I walked through the front door of my apartment and heaved a sigh. I thought I would feel better coming home, but it didn't make much of a difference in my mood, seeing as the place was dark and eerily silent and I was all alone.

A crack of thunder sounded and a bolt of lightning ripped through the dark sky, illuminating the apartment with a bright white light for a fraction of a second.

I flicked on a light switch and gave continuous light to the living room and kitchen. Everything was in its place, left just the way it was before I went to the studio. I didn't expect to get in an argument with Pete, especially about me wanting to propose to Ruby, but I guess he heard it from someone and that was why he called me into his office. I had my bets on that someone being Ryan, because he was the only one I talked to about it beforehand.

I stripped myself of my rain-soaked jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch before walking around the piece of furniture and over to the entertainment center, where I bent down and turned on the radio.

Music quickly filled the apartment, replacing the undesirable silence that hung in the air. Although it was some stupid pop song that I knew would get stuck in my head for the rest of the evening, it was better than the complete absence of noise that would allow me to think about everything that happened that day. And I didn't want to think about what happened that day.

I stepped away from the radio and stood there for a little, Katy Perry's voice filling my ears, drowning out Pete's that had been ringing in my ears the entire drive home.

"I kissed a girl and I liked it," I sang along, dancing my way into the kitchen, where I pulled open the refrigerator door and extracted a half-empty bottle of vodka. "The taste of her cherry chapstick," I continued, closing the fridge with my hip and snatching a few shot glasses from the cabinet, "I kissed a girl just to try it-"

"I hope my boyfriend don't mind it," Someone else finished for me.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ruby standing on the opposite side of the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen, the corner of her lips curled up into a smirk and her wet hair clinging to her face.

"Hey!" I exclaimed as she jumped over the counter and sat on it, dangling her legs over the edge. I walked over to her, standing in between her legs, and wrapped my arms around her back, pulling her close to me. "Ew, you're all wet."

"Well I did walk home," She replied with a slight chuckle, draping her arms around my neck.

"What? Why? You could've called me and I would've picked you up!" I brought a hand up and tucked a piece of her velvet red hair behind her ear.

"I know, but..." She took in a deep breath. "...I wanted to walk home. There's just something I like about walking home in the rain. And besides, the bar's only down the street. You don't need to waste your gas picking me up from a place I can walk home from."

"You're crazy, Ruby." I laughed, causing her to break out into a smile too.

"No, I'm mad as rabbits," She replied.

I laughed. "Wow, you're so funny." I stepped away from her and spun around, going over to the counter where I left the shot glasses and vodka and popping the cap off of the bottle. She jumped down from the countertop and approached me from behind, slipping her arms around my front and resting her head on my back. I chuckled and elbowed her away from me playfully. "Hey, watch it! You're going to get me wet!"

She rolled her eyes and snatched up one of the glasses from the counter, drinking it in one, swift motion. She slammed it down on the counter and smiled up at me. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"If you're thinking about jamming out to Katy Perry some more, then yes," I replied, picking up the bottle and singing into it like it was a microphone before she could object, "No, I don't even know your name, it doesn't matter." I began to shorten the already close distance between us, all while keeping my eyes locked on hers. "You're my experimental game, just human nature."

She giggled and grabbed me by the shirt, pulling me down to kiss me on the lips. She pulled away after a little and met my gaze, smirking. "When your song's over, why don't you come meet me in the bedroom? That way you can find out what I was really thinking of doing."

"But I don't want to get wet," I whined in a playful manner.

"Yes you do," She said, turning her back to me and escaping into the bedroom hallway.

Once she was out of sight, the smile on my face disappeared and Katy Perry's song couldn't work its distracting magic anymore. I leaned against the counter and pulled out the ring box from my pocket, flipping it open.

I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Ruby, I really did. She made me laugh; she made me smile. She knew when to keep her distance; she knew when to stay by my side. She understood and accepted the kind of life I had adopted over these past few years, the life I planned to continue living. She didn't get jealous, she didn't get overbearing. She was my best friend, the love of my life. But according to Pete, if I married her, my life would be over.

Ruby and I had been together for nearly six years, and we'd known each other long before then. We'd been through it all. The good, the bad, and the dirty, including Panic!'s first album. So why all of a sudden did she not fit that "image"?

"Brendon."

I snapped out of the daze I was in and looked up to see her standing the threshold between the bedroom hallway and the living room, leaning against it with her arms crossed over her chest and a smirk on her face. I dropped the box in my hands.

"Please tell me you didn't see that," I muttered.

"See the ring box you had in your hands? No, I didn't see it at all," She retorted sarcastically.

"Ruby..."

She laughed. "Brendon, it's okay! I won't say anything about it until you're ready. I won't even act like I know you have it."

"But that defeats the whole point. You weren't supposed to see it."

Ruby walked over to me and slung her arms around my neck, looking directly up into my eyes and the corner of her lip perking upward. "See what?"

"The ring."

"What ring?"

"The engagement ring."

"Brendon, you're really bad at this." I stared at her for a moment before she shook her head and tugged me forward. "Come on. It's raining, it's late, and I'm..." Her voice trailed off before she got up on her toes and whispered the rest of her sentence in my ear.

My eyes grew wide in excitement.