Watch me// Ryden • Brallon

2. On the edge of a cliff somewhere they shouln't be.

They used to tease each other when 'Brendons' became momentarily famous. They would binge-watch TV shows with actors with that first name, either jokingly fighting over them or off-handedly saying 'you can have him' But they soon ran out, it wasn't that popular a name, and anyway, they mostly were taken by people who weren't called Ryan or Dallon. They had a small hope with some youtube star who never showed his wrist, but then a blurry photo revealed that it started with a W and ended with a Y, he got married to a girl called Whitney Fossil three months later.

One summer they went out with bracelets covering their wrists and claimed to be soulmates with cute singles. They got laid a lot and broke a lot of hearts.

In primary school, Ryan had had a boyfriend, they had each others names on their wrists, and had been a power couple for a couple of months until Ryan dumped him, claiming that he just couldn't feel a connection. If Facebook was anything to go by, that Brendon had found another Ryan and were now happily dating, two years strong.

At some point, in some cold winter full of long sleeved shirts, they were perceived to be a couple, they played along, only revealing a month later to not have each others names, the once-shippers turned away in disgust, horrified by the faux kissing.

Once at a summer camp, Ryan had used a black sharpie to turn Brendon into Brenda🖤. He hadn't found any Brenda with a Ryan on their wrist, and had stupidly introduced himself by his real name. It washed off almost two weeks later.

They were now lying in a basket-swing, discussing band names and eating chocolate.
"I think 'The Brendon Lovers' makes sense" Dallon repeated
"I prefer 'RyRo and his faithful minion'"
"Who said I was faithful"
"RyRo and his unfaithful minion?"
There was a moment he could have been
deadly serious, but the silence was too quickly broken by laughter.

"Pet salamander?" Ryan threw out
"That's actually not as bad as your usual ideas, but no"
"Awwww"
Dallon looked away, pretending not to notice Ry's pouty face.
"How about Dalldo?"
Dallon turned around at that.
"I think thats a great name"
"I was joking"
"Do you have a better idea though?"

Ryan shook his head, causing his signature flowered hat to fall off the basket swing.
"Ugh"
"Lol"
"Jeez, you actually say that IRL"
He bent over the side of the swing to pick it up
"And you actually say IRL"
"Its called sarcasm, you know I don't even say that when texting"
"No, I have no idea what you say when you text, because you never bloody answer my messages"
"There's a reason for that"
"ONE TIME"

Ryan laughs, recalling one awkward time Dallon sent him porn links that he naively clicked on.
"And it doesn't even mean you can't answer"
"To be honest, it just means I don't want to read them"
"Ughhhh, I hate you"
"You love me really"
"Throwback to that time everyone thought we were soulmates"
"Oh we are, just not romantically"
"What do you mean not romantically?"
Dallon puts one hand over his heart and feigns heartbreak. Ryan holds onto his hat and grins back.

It had always been like that, the quick back and forth, the memories that made themselves, each song they like linked irrevocably with the other, each taste reminding him of his best friend. Here's to hoping they stay friends, because otherwise he will have to become a hermit to keep the other boy out of his mind, even then he will probably remember the night they spent in a treehouse somewhere they shouldn't have been.

The fake love confessions have also always been part of their friendship, jumping at the high point of a swing and hoping they will catch the other, laughing. Because if for one moment it gets too serious, if for one moment they stop joking, it will become all to real all to fast, and then he probably wouldn't catch him, and he'd just lie there, nothing broken but his heart.

Falling for someone who's not your soulmate isn't technically illegal, for example, as mentioned, there can be name mix ups, and sometimes widows found comfort in each others arms, or beds.
But it was frowned upon, met with rumours and superstitions. To say someone would do that was the highest insult, if not a PC one.

So, despite probably being the cutest boys in their year, they were outcasts, the whispers about their relationship too often believed. In fact, they revelled in them, getting pretend annoyed at people who didn't know their ship name (Ryllon)

"Back to 'The Brendon Lovers'" Dallon breaks the silence with what he's sure to think is a a joke
"Is the fact our soulmates share a name the only reason we're friends"
"No?" He looks around fake shiftily before whispering into his wrist 'He's onto me'
"You don't even have a watch on"
"Shhh"
"You're such an idiot"
"You love me really"
"Deja vu"
"Good band name"

And so they went on, somewhere between flirting and teasing, between falling and flying, between drowning and riding the waves to safety. Besides, who needs safety when you have Dallon Weekes to catch you, to be your parachute and Lifebelt, to save you at the same time as breaking you apart.

An// will get longer. Sorry if you don't like the idea of Ryan/Dallon