Warnings: Angst, mentions of minor depression, self-doubt

Word Count: 1757

Your POV

"Hey, babe," Tyler said, bending over the back of the couch so that he could press a kiss to your temple. "Are you going to be ready to leave in about ten minutes?"

"For what?" you asked, shifting slightly so that you could look up at him.

"We're getting drinks with Josh, remember?"

"Right," you mumbled. You had forgotten about the plans that the three of you had made. "I think I'm going to skip tonight, I feel kinda sick."

"Are you sure? I know Josh was looking forward to seeing you."

You refrained from rolling your eyes. Although Tyler loved you, he did have the tendency to make you feel bad about skipping out on plans every now and again. He only did it when he knew you were making excuses, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Don't guilt me, Ty. You two just go out and have fun," you huffed before turning back and pulling the blanket up around your neck.

"Alright," he rubbed your arm a bit and then walked off.

You hated to do this to Tyler. He was obviously worried about you, but every time that you tried to tell him how you were feeling you just couldn't get the words out. All you wanted to do was lay in bed and hide away from the world, but he insisted that you at least lay on the couch so that he could be near you while he worked. It always got him off your case for a little while.

If only you could snap your fingers and make all of the doubt and hurt go away.

Tyler's POV

"I don't know what to do, Josh. Y/N hasn't been herself lately. She spends most days on the couch, alternating between watching TV and taking naps. Her typical bubbly personality hasn't shown itself for days, instead she just gives short answers and partial smiles. Every time I ask her if everything is ok, she brushes it off and says she's fine."

"Have you tried just spending some time with her? She might open up more then," he shrugged.

"I mean, I've managed to get her out of bed and to the couch so that she's at least near me when I'm working."

"No, Ty. Like have you really spent time with her? Just the two of you sitting on the couch and cuddling, enjoying each other's company?"

"I've tried, but she just ignores me and watches TV."

"Taking the time out of your day to sit with her, even if you aren't cuddling or anything, may mean more to her than you realize."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, "You're right. I've been going about this whole thing the wrong way."

"How long has she been like this?"

"A few days, maybe. She made a comment about feeling overwhelmed the other day and she just hasn't really been the same since."

"Ok, I have an idea," Josh said, folding his hands on the table. "You and I are both worried about her, so why don't we get out of here, pick up some fast food on the way home, and make sure Y/N knows how loved she is?"

I nodded along as Josh explained his idea, "I think that would be good. Man, I shouldn't have left in the first place."

Your POV

You had been staring at the ceiling so long that you were starting to see patterns. Negative thoughts were slowly making their way through your mind and you were powerless to stop them. It seemed like you had tried everything to distract yourself, but every time you ended up where you were right now.

Sometimes you wondered if Tyler even loved you anymore. Maybe that's why you had been subconsciously pushing him away. When he did inevitably end things, there would be less of a sting.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing Tyler and Josh with a multitude of brown paper bags in their arms. You shifted slightly so that you could better see what was going on. Tyler hadn't texted saying that he was bringing Josh over.

"Hey, Y/N," Josh smiled as he walked into the living room and took a seat.

"We brought some food," Tyler explained, setting the bags on the coffee table.

The two of them began to pull out all the food and set it out on the table. You were pretty sure there was more food than the three of you could humanly eat.

"What about drinks?" you asked. "You two were barely gone for half an hour."

"We decided to bail and spend time with you instead," Tyler smiled, lightly patting your calf.

"Really?" your eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, hanging out just isn't the same without you," Josh chimed in.

A smile tugged at the corner of your lips, but it was quickly wiped away as insecurities took over again. You reached out and grabbed some food and the drink that Tyler had ordered for you.

"Is there a reason you guys bought this much food?" you asked, hoping to keep the conversation off your mental state.

"I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of options and I ended up going a bit overboard," Tyler explained.

"And I had no idea how much food Ty was buying, so I ended up going overboard too," Josh chimed in with a laugh.

"I can't complain," you smiled.

You mostly sat quietly while Josh and Tyler talked about random things. It ended up being a pretty good distraction from your thoughts, which you were thankful for. They eventually ended up sat on either side of you and deemed it a "band sandwich".

"So, how have you been lately, Y/N?"

You should have seen it coming. There was no way Tyler and Josh would have gone out to lunch together without you being mentioned. All it meant was that they cared about you, but you wished that you could just hide away from the world until you started to feel better.

"I'm fine," you shrugged. "Just felt a little off lately."

You could feel both of them looking at you as if their stares were burning into the sides of your head, yet you refused to look at either of them. They saw straight through your lie and with both of them here you knew there was no way you could get out of talking.

"Fine," you sighed. "I've been struggling. I know that I've pushed the two of you away and I'm not taking care of myself. It just seems like all I've been able to do lately is sit around and get stuck in my head. I want to break the cycle, but it just feels impossible."

"You know that we want to help you, right?" Tyler asked, taking hold of your hand.

"Yeah. It's just, um, this is going to sound really dumb when I say it out loud."

Josh took hold of your other hand, "Y/N, you know that all three of us have said plenty of dumb things before."

"Um, ok. I guess sometimes I just feel like you guys don't actually like me all that much. I want to ask you guys for help, but then I feel like I'm being a bother."

"You're never a bother to us," Josh answered.

Tyler squeezed your hand, "You know that we both care about you and want you to be happy. Asking for help is never going to bother us."

"I know. I just need reminders every now and again."

"What's the best thing for us to do so that we can help you?" Josh asked.

You shrugged, "Spending time with me is always a good one, even if we aren't saying anything. Company is always nice because then someone is right there if I need them."

Josh shot Tyler a look, although you weren't entirely sure why.

"Also just reminding me that you think I'm cool or whatever. It's dumb, but it helps," you laughed.

"Well, what do you say we watch a movie or something and just hang out for awhile?" Tyler suggested.

"That would be good," you smiled.

The three of you ended up watching two movies as you slowly worked your way through all the food that the boys had brought home. There wasn't a single negative thought that ran through your mind while they were with you, which proved to be a nice break from everything that you had been worried about that morning.

Josh eventually left, taking some of the leftover food with him. You were tired and it was getting late, so you and Tyler decided to head up to bed. It didn't take you long to get ready since you were already in pajamas.

"How are you feeling?" Tyler called from the bathroom as he finished up washing his face.

"Better," you answered. "I'm really glad that you and Josh decided to come hang out with me. It helped a lot."

"I'm glad," he said, shutting off the bathroom light and joining you in bed. "Listen, I'm really sorry about the way that I've been handling this the last few days. I shouldn't have even left you here alone in the first place and I definitely shouldn't have guilted you about not going."

"It's alright." You reached out so that you could run a finger along his stubbly face. "I know that you're only trying to look out for me. You just don't always have the best way of going about it."

He smiled, "I just care about so much that knowing you're in pain ends up hurting me as well. I wish I could take it all away from you and deal with it myself."

"I would never wish that upon you."

"You mean so much to me, Y/N."

"You mean so much to me too, Ty."

"I'm really going to try and do better about looking out for you. If I'm ever doing something that makes you feel worse or you need me to do something to help, please just let me know. I'll change what I'm doing immediately."

"Thank you, that means a lot."

"Anything for you."

Tyler leaned forward and kissed you.

"I love you, Ty."

"I love you too."

"Now let's get some sleep."

The two of you shifted so that you were cuddled up in a more comfortable sleeping position. You closed your eyes and smiled. This was the happiest that you had felt in awhile.