And I'm back! I remember most of what I had planned, and I'm super excited to start writing here again. 

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- Third Person POV -

After Alex had grabbed everything he needed for his snake, the two checked out and made their way back to Brendon's car. Although neither said much else, the silence wasn't awkward. It was calm, they were both happy. 

"Before we head back, I was going to stop at Guitar Center. It's only a few minutes away from here and I'll be quick, you don't have to come in if you don't want to." Brendon smiled, pulling the seatbelt over his chest as he looked to his side at the teen.

"I'll come in! I've never been to one before." They hummed, sitting back in their seat as they buckled up. Brendon just nodded, smiling a little wider as he put the key into the ignition, and pulled out of the parking spot. The CD started up once more, and the two gently tapped their foot and hummed along with the music as they drove down the road. 

Once they got to the other store, the taller found a spot closer to the front, and parked rather quickly. He looked to his right, smiling again.

"You ready?" He asked softly, excited to go into the store. Alex just nodded, giggling faintly as he unbuckled. Oh he wouldn't tell either Brendon or Dallon, but he wanted oh so bad to play an instrument. He did know how to play trombone from his band years, and knew quite a bit of piano. But he wanted to learn guitar. Whether it be electric, acoustic, or bass. Or ukulele.

The two walked into the store, the silence falling between them for the last time. As the automatic doors opened, Brendon smiled and looked at the teen to his right. 

"I'm going to go look at the guitars and get some strings, you're more then welcome to follow me or just look at other things, okay?" In return, the smaller just nodded and smiled, looking around the rather big store. He hummed, drawing his attention back go the adult. The older smiled and took a step forward.

"I'll be right over here if you need me." He pointed to a little area of the store, then watched as the other nodded again, this time accompanied by a small hum. Hearing that, he walked over to where he pointed, looking at said items. As soon as Alex made sure the other wasn't looking, he started to look around at the guitars hung on the wall, his eyes wide with amazement. He first looked up at the electric guitars, then eventually found himself looking at the bass guitars. 

Before the teen had been adopted, Dallon and Brendon held a big part in his life. Music had gotten him through middle school, and highschool so far. He discovered Brendon's band in middle school, and has listened to them since then. Through the years, he started to get more and more into the fandom, to the point where he would rush home after school to catch parts of Brendon's twitch streams. Brendon had helped him through many, many, difficult times in his life, and Dallon was along side him. 

He stared up at a guitar with a dark wood neck, and a blue body, while the pick guard was a deep, shiny brown. He smiled, slowly reaching a hand up at it to feel the smooth material it was made out of. He loved the style of it, he loved everything about it.

Brendon turned away from the strings and looked around the store, trying to catch a glimpse of the teenager. When he spotted him looking at a nice bass, a smile instantly spread across his face. He watched him for a moment, finally looking away when he realized that the smaller wouldn't be turning away any time soon. He chuckled faintly, starting to walk towards the counter to check out. Since he had been in the store so often, the cashier who normally worked was on a name to name basis with him. 

"That's her, right?" Brendon's head snapped up at the person behind the counter, humming softly before the words finally recognized with his brain.

"Yeah... It is." He smiled and let out a soft, happy sigh.

"I'll put that bass aside for you, 'kay? She seems to really like that one." The cashier smiled softly, slowly taking the strings, and few picks from Brendon. 

The two adults at the counter continued to talk for a little while, until the teenager made his way up to stand next to Brendon. He ended up standing behind him a few feet, and simply pulled out his phone to send some texts to his friends, and play a game or two. 

After they left the store, the ride back to the house was calm, and fast. They simply listened to music, Alex more than excited to set up his snake's tank when he got back.

★

It took the teenager quite some time before he finished setting up his reptile's enclosure. During the process, he had stopped to take mini breaks and had checked his phone, although most all of the notifications where from his two friend's and their group chat. One of them, however, was from Twitch, notifying him that Brendon had started to stream. Usually he would rush to pull it up, but he didn't feel the need to this time. Instead, he went right back to setting up Melvin's tank.

After he was done, the teen grabbed his phone and started to make his way downstairs, curious to see what Dallon was up to, since the other was streaming. 

He grabbed his headphones and his phone before hopping off of his bed and opening his door. He hummed to himself as he walked down the hallway to the stairs, rushing down them before jumping, and skipping the last two. He laughed to himself for a moment before looking around as he heard the increasingly louder nails clicking against the floor. When he saw the two dogs come towards  him, he instantly smiled and knelt down on his knees. As before, Penny laid down on her back for belly rubs, while Bogart stepped onto the teen's knees with his front paws, his little nub of a tail wagging at mach speed.

After only a few moments, he heard actual human footprints. He looked up to see Dallon walking over, and quickly stood up on his feet. As he started to stand up, Bogart stepped off of him so he didn't fall. Alex smiled softly, looking up at the, extremally, tall guy standing infront of him.

"How was shopping with Brendon?" The bass player asked gently, he was a soft person compared to most people, especially, Brendon.

"It was good! We went to Petco, among other stores, and I got everything for Melvin!" He replied excitedly, starting to rock back and forth from the tip of his toes to the balls of his feet.

"That sounds like fun! I was about to head outside by the pool, do you wanna join me?" He hummed softly, keeping a gentle smile on his face. The teenager only nodded in return, giggling softly.

"Awesome..! I'm not going to go in the pool, but I'm sure Brendon will want to after he's done with his stream. I don't know if you have a swim suit, but you can always get it and hop in if you'd like." The taller hummed softly, watching the other, not making a lot of eye contact. The younger thought for a moment before slowly shaking their head, giving the other a little smile.

"Uhm-... Maybe not now, but I will go out there, I'm sorry.." Alex whispered softly. Although he did have shorts and a shirt for a bathing suit instead of a bikini, or another feminine bathing suit, he still wasn't quite comfortable with himself and putting it on. Dallon nodded and smiled.

"Oh don't be sorry, that's okay! Let's just head out there." He smiled a little wider before turning, and making his way outside. However after he stepped a few feet through the sliding glass door he stopped.

"Hey, it's- really hot out.. Are you sure you'll be okay wearing that hoodie?" He asked softly, turning to face the teen standing behind him. Alex froze, his eyes widening slightly. He was only wearing the hoodie because of how hot it was, and because of any dysphoria he had. 

"I-i'm sure..." he said softly, trailing off. He wasn't able to look up at Dallon any longer, partially because of how tall he was, and out of embarrassment. 

"Are you sure? It's in the 90s today, especially in the sun it'll be even hotter." He asked one last time. As soon as Dallon finished his sentence, the teen's mood switched just like that.

"I'm sure, I wear this hoodie all the time, okay? Even if I'm sweating my ass off." he blurted out, his eyebrows furrowing in a mix of frustration, anger, and embarrassment. 

Both of them froze were they stood, Dallon staring down at Alex, and Alex staring down at the floor. His expression quickly fell and he bit the inside of his lip, his breath getting caught in his throat. Before either said another word, the smaller quickly turned on his heels, and made his way up the stairs and to his bedroom as fast as his legs could take him.

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Enjoy, it's getting better. >:)