True to their word,Telstar were in touch with the boys just a few days after Ant,Dec,Anne and Fonsey arrived back in Newcastle from their London trip,eager to outline their plan for the teenagers.

They had decided to release the single as soon as it was legally possible,then record the album straight after that,followed by a tour.

Of course,before any of that could go ahead,they had to wait for Ant to turn eighteen as well as Dec which wouldn't be until the November,then they could get the ball rolling with signing the record contract and throwing Ant and Dec straight in at the deep end.

One advantage of having to wait until they both came of age was that they would no longer need a chaperone for their trip to London,or any other trips that may arise in the future.Obviously this absolutely delighted the boys,Anne not so much,even though she had to admit it made life alot simpler,it hadn't been easy getting her other kids to agree to escorting Ant and Dec to London,they all had busy lives themselves with their own jobs and families,so this postponement worked well for everyone.

Telstar had decided to not waste any time and release "tonight I'm free" on Ants eighteenth birthday and then hopefully watch it climb up the singles chart,or even better,shoot in at number one.

Until that time came,Ant and Dec busied themselves helping out at the local theatre and going to college,when they could be bothered that was,as their hearts weren't really in it.

Finally Ants birthday arrived and telstar sent a courier up to his and Decs homes so they could sign the contract at the first possible opportunity,it was the first special thing that Ant did on his birthday,even before opening any of his cards or presents.

Ant celebrated the day in style,just the same way Dec had on his special day in September,with lots of drink,silliness and chatting up the girls on a crawl of the Newcastle pub circuit.Dec had been especially happy that he could now legally drink and didn't have to sneak around anymore,sponging drinks off anyone he could,although he would still have to carry photo ID for a good few years to come because of his youthful looks.

Once the song had been released,the boys told Telstar that they didn't want to be told beforehand what number their debut single had reached in the top 40.Usually record companies relayed that information to their artists before it was made public.Ant and Dec had decided that they wanted to hear it on the radio that Sunday evening at the same time as the rest of the country,they wanted the adrenaline rush of finding out the same way as the general public,it was something they'd never experienced before and they were so excited.

So the following sunday evening Anne,Fonsey,Dec and Cam,along with Ant,Christine and Sarha,who the Donnellys had invited around for dinner,were all gathered in the living room,listening to Radio One with great anticipation.

"Can't wait for this" Dec giggled excitedly.

"I can tell" Anne laughed "you boys will have done well,I know it"

"Hope so" Ant smiled.

As the pleasant tones of the current host of the top forty,Bruno Brookes came across the airwaves and began the countdown,everyone chatted or sang along to the string of hit records.

Soon the DJ was down to number thirty.

"We're in the top thirty at least" Dec smiled.

"Yeah" Ant nodded,but he had started to get a slight sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.Could a song like that really do that well?The record company seemed to think so at least, so he did his best to dismiss those niggling worries,although it wasn't easy.

"Now for that all important top twenty" came the voice from the radio.

"Oh wow,top twenty" Dec grinned excitedly.

By now,it wasn't just Ant who was starting to have doubts about where the song might have peaked and Decs childlike excitement was only making him more uncomfortable.

Anne,Fonsey and Christine had also become unusually quiet.Cam and Sarha were just chatting to each other,in all honesty,neither of them were too bothered about what was going on with their brothers and were much more interested in discussing how cute Bruno Brookes and his mullet were,with Cam declaring how much she would love to run her fingers through it.

Anne on the other hand was particularly worried about what effect this would have on her son if the song didn't do well.He hadn't been keen to do all this in the first place and she knew it would hit him hard if it didn't go to plan,but for now,there was nothing she or anyone else could do,but listen.

"And now for the top ten best selling singles in the UK this week" Bruno announced.

As the beloved DJ made his way through the chart list,he reached number two,with still no sign of the PJ and Duncan track,Dec turned to Ant "could we have knocked Meat loaf off of number one?" He asked amazed,referring to the song 'I'd Do Anything For Love(But I Won't Do That)' which had dominated the top of the charts for several weeks now.

"Only if it's gone from number one to disappearing out of the charts completely" Ant replied sadly "which I think is highly unlikely"

Dec didn't reply as the American rockstars familiar vocals came over the radio.

Everyone sat quietly,no one really knowing what to say until Dec broke the silence.

"That's it then" Dec snapped,throwing the pen he had been fiddling with down aggressively onto the coffee table "all this has been a waste of time,for absolutely nothing,no one is interested"

"No Decky" Anne comforted "it hasn't been a waste of time,not at all"

"Really Mam?REALLY?" Dec shouted with tears of disappointment and frustration doing their best to escape from his eyes "you heard our song on the radio just then did you?cos I must have missed it"

"Declan" Fonsey whispered gently "I know you're upset,but please don't shout at your Mam like that,none of this is her fault"

"No it isn't" Dec snapped "it's my fault for letting myself be talked into this,for not listening to my instincts,I knew it was a bad idea from the beginning,but I stupidly went along with it" he gave a meaningful glance over at Ant who looked down at the floor while rubbing his forehead.

"Declan please..." Anne didn't have a chance to finish whatever she was about to say.

"No Mam" Dec snapped,before running heavily up the stairs,slamming the door to his bedroom and throwing himself down onto the bed in a sobbing heap.

"I...I'm sorry" Anne smiled sadly at her guests "I guess he is still just a little boy in so many ways and doesn't handle his emotions very well at times.I'll go and talk to him"

"Please Anne" Ant smiled gently "let me go,I know what he's going through"

"Ok" Anne agreed that was probably the best idea.

"Maybe we should go" Christine suggested.

"You really don't have to" Fonsey smiled "don't let our Declans dramatics make you feel uncomfortable"

"No,we probably should" Christine replied "it's for the best,but thank you for having us and I hope Declan feels better soon,come on Sarha"

"I can drop Ant home later" Fonsey offered.

"Are you sure?" Christine asked "I don't mind coming back to get him,or he can get the bus"

"Don't worry yourself" Fonsey smiled "I'll bring the lad home"

They all said their goodbyes and Ant made his way upstairs to Decs bedroom,knocking gently and entering before waiting for a invitation to come in.

"Dec?"

"Leave me alone Ant" came a quivering voice buried into the pillow.

"Come on pal,talk to me" Ant pleaded.

"What's the point?" Dec asked as he rolled over making his tear stained face visible.

"Tell me what this is all about eh?" Ant encouraged.

"What do you mean 'what it's all about?' You were there,you know exactly what it's all about.Our career going nowhere,nobody being interested in us,we're has beens Ant and we're not even out of our teens,that's what it's all about"

"That's not true Dec" Ant stated,feeling slightly hurt.

"It is true Ant" Dec insisted "no Byker Grove,no PJ and Duncan,no Ant and Dec,no interest"

Ant let out a loud,desperate sigh,he knew it would take some effort to bring Dec out of this one.

"We've still got the album" Ant pointed out "and the tour"

"Really Ant?REALLY?" Dec shouted,making Ant flinch at the unexpected volume.

"Yeah of course,all those people who didn't rush out to buy the single are definitely going to buy the album aren't they?" Dec ranted "we don't even know if that stupid song broke the top one hundred"

"We can easily find out" Ant whispered.

"Yeah,kick us while we're down why don't ya?I don't want to know" Dec snapped.

"Well maybe I do" Ant whispered before continuing "look Dec,you need to think positive.Ok the single hasn't done well,but it might next week"

"Unlikely" Dec retorted.

Ant continued unphased "we both knew from the beginning that it wasn't a great song didn't we eh?neither of us have ever really liked it so we can't be that surprised that it's flopped.Outside of the Byker Grove audience,who really knows who we are?not that many people probably"

"Then what's the point?" Dec asked tearfully.

"The point is Decs" Ant smiled reassuringly "that we have to work our way up just like anyone else in this business,nothing gets handed to you on a plate,you have to work for it and be prepared for rejection.Didn't your Mam warn you about that years ago when you first dipped your toe in the acting world?"

Dec nodded sadly.

"Or do you want to play a munchkin in a crappy version of The Wizard of Oz at the local theatre forever?" Ant attempted to make Dec smile with the reference to the play they'd reluctantly been roped into performing in.

"Definitely not" Dec replied sternly.

"Not to mention,we've signed the record contract just last week" Ant noted.

"There's ways to get out of things" Dec observed miserably.

"Come on Dec" Ant patted his best friends leg "I know you're gutted,I am too,but at least it would give us something else to focus on if we went ahead with the album and tour"

"Yeah great" Dec sighed "weeks recording an album for it to sit unsold on shop shelves and singing to empty arenas"

"That won't happen" Ant replied.

"Of course it won't" Dec frowned "because it will be cancelled if they don't sell any tickets"

"So you're saying you don't want to record the album?" Ant asked worriedly.

Dec shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Or go on tour?" Ant pushed for an answer,but Dec just shrugged again.

"Jesus Dec" Ant laughed sarcastically "you're being bloody hard work today,snap out of it will ya?moping around and feeling sorry for yourself like this won't help the situation will it?"

"Maybe it's helping me" Dec replied bluntly.

"Shall I just go then?" Ant enquired "and you can call me when you're over your little sulk"

Dec shrugged his shoulders yet again,before flopping back onto his pillow.

"Alright Dec,I'll talk to you soon,call me ok?" Ant held his hand up to his ear in a pretend phone gesture.

As he opened the bedroom door,a small voice drifted from the bed.

"Ant?"

"What Dec?"

"Please don't go"

As much as Decs pessimism and strop was really beginning to piss him off,Ant could never resist Decs vulnerable side,so closed the door and made his way back over to the bed.

"Sit up Dec" Ant demanded as he sat down close to his distraught friend.

"Why?" Dec asked curiously.

"Just sit up will ya?" Ant ordered.

Dec pushed himself up,leaning back onto his elbows.

"That's not sitting up is it?" Ant asked "sit up properly"

"Ok,ok" Dec moaned "I'm sitting up"

As he did so,Ant scooped him into his arms,enveloping him completely into a warm,loving embrace,holding him tightly in a secure bear hug.Dec tried to resist at first but it wasn't long before he felt himself melting into the comfort and security of his best friends arm.

Ant held onto him for a good few minutes,rubbing his back affectionately.

Even though a lone tear had made it's way down his flushed cheek at Ants selfless compassion,Dec was now the calmest he'd been all evening.It had been a rollercoaster of emotions,first the excitement,then the disappointment,swiftly followed by the upset and despair.

"Dec?" Ant whispered into the tearful teenagers ear.

"Yeah?" Dec whispered against Ants chest.

Ant sighed with a heavy heart "you don't have to do anything you don't want to,you know that right?we made a pact remember?we're in this together,so if you don't want to do it,then neither do I"

Dec released himself from Ants hold and looked up into the dark,friendly eyes that were gazing at him with such fondness.

He nodded sadly.

"It'll be ok Dec,you'll see" Ant smiled.

"Whatever you decide,it'll be ok!"