it can only get better

Tyler furrowed his eyebrows, frowning slightly. “You won’t be here for it?” It was an echo question, one he wasn’t sure if he was repeating just for his own sake or honestly asking for an answer. Waiting a beat, he understood and nodded. More to himself than to Ry. “Oh, you’re gonna… you’re gonna leave for summer?” He didn’t know why he was so surprised. Honestly, Ryler didn’t seem to enjoy it in Colorado, so it made sense for her to leave. But that didn’t stop the small bubble in the pit of his stomach, or for his mind to scream at him for even caring. He shouldn’t–no–couldn’t care about that. He had no right. More than willing to move on with the conversation, Ty followed her gaze when she turned slightly, trying to find her water source. “You sure?” he asked once he was unable to locate it. Ty knew for a fact Ry would play like she was okay, or say things that weren’t necessarily true just to prove that she was fine. He’d gotten used to it, gotten used to the fact that she was that way. That’d she’d become that way just to survive. “Your aunt put your name on the drinks, I just offered to bring them out. I brought the food, though. Enough for the both of us.”

“Think so,” Ryler responded, her gruff voice made even rougher by the exertion she was putting forth working. Swinging the hammer a bit harder, Ryler gave a satisfied nod when the plank stayed firmly in place. One down, a million more to go. “Dunno where. Someplace warm.” Ryler hadn’t put much thought into it, honestly. She had money saved up from her work around the ranch, enough to get her a flight somewhere, then from there she could find a campground and just spend the summer doing not much of anything. No worries, no distractions, just herself, a soccer ball, and plenty of wide open nature. Scratching the back of her head a bit, Ryler shrugged, not really sure if the water was even around. “Dunno, it was here earlier,” she said, rather lamely, as an excuse for it’s current absence. “Maybe Chase took it.” Ryler wasn’t even sure where the horse was right now. Getting into trouble somewhere around the ranch, no doubt. “Oh. Yeah, I guess a water would be alright, then,” Ryler nodded, relaxing slightly when she realized that they were hers. Her name scrawled on the bottles in her aunt’s scratchy handwriting proved that. 

The fence and the holes and the wood were always intimating to Ty. It might have had something to do with the fact that he probably couldn’t handle most of the work, but he also knew that it was because of Ryler, and the fact that she could. He knew he wasn’t weak by any means, but the limp wasn’t anything that helped when he had to do physical labor. Lucky for him Ryler was never one to accept help. Ever. So he’d given up insisting a long time ago. “It’s like. Sixty-five degrees outside,” he couldn’t help but laugh. Not at her response or to insult her, but because it made sense. For her. Ryler Jordan was a beach girl. A true Floridian and there wasn’t a thing in the verse that would change that. “You’re gonna be in heaven when it hits mid-seventies while the rest of us sweat it out and complain.” Smiling out a laugh, Tyler plopped down on the ground, Blur skirting around him before going off to explore. Slipping his arms out of the straps of the backpack he’d been carrying, Ty flipped it around until it sat in his lap, unzipping the large pocket. “I brought some stuff for you,” he said, fishing through the bag and withdrawing a few bottles of water and then a Gatorade. “There’s some food, too. If you want it.”

Sixty-five degrees was cold, Ryler didn’t care what anyone else had to say about it. Besides, as the sun went down, the temperature would continue to fall, and Ryler would absolutely need the small fire that was brewing next to her. “Won’t be here for that,” Ryler shrugged, assuming that things like that would happen over the summer. Without classes keeping her there and with no real practice going for soccer, she intended to head out of town to someplace warm instead. She didn’t really know where, but anywhere warmer than this would be better for awhile. “Summer vacation’s soon.” Ryler let Ty settle down before turning back to the work at hand. Talking while working was easy enough, it was a mindless job. Hammers, nails, digging, nothing that would require any great amount of conversation. “Thanks, uh. I’m alright, though. I have a water around here someplace,” Ryler nodded, glancing back towards him momentarily before she turned back to the fence she was hammering in. She wasn’t actually certain she had the water left, but she didn’t want to take Ty’s drinks regardless. She would be fine and that was his.

It was strange the routine he found himself in. Instead of driving to watch local club footie matches on the weekends, he found himself, sparingly, driving to Ryler’s Aunt’s ranch. He didn’t always stop in to see her, instead electing most of the time to have a short conversation with her Aunt before leaving. He called it checking up, keeping tabs, whatever it was. But today he was going specifically to visit Ry, something that always made him nervous. “A bonfire next to wood?” He questioned as he approached the scene. Her Aunt had told him where to find her, and really, Ty wasn’t surprised that she was outside working. Blue scampered out from behind him, prancing over to the blonde girl with a small yip, announcing her presence.

The weather wasn’t exactly ideal for Ryler, she would have been content with at least another ten degrees to the temperature, but she’d been inside far too often recently to just stay in there. So, instead of letting the cool weather keep her locked inside, Ryler built a bonfire. It wasn’t the smartest choice out there with all the trees and wood around her, but it was the only way to keep warm in the cold Colorado weather. Grunting slightly as she lifted a large fence post up from the ground, Ryler slid it into place, watching as it fell into the hole she’d prepared previously. It was hard work, heavy work, but it kept Ryler distracted and much of the time that was exactly what she needed. When she heard footsteps coming her way, her body bristled at the interruption, assuming it was someone trying to come help her. Help never actually helped her, just slowed her down. Her eyebrows furrowed, however, when she heard the high pitched squeals of a dog. Blue. Turning, Ryler’s head tilted off to the side slightly, a confused look flashing across her eyes when she saw Tyler coming towards her. Answering his question with a shrug, Ryler leaned back against the fence she was working on. “Yeah, it’s warm,” she answered after a few moments of silence. 

Pasta and chicken, pretty sure. But I could be totally wrong. Let’s go inside and find out.

..okay. Pasta is alright.

It’s gonna be good, just wait and see… I hope it is, at least. I think they said we were going to make… chicken fettuccine?

Dunno what that is.

Ry, we’re gonna be okay, okay? I promise. This place is safe, see? It’s right there and there are people going inside.

Well, alright. I guess so.

Yeah but two seconds would be long enough for you to get away.

...hm.

Don’t worry. If anything happens you’re much faster than I am. You’ll be able to get away while I hold it off.

It’s in a warehouse. They have to use big spaces because they renovate them to fit a couple of big open kitchens. I promise I’m not leading you into some like. Sketchy haunted building. It’ll just look that way on the outside.

...well. Alright, I guess.

That’s totally cool, I’ll make sure to lock the car when we leave. The place isn’t far, though. Just on the outside of town in an old warehouse… which sounds a lot more creepy when you say it out loud.

Uh-...what?

Whichever easiest is whatever works for you. I know you like to keep your stuff close so you’re more than welcome to leave it in the Jeep—Here, Blue. You gotta stay in the house. I’ll get JJ to stop by later to feed you.

...yeah. I will keep it here.

… Right on. We can head back to my house to drop off Blue and then we can head out. You can drop your stuff off too? Or you can keep it in the Jeep.

Oh, dunno. Whatever’s easiest.

Yeah? So you wanna go?

...I guess.

A food rave. It’s like. Well, I’ve never been to one but I’ve heard that they’re pretty cool. You go to this random location and get it with a ticket. And then there’s a chef there and some cooking stations and you learn how to make a five star meal. I’ve never been to one but it… sounds cool.

Oh. Food is good.

You know anyone who’d want tickets to a food rave? Or… do you wanna go?

...a what?

Hey. I’m glad I found you, actually. Are you… doing anything later?

Uh...nah, I don’t think so. 

Look, don’t give me that— Oh! Hey, Ry!

Huh? Oh. Hey.