Always You | Tyler Joseph

Chapter Eleven

"Chase two girls, lose the one."

April 2005

Lennon's world had ended the day Tyler got a girlfriend.

The way she had found out had been unfortunately embedded into her memory, haunting her every day since.

She had been waiting outside of the gymnasium for him to take her home and, after watching the rest of the team leave, went inside to see what was taking him so long. She'd walked around the empty gym, seeing no sign of him. Reluctantly, she'd ventured toward the locker rooms. She wasn't planning on going in, she'd just planned on knocking obnoxiously until he came out; but, when she'd walked into the hallway, her heart shattered.

Tyler was kissing Bri.

He had quickly pulled away from her, wide eyes staring at Lennon, while Bri had worn an evil smirk.

Lennon could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and she'd quickly hurried out before either of them could witness.

"Wait! Lenny, wait!"

She'd ignored Tyler's pleas and ran out of the school, not looking back as she'd left toward her home. Her feet had pounded against the hard pavement, sweat and tears mingling on her cheeks. Anger was swimming in the pit of her stomach, and she hadn't even know why. Tyler was allowed to have a girlfriend, right? Of course he was. She knew that he was. It was who that was the problem.

"Lenny! Lenny, please, stop," Tyler had called, running after her. "Just stop and talk to me. Lenny!"

When he'd finally caught up with her he'd grabbed her arm to stop her and turned her to face him. Her face was streaked with running mascara, and the betrayal etched into her features had pierced Tyler through the heart. All words had been lost to him as he'd stared at her. He hadn't known why it felt like such a big deal to him. He hadn't known why it hurt so much.

"Lennon, I'm sorry. I should've told you," he'd apologized, letting go of her arm.

She had shaken her head, angry tears falling down her face as she told him, "anyone but her."

She'd turned to leave, but Tyler had reached out and stopped her once again.

"Please, Lenny, let's talk about this," he'd begged her.

"What is there to talk about, Ty? The fact that you're dating the girl who has tried to make my life a living hell for the last two years? The fact that she has tried, on multiple occasions, to get closer to you just to spite me? Or, how about, the fact that you've kept all of this from me for god knows how long? Is that what you want to talk about? By all means, go ahead," she'd yelled.

"Lenny, she's not like that anymore. She's changed," Tyler had defended.

"No, she hasn't. She's still a bitch who's using you, and you're too blinded to see it," she'd scoffed.

"Don't talk about her like that! It's not my fault that you're jealous of her."

He had said it too quickly before he could stop himself. His eyes had instantly filled with regret as he'd watched hers fill with hurt. Wordlessly, she'd turned around and walked off. That time, he hadn't gone after her. He'd stood, motionless, watching her fade into the distance.