Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 3

As the week dragged on, Brian grew more and more intrigued by Roger. Every morning he would watch him pass his classroom, bringing in a new instrument each time. First it was a drum kit—piece by piece, of course. Brian must've seen him walk past his door at least eight times that day. Then it was a small collection of guitars—five times. It all culminated with him lugging a full-size piano down the hall, shouting for the students to make way for him.

"Need some help?" the curly-haired astrophysics professor asked the new music instructor, leaning against the classroom's threshold with his arms crossed over his chest and a look of amusement on his face.

The blonde glanced over at him and smirked, replying, "Thanks for the offer, mate, but I think I've got this." He kept pulling the instrument down the hall but didn't get too far before running over his foot. "Fuck!" he screamed, earning glances from everyone around him. "What are you looking at?" he snapped, pushing through the pain that was evident in his face and continuing on with his solo mission.

Brian watched in amazement as Roger rounded the corner, parting the few students in his path like the Red Sea. The professor bit his lip, contemplating whether or not he should follow after the blonde. Brian didn't know why, but there was just something about the guy that he couldn't shake. He'd wanted to ask Chrissie about him, since she was the one who's talked with him the most, but the last thing she wanted to talk about after their long days was more school.

Determined to find out about Roger himself, the tall man readied himself to go after the instructor when one of his students stopped him. "Professor May?" It was John. "I was hoping you could go over..." The awkward but intelligent university student's voice trailed off as he dug his hand into his bag, shuffling its contents around a bit before pulling out a messy collection of notes.

Before the boy could explain what he wanted to review, Brian placed an apologetic hand over John's and said, "How about after class, John? I was actually just about to head to the loo."

"O-Okay!" he stammered, nodding his head as he put his work back and adjusted the strap of his bag over his shoulder with a nod of his head. The student brushed past his professor and went to take his seat in the lecture hall, the teacher taking the extra time he had before his class to give a quick visit to the blonde.

Brian didn't really know where he was headed, having no prior knowledge about this new program, so he was hoping that Roger hadn't gotten far. Luckily a flight of stairs had stopped the new instructor in his tracks, forcing him to determine a new route to take. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't familiar enough yet with the university to do that. He'd only known how to get to his assigned classroom and the headmistress's office—and the stairs played a major role in that.

"'Don't think you're going to be able to get it down there that way," the curly-haired man blurted out, startling the blonde away from the instrument he was leaned against in defeat.

"You got a better way, Socrates?" he shot back, a playful irritation to his tone.

"I-I don't know what you're trying to imply with that, but there's actually a lift back that way," Brian suggested, pointing behind the two of them, "You just need a key to use it."

"Well, where do I get one?"

Brian grinned and pulled his out of his pocket, showing it off with pride. Roger gasped and went to snatch it out of the taller man's hand when he raised it higher in the air, shaking his head in a discouraging manner. The shorter man's eyebrows furrowed together as the other explained, "The keys aren't just something you 'get.' You have to earn them."

Roger scoffed and placed his hands on his hips. "And how do you suppose I do that? Sleep with the headmistress?"

The professor's cheeks grew warm at the instructor's guess, his hand lowering back down to his side. He tilted his head down and began to play with the keys, thinking about his own actions. It was never his intention to receive the perks he did by being in a relationship with Chrissie, but now that he thought about it, it very well appeared that way. Of course, Roger didn't know this—he was just trying to make a joke.

Brian snapped himself out of the daze he'd fallen into and offered shakily, "I-I can just take you down there."

Like the night Brian introduced himself after finding Roger sitting outside all by himself, waiting for his ride, all the blonde said was "Cool." He walked around the piano and grabbed the one end, pushing it in the direction the professor pointed to earlier. Brian trailed not too far behind, his cheeks reddening with each step he took.

The two arrived at the lift and, after the keyholder had undone the lock and opened the gate, rolled the heavy instrument into the small space. They each took one side, Roger closing the gate while Brian pushed the button for the bottom floor. The lights flickered as the lift began to descend, silence falling over the enclosed cage.

Both men wanted to say something to alleviate the tension that had started to grow between them, but they couldn't bring themselves to do so. Brian's issue was that he couldn't narrow down what he wanted to ask the blonde. There was so much he wanted to know, so many questions he had about him and what he was all about, but Roger had learned from experience that the less he revealed about himself, the better, which is why he kept silent. After all, that's what got him here in the first place, and he couldn't risk losing the opportunity. He just couldn't.