Kalon / t.j.

Thirteen

The next morning after the date I pull myself from my heap of a bed with a huge smile on my face. I glance out the window at the house next door, the house seems full of life but my eyes Scan the driveway for the silver Toyota but the search comes up empty. I brush it off as I start to get ready for the day, pulling on leggings and a hoodie. I slip on my shoes and make my way out of the house to my car.

I didn't know where I was driving to but I'm somehow ended up at the familiar record store. As I approached the building a now hiring sign caught my eye but I gently brush it off. The bell dings as I pull open the door causing Josh to glance up from his place behind the counter, a huge smile on his face.

"Hey Ruby" his face scrunches into a smile almost as bright as his pink hair.

"Hey yoshua." I smile widely at him as if my happiness radiates off me.

"Tyler told you the news didn't he?" This causes my smile to falter. Once Josh realizes the change in my expression his smile fades.

"News? What news?" Josh sighs while mumbling a string of words under his breath.

"Well, uh so you know our band started getting bigger and well.." He pauses and meets my eyes "we got signed to a record label and they want us to open up a tour, and of course we said yes so we will be gone for three months." He nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"You guys got signed?" I say quiet shocked, I knew they were playing bigger shows but this, this was big.

"Yeah we did." Josh smiles widely at me, the excitement getting ready to gush.

"Josh that is so amazing, why wouldn't Tyler want to tell me?" I rub my hands against the fabric of my leggings in a coping mechanism.

"He didn't want to tell you he was leaving right when you two were getting comfy" Josh says as he wiggles his eyebrows at me, causing me to let out a small laugh.

I let the thought of Tyler leaving for three months sink in and I gently scrunch my hands together tightly. I let the thoughts of emptiness sink in again.

"When are you guys leaving?" I curiously ask josh.

"Next Saturday." He says casually. My breath hitches in my throat, how could they just leave so soon? I mumble a thank you before retreating to the isles of records, trying to find comfort among the many vinyls.

The comfort of the record store didn't last very long as a bouncing Tyler came through the wooden door, the bell pointing out his presence in the small room. Somehow he didn't notice me tucked away in the corner of the store.

"Hey Josh! I just got all our traveling info in order and I was thinking we could go get away for a couple days before we leave." He says quiet cheery to Josh who is trying to avoid eye contact with me.

"Yeah that sounds good, have you told Ruby yet?" Josh asks a question he already knows the answer to.

"Oh yeah, she's completely okay with it." His voice doesn't even skip a beat over the lie that just slipped from his lips. He was going to leave without telling me, no goodbye or anything. Josh meets my gaze, causing Tyler to turn around curiously as he follows Josh's gaze.

"Congratulations." I say as I start making my way to the door, the bell above it sings it's tune as I hurriedly rush from the small area, footsteps following after me.

"Ruby." A hand wraps around my bicep as I turned around completely. I face Tyler as the sun hits his face.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whisper as I break away from his gaze. "You know how happy I would be for you."

"Ruby, I really like you, like a lot. I didn't want to just leave you right when I thought we were starting to come together." He says as a finger lifts my chin to meet his gaze.

"So you were just going to leave and not tell me?" I furrow my eyebrows at the boy.

"I was going to tell you, I really was. I didn't want to hurt you in any way." His eyes held the same sorrow that he had when I first met him standing on my front porch.

"It's okay Tyler, I'm really happy for you." I say, giving into his words, I gently hug his torso and soak in his body heat as much as I could before he can slip away from my fingertips. I feel him let out a breath as if he's been holding it in, he's just as nervous as I am.

" Nihilarian" I say into his chest, which instantly causing him to pull away from me. His eyes are wide and hold excitement, a smile submerging onto his lips. Its mind boggling how excited he gets when I say an unfamiliar word. 

"God you have a word for everything, do tell what it means." He excitedly rubs his hand together as he awaits for the answer.

" Nihilaria, Someone who is leaving for a period of time and who will be greatly missed." I say as his eyes light up. I'll miss this, I shake my head from the thought of Tyler leaving as I focus on the boy stood in front of me.

"I'll make sure to play your song every night." he mumbles as his hands reach for mine for a sense of contact. Tyler is always a handsy person, he always has to have contact, it always makes him feel at ease. I gently smile at him as I lean up to quickly peck his lips, this wasn't enough for Tyler because once I pull away he's already cupping my face again and planting a sweet kiss onto my lips.

A gentle knock on the glass window behind us causes us to pull apart from each other, we turn towards the record store where a smiling Josh is holding up two thumbs up, I smile widely at the boy before quickly sticking my tongue out at him in a very childish way, but it got my point across.

"Have fun dealing with that for three months." i gently hum out as i lean my body against Tyler's tall figure. He lets out a small laugh before rolling his eyes at me and gently nudging me in the side. I take this chance to get a good look at Tyler, his face has a slight stubble and his hair is messily slung everywhere but it suited him, a short sleeve shirt hugs his chest, giving me a great view of his numerous tattoos lingered across his arms. I trace over the black bands on his arms in a curious state, I wanted to ask him what they meant but for some reason something told me not to. I smile up at Tyler, a surprised look overtaking his face at the fact I didn't ask him what the tattoos mean, he gives me a thankful look before we both retreat into the record store hand in hand.