Warnings: Little bit of angst

Word Count: 1990

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy the chapter! :)

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You closed the lid of your now-empty thai food container and set it on the table next to the couch. Next to you, Tyler was only half-paying attention to the TV show the two of you had put on to watch while eating dinner, although he looked more spaced out than anything.

"Ready for the second half of the night?" you smiled.

Tyler turned to you and raised his eyebrows, "What are we doing now?"

You stood up, "Having a picnic."

"A picnic?"

"Yes."

"Isn't it dark outside?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "So?"

"Ok," he shrugged.

You led Tyler out into the hall and grabbed one of the "outdoor" blankets from the closet. This required a bit of help from Tyler since it was on the top shelf, but with a bit of teamwork you managed to get it down. With the blanket now in your arms, you carefully made your way down the stairs towards the backyard.

"Are we having the picnic in the backyard?" Tyler asked as you passed through the kitchen.

"Yeah. Hopefully it isn't too cold, because that kind of ruins the whole plan."

Tyler opened the sliding door for you and you carefully made your way through the door. It wasn't as cold as you had been expecting outside, which was a pleasant surprise. March weather in Ohio could be unpredictable, but thankfully today didn't seem to be one of those days.

"Do you care where we sit?" you asked, turning to Tyler.

He shook his head, "You know your backyard best."

You ended up choosing a spot right in the middle of the yard where you would have the best view of the stars. It wasn't quite the same as being out on the hill without any light pollution, but having a picnic outside was still a better activity than just sitting around inside. That was too much like the normal days you and Tyler spent together, and today was meant to be special.

"I'll be right back," you announced once the blanket was laid out. Tyler had already made himself comfortable right in the middle of it.

"Ok."

You half-jogged back towards the house and stepped through the sliding glass door. Carter was already in the kitchen, pouring himself a drink of something from the fridge. He turned to you as you opened the freezer.

"What are you up to?"

"Tyler and I are having a picnic in the backyard."

"Didn't you just have dinner?"

"Yes, but now we're having dessert."

You grabbed the two tubs of ice cream that Carter had picked up for you earlier that day. He passed you two spoons, making sure to get the ones that you and Tyler liked.

"Thanks, Car," you said as you took them from his hands. "For the spoons and the ice cream."

"It was no problem. I just want to make sure that you and Tyler have fun together before he leaves."

You bit down on your lip, "Don't remind me."

All day, you had been trying not to think about not seeing Tyler for three months. It had been working pretty well, for the most part, but now that the end of the night was drawing closer it was getting harder to ignore.

Carter reached out and put a hand on your shoulder, "Hey, remember what we talked about."

You nodded, "I know. Anyway, I should get back out there. We have to make the most of every minute, you know?"

"Yeah, I know."

You turned and started to walk back towards the sliding door, but stopped when you were about halfway and looked over your shoulder.

"You better not be a nuisance and try to mess up the night," you warned.

"If it was any other day, I wouldn't make any promises," Carter smiled. "But I won't bother you tonight, don't worry."

"Thanks, Carter."

"Alright, now go have fun. But not too much!"

You smiled and jogged over to the door. It was a bit awkward to open with all the ice cream in your hands, but with a bit of twisting and use of your leg, you got it open. Tyler turned towards you when he heard the door open.

"Is that ice cream?" he smiled.

"Our favorites," you answered, holding the two tubs up.

"That's awesome."

You tossed Tyler's ice cream to him once you were close enough to the blanket that you were confident you could make the throw. He easily caught it in one hand and tore the plastic off in one go. You, on the other hand, took a little while to figure out how to open the tub.

"I don't think I've ever had an ice cream picnic before," Tyler said as he scooped up his first bite. "Let alone one under the stars."

"I thought you might appreciate it."

He turned to you and smiled, "I do."

You sighed in relief once you finally managed to rip the plastic off the top of your ice cream. That made Tyler, who had already enjoyed quite a few bites of his own ice cream, giggle.

"Shut up," you smiled. "That plastic was strong."

"Sorry," he said, but he was still laughing quietly.

You grabbed your phone from beside your leg and played some music, just so that it wouldn't be quite so quiet between the two of you. It's not that the silence was uncomfortable, it just gave you too much room to think.

The two of you made casual conversation as you ate your ice cream. It wasn't until you started to shiver that you decided it would probably be a good idea to put the tub aside and save the rest for later. Tyler noticed you shivering and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, the ice cream just made me really cold," you smiled. "I'm going to run inside and grab a sweatshirt."

"Wait," Tyler said, resting a hand on your arm as you began to stand up. "Just take mine."

"Are you sure? It's really not a big deal for me to just-"

"Y/N, please. Just take it."

"Ok."

You watched as Tyler took off his sweatshirt, leaving him in just his white t-shirt from earlier that day. He tossed it to you and you quickly pulled it on over your head, warming you up instantly. It smelled faintly of Tyler's cologne and lake water.

"You can keep that one for now, if you want. You know, for when I'm gone," he mumbled.

You raised an eyebrow, "I thought we weren't talking about you leaving."

"Well we can't exactly avoid it all day, can we?"

You bit down on your lip, "I guess not."

Tyler put the lid back onto his own tub of ice cream and set it in the grass. He adjusted himself a little before laying back on the blanket so that he could look up at the stars. You decided to do the same.

"It's weird to think that I won't be in Ohio for three months. I don't think I've ever left for that long."

You pulled the sleeves of Tyler's sweatshirt down over your hands a little further, "I think it will be weird to not have you here. Like a little piece of Ohio is missing."

"I think a piece of me will be missing, too. Until I get back, at least."

"But think of all the things you'll get to see," you said. "States you've never been to and people that adore you and huge venues that you could be playing one day."

Tyler was quiet for a moment. "That's weird to think about."

You turned to him and laughed, "Sorry, am I getting too existential for you?"

"No, it's fine. It's just hard to believe that I'm going on a tour. With my songs. I mean, I wrote those songs in my basement and now I'm going to play them for someone other than you?"

"Yep, that's exactly what's happening."

"I just wish that I could bring you with me, Y/N."

"I wish I could come too, Ty. But I have school."

"I know, I was just - wishful thinking, I guess."

You began to chew on your bottom lip. Familiar thoughts were running their way through the back of your head, slowly trying to take over your entire mind. The last thing you wanted was for them to ruin the night.

"Do you think things will be the same when you get back?" you finally asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're signed to a label now and - you know - you're going to be making music and probably touring more. Do you think we'll still get to have days like today? Or are we just both going to be too busy for one another?"

Tyler finally turned to look at you, "Things aren't going to change, Y/N. I won't let them."

"You really mean that?"

"I really mean that."

Your mouth curled into a half-smile. It was nice to know that Tyler wasn't going to give up on you just because he was beginning to get famous. You still meant just as much to him as he did to you.

"Do you think you're going to get tired of Josh?" you asked, hoping to switch the conversation to a lighter subject.

"I don't think so. We get along really well, but then again we've never been stuck in a van together for three months."

"I hope I get to know him better once you guys get back. He seems really sweet."

"He is," Tyler answered. "You two would get along really well, I think."

"I guess we'll know in three months."

"Three months," he repeated. "That sounds like such a long time."

"I think it will go by faster than we expect it to."

"I hope so. I don't know what I'm going to do without you, Y/N."

You laughed quietly, "I don't know either."

Tyler was shivering when you tilted your head to look at him. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, but obviously it wasn't doing enough.

"Are you cold?" you asked, propping yourself up on one elbow. "I can give you your sweatshirt back and get one of my own."

"No, it's fine. I already said you could keep it."

"Ty, come on."

"I'm not going to take the sweatshirt back, Y/N."

"Fine," you sighed. "But I'm not going to let you freeze to death."

In a moment of bravery, you scooted closer to Tyler and wrapped your arms around him. It took him a moment to register what was going on, but he eventually moved one of his arms so that it was wrapped around your back. As soon as you laid down on his chest, you froze.

What in the world were you thinking?

"Is this ok?" you asked quietly

"Yeah."

"Are you sure? I don't want to make this weird."

"No, it's - I like this."

You could hear Tyler's heart pounding in your ear. A million questions filled your mind, mostly ones wondering why in the world Tyler kept acting like this. He denied his feelings for you at every opportunity, yet told you that he liked you laying on his chest. You wanted to confront him, but last time you had done that it ended in an argument. There was no way you were about to let Tyler leave Ohio while you were mad at him.

Instead, you were just going to enjoy this moment.

"Hey, um, Y/N?" Tyler said.

"Yeah?"

"Can I tell you something?"

"Anything, Ty."

He took a deep breath and you could feel his heart still pounding in his chest. Your mind was already running wild with possibilities of what he was about to tell you.

"I'm going to miss you. A lot."

Right. Maybe you should have seen that one coming.

"I'm going to miss you, too."

More than you could ever know.