Requested by MiriamMandelsohn

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Aaron Z was just as cool as Tyler thought he would be. The two met after pandapocolapse and Tyler was ecstatic when Aaron was willing to talk to him. The two talked about basketball, their favorite players, their favorite moves, and more basketball. That's what the two had in common, which Tyler had done on purpose.

Seeing Aaron Z for the first time on the news made Tyler fall in love with him instantly. He decided to base some of himself on Z, like his love for basketball and the similar attire to basketball. When his parents asked about the change he told them and they didn't mind. They knew it was just motivation to get him to do school sports.

So when Z asked Tyler if he wanted to hang out and shoot hoops one day, the poor boy thought he would die.

"Yes! Of course Z!" Tyler said with stars in his eyes. Z chuckled and nodded and the small boy.

"Wanna meet up at the courts tomorrow?" Z asked while looking over at the band. They were all talking to the girls except for Mei's aunts, grandma, and mother who stood separately.

"Yeah!" Tyler said, his voice cracking in the sentence. He noticed and blushed as he cleared his throat.

"I meant yeah," Tyler made his voice deeper and tried to look like he didn't care as much as he did. That was his definition of cool, but he didn't know that Z didn't mind. He ignored the voice crack and responded normally.

"At 5 pm? Then we can go to Daisey Mart for something to eat,"

"Really?" Z nodded.

"Absolutely! Haha yes!" Tyler threw his fists in the air and snickered.

"Hey Z, group picture," Robaire said as Mei transformed into the red panda next to him. It stared Robaire but one touch of her fur and he seemed fine with it. Z turned his head to Tyler and motioned him to follow. As everyone got into position Mei held out the camera.

"Everyone say 4*town!"

"4*town!"

Tyler went home that night with everlasting energy. His parents didn't notice and wanted to make sure he was ok because they heard about pandapocolapse. He assured them he was fine but kept the Aaron Z part to himself. He went to bed that night, dreaming of the day he'll have with Z tomorrow.

"Tyler!" His father shouted from the front door. Tyler retrieved the basketball that he was playing with and went over to his dad.

"What?"

"We're going out today, come inside and change," His father said as he eyed Tyler's outfit up and down. Tyler was surprised, he thought he didn't have anything to do today. Fiddling around with his basketball he decided to ask.

"For what?"

"Dentist appointment, now get changed. We're leaving in ten," His father warned, and just like that, he was gone. It was only 2:02 so he calculated the drive there, the appointment itself, and the drive back.

"I still have time for Z!" Tyler smiled at the thought of Aaron Z. He was... so attractive to Tyler, a good choice as a crush he might add. So he followed his dad inside and changed for the appointment. The Nguyen-Baker family got into the car and drove off to the dentist. When they got there, his parents took care of everything and he was called to the back. It was about 3:10 when Tyler was called back.

"Sit down Tyler," His dentist said and Tyler complied. The dentist pulled the chair down and shined the light in his teeth. The dentist checked everything and did the usual routine to clean his teeth.

"Your teeth are looking good," His dentist said as he rose the chair up and turned off the light. Tyler grinned, knowing that information he knew that his tooth would look good to Z.

"So, for your braces," His dentist started and it immediately earned Tyler's full attention. He's been wanting them off since his parents got them in 6th grade. He felt dorky and it fueled his motivation to make fun of people.

"We can either take them off now and you get your retainers now or we wait another year. If you get them off today you have to make sure you watch your teeth carefully, because they may seem ready for them to be taken off but can shift back." His dentist explain as he brought up pictures of Tyler's teeth.

"Yeah! Get them off now!" Tyler demanded, his choice fueled by Z. If he had his braces off now, he would be able to not look dorky around Z.

"Ok, but it'll take about a half-hour for them to come off. And we'll have to make a mold for your retainers which will take a little while. It's around 3:30 so we'll be finished around 4:50,"

"4:50?" Tyler asked quietly and his dentist nodded. But what about Z? Would his parents take him home first and keep him there for monitoring? He didn't want that, he wanted to see Z. With Z in mind, Tyler sighed and shook his head.

"Another time,"

"Alright, I'll get the main dentist for a quick check," His dentist smiles at him before standing up and walking out of the room.

"Why not today?" His dad asked and Tyler turned around. He fiddled with his fingers before shrugging.

"Eh, part of my look,"

"But you were excited to get them off," His mom commented. His dad nodded as Tyle tried to think of a way to lie this out. Luckily he didn't need to because the main dentist came over and checked his teeth.

"Alright, you're good. Here's a toothbrush, and you're free to go," The main dentist handed Tyler a toothbrush and let the Nguyen-Baker family leave the office.

Tyler ran to the basketball courts the second he made it home. He got there about fifteen minutes before 5 and practiced shooting hoops as a warm-up.

"Hey Ty," Tyler got distracted by Z's voice and missed the basketball causing him to suck in his teeth. Awkward.

"Hey Z! Wanna play?" Tyler asked as she ran after his basketball. Z watched Tyler pick it up and drop it before picking it up again.

"Sure little dude, 1v1?"

"Bring it!" Tyler and Z played basketball for about an hour with each other, taking turns shooting hoops and playing defense. Z made sure to go easy on Tyler so the kid didn't cry but made sure he was playing at such a low level. The score was almost even, Z ahead a few points when two boys came over.

"Aaron Z!?"

"Hey," Z replied as Tyler glared at the two boys. Because he was distracted, he forgot about the game for a second, and Z scored on him.

"Haha, Tyler's really bad," One of the boys which Tyler recognized as Shawn from his school. The other boy was Danny who was laughing at what Shawn said. Z retrieved the ball and turned to the boys.

"Tyler's really good," He said causing the two boys to gasp. They glared at Tyler and stuck his tongue out at them. Huffing, Shawn stormed over to Tyler and waved his finger in his face.

"2v2! Me and Danny against you two!" Shawn declared. Tyler smacked Shawn's hand out of his face and crossed her arms, leaning more on one leg.

"Fine! Hey Z!" Z looked over and walked over to the three boys, twirling the ball on his finger. He heard the challenge and put his hand on Tyler's shoulder.

"Bring it on,"

Z and Tyler were most definitely winning the challenge though the boys weren't too far behind, merely a few points. Z and Tyler were having fun while they were playing, high-fiving each other after every score Tyler made. And Z made sure to give Tyler motivational words when he missed. When they took a break for water, Danny had a plan to win.

"Ugh! Tyler is so cheating!" Shawn stomped his foot on the ground, wincing afterward from the pain. He whined as Danny smirked at him.

"I've got an idea, follow my lead," Danny said and watched Z high-five Tyler again. Shawn followed his gazed and grimaced, stupid Tyler. When the two boys walked back to the courts, Danny and Shawn did as well. The game started up again and Danny made sure to guard. Shawn didn't understand what lead he was supposed to be following because the game continued like normally. Until Tyler went to shoot.

"You're probably gonna miss again like the other ten times!" Danny shouted causing Tyler to stop. He bit his lip embarrassingly as Shawn ran over and stole the ball. He gave Danny a look of understanding as he ran down the court, scoring on the others. Z sighed at the boys, it wouldn't benefit him if he argued back. He gave Tyler a supportive smile as they met up at the center.

However, that didn't stop the problem. Danny and Shawn kept saying discouraging words when Tyler had the ball and it lowered the poor boys' self-esteem. He began to get slow and poorly play defense because the realization was kicking in. He was terrible.

Z noticed the change in Tyler's gameplay and turned his attention to the two boys who fist-bumped after another score. Z's hands balled up and his brows furrowed.

"Come on Ty," Z said as he made his way to the center. Tyler noticed a change in Z's tone but didn't comment on it. It was when the game started up again is when he realized why. Z wasn't holding back anymore on the other boys. He wasn't playing more aggressively, he was playing smartly. Score, score, score, left and right. He of course gave Tyler some action so it wasn't all him. The score rose and Tyler and Z were ahead by over ten points.

"Ty!" Z passed the ball to him as they ran down the courts.

"Watch him miss again," Shawn said. Tyler frowned at the comment and went to slow down again. When he did, Shawn went to take the ball and after he did it got stolen by Z who passed it back to Tyler.

"Come on Ty!" Z said while glaring at Shawn who stepped back frighteningly. Z is a chill guy, so a glare from him was unexpected. Tyler grinned and shot the shot, making it in the basket. Danny and Shawn groaned as Z ran over and high-fived Tyler.

"Nice on little dude,"

"We have to go it's getting late," Danny said as an excuse to abandon the game. Both he and Danny were getting exhausted and were tired of losing to Tyler and Z.

"See you losers at school!" Tyler shouted and started laughing as the two boys left angrily.

"Word," Z said and patted Tyler's shoulder.

"Not bad, very fun playing with you," He said causing Tyler to smile.

"You too!" The two down the rest of their water and put it in the recycling bin. They exited to courts with their basketballs in arms.

"Wanna stop at Daisey Mart for something to munch on? Heard they have new protein bars," Z said as the two walked down the sidewalk. Tyler nodded so they changed their direction and made their way to Daisey Mart. Z opened the door for Tyler and the two walked in.

"Welcome to Daisey Mart," Devon mumbled from behind the counter. He noticed Z and his eyes widened.

"Aaron Z?"

"Yo," Devon waved for Z to come over so the band member did. He talked about 4*town with Z and got a picture with his polaroid camera. Tyler grabbed a few protein bars from the boxed and scoffed at the two's interaction. Although he spent a few hours with Z, he couldn't help but get jealous when he talked to others. Tyler walked up to the counter and abruptly put the bars on the counter. Devon started scanning them as Z looked down at Ty.

"Nice pick little dude," He said, referring to the flavor protein bars. Tyler smiled as Devon said the number and Z paid for it. The two left Daisey Mart, munching on a protein bar.

"You're fun Ty, maybe when I'm free again we can shoot hoop." Z said as he lead Tyler to his car. Tyler got into the passenger's seat while nodding.

"Yeah! And maybe you can show me some tricks!"

"Deal," Z drove Tyler home that night and coincidentally 4*town began playing on the radio. Z laughed when it happened and sang along with Tyler who was astonished by Z's voice. Usually, he wasn't heard as much as Robaire and Jesse in the band and it was a crime to Tyler because his voice was beautiful. The two pulled up at Tyler's house and Z walked Tyler to the front door.

"Thanks for the day Z," Tyler said as he opened the front door. He began to walk in but stopped when Z called his name.

"Tyler!" Tyler turned his head.

"Text me," Z winked and turned around to his car. Tyler was confused about what Z said, he never got his number. But before he could ask, Z drove off so he went inside the house.

"Who was that?" His father asked, taking a sip from his cup. Tyler kicked off his shoes and walked through the house.

"A friend," Tyler replied, laying his basketball in the sports ball bin in his room. He closed his door and flopped on his bed before flipping over and screaming into his pillow.

" I hung out with THE Aaron Z!" Tyler screamed again and kicking his feet around. This was the greatest day of his life and he definitely made sure to thank Mei at school. Tyler rolled over and heard a crinkle in his pocket. He reached in and pulled a slip of paper out.

Aaron's number.

"Oh! Oh, I'm texting him right now!" Tyler grabbed his phone and punched in Z's number.

Hey Z, it's Tyler. When are you free to play again?

Tyler lay on his bed and waited a few seconds before getting a message back.

Sup little dude, I'm free next week. Same day same time?

Definitely! Night Z

Night Ty

Tyler cheered and jumped off his bed. He put his phone down and hid Z's number in his folder.

"I'm the luckiest boy ever,"