Andante

CLXVI

Oh, the agony of it! Eddy couldn't bear it, he couldn't bear another second as he paced up and down the carpeted hallway, staring alternately at the foreboding double doors that, in an attempt to be as frustrating as possible, let through no sound at all, and the far wall on the other side, where the hallway went around the corner to a different wing. How long could one fucking audition last? 
He breathed deeply to stop himself from descending into full-on panic mode. 
How much longer? 
He was right by the plastic chairs again, where the next candidate was already waiting with his violin in his hands, looking completely freaked out as well, when the doors opened and Brett stepped out. His face was dead pan, carefully neutral, like Eddy knew it would be as long as they weren't alone. He searched it for clues anyway. 
"Hey! How did it go?" he said, lamely, but what was he going to say?
Brett indicated with his head to walk slightly further away. Eddy followed him breathlessly. 
"It... it went okay, I think." Brett breathed as he turned around to him. Eddy put his hand on the rough wall to steady himself as relief started flooding through him. 
Well. If Brett said it went okay? That must mean it went great. 
"It really helped Eddy, what you said." Brett said, so softly the guy on the chair with the violin definitely wouldn't be able to hear him. "I just kind of closed my eyes and pictured it, and I at least played better than I did earlier, with the pianist."
Eddy had no idea whether to laugh or cry now, or shout that he had actually been great, even with the pianist. So he just stood and watched in silence as Brett put his violin back in its case, closed the clasps and put it by Eddy's feet for safekeeping. Now they would have to wait for Brett to be called back in and given the results. 

They didn't say anything else as they stood there, side by side, leaning against the white brick wall, as the seconds stretched into eternities of anxiousness. Never in the history of the world had clocks gone slower. Einstein must have had it right all along when he said time was relative... he just couldn't possibly have known to what extent.
But when Eddy eventually allowed himself to look at his phone to check said time he saw that, unbelievably, only five minutes had passed. He breathed in sharply and turned to Brett, who was oozing anxiety out of every pore next to him.
"Look." he told him. "They're probably just talking about what they want for lunch, or something. Or how awesome your audition was and who they will allow to be your teacher."
Brett snorted softly.
"Yeah, sure. That'll be the one."
He cleared his throat to say something else, but he closed it again with an audible snap when abruptly the doors opened again.
Well. Here we go.
Eddy held his breath as Brett walked back inside to face the jury without a backwards glance, his gait so very familiar to Eddy in his black jeans and button down shirt, his expression still consciously neutral and pleasant. 

He watched as the doors swallowed his love whole once more, and he offered up a silent prayer to any Deity that might be listening. 
Please. Please let him get in. It will destroy him if he doesn't. Please. Please. Just let him get in.  

He blinked once and Brett was coming back out of the studio, outwardly perfectly calm, walking towards him over the faded carpet. 
Whoa. That had been so quick, but he saw it straight away. He saw it in the slight smile through the deadpan expression, he saw it in the way the corners of his mouth quirked up, how his eyes shone, how his eyebrows were just ever so slightly raised. 
"You're in." Eddy breathed. 
Brett just nodded and then he unexpectedly gripped him in a bear like sort-of-bro-hug, lifting him right up. Eddy squealed as his feet left the ground. 
"Yep." Brett said then, just ever so slightly too loudly. "I'm in!"