Grand Finale || r.r. + b.u.

Three

3 weeks later -- Brendon's POV [A/N -- uhh the chapter is short sorry]

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Ryan Ross is one of the most beautiful human beings in the entire universe, and I'm so goddamn happy I get to live at the same time as him and spend days just talking to him. The way his eyes look in the sun, the way his smile makes me feel, the sound of his voice in the middle of the night when he sneaks through my window just to talk because "phone calls are boring and i want to see you smile" is his reasoning.

I've always wanted to talk to Ryan, but he was always doing so well. He was always doing things, had loads of friends, had a boyfriend too. I knew that at the time at least, I had no room to be in his life. Even if it makes me sound creepy and stalkerish, I always would notice him. The things he'd do, the way he did them, everything.

I'm lucky I get to talk to him like this.

But I need to admit that I'm worried about Ryan. I'm worried about most things in my life though. About two weeks ago he had told me that he was worried the flowers would kill him in one way or another. It was strange to hear him say it, because I feared almost the exact same thing as well.

"You know, they worry me sometimes." He whispers. Leaning his head against my chest. The flowers have spread more. Little blue and pink petals cover his right temple, mixed with golds and purples just barely reaching his eyebrow. Reds and whites under his eye.

"This will probably sound absolutely ridiculous to you," He says quietly.

"I bet it won't." I say in reply, playing with his hair, carefully dodging the flowers surrounding his head. It's like a flower crown, but it's apart of his body. I hear him laugh in response to my words, mumbling a quick "whatever you say, B" before continuing on with what he was going to say.

"But I'm just scared they'll take over or something, until I'm nothing but a little pile of dying flowers. What if this kills me, Bren?" He says, getting quieter and quieter as he speaks. His hands are shaking.

He's been expressing more and more fear about the flowers recently, but with good reason. They're spreading quicker and quicker. They just seem to eat up his energy too, like maybe, he is dying or something. It makes me violently sick to think that Ryan, after I'm finally getting closer to him and knowing him, could be dying.

Even after him crumbling down and opening up about his fears, he tends to act like he's indestructible. Even when he pulls his sleeves past his hand to cover the some of the flowers, he holds himself together and makes it look so effortless. But I know he's not doing well, I can see it in his eyes. The way he smiles at me, it's not the same anymore.

I want him to know I'll be there for him, until the very end.