Broken - A Ryden fanfic

Chapter seven- Words, wars and symphonies

"—and then he kicked me out of the house."

Ryan and Dallon spent the next five or so minutes explaining to each other what was going on with their friend. Well, Dallon did more of the talking. Ryan started out strong, but the longer the conversation went on he could feel the words getting caught in his throat and the nervousness bubbling up inside him. But Dallon was patient with him, and Ryan was thankful for that.

To avoid raising suspicion, Dallon had given Ryan his phone number so they could continue this conversation. They also took this conversation to the opposite side of the studio just in case. Kenny suggested they go outside and he would keep watch for Brendon, but this idea was scrapped when they realized how hard it started raining outside.

"This is all really strange.." Dallon mumbled, shooting a glance out the window. "He's been acting weird for us too. We're supposed to go on tour soon, but Brendon's been acting really irritable about it. He's usually excited for things like this." He then paused as he realized something. "Hold up, Ryan are you still standing outside of Brendon's house?"

Ryan let out a small laugh. "No, I'm in my car now. The rain is nice to watch but, not as fun to be in." He replied. "So... what should we do? I really need to apologize to Brendon.. even if he doesn't accept my apology, I at least need to let him know that I'm sorry."

"Well, doing that now probably isn't the best idea. He snapped at me when he found out that I was on the phone with you."

A small smile stretched across Ryan's lips. "He does get kinda cranky when rubbed the wrong way."

"I don't know if you could consider this to be.. normal snappy. He sounds really..." there was a moments pause as Dallon wracked his brain for the right word. "Outraged? But also kind of bitter?"

Ryan hummed thoughtfully, considering his options. "He needs some cool down time. Where are you guys?"

"We're.. at the studio. I can give you directions if need be. Why do you ask?"

"I'll probably make it there in ten minutes- give or take. That should give him enough time to cool off. In the meantime, get him talking about something. Anything will do the trick, just keep him talking." He started up his car and used his free hand to buckle his seat belt. "Then when I get there we should be able to talk things over with him."

"Okay..? I'll text you the address so you can get here. But- how do you know this will work?" He  inquired.

"Because I've known Brendon since high school. I'm pretty sure that I know him well enough to know how he acts when he gets upset."

"I hope you're right about this.."

— — — — —

Dallon's nervousness grew the longer he watched the clock. It had been a solid ten minutes and Ryan was nowhere to be seen. What was he planning? Why wasn't he picking up his phone?

On the bright side, Brendon was finally out of the bathroom. And to his surprise he seemed rather chatty. He was having a normal conversation with Kenny and Dan about what they planned to do for dinner later tonight.

However, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread that lingered from when his friend snapped at him earlier. He had never knew that Brendon was the person to raise his voice like that.

Dallon began to wonder if Ryan had been telling him the truth over the phone.

His thoughts where interrupted when Dan stood up and gestured to the window. "Zach is here," he informed his friends.

Kenny hopped up out of his chair and enthusiastically, racing past his friends to help get all their luggage in the tour bus. Behind him was Dan, who wore an unamused glint in his eye. Regardless of his demeanor, Dallon knew that the drummer was more than ready to get on the road. The reason for his grouchiness was due to how little sleep he was running on.

His main concern was with Brendon. He could tell by the empty look in his eye that something was up.

Once outside, they were greeted by their producer and ushered along. Their schedule was a bit tight after all, so they couldn't afford to wait much longer. It only took them a good five or so minutes before they were out on the road.

Dallon felt like he could somewhat relax for the first time all day.

But then it happened.

Brendon had pulled him aside at one point. He wore a warm smile on his face, but Dallon could quickly see that same empty look in his friend's eyes. "Hey man."

"Hey. Look, Brendon.. I'm sorry if I was hard on you earlier. I know that this can be a bit stressful, but you can always talk to us if need be." Dallon said, trying to sound as comforting as he could. He put on a gentle smile. "I'll always be here."

Brendon's smile had faltered slightly as he listened. He gave a little nod in response. "Yeah, sure. Under one condition."

Dallon lowered his eyebrows. "Okay..? Shoot."

All traces of a smile had left the singer's face, his expression replaced with a more serious one. "I don't want you talking to Ryan anymore."

There was a pause. Dallon's eyes widened in surprise and he took a moment to process this before speaking again. "What—"

"I know that you've been talking about him. I'm not stupid, Dallon. I don't  want you talking to him anymore. I don't care what he says to you, I don't care how dire the situation is; don't talk to him. We clear?"

Dallon gulped, nodding slowly. "Crystal."

But little did they know that Ryan was closer than they realized....