Gabe never asked to come over anywhere, they never asked to be invited to events, they sort of just showed up anyway and nobody complained- either because they enjoyed Gabriel Carrasco’s constantly entertaining company, or they were inimidated by their slightly threatening enigmatic energy and sheer stature. It didn’t matter- Gabe was welcome anywhere, because they started no fights (or when they did, they made sure they could finish them), held no grudges (outwardly, anyway; they preferred not to air dirty laundry) and at their back was a very powerful, close family to which they owed their fortune and their name. The power of a name couldn’t be exaggerated- Gabe knew that, from both their own family’s dynamic and the families of their closest friends- a particularly apt example being Brendon Blake, the liability of Boyd Blake, an absolute trainwreck but in the most graceful and charming way imaginable. He drew attention away from his frequent questionable escapades with his effortles smile, and Gabe knew that he tried to laugh off the criticism of his family, too. Brendon hated them all- it wasn’t hard to see- but to cut himself off from that name would spell an end to any inheritance Boyd was still willing to set aside for his troublesome son, and Brendon had his priorities straight.

In fact, Brendon was arguably the most beloved of the entire uptight family (his rebelliousness, casual hedonism and devilish charm probably reached that end), and Gabe was just as golden amongst their own relatives, probably more famous than their father- but there was no bad blood between them. Gabe owed him a lot, and he treated Gabe with love and respect; Brendon never had that with his father. Gabe wasn’t usually a very empathetic person, but they weren’t stupid, and they did care about their friend. Brendon was, on the surface, a wild card, a nihilist, over-indulgent and reckless- beneath that, there was still some of the notes of the same song, but accompanied by vulnerability, a need to belong, a vendetta against love, hate for hate’s sake. Gabe knew Brendon was a wary man, and he had every reason to be- in the past, Gabe has witnessed their closest friend suffer through the heartache of thinking he had found something worth holding onto, and then being stabbed  mercilessly in the back after the person had gotten what they wanted (five minutes of fame, the bragging rights, being on the receiving end of a very rich man’s generosity and affection). For this reason, they were defensive of him, and for this reason, when Brendon told them quite casually (as was how they worked) that he had slept and was sleeping with his own damn PA, Gabe had bristled under the skin. On the surface, they remained nonchalant, knowing Brendon would shut any concern or warnings down as a self-defence.

Gabe knew Brendon wouldn’t appreciate them getting involved, but they didn’t much care. It was widely known that Gabe was usually right- or that they were never totally wrong. At the time, they had been intrusive about finding out about this unexpected love affair, and Brendon was an oversharer, so they got everything they needed and more, along with some finer details they didn’t ask for but Brendon supplied anyway. So, the guy’s name was [i]Ryan Ready[/i]- english major, straight out of university, but nothing exceptional on his resume that would typically land him a job like he had- PA to the youngest son and loose end of one of the richest men in the world (or, as Gabe liked to call the role, an overpaid, glorified babysitter for a serial monogamist and overindulgent hedonist like Brendon. They loved him really). So, what had landed Ryan the job? They asked Brendon, but the answer was vague- something about spilling wine on applications, which was hardly surprising. Then something about a bold question that made sure Ryan was the only applicant he could actually remember the name of. Then there was the fact he was ‘cute’. Gabe should have known. Brendon was weak and easy, as much as he liked to pretend he was in control.

That was exactly why Gabe wanted to know what Ryan’s intentions were with their friend- Brendon had been hurt too many times by gold diggers or fame seekers of those who only thought about Brendon in a lustful light. Gabe was something of a pessimist and imagined that Ryan was all three, and had spun a story in their head of him snatching up the highly paid PA job, finding his way quickly into Brendon’s bed and then ditching him when he made enough money and got bored of running out for Dr. Pepper at 3am. They wanted to meet this guy, interrogate him, and send him packing if they deemed him to be bad news for Brendon. They had a way of making things work for them, so Gabe quickly put a plan into action- Brendon had said that 80% of Ryan’s time was spent coming in and out of Brendon’s apartment, so they got into Brendon’s apartment while he was away with the key they stole, and made themselves at home, knowing from sneaking a copy of a calendar from where it had been abandoned on a coffee table that Ryan was due to deliver some suits that Brendon had splashed on, again. Brendon was also due back soon, but whatever. Gabe casually broke in to his apartment all the time.

They went over to Brendon’s little cocktail bar randomly installed at one end of the ridiculously large kitchen, and made themself a martini while they waited, wandering around and breaking the strings of a view of Brendon’s guitars as they passed the time. Their prediction was correct, it turned out- not fifteen minutes later, they heard the door open, and when Ryan Ready appeared in the doorway, looking somewhat stunned, Gabe had moved so they were casually leaning back against one of the velvet sofas, martini in hand. Gabe had done their research, they knew what this guy looked like, but not how gangly he was. Gabe noted that he was tall. That was probably why Brendon liked him so much. [b]“Hola,”[/b] They began, deciding they had to stay true to their brand and speak way more Spanish in a few minutes than they had in the past week in normal conversation. [b]”I’m Gabriel, amigo. Ryan, right? Come, shut the door. We have a lot to talk about.”[/b]