Your Sweet Six Six Six | Sitkolson [C]

Chapter 42 | Here Without You

Two weeks had passed, and thankfully they went by without anymore incidents. Ricky had yet to transition back to his host alter, but Ryan didn't completely mind. He liked the way it felt to take care of him, even when it got tiring. Being essentially a full time caregiver to someone can wear on the mind. As much as he hated to admit it, he was thankful he was getting one night off. 

"Where's Ricky?" Ash asked as she walked up to him and Chris.

"At home." Ryan replied, in the midst of tuning his guitar. "He had to drop out of the show because of... You know." 

"Oh," She frowned, "That's unfortunate. I was looking forward to seeing him sing. At least I'll get to see you and Chris perform, though. Speaking of, where is Chris?"

He made a face of disgust. "Kissing Gaia's ass. He did a fuck up, of which she doesn't know about, but he still feels bad. So he's been ass kissing for awhile now. He should be back soon."

Ash sighed, "I'll never understand why he's with her... I should go start warming up. We're on in a few minutes."

"You doing Manson again tonight?" He asked as she started to walk off. 

She glanced back over her shoulder with a Cheshire grin. "Duh!" 

Ryan laughed dryly to himself. They had so many talented people in their school. He had little faith they'd win. They'd definitely place because of Chris' amazing vocals, but winning? He knew that was an unrealistic goal. The prize money didn't really matter to him, though. He just liked the experience. Ryan was the farthest thing from materialistic. He values people, the few that he doesn't loath.

Just as he could hear the beginnings of Manson's version of "Personal Jesus" playing onstage, Chris showed up. He didn't have an annoyed or upset look on his face, thankfully. Anytime he goes off with his girlfriend, it's a gamble how they'll get him back. 

"You ready?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, I did my warm ups already. The art room was empty, so I went in there. Remington went in right after me, and I feel bad for anyone passing by that heard either of us." He laughed. 

Ryan scoffed with a slight grin. He set his guitar down briefly and walked towards the curtain to peer out briefly. The crowd was mostly parents, grandparents, and classmates. A whole lot of people that didn't appreciate metal, which was unfortunate for their friends that were currently playing. He felt his stomach drop to spot Ryder in the back. They see each other daily at school, but tonight was a little different. He could just feel it in his bones. 

Taking a deep breath, Ryan brushed away his negative feelings the best he could. He grabbed his guitar again and waited for their cue. Looking out there was a bad idea. He could've done this performance with a lot less weight on his shoulders if he hadn't known Ryder decided to show up. He never goes to school functions. Why the Hell would he pick this one to show up to? 

He was pulled away from his concern hearing the stagehand call their name. Ryan followed Chris as they walked out onto the stage, the lights focusing down on them. He quickly plugged his guitar in while the teacher hosting went through a speech of introducing them. Ryan sat down on a tall stool beside the mic, taking his cue when it was given. 

"A hundred days have made me older, since the last time that I saw your pretty face. A thousand lies have made me colder, and I don't think I can look at this the same. All the miles that separate, disappear now when I'm dreamin' of your face. 

I'm here without you, baby, but you're still on my lonely mind. I think about you, baby, and I dream about you all the time. I'm here without you, baby, but you're still with me in my dreams. And tonight girl, it's only you and me.