I had the urge to write but I'm a little stuck on "Dare."

So this is what I came up with. I think it's a little cheesy, the ending is anyway. But I figured I'd post it anyway. Please enjoy!

Larger Than Life

When he’s on stage, Chester is what I would call a born performer. He knows how to work a crowd. Even in the beginning, when nobody even knew who the hell we were, Chester could win them over.

There’s just something about him that draws people to him. He makes friends with just about everyone meets. He’s the one who jokes around, makes everyone laugh. Sometimes I wished I could be like him, so open with my emotions. I wished I could be as outgoing as him, be the one who hung around the other bands’ buses, just hanging out. None of the other bands ever seem to even know that I’m a part of Linkin Park.

And why should they? I’m always in the background. In interviews I’m the quiet one, laughing at his antics but never saying much. I’m the one who can go out to the grocery store with a bodyguard because I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been approached by a fan when I’m not with the other guys. I’m the one whose name they can’t even get straight. I mean, come on, Brad and I look nothing alike. How hard is it to get it right? I play it off like I think it’s funny most of the time, but sometimes it just makes me want to pull my hair out.

It was just over two-and-a-half years ago when I learned that maybe Chester didn’t have it so easy. We were on tour and Sam had just left to return to LA. She was pregnant then. I remember when Chester told us. I’d never seen him look so happy. He had a smile plastered over his face for weeks.

I had gone out with Brad and Mike that night, just exploring the city we were in. I can’t even remember what city it was, I’ve always been bad with stuff like that. I returned to the room I was sharing with Chester late that night. As I walked into the room, I could hear what sounded like someone crying.

I looked frantically around the room, searching for Chester. I couldn’t see him but I did notice that the bathroom door was closed. I walked to it, knocking on it softly.

“Chester?”

I received no answer, just more sobbing. I began banging my fist on the door.

“Chester! Open the door! You’re scaring me...”

I grabbed the doorknob, twisting it. To my surprise, it was unlocked and I opened the door, walking inside. Chester was sitting on the floor by the counter, hugging his knees to his chest and weeping loudly. I froze. I had no clue what to do. I moved closer to him.

“Ch-Chester? Are you okay?”

Chester buried his face in his knees, crying harder. I kneeled down beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. He quickly released his knees from his embrace, grabbing my shirt and burying his face in my chest.

I was surprise at this, seeing as I still had no clue what was going on. I allowed him to cry in my chest, sitting down to get comfortable. I rubbed his back in slow circles as I remained silent. I wasn’t even sure how to begin to comfort him in any other way. His crying eventually stopped, but he stayed in my arms, still clinging to my shirt. Hesitantly, I spoke.

“Ches...are you okay?”

He refused to look at me, mumbling a response into my chest through his hiccups.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

I knew he was not fine, but I decided not to push it. I stood up, pulling him with me. I kept my arms around him, guiding him to the bedroom. I settled him into his bed, still in his clothes. I figured undressing him would be kind of weird. As pulled the covers up over his body, he grabbed my arm.

“Stay with me. Please?”

Chester whispered his request, a hint of shyness in his voice. I found this surprising. Chester is a lot of things, but shy is not one of them. I looked at him, his eyes boring into mine in an almost pleading way. I nodded and climbed into the bed, still in my clothes as well. I would have found it weird to be sleeping in the same bed as my friend with only a pair of boxers on.

I didn’t fall asleep until early that morning. I listened to Chester’s steady breathing next to me, wondering what could make his behave like he was earlier. I eventually did fall asleep only to awake a few hours later with Chester’s head on my shoulder and his arms around me. I moved to get up, but Chester’s arms held me in place, not letting go.

So I stayed in bed and after some time of trying to get back to sleep, I gave up and stared at Chester’s tear-stained face. I stroked his hair softly. He looked so peaceful, especially compared to last night.

His eyes fluttered open, staring straight into mine. We didn’t say anything for a few minutes, just looked at each other. When I did speak, my voice was hoarse.

“About last night...”

He interrupted me.

“I’m sorry. I just, I just was a little emotional. That’s all.”

I nodded, taking his hand in mine and squeezing it gently.

“I’m here for you, you know, if you need to talk.”

“I know. And Rob?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks...for last night. I...”

“It’s fine, Chester. I just hope you’re okay.”

“I am. Really.”

I got out of bed, untangling myself from Chester’s body. Things were normal for a while after that.

Chester did eventually open up to me about his problems. I had never realized his side of things. Like how he couldn’t go anywhere without somebody following him or how he felt like he had to keep up his public persona 24/7 to please everyone. He told me how much it hurt to not be able to be there for Sam throughout her whole pregnancy and how awful he felt when she thought he was being unfaithful or when immature fans screamed hateful things at her. He told me of his promise to her that he would stay clean and sober for her, and for their unborn baby. He struggled every day with that. Even I have to admit, it’s hard when you have all the drugs and alcohol available especially if you were addicted in the past.

Our relationship grew during this time, as did my respect for him. I used to see him as this crazy person who just got up on stage and sang the songs. He didn’t play an instrument, all he had to do was jump around. He couldn’t even keep himself sober half the time.

Now I see him in a completely different light. I see what a strong person he is, how hard he works every day. With all he does, he could easily be the meanest and most bitter person you could imagine, but he’s not. He’s the one who eases the tension when there’s an argument, the one who makes us all laugh after a hard day.

He’s the one who completes our band.

A few months after that night, Chester’s son was born. I remember him calling me at four in the morning, screaming in my ear as I answered the phone. He told me I had to come to the hospital to see his new son. I did so, knowing if I didn’t he would just come to my house and get me. I met him by the nursery. He was just standing there, forehead pressed up against the glass as he stared in. I stayed out of sight for a good five minutes, just watching him. He didn’t move, just stood peering in. I couldn’t help but smile, feeling happiness for my friend.

I walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around, immediately pulling me into a tight hug. He held on for several minutes. I pried his arms off of me.

“I gotta breathe, Chester.”

The look on his face was similar to when he told us Sam was pregnant, except his smile was bigger, if that was possible.

“I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“Okay, shoot.”

He looked over to the baby in front of us, who I assumed to be his son.

“Is that him?”

He nodded, eyes still on the child.

“He’s beautiful.”

Chester nodded again, than turned to me.

“I just, I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you listening to all my bitching and crying for the past couple of months. I think I would have gone crazy without it. You can’t understand how much it’s helped and I just want you to know, I love you man. I wanted to know if...”

“No, Chester, I won’t marry you.”

“Well, damn! I got shut down. Actually what I wanted to ask you was, would you be Draven’s godfather? It would mean a lot to me.”

I was at a loss for words. I managed to nod. Chester hugged me again. As he let go, we turned to look at his son.

We stared into the nursery for at least twenty minutes before a nurse came out, asking if we’d like to see Draven. She brought him out for us, Chester immediately taking the tiny child into his arms, cooing softly.

As I looked on I could help but stare. This was side of Chester that few people would ever see. The mature and responsible side of Chester. The loving parent who would do anything for his child. What he does on stage is nothing compared to this side of him. I looked on in awe and I remember thinking to myself that Chester truly could do anything. He was larger than life.

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About the godparent thing, I heard a rumor Rob was Draven's godfather but I really don't know that for sure.