the silence

seventeen.

    the two boys decided that they would go to dinner after rehearsal the next day. they wanted to go that day, but brett's stomach hurt and he was very tired both physically and mentally. the embarrassment had made him extremely anxious and the whole situation wore him out. after making final decisions, they sat on the couch together and turned on the television.

    "eddy?" brett asked quietly, his head in eddy's lap. the taller boy's fingers stroked his hair.

    "yes?"

    "home," the other boy mumbled.

    eddy knew what he meant. he'd gotten pretty good at interpreting brett's one word sentences. the other boy was trying to express that eddy would have to go home soon, both because he had to deal with mae and because he could only live on the small amount of clothes he had at brett's for so long. also, they probably needed to give each other space anyways despite how much they didn't want it. eddy sighed.

    "i know. i can go tomorrow," he shrugged. brett raised up slightly, looking alarmed.

    "after the date, silly," eddy chuckled, shaking his head. brett relaxed back onto eddy's thigh and rubbed his knee lightly, looking at the tv. the taller boy grinned at the sight and stroked brett's cheek, his calloused hands rough against his soft skin.

it wasn't long before brett fell asleep, snoring quietly and nearly drooling on eddy's lap. eddy scooped him up and brought him to his bed, laying him down and covering him up gently. he sighed as he looked at brett's sleeping face.

going home was something he dreaded. he didn't want to see mae at all and he didn't want to have to deal with whatever weird mood she was in. it was almost equally as bad when she was loving to him as it was when she punched him and screamed in his ears. but it had to be done. he couldn't stay with her and he definitely had to get his house back. she wasn't taking that away from him.

as the air con kicked on again, eddy shivered and crawled under the blankets with brett. rain had begun to fall outside and the taller boy listened to the tapping against the roof to calm his nerves about the inevitable disaster of his trip to his own home the next evening. it was a good thing that his date with brett was beforehand.

looking at the boy next to him again, eddy couldn't help but smile. he was going on a date. with a boy. specifically, the cutest boy he'd ever seen. butterflies flew around his stomach and he bit down on his bottom lip, examining every detail of brett's stunning face.

his long eyelashes rested on his rosy cheeks as he slept, his face relaxed and still. his lips were impossibly pink and glossy, as always, making eddy weak in the knees. a bit of stubble had grown above his upper lip and his cheeks and eddy smiled as he ran his thumb over it, the roughness contrasting with the smooth surface of brett's skin. he was beautiful in every way and eddy couldn't believe they hadn't found each other sooner.

brett stirred slightly and moved his head to eddy's shoulder, a spot that he'd gotten almost too used to resting on. a grin spread across eddy's face and he snaked his arms around brett's neck. holding him felt like a slice of heaven and the taller boy could never get enough. as they laid in silence, eddy's large hands stroked brett's hair over and over again. the softness of it and the way brett leaned into the touch, even in sleep, made eddy's heart skip a beat and his stomach flip over and over. he had it bad for brett and there was no denying it.

eddy drifted off within minutes, holding his entire world between his arms.

—

brett was up early the next morning as always, but he let eddy sleep. they'd decided to ride together because brett didn't feel like driving and they were coming back together anyways, so why not? eddy would have to bring brett back home before heading to his house, but that wasn't a problem.