Pt. 10 You Hangout With The Cute Guy
"Tyler?"
"Shhh."
"But, Tyler, I—"
"Be quiet." I sighed at his words. He's been shutting me up all day. Okay, well not all day, but maybe a little bit over an hour. You're probably wondering what's going on? Well, I'll tell you. I had decided that Tyler and I hadn't had a normal day together yet, so I came over his place with a mind to do just that. And we were. Well, at least he was.
Tyler was playing some stupid video game when I rang his doorbell. His younger brother, Mike, was the one who let me in. Tyler was too absorbed in some fighting game that looked way too bloody to be legal. He had offered me a stick, which I quickly turned down. After that, I think he forgot I was even sitting next to him. I didn't mind though. Just sitting next to him was more than okay for me. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to observe him.
His dark brows were creased in concentration as his full lips formed a frown on his face. Long fingers flew across the game pad as he did different combos. I had never watched Tyler play video games before. But, I have to admit, it was pretty interesting. Especially when he'd swear because his aviator would get attacked, taking half of his life points. That angered him, since he'd have to do a bunch of other things to get his life back.
"Hey guys, I brought you some snacks. I'm leaving now." Mrs. Cruise had just put a tray of sandwiches and cokes on the table. "Tell Tyler that I'm dropping Mike over to his friend's house. Then I'm going to do some shopping. I should be back soon."
I smiled at her, "Will do, Mrs. Cruise. Thanks for the sandwiches."
She waved a hand at me, "It's nothing. Mike? Let's go, or I'll miss those sales!" She waved to Tyler and me, even though Tyler didn't notice this. "Please, don't trash the house. See you guys later."
"You have my word. Bye, Mrs. Cruise."
They weren't even gone for two minutes when Tyler said, "I'm hungry." He addressed this statement to me, in which I rolled my eyes.
"There's a plate of sandwiches right here. Why don't you just eat some?"
He peaked at me from the corner of his eyes. "I don't want a sandwich. Just hand me a coke." And I did just that. I also continued to watch him play the game as I munched on a sandwich. I was lost in thought, thinking about the past few days with Tyler. I know it's way to early to say that I love him, but whatever I'm feeling for him, will eventually turn into it. I'm not that naive into thinking that just because I have feelings for him that he'd suddenly turn his life around for me. I don't think he's aware that he just has this natural charm that automatically draws females in. Whether he knows it or not, or like it or not, he has it.
"Tyler?" I called him cautiously.
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?" Whether it was the tone I used or the nerves he heard in my voice, I don't know. But, it did catch his attention. He paused his game to look over at me.
His eyes brow furrowed when he saw my face. "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing. Never mind." I shook my head, not wanting to say what was on my mind anymore.
"Come on, Alyssa. Just ask me."
"Ok, I just wanted to know something....." He nodded to let me know I could continue. "It's just, I remembered how you talked about your sister that night. And I just wanted to know how close you were to her. What was she like?" I saw the pained look that flickered across his face. I never wanted to see him hurt, so I immediately tried to change the subject. "Never mind. You know prom is coming up? What are we going to—"
"Like I told you that night, she was my best friend. I could talk to her about anything. And I did. She was the only one who didn't try to change me when I told her about my sexuality." I winced when he said that last bit. That was exactly what I was trying to do, wasn't it? I made this bet with him hoping that I'd make him see that he liked females. He saw my face and laughed. "I'm not saying that to you. I know this thing we have going on is just a game. It's for play." Ouch! Yeah, that stung. It wasn't playing for me, but of course he didn't know that. And I wasn't going to tell him either.
"You don't have to tell me about her."
He shook his head, "I want to. Hayden. Hayden was nice, bold, outgoing, creative, and happy. I never remember her raising her voice, except at my mom when they disagreed about Hayden's boyfriend. She stuck up for anyone who needed it. Even if that someone was a complete asshole to her, if they needed help, she helped them. She also spoke whatever was on her mind. Hayden didn't care how people saw her, as long as the ones who mattered loved her. When she lived with us, there was never a dull moment in this house. She kept us all on our toes. Always on the lookout for her next endeavor or crazy idea." He paused as if remembering something, then he shook his head.
Continuing, he said, "She always knew the right words to say to cheer someone up. Everyone who came across her instantly fell in love with her. I know I sound all cliche and shit, but she was like a ray of sunshine." He smirked at me before continuing. "You actually remind me of her a bit. She never backed down from a challenge either. The harder the challenge was, the better. When she died, she took something from all of us. I remember closing myself off from everyone. My friends and family tried cheering me up, but it never worked. It wasn't until her first death anniversary came around that I snapped out of it. In the hospital, she kept slipping in and out of consciousness. She kept repeated one thing over and over. 'I forgive you. Keep that smile on your face for me, I love you.' And I realized I hadn't smiled for her in a year. The one thing she wanted me to do, I didn't do it.
"So, I got my act together. I realized she wouldn't want me crying over her. Life goes on, it really does. I realized that the year Hayden died. No matter how angry or sad I was, how badly I wanted her back, life continued to move forward. The world doesn't stop because one person dies. I realized that. But, I also came to realize that it's our job to keep the memory of our loved ones alive. And we can't do it by moping around feeling sorry for ourselves. She wouldn't have wanted that for me." His eyes looked glassy, but there were no tears when he looked at me. "She'd like you if she had met you. I'm sure of it."
I gave him a small smile, "I would've loved to meet your sister."
He smiled and it took my breath away. Did he know how gorgeous he really was? "Well, enough of this heavy talk. I'm hungry." He got off the couch, walking into the kitchen with me following closely behind him. I sat at the island that was in the middle of the kitchen, watching him rummage through the fridge and cabinets for something to eat. "You know what I'd like?"
"Can't say I do. But, you can enlighten me." I was going to go along with whatever he said or did. This was his way of changing the topic, making it more lively. So I let him do it.
He leaned on the counter opposite of the island so he was facing me. "I could really go for some double chocolate chip cookies right about now."
A smile found its way to my face. "We could always bake some, you know. My little sister loves when I bake her cookies. But, I don't do it often. She can be a brat sometimes."
He smirked, "You sure you're talking about your little sister?"
I scowled, "Shut up. You want me to bake cookies or not?"
He put both his hands up in surrender. "By all means, bake away. I like them soft and moist." Then he smirked at me again.
Rolling my eyes, I said, "Of course you do." I immediately set to work. Going through the cabinets and refrigerator taking out everything I needed. His mom must like to bake because she had an abundance of flour and sugar, as well as all kinds of chocolate chips. From caramel to dark chocolate to even mint. I decided to use milk chocolate and white chocolate chips.
I got two separate mixing bowls for the dry and wet ingredients along with a whisk. Once everything was in order, I started putting the ingredients together. First, I started with the dry ingredients, mixing them together. Then, I did the wet ones, mixing them together as well. Once everything was mixed I added the dry contents to the wet ones, then adding both chips into the bowl. This is the part that prevented me from baking cookies more often. Mixing all the ingredients together made my arms sore.
"Hurry up. What's taking so long?" Tyler was now at the island, eating a handful of caramel chips.
"Maybe if I had a hand, I'd go faster."
He laughed, "You have two hands, stupid. Did you suddenly forget?"
I turned to him, glaring. "I know that!"
He gave me a mock confused look, "Then why did you—"
"I just meant that you should help me." The dough was good now, so I dipped a finger in, tasting it. It was pretty darn good.
"Yeah, no thanks. I don't like helping in the kitchen. That's a wo—" He was cut off when something warm and sticky hit him in the face. "What the fuck?"
I shrugged, "I was stopping you from making a sexist comment."
He picked up the ball of cookie dough from where it had fallen. "You hit me with cookie dough?" I simply shrugged again. "Oh, dumb move, Lys." He rolled the dough into a perfect ball. I saw it coming before he even drew back his arm. So I grabbed another handful of dough and threw it at him first. He was too shocked. In his state of shock I grabbed the bowl of dough, throwing another at him before running out of the kitchen. I heard him chuckle, "Oh, you're so dead, Alyssa."
I was waiting for him, though. As soon as he stepped out of the kitchen I threw another ball at him. But, this time he wasn't shocked. He now had the four balls I had thrown at him. Tyler threw one at me. It hit me right in my face. Then, all hell broke loose. Cookie dough was being thrown everywhere. The warmer it got, the stickier. We both now had pieces of dough in our hair and on our clothes.
"Alyssa, I've got you now!" Tyler grabbed me around the waist. Even with all my wiggling he was able to hold on tight.
"Okay! Okay, I'm sorry." I was laughing so hard, it was difficult to draw a breath.
"Should've thought about that before. This is a war." He took the remaining dough out of the bowl, squishing it on my head. Then, he took off into the kitchen.
"Tyler!" I ran after him, still laughing my ass off. I found him leaning against the island, smiling. I was instantly suspicious. "What are you planning to do?"
"Even if I was planning something, I wouldn't tell you, now would I?" He smile widened as I approached him cautiously. It happened quick. His hands came around and smashed something on top of my head. It didn't register until the liquid started dripping onto my face. He smashed an egg on my head.
He was doubled over in laughter. In his state of weakness, I grabbed two eggs off the counter, repaying the favor. He stopped laughing and sent a glare my way. I picked up the bag of flour, dumping the entire thing on his head. Because of the yolk, it stuck, making his whole head white. "Oh, you're in trouble now."
I smirked, "Come and get me then." I wasn't planning on running away. I wanted him to catch me. He backed me up against a wall. My breath caught in my throat. He was so close. As I looked at his face, it seemed as if his eyes were searching for something. He leaned down ever so slightly. My eyes fluttered closed. I was so sure he was going to kiss me, but then—
The front door slammed and we jumped apart. There was calm before the storm. "What the hell happened in here? Tyler! Alyssa!" His mom's voice came from the living room.
"Oh shit!" Tyler said before we burst out laughing.