Chapter Text
“Oh- sorry!” Shane fumbled an awkward wave at the stranger he’d just ran straight into, getting off the elevator of his apartment building. He was late to an important meeting with the Watcher crew. By important meeting, he really meant a casual coffee date where they’d sound off a few ideas, but otherwise goof off. Either way, Ryan was gonna give him shit the whole time if he was the last one to show up.
‘Oh, here comes Mr. Punctual’ he’d say, ‘Real professional.’ Shane grinned at the thought of it. Maybe he’d take his time after all. No need to rush. Maybe he could turn around and change into one of his floral shirts, just to give Ryan more to work with? Nah, he’s already on his way.
Settling into a natural pace, Shane allowed himself to walk on autopilot, disconnecting from the noisy, crowded LA sidewalk he’d navigated countless times before. He racked his brain, calculating some comebacks. ‘Says the guy wearing basketball shorts to a meeting… again. How long did it take you to put that together?’ He was trying to think up a new insult to Ryan’s hair. He could already picture sticking up in all directions, as it does whenever Ryan sleeps in, which is most days. ‘Is that a new hat?’ Shane might question. Not very original though, he really needed some new material.
Pondering this lead to his second act of clumsiness today. Not paying enough attention to where he was walking, he tripped, falling forward, only to be caught by someone.
“Oh sh- I gotcha,” the man in front of him chuckled, holding onto Shane’s forearms so he could catch his balance.
“Uh, thanks,” Shane avoided eye contact. He wasn’t one to feel embarrassed over small mishaps like these, but looking down at the ground, he deducted that the only thing he could’ve tripped over was air. ‘Only a leg monster,’ Ryan’s voice taunted in his head.
He’d caught his balance some three seconds ago, but the stranger still kept his grip on Shane’s arms. When he looked up, he was met with a big, white smile on a very handsome face. The man let go, giving Shane a once-over and, oh-
Shane just thanked the man again, and with a shy smile and a tip of an imaginary hat, was on his way once again. He wouldn’t look back, even if he was curious if the handsome stranger still had his eyes on him. He brushed the man out of his thoughts, as enticing as they were, and went back to his internal dialogue with Ryan.
---
By the time Shane actually made it to the café, he was fifteen minutes late. But that was alright, because he’d been psyching himself up for today’s round of ‘Riling Up Ryan.’ Approaching the outside table where all his friends/co-workers waved him over, he was already wearing a shit-eating grin, searching for his opponent. ‘In this corner… 4’3, weighing in at 12lbs… Ryyaaaan-’
He’d been expecting the man to start drilling him as soon as he got there, but Ryan wasn’t even looking at him. He was looking at a girl Shane had never met before, smiling at her while she laughed at something he’d said, with a look that Shane knew was fondness. Worse, his hair was meticulously neat, and he was wearing jeans.
Ah.
Shane always sat next to Ryan. Not that it was a rule, just no matter where they were, others always seemed to leave the spot next to him open. Today, all of the chairs at Ryan’s end of the table were taken, with the girl sitting in the seat that would normally be Shane’s. He must’ve looked just as inexplicably awkward as he felt, standing there waiting to have his presence acknowledged, because Steven stood up and grabbed a chair from a nearby empty table.
“Shane! Hey! There’s a seat right here,” he sat back down and patted the metal chair between him and Brittney.
This was fine for the first few minutes. Steven and Brittney both engaged him in conversation, but soon the subject took a turn, and Shane tuned out, losing track of what they were even talking about. The two of them were speaking over him, and he kind of felt in the way.
He listened to the various conversations around the table. Brittney and Steven were talking about their grandmothers’ recipes, debating superior cooking methods, he guessed? Fancy kitchen appliance talk went straight over his head. Katie and Anthony sat across from them, discussing something about the lighting work in post production. Despite being on the opposite end of the table, Ryan’s little chuckles and giggles seemed louder than everyone's words. Shane couldn’t quite pick up what he was talking about with whoever that girl was, but quick peaks in their direction told him all that he needed to know. The man was practically glowing.
Shane was surrounded with friends, people who he was perfectly capable of hanging out with one-on-one without Ryan as his backbone, yet he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so out of place. He smiled and nodded along to their words, trying to follow along, before opting to stare down at the table. He noticed that he was the only one without food or a drink, everyone else having ordered before he got there. He decided to take the opportunity to catch a breath, his chair making an awful screech on the pavement as he scooted backwards to un-sandwich himself. He speed-walked to the Cafe’s entrance.
The AC hit him as soon as he crossed the threshold. Until now, he hadn’t noticed the weight on his chest. The man stood off to the side of the line, not minding that it was growing longer. He stared absently at the menu, already knowing his order by heart. This was only the group’s second visit to this place, but Shane coulda sworn it was more vibrant the last time they were there.
“Hey, everything okay?” Katie appeared next to him, her own coffee cup in hand, and gently nudged his arm.
“Huh? Oh yeah, everything’s fine,” Shane’s spoke a little too quickly, inwardly cringing at the heightened pitch of his voice. Katie must’ve noticed, because she got a look on her face that said ‘I’m not buying it.’
“You sure? You seemed a little off out there.”
Shane felt a little off. He knew why; he’d figured out his subtle attraction towards Ryan a couple years ago. But that’s all it was: subtle. He’d been there for the man through various girlfriends, helped him through breakups. And Shane’s feelings never interfered, never kept him from enjoying their time together, or caused him to feel awkward. They were best friends, period. Sure, maybe the sting came in hints, but Shane could rationalize it away in his head without any outward action.
“I promise I’m good,” he answered more genuinely, giving a small smile.
Katie nodded. “That’s good… but just so you know,” she leaned a little closer, gesturing toward the window where their table was in view, “Anthony and Steven are betting on whether you tripped and fell again, or stepped in dog shit on your way here,” she took a long sip from her straw.
Shane followed her gesture, and caught the two of them sneaking glances through the glass. He couldn’t help but laugh. “Well,” he leaned closer to her, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. “Don’t tell anyone… but I did kinda trip on my way here.”
Earning a giggle from his friend made him feel worlds better. He finally stepped into the line, ready to get his coffee and rejoin their friends outside.
---
“I-what? I thought it went like this.”
“No! We never did that! When did we ever-”
“When we came up with it! You were like ‘Uh, Steven, we should do this with our pinkies,’” Steven did his best Shane impression.
“I never said that! And stop- I don’t sound like that!” Shane wildly exclaimed before they stumbled through their secret handshake again, going for different maneuvers and ultimately smacking the back of their hands together. After that episode of Watcher Weekly, Steven had insisted they make up their own handshake, if only to tease Ryan with it. “We shoulda practiced more,” Shane leaned back into his seat, exasperated.
Once he and Katie had returned to the table, she made sure to keep him included in their conversations. As an added bonus, this kept his mind off Ryan, his laughter not quite meeting Shane’s ears anymore.
“I want a secret handshake...” Brittney spoke in a small voice.
“Wait woah woah woah- if you and Shane get a secret handshake, we should have one too,” said Steven.
“Should we all just have our own individual handshakes?” Katie suggested.
“That might get a little confusing” Shane laughed. He let Brittney take the lead on choreographing their hands, while Steven and Katie reached across the table to argue over theirs.
They were giving it one last run-through, making sure they had it memorized, when someone clearing their throat got everyone’s attention. When Shane looked up, Ryan was standing across the table, behind Katie and Anthony. The girl he’d brought clutched at his arm, standing just a little bit behind him, likely shy. “We’re gonna get going now. But uh, Bryce and I were gonna bar-hop later, if anyone wants to join us.” He addressed the whole table, while looking directly at Shane. He definitely wasn’t taking pride in that, not at all.
“Sure, man,” he smiled brightly at the both of them, the sight no longer bringing him down.
“Cool. Anyone else? Steven, you’re in right?” Ryan finally looked elsewhere.
“Hmm...” Steven groaned in the middle of stretching. “Yeah sure, why not.”
“I’m down,” Katie half raised her hand.
“It’s the five of us then.” Ryan confirmed after no one else spoke up, then turned to walk away. “Try not to be late again.” It was a gentle push, preoccupied.
Shane had to smile, though not as wide as the tiny hint of warmth in his chest wanted him to. So Ryan had noticed after all. “Just tryna give ya a head start, shortstack.” Didn’t quite hit the mark, but he still wheezed and flicked him off.
---
“This place is crazy!” Ryan was sat a mere few inches from Shane, and still had to yell to be heard over the bass-heavy music that was hurting his ears, and starting to give him a headache. When Ryan said they were going to bar-hop, he was expecting to visit a couple of dive bars that were a little more tame, maybe play some pool, throw some darts, chat it up. Somehow they ended up in some dark dance club, where the only lighting came from the dance floor tiles and the bar, bathing them in a gentle teal glow. They’d been there for a couple hours without any sign of moving on.
Shane just stuck his tongue out, throwing up some shakas and head-banging for Ryan’s Instagram story. The man squeaked a laugh as he ended it, sticking the phone back into his pocket before returning to his drink sitting on the counter.
This was probably the last place Shane would’ve chosen to spend his time if he had been on his own, but it wasn’t so bad as long as he had his small circle of friends to keep him company. They stuck close together, only separating when some of them wanted to dance, but none of them were ever alone. The buddy system is important!
Katie and Bryce returned from their trip to the restrooms, Katie resuming her seat between Shane and Steven, and Bryce returning to Ryan’s side. She lifted up his arm and placed it over her own shoulders with a little smile.
Not so surprisingly, Shane was really starting to like her. He’d never disliked any of Ryan’s girlfriends, he wasn’t an A-hole. After getting to know her a little, it became clear that she was pretty reserved; she wouldn’t even speak up unless prompted, not unlike Shane when he was around new people. That’s probably why Ryan was so attentive toward her earlier, making her feel welcome. Shane hadn’t brought up the strange awkwardness he’d felt that morning, but he still felt a little twinge of guilt for having felt that way at all.
Bryce seemed to be warming up to the group a little now that there were less of them, even joining in on some teasing at Ryan’s expense.
“I’m sorry Ryan, but Shane’s right. You used way too much gel today.”
“That thing is rock hard,” Shane reached to knock on Ryan’s head, guessing it’d sound like knocking on a door, when the man smacked his hand away.
“I can’t believe this! You two are ganging up on me!” Ryan raised kept his hands in defense.
“It’s not our fault someone fell into wet cement today,” Bryce managed to run a hand through the back of Ryan’s hair before he could catch her.
Shane laughed heartily. “That’s a good one,” he picked up his drink while Ryan put his head on the bar, covering his head with his forearms. “I like her!”
This elicited a pleased smile from the girl, and Shane realized she must’ve been hoping to earn the approval of Ryan’s friends. Well, she got it.
“What have I done?” Ryan groaned while Bryce continued running her fingers through his gel-hardened hair.
The two of them had this sort of bubble they were living in, as new couples often do. They’re attention shifted between the whole group, to each other exclusively. Each time this happened, Shane would turn back to Steven and Katie.
“Welp, I think it’s about time we get going,” Katie said, fishing through her purse for her keys.
Steven was already standing, jacket halfway on with his phone in his hand. “Ooh-” he squinted, the bright screen invasive to his dark-adjusted eyes. “It’s one am.”
Shane felt a little disappointed, exchanging their goodbyes. After watching them drunkenly fumble through their new secret handshake, taking about four times to get it right, they were off.
He turned back to Ryan and Bryce, only to find that they were still completely entranced in their own little world, smiling and whispering something to each other. Well, this sucked.
After a few minutes, Ryan was suddenly dashing off, completely ignoring the buddy system, leaving Shane and Bryce alone.
“Where’s he off to?”
“He’s grabbing his jacket for me,” she smiled gently, leaning over the bar. After a pause she spoke again. “Ryan tells me you’ve known each other for a long time.”
“Seven whole years,” he smiled fondly, reminiscing in his almost empty glass. “What about you, when did you two meet?”
“Brittney introduced us at a party last weekend,” she nodded before giggling. “He was playing beer pong and hit me with the ball.”
“Ooh yikes,” he breathed in with a hiss of second-hand embarrassment before wheezing a laugh. “Yeah, that sounds like Ryan Bergara.”
“Yeah… he got all anxious about it, and he was super kind and, I don’t know, I found it incredibly charming.” She gazed off into nowhere, looking a little dreamy.
“I know exactly what you mean.”
“Alright,” Ryan returned, placing his jacket over Bryce’s shoulders, and suddenly Shane felt like he was in some cliché romantic movie.
Bryce felt that way too. She looked up at Ryan with that dreamy gaze.
Ryan held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”
“My pleasure,” she placed her hand in his teasingly slow, before allowing him to guide her to the dance floor. They were in a romance, and Shane was merely a side character.
Shane… well, Shane did nothing. What could he do? His other friends were gone, and he was never the type who could just talk to strangers. He certainly wasn’t going to dance alone, not when he was already third-wheeling. So, he just sat there, sipping a drink the bartender brought him unprompted. Maybe he could tell Shane needed it.
Without much else to do, he stole peaks at the two. Her, dragging her hands through his hair again. Him, pulling her hips closer.
‘Nope,’ he internally scolded the flip-flopping of his stomach. ‘We’re not doing this.’ He put an end to that, staring at the shelves of alcohol across from him instead, reading the labels.
A minute after the song ended, Shane felt a tap at his shoulder. “Hey.” Shane swiveled his stool back to see Ryan there, Bryce moving toward the door. “We’re gonna get outta here, but uh, this was cool, man. We gotta start doing this again.”
He went for a handshake, and Shane thought it would be theirs. Instead, he got something a lot more bro-y. “Yeah sure,” he nodded. “Drive safe, you two.”
If that had been the end of their interaction, Shane might’ve been fine. He might’ve just finished his drink and gone on home. But when Ryan turned to walk away, Shane caught a glimpse of something in his eyes. A dark glint that he wasn’t meant to see. Shane understood what it meant when Ryan caught up to Bryce waiting by the exit, and slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close as they walked out the door.
He downed the rest of his drink in one go before gesturing for another one. His head would have hell to pay tomorrow, but the anxious churning of his stomach told him that was for future Shane to worry about.
Once his glass was refilled, he swiveled in his stool to lean back against the bar with a sigh. Mostly because he was tired, but now he had a view of the people dancing their hearts out in front of him. He focused on their movements, eyes scanning over all different types of people. A group of goth kids in the corner, obviously way too young to have been let in. Couples grinding on each other. Some frat-boys not even trying to be discreet about checking out the women dancers. Lot’s of people dancing alone finding each other.
He was nearly done with his drink, deciding it was time to go home and pass out on his couch, when he felt someone watching him. His eyes found another’s across the room.
They belonged to a man, umber brown skin, strong jawline, muscular arms. His eyes stayed set on Shane’s as he danced, his gaze sending all the right signals.
The anxious churning in Shane’s stomach melded into something warm, more comfortable. He finished the rest of his drink, and stood.