The Oakley Plan (Troyler AU) // ON HOLD

chaptah 3

A/N: Okay so when I said I'd update soon or regularly I guess I kinda lied.... but from now on I'll update much more! :)

-

"How did it go?" Zoe asked when I arrived at the courtyard. "That took a while."

I give her two thumbs-up. "All good. Sally Serves for double dips?"

"You know it!

This is it! Our last day of freedom before the stress and importance of school starts again.

"Too bad we cant take your car," says Zoe as we walk toward the bus stop. What good is it to be a sophomore with a car if I can't take my friends places with me? Zoe and I have the date marked on our calendars - five months and twelve days from now- when I can legally drive with passengers who are not members of my family.

Sally Serves is packed. Zoe goes for Salted Caramel and Coffee with sprinkles. For me, it's Theo's Coconut Kiss all the way. We finish the day off on a high note stopping at a few shops, then bus it back to school where Alfie picks up Zoe and I head home. Summer is officially over.

I pull into my driveway and park behind Mom's Prius. As I step out of my car, I'm greeted by a ball hurling at me, seemingly at lightning speed, and nailing me just above the ear.

"Ouch!" My hand flies to my head. I spin toward whoever it is that just beamed me, expecting to see one of Tyde's little booger-eating friends standing there with a lead foot and a guilty face. But that is not who I see. At all.

"Oh gosh! Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

My heart drop-kicks itself against my ribs. My hand falls from my head to my chest. I blink, considering that I may have actually been knocked out and am seeing things, because the creature coming toward me is not one of the local pack of snotivores. Not even close. This creature, this guy, this five-foot-something guy in Toms and a Sally Serves T-shirt, of all things, is stunning. A Sally Serves T-shirt! His hair, a lilac color (odd, but I love it), is quiffed beautifully, and I have the sudden urge to run my hand through it. And his end-of-summer skin is the color of a marshmallow toasted to perfection. He is hot. And on the ice cream scale? He's not merely Theo's Coconut Kiss like Caspar- he's Theo's Coconut Kiss with hot fudge, whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

I wobble. He hurries over. "Here. Let me help you." He puts his arm around my shoulder, eases me onto the grass and crouches beside me.

My hero.

"I'm so sorry. You kind of appeared out of nowhere," he says.

"A vision," I offer. He laughs. Dat laugh doe. So unique and dorky. I could listen to it all day.

"Did you kill him?" Tyde runs over for a closer look.

Hero guy's eyes crinkle and his lips break into a grin. Dimples blossom on his face, dimples one should require a license to operate. "I think he's gonna make it," he says. Then, with a sublime tenderness he touches the spot where the ball connected with my head. I stare dumbly back at him, not because I've just been clocked in the forehead. No. I stare at him because he is undeniably stare worthy.

"I think you're going to be fine, but you should take it easy for a while." He helps me sit up taller. My quiff has gone all cockeyed from the soccer hit, so I reach up and run my fingers through my hair trying to fix it.

He is still looking at my eyes. And I am looking at his. His eyes! They're that intense blue kind, but with small specks of green hidden in them.

I start to get up when he offers his hand and gently pulls me back to standing. His fingers are nice and smooth. Cheek-stroking fingers? Hand-holding fingers?

"I'm Tyler," he says. "Tyler Oakley."

His skin is smooth, with a hint of pink at the tip of his nose from the sun. Tyler. "Troye, with an e. Troye Sivan." My voice wavers. "It's nice to meet you, Tyler."

He laughs. OOO SWEET MAMA THAT LAUGH. "Troye with an e! I like it. It's different." he says, still smiling.

Again, he looks into my eyes and I look right back into his, and it's like an invisible beam is pulling us toward each other. Closer. Closer.

"I'm Tyde Levi Mellet." Tyde suddenly inserts himself between us, latches himself on to Tyler's hand and shakes it hard. "I'm eleven and one-third years old."

I zone out as Tyde and Tyler have a conversation and Tyler pretends to be interested in his bug collections and such. God, I just want to touch his hair. But is he gay? Eh, if he's not I'll convert him. Somehow.

A question zaps my brain-what about Caspar Lee?

A response zaps back. Caspar who?

The bug lecture ends and Tyde rolls Tyler the soccer ball. "Kick it as hard as you can," Tyde demands.

Tyler looks at me as if to ask permission. I hesitate. Back in the kitchen mom will be wondering where we are-

"Sure. Go for it.."

Tyler obliges, and the ball veers off his foot at a crazy angle, bouncing over the waist-high fence that runs around the edge of our lawn into the neighbors yard. Tyde whoops and takes off after it.

Tyler winces. "Soccer isn't exactly my strong suit."

"Don't worry," I confide. "It's not Tyde's either."

"Whew." Tyler wipes imaginary sweat off his forehead. "So you're..." He pauses. "The babysitter?"

I laugh. "No. Tyde is my little brother. I was just coming out to call him for dinner."

"Ah." Tyler adjusts his quiff and does this adorable thing with his feet. "So, we're practically neighbors. I live over that way, on Seneca."

Hmmm. Not visiting a cousin I see. He turns and points toward town. He's as cute from the back as he is from the front. "We moved in last week and I was just going on a walk to try and figure out where I am." he says.

"It can be very confusing," I say. "But I can help." I mark an X in the grass with my toe. "You are here."

His eyes light up. "Cool! I go out for a walk and I find treasure!"

Am I the treasure? The bliss of the moment is shattered by Mom's banshee wail. "Troye! Tyde! Dinner is on the table!"

I wince. "Sorry. Apparently dinner is going to leap off the table and run away if we don't get right there. Tyde? Come on. It's time for dinner."

"Coming." Tyde tosses the ball over the fence and then scrambles after it.

"Um. Before you go. Do you go to Riverbend?" Tyler asks.

"Yeah. I'm a sophomore."

"Sweet. Me too. Maybe we'll have some classes together."

"That'd be nice." Oh please oh please oh please! Tyde grabs my hand. "Say thank you to Tyler for playing with you." I remind him.

"Thanks!" Tyde skips into the house.

I turn to Tyler. "It was really nice to meet you. See you around?"

"If you're lucky!" He says sassily. I laugh.

As he walks away I sit on the curb and subtly watch him and decide on something.

HE WILL BE MINE!