Temptation and Reason

Chapter 2

"You need this one," Ryan insisted as he sat on the floor with Brendon next to him.

"No, this one's better. Trust me," Brendon said, pulling at Pete's pant leg.

"Do you really wanna side with him? Remember what happened last time?" 

"Excuse me, Pete enjoyed himself when he picked mine last time." Pete groaned inwardly as he looked through the glass over the pair's shoulders. 

"Guys, they're just muffins," Pete whispered, not wanting the cashier to hear him. He learned the hard way that he was the only one who could hear and see the two winged men-children. 

"Yeah, but mine's better."

"Not true! Chocolate chip is way better than apple cinnamon," Brendon says defensively. Pete rolled his eyes and faced the cashier.

"Can I have a blueberry muffin with a black coffee please?" She nodded, bagged up a muffin and poured a cup while Pete paid. He nodded in thanks and turned to sit at one of the empty tables along the window. He watched Brendon and Ryan sit across from him with pouts on their faces. 

"Sometimes it feels like you just ignore us," Brendon huffed. Pete took a bite out of his muffin and stared out the window. A smirk played his lips as he stayed quiet. "How rude! I don't even know why we even bother with him," Brendon said to Ryan.  

"I don't know why either," Pete said, giving his full attention to the two. "You guys have been following me around for months and all you've done is stop me from having a few too many drunken nights." Pete looked at Ryan. "And land me a few extra hookups." He turned to Brendon who smiled proudly. 

"Hey, Ryan helped you get promoted. That's something." Pete rolled his eyes and stared back out the window. 

"How much longer are you two gonna be in my life because I'm getting real sick and tired of you." Brendon slammed his hand on the table.  

"Do you really think we wanna be here either? You're no walk in the park either. You're a real pain in the ass." Pete sighed and waited for Brendon to get over his little tantrum. It didn't take long to realize that he had some anger issues. He tuned out Brendon's complaining until one thing caught his attention.

"We put everything on the line for this and you can't even, OW!" Ryan kicked Brendon under the table, effectively shutting him up. Pete looked between the two. 

"On the line? What the hell are you talking about?" Ryan shook his head at Brendon which only led to Pete getting frustrated. "What are you hiding from me?" 

"I told you before," Ryan said. "It's.."

"Complicated," Pete said with Ryan. "I know. I know it's complicated. That's your answer for everything. I'm just trying to figure out how to get you out of my life." Ryan gave him a guilty smile and shrugged. 

"I'm sorry." Pete scoffed in annoyance and finished off his muffin. From the corner of his eye, he saw Brendon pulling Ryan into his arms, murmuring something into Ryan's ear. Pete didn't realize how tense Ryan was until he saw how Brendon's words helped him relax. 

A part of him was jealous of their relationship no matter how "complicated" it was. He noticed when Ryan panicked at seemingly random moments, Brendon was always there to calm him down. Ryan would do the same thing to Brendon whenever he got to heated over anything. They balanced each other out so perfectly. It was like they were made to love each other rather than hate like they were taught to. 

Pete could see the strain in their relationship though. They would get into quiet arguments, but stop whenever Pete came into the room. Once Pete caught Brendon telling Ryan how they still had more time for something, but didn't hear anything else from the conversation. The nights Ryan panics, Brendon would hold him a little tighter, protecting him from something Pete couldn't see coming.