Unlikely Love

Party

Tyler sat on the living room couch, scrolling through his phone in an attempt to distract himself. Sighing, he turned over on his side and curled his knees up to his chest. It had been exactly twelve days since he had met Josh, and yet, he was still confused about how he felt around him.

Anywhere else, his thoughts would get to him and he'd feel sick to his stomach. But when he thought about Josh or met back up with him, all the pain would go away, if even for a second. The constant storm that followed him around seemed to lighten to a drizzle when near his friend.

He jumped at hearing his doorbell ring, echoing throughout the empty house. Getting up, he walked over to it, standing on the tips of his toes to look through the peephole. A tall man in a blue suit was on the other side, and he shuffled from foot to foot as he glanced at a card in his hand.

Raising a brow, the teen opened the door, looking up to meet the man's eyes. "Um, how can I help you?" He asked, curious as to why this guy was at his front door at 8 in the morning. "Are you Tyler Robert Joseph?" "Yeah." He was a little set on edge by this guy knowing his name, but nonetheless, he continued.

"You have been invited to the Nani Monoteen's party she is hosting on February 29th. It is a welcoming party following the death of your parents. Deeply sorry for your loss." He lost his professionalism for a second to say the last part, extending his arm to hand him a pass. Tyler's eyes darkened at the mention of his parents' death. Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts. Not now, Blurry.

Nani was a close friend of his mother, who had worked at her own job as co-owner of the business. She was locally famous and incredibly rich, basically the complete opposite of Tyler. He knew he would feel puny if he went to the party, but he made a mental note to get up early the next day to get ready.

"Thank you, sir. Um, I need to go now. Homework and all that jazz, you know." He chuckled awkwardly, slowly backing in and closing the door. Letting out a deep sigh, he leant against the back of the front door looking down at the floorboards.

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The next day, Tyler got up early, heading to his bathroom to get ready. He stared at the faded scars on his body. Down his stomach, arms, and legs. For a second, it almost convinced him to start cutting himself again, staring at his hideous body. He blinked back tears, instead going into the shower to wash.

After he was clean, he stepped out, drying himself off before placing the towel back near his bathroom sink. He saw no need to walk around with a towel if no one was in his house but him. Walking over to the closet, he picked out an outfit his father had worn to his mother's wedding. He made a mental note to stay away from drunks as to not spill anything on it.

Putting on his outfit, he stared at himself in the mirror, hating everything about his reflection.

He knew he could do nothing to make it better, so he put on some cologne and deodorant and started on his way out his house. Donovan was fast asleep on the couch, not even stirring when Tyler walked by him and out the house.

He got in the car, starting it up and checking his pass once again. Lincoln 156 Ebony Rd. He knew where that was, somewhere near Josh's house. When he had asked the older boy, he said 142 Lincoln Ebony Rd. or something like that. Tyler briefly pondered how rich his friend was if he could afford to live in a high-class neighbourhood.

He pressed on the gas, pulling out of the driveway, out of his block, and onto the highway. It looked like it was going to be a long drive.