𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙀𝙎 || 𝗝𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝗿

11 - Late Night Chats

Friday, October 8th/Saturday, October 9th:

Josh had left Tyler's house mere hours ago, and yet found himself missing the other boy. A lot. He was itching to hear his voice and craved the way that Tyler looked at him. His need for the younger boy was overwhelming, almost so pressing that it was tangible.

They planned to go back to the arcade the next day—not with Jordan, this time, so they wouldn't get interrupted—but Josh found that it wasn't sufficient. Despite knowing that he was going to see Tyler the next day, he still desperately wanted to see him again as soon as possible. To, at the very least, hear his voice.

When his phone buzzed, he didn't think much of it. It was ten o'clock at night, and he was laying in bed, contemplating playing video games or something. He lazily picked up his phone, squinting at the brightness before flicking it down. He then saw the name of the person who texted him, and he shot up in excitement, his tired eyes suddenly bright.

'Hey, Josh! We're still on for tomorrow, right?' the text read.

Josh smiled. 'Yup! If you're down, I am!'

He watched the three dots pop up for a moment before Tyler replied, 'Awesome!' and then followed up with, 'How's your night been?'

Josh's heart swelled at the assumption—one he assumed was correct—that Tyler wanted to speak to him, considering he texted out of the blue to ask something he already knew the answer to, and then asked about how Josh was doing. It just all made him feel warm inside.

'It's been pretty good!' he texted back, and then asked, 'Can you call? It's easier than typing this all out.'

Josh wasn't going to state the fact that he mostly just wanted to hear Tyler's voice, but it was at the forefront of his mind.

'Yeah, I can!'

So, Josh FaceTimed Tyler, hoping he'd pick up. When his face popped up on the screen, Josh couldn't keep away the large smile that crept up onto his face.

"Hey, Josh!" Tyler greeted, also smiling. Josh wanted to imagine that it was for the same reason that he was smiling, that Tyler also had this warm, fuzzy feeling inside whenever they spoke to each other, but he also reminded himself to not get his hopes up.

"Hey, Tyler," Josh replied, a warm smile resting on his face. "So, what've you been up to since I saw you last?"

"Oh, y'know. Ordering dinner. Avoiding my family. A regular Friday night for me." Tyler shrugged. "How about you?"

"Honestly, I've basically done nothing. I'm so bored," Josh sighed, dramatically dragging out the last word.

Tyler laughed at how dramatic he was being, replying, "Well, good thing I'm here, then."

That's how the two ended up staying up until one in the morning playing video games together. Tyler admittedly didn't play many video games, but he still owned a console, so Josh convinced him to download a couple games they could play together.

They spent the whole night talking and laughing, focused on their game but also each other. Josh loved every moment.

When Tyler yawned after one of their games was over, Josh figured it was time to go to bed.

"Alright, you should probably get some sleep," he suggested, and Tyler nodded tiredly.

"Probably," he agreed. Josh watched him switch off his TV and climb onto his bed, holding the phone sideways as he laid his head down on the pillow. "I had a lot of fun tonight, Josh." Tyler's voice was dripping with sincerity.