Fic: Take the Fight from the Kid
Title: Take the Fight from the Kid
Author: tonightwelie
Verse: Panic! at the Disco
Characters: Ryan Ross, Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith, Jon Walker
Pairings: N/A
Rating: PG
Warnings: threats, mental illness
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: Brendon has a twin.
Prompt: mistaken identity
"Brendon?" Ryan called, confused. He'd just been talking to Brendon five minutes ago on the bus, and yet, here he was, sitting backstage with fangirls fawning over him. Brendon had been talking about wanting to take a nap. He hadn't had any intentions of leaving the bus for hours. What was he doing here?
The boy looked up, and Ryan saw immediately that he wasn't Brendon. He definitely looked close though, definitely enough to pass in front of fangirls who had only known him in pictures. Ryan had spent the past few years sharing the same living space as Brendon, though, and he could definitely tell the difference. "Hi, Ryan!" the impostor said, plastering a grin on his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Ryan Ross?" one of the girls asked, looking away from the other man. She smiled at him. The other girls turned too.
Ryan gave them smiles too. "Can I talk to you?" he asked the impostor, who shrugged. "Like, alone?"
The impostor stood up. He sent a rueful smile in the girls' direction. "Sorry, ladies. Duty calls." He walked over to Ryan and slid an arm around his waist. Ryan fought the urge to jerk away from him. The girls thought that this man was Brendon, and Ryan didn't want to make them all start worrying about the possibility of trouble in paradise. "What do you want?" the man asked in a low voice.
"You're not Brendon," Ryan hissed. As soon as they turned a corner, he ripped himself away from the other man's touch. "Who are you?"
The impostor smiled. "I'm Brendon's brother. We're twins but not identical ones. We just look close enough for me to pass."
Ryan wasn't sure he believed that. Brendon had never mentioned having a twin. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I just thought I'd come visit my brother on the road," the man said, shrugging. "I just so happened to run into those girls, and they thought I was him, so we were just chatting."
"I'm going to call Brendon," Ryan said, pulling out his cell phone.
The man grabbed his wrist, tightening his grip painfully until Ryan dropped the phone. "No, you're not," he hissed. "This is a surprise. You're not going to ruin it for me."
Ryan looked up into the man's eyes. They were filled with anger, and Ryan knew immediately that this man was not going to take 'no' for an answer. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level and calm. He'd dealt with his father for years. He could deal with this.
The man grinned and released him. "Nothing, Ryan, nothing at all. Just don't call Brendon."
Ryan nodded slowly, rubbing at the blooming bruise around his aching wrist. "Brendon's never mentioned you before."
The man shrugged. He'd started walking again, and Ryan hurried to follow him. "I wouldn't expect him to."
"Why not?" Ryan asked. That only deepened his worry. This man had already become violent, and he wouldn't put it past him to try it again, maybe even on Brendon. What had he done that would make Brendon not even want to bother to mention him to his best friends? The man didn't answer him. "Look, you haven't even proved that your actually Brendon's brother, and I've never even heard of you, so you better start talking, or I'll be forced to call security."
The man whirled on him. "Don't do that," he hissed at Ryan. "I am Brendon's brother. He'll be able to tell you that as soon as we go see him."
"Zack's not going to let you on the bus."
The man shook his head. "Zack's going to think I'm Brendon, and you're not going to tell him otherwise," he ordered.
Ryan glared at him. He hated being bossed around. "And what if I do?"
The man grinned, and he withdrew a long, sharp knife from his pocket. Ryan wasn't even sure how he'd managed to fit it in his pants. Ryan backed up immediately, trying to get away. "If you say anything to anyone, I'll slit your throat."
"Leave me here," Ryan said. "I don't want to be part of this."
The man laughed. "So you can run off and tell someone else? Not a chance." He grabbed Ryan's wrist again, tugging him close to him. He slid his arm around Ryan's waist, and Ryan kept telling himself that struggling would only end up with him getting stabbed. "Come along, dear."
***
The walk back to the bus didn't take very long, and Ryan was relieved that they didn't run into anyone. Ryan was certain that if someone found out this man wasn't Brendon, Ryan would end up being the one he took out his anger on. Ryan refused to meet Zack's eyes as they headed inside the bus. Zack didn't even question the impostor's presence. Once inside, Spencer noticed immediately that the impostor wasn't Brendon. "What the fuck, Ry? Who's this?"
"I'm Brendon's brother, Troy," he said simply. He let go of Ryan, finally, and Ryan scurried over to the couch where he curled into Spencer's side. "Brendon!" the man called.
Brendon emerged from the bunk area. "What is it?" he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "Troy? What are you doing here?"
"They let me out," Troy said, smiling. "I thought I'd come visit you. Mom told me I shouldn't, but I came anyway."
Brendon nodded slowly, processing. "She was right."
"What? So you want me to just go?" Troy looked angry, and Ryan worried that he'd pull out the knife again.
"Spence," he whispered, trying to get his best friend's attention.
"Not now."
Ryan shook his head and whispered, "Spence, he has a knife."
Spencer stood up and stepped over to Brendon's side. "Yes, that's exactly what he wants," Spencer told him firmly, crossing his arms and putting on his best bitch face.
Troy glared at him. "I'm talking to Brendon, not you," he snapped.
"Please, just go," Brendon said quietly.
"I haven't seen you in years, Bren. You can't just send me away."
Brendon frowned. "Look, go back home to Mom and Dad, and I'll come visit all of you once we finish up the tour, but right now, we have to get on the road to make it to our next city, and there isn't enough room on this bus for one more person."
Brendon's reasoning actually seemed to work. "Okay, fine," Troy mumbled, looking down. "You promise?"
"I promise."
Troy lunged forward and pulled Brendon into a hug. Brendon accepted it awkwardly, like he did when fans surprised him with them, but Troy didn't seem bothered by it. "Okay, well, I suppose I'll see you then."
"Bye," Brendon said as the man walked out the door. As soon as he was gone, Brendon let out a long sigh.
"Bren," Ryan started, but then he stopped. He didn't even know where to start. He felt betrayed. Brendon had never even mentioned this guy who had pulled a fucking knife on him. Even Brendon seemed afraid of him. Why didn't he think it would be worth it just to at least mention that one of his family members was a fucking psycho? "Why did you lie to us?" was what eventually came out.
"I didn't," Brendon started, but Spencer cut him off.
"You didn't tell us you had a brother."
Brendon frowned. "He was locked up. I didn't think it was worth mentioning."
Spencer glared at him. "Well, he threatened Ryan with a knife." That wasn't quite what Ryan had told him, but it was true. Ryan loved Spencer's ability to know exactly what he meant, regardless of what he actually said. "I think you probably should have told us that someone might try killing us. That's kind of important."
Brendon's gaze turned to Ryan. "Did he? I'm so sorry." He sighed. "Look, he's mentally ill. He wasn't thinking properly. He was locked up. I didn't think they were ever going to let him out. I didn't mention it, because I didn't think it was something we'd ever have to deal with," Brendon explained.
"Okay," Ryan said, looking down at his lap.
"I'm sorry, Ryan."
"Okay," he said again. He wasn't going to just go ahead and forgive Brendon for this one. His life had been threatened. That wasn't something he could just get over immediately. Maybe with time, but certainly not right now. He didn't look up. He couldn't look at Brendon's pouting face; he'd say anything just to make Brendon smile again. "I'm gonna go to bed," he mumbled. He didn't look at Brendon or Spencer as he walked past them.
Jon looked up at him from his bunk. "Did I hear yelling earlier?" he mumbled.
Ryan shrugged. "Go ask Brendon about his psycho brother."
***
"Ryan, what's wrong?" Brendon asked, putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan jumped in surprise. "Ryan?"
"Go away," Ryan mumbled. It had been weeks since Troy turned up. Tonight had been their last show, and now they were throwing a party at the hotel. Ryan had gone out on the balcony to be by himself. He didn't feel like partying.
"Ryan, why are you out here by yourself?" Brendon asked, sounding concerned.
Ryan looked out over the city lights below. They blurred together as tears welled up in his eyes. "What if he comes back?" he whispered.
Brendon sat down beside him. "Ryan, he's not going to come back. My parents called as soon as he got there and said he'd been sent back to the hospital. We're safe."
"So that's it? We're just going to go back to pretending he doesn't exist?" Ryan snapped.
"I'm going to go visit him in the hospital and talk to him about what he did to you, don't worry."
Ryan sighed and looked up at him. "I don't think that's going to fix it, Brendon."
Brendon grimaced. "Well, what do you think I should do?" he asked.
"I think you should find out why he wanted to see you in the first place, and then I think you should make it clear that he scared the shit out of me and that he should never ever pretend that he's you again."
"Wait, he pretended to be me?" Brendon asked.
Ryan nodded slowly and dropped his eyes down to his lap again. He could not look at Brendon while he was saying this. "He looks a lot like you. I thought he was you from far away. I keep having these nightmares about you. It scares me."
Brendon put his arm around Ryan's shoulders. "That's why you've been avoiding me?" Slowly, Ryan nodded. "I'm not him."
"I know."
Brendon sighed, and Ryan felt his whole body shake. "Sometimes I think I could be."
Ryan shook his head quickly. "You're not," he said firmly.
"You sure?" Ryan nodded. "Then why are you afraid of me?"
"It's just weird. Sometimes, in the dreams, I fight back. I'm worried that you'll move too quickly or something, and I'll freak out and maybe do something to you," Ryan confessed, looking up again.
Brendon shook his head. "Ryan, you're a twig. You don't scare me." He grinned. "You don't have to worry about something like that happening."
"If you say so."
Brendon nodded. "I do."
"Okay."
"So, we're good then? You're going to stop avoiding me?" Brendon asked, looking insecure. Ryan nodded. "Okay, good. Now come inside. Last I knew, Jon and Spencer were doing body shots."
Author: tonightwelie
Verse: Panic! at the Disco
Characters: Ryan Ross, Brendon Urie, Spencer Smith, Jon Walker
Pairings: N/A
Rating: PG
Warnings: threats, mental illness
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: Brendon has a twin.
Prompt: mistaken identity
"Brendon?" Ryan called, confused. He'd just been talking to Brendon five minutes ago on the bus, and yet, here he was, sitting backstage with fangirls fawning over him. Brendon had been talking about wanting to take a nap. He hadn't had any intentions of leaving the bus for hours. What was he doing here?
The boy looked up, and Ryan saw immediately that he wasn't Brendon. He definitely looked close though, definitely enough to pass in front of fangirls who had only known him in pictures. Ryan had spent the past few years sharing the same living space as Brendon, though, and he could definitely tell the difference. "Hi, Ryan!" the impostor said, plastering a grin on his face. It didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Ryan Ross?" one of the girls asked, looking away from the other man. She smiled at him. The other girls turned too.
Ryan gave them smiles too. "Can I talk to you?" he asked the impostor, who shrugged. "Like, alone?"
The impostor stood up. He sent a rueful smile in the girls' direction. "Sorry, ladies. Duty calls." He walked over to Ryan and slid an arm around his waist. Ryan fought the urge to jerk away from him. The girls thought that this man was Brendon, and Ryan didn't want to make them all start worrying about the possibility of trouble in paradise. "What do you want?" the man asked in a low voice.
"You're not Brendon," Ryan hissed. As soon as they turned a corner, he ripped himself away from the other man's touch. "Who are you?"
The impostor smiled. "I'm Brendon's brother. We're twins but not identical ones. We just look close enough for me to pass."
Ryan wasn't sure he believed that. Brendon had never mentioned having a twin. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"I just thought I'd come visit my brother on the road," the man said, shrugging. "I just so happened to run into those girls, and they thought I was him, so we were just chatting."
"I'm going to call Brendon," Ryan said, pulling out his cell phone.
The man grabbed his wrist, tightening his grip painfully until Ryan dropped the phone. "No, you're not," he hissed. "This is a surprise. You're not going to ruin it for me."
Ryan looked up into the man's eyes. They were filled with anger, and Ryan knew immediately that this man was not going to take 'no' for an answer. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level and calm. He'd dealt with his father for years. He could deal with this.
The man grinned and released him. "Nothing, Ryan, nothing at all. Just don't call Brendon."
Ryan nodded slowly, rubbing at the blooming bruise around his aching wrist. "Brendon's never mentioned you before."
The man shrugged. He'd started walking again, and Ryan hurried to follow him. "I wouldn't expect him to."
"Why not?" Ryan asked. That only deepened his worry. This man had already become violent, and he wouldn't put it past him to try it again, maybe even on Brendon. What had he done that would make Brendon not even want to bother to mention him to his best friends? The man didn't answer him. "Look, you haven't even proved that your actually Brendon's brother, and I've never even heard of you, so you better start talking, or I'll be forced to call security."
The man whirled on him. "Don't do that," he hissed at Ryan. "I am Brendon's brother. He'll be able to tell you that as soon as we go see him."
"Zack's not going to let you on the bus."
The man shook his head. "Zack's going to think I'm Brendon, and you're not going to tell him otherwise," he ordered.
Ryan glared at him. He hated being bossed around. "And what if I do?"
The man grinned, and he withdrew a long, sharp knife from his pocket. Ryan wasn't even sure how he'd managed to fit it in his pants. Ryan backed up immediately, trying to get away. "If you say anything to anyone, I'll slit your throat."
"Leave me here," Ryan said. "I don't want to be part of this."
The man laughed. "So you can run off and tell someone else? Not a chance." He grabbed Ryan's wrist again, tugging him close to him. He slid his arm around Ryan's waist, and Ryan kept telling himself that struggling would only end up with him getting stabbed. "Come along, dear."
***
The walk back to the bus didn't take very long, and Ryan was relieved that they didn't run into anyone. Ryan was certain that if someone found out this man wasn't Brendon, Ryan would end up being the one he took out his anger on. Ryan refused to meet Zack's eyes as they headed inside the bus. Zack didn't even question the impostor's presence. Once inside, Spencer noticed immediately that the impostor wasn't Brendon. "What the fuck, Ry? Who's this?"
"I'm Brendon's brother, Troy," he said simply. He let go of Ryan, finally, and Ryan scurried over to the couch where he curled into Spencer's side. "Brendon!" the man called.
Brendon emerged from the bunk area. "What is it?" he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. "Troy? What are you doing here?"
"They let me out," Troy said, smiling. "I thought I'd come visit you. Mom told me I shouldn't, but I came anyway."
Brendon nodded slowly, processing. "She was right."
"What? So you want me to just go?" Troy looked angry, and Ryan worried that he'd pull out the knife again.
"Spence," he whispered, trying to get his best friend's attention.
"Not now."
Ryan shook his head and whispered, "Spence, he has a knife."
Spencer stood up and stepped over to Brendon's side. "Yes, that's exactly what he wants," Spencer told him firmly, crossing his arms and putting on his best bitch face.
Troy glared at him. "I'm talking to Brendon, not you," he snapped.
"Please, just go," Brendon said quietly.
"I haven't seen you in years, Bren. You can't just send me away."
Brendon frowned. "Look, go back home to Mom and Dad, and I'll come visit all of you once we finish up the tour, but right now, we have to get on the road to make it to our next city, and there isn't enough room on this bus for one more person."
Brendon's reasoning actually seemed to work. "Okay, fine," Troy mumbled, looking down. "You promise?"
"I promise."
Troy lunged forward and pulled Brendon into a hug. Brendon accepted it awkwardly, like he did when fans surprised him with them, but Troy didn't seem bothered by it. "Okay, well, I suppose I'll see you then."
"Bye," Brendon said as the man walked out the door. As soon as he was gone, Brendon let out a long sigh.
"Bren," Ryan started, but then he stopped. He didn't even know where to start. He felt betrayed. Brendon had never even mentioned this guy who had pulled a fucking knife on him. Even Brendon seemed afraid of him. Why didn't he think it would be worth it just to at least mention that one of his family members was a fucking psycho? "Why did you lie to us?" was what eventually came out.
"I didn't," Brendon started, but Spencer cut him off.
"You didn't tell us you had a brother."
Brendon frowned. "He was locked up. I didn't think it was worth mentioning."
Spencer glared at him. "Well, he threatened Ryan with a knife." That wasn't quite what Ryan had told him, but it was true. Ryan loved Spencer's ability to know exactly what he meant, regardless of what he actually said. "I think you probably should have told us that someone might try killing us. That's kind of important."
Brendon's gaze turned to Ryan. "Did he? I'm so sorry." He sighed. "Look, he's mentally ill. He wasn't thinking properly. He was locked up. I didn't think they were ever going to let him out. I didn't mention it, because I didn't think it was something we'd ever have to deal with," Brendon explained.
"Okay," Ryan said, looking down at his lap.
"I'm sorry, Ryan."
"Okay," he said again. He wasn't going to just go ahead and forgive Brendon for this one. His life had been threatened. That wasn't something he could just get over immediately. Maybe with time, but certainly not right now. He didn't look up. He couldn't look at Brendon's pouting face; he'd say anything just to make Brendon smile again. "I'm gonna go to bed," he mumbled. He didn't look at Brendon or Spencer as he walked past them.
Jon looked up at him from his bunk. "Did I hear yelling earlier?" he mumbled.
Ryan shrugged. "Go ask Brendon about his psycho brother."
***
"Ryan, what's wrong?" Brendon asked, putting a hand on Ryan's shoulder. Ryan jumped in surprise. "Ryan?"
"Go away," Ryan mumbled. It had been weeks since Troy turned up. Tonight had been their last show, and now they were throwing a party at the hotel. Ryan had gone out on the balcony to be by himself. He didn't feel like partying.
"Ryan, why are you out here by yourself?" Brendon asked, sounding concerned.
Ryan looked out over the city lights below. They blurred together as tears welled up in his eyes. "What if he comes back?" he whispered.
Brendon sat down beside him. "Ryan, he's not going to come back. My parents called as soon as he got there and said he'd been sent back to the hospital. We're safe."
"So that's it? We're just going to go back to pretending he doesn't exist?" Ryan snapped.
"I'm going to go visit him in the hospital and talk to him about what he did to you, don't worry."
Ryan sighed and looked up at him. "I don't think that's going to fix it, Brendon."
Brendon grimaced. "Well, what do you think I should do?" he asked.
"I think you should find out why he wanted to see you in the first place, and then I think you should make it clear that he scared the shit out of me and that he should never ever pretend that he's you again."
"Wait, he pretended to be me?" Brendon asked.
Ryan nodded slowly and dropped his eyes down to his lap again. He could not look at Brendon while he was saying this. "He looks a lot like you. I thought he was you from far away. I keep having these nightmares about you. It scares me."
Brendon put his arm around Ryan's shoulders. "That's why you've been avoiding me?" Slowly, Ryan nodded. "I'm not him."
"I know."
Brendon sighed, and Ryan felt his whole body shake. "Sometimes I think I could be."
Ryan shook his head quickly. "You're not," he said firmly.
"You sure?" Ryan nodded. "Then why are you afraid of me?"
"It's just weird. Sometimes, in the dreams, I fight back. I'm worried that you'll move too quickly or something, and I'll freak out and maybe do something to you," Ryan confessed, looking up again.
Brendon shook his head. "Ryan, you're a twig. You don't scare me." He grinned. "You don't have to worry about something like that happening."
"If you say so."
Brendon nodded. "I do."
"Okay."
"So, we're good then? You're going to stop avoiding me?" Brendon asked, looking insecure. Ryan nodded. "Okay, good. Now come inside. Last I knew, Jon and Spencer were doing body shots."