Chapter 82

                                    

                                          
The unlikely trio trudged through the university, the blonde in between the professor and his boyfriend, looking the most uncomfortable he's ever been. He'd found himself in far, far worse situations, but this walk of shame took the cake. Stuck between the man he unconditionally loved and the man he wanted to love, Roger wished his behavior and lifestyle would catch up with him and take him out of his misery. 
                          
"Well look-y here, blondie and the poodle finally decided to show up!" Ray called out as the three approached the gym where the party was booming. 
                          
It was somewhat sad, the staff Christmas party being hosted at the university, but it was the only reason the school could afford to have it every year. The tacky decorations strewn about were unpleasant to the eye at first, but after a few drinks at the open bar—the biggest attraction of the occasion—they weren't so bad. The live band they recruited presented a great distraction from the cheesy decor as well, the local, semi-famous jazz group playing smooth, Christmas hits, one after the other, non-stop until the last person left—either on their own accord or with the help of some friends.
                          
There were plenty of bar tables scattered about, and when one's feet started to ache, they could take a seat on the bleachers that had been pulled out. The bleachers were also a popular spot for the faculty to disappear under at some point in the night, only to reappear later with guilt ridden on their embarrassed faces. If their students were to see them like this, the whole school would lose its reputation.
                          
Following his snide greeting, Ray's attention shifted over to the third wheel of Brian and Roger's party. "And they brought a guest!" he exclaimed.
                          
"Ray, this is Tim," Roger begrudgingly introduced him, dropping a hand on the brunette's shoulder and giving him a slight shake, "He's a good friend of mine."
                          
"Oh, I'm sure he is," the women's studies professor sneered, the corner of his lip perking up into a sly smirk as he extended his hand outward, "Pleasure to meet you."
                          
Tim slapped his hand into Ray's and gave it a firm shake, winking at the teacher. "It's good to meet you too, Ray."
                          
Roger looked over at Brian, hoping he hadn't caught on to the blatant façade the two were putting on. Luckily, the professor seemed preoccupied with something else, or rather, someone. The blonde followed Brian's gaze to the crowded room before them, where standing in the center of it all was the couple that started this whole thing. Although those around them seemed oblivious to it, Roger could see the awkward tension raging between the pair. 
                          
Based off what he knew, the music instructor could only assume that it had to do with him somehow, but by the way Brian's eyebrows had furrowed together in resentment, and how his lips were drawn into a straight line, he wondered if it was about something else; something that didn't have to do with him at all. Before he could even begin to draw more possible conclusions, Roger was ripped from his thoughts as he was yanked forward, Tim dragging him into the heart of the party and leaving Brian—who snapped out of the daze he had fallen into when Roger accidentally stepped on his foot, stumbling over his own two feet—behind with Ray.
                          
The shorter of the two men raised his glass to the professor and muttered, "Cheers, May. We got through it."
                          
Brian let out a nervous laugh, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and responding as cordially as he could manage, "Right. Now we just have to get through the next one." 
                          
His words elicited a hearty chuckle from the women's studies teacher, followed by a long sip of his drink. The professor took this as his cue to leave his colleague's side, going after Roger and Tim while his decision to show up started to plague his mind; the idea of ditching becoming more and more enticing. However, he never reached the pair, intercepted before he could even get close.
                          
"My fucking god, Brian, you had me worried sick," Chrissie rattled off, throwing her arms around him and holding him close. Brian tensed up, his eyes flickering over to Timothée who turned away from the pair, sipping his drink casually while disappearing into the crowd too busy getting plastered to pay them any mind. The headmistress regained the professor's attention when she took a step back and patted down the front of her skirt, clearing her throat and asking, "Do you think we can talk? Somewhere a little more quiet?"
                          
"Y-Yeah," Brian stammered, pointing to the bar where most of their colleagues had congregated, including Roger and his boyfriend, "Mind if I get a drink first?"
                          
"Of course," she murmured, a deep blush appearing in her cheeks, "Meet me at your classroom when you're done." Without giving any further instruction, she brushed past him and headed out into the hallway. Brian's gaze trailed after her, an undeniable pull rising up inside of him to forgo the drink altogether and instead attend to Chrissie's seemingly pressing matter. 
                          
He bit his lip and glanced back at the bar, meeting Roger's annoyed gaze that almost instantly dissolved as the brown eyes he'd been silently wishing to attract finally answered his call. The blonde smirked and raised a subtle hand to wave hello, but Tim swiftly placed a drink in it, effectively distracting Roger from the exchange with the professor before pulling him away to find a table. Brian knew exactly what Tim was doing—he was trying to keep him and Roger apart for as long as possible; if he was lucky, the entire night. Determined as he was, Brian also knew that hovering around the couple would seem suspicious, and so to save himself from earning even more of a reputation at the university than he already had, he went after the headmistress and found her outside his classroom, pacing back and forth in the deserted hallway.
                          
"Hey," he muttered, his soft voice startling Chrissie. Her eyes immediately focused on his empty hands.
                          
"Where's your drink?" she questioned, pushing off her confession just a little bit longer. She had yet to gain the courage she needed to tell him the news.
                          
The professor tilted his head down and brought his hands up, flipping them upside down and right side up before chuckling. "Oh, right." He shrugged his shoulders and dropped his hands back down to his sides. "Too many people." She nodded in understanding, folding her arms over her front and tapping her fingers against the sleeve of her dress. Brian shortened the distance between the two of them, the glimmer in Chrissie's eyes and the slight quiver in her lip standing out to him. "What's going on?" he asked, genuinely concerned with her bothered state.
                          
She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, a manic laugh breaking through her distress. "Crazy to think the semester's over, yeah? Just a few more weeks until the next one starts back up and—"
                          
"Chrissie," Brian interrupted her, a gentleness to his tone as he placed his hands on her shoulders, "You can tell me any—"
                          
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out, her dark red bottom lip being pulled underneath her front teeth as she anticipated the professor's reaction. Naturally, he froze, the news striking him absolutely silent. Tears spilled over Chrissie's eyes as Brian retracted his hands and took a step back from her, fishing for the right words to say.
                          
"Brian, say something," the headmistress pleaded, her heart pounding against her chest and in her ears. His lips parted, but no words came out. "Please."