american beauty // joshler

3

tyler's point of view

i show up to set fifteen minutes late with a smoothie in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

"nice of you to finally show up and grace us with your presence, joseph," josh says flatly, sliding his phone into his back pocket.

"it's my pleasure, really," i flash him a smile and take a seat to get my hair and makeup done, putting my cigarette out in the ashtray waiting for me on the vanity.

"how's your morning been, tyler?" the hairdresser asks. i've known her for a couple years now and she's always been kind.

"it's been fabulous, miss anna. woke up with a naked man in my bed and then stopped by that smoothie place you recommended. this strawberry banana is to die for." i look behind me in the mirror to try and catch josh's reaction to my words.

he's already looking back at me, one eyebrow raised and his mouth set in a straight line. and i'm living for it. the chase is the best part, the thrill of seeing him try to pretend i'm not riling him up.

"something wrong, mr...?" i let my voice trail off, pretending i've forgotten his name.

"it's josh. what's wrong is that you have no respect for anyone else's time and deemed a smoothie more important than your job," he answers, turning away to fiddle with his camera. my claws are in already, i can tell. now it's only a matter of reeling him in.

"oh, if you'd taste it, you'd understand." i step behind the curtain and change into the outfit set aside for me, careful to avoid messing up my hair. i come back around after my pants are on, still in the process of buttoning my shirt. i pause halfway through to pick up the cup and come to stand next to him, much closer than necessary. "try it."

his demeanor seems to change just a bit at our proximity but he steels himself over in just a second. "no. and put that down, you'll get it on your clothes."

i take one last sip and set it down in the cupholder of the chair next to his camera that's obviously meant for him. marking my territory.

"yes, sir." i feel the corners of my lips turn up at his reaction and then step up to my mark. "lets get to work then, shall we?"

about halfway through, the battery of his camera dies. i take it as the perfect opportunity to relight my cigarette while his assistant searches the room for the backup.

"so, joshua," i lean against the vanity table and take a puff, letting smoke cloud around me as i talk, "a little bird told me vapor may be interested in recruiting you. might be seeing you more often, not that i'd complain."

"yeah? well, i would."

a genuine laugh falls from my lips before i can stop it. "you're funny, dun. i'll give you that. and quite good at what you do, i'd add."

"great. so glad i have your approval," he deadpans.

"here you go, sir," his assistant walks up with the new battery and josh goes to switch them without another word to me, only muttering a small 'thank you,' in her direction.

i leave the butt of my cigarette in the ashtray and come back to stand in front of the camera. i wonder if he hates having to look at me so much. he does his editing himself and that alone is a hell of a lot of time to be focused on my features.

we finish up not long after that and i start the process of unbuttoning the designer shirt before i get to the curtain. i stop in front of josh again when i'm done, my chest exposed. i notice the conscious effort he's making not to look at anywhere but my face.

"what?"

"i'm throwing a party tonight. you should come."

he scoffs. "yeah, right. when hell freezes over, i'll consider it. though at that point, i might need a jacket upon entry."

"did you just compare me to the devil, joshua?" i smirk and bring one hand up to his shoulder for just a moment before dropping it. "i'll try not to let that go to my head."

"it wasn't a compliment," he pauses and then decides to speak again, "and stop calling me joshua."

"i'm taking it as one anyway, joshua."

-

"i mean, the devil! i must be pretty powerful to be the king of hell."

"i get it, ty," brendon slurs, slinging an arm around my shoulder where we're sitting on my couch.

i look down into my cup, watching the ice swirl around when i move it. "you know it better than most, brenny. i get what i want."

"mhm. anything for the princess," he smiles at me, his pupils blown and his eyes red. "whatever you want."

"i'm gonna go get another drink." i kiss his cheek. "be right back, darling."

i make my way to the kitchen and pour some of the first bottle i see into my cup. i turn to lean against the table for a moment and look out at the crowd of people in my living room.

it smells like metal and gucci cologne. the music playing is just loud enough for me to hear it over the hum of everyone talking but the song is unrecognizable.

i take it in for a moment, letting myself feel everything with all of my senses. i take a deep breath and then make my way back to the couch to fall back into my place next to brendon. a girl is sitting on his other side now, lighting the joint that's been placed in his mouth.

he takes a hit and then passes it to her and turns to look at me, "tyler, this is lili. i think. she's opening for me this first leg of the tour coming up."

"oh, right. hey. brendon puts on a great show and an even better after party. i bet you'll have a lot of fun," i tell her, my tone polite but still cautious.

she doesn't seem to fit in here, her hair dyed a pastel pink and her eyes wide in wonder, like a kid in a candy store. her big break, she probably thinks.

"hiii. thanks! tyler, right? brendon talks about you alllll the time." she passes the joint to me. "your house is so fucking cool."

"thank you." i take a hit and pass it back to brendon, who's staring at me again. "what?"

he skips his turn and passes it back to lili. "what's that lyric? by the 1975?" he looks up at the ceiling and mumbles a few lines to himself to try and remember before turning back to me with a dazed smile, "'when the smoke is in your eyes, you look so alive.'"

he gets like this sometimes when he drinks, quiet and sentimental with lazy compliments spewing from him that hardly make sense.

lili clears her throat, obviously a bit confused at our dynamic so far. "so, brendon, are you excited for the album release?"

"definitely. love parties. can't wait. i hope people like it."

"they will," she reassures him, bringing her hand to run through his hair. it spikes a weird feeling in my stomach and i immediately want her to go somewhere else.

brendon doesnt seem to notice, his gaze fixed on the ceiling now, watching the fan spin.

i wish i could be that oblivious, but unfortunately, i'm still cursed with consciousness.

i down the rest of my cup and lean into him, doing my best to ignore her presence.

he'd choose me anyway. he always does.

-

i wake up next to brendon, wearing only his t-shirt. it still smells like last night's party, but i'm too lazy to take it off.

i pick up my phone and check my notifications, glad to see i don't have another shoot today. what i am even more glad to see is a text from regina.

regina: josh has accepted our offer to come work for vapor. meeting tomorrow. play nice.

and now the fun really begins.

(an: i pre-wrote sc but for this book & clem i just had the first couple chapters written and then individual chapter outlines out to the ends of the stories. this book has like 45 chapters i think. clem is closer to 70. anyway, this is the first time ive written a whole chapter in quite some time. its around 1400 words.)