Andante

CLXXIV

In the end Eddy never dit get his kiss, because Steven had walked in and taken them downstairs for breakfast. They had eaten some cereal at the marble breakfast bar, thanked him and his parents and gone home. Brett had felt very off throughout the whole thing though.  He was quiet, real quiet, and Eddy could see in his eyes how guilty he felt.
"Bye, thanks again." he had said to him, weirdly impersonal, before hurrying towards his own house. So now Eddy was walking along alone, and he was still wracking his brain to see what else he should have said. He walked into his street and found Lily, standing on the corner, leaning against a lamp post. 
Whoa. 
"Lily! Jeez, are you okay?"
Lily was looking almost... nervous, somehow. Pale, too.
"Yeah, I'm okay, Eddy. I just wanted to talk to you in person. Is Brett okay? I heard what happened last night?"
"Yeah, he's okay, I think." Eddy nodded. "Headache. Feeling guilty."
God, how he hoped that what he was saying was actually true and Brett was in fact okay. Lily smiled so slightly he wasn't sure if he had imagined it.
"Good. So. I remembered what you said in the school about talking to Matt, and then I had a long talk with Ian last night. So then I called Matt after the party."
"After the party?" Eddy's eyebrows shot up without him being able to stop them. What time had she left? It must have been way after midnight. Lily grinned.
"Yep. Figured he deserved as much."
Eddy leaned against the building to his right. He was tired, now. Tired, from the late night, from taking care of his sick boyfriend, from all that he had seen and heard. God, now his own head was hurting and he hadn't even drunk a drop of alcohol.
"So... what happened?"
They looked in the direction of Eddy's house at the same time and Eddy smiled. Yeah. It would be great to go over there and sit in his room for a while. He knew as well as Lily did that that was never going to happen, not after he'd spent the night somewhere else. So the corner of the street it was. Lily drew in a long breath.
"We talked. He apologised again. I've told him I'd give him another chance, but if he screws up again that's it."
Eddy looked at his feet for a long moment, digesting Lily's words.
"He loves you too, I think, you know."
" You really think so?" Her eyes were wide, when he looked up at her again, like an anime character's.
"Yeah. I do think so. Has he not said?"
She shook her head. "Nah, but then neither have I. God, Eddy, it had all been so good, so easy up until this point. I just... I just hadn't seen it coming. And I am sorry for blubbering like that yesterday."
He almost rolled his eyes. "Come on, you're kidding, right? That's what friends are for, Lily. Excuse the corn."
She giggled. "Want me to sing the song? I would, but you'd just tell me it was in the wrong key."
He grinned. "I think it's in D, but I'm not sure."
She hugged him suddenly, taking him by surprise.
"Really though, Eddy. Thanks. Are you okay?"
He nodded automatically. Was he okay? Maybe it was the fatigue talking, but he suddenly found himself giving her the unfiltered version.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I guess... I guess I wish it would have gone differently. I'm tired and I have a whole mountain of work to do today. But you know. Shit happens. It's all good. I hope Brett feels better."
She eyed him seriously and hugged him again.
"Okay. Good luck, then, I guess."
He nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for everything with the party, hey? See you tomorrow."
"Sure. See ya!"
And just like that, she walked off, and he walked the last fifty metres to his own front door. He stuck his key in the door pensively. Would everyone be okay? Brett? Matt and Lily?
God, he hoped so.