*Troye's POV* (here's the deal, Tyler doesn't come out this chapter either but imma post like a mini chapter within the next 24 hours, possibly within the next 6 before I go to bed. I know I promised but remember this is only making the story longer so shh, stay clam)
I knew the second my mother suggested taking pictures by the car what kind of position to expect. I'd been to many impromptu photoshoots held by my mother throughout my life, and there were just a few things you came to expect from them. She always chose very cheesy poses, often ones that would look cute if it were children posing, while teenagers just made it look awkward. From photos of all my siblings and I lined up holding hands, to all of us trying to shove ours faces together to fit in a picture frame, some of her ideas just sounded a lot better before we were forced into acting them out. Obviously this wasn't the case every single situation, but this definitely wouldn't be the first time for it to happen. One could argue that I was jumping to conclusions, that she may just ask us to stand beside the car and take a proper photo. I might listen to them, if it wasn't for the fact I knew she was already out to embarrass me around Tyler as it was. I could just imagine all the stuff she could make me do while my hands were cuffed and Tyler was here going along with everything she said.
"Alright, Troye, are those handcuffs easy to take off? Can you re-do them with your hands behind your back instead?"
"Yeah, yeah." I grumbled quietly, knowing better than to argue with her. Partially because she wouldn't listen to a word I said, but also because it was kind of nice seeing that huge excited smile on her face for a change. She adored photography, but most times she tried to take photos it ended up a fight between her and the siblings, it felt weird just going along with her requests.
I turned to Tyler, batting my eyelashes slightly as I silently asked for his help. I don't know why, but it gave me a strange sense of pride knowing we were close enough that he could tell exactly what I was getting at before I even spoke a word, rolling his eyes and nodding in agreement. I hurried to retrieve the key then, reaching into my pocket awkwardly with my locked-together hands. After that Tyler was quick to grab it out of my hand, biting his lip as he started fiddling with the lock. He seemed very concentrated in the activity, even looking sightly frustrated when the seconds started to add up that he'd been trying to get them undone. I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from him as he struggled with the stupid restraints, that stupid familiar lovesick smile threatening to break out across my face at any second. I wasn't going to let it, I refused. It was one thing that Tyler could look up and catch me at any second, but the fact my mother was standing a few feet away with the option of catching it on camera, was just not something I was willing to risk. Besides, it's not like he's even being that cute-
"Fuck off!" He hissed under his breath suddenly, his eyebrows furrowing so far they nearly knit together, his forehead creasing adorably as a side effect. He was getting so frustrated by just a bit of minimal struggling, practically jabbing the key around now in his haste to finish the task. And oh god, he was just so cute, completely fixated on it like that. I wasn't even surprised when my resolve cracked and that smile found it's way to my lips, though that didn't make me any happier about it. I just knew Mom was taking a hundred photos of the moment, likely to frame and use as incriminating evidence if I ever tried to deny my feelings for Tyler in the future. It'd work too, because there was absolutely no arguing what it looked like when I smiled at him like this.
I watched his face light up as a click filled the air, followed by the feeling of my wrists being released as he slid the handcuffs off with ease. He grinned cheerily then, making it clear he was pleased with himself and had totally forgotten about the past minute spent struggling angrily. I debated teasing him or making fun of his incapabilities, but decided against it as I remembered my mother was watching us. Instead I turned around, standing impossibly frigid as Tyler grabbed my wrists and positioned how he wanted them at the small of my back, his breath just barely ghosting over the back of my neck due to his height. I was actually slightly relieved when he pulled away. Not because I didn't crave him close, but because of how overwhelming it was. Between the butterflies in my stomach, the lump in my throat, and the anxious feeling as I waited for a thought of his that might not even come, it was definitely more than I could handle.
"Now lean over the hood, like when a criminal gets frisked, you know?" I was mid-turn, moving to face Tyler again, when my mother dropped this bomb on me. My eyes went wide, realizing exactly what it was she wanted us to do. Yes, I pictured it to be cheesy and awkward, I didn't picture it to be downright sexual. I mean, obviously she didn't see it as sexual, but really, any situation that had me leaning over something and Tyler positioned behind me was iffy. A situation that involved 'frisking me' only sounded worse. Still, I wasn't going to just outright reject it. Not because I was into the position or anything, but it's only be weird to be totally against the idea if Tyler was okay with it. So it's simple, I'll just see where he stands on it.
I turned to face him all the way then, locking eyes with him and trying my hardest to study what was going on inside his head. He didn't seem shocked like I did, he seemed kind of confused, or maybe just indifferent. He blinked, seemingly just registering the fact I was staring at him. He smiled then, though there was still something off about it. I don't think he has the slightest clue what's going on, does he? I took a deep breath to keep from getting frustrated with the entire situation, deciding it couldn't hurt to go along with it. If things got awkward, I'd blame it on Tyler, he had more or less agreed to it with that smile of his. I shot a glare at my mother, noticing her elated expression as I turned toward the hood and flopped down. She was on cloud nine, that little brat.
"Tyler, pretend you're holding him down." I swallowed nervously then, my feet fidgeting nervously. I wasn't sure what I was expecting exactly, possibly him to back out and say something like 'naw man, that's gay'. Deep down I knew how far-fetched that actually was, but it was in my instincts to automatically expect the worst. At least that way I never got disappointed. Well, I did, but it was never unexpectedly.
What I hadn't been expecting however, was Tyler's hand a moment later when it came to rest between my shoulder blades, pinning me down against the hood with ease. I bit down on my tongue, trying to ignore how closely behind me he was standing. I really should stop thinking dirty things like this, maybe it's just me and he's as oblivious as my mother. Maybe it's not even that bad of a position and I'm just fluffing it up to be something more than it actually-
Oh god, what a compromising position this has ended up as.
Okay, so I guess I'm not the only one thinking this sort of thing, that was comforting. It was also sort of relieving to hear a thought of his after so long, I was beginning to think I'd lost the ability or something. Wait... Since when is it a good thing that I still have it? Just because I can hear Tyler's thoughts ocassionally? I'm a mess. If anything I should be happy it's happening less now. Then again, I've had bouts in the past where it was practically non-existent. The longest one had lasted about a month, but I still wasn't quite sure what the cause was. Maybe there was no cause, maybe it was just as unpredictable as when I heard thoughts-
"Cheese!" I jumped slightly at Tyler's sudden outburst, thankful when I realized it was forward and not backward into him. That was the last thing I needed, to rub my butt up against him right now and make the entire thing even more awkward. Realizing Mom must be taking the photos now I quickly looked over to my left, trying not to look dead or anything as I laid slumped over the hood.
She didn't stop until the sound of the screen door slamming filled the area, though even that surprised me. I was beginning to think she'd glue us in place forever just to shoot neverending photos. I watched her turn to greet the intruder, even feeling Tyler's hand shift slightly as he must have done the same. Deciding I didn't want to be the odd one out, I hurried to follow their lead and looked over my shoulder awkwardly. I must have blushed crimson when I was met with my father standing on the porch, his eyebrows so high up on his forehead and his expression so skeptical it was clear he didn't see the situation as innocently as Mom did.
"Uh, what's going on here?" After that my parents struck up a conversation, though I tuned it out in favor of staring down at the grass. Literally anything was more interesting than their lovesick mush. Just because I had now experienced lovesick mush firsthand didn't mean I liked it yet by any means. I was actually getting pretty caught up in the exciting events of a huge spider sitting on it's web and looking generally creepy, when an even better distraction came to me in the form of Tyler Oakley's thoughts.
Did she really not see how awkward this position was? With me behind Troye and him pinned down against the hood? God bless her, but she's nearly as dense as her son.
Is he talking about me? How am I dense? I know it's clearly taken out of context, but it's still rude. Does he think I don't realize how sexual this position is? I'm offended he'd think I was that slow.
"Nothing, whatever. Are you ready to go, Dear?" I crinkled my nose up at my father's casual pet name dropping. Dear. What a gross pet name, if my future husband or wife (assuming I end up with either) ever calls me that, they will be sleeping in the doghouse both figuratively and literally, for a week. I watched my dad turn to face her then, leaving his back to the two of us completely. As I'd expected Tyler immediately backed away then, leaving me to awkwardly worm my way off the hood and into an upright position. I rubbed my wrists together now that I was standing, not necessarily finding the handcuffs uncomfortable, more just foreign. I wasn't even used to wearing bracelets yet, much less heavy clanky metal objects like this. I was just managing to get used to the vaguely irritating rub of the metal against my skin, when something else entirely gripped my wrist just beside it.
He looks uncomfortable, I should probably take them off for him before they start to leave marks.
I took a deep relaxed breath then, realizing who it was in a matter of milliseconds. What else had I really expected to be gripping my wrist? The giant spider coming back for me because I stared at his web for too long? It made sense for Tyler to be the one touching me, he was basically the only person who ever did. What didn't make sense at all, was the sudden bombarding of thoughts. Every time I'd touched him during these last ten minutes I'd gotten some kind of thought, which might not have been that significant, had it not been the same amount I'd gotten in the last week. Getting real tired of your shit, faulty mindreading. Though really, it couldn't have chosen a better time to pick up again than the night Tyler and I were going to be completely alone together. It was a lot more tolerable than had it picked up while at school.
I was brought back to reality by the sound of metal jingling as Tyler waved the cuffs in front of my face, the proud expression on his face making it clear he hadn't struggled for nearly as long this time and wanted me to know it. I gave him a soft smile, taking them and trying to think of somewhere to put them. The bright idea of clamping them to my belt loop came to me then, and I had them on in a matter of seconds.
After that I stayed staring at my feet, biting my bottom lip as I tried to think of anything that had changed recently that might have spurred the change in the mindreading process. When I came up short I started to think of alternatives, like maybe there was some sort of pattern it went in that I hadn't picked up on. I really wish there was some sort of mindreaders anonymous site out there. I had so many questions, it really sucked being all on my own on this. Well, as far as I know.
"Alright, we've got to get going now, but just a few things first. The kids will probably start trick or treating in about an hour, the younger ones anyway. Always answer the door, don't ignore them because I will hear about it from someone and you will be in big trouble. If you see anything suspicious or run into any trouble, you know how to contact us at the hotel. Behave yourselves and be safe." As soon as my mother had started speaking I started nodding, though I hadn't really caught the first things she'd said. It wasn't my fault I had my own pressing matters at hand right now.
"Stop worrying, we'll be fine. Bye, Mom." I insisted, registering that her list of guidelines had been long, even if I didn't know exactly what it was she'd said. I knew how to look after myself, so it didn't really matter what she said exactly. I smiled up at her then, practically begging her to just get out of my hair and leave us alone already. The rest of the family were outside now, aside from Sage who'd already left with some boy to go to some boy like the popular kid she was. They were all headed to their respective cars, dressed in an array of costumes and fancy outfits. Well, costumes and then there was Dad in what he considered a fancy outfit. I mean, it was a step up from the plaid, I'd give him that.
"Sage and Tyde will probably be home before we are, just so you know. Tyler, you're welcome to stay as late as you want tomorrow. We're having a pizza night for supper tomorrow, if you wanted to stay that long." I felt a smile sneak across my lips at the thought of Tyler staying that long, knowing I'd never get tired of him no matter how much time we spent together. As if in reaction to the mention of food, Tyler's stomach growled loudly.
"Alright, I'll keep it in mind. I have tomorrow off work so maybe." He mumbled, his tone neither enthusiastic nor uninterested. He just sounded tentative, probably scared of inviting himself over like that. Whatever, I'll just make sure he knows he's welcome. Hell, he could move in and live under my bed if he wanted. Or in my bed, totally up to him.
I continued trying to push my mother out of the yard, annoyed with her ability to prattle on about nothing forever. It got to the point I was tired of insisting we'd be okay and shooting her glares that went unnoticed, standing there and pouting slightly as she and Tyler conversed. I didn't plan to contribute anymore, until she mentioned that he was my favorite friend and I just couldn't resist the urge to tease him. She scolded me immediately, clearly thinking Tyler was more sensitive than he was or that I was going to mess things up again and give him the impression I didn't like him. What she didn't realize was that this was just our relationship, we both teased each other and we both loved it, as far as I could tell anyway.
While Mom acted like it was the most appauling thing she'd ever heard come out of my mouth, Tyler just took to giggling and dramatically throwing his hand over his heart. He was clearly getting ready for one of his never-ending witty replies, and I couldn't wait to hear it.
"Aw, are you indirectly saying I'm the only person you've ever deemed fit to take home to meet the parents? Babe!" He teased, his voice so loud it had my ears popping, that was probably his intention though. Just when I thought that was the worst of it, and was beginning to relax my shoulders again after scrunching them up to block out his loud voice, I felt a pair of arms fly around my neck. He latched on tightly, actually hurting me a bit as he jumped up, only to immediately wrap his legs around my waist and balance the extra weight again. I still wasn't about to let it show I had no problem with it though, squirming around and awkwardly trying to shimmy out of his koala hug.
"Get off of me." I groaned, bringing my hand up to try and pry his off my neck, where they'd now started to grip my shirt collar. I managed to get one finger off and expected him to just grab right back on, when suddenly his grip loosened and he started to slip off of me quickly. I didn't even have time to think, instinctively looping my arm underneath him and hoisting him back up. I kept my hand on his hip then, making sure he didn't fall again.
Pfft, I guess that makes it clear how much he actually wants me to give him space.
I blushed then, realizing how bad I really was at hiding my feelings. I couldn't even pretend to not want him near, I was literally gripping him to me now.
"You guys are too cute! Have fun while we're gone, okay?"
"But not too much fun, right?" I replied immediately, a laugh tumbling out of my mouth as I waited to hear her response. I'd expected just a narrow-eyed glare or a shocked expression at my newfound dirtier side, surprised when she just smirked right back at me.
"Oh no, have as much fun as you want, just make sure it's protected fun." My jaw unhinged and my eyes went wide at the same time, a wave of pleasant but totally innapropriate scenarios running through my mind. It only made it worse that it was in front of my mother, with the star of those scenarios literally clinging to my side. It registered now that he'd taken to cackling in reaction to the awkward exchange, his arms gripping me much tighter as he shook with his heavy laughter. I tensed as he buried his face into my neck, giggles still wracking his body and making him generally more adorable than he already was naturally.
"Mom! Bye! Get out! You're leaving right this second, don't even think about finishing that. Goodbye." I snapped, deciding it was far past the time for her to leave. She'd promised we could be alone tonight and it was her job to hold up to the deal. I hadn't put up with doing chores all day and acting good the last week for nothing. I stomped toward the door, only remembering halfway that I probably should have been taking it easy so Tyler had less trouble holding on. I slowed down a bit then, wordlessly gripping the small of his back and shifting him higher up on my hips.
After we made it in the house Tyler was quick to jump down to the floor, speed-walking directly to the couch and falling onto it. I rolled my eyes at how easily he made himself at home, walking past him and sitting neatly on the couch opposite him. Not that I didn't want to be near him, it was just very hard to sit on a couch when he was sprawled out and leaving no room for me. I was reaching for the remote to seek out something to watch, assuming he was going to pass out tired from working or something, when he suddenly sat up with a dangerously sly grin on his face.
"You get awfully worked up over the topic of sex, don't you?" Whoop, there it is. I'd definitely been expecting something that'd make me flustered, but that was not it. We'd never really talked about that sort of thing before, I just assumed it wasn't something friends did. Do people actually sit there and talk about their hook-ups and compare experiences? Oh, I really hope not. I also really hope that's not what he's looking to start here, considering my list of secretive hook-ups to tell him about would be exactly zero.
"So? It's weird that you don't." I responded, trying to sound casual about it. Please change the subject, Tyler, I'm begging you. I mean, sure I'm curious to know what part of him wanted to bring it up to begin with, but it wasn't worth looking like an idiot over. He's the most popular guy in school, I'd heard some of the stories about him and girls in the past, I had no doubt he was eons more experienced than I was. I wonder if he was just experimenting with girls or he's bisexual or something, because I've come to the conclusion there is simply no way someone that flamboyant can't be interested in boys. Maybe I can get him to share before the night's over.
"No it's not, what's going to be weird is when you finally get a guy in the bedroom and are too nervous to undo your own pants button." I bit my lip, unwillingly imagining what it'd be like if that actually did happen. Obviously the guy would be Tyler, I couldn't even think of doing that sort of thing with anyone else at all. Oh god, he'd never let me live it down either, he'd tease me for years to come if I had trouble getting out of my pants because I was so nervous. I can just picture him, sitting there on the bed and rolling around laughing at me. Great, now I'm going to be even more nervous if that situation ever does roll around, seeing as he's brought it to my attention that I could mess up like that.
"That's not going to happen." I insisted, trying to convince myself as much as I was him. I couldn't afford to have one more thing to overthink if that moment ever did happen, I was going to be anxious enough as it was.
"The getting a guy into your bedroom or the pants thing?" He giggled, his lighthearted teasing tone oddly calming despite what he was saying. It took the serious edge away from it, distracting me from worrying at least for now.
"I hate you." I groaned, leaning back against the couch and throwing an arm over my eyes. I let my eyes fall shut then, listening to Tyler's giggle fit and suddenly very glad the sleeves of the shirt were longer, covering my mouth in this position and hiding my lovesick smile. I was actually beginning to think his laughter was dying off, clearly surprised when he fell onto the couch beside me suddenly and burst into total cackling again. God, does this boy ever stop laughing? Not that I'm complaining, I don't think anyone could ever get tired of hearing his laugh. It was just so happy and carefree, a lot like his personality actually. It suited him well.
"Y-You-" He managed to stutter out the single word before breaking into another round of giggles. It didn't matter anyway, I knew exactly what he was trying to say.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. 'I love you'." I muttered, both trying my best to seep as much sarcasm as possible into the love confession and making quotation marks in the air with my hands. I figured with that much dramatizing there was no way he could misinterpret it, right? Wrong. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he completely stopped mid-laugh, his eyebrows scrunching together as he looked to me curiously.
"Wait, what?" He drawled out, somehow managing to stumble over just the two words. Please tell me I hadn't just made this really awkward. It wasn't supposed to be a love confession, not even the platonic kind, it was just suppose to play into our usual teasing game. I say 'I hate you' and then he replies with 'You love me'. I figured I could just help him out and skip his step, considering he'd been having so much trouble getting the words out through his laughter. Funny how it completely died down the second I spoke up with something he was actually interested in hearing, huh?
"You know, how every time I say that I hate you, you insist that I love you. I was just skipping a step for a change." I hurriedly explained, praying what I was saying made sense and it wasn't just something really weird and stupid I'd done without thinking. When Tyler still didn't reply, looking completely distracted as he stared at the space on the couch left between us, I began to panic and blurted the first things that came to mind. "Why? Is that weird?"
"N-No, you've just never outright said it before, that's all." Tyler stuttered over his reply slightly, his cheeks just barely flushed and his eyes refusing to meet with mine still. Is he flustered or uncomfortable because of how awkward I am? How do I tell?
"Oh." I replied simply, deciding I couldn't really give a more elaborate reply when I had no real idea what was going on. I hadn't meant for it to come out like such a disappointed sigh, or to have my shoulders slump as I said it, but when do things ever go according to plan?
"It's fine, Troye. I just wasn't expecting you to switch things up on me like that. Hey, when are we going to break into all that junk food you bought? I'm dying of starvation." I was aware this was a blatantly obvious change of topic on his part, but it's not like I could really blame him. If anything I should be thankful he was rescuing my ass from that awkward rut I'd just dug.
"Uh, we should probably make an actual meal for supper. How do chicken nuggets sound?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't turn down anything I offered.
"Not as good as Doritos, but they'll do."
"I'll go put them on, you can choose a channel to watch or whatever. Listen for the door." I instructed, hopping up and tossing the remote onto his lap on my way out. I walked with my shoulders squared, a blank expression on my features. Well, that was until I walked into the kitchen and I was out of his sight. My shoulders immediately slumped and my face fell, my hand coming up to 'fix' my hair, which actually meant just angrily tugging at it as I muttered to myself about what an idiot I was.
Why did I have to say that? Things were going so well! It should just be natural by now that I avoid topics about love and sex. For whatever reason, Tyler was far from comfortable talking about them to me. I liked to believe it was just because he was shy or flustered because of his 'feelings' for me, but there was still that possibility he just found it awkward talking about such things with a gay friend. No, that's impossible, he practically wears the fact he likes men as an acessory. If I saw him in the street I'd assume he was gay before most actually out of the closet gay boys. But ugh, what if I was wrong? What if I had a really badly malfunctioning gaydar and was making all this up in my head solely because I wanted him to like boys?
I distractedly slammed the cupboards around, eventually locating and grabbing a pan to cook the nuggets on. I grabbed the bag of them next, not even paying attention as I tore a hole in it and clumsily shook them out all over the pan, in no particular arrangement. I wasn't usually quite this careless, though my mind was in a complete different place as I robotically moved around the room.
They should just have a surefire way of telling of someone is gay or not, like they're born with pink eyes or something. I don't know, literally anything to make it easier on me would be appreciated at this point. Or maybe, a more realistic wish, would be that they taught actual classes on it. Actually, even that's kind of stupid. Why take a whole class? There's only one guy I'm curious about, and there might not ever be another. Wow, how depressing is all of that? I bet you're going to be a total blast to spend the night with, Troye, way to be a stellar cheerful host.
I decided it'd only make things even more awkward if I were to hang around the kitchen the entire twenty-five minutes until the food was ready, reluctantly dragging my feet behind me as I walked back into the living room. I was halfway across the room, my eyes glued to the advertisement on the television, when I realized that the couch I'd been headed for was no longer occupied. Where was Tyler?
"Tyler?" I called out tentatively, not wanting to seem overbearing if he'd just gone to the washroom or something. When I got no answer I started to worry, my horrid over-active imagination immediately jumping to the conclusion I had been so awkward he was forced to grab his stuff and leap out the window in his haste to get away. But as I ran up the stairs and into my room, I was both relieved and further confused to find his stuff still sitting there. Had he decided to play an impromptu round of hide-and-go-seek on his own or something?
I headed back downstairs then, my eyebrows knit together in confusion as I came to a stop in the very middle of the living room. I decided to pull a Scooby Doo then, scanning the room for any sort of clues. Maybe he grabbed the Doritos and took off to gorge on them somewhere. I genuinely wouldn't put it past him to do something like that. In fact, maybe I'd better go check if the junk food is still where I left it all on the coffee table as you walk inside.
As I came to a stop in front of it I was relieved to find it was all there, though I couldn't help but feel it was sort of useless considering Tyler was still missing. I had literally bought all of it for Tyler, I wouldn't even eat half this junk. I absentmindedly reached out and picked up the bags, intending to carry them into the living room for later, when the sound of the doorknob turning had me jumping. I looked up frantically, immediately relaxing as I watched a familiar 'police officer' slip back inside, a wide grin on his face.
"Where were you?" I asked immediately, my question answered when I noticed the huge bowl he was holding in his hands. It was the bowl we kept the Halloween candy in, making it clear he had either decided to loot our treat dish or had been serving our first guest.
"Serving our first trick or treaters! You should have seen the little girl's costume! She went as one of the Disney princesses and it was so accurate, she looked like a doll or something! Her mother was telling me that they just moved in nearby and didn't want to be out in the unfamiliar neighborhood after dark, hence why they're so early. Do you guys usually get a lot of visitors?" He only stopped his rambling now that he was completely out of breath, gasping loudly and inhaling as much air he could hold. I waited patiently after he was finished getting his breathing back to normal, surprised when he stayed silent and didn't seem to have anything else to tack on to what he'd said. I took a deep breath, getting ready to reply to his excited rambling. You'd swear he'd never answered the door to trick or treaters before now.
"Which princess was-" He cut me off though, randomly clamping his free hand over my mouth. I raised my eyebrows, locking eyes with him and trying to figure out why he looked so shocked all of the sudden. I tried to ask him this, my words coming out completely unintelligable against his palm. Thankfully he removed it after I was done speaking though, wiping it off on his jeans before speaking up again.
"Why are you holding my Doritos? I thought you said we had to wait until after supper!" He snapped, gesturing grandly to the chip bag I'd forgotten I was holding. I rolled my eyes then, realizing he was just worked up over the stupid junk food.
"We do! I was just carrying them off to-"
"To eat while I was outside taking care of your trick or treaters!? What kind of friend are you?" He asked, sounding only half sarcastic when he accused me of it. I wished he'd just be sarcastic or serious, it would make it a lot easier to figure out how to reply to him. Should I snap at him for being so dramatic over chips or should I make some sort of joke about how I'd planned on eating every last one while he was missing?
"I paid for them!" I decided this was my best bet, the worst thing he could do would be to make fun of me for taking him so serious, then I could counter by making fun of him for making such a big deal over junk food.
He didn't seem very impressed with my response, his eyes narrowing into a challenging glare as he took a step forward. Was he actually upset with me or- I jumped backward instinctively when his hand shot forward, trying to snatch the bag out of my hands to no success. I looked up slowly again, locking eyes with him. I knew immediately what he planned on doing, the mirth in his eyes and the subtle smirk on his lips making it blatantly obvious.
"I swear to God, if you try and tickle me I'm going to-" I didn't even get to finish my threat before he was lurching forward, his hands outstretched and his lips bent up into a wicked smile. No way in hell was that happening. I turned on my heel quickly, darting across the room away from him. He was right on my tail and I realized about halfway across the living room, that I had no idea where I was going. I paused for just a split second to think about it, but that was all it took before Tyler's arms wrapped around my waist and he tackled me onto the couch.
He's so cute when he gets mad at me for tickling him.
I didn't even give myself time to get flustered over the thought I'd just heard, or time to consider why all of these thoughts were suddenly coming in every single time he touched me, because I was much too busy scrambling around on the couch and trying to amble away from him.
"Tyler, you can't have them. Now back off and let me go check on the food before it burns, okay?" I said levelly, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. Maybe if he thinks I'm actually mad he'll back off and let me-
"No." He replied simply, a dark chuckle filling the room that made me immediately start scrambling away from him again. I made it about halfway across the couch in an awkward crawl, the chips still in my hand, when he grabbed my ankle and tugged me back toward him effortlessly.
I wonder if the food is actually in danger of burning or if he just made that up...
Then, once he was satisfied with how far down on the couch I was, he instead jumped onto my back, his knees coming to rest on either side of me. I swallowed roughly then, once again fighting to ward off compromising thoughts. To be fair, it was his fault for practically pinning me to the couch and straddling my back. Maybe straight boys wrestle like this at times, but he knows I'm not a straight boy so, I'm throwing all the blame at him. It's totally his fault I'm thinking dirty things about him right now, entirely, without a doubt.
Now that he was comfortable with his position, his hand started fumbling around beside me on the couch. I had no idea what he was trying to do, until the sound of the chip bag crinkling made it clear. I slapped his hand away with a bit of a struggle to get into a position where it was possible, digging my nails into his palm then and glaring up at him over my shoulder.
"Screw off, Tyler, you know I wasn't trying to eat them anyw-" He cut me off, smirking as his hands instead grabbed my sides, his fingers wriggling against my ribs and earning an embarrassing squeal from me.
"Tyler! I d-don't even like this k-kind, I s-swear I won't eat t-them!" I stuttered out, having to stop and start the sentence each time he saw it fit to tickle me again. After I finally managed to say the entire statement though, he finally stilled the movement and let me catch my breath.
"You swear it?" He asked, a doubtful tone to his voice. I nodded against the couch cushion, still breathing heavily.
"Yes." I replied honestly, realizing at this point it really had nothing to do with the chips. Surely he didn't care about them that much, he was just using them as an excuse to torment me, like the annoying little shit he was.
"Hmm, I don't know if I believe you..." My eyes went wide when I heard this, immediately squirming underneath him in a futile effort to get away before he got the chance to tickle me again. Like I said, it was a worthless attempt, his fingers digging into my sides again a moment later and earning another bout of breathless laughter and panting from me.
"Tyler! T-Ty-Tilly!" I squealed, my arms flailing around uselessly in an effort to get him to stop. He finally did after about another thirty seconds, though I could have done with a lot quicker. I collapsed completely then, just concentrating on taking deep breaths as I nuzzled into the cushions. I might have even fell asleep at one point, though I was jolted fully awake a moment later when the doorbell sounded around the room. I started to shift under Tyler, surprised when his hand came to rest on my shoulder and wordlessly told me to stay.
"I'll answer it, you worry about the food." He replied, awkwardly jumping off of me and jogging across the room. I wasn't about to complain, basking in the last few seconds of laziness before I had to get up and go make sure I hadn't set fire to the kitchen or anything.
After eating our meal like starving animals, we werre both at a loss for what to do next. We couldn't really start a movie when we were constantly getting up to answer the door, especially because the bulk of the kids were just starting out and there'd surely be a lot. And while there was a ton of things to do in my house, we couldn't really stray too far from the front door either. I guess we could sit on our laptops together, but that just didn't feel interactive enough for me.
We were currently sitting on one of the couches together, just silently eating junk food as the television played on some comedy show in the background neither of us were really paying any attention to. We'd had to answer the door about five times so far, though each of them Tyler had insisted he wanted to go answer it. He seemed to really enjoy it, for whatever reason. I didn't feel I was missing out on much, the less human interaction the better, especially considering how randomly strong my mindreading had been tonight.
"I'll get it!" Tyer announced for the sixth time as the doorbell went off, immediately dumping the chip bag he'd had on his lap onto the couch between us. He leaped off the couch then, happily heading toward the door and leaving me sprawled out there on my own. I expected it to be the same as the last few times, when he returned after a minute at the very least, surprised when he was back nearly immediately after he'd left. He didn't look the same as the last few times either, no smile to be found on his face, only a slight frown and a serious expression.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Marcus and Shane." He sighed out, walking across the room and falling back onto his end of the couch.
"So?" I prodded, curious as to what his problem was with them tonight.
"They're going to make me talk for fifty years!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air dramatically. I laughed at that, knowing he was probably right. Still, we had promised to answer the door to everyone, maybe I should force him to go back out there- Wait. He might tell them it's my house and force me to go interact with them too, out of spite. Second thought we'll pretend we're not home, they'll be fine with a bit less candy. Besides, they were a couple of eighteen and seventeen year old guys, they shouldn't be trick or treating at all, it's for kids. I was still going to tease Tyler about it though, of course.
"Tsk tsk, Tyler, I'm telling Mom you refused to answer the door every time."
"Shut-up or I'll make you answer it for the rest of the night, it's your house." I knew this was a hollow threat and that he'd never force me to do it, especially when he enjoyed doing it himself, but I decided to cut it out anyway. Partly because I knew he'd get me back with even worse teasing later, but mostly because I wanted to spend our time together actually talking about something interesting instead of useless play fighting.
"Why don't we play a game to pass the time?" I suggested, looking over at him for approval. He scrunched his eyebrows together then, looking skeptical as his eyes darted to the television.
"We'd still have to pause it every few minutes-"
"No, doofus, not a video game. I meant like-"
"Oh, like truth or dare?" He blurted excitedly, cutting me off in his haste. I rolled my eyes then, not surprised that was the first conclusion he jumped to. I was going to suggest M.A.S.H, though maybe his route would be better. At least that way I could get to know him better in the process, and we'd actually talk to each other. But then there was the whole dare aspect, which did not sound nearly as appealing. What if he made me do something really stupid or embarrassing? What if he called me a chicken when I didn't go along with it? Worse yet, what if I did something stupid trying to be cool and actually did go along with it. I'd probably do anything for him if he asked me nice enough, what if he dared me to streak down the street or something? No, I don't trust me self-discipline enough to play that game.
"That's no fun with just two people. Let's just play-"
"Twenty questions!" He interrupted again, jumping excitedly and bringing his legs up underneath him on the couch. He excitedly slapped his thighs then, looking up at me with puppy-dog eyes. I gave an intuitive hum, considering this option just like I had the last. Well, this way I could still get to know him without worrying about dares. But what if he asked something really personal? I just wouldn't tell him. I doubt he'd ask anything if he wasn't sure I'd be okay with telling him though, he's too considerate.
"That's the same thing as truth or dare without the dare option." I replied blandly, neither saying yes or no to his suggestion. I knew how he'd take it though. Anything that wasn't a direct no was a yes in Tyler Oakley's books.
"Shut-up, you're the one who wanted to play a game. I'll start! What's your favorite food?" He didn't even give me a chance to interject he was talking so fast, likely because he was so excited. I couldn't help but smile at how cute he was, sighing contently before falling back against the couch and trying to remember what his question was. I hate when I don't register what he says because I get so caught up in checking him out. It seems to happen far too often, I need to get a grip.
"You would. Nutella. What's your favorite animal?" I asked, deciding to follow his pattern of light casual questions. I'd never actually played this before, much less with my crush. I mean, I know it's a game commonly played between two people that are interested in each other, but what kind of questions do you ask?
"Dog. What's your worst memory?" He replied bluntly, eyes searching my face like he could get some sort of insight into what I was about to say before I even replied. Worst memory... I didn't even have to think about that one, though I wasn't sure how I was going to explain it to him without actually telling him about it. I waited a second longer before I figured out how to word it.
"Uh, probably the whole Lily thing. What's yours?" I answered, trying to put the emphasis on my question instead of the answer to his. 'The whole Lily thing' was far from my favorite topic, and we'd spent enough time talking about her already.
"Probably my first kiss, to be honest. Are you ever going to tell me what the Lily thing was?" While his answer had me intrigued and sitting up slightly taller in order to hear better, his follow-up question had me sinking right back down against the cushions. Part of me wished I'd just sink right into them and stay there. I didn't want to answer his question, I didn't want to answer it for myself. Am I ever going to tell him? What if he reacts the same way she did?
"I, uh, I don't know. Not anytime soon at least. Who was your first kiss with?" I blurted, feeling uncomfortable the longer I dwelled on the topic. I didn't want to tell him ever. Not because I wanted to keep it secret or because I didn't trust him, but because it was too scary. What if he looks at me different? What if he hates me? I care about him way too much to lose him like I lost her. One best friend gone worst enemy is enough, thank-you. I didn't even have a crush on her and the loss totally crushed me. If I lost Tyler, I... I don't know what I'd do.
"I don't even remember her name, I don't even know if I knew it at the time. It was a dare. Who was your first kiss?" Her name. Well, at least that makes it clear people hadn't made up all the stories about him and girls. Still, he might have just been experimenting or maybe he's bisexual. Besides, right now I should be focusing on figuring out how to reply to his question. How do I casually tell someone I'm nearly eighteen years old and haven't had my first kiss yet? I mean, before Tyler came along I hadn't even held hands with anyone.
"I haven't had one." I muttered under my breath, secretly hoping he hadn't caught it. Of course he did though, he was practically falling over from trying to lean across the couch to hear my answer. His jaw literally dropped as soon as I finished my reply, his eyes wide with both confusion and wonder.
"What!? You've never kissed someone before? Ever?" He asked, staring at me in total disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to brush it off as nothing. That was very hard though when Tyler was staring at me like I'd sprouted wings or something, his eyes practically glued to my lips like their kiss-virginity was on display or something. I groaned, feeling slightly embarrassed as I turned my head in the opposite direction.
"Thanks for not making it seem like a big deal, Tyler, I definitely feel better now." It was meant to sound sarcastic, but my voice had betrayed me and shown my actual emotions very obviously. I was embarrassed as hell and I felt sort of inferior. He's already kissed someone, probably multiple someone's, what if he does end up being my first kiss and he laughs at me for being so bad at it?
"I'm sorry. It's just surprising, that's all." I bit down on my tongue after he said that, not trusting myself to keep from prodding him and asking why it was surprising. As much as I wanted it to be his subtle way of calling me kissable, it was probably more likely something to do with the fact almost everyone has kissed someone by this age. "How about you can ask me anything at all and I'll be completely honest, to make it up to you."
"Okay, give me a second to think." I replied, trying to make my tone sound suspicious so the brat would have to worry about what I was about to ask him. In truth, I had no idea what I wanted to ask. Of course there was a lot of things I wanted to know about him, but I was unsure of which would be considered too creepy to ask and which would make my feelings for him clear as day. What is something I want to know about Tyler, something important I couldn't ask him at any other time- As soon as I worded it like that I knew exactly what I wanted to know.
I want to know his sexuality.
I couldn't just ask that though, now could I? I'm pretty sure that would be considered both too creepy and make it blatantly obvious how I felt about him. I mean, why else would my number one priority be to figure out what gender he was interested in screwing? Ugh, but how am I supposed to ask that? Nothing sounded casual. 'Hey, Tyler, do you prefer to penetrate or be penetrated?'. Well, even if that was smooth (which it's not), there are other ways to take that than me asking for his sexuality, so it doesn't really work either. I was beginning to debate giving up and just asking him something else, when the perfect idea suddenly hit me.
"What's your biggest secret that I don't know about?" I blurted, unsuccessfully trying to mask the excitement in my voice for a change. It was perfect. It was obvious I was trying to get information out of him, but he had absolutely no clue what kind of information. Assuming he is gay or at least interested in guys, which I'm definitely assuming after all the not-so-subtle hint-droppings, that would have to be his biggest secret. He's been hiding it from everyone at school, from me, possibly even from his mother.
For the first time in forever, it would seem Tyler Oakley had been rendered speechless. His mind was clearly running full speed, his eyebrows randomly creasing occasionally in reaction to whatever he was thinking. He seemed determined, like he was trying to come up with the perfect way to respond to my question. I mean, for all I know he could be trying to prepare his coming out speech, I shouldn't rush him. But oh, I really wanted to. I was on the edge of my seat with curiosity and excitement. I couldn't even remember a time before when I'd felt so invested in what someone had to say. This could literally change everything.
I held my breath as he started to open his mouth, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.
"I don't really have any secrets." My heart must have stopped then, only to resume beating at a much more reasonable pace. He was kidding. He had to be kidding. Everyone had secrets, everyone had things they didn't want other people to know. I mean, even if it wasn't his sexuality, he had to have something. He was lying. Why would he lie? Well, unless he has one secret in particular it's all he can think about and he doesn't want to tell me it.
I know I should respect this. So far he'd respected me by not asking things I clearly didn't want to share, even the whole Lily thing that he'd been so curious about. He didn't force me to tell him the story like he technically could have. It was so hypocritical of me to force him to tell me now. It made me a pretty shit friend, but I couldn't be bothered to care when I was this close to finally finding out. Imagine what it'd be like not having to second-guess everything I thought about him, to just know for certain.
"None at all? You're lying, there must be something you can think of! Don't worry, I promise not to judge you, no matter what." I sounded so out of character, urging him forward like that. I never got this invested in conversations ever, and he could surely tell. It was probably obvious as hell I was expecting something in particular from him at this point. Sort of like when a kid asks what his Christmas present is and continues pestering because there's a certain thing he's expecting. I was probably being so annoying right now, but I couldn't help it.
"I, uh, I just- Troye, I'm not sure what you're expecting me to own-up to right now, but I don't have any big secrets. I'm sorry, I guess I'm just not very interesting." He looked down at his lap then, an almost guilty look to his features that had my excited expression falling as well. I didn't mean to upset him, I just wanted to know so badly. He must really be shy about his sexuality to cover it up this-
That or he's not gay.
What if I've been reading too much into all of this? What if it's exactly like I thought and I've just been seeing him that way because that's how I want to see him? I mean, sure it seems like that's the case, but I shouldn't judge a person on how they look and act so much. I could be all wrong about him. What if he's not flirting with me and it's just the way he acts around people? I mean, I haven't really seen him around other friends enough to judge.
I sighed, realizing he was still staring down at his lap and looking generally guilty. I hadn't meant to make him feel bad, that was the furthest from what I wanted to do. I should just change the subject, it's for the best. I'm only bumming myself out by sitting here over-thinking.
"Hey, it's fine. I'll just ask you a different question. What's the furthest you've ever gone with a girl?" I asked, imagining a wonderful scenario in my head to where he correct me and instead of girl said boy. I'm really getting desperate at this point, it's beginning to get sad. I'd never pictured myself to have even a smidge of a crush on anyone, much less be totally head over heels like this.
"Kissing." I'd been so lost in my own thoughts I'd forgotten to anticipate his response, momentarily confused by his sudden quip. Then, after a second of backtracking in my head, I remembered what I'd asked him a second before and my jaw instantly dropped. He hadn't gone any further than kissing? He has to be kidding.
"What?! But what about all the rumors and the stories-"
"They're fake. I even started some of them, I'd know." He replied flatly, his tone still sounding slightly sullen after the whole biggest secret fiasco. I decided to take a deep breath, masking how shocked I was by his response and feigning calm.
"Why?"
"I cared about being cool too much, I guess. I figured people would take me more serious if they thought things like that were true." He said, giving yet another indifferent shrug as he nervously twiddled his thumbs in his lap. It was such a contrast to how confident and excited he'd been moments before. I just wanted the usual Tyler back.
"Oh." I replied, mentally face-palming myself for the stupid reply. Good job bringing the old Tyler back Troye, how could he not become extremely talkative when I gave him such a good conversation starter as that?
I sighed quietly at my own stupidity, sinking further back in the cushions and just now noticing how long it had been since our last guest. I wonder why there aren't many kids out yet. I turned my attention back to Tyler then, surprised to find he'd taken the liberty of looking up while I was looking away. His eyes darted away when I caught him staring, though he'd never realize just how much that had reassured me. I couldn't have messed up that badly if he was still staring at me.
"It's your turn to ask a question." I reminded him gently, keeping my eyes on the floor in hopes of making him feel more confident. My reminder was followed by silence, the only sound between us being our quiet breaths. I was beginning to think he intended to ignore me, when he suddenly cleared his throat, the couch squeaking slightly under him as he changed positions.
"Who do you like?" I could feel the blush spreading across my cheeks as soon as he finished speaking, though I made a point to keep my expression completely blank. He would ask that, especially when I felt bad for intruding on his personal things. It was probably some kind of sneaky tactive in order to get me to answer. It wasn't going to work though. Had I liked anyone other than the boy sitting next to me, I probably would have told him.
"I'm not answering that." I said, my voice not wavering once. I was determined about this. There was no way he could make me just outright confess to him, sitting here on my couch casually. If I ever get the nerve to tell him my feelings, it is going to take a lot more preparation than that.
"Troye! That's cheating!" He whined. Though I was probably supposed to feel bad or get annoyed with his whining, it only made me happy. He was already returning to his usual lighthearted personality and that was such a relief, words couldn't explain it.
"I don't care. Ask me something else." I replied sassily, eyeing him discreetly to make sure I hadn't actually offended him. He didn't seem to notice I was watching him again, his eyebrows scrunched together in thought and his jaw set tightly. I watched his eyes light up, surprised by how obvious it was when he got an idea. He turned to face me then, his huge smile dimming only slightly in embarrassment when he realized I was looking at him.
"Okay, who's the hottest guy in our school, in your personal opinion?" You. You, you, you, a hundred times over. In fact, I don't find anyone in our school even mildly attractive other than you. Is there even such thing as hot people that aren't named Tyler Oakley and sitting next to me? I don't think so. I wasn't about to tell him that though.
"I'm not answering that either." He pouted deeper at this, almost completely back to his usual self as he dramatically fell back against the couch with a loud sigh.
"Ugh, you're no fun. What are your thoughts on tattoos?" I grinned happily at the easier question, hurriedly opening my mouth to reply.
"They're awesome. It's a great way to show how creative you are and what sort of things you're most passionate about. Plus they look so hot if they're done right, holy crap." I let my eyes fall shut then, humming contently as if imagining hot tattooed people prancing around. When in reality, I was trying to imagine what Tyler would look like covered in tattoos. Are other people even an option at this point? Maybe I should just refer to myself as Tylersexual.
"Hey, Troye-boy to Earth, anybody in there? It's your turn!" My eyes flew open, realizing I'd gotten so caught up in my thoughts I hadn't remembered to ask him a question back. Hmm, tattoos, what's something similar I can ask him about?
"If you had to dye your hair a different color, what would it-"
"Purple. Not like a dark purple though, like a subtle lilac." I rolled my eyes then, trying to figure out exactly how it was that a color could be 'subtle'. Still, his answer was intriguing, especially the fact he cut me off mid-sentence to blurt it.
"That'd look good on you. I take it you've thought about it before or?"
"Only a hundred times, I've wanted it done since I was like twelve." He replied, his tone over-eager while still sounding slightly disappointed like the talk of purple hair made him long for it that much.
"Then why don't you do it?"
"I figured everyone would make fun of me, or it might not turn out good, or they might all think I was gay- Not that there's anything wrong with being gay!" I smiled softly, realizing he'd added that last part just for me. It was cute he was being that considerate for me, but at the same time it didn't cancel out what he'd said before that. Of course I wasn't offended by it, I got what he meant. The idiots around here would just automatically assume any guy with purple hair was gay, it was a fact. However, why would a gay boy be so worried about being seen as a gay boy? It just seemed like everything he was saying was making it harder and harder to believe he was gay tonight. He'd talked about kissing girls, he'd denied having any secrets, and now this.
"I know what you mean. You should still do it though, it'd look great on you plus you don't hang around those bigots nearly as much now."
"I might, if I get around to buying some dye..." He mumbled, staring down at the floor with a faint blush adorning his cheeks and the back of his neck. I was about to just nod and move on, reminding myself to bring it up again if we were ever out shopping together somewhere that'd have dye, when a sudden realization hit me.
"Wait! Sage has like a whole collection of dye! We could steal some of it!" I announced excitedly, already picturing how fun it'd be to help Tyler dye his hair. We could mess around and I could be there with him through the whole experience. I'd be the first to see it, I'd be able to help him when he got nervous, and I'd have an excuse to run my fingers through his hair.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea..." He mumbled, still blushing and refusing to meet my gaze. I simply rolled my eyes, hopping up off the couch and grinning down at him expectantly. I realized I was pressuring him into this, but I couldn't feel bad when I knew he'd wanted to do this for nearly six years now. He wasn't holding back because he didn't want to or because he was unsure, he was just nervous.
"Why not? I'll pay her back later, she doesn't even use it. Come on, I bet you'd look amazing with it." I tacked the compliment onto the end to suck up to him, knowing it'd tweak his vain streak just right. If there was one thing that worked when trying to bribe or suck up to Tyler, it was complimenting him. The mushier and more sentimental the better. He was a total self-obsessed sap, and I adored him. "If it doesn't turn out we'll just dye it a different color, sound good?"
"I meant I'd dye it in the future, you know? Maybe after graduation day or-"
"Hey, I'm watching a scary movie for you, now come on." I begged, taking a step closer to him and extending my hand for him to take. He didn't though, just staring down at my feet and shaking his head. He looked so scared, like I was trying to convince him to go on a huge rollercoaster or something. Was he really that worried about people at school giving him trouble or his hair looking bad? He should know I wouldn't let either happen.
"We can't do it right now! W-What about the trick or treaters?" He blurted, as if he was just begging for some kind of excuse not to do it at this point. I groaned, realizing he had a point. I'd promised to give out the candy. But if I didn't do this now we might not get the opportunity again. It didn't take any longer than a matter of seconds to decide where my priorities lied, my long legs moving quickly as I speed-walked toward the entryway. I grabbed a chair, a piece of paper, and a big black marker on my way.
Once I reached the door I balanced all of it in one hand and opened it, stepping out and setting the chair right in front of the door. I grabbed the paper, scribbling out the instruction to 'Take one each' onto it, before tucking setting it on the chair. I ran back inside then, praying there wasn't enough wind to blow the paper away before I managed to get back to it. I walked back out a second later, setting the candy bowl I'd just retrieved down on the upper part of the paper. There you go, kids, a self-serve bowl of candy. I was aware of the fact that the first teenager to come along would take every last piece, but I couldn't be bothered to care as the image of a purple-haired Tyler became more prominent in my mind.
I returned to him a moment later, taking in his sullen posture and realizing he'd given in already. I held my hand out to him, a cheeky grin on my lips.
"Now, come on." I demanded, only smiling harder when he sighed quietly and wordlessly grasped my hand, letting my pull him up into a standing position.
I swear to god if it doesn't look good I'm going to dye his hair green while he's sleeping tonight.
I smirked at Tyler's spiteful thoughts, knowing very well he didn't mean it. Despite being nervous as hell, he was clearly excited at the same time. I wasn't going to disappoint him. I've never dyed hair before, but how hard could it be? All you do is lather it in there and you're good to go, right?
Wrong. I was so very wrong. After watching approximately fifteen videos of people dying their hair I had come to a lot of conclusions. It was messy, allergic reactions were not uncommon, it stained and ruined everything you got it on, and it hardly ever turned out how people wanted it to. I was still determined to get my way though, even as I sat on my bed watching each of the girls explaining their negative experiences with certain brands of hair dye or certain colors. Tyler was sitting directly behind me, his chin resting on my shoulder and little skeptical sounds escaping the back of his throat occasionally when they said something particularly negative about it.
"It'll be fine, how could it go wrong now that we've watched so many videos on it?" I chimed hopefully, beginning to turn my head to face him before realizing he was so close I'd probably end up bumping noses with him or something.
"I'm sure they watched videos too, Troye. Maybe I should wait and go to a professional-"
"Nonsense! I am a professional!" I insisted, shuffling forward until he was forced to sit up. I jumped off the bed then, leaving him alone in my room as I padded across the hall to Sage's. I walked directly over to her closet, recalling the time a few months ago when I'd been snooping around her room looking for something to tease her with. I'd found a sappy love confession note from some boy, but I'd also found a huge stock of hair dye that made it look like she was getting ready to dye an entire heard of sheep or something. I trifled around in the huge drawer, grinning happily when I took out the perfect shade of light purple for the job. I grabbed multiple color options, though I knew very well which one he'd choose. After I had everything I'd need, taking a deep breath before heading back to my room.
Tyler was exactly where I'd left him on my bed, except he was now sprawled out horizontally and watching yet another hair dying video.
"Learning anything new?" I asked, setting my finds down on the bed beside him and not surprised at all when he immediately jumped to grab the packages and study them. I cleared my throat then, reminding him to reply to my question before he got too distracted.
"You should get some body lotion to put around my ears so it doesn't dye my skin. Also, I need an old shirt or something so I don't ruin my costume." He mumbled all of this distractedly, but I managed to catch it all. I nodded, immediately heading off to retrieve the items. I was going to get this right. It was going to look good, it had to.
After intently watching him unbutton his shirt and slip the other on, it was time to head toward the bathroom. He still looked nervous as hell, and slightly adorable in my over-sized sleep shirt, with his glasses already off, but I didn't even hesitate to usher him toward the bathroom eagerly.
"Come on, the sooner we get it onto your hair the sooner we can see the results!" I prodded, gathering up all the materials in my arms as I walked behind him. After we walked in he immediately sat on the edge of the tub, sighing quietly as he watched me spread everything out on the counter. Okay, we've got to put the body lotion on first so it doesn't dye his skin and then dye. I can do this, there's only two steps.
"If you don't think you can do it we can just wait-"
"No! Tyler, I promise, I can do it." I reassured him for the hundredth time, grabbing the lotion and turning to face him. He looked up at me through his eyelashes, a skeptical lopsided smile on his face.
"You promise?" He asked, staring at me tentatively as I walked over to stand in front of him, rolling my sleeves up as I went. I nodded, squirting a liberal amount of the lotion onto my hand. I would have felt guilty about the fact my mind was in other places as the clear liquid covered my hand, had I not noticed his flushed cheeks and slight smirk mirrored my own.
"If it doesn't look good, I swear on my life I will tell you who I like and what the Lily situation was." I muttered, biting my lip in concentration as I started to spread the substance along his hairline. I didn't rub it in, just leaving the gloop to sit on his skin. That's what the question and answer websites had told me to do, so I was just doing as I was told.
"I'm so holding you to that." Tyler replied, full-on grinning now as I gestured for him to turn. He did, exposing the back of his neck to me and letting me get to work on it as well. I smiled at the adorable little baby hairs that were way shorter than the rest, glad he didn't have eyes in the back of his head and could see my clearly infatuated smile.
"Good, because it's not going to happen. Your hair will look great." I stated for the hundredth time, letting my bottom lip loose finally after I finished my precision outlining of his hair. He sighed quietly then, clearly still not convinced as he crossed his arms over his chest. I walked back over to the counter then, taking the dye out of the box and reading the instruction sheet carefully. After I finished I glanced up, surprised when I locked eyes with myself in the mirror. I let my eyes drift further to the right, falling on Tyler's reflection and watching intently as he stared up at the ceiling, his knees rocking back and forth distractedly as he continued to look around the room. God, he was so adorable, it should be illegal for humans to be that perfect.
"Are you almost done? You're taking so long!" He whined, clearly unaware of the fact I could see him considering he let a goofy smile invade his features that totally cancelled out his impatient complaining. I was about to turn around when his eyes landed on the mirror, finding my reflection in the process. He furrowed his brows at first, clearly confused what I was looking at, before his jaw dropped and he scrunched his face up like an old man.
"Troye! Stop staring at me! You can't afford to get distracted right now, no matter how good looking the distraction is." He added a wink then, to which I dramatically rolled my eyes into the mirror, making sure he caught the movement. I grabbed the first bottle then, pouring the contents of the second one into it and only then remembering I'd forgotten to put the gloves on. I secretly hoped Tyler wouldn't pick up on my mishap that had occurred only seconds into the process, discreetly slipping them on before grabbing the bottle again and beginning to shake it. I watched it change color as the substances blended, beginning to feel excited when the dark purple started to form.
"It better not be that dark on my hair." I jumped when I heard Tyler's voice right by my ear, sadly backward instead of forward. My back collided with his chest and he let out a disgruntled grunt in reaction, though it sounded like it was in entirely different context with his lips so close to my ear. I let my eyes fall shut, mentally scolding myself about the dirty thoughts while I was in such close-quarters to him, only opening them again when he'd taken a step backward and his breath was no longer hitting the back of my neck.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Keep shaking the bottle, babe, I'll go back and sit down."
"Stay there this time." I scolded, though my voice didn't hold any serious anger. How could I even pretend to be angry when he'd used my favorite pet name? Ugh, he probably did that on purpose just so I couldn't be angry with him.
As instructed I continued to shake the bottle, blushing when I realized what the movement probably looked like from behind. All Tyler would see was my up jerking forward and backward. Why is dying hair so sexual all the sudden?! Or is it just because it's between the two of us? Either way, I promptly moved my hand further up and into his line of vision, blushing profusely as I did so.
"Is it almost blended yet?" Tyler whined eventually, causing me to turn around. I intended to glare at him, but ended up just smiling when I found him distractedly fiddling with the hem of my shirt he was wearing.
"Yes, Tyler, it's almost done." I sighed, halting my movements and starting toward him. I watched him noticeably gulp as I approached, his eyes trained on the bottle in my hands as I came to a stop standing between his legs. I moved the gloves further down on my wrist, making sure they were on perfect before I got ready to squirt some dye out onto my palm. Just as I turned it upside down Tyler stopped me, his hand darting up and grabbing my forearm.
"You know, maybe we should wait-"
"Tyler, I'm going to hit you if you try to back out of this one more time." I snapped, watching as he slowly withdrew his arm and placed it back at his side with a sigh. I finished what I'd started then, coating my hand in dye before grinning and splatting it directly onto the middle of his head in one not-so-smooth movement. His light blonde hair had immediately started taking to the dye, making it clear there was no going back now. If he backed out now he'd have a hand-print shape of purple in his hair, which wasn't exactly the look he was going for.
"Troye! It looks so bad!" I sighed, expecting his whine of protest. I opened my mouth to reply, before he cut me off by adding something more. "But do you know what doesn't look bad? Your butt in those jeans."
"W-What?" I stuttered out, looking over my shoulder at the mirror. I groaned when my eyes landed on his smug expression, expecting it a moment later when he threw his head back and cackled loudly. "You are such a brat."
"You love me." I rolled my eyes at his response, trying not to think of our awkward exchange earlier when I'd tried to say that to him. I turned back to him with intentions of picking up where I left off, when I realized his eyes were still trained on the mirror. Is he seriously checking out my ass or just making me think he is so he can tease me about it when I yell at him for checking out my ass? Either way, it was totally unacceptable. I moved backward, grabbing my white towel from behind the shower and ignoring the purple blotches my gloved hands left. I threw it over the mirror then, earning a frustrated groan from Tyler.
"Rude. I was enjoying the view."
"I don't care. Now stop distracting me or that dye will be darker than the rest because it'll sit longer."
"Okay, okay, get to work. Make me beautiful." I scoffed at this, stepping forward again and seriously starting in on the task. I ran my fingers through his hair, completely saturating it in the stuff. I noticed when my bottle was half empty that he'd let his eyes fall shut, a content cat-like smile on his lips as I continued to massage his scalp roughly. I smirked at how much he was clearly enjoying it before forcing my attention back to his hair. I leaned over him awkwardly, looking at his hair from every angle to make sure I'd gotten all of it.
"I think we're done." I announced finally, watching as his eyes flew open and his mouth fell open into a loud yawn.
"Good, that was super boring." Right, that's why you had a Chesire cat smile on the entire time and looked to be on cloud nine.
"I'm sure it was. What do you want to do while we wait for it to set?"
"Movie time?" He asked hopefully, batting his eyelashes as he looked up at me. I sighed heavily, knowing that was coming. We'd already decided to leave the dye in for longer than the box said, considering the reviews all said it would wash out too fast if we didn't. And what better way to pass the time than something totally distracting like a movie?
"I guess." I sighed out, not expecting it when he jumped up and threw his arms around my neck. I crinkled my nose up as I was met with a wave of the hair dye scent, and threw my arms out widely so I didn't get him covered in dye, but even this awkward hug was still enjoyable with him.
I can't wait to watch him freak out and jump at all the scary parts. He'll probably even try to bury his face in my chest.
Wow, somebody's awfully sure of himself, huh? It might not even be that scary. But just in case it was, I'm pretty much taking this thought as an open invitation to snuggle him. You know, if I have absolutely no other choice.
"Alright, come on."
A/n: As I said at the first of the chapter, v v v v v sorry he didn't come out in this chapter. Though, to be fair, I only planned on the very last two words being him saying "I'm gay" so it wasn't much of a dramatic miss-out anyway. Plus you got this right now and it's 14k words and I'm not even going to split it into two parts because I know y'all are thirsty. I love you all bunches and oodles and chicken noodles. Also, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND READS. Also TWO THOUSAND FOLLOWERS. Also, SO MANY OF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IT ON TUMBLR AND TWITTER IM CRYING I LOVE YOU. Now I have some important things to touch base on real quick. People have been pointing out sometimes i typo 0 instead of o and tbh im not editing it just because the reaction comments are funny and im lazy woopsie. Also, next thing, there has been some talk of Freak merch. I've found a website I could do this with, but only if the shirts are like 24-25 bucks which I know is a lot of money, even more than Tyler charges for merch, so I'm just throwing it out there that it is a possibility. There'd be 'the cute kind of awkward' shirts and probably like Casproach shirts, yanno, the deal. I'M JUST THROWING IT OUT THERE BC I SAW SO MANY REQUESTS, I AM IN NO WAY ASKING OR SAYING YOU HAVE TO BUY ANYTHING.
And last, but most definitely not least, the reason you've had to wait so long between these updates has finally been released. My new collab with @Itsonmymind AKA author of Gold Star Student, is officially posted on the collab account. @TroylerCollabCo. I don't know how to summarize other than werewolves, smut, fluff, and elaborate plot city. So idk, go check that out or I'll probably stab your eyeballs with toothpicks. I'll dedicate the chapter to the account. Lush you all.