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

| Ep 29 |

I'm sat on the strangely stiff couch, squeezed between Ashlyn and Aiden. I couldn't help but notice the way he was getting impatient from doing absolutely nothing. Everyone was drowning in this awkward tension, and Aiden couldn't bare another minute of it.

I felt him tug on my hand and I flipped it over without hesitation. He began tracing random shapes on my palm to keep himself occupied. He tends to do this with anything within reach when he's bored out of his mind. That, or he plays with my hair because Ashlyn refuses to let him touch hers. But I wore it up today so he didn't want to mess with it.

"...What'd you kids want to talk about?" Ashlyn's mom spoke up with her hands glued to her lap.

Ash sat up straight and stuttered out, "Oh-um...right."

I glance over at her subtly from the corner of my eye, wondering how she was going to approach this. Personally, I don't think there's even a chance her parents will believe the shit we've been through these last couple of weeks.

"...We uh-" She begins before suddenly pausing. I give her a concerned look only for her to brush it off.

She shakes her head indecisively before shooting up from the sofa. Everyone's eyes follow her figure as she approaches the lamp sitting on the end table. She flips on the switch, illuminating the wall behind it. Ashlyn's shadow darkens as she steps behind the lamp,

"Do you..." she slowly raises one of her braided pigtails up to the light, making it as obvious as possible that her shadow was not a complete replica of her physical self, "...Notice anything weird about my shadow?"

I feel Aiden's finger retract from my palm just as my mouth falls open in disbelief. I didn't think she'd actually use her shadow as an explanation. I whip my head over to her parents sitting a few feet away. They both share the same dazed look,

"Well-" Mrs. Banner begins, unsure of what to make of her daughter right now, "Not uh...not particularly, no?"

I let out a heavy sigh. They can't see it. They're going to think we've lost our minds.

Her mom speaks up, a little too quickly, "Are we supposed to notice something?"

Ashlyn scratches the back of her head in disappointment, "Ah-no, never mind. Forget about it...But we do need your help. The thing is...Logan has been getting bullied and..."

She looks down at me for a moment before continuing, "Well, Y/N experienced a run-in with some jerk the other day. I told them that you guys could probably teach them some self-defense but Logan's a little anxious to learn on his own, so we offered to learn with him."

I feel Aiden's shoulder brush against mine as he leans his face close to my ear, "I doubt you even need this. You're pretty tough already."

I blush in embarrassment at the compliment and shrug, giving him a smile.

"If you don't mind," Ashlyn resumes her plea, "Could you teach them the basics?"

Mr. Banner glances over at his wife before answering, "...I mean, I don't mind-"

"Me neither," Mrs. Banner adds, "Sounds pretty fun, actually. But are all of your parents okay with that?"

I stare down at my lap, realizing I hadn't even brought up the topic to my mom.

"Uh.." Taylor laughs nervously.

Mr. Banner narrows his eyes, "Yeah- ask them first. I don't want any unnecessary drama from other parents when their kids start coming home bruised."

"Got it. Thanks, Dad." Ashlyn says.

I sit up and smile at them, "Yeah, thank you for this."

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