Shades Of Dreams

...The shrill scream broke through the noise of the crowd in the arena. Rocky and the rest of the band froze for a moment. Another shriek shattered over them, and Rocky took off.

Dodging roadies and security, Rocky raced through the backstage area to where the band’s dressing room was located. Stephan, their lead singer, had gone on to the room ahead of them and it was his scream drawing a crowd outside the door.

Rocky burst through the door and had enough warning to duck the glass hurtled from across the room. Glancing around, he spotted Stephan dropping to his knees, arms wrapped around his waist and tears streaming down his face.

Their manager Amy stood, mascara-streaked face wearing a broken expression.

“No,” Stephan screamed.

Rocky winced, the strain on his friend’s vocal cords apparent. Stephan reached out and grabbed another glass, pulling back his arm to throw it. Rocky shot across the room, fell to his knees, and embraced his best friend.

Stephan struggled madly for a moment or two before collapsing into Rocky’s body, shaking violently with his sobs.

“Hush,” Rocky murmured, sitting on his ass and tugging the lean singer onto his lap.

Amy flopped on the couch next to them and she rested her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. He nudged her with his foot.

“What the fuck is going on here, Amy?”

She gathered herself and looked up, meeting his questioning gaze. “Jeremy’s dead.”

Her statement brought another strangled moan from Stephan. Rocky rocked back and forth, rubbing his hands over Stephan’s back, soothing him the best he could.

“You’re fucking kidding.”

Amy shook her head.

“How?”

Shoving her hands through her long blonde hair, Amy shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. I got the call as you were finishing the encore. Before I could break the news to Stephan, someone else must have told him.”

“Shit. This isn’t good, Amy. We have one more show to do.”

For a brief second, anger swirled in Rocky’s heart. Why did Jeremy have to die now? He gave himself a mental shake. He doubted Jeremy had planned to die any time soon.

Stephan curled into him, his tears mingling with the sweat soaking Rocky’s T-shirt. A shiver wracked Stephan, and Rocky made a decision.

“Amy, go out and send Bill in here. Tell Stone to get the limo. I’m taking Stephan to the hotel. Gather the guys; tell them to keep their phones on. As soon as I get Stephan settled, I’ll call and we’ll meet to talk about this.” He pinned their manager with a steely gaze. “You get on the phone and find out what happened. I want to know every thing when we meet up again.”

Amy nodded and brushed her hand over Stephan’s damp curls before leaving.

Ignoring the muttering of the crowd gathered outside the room, Rocky held Stephan close and murmured, “I’m here. Just hold on a little longer. We’ll go to the hotel and you can let go.”

“I loved him,” Stephan whispered, his grief evident in the harshness of his voice.

“I know.”

He knew exactly the kind of love Stephan spoke about. It was the same love Rocky had always felt for Stephan, and the knowledge broke his heart...