ballerina // jøshler

deux ;

So, as the day flickered by, and 1:30 am rolled around, Jenna came
home. She didn't think Tyler had remembered their "date", but sure enough as soon as she walked in the door, Tyler appeared from his bedroom, dressed in casual attire, ready for the night's affairs.

"You ready?" the boy asked, straightening his light blue button-up. The blonde laughed as she took off her sweater.

"Can I at least take a shower first?" she toed off her Birkenstocks that were peeling at the soles.

Tyler became mock-irritated, sighing melodramatically and crossing his arms fiercely.

"Fine," he replied, rolling his eyes sarcastically. "but I have been waiting all night for you, so make it quick."

Jenna couldn't help but laugh. She didn't know where her roommate's humor and dramatized sassiness came from, but when it peeked through his usually calm, serious demeanor, it was always a good time.

"I promise I'll be quick. I just need like, 2 minutes." The blonde walked past the annoyed-looking boy, trying her best to contain the guffaw stuck in her throat.

Tyler, still playing the part of the abraded, flamboyant friend, swat at the girl's bottom, whining; "Hurry up!"

Jenna couldn't contain herself any longer. She convulsed in loud, guttural, snorts and merriment down the hall while Tyler watched on joyfully.

;

The two kids were bone tired, but that didn't stop them from having a good time. They ended up at some hole-in-the-wall ice cream parlor right in-between their apartment and Tyler's new college. After Tyler had ordered for the both of them (a Rocky Road in a sugar cone with hot fudge for him and a double scoop of strawberry ice cream in a cup with whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top for her), they sat in the corner of the shop, discussing their deal.

"You found a job." It wasn't so much as a question as it was a statement, fore Jenna was terrible at keeping things to herself and couldn't help but drop not-so-small hints to the boy that she had found something.

"Yes I have, and, while it doesn't pay great, it pays above minimum wage. It's...it's something I've been wanting to do for a long time." The girl beamed excitedly just talking about the new position she had entered, and Tyler couldn't have been happier. He smiled right back, inviting Jenna to continue.

"I'm gonna be a journalist." the girl exclaimed breathlessly, almost like she couldn't believe it herself. Tyler was thrilled. Since moving to New York, the two had stayed relatively normal; they kept their same style, their same attitudes, their same aura. They had still seemed like the scared little Amish tourists who had first encountered the city only a few months-almost a year- before.

"And, I'm assuming you, mister, are all set with your orientation coming up?" Jenna looked smugly at boy sat before her, taking a spoonful of strawberry flavored cream. Tyler nodded confidently, yet was still anxious. Tyler had always been a little freaked out about first impressions, but this had seemed like something bigger than any of the other confrontations the small boy had encountered back home. What would happen if he screwed up and the teacher-or teachers-didn't like him and gave him a hard time the first day back to school and so forth? He didn't know what he'd do if a teacher was out to fail him. In high school, they might have been more discrete, but in college, most teachers weren't willing to play nice.

"Hey," Jenna snapped her fingers like a hypnotist bringing the boy back to reality after a long trance. "you'll be fine, 'kay? Everyone'll love you. How can anybody hate that face?" Jenna cooed, squeezing Tyler's cheek like an annoying aunt.

It was then, Tyler realized he had all the support he had ever needed. Jenna already knew everything his immediate family knew about him plus the side where few survived. She was always going to be there.

He could succeed.

Tyler understood then that they were both chasing dreams they never thought they'd be able to catch up to. He smiled to himself, then smiled outwardly, towards Jenna, towards the parlor, towards the city, towards the whole world. The boy raised his cone high in the air and exclaimed in a royal tone;

"To taking chances!"

Jenna tried to shush him, but the boy wouldn't stop bellowing until Jenna joined the exclusive toast. She apprehensively raised her cup to Tyler's cone (lol sorry if this sounds sexual it's not he's a gay-a pizza pie-a) and shrieked, "To taking chances!" as quickly as possibly. The duo laughed nervously as they realized that the small group of people settled quietly around them were starting to stare.

And within that faction of assorted people, sat a man with bright red hair, who watched the boy with an interested eye, that Tyler never seemed to notice.

a/n
um lol i had an actual draft that was ready to be published but then i hated it so i rewrote it !! yay !!

also sorry if some of these chapters aren't gonna be long but once we get really into it maybe they will be? idk we'll see ; ))))))