Andante

XXVIII

They walked back to Brett's house side by side, and Eddy felt like he was glowing. Wow. He had confessed everything to Brett, and yet Brett still wanted to be his friend. Well, actually, he knew he wanted to be more than that, but for now.... friends was a lot better than nothing. 
It was like his English teacher had said when she talked to them about famous people's life mottos the other day, he mused. One of the ones she had talked about was 'Carpe Diem', which meant 'pluck the day'. Ms. Appleby had said that this moment was really the only moment you had, anyway, so it was no use to constantly think about the past or the future. Somehow the whole thing had resonated with him. He really liked ms. Appleby, because she was kind and she always had something insightful to say. So fuck it, he was going to listen to that motto and he was just going to make the most of this moment. 

Despite all of those positive thoughts he was still taken aback though, when Brett opened his front door to reveal a livid mrs Yang. 
¨Where have you been, huh?!¨ she shreaked like only an Asian mother could. ¨You can't just say you going for walk and stay away for ever!¨
He could literally see Brett shrinking, his demeanour suddenly even more shy than normal. 
¨I'm very sorry, mum. We just talked and forgot the time.¨
Brett's mum looked at Eddy then and suddenly her face changed. Shit. He guessed she could see he'd been crying.
¨What's wrong?¨ she demanded then. 
Eddy breathed in, steeling himself against the stern tone. He knew his way around this, of course. 
¨I'm sorry, mrs Yang. It was my fault, I was a bit upset about something at school. Brett helped me. I'm very sorry.¨ He bent his head forward, his expression contrite.  
¨Hum!¨ Brett's mother huffed. ¨Well, don't do it next time!¨
She turned on her heel and stomped off to the kitchen. 
Pfew. They both breathed out in relief at the same time, and then they grinned at each other as they hurried off to go to Brett's room. 
¨Whoa, that was a close call¨, Eddy said softly as soon as the door was closed. ¨I... fuck, I just hope she doesn't tell my mum about this!¨ It really wouldn't be helpful for his mum to start asking questions about why he'd been upset.
Brett nodded, his expression understanding. 
¨You know what, I'll just go grab some tea and subtely ask her not to say anything. I'm pretty sure I can get her there.¨
¨Well... that would be great, actually, thank you.¨ Eddy said. Brett always seemed to understand everything without words. 
As soon as Brett had left he looked around Brett's room, inhaling his scent. He walked around, running his hand over Brett's violin case, his sheet music, his desk. Then he sat down on his desk chair, putting his elbows on the desk, his right hand supporting his chin. 
This was the spot where Brett would sit all the time, making his homework. It felt nice to sit in his spot, surrounded by his things. He really wouldn't mind sitting there for ages. 
Of course, by the time Brett opened the door, a tray of tea in his other hand, he'd swiveled the chair around and he smiled at him as he got up to help him with the tray. 
¨Did that go okay?¨ he said, his voice more anxious than he'd have liked. 
¨Yeah.¨Brett shrugged slightly. ¨I don't think she'll say anything.¨
Oh, Eddy wanted to hug him so bad. He could envision it now, just walking over, wrapping his arms around him. Brett would be able to tuck his head into his chest and they could stand there, enjoying each other's warmth.  
But he stopped himself and lightly cleared his throat. 
¨Can I look in your games drawer?¨
¨Yeah, absolutely, go for it!¨
He flicked through the games, finding the one he liked quickly. 
¨Mario Kart?¨ he said, a grin on his face, holding up the game. 
Brett laughed softly. ¨Why change a habit of a lifetime, huh?¨

They only had like an hour or so before Eddy had to head back home, but it was a very good hour. It was suddenly incredibly easy again to be himself around Brett, and Eddy was relieved beyond words.
Brett's mum even knocked on the door after a while with some cookies, and her face was back to her pleasant self as well. Crisis averted! 

So when Eddy walked home a little while later, trying to digest everything that had happened, the good feelings outshone the bad. 
He was just not going to think about any of the negative stuff, and focus on what was great. 
His friend, his best friend.
He was smiling as he walked in the front door.