Emergency

"Let's go out tonight," Tyler said with a grin as he stood up from his spot on the floor and slipped his phone in his pocket. Stephanie all but whined as she shut her laptop before being dragged off her bed. "Come on!" Tyler grabbed her hand, helping her stand, and pulled her out of the room, then house.

"Tyler, where are on Earth are we even going?" She asked after a good ten blocks worth of walking.

Her arms were sprinkled with minor goosebumps. It was only 9 o'clock, but with the sun completely gone it was seemingly chilly outside. The streetlights did no justice when Stephanie tried to see where they were headed to. "Just a little further," Tyler prompted, squeezing her hand in reassurance. His hand felt warm in her own.

Tyler steered them towards a neighborhood that Stephanie had never really been to before, which was no surprise considering the only place she ever really went to was Tyler's. The houses here were fairly large, and the streets were full of cars. "Please tell me we're not going to a house party," Stephanie groaned.

"We're not going to a house party," Tyler mused, "and don't be such a fun hater."

"I'm not!" Stephanie protested, knowing full well that that is exactly what she was being.

Stephanie was pleasantly surprised when they finally got to their destination. It wasn't a house party after all, not that she figured Tyler was lying or anything. They wound up in a giant park. There were loads of people spread all over the place, and just to their left was a bonfire. Tyler looked down at Stephanie, being she was a few inches shorter than he, and smiled. She rolled her eyes but followed him into the park regardless.

Her hand slipped out of his when a couple of guys greeted Tyler in that weird bro-hug type of way. She turned away from them and scanned the rest of the park before wandering over to the bonfire. She took a seat next to one of the girls at the fire that looked about her age.

"Want a drink?" the unfamiliar redhead asked as soon as Stephanie was sitting.

"Sure," sure answered with a smile before grabbing the glass bottle. She twisted the cap off and took a small drink before laughing to herself when she realized it was only soda.

To her right a group of guys were throwing marshmallows at each other. Stephanie laughed as another girl grabbed the bag from them and walked to where she sat, ignoring the boys' hollaring about her ruining the fun.

The girl sat next to Stephanie and handed her the bag of white fluff with a smile. "Thanks," Stephanie grinned. She couldn't remember the last time she'd roast marshmallows. They sat there trading random comments about nothing for a good half hour. Stephanie decided she liked this random park bonfire girl, though she never asked her name. Stephanie wasn't sure where she disappeared too and she was slightly disappointed in the fact.

By her fourth perfectly roasted marshmallow, she spotted Tyler. "Hey Ty!" she yelled with a wave of her hand. He sauntered over to where she sat, and took a seat next to her where the random girl had just been sitting. "Aw for me? You shouldn't have," he said as he eyed her marshmallow, batting his lashes. Stephanie rolled her eyes at him, "I didn't." He threw a pout on his face until she smiled and handed the marshmallow to him. Instead of grabbing it from her he opened his mouth and wiggled his eyebrows. Stephanie laughed at him before popping the golden fluff in his mouth. "You're such a dork."

"But you love me," he countered with a smirk.

"That I do."

Tyler grinned again and threw an arm over Stephanie's shoulders. "Having fun?" She nodded and leaned into his side, taking in the additional warmth. It was so peaceful, just sitting there in the middle of the park, hearing distant conversations between the cackling of the firewood.

"Hey Steph," the body she was using as heat source voiced after a short while. Stephanie kept her eyes trained on the dancing flames of the fire as she gave a distracted 'what' reply. When nothing else was said she reluctantly tore her gaze from the waves of orange and yellow and focused her vision on the boy next to her, raising a brow.

"Lauren and I broke up a few nights ago," he finally spoke in a quiet voice. Dimples became visible as a soft smile crossed his face. He continued to explain the details of the said girl breaking up with him earlier that day over the fact he "spent too much time with his girl friend, and not enough time with his girlfriend".

It might have been surprising to someone looking in at how little Tyler seemed affected by his most recent breakup, but to Stephanie it was nothing out of the ordinary. Honestly, it wasn't the first time that his relationship with another girl had ended because of his friendship with Stephanie, and every time, though he would never tell, he felt some sort of relief because of it. Stephanie was his best friend, and he was hers. They had been best friends for as long as either of them could remember. They shared everything with each other, spent nearly every day together, and sometimes, acted as if they were actually in a relationship - which for the record, they were never.

Stephanie ran a hand through the blonde hair that curtained her face and pulled it all to one side. She bit her lip subconsciously and shrugged, letting the hair she'd just pulled together fall back into its curtaining position. "I would probably be jealous of us, too," she noted with an innocent smile, though feeling the mildest bit guilty. The subtle guilt came from knowing that it was partially at her fault when Tyler's relationships fell out. But she knew that they were just friends, really, just friends. That's all they had ever been. It was ridiculous how none of his girlfriends could never seem to believe that. Stephanie knew what an amazing guy Tyler was and the fact none of the girls he dated could ever truly appreciate that blew her mind.

"Who needs her anyway?" Stephanie added with a flick of her hand, "I've got you and you've got me." It was something they always said to each other when they were going through anything tough. She poked him in the chest and gave a nod of affirmation.

A laugh slipped from Tyler, causing Stephanie to smile as he nodded in agreement. A split second later he quirked an eyebrow, "you know, you say that every time this happens to me, but when am I gonna get to be the one asking you the same thing?"

Stephanie let out a bark of a laugh. "As if, Ty." Sure, she had had crushes here and there, she'd kissed a few boys and went on a few dates, but unlike Tyler, she had never been in an actual relationship.

"Come on Steph, I'm serious. Why are you so against letting someone in? You refuse to let yourself have any real feelings for anyone. I don't understand why."

It wasn't that she was scared of commitment or that she just liked to get around as some people would assume, in fact, the reality of it was much to the opposite. There had simply never been anyone worth getting involved with past that just-a-friendly-crush phase and she didn't want to just date around. Well, it shouldn't be said that there was nobody worth it, she had unadmittedly thought up scenarios of what it would be like had her and Tyler ever gotten together. An inevitable thought considering everyone else seemed to believe they were actually already dating. But they were best friends so that would never happen and it wasn't a scenario she let linger in her mind much.

"You do enough dating for the both of us, don't you think?" she retorted with a half hearted laugh.

"At least I'm trying! You don't even attempt to date someone. The second it looks like it could turn into anything more than flirty banter you bail. How is anyone supposed to show you they're good enough for you if you don't let them?" Tyler ran a hand through his hair, shuffling it a bit in minor frustration.

Stephanie looked away from him and glanced back at the rippling fire. "What's the point?"

A frown settled on Tyler's face. He let out a wordless tuff of air, signalling he was going to drop the subject. Stephanie felt a wave of relief realizing he wasn't going to keep pressing her for answers. Of course, Tyler would never do that. He always knew when to back off and when to keep at it. It was one of the things Stephanie liked most about him - just how well he knew her and how careful he was with her feelings.

Taking the silence in comfortably, Stephanie snuggled back into Tyler's side. His arm draped lazily around her shoulders, occasionally running his fingers through her long hair, admiring its silkiness. A smile of contentment settled on Stephanie's face as Tyler's hands combed through, soaking up the attention.

Smoked barreled from the fire when a group of boys threw a pile of bottles and trash into the fire. Stephanie coughed and blinked the smoke from her eyes, tilting her head up to look at brunette she now used as a smoke shield. She furrowed her eyebrows at the look on his face. "You get a load of smoke in your vital organs, too?" She asked with a another cough-filled laugh.

"Nah," he said not really looking at her.

"Then what's wrong?"

He pulled her closer in a comforting side hug. "Nothing is wrong," his mouth twitched as he spoke.

"You sure Ty?" Tyler nodded before finally looking at her. Stephanie watched as his eyes flickered from her eyes to something on her face and back again. She watched Tyler's mouth, waiting for him to say she had marshmallow on her cheek or something. She could feel and smell his cool, minty breath on her face and despite the lack of formal lighting could easily see the stubble growing on his chin. She bit her cheek, suddenly aware of how close their faces were. His hand reached out and brushed her cheek softly. He pushed a strand of stray blonde behind her ear, using his thumb to rub the bottom of her heated cheek. His hazel eyes were looking at her. Too intensely - it gave her goosebumps. She wondered if he was going to kiss her.

Tyler didn't say anything but Stephanie gave a tiny nod regardless. In the same moment she nodded, he leaned in, stopping just before their lips touched. Someone called out Tyler's name, startling the both of them. Stephanie felt her stomach drop in anticipation.

She pushed herself away from Tyler as they sat upright on the log they used for a bench. Tyler looked over towards the guy calling his name, a small smile crossing his face. Stephanie held her breath with wide eyes, almost as if she were waiting for Tyler to take it back, like it were a mistake. She knew it wasn't. Their "almost kiss". But they were just friends, best friends. It was only a "heat of the moment" thing. She pushed the thought away as soon as it came, surprising herself at how desperately she suddenly wanted to be more than friends.