Warnings: None

Word Count: 1839

Author's Note: Finally getting to the good stuff! As always, I would like to thank all of you for the continued support.

Your eyes moved quickly between your phone and the sidewalk in front of you as you made your way towards the pizza place Josh had told you to meet them at. You were nervous, but the need for you to navigate was helping to keep your mind busy. The plan had been for you to drive since the restaurant was on the other side of town, but Matthew had made sure that wasn't an option when he stole the car that morning and you had been too shy to ask Josh to pick you up.

You were only about a block away when you got a text from Josh saying they were outside. Figuring that you were too close for it to be worth letting him know where you were, you slid the notification out of the way and quickly closed the map app. Everything was going to be fine, you were sure of it. Or at least, that's what you wanted to believe.

Josh was easy to spot with his now bright red hair. The man next to him, who could only be Tyler, looked different than you had anticipated. You had expected someone who looked similar to Josh with brightly colored hair and equally vibrant tattoos. Instead, dark bands covered his left arm and there wasn't a single bit of color on him aside from his shirt. It was an interesting contrast.

"Hi," you smiled as you drew closer to them. "You must be Tyler."

"That's me," Tyler smiled, holding out a hand.

You shook his hand and then turned to Josh, who held his arms out for a hug. That was unexpected, but you wrapped your arms around him and gave him a quick squeeze.

"Nice to see you again," he said as he let go. "The hair looks nice."

"Thanks," you smiled. "I could say the same to you."

Josh smiled and shook his head a little.

"Should we head inside?" Tyler asked, nodding his head towards the door. "It's kind of cold out here."

"Let's do it," Josh said.

You followed the two boys inside, taking in your surroundings as you did so. Various paintings and posters covered the brightly colored walls and early 2000s music was playing through speakers. It screamed "stereotypical pizza joint".

The three of you sat at a booth towards the back of the restaurant. You slid into one side while Josh and Tyler sat across from you. Neither of them looked at the menu, obviously already knowing what they wanted from having been here so many times before.

"What should I get?" you asked as you looked over the menu.

Much to your surprise, Tyler was the one who answered you, "The triple topping pizza is really good, although cheese is always a safe option." Josh nodded his agreement.

"I think I'll try that then," you said, putting the menu back in its place.

"I'll go order," Tyler said, standing up once again.

"Can you get me a drink?" Josh called after him.

"Me too!" you added.

"Sure thing," he said without turning around.

Once Tyler was out of earshot, Josh turned back to you and leaned forward, "So, first impressions?"

"He seems nice!" you smiled, trying to stay positive. "Quieter than I expected, though, based on what you had told me."

Josh rolled his eyes, "He's being shy. Just wait for him to warm up."

You nodded, hoping that he was right. The last thing you needed was another person in this city that couldn't stand you.

Tyler returned a few minutes later with a number and three empty drink cups. He set the number at the end of the table and then Josh joined him to go get drinks, saying he would get yours for you. It didn't take a genius to know that it was just an excuse for him to ask Tyler the same question he had asked you.

"Here you are," Josh said, setting your drink in front of you.

"Thank you," you said, taking a sip.

"So, Josh tells me that you moved here about a month ago," Tyler said.

"Yep, all the way from California."

"How are you liking it?"

You let out a nervous laugh. Josh still hadn't heard the full story of the move to Ohio, and you weren't sure if you would be able to get through the story without crying yet.

"It's complicated," you said, avoiding eye contact as you played with a nearby napkin.

"Why is that?"

You spent the next twenty minutes giving Tyler and Josh the full rundown of your life for the past month, from learning that you would be moving to Ohio to the tension that still existed between you and Matthew. The only pauses were to answer the boys' questions and when your pizza arrived halfway through the story.

You had done pretty good about not crying until you got to the very end. The fear of finding a place to live and supporting yourself started to creep in. When the tears started to pool in your eyes, you quickly excused yourself to the bathroom. Crying was not about to be part of your first impression on Tyler.

You grabbed a couple paper towels from the dispenser and lightly dabbed at your eyes. They were still a bit puffy, so you splashed some cold water on your face. The boys probably thought you were crazy, but worst case scenario you would move back home and never see them again.

Once you had calmed down and no longer looked like you had been crying, you walked back out to the table where the boys were talking. They went quiet as soon as their eyes landed on you, causing your stomach to twist in discomfort. More likely than not, they had been talking about how dumb you were being.

"Sorry about that," you said, sitting down and taking a sip of your soda.

"It's totally fine," Josh said.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry if that was a sensitive topic. I had no idea," Tyler said.

"No, it's ok!" you reassured him. "I chose to talk about it."

Both of the boys nodded as they briefly shared a look. You tried to brush it off.

"So, music. Tell me about that," you said, hoping a topic change would help clear the air.

Tyler's face instantly lit up, "Tour starts in just over a week. I can't wait to be back on the road again."

"Tour?" you asked, eyebrows raising in question. Josh hadn't mentioned a tour.

"Yeah, we leave in a week and two days," Josh explained. "We're playing shows all over the US for the next couple months."

"Oh," you nodded, trying to ignore the way your stomach felt like it was sinking. "That sounds super exciting."

Tour meant that Josh wouldn't be in Columbus, and if Josh wasn't in Columbus then you wouldn't have anyone to fall back on. It would be just you and Matthew, and that wasn't something you were looking forward to.

"It is," Josh smiled. "I can't wait."

"Hopefully I'll get to come to a show," you smiled. "You guys do play a show here, don't you?"

Both of the boys nodded. "It's one of the most fun to play," Tyler explained.

"I bet," you smiled.

"So, Y/N," Tyler said. "Josh showed me some of your photos last night."

"He did?" you said. You could feel the color coming to your cheeks almost instantly.

"Yeah. They were amazing. Are you considering pursuing photography as a career?"

"It's my dream," you smiled, worries momentarily forgotten. "I had a small business going back in California, but I obviously had to leave that behind. I'm trying to get something going here, but it isn't easy to start over."

Josh smiled at you, "How would you like to come on tour with us as our photographer?"

Your jaw dropped as soon as the words left Josh's mouth, "Are you serious?"

Tyler was laughing a bit at your reaction, "Dead serious."

You could hardly believe what you were hearing. It was like every problem that you had was suddenly gone: you could move out of the apartment you shared with Matthew, go back to doing what you loved, and finally be happy again.

"I hate to ask this because I'm thankful for the opportunity alone, but how much would I be making?"

"Funny you ask," Tyler smiled, reaching into his pants pocket.

He slid a folded up piece of paper across the table to you, which you slowly opened up. Your eyes scanned the page until you saw the number.

"No way," you grinned. "This isn't real. You guys are messing with me."

"We're not messing with you," Josh said.

"This is more than I was making back home!"

"You have talent, Y/N. We need that," Tyler explained.

You slid out of the booth and waved your arms frantically at the boys. They were laughing at you as you pulled them each into a tight hug.

"I'm never going to be able to thank you enough," you said, fanning yourself a bit to keep from crying again.

"Your photos are going to be more than enough thanks," Josh said.

There were a million questions that you wanted to ask, but you knew that they could wait for a later time. You were still waiting for the moment when you would wake up from this dream on the couch in Matthew's living room to the sound of him slamming the door for the millionth time.

You shook your head, "I really can't believe this."

"Believe it," Tyler said, clapping a hand down on your shoulder. "Because you're coming on tour with us."

"Tour," you repeated. "Wow, I never thought I would hear that." You turned to Josh, suddenly remembering the conversation you had on the phone last night. Your brain had been so preoccupied with everything else that it had completely slipped your mind, "So this was your offer?"

He smiled, "Yep. We just had to make sure that Tyler liked you enough to bring with us."

"I passed the test?"

"Yes you did," Tyler laughed.

"Alright, well we actually have a lot of preparations left to do before we leave, so we should probably head out."

"Right, I need to start packing as well," you smiled.

Josh and Tyler started to walk off, but you suddenly remembered the long walk you had endured to get here. Not wanting to repeat that experience, you decided that asking the boys for a ride probably wouldn't hurt. Besides, it wasn't like you had to hide the fact that your ex was terrible to you anymore.

"Hey, guys?" you said. They both turned to look at you. "Can I ask one more favor?"

"Sure," Tyler said.

"Can I get a ride home? My ex stole the car."

"Yeah, come on," Josh waved you along.

You fell into step with them, not even bothering to hide the smile on your face. Things were really beginning to look up.