I Just Hope You See Me

Ryan Cotter. 30. Resident of ashton, tennessee.

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

“Oh shush, you know you love having me around and that your life would not be the same without me in it.” She smiled brightly back at him, even though she was clearly only joking. She knew very well she could be a handful to deal with. She laughed again, “Wow, Ryan. What kind of scarf is it? Cashmere?” She teased him back with a smirk. She rolled her eyes at his following words, expecting as much from him to say the least, “Yeah.. Sorry I didn’t put it in my weekly email blast.” She said, her tone making it clear she was being sarcastic, “No, Ryan! I am not telling you any more. If anything, you will just scare him away or something..”

“No, my life would probably be a lot better without you in it I’d say. Definitely a lot quieter” he joked, shaking his head. “Maybe it is cashmere- admittedly I don’t own many scarves, they’re not really my style” he said, watching as she talked again. “We finally find someone to take your annoying ass off my hands and you think I’d scare them away? Whoever he is, he’s my savior” he teased her. “Come on, I’m not going to do anything, tell me who he is”

[ryanncotter]

ghostlyxz​:

Zelda nodded a bit at the man, her curiosity begging to ask why he didn’t drink but her rational side told her it wasn’t her business. She decided to listen to rationality for once and kept silent on the matter. “Ahh” She nodded, “Well, You could have been wanting to order some food or something possibly” She smiled “You know, Options” she teased.

Ryan smiled a little, “Food doesn’t sound too bad actually” he said as he looked at her. “You hungry? I could get you something” he offered, in a friendly tone. 

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

Verity laughed, “I am not wrong though, I mean come on,” She paused as she let her hand gently run over the fabric of his suit, “Feels a lot cheaper than I am sure it is.” She continued to tease, as one of her favorite things was to make fun of him whenever she could. “Oh I um.. I spent it with a guy I am seeing.” She said with a slight smile, thinking that would come as just a big of a surprise for him as it was to her. 

“You’re insufferable” he said with a laugh, knowing she was only kidding. “I’m going to get my most expensive scarf and choke you with it one day, I swear” he said before looking at her shocked when she said she was seeing someone. “Woah- woah, back up, you just spent the holidays with a guy you’re seeing and this is the first I’m hearing of it?!” he said, shaking his head. “I need the details, all of them- Who is he?”

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

Verity laughed back at him, “I wouldn’t exactly go that far to say it applies to all the time.” She teased him with a wink. “Ah right, that is good to hear. I am glad you have been good.” She smiled back at him. “Yeah no I’ve been good as wellI guess.” She nodded, despite it being her first Christmas alone in Ashton without her family at all, she was just glad things has worked out in her favor and that Colton had invited her to spend Christmas with him.

“Oh you dick” he said with a laugh, knowing she was just teasing him since often his suits cost more than her rent. “Thankfully my friends and family have given up on trying to get me to participate in their Christmas festivities, so I’m fantastic” he said with a nod. “What did you do for Christmas?” he asked, figuring she just would’ve been with Brendon if anything.

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

closed | @ryanncotter​

 Verity was leaning up against the wall with her arms cross in front of her chest while trying to spot a familiar face in the crowd. She was getting bored and was contemplating going home early, when her eyes landed on Ryan. She cocked her head a bit to the side, letting out a soft sigh, before she decided to approach him. Sipping off her drink, as she tapped his shoulder with a slight smile on her lips, “Hey you.” She said, scanning him a little with her eyes, “Who knew you could clean up this nicely?” She teased. “How have you been?”

Ryan was enjoying his time alone at the party. He used to be someone who would go and talk to everyone and be the life of party, but since his sobriety he preferred to stick to himself and stay relaxed. He turned his head when she tapped his shoulder, “Oh hey” he smiled, looking down at his suit and then back at her. “I dress nicely all the time, what’re you talking about?” he shook his head, “I’ve been good, nice and relaxed. Everyones been going around freaking out about Christmas but luckily for me, I don’t celebrate it so I’ve had a very calm December. How about you?”

[ryanncotter]

ghostlyxz​:

Date: October 31

Time: 10:00pm

@ashtontnhqstarter​

Zelda pushed her way through the crowd of people, heading towards the bar. She needed another drink, she stood next to the bar and ordered. Her eyes scannin across the sea of people in an attempt to find someone she knew. Grabbing her drink she took a long sip and closed her eyes, music pounding in her ears. She opened her eyes a moment later, deciding to stay near the bar as dancing had made her a bit too hot. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to block you” she said noticing someone standing beside her and moved a bit out of the way in case they were trying to get to the bar.

Ryan turned his head a little when he heard the voice, looking between her and the bar beside them, “Oh no- don’t worry about it you’re not blocking me” he assured her before shrugging. “I don’t drink, so that spot at the bar is all yours I have a uh-” he said before holding up his water bottle, “I have a water already, so I’m good. But thank you”

[ryanncotter]

[ryanncotter]

callmeshep​:

“You know I’m really going to need my Mom to stop asking me when I’m going to give her grandchildren” Shep let out a long sigh. “Because then there’s that fun conversation of how I’m single and then it turns into ‘well why don’t you find a nice girl’ which is always a joy” He rolled his eyes. “Just because she had me when she was my age doesn’t mean I’m on that same timeline” He ran a hand through his hair before typing a few more things into his laptop. “She’s going to start a Match.com profile for me at this point I’m sure”

“I thought moms were only really like that in movies” he said, shaking his head. He didn’t have a relationship with his mom so he was pretty much clueless about what having one would actually be like, but he’d never thought they would want to be that involved in their kids love life. “Let her set up the profile, you don’t have to actually use it. Or make up some fake girl to get her off your back or something”

[ryanncotter]

miranda-c-brandao​:

It was really frustrating how negative some people were all the time and she could only imagine how exhausting that must have been. However, there was nothing much she could do about it anyway so she simply shrugged again at his words. “You could do a lot of good with that other money. At least it would be good for something then.” She mumbled as in her opinion that was dirty money and she would never touch it even if she had the chance to, unless it was to help those in need so it was at least doing some good after all the pain it brought upon others beforehand. But that was probably just her. “How old are you?” She asked curiously, a little surprised since she thought he looked younger. “I don’t blame you. Many don’t make it to their 30s in that kind of business.” Mira sighed in response. “But since you’ve been proven otherwise now, maybe things could change for you?” 

Ryan looked over when she mentioned doing something good with the money that he’d acquired over the years. “Huh...I hadn’t thought about that” he said, which was true. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help people or donate his money toward good causes, it was just genuinely something that had never crossed his mind before. “I’m 30″ he said with a nod. He shrugged, “Eh, I don’t know. Don’t think I’m much of the settling down type”

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

 Verity glared at him, “Well you better not tell anyone because I know where you live, and work.” She warned him, before her lips quirked into a slight smile. “Okay fine.. I mean, the guy isn’t.. Known for being the best, like even I have made out with him..” She said, shrugging, “I just promised Brendon I’d give him a chance, so I am going to.. Stay true to my word, not matter how salty I might get.”

“You’re not very threatening, I hope you know that” he said as he looked back at her, shrugging when she said the other guy wasn’t the best. “What’s so bad about that? It’s probably better he go for a guy with experience anyway, since I’m pretty sure Brendon has none. Maybe the guy can teach him a thing or two” he said with a quick wink and a smile. “Keep me updated, I’m invested now”

[ryanncotter]

miranda-c-brandao​:

At this point, Mira was really not sure what to think about the older man, who was seated in front of her. She was just concerned about his friends, because nothing was worse than someone disappearing on you without knowing what happened and she didn’t wish that upon anyone. It wasn’t like she thought for second this guy would take advice from anyone, certainly not her but she couldn’t help herself either. “I’m sure they appreciate that. “ She told him truthfully. “That’s good. You could always keep your bar and make yourself a nice life on an isle or something with the income you have.” Mira reassured him, as it sounded like a great option to her. She looked at him carefully for moment, wondering whether or not it was a good idea to ask but she was too curious not to. “Did you never feel like settling down?” 

“They don’t know that I ever wanted to leave, so there’s nothing for them to appreciate” he shrugged, knowing that he’d never told any of his friends about his desire to move away and restart his entire life in another country. He looked back at her, “I don’t have my bar for the money, god knows I already have plenty of that” he said, figuring she’d know that he was rich because she knew how he acquired most of his wealth. “I never thought I would make it to this point in my life so no, I never thought about settling down. I always thought I was going to be dead before I turned 30″ he shrugged, that being a reality that he’d unfortunately gotten used to. 

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

 Verity nodded her head at him, “Alright, I believe you.” Sh told him, as he had really never given her any reason not to. “Ah right! How silly of me.” She had rolled her eyes a little at him before chuckling ever so slightly at his words. Not that she was overly surprised. Verity’s hand remained crossed in front of her chest while listening to him speak, rolling her eyes again before tugging at her bottom lip again, “Okay fine.. Just.. Don’t tell anyone.” She said, her tone of voice was harsh, she knew she needed to tell Brendon and it was not a conversation she was particularly looking forward to having. “Yes well.. I am only human I make mistakes. Besides, you obviously knew already and you were making me annoyed..” She excused herself, feeling rather bad about the whole thing in general.

He was glad that she believed him so easily when he lied, though a small piece of him felt guilty about needing to hide so much of who he was from someone he was close with. It never felt good, having friends that you felt you needed to hide half of your life from. “Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone. I’ve known for years and I haven’t told anyone, it’s really not any of my concern. I’m glad he found a guy, he’s a good kid” he said with a small shrug, it not being a big deal to him at all.

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

 Verity had glared at him ever so slightly when he spoke, “Hm, I am not so sure about that, but if you say so. I trust you.” She’d shrugged as Ryan had never given her any reason to believe otherwise. she laughed when he called her traitor again, “Oh come on, you are no fun! You need to check out the competition. Besides, the waitresses there are rather attractive, I am sure you’d enjoy yourself.” She teased him further. Verity scoffed a little under her breath, “What on earth makes you say that?” She had asked him out of curiosity. She was not sure wether to tell Brendon or not that Ryan knew.. Or was suspicious even though he was a rather stubborn soul, very much like herself. She figured she’d need some more information before she made up her mind.

Ryan shrugged a little, “There’s really not much to know. Everything that is even remotely interesting about me, you already know. So all that’s left is the boring stuff” he said nonchalantly. He was always a convincing liar, of course that came with his previous occupation. “If you must know, I am already very familiar with the wait staff at Scotties so I don’t need to go there to meet women I already know” he said with a small smile before looking back at her. “Oh please, it’s so obvious. As a proud non-heterosexual male myself, I know a gay guy when I see one and Brendon has it written all over his face. I just know- I can’t explain why but I do” he said with a shrug. “Honestly I wasn’t sure that you knew until you started telling me about the person he liked- you’re not very smooth with the cover ups by the way, you almost said ‘he’ and ‘him’ a few times but you caught yourself and you probably thought I didn’t notice”

[ryanncotter]

miranda-c-brandao​:

Mira wrinkled her nose slightly, once her eyes landed on some drunks. She generally tried to avoid places like this, because she knew how some people could get with too much booze in their systems. While she hated being on high alert all the time, it was kind of a self defense mechanism. It was hard for her to relax without having someone around her she could trust. But she knew she couldn’t always run from situations like these and had to get out of her comfort zone. “That makes sense! But your friends would miss you. You should at least leave them a note to let them know you’re fine. Especially after what is going on here so they don’t get worried.” Mira suggested, always thinking about everyone else’s feelings first. It was a trait of hers she couldn’t shake off. Her own plans were quite different from the ones he’d just mentioned, not that it was surprising in any way. “If it’s your dream, you should do it if you have the chance to!” Even though she didn’t trust him, she still encouraged him to follow his dreams. 

Ryan shrugged when she said he should tell his friends when he was leaving the country. She was right, and he knew it. Admittedly his inability to completely ghost his friends was the only thing that stopped him from fulfilling his plan to disappear to another country. “Evidently I’m too nice to just disappear without saying anything to my friends, hence why I haven’t already gone” he said, taking another sip of his water. “I can definitely do it, I mean I have the money to do it, so I’m sure I’ll go eventually”

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

 “Hm, maybe not.” She said, as while thinking about it, it made sense. “Wait what?” She said, still surprised, “Honestly, how did I not know about this in all the years I have known you.. Makes me wonder what else I many not know.” She’d winked at him a bit teasingly, but she was rather curious. She thought about his words for a seconds, “I’d still tell you to change it.” She shrugged with a teasing smile on her lips, “Oh no and here I was going to invite you to join me next time, because trust me; there will be a next time.” She laughed, before shaking her head. Verity felt her mouth drop ever so slightly at his words, “Wh.. What are you talking about?” She was quick to say, “Brendon isn’t gay, Ryan.” She added, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she was getting rather defensive over her friend.

Ryan couldn’t hide the small smile that formed on his face when she said she wondered what else she didn’t know about him. Truthfully, she didn’t know much about him, and he was very good at keeping it that way. “There’s not much to know about me, I’m not very exciting” he said, which was not true. He shook his head again, “Nope, I’m not going to Scottie’s and neither are you, traitor” he said before looking back at her when she denied Brendon was gay. “You’re not very convincing. Relax, I’ve known he was gay for years I’m not going to tell anyone. He can come out on his own terms when he wants, I really don’t care” he shrugged, “But don’t waste your time trying to lie to me and say he isn’t, I’m not blind and he’s not subtle”

[ryanncotter]

itsveritysinclair​:

 “Trust issues.. Figures.” She’d smirked back at him a bit teasingly, which she kind of already knew. He seemed to be rather protective of certain things, which to her was fair enough. “You? Clean your own office? That is something I’d pay to see.” She chuckled a little under her breath, before she proceeded to step a bit closer to him. Laughing when he called her a traitor. One could say many things about Verity, but she was loyal above anything else. “So you should probably look into doing something about yours, ‘cus I am for sure going back unless you do.” She had responded, taking a seat opposite him, rolling her eyes when he said obviously, “I did.. And it went well, all things considered. I have decided to give her a chance. To get to know her a bit better.”

“I don’t think anyone trusts less than me, if we’re being honest” he said, knowing that his trust issues were very apparent, especially when it came to his business. “Why do you sound so surprised that I do my own cleaning? You know I clean my house myself right?” he said with a small laugh, shaking his head. “What if I told you that was my grandma’s wing recipe and you deeply offended me by saying they weren’t the best? It’s not, but still. I’ll look into it, but if I ever catch you at Scottie’s I’ll kill you” he said, shaking his head, obviously kidding. He nodded a little, looking back at her. “Good, good. Well I hope you end up actually liking Brendon’s boyfriend” he said, with a little smile, not bothering to pretend that he thought she was talking about a woman. 

[ryanncotter]

miranda-c-brandao​:

The one thing the two of them seemed to have in common was the constantly observing everything. Mira tended to to do that a lot, especially around crowds - unless she was with someone she could really trust, which rarely happened. She learned to be very discrete about it but right now, she was with someone she didn’t trust in a place she didn’t trust either. Miranda tried not to let it show as she listened to his words. “I guess. We never know what’s going to happen next. I just hope they’ll sort things out and everything calms down.” She shrugged, but if she was being honest, any place was better than the ones she’d been to before so there was that. “Where to?” Miranda asked him curiously, not really sure if she wanted to stay here forever either. 

He’d noticed that she was just as paranoid as he tended to be in locations where he didn’t fully know everyone there, not that he could blame her. They had very similar reasons for keeping an eye out, not that she’d ever know how similar the two actually were. “I don’t know where yet” he said with a shrug, “But when I go I won’t be telling anyone where I’m going, I’ll just disappear and not be heard from again” he said, that having always been his plan for his retirement. He wasn’t one who liked attachments, so he really did try to stay at a distance from people, though he’d failed at that considering he now had people in his life that he really cared about. “That’s my dream retirement, just fucking off to some other country and telling no one”