Flushed (Troyler AU)

Chapter 9

Tyler's POV

I rolled over on my back throwing my arms and legs across the entire sleeping bags carelessly. Realizing that a sleeping Troye must still be next to me, I moved away, attempting to curl around him. Lifting my arm and hugging the cold air tightly, my hand instantly dropped onto the cold material. I tried again, this time subconsciously shifting my body over to Troye's side, craving the warmth his body provided. After a few failed attempts, I opened one eye sleepily, glancing around the tent, only to find myself alone. Where was Troye?

"Troye?" I called out; maybe he was outside. But no answer came. I tried hard to stray away from the negative assumptions forming in my head; however that turned out to be impossible. I had never felt this desperate to label any of my previous relationships and insecure about our status. All I needed was a solid answer from him as to what we were. Definitely not friends with benefits, fuck buddies don't go on cute little camping trips together or kiss whenever the chance arises. I obviously knew what I wanted, Troye though, was a little harder to read. He kept his emotions bottled up inside pretty well. I sometimes felt a little sorry for him, most people suffer greatly to end up in this state.

By this point I was well awake, still missing Troye's closeness. I buried my face in his pillow, inhaling his musky scent, wishing it was him instead of a cold pillow. I crawl out of the sleeping bag and throw on a shirt before stepping outside into the morning air. The grass is dewy under my feet, the sun already up in the clear blue sky, which reminded me so much of Troye's hypnotizing eyes. Somehow everything reminded me of Troye, good things only, of course. I was so head over heels for this guy.

There was no sign of Troye anywhere, only tall trees looming over the small meadow. I spotted a white piece of paper taped to the tent, flapping in the wind violently. The note was from Troye:

Ty,

Just follow the directions.

Troye xx

I was confused, rereading the brief note over multiple times, flipping it over to look for any hints Troye may have left. "Go to our picnic spot," was written on the back, still not providing me with any clues. Deciding I might as well look presentable, I quickly styled my hair and changed out of the pajamas slipping on a pair of black shorts and a light wash denim button up. When with Troye, button ups were the only thing I lived in, his secret obsession with them becoming quite clear to me over the past few weeks. He had an album on his phone dedicated to "men in button ups."

I headed over to the lake, stopping in front of the spot we cuddled for hours yesterday night, smiling as the images of us together on a blanket flashed through my mind. The beach was empty, not a person in sight. Why would Troye tell me to meet him here, if he himself was missing?

Another white scrap of paper caught my eye; it was taped to a tree. A single flower was placed next to it. Ahh, a Zinnia and one of the most beautiful types too. Bringing it up to my nose to smell it, I had completely forgotten about the note. Your laugh, it stated simply, the line underneath giving me my next set of directions.

What about my laugh? Most people would probably think he was complimenting their laugh, but a little nagging thought at the back of my mind told me otherwise. He most likely found it annoying and this was his subtle way of letting me know. I shook my head, as if that would magically cause the thought to disappear.

Another part of me was telling me that I was being pathetic. Troye always went out of his way to make me feel special with simple gestures like this. If only he knew how much I appreciated every single one of them and how much they meant to me.

Learn to take the compliment, I thought, trying to reassure myself that it was exactly that. Why did I always read into things too much? Even I was annoying myself at this point.