Support Hotline (Ryden)

A Different Perspective

He looked into my eyes like he cared. It scared the shit out of me.

What am I doing? What is he doing? Are we friends? What's going on?

Why does he care?

He pulls into the parking lot of the Taco Bell and looks at me as if he's making sure I'm ready before we get out.

He found me a clean table near the counter to sit at, and I watched him work.

Also, I didn't stare at his ass, not even twice.

"Hey, where's the bathroom?" I ask Ryan across from the counter. He points me to a corner of the building that opens into a hallway.

I still can't wrap my head around how I feel about this guy. There's a storm in my stomach. What does he think of me? What do I think of him? He's damn cute, that's for sure. But do I want my head to get in the way of my only possible friendship at the moment? This is my last chance, I can't fuck it up. Unless he does it first. But why would he feel that way about me?  I splash cold water on my face to cool the heat in my head, but it doesn't work.

When I walk out I see him taking off his smock.

"All done." He smiles. "Do you want something?"

"Sure." He nods and grabs two tacos and nods at who I suppose is the manager and holds the door open for me.

"That was quick." I turn around and wait for him to catch up beside me.

"The manager's pretty cool here, sometimes. Really good for a Monday, though. Probably because I brought you here."

He hands me a taco and I thank him.

"Thanks for coming, by the way." He says as we both get in his car.

"Thanks for inviting me." I smile.

"Wait, did your parents know I was taking you?"

"Sometimes I don't get home until 8:00. They think I'm going to tutor at the library, but I usually go to a music store and try out the instruments." I think of my safe haven around the corner from my house. He raises his eyebrows.

"What do you play?"

"Piano, guitar, a little bit of bass and drums." He seems interested.

"That's pretty damn cool." I feel heat build up in my cheeks and I look down to hide it.

"Do you play anything?"

"My dad taught me a little guitar when I was growing up, but I don't have a guitar anymore."

"I'll have to take you to the shop, it's cool."

"That'd be cool." He smiles and nods.

"We could go right now, if you want."I offer. I'm rushing it, he won't want to go. Maybe if I didn't talk so much I'd be fine.

"Sure, where is it?" I look up from my lap and smile. I give him directions to the small shop that squeezes between other small boutiques and businesses.

When we park against the curb a few feet past the shop, we get and I point to where the shop is. Ryan opens the door for me and I hear the familiar bell twinkle as I thank him.

"Hey Alex, it's me." I shout out. The brown haired man walks out from the back room and smiles.

"Hey Brendon, thought you weren't coming today for a little bit. I see you brought a friend." He looks over at Ryan and shakes hands with him.

"Ryan." He says.

"Alex, is Brendon here?" A voice shouts from the back.

"Yeah." Jack walks out and smiles. I look above his face and see a blonde streak in his hair.

"I was just here yesterday, when did you do that?" I point to his new hairstyle.

"I was drunk."

"I figured." I laugh.

"I think it looks kinda cool. I wanna die my hair, just for shits and giggles." Alex says as he combs his fingers through his hair.

"Well, Ryan and I are just gonna mess around with the instruments." They nod and walk into the back.

We move around and Ryan picks up a mint green electric guitar. He sits down and adjusts it in his lap. He strums it and I cringe at the sour tune.

"Jesus, Alex, you guys need to tune your stuff."

"That costs extra." He shouts.

I sit next to Ryan and ask him for the guitar. He slides it over to my lap and I tune it from my memory. It's probably not sharply on point, but better than the terrible noise it was making before.

When I finish I slide it back over to Ryan and he strums it.

"They always sound better when they're newly tuned." I say. He nods and adjusts his hand to an E minor. He strums up and down then changes to an A minor, then a D and G.

"Hip Hip." He says and I smile widely as he looks over at me.

"I love that song." I laugh.

"When you're on a holiday, You can't find the words to say, All the things that come to you, And I wanna feel it too." I sing as he plays along.

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun, And it makes me feel so fine, I can't control my brain." Ryan joins in. He does the same chord change and then we both say "Hip Hip." at the same time and burst out laughing.

I find the piano in the corner of the room and sit down. Ryan follows me and stands by it. He watches my hands as I play random keys. My messing around turned into a mix of a few songs.

"Fly me to the moon," I sing. "And let me play among the stars. Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars." I look up at Ryan to see him staring in awe, it makes me embarrassed and I stop playing and shrug.

"That was amazing." Ryan says in awe.

-A/N: So obviously, this was in Brendon's POV. I might do that a few times, but instead of making a note at the beginning, I'll name the chapter something to hint at. Also Golden Days is about Ryan bye.