FIC: P!ATD/X-Men - Revolution - PG
Oct. 24th, 2007 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laniew1So I was watching X2 the other day and Ryan Ross (who has taken over my brain) decided to insert himself into that universe.
Have Ryan Ross shapeshifter, X2 cross-over fic, this ignores X3 completely and totally.
Summary: In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
TITLE: Revolution
RATING: PG (for language)
PAIRING: Brendon POV, there are some statements that could be read as Ryan/Bobby/John subtext.
AUTHOR: Melanie
SUMMARY: In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these boys and am almost positive that Ryan Ross isn't a shapeshifter that can make himself look like a girl.
Revolution
In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
He goes to some swanky private school for 'gifted kids' in New York. Spencer always says it that way, with the quotes and everything. He's Spencer's best friend, even if Spencer hasn't actually seen him in over a year.
He's never met the kid, but in the two years that he's been friends with Spencer and Brent he likes to think that he's heard enough and seen enough pictures that he could pick him out of line up if need be.
He didn't think he'd ever need to know what Ryan Ross looks like, not really.
Except he shows up at Spencer's grandmothers too early, Spencer isn't there, but there is a tall, gangly kid with a glass in front of him and Spencer's grandmother beaming at him from over the length of the kitchen table.
Brendon stops dead and stares.
Because, hi, even with the bruises on his face he's unbelievably pretty.
"This is Ryan Ross," Spencer's grandmother says cheerfully. "This is one of Spencer's friends. They're in a band together."
Ryan nods and Brendon is slightly surprised at how deep and strong his voice is when he says, "I know."
Spencer comes in after that, rescues Brendon from embarrassing himself and proposing marriage to a kid that he just met.
He makes a noise that Brendon will be picking on him for the next ten years about and Ryan barely manages to push himself away from the table before Spencer is wrapping him up in a tight hug.
Ryan awkwardly pats him on the back and it takes a long minute for him to relax into Spencer. Brendon can see the moment that he does, all the muscles in his body just… let go, his eyes close and his head rests on Spencer's shoulder.
Brendon never thought it possible that he could ever be jealous of Spencer.
******************************************************************************
Ryan never tells them where the bruises come from; just that there'd been an incident at his school and he'd got the bruises defending some of the younger kids.
Brendon wonders what kind of trouble you can get into at a swanky, rich kid, private school.
He doesn't ask.
Because Ryan always seems really sad and every time Brendon sees him he has his cellphone pressed to his ear. He can never hear what is being said but when he hangs up Ryan is even sadder and Brendon goes out of his way to be even more of a clown trying to cheer him up.
******************************************************************************
Spencer not so casually mentions that Ryan, Spencer, Brent and Trevor used to be in a band together.
Brendon thinks it's his way of getting Ryan to do something besides be depressed all the time.
Ryan plays guitar, it takes three practices for him to feel comfortable with it in his hands and even when he finally does he still stares at his fingers when he's playing.
Like he's making sure that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.
Spencer casually mentions that Ryan used to write and the look that Ryan shoots at him promises death and painful retribution.
Instead three days later he gives them a song about a cheating girlfriend.
******************************************************************************
Two guys show up at their practice space, Brendon has been eyeing the clock, he's got the 7 to midnight shift and he can't be late. Not again.
But then two guys show up, one with cool red sunglasses that he doesn't take off even when he comes inside. He looks sad the way that Ryan always looks sad.
The other has really cool hair and sideburns and Ryan looks wary upon seeing them, though he walks to the other side of the practice space with them.
It's notable that Ryan doesn't introduce them.
They can't hear what's being said and Brendon can tell that it's annoying and pissing Spencer off in equal measures.
Ryan has his arms wrapped around himself and the guy with the red glasses has his hand on his shoulder, their heads bent close together. The other guy is just watching, not saying anything.
Ryan shakes his head twice and he looks angry and the guy with the glasses looks resigned, like he'd expected nothing else.
When he turns to walk away from them Ryan is hunched slightly, like he expects a blow to come at any time.
"Ryan," the other guy says and Ryan stops but doesn't turn. "If he contacts you…"
Ryan nods once and instead of walking back to them he's walking out of the practice space.
Brent looks at the door that Ryan just disappeared through, and then at the guys that have invaded their space. Spencer is setting his sticks aside and getting up to follow Ryan.
Brendon shifts on his feet and thinks that he might actually be early to work.
"I guess we're done then?"
******************************************************************************
Brendon doesn't mean to eavesdrop.
But he'd shown up last and he'd seen Ryan standing at the end of the corridor, cellphone pressed to his ear and he'd ducked behind a potted tree and hid.
Because he didn't want to interrupt.
"I told them that I wouldn't," he's saying. "But they don't seem to believe that I'm more apt to punch him for abandoning us if he shows up here instead of talking to him."
He's quiet for long seconds, listening to whoever is on the other end.
"Bobby," Ryan sighs, from where he's hiding, between branches he can see Ryan drag a hand over his face. "Don't make this out like it's my fault, you were the one that was with him when he left, I was stuck with Peter and a bunch of ten year olds."
Ryan is silent again and Brendon wonders if Bobby is short for Roberta or Robert.
"I didn't leave because he left, I left because it was obvious that you'd made your choice and it wasn't me and it wasn't him and there didn't appear to be anything left to stay for."
Ryan looks sad as he says it, though this Bobby probably can't tell from the other end.
"I'm still your friend Bobby, I always will be."
******************************************************************************
Sometimes Brendon isn't sure who Ryan Ross is supposed to be.
He's quiet sometimes; full of anger and venom others.
He stays with Brendon at his apartment for four days after living with his father leaves him with bruises on his arms and face that replace the ones that faded months before.
He doesn't sleep, and Brendon can lay in his room listening to Ryan on the couch in the living room talking quietly on the phone to friends that are miles away.
Bobby almost always, though there are others that have called; that he's spoken to.
Peter, Sam, once a girl named Marie that Ryan had talked stiffly to for seventeen seconds before he'd used the fact that Brendon was staring at him over the kitchen table to hang up.
Brendon isn't positive, but he's pretty close to positive that Marie is the reason that Ryan is back in Vegas and sometimes refuses to talk to Bobby.
******************************************************************************
There's a guy waiting in their practice space when Ryan and Brendon show up, Spencer is leaning against a wall, drumsticks in his hands and Brent is hitting every wrong note possible for the opening verse of 'Lying'.
Ryan doesn't see him at first, Brendon knows this because he's still defending his decision to link their stuff to Pete Wentz's livejournal and when he does finally notice the guy straightening up and smirking at them he flies across the room in a flurry of anger and swinging arms.
The guy does a move that Brendon's only seen in movies, and he has Ryan pinned against his chest struggling in 2.5 seconds.
"Let me go you son of a bitch," Ryan is a seething, struggling mass of arms and legs.
Spencer is on his feet and Brendon recognizes that look as the one that Spencer gets when people are talking trash about them.
It means that he's going to hurt something, whether it be with hands or words.
The guy just holds on tight and when he sees the others starting over to them he nuzzles Ryan's ear and whispers something that Brendon doesn't hear, but serves to cause Ryan to go limp in his arms.
He lets go after that and Ryan pushes away, hand dragging through his hair and eyes not looking at anyone.
Spencer shifts to stand in front of him, shielding him from this guy that thought he could just show up here and try and hurt Ryan. Ryan is hurt enough by his dad, there doesn't need to be other people getting in on the action.
Brendon doesn't need to see Spencer's face to know that Spencer is pissed and one wrong move will have him trying to hit this interloper.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" the guy asks, his tone is lightly sarcastic and he has a lighter in one hand, flipping the top open and closed.
The movement draws all their eyes, Brendon can't figure out where it came from because when Ryan had been struggling in his arms he was sure that the guys' hands were empty.
"What are you doing here John? You can't just… They're looking for you and…"
"I know," John says, his eyes stay locked on Ryan, he's ignoring the rest of them and Brendon can tell that the longer it goes on the longer it's pissing Spencer off even more then seeing this guy immobilize Ryan had. "I already talked to them, I've already been back, but then you weren't there and when I asked Bobby said you were here."
"Ryan do you know this guy?" Spencer asks, his eyes are narrowed and even Brendon who doesn't claim to know anything about Ryan except that he snores when he's really, really tired; knows that the Ryan Ross that he knows wouldn't be friends with a kid like this.
He looks like a juvenile delinquent.
He looks like the type of guy that would pick on younger kids and leave Ryan with bruises.
Ryan looks at them, looks at John and just sighs. Like they're all causing him equal amounts of grief and suffering and he wants nothing more to do with them, ever.
"St. John Allerdyce meet my friends, Spencer Smith, Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie."
"Charmed," John says with that smirk, Brendon doesn't believe in violence but he wants to hit him right then.
"Can we have a minute?" Ryan asks, Spencer looks between them doubtfully. Like he's sure if they leave them alone that they'll have to help dispose of a body when they come back in.
"He promises to not be too violent, besides, he's due at least one good punch."
******************************************************************************
Ryan doesn't leave with John, that surprises Brendon as much as it pleases him that John was just as surprised.
He wants to tell this person that thought he could just waltz in and snatch Ryan back to New York without a by-your-leave that Ryan has friends and a band; he has a life with them now.
He pointedly doesn't think about the fact that this John Allerdyce that Ryan has never mentioned or talked to on the phone even once since he came back to Vegas might have just as much claim to Ryan as they do now.
Because they walk back in after Spencer decides they've given them enough time (Brendon thinks that Spencer just doesn't want to have to clean up the blood) and Ryan is still holding tight to John and John smirks over his shoulder at them but he doesn't let go, not even when Ryan does.
He keeps one arm around Ryan's shoulders, keeps him pulled tight to his side and Ryan doesn't pull away, the guy who jumps every time one of them tries to touch him (except Spencer, but Brendon thinks that's only because Ryan's known him for so long) just lets himself be held close and introduces them again, like they might have missed the first round due to the violence and then they all stand there staring at each other until Brent finally coughs and asks if they're going to rehearse or what.
John stays for their rehearsal, crouches against the back wall, eyes locked on Ryan the entire time.
When John leaves he holds Ryan tight, both of them ignoring Spencer's disapproving face and Brent's narrowed eyes, he cups Ryan's face in his hands and they stare at each other, looking for all the world like Ryan and Spencer with their 'conversation with no words' faces.
"I can't believe you're not coming back," John says and Ryan just looks at him.
"It's not my place anymore," Ryan says softly. "Besides, you still have Bobby."
John laughs once, it sounds bitter.
******************************************************************************
Ryan draws away from his old school friends and closer to the band.
Which is a good thing, because it would have been hard to explain to Pete Wentz when he contacts them why the kid that had linked them and talked to him wasn't with them anymore.
Pete signs them and they go off to Maryland to record, and even though they're close to where Ryan went to school he makes no effort to go visit.
The guy with the red sunglasses comes to them instead, taking Ryan away for a few hours. When they return they both have coffee's in hand and Ryan is carrying a bag from the local Borders.
"This is Scott Summers," Ryan introduces him. "He's one of my old teachers."
Brendon wonders if he's fought with his friends, from the way that John had been holding on to him he'd thought they wouldn't let go.
He doesn't ask, he doesn't really want to know the answer.
******************************************************************************
They wouldn't know that Ryan was different, that there was anything… extraordinary about him. That he'd been lying to them for almost a year and a half.
They wouldn't know anything if writers block hadn't hit and Ryan hadn't decided that going out dancing would maybe break it loose.
Brendon thinks that maybe Ryan would have preferred the writers block to having all his secrets openly displayed for all to see.
It's a Saturday, one of their few overnights, he comes out with Brendon and Brent and some of the guys from The Academy Is…
Spencer comes as well because he's not one for being left behind.
They've just been dancing, Ryan is working on the same bottle of water that he got when they entered the club, they're hot and sweaty and Brendon is laughing at something Jon is saying when he feels Ryan squeeze his arm.
Hard.
He looks over, because, ow, and he stops, blinks. He looks back over at Jon to see if he's seeing what Brendon is seeing and finds Jon staring at Ryan with wide eyes.
"I need to…" Ryan looks scared, frantic, he stands, sways and Brendon barely makes it to his feet to catch him before Ryan starts crumpling.
"We need to get him out of here," Jon says appearing on Ryan's other side. He pulls Ryan to his side, hides his face in his shoulder and Brendon watches helplessly as Jon tries to maneuver them through the crowd without getting jostled enough where people will see Ryan.
See his face with its ever changing features and Brendon had thought that there were days where Ryan looked maybe a little more feminine then usual.
He'd thought makeup.
He hadn't thought mutant.
******************************************************************************
Spencer is trailing behind them. Worried. Brent is trailing behind him pissed off because he had to leave the club and a prospective hookup.
Brendon is trying not to think 'Mutant' and 'Freak' and other things that he is sure would get him slapped with a harassment suit.
Ryan is his friend, one of his best and Brendon is trying really hard not to think about any other powers that Ryan might have hid from them.
Jon gets them into Ryan's room, sits him on the bed and Spencer gets a good look at his face and gasps, hand coming up to his mouth.
Brent takes a step back and runs into the door that Brendon had just closed.
"What can we do for you Ryan?" Jon asks softly, Ryan doesn't say anything, just covers his face with his hands and then runs for the bathroom.
The door slams shut behind him and seconds later they hear retching and then a horrible keening sound.
"His friends, that John guy…" Spencer says at the same time as Brendon says, "John whosits…"
"Do you have a number?" Jon asks. Spencer shakes his head helplessly and stares at the door. They hear the lock being thrown and Brendon thinks that Ryan might have been better off just hitting Spencer.
"His phone," Brendon starts and he almost dives for Ryan's bag. Rifling through it doesn't turn up that fancy phone that he's seen Ryan using to talk to his old friends, so he dumps its contents on the floor and turns the bag inside out.
He finds it in a corner pocket and looks over at Spencer.
He takes a deep breath, he'll try all the programmed numbers on the phone until he gets someone that can help him.
Help them.
Ryan's contact list is a mess of numbers with no names attached, he disregards the ones that he knows, like his and Spencer's and Brent's and Pete's.
He snarls in frustration. Because Ryan is nothing if not secretive about his time away and his school friends and his phone is, apparently, the same way.
There's a series of phone numbers that have numbers and symbols for the contact information, he starts at the top of the list, presses the phone to his ear and waits.
******************************************************************************
They are told to wait; a calm young woman on the other end of the phone had coached Brendon through some deep breathing exercises and told him that help was on the way.
"Don't panic," she'd kept saying over and over again. "Don't panic, help is coming to you."
He would think it was funny, because that's who they are. Panic! At The Disco. But nothing is even remotely amusing at the moment.
And he hadn't even been panicking, until she'd kept telling him not to.
He reminds himself that help is coming, but the phone turning off and the knock on the door still surprise him. Ryan hasn't come out of the bathroom and the keening noise hasn't stopped though it's fainter now.
His hand falls to his side, phone still clenched tight in his fingers and he hopes that the keening growing fainter is just Ryan getting tired and not because Ryan's dying in the bathroom.
Spencer is sitting at the bathroom door, back pressed against it, he's glaring at Brent who looks about two seconds away from freaking out and screaming 'Mutie' at the top of his lungs. Brendon is pacing the room; Jon is sitting on the bed watching him.
Brendon flies for the door when the knock comes, then backs away when he sees a thing with bright blue fur in leather standing in front of him. Behind him and off to the right are Scott and the other guy that had come into their practice space back when they were still just figuring out how to be a band.
They're in leather as well and Brendon wonders idly if the school Ryan had gone to had had a leather dress code instead of a suit and tie.
A young black woman, short white hair is pushing past the bright blue guy and right behind her is a guy about their age, short curly blond hair and he has the kindest blue eyes Brendon thinks he's ever seen.
He stops dead in the center of the room when he hears the keening noise.
It sounds horrible, but Brendon has wished, more then once in the last forever (45 minutes) for ear plugs to drown it out.
"Hank," the kid with the kind eyes says, he turns and the bright blue guy (Hank) heads towards the bathroom, Spencer comes to his feet and stands right there in front of the door, like Hank couldn't just toss him out of the way if he so chose.
"Spencer," Jon is there suddenly, tugging on Spencer's arm. "Spencer, let them help him," he says. Brendon would agree but his mouth won't work and he seems to have grown roots because he can't move at all, and the room seems really small with all these people in it.
Spencer lets Jon move him out of the way.
"He's got the door locked from the inside," Spencer says, he crosses his arm over his chest and looks defiantly at these newcomers. They only know the two because they'd come to see Ryan and they can all vividly remember Ryan leaving hunched over and sad when they'd finished talking.
Though the one had also come to Maryland and Ryan had seemed okay then.
"Ryan?" Hank calls out; he taps twice on the door. "Ryan, it's Doctor McCoy, can you open the door for me?"
Spencer snorts, like they hadn't already tried that. When that hadn't worked they'd tried to pick it.
He frowns when they hear the click of the lock being disengaged.
Hank disappears into the bathroom, door shutting behind him.
The keening stops and Brendon would feel relief, but all he wonders is if this is going to be the thing that ends up taking Ryan away from them.
"Do you know what happened?" Scott asks.
"Nothing happened, we were at a club and he wasn't even drinking anything, just water and then all of a sudden," Brendon's hands fly up to his face. "His face was…" Brendon gestures erratically like he can make them understand without telling them about Ryan's face changing and changing and changing.
"He seemed to know something was wrong," Jon offers.
Brendon remembers the tight clench of Ryan's hand around his arm, his frantic, fearful eyes.
"He was drinking from the same bottle of water all night," he says again, helplessly. Like that will make this make any more or less sense.
"It's okay," the black woman comes forward, touches Brendon's arm gently. "My name is Ororo, I was one of Ryan's teachers. You've met Scott and Logan, Hank is our doctor and this is Bobby, he was one of Ryan's classmates."
Brendon's eyes fly to the young blond man, he doesn't need to be told that this is Ryan's Bobby, one of the few people that Ryan had kept in steady contact with upon his return to Vegas, until that John kid had turned up in Vegas and Ryan had pretty much shut down almost all communication with his old friends.
Bobby is ignoring him, all of them. He's staring at the door like if he tries hard enough he can see through it… and he might be able to, Brendon realizes.
They don't know what abilities these people have.
******************************************************************************
Hank comes out of the bathroom with Ryan in his arms looking small and helpless, his face is turned into Hank's shoulder and Hank is holding him as if he's something priceless.
"I'll need to run some tests," Hank says to Scott, Bobby walks up to them, he touches Ryan's hand. Ryan's face doesn't turn away from Hank's shoulder but his hand clenches tight around Bobby's before he releases it.
"You're not just taking him," Spencer states. "I'm coming with him." He has his arms crossed over his chest and a look at his face that dares one of them to argue with him.
"Me too," Brendon says, nods. They let Ryan leave with these guys there's no guarantee that they'll ever get him back.
Jon is nodding in agreement even as Brent is shaking his head.
"I'd really rather stay here," Brent says. Brendon looks over at him and he still looks freaked out, but he also looks like he's made some major decision.
Brendon doesn't like that look.
******************************************************************************
They have a plane parked on the playground out behind their hotel, a big black plane that Scott and Ororo fly and Brendon is trying not to freak out too much because it's really not doing Ryan any good.
Not that Ryan is paying any attention to them in the slightest; Brendon doesn't think he even realizes that they're there. Hank had strapped him into a seat and he'd done his best to curl up facing away from them with the seatbelts not helping him accomplish that.
He doesn't want them to see him, Brendon understands that. He'd probably feel the same if he were in Ryan's position.
Instead he feels fear because Ryan is scared and there isn't much that can scare Ryan.
There'd been a minor skirmish between Bobby and Spencer over who was going to sit in the seat next to him that Bobby had won simply because he sat himself in the seat, strapped himself in and ignored Spencer until Spencer had no choice but to sit down or be on the roof when they took off.
Spencer is scowling at the back of his head.
Brendon would be as well, but Ryan is ignoring Bobby just as much as he's ignoring them.
They land and when they walk out they're in some darkened hangar, there's a man in a wheelchair waiting for them and he follows Hank and Ryan one direction while the others propel Brendon, Spencer and Jon in another.
Brendon thinks they would object but they're tired and they don't know where they are and even if they can trust these people.
Ryan had left them after all, had come back to Vegas and even after Scott and Logan had come to see him, after talking with Bobby and his friends on the phone for months, after John had actually come to him… he hadn't left and gone back to them.
This was probably not the smartest thing they've ever done, but it was better then letting them take Ryan off by himself and then having to explain to Pete why Ryan had disappeared.
They walk out into a brightly lit hallway and there's a group of kids waiting. All the same age as Bobby, John is one of them and he doesn't say anything. Just looks at Bobby and Bobby shakes his head.
"Hank took him to the infirmary, we'll know more when he's run some tests," Scott is saying patiently.
There's a young woman beside Bobby, white streaks in her hair and Brendon only notices her because of the way that John is trying to kill her with his eyes.
Bobby's ignoring her attempts to get his attention, instead he says, "I'm going to go change," and walks away.
John smirks and the young woman glares at him with narrowed eyes before stomping away.
"Let's show you where you can put your bags down and get some rest," Ororo appears right in front of him. Brendon tries not to jump.
"Rest," Spencer snorts. Brendon agrees. Because he doesn't think that any of them are going to get rest until they get to see Ryan.
******************************************************************************
The beds are comfortable but Brendon doesn't sleep at all, he tosses and turns and listens to Spencer do the same thing in the other bed. Jon had managed to sleep and Brendon thinks that he'd like to be Jon when he grows up, nothing really fazes Jon.
There's a knock at the door in the morning, sunlight spilling through the windows and they've all showered and changed clothes and are just sitting on the beds not saying anything because there's nothing to say.
Bobby's head peaks through the door and he still has kind eyes so Brendon tries not to hate him too much because he's Ryan's Bobby.
"Good you're up," he sounds pleased and his grin is warm and pleasant.
The three of them exchange looks.
"We're eating breakfast and then Hank is letting Ryan have visitors," he continues, he sounds cheerful and Brendon wonders if he's already been allowed in to see Ryan.
Because that just isn't fair.
Food, then Ryan, then they can leave.
Spencer is the first one off his bed, Brendon right behind him and Jon bringing up the rear.
Brendon wants to say that they can forget about the food, that they just want to see for themselves that Ryan is okay, but he's kind of hungry and breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day.
Besides they wouldn't be allowing them to see Ryan if there was something seriously wrong.
"Did they find out what's wrong with him?" Spencer asks and Bobby nods, leading them through the maze of hallways and they would have gotten so lost if they'd tried to navigate their own way without help.
"Some sort of drug in his water Hank thinks, he's still working on pinpointing the exact one but he thinks he's managed to neutralize the affect it's having on Ryan."
"He's okay then?" Jon asks from behind them.
"He will be, he was sleeping this morning, Hank says he's still having some trouble keeping his features stable, but once whatever he got drugged with is totally out of his system he should be okay."
Brendon breathes a sigh of relief; next to him Spencer is doing the same thing.
Bobby leads them into a large room, partially empty and right up to the table that John is sitting at with two other guys that he recognizes from the group waiting for them last night. The young woman that had been trying to talk to Bobby the night before is sitting at the next table over dragging her fork through her food.
"You can just get food from the buffet if you want," Bobby offers and sits down across from John. There are enough chairs for the three of them and when they return from picking through what's left they claim them.
Bobby makes the introductions, still friendly and pleasant.
"You've met John already I believe. This is Peter and Sam; Peter, Sam these are friends of Ryan's."
Brendon nods at them and Spencer tones down his glare at being forced to wait to see Ryan to just below killing levels and Jon is cordial and pleasant even as he bites into his toast.
"You didn't know Ryan was a mutant," John says, he's not smirking, so Brendon only wants to punch him a little bit.
"No, we didn't," Jon says, because Spencer's bitch face is starting to blossom and if he's allowed to open his mouth he'll say something cutting and they'll end up getting tossed across the fence before they're even allowed to see Ryan.
"Katya said that you were panicked on the phone," Peter says, John winces ever so slightly, if Brendon hadn't trained himself to pick up the slightest changes in Ryan's facial expressions he probably wouldn't have noticed it.
Peter probably kicked him or hit him or something, or maybe Bobby sitting right across from him did, because he looks slightly satisfied.
"Well he was throwing up in the bathroom and making this god awful noise, we thought he was dying," Brendon says, he knows he sounds defensive. He doesn't care.
These people aren't going to judge how well they know Ryan or how much they care about him.
"That keening noise?" Bobby asks, he frowns and looks like he's remembering what it had sounded like when they'd shown up to help.
"It was worse before, when we first got him back to the hotel. It was… just…" Brendon doesn't even have the words to describe how horrifying the sound had been.
"I want to see Ryan now," Spencer announces. He drops his fork and Brendon glances at his plate, he hasn't even taken a bite of his food.
Bobby looks over at him and they have a battle of the wills through eye contact only, one which Spencer evidently wins this time because Bobby pushes back from the table.
"Okay."
******************************************************************************
Ryan is sleeping when they get through the next maze to get to him. They can see him through the clear glass and he looks good, relaxed. Except if Brendon focuses on him he can see the muscles in his face shifting, which just can't be good.
"I thought you said he was better," he says, he knows he sounds accusatory.
"He is, he's not throwing up anymore," Hank offers.
"His face is still…" Brendon gestures at his own.
"He's a shape shifter," Hank says. "There was a muscle relaxer mixed in with whatever he was doused with and his body is having a difficult time breaking it down. Until it works its way through his system the muscles that he normally has superb control over are not under his total control. It's very frustrating for him so you'll maybe not want to mention it."
Spencer nods. "Can we see him now?"
"Of course," Hank waves them through the door and Brendon wants to glare because Bobby and John are following them.
But he can't, because they're being allowed to see Ryan and when this is done and he's okay again he'll leave with them because he's cut most of his ties with the friends that he had at this place.
They're going to win in the long run; so he thinks he can be okay with having Bobby and John with them as long as he knows that.
Ryan's eyes barely open when they walk in, he's curled around himself on the bed and Brendon reminds himself that they've won when John sits on the edge of the bed and lets his hand rest on Ryan's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Ryan says softly, he's staring at Spencer and his eyes are wet and sad and fearful. Spencer pulls a chair over and sits down next to the bed, takes Ryan's hands between his and presses his forehead against them.
"You should have told me," Spencer says. His shoulders are shaking and Jon perches on the arm of the chair and puts a hand against Spencer's back. "You should have told us Ryan, because we were so scared and we didn't know how to help you."
"I didn't want you to know," "Ryan mumbles. "I didn't want you to be scared of me."
"Scared of you?" Brendon laughs, he has to force himself to make it light and amused. It's harder then it should be. "It actually makes things make a little more sense."
Ryan looks up at him, surprised etched into the minutely changing features of his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Ryan, from what we've seen you can make yourself look like a girl, that's not a particularly scary power… so unless you can make yourself look like, you know, Voldemort or something and come up with a wand and do like magic or something…"
"Brendon…"
"Besides… at least now that we know we can stop waiting for the day where you come and admit that you've had a sex change without telling us and instead we'll just remind you, you know subtle like," Brendon ignores the snort from Spencer and the muffled laugh from Jon, because he can do subtle, he can. "You know that maybe some stubble and a little less eye makeup wouldn't go totally amiss because Panic! At The Disco is comprised of four members and everyone thinks that they're boys so…"
Ryan's lips curl a little bit; he looks less like he might burst into tears at any second because they're going to cast him out and more like he might burst into hysterical laughter instead.
John is rubbing his back, smirk in place. Bobby's smiling a full on smile and Brendon can see Spencer's shoulders shaking, when he looks up at Brendon he's laughing.
Jon is leaning back and Brendon can't figure out how he's not falling off the chair.
"I've got to stay for a few days, Hank is running a whole battery of tests," Ryan says, Spencer squeezes his hands, smiles gently.
"Well then we'll just wait with you."
Ryan smiles softly.
******************************************************************************
Have Ryan Ross shapeshifter, X2 cross-over fic, this ignores X3 completely and totally.
Summary: In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
TITLE: Revolution
RATING: PG (for language)
PAIRING: Brendon POV, there are some statements that could be read as Ryan/Bobby/John subtext.
AUTHOR: Melanie
SUMMARY: In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these boys and am almost positive that Ryan Ross isn't a shapeshifter that can make himself look like a girl.
Revolution
In theory Brendon knows who Ryan Ross is.
He goes to some swanky private school for 'gifted kids' in New York. Spencer always says it that way, with the quotes and everything. He's Spencer's best friend, even if Spencer hasn't actually seen him in over a year.
He's never met the kid, but in the two years that he's been friends with Spencer and Brent he likes to think that he's heard enough and seen enough pictures that he could pick him out of line up if need be.
He didn't think he'd ever need to know what Ryan Ross looks like, not really.
Except he shows up at Spencer's grandmothers too early, Spencer isn't there, but there is a tall, gangly kid with a glass in front of him and Spencer's grandmother beaming at him from over the length of the kitchen table.
Brendon stops dead and stares.
Because, hi, even with the bruises on his face he's unbelievably pretty.
"This is Ryan Ross," Spencer's grandmother says cheerfully. "This is one of Spencer's friends. They're in a band together."
Ryan nods and Brendon is slightly surprised at how deep and strong his voice is when he says, "I know."
Spencer comes in after that, rescues Brendon from embarrassing himself and proposing marriage to a kid that he just met.
He makes a noise that Brendon will be picking on him for the next ten years about and Ryan barely manages to push himself away from the table before Spencer is wrapping him up in a tight hug.
Ryan awkwardly pats him on the back and it takes a long minute for him to relax into Spencer. Brendon can see the moment that he does, all the muscles in his body just… let go, his eyes close and his head rests on Spencer's shoulder.
Brendon never thought it possible that he could ever be jealous of Spencer.
Ryan never tells them where the bruises come from; just that there'd been an incident at his school and he'd got the bruises defending some of the younger kids.
Brendon wonders what kind of trouble you can get into at a swanky, rich kid, private school.
He doesn't ask.
Because Ryan always seems really sad and every time Brendon sees him he has his cellphone pressed to his ear. He can never hear what is being said but when he hangs up Ryan is even sadder and Brendon goes out of his way to be even more of a clown trying to cheer him up.
Spencer not so casually mentions that Ryan, Spencer, Brent and Trevor used to be in a band together.
Brendon thinks it's his way of getting Ryan to do something besides be depressed all the time.
Ryan plays guitar, it takes three practices for him to feel comfortable with it in his hands and even when he finally does he still stares at his fingers when he's playing.
Like he's making sure that they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.
Spencer casually mentions that Ryan used to write and the look that Ryan shoots at him promises death and painful retribution.
Instead three days later he gives them a song about a cheating girlfriend.
Two guys show up at their practice space, Brendon has been eyeing the clock, he's got the 7 to midnight shift and he can't be late. Not again.
But then two guys show up, one with cool red sunglasses that he doesn't take off even when he comes inside. He looks sad the way that Ryan always looks sad.
The other has really cool hair and sideburns and Ryan looks wary upon seeing them, though he walks to the other side of the practice space with them.
It's notable that Ryan doesn't introduce them.
They can't hear what's being said and Brendon can tell that it's annoying and pissing Spencer off in equal measures.
Ryan has his arms wrapped around himself and the guy with the red glasses has his hand on his shoulder, their heads bent close together. The other guy is just watching, not saying anything.
Ryan shakes his head twice and he looks angry and the guy with the glasses looks resigned, like he'd expected nothing else.
When he turns to walk away from them Ryan is hunched slightly, like he expects a blow to come at any time.
"Ryan," the other guy says and Ryan stops but doesn't turn. "If he contacts you…"
Ryan nods once and instead of walking back to them he's walking out of the practice space.
Brent looks at the door that Ryan just disappeared through, and then at the guys that have invaded their space. Spencer is setting his sticks aside and getting up to follow Ryan.
Brendon shifts on his feet and thinks that he might actually be early to work.
"I guess we're done then?"
Brendon doesn't mean to eavesdrop.
But he'd shown up last and he'd seen Ryan standing at the end of the corridor, cellphone pressed to his ear and he'd ducked behind a potted tree and hid.
Because he didn't want to interrupt.
"I told them that I wouldn't," he's saying. "But they don't seem to believe that I'm more apt to punch him for abandoning us if he shows up here instead of talking to him."
He's quiet for long seconds, listening to whoever is on the other end.
"Bobby," Ryan sighs, from where he's hiding, between branches he can see Ryan drag a hand over his face. "Don't make this out like it's my fault, you were the one that was with him when he left, I was stuck with Peter and a bunch of ten year olds."
Ryan is silent again and Brendon wonders if Bobby is short for Roberta or Robert.
"I didn't leave because he left, I left because it was obvious that you'd made your choice and it wasn't me and it wasn't him and there didn't appear to be anything left to stay for."
Ryan looks sad as he says it, though this Bobby probably can't tell from the other end.
"I'm still your friend Bobby, I always will be."
Sometimes Brendon isn't sure who Ryan Ross is supposed to be.
He's quiet sometimes; full of anger and venom others.
He stays with Brendon at his apartment for four days after living with his father leaves him with bruises on his arms and face that replace the ones that faded months before.
He doesn't sleep, and Brendon can lay in his room listening to Ryan on the couch in the living room talking quietly on the phone to friends that are miles away.
Bobby almost always, though there are others that have called; that he's spoken to.
Peter, Sam, once a girl named Marie that Ryan had talked stiffly to for seventeen seconds before he'd used the fact that Brendon was staring at him over the kitchen table to hang up.
Brendon isn't positive, but he's pretty close to positive that Marie is the reason that Ryan is back in Vegas and sometimes refuses to talk to Bobby.
There's a guy waiting in their practice space when Ryan and Brendon show up, Spencer is leaning against a wall, drumsticks in his hands and Brent is hitting every wrong note possible for the opening verse of 'Lying'.
Ryan doesn't see him at first, Brendon knows this because he's still defending his decision to link their stuff to Pete Wentz's livejournal and when he does finally notice the guy straightening up and smirking at them he flies across the room in a flurry of anger and swinging arms.
The guy does a move that Brendon's only seen in movies, and he has Ryan pinned against his chest struggling in 2.5 seconds.
"Let me go you son of a bitch," Ryan is a seething, struggling mass of arms and legs.
Spencer is on his feet and Brendon recognizes that look as the one that Spencer gets when people are talking trash about them.
It means that he's going to hurt something, whether it be with hands or words.
The guy just holds on tight and when he sees the others starting over to them he nuzzles Ryan's ear and whispers something that Brendon doesn't hear, but serves to cause Ryan to go limp in his arms.
He lets go after that and Ryan pushes away, hand dragging through his hair and eyes not looking at anyone.
Spencer shifts to stand in front of him, shielding him from this guy that thought he could just show up here and try and hurt Ryan. Ryan is hurt enough by his dad, there doesn't need to be other people getting in on the action.
Brendon doesn't need to see Spencer's face to know that Spencer is pissed and one wrong move will have him trying to hit this interloper.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" the guy asks, his tone is lightly sarcastic and he has a lighter in one hand, flipping the top open and closed.
The movement draws all their eyes, Brendon can't figure out where it came from because when Ryan had been struggling in his arms he was sure that the guys' hands were empty.
"What are you doing here John? You can't just… They're looking for you and…"
"I know," John says, his eyes stay locked on Ryan, he's ignoring the rest of them and Brendon can tell that the longer it goes on the longer it's pissing Spencer off even more then seeing this guy immobilize Ryan had. "I already talked to them, I've already been back, but then you weren't there and when I asked Bobby said you were here."
"Ryan do you know this guy?" Spencer asks, his eyes are narrowed and even Brendon who doesn't claim to know anything about Ryan except that he snores when he's really, really tired; knows that the Ryan Ross that he knows wouldn't be friends with a kid like this.
He looks like a juvenile delinquent.
He looks like the type of guy that would pick on younger kids and leave Ryan with bruises.
Ryan looks at them, looks at John and just sighs. Like they're all causing him equal amounts of grief and suffering and he wants nothing more to do with them, ever.
"St. John Allerdyce meet my friends, Spencer Smith, Brent Wilson and Brendon Urie."
"Charmed," John says with that smirk, Brendon doesn't believe in violence but he wants to hit him right then.
"Can we have a minute?" Ryan asks, Spencer looks between them doubtfully. Like he's sure if they leave them alone that they'll have to help dispose of a body when they come back in.
"He promises to not be too violent, besides, he's due at least one good punch."
Ryan doesn't leave with John, that surprises Brendon as much as it pleases him that John was just as surprised.
He wants to tell this person that thought he could just waltz in and snatch Ryan back to New York without a by-your-leave that Ryan has friends and a band; he has a life with them now.
He pointedly doesn't think about the fact that this John Allerdyce that Ryan has never mentioned or talked to on the phone even once since he came back to Vegas might have just as much claim to Ryan as they do now.
Because they walk back in after Spencer decides they've given them enough time (Brendon thinks that Spencer just doesn't want to have to clean up the blood) and Ryan is still holding tight to John and John smirks over his shoulder at them but he doesn't let go, not even when Ryan does.
He keeps one arm around Ryan's shoulders, keeps him pulled tight to his side and Ryan doesn't pull away, the guy who jumps every time one of them tries to touch him (except Spencer, but Brendon thinks that's only because Ryan's known him for so long) just lets himself be held close and introduces them again, like they might have missed the first round due to the violence and then they all stand there staring at each other until Brent finally coughs and asks if they're going to rehearse or what.
John stays for their rehearsal, crouches against the back wall, eyes locked on Ryan the entire time.
When John leaves he holds Ryan tight, both of them ignoring Spencer's disapproving face and Brent's narrowed eyes, he cups Ryan's face in his hands and they stare at each other, looking for all the world like Ryan and Spencer with their 'conversation with no words' faces.
"I can't believe you're not coming back," John says and Ryan just looks at him.
"It's not my place anymore," Ryan says softly. "Besides, you still have Bobby."
John laughs once, it sounds bitter.
Ryan draws away from his old school friends and closer to the band.
Which is a good thing, because it would have been hard to explain to Pete Wentz when he contacts them why the kid that had linked them and talked to him wasn't with them anymore.
Pete signs them and they go off to Maryland to record, and even though they're close to where Ryan went to school he makes no effort to go visit.
The guy with the red sunglasses comes to them instead, taking Ryan away for a few hours. When they return they both have coffee's in hand and Ryan is carrying a bag from the local Borders.
"This is Scott Summers," Ryan introduces him. "He's one of my old teachers."
Brendon wonders if he's fought with his friends, from the way that John had been holding on to him he'd thought they wouldn't let go.
He doesn't ask, he doesn't really want to know the answer.
They wouldn't know that Ryan was different, that there was anything… extraordinary about him. That he'd been lying to them for almost a year and a half.
They wouldn't know anything if writers block hadn't hit and Ryan hadn't decided that going out dancing would maybe break it loose.
Brendon thinks that maybe Ryan would have preferred the writers block to having all his secrets openly displayed for all to see.
It's a Saturday, one of their few overnights, he comes out with Brendon and Brent and some of the guys from The Academy Is…
Spencer comes as well because he's not one for being left behind.
They've just been dancing, Ryan is working on the same bottle of water that he got when they entered the club, they're hot and sweaty and Brendon is laughing at something Jon is saying when he feels Ryan squeeze his arm.
Hard.
He looks over, because, ow, and he stops, blinks. He looks back over at Jon to see if he's seeing what Brendon is seeing and finds Jon staring at Ryan with wide eyes.
"I need to…" Ryan looks scared, frantic, he stands, sways and Brendon barely makes it to his feet to catch him before Ryan starts crumpling.
"We need to get him out of here," Jon says appearing on Ryan's other side. He pulls Ryan to his side, hides his face in his shoulder and Brendon watches helplessly as Jon tries to maneuver them through the crowd without getting jostled enough where people will see Ryan.
See his face with its ever changing features and Brendon had thought that there were days where Ryan looked maybe a little more feminine then usual.
He'd thought makeup.
He hadn't thought mutant.
Spencer is trailing behind them. Worried. Brent is trailing behind him pissed off because he had to leave the club and a prospective hookup.
Brendon is trying not to think 'Mutant' and 'Freak' and other things that he is sure would get him slapped with a harassment suit.
Ryan is his friend, one of his best and Brendon is trying really hard not to think about any other powers that Ryan might have hid from them.
Jon gets them into Ryan's room, sits him on the bed and Spencer gets a good look at his face and gasps, hand coming up to his mouth.
Brent takes a step back and runs into the door that Brendon had just closed.
"What can we do for you Ryan?" Jon asks softly, Ryan doesn't say anything, just covers his face with his hands and then runs for the bathroom.
The door slams shut behind him and seconds later they hear retching and then a horrible keening sound.
"His friends, that John guy…" Spencer says at the same time as Brendon says, "John whosits…"
"Do you have a number?" Jon asks. Spencer shakes his head helplessly and stares at the door. They hear the lock being thrown and Brendon thinks that Ryan might have been better off just hitting Spencer.
"His phone," Brendon starts and he almost dives for Ryan's bag. Rifling through it doesn't turn up that fancy phone that he's seen Ryan using to talk to his old friends, so he dumps its contents on the floor and turns the bag inside out.
He finds it in a corner pocket and looks over at Spencer.
He takes a deep breath, he'll try all the programmed numbers on the phone until he gets someone that can help him.
Help them.
Ryan's contact list is a mess of numbers with no names attached, he disregards the ones that he knows, like his and Spencer's and Brent's and Pete's.
He snarls in frustration. Because Ryan is nothing if not secretive about his time away and his school friends and his phone is, apparently, the same way.
There's a series of phone numbers that have numbers and symbols for the contact information, he starts at the top of the list, presses the phone to his ear and waits.
They are told to wait; a calm young woman on the other end of the phone had coached Brendon through some deep breathing exercises and told him that help was on the way.
"Don't panic," she'd kept saying over and over again. "Don't panic, help is coming to you."
He would think it was funny, because that's who they are. Panic! At The Disco. But nothing is even remotely amusing at the moment.
And he hadn't even been panicking, until she'd kept telling him not to.
He reminds himself that help is coming, but the phone turning off and the knock on the door still surprise him. Ryan hasn't come out of the bathroom and the keening noise hasn't stopped though it's fainter now.
His hand falls to his side, phone still clenched tight in his fingers and he hopes that the keening growing fainter is just Ryan getting tired and not because Ryan's dying in the bathroom.
Spencer is sitting at the bathroom door, back pressed against it, he's glaring at Brent who looks about two seconds away from freaking out and screaming 'Mutie' at the top of his lungs. Brendon is pacing the room; Jon is sitting on the bed watching him.
Brendon flies for the door when the knock comes, then backs away when he sees a thing with bright blue fur in leather standing in front of him. Behind him and off to the right are Scott and the other guy that had come into their practice space back when they were still just figuring out how to be a band.
They're in leather as well and Brendon wonders idly if the school Ryan had gone to had had a leather dress code instead of a suit and tie.
A young black woman, short white hair is pushing past the bright blue guy and right behind her is a guy about their age, short curly blond hair and he has the kindest blue eyes Brendon thinks he's ever seen.
He stops dead in the center of the room when he hears the keening noise.
It sounds horrible, but Brendon has wished, more then once in the last forever (45 minutes) for ear plugs to drown it out.
"Hank," the kid with the kind eyes says, he turns and the bright blue guy (Hank) heads towards the bathroom, Spencer comes to his feet and stands right there in front of the door, like Hank couldn't just toss him out of the way if he so chose.
"Spencer," Jon is there suddenly, tugging on Spencer's arm. "Spencer, let them help him," he says. Brendon would agree but his mouth won't work and he seems to have grown roots because he can't move at all, and the room seems really small with all these people in it.
Spencer lets Jon move him out of the way.
"He's got the door locked from the inside," Spencer says, he crosses his arm over his chest and looks defiantly at these newcomers. They only know the two because they'd come to see Ryan and they can all vividly remember Ryan leaving hunched over and sad when they'd finished talking.
Though the one had also come to Maryland and Ryan had seemed okay then.
"Ryan?" Hank calls out; he taps twice on the door. "Ryan, it's Doctor McCoy, can you open the door for me?"
Spencer snorts, like they hadn't already tried that. When that hadn't worked they'd tried to pick it.
He frowns when they hear the click of the lock being disengaged.
Hank disappears into the bathroom, door shutting behind him.
The keening stops and Brendon would feel relief, but all he wonders is if this is going to be the thing that ends up taking Ryan away from them.
"Do you know what happened?" Scott asks.
"Nothing happened, we were at a club and he wasn't even drinking anything, just water and then all of a sudden," Brendon's hands fly up to his face. "His face was…" Brendon gestures erratically like he can make them understand without telling them about Ryan's face changing and changing and changing.
"He seemed to know something was wrong," Jon offers.
Brendon remembers the tight clench of Ryan's hand around his arm, his frantic, fearful eyes.
"He was drinking from the same bottle of water all night," he says again, helplessly. Like that will make this make any more or less sense.
"It's okay," the black woman comes forward, touches Brendon's arm gently. "My name is Ororo, I was one of Ryan's teachers. You've met Scott and Logan, Hank is our doctor and this is Bobby, he was one of Ryan's classmates."
Brendon's eyes fly to the young blond man, he doesn't need to be told that this is Ryan's Bobby, one of the few people that Ryan had kept in steady contact with upon his return to Vegas, until that John kid had turned up in Vegas and Ryan had pretty much shut down almost all communication with his old friends.
Bobby is ignoring him, all of them. He's staring at the door like if he tries hard enough he can see through it… and he might be able to, Brendon realizes.
They don't know what abilities these people have.
Hank comes out of the bathroom with Ryan in his arms looking small and helpless, his face is turned into Hank's shoulder and Hank is holding him as if he's something priceless.
"I'll need to run some tests," Hank says to Scott, Bobby walks up to them, he touches Ryan's hand. Ryan's face doesn't turn away from Hank's shoulder but his hand clenches tight around Bobby's before he releases it.
"You're not just taking him," Spencer states. "I'm coming with him." He has his arms crossed over his chest and a look at his face that dares one of them to argue with him.
"Me too," Brendon says, nods. They let Ryan leave with these guys there's no guarantee that they'll ever get him back.
Jon is nodding in agreement even as Brent is shaking his head.
"I'd really rather stay here," Brent says. Brendon looks over at him and he still looks freaked out, but he also looks like he's made some major decision.
Brendon doesn't like that look.
They have a plane parked on the playground out behind their hotel, a big black plane that Scott and Ororo fly and Brendon is trying not to freak out too much because it's really not doing Ryan any good.
Not that Ryan is paying any attention to them in the slightest; Brendon doesn't think he even realizes that they're there. Hank had strapped him into a seat and he'd done his best to curl up facing away from them with the seatbelts not helping him accomplish that.
He doesn't want them to see him, Brendon understands that. He'd probably feel the same if he were in Ryan's position.
Instead he feels fear because Ryan is scared and there isn't much that can scare Ryan.
There'd been a minor skirmish between Bobby and Spencer over who was going to sit in the seat next to him that Bobby had won simply because he sat himself in the seat, strapped himself in and ignored Spencer until Spencer had no choice but to sit down or be on the roof when they took off.
Spencer is scowling at the back of his head.
Brendon would be as well, but Ryan is ignoring Bobby just as much as he's ignoring them.
They land and when they walk out they're in some darkened hangar, there's a man in a wheelchair waiting for them and he follows Hank and Ryan one direction while the others propel Brendon, Spencer and Jon in another.
Brendon thinks they would object but they're tired and they don't know where they are and even if they can trust these people.
Ryan had left them after all, had come back to Vegas and even after Scott and Logan had come to see him, after talking with Bobby and his friends on the phone for months, after John had actually come to him… he hadn't left and gone back to them.
This was probably not the smartest thing they've ever done, but it was better then letting them take Ryan off by himself and then having to explain to Pete why Ryan had disappeared.
They walk out into a brightly lit hallway and there's a group of kids waiting. All the same age as Bobby, John is one of them and he doesn't say anything. Just looks at Bobby and Bobby shakes his head.
"Hank took him to the infirmary, we'll know more when he's run some tests," Scott is saying patiently.
There's a young woman beside Bobby, white streaks in her hair and Brendon only notices her because of the way that John is trying to kill her with his eyes.
Bobby's ignoring her attempts to get his attention, instead he says, "I'm going to go change," and walks away.
John smirks and the young woman glares at him with narrowed eyes before stomping away.
"Let's show you where you can put your bags down and get some rest," Ororo appears right in front of him. Brendon tries not to jump.
"Rest," Spencer snorts. Brendon agrees. Because he doesn't think that any of them are going to get rest until they get to see Ryan.
The beds are comfortable but Brendon doesn't sleep at all, he tosses and turns and listens to Spencer do the same thing in the other bed. Jon had managed to sleep and Brendon thinks that he'd like to be Jon when he grows up, nothing really fazes Jon.
There's a knock at the door in the morning, sunlight spilling through the windows and they've all showered and changed clothes and are just sitting on the beds not saying anything because there's nothing to say.
Bobby's head peaks through the door and he still has kind eyes so Brendon tries not to hate him too much because he's Ryan's Bobby.
"Good you're up," he sounds pleased and his grin is warm and pleasant.
The three of them exchange looks.
"We're eating breakfast and then Hank is letting Ryan have visitors," he continues, he sounds cheerful and Brendon wonders if he's already been allowed in to see Ryan.
Because that just isn't fair.
Food, then Ryan, then they can leave.
Spencer is the first one off his bed, Brendon right behind him and Jon bringing up the rear.
Brendon wants to say that they can forget about the food, that they just want to see for themselves that Ryan is okay, but he's kind of hungry and breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day.
Besides they wouldn't be allowing them to see Ryan if there was something seriously wrong.
"Did they find out what's wrong with him?" Spencer asks and Bobby nods, leading them through the maze of hallways and they would have gotten so lost if they'd tried to navigate their own way without help.
"Some sort of drug in his water Hank thinks, he's still working on pinpointing the exact one but he thinks he's managed to neutralize the affect it's having on Ryan."
"He's okay then?" Jon asks from behind them.
"He will be, he was sleeping this morning, Hank says he's still having some trouble keeping his features stable, but once whatever he got drugged with is totally out of his system he should be okay."
Brendon breathes a sigh of relief; next to him Spencer is doing the same thing.
Bobby leads them into a large room, partially empty and right up to the table that John is sitting at with two other guys that he recognizes from the group waiting for them last night. The young woman that had been trying to talk to Bobby the night before is sitting at the next table over dragging her fork through her food.
"You can just get food from the buffet if you want," Bobby offers and sits down across from John. There are enough chairs for the three of them and when they return from picking through what's left they claim them.
Bobby makes the introductions, still friendly and pleasant.
"You've met John already I believe. This is Peter and Sam; Peter, Sam these are friends of Ryan's."
Brendon nods at them and Spencer tones down his glare at being forced to wait to see Ryan to just below killing levels and Jon is cordial and pleasant even as he bites into his toast.
"You didn't know Ryan was a mutant," John says, he's not smirking, so Brendon only wants to punch him a little bit.
"No, we didn't," Jon says, because Spencer's bitch face is starting to blossom and if he's allowed to open his mouth he'll say something cutting and they'll end up getting tossed across the fence before they're even allowed to see Ryan.
"Katya said that you were panicked on the phone," Peter says, John winces ever so slightly, if Brendon hadn't trained himself to pick up the slightest changes in Ryan's facial expressions he probably wouldn't have noticed it.
Peter probably kicked him or hit him or something, or maybe Bobby sitting right across from him did, because he looks slightly satisfied.
"Well he was throwing up in the bathroom and making this god awful noise, we thought he was dying," Brendon says, he knows he sounds defensive. He doesn't care.
These people aren't going to judge how well they know Ryan or how much they care about him.
"That keening noise?" Bobby asks, he frowns and looks like he's remembering what it had sounded like when they'd shown up to help.
"It was worse before, when we first got him back to the hotel. It was… just…" Brendon doesn't even have the words to describe how horrifying the sound had been.
"I want to see Ryan now," Spencer announces. He drops his fork and Brendon glances at his plate, he hasn't even taken a bite of his food.
Bobby looks over at him and they have a battle of the wills through eye contact only, one which Spencer evidently wins this time because Bobby pushes back from the table.
"Okay."
Ryan is sleeping when they get through the next maze to get to him. They can see him through the clear glass and he looks good, relaxed. Except if Brendon focuses on him he can see the muscles in his face shifting, which just can't be good.
"I thought you said he was better," he says, he knows he sounds accusatory.
"He is, he's not throwing up anymore," Hank offers.
"His face is still…" Brendon gestures at his own.
"He's a shape shifter," Hank says. "There was a muscle relaxer mixed in with whatever he was doused with and his body is having a difficult time breaking it down. Until it works its way through his system the muscles that he normally has superb control over are not under his total control. It's very frustrating for him so you'll maybe not want to mention it."
Spencer nods. "Can we see him now?"
"Of course," Hank waves them through the door and Brendon wants to glare because Bobby and John are following them.
But he can't, because they're being allowed to see Ryan and when this is done and he's okay again he'll leave with them because he's cut most of his ties with the friends that he had at this place.
They're going to win in the long run; so he thinks he can be okay with having Bobby and John with them as long as he knows that.
Ryan's eyes barely open when they walk in, he's curled around himself on the bed and Brendon reminds himself that they've won when John sits on the edge of the bed and lets his hand rest on Ryan's shoulder.
"I'm sorry," Ryan says softly, he's staring at Spencer and his eyes are wet and sad and fearful. Spencer pulls a chair over and sits down next to the bed, takes Ryan's hands between his and presses his forehead against them.
"You should have told me," Spencer says. His shoulders are shaking and Jon perches on the arm of the chair and puts a hand against Spencer's back. "You should have told us Ryan, because we were so scared and we didn't know how to help you."
"I didn't want you to know," "Ryan mumbles. "I didn't want you to be scared of me."
"Scared of you?" Brendon laughs, he has to force himself to make it light and amused. It's harder then it should be. "It actually makes things make a little more sense."
Ryan looks up at him, surprised etched into the minutely changing features of his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Ryan, from what we've seen you can make yourself look like a girl, that's not a particularly scary power… so unless you can make yourself look like, you know, Voldemort or something and come up with a wand and do like magic or something…"
"Brendon…"
"Besides… at least now that we know we can stop waiting for the day where you come and admit that you've had a sex change without telling us and instead we'll just remind you, you know subtle like," Brendon ignores the snort from Spencer and the muffled laugh from Jon, because he can do subtle, he can. "You know that maybe some stubble and a little less eye makeup wouldn't go totally amiss because Panic! At The Disco is comprised of four members and everyone thinks that they're boys so…"
Ryan's lips curl a little bit; he looks less like he might burst into tears at any second because they're going to cast him out and more like he might burst into hysterical laughter instead.
John is rubbing his back, smirk in place. Bobby's smiling a full on smile and Brendon can see Spencer's shoulders shaking, when he looks up at Brendon he's laughing.
Jon is leaning back and Brendon can't figure out how he's not falling off the chair.
"I've got to stay for a few days, Hank is running a whole battery of tests," Ryan says, Spencer squeezes his hands, smiles gently.
"Well then we'll just wait with you."
Ryan smiles softly.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-25 08:59 am (UTC)I don't know much about Panic! or bandfic stuff. But I really liked this. Especially the whole Ryan/Bobby interaction on the phone when Brendon was eavesdropping.
Plus you got a Bobby/John/Ryan image stuck in my head now(:
(no subject)
Date: 2007-10-27 02:40 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-08-04 08:05 am (UTC)