Like I Can | Tyler Down

chapter one.

hannah baker's suicide took a toll on liberty high school. the tapes hannah had made were given too those on her 13 tapes, as well as the two people she trusted, tony padilla and sawyer flynn.

sawyer flynn was good friends with hannah baker, and her and tony worked as a team to make sure everyone knew they were a reason she died.

sawyer probably wasn't supposed to listen to the tapes, but she did. right before handing them off to the bakers for them to continue on with their lawsuit against liberty high school.

the blonde girl couldn't blame them. liberty high school was shit. rape, alcohol, marijuana, bullying, harassment, all of that went down, above average in the tiny school.

maybe because the kids were raised with no discipline, or maybe it was just bad luck. but sawyer hated saying she belonged to such a horrible school.

which is why she agreed to testify against them, as well as have their back through the whole process.

tyler down was the first person to testify. and he had a lot of power going in. he was bullied, he was a victim. but he was also not afraid to admit what he did was wrong.

sawyer admired that.

quickly after, everyone whispered about the words he shared on the stand. but sawyer wanted to let him know that even if no one else did, she had his back.

sawyer flynn's allegiance towards tyler was quite unexpected to say the least. sawyer was a popular girl, not the type of popular to get drunk every sunday. barely even the cheerleader type. but more popular because everyone knew her. and everyone liked her.

just like tyler down. they had grown up together, been in classes together since kindergarten and grew a tight bond. the summer before sophomore year, it slightly faded.

ashamed to say, as she approached him, this was probably the first time they had spoken unless quick "hi's" in the hallways.

"hey, tyler. i just wanted to say, you're really brave for saying all you said. and don't worry about going back to school. i've got your back" sawyer smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder

tyler stuttered over his words, staring at her like she created his world. "yeah...yeah, yeah, yeah, sawyer thanks." he said, before feeling his heart beat three times quicker as she pulled him into a hug.

sawyer brought his arm up and pulled out a pen from her bag, writing small on the palm of his hand her phone number. he stared down at the black ink before hearing her speak once more.

"just in case you ever need someone to talk too" she shrugged before heading out, sending him a wave.

that night, both of them tossed and tumbled. different reasons. he was worried, just like every night. but more tonight. on what would happen the next day at school.

and sawyer was worried about what to say when it was her getting called up to testify. luckily, she wasn't usually people like montgomery or bryce's targets for bullying. because most people knew she was as crazy as she was nice.

but what that meant is all she could report is seeing other people bullied, but frequently she didn't report it. they were going to tear her apart for that.

stressing out, she needed a breather. and that's exactly what she got when she heard her phone buzz off. first, sawyer checked the time. 11:23 pm.

she moved her eyes to read the message "sawyer?" it read. she chuckled to herself, having an idea on exactly who it was.

"that's me." the girl responds.

"it's tyler. i hope i didn't wake you" the boy responds, sawyer not realizing he was freaking out at his house about texting the girl he's liked for as long as he could remember.

"not at all, i couldn't sleep actually. what's up?" sawyer smiled down at her phone as she sat up, scrolling through instagram as she waited for a response.

"me too. i am just worried about school tomorrow" her heart sank reading the message, she just wish she could be more help.

"don't be. remember what i said, i have your back." she texted. before thinking a few more seconds, and reopening her messages app.

"actually, i think i know just the thing to make you feel better. take a walk with me, tyler down?" the blonde girl double texted before throwing on an oversized nike hoodie with matching shorts

"where too?" he asked. he hadn't ever snuck out before but how many chances was he gonna get to go on a midnight walk with sawyer flynn?

"wherever we want. meet me at eisenhower park" she texted before listening out her bedroom door to make sure everyone in her house was asleep before opening her bedroom window.

"i'll be there"

and so there it was. tyler down on his way to meet who he had always dreamed of being his one true love in a park at midnight. iconic right?

word count: 848