𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙎 || 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿

7 - Enraptured

Tuesday, September 28th:

Josh was in awe.

From the moment Tyler started strumming the ukulele, he was enraptured. And then he opened his mouth and began to sing.

"If only you'd have known me before the accident..."

When he began singing, any lingering resentment that Josh held evaporated into the music-filled air. Josh was convinced that he had the voice of an angel. It was light and perfectly fitting and beautiful, and the curly haired boy couldn't help but feel like an idiot for ever hating the boy standing in front of him, who looked so perfect as he strummed the small guitar.

Tyler was focused so intently on his music, and Josh felt like the rest of the world melted away, until it was just those two. Standing there, in Tyler's room, with Josh staring at Tyler like he was some foreign, beautiful creature.

Once Tyler finished playing, he looked at Josh shyly, who realized after a few moments that he should probably stop staring at Tyler and actually say something, as he noticed that Tyler looked increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze.

"That was amazing, Tyler," Josh spoke out, his voice quiet, as he was still in awe. "Like, really amazing."

"Thanks," Tyler replied bashfully, eyes not meeting Josh's and cheeks pink. Josh wasn't bothered by Tyler not looking at him this time; on the contrary, he felt his heart skip a beat when the younger boy blushed at his comment.

"Although it's nothing near as impressive as you playing the drums," Tyler commented, once he seemed to regain his composure.

"You remember that?" Josh asked in surprise. "I mean, that was eighth grade."

"Of course I do. I always thought that you were so amazing," Tyler gushed. Then his eyes widened slightly. "On the drums, I mean."

Now it was Josh's turn to blush at the compliment. "Thank you," he mumbled shyly, because he had never received praise for his drum skills. Or maybe it was because it was Tyler giving him the praise. "And, for the record, I've gotten a lot better than I was then."

"You'll have to show me sometime," Tyler said, and Josh nodded enthusiastically.

"That would be great! I never really have an audience, so it would be nice to get some feedback."

"I don't know how much help I'll be," the younger boy admitted. "I'll probably just think it's phenomenal either way."

"Well," Josh paused, ignoring the heat crawling up his neck that became present the longer he looked at Tyler, forcing him to look away, "your presence will still be appreciated."

He looked back at Tyler moments later to find him smiling, which made the heat all too present once again. The younger boy opened his mouth to say something when a knock sounded on the door, and seconds later it swung open. A woman Josh could only assume was Tyler's mother was staring down at her phone, not bothering to look up as she began to speak.

"Tyler, your father and I are going out for dinner, so you'll have to figure something out."

When Josh looked at Tyler again, he could see the boy had visibly stiffened. He stared at his mother with an embarrassed look, like he didn't want her to be there.

"Okay," he replied, his voice strained. It was only then that his mother looked up, eyes quickly flying to Josh. The moment she saw him, she put away her phone, putting on a cordial smile.

"Who's this?"

"This is Josh. We're working on a science project together," Tyler explained, looking like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.

"What project?"

"We planted a tree in the backyard, mom. I talked to you about this last week, remember?" Tyler asked, his voice verging on annoyed.

His mother took a sharp breath in, eyes narrowing at Tyler, but still keeping her friendly smile on her face. "How fun! Well, you boys have a nice evening."

"You as well," Josh finally spoke, and the woman's eyes met him again. She gave him another smile before turning to leave, not bothering to shut the door behind her.

The two stood in silence for a moment before Tyler spoke up.

"Sorry about her," he mumbled, his eyes cast down to the floor.

"No worries!" Josh assured him. "She seemed," he paused, looking for the right word, settling on a hesitant, "nice."

"She loves to seem that way, yeah," Tyler muttered bitterly under his breath, just loud enough for Josh to catch it. He wasn't sure he was even supposed to hear that, and he found himself becoming a little uncomfortable, shifting on his feet awkwardly a little. He wasn't sure what exactly to say after that.

"Tyler," he started, his voice soft, considering saying something about the boy's family, but then deciding against it. He figured they weren't quite close enough for that yet. He didn't want to make the other boy feel uncomfortable. So, instead, he said, "Tell me more about what music you like."

Tyler seemed to brighten at that, and his eyes found Josh's, a smile forming on his face. Josh returned the smile. He was glad the boy was already looking happier.

"You don't know what you've just gotten yourself into," Tyler warned him, half-joking. "I could go on for hours about music."

Somehow, Josh didn't seem to mind the thought of that.

"Well, I've got time. Like I said, nowhere to be."

Tyler smiled excitedly at him, crossing over to sit down on his bed, Josh following him and sitting on the other end of it. Tyler pulled his legs up onto the bed so that he was sitting criss-cross and facing Josh.

He began talking. First about Death Cab for Cutie, then about various other artists. Josh found that they had a very similar music taste. However, that wasn't the part that fascinated him the most. He found that he really liked listening to Tyler talk. He was amazed how quickly his outlook on the other boy had shifted, but he found himself wondering once again how he could have ever hated the boy sitting there, talking animatedly about his favorite songs and artists. The boy that he now found to be empyrean.

The two ended up talking for hours, and Josh only noticed the time because the sunset started to pour through Tyler's window.

"Oh, shit, I have to go. I didn't realize how late it was getting. My mom's probably getting worried," Josh told him.

Tyler looked a little disappointed, but he understood. He walked Josh down to the front door, opening it for him.

The older boy stopped once he was on the porch, turning back to look at Tyler. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Of course. I'll try to keep Maxx at bay," Tyler promised, and Josh couldn't help the smile that came onto his face.

"I'd appreciate that."

Tyler reciprocated his smile, the two looking at each other for a moment in mutual admiration before the younger cleared his throat, looking away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Right," Josh said, suddenly feeling a little awkward. "Bye, Tyler."

"Bye, Josh."

With that, Josh walked to his car, hearing the front door shut as he did so. He had a smile back on his face and a warm feeling in his chest as he thought about the evening's events. He was glad he decided to stay. He saw a side of Tyler he didn't even know existed, and he was loving it.

And as he climbed in his car, he realized he was loving it maybe a little too much.