*Troye's POV*

"Oh, trust me, I will." I tried to ignore the cocky tone he had on, instead searching for my keys in my pocket. I wasn't even sure where we were planning on going yet so it wasn't really necessary to find them right now, but it was more of a distraction than anything else. Even though he was easy to talk to, that didn't make talking any less awkward for me after so long being socially deprived. I fumbled with them for a minute, eventually managing to get them in the ignition. Except, now there was absolutely no distraction. I reluctantly looked over at him, nervous to see what he was doing. I groaned out loud seeing he was just on his phone. His eyes flickered up from the screen, silently questioning my annoyed noise. I looked pointedly at his phone and he nodded knowingly.

"Sorry, I'm kind of a chronic Tumblr addict." Outwardly, I rolled my eyes at him. Inwardly, I was smiling like an idiot. No one in our school was really internet savvy and I thought I was the only one who even knew what Tumblr was. Of course I wasn't going to ask to exchange Url's, mine was too dark and gloomy and I doubted he wanted me to know his seeing as he didn't offer. "Lady Gaga liked one of my posts once."

"You're kidding!" I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of Lady Gaga but that didn't make it any less significant. She was freaking famous and it was a big deal to get your posts liked by her. That, and how could I not be happy for him when his eyes were shining like that? I could already tell he didn't get to talk about Tumblr much, seeing as he was seemingly bursting at the seams at the chance to fangirl over it. 

"No! It was over the summer, I swear I nearly peed myself I was so excited." He squealed at the end, falling back against the seat dramatically. I couldn't help but smirk. He was just so... weird, for lack of better words. One second he was so tough and heartless and next he was the most sensitive girly man I'd ever encountered. I was beginning to think he had a very severe case of multiple personality disorder. 

"What was the post?" I asked, genuinely interested. He opened his mouth to respond quickly, though it was quickly snapped back shut and he blushed crimson.

"Some lame quote." He mumbled, his eyes darting to look out the window immediately, successfully ending the conversation. If I'd been interested before I was positively intrigued now. I wonder what his blog's about? He didn't seem like the type to get embarrassed easily, but that's definitely what it looked like now. I felt the relatively familiar pull, the battle with myself not to reach over and manually find out what the post was. Would it really be so bad? Yes, it would, but that also wasn't about to stop me. I was curious and I wanted answers. Now I just had to think of an excuse to touch him without it being creepy.

"This is nice." I mumbled awkwardly, reaching over to examine his 'watch'. He gave me a weird look as my fingertips brushed against his wrist, but I was too distracted to worry about it. 

Can you imagine if he found my blog and showed the school? God, I'd be ruined.

Wow, fucking lovely. That helped my curiosity so much. I noticed I still had a grip on his watch and immediately backed off, giving him a quick nod. There was silence again, but this time it was a lot more awkward. Well, that was my fault for reaching over to feel his arm up. I cleared my throat, giving a weak smile.

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked quietly, reaching over to turn the keys. I seemed to think for a moment, before reaching up to further his point and stroke his imaginary beard. Though I might have rolled my eyes at him earlier over something like this, now I was only thankful. It meant the awkward air had passed.

"I'm thinking... West." I raised a single eyebrow at this statement, but either he didn't understand or care because he just gave a rolling hand gesture, telling me to hurry up.

"West?" I questioned finally, hoping he'd give me a real answer this time.

"Yeah, you know, that way." He said, raising a finger to point out of the windshield. I took a deep breath through my nose, getting slightly annoyed with his antics. 

"That's a direction, Tyler. I meant a place."

"But I haven't decided on a place yet, let's just drive until we find one." He wasn't looking at me as he said it, closing his eyes lightly as he let out a long yawn. A smile broke out across my face as I watched him sleepily rub his eyes. He was unbearably cute. I couldn't think of another word to describe it. I'm pretty sure anyone of any gender, age, or sexuality would agree with me on it. 

"Alright." I said finally, giving in to him. I'd never done anything like this before, skipping class and just going where the wind took me. It just wasn't like me. I liked set paths and plans, I liked safe and sturdy. I got the feeling Tyler was the opposite already though. Maybe that would be good for me though. 

"Well? What are you waiting for? Start the car already." He urged, opening his eyes now that he'd finished with his yawning. I shook my head slowly, pretending to be frustrated with his eager behaviour. I listened though, starting my car and pulling out of the school parking lot. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a crazy rush of adrenaline knowing I was skipping class. This was the most bad-ass thing I'd done in all of my years of school. That's sad, actually. 

"Is it too soon to point out the fact you're having yet another shirt mishap today?" I didn't take my eyes off the road but I could practically hear the smirk in Tyler's voice. I tried to act annoyed, though my lips betrayed me, turning up into a smile.

"Definitely too soon." 

**************************************************

We fell into a comfortable silence as I drove, which was probably for the best. I was a good driver, but I wasn't really used to distractions. Also, I had trouble carrying on conversations when I gave them my full attention, there was no saying how bad it'd go if I only had a fraction of it to give. It was so silent I was beginning to wonder if he'd fallen asleep in the passenger's seat. I made a mental note to check at the next stop sign. My eye flickered quickly to the radio, biting my lip when I seen we'd already been driving for an hour. Not that I was complaining, but at this rate we really wouldn't have that much time to hang-out whenever it was we got where we were going. I wasn't sure when he wanted to be back by, but I couldn't see him wasting his entire day driving around with me. Surely he had better things to do. 

I put my foot on the break, happy for the sudden stop sign. As soon as the vehicle came to a halt I subtly peeked over at Tyler, expecting to find him snoozing and slumped over in the seat. He wasn't though, it was more the exact opposite. He was sitting up straight, his eyes wide and bright as he eagerly studied what was going on outside of the window. I hadn't realized how long I'd sat there staring until a car honked it's horn behind us, basically telling me to hurry the hell up. I stepped on the gas, mentally scolding myself for getting so distracted. I jumped, hearing Tyler cackling suddenly beside me. 

"What?" I growled, refusing to take my eyes off the road. 

"You're just a bit of a goof, that's all." My immediate reaction was to feel insulted, before I actually considered how warm his voice was. He didn't mean it rudely, he was teasing. It felt weird to be teased by someone that wasn't immediate family, and really I didn't know how to react. I stayed silent, considering I didn't really know what I was supposed to say. I got the feeling I would have to figure out a set reaction soon though, because he seemed to be pretty into the whole teasing thing. 

"Ou, Troye! I know where we are now!" He exclaimed excitedly, leaning forward in his seat eagerly. I could see him out of the corner of my eye now, trying not to laugh at how eager he looked.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! There's this cute little beach not far away and this really good seafood place we can go to! It's on that road actually, turn off." He commanded, pointing in front of me. I groaned, using one hand to slap his arm out of my line of view. I listened though, of course, pulling off to my left like he'd ordered. Not because I was actually interested in said seafood restaurant, but because I didn't want to disappoint him. 

It didn't take long at all to spot the small restaurant, standing out like a sore thumb with it's over-the-top sea-related decorations scattered all over the property. Tyler must have noticed the way I crinkled my nose up in distaste, because he giggled slightly.

"I know, it's kind of hideously tacky, but the food is insanely good. You are going to love the clams!" He guaranteed, unbuckling his seat belt the second I parked the car. He started to reach for the door when I laughed under my breath, causing him to stop immediately and look over at me.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure I won't." I mumbled awkwardly. I hadn't been expecting him to look back at me. I was only laughing over the irony of his statement. He narrowed his eyes, actually looking annoyed with me for the first time.

"Do you have to be so damn pessimistic? At least try them for-"

"No, Tyler, I'm allergic. I really don't think you want me trying them." He blushed, obviously embarrassed with himself for being so quick to jump to conclusions. Embarrassed was a new look on Tyler Oakley, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. I didn't even think it was possible to blush that dark.

"Sorry... We can go somewhere else if you want." He offered, giving me a weak smile. I shook my head immediately though, undoing my seat belt.

"No, you love this place. It's fine, I'll just get a bread bowl or something." I said, getting out of the car. Tyler joined me a moment later and I made sure to lock the doors. I was also going to subtly make sure to sit by a window so I could keep my eyes on it at all times. My car was my baby, I had no idea where I'd be without it. Wait, actually I do; I'd be stuck at home all hours of the day. No, I definitely couldn't lose my car. 

"Coming?" I looked up, surprised to see I'd actually legitimately zoned out thinking about my car. Tyler was already have way to the door, smirking at my idiocy with his hands shoved in his pockets. I glared at him, but I did end up trailing into the little building behind him.

For how good the food was said to be it was next to vacant, the only other customer an elderly man slumped over the counter, looking generally depressed as he stuffed his face with pie. Tyler must have noticed me staring because he laughed quietly, shoving me gently. I frowned, slightly disappointed when I didn't get a glimpse into his thoughts from it. I turned to look at him, originally planning to give him an annoyed glare. That plan didn't work out though, how could I even pretend to be annoyed when his face was so lit up? I guess I really didn't need to read his thoughts anyway, they were so clear on his features. He was obviously too ecstatic to even think straight, but that was a good thing. 

"Let's go find a table!" He beamed, motioning me along. I followed him toward the back, frowning when I realized where he wanted to sit.

"Can we get a window seat?" I asked quietly. I wasn't going to outright say I wanted to watch over my car, he'd think I was some sort of car-obsessed freakazoid. I was surprised to see him blushing all over again when he turned around. He didn't give an explanation though, just nodding meekly as he walked past me. I furrowed my brow at his odd behaviour, following close behind. We reached the window tables I minute later and I couldn't help but notice all the tables only had two chairs. I glanced over at Tyler questioningly, already having a vague idea what was going on by his blush.

"This is sort of the place reserved for couples, the window seats. But I get it, you wanna watch your car, we can sit here if you're okay with it." I studied the table for a moment, eventually shrugging.

"It's not like it's a big deal." I mumbled, falling into one of the seats. He mirrored my movement, smiling brightly to himself as he turned to look out the window. The restaurant was on slightly higher ground than the rest of the community, making it easy to look down at the other buildings. Who knows, maybe we'd even spot our next destination. I wasn't really concentrating on that right now, my stomach rumbling to remind me I hadn't actually gotten the chance to eat my fries before running off crying. It was weird thinking that was only an hour ago. It felt totally irrelevant now, when, in fact, it had been the most traumatizing moment of my highschool experience. This was new to me, considering usually I did nothing but flip out over mishaps for hours or even days after they occurred. I guess I could thank Tyler for helping me forget though, cocky homophobe multiple personalities and all, he was a pretty good distraction from myself. 

"Are you like super allergic to clams? Because what if they didn't wash their hands and they get clams on your bread bowl and-"

"Tyler, it's fine. It's only if I actually eat them." He nodded, his eyes darting back down to the menu he'd picked up at some point. I smiled down at my own, happy he was so concerned for me. I liked this Tyler. Yes, liked. It wouldn't sound that significant to anyone else, it was easy to like a person, but it wasn't for me. The last time I remembered genuinely liking spending time with someone... Well, that was a while ago. 

But of course there was a catch, it was this Tyler I liked, I couldn't stand his asshole alter-ego. I wonder if he even realizes he has two personalities. If he does, then why does he have the other one at all? Doesn't he realize everyone likes this one better? Maybe I'd ask him about it someday, if we actually stayed talking. Even if we didn't I'll likely read his mind to find out. It was selfish, but if I never found out the story behind it I was going to die of curiosity. 

"Hello, gentlemen! What can I get for you today?" I glanced up, only mildly surprised to see an older woman with a notebook in her hands. Tyler and I exchanged quirked eyebrows, before I gestured for him to go first. He looked up at her with a smile and I watched as he happily listed off his choices. Yes, choices, there were multiple. For how fit he was he ate like a pig. Once he'd finished the woman turned to me, flashing her likely-dentured smile.

"And what about you, sir?" I hurriedly recited my choices, my voice cracking nervously. She wasn't even that intimidating, I just always got worked up over talking to anyone, particularly strangers. She acted like she didn't notice though, thankfully. She flashed us one final smile, walking back toward the kitchen. I let out a breathy sigh of relief, sinking back against the cushioned seat. We both stayed silent then, my eyes fluttering shut from lack of sleep last night. I wasn't actually in danger of falling asleep, but resting my eyes for a moment definitely felt good. Tyler still seemed pretty distracted by the view anyway, so I didn't think he minded it much. It wasn't until I heard the woman talking to Tyler again that I slowly opened my eyes, blinking rapidly at the change of lighting. She already had her back to us and was walking away by the time my eyes got into focus, but I didn't think I'd missed much. My eyes fell on my food and my mouth immediately began to water. It looked and smelled absolutely delicious. I looked over at Tyler's, a laugh falling out of my lips before I could help myself. He had so much food, arranged in a neat little line in front of him. The worst part was he'd actually eaten, less than an hour ago.

"Hey! This is a judgment free zone, let mama eat in peace!" He snapped, though his eyes were sparkling and it was obvious he wasn't actually mad. I watched him shuffle his first bite in, an elated hum escaping his lips as he savoured the taste.

"Did you just refer to yourself in third person? As mama?" I asked skeptically, taking my own first bite. I had to use all my self control to keep from expressing my satisfaction vocally like he had. We ate for a few seconds longer, before my words seemingly seeped in.

"What did I just say about this being a judgment free zone?" He asked, narrowing his eyes accusingly. I rolled my eyes, snickering under my breath. 

"My bad." I held up my hands in defense. He shot me one last stink-eye before going back to eating, food obviously being higher on his priorities list than I was. I didn't take it personal though, I got the feeling this boy liked food a lot more than he was already letting on. Besides, I had my own food to concentrate on.

We actually didn't speak again until we were both finishing up our meals. Strangely enough, that was at the same time. He had eaten three different dishes in the time it took me to finish one. My family had always called me a slow eater, but this was a new low. I watched him contently scrape up the last of his final dish, swaying ever so slightly to the scratchy country music playing. There was a lot to take in, but really there was only one thought running through my mind;

He is so freaking different than he lets on to be.

I'd discarded my multiple personalities theory sometime during the meal, when I was lost in my own head thinking about it. If that was the case he wouldn't have so much control over himself. He'd be acting like a dick around me sometimes, wouldn't he? But he didn't. So far he'd been the Tyler I liked any of the time we were in each other's presence, which made it clear it was a conscious choice of his to act like a dick when we weren't. This only intrigued me more. If it wasn't in his nature, then why was he doing it? 

"All finished?" I jumped, my eyes quickly darting away from Tyler's concentrated face and back to the waitress. I was secretly hoping she hadn't noticed, but the knowing smile she gave me made it all too clear how she took my staring. Tyler looked a little disoriented when he first looked up, obviously caught off guard by the sudden interruption. 

"Yeah, we are." I spoke for him for once, enjoying the smile of approval he gave.

"Okay, great! Who's taking the bill?" My jaw dropped just barely, a blush rising in my cheeks. It was a simple question really, but her tone of voice had just been so suggestive. Sure, Tyler had warned me what it meant to sit here, but this was different. I reluctantly broke my eyes away from the floor, knowing I had to discuss this with Tyler. He was blushing too, but unlike me he also looked like he was about to burst into a fit of giggles. He was so immature. "Or do you guys want to pay separate? That's fine, of course." 

"No! I'll pay." I'd been about to blurt a yes to her question, but Tyler's response had gotten out before mine. I furrowed my brow, looking over at him. He seemed to hear my unspoken question, his eyes focusing solely on me. "It's fine, I dragged you all the way out here and wasted your gas."

"Okay, great! Here's the bill, will you be paying with cash or credit?" I watched her pass him a little piece of paper, smiling broadly. I likely would have argued with Tyler, had she not been suspecting we were a couple already. Bickering over who got the cheque was probably the most coupley thing we could do. He scanned over the note, mumbling a quick 'cash' before digging into his pocket. He went pale suddenly, his eyes flickering to mine.

"I forgot my money in the car, I can go get it, I'll only be a minute-"

"Shut-up, Tyler." I rolled my eyes, pulling out a rough estimate of what we owed and handing it to the woman. She dug into her pockets to get my change but I dismissed her with a wave of my hand. "Keep it as a tip." 

"Thank-you!" Her over the top squeal made it quite clear I'd overpaid by a lot, but I also didn't really care. The only thing I ever spent my money on was iTunes gift cards anyway, and I had a pretty substantial weekly allowance. I watched her sashay off with a huge smile on her face, making her cheeks wrinkle up. I hadn't really meant for it to be some heartfelt gesture, but my heart felt like it had grown three sizes bigger just from watching her reaction. 

"You didn't have to do that." I was surprised to see Tyler genuinely pouting on the other side of the table. I laughed at how childish he was being, but when he still didn't lighten up I knew he was serious. "I could have paid for it myself."

"I never said you couldn't." I mumbled awkwardly, eyeing him suspiciously. He had his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the table. I waited for him to respond but it seemed pointless as he wordlessly continued staring at the table, like it was the most mesmerizing thing he'd ever seen. I was really starting to get frustrated, looking out at the car longingly. I wanted to go to the beach already, I wanted that waitress to stop eyeing us from across the room like she knew exactly what was going on, but most of all, I found myself wanting Tyler's familiar bubbly smile back. I guess I had to realize what I did to ward it off first though. I spent a few seconds trying to decode his blank expression, before a brighter idea hit me. I could just read his mind, duh! You'd think that would be my go-to plan after all these years, but at the same time I'd spent most of them trying to deny my ability and use it as little as I could, it felt weird to switch over to using it willingly. This was the first time ever I'd been intrigued by a person I actually wanted to know their thoughts. 

I bit my lip, trying desperately to think of an excuse to touch him. I had to act fast too, before he got over it and started worrying about something else. In the end my rational thought lost, beaten by the dire need to know what was going on inside his head right now. I kicked my shoe off, knowing it was more likely to work without all the interference's. And then I went through with my horribly stupid plan, kicking forward and brushing my foot against his leg, suddenly very thankful he was in shorts.

I could have paid for myself, damn it. Is he looking down on me just because I'm not filthy rich? I hate when people make big deals over m- Hey! Is he trying to play footsies with me? 

My eyes went wide and I hurriedly jolted my foot back to the floor, feeling the blood spread across my cheeks as I blushed crimson. At least now he wasn't refusing to look at me, now he was doing the exact opposite. His eyes were staring me down questioningly, as if waiting patiently for me to make the next move in a game. I gave him a shaky smile, knowing it was probably more than obvious how embarrassed I suddenly was. Great, now he's really going to think I meant more than I did by the stupid leg touching. I am such an idiot sometimes. 

Way to 'make a move' on the outwardly homophobic jock of the school, Troye. 

I was running over ways to assure him I was, in fact, not at all interested in him, when he started to laugh. I realized he was laughing at my expense, but at the same time I was too happy to see his smile again to be upset over it. I waited until his smile began to fade to say anything. He still looked cheerful, but I didn't want him looking back on this in the future and still having the wrong idea about me. I was definitely not bragging about being rich. 

"Sorry about that, it'll be your turn next time. I'm just an impatient ass and couldn't wait the extra minute to go see this beach you've been speaking of. Shall we?" 

"Oh... Yeah!" He piped up immediately, jumping out of his seat and not even waiting for me before starting toward the door. I breathed out a sigh of relief, following after him. The idea of spending the rest of the afternoon with him sad had been horrifying, so of course I was glad he was so easy to cheer up. I wonder if that's how he felt about earlier when I was in one of my moods. I could relate to him though. I didn't have money concerns, but I definitely knew what it was like to have people shove unwanted pity at you. Just like how Alfie was offering me friends because he felt bad for me. Sure, I wouldn't be opposed to real friends, but that wasn't how I wanted to earn them, just because somebody felt bad for me and handed them over. It was weird knowing I had something in common with the Tyler Oakley, something so significant. We were on completely different ends of the spectrum, but really we both had the same concerns, fears, and hopes. 

But the weird thing was, I felt like I understood him even less now that I was beginning to get to know him. He was an open book right now, nothing like at school. He was a completely different person on school grounds. If he was an open book here, he was a locked up top secret journal at school. I couldn't for the life of me understand why. He had nothing to hide, he was an amazing guy. He'd likely be popular even if he was honest about himself at school. He might not have the exact same friend group, but he'd probably have a nicer one. I just didn't understand it and it was really beginning to frustrate me. 

"Can I drive?" I blinked, looking up abruptly. I'd apparently gotten too wrapped up in my thoughts to even walk, considering I was stopped halfway across the parking lot. Tyler had already made it to the car and was standing in front of it with a hopeful expression. 

"No way." I said simply, strolling past him with a heavy stride to the driver's side. He frowned, dragging his feet as he headed back to his door. I still had a pout on as he began to open it, and for some reason that bothered me a lot more than it should have. He was just so happy and bubbly, the opposite of me. It didn't feel right to see him sullen for even a second. "Fine, but if you get so much as a scratch on it you owe me for life."

"Really?" He beamed, practically skipping over to my side. I exhaled loudly, dropping the keys into his outstretched hand. 

"I'm trusting you with my life here, Oakley."

"Aye Aye, Captain- What's your full name?"

"Troye Sivan Mellet." I answered, starting over toward the other side of the car. He raised his hand back up to his forehead, giving me a salute.

"Aye Aye, Captain Mellet." 

"And yet, you call me the goof." I huffed, though I couldn't help but smile at how happy he looked. I slipped into the passenger's side then, watching him get behind the wheel. If I'd had even a shred of regret before it was definitely gone now, watching the way his face lit up as his hands landed on the steering wheel. He looked over at me before turning the key in the ignition, beaming his one-thousand watt smile.

"You're awesome, Troye with an e." 

A/n: asyhjngged, idk, sorry if this was all over the place, it took me forever to write so. Thoughts? Was it cute? Was it boring? Was it supercallifragilisticexpiallidocious? COMMENT and VOTE :3