Indifference or Disinterest

Chapter VII

"Well, uh, I'm going to walk Jon back to his room now." Spencer declared, getting up from his spot on the floor. "You two uh, take as much time as you need." He slowly backed up until he ran into the door, fumbling blindly behind himself to get it open without taking his eyes off of Brendon and Ryan. Once he got it open wide enough, he dashed into the hall, not waiting to see if Jon would follow. 

Ryan stared meaningfully at Jon until he got the hint and followed Spencer out of the room. Ryan waited a beat, feeling the awkward silence with Brendon stretch on, before he allowed the grin to break out on his face. Brendon arched an eyebrow questioningly.

Ryan jumped to his feet and ran to the door, trying to open it as silently as possible. He stuck his head out just enough to see Jon's back as he stood talking to Spencer a little ways down the hall.

Brendon came up behind him. "Umm, what-" Ryan whipped around, covering Brendon's mouth with one hand while the other held the door open.

"Shhh. Just watch." He whispered. He peered back out into the hallway and Brendon pressed against his back so he could see too. Spencer noticed them over Jon's shoulder and the corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to keep a straight face. 

Brendon's mouth pressed to Ryan's ear as he tried to whisper as quietly as possible. "What are we watching?" Ryan shook his head and didn't reply. His heart rate hadn't lowered since their kiss, and Brendon being so close to him right now was making it hard to focus on anything else.

Spencer suddenly laughed loudly at something Jon had said and gave his shoulder a shove, his hand lingering on Jon's arm. He actually appeared to be quite good at flirting. They each took a step closer to the other in unison. Spencer's hand slid up Jon's arm to his neck as their heads tilted and their lips met.

Brendon made a soft noise in Ryan's ear. They watched as Spencer's other hand moved to Jon's lower back, simultaneously pulling his body closer and attaching the clothes pin with his name on it to Jon's shirt. Spencer pulled back and smiled softly at Jon before walking past him back to his room. 

Brendon had to take a few hasty steps backward and slap a hand over his mouth to stop his laughter from coming out. Ryan grinned at him as they heard the distant sound of Jon screeching in anger.

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A couple of days later it was Friday night, and Spencer, Ryan, and Brendon had all lost the game. After the legendary defeat of Jon that had been told and retold around the floor, most people lost interest in "Pushing Daisies" as Patrick still insisted they call it, and the guy named Pete had won. He was small and sneaky, so Ryan figured it made sense. Pete had decided they would go to an arcade for their outing, which was to be on Saturday, and Ryan was sort of looking forward to it. It seemed like a cool place that had live music and a mix of retro and new games. 

Ryan hadn't seen Brendon since the night before last when they'd played truth or dare, and he had analyzed that entire encounter enough times for it to be embarrassing. He wasn't a bad kisser, if anyone he'd ever slept with was to be believed, so of course Brendon had smiled. It had been a pleasant experience; that didn't mean Brendon liked him or wanted to date him. He was getting real sick of waking out of sex dreams, practically humping a pillow he'd shoved between his legs, to see Spencer smirking at him.

Spencer and Jon had gone out somewhere, and he'd been alone in the room for a few hours. The sun had long since set, and his mind was going a million miles per minute, harassing him with all the thoughts he didn't want to be thinking. He slammed his laptop shut and slid it into his hiding place, grabbing his keys and a lighter as he left. 

Ryan's feet flew over the stairs as he descended the flour flights at top speed, bursting out the door at the bottom of the stairwell and feeling the night air on his skin. He paused to take a few deep breaths before choosing a direction at random to walk in.