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rsadelleSummary: A week after Christmas, Nick left a message on Tyson's voice mail: "Hey, Ty. It's Nick. I got your number from your dad. I hope you don't mind. We should hang out. I don't want it to be five years this time."
Notes: This was going to be an AU where Nick is a musician and Tyson is a model/actor, but I never figured out exactly what I was doing with it.
Story on AO3
"Well," a familiar voice said, "if it isn't Nick Wheeler, biggest thing to ever come out of Stillwater."
Nick turned around, smiling before he even caught sight of Tyson, lanky as ever, in casual but expensive jeans and a flannel shirt over a v-neck. "I think there are a lot of people who'd be willing to debate that one." Tyson was skinnier than he remembered; it didn't show quite as much in photos, but he could tell when they hugged. "You home for Christmas?"
"Yeah." Tyson raked his hand through the same mop of hair he'd had ever since he was a kid. "Finally had a year when I wasn't working. You?"
"Yeah, we usually have a break for Christmas, make it back most years."
Tyson nodded. "Yeah. Hey, I should." He held up the half gallon of milk in his hand.
Nick found himself unaccountably disappointed. "Yeah, okay." He caught Tyson's arm before he could leave. "Hey, you wanna get a drink later? If you're not totally trapped by family stuff."
Tyson was a good actor, but he was still easy to read when he was startled, and it was obvious he hadn't been expecting that. "All right."
*
"Come on," Nick said, "you're doing great."
Every last bit of cheerful good humor dropped off of Tyson's face. "Yeah, great. I'm getting too old for modeling and my boyfriend just traded up to someone more successful."
Nick winced. "Shit, Ty. I'm sorry."
"I just don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore."
That kind of bare honesty was more like the Tyson Nick had known growing up, and it made him miss everything he'd left behind then.
"You'll figure out what you want to do," Nick said, "and you'll be amazing at it."
*
A week after Christmas, Nick left a message on Tyson's voice mail: "Hey, Ty. It's Nick. I got your number from your dad. I hope you don't mind. We should hang out. I don't want it to be five years this time."
*
A week after that, he tried again. "Hey, man, it's Nick. I was serious about hanging out. Call me."
*
Tyson never called him back.
*
Nick's mom sent him an article about Tyson's charity. Nick was dialing management before he'd even finished reading the article, and the auction of a signed guitar went live three days later.
A week later, on MTV, where they usually only talked to Sebastian, the VJ said, "Now tell me about the auction you have going on."
The rest of the band turned toward Nick. "That's all Nick," Sebastian said.
"Yeah." Nick rubbed the back of his head. "I grew up with Tyson Ritter, so when I saw he was doing this, I wanted to do something to help out."
Nick's guitar sold for an astronomical amount of money. He matched the donation, and sent one of the biggest checks he'd ever written to Tyson's charity.
*
Nick accepted the invitation he gets to attend a dinner for Tyson's charity. There were a lot of people around when Nick hugged Tyson and stepped back to admire his suit.
It wasn't fair for Nick to ask him in a situation where he couldn't say no, but Nick did anyway, and made it specific enough that Tyson agreed to meet him for coffee.
*
"You didn't return my calls," Nick said.
"Jesus, Nicky, I don't know what you want from me."
Nick hadn't heard Tyson call him "Nicky" in years.
"I want to hang out. I want us to be friends again. I miss you."
"You left." Coming from Tyson, it sounded like an accusation of treason.
"I know. I had to. I can can visit now, but Oklahoma was killing me."
"You left me," Tyson said, and the change in emphasis hurt.
"You were sixteen!" Nick lowered his voice. Bad enough that they were having this conversation in public. He didn't need to draw any more attention to them. "I had to leave. I couldn't stay even for you. But you were sixteen. I couldn't take you with me."
"You would have taken me with you?"
"Yeah, yeah I would have. Leaving Oklahoma was easy. Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever done."
Notes: This was going to be an AU where Nick is a musician and Tyson is a model/actor, but I never figured out exactly what I was doing with it.
Story on AO3
"Well," a familiar voice said, "if it isn't Nick Wheeler, biggest thing to ever come out of Stillwater."
Nick turned around, smiling before he even caught sight of Tyson, lanky as ever, in casual but expensive jeans and a flannel shirt over a v-neck. "I think there are a lot of people who'd be willing to debate that one." Tyson was skinnier than he remembered; it didn't show quite as much in photos, but he could tell when they hugged. "You home for Christmas?"
"Yeah." Tyson raked his hand through the same mop of hair he'd had ever since he was a kid. "Finally had a year when I wasn't working. You?"
"Yeah, we usually have a break for Christmas, make it back most years."
Tyson nodded. "Yeah. Hey, I should." He held up the half gallon of milk in his hand.
Nick found himself unaccountably disappointed. "Yeah, okay." He caught Tyson's arm before he could leave. "Hey, you wanna get a drink later? If you're not totally trapped by family stuff."
Tyson was a good actor, but he was still easy to read when he was startled, and it was obvious he hadn't been expecting that. "All right."
*
"Come on," Nick said, "you're doing great."
Every last bit of cheerful good humor dropped off of Tyson's face. "Yeah, great. I'm getting too old for modeling and my boyfriend just traded up to someone more successful."
Nick winced. "Shit, Ty. I'm sorry."
"I just don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore."
That kind of bare honesty was more like the Tyson Nick had known growing up, and it made him miss everything he'd left behind then.
"You'll figure out what you want to do," Nick said, "and you'll be amazing at it."
*
A week after Christmas, Nick left a message on Tyson's voice mail: "Hey, Ty. It's Nick. I got your number from your dad. I hope you don't mind. We should hang out. I don't want it to be five years this time."
*
A week after that, he tried again. "Hey, man, it's Nick. I was serious about hanging out. Call me."
*
Tyson never called him back.
*
Nick's mom sent him an article about Tyson's charity. Nick was dialing management before he'd even finished reading the article, and the auction of a signed guitar went live three days later.
A week later, on MTV, where they usually only talked to Sebastian, the VJ said, "Now tell me about the auction you have going on."
The rest of the band turned toward Nick. "That's all Nick," Sebastian said.
"Yeah." Nick rubbed the back of his head. "I grew up with Tyson Ritter, so when I saw he was doing this, I wanted to do something to help out."
Nick's guitar sold for an astronomical amount of money. He matched the donation, and sent one of the biggest checks he'd ever written to Tyson's charity.
*
Nick accepted the invitation he gets to attend a dinner for Tyson's charity. There were a lot of people around when Nick hugged Tyson and stepped back to admire his suit.
It wasn't fair for Nick to ask him in a situation where he couldn't say no, but Nick did anyway, and made it specific enough that Tyson agreed to meet him for coffee.
*
"You didn't return my calls," Nick said.
"Jesus, Nicky, I don't know what you want from me."
Nick hadn't heard Tyson call him "Nicky" in years.
"I want to hang out. I want us to be friends again. I miss you."
"You left." Coming from Tyson, it sounded like an accusation of treason.
"I know. I had to. I can can visit now, but Oklahoma was killing me."
"You left me," Tyson said, and the change in emphasis hurt.
"You were sixteen!" Nick lowered his voice. Bad enough that they were having this conversation in public. He didn't need to draw any more attention to them. "I had to leave. I couldn't stay even for you. But you were sixteen. I couldn't take you with me."
"You would have taken me with you?"
"Yeah, yeah I would have. Leaving Oklahoma was easy. Leaving you was the hardest thing I've ever done."