You Come Along Because I Love Your Face
Chapter 4
The following weeks of the competition were stressful for everyone. Especially for poor Ryan, who was certain that he was going crazy. One day, he thought he saw Gabe and William making out behind a dumpster; but when he looked back, they were gone. Another time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw both of them cuddling on one of the studio’s sofas; when he turned around for a better look, they were merely sitting next to each other. He even thought he saw William drive home in Gabe’s limo, but the door closed before he could see for sure. And those were only a few examples of the shenanigans that Ryan thought he saw. He wasn’t going to deem himself crazy just yet; he knew something had to be going on between those two... and he was going to find out what. Even if it would require many frustrating hours of snooping.
***
“Okay,” Ryan said to himself, after he had successfully positioned himself behind a potted tree resting in one of the studio’s living rooms. “Gabe and William are bound to come in here.” Ryan snickered, waddling behind one of the plant’s big leaves.
And then, he waited.
After about half an hour of squatting, cramped behind a dusty, old plant, and listening to the buzz of contestants and crew members passing by, someone finally settled into the living room. Ryan peeped out from behind the vegetation, only to find that it wasn’t Gabe or William that had entered, as he had hoped; it was Brendon. He heard the squeak of the couch’s cushions as Brendon sat down, getting himself comfortable. Just then, the sound of another person entering the room filled Ryan’s ears. He looked out again, carefully, so as not to be seen by Brendon or the new guest, and discovered that it was Patrick. The two contestants greeted each other, and Patrick took a seat next to Brendon.
“Patrick,” Brendon began, “do you think contestants are allowed to bang judges?”
“I don’t know,” Patrick replied. “Why do you care?”
“Ryan Ross is so into me,” Brendon bragged. Ryan’s cheeks flushed, and he giggled to himself.
“Dude, have you seen the way Pete acts around me?” Patrick glowed, and stared into space for a little while.
“Hey, dude, do you think anything is going on between Gabe and William?” Ryan’s ears perked up.
“Nah, man. They’re just friends or something. I doubt Gabe is a fucking pedophile.”
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Ryan crawled out from behind the plant. Patrick and Brendon looked aghast.
“Where the fuck did you come from??” Brendon gasped, and twisted his face into a scowl.
“Oh, just behind that plant. I couldn’t help but overhear your intriguing conversation about Gabe and William,” Ryan straightened his shirt, and brushed some dirt off of his jeans. “So, now, tell me more about that.”
“Well, that’s all I know about them; they’re friends,” Patrick answered, and shrugged. He still had a shocked expression plastered on his face.
“No, no, tell me what they do together. Do they hang out? Go out to dinner together? Fuck? Are they close?”
“Why do you give a shit?”
“Because judges forming relationships with the contestants is against the rules. And I think something is up with them. So, will you give me more information?”
“Nah, bro, William went to the same auditions as us. We don’t wanna be rats,” Brendon responded.
“So something is going on!”
“No!” Brendon and Patrick said together.
“Look, Brendon, honey,” Ryan cooed. “If you tell me details about Gabe and William, I’ll have sex with you.”
“As pleasant, enjoyable, and hot as that would be, I’m gonna have to say no. There’s nothing going on, anyway!”
“Fine. Good day to you, sirs!” Ryan marched out of the room in a huff.
“What the hell just happened…?” Brendon furrowed his brows together, before engaging in a conversation about potatoes with Patrick.
It was time for dress rehearsals the next day, so Ryan was certain that Gabe and William had to be together somewhere. All he had to do was find them…
“AHA!” he shrieked, and pulled open a dressing room door… only to discover that it was the girls’ room. After getting hit by many angry females, he eventually made his way into the boys’ changing room. It looked completely deserted, and many different pieces of clothing lay scattered around the filthy floor. As he tiptoed around some more, he could faintly make out the sound of two people kissing. He crouched down on the ground, and began peeping under the stalls to find the culprits. Finally, he saw two pairs of feet facing each other under the last stall. Ryan’s heart was pounding; it had to be William and Gabe. Ryan let out some kind of war cry, and ripped the door open.
“What the hell??” two men faced Ryan with confused looks on their faces… two men that were not Gabe or William. Ryan recognized them as two other contestants named Bert and Quinn.
“Oh. Uh. Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else.”
“What the fuck? We could’ve been naked!” Bert yelled, and slammed the door.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Ryan retreated out of the changing room. “FUCK,” Ryan screamed, and got a few strange glances from people passing by, “FUCKING FUCK, FUCK,” Ryan dug his foot into the ground like a little kid throwing a tantrum. “WHY AM I SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT?? FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.” Ryan stomped through the halls, past the dressing rooms, past the many living rooms, past the great stadium where the rehearsals were going on, and into the washroom. “I’M IN A FUCKING RAGE,” he bellowed, and began to heavily breathe in and out, hunched over the sick. Just then, he noticed he wasn’t the only one in the washroom. Ryan slowly turned his head to the left, and was greeted by William and Gabe, frozen together, locked in each other’s embrace, with a horrified look smacked on their faces. “Well, well, well,” Ryan smirked, wiping his running nose with the sleeve of his (now completely dirty) shirt. “What do we have here?”
***
“Okay,” Ryan said to himself, after he had successfully positioned himself behind a potted tree resting in one of the studio’s living rooms. “Gabe and William are bound to come in here.” Ryan snickered, waddling behind one of the plant’s big leaves.
And then, he waited.
After about half an hour of squatting, cramped behind a dusty, old plant, and listening to the buzz of contestants and crew members passing by, someone finally settled into the living room. Ryan peeped out from behind the vegetation, only to find that it wasn’t Gabe or William that had entered, as he had hoped; it was Brendon. He heard the squeak of the couch’s cushions as Brendon sat down, getting himself comfortable. Just then, the sound of another person entering the room filled Ryan’s ears. He looked out again, carefully, so as not to be seen by Brendon or the new guest, and discovered that it was Patrick. The two contestants greeted each other, and Patrick took a seat next to Brendon.
“Patrick,” Brendon began, “do you think contestants are allowed to bang judges?”
“I don’t know,” Patrick replied. “Why do you care?”
“Ryan Ross is so into me,” Brendon bragged. Ryan’s cheeks flushed, and he giggled to himself.
“Dude, have you seen the way Pete acts around me?” Patrick glowed, and stared into space for a little while.
“Hey, dude, do you think anything is going on between Gabe and William?” Ryan’s ears perked up.
“Nah, man. They’re just friends or something. I doubt Gabe is a fucking pedophile.”
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” Ryan crawled out from behind the plant. Patrick and Brendon looked aghast.
“Where the fuck did you come from??” Brendon gasped, and twisted his face into a scowl.
“Oh, just behind that plant. I couldn’t help but overhear your intriguing conversation about Gabe and William,” Ryan straightened his shirt, and brushed some dirt off of his jeans. “So, now, tell me more about that.”
“Well, that’s all I know about them; they’re friends,” Patrick answered, and shrugged. He still had a shocked expression plastered on his face.
“No, no, tell me what they do together. Do they hang out? Go out to dinner together? Fuck? Are they close?”
“Why do you give a shit?”
“Because judges forming relationships with the contestants is against the rules. And I think something is up with them. So, will you give me more information?”
“Nah, bro, William went to the same auditions as us. We don’t wanna be rats,” Brendon responded.
“So something is going on!”
“No!” Brendon and Patrick said together.
“Look, Brendon, honey,” Ryan cooed. “If you tell me details about Gabe and William, I’ll have sex with you.”
“As pleasant, enjoyable, and hot as that would be, I’m gonna have to say no. There’s nothing going on, anyway!”
“Fine. Good day to you, sirs!” Ryan marched out of the room in a huff.
“What the hell just happened…?” Brendon furrowed his brows together, before engaging in a conversation about potatoes with Patrick.
It was time for dress rehearsals the next day, so Ryan was certain that Gabe and William had to be together somewhere. All he had to do was find them…
“AHA!” he shrieked, and pulled open a dressing room door… only to discover that it was the girls’ room. After getting hit by many angry females, he eventually made his way into the boys’ changing room. It looked completely deserted, and many different pieces of clothing lay scattered around the filthy floor. As he tiptoed around some more, he could faintly make out the sound of two people kissing. He crouched down on the ground, and began peeping under the stalls to find the culprits. Finally, he saw two pairs of feet facing each other under the last stall. Ryan’s heart was pounding; it had to be William and Gabe. Ryan let out some kind of war cry, and ripped the door open.
“What the hell??” two men faced Ryan with confused looks on their faces… two men that were not Gabe or William. Ryan recognized them as two other contestants named Bert and Quinn.
“Oh. Uh. Sorry about that. I thought you were someone else.”
“What the fuck? We could’ve been naked!” Bert yelled, and slammed the door.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Ryan retreated out of the changing room. “FUCK,” Ryan screamed, and got a few strange glances from people passing by, “FUCKING FUCK, FUCK,” Ryan dug his foot into the ground like a little kid throwing a tantrum. “WHY AM I SUCH A FUCKING IDIOT?? FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.” Ryan stomped through the halls, past the dressing rooms, past the many living rooms, past the great stadium where the rehearsals were going on, and into the washroom. “I’M IN A FUCKING RAGE,” he bellowed, and began to heavily breathe in and out, hunched over the sick. Just then, he noticed he wasn’t the only one in the washroom. Ryan slowly turned his head to the left, and was greeted by William and Gabe, frozen together, locked in each other’s embrace, with a horrified look smacked on their faces. “Well, well, well,” Ryan smirked, wiping his running nose with the sleeve of his (now completely dirty) shirt. “What do we have here?”