A/N: Fun fact: I relate to almost every character I write about except the happy ones. Tyler is a lot like me in this.
***
"Guess what time it is?" Josh screamed, standing up violently. I jumped roughly, my heart pounding at my chest due to his volume. The empty soda can he was drinking fell from in the center of his chest, dropping pathetically to the carpet. But, when I looked up at him, he was smiling down at me, holding his hand out.
We had been talking, just talking, before all of this, and I laughed, grabbing his hand. I hoped mine wasn't sweaty. Apparently it wasn't, because he practically picked me up off of the ground with one hand.
"What time is it, Josh?" I asked, watching him throw on some boots that he wasn't even wearing earlier.
"Time for your first ever football game," he shouted, motioning for me to follow him out of his room. "It's going to be so much fun, I swear."
"I hope you're right."
"See," he said, walking down the steps and into the living room, "this is the time for me to say 'I usually am' but, I'm usually not. But I'm positive that you're going to have a good time. Mercury and James are cool."
"Your closest acquaintances?" I asked, referring to the two friends he had.
"Precisely," he smirked, walking over to his brothers. They were laying lazily on the couch and the floor, sprawled across it like starfishes. This is what teenage boys looked like. Careless and young. Not me. Not anything like me. Though it's not fair to base everyone else's life off of mine. "And it's already six. It never starts exactly on time, but we still need to get there." He explained, turning to the two older boys. "This is Tyler's first football game. It's important, you guys."
"And why are you bothering us?" Jordan asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Because," he smiled, biting his lip. He was walking towards the door, and if found it in me to start following him. "This is a day that will go down in history."
"History?" I teased. "I doubt it's that important."
"Don't ever doubt me," he laughed, chuckling.
"Woah, boys," someone called as soon as he touched the door handle, and it was his mom. "Where do you think you're going? You can't leave without saying goodbye to me."
She was laughing, but it was obvious that she was serious. And when he kissed her cheek, her eyes got this soft, sad gleam in them. I wanted to know the meaning of the sadness, but knew I should never ask. You just don't question people on things like that.
"Be careful," she said quietly to him, and he nodded, grabbing his wallet from the bottom of the coat hanger.
Then, he turned around to look at me, ushering me out of the door. I already had my shoes on because I never took them off, and so we just headed outside. And I was still amazed to find that it wasn't raining. I knew it would take a while to actually get used to that. No rain. The ground being relatively dry. The grass not super squishy. It's all very nice.
But what really got me, was the fact that Josh opened the passenger door for me. No one has ever done that in the entire time I've been alive, and my heart basically cracked at the action. He just gave me a small smile, motioning me into the car. My cheeks were bright red, I could feel it, and I tried to avoid his eyes as I sat down. There was a small smile playing on my lips, and I bit the bottom one in attempt to stop it from spreading.
"Thank you," I said gently, and he just nodded before shutting it. Then, he came around to the drivers side, opening it and sliding in.
"See," he smiled, jabbing the keys in the ignition. "There's only a few things you need to know about after-school things. All you have to do is show up and act like you care about sports. Which is what everyone else does. Are you excited?"
"Should I be?" I asked, my hands shaking gently as I tangle them in my lap. There was a lump in my throat, though it had nothing to do with tears, and so I tried my best to keep my voice leveled.
He glanced at me, moving out of the driveway and on to the street. "Yes." He replied, shrugging. "You should be ecstatic."
The rest of the drive was filled with small talk, but it seemed somewhat meaningful to us. Even if it was something stupid like tissues, we still talked about it and we still liked to.
When we got to the parking lot in front of the stadium, there were teenagers everywhere. It looked like it did in the morning, but they were dressed in clothing that pushed the dress code a bit more. It was all very interesting and unsettling to me. And they were rowdy. Very alive and sweaty and loud. Most were all filing into the stadium, and we followed them.
"Can't you feel it?" He asked me, his voice sounding airy and entertained.
"What?"
"The...atmosphere. It feels beautiful."
You're beautiful, I wanted to say, but knew I couldn't. So I just stuck with what was safe. "Yeah, it does," I said, watching him get money from his pocket. I felt really bad that he had to pay for me, but he wanted me to go and I had no money. Plus, he really didn't seem to mind at all. That's what made it alright, I think. Or, more alright than not.
"Ten bucks for the both of you," some random student said, and Josh handed me the money. The girl in the booth looked at Josh, her eyes looking him up and down in pure disgust. I don't know why, though, but I'm guessing it had something to do with the fact that he was gay. And, as soon as I thought that, she mouthed it.
Faggot, she said silently, her eyes narrowing. It made me angry to see her say that, and I wanted to yell at her, or something. But Josh just shrugged, smiling at her.
"Thanks," he said, smirking, before putting his hand on the small of my back and moving me forward. "Sorry about that," he apologized, shaking his head. "I'm not the most popular student. Which you grasped earlier today, yeah?" You'd think it would bother him, but he just laughed, leading me up some bleachers. He was looking around, scanning the crowd and still hadn't moved his hand from me. It felt so nice and perfect and his fingers felt gentle on my sweatshirt, making me blush again. But, then he waved to a girl with bright red hair and a boy with a small smirk dancing on his face. I don't even know how we missed the girl. They were holding hands, but were looking at us. I was assuming they were Mercury and James. And I knew why they called her Mercury now.
"Her real name is Sally, but she hates it. Thinks it's too basic and old fashioned," he said quietly, even though I could barely hear him over the screaming students. He must have seen my curious gaze. "And because she always dyes her hair red, the name arose."
"Sit the hell down," someone screamed, making the three of them, James, Josh, and Mercury, laugh.
"Can you believe the score?" Mercury asked casually, even though the game was literally just getting started. I was situated between both Josh and Mercury, and so they leaned over me a bit to talk. James looked at me and rolled his eyes playfully, reaching behind her back to shake my hand.
"I'm James."
"I'm Tyler."
"Hey, Tyler."
"Hi, James."
I could tell he was a nice person. He seemed to be the somewhat quiet type, but I didn't mind. Most of the time I was quiet, too.
"So, Josh," the girl said, a small inviting smile directed at me. She looked nice, too, but she intimidated me a little. Her bright red hair contrasted with her pale face, and her light makeup. "Is Tyler your boyfriend?"
"Oh my god," he groaned in embarrassment, eliciting a laugh from the rest of us. "He's not my boyfriend."
"You sure?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Yes, I'm sure," he said. And I can say that Josh being all flustered and uncomfortable was one of the cutest things. "Tyler, come get overpriced food with me," he breathed, standing up, even though we just sat down. He didn't even ask before he took my hand, helping me stand. Maybe it was because he knew I was having a bit of trouble walking up and down something so precarious. These bleachers scared me.
When we got halfway down, an uproar came from almost everyone in the bleachers, some people standing up to cheer. Apparently, we had just done something important. I didn't know what it was, and I didn't really care. Sports weren't my thing. I was just here because Josh wanted me to be. Though, so far, it wasn't all that terrible. Even if I jumped when they all shouted.
"What do you want?" He asked, and I sighed, looking up to attempt to find the most inexpensive thing. If he was paying for it, I wasn't getting anything costly.
"Get whatever you want," he said, noticing my face. "I don't care." His hand felt like fire, rubbing my arm gently.
"N-nachos," I answered, looking downwards. "I want nachos, please."
When we actually got further up the line, he ordered nachos and some random soda for me, a bag of chips and a soda for him, and two hot dogs for James, along with a simple bag of sunflower seeds for the bright-headed girl.
Apparently, Mercury was a vegetarian, and wouldn't approve of James eating a hotdog, but no one really cared that much.
"Thank you," I said shyly, moving my eyes from his. He had on a light green beanie that I hadn't noticed until now, and it made him look boyish and small. Not nearly as small as I looked, I'm sure.
"No problem," he said, "I told you I was going to pay for you."
Oh my god. There's his hand again. In order for me to not fall down, his hand went back to the same spot, and I almost choked. I wasn't expecting it that time, and he just helped me along. Pulling on the swings of my sweatshirt, I went back into the same spot next to Mercury, handing her the sunflower seeds and James his hotdog.
"Really?" She scoffed, her eyebrow raised. "Of all things you could eat in front of me." I knew she was just kidding, but managed to look truthfully appalled.
"Oh my god, touchdown!" Josh screamed, when everyone else did. He pretended to care for about half a second before turning back to all of us. I was eating my nachos quietly, glancing down at my food and the occasional scuff marks on my shoes. Then, something occurred to me.
"Is Dennis here?" I asked softly. I wasn't scared, really, just cautious. We haven't seen him since lunch.
"I have no idea. But don't worry, I'll protect you," he said jokingly, nudging my shoulder with his.
"I know you will," I smiled lightly, taking another cheese-covered Nacho.
"Speaking of Dennis," Mecury said, raising her eyebrows. "I saw the water thing earlier. What happened?"
Josh bit his lip, looking as if he was contemplating something. We were all turned to him now, wondering what exactly he thought of the entire situation. Because truth be told, he didn't have to say anything or get upset when Dennis threw stuff at me, but he did. And it gave me this amazingly warm feeling in my mind and in my chest.
"He was being a jerk and said a few things that didn't need to be said, and, long story short, a water bottle was thrown and then water was thrown. It was simple."
"Is that why you guys ran so fast?" James asked curiously.
"Yep," Josh answered, "He wanted to kill us. Literally."
"And how did you manage to escape that?" She asked, a little louder since they were all shouting and jumping around again. It seemed like we were the only steady thing in the crowd.
Mercury, James, Josh, and I. What an odd group of people. And I knew we wouldn't see much of each other. But it was nice to pretend that we would.
"We just ran. Eventually he got tired."
Josh omitted the part about us climbing the tree and the earnings and the way we hung latched on to the old oak like lifeline, and I was thankful for that. I felt like it was something that was stuck between the two of us, and I liked it that way.
"So you guys didn't get your butts kicked?" She asked, pretending to be disappointed.
"Does it look like we got our butts kicked?" I joked surprisingly, rolling my eyes. "Josh and I really brought out our inner track and field side today."
"Tyler is an exceptionally fast runner," Josh teased. "It's quite a miracle, actually."
And, then, we shifted to other topics. I don't know how, but I was happy about the subject change anyway.
Then, halftime hit and the marching band got on the field. They performed songs that got everyone all riled up, and made the crowd think actually think about watching football. I considered playing in band once, but none of the instruments I liked were used. The ukulele, piano, and the occasional accordion have no need in a marching band. Along with my dislike for physical activity, it wasn't going to work.
"They sound decent this year," Josh said, and I sipped on my soda softly.
"Were they bad last year?" I asked.
"Bad?" Mercury scoffed, "they were awful."
"I still can't believe that director didn't quit last year," James added, shaking his head. "Every football game, we would all cringe when it got to half time."
We laughed gently, listening to the trumpets and the snares and the saxophones and every other instrument that was broadcasting through the stadium. It appeared seamless as the marchers moved across the field, but that obviously wasn't the case. Either way, it looked cool.
As soon as halftime ended and blurred back into the game, our team scored. And then, almost too soon, we won. Everyone was cheering and shouting and throwing popcorn, and shouting about the apparent greatness of the school. There was an uproar of anger from the other school, and all of it clashed together loudly. No one cared, though. Everyone bragged all the way to the parking lot.
"We always win," Mercury said.
Josh looked at her. "No we don't," he said, throwing his keys up in the air and catching them easily. The jingle got lost in the other noise surrounding us.
"We lost almost half of the games we've played this year," James said.
She stuck her tongue out at him, ripping her hand from his. "Look, I love you but don't correct me."
"Okay, okay," he said, planting a kiss on her high cheekbone.
"Stop with the PDA. Wait for your car," Josh teased, shoving the tall boy a little.
"Can do," Mercury winked. "But thanks for sitting with us. It was fun. And it was nice to meet you, Tyler."
I smiled as well as I could. "It was nice to meet you guys, too."
"See you," Josh said, and we turned to walk towards out seperate cars.
And, then I realized that this was my first sports event and that, in terms of a lot of other firsts that have happened to me, it really could've been so much worse.
~~~
"What did you think?"
"I think that it was fun. I liked the other two a lot," I answered truthfully. I did like them both, after all. They were nice.
He smiled, biting his lip. "I'm really glad it didn't suck."
"It definitely didn't suck."
The rest of the drive was filled with The Killers, and his fingers ghosting over mine on the armrest between us. I didn't put my hand there to suggestion any touching, but his fingers tapped the lightest amount on my fabric-covered wristbone, and he hummed to Shot At The Night.
"I'll walk you up," he said, taking the keys from the ignition, a small smile on his face. We were in front of my house, and it was around nine, since football games are usually three hours when you have no commercials.
"I had a lot of fun with you tonight," he said softly, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I really happen to enjoy your company."
"I-I enjoy yours, too," I said. Another true thing.
And then, he did something I kind of wasn't expecting at all.
He hugged me.
He moved forward and wrapped his arms around my torso, pressing his body to mine. And, just earlier, I thought about hugging him, and I was hugging him. He smelled exactly like I thought, too. Woodsy and like cologne and old leather. It was magnificent. So I just hugged him back, wondering why he was getting this close to me anyway. But, I decided to stop wondering and just be with him in the most innocent was possible, because this is as good as it's going to get.
"Thanks for tonight," I said finally, my cheeks bright red. "It was really great."
"That was the plan," he smiled, pulling back a little, but not fully letting me go. I hoped he didn't recognize my nervous trembling, because I felt it. I could almost imagine my anxiety falling on to him like a thick blanket, making him uncomfortable and annoyed. But he didn't seem to feel strange or aggravated, and when he finally fully let go of me, I had spent an unhealthy amount of time staring at him, and he spent the same amount of time staring back.
And then, he was gone. He walked back to his car, his face glowing because of the street lamp in front of the house, and he waved at me. His hand flitted through the air as he drove away. I didn't even think he he was waving anymore. Just sticking his hand out of the window as the air tried to push it back.
That's what he was, I think.
A force that couldn't be destroyed or created. He was Josh and I kind of liked him a lot. Even after only three days.
***
A/N: In love with this chapter. Enjoy :)) excuse any mistakes.