Lights

“That was one of the most agonising walks of my entire life,” Brendon panted as he burst through the door and shoved the shopping bags he was holding to the ground. “How often do you do that? You must be a goddamn muscle man or something!”

Ryan puffed out his chest in a superman moment, before also dropping his bags to the ground with a heavenly sigh. He stretched out his arms and heard his back click painfully.

“You'd think so,” Ryan said, “but I'm about as weak as I look.”

“So, when are we going to eat this food?” Brendon said, hopefully.

“Right now. Two bowls of noodles and two hot chocolates coming right up.”

Brendon bounced on the spot, then bounded over to the couch. “Did I mention your fantastic customer service?”

“You did.”

“Well, I'm mentioning it again. I hope your noodles are as good as your hot chocolate.”

“Let me tell you,” Ryan started, pointing his finger at Brendon as he did, “that my noodles will make you die a death of pure happiness. Along with my hot chocolate, you just won't know which way is up.”

Brendon's stomach rumbled at the thought, which made Ryan grin.

He put the pot of water on the element and turned it on as he had the night before, and began to set up the rest of the food.

“Hey, Ryan?” Brendon said, from the couch.

“Mm?”

“Have you always lived in New York?”

Ryan shook his head. “I've only lived here for a year or two. I used to live in Las Vegas.”

Brendon eyed him suspiciously. “Are you a compulsive gambler?”

“Guilty. I had to move away it was so bad.”

“Are you being serious?”

“Not in the absolute slightest,” Ryan smirked.

Brendon leaned back into the couch and stretched out, sprawling each of his limbs as wide as they would go. “Do your parents still live there?”

“My mom does.”

“What about your dad?”

Ryan shrugged, and aimed his stare down into the spoonful of sugar he was holding. “He died.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, Ryan --”

“No,” Ryan interrupted. “Don't worry about it.”

“But you let me stay in your house and I think this is like putting my foot in my mouth --”

Ryan broke into laughter and shook his head. “Seriously, it's no problem. As far as I'm concerned, your foot is still on the ground.”

Brendon glanced cautiously at his foot, then nodded. “So, what was it like in Las Vegas?”

“It was all right. You know – desert-y and stuff. Not all that exciting. I moved here to get a little more excitement, but I guess that didn't exactly work the way I wanted it to.”

“It didn't?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow and gestured around the tiny apartment. “Do I look exciting to you?”

Brendon grinned. “Okay, not necessarily the most exciting place on the block.”

“Exactly. But this is the most exciting place I can think of, so I'm just gonna be staying here for a while.”

Ryan finished with the noodles and carried the two bowls over to Brendon and put them down, then went back for the hot chocolates. Once everything was safely arranged, he leaned back and blew on his noodles carefully, watching the steam run from his breath.

“Did you have any pets back home?”

Ryan shook his head. “Nah, Dad wasn't a fan of them. Then after he died, nothing really happened. I might have got one now, but apartment dogs are kind of pathetic, and I don't want to be a cat lady.”

“Might be kind of awkward, what with you being a guy and all,” Brendon agreed.

“Yeah, my neighbours think I'm strange enough already.”

Brendon dug his fork into the noodles and spun it around, allowing them to wind around. He put the fork in his mouth, but his eyes widened and he let out a muffled noise. He opened his mouth and started fanning it. “Ow! Too hot!”

Eventually he swallowed the noodles and put the bowl down. “I think they might have to wait a while,” Brendon said, poking out his burnt tongue while cringing. “That wasn't the most pleasant experience of my life.”

“Poor kid,” Ryan sighed.

“Not a kid,” Brendon countered, pointing his index finger at him accusingly. “Don't think you can sneak that in there whenever you want.”

“God, fine. So, Brendon, where did you live when you were a kid?”

Brendon shrugged. “In New York. I haven't moved yet.”

“Why don't you have a home?” Ryan asked, not sure if he was allowed to ask the question.

“You know, shit happens. Sometimes you don't get a home.”

Ryan looked at him curiously, and tilted his body so he was facing Brendon more directly. “How long have you been like this?”

“A while.”

“What's up with your parents?”

Brendon shrugged again and reached forward for the bowl of noodles he had abandoned before. He started poking around the contents with his fork in an attempt to cool it down. “Nothing.”

“Are they okay?”

“I guess they are.”

“So, they're still around?”

Brendon started eating the noodles again and ignored him, though Ryan could see him cringing through the heat on his tongue.

“Do they live in the city?”

“Not that I'm aware of.”

“You're not very good at answering questions,” Ryan stated with a frown. “But you're good at asking them.”

“It's a talent,” Brendon said.

“You're really not helping, you know. Being mysterious is not cool.”

“I wasn't trying to be mysterious.”

“Then why aren't you telling me anything about yourself?” Ryan asked.

“You're not asking anything I particularly want to answer,” Brendon snapped. He quickly added, “Sorry. Do you think The Simpsons are on again? Maybe we can watch them.”

Ryan narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the slightly smaller man sitting in front of him, wondering what he could possibly be hiding behind his big eyes.

“They might be,” Ryan mumbled, once he realised he was staring for too long, and turned on the television. He started going through the channels before finding them.

A few hours later, a lot earlier than the night prior, Ryan stood up with a yawn and announced that he was going to bed. Brendon hadn't even turned heavy-eyed and tired yet, so he just nodded and switched off the television and buried his head into his pillow, hoping maybe this would stop the nightmares.

Ryan fell asleep thinking about what his new house guest could be hiding. As he grew closer and closer to slumber, each idea grew even wilder, until Ryan thought that maybe Brendon had achieved his dream of becoming an astronaut, but something had gone horrifically wrong.

*

Brendon woke the next morning to the sound of the pot whistling and its lid clanging as the water inside boiled. He rubbed his eyes and pushed himself up so he could peer over the counter top into the kitchen, where Ryan was standing over the stove.

“Hey,” he said, hoping he could be heard over the pot. Ryan turned, looking slightly startled, then smiled.

“Good morning,” he greeted.

“We going to work again?” Brendon asked. “If I'm allowed to come again?”

“Sure, you're free to come,” Ryan said. “Though it can't have been very interesting last time, you can bring some shit to do if you want.”

Brendon nodded, then added, “It wasn't that boring. I got to watch a lot of people see the lights for the first time.”

Ryan smirked. “I don't think anyone has been quite as amazed by them as you were.”

“They were pretty, yeah.”

“What do you want for breakfast, by the way? You actually have options this morning.” It was said with some pride from Ryan.

“Oh, yes? What are my options?”

“Toast or cereal. Okay, so not many options, but I'd ran out of cereal yesterday. Fruit loops?”

Brendon stared at the cupboard's door in contemplation before saying, “Fruit loops, please.”

“Good choice.”

*

When they entered the restaurant, Brendon was once again caught up in the fairy lights. They didn't seem to lose their charm, even after he had stared at them all day the day before. In his hand, he was carrying the first book that he had seen lying on the ground, in case he got bored, though he doubted that the book would help all that much considering he didn't find reading hugely enjoyable.

Ryan motioned to the same table that Brendon had sat at, so Brendon placed the book down and fell into his seat with a smile.

“I'll be back with lunch in a few hours,” Ryan said. “Don't get too bored, all right? Oh, and call if you need anything important.”

“Will do, thanks, Ryan.”

Brendon fell back into staring up at the lights as he leaned into his chair. He followed their trails as he had before, never tiring of it. The book remained unopened on the table, the dusty cover finally seeing some source of light.

In the midst of his staring, Brendon didn't notice someone looking at him curiously, and he certainly didn't pay them any attention until they had walked right up to the table and sat down in the chair opposite.

At the sound of the chair moving, he finally shifted his gaze.

A man with a slight beard lingering around his chin was now sitting at his table, with a cheery grin pushing up his full cheeks.

“Sorry,” Brendon said, not quite sure what he was apologising for, though he felt it was necessary.

“Don't be,” the man responded. He extended his hand politely. “I'm Spencer, by the way.”

“I'm Brendon,” Brendon said, quickly shaking Spencer's hand with a boyish enthusiasm.

“I see you like the lights,” Spencer pointed out, tilting his head up so that he could look at them as well. “I saw you staring at them. You looked like a kid or something. They all look like that as well.”

“I'm not a kid though,” Brendon pointed out, wondering if perhaps Ryan had put the man up to this. “But yeah, they're pretty cool. There's so many, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Spencer grinned. His eyes glanced down to the empty table top. “No food, eh? But a book?”

“For if I got bored,” Brendon answered, putting his finger on the book as if this would assist the explanation. “I don't really know what it is. It doesn't look all that exciting, there's not even any pictures on the cover.”

Spencer snorted. “Fair enough.”

“Yeah. And I'm getting food later, when my friend gets off his break. He said he'd buy me something. I really need to get a job though.”

“Oh yeah, jobs are annoying like that, being all needed and stuff,” Spencer agreed, after glancing across the book's blank cover. “So you're meeting your friend here?”

“Well, sort of. He works here,” Brendon said.

“Oh? Who is he?”

“His name's Ryan,” Brendon responded. Then added, because he just realised, “I don't actually know what his last name is.”

“You're friends with Ryan?” Spencer's eyebrows climbed up his forehead as he leaned forward across the table. “Really?”

“Is that... bad?” Brendon asked, unsurely.

“No, of course not!” Spencer shook his head. “Ryan's a good guy, it's not bad at all.”

“So, you know him?”

Spencer nodded. “I work here as well. So yeah, we're co-workers.”

Brendon opened his mouth but didn't speak, he just nodded, taking in the information. He found his eyes glancing up again as he tried to think of something to say, though the fairy lights almost distracted him. “Did you know that he's from Las Vegas?” he said, suddenly.

Confused, Spencer said, “Well, no, I didn't.”

“Are you friends with him?”

“Sure, kind of. Ryan's pretty cool, we hang out sometimes.”

Brendon nodded again, continuing to eat up the information. “How long have you known him?”

“God, I'm not sure. However long I've been working here. Not quite a year.”

“Wow, almost a year?”

“How long have you known him?” Spencer asked, his brow creased as he questioned.

“Well, two days,” Brendon said, “but he's really nice. I mean, he's letting me stay at his place.”

“And he's only known you two days?”

Brendon quickly nodded his head. “It's kinda ridiculous, but I'm definitely not complaining. Which is why I need to get a damn job.”

“Some places will be hiring, I'm sure,” Spencer said. “There's always somewhere, right? You looking for anything too fancy?”

“I'll take absolutely anything I can get,” Brendon sighed. “I feel bad just not doing anything to help.”

“Well, it seems like out of all the random people Ryan could have picked up off the street, he managed to pick one of the more considerate ones.”

Brendon grinned. “Hey, thanks.”

“No problem. How's Ryan's life so far?”

Brendon merely shrugged, not quite sure how to answer. “Just... normal. You're the first person I've met that knows him. We've just been to his apartment, and here, and out to go buy food. Which I guess isn't too bad for two days, right?”

“Yeah, I don't think Ryan talks to many people,” Spencer said quietly, as if he felt rather guilty for even saying it. “He's a good guy and everything, but I've never seen him say more than two words to anyone here except for me. Well, I've never seen him say more than two words to anyone except for me, period.”

“Really? Wow, he wasn't lying when he said his life wasn't exciting.” Brendon's eyebrows knitted together as he pondered this. “But... why? Ryan's a perfectly nice guy.”

“I just don't think he sticks well with people,” Spencer said with a shrug. “He's polite, but he doesn't talk much.”

Brendon started nodding slowly as an idea started to take flight in his head. “A pretty quiet life, eh? Maybe he needs something a little more interesting.”

“It seems like you are his interesting thing,” Spencer pointed out. “Not many people take someone they don't even know and allow them to stay at their place.”

“Well, then I'll keep bringing him interesting things,” Brendon said. “And it'll be fun, I'm sure. I don't know how quiet a life I can live.”