Like To Be You ✓

thirty four

For a few moments, Tyler looks at me like I've lost my mind.

"I'm sorry, come again?" He sits up. "You want us to go somewhere out of this country during our winter holidays?"

"Yes."

Tyler looks into my eyes intensely, trying to gauge whether I'm being a sarcastic little shit or not. Then he sighs. "Neil, I can't afford it. Not right now."

I scoff and mirror his position, facing him. "Who said you were paying?"

His eyes turn as wide as saucers, then narrow in confusion. "No, I can't have you doing that! Absolutely not! I don't want to mooch off of other people's money and---"

"Tyler." I squeeze his shoulder. "Relax. It's just a holiday. It's not like I'm buying you a house."

"But plane tickets and hotels are expensive, Neil! And I don't want you to pay for me."

"Watch me, bitch." I snap my fingers. Tyler stares at me, the same incredulous expression stuck on his face. His left eye twitches. I lower my hand.

"Ty," I sigh, "Don't think about the money. Really."

He chews on his lower lip, uncertainty swirling around him.

"Neil," he begins, "I really, really want to go, but in the summer, maybe." He drops his head back on the pillow and covers his face with his hands. "Now's not a good time. Not with Maisie's therapy starting."

"Okay," I smile. "If that's what you want."

His eyes open and he peeks at me through his fingers. Then his hands reach up to cradle my face---and for a moment, everything is serene--- before he's pulling me down on top of him, kissing the mother-loving life out of me.

It's beautiful, really. The talent he's gifted with goes beyond his fast brain, because those hands--- they're the best thing I've ever experienced after Space Mountain. A moment later, my opinion changes when his fingers glide up my chest.

We're both impatient--- it's most likely the years of bottled up gayness that has overtaken us---and just as I reach for his shirt, somebody bangs on the door.

"Neil, mi hermano!" Zayne cries out. Tyler and I quickly jerk away from each other and begin straightening our shirts and patting down our hair. "Sé que estás ahí!"

"What?!" I yell back. Tyler's eyes flicker between the door and me. "He starts speaking in Spanish when he gets drunk." I explain. Tyler nods, intrigued.

"I love you, mi amigo. Muchísimo!"

"Oh God," I say, sliding off the bed. "He's going to get emotional."

The moment I unlock the door, he's in my arms, softly sobbing into my shirt.

"I'm so sad." he sniffs.

"Why?" I say, hugging him back.

"Because I heard David call you a 'potato poof'." He looks at me, his eyes sad. "I tried to punch him, but Bruce stopped me and now my wrist hurts too."

"I'm sorry, what? Potato poof?"

Zayne rubs his runny nose against my shirt. "Even I didn't understand. But then Meera googled it up, and turns out, Potato Queen means a gay dude attracted to white men, AKA you being attracted to Tyler---by the way, hey, Tyler--- and poof is another slang. That's when I went to punch him." He rubs his nose against my shirt again." I tried to stop him; I really did. Also, I really want a taquito."

"Hey, it's okay." I rub his back. "Relax, Zayne. I'll slash his tires or something in return."

"Never mind," I hear Tyler say before he brushes past us.

"Wait, Ty!" Zayne and I watch him go down the stairs, exchange a look, then promptly follow him.

"He's going to kill him." Zayne giddily laughs, his arm slung around my shoulder.

"You're finally warming up to him, huh?"

Zayne clears his throat. "No."

We come to a stop on the landing. I can barely make out a head of dark hair rushing to the opposite side of the pool before I make a run for it.

"Wait!" Zayne shouts behind me. "I'm too drunk for this but I want to see the drama too! Neil, wait!"

I risk glancing behind me at him. He wobbles and pushes past people, and I stop only for two heartbeats for him to catch up before I'm jogging again. When I come to a stop in the yard, it's because Tyler has David Mahajan trapped against the fence, his arm pressed against the base of his throat. People are beginning to turn their head, and low murmurs are rising in the air.

"Ty," I whisper, coming to a stop beside him. "Leave him. He isn't worth it."

He ignores me. His eyes are zeroed in on David's smug face. "I told you to say it again."

David grins. My blood boils.

David's hateful gaze turns to me.

"No," Tyler says, gripping his face and turning it towards him. "You look at me when you say it."

"Fine," David spits out. "Neil Graham is a fucking twink who likes co---"

"Thanks." Tyler's fist pulls back before it slams into his nose. David reels back from the force, clutching his nose.

"Fuck!" He screams, covering his face.

"Ouch." I hear Zayne giggle behind me.

"Tyler." I look at him, my eyes wide. I've never seen him this furious, and a small part of it scares me. He clenches his hand, opening and closing it.

The murmurs are getting louder now. Behind me, someone laughs. It's Ryan Webber.

"Man, I've always wanted to watch you get punched." He says.

"You don't know my father." David sneers. "He has his connections. You could end up in jail."

I give him an unimpressed look, crossing my arms. "And you don't think I have the best lawyers in the state?"

David opens his bloody mouth--- literally--- again, before Tyler raises a fist. He shuts up.

"One more word," Tyler says, his voice dangerously low, "One more word, and your teeth are going to be in your hands."

He pushes away from the fence and faces me.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Me?" I laugh, still in shock. "Are you okay?"

He takes a look at his knuckles. "I'll be fine."

Over his shoulder, David is retrieving his phone from his pocket, stumbling towards the sliding doors.

"So..." Zayne appears between the two of us, grinning weirdly so that he showcases all his teeth. "You guys wanna get taquitos?" 

o-o-o