Funny How Love Is (Maylor AU)

Chapter 29

It was difficult for Roger and Brian to carry on with their days, unable to stop thinking about the moment the two of them had just shared. Roger took to his instruments, trying to express his feelings through their strings and keys with the help of what he'd written down in his notebook the night before. Brian, on the other hand, didn't have that option. He had students to teach, lectures to give, and questions to answer, all of which he approached with a distractedness that raised suspicion among his pupils.

Of course, after the last outburst their teacher had when they interrogated him about his personal affairs, they knew better this time than to pester him about it. Instead, they turned to whispers and passed notes, both of which went unnoticed by the professor as he tried his best to get through his lessons that felt like pure torture.

As Brian's last student walked out for the day, his eyes flickered over to the clock on the wall, and much to his relief, the hands were right where he wanted them—on the five and twelve. He stood up from his desk and pushed his books into his bag, slinging the accessory over his shoulder and attempting to leave the room as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he didn't even make it past the doorway before someone slid in front of it, blocking his way out.

Brian's hasty exit screeched to a halt as he stared at the man standing in front of him. He looked vaguely familiar, but the professor couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen him before. With how he was dressed, in a loose shirt whose buttons were half undone and bellbottoms that hugged his thighs just right, Brian first assumption was that he was a student. After all, there were thousands of students at the university, and it was impossible for him to have crossed paths with them all.

The professor forwent any type of formal greeting—the kind of day he had mentally wearing him down to the point of exhausted indifference—and instead cut right to the chase, annoyedly blurting out, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can tell me where Roger fucking Taylor is," the stranger replied rudely, doubling the size of Brian's eyes as he brought an already half-smoked cigarette up to his lips and took a long, emphasized drag.

"Tim," he whispered unconsciously under his breath, making the previously missing connection almost instantly. Who else would be looking for Roger, or address him so crudely?

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Brian caught sight of the blonde who had appeared at the end of the hallway, hoping to catch the professor on his way out and tell him about how he truly felt about what happened. He wasn't happy with where they left things off, and it didn't do any good being alone the rest of the day with only his thoughts to keep him company.

He'd paced back and forth in his small classroom, trying to figure out what to do and what to say to Brian about their situation, and it wasn't until an hour before the end of the school day that he'd come up with a plan for them to keep exploring their new feelings towards one another. After all, before he started at the university, it was practically his job to do things like what he wanted the two of them to do. In the blonde's experience, everyone was nervous at first about doing something like what he intended on suggesting to the professor, but he knew for a fact that it gets easier, and with time, he was certain that Chrissie wouldn't even come across Brian's mind when they were together. They'd just have to be careful, and with how desperate and needy Brian appeared to be, Roger doubted that the professor wouldn't at least try.

However, when Roger laid eyes upon the unexpected visitor who just so happened to stop at Brian's door, he stopped dead in his tracks, and the wide grin he'd adorned himself with quickly disappeared. Before Tim could notice this as well, Brian snapped back into reality and crossed his arms over his chest, muttering, "I-I'm sorry. I'm afraid I don't know who you're talking about."

"Well, he clearly seems to know you, Brian..." the man sneered in response as he motioned to the plaque posted on the professor's classroom door, giving the blonde the perfect chance to escape. He hid behind the wall, peering around the corner to keep a close eye on the situation in case things got out of hand, because Roger knew Tim better than anyone else, and as unpredictable as he could be, the blonde knew how terrible things could turn if his boyfriend were to go off.

Tim was a jealous guy, and he lost all sensibility—not that he really had any in the first place—just at the mere thought of losing Roger to someone else. His controlling and possessive tendencies became amplified when his and Roger's relationship was threatened, and so became the measures he would take to ensure the security of their life together, such as stepping foot into the new prim and proper establishment the blonde thought he could disguise himself in instead of waiting outside like he'd been told to.

"...so why don't you stop lying to me and tell me where the fucker is before I start going 'round this shithole looking for him for myself, yeah?" Tim continued, shortening the distance between him and the professor and crossing his arms over his chest, adding lowly, "And trust me, you don't want a guy like me walking these halls."

The music instructor swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched Brian chuckle in embarrassment and admit untruthfully, "Y-You know, now that I think about it, I believe I saw him in the Headmistress's office. They seemed to be discussing something very important, though, so I don't think it'd be a very good idea to—"

Roger's boyfriend brought his finger up to Brian's lips, silencing him almost instantly and muttering, "That's all I needed to hear, poodle." He dropped his hand to his side and took another quick smoke, grabbing the professor's arm and putting out the cigarette on his sleeve. "Now, where's the office?"

"My sleeve..." he murmured abstractedly, staring down at the smoking black spot on his coat.

"Hey," Tim snapped, clapping his hands and regaining the professor's attention. "Where is the office?"

Brian's eyes flickered to the end of the hallway where Roger was still hiding, the same end of the hallway where the staircase to Chrissie's office was. He bit his lip and quickly returned his gaze to Tim, answering, "It's that way." He pointed a finger in the opposite direction. "And, uh, you'll take the stairs to your right, go all the way down the hall and make another right, then a left and a right, and then it'll be halfway down that hall on your...left."

"Of course it is," the man replied with an aggravated sigh, breaking away from the professor's door and storming off.