Empty Gold - {ryden}

7. Midding

7. midding (verb) - feeling the tranquil pleasure of being near a gathering but not quite in it

Ryan unlocked the door to the shop and walked inside, breathing in the sterile smell of his surroundings. Everything smelled like soap and ink, a nice mixture where Ryan was concerned. He smiled as he closed the door behind him, walking over to the counter and setting down his thermos of coffee and his sketch utensils before settling himself in the swiveling stool and powering on the shop's computer. He pulled out the piece of paper with the computer's password that Brendon had given him, typing the entirely capitalized EGINK2015 into the password box and logging himself in.

Dallon had told him how to connect the surround sound for the music they play in the shop, and that he can just go to YouTube or iTunes and play whatever music he wanted to. Ryan smiled as he opened iTunes and logged into his account, pulling up a playlist of early 2000s rock songs he had downloaded, and pushed shuffle play.

As the music filtered through the speakers, Ryan found himself smiling as he opened his sketch book and went back to working on the same sketch he'd been working on for almost a week. The part he was having the most trouble with was what to do with the middle of the face. He didn't know if the woman in the sketch should have dead lips, resembling the fate she was experiencing in her surroundings, or if there should be something silencing her. The song that was playing through the speakers wasn't helping Ryan decided very well. But, then again, The Calendar Hung Itself isn't really meant for thinking purposes. It's pretty self-explanatory, that song.

Instead of focusing on that part of the sketch at the moment, Ryan decided to go around the outside of the sketch and add a bunch of unnecessary details. He added extra breaks in the strands of her hair, cast extra shadows along the lantern sheltering the candle inside, and added way too many intricacies to the raven sitting atop her head. 

About twenty minutes before the shop would be officially opening, Ryan decided to abandon the sketch for now as he went to the break room to start making a pot of coffee for when everyone came in. As he was pouring water into the back of the machine, the bell above the entrance rang and he hummed to himself, figuring that his coworkers had started showing up. That is, until he heard probably the most angelic voice that he'd ever heard in his life echo through the shop.

He already knew it was Brendon before he even peaked his head from the break room door, his eyes settling on Brendon's back as he continued singing along to the music. He had his back hunched, leaned over the counter, and Ryan knew he was looking at his sketch, which is the only thing that made him saunter forward. "It's not finished yet," he said softly.

Brendon turned and smiled softly at Ryan. "Further proving my point of how talented you are, Ryan Ross," he said, smile never leaving his face. "This sketch is wonderful, and you're still trying to find a way to make improvements. What do you think you're lacking?"

Ryan stepped forward and stood next to Brendon, flipping the sketch to face him and he circled his finger around her mouth region. "I can't figure out what I want to do here," he said softly. "I can't decide whether I want to make this anatomically correct or if I want to have something covering her mouth and silencing her."

Brendon's eyes were on Ryan's face the entire time he was speaking, face set and serious as he took in his words. When he finished speaking, Brendon's eyes moved down to the sketch and studied it for a moment. He then took Ryan's hand that was still pointing at the sketch and circled the mouth region once more. "How about," he started softly, voice in an almost whisper, "a butterfly. Or - no - a moth. Moths usually symbolize when something has been vacant or abandoned; you know, dead, in a sense."

Ryan bit his lip and Brendon's hand stayed clasped lightly over his. "Yeah," he breathed out gently. "Yeah, I like that. Thank you."

Brendon smiled as Ryan looked up to him, their smiles mirroring each other. "No problem," Brendon whispered back. "One artist to another, you know?"

Ryan nodded and then noticed the proximity he and Brendon were at. There were a few inches separating the two of them, and he couldn't help but think how if just one of them were to surge forward, he knew exactly what would happen. He caught Brendon's eyes trailing back from his eyes to his lips and felt his breath catch in his throat as he realized they were both moving forward incredibly slowly, moving centimeters closer to each other.

Just as Ryan could feel Brendon's breath fanning his own lips, the sound of the entrance bell jingling caused him to jerk away, ducking against the counter as his coworkers filed into the room and Brendon greeted them with a smile in his voice. Ryan smiled to himself as he turned as watched Brendon mingle with the other artists, feeling comfort in his surroundings.

"Hey, Ross," Patty said cheerfully as he bounded over to Ryan. His eyes fell onto the sketch on the counter and he brightened up even more than he already was. "Woah! This is so cool!" He studied over the sketch and pointed at the blank space in the middle before turning to Ryan. "What's gonna go here?"

Ryan looked at Patty and smiled as he turned back to look at Brendon talking to Josh and Ashley, their loud laughter echoing through the shop. His smiled widened and he turned back to Patty. "A moth."