Warnings: None

Word Count: 2024

Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

*     *     *

You let out a little squeal as you hit a bump in the tiny parking lot. Tyler began to laugh, but you simply shot him a look as you reversed into a parking space and shut the car off. Driving Carter's truck never failed to scare you, especially when you had to drive it up a huge hill in the dark. You would never hear the end of it if you somehow managed to get a scratch on it.

"We're here," you announced.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed."

You rolled your eyes as you grabbed the blankets you had brought from the backseat. The night was clear, but that didn't mean that it was warm. Your sweatshirt and sweatpants were already proving to be not warm enough for the cool night air.

"God, it's freezing," Tyler groaned from the other side of the car.

"If you would move a little faster, we could be under these blankets right now," you answered as you threw some blankets into the bed of the truck.

While Tyler finished gathering up the rest of the blankets, you hopped into the back and began to lay out some of the thicker blankets so that it wouldn't be so uncomfortable to lay down. A few stars were already beginning to appear in the sky, and you were looking forward to the moment when you were buried in blankets next to Tyler, looking up at all of it.

"Ok, that's all of them," Tyler announced as he threw a couple more blankets into the back.

You held a hand out to Tyler and helped him climb into the back of the truck. He immediately fell back into the huge pile of blankets that had formed, letting out a content sigh as he did so. After a moment of relaxation, his eyes shot open.

"The drinks are still in the front seat," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, I'll grab them," you said. One of your legs was already halfway out of the truck bed.

You hopped down onto the dirt and half-jogged over to the passenger side of the car. Sure enough, the cooler of drinks that the two of you had brought was half tucked under the chair. It was heavier than you had expected, but you still managed to sling it over your shoulder and get it in the back.

"Thanks," Tyler said as you dumped the cooler next to him.

"No problem."

While you were busy getting the drinks, Tyler had taken it upon himself to nicely lay out all the blankets for the two of you, complete with makeshift blanket pillows at the perfect angle for stargazing.

"Thanks for doing that," you smiled as you crawled under one of the blankets.

"It was no problem."

Tyler carefully slid under the blanket next to you and pulled it up around his neck so that only his head was popping out. You opted for staying sitting upright and enjoying a drink for now.

"There's not many stars yet," Tyler frowned.

"It isn't late yet."

"Yeah, but I'm impatient."

You sighed and shook your head, but your mouth still curled up into a smile as you took a long sip of your drink. It was freezing cold from being in the cooler, but the blankets kept you from shivering too much.

"Are you going to lay down?" Tyler asked.

"Later. I'm enjoying this drink right now, and if I try to have it while laying down I'll end up with a soaked sweatshirt."

"Good point."

Tyler lifted his hips for a moment and a moment later his hand popped out from under the blanket, holding his phone. The light from the screen illuminated his face, revealing his furrowed eyebrows as he scrolled through it. You leaned down to see what he was looking at. As you should have expected, it was music.

"I thought some background music would be nice," he grinned, turning to look at you for a moment.

"Definitely."

He scrolled through his phone for a bit longer until soft music began to play. It was much different than what the two of you usually listened to together, but it fit the vibe of the night.

"Oh hey, I have some news for you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Josh came up with a name for the song that you helped me write."

"He did?" you grinned. "What is it?"

"Truce."

You took a moment to run over the song in your head, finding all the little connections between the lyrics and the song's new title. After a moment, you nodded.

"It's perfect."

"I thought you might like it," he smiled.

You looked out towards the lights of Columbus down below you. Your mind was already beginning to fill with thoughts about the future, as it always seemed to do when the world around you got too quiet.

"Can you pass me a drink?" Tyler asked.

"Sure, what do you want?"

"Red Bull."

You opened the cooler and dug around a bit until you found a can of Red Bull buried at the bottom. After shaking off a bit of the ice, you tossed it to Tyler, who caught it gracefully.

"Good to know I still have some of my basketball skills," he laughed as he popped the can open.

"Tyler, you're not going to-," you started to say, but it was too late.

The contents of the can spilled directly onto Tyler's partly open mouth and dribbled down the sides of his face onto the blanket - which just so happened to be one of your mom's favorites. Tyler immediately sat up in shock and wiped at his face with the back of his arm.

"Tyler," you groaned. "What made you think that was a good idea?"

"I thought I would be able to expertly pour it in my mouth, but it started spilling out before I thought it would," he grinned, obviously amused.

"That's one of my mom's favorite blankets!" you sighed.

"I'll grab some napkins."

Tyler hopped out of the truck bed and opened up the passenger door to get some napkins from the glovebox. Meanwhile, you grabbed the water from the cooler and began to pour some onto the would-be stain.

"I can't believe you did that," you said as you snatched the napkins from his hand.

Tyler helped you dab at the spot with one hand while cleaning up his face a bit more with the other.

"I really thought it would work!"

"How old are you?" you laughed.

"Twenty one."

"Exactly."

Even though you were a little upset with Tyler, you couldn't help but laugh at how stupid the entire thing was. Maybe your mom would get a kick out of the story too, despite the fact that her blanket might end up with giant Red Bull spot.

"You get to lay on the wet side," you said as you crawled under the clean, dry blankets.

"That's a fair punishment."

Tyler crawled under his blankets, making a face as he adjusted himself on the wet spot, and got comfortable. You had to admit, he had done a great job of making you makeshift pillows. Up ahead, stars were finally beginning to appear in the sky.

It was going to be a good night.

*     *     *

You shifted under the blanket a little and reached over to rub your forearm. The stars above you were now shining brightly, filling you with a sense of peace. Even still, your mind couldn't seem to stop thinking itself in circles.

"Hey, Ty," you said softly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you ever think about life?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know - like - the future. What you're going to do and if you'll get married and where you want to live. That sort of thing."

Tyler pulled his blanket a little tighter around him, "It comes up from time to time. Usually I try not to think about it because it ends up stressing me out."

"Yeah, that makes sense. I usually try not to either, but tonight I can't seem to get it off my mind."

"Why do you think that is?"

You shrugged, "I always find it hard not to get existential when I'm looking at space."

Tyler laughed quietly, "Me too."

The music was still playing softly in between the two of you, keeping the silence from getting too awkward. Normally silence wasn't an issue with you and Tyler, but tonight seemed different. The silence was giving you too much room to think.

"Can I ask you something else?" you asked. Your heart rate was already picking up.

"Sure."

"It's kind of a dorky question."

"I don't mind."

"Do you think we're always going to be in each other's lives?" You had already pulled your lip between your teeth and began to chew on it.

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"I don't know," you laughed nervously. "I guess I'm just worried with you doing music and, um, like if you get super famous and are traveling all the time while I'm stuck here working..." you trailed off, realizing how stupid this all sounded.

You glanced at Tyler out of the corner of your eye, but he was already looking at you. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, although it wasn't out of confusion. You shifted a little so that you could look at him without craning your neck so much.

"Y/N, I promise you right now that no matter how famous I get or where I go or who I meet, you're always going to be the most important person in my life. If the choice was between you or music, I would choose you every time."

"You mean that?"

"One hundred percent."

Tyler smiled and stuck a hand out from beneath the blanket with one pinky extended. You laughed a little as you linked your pinky with his. Sometimes you wondered how the two of you were both adults.

You tucked your hand back under the blanket and turned to look up at the stars. There was a satellite moving through the sky, almost flawlessly blending in among the thousands of stars. It was so calm out here on the edge of town. If you had the opportunity, you would stay out all night just staring at the stars.

"Thanks for inviting me out here, Y/N," Tyler said quietly, once again breaking the silence.

"Thanks for coming with me. It's been nice to spend this time with you."

"I like spending time with you."

You took a deep breath to try and get rid of the knot that had formed in your stomach. Tyler's words didn't hold any deeper meaning - you had taught yourself that a long time ago. He was your best friend, and best friends liked spending time together.

You were busy trying to work out a constellation when something bumped into your thigh. Figuring you had accidentally gotten too close to Tyler without realizing it, you shifted to the side a little to give him some space.

But then it bumped into your wrist.

And then his fingers brushed against yours.

You swallowed hard and turned your palm slightly, giving him silent permission. His hand slid against yours and his fingers curled around the edge of your palm. Your lips were pressed so tightly together to keep from smiling that it almost hurt. Tyler's hand was a little clammy, but it was holding yours and for now that was all that mattered.

You glanced at him out of the corner of your eye again, expecting him to be looking at you. Instead, he was still staring up at the sky as if nothing was happening. Obviously this wasn't something he wanted to talk about, so you turned back up towards the sky and went back to seeking out the constellation you had been trying to find.

You would be lying if you said you weren't a little confused, but you didn't want to risk ruining the moment by asking another stupid question. Tyler had made it clear to you many times before how he felt and this was no different. The two of you were, and always would be, friends.

Just friends.