Though it was hard to believe when you looked at them now, always tense and argumentative, theirs backs always up defensively around eachother, Brendon hadn’t immediately hated Ryan for no reason. Spencer, their mutual friend, had approached him because of his knowledge of his skills as a vocalist and proposed that he joined their increasingly successful but still small-time band, and Brendon had, of course, agreed; he was young, he had always dreamed of a career doing music (he didn’t know what he’d do otherwise), this was his opportunity. What Spencer didn’t tell him was that he’d be replacing somebody- he just figured they didn’t have a permanent vocalist- and when he practically crashed into Ryan head-first (Brendon was hyperactive and generally unaware of his surroundings at all time), it was an awkward conversation, because Spencer and Jon hadn’t even brought it up to Ryan beforehand. Under the pressure of his bandmates, Ryan very reluctantly caved and then immediately stormed off; the whole time, Brendon had hung around awkwardly after apologising profusely for almost knocking Ryan over. So they didn’t have a very good start on Ryan’s end- Brendon almost floored him and then immediately after he was informed that there was a plan to replace him behind his back. Sure, he was still lead guitarist- but it wasn’t the same, and Brendon did feel guilty, and awkward, for a long time.

But it wasn’t really Brendon’s [i]fault[/i], in his eyes, so eventually he became sick of Ryan complaining and started snapping back, becoming a little arrogant about his new placement as frontman and the band’s correlating increased success. This, in turn, rubbed Ryan the completely wrong way- if Brendon had been a little more considerate, maybe apologised, worked things over and out, they wouldn’t be in such a bad place, but Brendon was fiery and stubborn and would never admit that he was wrong. So he became cocky, and overconfident, and similarly, Ryan’s bruised ego managed to superficially inflate and they locked horns all the time over lyricism, musical talent, popularity, even petty things like accusations about misplaced items on the tour bus. It all escalated from there, and soon after they first even met, Brendon and Ryan absolutely despised eachother, to the despair of Spencer and Jon, their long-suffering, completely innocent bandmates. Brendon had spoken to Spencer in private, he said he had no regrets due to their success with Brendon as the frontman; but then he’d also spoken to Jon, who said that Ryan told him that Spencer was talking about how he ‘missed the old times’ when it was just the three of them. That alone made Brendon prickle with insecurity- the feud between him and Ryan was almost a power struggle, and for some reason he believed that only one of them could remain in the band long-term or else it would all fall apart.

Alongside this bad blood born from an unfortunate introduction and unfortunate circumstances was something else, a distinctly different side of their relationship, though the lines were blurred; a magnetism, a strong subtextual hint that the fire and passion between them wasn’t always an angry one, even if that was the most obvious conclusion to make. To outsiders of their personal relationship (they tended to have good chemistry on stage) it would just seem like anger, frustration, irritation- but to those who knew them better, who looked a little closely, who spent most of their time with them, like Spencer and Jon, it was laughable how obvious they [i]wanted[/i] eachother. Brendon vehemently denied it, spat insults at Ryan, hackles rising whenever somebody even slightly suggested that they thought something was going on- defensive behaviour of someone who had something to hide. Luckily, he knew that Ryan felt pretty much the same (he wasn’t stupid, and Spencer and Jon, who were always honest, kept their mouths suspiciously shut whenever he talked airily about it), so it wasn’t all bad. Alone, they still bickered and argued about everything under the sun, but the tension between them was electric and different and exciting.

So it wasn’t all bad, even if they still despised eachother most of the time- Brendon was the frontman of an increasingly successful band, his relationship with Jon and Spencer was strong and they were close, it wasn’t like he was lonely or upset that Ryan clearly wanted little to do with him. Actually- that wasn’t right. Ryan wanted everything to do with him as long as it was to drive him fully around the bend, get on his nerves, rile him up. And Brendon knew that was exactly what Ryan intended to do now, using his new girlfriend as a chess piece to provoke a reaction from Brendon, some kind of anger or jealousy that would be, in a word, humiliating. It worked. Ryan swanned in with his pretty, blonde girlfriend (he definitely had a type when it came to women, even if Brendon [i]knew[/i] that he wasn’t even with women that often, comparatively, which he immediately wanted to point out), and Brendon bristled immediately even though he knew about it, he prepared himself. But there the fucker was, arm around Keltie, holding her close against his side, and he was mad at [i]her[/i], because the way she reacted to Ryan’s pointed, barbed introduction lead him to believe that Ryan had already fed her Poison, mocked him beyond redemption. Brendon stared at Ryan, fully unsurprised that he’d gone to these lengths just to get Brendon’s back up.

He watched sullenly as Ryan pleasantly introduced her, and picked at the upholstery of the chair he was slumped in, before straightening up almost defensively and not wasting any more time in stirring up trouble. If Ryan wanted a reaction, he’d he one. [i]Well, are you worried you missed your chance?[/i] Brendon scoffed- because even if that was true, he knew Ryan better than Ryan thought he did, Keltie and him were clearly a temporary thing, it was obvious. [b]”You have no [i]idea,”[/i][/b]- He draped himself dramatically over the couch- [b]”How much I wish it were me in Kelties shoes. He’s all bone, darling, watch yourself.”[/b] Brendon sat up straighter, crossed one leg over the other, and flashed Ryan a malicious grin, waiting for his inevitable next dig. [i]Sorry. You don’t seem like you would’ve been my type, anyway.[/i] Faux-woefully, he shook his head again, and sadly shrugged a shoulder. Was this the best he could do? Brendon caught Ryan’s eye, his own glare glinting with something like amusement, telling him silently that he knew all of that was bullshit, Ryan wanted him. And yet, he was still hellishly jealous.

[i]Actually, Brendon, are you anyone’s type?[/i] He looked up sharply, his muscles tensing. [i]You haven’t dated at all since you joined.[/i] Inhaling, Brendon curled his hand into a fist and dragged his other one stiffly though his hair, before he let go of it and relaxed his muscles with an exhale. [b]”I haven’t [i]dated,[/i] no,”[/b] He said delicately, attempting to look bored. [b]”I don’t feel the need, because I’m not fucking desperate.”[/b]