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[green]

Mikey makes his way to the math classroom. He's nervous – what if he's reading this all wrong? Brian's hot and older, and way out of Mikey's league. It's almost insane to think Brian might be interested in him.

He takes a deep breath and opened the door. Brian looks up and smiles as soon as he sees Mikey. Mr. Brennan is gone, presumably to the staff room to eat lunch.

“Hey, Mikeyway,” Brian says, standing up from the desk.

Mikey likes the way he says it, all happy to see him. “Hey, Brian.”

“Want to go out to eat?” Brian says.

“I don't have a note saying I can go off campus yet,” Mikey says.

“Meh. No one will notice,” Brian says. “How do you feel about sushi?”

Mikey smiles. “It's my favorite.”

“Then I say we go,” Brian says.

Mikey shrugs, as if to say it's nothing to him, but inside he's leaping around for joy. He follows Brian out to the parking lot, and Brian lets him into his car. It's an old, dirty thing, but the stereo is awesome and Brian plays the Misfits on the drive to the Japanese place.

They both get the cucumber salad before the sushi, and Mikey loves every bite. Brian isn't too good with chopsticks, but he manages to eat his salad with them anyway. When the sushi comes, Brian eats with his fingers. Mikey likes his fingers, with their short nails and a few scars on the knuckles.

“How long will you be assisting Mr. Brennan?” Mikey asks between bites of sashimi.

“Just this semester,” Brian says. “After that it's all school, all the time.”

Mikey thinks you couldn't pay him to go to college. He doesn't know what he's going to do without it, but he knows high school is going to be the end of his education. College just isn't for him.

“What do you do for fun?” Mikey asks.

Brian laughs. “Teaching is fun,” he says, but then more seriously, “I love music. If I can be around it, I'm happy.”

“I'm surprised you quit working on tours, then,” Mikey says.

“Music I love,” Brian says. “It's the musicians I sometimes have a problem with.”

“Divas?” Mikey asks.

“No, I can deal with divas. It's all the drugs I don't need to be around.”

Mikey bites his lip. “You...”

“I'm an addict,” Brian says. “I was pretty fucked up for about two years there. And I needed to get away from anyone who interfered with my recovery.”

Mikey's quiet. He's never heard anyone admit they're a drug addict before. “That's some heavy shit.”

“Yeah,” Brian says. “I was a fuck up for a long time, but I think I've got it locked down now. I have a future again.”

“Do you miss working with music?” Mikey asks.

“Every day,” Brian says. “I was a guitar tech for some really awesome bands and I loved it. Being around the music, being part of it … but that environment isn't any good for me anymore. And I love teaching, I love math – it works for me.”

Mikey offers Brian a smile, a real one, and reaches over the table to squeeze his hand. “If you're happy, that's what's important.”

Brian turns his hand over and then his and Mikey's fingers are entwined. It's nice, and makes Mikey feel good all over. Brian's fingers are callused and warm against his hand, and Mikey doesn't want him to ever let go.

“This is a gamble,” Brian says, looking down at their hands.

Mikey doesn't know what would happen if they had a relationship and the wrong people found out, but he's sure it's nothing good. Brian's right – being together is a gamble, and neither of them know the other well enough to say whether or not it would be worth the risk.

“It's cool if you don't want to,” Mikey says.

Brian looks up at Mikey, leans forward and gazes into his eyes, and he's steady and absolute when he says, “I want to see what happens.”

“Right. We probably shouldn't go out in public together again,” Mikey says slowly. He's smart, he can figure this out. There are logistics here that his mind is already working on.

“What are you doing after school?” Brian asks. “We can hang out.”

Mikey smiles. Hanging out with Brian sounds wonderful. “I have to be home by six for dinner on a school night,” he says, and he hates how young he sounds. “Weekends I'm pretty much free whenever.”

“Do you want to hang today after school, or do you want to do something this weekend?”

Mikey laughs. “Can't we do both?” he asks.

Brian smiles at him. “That works. Now, what will we do?”

Mikey shrugs. “Do you live alone?”

“I have a roommate I never see. You inviting yourself over to my place?” Brian asks, joking lightly.

“Yeah, I am,” Mikey says.

Brian finally pulls his hand away and nods. Mikey smiles to himself and goes back to eating his food. He's got tempura, too, and that's his favorite. He adds a little more wasabi to his soy sauce and hums under his breath.


page 29 after school at Brian's