Chapter Five
Ryan woke up from a dreamless sleep the next day and he spent a few minutes looking around the unfamiliar room sleepily before questioning what it was that had woken him. It turned out to be a rhythmic thumping noise coming from outside his room. He rolled out of bed, running a hand through his now untidy hair. Ryan staggered to the door, opening it slowly and trying to adjust his eyes to the bright light beyond. Blinking slowly he stared blankly at the door opposite and was almost flattened by a rampaging Gerard Way. Ryan grunted as Gerard backed him over to his unmade bed and sat on top of him.
"Brendon is such a twat!" Gerard exclaimed as he deftly removed Ryan's old shirt, his pale fingers tickling Ryan's ribcage as he whisked the garment away. At this point Ryan's still hazy brain made an effort to catch up to the situation and he brought up his hands to defend himself from any more clothing attacks. As Gerard made a move on his boxers, Ryan batted him away, causing Gerard to unhook his fingers from the elastic with a snap.
"Wait, wait. What are you doing?" Ryan asked groggily. Gerard rolled his eyes and stood up, slapping Ryan's thigh, he threw a smirk at the confused youth.
"I'm not trying to molest you, idiot. Its 7.45, lessons start at 8- Brendon didn't wake you up. I'm trying to get you dressed." With a glare in Ryan's direction he dove under the bed, rifling through the cloths in Ryan's case before producing a pair of skinny jeans and a black fitted shirt. He found Ryan's green tie and converses and threw the heap of clothes at Ryan.
"On!" Gerard commanded, pointing."We have about five minutes to make you look vaguely presentable, and frankly-"He looked Ryan up and down. "You haven't given me much to work with."
Ryan decided to save being angry for when he might be able to get one of his long limbs to connect with Gerard's jaw, now half naked and still collapsed on a bed, he didn't stand much of a chance. As he got dressed he watched Gerard source some straighteners and eyeliner from the makeup bag Helena had handily provided.
"I thought we only had five minutes." Ryan protested his voice a couple of octaves higher due to the high elastic content of the jeans. Gerard laughed.
"Oh please, I've been doing this for about seven years. Give me some credit. One five minute Ryan makeover coming up!" with one diva-ish flourish of his arm Gerard lunged for Ryan's face. "Hold still!" He said, an evil grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Precisely five minutes and twenty six seconds later Ryan was pushed down the stairs and into the dining room with a rucksack slung over one shoulder. Mikey, Frank, Jack and Alex were still eating breakfast and all looked up when Gerard pushed Ryan into a seat.
"But I look even more like a girl than I did before!" Ryan moaned after Gerard, who had sauntered off into the kitchen. Frank looked Ryan up and down, taking in the spray on jeans attached to converses, topped with a delightful accent of black chest and bottle green tie.
"There's nothing wrong with- Oh." Frank stopped short when his eyes reached Ryan's face. Gerard had got a bit happy with the hair gel and consequentially the front of Ryan's hair remained straightened...but the back was spiked up in a messy fauxhawk style. His eyes were heavily rimmed with kohl and Gerard had easily found the stash of glitter dust Helena had packed, meaning there were deep green sparkles sweeping across Ryan's golden eyes, fading into his hair line. Ryan lowered his head, embarrassed, and the glitter sparkled delicately like tiny emeralds.
"Dude, you look so hot." Said Frank, his mouth dropping open. Ryan sank down even lower in his seat.
"That's the problem!" He muttered darkly. Mikey let across the table and tucking a strand of hair behind an ear, purred into Ryan's ear.
"I don't see a problem sugar" He paused to lick the shell of Ryan's ear before moving back across the table and continuing to eat his pop tarts. From the first word Ryan had frozen up. He was pretty sure he jumped about a foot in the air when he felt Mikey's hot breath on his cheek. He stared at Mikey with a stunned expression, re-evaluating his idea of the gawky boy from yesterday.
From across the room Alex snorted. He put down the fork that he'd been using to feed Jack pancakes and ruffled his hair.
"Don't flatter yourself Farro- Mikey'll shag anything that walks." As Frank stood up and was about to lunge for Alex, Gerard decided to walk back in with a plate piled high with toast. He turned to Alex and fixed him with a quizzical look.
"What did you say Alex? I couldn't hear you from the kitchen?" Ryan felt all eyes in the room turn to Alex in anticipation of his reply. Ryan could tell it wasn't going to be the socially correct one from the smirk that was forming on his face.
In an act of social suicide Ryan made the decision to save Alex's ass. He needed to get Alex on his side. As much as that might pain him. He realised this could irrevocably damage his relationship with Gerard...but he decided it was worth the risk.
"Alex said, 'Mikey could you pass me a fork.' Jack stole his." Ryan glared around the table, as thought daring anyone to disagree. No one did. He hoped that they couldn't see him shaking; he had never been good at standing up to people. Gerard shrugged and tossed a nearby fork to Alex, who caught it deftly. He and Jack exchanged glances and Frank and Mikey giggled silently into their plates, Frank looked slightly disappointed that he hadn't had the chance to hit Alex, but he hid it from Gerard well.
Alex moved his chair back with a deafening scrape; he glanced at jack before tilting his head in Ryan's direction.
"You wanna hang out with us for a bit?" He gestured to himself and Jack. "I mean, you need to see where music is and all that, right?" Ryan nodded. Conscious of the fact that Gerard and Frank were boring holes in the back of his head with their gaze, Ryan turned to them.
"You guys don't mind do you? I mean, I do need to find my way around." He added an excuse on the end, and hoped they would forgive him. Even though he was obviously 100% focussed on the mission- he couldn't help but need some friends. He was surprised however, when Frank snorted into his cereal.
"You go for it dude, nice knowing you. When you start shipping clothes in from Jack Wills- I'll call the psychiatric ward." He laughed hollowly. Gerard, who was still standing, smacked Frank over the head with his spare hand.
"Don't be a twat Frank." He looked up at Ryan. "Don't worry about it- Ryan enjoyed the makeup far too much not to come crawling back to me." He winked at Ryan, who blushed bright red, "We'll see you later Farro." Gerard sat down in Alex's vacated chair and began to eat his toast. Quite diplomatic, thought Ryan. For someone who you would have thought would want any excuse to beat up Alex Fagskarth.
Speaking of, Alex grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the door. He stopped to call Jack, who threw down his fork and stood up, then pushed open the large wooden doors. When they got outside into the half light of a September morning, Alex looked in both directions before pinning Ryan up to the doors they'd just come out of. He roughly grabbed his arms and pinned them above his head.
"What. Was. That." Alex growled, he looked Ryan up and down. "You should be joining the emo brigade, not sucking up to me." He lurched backwards and glared. Ryan started to think he'd made the wrong decision when Jack stepped in. He had been hovering by the doors and moved to sooth Alex. Jack laid a hand on Alex's arm and spoke softly.
"Alex, calm down. Ryan was just trying to prevent a fight, I'm glad he did. I wouldn't have wanted your pretty face broken." He followed up the sickeningly sweet comment with a chaste kiss. Alex looked pleased, and slightly mollified.
"Alright then Farro. Fair enough." He shrugged it off and broke into a grin. "I wasn't lying though- Mikey Way is a total whore." He turned and started to walk down the path leading to the right. Jack strode over to Ryan and sighed.
"Sorry, he can be like that. Are you ok?" Jack asked worriedly. His tone full of a sincerity Ryan found hard to place. He smiled slightly and replied.
"I'm fine, a bit- startled I guess," He rubbed his wrists gingerly. "Was he telling the truth though?" Ryan looked up at Jack, wondering just how much truth there had been in Alex's harsh accusations. Jack looked visibly uncomfortable at the question and answered with a hand half covering his mouth.
"About Mikey? Um, yes, but Gerard doesn't know that his baby brother has slept with pretty much the whole of our year...and most of the other years too. Please don't enlighten him." Jack sighed and the hand fell away. "He's not the only one though; Pete is pretty bad- but in a different way. Mikey will string people along with the pretence of a relationship," He laughed hollowly. "Pete just wants to get laid."
Ryan's mouth fell open. This school wasn't just a rich building- there were rich people. It was incestuous almost. Sons of dignitaries on opposing sides of politics, fucking. It put perspective on the economy. That was for sure.
"But- but...how?" Ryan was confused- surely not all of the students were gagging for it. Surely there must be a glimmer of hope? One straight student in a sea of flamboyancy. Jack laughed again, clearly enjoying the discomfort he was bringing. He started to walk down the same path that Alex had taken, indicating that Ryan should walk along side him. As they strolled down the gravel path, Jack continued to explain.
"You see, it's hard for guys here to find girls. There's the local girls school nearby- but we never really meet up. There are a couple of guys here with girlfriends, but they're mainly long distance. Pete however has a system, a kind of code. Leave him something outside his door or get another student to pass it to him...and he'll be happy to accommodate. There's a chart somewhere that has an exchange rate." Jack frowned. "I think it was in the Omega common room last time I heard. It's something like, one red rose for a blowjob- a bunch of twelve for the whole shebang. Basically- easy sex for those in need. No one really counts anything that happens with Pete as meaningful."
Ryan walked in silence for the next minute or so- trying to process all of this information. Mikey was a slut and Pete was an escort. Alex was a dick- Jack was actually a nice guy. Or something along those lines. Was Alex's father running a brothel? Or a secret space mission? Either seamed just as feasible considering the insanity of the entire situation.
Before Ryan could decide to push it all from his mind for the time being, he and Jack reached a largeish square building. Jack led him silently through a door and into a vast Art room. Ryan frowned before realising that Jack was heading for the stairs in the right hand corner of the room. He followed. As they walked further up the winding staircase Ryan began to hear music. A soft lullaby on a piano. The melody ebbed and flowed as though it was water and the notes touched nerves that Ryan didn't even know he had. He walked blindly to the top of the stairs, still over whelmed by the tune. He heard Jack in the depths of his brain talking to him.
"Ryan- wait- I thought he wouldn't be here yet, wait-seriously it's" but Ryan wasn't listening. Suddenly Jacks voice stopped and so did the music. Ryan had unthinkingly opened the door to the left of the stairs and walked in on someone playing the piano as though it were an extension of their arm. As though the notes were imprinted on their DNA. They had stopped almost instantly.
-"Brendon." Finished Jack with a small sigh. Ryan gazed open mouthed as Brendon- who was staring back. The final noted died away and Brendon stood up abruptly.
"Morning Farro- so rude of you to drop in." He spoke in the same smooth, lyrical voice as he had the previous day. He swept the sheets of music off the Piano and into his bag, swinging it over his shoulder, he picked up his suit jacket from the stool and swept past Ryan, moving into the corridor behind.
"Nice makeup Ryro." He said softly as he opened another door and disappeared into the room's depths.
After several moments Jack coughed awkwardly. He turned and left Ryan standing in the door way, he muttered about getting Alex- sure enough about two seconds later, or so it seemed to Ryan's still awestruck brain, Alex tapped him on the shoulder.
"Still got Urie-shock?" Ryan nodded. "Yeah, happened to me the first time. Seems like that guy was born to sit behind a piano. Learned to read music before words apparently." Alex chuckled before dragged Ryan into the room that Brendon had left and swivelled him round.
"This is the practice room, we have guitars, Bass guitars, Drums, A Piano and a load of other shit." Alex gestured to the various instruments. The 'load of other shit' turned out to include a banjo, accordion and a harpsichord- amongst others.
Ryan was still processing both the instruments and the sound that had recently emanated from the Baby grand in the corner and he had to wake up suddenly as Alex tossed him a guitar.
"I recognise Guitar calluses when I see them, come on then- give us a chord?" Ryan did, and another one. He strummed through 'Help' intently as he realised that was exactly what he needed. When he had finished playing- he barley registered Alex's expression before he put it back down and strode purposefully over to the Baby grand. He stroked a couple of the keys for appearance sake-and then reached into his pocket and brought out the bug he had brought with him, securing it to the bottom of one of the keys. He looked up at Alex- who wasn't watching, but was talking animatedly into his mobile.
As much as he hated to admit it- if he wanted help- the CIA could give it to him. He lazily tapped through 'chopsticks' and then composed himself. Taking a few deep breaths he stood up and walked back over to Alex, Who shut his phone with a snap when Ryan approached.
"You done checking the place for bombs? 'cause it's time for you to meet Mr Armstrong."
Ryan didn't bother to correct Alex's bomb theory, and simply wandered out of the door after Alex. Thoughts chasing each other in his mind. Mainly about Brendon's not so hidden musical talent, and also, the all important question- of who in this messed up place, knew how to play an accordion?
SUP GUISE? So, I'm going to try and update weekly- every weekendish. Chapters might be a bit shorter now I'm back at school and stuck into school play. Fun times! leave us a comment please. :) x