ᴍᴏᴄʜᴀ | ᴛʏʟᴇʀ ɢᴀʟᴘɪɴ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ✔︎ [ON HOLD]

VII

I had spent literally all week preparing for this; day and night, every breath, it haunted me. This could very well change the next few years — and possibly the rest of my life — after all.

Since I was probably going back to Nevermore, I decided it was well within my right to just skip school until the day itself. Why would anyone care?

Of course, since I couldn't see Tyler, our main form of communication was my morning coffee pick-up, and even that time was limited because of early school hours. We could always text, but it just wasn't the same as being face to face or on call, which he barely had time for.

But even with little to no interaction, I could sense a definite shift in his mood. It wasn't particularly big, but I still noticed the grimaced smiles and short temper. I did my best to turn a blind eye to it, mainly because I knew he was still sore from his Mother's death, and the prospect of me, basically his only friend, leaving, was scary.

He used to have Lucas and crew before I arrived... but he still dropped them all for me, to stand by my side even while wild accusations were being thrown. It was unnerving, in a way— how this random ass normie just decided to befriend me. But I wasn't gonna question it.

I steeled my nerves and open the door of Tyler's car, sliding into the passengers seat. "How'd you get out of school?"

"Faked a stomach ache. Lay it on real thick, too. Guess they felt sorry for me."

I tried my best not to tense. I knew exactly what he meant; but how could he just say it so casually?

Playing it off, I nodded. "Thanks, I guess? I mean, you shouldn't be faking your way out of school—"

"You're one to talk." Tyler turned the wheel, heading onto the road that ran along the woods, towards Nevermore. If we believed the Jericho police, this was where the "attacks" happened— and also according to them, the hikers has been mauled by bears. I'd bet majority of the people would trust them— it didn't even match their hibernation schedules.

"Special circumstances," I reminded. "Besides, most people prefer if I wasn't there anyway."

"Not me."

I smiled, leaning against the window. "For the record, I'll miss you too."

"I know you will... it's just, why does the universe have to take you, too?"

"The universe is a bitch," I reminded. "And it's like I told the others. It's not like I'm leaving forever. Besides, I'll even wake up extra-early to catch the shuttle into Jericho to get my mocha."

Tyler seemed to perk up slightly. "Remember when you first walked in as an inexperienced coffee drinker?"

"Of course. You were the one that helped me find my special drink," I reminded. "Do you mind?"

I reached forward, searching for the car's Bluetooth music player. Soon, I'm Good (Blue) began blaring through the speakers— one of his favourites. I could see him unconsciously bobbing to the beat, his lips synching to the words. I began following along, smiling as his curls flopped along too.

This was kind of the nature of our friendship— we were comfortable with each other. We didn't have to talk to fill in the silence, we didn't have to communicate. It was natural.

And even when we did talk, when it wasn't about something heavy, we could talk for hours about the most pointless shit— "what's the difference between murder and homicide" "ITS A PIG"

Honestly, having lighthearted conversations seemed rare to me, even though I had them almost every day. So much just went on in life, that it was hard to remember to just... joke. Laugh a little.