Falling Too (Tyler Joseph)

Chapter 13

On our way out of the recreation center, we ended up getting stopped by Madison. I quickly noticed that she didn't seem as uneasy around me as usual when we look at each other.

"Hey, mom and dad wanted me to tell you that Zack and Jay are going to be at the restaurant tonight."

An excited grin sprung up on Tyler's face, "Seriously? That's awesome!"

Right when his sister went to reply we were all shocked to witness Chase approach us.

"Tyler, Ashley? Do you guys have a minute?"

I glanced over to see Tyler's unsure expression, but he said, "Sure."

Chase let out a huff of air before speaking, "I've been doing a lot of thinking and I realized the way I have treated you both was uncalled for. Especially you Tyler. I figured out that I was behaving like someone I never want to be."

I pretended to not notice the glance he sent his dad's direction from across the room before continuing to talk.

"I'm not expecting you two to forgive me, but I just wanted you to know that I'm truly sorry."

Tyler nervously licked his lips before saying, "Okay, thanks, Chase."

Chase nodded, sending us both an awkward smile and hurried back the way he had come.

"Alright, so are you ready to get out of here?" Tyler asked me, clasping his hands together while looking like he was raring to go.

As soon as I nodded he told Madison a fast goodbye and we rushed to his car. Since he had a firm grip on my hand I had no choice but to tag along with him and leave my car behind. I decided that I would ask him to drop me back off here after he was done with me. When we reached his house I relished in the quiet around us once we were inside.

"Follow me." Tyler instructs and gestures for me to do so.

I was surprised that he turned to a door that I had never seen open before, but to be fair it wasn't like I ever really went anywhere other than Tyler's room. He opened the door to reveal a darkened staircase going down to what was probably the basement. I carefully trailed behind him and when we reached the floor the light flicked on to expose a space that resembled a makeshift music studio. Tyler made his way over to a keyboard and a microphone set up in the back corner of the room.

"Is all of this yours?" I question as I approached his equipment.

He nodded as he sat down behind the piano, "So, I happen to know that you've heard me play at church."

I felt all the blood drain out of my face at that statement, but before I could utter a single word Tyler spoke again.

"And I kind of figured that you might want hear the entire song this time. You do want to hear it, right?"

I chuckled grabbing a stray folding chair and sat in front of him. "Of course I do. It's been stuck in my head since the first time I heard it."

"Well, I'll play it for you until it finally gets out then." He tells me with a grin and turned on his keyboard.

A second later the melody I was beginning to grow familiar with met my ears. I watched Tyler intently, noticing that every now and then he would jerk a little. For some reason, I found his twitching oddly fascinating, but Tyler has always been so interesting to me. I would never let him know that though. I thought over what he had said about basically playing the song over and over until I was sick of it. Now I honestly hope that Tyler's song will stay stuck in my head, so I can keep hearing it forever. When the song came to an end he gave me a look that put me in mind of an expectant child waiting for approval.

I almost began to clap, but I abruptly put my hands back in my lap since I felt it would be silly. So I just commented, "That was absolutely wonderful."

"Well thank you." He replies modestly, but the smile he is sporting tells a different story. He was obviously ecstatic. "So I was wondering, would you want to go with me to my birthday dinner?"

I shuffled around in my seat and wrung my hands as I answered, "Do you think your family will be fine with me being there?"

"Of course they will be, either way, it's my birthday and I can do what I want." He informs me with a smug grin.

I bite the inside of my cheek before saying, "Alright, when are we leaving?"

I watched him pull out his phone to check the time murmuring, "I guess we could head out now."

A moment later we went back upstairs and I was a bit stunned to find someone I had never seen before stepping out of the kitchen.

"Zack, what are you doing here?" Tyler questions from behind me.

"Not much broseph, I didn't expect you to still be here. So who's this?"

Tyler moves to stand beside me saying, "This is Ashley."

Zack's eyebrows shot up and a smile took over his features, "Really? Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I'm Tyler's brother Zack."

From his statement, I gathered that Tyler had mentioned me to his brother at some point. Now I couldn't stop wonder what was said. I decided to brush aside my thoughts for the time being and shook the hand Zack extended to me saying, "It's good to meet you too."

"So, do you guys want to just ride with me since we're all going to the same place?"

"Sure." Tyler and I replied at the same time.

That only making Zack's grin wider, "Okay, let's go."

Outside there was another guy sitting in the passenger seat of the car that I assume is Zack's. He waved at us enthusiastically as Tyler remarked, "Jay's with you? I'm starting to feel like you guys are up to something."

Zack shrugged, "Maybe we are."

Tyler rolled his eyes muttering, "Oh great."

Zack only chuckled and hurried to get behind the wheel while Tyler and I got in the back right after.

"Sup birthday boy?" Jay asked turning around to high five Tyler and then immediately moved his focus to me, "You're Ashley, right?"

It was hard to miss the glare Tyler sent his way despite the shock I was feeling. Tyler had talked about me to both of his brothers.

I did my best to keep my voice steady as I answered him, "Um, yeah that's me."

Jay smirked, "It's nice to be able to put a name to a face at last."

Tyler looked like he was ready to jump out of the car even though we were driving now and it was clear that Jay was getting a kick out of all of this. I don't know if Jay was joking or not, but his words still got me thinking about what might have been said. I contemplated over it the whole ride to the restaurant, why would Tyler bring me up? Was it possible that he might like me too?