oneshots || shyland

Thunderstorms & Unreliability

Ryland stared out the foggy window at the passing scenery, watching as the dark skies were illuminated by flashes of lightning. A slightly-more-loud-than-necessary exclamation pulled him away from the window and turned his attention across the aisle to the only other occupied chairs on the bus.

"-and then he just tossed his drink at my face and started swearing at me!" A brown-haired man said, gesturing to the large red stain across his previously baby blue shirt.

"You look like you got a lap dance from a girl on her period!" One of the men beside him commented.

Ryland recognized the one furthest to the right as Shane, who he'd met once on the set of Clevver, although they weren't actually in a video together, and the other two of them as Shane's friends, though he wasn't able to remember much about them besides that.

"Oh, Drew, this is our stop!" The brown-haired one spoke up again. "Thanks for inviting us out, Shane!"

"Yeah, thanks. Still up for our video tomorrow?" The dark haired one, who Ryland assumed was Drew, added, turning back around to face Shane.

"You know it!" He replied enthusiastically with a wide smile. "See you guys later."

As the bus started up once more, Shane turned to face Ryland.

"Oh, hey, I remember you from Clevver! Ryland, right?"

The mentioned boy took a moment to respond, half from plain surprise and half from his quite tired state. "I- yeah, that's me. And you're Shane." He gave a small grin. "I remember you from the Chapstick episode."

"Yeah, god, that was fun." He replied, a somewhat dopey grin still plastered on his face, which Ryland was beginning to think was due to tipsiness. "So, heading anywhere interesting tonight?"

"I was just coming home from work, late night. My car broke down so I thought the bus would be my best bet. What about you?"

"Oh, just out clubbing, living my life to the fullest. Sex, drugs, parties." He paused. "No, I'm just kidding, we were actually at my friend's house dressing up her cats in baby clothes."

Ryland chuckled, opening his mouth to reply before the bus jerked to a sudden stop. The two simultaneously exchanged worried glances before looking to the driver, who was shaking his head.

"Sorry, gentlemen, it seems that the bus has broken down." He said, standing up.

"Broken down- how long are we going to be stuck here?" Ryland asked, biting his lip lightly.

"At least an hour, we've got to wait until either the services come or until the next bus comes, but since we've only ever got two buses running this loop, that'll take at least two hours."

Ryland groaned, his head falling into his hands.

"How far away is your stop? Would you be able to walk home?" Shane asked.

"It's almost a two hour walk from here, I'd be better just waiting for the next bus over that." He sighed, reaching into his pocket. "And my phone's dead, I guess I'll be waiting for the next bus."

"I mean, my place is just a fifteen-minute walk away, you could stay overnight if you wanted." He suggested. "I could drive you home in the morning and everything, no worries."

Ryland hesitated. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a nuisance or anything."

"Hey, it's no problem. I'd hate myself even more if I just forced you to just walk a mile home in the pouring rain." Shane said, gaining a smile in return.

The two hopped off the bus, rain already showering down on them. Shane muttered a hushed curse, sifting through his bag to pull out an umbrella and opening it. He looked to Ryland, who'd simply wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, and offered the umbrella to him.