Andante

XL

The orchestra was coming along leaps and bounds; Eddy could hear it happening as the rehearsal went on and he was so happy! Usually he'd been in real amateur orchestras, and he'd always been by far the best kid there. Sure, it's not like that was bad for your self confidence, per se, but in the end it wasn't really that much fun. Being in a place like this was way more awesome, being around kids who also had some talent and actually getting do something good! The conductor was clearly happy as well, even though he was fairly strict. Eddy didn't mind strict. Strict got good results. 
He could see that Brett was loving it too, because he had a goofy smile plastered on his face, which made Eddy smile even more. Everyone on stage was looking happy anyway, so it was okay to have a goofy smile on your face, right?

The day flew by again and before he knew it the four of them were sat in the cafeteria with a plate of pasta in front of their faces. Eddy wasn't a very big fan of pasta, but hey, what was he gonna do? 
¨So, who's your favourite composer?¨ Todd asked him. 
¨Whoa! Are you trying to start a fight or something?¨ Eddy quipped and, to his great pleasure, everyone laughed. He carried on then:
¨I guess... I dunno, I guess maybe Debussy? I really love his violin sonata but I love his piano stuff and orchestral stuff too.¨  
The conversation flowed easily. Todd loved the late romantic Russian stuff, which Eddy wasn't surprised about. Lots of good cello music there. Then Lizzy animatedly told them that she  loved Mozart, which surprised Eddy a lot more. Was there even that much flute music in that time? All the flutes were wooden then, weren't they?
Brett listened intently to the others, but he was quiet for a long while when it was his turn to talk, his eyes serious, as if he were asked something of the utmost importance. 
¨I think I'd have to say Beethoven.¨ he said then, in his calm and composed way. ¨Just because he basically influenced everyone that came after him and started the whole Romantic period in Germany.¨
Eddy looked at him in awe. Wow. That was such a well-articulated and measured response. And for approximately the hundreth time this week he wished he could be more like Brett. 

His heart was in his throat as they walked as a group to that evening's teacher concert. Tonight it was going to be Mozart's oboe concerto played by the conductor of the woodwind ensemble, accompanied on the piano. 
Eddy wasn't a giant fan of the oboe: he figured it sounded like a duck, and it seemed to be absolutely impossible for anyone playing the oboe to play anything apart from mezzoforte or forte. But let's face it: the oboe wasn't why he was excited about this concert anyway, was it?
He shook his head, because he knew how bad an idea it was to be this excited. He knew he'd pay for it later. But right now he just couldn't bring himself to care. 

They made their way into the rows of red seats and sat down. Todd was sat to Eddy's right, Brett to his left. Even though Eddy loved making new friends he kind of wished Todd and Lizzy had sat somewhere else tonight; if they were going to do something they'd have to be seriously sneaky about it, because there was no way it was a good idea for Todd to start asking more questions. 
But as soon as the lights went down and the stage lit up to reveal the teachers, Eddy's left hand slid off his leg without him even making a conscious decision to let it and lay on the plush velvet, slightly underneath the arm rest, waiting.  
He didn't have to wait long. The touch was hesitant at first, but before he knew it Brett's hand was softly, sweetly resting against his own. A nest of butterflies exploded in Eddy's whole body and his breath hitched in his throat; he quickly pretended to clear his throat softly to mask the sound. 
Then he leant back and let it overtake him. The music washed over him, but his whole focus was on Brett's warmth, spreading through him. He knew his cheeks were colouring, but the light was low. It would be okay. 
Softly, ever so softly, Brett's fingers moved against his, stroking the back of his hand. He inhaled deeply, breathing in this wonderful, wonderful moment. 
He closed his eyes and sat, his whole being focused on their hands underneath the armrest. 
Soon, way too soon, the concert ended, the lights went back on and once again he reluctantly raised his hand to applaud. He had pins and needles in his arm for sitting in the same position so long, but he would have been happy to sit there the rest of the night, no matter how many pins and how many needles he would have felt. 
He smiled a coy smile at Brett as they got up, who smiled back with glittering eyes. Yeah. He felt it too.  
¨Come on, slow coach, get going!¨ Todd called behind him suddenly, giving him a slight shove in the shoulder. 
¨Yeah, yeah, going!¨ he said without looking back, because he knew his cheeks were red still. 
Brett gave him one more grin and then turned and started walking towards the common area.