I love you (no homo)

Part Two

Eddy seemed to be annoyed with Mark lately, and Brett hated himself for feeling so happy about it. He still tried to act as neutral as possible in front of his friend - Eddy didn't confide in him about his love problems anyway, but it was hard not to notice that something was off, so Brett wasn't surprised when Eddy threw his phone on the bed and sat down with an angry expression.

Brett glanced at him from above his laptop. He shouldn't say it, he shouldn't say it, he shouldn't...

"Mark?" Ah, damn you, Brett.

Eddy rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Of course it's Mark. He said he wouldn't come. Again. Clearly he has more important things to do."

Brett knew his roommate was talking about tomorrow's quartet he was supposed to play in. And it probably wouldn't even have been such a problem if Eddy's boyfriend didn't show up, everyone had their own lives and responsibilities, and this wasn't a concert in the Sydney Opera House, but just a regular student performance. Brett, however, was aware that the issue lay elsewhere, namely the fact that Mark kept promising to come to various performances and never showed up. Asshole.

"Hey, I'll be there," Brett brought up, partly joking. "That should be enough for you."

Eddy just looked at him with a slight smile his friend could not quite identify.

"That's true."

Honestly, Brett didn't expect such an answer at all, so he was lost for words, and the atmosphere became strangely tense.

"I can throw you a bouquet on stage after it's over if you want," he mumbled, and it worked, the spell was broken, Eddy looked away and started laughing.

***

Brett never really spoke with Mark for any longer than necessary. Eddy was always there, so there wasn't exactly a way to have a more private conversation, and besides, Brett was afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide his distaste for the guy and their whole relationship in general. He was pretending to be fine with it in front of his roommate all the time, and that was already taking enough of his energy.

For this exact reason, when he walked into the new sushi restaurant and saw Mark, he immediately turned to the side, into the hall behind the wall. He probably should have just left, but he panicked. He didn't want to be visible, but unfortunately, the other room had only one free seat, and it was on the corner. Brett sighed, sat down, and hid behind the menu. It was risky, but better than sitting right next to him and being 100% noticed.

It wasn't until he sat back and glanced nervously at the table where Mark and his friend were sitting that he noticed that they were holding hands. Part of him wanted to assume the obvious right away, but they might have been friends, so he decided not to jump to conclusions. He also sometimes held people's hands, it happened. And the reasons could be... various. Maybe Mark was a good friend who was comforting his buddy during a hard time.

In the meantime, the waitress came, but he asked her to give him another moment to think because honestly, he barely looked at the menu. He couldn't concentrate, all the while nervously watching Mark and his friend. If only he could hear what they were saying!

Why did Brett even dislike Mark so much? And what is he even doing, spying on his friend's boyfriend? He should just say hello like a normal person. He considered it for a moment but then saw Mark lean over the table and kiss his friend on the lips. He stopped considering.

Brett stood up, almost hearing how loud his heart was beating and how slowly, slowly, his confusion was turning into rage. No one would criticize him because of his aversion to Mark now, would they?

He put on his fakest smile. He walked over to their table, and Eddy's boyfriend took his hand away from his friend's as soon as he saw him.

"Brett! Hi, what..." he started to say but Brett ignored him.

He turned to his black-haired friend instead.

"Hi. Are you perhaps dating this dude?" he asked, pointing to Mark.

The man looked confused and slightly scared, and Brett couldn't blame him, but somehow couldn't bring himself to care.

"Well... yeah. Why are you asking?"

Brett nodded. Right.

"Brett, listen, this is..." Mark tried to cut in again, but Brett already didn't care about any word he said.

It was the perfect opportunity to make his deepest dream come true. He couldn't believe he was thinking of it as such, but at the moment he actually felt that way.

So Brett threw the right hook, right in that perfect jaw of his, hard enough to make him almost fall off his chair. And Brett didn't care if he damaged his delicate violinist hands.