𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬 | Tyler Hernandez x Reader

| Ep 41 |

I only ended up using half of the tickets Tyler gave me and got myself a plushie of my favorite animal. The group had all decided to combine our tickets, so that's where the other half of mine went. Tyler and I joined the others, walking hand-in-hand.

My eyes dart down to the floor in front of us, where Aiden was buried in a comically large pile of tickets. I tilt my head and laugh at the sight. Taylor, who's crouched down beside the pile, chuckles and says,

"I think this is enough for all of us to split and get decent prizes."

Ashlyn glances up from her phone and points her thumb down at the blonde, "I'm getting all of Aiden's share though since I won DDR."

"All of it?!" He shoots his head up at her and they both begin to bicker.

I feel a tug at my sleeve and look over my shoulder to find Ben eyeing my jacket. When he glances up, I suck in my teeth at the stupid grin he's wearing.

I open my mouth to make a defensive comment but stop when I feel Tyler's hold around my hand tighten suddenly. I turn away from Ben to face him instead, finding him eyeing the entrance of the arcade.

"Well, that's annoying. What is he doing here?" He speaks rather coldly.

"Who?" Taylor tilts her head to the side, but her face scrunches once she notices whatever Tyler was staring at, "Oh...It's Barron.

My eyes follow theirs and I tense up at the sight of Barron and his group of friends walking past the arcade machines. I feel Tyler tug my hand and I inch closer to him.

He scowls at the sight of them and comments, "I doubt he'll do anything. The coward hasn't messed with Logan since he's too scared of me 'tattling' to coach."

"And what about Y/N?" Taylor says, scooping up the pile of tickets, "What if he tries to go for her again?"

Aiden, who was currently covering his cousin's eyes to prevent him from pouncing on Barron, spins his head around to me, "Again? What the hell happened with Y/N?"

I bite my lip and lower my head, "It was nothing-"

"I thought I told you to stop pushing it away like nothing happened." Tyler says to me softly, placing a hand on my lower back. Though there is a faint hint of sternness in his voice.

I let out a sigh and lift my head, "We just had a run-in with him...a couple of weeks ago. It really wasn't anything serious-"

"Did he hurt you?" Ashlyn asks, her eyes narrowing.

"No, he didn't." I assure her and she visibly relaxes, "Can we just get your guys' prizes? I think we've been here long enough. Besides, it'll just be awkward if we stick around-"

"No," Logan takes a step forward, his eyes never leaving Barron's group as they walk toward the back door of the arcade, "...I don't think the guy with the blue hat is part of their friend group."

I look over at the boy he was talking about. My eyes narrow, closely watching as he lingers behind the group, clutching a pile of books in his arms.

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"I've seen him with Barron at school a few times and I wasn't certain at first but...Barron just replaced me with him. Right now, I'm pretty sure that guy is doing Barron's work while he hangs out with his buddies."

I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest. I'm about to make a snarky comment when Tyler's hand rests over my mouth to keep me from interrupting. I glare up at him but he only gives back a warning look.

"That's what happened when he invited me somewhere," Logan continues, eyeing the floor shamefully, "I would tag along with him everywhere he went and he'd guilt-trip me into doing his work for him. He made me pity him, feel sorry for him. That's what he does. He manipulates you into being his friend and 'helping' him with his work and then when that stops working..."

Logan's shoulders tense up and I reach over to smooth my hand over his arm comfortingly.

"...He starts threatening you physically."

Tyler's hand drops from my back and I can tell he is deep in thought. He crosses his arms and looks over at Logan,

"I'm not sure what your plan is, but you're wanting to help that guy, right?"

Logan clasps his hands together nervously and nods, "I want to at least warn him..."

"Well, go do what you got to do," Tyler nods confidently at him, "We'll be here to help you if you need it."

I inhale slowly as I watch Logan walk out the back door and disappear from our sight. I glance up at Tyler, whose eyes are glued to the door,

"Ty...are you sure it was smart of you to let him go on his own?"

He shakes his head and begins walking in the opposite direction of the door, "Are you kidding? No way in hell I'm letting him deal with that asshole alone. C'mon."

We all follow his lead and he walks us out of the arcade from the main entrance. We circle around the front and stop just before the turn into the back alley of the building. I lean back against the wall, glancing down at Ashlyn and Aiden peeking around the corner to see what's going on.

"See anything?" I whisper over Tyler's shoulder.

"They're talking, but I can barely hear them," Aiden complains in a hushed tone.

I fidget with my jacket- or Tyler's, "I don't like this."

I feel Tyler's hand rest atop my shoulder as he says into my ear, "We're right here. We will jump in as soon as things go south, okay? Just relax."

I do just that and throw my head back against the wall. Logan's grown a bit of tough skin. Barron is nothing compared to the phantoms we face every night.

"It's been a while, pal! How've ya' been?" Barron's artificially cheerful tone rings through the air from the back alley.

I click my tongue and glare straight ahead, already disliking where this is going. I look down to find Ben's fists clenched together and trembling like crazy.

After Aiden told us about his childhood, it made me feel like I've gained a new understanding of Ben. And right now, I don't think it was a good idea to bring him along with us.