Warnings: Angst

Word Count: 3406

You pulled into Tyler's driveway and shut the car off. The music slowly faded out as you pulled the key out of the ignition and grabbed your phone from where it had haphazardly been tossed onto the passenger seat. There was a message on the screen that hadn't been there when you left.

Josh: Something came up and I had to bail on hanging out today. You going to be ok without me?

You sighed and leaned back against the seat. Since Josh had bailed, you would be stuck third wheeling with Tyler and his girlfriend. It was no secret that she had it out for you because of your close relationship with Tyler, and it definitely didn't help that you had basically been in love with him since you met.

Y/N: Yeah, I'll be ok. Sad that you can't come though :(

You locked your phone and stuck it in your back pocket. As much as you wanted to get back in the car and drive straight back home, you knew Tyler would be upset if you bailed too. Maybe his girlfriend wouldn't be so bad today.

"Coming!" Tyler called shortly after you knocked on the door.

You took a moment to adjust your shirt as you waited for him to get the door. Your heart was already starting to pound in your chest.

"Hey," he smiled as he opened the door. "How are you?"

"Good," you smiled as he pulled you into a hug. "How about you?"

"Great! I've just been enjoying the time off from tour and spending time with family and friends."

He let go of you and walked back towards the living room. His girlfriend was sitting on the couch as you walked in, looking over something on her phone. She looked up and smiled at you.

"Y/N! It feels like forever since I've seen you."

"Yeah, it has," you returned her smile and held back the sarcastic comment that was threatening to slip out.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she turned towards Tyler, "Where's Josh?"

"He had to bail," Tyler explained as he took a seat next to her. "His brother needed help with something, I think."

She nodded and scooted closer to Tyler so that she could wrap herself around one of his arms. You sat down on the other couch and tried to make yourself as comfortable as possible.

"Do you know if Josh is going to show up later?" you asked.

Tyler's girlfriend shot you a look, "What, are we not good enough for you?"

"No, that's not... I was just curious," you muttered.

She shook her head and began to laugh, "I was only joking with you."

Tyler turned to her and smiled, obviously amused by her so-called "joke". You knew better than to fall for it, though. It was her way of slowly chipping away at your relationship with Tyler.

"I have no idea," Tyler said. "He didn't really say."

"Ok," you said, forcing a smile for his sake.

"Actually that reminds me," Tyler said, pulling himself away from his girlfriend's grasp. "I have to go send an email real quick. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

You watched Tyler as he walked out of the room, leaving you alone with his girlfriend. She turned to you and immediately wiped the smile from her face.

"Tyler was talking about you the other night."

"What?" you said, unable to ignore the way your heart had started pounding in your chest again.

"Yeah, he was talking about how annoying you are," she explained. She tried to make a sympathetic expression, but it didn't seem genuine. "I guess you were going on about this movie that you saw the other day and he was bored out of his mind."

You opened your mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again. You didn't want to believe her, but for some reason you just couldn't get her words out of your head. Maybe your relationship with Tyler wasn't as close as you thought it was. It wasn't the first time she had said something like this to you.

"Oh," you finally managed to mutter.

"I'm sorry, I just thought you would like to know."

You slowly shook your head, "It isn't your fault."

Tyler walked back in the room and you automatically turned to look at him. There was a bad feeling in the pit of your stomach, but you pushed it aside and put some semblance of a smile on your face.

"Are you alright, Y/N?" Tyler asked as he sat back down on the couch. One of his arms autonomously wrapped around his girlfriend's waist, pulling her into his side. "Your face is kinda pale."

Your eyes shifted from Tyler to his girlfriend. She gave you a sweet smile and raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I'm good," you said. "Must be the light or something."

His girlfriend gave you another sympathetic look, but you just ignored her and stared off at the wall. Tyler seemed genuinely concerned, but he didn't press the matter any further.

You spent most of day trying to ignore how affectionate Tyler and his girlfriend were being and counting down the minutes until you had stayed at Tyler's house for a socially acceptable amount of time. As soon as the clock hit 6:30, you stood up and announced that you had to go.

"Already?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah, I need to get some rest before work tomorrow and the cats will need to be fed."

"It was nice seeing you," he said, standing up so that he could give you another hug.

His girlfriend simply waved as you walked towards the front door. Tyler was nice enough to walk with you.

"Hey, I think Josh and I were thinking about getting together for dinner tomorrow night. Would you be down?"

"Just the three of us?" you asked, already getting excited at the prospect of dinner with just the boys.

"Well, she would probably come too," Tyler said, gesturing over his shoulder.

You smile immediately faded as the sinking feeling returned to your stomach, "I'll think about it."

"I'd like if you came."

"Yeah," you said before quickly turning on your heel and walking towards your car.

"I don't know if I can keep doing this," you sighed as you rolled onto your back. "I just don't understand how somebody as sweet as Tyler can date someone like her! She's so... evil."

"She isn't evil," Josh said. His voice was slightly muffled over the phone. "Are you sure this isn't just you being biased because of your feelings for him?"

"Trust me, Josh. She's always tearing me down behind everyone's backs or claiming that Tyler was talking bad about me. It's like she's trying to make me insecure in my relationship with him."

"Have you tried talking to Tyler about it?"

"How could I? He's just going to take her side."

"You never know until you try."

You sighed, "Maybe."

"Are you going to come to dinner tomorrow?"

"Probably not. I just need some space from them for awhile."

"Alright."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Y/N. You're doing what's best for you and that's what matters."

"You're right."

"Ok, I need to go do some practicing for a while. Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Call me if you need me, ok?"

"I will."

"Bye."

You ended the call and tossed your phone down next to you. A little time for yourself would be good to help you forget about all the nasty comments that Tyler's girlfriend had made towards you. Then maybe you would feel confident enough to bring the entire situation up to Tyler.

"A little time for yourself" ended up being two weeks of blowing off Tyler every time he called you to make plans. It hadn't been your original intention, but not having to worry about his girlfriend had been too peaceful to so readily give up. You had even seen Josh a couple times, so it wasn't like you were becoming a total recluse.

Your phone began to vibrate against your leg, so you picked it up to see who it was. Tyler's contact photo was shining on your screen. You answered the call and brought the phone to your ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

"What's up?"

"I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over in a little while. I think Josh and my girlfriend are coming over."

You sighed, "I don't know. I'm kinda feeling like just staying at home today."

"Alright, what's the deal?"

You were a bit taken aback by his sudden change of tone, "What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen you in like two weeks because every time I try to plan something you find some reason not to go. I know you have work and whatnot, but I also know that you've been deliberately blowing me off. I want to know why."

"It doesn't matter. I just have personal stuff going on."

"Come on, Y/N. I know you better than that."

You took a deep breath as you decided if you really wanted to get into this whole debate with him. Josh's voice echoed in your head as you tried to think of some excuse to tell him.

"It's because of your girlfriend, alright? She's terrible to me."

"My girlfriend?" Tyler asked. The disbelief in his voice was evident.

"Yeah, she-," you started, but Tyler cut you off.

"Alright, this is obviously a bigger issue than I thought. Can I come over? I don't want to have this discussion over the phone."

You could hear him grabbing his car keys in the background.

"Yeah, you can come over. Just so long as you're alone."

"Of course I would come alone."

You started to say something, but stopped yourself at the last moment. There was no need to add more fuel to the fire.

"Alright, see you in a few."

"Bye."

You tossed your phone down and ran a hand through your hair. This conversation wasn't going to end well, you could practically feel it.

You were already standing by the door by the time that Tyler knocked. There wasn't a single hint of a smile on his face as you silently invited him inside. He walked straight towards the living room and began to pace along the length of the couch.

"So what is all this about my girlfriend being terrible to you?"

You flexed your hand a bit to deal with the nerves, "She's always taking little digs at me or telling me things that you've said behind my back."

He looked taken aback, "And what have I said behind your back?"

"That I'm annoying, I talk too much, everything I say is boring, to name a few."

"I've never said any of that. Are you sure you understood what she was saying?"

"Yes," you said. "Just the other week she said you were complaining because I was talking too much about that new movie that came out."

"What? I loved hearing you talk about that movie. You were so excited."

"That's what I'm saying! She's lying to me to make me feel insecure."

"Why would she do that?" Tyler asked. His eyebrows were furrowed.

"I don't know, probably to secure her place with you and make sure that she remains your top priority. She sees me as a threat and so she'll do whatever is necessary to make sure I don't take her place."

  "And why would she see you as a threat?"  

"Because I'm in l-," you caught yourself at the last moment. "Because I'm your best friend and that can be threatening to some people in relationships."

Tyler shook his head, "This just doesn't make any sense. We're just friends, so there's no need for her to think you're a threat."

His words felt like a stab to the chest, but you did your best to brush it aside and focus on the matter at hand.

"Regardless of her reasoning, she's always saying awful things to me and it makes her hard to be around. I want to spend time with you, Ty, but right now the things she says are too much for me to overcome."

He took a deep breath, "I'm still not entirely convinced that she's actually saying these things to you. It doesn't make any sense."

"You don't believe me?"

He finally stopped pacing and turned to face you, "Not really, no."

Tyler, your best friend, was choosing his girlfriend over you. It felt like some sort of sick joke, especially after everything the two of you had been through together.

"I thought I meant more than that to you."

"And I thought you wouldn't lie to me about stuff my girlfriend is saying to make yourself look better."

"What? I never said that!"

"That's really what's happening here, Y/N. You're just being selfish and making up lies to bring down the person that I love. Are you sure that you're not the one trying to secure your place in all of this?"

You shook your head, "I would never do that. I thought our relationship was secure enough that you would always care about me."

"Of course I care!"

"Then act like it!" you said, throwing a hand into the air.

"It would be easier to care if you stopped attacking the people that I care about!"

"You know what? Just leave. You're obviously not going to listen to me."

"I'm just trying to understand what's going on!"

"I said get out of my house," you said. Your voice was oddly quiet and calm.

"Fine."

You waited until Tyler left the room to bury your face in your hands. Once you finally heard the front door open and close, you stood up and grabbed a pillow. It landed with a thud on the other side of the room.

"I can't believe I really thought I was in love with him," you muttered.

It had been a few days since your fight with Tyler, and not much had changed. Neither of you had contacted one another and you were beginning to think this could be the end of your friendship.

Josh had been over at your house whenever he could, just to make sure that you were taking care of yourself. He gave you the occasional update on Tyler, but he refused to share too much with you. You knew that he was still holding out hope that you and Tyler would somehow magically make up and become friends again. This entire situation was just as hard for him as it was for you.

You grabbed the last plate from the dishwasher and stuck it in the cupboard with all the rest. Doing chores and organizing had been one of the ways that you had been keeping your mind busy over the last few days when Josh wasn't with you. If nothing else, it helped you feel like you still had a little bit of control over your life.

Your phone started to buzz on the kitchen counter, so you quickly wiped your hands off and answered the call without looking.

"Hello?"

"Hey." You recognized Tyler's voice instantly. "I'm outside and I know you don't usually answer the door when people knock."

"Ok, I'll be there in a second."

You ended the call and stuck your phone in your back pocket as you headed towards the door. Sure enough, Tyler was standing outside with a small bouquet of flowers in one hand.

"What's going on?" you asked, leaning over a bit so that you could see if anyone else was with him.

"I'm here to apologize. You know I'm not very good at that, so I brought some flowers to maybe help my case a little bit," he said, reaching up to rub at the back of his head.

"So, do you want to come in?" you asked, still not entirely convinced by this apology.

"Please."

You opened the door wider so that he could come in. He passed you the flowers as he came inside and put his shoes next to the door. With the flowers in hand, you walked towards the kitchen so that you could find a nice vase to put them in.

"I talked to my girlfriend," he said. You noticed that he was nervously playing with his jacket's zipper.

"Yeah?"

"She finally admitted that she had said all those things to you. As soon as I heard that, I ended things with her."

You leaned back against the counter and crossed your arms, "So you believe me now?"

"Yes, and I'm so so sorry that I ever doubted you in the first place. You were just saying things that I didn't want to hear so I was projecting it all back onto you, which wasn't fair. I should have never said what I did."

"Thank you for apologizing. You should know that I would never intentionally try to ruin one of your relationships. All I want is for you to be happy," you shrugged.

"I know, and I should have remembered that when you brought up your concerns with her."

"You should have."

"Do you think that you might be able to forgive me?" he half-smiled.

You sighed, "I think that it will take some time to regain some of the trust that I've lost, but you're important to me and I'm not willing to throw away our relationship because you had a girlfriend who tried to come between us."

Tyler smiled, "I'm glad to hear that."

You walked around the counter so that you could give him a hug. He held onto you tightly. It was hard to deny the relief you felt at knowing that things between you and Tyler were going to be ok.

"There's one more thing that she mentioned," Tyler said.

You walked to where you had previously been leaned against the counter.

"What's that?"

"She said that part of the reason she felt so threatened was because she could tell that you were in love with me."

You had no idea how to even respond to a statement like that, so you settled for gripping the countertop and staring wide-eyed at Tyler.

"What made her think that?" you asked.

"Something about the way you acted around me, I guess. She really didn't go into much detail."

"What a weird thing for her to think," you laughed nervously.

"I don't think it's that odd," he shrugged. "Especially considering she could tell that I was in love with you too."

You blinked rapidly as your brain tried to process all the information that was being shot at it. His ex had known that you were in love with him the whole time. And known that Tyler felt the same. You suddenly began to feel a lot more sympathy towards her.

"Wait, did I hear that right?" you asked, just to make sure this wasn't all some elaborate scheme.

"Which part?"

"The last bit. You're in love with me?"

"Yeah, you heard that right."

"I don't understand. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't think I really realized that's what it was. For so long, I thought that you were just my best friend and that was that. Then, when the whole fight happened and I thought that I had lost you entirely, I realized that the feeling ran a lot deeper than friendship."

You smiled at the ground, still not fully processing everything that you were hearing. By the time that you looked back up, Tyler was standing in front of you.

"I really am so sorry and I want to make it up to you."

You reached up and brushed a couple strands of hair back from his forehead, "You're forgiven, but what I said earlier still stands. Just because you're in love with me doesn't mean that you suddenly get my trust back."

"I think that's fair."

He pulled you into another hug and you wrapped your arms tightly around him, holding him as close to you as you possibly could. It was weird to think that just yesterday you had been wondering if you and Tyler would remain friends. Now you were here, standing in the middle of your kitchen after admitting that both of you were in love with one another.

You should have known that things would work out in the end.