Ryden Oneshots

You Don't Need A Valentine To Get Chocolate On Valentine's Day

*

Jon sat on the curb with only his flip flops and hoodie for company.

He’d been banished.

Yes, banished from the bus. Jon hadn’t thought it was possible, but it had happened. Jon Walker had been banished from the Panic at the Disco bus. He didn’t know for how long, but it had been a good half hour already.

They were stopped at a truck stop and the others were still on the bus while Jon sat on the sidewalk, contemplating his shoes. Around him, travelers’ and truckers’ only concern was reaching the bathroom or walking the dog.

A small, white dog yipped at Jon as its owner pulled it past. Jon ignored the dog and sighed.

It had been his idea, he admitted, but he certainly hadn’t foreseen the consequences a simple letter might have.

And now he was banished. He was pretty sure that was a first in the Panic history. His mind wandered to Brent and he wondered if he’d ever been banished from the bus. Maybe this was the first step to being replaced. Jon shook his head quickly, trying to get rid of the horrible thought.

Staring at the pavement where a cigarette butt still smoldered, Jon frowned. He hadn’t meant it to get so out of hand, but with Brendon… He sighed. He should have known.

*

"Hey, Bren, you got a letter." Jon held up a white envelope and smiled as Brendon scrambled off the couch to snatch it from Jon’s hands.

Eagerly, Brendon tore it open. "It’s fanmail!" he exclaimed excitedly.

Jon watched as he read it, Brendon’s eyes skimming down each line, his smile slowly flattening out until the edges of his mouth down-turned just slightly.

"What?" Jon asked as Brendon set it down.

"It’s a secret admirer," Brendon replied slowly, rereading the letter again. This time, though, by the time he got to the end of it, he was grinning. "I have a secret admirer!"

Ryan looked up from where he was reading a thick book, his face expressionless. "Who would admire you?"

Brendon stuck out his tongue and jumped onto Ryan’s lap. Ryan made an annoyed noise and tried to shove him off, but to no avail.

"Everyone loves me," Brendon pointed out. "I’m the quirky, innocent one addicted to Red Bull. You’re the quiet, possibly suicidal one."

Ryan’s mouth fell open. "Says who?"

Brendon shrugged. "Everyone on the internet."

Ryan didn’t look amused and he gave Brendon’s ass a hard shove. Brendon was pushed off his lap and landed on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ow," he complained, rubbing his backside. He glanced at Jon. "Jon," he whined. "Ryan’s being mean."

"Maybe he’s just jealous of your secret admirer," Jon suggested, ignoring the look of death Ryan was shooting him.

"Yeah, you’re just jealous!" Brendon repeated, struggling upward, still clutching his letter.

"That you’ve got some crazed fangirl who knows how to send letters to a tour bus? Yeah, I’m really jealous." It was hard to tell if Ryan was being sarcastic or not since his tone hardly changed, but Jon thought he saw a flicker of anger cross his face before it was blank again.

Brendon merely pouted. "At least I have a fangirl."

Ryan looked like he wanted to retort, but restrained himself and merely disappeared grumpily behind his book.