Freak (Troyler AU)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

*Troye's POV*

Timeskip to after school

"How was school?" I sighed loudly in response, making a detour into the kitchen. My plan had been to sneak past as quickly and silently as possible and hopefully get to my room without running into any family members. I'd actually been doing pretty well, finding the living room completely empty for once, but I guess nothing gets past my mother's heightened sense of hearing. 

"Boring? What kind of answer do you expect when you ask this question?" I huffed, falling into my usual seat at the table and slinging my bag in the one next to me. She still didn't turn to face me, continuing whatever type of cleaning or cooking she was doing today.

"Well, I just wanna be on top of things in case something changes between you and Tyler." She said it so quiet I wasn't sure if I was even supposed to hear, but I did.

"Mom." I said sternly, knowing the one word was all it'd take. It was a lot easier to get them to stop teasing or annoying me since the whole 'threatening to never have Tyler over again' thing. I guess he'd really grown on them or something, seeing as the thought of not seeing him affected them so much.

"Right! Zipping it!" She said quickly, turning to me to reenact zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. I just shook my head at this, more than used to her antics by now. I got up, intending to leave the room and avoid the rest of my family all the way to my own room, when the almost eery silence of the house actually settled with me.

"Where are the rest of the nuisances?" I asked cautiously, almost worried by the fact I couldn't hear any form of chitter-chatter, singing, or fighting. It wasn't something I was used to at all, considering how big our family was. Not to mention the fact that Tyde and Sage had friends over every other day, only inducing the loudness ratio.

"Sage is at her friend's, Tyde is at a birthday party, Steele is out with Amy, and your father is outside repairing the mess you and Tyler made." My mother said, smirking at me as she found another indirect way to bring Tyler up. I groaned, running a hand through my hair, falling backward to lean against the wall.

"We broke one rope ladder! It's not like anyone even uses the tree house anymore."

"Yeah, but now if someone wanted to, they wouldn't be able to." I just rolled my eyes at this, turning to attempt leaving again. I was almost out of her eyesight when she cleared her throat, successfully making me turn around and walk back into the kitchen. I'd long ago learned the consequences of ignoring her when she obviously wanted to talk to me. One time when I'd ignored her, she ignored me in return for an entire week. She just refused to talk to me, despite how big of a deal I made to grab her attention. I may have been ten at the time, but I wasn't about to risk a repeat. Believe it or not, there were instances where it was important for me to talk to her.

"Yes?" I urged, raising my eyebrows pointedly despite the fact she'd turned back to the counter. She took a few seconds to reply, almost like she was actually thinking her response through for a change.

"Why don't you go out, too? It's not healthy to be camped out in your room all the time like you are." She turned to face me with this suggestion, using her usual 'reasoning' face. Really all it was was a pout that made you feel guilty as hell if you didn't do what she asked.

"And by 'go out' you mean see what Tyler's doing, right?" I scoffed, stuffing my hands into my pockets. She just gave a weak little smile, but I knew exactly what it meant. "He has a football game and then some type of team feast afterward."

"Oh. You should go to the game!" She beamed suddenly, her eyes lighting up at the idea. I groaned loudly, shaking my head rapidly.

"Mom, no. Absolutely not."