Straight

XVII

He walks into the cafeteria to find Brett at a table with Jill and her friend. A cup of coffee is waiting for him by the empty seat. He manages a smile and walks over, desperately hoping that Brett won't be able to see right through him. Are his cheeks still flushed? His eyes still shiny?
"Thanks, bro." he says as he sits and takes a welcome sip of hot coffee and crosses his legs. "Maybe I'll wake up now."
Brett grins and waggles his eyebrows, but there's that soberness in his eyes, not far down. 
Does he know? Has he seen? 
"I was just talking to Jill about the bar a couple nights ago." Brett says pleasantly. 
Jill nods enthusiastically and bats her eyelashes at Eddy. 
"Yeah, we should go there at some point. Maybe grab a bite to eat first."
She's saying it to the whole table, but she's only looking at Eddy. 
Wait, what?
He looks to Brett, but he's looking forward, his face pleasant, his eyes neutral. 
What the fuck. Is Jill asking him out? 
She looks at him expectantly, and he knows what he is supposed to say. Fuck, he knows what he would have been dying to say, in fact, just a short few days ago. This would have been his idea of heaven. 
"Yeah, that'd be cool!" he says, he fiercely hopes with the right amount of enthusiasm. 
He guesses he will just have to fake that until he makes it. Especially after Jill's eyes light up and she flutters her eyelashes at him. 
Another glance at Brett, but he's still looking forward, still smiling, saying something to Jack he can't quite hear in the noisy cafeteria. 

"So!" Brett says in his beige tone, as they walk to music theory class together. "Did I get that right? You got a date, right?"
Eddy nods. "Yeah. Novel experience, having a girl ask me, instead of the other way around."
Brett grins. "When are you going to realise you're handsome, Eddy? Lots of girls look at you. You just don't see it."
Eddy turns towards him, stares at him for a moment, before looking away, out of the window, at the street below. 
"Maybe. I dunno. I could say the same about you."
Brett laughs out loud this time. "Yeah, 'cause girls are just throwing themselves at me, hey?"
Maybe he says it with a hearty laugh, but Eddy hears the regret clearly. He touches his shoulder lightly, because he has no idea what to say to that. 

He sits in music theory without paying any attention to what the teacher is saying. All of his thoughts are with what just happened. Jill, asking him to go to dinner and dancing. Brett, saying he's handsome. 
Brett, clearly not thinking he's handsome himself.
Eddy shakes his head and tries to focus, but it's no use. The thoughts are racing around his head like he's built a go cart track in there. 

"You've been very preoccupied." Brett says lightly as they walk home. Well. To Brett's home. Of course. Eddy shrugs non-committally.
"Nah, just thinking."
"About Jill?"
Eddy glances at him sideways for the hundreth time today, then decides to go for the truth. Well, some of it anyway. 
"As well."
"As well?"
"Yeah. Just stuff. Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it? Why? Are you okay?"
I mean, what's he going to say? Is he going to say how confused he is? That he doesn't know what the fuck he's feeling right now? Brett has made it very clear. They're not talking about this. Brett clearly wanted him to say yes to Jill, right? It's all bright as day, right there in front of him. 
He swallows and turns up the corners of his mouth.
"Yeah, I'm good. I guess I've just been busy or something."
He knows Brett is not convinced, but he nods anyway as he jogs up the couple of steps to his room and puts the key in his lock. 
"Let's just watch a movie hey? Practise, play some games. You'll feel better after that."
"Yeah. Sounds good."