the car comes to a stop outside the gates of a rather impressive house, if it could even be considered that. it's more like a mansion, especially considering the fact that it is significantly larger than the one tyler was previously staying in. it's more long than it is tall with two walls coming out either side of the front, making the "house" into the shape of a half-rectangle. dallon and the guard out-front exchange nods as the gate opens and he drives inside. he pulls inside of the garage, a large one at that, and tyler gawks at the several other cars inside.

once the car is shut off, both men in the front turn around to smile at him. "welcome home, tyler."

"wow. creepy, but thanks i guess."

they all exit together, dallon and ryan babbling to each other while tyler takes in his surroundings. bag in hand, they walk past the fountain at the main entrance and up to the front door. its black frame and frosted glass windows loom menacingly before tyler. however, dallon and ryan seem unbothered. dallon punches a code into the panel on the wall, then holds the door open.

tyler steps inside cautiously, wincing slightly as he hears the door shut behind him. dallon mutters about how he's going to go find "him" and leaves tyler alone with ryan. they stand awkwardly, tyler trying to avoid the boy's obvious stare.

"what do you think?" ryan finally speaks.

"it's really nice," he responds, clutching his bag against his chest. "bigger than i'm used to."

"don't worry, you'll get used to it quickly. i'll give you a tour soon. he just wants to meet you first."

"who, exactly?"

ryan just smiles, blinking slowly. tyler scratches at his palms, leg starting to bounce anxiously. where exactly is he? the drive here was about 20 minutes, but that doesn't tell him anything...

"ah, tyler."

said boy whips around at the voice, goosebumps covering his skin. the man himself, brendon urie, offers a smile as he takes his time coming down the staircase. dallon follows close behind, looking between the two in amusement. tyler's jaw hangs, dumbfounded.

this is fucking brendon urie. of course, why wouldn't it be? that's just tyler's luck. josh's biggest competitor–wait... why should tyler care about that anymore? he isn't on josh's side now. brendon isn't his enemy now. but still... he feels like he's committing ultimate betrayal. part of him wants to walk right back out the front door while the other part wants to stay simply out of spite. he doesn't even have anywhere else to go so... how bad could it be?

brendon approaches him with a surprisingly warm smile. "it's nice to have you here."

"yeah..."

"you look so shocked to see me. these goons didn't tell you where they were taking you, did they?"

"it's called the element of surprise, urie," dallon chuckles. "just look at that face."

all eyes fall on tyler, and he's suddenly over-aware of himself. the way he's blinking too fast, the clutching of his bag, cheeks burning so hot they're surely red...

brendon just rolls his eyes. "god, can't you just do what i ask? that's your damn job..." he mutters. "tyler, i apologize on behalf of these two. i'm so glad you were able to see josh in all of his glory, for his true self. i tried to warn you, you know."

"how did you even..."

"texted him on the way here," ryan states proudly, the smiling wiping off his face as brendon beckons him over with his index finger. he stands beside the man, who wraps an arm around his shoulders. ryan keeps his eyes on the ground.

"i'm just happy you finally got out of there. you deserve better, so much better, and i'll give that to you."

tyler doubts that. brendon won't be able to give him what he wants.

"how much was josh taking out of your cut?"

"about 40 percent but-"

"then i'll take 30," brendon interrupts.

"-that was just because i was his bottom."

"doesn't matter," brendon waves his hand. "with everything i've heard about you, you alone could make me rich."

ryan seems to frown at that. dallon rolls his eyes. "aren't you already rich?" tyler asks.

"sorry, rich-er. and you can stop looking so scared, there's no need for that. there are plenty of recruits here for you to make friends with, a couple of whom i believe you've met before. i'm going to turn it over to ryan now, i've got to get back to work." he pats ryan on the back and flashes a quick smile before ascending back upstairs. dallon follows along again.

ryan quickly puts a smile on, taking tyler's bag for him. "i'll show you to your room first, and then take you around the rest of the house."

tyler doesn't comment on the sudden mood-shift. he just follows behind, trying to memorize what turns they take to lead them to his new room. it's a bit bigger than his old one, and arguably nicer. it's already prepared, the bed-set a dark grey color to match the light grey walls. the bed sits in the middle of the farthest wall, a dresser on either side of the door. one seems more like a storage space, but could still pass as a dresser. there's a closet along with that, including a full-length mirror. colorful artwork lines the walls, helping to liven the dark room up a bit. a fluffy white carpet covers the floor where ryan places his bag.

"come on, we can stop here afterwards and i'll help you unpack."

so, tyler follows ryan throughout the house. there's six bedrooms on the top floor, each with their own bathroom. ryan doesn't say whose they are, though. the ceilings in the hallway are vaulted and the space below has minimal clutter, mostly just artwork and a few seating areas here and there. there's also a "zen" room as ryan calls it, complete with yoga mats, a sauna, and massage tables.

downstairs are four more bedrooms, including brendon's, and four more on-suite bathrooms. there's also two guest bathrooms. the living room actually feels cozy, the kitchen is huge. the dining room is big but the formal dining room is massive. like, enough seats for a fucking army. okay, maybe that's an exaggeration but still. ryan also shows him the indoor pool, the gym, and the in-home theatre. there's another room that ryan just calls "the special room" and leaves it at that without showing tyler inside. tyler is blown away by the sheer grandness of it all by the time they finish back in his bedroom.

"i can't believe this is a real place. like, there's so much cool shit here," tyler gushes as he starts putting away his clothes.

"i know, right? i've never been inside josh's place but i imagine ours is far better," ryan says, organizing everything in piles on tyler's bed.

"it is," tyler admits, although he regrets saying it. "i like it here. how many other people live here, though?"

"god. let's see here.. one, two, sssix, uhh, about fourteen. we lost a few, gained a couple. a few girls share rooms, don't ask me why. i'd rather not think about that," he says, chuckling.

"huh? you mean, like...?"

"oh yeah, they're not just girl-friends. they're like girlfriends. a few, at least."

"really? that's not against the rules?"

ryan smacks himself on the forehead. "shit, i forgot to go over the rules. no, brendon doesn't care about that shit. as long as they're still doing their job then so what?"

"so... we can just sleep around with each other and be in relationships with each other?" tyler asks, trying to clarify.

"yep, but only inside the house. can't sleep with anyone else unless they pay you and can't be seeing anybody outside. i'll just go over everything you can't do, okay?

1. no stealing, obviously.

2. like i said, no outside relationships. most of the time that includes family, unless you're somehow able to hide it all from them.

3. you can't leave unless it's with me, brendon, dallon, or one of the other guards. that's more of a safety thing than a control thing.

4. if it seems wrong but you don't know, just ask.

that's it, really. you should know the basics: eyes down in public, reaching your quota, obeying the people above you, shit like that."

"wow, that's it? nothing about drugs or alcohol?" tyler asks.

"you can do whatever you want, just as long as you aren't a mess when you have a customer. oh, but none of that hard shit: meth, heroine, you know. fuck that."

tyler just nods, collecting another pile of clothes. "and what do i call brendon?"

ryan looks at him in confusion. "what do you mean? brendon, obviously. you could call him urie, i guess, but he thinks that's disrespectful unless it's coming from dallon for some reason."

"oh," tyler hums, frowning a bit as he tucks his clothes away neatly.

"you get today off, but work starts tomorrow. you'll meet the other recruits during dinner tonight. i hope you like tacos."

"fuck yeah," tyler smiles a bit, despite the lump in his throat. this all just feels so wrong. he doesn't feel like himself, like he's not supposed to be here. he should be with josh, he wishes he were with josh...

but josh fucked him over, so this is going to have to be his new normal.