never mine// tyler joseph

chapter sixteen

it was finally the middle of the tour, which meant that val would get to see tyler and josh preform in columbus. she was beyond excited to see them again. they had only been gone about a month, but still, val had missed their many hangouts. she couldn't wait for the moment where she would run up to tyler and give him a big hug.

val was getting ready now, searching for the newest twenty one pilots shirt tyler had given her a while before he left. when she changed into it and finished getting ready, she got in the car with oliver and aria, and they drove off to the arena.

once they arrived, the security led them to the right side of the stage, where they'd be watching the show. val had been to many shows of tyler's before, but she was still ecstatic to know that she was going to able to see him perform so close.

oliver and aria talked to one another, but val couldn't bring herself to even listen to what they were saying. she was too focused on tyler. she didn't know where this newfound interest in him had come from. of course she had always cared about him, but recently he had just been on her mind so much more often. maybe it was the way that he had always been there to comfort her, and the fuzzy feeling that she got the last time that they hugged.

amidst her thoughts about tyler, the curtain dropped and both tyler and josh appeared on the stage. everyone was screaming, including val. even when the song started and all the fans  yelled out the lyrics, val joined in with them. she jumped up and down and went crazy as if this was the first time that she was seeing them.

during one of the songs, tyler walked over to the right side of the stage. he held his arms up, urging the crowd to cheer. val screamed, and she noticed tyler turn in her direction. their eyes met, and a huge smile spread across his face. she waved at him excitedly, and butterflies swarmed her stomach as he continued to gaze at her with his charming smile. even when he turned around, val could not stop the electrifyingly soft feeling that ran throughout her body.

the whole show, she couldn't stop staring at tyler and thinking about that look that he gave her. it made her feel special, like she was the only one who tyler would ever look at that way.  it made a bit of shame cloud her thoughts because she couldn't remember the last time oliver had made her feel that way. in fact, lately, she hadn't been feeling much of anything around him other than anger during their arguments.

but that didn't matter right now to her. what mattered was how mesmerizing tyler was while  running around on stage and the amazing show he was putting on.

when the show ended, val instantly dragged aria and oliver backstage. there was only one word racing through her mind as she waited for him, and it was tyler.

she noticed him as he rounded a corner, and just like that she was running towards him, barreling into his arms. she embraced him tightly, pressing her face over his shoulder.

"hey," he chuckled, wrapping his toned arms around her back. he was wearing a black tank top, so she could feel his slightly damp skin against her own.

"you did great tonight!" she exclaimed, continuing to hold on to him. she didn't want to let go. but oliver was watching, and she didn't want him to think anything of it. then again, she was so tired of how he'd been acting towards her. she was tired of listening to him. so she held on longer and tighter.

"thanks. i tried to put on a perfect show just for you guys," he joked. he started pulling back, so she took that as her cue to let go. she let her hands lightly linger around his neck as she slowly pulled away too.

"i'm gonna get going. i'll see you later, val," oliver muttered, starting to walk away.

"wait, why?" val asked him, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. he was supposed to be hanging out with them for the rest of the night.

"i said i'll see you later," he replied, and then walked off. she didn't bother to stop him. she knew that tone in his voice. he was jealous again. and this time, she just couldn't bring herself to care. she was with tyler again and she wasn't going to let oliver ruin that for her.

"alright then," tyler said once he left. "follow me."

he led them to his green room in the back, but stopped right before the door. "i'm just gonna change really quick. wait out here," he said, and then stepped inside and shut the door.

"so what was that all about with oliver?" aria asked quietly.

"i don't know. he was probably upset with me for hugging tyler," she replied.

"and maybe that smile he gave you during the show," she said with a slight smirk.

"yeah," val said, trying to contain a smile as she thought about it. "that too."

"you seemed to like it," aria pointed out.

"yeah. it was... nice," she said, not bothering to mention how it had made her feel.

"it was more than nice. it was the cutest thing ever," aria countered.

"okay, sure. it was pretty cute," val admitted.

the door to the green room swung open, and tyler came out dressed in a black shirt and sweatpants. "you guys can come in now."

aria sat down on a separate chair, leaving tyler and val to sit next to each other on the couch. val knew that aria must've done this on purpose, and she wasn't mad about it.

once they sat down, josh came in the room and greeted them with a smile. he sat on the other side of tyler and handed him a bottle of water as he did so.

"so what did you guys think of the show?" josh asked the girls as he leaned back on the couch, taking a sip from his water.

"i thought it was great," aria replied, and val nodded in agreement.

tyler and val looked over to each other, and the smallest hint of a grin curved on his lips, as if he were also remembering that small moment that they shared together during the show. her cheeks warmed at the just the thought of the memory and the way that tyler was currently looking at her. something inside of her screamed that it was wrong. wrong to have these sorts of thoughts and feelings about tyler. but it felt so perfectly right at the same time. at that point, it felt more right than any feelings that she'd had for oliver.

what was she supposed to do about this sudden attraction? oliver had explained his doubts before about them together. he thought that they had some sort of feelings for each other. of course, val always assured him that that was not the case. but things were different now. she wasn't sure how it happened, but all she knew was that the idea of being with tyler was so much more appealing than being with oliver. and if she truly did feel this way, she knew that she had to tell oliver.

but were two years of being with him really worth leaving behind? being away from oliver was such a difficult thing for her to grasp. she had become so used to being with him, hanging around him. but she couldn't deny the fact that their relationship simply wasn't working the way that it used to. when they first started dating, they were all smiles and hugs. but now there was a gap between them, put there by the envy and anger oliver had for her friendship with tyler.

she figured that what tyler had said about falling out of love with someone was true. she still cared about oliver, but the sparks weren't there anymore. she didn't long for his touch, didn't get excited by his smiles. but with tyler, she was starting to feel that little by little.

she thought about her strange dream with tyler, and how he kissed her in it. she was curious as to how it would feel to actually kiss him. to feel his lips against hers and his hands against her sides. to be close to him, to feel his warm skin brush hers. the idea of it was enough to make her head spin and her heart flutter.

just looking at him now, with his caring chocolate eyes and the dimples on his cheeks, she knew that one thing was for certain.

she liked tyler.