*Troye's POV* 

I watched him rev out of the parking lot ahead of me, rolling my eyes at his competitive nature. Normally I might have made a big deal and raced after him in an effort to show him who's boss, but not right now. All I could do was sit there and replay those last few seconds before he got out of the car.

He'd been reaching for the door and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to keep him from leaving. I hadn't felt this at home with someone in ages, and I couldn't help but worry that it might not happen ever again. What if something happened between now and the weekend and things got awkward between us? Or worse, he just outright said he didn't want to hangout with me? It was desperate and needy, but I wanted more time with him, even if it was only for a few seconds. I reached out carelessly, gripping his bicep. 

Doesn't he realize how hard it is for me to leave as it is? The last thing I need is another excuse to stall for time.

I blush, my stomach doing flip-flops at his thoughts. He didn't want to leave either. That was definitely reassuring to me, making it a lot easier to see him go. If he was even half as invested as me then I knew he'd still want to hang-out with me when Saturday rolled around. 

"Yes?" He asked, his lips turning up into a smile the second he looked over his shoulder at me. I blinked, realizing I still hadn't really thought out what I was going to say to him. 

"I, uh, I just wanted to say I had a lot of fun today. And I just wanted to say thanks, I guess." I mumbled quietly, my heart racing. Wow, now he's definitely going to think I'm some clingy weirdo. I slowly let my hand slip off his arm as he started to look lost, looking at me with a blank expression. I was too worried to actually concentrate on what exactly he was staring at until his eyes flickered up to mine a minute later.

"Thank-you, Troye Sivan, this is the best day I've had in a long time." He said adoringly, making my heart flutter in a way completely foreign to me. I ignored it though, shoving any of those confusing thoughts to the back of my mind and focusing solely on what I did understand of my emotions, which was basically that I was extremely extremely happy. I felt my face breaking out into a huge lopsided grin at his heartfelt words, surprised how emotional I'd gotten over one measly sentence. I guess it wasn't so much the words, but the way he said it. The way his eyes sparkled and the very corner of his lips had quirked up in a little half-smile. Every single one of his features had screamed that he was genuine. He had meant every single word and he'd never truly understand how much that meant to me.

I snapped back to the present, starting the car and stomping on the gas in hopes of catching up to Tyler. It wouldn't be hard with my car versus his, but he had gotten quite the head start while I sat there looking lost in a daze. 

I parked my car in the garage like usual, though for once I didn't hurry inside. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the questions I knew I was about to be bombarded with. The last time I'd stayed out after school unannounced was... Well, never. I'd never skipped class either. They were definitely going to give me some kind of annoying lecture and quiz me on how I'd spent the day. I wasn't sure why, but I really didn't feel like telling them. Not yet anyway. I kind of wanted the whole Tyler thing to myself, to get used to the idea of being friends with him on my own before having people squeal over it and bug me. I knew that was too much to ask for though, they were going to demand answers and I was too exhausted to come up with any sort of lie. 

I forced myself out of the car eventually, swinging my backpack over my shoulder and locking the car. I had nothing left to stall me now so I started toward the door with a scowl on my face. Maybe if I acted really unapproachable they'd leave me alone. That hope flew out the window the second I walked out of the garage and noticed the curious faces pressed up against the window. Sage and Tyde both had wide eyes, watching me as I approached the front door. I gave them the finger, enjoying the way they immediately disappeared like they were trying to be sneaky this whole time. I smiled to myself, knowing they meant well, even if their overly-clingy nature got on my nerves sometimes. I opened the door casually, trying to act completely natural as I walked into the entryway. I was a little surprised to find it empty and no one waiting for me, but I didn't stress over it too much. They'd be here, soon enough. 

I started toward the kitchen, genuinely shocked to find it empty as well. Mom was always in here... I brushed it off, grabbing a juice-box and heading toward the stairs. Well, if they weren't going to ambush me then I wasn't going to seek them out. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get to my room before they catch up to me! 

I was beginning to get really weirded out when I reached my door without any family interaction. This was too weird. They attacked me when I was just getting home from school, why wouldn't they after I was out for so long without explanation? I tried to shake it off, opening the door. I walked into my room, rolling my eyes when I seen my entire family crammed onto my bed.

"Hi, Troye!" They all shouted in unison, beaming huge smiles. I laughed out loud, despite the fact I'd planned on acting distant to get them off my back. I couldn't, I was just too happy to even pretend otherwise. They seemed happy with my response, jumping up to come and swarm me. 

"Where were you?" My dad asked, standing significantly taller than all the rest. Before I could even get a reply out Tyde started jumping right in front of me, successfully distracting me,

"Did you actually skip half the school day? You badass." He teased, giggling at my awestruck response. Had they been having a family discussion about this?

"Troye, is this something we should know about?" My eyes fell on my mother's concerned face and I sighed loudly, shaking my head. I didn't want her jumping to the worst conclusion, so I'd better let her in on it partially. Besides, I needed to ask about him coming over this weekend anyway.

"No, it's nothing to worry about, Mom, it won't happen again. I was just hanging out with a friend and lost track of time, it's not actually that big of a deal if-"

"A friend?! You were hanging out with a friend?" Sage shouted, worming through the other family members and looking up at me with her jaw hanging open. I reached up, slapping it shut harshly.

"You're going to catch flies if you keep gaping like that. Yes, a friend." I stated simply, walking over and falling onto my bed. I watched upside down as they crowded around me yet again, except for Steele who at least had the decency to stand over by the wall. I closed my eyes, waiting for the attack of questions I was about to be faced with.

"What kind of friend?" Tyde beamed, crawling onto the bed beside me.

"What do you mean?" I sat up, eyeing him cautiously.

"No, like, are they a friend or a friiiiend?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows on the second option. 

"They're a friend." I said it flatly, but the few seconds of hesitation I took before replying must have made it hard to believe, because they were all squealing a moment later. I groaned, flipping over to bury my face in the pillows. 

"Name?" My dad asked simply, trying to sound as level as possible. I knew he was just seconds from squealing as well. I thought about it for a moment, trying to decide my best course of action. There was obviously more than one Tyler in the town, but I knew the second I said the name I'd hear a chorus of 'Tyler Oakley?!?' so I wasn't sure if I should be honest with them. At the same time, if he actually ended up coming over this weekend they were going to find out on their own accord. I sighed loudly, sitting up so I could see their reactions. I guess I was looking forward to that part a little bit, bragging about spending the day with the most popular guy in school, I'd never admit to that though.

"His name's Tyler. Tyler Oakley." I said simply, darting my eyes to each of their faces. My mother had a warm smile on her features, Steele had his usual steeled expression, my dad seemed lost in thought as he scrunched his eyebrows up, but Sage and Tyde's expressions were by far the most interesting. Tyde didn't actually know much about Tyler, just enough to know where he stood in the school, but even still his mouth was hanging open and his eyes bulging. Sage, on the other hand, looked utterly skeptical, with her lips set into a scowl and her eyes squinted as she stared me down.

"You're lying." She said simply, scoffing at me in obvious annoyance. I glared at her, shaking my head.

"I am not! I hung out with him the whole day! We went out to dinner at this little cafe and then we went to the beach and-"

"So you went on a date?" My mother interrupted suddenly, her voice so shrill it made my ears ring. I groaned, shaking my head.

"No, we just hung-out, platonically." My family had all asked me about my sexuality in the past at different times, though I'd given them all the same answer. 'I don't know' because I genuinely didn't. I hadn't really ever liked anyone, definitely not enough to make me even care enough to look into it. Putting a label on myself just wasn't a big deal to me, and thankfully they understood that. They now just acted like I could be attracted to anyone, and made it very clear they didn't care either way. I was thankful for that, how accepting they were of me. 

"But you like him?" She prodded, inching closer to me on the bed. I made a face of annoyance at her, scrunching my nose up and frowning.

"No, we're just friends." I repeated, feeling a little bit bad when I seen her disappointed frown. Just because they didn't care who I was interested in, doesn't mean they didn't care that I was interested in someone. I couldn't even remember a time they hadn't been trying to talk me into getting a boyfriend or girlfriend. At first I found it weird they were in such a rush to shove me out of the nest, before realizing they were just trying to make me happy. They thought that was what I needed to 'come out of my shell'. I could hardly be annoyed at them after realizing this, sometimes even going along with the eccentric dates they set me up on with their friend's kids. None of them ever worked out, but how excited they got before I left always made them worth while.

"I still don't believe you. Tyler Oakley is the most popular guy in school, why would he hang-out with you? No offense, but that'd hardly be good for his reputation."

"Sage!" My mother scolded, swatting at her. She dodged easily, shrugging innocently and making it clear she didn't regret her words. I sighed, knowing this part was coming as well. She was the only one of my siblings actually in the same school as me, meaning her reaction actually kind of mattered. She could actually see Tyler around school and talk to him if she really wanted, meaning I had to make sure she didn't.

"No, she's right. We're actually kind of keeping the friendship on the down-low for that reason. It's not that he's embarrassed of me, he just doesn't want to get bugged for hanging out with me so-"

"That sounds an awful lot like being embarrassed of you." Steele said, speaking up for the first time since I got back. I glared across the room at him, shaking my head slowly.

"It's not like that." I said strictly, surprised to hear how obviously annoyed my voice was. I never got outwardly snappy with family members. I figured they had enough to deal with having a socially inept outcast child that hated physical contact, the least I could do was be the nicest I could be to them. I'd never made a big deal over things like this in the past. Then again, I'd never had anyone to make a big deal over in the past. Steele scoffed, giving me a look of disbelief before heading out of my room. Whatever, I didn't need his negativity in here anyway. I turned back to Sage, hoping to enforce my point that she was not to approach Tyler to talk about me under any circumstances, when I noticed she'd disappeared. I furrowed my brows, turning to Tyde.

"What happened to her?"

"She snatched your phone and ran off while you were bickering with Steele. I think she said something about calling Tyler." My eyes went wide and I leaped off the bed, running toward the familiar door across the hall at an inhuman speed. I pounded against the wood angrily.

"Sage! Give me back my phone right this instant!" I demanded, watching out of the corner of my eyes as my parents retreated back downstairs, giggling to themselves. Some help they were. Tyde had joined me now, leaning against the wall of the hallway with a curious expression, obviously only here to watch the show play out. I was about to pound the door again when it flew open, revealing a smirking Sage. She shoved the phone at me with a giggle.

"It's ringing." My eyes went wide and I held it to my ear, my heart racing in my chest. It continued to ring for a long time and my face fell slightly. Maybe he'd just gone to bed already, but I couldn't help the worst case scenario images in the back of my mind. What if today was a one time thing? He'd seemed genuine when he said it was the best day he'd had in a while but maybe he's just an insanely good actor. Maybe today meant nothing to him. Fucking Sage, she had to ruin this for me. I was about to hang up when the phoneline cracked, alerting me someone had picked up.

"Hello?" Tyler panted into the phone, sounding like he'd just run a marathon. I couldn't help the stupid grin that spread across my face, before remembering I had absolutely no excuse to be calling him. Grr, I was going to kill Sage for this. As it was she seemed overly interested in the conversation, leaning against the door frame and watching me with bright eyes. 

"Uh, yeah, it's me, Troye." I mumbled sheepishly, mentally face-palming myself for sounding so awkward. Sage made hand gestures then, mouthing the words 'put it on speaker' repeatedly. 

"I wasn't expecting you to call me."

"Neither was I, to be fair." I chuckled awkwardly, retreating back toward my room. I knew better than to even try locking Sage out, so I just fell onto the bed and accepted it when she joined me. 

"So? Is there a reason you called? Or did you just miss me too much to fall asleep?" I knew it was stupid when the blush spread across my neck and creeped across my cheeks, but that didn't make it go away any. Obviously it was just a coincidence his words sounded slightly flirty to me, that was probably just my own mind twisting things around. Even so, if that was the case that meant I wanted him to be flirty. Did I? No, this was all just a big mess because I was overtired and couldn't think straight. I'd worry about it in the morning.

"I just wanted to make sure you had my number, in case any plans change for Saturday." That was most definitely the lamest and most unbelievable excuse on the planet. Sage perked up at the mention of plans for Saturday, immediately snatching the phone out of my hands and putting it on speaker phone. I would have yelled at her and snatched the phone back, had Tyler not been able to hear everything. So instead I just glared at her begrudgingly as she held the phone out, listening to Tyler's adorable giggle through the phone.

"I have it, yeah." He reassured me, his tone slightly teasing. I wracked my mind for a response, though of course I couldn't come up with anything on the spot. I looked to Sage for help but obviously that was the wrong idea because she was doing all she could to keep from giggling out loud. I shot her a glare, telling her to keep it under wraps until I got off the phone, and blurted the first thing I came up with.

"Okay, cool." The line was silent for so long I thought he might have fallen asleep, or worse, hung up on me. That was, until a loud laugh filtered through the speakers, alerting me he was most definitely still there.

"Cool." He purred, the smile he had on evident in his voice. I blushed, once again blurting the first thing to come to my mind. 

"The coolest." I actually groaned out loud at myself over this one, sinking my face into my hands and glaring at Sage through the cracks of my fingers. She was silently laughing now, clapping her hands together quietly like some sort of hysteric seal. I could hear Tyler laughing too, his big witch cackle. It was also obvious he was holding the phone away from his mouth so I wouldn't get the full experience. I waited patiently for his laughter to subside, actually finding myself missing it when it did. Thouh it was a bit much at first, his loud obnoxious laugh actually did grow on you. It definitely made you feel proud knowing you'd been the one to cause it, that's for sure.

"You're a goof, Troye Sivan. Go to bed, you have to make up for a lot of missed classes in the morning." His tone was slightly teasing, obviously knowing it was his fault I'd missed all those classes to begin with. Not that I regretted it, I wouldn't for even a second.

"Yeah, you're probably right... I'm just not looking forward to seeing all those people after the cafeteria incident." I said honestly, ignoring Sage's questioning stare. Right now I just wanted to talk to Tyler. If anyone knew the ins and outs of highschoolers it'd be him. Maybe he'd have some good advice as to how to live through tomorrow.

There was silence for a few seconds, before he let out a quiet sigh. When he spoke up again his voice was much softer, obviously trying to comfort me.

"Hey, it'll be fine." He cooed, his voice so quiet and intimate I actually felt embarrassed having Sage listen in. Without thinking I snatched the phone from her hands, grateful when she didn't make a scene and just let me take it, turning speaker phone off before holding it to my ear.

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly, walking into my bathroom and closing the door behind me. This conversation just didn't feel like something I wanted to include her on. I didn't ask for advice often, and I wanted time to actually consider what Tyler was about to say, if it was anything wise at all. 

"Troye, tomorrow's gonna suck, I'm going to be honest with you. If anything you made it worse for yourself running off like that, giving them time to talk about it. But they'll forget after that, teenagers are two things before anything else. One, they're cruel, two, they're utterly stupid and have the attention span of a fly. Trust me when I say they won't even remember you exist in a few days." He assured me, his serious tone sounding completely unnatural on him. I leaned against the bathroom wall, furrowing my brows. I honestly had trouble accepting that he thought like this. I thought it'd only been me with such cynical views, but I guess I wasn't alone on it after all. I didn't think I'd ever get used to this side of Tyler though, the serious slightly dark side. I needed him to be his usual bubbly self, to cheer me up and bring me out of my own funk. I needed him to be everything I wasn't.

"Good, I liked not existing just fine." I replied finally, adding an awkwardly fake chuckle. He didn't respond, just sighing heavily into the phone and making me wonder even further what was on his mind. "Thanks, Tyler, I'm kind of a nervous wreck if you haven't guessed already." 

"Ah, but you're my nervous wreck. Now try and get some sleep, it's easier to face the world fully rested." He was considerably happier sounding now, though his words were obviously still serious. I groaned, starting toward the door to my bedroom. 

"Fine, I'm going." I mumbled, happy to find my room empty when I walked out. I put the phone on speaker for a moment, stripping my shirt over my head.

"Oh, and Troye? Can I give you one final tidbit of advice?" I hurriedly dropped my pants as well, scrambling under the covers and grabbing the phone again. I turned off speaker phone, excited to hear what he had to say.

"Yes?"

"Always remember the three 'F' rule. If they're not feeding you, fucking you, or financing you, then they're irrelevant." He explained, giggling adorably to himself after finishing. I rolled my eyes at his childishness, sinking into the pillow with a content smile.

"But Tyler, you're not doing any of those things for me." 

"Hey! I was going to pay for our meal today!" He sounded genuinely hurt and I couldn't help but smile. If there was one thing Tyler Oakley was not, it was irrelevant. Regardless of who you asked, he was definitely relevant.

"Next time." I reminded him, hoping to make him feel better. 

"Yeah, next time." He responded immediately, sounding content with this information. There was silence for a while then and it wasn't until I heard a woman talking in the background that I realized how late it was getting. I was still used to being able to sleep in past noon, if I wanted to get up in time for school I'd better cut this call short.

"Troye? Did you hear all that? Sorry about my mother, she's a nuisance." He sounded slightly flustered, making me really wish I had of heard their exchange.

"No, I didn't hear anything. Tell her I said hi!" I immediately regretted my words, thinking about how dumb I'd sounded. He just laughed though, letting out a long yawn.

"I will in the morning, right now I think it's time for bed."

"I second that." I mumbled quietly, listening as his loud breathing began to even out. I was beginning to think he'd fallen asleep on the phone yet again, when another yawn pierced through the air, making it clear we had only fallen into one of the frequent comfortable silences we experienced.

"Sorry, Troye, I really should head to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow sometime." Talking to me tomorrow definitely sounded a lot more promising than only seeing me tomorrow. I nodded dumbly before realizing he couldn't see me through the phone.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine. Goodnight, Tyler." I said formally, letting my eyes fall shut as I waited for his final response.

"Night, babe." My eyes snapped open now, full of confusion.

"Babe?" I questioned innocently, groaning aloud when he didn't respond. My phone alerted me the call had been ended and I was left over-thinking the stupid pet name to no end. Had he meant something by it? No, of course not, he was the straightest guy out there, constantly hooking up with girls at parties and bragging about it. Maybe it'd just been an accident, he'd said it himself that sleepy Tyler said stupid things. That must be the case. With this in mind I nuzzled further into the pillow, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. 

For once I didn't wake up to the sound of siblings screaming, but instead the mouth-watering smell of bacon wafting through the house. Even with this in mind I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed, rolling around and cocooning myself in blankets like a grumpy caterpillar. I was pretty content with my human burrito, until I heard my phone go off and realized I couldn't use my arms like this. I sighed, untangling myself and grabbing the cellphone off the bedside table. I scowled seeing it was only a text from Sage, but clicked on it anyway.

"I heard you call Tyler babe last night, scanDaLOUS." I glared at the text, letting out an over-dramatic sigh. Oh no, I've been ruined! I forced myself out of bed then, deciding breakfast was more important than personal hygiene today. What was the point of looking good anyway, all anyone was gonna see was spaghetti back Troye. I stumbled down the stairs, stomping into the kitchen. The second I entered the room everyone's eyes snapped up to face me, matching coy smiles on each of their faces.

"Hello everybody?" I asked questioningly, taking my usual spot at the table. Nobody spoke, continuing to stare at me with those freakishly non-emotional faces. "Guys, stop acting like dolls and tell me what is up with you." 

"Our little baby got a boyfriend!" My mother beamed, her self-restraint obviously snapping as she barreled toward me.

"Mom! I told you not to tell him I told you!" Sage groaned, sinking her face onto the table. I laughed nervously, hugging my mother back when she threw her arms around me. We stayed in the embrace for a long time before she straightened back up, legitimate tears on her cheeks. 

"We were beginning to think this day would never come, that you were asexual or something. Not that there's anything wrong with that! The new boyfriend excitement is just nice, that's all." I blushed, looking back down at my food.

"Well, you see, the day still hasn't come because Tyler and I are just friends." I said honestly, emphasizing the last two words. My family seemed to have mixed reactions, some looking at me in obvious disbelief of my words and the others just looking extremely disappointed. It hurt to let them down, but this was one thing I couldn't exactly hand them on a silver platter.

"But you called him babe, didn't you?" Sage questioned, a hopeful tone to her voice. It was strange how invested in my personal life they all were, but I didn't want to hurt them more by just rejecting their questions so I decided to just be honest. 

"No, he called me babe and I was only questioning it."

"But he called you babe though, that's the same thing." Steele mumbled, looking up from the paper he'd been studying. I couldn't stop the stupid blush from invading my cheeks as I looked back down to the food in front of me, thinking over what he'd said. No, there were still a ton of other ways to interpret Tyler's pet name. I would not let them ruin this for me. 

"No, it's not! Listen you guys, I appreciate your concern but I can handle my relationships on my own so-"

"So you're admitting it's a relationship?" Sage asked quickly, jumping in her seat excitedly. I groaned loudly at this, standing up to pace the room slightly.

"Ugh! Guys! If you keep this up I am banning you from the property when he comes over. We are just friends, I promise." I insisted for what felt like the hundredth time, making sure to lock eyes with them one by one in a last attempt to get them to keep from asking any more questions. For a few seconds, they actually did stay silent, until Tyde cleared his throat.

"Now when you say that, do you mean just friends at this point in time or just friends permanently?"

'Tyde, leave me alone." I mumbled simply, refusing to meet his stare. Why did they insist on asking me questions like this? Better yet, why couldn't I give them an honest answer to them? I'd never had to think twice when getting them off my back about potential love interests in the past. 'This one's too bitchy', 'this one's too boring', 'this one straight up told me she was only here for my money'. I had no trouble finding flaws in everyone else, deeming them undateable the moment we met. Tyler, for once, was someone that did not fall into either category. He wasn't exactly dateable, but he wasn't automatically undateable like every other person I'd encountered in the past. The only other people that I'd actually considered as potentially dateable were Beyonce and Harry Styles, so him making the cut was a pretty significant deal. I'd never actually go through with it. Just because I'd consider doesn't mean I'd actually do it. Relationships weren't my thing, and I was totally okay with that.

"As soon as you answer my question." Tyde urged, leaning over the table toward me annoyingly.

"What was the question again?" I asked innocently, knowing very well what the question had been considering I spent over a minute considering my answer. He opened his mouth to speak but Sage interrupted, slapping her hand over his mouth and quickly filling me in.

"He basically asked if you'd consider dating Tyler." 

"Well, I, uh, I mean, he's an alright guy but I'm not really looking for a relationship right now, with anyone." I mumbled, feeling slightly bad when their faces fell. I was about to make some crummy excuse and rush out the door to avoid their sad faces when Steele cleared his throat.

"But what if the relationship found you? What if he was the one to ask you out?" I blushed, looking over at Steele reluctantly. Damn him and his wise older brother sage-like outlook on everything. I hadn't thought about this, obviously, because Tyler Oakley would never ask me out. I was well aware of everyone's eyes on me as I tried to come up with a response, but I didn't know for sure so I just told them my honest thoughts.

"Well, when that happens, I will make a decision. Until then, it shouldn't matter. Understood?" I asked, trying to look strict as I locked eyes with each family member. They were trying to look calm too, though Sage couldn't hide her obvious smirk and I noticed Tyde hitting Steele's shoulder out of the corner of my eye.

"Understood." My mother said above everyone else, snatching my empty plate off the table and heading toward the dishwasher. I was actually surprised they dropped the topic after that, but I was also certain they'd find a way to bring it up again. This was the closest I'd ever come to 'boy talk' with them, no way would they let me live it down. 

I didn't wait long after finishing to head out to the car. Partly because I wanted to make sure I got to school on time today, but also because I could tell they were going to explode if I didn't leave and give them time to discuss the new information without me. I jogged out to my car, relieved to find that it was actually sunny out today. I slid into my seat with ease, starting the car immediately. On the upside, my mother hadn't even mentioned me taking the bus she'd been so distracted with all the gossip. Maybe there are plus sides to letting them into my life after all. 

A/n: Early update because I love you nuggets <3 So, uh, thoughts? Comment and vote and all that lovely jazz, your comments give me life :*