The drive was mostly filled with awkward silence. Brendon stared out the window and Ryan would glance at him in concern. The first actually speaking that happened was when Brendon walked through the front door.
"Brendon, how are you? Ryan wouldn't shut up about you after yesterday's game. You feeling alright?" Brendon couldn't help to crack a smile as George's lack of regard for his son comfort.
"Dad," Ryan whined. The man only chuckled and plopped onto the couch, propping up his casted leg.
"I'm doing okay, Mr," he cut off when the man rose an eyebrow at him. "George," he corrected. "Your leg feeling better?"
"Itching like a bitch but not too much trouble. I'll probably have Ryan bring a fork and help me scratch it," George joked. Ryan grimaced and wrapped an arm around Brendon's waist.
"Alright, I'm just gonna take my guest to my room now. Bye." Brendon was quickly escorted down the hall. He heard George laughing in the living room before Ryan shut his door. "Sorry about him."
"Why? Your dad's awesome." Ryan threw his bags on the floor and sat at the edge of his bed. Dottie was sleeping at the foot of the bed, oblivious of the people in the room.
"He enjoys embarrassing me." Brendon hesitantly sat at the corner of the bed, the furthest he could from Ryan. Brendon smiled and looked down at his hands. His mind went to the last time he was in the room, Ryan cuddling with him, the hoodie he stole the next morning. When he came over yesterday, he didn't get passed the living room.
"Why are you sitting all the way over there?" Ryan asked. Brendon turned to him and saw Ryan frowning. He turned attention to the dog instead, finding the girl easier to watch. "Can you please tell me what's wrong?"
"Noth–"
"Stop lying. Brendon, you won't even look at me anymore. You're barely speaking. I just wanna know what I did so I can try to fix it." Brendon reached out and stroked the dog. "Brendon?" He really wanted his mind to quit it with all the comments he'd be overhearing about him and Ryan. "Brendon."
"How many people have you been with?" Brendon heard himself say. His hand stilled on the dog. His free hand clasped over his mouth to stop any more words from coming out.
"What do you mean?" Brendon bit his tongue. He couldn't believe what he just said. "Like... like how many people I've slept with?" Brendon shut his eyes and gave a nod. The room was suddenly sauna hot, he wanted to leave.
"Oh I, eh," Ryan let out nervously. He scratched the back of his neck and intently followed on the sewed lines on his bed sheets.
"You don't have to answer. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry." Ryan glanced up at Brendon who looked like he was being murdered by his own thoughts.
"Like twelve or thirteen. Maybe more?" Brendon felt a lump in his throat grow. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting but it was definitely way more experience than him. An image of Keltie popped up in his mind. From what people were saying, she was the closest Ryan's ever gotten to an actual relationship. "I know this will sound bad, but it didn't mean anything. They were just hookups."
"What about Keltie?" Brendon braved a look at Ryan, seeing a grimace at the mention of the name.
"Keltie? Keltie's a fucking a slut. I know I have my own reputation but she's a filthy skank," Ryan spat out. Brendon's body leaned away, nearly causing him to almost fall off the bed. Ryan relaxed when he saw how anxious Brendon looked. "Sorry, it's just," he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "I was gonna ask her to be my girlfriend but I found out she was still sleeping around. We weren't exclusive, so I can't be mad but I thought she would've stopped for me like I did for her."
