The Naked Truth [Ryden]

Twenty-one: Pilots Suck

Ryan could see Brendon in the hallway, but Brendon hadn't seen him yet. He was clutching Pete, begging to see Spencer.

"Gee, he - he told me - he said that -"

"They." Came a voice from behind Pete, and Brendon's heart skipped. Spencer gently pushed him off his new friend and went into Brendon's arms, weeping softly. "It's they, now. Gee's genderfluid. Changed their pronouns. Wouldn't stop going on about it."

Brendon held him at arm's length, kissing his forehead before looking him in the eye. Sometimes it seemed that Brendon was the older one, but it was just that Brendon was reckless, and Spencer was damaged. Ryan, well, Ryan could easily see that he was worthless.

"What happened? He - fuck, I mean, they - they said you had something to tell me." Spencer bit his lower lip, glancing into the living room, where Ryan sat, fury on his elegant features. Brendon looked too, and his eyes widened. "Oh. Ryan, I -"

"Pete, can I borrow your DS? And can you close the door?"

"Sure." Pete replied. "It's under the catalogs." He pointed towards the coffee table and then closed the living room door. It didn't matter that Ryan and Patrick could still hear the voices; they just didn't want to see the affection.

Ryan picked up the console and opened the lid, turning it on. "Do you wanna come to my town or shall I go to yours?"

Patrick smiled widely. "You come to mine; Pete's never on it so my town's better."

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Brendon cried, and the model looked towards the closed door as he waited for the game to load.

"He's left town. He didn't wanna tell you because he knew you'd freak, but -"

"Why?!"

"I don't know, he didn't exactly stop to have a deep conversation about it. He just told me he was leaving and left."

"Did he have his phone on him?" A pause. "But why? I don't understand -"

"Let's just...go. It's been a long day."

Footsteps, and the front door slamming shut. Ryan had just entered Patrick's town (Fobtown) when Pete walked in, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I don't like either of them." He said, flopping on the couch, his legs in the air. "They're annoying and self-centred and I really don't know what you see in Brendon, Ry."

Ryan glared at him as Patrick hit him with a net. "Don't fucking go there."

"I caught a stag beetle! Heck yeah!"

"If you'll excuse me, Peter, I'm going to catch a shark."

"Ryan -"

"A shark."

~

"But that was my fossil!"

"Nuh-uh, you just left it."

"You got like ten thousand bells for it! They're rightfully mine!"

"Not when you just run away from it, going 'eh just another crappy fossil'! You know the drill! You take it to Blathers!"

"My pockets were full!"

"Are you two done acting like children?" Pete said, standing in the doorway with his arms folded. "Because Ryan, Gee wants to see you. They're in the hallway."

"Should I...go?" Patrick said, glancing between Ryan and Pete, but the former shook his head while the latter let Gee in, who was followed by Bert and Bob, whose arm was in a sling.