Fear of the Unknown : t.j.

Chapter 6

I slam my fist on Tyler's front door. Fish jumps around behind me, excited to see his dad.
"Fishy! Are you excited to see daddy?" I smile down at him and his loud bark echoes through the quiet neighborhood.
I continue to bang on the door until a extremely tired Josh opens the door without a shirt on.
"Public nudity. Love you. Merry Christmas Eve!" I yell, running to Tyler's room with Fish behind me. I practically jump out of my boots as I walk into Tyler's room. I crawl into Tyler's bed slowly and then pounce onto his sleeping body.
He jumps awake beneath me, obviously scared.
"Hi." He groans, rubbing his face once he realizes it's me.
"Hi, babe. I brought Fish. Fish come here!" I say patting the bed next to Tyler. Fish jumps up and cuddles next to Tyler as he rubs his chest.
"Josh let you in?"
"Yeah." I mumble falling off Tyler's chest and to the side. He wraps his arm around me and places his face in the crook of my neck.
"Why are you here so early?"
"Because it's Christmas Eve."
"Which means my family's coming today."
"I can't wait to meet them, this is going to be great!"
"I know this is totally out of context, but you know that day that I came home early?"
"Yeah, why?"
"What happened after I feel asleep? I just remember being with you on the floor then falling asleep in your lap."
"Well Sarah, Josh and I talked for about an hour. Then Sarah and Josh left and then you woke up. You started to have another panic attack so I told you all the things that I loved about you and why you make me happy and why I am okay."
"Can you tell me those things again?"
"I can. I love that you can always make me smile and laugh. I love how you get mad when I run my hands through your hair. I love how you smile when I say something stupid. I love how you act around Fish. I love how you are always there for me. I love how sometimes you smile for no reason and won't tell me why. I love how you make little jokes and try your hardest to make me laugh. I love how you call me on the phone when you have spare time, no matter where you are. Everything you do makes me happy, from your smile, your eyes, your hair, your humor, your laugh, your morning voice, your sense of style to everything in between. And I'm okay because I have you and Pete and Sarah and Josh and all of my friends."
"I don't remember any of that." He laughs, turning towards me.
"My family's coming today too, well my parents are." I say.
"Family?"
"Oh, sorry. Pete's parents. They've basically adopted me."
"Oh, that's cool."
"My mom wants to meet you."
"I want to meet her. So what's the plan, Stan?"
"Don't say that. So, how bout I go to church with you and your family tomorrow morning at ten then stay until three because you guys eat at two. Then I go home and eat with Pete and our parents."
"That sounds good, how about I go home with you."
"What? What about your family? You never get to see them, don't you want to hang out with them?"
"Nah, I love them but hanging out with my siblings for more than a few hours is horrific."
"Sadly I live with mine. But okay, that sounds great!" I say excitedly as I trace the tattoos on his wrist with my fingers.
"Nice ink, hot stuff." I smile as I continue to trace his tattoos over and over.
"Nice ink, sweet thang." He says, staring at the back of my right arm. I always forget that I have a dot work cat skull with flowers on the back of my arm. It was my first tattoo, I wanted to get it colored in but I never got to it and I thank my teenage self that I didn't. It's small, right above my elbow and a tiny bit smaller than my fist. My other arm has a moth, moon, hummingbird, ghost, a kneeling skeleton and a cross, I got the cross because of Pete.
"What if your parents don't like me?" I ask Tyler quietly.
"They'll love you. It'll be weird at first but they'll warm up to you, I promise." He says getting up. He grabs clothes and walks into the bathroom.  A minute or so later he comes out and walks out into the living room.
I follow him and we find Josh sprawled out on the couch, half asleep. Tyler kicks the couch until Josh angrily sits up.
"Josh you have a flight to wherever in two hours, you should get up." I say, plopping myself on the couch.
Josh heaves himself off the couch and into the guest bathroom. He comes out a few minutes later fully dressed and ready to go.
We decide to watch tv which turned into us all fighting over what we watch for the next thirty minutes.
"Oh shit, Josh you gotta go." I say after looking at the time.
"Ok guys, I'll see you in a few days. Love ya, bros." Josh says and runs out the door.
I pick at a string at the bottom of my shirt as I silently sit on the couch. I'm wearing a burgundy lace covered bralette and a loose white tank top neck line comes just beneath the top of my bra. I'm also wearing black jeans and a leather jacket but I left my jacket at the door. I sit staring down at my body until I feel a single finger poke the middle of my ribs. I snap my head over and see Tyler with a goofy look on his face.
"Tyler I dare yo-" and he cuts me off my lunging at me and tickling me.
He grabs and tickles every surface of my body as he lays on top of me.
"No Tyler, please. What did I do to YOU!? Oh my god! No! Not okay, please stop. TYLER, I'm NOT OKAY." I squeal, wriggling underneath him.
He sits up so he's straddling me, as he waves his fingers in my face. I whine as he smiles evilly at me, continuing to wiggle his fingers around. One of his fingers comes to close to my face and I reach out to bite it, missing it by barely an inch. Tyler gasps in mock horror as I smile up at him. I pucker my lips for a split second before smiling back up at him.
He gets my message and leans down to kiss me, practically suffocating me. As soon as his lips meet mine I wrap my arms around his neck, trapping him. He could pull away if he wanted too, but considering the fact that his lips move in sync with mine with even more passion than me, I don't think he's in the mood to pull away. He holds my face in his hands as he continues to kiss my lips. He pulls away and sits up, looking down at me. His mouth opens then quickly snaps shut with a pop.
Tyler looks down at my chest and pokes the bottom of my boob, making it fall slightly towards my face. His laugh echoes through the house as he repeatedly does this, apparently extremely amused by the anatomy of a boob.
"Will it pop if I squeeze it?" He asks, eyeing me.
"No! Tyler does it look like I have implants?"
"Just wondering and you have very nice boobs just the way they are and please keep them this way."
"Tyler, you are beyond strange and I'm too big of a wimp to get implants, I have a thing with needles."
"But you have tattoos?" He asks, squeezing my boobs while laughing.
"Well, not really needles, just shots and IV's I guess."
"That's weird. I mean I don't like needles, but I'm not scared of them."
"I am not scared, I just don't like them."
"That is a lie."
"How dare you accuse me of such nonsense."
"I'm only telling the truth, my dear." He says before getting off me and laying next to me.
"What should I wear tomorrow?" I ask as I wrap my arms around him.
"Wear something nice, but I want you to be comfortable."
"So like a dress?"
"Do you want to wear a dress?"
"Not really."
"Then wear a button up with jeans and your jacket."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, you look beautiful no matter what."
"Even now?" I ask, pushing my chin into my neck causing multiple chins and crossing my eyes.
"Yes, especially now."
"Just making sure."