The past two weeks were the most stressful for Tyler. He was feeling hella hectic lately even if his life was moving fairly slow. The boy tend to space out like the whole world disappeared right in front of his nose. He had so much on his mind and it was tearing him apart from the inside since he couldn't tell anyone, not even his closest friends. Charlie and Jared would've understood but Tyler had a crippling fear of rejection. He didn't trust people as much as he should've. Charlie and Jared would've walked through fore ten times just to get to Tyler but the boy still felt like he's being annoying. He kept his distance and didn't talk about his personal issues as much to not raise any suspicion. Exactly that kind of behaviour rose false allegations no matter how much Tyler tried laying low.
Tyler was shaking from the constant dread in his bones. The boy took short, quick sips from the water bottle clutched in his hands. The plastic was dented in all the ways possible, the paper label had already been scraped off, crumpled into a pathetic ball. It was Tyler's third bottle, his bladder was killing him. The boy refused to move from his seat no matter how hard the pressure was. Tyler feared that he'll attract unnecessary attention if he moves, everyone's eyes are gonna be on him and he'll end up blubbering some stupid shit. Stupid.
Stupid.
The unpleasant feeling ta the bottom of his stomach worsened with each sip. The brunet squirmed in his seat a bit, crossing his legs over each other hoping the tingle would go away. Nothing helped because the only way to get rid of the sensation was to empty his bladder. Tyler was too anxious to do that. He was too fearful to get up and walk a few steps. No one would've cared, no one would've noticed. No one would've said anything because simply no one cared. Tyler swallowed thickly, feeling hot shivers on the back of his neck. He didn't know how much longer he'll be able to hold it. The thought of getting up and walking to the bathroom was more terrifying than it should've been.
Tyler drew in short, ragged breaths, his stomach twisted. One more minute and he was going to pee his pants. The brunet glanced at Charlie with hope in his eyes. The redhead was talking to some other girls and judging from the way they both laughed quietly, the girl didn't plan on turning around. Tyler's eyes searched for Jared, the boy wasn't paying much attention to basically anything so capturing the blond's attention was easier.
Stupid...
Jared raised his eyebrow, his eyes sparkled questioningly. Tyler lightly nudged his head towards the bathroom making Jared's eyebrows drop down. The blond gestured with his hands, telling Tyler that he doesn't understand. Tyler frowned and squeezed his legs together. a pained look on his face. Jared sighed and got up. Tyler watched the blond disappear into the bathroom. He waited a couple of minutes before standing up and scurrying into the bathroom as well.
"Fuck," Tyler muttered under his breath as soon as the door closed behind him
He staggered into the cubicle and almost collapsed on the toilet. Jared frowned at Tyler's groans of satisfaction. The blond picked at his nails while the brunet did what he had to do. Tyler crept out of the bathroom, Jared waited for the boy to wash his hands before grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him against the wall.
"Dude, what the fuck?" Jared groaned "This better be important."
"What?" Tyler blinked rapidly "I just-"
"Tell me what you need to tell me quickly," Jared whispered
Tyler stared at the blond's icy blue eyes without blinking, the truth sliding to the tip of his tongue.
"I just-" Tyler swallowed thickly "I just wanted to go to the bathroom."
Jared let go of the boy and scoffed in disbelief.
"You're old enough to go to the bathroom alone, Ty."
"I was feeling anxious," Tyler shrugged, a fake smile curved the corners of his mouth
Jared squinted his eyes, he scanned the boy's body language. He wasn't convinced. Not one bit.
"You're full of shit," Jared crossed his arms over his chest. Tyler chuckled softly
"No, I'm not, you know I have anxiety."
"Look me in the eyes." Jared leaned forward
Tyler quickly glanced at the boy. His stiff body stiffened up, even more, he tried to act naturally by lightly touching his mouth. Jared squinted his eyes again. Tyler squeezed out a smile.
"I'm not lying." Tyler rubbed his forearm discreetly
"You're so full of shit," Jared. sighed
"I'm not lying!" Tyler flailed his arms in the air "I'm not hiding something from you, I'm just anxious today. That's it. I'm not lying"
"You glance to your left when talking, " Jared snickered "You're as stiff as a pole of salt and you keep rubbing your damn sleeve."
"I'm not-" Tyler glanced down to see his fingers gripping the hem of his shirt "Fuck."
"I'm telling Charlie," Jared reached for his phone
"No-" Tyler yapped, his breath got stuck in his throat when he realized that he had completely given out that he's lying "No, it's- It's unnecessary. "
"Fucking stop that," Jared yanked Tyler's hand away from his sleeve
"S-sorry..."
"You have to tell me," Jared rolled his eyes "I'm your friend, I deserve to know what's been going on with you lately."
"What?" Tyler scoffed "There's nothing going on about me."
"Stop." Jared shook his head "Just... You've been acting strangely as of lately. Like... I don't know how to explain this. You've been distant in a way. It's like I'm talking to you and you're in a different kind of universe, spaced out. Like now."
Jared pinched Tyler's shoulder, the boy squeaked and hit the blond's hand.
"Like now." Jared snapped his fingers in front of Tyler's face
"Yeah, well, maybe I've been a little distracted lately but it's nothing you should worry about," Tyler chuckled and tried not to glance from right to left
"Is there something between you and Josh?" Jared's eyes widened
"No-no." Tyler shook his head vigorously "Everything's fine between us, it's cool. Totally cool, no need to worry."
"Something happened, didn't it?" Jared threw his head back and let out a timid groan of desperation
"No," Tyler's bottom lip trembled
"Listen, if you don't wanna tell me or Charlie that's totally cool," Jared's hand gripped Tyler's tense shoulder with care "But you shouldn't struggle alone, okay? If you don't feel comfortable, that's fine. But you should at least try talking to us. Maybe we will be able to help. We're your friends after all."
Tyler nodded, the tacky lump slowly slid down his throat allowing him to breathe again. Tyler's breath was cut off by a loud slam. Charlie busted through the door.
"Stop jerking each other off and move your asses here," the girl snickered
"Why?" Tyler muttered
"What do you mean why?" Charlie snorted "Jared, I need you to help me with the thing."
"What thing?" Tyler questioned
"None of your business yet," Charlie gestured at the boys "Jesus, quit standing there and come here."
"I-" Tyler gestured at the bathroom stall forcing a groan out of Charlie's throat
"Fine," She strode forward to yank Jared away from Tyler "Make it quick, Josh wanted to see you."
Tyler felt hot all over his body. Not the kind of hot that makes his naughty bits all tingly. It was a feverish hot, filled with cold paranoia and burning fear.
Charlie dragged Jared out of the bathroom and made sure to close the door. Tyler felt his lunch rising up his windpipe luckily the brunet was able to control his gag.
The boy glanced at the mirror and saw a pale mummy with two dark dots instead of eyes. He had a bad feeling in his heart. A bad feeling that sent shivers down to his bones for a reason.