Nobody refused an invite to one of Gabe’s parties- and Brendon was among the people lucky enough to receive one, though then again, Gabe knew [i]everybody[/i], in the music scene and beyond, and tended to always bring together the right group of people to trigger the right situations. They knew the ins and outs of internal band drama, relationships troubles, the scoops on upcoming albums, the reflections and reviews of latest releases and interband conflicts and tension. If somebody wanted gossip, they’d go to Gabe; it wasn’t like they were malicious, and they never exaggerated anything, they just took enormous interest in affairs that weren’t their own. Brendon, as one of Gabe’s actual friends and not simply there because they’d probably cause the right amount of trouble (or not) depending on what Gabe wanted, should have known that he needn’t even tell his friend that he and Ryan had separated. Everybody knew the band had split, sure, and there was public speculation about Brendon and Ryan’s current state of romantic involvement, but Gabe seemed to know instantly- and Brendon wasn’t aware that Gabe had already cooked up a scheme, inviting the two halves of a splintered band and an ended relationship together to the same party. They were something of an evil genius.

Brendon was blissfully unaware that his ex would be at this party, but at this point, he probably would have attended even armed with the knowledge of Ryan’s presence- they’d run into eachother weeks prior, and had been polite and civil as possible, and Brendon was even starting to wonder why he was ever sad about it in the first place if it was so easy for them to move on. He was confident in his independence and his ability to resist his ex, especially since he was still kind of embarrassed about the given reason for their split; it had been Brendon, in love, but also terrified of the commitment that came with it. He’d rather shamefully broken it off without warning, the seriousness of the relationship taking him by surprise even though he felt so strongly about his boyfriend. In fact, the first month was just plain regret, yearning to be in his arms again- the following weeks were easier, but even now, he wasn’t sure if they could ever go back to being the same, even if that’s what he wanted.

There was no point feeling sorry for himself. The party was apparently ‘themed’- Gabe had messaged him last minute, about two days before- and told him the theme was ‘the roaring 20’s’ and if Brendon didn’t go along with it ‘they’d be very disappointed’. That just meant he wouldn’t be allowed in, or he would and Gabe would make him wear something godawful. Luckily, Brendon was rather willing to oblige to the dress code. He had found some old, slightly ridiculous white shirt that was ruffled at the front, a black waistcoat and slacks, and a possibly-satin bowtie, loose around his neck. He’d slicked his hair back, something he wasn’t used to, and even dug around and found a gold-painted eye mask (that he only wore because it gave him serious ‘cabaret/burlesque/but it’s better if you do vibes), but when he checked himself fully in the mirror, he found that he liked what he saw. Brendon had changed considerably in the past few months- not only had he worked out more (the benefits showed in a much more toned stomach and chest under his intentionally tight shirt), but he generally seemed more put together, less ‘awkwardly pretty’ and more ‘effortlessly mercurial and charming’. 

Anyway, it wasn’t long when he got there that he loosened his bowtie fully, cracking his neck to the side and making a beeline towards Gabe’s huge kitchen to make himself a drink with whatever he could find. Gabe’s house was [i]huge[/i], and Brendon decided to familiarise himself with it early in case he passed out somewhere and had to navigate his way to the front door when Gabe inevitably called him an Uber. When he reached the kitchen, though, Gabe all but collided with him- almost dropping the Daiquiri they were holding carefully. They just laughed and offered Brendon the cocktail, which he took, and then hung by their side, leaning against their shoulder. [i]Oh, did I mention?[/i] Brendon turned his head lazily to at least look like he was listening. [i]Ryan is here. Or at least, he’s invited. Who knows if he’ll actually turn up.[/i]

Brendon, at first, didn’t react, then just rolled his eyes. At this point, he was on his third drink and was pleasantly tipsy, just enough to completely lose whatever filter he weakly claimed he had previously. He just kind of elbowed Gabe, went to get himself another drink, and then wandered back out into the expansive living/dining room, one of several, all conjoined together. And, lo and behold- there stood his ex boyfriend, over by the wall, clutching onto a glass of what was probably rum and coke. The first thing Brendon noticed was that he was so [i]tall.[/i] Ryan had definitely grown. His hair, too, had gotten longer, and was actually in place, and Brendon could picture his eye colour from where he was standing. 

So, Brendon had instantly given up on any progress he was making getting over his ex and was now fully back to square one- in fact, even worse, because how dare Ryan look so attractive, how dare he be taller, how dare he be so easy and effortless to kiss, how dare he taste [i]sweet,[/i] Brendon could remember... Well, he’d managed to resist going over for about thirty seconds before his feet did all the thinking and he was suddenly close enough that if he stepped in further and leaned towards him, even up now, because the height difference was even more obvious up close, they could quite easily be kissing right now. Brendon was proud of himself for resisting. But not for long. [b]”Hi. You look hot.”[/b] He said immediately, grinning charmingly so he could play it off as an acceptable thing to say to his ex. [b]”I’m mad. You got [i]taller.[/i]”[/b] Smiling, buzzed enough not to care, he reached up to take hold of his inside of each of the sides of Ryan’s suit jacket, and then slid them down the side before dropping his hands to his sides. [b]”What brings you here, anyway?”[/b]