Matchmaker

"She likes you."

"Well, yeah we are friends." Brendon said raising hie eyebrows to the obvious.

"No, I mean she likes you, likes you." I stressed. Getting the point across was going to be harder than I thought. We were sitting next to each other on the couch in our dressing room. Brendon was sitting cross leg, absentmindedly plucking at his guitar and I was curled up with my legs under me. He and our friend Jess had been crushing on each other for years now. and neither one of them had done anything about it. It was begining to piss me off.

"Ry, we're just friends." Brendon went back to his guitar. I sighed and got up. Maybe Jess would be easier to talk to. I poked my head out in the hall way, the only person I saw was Zach walking down the hall. I looked back to make sure Brendon wouldn't follow, quietly closed the door and caught up with Zach down the hall.

"Have you seen Jess?" I all but whispered to him.

"No, why?" he whispered back.

"I need to talk to her."

"Oh, why are we still whispering?" he asked curiously.

"I don't want Brendon to hear, He's going through this denial phase and I'm trying to shake him out of it."

"Ooohh." Zach nodded. "You're trying to get the love birds together."

"I'm so sick of them denying it!" I vented. Years of bottled up frustration poured onto the ususpecting Zach. "There have been too many side long glances, too many heart sick sighs from both of them. I can't take it anymore, Zach! Years this has been going on, years! And I've been stuck in the middle of it! Do you know what that has done to me? I've been stressed out and slightly neurotic for months now!"

"Slightly?" he raised an eyebrow.

"Look, if you see Jess will you please let me know?"

"Sure." He patted my back as he walked past. "Oh, Ryan?"

"Yeah?" I turned and faced him.

"She just walked past; I think she's going to the merch booths."

I ran down the hallway and skidded around a corner. I just caught the back of her head as she walked down another hall that lead to the tables. I paused, not knowing if I'd be visible from the corner. The last thing I needed was a rush of fans and a very pissed Zach and his security team. That last time was bad enough.

I stayed behind the corner and peaked around. There were people milling around and Jess was standing behind a table talking with another merch girl with purple streaks in her hair. Her back was to me; it was going to be hard to get her attention. There was a lull in the croud when an idea popped into my head. I put my hands around my mouth and yelled

"Jessie!"

She whipped around, scanning for the person who called her by that hated nickname. I stood up and cautiously stepped out from around the corner. She saw me and came over; making sure no one saw her or me. When she came over, she pushed me back around the corner and up against the wall.

"What do you want, Ross?" she asked, eyes blazing.

"Come with me, please?"

"I've got thing I have to do, okay?" she turned to go back. This was going to be a last ditch effort.

"Brendon wants to talk to you."

She stopped.

"About what?"

She was buying it, my evil plan was working!

"I don't know, but he seemed kind of nervous. You should talk to him."

Jess looked back at the table that was swarming with people buying the overpriced tee shirts and cloth bags. She sighed and turned back.

"Let's go."

Brendon was in the wings watching the opening bands with his arms crossed, bobbing his head and tapping his heel in time with the drums. I grabbed his arm and drug him and Jess to the emergancy exit doors and outside. It was a cool night in summer and the only light was above the door, which had hundreds of moths and other flying bugs zooming around it.

"What is it Ryan?" Brendon asked, annoyed.

"He told me you wanted to talk to me." Jess forrowed her brow, confused.

"No, I didn't..."

"Yes, you do. You both do." I said. "Jess really likes you, Brendon."

"Ryan!" she squealed. Her cheecks flushed a bright pink and her eyes widened.

"She's told me countless times how much she loves your voice and how you always manage to make her smile, no matter what mood she's in." Jess had covered her face with her hands, but Brendon had fixed his gaze on her. "She hates it when you don't smile and she told me she feels a bit defensive when you flirt with other girls."

"That's only because, because we've known each other for so long. It feels like these girls are trying to pick up my brother!" she poked me with her finger, trying to make a point.

"A brother you've had nasty dreams about?" I smiled, slyly. Her mouth dropped and Brendon chuckled.

"And he, he has told me how many time you've been in his dreams!" It was Brendon's turn to have his mouth hit the floor.

"That was told in the strictest conffidence, Ross!" he bellowed.

"You guys keep telling me how much you love being around each other, how you can't stand it when the other flirts with others. Why not go out with each other?" I reasoned.

They stood there, not able to give me one good answer why not.

"Brendon? What's one thing you love about her?" I challenged. I knew they were ment for each other, why couldn't they see it?

"Well, uh, she, uh..."

"Brendon, you don't have to answer that." Jess said, gently putting her hand on his arm.

He looked down and smiled.

"I love how every time we touch, I get goose bumps up and down my spine. I feel ice cold and buring hot at the same time. It's, "he smiled sardonically. "A fever I can't sweat out."

Jess blushed and looked down, taking her hand off of Brendon's arm.

"What do you love about Brendon?" I urged her.

She smiled a littlle before looking up at Brendon.

"Your eyes. They are warm and friendly. Every time we make eye contact, I feel like the edges of the world have fallen away. It's just you and me, nobody else matters. But when you go and flirt with other girls, it's like the bottom of my stomach has fallen out. I want to run and tell you every time that I..."

"Go on." I press her.

"That I love you." she rushed. Everyone sighed, admittance is the first step.

I looked at Brendon, who was looking at Jess, who was looking so scared and slightly vulnerable. I waited for Brendon to say those three little words back. But he stayed silent. Jess was waiting too, but it seemed Brendon hesitated a moment too long, she flung the door open and rushed inside. I took one last glance at Brendon, who stood frozen with a confused look oh his face.

"You could have said it back, ass." I growled as I followed Jess inside. She was marching to the door leading to the dressing rooms, when I caught up with her.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes were red and watering and she hiccupped a little when she talked.

"I was fine with the way things were, Ryan. You've ruined it now; I can't take back what I said."

"Just because he didn't say it dosn't mean he doesn't love you." I put my hands on her shoulder.

"Just leave me alone." She shoved me back and ran out the door. I fucked up.

Brendon kept his distancefrom me until we got ready to go on. Spencer and Jon knew something was up, but didn't ask and stepped back when I went up to Brendon back stage.

"Look, I'm sorry, man. I thought if I got you two together, things would work out." He kept his gaze forward and his jaw set. Before he stepped out on stage, I whispered

"I'm sorry."

As our set went on, Brendon acted like nothing was wrong. In fact, this ended up being on of out more energized shows. I, however, was dealing with guilt and messed up far too many times than I would have liked. Jon and Spencer definatly noticed; I was notorious for demanding perfection during practice and expecting miracles during shows. My shitty preformance tonight had been noted by the band.

"Good night everybody!" Brendon shouted as the lights dimmed and we walked off stage. By this point in the night, all I wanted was a shower and to sleep in tomorrow. The crowd, on the other hand, had a diffrent idea.

Jon smiled as he grabbed his bass. "I hear an encore!" he sang.

"Hot damn!" Spencer yelled. I looked at Brendon, who was staring off in the distance. Spencer patted his shoulder.

"You ready, Bren?"

Brendon rubbed his eyes and shook his head. It popped back up and he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hell yeah! But instead of the song we normally do, can we change it?"

We all looed at each other, changing the set list was next to unforgivable.

"What song is it?" I asked, nervously.

"Hey everyone, we're back!" The crowd's roar deafened my ear, which had plugs in them to begin with. "This next song goes out to someone special. Someone I'd like to say sorry to."

The crowd "Ahh'ed".

"Look at the stars, look how they shine for you
And all the things you do
Yeah, they were all yellow
I came along; I wrote a song for you
And everything you do
And it was called yellow."

Brendon was playing Jess's favorite song; a song about love and the things he'd do for her. I looked up into the wings across from me and I saw Jess bathed in the blue light, but I couldn't read her face. She had a blank look, her eyes followed Brendon around the stage, never leaving him. The crowd began singing along and as the song ended they began cheering. We took our final bows and headed off stage,

I was hoping that Brendon's small gesture would ease Jess's anger. I felt bad for pushing them; they weren't ready to admit to each other how they felt. But if not now, when? When Jess left the tour and went home? When Brendon settled for any of the girls that threw themselves at him in bars, at parties, in the meet and greets? When was it going to be too late? If I hadn't stepped in, they were never going to get over their fears of each other!

In the dressing room, Jess walked up to Brendon and asked him to step outside. He followed and closed the door. And because we are such good friends and respect each other's privacy, Jon, Spencer and I crowded around the door to listen.

"Why couldn't you say it back?" Jess's voice was a little strained, like she was trying not to cry.

"I...I don't know." Brendon answered.

"You don't know?" she said a little viciously.

"I didn't think I had to." Brendon's voice rose just a little.

"What?"

"You and me, Jess, don't need to tell each other how much we care. I just know you do. I know you don't need to hear it everyday. I knew you wouldn't be offended if I didn't send you love letters or write a song for you. I didn't think I needed to say it, because you knew. I knew you loved me; I didn't need to hear it out loud.

It was the things we did for each other that told me you loved me. Who else remembers I loved those terrible eighties horror films when I get home sick? Or when I got sick after that bad Chinese food, who took care of me? You did. You know everything about me; I didn't think I needed to say it."

It was silent for a moment, no one on either side of the door was breathing. We finally heard a sobbing noise and quietly opened the door, just enough to peak around.

Jess had flung her arms around Brendon's neck, her whole body shaking and her toes grazing the linoleum tiles. He had his head nuzzled into her neck, stroking her hair and gently shushing her. We closed the door and softly backed away.

"Am I good or am I good?" I boasted, taking off my shirt and flinging it on the couch.

Jon and Spencer shook their head and rolled their eyes.

"I should start a dating servise. NO, I should have a dating show, where people come and..."

"RYAN!" Spencer and Jon shouted.

"Will you shut up?" Spencer asked as he reached for his things.

I plopped down on the couch and quietly basked in the amazing matchmaking skills I had. E-Harmony had nothing on this.