Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/735657.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Real_News_RPF, Pundit_RPF, Pundit_RPF_(US)
  Relationship:
      Anderson_Cooper/Keith_Olbermann
  Character:
      Anderson_Cooper, Keith_Olbermann, Dan_Patrick, Craig_Ferguson, Rich_Eisen
  Additional Tags:
      Alternate_Universe_-_Music_&_Bands, Classical_Music, Music, Musicians
  Stats:
      Published: 2013-03-25 Words: 2546
****** Music pulls me through ******
by nosypert
Summary
     Love is like music. Sometimes it's ugly, sometimes it's beautiful but
     you always have to work for good music.
     A guitarist and a cellist with a crush.
The club was crowded. The lights were dimmed to a minimum. Suddenly drums
started to play. A single spotlight slowly illuminated the drummer. Then a bass
joined in and a rhythm guitar, all similarly lighted. When the lead guitar
played, the stage was finally fully lit.
The crowd hooted. Some girls yelled the names of the band members. Some of
those girls had dragged Anderson with them to the club. They were all underage
but the brother of one of the girl's was a waiter at that club and got them in
on the condition that they didn't tell their parents.
The band was ok. It was one of those student indie rock bands. He was more into
pop. He could listen to Madonna all day. He had dressed in his black leather
pants, black shirt with skull and bones on it and black boots. His hair was
gelled up into small spikes all over his head. Anderson had been barely able to
escape his friend's sparkle mascara. He didn't want to sparkle in the dark.
The band was good but nothing earth-shattering. His friends were screaming the
names of the guitarists, Dan and Keith. Dan was cute but he was more into
Keith, the lead guitarist. He was lanky with shoulder length dark hair and a
goatee. He played a solo. It was good. He definitely knew how to play but it
was more how he played that fascinated Anderson. He seemed to totally zone out
as if he was one with the music. An hour later he too was screaming Keith's
name. They played one more song and packed up. All the girls ran to the
entrance to wait for the band and get an autograph. Anderson went to the
toilet. When he came out, he saw a light shining through a dark corridor.
Curious, he went down into the light and came to the back door. It was open.
The band where standing there, smoking. His heart beat faster. Should he talk
to them or should he leave them alone? He wanted to play it cool but he was
nervous. Then Dan took the decision from him. He saw him standing in the
doorway. "Hey, who are you?" The others turned and looked at him. "He...hi.
I...just saw you play." Dan smiled friendly. "So, you're a fan? How did you
like it?" He smiled back. "Yeah, it was cool." He turned to Keith. "I liked
your solo." Keith blew smoke upwards and turned to him, "Thanks." Then he
looked away again. Anderson's heart was now beating so hard that he feared
everyone could hear it. His stomach was in a knot. Craig, the drummer, brought
him back to reality. "Hey, listen, we're gonna play at a private party next
Tuesday. Why don't you come?" Anderson's eyes went big "That would be so
awesome. Can I bring some friends? They're fans too." "Sure." Craig smiled.
Right then his friend's brother appeared and ushered him back inside. He could
only wave good bye. On their way back home in the car he told his friends about
it. They screamed and hugged him and already made plans how to sneak out. It
was a weeknight and they had school the next day. Their parents wouldn't let
them go to a party, let alone with a rock band.
Anderson didn't need to sneak out. His mother let him do what he liked since
his father died.
That night he lay in bed, wondering about Keith. He was so cool and mysterious.
He fell asleep dreaming about him.
By Tuesday night Anderson had a full blown crush on Keith. He had tried
different cool poses in front of the mirror and thought about what to say and
talk about. In his phantasies everything went perfect. They arrived late thanks
to one of his friends getting stuck on her roof. Somebody had removed the
ladder she had placed there to sneak out. The party was in full swing. Most of
the guests were students but nobody stared at them.
They found Dan at the entrance of the large living room. "Hey, you made it."
The next minutes Dan gave them all autographs while he entertained them with
stories about college and touring. Later Rich joined them and added all the
embarrassing parts Dan had left out. Anderson relaxed and enjoyed the party. He
saw Craig entertaining some people with his harmonica on the other side of the
room but he couldn't spot Keith. Had he already left the party? He excused
himself under the pretense of going to the bathroom. He couldn't find Keith
downstairs, so he went to look upstairs but halfway up the stairs he saw Keith
and a blonde woman coming out of a room. His heart sank.
The woman came downstairs while Keith went into another room. Anderson
carefully followed him. The room was dark but an open door led onto a balcony.
Keith was there, smoking.
"Hey" Keith greeted him. "Hi." He tried to play it cool and leaned on the wall
like Keith. He suddenly had forgotten everything he wanted to say. He
occasionally glanced at Keith. He wore a leather jacket over his t-shirt and
jeans. "Want one?" Keith offered him his cigarettes. "Uh, no, thanks. I don't
smoke." "Yeah, probably better." "How long do you play guitar?" "I started as a
teenager. But this is my first band, believe it or not. Craig and I started it
and then Dan joined and now Rich." "Wow. You play like you trained since
childhood. You have very dexterous hands." Right after the words came out of
his mouth, Anderson felt like an idiot. He wanted to hit his head against the
wall. Keith chuckled. "Uh, thanks, I think. Do you play yourself?" "Eh, no. I
play cello. Mostly classical music." A blush crept up his neck and onto his
face. Keith probably thought he was a loser now, at the bottom of uncool. He
wished he had chosen to play guitar or any other "cool" instrument. "I have a
recital on Sunday, if you'd like to come." Yes, inviting Keith to a totally
uncool recital was a great idea. He wanted to be swallowed up by a deep hole.
"Hm", was all Keith said.
They went downstairs together once Keith finished smoking. Anderson found his
friends who talked him into drinking the non-alcoholic punch. It tasted
horrible, especially on an empty stomach. Keith and the band played a few songs
and concluded with a little jam session. Afterwards Anderson watched Keith chat
and drink his way through the room. When he went upstairs again, Anderson
didn't hesitate and followed him onto the balcony again. He felt bolder and
leaned against the wall with one side, looking directly at Keith. "Can I ask
you something?" "Sure." "Do you...do you like girls or boys." Keith had a high
tolerance for alcohol but, due to the haze in his mind, it took him a while to
understand what exactly Anderson was asking. "Why do you ask?" "Do you like
me?" Anderson blurted out. Keith looked at him but didn't answer for a while.
Anderson wanted to curl up somewhere and cry. "I like you. You seem nice." Nice
was bad but he liked him, that was all what he needed to hear. He moved closer,
stood on tip toes and kissed him on the lips. Keith tasted like alcohol and
tobacco.
Keith looked at him for a while. Then he asked "How old are you?" "16." It was
a lie. Anderson was 15 but he would be 16 in 3 weeks and that was basically
like being 16 in his opinion.
Keith hesitated for a moment. Then he leaned forward and kissed Anderson. He
kissed back. He opened his teeth for Keith's probing tongue. Keith deepened the
kiss and slipped his arms around Anderson's waist to pull him closer. They
broke the kiss to get some air and Keith used the opportunity to move them
inside and close the door to the balcony and the hallway. They kissed again.
Keith's hands explored Anderson's nipples and back before opening his pants and
sliding his hands into Anderson's boxers to cup his ass. Anderson's hands
roamed around Keith's torso but zeroed in on his pants very quickly. He opened
the zipper, pushed the boxer shorts down a bit and pulled out Keith's penis.
Keith moaned at the touch. It broke their kiss again. Anderson went down on his
knees. He could do this. He had given a boy a blow job before. He gave the dick
a few strokes before taking it carefully into his mouth.
"Stop." Keith pulled Anderson's head away from his dick when it was hard. He
pulled him up and kissed him quickly. Keith moved them to a nearby desk, opened
Anderson's zipper and pushed his pants and boxers far enough down to expose his
ass and genitals. "Turn around", he demanded. He took a condom and a small
bottle of lube out of his pockets. He bent Anderson over the desk. Though Keith
took care to prepare Anderson, entering him was still somewhat painful. After
he was fully inside him, Keith fucked him.
This wasn't as romantic as Anderson had imagined his first time. His phantasies
always centered around him finding his true love and their first time together
being gentle but full of passion. It certainly didn't include him feeling his
stomach turn. Keith threw the condom in the trash and zipped his pants back up.
Anderson tried his best not to vomit right there. Keith pulled him to the
bathroom next door. He threw up over the toilet a few times. Keith washed his
hands, then helped Anderson clean himself up and made him drink a few glasses
of water. Anderson felt sick and tired. He just wanted to go home and sleep.
Keith gave him some gum and took him downstairs. Anderson left with his
friends. All he could think of on his ride back was that Keith hadn't kissed
him good bye. His chest ached. He was so exhausted that he slept in his
clothes.
The rest of the week he mulled over his relationship with Keith. It didn't help
that the piece he had chosen to play at the recital was "Für Elise" though his
teacher lauded his play as much more sensitive and emotional than usual. Come
Sunday his mother had laid out his best suit. He had gotten a haircut the day
before. And although he was miserable, he put on a brave smile for his mom.
The band had partied Saturday night. Keith awoke with a hangover and a head-
splitting headache. He crawled into the bathroom and took an aspirin. After an
hour he was clean and felt halfway normal again. Dan was already up and making
breakfast. "Morning, sunshine." Keith grunted back. Dan put the coffee and
breakfast in front of Keith, who gratefully devoured it. Dan sat down opposite
him. "Didn't you tell me something about a recital today?" "Hm? Don't
remember." "I think it was from the guy, the fan?" "Possible." Rich joined them
at the table. "Hey." "Hey. Rich, do you remember something about a recital?"
"Yeah, Keith said Anderson invited him to his recital today." "I did?" "Yes."
"So, are you going?" Dan asked, offhandedly. "Probably not." "Why not?" Dan
could be persistent, when he wanted to be. "Why should I?" "Got something
better to do?" "It's a damn recital, Dan!" "Suzy said she saw you two vanish
into a room, Tuesday. And several people say you two came down together. Did
something happen?" Rich asked. Keith looked down on his plate. "We had sex."
Dan looked surprised. "How old is the kid? He can't be more than 13." "He said
he's 16." "He said?" Dan looked incredulously at Keith. "Would you've believed
him, if he said he was 18?" "No. I asked the guy who drove them home. He said
he was 15." "What the hell, Keith? Sleeping with a 15-year-old is playing it
pretty close, even at your age." "Next time I'll demand a birth certificate
beforehand." "The least you can do is go to his recital and talk to him", Dan
insisted, "The kid had a big crush on you. " "Dan is right, Keith. Find out if
he's ok." "Okay, okay. I'll go."
Anderson sat nervously in his seat. The recital would begin in a few minutes
but Keith hadn't shown up. It confirmed his fear that Keith didn't love him.
That he was just another one-night stand. He fought to hold back the tears. His
turn would come before the break. He held unto the slim hope that Keith was
just late.
Keith arrived shortly after the recital had begun. He could hear the music
outside but when he wanted to enter the building, the door was locked. He was
ready to drive back home when, lucky for him, a van parked under the fire
escape ladder. He climbed onto the van and up the ladder to the second floor. A
bathroom window was half open and he manoeuvred himself inside. The usher let
him into the hall, tutting. The entrance consisted of two double doors with a
curtain in front of the inner one. Keith carefully opened the curtain a bit and
saw the musicians sitting in the first row, with family and friends sitting
behind them. He didn't want to join them and decided to watch Anderson from
behind the curtain. He wasn't into classical music but the musicians all
sounded quite good. Finally it was Anderson's turn.
Anderson stood up and surveyed the room for a last time. Keith hadn't shown up.
He should've known. Heartbroken he went on stage and sat down. He put all his
feelings of sadness and despair into his play. At the end, he couldn't hold
back his tears. Luckily people thought he was moved by the piece. After the
break was announced, he rushed to the bathroom.
Anderson had played brilliantly. Keith instantly fell in love with the piece.
It was sad but wonderful at the same time. In his rush, Anderson hadn't seen
Keith. Keith followed him into the bathroom. Anderson was washing his face.
Keith realized he was crying.
He stepped up to Anderson. "Hey." Anderson spun around in surprise. He was even
more shocked to see Keith. "Hi." He tried to wipe his face clean with his
sleeves. "I saw you play. It was great." "You did? I didn't see you." Keith
blushed. "I was standing behind the curtain. I didn't want to disturb
anything." Relief flooded through Anderson. Relief and the return of the hope,
that maybe Keith did love him. "We have a break right now, so you won't disturb
anything. I reserved you a seat. You can sit with me and listen to the rest of
the recital, if you want." "Sure", Keith smiled. They spent the rest of the
recital together in the second row. Anderson's heart had jumped, when Keith had
interlaced their fingers. They spent the rest of the day in a nearby park lying
on the grass, Anderson's head on Keith's chest, snuggled against him, eating
ice cream and talking about music and emotions.
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