*Troye's POV*

The drive from my house to the school seemed to pass in seconds I'd drove it so many times. It wasn't until I actually parked the car that I remembered I passed Tyler's house on my way. I didn't even bother to look up. I grabbed my bag out of the passenger's seat and reached for the door, but I couldn't will myself to open it. Today was going to be utterly horrible. I had a hard enough time dealing with their rude thoughts, I'd never in my life had to put up with rude words before this year, and we all seen how well I coped yesterday in the cafeteria. What if there wasn't anyone there to make me feel better today? 

It wasn't until I tasted blood that I realized I'd been chewing on my lip nervously this entire time. I winced in pain, grabbing the door and opening it before I got the chance to chicken out. Besides, the earlier I left the less people would be in the halls. I strolled across the parking lot relatively unscathed, considering no one was out there aside from a single group of younger girls. That wasn't what I was worried about, it was the hallways. I could just picture them flooded with people, cutting me off from going to my next class and surrounding me. The very thought made me queasy as I stepped through the doors.

I scurried to my locker, clumsily grabbing books out of it without even really concentrating on what ones they were. I just wanted to get out of here, into a classroom where the teacher would make students more cautious about what they said. I even had my favorite teacher first class, surely they'd help me out. I started toward the classroom quickly then, before the familiar sound of hundreds of loud voices filled the hallway. And, the buses had gotten here. I started jogging now, despite knowing I wasn't allowed to run in the halls. I just didn't want to run into anyone that remembered yesterday. I could do this, I'd spent my whole life invisible, why was it so damn hard to blend in now? 

"Hey, Troye!" I froze, my eyes going wide as I hugged my books tighter to my chest. This is it, they've caught up to me. I listened to the footsteps approach me from behind, even closing my eyes when they got too close. I didn't want to see who it was. "Troye? Are you okay?" I opened my eyes, surprised to find Shane standing beside me. I felt like hugging him in that moment, though of course I didn't. 

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was up late last night and I'm a little out of it." I lied through my teeth, knowing he'd believe it. 

"That's fine! What class do you have first? Didn't you mention the other day we had a similar schedule on Wednesdays?" I hurriedly passed him my schedule, hearing voices not far behind us. I started walking, hoping he'd take the hint and walk and talk with me. He did, still looking down at the little piece of paper in his hands.

"Yeah, we have most of our classes together today, except for the one at the very end of the day." 

"That's cool! We should try and sit beside each other." In truth I wasn't actually that into the idea of sitting beside him, but he was definitely better than some stranger. Especially if that stranger remembered the incident from yesterday and never let me live it down. Shane looked totally ecstatic at my suggestion though, beaming a huge smile and nodding.

"That'd be awesome!" He laughed, handing me back the schedule. I got the feeling he wasn't used to having people ask him to sit by them. It actually bugged me a little bit, that people could be so cruel to someone without reason. Was it just because he was fat? He'd been unpopular long before the whole 'coming out' thing and I could hardly think of another reason. He was a nice guy, the nicest one I'd run into in this school. Well, aside from Tyler. Then again, I guess nice wasn't really a necessary component in people in highshool.

The first classes flew by in a whirlwind. Who knew actually having friends made school pass so much quicker. Were Shane and I friends? I suppose he was the closest I'd had to one in a long time. I wasn't going to put a label on it though, that'd only make it hurt more when he inevitably thought something rude about me. I was more than happy to spend time with him until then, especially if it meant not having to face the torment completely alone. The bell had just rung for lunch and we were shuffling out of the classroom, him talking about some movie he'd watched over the weekend as we walked. He was a total movie enthusiast. 

"Yeah, and the main actress just had this undeniably mysterious vibe to her that just complimented everything the movie was going for and-" Shane stopped as he lost his footing, starting to fall. Instinctively I reached out and grabbed his hand in an effort to hold him up, noticing the outstretched foot from one of our classmates. Assholes, everyone in this school is a bunch of assholes. Thankfully Shane regained his footing after a couple seconds, blushing as he hurried out of the room now. I followed, partly because I didn't want to face the world on my own, but also because I kind of wanted to make sure he was okay. I genuinely cared that he was okay. 

I found him not far down the hallway and I jogged to catch up, walking next to him in silence. He was looking straight ahead, ignoring everything around him.

"So, what are you doing for lunch?" I mumbled awkwardly, not used to this sort of thing. He stopped walking then, looking up at me with an obvious expression of disbelief. 

"You still want to hangout with me? Troye, stuff like that happens all the time. I know you're no Mr. Popular yourself but I am the very bottom of the food chain, hanging out with me would only hurt your reputation."

"That's just it, Shane. It's my reputation, not who I actually am. If they don't care enough to get to know me better and prove it wrong then I shouldn't care what they think anyway... Neither should you." He stared at me with a blank expression for a moment before his lips twitched, turning up into a smile.

"You're different, Troye, in a good way."

"I like to think so." I laughed, looking down at my feet. I felt his hand slap me on the back gently then, relieved when it didn't give me the familiar electricity. 

"Let's go." I followed after him happily, until I realized he was headed toward the cafeteria. I mean, I wasn't sure what else I had expected considering it was lunch time, after all, but I definitely didn't want to set foot back in there.

"Do you think we could maybe eat outside at the picnic tables?" I asked awkwardly, bounding forward to step between him and the cafeteria doors. He thought for a minute, nodding eventually.

"Yeah, sure. I just have to buy my lunch first, come on." I felt like melting into a puddle as he pushed past me into the other room. Damn it. I trailed after him reluctantly, keeping my head down and my shoulders slumped. Maybe no one would notice, maybe I was making a bigger deal of this than they were. I made it about halfway before I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I slowly turned around, grimacing when I seen Caspar standing behind me with a tray of food.

"Hey, buddy, do you want some spaghetti?" He had a devilish grin that made me sick to my stomach. I felt like curling in on myself, shaking my head nervously. I now noticed the usuals flanking his sides, surprised to see Tyler was standing behind him as well. He was acting totally enveloped into his phone screen, though he obviously knew what was going on and was just going along with it. I bored my eyes into the top of his head, but he didn't look up. "Are you sure? I hear you love it, so much you even wear it sometimes."

"I'm sure." I mumbled weakly, my eyes darting to the floor. I was shaking slightly, cursing myself for how weak I probably looked. I wonder how many people in the room are watching this.

"Caspar, fuck off." I looked up quickly with wide eyes, relief flooding over me. Except, Tyler was still staring at his phone screen. It hadn't been him that spoke up. I turned, surprised to find Shane standing beside me with a confident stance. He was standing up for me and Tyler wasn't. 

"Or what, faggot?" They circled Shane then, disregarding me as I stepped away from the group. I felt horrible just backing away when Shane had stood up for me, but I probably wouldn't be any help anyway. I noticed Tyler had backed away too, still entranced by his phone. He did look up once though, his eyes scanning the situation warily. They flickered to me then, though it was only for a split second before he looked back down guiltily. I knew I shouldn't be mad, I should have expected this, but I couldn't help it. All he had to do was mumble a simple 'guys, cut it out' and they'd retreat like some sort of army, but he couldn't even do that. Shane had stood up for me despite knowing the consequences already. 

I grabbed my own phone, selecting Tyler's name and typing in a simple 'thanks a lot' before clicking send. I watched him read the text, his eyes still refusing to look up at me. Did this really matter more to him than I did? Why did he even want this stupid life so badly? He'd said it himself he didn't really like Caspar or sports, what was keeping him here? It was so frustrating, not knowing all his motives behind this. 

"Troye? Coming?" I looked up, surprised to find Shane standing in front of me relatively unscathed. I noticed a patch of spaghetti sauce on his before spotless shirt, but other than that there wasn't really any damage. I cast one final glare in Tyler's direction, happy to see that he was actually looking, and turned back to Shane.

"Yeah, of course. Thanks, by the way." 

"Don't mention it." He beamed, starting toward the doors ahead of me. I trailed after him without another look in Tyler's direction, though he was definitely on my mind. Did this mean we weren't friends anymore? Was that all it took to end it? Wow, that didn't last long at all. I should have expected it though, people like him don't befriend people like me.

As much as I tried to convince myself that it didn't bother me, I found myself lost inside my head for the rest of the day. Sure, it was probably pathetic to be this invested after just one hang-out session, but he'd seemed so genuine. He really seemed like he wanted to get to know me, that he cared about me. Even my friends in the past hadn't really shown that. They'd talk to me and all, but they didn't really care. I guess Tyler didn't all the much either. 

Shane tried to talk to me throughout the day but most times I ended up just brushing him off and focusing on my schoolwork. I was doing a pretty good job of this until I walked through the door to my last class of the day. It was the only class I hadn't been to already this year, considering I skipped it yesterday. It took me approximately four seconds to recognize the boy sitting in the back of the classroom looking out the window. Great, I would get stuck in a class with Tyler. We were the only two here so far, considering the bell for this class hadn't even rung yet. Oh well, at least this means I won't get stuck sitting beside him or something. I walked straight to the front of the room, as far away from him as I could get, and sat down.

The bell rang a few minutes later, obnoxiously loud students filtering into the room. I ignored them, keeping my head down impossibly close to the textbook in front of me. I straightened up when the teacher started to introduce himself, though it wasn't really to pay attention to him. I subtly looked over my shoulder, noticing that no one had sat beside Tyler. I guess because he was the only popular person in this class and no one was brave enough to risk sitting beside him or something. Oh well, I doubt he'd have a problem with getting lonely or anything. I looked back to the front, surprised to find a random girl in front of my desk.

"Uhm, hello?" I noticed the teacher standing behind her now, his hands on his hips as he looked down at me expectantly.

"Mr. Mellet, would you mind answering my question?"

"What question? Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." I blushed at his glare, twiddling my thumbs awkwardly.

"Of course you weren't. This is Lisa and she has bad vision so she needs to sit at the front. Do you have a reason for sitting up here or can she switch seats with you?" 

"No, I can sit anywhere." I blurted quickly, eager to please him after the whole 'not paying attention' situation. 

"Okay, great. Go sit in the empty seat at the back, please." My eyes went wide as I realized what he was asking. The only other empty seat was... Fuck. I gathered my stuff up in my arms, struggling to balance it all as I headed toward the back. I refused to make eye contact with Tyler as I dropped it all on my desk. I watched helplessly as my phone toppled out of the pile, realizing it must have been on the table when I scooped it all up. It was falling toward the floor but a hand grabbed it, holding it out to me silently. I knew it was Tyler, but I also wasn't about to thank him. I snatched it out of his hand, relieved when I didn't get a glimpse into his thoughts. I fell into the chair beside him, sitting up straight and as far away from him as possible.

Thankfully we were just doing book work this class so I didn't have to talk to him. I concentrated on the stupid work like it was my religion, completely blocking out the rest of the world. I made it through three pages before I felt my phone go off in my pocket. I grimaced, grabbing it to check the text.

"Are you ignoring me?" I stared at the text with a blank expression for a moment before pointedly deleting it, knowing that Tyler was watching, and shoving the phone back in my pocket. I got through another half of a page before it went off again. I debated not checking, but honestly I was too curious what kind of bullshit apology he would give. I grabbed it, scanning the text.

"Troye, I'm sorry, but what did you expect me to do? Tell Caspar to back off and hope for the best? That'd throw the whole school off balance, it was better to just let it take it's course." I glared at the screen for a minute, rage boiling through me. I'd originally planned on just deleting this text after reading it as well, but I couldn't now, I was too angry.

"Better for you or better for me?"

"Both of us. They'd only make a bigger deal of it if I interfered and then they'd tease me about sticking up for you. Trust me, I know highschoolers." I glared at the screen, wondering if he'd actually thought this out beforehand or if he was just making excuses. Either way, I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone right now, much less him.

"You're a dick, just let me do my work." I started to put the phone away before it went off in my hand. I sighed, opening the text.

"You've got the wrong answer for C, just saying." I shoved the phone into my pocket without replying, leaning over my desk and checking my answers. I sighed, realizing he was right, and erased the answer out. I hated Math with a passion. I looked up at him for the first time since sitting down then, rolling my eyes at his smug grin. He grabbed his sheet then, handing it toward me. I glared at him, but eventually I ended up accepting it. I didn't want to just copy, but maybe his answers would make it easier. 

By the time the bell rung I'd actually finished all the assigned work, with Tyler's help. We didn't talk, but he'd let me watch as he figured out some questions and correct me if I messed up. I was still mad at him, but it definitely felt nice not having homework for a change. Tyler was the first out of the room, rushing ahead of everyone else like it physically pained him to be here. I took my time though, ending up being the very last to hand in my work and head out of the classroom. I was doing it on purpose, knowing if I took my time most of the end-of-the-day crowds would be gone when I walked out. I was right, as always. The halls were more or less empty aside from the odd straggler, giving me lots of space as I headed toward my locker. 

Before I knew it I was heading out to my car, actually pretty happy with my day. It definitely could have gone much worse. I wasn't about to admit it, but spending the last class with Tyler had brightened my mood considerably. I was mad at him though, so I would never tell him that. The parking lot was pretty empty, making it easy to spot the familiar piece of shit car and cute boy messing around under the hood, obviously frustrated. I approached cautiously, watching Tyler mess around in silence.

"Fucking piece of junk, I swear I'm buying a new car with my first paycheck." I smirked to myself, watching him pound at a random piece of metal with what looked to be a large rock. Damn it, how was I supposed to stay mad at him when he looked like this? When he spoke up again his voice was much quieter, practically pleading with the car at this point. "Please, please, start. I have to be at work in like ten minutes." 

"Tyler." I said simply, not able to hide my smile when he jumped and smacked his head off the hood. He cursed loudly, rubbing the back of his head as he straightened up and looked at me curiously.

"Troye."

"Car troubles?" I asked with a smirk, leaning against the side of his car. He just glared at me, pouting his lips out.

"No, I am carsexual and this is how I get intimate." He said sarcastically, closing the hood and jumping up on it.

"In the middle of a parking lot? I really thought you were classier than that." I teased, surprised at how naturally it came to me now. His cheeks lit up but he rolled his eyes, shoving me away.

"What do you want anyway? I thought you were ignoring me."

"I don't want anything- well, I wouldn't be opposed to a better apology. But, I got the feeling there was something you might want. Like, I don't know... A drive to work?"

"Are you offering one?"

"I don't know, I don't hear you apologizing." I said in a sing-song voice, starting towards my car. Tyler followed, I could hear his shoes scraping against the pavement. I stopped in front of my door, turning around to face him. He fell to his knees dramatically then, clasping his hands together and batting his eyelashes at me.

"I'm so very gravely sorry, Troye, I'll do absolutely anything to make it up to you! Please, forgive me! I can't cope with you being angry at me, you're the only sunshine in my dark miserable life!" He wiped an imaginary tear off of his cheek then, giving a pretty realistic frown. I reached down, grabbing his hand and hauling him to his feet.

"I don't appreciate the sarcasm, but I guess I'll accept that. Go get in the passenger's." I sighed, dismissing him with a wave of my hand. Except he didn't leave immediately, instead he wrapped his arms around my torso and squeezed me to him so tight I was sure my lungs were caving in. I hugged him back, a little bit confused by how much I was enjoying it. I shied away from physical contact, not willingly threw myself into people's embraces. 

Mmm, he smells so good.

I blushed at this random thought, patting his back as a way of telling him to back off. He did, beaming a huge smile up at me and shouting his 'thank-you'. I didn't really hear it though, considering my mind was once again wandering. I must have looked like a robot as I got into the car, completely unaware of my surroundings. All I could think about was how good that hug had felt. It had been so long since touching someone was a positive experience, it felt utterly foreign.

"Troye? Are you gonna start the car?" I blinked, giving a weak smile in Tyler's general direction.

"Actually, do you want to drive, Mr. Carsexual?"

"Are you giving us your blessing?" He asked, pretending to be shocked as he leaned forward and kissed the dash of the car. I rolled my eyes at him, handing him the keys and getting out. I was confused why he didn't get out until I opened his door and found he'd already awkwardly maneuvered himself into the driver's seat. I fell into the seat beside him, leaning back and closing my eyes. I'd be lying if I said I was actually deep in thought trying to figure out all the weird things going on in my head lately, truthfully I was just saturating in the bubbly feeling the hug had produced in me. 

A/n: Before you yell at me, NEXT chapter will have Tyler's POV and will kind of be a backtrack so all you lovely people can see his thoughts on all these events, as well as some new ones. Ugh, the romantic aspect is finally started to seep in and I could not be more excited. Also, you guys got me to 1k comments, IT'S TURNED BRIGHT RED. Soon this is going to be rivalling the amount of votes/comments on It's Complicated and I cannot tell you how insanely happy I am about this. Keep all the votes and sweet comments coming, I appreciate every single one. 
I have a lot to say today, or maybe I'm just rambly, but here goes. In the very near future I have yet another Troyler fic planned, a kinda darker much smuttier one to contrast how fluffy this one has turned out. Lord knows, Mama's thirsty. But yeah, keep your eyes peeled for that (not literally, don't peel your eyes, that's unhealthy.)

And lastly, my sorta shout-out thing of the day, is smut. Now this isn't just smut, this is SMUT. Ugh, just trust when I say you need to read it. It's called 'A lot like fiction' by colour-me-troyler and it is quite possibly some of the best smut on wattpad. Written amazingly and lots of tension build-up and justtttttttttttt, ugh. Go read it, I'll dedicate this chapter to the author so you lovelys can find it easier.

And finally, I think I'm done talking. If you read all this you're a saint, love you <3