The One Thing I Never Expected | Ryden | By Ericasaur on LiveJournal

Chapter Eleven (Part One)

 Something wakes me up in the middle of the night. I groan, trying to go back to sleep, until I'm being shaken. "Mmph, what?" I mumble.

"Brendon, wake up," Ryan whispers. I open my eyes, and it's still dark, so I can't make out his features, but Ryan is lying next to me, running his fingers through my hair.

"What time is it?" I ask, my voice still heavy with sleep.

"Midnight," he replies. I groan again, wanting to sleep more.

"Why'd you wake me up then?" I whine. He smiles fondly at me. I can see him a little better now that my eyes have adjusted.

"Happy birthday, baby," he says softly. It takes me a minute to remember that yes, it is in fact my birthday, considering it's midnight. Then my stomach gets all fluttery because he stayed up all night just to tell me happy birthday. It's just little things like these that make me realize how much I love him. I smile at him and he kisses me.

"Sorry for waking you up, I just wanted to tell you first thing," he mumbles against my lips.

"It's okay. It's actually really sweet. Thank you," I reply. He leans down and continues to kiss me, until I pull away. "As much as I love making out with you, I'd really like to go back to sleep now," I say. He laughs and nods his head, situating us back the way we were and snuggling close to me. I fall asleep to the sound of his shallow breathing.

***

"Brendon?" Ryan asks from where he's curled up beside me on his bed. I don't know why we always stay at my house; his bed is like heaven.

"Yeah?"

"Um," he starts, sounding hesitant. "Do you...do you think we'll last?" I give him a confused look and turn my body to face his.

"What do you mean?" I say slowly. I hope he doesn't mean our relationship. How is it supposed to work if he doesn't even have any faith in us?

"Well, it's just. You know that most high school relationships are never successful," he says quietly. Great, so he really is doubting us.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't even categorize us as a high school couple," I argue. He raises an eyebrow. "They're called high school relationships because they meet in high school. We've known each other since before kindergarten. It's different." He chews on his lip as he thinks.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he finally says. He still doesn't sound convinced, though.

"Ryan," I say quietly. "I thought. I mean, I thought that you were y'know, happy...with me." His head snaps up and his face twists into something like disbelief.

"Of course I'm happy with you! What are you talking about?" he says.

"I just don't know why we're having this conversation," I reply sadly. "You must have some sort of doubt about us if you even brought it up."

"No, no you completely misinterpreted. I don't doubt us at all. I didn't mean that I think we're gonna break up or anything. I just. I know that I'm always going to want to be with you. But how do I know that you're always gonna want me?" he finishes, looking small.

I meet his gaze with wide eyes. I can't believe he would even think that. "I'll always want you. Even before we were together, you were my whole life. You still are now, only in a different way. I could never not want this," I reassure him. He looks relieved now, but I'm not. "I'm the one that should be worried. You're more outgoing now that you can hear. You talk to other people, socialize. You've only ever had me, really, but now you could find some other guy and you could realize—"