Andante

CLIX

Eddy was smiling broadly as they walked the streets towards their regular bubble tea place as a group. It was so very clearly not just Asians in this group; they were rowdy, laughing loudly, shoving each other, having fun. Matt was joking around with Todd. They seemed to really be hitting it off, which figured, really. They were so similar. And even though Eddy would never usually have been this loud in public, or anywhere else for that matter, he was having the time of his life. 
They'd need a much bigger table than usual today. 

The girl behind the counter recognised them of course - them being basically part of the furniture in this place by now - and she smiled at him. She was blonde with striking light blue eyes, quite pretty, and Eddy guessed maybe a little bit older than he was. 
"Wow, there's a whole bunch of you today!"
"Yep, that's because it's his birthday!" Todd commented loudly straight away, pointing at Eddy, who could feel his cheeks colour with the sudden spotlight that had been turned on him. 
The blonde girl raised her eyebrows. "Your birthday, ey? I'm guessing this means a free upgrade, right?"
"Thanks, that's really nice. I'm seventeen, today." he said softly, smiling at the girl. 
She smiled back. 
"Seventeen, ey? Well, you should give me a ring sometime, maybe we can catch a movie or something."
He blinked at her, and for the second time that day he had to grapple around for his wits.
"Y... yeah, sure, maybe." he said then, trying to keep his tone light and pleasant. He didn't miss the slight narrowing of her eyes, though.
Shit. Had he hurt her feelings? But seriously, what was he going to say? It didn't help when he turned slightly and saw Brett's amused eyes under his deadpan face. 
He ordered quickly and smiled one more time at the girl as he turned and walked to the biggest table, right in the centre of the shop. Brett was beside him, of course, and they sat down next to each other.

"So." he said in his sweet tenor. "Now will you finally believe how lovely you are?"
Eddy stared at him for a second. "Did I handle that okay?"
Brett grinned. "I don't know if I'm the best guy to ask for advice on how to handle girls hitting on you, Eddy."
Before Eddy could think of something to reply to that, Todd had plopped himself down on the chair next to him with a thump. He had the widest, corniest smile on his face, and Eddy could just feel the comment coming.  
"Oh, shut up, Todd." he muttered before Todd could even open his mouth, which earned him a no-holds-barred Todd belly laugh. 

Well. Having to disappoint pretty blonde girls aside, this was quickly turning into the best birthday he could remember. And if he was completely honest with himself... what the girl had said, awkward as it was, wasn't necessarily bad for his confidence, was it? So he sat, he chatted, he laughed and drank bubble tea until it was basically dinner time. Then they all got up and made their way outside. 

"Okay guys, this was a hoot, but I'm going to head this way, catch the bus." Todd said and Ian nodded. Eddy eyed Ian secretly, out of the corner of his eye. He had seemed alright, this afternoon. God, how he hoped that he wasn't just pretending to be.
Lily came up to him then, distracting him from any thoughts about Ian. She gave him a massive hug and kissed him on the cheek. 
"See you tomorrow, Eddy. Love you."
"Love you too, Lily. Thank you so much for being here, it's been the best birthday. See you around, Matt!"

And just like that, the whole group was gone, and it was just him and Brett again. They started walking back to Eddy's automatically. 
"Did you set this up, Bretty?" he asked.
Brett smiled. "With Lily."
Eddy turned to him and looked him right in the eye. "You really are the best, you know. You always know just what I need."
Brett blinked once, and when he spoke again his voice was soft but oh so deep. 
"I don't think you realise you do exactly the same for me, Eddy. Not just for me, by the way. I love you so much."
The urge to hug him was so strong that Eddy stopped on the spot and closed his eyes. Then he opened them again, with resolve. 
"I love you too, more than anything else put together."