“We decided to take a break from the band, take a break from music.”
The only sound that could be heard after Brendon’s announcement was the clicking of photocameras. The journalists didn’t know how to react to the unexpected news. There had been some rumours about arguments in the band, but nobody was expecting this.
After a moment or two, one man was brave enough to stand up and ask what everybody was wondering. “Why?” He asked.
None of the four boys spoke a word. Jon and Spencer looked at Ryan and Brendon. Ryan and Brendon looked at each other and knew that they were thinking the same.
“Ryan, you are being ridiculous!”
“Well Brendon, at least I’m not being an egocentric attentionwhore!”
Fighting voices reached her ears as soon as Victoria opened the door of Lazy Noon. She sighed as she recognized the voices. If it would have been anybody else, she would have just been annoyed, but hearing these two argue made her sad. It confirmed her worries.
Victoria made her way to the two boys in the right corner of the small café while all the customers kept staring at the two fighting. Neither of them seemed to notice how much attention they were attracting.
“Can you two please take your argument outside?” She said in a calm voice. “Or maybe just stop arguing, that would be even better.” She muttered under her breath.
Brendon and Ryan both looked up in surprise. They had been so wrapped up in their bickering that they didn’t see Victoria come their way.
“Why do you care?” Ryan asked in an annoyed voice.
Victoria stared at him in disbelief. Did he really not see the attention they were attracting with their argument? “I care because I work here and you are disturbing the other costumers.” She explained, trying her best to sound polite.
Brendon rolled his eyes at her misunderstanding of the question. “That’s not what he meant.” He said in the same annoyed tone Ryan used before. “We’re not stupid, we know we probably annoy other people. He meant why do yóu care if we fight or not. You don’t even know us.” He explained before turning back to Ryan and opening his mouth.
Victoria was surprised that they had even heard her little comment, but she snarled nonetheless before any more insults could come out of Brendon’s mouth. It caused the two boys to look up at her again.
“You’re absolutely right. I don’t know you. And I honestly wished I could care less, but I can’t.” She said before placing her backpack on the table. She opened it, took out a copy of ‘Pretty.Odd.’ and smashed it down on the table.
“This is what I listened to practically non-stop for over half a year. It played when I got back from chemotherapy to take away the pain. When my friends came over I would ask about their day and their plans, assuring them that I didn’t mind that they had fun while I was sick. But off course I did mind. This would play after they left, making the jealousy fade, making sure I could fall asleep without crying. It played when others around me crashed, because it helped me to be strong and it gave me hope.” Victoria spoke, trying hard to avoid tremble in her voice.
Brendon and Ryan were both staring at her, mouth agape.
“I honestly don’t really give a shit about your personal lives, but off course I heard the rumours, I have seen the pictures and read the interviews. And all this bickering affects your music! When is the last time you’ve felt like a real band? When is the last time you’ve enjoyed being on stage together? I really wish I could care less, but I can’t. Because it hurts to see your music… the one thing that got me through the darkest period of my life, to see that music lose its soul and passion. It hurts.”
Victoria closed her eyes to hold back the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes. When she opened them again, Ryan and Brendon were still staring at her.
“So please, stop arguing… or leave.” Victoria said.
Before either of the boys could respond, Victoria grabbed the cd of the table and shoved it back into her backpack. She turned around without another word and disappeared into the small kitchen of the cafe.
Brendon and Ryan stared at the door behind the counter for a minute. When Victoria walked back into the café, Ryan turned to face Brendon.
The younger one was still staring, but his gaze had left the kitchen door. “She is beautiful in so many ways!” He whispered with his eyes fixated on Victoria.
Ryan’s mouth fell open a little bit. “Did you even hear what she just said?” He asked in disbelief.
Brendon let out a sigh as he finally faced Ryan. “Off course I heard what she said.” He said. He paused for a moment, thinking about his next words.
“And the worst part is that she’s absolutely right. I don’t even remember the last time we’ve shared a microphone to sing. Or the last day we didn’t argue.” He said.
Ryan knew exactly what Brendon meant. “I know. I miss the old days, when we didn’t care what people thought, just wanted to have fun and make music.”
“We used to rock that stage together. Now I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.” Brendon paused again, before asking a question he knew Ryan had no answer to. “How did we become strangers to each other, Ry?”
“I don’t know, Bren. But we really need to fix it.” Ryan paused as well, searching for the right words to phrase what he was thinking. “I think we need to…” He couldn’t finish the sentence he was trying to form.
“I think we need to take a break.” Brendon voiced Ryan’s thoughts.
The two boys looked at each other without saying anything. For a moment it was back like the old days, where they only needed one look or one word to understand each other. They both knew they wanted the same. That they needed the same.
“We need to talk to Jon and Spencer.” Ryan said. His voice sounded almost casual, as if this was some random conversation. Almost…
Brendon didn’t respond. He simple grabbed his wallet and left some money on the table to pay for their coffees. He made sure to leave a big tip for the girl who had managed to make them face the painful truth.
Both got up and walked out the café in silence, knowing that the next conversation with their band members wasn’t going to be a pleasant one.
After a minute, Ryan broke the eye contact and looked at the journalists sitting in front of him.
“Personal reasons. We don’t want to talk about it.” He said.
Another journalist stood up to ask a question, but Brendon stopped the man before he could open his mouth. “He said we don’t want to talk about it. That’s all we have to say. Thank you for coming.” He said before getting up and walking out of the room.
The others followed soon after. The sound of the room died away as Jon closed the door behind him. The four guys stared at each other awkwardly, not sure what to say. Spencer took the initiative and hugged Brendon. Soon the four boys were exchanging their goodbyes.
Ryan heard Spencer and Jon make plans for next Saturday as they made their way outside. He stepped in Brendon’s direction. Silence again, neither of them knowing what to do. Neither of them knowing what the future would bring.
Ryan was the one who spoke up first. “So I guess this is it, huh?” He asked.
“Yeah, I guess so. I’ll see you around?” Brendon asked, his voice a mixture of relief and sadness.
“I’m sure you will.” Ryan flashed him a small smile, his voice the same tone as Brendon’s.
They walked to theirs cars together, a heavy silence hanging between them. They reached Ryan’s Mercedes first. They both stopped, still not sure what to do or say.
This time it was Brendon taking the initiative. He pulled Ryan close. “Bye Ry.” He whispered.
Ryan copied Brendon’s movement. “Bye Bren.” Ryan whispered back.
They released each other and both went their separate ways.
Ryan got into his car. He drove off with a feeling of relief, a feeling of freedom. On his way home, lyrics started to form in his head. He grabbed his guitar as soon as he got home and wrote the best song he had in a very long time.
Brendon walked to his car and got in. He drove off with a feeling of relief, a feeling of freedom. On his way to Lazy Noon, he started singing along to the radio. He sang along to a random song and sounded the most perfect he had in a very long time.
Six months later a chorus of laughter could be heard from the backyard of Brendon’s house. Brendon was sitting on the grass at Ryan’s feet, who was singing some unknown lyrics while playing his guitar. Jon was sitting next to Ryan on the old sofa that somehow found his way out into the backyard and laughed at some random joke Spencer, who was sitting in a lawn chair, just told.
“This will fit just fine on the new album. We’re ready to hit the studio now!” Jon said after Ryan finished playing.
Spencer nodded in agreement.
“I wrote it right after I got home from the press conference.” Ryan said, referring to the events that had happened not that long ago. His eyes caught Brendon’s and a slight blush found its way onto his cheeks.
The younger boy just smiled at him. “It’s perfect, Ryan!” Brendon assured his friend.
The comment made Ryan blush even more. He had never been one to accept compliments easily and this meant a lot to him, coming from Brendon.
Victoria smiled as she walked out of the house with a jug of ice tea and some glasses. It felt good to see the boys smile and have fun together again.
As she put the jug and the glasses down on the table standing in the corner of the garden, Brendon sneaked up behind her. He pulled her close as his arms found their way around her waist. “Thanks for saving us!” He whispered in her ear.
His soft breath against her ear made Victoria smile. After all this time, Brendon’s voice was still able to send chills down her spine.
“You’re welcome. It was absolutely worth it.” She whispered back.
Brendon chuckled in response and turned Victoria around in his arms. “I love you too.” He said before planting a soft kiss on her lips.
