Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 13

The two friends made their way through the townhouse and into the kitchen, where the former poured himself and his unexpected guest cups of tea while the latter took a seat at the table. "You know, I wouldn't mind hearing your explanation," the dark-haired man blurted out, looking at the blonde over his shoulder with a smirk.

Roger's cheeks grew red at the thought of recounting the day that led him to where he was now, all the while trying to sort out the mix of emotions he'd been experiencing ever since he walked into that professor's classroom on his first day of his new job. After a short moment of silence—disturbed only by the clinking of the teacups against their saucers—he confessed, "Well, there's this guy at the university—"

"Oh, don't tell me it's a student, Rog," Freddie interrupted, bringing the steaming beverages over and slipping into the seat across from the blonde.

"No, he's not a student," he clarified, taking one of the two drinks and bringing it to his lips. He took a quick sip and let out a long sigh, disclosing, "He's a teacher." The older of the two raised his eyebrows in amusement, drowning his immediate response in his cup of tea, wanting to hear more. "He's one of the youngest guys there—besides me—and ever since we met, we've just clicked. He's just..." The corner of his lip perked up into a small grin. "Being around him is a nice change from what I'm used to."

"Look at you, darling," Freddie purred, a proud smile appearing on his face and revealing his obnoxiously prominent teeth, "Moving up in life—getting a new job, leaving your arsehole of a boyfriend for an educator..."

Roger rolled his eyes and looked down at his drink, mumbling, "I'm not leaving Tim, Freddie. I just...I really like this teacher's company, and I think he likes mine too."

He smirked, knowing statements like that are never finished without a "But..."

The blush in the blonde's cheeks intensified as he set his tea down and ashamedly completed his friend's sentence, "But...he's shagging the headmistress."

Freddie took in a sharp, admonitory breath. "No!"

"Yes," Roger groaned and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and burying his face in his hands. The two sat in silence for a bit before the blonde muttered, "I don't know what I'm going to do, Fred. I...I want to be around him, but at the same time, I want him to stay as far away from me as possible. He can't...He's not going to like me once he gets to know me. That's why I came here, because he and I stayed late at school today, hanging up flyers or whatever, and obviously Tim wasn't going to wait for me." He sat back in his chair and sighed. "So, he offered me a ride home and...and he wouldn't take no for an answer. I had no choice but to say yes, and...and I just didn't want him to see where I live."

"You mean you didn't want him seeing Tim," the dark-haired man corrected him slyly.

The blonde remained silent, but his silence divulged everything he wasn't, wordlessly expressing that it wasn't his living situation he didn't want the professor to see, but rather the life he led altogether; the person he truly was on the inside.

He could switch his clothes, change his occupation, and spin his web of lies all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he was still the same Roger Taylor whose entire existence relied solely on pleasing others—whichever way that may be—and receiving affirmation that he was doing it right. This person he was trying to be, the person that Brian saw, that wasn't Roger Taylor. It was someone else, someone he longed to be for a while now. The professor was Roger's fresh start, and he couldn't risk compromising that.

The older of the two sat forward and reached a sympathetic hand across the table, placing it on the distressed, younger man's arm and saying, "Grab the keys. We're going to get you home."

"But you don't have your license, Fred. How are you going to get back?"

He huffed and stood up from the table. "I think I can manage driving myself home, darling. Besides, how hard can it be?"