"don't go telling me
that i could have anybody"
—
I slowly sipped water from the clear plastic cup as I waited, trying to distract myself. I had been sitting in this fucking chair for probably over thirty minutes and my butt was starting to hurt.
It felt like an eternity later when someone came back into the room. This time it was a female cop, her dark hair pulled up into a bun.
"Tyler Bennet right?" I nodded in reply, sitting up in my chair. "My name is Corey. I'm going to need a parental or guardian's phone number so we can contact them and explain the situation but otherwise, you are free to go"
"So can just leave?"
"Yes, but there will be consequences to your actions. We will be in touch with your family. Now, I need a phone number" Corey finished. I nodded before telling her my mom's phone number and name.
"Thank you Tyler," the officer said as she wrote the numbers down on a small notepad.
"Oh also, here's your backpack," she said grabbing a backpack that was sitting outside the door. "It was left in the police car, sorry about that"
"That's okay, thank you" I replied as I grabbed my bag from her outstretched hand.
"Should I call your mom to come pick you up?" the officer said as she led me out of the room and into the waiting room.
"No she's busy right now I'll get my friend to pick me up, is that okay?" I asked, shouldering my bag.
"Yeah, that's fine. We will be in touch" I nodded before Corey walked away, leaving me alone in the quiet waiting room. I ran a hand through my hair before removing my backpack from my shoulders and digging through it to find my phone.
"Shit" I muttered to myself, realizing I was supposed to be at Jae's house 30 minutes ago. I had gotten a few texts him and a ton from Jack but the first thing I did was call Jaeden.
"Ty are you okay," Jaeden asked the second he picked up.
"Yeah, I guess," I said before huffing a humorless laugh. "Do you mind picking me up?"
"Yeah of course, where are you?"
"Police station" I mumbled, walking out of the building.
"Wait what the fuck, why?" Jaeden exclaimed, obviously worried. "Ty are you okay, did something happen, what the fuck-"
"Jae I'm fine, I'll explain everything when your here, please just come pick me up," I said quietly, taking a deep breath.
"Yes, yeah, of course, I'm coming right now." Jaeden replied.
"Thank you, you're the best," I said, now completely exhausted and fed up.
I knew my mom was going to find out about it, but when the officer said that they needed her phone number, my stomach dropped. I'm genuinely scared to go home.
Once Jaeden hung up I pocketed my phone and sat down on the curb of the parking lot. When Jaeden pulled in five minutes later, all I had thought about was what my mom was going to say.
"Hi," I said collapsing into the passenger seat.
"Hey," Jaeden replied softly, starting to drive again. "Are you okay?"
I nodded quickly, not trusting myself to speak.
"Ty" Jaeden sighed, looking over at me, his green eyes soft and caring. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the headrest as a few tears escaped and slid slowly down my face.
"I'm fine, just overwhelmed" I replied, pressing the heels of my hands to my eyes, maybe a little too harshly, trying not to let more tears out.
"Hey," Jaeden said softly, glancing over at me and grabbing one of my hands. "Ty it's okay not to be okay, you know that right?"
I shrugged, because, no, I didn't really know that.
I'm supposed to be okay, I am okay.
Jaeden shook his head from beside me as he rubbed my back soothingly. I glanced over at the taller boy before rubbing my eyes with the hand that Jaeden wasn't holding, feeling like a toddler.
"Tyler" Jaeden said softly. His voice held so much emotion, it sounded like he actually cared for me, and that made it much harder to stop crying.
A couple more tears tumbled down my cheeks as I took a few shuddering breaths. We sat in silence as Jaeden drove home, slightly overcast day not helping at lightening the mood. He pulled into his driveway and let go of my hand as he got out of the car. I grabbed my bag from the floor and opened the door before getting out.
Jaeden stood in front of the car, his arms open. I give him a watery smile before walking into his warm hug.
"S'okay" Jaeden mumbled into my hair. "No matter what happened, I've got you"
"I don't deserve you," I said softly as I tried to blink back more tears. "I'm such a fucking mess. Why do you even put up with this shit"
"Stop," Jaeden said pulling away brought so he could look at me. "Ty, no. Do not say shit like that. Actually. You are not a fucking mess, you are amazing, okay?"
I really really didn't want to fight with him right now. This boy could, without a doubt, find someone one thousand times better than me, prettier than me, not as fucked up as me. A better fucking person than me.
Of course, he could. It's Jaeden.
But. I didn't want to fight.
"Okay" I replied sliding my arms around his waist again.
"Let's go inside and watch a bunch of movies and make some popcorn okay?" Jaeden said, one of his hands running through my hair.
"Yeah," I breathed, smiling softly, genuinely.
"Sounds great"
//
A shiver ripped through my body as I pulled the blanket closer around myself while I watched the movie that was playing on Jaeden's computer. I wasn't paying much attention, my mind coming up with multiple different scenarios of what was going to happen the second I walked into my house.
"Ty," Jaeden said quietly from beside me.
"Yeah" I murmured glancing over at him.
"Com'ere'' he said with a small smile. I happily obliged, shifting over so I could lean my head on his chest, his arms automatically wrapping around me.
His shirt was soft against my cheek as I breathed in the comforting scent of the pretty boy.
Lavender.
My heart seemed to stop beating for a moment as Jaeden gently ran his hand through my hair, delicately twisting a few strands between his fingers.
It hurt, knowing Jaeden didn't see me as anything more than a friend, especially since I couldn't seem to go a day without him.
I knew he didn't want anything more than what we had right now, since he was the one to suggest that we just forget about the new year's kiss. I was honestly scared of how much I liked him, I had never felt anything remotely close to this before.
Even with Nick, I was attracted to him, he was hot, for sure, but my feelings didn't seem to go any farther than that.
With Jaeden, I felt safe.
He held me in his arms so gently and I couldn't help but smile softly, butterfly's erupting in my stomach, the fluttering of their wings ticking, making my stomach twist.
Funnily enough, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, maybe I had just gotten used to it by now since it seemed to happen any time Jaeden was around.
I had fallen, hard, and I couldn't do anything about it. I would rather have Jaeden as just a friend then try for something more and lose him altogether.
Still fucking hurt though.
"Can you please explain what you were doing at the police station?" Jaeden whispered, interrupting my train of thought. I fiddled with the sleeve of Jaeden's t-shirt before taking a deep breath.
"Yeah of course" I replied quietly before starting to explain.
"Basically, I was walking home from work and I saw Jack and Lexi spray painting something onto a building. So obviously I went over to check on them and I fucking told Jack that he shouldn't be doing that. Or at least in the middle of the day, like how fucking dumb do you have to be, honestly. Jack has already been arrested for vandalism so if he got another charge it wouldn't look very good. I guess someone saw them doing that, because once again, middle of the fucking day, and called the police. So I covered for them and they ran away. I got arrested, whatever, not a big deal I really don't care. The only thing I actually care about is that the police got my mom's number so they could tell her what happened" I said before glancing up at Jaeden, who was already gazing at me.
"So you took the blame for Jack?" He asked, tilting his head slightly. I just nodded, looking back down at the now-forgotten movie.
"You are too nice for your own good," Jaeden said quietly, pressing a light kiss to the top of my head.
The butterflies multiplied.
I scoffed "Yeah right" I mumbled, rolling my eyes.
"I'm serious T," Jaeden said, dropping his hand from my hair. My body froze at the nickname. No one had called me that in, well, since Bea called me that. Five years. But honestly, it sounded nice coming out of Jaeden's mouth, the way he said it.
It felt nice.
I relaxed back into his chest, Jaeden continuing to talk, too lost in his thoughts to realize what had just happened.
"You got fucking arrested and didn't tell anyone that it wasn't even your fault" I just shrugged, the room falling silent as I tried to concentrate on the movie. The random faces and choppy dialogue swam through my brain, I didn't understand the plot since I had zoned out for most of it.
"I'm fucking terrified" I whispered, quietly enough that I wasn't even sure if Jaeden heard me.
"Of what?" he asked quietly in reply, signifying he did indeed hear the words I had spoken softly.
"My mom. What's going to happen when I get home. It's all I can think about '' I mumbled, afraid to speak too loud, though I wasn't even sure why.
Everything seemed so peaceful when I was with Jaeden, even as I was worrying about what would happen when I got home, my nerves started to ebb with Jaeden's arms around me. With Jaeden in general.
I guess I was afraid that if I talked too loud, the comfort and gentleness that surrounded us in this moment would be ripped away, leaving me completely defenseless, nowhere to go.
"I promise you everything is going to work out. If its that bad when you get home, just come right back. I could explain a little bit of what happened to my parents and I know that they would let you stay the night without a doubt, they love you Ty. Everything is going to be okay" Jaeden said, his green eyes dancing in the reflection of the computer, turning them a sparkling silver colour. I met his gaze and a small smile slid onto my lips.
"Thankyou Jae. For everything honestly. I don't say this enough but thank you" I said, and Jaeden smiled widely, dimples appearing on his cheeks. I quickly tore my eyes from his soft lips, where my gaze had automatically wandered.
I realized just how close we actually were, how easy it would be to lean in and press my lips to his, just like new years.
I needed him right now, a lot, in many different ways, but mostly as someone I could talk to, as a friend.
If I fucked it up by kissing him, I honestly don't know where I would go or what I would do. I didn't want to take that chance. So instead I rested my head against his chest again, trying to shake the thoughts from my mind.
"I'm bored of this movie, I didn't even know what's happening" Jaeden mumbled, playing with my hair again.
"Honestly same," I said laughing softly.
I felt Jaeden's chest rise as he gasped. I glanced up at his, my eyebrows furrowing, before realizing his face had broken out into a wide grin.
"What?" I asked, tilting my head to the side inquiringly.
"I just had the best idea!" Jaeden exclaimed. "Grab the computer" he ordered.
"What am I? Your slave?" I grumbled but sat up and grabbed the computer anyway.
"Wait a second, this is going to be so much better than the lame movie" Jaeden said as he typed something into the search bar. I couldn't help but smile at his behavior and how excited he was.
"Well, isn't this suspenseful" I replied grinning.
Jaeden looked over, his dimples making another appearance as he smiled, his eyes crinkling slightly.
"We are watching The Backyardigans" he announced. I laughed, before ruffling his hair.
"Fuck yes"
—
come outside- acid dads
+
the backyardigans
is the best show to ever exist.
try and convince me otherwise.
you literally can't.
-t🦕