i broke the silence for you

v. allegro moderato

forever will my world stay within my head
played constantly yet unheard

    at home, eddy sat down at his desk, head in his hands. he was such an idiot. why did he word it like that? "'do you want to go out'? oh my god, he's going to assume things," eddy sighed to himself. "i messed this up already."

     eddy picked up the folded piece of paper and opened it up, staring at brett's phone number. should he? it was 10 p.m. eddy didn't know anyone who had the audacity to text at that hour.

       actually, eddy knew himself.

hey, it's eddy
sorry for texting at this time, but i was wondering if you'd like to practice for next week's performance tomorrow?
it's okay if you don't and yeah uh really sorry for being annoying
10:09

     to eddy's surprise, brett responded.

nah it's fine
i enjoy talking to you a lot actually
i'd love to practice with you tomorrow :)
10:16

     eddy smiled and turned off his phone, placed it on the bedside table, got ready for bed, laid down, and closed his eyes, ambling into the peaceful darkness of sleep full of dreams that he instantly forgot the next morning.

~ ♪ ~

     brett spent an hour the next morning tidying up his hair and picking a good outfit before heading over to eddy's. he even practiced talking in front of the mirror so his voice didn't sound so slow and halting.

     once at eddy's house, brett stood at the doorway, marveling the front yard and flowers on the windowsill. unlike brett, eddy lived in a house, not an apartment.

     brett could hear some muffled piano music inside, a little obscurely forming the melody of the piece for next week's concert. he knocked on the door gingerly, then realized that there was a doorbell, pressed the button, and waited.

     brett blushed impulsively when eddy opened the door, trying his best to not think about how eddy looked so good. "hey," brett said nervously.

     "hey," eddy responded. "come on in, i was just warming up."

     brett entered the house and followed eddy into the living room where the piano was situated. eddy sat down and brett placed his case on the floor, taking out his instrument.

     "this place is nice," brett said, snapping his shoulder rest on his violin.

     "thanks. it's my mum's," eddy replied.

     brett placed his violin on his shoulder and played the open strings. eddy played the A key and allowed brett to tune his instrument for a few minutes, then stood up and walked over to him.

     "your E's a little off, is it okay if i. . . ?" eddy began.

     "oh, yeah, of course. it's really cool that you have perfect pitch," brett agreed.  he handed eddy his violin and blushed when he saw eddy smile. brett waited patiently and watched as eddy tuned the instrument. "you—you said you played the violin, right? could you—could you play something for me?" brett requested quietly, regretting adding the "for me."

     "uh—i—sure," eddy stammered. "i'm not that good though."

     "don't say that. i think you're great, even if i haven't heard you yet," brett assured.

     "thanks. alright," eddy confirmed. he placed the bow on the strings and began to play.

~ ♪ ~

     eddy practiced the violin a lot. he was great at it; he could play most of paganini's 24 caprices almost perfectly, but with brett here, watching him, everything he learned—contact point, color, articulation—seemed to abandon him. all he could do not was trust his muscle memory as he played meditation, a piece he was really familiar with. the melody always caressed him and he enjoyed it a lot, but now the feeling of the piece seemed to change. before it felt like sitting alone peacefully with the sun warming his face, but this time someone was sitting with him. and eddy knew who it was all too well.

     "you're amazing!!" brett cried. "you should definitely play the violin in an orchestra—why aren't you?"

     "well, uh, i tried, but most of the orchestras had more than enough violinists and were looking for pianists. i just really wanted to be in a professional orchestra, so i picked up the piano again after a ten year break from it and learned it again," eddy explained. "i enjoy it as a hobby, though."

     "i know we're here to practice for next week's concert, but. . . could we duet? i've always wanted to," brett asked slowly. eddy perked up. he had always wanted to duet as well.

     "yeah. i'll get my violin, it's in my room," eddy replied, pointing down the hall. in his room, eddy picked up his violin case and dusted it off, walked back into the living room, opened his case, and pulled out his violin. he tightened the bow, slipped his shoulder rest on, and played a D scale, cringing at his slightly shaky bow. "what pieces do you know?" eddy asked.

     "prokofiev sonata for two violins, bach concerto for two violins, holst double concerto for two violins, all five of shostakovich's pieces for two violins," brett listed.

     "i'm familiar with bach's concertos, so we can do that," eddy suggested.

     "alright," brett said, excitement edging the tone of his voice. eddy found it pretty cute.

     they duetted for a few hours, absorbed in the music once again until brett lowered his violin and rubbed his shoulders.

     "you okay?" eddy asked.

     "my shoulders are just a bit sore," brett answered. "i'm fine, though. happens all the time."

     eddy put his violin back in its case and walked over to brett, placed his hands on his shoulders, and massaged them gently. eddy, what the fuck are you doing? eddy screamed in his head. he could feel brett shudder under his hands, and quickly pulled away, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

     "n—no—it's fine—i—it kind of helped,” brett muttered, grabbing eddy’s wrist when he tried to pull away.

     eddy froze, not wanting to withdraw because he secretly loved brett's touch and he didn't want to seem rude. he took brett's hand from his wrist and wove their fingers together. brett twitched but didn't recoil. he looked right into eddy's eyes.

     that's when eddy receded, letting go of brett's hand and backing away. "sorry," he mumbled hastily.

     "i—i should go now," brett implied, picking up his violin case.

     "no—it's raining. you can stay here for now," eddy offered. “the guest room’s the one on the right at the end of the hall.”

     “it’s okay—you don’t have to,” brett protested, but he flinched when thunder clapped from outside. eddy walked over and gently took brett’s arm, led him down the hall, and into the guest room. brett sat down (more like collapsed) on the bed. eddy sat down next to him.

     “you okay?” he asked, placing his hand on brett’s shoulder.

     “it’s just. . . loud,” brett answered, reaching up to take off his hearing aids. “like the sky is angry at me.”

     “well, loud could mean excitement,” eddy suggested. “maybe the clouds are so hyped that they wet themselves.”

     brett laughed, most of the uneasiness draining from his face. eddy smiled, stood up reluctantly, and walked to the doorway. "i'll get something for you to change into," eddy promised. he came back minutes later with a set of his nightclothes, plopped them on the bed next to brett, and stepped outside to give him some privacy.

     minutes later, brett came out in eddy's clothes, and eddy blushed. again.

     "is it okay if i leave the light on?” brett asked, adorably childlike.

     “of course,” eddy verified. “it’s late now; goodnight.” eddy stepped over and gently brushed brett’s arm before walking to his room to fall into another sleep full of embarrassing dreams.