A/N: Happy Sunday, chickadees! Even though it's hailing outside I kind of want this chapter to be less angsty, so I'll try to add in a little bit of fluff given what this fan fiction story is about.

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. No reproduction of this fan fiction story is granted without written permission by me.

Tyler

I desperately pushed through the crowd out of Central Park, pulling my bike alongside me and jumping on it once I was mostly clear of the crowd. I looked on either side of me as a reflex, but it was to no avail – cars were parked right where they were and the only way to get to my destination would be to weave around the cars. I could feel my phone buzz in my pocket and I wanted to answer it but I was already speeding past the yelling and screaming people.

The closer I got to my destination, the more I heard higher yells, more shrill screaming – the school children were out of their classrooms and although their teachers were with them I had to wonder why the fuck they were out there anyway.

I skidded to a stop by the front entrance of the school and threw by bike down by the steps, making to walk into the school when I saw her quickly running down the hall and to the front door.

"Caroline!" I yelled over the clamour. Caroline stopped at the first step and looked worriedly around. She couldn't see me because of the people pushing past me, so I put my cupped hands up to my mouth and tried again. "Caroline! Caroline!"

Caroline whipped her head in my direction and when she saw me the worry that scrunched her face eased a little bit and she quickly ran down the steps. I met her halfway when she was on the pavement and wrapped my arms quickly around her, sidestepping us to a less crowded area.

I could feel Caroline shaking. I swore under my breath and crouched down in front of her.

"They said it on the announcements, Tyler. They said that something happened in the city and I knew you were going down there and I was worried and, and...," Caroline choked out, tears streaming down her face. I tried to wipe them away but one came after another and another, replacing the tear stains on her cheeks.

I tried to calm her down, holding her to me and keeping an eye on the people running past us, softly assuring her everything was okay. My phone kept buzzing in my pocket and I wondered if it was Ally calling or Aidan calling or even dad. At that last thought my eyes widened and I patted my pocket, swearing outright now.

"Shit! Fuck, sorry, Caroline," I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I had five missed calls – two of the calls said they were from Ally, one said Aidan, one said Diane and one said Charles. As I read the missed calls I got another call – Charles flashed on the screen of my cellphone. I quickly flipped my phone open.

"Hello?" I said loudly into the phone receiver, running my hand through Caroline's hair.

"Tyler? Is that you? Oh, thank Christ," Charles yelled. I closed my eyes and hid my face in Caroline's shoulder, wondering where we should go from here.

"Yeah, it's me, dad," I replied.

"Where are you? Is Caroline still in school?" he questioned.

"I'm with Caroline so, no, she's not in school. The streets are clogged up, though, and I can't ride my bike with Caroline on it. Fuck," I growled, getting up with Caroline resting securely against my right side. I cradled the phone against my shoulder as I hoisted Caroline up and made my way to where I had put my bike. People bumped against my shoulder as I waited for dad to give me some ideas.

"Where are you guys?" dad asked. I could hear him talking to most likely his driver.

"We're at Caroline's school. Why?" I asked.

"Dear God...," dad said. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What?"

"Tyler... Tyler, can you see across the bay from where you are?" he hurriedly asked.

"Um... yeah, I think so. One second, just..." I trailed off as the people around me all seemingly looked to the right and towards a lookout across the bay. I gasped and Caroline put her face in my shoulder. The first Twin Tower was toppling over and little black dots were visible coming from it. I felt the bile rise in my throat but couldn't look away.

I felt Caroline's tears soak my shirt and I couldn't keep the bile down anymore. I held the phone away from my mouth and turned away from Caroline, my eyes watering as I threw up on the pavement.

I could taste the acidic truth on my tongue and in a moment of clarity I remembered that I had hung up on Ally in the park. I quickly wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my shirt and looked at Caroline, who quickly looked away. I didn't want her to see me vomiting but as my stomach churned I realized that I couldn't have held the bile in.

I heard a car horn honking and looked up, blinking away the tears blurring my vision and saw dad's black car dodging other cars and people on the street. I grabbed for my bike and jogged down the street and quickly as I could while still holding Caroline against my right side. As Caroline and I neared dad's car he got out and opened the back door for us, ushering us in. I threw my bike across the backseat as dad got in the front seat and put Caroline on my lap as the driver backed out of the street. Dad turned around and looked Caroline and I over before. He closed his eyes and sighed, putting his hand securely on Caroline's knee.

"Your mother called me. She's at her house. I told her you both were fine," dad said and turned towards the front of the car again. We looked at each other in the rear view mirror and I nodded. I took my phone out of my pocket and saw two more missed calls – both of the missed calls were from Ally.

I ran my hand through my hair and pressed the call button. The phone rang twice before Ally picked it up.

"Tyler?" Ally sounded like she had been crying.

"Yeah, it's me," I said in what I hoped what a calming voice but I could hear that my voice sounded a little rough.

Ally raggedly sighed. "Are you okay? Is Caroline still at school?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Caroline is with me. Dad came and picked us up from Caroline's school. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine," Ally said. It kind of sounded like she was convincing both herself and me.

"Good, that's good. I think we're going to mom's house. Where are you and Aidan?"

"We're at the apartment but apparently now we're going to your mom's house," Ally said.

"Okay. I'll see you soon," I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

"See you soon," she said.

"Ally?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, Ally," I said.

"I love you too, Tyler," Ally replied.

"Good."

Ally laughed a little bit and I breathed out a chuckle. Dad and I locked eyes in the rear view mirror again and I hoped he could see that I love him, too. When I saw his eyes crinkle a little bit in a smile, I knew he did and felt the same way.

A/N: Alrighty then. Sorry that this chapter kind of sucked. I just wanted to write something and post it because you were all so nice in your reviews. 10 reviews on the first chapter? Awesome!

If you have a Twitter, tweet me if you reviewed or read this fan fiction story because I'd like to thank you if I haven't replied to your review. I'm pretty sure I've replied to all the reviews I got but if you wanted to ask about the story then just send me a tweet. :)

Review and next chapter I'll have some Tyler and Ally fluff. :)