Pyre (Frerard, Rikey, Ryden, Petekey)

18: I Can't Think Of A Chapter Title But Adorable Frerard Stuff Happens

Ryan was bored, and slightly anxious, but most of all - he was alone, and even though Brendon had only left about an hour ago, Ryan missed him already, and he was tired of pacing their home while trying to find something to keep him occupied.

Ryan had wanted to go search for Mikey's brother with his mate, especially if it meant he'd have a chance of getting out of the coven once again, but Brendon had asked him to stay behind and keep an eye on Pete, and even though Ryan had agreed since someone did need to look after their friend, he was seriously regretting that decision right now.

Because Pete hadn't come over yet - honestly, he was probably still asleep, which left Ryan with absolutely nothing to do to pass the time, and each minute was dragging out into an hour in Ryan's mind.

Something just felt off, or wrong, and even though Ryan couldn't put a finger on what that was, he couldn't relax. He didn't think it had anything to do with Brendon, at least, he didn't sense any strange emotions coming through their bond, but that didn't stop Ryan from worrying.

It wasn't often that Brendon and Ryan were apart anymore, and even though Brendon hadn't gone far, just to the areas surrounding the coven, Ryan didn't like not knowing exactly where he was, especially when he was feeling this anxious, and he craved Brendon's arms around him, he needed his mate to tell him that everything was okay.

And in all reality, it was probably just Ryan's constant desire to be out in the world, and his separation from his mate that was making him so uneasy, so he tried not to dwell on the feeling, but every time Ryan attempted to sit down, he was on his feet again in seconds, the nervous energy radiating throughout his body refusing to let him sit still.

Finally, Ryan decided to go check up on Pete, just to make sure he really was still asleep, and that he was okay, even though he really wasn't. No one would be after finding out that their mate would never love them back, but hopefully Pete had managed to sleep off some of his sorrow.

As Ryan left his home and turned his feet towards Pete's, he mulled over Pete's situation in his head. Brendon seemed confident that Pete could bounce back from this, but Ryan wasn't so sure, he just hadn't wanted to say anything to make his mate even more upset than he already was.

And the more Ryan thought about it, the more worried about Pete he became, because if Ryan was placed in Pete's shoes, he knew he wouldn't be able to move on from this. As soon as Ryan had met Brendon's gaze, he had become his entire world, and having that ripped out from under his feet would have killed him, at least mentally.

But Pete was different, and Ryan wasn't sure how much of this he actually understood, and if he even truly realized what being mated meant. Pete wasn't stupid, but he wasn't entirely there either, and his childlike outlook on the world may have been protecting him from the worst of the pain Ryan was sure he was going through.

Because yes, Pete had been upset last night when he had learned that Mikey was mated, but he hadn't seemed totally destroyed, and even though he had cried, it hadn't lasted nearly as long as Ryan expected, which gave him hope that maybe Pete could recover eventually after all.

But when Ryan reached Pete's house, his hand pushing open the door that Pete almost always kept unlocked, his previous buoyant attitude disappeared like a wisp of smoke when he caught sight of the state of Pete's living room.

The place was in shambles; every lamp and mirror was shattered, and the carpet was covered in a layer of broken glasses like deadly snow dusting the ground. Some of the windows were cracked as well, and from what Ryan could see of the kitchen, many of his dishes had suffered the same fate.

Pete lay fast asleep on the couch, slumbering peacefully in the center of chaos, and even though Ryan's first instinct was to wake him and ask him what the hell had happened, he refrained from doing that just yet, because the answer to his question seemed pretty obvious.