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Quiet fills the auditorium, you can faintly hear the rain on the roof at the sudden shift. A light piano backing starts to play and we all share eye contact before preparing for one of our favorite songs, one we all worked on together last summer while on tour. Vocals start almost immediately, Kaminari starting the song off before I join in.
[Kaminari & Mina]
“Home
A place where I can go
To take this off my shoulders
Someone take me home
Home
A place where I can go
To take this off my shoulders
Someone take me home
Someone take me”
It’s time for Bakugou’s verse, the meaning etched deep into the notes and ringing through each pitch change. Travelling is hard on everyone, but nobody is more worn out after a long tour than Bakugou. It’s probably from giving his all to every performance and keeping everyone else in line at the same time. Not everyone notices, but Bakugou is the reason we started this thing in the beginning and he’s the reason we keep going. It takes a certain type of person to get close to Bakugou and we were lucky enough to be let in. We are all incredibly thankful to the explosive blonde, even when nobody seems to show it.
[Bakugou]
“Look, I didn't power through the struggle
Just to let a little trouble, knock me out of my position
And interrupt the vision
After everything I witnessed, after all of these decisions
All these miles, feet, inches
They can't add up to the distance
That I have been through, just to get to
A place where even if there's no closure, I'm still safe
I still ache from trying to keep pace
Somebody give me a sign, I'm starting to lose faith”
Kaminari raises his microphone to his lips again and harmonizes with Bakugou seamlessly, one reason he was chosen to sing this song in the first place. The notes always drip from his mouth like musical gold and wraps you up in his light tones. His range is almost as wide as my own, only Bakugou and myself able to reach four octaves - bordering on five. He’s also an amazing guitarist, proving to be an incredible musician for our group.
[Kaminari & Bakugou]
“Now tell me: how did all my dreams turn to nightmares?
How did I lose it when I was right there?
Now I'm so far that it feels like it's all gone to pieces
Tell me why the world never fights fair
I'm trying to find”
I get ready for our chorus together, sucking in breath and opening my airways. The crowd is loud around us, but hardly anything gets through the invisible bubble around the stage I always find myself in during this song. Nothing else in the world matters more in this moment, the rest of the world is placed on pause. Very few songs can do that to you.
[Kaminari + Mina & Bakugou]
“Home
A place where I can go
To take this off my shoulders
Someone take me home
Home
A place where I can go
To take this off my shoulders
Someone take me home
It's been a long time coming
Someone take me”
Bakugou lowers his microphone for a moment, stepping back and allowing for the two of us to take the spotlight. I grab Kaminari’s free hand in my own and raise it as high as I can reach, sending my feelings onto him and receiving his back. He squeezes my hand and meets my eyes before looking back out into the crowd before us. Blinding lights pierce my eyes, but sounds rips through my body regardless.
[Kaminari & Mina]
“Home, ho-o-o-o-me
Home, home
Someone take me
Home, ho-o-o-o-me
Home, home”
Bakugou ducks between our joined hands and stands on the edge of the stage for his verse. Fans reach up and touch his shoes and pants, calling out just to be ignored. His body seems to open up with each drawn out note, reaching through the atmosphere and capturing the stars in his grip. They light up his features, glowing inside him and pouring out for all to hear. Raw emotion tears through him and fills up my soul with overwhelming amounts of adrenaline.
[Bakugou]
“Look, I've been through so much pain
And it's hard to maintain, any smile on my face
'Cause there's madness on my brain
So I gotta make it back, but my home ain't on the map
Gotta follow what I'm feeling to discover where it's at
I need the (memory)
In case this fate is forever, just to be sure these last days are better
And if I have any (enemies)
To give me the strength to look the devil in the face and make it home safe”
Kaminari drops my hand and places it on Bakugou’s right shoulder, once again harmonizing. Their sound is like angels and the heaven others speak of. Ask me anytime and I’ll tell you heaven is here in this moment.
[Kaminari & Bakugou]
“Now tell me: how did all my dreams turn to nightmares?
How did I lose it when I was right there?
Now I'm so far that it feels like it's all gone to pieces
Tell me why the world never fights fair
I'm trying to find”
It’s my turn to step forward and place my hand on Bakugou’s left shoulder, Bakugou lowering his microphone and closing his eyes, soaking everything around him up. Once again, he’s the glue keeping us together, the unbreakable piece, the centerpiece in our puzzle. Everything is linked back to him.
[Kaminari + Mina]
“Home
A place where I can go
To take this off my shoulders
Someone take me home
Someone take me”
Building up to the bridge, I give everything in me to the moment, closing my eyes and feeling everything at once. Bakugou, Kaminari, the crowd, everything courses through my veins and urges me on. There’s a different kind of peace that comes with this - only obtainable in rare moments like these.
[Mina + Kaminari]
“I found no cure for the loneliness
I found no cure for the sickness
Nothing here feels like home
Crowded streets, but I'm all alone
I found no cure for the loneliness
I found no cure for the sickness
Nothing here feels like home
Crowded streets, but I'm all alone”
Bakugou joins us, balancing out our pitch and bringing the house down with the final verse. My eyes open and the crowd seems to hold their breath for us - singing pausing, phones lowering, hands dropping from the stage. There truly is nothing better than this. This is where it’s at, this is where I belong.
[Bakugou, Kaminari & Mina]
“Someone take me
Home, ho-o-o-o-me
Take me home
Home, home (take me home)
Someone take me
Home, ho-o-o-o-me (someone, someone)
Nothing here feels like home
Home, home
Someone take me”
With the final notes, everything goes dark. Nothing else in the world compares to the rush of a song with a meaning deeper than the ocean - nothing compares to the bond we share. Nothing in the universe means more to me than this group.