Questions

Questions-Ryden Standalone (One-shot)


Beware: Band Slash!


A rhythmic tapping  was the only thing that seemed to keep Ryan awake during philosophy class. His own slender fingers banging down on the oak wood of the old furnished desks drowned out the droning professor ranting about life. Sometimes he wondered why he had taken such a class, at one point he might have been desperate to find the meaning of life but some old haggard surely wasn’t going to know the answer as to why we were put on Earth.

“Mr. Lunsy, do you believe in faith?” A chalky, egotistic boy in the back of the room yelled. Ryan took notice that his college professor who seemed to constantly brag about being the wisest man alive, hesitated.

“Why, that’s preposterous boy! This world is strictly a matter of scientific belief, if faith existed we’d have answers.”

The professor went back to droning and the enthusiastic boy took a seat, his smile faltering. Ryan went back to zoning out and stared at his laptop. Everyone had theirs open, but most people were passing the time by filling out those pointless chain-mail Myspace surveys. At this point, Ryan wished he had internet access, it’d make this class move along much faster. He felt himself soon drifting into a deep slumber. He was a fire burned out by heavy rain. He was a prince with a princess-less tower, but the dragon was slain. He was a musician who spoke with notes. He was falling down, off a cliff but soon was being met up with plump lips, cherry in color and a taste of fine wine. But then he was no more for class was dismissed, and if it wasn’t for the shuffling of the people beside him, he’d have never awoke.

-----

Another day, and more droning which not only put half of the class to sleep but led to an inside argument between the professor. He was debating politics…with himself. 1,000 year old professors are surely made for an insane asylum, but how else do they become philosophy professors unless they spend their time locked inside their own heads conversing with their conscience.

Ryan opened up a word document and  pretended to take notes while getting lost in his writings on theoretical beliefs. He straightened up a bit as if to hide his screen from any wandering eyes, he always got so secretive about his writings for some reason, but he couldn’t decipher why. He felt like someone was watching him, of course he always did but now he had a burning sensation in his gut that he was being watched. He stole a quick glance across the room, pretending to look at the clock even though he had a watch. Before he even reached the clock, he met the gaze of the overeager boy whose previous dialogue had snapped him out of his usual trance. He stared at him for a couple of seconds, noticing that the class had gotten up, and that the boy himself was coming towards him. Ryan picked up his own supplies but the body heat radiating against his own prevented his leaving.

“Oh, sorry, I’m so clumsy.” The overeager boy had taken a seat next to him and had started to clean his glasses. Ryan gave him a confused look, the class was sitting down again but all in different seats. He had thought class was over.

“Uhm…what are we…?” A chipper smile escaped the other boy who had dangerously familiar lips, and he replied to a rather confused Ryan.

“We’re buddied up for our theology paper. Mr. L thinks it’ll be more interesting to see papers written in dual perspectives.” Ryan was a little amused by this boy’s word preferance for their being partners. He was still in awe at the fact that he had the faintest clue of what was happening around him. The building could burn down and he’d be dumbfounded.

“So, uh, George, you have any ideas?”

“We could start off by calling me Ryan.” The other boy blushed and Ryan took immediate notice of how flustered he looked. In a way it almost seemed attractive.

“Okay, uh, I’m Brendon!” He was speaking in a choppy, broken manner but he seemed excited nonetheless and judging from the sweaty hand that Ryan shook, he was nervous.

“So Brendon, mind telling me what we’re supposed to do again?”

“Oh, uh, no problem. Basically we’re supposed to apply the four universal theorems of questioning to…” It was no use, Brendon’s voice drifted off and once again Ryan couldn’t focus. Well, in a way he could, but only on Brendon’s sharp features, the way his hair stuck out at odd angles. The way he smiled so brilliantly and blushed whenever he stuttered over a phrase. Even how soft his hands looked when he pushed his glasses into place on his nose.

“What’s this?” Ryan managed to finally turn away from Brendon and take a sheet of paper. It had three pages stapled to it, all blank. One word was printed in tiny letters at the top and read ‘Why?’.

“That’s our reason for our beliefs.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well I was thinking if we write a detailed report on how life is based around what each person believes and creates, we could just write ‘why not’.”

“That isn’t sufficient enough for an answer.”

“I guess you can write down your thoughts, but it is philosophy, anything can happen.”

“I suppose…” Ryan seemed surprised how a single person could be into such a vague subject as philosophy which was discovered by a bunch of crazy Greeks bowing down to thin air. He wasn’t even sure himself what he thought the purpose of life was. The thought had occured to him multiple times but there was never just one answer, most of the time there weren’t any.

Class was over once again and on the way to his dorm Ryan walked with Brendon. He was never one for socializing because humans seemed to be the most annoying thing on this planet, repulsive as well and Ryan sure as hell wasn’t proud of it. Once again he seemed to zone out, but this had never happened before to him, usually it was just philosophy class and that was it. He had a feeling that it was a certain someone, but before he knew it that certain someone was in his dorm and he was getting him a glass of water.

“Thanks,” Brendon replied clutching the cool glass of water. He swallowed it with one big gulp, this didn’t exactly settle his nerves. Ryan took a seat next to him on the couch and let the silence engulf the room. The boys both just sat there, staring at each other, each glaring deeply as if reading the other’s expression. But the silence didn’t stay for long, and soon Ryan’s lips meshed with Brendon’s. Brendon didn’t hesitate and Ryan was confused overall, the most fitting emotion for him. He wasn’t spacing out though, and his lips continued to caress the fine wine, cherry lips. Just as he had dreamed.

Brendon only slightly broke the kiss for a simple breath and mumbled, “Why?” into Ryan’s ear. Ryan shivered from the hot breath against his ear and simply responded with a sheer smile; “Why not?”

The two stayed in a lover’s embrace, fully enjoying being with one another, when suddenly a thought struck Ryan. He thought he now knew what the meaning of life was, for he had found his princess and the tower wasn’t empty but the dragon was still alive. Alive as the reality of the world that would shun them, but that’s okay because those who shall shun have yet to discover meaning in their lives. They have yet, to live.