never mine// tyler joseph

chapter five

a/n: hello and welcome to another chapter

over the next few nights, tyler couldn't stop thinking about what had happened at dinner with val and oliver. normally he would brush off oliver's jealous behavior, but the sneaking suspicion that the boy knew about tyler's secret worried him to the core. what if oliver told val that her best friend was practically in love with her? what if she was weirded out by it and never wanted to hang out with tyler again? he longed to talk with her so that he could figure out what was going on.

luckily for tyler, he and val had arranged to meet up at the park. just a normal hang out session between the two best friends. but tyler hoped that he would at least get some information on what oliver had said about him.

he got ready, changing into his casual clothes for the day and putting a comb through his slightly messy hair. he grabbed a hoodie since the weather was getting chillier, and eventually he was out the door.

after parking the car, tyler walked a bit to meet his friend at their usual spot. sure enough, there the girl was, her hands in her hoodie pocket as she awaited tyler's arrival. when she noticed him, her lips curved into a tiny smile and she waved.

"hey ty," she greeted him cheerfully. the two of them instantly began walking side by side on the pavement, down the route they usually took.

tyler took in his surroundings, basking in the chilly breeze that blew onto his face. the leaves on the nearby trees were starting to turn the same orangey-red color that they always did around this time of year.

"so," tyler started, shifting his attention to the girl beside him. "what happened with oliver?" sometimes he feared that he was intruding on her privacy, but she usually told him these things willingly.

"you know, just the usual," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "he got jealous at dinner the other night. he thinks that we're 'too close' and that we shouldn't behave that way together. but honestly, i think that he should stop dictating my relationship with you. he knows how we met. he knows we're best friends and everything. so why doesn't he trust us together?" she asked hopelessly.

"it's just his jealously," tyler said. "it's blinding him."

"why is he even jealous in the first place?"

"i think it's because of what you just told me. because of how close we are," tyler explained.

"you think so?" she rose an eyebrow.

"i'm pretty sure. i mean, think about it. he gets mad when you wanna hang out with me alone. he probably thinks i'm trying to steal you away from him or something," tyler thought out loud.

"but it's so unfair for him to get mad. i'm with him all of the time too. i just want to be able to hang out with all of the people that i love without any drama," she huffed.

"you love me?" tyler asked jokingly.

"yes! why? do you not love me?" she asked accusingly.

"no, of course i do," he replied with a dorky smile. more than you could imagine, he thought to himself.

it melted his heart to know that she loved him. maybe it was in just a friendly way, but that didn't make it any less meaningful to him. she still felt strongly about him, and he valued that.

but what was stopping her from loving him romantically? how come tyler didn't give her butterflies or make her head spin whenever they touched? maybe he didn't appeal to her. maybe they'd just been friends for so long that she had never bothered to view tyler in a different light. or maybe she had, and she simply didn't like the idea of being with him. maybe he wasn't enough.

he wanted so badly to be enough.

"ty?" the girl called, pulling tyler away from his thoughts. he rose his eyebrows, looking towards her. "what do you think i should do? how am i supposed to get him to trust us?"

"you're gonna have to talk it out with him. i know you guys have had this conversation over and over, but something needs to come of it this time. just be honest. tell him you need his trust," tyler explained, shrugging his shoulders afterward. he was never sure if he was giving the right advice. he'd just tell her what he thought would work best. and surprisingly, sometimes, it did work.

"i'll try. but what if he doesn't listen? what if he's always going to be jealous of us?" she asked doubtfully.

"i can't really tell you what to do then. all i know is that every good relationship needs trust, and if you don't have that, then... it just isn't a good relationship," he said, almost cringing at that last part. he hoped it didn't sound like he was insulting val and oliver's relationship- that wasn't what he was trying to do. he was just being honest.

"you're right," val replied, nodding slightly. "how do you always know what to say? you're too smart for me," she said, playfully nudging his arm.

"not true. i don't always know what to say. but... i guess that i am too smart for you," he stated, offering a teasing smile. she giggled, but the moment was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing.

she answered, bringing the phone up to her ear and glancing at tyler. her expression was a mix of disappointment and guilt. he could've only guessed that oliver was on the other line, and their little hangout session would've been cut short.

"i'm just with tyler right now," he heard her speak into the phone. "i'll come see you later." and with that, she hung up.

"so...?" tyler trailed off, confused as to what was going on.

"it was oliver. he wants me to come home now, but i told him that he's gonna have to wait. i came here to hang out with you, so that's what i'm going to do," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. tyler was glad that she wasn't afraid to make her own choices. some people might've been scared of angering their partner and hurting their relationship, but that didn't seem to bother val. she stood by what she believed the right thing to do was. and top of that, she defended tyler time and time again even though she probably knew it would only result in more arguments with her boyfriend. tyler was thankful for that.