Next Semester

26. breakfast

"So," Hayley smiled as she slammed her plate down at the communal lunch table that Tyler hadn't been at since the first few weeks of the previous semester. After she had ambushed him outside of his class on his way back to his dorm, hands clasped in mocking plea and prepared to fall to her knees to beg him, he begrudgingly agreed to join them. He'd miss Josh's company, but he rarely got to hang out with his friends anymore due to all of their busy schedules, so he supposed it wasn't such a bad idea to eat with them again.
"Since we're all here, I'd like to formally invite you all to Saturday Breakfast."

"Jude's not here yet," Tyler frowned. Hayley waved him off, "He's running late. He already knows."

"Yes! We haven't done that in forever!" Ashley cheerily interrupted beside him, making Tyler's eardrum ache a little bit. He nodded, relieved by the idea, "I'd love to."
"What're we talking about?" Jude asked as he took his typical seat next to Tyler. The two boys smiled tiredly at one another, both clearly being worn ragged, "Hey, Ty. I feel like I don't see you anymore."
"I know," the brunet sighed heavily, "I've been...going through it."

"Like...freshman year going through it...?" Hayley asked quietly, her expression suddenly very serious. Even Ashley was furrowing her eyebrows in concern. Freshman year was...difficult for Tyler. A month of the spring semester was spent in the hospital, and the memory loomed over him like a dark cloud as he subconsciously traced the long scar that ran the length of his forearm. He cleared his throat, attempting to shake the dreadful feeling of guilt from the memories of his three friends quietly crying by his bedside.
"No, no... just classes and," he glanced around the table and felt his cheeks flush, "uh, boy stuff."

A collective groan resounded through the group, Hayley laying her head on the table in exasperation, "Who is it this time?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He shot back defensively, fully aware of what she meant.

"Which asshole are you letting treat you like shit for the time being?" Ashley deadpanned. Tyler shrunk in on himself, shrugging, "He's not an asshole."

"Which sports team is he on?" Jude asked, attempting to not sound as accusatory as the girls did. He failed miserably.

"He's not on a sports team, thank you very much," Tyler crossed his arms across his chest. The three narrowed their eyes at him, but eventually Hayley sighed, "Fine, fine. Maybe he's not an asshole."

Ashley snorted, "Tyler not dating an asshole would mean that Hell froze over."

"We're not dating," the mentioned grumbled, "We're...casual."

"Jesus Christ," Ashley mumbled as she wiped her face in exhaustion. Her eyes met him, a sobering expression hard on her face, "Stop letting guys use you as a cum-dump."

"Ashley!" Jude and Hayley exclaimed, both disgusted and surprised by her choice of words. Tyler stared at the table, cheeks warm with embarrassment.

"What?" She asked, putting her hands up, "I'm just saying. Ty always lets these guys treat him like he's nothing and then gets his poor little heart broken."

"This isn't that," he interjected, voice just above a whisper, "He's different."

"Then why aren't you dating this guy?" Ashley pressed despite Hayley's warning expression for her to stop. His sad eyes met her's as he shrugged, "I-I dunno..."

She sighed, feeling a little guilty for her bluntness, "Look, Ty, I just don't want you to get hurt again. You deserve better than what you allow yourself to have."

"Thanks." He replied just to get her to shut up.

"Uh... so, Saturday Breakfast?" Hayley steered the conversation away from the active war zone Ashley had just created.