Tyler explained the situation to Brendon and Ryan, who looked unbothered.

"Just tell her that you came over for dinner," Brendon offered.

"What am I supposed to say about my family?" Tyler asked.

Ryan shrugged. "Say that you're having family problems so you're staying with us."

Tyler leant back in his chair, suddenly a lot calmer. "Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that."

Ryan nodded and causally took a bite of the fry in his hand. Him and Brendon looked completely normal, but Tyler and Josh were still freaking out. They were awaiting a knock on the door; the potential ruin to the small mountain happiness that they had built between themselves.

Ashley took twenty minutes to arrive, and it felt like the most anxiety-inducing twenty minutes that Tyler and Josh has ever sat through. When she finally started banging on the door, Tyler tripped over everything in his path on his way to answer it.

She immediately tackled him into a hug. "What the fuck, man? Why are you here?"

Before Tyler could reply, she looked behind him and her eyes widened. She studied Brendon and Ryan, who waved and smiled like she was an old friend.

Ashley looked back to Tyler and lowered her voice. "Who're they?"

Tyler blinked. "Uh-"

Josh stood up from the table and walked over to them. "They're family friends. There was some tension between the Josephs, so Tyler and I decided to leave. We've been staying here for a while."

Ashley sighed. "Is this why you've been so freaked out lately? Ty, you should have told me."

Tyler nodded, his eyes still unnaturally wide. His mouth was slightly agape; like he was trying to speak but couldn't find the words. Ashley didn't seem to notice, though, because she walked straight past him and over to Brendon and Ryan. Josh looked at the younger boy and raised an eyebrow, asking if he was okay. Tyler took a deep breath and nodded.

Ashley sat down in Tyler's seat. She eyes the two strangers suspiciously, before looking down at the food and gasping.

"HSPs?" She gaped before turning to Tyler. "You had HSPs without me?"

Tyler shrugged sheepishly. "Brendon was the one that brought them over."

Brendon raised his hand. "That's me. And this is my boyfriend, Ryan. This is our apartment, we're just letting Tyler and Josh stay in it for a while. You're Ashley, right?"

The mentioned nodded. "So, you're family friends, huh?" She asked. "Are you involved in it?"

Brendon furrowed his eyebrows. "In what?"

"Well, I don't know," Ashley scoffed, leaning back. "Whatever shit the Josephs are involved in."

Ryan shook his head. "Oh, of course not. We could never."

Brendon nodded. "Yeah. Never."

Ashley hummed. "Alright, then. Why haven't I ever heard of you?"

Brendon turned to Tyler. "Ty, you don't talk about us?" He held a hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. "I'm hurt. I thought we were your cool uncles."

"We're not blood related, of course," Ryan quickly interrupted, shooting a look at Brendon. "It's just that Brendon's parents are good friends with the Josephs."

Ashley narrowed hey eyes. "There's just something weird about you guys. I don't trust you."

Brendon wrapped an arm around Ryan's shoulder. "Why, because we're in a same sex relationship?"

Ashley's eyes widened. "What? Of course not! You being gay had nothing to do with-"

"I'm pansexual," Brendon interrupted with a smirk. "And Ryan's bi. Gee, Ash."

Ashley shook her head. "Jesus Christ, I'm sorry. Seriously, I didn't meant to offend you at all-"

Ryan waved a hand. "It's fine, Ashley. He's just being a dickhead."

Ashley sighed and visibly relaxed. She shot Brendon an angry glare, who grinned back at her. Everyone else in the room could tell that they were not going to get along.

"Can you guys calm down?" Josh said as he sat down.

Tyler sat down too. "You can trust them, Ash. They're nice."

"Then why do you look so nervous?" Ashley retorted.

Tyler looked down at his hands, which were shaking. "I'm fine. It's just one of those times when I'm nervous for no reason. I get like that, Ashley. You don't have to make a big deal out of it."

Ashley's face softened. "I'm sorry. I just wanna make sure that you're safe. You scared me."

Tyler smiled gently. "I'm sorry, too, but you don't have to worry. I can take care of myself, alright? Now, head on home. You don't wanna miss your mom's incredible cooking."

Ashley sighed and stood up. She waved to the others and hugged Tyler, staring daggers at Brendon as she did so.

When the door closed, Tyler let his head fall onto his arms. "I hate this," he breathed, his face buried in the fabric of his sweater.