twenty one pilots imagines (part two)

i [don't] hate you (tyler)

pairing: tyler joseph x reader
word count: 939
tw: angst(?), language

"don't freak out, okay?" josh randomly says, looking at me. i scrunched up my eyebrows.

"okayy?" i replied.

"tyler's coming over in like 15 minutes." he told me. i groaned loudly.

"fine. you're killing me, josh, i hope you know that."

josh was my cousin and best friend. we had been inseparable since we could talk. tyler was josh's other best friend and bandmate.

i bet you're wondering, why do i not want tyler to come over?

tyler was cocky. and arrogant. he always had snide comments and remarks that pissed me off. throughout the years, he was always an asshole to me, even if i tried to play nice.

and above all of that, the reason i hated him the most was the fact that i liked him. i liked his wicked ways. cliché, believe me i know. but i couldn't help it.

so i was into a guy who absolutely hated me. and i also hated him at the same time. i knew i could easily avoid him, by just not being at josh's when he was there, but that was the thing. no matter how much tyler and i hated each other, our common ground was always josh. he was our best friend, and we'd do anything to make sure he was happy. even if it meant dealing with each other.

"i'm sorry, i know you don't like him. i wish one day you could, but i understand." josh said to me. i frowned.

"i've tried to get along with him, but he's just not interested." i told him. he shook his head.

"he actually likes you. he just doesn't know how to ask you out. tyler...is complicated."

i laughed aloud. like really loud. josh almost seemed taken aback.

"first of all, THAT'S FUNNY. there's no way in hell, this boy has any interest in even having a normal conversation with me. and second of all, of course he's complicated. he's tyler freaking joseph."

"i'm serious. the reason he acts so vile is because he's shielding his emotions. he's always been like this."

"sure, josh, sure. next thing you know, you're telling me tyler likes bananas."

"haha, nope. not even close to likely."

"exactly my point."

just then, the doorbell rang. i was closest to the door, so i opened it. i was greeted by tyler, who was smiling. surprisingly, his smile didn't go away when he saw i was there.

"hello." he said simply, walking past me.

"uhm, hi?" i replied, surprised by his kind of nice mannerisms.

"hey, bro." josh said, greeting his best friend.

"sup, josh." tyler replied. the two of them did their little handshake before tyler sat down.

"i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but i ordered pizza and i have to go pick it up. if i leave will you kill each other?" josh asked us.

"nah, we're fine. go get the pizza." tyler assured him. i just sat there, gaping at tyler. he was acting like i was a normal person for once. i was stunned.

josh left and tyler just sat on the couch across from me, staring at me.

"you look nice today." he complimented me.

"are you on drugs?" i blurted out. his face scrunched up.

"what? i can't be nice to you?" tyler questioned. i chuckled.

"well, it's not normal of you. usually you're picking on me." i reminded him. he then looked away.

"i know, i just...assumed that you wouldn't want to be treated like shit right before i asked you out."

what.

the.

f-

"you what? ask who the what?" i asked him. his face turned a bit pink as he continued to avoid eye contact.

"the only reason i've acted like this was because i like you. i thought maybe you'd like my edge. but i wasn't aware that you just weren't digging it and i was seeming like an asshole, until josh told me. i'm sorry. i never meant to like, genuinely upset you."

i was silent as i tried to process his words. all this time, he never hated me. and really, i never hated him. i just hated that i didn't hate him, because i thought he hated me. the entire time, we liked each other but we were completely oblivious to the fact. especially me.

"you don't hate me." i finally stated.

"i don't hate you. i like you. a lot. and i'm sorry i was so complicated about it." tyler told me. i gave a small smile.

"so, you assumed i wouldn't want to be treated like shit before you asked me out. were you going to ask me out?" tyler smiled, as he nodded slowly.

"i mean, if you'd truly like to go out with me even after all this, i'd be honored."

i pretended to ponder the thought.

"okay, i will. but can you drop the edge just a bit? i think it's cute, but not when it's to the point where i have to think about whether or not you hate me."

"i think i can do that. so what do you say i pick you up tomorrow at 5 and we can grab taco bell?"

"sounds like a date."

tyler and i smiled as we just sat there looking like fools. i had never expected this. hell, i had never expected to even be smiling because of tyler joseph. but here i was.

after a few minutes, josh came bursting through the door with pizza in one hand and soda in the other.

"i come bearing food!!"