Cameraman, Swing the Focus

Chapter 5

"Did you want to dance? Like with me?" Brendon asked, trying to smile in a seductive way.

The guy furrowed his brow. "I'm not really into dancing."

"That's fine. Can I buy you a drink?..." he trailed off and raised his eyebrows, hoping the guy would offer  up his name without having to be actually asked.

"Yeah, sure." Brendon deflated slightly, but followed close behind as he went towards the bar.

"I'm Brendon, by the way," he said in a way that was not the smoothest he'd ever managed. He wasn't sure why he felt so flustered around this guy with the strange scarf.

"Brendon," he repeated slowly, as if hearing how the phonemes sounded in his own mouth. "Ryan."

Brendon smiled and thanked his lucky stars that the bartender immediately offered them service so he wouldn't have to awkwardly flag him down. "What did you want?" he asked Ryan.

Ryan shrugged. "Whatever you're having."

Brendon's smile grew. "Two strawberry daiquiris, please."

Ryan laughed through his nose, and Brendon responded defensively, "They're delicious. People who tell you otherwise are insecure in their masculinity."

Ryan studied his face for a few seconds, seeming unsure of what to make of him. Brendon was used to this reaction to him, but he wasn't used to the way it made him feel when Ryan did it. He wanted to make him laugh again.

The bartender came back with the drinks, and Brendon tipped him an amount that he would later regret, muttering a, "Keep the change," and feeling like an ass.

They navigated away from the busy section around the bar, and found a back wall to lean against. The music was still echoing loudly, but there weren't as many voices to compete with.

Ryan swirled his straw through the drink and took a sip, smiling and nodding when Brendon looked at him expectantly. "Okay, it's delicious."

Brendon bit back an I told you so, and decided on something else to say. "So Ryan, what brings you here on this particular evening?" He sipped his drink, savouring the fruity flavour and crunching the blended ice between his teeth. It was so much better than beer. "No good poetry readings going on?"

Ryan scoffed. "Ugh, poetry. Some friends dragged me out here. It's actually-" he paused before seeming to decide he'd said too much to not continue, "my birthday."

Brendon's eyes lit up, but Ryan quickly continued. "I am not a birthday person. They're fine for other people, but I didn't want a party, or to be the centre of attention. I didn't realize that in denying them the ability to throw me a party, I'd be allowing them to drag me to a club and ditch me, though."

Brendon frowned and inched slightly closer to him. "That's so sad. No one should be abandoned on their birthday. I mean, no one should be abandoned ever, but even less so on the one day a year where they're to be celebrated and treated specially." He was genuinely upset with Ryan's friends for doing that to him, and Ryan seemed to notice he was getting emotional.

"Hey, no, it's whatever. I don't need to be celebrated."

Brendon glared down at his drink, feeling somehow betrayed by it being empty. "Next round's on me," Ryan offered with a smile.

"No way! I can't let you pay on your birthday!" Brendon placed an unnecessary hand on Ryan's chest, stopping him from moving, even though he hadn't tried yet. Ryan laughed, a little surprised, but didn't argue. Brendon realized his hand was still on Ryan because of the slight amount of warmth that was making its way through the layers of clothing into his palm. "What do you want?" he asked, blushing a little at the way his words could be interpreted, especially with how close they were still standing.

Ryan didn't seem to notice the innuendo. "Same again." Brendon nodded and dove into the crowd, hoping his blush wasn't as obvious as it felt like it was. He passed near the table where his friends still were, nodding at them as he passed but not stopping to talk. There was a girl with them he didn't recognize, and he hoped it was Nicole's hook up of choice, because she was gorgeous. He tried to wink at Nicole, but her gaze was glued on the woman and he couldn't catch her eye. 

He found Ryan in the same spot he left him, as if no time at all had passed. Ryan was people watching, a small, unreadable expression on his face. 

He handed Ryan the drink, and clinked his own against it. "To your birthday," he proposed as a toast.

"To friendly strangers," Ryan replied with a smile.

Brendon sipped his drink and fidgeted a little. "So, how many more of those do I have to buy you before you'll cave and dance with me?" He nudged Ryan playfully with his elbow.

"I'd have to get alcohol poisoning to even consider it." Ryan's voice was deadpan, but his lips curled a little with a smirk.
 
"Aww, come on," he whined. "Look at all the fun those people are having." He gestured at the dance floor. 

Ryan pulled the straw out of his drink just enough so that when he sucked on it, an obnoxious slurping sound was made. He stared pointedly at Brendon. "Not going to happen."

"What are you afraid of? Your friends left, so no one here even knows you." Brendon finished his drink and sat it down on the floor at their feet. He was feeling just the slightest bit buzzed, and buzzed Brendon liked to dance. "I'll lead. All you have to do is stand there and look adorable." 

Ryan snorted, looking at him carefully. He lifted one side of his mouth, just the slightest admittance that he was considering it. Brendon jumped on the opening, grabbing his hands and placing the drink on the floor next to his. His hips started moving of their own accord as he lead Ryan a few steps towards the other dancers. He kept them on the outskirts so it wasn't too overwhelming.

Ryan stood still. His hands that were still in Brendon's were the only part of his body that moved, and only because Brendon was making them. He stepped a little closer, sliding his hands to rest on Ryan's hips and gently guided them to the beat. Ryan blushed and ducked his head, allowing himself to be moved by Brendon. "See, you're not even that bad," Brendon fibbed.

Ryan bit his lip to hide the grin on his face. Brendon thought he was just about the most stunning man he'd ever met. He resisted the urge to tell him so. 

They danced for a few songs before Brendon eventually conceded that they could stop. Ryan even started to get into it by the end, bouncing along to the music, and shouting excitedly when he actually knew a song. It was the original versions he recognized more than the trap remixes that were being played, and his face screwed up in annoyance whenever a song switched up in a weird way and he was left mouthing the wrong lyrics. Brendon laughed at him and lost himself in the moment. 

By the time they were giving up on dancing, Ryan had a light flush on his cheeks, and he even unwound the decorative scarf from his neck to allow himself to breathe more easily. "I'm exhausted," Ryan announced, once they were leaning against the wall again and he could be heard.

Brendon laughed, having barely broken a sweat. He could have gone for a few more hours easily.
Brendon studied Ryan's face for a moment, trying to think of ways to extend their time together.

Choose your path:

To ask if you can go back to his house with him, go to chapter 11.
To ask if you can have his number, go to chapter 18.