Picture of Love

by David Horne

  Long lean legs were encased in a very tight pair of jeans, ones he had yet to see. What made everything worse was the hungry stares Tony got as he walked up the steps to their desk. Tony was later than usual but still on time, barely but the sleepy look and lack of coffee told Sebastian he had probably overslept and had to do a mad dash to class.

  "Good morning Sebastian." Tony greeted in his normal, sunny way. Sebastian greeted him as usual does but a questioning eyebrow was added.

  He cursed in his head when Tony looked down at himself and blushed. "I uh, overslept." The sheepish grin just made Sebastian smile; it was so cute that Sebastian couldn't really help himself.

  "Had a late night painting? Isn't your art department having an exhibition soon?" Sebastian watched as those dark brown eyes widen in surprise before a smile, soft and honest appeared.

  "Yeah but we haven't gotten our theme yet, I did spend a little too long studying actually." Tony's face brightened, even more, when he saw the proud smile on Sebastian's face

  The conversation ended when the lesson started. The day went on and all throughout it, Sebastian's mind flashed the image of Tony in that blasted shirt, the smooth shoulder, and neck that tortured him in class.

  Sebastian knew he would have to end the tutor lessons soon as he was getting too attached and attracted to all of what was Anthony Grayson and he knew he shouldn't.

  He wouldn't have Tony, the campus sunshine, dragged into the dark.

  The day dragged on. Soon, Sebastian was on his way to his car where Tony was no doubt waiting for him.

  Tony was waiting and to Sebastian's internally-struggling dismay, the collar of Tony's shirt had slipped lower and was now revealing not only the upper part of Tony's shoulder but the whole of his shoulder, entire collarbone and the upper part of his chest. It made Sebastian's head swim for a few seconds and his heart felt a pang of pain.

  The other man was just so pure, he never once asked Sebastian about the rumors surrounding the weird living arrangement. Tony was seeing him for him and Sebastian couldn’t remember the last time someone besides his friends saw past the rumors.

  Sunshine failed in comparison to Tony's face when he spotted Sebastian and waved excitedly, it caused the opposite side of the shirt to ride up and show a sliver of soft skin to Sebastian's hungry eyes.

  He forced his eyes back to Tony's face when he got closer, giving Tony the smile saved just for him. It softened Sebastian’s face and he loved the effect it had on Tony. The big brown doe eyes blinked then were followed by an even brighter smile.

  They got into the car and drove off to Sebastian's home. When they were a few minutes into the drive, Tony's phone gave a buzz. Looking at Sebastian from the corner of his eyes, he saw the man was focusing on the road.

  He was totally checking you out, Amanda texted him. She was the one to watch from a distance; she was the only one who didn't have a class or had a class too far away from the parking lot.

  Really? Tony texted back, biting his lower lip to keep his happy noise from escaping.

  Tony, you didn't see the hungry stare he aimed at you when you waved. His eyes traveled all over you like you were some tasty meal, she texted back and Tony felt his cheeks start to glow red. He took a calming breath and just smiled at his phone.

  "Who are you smiling for? Got some boyfriend I don't know about?" Sebastian's voice broke his happy moment, his face lost some of its blush.

  "Um no, I haven't ever had a boyfriend, it was just my friends being their usual selves." Tony fiddled with his phone.

  "Do you have um, a girlfriend or a boyfriend?" Tony's voice was timid, it was something Sebastian caught on easily enough and felt his heart clench, his teeth followed suit.

  "No, I had a boyfriend but we broke up long ago." The tone of Sebastian's voice was one that held pent up pain so Tony dropped it like a hot potato but internally his heart did a little happy dance.

  They arrived at the pool house and as usual, they got in and got their things out and ready for their lessons. They got about twenty minutes into the lesson before Selene came in with lunch for them both, smiled at Tony and gave an ever-glowing smile when Sebastian thanked her as well.

  She would come back to get the clean plates and after they would continue with their lesson until they had passed an hour of studying. Sebastian would then take Tony home.

  When Sebastian came home, he was surprised when his mother was waiting for him. She was sitting on one of the couches, her eyes traveling around; a small frown on her face.

  "Mom?"

  Selene looked over to her son and sighed.

  "You know you can change the furniture and put up posters or paintings? The only thing you added to this place is the desk. Your room in the house…" Her sentence faded as her face turned sad and Sebastian's heart hurt seeing his mom with a look like that on her face.

  Sebastian sat next to his mom, he wrapped his arm around his mom and gave her a one-armed hug.

  "Mom, I'm not going to be here forever, I'll be done with my degree in a few years and then I can get a job and then a place of my own." Sebastian was unprepared for when his mom turned to face him, her eyes fierce lined with tears.

  "You are my son. You should be living in my house until you leave to make a home of your own not living in the damn pool house." Her voice was stable but the tears ran down her cheeks.

  "Mom…" Sebastian was at a loss for what to say to his mom. She seemed to sense that and wiped her tears from her face and cleared her throat.

  "Tony seemed like a lovely boy. You seem at ease with him. I think he's good for you." Selene gave her son a pointed look. Sebastian was the one to clear his throat this time.

  "It won't work Mom." The look his mother gave him made Sebastian groan as he got up from the couch and flopped down on his desk chair.

  "Mom, Tony is different. He's like sunshine, he's so bubbly and happy… I'm… not any of that." Sebastian near whispered the last part of his sentence. His mom looked somber, her eyes jumping across his face, seeming to try and take all of him at the same time.

  "You’re better than you think, I know," Selene sighs and stands to walk over to her son. She gently cupped Sebastian's cheeks to force him to connect eyes.

  "I know things have been difficult but I’ll always believe in you. You’re my son. I raised you. I watched you grow into a fine young man and I’ll always love you." Selene gasped when she was suddenly yanked toward her son's chest and squeezed. She returned the hug, her heart swelling with pride and love for her son.

  Selene goes back to the main house, a smile on her face.

  ***

  The next day Sebastian nearly walked into someone when he spots Tony. It seems like someone gave Tony new clothes as the man wore a new shirt, one that looked eerily like his favorite t-shirt, Tony swam in the shirt, it reached his tights and looks so adorable on the ever bubbly man that Sebastian thanked his lucky stars that he didn't have an English literature class or tutor session as he might just have done something he would have regretted.

  The next day wasn't all that better as Tony wore those damn tight pants and another new seriously oversized shirt that again had no undershirt. It was also a day of a tutor lesson and a Friday.

  As he made his way to his car, he had to fight the smile on his face as he saw Tony waiting at the car, looking around excitedly. Once Tony spotted him, his face did an imitation of the sun yet again as sunshine shined onto Sebastian.

  Now closer and no one around, he smiled back. They drove to Sebastian's home, the same routine followed. They got their books, laptops, and pens out, got about fifteen minutes of work before Selene came in with lunch and a smile.

  When they were forty minutes into their lesson there was a knock at the door before a very pretty girl came into the room, her style of clothing was very similar to Sebastian's but she had heavy make-up and far more studs in her face, she was one fierce looking woman.

  "Carly?" Sebastian didn't seem uncomfortable just surprised.
The woman is now known as Carly just looked at Sebastian.

  "We have a show at eight, we'll pick you up at seven." With that said she gave a nod and closed the door with a click.

  Before Tony could ask what that was all about, Sebastian continued their lesson.

  ***

  Tony watched the car drive off, once it was out of sight he bolted for his apartment. He was utterly thankful when his friends were at his apartment. They all blinked up at him when he burst into the room.

  "We need to stakeout Sebastian's home," he said in a rush. Amanda blinked again.

  "Um… why?" she asked now with a small frown on her face.

  "When we had our lesson, a woman came in, said that they had a show at eight and that they would be picking him up at seven." Tony didn't need to say more than that. They all got up and got their phones and grabbed their food as well. They got into both Brandon's car and Jason's as well. They got to the street Sebastian's house was at and parked well enough away that they could follow from a distance.

  "Swanky house." Jason commented with a whistle. The rest of them in Jason's car snorted in amusement.

  A few minutes to seven a black or dark grey van drove up onto the driveway, the van didn't honk but a minute or so later, Sebastian came out carrying a black case, the van door slid open and Sebastian handed the case over and then climbed into the van himself.

  The two cars followed the van into the more night-time part of town, pubs, and bars all over the place. They stopped at what looked like an alternative bar, all the clientele were similarly dressed as Carly was, all dark clothes, some were dressed as goths with lots of lace and frills, then there were people dressed in a more grunge fashion, ripped clothing, chains and all.

  The van parked at the back of the parking lot near the back entrance. Jason and Brandon parked their cars closer to the entrance.

  Just as Tony looked up from unbuckling himself to see Sebastian stepping out of the van and his breath caught in his throat. Sebastian was dressed in a very tight-fitting black shirt, a pair of heavily ripped jeans with a belt drenched in chains and the familiar combat boots.

  "Well damn, this is the first time I really looked at Sebastian and I must say he is very attractive." Brandon said from where he sat next to Tony in the driver's seat. Tony could only make a faint, choked noise of agreement.

  They waited until the rest of the group went into the bar via the back entrance before they went into the bar from the front entrance. The bar was filled with moving and pulsing bodies. There was a faint smell of alcohol but no one seemed to be getting shit-faced drunk.

  The group of six moved deeper into the bar where the stage was, they were too late to get really close to the stage, the best they could go was round about the middle of the audience space but it was small enough that it was still given a decent view.

  It didn't take long before Jason and his sister quickly left to get everyone some drinks, Tony asked for water wanting to keep a clear head, came back just in time to see the band come out and start to set up their instruments.

  They all watched as Sebastian walked up to the lead microphone with a deep red electric guitar strapped around his neck and back, he was fiddling with what looked like petals on the floor. He then swung the guitar over his arm so it was now sitting the right way to play it, he then fiddled with the mic stand.

  The next person was Carly, she was to Sebastian's left, she also had a mic stand before and also a guitar she was setting up. She has dressed in a knee-length all-black dress, there was lace all over her arms and up her neck, sheer black stockings and a pair of mid-calf lace-up boots.

  On Sebastian's right was a man Tony could only describe as a bean pole, he was tall, taller than Sebastian. He had no piercings but was covered in tattoos. He was tuning what seemed to be a bass guitar and joking with the man who was clearly a pianist of the group, although he was now playing a keyboard.

  He rather quickly in the clothes department, his hair was shaved on the one side while the rest was on the long side and was dyed a vibrant purple. He was also the only one who was not dressed in black or dark colors. His pants were on the darker side of green bit the white shirt, he had a corset of some kind wrapped around his waist, it wasn't tied very tight.

  The rhythmic rapping of drums made Tony look over to the drummer, even sitting down Tony knew the man was short, shorter than him. His hair was in a buzz cut with heavily pierced ears

  It only took a few minutes more before the band was all set up and they started to play the first notes of their opening song.

  Chapter Five

  The low thrum of the bass shortly followed but the floor vibrating beats of the drums were the first sounds to make into Tony's shocked brain. The rhythmic twangs were next as Tony's and his friends took in Sebastian's fingers danced on the fretboard of the guitar.

  Carly's fingers joined Sebastian's in making notes fly into the air. It all sounded very harmonious but in a chaotic kind of way, the sound of Carly's guitar was grungy, rough and almost violent in its sound. Sebastian's guitar was almost melodic, smoother notes but the two guitars seemed to fit well with the darker almost seductive purr of the bass as the snares were snapped, pulled and strummed.

  It all faded when Sebastian opened his mouth and started to sing, the man had a deep talking voice so the fact that the man's singing voice was deep didn't surprise Tony but the velvety smooth almost like whiskey. Sebastian threw Tony for another loop when he pulled his lips into a snarl and started to add a growl to his voice, the music followed suit, the drums getting more aggressive while the bass was near slapped. Carly added her breathy voice in the chorus of the song.

  Breathing wasn't easy for Tony as he stared at Sebastian, the man was fully into the music he was making, his long hair loose and swishing around wildly as he moved back and forth, fingers ad mouth moving to make music Tony was surprised to find he actually liked.

  Sebastian moved away from the mic stand when a guitar rift began, Carly's fingers flew over the strings, her hand strumming and plucking moved just as fast. It was awe-inspiring, it was amazing and soon all six friends were jumping around and enjoying the energetic vibe that brought the whole building to life, some people even knew some words and sang along as best they can.

  The band played song after song, taking a short break so the musicians could catch a breath and grab a sip of three of water.

  When they announced that they were going to be performing their last song the group awed and made other sad noises.

  The last song, which was a slower song, more focused on Sebastian and Carly's vocals, it was when the song was halfway done and Sebastian was just lazily drifting his eyes over the crowd. It was bound to happen, Tony knew it but the moment Sebastian's indigo eyes met his brown eyes, it was like the air was knocked out of his lungs. It was clear that Sebastian was surprised to see him but didn't seem angry.

  The song ended and the band bowed and thanked the crowd.

  The audience broke off back into the groups and singles it was formed from. Tony's friends went back to the bar to get some water. Once there Tony spots Sebastian at the bar, ordering a drink. Amanda spotted Sebastian at the same time and gently shoved Tony toward the bar.

  "Hey Sebastian, that was amaz—" Tony was shoved to the side by a gaggle of giggling girls who all babbled at Sebastian, trying to be the one who got Sebastian's attention.

  Sebastian looked at the gaggle of girls and then back at the bartender. "Make it two."

  The bartender nodded and walked to the one end of the bar then back, after opening the fridge and taking out another blue bottle. Sebastian paid for it. Once the two blue bottles were in Sebastian's hands did he turn to face the gaggle of girls, they all looked hopeful but, those hopes were dashed when Sebastian just gently shouldered his way through the group and handed Tony one bottle. It was then that Tony saw it was a bottle of water.

  Tony followed after Sebastian as he moved to the side of the stage where there was a half-hi
dden corridor. Down the corridor, there were only three doors, two on the right side and one at the end of the hallway.

  They entered the second door to the right and it turned out to be a sort of dressing room, there were bags spewed about, make-up covered most of the counter.

  "Um, as I was saying. That was amazing!" Tony exclaimed nervous yet excitedly, the silence of the room having gotten him uneasy.

  Sebastian looked at Tony as he talked, an unreadable look in his eyes.

  "Why are you here?" There wasn't an accusing tone to his voice, rather a curious one. As if Sebastian couldn't understand why Tony would be in a place where Tony doesn't really fit in or rather a place where Sebastian never thought he'd see Tony in.

  Tony blushed and looked down at his perspiring bottle, he cracked open the cap ad took a healthy gulp of the cool liquid.

  "Well, I heard Carly, right?" Tony asked, glancing at Sebastian to see him nod, still no anger on his face. "Well, I was so curious so… my friends and I followed you guys here and well… you blew my mind." Tony met Sebastian's eyes when he said the last part.

  Sebastian smiled and shrugged his shoulder.

  "Thanks, I think."

  It wasn't enough for Tony, he moved closer and gripped Sebastian's wrists and gave Sebastian no other choice but to look him in the eye.

  "You were amazing. No, amazing is too weak of a word. Sebastian, you were so, so, so, so…" Tony failed to come up with a word to explain how he felt. He looked deeply into Sebastian's eyes.

  "You shouldn't be around someone like me." Sebastian downed half of his water before he sat it down. Tony looked at him confused.

  "Why?" Tony asked with frustration coloring his voice. "Why, when I have yet to see anything bad about you? You're so kind to me when I know you don't have to be. You’re not the person the rumors claim you are. So, tell me why?" Sebastian looked at Tony with wide eyes, surprised at how heated Tony was being was.