Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I'm the only one. Maybe I'm just out of touch.

TYLER

I came in from bleacher runs to see Jeremy in the weight room alone. He was slamming his fists into the punching bag, his face set in a grimace, no tape on his hands. I'd taken a double length work out again. Gym class was over. What was he doing?
"Gilbert?" I questioned cautiously.
"Don't want to talk Lockwood," he gritted out.
"That's fine but if you keep going like that you're going to break your hand." He kept punching but sighed as I walked closer and dropped his hands finally. "You're supposed to wear tape," I let out.
"Yeah well," he sighed again, "I didn't feel like it."
"Just tell me what's wrong."
"You're the last person I want to talk to about this," he said with a bitter laugh.
"Did something happen with Grace?" The immediate change in his expression let me know I was right.
"I said I didn't want to talk about it," Jeremy let out, clenching his fists.
"Is she okay?"
"How should I know?" he let out.
"Are you?"
"Like you give a fuck."
"Maybe I do," I let out, anger slicing through me. I didn't expect the hit. It came anyways. I could smell the blood on his knuckles as his fist slammed into my jaw. I fell back half a step. I didn't bring my hand up, even though it had actually hurt. "You hit me again," I said softly, "and I'm hitting you back."

He breathed raggedly, not saying anything. I flexed my jaw slightly and remained silent too. He didn't say anything else before stepping around me and heading for the locker room. I don't really know why I expected anything different. I went in after him. He was at the sink, washing his hands. The water was running pink in the sink. I took ointment and bandage tape out of the first aid kit and set them on the edge of the sink, still not saying anything. Jeremy kept the silence too. I walked away and went to my locker, changing clothes quickly.
"Whatever it is," I called out, picking up my bag, "suck it up. The game's not over. I'll see you tonight." The sound of something hitting the floor and a grunted curse was my only answer. I bit my lip in brief debate before walking back to the sinks. Jeremy was struggling with the bandage tape, half of it between his lips. I managed not to laugh. I'm not a masochist. I didn't want him to punch me again. "Can I help you without getting attacked?" Jeremy's eyes shot to me in the mirror. He sighed quickly out of his nose, the sound almost becoming a snort.
"Fine," he muttered, letting the tape drop and pulling it off his hands. I dropped my bag to the floor and crossed to him. He hadn't even bothered with the ointment; it was still sitting on the edge of the sink.
"Do you want them to heal slowly or something?" I questioned, unscrewing the cap quickly.
"My hands hurt," he admitted sullenly. I just nodded once, showing I'd heard. Taking some ointment on my fingertips I took one of his hands in both of mine. He let out a slight hiss as I began spreading it. I froze and watched him for a second.
"Sorry," I murmured, shocked to find out that I actually was. He just shook his head, biting down on his lip. I finished quickly and went to the other before tearing off a length of tape. "I'll tell people it was a huge burly guy if you want." He laughed quietly.
"They'll just assume it was you."
"You're probably right," I agreed with a nod, pressing down on the tape to finish the first hand. "You think that's why they're trying to keep us away from Grace?" He didn't answer for a moment and I tore of more tape, going to his other hand.
"It's possible," he finally muttered.
"Done," I said, turning to carry the tape and ointment back to the first aid kit on the wall.
"Thanks," Jeremy said as I picked up my bag again. I just glanced back at him and nodded once. Trying to help him…it wasn't a choice. Not really. I could tell myself that it was all in the spirit of competition; sure, I could say it all I wanted. I could even tell myself it was because it was him and me against everyone else. But that wasn't it either. It was something deeper. Something inside. I backed away from it again. Not ready. Maybe I never would be.

I headed home. I needed time to cool down, calm down, take a shower, and figure out what the hell I was going to wear. The thought had me shaking my head. But it was another thing I'd learned, appearances were extremely important. I wanted to look good, but I also wanted it to look like I hadn't tried too hard. I thought about Jeremy and Grace as I showered. I should be happy about whatever had happened. Maybe part of me was. But I was also worried. Chances were it was going to affect my chances with Grace as much as Jeremy's chances. Damn it. When did this turn into such a mess? I got out of the shower and snapped a towel off the rack, wrapping it around me impatiently. Then again, when had I thought that it would be easy? I was competing with another guy for a girl. There's a reason they say three's a crowd. What was I getting myself into? Then again…there wasn't any backing down now. Even if I didn't like Grace, which I did, there wasn't any backing down. I dressed slowly, keeping it simple. A white v-neck shirt and dark wash jeans, my leather jacket to finish it. I made my way downstairs.
"Where are you headed off to?" my mother questioned, coming out of the sitting room.
"Just relaxing for a little bit, then I'm going to hang out at the grill. Nothing special."
"Oh alright," she allowed dryly, shaking her head slightly. "Whatever you say."
"What would possibly be going on?" I questioned.
"Well," she murmured, "you showered in the middle of the day and you're wearing the clothes you wear when you want to look like you're not trying. You tell me." I felt my jaw flap open. What the hell? "I'm your mother Tyler," she said as she walked away, "just because I don't say anything doesn't mean I don't notice." That was extremely unsettling. I shook my head before glancing at my watch. I still had two hours to kill. Awesome.

I thought briefly about texting Grace but decided against it. I still didn't know what the hell had happened and she probably wanted some alone time before being attacked by Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie. I ended up sitting in front of the TV, looking for a distraction. I flipped through all the sports channels, past college baseball and tennis, through several generic programs. I went to the guide, again moving aimlessly. I stopped, reading the title Supernatural. Wasn't that the show Grace had been talking about? I clicked on it and settled back into the couch. 'Previously, on Supernatural…' I had to admit, even though I'd never seen the show before, I enjoyed it. It was funny and creepy enough to have me looking over my shoulder a couple times. Which was pretty ridiculous but I couldn't help it. I made a mental note to start watching it. After it there was nothing else on so I went back to my room and dragged out one of my sketchbooks. I couldn't very well go for a run when I'd just showered. Not to mention, the bleacher runs were really enough for today. The sketch started innocently enough, simple lines running together. Before I really knew it, I had an outline of Grace's lips. I stared at the paper for a few moments, shocked at myself. I knew they were her lips immediately. The perfect fullness of the bottom, the slightly slimmer top lip perfectly accenting it and even the slight quirk was hers as well. I started tracing her jaw with the tip of the pencil. After a few more minutes I flipped the cover closed and dropped my pencil. If I didn't stop now I probably wouldn't. There was work to be done. I could even look at it as research if I wanted. Either way, I needed to go.

A/N: You ask and I give…sort of. Little bit of Jyler for you. Believe it or not I'm just as excited as you are.