separation//[t.j.]

the bus.

"so, how did you guys sleep last night?" tyler asked us, taking a seat. we sat next to him, because nobody really wanted to be standing on a moving bus.

"i slept okay, not so sure about our kid here though." i told him. riley chuckled.

"i got an hour and a half of sleep." they admitted, grinning as if it was an achievement.

"jeez. excited or something?" tyler asked them. they nodded.

"a little- no, a lot. i'm really excited."

"well you can always head upstairs and take a nap. we're gonna be on this bus for twelve hours." it's actually 19 hours from columbus to denver but that's way too long so just go with it

"okay, okay."

riley went up the stairs to take a nap and i just turned to tyler.

"they're really excited. i don't think you understand how much it means to them." i told him. he just smiled and shrugged.

"you guys going with us for this tour is all i could want. of course i invited you guys." he replied. i noticed how he included me with everything he did with riley. like we were a family. but he really didn't have to.

"i'm surprised you invited me too. i mean, won't fans hate because i'm your ex?"

"don't worry about that." josh chimed in. "tyler lo-"

tyler threw his orange beanie at josh and gave him a look. i hid a smirk. was josh about to say tyler loved me?

"uh- uhm josh you wanna wear that?" tyler asked, nervously. i exchanged a glance with debby who was smiling.

"nope, i'm good." josh replied, throwing the hat back. "but you interrupted me. that's not kind."

"you'll live." tyler said.

i walked across the aisle and sat next to debby.

"you're just as pretty as tyler said you were. it's really nice to have another girl on the bus." debby told me. i smiled. she was so sweet.

"you're so sweet." i gushed. "riley literally grew up watching jessie and they love you."

"oh my gosh, i miss jessie. that was the peak of my career." debby replied.

"and it was around the time you met me." josh said, taking her hand. she smiled at him and kissed his cheek.

"that's something i'd never take back." debby said. tyler and i stood there, semi-awkwardly, as josh and debby were all lovey-dovey.

"we may be on a bus, but enough with the pda." tyler butted in. i snickered as i sat next to him again and both josh and debby gave him a dirty look.

"not our fault you don't have someone to be in love with." debby stated. tyler laughed.

"sure, i do. i have y/n." he turned to me and smirked. "oh, y/n, kiss me now. let's make out."

"of course, tyler. let's cuddle and have more kids." i joked around with him. we bursted out into laughter while josh and debby just exchanged looks.

"you guys act like you're joking but we see how you are." josh smirked. i immediately looked at the ground and became flustered. he wasn't wrong.

i looked at tyler quickly and he was just as flustered and nervous as i was. i started to wonder if he still had feelings for me too. but then i reminded myself that i was just being crazy. there was no way he still loved me. even if he did, we couldn't do that to riley.

"you guys want to play uno?" tyler suggested after a few moments. we all nodded in agreement.

"hold on, let me check on riley." i said. i quietly walked up the stairs and checked on riley. they were fast asleep in the top bunk of our bunk bed. i smiled.

"okay, let's play." i said when i came back downstairs.

time skip

after a bunch of games of uno and other board games that killed time, we finally arrived in denver.

i went upstairs to wake up riley. they were asleep the entire ride. it would be a bad thing considering it was about six pm, but not with riley. as long as they weren't anxious or excited, they could sleep the whole day and then sleep the entire night following.

"what are we doing first?" riley asked, yawning.

"we have to check into the venue we're performing at tomorrow so that we won't have any issues in the morning." josh told them.

"oh. fun." they said, disinterested.

"we also have to get you, your mom, and debby backstage passes so they don't harass you guys either." tyler added.

"makes sense." riley then nodded.

we arrived to the first venue they would be performing at, which was bluebird theater. we all got out and stretched, after having been stuck in a van for nearly the entire day.

"how was your sleep, sleeping beauty?" i asked riley. they just grinned at me.

"it was great, thanks for asking. surprisingly comfortable." they told me.

"all the beds, including the bunks have memory foam mattresses. makes you sleep like a baby." debby told riley.

"i definitely did sleep like a baby." ry agreed.

"you guys ready to go in?" mark asked. we all nodded and followed him inside the theater.

it didn't take us long in there. we just had to grab mine, debby, and riley's vip passes and then tyler and josh had to sign a few waivers. after that we were free to leave until we had to come back in the morning.

we had to be there at five in the morning.

"you actually gonna sleep tonight, riley?" tyler joked.

"are you?" they shot back sassily.

"damn, we got tyler junior over here i guess." josh said. we all laughed and riley just smiled proudly.

"you guys wanna get something to eat?" tyler asked. we all nodded in agreement because it was already seven.

"what should we get?" i asked, already knowing what tyler would want.

"taco bell." he stated.

"wow, i would've never guess that's what you would've wanted." i said, sarcastically.

we did end up getting taco bell anyways. after that, we parked in a bus lot and chilled out for the rest of the night. we hung out and played music and board games. around ten, we all just settled down and decided to go to bed.

after all, we had a long day ahead of us.