Brendon practically threw himself on top of Ryan when he hurried into the seat beside him. The unexpected boy almost fell off the other side of his chair.

"Ryan!" Brendon leaned into his side with a wide smile as he looked up at his best friend. Ryan gave a small chuckle.

"Hello to you too." Brendon didn't expect to run into Ryan at the arcade, but he was beyond happy nonetheless.

"You didn't tell me you were coming," Brendon pouted. Ryan only shrugged.

"I didn't think I was. Also didn't want to get in the way of your date. How is it going by the way?"

"Really great actually. She had to go home. Her mom was calling her." Ryan nodded in reply. "What are you doing here?"

"They have the best fries here." Brendon eyes lit up. He loved fries. As if on cue, a waitress came by and placed a basket of fries in front of Ryan.

"There you go hot stuff." Brendon looked at the girl. She was pretty and around their age. She has nice long blonde hair, little curvy, big tits.

"Thank you," Ryan flashed her a shy smile.

"Anything else I can get for you?" Ryan shook his head.

"I don't think so." Brendon stayed silent and watched the interaction. He could see that the girl was lingering at the table longer than needed. He didn't like the eye she was eyeing Ryan like he was a piece of meat.

"If you change your mind just call me over and I ca-"

"He's gay," Brendon said bluntly. Ryan snapped his head to him and his face grew bright red.

"Brendon." By the harshness in his voice, Brendon knew he had some apologizing to do.

"I'm sorry I.. if you need anything just wave me over." As the girl hurried off, the boys turned to watch her. Brendon frowned at her. Slut.

"That was rude." Ryan turned back to him with his own frown. "Why did you do that?" Brendon felt himself shrink. He didn't like his friend being upset with him. "I'm not gay."

"You told me you were," Brendon defended.

"No, I told you I was bi. You scared her off and she was really cute." Brendon kept his gaze low.

"She wasn't your type."

"What? How would you even know what my type is." Brendon scoffed.

"We've been friends for twelve years. I think I know who you tend to check out more often. And fyi you stare at guys most of the time." Ryan frowned and pick up a fry.

"Your point?"

"My point is you wouldn't have any relationship with her. She would be just a one night stand." Ryan tore the ends of the fry off and threw them back in the basket.

"And that would be a bad thing?" He ate the fry and grabbed another one.

"You shouldn't be doing just one night stands. You need to find someone and like have a normal relationship with someone."

"But I haven't gotten laid in weeks and I don't want to be in a relationship. Not after what happened with Chase." The pile of fry ends slowly grew as the conversation went on.

"Well Chase was a fucking asshole who deserves his dick to be chewed off my rats," Brendon said with a little aggression in his voice. Ryan grimaced and had a small smile on his face.

"Calm down there. Safe to say you didn't like him." He chuckled softly at his friend.

"I would murder the bastard if you didn't stop me. He treated you like crap. I don't know why you stayed with him so long." Ryan shrugged and had an amused smile on his face.

"You were with Michelle all the time. I need someone to keep me entertained." There was still light humor in his voice, but Brendon didn't find it funny.

"That doesn't make all his cheating and lying okay." Ryan looked down at his dwindling number of fries. The ghost of a smile lingers on his lips.

"So you gonna go out with Becca again?" Ryan quickly changed the topic. He was glad his friend was easily distracted. Brendon nodded quickly with a childish grin. When all that was left were the fry tips, Ryan crossed his arms and leaned against the table.

"Yeah. She's awesome. Maybe you can come and meet her. She needs your approval anyway." Brendon reached over and grabbed from Ryan's pile of fry ends.

"Why does she need my approval?"

"Cause if you don't like her, she's probably not good for me." Ryan watched as Brendon ate his ends.

"So that's why I always had to third wheel when you start dating a new chick."

"Mmhm," Brendon hummed. His attention was more focused on the fries. "They all need my best friend's approval. No Ryan approval, no dating Brendon."

Ryan watched as his basket was basically emptied into Brendon's mouth. The fact that Brendon thought so highly of his opinion made Ryan happier than it should've.

"I can't believe you don't eat the ends of your fries. They're the best part. What's wrong with?"

Ryan turned and watched Brendon licking the tips of his fingers. His friend wasn't looking back. Ryan took the moment to take in the boy's charm.

There was a fringe of his almost black hair hanging in front of his face. He had a small pout on his plump lips when he realized there were no more fries. He finally looked up and gave sad puppy dog eyes.

"They're gone." Ryan shook his head as he chuckled. He stood up and held out his hand.

"Let's go. I'll take you home." Brendon let Ryan pull him up, still pouting. Ryan smirked at how cute Brendon was.

~~~

"Brendon," Ryan moaned.

"Will you knock it off," Brendon huffed.

"We've been waiting forever. I wanna go home." Ryan laid his head on the table.

"She's only ten minutes late. Quit your bitchin." Ryan lifted his head enough to give Brendon a frown.

"I didn't even want to come tonight. This was your idea."

"It's not like you had anything better to do."

"I had plans."

"Sitting in the dark and contemplating your life choices don't count as plans."

Ryan sat up ready to argue. Then a girl came hurrying in and took the empty spot on Brendon's side of the booth.

"I'm so sorry I'm late." She quickly gave Brendon a kiss on the cheek. Ryan looked back down at the table after he saw the girl.

"Hey, I'm Becca." Ryan looked up and Becca gave him a small wave. "I'm assuming you're Ryan. Brendon's told me so much about you." Ryan nodded with a fake smile.

Noticing Ryan's fake smile, Brendon frown at his friend. Ryan caught his eye and looked away quickly.

"So um.. Ryan, how long have you and Brendon been friends?" Oh god, she's trying to have a conversation. Ryan really didn't want to talk to her. Lucky enough, a waiter came to their table.

"Hello, I'm Adam and I'll be your waiter tonight. What can I get you guys to drink?"

"I'll have a coke. Ryan will have a Sprite and Becca will have a.." Becca looked at him with a smile. Brendon bit his lip as he looked at her. Becca's smile faded as she turned back to the waiter.

"I'll just have a water please. Thank you." Brendon mumbled a thank you before Adam walked off.

"Sorry."

"It's alright." Her smile came back when Brendon wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She cuddled into his side and looked over at Ryan.

"Brendon told me you don't really like going out."

"I rather be alone."

"I know. Brendon told me that too. He talks a lot about you." Ryan's gaze shifted over to Brendon who was avoiding his look and kept his eyes on Becca. Ryan could see his cheeks turning a slight pink color.

"I didn't know that." Ryan smirked at Brendon.

"I didn't realize how close you two were. I wish my siblings and I had that brother bond you two have." The smirk fell.

"Yeah. It's great," Ryan muttered. Adam came back and took their orders.

"Ryan and I will have the classic burger with everything on it and a side of fries. Both medium rare. Also a small cup with some thousand island for him. Can we also have a side of mozzarella sticks with extra marinara?" Adam nodded, scribbling everything down. Ryan was about to speak up before Brendon cut him off.

"And for his burger can you put all the lettuce and stuff on a separate plate."

"Yeah that shouldn't be a problem." Becca looked at him surprised. Even with his arm around her, Brendon looked like he forgot about her until she cleared her throat.

"And she'll have the... salad?" She let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head.

"I'll have the grilled chicken with some mash potatoes and green beans on the side please."

"Will that be everything?" Both Brendon and Becca nodded. The two talked while they waited for the food.

It began to feel like every other third wheeling date Brendon had dragged him two. He sat across from them, barely speaking. At least he got a free meal out of it. Brendon always took him to nice places when he forced him on a date.

As they ate through their plates, Ryan accumulated a pile of fry ends on one side of his dish. Soon, Brendon reached over and started to pick at the pile.

"Why are you eating his fries?"

"He doesn't like the ends and I'm not gonna let them go to waste." Becca looked at Ryan who only shrugged.

As the night came to an end, Brendon walked Becca to her car while Ryan waited in Brendon's car. He leaned his head on the window looking up at the sky.

"You hate her," Brendon sighed when he got into the driver's seat.

"I didn't say that." Ryan looked over at Brendon with a frown. His friend had on a small pout.

"You didn't have to. I could see it on your face." Brendon was right, Ryan didn't like her, but it wasn't what Brendon was thinking.

He just didn't like how close they were or how they kept whispering into each others ears sharing inside jokes. They looked so comfortable and natural that it annoyed Ryan. He'd never seen Brendon have that with anyone and it irritated him.

"She's great, Bren." Brendon started the car and started driving to his house. Another thing Ryan was forced to do, stay at Brendon's after the third wheeling date.

"You don't have to lie. You can just be straight with me or as straight as your fruity ass can be," he finished with a chuckle. Ryan laughed and punched Brendon's shoulder playful.

"Excuse you. I'm driving here."

"Shut up and I don't hate her. You two seemed to have a really good time together. I haven't seen you have that much fun on a date in a while. She's cute and very compatible with you." Brendon flashed him a quick smile.

"Really?" Ryan nodded.

"Yeah. She's a good one." He hated how true his words were. He started wondering why he had a pain in his chest when he saw how excited Brendon got.

"So she has the Ryan Ross stamp of approval?" Ryan was about to shake his head. No, this girl couldn't just swoop in and take his Brendon. Brendon was his. That was his ma- friend. His friend. That's all he is. That's all they'll be.

He bit the inside of his cheek to distract from the growing pain in his chest. Why was Brendon so happy with her anyway? He watched Brendon bite his lip as he looked between him and the road every few seconds. She was almost perfect for him and he knew that. He sighed and nodded his head.

"Yes, Brendon. She is approved." Brendon let out a happy laugh that resonated in Ryan's chest. He loved that laugh. He loved how happy Brendon was. He loved the smile he always wore.

"Thanks, Ry." Ryan nodded and turned back out to the window. He could still feel the excitement radiating off Brendon. It annoyed him how much he hated the thought of someone else in his arms.

~~~

"So she just didn't want to see you anymore?" Brendon nodded at Spencer as he took a bite out of his hotdog. "She didn't give a reason?" Brendon shrugged as he chewed and swallowed.

"Something about not wanting to be with someone already in a relationship."

"That's weird."

"I know, but oh well." Spencer started eating his fries, pulling his ends off and set them to the side.

"You don't seem to care." Brendon shrugged again.

"I mean she was awesome and even got Ryan's approval."

"Wait. Ryan approved?" Spencer dropped his food back onto his plate.

"Yeah? Why?" Brendon set down his hotdog slowly.

"Just surprised."

"He's approved other people before."

"No, he's tolerated other people before because they made you happy. Ryan doesn't think anyone is worthy enough to date you," Spencer chuckled. Brendon tilted his head to the side.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Spencer sighed a little impatiently.

"Ryan basically doesn't think anyone deserves to date you. In his eyes, you are perfect and everyone else is crap in comparison." Brendon chuckled softly and shook his head.

"He just acts that way because we're best friends." Spencer rose an eyebrow and smirked.

"Okay," he replied with a chuckle. Brendon frowned.

"Why are you acting like," Brendon stopped and watched Spencer eat another fry, adding the ends to the pile. "Can I have those?"

Brendon was already reaching over excitedly. Before his fingers grasped an end, Spencer smacked the top of his hand. Brendon retracted and rubbing the reddening mark.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't eat my fries," Spencer chuckled.

"What? Why not? The ends are the best part."

"I know. Which is why I save them for last." Brendon leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed and a pout on his lips.

"Not fair. If Ryan were here, he'd give me his." Spencer stopped his movements for a second and then sighed.

"Of course he gives the ends. Why would I even think he had that condition?"

"What are you blabbing about?"

"Ryan loves the ends more than I do." Brendon smiled and shook his head.

"No he doesn't. He always gives them to me."

"Did he give them to you or did you take them and he let you?" Brendon shook his head with a smile.

"He gave the-," he trailed off as he remembered. His smile slowly drooped. "But the ends are a new thing. He never did that before."

"Yeah it's new. I showed it to him but he doesn't let anyone eat his ends. He about ripped my hand off last time I tried to get one and apart from you I'm his closest friend."

"But that doesn't mean anything, right? I mean they're just fries," Brendon' voice got softer as he felt his stomach churn. "Right?" He whispered.

"What if it did?" Brendon looked down at his half eaten hotdog, no longer hungry. They were just fries. They always shared everything.

"Spence," Brendon let out, not knowing what he wa gonna say. His mind was racing.

"Don't freak out." Brendon hadn't realized how fast his breathing had gotten.

"Don't freak out," Brendon laughed sarcastically. "Do you hear what you're implying? How could you possibly think that.. that Ryan.. that he.. Spencer you can't say those things."

"Why not? Would it make any difference?"

"Of course it would make a difference," Brendon cried.

"But you've known this for a while now."

"What? No I haven't."

"Do you remember what happened with Christina?" Brendon thought back to his ex-girlfriend from long ago.

"I broke up with her."

"Why?"

"Cause Ryan didn't trust her. Which he was right to. She ended up cheating on her next boyfriend."

"Kim?"

"Ryan said she tried to change me."

"Michelle?"

"I didn't like how clingly she was. She never let Ryan and me spend time together."

"Becca?"

"He had nothing to do with her though." Spencer smirked.

"Why did she call you two off?"

"She said I was already in a relationship and she didn't want to compete for my attention."

"And other than her, who did you hang out with a lot?" Brendon looked down at his hands.

"Ryan," he mumbled. "That doesn't mean anything though. Those girls just weren't for me."

"Bren, all of them were fine. Ryan was just jealous that you could be happy with someone else other than him. He wouldn't tell you that obviously. He doesn't want to get in the way of your happiness."

"Why would Ryan do that though?" Brendon frowned. Had Ryan gotten him to break up with girls just out of jealously. What kind of friend did that?

"Don't act surprised. You do the same thing." Brendon's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I do not!"

"Zoey," Spencer sighed.

"She was a bitch."

"Jac."

"She tried to get Ryan to stop learning how to ballroom dance."

"Yeah cause he was terrible at it and she didn't want to get stepped on anymore."

"He was not!"

"What about Chris?"

"He was... he just didn't treat Ryan as good as he should've."

"Chase." Brendon slammed his hands on the table.

"Chase is the worst fucking thing that has even been created. I don't even need to explain myself with him. The fact that Ryan took the mental abuse and ignored all the cheating just," Brendon trailed off with a small growl.

"But you didn't like him long before all that happened."

"I knew he wasn't good for him."

"You only started that when you saw how Chase would hold him and kiss him in front of you. That was long before everything else happened. Plus you were with Michelle at that time."

Brendon's hands curled into fists. Just the man of Ryan's ex made his blood boil, how badly he treated Ryan. He shook the thought of Ryan's wide smile when he first met Chase. He looked so happy when he'd come over to his place with the other guy's oversized hoodie on.

Brendon didn't like how he could practically smell the sex off Ryan when they'd sit on the couch together. His friend looked so happy in the beginning. He never realized how much it bothered him.

"That waitress that was flirting with him a couple weeks ago." Brendon looked down at his lap. "You know a part of you always knew what you two have been doing."

"But we don't, I don't," Brendon sighed.

"You don't what?" Spencer smirked.

"I don't think of him that way." Slencer raised an eyebrow. Brendon bit his lip nervously. "Spence, I don't.. I-I... I can't."

"I think you should talk to him."

~~~

"Sorry about Becca." Brendon eyed his best friend from across the table. "I know you were excited to be with her. I hoped she'd be around longer."

"Did you really?" Brendon asked is an interrogative voice.

"What? Of course I did. I just want you to be happy."

"But not with someone else," Brendon accused.

"Bren, what are you talking about?" Ryan leaned forward. "What's going on?"

"I had a chat with Spencer yesterday. He brought a lot of things to my attention." Ryan shrunk back in his seat.

"W-what did he tell you?" Brendon frowned. Why was Ryan acting so nervous?

"Alrighty, I got your classic burgers with one of the dressings on a separate plate. And a cup of thousand island." The waitress set the food in front of them.

"Can I get you something else?"

"I think we're good. Thank you," Ryan smiled up at the waitress.

"Well if you need anything just holler." She winked at Ryan before walking off.

"Why don't you just take out back and fuck her," Brendin whisper shouted.

"What the fuck? Brendon, what's going on with you?" Brendon shook his head.

"Nothing. Nevermind." He shook his head and began eating his food. The two ate in tense silence.

As Ryan ate through his fries, he made his usual pile of fry ends. When they were almost done with the food, Ryan pushed his plate closer to Brendon.

"What?" Brendon asked confused. Ryan smiled shyly.

"My ends." Brendon frowned.

"Why are you giving them to me?" His voice was a little sharp, but Ryan only chuckled.

"Um, cause you always eat them?" Spencer's voice came into his head, telling him the truth about why Ryan does these kind of things and for some reason, it angered him.

"I don't know why the hell you give them to me. Just fucking eat them yourself." A hurt look flashed over Ryan's face.

"They're just fries, Brendon. Why are you getting so upset over them?"

"It's not about the fries. It's about what the fries mean," Brendon started raising his voice.

"I don't understa-"

"We're best friends, Ry. That's it."

"What are you talking about? I know we're just friends," Ryan's voice showing his confusion.

"Spencer told me you liked me," Brendon said so loud some of the people around them turned to them. Ryan's jaw dropped as he gasped. "I'm sorry, but nothing can happen. I don't wanna make things complicated. You're my best friend, Ry." They just stared at each other.

Ryan scrambled out of his seat and ran out the restaurant as quick as he could. Brendon stood up and threw money onto the table before following after his friend.

"Ryan, wait!" Brendon saw Ryan round the corner and hurried after him. When he turned the corner, he saw Ryan sitting on the curb with his face in his hands. He walked up to him slowly.

"Ryan?" He spoke must softer. Ryan looked up and Brendon saw tears streaming down his face. He got to his feet and was about to run off again. Brendon grabbed onto his wrist before he could.

"Let me go." Ryan pulled at Brendon's grip.

"Don't run away. We need to talk about this."

"I can't do this. Just let me go," Ryan said desperately.

"Not until we talk."

"About what?" Ryan yanked his hand away from Brendon. "About how I have a stupid crush on you? How we're just friends? How you don't feel anything for me? I already all that so I don't need you to yell at me about that!" Brendon took a step back as Ryan shouted.

"I can't help it. I've spent years trying to ignore it and put your feelings before mine. I've done things I'm not proud of and will regret for the rest of my life just to get over this. You're my best friend and I didn't want to ruin that."

"Ryan I didn't mean it like.. We can still.." Ryan shook his head.

"Don't even try. You already know and we both know this is not something you can let go off easily. You'll just obsess, so now it's just," Ryan sighed.

"What are you saying?" Ryan wrapped his arms around himself and looked down at the sidewalk. "Ryan?" He squeezed his eyes shut as new tears threatened to come out.

"I'm gonna go now," Ryan spoke softly. "And I don't want you to follow me."

"You can't just leave me!" Ryan looked up, eyes glistening with tears. "Ryan, I..," Brendon's voice began to waver. "I need you."

"You don't need me, Bren."

"Yes I do! You think I would've made it this far on my own? I need your advice whenever I think of doing something stupid. I need our midnight talks when I'm upset from over thinking. I need you to be there with me when my ADHD acts up so I don't feel like some freak. You're the most important person in my life. I can't function without you."

"You'll meet new people, make new friends, have many girlfriends. I won't matter anymore when that happens."

"It will matter because they won't be you. Ryan, you don't know how many times I've been out with a girl and I get mad how she does something cause I think of how you'd do it. Whenever someone doesn't do things how you do it, I get upset because it just shows that they're not you."

Ryan looked up shyly and shook his head. Brendon took a step closer.

"Ryan, I'm sorry I freaked out. It's just hard to process all of this. I mean we've known each other forever and we never like I don't know, but it's just.. different."

"I never asked to be more than friends. I never changed the way I acted around you. I haven't done anything differently. I'm not intentionally trying to ruin your relationships. I'm not purposely cuddling with you during our sleepovers. I'm not confessing my love for you." Brendon brought his hands to his head and groaned.

"What if I want you to do that?" Brendon growled. He was just angry at all this, angry that he didn't realize how he felt before. He didn't like how new the situation was. He was angry at how much he wanted to uncomplicated things and didn't know how.

"What?" Ryan said in a hushed whisper. Brendon sighed and brought his hands down.

"Have you ever wanted something so badly, but didn't know what that something was? Like you're craving something and you don't know what it is, but you won't know until you had it. Ryan,  that's how I feel."

"Brendon, you don't know what you're saying."

"Can you not be stubborn for once! Of course I don't know what I'm saying. How else do you expect me to explain how I feel about you?"

"Do you really expect me to believe that you just suddenly decided that you liked me? I gave you some fries and sudde-" Ryan was cut off by a mouth being pressed against his own.

He pulled away with wide eyes. His hand came up and touched his lips. Brendon was staring back at him with his own shocked eyes.

"Brendon," Ryan breathed. Brendon shook his head.

"I'm not sorry. You might think I'm being irrational about this, but I always had an attraction for you. I just unconsciously forced myself not to pursue anything because I didn't want to ruin what we had." Ryan nodded slowly.

"Ryan, I like you.. a lot more than I ever let myself admit. I can't believe I had to eat your fries to realize that." He shook his head, chuckling softly. "Can I... can I kiss you again?"

Ryan looked between his eyes and lips before giving a small nod. Brendon gave a smile and leaned in close again. He hovered over Ryan's lips, but not touching them yet. Ryan didn't move and waited for Brendon. They stared into each other's eyes, feeling the other's breath against their face. When neither moved, Ryan closed the gap between them.

Brendon smiled into the kiss and grabbed onto Ryan's waist. Ryan wrapped his arms around Brendon's neck as they deepened the kiss. When they pulled away, Ryan had on a wide smile.

"What does this mean for us now?" Brendon whispered. Ryan let out a soft giggle.

"It means you can't eat my fries anymore," Ryan smiled.

---

A/N:

Wow wasn't expecting this to be this long. If you enjoyed it, awesome. If not, sorry for making you go through that. Thanks for reading either way.