Five agonizing days passed, and Brendon hadn't heard from Jon since the night of the storm.
The clock was ticking. They had just over a week to pay off The Spotted Cat's debt, and they had gotten nowhere. Brendon could hardly afford to buy soups and other necessities in fear of losing his apartment. The next monthly payment was lurking around the corner, and he knew Dallon would not be forgiving.
Jon was supposed to contact him about the money soon, too. He had promised he would keep talking to those folks, but Brendon hadn't heard a single word. Every day when he went to the market he looked for that familiar streak of black fur, those unmistakable amber eyes, but he never saw her. Even Jynx had fallen as silent as her mysterious master. Brendon knew he was being silly, but he couldn't help but fear the worst.
What if those folks were dangerous, and what if something had happened to Jon?
It was a stretch. Brendon knew that, but he couldn't ignore his worries. Surely Jynx would've found him if something terrible happened, right? She was a smart cat. He wouldn't put it past her.
He would've gone to check on Jon himself, but he didn't dare leave Ryan and Spencer alone. Spencer was only growing worse and worse as the days passed, and as his condition declined, so did Ryan's sanity. He often disappeared at night, saying he was going out for a smoke, and returned an hour later. It worried Brendon, but he didn't want to pry. Ever since his talk with Jon, he wasn't quite sure how to act around Ryan anymore. They were still friends, of course, but was he supposed to do something else? Was he supposed to act on those unfamiliar feelings? He didn't know, and that only made his heart hurt more.
He hated watching from the sidelines when all he wanted to do was make everything better.
On the fifth night of Jon's silence, another storm rumbled in. The thunder boomed. The rain poured. The wind howled. It was as if even the weather foreshadowed something terrible, but whatever that something was, it was impossible to tell for sure.
Ryan had already been out for his smoke for over an hour, and the storm was only worsening as the night rolled on. Surely he would've come inside by then. He was probably getting drenched out there, unless he had ducked underneath the balcony. Still. Brendon worried. It was what he did best.
He sat on the couch in his abandoned living room, curled up underneath a blanket, all the while Spencer's heaving coughs echoed from his bedroom. With every terrible hack, Brendon flinched, his fingers tightly wrapped around the blanket's soft fabric. He couldn't bear to listen to Spencer's suffering, and what made it even worse was the fact that he couldn't do anything to help. He'd bought nearly all the cans of soup in the market. He'd even tried to find some cheap medicine, only to find out that their definition of cheap was far from his. There was nothing he could do, and that made listening to each horrible cough all the worse.
How long did he have before....?
No, Brendon thought to himself. He couldn't think like that. He wouldn't. Spencer was going to be just fine. Lots of people fell ill this time of year, so what made this little cough any different?
Brendon sincerely hoped he wasn't lying to himself.
Almost two hours had passed since Ryan left. Brendon found himself counting each rhythmic tick of the clock on the wall, just for something to occupy his spiraling mind. From the booming thunder and the pouring rain, to the constant ticking of the clock, to Spencer's violent coughs, he feared he was going insane.
He never really realized just how much of a void Ryan's presence filled until he'd been gone.
Where was he? It wasn't like him to vanish for this long. He always stuck to exactly an hour, never one minute late. Had he run out of cigarettes and left to get more? Brendon didn't know, and his fears only worsened as the third hour approached and the clock struck midnight.
Something was wrong.
Brendon had to find him. He was going to drive himself mad if he sat on that couch any longer. He jumped to his feet, looked for his coat, his shoes, anything to keep himself dry out there in the storm. A terrible feeling boiled deep in his stomach, and the thought of something bad happening to Ryan made him sick.
He had to find him.
He was just about to leave the apartment when another vicious cough permeated the air, and Spencer called his name.
The bedroom was dim and the air was thick with sickness. Spencer lay atop the covers, a cold sweat coating his pale skin and his body trembling with shivers. He was the worst Brendon had seen him yet; the sight of it alone made his chest tighten.
"What's shakin', Spencer?" Brendon asked, trying his best to lighten the mood. It was difficult to remain hopeful when Ryan's father was in this terrible of a condition.
Spencer tried to speak, but a violent cough racked his shaking body. "Where's....where's Ryan?" His voice was fragile and strained. "Where's my boy....?"
Each word was a painful stab to Brendon's heart. "I don't know," he answered truthfully. He couldn't bring himself to look at the sickly man before him. "I was gonna go out and look for him, though. I bet he's fine, but it never hurts to check, right?"
More terrible coughs and hacks; Brendon felt each one pound into his skull. "Please....find him...." Another trembling wheeze. "At night....bad people....out there...."
Brendon's stomach fell. "Bad people?" he repeated. He couldn't hide the nervous quiver in his voice. "Whaddaya mean? What kinds of bad people?"
"Bad...." Dreadful coughs. "Criminals....like to hurt...."
Brendon didn't need to hear any more. He was out of the room in a heartbeat, his blood roaring in his ears, booming like the rumbling thunder outside. He had to find Ryan. He couldn't let anything happen to him. He wouldn't. Not now, not ever.
He ventured into the raging storm.
~~~~~
Sorry for the short chapter, but I promise next week's will definitely make up for it ;)
Y'all have you seen the weird stuff happening with twenty one pilots recently? I'm shooketh. What are they doing to us
Depression's been kicking my ass straight to the curb these past few weeks and I don't know how to get out of this slump. It sucks, and the fact that I have both the ACT and prom looming over me next Saturday isn't helping. I'll be happy once it's May 9. Kind of a weird date but that's when pretty much everything stressful is out of the way
Speaking of prom though, I ordered the plum palette from Morphe because I'm gonna be extra and do a wild purple eyeshadow look since my dress has purple sparkles on it. Also, why not practice that look for the Fall Out Boy concert I'm going to in October? Tee hee. I'm looking forward to that and the Pray for the Wicked tour this summer. Once I finish this school year, it might as well be smooth sailing (I hope, knock on wood I guess)
How have you guys been? Good I hope. If you need to vent, feel free. I vent to you guys enough on these author's notes
Love y'all to bits! Remember to vote/comment/share with your pals! <3
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Mad as Jazzmen |1930s Ryden AU| ✔️
Fanfiction"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." * * * The Great Depression was, by far, one of the worst tragedies in the history of the world. People drowned in debt. Banks were ruined. The stock market was broken and unreliable. But one...
