"You don't have to go through this alone."
☆

Jude heads into Hampton college of higher education where he works, making his way down the echoing corridor, his shoes the only click on the shiney surface. His bag feels heavy on his shoulder. He tugs on the strap, slowing his pace, as he makes his way to the tutors lounge. 

It's then that a sound catches his ears. It's only faint, caught in the echo around him. The sound of a melody...a piano.

Jude knows the sound. It's the grand piano from the music room and he can educate a guess as to who is playing it...

Jude slowly follows the sound, its sweet tones travelling across the stillness. As Jude finally reaches the entrance to the music room, he stops, resting his body on the open door frame. He takes in the familiar musician playing the beautiful tune, watching as hands and fingers dance over the black and white piano keys.

Jude remembers the reason why he feels the way he does about the man. Why this tune felt like it was being played just for his ears only. 

He had to...no, he needed to at least try to reach out and take what he desired. He needed to...

"Oh! I didn't realise anyone was listening." Milo suddenly stops playing, looking across the room to Jude, still leaning against the door frame.

Jude takes a step inside Milo's domain, letting his bag drop to the floor. "Please. Don't stop on my account." Jude says, making slow steps towards the large piano. 

Milo suddenly feels a little like he has stage fright as he looks back at the keys in front of him. He again begins to play. The melody so enchanting and sweet, Jude can feel his body want to sway...to move along with the tune. 

This response from Jude to Milo's music, just spurs Milo on even more, to play with more conviction, which in turn was making Jude's body feel the music inside of him, as he starts to use the small floor space around him to dance. 

Eventually the piano melody ceases and Jude, a little out of breath crashes on the small vacant space on the end of the piano bench seat. "I'm sorry." Jude speaks as he tries to catch his slightly out of breath. "I'm not sure where that came from." 

"It was good." Milo comments. "It went well with the piano. You really are gifted Jude." 

"Oh stop!" Jude playfully smacks a hand on Milo's arm. "Flattery will get you nowhere." 

Milo sighs heavily, lowering the lid of the piano. "Well...how about a sorry?" 

Jude smiles, looking down as he shakes his head. "No, you don't need to apologise, it's me. It's just..." Jude looks up, straight ahead into the distance.

Milo turns slightly on the piano seat, to face Jude's profile. "It's just what?....is it Hester?"

Jude pulls his lips into his mouth and nods, then turns to face Milo. "I know I have no place to be jealous, I know you're just friends..."

Milo places his hand on Jude's, which is resting on his own leg. He knows he needs to give Jude reassurance. It was time to be a little more open. "Jude...Hester and I were, no are just friends, but there was a time where it may have been different, but nothing came of it."

Jude now looks at Milo with wonder. "Please...tell me what happened?" 

Milo pulls away from Jude slightly, now looking straight ahead. "He was 17, I was 18. I told him I liked him as more than just a friend, but he didn't feel the same. That's it. I didn't really see him after that. He just disappeared. I don't know where he went. He wasn't at his mother's or at college."

Milo begins to rub his temples, as if the memory was giving him pain. "His mother, Mrs Jenkins. She was inconsolable when he disappeared and I can't help feel it was my fault. That my confession somehow drove him away." 

Jude now places an arm around Milo's shoulder. Milo drops his hands back down and rests them on the piano lid. "Now he is back in my life and I'm scared. Scared that I'll push him away again, if I do just one thing wrong." 

Milo blows hot air from his mouth. "Hester is still important to me Jude, but I have moved on with my feelings. I want to get to know you more, but please understand that Hester might need me too." 

Jude's hold around Milo's shoulder tightens. "Thankyou for letting me in. You don't have to go throught this alone." 

Milo subconsciously nestles in a little to Jude's embrace. He lets out a dry chuckle. "This wasn't supposed to be about Hester. This was supposed to be about you and me starting over." 

Jude pulls back a little, wanting to catch Milo's gaze, Milo looks up at Jude. "Milo I know how important friends are. Tash and I are soulmates and yes he has a boyfriend, but relationships can be complex and varied. I would do anything for him, just as you would do for Hester." 

Milo smiles back at Jude. "You are amazing. You know that right?" He strokes Jude's cheek with the pad of his thumb. Their smiles now relaxing into a more hypnotic gaze...

Jude could feel it yet again. Was he or wasn't he going to get that elusive kiss? He begins to panic. "M...Milo, we are at work...the students might see." 

Milo just raises an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across his face. "And..."

"And..."Jude can't finish the sentence. The pull of Milo's lips are becoming a magnetic force. Jude is just waiting for an interruption. Milo's phone, the college bell, someone entering the music room, but there's nothing. Nothing can stop the inevitable from happening, and then...it happens!