Holding On To You (A Twenty One Pilots Fanfiction)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I woke up the smell of something burning. I was alone on the couch. I picked my head up and peered into the kitchen. Tyler's back was towards me. He was wearing a tight grey tee and plaid pajama bottoms. I heard him mutter under his breath. He was messing with something on the stove.

I slowly walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his chest.

"Good morning," I smiled.

"Hey," his face instantly lit up as he turned around and kissed me. "I tried to make breakfast for us, but it didn't turn out so well," he said looking down at the burnt eggs in the frying pan.

"It's alright," I said, flattered that he even tried. I helped him clean up the mess, and realized that it was already nine o'clock.

"I wish I could stay, but I really have to get to my English class."

"Can't you take a sick day?" Tyler asked.

"No, because we have a test that I don't want to have to make up," I said sadly. "I also want to go to that dance meeting later on."

Tyler frowned.

"But I want to see you again before you leave. I'll text you, okay?"

"Okay," he said and kissed me goodbye.

I drove all the way back to my dorm with a smile. My classes went by rather quickly. I checked my phone and found a bunch of messages from Alex. Oh yeah. I hadn't told him yet.

Me: Hey... I have to talk to you about something. Meet me at the Starbucks in 10? I only have a little bit of time.

Alex: Sure, you sound serious. Is everything alright?

Me: See you there.

Alex was already waiting for me nervously when I walked in. We sat down at the little table in the corner.

"So what do you need to talk to me about?" he started.

"There's no easy way to say this..."

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" Alex interrupted.

"I think it would be best if we stopped... dating, I mean."

"What? Where... Where is this coming from? Is this about Tyler? Did I do something wrong?" he said frantically.

"It's not about anyone, except me. You didn't do anything wrong. Truthfully, you were a great boyfriend, and I'm breaking up with you because you deserve someone who loves you as much as you love them. And I'm so sorry, but that's not me," I worked out.

"So I guess that's it then?" Alex said clearly reluctant to let go.

"I would love it if we could still be friends?" I offered.

"I don't know Jess, I don't know," he replied, and abruptly left the coffee shop.

It killed me to tell Alex that. To see him so hurt. But at the same time, I felt as if this huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, finally. I proudly texted Tyler the news.

****

I walked back into my empty dorm; Kara went home today to attend her grandma's funeral. I crashed on my bed, exhausted. I had stayed up until three in the morning with Tyler last night. Plus, I've had three long classes today and attended the dance interest meeting. There would be class every other day for two hours for the next two weeks for observation. After two weeks, they would make a selection for the team. Those who don't get picked or aren't interested in competition can still be a member of the "Dance Club" and come to different classes at their leisure. I signed my name up on the clipboard to be evaluated for the team. The first class was on Wednesday.

Wednesday. The day Tyler was leaving. Two days from now. I let out a sigh. I wanted to see Tyler so badly, but I was exhausted. Speaking of him, my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hey, are you alright? You sound upset," Tyler's voice sounded from the other end.

"Yeah, I'm just really tired."

"I wonder why," he laughed, "how was your day?"

I told Tyler about how awful my English test was, and about the dance meeting. He asked a bunch of questions, and I answered them dully, in my tiredness.

"I want to see you," he whined.

"Me toooooo, but I don't feel like driving all the way over to you now. I haven't even eaten yet," I said.

"I'll bring dinner to your dorm," he offered.

"Aww, that would be so sweet."

"Chinese food?"

"Is that even a question?"

"I'll be there in a half hour."

"Mkay, see ya," I said.

****

A sudden knock on my door woke me up. I must have fallen asleep waiting for Tyler. I quickly looked in the mirror, fiddled with my hair, put lip balm on, and then opened the door.

"Mmmmm... that smells delicious," I said and took a deep breath in.

Tyler walked in and set the bag of food on my desk. He opened it, pulled out two paper plates, and dished the steaming chicken lo mein onto the plates.

"You remembered my favorite!" I squealed in excitement.

"Of course I did. You were crazy about this dinner when we were kids," he chuckled.

"Yeah I guess I was," I smiled, "thank you very much."

He pulled Kara's desk chair over to my desk, and we sat in silence while we enjoyed the food.

"So where are you going next on tour?" I asked.

"New York actually. We're leaving early on Wednesday morning," he replied.

"Nice, I wish I could go with you, but I have school."

"Yeah I know, but we'll be home in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving," he said.

"That's like a month away," I frowned.

"I know, but neither of us can do anything about it. We'll just have to rely on facetime a lot!"

"Yeah," I said, still disappointed that he was leaving so soon. "I can't believe we finally started dating, right before you are gonna leave."

"Better than not dating at all," he smiled.

"True," I said, and he gently grabbed my hand.

We talked the rest of the night away, and due to dorm rules he eventually had to leave. We shared a long goodbye kiss, and he left without another word.

In bed, I just smiled, so pleased to finally be dating Tyler. It was always meant to be, just a matter of time before it happened. I closed my eyes, but my happy thoughts kept me awake for while. Eventually the exhaustion took over, and before I knew it, my alarm went off. I frowned, not because I was tired, but because this was the beginning of Tuesday, the last day with Tyler before he left.