Boys Will Be Boys *Ryden*

Bes' Frens Can Kiss

The party had been raging for hours. It was 1:30 in the morning and there was no sign of things winding down.

The reason for the party -- not that they ever needed a reason -- was to celebrate the success of Fever and the upcoming tour. Alcohol had been flowing freely all night, much of it into Brendon's bloodstream. Pete was torn between wanting to see how much crazy shit the kid would do and worrying that he was going to puke or black out. Or both. Most likely both.

Pete was pretty drunk himself, so he was in no position to play the role of dad or babysitter. These young guys were about to be huge stars; they needed to learn how to party responsibly. Pete knew from experience that sometimes the only way to learn that was the hard way.

Brendon was standing on a table in the bar with Ryan standing on a chair beside him, both singing along to the jukebox music at the top of their lungs. Brendon's dark hair was sweaty and disheveled, sticking up in some places and plastered to his forehead in others. Pete had half a mind to tell him to get down -- it would be tragic if Panic's frontman fell and broke his neck just days before the start of tour -- but he was too amused by the scene unfolding before him. He settled for standing beside the table, staying close and alert in case he ended up needing to catch him. He wondered where Zack was, because a little backup would be nice right now.

Brendon was sweating like crazy. When the song ended he shouted, "I'm too fucking hot!" and yanked at the bottom of his shirt, untucking it from his jeans. Within seconds, the fangirls in the bar had begun to chant, "Strip! Strip! Strip! Strip!"

Pete groaned inwardly when he saw the familiar, devilish, crooked smile slowly spread across Brendon's face. He was going to strip. Of course he was going to strip. He was never one to back down from a dare, and he loved getting reactions out of people.

Brendon's hands went to the top of his shirt and he started fumbling with the buttons, swaying his hips with the music once the next song started playing. He got the top two buttons undone but the third one was giving him some trouble. The girls were going wild, squealing and continuing to chant. That's when Ryan decided to help hurry things along. Grinning drunkenly, he crawled onto the table at Brendon's feet, grabbing him by the knees to pull himself up. Brendon stumbled back a few steps and Pete leapt around the table, ready to catch him, but Brendon managed to regain his footing just in time. Ryan knelt before him and reached out to grab his belt buckle. The shrieks of the fangirls had reached fever pitch. Brendon threw his head back and laughed as Ryan unbuckled the belt and started pulling it off, but Brendon's jeans were tight and the belt was firmly trapped by the belt loops. Giving up, Ryan left the belt hanging open and went for the button of Brendon's jeans. He made quick work of unbuttoning them and pulling the zipper down, revealing dark red boxer briefs. Brendon and his goddamn red underwear, Ryan thought to himself, chuckling. He reached for the waistband of the boxers and suddenly Pete was there, saying, "NO, no, no, no nonono..." Pete knew what it was like to have pictures of your dick all over the internet and he didn't want that happening to Brendon too, although the crazy fuck probably wouldn't even mind. He wrapped his arms around Ryan's middle and yanked him off the table.

"HEY!" Ryan protested, weakly struggling for Pete to let him go, which he did once Ryan was steady enough on his own feet. A disappointed groan erupted from the girls in the crowd, and Pete looked up to see Brendon buttoning his jeans and refastening his belt, having somehow come to his senses. He was still laughing, but now he was shaking his head, saying, "Nah, I can't, I can't..."

Spencer walked over carrying two beers. He handed one up to Brendon, who took it and immediately took a huge gulp, wiping foam off his mouth with his sleeve. Spencer extended a hand and Brendon took it, using it to balance himself as he climbed down onto a chair, then jumped to the floor. "Thank you, my good man," Brendon said, pounding Spencer on the back.