13 Resons Why Imagines

Tyler Down|Saved

Warnings: Bullying & Fluff

You stared down at your phone in disbelief, refusing to believe that what you were seeing was actually real. You thought that what happened to Hannah Baker had taught people how harmful spreading pictures could be, but here you were; staring down at a naked image of Tyler. It was obscured through blinds as if someone had been standing outside of his bedroom window.

    You shut your phone off with a rattled sigh, stuffing it into your back pocket. As hard as it was to do, you ignored the amused snickers of Liberty students as they crowded in the halls, staring at a multitude of screens with the same idiotic expressions. As though it were all some big joke.

    The school doors swung open, eliciting a chorus of disgruntled murmurs from Justin Foley and his goons. You barely had the chance to shoot them a poisonous glare before your attention was pulled towards a familiar brunette.

    He stood with one hand on the smudged glass, covered with suicide prevention and drunk driving posters, his slender frame fidgeting nervously.

    His eyes found yours for a second just long enough to make your heart jump, before they flitted down to the camera in his hands.

    You took a step towards him, already mulling over the thousands of things that you could say. It didn’t take knowing him to see that he was embarrassed. You had to let him know that it didn’t mean anything to you. He was, and always would be, the person that you had been best friends with since fifth grade. The person who had been there by your side every step of the way.

    It didn’t matter what people claimed about him, what Hannah Baker said, the pictures they’d take, or what he thought of himself. You knew him. The real him.

    “Ty-” you started to say, but was cut off before you could finish.

    A group of jocks had approached from somewhere down the hall, stepping in between the two of you easily. They backed Tyler into the nearest corner. His face twisted in devastation as they spoke to him, joking about the picture, taunting him about his body. One even going so far as to reach over and try to yank down his pants.

    “Leave him alone!” you cried. Your fingernails found the first patch of bared skin that you could, digging in to pinch as hard as you could. “Get away from him, you creepers!”

    The unlucky jock who had been on the receiving end of your attack flinched away, rubbing his elbow with a curse beneath his breath. “Damn, whatever. Let’s get out of here before his psycho girlfriend goes ballistic.”

    As the group retreated, you called after them. “I’m surprised you’re smart enough to even know what the word ballistic means!”

    You turned back to face Tyler, heart breaking at the way he was cowered against the wall. His usually bright, bubbly blue eyes had tuned dark, glistening under the fluorescent lights with newly formed tears. They were dangerously closed to falling. When you reached a hand out to catch them, he slapped it away.

    His shoulder bumped harshly against yours as he rushed away, disappearing into the boys’ bathroom. You felt a familiar pang in your chest. That simple adoration, laced with the painful sorrow of knowing what he went through every day. All because of a mistake he made a long time ago.

    You had made mistakes. Why weren’t you treated like that? Because Liberty High had too many selective bullies and not enough people to care.

    You jumped as the bell rang, the usual alert to let everyone idling in the halls know that it was time to get to class. They cleared away quickly, leaving you standing in front of the bathroom door. With the usual dilemma to face. Tyler or school?

    Every time, the answer was Tyler.

    You pushed your way into the bathroom, finding him sitting on the edge of the sink, polishing the lens of his camera with a small microfiber cloth. He startled at the sound of the squeaking door hinge, moving a hand up to quickly wipe at his eyes.

    There was a wordless moment as you closed the distance between yourselves, heavy and overwhelmingly warm as you brushed the tears from his blushing cheeks. You took the camera from his hands and set it aside.

    It was broken only when you had leaned forwards, wrapping your arms tightly around his waist. With your ear pressed to his chest, his short, stuttering breaths were impossible to hide. He tangled his hands in the fabric of your shirt, trying to pull you even closer.

    “I’m sorry,” he sobbed.

    You stroked his back lovingly. “Don’t be.”

    He sniffled, sliding down from the sink so that you could embrace each other easier. “I hate this school. I hate it.”

    “It’s alright,” you replied. “One day soon, when the college scouts come and see how amazing your photographs are, we’ll move far away from this town.”

    “You and me?” he asked.

    You nodded. “Yeah.”

    He pulled away just enough to look into your eyes. His were red and puffy, matching the crimson tint of his face. “You’re the only good thing I have.”

    “You too,” you said with a smile. You pressed your palm against the side of his face, reveling in the way he leaned into your touch.

    “I love you,” he whispered, suddenly.

    To say you were caught off guard would be an understatement. “You… what?”

    He paused, his own words settling in his mind. He pulled away sharply, making for the bathroom door. Before he could get even a full step away, you grabbed his arm, pinning him between yourself and the wall.

    “I love you too,” you breathed. “More than you’ll ever know.”

    You plunged forwards, molding yours lips into the soft, plump curves of his own. He responded faster than you’d expected him to. His hands snaked around your waist, drawing you flat against his chest. When you broke away for air, the both of you looked as though you’d just chugged a bottle of hard liquor.

    “Thank you,” Tyler murmured.

    “For what?” you questioned.

    He leaned down, pressing his forehead against yours. “For saving my life.”

🌹🌟🦋-Lo