ballerina // jøshler

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"Oh my god Tyler! That's amazing!"

"Jenna, I can't stop crying." Tyler replied, wiping at his tear-stained cheeks. The boy had called Jenna back as soon as he calmed down enough to actually unlock his phone.

"It's okay, honey," Jenna laughed, "you deserve this."

The sincerity in his best friend's voice made the boy overjoyed. He really did deserve this great opportunity, and he knew that with Jenna's optimism and confidence in him, nothing would stop him from becoming the best dancer he could be.

"Jen, thank you. You have been way more than supportive in all of this. I don't know what I'd do without you. My eight year old self is probably rejoicing at this point."

"Awe, Ty," the boy heard his roommate start to sniffle on the other end of the phone, "you're gonna make me cry now!"

After a few minutes, Tyler and Jenna stopped bawling into the phone and started to talk finances.

"Working another job is nothing, Ty, seriously. I don't have many things going on during the day anyways. Plus, we could always use a little more extra cash." Jenna worked her argument as much as she could, but Tyler still wouldn't budge.

"Jen, that's so unfair. I want your support, not your physical labor. Working two jobs is insane. We don't need cash that bad."

"Yes, we do." Jenna retorted. Tyler sighed heavily, looking around the kitchen when his eyes caught the stack of bills on the kitchen counters and dinning room table. The boy thought hard on the issue, knowing that if they didn't get a large amount of income soon, they wouldn't only lose their hopes and dreams, but also their home and all the other things they worked so hard for.

After Tyler decided he was leaving home to thrive in the city, he knew he should tell someone, so everyone in town wouldn't flip and call the (flesh out the door) SWAT team. He wouldn't tell his siblings; Zack would try to get him to stay, and surely Madison and Jay would tell his parents(but with his youngest brother, it would probably come out on accident). Tyler also knew telling someone from his school would leave room for doubt. He didn't want anyone spreading any more rumors about him, and most of the kids in his high school lived and breathed the social grape vine.

That only left him one clear choice;

The Internet.

Tyler wasn't keen on how the whole "online friend" thing worked, but he was willing to give it a try. He wanted someone close by, so that he knew they would be up to date on all the news buzzing around the town.

The boy found some kind of Tumblr page for a high school across town he had no idea existed. Tyler immediately clicked the link and started his search for a confidante.

He spent all night trying to find someone, but nothing seemed to work. Either they were not responding, or they were total jerks. Tyler was about to call it quits on his search and his fantasy when he got a DM from the user by the name of "butcher_smiles"

butcher_smiles: hey buddy, ur creeping out some of my friends do u need somethin

ty21guy: sorry about that...I just... IDK

butcher_smiles: is there something u need? do u wanna talk about it?

And that's how it started. They had made a pact that they would keep their lips sealed until that fated night. There was no talk of Jenna joining Tyler, but almost a week after his departure, right when he was starting to feel regretful, there was a knock on his door and was greeted by the brightest, Girl Scout-esque grin adorned by sandy blonde hair and moonstone eyes.

Tyler had been living in a shitty motel type place until Jenna came along. The special female had brought more than enough money to support the both of them.

"Eh, my parents don't care," Jenna vaguely explained when Tyler asked about her life back home. "Plus, I was planning on leaving that shithole sooner or later. Later didn't seem as appealing. It never does." The girl shrugged and continued on a different topic Tyler had forgotten about.

The skinny boy thought about all the things the girl had did for him. He couldn't help but feel responsible for making her work long hours for only a few dollars over minimum wage, but they really did need money.

He huffed, rolling his eyes, grateful that the woman wasn't face to face with him, or he would've gotten a strong glare and an even longer confrontation about respect and responsibility. With Jenna around, Tyler sometimes felt like he never left home fully.

"If you want to, you can work another job," Tyler spoke finally, before adding quickly, "but on one condition."

Jenna was silent, waiting eagerly to hear the terms and conditions Tyler had thought up.

"It has to be a job you love...like at the least."

He heard a groan from the other end, "What does that even mean, Tyler? I'm not in the mood for all your philosophy bullshit."

The boy giggled a bit while responding, "It means, that you can't leave at noon and come home in the middle of the night everyday, saying that you're job is "just fine". This is New York baby," Tyler added, mock-enthusiasm spilling through the phone, making Jenna stifle a smile from her location. "This is you're time, Jen. You wanted to come to New York for a reason right?"

"Actually, I just came here for you, remember?" the girl joked.

"Jenna, you said yourself that you prefer now rather than later. Take your own advice. Whatever you wanted to do when you decided to drop out of high school and move to the Big Apple, pursue it. For me? Please?"

There was a long pause in banter and conversation. The mood had shifted from fun and playful to serious and mature.

"Okay," Jenna muttered, so low Tyler wasn't sure if she had said anything at all.

"Okay," she repeated, more sanguine.

"Good. Now that we both have our goals set, when you come home, we're going out for dessert."

Jenna started laughing, loosening the strict atmosphere. "I get out late, Ty. That was one of your points."

"So? We're adults. We can get ice cream anytime we want dammit. After you get home, alright?"

More giggles. "Fine."

After Tyler hung up, he felt a wave of relieve wash over him. Things were looking up, rather than down. He hadn't planned on everything going so smoothly, without any major headaches. Surely, this was the start of a peaceful, serene journey into the college world, right?