Freak (Troyler AU)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

*Tyler's POV*

Two week time skip

"Troye, that looks like crap." I groaned, reaching around him to rearrange the cans he'd set up. I appreciated that he wanted to help me out, but there were some things he just totally sucked at. One of them, was making cool window displays. You'd think he'd be better at it than me, considering how creative he was in every other aspect, but I guess not. He let out a heavy sigh, turning around to glare at me.

"Well, it's not like I'm getting paid to do it." He huffed, disappearing out of the display case and leaving me to do it myself. I mean, he did have a point, he was only doing any of this to help me out. I'd mentioned him getting a job with me a couple times, but he'd simply brushed me off saying he wasn't into the whole 'working' or 'interacting with strangers on a regular basis' thing. I'd tried to correct him and say that he already did those things while he helped me out, and that the only thing that'd be different was he'd get a paycheck, but he wasn't hearing it. I guess he was intimidated by the idea of getting his first job or something, who knows.

I jumped, hearing the bell ring and alerting me there was a customer. I scrambled to finish the set-up, knowing they'd need some time to shop anyway. I scrambled out a minute later, just in time to watch the person leave.

"Troye, did you get them?" I called, walking toward the front as I spoke. I rolled my eyes dramatically when I caught sight of him, his feet propped up on the counter and a jar of Nutella in his hands. "I hope you paid for that."

"Of course I did, I'm not a criminal... Though I might be if I had no other means of getting Nutella." I sighed at this, knowing he was probably telling the truth. If I'd learnt one important fact about Troye in the past two weeks, it was that absolutely nothing meant more to him than the chocolate breakfast spread. It was actually concerning, the fact he could sit there and eat an entire jar, but I didn't voice my concerns out loud. I mean, it probably wasn't any less unhealthy than his binge junk food eating.

"Did you serve that customer?" I asked, deciding to veer the conversation away from Nutella for a change. I slid into my seat beside him, scowling when I realized he'd swapped the uncomfortable wooden one for my cushioned spinning chair yet again.

"Yeah, he was just getting a pack of gum."

"Did you have your feet on the counter when he was here?" I asked, glaring at his feet. He sighed heavily, slowly removing them and giving me a guilty little smile. I groaned, sinking down further in my seat. "Troye!"

"He didn't seem to mind."

"If anyone ever complains about it you realize Bruce is going to think they're talking about me. Believe it or not, I don't do this job for fun like you, I genuinely need the paychecks." I snapped, crossing my arms and giving an exasperated huff. I was still glaring in the general direction of absolutely nothing when I felt something brush against my lips. I furrowed my brows, backing up a bit to see what it was. I rolled my eyes when I recognized the plastic spoon, a mouthful of Nutella on it.

"Cheer up, grumpypants. I'm sorry." He whispered, making any shred of anger I'd had a second ago dissipate. I wasn't even all that into Nutella, but I wasn't about to shrug his offering off either. Troye offering to share his favorite food was not something to be taken lightly. I opened my mouth, surprised when he actually fed me gently instead of doing something annoying like smearing it all over my face. He must actually be worried about me being mad. "Is it delicious?"

"Mmmm." I hummed, nodding my head as I swallowed. He smiled contently in reaction, obviously considering the subject resolved. Apparently Nutella was a peace offering you just couldn't reject or something. I decided to go along with it, considering I wasn't all that into the idea of fighting with him anyway. I settled back in my chair, watching him scrape the last of the remnant's out of the bottom of the jar.