It's the way you make me feel.

The confession

It was the final night of the 'What The Future Holds' tour, so the 5 members of the popular STEPS were expected to put on their best and most energetic performance. That was until Claire broke some rather shocking news to Faye, which would go on to have major and unexpected implications for the band in the future.
"A break?!" Faye exclaimed, "But why? We are doing so well at the moment. What's changed?". They were in Faye's dressing room having a glass of prosecco. It had become a little tradition for the two girls to do this before a show. They weren't sure whether it was to calm any pre-show nerves or to just give them a break from H's incessant photo taking before the show. Either way, it was welcomed.
"It's hard for me to explain", sighed Claire, "there's just a lot going on with me at the moment and I just think that some time doing our own projects might help me with how I'm feeling." She could feel the lump in her throat. She knew exactly why she wanted this break. It had nothing to do with independent projects or touring. She was in love with Faye. She had been since the band was formed. The story goes that STEPS broke up because Claire and H didn't want to be part of it anymore. They were overwhelmed, tired, and sick of how toxic the band had become. Which was true... from H's perspective, at least. Because you see for Claire, the story was quite different. She was burdened with the fact that she was in love with her fellow band mate, Faye Tozer. In an ideal world, this would have been fine, but she was currently dating Reece Hill, the bands publicity manager. Her dating Reece was already headline worthy. He had a girlfriend who was pregnant! So not only had she broken up a family, albeit he had also had a hand in that, now she had realised she was bisexual and in love with her basically married best friend. So rather than confront her feelings head on, she used the same excuse as H and left.
Now we all know the story there on. Lisa, Faye, and Claire all got married, H and Lee found love eventually, and the band got back together and released new songs, which eventually brought us to where we are now. I mean, Claire married Reece, Faye married Mick, the band reformed in 2010, surely Claire had gotten over her first love? Wrong! She had just gotten better at dealing with it for the sake of everybody else. Until now.
"Why are you crying?" Faye said, concerned."Hey, please don't cry. Look Claire, you are my best friend in the whole world, you can tell me what's going on. I'll always be here for you. I love you."
Those three words cut through Claire like a sharp blade. If only she meant it in the way Claire wanted her to.
"I'm fine. Honestly!" Claire said, wiping away a fresh tear from her eye.
"Clara, please. If anybody knows you better, it's me, and you are not fine, so just talk to me, please." Faye sounded more stern now, Claire hated that. She also hated it when Faye would call her Clara. Not because she actually hated it, but because it made her melt every time, and she felt defenceless.
"I can't, Faye. Look, let's just do the show. Have a nice time, and we'll talk through everything with the other guys later, ok?"
Faye remained still. "Not until you tell me what's really going on." Claire was exasperated by this point, almost wishing she hadn't said anything in the first place. "I can't! I'll lose everything, including you!" She couldn't stop the tears from falling now. "Claire, please. Stop being so bloody ridiculous. You could never lose me! Just talk to me!"
And then it came. She couldn't stop the words. She had no control over them. She didn't mean to, but it just happened, and now there was no way of taking it back.
"I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU FAYE!"