the silence

fifteen.

brett's reaction to jamie was slower than eddy's was because of how long it took his eyes to reach jamie's face. as his eyes fell upon the familiar features, his own cheeks contorted into a smile and he jumped up into the tall man's arms. jamie let out a loud, deep laugh as he picked brett up by his waist, the smaller man's arms slinging around his neck.

    to say that eddy felt awkward would be a massive understatement. he stood stiffly by brett's side and tried to avoid eye contact with either of them. jamie was the tallest man eddy had ever seen, which only added to how intimidating he found him. whenever he finally put brett down, jamie looked eddy up and down before sticking out his arms and giving him a hug as well.

"so you're the one my bretty won't stop talking about," he grinned, pulling away from the hug. eddy smiled awkwardly and brett smacked jamie's muscular arm.

"what are you doing here!?" brett shouted, the loudness of his voice startling eddy so much that he flinched. jamie's lips curled into a smile, exposing his perfect teeth. eddy scratched the back of his neck. he'd never been nervous around people, but jamie was different for reasons he couldn't put his finger on.

    "i missed you," jamie put his long arm around brett's shoulders and flashed his smile again. "and i had to meet this one," he pointed at eddy, whose cheeks reddened for the millionth time since jamie had entered the room.

    "stop," brett said under his breath, jabbing his elbow into his friend's ribs. jamie released brett from his grip and the smaller man put his arms around eddy, sensing his nerves.

"is that really it? you just bought a plane ticket to see me? where are you even staying?" brett quizzed, resting his head on eddy's shoulder and scratching his back gently.

"you act surprised, babydoll. we both know i'm a man of impulse. i'm staying somewhere and that's all you need to know," he teased. eddy's ears perked up at the nickname. he silently wished he had the guts to call brett something like that.

"how long are you gonna be here?" brett asked. his fingers slid up under eddy's shirt and traced the notches in his spine. the taller boy was fixated on the sound of brett's voice, watching his lips move as he spoke. his stomach flipped as words came out of his lover's mouth, captivatingly smooth and soft.

"probably about a week. i was going to wait until time for your first concert, but i just couldn't. i missed you," jamie answered, tucking a piece of brett's hair behind his ear.

eddy clenched his teeth every time the other man's skin came in contact with brett's. he knew he had no right to be jealous, but he just couldn't help it. he wanted brett to be his, to touch and to... what? to love? eddy cringed at the word. obviously, after a few days, it was never going to leave his lips in conversation with the boy in his arms. but wouldn't that be the end goal? there was no way they could just carry on like that without reaching towards some end goal: love. eddy's head was spinning as he thought about it. brett noticed his discomfort again and planted a soft kiss on the side of his neck before replying to his best friend.

"are you sure you have somewhere to stay? i don't want you to be somewhere that's uncomfortable. you know you're welcome here," he offered.

"baby, there's no way i'm about to come intrude on your little honeymoon phase here. i know my boundaries, whether it looks like it or not. i think eddy might spontaneously combust if i stay too long," jamie teased. eddy cleared his throat.

"no," was all he could manage. jamie put his hand on the other man's shoulder.

"i know, i know. but you're nervous, right? you're confused enough about all of this already and now there's a very tall black man in your little boyfriend's living room calling him baby. i can't say id like it either."