Strange // Ryllon

five

I don't think a single thing is working out for me this week. Dallon showed up to our show the other night, Jon and I had coffee with him yesterday, it took me 12 hours to snap out of the trance and remember how I don't like Dallon whatsoever, tomorrow Jon and I are having lunch with my ex best friend and ex boyfriend, and now is just the icing on the cake.

The rings stop and I look around, feeling slightly uncomfortable having to use a phone booth.

"Hello?"

"Dallon, it's Ryan. Are you busy?" I ask. He hesitates on the other end.

"No, not at all, what's up?"

"Do you have a car?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you pick me up?"

"Where are you?"

"Next to the coffee place we were at yesterday," I answer. I didn't wanna call him, but my phone is dead, his phone number is in my pocket, and the only phone numbers I've ever memorized in my life are mine, Spencer's old home phone, and Dad's, and absolutely none of them are useful to me.

"I'll be there in a minute, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," I answer quietly as I try to rub my arms to warm myself up. "I'll... see you soon."

"Okay, and just stay safe, okay? It's kinda sketchy in LA at night," he says, sounding genuinely worried. Fuck him, I don't need to 'stay safe'.

"Whatever, I'll see you in a bit," I tell him, then hang up the phone. I open the door and walk outside, the cold air hitting my exposed neck. My hoodie is in my apartment but I guess I accidentally placed the napkin into my jeans pocket. I sit down on a bench, trying to rub my hands together, rub my arms, breathe onto my fingers, anything to warm them up, but nothing's working. My mostly-wet hair is causing me to shiver from the slight wind and I'm a little upset about how cold it is. I swear it has never been this cold before.

I don't know how long I wait for Dallon to come pick me up, but either way, by the time his car pulls up, I'm still freezing. He jumps out of the car as I stand, hurrying to take off his hoodie.

Oh, hell no.

"Here," he says, carefully trying to get me to take it. I hesitate for too long. "Don't think about it too much, just take it. You're freezing," he says in a soft and worried voice I can't say no to.

"What about you?" I ask, looking at his now exposed arms.

"I'm warmed up, and you need to warm up. Come on," he says, so I sigh quietly and take it. I put it on. It smells like him. I kinda love it a lot. "Where are we going?"

"Hotel," I say, and we walk up to his car. He opens the door for me and a small, shy smile tugs at the corner of my lips. I get in and he closes the door, then goes around. He's a gentleman and anyone's dream boyfriend.

"Which one?"

"I don't know, choose one," I say, shrugging. His hoodie is big for him, it's very big for me, and it makes me feel tiny and cozy. I love it. "There's a gas leak in my apartment building and they said it'll take weeks, if not months to fix it all. My landlord said she'll call when it's done, so for now I'm kinda homeless."

"No way, you cannot stay at a hotel for that long! That's so expensive! Especially for LA!"

"Where do you suppose I go, then? All of the other boys live with their girlfriends or roommates, the only other friends I have are busy or on tour or out of town, and I don't have any other friends."

"Well, now you have me!" Dallon says with a smile. Us. Friends. Ha, sure, yeah. We're acquaintances at best. Just because I called him and feel fluttery when he hugs me or touches me and how I'm wearing his hoodie while in his car, doesn't mean we're friends.

"Seriously, you can stay with me. I mean, only if you want. I don't have any boyfriends or girlfriends, I'm not busy, I live alone, and I have a guest bedroom for you. I don't have any strict rules, I'm clean, and you seem to be like me. You probably won't bother me," he tells me. It does sound nice and a little too perfect, and maybe I should just do it. After all, it could cost a fortune to stay at a hotel for who knows how long.

Fine.

"Are you sure it won't be a problem?" I ask quietly.

"Of course not! Plus, it gets a little lonely by myself nowadays. No more girlfriend, just me, and now... us," he says and I know he doesn't mean it that way but I can't help but think about it. Us, me and him. Waking up together, him kissing my head, him holding me close, our fingers intertwinted. It sounds nice. It sounds perfect.

"Okay," I say simply, and with that, we ride in silence.