the relationship arrangement// tyler joseph

chapter three

on tuesday, tyler told you that he was having a show tonight. he wanted you to come, which wasn't unusual. you typically attended most of his concerts since it was still a rather small band. the only thing different about tonight was that you were his girlfriend, and he was going to have friends with him. which meant that he was going to have to tell everyone that you were now together.

you were nervous just thinking about it, but of course you knew that you were going to have to tell his friends at some point. they started this whole ordeal in the first place by making fun of tyler, so it would only make sense to get back at them by showcasing your relationship with him. it was just strange to tell someone about something when you knew that it would be over soon.

you were in a dressing room in the back of the venue a while before the show so that tyler and josh could set their equipment up and get ready. you were sitting on the couch by yourself until tyler eventually came back, dressed in his usual show outfit which consisted of leather pants and a button up shirt.

he landed on the couch beside you with a sigh, causing you to direct your attention over to him. "you're done?"

"pretty much. we go on in a few minutes," he explained, leaning his head back. his eyes were looking down, giving you a perfect view of his eyelids and long dark eyelashes. just one more aspect that made him so incredibly alluring.

looking at his eyes gave you an idea, but you weren't sure if you actually wanted to do it. it would include touching tyler's face and being extremely close to him, which would be nerve wracking. but then again, he always seemed to be making an effort to be near you. he most likely wouldn't mind.

"i've got something that'll make you look even better for the show," you said vaguely. his eyes darted over to you with a look of confusion.

"what?"

"close your eyes," you told him, turning yourself towards him.

"come on," he protested, but you interrupted him before he could get another word out.

"just close them!" he listened, and you opened the bag you had brought with you, shifting through it until you found what you needed. "alright. now face me."

"i can't even see you."

"stop being stupid and just turn around." he obliged, turning his body towards yours.

you took the cap off the eyeliner and brought it to his face. you lightly held his jaw in place in order to keep his head still as you pressed it to his eyelid.

"oh gosh," he breathed out, trying to stifle a smile.

"stay still," you muttered, focusing on the line you were drawing along his eye. you could feel each quiet breath he took against your hand, his air brushing you like a feather. the black substance glided across the smooth skin of his eyelid, and you found yourself slowly inching closer and closer to his face. when you finished one eye, you quickly moved on to the other, repeating the same process.

once you finished, you pulled your hand away but still kept your own face close to his to make sure that everything looked right. he opened his eyes, meeting your gaze.

"are you done?" he asked softly, his voice barely a whisper because of how close you were to him.

"yup," you replied with a smile, quickly moving away from him.

he stood up, making his way towards the mirror that was attached to the vanity. "wow. i look hot," he stated, turning back towards you with a chuckle. you silently agreed that it did make him look hot.

"hey, tyler, are you ready?" you heard josh's voice call from outside of the room.

"yeah, i'm ready," tyler responded. he started leaving the room, signaling with his hand for you to come with him. you followed him and josh to the area right behind the stage since they would be going on right now.

"alright. i'll see you after," tyler told you, placing a hand on your waist and pressing a kiss to your cheek right before turning around to go on stage. josh was behind him, but still shot you a puzzled expression as he walked away. obviously tyler hadn't told him about this yet.

you noticed that tyler hadn't kissed you, like actually kissed you on the mouth, since your first kiss. you wondered if maybe he held back because he didn't want to make you uncomfortable, or maybe he just thought that the first one was enough and nothing more was necessary. you hoped that he would kiss you again, that he wanted to. although you thought that it was strange at first to kiss someone who had only ever been your friend, you quickly had come to know that tyler's closeness brought about a flurry of emotions and feelings within you.

xxx

after the show, you, tyler, josh, and a couple of their friends went out to eat. ever since josh saw him kiss you on the cheek, and the others witnessed him wrapping an arm around you multiple times, they all had a bunch of questions.

"wait, so you guys are dating?" josh asked confusedly as he took a bite of his food. tyler answered his question by nodding his head.

"since when?" one of his other friends had asked.

"a few days."

"how did that even happen?"

"we're just in love," tyler said with a smirk and a hint of sarcasm in his voice. you knew that he didn't mean it, but the thought of him being in love with you still made it feel like your insides were melting.

"yeah, right," one of them laughed. "didn't you just say the other day that you would never date her?" you tried to hide the fact that that simple statement made your stomach drop and churn. you glanced over at tyler worriedly, hoping that what they were saying was untrue.

"i think you misunderstood me," tyler replied. you could tell that he was uncomfortable by just the tone of his voice. it had gone from lighthearted and joking to serious and nervous.

"nope, you definitely said that," he stated. "you even said that she wasn't your type." tyler didn't respond to that, and josh changed the topic of conversation because he most likely noticed the switch in his friend's behavior.

you stood quiet the rest of the night, too bothered by what his friend had said to speak to any of them, including tyler. you would obviously have to ask him about it later, but the thought of tyler saying that hurt you immensely. but you probably should've known. he was your friend before, of course he had denied ever wanting to date you. you would've done the same thing. but if he truly did feel that way, why was he so quick to call you pretty and ask you to do this with him?

it wasn't until you were in tyler's car later that night when you decided to ask him about it. he was about to drive you home, but he hadn't actually pulled out of the parking lot yet.

"is what they said true?" you managed to ask him, your voice quiet. tyler seemed hesitant to answer, biting his lip and refusing to make eye contact with you. "so it is, i'm guessing."

"not the way that you think," he finally told you. "i did say those things to them. but it was the other day, when they were bothering me about never having a girlfriend. they decided to bring you into it, and i said it hoping that they would shut up about it." you felt a little relieved upon hearing his explanation, but you were still afraid that maybe he believed those things to be true, and just didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling you.

"it's alright. i understand," you replied, but you didn't sound reassuring in the slightest.

"hey," tyler said softly, reaching over and grabbing one of your hands. his dark eyes were staring at you intently as he spoke and his fingers soothingly rubbed against yours. "i would've never asked you to be my girlfriend this week if i actually thought any of those things." something about the soft tone of his voice made it impossible for you to not believe him.

"okay," you said with a slight smile. "it's okay. i just wanted to ask."

he didn't let go of your hand for the whole drive, not until he pulled up in front of your house. you were about to open the door to get out, but he stopped you.

"you're forgetting something," he said with a pointed look. when you didn't understand him, he motioned with his finger for you to come closer, so you did. he kissed your cheek once again, causing a smile to spread across your face. "goodnight."

"goodnight, ty." you got out of the car, and you could feel your face heat up as you walked up the driveway and into your house.