Terror Twin [Def Leppard] #Wattys2016

II: Pyromania

Fast forward three months.

Steve glanced up at Joe from his guitar, blue eyes shimmering with glee.

"Doing well?"

His friend grinned.

"Hell yeah. We're about ready to record this one." Steve replied, gently strumming the strings before playing his piece of the intro riff to their new song, Photograph. Phil played the other part. Over the past months with each other, the two had become inseparable - much like the intro riff, which only sounded like one guitar to an untrained ear.

"That's great." Joe smiled, scurrying across the room and plopping down next to Sav in an empty chair.

They were in a real recording studio. Steve couldn't believe it. Somehow they had scrapped enough money up to pull it together.

Steve's motivation had returned seemingly instantly after Phil had joined the group.

Speak of the devil.

Phil trotted into the room, his guitar slung lazily around him. He sat down next to Steve, flashing his best mate a charming smile.

"'Aye, Steve? You in there?" Phil joked, bopping Steve on the nose. Steve had spaced out in his thoughts for more than two minutes.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." Steve chuckled, picking up his flask from next to his feet. "You wanna drink?"

Phil shrugged, taking the flask and bringing it to his lips. Just before he drank, though, he noticed the weight.

"Mate, this was full about twenty minutes ago. It's over halfway done!" Phil laughed, taking a sip of the alcohol anyway while Steve shrugged sheepishly. All members of the band drank. He would never admit that he always drank the most, though.

Phil placed the flask down again, out of Steve's reach. Steve pretended not to care.

"A'ight mate, wanna crank out Photograph one more time before we start recordin' it?" Phil suggested, smiling softly at Steve.

Steve was off in his own world. Not drunk on alcohol, just drunk on Phil. He's never felt like this before, especially not over his best friend. Not being able to pry his eyes off the older man, Steve found himself sucking gently on his bottom lip. Phil raised an eyebrow but Steve barely noticed - it was only when Phil shook his shoulder gently that he snapped back to reality.

"Steve, mate, are you sure you're feeling alright there?"

"Kinda feel like I wanna go out on a bender later. You in?" Steve murmured, quite off-topic.

Phil nodded, tapping on Steve's guitar.

"Sure thing, but we've gotta get going. C'mon." Phil punched him lightly in the shoulder, trying to keep his concern at bay. Steve nodded, classic determination flooding back into his eyes, along with his trademark smile.

"You're right. Let's do it."

•

Sav watched silently from across the room, pretending to tune his already-finished bass. Sav bit his soft bottom lip gently, owner to yet another pair of blue eyes flicking across the room. The bassist let his long, curly locks fall over his face, listening to Phil and Steve murmur to each other. Rick may have been right when he said 'both' all the while ago.

Rick was seated on the other side of the room, armed with a pair of sticks as he patted away at his lap. Although the boy was a solid three years younger than anyone else in the band, he had earned his place as a talented drummer. He always played as if he would lose his limbs someday, and Sav admired that in him.

Rick was staring at his bassist, a puzzled look written on his face. Sav moved his gaze elsewhere.

Everyone had finished their parts for today, and Steve and Phil just had to record their piece. They were certainly taking their time, but Sav never wished to rush perfection. He ran a hand over his jean-clad thigh, taking the strap off his shoulder and placing the instrument on the floor next to his foot.

After what seemed like ages, Phil led Steve off to where the equipment was, and the room was officially silent. Joe stood up, trotting over to Sav and crouching down beside him.

"Those two really hit it off." Joe mumbled, choosing to sit cross-legged in front of Sav. At least he wasn't on his knees anymore - the sight was making Sav anxious.

Rick sat down on the floor next to Joe. Suddenly, Sav felt cornered and crawled his way down with his bandmates, leaving the chair abandoned.

"Definitely! It was meant to be, I'm sure. I've never seen two guitarists play so perfectly together." Rick exclaimed excitedly, still keeping his voice down so the other two had no way of noticing they were being spoken about. Not that they had anything to hide, though.

"It's almost scary how well they work together." Joe laughed, extending his legs and landing them conveniently in Sav's lap.

"They're the Terror Twins." Sav grinned, placing his hands on Joe's shins.

"I like the sound of that." Steve's grinning voice split through the air, followed by a snicker from Phil behind him. Sav had no idea how so much time had passed so quickly.

"We're good to go, unless you guys want to sit on the floor and share gossip some more." Phil teased, running a hand through his medium-length blonde hair as he bent over to pack his guitar into its case.

Steve found himself staring, quickly turning around once he noticed what he was doing. Phil was very aware of the eyes on his backside, but chose not to call his friend out. It wasn't like he liked it, or anything.

Sav rolled his eyes. Could Steve be any more obvious? Probably not if he tried.

Phil had straightened up, watching Steve finish putting his things away as well with a radiant grin plastered to his face. Steve picked up his case, switching it from hand to hand while waiting for the others.

Joe led the expedition out of the studio, grinning triumphantly.

"This record oughta be out by December, if we keep this pace up. We're almost done recording!" He exclaimed, helping his bandmates load their things into the back of his van.

Once they were settled in their seats, the simultaneous clicking of seat belts took place. All but Rick had fastened in when Joe pulled out.

"Joe?" Sav piped up from his spot in shotgun, the vocalist glancing over to him quickly before focusing on the road again.

"Yep, Savvy?"

Sav blushed at the nickname, looking out the window to cover it up.

"Have you any idea what we're gonna name the record, anyway?"

Joe's signature smile sparked the fire already blazing in Sav's cheeks.

"I was thinkin' Pyromania."