Duet Partner

Chapter 2

When Brett heads out of the dorm building the next morning, he's still half asleep. As one can imagine, he didn't really have a good night's sleep. Tossing and turning until the wee hours of the morning  usually doesn't quite help with problems.

On top of that, he's also considerably late for this morning's history lecture. And so, in his inattentive and drowsy state of mind, he almost overlooks the blonde girl waiting for him.

"Hey, Brett! Wait for me!"

Oh god, is there any worse way to start the day than having your personal stalker/fangirl ambushing you?

Well, at least these are the only terms Brett can think of describing Naomi Porter's role in his life. She isn't that bad of a person per se; pretty, talented and – let's call it vibrant, but it's hard to look at someone's positive traits when they've been running after you and not taking the hint for almost a year.

(Now, this partially is Brett's fault as well as he might or might not had drunkenly kissed Naomi at a party last September but shush – this isn't something he likes to be reminded of.)

But here's a thing one needs to know about Brett Yang: He tries to be the best version of himself everywhere at every time. It takes quite a bit for him to lose his countenance – which, when he gives it a closer thought, also could be a reason Naomi got this whole thing the wrong way – maybe he just wasn't relentless enough, maybe he sugarcoated it. The two of them are in desperate need of a serious conversation.

Right now is not the time though – as already mentioned, Brett needs to get to his course as soon as possible. And to his misfortune, the history building is at the other end of the campus. As much as he hates it, Brett comes to the conclusion that talking to Naomi is probably a better option than having her following him and yapping about everything and nothing for the next few minutes. Especially because there is a huge possibility that he'll have to hang around her for much longer time periods in the not too distant future. 

(He better start to grow accustomed to her.)

"Good morning, Naomi", Brett sighs, waiting for the girl to catch up. "How have you been?"

"I'm great, actually! What about you though, I heard that you won the concerto competition! Congrats!" She's beaming at him and well – this could be worse.

They continue their way in the direction of the history building, Brett more or less engaging in their little chat when Naomi trips over her own feet – her shoelaces are untied. She smiles apologetically, stops and kneels down. Brett is walking backwards now; keeping on moving is really rude but (was it mentioned before?) he is too late for class. At least, he can maintain eye contact that way. But besides that, the whole idea turns into a calamity.

Because suddenly, Naomi's eyes widen and she just about manages to yell a quick "Watch out!" before Brett's back collides with something rock-hard.

"Ouch!" he complains, more out of habit than seriously injured – the only thing damaged is his ego. Mostly because –

"You should watch where you're going", someone behind him says and Brett freezes. He unfortunately knows all too well to whom that voice belongs.

(Back to the beginning when Brett asked himself if there's anyone he would be more discontented to meet than Naomi.)

Well, the answer – that yes, there is – is standing right in front of him. Slowly, he turns around and looks up, directly into the smug eyes of Eddy Chen.

"Hello, Yang. Didn't see you down there."

Brett snorts. While this kind of comment isn't unusual when encountering Eddy Chen, the sheer audacity flashes him every time. He doesn't even know why Eddy cares enough to insult him but since the first year at university, their relationship has always been like this. They don't even know each other and they have nothing in common but somehow, Eddy seems to have honed in on Brett. And throughout the years, Brett has learned to dislike the other too.

"Chen. Don't you have something else to do, like throwing balls around or hooking up with unsuspecting girls?" he shoots back.

Maybe that's another point: Musicians who usually stay in their own bubble just don't get along with popular athletes. Especially with the ones like Eddy Chen: arrogant, self-centered, vain, empty-headed, boastful – Brett could go on and on.

And his point is promptly proven as at the mention of girls, Eddy just smirks at him and then turns to wink at Naomi – who watched their change of blows open-mouthed. And well – this is his chance.

"Have you two met each other yet?" Brett asks. "Naomi, this is Eddy Chen. Eddy, this is Naomi Porter."

Naomi's face brightens with recognition. "I think I know you! You play basketball, don't you? Aren't you the captain? I've been to a game recently; my friend Hannah's brother is in the team too!"

The girl is smiling from ear to ear as she continues to talk a mile a minute, leaving Eddy with a slightly overwhelmed and helpless expression (Naomi can have that effect on people who don't know what awaits them) and Brett can't help but feel a bit complacent. Internally, he pads himself on the shoulder. Naomi has Eddy flat on his back for the moment.

Brett intends to use this to – well, do a bunk. This is his best opportunity to maybe not miss the entire lecture. And so, he mumbles a quick "I'll leave you to it" and bolts.

When he finally storms into the auditorium, Professor McCoy shoots him an exasperated stare. Brett can't even blame him – more than half of the lecture is already over. Still, the rest of it drags on even more.

Brett stopped to count the times he almost dozed off and when the ringing of the bell indicates the end of the period and the start of the lunch break, only the prospect of a huge coffee can make him pull himself up.

It isn't until the cup with the steaming beverage is right in front of him that life is breathed into Brett's soul again. His friends know well enough to leave him alone when he's in this kind of mood, but now, Alex's curiosity wins over his attentiveness.

"Bro, why were you so late today, did Naomi waylay you again? McCoy was seriously pissed!"

Brett groans. "Bullseye. But that wasn't even the worst part... Have I already mentioned how much I hate Eddy Chen?"

He doesn't get he compassion he has hoped for, instead, the entire table breaks into laughter.

"Just about a thousand times!" Hyung cackles and Joanne adds "Seriously, we get it! I even try to avoid him too – out of solidarity!"

Brett tries to sustain his frown – unsuccessfully. Their joy is contagious and he finds his face breaking into a smile too. Why worry about Eddy Chen when you have friends like this?