As the Piano Keys Rang

Brendon walked into the coffee shop. The bell above the door gave a jingle. Brendon looked around. It was very… bookstore/café. The smell of strong coffee was pungent in the air, attacking Brendon’s nostrils. He liked the smell of coffee much better than the taste though. The walls were filled with books, up the short ceilings. The shelves were made out of a dark mahogany and crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, making it have an old time smoking room effect. Brendon almost imagined himself lighting up a cigar and shooting some pool in a quaint country estate, wearing a Hugh Hefner like robe. Brendon giggled at his own imagination.

There were about four people in the store as he approached the café bar that was towards the back. They had a bright gold cappuccino machine that reminded Brendon of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He tried to stop associating everything while he looked at the actual person at the counter. It was a girl with shaggy blonde hair that swept at her shoulders. She had a magazine out in front of her that she was reading with inspiring focus. Brendon felt bad that he was about to break this focus.

“Hello,” he said and she lifted her face to him. She had mahogany eyes, just like the shelves. Her eyes, broken from the magazine, looked wide and almost scared. “I’m here to see Tom. I’m the piano player.”

Her face suddenly brightened and a smile spread across her face, “Oh, so you’re Brendon?” She held out her hand to him. He shook it, “I’m Jared. I am Tom’s fiancé and co-owner of Readers Only. Tom’s out at the moment, but he told me if you came to tell you that you can sign the papers another time and you should just go ahead and start working.”

He looked at Jared. She and Tom = the most good looking couple ever, he thought. Brendon shrugged his shoulders, “Okay, that’s fine. And the piano is?” He twisted his head around looking for it.

“Oh, it’s over there in the corner by the biographies. You didn’t bring any music,” she squinted, tilting her head to Brendon’s right.

“Nah. I don’t need it,” Brendon said, knowing he sounded cool saying that.

“Well, okay. Have fun,” she smiled.

“Oh, I will. Just make sure you come tell me when I’m done,” Brendon said walking away from her. He went over to the corner and was amazed. Tom had said it was brand new, but it looked better than that. It was perfect in every way and shape possible. He sat down at it. The seat was still stiff from being new. It even still smelled like sawdust and lacquer. Brendon held it up to his nose and breathed in. Goddamn it. I love this job.

Brendon was eager to begin. He opened the fall and adjusted the seat before putting his fingers to work. They were stiff at first, but limbered up quickly. His hands moved daintily over the keys and he tried to listen. His head was still muddled with fog though. He tried again, as hard as he could. He could hear it slightly but it was only a faint noise in the distance.

It wasn’t Ryan’s song though. It was a new piece. The sound of it was light, airy, and bright. It filled the room with a catchy melody that would have fit into any Disney classic ending. There was something kind of awkward about it that made it cute. It was kind of maladroit and off kilter. Brendon liked it though. He continued playing until his name was being called, quite loudly.

“Brendon!” said a voice across the room. Brendon stopped playing and looked up. It was Tom.

He was smiling like a fool, “I called you like five times. You didn’t hear me?”

Brendon stood up from the piano and walked to its edge, “S-sorry. I get a little bit too into it when I play.” Brendon paid attention to his word choice, making his speech sound soft and eloquent.

“Oh, no problem. I can’t not like you for doing your job fabulously,” he smiled walking over to the café counter.

“Really? Did you like it? It was different from what I usually played,” Brendon ran his hand behind his head and scrunched his nose.

“I love it,” Tom smiled, “and I’m not the only one.” He pointed back at the piano.

Brendon swiveled his head back towards it. On top sat a empty glass vase almost filled to the brim with random bills. “I get tips?” he turned his head back to Tom, “this is the best job ever!”

Tom chuckled at him. “Good, good. I’m glad. Yeah, so I guess the jar is the only thing you’ll need to bring. You did good tonight. We are glad to have you.”

“Well, thank you. What about that paperwork?” Brendon said grabbing the vase from the piano.

“Oh, yes. Come here,” Tom went into the backroom and came back out a second later with a few forms.

“If you could just bring these in tomorrow, that would be great,” Tom thrust the papers at him.

“Okay, no problem. Hey, I met Jared. She seems really sweet,” Brendon leaned his elbow onto the counter and put it head on it.

“Yeah, she’s a nice girl,” Tom said smiling to himself.

“She better be. You are marrying her.”

“Yep. This December, to be exact,” he took a sip from his mug of coffee on the counter. It was specially made with the Readers Only logo across it.

“That’s awesome for you. Congratulations,” Brendon said leaning back to his normal posture and grabbing the papers off the counter. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yep. Have a good night,” Tom said with a nod.

“You too,” Brendon said heading out of the store.

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Time went by. Brendon’s income was amazing from Readers Only. He was making up to a hundred dollars every night in tips only. His classes were going great, he was doing well. His parents were proud.

His ‘thing’ with Ryan was getting better every day. They were having as so much fun being together and even more fun hiding their passion from everyone. They’d sneak make out sessions in the car, Brendon’s room, and just about anywhere they could without being caught.

Love was everywhere. Life was perfect.

It was Friday, the 31st of October, Halloween. The school was buzzing with in-classroom parties and plans for that night. Brendon still didn’t have anything planned but he wasn’t worried. When the final bell rang, everyone was in a big hurry to leave and start getting ready for their various activities. Brendon walked out to Ryan’s car and his friend was already sitting on the hood, waiting for him. “What are you doing tonight?” Ryan asked him, looking up into the sunlight. His eyes looked golden in the brightness.

“My parents are going to an office costume party thing and my sister is going trick-or-treating with her friends. I have the house to myself, if you want to join me,” Brendon used his sexiest voice on the last part, but it ended up sounding more like Jim Carey in the mask.

Ryan smiled preciously, “perfect.” They got into the car riding home and were already in a mess of business. Brendon’s mom was running around the house in her long black witch’s gown. She was trying to put cookies in and out of the oven, put Sarah’s sexy pirate makeup on, and get her own costume together.

Brendon and Ryan sat at the kitchen table with Brendon’s dad. His dad sat in his work clothes with a simple wizard robe of the top of it. He was reading the paper and looking like a man. Ready before anyone else and dressed as simple as possible.

While his mom was upstairs, the timer went off on the oven. Ryan got up swiftly, turning the timer off, pulling the cookies out, putting the next batch in, and setting the timer for fifteen more minutes. He continued this process until each batch was complete. “Hey, Brendon, help me frost these,” Ryan shouted to him.

Brendon got up and made his way over to the counter, grabbing a jar of pre-dyed, orange frosting and a spatula. “You didn’t have to do this,” he whispered into Ryan’s ear.

Ryan didn’t look away from the cookie he was currently concentrating on, “I know. I wanted too. Your mom is busy and I’m perfectly capable of helping her out.”

Brendon bumped his side, “You’re so nice, Ryan. I don’t know how you put up with us.”

“I love your family. They’re so… normal. All-American,” Ryan laughed.

“Yeah, especially with their straight, all-star quarterback, son,” Brendon said in a kind of ‘Yeah, I’m so perfect.’

“No, they got something better. They got a Brendon,” Ryan smiled and wiped some access frosting on Brendon’s face.

“Well, your family can’t be that bad. Why do I never get to see them?” Brendon said wiping the frosting off and putting it in his mouth. It’s true. Ryan never talked about his family or home life. It kind of bothered Brendon, since Ryan was basically a part of his now.

“Uh. Don’t get me started. You don’t want to meet them, trust me,” Ryan shook his head and Brendon knew he shouldn’t push him.

“Oh, bless you both for helping!” Brendon’s mom said from the doorway as she saw the boys working on her project.

“No problem, Mrs. Urie,” Ryan smiled as he began putting the cookies in the Tupperware containers.

“Hey, Mom? Can Ryan sleep over tonight? We were gonna watch scary movies and man the door,” Brendon began digging his index finger into the frosting jar and eating it.

“Oh, of course. Ryan is such a sweetheart. He’s always welcome,” his mom flipped her hand like it was no big deal.

“By the way, Mrs. Urie, you are looking very scary tonight. In a good way, of course.”

“Oh, stop it,” Brendon’s mom patted the back of her head. Her face was blotted with green paint and her hair was pulled back into a tight bun.

“Elphaba Thropp from Wicked, right?” Ryan pointed of questioning finger at her.

“Oh, you’re too good to be straight!” Brendon’s mom joked, “oh, I’m just kidding you.”

Ryan and Brendon laughed along, really laughing at his mom’s unintentional joke.

Brendon’s dad closed the paper and looked at his watch. “Well, we better get going. The party starts in about a half and hour and we still have to drop Sarah off at her friends.”

“How do I look?” Sarah was suddenly in the door way with her arms raised over her head. Her torn up shirt barely reached her belly button and her skirt was riding up her little baby thighs.

Brendon sighed and rolled his eyes. Ryan let out a stifled giggle. Sarah’s father looked at his watch again, impatiently, “I think it’s time we show them their gifts.”

“Gifts? What gifts?” Sarah eyes got wide and her voice got high.

Brendon’s mom walked to the sink and bent down pulling out two boxes. She handed one to Sarah and one to Brendon. “Your dad and I know that it’s not exactly Christmas yet, but we thought you were doing so well in your new school that we decided to reward you.”

“Open yours first, Sarah,” Brendon said putting his aside.

Sarah began ripping off the wrappings and staring at the front of the box. She gave a high-pitched scream. “Oh my goodness!” she flipped the box around to show everyone, “a digital camera! Oh gosh! Thank you!” She ran over to her mom and then her dad, hugging them. “I’m gonna go unwrap it so that I can use it tonight.” She ran up the stairs in a clatter.

“Open yours, Brendon,” his dad urged.

Brendon sighed and began unwrapping it. He began to see the white background and the black text of the box. He ripped another piece off and saw silver. Another piece and his gift was revealed. “A video camera. Cool,” he said admiring the picture on the front. He opened up the box and took it out. It was a hand held camcorder. “Thanks mom and dad. I’ll really use this.” His voice was sincere as he went to go hug both of his parents, “wow. This is great really thank you.” He pressed a couple buttons and it was on. He pressed the record button and flicked it towards Ryan’s face. “You’re on the BrendonCam.” He swooped the lens around the room before turning it off. “That’s awesome. Thank you.”

“Hey, why did he get a video camera and I only got a normal camera?” Sarah was suddenly with them again, holding her new camera from its cord.

“Sarah, you are much younger than him. You have many, many years to get more presents from us. Brendon, here, only has about two more,” her dad explained.

“Wow. Thanks, dad,” Brendon joked.

“No problem, son. Well, we got to go. We’ll see you boys later,” his dad smiled at the both of them before walking towards the front door.

“Bye, boys,” Brendon’s mom shouted as she walked out the door. “Be good! Call us if you need anything!”

“Sure, mom. Bye!” Brendon shouted before finally hearing the front door click shut. He turned to Ryan and big smiles began to grow on both of their faces.

Ryan grabbed Brendon’s hand and led him to the living room. He pushed him onto the couch. Brendon dropped the video camera on the coffee table. It was nothing compared to the gifts that Ryan always had. Ryan was immediately straddling him with his tongue in his mouth. Brendon grabbed the bottom of his shirt and threw it some place behind him. Ryan did the same. They hadn’t had a night alone since their first kiss, so from point on it was all new to them. It was about eight o’clock now and sun was gone, leaving the house dark except for the kitchen that shed a little light on Ryan’s bare chest.

In one swift motion, Brendon had Ryan pinned down on the floor between the coffee table and the couch. He began lightly nipping at Ryan’s neck, making him groan. He gave him sweet kisses down the middle of his chest, ending them at his navel. Then, he began to work on the button off his jeans. He surprised himself by getting it undone pretty quickly. He slid his pants down and threw them aside, before taking off his own.

Ryan leaned back up and pushed Brendon against the fuzzy carpeting. He dove for his mouth, again, before leaning Brendon’s head to the side and licking from his ear down to his chin. Brendon was almost screaming in appreciation. He could feel himself getting hard against Ryan’s leg. When Ryan returned back to his lips, he spoke, “Can you attend to that please?”

Ryan stopped. His lips were still on Brendon’s, “Are you sure?” Ryan knew that Brendon had never done anything like this, even with a girl. He didn’t want to push Brendon into something he’d regret.

“I’m positive. I love you,” he said back. His stomach fluttered when he heard those words come out of his own mouth.

“…I love you too,” Ryan seemed kind of shocked by the sudden expression. He kissed Brendon again before moving down to his waistband. He pulled at his boxers, till they were where ever the other articles were. He took Brendon in his mouth and didn’t let go until the stars were blinding Brendon’s eyes and he was positive the neighbors could hear them. He crawled up next to him using the couch and the coffee table as rails to help him. He accidently hit the video camera that was still sitting there, getting a beep out of if, but ignoring it. He lie his head next to Brendon’s. He was still panting and sweating in a cute way. Ryan kissed his forehead and stroked his hair until he was back to life.

“Am I suppost to like thank you or something?” Brendon whispered.

“No, you can play for me though,” he whispered back, kissing his cheek.

Brendon rose up from his place on the floor. He flicked a light on in the dark living room. He was unclothed in the light, yet he didn’t seem to care.

Ryan got up, taking a place on the couch and watched Brendon.

Brendon took his seat on the bench. It felt cold against his skin but he didn’t really care. He began to play. He was playing a whole new song now. It was dark and booming. It echoed off the house walls. It felt like the soundtrack of a stormy mansion party. Like the people coming in, being greeted by the butler, trying to get out of the rain. But what was fancy party clothes and polite greetings was becoming slimy and slutty. The guests began fleeting to the corners of the manor, ripping each other’s clothes off, and bathing in the moonlight and lightening. He felt Ryan sit down next to him. It just made the piece pick up in tempo and almost become more slutty. Ryan put his hand on his shoulder.

“How long was that?” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“Only an hour and a half,” Ryan reassured him.

Brendon sighed, rubbing his eyes, “what was that?”

“I don’t know. It was pretty crazy sounding, though.”

Brendon suddenly stopped, “What time is it?”

Ryan got up and reached for his phone in his pants pocket. “Almost eleven.”

“Shit. We better start cleaning up and looking like two normal boys,” Brendon said, getting up from the piano bench and grabbing his boxers of the floor. He slipped them on and grabbed the rest of his clothes.

Ryan did the same. His shirt was lying on the coffee table next to the camera. A button was flashing on top of it. Ryan just pressed the off button before pulling his shirt on.

They ran upstairs changing into cool mesh shorts. They slipped into Brendon’s bed which was large enough to hold two without looking awkward. Ryan reached for Brendon and tried to hold him close, but he seemed stiff. “Are you remorseful?” Ryan whispered through the darkness, “are you mad at me?

“No, of course not. I’m just confused,” Brendon stared off into the distance.

“About what?” Ryan asked softly.

“I’m not sure what happened at the piano. I’m not sure why… that happened.”

“It’s just a song, Brendon. It doesn’t reflect anything,” Ryan took hold of his hand.

Brendon wanted to believe Ryan, but deep down he didn’t. He kissed the back of Ryan’s hand and starred out his window at the night sky until he fell asleep.