#topxreader

“Another one?” his voice was serious now, “you had one just the other day too.”

“It’s just stress from work, is all,” you pop the pills into your mouth, “promise.”

“As long as you are taking care of yourself,” he seemed to relax.

“I am,” you quickly swallowed a glass of water.

“I’m so excited to see you,” Tyler said softly, “it’s been too long.”

“Yeah,” you smiled. It had been almost a year since the last time the two of you had spoken face to face - too long. While you had been close since about your sophomore year of high school, this growing thing between the two of you had never really been addressed. You didn’t keep in touch with other friends from fifteen years ago like you did him, and there was something that wasn’t there before. It sat between the words you did manage to say, like a weight on a scale, tipping your feelings in his direction.

“I’m going to let you go, so you can get some rest, okay?” he yawned.

“Okay,” you resisted the urge to yawn as well.

“Good night, Y/N,” he paused for a moment. “Sleep well, Lollipop.”

You felt your heart skip a beat, he hadn’t used that name for you since before the band had gotten big. It had been years.

“You too, Maverick,” you returned the gesture, hoping it sent some of your feelings silently over the phone.

“See ya.”

“Yeah, see ya,” you hear the silence settle on the other end before lowering your phone from your ear.

You would talk to him tomorrow after the show. You had to. About everything.

Tyler threw his arms in the air, the roar from the crowd washed over the stage like a breaking wave.

Another glance over his shoulder, towards the side of the stage - the tech shook his head.

Feeling his heart drop a little lower, his fingers found the keys for the next song and he shook his head, a little harder than normal to adjust his thoughts. He needed to be here, to be in the now - these people had come for a show and he would give them one. They were important and should be his priority. But the empty stage left, and the unclaimed backstage passes slowly ate away at him as the night wore on.

“This next song is for my main man, Josh,” he pushed through, he always did.

“What’s going on, man?” Josh wiped down his face with the white towel. “You’ve been off tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Tyler’s fingers massaged his forehead. “She didn’t show up.”

“Y/N?” Josh frowned as his shoulders fell, “so, Marie didn’t either?”

“No,” Tyler’s voice was quiet.

“You should call them,” Josh put the towel down and stretched his sides, “something might have happened to them.”

“Yeah,” Tyler dug through his dressing room bag, “I just hope they’re alright.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing serious-” Josh was cut short by the look on his bandmates face, “what is it?”

“I have sixteen missed calls from Marie,”  he rubbed the back of his head as he pulled up the voicemails, “I think I might need to go.”

“Yeah man,” Josh watched Tyler pace as he listened to the panicked sound in Marie’s voice over the phone.

Tyler’s eyes were wide as he jumped between messages. “She’s at Wexner,” he cut off Marie’s last message, “let’s go.”

He paused in the doorway of the small hospital room. It was dark except for the small fluorescent light near the bed. Marie turned in her chair to look at them, there were tears in her eyes. She bit her bottom lip before turning back around.

Tyler slowly crossed the room. Stopping at the end of the bed.

And I’ll use you as a warning sign. That if you talk enough sense, then you’ll lose your mind.

“She looks so small,” his voice was barely audible. The number of things hooked up to your body was overwhelming. “What happened?”

“They think she blacked out,” Marie’s hands were in her lap, she was wringing them together, “she ran a light and hit a tree.”

And I’ll use you as a focal point. So I don’t lose sight of what I want.

“Blacked out?” Josh stood behind Marie, resting a hand on her shoulder gently, “is that something she does?”

“It’s happened a few times before,” Marie glanced up at him. Tears ran fresh down her face, “I should have taken an hour off work,” she began to gasp for air, fighting back sobs, “I should have driven her. She had been having headaches, I knew it wasn’t good for her to be driving alone.”

“Hey, hey,” Josh came around the chair, “this isn’t your fault.” He took her hands in his.

Marie was trying to regain composure.

And I've moved further than I thought I could But I missed you more than I thought I would

Tyler’s hands slowly found their way towards yours, “she had a headache last night.”

“Did she?” Marie wiped her cheeks, “you should tell the nurse when she comes back. She didn’t mention it to me, so I wasn’t sure when her last one was.”

“Why was she getting headaches?” Tyler’s fingers wrapped around yours, “what are they from?”

“She was in a really bad car accident almost a year ago,” Marie’s hands squeezed Josh’s, “the Doctor’s aren’t sure why she keeps having them, or why she’s blacking out. She’s been getting tests done.”

“Why didn’t she say anything to me?” Tyler’s eyes began to fill with tears. He continued to stare at your face, all bruised and cut up from the collision.

And I'll use you as a makeshift gauge Of how much to give and how much to take

“You were touring,” Marie sighed, “she didn’t want to burden you. It seems silly now, but she was so determined not to be a bother. Not to dissuade you from what you were doing.”

Tyler clenched his jaw, “yeah that sounds like her.”

Marie stood up, “I’m going to go get some coffee. Give you some time with her.”

“I’ll go with you,” Josh trailed after her. “That is,” he paused and glanced at Tyler, “if you’ll be okay.”

He only nodded.

I'll use you as a warning sign That if you talk enough sense then you'll lose your mind

“You’re an idiot,” he mumbled to the room, “you should have told me.”

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against the back of your hand.

“If you don’t wake up from this,” his voice caught in his throat, “I’ll never forgive you, you know.”

He felt some pressure as your hand gently squeezed his. He looked up. Your eyes were still closed but he could tell you were listening.

“I sang a song for you tonight,” he ran his finger tips over your knuckles, “it’s an old one, I’m sure you’ll remember it.”

He inhaled and began to sing, his voice quivering, “The only difference between life and dying, is one is trying, that's all we're called to do. So try to love me and I'll try to save you. Won't you stay alive? I'll take you on a ride, I will make you believe you are lovely.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet!” you step out of the way so he can come inside.

He stepped through the doorframe and gave himself a slight shake, “brrrr, it’s really cold out tonight.”

“Is it?” you took the bag from him and carried it into the kitchen, “I haven’t left all day.”

“Oh, wow Sunshine,” he looked around the redone living room, his mouth slightly open, “you really did get a lot done.”

“It’s nice to finally have it all finished,” you pulled some plates from the cabinet. “It finally feels like I actually live here.”

Moving away from home had been a daunting task. You had lived in the same town your whole life, but the opportunity to work at the hospital in Columbus had been too good to pass up. Tyler had been looking around for work where you lived, but with the job offer at Wexner Medical Center, you both agreed it was fate for you to move to him instead. It had only been about a month since you had made the move, but you were settling in nicely - with Tyler’s help, of course.

You finished putting the food on the plates and carried them into the living room. He was looking at the family pictures you had hung, his hands in his pockets. You stood next to him, trying to see which one he was looking at.

“That’s my cousin and me from when we were really little,” you held out his plate for him.

“Oh, thanks,” he smiled, “I could have gotten my own.”

“I think you were too busy being enthralled by my decorating skills,” you chuckle and sit down on the couch.

“I’m always enthralled by you,” he sat down next to you.

You could feel the flush of heat under your skin as he continued to just stare at you. There had always been something in his gaze that struck a chord deep within you. His eyes made your soul sing and your heart race.

“What are we watching?” he asked suddenly and turned to face the TV.

“Well,” you turned away, trying to hide the effect he had on you, “I was thinking Jurassic Park.”

“Ooooh, yeah,” he grinned, “good choice.”

You both finish your food and spend the duration of the movie cuddling on the couch under a fluffy blanket. By the time the credits start to roll your eyes are heavy. Somehow the two of you had ended up laying on the couch, him on his back and you tucked between him and the couch. You could hear his heart beating in his chest and the rise and fall of his breathing was lulling you to sleep.

“I should get ready for bed,” you yawn.

“Ugh,” he kicked his feet playfully, “I don’t wanna go back out in the cold.” He pretended to pout, his bottom lip stuck out comically. “Can’t I just stay here?”

“I don’t know,” you pushed yourself up, immediately regretting the choice when the cool air rushed in under the blanket, “I have to work in the morning.”

“I won’t keep you up,” he continued to pout, “promise.”

You sigh. “Fine. But I need to go take a shower, so you’ll have to entertain yourself for a bit.”

“No problem,” he smiled.

You playfully smack his chest, “why can’t I ever tell you no?”

“Because I’m adorable,” he gave you a playful toothy grin.

You roll your eyes and climb over him. Folding the blanket you return it to its place on the quilt rack. Tyler helped you clean the dishes and followed you down the hall to your room.

“Oh my goodness,” he grinned when you opened the door, “it’s so…”

“So what?” you look around the room. Everything looks fine. It’s all put away and tidy, just like you left it.

“Perfect,” he continued to grin, “look at that bed!”

“What about it?” you look at your bed. The pile of bears you had collected over the years sat to one side, with all your pillows to the other.

“It’s so well made,” he moves towards it, “I want to jump on it.”

“What!?” you half yell out of confusion, “no! I just finished making it less than two hours ago!”

“But, but…” he turns to look at you, “oh, okay fine.”

“I’m going to take a shower now,” you grab a clean towel from the hall closet, “I’ll be quick.”

“Kay,” he crosses your room to where your stereo is sitting on a shelf, “love you.”

“Love you too,” you watch him press a few buttons.

“Can I turn on some music?” he glances at you before returning to the nineties tech.

“Sure,” you turn and head to the bathroom, “cds are in the drawer below.”

“Ohhhhh, whooaaa,” you hear him exclaim as he pulls the drawer open.

The hot water was soothing and you could feel how tired you were from spending a day cleaning. The sound of music playing from your room could be heard over the sound of the shower, but you couldn’t make out what was playing. You finished your shower as quickly and toweled off. You changed into your pajamas that were hung on the bar from that morning. You slowly opened the bathroom door, hoping you could sneak up on Tyler and get a glimpse of what he was doing in your room before he could see you.  You could hear Tyler singing along with the lyrics from down the hall. The music was S Club 7, a band you had enjoyed since their days on the Disney Channel.

“Don’t stop, never give up, hold your head high and reach the top…” his voice was shaking as if he was physically exerting himself.

You tiptoed down the hall and peeked around the edge of your door frame. There he was, shirt off, back to the door, dancing on your freshly made bed, invisible mic in hand.

“Dream of falling in love, anything you’ve been thinking of…” he leaned back and wailed along with the song.

“Tyler Robert Joseph!” you yelled putting your hands on your hips.

He froze.

The music continued to pour out of the speakers, unaware of the damage it had participated in.

He slowly turned around, a tight smile on his face and his eyebrows lifted.

“I can’t believe you!” you stared at him.

“You know better than to leave me alone in a room with a perfectly made bed!” he motioned to the stereo, “and music this dance-worthy.”

You continued to stare at him.

“I’ll fix it,” he stepped down from the bed and started to frantically pile the bears on the bed and tuck them under the blanket, “please don’t make leave.”

“You are incorrigible,” you make your way to the stereo to turn it off.

“No, no, no,” he hurried around the bed, “I wanted to dance with you.”

“Tyler, I need to…” you started to argue.

“Please,” he wrapped his arms around you.

You sighed, enveloped in his warmth, “one song.”

He skipped forward on the cd to your favorite slow song on the album, “just one song, I promise.”

You wrap your arms around his waist and rock with him back and forth.

“We are two in a million. We’ve got all the luck, we could be given. If the world should stop, we’ll still have each other. And no matter what, we’ll be forever as one,” he sung along with the chorus.