Never before had Ryan experienced actually having to thoroughly debate with himself what clothes he should wear. The school uniform wasn't a good idea, obviously. But he still didn't like the clothes Tobias had made him buy and Brendon had made it quite clear that he didn't either. But at the same time it would look strange if he turned up in something that was completely different from what he'd been wearing the previous night. He finally, with a sigh, took one of the ridiculous t-shirts, but allowed himself a pair of relatively loose jeans and a quite plain hoodie. It still felt weird to wear sneakers, but those were strangely comfortable and didn't really bother him.

After combing his hair and grudgingly adding the frame of black eyeliner around his eyes, inwardly cursing Tobe as he did, he found a jacket, pulled it on and walked out the door, making sure to lock it behind him. He looked down at his watch only to realize that if he didn't hurry up, he was going to be late, all over an issue as stupid as clothes. And thus he sped up, jogging down the halls (and nearly getting lost, again, due to not taking the time to consider his turns and what stairs to use) but stopping in one of the small, cozy common rooms, the one belonging to the tenth-graders if he was correct.

His phone, the one he'd been given for the assignment, was ringing, and not answering could cause an alarm and several other things that may not be that good. With a slight groan he tugged the cell phone out of his pocket and took the call. "Yeah?"

"Ry," a cheerful voice said. "It's Tobe. Get there all right?"

"I got here fine," Ryan answered, biting back another groan. "Any reason why you called me?"

"You didn't answer my email," his roommate answered in an uncharacteristically serious voice. "I got worried, okay. You need to answer stuff immediately so I know you're all right."

"Sorry," Ryan answered, starting to walk again. "I'm fine, I've just had a lot on my mind. Remember high school?"

Tobias started laughing heartily. "Yeah. I don't envy you. So, did Princey like the clothes?"

"No, asshole," the younger of the two answered with a groan. "I'm busy now too, so... I'll call you back sometime, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Tobias said. "Don't take too long. Hey, good luck, kid. Take care of yourself."

"You too," Ryan answered before ending the call, walking the last piece of way across the entrance hall as he stuffed the device back into his pocket before he looked up to see three familiar teenage boys waiting there already. "Sorry I'm late," he stated, biting his lip slightly before reminding himself not to. "My brother has terrible timing."

Spencer nodded, "no problem. The car's waiting for us, so we best be off," He started towards the doors, Brendon already in front of him. When they reached the car (which was really a black limo), Brendon shrugged and rolled his eyes, muttering something unintelligible. They all got into the back, the four of them fitting comfortably and with a lot of room to spare. There was a tiny television hanging from the ceiling of the car, a small mini-fridge and a makeshift table. Brendon took the seat nearest the the dividing wall between themselves and the driver and then watched as his friends all sat down, silent as the car pulled away from the curb.

"Might as well get comfortable," he said at last, as he reached up and switched on the television. It was at the music station, as always, and he sat back and listened.

"Any ideas what we're going to get up to tonight?" Jon asked, glancing around. "Movie? Just walking around downtown? Shopping?" His eyes lit up at the last thing on his small list and his eyes widened hopefully. Spencer didn't answer, just laughed and shook his head. He didn't really mind what they did. Instead, he looked over to Ryan for an idea.

Ryan knew that to fit the role, he should support the shopping idea. But he also knew his 'education' wasn't thorough enough, and that if any of the others knew the first thing about designers he'd be busted immediately on his lack of knowledge. Seemed he'd have to do online research on a subject he hated quite soon. But that didn't really solve the problem of tonight. "What is there to do?" he finally asked, hoping that the fact that he didn't just jump at the suggestion of shopping wouldn't give anything away.

Brendon, along with Jon and Spencer, shrugged and said nothing for a few minutes as they all looked out the tinted windows. Finally, he sighed and cleared his throat. "I guess shopping around and watching movies is all, really. But it's not, like, a big mall-type shopping. Mostly it's just small vintage shops with odd, but cool, clothing. I don't know if you'd like it," Brendon said, snickering lightly, before Spencer shot him a scathing look.

"It's really fun, though. Old town with old buildings and old people." Spencer grinned. "Oh, and the best ice cream ever, too."

"Ice cream definitely sounds good," Ryan said in agreement, not even lying. It had been too long since he'd last had any. "And the rest is nice as well. As for the clothes... sometimes it can be fun enough to just look at things. You know, stuff can be nice even though you'd never wear it?" Not a lie either. Dresses, some of them anyway, were pretty, but he'd be damned if he wore one. He leaned back in the seat with a small smile, actually finding himself looking forward to the outing now.

Brendon sniffed and nodded stiffly. The rest of the ride passed in relative silence. They didn't really have much to discuss, after all. Once they'd arrived, Brendon donned the pair of old sunglasses he kept near the seat, knowing it would do the trick. He exited the car and quickly looked around, happy to see that downtown wasn't even close to busy. He waited for his friends before walking away from the car. He knew the ice cream shop that Spencer had been talking about and it wasn't very far from where the car had dropped them off. He fixed the collar on his polo shirt and dusted it off, even though it was hardly needed. He pulled out his wallet from the pocket of his khakis shorts and checked it, making sure everything was there, much like he'd done before leaving his room over an hour ago. He looked back briefly to make sure they were following him before continuing down the street.

When he stopped in front of the small ice cream shop, he waited for everyone to catch up and held the door open as they filed inside. Once they were all at the counter, he peered beyond the glass window and at all the flavours of ice cream, trying to decide what he wanted. "I'm going to have chocolate-chip mint," Jon announced, glancing at Spencer and smiling.

"I'm having chocolate-chip cookie dough," Spencer said, nodding. Both he and Jon always got the same thing. Spencer looked over at Ryan to see what he'd get, not taking any notice of the woman waiting patiently behind the counter.

"Do they have caramel?" Ryan found himself asking with a small smile. Changing his tastes in food was not something he'd have to do, and for that he was grateful. "Otherwise strawberry is fine. I like the simpler stuff." He looked around himself slowly, taking in the cozy layout of the small shop, feeling oddly comfortable for the first time in days. He definitely liked this place.

The lady behind the counter nodded, "we have caramel," she said. She then waited on Brendon, frowning slightly to see a young man wearing sunglasses inside and this late in the evening. Brendon had his head ducked, looking through all the flavours as he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth. Finally, he looked up with a smile.

"Coffee, please." He asked, meticulously polite as always. The coffee flavoured ice cream had chocolate-covered coffee beans in it, and it was almost making him salivate. "And we'll all take two scoops and in those waffle cones, please. How much?" He was already reaching for his wallet and walking towards the cash register. The lady punched in their orders, even as Spencer opened his mouth to protest.

"That will be 16.93, please," the lady said with another smile as Brendon gave her a twenty. She gave him his change before busying herself with preparing their ice cream.

Ryan couldn't help but feel bad as Brendon paid. He knew the boy didn't even like him, hadn't honestly wanted him to come along. So why do something like that. Being polite, he finally realized. Brendon had been raised to be polite, to be a good ruler. And, in a way, Ryan supposed, the Prince may be unconsciously playing host right now. After all, Ryan was foreign. "Thank you," he finally said, following it up with a meek smile. He'd protest, but didn't want to create an awkward situation, and somehow comfortable mixed with the feeling of having no idea what to do with himself, at all. "So, uhm," he started before trailing off, still unsure about pretty much everything.

Brendon shrugged, "no big deal," he said, taking an ice cream cone as it was handed to him. He inspected it before passing it off to Spencer. The boy smiled softly and shook his head. Sometimes Brendon amazed him. How could somehow be so withdrawn from so many people, and yet still be so nice? But, being nice was a habit, and Spencer knew that. He still believed that Brendon wanted to do it, though. It made him feel better. When Jon and Ryan got their ice creams, he grinned at them and licked the side of his own, waiting for Brendon, who joined them only seconds later.

"I've never tasted caramel ice cream," Jon said, eyeing Ryan. "Mind if I have a lick, Andy-Poo?" He snickered, liking that he'd used Ryan's middle name and the boy would probably hate him for it. It was probably like using Brendon's middle name; you got glared at for it and maybe even ignored. He bounced on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

"Well," Ryan mumbled, suddenly seeing an opening. Some day Brendon would have to find out who he 'was', and letting him guess on his own, gradually, was better than springing it on the much younger boy, he'd imagine. "You aren't going to find out about it like that Walker. I don't appreciate the 'poo', but I actually have nothing against my middle name, just that specific abbreviation. It's Ryan or Drew to you, and perhaps I'll consider."

Before Jon could respond, Brendon spluttered, some of the ice cream that had been in his mouth dripping onto his bottom lip. He quickly licked it up, then narrowed his eyes. "Your middle name is Andrew?" he asked suspiciously, but also quite surprised. He let his mind wrap around it before shaking his head. No, this meant nothing. It was simply a coincidence. Brendon looked away, obviously bothered by something that neither Jon nor Spencer could understand. But... Drew, computer Drew, had said that he was moving, hadn't he? Oh, fuck. Quickly, Brendon went back to looking passive, but didn't lift his gaze from the ground.

Jon cleared his throat, brows furrowed. "Uh, anyway..." he trailed off, looking at Spencer questioningly. Unfortunately, his friend merely shrugged.

"Ryan Andrew Hastings," Ryan quickly clarified, shrugging slightly. "Doesn't get much plainer than that." He let out a slight laugh at it before falling silent, the awkward feeling overtaking him again. "My brother," he added, "half-brother, two years older; when we were small he could neither say Ryan nor Andrew, and it ended up being Drew and to some people it has stuck. I guess Tobe was a little slow on the uptake on learning to speak. Sadly, though, he's learned and now he won't shut up." And he decided to end his monologue with that, taking a lick of the ice cream. It really was good.

Brendon cleared his throat, remaining silent. Finally, he looked back up (though didn't meet any one's eye) and shrugged. "Well, let's get outside, shall we? Walk around and such." After that, he hurried out quickly, glad that he was wearing the sunglasses and hiding the shock he still felt. He saw Spencer fall into step beside him and sighed heavily.

"So, Ryan, while I was stalking you on my computer yesterday, I noticed that I couldn't find anyone by the name of Ryan Andrew Hastings anywhere," Jon started, only to have Spencer smack him on the arm. "What?!" he asked, incredulous. "I'm just saying, man. So, do your parents keep to themselves a lot, Ryan? Is that it? Are they criminals? Have they done something very bad and are now hiding from the world?" He addressed Ryan again, eyebrows raised. Brendon couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at Jon's questions.

Ryan mentally swore and made note to at least make a website for his 'father''s company as soon as possible. "Why would there be any hits on my name?" he asked. "I haven't done anything extraordinary. I'm seventeen years old. And when I use the Internet myself, I just use Drew. Search that and you'll get some results." And he knew there were results on that. When the bureau had first started speaking with Brendon online they'd constructed an elaborate, believable Internet identity, including email addresses, website memberships, journals with backdated entries, everything. "And as I already told you, my father runs the family company, which, by the way, is perfectly legitimate. He's a little old-fashioned, though. It's only been a few weeks since we finally talked him into hiring someone to build the company a website. It's not up yet, as far as I know."

"Mhmm..." Jon stroked his chin thoughtfully. Before he could reply, though, Brendon cut him off.

"You're really odd. You know that, Jon? I mean... leave the poor guy alone. You really don't have to scare everyone away." Brendon sighed and shook his head as Spencer nodded in agreement. "Whatever, let's just walk around. And Jon, stop being so nosy. If you're going to ask questions incessantly, at least make them funny."

Jon, who had been pouting, perked up at this. "Okay! I've got it, I've got--" he stopped talking and walking as two girls walked by, their long hair playing around their faces and their hips going from side to side as they walked. Jon smiled at them and whistled, turning as they walked by and watching them until they disappeared into a shop. "Mmm, well, Ryan. How do you like the girls here, eh?" He had a permanent smile plastered to his face when he turned back. Spencer snickered and Brendon shook his head, rolling his eyes.

Ryan looked up, only then noticing the girls. Exactly the same as back home, really. He shrugged and decided to be blunt. "Not into them," he simply stated, secretly wondering if Jon would actually understand what he'd meant or just think of it as an insult to the country. Either way the reaction should be funny, and when Ryan met Spencer's eyes with a slight grin he could see the amusement on the boy's face as well.

Jon gaped at Ryan, having stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. This caused Brendon and Spencer to stop with him as well, both looking annoyed. "Do you..." he stopped, not knowing how to go on. "What's that supposed to mean?!" he practically shrieked, eyes wide. Brendon snorted behind him and shook his head.

"I think that's pretty obvious, Jon. Please don't tell me you're that stupid." He chuckled, hiding his slight surprise. Ryan didn't look like the type to be forward about things like that, but the boy kept shocking Brendon, anyway.

Ryan actually had to fight laughter and was surprised to realize that despite the lies, despite everything, he was having a good time. "Don't worry, though," he said, observing Jon's wide-eyed look. "I'm not really into bulky, overly curious and obnoxious." He kept a smile on his lips to take the sting off the words even though he couldn't deny that the boy was still annoying him. "Tend to go for slight and brainy, so you're not in any immediate danger."

Brendon coughed, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "That might be a good thing for Jon," he mumbled, before shaking his head and frowning at himself. Spencer, however, heard him and dissolved into giggles, seemingly for no reason. Jon narrowed his eyes at them before he shook his head and resumed walking. When Spencer stopped laughing, finally, he looked at Brendon and smiled.

"You're not brainy, Bren. Sorry," he started laughing again when Brendon blushed bright red and shoved him away.

"Anyway," Ryan said. "As exciting as my sexuality and preferred types might be, didn't we have plans?" He was once again fighting back laughter. The hue of Brendon's face was truly amusing. As was the fact that Jon didn't seem to know what to say at all. Suddenly, though, he swallowed a little. Perhaps the Prince's whole charade meant that he had to appear to have a certain attitude to things like this too. And perhaps Jon's reaction wasn't really all that amusing, but more of an indication of disgust. And he inwardly bashed himself over the head for actually feeling insecure. He wasn't even gay, that wasn't him, it was Hastings, Hastings who didn't even exist. Being self-conscious about something like this was just stupid. But perhaps he should use it. "That is," he muttered, deciding to go with it. "If you still want to have plans with me."

Brendon snorted rather loudly at that, making Spencer jump slightly. "Don't be stupid," he said, sounding condescending, though he didn't really mean to. "That doesn't matter to us.

"It doesn't?" Jon asked, seemingly out of nowhere. He looked at Brendon, both eyebrows raised. "You practically drove that one guy out of school when he came out last year! That senior, don't you remember?!" He sounded hysterical, even to himself, but he was feeling lost right now and this is how he reacted. "God, Brendon. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Brendon had the decency to look embarrassed. "Things have changed," he said firmly, lips pressed tightly together after. He took a deep breath and continued. "I was an asshole last year and I was my dad's puppet, which meant I was a slave to his religion," he said this with his voice lowered to a harsh whisper, lest anyone hear. Jon sighed and stepped back.

"Whatever, man. I don't..." he looked at Ryan and shook his head, sneering slightly. "Whatever."

Ryan was slightly baffled at the response. Brendon's initial response had made him think things were going well, but Jon's sudden sneer and slightly harsh comments had him feeling sort of vulnerable, and he bit his lip slightly, not even trying to stop himself this time. He took a few quick strides, getting a few paces ahead of the others. Honestly, he wasn't even sure what was bothering him, but he wanted, needed, to do something. He just wasn't sure what at all.

The others may have been speaking softly amongst themselves while they walked. He wasn't sure, wasn't listening. Instead he forced himself to pay attention to the buildings around him, to the cozy atmosphere of the town. It was nice. He'd probably have enjoyed it under different circumstances. And suddenly he noticed a seemingly misplaced neon sign down an alley a little off the road they were following, declaring in loud green and blue that it was a laser tag rink. And suddenly he was grinning despite himself. Shooting, even though it didn't really count like this, had had a calming effect on him for some reason ever since he was small and his father had taught him how to hold his old rifle, and the effect of it had only grown since the academy. He abruptly turned and started to walk down the alley, sort of not really cared if the others were following or not. He could go in on his own, find a nice spot on the wall to hit or something. Not very funny, but still sort of therapeutic.

"Oh, god," Brendon said, following quickly after Ryan. He smirked. "You want to play laser tag?" He asked, disbelieving. Beside him, Spencer chuckled. "I hear it's fun, but... isn't it for children?" He frowned and peered up at the sign. A few seconds later, Jon turned into the alley, and then stayed near the entrance, leaning against the wall. Obviously, he wouldn't be joining.

"Oh, well. Let him pout," Spencer said, when Brendon turned back and huffed in frustration at Jon. "Let's go."

Ryan smiled slightly upon noticing that at least some of them had followed him. "You know that a sign of maturity is to stop thinking in terms of 'for children' and 'for adults', right?" he asked rhetorically. "It's fun, of course I want to play. But we'll have trouble with the teams." He walked through the door and up to the counter where an old lady with thick glasses was standing, peering sharply at them when they entered before smiling broadly.

"What can I help you boys with?" she asked, voice withered but surprisingly steady and loud.

"We'd like to play if the lane's free," Ryan stated quickly, already inching a hand into his pocket for his wallet.

"Of course," she answered, grin growing wider as she looked them over. "Uneven teams?"

"I guess I could go alone," Ryan mused out loud, shrugging slightly. Unless Brendon had received training Ryan shouldn't have trouble holding his own against the two boys.

"I could play with you," the lady stated, her whole face seeming to light up with the idea. "Keeps me young." She seemed almost giddy for a moment. "I'll even give you a discount." And before even waiting for answers, she hollered for "Herold!" to "Look after the business!" and ushered them through a door before the old man even had time to fully appear from between the game consoles to take over the counter.

Spencer caught Ryan's eyes, confused, but the older of them merely shrugged, following the old lady who was in the middle of introducing herself as Betty Miller while she led them into a small, darkened room and urged them to take off the outer layers of shirts and threw stiff plastic vests at them, red at Brendon and Ryan and a green one at Spencer while she pulled a matching green one on herself, informing them that the bell would ring in two minutes and then they'd have half an hour before going over the rules.

Brendon looked slightly panicked as he tried to figure out the vest. "I-I don't... um. Wh-what am I supposed to do?" He asked, slightly apprehensive, and looked at Ryan. He'd pushed the sunglasses up over his eyes and into his hair in order to see, and what he could see was Ryan having no trouble at all and looking confident. He took a deep breath, allowing himself to calm. He hated not being in control of situations. He quickly pulled on the vest, though it felt horribly awkward, and looked around, eyebrows knit.

Spencer, on the other hand, had put on his vest with ease and was laughing with the old woman, no doubt at something she'd said. Brendon growled. He hated when others did better than he did.

Ryan was examining the laser rifle attached to the vest, weighing it in his hands and testing out different grips until he felt comfortable with the toy. Then he looked up to see Spencer and the lady both laughing at something and Brendon looking more than just a little vexed and uncomfortable. "Hey," he muttered, gingerly placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "If you don't want to, it's fine. Jon's probably bored by now."

Brendon scoffed and shook his head. "Absurd! Of course I want to! Why wouldn't I?" He narrowed his eyes at Ryan. He shrugged Ryan's hand away and picked up the same little toy he had in his hand. "What in the name of..?" He muttered, frowning as he examined the hunk of plastic. "I just... I just don't know how this works, all right? And if you expect me to be good with guns, don't get your hopes up." He sniffed in disdain and rolled his eyes.

For the umpteenth time that evening Ryan bit back a laugh. "Hold it like this," he instructed, holding his own gun to instruct. "You can't drop it since it's strapped to the vest, so don't worry about that." He moved his hand in again, a little more apprehensive about touching this time since Brendon's reaction had been negative the last time. He moved his finger the rest of the way, though, moved Brendon's fingers a little. "And you can't hold your finger there, or you'll block the shots and kill yourself every time you try to shoot someone else. Other than that, you need to protect the plates on your chest and back. Those are the sensors. And the things you need to try to hit on the others." He pulled his hand back, placing it comfortably on the plastic gun. "And don't worry about that, I'm plenty good with them. My father loves to hunt. Has been taking me since I was little."

"Right," Brendon mumbled, hoping that the darkness had hidden his blush. Again. He felt like a pre-teen. "What if I just hid behind you? Would that work?" he asked, looking hopeful. He really would be crap at this little game. "Unless you'd like to teach me how to shoot, you know. I don't play sports or anything, so I've never learned how to aim. Well, actually, I've done some archery. Does that count? That must mean I have good aim. It was a long time ago, though..." he trailed off, realizing he was rambling, and cleared his throat before averting his eyes from Ryan. What the hell was wrong with him? He was getting rather annoyed with himself.

"That should definitely help," Ryan stated, smiling slightly before raising his toy. "You need to look straight over the top of the gun and have the target straight in your line of vision, but since it's laser, you don't have to raise it to shoot longer. Other than that I guess the aiming is still the same," he continued with a shrug. "It's not that hard. Besides, having fun is more important than winning. Even if losing to an old lady would be kind of..." He trailed off, wrinkling his nose slightly before releasing a small laugh, letting the words stand on their own. "But don't worry, you'll catch on soon. Just look out for the mines and the robots if there are any of those. Remember that it's okay to run or to take cover. And if you see their base, you yell for me. Remember that the base works as a mine as well."

"Okay," Brendon took a deep breath. "Okay, I can do this. Yes." He mumbled to himself, mostly convincing that he could do it, until Spencer made stupid laser noises from a few feet away, pretended to shoot Brendon. Brendon rolled his eyes.

"Bang! You're dead, Bren!" He said, then continued shooting and making ridiculous noises. Beside him, the old woman rolled her eyes before thumping him hard on the arm. Spencer jumped in surprise and looked at her. "What?!" He asked, but she simply shook her head and sighed. Brendon snorted. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

Suddenly the bell rang and the old lady opened the door leading into an even darker room with disco-style flashing lights and UV lamps making the orange and green graffiti on the walls light up.

Ryan could already feel the adrenaline working up in him just by being in the room. He and Tobe had gone for one on ones several times at a lane not far from where they lived. In Ryan's opinion it was a great thrill, probably the most fun way of getting exercise he knew. "We have a minute now to get away from the others and to our base," he told Brendon, smiling but refraining from grabbing the boy's arm. "It said on the sign that's it's three levels, so it's rather large. Too large to just snipe about, so yeah." He cocked an eyebrow. "Anything you need to know before we get started?"

"Uhh..." Brendon faltered, then quickly shook his head. "I'll just, um, do what you do?" He asked meekly, shrugging. He could hear Spencer and the old woman, faintly. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He bit his lip, clearing his throat, and suddenly his face was emotionless again. He was on guard. No more anxiety. He couldn't afford it right now. "Let's kick their asses." He said. He almost laughed when he heard the old woman let out some sort of battle cry- or, that's what it sounded like to him. It could have been something completely different. Maybe she was scolding Spencer. Maybe she was just really excited. She scared him a bit, but he didn't show that.

"Let's," Ryan replied, unable to hold back a grin. After the new school, new people, new country, new everything, it felt good to feel on top of a situation, be in control. In a way it had also been amusing to really get the first feel that Brendon really was nearly seven years younger than him. Slightly disconcerting, considering the fact that that served as a reminder that his assignment was to exploit a mere child, but also oddly comforting. It made him less insecure. He kept walking, speeding up to a slight jog. "Let's get to the second or third level. That way it'll be easier to survey everything and gain an advantage." He sped up again, throwing a grin over his shoulder. "Don't get lost."

Brendon followed him, looking over his shoulder and glancing around every few seconds. He held the toy in front of him, eyes narrowed and lips pursed. Was this how it felt to be a spy? If so, it was pretty cool. "Is this how it feels to be a secret agent?!" Brendon asked, then laughed at his own question, snorted. He shook his head and followed Ryan closely, not wanting to lose him. "Do we have a strategy?" He asked, eyes wide. Crap. He didn't know what he was doing! They were definitely going to lose this and it would be all Brendon's fault.

Ryan almost jumped at the first question, scared for a moment that there was more to it than innocent joking. He managed to calm himself down quickly, though, keeping his reaction carefully neutral. "No idea. How would I know?" He forced a laugh. "If so, I guess it would be pretty neat, though." He adjusted the gun strap and vest on his narrow shoulder, making it slightly more comfortable. "We should stay close, but not too close. If we're too close we could end up shooting each other, but one of us could need help, so we can't be far apart. If you stay behind me, just in sight, it should be fine until we need to think of something else."

Brendon nodded to himself. He was tempted to go rolling about on the floor, or something equally stupid and childish. He stopped himself, however, when he heard a noise behind him. Jumping, he quickly looked around, stopping dead in his tracks. He didn't see anything. Maybe the excitement was causing him to hear things. He stayed there for several moments, just making sure, before turning back around to find Ryan. "Shit," he muttered, realizing he'd lost sight of the other boy. He mentally kicked himself for stopping without so much as a warning. If this were real, he would probably get killed. Just fantastic. Groaning, he continued walking in the direction Ryan had been going, hoping he would find his team mate soon enough.

It took a bit before Ryan started to find it strange that the occasional talking from behind him had ceased and he turned around only to realize that he was alone. Brendon was nowhere in his short, narrow line of sight, random walls and barrels blocking him from seeing too far. He groaned slightly, mentally chastising himself for not being more attentive. Even if it was just a game, he was still trained to work as a part of a team, not just alone. Okay, so teamwork hadn't been his strong side, but he still shouldn't lose someone he was supposed to work with. Good thing he'd decided against becoming a bodyguard. He'd have sucked at that. Hitching in a deep breath, he turned around and started to make his way back, looking around attentively.

Brendon hummed to himself, still looking around for Ryan, ducking behind walls when he felt the urge to. Not because he had to, but just because he wanted to. He tried to look nonchalant, but his heart was practically beating out of his chest. It was an odd feeling, to say the least. He really wished he would find Ryan soon. He didn't want to be alone in this, though he would never admit it. When he saw something gray move by him, he stopped and ducked further under the wall, before looking up over the ledge. Aha. The old woman, and she was alone. Brendon smirked to himself. All right. He could do this. He could hit her. It would be easy as pie. Maybe. Taking a deep breath, Brendon took aim, even though his hands shook a little. He waited until she turned, unaware, and then he quickly took his chance and shot, before quickly ducking down again, and running away, bent over and hopefully out of sight. He almost laughed out loud. He didn't even know if he'd hit her and he was acting all giddy!

Ryan was looking straight ahead and hadn't noticed the fact that there was an opening in the wall to his left. Not until someone propelled out, that was, knocking his lanky body although the person really wasn't much bigger himself. And a moment later Ryan was on his back on the floor, a startled shriek managing to escape his lips before the wind was knocked out of him as the other person - Brendon, he realized - landed on him.

Brendon did laugh then. Really, really loudly. He shook against Ryan, eyes shut tight. When he stopped, he looked down at Ryan and blinked. "I shot the old woman," he whispered, letting his head fall onto Ryan's shoulder. It wasn't long, however, before he remembered himself and sighed, pushing himself off Ryan. When he was up, he held out a hand to Ryan. "She's probably still around," he said. "We should go, eh? Sorry for stopping and losing you, by the way. I thought I'd heard something."

"Don't worry about it," Ryan said, coughing slightly and somehow laughing at the same time, pleased that Brendon wasn't angry or anything of the like. "And congrats on shooting her. Way to go, mate." He reached up and let Brendon clasp their hands together to pull him up. When he was standing again, he quickly dusted himself off, still smiling. "You know," he added. "Right now I'm definitely glad you aren't Jon. Or larger. Damn." Then he took a deep breath, realizing he was on the verge of starting to ramble. "Let's try to find them again. Try to keep up this time, will you?" He winked quickly before starting to head off in the direction Brendon had come from.

Brendon chuckled and nodded, quickly falling into step behind Ryan. In his head, he chanted, 'I shot her, I shot her,' almost like it had won him the game. He soon reminded himself that it hadn't and they probably had far to go. He wondered what Jon was doing outside, sad that they weren't sharing this. Oh, well. They would come back. He was sure Jon was just being a spoiled brat. Brendon shook his head at himself. "Do you think they've stayed together or separated?" He asked Ryan, making sure to keep quiet.

"If you only saw Mrs. Miller, chances are they've split up," Ryan answered, keeping his gaze straight ahead, but constantly making sure to strain to pay attention to the sound of the younger boy's footsteps even over the heavy bass and drums of the music played over the speaker system. Suddenly he heard something more, a clatter of shoes against the floor, falling rhythmically below them. And then he grinned, moving over to the ramp and getting to his knees to peer down. It only took a moment to spot Spencer, and Ryan immediately dropped to the floor to be harder to spot. He raised the toy took aim and fired, grinning slightly as he saw the lights around Spencer's back sensor blink and then go out before waiting the five seconds it would take until the boy could be shot again.

Brendon giggled gleefully. "Score!" he mouthed, his chest swelling with pride as he watched Ryan hit Spencer. He dropped to the ground near Ryan and surveyed Spencer's bewildered expression for a few moments. "Can I shoot him?" He whispered, looking at Ryan. "Or will that give away our position?" He grinned, feeling as though he were in a movie.

Ryan flashed Brendon a quick grin. "It shouldn't," he whispered back. "Just stay close enough that it looks like it came from the same place. I'll keep an eye out for Mrs. Miller. Hopefully she isn't shooting our base right now. She has the unfair advantage of knowing where it is beforehand." He held back a chuckle at the strange movements Spencer was making, swirling around himself as if expecting to find one of them just there. "Oh, you can shoot now, by the way."

Brendon smiled and took aim at Spencer, waited for him to stop spinning around a little, and then fired. When the lights on Spencer's vest sensor blinked again, the boy threw his hands in the air and cursed loudly, looking around even more. Brendon bit back laughter and rolled away from the side as to not be seen. He turned to look at Ryan. "How many times do we shoot him before he dies?"

"When he's been shot five times he has to go back to base to reload," Ryan explained. Suddenly he was smirking. "That's it," he stated. "We shoot him five times and follow him back to their base. Then one of us lures him away and the other one takes out the base." He grinned and quickly took aim at Spencer, shooting him nonchalantly once again. "Bloody brilliant."

Brendon chuckled, waited, then shot again. "Well, I'll let you have the honors of shooting the last one," he said to Ryan, bowing his head slightly. He rolled out of the way, keeping an eye on Spencer, and then glanced behind him, just in case. Didn't really want anyone sneaking up behind him. "Oh, Spencer," he whispered, snickering. "Poor, poor, Spencer."

Ryan laughed silently and delivered the last shot, barely using any time to get aim. Spencer wasn't that far away and the sensor was much larger than the bull's eyes he was used to on the practice range. "Come on," he muttered, getting to his feet. He smiled, holding his hand out in a way that was quite similar to what Brendon had done for him just a few minutes earlier.

Brendon smirked and followed.

***

"Yes!" Brendon pumped his fist into the air while pushing his glasses back over his eyes with his free hand. "We win, we win!" He said in a sing-song voice, cackling at Spencer's pout as they made their way out of the establishment after having paid. Spencer folded his arms across his chest and shook his head, but couldn't suppress a small smile.

Ryan grinned, pushing damp locks behind his ears. He bumped shoulders with Brendon lightly, half accident and half friendly fun. He was astonished by how much a simple game, half an hour of fun, had managed to open Brendon up, give him expressions and put excitement in his voice, make him seem like a normal teenage boy. And for a few moments his assignment seemed easier than it had ever appeared before. Then work was gone from his mind again as he chuckled. "Be nice to poor Spencer, Brendon," he said, laughing slightly as he spoke. "Don't mock him; feel sorry for him. The poor lad got over two thousand points negative."

Brendon laughed loudly at that until he noticed Jon sitting near the wall of the building and looking thoroughly bored. Jon looked up when they all came walking out, eyebrows knit. Brendon stopped laughing and Spencer sighed, shaking his head. "Well, well, well," Brendon said, one eyebrow raised. Sighing, Jon pushed himself up until he was standing.

"Hi, guys..." he trailed off, bit his lip, looked over to Ryan. "Sorry for being a jerk," he mumbled.

Ryan managed a small smile, nothing like the grin from a moment earlier, but just as genuine. Perhaps the Walker kid wasn't really as bad as he'd thought. "Don't worry about it," he said with a shrug. "At least you didn't punch me or anything that extreme. No hard feelings."

Jon smiled widely and nodded, blushing just the tiniest bit. They all started walking once again, Brendon checking the watch on his wrist. "It's eight o'clock. We'll leave at nine so we get to school a little bit before curfew, all right?"

Spencer nodded, "what are we doing until then, though?" He asked, looking around as they emerged from the alley. All that was left, really, was roaming around and maybe checking out the shops. He watched as Brendon's face became the impassive mask again and held back his sigh. Well, he'd expected that, but it was sad to see. Jon seemed to think the same, because he frowned at Brendon momentarily before looking away.

Racking his brain for something to do, Ryan inched his hands into his pockets uncomfortably, but even if they were being squished it was nicer than having them out without knowing what to do with them. He tried to remember what the kids he went to high school with had liked to do back in the day, but his complete disinterest as a teenager was definitely coming back to bite him in the ass.

Jon was the one who suddenly lit up, grinning, his mood completely changed since they'd left him. "The hockey place!" he exclaimed. "When they aren't practicing, it's used as a normal ice skating rink, remember? So if you aren't over your childish streak yet, we could do that. I haven't skated in forever!"

Ryan bit back his groan, rolling his eyes slightly. He'd gone ice skating once with Tobias the previous year on one of the outdoors rink. He was still pretty sure his roommate had just wanted to see the younger man make a fool of himself. And that was indeed what had happened. Finally he'd adopted the right mask and he looked up, smiling. "I couldn't skate if my life depended on it," he confessed. "But a bruised tailbone sounds like fun. Let's go."

Brendon groaned. "Count me out. I am not putting myself through that in front of you people," he shook his head, completely serious. "I'll just have fun watching." Spencer rolled his eyes at this and huffed. Stupid Brendon worrying about what people thought about him again. He didn't bother arguing, though. When Brendon had stupid notions in his head, nobody could contradict him or make him change his mind. After a few seconds, Spencer smiled at Jon and nodded.

***

The skating rink was small, but none of them had expected something extravagant in such a small town. The arena was relatively empty, save for a janitor and the man who was to help them get their skates. They'd entered, Jon leading the small group with a confident smile, and went up to the small booth. "We're here for the Free Skate," he announced, and the old man looked at him over his spectacles. His eyes drifted over each boy before he nodded and leaned forward, sliding the glass window open.

"I'll need each of your shoe sizes," he said, straight to the point as he stared them down. Jon chuckled and nodded.

"Eleven," he said, puffing his chest out. Spencer rolled his eyes and Brendon chuckled behind him. The old man turned around and disappeared for a few short moments, before returning with black ice skates and handing them over to Jon.

"Next!" he hollered unnecessarily and Spencer pushed Ryan to the front.

"A twelve," Ryan answered with a small shrug. "Thirteen if the shoes are just generally small." At Jon's wide-eyed look he quickly held his hands up, grinning. "Long limbs, mate."

Spencer went up next, pushing Brendon aside. Jon walked away towards the bleachers, taking off his shoes and unlacing the skates. Brendon plopped down next to him, soon followed by Spencer. "Wanna help me tighten my skates?" Jon asked Brendon, looking at him hopefully and holding one of his feet up. Brendon rolled his eyes but got up anyway, placing Jon's skate-clad feet between his legs and pulling on the laces as tight as he could as he laced them up. "Thank you!" Jon said, delighted when Brendon had finished. When Spencer cocked an eyebrow, Brendon shrugged.

"I have cousins who loved skating and my mother used to drag me along to their practices and I would watch them get ready..." he trailed off, looking away. Spencer chuckled, lacing up his own skates before standing on wobbly legs and grabbing onto Jon's shoulder for support.

Ryan spent a few minutes with both a twelve and a thirteen, comparing both to the size of the shoes he was wearing before settling on the thirteen and handing the twelve back. Then he quickly hurried after the others to see Jon and Spencer already stumbling their way onto the ice. Oh, well, it wasn't that bad, and Ryan knew he had no room to criticize. In a few minutes he'd have made those two look good.

Plopping down next to Brendon on the bleachers, he pulled the sneakers off his feet and got the skates on instead, satisfied that they had, indeed, been the right fit. "Sure you don't want to come?" he asked, looking up at Brendon briefly before turning his gaze back to the laces. "There's no way you can be worse than I am."

Brendon snorted and shook his head. "No, thank you. I'll pass." He watched Jon and Spencer, holding hands, as they stepped onto the ice and wobbled even more. He smirked when Jon nearly landed on his ass, almost bringing Spencer down with him. Spencer let go of Jon's hand, clearly miffed, and held on to the side board, inching along. He pushed himself along with his hands, his feet gliding effortlessly in the ice. Jon pouted, bringing his body forward slightly and moving his feet so that it looked like he was walking on the ice.

"Okay," Ryan answered. "You get the fun without the bruises then," he added, tying the lace and getting to his feet, half-stumbling across the floor until he reached the line and stepped out gingerly, keeping a strong hold on the side. His feet were gliding nearly frighteningly and he felt like a live version of that one scene from Bambi as he tried to straighten his feet. After a few moments he managed and pushed off from the side. A couple of feet out it suddenly felt as though the floor had been tugged away from under him and he started to fall, managing to roll as he landed so as to not harm one point too much. At least some of the combat training from the academy seemed to come in handy even though his balance still sucked.

Spencer chuckled as he watched Ryan, making a decision to stay near the sides until he truly felt comfortable. Jon was finally getting some of his confidence back as he remembered skating as a child and went faster and faster without falling or even wobbling. He smirked at Spencer, sticking his tongue out at him, before quickly turning and skating backwards. He did it with complete ease. This was like riding a bike, he thought. He laughed out loud as he spun around quickly and did a small jump. When he turned back, Spencer was staring at him, eyes narrowed.

"Where the hell did you learn that?!" He practically yelled, throwing his hands in the air and losing his balance momentarily. Spencer managed to catch himself and not fall, still glaring at Jon, who chuckled and shook his head.

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Spence," he said, smirking and then continued skating away and then back again.

Ryan had, by then, managed to roll over and get on his hands and knees, wincing as the cold of the ice bit into the skin of his fingers. He pushed one foot underneath himself, shifting his weight a little and somehow succeeded in getting the other leg upright as well. Then came the slow and tedious process of actually getting all the way up without falling again. He finally got back to his feet, swaying dangerously with his arms out to the sides for better balance and let out a relieved breath. Perhaps he should just follow Spencer's example and stick to the sides. But Ryan had hardly ever been one to stick to the safe side. If he had, he'd either have been in the Navy to avoid a conflict with his father, or he'd be working as a lawyer, someone who hadn't dropped out of law school for a, perhaps, slightly crazy career path.

Taking an unsure step, Ryan started to half-walk, half-glide farther out onto the ice, breathing shallowly with nerves. He hated falling, but as long as he could still get up it would be all right. When Jon sped past him he nearly lost his balance again but this time only down to a crouched position where his hands were touching the ice again before he got up once more and managed to get the rest of the way to the far side board, clinging to it and grinning slightly as a small feeling of safety returned to him.

Jon skated to the sides, but didn't touch them. "Well, Brendon? We're all here having fun and you're just sitting there. I didn't know you were a coward..." he trailed off thoughtfully, then grinned and shook his head before speeding off again. Spencer rolled his eyes as he watched Brendon turn bright red, watched his jaw clench. Brendon flipped Jon off before looking away. Grinning, Spencer turned to Ryan.

"It'd be funny to see Brendon skate," he mused, chuckling quietly.

Ryan grinned slightly. "Guess it would," he agreed. "Jon shouldn't be pushing him, though," he added. "It's not good to mess too much with people's boundaries." He let go of the side with one hand, slowly finding his balance. "Want to try to get back to the other side?"

Spencer looked to the other side and bit his lip. It wasn't very far, but it was far enough that he could fall a few times before getting there. He contemplated getting on his knees and crawling there, but shook his head to rid himself of the thought and turned back to Ryan instead. "Sure, I'll try," he said, nodding. He gripped the board one more time before letting go. "Together?" he asked, looking straight ahead again.

Ryan nodded, releasing the board with the other hand as well and sucked in a deep breath before pushing off. He glided slowly, minding the position of his legs and feet carefully to make sure he wouldn't lose balance. "Slippery surfaces are bloody scary," he stated with a slight laugh, making sure to hold onto the fake accent even as his knees wobbled and he nearly fell again, instinctively reaching out and grabbing Spencer's wrist. Somehow, though, they both managed to stay upright.

Spencer chuckled, then held on tightly to Ryan's hand, moving their fingers around until they were laced together. The grip was better and if he was going to fall, Ryan was going to come down with him. He took a deep breath before pushing himself forward with his right foot behind his left, then alternating. It was almost like walking, really, except you were sliding on every step. "I think I'm getting the hang of it!" he exclaimed excitedly, smiling. Suddenly, Jon came zipping past them and he jerked back as the boy's body almost knocked him over, almost sending them both sprawling to the ground.

"Why the hell are you two holding hands! Christ, stop being so disgusting!" Jon called from over his shoulder, eyes dark with anger. Spencer frowned, but didn't respond. He had no idea what the hell Jon's problem was.

Ryan felt his eyes narrow as he fought to regain his balance once again, tightening his grip when he nearly lost his balance once more. Well, there went the semblance of positive feelings he'd had for Jon. "You know I'm only trying to keep upright, right?" he quickly asked, just wanting to make sure that Spencer wouldn't suddenly read more into it and start getting angry too.

"Just because Jon's an asshole, doesn't mean I am, too. Plus, he's being a hypocrite" Spencer muttered, shaking his head and casting an angry glare in Jon's direction. "He's not usually like this," he said after a few moments in silence, his voice considerably softer. He inhaled deeply, realizing that the boards were only a few feet away. Picking up the pace a little, he reached out his free hand, finally grasping the ugly orange sides and pulling himself and Ryan towards it.

Jon looked back at them, sneering, and shook his head. He made his way off the ice and plopped down beside Brendon. "Look at that," he said, pointing to Spencer and Ryan. "I bet you Ryan's dad is some evil sonuvabitch and he sent his son to spy on you, you know? And him warming up to Spencer is just the thing. He'll probably try to get secrets out of him!" Beside Jon, Brendon shook his head and rolled his eyes behind the dark glasses.

"Don't be an idiot," Brendon said, but kept his eyes on Ryan. "That shit doesn't happen. Why the hell would some British guy want info on me?" He laughed at the thought, but it was a hollow, mirthless sound. He bit his lip and kept his gaze on the two boys skating. Jon laughed quietly, too.

"Yeah, I guess I just don't really trust him. I don't know what Spencer sees in him, anyway." Jon grumbled, sighing heavily. Brendon laughed loudly at that.

"Sounds to me like you're a little bit jealous. Scared Spencer's going to make new friends, Jon?" he asked, his tone of voice suggesting he were talking to a child. Jon narrowed his eyes, remaining silent.

Ryan laughed, practically clinging to the side board. "I thought for sure we were going to fall," he exclaimed. Then he took on a more serious expression. "Thanks," he said in response to Spencer's previous comment. "I appreciate it. But I wouldn't know about Jon. All I've seen him be so far is nosy or snide." He managed to make another smile form on his face, releasing his hand. "This actually is fun, though. And I've only fallen once."

Spencer nodded in agreement. He tried to smile, but probably failed miserably. When they got back to the school, he would find out what the hell Jon's problem was. "Do you want to continue skating, now that Jon is off the ice, or...?" he trailed off, not really knowing what the other option was. They'd only been there a few minutes. There was no way Ryan would want to leave, even if Jon was being a pain in the ass.

"Yeah, let's," Ryan responded, managing another smile in hopes of reassuring the boy. It was odd, he reflected. He hadn't in any way come to make friends, but Spencer was enough of a genuinely good guy to have it nearly nag at his conscience. Over the course of only one day he'd come to find himself liking and respecting the boy, which was more than he'd ever imagined with a Beauregian. "But hey, at least with you around I know your country isn't made up by arseholes." Then he got himself turned around again, facing the way they'd come. "Want to try to get across again?"

Spencer nodded absently, then shook his head and smiled. He pushed himself away from the boards and glided without moving his feet for a few seconds, then pushed himself forward with his left foot, then his right. And so it went. He was getting better at this! He looked over at Ryan and grinned. "Well, this isn't so bad, is it?" he asked excitedly.

"Not as bad as it was two minutes ago," Ryan concurred, shifting his weight over onto the other leg to slide forward a bit more. "It's actually sort of-" And that was when he lost his balance again, this time not managing to land in a roll but instead straight on knees and hands. His knees felt sore and beat immediately and his hands were stinging from the ice scrapes, yet somehow he couldn't hold laughter back and managed to get the "fun" out to complete the sentence between chuckles.

Spencer gasped sharply when Ryan fell, then smiled nervously when the boy started laughing. He set about helping Ryan get up, shaking his head. "Are you all right?" he breathed, taking hold of Ryan's elbows and hoisting him up. He chuckled softly and looked towards the stands, where Brendon appeared to be holding back laughter and Jon was still pouting. Looking back at Ryan, he made sure to keep his own balance to make sure they both didn't go tumbling down again. "You're going to be sore tomorrow," he pointed out, clucking his tongue.

"Been worse," Ryan stated, trying to cease the laughter that still wanted to erupt from his chest. "Thanks," he added when he was finally upright again. "We should get back to the bleachers, though, or I'll get blood on our clothes." He wrinkled his nose in distaste upon inspecting the small cuts on his palms. "Ow."

Spencer snorted, "of course," he said, wrapping his fingers around Ryan's wrist and tugging him along. They reached the bleachers soon enough and stepped off the ice one by one, walking awkwardly to where Jon and Brendon were sitting. Spencer sat next to Jon, making sure Ryan wouldn't have to, and gave him a reproachful glare. Jon shifted uncomfortably and beside him Brendon shook his head.

"Well, well. Didn't that look like fun," he said, voice dripping sarcasm. Spencer reached over, swatting Brendon's head. "What?!" Brendon asked angrily, rubbing his forehead. "I don't know what you two have to smile about, really. You both looked like idiots out there, just so you know, and I can only say that I'm glad I didn't put myself through that." He finished with a huff, mouth set in a thin line.

Ryan rolled his eyes slightly but still couldn't keep a smile off his face. "It was fun, though. And fun's worth a few cuts and bruises." He was holding his up, palms in the air, to avoid dripping blood onto his pants and was sort of at a loss of how to get his skates off, but for some reason he really didn't want to worry about that at the moment. "And who cares about looking like an idiot as long as they're secure enough in themselves to know they aren't one?"

Brendon made a sound in the back of his throat, but didn't say anything. Spencer went to work taking off his skates, letting them fall off his feet and to the ground when they'd been loosened. He sighed and turned to Ryan, smirking. "You, uh, want some help?" he asked, looking between Ryan's hands and his skates. Jon snorted loudly, angrily, before sliding off the bench and stalking away, wobbling slightly because of the skates. Spencer shrugged and rolled his eyes, then watched Brendon smirk and follow Jon a few feet down, where he was sitting down again and taking off his own skates.

"You know, I'm starting to think my jealous theory is right," Brendon mused. Jon chucked his skate at the boy, making sure not to actually hit him. "Hey! No need to get violent!"

Ryan looked after the two retreating boys for a moment before shaking his head with yet another eye roll. "Yes, please," he quickly replied, stretching out his knees and wincing slightly at the small jolts of pain shooting up and down his legs at the movement. "Yeah," he muttered. "Sore all right."

***

After they got back to the school Ryan had taken some time just going about nothing in particular. He'd taken a well-earned shower, cleaning his hands in the process. Then he'd stumbled out on sore knees to find band-aids for his hands and had gotten a slight scolding from the teacher on duty for not being more careful. Finally, though, he decided it was about time to get email checked and see if Brendon was online.

He turned on the computer and got comfortable in his chair while it loaded. The messenger program opened immediately after he'd typed in three different sets of codes and he wasn't really all that surprised to see 'zeke' already online.

drew: hey. sorry i haven't been on all night. had to check out the new place, you know? hope you had a nice evening regardless.

He winced slightly at the small pangs of pain typing sent through his cut palms but still couldn't help a small smirk. Bits of hints in there, but he still seemed inconspicuous. Hopefully that was the best way to go about it.

Across the hall, Brendon jumped slightly when the bell chimed, telling him someone was messaging him. He got up off his bed and walked to the desk, plopping down in his chair and opening the blinking window. His eyes narrowed at the message, but he couldn't help a slight smile.

zeke: no problem... i was out tonight, as well. do anything exciting?

Truth was, Brendon wasn't as stupid as a lot of people might think. He knew there was something odd about Drew and he knew that there was also something odd about Ryan. It was right beneath his nose, and he knew that, too. He sighed. He hated being confused and not knowing what was going on.

drew: not anything out of the ordinary. it's a small town, really. but it was fun, definitely. and i'm glad you finally went out too. wouldn't want you rotting up in your house now, would we? i know i don't. did you have fun, though?

Ryan smiled slightly, still content with keeping it vague. If he made it too obvious, dropped too many hints, it would seem like he already knew and wanted Brendon to guess. Of course that was the truth, but it was a dangerous truth, and he knew he couldn't afford people becoming unnecessarily suspicious of him.

zeke: i... actually did. well. for the first part of the night, i had loads of fun. then i kind of just acted like an idiot. i don't like letting my guard down, and i guess i did that for a while... my father wouldn't have liked it.

Brendon sighed. No matter how much he tried to convince himself otherwise, he was still very much the person his father had taught him to be. He liked thinking that he had his own opinions and could do whatever he wanted, but he knew that he was only lying to himself. But, if that's what it would take to be ruler, he supposed that it wasn't so bad. He chewed on his lip as he waited for the reply, only now remembering the moment when Ryan had told Jon to call him 'Drew'. His eyes flitted over the name on the screen and he frowned before shaking his head lightly. He was going mad, thinking that random, loyal, internet friends could suddenly pop up into his life outside of the online conversations. He probably just needed to relax, or sleep.

drew: you need to stop worrying so much about what your father would think about everything. it isn't good for you or for the people around you. and you know that eventually you'll have to learn to be your own person. some day your father won't be there anymore and i seriously hope, for your own sake, that you've learnt how to stand on your own two feet by then.

Ryan winced slightly even as he pressed enter. That could be taken as more than just a little rude, but he hoped that given the long history 'zeke' and 'drew' had of speaking to each other, Brendon wouldn't take too much offense. And he was sort of smiling at the memory of the game of laser tag. It had been a lot of fun, really, and he was surprised to find that he really liked Brendon without his walls up. Perhaps not a good thing. Brendon was the last person here he was supposed to like. But still.

zeke: i realize that perfectly. i do, however, also know that, right now, being my father is the best I could be... every move i make, every word i say is being criticized... i can be my own person when... well, when he's gone. you just... i don't think you'd understand, even if you knew the whole situation.

Brendon sighed, glaring still at Drew's comment, hating that it was somewhat true. But what Brendon had replied with was, sadly, also very true. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and left them there, digging into his eyes, for a few silent moments. He could not afford to be different at this point. He could be different when he was safely in his Throne. When he had more control over his own life. Or, well, he hoped he'd have more control, that is. His father seemed happy enough, but a lot of the time, Brendon didn't think the man did anything because he wanted to do it. Everything seemed like a tedious chore, really.

drew: perhaps i wouldn't. but remember that you're not the only one coming from a family with hereditary jobs and arsehole fathers who like to control you. perhaps i'd understand more than you think. what i know is that i wasn't happy until i started being myself.

This time Ryan did regret sending the answer the moment he'd pressed enter. That wasn't Ryan Hastings's reply. That was Ryan Ross', and that was one thing he couldn't afford. There was no way for him to unsend it or delete it, though, and he silently cursed the finger that had automatically pressed enter after the full stop. He hadn't been able to help reacting on those words, though, and the bitterness that welled up with them. He clearly remembered his father trying to 'toughen him up' through his childhood and teenage years, remembered being practically cut off when he didn't sign up for the navy. His father had only started talking to him again when he joined the bureau, and even then it was strained and painful. And he doubted it would ever be different.

zeke: you might be right. i don't know. it makes sense but... i don't know if it would be worth it just yet. i know this may be very angering to hear, considering i'm stubborn as a mule, but what you're saying makes complete sense... i just don't think i can put it to use. i'm just... i can't. but let's change subjects, shall we? there's a new guy at my school, you know.

Brendon bit back a smirk and waited innocently for a reply. Behind him, he heard Zach snore and he chuckled. Maybe he'd be nice tonight, though, and not wake the poor man up.

drew: haha, yes, let's. i think we've talked about enough serious shit for one night. oh, really? must be nice to have something new happen for once. so what's he like? potential new friend?

Ryan smiled slightly, secretly quite glad for the subject change. He'd been walking on uncomfortable ground back there. Sure, he could put the reply down to the Hastings family company, could put 'being himself' down to the gay thing. But still. This course of conversation wasn't exactly safe either, though. Of course it seemed good that Brendon would mention him at all, from the view of the assignment of course, but he was still unsure as to how many hints he could afford to drop, how quickly he could afford to be found out.

zeke: not sure... one of my friends seems to like him.. well enough. but he is always going on about giving people chances and blahblahblah. it's funny, though, because, at one point, he told my friend something that made me think of you. but it's probably nothing. just an odd coincidence, though, eh?

Truth was, Brendon didn't believe in coincidences. He was just dropping hints, here, that he knew what was going on. And, well, if he was wrong, he hadn't said anything to jeopardize himself. He smirked at the screen and shook his head. He thought back to the laser tag game and smiled warmly. He'd been disgustingly sweaty after that and not paid any attention to it. Which was very, very odd for him.

drew: oh yeah? cool. well, if he reminds you of me, i'd say you have a shot at getting more friends. just don't abandon me because you found a real life version, eh?

Ryan was doubtful about the situation, but Brendon seemed to be probing and in the end it couldn't really hurt anything to let him guess, could it? That had been a goal anyway.

drew: actually one of the guys i met sort of reminded me of you too. at times. or you know, a time. for a few minutes or something. but hey, it was still cool. made me feel at home a little.

zeke: mhmmmm... well, you know, i should probably be getting to bed sometime soon. have english first thing tomorrow morning and i have a feeling we'll be discussing shakespeare, again, like we did today. as brilliant as shakespeare is, i'm getting quite sick of reading his plays. wouldn't you agree? i mean, we have to read them all through high school, after all. gets tiring.

Brendon chuckled. All right, if Drew didn't want to say anything, then neither would he. It wasn't as if it really mattered, in the end, who Drew was, or who Ryan was. He would never see or speak to either of them when term ended, probably. But, the simple thought of having his most trusted confidante so close made him exceedingly happy. Not that he would ever admit it.

drew: that actually sounds like a pretty good idea. and shakespeare... i know, we're studying him in my new school too, and it's so weird. i mean, back in england we studied him a couple of terms ago but then that was that. i guess we just focused more on the romantic movement and on contemporary writing. i do like him though. it's just weird how differently everything is interpreted here.

Ryan shook his head with a slight smile. That would be it for now. No more hints dropped or it would seem like he knew and was trying to make Brendon guess. And going to bed did sound like a good idea. He minimized the messenger window and quickly opened his email, typing in several new sets of codes, and waited for it to load.

zeke: yes, i suppose it might be.

Brendon said, remembering Ryan's answer in class and how Mr. O'Connor had made some comment about it being an old way of thinking or something.

zeke: well, i'm off to bed. nearly the weekend and all, and maybe then i'll be able to stay up to all hours of the night.. but, for now, i will talk to you tomorrow night.

All Brendon could think of as he closed the window was that he might talk to him sooner than that. Much sooner. He shook his head as he shut off the computer before getting ready to crawl into his bed and drift into unconsciousness. It sounded like bliss just about now. His brain was whirring as he thought of the days events, but the moment his head hit the pillow, he made a conscious effort to just... stop thinking. Sleep came quickly.

Ryan didn't answer, seeing as how the other boy had already logged off. In the meantime his email had finally loaded and he was relieved to see that there was nothing there. With a yawn he logged off and pulled off unnecessary clothes before pulling on a pair of pajama pants and collapsing into bed.