Andante con Brio

CXCVII

It must have been the alcohol that he had drunk, because it was already light outside when he woke up. And for a moment he reveled, in the softness of the sheet and the sweetness of the man lying beside him. But then his eyes opened with a shock. 
Todd. 
Ian. 
"Fuck!" he muttered under his breath as he sat up in one movement and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Would they be up already? What was the situation? 
He took a quick look at his phone. They were already half-late. 
"Bretty, time to get up, my love." he said as he gave him a rushed kiss on the forehead. "I'm going to knock on Todd and Ian's door."
He shot into his jeans and a clean shirt as Brett yawned and stretched out behind him. Then he took a deep breath. 
Show time. 
He legged it out of their room before he could pussy out and knocked on Todd and Ian's door once, twice. 
"Guys, you up?" he called after a long moment without any response from the boys in the room. 
He was about to knock again, when at last a voice came through the door. 
"Shit. Ah. Yes, Eddy. Coming." 

They made it out of their room just as Brett and Eddy were stepping into the lift. Eddy put his hand between the doors to keep it open, but to be honest he half regretted it the second they stepped in. He could have cut the atmosphere with a knife. Both boys were quiet, so quiet, and they looked down at the ground, clearly avoiding looking at each other. 
Oh God, was this what it was going to be for them, now? And what could he do to help? But there was no time to do anything, now, they had to go or they would be late. 
They grabbed some bread rolls from the breakfast buffet and rushed out through the lobby of the hotel into some bright sunlight outside. Eddy eyed his great friends from the side of his eyes. Todd was walking quietly next to him, and he looked awful. He was pale, and gaunt, and he had dark circles underneath his eyes. He hadn't said a word either, since talking to him through the door. Ian was walking on the other side of Brett, and he didn't seem much better. 
Oh fuck, this was bad, this was real bad, and there was nothing he could do, no way he could take either of them to one side, talk to them. There was no time. They would have to go into the rehearsal like this. 

John raised his eyebrows infenitesimally when he saw the quiet quartet filing into the room, but he said nothing. He just shot Eddy a questioning glance, and Eddy shrugged. 
Yeah, John. This is not something I can tell you about he told the conductor in his mind, hoping John would read it in his eyes somehow, would back off, start the rehearsal. The last thing either of his friends needed right now was the third degree by an outside party. 
John nodded calmly, then looked around the semicircle. 
"Right, gang. Hope you enjoyed your day off, and had a good night's sleep. Let's start on the first movement, please. We have an hour, then a break, and then we have another hour."
"Thanks, John." Eddy said, and Todd, who was just sitting down on the last chair next to a very pale Ian, seemed to catch himself all at once. He squared his shoulders and smiled at the conductor as he pulled out his end pin to the right length. 
"Absolutely." he said. 

To be honest, the rehearsal didn't go as badly as he had thought. They played okay, even though Eddy felt like he was sitting on hot coals the whole time. Oh God, was this going to be the rest of the week, his friends all hurt and awkward? And inwardly he cussed Todd out. 
Why did you drink so much, you idiot? 
It was a good thing nobody could read his mind today, it really was. He took a deep breath and put his attention on the rehearsal again, until at the end of the hour John nodded and he tried not to sag with relief. 
"Okay, so this is coming along nicely, guys. Let's all take twenty minutes and I'll see you back here."
"Thanks, John." he said, but he was already up, because he had decided what he needed to do.
He would have to talk to Todd first. 
He shot a glance at Brett, who nodded at him knowingly and turned to ask Ian a question he couldn't hear. Then he almost threw his violin in its case, walked over to Todd, and without looking back once he all but dragged him out of the room and a ways down the hallway.