Chasing Butterflies- Ryden

❀ 20 ❀

--Brendon--

time skip to July, 27, 2017

--

"Who are you texting?"

"None of your business."

"Well, I'm supposed to be your husband, so I'm pretty sure its my business."

A quick shot of pain. A red mark against my face.

"Go put concealer on that." She orders, and I rush off to the bathroom.

I open the door and then lock it as I close it. I grab the concealer that lays on top of the bathroom counter and begin to cover the red mark.

I remember how Ryan did this for me when my parents kicked me out. The last time we talked was at Halloween. I still think about him almost everyday, I mean, how could I not?

We were highschool sweethearts, we were each others first kiss, first boyfriend, and first time. And we were in a band together and we were going to get married.

"Brendon! Hurry up in there!"

I finish covering the spot and place the concealer back onto the counter before quickly rushing out of the bathroom.

"Now you're going to shut up and smile. Pretend to love me." She snarls at me, and I nod shakily.

The doorbell rings moments later, and Sarah rushes to go open it, her heels clicking against the floor.

"Kenny! Hi!" She opens her arms and hugs him in a way she never hugs me.

I plaster a fake smile onto my face as Kenny comes into view with Dallon and Dan at his side. Sarah hugs the two and greets them happily.

"Hey, guys." I say with a fake smile and a fake cheery voice.

"Hey, Brendon. How's it going?" Dan asks as Bogart and Penny run up to him, wagging their tails.

If only I could be as happy as them.

"Its going good." I answer, when really, it isn't.

"Oh, babe! Can you go get groceries? I was supposed to go yesterday, but I was busy walking the dogs." Sarah asks, and I nod.

"Okay. You guys wanna come with me?" I ask, "I get lonely sometimes."

"Yeah, sure! C'mon, Dallon and Kenny." Dan says as I walk to the door.

"I think I'm going to stay to play with the dogs." Kenny says.

"Lame." Dallon laughs.

Dan chuckles at his words, "B, you're forgetting the keys!"

He tosses them to me, and I catch them.

"Ready to go?" I ask, quoting my own song.

"Keep me up." Dallon mumbles as I open the door.

And the three of us leave the house.

--

We reenter the home to moans and groans. My eyes widen as the noises process in my ears, and I run to the bedroom.

The door is unlocked, and I open it to reveal Sarah riding on top of Kenny, covered in a thin layer of sweat, both nude, and obviously having a good time.

Her eyes widens as she notices me, and she gets off of Kenny. His eyes then too widen at the sight of me, and he sits up.

"Honey, its not what you thi-"

"Oh, its exactly what I think it is." And this time, I'm growling at her instead of the other way around.

Dan and Dallon come rushing in, eyes wide, and everyone's eyes seem to be wide at that moment.

"Kenneth, out of my house. And you're out of the band." I point to him, and then I point to her, "Sarah, I want a divorce. And I want your things packed up by tomorrow. You no longer live here."

--

"Bren, what are you going to do? You have no guitarist for Panic! At The Disco." J says, "And Kinky Boots is going to end soon. The fans expect you to release new music soon after its over."

"I know, I know." I sigh.

"Why don't you talk to the old guitarist? What's his name again? Randy? Red? Ratatouille?" He guesses, and I remember Red, the first butterfly I helped him catch.

"Ryan." I answer, and the sound of his name pains me.

"Yeah, Ryan! He's currently got nothing big going on, right?" J asks.

"I think he's starring in a movie." I say with a tint of sadness in my voice.

"But he'll be able to help after he's done. And plus, he's been active on Instagram. All the fans are talking about it." He laughs.

"Yeah, I've seen." My response makes him stop laughing and his expressions turns serious.

"Brendon, what's wrong?"

"Its just that.. I miss him. I miss him so much and I think about him almost everyday." I spill, and tears start forming into my eyes.

"You- oh." Realization dawns onto his face.

"You love him." He says softly, "And not the brother type of love. You romatically love him."

"I know." I sniffle, trying holding back tears, but I fail to, "I love him so much. We were highschool sweethearts, we were each others first kiss, first boyfriend, and first time. And we were in a band together and we were going to get married."

"He's your true love. And true love happens rarely. If you love him, go after him. Ask him to dinner tomorrow, and use the guitarist replacement as an excuse to see him." J says, and I nod.

"Okay."

"Now, go get yourself cleaned up. You can't be sounding like you just cried once you call him."

And I leave him to go to the bathroom, my phone in my pocket. Once I'm in there, I turn on the sink and wash my face. I clear my throat and pull my phone out of my pocket.

"Am I really doing this?" I ask myself quietly as I turn on my phone.

I click on 'Contacts' and scroll down to the R's. Ryan's phone number is still there. I thought I would've deleted it by then.

I dial the number and wait for him to pick up. Anxiety starts to course itself into veins, going through my limbs and then into my brain.

"Hello?"

"Ryan?"

"Brendon?"

"Yeah, um, can you meet me on August 7th at [insert restaurant name]?"

"Isn't that the day after you get off of Broadway?"

"Yeah, but I need a favour to ask."

"Yeah, okay. Uh, what time?"

"Are you okay with 5:30 pm?"

"Yeah. I'll see you."

"Okay, bye, Ryan."

"Bye, Brendon."

I hang up and smile to myself.

"I did it."

--

A/n: yayyyy finally

this chapter is like probably

25 words shorter than the filler chapters