I'll Help You - Rydon

"She was so young..." Brendon whispered brokenly. Ryan thought the singer looked absolutely pitiful, but Brendon truly was heartbroken. "I feel so bad she died..."

"Brendon, you do realize-"

"She was so pretty; I can't believe something so awful could happen to something so pretty..." Brendon continued, staring at the wall and tracing the floor tiles as if Ryan hadn't even opened his mouth.

"Brendon, this is getting out of hand."

"Why did she have to die, Ryan? Her death was so unfair; she was young, pretty and...Gosh darn it...she mattered." Brendon sighed and buried his face in Ryan's shoulder.

"Brendon....it was fish. Not a human being. A fish." Ryan pulled Brendon away from his shoulder and forced him to look in his eyes. "Fish die, Brendon. They aren't meant to live long." He tried to speak as softly as he could, knowing that Brendon was in his 'delicate' state.

"But Karen was special!" Brendon wailed, diving back into Ryan's warm arms.

"It was a fish."

"She had so much more ahead of her!"

"You got the damn thing at a carnival....a month ago."

"Her name was Karen. She was not a thing." Brendon sniffed and crossed his arms, moving as far away from Ryan as he could in the limited space of the bus bathroom.

Ryan face palmed and grabbed Brendon's chin. "I'm sorry, I know it...she..." He cringed, " Karen meant a lot to you. I didn't mean to hurt you feelings."

Brendon's face crumpled and his eyes filled with tears as he lunged toward Ryan again; his skinny arms wrapping around Ryan's torso. "She just meant so much to me!" Ryan awkwardly patted Brendon's back; there was only so much space in the tiny bathroom for two grown men.

"You'll be fine sooner or later Brendon," Ryan whispered soothingly, stroking Brendon's hair, feeling the younger male breathe shakily.

"But I won't..." Brendon sniffed and squeezed Ryan tighter.

Ryan gently pushed Brendon off of him and stood up, getting a bewildered look from the singer. He held out his hand for Brendon and pulled him up when he took it. Ryan kissed Brendon's cheek softly and grinned. "Come on; let's go see if they have a pet store here or something."