Listen to the Thunder

The support band came bounding off-stage, thrilled with their reception.
“Dude, they loved us!” Lewis shouted, pulling his band mates Aaron, Taylor, Jon and Faye into a massive group hug. Altogether, they were called ‘The Frozen Hearted’. Despite the decidedly memo sounding band name, the quintet couldn’t be happier. Because of their keyboardist Taylor’s ‘links’, as she called them, they were supporting Elliot Minor on their Autumn-Winter tour. And they were loving it.
“Guys, you were amazing.” Teddy Hetherton shouted from the side of a roadie who was tuning his bass.
Five minutes later, the final song of the three-track interval was blasting through the speakers. Rise Above This by Seether. It had been guitarist Ed’s choice.
That same guitarist was now running around like a madman backstage. He was trying to do at least fifty things at once; fix his hair, tie his shoes, find a belt hunt down the roadie with his guitar, etcetera etcetera.
The song faded away in the background and he sprinted from dressing room to side stage in a matter of seconds. He skidded to a stop and grabbed his guitar from the roadie and quickly slipped the strap around his neck. Ali and Dan appeared next to him, the former clutching a towel and the latter with drumsticks stuffed in the pocket of his shorts.
“You ready?” Ali asked, attempting to flatten his messy blond hair. Ed nodded and looked across to the opposite side of the stage where Alex and Teddy were stood, both with guitars hanging near their waists. Teddy turned and nodded in Ed, Ali and Dan’s direction, which the three took as a cue to bounce onstage like fools. Alex and Teddy did the same, and they took up their positions onstage.
Ali played the intro to Parallel Worlds and the show began. They played a few more songs before Alex stopped to talk.
“Whoa, you guys are AWESOME!” he shouted into the microphone, drawing cheers from the crowd. He jabbered on about how great it was to be playing in York again, before asking Ed if he wanted to say anything. Ed replied by shaking his head violently. Ali shot him a knowing look over the top of his keyboard and Ed smiled slightly.
They blasted through another five songs before pausing again. This time Teddy had a bit of a rant about how cool it was that everyone was singing. Ed still remained silent.
They continued with the final group of songs, Forgetting You, Breaking and Time After Time.
Alex made a move to leave the stage after the cheering subsided, but Ed stepped up to the mic before he got chance.
“Um…” He began nervously “Me and the guys have been working on this cover all tour, and now it’s the last show, I think we should play it! Right guys?” Alex looked around and saw the others all nodding and smirking.
“Righty ho then.” Ed smiled, turning back to the mic. “One, two, three, four…” Ali and Dan pulled out mics and stood them near their instruments, preparing to sing Ed’s back up.

Today is a winding road
That's taking me to places that I didn't want to go
Whoa
Today in the blink of an eye
I'm holding on to something and I do not know why
I tried

I tried to read between the lines
I tried to look in your eyes
I want a simple explanation
For what I'm feeling inside
I gotta find a way out
Maybe there's a way out

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
You are unlike any other
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
And bring on the thunder

Today is a winding road
Tell me where to start and tell me something I don't know
Whoa
Today I'm on my own
I can't move a muscle and I can't pick up the phone
I don't know

And now I'm itching for the tall grass
And longing for the breeze
I need to step outside
Just to see if I can breathe
I gotta find a way out
Maybe there's a way out

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
You are unlike any other
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain

Yeah I'm walking on a tightrope
I'm wrapped up in vines
I think we'll make it out
But you just gotta give me time
Strike me down with lightning
Let me feel you in my veins
I wanna let you know how much I feel your pain

Today is a winding road
that's taking me to places that I didn't want to go
Whoa

Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
You are unlike any other
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your eyes are the brightest of all the colors
I don't wanna ever love another
You'll always be my thunder, and I said
Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer
You are unlike any other
You'll always be my thunder
So bring on the rain
Oh baby bring on the pain
And listen to the thunder…

Ed sang the final words, turning to look at Alex. The younger had tears forming in his blue eyes. Ed looked at him, biting his lip. He sighed and mouthed the words ‘I love you’ before running offstage; leaving Alex stood teary-eyed center stage.
He dropped his guitar to the ground before dashing away after Ed. He pushed his untidy brown hair away from his eyes as he ran. He hammered on Ed’s dressing room door and, not waiting for a reply, burst in.
Ed was sat cross-legged on the sofa, his face buried in his hands. He looked up and saw Alex stood in the doorway, tears streaming down his cheeks, and dropped his head back into his hands. He walked over and sat next to Ed, throwing his arms around him. Ed sobbed into Alex’s chest, his small frame shaking with every cry.
“Did you mean it?” Alex asked, twisting Ed’s raven black hair in his fingers. He felt Ed nod and pulled him even closer in his embrace. He gently lifted Ed’s head so that his chocolate brown eyes met Alex’s pale blue ones. Alex delicately wiped away the tears resting on Ed’s pale cheeks.
“Don’t cry. Please.” Alex begged. He leant towards Ed and kissed his lips affectionately.
“Because I love you too.”