wonderstruck// Tyler Joseph

twenty one | blushing all the way home

I could see the reflection of the full moon in Tyler's copper brown eyes as he stared back at me. He had insisted that we go outside and get some fresh air, rather than being stuck inside all day. The view around us wasn't all that great, though. You'd think it would be, considering we were in a different country and all, but it was just an empty field with military bases scattered around.

But we liked it out here. You could hear crickets chirping and feel the chilly breeze flow through your hair. It was comforting. Even the cool grass we sat on felt nice against the palms of my hands as I leaned on them.

"So... you promised me something earlier," Tyler started, leaning towards me. He was sitting to the right of me, his legs crisscrossed and a stupid grin on his face.

"Yeah, what's that?" I asked teasingly. I knew what he was referring to, but I'd rather have heard him say it himself.

"Oh come on," he replied, biting his bottom lip, the dorky smile on his face widening. "You know what I mean."

"I'm gonna need you to ask," I said, giggling at his frustration. He seemed too embarrassed to say it, which I found a little ridiculous but cute at the same time. It was just one simple question, I knew that he could do it. "Tyler..." I taunted, giving him a knowing look. "Do you want it or not?" He rolled his eyes, probably because I was treating him like a little boy.

"Can you kiss me?" He asked, cringing mid-sentence. I chuckled, nodding my head as I leaned towards his face. I grabbed his cheeks with my right hand and squeezed them, so it looked like his lips were smushed together. And with that, I placed my mouth to his. He couldn't really kiss back since I was still holding his cheeks, but I could tell that he was trying to.

When I pulled back, his lips were curved into a tiny smile, his little dimples indented into his skin. Even through the darkness, I could still see a pink bubblegum color dusted across his cheeks. And with his hair all fluffed up and his black hoodie on, gosh, how could I say no to that face?

So I kissed him again, this time lunging onto him so hard he almost fell over, but he managed to keep himself upright. I sat in his lap and he held his arms around the small of my back, squeezing me ever so slightly just to be sure I wouldn't fall.

Whenever I was this close to Tyler, I couldn't help but feel safe. Safe from the entire world, like nobody could lay a hand on me as long as he continued to hold me in his arms and kiss me. And even right now, in the middle of a war, I felt a comforting feeling of safety.

His touch was like porcelain, so gentle and precious, I savored every moment of it. It made me feel a million things at once- emotions I wasn't exactly sure how to describe, but I knew that they were there because my thoughts were running wild. However, it was obvious to me that whenever he touched me, my stomach would drop and butterflies would fly around. I couldn't focus on a single thing but him.

It was weird to think that we'd only been friends for seven months at most. I felt like I knew him so well, like we'd been best friends for as long as we could remember. I supposed that was what happened if you opened up to somebody so easily.

And that was yet another strange thing to ponder on- the fact that we were only friends. Until this whole competition was over, Tyler technically wasn't allowed to call me his. And even between just us two, neither of us had ever put a label on our relationship or even talked about it. But friends don't kiss, friends don't love each other the way I loved Tyler.

But in what way did I love Tyler? That was something that confused me, the difference between platonic love and whatever this was. I loved his hair, the way he smiled, his pretty brown eyes and dimples on his cheeks, but that was something anybody could feel. I loved his little laugh, just every aspect of him in general. But it still didn't make sense, because again, as his friend, I could still feel all of those things.