the silence

two. (b)

brett yang was half asleep when his phone rang. the sound of it made his stomach hurt. phone calls were the bane of his existence because he absolutely hated talking to anyone, no matter the circumstance.

it wasn't that he couldn't talk. he could, and the very few he was close with knew that. but talking to anyone in any capacity freaked him out and exhausted him, so he tried to avoid it altogether. it took an extremely long time for him to talk to anyone.

"h-hello?" he stammered, his black hair falling into his eyes. he cursed himself for stuttering.

"hi, this is maya from the sydney symphony orchestra. is this brett yang?" said the voice, a familiar sweetness to its tone. this was a "you got the job" call. brett could feel it.

"i, um.. yeah. brett yang," he said slowly, cringing at the sound of his own voice. god, he hated it.

his suspicions were confirmed as maya informed him that he'd gotten the job in the first violin section. he could barely contain his excitement. he got all the information he needed and hung up, sitting the phone down on his bedside table. he had to tell someone. his short list of friends ran through his head and he decided to call his best friend and former stand partner, jamie. jamie was the first person brett had ever really opened up to.

    he'd come to brisbane to get away from his parents in taiwan and some people who'd hurt him back home. life had gotten to the point of constant misery and he just had to get out. brett yang had moved to australia with no friends and no money, violin case in hand. he stayed with an old family friend, working as a barista in a coffee shop and busking nonstop until he could afford his own apartment. he'd only had one orchestra job since being there.

    jamie had quit not too long ago, leaving brett by himself in the orchestra. ironically, it had been for a new job. brett had had a new stand partner for a few months but still hadn't talked to her. he didn't trust her at all, so he kept his mouth shut unless talking was an absolute necessity.

    hands shaking with excitement, brett dialed jamie's number. he was in the middle of putting on his red socks when he heard the familiar voice answer.

    "brett! it's been a bit, what's up?" jamie said, his happiness radiating through his words. he was always happy.

    "i got the, uh, job in sydney!" brett replied as he finished getting dressed, pacing around his room.

    "shit, that's awesome! won't you have to move, though?" jamie said, frowning a little. brett shrugged.

"yeah, but that's okay. i was going to anyways," he shrugged. jamie nodded.

"we need to celebrate somehow. when's the last time you went to a club?" jamie asked. brett scrunched his nose. a club was the last place he wanted to go. the music, the noise, the lights; it was too much.

    "oh, uh, i don't know, jamie... it's, um, a little much," he said hesitantly. jamie clicked his tongue in response.

    "please, bretty? i want to see that other side of you again. you're a different person when you're drunk. it's really entertaining," pleaded the other man. brett sighed. he'd made the mistake of getting plastered at a club with jamie one time after a really good performance.

   "fine," he rolled his eyes, checking the time. almost 9 pm. "but we're both driving in case you decide to go home with someone again," brett teased. jamie scoffed.

    "no, you know i've got a boyfriend. this is for you, baby. maybe you'll end up wearing those same clothes tomorrow," he said suggestively. brett shook his head.

    "not a chance. but i'll go. i guess i deserve it," he shrugged. jamie cheered loudly.

    "there's my best friend! i'll meet you there, 9:20. you know the one." 

    jamie hung up before brett could say anything. he rolled his eyes and tossed his phone onto his bed, looking in the mirror. he was ready for a night of being someone other than himself.

    brett and jamie arrived at approximately the same time. they got out of their cars and jamie gave brett a tight hug, picking him up off the ground. jamie was roughly a foot taller than brett and had very dark skin, the white shirt he wore making it look even darker. the tall man finally sat brett down on the ground and smiled at him.

    "you ready to have fun?" he asked. brett nodded and they walked inside.

    the music was loud and the obnoxious thumping of the bass could be felt throughout the entire building. it was very hard to see, but brett clung to jamie's hand as he led him to the bar. jamie went there almost every night and definitely knew his way around. brett sat on a barstool and listened to his friend order him a drink whose contents he had no idea about. he squinted out across the dance floor, which was full of men dancing on each other. it wasn't necessarily a gay club, but everyone kind of treated it like one.

    brett was as gay as gay comes, but had never done anything with a man. never even kissed one. he'd realized he was gay after his last girlfriend left but hadn't really had time to pursue it. even the last time he'd been to that club, no one kissed him. it was just a lot of dancing.

    jamie slapped his hand on brett's shoulder and handed him his drink.

    "drink this. you'll be fucked up in no time, lightweight," the larger man teased, running his hand through brett's hair to mess it up.

    "what are you doing?" brett asked before starting on his drink, which was extremely bitter.

    "i'm making you look less like a classical violinist," jamie said, reaching down and unbuttoning way too many buttons on brett's shirt. brett rolled his eyes.

    "you're a classical violinist!" he shouted over the music. jamie pushed brett's drink further into his mouth.

    "yeah. but i don't look like one, genius," he said. brett's vision was already getting blurry and his legs felt heavy.

    jamie picked brett up off the seat after he finished the drink and sat him on the floor.

    "let's go find you someone to dance with."