That Fragile Capricorn

The weather in Tampa wasn't what anyone had expected; dark and rainy, stormy actually. Brendon all but glared out the window on the way to the hotel. The only good thing was the fact that Tampa was a lot warmer then Indianapolis...and Ryan was sitting right next to him, crammed up on him due to minimal room. But still, it sucked. In fact, it wasn't so much of Indianapolis' snow that had delayed their flight, it was in fact, Tampa's storms. And somehow, Ryan was happy with the weather, after all, it was only an "Indoor concert booked a few days away". At least it was warmer.

The weather didn't seem to bother Jon or Spencer either. Once they got to the hotel, both of them ran out of the van, running around the parking lot screaming at the top of their lungs. But, Brendon quickly ran in, fearing the tiny water droplets, Ryan right behind him. The hotel was nice, more hotel-ish this time. However, it was elegant beyond belief with crystal chandeliers and antique looking over all.

"How may I help you?" The clerk asked as Ryan and Brendon approached her desk.

"We're here to check in." Ryan smiled sheepishly.

"Oh." She seemed a bit creeped out. "Last name?"

"We're in a band." Brendon chimed in, annoyance hinted his voice and a his face flushed. "Panic At The Disco."

"Oh, okay." Her eyes were relieved as she started typing in the band name and clicking the mouse. "Room...216 on the 10th floor."

"Thanks." Ryan winked and took the card key.

Brendon rolled his eyes as the clerk winked back, smiling. They met back up with Jon and Spencer at the elevator. Jon picked up Brendon's anger and flashed him a wary look, it wasn't everyday Brendon was sour. Spencer noticed it too, his smile faded and he looked at Brendon and Ryan confused out of his mind. It was a bad joke that nobody got. And so, of course, the ride up was awkward with an annoyed Brendon, confused Spencer, wary Jon, and rather cheerful Ryan.

Their room was beyond elegant, aged oak floor, antique furniture, light cream walls, their manager had really gone overboard this time. The north wall had ceiling to floor windows, and on either side of each window was a ceiling to floor mirror. Their manager had gone way overboard, Brendon was starting to wonder if they could afford a room like this for a week or so.

"Wow." Spencer mumbled as he sat on the bed. "Oh, I think these are those foam beds."

"Dude, can we even afford this?" Brendon asked, his sourness slightly fading. "I mean, for god sakes, this is a two room one bathroom deal here, that looks like it's from the 17th century with a modern twist. And, we're staying here for almost a week."

"I don't like it...it's like....'look at me I have nothing else better to spend my money on but stupid luxuries that are unneeded'....it's snobbish." Ryan sounded disappointed.

"I gotta agree with Ryan here." Jon said as he sat next to Spencer. "But, I am liking the bed..."

It was a slap back into reality for Brendon when he heard Ryan's side-kick ding. Quickly, Ryan pulled it from his pocket and flipped it to check it; One New Message. Then, in almost perfect unison, off by a few seconds each, Brendon, Jon, and Spencer's went off. Brendon took his from his pocket to check the message:

We hear you guys are in town (if not still on your way here). Well, good ol' friends of yours have been here for a while now. We go on stage tonight and then leave Friday. Text or call back, we need to get together sometime here.
- Fall Out Boy

"Did we all get the same message?" Spencer asked as he looked up from his.

"Yep. And, we should each send the same thing back." Ryan said and then quickly went on to add "I call Pete."

"Patrick." Brendon quickly dibbed.

"Andy." Jon called.

"Why do I always get stuck with Joe?" Spencer complained as he let himself fall back onto the bed.

"Because you never call anyone else."Jon chuckled. "Alright, now what are we gonna say?"

"Something long and confusing." Brendon couldn't help but smile as all eyes went to Ryan.

"Things are shaping up to be pretty odd. I'm wrecking this evening already and loving every minute of it. Somewhere downtown where a burlesque queen may even ask my name. It's nine in the after noon, your eyes are the size of the moon, you could 'cause you can, so you do. Haha, decode it." Ryan recited their lyrics into a code.

"Wicked." Spencer mumbled as he started typing it out.

The message was long, so naturally it took Brendon a minute to finish typing it up. He just had to wait for the others to finish, he was the first one done. Ryan followed by a few seconds, Spencer after him, and then finally Jon.

"Okay, now Brendon, I'll hit send, then you wait about ten seconds and send yours. Jon, count to three after Brendon then send. And Spencer, another three after Jon." Ryan carefully explained and then hit send.

Brendon counted to ten and sent, closing his side-kick when he was done and putting it back in his pocket. Jon hit next, and Spencer last. FOB would soon be confused, and Ryan himself honestly didn't expect a reply for at least an hour.

Slowly, Brendon found himself falling back into his sour mood. The thought of Ryan flirting with the clerk was enough to sink him back down. He knew though, there was nothing he could do about it, Ryan wasn't his property, Ryan didn't know who he felt. But, he had a right to know, and Brendon was just too cowardly to tell him. Jon noticed Brendon's mood sink again. As did Ryan, who was by now confused at Brendon's mood swings.

"Brendon, let's walk." Jon said as he stood up and opened the door.

Brendon followed his movements and walked out the door, slightly glaring at the world. They walked the the hallway and to the elevator, eventually to the street corner. Brendon just stood, the now light drizzle wasn't helping the mood much. He knew Jon was waiting for him to start the conversation, it was only obvious that he should start the conversation, he was the one with the problem.

A car drove by, wetting the with the cold polluted water that lined the street. Brendon didn't react other then a bird to the driver, he was already in a sour rut, it couldn't get much worse. The rain started to come down heavier once more, slowly drenching them.

"Well?" Jon finally sighed as his patients began to tick down.

"Ryan." Brendon mumbled.

"What about? He hasn't done anything wrong....has he?" Jon was vaguely surprised.

"No." Brendon felt his eyes begin to sting.

"So, why are you mad at him?"

"It's not so much him as it is the people around him. Almost everyone everyone but us, his band-mates flirts with him. Constantly, non-stop. And, he always flirts back. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?! Tears spilled over, hidden thanks to the rain. "I mean, I know we're not going out, that he doesn't know how I feel, that I can't control his actions-even if we were dating, that I don't own him and that I never will! But it still hurts. And the fact that it will probably never stop doesn't help much at all."

Jon was surprised at Brendon's sudden out burst and at a loss for words. The tears were still flowing, each one washed away with rain. Another car drove by and they were drenched once more with the dirt and grime of the road.

"Well, you know what Urie?" Jon asked as a plan slowly unfolded itself to him.

"What?" Bitter.

"You going to flirt with him." Jon smiled

"What!?"

"Flirt with him"

"Wait, you want me to flirt with him?" Brendon was dumbfounded at Jon's words.

"It makes sense."

"He'll get suspicious though!"

"Then you tell him how you feel." Jon smiled again.

"But-but..."

But before Brendon could stutter out a reply, their side-kicks dinged again.

Meet us at our hotel room, 981 on the 8th floor at the Anthology, tomorrow at nine then Oh, and Ross, you can do better then that.
-FOB

"And what do you know," Jon smirked, "here's you chance."