Freak (Troyler AU)

Chapter Fifty-Three

*Troye's POV*

"Do I have to? I don't think it's doing anything but upsetting him." I sighed, leaning heavily against the armrest, my cheek pressing into my fist so hard it was almost uncomfortable. It was working as a nice distraction though, taking my frustration out on myself instead of Shane, who was really the one that deserved it.

When I agreed to drive him to the party I'd had no intention of using it as a bonding moment. I was just going to pick him up, drive to Marcus's house, then throw myself at Tyler because he was who I really wanted to be around. Yet I'd been here for almost an hour now and hadn't exchanged a single word with Tyler, through text or in person. And I only had one person to blame for that.

My plan had gone off the rails on the way here when Shane had questioned me on Tyler, asking something about how far we'd gone. So, naturally, not even thinking, I made a snappy comment about how we hadn't done anything and how I was getting tired of waiting on him. It was meant to be a joke, a comedic take on how frustrated I actually was with our relationship. I wasn't really asking him for advice and I didn't really want it. That was at first  anyway. When he offered to share his thoughts I'd immediately shot him down. It wasn't until we were almost to Marcus's that I couldn't fight the nagging curiosities anymore, breaking down and asking him what exactly his thoughts were.

After the flood gates had been open there was no stopping him, thoughts and opinions pouring out of his mouth. Some of them contradicted with himself, some were positive and some negative, but there was one recurring suggestion that intrigued me. He figured that ignoring Tyler for a bit would get me the attention I wanted, that my momentary absence in his life would make him realize what an idiot he was being by putting the move off. Apparently it'd make him realize I wasn't going to wait forever or that I wasn't as dedicated to him as he thought, which were both total lies, considering I'd be content to spend my entire life waiting on him, but that was beside the point. I wasn't necessarily against the idea of kissing him sooner and Shane was already too excited to say no to, chattering on about playing matchmaker like he was born to do the task. So I agreed, I agreed to avoid Tyler. 

I lasted about five minutes before I regretted the decision.

That was when my phone went off, my hands immediately jumping to reply to the one person that regularly texted me. Shane wasn't having that though, snatching it out of the center console and insisting that it didn't count as ignoring if I still replied to his texts. Which I guess made sense, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. Little did I know how much I'd dislike being deprived of him in person if that was the case.

And that's what led me to where I am now, sitting in the basement on an uncomfortable loveseat with no one but Shane, while everyone else was eating cake.

"Yes, you've already made it this far, it'd be stupid to give up now." He answered, breaking me out of my spiteful reverie. I sighed loudly, a frustrated grumble escaping my lips as my hands balled into fists.

"What if I don't care if it's stupid?" I snapped, turning my head to glare at him. He seemed to need time to think for his response, tilting his head to the side and biting his lip as he stared off at nothing. A smirk found his lips then and he looked back to me, a challenging glint in his eyes.

"I'll use your phone to text him your confession." He threatened, holding up my phone between two fingers. Immediately I lurched to grab it, barely missing it before he was snapping his hand away, turning his entire body away from me. My heart was pounding in my chest, just imagining how Tyler would react to that. It's not like I could tell him Shane had my phone, he'd never believe that. When had I ever let others near my phone in the past? Worse yet, I doubted Shane would word it right. It could be anywhere from 'Hey, I think you're pretty fuckable' to a seven-text-long emotional sapfest I'd be embarrassed about for the rest of my life.