The thing about Troye

12

***

'He's in the same place as before, but this time the silence was scary and the trees in the woods seemed sinister, as well as their eerie shadows that covered any light from the moon. Tyler blindly stumbles through the woods trying to stick to some sort of path. He walks and walks, not bothering to yell for help- no one would be around. His feet ache and the hairs on the back of his neck never went down. Goosebumps raised and stayed as well. Tyler thinks he sees something ahead and starts jogging cautiously over to a large tree, where a pinprick of light was showing. He thrusts his hands out to find the tree's surface was smooth. He feels around to find it wasn't a tree at all...It was a large door. He gives it a shove, and light floods his eyes, overriding his senses. In the midst of all the chaos, He could clearly see a dark hooded figure stand out against the white.'

***

I wake up, gasping for air. In reality, I take a breath much too big, swallowing and choking on air. My coughing fit wakes up the boy sleeping across from me.

Troye quickly sits up from where he was asleep and trips out of bed, then kneeling by me on the bed he asks, "Tyler? Ty are you okay? Was it a nightmare?"

Trembling, I throw my arms around his neck and breathe heavily, nodding. He pulls me onto his lap, so my legs are straddling his waist. He rubs my back soothingly. I ignore the pulsating, almost burning electricity, and he pulls me back so I can look at him in the eyes. His stormy blue orbs were clouded with concern, and his soft pink lips were drawn into a troubled frown.

"Tilly, calm down...wanna talk about it?" He whispers, leaning down so our foreheads touched. In the dim morning lighting, with the boy of my dreams staring at me, it calms me somewhat.

"Tilly?" I ask. He blushes.

"I don't know, I thought it was cute..." He trails off his eyes flickering down, then up again. I smile, trying to calm my breathing.

"It's cute, and I'm fine. It's been a long stressful week." I confirm. He smiles.

"Alright, but if you wanna tell me, I'll listen..." Troye leans in and pecks my cheek.

My heart pounds and the electricity between us almost hurts. I pull his face to mine, kissing him. He smiles into the kiss and places a searing hand on my face. We pull apart. Instead of looking happy, he looks almost concerned. I frown. Was it something I did? My lips burn.
"A stressful week," he whispers, looking down. He looks back up at me and now I'm worried.
"Troye?"
He puts a hand to his head, moving away from me.
"Tyler," he starts. "What day is it?"
His eyes are wide now and they keep flirting almost nervously around the room.
"I just kissed you for god's sake, and you want to know the date? What the hell are you-"
"What's the day?"
I'm taken aback by his insistence.
"Wednesday," I deadpan.
He continues to seem to look for something, before giving up and perching himself away from me on my bed.
"No no, the date. How long have I been here?"
"It's the 28th," I answer him, regarding him quizzically.
"Shit."
I stand.
"Troye, what's going on?"
He doesn't meet my eyes.
"I- I have to go, I'm sorry I ruined a moment, but I have to go, uh, check on something- I'm sorry...I'll be back,"
He stutters and stumbles over his words as he grabs a jacket from his wardrobe and throws it on, putting the hood up and turning back to me, taking my hand in his with a small spark.
"Ty...Tilly, there's a lot going on that you're not gonna understand right away, okay?" His crystal eyes are alert, and filled with concern and guilt.
I'm hungry for information- to know what he knows. In fact- to know anything at all. I let the hand that was holding his drop to my side.
"Troye? What's going on, I'm worried..." I plead with him, now wondering if jumping into a relationship like this was a mistake.
He sighs and looks down, leaning forward so his head was hanging over my shoulder in a hug.
"Tyler, I'm..."
He pauses, obviously having an internal war with himself.
"I'm sorry." He finishes, pulling away to look me in the eyes. Troye has paled almost to the point of a translucent white color, and I reach out to take his hand. He turns away, and I open my mouth to protest.
"I'll explain later...Uh...soon, yeah. Soon. I promise. I'm so sorry. I have to leave to see my family." He stammers. He heads for the door and looks back one last time.
"I have to go. I'll be back I swear- don't worry yourself."
I share in shock. The door closes and he's gone.