Beyond the lights - Troyler AU

Chapter 6

Troye POV

Tyler was something else. I’d never met someone like him before. He was just so open. So… so out there. He didn’t hold back, he just said whatever was on his mind. I’d never met someone before who was so apologetically honest and totally unafraid to be themselves. He was passionate, warm, upbeat and on occasion downright silly. Not to mention giggly.

The first time I had heard his fucking scary, loud-ass witch cackle I swear to god my balls had practically jumped back into my body in fright. His laughter was contagious though, in fact I don’t think I’ve laughed that much in…well a long time.

The ‘interview’ had quickly dissolved into what felt like a normal conversation between friends. It felt like I’d known him for ages he was just so easy to talk to. Although he did have the tendency to go off at weird tangents.

I liked that he wasn’t afraid to tease me, it was refreshing to hang out with someone who wasn’t too busy sucking up to me to attempt to engage in friendly banter. When he laughed at my jokes and anecdotes it didn’t feel forced. It didn’t feel like he was pretending but rather than he genuinely found me funny and enjoyed my company. For the first time in a long time it felt like someone gave a shit about me. Just me. Not what I could do for them.

There had been a specific moment at the café when he told me about his own special way of dealing with break-ups that had taken me aback. He had just been so comfortable with exposing his vulnerability to me that it shocked me. So shameless in admitting his weaknesses. It was one of the bravest things that I had ever seen. I don’t think I would ever be able to do that.

To be honest I had expected him to give me a much harder time in the interview than he had done, but he seemed to have been going easy on me. Instead of pushing for answers, the minute he felt that I was uncomfortable with the direction of the questioning he would quickly steer the conversation to a different topic.

He was almost too considerate to my moods, likely because he was under the mistaken impression that there was something wrong with me.

There was a moment where he had caught me off guard though with a seemingly innocent question regarding my favourite memory. Immediately my mind had been thrown back to a particularly bittersweet moment in time. I wouldn’t say it was my happiest memory but it was definitely one of my most powerful ones.

The sun was sweltering hot and beating down upon us mercilessly. It was mid-January in Perth and everything was sticky in the heat of summer. Sage had dragged me to the local park to ‘live the day’ and ‘enjoy the sun’. This was all very well for her as she tanned beautifully whilst I with my pale complexion burnt like a crisp.

I had tried to hide in my room and act deaf but after about a half an hour of her whining that Tyde had soccer practise and Steele was on a date and all of her friends were ‘busy’ I eventually felt guilty enough that I just gave in despite my hatred of outdoors.

I was wearing a sunhat to stop myself looking like a tomato by the end of the day and I looked quite frankly ridiculous.  A fact that Sage had been all too eager to point out. When I had emerged from my room wearing the ridiculous hat, one hand on my hip and a prominent scowl on my face she had burst into a fit of giggles and then proceeded to inform me that I looked like an angry teapot. This had not gone down well and I had subsequently responded with the customary “I hate you” whilst flipping her off, to which as usual Sage replied with “You too Tok.”

By the time we got to the park I was in a decidedly sour mood. As I was melting by this point and frankly fed up of walking because I had never really been a fan of physical activity, I insisted we take a breather under the shade of a nearby tree. We chatted idly for a while before without really knowing how, we got onto the subject of our deepest darkest secrets.