In The Dark - {joshler au}

1. Tardy

Tyler shrugged his backpack higher on his shoulder as he lightly jogged up the front steps of his high school. He would've been full-on running but, for one, he already took a shower this morning and he really didn't want to sweat and then have to take another one. Secondly, one of his bag straps was already held together by safety pins, the years of wear and tear finally taking its toll on the fabric, and he didn't need the other side to break on him right now.

As he walked into the building and noticed the halls were empty, he sighed. He was definitely late. He walked quickly down the left corridor from the entrance to his first class where he could hear Mr. Hoppus' voice echoing down the hall from the open door. As he rounded into sight, his classmates' eyes landed on him and Mr. Hoppus stopped speaking. "Do you have a tardy slip, Tyler?"

The aforementioned boy shook his head, prepared to turn back out of the room and back down the hall to the office. "No sir," he spoke softly. "I can go get one."

Mr. Hoppus shook his head, pointing to the empty desk. "Just have a seat."

Tyler nodded, thankful as he weaved through the students and into his desk next to Brendon, one of his best friends. "Dude," he said, leaning over to whisper to him, "you're so lucky Hoppus never gives you tardies. You're late, like, every day."

"Shut up, you ass," he said, chuckling. "I'm not late every day. Only the days when Awsten decides he wants to sleep in and doesn't answer any of my texts or calls."

Brendon laughed back at him. "I forgot he gives you rides," he realized out loud. "Why don't you start letting me bring you to school?"

Tylee looked at Brendon with a faux incredulous look, his brown eyes sparkling with humor. "You're less reliable than Awsten."

Brendon feigned offense, making his younger friend laugh. "Well, I never..."

Tyler shook his head gently, opening his book to the page number on the white board as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He discreetly slipped his phone onto his desk under the cover of his textbook, unlocking the screen to see a text from Awsten. He rolled his eyes with a gentle laugh as he opened the message thread and began reading the texts.

cherry head🍒: lmaooo dude i'm so sorry i didn't message you back! i wound up sleeping over at geoff's

dude it's cool, i made it on time

cherry head🍒: "on time" or did Hoppus let you slide without a tardy again?

shut up. say hi to geoff ^

cherry head🍒: he said hey. someone just moved in down the street from him about a week ago, let me know if we have a new kid

come find out yourself?

cherry head🍒: spending the day with geoff ❤️

lame-o

cherry head🍒: love you too, ty!

Tyler sighed, slipping his phone into his pocket and leaning over to Brendon. "See anyone new this morning?"

Brendon thought it over, brows furrowing. "Not that I remember," he said, shaking his head. "Why?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Awsten said someone just moved in down the street from Geoff, so he told me to tell him if we got a new kid."

Brendon nodded. "Cool," he said leaning back into his own desk. "I'll keep an eye out."

Tyler nodded before going back to his class work.

* * *

"Don't forget to read pages 124-129 in your textbooks tonight," Mr. Hoppus called to the teenagers as they exited his room. "Tyler, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Tyler nodded, telling Brendon he'd see him next class as he walked up to Hoppus' desk. "Yes sir?"

Mr. Hoppus looked toward the door to make sure no one was coming before he spoke softly. "Is everything alright?" His question was full of concern for the young boy that stood in front of him. "You haven't been late in quite a while."

Tyler smiled softly, nodding to his teacher. "Yeah, everything's alright," he said. "I was supposed to get a ride with Awsten this morning, but he stayed at Geoff's and I just missed the bus so I walked."

The older man nodded, smiling at his student. "Zack and Maddy make it on time?"

Tyler nodded quickly, hoisting his bag up higher. "Yeah, Zack had band practice at seven, so he rode with a friend and Maddy caught the bus."

Mr. Hoppus nodded again, patting Tyler on the shoulder. "If you need it, I can talk to your mom and start giving you rides to school again." His words were gentle, almost as if the mere suggestion would scare the young student away. "It's really no trouble."

Tyler smiled thankfully, reaching out and fist bumping his teacher. "Thanks, Mark, but I think I've got it under control. I'm good, I promise."

Mr. Hoppus rolled his eyes playfully, knocking Tyler in the shoulder. "You're lucky your mom is my best friend or you wouldn't get away with that," he said with a laugh. "Go, get to your next class before you're late."

Tyler nodded, bidding the man goodbye as he jogged down to his locker, grabbing his chemistry book and heading to his next class. As he rounded the corner, he let out a loud 'oof' as his body collided with another and he fell backwards onto his backpack. He groaned slightly as he sat up, looking forward and catching a glimpse of curly brown hair, glasses and a bright pink shirt.

"Holy shit," the boy said softly, "I'm so sorry dude, are you alright?"

Tyler stared for a couple more seconds, spacing out and not noticing the boy in front of him had stood up and was reaching his hand down. He shook his head from his trance and took the hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. "Not your fault, dude," he replied with a chuckle. "I guess that's why they say no running in the halls."

The boy laughed gently, nodding his head as he fixed his glasses on his nose. "Guess I'll see you around," he said as he walked around Tyler, waving goodbye as he disappeared around the corner.

"Bye," Tyler mumbled after the boy disappeared, sighing to himself. He pulled out his phone to check the time just as the bell rang and he groaned slightly. "Guess I'm getting a tardy after all."

~ ~ ~

i know i just started a story shut up and enjoy this one 🥰

- alé 🥀