Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 16

When Monday morning came around, Roger found himself sitting in the teachers' lounge, separated from all the other professors who continued to give him strange, disapproving looks. He didn't have the energy to disregard them with the weekend he'd had, so instead he resorted to hiding behind dark sunglasses and keeping his head low, staring at the Styrofoam cup of coffee enwrapped in his hands.

Brian, quite the opposite, waltzed into the teachers' lounge that morning with a newfound confidence none of the professors had ever witnessed in him before. Normally he entered the room with a sense of bashful shyness, occasionally engaging in the mundane, insignificant conversations a few professors would invite him in to. However, today he strode in with his head held high and a wide grin plastered on his face, taking one of the many open seats at the table Roger was alone at and greeting him cheerfully, "'Morning, Roger!"

"Hey," was all the blonde muttered, glaring at him through the dark shades over his eyes and tightening his grip on his coffee ever so slightly. The sight of Brian so happy and upbeat struck a wrong chord in Roger for purely selfish reasons, instantly thinking about how much trouble the professor had indirectly caused him over the course of the past two days.

"How was your weekend?" Brian inquired, undeterred by the music instructor's lack of interest and enthusiasm—partly because he'd chalked up Roger's indifference to it just being part of Roger's personality, but also because his own personal joy blinded him from seeing what was right in front of him, and he really just wanted to be asked the same question back.

"It was fine," Roger answered tersely, not wanting to go into detail about the constant arguing he had to deal with, the never-ending screaming matches, and the make-up sex that didn't do anything but start the cycle all over again. The two sat in awkward silence, Brian's eagerness unwavering, before Roger heaved an annoyed sigh and asked as politely as he could manage, "You?"

"Oh, mine was great!" the professor gushed, nearly exploding out of his seat from excitement. He giggled and covered his face with his hands, dragging his fingers down his face and adding, "Really great. Let's just say, I...I really needed this weekend."

The blonde nodded his head and raised his eyebrows in mock interest, bringing the steaming beverage up to his lips and taking a sip before asking the question Brian's eyes were pleading for him to ask, "And why is that?"

"So, when I got home after dropping you off, I got a call from Chrissie," he began, keeping his voice low as he elaborated, "And she told me she loved me for the first time in our entire relationship!"

Roger forced a grin on his face, trying his best to hide the indignation that was building up inside of him as he listened to Brian's story. "How cute," he replied through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it gets even better!" the professor raved, attracting the other professors in the room's attention and immediately going red in the cheeks from embarrassment. He bit his lip and moved his chair closer to Roger, their arms almost touching as Brian leaned in and continued, "I told her I loved her back, and...and then she invited me over and...we finally did it!"

The blonde chuckled at the curly-haired man's description of what happened. His innocence killed Roger, and he couldn't help but wonder what he would've told others if the two of them had ever done anything. "So, you finally did it, huh?" he questioned playfully, smirking at Brian, "What did you do, again?"

"You know," the professor murmured, the blush in his cheeks intensifying, "It."

Roger sat back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest, contemplating how far he could take it; how far he could go to make Brian say what he and Chrissie had done out loud. "I'm afraid I'm still not sure what you're referring to, Bri. You know us musicians...we're so clueless sometimes, and I'm a blonde on top of that, so..." He waved his hand over his head to further prove his point.

One of the professors at the other table scoffed, attracting Roger's attention as he not-so-subtly whispered to his other colleagues, "As if his hair color's the reason he's a daft sod."

"Well at least I have hair and someone to fuck, Ray!" Roger snapped back, earning more glares and snickers from the professors who slowly dispersed from the lounge to go to their respective lectures.

Brian shifted awkwardly in his seat as the blonde grumbled, "I don't know how you put up with them, Bri. They're literally the worst." The professor went to respond when he rambled on, "I mean, they act like they're so much better than everyone else just because they know shit, but they don't know anything! They don't know the half of it, living their cushy lives inside a bubble. If they lived in my shoes for even one day, that damn glare they always give me would disappear just like that." He snapped his fingers to prove his point, startling his listener ever so slightly. He set his coffee down—some of the hot liquid splashing out from the small opening in the lid from the force with which it was set down—and muttered, "I just can't stand 'em."

"Well we can't stand you either, blondie," Ray chimed in from the doorway.

"Oh, would you fuck off already, wanker?" the blonde spat, rolling his eyes and glaring at the old professor, "Don't you have some stupid women's studies class to teach?"