Broken - A Ryden fanfic

Chapter three- Trade mistakes

It was during this moment that Brendon regretted ever picking up the phone.

Why did he agree to meet up with Ryan?! The fact that he even called him after all this time was news enough, but now he's coming over to visit!!

Brendon thought about the conversation they had over the phone. He had been asleep on the couch before he heard his phone buzzing. When he recognized the number that was calling him he had practically fallen off his seat.

Ryan Ross hadn't changed a bit since the last time they were together. God, that was a long time ago. His voice hadn't changed much at all, and through a quick search on Instagram he realized that his appearance hadn't changed much either. He hoped that the same could be said for his personality, Ryan was a really close friend of his through high school. The conversation he had with him over the phone was brief— he remembered that his friend had a bit of social anxiety when it came to doing things like talking on the phone.

One of the things that Brendon noticed right away was that Ryan hadn't specified why he wanted to come over, which when he thought about it wasn't that big of a shock. But this time it was different. Ryan hadn't spoken to him much in eight whole years, and now he wants to talk to meet with him in person?

Brendon's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock at the door. His heart skipped a beat as he swiftly glanced around the room, deeming it to be mostly clean as he rushed through the house and to the door. Deep breaths, Brendon. You can do this. Hesitantly, he reached out and opened up the door.

Standing on the other side of the door was- you guessed it, none other than Ryan Ross himself. He almost didn't recognize him right away, dressed in a simple grey t-shirt and black skinny jeans. He also spotted a tattoo on his right arm, and three or four rings on his fingers. Ryan was taller than him now by about three inches, so Brendon had to glance up to meet his old friend's eyes. But those chocolate brown eyes hadn't changed over the past eight years.

The brief silence was broken when the taller male had spoken, a lopsided smile appearing on his face. "'Sup?"

Brendon stifled a small laugh and a smile formed on his face at this. "Nothing much. 'Sup with you?"

"Oh you know, this and that." Ryan replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Your Forehead got bigger." He teased.

Brendon rolled his eyes in response. "And your sense of humor is still in tact." He joked, then stepped aside. "Get in here."

Ryan stuck his tongue out playfully at his friend as he entered, his eyes scanning the room briefly before he glanced back to his friend awkwardly. "So... Panic is still a thing?"

The shorter male took a seat on the sofa. "Yep. Still going strong, even though I'm the only member that's still around since day one." He said, patting the spot next to him on the couch.

"Yeah.." Ryan sighed softly and sat down next to his friend. "How long was Spencer part of the band for? After we left, I mean."

"Six years," answered Brendon. "We got through two albums, but Spencer left before we went on tour. He was battling with alcohol and prescription drugs."

A frown appeared on Ryan's face. "Damn.. is he.. doing better now?"

Brendon's nodded his head quickly. "Oh yeah he's fine now! Just.. he isn't exactly talking to me much now. We got into a bit of a fight while writing a song on our fourth album. We didn't talk a lot after that, but then he promised me he'd get help and we went our separate ways. He hasn't texted me much since."

"Wow.. man, that makes me feel kinda bad for not keeping in contact with him much."

"Tell me about it. Speaking of.. why did you want to meet up so suddenly?"

Brendon noticed a brief hesitation in Ryan's words before he spoke. "I.. need something from you." The taller male said, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke again. "I'm starting a record label of my own. The company I'm going along with are really picky when it comes to who they pick up, so they need background information. Long story short they'll let me in as long as you sign a thing proving that I was a legit member of Panic for as long as I was."

Brendon watched as Ryan retrieved a folded up document from his pocket and holding it out to him. He lowered his eyebrows in thought, taking the document into his hands and glancing it over.

— — — — — — — — — — —

Ryan felt the tension build up as he watched his friend's eyes scan the paper back and forth. Was this a touchy subject? Was Brendon going to sign it? He held his breath as his old friend looked up to him and met his eyes.

"Why should I sign this for you?"

That question was kind of sudden. "Because.. we're friends?"

Brendon's jaw clenched, an action that made Ryan nervous. "Then why did you wait this long to talk to me again?"

There was a silence that followed this.

"Did it ever occur to you that 'friends' are supposed to check on each other? Be there for each other?" Brendon spoke after a moment.

"Well— I assumed that you were fine! You have the band! And didn't you have a girlfriend?"

"Had being the main focus." Brendon replied coldly.

Ryan's eyes widened, his thoughts getting caught in his throat. But then, frustration began to build up inside him. He had been working towards this for so long, and now Brendon was trying to stop him? "Well technically the band was my idea! You were just the guitarist!"

"Oh yeah? And how long did that last?" Brendon shot back, handing the paper back to him and standing up. "Doesn't this mean anything to you?! If you really did care that much, then you would've at least shown some concern in your old friend!" He fumed.

Ryan quickly stood up as well, shooting Brendon a glare. "I don't need you. I can always go to Spencer."

"Then get out of my house."

And with that, Ryan turned on his heels and stormed out. As he made his way out to his car, Brendon's words echoed through his head.

Doesn't this mean anything to you?