*unedited again whoops*

Dylan's pov

"Dylan, did you say you were working with Thomas Brodie-Sangster?" My best friend, Tyler questioned from behind his laptop.

I looked at him quizzically, before nodding my head. "Yeah, why?"

In lieu of response, he nodded his head towards his illuminated screen, then patted my bed next to him. I walked over and sat down on my comfy mattress, eyes automatically scanning the screen to see what he was looking at.

My eyebrows raised when I read the words, "Thomas Brodie-Sangster: Teenage-Girl-Aphobic?" in bold letters stretching across Tyler's laptop.

"What the hell does that mean?" I ask, more to myself than Tyler.

He shrugs, then responds, "Here, there's a link to a video."

He clicks his mouse and is redirected to youtube, where a video titled, "Thomas Sangster yells at teenage fan," begins to load.

Tyler shifts, and the video begins, showing a blurry image of what appears to be a Starbucks. I watch as a girl with long, brown hair bounces excitedly to Thomas, a pen clutched into her shaking hand. She turns to the camera, gives a thumbs up, and just as she turns back around, she slams into Thomas' tall, lanky form.

From the distance, I see the girl jump back, revealing Thomas fully. He must have been holding a coffee, because a dark brown stain is already appearing on his white t-shirt.

I watch in horror as the girl stumbles to apologize, only to be cut off by Thomas. The girl automatically shrinks into herself, and her body noticeably begins to tremble. She attempts to say something again, but then Thomas is actually yelling at her, and she's stepping out of his way to let him pass. The video keeps rolling, only to witness the girl rushing towards the camera into her friend's outstretched arms, two tears racing down her face. And then the video turns black, leaving Tyler and I in an appalled silence.

Tyler sits up, breaking the quiet of my room by muttering, "Well, have fun working with a dick." Then in after thought he adds, "Actually, you do like dick so maybe--"

I cut him off. "Shut up, Tyler," I laugh, shoving him so that he rolls off the bed and lands on the ground with a soft thud.

He grunts, but continues from the floor. "Hey, I mean, I don't see why not--"

"I'm gay. That doesn't mean I want to get in the pants of every dick I see. Besides, there's a huge difference between the dick I like, and the dick Thomas is," I groan.

Tyler laughs, then adds, "I hear he's gay too, and if his junk is anywhere near the size of his ego--"

"Tyler!" I yelp. "Oh my god. If you saw a cat, would you bang it just because it's a pussy?"

Tyler genuinely looked like he was thinking about it, but then responded in a matter-of-fact tone, "No, not without the kitty's consent."

I rolled my eyes, then looked back towards Tyler's laptop screen, clicking back to the tab that held the link and article. I scrolled down, ignoring the words, but soon noticed another link in the last sentence of the page.

"Thomas will be publicly apologizing at a livestreamed press conference Tuesday, April 15th beginning at 4 pm western," I read aloud.

Tyler glanced to my clock, then shot up from the floor. "It just started! Click the link!"

"I'm clicking, I'm clicking. Geeze, calm yourself," I muttered.

This page loaded much more quickly, revealing Thomas himself standing atop a small platform. The camera was zoomed in on his upper half, where his hair was styled neatly and his smile was cheerfully bright. I noticed he had swapped his usual leather jacket for a bright blue button-up, presumably to make him look younger and nicer.

He had already begun speaking, and by the time my microphone synced with video, we heard, "I deeply regret how I acted last week. I was having an off day, you know? She seemed like a very nice fan, and I probably crushed her."

I almost scoffed at the rehearsed speech, his formality completely invalidating his sentimental words. However, the crowd seemed to buy it, a collective "aww" erupting from my speakers. Tyler and I glanced at each other, and from the look in his eye I could tell he didn't believe the apology either.

Thomas continued. "I recently found out her name was Cindy. She was so sweet to me, and I feel awful for how I treated her."

"You should, dumbass," Tyler muttered. I snorted.

Thomas then looked directly into the camera. His brown eyes were especially large, and his voice trembled as he spoke. "Cindy, if you're watching this, I hope you can forgive me. No words can justify my actions."

There was a rustling next to the camera, then someone shouted, "What if we told you she's here?"

Thomas' eyes widened and he looked off stage, probably at his manager. I watched his adams apple bob as he swallowed, clearly thinking hard. Finally, he responded, "I'd tell you to bring her up here!"

The crowd parted, revealing the young girl fron the video. She looked scared from all the attention, and I pitied her; she was obviously forced into this situation by someone with a lot of power.

The screen became fuzzy as she floated towards the stage, and Thomas moved to help her up. Dimly, because he was no longer using a microphone, I heard him say, "Cindy, oh sweet, dear Cindy. I am so, so sorry for embarrassing and yelling at you in such a way. Will you please forgive me?"

Cindy nodded, and Thomas pulled her into a hug. Her small body was crushed beneath his, and she hid her face in his shoulder as the crowd cheered. The situation may have been cute, had it not been for the victorious smirk on Thomas' face. Part of me cringed, and part of me wanted to reach into the computer screen and slap it off. There was no part of me that liked it.

Thomas moved to stand in front of the microphone again, Cindy trailing behind. He still had that smirk on, and the longer I stared at it, the more unsettled I felt, enough so that I eventually closed the tab to avoid throwing up.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Tyler protested.

"And now you're not," I shot back. I stood up, walking towards my closet. "Come help me pack."

Tyler was a silent, watching me. Then suddenly, in a rare serious voice, he said, "Dylan, don't let your hatred for him stop you from enjoying your first ever movie roll, okay?"

"Who said I hated him?" I replied, grabbing a suitcase from the back of my closet.

Tyler smiled sadly. "You're my best friend. I can read you better than I can read myself."

I smiled at him, walking to where he stood at my bedside. I reached out, wrapping him in a tight hug. Then oh-so quietly, he whispers, "No homo."

And I fucking lose it.

***

The airport bustles with life around us. A month and half has passed since I was informed I got the role of Thomas in The Maze Runner, one month since I was allowed to tell Tyler, and eight days since I realized my castmate was a total jerk. As all this time passed, I simultaneously felt like it moved all too quick, but much too slow, like the airport life around me. People were rushing to their flights, worried that they might miss them, yet there was still that air if hesitancy lingering around: families bidding tearful goodbyes, lovers wishing they had one last moment to be together.

I stood in a circle with my family, listening intently as my flight number was called. No one moves, though we know it's time to go. I glance over at Emma and she gives me a knowing look, before stepping back and saying, "I'll give you all a moment."

At first, no one says anything after her departure. Then like a volcanic eruption, my mom bursts into loud sobs, collapsing against my father. Passerbyers glance at our circle as she cries, so loud I actually wince away.

"Mom, mom stop, you're embarrasing me! Stop!" I 'comfort'.

Tyler, whom decided to accompany us to the airport, stepped up to my mom, rubbing her shoulder.

"My little boy is growing up!" She wailed between sobs.

"I'm twenty-three years old! I've been grown up!"

"What am I going to do without my baby boy?" She questioned to no one in particular.

Tyler spoke up next to her. "You'll still have me, Mrs. O'Brien. I can be your fake son. You'll just have to live without the dimples..."

My mom laughed through her tears, and I shot Tyler a grateful smile. My mom looked at me, and just as I thought she'd stop crying, she erupted in another bout of sobs.

"Okay, Mrs. O'Brien, why don't we go take a seat while Dylan says goodbye to everyone else?" Tyler mutters, already dragging my mom away, who was sobbing into his shoulder.

I watch her go, then turn to my sister.

For the first time in a long time, I really look at her. She's absolutely gorgeous, strong, independent. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and she is smiling softly at me.

"So...this is it," she mutters.

"God, you're so cliche," I say, wrapping my arms around her in a tight hug. We stay like that for a moment before she pulls away, looking up at me again.

"I'm actually gonna miss you," she realizes. "Like, a lot."

I laugh. "Thats the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

She laughs too, then kisses me on the cheek. "Good luck, little bro. Make me proud." And then she steps back, turning away to go comfort my mother.

I'm left alone with my dad who watches me with a gleam in his eye. He reaches his hand out, and I shake it, feeling slightly proud he shook my hand instead of hugging me. It was almost as if he was finally accepting that I was a man.

"Good luck out in Lousiana," he said. "And if you ever feel homesick...just remember, Tyler's door is always open." I laugh, happy he won't be going the sentimental route. "I'm proud of you Dylan."

I open my mouth to thank him before I'm interrupted by my mother, who's wrapping her arms around me in a big hug. She's still crying, but thankfully Tyler has managed to calm her down enough that she can speak.

"I love you, honey. I love you, I love you..." she repeats again and again. Then she steps back, and says, "I know you have to leave, but I'm really not ready for this."

I smile at her, then say, "I'll visit soon, mom. I love you."

Of course, she breaks down again with my statement, and is guided away with my dad.

I look at the floor, feeling both solemn and excited, then grab my bags, beginning to step towards Emma.

I make it two strides before I hear a voice pipe up from behind, "What, I don't get a goodbye?"

I whirl, stopping to stare at my best friend. Tyler gives me a sad smile, and it finally dawns on me: I won't be seeing him for at least two months, and then I'll be gone again. And after this movie...who knows? I begin to feel emotional, suddenly realizing that this is the last time I'll see him for a while. I return his smile, saying even as I step forward, "Nah, I don't like you anymore."

He scoffs, but then hugs me tighter than ever before, and as his fingers clutch my back, I feel the first tear gathering at the corner of my eye.

We pull away, and he says, "Don't get all messed up being famous, okay? And if anyone offers you drugs, the answer is no. And when you go to parties, don't be the loser that passes out before midnight. And when someone asks who your best friend is, I swear to God, you better say--"

"You. Okay, I got it, MOM." I laugh.

He smiles at me. "You got your Mets cap?"

I gesture to my back pocket. "'Course I do."

"Last call for flight 268 to Lousiana," a female voice announces over the loud speaker. Emma gestures to me that it's time to go, and I nod.

"I'll see you in a few months, okay, man?" I assure.

He smiles, and when no sarcastic quip comes, I realize he is emotional as well.

I hug him again and say, "I'm gonna miss you, Tyler Posey."

"And I, you, Dylan O'Brien. Don't forget about us little people when you're big and famous, alright?" Tyler grins.

"Of course not. O'Brosey forever, man."

Tyler rolls his eyes, and steps back. I look to Emma, and now she's gesturing frantically, so I start walking backwards. I wave to my family one more time then nod towards Tyler, and then I turn on my heel.

With determined strides, I blink back tears, leaving my best friend, my family, and everything I've ever known behind me.

//

A/N

Yayyy chapter 2 wooo

Tbh I didn't think I'd even get this far. But here we are so that's cool.

Ooh and a little O'Brosey moment ammiright idk I just love their friendship.

Idek what I'm doing with my life ahhahaha oh gosh

Uhhh hopefully some actual plot development next chapter and not whatever this is

Love ya

//Sam\\