Remaining Relevant .:Nine:.
Title: Remaining Relevant .:Nine:.
Author: neverxnever
Rating: Pg13- R
Pairing: Ghost!Brendon/Blind!Ryan, various others mentioned
POV: Third
Summary: Sequel to Heedless in Rain. Brendon’s dead, he’s lost his love, his friends can’t seem to move on. And what happens when the psychopathic murderer who killed him shows up again?
Chapter Summary: “Oh,” Spencer says, genuinely surprised. But then he grimaces because oh, he should’ve realized. “I’m the bait, aren’t I?”
Disclaimer: I do not own/know anyone mentioned in this piece of FICTION.
Author Notes: At the end, bbz.
-Prologue- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Chapter Nine
“Hey, fuck, you don’t have to be so rough,” Spencer snaps when Gerard shoves him into the apartment and he nearly lands on his face. “I’m going quietly, aren’t I?”
“Not quietly enough for my tastes,” Gerard mumbles, and then he’s jerking Spencer up by his hair again and flinging him onto the sofa. The stupid, red velvet sofa that’s all lumpy and still has Brendon’s jacket tossed over the back of it like he still lives there. And, okay, Spencer never purposely sniffed Brendon or anything, but the entire place smells like him, if a little mustier, and it makes Spencer overwhelmingly sad all of a sudden.
“I can’t believe you’re able to come up here after what you did.” Spencer tries to sound angry, or accusing, but it just comes out sounding kind of flat and monotone. He tries to remember if it was supposed to rain today. It’s cloudy, but he can’t decide if they look like rain clouds or not. Rain would be really nice right now.
Gerard snorts. He’s shuffling around near the desk, flicking through random stacks of papers and books. Maybe he’s looking for something, Spencer isn’t sure. He could just be nosy. “You act like I did it on purpose.”
Spencer grits his teeth. “You did. You are so not about to tell me it was an accident.”
Gerard pauses, glances over his shoulder at Spencer, face expressionless. Spencer meets his gaze, trying his best to look brave and stubborn and angry despite his bound hands and utter helplessness. Gerard shrugs, turns back to the desk, this time opening drawers and looking inside. “I was aiming for Frank.”
Spencer scoffs. “Yeah, because that makes it better. I’m rather attached to Frank too, you know.”
Spencer can’t see it, but Gerard grins. “Oh, I know.”
Spencer licks his dry lips and frowns at the back of Gerard’s head. Several seconds of silence pass before he asks, “So, what’re you looking for?” because he honestly has no idea how to reply to that.
“Phone book,” Gerard mumbles, and then adds, “Ah-ha!” as he, apparently, finds it.
Spencer laughs once, short and humorless. “What are you going to do, order a pizza?” Oh, God, would it be nice if that was all Gerard was doing. But, seriously, who is he going to call? Jon? Gabe? Spencer starts to shake a little without meaning to. But, fuck, this is a fucking scary situation. He’s allowed to be a bit of a wimp.
Gerard leans back against the desk and starts flicking through the phonebook, answering Spencer absentmindedly. “Frank.”
“Oh,” Spencer says, genuinely surprised. But then he grimaces because oh, he should’ve realized. “I’m the bait, aren’t I?”
Gerard grins again as he finds Frank’s number, pulls out his cellphone, and starts to dial. This is answer enough for Spencer, who starts to shake a little harder, maybe. He totally does not want to cry, either.
Just as Gerard hit’s the call button, three things happen. Not simultaneously, but in such rapid succession that it seems that way.
There is a tap. A tap that Spencer is familiar with, having worked downstairs in the bookstore for several years. It’s the tap of the first raindrop hitting the roof, a sound that is quickly followed by more taps, until there’s so many you can’t distinguish one from the rest of them. It’s just a roar of water coming down on top of you.
Then there is stomping on the stairs and then the door knob is rattling. Jon is calling out Spencer’s name and Gerard is cursing.
And then, Ryan’s feet touch the floor, and he swings a fist straight into Gerard’s jaw.
Gerard drops the phone and stumbles backward, clutching at his face. Ryan snatches up the phone just as Gabe picks the lock on the door and he and Jon rush inside. Jon doesn’t even take proper time to assess the situation before he’s running to Spencer, untying his hands in a hurry. Gabe is more thoughtful, and instead moves toward Gerard, grabbing him before he can reach for his knife or make an escape.
“Frank, Frank,” Ryan says into the phone when the boy picks up. “Call the police. Give them the apartment address and tell them to hurry the fuck up. Gerard’s here.” With that, he snaps the phone shut and tosses it to Spencer, who uses his newly freed hands to catch it and pocket it.
“Motherfucker,” Gerard hisses at Ryan, struggling against Gabe uselessly. “Where the fuck did you even come from? I already fucking shot you once.”
Ryan cocks an eyebrow. “So you do recognize me, then? Well, good.” He doesn’t answer Gerard’s question, turns to Jon instead. “How did you know to come here?”
Jon shrugs, tilts his head at Gabe, who also shrugs. “It doesn’t matter,” Spencer says matter-of-factly. “You’re here, oh my god. I didn’t even know you were coming back today.”
Jon grins, leans down to plant a feather-light kiss on Spencer’s lips. “I wanted it to be a surprise.” He drapes an arm across Spencer’s shoulders and pulls him closer. “I’m just glad you’re alright. God, I almost wrecked about a million times on the way here.”
“How touching,” Gerard snaps. He twists just the right way and manages to close his fingers around the knife at his belt. He flicks it at just the right angle that it catches Gabe on the arm and makes Gabe yelp and pull away, clutching at the fresh cut.
-
Jon to talks to the police when they arrive, explains what happened. Gerard got away- jumped out the freaking window. He wasn’t injured, unfortunately. He used handholds in the bricks to climb down, and then he ran. To where? Jon has no idea.
Frank shows up about the same time as the police. “What happened?” he asks Gabe, looking anxious. “No one’s hurt, right?”
“Nah.” Gabe waves a hand about, like he’s trying to tell Frank it wasn’t a big deal. “We’re all okay. Gerard got away, but fuck if I wasn’t expecting it. If that kid can break out of a hospital, there‘s nothing he can‘t do.”
“What happened?” Frank presses, feeling a little queasy at Gabe’s words.
Gabe leans back in his chair, props his feet up on the table as he explains what happened in as few sentences as possible. Frank has no idea how he can be so calm all the time, but the way Gabe talks, like it happened to someone else forever ago, allows Frank to take a deep breath and calm himself down, too.
“Do you… do you think he’ll try it again?”
Gabe shrugs, fingering the hole in his hoodie where Gerard’s knife went through. “Maybe. It probably won’t be Spencer next time, though.”
Frank sighs, sinks down into a chair. Well, that’s something. At least Spencer should be okay.
-
“What was he like?”
Ryan and Brendon are sprawled on the ground, Brendon lying on his back with Ryan curled into his side, head on his chest. Brendon’s discovered that Ryan likes to touch. It’s mostly all innocent. He likes to touch because he can’t see, wants to know if Brendon is still there with him. Brendon doesn’t blame him.
Brendon hums, tilts his head to the side a little as he glances down at Ryan. “Who?”
“My grandfather.”
“Oh.” Brendon purses his lips as he considers the question. Then, he laughs a little. “He was a moody bitch.”
Ryan smiles, asks his next question a little hesitantly. “Why’d you love him?”
“Why does anyone love anyone? I just… I cared about him, right away. Not because he was a ghost, or because he was pretty. There was just something about him, you know?”
They lapse into silence. A comfortable silence, both of them oblivious as to what’s going on in town- Spencer’s kidnapping. But they’d rather not know, anyway.
“Does that mean I’m pretty too?” Ryan asks slowly. It’s not a serious question. He just kind of wants to see what Brendon will say.
Brendon chuckles, nods. “Oh, yeah. You are the prettiest, Ryan Ross.”
“If you say so,” Ryan grins, leaning up to plant on a kiss on Brendon’s lips.
“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?” someone yells, coming toward them. Brendon and Ryan both jump, and then Ryan’s rolling off Brendon and getting to his feet.
Brendon stands too, squinting at the newcomer. It’s a guy that couldn’t be much older than him, with black hair and brown eyes. He’s tall and lean and okay, yeah. Hot. Brendon feels an inexplicable flair of jealousy, even though he was the one just holding Ryan in his arms. Ryan can’t even see the guy, so why should he be worried about it?
“Who the fuck are you?” the guy demands, glaring at Brendon.
Brendon crosses his arms over his chest huffily. “I’d like to ask you the same thing.”
Ryan clears his throat awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot and wringing his hands together. “Brendon,” he almost whispers, sounding scared. “Brendon, this is my boyfriend.”
-
An- Cliffhanger, omg! Did I forget to mention the OC? …My bad ;)
Also, I'm sorry for any typo's I missed. I just did a quick read-through on this one.
Feedback is greatly appreciated. Really ♥
Author: neverxnever
Rating: Pg13- R
Pairing: Ghost!Brendon/Blind!Ryan, various others mentioned
POV: Third
Summary: Sequel to Heedless in Rain. Brendon’s dead, he’s lost his love, his friends can’t seem to move on. And what happens when the psychopathic murderer who killed him shows up again?
Chapter Summary: “Oh,” Spencer says, genuinely surprised. But then he grimaces because oh, he should’ve realized. “I’m the bait, aren’t I?”
Disclaimer: I do not own/know anyone mentioned in this piece of FICTION.
Author Notes: At the end, bbz.
-Prologue- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Chapter Nine
“Hey, fuck, you don’t have to be so rough,” Spencer snaps when Gerard shoves him into the apartment and he nearly lands on his face. “I’m going quietly, aren’t I?”
“Not quietly enough for my tastes,” Gerard mumbles, and then he’s jerking Spencer up by his hair again and flinging him onto the sofa. The stupid, red velvet sofa that’s all lumpy and still has Brendon’s jacket tossed over the back of it like he still lives there. And, okay, Spencer never purposely sniffed Brendon or anything, but the entire place smells like him, if a little mustier, and it makes Spencer overwhelmingly sad all of a sudden.
“I can’t believe you’re able to come up here after what you did.” Spencer tries to sound angry, or accusing, but it just comes out sounding kind of flat and monotone. He tries to remember if it was supposed to rain today. It’s cloudy, but he can’t decide if they look like rain clouds or not. Rain would be really nice right now.
Gerard snorts. He’s shuffling around near the desk, flicking through random stacks of papers and books. Maybe he’s looking for something, Spencer isn’t sure. He could just be nosy. “You act like I did it on purpose.”
Spencer grits his teeth. “You did. You are so not about to tell me it was an accident.”
Gerard pauses, glances over his shoulder at Spencer, face expressionless. Spencer meets his gaze, trying his best to look brave and stubborn and angry despite his bound hands and utter helplessness. Gerard shrugs, turns back to the desk, this time opening drawers and looking inside. “I was aiming for Frank.”
Spencer scoffs. “Yeah, because that makes it better. I’m rather attached to Frank too, you know.”
Spencer can’t see it, but Gerard grins. “Oh, I know.”
Spencer licks his dry lips and frowns at the back of Gerard’s head. Several seconds of silence pass before he asks, “So, what’re you looking for?” because he honestly has no idea how to reply to that.
“Phone book,” Gerard mumbles, and then adds, “Ah-ha!” as he, apparently, finds it.
Spencer laughs once, short and humorless. “What are you going to do, order a pizza?” Oh, God, would it be nice if that was all Gerard was doing. But, seriously, who is he going to call? Jon? Gabe? Spencer starts to shake a little without meaning to. But, fuck, this is a fucking scary situation. He’s allowed to be a bit of a wimp.
Gerard leans back against the desk and starts flicking through the phonebook, answering Spencer absentmindedly. “Frank.”
“Oh,” Spencer says, genuinely surprised. But then he grimaces because oh, he should’ve realized. “I’m the bait, aren’t I?”
Gerard grins again as he finds Frank’s number, pulls out his cellphone, and starts to dial. This is answer enough for Spencer, who starts to shake a little harder, maybe. He totally does not want to cry, either.
Just as Gerard hit’s the call button, three things happen. Not simultaneously, but in such rapid succession that it seems that way.
There is a tap. A tap that Spencer is familiar with, having worked downstairs in the bookstore for several years. It’s the tap of the first raindrop hitting the roof, a sound that is quickly followed by more taps, until there’s so many you can’t distinguish one from the rest of them. It’s just a roar of water coming down on top of you.
Then there is stomping on the stairs and then the door knob is rattling. Jon is calling out Spencer’s name and Gerard is cursing.
And then, Ryan’s feet touch the floor, and he swings a fist straight into Gerard’s jaw.
Gerard drops the phone and stumbles backward, clutching at his face. Ryan snatches up the phone just as Gabe picks the lock on the door and he and Jon rush inside. Jon doesn’t even take proper time to assess the situation before he’s running to Spencer, untying his hands in a hurry. Gabe is more thoughtful, and instead moves toward Gerard, grabbing him before he can reach for his knife or make an escape.
“Frank, Frank,” Ryan says into the phone when the boy picks up. “Call the police. Give them the apartment address and tell them to hurry the fuck up. Gerard’s here.” With that, he snaps the phone shut and tosses it to Spencer, who uses his newly freed hands to catch it and pocket it.
“Motherfucker,” Gerard hisses at Ryan, struggling against Gabe uselessly. “Where the fuck did you even come from? I already fucking shot you once.”
Ryan cocks an eyebrow. “So you do recognize me, then? Well, good.” He doesn’t answer Gerard’s question, turns to Jon instead. “How did you know to come here?”
Jon shrugs, tilts his head at Gabe, who also shrugs. “It doesn’t matter,” Spencer says matter-of-factly. “You’re here, oh my god. I didn’t even know you were coming back today.”
Jon grins, leans down to plant a feather-light kiss on Spencer’s lips. “I wanted it to be a surprise.” He drapes an arm across Spencer’s shoulders and pulls him closer. “I’m just glad you’re alright. God, I almost wrecked about a million times on the way here.”
“How touching,” Gerard snaps. He twists just the right way and manages to close his fingers around the knife at his belt. He flicks it at just the right angle that it catches Gabe on the arm and makes Gabe yelp and pull away, clutching at the fresh cut.
-
Jon to talks to the police when they arrive, explains what happened. Gerard got away- jumped out the freaking window. He wasn’t injured, unfortunately. He used handholds in the bricks to climb down, and then he ran. To where? Jon has no idea.
Frank shows up about the same time as the police. “What happened?” he asks Gabe, looking anxious. “No one’s hurt, right?”
“Nah.” Gabe waves a hand about, like he’s trying to tell Frank it wasn’t a big deal. “We’re all okay. Gerard got away, but fuck if I wasn’t expecting it. If that kid can break out of a hospital, there‘s nothing he can‘t do.”
“What happened?” Frank presses, feeling a little queasy at Gabe’s words.
Gabe leans back in his chair, props his feet up on the table as he explains what happened in as few sentences as possible. Frank has no idea how he can be so calm all the time, but the way Gabe talks, like it happened to someone else forever ago, allows Frank to take a deep breath and calm himself down, too.
“Do you… do you think he’ll try it again?”
Gabe shrugs, fingering the hole in his hoodie where Gerard’s knife went through. “Maybe. It probably won’t be Spencer next time, though.”
Frank sighs, sinks down into a chair. Well, that’s something. At least Spencer should be okay.
-
“What was he like?”
Ryan and Brendon are sprawled on the ground, Brendon lying on his back with Ryan curled into his side, head on his chest. Brendon’s discovered that Ryan likes to touch. It’s mostly all innocent. He likes to touch because he can’t see, wants to know if Brendon is still there with him. Brendon doesn’t blame him.
Brendon hums, tilts his head to the side a little as he glances down at Ryan. “Who?”
“My grandfather.”
“Oh.” Brendon purses his lips as he considers the question. Then, he laughs a little. “He was a moody bitch.”
Ryan smiles, asks his next question a little hesitantly. “Why’d you love him?”
“Why does anyone love anyone? I just… I cared about him, right away. Not because he was a ghost, or because he was pretty. There was just something about him, you know?”
They lapse into silence. A comfortable silence, both of them oblivious as to what’s going on in town- Spencer’s kidnapping. But they’d rather not know, anyway.
“Does that mean I’m pretty too?” Ryan asks slowly. It’s not a serious question. He just kind of wants to see what Brendon will say.
Brendon chuckles, nods. “Oh, yeah. You are the prettiest, Ryan Ross.”
“If you say so,” Ryan grins, leaning up to plant on a kiss on Brendon’s lips.
“Hey! What the fuck are you doing?” someone yells, coming toward them. Brendon and Ryan both jump, and then Ryan’s rolling off Brendon and getting to his feet.
Brendon stands too, squinting at the newcomer. It’s a guy that couldn’t be much older than him, with black hair and brown eyes. He’s tall and lean and okay, yeah. Hot. Brendon feels an inexplicable flair of jealousy, even though he was the one just holding Ryan in his arms. Ryan can’t even see the guy, so why should he be worried about it?
“Who the fuck are you?” the guy demands, glaring at Brendon.
Brendon crosses his arms over his chest huffily. “I’d like to ask you the same thing.”
Ryan clears his throat awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot and wringing his hands together. “Brendon,” he almost whispers, sounding scared. “Brendon, this is my boyfriend.”
-
An- Cliffhanger, omg! Did I forget to mention the OC? …My bad ;)
Also, I'm sorry for any typo's I missed. I just did a quick read-through on this one.
Feedback is greatly appreciated. Really ♥