Controversy Loves Company - 15
Title: Controversy Loves Company - 15
Author: fauxfashionista
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Brendon/Ryan, Ryan/OFC, mentions of past Brendon/OMC
POV: 3rd
Summary: Some things are finally cleared up.
Disclaimer: Not real, I'm making no profit from this, etc etc
Author Notes: Man, it's been a while. Most of you probably don't even remember this story! As far as I'm aware, this was one of the first student/teacher fics introduced into this fandom and for the past few months I've gotten tons of people bugging me about finishing it, so. Here it is! Finally.
To clear some things up; xlatestxplaguex used to co-write this with me. She's been MIA for quite a bit and still has no internet access and I really missed this story, so I'm continuing it by myself. The way this flows might be different and strange since it's now in third person instead of first, but I hope it doesn't give anyone too much trouble!
The links take you to either SATD or xlatestxplaguex's journal. Eventually I'll probably get around to posting them all on here, but everything is public and you'll get all the chapters. I should thank sugarsnowflakes, pinkkchocolate, patreesed and melish for (briefly on Mel's part) bugging the hell out of me to finish this. <33333
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Brendon bites his lip and tries to hold Madison up, slipping an arm around her thin waist and turning to the class at large.
"I'm going to take her down to the nurse and it'd be a huge help if some of you would be willing to clean up while I'm gone. Don't leave, I'll be back soon."
As he starts walking out the door, he can see Ryan and Sasha bend over to clean up the papers and several other students stand up wordlessly to help. Tyler's leaning against the wall outside the door when they step out, and Brendon sighs.
"I want you to go back in the classroom and help them clean up, then sit at your desk and shut up. I can't deal with you today." Tyler looks from Madison's pale face down to her bleeding leg and doesn't make a comment for once, just slips back inside the room.
It doesn't take long for Brendon and Madison to reach the nurse's office, and he guides her inside, explaining to the middle-aged woman what happened.
"There was a bit of an explosion in class and another student knocked a desk into her leg," he says, easing Madison down onto a chair in the room. "I'm not... I'm not sure what else happened," he lies, looking worriedly over at Maddie. He's well aware that she and Ryan fought, but he can't really tell the nurse everything. Madison will open up if she needs to.
"Thank you for bringing her down," the nurse says, getting up from her desk and kneeling in front of Madison, examining the somewhat deep gash. "I'll let you get back to your class."
Brendon nods and walks back out the door, pausing halfway down the empty hallway to beat his fist against the wall. Taking deep, slow breaths, he eventually makes it back down to his classroom, hesitantly opening the door.
Sasha's sitting beside Ryan on the floor, desks upright and papers gone. He's got his head in his hands, apparently not crying but still upset, and Sasha looks a little lost on what to do. The rest of the class has wide eyes, fidgeting apprehensively in their seats, and even Tyler looks uncomfortable underneath his aloof attitude.
"Okay," Brendon says quietly, not surprised when Ryan doesn't move. "Thanks for cleaning up, you guys. We're not going to continue with anything today. Work on your stories if you want to, but feel free to talk until the class is over. It's been a long day already."
Even though he knows Ryan's upset at him, he's still the teacher and he still needs to make an effort. He sits down on his other side and Sasha bites her lip and looks at him before getting up and moving to her seat to talk with Brianna, worrying over Madison, no doubt.
"This sucks," Ryan says into his arms, and Brendon puts a hand on his shoulder. "Everything at once, too, fuck. I don't want to go home, either, my dad's working late tonight and I don't fucking wanna be alone. God."
"My door's always open, you know that," Brendon says at a whisper, quiet enough the other students can't hear. "I know you're pissed at me, but... If you need somewhere. Just come." He squeezes Ryan's shoulder and drops his hand, not wanting too much public physical touching, but Ryan nods, face still buried.
"I probably will. I want to know what's wrong with her. Last night, she... It wasn't. We didn't fight," he tries, but Brendon shakes his head.
"Don't talk about it here. Tell me later if you want. Want me to take you down to the nurse? Let her know you wanna sleep instead of go to classes today?"
"That'd be awesome," Ryan admits feebly, finally looking up. His face is red from lack of oxygen and all Brendon can think about is kissing his flushed cheeks.
"Okay," Brendon smiles tentatively and isn't surprised when Ryan only bites his lip in return. "Okay. Just wait outside the door for me, I have to-- I have to talk to talk to Tyler." Ryan's jaw clenches visibly, but he just nods.
Brendon stands up and blinks a few times, dizzy from the commotion and lack of sleep. "You all can go," he says, waving his hand towards the door. "Except Tyler. You stay."
No one looks too concerned about that statement and they all file out slowly, Ryan walking behind Sasha and Brianna, awkwardly shrugging when they ask about Madison. Tyler comes up beside Brendon and crosses his arms, waiting until the last person shuts the door to look at him.
"You could ruin my life," Brendon says right off the bat, closing his eyes and leaning against his desk. "You could turn me in and I could lose my job, go to prison. All you'd have to do is tell one person."
Tyler's quiet for a second, before he snaps vehemently, "Jesus, I'm not going to fucking turn you in." Brendon turns to look at him and raises an eyebrow, but Tyler just looks angry. "I'm not in love with or anything, God. You were a good fuck and it was fun, but even I have limits, dude. It'd fuck up both of our reputations if people found out."
They stand in silence for a minute, and Brendon sighs heavily. "That was the stupidest mistake I've ever made. You don't mention it to anyone and keep your mouth shut during class. I don't know what's up with you and Ross, but that stunt you pulled today wasn't fucking cool. You do not make comments like that in front of my students."
"Yeah, I know," Tyler says snappily, carding his fingers through his hair and staring at the floor. "Why does he act so goddamn jealous, though? He stares at you all the time." Mentally, Brendon cheers. If Tyler's talking this openly about Ryan already and hasn't mentioned the apartment, it probably means he didn't see him.
"Maybe he has a crush on me?" Brendon says without missing a beat, sounding annoyed. "I don't know, okay, but I've already talked to him about how he acted and now it's your turn. Don't do shit like that."
"I'm getting transferred out of your class," Tyler replies immediately after, walking back over to get his bag from his desk. "I just figure if you can't handle it, I can't handle it. We've got a whole fucking year to get through."
"I think that's a really smart idea," Brendon agrees, pushing his glasses up on top of his head and rubbing his eyes. "And you know, I really can't stop you if you decide to tell somebody."
"I fucking said I wasn't going to, okay? I'm not that big of an asshole so shut up." Tyler's red in the face from his frustration, and Brendon understands the feeling. He doesn't know that he can trust Tyler, but honestly, he has no other choice.
Brendon's phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out as Tyler leaves, reading the text he got from Ryan.
youre taking too long..went to the nurse by myself. i'll be over @ 2
Brendon walks around and slumps down in the chair behind his desk, willing his headache to go away.
--
"I know you're not sleeping," Ryan mutters. Madison opens her eyes at that, looking across the short distance to the other bed in the nurse's wing that Ryan's laying in.
"You're right," she agrees, and she sounds so tired. It makes Ryan's chest ache.
"You wanna tell me what happened in there?"
She smiles and looks away from him, shaking her head a bit. "I think it'd be more appropriate for me to ask that question," she says quietly.
Ryan's silent for several minutes before he replies, almost a whisper, "I'm not in love with you. That's why I said no when you wanted to."
The expression on Madison's face doesn't change, but Ryan sees the way her shoulders shake when she inhales. It doesn't take long for the tears to start, and he almost looks away, but can't bring himself to.
"You've got some pretty shitty timing," she murmurs, sniffling delicately. Ryan hardly realized the irony; he'd been wanting to sleep with for three years and when she finally is ready for him, he doesn't want it.
He's chosen his teacher who he's barely known for a month, who has an affinity for sleeping with underage students, over his beautiful girlfriend who's been nothing but good to him. He's pretty sure he's the worst boyfriend and the stupidest person in the world.
"It's not like I meant for it to happen," he mumbles, and fuck if he doesn't start crying too. The worst part about telling Madison this is that he can't tell her about why he doesn't love her any more. That he suddenly wants to be with a man that he has no real chance with, a relationship that has no logical chance of surviving.
"I know," she all but whimpers, bringing a hand up to wipe at her eyes, and Ryan subconsciously mirrors the movement on himself. "I guess you're breaking up with me, then," she says, barely understandable through the tears.
"I guess I am," he mumbles, rolling into his back, tears sliding past his temples. Madison doesn't ask more questions, just gently sobs into the stiff pillow. It breaks Ryan's heart, but he can't force himself to move.
An hour of silence later, Madison whispers, "Do you hate me?"
"Fuck, of course not," Ryan says, voice scratchy. "I love you. Just not... Not like I did." He visibly winces at how awkward and predictable that sounds, but Madison doesn't seem to notice.
"I still want to be your friend. Please? Can't we do that? I think I can deal with it, with not being with you... It's not like I expected it to last forever, but... I want to be your friend."
Ryan gets up at that, going over to Madison's bed and laying down, hugging her. "Of course," he says, and he holds her while she cries again.
--
Ryan shows up at Brendon's apartment at half past two. He climbs onto the other side of the futon, looking at Brendon sleeping shirtless, glasses abandoned beside him. He falls asleep almost immediately.
When Ryan wakes up, Brendon's watching TV and it's dark outside. Ryan sits up and keeps his face blank as he kisses Brendon on the mouth, curling his long fingers around his neck. Brendon kisses back but keeps his hands to himself, holding back and letting Ryan do what he's comfortable with.
"I told Madison today," Ryan murmurs between kisses. "I hope you're happy."
"You're upset," Brendon says uselessly, and Ryan kisses him harder. He tries to climb into Brendon's lap, sliding his hand down his naked shoulder, but Brendon holds him back, turning his head when Ryan tries to lick into his mouth.
"Brendon, come on," Ryan says, nipping at his jaw, and Brendon knows he's not even hard. "I want you to fuck me."
"I'm not-- Ryan, just stop it," Brendon says, gritting his teeth.
"Why? I want you, c'mon," Ryan mutters monotonously against his neck, and Brendon sighs heavily, pushing him back.
"You're upset," Brendon repeats, rubbing his hands over his face. "You should probably go home. Go home or get yourself together, Ryan, I'm not fucking you tonight."
Ryan sighs and clenches his jaw momentarily before punching Brendon hard in the arm. Brendon flinches and glares at him but doesn't make a move to hit back, so Ryan rolls over and goes back to sleep and doesn't wake up until morning.
--
They don't even kiss for a month. Ryan continues to come over occasionally, but they've moved back to the real bed instead of the futon. Brendon doesn't buy a new mattress, but flips it over just in case.
Tyler does switch classes. The administration talks to Brendon and Tyler separately about the reasons for the switch, and it's not hard to convince them that this particular English class wasn't the right one for him. Ryan doesn't mention it, but Brendon knows he's fucking grateful.
Things stay okay between Ryan and Madison. They're pretty much officially broken up, but they continue seeing each other, helping with homework and giving rides home. He stays after school to watch her practice for cheerleading sometimes, and Brendon goes home by himself.
It's still complicated between them. Almost every night, Brendon wakes up and feels Ryan beside him or behind him or in front of him, and thinks it was a stupid, stupid mistake to claim love to some kid he barely knows. Some gorgeous, talented kid who blew him away with his group's story, with his words and his mind. His student. He thinks about how idiotic they both are for wanting what they want, for Ryan to give up his girlfriend who cares about him for some 20-something guy just because he wanted to get laid. For letting himself take that from him, take Ryan's fucking virginity for Christ's sake, just because he asked him to. He told him it didn't really mean much, but he still thinks about it.
Almost every night, on the other side of the bed, Ryan wishes that Brendon would press up against him and hold him like he did the few times before.
--
"Test on Hemingway next week," Brendon says, and smiles at the groans he gets. "But seriously though, I'm expecting you all to get A's. We've only been covering him for like, the entire year."
"The entire year which has not been long enough," Mark says, dropping his head down onto his desk.
"I concur," Madison says, crossing her legs. "Let's just skip the test. Move right on into other territory."
"I think it's kind of required for me to give you a test or something," Brendon shrugs, erasing the blackboard for the day. "It might've been in the fine print in my contract, who knows."
"You didn't read your contract?" Ryan teases. "But you're so professional. I never would've guessed."
"I'm not very good at following rules," Brendon says, "So it's not like reading the contract would have helped me much."
Ryan snorts at how completely true that comment is.
"I could turn you in for that," Mark says. The bell rings obnoxiously in the hall, and Brendon sighs.
"You'd get a sucky substitute if you did that. I'll see you guys on Monday."
Ryan takes an extra long time to pack up his things, standing when the last few people are almost to the door, then drops his bag on the ground, scattering a few papers. He curses under his breath and crouches down, watching the door.
"You need some help?" Brendon asks, eyebrow raised, and Ryan stands up, abandoning his things when the last person leaves. He walks up to Brendon and bites his lip for a second before leaning in and kissing him. Making a surprised sound, Brendon glances at his door in panic, but Ryan sucks lightly at his bottom lip and Brendon gives in.
The kiss doesn't last long, a few open-mouthed movements before Ryan pulls away, looking at him. He runs his palm over the scratchy stubble on Brendon's cheek, enjoying the way it catches on his skin.
"I'm telling my Dad I'm spending the weekend with Spence," he says quietly, and Brendon's heart speeds up, remembering what that used to mean for him.
"I guess that means you're coming with me," he says, barely a question. Ryan nods and licks his lips.
"I broke up with her for you," he reminds Brendon as he turns back around and picks up his things. Brendon tries not to stare when he bends over. "Try to remember that. I'm tired of you being so careful."
He watches as Ryan leaves, throwing a tentative smile over his shoulder before the door shuts, and Brendon goes home, smiling softly to himself the whole time.
--
It's half past six before Ryan shows up, and Brendon's watching TV when the door opens. He looks up from the couch and stands when he notices who it is, watching as Ryan kicks off his shoes and sets his bag on the floor.
Walking slowly over to where Brendon is, Ryan slips his arms around his neck and pecks his lips.
"I'm yours for the weekend," he says quietly, barely audible above the TV, "and I expect you to make it worth my while."
Author: fauxfashionista
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Brendon/Ryan, Ryan/OFC, mentions of past Brendon/OMC
POV: 3rd
Summary: Some things are finally cleared up.
Disclaimer: Not real, I'm making no profit from this, etc etc
Author Notes: Man, it's been a while. Most of you probably don't even remember this story! As far as I'm aware, this was one of the first student/teacher fics introduced into this fandom and for the past few months I've gotten tons of people bugging me about finishing it, so. Here it is! Finally.
To clear some things up; xlatestxplaguex used to co-write this with me. She's been MIA for quite a bit and still has no internet access and I really missed this story, so I'm continuing it by myself. The way this flows might be different and strange since it's now in third person instead of first, but I hope it doesn't give anyone too much trouble!
The links take you to either SATD or xlatestxplaguex's journal. Eventually I'll probably get around to posting them all on here, but everything is public and you'll get all the chapters. I should thank sugarsnowflakes, pinkkchocolate, patreesed and melish for (briefly on Mel's part) bugging the hell out of me to finish this. <33333
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14
Brendon bites his lip and tries to hold Madison up, slipping an arm around her thin waist and turning to the class at large.
"I'm going to take her down to the nurse and it'd be a huge help if some of you would be willing to clean up while I'm gone. Don't leave, I'll be back soon."
As he starts walking out the door, he can see Ryan and Sasha bend over to clean up the papers and several other students stand up wordlessly to help. Tyler's leaning against the wall outside the door when they step out, and Brendon sighs.
"I want you to go back in the classroom and help them clean up, then sit at your desk and shut up. I can't deal with you today." Tyler looks from Madison's pale face down to her bleeding leg and doesn't make a comment for once, just slips back inside the room.
It doesn't take long for Brendon and Madison to reach the nurse's office, and he guides her inside, explaining to the middle-aged woman what happened.
"There was a bit of an explosion in class and another student knocked a desk into her leg," he says, easing Madison down onto a chair in the room. "I'm not... I'm not sure what else happened," he lies, looking worriedly over at Maddie. He's well aware that she and Ryan fought, but he can't really tell the nurse everything. Madison will open up if she needs to.
"Thank you for bringing her down," the nurse says, getting up from her desk and kneeling in front of Madison, examining the somewhat deep gash. "I'll let you get back to your class."
Brendon nods and walks back out the door, pausing halfway down the empty hallway to beat his fist against the wall. Taking deep, slow breaths, he eventually makes it back down to his classroom, hesitantly opening the door.
Sasha's sitting beside Ryan on the floor, desks upright and papers gone. He's got his head in his hands, apparently not crying but still upset, and Sasha looks a little lost on what to do. The rest of the class has wide eyes, fidgeting apprehensively in their seats, and even Tyler looks uncomfortable underneath his aloof attitude.
"Okay," Brendon says quietly, not surprised when Ryan doesn't move. "Thanks for cleaning up, you guys. We're not going to continue with anything today. Work on your stories if you want to, but feel free to talk until the class is over. It's been a long day already."
Even though he knows Ryan's upset at him, he's still the teacher and he still needs to make an effort. He sits down on his other side and Sasha bites her lip and looks at him before getting up and moving to her seat to talk with Brianna, worrying over Madison, no doubt.
"This sucks," Ryan says into his arms, and Brendon puts a hand on his shoulder. "Everything at once, too, fuck. I don't want to go home, either, my dad's working late tonight and I don't fucking wanna be alone. God."
"My door's always open, you know that," Brendon says at a whisper, quiet enough the other students can't hear. "I know you're pissed at me, but... If you need somewhere. Just come." He squeezes Ryan's shoulder and drops his hand, not wanting too much public physical touching, but Ryan nods, face still buried.
"I probably will. I want to know what's wrong with her. Last night, she... It wasn't. We didn't fight," he tries, but Brendon shakes his head.
"Don't talk about it here. Tell me later if you want. Want me to take you down to the nurse? Let her know you wanna sleep instead of go to classes today?"
"That'd be awesome," Ryan admits feebly, finally looking up. His face is red from lack of oxygen and all Brendon can think about is kissing his flushed cheeks.
"Okay," Brendon smiles tentatively and isn't surprised when Ryan only bites his lip in return. "Okay. Just wait outside the door for me, I have to-- I have to talk to talk to Tyler." Ryan's jaw clenches visibly, but he just nods.
Brendon stands up and blinks a few times, dizzy from the commotion and lack of sleep. "You all can go," he says, waving his hand towards the door. "Except Tyler. You stay."
No one looks too concerned about that statement and they all file out slowly, Ryan walking behind Sasha and Brianna, awkwardly shrugging when they ask about Madison. Tyler comes up beside Brendon and crosses his arms, waiting until the last person shuts the door to look at him.
"You could ruin my life," Brendon says right off the bat, closing his eyes and leaning against his desk. "You could turn me in and I could lose my job, go to prison. All you'd have to do is tell one person."
Tyler's quiet for a second, before he snaps vehemently, "Jesus, I'm not going to fucking turn you in." Brendon turns to look at him and raises an eyebrow, but Tyler just looks angry. "I'm not in love with or anything, God. You were a good fuck and it was fun, but even I have limits, dude. It'd fuck up both of our reputations if people found out."
They stand in silence for a minute, and Brendon sighs heavily. "That was the stupidest mistake I've ever made. You don't mention it to anyone and keep your mouth shut during class. I don't know what's up with you and Ross, but that stunt you pulled today wasn't fucking cool. You do not make comments like that in front of my students."
"Yeah, I know," Tyler says snappily, carding his fingers through his hair and staring at the floor. "Why does he act so goddamn jealous, though? He stares at you all the time." Mentally, Brendon cheers. If Tyler's talking this openly about Ryan already and hasn't mentioned the apartment, it probably means he didn't see him.
"Maybe he has a crush on me?" Brendon says without missing a beat, sounding annoyed. "I don't know, okay, but I've already talked to him about how he acted and now it's your turn. Don't do shit like that."
"I'm getting transferred out of your class," Tyler replies immediately after, walking back over to get his bag from his desk. "I just figure if you can't handle it, I can't handle it. We've got a whole fucking year to get through."
"I think that's a really smart idea," Brendon agrees, pushing his glasses up on top of his head and rubbing his eyes. "And you know, I really can't stop you if you decide to tell somebody."
"I fucking said I wasn't going to, okay? I'm not that big of an asshole so shut up." Tyler's red in the face from his frustration, and Brendon understands the feeling. He doesn't know that he can trust Tyler, but honestly, he has no other choice.
Brendon's phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls it out as Tyler leaves, reading the text he got from Ryan.
youre taking too long..went to the nurse by myself. i'll be over @ 2
Brendon walks around and slumps down in the chair behind his desk, willing his headache to go away.
--
"I know you're not sleeping," Ryan mutters. Madison opens her eyes at that, looking across the short distance to the other bed in the nurse's wing that Ryan's laying in.
"You're right," she agrees, and she sounds so tired. It makes Ryan's chest ache.
"You wanna tell me what happened in there?"
She smiles and looks away from him, shaking her head a bit. "I think it'd be more appropriate for me to ask that question," she says quietly.
Ryan's silent for several minutes before he replies, almost a whisper, "I'm not in love with you. That's why I said no when you wanted to."
The expression on Madison's face doesn't change, but Ryan sees the way her shoulders shake when she inhales. It doesn't take long for the tears to start, and he almost looks away, but can't bring himself to.
"You've got some pretty shitty timing," she murmurs, sniffling delicately. Ryan hardly realized the irony; he'd been wanting to sleep with for three years and when she finally is ready for him, he doesn't want it.
He's chosen his teacher who he's barely known for a month, who has an affinity for sleeping with underage students, over his beautiful girlfriend who's been nothing but good to him. He's pretty sure he's the worst boyfriend and the stupidest person in the world.
"It's not like I meant for it to happen," he mumbles, and fuck if he doesn't start crying too. The worst part about telling Madison this is that he can't tell her about why he doesn't love her any more. That he suddenly wants to be with a man that he has no real chance with, a relationship that has no logical chance of surviving.
"I know," she all but whimpers, bringing a hand up to wipe at her eyes, and Ryan subconsciously mirrors the movement on himself. "I guess you're breaking up with me, then," she says, barely understandable through the tears.
"I guess I am," he mumbles, rolling into his back, tears sliding past his temples. Madison doesn't ask more questions, just gently sobs into the stiff pillow. It breaks Ryan's heart, but he can't force himself to move.
An hour of silence later, Madison whispers, "Do you hate me?"
"Fuck, of course not," Ryan says, voice scratchy. "I love you. Just not... Not like I did." He visibly winces at how awkward and predictable that sounds, but Madison doesn't seem to notice.
"I still want to be your friend. Please? Can't we do that? I think I can deal with it, with not being with you... It's not like I expected it to last forever, but... I want to be your friend."
Ryan gets up at that, going over to Madison's bed and laying down, hugging her. "Of course," he says, and he holds her while she cries again.
--
Ryan shows up at Brendon's apartment at half past two. He climbs onto the other side of the futon, looking at Brendon sleeping shirtless, glasses abandoned beside him. He falls asleep almost immediately.
When Ryan wakes up, Brendon's watching TV and it's dark outside. Ryan sits up and keeps his face blank as he kisses Brendon on the mouth, curling his long fingers around his neck. Brendon kisses back but keeps his hands to himself, holding back and letting Ryan do what he's comfortable with.
"I told Madison today," Ryan murmurs between kisses. "I hope you're happy."
"You're upset," Brendon says uselessly, and Ryan kisses him harder. He tries to climb into Brendon's lap, sliding his hand down his naked shoulder, but Brendon holds him back, turning his head when Ryan tries to lick into his mouth.
"Brendon, come on," Ryan says, nipping at his jaw, and Brendon knows he's not even hard. "I want you to fuck me."
"I'm not-- Ryan, just stop it," Brendon says, gritting his teeth.
"Why? I want you, c'mon," Ryan mutters monotonously against his neck, and Brendon sighs heavily, pushing him back.
"You're upset," Brendon repeats, rubbing his hands over his face. "You should probably go home. Go home or get yourself together, Ryan, I'm not fucking you tonight."
Ryan sighs and clenches his jaw momentarily before punching Brendon hard in the arm. Brendon flinches and glares at him but doesn't make a move to hit back, so Ryan rolls over and goes back to sleep and doesn't wake up until morning.
--
They don't even kiss for a month. Ryan continues to come over occasionally, but they've moved back to the real bed instead of the futon. Brendon doesn't buy a new mattress, but flips it over just in case.
Tyler does switch classes. The administration talks to Brendon and Tyler separately about the reasons for the switch, and it's not hard to convince them that this particular English class wasn't the right one for him. Ryan doesn't mention it, but Brendon knows he's fucking grateful.
Things stay okay between Ryan and Madison. They're pretty much officially broken up, but they continue seeing each other, helping with homework and giving rides home. He stays after school to watch her practice for cheerleading sometimes, and Brendon goes home by himself.
It's still complicated between them. Almost every night, Brendon wakes up and feels Ryan beside him or behind him or in front of him, and thinks it was a stupid, stupid mistake to claim love to some kid he barely knows. Some gorgeous, talented kid who blew him away with his group's story, with his words and his mind. His student. He thinks about how idiotic they both are for wanting what they want, for Ryan to give up his girlfriend who cares about him for some 20-something guy just because he wanted to get laid. For letting himself take that from him, take Ryan's fucking virginity for Christ's sake, just because he asked him to. He told him it didn't really mean much, but he still thinks about it.
Almost every night, on the other side of the bed, Ryan wishes that Brendon would press up against him and hold him like he did the few times before.
--
"Test on Hemingway next week," Brendon says, and smiles at the groans he gets. "But seriously though, I'm expecting you all to get A's. We've only been covering him for like, the entire year."
"The entire year which has not been long enough," Mark says, dropping his head down onto his desk.
"I concur," Madison says, crossing her legs. "Let's just skip the test. Move right on into other territory."
"I think it's kind of required for me to give you a test or something," Brendon shrugs, erasing the blackboard for the day. "It might've been in the fine print in my contract, who knows."
"You didn't read your contract?" Ryan teases. "But you're so professional. I never would've guessed."
"I'm not very good at following rules," Brendon says, "So it's not like reading the contract would have helped me much."
Ryan snorts at how completely true that comment is.
"I could turn you in for that," Mark says. The bell rings obnoxiously in the hall, and Brendon sighs.
"You'd get a sucky substitute if you did that. I'll see you guys on Monday."
Ryan takes an extra long time to pack up his things, standing when the last few people are almost to the door, then drops his bag on the ground, scattering a few papers. He curses under his breath and crouches down, watching the door.
"You need some help?" Brendon asks, eyebrow raised, and Ryan stands up, abandoning his things when the last person leaves. He walks up to Brendon and bites his lip for a second before leaning in and kissing him. Making a surprised sound, Brendon glances at his door in panic, but Ryan sucks lightly at his bottom lip and Brendon gives in.
The kiss doesn't last long, a few open-mouthed movements before Ryan pulls away, looking at him. He runs his palm over the scratchy stubble on Brendon's cheek, enjoying the way it catches on his skin.
"I'm telling my Dad I'm spending the weekend with Spence," he says quietly, and Brendon's heart speeds up, remembering what that used to mean for him.
"I guess that means you're coming with me," he says, barely a question. Ryan nods and licks his lips.
"I broke up with her for you," he reminds Brendon as he turns back around and picks up his things. Brendon tries not to stare when he bends over. "Try to remember that. I'm tired of you being so careful."
He watches as Ryan leaves, throwing a tentative smile over his shoulder before the door shuts, and Brendon goes home, smiling softly to himself the whole time.
--
It's half past six before Ryan shows up, and Brendon's watching TV when the door opens. He looks up from the couch and stands when he notices who it is, watching as Ryan kicks off his shoes and sets his bag on the floor.
Walking slowly over to where Brendon is, Ryan slips his arms around his neck and pecks his lips.
"I'm yours for the weekend," he says quietly, barely audible above the TV, "and I expect you to make it worth my while."