Alike | Tyler Galpin x OC

Chapter VII ~ This Boy

"Are you okay?" Tyler asked, Bea was sitting along at one of the booths at the Weathervane, she was waiting for the boy to finish up his shift so that they could head to the game. It was beginning to get dark out, and there were only a few stragglers left inside the little coffee shop.

"I'm sorry, Tyler why did you vandalize Xavier's mural?" Beatrix mumbled, she watched as the boys expression changed almost immediately.

"How long have you known?" Tyler asked, Bea stared into the center of her paper cup, there was still some coffee down at the bottom, she found a little comfort in staring at that rather than at Tyler.

"Maybe a week or so." Bea said, she looked back up at the boy, she was expecting him to be mad with her for some reason, though he was far from it, the look on his face was shame, which meant he must feel at least a little guilt about the situation. 

"As to why I did it, I don't think I could ever answer that." Tyler said, he kept his eyes fixated on the figure sitting in front of him, he watched as her face remained relatively calm, he was looking for any signs of judgement, but there weren't any. 

"It was a stupid thing to do, and it was wrong. Believe it or not I don't really fit in here anymore, I'm not the perfect golden boy my dad always wanted, and I'm not the shithead that my ex friends wanted me to be. Let's just say that everyone does stupid things in their life, it doesn't excuse those stupid things, but there's nothing we can do to undo them, so we just have to own up to it." Tyler said, he'd gone on a little rant there, though his point was made, and once again he had proven himself to Beatrix. 

She just wished that the boy had at least tried to make amends with Xavier, but she was sure that she would be able to get him to apologize some day.

"So are you mad at me? I understand if you are." Tyler said, he sounded so nervous, that was the anxious side of him that she found so likeable. It showed that he wasn't perfect and that he was just as imperfect as she was, because from a glance Tyler gave off the impression of perfection, and that left Bea feeling insecure whenever with him.

"No I'm not mad, I've done stupid things that I don't think I'll ever get to atone for." Bea said, she looked up into Tyler's eyes, they never failed to put a smile on her face. 

"One of the worst feelings is regret, which is why I think you should apologize to Xavier. You don't have to do it now, but I just want you to at least try." Bea added.

"Fair enough." Tyler smirked, he was thankful that Bea was just as understanding as he was. That was another thing they had in common, they weren't afraid to give people a second chance. Some would see it as a weakness, others as an act of kindess, to Beatrix and Tyler it was simply in their nature. 

Tyler checked his phone and immediately began to take off his apron and hurry round to behind the counter. It was six fifty, the game was a seven, and they hadn't even left yet. 

"Come on." Tyler said, he grabbed a hold of Bea's hand and rushed her to his car, it was parked in the back lot of building. Bea sat quickly in the front seat, she had been in the car once before, it reminded her of her uncle for some reason. Maybe because it had the same air refreshers, the infamous pine green scent was all that Bea could smell. It brought a wave of nostalgia with just a whiff, it was a feeling that would never get old, bringing a glance into the past, if only for a moment. 

"You can change it if you want." Tyler said, he was referring to the music, which was on the pop music station.

"No I want my ears to bleed." Bea chuckled, dance monkey was blasting through the speakers, it hurt Bea physically to listen to the overplayed song, and it hurt Tyler just a little more.