bulletproof

tyler foxx night creeper 20

[brynn-adler]

She rested her head back against his shoulder, listening to him and she just knew how much this was paining him. She could hear it in his voice, she could feel how tense he got when he spoke about what happened. “You want to talk about how it happened?” She whispered. “You don’t have to, but you have nothing but time.” Brynn pointed at the tiny window showing how bright it was outside. “Come on, Tyler. Let me in.”  

[tyler-foxx]

"You know what happened." Tyler admitted shamefully, shoulders slumped as he tried to avoid her gaze. That was the worst part, Brynn had mentioned it all only a little ago and she didn't even know it. Looking out the window as she pointed at it before his eyes moved back ot her face, scanning it for a little bit and trying to see if her expression changed even a little bit. "It's the reason why I'm the leader of the Night Creepers now."

[brynn-adler]

Brynn closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as he moved away from her. She took a moment to compose herself before she sat up right to look over at him. Brynn crawled over to where he sat after words spilled out of his mouth, knowing that there was nothing she could have said to make him feel better. That was burden he had to carry, but she knew that the least she could do was be there for him and help him with the weight. She placed her head on his shoulder, before nuzzling into the crook of his neck. “Tyler, you’re not a bad person. This place, it makes us do things that we never would want to do. We just come from a bad place.” She whispered, before raising her head. Brynn tilted his face so that he was looking at her. “You’re not bad.” Brynn ran her finger down his jawline. 

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler tensed up as soon as she moved closer to him, looking ahead as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. It wasn't that he was cold or distant, that wasn't who Tyler really was and maybe Brynn knew that. Body language said a lot about people and it was clear that Tyler really wanted to open up to her, he just didn't know how. "This place didn't make me choose. I chose. And I chose to kill him." He said as he looked down at her before his eyes fell back to his lap.

[brynn-adler]

Brynn looked up at him, her eyes meeting his light brown ones. She tried to push him off of her to no avail. “What’s changed? Tell me, what has change? Because I’d love to know.” She kept trying to worm her wrist away from his grip. She wanted to know what happened to the boy that caused her heart to race and for her to feel those god forsaken butterflies at that party. “What happened?”

[tyler-foxx]

"Everything." Tyler muttered as he looked down at her. Letting go of her wrists, the boy just moved from on top of her and sat down on the ground, looking away from her. He could lie to himself all he wanted, but truth was that Brynn was pushing him to talk, something that no one had tried to do since he had lost his best friend. No one knew it. And the question was could he really trust in her? Looking around for a little bit, he noticed that he could, his eyes falling on his own lap. "I killed my best friend." He admitted, closing his eyes.

[brynn-adler]

"Who knows what I’ll be willing or won’t be willing to do. It depends on who the person-" She looked up at him, wondering when it was that he had become this closed to the possibility of finding someone. Sometimes she wished that she could do that, hope that there was no good people in the world. Just shut it all off, but no matter how much she tried, she couldn’t. She cared. Brynn kneed his stomach, pushing him down to the ground but she fell right on top of him. She glared down at him, still trying to pull her wrists away from him. "Let go of me."

[tyler-foxx]

Before she could even finish her sentence, Tyler felt her knee come in contact with his stomach. A small groan left his lips as his body fell to the ground, but he didn't let go of her wirsts as she fell on top of him. "The hell I will." Tyler muttred, rolling them over quickly so that he was hovering above her, his knees supporting his weight so that he could look down at her. "Stop. Don't get mad because I'm not giving you the answers you want. I am not the same Tyler you met at the party, okay? Everything has changed."

[brynn-adler]

"It’s not just my favorite color, Tyler. It’s more than that. It’s knowing my favorite color, knowing what flowers I like, knowing my favorite food. At least that what it seems to be. It’s just knowing the person you really like." Brynn listed off, remembering how romance was in all those cheesy movies that she was made to watch while her foster parents fought, fucked, or both. Movies had always been her escape from the madness that was her life. She considered her life to be one great big movie, she already had the exciting plot, the riveting backstory, now she needed the handsome love interest and hopefully a happy ending. "I don’t know, Tyler. Don’t we all appear that way? I mean, to live here, you have to be a backstabber every once in a while." She shrugged, knowing loyalty was a privilege they did not have. She still didn’t have anyone who truly had her back around the city, maybe that person was now in front of her. Brynn tried to pull herself from him, but he was clearly stronger than her. "I’m in no way terrified of you, lover boy. Now let go before I make you let go."

[tyler-foxx]

"I know what you mean, Brynn." Tyler replied easily, his face relaxed as he figured something out. "Are you willing to share all of those things with anyone here though? In this damn place? Trusting people is not okay, people trusting you isnt' possible here. trust me, I know what I'm talking about. It's not worth it." His words might have been a little harsher tan he had intended but it was the truth. He could tell that if he weren't the leader of the Night Creepers now, Tyler would have trusted her. They definitely would be doing something entirely too different now. But was it worth it? He was worried that if he got close to anyone ever again, he would have to do what he did with his best friend. Hearing the challenge in her voice, Tyler only used his grip on her hands to pull her body against his. "You could try."

[brynn-adler]

"Well that’s what everyone makes romance out to be. You tell someone your favorite color, next minute, you’re making out with them." Brynn shrugged as she thought about his question. Did they have time for love? From what she’d seen, everyone usually was in lust with one another. She never saw romance, the cheesy kind. The kind they make stupid movies about. She’d never heard about the first kiss that makes someone’s leg pop up. What she did hear was how good of a fuck this and that person was. "I wouldn’t know, lover boy. As you’ve probably seen, everyone’s more into the express version of romance." Brynn was taken back when he grabbed her wrists, her heart instantly beating a mile a minute. "Because it would be the easiest option?" Brynn looked down at his chest, pulling her hands away from his. She knew that she had to go, because if she didn’t, this would only go somewhere it shouldn’t. She could feel the urge to kiss him rising and Brynn, as much as she scoffed the idea of romance and love, was a firm believer in it. "Uhm, I think I’m going to go." 

[tyler-foxx]

"I don't know shit about romance, but I doubt it's about your favorite color." Tyler muttered under his breath. You never heard that word around own, because there was just no time for that. There was no time to trust anyone, or to do anything more than fucking. That was all it was around here, sex and pleasure. No one was selfless enough for there to be romance or actual love, and Tyler knew how all of it worked. That's he had got to where he was now. "Do you think I just hurt anyone I can because it's easy for me?" He asked, clenching his jaw after he did so. This was exactly what he was talking about, maybe Brynn wasn't scared of him, but she thought of him as an enemy as someone that would hurt her without thinking twice about it. Watching as she pulled away from him, Tyler moved until he managed to grab her wrists again to pull her back to him, his hold on her stronger than before. "What's wrong? Finally getting scared of me?"

[brynn-adler]

"Has romance truly died around here?" She asked, pretending to be offended. "Here I was trying to get to know you, before sticking my tongue in your mouth and you’re already jaded to the romance. I’ll just blame it on the fact that you’re a boy.” Brynn listened to him, a small smile on his face as he implied that he could easily hurt her. Anyone else, she would have demanded a fight then and there. But when he said it, it just made her get up from the couch and make her way over to where he was standing. She put her hands on his chest slowly, almost cautious. She looked at him, her eyes suddenly a lot more lustful than they had been before. “Then why haven’t you hurt me, Tyler? You know, it being easy and all.” 

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler's playful gaze fell on her once again as he bit down on his bottom lip. He knew that what they were doing right now was off limits, even if they had yet o do something, it was clear that they both wanted something to happen. "Romance isn't romance if you just get to know each other or if you know each other's favorite colors, that's like sayign that romance isn't romance when you just fall for someone without an explanation. But do we really have time for romance in this city, Brynn?" He asked with a small shrug. The Tyler from before wouldn't be as negative as he was now. But he couldn't help but enjoy this little discussion they were having. Turning his head to look at her as she stood in front of him, his eyes moving from her hands on his chest up to her eyes as he stared at her. His hands grabbed her wrists firmly as he looked down at her, his eyes just as lustful as hers. "Because out of all the things that I could do to you, why would I hurt you?"

[brynn-adler]

Brynn smiled brighter when she saw that she managed to make him smirk. She had to say that he looked a lot more attractive with that sly smirk on his face. “Is that so?” She raised an eyebrow, it was more of a challenging one. “My, my aren’t you easy? I’ll keep that in the back of my head whenever I get the urge to kiss someone.” Brynn tilted her head as he mentioned people being scared of him, she understood why they’d be scared of him and she should have been just as scared but she wasn’t like others. “Well, you don’t scare me.” She shrugged, knowing that he was probably going to let her know that she should be. It was a common defense mechanism that she’d seen often among the kids of Los Santos. They were all scared to let people in. Letting people in meant caring and the way that life was around here, it was before not to care.

[tyler-foxx]

"I never said I’d kiss you. Just thoguht that doing all of this to hook up with me is a lot of effort, don’t you think?" Tyler said playfully, raising an eyebrow as if to show he was just playing around with her. He wasn’t going to say that he wasn’t attracted to her. He knew that he had been attracted to her since that night at the party, but they were completely separated by their gangs. Staring at her for a moment, Tyler shrugged just like she had and looked away. "I know that. Maybe that’s a little dumb of you, considering I’m the leader of the other gang. I don’t think you understand how easy it’d be for me to hurt you now that we’re completely alone." He murmured nonchalantly. Sure, he knew that most people were intimidated by him, yet Brynn seemed to be doign the opposite. He’d barely talked for so long since the night he had became the leader of the Night Creepers. But he knew better than to let her know that, where they lived, you couldn’t trust a lot of people.

[brynn-adler]

"That would be because this clearly the moment where we get to know each other and then in the plot twist that will shock no one, we end up making out. Maybe even on this couch. I’m sure it’s seen plenty of make out sessions. But between a Day Trotter and a Night Creeper? I think not." Brynn gasped, knowing that it was a lot more serious than she was making it out to be. Could she really like someone who belonged to an opposite gang? She knew that it would only end up in pain for the both of them, so that’s why she used comedy and wit to try to hide away the fact that she wouldn’t really mind making out on the couch with him. "Really? Just blue. No robin egg, no midnight blue, no perriwinkle? Just blue." She shook her head, not buying it. But then she remembered that he did seem like a pretty simple guy, so it probably was just blue. "You are lying, there has to be a following. I mean, look at you. You’re a regulation hottie."

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler actually smirked a little at her words, his eyes showing how amused he actually was. Because truth be told, he wouldn't admit to himself or to anyone, but Tyler would have done this without even thinking about it the night of the party. But now, this new Tyler, couldn't even think about what his old self did. "If you wanted us to make out, all oyu had to do was say it." He murmured playfully, his eyes not leaving hers as a way to tease her. "Just blue, it's a simple color." Tyler explained with a small shrug. Blue was deep like an ocean, yet just a primary color. It was simple. "Well, that doesn't mean anything if girls are scared of you. Sure, there might be sex but nothing else."

[brynn-adler]

"Yeah, moody." She repeated herself. "You’re right, I don’t know you." Brynn sat back up, that was the problem. She didn’t know him and she wanted to. She had wanted to since that night, she didn’t care about the rules or the gangs. Once she had something on her mind, it was usually impossible for her to think of anything else. "So let’s get to know each other. Brynn Adler." She pointed at herself. "Eighteen. Day Trotter. Orphan." Brynn sighed, hoping that she wouldn’t have to get into that today as they would be sitting here all day. "My favorite color is that sunrise orange, that really pastel orange. I guess that’s why I got put on the Day Trotters. No boyfriend, but a ton of hopefuls follow me around, like your lackeys." She turning over so that her body was also facing his way. "Your turn, lover boy."

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler nodded lightly when she repeated that she didn't know him, knowing that was the case. They had talked only once before, but he knew that they seemed to feel the same way about each other for some reason. He wouldn't have helped her escape from his own gang if that weren't the case, and she wouldn't have offered him a place to stay for the day either. So it was clear that since that night, they both had made some sort of agreement. Tyler hated to think so, but he had a soft spot for her, Raising an eyebrow again as she spoke up, he sighed and shook his head. "Why am I lover boy?" He asked with a small teasing tone in his voice as he looked at her. "Tyler Foxx. Twenty. Night Creeper. My favorite color is blue, just blue. And girls tend to be a little intimidated by me these days. So there's following around but nothing else." He said with a small shrug.

[brynn-adler]

"If I wanted to get rid of you, you would have known this by now." She looked over her shoulder, matching the expression on his face. Although she had a playful smile on his face. He was so serious now, and she didn’t understand why. After all, shouldn’t he be celebrating the fact that he’s one of the most feared people in their city. After all, fear was the main currency around Los Santos. The scarier you are, the more fear you are. The more food you get, the more things you get to possess. He was probably swimming in riches at the moment. 

Brynn sat down on the couch, looking over at him. She slowly laid down on the soft material, closing her eyes for a moment. It felt good to just be off of her feet. Her converses did nothing to support her feet, especially when climbing and jumping off of buildings. She opened her eyes, turning her head towards him. “What’s up with you? You’re all moody and I don’t get it.” Brynn shook her head. “Shouldn’t you be happy, bragging even? You beat one of the baddest guys in this city. You’re the top dog, yet you’re not using that to your advantage. I want to know why?”

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler wasn't entirely too sure why they were playing this game. It was a game. They hadn't touched the fact that she knew how he really was. She spent time with him the night of the party when he had been a different guy to what he was now and he knew that there was a huge elephant in the room whether he wanted to admit it or not. It was obvious that she was more than just a girl at the party for him, since he had just put her above his leader status but he hoped that hse hadn't noticed how big of a decision that was supposed to be. 

Looking up from his hands as she spoke up, eyebrows furrowing together at everything that she was saying. "Moody?" He almost smiled at the word that she had used as he shook his head. Tyler wanted that. He wanted to be moody instead of feeling empty which was exactly how he felt now. He felt like he was alone now, even if Dillon and him hadn't talked in a while, he had been the closest thing that Tyler had to a family apart from his gang. And now he was gone because of him. "You don't really know me, so who are you really to say that I'm not like this everyday?"

[brynn-adler]

Brynn eyed him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes but if half of the things that she’d heard about him was true, he’d definitely provide her with a challenge. After all Dillon was one of the best fighters that they had on their side yet he was able to take him out. Brynn had an urge to ask what had happened that night, but she could tell that he didn’t want to talk about that night. It was evident in the way he froze up when she had even mentioned her fallen leader.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" She teased him, running her hand through her brown locks. She stood up and stepped up to the small mirror in the cellar, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "I don’t feel like going out there, tonight. My back is killing me. So if you’re not taking the couch, I will." 

[tyler-foxx]

Raising an eyebrow at her question, Tyler shrugged lightly. "If anything, you could want tog et rid of me. I'm the one in the wrong place after all? This is your territory, so I'll stay here until I have to go and that's it." He explained as he looked at her. Even if Brynn hadn't showed any sign of being bothered by him, he knew that Tyler had killed her leader, and she didn't know her leader had been his best friend. He probably wasn't her favorite person in the world and yet, here she was helping her out like this.

"Take the couch, though. I don't think I'll be able to sleep today." He murmured as he got up from the couch, letting ehr take a seat if she wanted to as he moved to another chair. It was hard to believe that these were the same two people that met up at that party not too long ago.

[brynn-adler]

Brynn nodded, she didn’t know what happened. All she remembered was the cannon go off that night and their leaders face being displayed up in the sky. You couldn’t hear a pin drop in the Trotter’s house, they were all shocked which instantly became anger. That was one of the worst nights in Los Santos. 

"You’re welcome." She said softly, her fingers tapping against her armrest. "You can sit down, you know. I’m not going to attack you." Brynn pointed at the sofa at the end of the room. "I’m sure this is your bedtime, so if you want to sleep, you can do that too. I’m not singing you a lullaby if that’s what you’re expecting."

[tyler-foxx]

If Tyler were capable of showing any emotion these days, his face would have been masked with surprise and curiosity. She had just nodded, she hadn't bothered to ask why he was so upset about it. Hadn't questioned his attitude or his harsh words.It was insane to be getting this from her instead of his own gang. Sitting down as she asked him to, Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I would move before you could even think about attacking me, you know? You could take five of the Night Creepers, but I doubt you could take me." 

He wasn't even trying to be cocky, he was pretty damn sure that she didn't stand a chance against him. Crossing his arms over his chest, Tyler stared at her for a second as he tried to figure out if he should try to sleep or not. It asn't like he slept a lot these days anyway so he could stay awake for a few more hours and sleep once he managed to get rid of his gang for a couple of hours. "I don't have a bedtime so don't worry about it. If you need to go out and do...whatever you guys do. Go ahead. I won't do anything to your tree, and I won't tell anyone about it either so you don't have to worry about it."

[brynn-adler]

"Why would you want to get away from anyone? You’re basically a king in this city. I mean, you did kill Dillon-" Brynn looked down at her feet, remembering the fallen Day Trotter and one of the best people she’d met while being in this god forsaken city. He cared about everyone around him, made sure they all ate. After his death, the Day Trotters had begun to turn on each other, the younger kids going hungry while the older ones started to become greedy and vicious. She couldn’t say that she didn’t get angry when she thought that she was in front of him, the person that killed her friend, her leader. But a part of her was intrigued by him. Brynn couldn’t find it in her to fight him and get vengeance like she was sure most of the Day Trotters would do if they caught him. 

"You’re here because you needed a place to stay until tonight, do you think that if the Day Trotters find you they won’t slit your throat where you stand?" She asked, as she sat down on one of the chairs in the room. "You’re welcome."

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler instantly looked down as she mentioned his best friend, his eyes settling on the ground before he shook his head. "You have no idea of what happened so don't talk about it." He said harshly, shaking his head at her as he turned around to avoid looking at her. No one knew about it though, that was the thing. And Tyler couldn't say anything either. Now he was looked up to, he had done what Dillon and him had been taught to do. He had taken his frineds' life and now all he did was regret it, because Dillon could actually deal with all of this. Tyler didn't know if he could.

Finally coming to terms with the fact that she was just helping him because he had helped her not too long ago, Tyler just nodded and murmured a small 'thank you' under his breath. His arms crossed over his chest as he swallowed hard and then looked back at his feet once again.

[brynn-adler]

"The tree is a disguise, go down." She instructed as she got down to follow him down to the empty cellar at the bottom of the tunnel.

"I found it while finding from one of your guys actually. I had been out because I was really hunger, and I stole some of his bread and he was prepared to kill me over it." Brynn rubbed her arms, it had been about her second week here and she was still at the bottom of the Day Trotter food chain, she got the scraps. As she ran, she had fell on the grass which caused her to slide into the tree. She considered it a blessing from some higher being, one of the only ones she’d ever gotten.

"So since then, I come here whenever I’m out at night. Or when I want to get away from everyone else." 

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler had to admit that he was impressed. As a younger version of himself, years ago, he'd explored all over the city when he could. Most nights, when he was younger and still learning things him and a couple of his friends had tried to find cool places to hide, it was the other guys asked them to do. Probably to get rid of them for a few hours or to actually make them do something useful. Who knew. But he'd never found something like this.

Once they got to the end of the tunnel, he turned to look at her, nodding a little. "Well, I guess it's good that I didn't know about it, or I'd be stuck here for a while avoiding everyone else." He said in a small whisper, shoving his hands inside his pockets. It was true though, he had spent a lot of his time alone lately. Even when he was surrounded by his gang, he felt alone and he didn't know what to do about it.

"I'm confused though. If this is your place to get away from everyone else...why am I here?" Tyler wondered out loud, his eyes focusing on hers after he had looked around the cellar.

[brynn-adler]

"They clearly were." Brynn smirked his way, he really didn’t thinks she could hold her own against some lackeys. She’d been in worst positions before, ones where the odds were clearly set against her but she was able to survive. And she surely wasn’t going to lose to a couple of Night Creepers, she knew that much. 

"Rules were meant to be broken, Tyler." Brynn didn’t want to be stuck indoors during the night. She enjoyed the night breeze, she loved the shadows. She thrived in them. Her being put in the Day Trotter was a sick twist of fate. Not that she didn’t enjoy her gang, because she had finally managed to find people she… somewhat cared about. But she loved the night sky. No one was going to keep it away from her. Brynn nodded, walking past him, making sure her shoulder bumped against his arm as she did so. She looked out to make sure that no one was around, no one could possibly see him with her. They’d both get in trouble. Possibly die for it. "Come on." She looked back at him as she took off, if they made it to the tree, they’d be safe. It was her own hide out, she’d out it by mistake. She had discovered that Los Santos had it’s own shrieking shack, it was her own home away from home. Brynn leaned against the tree, noticing the look of confusion on his face. She kicked back the opening. "Men, first." 

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler was beginning to think she was crazy, he wasn't sure if he could take five of his own lackeys and that was a lot, considering the one reaosn why he'd been picked a leader was because he was the best fighter in the gang. The right person to pull it off and also one of the eldest from the gang. He wasn't sure why he'd been picked out, but he knew that it was better for him. Sometimes his gang could get out of hand and he'd seen a gew of get scared of him if he was having a bad day and his temper wasn't in the right place. But he was sure that they didn't explect him to be as serious as he was now. 

"Yeah, some of them. Other ones are jsut a death wish." He muttered under his breath. Tyler didn't know her too well, but over the conversation that they'd had before this one, he had been able to tell that she wasn't one to back down from anything, just like him. Following her slowly, he frowned as they got to a tree and then looked at ehr expectantly. Was she joking? His eyes softened as she kicked back the opening and without thinking too much about it, Tyler got in. It was weird but for some reason he trusted her and she semmed to trust him enough to bring her to what seemed to be her safe place. "A tree?" He asked softly, an eyebrow raised.

[brynn-adler]

"I’m lucky?" Brynn scoffed, rolling her eyes. Of course, he thought she was lucky because she couldn’t possibly defend herself. "You know, that mindset is going to lead to your demise. I didn’t need you, I could have taken all your lackeys on and not have chipped a nail." 

Brynn shrugged, when he asked her what she was doing out and about. She didn’t owe him an explanation. “I wanted to come out at night, is that such a problem?” She eyed him, nodding as he spoke. She had to admit, he had just done her a favor. “I’ll make sure they don’t see me.” Brynn looked up at the sky, seeing that the sky was only becoming brighter. “You should probably hide, they are all going to be out soon.” Brynn murmured, knowing she couldn’t let him get hurt. “I know a place, if you want to come with. It’s not a setup, I promise.”

[tyler-foxx]

Tyler resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her, folding his arms across his chest as he stared at her. "Five guys, one girl. Yeah, the odds wre clearly in your favor. I don't doubt you'd be able to take one of them but five? You're not that good." He murmured as he frowned at her. Maybe she was playing a part too, who knew. But the truth was that even if Tyler didn't see her as a damsel in distress, no one could've taken on five guys.No matter how good of a fighter she was. He had saved her from a lot of things that night and she needed to admit that.

"There are rules, Brynn, and you know that. Stop trying to act like you're free to do whatever you want. You're a Day trotter, so keep your coming out when the sun is out." Tyler said with a shrug. Back in the day, he had been just like her though. A Night Creeper who ran aorund during the day, meeting up with Dillon and acting like the gangs were just a game. They weren't though, and he had to see his brother die to understand it. Nodding as she seemed to understand that he had done her a favor, Tyler blinked a couple of times as she offered him a place to go to before the sun came out. He wasn't sure why but he thought he could trust her after this and hell, if this was a setup, then he was dead and that was it. But he didn't think that was the case. "Fine...I'll follow you."