Air Catcher

My Name is Lame

Tyler's pov

We were eating at Taco Bell when the two boys showed up. One of them seemed to be about Alyx's age, but the other had to be a freshman. The younger one kept glancing in our direction as they got their food and sat down. Alyx didn't seem to notice them.

"Do you know them?" I pointed to the boys.

"No way." She laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"That's Hannah's little brother. Gerard told me he had a new boyfriend, but I didn't think..."

"Wait, so none of the kids in Hannah's family are straight?" I asked.

"Yeah, their parents were pretty surprised." She laughed again.

"So who's the new boyfriend?" I asked.

"Pete Wentz." She shifted uncomfortably. "My friend... well... my ex."

I raised my eyebrows.

"That was before he knew he was gay." She clarified.

Nonetheless, I suddenly felt a little more protective.

That was when Pete noticed us for the first time. He grinned, took Mikey's hand and walked over to us. Alyx and I both tensed slightly.

"Hey Alyx, what's up?" He asked.

"Just the same as you Pete, I'm on a date. And Mikey, I suggest you tell Hannah you're dating him. How come Gee knows but she doesn't?" She asked.

Pete looked confused. "You know Mikey?"

"Yeah, he's one of my best friend's younger brother." She gave Pete a look.

"Oh, um, OK." Now all four of us were uncomfortable. Mikey didn't say a word. "So... who's this?" Pete asked.

"I'm Tyler." I spoke up.

"Nice to meet you. She's amazing, isn't she?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah she is." I did my best to smile.

"Well, I guess we'll leave you two alone..." Pete took a few slow steps backwards before turning around and walking back to their table.

"Oof, that was awkward." Alyx let out a breath.

"Yeah it was." I was still tense.

"Ty, he's gay. Chill."

"Ty?" I asked.

"What? I like nicknames and I didn't have one for you yet." She shrugged. "If you don't like it I'll come up with another one; I probably won't use it often anyway."

"No, I guess it's OK. but now I have to come up with one for you." I grinned. She had managed to make me comfortable again.

"Oh, no. Everyone had tried and I swear everyone has failed. My name is unnicknameable." I tilted my head. "It's a word I swear!" She laughed.

"Well, no one who has tried has my skills. I'll find one." I smirked.

"Go ahead and try." She smiled.

"Let's go on a drive." I suggested.

"Why?" She asked.

"I don't know; it'll be fun."

she smirked. "Only if I can play my music."

"OK, fine."

We threw away our trash and headed out of Taco Bell. When we got in my car Alyx immediately plugged in her phone and started playing Panic! at the Disco. I think the song was called LA Devotee. I groaned.

"Oh no, don't tell me you don't like Panic!"

"They aren't my favorite. Josh loves them."

"Lucky you, You've got a boyfriend and a girlfriend who thinks their the best!" She laughed.

"Yay." I said sarcastically.

"Alright, fine. I'll try something else." She picked up her phone and started scrolling through her music before picking an band I had never heard of before and hit shuffle from there. "This is Waterparks. They aren't the most popular but I love them." she explained singing along to the words of the song.

"I want to live inside your mind next to your favorite songs." I smiled at her from the driver's seat. "I want to lose my mind inside a late night phone call with you."

It didn't sound bad. "I should show you some good music." I teased.

"Oh, of course you do." She rolled her eyes.

"I mean you seemed to like the last song I played for you." I smirked.

"Wait, you mean your music? Like the ones you wrote?" Her face lit up.

"Yeah, I've got a few more I want you to hear." I grinned.

For a few minutes we were quiet. "How are we going to tell the rest of the group? Like, about us." She asked.

"I don't know. They'll go crazy though."

"Yeah, that's why I'm scared to tell them. They'll have a field day."

"It'll be OK." I assured her.

"We could just not and see how long it takes them to figure it out." She grinned.

"Oh, trust me," I reached over and took her hand, rubbing circles on it with my thumb. "it won't take long."

"You're probably right." She kissed my hand and smiled even wider.