Dream On

"Yes, yes. I'll be there. Relax!" AJ didn't even notice the two boys staring at him while he was talking on the phone and looked for his keys to close the store. "Yes, after the lesson," he confirmed in a tired voice for the third time, but apparently the other person wasn't so inclined to believe him.

"Hi, is it a bad time?" Matt asked, squeezing the leather strap on his chest. "I can go back later." His eyes diverted to the gallery next to him filled with accessories.

"No, don't worry. It's all good." AJ distractedly opened the little door that allowed him to go behind the counter and head to the stairs, but his phone almost dropped when he saw a second person follow close behind his friend, hooked to his sleeves like a lost child. "The band will wait…," he whispered as he hung up and left the device aside.

There was a conscious effort on his part to not look so surprised and act naturally, but his eyes just wouldn't divert from the black dressed figure in front of him that didn't raise his eyes once.

He looked small and scared, just as he remembered. His hands were hidden by his own sleeves and his hair totally gone under the black cap; he didn't even have hair for all he knew. He was always covered from head to toe, which was a feat on its own with the heat of the summer on them.

"Did you have another thing today?" Matt insisted, trying to not let his disappointment get through while climbing the stairs confidently.

Despite the fact that after only three sessions, Matt felt as if he had lived here all his life, he made a point of watching for his soulmate who followed close behind. His yellow button up felt a little tighter having Corey grab it, but it wasn't a bad feeling; he'd rather know where the little guy was at all times.

Corey let himself be guided through the new place, doing his best to keep an open mind to the new experience. There was a little round table next to a humble kitchen that he would make his home during their stay. Silently, he risked a glance to the owner of the place that was already sited on a spot on the couch waiting for Matt with a couple of beers on the table.

Matt was right. This place was not what he would have expected, and what was even weirder is that it actually felt cozy and warm. He lifted his feet to the chair he was sitting on and hugged his legs in order to rest his cheek over his knees. Thankfully, AJ didn't try to talk to him, though he didn't miss the way he kept staring at him when he first arrived; but Matt had promised him he wasn't mad, so it was alright.

As long as he didn't approach him, everything was fine. He could live with a couple of stares and questioning glares.

Matt had begged him so bad for him to go listen to one of his lessons. He just wouldn't shut up about his new tutor and how cool and great he was. It wasn't very often that Matt showed that level of interest and got so close to someone other than him, and he had to admit it had picked his curiosity.

"Relax. It's not an appointment or anything," AJ reassured his student while handing him one of the beers.

"Waah! But it sounded so important."

"Hey! No skipping lessons!" A pointy finger towards him did the trick and Matt finally relented. "It's important to be consistent with your practices or there won't be any progress," he added in a lightly scolding tone that had the other lowering his head.

AJ didn't miss how the little guy over the kitchen was poorly trying to stiffen a laugh, but not even his face mask would have been able to hide it; his eyes had that particular sparkle that betrayed his humor. This was good, AJ considered in silence. The guy was yet to say a word to him, but at least he was there and didn't seem to be uncomfortable or anything. He wasn't staring at the nearest exit for a way out, so he would take it as a win.

The musician couldn't help but hope this was the first step for some sort of interaction with the guy, maybe even a friendship.

Why this was suddenly so important for him was a mystery. He had never put much thought into meeting someone, he had always been more of a follow the flow kind of guy. But just as it had been with Matt at the beginning, there was just something different about Corey that called to him and made him want to know more.

He still couldn't get a good reading just by watching him, but he was OK with baby steps. All in all, he was happy watching him enjoy his partner's suffering. It looked like his partner was the only one capable of getting a smile out of him.

The music started to flow soon after. Some mistakes here and there broke the harmony, but it never got interrupted. Music was always going on soft and soothing, so Corey allowed himself to relax and close his eyes as the feeling of being lulled by the melody took over his senses. Every now and then he would hear AJ's manly voice correcting little details or adding tips, but even that worked in a funny way that had him breathing deeply into some sort of light slumber.

"I didn't know you had a band," Matt commented during what seemed to be a break since the music could no longer be heard. "What is it called?"

"Dream On. It's the name of an Aerosmith song." At the lack of Matt's response, Corey's eyes fluttered open and was dumbfounded by the sight of his soulmate with his mouth open and sparkling eyes locked on the musician, hanging onto every word that came out of his mouth. "It's about never stopping dreaming and fighting for your dreams until you make it a reality. It seemed like a good fit at the time."

Matt decided to just nod and keep any comment to himself. He didn't have to turn around to feel Corey's eyes on him, but he didn't dare to look at him for fear of blushing and getting embarrassed. He knew what was going on Corey's mind, so he didn't need to see it. Instead, he focused on his tutor who had now drifted away with that lost pensive look in his eye from someone that gets transported to better times and warm memories.

He was really proud of his band; it was easy to see it meant a lot to him.

"We're doing a show this Friday, want to come?" The invitation rolled out of AJ's mouth naturally, but Matt almost jumped out of his shoes.

"Really?! Why didn't you tell me?!" His hand fell over the other's shoulder in a playful smack that sent them laughing.

"I'll take that as a yes," the musician joked and glanced unconsciously to the unmoving figure of Corey still seated and hugging his legs, only now he was looking at them with a questioning look. "I'll let Maria know so you two can enter without an issue," AJ had another drink of his beer before clarifying. "She's the owner of the bar."

"Bar?" Matt's fingers instinctively tried to squeeze the missing leather strap on his chest. "We'll try to go, give me the address," he added with noticeably less enthusiasm than before.

A furtive glance found its way to Corey and both shared a meaningful silent moment. AJ was left out of the loop as the couple shared some sort of psychic communication. He frowned watching the little one's body tensed followed by an almost inaudible sigh from Matt.

Just when AJ thought he was getting to know more about the boys and they were opening up to him, it turned out that the puzzle was just as messed up as it was at the beginning. Those little communication moments they shared silently every now and then, immediately changed the air around. This time was no different, they were left in a tense silence that had Matt staring at his guitar but with his mind clearly somewhere else; while Corey just hugged his legs even harder.

The little guy was trying hard not to let out what was going on in his mind, but seeing Matt's light go off because of him was not pleasant. You had to be blind not to notice Matt really wanted to go to that damn show, but a place full of screaming people was far from his comfort zone. Luckily, just like any other time, Matt would understand; he just needed a little time to realize it was not a big deal and they could do some other thing together.

They would make it work.

By the end of the lesson, Matt was already able to reproduce the cords from the beginning in a fluid melodic way that had him grinning at the appraisal it earned him. His crooked smile flashed every time AJ had positive feedback for him and his eyes shone with determination when there was something to fix.

The guy thrived by breaking marks and AJ was just too happy to set new ones for him. It had clearly paid off to give him the chance, he didn't disappoint and class after class he kept working and was already showing improvement. AJ smiled to himself thinking that progress could only mean he was also practicing at home. He could almost imagine him playing his cords of the day to Corey just to make him happy.

Which is why it was weird when Matt didn't show up for their next appointment the following day. The initial annoyance for not getting as much as a head up soon gave way to frustration when he remembered they hadn't even exchanged phone numbers and probably it had been a last-minute thing.

I just hope everything is OK.