In the middle of a very warm September, Tyler Lockwood started wearing long sleeved shirts to school, and nobody noticed except for Jeremy Gilbert. In the middle of October, Tyler Lockwood stopped changing in the locker room, opting for a bathroom stall, and nobody noticed except for Jeremy Gilbert. In the middle of a very overcast November, Tyler Lockwood started wearing sunglasses every day, even inside, and nobody noticed, except for Jeremy Gilbert. In the middle of December, Tyler Lockwood was smoking pot after school in the baseball dugouts, and everyone noticed, but nobody cared, except for Jeremy Gilbert.
Jeremy walked slowly up to the dugout, hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. It was too cold to be wearing just a hoodie, probably, but Jeremy didn't much care. There were other things that were of more concern to him. He said nothing, just sat down on the bench beside Tyler, holding his hand out to block the wind as Tyler attempted to light his joint, the flickering of Tyler's lighter as their only soundtrack. Once it was lit, silence took over, and the boys just sat there. After a couple of hits, Tyler, wordlessly, passed the joint to Jeremy, who, wordlessly, took a hit. This continued for quite awhile, both boys taking turns until only the roach was left. Tyler flicked it onto the ground, and the boys continued to just sit there in silence, barely even moving, despite the escalating cold and wind chill.
"Do you want talk about it?" Jeremy asked finally, his voice low and quiet.
"About what?" Tyler replied, completely monotone.
"The bruises."
"I know for a fact that you can't see any bruises," Tyler stated.
"You're right, I can't." Jeremy paused, thinking for a moment on how to say what he wanted to say. "But it's not about what I can see, it's about what I can't see. It's about what you're trying to hide."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"That's a lie."
"How do you know?" Tyler snapped.
"Because." Jeremy shrugged. "It's all over you. The long sleeves, the sunglasses, the pot at school…"
"Well I don't want to talk about it," Tyler replied, his voice a little lower, clearly defeated.
"Alright." Jeremy stood up, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me." He walked off, leaving Tyler alone in the dugout and going home to get to work on his homework.
Several days passed, and Tyler avoided Jeremy, choosing to stay away from the boy rather than deal with the truth, which is what Jeremy now represented to Tyler. Jeremy honored Tyler's unspoken request and kept his distance as well, making sure not to even look too long at Tyler in the hallway. They were from different social areas, and it was not Jeremy's place to make sure that Tyler was alright. He had opened up the offer, and it was up to Tyler to accept or not.
One freezing night, Jeremy woke to a loud cracking sound. He stood up only to find that there was a large crack in his bedroom window. He looked down to see a shape below, so he threw open the window and stuck his head out.
"Tyler?" Jeremy bit his lip.
"I know it's late," Tyler spoke with a soft voice, and Jeremy could tell that something was wrong. "But I had nowhere else to go."
"I'll be right down." Jeremy shut the window and ran downstairs, opening the front door to let Tyler in. "What happened?" He asked once he got a good look at Tyler. His eye was red, though Jeremy was sure it was well on the way to turning black, and there was a large cut on his cheek. Most noticeably, Tyler was cradling his right arm in his left.
"He hit me," Tyler whispered, lowering his head as he sat down on the couch. "He hit me and he hit me and he hit me…" He gulped. "I couldn't stop him, I can usually stop him but I couldn't stop him and he just kept going and I just…I couldn't take it anymore. I ran."
"You did the right thing," Jeremy assured him quietly. "Trust me, you did the right thing." He gingerly reached out, putting his hand on Tyler's back, rubbing it gently. "I'll take care of you, okay? I'll patch you up."
"I had nowhere else to go," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, I had nowhere else to go."
"It's okay," Jeremy assured him. "You came to the right place, to a safe place. I won't let anything happen to you."
"I know." Tyler nodded. "I don't know why I trust you, but I do." He kept his head bowed as Jeremy set about tending to his injuries, gently tracing his fingers over every visible bruise on Tyler's arms.
"He tried to kill you, didn't he," Jeremy said softly, putting the tips of his fingers to the long bruises on Tyler's neck.
"I don't know," Tyler replied honestly. "Maybe…I don't know."
"Well you're safe here, okay?" Jeremy pulled his hand back. "Your father can't hurt you here."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Tyler asked. "All I've ever done is be a jerk to you, and here you are, taking care of me like we're best friends."
"Because." Jeremy shrugged. "Right now you need me, and that's okay, there's nothing wrong with needing someone every now and then."
"Thank you." Tyler sighed, resting his head on Jeremy's shoulder. "Thank you for being the only one who I can count on, for being the only one who saw what I was trying so hard to disguise."
"You're welcome." Jeremy instinctively began to rub Tyler's back. "Sometimes we just can't be the only person in our corner anymore, sometimes we need someone on our side, and it's only right that there's someone there."
"I just…never thought it would be you," Tyler whispered.
"What can I say?" Jeremy shrugged. "I'm full of surprises."
"You're not the only one." Tyler leaned in, gently kissing Jeremy on the lips.
"Whoa…" Jeremy backed away. "What was that?"
"You saw me when no one else did," Tyler stated. "That means you must have been looking, and why would you be looking? Paying enough to attention to notice that I'd changed my sleeve length if you weren't interested?"
"Alright." Jeremy sighed. "You have me there. How long have you known?"
"Since the day in the dugout," he explained. "But…I was too scared to admit it until now, too afraid to face it because I was afraid of what everyone else would think, but I realized it only matters what you think because you're the only person who sees me anyways." He paused to take a deep breath before he continued talking. "If I don't show you how I feel, I'm afraid I'll lose the only person who cares."
"Shh." Jeremy leaned in, kissing Tyler softly. "Don't talk like that. You're not going to lose me. Ever."