Curtain Call - An AJR Fic (Everything Clicks - Book 3)

Adventure Is Out There (Ryan)

I paused, then nodded and sighed as I sat down at the table, followed by the other two. "Things have been...pretty quiet here, honestly. Besides everything with the album."

"And how is that going?" Adam queried.

"It's going," Jack interjected flatly.

I scoffed. "It's...It's taking some time, but we're getting things done."

Adam shrugged. "That's something."

"It needs more zest, though," Jack noted.

Adam's brow furrowed. "Zest...?"

"Long story," I clarified, getting back up and dashing to the fridge. "You guys want anything to drink?"

I could feel Jack's smirk from across the room and behind my back. I already knew what he was going to say.

"What about that bottle of wine?" He asked.

I shook my head jokingly. "Wow, finally legal age and all of a sudden all you want is wine."

"I've been legal for a while!"

"...A year," Adam muttered.

"Ok, fine, a year."

"It's barely evening, Jack," I added.

"Does that really matter?" He scoffed.

I rolled my eyes as I got the bottle of wine out of the fridge. Jack grinned as he fell back into the couch. In the window, the sun was starting to set. The sky had vibrant shades of blue, orange, pink, and yellow all blended together. The lights of the city lit up the ground below. This was...nice. We had all been busy, with the previous album and tour, and now this one in the works. We hadn't had many times like this recently. Times to just...unwind. Not since...

Nope. Not even gonna acknowledge it.

I could feel my entire body tensing with the memory. I tried to shake it off as I brought the wine back to the living room.

"Hey, Ry?" Adam said quietly as I set the bottle down on the table.

"Yeah?"

He looked at me with concern. "...Are you...doing okay?"

"Uh...yeah," I lied slightly. "Why?"

"I don't know..." He squinted at me. "You just seem...off, all of a sudden."

I froze up for a second, unsure of how to respond in a way that wouldn't seem artificial. I looked Adam in the eye, then shook my head. "I'm fine. I promise."

"Okay...if you say so..."

Jack's gaze shifted uncomfortably between Adam and myself for a few moments before he silently reached for the bottle and filled his glass. I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

Jack watched me with worry. "Ryan...it's okay. You can tell us if something's-"

"Nothing's wrong." The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Jack's eyes widened. "...Okay..."

I could feel the tension in the room getting thicker and thicker. My stomach was knotting itself. I tried desperately to not let the memories repeat themselves in my mind. It had been so long. So long since I had thought about it again, even just in passing. And now it was all coming back at once. I took a breath.

"...It's just-"

Before I could even get any proper words out, Adam's phone vibrated on the end table next to him. He looked at it quickly, then set it back down. He sat quietly for a moment before doing a double-take and looking at his screen with what I can only describe as shock. He brought a hand to his forehead.

"H...Holy shit..."

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"Ry, I'm sorry to interrupt you," Adam gasped. "But...you're both going to want to hear this."

Jack and I exchanged nervous glances before looking at Adam. He took a deep breath.

"...It's...it's Project Luminance..." He gasped, "...they've been shut down..."

My heart skipped a beat. "What...What the fuck?"

Jack was frozen in his seat.

Adam's eyes widened as he began to read the news article aloud to us:

"Illegal Drug Testing Brought To Standstill: Sikes to face criminal charges.

General Lionel G. Sikes was arrested Tuesday evening regarding a ten-year-long, top-secret drug test dubbed Project Luminance. As of late, no specifics have been given regarding what the Project's goal was, malicious or benevolent. However, hundreds of research logs and documents are being recovered from the Project's old location and are currently being analyzed for crucial information. The vast majority of these documents were previously classified. More on this story as it develops..."

I couldn't believe it.

"Holy fuck..." Jack exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "All of the pain, the trauma, the...torture they caused for...hell, probably hundreds, if not thousands...it's all gonna stop now."

"Yeah..." Adam mumbled. "It's all done."

I sat silently, staring at the corner of the table. This news might be reassuring, but I still didn't trust The General. I didn't trust that he would never try to do anything hurtful to anyone ever again. I knew him. I knew the things he'd done. He was despicable.

"Ryan? Are you sure you're okay?" Jack asked.

I broke myself out of my trance and looked at him. I blinked a few times.

"...I need to know what's in those documents."

I flew to my feet and raced toward my bedroom. I could feel Adam and Jack chasing after me.

"Ryan!" Jack called after me. "Ryan?!"

I hesitantly stopped outside the bedroom door and saw both of my brothers looking at me with shock.

"What are you doing?!" Adam questioned.

I shook my head. "I have to know."

Adam sighed. "Ryan, the news will take care of that. We don't have to go marching over there ourselves and..." He paused, "...and risk everything again. It's been two years. We've been happy--"

"Have you been happy?"

Adam started to say something, but stopped himself before he could.

"Out of all of us, you know the news the best," I defended. "They only tell the truth if it's basic shit. 'Cat stuck in a tree', 'Old woman lost her glasses'. They never bother to make the real things accurate," I tried to hold back tears. "This? I don't know yet what's in those papers, but I know it's going to be gruesome, and depressing, and...vile...and the news isn't going to want to show it for what it is. We...we should--"

"Alright," Adam interrupted.

"Alright...what?"

Adam took a breath. "...We'll go to the damn warehouse. In the morning."

I sighed with relief as Adam ambled back to the living room. Jack stayed behind and made uneasy eye contact with me. He seemed stressed.

"Ry?" He mumbled.

"What's up?"

"I'm...I'm really nervous to go back there..." He was shaking.

"I know...so am I..."

Jack looked to the floor as he turned and made his way back to the couch. I stayed in the hallway for a few more moments to try and collect my thoughts. Then, I found my way back to the living room and rejoined them. It felt like the right decision.

After all, it could be our last night together.