𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙎 || 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿

5 - Friends

Tuesday, September 28th:

The last week of September brought fall breezes that blew away the warm summer air, making the leaves begin to think about turning the beautiful orange and red hues of autumn. The change in weather excited Josh, seeing as he loved the cooler temperatures of fall and winter.

However, he was a tad bit worried about their tree, despite his teacher's assurance that planting their particular type of tree—a maple—in the fall wouldn't hurt it. On the contrary, it was one of the best times to plant it. Still, the thought of it snowing on the small sapling made him concerned. He was also unconvinced that Tyler would cover it or take good care of it.

He tried to shake those thoughts from his head. He constantly had to remind himself that he was giving the boy a second chance. Josh had been working hard at casting aside his prejudice towards Tyler over the past week, but he still slipped up sometimes. Old habits die hard.

He did feel guilty that Tyler had noticed his disliking towards him. He'd been hoping that the younger boy was oblivious enough to not notice, but apparently his tendency to not pay attention to Josh had been starting to wear off.

Josh had noticed that lately: Tyler was actually looking at him, contrary to his usual behaviors, which included a quick glance and then staring down at his feet. As Tyler began to interact with him more, he found that the boy just seemed more shy than he did pompous. At least, he was less pompous than Josh originally believed. That was part of the reason that Josh agreed to give a new beginning a try; he was starting to see that he had some misconceptions about Tyler.

"Mr. Dun, are you paying attention?" Ms. Hale's voice questioned, breaking Josh out of his trance. He felt his cheeks go red as he gave her a little nod, hating the feeling of the whole class staring at him. One pair of eyes lingered longer than the others, the eyes belonging to the very boy that he couldn't seem to stop thinking about.

Once she looked away from him, he went back to daydreaming. He found himself staring at the back of Tyler's head absentmindedly, thinking about him once more. He was glad that nobody could see where he was looking, seeing as he was in the very back.

Tyler was like a puzzle to him. At first, he thought the boy was simple, plain. He thought that Tyler was arrogant and annoying. But, as he began to actually spend time with him, he found that there was more to the younger boy than he originally thought. And, despite not particularly liking it, he was intrigued.

He was pulled out of his thoughts once the bell rang. There was a strange sting in his chest as he watched Tyler walk out with his large group of friends, laughing and smiling. He wished that Tyler would be more like that around him, so that he could see more of the boy's real personality.

However, he quickly shook those thoughts from his mind, reminding himself that he'd be going over to Tyler's house that afternoon. There, he could try and actually be friendly, which might provoke a bit more of Tyler's true personality.

Josh hated how enveloped he was in the whole idea of discovering what Tyler was truly like, but he couldn't help it. It was strange, shedding his misconceptions and beliefs from the past many years, but it was also refreshing. He was optimistic that they may even become friends. Not that Josh could ever imagine himself in Tyler's large group of idiot friends. He was repulsed by the very thought.

Maybe he needed to get rid of more prejudice than just that against Tyler, but oh, well.

Josh walked to his car, seeing Tyler get into his. Maxx was still shouting things at him, and Josh rolled his eyes. He still found Maxx to be unbearable.

"Do you have something to say, Dun?" Maxx's voice shouted. He must have seen Josh roll his eyes. Shit.

"Nope," Josh said, not even stopping to talk to the blue haired boy, instead just continuing on to his car. His eyes met Tyler's, whose head was peeking out of his car door curiously.

"Maybe mind your fucking business," Maxx yelled after him. He just did not quit.

"Maybe don't scream across the parking lot and try to speak to other people like a normal human being," Josh muttered bitterly.

"What was that?"

Maxx was now starting towards him angrily, and Tyler quickly left his car, scurrying to stop his friend. Josh stopped, finally actually turning around to watch what was going on behind him, seeing Tyler standing in front of Maxx, blocking his path.

"No, Maxx," Tyler said firmly.

"Why are you defending him? He's a fucking loser," Maxx spat bitterly, glaring at Josh over Tyler's shoulder.

Josh watched as Tyler visibly stiffened as Maxx said that.

"No, he isn't. He's," Tyler paused for a moment, trying to find the right words, "he's my friend, too, and I would appreciate it if you didn't do something you'll regret."

Maxx huffed angrily, crossing his arms. He reminded Josh of a child getting denied a toy.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, Ty."

Maxx stomped away, leaving Tyler and Josh both standing a little ways away from each other in the middle of the parking lot. Tyler sighed, turning around to face Josh, who was staring at him, trying to figure out how he felt about that whole exchange. Eventually, he gave Tyler a little smile.

"Thanks," he muttered, just loud enough for the younger boy to hear.

"Anytime. I'll see you in a few, right?" Tyler asked, and Josh gave him a nod and a smile.

"Of course. I can't miss seeing our tree, now can I?"

Tyler returned his smile with an almost relieved looking grin, like he was glad Josh wasn't holding anything against him for his friend's actions. With that, they both walked to their cars.

As Josh entered his and shut the door, he sighed. He wasn't sure how to feel. On one hand, he was grateful for Tyler and what he'd done to protect him. On the other hand, he was annoyed at Maxx for being an idiot. Ultimately, he decided to listen more to the side that was grateful for Tyler, and a little smile crept onto his face. He figured that this officially made them friends.