Counting Our Stars • Tyler Joseph •

Chapter 8

(A/N: hey lovelies ❤️ I appreciate the reads, votes, and comments! I always love positive or negative feedback because it's how I learn as an author! Please let me know your thoughts/theories on how things will turn out! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and keep voting/commenting :))

• Claire •

It was finally Saturday and Claire planned on having a lazy afternoon. She was curled up in bed, a fuzzy blanket wrapped around her and an episode of Criminal Minds was on for background noise. Her head lifted when she heard her phone ding. She picked it up and frowned at the number but she remembered she and Tyler had exchanged numbers a few nights ago.

Tyler. Hey Claire. Have any plans today?

Claire: Hey! Um, nope! Just a lazy day. You?

Tyler: Care for some company?

The question caught her off guard but it wouldn't hurt to be friends with Tyler. He was mysterious and attractive. Wait, no she couldn't focus on that. She replied with a Simple 'sure.' She had a little while before he would be there anyway. At the thought of the strange guy coming over with her parents being away for the day, a warm flutter in her stomach made her realize she would be all alone with him. If her parents had known she would get a huge lecture.

Claire made sure that the house was as spotless as it could be, the clock on the wall in the kitchen read 12:30 and she wasn't sure how long it would take for Tyler to arrive.

She went to the kitchen and distractedly tapped her fingers on the countertop, wondering if he would be hungry by the time he got there. She began to rummage through the cabinets in the refrigerator to find something to throw together. She settled on making a chicken Alfredo casserole. it was made just like regular chicken Alfredo but with a few extra ingredients.

As she set the ingredients that she would need out onto the counter, Claire looked towards the front door when the doorbell rang. She took a shaky breath and slowly exhaled it as her nerves began to jumble her thoughts already. This wasn't a big deal and shouldn't be. She and Tyler were barely friends and this was just going to be a simple hang out just like at the diner a few nights before. She hurried to the door but waited a few moments longer so that it wouldn't seem like she was eager to have him over. That wouldn't be exactly a lie but she didn't want to seem overbearing.

She opened the door to find Tyler holding a bouquet of white roses in his hand. With a quick glance, she took in his outfit. He was wearing a black and white plaid dress shirt, black skinny jeans, and black and white vans. His usual fluffy mess of hair was neatly Combed. She had wished she had dressed a little better, mentally remembering that she was only in a pair of sweatpants and a simple T-shirt. "Hey Claire." Tyler said, offering her a polite smile. She smiled at him in return. "Hey Tyler, come in."

she stepped out of the way so he could walk inside. He held out the roses to her and he sheepishly glanced down at the flowers before looking back at her. "Um, I brought you these." Claire smiled gratefully and took the bouquet from him, breathing in the sweet set of the roses. She glanced at him, a smile still on her face. "Oh, I love them! Thank you!" She said. "You can follow me into the kitchen if you'd like, I'm going to put these in a vase. How are you doing?" Claire asked as she headed into the kitchen.

"I'm doing well, thank you. How are you? I was hoping this wouldn't be too awkward for you." he responded as he placed his hands on the edge of the countertop. She gave him a puzzled look before digging through a cabinet to find a vase. "what do you mean awkward? I had a great time with you the other night." she replied as she finally found a vase to put the flowers in. She carefully unwrapped the roses and spaced them out in the vase before adding water to it. She placed the vase in the middle of the kitchen table and couldn't help but smile at how beautiful the arrangement looked. "I had a good time too." He told her, his tone laced with a hidden smile.