Ryan was trying very hard to suppress the unwarranted giggles that were trying to force their way up his throat. He didn't feel drunk, at least not in the way that he'd expected he would. He had finished one mug of coke and whiskey that, admittedly, had been stronger than he would have preferred, but Jon had mixed the first round of drinks before the other three had learned their lesson. The plan had been for Spencer to mix them, making Jon's stronger than theirs to make their goal easier, but Jon had insisted. Cut to Ryan standing up to change the music that was playing and finding the room a little spinny. He braced himself on his desk and allowed the feeling to pass.
He didn't feel too strange, apart from the lightheadedness while standing, and the fact that his thoughts seemed to be a little louder. They were harder to ignore. While sober, he might have had the fleeting thought that Brendon's lips looked soft, and then he would push it away and think about something else. While tipsy, it seemed that singular thought took over, and it was all he could think about. His mind had one track, and the only destination that track lead to was how badly he wanted to kiss Brendon.
He made it to the speaker, skipping the catchy yet annoying song from their youth that had come up on Jon's playlist. The next song was much better, and Ryan settled back into his spot on the carpet, maybe allowing his knee to touch Brendon's just the slightest bit. They had all thrown their cards in the middle of their circle, seemingly over the game of poker that Jon had been winning.
"Okay, we're playing truth or dare." Spencer announced smugly. That had not been a part of the plan, and Ryan inhaled some of the drink he'd been sipping and started coughing violently. His throat burned and his eyes watered as he tried to get the liquid out of his lungs. "Easy there, buddy." Spencer thumped him on the back in a way he thought was helpful. He glared silently at Spencer before glancing around to check the reactions of the others. Jon seemed more than willing to play. Brendon was less keen but shrugged in acceptance.
"I'll start." Jon said before anyone could beat him to it. "Spencer, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
Jon seemed a little disappointed for a split second before he smiled once more. "How old were you when you lost your virginity?"
Spencer didn't hesitate. "Seventeen." Jon looked like he wanted more information, but didn't press it. "Ryan, truth or dare?" Spencer asked.
"Oh my god, we're seriously doing this?" No one responded, and he sighed heavily. "Truth, I guess."
Spencer pretended to think about what he wanted to ask, although it was too overacted to seem genuine. Ryan was reminded of Spencer's Never Have I Ever claim, and was suddenly even more nervous. "Do you currently have a crush on anyone?" Spencer tilted his head and batted his eyelashes innocently. Ryan flushed deeply, feeling all the heat rush to his face as he decidedly avoided looking at anyone other than his roommate. Ryan apparently didn't answer quickly enough for his liking, and he prompted Ryan again. "Welllllll?" He singsonged.
"I don't know if crush is the right word." Ryan said hesitantly.
"Well, let's see," Jon chimed in, "Do you think about him when he's not around? Do you fantasize about kissing him? Do you wake up from dreams about him with a boner?"
Ryan squinted at Jon and took a large gulp of his drink, making a face at the bad taste the whiskey had.
"Yep." Jon nodded sagely. "Our boy's got a crush." Spencer hid a giggle behind his hand. A giggle. That made everyone other than Ryan laugh. "Who is it?"
Ryan scoffed. As if he was going to answer a second question. "Brendon?" He asked before realizing that sounded like he was answering the question after all. "Truth or dare?" He quickly added, noting the slight raise to Brendon's eyebrows.
"Oh, dare." Brendon responded after a moment.
Ryan racked his brain for a dare that wouldn't be too boring, but also wasn't so horrible it would make anyone uncomfortable. His brain was yelling fr him to dare Brendon to kiss him. Maybe dare him to kiss everyone to cover your tracks. Yeah, that's clever.
"Ummmm." Ryan stalled. Brendon looked utterly at ease, not a worry on his mind about what Ryan would say. He'd do the dare regardless. "I dare you to ding dong ditch someone on the floor. Or, well, we don't have doorbells. So knock and run back, I guess."
Brendon laughed, standing up and making for the door. Jon reached out a hand to him as he left. "Look both ways before you leave the safety of the room!" He called. Spencer and Ryan locked eyes. The alcohol definitely wasn't making Jon forget about the game.
Brendon flashed a thumbs up over his head as he left the room, shoving a shoe in the door to keep it from closing behind him. After a few seconds, they could hear loud knocking from down the hall, and then Brendon's loud footsteps as he sprinted back to the room and slammed the door shut. They all smothered their laughter as they listened for the noise of the door being answered, and the faint sound of Patrick calling out, "Did someone want a hug?" They cracked, collapsing to the floor clutching their abdomens, and crying with laughter.
"Oh my god." Spencer forced out between gasps. "That was amazing." He wiped a single tear from his eye.
"Alright, Jon. Truth or dare?" Brendon asked as he sat back down in the circle.
"I guess dare. It's no fun if people keep choosing truth." He looked at Spencer as he said this.
"I think truths are fun." Ryan muttered quietly. No one looked at him, but Brendon patted his knee reassuringly, his hand remaining longer than was necessary.
"Okay Jon, I dare you to tell Spencer the most vivid sex dream you've ever had, but I want you to whisper it into his ear. Preferably all breathy and phone sex-y." Ryan's jaw dropped open. He had not expected this game to escalate so quickly.
Jon's face looked wicked as he slowly grinned, crooking a finger to get Spencer to come closer to him. Spencer looked like he didn't know how to feel about the situation as he shifted his weight and leaned most of the way toward Jon, his face turned to stare at Ryan and Brendon. Jon cupped a hand around Spencer's ear and began telling the story as Spencer's expression immediately took on a look of shock and slight disgust. He gasped, pulling back to survey Jon and see if he was being serious. Jon licked his lips and pulled Spencer back to him with a hand around the back of his neck, holding him in place as he resumed whispering. Spencer squirmed a little, as if his pants were suddenly less comfortable than they'd been a minute ago.
Ryan had momentarily forgotten that Brendon's hand was still on his knee, until he felt it give a slight squeeze. He looked at Brendon who winked at him as they looked back at the other two.
Spencer gasped again and sat back. He seemed to be in shock. Jon smugly took a sip of his drink, making a show of slurping it loudly. Spencer smacked Jon's arm. "You are so fucked up." He said, although his voice was suddenly rough and shaky.
"Alright, Ryan, truth or dare?" Jon asked. His eyes lifted from where Brendon's hand was still touching his knee to Ryan's face. The look of mischief in his eyes made Ryan's stomach twist in knots.
"Dare?" He answered questioningly, already feeling like it was the wrong choice.
"I dare you to kiss Brendon." Jon immediately blurted out. Spencer snorted.
"Uhhhh." Ryan tried desperately to think of an excuse to get out of this. Everything in his brain was running in circles and screaming. He managed to make himself look at Brendon and was surprised with what he saw.
Brendon was smiling and looking at him expectantly. Like he was waiting for Ryan to kiss him. Like he wasn't trying to think up ways to avoid it. Ryan took a deep breath and blinked a few times, trying to gauge both how drunk he was and if there was a chance this was a dream he was about to wake from. When he reopened his eyes and Brendon was still there, although slightly closer, he figured he had to go for it.
Ryan placed his own hand on top of Brendon's and leaned in slightly to meet him. They hesitated an inch apart, and he could feel the light puff of Brendon's exhale on his skin before a hand was gripping the back of his head and their lips were connected. He snapped his eyes shut shortly after, the alcohol and shock making his reaction time slow. Brendon's hand loosened its grip on his head as his fingers twined in the hair at the base of his skull.
Ryan exhaled shakily and leaned into the kiss, his other hand moving to rest on Brendon's hip. His brain seemed to shut off as he went into auto pilot, his mouth moving of its own accord as he focused on the small sounds Brendon was making and the way his fingertips were tracing circles on Ryan's neck. Ryan felt as if he was having a first kiss all over again, there were butterflies in his stomach as he tentatively parted his lips and darted his tongue out to run over Brendon's lower lip. He was terrified to push it too far and have the other guy recoil in horror, but he also wanted to make the most of what might be the only chance he'd get to kiss him.
If Ryan had been sober, he might have thought about the people that were watching this happen. Instead, every thought in his mind was dedicated to memorizing the way Brendon tilted his head, alternating between leading the kiss and following Ryan's lead. His lips were as soft as they had looked, and when Brendon opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, Ryan took the opportunity to pull Brendon's lip between his teeth and graze it gently. Brendon let out a sudden whimper that seemed to catch even him by surprise.
When they pulled back and Ryan reopened his eyes, he was unable to look away from Brendon's. They stayed unmoving, hands still on each other, not blinking for multiple seconds, before Jon cleared his throat pointedly. "You're welcome." Jon smirked.