Brendon, too, wasn’t happy about this hyped-up, money-making scheme of a ‘reunion tour’, but after initially defiantly lashing out and protesting against the whole thing, his label cracked down and he figured he should have probably seen this coming, considering that when the band initially split, Ryan and Jon were picked right back up by the label in the form of a new band. He wasn’t really following how they were doing- he heard songs, but rarely voiced his approval directly or indirectly to them. It was as if Brendon was an ex, wanting to stay as far away from Ryan as possible but not wanting to be completely in the dark about what was going on in his life. They were still- friends, he supposed, though they’d never really been just friends; they skipped over that and instead went directly from passionate hatred to physical intimacy, which, in hindsight, was definitely not the way to go. Reflecting on it all, Brendon wasn’t sure [i]what[/i] He and Ryan ever were, if anything. They certainly weren’t boyfriends, but they were more than just friends- [i]enemies-[/i] with benefits. There was a softness there, an affection that neither of them anticipated, and when it became too intense and neither of them could cope, plus the band was becoming more fragile over creative difference and tensions, it ultimately tore them apart.

The split was a huge blow to all of them, though Brendon was reliably back on his feet with Spencer pretty soon, faster even than Ryan and Jon, who, though they’d said they were dead set on a direction for the band, spent a suspicious amount of time in production and writing. Meanwhile, Brendon and Spencer organised auditions for a new lineup- they needed a bassist and a guitarist, which would be difficult shoes to fill, Brendon secretly thought. No matter their differences in what direction they wanted to go in, there was a general mutual respect and agreement that they were all very talented musicians and it would be hard for all of them to find people that could fill those empty spaces on stage and be even half as good as their predecessors. Brendon’s ex-sort-of-boyfriend (he had quite a few of those), Ian, was the sensible choice for guitarist- they ended things in a very good place and though he imagined it would be slightly alarming for Ryan that he had been replaced by Ian of all people, they did audition some others, but nobody fit as well as Ian did. Spencer has joked, rather darkly, than maybe Brendon just always had a thing for his guitarist. Brendon was disgruntled, but couldn’t exactly argue- of the two he’d played with as part of an official lineup, he’d hooked up with them both.

Then there was the matter of a bassist. Brendon and Spencer has already been writing and recording their new album and were done a few weeks before they even found Dallon, who was, in fact, their only hope, because after months of not being able to find anyone, Dallon come along in the nick of time so they could actually perform on tour. The downside to Dallon was that at the first audition, it quickly became apparent that he hadn’t learned any of the songs. Not one. Brendon, who was letting label and time pressures get to him, had snapped and demanded that Dallon actually [i]learn[/i] the songs next time, you fucking moron. Of course, Dallon did, and after that Brendon realised he was a sweet guy, kind of odd, but a talented musician and almost as theatrical and over-the-top as Brendon was while they were on stage even just in soundcheck and practices. The first night of the tour, though, was when the onstage chemistry between the three front-of-house band members (Spencer was too confined to his drums to join in) became obvious- Brendon, with his new haircut, in the new bowtie/suit/suspenders getup that he’d forced the rest of the band to wear, had seemingly evolved from the sweet, geniune, hyperactive frontman he’d once been- he became more bold, chaotic, perhaps even explicit, which was maybe understandable given the nature of the songs he had written lately- but it both stunned and riled up the crowd, especially when Brendon stores across stage towards Ian and pressed up against him, sans innocence or affection, or when he got down on his knees in front of Dallon just for the hell of it. It was all a spur-of-the-moment thing, and by the end, Brendon was impressed with himself for not just stripping off onstage.

Afterwards, he was content, cooling down in the air-conditioned rooms backstage and then flitting between people, accepting compliments about the show and engaging in conversation with the stage manager about how things could be improved, being all giddy and excited with Dallon and Ian and Spencer but deciding, to everyone’s surprise, he was just going to go back to the hotel tonight, not go drinking anywhere. Therefore, he was pretty much the only one left after everyone else dispersed into the city or back onto buses and away, so he went back to his dressing room (unfortunately not air conditioned) and began to undress, realising belatedly as he did so that he’d probably have to wear the same clothes over and over again before he got a chance to wash them. He only had so many changes of costume and Brendon was adamant that he’d stick to the theme all the way through and not end up in, like, jeans and a t-shirt like he often had in his previous band when he was too laid-back to care about whether he matched the show or whatever. Brendon was much more of a showman now, and it was obvious in the way he talked, performed and sang. The change in him was evident to those who knew him well and those who didn’t.

Turns out, though, Brendon wasn’t the only one left behind after everyone else had filtered out and left. He saw Ryan in the mirror and blinked, a rush of emotions hitting him that he couldn’t quite describe, so he didn’t try and read into it too much, just exhaled silently from his parted lips and offered Ryan’s reflection a small, tired smile. [i]Hey.[/i] It hit Brendon then that they hadn’t had a proper conversation in person for a while, especially not while alone. It’d been too hectic so far, Brendon didn’t even remember seeing him before the show. [b]”Hey,”[/b] He returned, casual, stepping aside slightly as Ryan moved to stand by him so there was more room by the mirror. Automatically, he gave Ryan a quick once-over, then looked back dutifully at his reflection. [i]You guys sounded... just. Amazing. You killed it. Not to state the obvious.[/i] Brendon grinned, glancing down as he finished the last of his buttons and let his hands fold over his chest. [b]”Thanks, man, you too,”[/b] He murmured, but then he quirked an eyebrow as he remembered exactly how he behaved on stage, cringing not from embarrassment but more for Ryan’s sake. [b]”I’ve been told that sometimes I’m too much, but. Good to know you approve.”[/b]

Brendon cleared his throat and hesitated for a second. He’d been in the middle of changing, but now Ryan was here, he put it on pause, and after a second he turned to glance at the closed door. [i]You okay?[/i] [b]”Yeah, I’m great, how are you?”[/b] A pause. [b]”Are we the only ones here? How come you stayed back?”[/b]