Club - a Breddy Fanfic.

76) News

Brett blinks at the light in his room and stretches out.
"Urg. Too early." he mumbles to himself. He grunts as he feels every muscle in his body protesting the tension. Why is he feeling so beat and sore? It's not like he had any alcohol last night, because he had to drive, and it wasn't even that late, just three thirty, when he arrived in the empty house. All his roommates were out, so he went straight to bed, gratefully hitting the mattress and sleeping like a log. He cracks his neck. Maybe he's just getting old.

He fumbles around for his phone.
"Nine? Shit." He would have liked to sleep in for a change. It's the story of his life: he never wakes up after nine, no matter how late he gets into bed.
He rubs his eyes, ridding them of all the sleep-dust. Hmm? Three unread messages? He swipes to WhatsApp. Eddy's been messaging him early this morning.
"Why are you up already?" he asks his empty room. He knows that unlike himself, his boyfriend sleeps in whenever he can. He blinks another few times to get his eyes working properly while he clicks on Eddy's name.

'Hey Brett, hope you had a good performance'
'Can you text me when you wake up?'
'We need to talk. There's an issue we need to address.'

Brett's eyes fly open. That sounds seriously enough. Wait. Is Eddy mad at him? His breath speeds up for a moment. 'We need to talk'? Oh no. He's not breaking up with him, is he? Several steel bands clench around his heart while he tries to remember if he has done something wrong, but he can't think of anything. He reads the messages a few more times and then types his answer so quickly he almost hurts his thumbs.

'I'm awake. You're freaking me out.
Call me ASAP?!'

Within a short, agonising minute his cell rings.
"Hi. What's wrong?" Brett asks worriedly.

"Hi." Eddy sounds tired, but not angry.
One band releases its grip from Bretts heart. Before he can ask more, Eddy continues.
"When did you get home last night?"

"Uhm. Three-ish? Why?"

"Did you speak to Mason yet? Last night or this morning?"

Brett scrunches his eyebrows together. Why is Eddy asking about Mason? He has to explain what he did wrong.
"No. He wasn't there when I got home and I woke up just now."

"Oh, all right. Eh, how do I say this... Timo and Mason have some issues and we need to talk about how we'll help them fix it."

"Eddy!" Brett lets out a sighs of relief. "Don't do that! I was afraid you were mad at me! You gave me a heart attack with these cryptic messages you sent."

"Huh? Why would I be mad?" Eddy sounds surprised. "Should I be?"

"No!" Brett hastens to say, as the other bands loosen too. "No. That's why you were freaking me out!" With every beat his heartrate slows down more, until it reaches its normal pace again.
Once he finally can breathe again, he starts processes why Eddy has called him.
"But Timo and Mason you say? Are they in some kind of trouble?"

"Timo has startled Mason. Maybe quite severely? Well..." Eddy seems to hesitate to proceed.

"Go on! Out with it!" Brett raises his voice in aggravation.

"Sorry. It's so weird to say this. Listen. Timo kissed Mason. Out of the blue."

"...." Brett takes a moment to digest this news.
"Timo did? But that's good news, no?" he asks cautiously.

"Huh? Did you hear what I'm saying? Timo blatantly kissed Mason and Mason froze as a result. So Timo ran. Luckily he came to me and confessed what happened. It has him shaken up like I've never seen."

"Huh? Mason froze?" He leans over to his nightstand and flicks on the light. Maybe his brain will work better in a lit room. "But why did he freeze?"

"Why not? I don't blame him for freaking out. He suddenly got kissed by his close friend, without his consent or him knowing the other had feelings! That's something to digest alright." Eddy answers.

"Yes, it is 'something' alright. Especially if the receiving person has wanted that to happen for weeks now." Brett explains.

"What?!"
This particular exclamation is followed by a lot of ruckus on the other side of the line, followed by a well meant:
"Ow! Fuck."

"Eddy? Are you alright?" Brett sits up rapidly.

"Yeah. I fell. I was putting my sock on and forgot to balance myself."
Brett can almost hear Eddy massaging his ankle through the phone. Eddy doesn't say anything about it.
"But screw that and: damn! Are you really telling me what I think you are?"

"When you think I'm saying Mason likes Timo that way, the answer is: Yes."

"... No way..."

They are both silent for some time, letting the gravity of it all sink in. Brett pushes his curtains open without really seeing anything that is happening outside, all of his thoughts at what is happening with his friends.
"Why didn't you tell me Timo likes Mason?"

"Because I didn't know! I'd just found out a week back that he isn't as straight as I thought he was, but I didn't see this coming." There is the sound of curtains being pushed back on the other side, so Brett registers loosely that Eddy is in his bedroom still.
"But wait. I didn't know, but you knew something already and you didn't tell me, did you?!"

"He didn't want me to. So I couldn't. Sorry." Brett apologises sincerely.

Eddy sighs. "Hmm. But if Mason likes him, why did he freeze up then? Timo is completely convinced that he has ruined everything between them."

"I have no idea why he did. I have to ask him. And no matter what, we have to get them together as soon as possible before everything gets out of hand." Brett thinks for a moment. "Okay. My plan. I'll see if he's awake already. When he is, I'll talk to him and we go to your place. Do you think you can keep Timo there with you until we arrive later this morning?"

"I think so. He's sleeping still. He's been up most of the night, pacing in my living room. I want him to sleep as long as possible."

"You're a wise man. Don't tell him about Mason's feelings yet though. I need to verify it first. Maybe things have changed." Brett looks at the door. Will answers lay behind it?

"Check. Oh! One more thing. Timo left his phone at your place. Bring it with you please? Good Luck."

"Thanks. Man. Things these days are really twisted." Brett shakes his head. "Never thought I would have to play cupid for Mason." He stretches again. At least some of the tension is leaving his body.
"Okay. See you soon, sweetheart."
The endearment makes Eddy giggle on the other side and Brett smiles widely. Eddy's giggle is one of the nicest sounds he knows, which is one of the reasons he is using the endearment in the first place. It's mighty fine to see him blush or hear him giggle like that.

Brett swings his legs over the side of the bed,
"Okay." He tells the room softly. His eyes fly over the wallpaper as if answers might be written on it. "So. Timo likes him. As in like likes. But Mason didn't reciprocate his feelings? Or is there something else that I don't know?"
After a minute he nods to himself, giving up on finding easy answers on the wall and gets up. He needs to talk to the man himself if he wants an explanation.