School Bus Graveyard (Tyler X Adien)

Ch. 2

Tyler wakes up feeling numb and sticky with sweat. He looks at his wall across the room and lets out a tired sigh. Fuck, he feels horrible and like his limbs weigh ten pounds each. He can't move.... 'What's this feeling?' he thinks. He recalls this feeling as familiar, but can't exactly place when he's felt it. It's like this weighted blanket is covering his entire body though. He blinks and something rolls down his cheek leaving a wet trail. He touches his cheeks and quickly rubs the tears away with the back of his hand. He sniffles. 'Dammit.... How could he like someone like him? and after what he said too....' Tyler decides to get up early instead of just laying in bed until his alarm goes off. He shouldn't mope around like his mom.... It's not her fault....she's just....sad.

He's up and in the bathroom before his sister, thankfully. He locks the door behind him and looks at himself in the mirror. His eyes are red and puffy. How long had he been crying in his sleep for? The thought makes his face scrunch up like he's about to cry again. He grabs the counter top with both hands and holds it for support as his head hangs off his shoulders. It takes about a minute to compose himself before he walks over to start his shower with a neutral expression. The lukewarm water on his body feels comforting. It's a nice distraction from his heavy thoughts.

He washes up and finishes up with his shower. When he's done, he shuts off the water and just stands there letting the water drop off of his body for a moment. 'What am I going to do today?... I need to go to school. Can't stay home. I have baseball practice. Maybe that'll get my mind off of him,' he thinks taking slow breaths to calm his nerves. Aiden's words weigh heavy on his chest as images of his dad pop into his mind. Tears well up in his eyes, threatening to spill over. He blinks them away as they roll down his cheeks. He grabs his towel and dries off before wrapping it around his waist. Tyler brushes his teeth before fully exiting the bathroom because Taylor loves to take absolutely forever in the bathroom doing Satan-knows-what.

On his way to his room, he spots Taylor exiting her room. "Tyler," she calls out to him. "Are you—"
"I'm fine," he says with a raspy tone, shutting her down immediately. He opens his door and closes it but not fully due to something getting stuck in it. He looks down and sees a foot, he trails it up to its owner with a dull expression. "What Aiden said was too far...but..." Taylor kind of stops mid-rant. "But what? He's impulsive and dangerous and only ever cares about Ashlyn. —Now Taylor, let me get changed," Tyler snaps as he slams his door shut. Thankfully, Taylor was able to get her foot out of the door in time or else that would've really hurt. She stares at his door for a few seconds, thinking with an uneasy expression on her face. 'What's up with him? Did Aiden get to him that much?' She walks over to the bathroom to have her shower. 'Well, he shouldn't have said that. Even if he was angry. That was too far, even for him... I don't really know what happened with them, but I think Aiden saved Ash from getting hurt, right? Why did Tyler snap at him?.... What did Aiden do? Those two are always bickering, so who knows this time,' she thinks feeling conflicted whether or not she wants to speak with Aiden today or not. He needs to apologize to her brother first. 'Yeah.' She's made up her mind.

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After Taylor eats breakfast, Tyler is hurrying her along to get her ass moving or he'll leave her there. He's joking, but still. "Come on, Tay!" Tyler shouts from the drivers seat of his car at the front door. "We're gonna be late," he mumbles, getting a bit irritated. Out comes the longer haired brunette after about two minutes later. 'Fucking finally,' he thinks, starting up his car. She rushes over to the passengers side door and gets in. Tyler pulls out of the driveway and drives them to school. It's silent like usual. Well, besides the quiet radio sounds emanating from the stereo. "What?" Tyler sighs out. Taylor looks over to him seemingly confused at the sudden word. "You look like you want to say something. What is it?" he softly asks sounding more tired then usual. He knows her too well not to know what the face she's making means. She turns to face him. He's got sort of red eyes..... "Well," she starts feeling a knot firm in her stomach. "Are... What're you going to do for lunch?" she asks, not wanting to ask her original question. He gives her a quick side glance and another sigh. "Well, Keith and Owen asked me if I'd join them for lunch with the team. Barron too—"
"That fucking jerk!" Taylor curses and covers her mouth at what just came out of her mouth. Tyler smirks not fully feeling the upturn to his mouth. "He... We talked and he'd told me that he's been wanting to apologize to Logan."
"I don't believe you. Do you know what he did to Logan??" Taylor asks sounding exasperated. "Do you?"
"...."
"Look, I wouldn't be hanging around him if Keith, Owen, and the guys weren't there. The guys a dick, but he is on my baseball team, Tay. It's not easy to avoid him. He promised not to bother you guys either.... Not sure I fully believe it, but.... I just don't want to start a conflict. I'm tired of all the constant bickering," Tyler explains sounding utterly void of emotions to his tone. It makes Taylor feel....nostalgic, but not in the good way. He doesn't believe Barton's words at all, but for now. Things have been going okay enough between them. He means not too many fights that Tyler has witnessed at least. 'Maybe the guy has cleaned up his act a little? That'll be the day, huh? But why now? Is he planning something? An ambush? Gosh—that sounds so stupid,' he thinks. 'Focus on school work today, Tyler,' he reminds himself as he parks in the student parking lot.