Rewrite Your Happiness (A Ryan Ross Fanfiction)

Hey, Moon...

He was silent for a few moments. Clearly, he was as introverted as a teen in the early 2000s could come. I mean, it wasn't what I'd call abnormal either. Was this really a dream? If it was, why did it suddenly feel so real?

"Do you want to, ah, get out of here? Ya 'know...get somewhere not too stuffy?" Ryan asked, putting his hand up to my sweaty forehead. My heart skipped a beat. I realized the pain is getting worse. A fever maybe? Dammit, those weren't the easiest for me to get rid of.

I coolly nodded. "Sure, dude. Anything to chill the headache." He smiled, partially showing his teeth, his eyes light up.  Little does he know, I was feeling the same internally. He had an attracting, mysterious even, personality unlike any I'd ever encountered...that or it was just the fever giving me more stimulation.

We both grabbed bottles of water and left the two-story house. As we started to walk down the street of the suburban neighborhood, I observed the little difference from my...time and this time. I wouldn't call the yards anything special as it was all mostly dead creeping through the cracks of the sidewalk. Street lamps were flickering in the dark at the chilly hour of 1 AM.

"So," he said, breaking the silence, "you aren't really from around these parts. Can you tell me where you're from?"

I begin to teeter as I walk. "Where is here exactly?"

He scoffed. "How hard did you hit your head..? Just outside Las Vegas. My girlfriend, Sam, was throwing a new year party before her folks returned from Oklahoma. She's kinda...known for the parties she hosts."

I nodded, glancing back at the ocean of teens we just protruded from. "That explains the big crowd." I remarked, jokingly. "But yes, I am actually from Las Vegas and always on the go. It's...just a rare case to be out here."

Wait, did he say that was his girlfriend's party? Who did he date in 2003? When was the band created again? Only a handful of people in the present day know so much about life before the band, let alone Ryan. He alone is the biggest mystery. Two hands would be enough to count the number of things most fans DO know from what Ginger told me. I would have to write the stuff I did know down for future reference...

"But hey, your girl must have the selection of alcohol. It's all about the free cough medicine, man." I said as we had made our way to a small clearing at the end of the road. It looked like a sad excuse for a park. Ryan chuckled and nodded quietly at my statement. I sat down on a nearby bench and Ryan sits next to me. The moon was full and illuminating the sun's reflection. The dirt ground of the drab patches of grass appeared lonely and wishing to be regrown.

"I mean, I'm no drinker, but I know enough about parties to know it's about trying new things. May the moon forget to fall if that's not true." I sighed, making a fake toast in his direction, rolling my eyes. Ryan looked surprised. And then I realized what I just said. A lyric from that Northern Downpour song Ginger played for me. I nervously laughed and clear my dry throat, following up with the first thing that comes to my head. "Sorry, I think my headache just got a little worse."

Ryan blinked out of his state of disbelief and put his hand on my forehead again. He frowned. "Damn. Talk about a fever you can't sweat out." He reached into his pocket, pulled out an orange medicine bottle, and shook out a broken white tablet. "Here, this'll help. Snatched these painkillers from my...never mind. You should feel better within the hour."

I thanked him, hesitantly taking a swig of water with tiny white pill on my tongue. He...had stolen pills on him this whole time..? Was he going to make a deal before he helped me, or were they snatched for his own personal use? Not that selling them was any better, but if they were for personal use, that worried me.