☾THE MECHANIC☽

22. Information

After Ben stitched you up, Tyler moved so you could rest your head on his lap after you took the pain meds.

He can see small blood splotches from your wounds coming through the bandages. "Have you guys seen the infected?" Ashlyn questions. "I've seen pictures" Logan answers. "Same here," Taylor says. "Alex told me he'll let me know when I can" You inform. "You can't be serious? There's no way you're going to see them" Tyler glances down at you. "I'll do what I must to get all the information we need" You meet his brown eyes. "No..." Tyler furrows his eyebrows. "I don't think we have much of a choice, Ty," You say. "Then one of us can do it" Taylor suggests. "No, we can't risk any suspicion" You refuse.

"What are our thoughts on the fungus thing?" Ashlyn switches the topic, making everyone silent. "I think we should just say screw it" Taylor speaks up, "I mean, either way, our options suck... Right? At least this way though... We're together".

"I agree, it's too risky to assume this isn't real anyway" Logan sighs, "We should definitely look into it but continue to treat this as our own reality for now". The seven of you spent the entire night going over what you knew and what your options are.

After debating for a bit, the seven of you collectively agreed to snoop around the building and find out what the hell is going on in this place. So far, none of you have said to the facility what your 'hallucinations' consist of, so we still have an advantage somewhat and you plan to exploit as much as possible.

You, Tyler, and Aiden stay in the room due to your injuries as the others explore the area. You carefully move off of Tyler's lap to sit up. "You know, I still don't agree with the idea of you seeing the infected in person" Tyler speaks up. You sigh, "Then who else is going to do it?". He opens his mouth to say something but you're quick to cut him off, "No".

"And why not?" Tyler furrows his eyebrows. "Because I care about you too much to let you" Your tone is soft as slowly stand up. "Where are you going?" Tyler raises an eyebrow. "The bathroom..?" You point the door in front of you.

Tyler sighs as the door to the bathroom closes over. "Trouble in paradise?" Aiden snickers. Tyler shoots the blonde a glare, "What?". Aiden opens his mouth to say something but a crash comes from the bathroom. Tyler rushes over to the bathroom to notice it's cracked open so he opens the door, "[Y/N], are you okay?!". He sees you kneeling, your back facing him. You glance back at him, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I accidentally knocked the soap bottle off". You stand up, holding the bottle of soap. Tyler blinks as you place it back on the sink.

You wave your hand in front of his face, "Ty, are you okay?". His eyes meet yours, "Yeah, I'm okay". The two of you stare at each other for a moment until your eyes travel to his bandages. "Let me rewrap your bandages" You glance back up at his eyes. "You don't have to" Tyler shakes his head. "But I want to" You put a finger to his chest, "Now sit". What you call 'butterflies' swarm around in his stomach causing Tyler to swallow as he sits on the edge of the tub. You grab a new wrap and gauge from the medkit Ben left in the bathroom.

His eyes never leave your face as you carefully unwrap the bloody bandages off his torso. He watches as a wave of sadness and guilt flashes across your face. "Stop that" Tyler sighs. "Stop what?" You raise an eyebrow, trying to play it off but you know it's no use. "Stop blaming yourself... It's not your fault" He reassures as you wrap him back up. "It's not that easy, Ty. My reckless driving is what made you like this" You glance off to the side. "It's not your fault, [Y/N]," He repeats as he gently holds your chin, making you look at him, "I promise".

You place your hand on his hand, which is holding your chin. He releases your chin to hold your hand and kiss your knuckles while maintaining eye contact. Tyler watches as your face becomes a shade of pink. Boy, does he like it when he's the reason you become flustered. It makes him chuckle, causing you to cock an eyebrow. "What's so funny, hm?" Your face inches closer to Tyler's. "N-nothing..." Now it's his turn to become flustered.

The both of you are startled at the sound of a knock on the bathroom door. You glance at the door to see a concerned Aiden. "I hate to interrupt such a lovely moment but you guys might want to look at this..." Aiden says as Tyler helps you to your feet. "What's wrong?" You question, walking out of the bathroom. "I swear if it's another meme you made because you're bored I'll—" Tyler's cut off as Aiden shows the two of you his computer screen. Your eyes widen as Tyler grabs the walkie-talkie, "Guys, our parents are here...".

'They've been lying to us...'