Ryden Oneshots

Years Before Important

Eight Years Young

The first time they see him, he’s grinning brightly up at a slightly larger kid, who does not look amused, and who has another kid behind him glaring as well. The little guy doesn’t seem to be smiling like an idiot to purposely piss Unamused Guy off, he just seems to be...happy, and maybe a little stupid. Ryan stares silently and Spencer frowns and stops pushing Ryan on the swings.

"Don’t you ever shut up?"

The smaller kid, with black hair curling a little around his ears and a purple hoodie about four sizes too big, tilts his head to the side, looking a little confused, then brightens and says, "Not really! I think talking is pretty fun!"

The bigger guy’s friend snorts, and Unamused Guy mimics the kid’s jubilant response. "Well I think you’re pretty annoying!"

The kid’s smile slips a bit. "Um."

"Um," the big guy parrots again, smirking at the small kid. "Oh – I’m sorry; do you want your mommy?"

"I –" the kid’s lower lip is beginning to tremble, and Ryan feels Spencer shift a little behind him, feels him start to walk over before he even sees him.

"Are you gonna cry? Is the poor baby gonna cry?" the bigger kid taunts, and Ryan knows enough to think, even at his young age, that this guy is probably taking too much bullying advice from PG-rated movies.

Ryan’s still sitting on the swings, watching Spencer walk slowly over, but as soon as the kid being messed with bites his bottom lip and scrunches up his forehead and Ryan’s forced to think, he’s actually going to cry, he’s up and jogging after his best friend.

Spencer still gets there first, stands about an inch in front of the tiny kid and crosses his arms, smiling a little dangerously. "Problem?" he asks, raising that same eyebrow that first made Ryan want to be his friend, in a situation almost exactly like this one, two years ago. Ryan reaches them and stands on the kid’s other side, looking a little bit like this is a huge bother for him, but still annoyed enough to be willing to fight.

The two boys are still bigger than all three of them, but Spencer’s pretty strong for a seven-year-old, and they seem to be unwilling to fight if there’s a chance of them losing. Cowards, Ryan thinks spitefully. Always picking on the little guy. He remembers being the little guy, before there was Spencer.

After the two larger boys roll their eyes like they’re still big men and turn around and walk away, the kid throws himself into Spencer, wraps his arms around his neck like that monkey Spencer won Ryan at a carnival last year, and just breathes deep for a few seconds, muttering thank you over and over again.

When he pulls away shyly, the kid has turned a little pink, but he wraps himself around Ryan too. Ryan surprises himself by not flinching away, and when the kid lets go he has the left corner of his mouth quirked up.

"Hi! I’m Brendon!" Ryan looks from the kid, Brendon, to Spencer, sees the way Spencer’s looking at the tiny kid, made even smaller by the huge hoodie, and remembers the way Spencer looked at him after saving him two years ago. He sighs, because he knows that they’re stuck with this kid, now. Brendon.

--

Nine Years Young

Ryan sits attentively in art class, as usual. Brendon squirms restlessly next to him, scribbling something that looks like half-duck, and half-bicycle on his paper. The teacher drones on, as usual. The only thing that’s not usual is that Spencer isn’t on Ryan’s other side today. Ryan figures he must be sick. Maybe he’ll go visit him, in the afternoon.