Normal //Ryan Metzger

05: sure

With weeks passing with the semester, Ryan and I talked more and more, which surprised me to say the least.
We both agreed not to fall in love with each other, an awkward conversation I thought I'd never have, and things were actually going great. Nothing more than two friends who are terrified of the future.
I found myself spending more time than I expected with Ryan. He'd walk me to my classes and to our shared film class, together, granted when he actually went. We studied all of our subjects together, and did basically what two best friends would do.
"Hey what do you think Folksier is asking in discussion board twenty two?" Ryan asked, flipping the pages of his notes in his notebook as he stared at his computer screen.
We sat in the same table at Joe's as we did the first time him and I met here, only this time it looked like a tornado went right through a library on our table. I could tell it was nearing closing time since the baristas on the other side of the coffee bar was shutting down machines.
"Oh, I interpreted it as him asking what are some of the most famous movie troupes in the horror genre as a whole. You know, prey goes up the stairs instead of out the front door, stuff like that."
"Well, what did you put?" Ryan asked, looking around to my computer screen.
"Don't steal my answer, Metzger," I laughed, moving my screen from his eyesight. "You know this is going to be on the midterm."
"If I'm even there for the midterm," Ryan whispered to himself, returning to his computer as he typed slowly.
"What?" I asked, but before I could receive an answer, my phone started blaring my ringtone. I picked it up to see Jess calling with three missed calls prior. "Hold on, I have to take this."
I excused myself from the table and answered, half expecting her screaming and half no response at all.
"Hello?" I asked, flinching back from the receiver.
"Please tell me you aren't home," she said in a rushed tone. "Please, please, please tell me you're out right now."
"Yeah, I'm with Ryan. Why? Are you okay Jess?"
"Oooo, Ryan? Your future husband?" Jess slurred. I could almost smell the alcohol on her breath.
"Jess," I said in a more serious tone. I was already tired of her Ryan jokes, intoxicated or not. "We are just studying at Joe's."
"Mhm, okay so that means the apartment is free cool."
"What's going on?" I asked, I couldn't help myself from laughing.
"Well, kinda went out with some girl in my intro to theatre class and there was this one guy who looked like a mixture of Jake Gyllenhaal and the guy who played JD in Heathers. Well, long story short we are in a cab back the the apartment," Jess said, letting out a small giggle.
"Oh fun," I sighed into the receiver.
"You need to get yourself laid too," Jess said, her words slurring even more by the minute. "I'm telling you, friends with benefits is a thing and it is proven to boost the mental health of both parties involved."
"So we can end up like you and Michael McAdams did the summer before senior year? 'Oh I love Michael and I think I'm gonna tell him!' 'He broke my heart!" I mimicked her. I could feel her pissy attitude through the phone.
"I'm just sayin," She said quieter. "I hate seeing you all sad and alone all time. You and Ryan wouldn't be like me and McAdams because we were never going to end up together."
"Neither are Ryan and I," I whispered into the phone, quiet enough so Ryan couldn't hear it.
"You say that now," she laughed.
"You say that," I said to her. "Look, I guess I can ask a girl in my film class if I can stay at her dorm tonight."
"If she says no, text me and I'll give you the all clear signal."
"Where would I be without a friend like you?" I asked her, laughing.
"Dead," she laughed back. "Okay I gotta go. Bye, I love-"
Before she could finish, she hung up the phone.
"What did she want," Ryan smiled as he looked up over the edge of his glasses.
"I guess she's hooking up with some guy she met at the bar on campus and was wondering if she could get me out of the apartment for a few hours," I sighed, returning to my notes.
"Hey guys," the barista said over the counter. "Five minutes till close."
"Oh shit," I mumbled, closing my binder.
"Come over to my place," Ryan offered to me. "I just needed to do a few things with my brother for that thing I was talking to you about, but other than that I'm free."
"Ryan, I couldn't ask you to-"
"It's getting late, Lauren," Ryan said to me, stopping me from closing my notebook. "I'm not gonna let you sit out in the cold while you wait for Jess to finish."
"Like she would," I mumbled, resulting in a small laugh from Ryan.
"I'll order us a pizza," He sang, trying to entice me to say yes.
"Fine," I caved. "As long as we get no olives on the pizza."
"Deal," He smiled and started to throw his things in his book bag. He slung it over his shoulder as I slipped the straps on my shoulders of mine.
"Also I talked about final girls as my horror movie troupe," I said as we walked down the street, looking up at him.
"That is literally the most obvious troupe, I don't know why I wouldn't have thought of that," He laughed, rubbing his forehead.
"Guess you will have to stick with going up the stairs," I laughed.
******
It turns out that Ryan had only lived just a few blocks away from Jess and I. Ryan and I only ever hung out at the coffee shop, at the park, or on campus somewhere.
"Hey Jack," Ryan said into the intercom. "Coming up with Lauren. Is Adam already here?"
It took a few seconds before the returning voice on the other end answered.
"Yeah, he's recording now. Hurry up," the guy, supposedly Jack, Ryan's younger brother, had said back. "And Lauren? That girl you've been nonstop talking about-"
"Yeah, uh-yep thanks for that Jack," Ryan said, hitting the speaking button to interrupt his brother. "Coming up now."
I laughed as Ryan punched in a code and the doors to the complex opened.
"Sorry about that," he said as he pressed the button for the elevator. "Jack doesn't know when to shut up sometimes."
"Sounds like him and Jess could be best friends," I laughed as we entered the elevator. Ryan pressed for his floor and the elevator moved up.
"Late night hall ball?" Ryan asked a pregnant woman sitting on the floor with her small toddler and dog, catching a small tennis ball in the air as the elevator doors were opening.
"Ryan!" The little kid said, running up to him and wrapping his arms around Ryan's legs.
"Hey Toby," Ryan smiled. "I would stay and play but I'm already running late to help Adam and Jack."
"Who's this?" Toby asked, pointing up at me. "Is this your girlfriend?"
"Toby!" His mom laughed from the other end of the hallway.
"No, it's all good," I smiled at her. I looked down at a very curious Toby. "I'm Lauren, one of Ryan's good friends from school."
"Oh, well, you're pretty," He said, and ran right back to his mom.
"Night guys," his mom said to us as we walked a little bit down the next hallway. Ryan slipped his key into the door and opened it to his apartment.
"Finally," One of his brothers said as we walked in. We set our stuff on the kitchen table as his brother walked over from the piano to Ryan. "What took you so long?"
"We we're finishing up some things for Film Anthropology," Ryan said, taking his jacket off and hanging it up on the hooks on the wall.
"Oh shit, Lauren, this is my brother Jack," Ryan said introducing me to the brother. "Adam I guess is in the booth then, right?"
"Yeah, finishing up that bass line you so desperately needed him to do for the tenth time," Jack laughed, biting into the apple in his hand. "Oh, and nice to meet you finally Lauren. I've heard nothing but many, many, many good things."
"Nice to meet you too," I laughed, holding out my hand for him to shake. He took it in his and gave me a smile. Even though the pair were brothers, Ryan's smile was way more vast than Jack's. "So the project you were talking about that you do with your brothers, you guys make music?"
"Jack order some pizzas," Ryan said to Jack real fast, throwing him his wallet. "And yeah, we are kinda known? But still pretty underground for the most part."
"We are working on our third album right now," Jack said as he sat in the living room, typing on his laptop.
"Third, huh?" I asked, looking at Ryan with a raised eyebrow. "And how come we've been friends for a month now and I'm just now hearing about this said Jonas Brothers band?"
"I'm actually kinda surprised you haven't heard of us," Jack said, still typing on the computer. "I mean, not to toot our own horn."
"Here," Ryan said, ushering me over to his keyboard set up under the TV in the living room. "We are actually releasing these tracks here at the end of September for the deluxe version of our last album."
He handed me a pair of headphones and I slipped them on. Jack's vocals swirled the audio as a dusty old trumpet sound followed behind him, along with the beat that was enticing me to listen to more.
"Holy shit," I said over the loud music. "This is really good!"
The guys laughed, all silent to the music. Even though loud music was pumping through the speakers in the headphones, I could hear Ryan's voice. It made my heart skip slightly
"Have you guys signed?" I asked, handing Ryan back the headphones after the song.
"Nope and probably never will," Jack said, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning on the cupboard. "Ryan over here does all of the magic. Indie is best."
"I try, I try," Ryan smiled his infectious smile as he moved the screen on his laptop to the live recording that was happening in the small pantry-like room beside the kitchen.
"Yeah, we are going on tour here in a few weeks to finish out this album and then focus all our energy on this next album," Jack said. "Also, I just placed the pizza order."
"Tour?" I asked, looking at Ryan.
"Yeah, but only until the middle of November," Ryan said defending himself. He was acting as if I was about to slap him.
"Dude, I'm just wondering if I get to get a ticket because that's a show I'd pay to see." I laughed and Ryan eased up a bit. Even though I was showing my happiness, my thoughts joined in on the conversation in my head.
Look at you, they started. You were the one to decide this whole 'just friends' thing and now you're freaking out about him traveling the country and finding someone, even though you're 'just friends'
"Hey, you okay?" Ryan said to me and the individuals went on with there separate tasks. I stared blankly at him, unable to form the words.
For that month you'll have no one but Jess. Hell, he may even forget you exist in that time. Could you imagine showing up and him having to do a double take on who you even are.
"Lauren?" He asked again but his voice was distant from me even though he was standing right in front of me with his hands both placed on my shoulders.
You're slowly going to ruin him, you know this. Why didn't you just throw away the note he left that morning and forget that anything ever happening that night? You know he has slight feelings for you. You're a pathetic bitch leading him on like this.
I snapped out of my thoughts, his eyes pulling me back into reality. They showed worry and a caring tone to them.
"Yeah," I said shaking out of it. "I'm fine."
"Good," he smiled slightly. "I got worried about you for a minute."
"Don't worry about me," I said with a laugh. "Nothing to worry about."
"How was that take?" His other brother, Adam supposedly, said as he took off his headphones and opened the door. "Oh, you must be Lauren."
"Hi," I said to him, shaking his hand quickly and giving him a small smile.
"Ryan hasn't shut up about you-" He started, but Ryan shut him up.
"Adam, yeah, that take should be good. Nothing seems funky with the audio this time," Ryan said, fidgeting with the mousepad on the laptop.
"Good, Emily has dinner running and it's already almost ten," he said, setting his headphones down. "Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, Lauren. I'm sure I'll see more of you soon."
"Definitely," I laughed. We all waved Adam bye as he grabbed his jacket and keys, walking out of the apartment.
"Pizza should be done any minute," Ryan said. "Jack can you run down and grab it for us all? I think we are gonna occupy the living room for the night."
"Whatever you say," Jack said as he quickly winked at Ryan. Jack grabbed his keys and moved towards the door. "You two be good while I'm gone!"
Jack slammed the door, leaving a small amount of awkward silence in the apartment.
"So," Ryan said, sitting beside me on the couch. He grabbed the remote and flicked the TV on. "What movie should we watch?"
"Hm, definitely something horror since that's what we are covering in Anthro," I said, grabbing the pillow beside me and hugging it to my chest.
Ryan flicked through the options on the streaming sight until he spotted one that I could tell was grabbing his eye.
"Halloween," he said. "Perfect classic horror film."
"Of course you picked this one," I said quietly.
"What?" He laughed. "Are you scared?"
"Michael Myers was the epitome of my nightmares as a kid," I groaned. It's true that ever since I was little, the mask killer would always scare me and it was a tactic that people used against me.
"You're not serious," Ryan laughed. "You're afraid of a man that wears a Captain Kirk mask and doesn't talk?"
"No, I'm afraid of a man who stalks teenage babysitters and meticulously kills them," I laughed. "And that wears a Captain Kirk mask."
"We have to watch it now," Ryan said, pressing the button on the remote and sitting back on the couch.
"Why do I let you do the things you do to me," I said sitting up and fixing my hair that was jumbled from the pillows.
"Because you loooove me," Ryan laughed and nudged me in my side. Ryan fluffed out a blanket and draped it over the two of us.
"In your dreams, city boy," I laughed and sat back to watch the movie.
________________________________________
-I am so sorry this chapter sucks?? I really didn't know where I was going with it and it's just a jumbled mess so
-also I need to stop staying up so late to write
-chapter song is their cover of Ho Hey bc I love it.
-again, I apologize so much about how shitty this chapter is. The story really hasn't gotten to a picking up point yet so I'm trying to get it there. Bare with me please.