Le Monde Dans Vos Yeux // The World In Your Eyes

Chapter 7

Ryan lead Brendon around with nothing more than a, "There's something you have to see."

But Brendon was so fascinated with the history here in Paris he hardly cared. He was fascinated with the architecture. He was fascinated with the scenery. Heck, he was fascinated with the people too. Particularly Ryan, but that's beside the point.

He played with the aperture and shutter speed a little, capturing the night's beauty in several ways. Every now and then he'd turn the lens towards Ryan, whose face had turned soft in the light from an interesting angle. Or maybe the light was just the right color; Ryan would laugh, and surely that needed to be caught on film.

There was just... something that Paris had, that made it seem thousands of times more beautiful than any place he'd ever seen.

Paris was a pretty big place, Brendon discovered. They took a bus back to the hotel after admiring the scenery a bit longer, but ended up walking again. They were headed south this time; Ryan said he wanted to show Brendon Port-Neuf, which was apparently a bridge.

And it was a spectacular one, at that. Ryan watched Brendon's face fill with awe, as he showed him one of his favorite places to go at night.

They leaned against the railing of the bridge and looked out over the water. Brendon's camera itched to capture the silver highlights of the ripples. He raised it and peered through the viewfinder at the distorted version of Paris reflected in the water. Aim, focus, click

The camera turned to show the face of a boy with wavy auburn hair falling loosely around his eyes, watching the world ahead of him with a longing stare. Brendon zoomed out and caught the slope of the boy's neck leading into the fabric of his shirt, the causal way his arms rested atop the railing, the curve of his torso pressed up against it for support. Brendon made sure the camera got it right.

"What are you taking pictures of?" Ryan asked, looking down into the water at their reflection.

"Um. Landscapes mostly. Scenery," Brendon lied. "I like the way you can see the stars in the water." He turned his head back to the water to watch it again. "It's like a mirror."

"But... some things, a mirror just can't do justice," Ryan said, looking at Brendon.

"Yeah, I agree." Brendon lowered the camera, his eyes rising to the actual thing, away from its copy. "They're kind of magnificent."

Ryan hummed and nodded. "Almost too Magnificent." Brendon gave him a confused look, and he continued. "I mean, they're so far away and yet we can still see them so bright. They're massive. And all it does is point out how small and insignificant we are. Hardly even a speck in the grand scheme of things."

If it was possible for him to grow quieter... Ryan did. Not only did his voice trail to a halt, he froze. His arms held rigidly across the ledge like he would fall down into the mirror image of the very thing he feared if he didn't hold on. Ryan stayed quiet in a solemn, pensive way. Brendon noticed.

"I think you're missing something."

Ryan's eyes found his again, asking the silent question, What could I have missed?

"Well, I think you're thinking too broadly. I mean, does it really affect you what some kid in Korea eats for lunch? It might matter in his world, but does it matter in yours?" Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, trying to understand. "The trick, I think, is to find someone you love enough, and make them your world. That way you don't feel small, and what you do—who you love—matters." Brendon shrugged like it's the lightest subject he could be talking about. Ryan just watched him with wide, awed eyes.

"Comment peut la confiance d'l quelqu'un tenir mon monde entier?"

Brendon looked back at him, expecting a translation, but Ryan's attention had returned to the mirrored stars, lost in thought with no immediate need to return. He pulled out his phone to send the sentence to Spencer. Hey, why not. Spencer had offered, and Ryan was out of it enough not to notice.

A few minutes later his phone vibrated in his pocket. How can I trust someone to hold my whole world?

His eyes rose to Ryan's distant eyes. He was almost sad for Ryan, who's spent his whole life watching the stars stare down at him, feeling insignificant... if only he'd realize he already meant the world to Brendon.