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The library was silent and practically empty when Brendon realised he’d been there longer than planned. He could see that it was dark outside but it was December so that wasn’t much help as to the time. So, he reached into his bag and found his phone, which told him that it was 7pm. Only one hour until shutting time.
It was a Friday and Brendon had been studying non stop for the past week because his school felt that it was appropriate to torture students right up until Christmas and throw a few tests at them last minute. Now, Brendon was never the type to spend all his free time studying away but this time was different because he’d struck a deal with his parents. If he studied hard and aced these tests then he didn’t have to go to church during the Christmas holidays, which was better than any present Brendon could receive that year. So now it was the last Friday before these tests and Brendon figured he’d better use the last hour to finish up the current section he was revising.
However, the minute Brendon put his phone away and looked up once more, that plan went out the window. He hadn’t noticed before but sitting at the other end of the table, which he’d been occupying all evening, was a guy who was roughly Brendon’s age and oh boy was he attractive. The stranger was skinny and had short wavy brown hair and eyes to match. He was dressed in a floral shirt, a black waist coat that was left unbuttoned, a scarf and had a bandanna wrapped around his forehead but was mostly hidden under his hair. The young man was currently reading a book that looked far too complex or long for Brendon to read because he had the worst attention span and so didn’t often read unless it was really interesting.
Brendon then got completely lost just staring at the stranger and trying to wrap his head around just how it was possible for somebody to be so skinny once he’d caught sight of the many bracelets wrapped around the stick thin wrists. He only snapped out of his thoughts when the stranger dragged his eyes away from his page to look at Brendon. It was then that Brendon jumped into panic mode and decided to play it off that he was simply glancing and so he flashed a polite smile to the stranger, who in return forced on his own for only a moment before his eyes flicked back to his book, the smile dropping instantly. Brendon mentally facepalmed as his own smile dropped and he looked down at his notes and textbooks, the will to study evaporating.
It was obvious that he wasn’t going to get anymore work done now, not when such a beautiful person was sitting so near, but he couldn’t just up and leave, no, that would be awkward and besides, he couldn’t just leave this stranger alone when it was so dark and late out. So, Brendon stared down at his textbook once more and tried to will himself to focus for at least another five minutes but he wasn’t successful, only managing a few sentences before he found himself glancing back up at the mysterious beauty.
Brendon repeated this a few times, just trying to force out some kind of focus as he continued to look upon the boy, who didn’t seem at all bothered by Brendon’s presence in the slightest…or so he’d thought. It was roughly his seventh time looking up when his eyes met with the stranger’s own. Brendon couldn’t help but smile once more at the boy, who actually smiled back before he turned away again, though the smiles on both their faces remained a little while longer.
The two then enjoyed a few more similar brief interactions in the peaceful quiet until Brendon worked up the courage to say something…or he had until he was immediately silenced the moment he opened his mouth by a rather loud and completely unexpected moan.
That definitely destroyed the peaceful and cute atmosphere in the room as both Brendon and the stranger immediately looked at one another in surprise, almost as though they were checking it wasn’t the other, before glancing around the empty floor they were on. However there was nothing but silence and no sign of life aside from themselves and so Brendon questioned whether the two were simply going insane after being inside the building for so long.
He then had to wait a few more minutes before he felt it was safe to make another attempt to speak, but once again the second Brendon opened his mouth, the sound came again but possibly louder this time. This time when the two looked at each other the initial shock had worn off and they couldn’t help but laugh.
“Jesus they’re loud,” The stranger said, his voice much deeper than expected, as they came down from their fit of laughter.
“Yeah like seriously, who comes to the library to make out?” Brendon responded and the boy shook his head, the smile still on his face.
“Not anyone I know, that’s for sure.” Brendon then decided to take the chance to start a real conversation before it died down.
“I’m Brendon by the way, Brendon Urie,” Brendon greeted, and the stranger nodded.
“Ryan Ross.”
“That’s a cool name,” Brendon remarked, and Ryan shrugged.
“I guess so but it’s probably because it’s not the full thing,” Ryan replied, and Brendon tilted his head.
“Really? What’s your real name then?” Brendon questioned, and once more the sexual sound rang out as Ryan went to reply.
“Um it’s George, George Ryan Ross the third but I hate it and I hate my dad so I shortened it,” Ryan explained, and Brendon nodded.
“Well it suits you, Ryan.”
“Thanks...hey, how old are you?” Ryan asked, and Brendon was a little thrown by the question but he answered all the same.
“Eighteen, I’m in my final year before college, what about you? Same story?”
“I’m actually in college, first year on a scholarship but I’m thinking of dropping out, I fucking hate it there.”
“Yeah I’m not really the intellectual type either so I get that.”
The room then descended into silence as Ryan stared down at his now closed book, a look of sadness in his eyes. It was exactly what Brendon was fearing but when the mysterious couple started with their noises again, he’d never been so grateful as an idea struck him.
“Hey, wanna do a bit of detective work and find the couple? Because I swear I can’t see them anywhere.” Brendon asked, and when Ryan looked up he seemed a little puzzled by the unusual task before he smiled.
“Sure, why not?”
The two then stood up and began to search the ground floor but they just couldn’t seem to find the couple despite all the noise they were making.
“It’s like they’re ghosts or something,” Brendon remarked as they circled the ground floor for the second time.
“Maybe they are, tragic lovers who were killed in this very library,” Ryan said, his face completely blank and serious. Brendon wasn’t sure if he was joking or not.
“Hmm I dunno, doesn’t sound tragic enough so maybe they killed themselves, threw themselves from the third floor balcony and now they’re trapped here for eternity,” Brendon responded, and Ryan nodded.
“Interesting theory but we still don’t have a motive, why would they kill themselves in a library?” Ryan countered, and Brendon looked up and down at the shelves surrounding them, looking for inspiration before an idea came.
“Maybe they were so obsessed with each other as they were that they couldn’t bear the idea of growing older and so they killed themselves to remain young forever.”
“Very dark but a good theory none the less,” Ryan said.
“Thank you, I specialise in ghost couples that make out in libraries,” Brendon joked, keeping his face and voice as serious as possible but he couldn’t help but break when he saw a small smile appear on Ryan’s face once more. It was obvious that Ryan didn’t smile often and so Brendon felt like he had a duty to make the taller boy smile as many times as he could manage.
The two then decided to investigate the floor above them and they weren’t disappointed when they found a couple of backpacks dumped on top of a table hidden in the corner.
“Looks like we’re getting warmer,” Brendon said as they approached the table.
“I guess even ghosts need something to carry their stuff in,” Ryan remarked once they’d stopped in front of it.
The backpacks were similarly styled but different enough to tell apart. They were both black and worn but while one was mostly blank aside from a couple punk looking badges with a broken strap and was wide open, the other was drowning in badges, pins and patches and zipped up tight.
Brendon and Ryan looked at each other before leaning over and looking inside the open bag. Inside they found a couple of beaten up textbooks and notebooks, a lighter and a pack of cigarettes as well as a few scrunched up pieces of paper and a couple of pens and pencils littering the bottom.
“Looks like your classic punk so the question is, who’s the other culprit?” Brendon questioned before turning to the closed bag.
“You think it’s ok to look?” Ryan asked, and Brendon shrugged.
“Not sure, I mean we’re investigating and they are technically breaking the rules with all the noise they’re making so I don’t see why not,” Brendon replied, and Ryan was silent for a few moments as he seemed to think it over before nodding and reaching for the bag.
Once it was open they found a similar scene aside from the number of sketchbooks and comics piled up inside as well as the pencil case, which contained many pencils of all colours and a few worn down rubbers.
“Ok so we have a punk and an artist of some kind so maybe my theory was right,” Brendon said, and Ryan nodded.
“Definitely, now we just have to find them.”
They then wandered for a while until a thought came to Brendon’s mind.
“So what’re you doing here so late anyway? I mean it’s Friday night and it’s pretty cold in here compared to a house,” Brendon asked, and Ryan shrugged.
“I like to come here to write lyrics for my songs but tonight I was too tired so I just decided to read my book and kinda lost track of time,” Ryan explained, and Brendon’s eyes lit up upon hearing this.
“You write music? Are you in a band?” Brendon questioned excitedly, hoping he didn’t come off too over the top and eager.
“Kinda yeah, it’s nothing serious, just my best friend and a couple other guys I know, we just practice in our garages,” Ryan replied, and Brendon was just grinning by now, this was everything he’d ever wanted.
“That’s so cool, I’ve always wanted to be in a band.”
“Do you sing?”
“A little I guess but I dunno if I’m any good at it, I mean everyone sings but we’re not all good enough to make a career out of it, right?” Brendon responded, and Ryan nodded.
“Fair point, what else do you do? Or do you just kinda sing?” Ryan asked, and Brendon shrugged.
“I play a little guitar and bass or just whatever I feel like trying to pick up,” Brendon said, and Ryan seemed impressed, which was exactly what he’d been hoping to do at some point that evening.
“Wow, you’ve gotta have a lot of time and energy to do that, I just play guitar mainly,” Ryan replied, and Brendon shook his head.
“Nah I’m just always awake and can’t really sit and focus on one thing for too long so I like to keep myself interested and do different things.”
“Ok and what exactly are you doing here so late?”
“Oh I’m just studying, got a few tests coming up that I have to ace if I want to get out of church for Christmas,” Brendon replied, and Ryan raised an eyebrow and Brendon laughed a little.
“Right, yeah, I should probably explain that, well my parent’s are very religious and I’m not so yeah, I made a deal and here I am hunting for a ghost couple,” Brendon explained, and Ryan nodded understandingly.
“Yeah I can’t say I’d want to spend my time in god’s house either.”
“Right? Like they’re almost all hypocrites, or at least the one’s with power are anyway,” Brendon responded, and Ryan once again nodded in agreement.
“We’re all too smart to talk to God, right?” Ryan said, and Brendon smiled.
“That’s a really cool way of putting it and I bet it would be a pretty great lyric, you should definitely write that down,” Brendon said, and Ryan looked down, a shy smile on his face as he ran a hand through his wavy locks, clearly embarrassed and not used to receiving such words.
“I was just saying shit, don’t listen to me.”
“Hey, don’t put yourself down like that, I can already see that you’re pretty smart,” Brendon said but Ryan shook his head.
“I’m really not that smart, trust me if my grades prove anything, it’s that I wasn’t made to think intellectually,” Ryan countered, and Brendon went to argue back but he was silenced by the sight of a discarded and unlit cigarette on the floor.
The two came to a halt at the sight of the cigarette and looked at each other before Brendon spoke up first.
“Should we be worried or get somebody?”
“It’ll be fine besides, I think all the staff are on break since it’s so empty,” Ryan said before stepping over the cigarette and continuing towards the stairs ahead of them.
Brendon quickly followed and when they reached the top, he felt a bit of sadness wash over him. The sounds were much louder, the couple was definitely on this floor, which was great for their little game but it meant that Brendon would have most likely have to say goodbye to Ryan. The clock even told them that there was only twenty minutes before closing time so even if the search wasn’t done, they’d have to leave anyway.
“So Ryan, do you have a girlfriend or something?” Brendon questioned, and Ryan seemed rather surprised by the question, making him stop in his tracks for only a brief moment.
“No, I’m not exactly what people are looking for, I mean look at me, I’m hardly the prettiest thing,” Ryan replied, and Brendon was speechless because Ryan was definitely the prettiest thing he’d ever seen.
“You’re kidding, right? You’re fucking beautiful Ryan and whoever put it in your head that you’re not must be blind or something,” Brendon said, a little more passionately than intended but he didn’t really regret it because he meant what he said and Ryan obviously saw that from the deep red appearing in his cheeks.
“Uh thanks, no one’s ever really told me that before, I appreciate it,” Ryan said, and Brendon shook his head.
“It’s fine, just putting the truth out into the world, y’know?” Brendon responded, and Ryan brought back that smile again.
“I guess so but since I’ve told you, why don’t you tell me about your love life?”
“Well I’m also currently single, never been able to hold down anyone really,” Brendon explained, and Ryan nodded knowingly.
“I get that but why the interest anyway?” Ryan asked in a way that was probably meant to be casual but Brendon could tell was a way of getting confirmation for his own suspicions.
“Just curious,” Brendon said innocently, and Ryan nodded but said no more.
Brendon then realised that it was now or never if he wanted to make some kind of important progress with Ryan.
“So I was wondering-” Fuck.
Brendon’s heart dropped when the two were forced to come to a halt at the sight of the very couple they’d been hunting for. It was two boys roughly the same age as Brendon and Ryan and they definitely fit the image that their backpacks gave off.
They were furiously making out against one of the bookshelves and Brendon was partially impressed by just how long they’d been going at it for. The taller of the two, who was pressed up against said shelves, was dressed in skinny jeans and a hoodie and had messy black hair and looked paler than a vampire. Brendon could also see dark circles under his eyes and he assumed that he was the artist of the two. In comparison to the taller one’s look, the shorter one was dressed similarly in skinny jeans and black t-shirt but he had a tattoo on his neck of a scorpion. He had shorter black hair that was dyed blonde at the sides and he had a few piercings in his nose and lip. The punk.
Both Brendon and Ryan immediately looked at each other as their presence went unnoticed somehow. Ryan raised his eyebrow as if to say, “should we?” and Brendon nodded before turning back to the couple and clearing his throat. The couple then froze up before breaking away from their kiss, but they didn’t step away when they looked Ryan and Brendon.
“Um can we help you?” The shorter of the two asked, clearly annoyed by the interruption.
“Uh we may have thought you guys were a ghost couple that tragically killed themselves,” Brendon replied, feeling too pressured to come up with a lie.
“What?”
“It’s almost closing time and we could hear you guys from the bottom floor so we figured you wouldn’t want to be locked in,” Ryan lied, and he did it so easily that Brendon wondered where he’d learned to do it.
“Oh, right, well thanks I guess and sorry about the noise, we just got carried away,” The smaller said as he stepped away from his partner.
“I’m Frank by the way, Frank Iero,” He said as he folded his arms.
“Ryan Ross.”
“I’m Gerard Way,” The taller greeted with an awkward way before stuffing his hands into his hoodie pocket.
“And I’m Brendon Urie, nice to meet you guys,” Brendon said jumping in on the introductions.
“So what are you guys doing here so late? Gee and I usually come here since he doesn’t like crowded places and we find it easier to work when we’re alone,” Frank questioned.
“I can see you were working really hard but I was just here to read my book,” Ryan replied, and Frank rolled his eyes at Ryan’s remark before turning to Brendon.
“And you? Keeping your boyfriend company?” Brendon couldn’t help but smile at the assumption whereas Ryan shifted and kept his head down.
“Uh no, we just met each other tonight actually, we were at the same table and just kinda started talking,” Brendon explained, and the two nodded.
“Fair enough, well we’d better get out of here so maybe we’ll catch you around,” Frank said before linking hands with Gerard and squeezing past Brendon.
The two then watched as the couple wandered towards the stairs, Gerard looking back and giving one last wave before they disappeared out of sight.
“Mystery solved then,” Ryan remarked, and Brendon laughed.
“Yeah I guess so,” Brendon said, and they then stood in silence for a moment before speaking up at the same time.
“So I was-”
“Did you-?”
“Oh, sorry, you go,” Brendon said but Ryan shook his head.
“No please, after you.”
“I was gonna say earlier, did you maybe wanna hang out some other time? Y’know, not in an empty library?” Brendon asked, and Ryan nodded before Brendon could even finish speaking.
“Yeah, I’d like that, you’re fun to hangout with,” Ryan responded, an infectious smile on his face that made Brendon wear one in return.
They stood there for a while, just smiling and staring at each other like children with crushes until they heard the clock chime for closing time, breaking the atmosphere completely.
“We should probably get going,” Brendon said, and Ryan nodded before they made their way down to the floor below.
On their way towards the next flight of stairs, they noticed that Frank and Gerard’s bags were still left in the exact same spot. Brendon looked at Ryan as a thought came to him.
“You don’t think that maybe they were y’know?”
“Two tragic lovers kill themselves in a library, roaming the grounds but nobody ever touched their belongings or investigate the noises out of fear of disturbing the dead,” Ryan said as he stared at the bags before them.
Brendon stared along with the taller boy, feeling a slight chill run down his spine as it hit him that he’d just encountered two ghosts. Or he did until he heard a pair of footsteps quickly approaching until it was revealed to be Frank and Gerard themselves.
“Excuse us, we forgot our stuff,” Gerard said before zipping up his bag and putting it over his shoulder, Frank doing the same.
“Well, see ya around I guess,” Gerard then said before the two took off once more.
“So maybe not ghosts,” Brendon remarked.
“Yeah, maybe not.”
Brendon and Ryan then rushed down the stairs to retrieve their own belongings before leaving the building just as the librarian came out.
They stood in the cold as they put on their jackets and coats before slinging their bags over their shoulders and then Brendon knew it was time to say goodbye.
“Well I guess we should head home then, I can’t wait to see you again already,” Brendon said as he put his hands in his coat pockets.
“Yeah, you’re probably the nicest guy I know aside from my best friend,” Ryan responded, and Brendon stepped to begin his walk home but Ryan suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling his hand out the pocket in the process.
Brendon was stunned as Ryan then held the palm of his hand in his own, his warm hands losing their heat quickly. He watched as Ryan then reached into his jacket and pulled out a black pen before scribbling some numbers on the back of Brendon’s hand. Not letting go until the pen was safely back inside.
“Um so you can actually contact me,” Ryan explained as he released his hand from his grasp and began to slowly step away towards the footpath.
“I have a feeling you’ll be hearing from me soon,” Brendon said, and Ryan smiled that beautiful smile one last time.
“I’ll be counting on it.” And then he turned and he was gone, leaving Brendon to stand in the cold night, his own smile on his face as he watched the taller boy make his down the street.
It was when Brendon turned to leave that he felt something light and cold hit his face and when he looked up, he saw the snow. It looked like this day had been one big Christmas miracle after all and it was all he needed to get through the coming days.