never mine// tyler joseph

chapter nine

sunlight poured in through the windows in tyler's living room as val sat on the couch, her legs criss-crossed and a blanket pooled over her lap. she watched as tyler sat down close beside her, a hint of a smile present on his face. he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into his embrace. she fell into him, resting her head against his chest. his hoodie was soft against her skin, making her feel extremely cozy.

she felt gentle kisses upon her forehead, prompting her to lift her head up. she met his chocolate brown eyes, which were staring intently and lovingly at her. he placed a few fingers under her chin, picking her head up and attempting to move her closer to him. she leaned in, closing the space between them with a soft kiss.

she loved the feeling of his lips against hers. it made everything feel all fuzzy inside. his arms were so warm around her, and she never wanted to leave his grasp. the moment was so magical and comfortable at the same time.

he pulled away, and when she opened her eyes she noticed that his smile had widened. his face still remained close and his lips hovered above hers. she thought that he looked adorable. she needed to kiss him again.

as she went to lean in, she heard a buzzing sound. slowly, everything started to fade. tyler's warmth, his touch that she had been basking in. it all began to dissipate. she opened her eyes, only to find herself in her own bedroom. she tiredly sat up and turned to her nightstand to pick up her phone. as she went to answer aria's call, she could only think about one thing.

what in the world was that dream?

xxx

aria had called to ask if the both of them could hang out today. val agreed, even though she had just woken up when she had answered the call. she quickly got up and ready, but it was hard when she could only focus on one thing. that dream. it plagued her thoughts from the moment that she got up, all the way until now, when she was getting in the passenger seat of aria's car.

she considered bringing it up and talking about it with her, but she wasn't sure. she just felt so awful and weird about it. she had a boyfriend, yet she was quite literally dreaming about another boy. then again, it wasn't completely her fault. maybe she was just dreaming about being with tyler because it was something oliver had brought up recently.

however, nothing could excuse the fact that she liked it. in her dream, she enjoyed the feeling of being with tyler, and that feeling never disappeared. she still recalled it so clearly. she remembered waking up, and for a split second hoping that what she had just experienced wasn't just some aspect of her imagination. now, all she wanted was to pretend that it had never happened.

she sighed to herself, still debating whether or not she should bring it up. she knew that her friend would be there for her, and evidently this was really bothering her, so she decided that maybe it was best to talk about it.

"so, wanna hear about this really weird dream that i had?" val started, looking to her friend nervously.

"yeah," aria said with a nod, quickly glancing at val to assure her that she was listening.

"okay, well, basically... i was with tyler. and i mean, with tyler. his arm was around me. i was cuddling with him. he was kissing my forehead. and then... we kissed. like, you know, on the mouth," she explained, cringing. it was awkward saying all of this out loud, but it was the only way that she'd get this to stop pestering her.

aria's mouth slightly hung open, like she wasn't quite sure what to say. thankfully, she managed something. "a lot of people have dreams like that."

"yeah, but the difference is that i enjoyed it, okay? i liked being with him, and it makes me feel so bad because imagine how oliver would react to this," val admitted.

"do you mean that you liked being with him when you were in the dream, or that you still like it right now?" she inquired.

"i don't know. it's hard to explain. i liked it in the dream, but i'm not sure if i would still like it now, because obviously i've never actually kissed him to be able to tell," she replied. "tyler is still just tyler to me. but now i'm going to be thinking about this the next time that i see him."

"maybe you should just kiss him to find out," aria joked. val stared at her with an annoyed expression. "okay, fine, i'm just kidding. i don't think you should worry about it. it's just a dream, and sometimes they don't make any sense. they just make you feel a bunch of different things, which confuses you. it's nothing. besides, you've been with oliver for so long. you know you love him," she stated.

"yeah. you're right," val responded, trying to brush off her worrying thoughts.

"besides, you shouldn't be afraid of your own feelings. don't push them away," she said. even though val knew that she was right, she still didn't like to entertain the thought of her and tyler together. she truly did love oliver, and she didn't want to betray his trust, especially since she had asked him for it so many times.

it was silent for the rest of the car ride, until they pulled into the parking lot at their favorite place to eat lunch. they both got out of the car and made their way inside, sitting down at a booth.

"so, i have a few questions," aria started as they sat quietly, waiting for the server. "what would you do if tyler got a girlfriend? would you be super happy for him?" val furrowed her eyebrows, giving her friend a very confused look.

"yeah, i'd be really happy for him," she stated, still not completely sure why her friend was asking this type of thing.

"do you think a girl would change anything between your friendship with him? would he spend too much time with her and less time with you?" the questions were becoming too much, so val definitely knew something was up. she just had no idea what the purpose behind this was.

"things might change, i guess. i don't think he'd leave me out though," val replied.

"what if he did leave you out?"

"i'd be really sad, probably. why are you asking me all of these questions?"

"if the girl was causing problems between you and him, would you want them to break up?"

"i don't know, not if she makes him happy. now can you answer me?"

"would you be with tyler instead if you knew that all of those problems could go away and you could finally spend time with just him, alone?"

val didn't answer the question right away. she stared at her friend across from her, shocked that she would ask something like that. aria knew that she had oliver, and that she loved him wholeheartedly. she knew that tyler was her best friend. why would she ever ask her if she'd date him?

"you can't seriously expect me to answer that," val told her, nerves evident in her tone.

"yeah, i know," aria said with a sigh.

"can you please just tell me why any of this matters?" val pleaded.

"you just seem really mixed about your feelings, so i guess i was trying to dig a little deeper. maybe it'll make things clearer for you," aria explained herself. val scoffed, miserably laughing to herself.

"things are only more confusing than they were before," she admitted.