Broken String

IV

Todd looks pensively at Eddy's retreating back as he runs up the stairs, violin hopping up and down on his back, practice room key in hand. He's not even said bye to them, and he's seemed off, this morning. 
In fact, come to think of it, he's seemed off for a bit. 
He's known him for years, of course, ever since they met at AYO, years ago. Eddy was the first person he came out to, in fact. He's his best friend. 
"Is he okay?" he asks Brett on a whim. Ian's gone off to the toilet, so it's just Brett and him, walking to their solfege class together. 
Todd hates solfege. 
He's quite happy to have Brett himself for a moment though. Nobody in the world knows Eddy as well as Brett does. They've been best friends as long as he's known them, but to be honest, they're closer to brothers. Or an old, married couple, if you see them bickering and bantering sometimes. 
"I think he's just busy." Brett says, but something in his tone makes Todd turn to look at him. 
"Yeah? You sure?"
"Yeah, I dunno, Todd. He's got a lot on his plate, you know that. I tried to convince him yesterday, when he came in from the con super late, to maybe play Pag sixteen or twenty instead of his plan of playing four for this competition he's doing, but he brushed me off."
Todd doesn't miss the pang of something that pulls through his friend. 
"Brushed you off? That doesn't sound like him?"
Brett shrugs. 
"Yeah. Like I said: I dunno."
They walk into the classroom on the fourth floor and automatically take the seats the furthest away from the teacher and his whiteboard. Brett hates solfege even more than Todd does, Todd is pretty sure.
Ian comes in too, now, and sits down next to him without a word. The lesson begins and Todd does his very best to focus on the Mixolydian scale the teacher is writing on that wretched board, rather than his worries about his friend, but to be honest most of his brain stays stuck on those almond shaped, deep, tortured dark brown eyes he saw earlier today, in the hallway in their apartment. After a few minutes Ian puts a soft, innocent hand on Todd's upper thigh.
Whoa. Wait. What? 
All of his worries melt away as Ian rubs his thumb in a circular motion. Todd's breath hitches in his throat and he glances sideways. Wait, what is he doing? Ian's face is completely neutral though, seemingly following the lesson, even smiling pleasantly at the teacher as he looks around the room. 
Oh, God. What is he planning? Todd can't help himself, all of his focus is now off the scale, off his best friend's eyes and very firmly on his love's warm hand. He is growing quickly into his jeans, of course, and before he knows it he's sitting there in the con room fully hard, trying his hardest to look like he's focusing on the lesson, and to not let Brett notice anything. 
He can't believe this is happening to him right here, right now. He can't believe how bold, how confident Ian is becoming, how he has him completely under his spell. 

"Todd, will you sing this line?" the teacher pulls him off of his sexy cloud nine, and he scrapes his throat. 
"Um, yes." he says.  
Brett points to line 59, clearly realising that he has no idea what he's been asked to sing. Bless him. 
"What's the key?" the teacher asks. 
Well, okay. He's not a complete idiot. Even hard he can tell what key something's in. 
"D minor." he says shakily. 
"Okay. Please sing the tonic triad first."
The teacher plays him a D and Todd sings the desired triad. Barely. Look, singing's not his hobby at the best of times, let alone now, with Ian's hand still  on his thigh. 
Not that he'd want him to take it away. God no. In fact, he'd like...
He scrapes his throat again, pushes that thought away and tries to sing the line, failing miserably, of course. He makes several mistakes, and he can't for the life of him find the major seventh jump at the end. 
The teacher eyes him for a long second. 
"Please practise this page at home, all of you." he says then. 
And look. Todd would hang his head, but he's a little too busy being fucking horny right now. 

Eventually Ian does pull his hand away though, with a sly smile, leaving Todd feeling bereft. But he knows the promise by now, so the second the lesson's done he gets up, knots his sweatshirt around his waist to avoid attracting any attention to certain areas of his body and slings his cello case on his back in a hurry.
"Where are you going?" Ian asks him sweetly, innocently.
"To get a fucking practice room." he growls, and rushes out of the room.