I'll swear that I'll always paint you Golden Days {Ryden}

-eleven-

The two took the elevator down to ground level in complete silence. Neither of them dared to break the quiet though Brendon's mind was racing with possible endings of this trip, most of which ended in death. He just wasn't quite ready to blindly trust basically a stranger. The more seconds passed the more he just wanted to go up again. He wanted to stop the elevator and press the button for floor 13. He just wanted to go back into the security of his home. He wasn't fit for the world outside. Panic began to rise in the small man as the elevator indicated with a 'ding' that the doors would part now, exposing them to the fresher air outside of the metal box. Brendon's panic levels started to rise. He was waiting for Ryan to leave the elevator first so he might have a chance of pressing his floor, escaping this scene. But neither of the two men made a move.

Ryan was just as paralysed as Brendon. His face wasn't quite showing it but he was afraid. Majorly afraid. The memories that this event had brought with it were comfortably stored away just until he locked eyes with the man that was living next to him for so long now. He didn't want to remember. Neither did he want to go through the whole experience again. Although this time he wasn't alone. He found his soulmate. It was a weird thing to say if you actually looked at the whole situation. He was living here the past years. Hidden away and safe, next to his soulmate without knowing it. It wasn't much of a surprise for the brunet that his soulmate was male. No. That wasn't the shocking part of it. It also wasn't shocking that his soul mate didn't seem too fond of the whole situation. What surprised him was that he actually found him and that he was so close all along. It just seemed surreal to him. Maybe it wasn't real. Maybe it was just a dream. Ryan bit the inside of his cheek, both to check if he was dreaming and out of tension. It was a nervous tick really. It was better than biting your nails due to the fact that the skin inside your mouth was healing much faster though was it a real pain when he went to deep without recognising it at first. The inside of his mouth was often sore for a day because of that. It was basically like eating something really hot and burning your mouth. The sting that was left by that resembled the annoying feeling that Ryan often went through whenever his mind was too loud or he had to go outside for longer than actually necessary.

Ryan didn't wake up. He was still staring toward the door that split the men from the outside world. It was all still the same. He uselessly stood in an open elevator with his soul mate at their destination. He should move. Before it was too late. And with that thought pushing him with fear he exited the elevator looking to his side into the dark brown eyes of Brendon. He looked back with an unsure stare. Ryan knew that Brendon wasn't totally up for the ride. Heck, he himself wasn't a hundred percent up for that but he knew better than just ignoring the beep of the computer and just stay. He wasn't sure how much time they both had left to get away, but better late than never. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Especially not if that meant pulling a second person into it. He was never the one to bother more people than actually necessary. Though Brendon seemed to be bothered by this whole situation, it was hidden deep down under the tension that lay within him but it was crucial. They both had to leave this place.

Brendon hesitantly followed his soul mate out of the metal box. Mainly because he knew that the doors would take too long to close so simply running away from the situation wasn't an option but also because Ryan had multiple of his bags and he wasn't sure what stuff he had packed in which bag. Maybe they held something important. Though he couldn't think of anything at this moment his feet guided him towards Ryan slowly. His brown eyes hovered on the back of the taller one for a bit until they wandered off to the letter boxes. He hadn't looked into it in a while. Maybe he should just take one last look. Down in his mind he knew that nothing would be in it. No one ever wrote him a letter. Letters were very rare in general. The only reason why anyone would write a letter was festive days like Christmas or Easter, or ones birthday for a fact. But even then he wouldn't receive anything. Who would want to spend their time on someone like him anyway? He had been alone for the festive season for the last couple years now. No one wanted to be seen with him. He wasn't judging them though. It wasn't their fault he wasn't normal. Even now that he finally saw his first colour it wasn't quite enjoyable. He still wasn't anything close to normal or fitting. Why else would Ryan urge him to flee with him? As his eyes were still glued to his surely empty letter box he heaved a small sigh. It was really nothing keeping him here except himself. No one would really miss him. The only consistent social contact he had over the years was his parents' money coming in on his bank account to keep him away. They wouldn't even realise if he was gone. They wouldn't even realise if he was dead because to them he was already. He was a mere waste of money to them. With that thought in his mind he was much more confident to leave. He just had to trust his maybe insane soul mate. That was exactly what he would do.