[A/N: *gasp* Is this...is this a...double update?! Haha, so many of you voted for the last chapter so why not? Picture on the side perfectly describes this chapter and I'm sure I looked at it a billion times when I was writing this haha. Hilarious, absolutely hilarious! Song for the chapter:
- One Republic // Something I Need]

"Tyler?"

Silence.

"Tyler?"

More silence.

"Tyler!"

My raised tone startled him. He dropped the phone in his hand and it fell onto his lap, bouncing several times before it landed with a soft thud onto the grass.

"What?" He grunted, jumping off the swinging bench in his extravagant back garden.

"I thought you said you weren't ignoring me anymore. Come on Ty, I said sorry a billion times and baked you the biggest banana cake ever and even paid for your movie ticket last night. What else am I gonna have to do to prove that I'm sorry?" I asked with a heavy sigh, watching him pick his phone up before he slumped back down. He smothered me when he deliberately put his ass in my face. "Tyler! Stop that! Stop it!"

After he was certain I had died from suffocation, the jerk shifted his ass to the left and collapsed into the cushions, flashing me a fake wide grin before letting it drop into a scowl. Usually, the idea of having Tyler Miller's ass in my face would have excited me but his skinny jeans were scratchy and I was certain his belt was made from sandpaper because my skin felt like it was on fire.

"Come on," I whined, scooting closer to him as he began to rapidly text Blake like he'd been doing for the past hour. "Talk to me."

I don't think my voice even made it to his ears by the look of his bored expression. We were currently lounging in his garden, gazing at the sunset - well, Tyler was shooting daggers at me instead since that's all he's been capable of doing for the past two days. About twenty minutes ago his phone buzzed and suddenly his fingers were flying across his screen at lightning speed and I didn't know if I was relieved to have escaped his death glares or annoyed that he was too busy texting his best buddy on our date.

Well it wasn't exactly a date but it was still 'us' time. Damn, if there's anything I didn't want to sound like it would be a whiny girlfriend, but after getting tackled to the ground two days ago, grappled at my Tyler's monstrous hands before having him bite my neck - quite painfully I might add - it was safe to say I'd served my punishment.

Was he seriously still mad? With a heavy sigh, I laid my head down on his lap and lifted my legs in the air, moving them in a cycling motion to pass time because boredom was getting the best of me. The hues of pinks and pale purples spread across the sky like paint splashed against a cerulean canvas. It would have been nice to snuggle into the my ass-smothering boyfriend's chest and talk about pointless things like we usually did. But instead he was preoccupied by the constant vibration of his phone.

"Tyler?"

Silence.

"Tyler?"

More silence.

"Tyler!"

"What?" He dragged out in a slow whine, finally tearing his eyes from his phone screen and lazily swatted the hand I waved in front of his face. "Stop being annoying or I'll bite you again."

My hand shot to my neck and I rubbed the raw red skin where he had marked me for the stunt Mona and I pulled to get the guys to talk again. So far it had been a soaring success because they were bonding over their new-found hatred for us but we couldn't care any less.

Blake and Tyler were talking again and that was all that mattered. With a stony scowl, I gripped his wrist and forced his eyes to meet mine.

"If you dare bite me again, I'll chew your ear off."

He arched an eyebrow before scoffing lightly.

"I'll believe that when I see it happen."

When his gaze snapped back to his phone, I bit back a devilish smirk and counted to three before snatching his phone and jumping off the swinging seats we were currently perched on. Surprise lit up his sea green eyes before they flashed with irritation but by then I was jogging backwards and waving his phone in a taunting manner.

"Give it back Ash," Tyler stood up and stalked over to me but I just giggled and scrolled through his recent texts.

"Hmm, Blake just asked," I recited the most recent text seconds after his phone vibrated. "Bro, you up for some soccer in the park tomorrow? Hmm, interesting. Sounds like something hot might go down tomorrow."

I began to type away, spluttering and choking on my laughter. Tyler tried to snatch his phone back but I darted left and right like a grasshopper, always just a little out of his reach. With a frustrated growl, he lunged for me and tackled me to the ground. The fall winded me but I was already breathless from laughing so hard. Tyler held his phone to his eyes and squinted hard before tossing it to the ground and snapping his back to mine.

"I'm up for much more bro xoxo. Mona doesn't have to know. Wink, wink," He growled, gripping my wrists and holding them above my head as I continued to puncture a lung from laughing so hard. "Why the hell did you do that Ashley!"

My smirk only made his face turn a shade redder and I rolled my eyes.

"Chill Ty, it's only Blake."

"Chill?" He inched his head closer to mine and narrowed his eyes into paper-thin slits. "Chill? Two days ago I saw his goddamned junk and now you're telling me to chill?"

My echoing laughter was cut off when Tyler buried his head into my neck and buried his teeth into the same place where he attacked me two days ago. The pain that shot through me was excruciating in a pleasant way but I still thrashed about, kicking my legs everywhere in an attempt to wriggle free. Either way, pain was pain and it hurt like a bitch.

"Tyler!" I screeched, twisting my wrists to slip them out of his tight hold but his teeth only pinch my skin harder and I gasped. "You're hurting me!"

"You hurt me first," He rolled his eyes at my over-exaggerated reaction. "You always find a way to crush my manhood."

With a grunt, I scowled at him.

"What manhood? The little pencil between your legs?"

My snide comment earned me another vicious bite as Tyler literally tried to devour my neck. I thrashed about like I was undergoing an exorcism, unable to bear the piercing pain that shot through my nerve endings.

"Tyler!" I screamed, kicking his legs in an attempt to free myself.

"You started it," He chuckled, finding amusement in my flushed cheeks.

"Get off me!"

"No."

"Why are you being such a baby?"

"Because...I'm your baby," He smirked, trying to call a truce but I shook my head and ignored the bombarding butterflies inside me.

"Your crap pickup line won't take away this freaking bite mark so shut up and get the hell off me," I tried to kick him, flustered that his head was edging closer to me.

When he realised that sweet-talking me wasn't going to work to get back into my good books for biting me, Tyler dropped the romance and mirrored my flat look.

"Don't make me bite you again."

"You'll lose your ear."

He chuckled, challenging me with his eyes as he brushed the tip of his nose against mine.

"And how on earth are you going to do- Oof!"

My knee made contact with his crotch and I used enough pressure to wind him but not enough to make him infertile for the rest of his measly existence. Tyler scrunched his eyes together and slumped on top of me, no longer able to hold his own weight which meant that I got crushed by almost two hundred pounds of muscle. Somehow, I miraculously rolled us over so that I was straddling him although it was kind of awkward since his hands were cupping his crotch. So I was basically sitting on Tyler's hands.

"Ashley," He groaned, breathing heavily like he was about to give birth. "Why...why...Wait, what are you doing? Stop that! Ash! Shit that tickles!"

When he sucked in a sharp breath, I giggled into his ear before pressing my lips back to the sensitive spot behind his ear. Gently, I nipped the skin before sucking it and blowing cold air on it. Tyler was no longer clutching his crotch; instead moving his hands to grip my waist as a shiver rippled through him and I could have sworn he moaned. I giggled and planted a lingering kiss on his soft skin before moving my head upwards and clamping my teeth onto his ear - hard.

"Fuck!"

His roaring agony echoed for miles when I leaned back and admired my handiwork. Teeth marks ringed his earlobe but it was no match for the alarming shade of beetroot that coloured his face. Tyler's hand shot up to cup his ear and I crossed my arms over my chest as he rubbed the throbbing skin, flashing me a deathly glare that would have decapitated me if looks could kill.

"I did warn you," I shrugged my shoulders, sporting a cocky grin that made him blow hot air out of nostrils as he pursed his lips into a thin line.

"I'm gonna give three seconds to get off me or I swear to god I'll-"

"You'll what? Bite me again? Continue to ignore me? Throw me into the pool?" I laughed and flipped him off. "Find something new to threaten me with."

His eyes lit up at my last suggestion and in the blink of an eye, Tyler grabbed my waist and hoisted me off the ground as he scrambled to his feet.

"Tyler! What are you doing? What the heck- Oh no! No! Put me down! Tyler! No! No! Pleas-"

My cries were cut off when he reached the edge of the pool, clamping one hand over my mouth and the other beneath my thighs to keep me glued to his waist.

"Take a deep breath Ash. On the count of three..."

"Tyler no! Please no!"

"One."

"Tyler James Miller, put me down!"

"Two."

"Tyler! Don't do this! You can't do this to me! You wouldn't!"

"Three."

"No, no, no, no-"

He cut me off by yelling, "Geronimo!"

Before I could comprehend what was happening, I was thrown into ice cold water with a cackling lunatic attached to my body.

**

Three hours later and I was buried under Tyler's duvet with a set of his oversized pyjamas and three towels wrapped around me, yet I was still shivering as if I was having a seizure. My teeth kept chattering and I had to clamp my jaw in order to hold myself back from biting the guy beside me who kept tugging my curls.

"Ash?" Tyler pouted, entering my line of vision by burying his head into my chest and peering up at me with big, puppy dog eyes.

I pressed my forefinger over his rosy lips to silence him but he simply kissed the finger, annoying me to infinite ends. Okay, I wasn't that annoyed if my heart rate was picking up at the meaningful gesture.

"Leave me alone," I grunted, retracting my finger after he kissed it again.

"Aww come on munchkin, I said sorry like a bajillion times. I didn't realise it was going to be that cold."

"It's January for god's sake!" I snapped, rolling over so that I didn't have to lose myself into his sorrowful sea green orbs. "You threw me into the freaking Atlantic Ocean!"

He huffed and draped his arms around my waist, turning me around so that we were facing one another again.

"But I jumped in with you," He whined in a small voice, jutting out his bottom lip and blinking at me all gorgeous and perfect. Jerk. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

My eyes lingered on his mouth before they found his and I sighed heavily when I focused on the damp hair that was still plastered to his forehead. Just like myself, he was wrapped in about three towels and we both looked like fluffy polar bears cooped up under his thick duvet.

"It just goes to prove that you're still an amoeba with no brain," I flashed him a fake grin before letting it drop into a deadpan grimace. "Screw you. I still can't feel my toes."

Tyler sighed, blowing his warm breath over my face before he sat up and slowly pulled the mountain of towels off his shoulders. I raised an eyebrow when he stood up and headed for the door. I watched the muscles in his back ripple underneath his plain white t-shirt when he stretched his arms and scratched his nape.

"Where are you going?"

He shot me a glance over his shoulders before disappearing out of the room.

"I'm going to prove just how sorry I am. Stay there. I'll back in five minutes," His deep voice got fainter as he jogged down the stairs and I listened for his footsteps as they disappeared.

I picked up the sounds of movement in the kitchen downstairs but closed my eyes when the house grew silent. As promised, five minutes later Tyler came back into his room balancing two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a KitKat and torn piece of paper on a breakfast tray. He chuckled at the way I perked up at the sight of so much chocolate and gingerly handed me one mug before easing himself back into bed and picking up the other mug. Shoulder to shoulder, we leaned back against the headboard and he placed the tray on our laps, letting me glimpse the note.

"A million bucks," I read aloud, scrutinising the hastily scrawled writing before meeting his goofy grin. "You made me hot chocolate and you're giving me KitKat and a million bucks? Who are you and what have you done with Tyler the asshole?"

He rolled his eyes but the dimpled grin remained intact, blossoming into a soft smile when I leaned closer to him and pecked his cheek.

"Thank you," I smiled against his soft skin before leaning back to take a long sip from my mug. "I can actually feel my toes now."

Actually, I still couldn't wriggle them but that didn't matter. The scalding liquid seemed to heat my entire body inside out. Or was that the lingering look Tyler spared in my direction after I kissed his cheek?

"Good, I don't want them to fall off. Wouldn't want you to waddle around now, would we?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes when he began to chuckle under his breath.

"Bet you'd love that," I drawled, sipping my hot chocolate as we fell into a comfortable silence.

After finishing my hot chocolate, heat seeped through my body and I no longer felt like a human icicle. Tipping my head back, I closed my eyes and sighed happily as my thoughts took a digression. I started to wonder what would've happened if Mona's risky idea hadn't worked out. What if the boys ended up murdering each other in the janitor's closet? Or worse, if they'd murdered us? So far, I'd only been bitten once - well, twice now - and Blake gave Mona the silent treatment for a day until he gave into her womanly charms.

But I couldn't help feeling like Tyler was carrying around an underlying hint of anger for betraying him. To be honest, I was still surprised he forgave me so quickly because had the roles been reversed, I would've ignored him for at least a week - maybe a month. Then again, I had serious trust issues. Tyler's always been a forgiving guy.

"We're good now, right?" I blurted out, jolting Tyler out of his deep thoughts. "Because if you're still mad, I'd rather you tell me than pretend everything's okay."

I studied his facial expression, watching it remain impassive before he mustered a small smile and nodded.

"We're good...and I know I've been a jerk to you lately," He sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "But, I don't know, I still feel like you and Mona threw me into an ocean I wasn't really ready to swim through just yet. I haven't spoken to Blake properly since Taylor died and suddenly I was stuck with him in a room for over two hours, with his god damned cock hanging out and...it was awkward as hell, Ash. Especially at the start; we just sat there in silence for a whole hour until I blurted out I was sorry."

Guilt swirled inside my chest and I looked down at the crinkled note in my hand. I hadn't noticed that I was gripping it so tightly but Tyler did. His clenched jaw relaxed and he turned his head to look at my side profile.

"I told Mona not to do it but she just wanted to cheer Blake up," I hung my head and let my damp curls curtain my face. "He's been really stressed about the soccer team lately and she just wanted to mak-"

Tyler laid a hand on my arm. "I know Ash, he told me about the state of the team."

"He did?"

"Yeah," He scratched his hairline before raking a hand through his hair. "If they lose two more games then the season is over for them."

They wouldn't be losing if Tyler was playing for them, I thought quietly. Suddenly an idea popped into my head.

"Why don't you join the team?" I suggested quietly. "Maybe they wouldn't in such a bad state if you-"

"No."

"No?"

"No."

Something about the finality of his tone silenced me and I dropped the matter, knowing that if there was anybody as stubborn as myself it was this guy. But deep down I knew that this subject would crop up again, seep through my bones and thoughts when my head hits the pillow tonight.

Tyler needed soccer as much as the team needed him. Just like he said in therapy once, it's his escape from reality. Usually most people would state that it's better to face your problems head on, but we all know that running away from them, forgetting about them...well, it works. Drugs, alcohol, reading, dancing, listening to music, whatever it may be; escape is escape.

Sure, it's short term and will last the ninety minutes he's playing a soccer game, but those ninety minutes will ease the strain he's had on his shoulders with the constant therapy sessions, grief over Taylor and his absent parents. Tyler needed soccer and I was going to make it my mission to get him on the team. I mean, if he could survive facing Blake then my boyfriend had the strength to get through anything.

We could continue to work on the long term cure to his eternal misery; but for now, all I want is his happiness. No matter how fleetingly, sparingly short it may be.

"I'm sorry about the whole Blake thing," I broke the silence with another pointless apology, and even though I've said sorry a billion times, I felt the needed to get it out of my system one last time. "Oh come on, don't look at me like that."

Tyler's bored expression remained permanently etched.

"Then stop saying sorry Ash," He shot an arm out and lazily pushed me. "It's getting annoying now."

I swatted his hand but he made sure I toppled over and I made no attempt to get up as I lay sprawled across the bed sheets. Instead of scolding him, I grabbed his arm to pull him down with me but Tyler just used his limitless strength to pull me back up to my original position.

"I don't even know why I risked losing you by interfering but I'm glad it worked out with you and Blake," I grabbed my hair and twisted it before releasing my grip and watching the curls fall all over my shoulders as they pooled around my waist.

"It was a risk worth taking," Tyler started and I frowned. Did he just say it a good thing that I sabotaged our relationship. He chuckled at my sour expression and snatched one of curls. "You took a risk that I would have never taken in a million years. There was a chance that things between me and Blake could never be fixed...I-I thought he wouldn't forgive me because I was the one who cut him off and just iced him like we hadn't been friends since first grade. Most people wouldn't take me back. I've been a really, really shitty friend to him."

He dropped the lock of hair and pushed all my curls back so that it was over my shoulder, giving him full access to my entire face. My cheeks flared up, heating up as his gaze roamed over my mouth.

"I took you back even after the whole ninth grade fiasco," I protested feebly although I understood the point he was making. "No matter how many times you cut me off, I'll always be a shoulder for you to lean on and an ear to listen. We'll always be friends."

"Are you trying to friendzone me?" He smirked half-heartedly although his smouldering gaze was heating up my entire body. "I took you on a freaking hot air balloon ride to avoid hitting the friendzone stage."

Tyler's dry ass tone made me laugh and I shook my head.

"Stop being silly, I'm yours for as long as you keep bribing me with KitKat and a million bucks."

"Then I'll bribe you forever," Tyler replied in a soft tone, gently tucking a damp curl behind my ear before dropping his hand back to his lap.

My heart somersaulted and I smiled shyly at the reference to our future. I took a bite of my KitKat and waved the crinkled note in my hand after flashing him a grin.

"I also want you to see me as a friend," I held out my chocolate bar for him to take a bite but he declined the offer. "Somebody you can turn to when you need to get shit off your chest."

Tyler went quiet for a while before nodding. He took the tray laid across our lap and gingerly placed it on his bedside table before pushing the duvet. My heartbeat grew irregular when he swung a leg over mine and settled himself onto my lap, peering at me with an open smile that made me catch my breath. I tried to act cool, really, I did. I tried so hard but my plan to cock an eyebrow up and smirk at the fact that he was straddling me went out of the window when Tyler leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine.

"Thank you," He murmured, showering my lips with heat and I bit my lip to keep a giddy smile off my face. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Go crazy?" I murmured back, rubbing my lips against his and he smiled.

"Crazy in love? Definitely."

"Is that another one of your pick up lines?"

"Maybe?"

"God, I hate them."

"Oh come on," Tyler blinked slowly, clamping both his hands on my cheeks as he pressed his forehead against mine. "Can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll give it back."

"Tyler?"

"Mmm hmm?"

"Just shut up and kiss me," I grabbed the collar of his t-shirt and pulled his entire body closer.

"All in good time," He murmured, diving to the soft skin on my throat and peppering kisses up along my jawline before reaching my ear. "All in good time Ash."

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[A/N: Failing at life but at least this story is one good thing I've got going. Love you guys so much.

Chapter 53: Put Me Down Or I'll Crush Your Balls

Vote, comment and fan.
- Kaddy]