the silence

nine.

    eddy and brett sat in silence as eddy drove them to the same restaurant they'd eaten at during their previous lunch date. being in such close proximity to eddy all day was making his heart pound despite his efforts to calm himself down. the amount of times eddy brushed his hand or looked at him just a little too long was getting too much for him to handle. he had it bad for the taller boy and he knew it.

    however, brett was not going to make any attempt to pursue this crush. it was not the first time he'd started liking a boy within days of knowing them and he told himself it definitely would not be the last. and, besides, eddy had a girlfriend. no matter how awful the relationship was, he still had one. and brett absolutely refused to be used to cheat on someone. besides, he told himself, eddy probably didn't even like boys.

    probably.

    trying not to let eddy catch a glimpse of his phone screen, brett began to text jamie about the lunch date. it was instinctive to him at this point. he missed jamie and had to let him know everything he was doing so they didn't lose contact. their conversation went as follows:

    brett: he's taking me to lunch again.

    jamie: omg !! ask if you can eat him instead of the food. kinda flirty and also kinda gross. just like you <3

    brett: you're an idiot. we've been over this.

    jamie: if you didn't like him then you wouldn't be telling me all the things you're doing with him and you definitely wouldn't have let him spend the night with you.

    brett: that's not fair! he didn't have anywhere else to go. plus, i miss you. i'm telling you all the things i do with everyone and i don't talk to very many people.

    jamie: ok first of all you wouldn't have answered the phone call if you didn't like him, baby. we all know how much bretty babe loves his beauty sleep. but i miss you too.

    brett: jokes on you. i didn't even read the name or the number, i just answered. theory debunked.

    jamie: omg ur so difficult shut up. it's okay to like someone, bretty. just because you've never been with a boy doesn't mean you aren't allowed to like one.

brett shifted uncomfortably in his seat and stared at jamie's last message, pursing his lips. it didn't matter that he'd never been with a boy. it mattered that the one he might want had (probably) never been with one and didn't want to.

the car came to a stop before brett even noticed they'd reached their destination. he was too busy worrying himself about his feelings and eddy's feelings(or lack thereof.) he sent jamie a quick text telling him that he had to go and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"i'm starving," eddy admitted as they walked inside. brett scoffed playfully.

"told you to eat," he mumbled, crossing his arms. they sat down and gave their drink orders to their servers before going to the bar to get their food. both of them filled up their plates and went back to sit down.

    "can i ask you something?" eddy said after a few minutes of them eating in silence. they were both very hungry and decided to sacrifice conversation for shoving food in their mouths. brett looked up at the boy across from him and nodded, his mouth full of noodles. eddy took a deep breath and pushed his hair out of his face.

    "do you think i should leave mae? i mean..." he trailed off, biting his lip. brett gestured for him to go on.

    "i don't know. i'm miserable. but, at the same time.. she moved here for me. we've been together for so long. i don't even remember what it's like to not be with her. but, um... i don't think i can live like this. i don't know. it's just gotten really bad," he rambled, moving his hands as he talked. brett thought for a few moments, tilting his head to the side.