.
When he pulled away several moments later practically gasping for breath, Joe was smiling so infectiously that he almost burst out laughing.
Lloyd chuckled and managed to keep his reaction to a simple, ‘Can we do that again?’
‘Definitely…’ Grinning, Joe kissed him a second time but with more enthusiasm than before, swooping in like there was nothing else he wanted more.
Hands working their way up into Joe’s hair, Lloyd smiled into the kiss, pulling the older boy closer to him almost desperately. They should have done this so much sooner, all those wasted weeks and it all had to come to an end.
Unfortunately the end came sooner than planned as they heard voices in the corridor outside. Joe leapt away from him so quickly it was almost as if he’d received an electric shock. His expression was apologetic though, dark eyes sincere and Lloyd shrugged, accepting it.
What seemed like the longest five seconds of his life passed by before Cheryl appeared around the edge of the door, smiling brightly as she said, ‘Thought I’d lost you both then.’
‘Lloyd was just bit… upset,’ Joe hesitated as he spoke.
Cheryl nodded without question, it was a fair excuse after all, and Lloyd felt himself doing the same instinctively. ‘OK,’ she responded. ‘Well I wanted to say goodnight before I headed off.’
‘Oh… right, yeah,’ he stammered the words out slightly, still a little thrown by the night’s events so far.
She made her way across the green room and pulled him into a hug. ‘No matter what anyone says, you did me proud,’ she whispered softly into his ear. ‘Don’t ever forget that.’
Several moments later she was gone again and the two teens were left staring at each other.
‘We should go I guess,’ Joe spoke first, reaching for the door handle. ‘They’ll come and get us in a minute anyway. Everyone wants to get out of here.’
Lloyd nodded and sighed very softly in frustration. ‘I probably won’t see you for weeks now, will I?’
‘Probably not…’
‘Crap.’ He didn’t know what else to say, but needed to voice his annoyance somehow. ‘When I come and fetch my things from the house, I’ll let you know. Maybe they’ll let you stick around?’ He was completely and utterly clutching at straws now.
Joe looked doubtful, but flashed a smile regardless and pulled open the door.
Following him, hands now tucked uncomfortably into the pockets of his trousers, Lloyd added weakly, ‘I’ll see you before the tour though, right?’
At that, Joe actually started laughing and shoved him playfully aside. ‘Like I could honestly go that long without seeing you!’
The laughter was infectious and as they made their way back toward the dressing rooms, Lloyd’s earlier worry began to fade away with each glance they shared.
Perhaps things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
.x.
Author: x_moonshine_x
Fandom: X Factor.
Pairing: Lloyd Daniels/Joe McElderry.
Rating: PG.
Warnings: Real person fic. Slash.
Word count: 1,522.
Summary: Lloyd's not so worried about the fact he'd been voted off, he's more worried about what happens next.
A/N: I've wanted to write fic about them for weeks, I finally gave in after Lloyd got knocked out. Sorry lol.
A Friend in Need
It had been a long night… a long weekend really and as yet, he couldn’t see when it would calm down again. He may have gone out of the show tonight, but he’d be busy for weeks, he knew exactly what was to come and wasn’t entirely sure that he was looking forward to it.
Lloyd wouldn’t lie, he missed Wales and he missed his family. Truth be told, he missed absolutely everything about home… even the bloody sheep. But it had been bearable because he had Joe around and now he wasn’t even sure when he’d see him again either.
That hurt… perhaps a little more than it probably should have done.
Sinking down onto one of the couches in the green room, Xtra Factor now over and done with, Lloyd ran his fingers slowly through his hair and held back the urge to sigh. He’d been alone for fifteen minutes now, he needed some space to clear his head and stop his emotions from getting a hold and send him reeling into tears.
In fact he was so lost that he didn’t realise that anyone else had joined him in the room until it was too late.
A soft cough alerted Lloyd to the other person’s presence and he looked up suddenly, roughly wiping away several tears that he hadn’t even realised had fallen. Christ, he must have looked a complete state by now.
Joe was standing in the doorway looking sheepish, twiddling his thumbs and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. His gaze dropped to the floor very briefly before settling on Lloyd once more, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He actually looked nervous.
‘Could have warned me you were coming in…’ Lloyd’s voice shook as he spoke - through laugher, through the emotions he’d failed to control.
‘I think I’d be crying, too. Don’t worry about it,’ the other boy responded, making his first ditch attempt to come further into the room. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
Lloyd almost laughed again as he haplessly lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
There was an awkward silence as Joe gave up hesitating and closed the gap between them, sinking down onto the cream leather couch and joining him. His arm encircled Lloyd in two seconds flat, a comforting gesture in what was probably one of the most confusing days of his life.
‘It’s gonna be weird without you in the house,’ said Joe then, putting a stop to the silence before it fell. ‘Room to myself though, that’ll be nice.’ He flashed his trademark cheeky grin and Lloyd elbowed him in the ribs.
The teasing stopped immediately and his eyes fell closed as he felt Joe’s hand ghost across his back, his touch burning through the fabric of his shirt. This had been happening a lot lately, especially over the past couple of weeks. But Lloyd was guilty of it, too, it wasn’t completely one sided. He knew it was all wrong, that they shouldn’t have even been doing it, but he relished in it each and every time.
Lifting his head to look at Joe, Lloyd felt his palms beginning to sweat, that familiar adrenaline racing through his veins. It was nothing like how he felt before a performance, it was different somehow and he couldn’t quite place the feeling. He ignored it, wiped his hands on his jeans and forced himself to concentrate again.
That lasted all of five seconds…
‘OK now…?’ Joe’s hand drifted over his back again and Lloyd felt his stomach tighten with a knot of fresh nerves.
He really needed to get a hold of himself and fast.
So he nodded and resisted the sudden urge to pull away from his friend’s hold, angling his body away slightly instead, hoping that would be enough. ‘I’ll be fine,’ he lied. ‘Still a bit shocked… I suppose.’
Shocked? Messed up? What was the difference?
Apparently getting the hint, the older boy said nothing and got to his feet, pushing his hands awkwardly into his pockets as he retreated to the door. Lloyd followed Joe with his gaze as he crossed the room and suddenly didn’t want him to go after all.
He leapt to his feet, perhaps a little more enthusiastically than he should have, and then took a step toward a startled Joe, muttering, ‘No… wait. Sorry. Don’t go. Really don’t want to be on my own right now.’ The words came out in a garbled rush and he raked his hands through his hair anxiously, gaze dropping bashfully to the floor.
Joe didn’t move and for several long moments they simply stared at each other across the room.
‘What do you want… then?’
Lloyd swallowed down the sudden lump that had formed in his throat and shook his head. He didn’t know what he wanted. He had absolutely no idea what he wanted. At least… that’s what he continued to tell himself. He couldn’t say what he wanted and that was the problem.
The silence continued for only a short while before Joe approached him. ‘You know… I don’t believe that you’re OK for a second,’ he murmured and laughed.
The sound put Lloyd at ease immediately and he smiled in return, his arms dropping lifelessly to his sides. No, he wasn’t OK, he was going out of his mind actually and his friend - the older teen stood before him - was undoubtedly the cause of it.
‘I…’
The words died on the tip of his tongue and he sighed, eyes closing.
Joe took another step closer, awkward and abashed, but his head held high.
Lloyd sensed the touch before it happened and the elated groan that left his lips did so unintentionally. He closed the gap quickly, gripping Joe’s shirt with trembling hands and crushing their lips together before he lost the nerve altogether. He was met with no hesitation and soon relaxed into it. Joe wanted this as much as he did it seemed.
His grip loosened and a sigh escaped his lips, the kiss deepening naturally as it went on. He could have got used to this so easily, Joe’s lips on his, inquisitive fingers tangling into his hair, the welcome heat of his body pressed so closely.
When he pulled away several moments later practically gasping for breath, Joe was smiling so infectiously that he almost burst out laughing.
Lloyd chuckled and managed to keep his reaction to a simple, ‘Can we do that again?’
‘Definitely…’ Grinning, Joe kissed him a second time but with more enthusiasm than before, swooping in like there was nothing else he wanted more.
Hands working their way up into Joe’s hair, Lloyd smiled into the kiss, pulling the older boy closer to him almost desperately. They should have done this so much sooner, all those wasted weeks and it all had to come to an end.
Unfortunately the end came sooner than planned as they heard voices in the corridor outside. Joe leapt away from him so quickly it was almost as if he’d received an electric shock. His expression was apologetic though, dark eyes sincere and Lloyd shrugged, accepting it.
What seemed like the longest five seconds of his life passed by before Cheryl appeared around the edge of the door, smiling brightly as she said, ‘Thought I’d lost you both then.’
‘Lloyd was just bit… upset,’ Joe hesitated as he spoke.
Cheryl nodded without question, it was a fair excuse after all, and Lloyd felt himself doing the same instinctively. ‘OK,’ she responded. ‘Well I wanted to say goodnight before I headed off.’
‘Oh… right, yeah,’ he stammered the words out slightly, still a little thrown by the night’s events so far.
She made her way across the green room and pulled him into a hug. ‘No matter what anyone says, you did me proud,’ she whispered softly into his ear. ‘Don’t ever forget that.’
Several moments later she was gone again and the two teens were left staring at each other.
‘We should go I guess,’ Joe spoke first, reaching for the door handle. ‘They’ll come and get us in a minute anyway. Everyone wants to get out of here.’
Lloyd nodded and sighed very softly in frustration. ‘I probably won’t see you for weeks now, will I?’
‘Probably not…’
‘Crap.’ He didn’t know what else to say, but needed to voice his annoyance somehow. ‘When I come and fetch my things from the house, I’ll let you know. Maybe they’ll let you stick around?’ He was completely and utterly clutching at straws now.
Joe looked doubtful, but flashed a smile regardless and pulled open the door.
Following him, hands now tucked uncomfortably into the pockets of his trousers, Lloyd added weakly, ‘I’ll see you before the tour though, right?’
At that, Joe actually started laughing and shoved him playfully aside. ‘Like I could honestly go that long without seeing you!’
The laughter was infectious and as they made their way back toward the dressing rooms, Lloyd’s earlier worry began to fade away with each glance they shared.
Perhaps things wouldn’t be so bad after all.
.x.