Ryan's handwriting was barely legible by the time he finished his essay, three minutes before the lunch bell would ring. He sighed with relief, shaking his cramping hand. "Easy peasy."

"I'm almost surprised your hand didn't catch on fire." Patrick laughed as he poked at his lunch. The strawberry blonde was wearing a shirt with a pale galaxy covering it. His pants were a contrasting black jean that he had paired with black converse.

"I'm surprised it's still attached." Ryan admitted. His arm ached. He wasn't looking forward to suffering through the rest of school. With his other hand, Ryan slid the essay towards Patrick. "Proofread?"

Patrick nodded. Ryan constantly thanked god for speed readers like Patrick. He'd be able to comb all the pages with a minute left to spare before the bell rang.

"I said, fuck off!"

There was the sound of clattering trays and students shifting behind Ryan. He spun in his seat to see what was happening as Patrick hid his face in the essay.

Across the cafeteria, the same asshole that had tripped Patrick was in the face of another student. Ryan couldn't make out the second person because of the bully's positioning.

"You wanna say something again?" The boy growled to whoever he was blocking from Ryan's view.

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" A different voice snickered. "If you wanna start a fight, you better throw the first punch. I'm not going down for you being hard of hearing."

The voice sounded familiar. Ryan leaned in his seat to try and get a better view of the second person.

"Acting pretty high and mighty for a fuck-up."

A laugh followed, just as Ryan caught glimpse of the second person's face. Brendon. Brendon was toe to toe with the dick that had tripped Patrick for laughs.

"I might not have family in administrative positions, but I do have a good number of witnesses to back me up." Brendon's voice became a growl as hell challenged the bully. Ryan held his breath; he had never seen Brendon like that.

The bell rang suddenly, causing practically the entire cafeteria to jump. The entire energy of the room had seemed to focus on Brendon and the other boy. The bell had broken the spell.

The bully continued to glare at Brendon for a moment longer before turning away from him. Brendon continued to glare at him as he grabbed his backpack and stomped away. He only turned away once the other boy was out of sight. He never once noticed Ryan staring.

Ryan's heart was drumming in his ears. That was a new side of Brendon. Intimidating and ready for a fight. He had completely hidden his carefree attitude that Ryan was accustomed to.

"Ry," Patrick whispered, "we should get to class..."

"Y-yea..." Ryan nodded, shaking his head and turning back to the table. He grabbed his backpack and slid it on, replaying Brendon's deepened voice in his head. There was no hint of a joke anywhere. That was the first glimpse of what probably helped keep Brendon in detention.

---

Brendon was late to stumble into the detention room that afternoon. Howell had already left, so Brendon scribbled his name on the attendance roster at his desk before strolling back to where Ryan sat.

"Miss me?" He asked, flashing a grin.

Ryan smiled. The usual Brendon was back. There wasn't a trace of the Brendon from the cafeteria. "Beginning to wonder if you would show."

Brendon rolled his eyes. "Where else would I go?" He nodded towards the window, "Although, I might have an idea, if you care to join me."

Ryan didn't need to be asked twice. He grabbed his backpack and followed Brendon to the window, dropping it before crawling out himself.

The two made their way through campus until they reached the student parking lot. Brendon tossed his bag in the back before hurrying to open his door. Ryan brought his into the cab.

"So, what's the plan for today?" Ryan asked, "More milkshakes and fries?"

"What, did I get you hooked?" Brendon laughed. He held a grin on his face as he started the truck and began to back out of the parking spot. "Maybe a bit later."

Ryan pushed his hair back. "Do I get some kind of hint?"

"No."

"A single clue?"

"This isn't Scooby Doo."

Ryan crossed his arms as Brendon laughed. There wasn't much in town that he thought Brendon would take him to. They already had shakes and fries. They already got garage tattoos. Where could they be going?

"Maybe one hint." Brendon spoke as if he had been reading Ryan's thoughts. "Open the glove compartment."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "What will that tell me?"

"Just do it!" Brendon laughed again, "It's not gunna bite."

Ryan turned to the glove compartment, feeling his cheeks heat up. He muttered something along the lines of "I know" as he reached out to pull the latch that kept the compartment secure. When he pulled it open, a long can rolled out. Ryan was able to catch it and brought it close to read.

"Spray paint?" Ryan questioned, rolling the can between his hands. "Who the hell buys glitter gray spray paint?"

"That's what happens when you don't pay attention." Brendon said, reaching over and taking the can. "Color isn't important. Just focus on the actual spray paint aspect of it."

"We're going to graffiti?" Ryan asked, frowning. The image of the Brendon from the cafeteria flashed through his mind. There's a reason he's always in detention.

"Nothing illegal. Just trust me." Brendon said, casually. "We're meeting Spencer down there."

"Down where?" Ryan asked.

Brendon just smiled, watching the road ahead.

Ryan sat back in his seat. School trouble was one thing, but public graffiti? That could be serious trouble. I should trust you more often. Ryan bit his lip as the thought crossed his mind. He wanted to be more trusting of Brendon; the dark haired boy next to him hadn't gotten him into any extra trouble yet. Why couldn't he just let himself trust Brendon?

They drove a bit longer before Brendon pulled over at an old bridge that had collapsed in the middle years before Ryan was even born. He could remember his mom telling stories of traveling across it before the collapse and before the newer roads were created. The bridge was just left behind to rot.

"Why the bridge?" Ryan asked as Brendon cut the engine.

Brendon shrugged. "Cops don't care. They stopped trying to cut graffiti years ago when they realized it stopped us from tagging up buildings in town." He flashed a grin at Ryan. "C'mon. Don't forget the glitter."

Ryan caught the can Brendon tossed to him. He felt himself grin as Brendon shut his door. This could be fun. He hopped out of his side of the truck, shaking the can in his hand.

"About time, Urie."

Ryan was walking to the truck's lowered tailgate as Spencer called out. Spencer was climbing up the hill that dipped down into the valley the bridge once gave path over, holding a stencil between his teeth. Brendon laughed from the back of the truck.

"You can count on detention to know I'm always late." Brendon said, hoisting the stap of a small duffle bag onto his shoulder.

Spencer made it up the hill with beads of sweat forming on his face. He panted as he rolled his eyes. "Your problem... Is getting caught..."

Brendon shrugged. He hopped down from his truck bed and pushed the tailgate back up. He fist bumped Spencer before turning to Ryan. "Ready?"

"Oh, shit!" Spencer seemed to notice Ryan for the first time, "It's tattoo boy."

"His name's Ryan." Brendon corrected before Ryan could even open his mouth. Ryan could feel his cheeks begin to heat up as Brendon spoke again. "I decided to include him on the fun again."

Spencer nodded. "Alright." He shrugged, "As long as he doesn't nark."

"If he didn't nark last time, I trust him not to this time." Brendon said, making his way to the hill. "C'mon, both of you keep up!"

Spencer shut his mouth and followed after Brendon. Ryan remained still for a moment. Brendon had defended him again. Why did he keep doing that? Spencer was an older friend to Brendon that Ryan was. Why not take his side?

"Ryan!"

Ryan snapped out of his head and looked down the hill. Brendon was waving him down while Spencer walked over to the bridge, shaking a can in his hand.

"Coming?" Brendon called, raising an eyebrow.

Ryan grinned. "Coming!"