Work Text:
"Come on, we haaave tooo."
Spencer looks at Ryan, and Ryan looks at Jon. Jon looks at Brendon with an unimpressed expression. "Is this really that important to you?"
Brendon's eyes bulge at the three men squeezed on the couch in front of him. "Of course it is! Guys, we have been doing nothing but shows, shows, shows. All that stress can't be good for us, we need to use this day between shows to do something fun! Not that performing isn't fun of course, but something fun that maybe doesn't include dancing around in a sweaty costume for an hour."
Spencer shrugs. "Alright, I'm down. I think it could be a lot of fun. But it's these two you have to convince, Bren." Spencer gestures to the two oldest band members of the group.
Jon shakes his head. "I don't know, the carnival? Don't we get enough carnival themed stuff from our shows every night?"
Brendon rolls his eyes. "You know it'd be a blast, Walker. Think about it, the food, games, rides."
"Alright, what the hell. I'm in."
Brendon smiles in triumph and finally moves his gaze to Ryan, the final and hardest obstacle. "So, Ross, what do you say?"
Ryan looks like he's going to be sick. "Brendon. Um. I'm not sure, I kind of planned on using that extra day tomorrow to just sleep."
Brendon screams internally at this, he's so close to getting what he wants. "Ryan, how can you say that? This would be a fun filled day of bonding and friendship! Think of the music, how it'll flourish!"
Ryan narrows his eyes because he knows Brendon's using the music, Ryan's weak spot, against him. Brendon doesn't know Ryan knows he's using his weak spot against him and offers an unconvincing grin.
"I can't. I'm going to stay in and sleep."
Brendon looks hopeless and Spencer feels like he's witnessing a kid being denied some really delicious looking candy and steps in. "We can all go anyway without Ryan, Brendon."
Brendon shakes his head. "It won't be the same though! I wanted this to be a band thing! All four of us, especially you Ryan, I would've been fine with someone else skipping but I reaaally want you to come."
Ryan makes another displeased look as Spencer and Jon try to comprehend that they might've just been compared to Ryan in coolness and lost.
"Think about the amazing view from the Ferris Wheel! You can write something poetic about it! I'll sing anything if you come with us, pretty please." Brendon bats his eyelashes at him like a southern belle trying to charm her man.
Ryan shakes his head in defiance. Suddenly, adjacent to Ryan, a spark goes off in Spencer's head, an old memory of his resurfacing. "I know why Ryan doesn't want to go. The real reason." He laughs at his realization as the others look at him in confusion.
"What?" Brendon asks.
"Yeah Spencer, what exactly might that be?" Ryan says mockingly.
"It's because of the Ferris Wheel and you know it, Ryan."
Ryan just might pale a little bit at this. "What are you talking about?!" He says defensively. "I don't care about the Ferris Wheel! I just want to stay here and sleep!" But he looks slightly worried, as if he has a secret that's about to be revealed.
Brendon notices and looks at Spencer in interest. "Tell me more."
Spencer is unable to stop grinning as he starts to talk, looking at Jon and Brendon and avoiding Ryan's piercing glare. "It all started when we about...hmm, we would've been, say, 12 I believe. That sounds right, we were in middle school. The carnival was in town and Ryan had never been to it before so I insisted on us going. When we got there the first thing I wanted to do was go on the Ferris Wheel, telling Ryan all about how fun it was and how he was going to love it, really getting his hopes up, the poor kid."
Ryan scowls.
"Anyway, we hop on the Ferris Wheel and I can tell Ryan is like, pretty nervous, and he's a little panicky looking but he's okay. He was doing fine on the way up, but when we get to the very top, instead of it just pausing, it comes to a very abrupt stop. We were okay, just jerked a little, but Ryan freaked out, wondering what happened. I tried to tell him they probably just had to stop us cause someone was throwing popcorn off of it again and they had to deal with it but a few minutes passed, and eventually a guy shouts up to us that due to technical difficulties the ride stopped and we'd be stuck up there for a while. And then Ryan just flips out. He's like shaking and repeating that we're gonna die, and that our cart will fall off and we'll get sliced up by the metal below, and I'm like, trying to calm him down but you know Ryan can rant like hell. Eventually a whole hour passes and Ryan's cried so much he passed out on my shoulder from exhaustion and I'm nearly asleep myself, and we have no idea whether or not the Ferris Wheel is on its way to being fixed so we can get down. Then, suddenly the cart jolted forward, Ryan jerked awake, remembered where we were, and started crying again. Once we reached the bottom and the man started to apologize for what happened Ryan stood up...and he had pissed his pants. He was so shaken up when we got off he just went straight home and didn't talk to me for a week after that."
Ryan's red faced and irritated at Spencer's story. "Come on, I wasn't that bad, I didn't really cry the entire time."
Spencer nods, still trying to stifle laughter. "Oh, yeah totally, just like 90% of it."
Brendon cracks up, laughing hysterically until he's almost crying himself. Even Jon can't help but chuckle at Spencer's childhood anecdote. Ryan sulks.
"I swear to god guys, the Ferris Wheel is not why I don't want to go. That was a long time ago, I'm over it."
Brendon's laughs finally die down enough that he can look up at Ryan skeptically. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Ryan says stubbornly.
Brendon suddenly sighs as if he accepts it. "It's okay Ryan, I won't make you go. You can stay on the bus if you want, I know how scared you are of the Ferris Wheel."
Ryan huffs. "It's NOT BECAUSE OF THE FERRIS WHEEL!"
Yet Brendon just shakes his head again. "So sad, you can't even admit it. But it's okay, really, Ry. You can stay here while I go on it with Spencer and Jon. No hard feelings."
"You know what? I am going to go. And I'm going to have a great time with you guys because I don't give a shit about the goddamn Ferris Wheel incident that happened years ago. You can expect me to be up bright and early because I'm going to that carnival."
Brendon suddenly smiles brightly. "YES! It's going to be so awesome, I'm so excited!" And with that Brendon bounds back into the bunks to pick out what he's going to wear.
Ryan freezes, realizing what Brendon had done. Spencer and Jon snicker at Brendon's reverse psychology. "Shit." Ryan says.
That night Brendon informs the bus driver of their plans and won't stop talking about how cool it's going to be when it gets dark and all the rides light up and wondering aloud what food he wants to get. Ryan just wants him to shut up.
At 2 pm the next day the group is trudging off the bus and squinting at the sunlight (they've made a habit of sleeping till 2 and retiring at 1 am) in front of the summer carnival. Brendon can't stop bouncing in his sneakers. Ryan seems nervous but continues along with his friends nonetheless. The Ferris Wheel towers above the four of them, and Brendon smirks mischievously. "Well, since we all know now that Ryan isn't really afraid of the Ferris Wheel, it should be the first thing we do!"
Spencer rolls his eyes at Brendon's obvious bait, and Jon is just distracted by a cotton candy stand he sees.
Once they are patiently waiting in line under the ride, Brendon makes the seating arrangements known. "I'll ride with Ryan in the first cart, Spencer and Jon can take one behind us."
Ryan nods shakily, and Spencer tries not to seem too disappointed that he won't get to see Ryan's reaction. After a short wait in line, a bored looking employee sits Brendon and Ryan down, releasing a safety bar that clangs down in front of them. Ryan is seated snugly next to Brendon, trying to ignore his butterflies. He can't decide if it's more from the ride itself or Brendon's proximity. He tries to ignore that thought. The pair begin their ascent to the top. Brendon can feel Ryan shifting restlessly, and takes a moment to appreciate the way the breeze makes Ryan's soft hair flutter. Eventually they reach the very top, the entire carnival visible from their position. Brendon looks at Ryan, who has stiffened enormously.
"Wow, would you look at that view? The people down below look so tiny!" Brendon leans forward suddenly, the cart leaning with his weight.
Ryan yelps in fear, and tries to keep his weight opposite of Brendon's, leaning back against the seat.
"Hmm. I just can't seem to get comfortable in here." Brendon shifts around violently, the cart rocking back and forth with him.
Ryan squeezes his fingers so tight around the bar his knuckles turn white. "Brendon- please, this isn't funny."
Brendon continues to rock the seat even more. "What? Are you scared? Anything you want to admit to?"
Ryan is now white as ghost, and grips onto the bar tightly, watching the ground below in obvious terror. "Brendon please, Brendon I'm so scared, seriously, stop."
Brendon doesn't let up his antics, still egging him on. "What was that?"
Ryan moves one of his hands to grab at Brendon's arm and buries his head into his chest. "Brendon! Please! We're too high, this is dangerous, the cart is gonna fall."
Brendon slowly stops rocking it. "Ha, are you okay, Ryan?"
But Ryan doesn't reply, only shakes and pulls Brendon closer.
"Wait, Ryan, are you alright?"
Ryan whines into Brendon's chest, body shaking as he sobs.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were that scared."
Ryan fully wraps his arms and Brendon and continues sobbing, his legs pressed tightly together.
"Ryan, it's okay. Shhh, we'll be fine." Brendon awkwardly cards his fingers through Ryan's hair in an attempt to soothe him. "Hey, sit up, come on it's okay." He pulls Ryan's head up to face him.
Ryan's eyes immediately go to the ground beneath him and he launches into a deeper panic, hyperventilating. "Brendon, Brendon we're so high. Oh my god, Bren. What if when you rocked it you loosened it? It feels looser. Oh fuck, we're going to die." Tears run down Ryan's face as he panics, shaking Brendon around.
Brendon doesn't know what to do, trying desperately to calm down the ranting boy.
"Ryan, hey. It's okay, we're only at the top for a little longer. We'll be down in the ground before you even know it."
Ryan shakes his head frantically, as if Brendon's lying to him. "Brendon, no. I knew this was going to happen, I just knew it. We're way too high."
Brendon clutches Ryan's face to his chest, feeling like he needs to protect him even though he knows they're in no real danger. "Ryan...hon, it's okay." Brendon cringes internally. Hon? Why did he call him that?! Ryan would eat him alive for calling him "hon".
However, scared Ryan Ross is apparently not the same as everyday Ryan Ross, as the pet name seems to help soothe him the tiniest bit, and he stops rambling, his panic reduced to only hyperventilating and occasional wet sobs against Brendon's t shirt. Brendon peeks below him at the view. They are quite high, he can see why Ryan's afraid. He knows he has to be strong though. He raises Ryan's head to meet his eyes again, and starts speaking softly to him to distract from the situation he's gotten them into.
"Hey now, look at me. Ryan, look at my eyes."
Ryan sniffles, face flushed and eyes red. Brendon's never seen him like this before, even when they had watched horror movies and Ryan was a little spooked, this was far different. This was a deep-rooted fear stemming from his childhood, and Brendon feels regret from all the teasing he'd inflicted upon him.
Brendon grasps Ryan's face on his hands, his fingers along the boy's jawline. Brendon stares deeply into his eyes, and subconsciously admires the way his tears make them shine like whiskey-colored marbles. "Focus on me, honey. Don't look around, it's alright. We're not in danger. This thing is gonna move any second, and before you know it, we'll be right back on the ground!"
Ryan nods shakily, wiping a tear away. His eyes begin to stray over the edge of the cart, but Brendon quickly makes a decision that ultimately stops him.
Brendon pulls Ryan's face closer and gently presses their lips together. He can feel Ryan melt against him and the wetness on the boy's cheeks. One of Brendon's arms wrap around Ryan's lower back protectively, the other still cradling his face as their mouths move together. Brendon pulls apart as he feels their cart moving downward, and soon enough they're no longer on the top, and then they're in the middle, and then almost the bottom, and Ryan can actually look around then, no longer petrified. Brendon loosens his grip on Ryan, giving him space to catch his breath and cool down a little. They finally reach the very bottom and the employee raises their bar for them. Brendon doesn't miss the sly look they receive at the unfortunate state of their hair and flushed cheeks.
They hop off, walking aside to wait for Jon and Spencer. Brendon doesn't say anything, just looks at Ryan, his face caring. Ryan sighs. "Thank you. For, um, calming me down. I knew it was a bad idea, I just had no idea it would bring back such bad memories, and I- "
"Hey." Brendon interrupts him. "You shouldn't thank me. It's my fault you were on that thing in the first place. I shouldn't have pressured you into it, I was a dick."
Ryan shrugged. "Yeah, you kinda were."
Brendon just smirked at him. "Well, at least there were some good things that came out of the ride..."
The corner of Ryan's mouth turns up and he opens his mouth to speak when suddenly Spencer and Jon rush over, and he quickly shuts it again with a blush.
"Hey!" Spencer greets. "How was the ride? Be honest Brendon, how much did he cry?"
Ryan looks at Brendon, eyes full of worry that Brendon will spill the events of the ride, however the boy proves him wrong.
Brendon sighs as if disappointed. "Couldn't get a single tear out of 'em, he's a tough fucker." He ruffles Ryan's hair playfully, a move Ryan would normally loudly object to, but Ryan can't bring himself to mind right now as Brendon covers him.
Jon shakes his head. "Well, that's disappointing. If we're not gonna see Ryan Ross cry then I'm off to the only other reason I came here. That cotton candy stand is calling me, you guys in?"
"Hells yeah," Spencer chimes in.
Ryan, however, shakes his head. "I'm going to the bathroom, Brendon you have to go too, right?"
Brendon's stomach flutters and he nods a little too quickly. "Yeah. Yep. I gotta, Mhmm."
"Alright...well don't take too long, you're the one who wanted to come here, Brendon, and I expect a full on bumper cars war after this." Spencer says.
"Yep." Is all Brendon can get out as he feels Ryan's affectionate gaze burning into him.
The two other males turn their backs, eyes locked onto sugary treats.
"You didn't tell on me." Ryan says softly.
"Like I said...my fault."
Ryan's eyes shine and he grabs Brendon's wrist, tugging him in the direction of the bathrooms. "You know, I've always had a fear of public restrooms. I think I might need some more comforting."
Brendon lifts an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Don't worry baby, I'll be there."