Neighbour

18.

"Thank you for letting me borrow your violin. You really didn't have to do that," Brett said while putting it back in the case as people began to head out to lunch. "I appreciate it, though." 

"Don't worry about it, Brett. Wanna eat in with me today?" 

Eddy held up the bag of fizzy drinks, bread and chocolate spread for Brett to see, and he felt his heard do a double beat when he saw his deskie's smile. 

"That sounds good, I love chocolate spread," Brett nodded, standing up. "I know a quiet place to sit." 

Eddy willingly followed Brett out of the rehearsal space down a different corridor to the one he had entered through. At the end of said corridor, Brett pulled out a key card from his wallet and unlocked a door with it. He held the door open for Eddy, who entered ahead of him. 

The room didn't contain much, really. A wooden table and a few chairs, and a whole lot of old music stands. Along the concrete walls were black curtains, probably to soften up the look of the room that seemed to have been converted into a storage space of some sort. 

"It's not really the greatest place in the world," Brett began as he entered behind Eddy and let the door shut behind them. "It's kind of uh… my secret spot. Panic room, if you will." 

"It's nice," Eddy said with a small smile, going to put the bag with their lunch on the table. "Practical with the table." 

"I guess," Brett said, slowly going over to sit down on one of the chairs by the table. He looked over at the bag as if waiting for permission from Eddy to look in it. 

Eddy sat down and leaned back. 
"Grab yourself a fizzy drink and some bread, be my guest," he said quickly, pushing the bag over to Brett. "Or well, I suppose I am your guest here." 

"I suppose so, yeah," Brett said, pulling one of the fizzy drinks out of the bag and opening the can slowly. "Thank you again for the violin and lunch and everything. It's really more than I deserve after… after leaving you to walk home in the rain. I'm sorry about that, by the way." 

"Don't worry about it, yeah?" Eddy assured him as he leaned over to grab a fizzy drink for himself. "You seemed upset, so I figured you needed time to yourself." 

"I suppose that's not wrong," Brett shrugged. "It's just that I've asked Mike to… to keep words like slut and the ass slap and all that to when we're alone." 

"So he's not listening?" Eddy asked, tilting his head. Brett shook his head quickly. 

"No no, it's not like that. He does listen, but… I guess he can be a bit possessive and he was a bit jealous about me having lunch with you and stuff, that's all." 

"I suppose that makes sense," Eddy nodded before taking a sip of his drink. A bit possessive would be the understatement of the year in his mind. He set the drink down on the table and began pulling the bread and the chocolate spread out. 

"He's a sweet guy, though. I love him," Brett added after a bit of silence. "The love of my life." 

Eddy wouldn't say it out loud, but it honestly sounded more like Brett was trying to convince himself rather than him. He decided to change the topic instead, or at least change it a bit. 

"So how did you manage to get your violin smashed?" he asked instead, spreading chocolate on a slice of the bread and offering it to his deskie. Brett carefully took it and took a bite before answering. 

"I uh… I put it on the bed…" 

"And then Mike came and smashed it?" 

Brett quickly looked up at Eddy with a shocked look. 
"No, no, you've gotten it all wrong. I uh… I accidentally threw myself… like later at night. I threw myself on the bed," he said, focusing intently on the slice of bread. "Which was stupid, but…" 

"Really? That's not what it sounded like from my side of the wall," Eddy said softly, making a slice of bread for himself. "Are you sure that's how it happened?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure." 

Eddy sighed, shaking his head a bit. 

"Brett… you know I'm just trying to look out for you, right?" 

Brett hesitated for a moment, eyes glued to the half eaten piece of bread with chocolate spread in his hand. 

"I know, but you've just gotten it all wrong. I appreciate your concern, but I don't need it," he said quietly after a bit, shifting uncomfortably and avoiding Eddy's concerned eyes. "Please just leave it. I like hanging out with you, but I'll need you to stop looking into this. There's nothing to find. Just please drop it."