Tyed

chapter thirteen

When Tyler wakes up, it's because something small is softly thrown in his direction and it's making a lot of noise. He registers that it's the sound of his ringtone, and reaches for it, grabbing with vague and tired fingers. He's much more comfortable than he usually is, which makes it difficult to gather the energy to move.

He stretches, opening his eyes to find he's still in Colby's room. He smiles, looking over and finding Colby sitting on the end of the bed; his smile grows. Colby's shirtless, and Tyler's eyes rake over his chest. He's got muscles without a lot of muscular definition, which Tyler finds more attractive then he expected, with a light trail of chest hair that Tyler's eyes follow down. He's more tan than Tyler thought, too.

"Are you going to answer that?" Colby asks, and Tyler realises he's staring at Colby instead of answering his phone.

Tyler looks at the call ID and sees it's Nancy, her picture filling up the screen behind the interface. Without thinking much about it, he answers the call. "What's up?"

"Oh my God, I thought you were fucking dead, you idiot." Nancy breathes a sigh of relief, and Tyler realises how it must've looked from her end. "I texted you last night and you didn't answer, but I assumed you were busy,  but then you didn't answer when I texted you about five times, and then I called you so many times. I was freaking out and got Tee to call you and I was about to call your stepdad and say I couldn't find you."

"Why'd you assume something was wrong?" Tyler asks as he reluctantly stands up, feet on the cold wooden floor. He walks over to Colby, not sure what he's looking for, but confident in how right it feels.

"What? You never stay at anyone's house. We were eating breakfast and realised you weren't here, and then when you didn't answer we had no idea what happened. You can't deny it's unlike you to just do that."

Tyler stands in front of Colby, who reaches up from where he sits and puts an arm around Tyler's waist. "Yeah, I guess," Tyler admits, closing his eyes as he leans in to Colby. "But you really should trust me to fend for myself. I'm pretty good at not dying."

Nancy laughs, and Tyler can only wonder what joke she thinks he's making. "Alright. Well, are you going to class today?"

"Shit. I forgot." Tyler takes his phone away from his ear for long enough to check the time. It's nearly eleven. Colby presses a gentle kiss to Tyler's ribs, and he gets a shiver up his spine that makes him close his eyes and take a deep breath. "I mean... probably not."

"Just keep your attendance in mind," Nancy tells him. "There's only so much you can miss before it affects your grade. Have fun."

And with that, she hangs up. Tyler lowers his phone, looking to Colby, who probably heard enough of what Tyler said- and Nancy, considering how quiet the room is- that he doesn't need to ask any questions. "When does your class start?" he asks, his fingers tracing little circles on Tyler's back.

Tyler's heart does just the littlest jump at the gentle smile Colby's giving him. He sits on Colby's lap and says, "doesn't matter. I wanna skip it, at least for today."

"You're sure?" Colby asks, and Tyler nods, leaning his forehead into Colby's. It's difficult to keep from kissing him, so Tyler doesn't try. They've both got morning breath, but Tyler doesn't mind too much; right now, he just wants the closeness, the warmth.

Colby breaks away just long enough to brush the hair out of Tyler's eyes and ask, "do you want some breakfast?"

Tyler nods. He ends up going downstairs to collect his clothes from yesterday, although he doesn't bother to put his shoes on yet and is still buttoning up the shirt as he stands in the kitchen. Colby's still shirtless, although he has a pair of pyjama pants on as he sifts through the fridge.