Andante

CLVIII

Eddy was pensive, as he walked home approximately a million years later. Lily had felt off, today, answering texts on their bench, staring out to the other side of the field instead of focusing on their conversation, instead of talking a mile a minute about Matt. 
Was something wrong with her? Or had he done something wrong? Was she fed up with him being surly all the time?
He couldn't blame her... but he hadn't quite worked up the nerve to ask her, either. 
He stepped to his door and stuck in the key. He was actually a little bit excited now, because it was his birthday, after all. There would be a present, a longevity noodle, and Brett would be there later. 
He pushed open the door and started to kick off his shoes. But... where was his mum? There was no sign of her. How weird? She usually greeted him anyway after school, but it was his birthday, too?
He walked through the hallway into the kitchen, but she wasn't there, so he turned around and made his way into the living room. 

"SURPRISE!!!"

Eddy's heart stopped for a moment as he took in the scene. His mum was there, by the wooden dinner table, Brett was standing to her right side, and next to him were Lily and Matt. Todd and Ian were standing together in front of the book case, huge grins on their faces. They were all there, in his living room, beaming at him. He saw that there were a few presents too, stacked on the table. 
What? Just... how on earth? 
"We thought we'd take you for bubble tea." Brett said softly as he stepped forward and gripped him in one of the bro hugs they had perfected over the years. He pounded his back and let go, waggling his eyebrows wickedly. "We figured you could do with a celebration." 
It took him a moment to find his voice. 
"Guys... this... this is just so nice!" he managed then. 
"Happy birthday, buddy." Lily said in his ear as she jumped over and threw her arms around him. 
"Thank you. I thought you were upset with me or something, earlier."
Lily laughed. "When have I ever been upset with you? No, man, we had to get all this together!"
Eddy shook his head in astonishment. 
"I can't believe you guys did this, this is just awesome."

He got slapped so hard on the back by the straight guys that he wanted to squeal, and then he was set down at the table to open his gifts. Happiness was washing through him hard as he felt this love that his friends were showering on him. He really did have the best friends.
 Lily was almost jumping up and down with excitement when she gave him a flat rectangular package. He grinned at the gift in its shiny turquoise paper, which was very obviously sheet music.  
"A ball?" he quipped. Lily shoved him in the shoulder.
"Just open it, you idiot."
He was still grinning as he pulled the paper off, but then he quickly got up to hug Lily once more, because he had seen the book. It was Bach's violin sonatas and partitas. 
"This is awesome, Lily, thank you. Thanks, Matt!"
Todd and Ian had bought him an extention game which he had been wanting and his mum had been on the ball enough to get him that other book he had been yearning for for a while now: the Sibelius violin concerto piano score.
"Thank you, mum. This is great." he whispered in Mandarin, and he hoped she knew that he was not just talking about the book. 
Then the little stack of gifts was gone, and Brett was close to him, simply smiling shyly at him. 
"I didn't have a chance, yet, to get you something. But you'll get mine later." he said, in his soft polite voice. There was something in his tone, though, that made Eddy wonder. 
What was he planning?

He didn't get long to think about it though, because he was encased in the group and taken to the door, to set off all together to the bubble tea place.