Daydreaming

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tyler and I are sitting outside under the night sky on the small rectangle balcony that juts out from my apartment window. The fenced in border allows for two chairs and not much else, so our knees are almost touching. I am hyperaware of the 'almost' part.

I tuck my hands inside the sleeves of the pullover I've slipped on and wrap them around my mug. Tyler is looking up at the star-blanketed sky with a thoughtful expression I start to recognize. He turns to me suddenly and I blush at being caught starring, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"Have you ever been to, like, a very obscure place in the country at night?" His eyes are sincere but myschevious.

"W-what?" I'm completely thrown off. "Can't say I have...isn't that the most ideal setting for a horror movie? Are you one of those guys?" I wrinkle my nose. He chuckles through his answer, "No, luckily for you." He winks. I scream internally.

"I grew up in Ohio," He starts, glancing between the sky and me, "I went to this really small, obscure religious school. Anyways, at night, there was this spot you could drive to and see all the stars. When I was younger I was convinved that every single star was out there in front of me when I was there." Tyler smiles fleetingly. I ask him if he misses home.

He takes a deep breathe before meeting my eyes. "Home is more than a place. It's also my best friend, Josh, and it's the Clique. When I preform I feel at home. But yes, I do miss Ohio. But making new places home is just my job now. And I love it." He finishes with a small smile. He holds my gaze. I think about how that must be. Leaving everything you put into a place every night to give a whole new city your all. It sounds fun to me, but then again I never have a whole lot tying me down. I've been away from my family long enough that it doesn't really affect me, and I love Andy but we'd both be fine if I had to move.

"Hey," I say. Tyler peeks at me questioningly. "How about we order some food and watch a movie or something? Maybe it'll make this particular blip on your rockstar map a little more like home." He smiles wide so we head back inside.

Two mugs of tea traded in for hot chocolate and one irritated delivery guy later we're perched on my slouchy sofa and watching Ghostbusters. We discovered we both hadn't seen it in a while and were well overdue for a classic ectoplasm-filled movie night.

This part of the night goes by fairly fast. When the movie ends we're significantly closer, his leg just touching mine. I'm very aware of the thin layers of fabric between us. Netflix automatically comes back up and we reach for the remote at the same time. The back of his hand touches mine and makes goosebumps raise along my arm, which is thankfully covered by my pullover. This is followed by an awkward exchange of noises implying the other person to go ahead. He ends up giving up and starts scrolling through categories. I excuse myself to get some more comfortable clothes and use the bathroom. He smiles kindly before I leave.

I reach my bedroom and take a deep breath. Is this really happening? I developed a crush pretty damn fast. And on a musician, no less. I feel like I've had enough of tour drama to last several lifetimes, but I don't even want to think about my exes. I don't really want to think about anything because my mind seems to be doing the exact opposite.

I change into some black sweatpants and an old band shirt that's a bit more than a bit too big. I pull on some fuzzy purple socks that I don't think Tyler will mind and quickly brush my teeth and wash my face. It'd be stupid to reapply makeup, right? Right. Absolutely. We're friends. He's famous.

He's really driving me out of my mind for just a friend.

I enter the living room with another blanket and receive my new favorite smile from him. I sit next to him unsurely and he shifts his position so I can curl my legs up on the side facing away from him. He drapes a blanket over himself as well. I notice he's turned on Friends.