to all the glowing eyes ✎ joshler

june 23 pt. 2

tyler takes a deep breath and prepares himself for the day. his grip tightens around the handle of his luggage. it's been a while since he's set foot in ohio. it's weird to come back to the place he wanted to escape as soon as he had the chance.

he can feel the difference in the air. this isn't like his dear, beloved new york. big city to big city is almost the same every time, from buenos aires to austin to seoul to london to sydney. somehow, cincinnati feels different to the rest.

he turns around to look back at his manager who's catching up to him. "you walk too fast sometimes," spencer mentions, his suitcase rolling behind him.

it was just a coincidence his old friend studied to be a literary agent. it was just a coincidence that he got tyler this very book deal. the world works in mysterious ways like that.

"you walk too slow," tyler replies with a smile.

"i should've left you in seattle back when i had the chance."

they walk towards the doors, their ride to the hotel already waiting for them in the parking lot. "but you didn't, because you love me," the younger of the two, although that comparison seems useless now, says as he embraces himself to be back in his home state. he's not gonna lie, he missed ohio. even with all the bad memories attached to it.

once the two friends find their ride, they put the suitcases on the trunk of the car and get on the back. traveling from place to place is a standard routine to tyler by now. get on a plane, get to the new place, get to the hotel, do the signing and get on another plane the next day. how do famous people do this all the time? he feels like he's dying if he doesn't take a few days off the never ending routine.

the trip to the hotel isn't long, there's barely even any traffic. it's weird for the big city. there's always cars around, there's always traffic. it is barely 11 am, most people are at work or school so the traffic from those two is long gone now.

the hotel lobby is busy with people coming in and out of elevators and the hotel restaurant. spencer deals with the lady receptionist while tyler wanders around looking at the paintings hung up on the walls. one in particular catches his eye. it's a beautiful painting of a star filled sky at dawn, the edges sprinkled with glitter and metallic paints. the brush strokes and techniques are stunning. he looks at the label next to the frame.

sun's coming up
artist: ashley frangipane

the name rings a bell for him. he's definitely heard it before. maybe it's just a coincidence, he's definitely met a lot of people named ashley. he brushes it off and joins spencer in going up to their hotel room. usually check-in isn't until 3 pm, but their hotel room is ready for them now.

"alright, do we have anything to do today?" tyler asks, leaving his suitcase next to his bed and dumping his backpack on said bed. the straps of the red backpack are worn out, patches cover the holes that have appeared throughout the years. he's never gotten a new one. it's the only piece of his old home he still keeps around. there's no real reason for it.

"aside from getting here? nothing. i guess you have this day off. oh, and tomorrow too. we could go out and explore," spencer's attention is on his phone, checking for any events written on his calendar. without him, tyler wouldn't even know how to leave the airport without having a panic attack. he's a lifesaver.

"i don't feel like it. i wanna stay and watch movies with you."

"tyler, we've done that for the past 3 weeks. we need to do something else. i'll look up a club or a bar so we can go there tomorrow night. you need to get drunk."

a groan escapes tyler's lips as he falls on his bed next to his backpack. he hates how outgoing his friend tries to make him be. he hates the fact that he can legally drink now so spencer can force him to go to bars. he can't count the amount of times he's been dragged to a bar to hookup with a stranger, only for his anxiety to get the best of him and make him run away. the alcohol doesn't help. vodka and whiskey make him get sad drunk, which only enhances his illness in the nastiest way. beer tastes like piss and rum makes him pass out immediately.