Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 4

The ring of the lift indicating they'd reached their floor cut through the tension like a knife, sending the two out of the small space as quickly as they got in. They started down the hallway that was, for the most part, deserted. Only a few students populated the long hall that stretched out in the opposite direction Brian was familiar with. He'd only ever been down here with Chrissie, and they rarely ever ventured farther than the custodian's closet around the corner from the lift.

As they made their way down the empty hall, Brian cleared his throat and asked, "So how long have you been playing music for?"

Roger shrugged his shoulders, giving him the simple answer of, "Forever, I guess."

"Me too," the professor admitted, "Well, it at least feels that way. When I was sixteen, my father and I started building a guitar together. We finished it when I was eighteen, and it has this sound that I've never gotten from any other guitar. It's probably my favorite guitar to play on; I can't imagine playing on anything else."

He glanced over and saw the disinterested expression slathered across the instructor's face as he listened to him drone on about his passion that he usually didn't boast about. His colleagues didn't quite understand his fascination with music, preferring to discuss astronomy or physics or some other kind of science with him. Brian didn't mind these conversations, but he jumped at any opportunity in which he found someone who could finally relate to his other interests.

I suppose not, Brian thought to himself, heaving a dejected sigh and muttering, "I'm sorry. I just..." His voice faded away as he struggled to find the right words to finish his train of thought. But he couldn't think of anything; he hadn't had this much trouble speaking to someone since he first met Chrissie. The professor ran a nervous hand through his hair and decided to change the subject entirely, asking, "Are you new to London?"

A chuckle slipped past Roger's lips. "I guess you could say that."

Brian's eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"

The blonde's blue eyes traveled over to meet his hazel ones, an embarrassed blush appearing in his cheeks. All he could think of were all his drunken escapades in London, the bars here being much better than the ones in his hometown.

That was the old him, though. The new him was here to make a better life for himself, even though it didn't seem that way right now. However, that was something Roger didn't plan on sharing with Brian, or anyone for that matter. He wanted to hide how much of a mess he was for as long as he could, and luckily for Roger, the two of them had reached his classroom.

"Oh hey, looks like we're here," the instructor blurted out in avoidance of answering the professor's questions. Roger smiled at the flustered professor who was visibly thrown off by the abrupt end of his attempt to get to know the blonde better and pulled out his own key, unlocking the classroom door and struggling to single-handedly get the large instrument inside.

"Here," Brian said, taking note of the blonde's dilemma and stepping in to help. At least, that's what he made it seem like. In actuality, he just wanted to spend more time with him—completely disregarding the fact that the rest of his students had gathered in the lecture hall and were waiting for their professor to arrive. Class was supposed to start five minutes ago, but Brian had lost track of time and hadn't bothered to look at his watch.

He squeezed himself between Roger and the door, reaching over the instrument to grab the doorknob and pushing the door in. He slipped inside the classroom and held the door open for the blonde, allowing him to bring the piano into what Brian quickly realized was practically a closet. With all the other instruments Roger had brought in, there was barely any room to stand—let alone fit a piano.

"So, this is the music program," the professor stated dismally.

"'More like a work in progress," the instructor corrected him, positioning the piano against the wall opposite the one his guitars were propped up against. In between them, against the farthest wall, was his drum kit, taking up most of the room's space prior to the piano. "At least, that's what the people in charge are calling it. They said if it goes well, they'll move me elsewhere, but for now I'm stuck down here."

Brian frowned. He remembered being in the same kind of situation when he first started at Imperial College too. Except, he didn't think that Roger would climb the ranks as fast as he did, especially as a music instructor. "Well, hopefully I'll get to see you upstairs sometimes," the older man blurted out, the words slipping past his lips without him thinking about them first. His eyes widened in anticipation of the younger man's response, hoping he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

"Oh, don't worry about that," the blonde replied with a subtle laugh, "Until I get a student, I'm just going to be getting more familiar with the school, wandering around...maybe barge into more people's classrooms, I don't know." He glanced over at Brian, a rosy blush appearing in his cheeks as he smirked.

The professor matched the instructor's expression, a warm feeling building up inside of him as he replied, "Well, I doubt that's a very good way to make a first impression."

"Seemed to work on you, didn't it?"

Brian swallowed the nervous lump that had formed in his throat, breaking his gaze away from the younger man and shifting it down to his wrist. "Oh, boy, look at the time. I'm late for my own class. I-I should really get going."

"Okay." Roger nodded his head in understanding, keeping his eyes locked on Brian as he hesitated to leave the room. It was as easy as walking out the door and taking the lift back upstairs, yet for some reason, the task seemed impossible for the professor.

He didn't want to go back to his class. He wanted to spend the rest of the day down here, with Roger, asking him more questions and possibly even playing some music with him. Yet at the same time, he felt that if he were to do that, he'd be crossing a line; breaking the boundary between professional and personal. He'd already done that once, and the imminent consequences he foresaw from that risk worried him every day.

With the situation becoming too overwhelming, Brian finally decided to walk out the door, hearing Roger's voice call out from the small room, "Thanks for the help again, Brian! I'll see you 'round, yeah?" A small grin appeared on the professor's face as he continued his trek down the hallway.

He knows my name.