Andante

CLXX

Eddy's heart was pounding so heart he was slightly worried it would explode out of there as he turned off the last of the lights and closed the door of the pool house behind him. 
Brett's birthday was officially not until tomorrow, so he shouldn't suspect anything, really. Steven had simply invited him over to watch a movie and play games and he had said sure. So now there was nothing left to do but stand there in the smallish space, surrounded by people he mostly barely knew, and wait for Steven to open the door and turn on the light. Which should happen in about five minutes. 
It wasn't quite dark yet, outside, so now that his eyes were acclimatising he could see the shapes of some of his friends, waiting close by. Lily was there, of course. She had even been there last night, when they'd somewhat lamely hung up some colourful paper lanterns around the pool house, still unlit at the moment so Brett wouldn't see them as he walked up. Her eyes had gone back to normal by that point, but she had been more quiet than usual. And somehow, even though it was only the three of them, he hadn't managed to find her alone for even a moment, to ask her how it was all going. Was she consciously avoiding him? He didn't know, but what he did know was that Matt wasn't here right now... even though he had been invited.
He leaned his head against the door, listening closely for Steven's or Brett's voices, but everything was silent outside. God, how he wished he had some idea of what was going on between Lily and Matt at the moment. Or whether she was even okay.  
Ian was standing close to him, right next to the window, and Todd was sniggering quietly by his side. He had come with some guy Eddy had never met. This was, what? Boyfriend number ten, this year? Eddy smiled slightly into the dusk full of shapes. There were lots of kids from Brett's school here. Well. Not kids, really. Most of them were already eighteen, as evidenced by the ten crates of beer Eddy knew to be behind one door. It was a very good job his mum didn't know anything about those, or he would not be here, quite simply. Of course... Brett would be allowed to legally drink as of tomorrow. Eddy was kind of hoping he wouldn't, though.  
"Ssst!" Ian hissed suddenly, interrupting Eddy's reveries. He'd been peeking out of the window on and off. "I think they're here!"
Everyone froze as one, like a collective breath being held. A girl giggled somewhere, very softly, and was shushed by her friend. Then Eddy heard Steven's voice through the wooden door, gruff and deep. 
"I thought we'd go here, in the pool house."
"Okay, sure." Brett's tenor came. Oh, Eddy would know that sweet voice anywhere. He stepped back. 
The door creaked slightly as it was pushed open. Then Steven flicked the light switch on and everybody jumped up and yelled at the top of their lungs. 
"SURPRISE!!"
Eddy's face broke open in an ear-splitting grin when he saw Brett's expression. His eyes opened wide, his mouth fell open. Eddy could see straight away that he'd had no idea of what was about to hit him at all. 
Score! 
Then Brett's eyes found him, by his right side, his face completely elated. 
"What the fuck, bro? Did you do this?"
He nodded. 
"Yeah, me, Steven and Lily. I thought you could do with a good birthday bash."
"Jesus." Brett said as he grabbed him in maybe not-quite-a-bro-hug, but who was paying attention? "This.... wow, Eddy." 
Brett was whisked away, of course, because there were thirty kids who wanted to congratulate him all at once. Several girls from school he didn't know hugged him or kissed him on the cheeks. One of them, this slight blonde chick whose name Eddy somehow seemed to remember was Lisa, did so just a little too slowly, lingering just a moment too long. Eddy narrowed his eyes at her, but Brett seemed completely oblivious. 

Soon enough Steven had turned the music on high, pressed a bottle of beer into Brett's hand and taken him outside to the tiled area around the kidney shaped pool, where some of the kids had already started dancing. 
Eddy followed them, very much out of his depth here. Look, let's face it; he would have way preferred to have that pool house, some movies and some games to themselves for the evening, but this wasn't about him, was it? This was about Brett, and him having the best eighteenth birthday anyone had ever had. So he put a smile on his face and sat down on a plastic lawn chair close to where Brett was standing, chatting to some more kids he didn't know. And even though he wasn't even completely sure he liked this kind of party very much, he firmly decided right this second that he was going to have fun. Just like a normal teenager.