Emo Trinity x Reader (Book 2)

Ryan Ross x Reader - Never Walk Away Again

That conversation had been the first (and last) time you had fought, the first time you had raised your voice at him. Ryan had tried calming you down, had tried assuring you he was telling the truth, but instead of listening you had turned around, and stormed down the small path you had come up, back towards the parking lot.

Ryan had given you a head start, having hoped by the time you had reached the gates to the park you might have calmed down, but when he had reached the exit himself you were nowhere in sight, and the car with which you had driven both of you here was gone, so Ryan had taken the bus home.

He had not seen you since, had not talked to you.

How many times had he dialled your number but never pressed call? He was scared of calling. Were you still mad at him? What if you had blocked his number? He was certain he could not take that rejection, so he had never dared contacting you. For your birthday he had bought a tiny key chain plushie of your favourite animal, but he had not known your address. He had gone back to your flat, but your name was gone from the door bells, John's too. He had ended up squeezing the plushie into a small compartment in his guitar case, and left it there, always carrying it with him. A constant reminder of having lost you.

But now you were here, watching him play a song he had written about an evening he had spent with you. The song was as melancholic as it was hopeful. He could almost smell the salt of the sea, and feel the waves licking at his feet whenever he sung it, recalling the evening the two of you had spent wandering along the beach, collecting pretty sea shells, sand sticking to your hands where you picked up the shells, and feet, there you were dragging your toes through the soft ground.

He had almost worried a little, when he had played the song for you the first time. It was too much of a love song to not cause him to worry. Why would he write something that could easily be understood as a declaration of love for his best friend? If you had asked him, he might have taken a leap of faith, and answered truthfully, but instead you had smiled, told him how much you loved it, that it might well be a song you would have listened to that evening, as the sun had sparkled red and golden on the waves.

Now the song floated through the room, the audience singing and dancing along. Ryan saw friends twirl one another around, and he could not help but think that if he had been in the audience with you, hearing this song being played, he might have done the same with you. His eyes flickered back to where he had seen you. You were still leaning against the wall, head tilted slightly, a soft expression on your face. He quickly looked away again, his heart racing in his chest.

~*~

When he went out to meet the fans who had been staying behind after the show, he could not spot you anywhere, making his heart sink, thinking maybe seeing you had just been wishful thinking, or that you had left intentionally, not wanting to talk to him.

He took pictures with the fans, pushing the thought of you out of his mind, signed posters, CDs and vinyls, chatted with everyone who wanted to talk to him. And when he finally made his way backstage again after having waved good bye to the last fans, a bunch of girls who had surprised him with the story of how his music had brought them together as a group, he found all of his band members had left already.

Tiredly he rubbed his eyes, feeling the disappointment of not having gotten to talk to you settle heavily in his stomach. He shuffled over to his guitar case, which the others had left behind. They knew he prefered taking care of his instrument himself. He clicked open the lid, checking the guitar was inside. The key chain plushie he had bought looked up at him reproachfully as it always did, with its little, black stich-on eyes.

"Hey."

The sound of a soft voice almost made him jump out of his skin, the recognition of the voice raising his heartbeat almost painfully.