You Against Me: Brusnop

The people in the crowd that night at the Asking Alexandria concert could tell there was something wrong with two of the band members. Knowing the band, they just figured they were hung over, no one, not even the rest of the guys in the band, would have guessed that their friends were suffering from heartbreak.
Ben and Danny had worked hard over the past weeks to keep their emotions hidden. Their relationship had been a secret, sometimes a hard one to keep, and the two didn't want anyone to find out about it now that it was over. Now though, they were finding it a lot harder to be around the other.
"Danny," Sam said, throwing his bass on, "What's up with you? You're not very happy today."
Danny shrugged and tried not to look over at Ben. He knew if he did he would somehow give away too much.
Sam patted Danny on the back. "After the show we'll get you a band slut with daddy issued that you can do. That'll cheer you up."
Once Sam turned away, Danny rolled his eyes. He didn't want a band slut, he wanted Ben. Even though it would shock most people, without mentioning the fact that he wanted to do a guy, Danny didn't even want a one night stand. He wanted to go back to the relationship he had with Ben. He didn't want to do some girl that he didn't know the name of, and he didn't care if they had daddy issues or not. He had already decided after the breakup that he wouldn't do nameless strangers anymore, and if that meant not doing anyone, Danny was okay with it.
"Actually," Sam said with his back to Danny, "One of my friends if coming to the show tonight, she's pretty hot, I could hook you up."
Danny sighed. "Sam, I really don't feel like hanging out with a girl after the show."
When Sam turned to face Danny, Danny knew he probably should have used different word choice. Oh well, he thought, the damage is done. If Sam thinks I want to hang out with a guy after the show, he can think that.
"You don't want to get laid?" the bassist asked with an incredulous look on his face.
Part of Danny felt relieved that that was what Sam had taken from that. "I don't know, I feel pretty tired already and we haven't even played yet. I think I'm just going to hang on the bus after the show."
"But all of us were planning on going to a bar and getting shitfaced and finding some whores."
"Ben too?"
Sam shrugged. "He didn't oppose the idea but he didn't say he was going either."
"Make sure he goes," Danny said, trying not to let Sam pick up on the pain in his voice.
"Why?"
"Ben's looked a little down in the dumps lately. I want him to have a fun night, make him forget whatever's making him upset."
Sam nodded and placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "You haven't exactly been Mr. Sunshine lately mate. You should come too."
"No," Danny said, shaking his head, "I'm fine. Just make sure Ben goes."
Sam, knowing better than to try and argue with Danny, just nodded and left.
When Sam left the room, saying he needed someone to check his bass over, Danny turned to the last mirror on the wall, the one that was the farthest away from the rest of the band. He knew everyone had been standing there while he and Sam had been talking and he hoped that none of them, especially Ben, had heard the conversation. He had tried to keep his voice down to a whisper, but knew that even when he tried to be quiet he could be quite loud.
"What have I done?" Danny whispered to himself.
Ever since Danny and Ben had broken up, Danny hadn't felt like himself. He had felt like he was incomplete, like there was something missing. He knew it wasn't because he was newly single; he had gone through breakups before and never felt this way. Danny also knew that it wasn't only because he had lost his boyfriend. In the process of losing his boyfriend, Danny had also lost his best friend.
When Danny and Ben had been together, they weren't able to be together openly so their friendship had gotten stronger than it had ever been before. The two had joked about the things that they always had, but when it came to joking around about being together, they spoke a truth that no one else understood. In that respect, they had kind of enjoyed having a secret relationship.
Now though, with no one to talk to about it, Danny wished they had at least told the rest of the band.
Danny, with nothing else to do with the remaining twenty minutes before their show, decided he would sing some of their songs.
When humming through Someone, Somewhere, Danny stopped paying so much attention to what was happening around him and fell into a fantasy. Ben and Danny were sitting in the back of the bus, watching a movie together. None of the guys had ever really wondered about the movie things since they preferred to play video games and knew that Ben and Danny had never cared for them.
Danny knew that his daydream was about the first night they had gotten together. Ben had decided he wanted to watch a movie and had asked James, Sam, Cameron, and him is they wanted to join him. Danny had said he would, he hadn't really wanted to do anything anyway, but the others had decided against it because they had wanted to play video games.
The movie had ended up being more boring than either had expected so they began ignoring it. After joking around with each other like normal, Ben and Danny's conversations had started to become more serious than their normal conversations. Instead of teasing each about having small dicks, they started talking about relationships. Ben had just broken up with Sam, for a reason that he wouldn't tell the rest of the band, and Danny had been adamant to figure that reason out. What Danny hadn't been expecting was the kiss that the guitarist had used as an explanation. Danny couldn't say that he had been expecting it, hoping partly, but not expecting it.
Being shocked, Danny hadn't kissed back immediately, making Ben think he was disgusted. Ben had gone to run out of the room, but Danny hadn't let him.
"Don't go," Danny had said, gripping Ben's arm.
"Don't you hate me now?"
Danny had started laughing and pulled Ben back into a kiss. Once they had figured that out, the two had decided not to tell anyone, not even the band.
"I love you Ben," Danny had told him, making the guitarist stare up at the singer with a big smile on his face.
"I love you too Danny."
All of a sudden, Danny was being shook. "What the hell?" he said, whirling around to see James staring at him.
"Danny, it's time for the show."
"Oh, okay."
Danny stood up and followed the rest of the band out to the stage. He was ready for this show, ready to be able to focus on the music and the fans, and with a plan in mind, Danny was ready to get Ben back, even if it meant telling everyone that they were together. Danny was, after all, the one who had wanted to keep the whole thing a secret most of all. He hadn't wanted people to look at him differently, even if that meant keeping the best thing in his life a secret.
Danny waved the guys over just before the show started.
"What's up Danny?" Cameron asked as they all circled around the singer.
"Do you mind if we switch the song order a bit?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Instead of playing To the Stage last, can we move it to first?"
The guys all looked at each other and shrugged. None of them really cared but they did kind of wonder why Danny would want to change the set list.
Ben looked at the singer with a confused look, and spoke to him directly for the first time in weeks. "Why do you want to play To the Stage first?" he asked.
"You'll see," Danny said with a grin and ran off.
The rest of the band took their places as Danny took the mic and started the show.
"Chicago!" he yelled, getting the crowd to scream in response. "Are you fucking ready?"
The crowd screamed louder. Not two minutes into the show and things were already getting thrown on the stage. Danny took that as a good sign.
When Danny started the song and the rest of the band started getting pumped and the fans were screaming their heads off and singing along, Danny felt like he was king of the world. It felt so good to not think.
Throughout the song, Danny constantly changed she to he. Danny knew that the crowd wasn't noticing it, but Ben was. Every time he did it, the guitarist would look over at him. Danny didn't even think the rest of the guys had caught on, but Ben had.
Alright Danny, Danny thought as he got into the last bit of the song, all you have to do is get Ben to see that you're singing to him.
Danny walked over to Ben, earning a what the fuck look from the guitarist, and looked straight at him. Ben, not knowing what was going on, kept playing but looked back at Danny.
"Just like before I should've told you again, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Danny sang, looking Ben in the eye. "Just like before I should've told you again, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
When Danny sang those lyrics again, he saw that Ben understood what he was doing.
"I'm so sorry Ben," Danny said with his hand over the mic.
With tears threatening to fall, Ben whipped his guitar over his head and threw it on the stage. Danny expected Ben to hug him or to kiss him, but the guitarist fled the stage.
"Ben wait!" Danny yelled, running after him.
Once they were away from where everyone would see and hear, Ben turned around.
"Ben, what's wrong?"
"I thought you never wanted anyone to know about us? I thought you wanted to stay in the closet. I thought you wanted to keep the best thing in my life a secret from everyone."
Danny put one hand on Ben's arm and the other under his chin to make him face him. "I did. I was so caught up in not wanted people to look at me funny that I was willing to lose you, now I'm not. I don't care if we lose fans, I don't care if people hate us, I just want you."
A few tears escaped Ben's eyes and Danny wiped them away gently with his thumb.
"You're willing to tell everyone?" Ben asked.
"If it means that much to you, yes. This way I'll be able to hold you in public."
Ben looked at Danny, trying to decide if he should believe him or not. "I don't want to be hurt again Danny."
"I don't want to hurt you again Ben. Seeing you hurt is like driving a dull knife into my heart." Danny pulled Ben to him, not to kiss, just to hug, but that was what he needed. Danny took in the feel of Ben in his arms, and the smell of Ben's hair. Danny didn't want to let go, but he knew he would have to.
"What the f" James said, coming back to get the pair. "Uh, guys, what are you doing?"
As soon as Danny let go of Ben, the guitarist looked at him with fear in his eyes.
Danny put his arm around Ben's shoulder with a grin, "We're together mate."
"That's great," the drummer said, obviously not caring, "As much as that explains, you two really need to come back out to finish the show."
Hand in hand, Ben and Danny walked back on stage. Danny didn't announce that they were together, by Ben's request, but just let their fans assume what they wanted about the pair. They knew some fans would be ecstatic, some fans wouldn't care, and some fans would be so mad that they would stop listening to the band. The only acceptance Ben and Danny felt they needed was from their band mates and, given James' lack of rampage when he got told, they figured they would be fine.
Now back together, Ben and Danny could truly take over the world.