*Tyler's POV*

I'd like to be able to say I eventually managed to push the thoughts of him out of my mind and go back to focusing on my job, but that'd be a lie. I spent the remainder of the day tripping over my own feet and stumbling over my words whenever a customer tried to talk to me, because my mind was in a completely different place. Needless to say, I let out a breathy sigh of relief when the clock finally rolled around to closing time. I scrambled out of my apron, running to turn off the dingy neon 'open' sign and lock the doors. And then, I was left with the boring job of some minimal clean-up and counting the money in the till. 

I can't even tell you how many times I had to start over while counting the money. I'd be right in the midst of it when another thought or image of Troye would plague my mind. Then I'd lose count of the money, obviously. I was getting more than frustrated at this point, constantly cursing out loud and slamming the bills down onto the counter. This was pathetic. It was one thing to find a guy insanely cute and want to get to know him, it was a totally different level when it was all you could do to think about anything other than the guy. I took a deep breath, trying to level myself as I reached for the money yet again. This time was actually going pretty well, I was about three quarters of the way finished when a loud song rang out, successfully deteriorating my thought-process. I groaned aloud, setting the bills back down before snatching the phone out of my back pocket.

"What?" I hissed harshly, automatically assuming it was one of my stupid friends calling. 

"Ty? Is everything alright?" I was overwhelmed with guilt when I heard the familiar female voice reply. That was definitely not Marcus. The last thing my mother needed right now was more stress from worrying about me. 

"Yeah, sorry. Just a long day." I mumbled awkwardly, stumbling back onto the chair. She was silent for a moment, likely pawning over my response and deciding whether she believed it or not. I already knew she was going to ask me to elaborate the second I got home and tell her everything about my day. But, I was kind of looking forward to that. There was no one I could be one-hundred percent honest with but my mother, as sad as that sounded. She was my shoulder to cry on and my friend to turn to for advice. I'm not sure which I'll need tonight at this rate, but I'm sure she could help me either way.

"I can definitely relate. Barney called in sick last minute and now I'm stuck working a double shift." I frowned, sighing into the phone angrily. She was always the one they stuck with extra hours. I had a suspicion it was because she asked for them, but she had to realize that she was working herself too hard sooner or later. I was hoping for sooner, before she really strained herself. 

"Are you serious? They can't force you to stay, you know. You're their best worker there's no way they'd fire you for taking it off if you need to-"

"No, Ty, we need the money. It's fine, I promise. But, anyway, I was calling to ask if you could drop my off something to eat. I forgot my purse at home and don't have any money on me to buy something from the restaurant. I wouldn't ask, but I'm starving and-" I decided to cut her off this time. I couldn't believe she was trying to explain herself over this. After all, she was only doing all of this to raise money to feed me. 

"Mom, it's no big deal. Of course I will! When's your break?" I asked, getting back to my feet. I was pretty much done here, all I had to do was finish with the money. I wasn't sure what I'd make her yet, but I wanted to make sure I had enough time to get it done. 

"At 8, so in an hour and a half." 

"Okay, I'll see you then. Love you." I said, picking up the money I'd abandoned earlier.

"What would I do without you? I love you too." 

"You're so sappy, goodbye, Mom." I was certain anyone could tell I wasn't actually annoyed in the slightest by how 'sappy' she was, but I said it anyway. It was a teenager thing, I guess.

"Bye, honey." She said, sounding considerably happier than when she'd answered the phone. I couldn't help the content smile that spread across my face at that thought. Even if it was only slightly, I'd managed to make her day a bit better. Maybe I'd eat lunch with her on her break and I could bring up how I'd gotten a job. If things worked out, she'd never have to work another double shift again. I slipped the phone back into my pocket with my free hand, casually starting to sort the money again in my other. I felt a lot more clear-headed now so it was a lot easier to get the money sorted. I guess all I'd needed was a break. 

I ended up getting a pre-made lasagna from the store, knowing it was one of her favorite dishes. Of course she'd rather have it homemade, but beggars can't be choosers. That, and I can't cook for shit. I was currently struggling to even cook something this simple, when all I really had to do was heat it up. I kept walking into the living room while I was waiting for it to finish and unavoidably, getting wrapped up in whatever was on the television screen. 

"Shit!" I cursed suddenly, realizing I'd done it again for the hundredth time. I jumped up from the couch and jogged toward the kitchen, cursing yet again when I stubbed my toe. Eventually I made it to the stove in one piece, relieved to see it only slightly crispy. I grabbed the oven mitts, hurriedly taking it out and setting it on top of the stove. I was already running late, considering her break was starting in only five minutes and it took ten to get there. That didn't leave her long at all to eat, plus I was hoping to actually have a conversation with her before she had to go back to work, seeing as she wouldn't be home until after I'd gone to sleep. I guess it was too late to worry about it too much though, the only thing I could do was hurry to the best of my ability now.

I pulled up in front of the familiar restaurant exactly when I thought I would, ten minutes after leaving my driveway. My mother had been working here for so long of course I knew the travel time between point A and point B. When I was younger, around ten, I used to have to come to work with her some days. I didn't mind it that much, I just played on my video games and her coworkers would give me the ocassional leftover pie or something at the end of the day. Those coworkers had long since quit though, eventually getting fed up with the low wages and poor working conditions. My mother didn't though. She always said she couldn't risk quitting and not being able to find another job. But maybe she would now that I had my own job to support us. 

I got out of the car, cradling the entire tray of lasagne in my arms as I walked around to the back entry. There was a little lounge-like area where most of the workers spent their breaks back here, and also where I'd spent most of my days when I was here. I opened the door with my butt, considering my arms were still full, and backed into the room. My mother was sitting at the little table sipping some cheap coffee, her eyes focused on the oh-so-exciting weekly news.

"Hey, Mom!" I beamed, walking over to join her. Thankfully no one else seemed to be spending their breaks here, so we wouldn't have to put up with her asshole coworkers. She kicked the chair opposite to her out, gesturing for me to sit down without looking up from her paper. I smirked, setting the food down between us and falling into the chair. We both stayed silent for another minute as she continued to read, my eyes constantly darting over to the clock.

"It's getting cold and your break will be over in just under fifteen minutes. Is the newspaper really that important?"

"No, sorry! I just got a little caught up." I rolled my eyes at her, watching eagerly as she opened up the travel container.

"Yum! It looks great, Tyler! Thanks." She mumbled, immediately digging in to the food. I'd been hungry earlier, but that seemed to have suddenly vanished. Instead, I was left with a different gnawing in the pit of my stomach. You know when you really want to bring something up in a conversation, but have no idea how? Yeah, that horrible feeling. I sunk down in my chair a bit lower, chewing on my lip absentmindedly. I was studying all the new decor of the room when I heard my mother scoff. I looked back to her, surprised to see her rolling her eyes.

"Spit it out already, what is it?" She asked casually, eyeing me over the brim of her coffee mug. I blushed, trying to stifle a giggle. I really was way too obvious about what was on my mind. 

"What's what?" I asked, smirking. It wasn't that I didn't want to tell her, I just loved messing with her. Whether she acted like she wanted to know or not she was always more than excited for any insight into my life. I guess it was because I never really came home and told her stories from school. But can you blame me? 'Oh yeah, today I pinned some kid to the lockers because he called you trailer trash'. No, there was definitely a good reason I kept those stories from her. But as for Troye, there was nothing keeping me from talking about him, and god, did I ever want to. I felt like I was going to explode if I didn't get my thoughts out to someone.

"I've known you since the second you came into this world, I think I can tell when you're tongue tied. What's on your mind?" She asked, setting her mug down to lace her fingers together, resting her chin on them. I rolled my eyes in defeat, sinking down further in my chair and refusing to meet her stare.

"A boy." I gushed, my cheeks likely turning their familiar bright red. She gasped sarcastically, making it clear that's what she'd expected all along. It was weird how well she knew me. I'd never talked about boys in the past much (aside from ones on tv), but yet she still knew exactly what was on my mind. It made me wonder if she ever believed any secrets I told her.

"Is he cute?" She squealed suddenly, her casual reserve fading fast and switching into her usual zany self. 

"That's the first thing you ask? Looks aren't all that matter, you know... But yes, he is insanely cute." I beamed in response, leaning forward on the table excitedly. She clapped her hands together excitedly, giving the biggest smile I'd seen on her face in ages. 

"Name?"

"Troye, with an e." I blurted, wiggling my eyebrows as I added the last part. She stuffed some more lasagna into her mouth, though she somehow managed to keep the maniac smile plastered on her face while she ate. After she'd swallowed she wasted absolutely no time asking the next in, what I was sure to be, a series of questions.

"What's he like? He'd better be a prince to deserve you."

"Mom!" I groaned, giving her an annoyed glare. She gave a wistful smile, but was back to making hand gestures and eagerly urging me to answer only a few seconds later. I exhaled loudly, deciding I'd better answer if I wanted the conversation to go anywhere. "He's funny, awkward, adorable, just a little sassy, smart-"

"So, basically perfect?" She interjected, a knowing smile playing on the corners of her lips. I thought her words over for a minute, a goofy smile breaking out across my own face then. 

"Basically."

"What's the catch?" She asked, quirking both of her eyebrows up. I narrowed my eyes at her, tilting my head to the side.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Tyler, you and I both know people that perfect don't come without a catch. And he's not horrendously ugly because you called him cute, so what is it? Does he not like you back or something? Is he a druggie?" I furrowed my brow, thinking for a minute. How do I put this into words and have it make sense? 

"No! No, there's nothing wrong with him, he's just a little different." I sighed inwardly afterward, mentally cursing myself for my choice of words. Different? I make it sound like he's some kind of freak with three arms. 

"Different? Tyler, is he one of those people with really weird fetishes? You do not want to get yourself caught up in that, believe me." My eyes went wide in horror. I sure hope she doesn't know this from personal experiences.

"No! Ew! No, he's just... mysterious." I knew this word choice wasn't that much better even as I said it, but her annoyed expression confirmed my thoughts. I decided I'd better elaborate, we only had so much time left before break ended and she had to leave, and I really wanted at least a little bit of insight before dealing with Troye tomorrow. "Like, one second everything between us is fine and then the next he's lashing out at me or acting like he couldn't care less about me. I mean, we only really just met today but he's already gone through so many mood swings it's just, ugh." 

"Did he have a reason to lash out at you?" Her voice was calm and collected, which was a weird contrast to how hard she'd been fangirling only a moment before. I thought about this for a minute as well, tracing back on everything I said and did to him today for the thousandth time.

"Not that I can think of, but clearly he seems to think so. It's like he's going out of his way to find faults in me though." I complained, sinking my face into my hands. It was just so annoying. All I wanted was to get to know him, why was it such a struggle to even achieve that? 

"What else do you know about him?" 

"Hmm?" I asked, raising my eyebrows groggily. She looked quite unimpressed with me for zoning out during a conversation, but technically it wasn't that rude considering I'd zoned out to the same topic we were talking about. 

"Like, do you know anything other than his name and his initial personality?" She repeated the question, albeit a little bit more in depth this time. 

"Not really." I didn't have to think that long for this answer, it was quite obvious considering I'd only met him today. But in time, I'd like to be able to say yes. I'd like to be able to recite every single fact and detail about the boy, from his Subway order to his favorite novel.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" My blood ran cold and I straightened up in my seat, suddenly very invested in the conversation. What if she said he was a wasted effort from the get-go? Before now I hadn't realized quite how much her opinion meant to me. I mean, even if she said he sounded like a waste of time, I would likely still go after him, but it'd just feel a lot better knowing she had my back about it. At the same time, I couldn't recall a single time she'd been wrong about a person. So what if she said he was a lost cause? Did that mean it was true?

"Is it going to be negative?" I asked, surprised to find my voice just above a whisper. I really did sound like a scared little kid. When she didn't reply I reluctantly forced my eyes off the floor, looking back to her. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders seeing her warm smile and teasing eyes.

"You are such a wuss, Tyler. No, it's not negative." 

"Then yes, continue." I said, immediately regaining my sassy composure. 

"He sounds like he's been hurt in the past, honey. Obviously I don't know for certain, but by the sounds of it, he's got walls built up. If you really care about him, you're going to have to work on taking them down, piece by piece. He's likely scared of being hurt all over again, so it's not going to be easy." My lips were set in a tight line and I nodded occasionally when she spoke, letting her know I was listening. After she'd finished we both stayed silent for a while, letting our thoughts settle in our minds. She was definitely being honest. It was the advice I'd been asking for and she'd kept it short and simple. Though I couldn't help but think it was more of a warning than anything else when she said it wasn't going to be easy. It was like she was subtly asking me if I was really up to the challenge, if he really meant enough to me to even bother. 

"I guess that explains why he keeps playing me out to be the bad guy, he's looking for reasons not to open up to me." I mumbled, not sure what else to say in the situation. I felt a little mad, to be honest. I was mad she'd even doubt that I'd be up to the challenge. Of course I was, I didn't think I could give up on Troye even if I wanted to. I didn't care how long it took or what it took, I wanted to know him. 

"Well, I guess you'll just have to try not to give him any, huh?" She said cheerily, reaching over and giving me a supportive squeeze to the shoulder. I just nodded, giving a shy smile as I continued thinking things over in my head. Silence followed that, but it was the comfortable kind. We were all processing everything we'd said during the short conversation. It wasn't until an unfamiliar man stuck his head into the room and yelled at her 'break's over' that we snapped back to reality. 

"I've got to get going before they set the kitchen on fire. We'll talk more about this another time, okay?" She said hurriedly, rising from her chair and walking over to the sink to wash her hands. I followed, awkwardly standing behind her until she'd finished. Once she had she turned around, smiling happily when she seen me standing there. I stepped forward, wrapping my arms around her tightly.

"Thanks, Mom." I whispered, letting her go a moment later. She beamed a smile up at me then.

"Don't mention it, I'm happy to help!" I could tell by her smile her words were genuine. And with that, she turned on her heel and wandered off to the other room. I still felt bad for her having to work a double shift, but she didn't seem to be letting it get under her skin. One of the many inspirational things about my mother; no matter how bad her day was she always found a way to force a smile onto her weary features. 

I sighed, looking around the room forlornly. 

And then there was one.

I walked over to the table, cleaning up all of our mess. I took my time though, subconsciously lingering in hopes of talking to her even a little bit more. It was childish and stupid, but that didn't stop me from doing it. I was just so confused right now. Where do I start? I can't exactly just walk up to Troye and ask him about his past. I guess I'm going to have to start simple. But when will I find time to talk to him when my stupid friends aren't hanging around? My life had gotten so much more confusing in the last twenty-four hours.

A/n: HEYYY, this is just some cutesy dialogue as you can obviously tell. Sorry if it got boring, but I wanted to kind of show Tyler realizing what was going on with Troye and Emmy gave me the lovely idea of a Mommy talk instead of tonnes of inner monologue, so thankyou Emmy. :')  COMMENT AND VOTE :@

 I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO PROMOTE A NEW FIC (TWO ACTUALLY). Everyone's FAVORITE author, StayLovelyxxx has started not one, but TWO new fics since When In Rome ended and they definitely live up to your expectations following When In Rome. One is about them working on Broadway together and they kinda have trust issue-ee things, supes cute. The other one Tyler is in the friend zone and comforting Troye through a tough breakup though he's in love with him. BOTH ARE MY LITERAL LIFE AND I DO NOT KNOW WHERE I'D BE WITHOUT THEM. So, yes, this chapter is dedicated to their lovely author, StayLovelyxxx