Meet Me at Midnight | Tyler x Reader | School Bus Graveyard

| Ep 28 |

Two hours later, I'm driving down the street where Ashlyn's house is at. That is, if my GPS is accurate. I know I'm in the right place when I catch a glimpse of Ashlyn sitting on the porch steps of her house. I pull over to the side and park it. She straightens up a bit when I shut the car door behind me.

I smile over and wave as I swing the lanyard of my keys around my finger, "Hey, Ash!"

"You're early." She points out, though she doesn't seem bothered by my punctuality.

I scratch the back of my neck, stopping right in front of the steps, "Sorry, should I have come a little later?"

"No, no. It's fine. I keep forgetting you can drive. Besides, I think Aiden and-"

"Y/N beat us?" Aiden's voice rings through my ears from down the sidewalk. I look over my shoulder to see him and Ben walk onto the front yard.

Ben waves at us and I greet them, "Hey, guys."

Aiden cocks his head over at me before looking over my shoulder, "I thought you were with Tyler?"

I raise a brow, "How'd you know that?"

"Oh- uh...Taylor told me. Said you two were gonna get here together." His tone was suspicious, but I didn't question it.

"What? No, I dropped him off at his house a couple of hours ago. Was I supposed to bring him with me?"

"Nah, I just thought...nevermind."

Aiden hops onto the railing of the porch, making Ashlyn jerk up a bit in concern, mainly for the unstable railing, not his safety. Ben nonchalantly stands up against the wall of the house, tapping away at his phone. I take a seat beside Ashlyn and nudge her knee with mine lightly.

"Why're you so quiet right now?" I ask her, not too loud so Aiden's nosy ass doesn't hear.

She shrugs, "Aren't I always like that?"

"Suppose so...you alright?"

She nods, "Mhm."

"Oh, there they are!" Aiden grins, gesturing toward the front of the yard. I lift my head up to find the twins with Logan trailing a bit behind. I instinctively smile over at Tay as she waves at us. When my eyes linger over Ty's, they are very avoidant to meet mine. I shake it off and watch as Ty sets his bike up against the wall, followed by Logan resting his scooter over it.

I watch the shy blonde struggle to unclip his helmet and chuckle, "Here, let me."

I stand up and walk over to him, making him lift his chin so I could unbuckle it for him. He slides it off his head, ruffling his hair so it wasn't so messy. He gives me a quiet 'thanks' before following the group inside. I walk next to him and don't fail to notice Tyler's quick glare over his shoulder.

"Tsk, tsk," Aiden looks over at the twins, "You guys should really wear helmets."

I smile, not even noticing that they weren't wearing one like Logan. Tyler had always refused to wear any sort of safety gear when riding his bike, claiming it made his head look huge. Taylor could literally care less whether she had a helmt on or not, she just went along with what her twin decided.

Tyler rolls his eyes, "Oh, like you would."

We trickle into the house, lingering by the entrance awkwardly. Ashlyn calls out for her parents while we all settle in. I close the door behind me and nearly bump into Tyler before stopping in time.

"Sorry."

"All good." He says with his back to me before turning his attention to Aiden so they can bicker about god-knows-what.

I hear what I assume to be Ashlyn's mom, call out from the kitchen and we all follow the redhead there. I smile when I turn the corner and see her parents carrying a grand tray of snacks. We all, aside from Ashlyn, make our way to the living room and get comfortable while Ashlyn talks to her parents.

"Um..." Ashlyn cocks an eyebrow at them, "What are you guys doing?"

"...Making a snack platter." Ashlyn's mom says innocently, dumping a bag of popcorn into one of the bowls.

"I see that...but why so much? You two can't possibly eat all of that yourself."

"W-well..." Ash's dad stutters nervously, "You and your friends usually go straight to the graveyard to hang out-"

Mrs. Banner continues for him, "-But when you called, you said that all of you wanted to speak with us this time so...we made uh- snacks...to eat...while we talk."

I place a hand over my mouth to stop myself from giggling. I don't know why I'm surprised to discover that her parents are anti-social. Where else could she have gotten that from?

They make it seem as if their daughter's never had guests over or something. I perk up from my seat beside Aiden and say, "Mr. and Mrs. Banner, we're grateful that you put time into making that for us!"

I felt a little bad at how awkward they were feeling hosting this...meeting.

They bring the tray over and set it on the coffee table before taking their seats in front of us. Aiden and I share a look before reaching over to the tray, coincidentally aiming for the same sandwich. I smack his hand away and win the nonexistent battle. He groans in defeat before taking the one that was right beneath mine.

We shamelessly eat our snack while Tay and Logan help themselves to a drink. I give the parents a thumbs up approvingly and say after I swallow the food that was in my mouth,

"This is really good. Thank you!"

"N-no problem...?" Mrs. Banner says, concern reading her face. I thought the expression was directed at me until I glanced over at Aiden, who was loudly gulfing down his sandwich. I pinch his shoulder and give him a warning glare.

"Dude." Tyler says, feeling embarrassed for him.

Aiden lets out a disgusting burp, earning a series of disapproving sighs and groans from the group. The Banners stare at him in disbelief before Ashlyn's dad speaks up,

"So...what'd you kids want to talk about?"