the relationship arrangement// tyler joseph

chapter two

on monday afternoon, you felt someone else's weight sink into your bed, beginning to wake you up. too tired to bother checking who it was, you ignored it and shut your eyes again, hoping to easily fall back asleep. you felt a hand reach out to touch you, pushing some of your hair away from your face. you groaned in protest as your eyes fluttered open and you flipped around.

you felt a sudden wave a shock once you saw tyler lying so close to you, a soft smile on his face. but then you remembered that he was your boyfriend, so this was totally normal. his hand was still out, his fingers twirling through your hair. something about his smile was playful and teasing, and you knew that he was doing this on purpose.

"time to get up, princess," he said, a tinge of sarcasm in his voice. you squinted your eyes at him. you were too tired to deal with him right now.

"don't call me that."

"fine. but get up before i pull you out of bed myself," he demanded, yanking on your arm.

"why are you even here right now?" you asked in exhaustion. you just wanted to fall back asleep, but obviously tyler wasn't going to allow that to happen.

"we have a date. now come on!" he exclaimed, pulling on your arm with even more strength. you sighed, sitting up so that he'd stop.

tyler continued to sit on your bed, his legs stretched out and ankles crossed over one another as you gathered your clothes. even after you had left the room and locked yourself in the bathroom to get dressed and ready, he still sat on your bed quietly, scrolling on his phone. you stood in the doorway, letting him know that you were done.

he looked up from his phone, his eyes subtlety traveling up your body for a split second before getting up. he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, pulling his car keys out of his pocket as the both of you headed for the front door. you allowed him to keep his arm there, despite the shivers that you got whenever he decided to touch you like this. you wondered if he got that same feeling, or if maybe he just felt nothing at all when he touched you.

when you got outside, he led you to the passenger side of his car and opened the door for you. you shook your head in disbelief as you got inside of his car. you loved how it smelt so much like him. his cologne, and something else that was so distinctly tyler that you couldn't put a name to.

"so, where are we going for this date?" you asked curiously once tyler got situated and started pulling out of the driveway.

"we're gonna play some basketball," he stated. "and later on, i'll take you out to dinner."

you appreciated the fact that tyler was taking this week long relationship seriously, even if it meant waking you up in the middle of your slumber. because although the relationship was unexpected and short, it was still supposed to be real, and tyler was making it exactly that.

at the basketball court, the sun beat down on the both of you as you each took shots into the net. tyler was always showing off by throwing the ball with his eyes closed or turning his back to the hoop and still making it in. he had definitely been getting it in a lot more than you, but that was no surprise.

"you're throwing it wrong," he told you as you attempted to shoot and missed the hoop, yet again.

"what? how?" you asked, your head turned towards him as you picked up the ball. you thought that throwing basketballs was pretty self explanatory, and didn't have any skill to it. you were confused as to what you could possibly be doing wrong.

"watch me," he said, lifting the ball slowly and throwing it so that you could watch his movements. you still didn't understand how he was doing it any differently than you, so you furrowed your eyebrows and gave him a puzzled look.

"i'll show you." he walked behind you and placed your hands in the correct position on the ball. he gently rested his hands on top of yours, causing you to suck in a breath of air. he was so close. not only were his hands touching yours, but your back was basically pressed against him. "alright. i'm gonna throw it with you now. watch how i do it." his voice was soft, only a breath away from your ear.

when he let go of the ball and it flew through the air, you were finally able to notice the different positioning of his hands. it was definitely easier to see when he was guiding you through it.

"now you try," he said, handing you the ball. you tried to copy his movements from before as you very carefully shot the ball. to your surprise, it actually flew through the net perfectly.

now that tyler had taught you how to properly shoot the ball, he decided that it was time to play one on one. you didn't think that was fair, considering he had only taught you one singular thing, but you decided to play with him regardless. it was just for fun, after all. and besides, you were always up for a competition against him.

not too long into the game, tyler's face was dripping with sweat, so he kept pausing to wipe his forehead with his arm. "it's so hot out here," he said between heavy breaths, dropping the basketball and letting it fall to the ground. in one swift motion, he pulled his shirt over his head. your eyes were glued to him, to his tanned chest and tattooed arms. he tossed his shirt at you without warning, and you quickly grabbed onto it.

"ew!" you grimaced once you noticed that it was damp with sweat. you threw it back at him, and he caught it with a laugh before setting it over his shoulder. you shifted your attention away from him for a second as you grabbed the basketball off of the floor, which was exactly when tyler decided to jump at you with a hug.

you squealed, dropping the ball as you attempted to pull away. it was no use though, because his grip around you was too tight. your face was now squished against his sticky chest, and his arms were wrapped snuggly around your back.

"gross," you mumbled against him, staying as still as possible. he was rocking back and forth as he embraced you, not bothering to let go.

"you're not gonna hug me back?"

you groaned, considering doing it just because of the sweet tone of his words. you reluctantly lifted your arms up, placing them around his bare back. he was drenched in sweat, but you were able to ignore the slippery feeling of his skin for the time being. as much as you wanted to pretend to be adverse to this hug, you realized that you were actually enjoying it.

he finally loosened his hold on you and pulled back, offering you a sweet smile. "we'll play for a little longer, and then we'll go home."

throughout the rest of the game, you couldn't stop gazing at his chest every second you got. even his arms, too. the way they flexed whenever he shot the ball, or when he'd place his hands on his hips. the golden sunlight seemed to make his skin glisten, and his tattoos only made him look even more beautiful.

xxx

"so, how am i doing so far?" tyler asked over dinner. he had taken you to a restaurant, so now he was sitting across from you in a booth. the dim lighting in the room casted a shadow across his face, but you could still see the hopeful glint in his chocolate brown eyes.

"you're doing great," you assured him.

"honestly?"

"definitely," you replied. he appeared to be relieved to hear that.

"alright, good. i have to make sure i'm being a good boyfriend," he said.

"you're being a perfect boyfriend," you told him truthfully. you weren't sure how he did it, but being a boyfriend seemed to come so naturally to him. he held you without any worry, his touch always so soft and gentle. his words were teasing, yet sweet. he made you feel like he truly cared.

and later on that night, when he dropped you off at your house, he only further proved your suspicions that being a boyfriend was just a natural instinct to him. he opened the car door for you again, and stopped you right outside of his car before you could make your way up the driveway. he pressed a kiss to your cheek, startling you and offering you a small smile as he got back into his car.

you felt the lingering touch of his lips on your skin as you walked inside of your house. you couldn't deny the inexplainable tingles he caused whenever he touched you, but you found that you craved it the more that he did it. in an attempt to keep feeling him close to you, you replayed the day's events in your head over and over again. you were his girlfriend, and it actually felt pretty amazing.