It'll be fun, they said. But now he's sitting here rubbing his wrist and trying to hold back tears. "I'm really sorry, man." Jon apologized. "But Spence and I have got to go. My mom's here."
Ryan just shrugged. It wasn't actually their fault that he's an awful bowler.
"Look, Ry," Brendon bounced back over happily. "They had popcorn." Ryan winced because his immediate reaction was to reach for it but that just resulted in more pain. A tear escaped but Brendon didn't notice because he was too focused on the fly that landed on the nearby bowling ball. It twitched and then crawled into one of the holes you put your fingers in.
He smiled and exhaled through his nose, not fully emitting a laugh. "You think if your wrist is feeling better later you might wanna come over and play video games?" Brendon asked. He popped another piece of popcorn in his mouth and looked up. Oh. Ryan's crying.
"Hey, c'mere. I'm sorry. Was the popcorn not good?" Brendon frantically asked and wrapped one arm around Ryan's shoulder. He didn't know what else to do but he recalled his mother soothing him this way when he got upset as a child.
"Ahem." A middle aged woman coughed and Brendon squinted up at her slightly letting his upper lip raise lightly and his teeth were only barely showing. Ryan just buried his face further in the crook of Brendon's neck.
He guessed she had some right to be annoyed because they were sitting on the stairs and blocking the way down to the lanes but couldn't she see the clearly upset and hurt boy there too?
"Let's just go outside and wait for our parents," Brendon motioned Ryan up. He held the door for Ryan to walk out then bowed like a gentleman. He laughed and wiped a tear off of his cheek. "Let's sit here." Ryan just nodded and tapped his foot anxiously.
"My mom is a nurse," Brendon blurted out. "you should let her look at it when she gets here."
He pouted and shook his head. "No it's okay." He mumbled and Brendon scooted closer.
"Hey Ry," Ryan ignored him and kept his head tilted down. Brendon just shrugged and bent down tilting his head until it was under Ryan's. He laughed and lifted his head up to Brendon's pleasure.
"Hey," he took his thumb and wiped a tear from Ryan's cheek then wiped it on his jeans. Finally Ryan made eye contact and Brendon moved forward. Quickly he pressed his lips to Ryan's. He tensed up and nearly forgot to close his eyes before sinking into the other boys soft oversized lips.
He pulled back in awe. "What was that for?"
"I thought it would cheer you up." Brendon smiled and so did Ryan but this time it was genuine. "Look," he pointed to the tear that was rolling down his cheek. "I'm still upset." He cupped Ryan's face and crashed their lips again.
A few minutes later Brendon's mom honked the horn and interrupted their slight make out session. They mumbled faint goodbyes and Brendon got into the car. "Was that Ryan?" She elbowed his side and giggled. He blushed and turned his head down. His mothers jaw dropped in a half smile.
"I always liked him." She put the car into gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
"Yeah," Brendon smiles after nearly five minuets of silence. "So did I."