Prove Me Wrong

Prologue

Warnings: Implied underage drinking, minor angst

Word Count: 901

Author's Note: Not gonna lie, kinda crazy that I'm posting this right now. I've been working on this series since March and have been patiently waiting for the day that I actually get to share it with all of you. I hope you enjoy :)

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"Y/N." Your head flicked up at the sound of your name. "Truth or dare?"

"Um, truth?"

This seemed to be the answer that your friend was looking for.

"Ok, tell us who you like."

You felt your heart sink straight down through your chest. He was sitting right there, completely unaware of the massive crush that you had on him. You thought about lying, but your friend would know right away. Your mouth was dry as you pulled your bottom lip between your teeth.

"I changed my mind. I want a dare."

Your friend rolled her eyes, "That's not how this game works."

"Too bad, I'm changing the rules."

"Ok, then I dare you to tell us who you like."

You raised your eyebrows at her. She simply smiled and cocked her head slightly to the side. Your palms were already sweating.

You glanced at Tyler, just for a split second. He didn't notice, mostly because he was blankly staring at the ground in front of him. Maybe he wouldn't hear you if you said it quick enough.

"Can't I have a different question?"

"Come on, Y/N! What's the big deal about telling us who you like? He's not here, is he?"

You were seriously reconsidering your friendship right about now.

"Fine," you said, trying to buy time. "The person I like is, um-"

Another of the boys chimed in, "Just spit it out."

"Tyler."

You didn't want to see his reaction, if he even heard your confession. Your face felt like it was on fire. Across the circle, your so-called friend was laughing with the girl she was sitting next to and whispering things into her ear. It would be nice if you could just disappear straight into the ground right about now.

"Alright, Y/N, your turn to ask someone."

"Just skip me," you muttered. "I'm going to go grab a drink."

You stood up and walked away from the crowd of buzzed teenagers. The kitchen was practically empty which was a welcome change from the rest of the house. There were still a couple beers buried in the bottom of the cooler, so you grabbed one and popped the top off.

Why had she done that? Tyler was your best friend. You told him everything, with the exception of the crush you had on him. There was no way things between you would be the same now that he knew you liked him, and there was no way he returned your feelings. That had been made clear to you many times.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and replaced it with another long sip of beer. Eventually you would have to walk back in the other room, even if for no other reason then to grab your things and leave, but for now you were fine standing in the empty kitchen.

"Hey."

The voice pulled you back from your thoughts. You turned to face the stranger, already chewing nervously on the inside of your cheek.

"Tyler," you sighed, "Listen..."

He cut you off, "Hold on, let's go outside."

"Ok."

You followed Tyler back through the living room towards the back door. A few of your friends whistled as Tyler held the door open for you, but you ignored it and kept walking. The night was bad enough without your friends taunting you.

"You want to sit?" Tyler asked, nodding towards a stone ledge on the far side of the yard.

"Yeah."

You sat down, allowing Tyler to determine how much space should be left between you. He sat close, but not as close as you would have liked. That should have been expected.

"So..." you started. You idly kicked your legs, allowing your heels to bounce against the wall.

"You like me, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Were you ever going to tell me?"

You turned to face Tyler. He was already looking at you, but his expression was difficult to place.

"No. Our friendship was too important to me to risk screwing up."

He nodded slowly, "I get it."

Silence filled the space between you. You were too afraid to say anything for fear of making things worse. As for Tyler, well, he wasn't really the easiest to read.

"I hope you know that I don't think any differently of you," he finally said.

"You don't?"

"No. Feelings are feelings. They happen all the time. Why should I think any differently of you just because you want to get with all this?" he smiled, gesturing to himself.

"Right," you laughed.

It was hard to tell whether you were more relieved or hurt. Sure, it was nice to know that your friendship with Tyler was still the same as it had always been, but you couldn't deny the pain in your chest from being assured yet again that he didn't feel the same.

"Also those guys are jerks for making you admit that in front of everyone."

You scoffed, "Yeah, they won't be getting any more of my secrets."

"That's what I'm for," he said, lightly bumping your arm.

"I don't know, I might need to start keeping everything to myself from now on. Apparently nobody can be trusted."

"You can always trust me, Y/N."

"Promise?"

You looked over to him again. He simply smiled and raised a hand up, extending his pinkie as he did so.

"Promise," he said as he locked his pinkie with yours.