Strange // Ryllon

ten

Ryan knows Jon's mad. He can feel it. He didn't show up to lunch and hasn't been checking texts or messages, and therefore he can tell that Jon is upset with him. Dallon has tried to reassure Ryan he is fine, but Ryan has regained his senses and is blocking out every single thing Dallon says.

While Ryan wears Dallon's sweater and eats the food Dallon ordered.

The two are both on the couch, at least five feet away from each other, eating while the show plays. Ryan has been staying here for nearly two weeks now and Dallon doesn't mind it whatsoever. They sit and eat together every night. Dallon makes them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes they play a board game or a card game, or the other day when the remote died while they were scrolling through channels and they ended up making fun of some Spanish soap opera together. Yesterday, Ryan played Solitaire and Dallon sat behind him. He was so close and Ryan could hardly focus on something other than him, so needless to say, it hasn't been bad.

A commercial comes on and Ryan looks down, taking another bite of teriyaki chicken.

"How do you like it so far?" Dallon asks. Ryan looks up at him, frowning as he swallows.

"Of the food...?"

"Psych. Um, how do you like it?" He asks, so Ryan looks at the television, nodding.

"Yeah, I like it," Ryan says. "It's funny."

Dallon smiles and looks down, feeling proud of himself for the simple accomplishment of finding a show Ryan likes.

"Cool, I'm glad you like it," Dallon says. Ryan looks at him, suspicion rising inside of him. He frowns a bit, but just takes another bite. "Um... what..." Dallon hesitates, then shakes his head. "Nevermind."

"What?" Ryan asks. He's curious now, and he always gives in when it comes to curiosity.

"You don't have to answer this, but... what necessarily happened between you and Brendon?"

They are now both tense, Dallon swallowing nervously. Ryan doesn't look up from his food and remains silent. Dallon waits, then seems to realize. He's not gonna talk. He's not gonna answer it.

There's a long silence, both of them just eating. Ryan soon stops and picks at his food, then grabs the remote and pauses the show. Dallon looks up, then at him.

"Brendon and I dated for about two and a half years after having a fling with each other. It was going perfectly until last July, when... Jon let it slip that Brendon cheated on me. Everything ended on the spot. Spencer yelled at Jon, and then Jon and I decided that we couldn't do it anymore. We broke up, and I haven't talked to them since. Well, Jon obviously apologized, but he didn't really do anything wrong. He didn't tell me because he thought Brendon had already told me, so, I guess I wasn't really his fault."

Dallon watches and listens sadly, nodding along.

"I just... it hurt... so bad, and it's like Brendon doesn't even care how much it hurt me, like it's nothing. He has tried everything to talk to me, and if I'm honest, the last thing I want to do is talk to him," Ryan explains, looking up at Dallon. Dallon nods.

"I'm sorry," he says softly. "I didn't... I had no idea, I'm sorry I brought it up."

Ryan frowns, shuffling slightly.

"You didn't know?"

"No. The most I got out of it until now was that you hated Brendon, and that Jon hated Spencer."

"Jon doesn't hate him," Ryan tells him truthfully. "They... I think they were closer friends than me and Jon or maybe even me and Spencer, because when Spencer snapped at him... I've never seen him look so hurt. Even after the split, when someone mentioned Spencer, Jon looked more tense and upset than me. I always wanted to ask, but... I think it'd hurt him too much if I brought it up, you know? It's the equivalent to someone mentioning Brendon to me, except they weren't dating."

Dallon nods, understanding. Ryan smiles very slightly.

"Thanks for letting me talk about it. I haven't really... talked about this before."

"You can keep going," Dallon says kindly. "Only if you want to, of course. You know, I... I like... this is gonna sound really weird, but I really like hearing you talk. Your voice is like... coffee," Dallon says shyly. Ryan's face heats up and he chuckles lightly.

"Thanks. I like hearing yours too," Ryan tells him. Dallon blushes as well, smiling wide. "Anyway, it... I don't know, he was everything to me. He was the one to help me feel a bit comfortable liking men. I was always scared of it, being gay, and then... here comes pretty openly bisexual Brendon, making me fall for him. I kept it a secret. Hell, Jon and Spencer didn't find out until a month before we... broke up," Ryan says the last part quietly. "I swore to myself that I'll never fall in love with someone again. Plus, I bet you $100 no one seriously likes me that way."

"You owe me $100, then," Dallon says immediately. Ryan looks at him and frowns.

"Huh?"

Dallon tenses, then laughs nervously and shakes his head. "Um, nothing, I just... nothing, don't worry about it."

Ryan tenses, staring at him in shock, then realizes what he's doing. Brendon still likes him, huh? That's what's going on, Brendon still likes him and that's why Dallon is trying to act like he has no clue what's going on.

Ryan sighs and presses play on the remote, annoyance filling his chest and mind, wondering, "Who does Dallon think I am? An idiot?"

And with that, they continue to watch in silence.