the man with luminous eyes

6.

"He's been awfully quiet, hasn't he?" 

It took a lot of willpower to not turn around and face the walking statue. Eddy Chen had not uttered a word to a single soul since last night. It left the rest of the musicians in an empty, inescapable pit of awkward silence. 

"Maybe something's on his mind," Brett tightened his bow. It's best not to think too deep into it. 

"Did you say something to him?" Brian teased. "Did his Cold Highness finally strike?" 

Brett couldn't help but wonder the same thing. The innocent charm that sparkled from his eyes had shriveled like wilted flowers. 

"He looks pretty upset." 

Brett turned to their music stand, swallowing heavily. 

"As long as he's professional about it," Brett took a breath, adjusting their music stand. 

"Ah, his Cold Majesty has returned." 

"Shut up and take out your music." 

. . .

Brett stared at the note left in his violin case on his way back from the backrooms. 

Can we talk? I'll wait outside. 

No need to ask who it's from. 

"What's it say?" Brian asked, squirming in his seat. "Cmon, cmon! I waited patiently for you to come back so you could--" 

Brett crumpled the paper in his hand. Brian stopped, his jaw slacked. 

"It's nothing," He stood, taking his bag and violin. "See you tomorrow." 

"Oh... ok." 

Brett stopped at the entrance of the parking lot, furrowing his brow. A tall figure leaned against his car a few feet away, waiting quietly in the dark. The balled up note in his pocket was suddenly a 10-ton weight, stopping him from taking another step. 

He didn't need to. The shadow's head turned, and in the dim lighting of the lot, Eddy's eyes sparkled when they met his. 

His violin bounced as he jogged over, stopping just a few short steps away. Brett's eyes scanned him as he tugged on his bag strap. Eddy pursed his lips, as if waiting. 

"I saw your note," Brett blurted out. "I don't think it was very professional of you to pass notes in a work setting." 

Eddy winced. "...Sorry." 

"What did you need to talk about? If it's about last night--" 

"I'm sorry," He blurted out. They met eyes and Brett realized the sparkle that caught his eyes were tears. He furrowed his brow. 

"Uh..." Brett inched closer. Eddy flinched back, stopping Brett in his tracks. 

"I'm sorry," He repeated. "About last night, and... and what happened in the backrooms yesterday. I thought about it a lot. I didn't mean to scare you." 

Brett stayed silent, unable to--unwilling to--pierce this tension with his own voice. 

Eddy rubbed the back of his head, sniffing. "I bothered you this whole time thinking you had remembered me, but... I guess I just assumed wrong." 

Brett felt his heart pounding against his chest. He watched the man in front of him purse his lips, waiting for his response. His words tangled in his throat like yarn. His mouth felt dry. 

An awkward silence fell between them. 

"That's... what you wanted to talk about?" 

Eddy nodded slowly. "Yeah." 

Brett swallowed. His thoughts blurred in a whirwind of confusion and... what? Brett wasn't sure what. 

"Alright," Brett swallowed. "That's fine. It's alright." 

Eddy smiled softly, probably with relief. Brett's eyes flickered at the sight. His stomach flipped as Eddy gently patted his shoulder. 

"All good, then," The place he had touched burst into flames. Brett swallowed. 

Fuck. 

"Eddy," He called before he could stop himself. Brett took a step forward and grabbed his wrist before he could turn away. The man before him turned, a mixture of confusion and embarrassment casting a shadow on his face. His eyes flicked down to where Brett made contact. 

"Huh?" He seemed to choke out. 

Brett pursed his lips. I'm going to regret this. "Wanna... Wanna go practice some more at my place?"