Categories > Celebrities > Panic! At The Disco > But It's Better if You Do
Brendon nervously fiddled with his cufflinks as he stepped out into the common area of HQ. It was early afternoon and he was soon due to the club for rehearsals. The warehouse was empty save for himself and Blanche, the other League members were probably out looking for a leprechaun or something. In agony he sighed as he tried yet again to thread the metal bar through the fabric of his shirt. Slender hands rested on top of his and he happily let blanche take over. He would probably need her help with the tie as well.
He frowned at her sudden roughness when she grabbed the bow tie from his hand and proceeded to put it around his neck. For a moment he feared for his life as she came dangerously close to strangling him with the cloth. "Uh... Is everything alright, Blanche?" Her pink lips nearly disappeared into the tight line her mouth formed as she concentrated her intense glare on the knot.
"Everything's fine," she replied, stepping away from her finished work. He smiled his thanks and went to kiss her, only to be surprised by her avoiding him. "Do you love me, Brendon?" Her voice was so soft and so broken that he could barely hear it. Or was it him that didn't want to hear the words?
He had never told her before how he had felt about her, nor had he ever thought of how to. The question caught him off guard and he struggled to process what had just happened. Love? Love was so... BIG. Love was a concept he was sure he had never understood or experienced. Did he love Blanche? He liked her, yes. He was grateful for her, yes. He thought she was the prettiest woman he ever saw. But love? Something deep inside him ran for the hills.
"Uh... I uh..." Before he could form a sentence, a teary eyed Blanche ran outside of the building. Her departure snapped him into action but it was too late when he called out after her. He started to follow but cursed when he heard a clock chiming somewhere within the warehouse.There was no time now to chase her down, however, because he was running late for the masquerade.
Blanche leaned against the brick wall outside and pulled a red mask out from under apron. Her fingers brushed over the lace before touching her face to wipe away the tears. She was going to find the woman who stole Brendon from her and she was going to... She slid down the wall and landed in a heap sobbing. She wasn't going to do anything, Blanche knew she didn't have a single violent bone in her body. But she would at least find out who took his heart... a heart, she thought bitterly, that she never held in the first place.
-
Brendon stepped into the club and accepted the mask offered to him by one of the show girls. "No need to put it on now, sugar," she winked. He absently nodded his head, his thoughts still dwelling on how he had ruined things with Blanche. In a haze, he walked through the tables to the orchestra pit not concentrating where he was going. "Oof!"
"Woah, pay attention to where you're going!" Brendon muttered an apology but stopped mid sentence. "Sp-Spencer?" Sure enough, the drummer was standing before him, alive as ever and with only a slight cut on his cheek to show for his injuries. How he could be standing, let alone ready for work, was beyond Brendon.
"Yes?" The drummer asked impatiently.
Brendon blinked once. "Uh, how are you feeling? Where did you go last night? What happened? Are you good to pl--" Spencer held up a hand to stop the questions. "I'm fine, I just went home last night and rested up." Brendon blinked again. "Must have been quite the restful night then... I'm gonna go check on... stuff..." He hurried away from the awkward situation and left Spencer standing alone. "What in the name of..." His harried pacing paused just long enough as he hesitated for a proper curse word. After coming so close to passing into the after life he felt awkward using such real words for flippant purposes. He glanced briefly about him and saw the bar. "What in the name of RUM!"
A cigarette girl in the process of organizing her tray looked at him in confusion. He waved her off and stepped behind the currently empty cherry wood bar and grabbed a bottle of dark amber liquid. He took a quick swig and went to put it back but instead decided to take it with him backstage. He needed all the help he could get to make it through the night. He settled on a crate as far out of the way he could get and waited for the show to start.
It wasn't long before the guests started filling in the empty tables on the main floor. Brendon took another swig and peeked out from behind the curtains. Anyone who was important in Chicago was there tonight. The problem was, identifying them while they wore their masks. And if Mr. Rogers was really behind the werewolf then this was sure to be an interesting night, and possibly dangerous. Clarence had enforced a weapons check, but Brendon was sure some weapons had been snuck past. He sized up the men and the women that had come with them. In all honesty, he had no idea what to look for.
When it was time, he took a long swig from the bottle and stepped out to introduce Clarence to the guests and start of the festivities. With a slight sway he walked out to the center of the golden-lit stage and spread his arms to gain attention, all the while letting his eyes wander over the crowd. "Ladies and Gentleman," his strong voice carried through the velvet room. His eyes caught the gaze of a young woman wearing a red mask sitting alone and close to the stage. He winked once at her and continued, "It is my pleasure to introduce our gracious host! I present you with the one and only Clarence Shipman!" He stepped to the side and allowed his boss to take the lead. He looked back at the woman in red and still found her staring at him, her face unreadable under the mask. This was sure to be an interesting night.
A/N: Oh hey! I didn't make you wait over a month for this! Yay me! Hehe, I had a crap day today and totally did not expect to just sit down and crank out a chapter. And then to crank out one for THIS story. Oh that other chapter? Well... the Killyjoys sent a rabid plot bunny my way. I may or may not ever post it. We'll see how far I get into it before I hit a block and see if it's workable. Aaaand Eryn's going to kill me. Because I'm also working on a leverage story and have another Panic story running AND I started writing another one... oh lordy... I'm loosing it!
Hmm I've always wanted to write Brendon as drunk and Brendon as hyper. So now I get to do one of them! Yipee! Thank you to all who read, and my warmest gratitude to you lovely raters and reviewers.
Anyways, tell me what you think! Give me your theories! (oh yeah, please rate too!)
He frowned at her sudden roughness when she grabbed the bow tie from his hand and proceeded to put it around his neck. For a moment he feared for his life as she came dangerously close to strangling him with the cloth. "Uh... Is everything alright, Blanche?" Her pink lips nearly disappeared into the tight line her mouth formed as she concentrated her intense glare on the knot.
"Everything's fine," she replied, stepping away from her finished work. He smiled his thanks and went to kiss her, only to be surprised by her avoiding him. "Do you love me, Brendon?" Her voice was so soft and so broken that he could barely hear it. Or was it him that didn't want to hear the words?
He had never told her before how he had felt about her, nor had he ever thought of how to. The question caught him off guard and he struggled to process what had just happened. Love? Love was so... BIG. Love was a concept he was sure he had never understood or experienced. Did he love Blanche? He liked her, yes. He was grateful for her, yes. He thought she was the prettiest woman he ever saw. But love? Something deep inside him ran for the hills.
"Uh... I uh..." Before he could form a sentence, a teary eyed Blanche ran outside of the building. Her departure snapped him into action but it was too late when he called out after her. He started to follow but cursed when he heard a clock chiming somewhere within the warehouse.There was no time now to chase her down, however, because he was running late for the masquerade.
Blanche leaned against the brick wall outside and pulled a red mask out from under apron. Her fingers brushed over the lace before touching her face to wipe away the tears. She was going to find the woman who stole Brendon from her and she was going to... She slid down the wall and landed in a heap sobbing. She wasn't going to do anything, Blanche knew she didn't have a single violent bone in her body. But she would at least find out who took his heart... a heart, she thought bitterly, that she never held in the first place.
-
Brendon stepped into the club and accepted the mask offered to him by one of the show girls. "No need to put it on now, sugar," she winked. He absently nodded his head, his thoughts still dwelling on how he had ruined things with Blanche. In a haze, he walked through the tables to the orchestra pit not concentrating where he was going. "Oof!"
"Woah, pay attention to where you're going!" Brendon muttered an apology but stopped mid sentence. "Sp-Spencer?" Sure enough, the drummer was standing before him, alive as ever and with only a slight cut on his cheek to show for his injuries. How he could be standing, let alone ready for work, was beyond Brendon.
"Yes?" The drummer asked impatiently.
Brendon blinked once. "Uh, how are you feeling? Where did you go last night? What happened? Are you good to pl--" Spencer held up a hand to stop the questions. "I'm fine, I just went home last night and rested up." Brendon blinked again. "Must have been quite the restful night then... I'm gonna go check on... stuff..." He hurried away from the awkward situation and left Spencer standing alone. "What in the name of..." His harried pacing paused just long enough as he hesitated for a proper curse word. After coming so close to passing into the after life he felt awkward using such real words for flippant purposes. He glanced briefly about him and saw the bar. "What in the name of RUM!"
A cigarette girl in the process of organizing her tray looked at him in confusion. He waved her off and stepped behind the currently empty cherry wood bar and grabbed a bottle of dark amber liquid. He took a quick swig and went to put it back but instead decided to take it with him backstage. He needed all the help he could get to make it through the night. He settled on a crate as far out of the way he could get and waited for the show to start.
It wasn't long before the guests started filling in the empty tables on the main floor. Brendon took another swig and peeked out from behind the curtains. Anyone who was important in Chicago was there tonight. The problem was, identifying them while they wore their masks. And if Mr. Rogers was really behind the werewolf then this was sure to be an interesting night, and possibly dangerous. Clarence had enforced a weapons check, but Brendon was sure some weapons had been snuck past. He sized up the men and the women that had come with them. In all honesty, he had no idea what to look for.
When it was time, he took a long swig from the bottle and stepped out to introduce Clarence to the guests and start of the festivities. With a slight sway he walked out to the center of the golden-lit stage and spread his arms to gain attention, all the while letting his eyes wander over the crowd. "Ladies and Gentleman," his strong voice carried through the velvet room. His eyes caught the gaze of a young woman wearing a red mask sitting alone and close to the stage. He winked once at her and continued, "It is my pleasure to introduce our gracious host! I present you with the one and only Clarence Shipman!" He stepped to the side and allowed his boss to take the lead. He looked back at the woman in red and still found her staring at him, her face unreadable under the mask. This was sure to be an interesting night.
A/N: Oh hey! I didn't make you wait over a month for this! Yay me! Hehe, I had a crap day today and totally did not expect to just sit down and crank out a chapter. And then to crank out one for THIS story. Oh that other chapter? Well... the Killyjoys sent a rabid plot bunny my way. I may or may not ever post it. We'll see how far I get into it before I hit a block and see if it's workable. Aaaand Eryn's going to kill me. Because I'm also working on a leverage story and have another Panic story running AND I started writing another one... oh lordy... I'm loosing it!
Hmm I've always wanted to write Brendon as drunk and Brendon as hyper. So now I get to do one of them! Yipee! Thank you to all who read, and my warmest gratitude to you lovely raters and reviewers.
Anyways, tell me what you think! Give me your theories! (oh yeah, please rate too!)
Sign up to rate and review this story