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Brendon sighed. Only a week into the school year and something had already happened. Everyday on his way to Spanish, he passed the chorus room, and everyday he'd hear the same angelic voice, usually accompanied by a guitar, ringing out through a crack in the door. Brendon had even caught a few glimpses of the kid, and he was extremely cute. Brendon, of course, had no clue what to do. He had absolutely no experience with crushes, but thankfully, his best friend, Pete, did.
"You just gotta approach him!" Pete urged him. "Worst comes to worst, he'll reject you, but since you guys don't know each other as it is, you won't lose anything friend-wise! Dude, this is perfect!"
Brendon sighed. "I guess that's good."
"Well, I know it's good. Just go for it, Bren. You got this!"
So Brendon did go for it. One Friday afternoon, he silently walked into the chorus room. Thankfully, the guy never noticed him enter. Brendon sat in a chair on the wall in silence as he sang solemnly, strumming chords on his guitar. He let his eyes focus on his face, his eyes watching every chord he played, his lips shaping the words that made up the song.
After a minute, he was finished with the song. Brendon stood up and began to applaud him. The guy jumped back, surprised by his sudden audience.
"That was great, dude!" Brendon praised. "I loved it!"
A coy smile broke out on the guy's face. "T-thanks..."
"I'm Brendon. What's your name?"
"Ryan. Ryan Ross."
"So, Ryan, wanna sit with me and my friends at lunch or something?"
Ryan smiled. "Sure, Brendon."
So they exchanged numbers like new friends do, and the next Monday Brendon brought Ryan over to his friends' lunch table. Pete gave him a knowing glance. Brendon nodded in response, as to confirm Pete's suspicions. Surprisingly, Ryan fit in with Brendon's group of friends like a missing puzzle piece.
It all stayed the same until mid-October. Brendon began to notice that Ryan would occasionally stare at him with a grin on his face, taking in every single feature that Brendon had. Sometimes Ryan would find out that Brendon had seen him and quickly turn his head away, his face a vivid shade of red. He also occasionally would get lost in thought at random times, and when Brendon would get him back into reality, he'd start stuttering and blushing wildly. Brendon was getting pretty suspicious, so he instinctively consulted Pete late one Saturday night.
"Dude!" Pete yelled excitedly into the phone. "He totally likes you, oh my god!"
"Shh, Pete!" Brendon hushed. "My parents are asleep!" Then, almost cautiously, he whispered, "Do you really think so?"
"From what you said, definitely. Now the question is, do you like him back?"
Pete went on about how he thought Brendon should handle the situation. Brendon listened intently and nodded, making sure he absorbed Pete's every word like a sponge. Soon enough, however, Pete had to go. Brendon hung up and spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling and wondering how he was going to go about this. He had no clue how Pete found this so easy; he must be some sort of love expert.
By Monday, Brendon had a plan. He decided he was gonna grow a pair and just flat-out ask Ryan during lunch. Of course, this was probably easier said than done, but to Brendon, there was no other way.
However, as soon as he got there, his plans fell flat on their face. Ryan saw him come in and gave him a warm, genuine smile like he always did, and that alone made Brendon's heart drop into his stomach. He gulped, put on a fake smile, and sat down beside Ryan. The rest of the lunch period went on, and Brendon found himself mentally freaking out over every little thing Ryan did. Ryan could blink and Brendon would start blushing and stuttering like the nervous wreck he was.
Suddenly, lunch was over, and Pete was giving him the why-the-fuck-haven't-you-done-anything-yet look. Brendon gulped and ran over to Ryan.
"H-hey, um, Ryan! I, uh, have a question f-for you," Brendon said, his heart going a million miles an hour.
"Hm? Oh, sure Bren! What is it?" Ryan chirped happily, giving Brendon another one of those heart-melting smiles.
"I, uh, wanted t-to know if you wanted to, like, maybe g-go to, like, the movies, uh, w-with me tomorrow?" Brendon's voice shook the entire time, and he avoided eye contact with Ryan the whole time.
"Yeah, totally! I'm already - hey, Bren, are you okay? Is there anything - oh. Do you mean... like a date?"
Brendon shamefully nodded . "Yeah, unless you d-don't want it to b-be."
Suddenly Ryan was hugging him. "Of course, Brendon. Of course I would."