Warnings: None

Word Count: 2578

Author's Note: I accidentally went a little overboard when writing this chapter, as you can probably tell by the word count. I had a lot of ideas I wanted to include! Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

*     *     *

I pulled my song folder out of my bag and set it on the table between Josh and I. He placed a hand on it and slid it towards him before slowly pulling out all the new sheets. The half-crumpled pages that Y/N had rescued from the recycling bin were still in there.

"Why are these so crumpled?" he asked as he pulled them out.

I smiled, "Long story."

Josh simply nodded and began to flip through the pages. A smile flickered across his face now and again.

"This is looking really good, Tyler. There's definitely a solid foundation for some new songs in this one."

I grabbed the pages from him and flipped through until I found the one I was looking for. It was easy to tell apart from the others because of the little sun doodles that I had added in the corner.

"What do you think of this?" I asked, handing the single piece of paper back to him. "I think it would be good for an album closer, don't you think?"

Josh read over the page a couple times. He rubbed his hand along his jaw as he did so, something he only did when he was really thinking about something. Slowly, he began to nod.

"Yeah, for sure."

"Great. What do you say we run through some of the old stuff? Then we can work on writing."

"Let's do it."

While Josh got up and began to mess with his drums, I neatly organized the papers and put them back into the folder. Years of watching Y/N meticulously organize her school supplies had rubbed off on me, especially when it came to something as important as my music.

"Alright, I'm ready," Josh said. He was tapping out a rhythm on his drums that I didn't recognize.

"Oh, I like that. Don't forget that," I said, pointing to him.

Josh looked down at his hands, as if he hadn't even realized that he had been playing. He looked a little more focused as he ran through it a couple more times.

"Ok, it's in here," he laughed, tapping a drumstick to his forehead.

I sat down at the piano and took a moment to play some random melodies and get comfortable with the keys before we actually started to play. It was a habit that I had quickly developed after learning to play the keyboard in high school. For some reason, I was convinced it helped me play better.

"Where should we start?" Josh asked.

"Well, should we run through the whole thing? Or just practice some of the rougher songs?"

"How about we start at the top and see how we feel?" he suggested.

"Perfect."

*     *     *

Josh and I, after deciding to practice the album in its entirety, figured it was best to take a break once we got through about half of the songs. Both of us were starving and starting to get irritable with one another, which was never a good combination.

"Let's order some food before we end up tearing each other's heads off," Josh laughed.

"Agreed," I said, already reaching for my phone. To my surprise, there was a text from Y/N.

Y/N: I need your help. It's important.

I answered instantly.

Tyler: What's up?

My head was full of possibilities about what she could need help with, but I couldn't really do anything until she told me what was going on. Josh noticed my concerned look.

"Everything ok?"

"Yeah, just a friend of mine said she needed help and I'm waiting to figure out what it is."

"Y/N?"

My mouth curved up into a half-smile, "Yeah."

"Shocking. Anyway, what are you in the mood for?"

"Pizza is easy and cheap."

"And they deliver," Josh chimed in.

"Then let's do pizza."

"Pepperoni?"

"No, no. Get Hawaiian."

Josh's nose wrinkled immediately, "There's no way we're getting pineapple on pizza."

"Why not? It's good!"

"No. It's disgusting."

"Come on, Josh! Y/N and I always get a Hawaiian pizza."

"Of course you found a way to bring her into this," Josh smiled.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You just talk about Y/N a lot," Josh shrugged. "That's all."

"Right."

Right.

"What if we just get half and half? Then you get your disgusting pizza and I get my delicious pepperoni."

"I think that's a good idea," I nodded.

"Ok, I'll go call it in."

Josh grabbed his phone and walked into the other room, already dialing the pizza place. I, on the other hand, had a text from Y/N to attend to.

Y/N: Carter and I are having a debate: are carts or bikes better in Mario Kart?

I laughed and shook my head. Of course she just needed help settling a debate between her and Carter. The two of them were always debating some random topic or another.

Tyler: Bikes, all the way. They take up less space and are just better all around.

Y/N: THANK YOU! Carter has been going on and on about how much better carts are because they get knocked around less easily, but there's no way that that single benefit outweighs all the benefits of a bike. Wait until he hears the opinion of our resident Mario Kart expert :)

Y/N's text reminded me of all the weekends we had spent holed up in her den, having Mario Kart tournaments with her brother and eating whatever snacks we could find in their pantry. We hadn't been able to do that much since I joined the band and Y/N went off to college, there just wasn't time.

"Pizza should be here in twenty minutes," Josh announced as he walked back into the room.

"Awesome."

"You look happy."

"Yeah, just-," I waved my phone in the air for emphasis.

"Of course," he grinned. "Did you figure out what she needed help with?"

"Yeah, there was just a debate she needed to settle with her brother. Nothing serious."

"That's good. Wouldn't want you having to leave in the middle of practice."

"You know that music is super important to me and I would only leave if the emergency was even more important than this."

"I don't know," Josh laughed a little. "Y/N seems pretty important to you."

"She's just a friend."

"Just a friend?"

I rolled my shoulders, "Yeah."

"If you say so. I might go after her if you don't."

I laughed, but my body still tensed up at the mere thought of Y/N and Josh together.

No. Stop. Tyler.

"I think I'm going to try and work out some new melodies on the piano," I said, excusing myself from the conversation. "Let me know when pizza gets here."

I grabbed my folder as I brushed past Josh towards my piano. All of the anger was probably just hunger talking, so some time playing music would help calm me back down. What I had said was true: Y/N was just my friend. Josh wanting to go after her was me being protective. That was all.

Twenty minutes later, Josh walked over and set the pizza box on top of the piano. It smelled amazing and my stomach rumbled in response.

"How much do I owe you?" I asked as I grabbed a slice.

"$6.50."

With my free hand, I pulled out my wallet and gave Josh the change for the pizza.

"Feel better now that you have food?" he smiled.

"Yeah, sorry for earlier."

"It's fine. It's warm in here, we're starving, and I was trying to get information out of you. It wasn't really a winning combination."

I laughed, "Definitely not."

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was another text from Y/N, this time a picture of her brother flipping off the camera while still playing video games with his free hand.

Y/N: He's pouting because he was proven wrong and I beat him and his stupid cart while I was on a bike three times in a row

Tyler: Nice one, Y/N

Josh was watching me as I texted Y/N, but he didn't make a comment about her this time. I simply raised my eyebrows at him and took another bite of pizza.

"So, I had this idea for the next album..." he started.

*      *     *

"Same time tomorrow?" Josh asked as I dropped him off.

"Yeah, I'll pick you up at two."

"Sounds great. Thanks for giving me a ride."

"No problem."

He grabbed his bag from where it had been sitting at his feet and shut the passenger door behind him. Once he had made it around the car and onto the sidewalk, I took off for my apartment. It was a fairly long drive home - twenty minutes, if I was lucky and traffic wasn't bad - but I didn't really mind. I liked having the time to think.

As I drove, I wondered what Y/N was up to. It had been a few days since I had last seen her, mostly because she was busy with projects and papers, and I was starting to miss her. In the spur of the moment, I pulled up against the curb and grabbed my phone.

She picked up quickly, "What do you want?"

"Hello to you too," I laughed.

"Sorry, I made Carter pause Mario Kart and he's getting impatient."

"Yeah! Hurry up, Joseph!" Carter called in the background.

"That's actually what I called about."

"Mario Kart?" she asked.

"Yeah. I just got done with band practice and after you texted about the debate, it made me think about the tournaments we used to have when we were younger."

"Are you asking what I think you're asking?" she asked. The excitement was evident in her voice.

"Mario Kart tournament?"

"Yes! Get your butt over here!"

"Alright," I laughed. "I just left Josh's so it will be awhile, but I'll be over as soon as I can."

"I can't wait to crush both of you at Mario Kart," Carter added.

"Shut up, Car, I've beat you like every time."

"I'll see you soon," I said.

"Ok, drive safe!"

"Bye."

I tossed my phone back down and pulled away from the curb, already planning what strategy I was going to use.

*      *     *

"Again?" Y/N whined as I crossed the finish line in first place, yet again.

"You invited me over here!" I shrugged.

Carter leaned forward and snatched up the bag of Doritos that I had sitting by my leg.

"You don't deserve these anymore," he huffed.

"I bet it's the Doritos making him win!" Y/N chimed in.

"Or the Oreos." I gestured to the half-empty packet of Oreos by my knee.

"Whatever it is, you're going to lose."

Carter started up the next set of races and I took a moment to shake out my wrist. We had been playing for close to two hours now and keeping track of who had the most wins. I had about eight wins under my belt, but Y/N wasn't too far behind. As for Carter, well, he had seen better Mario Kart days.

I was nearing the end of the third lap when Y/N leaned over and pushed me towards the floor. It threw me off just enough to make me lose focus for a second and allow her to pass me.

"Hey!" I said, "That's cheating!"

"Not cheating," she argued, still making sure to gently elbow my right arm. "Just a distraction."

I managed to catch the wind from the back of her bike and race past her. The finish line was in sight, just ahead of me.

"Ty!" she screeched. "How in the world?"

"Talent."

Just as I was about to finish the race, a red shell came rushing towards me and stopped my just shy of the finish line. Y/N zipped past me before I could recover, earning her the spot of first place.

"Yes!" she said, shooting up to a standing position. "I won the first race!"

"By cheating!"

"It was not cheating!"

"Was too!"

"You're just jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

She looked so cute as she began to dance around the room in her oversized sweatshirt. In one dramatic motion, she grabbed a blanket and pulled it around her shoulders like a cape.

"I'm the queen of Mario Kart!" she announced.

"Y/N, you won one race. Tyler is still way ahead of you," Carter said.

"Shh, peasant," she held a hand out to him. "Your queen is celebrating."

Carter and I shared a look as she continued to parade around the room. Eventually, she grew tired of the performance and took a seat back next to me on the floor, a little closer than she had been before.

"You still have three more races to win if you even want a chance at beating me," I smiled.

"I'll do it, just you watch."

"And no more cheating."

"No promises."

We finished the next three races, most of which went by without incident. Although Y/N didn't do anything drastic to aid her wins, she did manage to elbow me here and there. It's not like she needed to, her arm simply brushing against mine now and again while she played was enough of a distraction.

"Ok, let's find out who won and then I need to get home," I said.

Carter grabbed the piece of paper that we had been scorekeeping on.

"With nine wins, our first place champion is..." Carter looked at the two of us. "That's your cue to drumroll," he added with a whisper.

Y/N and I both drummed against our legs, creating a very quiet drumroll.

"Tyler Joseph!"

I stood up and did my own little happy dance around the room.

"But that's not all!" Carter said. "Also with nine wins, making them tied for first place with Joseph, is..."

Another quiet drumroll.

"Y/F/N Y/L/N!"

"Yes!" Y/N cheered, immediately jumping to a standing position. "Ha! Take that, Tyler!"

I reached out to shake her hand, "Congratulations, Y/N."

She shook my hand for a brief moment before grabbing her blanket cape from earlier. This time, she draped it around both of our shoulders. With one arm around my waist, she began to parade both of us around the room.

"Bow down, Car! Your brand new bike-using Mario Kart champions have arrived."

"I'm not worthy," he said sarcastically.

Y/N laughed and stopped leading me around the room, although she kept an arm wrapped around my waist. I knew I needed to leave, but she...

Nope. Not happening.

"I should go," I said, already beginning to peel the blanket away.

Y/N's arm dropped away and went to grab the loose end of the blanket that I had let fall. She pulled it up over her shoulder and wrapped it tightly around her so that it no longer looked quite like a cape.

"It's late," she nodded. Her mouth curled up into a slight smile. "Thanks for coming over, Ty. This was fun."

"Agreed," I said, returning her smile. "I'll see you guys soon enough."

"Later, Joseph," Carter added.

Y/N waved to me before I left the room and headed down the stairs. I could already hear the two of them starting a debate about something new as I opened the front door. It had been a good day, that was for sure.

There was just a lot for me to think about.