Catching the Rain [2]
Title: Catching the Rain
Author: xstockpiledmmrs
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ryan/?
POV: Third, Ryan-centric
Disclaimer: Not true
Summary: After all, it was routine.
Author's Notes: I didn't mention this on the last chapter, but this is pretty much my first time writing a story alone, so hopefully it works out the way I want it to.
Catching the Rain
SUNDAY 5:30 A.M.
Ryan woke up as usual to his beeping alarm clock, and he pressed the off button, swinging his legs off of the edge of the bed. He took a moment to stretch his arms and yawn before standing up. He opened his neatly organized closet, running his fingers over the different colors of shirts and dress pants and ties before choosing a red long-sleeved shirt, and black dress pants with white pinstripes, as well as a plain black tie.
He took today’s clothing, as well as a pair of boxers, and moved into the bathroom connected to his room. After stripping off his clothes, he stepped into the all ready hot shower. Ryan counted in his head as he washed and scrubbed, mouthing each number as he did, eyes shut in concentration.
Seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, he emerged from the shower, pulling on his new clothes and standing in front of the mirror. Ryan stared at his reflection, a frown pulling at the noticeable, seemingly permanent, black lines underneath his hazel, dead eyes. He finally tore away from his reflection grabbing a comb and brushing it through his damp hair.
After all, it was routine.
--
6:09 A.M.
Ryan fixed the tie around his neck, biting his lip as he examined his appearance in the mirror. He seemed suitable for another day of work at his nameless office, which he had to do other people’s works who were higher up in ranks then him, so they could go present it to the boss and get another promotion.
He sighed, moving down the dark hall of his house and into the kitchen. Ryan searched along the wall for the light, watching his kitchen appear in front of his eyes. He opened the blinds to the window overlooking the front yard, only seeing darkness still, except for dark purple near the horizon where the sun was starting to rise over the mountains.
Ryan forced a small smile, knowing it would be daylight soon and moved over to a dark oak cabinet, opening it and pulling out a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. From another cabinet he took out a bowl, pouring the cereal into it. Ryan turned on his socked heel, moving only four feet until he reached the black, stainless steel fridge. He tugged out a quarter full gallon of milk, starting to pull off the cap.
With his breakfast made, and a glass of orange juice poured, Ryan sat down at the small circular table in the corner of the kitchen, with only two chairs around it for seating choices. He spooned some cereal into his mouth, flipping through a three-month-old magazine mindlessly, occasionally taking a sip from his juice.
6:41 A.M.
He had completely finished getting ready, just having finished brushing his teeth for two minutes and twenty-three seconds. Ryan licked his lips and sat down on his couch, turning on the decent sized television sitting on a rectangular table. He didn’t even have to change the channel numbers to get to the CNN Headline News he always watched, since it was all ready on that.
Ryan wasn’t really one to watch all that much TV.
He sat in silence, listening to the reports of a shooting here, a robbery there, and maybe a good deed done by someone somewhere in the middle. It was the typical news, especially when they dived in to talk about the war in Iraq. If that could even be called a war, Ryan thought to himself with a sigh.
6:54 A.M.
Ryan grabbed his cliché black briefcase that held Linda Brown’s work in it, which he had done yesterday so that Linda would be able to get that promotion she had wanted, as well as that new three-story house in the richer area of Las Vegas. He rolled his eyes mentally, opening his front door and stepping out, locking it behind him.
When he turned around, he felt his heart stop, nearly dropping everything he held in his hands. Standing in front of him was the boy from earlier in the morning, a big smile on his noticeably full lips.
“Good morning!” He said cheerfully, completely oblivious to the fact that his clothes were still wet, and he had pieces of weeds from Ryan’s front yard in his hair and all over his clothing.
“You’re joking,” Ryan said, simply blinking at him with a look of disbelief on his face.
The boy shook his head with his smile widening, “Nope. Want to go get some coffee? I think I saw a coffee shop a few blocks away.”
“I have to go to work,” Ryan replied, hurrying down his steps and towards the car parked in his driveway. He unlocked the front door, starting to open it until it was shut, narrowly crushing his fingers.
“What the fuck?”
The boy pouted slightly, rocking back and forth on his feet as he watched Ryan, “You’re being kind of mean, you know that? I sleep on your lawn, in the rain, and when I offer to take you out for coffee, you refuse?”
Ryan rolled his eyes with a sigh, opening his door successfully and setting his briefcase in the front seat, “You told me you didn’t have any money. Besides, I’m late for work, and you’re a stranger.”
“Oh, so your mom always told you not to talk to strangers?” The kid asked, eyes slightly wide.
“Exactly. Now go away,” Ryan slid into the car, shutting the door. He closed his eyes, resting his head on the steering wheel as he slid the key into the ignition, turning on the car.
A few moments later, he heard the passenger open, and someone slide in, pushing his briefcase to the floor of the car. When Ryan opened his eyes, he turned his head, seeing none other than that stupid boy sitting there, pulling the seatbelt across his lap. Ryan simply stared, jaw slightly dropped, noting understanding why this kid was bugging the hell out of him.
“Hi, I’m Brendon,” The boy said, extending his hand out towards Ryan, that ridiculous grin back on his face, “Would you like to go take me out for coffee?”
Ryan, still in shock, simply turned away from Brendon, sighing as he glanced at his watch. 7:01. Great, now he was going to be late for work. He backed out of the driveway, driving off in the direction of the corporate side of the city. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Brendon frowning at being ignored, and reach forward to turn on the radio.
He flinched at hearing Third Eye Blind blaring from the speakers, and Ryan immediately moved forward to turn down the volume. He’d almost forgotten he’d even had a CD in there, and that must’ve been from months back, when he actually listened to the radio.
“I love this band! Turn it back up,” Brendon whined, placing his hand on top of Ryan’s to turn the dial and raise the volume once more.
Ryan pulled his hand back instantly, letting the boy have whatever he wanted. After all, if he kept on following him around everywhere, Ryan could just call the police on him. The last thing he needed was a stalker, especially on top of all this work he kept on getting.
7:30 A.M.
He pulled the car into his usual parking spot, completely ignoring Brendon’s endless ranting, seeing as he’d tuned out long ago. Ryan turned off the car, reaching down near Brendon’s legs and grabbing his briefcase. He opened the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine, the smell of rain still fresh in the air. Brendon quickly got out of the car before Ryan locked it, staring at him.
“Is this where you work?”
Ryan shrugged and walked towards the tall, gray building, which always depressed him, despite the bright walls inside, and the white marble flooring. It was just his floor on which he worked, in a small cubicle, which cast a certain gloom over him, with dark gray carpeting and white paneled walls around the giant room.
“I’m just going to wait here! Don’t take too long!” He heard Brendon call from behind him, as well as the boy climbing up onto the hood of his car.
It was going to be a long day, Ryan could tell.
Author: xstockpiledmmrs
Rating: PG
Pairing: Ryan/?
POV: Third, Ryan-centric
Disclaimer: Not true
Summary: After all, it was routine.
Author's Notes: I didn't mention this on the last chapter, but this is pretty much my first time writing a story alone, so hopefully it works out the way I want it to.
Catching the Rain
SUNDAY 5:30 A.M.
Ryan woke up as usual to his beeping alarm clock, and he pressed the off button, swinging his legs off of the edge of the bed. He took a moment to stretch his arms and yawn before standing up. He opened his neatly organized closet, running his fingers over the different colors of shirts and dress pants and ties before choosing a red long-sleeved shirt, and black dress pants with white pinstripes, as well as a plain black tie.
He took today’s clothing, as well as a pair of boxers, and moved into the bathroom connected to his room. After stripping off his clothes, he stepped into the all ready hot shower. Ryan counted in his head as he washed and scrubbed, mouthing each number as he did, eyes shut in concentration.
Seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds later, he emerged from the shower, pulling on his new clothes and standing in front of the mirror. Ryan stared at his reflection, a frown pulling at the noticeable, seemingly permanent, black lines underneath his hazel, dead eyes. He finally tore away from his reflection grabbing a comb and brushing it through his damp hair.
After all, it was routine.
--
6:09 A.M.
Ryan fixed the tie around his neck, biting his lip as he examined his appearance in the mirror. He seemed suitable for another day of work at his nameless office, which he had to do other people’s works who were higher up in ranks then him, so they could go present it to the boss and get another promotion.
He sighed, moving down the dark hall of his house and into the kitchen. Ryan searched along the wall for the light, watching his kitchen appear in front of his eyes. He opened the blinds to the window overlooking the front yard, only seeing darkness still, except for dark purple near the horizon where the sun was starting to rise over the mountains.
Ryan forced a small smile, knowing it would be daylight soon and moved over to a dark oak cabinet, opening it and pulling out a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. From another cabinet he took out a bowl, pouring the cereal into it. Ryan turned on his socked heel, moving only four feet until he reached the black, stainless steel fridge. He tugged out a quarter full gallon of milk, starting to pull off the cap.
With his breakfast made, and a glass of orange juice poured, Ryan sat down at the small circular table in the corner of the kitchen, with only two chairs around it for seating choices. He spooned some cereal into his mouth, flipping through a three-month-old magazine mindlessly, occasionally taking a sip from his juice.
6:41 A.M.
He had completely finished getting ready, just having finished brushing his teeth for two minutes and twenty-three seconds. Ryan licked his lips and sat down on his couch, turning on the decent sized television sitting on a rectangular table. He didn’t even have to change the channel numbers to get to the CNN Headline News he always watched, since it was all ready on that.
Ryan wasn’t really one to watch all that much TV.
He sat in silence, listening to the reports of a shooting here, a robbery there, and maybe a good deed done by someone somewhere in the middle. It was the typical news, especially when they dived in to talk about the war in Iraq. If that could even be called a war, Ryan thought to himself with a sigh.
6:54 A.M.
Ryan grabbed his cliché black briefcase that held Linda Brown’s work in it, which he had done yesterday so that Linda would be able to get that promotion she had wanted, as well as that new three-story house in the richer area of Las Vegas. He rolled his eyes mentally, opening his front door and stepping out, locking it behind him.
When he turned around, he felt his heart stop, nearly dropping everything he held in his hands. Standing in front of him was the boy from earlier in the morning, a big smile on his noticeably full lips.
“Good morning!” He said cheerfully, completely oblivious to the fact that his clothes were still wet, and he had pieces of weeds from Ryan’s front yard in his hair and all over his clothing.
“You’re joking,” Ryan said, simply blinking at him with a look of disbelief on his face.
The boy shook his head with his smile widening, “Nope. Want to go get some coffee? I think I saw a coffee shop a few blocks away.”
“I have to go to work,” Ryan replied, hurrying down his steps and towards the car parked in his driveway. He unlocked the front door, starting to open it until it was shut, narrowly crushing his fingers.
“What the fuck?”
The boy pouted slightly, rocking back and forth on his feet as he watched Ryan, “You’re being kind of mean, you know that? I sleep on your lawn, in the rain, and when I offer to take you out for coffee, you refuse?”
Ryan rolled his eyes with a sigh, opening his door successfully and setting his briefcase in the front seat, “You told me you didn’t have any money. Besides, I’m late for work, and you’re a stranger.”
“Oh, so your mom always told you not to talk to strangers?” The kid asked, eyes slightly wide.
“Exactly. Now go away,” Ryan slid into the car, shutting the door. He closed his eyes, resting his head on the steering wheel as he slid the key into the ignition, turning on the car.
A few moments later, he heard the passenger open, and someone slide in, pushing his briefcase to the floor of the car. When Ryan opened his eyes, he turned his head, seeing none other than that stupid boy sitting there, pulling the seatbelt across his lap. Ryan simply stared, jaw slightly dropped, noting understanding why this kid was bugging the hell out of him.
“Hi, I’m Brendon,” The boy said, extending his hand out towards Ryan, that ridiculous grin back on his face, “Would you like to go take me out for coffee?”
Ryan, still in shock, simply turned away from Brendon, sighing as he glanced at his watch. 7:01. Great, now he was going to be late for work. He backed out of the driveway, driving off in the direction of the corporate side of the city. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Brendon frowning at being ignored, and reach forward to turn on the radio.
He flinched at hearing Third Eye Blind blaring from the speakers, and Ryan immediately moved forward to turn down the volume. He’d almost forgotten he’d even had a CD in there, and that must’ve been from months back, when he actually listened to the radio.
“I love this band! Turn it back up,” Brendon whined, placing his hand on top of Ryan’s to turn the dial and raise the volume once more.
Ryan pulled his hand back instantly, letting the boy have whatever he wanted. After all, if he kept on following him around everywhere, Ryan could just call the police on him. The last thing he needed was a stalker, especially on top of all this work he kept on getting.
7:30 A.M.
He pulled the car into his usual parking spot, completely ignoring Brendon’s endless ranting, seeing as he’d tuned out long ago. Ryan turned off the car, reaching down near Brendon’s legs and grabbing his briefcase. He opened the door and stepped out into the bright sunshine, the smell of rain still fresh in the air. Brendon quickly got out of the car before Ryan locked it, staring at him.
“Is this where you work?”
Ryan shrugged and walked towards the tall, gray building, which always depressed him, despite the bright walls inside, and the white marble flooring. It was just his floor on which he worked, in a small cubicle, which cast a certain gloom over him, with dark gray carpeting and white paneled walls around the giant room.
“I’m just going to wait here! Don’t take too long!” He heard Brendon call from behind him, as well as the boy climbing up onto the hood of his car.
It was going to be a long day, Ryan could tell.