Call Me Crazy

31.

Tyler waited behind the elementary school in one of the old and worn down swings that hung from rusted metal and cracking plastic. He had made sure to put on cologne and a soft flannel - anything to comfort Skylar as she stayed wrapped in his arms.

As Skylar walked across the wood chips and towards Tyler, she gripped tightly onto the straps of her backpack. She didn't know why he wanted to see her, all Skylar knew was that she wanted to see Tyler's sweet smile and gentle eyes.

"Hey," Tyler said as Skylar ran towards him and threw her arms around his neck in a hug. Tyler wrapped his arms around her waist, making sure that he didn't press his body too hard against her's. Most girls he would go full force - no boundaries and no space - but Skylar was different, and Tyler felt that if he did one thing wrong it would shatter her world.

"Why did you want to meet with me?" Skylar asked as she backed away from the embrace and stared into his emerald green eyes. She had always envied his beautiful eyes and how they lit up his face in the most perfect way possible. She wanted nothing more than to have a picture of them so she can admire them even when he wasn't with her.

"It's time to grow up," Tyler said simply, causing a look of confusion to wash upon Skylar's face.

"What do you mean?"

"Today's the day. You're going to have your first kiss."

Skylar's eyes bulged wide as she felt her heart began to beat hard against her chest in panic. Her palms began sweating as her body started shaking slightly. She wasn't ready, not for something like this. No matter how long she sat in a cushioned chair and talked about her feeling to a councilor for hours on end, nothing prepared her for this.

"I... I can't," Skylar said as her stomach formed knots and a queazy feeling moved throughout her body.

"Skylar, I'm not going to hurt you," Tyler said with a laugh. "It'll be really quick if you're that nervous."

"I'm not nervous. I just want to make sure that you really like me before you steal my first kiss," she said bluntly.

"We've already kissed before, Skylar," Tyler said as a smirk formed on his face.

"We were young, it didn't count."

"Let me put it this way," Tyler started. "If I liked you anymore I would explode with emotion, leaving you without the perfect first kiss from the perfect person."

Skylar laughed at his attempt at being romantic, while Tyler just smiled to himself as he felt satisfied for making her laugh the sweet and small laugh that she had always had - even since they were eight. They would often sit on sidewalks and eat grape-flavored Popsicles. As the liquid would drip down onto Skylar's hand, turning her skin cold and sticky, it would cause her to erupt into a fit of laughter, the same laughter she still had to this day.

Tyler grabbed at his flannel and took a step forward, only for Skylar to lean back more in fear of his face approaching hers. Tyler's legs began to feel weak beneath his body. He shouldn't be afraid - he's been with many other girls before Skylar - but something about her made him terrified that he would hurt her. She was much gentler and much more special than all of the other girls, and that scared the living hell out of him.

"Are you going to be okay?" Tyler asked as he took yet another step closer towards her. Skylar gave him a small nod as she looked down at the dirt below them and kicked a rock with the rubber of her shoe. She bit her lip and clutched onto the straps of her backpack - anything to stop her from showing Tyler she was nervous. God, why was she? She wanted nothing more than to kiss Tyler, but the thought of him possibly taking this as a joke upset her.

Trust issues and nothing more is what was holding her hostage in her thoughts and fears.

Tyler took a deep breath and took a final step closer. He smiled as he grabbed at her soft neck and traced his thumbs over the her jaw line. Skylar stood completely still as she closed her eyes, only enough for her eyes to flutter open slightly so she could see Tyler's face through the gaps in her eyelashes.

Tyler puckered his lips and opened his mouth slightly as he gripped tighter onto her neck and finally pressed his lips to hers. They froze for a split second, and Tyler could feel Skylar's body jolt in shock before she took her hands and grabbed at the opening of his flannel.

It was nothing that she had ever imagined - much more... Kind. At the age of eight she had always seen Tyler as a monster who took everything away from her, but now, as they stand by the aging swing set, she was willing to give to him the one thing that she held close to herself for years: her first kiss.

Skylar stood still as she felt his lips on her's forming slightly, and once she finally realized that it was actually happening, she was actually kissing Tyler, she moved her lips with his and their kissing moved in sync while the universe became silent around the them, only the sound of their mouths and beating hearts remaining.

Tyler moved away slowly and parted his eyes slightly once his face was inches away from Skylar's. She opened her own eyes and looked into his as they both stayed completely motionless, only breathing heavily as Skylar continued to clutch onto Tyler's flannel while he kept his hands softly formed around the sides of her neck.

Skylar finally smiled, causing Tyler to follow by giving her a small grin of relief. She looked down as a flushed red coloring of embarrassment emerged onto her cheeks. Her body turned away from Tyler as she took a step back, trying to avoid him from seeing her panicked yet flattered expression.

"You're perfect," Tyler said, breaking the silence between them.

"No I'm not."

"Okay."

Silence once again. By now, children from the elementary school are running through the metal doors and into the warm sunlight, their faces gleaming with delight as they throw their backpacks down to play on the playground. As much of a crowd of children Tyler and Skylar were now forming, they didn't care. Skylar was willing to block the swingset for ages, as long as she got to stay with Tyler.

"Thank you," Skylar whispered, pushing her hair behind her ear and giving him a look of gratitude.

Tyler just took her hand and pressed her palm to his in the heat of May as they stared at each other. She was nothing he's ever dealt with before. To him, Skylar was a gem of perfection that was one of a kind. If he ever hurt her, everything in the world would fall apart. "Your welcome," Tyler said as his voice became raspy. "You're now one step closer to being a total badass."

A/N:
First I would like to apologize if this is a horrible chapter. My internet kept crashing so half of the changes I made saved while others didn't. I'll edit this soon so it can be the best possible chapter. And second, Thank you so much for all of the love and support for this story! We're almost at 2K! That's amazing! All of your votes, comments, and reads make my day more than you can imagine. Thank you so much!