Freak (Troyler AU)

Chapter Fifty-Seven

*Troye's POV*

For whatever reason (trust me, I regret it already), I had agreed to let Tyler drive me to school today. The last time I even got in his car was the day it broke down, purposely avoiding the tin can of doom ever since. However, when he'd offered last night and made the point about how much gas I wasted driving him around all the time, I couldn't find it in me to refuse. Looking back I really should have just asked him to pay gas money, but it was a bit too late for that now.

My alarm didn't wake me up on time today, meaning I had twenty minutes to shower and get ready before Tyler got here. That was totally impossible, which meant I'd definitely be sporting flat hair today and rocking the confused five-year-old look. That wasn't even mentioning the matter of finding my outfit, which I knew would take exceptionally long today. After Tyler's reaction to my lack-of-spirit yesterday, I'd vowed to take part in the stupid spirit week activities every day this year, just to prove to him I wasn't a total scrooge.

That wasn't where the problem laid though. The problem was I didn't own a single ugly Christmas sweater, for obvious reasons. Which meant I was going to have to raid the closets of my family members. Given the short amount of time I had to do it, I was going to have to ask for their permission. What's more embarrassing than telling your parents you want their ugliest Christmas sweater they own to impress the boy you like? It wasn't just the sweater either, more the fact that I was participating in spirit week as a whole for Tyler. I hadn't just been against it in the past, I'd skipped that week every single school year, refusing to participate but refusing to stick out as the only one not participating as well. My parents were going to be on cloud nine seeing I'd changed my mind, and for Tyler too.

I'd worry about that when I came to it though, stepping into the shower and momentarily putting my problems on hold. It'd be fine. I'll get out of this with minimal life-scarring and embarrassment this time. Surely the odds are on my side considering how many times my encounters with my parents have been life-scarring and embarrassing in the past, right?

I was wrong, of course. Upon walking out of the shower I checked my phone, seeing just how late it was already. Tyler would be here in five minutes! That sent me into panic-mode, my feet moving faster than my brain as I rushed down the stairs in just a towel. I clutched it to my hips as I turned into the kitchen, mouth already open to ask my question.

"Do any of you have an ugly Christmas sweater I could-" I managed to get the majority of the sentence out before I registered that the chair that I usually sat at, was already full. After that clicked into place it was easy to recognize the familiar head of purple hair, the thick-framed glasses, and of course the cheeky smirk as he raked his eyes over my under-dressed body. Fuck.

"A sweater you could what?" My mother asked, turning to look at me over her shoulder, her hands still buried in the dish sink. Her eyes went wide when she saw me, a fit of giggles filling the room from every family member as it sunk in just how little I was wearing in front of my crush. I hate them, every last one. Tyler surprised me however, staying completely silent and even offering an apologetic smile. 

"A sweater I could borrow." I finished, trying to seem casual as I gripped the towel tighter, sliding it up almost to my navel. I did not like the way Tyler's eyes were traveling. Okay, I did, but not in front of my entire family.

"Why do you want an ugly sweater?" Mom asked, her tone laced with confusion. I took a deep breath, totally embarrassed to admit the reason. It was one thing just telling them and putting up with their teasing, but in front of Tyler, in a towel, that was just unbearable.

I opened my mouth to reply, but the sight of Tyler standing out of the corner of my eye had me freezing. He walked over to me with an innocent smile tugging at the corners of his lips. I could feel my family's eyes on us curiously, all of them averting when Tyler turned back to face them, likely just to catch them staring. He reached my side a few seconds later though, grinning devilishly as he threw an arm around my bare shoulders, hugging me to his side. I grabbed the towel before it managed to slip lower on my hips, staring at him begrudgingly.