Mistaken // Ryden

Chapter eight

-Brendon-

"Listen, I just don't wanna leave him alone. He's been seeming a little quiet. I haven't seen him in years, but he's quiet and he's a little sick and I want him to come with us," I explain to Zack. Ryan's voluntarily making us breakfast. His fever went down and he hasn't been feeling that sick anyway. 

I hear him sigh on the other side of the phone. 

"Brendon, I know you love him, but if you do this, then people are gonna have a fucking parade. You wanted those rumors to die, and now you're fueling them?" He tells me. I bite my lip. I can hear Ryan humming quietly, and I smile.

"Last time he was like this was around 2007," I say quietly.

"And we needed him because he was in the band. He's not in the band anymore, Brendon."

"He's important to me," I say. The humming stops.

"I know that," he sighs again, "I know that. I always have, but-"

"I don't care about the rumors anymore. I love him." There's a short silence. "I'm in love with him."

"Hm?" I hear behind me. I jump and turn and see Ryan. I wish I could say that he looks jealous or upset, but he doesn't. He just looks normal and curious. 

"Oh, just talking to Zack," I say, pulling the phone away from my face. 

"Ah, okay. Well, food's almost done," he says, smiles, then walks back into the kitchen. 

"What was that?" Zack asks.

"Him saying that breakfast was almost done," I say quietly.

"He's staying at your house?!"

Shit.

"Uh, yeah... Um-"

"God, Brendon," he says, and I prepare for the lecture. "You're... fucking hell," he mutters.

"I said it before, I don't want him to be alone." I look over and watch him from the small view I have of the kitchen. He looks sad. He looks like that when he thinks that I'm not paying attention, but I've paid attention to everything he's done in the past three weeks. 

"You're lucky that there's an extra bunk on the bus," he says quietly. "But when it comes to hotels, MJ has to stay in a room with someone since she's only 17, and her and Nicole are going to stay in the same hotel room, so you and Ryan will stay-"

"Thank you," I say.

"Well, you better have him pack soon, then, because we leave tomorrow," he says, and I just now realize that I myself have not packed my things.

"Okay. I'll... we will do that." We soon say our goodbyes and I hang up right before Ryan walks back in. He has two plates, breakfast burritos on each one. He hands me one and we sit at the table. We both silently eat. He's an amazing cook. I'm lucky.

"Do you wanna go on tour with us?" I ask, and he chokes slightly, then drinks some water.

"What?" He asks in shock.

"Zack said that there's an extra bunk and you're welcome to come with. I understand if you don't, but I thought it'd just-"

"I'd love to," he says, and my heart flutters. 

Me, after a concert, going to the tour bus. I'd walk in and he'd look up from his book while wearing my hoodie because it's 36 degrees outside. I'd walk over and lean down and place my hands on his cheek and admire that soft, pale skin of his. He'd bite his soft pink lips and ruffle my nearly black hair. I'd lean in and kiss him gently. We'd pull away and he'd tell me he loves me and I'd tell him that-

"I love you," I say, and feel my heart drop, so I immediately fix it, "you're great to be on tour with, you know? I love being on tour with you."

"I love being on tour with you too."

Now if I deleted some of those middle words then he'd be saying what I want.

"You'd have to pack your stuff today, though. You know, essentials, clothes." Though, I wish that maybe we could just lose his luggage or forget and he can wear my clothes because god, he looks adorable in them. 

"Yeah, I'll go do that," he says, and that's that. He's coming on tour with us. He doesn't know that we're gonna sleep together in the same hotel. Maybe I could ask Zack to give us one bed when we stay in Seattle. Usually, we'd all get different rooms, but because of MJ joining as a 17 year old, she has to stay with an adult. I definitely can just say that Ryan wouldn't mind sharing a bed. I know that because we would do that all the time, even when we had two. Then again, that was back when we were romantically a thing. 

Maybe we could still be a thing.