summer child // joshler

21

tyler's point of view

i'm in my room strumming my ukulele when i hear a knock on the front door.

"tyler, baby, will you get that?" mom calls to me from wherever she is in the house.

"yeah," i yell out my reply and set the instrument aside before going to answer it.

i open the door and josh is standing there with a pan in his hands. "josh? what're you doing here? what's that?" i question.

"oh, it's a casserole. my mom sent me to give it to you guys. she told me to ask if you guys wanted to go to the city's firework show tomorrow? if you didn't already have plans," he explains.

"oh, shit. i completely forgot the fourth was even a thing." i take the casserole from him. "um, as far as i know, we don't have any."

"yeah. okay, cool." he smiles at me. "i told my mom we didn't have to go but she thought it would be good for your mom to get out of the house. i don't know if you remember, but we all used to go together when we were younger."

"i do remember that, yeah."

"oh! hi, josh. how are you? what's this?" my mom walks up from behind me before i can say anything else and takes the casserole dish from me.

"it's a casserole my mom made for you guys. she sent me to ask if the two of you wanted to go to the firework show tomorrow." he repeats himself to her.

"how sweet! we'd love to," she answers for the both of us. "we can get dinner before and ride there together!"

"i'll be sure to let her know. i'll see you both then. bye, miss kelly." he makes eye contact with me, his smile softer now, meant for no one else. "bye, tyler."

-

josh and i sit in the backseat of his mom's car. we're on our way to the pre-decided restaurant and all i can think about is reaching over and taking his hand in mine. i wish it could be that simple. he says it can be, that he'll do whatever makes me most comfortable.

the block i'm facing is completely my own.

i sigh and lean my head against the window. we arrive at the restaurant after several minutes. we walk in and we're lead to a table further inside the building where i sit between my mother and josh, looking over the menu to decide what i want to eat.

a waitress walks up, takes our drink orders, then leaves again.

"you boys are so grown," miss laura says, smiling at the two of us. "look at our boys, kelly."

my mom nods. "i'm so glad you two are talking again. you both seem happier. and i know tyler would be driving me nuts if he didn't have someone to hang out with and had to stay in the house all day." she laughs and laura laughs with her.

the waitress comes back before they can say anything else that's too embarrassing. she writes down the food we ask for and walks away again.

we make small talk while we wait and then eat our food when it comes. it's actually really good. we haven't been to this restaurant since my mom's last birthday, which ended in my parents fighting once again.

i push the thought aside and try to stay present in the moment, laughing when josh makes a joke and cringing when my mom does get a chance to finally say something embarrassing uninterrupted.

when we're all finished, josh's mom pays the tab and we leave, making our way to the outdoor venue where the firework show will take place.

once the car is parked, we lay the blankets out. our moms sit on one to the left and josh and i sit on a separate blanket to the right of them.

we talk until a voice comes over the speakers, telling us that the show will start momentarily.

the first firework goes off a minute later, a blast of colors lighting up the sky. the crowd cheers and another firework shoots upwards.

i lean my head on josh's shoulder before i can overthink it. he wraps an arm around me, pulling me closer. my cheeks go warm and i think to myself that... maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be with him, to let myself like him as more than a friend, to embrace it. maybe he's right, it doesn't have to be scary.

maybe this is what i want.

(an: another kinda short chapter! theres been a few in the upper 700s [including this one] but most are sticking to my range of 800-1k is words so far! theres a couple later that are around 1600 too)