It's been four years of tears, pain, and never really getting over that one person that made him the happer than anything in this world. All of Ryan's closest friends were setting up lives with their other half's while his ran after his senior year of high school. There's been no good-bye kisses for them-- come to think of it, there were no good-byes either. There was a note that Ryan couldn't bring himself to read even after four years, he still has no idea what were their parting words. That note lays at the bottom of his bottom drawer of his dresser. How can he read the last words his love?

As far as his life goes, well people ask "How's Ryan?" and it's usually one of his best friends who answer. He works at a small bookstore-meets-coffee-shop and that's the only place he really feels like things can be okay again while he's by himself. His boss, Alex Suarez, really liked Ryan and tried to get him to live his life at least a little bit. Sure, it helped at times, but not often. Never after he stumbles on the note, never after Ryan had spent the night crying and second guessing his life and past relationships.

It's been a little over four years since Brendon has graduated high school and left the life he had in Vegas behind. With that he left all the people who "mattered" to him. He kept in contact with no one as far as Ryan knew. No one knew where Brendon went, or had any ideas. It's been a little over four years and it still hurt like all this happened yesterday. When people tell him to give it time and things will get better Ryan feels like screaming "Shut the hell up! I have given it four fuckin' years!" He has never spoken those words to anyone, when he's told to give things time he just nods numbly, because that's all he can do.  It hurt like hell to think his name, let alone say it. So Ryan didn't say it, those close to him didn't say the name or bring up any memories from when Brendon was with them.

Now it's a usual Monday morning for Ryan. He wakes up, takes one of his five-minute showers and goes off to find something to wear to work. One of the best parts about his job was that no one cared how the emploees dressed. So clad in a red long sleeve v-neck and a pair of black skinny jeans and converse, Ryan headed to work. What he didn't realize was that today wasn't just another monday. Today held a little nasty surprise for our little Ry.

Work went as usual, people came up to order their drinks then went to sit down with a book in one of shop's many armchairs. It was a little slow that day and Ryan was able to even serve himself a cup of coffee and grab his own copy of Call of the Wild by Jack London. His co-worker and one of his best friends, William Beckett, decided that he'd call in sick even if he was perfectly healthy. He skipped work to spend a day at home with his boyfriend Gabe. So Ryan was stuck covering double shift for the two of them, not that he was complaining, it was a small bonus for him.

Normally, at noon would be a quick lunch break but with the coffee-drinking-book-reading break that he took Ryan didn't feel at all hungry Even if his gut told him to leave the shop for about a half-an-hour to avoid something bad he didn't listen and stayed put. For the first twenty minutes or so nothing unusual happened, people came and went,  orders were filled books were sold. But not even ten minutes after Ryan filled the last order the door opened and he lost the gift of speech. The man who walked in wore a simple red hoodie, pair of snug but not overly so boot cut jeans and red rimmed glasses. He had chocolate eyes and dark brown, almost black hair. He walked to the register to where Ryan stood white as a ghost.

'Bren?' Ryan whispers, his voice hoarse as if not used for years. 

A/N: I'm Sorry for the cliffhanger there, it's just as well, you'll be rewarded with the other chapter soon!