whimpers of faux agony escaped from tyler's plump lips, curling into the fetal position in his bed as his mom stood over him with a thermometer in hand. she tried to force it into his mouth, but he refused the offer, knowing he wouldn't have a fever because he wasn't actually sick.

he just really didn't want to go to school, fearing running into mr. dun and having to face his actions of the day before. he didn't regret it, not one bit, but he felt as though the older man did and he didn't want to embarrass himself even more.

"tyler, if you won't let me take your temperature then i can't let you stay home," his mom said, crossing her arms sternly as she stared down at him. the brunette sighed and sat up, scowling.

"i'm fine," he mumbled. "i'm just tired."

she left the room with a shrug of her shoulders, leaving tyler alone. he sifted through his multitude of clothing, picking out an outfit that he was sure would land him a spot in mr. dun's office. he was terrified of having to talk to the older man, but he knew he would have to do it one way or another.

so as he stepped out of his car he ignored the stares of everyone around him, smoothing out his cropped black bandeau top that was embroidered with little daisies around the trimming, complimented by his black skater skirt and platform doc martens. he was happy with his outfit but he knew it broke the dress code in more than one way, which is exactly why he chose to wear it.

his steps were heavy against the tile floor of the school, clunking loudly as attention was drawn to him. he fought back a smirk when he made eye contact with mr. dun, the man's eyebrows furrowing in anger as he approached tyler.

"my office, now," he snapped, grabbing tyler by his wrist and dragging him into his office. "you can't keep doing this, it's taking away your learning time."

"oh, please, " tyler scoffed. "i just need to talk to you."

"no, we don't have anything to talk about except for the fact that your outfit is extremely inappropriate."

"boo hoo, cry me a river," tyler teased, his bottom lip jutting out into a pout. he knew he was pushing his limit, and he really wasn't intending for the meeting to go this way, but if mr. dun wanted to cause problems then tyler would do the same.

"tyler," the man warned, hands clenched tightly in fists as his muscles flexed and tyler tried his hardest not to stare. "you're getting on my nerves and i'm really close to losing my cool."

"what are you gonna do, punish me?" tyler sneered. mr. dun was silent and tyler rolled his eyes in annoyance. "that's what i thought."

"you're such a brat."

"like you're complaining." tyler scoffed. he enjoyed the way mr. dun was aggravated with him, finding it oddly attractive. "i know you love it, don't even try denying it."

once again the older male was silent, tyler smirking because he knew he was right. no matter how much mr. dun tried to stay away from him he just couldn't, and tyler knew he could use that to his advantage. he had his vice principal wrapped around his finger and he loved every minute of it.

that was his specialty, playing with people's minds. he was manipulative and he found no difficulty with getting what he wanted, no matter the situation.

"what do you want from me, tyler?" the yellow haired man sighed, an amused giggle spilling past tyler's lips at the question.

"isn't it obvious? i think you want the same thing from me." tyler wasn't sure where his new-found confidence was coming from but he was glad it was there.

"what happened to the cute, innocent boy who i talked to a few days ago? i liked him much better."

at that tyler lost his short lived confidence, not enjoying the thought of mr. dun not liking him. that 'cute, innocent boy' was still him, just a side of himself he didn't like to show as often. it was the side of him that housed his insecurities and made him more timid and quiet. he felt vulnerable when in that state, and he fluctuated from liking that vulnerability to hating it.

more often than not he showed the confident side of himself, the side that made him feel like a million dollars. the side that gave him enough confidence to do whatever he wanted. but no matter how much he wanted to always be in that mindset, he wasn't fortunate enough to get that wish. his insecure side came out more than he would like to admit, and he always tried to cover it up, which he normally did a very good job at. but as mr. dun stared him down with disappointed eyes he felt his confidence slipping away from him and he shrunk back into his seat, tears stinging at his eyes.

"i'm sorry," he sniffled, wiping a few stray tears away as his head hung low in shame. "i just want attention."

"hey, don't cry. you can get attached without doing things to upset me. remember yesterday afternoon? you didn't do anything wrong and i gave you attention."

"but you got mad at me after! i don't want you to be mad at me!"

"i wasn't mad, i was scared. but i promise you i wasn't mad."

tyler finally looked up and couldn't help the tiny grin that tugged at his lips at the sight of mr. dun smiling warmly at him, his tone sweet and caring as he spoke to the young boy.

"you mean it?" tyler asked, voice cracking slightly.

"yes, i mean it. but you still have to change out of that outfit, no matter how good it looks on you." mr. dun winked and tyler's face heated up, hands going up to cover his pink cheeks as he beamed from the compliment.

"okay, i can do that."

"good, but i'll see you later right?"

"right. bye mr. dun."

"goodbye, tyler."

and with that the brunette's mood shifted into giddiness as he skipped out of mr. dun's office with butterflies in his stomach.

•••

guess who got her belly button pierced yesterday???? this girl!!!!

it looks so good and it honestly didn't hurt at all???? like i didn't even feel it ha the guy was like "okay the worst part is over" and i didn't even think the needle had gone through yet lmao :'))

i hope you guys had a good day and that you had enough to eat and stayed hydrated!!!
-carina