Muse

Chapter 2 (Stone's POV)

Stone's POV

"Thanks for unlocking that," I called out to my roommate, Eddie. "I forgot my keys."

Closing the door behind me, I kicked my shoes off by the doormat. I walked into our dorm's small kitchen, setting the paper bag of groceries down on the counter. Hearing a heavy sigh behind me, I turned around. Seated at the round wooden table, there were books and papers splayed in front of Eddie. But his hunched posture told me it wasn't his coursework stressing him out.

"Something bothering you?" I pulled up a chair and sat across from him.

He straightened up, blue eyes meeting mine. "You can tell?"

"I'm no psychologist, but I can still tell when someone looks overwhelmed."

He picked up a pen, clicking it against the table. "I almost got into an argument with Chris."

"Eddie, I'm sorry to hear that." I leaned forward, placing my hand on top of his.

"Don't be. Might have to apologize to him."

"You 'might'?"

"Well, yeah. I love him, but I don't know if this is going to work anymore. It's like I'm holding his hand all the time. Getting him out of bed, reminding him that he needs to eat. The only thing I don't have to push him to do is show up for rehearsals. Like, he's older than me. He should know better, don't you think?"

I wasn't in any position to comment on that, as I never met Eddie's boyfriend before. Yet a part of me felt sorry for Chris. From the outside, it sounded as though his boyfriend suffered from depression or something. Even with that in mind, how was I supposed to respond?

"And on the other hand," Eddie continued, "I'm probably being too harsh on him. I feel like I came off as antagonistic, and even now I'm talking about him behind his back instead of talking to him directly. I care about him, Stone, but I don't know what else to do."

"Has he confided in you or anyone?" I asked. "Have you tried talking to him?"

"Of course I have but, he won't tell me much. Most of the time it's 'I'm fine' when he's clearly not." Eddie covered his face with his hands, muffling a long sigh. "I need a cigarette."

He slowly rose and left his seat, sauntering to the balcony.

I thought about our conversation while I prepared dinner. I never met Eddie's boyfriend--and none of this was any of my business--but what I took from it was that Eddie loved him. He could sound brash and aggressive at times. That might have been because he wanted Chris to confide in him, and wanted their relationship to... work. They've been together for years, so for that reason alone I hoped neither of them gave up on one another.

But again, this wasn't any of my business.