Warnings: Strict parents, I guess?

Word Count: 4542

Author's Note: This is a highschool!AU.

"I already told you twenty times that we have to go to this event tonight for dad's work."

You started to open your mouth to say something.

"I don't want to hear anymore about this. You're going and that's final."

You groaned loudly and went stomping upstairs, Percy, your loyal dog, following close at your heels. Your bed looked far more appealing than the dress hung over the back of your chair, so you flopped down onto it. Percy jumped up and laid down next to you on the bed.

"I don't want to go to some stupid event," you groaned loudly into your bed sheets.

Percy gave you a reassuring lick on the arm and burrowed his face as close to you as possible. You rolled over onto your back and coaxed Percy up onto your stomach. He crawled up and rested his head so that he was looking directly at you.

"I wish I could stay here with you, Percy," you said, rubbing his head.

He cocked his head to the side. Your phone buzzed in your pocket, so you carefully lifted your back up and slid it out, trying your best not to disturb Percy too much. It was a text from Tyler.

Tyler: Are you stuck going to the charity dinner too?

Y/N: Yep...

Tyler: At least we can suffer together!

You smiled at his text, but quickly wiped it from your face. There was no way you would have a chance with a guy like him, even if he was your best friend.

"You better be getting ready up there!" your mom called.

You placed Percy gently on the bed next to you and swung your legs off. As much as you dreaded going to the actual dinner, you did like getting dressed up. You sat down at your vanity and turned your music on before starting in on your makeup.

An hour and a half later, you had your dress on, your hair up, and your makeup done. You pulled on the shoes that your mom had bought for you, a pair of plain black heels, and wobbled down the steps.

"You look beautiful!" your mom said once she saw you.

"Thanks, Mom."

Percy came sprinting down the stairs once he realized you had left the room. He had fallen asleep when you were getting ready.

"That dog really does love you," your mom laughed as Percy sat down next to your feet.

"Well I love him too," you said, bending down and petting his head.

He licked your hand excitedly. You started to reach for your dress, a habit you had developed, before your mom interrupted you.

"Don't you dare," she said sharply.

You settled for shaking your hand out. Your mom gave you a look, but you smiled sweetly at her.

"Y/D/N! Let's go!" your mom called.

Your dad appeared from the kitchen, wearing a button down shirt and slacks.

"Doesn't she look beautiful?" your mom asked.

"Gorgeous," your dad said, walking over and kissing your temple.

You all walked out the door and got into the car. It was an hour long drive, and you spent most of the time staring out the window at the passing trees.

There were already lots of people inside, seated at tables, anxiously awaiting the arrival of their food. There was a large stage at the front of the hall.

"Are you speaking tonight, Dad?" you asked.

"No," he laughed, "thank goodness. I may like public speaking, but not in front of this many important people."

He handed our tickets to a woman wearing a black dress. She looked it over.

"Right this way."

She wound her way through the maze of tables that filled the hall. You looked at the various woman sitting at tables, dressed in long dresses with curled hair. Your simple black dress paled in comparison to theirs.

"Here you are," the woman smiled at you.
You sat down at the round table, leaving six open spots.

"Who's at the table with us?" you asked.

"The Josephs, who else?" your dad smiled.

You felt your stomach tighten up a bit. Once your parents became engaged in a conversation, you pulled your compact mirror back out of your bag and checked your makeup.

You tapped your feet on the ground absentmindedly, they made a satisfying clicking sound whenever your heel hit the floor. A few of your dad's coworkers had passed and your dad had chatted with them for a while before they had to hurry off back to wherever they were sitting.

"Hey, look who it is!" your dad said cheerily, standing up from his seat.

You twisted in your chair to see who your dad was talking to, although you already had a clue. There was only one person your dad talked to like that. Sure enough, the Josephs were standing behind you, all the kids included.

You watched as your mom stood up too, your cue to stand up with them. As gracefully as possible, you stood up from your chair and smoothed out your skirt.

"Y/N! You look gorgeous!" Kelly exclaimed as you looked up at her.

"Thank you," you smiled brightly. She complimented you almost every time she saw you, but it still made you blush almost as much as Tyler did. She took a step forward and pulled you into a hug.

"It's so nice to see you again," she said as she hugged me.

"You too!"

Chris reached a hand out to you. You grasped it in yours and shook it.

"Been practicing that handshake, haven't you?" he smiled.

"Just for you, Mr. Joseph," you laughed.

"Hey, Y/N," Tyler said with a tight smile.

"Hey, Tyler," you smiled.

Jay ran up to you and hugged you tightly.

"Hey, Jay," you laughed as he hugged you.

He squeezed you tightly before letting you go. You waved at Madison and Zack.

"Shall we sit?" your mom asked.

The adults nodded in agreement and you all sat back down at the table. Jay fought to try and sit next to you, but one quick conversation and Tyler got the seat.

"Hey, Y/N! Guess what?" Jay asked excitedly.

"What, Jay?"

"Tyler took me to get ice cream yesterday!"

"Really? That's awesome!"

The sound of someone clearing their throat filled the hallway, causing a hush to fall over the hallway.

"Hello, everyone! And welcome to the 26th Annual Charity Dinner! While your food is being served, I have a few words to say."

You started spacing out at this point. Without realizing it, you had become completely glassy-eyed and staring at the table. It wasn't until you felt something nudge your leg that you stopped spacing out.

Tyler's phone was in your lap, out of your parents' sight, open to the notes app.

Bored?

You quickly typed a response.

Bored doesn't even scratch the surface of how I feel right now.

Double checking that both of your parents were deeply engrossed in the speech, you passed the phone back over to him. You watched his reaction as he read it. He looked over to you and smiled.

You watched as he closed out of the notes app and opened a different one. It was the dots game, one that you had played a multitude of times during long car rides together. You bit back a laugh. He looked at you and raised his eyebrows. You nodded.

Two games later, the speech was over and plates full of steak and mashed potatoes were in front of you. Your mom eyed you carefully as you ate, making sure you were using all the manners that she taught you. You sat quietly, listening to the parents converse. You and Tyler made faces at one another most of the time.

Waiters came around and collected empty plates from your table. Soon after, music started up and people started to move to the front of the hall to dance. Tyler opened his mouth to say something, but Jay ran over to you and interrupted him.

"Y/N, will you dance with me?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure," you smiled.

Jay held his arm out for you and you linked your arm with his. The parents laughed a bit before following us.

You rested your hands on Jay's shoulders. You danced for a bit before Jay decided it wasn't quite as fun as he had hoped and wanted to return to the table, where Tyler was sitting alone on his phone.

"Hey," you smiled, taking a seat.

"You're back," he looked up at you and smiled. "I was-uh-going to ask if you wanted to...dance?" he stuttered a bit.

"Sure," you smiled, immediately getting back up again.

You walked back out to the dance floor. You could already feel your mom's eyes drilling into you. Despite her love for Kelly and Chris Joseph, Tyler wasn't her favorite. She was fine as long as you remained strictly friends, which is why you hadn't told her about your true feelings.

It was much more comfortable to dance with Tyler since he had a few inches height advantage, even when you were wearing heels. You hesitantly placed your hands around his neck and he put his on your waist.

"This beats any speech by a long shot," he smiled, laughing a bit.

"I think I might have fallen asleep had you not done something."

He nodded, "You looked like it."

"If you noticed something, that means my mom will for sure be chewing me out later," you rolled your eyes. "Probably about the dot game too, if she noticed."

"Get through it and then grab your phone and give me a play by play," he laughed.

"As if I would do anything else."

You danced for a little while in silence, listening to the music. It was a song you liked.

"Guess who's six months are up?" Tyler smiled happily.

"For real?"

"As of yesterday," his smile changed to one of pride.

"So now you're going to start driving me around everywhere, right?" you laughed.

He shrugged, "If you want."

You felt color rising to your cheeks.

"Maybe I'll just use you as a personal delivery service," you smiled.

"Or maybe we could get milkshakes together after this whole dinner is over?" he smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"For real?" you smiled.

"My parents are cool with it. I had to drive myself here anyway, so I have my car."

Your smile dropped at the mention of parents, "I'll have to see if my mom will even let me."

"I'd have you home by midnight, if it helps," he smiled.

Milkshakes with Tyler Joseph, in his car, driving around at night. The mere thought of it brought a smile to your face.

You danced and talked for awhile longer until your mom walked over to you.

"Why don't you come sit down for awhile?" she smiled at you.

You reluctantly pulled your arms from around Tyler's neck. It felt weird not to have the heat of his shoulders against your forearms and his hands on your waist. You must have been dancing longer than you thought.

Tyler knew better than to try and walk back to the table with you. He gave you a reassuring half smile. Sure enough, your mom walked you straight past the table towards the back of the hall.

"Do you realize how unacceptable your behavior during the speech was? First off, you look as if you're about to fall asleep, then you start playing games on your phone with Tyler! What if one of your father's coworkers had walked over and seen you ignoring one of the most important men who bosses around your father? And as for Tyler, you know how I feel about you two, especially dancing," she hissed.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

You knew that any chance of you getting milkshakes was pretty much gone by now.

"Sorry is not enough, young lady. You need to understand the potential consequences of your actions. Give me your phone."

"What? Why?"

"You can have it back next week."

You sighed and pulled your phone out from under your dress. She snapped it away from you and tucked it quickly away in her purse.

"Now get back to the table and sit down. You will not be dancing again."

You nodded, knowing better than to fight her on this. Dancing was the most fun that you had had all night, and your chances of doing even that were gone too.

Tyler was sitting at the table, reading something on his phone when you got back.

"Hey," he looked up at you.

Your flung yourself into your seat.

"Hi," you said, a bit more sadly than you had intended to.

Zack was the only other one at the table. Everyone else had disappeared.

"What happened?"

"She took my phone away and told me I couldn't dance anymore tonight. So basically I can sit here and stare at a wall."

"So it's a no for milkshakes then?"

"Milkshakes?" Zack interjected.

Tyler shot him a look that immediately shut him up before turning back to you and raising his eyebrows.

"Not necessarily, I just have to be angel child for the rest of the night," you laughed.

"Good luck with that," Tyler laughed.

"Hey!" you said, raising an arm to smack him. Just then, your mom appeared out of the corner of your eye, causing you to immediately drop your arm and straighten your posture.

She came over and stood by you, smiling brightly.

"How are you doing, Y/N?"

"I'm well."

"You father and I want you to come meet someone, one of the men that your father works with."

"Ok."

You stood up and smoothed out your dress. Your mom had already started walking away, allowing you a second to turn around and make a face at Tyler. He laughed.

She walked to where two men were standing, one of whom was your dad, and chatting happily. A boy who appeared to be your age was standing by the other man, wearing a button down shirt and slacks.

"Here she is," your mom smiled.

You smiled and waved.

"Y/N, this is my coworker, Dave, and his son, Matthew. Matthew, Dave, this is my daughter, Y/N."

"Nice to meet you," Dave smiled, holding out a hand.

You took his hand and shook it firmly, just like you would do with Tyler's dad. Matthew smiled at you and shook his head.

"Y/D/N tells me that you love writing," Dave said, typical adult talk.

"Yeah, I want to be a writer when I'm older."

This caused a laugh from him, "What do you like to write?"

"Oh, you know, typical stuff. Fantasy, adventure, that kind of stuff."

"My son, Matthew, is a musician himself," he said proudly.

"What instrument do you play?" you asked.

"Piano," he shrugged.

"I have a friend who plays piano," you said, thinking of Tyler. "It's a beautiful instrument."

As there was more forced small talk between you, you realized that your parents, or at least, your mom, had every intention of trying to set the two of you up. You followed along, knowing it was your best chance of being able to get milkshakes. Already, your mom seemed to be in a significantly better mood. You kept your face placid, the best way to get her to bend to your will was to bend to hers first.

"Well, we best get going now," Dave smiled. "The wife's at home with the new baby. A crier, that one is," he smiled, before resting a hand on his son's shoulder and turning on his heel.

Your mom turned to you, smiling widely, "Lovely boy, isn't he?"

You nodded.

"I know you're bored, darling. We'll be headed home soon," she rested a hand on you shoulder.

Now or never, you thought.

"About that..."

Your mom stopped walking and turned to you, "What?"

"Tyler offered to take me to get milkshakes and I was wondering if I could go?"

"It's not a date, is it?"

You scoffed, "No, Mom. I've told you, we're just friends. His six months just ended, and I think he wanted to drive a friend around," you shrugged.

She narrowed her eyes at you, "Fine, but be home by midnight. And I'll give you your phone back for now in case you need to check in, but I expect it back as soon as you get home."

"I was already planning on it," you bit back the smile that was threatening to creep across your face as your mom handed your phone back to you.

You walked back over to the table where Tyler was sitting with his family. You took a seat next to him and waited for your mom to become engaged in some other conversation.

"It's a yes," you smiled.

Tyler perked up, "You can get milkshakes?"

You nodded happily. A half smile crept across his face.

"Awesome."

Your dad walked over and clapped a hand down onto your shoulder, forcing you a bit further into the chair.

"How are you doing, pea?"

"Good," you smiled up at him.

"Did Mom tell you we're about to leave?"

"I'm actually going to hang out with Tyler for awhile."
"She said that was ok?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, pea."

"Speaking of which, are you about ready?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah," you smiled.

You both stood up and you walked over to your mom.

"We're going to get going now, Mom."

She spun around to look at you.

"Be safe, I love you," she smiled, pulling you into a hug.

"Love you too," you mumbled as she held you tightly.

"Be sure to let your father know that you're leaving."

You nodded and walked back to where your dad and Chris Joseph were standing.

"I'm leaving."

"Ok, I love you," he, too, pulled you into a hug.

"Love you too."

"Do you have money?"

"I didn't even think about that."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his worn, leather wallet. There was a five dollar bill sitting inside, as if it had been waiting for you. He handed it to you with a smile.

"Here you are, pea."

"Thanks, Dad."

Tyler was standing off to the side, once again looking over something on his phone. You grabbed your coat from over the back of the chair and walked over to him.

"Do you ever look up from that thing?" you laughed.

"No, but thanks for asking, Mom," he retorted.

You made a face at him.

"Ready to go?" he raised his eyebrows.

You looked around, "I think so."

"Sweet," he smiled.

He started walking towards the door and you quickly fell into step with him, having to move pretty quickly in your heels to keep up with his longer strides.

"How did you convince your mom to let you come?"

You sighed as you pulled your coat on, "You remember how she wanted me to come talk to this guy, right?"

Tyler pulled on his own jacket, "Yeah."

"Well turns out this guy has a son who is conveniently my age and single."

"Was he cute?"

You shrugged, "He was alright. I like someone else though."

Tyler held the door open for you as you walked out of the building, so you gave him a small nod. The sound of your heels on the pavement brought a smile to your face.

"You didn't tell me that! Who is it?"

"You don't get to know."

"Why not? You always tell me!"

"That was when we were younger, now this is more serious."

"Fine, then I won't tell you who I like."

You opened your mouth to say something, but stopped yourself. A fight was exactly what he wanted. Tyler started to slow down his pace, signaling that you were nearing the car. He unlocked the car and you heard the familiar beeping sound. You climbed into the passenger seat of the truck, which was a bit more difficult than you had anticipated. Wearing heels made everything more difficult. Tyler hopped in and slammed the door closed. Almost immediately he pulled his suit jacket off and rolled up his sleeves.

"It's weird to finally be in your truck after watching you drive it everywhere for the past six months," you smiled.

"It's nothing special," he shrugged.

You looked around. There were a few wrappers and random bits of things scattered around, but it was mostly clean. You couldn't care less, you were just happy to be around Tyler. He started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot. The sun had long since set.

"I wish I didn't have to wear these stupid clothes anymore," you groaned, taking your jacket off and setting it on the seat next to you. "Do you care if I take off my shoes?"

"Go ahead."

You undid the straps on your shoes and tossed them on the ground. Your mom would never have let you take your shoes off, which made you smile.

"What's got you so happy?" Tyler laughed

"The fact that I can take my shoes off and my mom isn't here to stop me."

"She doesn't let you take your shoes off?"

"Not until we get home, no."

"Wow, that sucks."

"Tell me about it. Anyway, where are we getting milkshakes?"

"There's a place not too far from here that my dad likes to take us to, I figured we could go there."

"Sounds good to me."

You couldn't think of anything to say after that. Thankfully, Tyler turned on the radio. You once again found myself smiling. The car was quiet, save for Tyler quietly singing, until he pulled into the parking lot of the little shack. He stopped the car and turned to you.

"What do you want?"

You thought for a moment, "Strawberry?"

He nodded and pulled the car forward. It took you a moment to realize that you were staring at his arms while he was driving. You shook yourself and looked out the window. Tyler's voice became a dull buzzing in the back of your head as you spaced off. It wasn't until you were being nudged in the shoulder that you came back to reality.

"Y/N?"

"Huh?"

"Here's your milkshake."

"Oh, yeah, thanks. I have money," you said, reaching into your coat pocket.

"It's fine, I got it."

"No, I'm going to pay you!" you smiled.

"Not if I don't let you."

"C'mon, Tyler. At least take gas money."

"No."

Tyler pulled out onto the street. You groaned, knowing better than to distract him while he was driving.

You talked about random stuff most of the way home. It was nice being able to talk to him without someone hanging over your shoulder at any moment.

"Here we are," Tyler said, pulling up in front of your house.

"Already?"

You checked the clock, half past eleven.

"Thanks for giving me a ride home," you smiled, pulling on your shoes and throwing your coat over your shoulders.

"Anytime."

You started to get out of the car, but your foot had barely made it out the door when Tyler started talking again.

"Hey, Y/N?"

"Yeah?" you spun around.

"Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

Tyler moved his hand to the side of your face and pulled you towards him. You felt your stomach twisting in knots as you inched closer to him. The second that his lips touched yours a smile started to creep onto your face.

"So about that boy you like again..." Tyler said, smiling at me.

"You know me too well," you smiled brightly.

He pulled you into one final kiss.

"You know, sometimes I hate you," you laughed.

"I'm really feeling the love," Tyler laughed in return.

"Bye, Tyler."

"Bye, Y/N."

You slammed the door and Tyler drove off. A smile was plastered across your face as you walked towards the house. The living room light was still on, meaning that one of your parents was still up. Knowing your mom, she would want the full rundown of what had happened, so you quickly wiped the smile from your face.

You walked inside and closed the door as quietly as possible. Sure enough, your mom was sat in her armchair, drinking some herbal tea and skimming People magazine. You undid your shoes and scooped them up, knowing that she would get mad if the floor was scuffed up from your heels.

"How was getting milkshakes?"

You mentally slapped yourself for leaving your empty cup in Tyler's car.

"It was good! Tyler took me to this place that Mr. Joseph likes to take them to near the dinner hall," you smiled.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Usual stuff, school and all that," you shrugged.

Your mom narrowed her eyes at you, as if she could tell that you were lying.

"You had a nice time?"

You nodded, trying desperately to suppress the smile that was threatening to creep across your face.

"I'm glad to hear it," she smiled tautly.

You gave her a quick smile and ran back upstairs before she had a chance to ask for your phone back. Percy was asleep on your bed, but he quickly perked back up when he saw you. His paws scratched your legs as you walked into the room.

"Calm down, Perce, let me get into my pajamas first."

You somehow managed to get out of your dress without someone helping. Percy was running circles around your room, waiting anxiously for the moment when you would sit back down and he could climb into your lap for back scratches.

You pulled on a pair of athletic shorts and your favorite shirt. Out in the hall, you could hear your mom finally heading to bed. Your mattress bounced a bit as you flung yourself down onto it. Percy crawled up onto your stomach and started licking your face.

"Stop, Percy," you scrunched up your face, pushing him away slightly.

Your phone vibrated on the bed next to you. You felt around the bed sporadically, curious as to who was texting you at this hour.

There was a text from Tyler shining on your lock screen.

Tyler: I was thinking maybe we should...

You unlocked your phone so that you could see the full message.

Tyler: I was thinking maybe we should hang out tomorrow, not necessarily a date but you could come over and we could hang out in the backyard. But if you wanted to get food or something we could.

You smiled at the text.

Y/N: Is this your way of asking me on a date, Joseph?

He read the text almost instantaneously.

Tyler: I guess it is :)

Y/N: I'll have to convince my mom to let me out of the house, but hanging out at your house sounds awesome.

Tyler: Awesome :)

You closed your phone just as another smile crept across your face. Percy snuck forward and once again started to lick your face. You set him on the bed next to you and got up so that you could take your makeup off and get ready for bed. Maybe charity dinners weren't as bad as you thought.