Usually Ryan actually hung behind to help crew while his more social bandmates went along - he felt kind of bad they lugged all this equipment around to not play it themselves - but he was still, decidedly, stuck in his head. He'd assumed it would be a long time before people actually took to critical analysis of their songs, breaking them down to truly appreciate them, which was generally the case for most bands; they'd break up or just retire, and [i]then[/i] people were interested in the songs. Tonight he was given proof that that was definitely not the case for them, or if it was, then they had at least one deviation. Ryan was grateful for that - not just someone getting it, but someone who took the time to. Sometimes the words were such nonsense that there was no point in trying to understand, which probably scared off other fans who just came for noise and a tune to be stuck in their head, to be fair. And maybe he was blowing this out of proportion, but he swore he could [i]hear[/i] it all, and sort of see it although he thought the singer definitely needed more space to perform beyond his vocals. 

He sensed that his bandmates caught on to him withdrawing into his own thoughts, particularly Spencer who didn't [i]really[/i] know what the hell was happening but knew how to tell when Ryan was out of it. How inappropriate would it be to straight-up approach someone they didn't know at all and ask first about business? He felt like he had a particularly small timeframe to get the guy signed if he even was interested and not already playing for another band, just because if he hadn't been noticed yet, well. He would be sometime soon for sure, and Ryan just wanted to get there first. And maybe he sort of harbored a little crush, the kind you get when you, like, order the same coffee as someone else and they go to get it at the same time as you and they're kinda cute so your thoughts just carry off into thinking about what color walls you'd paint your shared apartment. Actually, definitely not a universal feeling. Maybe he'd just ignore it until it went away if he did end up getting the guy to join them.

Still, there was the way they'd go about it that bothered him. 'Mind dropping everything and coming in to meet our label so we can show you off?' or 'I got one good first impression from you and now I think you were pretty much destined to sing these words'? Sounded kind of like an asshole or an idiot. Ryan figured that literally no other human overthought about this, likely just jumped to polite conversation first, so he dropped it. He distracted himself by coming up just near his bandmates with bottled water from their tour bus - not like they needed the apocalypse-supply they had anyway - and leaving it up to Spencer or Jon to actually offer them out to each overexerted fan that approached. He still wasn't used to people knowing his name before he knew theirs, much less this entire situation. He tried not to come off as too unfriendly, smiling at whoever looked nervous to encourage them, but unfortunately the followthrough of actually talking was an issue.

The thinness of the gathering was good, because he saw his new favorite singer almost immediately, half-smiling in an effort to encourage conversation, half pretending to look preoccupied so it didn't seem like he was [i]waiting[/i] for him (which was definitely a part of his standoffishness this time). Ryan definitely didn't want to come off too absorbed at first, after all, but he still had the best rendition of their chorus he'd heard yet playing on repeat, so it was hard to act right. Fortunately, the stranger wove through people with relative ease, and Ryan noted a lot of differences from the face he'd seen in the crowd. It looked like he'd cleaned up a little, like the show was just a moderate workout, and for the first time he was visible apart from a bunch of other jumping, overwhelming audience members. Safe to say he looked even better outside of such a nervous situation; Ryan strove not to be [i]too[/i] obvious about looking, still.

[i]Ryan? Hey.[/i] Thank god, he started them off. Ryan was so focused on the distinctions from the audience member he handed the mic off to, to the literal dream standing outside, he hadn't even thought of what to say. [i]I’m the guy you gave the mic to. ...My parents thought it was a catchy name, but it hasn’t really come in useful til now.[/i] Ryan laughed, short and in surprised bewilderment, wondering whether he could hear 1,000 more cheesy jokes just because he'd been so damn charming about it. [b]"How convenient,"[/b] he replied easily, instantly made less nervous by 'the guy you gave the mic to's good humor. Ryan shook his hand informally, probably playing it off like they were totally familiar all too soon, but tried to talk before he let himself worry about that more. [b]"That, paired with the fact that you looked like the only one who knew all the lyrics... perfect candidate."[/b] Vaguely self-deprecating, painfully true. Ryan straightened his shoulders and put his hands in his pockets, like they were suddenly too cold without that funny little handshake.

[b]"Of course I recognised you. Any other names you go by?"[/b] Ryan's smile was gentle, and it felt necessary; if this guy thought he needed clarification then he certainly didn't fully grasp how remarkable he was. [b]"I've never heard anyone sing our songs like that - or any song, actually."[/b] Ryan paused, suddenly nervous again, 'cause he really did want to show his appreciation, but it seemed there was no non-weird way to deliver that. [b]"It sounds like you wrote the lyrics, you know? I mean, I know I only heard a little, but."[/b] He paused, considering this segue. [b]"Are you in a band, or solo, or...?"[/b]