Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“TYLER! WHY ARE YOU LATE AGAIN?!” His manager is pissed. Checking the clock he realises that he was five minutes late.

“Sorry there was a lot of traffic so the bus got held up.” He replies, shaking slightly from the cold. He gave Taylor his jacket and is deeply regretting not bringing a spare.

“WAS THAT MY FAULT?!” Tyler stares at her in confusion.

“I don't recall blaming you.” He replies dryly as he puts his apron on.

“SO NOW I’M THE BAD GUY!” Fucking hell Tyler needs a break before he has a breakdown. She was stupider than he thought.

“No. I apologise if my comment made it seem that way.” Talking to his manager is probably the only time he is able to express how tired he is without getting questioned. Probably because she didn't care if he was ok or not.

“WOW. WHY ARE YOU EVEN HERE RIGHT NOW YOU NEED TO WORK THE BAR?!” Keep calm, calm her. Be nice. He repeats to himself.

“Legally I can't work at the bar. I am 15.” He says nonchalantly.

“COME HERE NOW!” Shit. Shit. Shit. That's never good. **SLAP** “THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT LISTENING TO ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!”

Talk in a way that he could understand, make it seem like he cares if something happened. “Sorry. I was just concerned about what could happen to the restaurant if someone reported a kid working at the bar.” Keep yourself calm, calm her. He feels it before he sees it, something hard hitting his legs causing him to fall over.

“Fuck.” He whispers.
Looking up he sees that he was just hit with a dishwasher rack. That was bound to leave a nasty bruise.

“Why?” He says, staring at her.

“WHY! YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK WHY! I CAN FIRE YOU RIGHT NOW YOUNG MAN! WHEN I TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING YOU ARE EXPECTED TO COMPLETE THAT TASK. NO BACK CHAT. NO BUTS. JUST WORK. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT NOW!!” He stands up quickly, stumbling a little. Then he walks off to the bar grabbing a cap and pulling it down to cover his face. He could fake a deep voice but he couldn't magically look older.

After an hour of Tyler working the bar one of his co-workers walked up to him.
“Tyler man. I have a question for you. What should I do when a customer doesn't like the food that has been served but is refusing to explain what is wrong with it?” Simon, always confused. But it's alright, Tyler doesn't like the bar. Purposely making his voice sound deep he responds:
“Which table I can deal with it, if you manage things here.”

“Thank you so much man. Table 7.” At that Tyler briskly walks away, quickly taking his hat off as he walks through the kitchen. Putting on a cheery voice he approaches the visibly angered table.
“Hey! I heard you were having some trouble with your food. What’s tha-”

“THIS FUCKING FOOD IS HORRIBLE WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO!!” Well that was rude Tyler thinks.

“I'm sorry. I'm not one of the cooks but you could tell me what you disliked about the food. I could get you a replacement free of charge, with the food made the way you want. Would that be a good compromise?” He felt his patience running thin.

“JUST TAKE A LOOK AT IT I CAN’T EAT THIS SHIT! YOU PUT IT ALL WRONG.” The man seems to be calming slightly at the fact Tyler was trying to help. Tyler starts to study the plate intensely.

Confused Tyler asked: “I'm sorry could you point to the exact spot you are having a problem with because to me it looks like all the other fish and vegetable dishes.” Tyler puts embassies on the ‘to me’ because he has made the mistake of not saying that before and he almost lost a customer.

“T-the see. It's on the potato.” Ahh. Tyler completely understood, he hated eating food if it was touching another food.

“Right. Someone will deliver a new dish to you in a minute. Goodbye.” That guy was surprisingly easy to work with considering how Simon was acting.

Quickly Tyler returns to the kitchen relaying the information before going back to the bar (wearing his hat again). He lets out a sigh as he sees the group of customers yelling at both Simon and his manager. He stands up on the bar bench and takes a deep breath, deepening his voice and mentally bracing to get pushed over.

“CALM DOWN MAKE AN ORDERLY LINE AND I’LL GET YOU YOUR DRINKS. KEEP YELLING AND I’LL KICK YOU OUT.” Tyler makes his voice as loud as he can without yelling. He hops off the bench and wipes it down. Waiting, and after a moment they complied.

“Give me a — and make it quick.” The person says rudely as they push their cash into his hands. After a while of dealing with the grumpy customers they begin to calm and the line quickly disappears. Checking the clock he notices that he has half an hour left of his shift. Hopefully it will go smoothly.

“Hey hot stuff. I can't seem to find my wallet must have been put down somewhere. But you're pretty and I like the mysterious ones. Join me in the bathroom. I'll pay you there.” Fuck. He hasn't had to deal with someone like this for a while.

“Are you paying in cash or card?” Tyler replies firmly trying to make it clear wasn't interested while still remaining professional.

“Oh honey. Aren't you oblivious? I was thinking a blowjob or something of that sort. How's that sound?” He glares at her, feeling something off coming from her.

“We only take cash or cards.” He wished for them to hurry up and leave. The person starts to trail their finger up Tyler's arm. He pulls away and walks over to serve someone else. After ordering they stare at Tyler for a while.

“You need to show me your I.D first.”

“Come on. Just give me the drink.” Another annoying fuck. 15 minutes left.

“I.D or no drink.” Tyler says. The person apparently didn't like that and it seems the girl that was flirting with him before was mad too because next he knew two projectiles were thrown at him. He wasn't able to dodge due to his leg and winced as he was hit.

“You both need to leave. If you are still here in two minutes I'll call security.” Both people grumble but the girl gets up and walks off. The man stands there at the bar. Demanding a drink before he goes. The man was shaking due to how upset he was. After a lot of back and forth the man grabs Tyler and throws him across the room.

“GIVE ME THE FUCKING DRINK NOW!!” Tyler stands slowly.

“Sir I've asked you multiple times to either show me your I.D or leave.” That was the wrong thing to say because Tyler felt something hard and heavy hit him. How the FUCK did this man throw a table at him? He manages to get the table off himself before wrapping an arm around his body. That might be a broken rib or two.

“Sir I need you to leave before I call the cops.” Tyler doubts he will have the energy to put up with Aiden tonight. All of the energy he normally spares for the psycho was being put into not punching this guy. He is met with a punch in the face. “FUCKING HELL!” Tyler was really pissed now, he needed a cover story if that bastard left a mark. The sound of sirens fills the air, and Tyler's assaulter sprints out the building. Tyler grabs his hat off the ground and starts walking over to the bar checking to make sure there isn't anything broken.

“You the bartender?” A police officer asks. Tyler nods in response. “We got word that a child was working the bar. Would you be the one they are talking about?” Tyler freezes both at the question and the fact he could feel his manager glaring at him.

“I'm not sure. It depends on when the report was put in. Actually describe the person I've had to alternate with someone else because they were having trouble elsewhere.” Tyler replies.

“Middle aged blond haired women wearing contacts that made her eyes rainbow. She also said that the bartender was trying to get her to go to the bathroom and give him a blowjob.” Seriously. Her, felt a bit happier knowing why she looked off. Rainbow eye contacts, weird.

“That woman continuously touched my arm when I told to stop, was saying that she dropped her wallet a few minutes before talking to me and was saying that I should go to the bathroom with her and that he would pay me there. She didn't stop touching my arm so went to serve someone else. She wasn't happy about that and threw a coaster at me. I told her to get out.” Tyler said everything as seriously as he could to ensure that they didn't have any room for more questions.

“Right. Thanks for clearing that up mate.” Tyler nods and walks over to another customer. Smirking as he dodges the question about his age. “Sorry mate. You never told us how old you are.”

“I don't recall you asking.” Tyler deadpans. Manipulating a police officer was probably bad but he did what he needed when he needed.

“Oh. Sorry. How old are you though?” Tyler starts to chew on his lip a nervous habit he picked up. His coworker walked over, ready to take his shift at the bar.

“Tyler? Did you get forced into working at the bar again? Man, I told you to stand your ground.” He wouldn't say he was forced into it but he definitely didn't want to argue about it. This guy was just great help with the two police officers and the manager staring at him. Tyler gives a small nod as his hands start shaking.

“Are you too young to work at the bar?” One of the officers asks.

“We are understaffed so there isn't much of a choice for which station you work at.” Tyler responds.

“We will let you off with a warning but if we get a call about you working at the bar again you will have jail time. Understood?” Tyler nods. Which satisfies the police officers because they walk out.

He walks to the back so he can clock out and go home but gets stopped by his manager just after taking his apron and hat off. He braces himself and lets her beat him because he knew how much worse it would be if he fought back. Luckily for him she didn't hit him for too long.

Chapter Text

Tyler walks home slowly, dragging his feet. At least the weather is somewhat ok. He picks up the pace as he gets close to the house excited for the warm shower he planned to have.
“Mum! Tay! I'm home!”
“Tyler! My baby boy. Tay and Ethan aren't back yet so I was thinking we could make someone they like as a surprise. Do you want to help?!” She's in a good mood. Better keep it that way.
“Yeah! That sounds like great fun. I just need to have a shower quickly first but I'll be back right after that.” Tyler keeps his voice cheery. As he raises towards his room. The second he has a change of clothes and the bathroom door is locked he lets out a deep breath.

He turns the water on for the shower and carefully pulls a tile off the floor. Reaching into the small hole he had dug there he felt around until something poked his hand. Pulling the blade out he returns the tile to its home. He slowly steps into the shower and lets out a small hum as the water hits his back. Placing the blade carefully on the bench as he stares up at the shower head. Tears well in his eyes as he thinks about getting undressed. Slowly he pulls his clothes off and lathers them in soap, hoping that he could mask the alcohol smell which he has done many times but he always worries about what Taylor would think if she noticed his clothes smelt like alcohol. She doesn't even know he has a job. Once finished he looks down at himself. He runs his finger across a visible rib and stops as it seems to dip down even though he was following the bone. Not something that has happened before. Must have been that damn table.
“Fucking fat bitch.” Tyler grumbles as he looks at himself. He picks up the blade and thinks for a while about where to cut. Ashlyn has been teaching them how to cartwheel and handstand which means his shirt is falling. If he cut there someone would definitely notice, inside the thigh it is. It's probably the best spot anyways because he has noticed that he's most sensitive there, he really needs the sting today. He cuts and cuts watching as the blood flowed down the drain as it mixed with the water.
“Tyler! We need to start soon!” Marianna yelled. He thinks that he should be sad he doesn't refer to her as mum when he's thinking about her but it almost seems like he's parenting her nowadays.
“Two minutes.” Tyler replies. As he scrubs his skin. He picks up his clothes and rinses them out before hopping out of the shower and getting changed.
He steps out of the bathroom and goes around the house gathering dirty clothes and placing them in the washing machine before putting on a smile and joining Marianna in the kitchen.
“What are we making?” Tyler questions.
“Well I was thinking of a chicken pasta bake but your father and Taylor really like octopus so I bought some and was planning to substitute the chicken for octopus. Sounds good?” Aside from the fact Tyler is allergic to octopus and Ethan is still dead.
“Perfect.” He replies, smiling as wide as he could. They spend the next few minutes making the dish as they wait for Taylor to get home.

“I'm home!” A cheery voice sings from the door.
“Taylor! Honey. I'm so happy you’re home. Tyler and I have been working on something delicious for dinner. Did you see your father on the way? He hasn't been answering my calls.”
“No sorry mum. He might have an important meeting tonight. Those tend to run late.” Taylor says and Tyler smiles at the fact she was able to cook up a believable lie so fast. After an excruciating half hour Tyler gets the food out of the oven and yells that dinner was ready. Marianna tells them to wait for a while because Ethan still wasn't back yet.
“Mum, his meeting is probably running long. He wouldn't want us waiting until he gets home to eat.” Taylor pleads after five minutes of sitting at the table waiting.
“Ethan! Honey! Welcome home!” Mariana yells as she excitedly runs to the door hugging the air. Taylor and Tyler stare with fake smiles on their faces. Both saying something along the lines of ‘Hi’. During dinner Tyler pushes the food around his plate without actually eating something.
“Tyler Hernandez, don't ignore your father!” That snapped Tyler back to reality.
“Sorry.” He says and everyone can tell he did mean it.
“Tyler.” Marianna growls.
“Say it like you mean it. And eat your damned food I put so much effort into making that!” Why is she mad? He didn't even do anything wrong. So maybe he didn't have the energy to continue playing her game. She needs to fuck off.
“I'm allergic to octopus. I can't eat anything else in the bowl either, it's contaminated.” Once again Tyler seems to have made the wrong decision because Marianna is walking towards him with a snarl on her face.
“Taylor, can you go to your room please sweetie I need to talk to your brother.” Taylor got up, grabbed her dinner and headed up to her and Tyler's room.
“Mum. You need to calm down.” Tyler pleads.
“You disrespected your father and my efforts to cook for you.” She grumbles as she closes the gap between them with a slap.
“You are so stupid and useless. You’re what, fifteen now. Why don't you behave?” She grabs something from behind her and starts pushing it towards him. Octopus. Fuck. He squirms trying to get away but she has a tight grip on his arm. A smile forms on her face. The octopus touches his skin and he freezes. He thought that she was just trying to scare him again. She moves it along his arm and he cries.
“You know boys don't cry. Are you finally giving up on pretending to be one Tara?” He stares at her. She had been really supportive the whole time. Never once had he been dead named. Was it seriously all an act?
“Why are you crying? Sad, I'm pointing out the truth. I never should have let things go this far. You even cut off your breasts. You going to do that again when they grow?” Tyler felt betrayed, but she had let go of his hand so he ran upstairs to the shower.

Climbing in and turning it on for the third time that day. He wasn't a girl. He hadn't been since he was six years old. Took ‘til he was seven for his parents to believe him. He winces as he looks at his arm swollen to the size of a baseball. He scrubs it trying to get as much octopus off himself as possible. He bites his lip due to the pain. After a while he heard a knock on the wall.
“Ty? Umm. I don't know what happened with you and mum but you've been in the shower for a while now. Are you ok?” Tay best fucking sister ever.
“Can you get me a change of clothes please? The donut ones.” He smiles slightly as she agrees and walks off. Looking up he sees his blade. He picked it up and made a small cut on the side of his ankle. Something that would help ground him with each movement and it would be easy to make a cover story for.
“Outside the door.”
“Thanks Tay! How much longer?” He questions, turning the shower off and walking towards the door.
“About forty minutes.” She replies just as he opens the door sliding his hand out to grab his clothes. That wouldn't be anywhere near enough time to recoup before the shift. But the timing didn't match in his head. Taylor gets back from mechanics at 9:30, they waited for half an hour, it couldn't have been more than five minutes they were eating for before Mariana started yelling, Taylor said he had been in there for a while most of the time of she said that before it would mean 10-20 minutes, what the hell.
“Tay? When did you get back from mechanics?” He questions as he pulls on the shirt. Grimacing as his arm squeezed into the sleeve.
“9:30. I meant it when I said you have been in here for a while. This is my fifth or sixth time trying to get you out.” Shit, that was a lot longer than he thought.

Chapter Text

Tyler walked out of the bathroom and placed his clothes in the laundry to wash later. Taylor follows him even though she doesn't have anything to put in there. Once they get back to their room Tyler makes a bee line for his school bag and pulls out an EpiPen. Quickly he injects it into his arm, a smile forming as he feels the relief.

“Ty? Are you ok?” Crap.

“Yeah I'll be fine. Don't worry about me, ok.” Tyler hugs her and they sit next to each other on Taylor’s bunk. Taylor pulls up a show on her phone and they watch that for the next half hour. Just as the episode ends Tyler gets up.

“Ty?”

“Toilet. Stomach hurts.”

“Don't fall in!” Taylor yells happily. Tyler sits on the toilet doing what he needs to then looks at his underwear as he pulls them up. A bright red spot stares back at him.

“Tay!”

“Best sister ever at your service.”

“My period started.” He says and a few seconds later the door opens. Tyler whips his head up.

“You didn't answer.” Taylor explains before placing the stuff in his hands and walking out. A minute later Tyler emerges from the bathroom and puts more clothes in the laundry, this time the sink so they can soak for a bit. He walks back to their room and climbs right back to his bed.

“You ok?”

“Yeah.. it's fine Tay don't worry about me. Just get Aiden to fuck off today.” His voice breaking. It's surprisingly easy to say.

“It's your first period with the others around.”

“Yeah.” Some bitch knocked him up a while ago. He only found out two weeks ago and immediately went to the doctor for some pills to get rid of it. He felt bad, he knew what people say about that kind of thing but he couldn't deal with someone else to care about. That weekend was horribly painful. He did learn not to go selling himself though. Unfortunately it was good money.

“What's up bitches?!” It was twelve then.

“Hey Aiden.” The majority responded. Tyler got up and walked out to find a different bus, hopefully one he could sleep in. “

Half wit!! Where are you going?!” Aiden yelled. “Come back! Hey!”

Taylor must have said something because Aiden stopped yelling. Tyler manages to fall asleep and is somehow more grumpy when he wakes up. He pulls down his pants and sees that there isn't any blood which makes him quite happy. Human realm things must not transfer over completely because they still had pain but it would be ok. Would that mean he's still pregnant here. No. Push that thought away, he needs to get through this day. Tyler was strong. He could do this.

He walks back to the main bus where everyone is talking about something happily.

“Have a good sleep?” Ash questions with a hit of amusement in her voice. How did they know he napped?

“Your hair is so funny man.” Aiden says happily. Tyler combs his fingers through his hair and sits down next to Logan.

“How much longer?” He asks.

“Four and a half hours. You ok?” Logan says. He really didn't have the energy to do anything for that amount of time. Why is he asking if Tyler's ok?

“Yeah. I'm fine. Why?”

“Tyler. Did you go outside the wall?” The wall. Alone.

“You're bleeding. Giant cut in your arm, face at the cheeks. Your smile is literally ear to ear.” Why are they only asking now? Shouldn't that be the first thing said when he walks in. Tyler is in pain now that he thinks about it. He brings a hand up to his face and realises they are right. Ben walks up to him, med kit in hand.

“I thought it was a dream. Wait! Why didn't you say anything when I first walked in??” Tyler starts hitting the chair as Ben stitches him up.

“Your head was down.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS A DREAM!? YOU DREAM ABOUT GETTING HURT BADLY!” Seriously Tay. No need to yell.

“It was a pretty bad dream.” Tyler replies.

“Wait Taylor. You don't have dreams about getting attacked?” Aiden buts in.

“You do??” Of course he does dumbass.

“I've had dreams where we were all hanging out playing games. I fell asleep, you guys went into a different room and were doing quiet activities in the dark. Then another Logan appeared and said ‘Ashlyn that's not us’ and when I looked back you all looked like how Tyler looks right now. Except they didn't have a hurt arm.” That was a lot tamer than the dream Tyler just had.

“This is really disturbing.” Logan says.

“Aww~~. Ashy dreams about us, that's so sweet~~. But in mine I fight a version of myself that looks a lot like a phantom and it's trying to kill me. I'm better though so I win every time.” Aiden comments earning himself a bruised arm.

“That was mine.” Tyler says.

“What the actual shit?” Taylor says. Tyler glares at her.

“Ben. Do you have funny phantom dreams?” Ben shakes his head in response. Damn.

“Maybe there's a pattern. We should think of things only us three have in common.” Ash is ever the voice of reason.

“Ash I'm going to be honest. I don't have the energy to do that.”

“Aww. Does Tyler need a nap? Cuddles?” Aiden teases.

“Shut up.” Tyler growls. “FUCK YOU BITCH!” Tyler yells due to his pain.

“Ty. Calm down, Aiden was just joking around.” Taylor says.

“No it's… whatever. Pain.” Ben backs off for a bit, rubbing his back gently.

“Are you sure you don't need painkillers? It seems pretty bad.” Logan questions.

“Can't I had the max recommend dose already today. Migraine.” Tyler whispers, resting his head against his legs. A hand gently moves him so his cheeks get off his knees, that's probably a good idea.

“Tyler. Are you ok? Like mentally. You seem super down today.” Ashlyn. He didn't expect her to be the one caring about that sort of thing. Although she probably just doesn't want to lose a member of the group, protection would be a lot weaker then. He looks up at Ashlyn.

“Yeah I'm fine. Don't worry about me, carrot top. You know how migraines are.” Aiden walks over to him.

“Hey man.” Aiden says lifting Tyler's chin up gently, their eyes meet and Tyler gives a small smile. Or as much as he can muster with the pain. Aiden's eyes trace Tyler's face pausing slightly at his eyes. Aiden’s smile drops slightly.

“What?” Tyler says, eyes moving away from Aiden.

“Hi!” Aiden says happily with a smile reappearing on his face. They all stare at him for a while… then proceed to burst out laughing.

“What was that?!” Ash yells happily.

“You were totally going to kiss him weren't you??” Taylor. What the fuck? Tyler wouldn't be opposed to that. Wait what!! He should push that thought away for now.

“I thought Tyler and Logan were dating.” Ben's robotic voice says.

“CAN’T I BE GAY AND NOT BE SHIPPED WITH EVERY HOT GUY NEARBY!” Logan screams.

“So you admit he's hot.” Aiden says teasingly.

“I have a thing for dark haired guys.” Logan replies nonchalantly.

“So… Ben.” Taylor replies. Logan goes red in the face. Ben suddenly decides that he should go back to dressing Tyler’s arm.

“Shit. Are you two actually a thing?” Ashlyn questions through laughter.

“No like... not gonna lie. Ben is peak boyfriend material, like he could carry me to bed if i’m too tired to walk, he knows how to cook and clean wounds. Plus you can't deny how hot he is.” Logan blurts out. The hand dressing his arm leaves his spot and finds a new one on Logan's cheek. Ben leans in slowly and is met halfway. They seperate and stare at each other before kissing again.

“I'm free after school tomorrow. Wanna get ice-cream or something?” Logan says with an amount of confidence Tyler didn't expect. Ben nods softly, planting another kiss on Logan's forehead before walking over to finish dressing Tyler's arm. The room exploded in applause and cheers.

“Wow! Can't say I was expecting that. Anyways Tyler. You're healed already. How?” Aiden says happily.

“Huh. Damn I am. I don't know how though. Main character syndrome I guess.” Tyler replies, pretending to flick hair over his shoulder. Aiden bursts out laughing again. Tyler gives the others a small smile.

Chapter Text

“Four hours right?” Aiden asks.

“Yep.” Logan replies after checking his phone.

“That's enough for a game of monopoly.” Aiden sings, grabbing the game out. The group walks over to the table and play happily.

“Aiden money.” Tyler says in a monotone voice.

“But I don't have enough~”

“Then I win.” He replies.

“How about THIS!” Aiden yells, grabbing Tyler's money away from him and running off. Tyler sprints after him. They shift back to the human dimension after what felt like a very short amount of time to Tyler. Running after that idiot was actually fun.

“Ty?”

“What's up Tay?”

“Are you actually ok? Having dreams like that must be pretty scary.”

“I'm fine Tay. I know it'll end eventually, that's what gets me through it.”

“You said you fight a more phantom version of you.”

“That's what happens.” The bed shifts below him as Taylor peaks her head up.

“How did you get hurt so badly then? You're a great fighter.”

“I- it was stronger today.” He grumbles avoiding eye contact.

“TYLER HERNANDEZ GET YOUR BUT HERE NOW!” Crap mum has never even been out of bed at this time of night before. He grabs some headphones from his bag and holds them out to Taylor.

“Listen to some music and go to sleep.” He says as he walks out of their room. “Coming!” His hand traces the wall as he walks down the stairs. “Mum? Where are you?”

“In my room.” She sounded slightly calmer. He walked over to see her standing just inside the door. He gives her a small smile.

“What's up?” Her smile was wide but there was a hint of something dark in it.

“You're a disgrace to this family, you know that, right?” Another one of these lectures. “You should be a better son. Do some things around the house. At least pretend to fill the shoes your father left for you. Behave for once. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I saw the pills in the bin. You're a piece of shit. Going around with the boys. I thought I raised you better than this… obviously not. Do you have any idea how horrible the thing you did was? You killed an innocent child. Honestly you should have kept the kid and died in birth. It would have been better for everyone.” Tyler stares at her. He knew she hated him but this was a completely new level. Her hand grabbed him roughly and threw him to the ground. “You know what. If you like having sex so much I'll let you have it.” What? She grabbed him and dragged him over to the bed.

“Hey. Hey! Mum. Stop!” Tears streamed down his face.

“Get on the bed, brat. You need to fill the hole your father left properly.” He wrapped his leg around the leg of the bed frame and refused to move.

“Difficult piece of shit.” He was frozen, this was much scarier than any phantom attack had ever been.

“Please.” He pleads as tears stream down his face.

“Don't worry honey. I'll make you feel good.” No. No! Something wrapped around his hands. He tried getting up as soon as her hand left his hair but his arms were connected to the bed frame. His leg gets pulled out from under him and he falls hitting his head badly against the frame as he falls. Dizziness quickly overwhelms him. A hand prys his mouth open and something gets put inside it. A gag he realises as he feels it tighten around the back of his neck. He shivers as cold air hits his now bare chest. He kicks his legs as he desperately tries to go away, she pulls his pants off taking his underwear with them.

“Ye ear by I ack ell ood.” What? He feels a hand spread his legs. He sits up as fast as he can, hitting his head again. When he wakes up he feels something soft against him. He looks down. Mum, why isn't she wearing clothes? Why isn't he wearing clothes? Memories flood his brain as she moves against him.

“I'm glad you woke up. Now I can play with you.” He looks around, squirming as he tries to get away from her. He feels his legs separate again. She smiles wickedly at him. Something hard and wet pokes him. His eyes darted downwards.

“I hope you are ready.” No. He feels himself stretch. Nothing happens for a while after that. She had a far away look in her eyes. Maybe she will be back to her normal self soon. He feels the object leave him. She gets up and walks over to her bedside table. Opening the draw she pulls something out staring at Tyler. Tyler studies the object it was: long, knotted on the end and twisted. She waltzes back to Tyler, grabbing a towel and wiping his nether regions dry.

“This is going to hurt.” She says in a way that makes Tyler think she wants him to hurt.

Tyler closes his eyes and tries to pretend she isn't there. His illusion even though it wasn't constructed yet completely shattered as pain blinded him. He felt like he was being torn apart. The object was quickly removed just to slam back in with more force then Tyler thought possible. Noises escaped him quite often which caused more emotional distress.

The object was removed and placed back in often at a rate Tyler thought impossible. Then one time it did something he thought only possible in books. It vibrated inside him, it continued vibrating as it was pulled out of him and slammed back in. A pressure was built deep in his stomach and disappeared quickly each time Tyler was louder than the last. His jaw hurt from the constant attempts to close. She pulled out for a while and stared at him.

“You're ruined now Ta~ra~.” He was fresh out of tears but if he could he would have cried a river. One last time it slams into him and he feels something pop. A warm liquid starts dripping down him. Blood, he thinks. He blacks out after that.

His eyes open slowly. He was dressed, untied and dry. He looked around to spot his mum asleep on her bed. Quickly and quietly he exits the room walking over to the bathroom ready to take his fifth shower for the day. He sits inside the shower feeling the water beat down against his skin for quite a while. A hand rubs his head softly. He thinks it either caused his headache he just woke up with or was trying to wake him.

“Ty?” Taylor is always checking on him. He felt warm again, when did he get out of the shower?

“Tay. What are you doing up? It's late.” He says leaning against her hand.

“It's 11. I found you asleep in the shower.” That sent alarm bells off.

“Oh. Why aren't you at school?”

“If you found me asleep in the shower fully clothed and had no idea if I went to bed last night, you would be here too. Did you plan to tell me about the cuts on your legs?” Shit. He shakes his head slightly and pulls his blanket up above his head.

“Go to school Tay, I won't do anything. Don't have the energy. Please.”

“What's the chances you'll let me skip?” He pokes his head out to glare at her. “The others are worried about you. I messaged the chat. Just said you weren't feeling well.”

“Go to school. They'll feel better if they hear information in person. Just don't tell them I hurt myself.” She gives him a thumbs up and walks off. He sighs in relief.

The next few hours were spent with Tyler staring at the ceiling wondering what he did to deserve what he went through last night. Mum did say he had to fill the hole dad left properly. Maybe it was because he was a boy in all ways but physical. He grabs his phone that luckily Taylor placed next to his head. Opening up the call app he pauses, was he really going to cancel a shift because of one night. The manager at the game shop was nicer than the one at the diner so it might be ok. He presses the call button before he can back himself out of it.

“Tyler? Shouldn't you be at school?” He smiles at her kindness.

“I- umm. Sorry. Last night… something happened. Can I take the shift off? Please.” He hates the way his voice breaks as he tries telling her what happened.

“Yeah of course. You need to rest, you sound like crap.” Wow, that's just such a nice thing to point out. “Do you want to talk about it?” Tyler pauses for a moment. Does he want to talk about it? Not really but he heard talking about something traumatic normally helps. That wasn't something traumatic though… right? No, it must have just been a bad day. He would be fine.

“No thanks, I'm ok, just a bit sore. Thank you for letting me take the day off.” He tries to be as polite as possible.

“It's alright mate. Rest up.”

“Yeah I will, thanks.” He hung up after that.

Just in time too because he heard the front door open and a lot of voices. Why did Taylor bring the others back here?

“You look like shit.” Ashlyn says. He flips her off and pulls the bed sheets back over his head. “So what happened? Taylor's really worried about you. I’ve never seen her this worried before.” Fucking hell Ash. Piss off already.

“None of your business.” He grumbles.

“You hurt your throat. That's why your voice is so scratchy. Did you hang yourself?” What the shit?! Aiden. He pokes his head out to glare at Aiden.

“Feeling like shit and trying to kill yourself are very different. Why are you guys even here?” Aiden puts his hands up defensively.

“You didn't answer the question.” Ashlyn points out.

“No I didn't hang myself. I'm not that stupid. I'm just feeling crappy today.” He replies.

“We are here because we care. Also Taylor wouldn't be this stressed out from you just feeling crappy. We know you Tyler, you would come to school the same day you would get like… your appendix taken out. Also most successful suicides come from hanging, there's a reason the exacuded people by hanging.”(Not fact checked)

“I.. passed out. That might be why Tay’s so worried. Also if you thought I was suicidal why did you tell me the most successful way to kill myself?” That was close enough to the truth.

“Yeah, I don't know why I did that.” Aiden smiles.

“Why'd you pass out?” Ashlyn questions. Tyler turns back to look at the ceiling.

“I didn't sleep the night before and I had an allergic reaction. My body probably could take it all.” He holds a blanket tightly, tears threatening to spill.

“You're not sharing the full story. But I doubt any amount annoying you will get you to speak up. Also what are you allergic to?”

“Shellfish. Only got some on my arm but it's a pretty serious allergy.” Tyler feels a tear roll down his face. A careful hand wipes it away and taps his head softly.

“Rest up man.” Aiden says, the door clicking shut a few seconds later.

Chapter Text

Tyler wakes up a few hours later as he feels the bed below him shift. “Tay? What's the time?” He questions hoping that she was just sitting there and wasn't going to bed yet. He didn’t cook dinner.

“It's time to go back to sleep!” An annoying voice cheers. Followed by an audible groan. “Sorry Ash.” Aiden quickly says. Tyler pokes his head over the side of the bed to see Ben, Aiden and Logan laying on blankets that were set on
the floor. Where was Ash?

“Does mum know these idiots are here?” He questions. Spying the end of a braid coming off Taylor's bed, considering the other three were struggling to fit on the floor it made sense.

“Yeah. She wants to talk to you though. Not sure why.” Taylor replies from below him. Slowly he sits up running a hand through his hair.

“Psycho, move to the right.” He says planning to jump off the bed. Aiden stares at him for a while, his eyes wide but he moves without any more questions. Quickly Tyler jumps down getting a few stunned looks from the others. He wraps his body with his blanket to try to make it seem like has sick and because the house got stupidly cold while he was asleep. If his mum thought he was sick he might have a chase at being let off the hook. He hadn't even done anything but it was always better safe than sorry.

“Have a good nap?” Ash questions, he turns around to face her. His eyes scanned the scene, Taylor resting her head on Ash’s shoulder. He knew Taylor had feelings for the other girl but wasn't happy about her being that close already. Rich coming from him he knew but, he also knew that if Ash didn't have the same feelings for her Taylor would be devastated. Especially with how close they seemed. He pokes Taylor's head softly, earning a grumble in response, even though everyone in that room knew Taylor was completely awake.

“Yeah, I guess. Taylor put a jumper on, it's going to get colder.” Honestly he just didn't like how she had so much skin touching Ash. That was a recipe for disaster. It wouldn't help with the crush she developed but it was going to get colder so there was a bit of truth in his statement.

“It gets colder than this?” Logan questions. He replied with a nod. The building was really old and didn't have much of any insulation.

“Stick close to the others, I'm not sure how many more blankets we have.” He starts walking to the door. “I'll be back. Don't wait up.” He says making sure to close it behind him. He walks down the stairs to find his mum laying in her bed. “Mum?” He questions hoping she might be asleep.

“You. Why weren't you at school? Off with the boys again?” Malice dripping from her voice like the water from the tap in the kitchen. Tyler rubs his eyes slowly. Shaking his head.

“I'm sick.” He said before breaking out into a completely fake but very realistic coughing fit. Her gaze softens slightly.

“Oh." A long pause follows. "Those friends of yours that are staying over… make sure they are comfortable. Even if you don't have any blankets, ok. People are already worried about us, we can't mess this up.” Tyler nods. His gaze was on the floor but he could feel her stare. “I suggest you be quiet tonight. You don't want to worry them, do you?” He looks up slightly puzzled. He knew to be quiet, the others had some decency; they knew that each family's quiet time was different.

She stepped towards him, the look in her eyes similar to the one from last night. Fear freezes him to the spot. Her hand reaches out to close the door behind him as her lips attack his. His instincts and training from the phantom realm had her knocked out in two seconds. He sighed despite the guilt pooling in his stomach, he couldn't deal with that again, he still hasn't mentally recovered from the night before. Not physically either considering the pain he felt between his legs. Quickly he placed his mum onto her bed turning off the light as he left the room.

He walked into the kitchen having a drink of water to clear his mind. He hums softly after drinking a little, would she try to do those things to him every night? A glimmer catches his attention, the dishes from dinner. Clean but not put away. He got to work on that job debating whether to tell Taylor to put the dishes away or, assume that one of the others cleaned them and didn't want to put it away in the wrong spot. A few taps on the bench make Tyler spin around knife posed, ready to attack. Ben stood there glaring at Tyler.

“You need something?” He questions as he puts the knife away. Feeling his pulse slow.

“No. You ok?” Ben's phone says in a monotone voice. Tyler nods, Ben was very observant but he didn't- couldn't admit something was wrong. Avoiding that fact helped to keep him calm. “It's late, go to bed.” Tyler chuckles, he has a lot of things to do before he could go to bed but Ben acting like a.. dad. That was a bit funny, the more Tyler thought about it the more he noticed how well Ben fits that role. A strong hand gripped Tyler's wrist as he went to put some laundry on. He stares at Ben who holds tight, slightly nudging him towards the stairs. He shakes his head hoping that Ben would let go soon. The hand removes itself from Tyler's wrist so he starts walking off again before two strong arms lift him off the ground. He lets out a small squeal at the act moving around as he tries to get away, his attempts are futile as Ben starts carrying him upstairs.

“Ok fine. I'll go to bed. Just put me down, I need to take a shit.” He says having completely given up on being able to get anything productive done. Ben puts him down gently, watching as Tyler walks off. Tyler does what was necessary, making sure to change his pad and walks back to the bedroom.

He opens the door to see that Taylor did listen and was wearing a jumper, he also saw Ben and Logan curled up on the floor. A small smile forms on his face as he looks at them, they looked happier since they got together.He looks around the room for Aiden, seeing him up on Tyler's bunk. “Psycho?” He questions.

“Tyler! I've been waiting for you.” Aiden replies happily. Holding his arms out for a hug. Tyler pointedly ignores the offered hug.

“Why aren't you on the floor?” He says hoping he could get a comfortable sleep if he could get Aiden off his bed.

“Logan said he was cold so Ben started cuddling him, which is nice but there wasn't much room for me with Ben all stretched out. Also body heat is the most effective at warming someone up so you can hang out with me.” Tyler sighed, he didn't have much choice because as much as Aiden annoyed him, he couldn't tell Aiden to suck it up and sleep on the floor. Slowly he crawled over to Aiden and layed down on the bed patting the spot next to him.

“Just behave.” He said in a defeated voice. The blanket Tyler has wrapped around himself moved slightly as Aiden tried to cover himself with it. Tyler shuffles across so it's easier for Aiden, Aiden hugs Tyler softly resting his head against Tyler's shoulder. Tyler freezes before closing his eyes hoping on a good sleep before they go to the phantom realm.

Chapter Text

His eyes snap open as he feels himself hit something hard. Did he seriously just faceplant? Manic laughter magically makes his hand curl in a way that the only finger left up was insulting. Right, he was chasing Aiden yesterday. The bitch still had his money. Quickly he pushed himself up and launched at Aiden. After a few minutes of struggling Tyler manages to get his monopoly money back, just as a sharp pain in his skull blinds him, making him drop to knees. 

“You good?” Aiden says a weary smile on his face. Tyler attempts to nod but it just causes bile to rise in his throat. “Come here. Let's get you inside.” Aiden says scooping Tyler up like one would a baby. Tyler swats his arm at Aiden haphazardly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to walk anyways. He felt like he was going to pass out.

“What happened?!” Taylor shrieks as they walk in the door, a small whimper escapes Tyler's mouth. 

“He face planted too hard. I think he has a minor concussion.” Tyler wished it was a concussion but something told him it wasn't. This was way different, too familiar. Aiden gently placed Tyler on one of the make shift beds and put a blanket on top of him. 

“I'm ok. Bad migraine. Happens sometimes. I just need a nap.” Tyler said, closing his eyes. He heard what he assumed to be Ash say something along the lines of shit. She probably had them before. 

He never got to sleep but he spent a few hours resting in relative peace which really helped. It was likely because he hadn't had a proper sleep in a while. Before long he was playing a game of snakes and ladders which was taking a lot longer than he expected. Although the game was cut short when they got teleported back to the human realm. (I don't know what they would do when just chilling. Sorry.) 

“I was going to win.” Ash said quietly. 

“I don't think so.” Logan replied, out of the two Tyler believed Logan more. Ash was still at the very bottom of the board only rolling ones and twos. 

“It's cold~~!” Aiden exclaimed right next to his ear. 

“I'll find some more blankets.” Tyler said, pushing Aiden off of him and slowly sitting up. There were a few mumbled thanks throughout the room as he slowly climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed. 

His adventure for the blankets was relatively unsuccessful, only finding two more. He passes the blankets to Ash and Logan as he grabs a few jumpers out of the closet. He throws them up to his bed climbing up soon after. He passes one to Aiden who was visibly shaking from the cold, the guy probably never slept without a heater or AC on.

Aiden tugs the jumper over his head, the piece of clothing swallowing him whole although he doesn't seem to be bothered by this and lays back down. Tyler puts on a jumper and lays next to Aiden having already accepted that he would have Aiden glued to his side for the night, Aiden predictably shuffles closer to Tyler, his hand brushing the edge of Tyler's stomach. Tyler pulls Aiden slightly closer, Aiden's head now resting on Tyler's shoulder, he pulls the blanket over them and drapes the jumper over them. After about half an hour he noticed the harboured breathing of the person right next to his ear, accompanied by lots of shifting around. He was too cold to sleep peacefully. 

“You sleep like this every day?” Aiden whispered. 

“Yeah, I tend to sleep in a bit of a ball so my body heat doesn't escape as much.” Half lie, he barely ever slept but when he was cold he curled up. Aiden sits up slightly before curling into a ball with the majority of his body on top of Tyler. “Seriously.” He said even though he didn't care too much.

“Yep.” Aiden says popping the ‘p’. Tyler wraps his arms around Aiden and closes his eyes. 

“Don't bring this up ever again.” Tyler mumbled, Aiden seemed to nod in response. 

The next morning Tyler wakes up relatively refreshed with a hand covering his face. The fuck. He opens his eyes to see it was Aiden's hand and he was very much still asleep, as were the others. He slowly moved the hand off his face and begun waking up properly.

He pulls his phone out from under his pillow to check the time. 3:30, and a few unread messages. He checks the messages:

‘How are you feeling? Do you need tomorrow off too?’ game shop manager sent at 8:30 yesterday,

‘I know things happened yesterday but I still expect you to come in on Thursday.’ manger at the diner sent yesterday. He replies to his manager from the game shop figuring that he could just show up to his shift at the diner in 25 minutes,

‘I'm fine now. I'll come to work.’ he clicks send and begins the task of getting Aiden off him. 

Once Aiden was successfully of him Tyler climbed down the ladder quickly. He would have to run to work if he wanted to make it on time. He slips out of the room without anyone noticing and sprints to work. Making it there right on time. 

“Wow. I heard about what happened and didn't expect you to show up again.” Someone comments. Tyler gives them the bird as he signs in and puts his apron on. His shift goes pretty well and gets great tips, thankfully he was only a server today. Maybe he could get Taylor extra snacks, or more blankets in case the others stay over again. He decides to take his break at 6:30 because his shift finishes at 7 but he wanted to be home earlier in case any of the others were up. If anyone cared he would hear about it during his shift after school.

He got home relatively fast and noticed that there weren’t any lights on, so he had a chase of not being caught. He was in the door and in the shower within two minutes before he realised something trivial. He didn't grab any clean clothes for after he finished. Once clean, he tiptoed out of the room suddenly very happy about Taylor's insistence to buy some wearable towel thingy. He stealthily made his way to their room but as luck would have it, he had been putting off oiling the door hinges causing a loud *creek* to echo through his ears. A small grumble was heard but nothing more than that. Tyler squeezed through the small gap not wanting to risk waking everyone up, snuck over to the cupboard and started grabbing his clothes so he could go to the bathroom and change. 

“Tyler? What are you doing?” Ash’s voice made him almost jump out of his skin but, if anyone was going to wake up from that shitty door- it would be her.

“Forgot to grab clothes before my shower. Go to sleep, you could probably get another half an hour in, if you fall asleep straight away.” He explained already walking back to the door. 

“Give ten more minutes.” Aiden grumbled clearly upset about waking up. “Cold.” He complained next. 

Tyler slipped out the door and down to the bathroom deducing that the others would need a hot meal to wake up properly. He pulled his clothes on and set off to do the laundry that Ben rudely prevented him from doing. Once complete he turned his sights on the kitchen, there was still some milk left so he could try to make some pancakes with that. Yeah, he would do that and if the others didn't want any they could have some bread or a sandwich. Perfect, he has lots of choices for them then. 

The kitchen filled with delicious smells about ten minutes later which caused the others to emerge from the bedroom although it did seem like Ben was dragging Aiden along, but that was neither here nor there. They all lined up to get some and were very happy when they did end up getting it, no one showed any signs of distaste so Tyler was feeling pretty pumped. 

“Can I have those?” Aiden questioned pointing at the two pancakes set aside, as Tyler was cleaning the pan. 

“No. They're for mum.” He explained as he dried and put the pan away. “You can make yourself a sandwich if you want. Just clean the knife and plate after.” He said as he pulled the medications down. 

“You shouldn't have to take care of your mother's medicine.” Logan whispered. Tyler pauses for a moment. 

“She struggles in the morning, pretty self sufficient otherwise.” He says grabbing the food and small cup of meds before heading towards her room. 

“That doesn't change my earlier statement.” Logan says although this time Tyler pretended not to hear.

The rest of the morning went pretty well, his mum was co-operative, the others cleaned and put away their dishes, and they left for school right on time.

Chapter Text

“How do you do this every dayyyyy! My legs are tired.” Aiden complained, as Tyler sighed.

“Come on man! It's fun. I like to bug Tyler for love advice. He doesn't show it but he knows a lot.” Tyler gave her a playful punch. 

“Really? Well then, give it up lover boy. How should I win the love of my life over?” Ashlyn said jokingly. Far out she needed to spend less time with Aiden.

“Yeah! Tell us!” Aiden cheered. 

Tyler looked over to Logan and Ben hoping that one of them would help him but unfortunately, Ben was listening to Logan explain something quite enthusiastically and neither showed any type of interest in the conversation that the others were having.

“Umm.. well. Do you have a crush? Like I know Taylor's type so I give her advice based on that. I.. this is really weird.” He mumbled the last part but it didn't make it any less real. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, wincing as it was still sore from yesterday. He should have stayed home but that would have made the others more curious about what happened. 

“My type is girls. What do you have for that?” Tyler sighed, Ash really wasn't giving him much to work with. Chances are she was just messing with him again. 

“I live with two girls, I know how to make sure they don't hate you. Never tried seducing either of them though. But… food. If Tay is sad I throw some kind of snack at her and it fixes everything. She is super oblivious though, not sure if all girls are the same way but, you shouldn't beat around the bush. Umm. Was that good enough?” He thought it was good, sure he only talked about what his sister likes but he was doing his job as a wing man. At least that's what he thought he was meant to be doing. Taylor wouldn't bring this up otherwise.

“Hey. No extra information. Tell me what I should do. If you really have good advice you would be able to give it without any help.” Aiden demanded next to him. Tyler rubbed his temples.

“You- you should… just be yourself. You shouldn't change yourself to make someone else happy.” He said quietly staring at the floor.

"Wow. That's actually really good advice. I never knew there was a brain in that head of yours." Aiden teased. 

"Yeah. Well piss off." Tyler responded. 

He didn't engage in any other conversations during the rest of the walk. He didn't have the energy to, plus he was slightly embarrassed due to the earlier topic. He wasn't sure why because it was a pretty normal conversation. He split from the group as soon as he had his things from his locker. The subject he had first was P.E which he didn't share with any of the others. Luckily today was a study period, learning about muscles and stuff so he should be ok.

The food they had for lunch wasn't as horrible as it could be. The group was pretty annoying but he could deal with them. Luckily they knew he was still grumpy from yesterday so they left him alone. But as all good things did, it came to an end- Aiden was the cause as always.

"So... You guys ever wonder if someone is following us. Like, no matter how hard we try, we won't be normal. We avoid the dark like little kids, we have different personalities but get along some how. Plus I am sure I've seen things in different spots to where we leave them, and I think someone has been following me. Like outside my window kind of thing."

With that the group tensed up. They might not have said it but they had all experienced similar things, thought similar thoughts. 

"You're being paranoid. It's just the phantoms." Tyler said bluntly. The whole situation still creeped him out, he didn't want to think about it at all. 

"You could have been nicer. I've noticed things like that too but I agree. It's probably just phantoms. I don't blame you for being paranoid though." Logan said softly.

"No. Because phantoms don't show up on cameras." Aiden retaliates.

Tyler stood up and walked off. The conversation was pissing him off and he didn't want to punch someone or something. 

Chapter Text

Hello, sorry if you thought this was an actual update. But I will be discontinuing this fic. 

Looking back on it there are so many parts I hate and are really affecting what I could do with the story. So I will discontinue this and rewrite keeping some of the key points the same. Although I'm not sure when this will happen.

Main points in going to keep: trans Ty, their mum being a shit parent (not in the same way as this fic, more canonical), Ty working a job or two while keeping them secret and I'm planning it to be set before the incident with Barron which starts their training arc. 

Ships: I want to include some but I'll be honest the main six are real easy to ship together and I'm fine with almost all between the six so if anyone has recommendations please share. First come first serve basis. 

SHIPS I WILL NOT WRITE: BEN X AIDEN. TAYLOR X TYLER. BEN X LILY. AIDEN X LILY. LOGAN X BARRON. BEN X SHANE. Also anyone X their parents. I kind of fucked up with the Ty and his mum thing but it wasn't a ship or consensual. Either way idk why I did that. 

The new fic may take a long time as I have diven into the UnOrdinary fandom, iykyk. But I have more hopes for this one.

Thank you all for your support throughout writing this. <3 <3