Chapter Text
Shane has two days before the wedding and he isn’t even sure he wants to go. He slouches in his leather computer chair, fanning himself with the RSVP card he got 6 months ago and never took home. Opening and closing and re-reading the words on the card was supposed to help him make a decision, but the more he searched for hidden meaning in the flowery script, the less he found. Even his ex-girlfriend’s sweet, smiling face on the front, holding hands with her newest toy, seemed devoid of evil intention: an odd thing coming from Evelyn.
Shane wondered if Evelyn had finally found true love, and she just wanted Shane to see it and know that she was healing. Or maybe she just wanted to make sure Shane knew that she was chaining herself to one of Shane’s good friends in order to ruin him, in a final attention-grabbing desperate plea for Shane’s affection. That sounded more like her.
Shane clenched his jaw and fiddled with the cardstock, a sigh escaping his lungs as he pretended to look through Instagram for comments to feature on the next Postmortem. So many questions didn’t even make sense; they were just garbled youtube teenager banter that boiled down to “ur mom gay.” And on any other day he could easily indulge and even encourage the stupid, it was just that today was proving difficult. He checked the time to monitor how many hours he had left till his lunch break, lounging further in his chair and rocking it back and forth in a way that probably wasn’t intended by the manufacturer.
“Hey, big guy.”
Shane blinked and looked up from his hands as if he was awakening from a deep sleep. His eyes rested on Ryan, in a comfortable gray hoodie with purposefully-messy hair. Shane felt some type of way about that hairstyle, and made a note to tease him about it later. “Yeah, Ry?”
Ryan Bergara was in a mood to get things done, and Shane could tell just from his posture. “So, I’m planning on filming the postmortem after lunch. You wanna grab something to eat real quick? And we can like, talk about some of the points we want to hit in the video.” Ryan eyed the postcard in Shane’s hand, which Shane had still not set down.
“Yeah! Yeah, uh, sure! Lets grab some grub,” Shane smacked down the RSVP card and stood up, patting the back of his jeans for his wallet. “The usual spot?”
_________
The Wendy’s by their studio was a place that Shane and Ryan had shared so many moments together. It was there, over lunch, that Shane told Ryan he didn’t believe in ghosts. It was there that Ryan proposed a second season of Unsolved. And today, it was where Shane was eating a double cheeseburger.
“Oh, and also,” Ryan took a sip of his drink. “We might have money in the budget to get a better spirit box.” Shane seemed unaffected at first, so Ryan continued: “The one I’m looking at is actually really quiet, so— so you won’t have to hear the KSSH KSSCH KSSH KSSSH anymore when it switches channels.”
“Ah!” Shane’s eyebrows shot up, and he swallowed his burger excitedly. “How quiet is it? I am assuming— you know I’m kind of assuming it’s just silent, because, you know.” He took another bite, and continued talking anyway. ”Not real and all.”
Ryan steadied himself, closing his eyes and breathing out deeply, as he forces down a smile. “No, of course, it’s not silent it just doesn’t announce that it’s switching channels, it just, it just acts as a conduit and doesnt make sound unless it picks up on something.”
“Ryan, this sounds like someone is selling you a broken radio.”
“It is not—“ Ryan’s face was turning red, but he was smiling.
“Like just a, somebody’s speaker broke and they bought it for a lot of money so they were just like hmm, ah, how can I repackage this? Ghost hunters.”
Ryan laughed, a short one, but deep enough to make Shane feel a little proud. One of the joys of Shane’s life lately was making Ryan laugh, partly because it was easy to do and it boosted his ego. But the bigger reason was that every time Shane walked by Ryan’s desk these past few days, a purple tint was aggressively deepening under his eyes. He wasn’t sure if it was stress from the show or stress from his personal life stealing Ryan’s late nights, but he knew Ryan wasn’t feeling his best and Shane couldn’t have that.
“Look, okay, we don’t have to get the new box, I just thought since you whined so much about it hurting your sensitive ears...” Ryan grinned.
“Hey hey hey I do not whine and they are not s— I think that sound would hurt anybody’s ears, it’s a reasonable complaint!” Shane wasn’t all that phased by the jab, but he knew the more indignant he made it, the more Ryan would enjoy it. And he was right, Ryan’s laugh was smug and satisfied. “No, that’s great bud, go ahead and go nuts. It’ll probably be easier on the viewers ‘s ears too.”
Ryan dug at his baked potato and Shane munched on a burger, both intermittently scrolling on their phones. Shane found a couple good questions on instagram and screenshotted them. Ryan clearing his throat broke Shane’s train of thought. “Hey, what’s going on with that Save the Date card?” Shane briefly feigned ignorance, hoping Ryan would give up, but of course he wouldn’t. “I mean, if you’re not inviting me to your secret wedding, I’m a little offended.”
“It’s...” Shane sucked his teeth. “Complicated. So, um,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “My ex-girlfriend is getting married.”
“Oh. And she invited you?”
“Well. No. Her fiancé did. That’s how I found out she was marrying my old best friend.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. So, here’s the thing: I kind of still want to support him, but also, she—“ he leaned in close. “Well, okay, let’s just say she’s exactly the kind of person who would date an ex’s close friend, just to be petty, and just to get me back. And she knows I’ve been single. So if I go, I have no out for why I can’t immediately be with her and I have to awkwardly dodge her all night when she’s the bride. But if I don’t go, I’m being a dick to an old pal I really do care about.”
Ryan considered this. “So take a date. You’re allowed a plus one, right?”
“Yeah, I am, but all the wells are dry.”
“Look, dude, if it means that much to you, I’ll go with you. It’s this weekend, right?”
Shane’s breath halted. That hadn’t been what he was looking for, but he guessed any excuse to hang around with Ryan would be a good one. “It’s Saturday, but I got invited to the bachelor party Friday night, and it’s at— well, let me just drive you there, it’ll be easier that way, but it’s definitely going to be a couple hours. Like, three of ‘em at least. A good country mile out.”
Ryan didn’t even blink. “So we’re leaving straight from work tomorrow?” Something about the determination and matter-of-fact tone Ryan was taking endeared him to Shane. His eyes looked so sincere and delicate, framed by his long lashes. Making plans like this felt oddly intimate.
“We— this would require us pretending to be dating, though, in order to really work. Are you seriously okay with that? All weekend? I’m just saying, this is a pretty big undertaking, and I don’t expect—“
“Dude. I’m not giving you a kidney.” Ryan laughed. “I’m talking to people I’ve never met and will likely never see again. I love that! Also, I love weddings, and you know that— plus, oh, you’re telling me there’s gonna be a bachelor party too? Dude, this is really going to be a fun time. Don’t even worry about it. I’ll see you tomorrow, man. I’ll be packed and everything. Text me what the weather will be like.” Ryan slung his backpack over his shoulder and gathered his trash.
Shane waved, shoved some fries in his mouth, and pulled out his phone but did not look at anything on the screen. He should have known Ryan would love any excuse to go to a wedding, because Shane had memorized every inch of that man over the course of their friendship. Shane knew when Ryan worked out too hard the night before, when he was itching to leave an awkward conversation, and when he was dating someone new. He hadn’t meant to create the Library of Ryan in his brain but he couldn’t help noticing all the small things about him, like that he wore that same gray hoodie three times this week but spaced out the days hoping no one would notice. A smirk crept over Shane’s face just thinking about it. He didn’t get why Ryan would even try to hide something like that, not just because it’s silly, but also because that hoodie looked so good on him. It was just loose enough that it showed his collarbones, and Shane always thought about how— er, well. Shane always thought about staying in his lane and being best friends, that’s all. It’s not that weird to think about kissing the collarbone of one of your best guy friends, because that’s just what everyone thinks of when they see an exposed collarbone, right?.. Right? Besides, that would be sort of.... and Shane was..
Well? Shane hasn’t been sure lately. He recalled a few instances in childhood where he had a sort of unhealthy attachment to He-Man. And the black power ranger. And Steve from first grade. Did crushes on boys feel different from crushes on girls? Crushes on girls felt so fluttery and soft and clumsy and this felt more like ... well, hm, now that he thought of it, a lot of the same.
Shane sighed and closed some apps on his phone, not wanting to think about this anymore, then headed out the door.