The Record Store- Ryden

4

I wake up late the next day. I slept well, apart from when I was woken up by my phone buzzing-wait...
It suddenly dawns on me that I am going out today and I immediately regret agreeing to.
At least I'll see Brendon.
I throw on my hoodie from yesterday and decide to make breakfast.
And whiskey.
I'm only having one glass, though, I don't want to turn up drunk at the record store. That place is too sacred.
Okay, fine, I'll have two glasses, but that's it.
I eat my toast and down a third glass of whiskey before heading out the door.

~~~~~

I arrive at Spencer's apartment after deciding to go round to his until the store opens. I have time to kill. I knock on his door only to be greeted by a tired-looking woman with shoulder length blonde hair.
"Hello," she smiles.
Shit I forgot, Spencer had a date last night, and, judging by the attractive woman in his doorway, it went well.
When I don't say anything, she gives me a strange look and yells over her shoulder.
"Spencer, there's a mute in your hallway!"
Spencer is there in an instant, chuckling to himself.
"Linda, this is my bestest friend, Ryan," he grins.
"Oh. Hi, Ryan," she smiles.
I give her a small wave and follow the pair inside.
We talk for a while- well, they talk to me- and then Linda leaves. She seems really nice and I'm glad that Spencer has found someone.
As soon as she's out of the door, he turns to me and sighs dreamily.
"What do you think?"
I nod enthusiastically.
He seems satisfied by my answer.

~~~~~

We arrive at Spencer and Jon's Records not long later. Jon's already there.
"Hey, Ry! Good to see you again so soon!" He hugs me and pats my back. Part of me wishes he didn't do that.
I smile nonetheless.
"Brendon said to tell you he'd be here soon, too," he adds.
I shrug.
Both Spencer and Jon disappear into the back room and I am left on my own again.
As if on autopilot, I drift towards My Section.
To my surprise, there is another record there when I arrive. A new one titled 'Violent Things'.
Hmm...
I check who it's by:
The Whiskeys
I've never even heard of them.
"I see you've found our album," comes Brendon's voice from behind me. I turn to face him.
He looks good.
He's wearing a Metallica band shirt with skinny jeans that show off a slight bulge. Not that I'm looking...
I point to the album and raise my eyebrows.
"Yep. That's ours. I'm the lead singer," he explains.
I smile and nod, impressed.
"Am I gonna have to learn sign language to be able to talk to you?" Brendon laughs and I can't help but notice how attractive his voice is, in a no-homo way... I think.
"Come on," he says, "I've got a while before my shift starts so why dont we sit upstairs and I'll see if I can make you talk."
I roll my eyes, but continue to smile as we begin walking upstairs.
Ahh I love this place. The worn leather couch, the red walls, the signed merch and posters. There are even more up here than there are downstairs, and that's saying something.
This is where I had my first drink- before Spencer owned it, of course- and where I smoked my first joint. Hell, even my first kiss happened right on that couch. It was with Keltie...
The man who owned this place previously was really nice too. Not in a creepy pedo way, but like in a fatherly way. He let me and Spencer spend hours here, whereas normal customers weren't allowed up. When he finally decided to retire, he thought his record store should go to someone who cared about it, so he ended up selling it to Spencer and Jon.
I do, however, notice some new additions to our home-away-from-home. Two guitars- an electric one and an acoustic one, like I have at home.
I point them out to Brendon.
"Yeah, they're mine," he explains, "You play?"
I nod and walk over to acoustic one. I play a small riff before placing it back on it's stand.
"You're good." Lies the new boy with a smile.
I catch his gaze and smile back. Maybe coming here wasn't such a bad idea...

~~~~~
{What chapter was that, 4? Im losing count already haha... as always comment if i made a mistake or if you have criticism, i'd really appreciate it! No homo btw duh...
From cara♡}