chimera
[chi·me·ra]
noun
a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve.

(Hi there's weed in this chapter just so everyone knows.)

Tyler hadn't been to Elsa's house for the longest time; they usually always hung out at Brendon's. It looked the same as he remembered, except a girl with bright blue hair was sitting in the living room when they'd arrived. He hadn't hung out with Ashley and Elsa in forever, either. He felt bad.

"Oh my gosh," Ashley gasped upon seeing the poor boy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Tyler sighed, joining the girls on the couch.

"Tyler! There are bruises around your neck!"

"I said I'm fine," he grumbled.

"He won't tell me anything," Elsa explained, looking between her girlfriend and her best friend with concern. "But I know it's Josh."

"No-" Tyler started, but interrupted himself with a sigh. "I deserved it, okay?"

"Tyler," Ashley frowned, twirling a ring around her index finger. Said boy blinked, eyeing the jewelry. Elsa must have gotten her that. God dammit, why didn't Josh love him like that?

"You don't deserve anything bad," Elsa finished for her, taking the brunette's hand and observing his knuckles. "Did you punch him?"

Tyler nodded, chest heavy despite the small curl of his lips. At least he got one good hit in. "Yeah, I punched him. And then he got mad. So it's my fault. Really."

"For some reason I don't believe that," Elsa muttered.

"Me neither," Ashley agreed.

"It's true," Tyler urged. "God, I don't even remember why I hit him. I think I blacked out. Is that bad?"

"You don't even remember why you were fighting?"

Josh's yelling woke Tyler up... Tyler said he hated Josh... Josh hit him...

Oh, right. Josh fucking hit him. Again.

"Nope," Tyler lied, picking at his bruised knuckles. "Can't remember."

"Ty, listen to me..."

Great, he was going to get lectured.

"I'm scared for you. Ashley is, too. And so are Brendon and Dallon. We hate to see you like this. Josh is no good for you. I know he was different in high school, I know. I remember. But that was a totally different person. The Josh you're with now is not the Josh you fell in love with," Elsa said, all while Ashley hummed in agreement.

"So?" Tyler mumbled, not wanting to listen anymore. He didn't care. He wanted his Josh back and he wouldn't stop until he returned.

"So, you need to break up with him. You can come stay with us. Or Brendon or Dallon. You have other places you can go, so you aren't stuck-"

"No," he cut her off, teeth clenched together. "Don't say that. I'm not leaving Josh."

"But-"

"I'm not. He can change. I can help him get better."

"But Tyler-"

"I'm done talking about this," he said rather harshly, standing from his spot on the couch and leaving the girls alone as he headed for the bathroom.

With the door locked, Tyler ran his knuckles under cold water from the faucet. He gathered water in his hands and splashed his face, hoping to soothe the burning scratches on his cheeks.

Josh is such an idiot, marking up his face like that, giving him bruises like that. Tyler could've easily lied if not for them.

But even still, he found a way to weave himself around the topic. Elsa and Ashley wanted him to leave Josh, but he couldn't. He knew Josh, and he knew staying with somebody else would put not only himself, but them in danger. Nobody else could get hurt because of Josh. Tyler didn't care about himself, but he would be damned if Josh hurt his only friends.

The brunette sighed, examining the purple hues around his neck and poking at them gently. He didn't even want to leave Josh, as fucked up as it was. Tyler knew he was fucked up and he knew Josh was fucked up and he knew there was not a thing that could be done to fix them.

The damage was already done, what difference would it make it Tyler left? Actually, probably a great deal. But not for the better, no.

Tyler wouldn't cope without Josh. He wouldn't know what to do with himself. He wouldn't know how to put himself back out there. Would he even want to? Would he ever be able to trust a single human being ever again? Even the man he used to trust with his whole life broke his promises.

With shaking hands, Tyler shut off the faucet and exited the bathroom. He took small, hesitant steps into the living room, and groaned upon what he saw.

Elsa, Ashley, Brendon, and Dallon all gathered around, eyes fixated upon him.

"What is this, intervention?" He rolled his eyes, unsure of where this sudden hostility came from. He didn't need anybody's help. He didn't want their help.

"No," Elsa sighed, hands clasped in her lap. "We just figured you could use some quality time with your friends. You know, the people that love and care about you."

"Oh," Tyler responded with a ghost of a smile. "Thanks."

"I brought this for you," Brendon cleared his throat. He reached behind the chair and held out a bong, making the brunette's eyes widen.

Looking at Elsa and Dallon, Tyler noticed they were both grinning. Ashley was, too. He approached Brendon slowly, taking a seat on the arm of the chair.

"Oh... Okay. How do I... Use that?" He spoke slowly, eyeing the contraption curiously.

"Here, put your lips inside the tube. I'll light it for you and tell you what to do, okay?" Brendon offered, handing Tyler the bong.

The latter nodded hesitantly, following his friends orders. As Brendon held the flame against the weed, he told Tyler to suck. The brunette did, his throat burning almost instantly. Brendon removed the bowl piece, telling Tyler to suck hard. He did, and almost instantly blew the smoke out as he coughed.

"Holy shit, I can't breathe," the brunette sputtered, hand clutched over his heart, still coughing.

"Alright, my turn," Ashley said, holding her hands out.

"Hold up, me next," Brendon argued, taking the bong from Tyler's hands. "We'll all get a turn, don't worry."

✨🌸✨

All five squeezed to fit onto one couch. Elsa, Ashley, Brendon, and Dallon all sat while Tyler lay with his head in Dallon's lap and his feet in Elsa's. They were all giggling over something stupid but yet none of them could even remember what was so funny.

"Oh god, I forgot what I was gonna say," Ashley grinned, head resting against the back of the couch as she looked to the ceiling with hooded eyes.

"I'm so hungry," Elsa complained, her head resting against her girlfriend's shoulder. "I want chicken tenders."

"Oh god," Tyler moaned, thinking about how delicious chicken tenders sounded. "With ranch?"

"Fuck yeah," Ashley giggled, patting Tyler's leg as if he were a dog. "Good idea. Are you guys hungry, Brendon?"

All eyes turned to said man, gasps echoing throughout the room as they found him making out with Dallon.

"Oh my god, how long have they been kissing? What the hell?"

Tyler started giggling uncontrollably and couldn't stop, thinking it was so funny that his face was directly beneath their locked lips. It looked so strange but yet so intriguing, Tyler found himself mesmerized and unable to look away.

"What the fuck," Ashley whispered, watching the whole ordeal. "Do you see this? Am I too high?"

"No, no, no, I see it too," Elsa responded. "I think Ty zoned out."

A little slap to his knee brought the brunette back to earth. He turned his gaze over from the kissing boys to the two girls staring at him. "Huh? I fell asleep, sorry."

"What!?"

"Your eyes were open!"

And suddenly Tyler was laughing again, not even sure as to why. He patted Dallon's cheek gently, whispering "good job".

The girls exchanged confused stares before they broke out in laughter, Tyler following suit even though he had no idea what was going on.

His brain was cloudy, flooded with only thoughts of how good it felt to be with his friends.

Consumed with the thought that he wished he could feel like this all of the time.