Love Me for Who I am - TwoSet Violin fanfic

Chapter 7

Eddy Chen knew exactly why he ended up here. In this stupid cafe with his stupidly uncomfortable and formal clothes with his hair all fixed and with a forced smile. If he had a choice he wouldn't be here, he would be at home studying or practicing. He would be at home with Brett, having lunch that was probably cooked by Brett as well as takeout bubble tea. Oh, to stay in with Brett right now. 

Not to mention the horrible rain outside. Everything about this meeting is going wrong and Eddy honestly just wanted to be back at the warmth of his home with Brett. Yet he cannot do so, doing this would only mean disobeying his parents. 

So, he stomached it and smiled at the girl that was approaching him. She was not an unfamiliar face, she's one of the friends he had as a child. It was just foreign because it's the first time they're seeing each other for a date.

She settles down on her chair, not much hesitation in her actions. Eddy stares, not knowing what to say. She’s just like he remembers, pale white skin, but tints of pink on her face. Silky brown hair, beautiful hazel eyes, a captivating smile, a tall stature, just slightly shorter than himself. There seems to be a sense of comfort in her, the sense and comfort of nostalgia. Maybe it just wasn’t the comfort he preferred most.

He wanted to feel the comfort of home, and he had one home, and that was Brett. But she wasn’t Brett, and that was the point, right? To forget about Brett, to love someone else. 

She’s the opposite of Brett, not a single inch reminding him of Brett. This would be enough to forget about Brett, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

"Hi Eddy. Long time no see." Stephany said with a smile.

"Long time no see indeed, Steph. How are you?" Eddy asked, standing up from his chair, and pulling out the chair for her. 

They hugged and Eddy thought it felt nice but weird. He's not used to feeling the curvature of a woman, or someone who is simply taller than Brett. It was comfortable, though. Not in a sense of a lover's touch but what you'd feel as a child in your friend's embrace. 

They ordered coffee and cake, a bit too sweet for Eddy's liking but it's fine. It didn't remind him of the savory dinners that he had with Brett alone in their apartment. It was better, actually.

Stephany was talking and Eddy cannot help but marvel at her beauty. She isn't Brett, that's given, but it seemed as though she was still worthy of Eddy's love. She looked like someone Eddy could love as much as Brett, if not, maybe even more.

Eddy believes that he can learn to love Stephany that way. He believes, and he knows that he’ll try. 

He’ll learn to want to wrap his arms around her waist, to want to feel his fingers intertwined with hers, to want to see her. She’s everything he could possibly want, isn’t she? She’s smart, beautiful, and from a prestigious family. And he deserves to love someone like her, and she deserves to be loved by him as well, right? He’ll love her because Brett doesn’t deserve him, and because they deserve each other.

Eddy smiles at the thought of loving her. The taste is bitter on the back of his throat but he tries to imagine the sweetness. He doesn't want to disappoint his parents anymore so she has to be it. 

Eddy needs to learn how to love her the way he might love Brett. It would be easy, right? Since his family cannot approve of Brett, he just has to accept the fact that his future lies with Stephany. 

She'll be the one to grow old with him, to raise children with, to get married to and the one to spend his entire life with. It was better that way and he doesn't have to be the best friend who's pining. He isn't like that and he certainly wouldn't be that. 

So Eddy accepts the fate that he has to follow and the life that he has to live. If it means being unable to be loved back by Brett at this lifetime, then he will make sure that the next one would be good for them. In the next lifetime, they will love each other as if they were the one who created love. 

Loving Brett Yang was simply bittersweet. Eddy just has to find a way to remove the sweetness of the hope. Maybe, just maybe, Brett Yang already loves him back. Maybe Brett Yang was just waiting for him to be the first one to tell. Maybe Brett Yang was the pining best friend and not him. 

He has to remove these sweet, sweet delusions and just accept how Stephany would be the one that he would marry. She was someone that Eddy would be proud of presenting to his parents. 

He did not want to be rude or brag about his social status, but what is Brett Yang to his family other than a mere musician? He was not someone the family would be proud of being part of the family. 

Why should he be stuck in love with Brett Yang when he's not someone the family would accept? Besides, it's not like Brett was worthy of being a Chen, right?

Only because he deserves much, much more than to be a Chen.