I know this is a short chapter and I know i haven't been updating this story lately, but I've been busy with school and my other story and I half forgot about this one. But i will try to get another one up next weekend and see if i can get it longer. For now though, enjoy.
Later that night, Tyler was sitting on his bed reading one of his books when Clarissa knocked on the door.
"Hey. Can I please come in?" She asked quietly and Tyler nodded, keeping a hold of his book and sitting up properly as she closed the door and then sat down on the bed, crossing her legs like him.
"What are you reading?" Clarissa asked.
"The Secret Garden. I loved the movie so I decided to read the book. It's quite interesting. Maybe you should read it." Tyler said and Clarissa nodded.
"Maybe I will. Uh, I-I wanted to talk to you about something." Clarissa said.
"If it's about what I said earlier, just forget that I said anything. It doesn't matter that much." Tyler said.
"Tyler, it matters a lot. You said 'I love you'. That's a big deal." Clarissa said.
"It doesn't have to be. If you feel uncomfortable about it, just forget I said anything. We can pretend I never said anything." Tyler said and Clarissa sighed, her guilt piling up.
"Did you mean it? Do you really love me?" Clarissa asked and Tyler looked down at his book, keeping his eyes away from hers.
"Look, it really doesn't matter. If you don't feel the same, I totally get it. Or at least I think I do. I don't mind all that much." Tyler said and Clarissa grabbed his hand.
"Tyler, I came here to tell you that… I love you too." Clarissa asked and Tyler looked up.
"I didn't say it before because one, you surprised me when you said it and two, our families came before I could even get over the shock. But I do love you. I figured that I'd be the one to say it first, not you." Clarissa said and Tyler gave a small smile.
"Well, my parents were kind of twisted themselves so I guess that's where I get it from." Tyler said and Clarissa smiled, shaking her head.
"You're crazy Benson." She said before she leant in and kissed him softly, their lips moving together in perfect sync. Tyler then put his book down and twisted his fingers into her hair, his other hand sitting on the bottom of her back and pulling her closer, her arms going around his neck. The two made out until their lungs were screaming which is when they pulled away, resting their foreheads together.
"I love you." Tyler whispered.
"I love you too." Clarissa replied, kissing Tyler softly before resting her head on his shoulder, the two just holding each other close. Their moment was ruined a moment later when Ashton walked into the room and Tyler and Clarissa just laughed at Ashton's expression.
"I totally ruined a moment didn't I?" Ashton asked.
"It's cool. What's up?" Tyler asked.
"Mum and Dad were wondering if you wanted to go bowling as a celebration for how amazing you're singing was. It was mums idea and dad went along with it so they made me come up here and ask." Ashton said.
"Bowling sounds fun. We'll be down in a minute." Tyler said and Ashton nodded before leaving, leaving the door open.
"Come on. Let's go get our bowl on." Tyler said and Clarissa smiled, standing up and then leaving the room. As they got to the stairs, Clarissa stopped Tyler as he was stepping down and kissed him, making him smile and then grab her hand and linking fingers with hers.
20 minutes later, Tyler, Clarissa, Emma, Ashton, Quincy, Sam, Freddie, Jason, Gibby, Tasha, Kirby, Carly and Andy were at the bowling alley and they were all just about to start their games.
"Hey. You alright?" Tyler asked Clarissa when he saw a funny look on her face.
"Yeah. I'm just thinking about Ashton." Clarissa said.
"What for exactly?" Tyler asked.
"Look at her. She has to sit around and watch her siblings and parents and friends have relationships and be happy in them when she's all alone. It's sad and she's really lonely." Clarissa said and Tyler looked to his older sister.
"She does kind of look lonely. But what can we do about it? She'll probably get annoyed if we set her up with someone, especially if they're a jerk." Tyler said.
"I know, but I don't want her to be the only one that's lonely." Clarissa said and Tyler sighed.
"Is there anyone that you can think of that might be interested in her and isn't a total idiot?" Clarissa asked after a few moments. Tyler thought about it for a moment before someone came to mind and he smiled.
"Do you know my friend Damian from the hockey team? He's single and he has a huge crush on Ashton." Tyler said.
"I didn't know he was back from camp yet." Clarissa said and Tyler frowned.
"He wasn't at camp Rissa. Who told you that he was?" Tyler asked.
"The teachers did. People started asking questions and the teachers told us he was at camp. Everyone at school knows that's where he was. Why do you think he wasn't at camp?" Clarissa asked.
"No reason. I'll just call him and see if he wants to hang out with Ash. I'll be back in a minute." Tyler said and then he got up, leaving Clarissa in slight confusion.
An hour after being at the bowling alley, Tyler, Jason, Quincy and Kirby decided to go to the arcade and while they were heading in there, Tyler ran into an older woman and knocked the drinks she was holding to the floor.
"Wow. I'm so sorry. Here. Let me help clean it up." Tyler said as he grabbed some napkins from the counter and the woman smiled before she realised who he was.
"Tyler?" She asked and Tyler's eyes widened.
"Mrs Miller. I-I didn't realise it was you." Tyler said and Mrs Miller smiled.
"It's Carol to you Tyler." Carol said and Tyler smiled, helping her clean up the mess.
"How's Damian doing now that he's back from… How is he?" Tyler asked and Carol sighed.
"Better. He's still nervous around people, but he's definitely better than he was." Carol said.
"Everyone at school thinks he was off at camp." Tyler said.
"No one really needs to know the truth now do they. Have you spoken to him recently?" Carol asked, the two standing up and putting the napkins and cups in the bin.
"I called him just before. I asked him if he wanted to hang out with my sister, but I think it just sent him back to that night." Tyler said.
"I just want him to get out of the house for a few hours. He hasn't been outside since he got home from…. Well, you know. I appreciate you not telling anyone what happened." Carol said.
"Well, I was there when it happened so I get why he wants it to be secret. But my family knows something happened that night. I mean, they did get a call from the police." Tyler said.
"You could have told your parents Tyler. They don't need to be in the dark about it." Carol said.
"I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I did try a few times, but I couldn't." Tyler said.
"You should come by some time. I'm sure Damian would love to see you. You two are friends after all." Carol said and Tyler smiled.
"Maybe I'll drop by tomorrow. It's Saturday after all. Is he going to be coming to school any time soon?" Tyler asked and Carol shrugged.
"Depends if he can get past the nightmares." She replied and Tyler nodded.
"Well, it was good to see you again Tyler." Carol said after a moment and Tyler smiled, giving her quick hug.
"You too Mrs Miller. I'll see you later." Tyler said and the two then went their separate ways, Carol to her group and Tyler back to Clarissa and his parents.
"Wasn't that Damian's mother?" Sam asked Tyler.
"Yep. I was thinking about going to visit Damian tomorrow morning. Is that alright?" Tyler asked.
"Sure. As long as you don't get up to any mischief." Sam said.
"Can I tag along?" Clarissa asked.
"No! I mean, I kind of just want to say hey. I haven't seen him in a while. And I was going to see if he wanted to play video games and I know you don't like sitting around watching people play games with zombies and tons of death." Tyler said.
"Okay. Is everything alright Tyler?" Clarissa asked.
"Yeah. Everything's good. I'm going to go get some fries. I'll be back in a minute." Tyler said and then he walked off. Sam and Freddie looked at each other before Freddie went after him and stopped him before he got to the counter.
"Tyler, what's going on?" Freddie asked.
"Nothing." Tyler replied.
"Tyler, you know I can tell when you're lying." Freddie said and Tyler sighed.
"I really don't want to talk about it." Tyler said.
"Are you in some kind of trouble? Or is Damian?" Freddie asked.
"I'm fine dad." Tyler said.
"So it's Damian." Freddie said.
"He's not in trouble. He's just got a lot going on right now. Can I please go and get some fries now?" Tyler asked.
"I thought you were going to the arcade." Freddie said.
"I decided I'd rather bowl instead. Can I please get my fries?" Tyler asked and Freddie sighed.
"Off you go then." Tyler then walked over to the counter and Freddie went back over to the others.
After Tyler had ordered his fries, he looked back at his parents and sighed. He knew he needed to tell his parents what had happened a few months ago, but how could he tell his parents about it when he couldn't even say it to himself?