You Love Somebody

25 (Eddie)

It wasn't until Portugal that he approached Ben to have a talk. It took him a while to find out what he wanted to say and he had no idea how to settle things between them. 

They sat down on a bench at a rest stop to talk. They sat opposite each other, none of them quite sure how to start talking. Eddie was playing with a ring on his finger, while Ben was biting his lip awkwardly. 

"I'm sorry -"

"I didn't mean -" 

They blurted out at the same time, both grinning and gesturing for the other to go ahead and take the word. 

In the end Eddie started. "I'm sorry I have been avoiding you. I needed to process the things we spoke about the other night. I was angry, to be honest. I felt misunderstood and judged." 

Ben nodded. "I get that, Ed. I really regret some of the things I said. I was so out of line." 

"You were, yes. I can't explain what it is, but I've never felt this way about somebody. I wasn't in competition with you, and I never wanted you to miss a chance with her. I actually held back on numerous occasions." Eddie ran his hand through his curls, while he remembered how he had felt the times Ben had driven Anna somewhere, or when he accompanied her to that party in New York. 

Ben inhaled deeply and nodded. "I know, man. I'm such a stubborn, pig headed idiot sometimes."

"Well I'm not going to disagree with you there," Eddie chuckled. 

Ben scoffed and there was warmth in his eyes. "I'm not blind, I see the two of you. You're good together. I see the way she looks at you; I really hope I meet someone who looks at me that way some day." 

"You will, Ben. Of course you will," Eddie grabbed his friend's hand. "Can we move on?" 

Ben nodded and squeezed Eddie's hand. "That's all I want to do. And now you have to tell me what the hell I tell the PR-team about Anna, because I have to say something."

Eddie smiled and looked towards the tour bus, where Anna was messing around with Roy, taking pictures. She was laughing her goofy laugh while the summer breeze blew in her hair.  He had to remember to get those pictures from Roy. 

"Tell them that I'm in love."

***

On stage in Lisbon he jumped around and had a blast with the band. Whether it was the tour, the atmosphere, the beautiful weather, the awesome audience or the fact that he was in love that made him feel high, he didn't know. But he felt so good. The fans were joyful and sang along, giving back so much energy for him to feed off. He joked and teased them relentlessly. During one of his numbers he found Anna in the front pitch and locked eyes with her, while he sang. The words were spot on - the message was clear; a declaration of love. His eyes didn't move from hers. She smiled shyly back at him and put on a pair of heart shaped sunglasses a fan had handed her. It was obvious he sang to her, and he was sure people picked up on it, but they could probably write it off to him being a big flirt. 

It was impossible not to look at her, when she handed out water to the fans and held hands and comforted those who needed it. Every now and again Roy would pass by and she would pose shortly, or they would do a little dance together. He caught a moment where they were back to back doing a little shimmy and Anna threw her hands in the air and laughed warmly. She continued to jump with the fans once Roy was on the move again. She was adorable; happy and free. Falling in love with her was inevitable, he decided. 

In a clumsy second he slipped on a gift a fan had thrown up on stage, landing on his back. He stayed down covering his face in embarrassment. He laughed along with the band, but he was signalled to go to the side of the stage, so Anna could check he hadn't hurt himself. He saw her bolt from the front pit to backstage, so she could get up to the side of the stage.