Dynamics (Twoset Violin Fanfic)

Chapter Nine

Things seemed to be looking up for Eddy. He'd stretched, (sort of) fixed the kitchen wall, had breakfast, and made it on time to the circus studio— early, even. He was going to apologize to Brett for Wednesday's fiasco, and all would be forgiven.

And the timing couldn't have been better: everyone was noticeably more relaxed than they had been yesterday. People were stretching, showing off their juggling skills, practicing hoop tricks, or just talking. There was even a small group trying to make a standing human pyramid. It didn't matter that most of them had only met the day before: it was their shared craft that brought everyone together.

So there's no reason to be nervous, Eddy thought, shoving his shaking hands into his pockets.

He walked up to Brett, who was talking to Destiny.

"Um, hi," Eddy said.

"Hey, what's up?" Brett said. Destiny tilted her chin towards Eddy, a nod of acknowledgment.

"I— could I talk to you?"

"Shoot."

"Um... alone?"

Brett looked at Destiny.

"You kids have fun," she said dryly, taking out her phone.

"Okaay then," said Brett, following Eddy to the side of the circus studio.

At the same time, they each took a breath to speak.

"You first," Eddy said.

"You sure?" Brett asked.

"Just go already."

"Okay," said Brett. "So I was thinking about yesterday."

"Yeah, me too."

"And it seems like we aren't really going to be good partners," Brett continued.

Wait, what? Eddy thought.

"So maybe we could ask Coach if we could switch partnerships? I don't want to annoy you for the whole 9-month circus school," Brett said.

You're not annoying, Eddy thought. But what came out was: "This is kinda unrelated, but I'm really sorry for dropping you yesterday. It wasn't on purpose."

But before Brett could reply, Coach Henry stormed into the studio, throwing the door open. It crashed loudly against the wall, and the already-wobbly human pyramid collapsed into a heap.

"You two," he said, pointing to Brett and Eddy. "My office. Now."

They followed him silently, bracing for the worst. Eddy relaxed just a tiny bit when Coach Henry's "office" turned out to be a specific pile of papers on the front desk. He shuffled these papers as he spoke.

"You know, I've gotta say, you boys really surprised me. You," he said, pointing towards Eddy, "have some of the worst splits I've ever seen. And you," he said, now looking at Brett, "have the reaction time of a sloth."

If either of them had an opinion about the statements, it remained unsaid.

"But then," he said, dropping the papers back on the desk. "For some reason, y'all started working incredibly hard. Must've been competing or something, eh?" he said.

Brett and Eddy gave a weak laugh.

"So, I've decided you're going to be partners for the rest of the program. You'll make your own routines for the final performance, but for now, keep doing whatever you've been doing. Any questions?" he said.

"Actually, sir, we were thinking—" Brett began.

It was then that Eddy made a decision. A bad decision? Probably. But it was like he was watching himself from a distance, interested in what would happen next, but by no means responsible.

He stepped on Brett's foot. Not enough to hurt, but enough that Brett stopped talking.

"—that's such a great idea!" Eddy finished. "Now that you say it, Coach, I do think we'll make great partners. Wouldn't you agree, Brett?"

"Well, sure, but didn't you—"

"Great!" said Eddy. "I'd love to stay and chat, but we have training to do, right?"

"That's the spirit!" Coach Henry crowed. "Now get out."

As soon as the door behind them closed, Brett spun towards Eddy.

"What was that?" he said. "I thought you didn't want to be partners?"

That's not true, Eddy thought. But what he said was: "Look, I don't know about you, but I actually want to travel the world doing this. Circus performing, I mean. And that's not going to happen if I piss off professional coaches who could actually help me. So I guess you're stuck with me until then."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. His goal of performing around the world was why he trained so hard, even when his hands blistered and his muscles burned with pain. And yet, he'd never really told anyone about it. Belle might talk him out of it, and her friends wouldn't care. The people at his old studio might support him, but they wouldn't really understand. Even in the advanced classes, everyone was there to make friends, work out, or simply de-stress after a long day of work. That was all well and good, but it wasn't the same. To them, circus was just a fun hobby. It wasn't their life.

An awkward silence elapsed.

"Hey, don't look so upset," Eddy finally said, giving him a light punch in the shoulder. "I promise I'm not actually evil."

"Oh— I didn't mean to— I was just surprised, you know?" Brett rambled.

"It's fine," Eddy said. "Besides, we're just partners for circus school. We're not getting married or anything."

"Right," Brett said, looking away.

Is he... blushing? Eddy wondered.

"Well, I'm going to go," Brett said, turning and walking down the rest of the stairs to the studio.

"Bye!" said Eddy. He only realized he had to go with him when the door behind him swung open and Coach Henry walked out. He gave Eddy a weird look.

"C'mon, kid," he said tiredly, and continued down the stairs.

Apologize to Brett for Wednesday's fiasco? Check, Eddy thought. All is forgiven?

Check?