Training Wheels; Ryden

+Eighth

Ryan went to Brendon's after school because he knew what was happening at home. He hadn't told Brendon yet. He didn't know if he was going to or not, it felt like if he did tell him it would be a plea for attention.

"Can you help me make my bed, Ry? My mom's gonna kill me if she gets home and sees this mess." Ryan nods.

"Okay, I'm gonna go get my pillow cases out of the laundry room, I already put on my comforter. Can you just put on that sheet-thingy?" Ryan nods again and Brendon walks out of his room.

Ryan took the thin sheet and tied to spread it out across the mattress nicely. But he fails and takes it off and tries again, and again, and again. He gives up and lets it rest across wrinkly. He stares at it for too long and his frustration from inside boils over. He takes his clenched fist and grabs the sheet off of the bed, shaking it around furiously. He knew that he might be overreacting at that moment, but he just felt like getting his anger out.

He throws the sheet onto the bed in a ball and drops to the ground with tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Ryan, what happened?" Brendon says when he walks through the doorway. He searches around the room to see the crying mess that Ryan was.

"I need to tell you something." Ryan spills.

"Anything." Brendon sits next to Ryan on the ground.

"My parents are splitting up." He admits. Brendon remembers Ryan telling him about a time when his father hurt his mom and immediately leans down to give Ryan a hug.

"It's gonna be okay. Don't worry." Brendon tried to comfort Ryan the best he could.

Ryan realized he had needed this. He needed comfort. 

After Ryan finally calmed down, they stared up at the ceiling mindlessly. Brendon was laying a few inches above Ryan.

"Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think of me?" Brendon asks hesitantly.

"You're my best friend. I'm glad I have you. I wouldn't have any friends if I never met you."

"Okay, good. Because it's the same with me."

"No, you could have totally made friends without me."

"Nope. I'd be too scared." They continue to look at the ceiling for a few silent seconds.

"You know, Ry?  I love you."

"Like how Ashley Frangipane loved me in the fourth grade?" Ryan says with a giggle.

"No, you dweeb." Brendon laughs and flicks the back of Ryan's head.

Brendon felt butterflies in his stomach as they continue to lay there on his bedroom floor, staring at the fan go around.

"I love you too, Brendon."